The Dispatch

Finnair to start selling plane food in supermarkets

Finnair, Finland's national airline, will start selling ready-to-eat business class airplane food in supermarkets in the hopes of keeping kitchen staff employed during the global coronavirus crisis and cater to…

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Finland PM leaves EU summit as COVID-19 precaution

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin became another European Union leader to leave their two-day summit in Brussels, saying on Friday she left the face-to-face talks as a precautionary coronavirus measure.…

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Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Sweden rise above 100,000

Sweden registered 2,203 new coronavirus cases in the last four days, Health Agency statistics showed, taking the total to 100,654 since the start of the pandemic. Sweden has shunned lockdowns,…

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EPA’s Eye In The Sky: Hardanger, Norway

A general view showing a new bridge near the Voringsfossen waterfall in Hardanger, Western Norway. The footbridge crosses the canyon 50 meters above the 182 meter high waterfall, which was…

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Photo Story: Fridays For Future protest at the Swedish Parliament

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (C) fronts a Fridays For Future protest at the Swedish Parliament (Riksdagen) in Stockholm, Sweden, 09 October 2020. Similar protests were held in various cities…

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UPDATED: U.N. food agency wins 2020 Nobel Peace Prize

The United Nations food agency, the World Food Programme (WFP), won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to combat hunger and improve conditions for peace in conflict-affected…

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Norway strike could knock out a quarter of oil, gas output next week

A strike by Norwegian oil workers could knock out almost a quarter of the country's petroleum production by Oct. 14, operators say, raising the prospect of further price rises on…

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Danske Bank to cut 1,600 jobs within a year

Danske Bank on Thursday said it will cut up to 1,600 jobs in the next 6-12 months as part of 2023 cost-cutting plans. Some of the cuts, which will affect…

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American poet Louise Gluck wins 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature

American poet Louise Gluck won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature for "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal", the Swedish Academy said on Thursday.…

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Cost of oil, gas projects in Norway rise amid COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the development of a number of offshore oil and gas projects in Norway and pushed their costs up, the government and operator Equinor said on…

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Photo Story: French and American win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020

US biochemist Jennifer A. Doudna (L) and French professor and researcher in microbiology, genetics and biochemistry Emmanuelle Charpentier (R) pose for pictures at the Casino of the Goethe University in…

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Finnish finance ministry expects GDP to contract 4.5% in 2020

Finland's gross domestic product will contract 4.5% this year, the country's finance ministry estimated on Monday, adding that the Finnish economy would grow 2.6% in 2021 and 1.7% in 2022.…

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Scientists who helped identify Hepatitis C virus win 2020 Nobel Medicine Prize

Two American and one British-born scientist won the 2020 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for work in identifying the Hepatitis C virus, which causes cirrhosis and liver cancer, the…

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Iceland’s debt to rise as pandemic shaves a fifth off next year’s budget

Iceland will increase its public debt because the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are forecast to cut its fiscal budget by almost a fifth next year, the government said. The…

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Sweden lifts pandemic ban on nursing home visits

Sweden ended a six-month ban on visits to nursing homes on Thursday, delighting residents and their relatives but also prompting fears of a return to the grim months of spring…

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H&M to close hundreds of stores as online shift accelerates

H&M plans to close hundreds of stores next year as the coronavirus crisis drives more shoppers online, the world's second biggest fashion retailer said on Thursday, after reporting a smaller…

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Swedish government faces battle to stay in power as labour talks fails

Sweden's minority government faces a potential rebellion by three small parties that keep it in power over plans to ease rules in Sweden's rigid labour market. Talks between trade unions…

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Norway reaches fisheries agreement with UK ahead of Brexit

Norway and Britain have reached a bilateral agreement on fisheries, the Norwegian government said on Wednesday, before Britain leaves the European Union's single market at the end of the year.…

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Finland orders bars, restaurants to shut at 1 a.m. to help contain COVID

Finland’s government ordered all bars and restaurants to close at 1 a.m. and to stop alcohol sales at midnight starting Oct. 8 to help contain the spread of COVID-19. “The…

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Norway eyes cut in ‘sin’ tax on alcohol, sugar to spur spending

Norway’s tipplers and sweet tooths may no longer feel a need to leave the country to stock up on their favourite vices. The Nordic country's ruling party has proposed cutting…

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New ‘Estonia’ ferry disaster documentary claims to have found hole in ship’s hull

An undated handout grab photo from a new documentary series about the M/S Estonia disaster in 1994 made available by DPlay on 28 September 2020 shows a hole in the…

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Nobel Prizes to go ahead amid pandemic

The winners of this year’s Nobel Prizes will miss out on a swanky gala in Stockholm surrounded by royalty and Sweden’s glitterati, but 2020 will at least not be added…

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World’s youth rallies against climate change

United under Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, young people rallied across the world on Friday to demand urgent action to halt catastrophic climate change, in their first global action during the…

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Worrying resurgence of coronavirus infections in Sweden

Some areas of Sweden are seeing a worrying resurgence of coronavirus infections because many people seem to have set aside months of caution in favour of full-on social life once…

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Norway oil drilling rig companies agree on wage deal with workers

Three Norwegian labour unions agreed on a wage deal with the owners of floating offshore oil rigs, preventing a strike that could eventually have halted the exploration for new oil…

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Coronavirus sniffing dogs start their work at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Finland

Coronavirus sniffing dogs have been deployed for a four-month test phase at Helsinki-Vantaa airport near Helsinki, Finland. The dogs are operated by Finnish Wise Nose association that has also taken…

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Finland warns of pandemic’s escalation

Finland warned on Thursday the COVID-19 pandemic was expanding again more rapidly in the country, after several months of relative calm, and was heading in an "alarming" direction. Finland's 14-day…

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Russian warships enter Swedish territorial waters

Sweden has protested to Russia after two warships entered its territorial waters without permission, a defence department spokesman said on Wednesday, as Sweden agreed with two neighbouring countries to deepen…

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Denmark in moderate recession

Denmark's economy is in moderate recession, its central bank said on Wednesday, and it forecast a 3.6% contraction of the economy this year, an improved outlook compared with earlier estimates.…

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‘FinCEN’ leaks show suspect transactions at Swedish bank SEB

About 8.2 billion Swedish crowns ($919 million) in suspicious funds may have flowed through Swedish bank SEB between 2007 and 2016, Swedish Television (SVT) reported on Wednesday. It cited documents…

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Sweden says Stockholm measures possible as COVID cases rise

Sweden, which so far has decided against lockdowns as a means to contain COVID-19, is seeing early signs that the number of coronavirus cases are rising again and could impose…

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Swedish government boosts pandemic-hit economy by $12 bln in 2021 budget

Sweden's government will pump 105 billion crowns ($12 billion) into the economy in 2021 in tax cuts and spending measures in a record give-away aimed at getting the economy back…

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Photo Story: Viking Line’s ferry Amorella runs aground in Finland

A handout photo made available by the Finnish Coast Guard shows Vinking Line's ferry Amorella after running aground in the Aland archipelago in Aland, Finland, 20 Septemper 2020 (issued 21…

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Denmark to limit gatherings to 50 people

Denmark will lower the limit on public gatherings to 50 people from 100 while bars and restaurants to close early to curb a rise in new coronavirus infections, the prime minister,…

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Sweden’s Handelsbanken cuts staff, number of branches

Handelsbanken said on Wednesday it would reduce its number of branches to around 200 from 380 by the end of 2021 and reduce its workforce, affecting around 1,000 employees in…

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Photo Story: Danish and German air forces exercise on the beaches of Denmark

A German Air Force's Transall C-160 approaches for landing at the beach at Lakolk on Roemoe Island, Denmark. The Danish and the German Air Forces conducted take-off and landing exercises…

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Sweden records its fewest daily Covid-19 cases since March

While many European countries are seeing their infection rates surge to levels not seen since the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sweden – whose light-touch approach has made it an…

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Swedish 2021 budget to include $1.1 bln in climate measures

Sweden's Social Democrat and Green minority government said on Monday its 2021 budget would contain 9.7 billion Swedish crowns ($1.11 billion) in new spending aimed at fighting climate change. The…

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Finland to ease travel restrictions, allowing entry from Sweden

Finland will ease tight restrictions on entry as it tries to attract back business travellers and tourists ahead of winter, allowing arrivals from countries with higher rates of coronavirus infection…

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Danske Bank suspends debt collection from 17,000 customers

Danske Bank will stop collecting debt from 17,000 customers after it found that it had collected outdated or excessive debt since 2004 due to errors in its IT system, the…

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Finland’s PM to work from home as she may have been exposed to virus

Finland’s prime minister Sanna Marin (photo) will work remotely until further notice, officials announced on, after the country’s new coronavirus tracing app warned that she may have been exposed to…

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Finnair cuts more than half of planned flights in October

Finnair will cut back its October flight program and fly around 70 to 80 flights daily instead of the approximately 200 flights it had planned due to weak demand, the…

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Photo Story: Wreckage of sunken German warship ‘Karlsruhe’ found in Norway

Photos made available by Statnett, the Norwegian state owned enterprise responsible for owning, operating and constructing the stem power grid in Norway, on 10 September 2020 shows a picture taken…

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President Trump nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

Donald Trump has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize following his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Christian Tybring-Gjedde, an MP of…

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Positive Covid tests in no-lockdown Sweden hit lowest rate since pandemic began

Sweden carried out a record number of new coronavirus tests last week with only 1.2% coming back positive, the health agency said on Tuesday, the lowest rate since the pandemic…

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Greta Thunberg says Venice documentary shows her real self

A documentary following Greta Thunberg and her journey from Swedish schoolgirl to global climate activist accurately portrays her as a “shy nerd”, the teenager said as the film premiered at…

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Danske Bank to pay up to $16 million in total to overcharged customers

Danske Bank will pay out a total of up to 100 million Danish crowns ($16 million) in compensation to 900 customers after over-charging them for an investment product, it said…

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Swedes confidence in PM’s handling of coronavirus crisis declining, poll shows

Confidence in the way Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and his government have handled the coronavirus pandemic has dropped sharply over the last three months, a poll in daily Dagens…

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Lego sales surge as housebound families turn to play

Sales of Lego jumped 14% in the first six months of the year as families under coronavirus lockdowns spent more time playing together at home, the Danish toy maker said…

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COVID-19 antibodies present in patients four months after recovery -study

Antibody levels against the novel coronavirus rose and then held steady for up to four months in more than 90% of recovered COVID-19 patients in Iceland, according to a study…

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Norway’s government in deficit for the first time in 25 years

Norway's quarterly public spending exceeded the government's overall income for the first time in 25 years during the three months from April to June, Statistics Norway (SSB) said on Wednesday.…

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Riots in Swedish town of Malmo after anti-Islam actions

A riot broke out on Friday night in the southern Swedish town of Malmo, where at least 300 people had gathered to protest against anti-Islam activities, police said. Protesters were…

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Norwegian Air’s loss balloons

Norwegian Air still needs more cash in order to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, it said on Friday as it reported a deep loss for the first half of 2020. With…

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Swedish economic sentiment higher for fourth month in row in August

Economic sentiment in Sweden rose for the fourth month in a row, but remains well below normal levels after the novel coronavirus outbreak, a survey from a leading think-tank showed…

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Norway adds Germany to COVID-19 quarantine list

Norway announced it will impose a 10-day quarantine on all people arriving from Germany and Liechtenstein from Aug. 29 due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in those countries. Similar…

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Photo Story: Swedish Armed Forces beefs up presence on Gotland

An armoured vehicle and an aircraft of the Swedish Armed Forces within a 'high readiness action' that was initiated by the Swedish Armed Forces in the Baltic Sea region, in…

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Finland to tighten restrictions on public gatherings

Finland will tighten restrictions on public gatherings from September, limiting them to 50 people unless further measures are in place, due to a recent rise in COVID-19 cases, authorities said…

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