NOK 170 million in Mid-East aid up in smoke (Aftenposten)

Norway has decided to change its foreign aid policy in the Middle East. The move follows the disturbances in the region over the past few months in which many buildings have been destroyed. In future Norway will invest less in bricks and mortar and will spend more on humanitarian assistance in the region. Many European projects in the Middle East have been reduced to rubble. One of them is the forensic laboratory in Gaza, which was completely razed to the ground in an Israeli attack. As a result NOK 4.2 million in Norwegian foreign aid went up in smoke.

Love interrogations for immigrants (Dagsavisen)

The Progress Party wants to ban family reunification in connection with arranged marriages, unless the couple can document theirs is really a love match. During an interrogation they would have to ‘prove’ that they love each other. The proposal is part of the Progress Party’s new plan to combat forced marriages and domestic violence in the immigrant community. Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Erna Solberg (Con) does not believe it is possible to identify couples whose relationship is based on ‘true love’. "It is impossible. And anyway, arranged marriages are not illegal. It is forced marriages we want to put a stop to," she said.

Bondevik hazy on government gas row (Dagbladet)

The cohesiveness of the Bondevik-led coalition has been put to its first real test after Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs (Chr.Dem) said no to the construction of two polluting gas-fired power stations. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik’s rather woolly comments on the issue yesterday were an attempt to paper over the quarrel between Mr Steensnæs and the Conservative representatives in the coalition. The conflict between them will now have to be resolved in the so-called sub-committee, consisting of the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the leaders of the three coalition parties – the Conservatives, Christian Democrats and Liberals. But it also means that Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs has been told to find a solution and stop making waves.

Steensnæs: I was at Sem (Vårt Land)

Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs (Chr.Dem) remains convinced that his refusal to extend Naturkraft’s concession to build two gas-fired power stations does have the backing of the so-called Sem Declaration, the joint political platform negotiated by the coalition partners before taking office. Mr Steensnæs is refusing to bow to pressure from Conservative economic policy spokesman Jan Tore Sanner, who believes the Government cannot refuse to extend Naturkraft’s concession to build the two gas-fired power stations. The row is not just a matter of disagreement over the gas-fired power station issue, but reflects a difference in the way Mr Steensnæs and Mr Sanner interpret the Sem Declaration.

Government should sell stake in SAS (Aftenposten)

The Government should sell its shares in SAS, since such ties prevent positive developments in the airline industry and lower prices, according to Conservative industrial policy spokesman Ivar Kristiansen. Mr Kristiansen points out that foreign airlines do not dare to enter the Norwegian market as long as the Government has the dual role of SAS shareholder and licensing authority. "And without competition we will not get cheaper air fares," said Mr Kristiansen.

SAS takes the major cities (Dagens Næringsliv)

With effect from the start of the summer season, which kicks off on the first Tuesday after Easter, SAS and Braathens will split the Norwegian market between them. SAS will take the routes between Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger, while Braathens gets the rest. Both companies will fly to Tromsø and Bodø. "This is a proposal which still has to be approved by both companies’ boards of directors, and discussed with the trade unions," said Frode Geitvik, head of corporate communications for Braathens. Mr Geitvik underlines that the distribution of routes is just a proposal and that no firm decision has been made.

Row over opera house budget overruns (Verdens Gang)

Cultural Affairs Minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland has accused Carl I. Hagen of being partly to blame if the new opera house costs billions of kroner more than originally budgeted. "What Mr Hagen should remember is that if the Progress Party had voted in favour of building the new opera house on the site of the former Western Line railway station, we would have had majority backing for a less costly alternative," she said. Following revelations on last night’s NRK News programme that if the worst comes to the worst the opera house could end up costing a massive NOK 3.7 billion, the Progress Party chairman was quick to point the finger. Originally, the new opera house at Bjørvika in Oslo was calculated to cost NOK 1.8 billion.

Worth Noting

• A seven-year-old boy was killed by four dogs yesterday as he walked home from school in Vest-Torpa. The woman who owned the dogs could be charged with manslaughter. All the woman’s dogs, at least 23 in all, were shot by police yesterday. (All newspapers)
• While the rest of the western world is allocating resources to help as many refugees as possible to return to Afghanistan, the Norwegian Immigration Directorate is proposing that Norway accepts 300 Afghan refugees through the UN quota system. (Aftenposten)
• Lena Larsen, leader of the Islamic Council of Norway, claims that Islam’s marriage laws protect women’s religious freedom. She says that Norwegians are hypocrites if they do not admit that people of like mind get on best. (Dagsavisen)
• Health Minister Dagfinn Høybråten is planning to establish a working group to come up with suggestions for a more integrated approach to the foreign treatment for Norwegian patients, including new and promising cancer treatments. (Aftenposten)
• 16 out of 25 senior Labour Party officials in Troms want the party to have only one leader. A substantial majority rejects Thorbjørn Jagland’s proposal to continue with today’s two-headed leadership. (Verdens Gang)
• The leadership dispute, illness at the top and voters abandoning ship – that was the Labour Party’s January. An election in January would have given the Labour Party and the Conservatives the same number of representatives in the Storting. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Members of the Storting are not very interested in the oil industry. 64 newly elected MPs were invited to a seminar on the oil industry, but only 16 turned up. (Aftenposten)
• Norwegians’ enthusiasm for borrowing money could put an effective stop to the cut in interest rates many people have been hoping for in February. The reason interest rates were not already cut in January was the significant growth in consumer borrowing. (Dagsavisen)
• It is probably too early to conclude that the new opera house at Bjørvika in Oslo will cost the NOK 3.7 billion now estimated by the Government’s consultants. (Aftenposten)
• "Eat your greens!" The directive of mothers through the ages is still ringing in Norwegians’ ears, according to a recent Nordic survey. Danes, Swedes and Finns are more adventurous in the culinary line than we are. But our meals are relatively healthy and well ordered, and most of them are eaten at home. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Vårt Land

Most people have major difficulties understanding why it should cost so much more to fly between domestic destinations in Norway than in Sweden. SAS’s fares in our country are literally sky-high compared to those in Sweden. It will take a lot more than the disappearance of the airport tax from 1 April to make people happy – particularly in the North of Norway. Transport Minister Torild Skogholm’s initiative to compare airline prices in Norway and Sweden is much needed. However, experience has shown that it may be just as necessary to put pressure on SAS when the results of the survey are published.