Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Man charged with espionage in Norway admits Russian identity, inmates from women’s prison to be moved to men’s facility, and an interest rate decision are among the headlines on Thursday.
Man charged with espionage admits to Russian identity
A visiting researcher charged with espionage has admitted to being a Russian national and is linked to the Russian military intelligence service GRU.
He had previously posed as a Brazilian researcher while at the University of Tromsø.
He was arrested last October after arriving in Norway on a research assignment in 2021. Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) believed that the Russian national represented a threat to national interests.
The Russian has been in custody since his arrest, and the police decided to charge him and punish him in Norway rather than deport him.
Interest rates likely to remain unchanged
For a number of months, Norway’s central bank has signalled that it would raise interest rates in December, and the final hike would represent a peak in rates in Norway.
However, most economists believe the rate will remain unchanged due to continued inflation and the economy’s performance.
Other countries have also recently decided against any more interest rate rises—something which may have swayed Norges Bank.
“For Norway, this is good, in the sense that many feared that they would keep more on the interest rate path. Seen in isolation, this makes Norges Bank’s job even a little easier, and the interest rate can also remain stable here at home,” Kyrre M Knudsen at Sparebank 1 SR-Bank said.
Inmates from women’s prison to be moved to men’s facilities
Some 20 female inmates from Bredtveit prison will temporarily be moved to Norway’s largest men’s prison.
The reason for the move is concerns about fire safety at Bredveit prison. Mixing male and female prisoners is not standard practice in Norway to protect women from violence, harassment, sexual blackmail and abuse.
Regional Director Stig Storvik in the Correctional Service said that the women would be kept separate from the men, and the section of the prison occupied by the women would operate as a separate unit.
READ ALSO: How different is the Norwegian prison system really?
Solberg remains the most popular PM candidate
Leader of the Conservative Party (H) Erna Solberg has emerged from her husband’s share trading scandal as the most popular option for the Norwegian Prime Minister, according to a survey from the newspaper Vårt Land.
Some 41 percent of respondents said they preferred Solberg to current Labour (L) leader and PM Jonas Gahr Støre.
In comparison, 35 percent of respondents said that Støre would be their first pick for PM.
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Man charged with espionage admits to Russian identity
A visiting researcher charged with espionage has admitted to being a Russian national and is linked to the Russian military intelligence service GRU.
He had previously posed as a Brazilian researcher while at the University of Tromsø.
He was arrested last October after arriving in Norway on a research assignment in 2021. Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) believed that the Russian national represented a threat to national interests.
The Russian has been in custody since his arrest, and the police decided to charge him and punish him in Norway rather than deport him.
Interest rates likely to remain unchanged
For a number of months, Norway’s central bank has signalled that it would raise interest rates in December, and the final hike would represent a peak in rates in Norway.
However, most economists believe the rate will remain unchanged due to continued inflation and the economy’s performance.
Other countries have also recently decided against any more interest rate rises—something which may have swayed Norges Bank.
“For Norway, this is good, in the sense that many feared that they would keep more on the interest rate path. Seen in isolation, this makes Norges Bank’s job even a little easier, and the interest rate can also remain stable here at home,” Kyrre M Knudsen at Sparebank 1 SR-Bank said.
Inmates from women’s prison to be moved to men’s facilities
Some 20 female inmates from Bredtveit prison will temporarily be moved to Norway’s largest men’s prison.
The reason for the move is concerns about fire safety at Bredveit prison. Mixing male and female prisoners is not standard practice in Norway to protect women from violence, harassment, sexual blackmail and abuse.
Regional Director Stig Storvik in the Correctional Service said that the women would be kept separate from the men, and the section of the prison occupied by the women would operate as a separate unit.
READ ALSO: How different is the Norwegian prison system really?
Solberg remains the most popular PM candidate
Leader of the Conservative Party (H) Erna Solberg has emerged from her husband’s share trading scandal as the most popular option for the Norwegian Prime Minister, according to a survey from the newspaper Vårt Land.
Some 41 percent of respondents said they preferred Solberg to current Labour (L) leader and PM Jonas Gahr Støre.
In comparison, 35 percent of respondents said that Støre would be their first pick for PM.
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