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TODAY IN NORWAY

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Norway’s immigration authority dismisses over 1,000 cases where deception is suspected, interest rate cut likely to be delayed, and more news from Norway on Wednesday. 

Pictured is a view of downtown Oslo.
Find out what's going on in Norway on Wednesday with The Local's short roundup of important news. Pictured is a view of downtown Oslo. Photo by Eirik Skarstein on Unsplash

Norway’s UDI dismisses over 1,000 cases where deception is suspected 

More than 1,000 cases where the UDI suspected that asylum and immigration applicants had lied have been dropped by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), public broadcaster NRK reports. 

“We were in a situation where a large number of cases were created, but where our capacity was not in proportion to the amount of cases. This meant that we did not get a good enough grip on the matters that we believe are the most serious. At the same time, it led to a good number of these cases becoming very old,” director of the UDI Frode Forfang told NRK

The dismissal comes after the Ministry of Justice told the UDI to close old cases last year. The UDI has decided that cases older than three years will no longer be investigated.

Interest rate cut likely to be delayed 

Financial institution DNB Markets has said that the central bank will likely delay interest rate cuts until December. 

The first cut was projected to arrive in September. DNB Markets believe an increase in real wages and a weak krone have increased inflationary pressure. 

“As a result of stronger drive in the economy and a weak krone, Norges Bank will probably choose to postpone the first interest rate cut until December,” Kjersti Haugland at DNB Markets said. 

Haugland said that after a first interest rate cut in December, the central bank will likely take a gradual and moderate approach to lowering rates. 

PM saddened by vandalism to Jewish cemetery 

Over the weekend, a Jewish cemetery in Trondheim was vandalized, something which Norway’s PM has condemned. 

“It upsets me. I strongly distance myself from these actions, which are completely unacceptable in Norway,” Jonas Gahr Støre said to VG

“I understand that such actions are frightening for Norwegian Jews. I emphasize that we should not bring the conflict from the Middle East home to Norway and turn it into a conflict between people in this country,” he said. 

Trouble with train traffic in Oslo 

Another signal issue has led to a train stoppage between Bryn and Grorud stations in Oslo. 

Trains on the Sørlandsbanen are also affected by the issues. This affects trains between Oslo and Stavanger. 

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TODAY IN NORWAY

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday 

Danish royals tour Oslo, agreement avoids strike that could have affected supermarkets and other news from Norway on Thursday. 

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday 

Danish royals visit Oslo 

Oslo was the destination of the Danish royal couple’s second state visit since succeeding Margrethe II earlier this year. 

King Frederik and Queen Mary spent Wednesday in Oslo, where they first went on a hike in the city’s forests before being given a tour of the Bjørvika neighbourhood by Queen Sonja, Crown Prince Haakon, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. 

The party visited the new sauna facilities behind the Munch Museum and enjoyed performances by Danish and Norwegian children’s choirs. 

The state visit ended on Wednesday, and the Danish royals hosted a visit aboard the royal ship Dannebrog. 

Strike threat could still affect supermarkets 

Talks between the union umbrella Fellesforbundet and the employer organisation Virke resulted in an agreement for warehouse workers and drivers on Thursday morning. 

The talks initially broke down on April 24th before heading to mediation. The agreement was reached after eight hours of overtime talks. 

A potential strike could have affected supermarket shelves across Norway. Major wholesalers, such as Asko and Coop, are among the companies that could have been affected.

Threefold increase in antisemitism cases 

Norway has seen a sharp increase in reported antisemitism cases this year, according to the police’s body for hate crimes. 

In the first quarter of last year, there were just eight registered cases compared to 21 this year, the Christian newspaper Vårt Land reports. 

According to the National Center for Hate Crime, there has been a clear uptick in hate crimes since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th and the subsequent war.

Norwegian state and farmers reach an agreement on agricultural settlement 

Farmers and the government have agreed on a fresh agricultural settlement, broadcaster NRK reported on Thursday morning. 

Full clarification on the settlement will be provided at a joint press conference at 11:30am. 

A potential agreement comes after the state and farmers entered full negotiations on May 7th. The farmers presented their demands on April 26th, and the state put forward its offer on May 6th. 

Farmers initially asked for a package amounting to 3.9 billion kroner, while the state initially offered 2.62 billion kroner. 

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