Border stores in Sweden report record sales after VAT cut, Queen Sonja on sick leave, and more news from Norway on Tuesday.
Border stores in Sweden report record sales after VAT cut
The strengthening of the Norwegian krone and Sweden’s halving of VAT on food in April has led to record traffic at the border stores in Nordby, the Swedish border town 120km south of Oslo.
“It will probably be the best May ever,” Patrik Zäll, store manager at Nordby Supermarket, told E24. “We broke our sales records both on Ascension Day and on Friday. That has never happened on Ascension Day before. We usually break records at Easter.”
Ole Jørgen Lind at the rival Maximat Nordby also reported record sales.
“We have been well above historical levels in May. If we look at the last few months compared to the same time last year, turnover is 13–14 percent higher,” he said. “It is difficult to know whether it is primarily the same customers who shop more often, but I personally believe that there are more people making the trip now than before.”
Lind pointed at the Norwegian krone had strengthened more than 10 percent against the Swedish krona since January, while on April 1st, Sweden halved VAT on food from 12 percent to 6 percent.
Man accused of Stavanger stabbing held for four weeks
A man in his 20s who was arrested and charged on suspicion of stabbing another man in Stavanger on Saturday will be held in pre-trial custody for four weeks, the South Rogaland District Court ruled on Monday.
“It has been noted that the knife used has still not been found, that the accused’s mobile phone has not been secured, that the police are not sure what clothes the accused was wearing during the incident, and that the police do not currently know where the accused resides,” the court said in the ruling.
The man was charged with attempted murder after another man in his 30s was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The victim’s condition is stable.
The man claims he is innocent and his lawyer criticised the decision to hold him in detention.
“I do not believe there is sufficient suspicion to provide grounds for imprisonment. In my view, it weakens the suspicion that the police first arrest and release another man before arresting my client,” his lawyer, Anne Kroken, told the Stavanger Aftenblad newspaper.
Norway-Set drama Fjord wins Palme d’Or at Cannes
“Fjord”, a thought-provoking drama about a Christian family in Norway from Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, won the best film prize at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday at a star-packed closing ceremony.
Winning his second Palme d’Or at the festival, Mungiu explores anxieties and left-wing prejudices in the movie which stars Norway’s Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value”) and Sebastian Stan who played Donald Trump in “The Apprentice”.
“This is a message about tolerance, inclusion, and empathy. These are wonderful values that we all cherish, but we need to put them into practice more often,” Mungiu told the audience.
The movie is based on true events and is notable for how it questions the supposedly progressive values of the Norwegians depicted in the film, as well as the child welfare system. Police said several people had been charged in that case, but did not disclose their nationalities or whether they had been taken into custody.
Queen Sonja is on sick leave
Norway’s Queen Sonja is on sick leave for a week due to heart fibrillation and heart failure, the Norwegian royal court announced in a press release on Sunday.
“The Queen needs rest and adjustment of her medication,” the press release said, adding that Sonja would not be treated for her condition in hospital, but would instead remain at home during her week off, leaving King Harald V to continue his tour of Norwegian counties alone.
“This is a very common disease. One in three people over 75 have this problem,” the cardiologist Dan Atar told NRK. “It is not a dangerous disease, so long as you prevent stroke by protecting the brain with blood-thinning treatment.”
The couple had been planning to visit every county in Norway over the summer.