OSLO: The Norwegian government proposed on Friday a nationwide ban on the wearing of full-face veils, such as the burqa and the niqab, in universities, schools, and kindergartens.
France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed restrictions on wearing full-face veils in public places.
If passes by parliament, Norway could become the first Nordic country to introduce such ban in the education sector, Finance Minister Siv Jensen said in a statement. Denmark plans to fine people who cover their face in public.
Jensen, who is also the leader of the anti-immigrant right-wing Progress Party, said the ban would send a strong signal that Norway is “an open society where we are going to see the face of each other.”
The government amended an initial proposal, first presented in June, to allow the wearing of full-face veils during breaks and staff meetings in schools and universities, but it would have to apply throughout working hours at kindergartens.
“A ban on face-covering garments will ensure open communication with children, students and newly arrived immigrants in educational situations,” Jan Tore Sanner, minister of knowledge and integration said in the statement. Sanner belongs to the center-right Conservatives.
Full and partial face veils such as burqas and niqabs divide opinion across Europe, setting advocates of religious freedom against secularists and those who argue that such garments are culturally alien or a symbol of the oppression of women.
The niqab covers everything but the eyes, while the burqa also covers the eyes with a transparent veil.
Under the Norwegian proposal, employees who broke the rule several times would risk losing their jobs, and students would face expulsion, the government said. The ban would not apply to headgear like the hijab or hats.
Local bans on wearing burqa and niqab have been already introduced in some upper secondary schools in Norway.
Norway’s minority government, a coalition of the Conservatives, the Progress Party and the centrist Liberals, said in June it was confident it would find enough support for the move in parliament. If it does, the ban would start in August.
Separately, Oslo police said in a report that the capital had seen the highest reported number of hate crimes last year, with 198 incidents considered, against 175 in 2016.
“The biggest increase we see among are women insulted in the category of religion, and more specifically Islam,” said the police in a statement.
Norway proposes bill to ban full-face veils in education
Norway proposes bill to ban full-face veils in education
The UN aid coordination agency cuts its funding appeal after Western support plunges
- The UN aid coordinator sought $47 billion for this year and aimed to help 190 million people worldwide. Because of the lower support, it and humanitarian partners reached 25 million fewer people this year than in 2024
GENEVA: The UN’s humanitarian aid coordination office is downsizing its appeal for annual funding in 2026 after support this year, mostly from Westerngovernments, plunged to the lowest level in a decade.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday it was seeking $33 billion to help some 135 million people cope with fallout from wars, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics and food shortages. This year, it took in $15 billion, the lowest level in a decade.
The office says next year it wants more than $4.1 billion to reach 3 million people in Palestinian areas, another $2.9 billion for Sudan — home to the world’s largest displacement crisis — and $2.8 billion for a regional plan around Syria.
“In 2025, hunger surged. Food budgets were slashed — even as famines hit parts of Sudan and Gaza. Health systems broke apart,” said OCHA chief Tom Fletcher. “Disease outbreaks spiked. Millions went without essential food, health care and protection. Programs to protect women and girls were slashed, hundreds of aid organizations shut.”
The UN aid coordinator sought $47 billion for this year and aimed to help 190 million people worldwide. Because of the lower support, it and humanitarian partners reached 25 million fewer people this year than in 2024.
The donor fatigue comes as many wealthy European countries face security threats from an increasingly assertive Russia on their eastern flank and have experienced lackluster economic growth in recent years, putting new strains on government budgets and the consumers who pay taxes to sustain them.
“I know budgets are tight right now. Families everywhere are under strain,” Fletcher said. “But the world spent $2.7 trillion on defense last year – on guns and arms. And I’m asking for just over 1 percent of that.”
The UN system this year has slashed thousands of jobs, notably at its migration and refugee agencies, and Secretary-General António Guterres’ office has launched a review of UN operations — which may or may not produce firm results.
Fletcher, who answers to Guterres, has called for “radical transformation” of aid by reducing bureaucracy, boosting efficiency and giving more power to local groups. Fletcher cited “very practical, constructive conversations” almost daily with the Trump administration.
“Do I want to shame the world into responding? Absolutely,” Fletcher said. “But I also want to channel this sense of determination and anger that we have as humanitarians, that we will carry on delivering with what we get.”
