Norway: Newspaper Entries

Two men in connection with 2009 stolen paintings arrested
     The famous lithography "Historien" or "History" was stolen from the Nyborgs Kunst art gallery on the 12th of November, 2009. Created by Edvard Munch, who is best known for his painting "The Scream",  the lithography "Historien" was estimated to cost around NOK 2 million. On April 4th, two men were found suspicious of dealing with manystolen goods, one of which included this famous lithography by Edvard Munch. The two of them were arrested on April 4th, then taken into custody two days later. It was later revealed that the pair were well known to the police for several criminal records.

"Historien" by Edvard Munch
image source: wikimedia

Norway increases efforts to help Greece refugees 

Refugees in Greece
image source: norwaypost

     In order to better deal with the flood of refugees into Greece, authorities of Norway and Greece have came to the agreement of donating an extra NOK 31 million of the financial contributions that were originally to strengthen relations between the 16 EU and EEA Member States in Northern, Central, and Southern Europe. This adds up to a grand total of NOK 231 million, and will also be utilized to fund several projects revolving around the refugees. Some of these projects include the continuation of operating four asylum reception centers that reach up to 272 person capacity a year, the assistance for local authorities on Chios with the reception and registration of refugees, and also the provision of water, sanitary facilities, and clothing.                                                     Elisabeth Aspaker, the Minister of EEA and EU Affairs, had addressed some of their reasoning and further hopes on this topic: "The flow of refugees and migrants has put enormous pressure on the asylum system in Greece. We have therefore proposed to the Greek authorities that some of the funding under the Grants scheme should be reallocated to strengthen capacity in this area. Through the EEA and Norway Grants, we can help to establish proper systems to ensure that refugees seeking entry to Europe receive protection."

Salmon prices in Norway set new highs
     In the first quarter of 2015, Norway had exported seafood worth NOK 17.5 billion total. This seems to be a lot already, however, it was found that there was a 22 percent increase from Q1 2015 to Q1 2016. The seafood exported during Q1 2016 was priced at NOK 21.3 billion; NOK 3.8 billion more than last year's. A type of fish that grew incredibly in price was salmon. The market value of salmon went up by 21 percent, or NOK 2.34 billion, from Q1 2015 to Q1 2016, which set a new record for the market value of salmon at NOK 56.68 per kilogram. The analyst for salmon and trout at the Norwegian Seafood Council, Paul T. Aandahl, said: "Reduced output from Norwegian producers, combined with a strong demand for Norwegian salmon and favorable currency situation has contributed to a record first quarter for Norwegian salmon."

Salmon stall at Norwegian market place
image source: seafood.no