Allied target practice in Finnmark (Aftenposten)

The Norwegian military high command is planning to allow allied bombers to use a 200 sq. km area in Porsanger, Finnmark, for target practice. At the same time activity at the site will be extended from 50 to 100 days per year. Up to now Norway has not permitted allied training missions in the country’s most northerly county. Reindeer owners will be asking the Court of Execution and Enforcement to ban all military activity within the bombing range. "The Armed Forces’ contract expired in 1997. Now they want to expropriate the area, which is in breach of international laws protecting ethnic minorities," says the reindeer owners’ attorney, Geir Haugen.

Oil wealth will be used (Dagsavisen)

Svein Gjedrem, governor of the Norwegian Central Bank, is not worried that Norway’s oil wealth will gather dust in one of his bank vaults. The country should just wait until the next economic downturn before it starts spending. "We are very good at spending money and we will use Norway’s oil revenues in the future," he says, and underlines that Norwegian industry is currently very buoyant. Mr Gjedrem rejects Carl I. Hagen’s theory that the country’s oil revenues can be used to lower taxes. "A one-off reduction in tax levels has no impact on prices. A permanent cut in taxes combined with reduced public expenditure would have an effect, but the measures must be in balance," says Mr Gjedrem.

Curtain up on Progress Party farce in Oslo (Dagsavisen)

The two opposing sides of the Progress Party’s Oslo branch clashed from the very start of yesterday’s meeting. A vote on who should chair the meeting ended in a dead heat, but a small majority rejected a proposal to work for the reinstatement of those party officials who have recently been excluded. "The only ones enjoying this are the media and our political opponents," said party chairman Carl I. Hagen, who proposed that representatives from both wings should jointly chair the meeting. After that the meeting could finally begin – almost 45 minutes late.

Could force Hagen into court again (Dagbladet)

The power struggle currently being waged in the Oslo branch of the Progress Party has taken a dramatic new turn. Dag Danielsen, who was recently suspended from the party, is well placed to be selected as a candidate at the next general election. But Carl I. Hagen and the rest of the party leadership will refuse to accept that decision if it comes. Both sides believe the war within the Progress Party could return to the Court of Execution and Enforcement in Oslo. However, no matter which way the Oslo branch’s selection committee votes tomorrow, Carl I. Hagen intends to push through his and the central committee’s wishes.

Police ask Customs for help to halt illegal arms flow (Aftenposten)

The Oslo Police Force will ask the Customs Administration for help in their efforts to halt the flow of illegal arms finding their way to criminal gangs in the capital. "It is not very difficult to disassemble a gun and smuggle it over the border. We are going to discuss specific measures with the Customs that will help to limit the availability of weapons," says Chief Constable Arnstein Gjengedahl.

Hospital expansion plans face the axe (Dagens Næringsliv)

Health Minister Tore Tønne calculates that the total cost of the hospital expansion plans drawn up by central and county administration amounts to NOK 50 billion. When the central government authorities take over control of the hospitals next year, those plans will be severely cut back. NOK 50 billion, which Mr Tønne underlines is a very rough estimate, is the equivalent to six new regional hospitals.

Kværner boss dreams of creating an oil and gas giant (Dagens Næringsliv)

Kværner’s chief executive, Kjell Almskog, is exploring the possibility of engineering a gigantic merger. The objective is to be among the world’s leading suppliers to the oil and gas industry. Aker Maritime is too small and locally-based. Kjell Almskog calls Kjell Inge Røkke’s plans for a merger between the two companies a dead-end. However, a complex web of agreements could cause problems for Kværner’s ambitious plans.

Hardanger from on high (Aftenposten)

The Hardanger landscape has always been an impressive sight. Now scientists have discovered that it is also an ideal subject for pictures taken from space. They are using Hardanger’s beautiful mountains and fjords to show how new space technology can be used in future efforts to map the world. The picture taken by the US space shuttle "Endeavour" is now being transmitted around the world via the internet. Both Norwegian space scientists and Hardanger’s tourist authorities think the free advertising they are getting from space is fantastic.

Worth Noting

• The prosecuting authorities overcame substantial doubts before deciding to bring charges in connection with the triple murder at Orderud Farm. Public prosecutors Olav Helge Thue and Jørg Sigurd Maurud, who will represent the prosecution in court, originally did not want to charge Per Kristian Orderud and his wife Veronica with the murders of Anne Orderud Paust and her parents. (Dagbladet)
• Last year 11 people were murdered by their spouses, live-in partners or former partners. This represents one quarter of all murders. The figures show that it is almost always the man who kills. (Vårt Land)
• Telenor’s chief executive, Tormod Hermansen, is not planning to resign – at least not for the next two years. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Former Statoil chief executive Harald Norvik agrees with Jens Ulltveit-Moe, president of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO), that Norway’s oil revenues could be used to finance acquisitions which support Norwegian businesses abroad. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Vårt Land

The Progress Party is not the first political party where rumour-mongering has been used as a weapon in the battle for political power. It has happened many times before in other parties. But we have hardly ever seen backstabbing used on such a scale or in such a systematic way. The Progress Party’s vice presidents have chosen to publicly deny the rumours being circulated against them, which could be an effective countermeasure. But this too is an element in the party’s internal power struggle, with opponents being branded rumour-mongers. No matter how you look at it the Progress Party has been irreparably damaged. The public has been given a glimpse of a party organization that is not working as it should in a large and reputable party. The conflicts and bad blood that have been generated will continue to affect the Progress Party even if the voters continue to give it their support.