Teens detained after Strømmen explosion deny wrongdoing, ex-MPs get severance after election, Nobel Peace Prize award speculation and more news from Norway this Wednesday.
Arrested teenager from Strømmen explosion denied wrongdoing
The 19-year-old charged in connection with Monday night’s grenade attack in Strømmen denies any wrongdoing, his lawyer Farhad Shæriæti told media TV2.
The lawyer declined to comment further.
“It’s right to wait until the investigation is complete and give the police space to work. The accused is a young man and needs calm around the case,” he said.
An 18-year-old detained in the same case also denies the allegations.
READ ALSO: Why has Norway seen repeated grenade explosions?
Former members of parliament granted large sums in severance pay
A total of 61 former members of the Norwegian parliament have been granted severance pay or fratredelsesytelse worth over 300,000 kroner each in connection with the recent election, according to a list obtained by media Altinget.
Around half of the applications were approved in August, while the rest were processed after the election. Some applications were meanwhile withdrawn.
The benefit, which is intended to ease the transition back into working life after leaving parliament, lasts for three months and equals the regular parliamentary salary, specifically 303,744 kroner.
Former MPs who earn other income during this period have their payments reduced.
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Speculation over potential Nobel Peace winner
The Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo will announce the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday at 11am.
The backdrop is bleak: the number of armed conflicts worldwide involving at least one state has never been as high as in 2024, since Sweden’s Uppsala University started its global conflict database in 1946.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he deserves the prestigious prize for resolving “eight conflicts”, but experts predict he will not be the committee’s choice — at least not this year.
“No, it will not be Trump this year,” Swedish professor Peter Wallensteen, an expert on international affairs, told news agency AFP.
“But perhaps next year? By then the dust will have settled around his various initiatives, including the Gaza crisis,” he added.
Numerous experts consider Trump’s “peacemaker” claims to be exaggerated and express concerns over the consequences of his “America First” policies.
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Trump has withdrawn the US from international organisations and multilateral treaties, launched trade wars against allies and enemies alike, threatened to take Greenland from Denmark by force, ordered the National Guard into US cities and attacked universities’ academic freedoms as well as freedom of expression.
With no clear favourite this year, several names have been doing the rounds in Oslo ahead of Friday’s announcement.
Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms — a network of volunteers risking their lives to feed and help people enduring war and famine — have been mentioned, as has Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights election watchdog.
“My hunch would probably just perhaps be for a not that controversial candidate this year,” Halvard Leira, the director of the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, told AFP.
Norway men’s team could seal first World Cup qualification since 1998
Norway may be only one victory away from reaching the men’s World Cup for the first time since 1998, with the team set to play against Israel this weekend in a home match which is expected to be met with protests over Israel’s assault on Gaza.
The Norwegian team have enjoyed a dream start to qualifying, scoring 24 goals in five successive wins to move to the brink of the finals.
Erling Haaland, who is yet to play at a major tournament, already has a remarkable nine goals in their group, after netting five in the 11-1 thumping of Moldova last time out.
Norway know that victory against Israel on Saturday would end their 28-year absence from the finals if Italy fail to beat either Estonia or Israel in Group I.