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
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
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
Finland is preparing to send troops into Afghanistan to protect Finnish citizens and help evacuate them out of the country, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) confirmed at a press conference on Thursday evening. There are an estimated 60 Finnish citizens in Afghanistan waiting to evacuate from the country. “The governmentContinue Reading
The Ministry of the Interior will propose an increase of Finland’s refugee quota to 2,000 in the government’s budget negotiations, Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo (Green) has told Yle. Finland’s current refugee quota is 1,050 people. The quota system shares out refugees among EU member states according to a calculation basedContinue Reading
“If the Taliban stay here and form the next government, other countries will pay the price for it. That has happened before,” the young man said. Abdul* is one of at least 20 Finnish nationals who are trapped in Afghanistan amid a takeover of the country by the Taliban militantContinue Reading
Member of Parliament Ano Turtiainen, who was ejected from the Finns Party earlier this year, gathered enough signatures needed to launch a new political party in a single day. Turtiainen’s planned new party, Valta kuuluu kansalle (VKK), or “Power Belongs to the People” announced that it had crossed the 5,000-signatureContinue Reading
Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) has said that the government is to decide on the general guidelines of its so-called hybrid coronavirus strategy on Thursday, including the vaccine coverage target. Another key question, according to Marin, is when the epidemic level system can be abandoned in various regions once theContinue Reading
Finland’s government is making preparations to evacuate potentially dozens of Afghans who worked for the country during the lengthy military conflict in Afghanistan, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said. “There is a consensus in the government that they have a duty to help them,” the minister told Yle, adding thatContinue Reading
As Finland started rolling out coronavirus vaccinations to all 12- to 15-year-olds from Monday this week, a parallel campaign of anti-vaccination disinformation began targeting the age group through social media channels, including the popular photo sharing site Instagram. Many of the posts reference the Pelastetaan lapset (roughly translated as ‘Let’sContinue Reading