According to this year’s World Happiness Report, Finland overtakes Norway as the world’s happiest country.
The annual UN report measures “subjective well-being” – how happy people feel they are, and why.
According to the survey, Burundi was the least happy, taking over from the Central African Republic.
Burundi was thrown into crisis when President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for re-election to a third term in 2015 sparked protests by opposition supporters who said the move was unconstitutional.
Nordic countries regularly appear in the top five, while war-hit countries and a number in sub-Saharan Africa regularly appear in the bottom five.
The 2018 report by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network also features data about the happiness of immigrants in their host countries, with Finland also coming top as home to the happiest immigrants.
The World Happiness Report ranks some 156 countries by their happiness levels, and 117 by the happiness of their immigrants.
Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland are in the top five. The US came in at the 18th place.
Togo is seen to be this year’s biggest gainer, moving up 17 places, while the biggest loser is Venezuela, which dropped 20 places to 102nd.
According to the UN’s World Happiness Report, Norway is the happiest place on Earth, toppling neighbor Denmark from the number one position.
The report measures “subjective well-being” – how happy the people are, and why.
Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and Finland round out the top five while the Central African Republic came last.
Western Europe and North America dominated the top of table, with the US at 14th.
Countries in sub-Saharan Africa and those hit by conflict have predictably low scores. Syria placed 152 of 155 countries – Yemen and South Sudan, which are facing impending famine, came in at 146 and 147.
It mainly relies on asking a simple, subjective question of more than 1,000 people every year in more than 150 countries.
“Imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top,” the question asks.
“The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”
The average result is the country’s score – ranging from Norway’s 7.54 to the Central African Republic’s 2.69. But the report also tries to analyze statistics to explain why one country is happier than another.
This year’s report also contains a chapter titled “restoring American happiness”, which examines why happiness levels in the US are falling, despite constantly-increasing economic improvement.
“The United States can and should raise happiness by addressing America’s multi-faceted social crisis – rising inequality, corruption, isolation, and distrust – rather than focusing exclusively or even mainly on economic growth,” the authors said.
“America’s crisis is, in short, a social crisis, not an economic crisis.”
According to Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which published the report, President Donald Trump’s policies were likely to make things worse.
“They are all aimed at increasing inequality – tax cuts at the top, throwing people off the healthcare rolls, cutting Meals on Wheels in order to raise military spending. I think everything that has been proposed goes in the wrong direction,” Jeffrey Sachs told Reuters.
The report also suggests that professional “white collar” jobs are associated with improved happiness over “blue collar” roles – but that having a job at all is one of the biggest factors.
While “those in well-paying jobs are happier and more satisfied with their lives”, that effect has diminishing returns – “an extra $100 of salary is worth much more to someone at the lower end of the income distribution than someone already earning much more”.
The World Happiness Report has been published for the past five years, during which the Nordic countries have consistently dominated the top spots.
The clear dominance of those countries – and Denmark in particular – has encouraged other nations to adopt the Danish concept of “Hygge” – a cultural concept of coziness and relaxation.
Thirteen people have been killed in a helicopter crash near the Norwegian city of Bergen, rescuers say.
Eleven of those on board were Norwegians, one was Italian and one Briton. No survivors have been found.
A major rescue operation was launched but ended within hours of the crash.
Meanwhile, Norway’s civil aviation authority has imposed a flight ban on the type of helicopter that crashed – the Eurocopter (EC) 225L Super Puma. Reports say it was “totally destroyed”.
Civil aviation officials told Norwegian newspaper VG that servicing for the helicopter which crashed had been delayed twice in 2015, for a total of 200 flying hours.
Photo ITV.com
The aircraft was flying from the Gullfaks oil field to Bergen, a centre for the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Eleven bodies have been found, and two other people are still missing.
Norwegian PM Erna Solberg said news of the crash was “horrible”.
King Harald and Queen Sonja cancelled a trip to Sweden, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported.
Oil company Statoil said the helicopter was “on assignment”. All the passengers were Statoil employees.
Both Statoil and the UK energy company BP have suspended use of the Super Puma.
Statoil has also suspended oil production at the Gullfaks B platform “so that we can take care of the staff in the best way possible”, company vice-president Arne Sigve Nylund told journalists.
The aircraft came down near the small island of Turoy, just west of the village of Solsvik.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the helicopter’s rotor blade come loose and shear off.
Photos from the scene showed thick smoke coming from an area of rocky islets.
Local media said the helicopter dropped 2,200ft in the last 10 seconds before it crashed. Some wreckage was found on the rocks, and parts of the fuselage are in the sea.
Anders Behring Breivik has given a Nazi salute upon his return to court to accuse the government of violating his human rights by holding him in isolation.
The Norwegian mass murderer has compared his conditions in prison to “torture”.
Anders Breivik, 37, killed 77 people in 2011 when he bombed central Oslo before going on a shooting spree at a Labour Youth camp on the island of Utoya.
The right-wing extremist was sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2012.
Entering the court in a grey suit shortly before 09:00 Anders Breivik shook hands with his lawyers. He made the salute after police removed his handcuffs.
Anders Breivik accuses the Norwegian government of breaching two clauses of the European Convention on Human Rights.
One of the clauses guarantees the right to respect for “private and family life” and “correspondence” and the other prohibits “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
Photo Reuters
His lawyer, Oystein Storrvik, told AFP news agency that Anders Breivik had been “very stressed due to his isolation” in Skien prison, about 60 miles south-west of the capital Oslo.
“One of his main things to do (in prison) was to study and he has stopped that now, and I feel that is a sign that isolation has been negative to his psychological health,” he said.
Authorities say Anders Breivik’s correspondence is censored to stop him setting up an “extremist network”. His visits are almost all with professionals across a glass partition.
The attorney general’s office has insisted that Anders Breivik’s prison conditions are “well within the limits of what is permitted” under the convention.
The court hearing, which is being held in the gymnasium of Skien prison, is expected to run until Friday.
Anders Breivik is expected to testify on March 16.
If the court decides that Anders Breivik’s prison conditions are so strict that they cause him harm and violate his human rights, it could order an easing of restrictions.
In September 2015, Anders Breivik threatened to starve himself to death in protest at his treatment in prison.
His cell at Skien prison has a TV and computer but he has no access to the internet.
In a letter to media outlets in Norway and Sweden, Anders Breivik said he was kept in almost total isolation, with time outside his cell limited to one hour a day.
The mass murderer said the harsh prison conditions had forced him to drop out of a political science course at the University of Oslo.
Anders Breivik was first held at Ila Detention and Security Prison near Oslo before being moved to Skien in 2013.
At Ila, he also complained of being held in “inhumane” conditions.
In a letter to prison authorities, Anders Breivik said his cell was poorly decorated and had no view.
Anders Breivik also complained that his coffee was served cold, he did not have enough butter for his bread, and he was not allowed moisturizer.
Anders Behring Breivik has won a place to study political science at Oslo’s university.
The 36-year-old Norwegian admitted killing 77 people when he bombed central Oslo and then went on a shooting spree at a youth camp on a nearby island in 2011.
Anders Behring Breivik has been studying certain course modules since first applying to the University of Oslo in 2013, but he will now be taught as a full student.
The mass killer will have no contact with staff or students as he studies from his cell.
In 2012, Anders Behring Breivik was sentenced to the maximum 21 years in prison for carrying out Norway’s worst massacre since World War Two.
This jail term can be extended if he is deemed to remain a danger to society.
The university’s rector, Ole Petter Ottersen, said that Norwegian inmates “have a right to pursue higher education in Norway if they meet the admission requirements and are successful in competition with other applicants”.
Writing on the university’s website, Ole Petter Ottersen admitted that the university had faced “moral dilemmas” about Anders Behring Breivik’s admission.
The rector added that the university had students whose family members had been killed by Anders Behring Breivik. However, he said that the university would abide by its rules “for our own sake, not for his”.
As he studies from his prison, Anders Behring Breivik will be subject to strict regulations. He will be allowed no access to internet resources or receive any personal guidance from tutors. All communication with the university will take place via “a contact person in prison”.
Anders Behring Breivik first applied to study in 2013 but did not meet entry requirements as he had never completed secondary school. Instead, he was allowed to study certain political science modules.
His deadly rampage at a Labor Party youth camp on Utoya Island was found by an Oslo court to have been a premeditated act of terrorism.
Anders Behring Breivik harbored extremist right-wing views and claimed he had reacted against what he saw as a Marxist-Islamic takeover of Europe.
BBC’s Top Gear Live shows due to have been held in Norway next week have been postponed, the broadcaster has announced.
All four performances will be rescheduled, with dates later this year to be confirmed within the next two weeks.
The announcement comes as an investigation continues into Jeremy Clarkson’s suspension following a “fracas” with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon.
At present, all other Top Gear Live dates will run as scheduled.
The BBC said it apologized for the inconvenience and would “endeavor to contact all ticket holders directly to inform them of the change of dates”.
According to the show website: “Top Gear Live events offer an exciting variation on the more traditional motor show. Whilst the format varies for some events each is presented in the unique style of Top Gear. The team continues to push the boundaries of automotive events enabling visitors to immerse themselves in their passion for Top Gear and motoring in general.”
Jeremy Clarkson was suspended on March 10 following an alleged altercation with Oisin Tymon.
It is understood the postponement of the Norway shows has been announced because organizers wanted to give fans enough notice to cancel travel and accommodation plans and because work to prepare the venue would have needed to start well in advance of the shows.
An online petition for Jeremy Clarkson to be reinstated has to date received more than one million signatures.
Top Gear is one of the BBC’s most popular and profitable TV shows, with an estimated global audience of 350 million.
Jeremy Clarkson and his co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond had been due to renegotiate their contracts with the broadcaster next month.
According to an index of the quality of later life in 96 countries, Norway is the best place to grow old.
HelpAge International’s Global AgeWatch Index measures the social and economic welfare of those over 60.
Published on the UN International Day of Older Persons, it ranks Australia, Western Europe and North America highly, and Afghanistan last.
The report predicts that by 2050, 21% of the global population will be over 60.
The index measures four areas – income security, health, personal capability and whether the person lives in an “enabling environment”.
After Norway comes Sweden, closely followed by Switzerland, Canada and Germany.
HelpAge International’s Global AgeWatch Index measures the social and economic welfare of those over 60
The report says that by 2050 some 40 countries in the index will have populations where 30% are aged 60 or over.
The UN has said that the number of those aged 60 or over is expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030.
Several Latin American countries – particularly Mexico and Peru – have leapt up the index for their commitment in ensuring “social pensions” for the poorest older people.
These are tax-financed, non-contributory pensions that ensure a basic income for the most vulnerable.
In Mexico, nearly nine out of every 10 people aged 65 and over receive a social pension.
Because of this, Mexico ranks at 30 on the index, outstripping the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Peru has implemented the Pension 65 program, which provides older people with 250 nuevo soles ($85) every two months.
Jens Breivik, the father of jailed Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, has written a book expressing feelings of guilt and responsibility over his son’s actions.
Anders Behring Breivik admitted killing 77 people when he bombed central Oslo and then went on a shooting spree at a youth camp on nearby Utoeya island in 2011.
His parents separated when Anders was a year old and Jens Breivik claims to have had little contact with his son.
Entitled My Fault? A Father’s Story, the book is set for release in October.
“I feel some guilt and I feel some responsibility. What would have happened if I had been a better father? Would Anders have done what he did?” Jens Breivik wrote, according to an excerpt of the book released by the publisher Juritzen.
A retired Norwegian diplomat living in southern France, Jens Breivik wrote the book with the help of a ghost writer and is expected to question his behavior as a parent and his role in the life of the radical far-right killer.
Jens Breivik has written a book expressing feelings of guilt and responsibility over son Anders’ actions
In 2012, Anders Breivik was sentenced to the maximum 21 years in prison for carrying out the country’s worst peacetime massacre in its modern history.
Anders Breivk harbored extremist right-wing views and claimed he had reacted against what he saw as a Marxist-Islamic takeover of Europe.
His deadly rampage against a Labor Party youth camp on Utoeya island was found by an Oslo court to have been a premeditated act of terrorism.
Anders Breivik’s jail term can be extended if he is deemed to remain a danger to society.
Jens Breivik has often been described as an absent father after the separation from his wife. At the time of the separation, Jens Breivik attempted to win custody over Anders but was unsuccessful, and he lost touch with his son when Anders was a teenager.
A previous book about Anders Breivik’s late mother, Wenche, portrayed Jens Breivik as a domestic tyrant.
During the murder investigation and trial, it emerged that Norwegian social services had suspected Anders Breivik was neglected at home as a child.
According to the editor of My Fault? A Father’s Story, Arve Juritzen, the book is a form of self-trial for Jens Breivik.
Jens Breivik has re-established contact his son in the last two years but has not shared the manuscript with him.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from historic village of Laerdalsoyri in southern Norway as a raging fire threatens its unique wooden buildings.
Flames spread rapidly after the fire began overnight in a house in Laerdalsoyri, a village of 1,150 people in Laerdal, on Sognefjord fjord.
At least 52 people received hospital treatment but no deaths were reported.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from historic village of Laerdalsoyri in southern Norway as a raging fire threatens its unique wooden buildings
Flames have spread to at least 23 buildings, fanned by strong winds, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reports.
Emergency services are counting on the arrival of a firefighting helicopter on Sunday to help contain the blaze, while local farmers are helping the firefighters.
The Laerdal district contains a stave church and many other historic wooden buildings, hundreds of years old, much visited by tourists.
Norway’s intelligence agency PST is investigating whether a Norwegian citizen was involved in the attack on Nairobi’s Westgate mall.
The PST said it had sent investigators to Kenya to try to verify the claim.
It said it was opening an inquiry “based on information that a Norwegian citizen may have been involved”.
A Norwegian of Somali origin may have been involved in planning and carrying out the September 21 attack in which at least 67 people died, the PST said.
“The enquiry will primarily be aimed at helping prevent new terrorist acts and [determining] to what degree the Norwegian… was involved in the attack,” the agency said.
Norway’s intelligence agency PST is investigating whether a Norwegian citizen was involved in the attack on Nairobi’s Westgate mall
The PST added that it would also try to establish if the unnamed suspect had ties to Somalia’s al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked militant group which said it had carried out the attack.
It said it was working to assess any potential threats to Norway and Norwegian interests.
Reports have suggested that an al-Shabab leader targeted at the weekend in a US military operation may have spent time in Norway.
The October 5 raid failed to capture Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, alias Ikrima. He is thought to be a Kenyan citizen of Somali origin, one of many Kenyan Somalis and other foreign fighters who have joined the group.
Norway’s TV2 reported earlier this week that Ikrima had travelled to Norway and applied for asylum in 2004 but left in 2008 before there was a decision on his application.
Norwegian officials have not commented on the claims.
Last week Kenya’s military identified four men it said were involved in the Westgate siege. It said Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr were killed during the standoff.
Abu Baara al-Sudani was said to have been an “experienced fighter” from Sudan, who led the group. Nabhan was a Kenyan of Arab origin and Kene a Somali linked to al-Shabab. Details about Umayr were not available.
Norwegian media reported that some of the people in a video of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg posing as a taxi driver were paid for taking part.
Norway’s ruling Labour Party confirmed that 5 of 14 passengers filmed in the cab had each been paid 500 kroner ($85; 64 euros).
But while they had been asked to take part in a Labour video, they were not told what it involved, it said.
Jens Stoltenberg said he wanted to hear from real voters before polls next month.
The prime minister’s party, in power since 2005, is trailing Norway’s Conservative Party in opinion polls.
Some of the people in a video of PM Jens Stoltenberg posing as a taxi driver were paid for taking part
The video, made in collaboration with an advertising company in June, is due to be screened during the election campaign but has already been posted on Jens Stoltenberg’s Facebook page.
News that five of Jens Stoltenberg’s passengers were not picked up at random was revealed by Norway’s Verdens Gang (VG) tabloid.
“They’re five ordinary people who were asked if they wanted to take part in a video for the Labour Party and who knew nothing else, except that they were going to be picked up in a taxi,” party spokeswoman Pia Gulbrandsen said.
“Their spontaneity was real when they realized that the driver was the prime minister.”
None of the passengers had to pay for their ride.
Jens Stoltenberg came in for criticism for his driving, at one point jolting the car abruptly when, he said, he had mistakenly applied the brake pedal on the automatic car, thinking it was the clutch.
The two-term prime minister said he had not driven in eight years.
Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg spent an afternoon working incognito as a taxi driver in Oslo, he has revealed.
Jens Stoltenberg said he had wanted to hear from real Norwegian voters and that taxis were one of the few places where people shared their true views.
He wore sunglasses and an Oslo taxi driver uniform for the shift in June, only revealing his identity once he was recognized by his passengers.
Jens Stoltenberg’s exchanges with his passengers were captured on a hidden camera.
The footage – made in collaboration with an advertising company – has been posted on the prime minister’s Facebook page and made into a film which will be used as part of his campaign for re-election in September.
“It is important for me to hear what people really think,” Jens Stoltenberg told Norwegian media.
“And if there is one place people really say what they think about most things, it’s in the taxi.”
Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg spent an afternoon working incognito as a taxi driver in Oslo
Some of the passengers who appear in the film had been told to wait for the taxi – without being told who would be driving – while others were picked up randomly and from taxi ranks.
Most of them appear to realize very quickly that there is something different about their driver, with one saying: “From this angle you really look like Stoltenberg.”
Another says she was lucky to meet him as she “wanted to send a letter”.
The conversation turns to politics in most cases.
Jens Stoltenberg engages one passenger on education, saying: “The main point is to make sure good students have something to stretch for, and to give those who struggle extra help.”
None of the passengers was charged for the ride.
Jens Stoltenberg told the VG newspaper: “I’m pretty well known in Oslo, but I tend to sit in the back seat.”
The Labour prime minister came in for criticism for his driving, at one point jolting the car abruptly when, he said, he mistakenly applied the brake pedal on the automatic car, thinking it was the clutch.
He said he had not driven in eight years.
Jens Stoltenberg is popular in Norway, but opinion polls suggest he is lagging behind the opposition ahead of the election.
Asked by VG whether he would consider becoming a taxi driver full time if he lost the election, Jens Stoltenberg replied: “I thinkthe country and the Norwegian taxi passengers are best served if I’m the prime minister and not a taxi driver.”
It seems that Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are back together as the Disney star was spotted flying into Norway on Thursday – which coincidentally is where Justin is currently performing.
Justin Bieber, 19, was performing in Oslo for his Believe tour to a packed house as Selena Gomez touched down at the local airport.
Sources told TMZthat Selena Gomez, 20, made the long trip for a very specific reason.
The possible rendezvous was publicized by a Norwegian pop star, according to TMZ, who tweeted a sighting of Selena Gomez on a flight from Los Angeles to Oslo.
An insider told TMZ that Selena Gomez arrival in Oslo was no accident and she was in fact there to see Justin Bieber.
Selena Gomez was spotted flying into Norway, where Justin Bieber is currently performing for his Believe tour
It has been previously reported that Justin is Bieber tortured over Selena Gomez, who he alleges has been sending him “mixed signals”.
Although Justin Bieber may have other things to worry about at the moment.
The singer has been mired in more than one scandal of late after allegedly assaulting his neighbor and angrily launching himself at a photographer.
Meanwhile, Selena recently revealed that she still believes in love and has not grown jaded over the collapse of her relationship to Bieber.
Selena Gomez, who is a singer in her own right, told Harper’s Bazaar: “I believe in love – yes, I’m one of those girls.”
Soli Brug Gallery in Greaaker in Norway has admitted losing a Rembrandt etching worth up to $8,500 in the post, after trying to save money on a courier and insurance.
The art gallery, 80 km south of Oslo, bought the Dutch master’s Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol, Writing-Master, from a British dealer.
The etching, made around 1658, is now lost in the Norwegian postal system.
The gallery’s chairman Ole Derje said they had used regular mail as couriers and insurance were “quite expensive”.
Rembrandt's etching of Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol, Writing-Master, is made around 1658
Ole Derje said he received notice to collect the piece. When he arrived, though, it was nowhere to be found.
“It is worth around 40,000 to 50,000 crowns,” he said, claiming that the postal service was only offering compensation of between 500 and 1,000 crowns.
Ole Derje declined to name the seller, citing confidentiality concerns. The Soli Brug Gallery already displays works by Rembrandt, Goya, Munch and Dali.
“We are sorry that this has happened,” said Hilde Ebeltoft-Skaugrud, a spokesman for the Norwegian postal service.
“We have advised him to use a more appropriate form of mail when sending items that are worth as much as this with the appropriate insurance connected.”
Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is sane and he is sentenced to 21 years in prison, a Norwegian court has ruled today.
Anders Behring Breivik admitted killing 77 people and wounding more than 240 others when he bombed central Oslo and then opened fire at an island youth camp last year.
Mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is sane and he is sentenced to 21 years in prison, a Norwegian court has ruled today
The killer insisted he was sane and refused to plead guilty, seeking to justify his attacks by saying they were necessary to stop the “Islamisation” of Norway.
Prosecutors had called for him to be considered insane.
The five judges were unanimous in ruling that Anders Behring Breivik was sane.
They gave him the maximum sentence of 21 years, but that can be prolonged at a later if he is deemed to remain a danger to society.
Court-appointed psychiatrists disagreed on Anders Breivik’s sanity. A first team which examined him declared him to be a paranoid schizophrenic, but the second found he was sane.
Before the verdict, Anders Breivik said psychiatric care would be “worse than death”.
Anders Behring Breivik carried out the meticulously planned attack in July 2011, wearing a fake police uniform, and methodically hunted down his victims.
He accused the Labour Party of promoting multiculturalism and endangering Norway’s identity.
Some victims at the Labour Party youth camp on Utoeya island were shot in the head at point-blank range.
Ahead of the verdict, security barriers were put up outside the district court in Oslo.
A glass partition separates Anders Behring Breivik from relatives of victims in a courtroom custom-built for the trial.
Remote-controlled cameras are filming the proceedings, sending the images to courtrooms around Norway where other relatives can watch the hearing live.
Anders Breivik’s trial, which began in March, heard graphic testimony from some of the survivors of his attacks.
Mohamad Hadi Hamed, 21, who is now in a wheelchair, told the court how his left arm and his left leg were amputated after he was shot by Anders Breivik.
Another survivor, Einar Bardal, 17, described how he was trying to escape when he heard a loud bang, followed by a loud beeping noise in his head.
Rapper Snoop Dogg has been banned from entering Norway for two years after trying to enter the country with a small amount of cannabis last month.
Snoop Dogg, 40, was held at Kjevik Airport while on his way to a music festival, when customs officials found he was carrying eight grams of the drug.
His lawyer said the rapper had no immediate plans to appeal against the ban.
Snoop Dogg could “live with the decision”, he added.
Snoop Dogg has been banned from entering Norway for two years after trying to enter the country with a small amount of cannabis last month
Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was also found at the time to be carrying more cash than is legally allowed in Norway and was fined 52,000 kroner after admitting the two offences.
He went on to perform at Norway’s Hove Festival.
In January, Snoop Dogg was arrested in Texas after border agents found cannabis on his tour bus. He was later released with a caution.
Snoop Dogg is currently on tour and is expected to appear at the Catalpa Festival in New York on Sunday.
Norway is today commemorating one year since 77 people were killed and 242 hurt in gun and bomb attacks in Oslo and on the island of Utoeya.
Church services, a concert and other events are being held around Norway.
PM Jens Stoltenberg will lay wreaths and is expected to be joined by hundreds of people on Utoeya, including the families of those who were killed.
Anders Behring Breivik, who has admitted carrying out the two attacks, remains on trial.
Most of the dead were young activists with the Labour Party who had been staying on Utoeya as part of a summer camp.
Thousands of people are expected to gather in Oslo for a day of events, including a memorial service at the city’s cathedral.
Norway is commemorating one year since 77 people were killed and 242 hurt in gun and bomb attacks in Oslo and on the island of Utoeya
Jens Stoltenberg will lay a wreath at the site of the Oslo bombing at 09:30 and then travel to Utoeya to give a speech to Labour Party youth, before laying a wreath there at 18:45 – the time Anders Breivik was arrested a year ago.
In the evening there will be a national memorial concert with mainly Norwegian musicians.
Many of the buildings that were damaged in the bomb attack have not yet been fully repaired.
The prime minister’s office and the ministry of health buildings are still covered in plastic.
The attacks, regarded as the worst act of violence in Norway since World War II, sparked a national debate about the nature of tolerance and democracy in the country.
Anders Breivik, who has been on trial for three months, has tried to justify the attacks by claiming he was trying to stop Muslims from taking over Norway.
But the government, and much of the population, have actively promoted tolerance and openness to counter Anders Breivik’s views.
“I think that people thought it a bit naive to cling to these values of openness in a situation like that,” said Vegard Groeslie Wennesland, a Labour Party activist who survived the attack.
“But I think it’s more naive to think that brutal police, or more restrictive policies will bring you a safer society.”
Judges are to announce next month whether Anders Breivik is sane or insane, and therefore whether he will be given a long prison sentence or be sent to a secure psychiatric ward.
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