Europe – Scandinavia

Seismic activity wanes in Iceland but eruption alert remains

By Johannes Birkebaek Icelandic authorities said they were still on alert for a volcanic eruption in the southwest Reykjanes peninsula, although the odds were falling after a drop in seismic…

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Finland has closed all passenger border crossings with Russia but one

HELSINKI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Finland has temporarily closed all but one of its eight passenger crossings to Russia in response to an unusually high inflow of migrants for which…

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Finland to close all but northernmost border crossing with Russia

By Essi Lehto HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland will close all but the northernmost crossing point on its border with Russia from midnight on Friday in a bid to halt a…

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Finland’s president says impossible to return asylum seekers

HELSINKI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday it had become impossible to return asylum seekers who do not meet the criteria for protection, and that…

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EU Commissioner Urpilainen to run for president in Finland

Jutta Urpilainen, the EU commissioner for international partnerships, on Sunday announced she would run for the presidency of her native Finland. “I want that we Finns can continue to commit…

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UPDATED: Finland closes Russia border posts after days of asylum inflows

By Essi Lehto and Anne Kauranen Finland early on Saturday closed four crossings on its border with Russia as Helsinki seeks to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says…

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Finland closes four Russian border crossings to stop asylum seekers

HELSINKI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Finland will close four of the nine crossing points on its border with Russia to stem a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation,…

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WATCH: Thousands evacuated as Iceland braces for volcanic eruption

Some 900 earthquakes hit southern Iceland on Monday, authorities said, adding to tens of thousands of tremors that rattled the region in recent weeks as the country braces for what…

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Denmark proposes $14 green passenger tax on air travel

COPENHAGEN, (Reuters) - Denmark's government this week proposed imposing an average tax of 100 Danish crowns ($14.35) on air travel to help finance a green transition of the airline industry…

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Iceland prepares for volcanic eruption in coming days

By Jacob Gronholt-pedersen COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Icelandic authorities said they were preparing for a volcanic eruption in the southwest of the island in the coming days after a series of…

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Nordic countries to cooperate more on returning migrants to countries of origin

By Johannes Birkebaek COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The Nordic governments intend to step up their cooperation to return immigrants without legal residence in the region to their countries of origin, ministers…

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Iceland hit by thousands of small earthquakes in volcano warning

By Johannes Birkebaek A seismic swarm has hit the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland with more than 5,500 small earthquakes in the last days, raising the prospect of a volcanic…

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EPA’s Eye In The Sky: Rodvig, Denmark

A picture taken with a drone shows sunken boats in the harbour in Rodvig, Denmark. The photo was taken after Storm Babet swept across northern parts of Europe, including Great…

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Turkey’s Erdogan submits Sweden’s NATO bid to parliament for ratification -presidency

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday submitted a bill approving Sweden's NATO membership bid to parliament for ratification, his office said, a move welcomed by Stockholm as it clears the…

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Denmark’s deputy PM retires from politics; coalition intact

COPENHAGEN, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Denmark's Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said on Monday he would retire from politics with immediate effect following six months' leave due…

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Photo Story: Storm Babet brings strong winds and flooding to Denmark

Elevated water level around the harbour in Soenderborg in Southern Jutland, Denmark. Storm Babet sweeps across northern parts of Europe, including Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany with heavy…

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Photo Story: Denmark and Scotland hit by severe flooding

A policer officer takes a photo of a flooded neighbourhood caused by a storm surge that brought heavy winds and increased water levels in Haderslev, Denmark. A gale warning has…

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Finland blocks Russian property acquisitions

COPENHAGEN, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Finland's ministry of defence said on Thursday it had blocked three planned property transactions involving Russian buyers on grounds that allowing the acquisitions to take…

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Swedish PM urges EU to boost security after Brussels terror shooting

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called on the European Union to bolster border controls and internal security after a gunman killed two Swedes in Brussels on Monday, saying the region…

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Norway foreign minister sacked in cabinet reshuffle

Updated 1440 Norway's Labour Party Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere announced on Monday a government reshuffle, sacking the foreign minister and making six other changes to the cabinet as the…

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Stockholm to ban petrol, diesel cars from city centre

By Marta Frackowiak Stockholm will ban petrol and diesel-powered cars from key parts of the city centre from 2025 as it seeks to improve air quality and reduce traffic noise,…

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UPDATED: Finland can’t rule out ‘state actor’ involvement in pipeline damage

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Finland can't rule out the possibility that a "state actor" was involved in damaging a Baltic Sea gas pipeline and a parallel telecoms cable, the Finnish…

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Claudia Goldin wins 2023 Nobel economics prize

STOCKHOLM, Oct 9 (Reuters) - American economic historian Claudia Goldin won the 2023 Nobel economics prize for "having advanced our understanding of women's labour market outcomes", the Royal Swedish Academy…

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Sweden pledges more military aid to Ukraine, considers fighter jets

STOCKHOLM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Sweden will send Ukraine a new military support package worth 2.2 billion crowns ($199 million) - consisting mainly of artillery ammunition - and is looking…

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UPDATED: Jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi wins 2023 Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian women's rights advocate serving 12 years in jail, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a decision likely to anger Tehran's theocratic…

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Norwegian author Jon Fosse wins 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature

STOCKHOLM, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Norwegian author and dramatist Jon Fosse won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable,"…

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UPDATED: Bawendi, Brus and Ekimov win 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

STOCKHOLM, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Scientists Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots," the award-giving…

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UPDATED: Hungarian and U.S. scientists win medicine Nobel for COVID-19 vaccine work

By Niklas Pollard and Ludwig Burger STOCKHOLM, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Scientists Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman from Hungary and the United States respectively won the 2023 Nobel Prize in…

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Nobel Peace Prize: Indigenous, women or green activists could win 2023 award

By Gwladys Fouche and Ilze Filks OSLO/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian dissident Alexei Navalny are among favourites for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, but experts say…

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Swedish PM summons army, police chiefs as gang violence rocks nation

By Johan Ahlander STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's prime minister summoned the head of the armed forces and the police commissioner in a bid to stem gang violence, he said, following…

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EPA’s Eye In The Sky: Middelfart, Denmark

An aerial view taken with a drone of the soon to be opened Charging Park for electric cars at the Lillebaelt Syd rest area on the highway near Middelfart, Denmark.…

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Two dead in Sweden restaurant shooting

STOCKHOLM, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Two people were killed and two injured in a shooting at a restaurant in eastern Sweden late on Thursday that police said appeared to be…

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Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jets land on motorway

OSLO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A pair of F-35A Lockheed Martin fighter jets have landed on a motorway for the first time, footage from the Norwegian military showed, a step that enables…

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Russian forces near Norway at ‘20% or less’ than before Ukraine war

OSLO (Reuters) - Russian forces stationed in the Arctic near Norway are "20% or less" of the number they were before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Norway's chief of…

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Twenty years after euro “No” vote, Swedes fret over weak crown

Swedish crown has lost 17.5% against euro in 18 months Inflation impact could mean higher interest rates for longer Weakness a mystery given long term robust economy Riksbank sees stronger…

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Photo Story: Sweden celebrates Carl XVI Gustaf’s throne jubilee

(L-R) Princess Madeleine, Mr. Chris O'Neill, Queen Silvia, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Princess Sofia, Prince Carl Philip and Crown Princess Victoria stand on a balcony as they watch…

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Nobel Prize award raised to nearly $1 million for 2023

STOCKHOLM, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Winners of this year's Nobel Prizes will get an extra 1 million crowns, taking the total financial reward to 11 million Swedish crowns ($986,000), the…

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Photo Story: First F-35 fighter jets arrive in Denmark

An F-35 fighter jet arrives at Skrydstrup Air Force Base, in Skrydstrup, Denmark, on Thursday. The first four F-35 combat aircraft have arrived at the Royal Danish Air Force's base…

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Sweden’s NATO accession and Turkey’s bid to buy F-16 jets should be kept separate – Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he urged U.S. President Joe Biden not to link the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey with Sweden’s NATO bid, during a pull-aside meeting on the…

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UNESCO seeks regulation in first guidance on GenAI use in education

By Supantha Mukherjee STOCKHOLM, (Reuters) - UNESCO this week published its first guidance on use of Generative AI (GenAI) for education, urging governmental agencies to regulate the use of the…

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Finnish government survives no-confidence vote over racism scandal

HELSINKI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Finland's government survived on Friday a no-confidence vote in parliament called by the opposition over a racism scandal that has rocked the ruling coalition since…

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Finland’s ex-PM Marin to join Blair think tank, leave parliament

HELSINKI, (Reuters) - Finland's former Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who narrowly lost an election in April and stepped down from the leadership of her party last week, plans to leave…

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Photo Story: Violent night in Malmo, Sweden

People are silhouetted against the flames near police vehicles after a large number of cars were set on fire on Ramels vag in Rosengard, in Malmo, Sweden, 04 September 2023.…

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Finland’s Marin, once the world’s youngest premier, steps down as party leader

By Essi Lehto HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's former Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who narrowly lost an election in April, stepped down this weekend as chair of the centre-left Social Democrats,…

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Iceland resumes fin whale hunting

Iceland's government announced it will resume hunting fin whales after a two-month halt, but with new guidelines aimed at killing them as quickly as possible to reduce suffering. Iceland resumed…

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Newest NATO member Finland to spend 2.3% of GDP on defence

NATO's newest member Finland plans to spend 2.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence next year, its defence ministry said on Monday. In July, NATO's 31 member-nations agreed…

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Photo Story: New Miss Denmark crowned

Nikoline Uhrenholt Hansen poses for a photo after she was crowned as Miss Denmark 2023 during the final show in the Cirkusbygningen in Copenhagen, Denmark. Hansen, 20, won the title…

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Danish government prepares bill to stop Koran burnings

The Danish government said on Friday it was proposing legislation that would make it illegal to burn copies of the Koran in public places, part of the Nordic country's effort…

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Sweden raised its terrorist alert to the second highest level

Sweden raised its terrorist alert to the second highest level on Thursday, saying it had thwarted attacks after Koran burnings and other acts against Islam's holiest text outraged Muslims and…

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Britain warns of possible terrorist attacks in Sweden

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Britain on Sunday warned citizens going to Sweden of possible terrorist attacks following Koran burnings by anti-Islam activists that have outraged Muslims. In updated travel…

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Danish air force intercepts Russian bombers headed to Dutch NATO airspace

The Danish air force has intercepted two Russian bombers that were identified over Denmark and flying towards the area that the Netherlands monitors for the NATO military alliance, the Dutch…

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Photo Story: Warnings for heavy storms and strong winds issued in Denmark

Danish emergency services and passersby look at a fallen tree close to the amusement park Tivoli after a heavy storm hit Copenhagen, Denmark, 07 August 2023. Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI)…

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Sweden accuses Russia of spreading false claims about Koran burnings to harm Nato bid

The Swedish authorities have accused Russia of trying to influence how Koran burnings are viewed around the world through disinformation campaigns written in Arabic. It is believed to be part…

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Finnish academic Mika Aaltola to run for president

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish foreign and security policy think-tank chief Mika Aaltola, a political outsider whose profile has been boosted by his role as a TV commentator on the Ukraine…

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Denmark to tighten border control amid Koran burnings

Danish police are tightening border controls following recent burnings of the Koran that have affected the security situation, the justice ministry said late on Thursday, following a similar decision by…

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Sweden to boost border controls after Koran burnings

By Johan Ahlander and Simon Johnson Threats to Sweden have increased after recent Koran burnings, the country's government said, adding it had strengthened border controls to give police wider authority…

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Swedish migration agency re-examining residency permit of Koran burner

(Reuters) - The Swedish migration agency said it is re-examining the residency permit of an Iraqi refugee who is behind several Koran desecrations in Stockholm in recent weeks, which have…

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