NordenBladet – It was an American Christmas for Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her daughters.
For Christmas 2020, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and her daughters were gathered with the Crown Prince’s Family at the Skaugum Estate for a magnificent Christmas celebration. They also celebrated there in 2019, when large parts of the family were gathered.
However, this Christmas, the Norwegian Royal Family celebrated without Princess Märtha Louise and her children, who had made other plans outside the Norwegian borders.
Princess Märtha Louise and all three of her daughters boarded a plane to the USA before Christmas to celebrate with the Princess’s boyfriend, the American Shaman Durek Verrett, in Los Angeles.
Small glimpses of the Christmas celebration have also been caught in on social media. Durek has shared a photo on his Instagram’s story function, where he is seen posing with Märtha Louise, Leah Isadora Behn and Maud Angelica Behn. Several are dressed in elf costumes. On the other hand, Emma Tallulah Behn is not seen in the picture, but she was present.
Shaman Durek Verrett has celebrated Christmas in Norway twice, but this year, it was time for him to show off his Christmas celebration in Los Angeles to his girlfriend and her daughters.
Norwegian media recently wrote about Durek’s state of health and about how the Princess has shown invaluable support to her boyfriend. Durek has issues with his kidneys and must have dialysis several times a week. Therefore, he can not travel far.
Christmas gave a different meaning to Princess Märtha Louise and her family two years ago, when Ari Behn – the Princess’s ex-husband and father of her three children – died. Märtha Louise has been open about her grief also this year. Before Christmas, she shared a photo on Instagram of a Christmas calendar, sewn by her mother, Queen Sonja, given to Princess Märtha Louise in her childhood. Märtha Louise says the calendar contributes to light in darkness they can experience in the run-up to Christmas.
The Norwegian Princess’s daughters start school this week. It is, therefore, expected that they will return to Norway at the beginning of this week, but it is not known if Princess Martha Louise will return to Norway at the same time.
NordenBladet – The government has announced a temporary scheme that will help ordinary people across Norway to cope with their electricity bills this winter, with energy prices recently reaching new record highs. The scheme will provide support to households to allow them to deal with extraordinary electricity prices through a deduction on their bill.
‘An extraordinary situation like this requires extraordinary measures in response. I am happy that we are now in a position to announce positive, targeted action that will help ordinary people to weather this electricity bill crisis. It is a forceful response to what we are aware many people are finding to be a difficult and serious situation,’ says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
Support will be available to households for up to 5000 kilowatt hours of monthly electricity use. The scheme will take effect as of December 2021 and remain in place until the end of March 2022 and is to be administered by the Transmission System Operators (TSOs). The government will present the scheme as a proposition to the Storting as quickly as possible. The scheme is in addition to previously announced measures including housing assistance and student support.
‘This scheme will see about NOK 5 billion spent directly on paying the most expensive component of people’s bills. This will be in addition to reductions in the electrical power tax, increased housing assistance and improvements to student support. We have focused on helping as many people as possible – when spending this much money, it is important for everyone to feel the benefit. We hope that these measures will provide a little more breathing space for many people as we enter the Christmas period, regardless of whether you live in a draughty house, a flat or a farm,’ says Minister of Finance, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum.
The scheme will provide a deduction on household electricity bills at times when prices are extraordinarily high. When the average market rate for electricity exceeds 70 øre per kilowatt hour for one month, the state will provide a rebate of half the amount beyond this ceiling. The share paid for by the state will be deducted from the bill by the TSO or electricity provider.
‘Households will now see a reduction on their bill when electricity costs are extraordinarily high. Plans are already in place to implement the first reduction of this kind in January when electricity bills for use in December are due for payment. This scheme will benefit ordinary people throughout Norway,’ says Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Marte Mjøs Persen.
The scheme is designed to ensure that it will still pay to reduce your electricity use.
The household support scheme is part of a larger package of measures intended to help electricity customers.
Facts about the scheme:
If the average electricity spot price in a month exceeds 70 øre per kilowatt hour, the state will provide support for household electricity bills.
Norway’s power grid is divided into five different pricing zones. The spot price for electricity in the pricing zone that a household is located in will be used as the basis for calculating any support due.
The state will provide a rebate of half the price beyond the ceiling of 70 øre per kilowatt hour up to a maximum of 5,000 kWh per month. The rebate amount will be independent of which type of electricity package a household has.
Examples:
For a household living in a self-contained house that uses 3,280 kilowatt hours of energy in December, the scheme will provide support of up to NOK 1,025 for the month. For a household living in a flat that uses 1,336 kilowatt hours of energy in December, the scheme will provide support of up to NOK 418. The formulae use a sample rate for power in Southern Norway for the month of December that is equivalent to 120 øre per kilowatt hour.
The actual level of support will depend on how much electricity is used by each household and how energy prices develop in your local area.
Overview of key measures in the government’s electricity package:
Direct support for electricity customers in terms of the distribution network tariff: approximately NOK 5 billion (including VAT).
Reductions in electrical power tax: NOK 2.9 billion.
Housing assistance: NOK 1,500 per month per household for the period December–March. Households comprising multiple persons will receive a supplement of NOK 150 per additional person beyond the first resident.
Student support: Increased support for students worth NOK 3,000, of which NOK 1,200 will be a non-repayable grant. NOK 190 million.
Efficient energy use initiatives under the auspices of Enova: NOK 100 million.
Compensation to municipalities in relation to additional costs incurred around the provision of financial welfare assistance measures worth NOK 100 million.
Additionally, the government has initiated dialogue with the TSOs in order to enable the deferment of payments for more customers.
NordenBladet —The Norwegian Information Council for Road Traffic has recently stated that rechargeable hybrid or electric cars make up for 90 percent of cars in Norway, according to the country’s car sales in September 2021.
Out of all cards sold in 2021, less than 5% are petrol-powered, with a smaller percentage using diesel fuel.
The sales of all-electric cars have increased by around 46% since September 2020. Around 8 in 10 new passenger vehicles were all-electric; Tesla Model Y took the lead vehicle of choice for Norwegians.
This increase pushes the country towards its national goal of transitioning to an entirely zero-emission fleet of new cars by 2025.
It was noted that there are a few factors why Norwegian drivers choose electricity over petrol or diesel fuel, including new technology that has eased customers’ anxiety about the range of electric vehicles.
NordenBladet —A study conducted by the driving institute Zutobi has found that Norway takes pole position for the country with the most expensive driving fines compared to the rest of Europe.
The study found that Norway fines the most for drink-driving, running red lights, and motorway speeding.
Being 0.02 percent over the blood alcohol limit will set offenders back at least €5,783. This amount is extremely high compared to other countries such as the Czech Republic, where drink-driving penalties start at €19.
Norway also tops the charts for the most expensive fines for running red lights, with penalties of up to €756. The lowest penalties in Europe for ignoring stop signs are in Albania, with a minimum fine of only €10.
Speeding on motorways in Norway will cost offenders up to €711 for exceeding the 110km/h speed limit, reaching second on the list; Italy taking the number one spot for the strictest speeding fines.
The study was gathered by Zutobi based on data provided by Speeding Europe, SCBD, and Auto Europe.
NordenBladet —A new law passed in Norway will make it illegal for social media influencers and advertisers to share promotional photos without making it clear to the audience that the images were edited or manipulated.
The law, which is an amendment to the 2009 Marketing and Control Act, was passed on 2nd June and is set to go into effect whenever the King of Norway decides, according to the legislative decree.
Now, images that have been edited or manipulated using filters on social media – such as “enlarged lips, narrowed waists, and exaggerated muscles” – will need to be disclosed. The law concerns those receiving payment or exchange for their posts, impacting social media influencers, brands, and companies.
The law was proposed in parliament to lessen the negative impacts of body pressure on young people.
In Norway, anorexia is the third most common cause of death among young girls, as reported by the National Institute of Public Health.
NordenBladet —Norway’s capital Oslo is set to reduce the number of electric scooters available for rent, which also includes a ban on rentals at night.
Due to a high number of scooter-related accidents over the summer, Oslo will be reducing the amount of electric scooter rentals permitted throughout the city – a city with the most electric scooters per inhabitant.
These new regulations mean that the number of scooters found dotted around the streets will be reduced to roughly 8,000 from the 30,000 that can be currently used.
Richard Kongsteien, Communications Director at Oslo’s Urban Environment Agency, told VG, “During the work on the regulations, we obtained figures from large cities and scooters. Oslo was miles above all other cities in the world in terms of the number of scooters per inhabitant.”
These new regulations were approved by Oslo City Council on 13th July 2021 but will not be enforced until September. Until then, Oslo is insisting scooter rental companies adopt these new regulations as soon as possible.
NordenBladet —A meteor has stunned Norwegians when it entered Earth’s atmosphere in the southeast part of the country on Sunday 25th July.
Researchers have suggested that the meteor may have crashed in Finnemarka, a nature preserve roughly 60 km west of the country’s capital, Oslo.
The Norwegian Meteor Network explained that onlookers could watch the event for around five seconds as it shot across the sky at roughly 1 AM local time.
Witnesses to the event stated that they saw extreme flashes of light over the city, followed by loud bangs. So much so that Norwegian police commented that it received several emergency calls from shocked locals but no reports of damage or injuries.
The Norwegian Meteor Network noted that the meteor could be seen over large parts of southern Scandinavia, including Norway and Sweden. The Network mentioned that the object was traveling at roughly 16.3km/s and possibly weighed at least 10kg.
Morten Bilet, a member of The Norwegian Meteor Network, described the event as “spooky,” but not something that should be of concern.
NordenBladet —An agreement has been announced by the Norwegian government that is set to allocate 100 million Krone to provide healthy and nutritious food for the population of Niger.
This initiative is in connection with the launch of the Government’s new strategy for the Sahel region and a part of a joint project between Care Norway and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU).
Dag-Inge Ulstein, Norway’s Minister of International Development, states, “This agreement will strengthen food security in one of Africa’s most vulnerable countries. Niger is one of our partner countries in the Sahel region and faces significant challenges relating to conflict, poverty, exponential population growth, and climate change. It is especially important to help steer farming activities in a more climate-resilient direction. I am pleased that we can support the continuation of Care Norway’s constructive project in Niger and make such good use of the widespread expertise of researchers at NMBU.”
The initiative is set to have a duration of five years to provide better and healthier food for 280,000 people through small-scale farming and a means of creating new jobs within the region. A vital aspect of the project is entrepreneurship training for women and young people.
The project will actively use social media, radio, and national television to ensure that the project becomes renowned throughout Niger.
NordenBladet — Iceland and Norway have struck a trade deal with the UK for digital paperwork that will reduce time and costs that now come with border bureaucracy post-Brexit.
The trade deal came after months of tough talks between the UK and Norwegian governments and has been labeled as pioneering in its scope and measures by securing tariff-free trade in industrial goods.
As part of the deal, Norway has reduced its duties in twenty-six areas of agriculture, such as cheese. The deal also allows caps on the charges mobile operators can charge each other for international mobile roaming, which is a world-first in a free trade deal.
Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, stated that it was vital to secure an agreement with the UK as the UK is Norway’s second-biggest trading partner outside of the EU.
The trade deal also allows highly skilled UK professionals to enter Norway and Iceland for business motives and includes recognizing various professional qualifications, including nurses, lawyers, and vets.
NordenBladet — PiparTBWA and The Engine won the European Search Award for the best search campaign in the fashion category for Norwegian wool clothing manufacturer Lanullva.
“When we started working for this client, they were on board with all the changes we proposed. We redesigned the look of the company as a whole, from the product itself, knitting patterns, to improving the user experience on their website. It went very well and this was one of the first customers we took from a to z in Norway,” says Ísak Winther, Design and Concept Manager for PiparTBWA in Oslo.
PiparTBWA bought the Oslo based advertising agency last summer in the middle of a pandemic. Changing the name of that agency to PiparTBWA it now operates in both Reykjavík and Oslo offices under the same brand.
Expanding the domestic market
“Lanullva.com wanted to expand its domestic market in Norway. We developed a marketing strategy that was very successful for the company – awareness and visibility increased, business multiplied and the customer base grew significantly. The problems we were struggling with most during the campaigns were product shortages. We repeatedly sold out all of the company’s stock. It’s a fun problem to have,” says Haukur Jarl Kristjánsson, Head of Digital Campaigns at PiparTBWA and The Engine.
Opening in the middle of a pandemic went surprisingly well
“This award and the success we have achieved with Lanullva is an example of how powerful it is to have offices in Iceland and Norway. It was difficult to open an office in another country in the middle of a pandemic, but at the same time everyone was so ready to work remotely that in some ways it was very good to be doing this at that time. Much of the work for Lanullva was done in Iceland, but part of the team was in Oslo and it did not matter. The result was great and now we have set ourselves new goals to achieve with this business partnership,” says Valgeir Magnússon, CEO of PiparTBWA in Oslo.
