Protests fly over family’s deportation

The sudden, middle-of-the night deportation of a refugee family to Jordan this week has sparked protests from their supporters, humanitarian organizations and several top politicians. Two opposition parties are claiming that they’ll try to bring the family back to Norway if they win government power this fall. Norwegian immigration authorities had consistently rejected the asylum [...]

Parliament refused to ban begging

A majority in the Norwegian Parliament have voted to restrict but not ban begging, leaving local governments and the police to decide how to deal with a new wave of migrant poor expected to arrive in Oslo this summer. Police in Oslo, meanwhile, have cracked down on an illegal camp in the forest at Sognsvann. [...]

Bosses often baffle foreign workers

Results of a new international employment survey show that workers in Norway generally enjoy their jobs but their bosses score low for failing to give clear instructions or constructive feedback. Foreign workers in Norway are especially baffled by bosses who don’t behave like most bosses in other countries. “I think Norway has the most unusual [...]

Few firms willing to hire foreigners

American, Australian, Indian and other foreign workers have little chance of landing good jobs with Norwegian companies, no matter how educated or qualified they are, according to a new survey. Its results show that Norwegian employers prefer to hire Norwegian employees, even when faced with a labour shortage in the Norwegian market and even when [...]

LO seeks to block Croatian workers

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) wants to restrict Croatian immigrants from coming to work in Norway, in a bid to prevent social dumping. The labour market in Norway continues to predict growth, and demand for more workers is still high, but anti-EU forces also want to keep out workers from Croatia. LO has asked the current government [...]

Rejected refugee sues state

A refugee from Afghanistan who was denied asylum in Norway and sent back to his homeland was suing the Norwegian government in an Oslo court this week, because he was arrested and tortured upon his return. The Norwegian authorities had claimed he’d be safe back in Afghanistan and had no need for protection. At issue [...]

Population growth tapers off

Population growth in Norway has slowed and is at its lowest level since the first quarter or 2007, reports state statistics bureau SSB. Norway’s population amounted to 5,063,709 inhabitants at the end of this year’s first quarter, an increase of just 1.2 percent (or 12,434 inhabitants) since the fourth quarter of 2012. SSB tied the [...]

Diplomat caught in Roma debate

“I’m cautious,” says Romania’s ambassador to Norway, Daniel Ionita, before agreeing to share his thoughts on the presence of thousands of beggars in Norwegian cities and towns. Many are from his country, and they’ve created one of the most troublesome issues now facing Norwegian officials at both the state and local levels. Ionita readily admits [...]

‘Hurra’ for all on the 17th of May

New research that has surprised even those conducting it reveals that Norway’s Constitution Day on the 17th of May has emerged not as a day of nationalistic chauvinism but as the most inclusive day of the year, with solidarity cutting across ethnic, cultural and religious lines. It’s now celebrated enthusiastically by both natives and a [...]

17th of May leader defied critics

Shoaib Sultan was born in Pakistan but grew up in Oslo and then, from the age of 10, in a small village northeast of the capital, near the border to Hedmark County. Not everyone thought that qualified him to be leader of the organizing committee for 17th of May celebrations in Oslo this year, but [...]

Begging on streets OK, not sleeping

Police were voicing approval on Thursday after city politicians in Oslo, quarreling over how to deal with thousands of migrant poor on the streets of the capital, banned all outdoor sleeping on public property in populated areas. Begging continues to be unrestricted, at least for now. The politicians had seemed poised to restrict begging as [...]

Townships reject more refugees

Many local municipalities in Norway are refusing to accept more refugees, and struggling with what they say are the “skyrocketing” costs of integration. Only one in five has taken in as many refugees as the state government wished. Many of Norway’s municipalities (kommuner) believe that the government is trying to settle too many refugees, according [...]

Cities reject state government’s plan to help and control beggars

City governments in Oslo, Bergen, Tromsø and Bodø are among those turning down new funding offered by the left-center state government to both accommodate and control Norway’s growing problems posed by migrant beggars. The cities claim the state’s plan is unworkable and won’t help. Justice Minister Grete Faremo of the Labour Party finally unveiled how [...]

Flag conflict waves in Ålesund

Norway’s west coast city of Ålesund was caught in conflict this week after the local committee in charge of planning Constitution Day festivities on the 17th of May turned down a request from a local school whose children wanted to carry their hand-made flags in the annual parade. Now some city politicians say they fear [...]

Majority backs a ban on begging

Six out of 10 Norwegians now want a nationwide ban on begging, according to the results of a new public opinion poll. The poll indicates that a clear majority of Norwegians think a ban on begging will discourage migrant poor from coming to Norway to beg, but the country’s left-center government won’t impose one. The [...]

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