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| Relationship between Norway, North Dakota celebrated |
| [Norwaynews] [04.07.2009, 07:42am, Sat. GMT] |
Independence Day observances for 30 people with ties to North Dakota began a week early this year when they participated in a June 28 ceremony in Oslo, Norway, organized by Norwegian officials that recognized the ties North Dakota has with the Scandinavian nation. The guest speaker at the annual ceremony in front of the bust of Abraham Lincoln in Oslo’s Frogner Park was former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale, now the honorary consul general to Norway. In his remarks, Mondale called Lincoln “America’s greatest president.
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More news
| Theatre of Terror - Norway temporarily shuts embassy in Pakistan |
| [Norwaynews] [02.07.2009, 01:16pm, Thu. GMT] |
Oslo - Norway on Thursday said it has decided to close its embassy in Pakistan until Friday, citing the general security situation and an assessment of the threat situation. A Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman contacted by the German Press Agency dpa declined to offer further details or state if embassy staff had been evacuated. A Swedish newspaper last week reported on the arrest of a man who allegedly plotted to bomb western embassies in Islamabad, including the Norwegian and Swedish embassies.
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| | | | Gro Brækken to head OLF from 2010 |
| [Norwaynews] [01.07.2009, 07:07pm, Wed. GMT] |
| The board of the Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF) has appointed Gro Brækken to succeed Per Terje Vold as chief executive with effect from 1 January 2010. She is currently secretary-general of Save the Children Norway. "We are very pleased that Ms Brækken has accepted the offer of this post," says Steinar Våge, chair of the OLF board. "She has had a distinguished career with both voluntary organisations and the business sector in Norway, and we look forward to benefiting from her broad experience." |
| | | | U.S. Embassy in Oslo celebrate Independence Day |
| [Norwaynews] [30.06.2009, 04:40pm, Tue. GMT] |
The U.S. Embassy in Oslo celebrated Independence Day on June 18 this year. They celebrate early every year before friends and contacts head off for summer vacation. The occasion also marked the farewell to Ambassador Whitney after his 3 1/2 years as the U.S. Ambassador to Norway. Th Ambassador and his family left for Washington D.C. two days later. The 1000 guests did not let the pouring rain stop them from joining us in the garden of the Ambassador’s residence Villa Otium to eat hamburgers, listen to the U.S. Navy Brass Band ‘The Diplomats’ and taste the more than forty U.S. wines offered in our special wine tasting.
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| | | | Norway Nationals - "Entry Denied" |
| [Norwaynews] [29.06.2009, 10:28am, Mon. GMT] |
 A Norwegian family of actors has been denied entry to Israel, because their Interior Ministry believes they may try to settle there. The family members play the main roles in the musical "The Covenant," which tells the story of the People of Israel. They were planning to perform around Israel this summer. The couple, Elizabeth and Robert Muren, wrote and composed the musical about the history of the Jewish People from Abraham until today. The late Israeli composer Ehud Manor translated the show into Hebrew, and even wrote the family a letter of recommendation, calling them "wonderful and talented ... enthusiastic Zionists and true lovers of the State of Israel and the Jewish People."
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| | | | New job for head of Special Branch |
| [Norwaynews] [28.06.2009, 09:20pm, Sun. GMT] |
| Head of the Norwegian Police Special Branch (PST), Joern Holme, has been appointed new head of the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings (Riksantikvar) for a term of six years. In his capacity he will also act as expert adviser for the Department of the Environment. The 49-year old lawyer Holme has been head of the PST since 2004. |
| | | | Norwegian GDP second highest in Europe |
| [Norwaynews] [27.06.2009, 08:56pm, Sat. GMT] |
| According to figures recently released by Euro stat, Norway had the second highest price level adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Europe in 2008. GDP per capita is often used as an estimate of the material prosperity of a country. In 2008 the price level adjusted GDP per capita in Norway was 90 per cent above average of the 27 EU countries (EU27). Only Luxembourg is above Norway. Other countries with a high GDP per capita are Switzerland, Ireland and the Netherlands. |
| | | | New Zurich-Oslo service. |
| [Norwaynews] [27.06.2009, 07:49pm, Sat. GMT] |
| The two daily flights, operated by Airbus A319 aircraft, will offer two tonnes of cargo capacity on the route and strengthen Swiss World Cargo’s position in the Scandinavian market. A major shipping nation with a high dependence on international trade, Norway is essentially an exporter of raw materials and semi-processed goods. Norway is rich in natural resources that include oil, hydro power, fish, forests and minerals. It is currently among the world’s top five exporters in the seafood, crude oil and shipping services sectors, and has significant market shares in the light metals and ship equipment fields as well as in a number of maritime services. |
| | | | Two suspected suicide bombers arrested in Pakistani capital |
| [Norwaynews] [26.06.2009, 07:43am, Fri. GMT] |
 Two suspected suicide bombers were arrested in Islamabad. According to reports the man had planned to blow up the Norwegian and Swedish embassies in the city. Meanwhile the Inspector General of Police for Islamabad Syed Kaleem Imam said that in the last month, twenty five suspects have been arrested in the capital on charges of terrorism. Imam said they were arrested while planning attacks in the major cities of the country. |
| | | | Serbian court sentences ex-soldier to prison for war crimes |
| [Norwaynews] [23.06.2009, 06:52pm, Tue. GMT] |
A Belgrade war crimes court on Tuesday sentenced a former member of ex Yugoslav army to 20 years in prison for war crimes committed in Croatia in 1991, local media reported. The court sentenced Damir Sireta for murdering Croatian prisoners of war in Ovcara farm near Vukovar, eastern Croatia in 1991. Sireta was arrested in December 2006 in Norway and was extradited to Serbia in May 2008.
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| | | | Norwegian journalists attacked in Georgia |
| [Norwaynews] [20.06.2009, 06:21pm, Sat. GMT] |
| The Norwegian freelance journalist Ragnar Skre was Friday night attack by five armed men in his own apartment in Tbilisi in Georgia. At the 22-time local time called it on the door at the home of the Norwegian in the Georgian capital, writes Aftenposten. When he opened the door, it was a masked man who held a gun to my head, "says Skre. A total of five men took him into the apartment, and Norwegian was pushed to the floor. |
| | | | Norwegian girl dragged 4km under car |
| [Norwaynews] [19.06.2009, 03:20pm, Fri. GMT] |
| A 13-year-old Norwegian girl is in hospital with serious injuries after a bizarre road accident in which she was dragged 4km under a car before being discovered, still conscious, and rescued, police said. The girl was probably first hit by a truck, then run over by passenger car which followed it, getting stuck underneath. "She has serious injuries but is stable," an official from the Oslo hospital to which she was taken said. |
| | | | Children’s houses established in Norway |
| [Norwaynews] [19.06.2009, 11:53am, Fri. GMT] |
| A year and a half after the first children’s house was established in Norway, almost 700 children who have been exposed or subjected to abuse have received assistance, care and treatment at children’s houses nationwide. “I am pleased to be able to confirm that the children’s houses are functioning as intended, and that children who are exposed to violence and abuse are now receiving all the help they need at one and the same location,” says the Norwegian Minister of Justice, Knut Storberget. |
| | | | Royal visit to Mongstad |
| [Norwaynews] [17.06.2009, 08:45pm, Wed. GMT] |
| Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja visited StatoilHydro’s facility at Mongstad north of Bergen today, June 17. The visit is part of the programme for the royal couple’s three-day round trip in the county of Hordaland. “We are pleased that King Harald and Queen Sonja are showing an interest in the Mongstad facility by including us in their programme,” said head of the Mongstad facility Kjell Petter Aanes. He guided them around the facility. During their visit the royal couple were briefed about the current work on the Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM). They were also able to take a closer look at the site allocated to the large-scale centre for carbon capture and storage. |
| | | | New Opera Unite reinvents the Web |
| [Norwaynews] [17.06.2009, 03:29pm, Wed. GMT] |
| Norway’s Opera Software opened a new, free service on June 16 that enables simple sharing of personal computers’ pictures, files or music with anyone on the Internet. Opera unveiled Opera Unite, a new technology that shakes up the old client-server computing model of the Web. Opera Unite turns any computer into both a client and a server, allowing it to interact with and serve content to other computers directly across the Web, without the need for third-party servers. |
| | | | Mediators Reflect on Oslo Peacemaking |
| [Norwaynews] [17.06.2009, 07:54am, Wed. GMT] |
 Some of the world's most experienced mediators, high-level decision makers and key peace process actors will meet in Oslo, Norway, from 16-18 June 2009, to share their experiences of peacemaking and reflect on current mediation processes. Some of the world's most experienced mediators, high-level decision makers and key peace process actors will meet in Oslo, Norway, from 16-18 June 2009, to share their experiences of peacemaking and reflect on current mediation processes.
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| | | | Global Leaders Devise Plan to Save Millions of Mothers and their Babies |
| [Norwaynews] [16.06.2009, 08:59pm, Tue. GMT] |
The 2009 report of the Global Campaign of the Health MDGs was presented today at a luncheon at the UN, hosted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Foreign Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre. The report shows the way forward in coping with serious health challenges for mothers and children in a time of economic crisis. 2009 is a key year for the world’s poorest. The global economic crisis has so far driven more than 50 million people into extreme poverty, particularly women and children. Lessons from previous crisis have shown that setbacks for the poorest take a long time to put right, so the need for action is urgent.
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| | | | Development of offshore wind farms has been restricted to places where turbines can be attached to the sea bed. |
| [Norwaynews] [15.06.2009, 06:38pm, Mon. GMT] |
| But earlier this week, Siemens and energy company StatoilHydro installed what they call the first large-scale floating turbine. The installation is off the coast of Norway, and testing is expected to last for two years. The Hywind turbine will still have a ballast that is tied to the sea floor with cables. Wires will transfer the electricity produced to the mainland grid starting in July. If successful, the project could open up offshore wind to countries that don’t have relatively shallow waters of 100 feet to 165 feet off their coasts. The Hywind is suitable for depths of about 400 feet to more than 2,200 feet. |
| | | | (Updated) Erik Solheim, One of the world's most experienced practitioner of conflict resolution. |
| [Norwaynews] [15.06.2009, 09:06am, Mon. GMT] |
  Erik Solheim, a Norwegian Government minister, is one of the world's most experienced practitioners of conflict resolution. From Zimbabwe to Burma he advocates engagement, not isolation. He talks to Stephen Sackur about his attempts to broker a deal between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers, and why they failed, Peace broker in Sri Lanka Erik Solheim says the Norwegian government was very close to achieving peace in Sri Lanka before hostilities resumed once again. In an interview with the BBC he also said that the failure by both the LTTE and the government to accept Federalism was key to the breakdown of negotiations.
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| | | | Norway Journalist Arrested In Iran |
| [Norwaynews] [14.06.2009, 02:11pm, Sun. GMT] |
Authorities in Iran have arrested and detained a Norway News paper journalist who has reported for Norway news paper. Aftenposten reporter and his driver was arrested and taken to a cellar in the interior ministry in Teheran local Medias said today. It has become virtually impossible to engage in journalistic work out in the streets, "says Jørgen Lohne to Aften posten. The Committee to Protect Journalists said that at the end of last year, Iran was "the sixth-leading jailer of journalists." The group's Web site says more than 30 journalists were investigated or detained there in 2008.
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| | | | Fergus officials visiting Norway |
| [Norwaynews] [14.06.2009, 08:17am, Sun. GMT] |
| Representatives of the Fergus Falls Area Sister Cities Commission from USA will be here today to meet the mayors of the Nordhordland area, west of Bergen. As part of the get-together, Mayor Hal Leland, his wife, and Sister Cities Commission member Joyce Bruns were also invited to meet with Norway’s King Harald V and Queen Sonia during a visit to the Western Norway Emigration Center in Slette on Thursday. “It was an opportunity of a lifetime,” Leland said Saturday. |
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| Norway could see new high in economic asylum seekers |
| [Norwaynews] [02.07.2009, 01:15pm, Thu. GMT] |
A proper asylum seeker is a person who flees their country of origin to escape conflict or persecution, whilst an economic asylum seeker is someone who leaves their country purely to have a better quality life. Economic asylum seekers are not in any serious danger. Norway could see a record year for the number of asylum seekers, according to reports reaching here from Oslo on Thursday. So far this year the number is 2,500 more than for the same period last year, which was also a record year, the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said. The number of asylum seekers is now so high that if measures are not introduced, it could well reach 18,000 or more by the end of the year, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Dag Terje Andersen, was quoted as saying.
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| | | | Norwegian cinemas sign digital roll-out deal with US studios |
| [Norwaynews] [01.07.2009, 07:05pm, Wed. GMT] |
The Norwegian cinema association, Film & Kino, has signed a virtual print fee (VPF) agreement with five Hollywood studios, to help finance the world’s first non-commercial national digital expansion. The agreement has been reached with Twentieth Century Fox, United International Pictures (local distributor for Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in Norway), Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International, and Warner Bros. Pictures International. Jørgen Stensland, director of consultants at Film & Kino, said: “The digitisation project is a great undertaking for a small country. Under the deal the studios have committed to deliver wide releases to Norwegian theatres, including our own mobile cinema in rural areas.” |
| | | | “05 die in worst tunnel fire” |
| [Norwaynews] [29.06.2009, 01:57pm, Mon. GMT] |
Five persons died when two cars collided head-on and caught fire in the Eiksund sub-sea road tunnel on Sunnmoere Sunday evening, according to the local highway police. The cause of the accident is not known. The two cars involved were from the hamlets of Oersta and Ulstein, at either end of the tunnel. The Eikesund tunnel is among Norway's longest, at 7,765 metres, and is also the world's deepest sub-sea road tunnel, running 287 metres below sea level at the deepest point.
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| | | | NOK 137 million aid to Pakistan |
| [Norwaynews] [28.06.2009, 09:22pm, Sun. GMT] |
| Norway is increasing its humanitarian aid to Pakistan by NOK 65 million to a total of NOK 137 million, in response to a plea by the UN for more aid to the thousands of internally displaced person in the Asian nation. According to the UN the number of refugees in northeastern Pakistan has now reached 1.9 million. The humanitarian situation in Pakistan is still very serious. The fighting is still going on and is spreading to new areas. The extreme heat and the coming rainy season is making the situation for the internally displaced very difficult. |
| | | | The Norwegian Government proposes new legislation on offshore renewable energy |
| [Norwaynews] [28.06.2009, 09:19pm, Sun. GMT] |
| The Norwegian Government today presents a new act on offshore renewable energy. The proposal also includes a national strategy on offshore renewable energy. “This is an historic day. Offshore wind energy may become the next adventure for the Norwegian industry and energy sector. Through the proposed act and the strategy for offshore renewable energy the Government establishes a framework and future possibilities for a new green industry,” says the Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Mr. Terje Riis-Johansen. |
| | | | Foreign Minister of EFTA Nations Meet in Norway |
| [Norwaynews] [27.06.2009, 07:56pm, Sat. GMT] |
Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphédinsson attended a meeting with his counterparts in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in Hamar, Norway, this week, among other items discussing Iceland’s potential application to the European Union. Skarphédinsson explained the status of EU membership discussions in Iceland and the country’s economic situation, and how Iceland intends to work its way out of the crisis.
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| | | | Theatre of Terror - No More Sri Lankan Embassy Near to Norway Parliament? |
| [Norwaynews] [26.06.2009, 10:16am, Fri. GMT] |
 The Sri Lankan embassy in Norway which is located near to Norway Parliament is to be relocated within few weeks at a new site on the out side the Oslo Parliament high security area. Work is currently under way to prepare the new location. According to a source current Sri Lankan embassy has been a security concern since the Tamil network launched a terror attack on it on April. 13, 2009.
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| | | | Criminals are expected to be a problem in Oslo |
| [Norwaynews] [26.06.2009, 07:26am, Fri. GMT] |
 Criminals from Romania are expected to be a problem in Oslo this summer. The Oslo police have been warned by European colleagues that the criminals are heading for Oslo in numbers. The police are warning the public to be on the alert and keep close watch on purses and bags in crowded streets and shops. |
| | | | Norway fish farms thrive under ecologists' watchful eye |
| [Norwaynews] [22.06.2009, 06:18pm, Mon. GMT] |
| Tucked away in the corner of an enchanting fjord, 600,000 baby trout frolick in underwater cages as they wait their turn to end up on dinner plates: fish farming is booming in Norway, under the watchful eye of environmentalists. In Oeygarden near the western Norwegian town of Bergen, the Blom family's fish farm consists of a building constructed on the water and three submerged basins where the fish are raised. It is just one of the 800 fish farms dotting the coastline in the Scandinavian country, where three times more salmon and trout are produced than meat. |
| | | | Norwegian Statkraft to Build First Solar Park in Italy |
| [Norwaynews] [19.06.2009, 04:24pm, Fri. GMT] |
| Statkraft is constructing its first solar park. The power plant is being constructed in the Latina region, 60 kilometres to the south of Rome, and will be completed in 2009. The solar power plant will have an installed capacity of 3.3 MW, and generate 4.5 million kilowatt hours annually. The 15,700 solar panels at the plant will cover an area just under 96 000 square meters. The investment will cost about EUR 13 million, or NOK 120 million. |
| | | | Germany and Norway conclude agreement on High North research |
| [Norwaynews] [19.06.2009, 02:25pm, Fri. GMT] |
As part of the Government’s High North efforts, an agreement was signed today between the University of Stavanger and the Clausthal University of Technology in Germany. Under the agreement, professorships will be established to strengthen cooperation on research and education in the fields of energy and the environment in the High North. The intention is to promote knowledge development and transfer between the two universities in the fields of energy and the environment through joint research and educational activities.
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| | | | Ambassador Whitney receives Cornell Hotel Society Honorary Diploma |
| [Norwaynews] [19.06.2009, 11:51am, Fri. GMT] |
| U.S. Ambassador To Norway Benson Whitney received an Honorary Diploma from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and the Honorary Committee of Cornell Hotel Society for his exceptional work with promoting educational exchange in general and study at the Cornell Hotel School in particular. There was a small ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, and the Cornell Hotel Society was represented by Tord Laeskogen, General Manager at Sundvolden Hotel, Kjersti Ringholm, General Manager at Thon Hotel Arena, Leif R. Evensen, President in Cornell Hotel Society International and Simen Haare, the Vice President of First Hotels. |
| | | | Norway amongst the top 15 military spenders |
| [Norwaynews] [17.06.2009, 03:31pm, Wed. GMT] |
| Norway spends more on military per capita than any other European nation, according to the latest figures from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Norway spent USD 5,9 billion on its military in 2008, and that is far down on the list of the world’s different nations spending on military. In comparison, Russia spent USD 38 billion on its military in 2008. But if you divide the military spending by population, the figures are somewhat different. |
| | | | Norway offers olive branch to Zimbabwe? |
| [Norwaynews] [17.06.2009, 08:17am, Wed. GMT] |
 Norway has become the third Western country to engage the inclusive Government of Zimbabwe in finding ways to end the humanitarian economic crisis in the country. Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will on Wednesday end his visit to Norway, where he has had talks with Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and other political leaders. Minister of International Development, Erik Solheim, says to vl.no media that Norway will provide aid to Zimbabwe beyond the NOK 58 million allocated to the African nation in May.
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| | | | Mr. Bondevik on the election in Iran |
| [Norwaynews] [17.06.2009, 07:46am, Wed. GMT] |
 I fear that the rapprochement with the West can become critical through continued war rhetoric and a further weakening of human rights, particularly for women. Contact and rapprochement from the West will be more important than ever, said Kjell Magne Bondevik, leader of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Righ. Under Ahmadinejad there was a more than 300 per cent increase in executions. Persecution of human rights defenders and religious minorities has increased.
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| | | | Huseby residents write protest letter to President Obama |
| [Norwaynews] [16.06.2009, 07:00pm, Tue. GMT] |
Since 1959, the U.S. Embassy has been located at Drammensveien 18 (now Henrik Ibsens gate 48), a prestigious and attractive location in the heart of Oslo. Recognizing that the current location unfortunately no longer meets current security and needs of the citizens of Oslo and the Embassy community standards, the Embassy undertook a lengthy search to identify a suitable location for a new facility. In June 2004, the U.S. Government signed a purchase agreement with the Norwegian Ministry of Defense for a tract of land at Huseby as the site for a new Embassy.
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| | | | Fears misuse of Swedish intelligence information |
| [Norwaynews] [15.06.2009, 03:25pm, Mon. GMT] |
| The head of the so-called Lund Commission, Ketil Lund, fears the misuse in Norway of intelligence information gathered by Swedish security services. In Sweden it is permitted to monitor telecommunications from Norway. A major portion of the Norwegian telecommunication traffic to other countries is routed via a telecom centre Sweden, where monitoring is permitted. Such information may then be used as a bartering medium on the international intelligence market, Lund says. |
| | | | Science vs Politics at the Edge of the North Pole |
| [Norwaynews] [14.06.2009, 02:13pm, Sun. GMT] |
Spectacular views of mountains and glaciers here in the world's most northerly permanent human settlement contrasted with business and political leaders' pessimism and concern about the enormous gap between the action on climate that science deems necessary and what politics considers realistic. "We must push beyond the politically feasible," said Tora Aasland, Norway's minister of research and higher education.
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| | | | Norway to increase renewable energy investment in India |
| [Norwaynews] [14.06.2009, 08:18am, Sun. GMT] |
Wanting to further its ties with India, Norway is planning to increase its investment in the country in the area of renewable energy, including solar and hydropower "Solar energy is one of the areas which Norway will be focusing on to further its relationship with India. We are working on a huge project. We are working together with the Ministry of Renewable Energy. We look for up scaling of investment in future," Norway's Ambassador to India Ann Ollestad told media.
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| | | | Increased investments in the North Sea |
| [Norwaynews] [13.06.2009, 06:01pm, Sat. GMT] |
| The oil companies engaged in the North Sea say they will increase investments on the Norwegian Shelf both this year and next year, according to information gathered by Statistics Norway (SSB). According to the figures, the companies estimate that the investments will amount to NOK 136 billion next year. This is up 16 per cent compared to predicted investments for this year. At the same time the estimates for this year's investments have been adjusted upward by 10 per cent to NOK 145 billion. |
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