Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday
Find out what's going on in Norway on Thursday with The Local's short roundup of important news.
Stoltenberg on continuing with NATO: 'It is up to the 30 countries to decide'
NATO Secretary-General, and former Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, has refused to give a solid answer on whether he would be willing to continue in his post, which he is due to leave later this year.
"It is up to the 30 allied countries to decide. My focus is to prepare for the summit tomorrow," Stoltenberg said at a press conference yesterday afternoon.
The press in Norway has reported that several heads of state have asked Stoltenberg to continue in the role to avoid NATO looking for a successor amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Stoltenberg is set to move back to Norway later this year to take up the hotly debated post as governor of Norway's central bank, Norges Bank.
The appointment has raised eyebrows and drawn scepticism in Norway as Stoltenberg is a former colleague of current PM Jonas Gahr Støre.
Interest rates going up
The key interest rate is widely expected to be raised on Thursday. The key policy rate will likely be increased from 0.5 to 0.75 percent by Norges Bank.
The bank is holding a meeting on interest rates at 10:30am. The decision to raise interest rates was announced in January, and economists believe that the bank will stick to the planned rate hike.
READ ALSO: Five essential tips for saving money on food shopping in Norway
Rising interest rates mean more costly mortgage repayments and higher interest on loans however, rising interest also typically curb rising house prices.
Record number of flu vaccines
A new study shows that a record number of those over 65 have been vaccinated against seasonal flu.
75 percent of those aged over 65 said that they had been vaccinated against seasonal flu, according to a survey carried out for the Pharmacy Association.
Last year only 59 percent of people in this age group said that they had the flu jab.
National museum in hot water over job listings
Norway's new national museum has received criticism from the Labour Party for listing 38 part-time jobs.
The government has been vocal about decreasing the number of part-time roles offered by firms and replacing them with full-time listings.
"With so many vacancies advertised, one would think that there was room to get more full-time positions. Involuntary part-time and lack of full-time culture is a big problem in parts of both the public and private sector," Labour policy spokesperson Tuva Moflag told public broadcaster NRK.
The museum has defended the listing and said that if they were to offer the jobs full-time, it would mean staff working six days a week and most weekends.
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Stoltenberg on continuing with NATO: 'It is up to the 30 countries to decide'
NATO Secretary-General, and former Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, has refused to give a solid answer on whether he would be willing to continue in his post, which he is due to leave later this year.
"It is up to the 30 allied countries to decide. My focus is to prepare for the summit tomorrow," Stoltenberg said at a press conference yesterday afternoon.
The press in Norway has reported that several heads of state have asked Stoltenberg to continue in the role to avoid NATO looking for a successor amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Stoltenberg is set to move back to Norway later this year to take up the hotly debated post as governor of Norway's central bank, Norges Bank.
The appointment has raised eyebrows and drawn scepticism in Norway as Stoltenberg is a former colleague of current PM Jonas Gahr Støre.
Interest rates going up
The key interest rate is widely expected to be raised on Thursday. The key policy rate will likely be increased from 0.5 to 0.75 percent by Norges Bank.
The bank is holding a meeting on interest rates at 10:30am. The decision to raise interest rates was announced in January, and economists believe that the bank will stick to the planned rate hike.
READ ALSO: Five essential tips for saving money on food shopping in Norway
Rising interest rates mean more costly mortgage repayments and higher interest on loans however, rising interest also typically curb rising house prices.
Record number of flu vaccines
A new study shows that a record number of those over 65 have been vaccinated against seasonal flu.
75 percent of those aged over 65 said that they had been vaccinated against seasonal flu, according to a survey carried out for the Pharmacy Association.
Last year only 59 percent of people in this age group said that they had the flu jab.
National museum in hot water over job listings
Norway's new national museum has received criticism from the Labour Party for listing 38 part-time jobs.
The government has been vocal about decreasing the number of part-time roles offered by firms and replacing them with full-time listings.
"With so many vacancies advertised, one would think that there was room to get more full-time positions. Involuntary part-time and lack of full-time culture is a big problem in parts of both the public and private sector," Labour policy spokesperson Tuva Moflag told public broadcaster NRK.
The museum has defended the listing and said that if they were to offer the jobs full-time, it would mean staff working six days a week and most weekends.
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