https://freerepublic.com/tag/by:tomjohn77/ en-us Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:59:20 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045899/posts Murder rate plummets Despite recent news reports of Norwegians being murdered both in the country and abroad, the total number of murders nationwide amounted to just 10 during the first half of the year. Justice Minister Knut Storberget called the reduction in the murder rate "quite sensational" after releasing the figures on Tuesday. The tally compares to 16 during the same six-month period last year. In the 1980s, the annual murder rate stood at about 60. "We're soon down to levels seen in the 1970s," Storberget told news bureau NTB after presenting crime statistics from January to June. Vidar Refvik... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045899/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:59:20 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045898/posts Murder rate plummets Despite recent news reports of Norwegians being murdered both in the country and abroad, the total number of murders nationwide amounted to just 10 during the first half of the year. Justice Minister Knut Storberget called the reduction in the murder rate "quite sensational" after releasing the figures on Tuesday. The tally compares to 16 during the same six-month period last year. In the 1980s, the annual murder rate stood at about 60. "We're soon down to levels seen in the 1970s," Storberget told news bureau NTB after presenting crime statistics from January to June. Vidar Refvik... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2045898/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:59:19 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960264/posts 1 Luxembourg $ 80,800 2007 est. 2 Qatar $ 75,900 2007 est. 3 Bermuda $ 69,900 2004 est. 4 Jersey $ 57,000 2005 est. 5 Norway $ 55,600 2007 est. 6 Kuwait $ 55,300 2007 est. 7 United Arab Emirates $ 55,200 2007 est. 8 Singapore $ 48,900 2007 est. 9 United States $ 46,000 2007 est. 10 Ireland $ 45,600 2007 est. 11 Guernsey $ 44,600 2005 12 Equatorial Guinea $ 44,100 2007 est. 13 Cayman Islands $ 43,800 2004 est. 14 Hong Kong $ 42,000 2007 est. 15 Switzerland $ 39,800 2007 est. 16 Iceland $ 39,400 2007... CIA- The world fact book https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960264/posts#comment Sun, 27 Jan 2008 12:20:38 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1887301/posts Local election campaigns are in full swing all over Norway, with the various parties vying for voters' favour. Aftenposten has created a means to help you choose the party that might best suit your views. All legal residents of Norway can vote in local elections (called valg in Norwegian), even without being a Norwegian citizen, but the array of politicial parties involved can be dizzying. Taking Aftenposten's so-called "Valgomat" test can help determine which party would best represent your views on a wide variety of issues in Norway. There are eight major parties hoping to win seats on local township... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1887301/posts#comment Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:10:11 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1879850/posts Paramedics refused to take seriously injured Ali to hospital after he was beat up in a park in Oslo, allegedly because he had wet his trousers. Ali's family now fear that he will suffer permanent brain damage. "This would never happen to a white man," lawyer Abid Q. Raja says. Girlfriend Kohinoor Nordberg and several shocked witnesses watched as paramedics and police allegedly refused to help Ali. The ambulance left without the seriously injured man. Ali now risks permanent brain damage. Oslo hospital UllevÃ¥l universitetssykehus launched an internal investigation Tuesday, after a 37-year-old seriously injured man was refused entry into... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1879850/posts#comment Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:37:43 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873942/posts The number of Swedes working and living in Oslo alone has more than doubled in the past 10 years, and more are on the way. They're attracted mostly by job opportunities and higher wages. Benita Pettersson is among the many Swedes working in Oslo cafes and restaurants. She comes from a small town outside Karlstad. Erik Tomasson from Kristinehamn, age 23, works at a Carlings clothing shop in Oslo and says he's thriving in the city. Nearly 9,000 Swedes were registered as living in Oslo at the start of this year, but officials at the Swedish embassy think the number... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873942/posts#comment Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:16:04 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864439/posts Norway has more millionaires, measured in US dollars, than any other country in the world in terms of its size. Crowded boat marinas, like here in Oslo, are just one illustration of Norwegians' increasing wealth. The exclusive residential areas of Bygdøy and Frogner in Oslo are accessible for more Norwegians, sending real estate prices up even higher. No other country has more dollar-millionaires per capita than Norway, Roger Gullqvist of Paris-based consulting firm CapGemini told newspaper Finansavisen. A new study compiled by CapGemini and Merrill Lynch showed that one out of every 86 Norwegians has more than USD 1 million... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864439/posts#comment Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:45:34 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1845263/posts The main index of the Oslo stock exchange broke the 500 point barrier for the first time ever on Friday, an increase of over 400 percent from rock bottom in February 2003. The companies listed on the Oslo exchange were worth about NOK 2,250 billion (USD 372 billion) on June 1, giving it a greater value than Norway's hefty petroleum fund, known as the Government Pension Fund - Global, which recently passed NOK 1,800 billion in worth. The Oslo exchange is up 13.5 percent in 2007. "We are in a period without parallel in Norwegian economic and bourse history," said... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1845263/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jun 2007 17:29:23 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1743199/posts Tens of thousands of Polish workers have come to Norway after joining the European Union, a situation that has worried many, especially - in Poland. Poland's Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said in Oslo Thursday that the new situation posed difficulties for her ministry, which was forced to handle a novel situation with a large population living outside the country. "We are pleased that these people have been so well received in a country like Norway and that they are integrating so well. At the same time, we hope that they maintain their bonds with Poland. I hope that they return... Aftenposten Norway https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1743199/posts#comment Thu, 23 Nov 2006 23:21:32 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1629021/posts Norwegian oil company Statoil reported its highest quarterly profits ever on Monday, no surprise at a time when oil companies all over the world are raking in profits on high oil prices. Statoil CEO Helge Lund could report more record profits, thanks to high oil prices. Statoil officials said first-quarter operating profits jumped 44 percent, to NOK 31 billion (USD 5 billion), from NOK 21.5 billion in the same quarter last year. The record profits were the result of "a high level of production and strong oil and gas prices," said Statoil chief executive Helge Lund. They nonetheless slightly lagged... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1629021/posts#comment Tue, 9 May 2006 04:43:01 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1626723/posts Oslo police want Norway to toughen its policies towards lawbreaking foreigners. "We want to get those who commit criminal acts out as quickly as possible," deputy Oslo police commissioner Hans Halvorsen told newspaper Dagsavisen. The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) is in the process of developing new guidelines for the expulsion of criminals who come to Norway from the European Economic Area (EEA) nations. The UDI stance is that foreigners should only be deportable from Norway if they receive prison sentences. The Oslo police believe a greater emphasis should be put on protecting the public from crimes of profit, and that... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1626723/posts#comment Thu, 4 May 2006 16:55:04 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1610783/posts Voter support for Norway's Conservative Party (Høyre) has plunged to a new historically low level. While the party's former leader urged members to rally around its current leadership, other top party players were calling for heads to roll. Stein Erik Hagen says he's leaving Høyre after 35 years, and withdrawing financial support. Høyre leader Erna Solberg (right) seems to quickly be losing ground to Siv Jensen (left), the popular leader of the Progress Party. There's a lot of rumbling going on around Høyre, which once led Norway's government with 32 percent of the vote. But that was 25 years ago,... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1610783/posts#comment Fri, 7 Apr 2006 10:35:12 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606371/posts A long line of limousines with police escorts was parked outside Oslo's Grand Hotel Wednesday morning, ready to drive Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov around town on the second day of an official visit. His Norwegian hosts were anxious to impress. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (right) helped guide his Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov around the Ormen Lange plant on Tuesday. Later that evening, Stoltenberg hosted Fradkov at a formal dinner at Oslo's Akershus fortress. Thorbjørn Jagland, president of Norway's parliament, was among those greeting the Russian prime minister. Fradkov was the guest of honor Tuesday evening at a... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606371/posts#comment Thu, 30 Mar 2006 21:37:27 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606142/posts The Oslo Stock Exchange set a new record on Thursday when its benchmark index surpassed 400 points for the first time ever. The index rose 1.1 percent in early trading Thursday, up 4.37 points to 400.03. The index was lifted once again by rising share prices for oil and gas stocks and related shares such as those within the supply and shipping industries. The index has risen 20 percent so far this year, and quadrupled since 2003, fuelled largely by stocks like Statoil, Norsk Hydro, Telenor and Norway's biggest bank, DnB NOR. www.aftenposten.no https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1606142/posts#comment Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:52:52 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1594429/posts The populist Progress Party (Fr.P) continues to win support and has now topped a survey of the nation's political parties "Stop kidding!" was the reaction of incoming Progress Party leader Siv Jensen when she heard that the Fr.P had surged forward in a new survey by Opinion for newspaper Bergens Tidende. In the new poll the Fr.P rose a whopping 4.7 percent points, from 27.1 percent to 31.8 percent to become Norway's most popular political party. The dominant governing party and traditionally Norway's largest, Labor, fell by roughly the same amount - from 33.1 percent to 28.7 percent - on... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1594429/posts#comment Sat, 11 Mar 2006 12:54:25 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588767/posts Norway's unemployment rate declined to 3.0 percent at the end of February, from 3.3 percent a month earlier and 3.8 percent at the same time in 2005. Related stories: Jobless rate holds - 29.12.2005 Unemployment 'down,' job vacancies up - 01.12.2005 Unemployment low and falling - 27.10.2005 "During the past year, there have been 20,000 fewer unemployed, and the pressure in the labor market remains high," said Labor Director Yngvar Aasholt. He said the demand for labor is increasing sharply, with nearly 50 percent more vacancies announced in February than a year before. A statement said unemployment declined in most... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588767/posts#comment Thu, 2 Mar 2006 21:34:29 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1587070/posts Norway's Government Pension Fund - Global, formerly known as the Petroleum Fund, had 11.1 percent growth last year and is heading for a value of NOK 1,500 billion (USD 221 billion). The result of the fund's investments was presented on Tuesday. The fund's share portfolio increased by 22.5 percent in 2005 while the bonds portfolio increased by 3.8 percent. At the end of 2005 the petroleum fund was worth NOK 1,399 billion, compared to 1,016 billion at the end of 2004. Investment dividends accounted for 127 billion of the increase while funds transferred from the Ministry of Finance provided 220... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1587070/posts#comment Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:20:31 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1579768/posts 02.16.2006 Norway 13 USA 9 Germany 9 Russia 9 Austria 6 China 6 Who do you think will win the most medals in the end? https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1579768/posts#comment Thu, 16 Feb 2006 16:51:39 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1579194/posts With the games not yet at the halfway mark, 12 of Norway's 74 participants has been so ill or injured that they have had to either miss an event or return home. On Wednesday Norway had to pull out of the Nordic Combined team event after four of their five candidates fell ill. Magnus Moan failed to dress properly, preferring to speak to journalists in sub-freezing temperatures after winning a bronze medal on Saturday. "Magnus and Petter Tande are now the sickest, but also Ole Morten Græsli and Kristian Hammer are also ill. Only Håvard Klemetsen is healthy," said physician... http://www.aftenposten.no/english/sports/article1224806.ece https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1579194/posts#comment Wed, 15 Feb 2006 20:10:47 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1574518/posts Protest related to the caricatures of Mohammed flared again in the Middle East, with the Norwegian-led observer force in Hebron forced to evacuate after a violent demonstration. Demonstrators storm the gate of the TIPH office in the West Bank city of Hebron. Hundreds of Palestinian youths throw stones at TIPH headquarters in Hebron. About 300 protestors stormed the TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron) office in Hebron. TIPH chief Arnstein Øverkil confirmed that the force, which is comprised of largely Scandinavian members and includes 21 Norwegians, had to evacuate. About 60 unarmed international observers reside at the center. Palestinian police... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1574518/posts#comment Wed, 8 Feb 2006 20:00:07 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1570274/posts Two militant Palestinian groups have threatened Norwegian, Danish and French diplomats as tensions continued to rise over published caricatures of the prophet Mohammed. "All citizens and diplomats from these countries can be seen as a target for the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade," read a joint statement from the two groups. A PRC spokesman, Abu Mudjahid, emphasized that the threat pertained to citizens of these countries who are in the Palestinian territories, and that the threat was extremely serious. "We demand that the offices and consulates of these three countries close. If this does not occur,... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1570274/posts#comment Thu, 2 Feb 2006 18:21:09 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1570269/posts A merger that could create the largest salmon company in the world is the heart of recent business rumors in Oslo. Salmon has been good business on the Oslo stock exchange in recent days. One obvious reason is good market conditions for the fish, but backstage discussions center around coming changes in the industry. "Unconfirmed reports say that the two listed companies Pan Fish and Fjord Seafood are negotiating a merger with Marine Harvest," business newspaper Finansavisen reports. Marine Harvest is the salmon division of Dutch food giant Nutreco, the world's largest salmon farmer. Marine Harvest is to be spun... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1570269/posts#comment Thu, 2 Feb 2006 18:18:24 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1561598/posts The Coast Guard ship KV "Tromsø" intended to fire on the Russian trawler "Elektron" during the illegal fishing drama that ended with two Norwegian inspectors being driven off against their will. Newspaper Nordlys based this claim on "extremely well informed sources". Coast Guard chief Geir Olsen would not confirm the story. "In regard to what measures we consider taking in different situations and at what level these lie, these are factors that we never comment," Olsen told the newspaper. The Nordlys story fits in with what the Russian captain of the "Elektron" told Norwegian media after the event. Captain Valery... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1561598/posts#comment Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:42:32 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1558849/posts Norway's northern city of Tromsø is in the midst of its warmest January ever. The spring-like weather is causing problems for efforts to promote winter tourism. This couple enjoyed a spring-like stroll along the waterfront at Tromsø last Sunday. January has never been warmer in northern Norway. A hotel carved out of ice in Finnmark is melting, and snowy trails for sledding have all but been destroyed during the recent spate of warm temperatures. "The mild weather and lack of snow has made things very difficult," Jens Harald Jenssen of tourism group "Finnmark Reiseliv" told newspaper Altaposten. He and his... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1558849/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jan 2006 12:15:05 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1557269/posts Female ministers are furious over Oslo vicar Einar Gelius' plans to sit on the jury of the committee to choose Norway's representative in the Miss Universe pageant. "I think it is repulsive that middle-aged men ogle 16-year-old girls in underwear. The situation is not made any better by one of the men being a clergyman," youth vicar Margit Louise Holte told newspaper VG. This year's qualification pageant has been advertised by organizers as "sexier and more playful than ever". In addition to bikini sequences and personal videos by contestants, segments will include underwear modeling for the first time. Gelius, who... https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1557269/posts#comment Fri, 13 Jan 2006 11:26:07 GMT