The Commissioner for Children, Trond Waage, has proposed a delay of five years between the decision being made to close a school and its final closure. He also wants to introduce a maximum journey time to and from school. Mr Waage s proposal has been prompted by complaints to the Commissioner s office from parents who have not had the chance to plan where their children should be raised as a result of unpredictable local authority decisions to close schools. 163 small schools in Norway are currently facing the axe. The centre alliance parties want to strengthen the country s defence capability in the North of Norway and ensure that more young men are drafted in to do national service.
Work is now underway to cobble together a compromise.
The European Commission has decided to mount a full investigation of Norsk Hydro and Statoil for alleged price cooperation in connection with the sale of oil and gas. This could lead to fines amounting to several billion kroner. This is almost twice as many as there were last year. The record number of bears is causing deep concern among the county s sheep farmers. The centre alliance parties presented their alternative plans to restructure the Armed Forces yesterday.