RYE, N.H. —

After 462 days at sea, a mini boat launched by fifth- and sixth-grade students in Rye, New Hampshire, has been recovered in Norway.

The boat was created by Rye Junior High School students and launched in October 2020 as part of a lesson about the Gulf Stream, wind and waves.

The students, part of the group Educational Passages, named their creation the "Rye Riptides Mini Boat."

On Sunday, the onboard GPS pinged on an island off the coast of Norway, but the mini boat wasn't always easy to track.

"The GPS stopped reporting back in September and everyday since I have been checking, as have the students, and then suddenly on Monday, Jan. 31 a location popped up after four months of quiet," said Educational Passages Executive Director Cassie Stymiest.

The mini boat was found on an uninhabited island near Somola, Norway. A post was made in a Norway community Facebook group and a family found it and retrieved it.

The boat was taken to a local school in Norway, where students opened it up to find all of the notes and trinkets in perfect condition inside.

Former Rye Junior High teacher Sheila Adams said some of the items the students included were a facemask signed by the students, autumn leaves, and coins.

Adams recently retired before the boat was found.

"There was one piece missing when I retired and that was the conclusion of the boat, so now I am all set," Adams said.

On Thursday, students at Rye Junior High School will meet their counterparts in Norway through a virtual discussion.

OSLO, Norway — Norway is banning the breeding of English bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles spaniels.

In a ruling this week, Animal Protection Norway said the breeding of the dogs went against the country’s Animal Welfare Act, citing the inherent health problems the dogs face.

Evidence has shown that both breeds experience severe breathing conditions, eye problems, skin infections, heart problems, as well as joint problems.

A study by the University of California found that the English bulldog does not have the genetic diversity continue as a breed.

The puppy mortality rate among bulldogs is considered high and on average, bulldogs only live until the age of six.

The animal rights group in Norway brought the cause to the Oslo District Court, arguing both breeds should be protected from cruelty.

The court ruled that the breeds aren’t completely banned from breeding and said breeders could consider “scientifically based cross-breeding” as an alternative.

COPENHAGEN —

A man armed with a bow fired arrows at shoppers in a small Norwegian town Wednesday, killing five people before he was arrested, authorities said.

The police chief in the community of Kongsberg, near the capital of Oslo, said there was “a confrontation” between officers and the assailant, but he did not elaborate. Two other people were wounded and hospitalized in intensive care, including an officer who was off duty and inside the shop where the attack took place, police said.

“The man who carried out the act has been arrested by the police, and there is no active search for more people. Based on the information we have, there is one person behind this,” police Chief Oeyving Aas said.

Acting Prime Minister Erna Solberg described the attack as “gruesome” and said it was too early to speculate on a motive. The prime minister-designate, Jonas Gahr Stoere, who is expected to take office Thursday, called the assault “a cruel and brutal act” in comments to Norwegian news agency NTB.

Police were alerted to the attack around 6:15 p.m. and arrested the suspect about 30 minutes later. The community of some 26,000 inhabitants is about 66 kilometers (41 miles) southwest of Oslo.

According to police, the suspect walked around downtown Kongsberg shooting arrows. Aas declined to comment on reports that the man used a crossbow, saying only there were “several crime scenes.”

The man has not been questioned yet, Aas said.

Norway’s domestic security agency PST was informed of the assault.

Town officials invited people who were affected by the attack and their relatives to gather for support at a local hotel.

Mass killings are rare in Norway. The country's worst peacetime slaughter was on July 22, 2011, when right-wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital of Oslo, killing eight people. Then he headed to tiny Utoya Island, where he stalked the mostly teen members of the Labor Party’s youth wing and killed another 69 victims.

Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison, the maximum under Norwegian law, but his term can be extended as long as he’s considered a danger to society.