Finland Immigration law reform to phase out asylum approvals on compassionate grounds

Finland’s Interior Ministry says it’s revisiting legislation relating to asylum applications. The ministry said Tuesday that reforms in the pipeline mean it will give up the practice of granting residence permits on compassionate grounds to applicants who don’t meet the criteria for international protection.

The Interior Ministry said that it will review its procedures for granting residence permits to asylum seekers in a bid to bring national legislation in line with European Union regulations.

The review project will get started immediately so that it can be circulated for comments in November, the ministry said.

Lufthansa strikes to affect 290 flights, 37,000 travelers 

German airline Lufthansa said it will cancel 290 flights later Friday, the first day of a planned week of walkouts by cabin crew  in a long-running dispute over cost-saving measures.

Some 37,500 passengers would be hit by the nine-hour long strike scheduled to begin at 1300 GMT and affecting the Frankfurt and Duesseldorf airports, Lufthansa said in a statement.

"Around 10 percent of all flights will have to be cancelled. Of a total 3,000 connections scheduled for today, 290 flights will be cancelled, including 23 inter-continental services," the statement said.

Naked Cameron with a PIG effigy burned at Bonfire night festivities 

A huge effigy of a naked British Prime Minister David Cameron, complete with accompanying pig, was set on fire during Bonfire Night festivities in Lewes on Thursday.

Suspected murderer of three Prague taxi drivers caughtPolice release little information concerning murders in early 2014
An almost two-year search for a serial killer who targeted Prague taxicab drivers is likely over, as police have arrested a suspect.
Three taxi drivers were killed in early 2014. The first was found in the city center in January 2014, and two more were found in a field in April 2014 in the Uhříněves neighborhood on the outskirts of Prague, according to media reports.

Denmark heading for budget deficit higher than the EU allows

Marginally over the permitted 3.0 percent.

The European Commission predicts that Denmark is heading for a budget deficit higher than the EU allows, reports TV2.
Based on the European Commission’s autumn economic forecast, the Danish budget deficit will be 3.3 percent in 2015.
According to the EU rules, member countries should not exceed 3.0 percent.

Average Finn earned around 3,000 euros a month in 2014

The average wage-earner in Finland made around 3,000 euros a month and paid about 30 percent in taxes and tax-like payments, according to data released by the tax administration on Monday.

Middle-income employees had an income hovering around the 3,000 euro mark in 2014. The top ten percent of income earners made more than 4,900 euros a month, while the lowest-earning decile brought home less than 2,100 euros.

Driverless Post buses will hit the streets in spring of 2016 in Valais

Driverless post buses will soon be operating in the canton of Valais, thanks to a new collaboration between PostBus and a Swiss startup founded by recent graduates from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne. 

Swiss Federal Railways to cut 900 jobs in 5 years

 

Swiss Federal Railways is to cut 900 jobs in the next five years as part of a plan to save 550 million francs a year up to 2020 and 1.75 billion in the ten years from 2020 to 2030.

Switzerland's state railway company – also known as the SBB and the CCF – announced the cost-saving plans on Thursday under the banner RailFit20/30.

Oslo blood bank faces shortage of African blood

Oslo's blood bank is calling for donations from Norwegians with foreign parents after developing a shortage of African blood. 

 The demand for rare or exotic blood has increased noticeably,” Lise Sofie Nissen-Meyer, the lead doctor at the bank, told Norway’s state broadcaster NRK. “We have a great need for more blood donors of foreign origin.” 

 

Sweden Can No Longer Guarantee Refugees Bed

 Sweden's Migration Minister Morgan Johansson has urged refugees in northern Germany to stay put, after declaring that the Nordic nation is now unable to guarantee beds for all asylum seekers.
Sweden is struggling to provide enough beds for the record number of refugees crossing into the country from Germany and elsewhere, the government confirmed on Thursday.