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Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Find out what's going on in Norway with The Local's short roundup of important news. Pictured is a street in Oslo. Photo by Roar Skotte on Unsplash

Crime in Oslo returning to pre-pandemic levels and the government suffering in the polls are among the headlines from Norway on Wednesday.

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Crime reports in Oslo on the rise

The number of crimes reported in the Oslo police district rose by ten percent in 2022, bringing figures back in line with pre-pandemic levels.

"We saw that the reports picked up again, especially in Oslo's central areas, after the Covid restrictions were lifted. In particular, there has been an increase in theft from persons," acting chief police Cecilie Lilaas-Skari said in a press release.

The Oslo police district, which includes the municipalities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum, received 72,774 reports last year. This corresponds to an increase of 10 percent from the previous year.

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Theft reports increased by as much as 75 percent, the highest reported incidents for this type of crime in many years.

Violent offences rose slightly last year, with the autumn of 2022 characterised by several shootings.

More gloom and doom in the polls for Labour

The latest poll from the Norwegian newspaper VG shows another downtrend in the polls for the Labour Party.

If an election were to be held today, Labour would only receive 18.6 percent of the vote, compared to 32.4 percent for the Conservative Party.

The other governing party, the Centre Party, would only receive 5.3 percent of votes if an election were held. On the other hand, the Conservatives, the Liberals, the Progress Party and the Christian Democrats would receive 94 seats, more than a majority if the poll were an actual election.

Influencer's suspected cocaine picture sparks 800 complaints

On Sunday, a photo, which has been deleted since, appeared to show Norwegian influencer Sophie Elise in a picture with another female celebrity in front of the mirror where you can see one of the women holding a small bag with white contents, which many have interpreted to be cocaine.

The influencer, who also hosts a podcast for public broadcaster NRK, has since made her profile private. Still, the Norwegian Broadcasting Council has received nearly 800 complaints following the photo's publication.

The Broadcasting Council is an advisory body for NRK, which discusses and issues opinions on the main lines of NRK's ​​program activities. Complaints about

NRK and the broadcaster's programs come to the council, which meets 8-10 times a year. Four out of 14 members are appointed by the government, the rest by the Storting.

NRK has said the picture would not affect its working relationship with the influencer.

Those with variable price contracts paid the highest energy prices last year

Consumers on variable price deals paid, on average, 162.7 øre per kilowatt hour (kWh) for energy last year, figures from Statistics Norway show.

For these contracts, the electricity companies must inform customers of price changes at least 14 days before they come into force. The price is therefore fixed over a period of at least fourteen days.

Spot price contracts cost an average of 153.6 øre/kWh, excluding taxes and grid rent.

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