News

EU-UK DIVORCE

Brexit means more expensive online purchases

Foreigner.fi 12/29/20

When the value of a consignment exceeds 22 euros , it must undergo customs clearance and is subject to VAT. If the consignment to be declared is transported by Posti, a handling fee (2.90…

BREXIT

Packages from UK to EU to require customs declaration from 1 January

Foreigner.fi/dpa 12/29/20

According to the Post Office, 45% of international parcels posted in Britain are destined for the EU.

ECJ

Top EU court backs animal welfare in religious slaughter case

Foreigner.fi/dpa 12/17/20

According to traditional Jewish and Muslim slaughter practices, an animal has to be killed with a single cut in the throat and die from bleeding.

FINNISH TRADITION

Do you still send Christmas postcards?

Foreigner.fi 12/5/20

In 2019, 59.5 million postcards were printed in the EU. Most of them were produced in only 3 countries.

AUCTION

James Bond gun used by Sean Connery sold for over 250,000 dollars

Foreigner.fi/dpa 12/4/20

Connery died in October at the age of 90 in the Bahamas.

CONSUMPTION

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg issues Black Friday caution

Foreigner.fi 11/27/20

Black Friday, which falls on November 27 this year, is a much-hyped annual sales period where retailers offer countless bargains and offers.

Study: 15% of Covid-19 deaths may be linked to air pollution

Foreigner.fi/dpa 10/27/20

The estimate is based on analysis of pollution and pandemic data by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Harvard University's public health school and The Cyprus Institute's Climate and…

CONTROVERSIAL DECISION

EU parliament rejects veggie 'sausage' ban, but accepts dairy rules

Foreigner.fi 10/23/20

The proposed amendment to the European Union's agriculture regulations would have meant that only products that contain meat can be referred to by terms including "steak," "sausage," "escalope," or…

ENVIRONMENTALISTS OPPOSE

EU parliament votes on banning veggie 'sausage,' 'burger'

Foreigner.fi 10/23/20

Farmers have pushed for this tightening of rules, claiming that the meat-like names could confuse consumers and harm agricultural companies.

HATE SPEECH

Facebook bans Holocaust denial

Foreigner.fi/dpa 10/12/20

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said he has "struggled with the tension" between protecting free speech and limiting hateful content.

NEW FORMATS

Research on auction theory nets US pair Nobel Prize in economics

Foreigner.fi/dpa 10/12/20

Auctions are used to buy and sell a variety of goods and services, including electricity, financial assets, fishing quotas and carbon allowances.

Fight against hunger earns Peace Nobel for World Food Programme

Foreigner.fi/dpa 10/9/20

"I hope, I really do, that this award, this prize, will awaken many in the world to realize that there are still people going to bed every night hungry and starving to death," says David…

Facts about the Nobel Prize in Literature

Foreigner.fi/dpa 10/8/20

As of 2019, the Swedish Academy has handed out 113 awards to 117 writers.

'Unmistakable poetic voice' earns Literature Nobel for Louise Gluck

Foreigner.fi/dpa 10/8/20

She was born in 1943 in New York and works as a professor of English at Yale University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

DISCRIMINATION

Brussels pushes EU states to tackle Roma exclusion with new strategy

Foreigner.fi/dpa 10/7/20

In Finland there are an estimated 10,000 – 12,000 Roma and about 3,000 Finnish Roma live in Sweden. 85% of Roma children are at risk of poverty, compared to 20% in the general EU…