President seals Finland’s NATO bid by signing required laws
Finnish president's official seal to join NATO and approval of Turkey's parliamentary committee for Finalnd's application was reported in an article published in Associated Press on March 23. The article gives details about both developments while adding that the parliament of Hungary is finally expected to approve Finland’s accession on March 27.
The article stated that members of the Turkish parliament’s committee on foreign affairs voted in favor of Finland’s bid a week after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would move forward with ratifying it. It added that Finland’s application could be ratified by the full Turkish assembly as early as next week.
"From the start of this process, Finland was more prepared and determined to meet our country’s sensitivities and expectations,” Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akcapar said, as quoted by Anadolu Agency.
The news article also highlighted the delay in Sweden’s accession due to opposition from Turkey owing to disputes between Ankara and Stockholm.
Original story was published by Associated Press on 23.03.2023 and can be found here.
Finland mulls introducing a health tax
Political parities considering to impose health tax to tackle obesity in Finland was reported in Euractive in an article on March 15. The article looks into the recent survey by Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health (Soste) regarding the views of different parties on obesity.
It mentioned that six out of nine political parties want to introduce a health during the next parliamentary term, according to the survey. It added that the number of overweight adults has doubled since 1980, with two in three men and more than half of the women now being overweight.
The parties in favour of a health-based tax include the liberal-conservative National Coalition Party (NCP), social democrats, the Left Alliance, Greens, the Christian Democrats and Movement Now, the article states.
“The result is a very strong message to the next government. One has to proceed determinedly with a health-based tax. The political mindset is there, and the opposition from the industry must not let slow down the drafting of the law,” Ulla Kiuru, Soste’s Social Relations Manager said.
Original story was published by Euractiv on 15.03.2023 and can be found here.
How saunas help keep the Finns the world's happiest people
An article about Finland’s prevalent saunas and their contribution to the happiness and wellbeing of its citizens was published on Mint Lounge on March 23. It provides insight to the Finland’s ranking as the most happiest country in the world for the sixth time and how saunas might have a big hand in keeping Finns happy.
The article goes on to explain the different factors that are taken into account in the world happiness report including social and economic conditions and people’s own assessment of their happiness.
“The Finns are surprised too, as they consider themselves stoic and introverted, and are generally not given to displays of emotion. But the happiness index is not just about what people feel but the overall quality of life,” the article read.
It also discusses how saunas are integral part of Finnish culture and ist role in providing a sense of belonging and trust within the community. The article highlighted that there are several studies that link the regular use of saunas to a variety of benefits, including better sleep, improved immune system, lower risk of hypertension, heart disease, depression and even dementia.
Original story was published by Mint Lounge on 23.03.2023 and can be found here.
Daimler Truck tests electric trucks in the freezing cold in Finland
The article about Daimler Truck testing electric trucks in Rovaniemi for the first time was published in Electrive.com on March 23. It elaborates on the test carried out by the automobile company to check whether the trucks can operate in an outside temperature of minus 25 degrees Celsius.
The article mentioned that engineers paid particular attention to recuperation during testing. “It’s all very exciting, of course, because I can recover energy that way and extend my range,” Christof Weber, Head of Global Testing Daimler Truck sathe
“How do I balance recuperation and braking in general when I’m driving a tractor-trailer, and the tractor-trailer also has to brake the weight of the trailers? It’s all a bit different than what we know from combustion vehicles,” Weber said adding that says some kind of braking strategy is needed to take full advantage of recuperation.
As per the article, the trucks covered around 2,800 kilometres to Rovaniemi. According to Weber, the average charging power at the stations was 150 kW, so the trucks sometimes had to take a break of two to three hours there.
Original story was published by Electrive.Com on 23.03.2023 and can be found here.
Finland aims to attract high-quality human resources from Vietnam
Finland’s talent boost programme to induct high stillen workforce from Vietnam was published in an article in Tuoi Tre News on March 22. The article explains details of the programme which helps seek high-quality human resources from Vietnam, as well as from Brazil, Turkey, and India.
The Commercial Section of the Finnish Embassy in Vietnam held a conference on March 21 in Ho Chi Minh City to debut the Talent Boost programme. The initiative aims to attract talents from students to professionals such as doctors, nurses, information technology and clean engineers, and start-up entrepreneurs.
“Those who are professionals will undergo procedures for diploma recognition, which will take about a year,” said Laura Lindeman, senior director and head of work in the Finland Unit at Business Finland.
Lindeman added that the Vietnamese community in Finland has about 10,000 people, a quiet large foreign community that has good relations with the local, the article stated.
Original story was published by Tuoi Tre News on 22.03.2023 and can be found here.
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