Finland ranks among the European Union's most racially discriminatory countries, according to the findings of a survey conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).
Finland takes third spot in the report, which investigates the challenges faced by people of African descent in Europe, encompassing issues of race-based discrimination, harassment, and violence. Austria and Germany were the only two countries to rank ahead of Finland.
Reporting on the Being Black in the EU survey, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat writes that the survey shows how discrimination has become more rampant in recent years, both in Finland and across the EU.
Some 54 percent of the respondents in Finland reported experiencing racial discrimination during the past year, with 63 percent having encountered such discrimination over the past five years.
"People of African descent are routinely met with unfair treatment and bias when seeking jobs or homes. Racial discrimination, harassment and violence continues to haunt their daily lives," the report notes.
The surveyed countries include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Poland, Spain, and Sweden.
The FRA gathered data by interviewing individuals residing in these nations who either hailed from sub-Saharan Africa or had at least one parent from the region. The survey was conducted in 2022 and includes responses from more than 6,700 participants.
Covid strikes again
Data provided by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) suggests Finland could see a potential resurgence of Covid towards the end of the year, according to a report by tabloid Ilta-Sanomat.
THL's figures show a noticeable uptick in new Covid cases and patients in need of hospitalisation.
"A similar rise has also been observed elsewhere in Europe," Tuula Hannila-Handelberg, chief doctor at THL, told IS.
However, she cautioned that the situation could soon deteriorate as outbreaks typically see an upsurge around the Christmas holiday, usually leading to an increase in hospitalisation cases.
Despite this, Hannila-Handelberg stressed that the general population still has robust protection against severe illness.
"Covid has circulated so widely that everyone should already have some protection, either from previous vaccinations or infections," she told the paper.
Lauri Markkanen gets pay bounce
Finland's basketball celebrity Lauri Markkanen is about to start his seventh NBA season on Thursday, with tabloid Iltalehti anticipating a substantial increase in earnings for the player.
The Jyväskylä native has assumed an increasingly prominent role in the Utah Jazz's game strategy. The team is currently striving to regain a playoff spot after recently parting ways with centre Rudy Gobert and playmaker Donovan Mitchell, according to IL.
Under his current contract with the Chicago Bulls, which remains valid until the summer of 2025, Markkanen earns around 16.2 million euros per year.
Last summer the NBA implemented a new collective agreement. The players' union, the NBAPA, successfully negotiated a greater share of the total revenue for players. This is exemplified by the five-year, 288 million-dollar contract of the Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown, who, like Markkanen, falls into the category of emerging talents, according to IL.
Brown's new contract brings him an annual income of approximately 54.2 million euros (57.6 million USD).
While Markkanen is steadily becoming a shining star in the league, the Jazz also need to address a clear disparity in compensation.
Although Markkanen's existing contract runs until the summer of 2025, it is highly probable that the Jazz will seek to secure his services with a more substantial sum, possibly as early as this season. The new contract is bound to significantly multiply Markkanen's earnings, IL notes.
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