måndag 31 augusti 2026
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King Harald's death 1937–2026
Hela den norska kungafamiljen var samlad när kung Haralds kista fördes till Slottskapellet i Oslo på måndagseftermiddagen, rapporterar norska medier.
Bland kistbärarna fanns kung Haakon och prinsessan Märtha Louise, kronprinsessan Ingrid Alexandra, prins Sverre Magnus och bonusbarnbarnet Marius Borg Høiby som har permission från häktet.
Med start i morgon och fram till dagen före begravningen kommer de norrmän som vill kunna ta sina sista farväl av kungen. Kistan kommer stå i Slottskapellet fram till den planerade gravfärdsceremonin till Oslo domkyrka den 9 september. Över 100 000 norrmän väntas ta också göra detta.
Borg Høiby får delta vid begravningen trots fotboja
Bonusprinsen Marius Borg Høiby får delta på kung Haralds begravning den 9 september. Det rapporterar Aftenposten.
– Det hade varit fullständigt hjärtlöst om han inte hade fått delta. Det är viktigt att familjen får vara samlad – och Marius är en del av den familjen, säger Dagbladets hovkommentator Sigrid Hvidsten.
Borg Høiby kommer även att närvara i dag när kung Harald ska flyttas till Slottskapellet och i samband med det hålls en minnesgudstjänst för de närmaste.
Bonusprinsen befinner sig annars vid föräldrahemmet i Skaugum med fotboja i väntan i väntan på domen i hovrätten. Han är sedan tidigare dömd till fyra års fängelse för två våldtäkter och misshandel.
Queen Sonja's nice greeting to her husband
Queen Sonja left a wreath next to her husband's coffin.
"Thank you for a good life".
The bonus prince Marius Borg Høiby, who has an anklet, was today carrying King Harald's coffin. This was revealed after new pictures from the Norwegian court.
The king's coffin was moved from the Red Salon to the Palace Chapel.
The coffin was accompanied by the king's family and court employees and the procession went through the palace's halls.
The queens walked hand in hand
The head of the court, Olav Heian-Engdal, walked at the forefront and carried the royal crown on a cushion, followed by the national sword and the king's orders.
The bonus prince is carrying King Harald's coffin. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
The children King Haakon and Princess Märtha Louise and the grandchildren Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince Sverre Magnus, Marius Borg Høiby, Maud Angelica Behn, Leah Isadora Behn and Emma Tallulah Behn participated in the procession through the palace, as can be seen in the photos published from the event.
Queen Mette-Marit and Queen Sonja also participated. The queens walked hand in hand after the coffin.
On the palace grounds, the queens came out hand in hand.
The Queen's greeting: "Thank you for a good life".
Starting on Tuesday at 2 p.m., the Palace Chapel will be open to the public who want to say a final farewell to King Harald. The royal family left three wreaths at the coffin in the chapel.
The first is from Queen Sonja, with the text:"Thank you for a good life".
On the right side of the coffin is another wreath from the royal family:
"Thank you".
It is signed “Haakon, Mette, Ingrid, Magnus and Marius”.
The third wreath reads:
“Thank you for everything, dear father, grandfather and father-in-law. We love you so much”
It is signed “Märtha, Durek, Maud, Leah and Emma.
On Saturday, the day after the king’s passing, the couple would have celebrated their wedding anniversary.
King Harald and Queen Sonja would then have celebrated 58 years of marriage.
Given permission from prosecutors
The prosecutor has previously approved that Marius Borg Høiby is allowed to leave the Skaugum residence, where he is serving his detention in ankle shackles, even during the funeral on September 9, reports Aftenposten.
He was also granted permission to visit King Harald at the National Hospital in Oslo on August 27 and to be present at the palace when the king’s coffin was brought there the following day, as Aftonbladet has previously reported.
Continued dispute over the Indus River despite the verdict
Continued dispute over the Indus River despite the verdict
TT-AFP
Published 20.03
The Indus River and its tributary Zanskar in Indian territory. Archive photo. Photo: Mukhtar Khan/AP/TT
India is ordered to comply with its obligations in an agreement with Pakistan to agree on access to water, including the Indus River.
India has wanted to break the agreement in the ongoing, low-intensity conflict with its neighbor.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration, also known as the Hague Tribunal, in the Netherlands ruled on Monday that New Delhi must comply with the agreement concluded with Islamabad in 1960. The agreement regulates how water resources are to be distributed in six rivers with sources in India and that flow through Pakistan.
India announced in the spring of 2025 that it was leaving the agreement, partly in response to Indian accusations that Pakistan supported a deadly attack on tourists on the Indian side of Kashmir. Pakistan denies involvement in the act.
India's Ministry of External Affairs announced that it does not accept the arbitration award.
Over 6,000 Ebola cases in Congo
A victim of the Ebola epidemic in Congo-Kinshasa is buried. Archive photo. Photo: Dieudonne Dirole /AP/TT
Authorities in Congo-Kinshasa say that over 6,000 people have been confirmed to be infected with Ebola.
So far, nearly 3,000 people have died in the worst Ebola epidemic in the country.
The announcement on Monday from the country's health authorities shows that the outbreak is worse than the epidemic that lasted from 2018 to 2020.
According to statistics confirmed by the country, 2,911 people have died, while 1,366 have recovered from the 6,041 confirmed cases.
In the latest epidemic, the outbreak is caused by the bundibugyo variant.
Finland: Sentence reduced for Russian convicted of war crimes
The Helsinki Court of Appeal has reduced the sentence for a Russian man who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Finland in March last year for war crimes committed in Ukraine in 2014.
The crimes in question were committed in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine in September 2014, when Russia-backed separatists had taken control of parts of the region. According to the prosecutor, the man was deputy commander of the Russian paramilitary force Rusich, which is labeled a terrorist group in Ukraine and is notorious for its brutality and neo-Nazi ideology.
However, the Helsinki Court of Appeal considers that the evidence is insufficient for some of the crimes and thus changes the sentence from life imprisonment to twelve years and six months.
Tougher EU requirements for Chat GPT
Chat GPT becomes the first AI service to be classified as so large that it faces particularly tough EU regulations.
Chat GPT, the gaming platform Roblox and the forum Reddit will receive so-called VL labels, in accordance with the EU's Digital Services Act, DSA.
The requirements for them will thus be extra tough, just as previously applied to other large platforms and social media such as Facebook, X and Youtube. The VL classification is given to those that have at least 45 million active users in the EU every month and entails, among other things, higher requirements for assessing and counteracting the risk of harm to minors and the spread of illegal material.
"We continue to closely monitor the digital landscape and do not shy away from classifying any platform," writes EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen in a press release.
China's foreign policy
Putin and Xi in talks about cooperation: "New opportunities"
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as they got the chance at the international summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, writes TT.
Xi praised the countries' cooperation and said he saw an even brighter future. Among the areas in which the countries are cooperating are AI and digital innovation.
Putin, for his part, stated that the cooperation continues and is successful "on all fronts".
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country has become increasingly dependent on China, whereupon the West has tried to influence China to pressure Russia. On Monday, Putin also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and he is also expected to hold a private conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the days.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as they got the chance at the international summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, writes TT.
Xi praised the countries' cooperation and said he saw an even brighter future. Among the areas in which the countries are cooperating are AI and digital innovation.
Putin, for his part, stated that the cooperation continues and is successful "on all fronts".
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country has become increasingly dependent on China, whereupon the West has tried to influence China to pressure Russia. On Monday, Putin also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and he is also expected to hold a private conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the days.
Experts: China wants to make Asia a united front
Several separate meetings are expected between international powers when the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit takes place in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek for two days. The agenda includes the energy situation, financial markets and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, writes the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Analysts also expect US policy under Donald Trump to be discussed.
- China can use this year's summit to position itself as a major power that wants to reach peaceful solutions to conflicts, and thus contrast itself with the United States, William Yang, an analyst at the think tank International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.
Li Lifan at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences says the meeting is particularly important for China.
- By deepening engagement and cooperating with Central Asian partners, China wants to build a common foundation for a united front, he told SCMP.
Economy
Middle East Crisis Oil Market
Oil prices rise after new attacks
Oil prices rise as trading resumes after the weekend.
The United States attacked Iran on Sunday for the first time in a month, and Iran has responded with attacks on American bases in the Middle East, according to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Brent oil prices rose 2 percent on Monday morning and are now around $90 a barrel.
The future of the EU
German and French long-term interest rates at the highest level in 15 years
German and French long-term interest rates are at the highest level in more than 15 years, Reuters reports. The fact that the interest rate on government bonds with a long maturity is rising is a reflection of the fact that economic risks in the countries have increased.
In addition to the rising oil price, which could drive inflation, both countries are suffering from high spending. While Germany invests in defense and infrastructure, France enters difficult budget debates that risk leading to new large budget deficits.
Volkswagen crisis
Union threat against VW: “There will be uprisings on all factory floors”
The German union IG Metall warns of massive resistance if Volkswagen tears up the previous agreement on the restructuring of the automotive giant, writes Reuters. The union and management have been in conflict since July over new measures that could include factory closures, spin-offs of operations and layoffs of another 50,000 employees.
“If the board tries to question this agreement again, there will be uprisings on the factory floors at all our plants,” Thorsten Gröger said at a meeting with employees at the plant in Hanover, which is threatened with closure, according to the news agency.
On Friday, Volkswagen’s board will meet to vote on three competing proposals for restructuring.
The chip race
The chip race continues to squeeze Huawei's profits
The AI race is squeezing Huawei's net profit, which fell by 36 percent in the first half of the year, compared to the same period last year.
Profit was mainly pressured by sharply increased investments in research and AI, while raw material costs rose, the company said.
Research and development costs increased by the equivalent of 34 billion kronor - clearly more than the loss of 19 billion kronor.
US sanctions limit Huawei's access to the most advanced chip equipment, which has prompted the company to develop its own solutions.
Wall Street opens lower after new attacks on Iran
US stock markets open lower on Monday after the US's new attacks on Iran this weekend and at 16:00 leading indices are down 0.4-0.6 percent.
Rising oil prices and market interest rates are pressuring the stock market. So is Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's speech on Friday, which the market interprets as a signal that interest rates will be raised, international media reports.
Oil prices are rising nearly 3 percent, which as usual benefits the stock market's energy companies. Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum are all rising around 2 percent.
Electric and gas company PG&E is plummeting nearly 20 percent after politicians in California stopped a proposal that would limit how much damages individuals can seek from electric companies whose equipment has caused forest fires, writes CNBC.
Mem stock Gamestop rises 4 percent after publishing preliminary quarterly figures and giving a mixed revenue forecast.
Volvo rival Deere is also going against the grain after receiving a higher recommendation from analyst house Baird. The stock is up about 3 percent.
Oljepriserna stiger närmare 3 procent, vilket som vanligt gynnar börsens energibolag. Chevron, Exxon Mobil och Occidental Petroleum stiger alla kring 2 procent.
Xi: Increased uncertainty and unpredictability
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at an ongoing summit in Kyrgyzstan.
– The uncertainty and unpredictability of the international order have clearly increased, said Xi.
At the same time, the Chinese president described China's relationship with Russia as "more solid" than before and he said that the future prospects look "even brighter".
Putin, for his part, announced that "cooperation is developing successfully on all fronts". He particularly highlighted "new opportunities" in digital innovation and AI.
The statements came at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization SCO's two-day summit that began on Monday in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. The organization is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Other leaders attending include Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, India's Narendra Modi and Pakistan's Shehbaz Sharif.
Russia is increasingly economically dependent on China after four and a half years of war in Ukraine. Western countries have urged Beijing to put pressure on Moscow to end the war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that Putin and Xi only discussed the Ukraine war "in passing."
Putin is also expected to hold private talks with Masoud Pezeshkian during the summit.
Russia and Iran - both of which are subject to a long list of sanctions - have deepened their military and economic ties since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
Zelensky: Good talks with Witkoff and Kushner
President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken by phone with US negotiators and planned an upcoming visit to Ukraine.
“Such a trip would be very beneficial for finding solutions for peace,” Zelensky writes in a post on X.
Zelensky describes the conversation with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as “good” and “detailed and constructive.”
“I also informed them about the situation on the battlefield, where Russia’s progress has been sparse and has cost enormous losses,” Zelensky writes.
Witkoff and Kushner have, so far without noticeable success, led American efforts to end Russia’s war of invasion.
Israeli strike hits car – several dead
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday killed at least five people, according to hospital sources.
Israel claims the attacks were aimed at “military operatives” from the terrorist group Hamas.
Israel is repeatedly attacking targets in Gaza despite a formal ceasefire in the war.
On Monday, the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City confirmed that it had received five dead and several injured in separate raids. In one Israeli strike, the entrance to a residential building was attacked, and in a separate raid, a drone hit a car.
Israel claims the right to attack targets in Gaza to stop threats from Hamas following the terror movement's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israeli operations have killed more than 1,300 people since the US-led ceasefire began in October.
“It has become a kind of conflict of attrition”
– This has become a kind of conflict of attrition, says Erika Holmquist at FOI.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important shipping lanes for oil and fossil gas, which characterizes the conflict between the US and Iran.
This weekend, the US struck two missile launchers on the island of Larak where Iran, according to the US, was in the process of launching mines into the strait. Iran responded with its own missile attacks aimed at US bases in Jordan and an air base in the United Arab Emirates, but it is unclear whether the projectiles reached their targets.
After more than six months, the war continues, which the US had thought would be over in a few weeks.
– Iran is trying to use the Strait of Hormuz and the trade disruptions there to drag out this conflict and tire out the US, says Erika Holmquist, analyst and research director at the Swedish Defence Research Institute (FOI).
– On the other hand, the US hopes that the very tough economic pressure on Iran will soon force them to the negotiating table.
Iran knows very well
A closed strait means that the price of oil is pushed up – a domestic political powder keg in the US.In this way, Iran could get a more advantageous long-term peace agreement with sanctions relief and continued control over the strait.
– Iran also knows very well that this war is very unpopular in the US, says Holmquist.
Before the war broke out, around 20 million barrels per day passed through Hormuz. Iran claims that the strait is closed, but the US military has protected oil ships that have passed through the southern part of the strait.
Too early to say
A couple of weeks ago, according to Axios, American sources estimated that it is about ten million barrels per day, analysts have talked about at least six to seven million.– In the last two weeks, we have seen that the US seems to have succeeded in creating the conditions for getting some traffic through.
Erika Holmquist says that it is too early to say whether it is enough to force Iran to talk.
– But if they lose Hormuz as a bargaining chip, then I think they will be more inclined to negotiate.
It is unclear how the attacks, blockades and tightened sanctions of recent months have affected Iran.
– Iran's big Achilles heel is the internal situation. The question is how severe economic pressure they can withstand? How bad is their economy and what does their military capacity look like? None of these questions are particularly easy to answer.
Trump's USA
The President's Team
Sources: Pentagon secretly hires military influencers
The US Department of Defense has secretly hired several conservative veterans with large online followings, sources tell the Washington Post.
According to the sources, the profiles have praised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and attacked journalists and Trump critics. It appears that the influencers have been given government civilian jobs, but it is unclear what their assignments are.
Some have been hired in roles that could lead to changes in policy, according to the sources.
Neither the Pentagon nor the influencers themselves have been transparent about the hiring. The Pentagon has declined to answer questions about whether the influencers receive salaries paid with taxpayer money, what their roles are or how long they will be employed.
The War on the Media
Trump: Journalist must be "punished" for TV segment
US President Donald Trump writes on Truth Social that NBC reporter Kristen Welker should be reported to the media authority FCC for "reprimand or punishment".
The reason is a TV segment in which Welker says that Trump has received "mixed results" when it comes to the candidates he has backed in the primaries ahead of the midterm elections.
In two posts on his own platform, he urges the FCC to "do something about it." FCC head Brendan Carr, who was appointed by Trump, has previously followed the president's line on similar matters.
Lavrov: NATO's Arctic activity a direct threat
Russia sees NATO's activity in the Arctic as a direct security threat, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an article according to Reuters.
NATO's military exercises in the area are seen by Russia as "aggressive", according to the article.
In February, NATO launched Arctic Sentry, whose mission, among other things, is to coordinate the military exercises that individual NATO countries are already arranging in the Arctic, coordinate monitoring of the region and create a better common situational picture.
Russia has already previously expressed its opposition to Arctic Sentry.
Moon Movement Leader Sentenced to Two Years in Prison
Hak Ja Han, widow of the founder of the new religious movement known as the Moon Movement, has been sentenced to two years in prison by a South Korean court for corruption.
83-year-old Hak Ja Han is accused of bribing the wife of South Korea's ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol and embezzling church funds.
Hak Ja Han, who took over the role of leader of the Moon Movement (formally the Unification Church or the Family Federation for World Peace and Unity) after her husband Sun Myung Moon died, denies all charges.
Last year, Hak Ja Han was arrested and charged with giving luxury goods to the former first lady in 2022, when Yoon Suk Yeol was still in power.
Macron on site – signs record contract
One of Sweden's largest defense deals ever will be signed today – and French President Emmanuel Macron will be in Stockholm for the ceremony.
The four new warships will cost SEK 47 billion.
There are also weapons on the table that reach further than anything else in our arsenal.
The frigate FDI from the French Naval group beat out a Spanish and a Swedish-British alternative, and was chosen by the government in May as Sweden's next warship.
The contracts will be signed today.
It will take place aboard the first ship, the FDI ship built at the shipyard in Lorient, the French Amiral Ronarc'h, which is currently moored at Guldbron in Stockholm.
Naval Group CEO Pierre-Eric Pommellet and FMV Director General Mikael Granholm are expected to sign the papers at 4:30 p.m., with President Macron and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson as witnesses.
SEK 47 billion is more than a full year's defense budget was just a few years ago, and when it comes to Swedish weapons, only the Jas 39 Gripen program has cost more.
Triples air defense capability
What Sweden is getting are modern air defense frigates, armed with the Aster 30 and CAMM-ER air defense missiles.
The Aster missiles can, among other things, shoot down ballistic missiles.
No Swedish ship has had that capacity before, and according to the government, the purchase means that Sweden's qualified air defense capability is tripling.
Perhaps another new record capability is lurking in the wings.
The FDI can be built with the ability to fire the Missile de Croisière Naval (MdCN), a cruise missile that can strike ground targets at very long distances, probably more than 1,000 kilometers – longer than most in any NATO country’s arsenal.
Naval has offered to build the MdCN into the Swedish frigates, but Sweden has not openly expressed any interest.
During the ceremony today, Minister of Defense Pål Jonson and French Minister of Defense Catherine Vautrin will also sign a framework agreement to strengthen Swedish-French cooperation in operational matters, defense capabilities and industrial development.
The first ship will be delivered to Sweden in 2030, and the others before 2034.
Facts
Why the government chose the FDI
The government highlights three reasons for choosing the French FDI (Frégate de Défence et d’Intervention):
- Fast delivery. Sweden will receive the first ship in 2030, and then one more every year thereafter.
- Complete and proven design. Many military development projects have both become more expensive and delivered later than originally planned. FDI already exists, and both France and Greece have ships in operation.
- Air defense. The Aster 30 missiles have a long range and the entire
system from radar, via combat control to missile is tested and verified.
Among other things, they can shoot down ballistic missiles.
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