Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Food prices in Norway have risen three times higher than in the EU, and the PM takes the plaudits in the leader's debate. This and other news from Norway on Thursday.
Food prices in Norway have increased three times more than in the EU
Norway has had an increase in food prices of 11 percent this year. This is an increase three times as high as the average for EU countries, public broadcaster NRK reports.
According to the broadcaster, food prices in Sweden and Denmark rose by 3.9 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.
The reason for the strong price growth is that prices are beginning to normalise after intense competition between Norwegian supermarkets, researcher Ivar Petterson from ALO Analyse told NRK.
"If we look at this in the long term, we are more or less in line with other countries. The development in Norway has lagged behind, and now we are roughly in step with the price development that has been going on for a long time in Europe," he said.
Party leaders participate in election debates
The leaders of Norway's mainstream political parties took part in a televised debate on Wednesday night, with the Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, putting in the most impressive performance, according to average scores from political experts.
The leaders were graded 1-6, with 6 being the best, as Norway uses a dice roll scoring system. Norwegian newswire NTB calculated that the PM received a 5 when using scores from commentators from VG, TV 2, Nettavisen, Dagbladet and the regional newspaper Sunmøreposten.
Venstre Party leader Guri Melby was ranked the second most impressive on the night, receiving a 4.2. Slvi Listhaug of the Progress Party received a 3.8, and Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg was graded a 3.6. Current finance minister and Centre Party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum averaged a 3.4 for his efforts, and Kjersti Bergstø of the Socialist Left Party was awarded 3.2.
Among the night's less impressive performers, according to averages, were Marie Sneve Martinussen of the Red Party, who received a 2.6, Olaug Bollestad of the Christian Democratic Party, with an average of 2.2 and Arild Hermstad of the Green Party, with a rating of 1.8.
NIPH expects winter Covid wave
A senior figure from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has said that several hundred will probably die in a winter wave and that the elderly are particularly vulnerable.
"There will be several hundred hospitalisations and a few hundred deaths from coronavirus this winter," Preben Aavitsland, a senior physician at the NIPH, told Norwegian newswire NTB.
He added that most of those dying from coronavirus are currently older people in their 80s and 90s.
"We expect a somewhat slow increase in the epidemic throughout the autumn and then probably a new wave in the winter," he said.
Norwegian satellites to crack down on illegal fishing
A third of the world's coastal states will receive data from Norwegian satellites in a bid to crack down on illegal fishing.
Norway shares information with countries which participate in international fisheries cooperation.
"The fight against illegal fishing is very important for a large port nation like Norway. We are now sharing Norwegian technology and expertise with many other countries to overcome the problem," fisheries and ocean minister Bjørnar Skjæran said.
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Food prices in Norway have increased three times more than in the EU
Norway has had an increase in food prices of 11 percent this year. This is an increase three times as high as the average for EU countries, public broadcaster NRK reports.
According to the broadcaster, food prices in Sweden and Denmark rose by 3.9 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.
The reason for the strong price growth is that prices are beginning to normalise after intense competition between Norwegian supermarkets, researcher Ivar Petterson from ALO Analyse told NRK.
"If we look at this in the long term, we are more or less in line with other countries. The development in Norway has lagged behind, and now we are roughly in step with the price development that has been going on for a long time in Europe," he said.
Party leaders participate in election debates
The leaders of Norway's mainstream political parties took part in a televised debate on Wednesday night, with the Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, putting in the most impressive performance, according to average scores from political experts.
The leaders were graded 1-6, with 6 being the best, as Norway uses a dice roll scoring system. Norwegian newswire NTB calculated that the PM received a 5 when using scores from commentators from VG, TV 2, Nettavisen, Dagbladet and the regional newspaper Sunmøreposten.
Venstre Party leader Guri Melby was ranked the second most impressive on the night, receiving a 4.2. Slvi Listhaug of the Progress Party received a 3.8, and Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg was graded a 3.6. Current finance minister and Centre Party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum averaged a 3.4 for his efforts, and Kjersti Bergstø of the Socialist Left Party was awarded 3.2.
Among the night's less impressive performers, according to averages, were Marie Sneve Martinussen of the Red Party, who received a 2.6, Olaug Bollestad of the Christian Democratic Party, with an average of 2.2 and Arild Hermstad of the Green Party, with a rating of 1.8.
NIPH expects winter Covid wave
A senior figure from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has said that several hundred will probably die in a winter wave and that the elderly are particularly vulnerable.
"There will be several hundred hospitalisations and a few hundred deaths from coronavirus this winter," Preben Aavitsland, a senior physician at the NIPH, told Norwegian newswire NTB.
He added that most of those dying from coronavirus are currently older people in their 80s and 90s.
"We expect a somewhat slow increase in the epidemic throughout the autumn and then probably a new wave in the winter," he said.
Norwegian satellites to crack down on illegal fishing
A third of the world's coastal states will receive data from Norwegian satellites in a bid to crack down on illegal fishing.
Norway shares information with countries which participate in international fisheries cooperation.
"The fight against illegal fishing is very important for a large port nation like Norway. We are now sharing Norwegian technology and expertise with many other countries to overcome the problem," fisheries and ocean minister Bjørnar Skjæran said.
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