Free Republic

For the first time since January, the four center-right parties have a majority in the Kantar TNS Poll for TV2.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg has come in for sharp criticism after being quoted as saying the Nazis and the extreme left had “much in common”. The comments by Solberg were published by the Dagbladet newspaper on August 11th in response to a neo-Nazi demonstration in Kristiansand — not to last weekend’s events in Charlottesville, USA in which a woman was killed by a far right demonstrator. US President Donald Trump was widely criticized by both Democrats and members of the Republican party for seeking to draw a parallel between Nazi demonstrators in Charlottesville and left wing counter protesters including...

Minster for Health Bent Høie of Norway’s governing Høyre (Conservative) party has promised broadened healthcare options should the party continue to govern after the upcoming general election.

4,200 yo bird found 'perfectly preserved' in ice (PHOTO) Published time: 5 Aug, 2017 22:56 Edited time: 6 Aug, 2017 16:12 A frozen 4,200-year-old redwing thrush has been found perfectly preserved in Norway. The bird, whose age was determined through carbon tests, was dissected to determine if the bird’s organs have also survived the test of time. The thrush was discovered by a warden with the Norwegian Nature Supervisor Agency on the edge of a snow bank in the Oppdal mountains, according to Jorgen Rosvold, a researcher with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who spoke to NRK. “That...

Last week, a photograph that appeared to show six women wearing burqas on a bus sparked a heated debate in a private Facebook group for Norwegians critical of immigration. For many members of the group, which is called “Fedrelandet viktigst” or “Fatherland first,” the image encapsulated the problems Norway was facing after an influx of Muslim immigrants in the past few years. Some group members took the picture — posted with the comment, “what do people think of this?" — as proof that a ban was needed. More than 100 soon commented on it. “It looks really scary, should be...

Breaking news this morning. The robbers drove a car through the shop barriers and used another car to drive with the guns out. There is a lot of weapons theft lately in Europe. This place. https://borselars.no/bruktborsen https://borselars.no/vapen The first link is for second hand weapons, the second link is for new ones.

Norway is currently enjoying a newfound level of popularity amongst tourists. Spurred in part by “the Frozen effect” that has seen tourism rise sharply since Disney’s 2013 film Frozen, which was developed with the support of Norway’s tourism agency, some officials began warning that the country was experiencing “too much of a good thing”. Now a number of politicians are suggesting the implementation of a tourist tax to help local communities deal with the influx of visitors. Local Nordland party leaders of the Socialist Left Party, the Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the Red Party have backed a new tourist...

Norwegian hepatitis C patients are waiting longer than they should for medical treatment due in part to a monopoly on its supply, according to a report. Between 15,000 and 20,000 Norwegians live with the chronic condition, which is treated with a 12-week course of medicine. The cost of a 12-week course of the Epclusa medicine in Norway is 540,000 kroner (€57,000), according to the Klassekampen newspaper. American pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences owns a monopoly on supply of the medicine in the Scandinavian country, according to the report. […] Ronny Bjørnestad, head of NGO Prolar, which works to improve understanding of...

Executives at a Bermudan firm funneling money to U.S. environmentalists run investment funds with Russian tycoons. A shadowy Bermudan company that has funneled tens of millions of dollars to anti-fracking environmentalist groups in the United States is run by executives with deep ties to Russian oil interests and offshore money laundering schemes involving members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. One of those executives, Nicholas Hoskins, is a director at a hedge fund management firm that has invested heavily in Russian oil and gas. He is also senior counsel at the Bermudan law firm Wakefield Quin and the vice president...

Eager to pay more taxes? Then look no further than Norway. Hammered by the opposition for slashing taxes and going on a spending spree with the country’s oil money, the center-right government has hit back with a bold proposal: voluntary contributions. Launched in June, the initiative has received a lukewarm reception, with the equivalent of just $1,325 in extra revenue being collected so far, according to the Finance Ministry. That’s not much for a country of 5.3 million people, many of whom are already accustomed to paying some of the highest taxes in the world (the top rate of income...

Supernatural experience is you saturated by my Presence in and through you for as Ezekiel was swept up into my presence "Behold" this IS where I desire you to be always and forever in the arms of the One that loves you is where you belong ! A Psalm of David. Psalm 23 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through...

Norway became the latest European nation to propose a ban on burqas and niqabs on Monday, with the proposal set to apply to all educational facilities. “Garments that cover the face prevent communication that is key for pupils and students in their learning,” said Education Minister Torbjorn Roe Isaksen. “Norway is an open society where everyone should be able to see each other’s face.” Employees who insist on flouting the ban would lose their jobs while students could face expulsion from their courses. It would include full face veils like the niqab, as well as balaclavas and face masks. …

Oslo (AFP) - The Norwegian government on Monday proposed a bill to ban the full-face Muslim veil in all schools, from nurseries to universities, saying it hinders communication between students and teachers. Norway's ruling coalition of conservative and anti-immigration rightwing parties had promised the ban last year, targeting the full-face veil called the niqab as well as burqas, balaclavas and masks. "We do not want clothes covering the face in nurseries, schools and universities," Minister of Education and Research Torbjorn Roe Isaksen said in a statement. "These clothes prevent good communication, which is important for students to receive a good...

Norway’s government has proposed changes to oil and gas industry regulations in a bid to curb the possibility of non-European companies buying oil and gas assets in the country. According to Bloomberg, the non-European companies from which Norway is seeking to protect its oil and gas come from Russia.

Last year, Norway made headlines with its major crackdown against child abuse dubbed Operation Dark Room. In recent months, the investigation has grown to involve more suspects and cases. Norwegian police are particularly worried about child abuse happening abroad.So far, the Norwegian police have revealed at least 300 cases where children were grossly abused and exploited. In several cases the police have been investigating, small children in the Philippines were sexually abused in front of camera on order from Norway. The assaults were streamed online, and Norwegians paid to watch the abuse. The price for such a grim spectacle varied between $20 and $50, the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet...

Top leaders of five Nordic countries are rejecting claims that they "trolled" President Donald Trump by posing for a photo that is drawing comparisons to the US leader's now-infamous moment with a glowing orb during his trip to Saudi Arabia. The photo, which was first reported by The Hill, shows the prime ministers of Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark all placing their hands on a European soccer ball -- an image that would most likely have been viewed as benign had it not surfaced just days after one of the most memorable moments from Trump's first foreign trip to...

A Russian innovation in armoured warfare has pushed Norway to replace many of its current anti-tank systems. Active protection systems (APS) are being built into Russia's new Armata T-14 tank, posing a problem for a whole generation of anti-armour weapons, not least the US-supplied Javelin guided missile, used by the Norwegian Army. The warning comes from Brig Ben Barry of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. He says this is a problem that most Nato countries have barely begun to grapple with. APS threatens to make existing anti-tank weapons far less effective, and there is little real...

It's a mystery that has intrigued Norway for nearly 50 years. In November 1970, the badly burnt body of a woman was found in a remote spot in Norway's Isdalen valley. Someone had cut the labels off her clothes, and scraped distinctive marks off her belongings - as if to stop her from being identified. And as police started investigating her death, they uncovered a trail of coded messages, disguises, and fake identities - but never cracked the case. Forty-six years later, Norwegian police and NRK journalists have decided to reopen the investigation. This is the story of the Isdal...

If everything goes wrong — if because of disaster, climate change, or nuclear war, life as we know it comes to an end, with parts of the earth rendered inhospitable with widespread environmental devastation — the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a resource that could come to our rescue. Hidden about 400 feet inside a mountain on a remote island between mainland Norway and the North Pole, the vault stores valuable seeds from crops all over the world. It's supposed to be protected and stay at a safe temperature to store all those seeds. But extreme temperatures in the Arctic...

Norwegian Islamist Arfan Bhatti has been remanded in custody for four weeks, suspected of involvement with a cache of weapons found in Oslo last week. Bhatti has appealed the decision of the authorities to hold him in custody, reports broadcaster NRK. Oslo District Court believes that there are several grounds on which to suspect that Bhatti may attempt to destroy evidence should he be released, according to the report. […] The Islamist, who has Pakistani parents, was born and brought up in Oslo, where he joined the Young Guns gang in the early 1990s. He later became radicalized, and was...