Grasping at straws. Arrested and suspended Ventspils mayor submits yet another appeal
The suspended Ventspils mayor Aivars Lembergs, who was declared guilty of crimes of corruption earlier this year and put under arrest, has submitted a request to Latvia’s Ministry of Justice, requesting a compensation of EUR 321 468, as confirmed by Lembergs’ defence attorney Māris Grudulis. According to Lembergs, the prohibitionContinue Reading
Mikä on Isis-K, joka uhkaa nyt Kabulia? USA ja Britannia varoittavat terrori-iskusta ihmismassojen ympäröimällä lentokentällä
Terrori-iskun uhka varjostaa jo ennestään kaoottista evakuointia Kabulin kentältä. Yhdysvallat, Britannia ja Australia ovat kehottaneet kansalaisiaan poistumaan välittömästi alueelta. Isis-K eli Isis-Khorasan on terroristijärjestön pieni haara, joka on tehnyt tuhoisia iskuja Afganistanissa ja Pakistanissa. Useat maat varoittavat terrori-iskun uhasta Afganistan pääkaupungin Kabulin lentokentällä. Yhdysvallat, Britannia ja Australia ovat kehottaneet kentänContinue Reading
Bank of Finland economist warns of a decline in cost competitiveness
Finland may lose its competitive edge compared to other nearby countries after the coronavirus crisis, warns an article published by the Bank of Finland on Wednesday. According to Bank of Finland adviser Lauri Kajanoja, the price of labour in Finland increased between 2019 and 2021 in relation to the eurozoneContinue Reading
Aftenposten: Large part of population of Estonia, Latvia living in Russian world
Russian-speaking people in Estonia and Latvia live in the Russian world, writer and social anthropologist Erika Fatland writes in Norway’s largest daily Aftenposten. In an article entitled “Trapped in the Kremlin’s long shadows” (“Fanget i Kremls lange skygger”), Fatland says that thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union,Continue Reading
Council of Europe commissioner urges Lithuania to respect human rights in migrant crisis
Dunja Mijatovic, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, has called on Lithuania to respect its international human rights commitments in the current migration crisis, and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has said in response that irregular migrants attempting to crossing into the country can hardly be considered refugees. “ItContinue Reading
Finland’s Ambassador to Afghanistan surprised by sudden power shift
Despite following the course of events over the past two years in the war-torn country, Finland’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Pekka Kosonen said he was as surprised as anyone else about the events that began unfolding as the country’s government collapsed and the Taliban took control. The ambassador made the commentsContinue Reading
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to quit
PM Stefan Lofven said he plans to step down as leader of the Social Democratic Party and as prime minister. The announcement comes ahead of parliamentary elections in 2022. In a move that appears to have caught Sweden off guard, the country’s prime minister, Stefan Lofven, said he intends to stepContinue Reading
Finland has evacuated more than 200 people from Kabul
Finland has already facilitated the evacuation of more than 200 people from Kabul airport, which remains mired in chaos after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and thousands of people are trying to flee. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto reported on Tuesday through his Twitter account that members of the staffContinue Reading
“Taliban Air Force” is now bigger than Estonian
Once the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan’s airfield in Kandahar on Friday, it didn’t take long for photos to appear on social media showing Taliban fighters posing with military helicopters such as U.S.-made Black Hawks and Soviet-made Mi-17s. After the group took over Mazar-i-Sharif airport this weekend, more photos followed,Continue Reading
Will the Taliban’s return fuel a rise in heroin use in Finland?
The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has fuelled speculation that the global supply of heroin could increase as a result. Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium – the key ingredient in heroin and other opiate drugs. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, theContinue Reading