Revised national budget to be presented

The revised national budget, the government’s updated plan for the country, will be presented by Minister of Finance Trygve Slagsvold Vedum on Thursday morning. 

The government will propose increasing the use of oil money by 30 billion kroner in the updated fiscal plan. The government has proposed cutting back on several construction projects too.

The government will make ferry routes with less than 100,000 passengers annually free. 

READ MORE: Why some ferry routes in Norway will be completely free this summer

Significant increase in online abuse figures 

The National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) has said that it has seen a four-fold increase in internet-related abuse between 2020 and last year. 

In 2020, it sent 500 tips to Norway’s police districts, compared to 2,000 last year. 

“We know that it is comprehensive. We have a lot of numbers – the number of tips, the number of people who possess or distribute abuse material, the number of people we believe pay for direct order abuse from vulnerable countries,” Helge Haugland, section manager for internet-related abuse at the investigation service told newspaper VG. 

“We have a number of figures, but we do not know how specific it is for the actual extent of sexual abuse online,” Haugland added. 

Police to be armed on May 17th 

Norwegian police will be armed on May 17th, Constitution Day, the Norwegian Police Directorate has said. 

The arming of police wasn’t due to a specific threat but to ensure that police were well prepared and equipped to respond. 

“This is something we take seriously to make sure we have good preparedness on this day,” Benedicte Bjørland from the police directorate said. 

Waiting times of up to ten weeks for a passport this summer 

The police, responsible for passports in Norway, have warned that those who want a new passport are facing waiting times of up to ten weeks this summer. 

“Demand is higher than available production, even with the measures we have implemented. Therefore, it must be expected that the waiting time will increase further in the coming months,” Arne Isak Tveitan from the directorate told broadcaster TV2. 

The current waiting time is around seven weeks, but this could rise to ten by July. 

ID cards are also facing long waiting times, between four to six weeks, according to the police. 

READ ALSO: How do Norway’s slow passport processing times compare to Denmark and Sweden?

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