Whaling season has commenced in Norway

This year's physical edition of the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable (ASFR) was held in Iceland at the end of March.

The forum – co-chaired by Norway and the US European Command – brings together senior military leaders from the seven allied Arctic states, as well as from the observer states of France, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Also present were representatives of the US Northern Command and NATO JFC Norfolk, which has now been granted permanent observer status in ASFR.

The military leaders exchanged views on security challenges in the Arctic, with a focus on building shared situational awareness and coordinated approaches to deterrence and defense in the region. The NATO Arctic Sentry initiative was highlighted in this context.

They also visited Keflavík Air Station and gained insight into Iceland's defense-related roles and responsibilities. Last year's conference took place in Kirkenes, Northern Norway.

The European Capital of Culture year in Oulu, Northern Finland, opened in January. Now, Oulu2026 announces that the ambitious E75 Art Bus will soon will depart from city’s town hall.

On April 9th, the rolling art festival will begin its journey through 20 cities and villages along Europe’s eastern edge (the E75 road). While the southernmost stop is in Crete, Greece, the art bus will round off its journey at the Finnmark coast, Northern Norway, with festivities in Vardø on May 16th.

At the various locations, artists on the bus will create performances, exhibitions, workshops and discussions around topics such as democracy, the climate crisis, diversity, and community.

Among them is a dancer who sheds light on folk dance as a form of resistance, a ceramic artist who collects people's sorrows across Europe to release them into the Barents Sea, as well as a media artist who researches migration and invites the audience to sing with birds.

The project connects people, cultures and perspectives from the Arctic to the Mediterranean in a time when contact, mobility and hope are more important than ever, writes Oulu2026.

Thirteen conscripts suffered frostbite during an exercise in Norrbotten, Northern Sweden, in February after the heater in their tent stopped working, according to SVT.

The number of people affected by frostbite in the Swedish defense sector has increased significantly this winter.

During the first two months of the year, 134 cases of frostbite were reported. In comparison, 47 cases of frostbite were reported in all of 2025.

This year's sea ice maximum is set to be the second lowest since satellite measurements began, only to be turned off in 2025, reports the Bjerknes Center for Climate Research.

Since 1979, satellites have been monitoring sea ice in the Arctic and measuring how extensive the ice has been at its greatest extent. In their first year, the measurements showed an extent of over 16.5 million square kilometers of sea ice, from the first measurement until this year the ice has been reduced by a full 1.5 million square kilometers.

Only 2018 and 2025 have had similar low values ​​at this time of year.

For the first time, Innovation Norway is organizing its largest annual event outside of Oslo, when the Innovation Speech will be held on May 12, 2026 in Bodø, Northern Norway.

The choice of Bodø is not accidental, reports Innovation Norway.

"In a time of increased geopolitical tension and a demanding security situation, Northern Norway is in a special position. Not only geographically, but also strategically," the press release states.

The Innovation Speech 2026 focuses on the geopolitical tension and how preparedness and business development are interconnected. Innovation Norway's Director Håkon Haugli says that security, preparedness, innovation and business development are closely linked.

Two Transport Desgagné ships are stuck in the Persian Gulf as Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz.

The sealift ships manage annual seaborne supplies to Nunavut and Nunavik in Canada.

The ships arrived in the Gulf just days before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28th. The attack led to an immediate blockade of the 34-kilometer strait that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

"Our crews are safe," says David Rivest, president and general manager of trans-Arctic operations for Transport Desgagné's shipping company to Nunatsiag.

According to Rivest, the situation is tense:

“There are hundreds of ships in the area and we are waiting for the appropriate conditions and instructions to depart the region safely."

Each vessel has between 15 and 20 crew members.

“At this point, it is difficult to do hypothetical scenarios in terms of how long and what the impact could be” on Arctic sealift operations, says Rivest, who states that the company is working on contingency plans.

In 2025, short-term rentals through Airbnb amounted to nearly NOK 1.4 billion in Tromsø, Lofoten, Bodø and Alta in Northern Norway.

This is an increase of 28 percent from the previous year, according to a new report from Kunnskapsbanken.

Tromsø dominates in the winter season, and singlehandedly accounted for NOK 905 million of the turnover, an increase of 36 percent from the previous year.

Lofoten is undisputedly the largest in the summer season and accounted for NOK 385 million, up from 338 million in 2024.

Bodø/Glimt is to meet the portuguese team Sporting in the Champions League Round of 16.

The Arctic football team from Bodø, Northern Norway, advanced in the Champions League after an aggregate result of 5-2 against Inter Milan.

The first game in the Round of 16 will be played at Aspmyra Stadium in Bodø on the 11th of March. The second match is to be played in Lisboa on March 17th.

The nominees for the Nordic Council Literature Prize include novels, collections of poems and a short story collection.

Denmark:

Mette Moestrup with the poem collection Butterfly Nebula and Charlotte Weitze with the novel Ulvemælk.

Finland:

Pirkko Saisio with the novel Suliko and Quynh Tran with the novel När andra njuter.

Faroe Islands:

Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs with the novel Marta, Marta.

Greenland:

Debora H. Kleist with the novel Sarsuatitat.

Iceland:

Eva Rún Snorradóttir with the novel Eldri konur and Jón Kalman Stefánsson with the novel Himintungl yfir heimsins ystu brún.

Norway:

Dag Johan Haugerud with the novel Sjelesorg.

Norway/Sami language area:

Sigbjørn Skåden with the novel Planterhaug / Láŋtdievvá.

Sweden:

Anna Hallberg with the poetry collection AN and Linda Örtenblad with the collection of short stories Kartotek över döda och återuppståndna.

Åland:

Sebastian Johans with the novel Svanhopp. Roman om död far.

The winner of the 2026 Nordic Council Literature Prize will be announced on 20 October. The prize statuette will be presented to the winner at the Session of the Nordic Council in Helsinki on 27 October. The prize is worth DKK 300,000.

At the end of February, there were 2,072 fully unemployed people in Nordland. This represents 1.7 percent of the workforce. In addition to the fully unemployed, there were 601 job seekers on benefits and 1,006 partially unemployed job seekers. This brings Nordland to a total of 3,679 job seekers, which represents 3 percent of the workforce, NAV reports.

NATO has launched the mission to strengthen its presence in the Arctic, part of an effort to defuse tensions within the alliance prompted by the U.S. president's push to acquire Greenland from Denmark.

"Our F-35 contribution strengthens the overall presence in the region and underscores Denmark's role as an active ally in the Arctic and North Atlantic," Denmarks minister of defense, Trouls Lund Poulsen said in a statement.

Poulsen also expects the United States to contribute to the NATO mission, he told reporters ahead of the Munich Security Conference.

Russian energy major Gazprom Neft has discovered a new oil field on the Yamal Peninsula that is the largest discovered in the region in three decades, according to a company release.

The new find is located in the Arctic zone of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, home to the world's largest natural gas reserves but also a region with significant oil potential. Drilling and exploration are challenging as the peninsula is almost entirely covered by permafrost.

The field is part of a large oil and gas cluster in the southern part of the peninsula, according to the company. It was discovered after three years of exploration. Estimated geological reserves are 55 million tons, the company's press release stated.