International News
Norway Votes In Tight Election Where War And Tariffs Loom Large
Norwegians began voting Monday in an election where US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the war in Ukraine could give a boost to the government led by Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Store, a veteran Labour politician, has a slight lead in opinion polls, and analysts said geopolitical uncertainties could push voters to back the perceived stability of a sitting administration.
Much of the campaigning however has focused on domestic issues including the cost of living, healthcare, inequality, education and the possibility of abolishing a wealth tax, which has divided the two main camps.
With the political landscape fragmented, the outcome will depend on which of the nine major parties will clear the four-percent threshold required to get seats in parliament.
An average of September polls has the Labour Party and its allies securing 88 of the 169 seats in Norway’s parliament, the Storting, according to www.pollofpolls.no.
Voting stations opened at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) and the first projected results are expected after the final polling stations close at 9:00 pm.
A record 1.9 million Norwegians, over 47 percent of the electorate, have already voted early.
“Stability is really important. The security situation in the world is quite unstable, it’s quite an unstable world,” Olav Hetland, a pensioner, told AFP.
With many voters wanting to maintain the status quo, political scientist Johannes Bergh said Store’s long experience in global affairs — his first stint as foreign minister began 20 years ago — could be an advantage.
“The fact that Donald Trump was elected president in the United States, the talk about tariffs, and international trade is much more uncertain, there’s a war in Ukraine — all of those international issues make voters rally around the sitting government,” Bergh said.
Norway, a NATO member, shares a border with Russia in the Arctic and its economy is highly dependent on exports.
NORWAY OUT
Fractious blocs
Store, who runs a single-party minority government, was also boosted earlier this year by the collapse of its unpopular coalition with the agrarian Centre Party and the return to government of popular ex-NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Store is likely to need all four of the other left-leaning parties to secure a majority in parliament.
But the left-wing bloc itself is divided over issues including oil drilling, which Labour wants to continue while the Greens insist on phasing it out.
Both parties favour close ties with the European Union and eventually want to join the bloc, but that is opposed by the Centre and the far-left parties, along with most Norwegians.
The far left wants the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the biggest in the world, to divest from Israel, which Labour opposes.
Julie Myrene, a 32-year-old working with customer support for a car brand, told AFP that her vote was influenced by the need to reduce taxes, “because a lot of wealthy Norwegians have moved out”.
The right-wing bloc is also divided, with the Conservatives of former prime minister Erna Solberg recently overtaken by the anti-immigration Progress Party in opinion polls.
Solberg is battling with Progress Party’s Sylvi Listhaug to be the bloc’s prime minister if it secures a majority.
The right-wing bloc also comprises two small centre-right parties including the Liberals, who are at odds with the Progress Party on several issues including the fight against climate change, the European Union and immigration.
AFP
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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