Newsweek in plain Finnish | Sunday 13.9.2026

Eastern border fence. Security police. Foreign students. Uusikaupunki car factory. Taxi license plates. Yle 100 years.

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Eastern border fence

A border fence with barbed wire in a forested area, with surveillance cameras next to the fence.

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The eastern border barrier in Nuijamaa. Photo: Mikko Savolainen / Yle

First, the news about the fence on the eastern border.

Finland has completed a fence on its eastern border. The fence is intended to prevent people from crossing the border into Finland without permission.

The fence is 200 kilometers long. There is a fence along part of the eastern border, which is over 1,300 kilometers long.

There are now fences in 17 municipalities.

Finnish security

The relatively new office building of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service in Helsinki.

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The Security Police building in the Guard Quarter in Helsinki. Photo: Silja Viitala / Yle

Then about safety.

The Security Police have assessed that more people than before are a threat to Finland’s security.

Last year, the security police gave the Finnish Immigration Service a statement about approximately 50 people.

The number is about twice as large as in previous years.

Living expenses for foreign students

Tampere University Pinni A building.

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Tampere University’s Pinni A building. Photo: Lenni Lehtonen / Yle

Now about foreign students.

The government wants to tighten the residence permit requirements for foreign students.

The reason is that not all students have enough money or language skills. The student’s family could only apply for a permit after the student has lived in Finland for a year.

This way, the student can better see how the entire family’s finances are sufficient to live in Finland.

Uusikaupunki car factory

Two men install electrical wiring in the body of a bus at a factory.

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Manufacturing of bus electrical systems at Valmet Automotive’s factory. Photo: Ari Welling / Yle

Now industry news

The Uusikaupunki car factory has been negotiating the production of Chinese passenger cars.

The company has expanded its operations into the defense industry and bus manufacturing.

The factory director believes that Valmet Automotive will also start manufacturing passenger cars.

The factory’s last Mercedes-Benz passenger car was completed at the end of last year.

Taxi license plates

A green-based Finnish license plate with the text "ABC-123" and the blue FIN symbol on the left.

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This is what taxi license plates will look like next year. Photo: Traficom

Then taxis.

Taxi license plates will turn green.

The Government has issued a decree on taxi registration numbers.

The changes will come into effect at the turn of the year, at the same time as the Vehicle Act changes.

The registration number is in black letters on a green background.

Yle 100 years

The audience is sitting in the stands and holding their mobile phones up with the lights on in a dark hall, with blue lights visible in the background.

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Yle’s 100th anniversary event at the Helsinki Arena on September 6, 2026 Photo: Ville Maali

Finally, a little history about Yle.

Yle turned 100 this week. Yle’s first radio broadcast was heard on September 9, 1926.

In 1958, Yle began regular television broadcasts under the name Finnish Television.

Yle’s funding changed in 2013. At that time, the TV fee was replaced by the Yle tax.

In 2022, plain-language news on radio turned 30. Plain-language TV news turned 10 last year.

The oldest type of program on Yleisradio is the church service. That is why the radio church service also celebrated its 100th anniversary.

This was a news week in plain Finnish. See you again, let’s hear from you!