NordenBladet —Tesla has been ordered to pay fines of 136,000 Kroner – approximately $16,000 – to thousands of its customers in Norway due to reduced battery capacities and charging speeds of its vehicles.
Following a software update in 2019, several Norwegian customers have been noticing a significant reduction in mileage ranges with certain 2013-2015 Model S and X models.
According to Nettavisen, Tesla reportedly failed to respond to the Norway lawsuit and a judgment was made in absentia. If Tesla fails to appeal, the company has until May 31st to pay fines.
As part of the current lawsuit, 30 customers will each receive payments of 136,000 Kroner, but it was estimated that the affected models were sold approximately 10,000 times during the period. Currently, it’s unclear if more customers will be affected by the reduced battery capacities of the vehicles.
NordenBladet – Norway begins its Easter holiday on Friday while the country is in the third wave of the pandemic, and everyone is living under strict infection control measures. However, people are allowed to travel to private holiday homes; this was not allowed during Easter of last year. Therefore, the Royal Court announced on Thursday afternoon that the royals would travel to their cabins in the mountains this Easter.
The King and Queen will again spend the holiday at the so-called “Prince Cabin” in Sikkilsdalen, after being at Kongsseteren in Oslo last year. From Kongsseteren last year, in the early stages of the pandemic, the King and Queen spoke to the nation in a holiday greeting and asked the people to trust the authorities and meet the future with a fighting spirit.
Traditionally, the royal couple travels to the Norwegian mountains on the Friday before Palm Sunday. The cabin called “Prinsehytta” (English: The Prince’s Cabin) is usually used by the King and Queen during the Easter festivities. His Majesty also uses the cabin on his annual hunting holiday during the autumn. The cabin is relatively basic and is sheltered from the public and media. There, the Royal Family usually use their time to go skiing and to relax.
It is not confirmed what Princess Martha Louise will do during Easter, but it is expected that she will stay in her private home just outside the capital of Oslo. The Crown Prince’s family will travel to their cabin in Uvdal. On Thursday, the volunteers from the Red Cross met at Sem in Asker, where they were presented with the Red Cross’ plans for emergency preparedness at Easter. This event was attended by Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. During the event, the Crown Princess said: “It is no secret that this will be a very difficult Easter for many. We really appreciate the work that the volunteers do and that there is a contingency for all those who are struggling.”
The announcement that the royals will not celebrate Easter together is not surprising. It has been several years since Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, together with their children, travelled with the King and Queen to Sikkildalen. The Crown Prince Couple bought two areas in Uvdal in 2007, and the following year their private cottage was built there.
Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has marked World Down Syndrome Day with a message underlining how important every member of society is. In a heartfelt greeting, the Princess spoke of the vital role the awareness day can make by reminding us to celebrate that all people are unique.
In a video message, published by the Royal Court on March 21, Princess Martha Louise said: “Congratulations on World Day for Down Syndrome. Today we celebrate that each of us is completely unique. We celebrate that all people are equally valuable. We celebrate that we are all both happy and sad about each other. That is what it is to be human.”
Princess Märtha Louise continued: “It has been a special year for all of us. Many have felt even more lonely without the regular activities that mean so much – and with less human contact than usual. Now we all hope that we will soon move towards brighter times. So today, on World Day for Down Syndrome, there is good reason to celebrate anyway. We celebrate that everyone is equally unique. Congratulations everyone!”
Princess Martha Louise has made supporting people with physical and mental health difficulties a mainstay of her royal work. The Princess Märtha Louise Fund was established on 15 September 1972. The fund’s capital is used to support measures in Norway to help children with disabilities and the Princess also visits associations and initiatives that have received support from the fund. Her Majesty Queen Sonja is also involved in the fund’s work and sits on the board together with Princess Martha and a number of other prominent people.
In addition to her fund, the princess has agreed to be a patron for several organizations that work for the rights of those with disabilities. Among other organizations, the princess is the high protector of the Association for Muscle Disease, the National Association of the Hearing Impaired, the Norwegian Association of the Blind, the Norwegian Association of the Deaf as well as the Norwegian Rheumatism Association.
What is World Down Syndrome Day? World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) , 21 March, is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The date for WDSD being the 21st day of the 3rd month, was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome.
NordenBladet – The funeral of Erling Lorentzen has taken place at Asker church outside Oslo. Erling Lorentzen was the husband of Princess Ragnhild, the son-in-law of King Olav and the brother-in-law of King Harald.
The Norwegian Royal Family was among the congregation with King Harald, Queen Sonja, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Crown Prince Haakon, Princess Märtha Louise and Princess Astrid all paying their last respects. King Harald walked on his own, but used two crutches.
The funeral was conducted in Norwegian and Portuguese and Erling Lorentzen’s coffin was draped with both the Norwegian and Brazilian flags. Only parts of his family attended owing to coronavirus restrictions. Erling Lorentzen and Princess Ragnhild’s son, Haakon, was not present as he is living in Brazil and thought it was not justifiable for him to travel to Norway. Instead, a memorial speech by him was read by his cousin during the funeral.
The funeral was broadcast live on TV by NRK and TV2. The funeral was only open to invited guests due to the ongoing pandemic. Princess Ragnhild is buried in Asker cemetery and Erling Lorentzen will be laid to rest in the same grave as his wife.
In connection with the declaration of death, a small poem was published at Erling Lorentzen’s own request: “Do not cry over the fact that I am dead, but rejoice that I have lived”. Many members of Lorentzen’s family live and work in Brazil. They had to spend ten days in quarantine before attending the funeral.
Erling Lorentzen, widower of Princess Ragnhild, died at the age of 98 on 9 March this year. Lorentzen was married to Princess Ragnhild from 1953 until her death in 2012. The news was announced on by the Norwegian news agency NTB on behalf of Lorentzen’s family and was shortly afterwards confirmed in a statement from the royal court.
The Royal court stated that Mr. Lorentzen passed away on Tuesday 9 March 2021 at 01.30am following a short illness. King Harald said on behalf of the entire Royal Family: “It is with great sadness that we have received the sad message that Erling Sven Lorentzen has passed away. Our thoughts go to his loved ones, who have lost a good father, father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather.”
Erling Lorentzen himself played a central role in the resistance work during World War II. He was 17 years old when he enlisted in the fight against the Germans and later he became an officer in the resistance movement and bodyguard for the Royal Family. Erling Lorentzen was regular guest with the royals on many occasions and King Harald has previously referred to him as a brother.
NordenBladet – Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway has attended the digital opening of an exhibition with painter Anna Ancher at Lillehammer Art Museum. The exhibition “Anna Ancher – Skagen’s inner and outer space” is the largest collection of art from Anna Ancher outside Denmark ever. The Norwegian Queen has always been very involved in art and has put it high on her agenda. Queen Sonja is herself an artist and is best known for her graphic prints and large painted vases which have won international recognition.
In her opening speech, on March 18th, Queen Sonja said: “Anna Ancher’s paintings are comfortable for both the eye ad the mind. Nevertheless, they are also challenging. When you study the soul of her work, and the different versions of the same motif, you discover that she forces us to focus on what is important, peel away the insignificant”.
Queen Sonja had already been given a closed tour of the exhibition during a private visit to the exhibition earlier in the week. The Queen was accompanied by curator, Cecilie Skeide, and artist, Hanne Borchgrevink, who painted the walls in the exhibition. The Queen thanked the museum and everyone involved for creating an exhibition under demanding conditions as the infection rates of coronavirus in Norway have increased sharply in the last two weeks.
The Queen continued: “Art life suffers from the pandemic. Moreover, we, who usually find nourishment, joy of life and inspiration through art experiences, we long for more art. Therefore, this exhibition conveys in both concrete and abstract sense – light. Thank you very much for this.”
Anna Ancher was born in 1859 and died in 1935. She is one of the Nordic region’s most important artists in the period 1880-1920. Her sunny interiors and intimate portraits belong to the Nordic art form. The exhibition consists of almost 200 paintings, many drawings and an extensive contextual material with letters, sketchbooks, photographs and cultural-historical objects. The exhibition is a collaboration between the National Museum of Art in Copenhagen and Skagen’s Art Museums, where it was shown to more than 250,000 people last year.
NordenBladet – Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has launched this year’s literature-train in a story on Instagram that was published earlier this week. This year’s literature-train will run as a digital event that will take place through four conservations with some of the Crown Princess’ favourite authors.
Her Royal Highness published the following message: “Hi, dear all. On Thursday, this year’s literature train starts here on Instagram. I have brought with me some of the authors that I should have had with me on last year’s train, which of course did not happen due to the coronavirus. Then on Thursday at 7 PM, I will talk to Alf van der Hagen. He mostly writes books about other people. I am really looking forward to it and hope you feel like joining and listening to the first of a total of four conversations I will have with authors that I greatly appreciate. You are most welcome to join.”
The Norwegian Crown Princess is very interested in literature and books. She wants to share her joy of reading and to spread the power of good literature through her personal conviction that there is a book for everyone. Over time, Crown Princess Mette-Marit has participated in a number of literary events. In 2017, the Crown Princess took on the role of ambassador for Norwegian literature abroad.
In the Crown Princess’ literary agenda, however, there is one event that holds a special position: the Literature Train. In recent years, the Crown Princess has embarked on a literary train journey every spring, with events at libraries and literature houses along the way. The main goal of Crown Princess Mette-Marit`s “literature-train” is to reach a wider range of the population to increase awareness and enjoyment of literature.
In 2019, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit chose to switch her annual “literature train” to a more urban “literature metro”. Instead of using some of Norway’s long and remote train lines to promote literature to young people, she used the metro-system in Oslo city to reach young people with her message. In addition, that year, for the first time, the Crown Princess’ literature train went abroad. With a course for the book fair in Frankfurt, the train started in Berlin and ended in Frankfurt.
Featured image: Det Norske Kongehus Instagram Still/ Fair Use
NordenBladet – Oslo Airport has welcomed a new electrically operated de-icing unit, the Vestergaard Elephant e-BETA, for the final few weeks of winter. In a first of its kind trial in Europe, the airport believes that the Menzies Aviation operated vehicle will improve the performance of its aircraft de-icing operation and lower its carbon footprint.
Indeed, initial tests indicate that using the electrically driven de-icing truck will reduce greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, by 87% per vehicle each year.
Avinor’s director of airport services at Oslo Airport, Ole Petter Storstad, said: “Avinor has a goal that its own operations at Oslo Airport will be fossil-free by 2030.
“We are therefore pleased that our partners are working in the same direction and have a green focus when they further develop their services.”
Menzies is currently operating 11 Vestergaard rigs as part of their de-icing fleet at Oslo Airport, one of the world’s busiest de-icing hubs.
This trial complements Menzies’ ‘Go Green’ project, established in Oslo in 2018, through which Menzies has made significant investment into reduced-emissions ground handling equipment to reduce its carbon footprint, with 90% of ramp equipment replaced with modern, electric units last year.
Should the trial be successful and the Vestergaard Elephant e-BETA rolled out, 97% of Menzies’ Oslo-based ground support equipment would be electric.
Thomas Hoff Andersson, vice president of Northern Europe for Menzies Aviation, said: “The successful trial of this electrically-driven de-icer promises to bolster not only the sustainability of our de-icing operations at Oslo Airport, but the sustainability of the industry at large.”
NordenBladet — In the second half of 2020, Norway became the biggest net exporter of electricity in Europe, sending a fifth of its power generation abroad, states Bloomberg.
Norway surpassed France to take the number one spot due to a boost in output as a precaution to avoid the country’s dams from bursting due to unusually wet weather in 2020.
Alena Nispel, an analyst at the energy consultancy, Enappsys, “Norwegian power prices remained low, which made it an attractive economic proposition for other countries to meet their electricity demand by taking some of the excess from Norway.” Nispel followed by stating that the country’s lead “could remain for some time, especially with neighboring countries such as Denmark relying on Norway for supplies.”
According to Bloomberg, Norway’s role as a power exporter comes even as it pushes to electrify everything from transport to heating and industry. Around five million Norwegian consumers use about the same amount of power as 10 million in neighboring Sweden.
NordenBladet —The Norwegian Data Protection Authority has fined the dating app Grindr 100 million Norwegian Krone ($11.7m) for illegally sharing personal information with advertisers, a recent investigation has revealed.
Due to the highly personal nature of the information shared, which included details on user location, sexual orientation, and mental health, the fine was notably high, roughly 10% of Grindr’s global annual revenue.
The director of digital policy in Norway’s Consumer Council, Finn Myrstad, states, “This is a milestone in the ongoing work to ensure that consumers’ privacy is protected online. The Data Protection Authority has clearly established that it is unacceptable for companies to collect and share personal data without users’ permission.”
As part of a counter-argument put forward by Grindr, the app argued that sexual orientation was not exposed as some users may actually be heterosexual. This claim was rejected by the Norwegian authorities as Grindr promotes itself explicitly as “exclusively for the gay/bi community”.
“If you rely on unlawful ‘consent’ you are subject to a hefty fine. This does not only concern Grindr but many websites and apps,” explained Ala Krinickyte, data protection lawyer at noyb, the European Center for Digital Rights.
NordenBladet – Crown Prince Haakon of Norway has met four Norwegian sailors on board ships around the world in a digital chat to show his support for their ongoing work. His Royal Highness wanted to thank the many Norwegian sailors who work every day to ensure that essential goods are transported during the ongoing pandemic.
About 80 % of the world’s retail trade is transported by sea. Crown Prince Haakon also met with representatives of the seafarers’ organizations and the shipping industry during the digital voyage. His Royal Highness said to the sailors: “Thank you for your efforts to keep society and the vessels going.
Director Harald Solberg of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association began the meeting by talking about how crucial ships are for us all to get what we need in everyday life, for industry and for energy production at sea. The Norwegian fleet is the world’s fourth largest in value and Norwegian shipping companies operate about 1800 ships and rigs worldwide.
Shipping was early defined as socially critical by the Norwegian authorities when the pandemic started last year. Many sailors from Norway are employed for long periods during the pandemic and are also quarantined for several periods as a result of infection control measures and travel restrictions. Challenges with land law refusal and crew changes were a recurring theme during the conversation with the Crown Prince.
The first who met digitally with the Norwegian Crown Prince was Captain Kjell Arne Hevrøy who attended the meeting from the chemical tanker Bow Excellence in the Atlantic Ocean, four days away from a port in South Carolina in the USA. Chief shop steward Kim Lekva Velve in Solstad Offshore, deck cadet Seline Henriksen on board Havila Subsea and chief engineer Per Rydheim on Hurtigruten Nordkapp also told about everyday life at sea and what extra challenges they have faced during the pandemic.
Crown Prince Haakon is currently the official regent of Norway after his father, King Harald, underwent a successful knee operation last weekend. Crown Prince Haakon will rule Norway as regent until and including Sunday 14 February, after which King Harald will resume his duties and hence also power as regent of Norway.
