Norway to intensify border controls due rising asylum arrivals

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway will intensify its border controls in an effort to gain a better overview of asylum-seekers arriving in the country, the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday. "It's important that Norwegian authorities as quickly as possible learn the identity and background of those who arrive in the country, among other things to prevent illegal immigration and fight international crime," it said. Some 1,242 asylum seekers came to Norway last week, a 57 percent increase over the previous week, statistics from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration show. EU outsider Norway, a member of Europe's free-movement Schengen area, said the new measures did not amount to systematic controls of all arrivals and were not intended to cut off foreigners' right to seek asylum. Police will increase their presence in border areas at certain times. The justice ministry was not immediately able to provide further detail. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Henrik Stolen, writing by Gwladys Fouche)