Advertisement

Today in Norway For Members

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

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Find out what's going on in Norway on Friday with The Local's short roundup of important news. Pictured is Oslo at sunset. Photo by Eirik Skarstein on Unsplash

Norwegians set travel record, a tax settlement for the salmon industry and weapons amnesty to end soon. This and other news from Norway on Friday.

Advertisement

Norwegians set travel record

Fresh figures from the national data agency show that never before have more Norwegians gone on domestic trips during the first quarter.

Norwegians went on some 6.9 million trips between January and March of this year, according to Statistics Norway. This is around 23 percent more trips than the year before.

5.5 million of these trips were domestic ones.

"The domestic holidays during the pandemic seem to have given many Norwegians more flavour. Even though the travel restrictions are long gone, we continue to travel in our own country like never before," Kristin Aasestad from Statistics Norway said.

Weapon amnesty to end next week

With just a week to run on a weapons amnesty, police have said that they have collected over 8,000 weapons.

"Illegal weapons can fall into the wrong hands and end up in criminal environments. I'm glad these weapons are now out of a potentially illegal market and can do no harm," Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said of the amnesty.

"I encourage everyone who has illegal weapons to hand them in to the police now. You don't risk punishment, and together we can prevent accidents and fight crime," she added.

The amnesty applies to all illegal weapons, not just firearms. So far, Trøndaleg County has received the most weapons.'

Advertisement

Tax settlement for the salmon industry

The Norwegian government has secured a majority for a basic tax for the salmon industry. The Norwegian market has responded well to the tax.

The seafood index on the Oslo Stock Exchange rose 7.6 percent following the tax announcement. Additionally, seafood stocks were among the winners on Thursday.

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions LO has welcomed the salmon tax.

"Over several decades, the farming industry has reaped large profits from the community's resources. Then it is only fair and reasonable that some of this surplus benefits local communities and communities," Peggy Hessen Følsvik, leader of LO, said in a statement.

Folloban closed again

Power problems have once again closed the problem-stricken Folloban. The Folloban, Norway's most expensive public transport project, has faced numerous issues after first opening in December.

On Monday, a train with 70 passengers on board was left stuck on a train in a tunnel after a water leak cut power in the tunnel. Bane Nor, the network rail operator, will announce whether the Folloban will reopen at midday on Friday.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also