Two hundred kilometres above the Arctic Circle hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers are finding a new life in northern Norway, but recently the doors have been shutting on those desperate to start fresh in the High North.
Developments in Russia include “features that are a cause for concern”, Finland’s Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said on Monday before discussing the issue with Russia’s Sergey Lavrov in Helsinki.
In the view of the Norwegian authorities, the sentence of two years’ imprisonment imposed on the three women of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot gives cause for concern, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre.
Health authorities in South Karelia are stepping up the fight against HIV by offering more opportunities to be tested anonymously for the virus. The move is prompted by concern over the spread of HIV in Russia, and by fears of cross-border infection.
Russian anti-corruption authorities suspect that the leaders of the Kolenergosbyt company in Murmansk has stolen more than one billion rubles. The company says the allegations are “without common sense”.
Northern Norway has had the highest increase in the number of air travels during the last 10-15 years. The people of Finnmark are the most frequent flyers in the country.
The new Russian legislation regulating the freedoms of speech, public assembly and demonstration might ultimately be most rigorously followed up in the regions, analysts fear. In Karelia, prosecutors have issued an international wanted notice for blogger Maksim Yefimov.
