Summary: Three employees at Finland's embassy in Ankara, Turkey are suspected of issuing hundreds of visas under false pretences.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Finnish Border Guard suspect three employees of the Finnish Embassy in Ankara, Turkey of issuing illegal visas, paving the way for hundreds illegal entries into the country.
 The three employees under investigation were all hired in Turkey, and they are accused of issuing Schengen Area visas under false pretences. They face potential charges of aggravated facilitation of illegal entry and aggravated abuse of public office.
 "The suspicion is that false information was provided for visa applications, leading to wrongly-issued visas. The investigation is focused on hundreds of visas, but the actual number will only become clear in the preliminary investigation," said  Antti Leskelä , the Finnish Border Guard's officer in charge of criminal investigation.
 Leskelä told the Oulu daily Kaleva that the suspects were both Finnish and Turkish citizens.
 The NBI reports that the suspected crimes were revealed through routine monitoring of visa issuance and observations made by the Border Guard.
 "Two of the individuals are under suspicion for aggravated abuse of public office. If necessary, any breaches on the part of supervisory staff will be clarified later," chief NBI inspector  Mika Ihaksinen  said in a press release.
 Preliminary investigation of the case will continue, and a prosecution deadline for the case has been set for later in the spring.
 Foreign Minister suspected unusual activity for months
 Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs says the criminal investigation authorities and the Foreign Ministry have been following activities in the Embassy for a few months, and that one suspect has already been remanded into custody in Finland, awaiting trial.
 The Foreign Ministry said in a press release that visa officials are employed by the embassy, and recruits undergo a security clearance in Finland. For this reason, the processing of visa applications is a system based on liability for acts in office.
 "In the case under investigation, it is suspected that the system has been misused. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs monitors issuance of visas, and irregularities in the Embassy in Ankara have been detected. The Foreign Ministry refrained from any internal measures to avoid compromising a criminal investigation. The suspected visa officials are no longer employed by the Embassy," the ministry said.
 The ministry reported that in 2017, Finland's Embassy in Ankara received 4,212 visa applications, 11.2 percent of which were rejected. Last year, 23.1 percent of the 4,014 applications submitted were rejected.

Finnish authorities suspect illegal visas issued at embassy in Turkey


Summary: Two Finnish hospital districts hope to attract expectant Russian mothers to give birth to Finland – and help safeguard the future of local maternity wards.

Etelä-Karjalan sosiaali- ja terveyspiiri (EKSOTE)

Hyksin Ltd, a private hospital run by the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district (HUS) and the South Karelia social and health care district Eksote plan to open a maternity clinic in St Petersburg in the hope that it might encourage Russian mums-to-be to give birth in Finland.
 Hyksin Ltd began to provide maternity services for expectant Russians at its Hyvinkää hospital in 2013. However mothers from St. Petersburg have since said that they would prefer not to commute the long distance for maternity care.
 Hyksin Ltd and Eksote are currently negotiating an agreement that – starting next summer – would make it possible for foreign mothers to also have their babies at the South Karelia Central Hospital in Lappeenranta. The distance from St Petersburg to Lappeenranta is just 220 kilometres, so it would halve the journey for mothers-to-be.
 Mothers visiting Finland to give birth pay 10,000 euros for the service.
 Russian mums saving maternity wards
 In a fresh population forecast, Eksote estimated that in the South Karelia district, the number of births will fall to between 500 and 600 a year. On the other hand, government’s proposed social and health care reform package, known as "sote", anticipates 1,000 births annually.
 "A decade from now we simply won’t have enough mothers of childbearing age," Eksote chief  Pentti Itkonen  pointed out.
 In 2010 mothers in Lappeenranta gave birth to 1,240 babies, so maternity ward capacity would suffice to accommodate visiting mothers as well, he noted.
 "If we delivered one baby a day for a visiting mother, in one year that would be enough to maintain a maternity ward here."
 Mothballing the Lappeenranta maternity facility would mean that expectant mothers in the region would have to travel to Kotka or Lahti to give birth.
 Competitive childbirth market
 The proposed St Petersburg clinic would target private patients planning to have babies in Finland. Currently foreign mothers must be in Finland one month before their due date, so they can attend the maternity clinic.
 "They could visit the clinic in St Petersburg and then come to Finland when they are ready to deliver," Itkonen said.
 Officials believe the move will boost interest among Russian mothers to give birth in Finland as care service providers compete for a share of the childbirth tourism market.
 "Private hospitals and clinics are being built in St Petersburg and we should actively go there if we want to get patients from there," Itkonen noted.
 "We could also offer cancer treatment and more patients could fit in our operating theatres," he added.

Finnish maternity wards target Russian mothers to safeguard future


Summary: Upper secondary schools can now decide independently on the day they will hold "penkkarit", when truckloads of final-year students drive through the streets to celebrate their last day in the classroom.

A reform of Finland's matriculation exams has moved the end of classroom instruction for last-year upper secondary school (high school or  lukio ) pupils up to the final week of January, ending the 100-year-old tradition of holding end-of-studies festivities in the second week of February in many schools.
 For example, final-year students at Nurmes Upper Secondary School in eastern Finland have decided to move their " penkkarit " up to 7 February this year. They will hold the school's "Old dances" ( Vanhojen tanssit ), a formal ball for second-year students to celebrate their new status as the oldest kids in the school, on 15 February.
 " Penkinpainajaiset ", commonly known as " penkkarit ", started in Finland with the spring exam-takers taking sleigh rides from their schools to a restaurant. In recent years, it has morphed into a parade of sorts, with truckloads of final-year kids in costumes riding through the streets in decorated lorries throwing candy and celebrating their "release from the school benches," which gives the event its Finnish name.
 The last of several reforms to Finland's laws on matriculation exams took effect this year. Among other changes, the reforms ended the practice of holding separate oral language exams in February. This now means that final-year classroom instruction ends in January.
 Since the 1920s, Finnish high schoolers have stopped attending classes early in the spring of their final year so they can devote themselves to solitary preparation for matriculation exams in March.
 Student union rep prefers single nationwide date
 Roosa Pajunen , chair of Finland's Union of Upper Secondary School Students, says she feels it's important for the schools to listen to students when planning the dates of these major milestones in the Finnish high school experience. She says her union doesn't have an official position on the matter yet, but she thinks that a statement or recommendation might be forthcoming.
 "The parades are an important celebration for the students, and they play a strong role in strengthening their school spirit and shared identity. If we could keep all the celebrations to the same day, it would make it a much more powerful and cohesive tradition," she said.
 The example in Nurmes this year may indicate that the decision to hold the parade and the dance on different weekends may end up being the preferred practice moving forward.  Päivi Nenonen , rector of the Ilomantsi Upper Secondary School - also in eastern Finland - has the following suggestion:
 "I would hope that if we can't decide on one day nationwide to hold these events, at least we would be able to agree on common dates for both the parade and dance within the same municipalities."

Reform changes some dates of traditional high school parades in Finland


Summary: A first-term MP will lead the main opposition party's campaign as it heads into this spring's election cycle at the top of the opinion polls.

The largest opposition group, the Social Democratic Party, says that first deputy chair  Sanna Marin  will replace party leader  Antti Rinne  during his sick leave, which is expected to last until late February. Rinne  announced on Monday  that he is in hospital recovering from coronary disease, pneumonia, and a hospital infection.
 After a meeting of party leaders in Helsinki on Tuesday, Party Secretary  Antton Rönnholm  said that Marin will try to take part in all events that Rinne was scheduled to attend. That includes a planned campaign tour of the provinces in February. The party – which has consistently  led public opinion polls  since last summer – will launch its parliamentary election campaign on Saturday in Helsinki.
 Marin said that Rinne's illness during the campaign has been difficult for the party, but insists that he will re-take the reins as soon as his health allows.
 She said she has not even thought about whether he should be replaced as leader.
 "We all now hope that Antti has a quick recovery, that he receives good care and returns to work with good strength and new energy," Marin said.
 Rinne remains PM candidate
 Also potentially standing in for Rinne will be the other deputy chairs, MPs  Maarit Feldt-Ranta  and  Ville Skinnari , and the party delegation chair,  Sirpa Paatero .
 Rönnholm says that he expects Rinne to return to work in late February and that he remains the party's prime ministerial candidate.
 According to Marin, the main message of the campaign is clear: people's everyday lives. She says that many have suffered due to the current centre-right government's decisions, including students, pensioners, jobseekers and those in ill health.
 Marin, 33, is a first-term MP and student from Tampere, where she was city council chair from 2013 to 2017.

Sanna Marin to replace ailing SDP chair Antti Rinne through February


Summary: Up to one in four power grid companies polled by Yle said that they require a security deposit for customers with bad credit.

An informal Yle survey has found that dozens of Finnish electricity suppliers and grid operators may impose up-front security deposits on customers with poor credit histories.
 Yle asked 68 power companies and 52 grid operators in what circumstances they require customers to pay security deposits.
 “The feeling is that [companies] continue to demand security deposits on quite flimsy grounds,” said lawyer  Jukka Kaakkola  of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.
 The straw poll found that about one in four power grid operators deemed even a single payment default as good reason to demand an up-front payment for electricity service. Another one in four said that they do not require their customers to pay a deposit – under any circumstances. Some 60 percent of grid operators responded to Yle’s survey.
 However fewer than 20 percent of electricity providers responded to Yle’s call. Of these firms, roughly one third said they ask for a deposit for new customers or customers with payment defaults.
 Winter heating should be assured
 According to Kaakkola, the practice of insisting on an upfront payment is most likely to be problematic during the winter. Current legislation governing the electricity market forbids providers from disconnecting customers’ electricity supply between October and April, if heating a permanent residence requires electricity.
 There have been other cases where the home is not heated by electricity, but where the heating system cannot operate without electricity.
 “The electricity provider may face exposure to liability if, contrary to these terms, it has cut the power supply and inconvenienced the consumer,” Kaakkola noted.
 The survey found that the size of the deposit required by power companies varies. The most common sum was the equivalent of three months’ electricity consumption or transfer fees. In one case the fee corresponded to a six-month period, which called on customers to pay the equivalent transfer fee in advance if they wanted the firm to deliver electricity.
 In practice, the size of the fee depends on the kind of home involved. In the case of a large electrically-heated detached home, the deposit could run to thousands of euros, while the occupants of a small flat would only have to fork out hundreds of euros.
 More pain for people facing financial troubles
 Jaana Vanhala  of the Sosped welfare organisation said the practice is nothing new. She told Yle that she understands the electricity providers’ desire to safeguard their earnings. However she said that she has also dealt with customers who have emerged from years of struggling with debt, only to be asked to pay up front for electricity.
 She said that one common factor in these cases has been that old payment default notifications have remained in the system. She noted that based on her experience it appears that utilities often deal with new and old default notifications in the same way.
 “In these situations we always try to show that the individual is able to take care of these matters. But unfortunately it doesn’t help a lot,” Vanhala said.
 According to Kaakkola, many power companies disregard the consumer authority’s guidelines and demand security deposits.
 The authority has said that electricity providers have the right to claim a deposit or advance payment from consumers if there is a particularly valid reason. That reason might include evidence that the customer is incapable of paying bills.
 The authority has provided a precedent ruling indicating how the law is to be applied. Sanctions against an offending company are usually only considered after a decision by Finland’s Market Court.
 "Electricity an essential service"
 According to the Consumer Ombudsman, however, a consumer’s inability to pay bills does not constitute a weighty enough reason to demand a security deposit. The office has noted that electricity is an essential service and that it is not possible to operate without it in modern society. It must be available to all regardless of their financial status and other personal circumstances, but not on any terms at all.
 “The ability to pay needs to be checked carefully when asking for a security deposit. If [the customer] has lost the ability to pay, there isn’t necessarily a strong basis to demand a deposit,” Kaakkola noted.
 Pekka Salomaa , director of markets with the energy providers lobby group Finnish Energy, said that he is familiar with the ombudsman’s guidance, which has played a role in the organisation’s internal training.
 “We agree with the guideline that we need to look at the overall ability of a consumer to pay. Of course each [member] company will decided independently when to ask for a security deposit – while maintaining impartiality,” he commented.
 According to data from the credit rating agency Asiakastieto, nearly 400,000 people in Finland have defaulted on debts.

Survey: Some power companies impose hefty security deposits on payment defaulters


Summary: Progress on ratifying the convention has seen years of gridlock over the contentious issue of Sámi land rights.

The  Juha Sipilä  administration has withdrawn draft legislation from Parliament that would strengthen Sámi rights.
 The cabinet said on Thursday in a letter to the Parliament that it would withdraw a 2014 bill  intended to ratify an international agreement  on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.
 Finland has debated the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for roughly 30 years. Lawmakers have been looking at draft legislation to ratify the convention since 2014, but did not get around to debating it before the 2015 parliamentary elections.
 Progress on the bill has stalled over the contentious issue of Sámi land rights.
 On Thursday the government justified pulling the draft legislation by saying that it contains outdated provisions, for example, relating to the role of the forestry management agency Metsähallitus. Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee has already provided a statement on the bill, so it will not be possible to incorporate possible changes before another general election due in April.
 Once a new government takes office later this year, it will have to work with the Sámi Parliament to revise the previous legislative proposal.
 So far, the Justice Ministry has negotiated the bill with the Sámi Parliament, which has also recommended deferring action on the proposal to a new administration on the grounds that a delay of a few more years will not mean any significant changes to Finland’s ratification of the convention.
 The task of ratifying the UN declaration as well as a Nordic Sámi Convention and reforming the local Sámi Parliament will therefore fall to the incoming administration.

Government pulls bill to ratify UN declaration on indigenous peoples rights


Summary: Several of Finland's biggest universities want the next government to commit to a high-speed rail link between Turku and Helsinki.

The rectors of the universities of Helsinki and Turku say that funding for a so-called  One Hour Train  between the two cities should be written into the next government platform when it takes office later this year.
 The administrators say that a fast public transport connection between the cities is essential for academic cooperation. The rectors of Aalto University in the Helsinki region and Åbo Akademi in Turku have also backed the plan.
 Story continues after photo
 Jari Niemelä in his office above Senate Square. Elise Tykkyläinen / Yle
 "We have to get this Turku track into shape and be able to get there in an hour," says University of Helsinki rector  Jari Niemelä , noting that experts frequently travel back and forth between the cities but are hampered by slow, uncertain connections and frequent delays on the current coastal route. Niemelä, who leads a scientific community of 40,000 students and employees, says a fast, environmentally-sustainable rail link is essential to provide synergy between know-how in the urban regions and advance Finnish research.
 Story continues after photo
 Åbo Akademi's Mikko Hupa Petra Ristola / Yle
 "Besides the universities, this is an extremely important project for these regions," says Åbo Akademi rector  Mikko Hupa .
 For many students, public transport is only alternative
 Many students say that a quick inter-city connection would also be crucial for them, allowing them to take courses or do internships in more than one location.
 Story continues after photo
 Turku University's Sini Saarinen Petra Ristola / Yle
 Few students have their own cars so public transport is essential, says Turku University student union leader  Sini Saarinen . Both the Helsinki and Turku university student unions support construction of the One Hour Train line.
 "Creating new rail lines like this is also a form of climate action that will impact all of our futures," adds Helsinki University student body chair  Laura Wathén .
 "The faster you can get moving, the faster and better you can get down to work. That also facilitates innovations and studying," says Saarinen.
 Story continues after map
 The proposed direct route would mean building the first major new stretch of rail in decades. Yle Uutisgrafiikka
 The  Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency  has been presenting the proposed route for the One Hour Train line at public events in recent months. It calls for a completely new rail line via the south-western towns of Vihti and Lohja. The route would also benefit Espoo, site of the main Aalto University campus, as it would add a new urban rail link between Leppävaara and Espoo centre.
 General planning for the proposed line is underway but a decision on whether to go ahead with it remains up to Parliament and the next cabinet, which is expected to take office in late spring or early summer. The EU has expressed support for the plan.

Universities seek rapid rail link between Helsinki and Turku


Summary: The Green Party is calling for more openness in how Finland's European Commission candidates are chosen.

Former Greens chair and environment minister  Ville Niinistö  has thrown his hat into the ring for a possible seat on the European Commission.
 Niinistö said on Tuesday that if he is elected to the European Parliament in this spring's election, he would then be available as the Finnish candidate for the Commission if the government so wishes.
 "Competence and experience also matter"
 Speaking at a press conference in Helsinki, Niinistö and current Greens chair  Pekka Haavisto  called for the next cabinet to name its European Commission candidate at the same time as its ministers. They both urged more transparency in the process of selecting Finland's next possible Commissioner.
 Traditionally the Finnish commissioner has been chosen by the largest party in Parliament.
 "We would like to challenge this previous custom and raise the issue that competence and experience also matter," Haavisto said.
 Niinistö said that he is prepared to take part in the Greens' parliamentary election campaign and in government negotiations if asked to do so. He will not be a candidate in the domestic parliamentary election.
 The European elections are in late May, about one month after Finnish parliamentary elections.
 The 42-year-old Ville Niinistö – a nephew of President  Sauli Niinistö  but no immediate relation to Defence Minister  Jussi Niinistö  – led the Greens from 2011 to 2017 as it gained popularity to become one of the four or five largest parties.
 Haavisto, a two-time cabinet minister who was also party chair in the 1990s,  returned to that post last autumn  after Niinistö's successor,  Touko Aalto , stepped down for health reasons.

Ex-Greens chair Ville Niinistö "available" for European Commission post


Summary: MPs propose a civics test for newcomers, the national daily explores migration policies for boosting labour supply, and a Siberian cold front lets up.

Parliamentarians want all asylum seekers to pass a civics test, writes national daily  Helsingin Sanomat .
 Criticising current integration policy as inadequate, Parliament’s Audit Committee wants to introduce a civics exam testing asylum seekers’ knowledge of Finnish society. All parties within the committee - from the Greens to the Finns Party - supported the report’s recommendations, which comes on the heels of increasing anti-immigrant sentiment following a string of child sex abuses  allegedly perpetrated by foreigners .
 The report also recommends adding Finnish or Swedish language requirements to residence permits and cutting allowances from asylum seekers who opt out of training offered at reception centres.
 The committee also proposed shortening waiting periods for migrants’ work permits.
 Needed but not wanted?
 Continuing on the theme of migration and work,  Helsingin Sanomat  explores how laxer immigration rules could help offset problems posed by an  ageing population and dwindling birthrate . HS draws attention to  policies  that impede migrant workers' entry into Finland, reporting that a lack of workers is hurting industrial kitchens, construction sites and machine shops around the country.
 The paper highlights how the standard hiring practice in Finland which  prioritises job applicants who are EU citizens  gums up the immigration process. The paper also illustrates the catch-22 posed by relatively high salary requirements for migrants arriving from outside the EU: A family with two children must net 2,600 euros per month, while a chef’s monthly gross salary totals around 2,200 euros.
 Recruitment firm Barona, which brokers foreign labour into Finland, said it takes about a year for Filipino chefs to get their work permits from Finnish authorities. Labour unions have meanwhile said they're concerned that relying on cheap labour from abroad will exacerbate a two-tier worker system.
 To attract highly-skilled labour the government said it hopes Finland’s work-life balance would help the country compete with the likes of Silicon Valley for 'knowledge' workers.
 Siberian cold snap
 The recent  deep freeze  loosens its grip on the country on Wednesday, but the Siberian cold front is expected to return this weekend, reports Swedish-language daily  Hufvudstadsbladet .
 The mercury will settle around zero in southern parts of the country on Wednesday, though the wind chill factor is giving temperatures an extra bite. In central areas temperatures will range form -5 to -10 degrees Celsius, while -20-degree weather is forecast up north.
 By the weekend, thermometers in the south may dip to -15C, plummeting to -30C in Lapland.

Wednesday’s papers: Civics tests, migrant labour and Siberian chill


Summary: Leading dairy firm Valio said up to 100 of its white-collar workers in Helsinki could lose their jobs.

Dairy giant Valio has announced that the company initiated codetermination talks with employee unions on Tuesday, saying that it needs to reduce staff by 80 to 100 workers, all of whom work at the firm's headquarters in Helsinki.
 The farmer-owned firm said the cuts are needed to improve competitiveness and profitability. The employer-employee negotiations are expected to last about six weeks.
 However, Valio's processing plant workers are not affected by the looming job cuts, according to a press release issued Wednesday.
 Valio is one of the country's biggest companies but began as a dairy farmers' cooperative in 1905 and currently employs about 4,000 people.
 The firm produces and markets dairy goods like cheese, butter, yogurt and produces an estimated 85 percent of Finland's milk.

Finnish dairy giant Valio to cut up to 100 jobs


Summary: Migri said it can process residence permit applications in advance, as long as the UK makes a final decision on the terms of its departure from the EU.

Kansainväliset organisaatiot ja sopimukset

The Finnish Immigration Service, Migri, says it is bracing to receive residence permit applications from thousands of UK citizens living in Finland, once the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU are confirmed.
 Migri has estimated that there are some 5,000 British citizens, who would have to apply for residence permits in Finland when the UK leaves the bloc at the end of March.
 "We want to ensure that we have information about all of the British people in Finland, so that we can plan follow-up measures as carefully as possible," Migri deputy head  Raimo Pyysalo  said in a Radio Suomi interview.
 Pyysalo noted that the agency is prepared to begin processing residence permit applications in advance, as long as Theresa May’s government makes a final decision on the terms of its departure from the EU.
 Applicants will have to pay for the permits and Migri said that it does not want to begin granting them before it is sure that Brexit will go ahead as planned.
 The agency also noted that processing 5,000 residence permit applications would mean a great deal of additional work.
 Post-Brexit arrivals will have to apply for permits first
 Pyysalo stressed that registering in Finland would also serve UK citizens here. Once Brexit takes effect, Brits who want to relocate to Finland will have to first apply to Migri for a residence permit. After the initial residence period, they will be able to apply for an extension.
 Officials have speculated that the UK’s final separation agreement may also inspire citizens living in Finland to seek Finnish citizenship.
 The 2016 referendum that saw the decision to leave the EU resulted in an additional 150  applications for Finnish citizenship by Brits , Pyysalo said.
 So far the future of UK citizens resident in the EU has been  shrouded in uncertainty  as the government in Westminster has struggled to win a clear mandate for a withdrawal agreement.
 Last week Prime Minister  Juha Sipilä  called on Brits in Finland to  register with local immigration authorities  before Brexit to ease the residence permit process.

Migri "ready" to begin advance processing of Brits' residence applications


Summary: A second man has been detained for suspected involvement in the deaths of two people who were found in the aftermath of an apartment fire last week.

On Wednesday Pirkanmaa District Court ordered a man around the age of 30 to be held on remand on suspicion of involvement in the deaths of two people in the southern city of Valkeakoski.
 The other male suspect, around 34-years-old, was ordered into remand custody on Monday.
 According to police, the two men are from Tampere and aresuspected of murder, assault, theft and vandalism. The suspects, whom authorities tracked down on Saturday, are reportedly familiar to local police.
 The bodies of two Valkeakoski residents, both in their 30s, were found by authorities in the aftermath of an apartment fire  late last Friday  night.

Two held in suspected Valkeakoski murders


Summary: Vaccinating boys against the spread of Human papillomavirus would also help protect girls, the THL said.

Including boys in Finland’s Human Papillomavirus vaccination programme would be an effective means of combating cancers caused by the infection.
 According to a new impact assessment report by the National Institute for Health and Welfare THL, extending the vaccination regime to boys would protect both boys and girls. It would also generate considerable savings.
 The agency has calculated that the current immunisation programme, which covers girls, saves just over 11 million euros per year, in terms of preventing HPV-related cancers or their early-stage treatment. If the vaccination coverage were extended to boys, it would result in additional annual savings of about 4.1 million euros.
 The THL’s proposal has been handed over to the Social Affairs and Health Ministry for consideration.
 HPV can cause cancers of the oral cavity, anus, penis, cervix and external uterus, among others. Preventing the spread of the virus would go a long way toward preventing these conditions given that eight out of 10 young people are infected with the virus at some stage in their lives.
 According to THL senior physician  Tuija Leino , HPV accounts for be between 20 and 50 percent of head and neck cancers, while up to 50 percent of cancers of the tongue and tonsils.
 The THL experts said that a vaccination programme that targets boys as well as girls could prevent as many as 300 cancer cases annually.
 "By expanding the vaccination programme to also include boys, it is possible that we might even eradicate HPV," said the THL’s HPV working group chair,  Antti Mäkitie .
 Finland has had an HPV vaccination programme since 2013, and officials estimate that the coverage rate for the shot stands at just over 70 percent.

Public health watchdog wants boys to get HPV vaccine


Summary: PM Juha Sipilä's administration reached nearly all of its fiscal policy goals, but left several long-term problems unsolved, the Economic Policy Council said.

In its annual report on governmental financial policy, the Economic Policy Council said that  employment figures clearly improved  during Prime Minister  Juha Sipilä's  administration, which is coming to an end following parliamentary elections in April.
 According to the report, employment has increased and budget deficits have gone down since 2015 when Sipilä's government ascended to power. The report also noted that government reached its goal of boosting the employment rate to 72 percent in the autumn.
 The report also notes that the economy grew unexpectedly quickly during 2017 and last year. Thanks to increased exports and stimulus measures taken by the European Central Bank, strong growth was seen across Europe, as well, according to the report.
 "The government has almost reached its fiscal targets. The debt to GDP ratio has started to decrease and public finances will be almost balanced in 2019. The government has implemented the cuts to public expenditure which were planned at the beginning of the term. The 2017 and 2018 tax cuts were poorly timed from a business cycle perspective and the tax decreases over the government’s term, which were larger than planned, hinder efforts to stabilize public finances," the report reads.
 Social and health care reform effects "uncertain"
 The report questioned how long-planned reforms to Finland's social and health care systems (colloquially called  Sote ) will play out in the long run.
 "The aims of the social and health care reform are ambitious, but in light of research its effects are uncertain. There continue to be no credible evaluations of how the reform will increase productivity to the degree that the savings target could be achieved without compromising quality or access. Central questions concerning the implementation of the reform remains unsolved."
 "The informational basis required for designing provider compensation models remains inadequate. Leaving occupational health care outside the reform makes designing compensation models more difficult and may increase costs. Some of the reform’s risks could be avoided with a more gradual expansion of freedom of choice," the report's authors said.
 Group also surveyed policy experiments
 The council also examined government's various experiments in the social security sector (like the  Basic Income trial ), the country's employment policy (the  "activation model" programme ) and in the social and health care sectors.
 "From a perspective of impact evaluation the design of the experiments leaves room for improvement. Learning from the experiments requires that the group participating in the experiment has a well-defined control group. The policies included in the experiments should be clearly delineated and also feasible as actual reforms. Better designed experiments would facilitate their use in supporting political decision making. Also possibilities for ex-post evaluation of reforms should be taken into account already in the legislative phase," the report reads.
 The Economic Policy Council, established in 2014, is an independent panel from the state research group VATT, the Institute for Economic Research. Members are appointed based on proposals from the economics departments of universities and the Academy of Finland.
 Council members include Professors Roope Uusitalo (council chair),  Torben M. Andersen ,  Anneli Anttonen ,  Kaisa Kotakorpi  and  Mikko Puhakka . The current council's five-year term closes at the end of March.

Outgoing Sipilä government leaving long-term problems unsolved, researchers say


Summary: Officials spent 60,000 euros in Central Ostrobothnia and 50,000 in Jakobstad to prevent the spread of the disease among 400-odd people exposed to infection.

Health officials in the western Finland town of Jakobstad (Pietarsaari) and Central Ostrobothnia spent more than 100,000 euros to contain a measles outbreak in the region at the end of last year.
 Local health officials said that the money was spent on vaccinations as well as additional personnel costs.
 Some 60,000 euros was spent in Central Ostrobothnia and 50,000 in Jakobstad to prevent the spread of the disease among the 400-odd people exposed to infection from the  pre-school-aged boy who was first diagnosed  with the disease.
 Heidi Pettersson , head of Central Ostrobothnia’s family services unit, Soite, said that the majority of patients exposed to measles were treated in Kokkola.
 "The family whose child was first diagnosed with measles was also treated at Soite," she noted.
 Latest case in Kotka
 At the end of November, health officials in Larsmo (Luoto in Finnish) determined that the pre-schooler had come down with measles after contracting the infection abroad.
 The case triggered a series of measures to prevent the spread of the disease, because the coverage rate for the MMR vaccine (MPR in Finland) in the region is lower than in the rest of the country. The case also caused some patients in quarantine to come down with the disease.
 Since the November case, other cases of measles infections have reported in Espoo and  Tampere .
 Most recently the disease reportedly reared its head on Wednesday in Kotka, where health officials are trying to track down individuals who may have been exposed to infection by a young patient who visited a private doctor as well as the accident and emergency ward at the Kymenlaakso central hospital.

Western Finland health officials spent over €100k to contain measles outbreak


Summary: A record 43,000-plus people sought free debt counselling in 2018, the highest in its 30-year history, the Guarantee Foundation said on Wednesday.

The full scope of Finnish household's debt problem remains hidden, says the Guarantee Foundation, an NGO that provides counselling and other forms of assistance to individuals struggling with debt.
 The organisation noted that its customer numbers have grown and that people are deeper in debt than before. On top of that, many are resorting to artful measures to ride out the tide of debt longer than ever.
 On Wednesday the NGO said in a release that last year it was contacted by a record 43,000-plus people seeking free debt counselling, the highest in its 30-year history.
 The foundation found that on average, its customers had 5,000 euros more debt last year than customers in 2017. The average debt burden of people seeking help last year was nearly 34,000 euros, compared to 29,000 the previous year.
 At the same time, it said that the number of people seeking advice for unsecured debt in excess of 100,000 euros had increased by 50 percent during 2018 compared to 2017.
 Figures don’t tell the full story
 The foundation said in its statement that payment default statistics and other debt data about don’t always give the full picture about debt in Finland. It noted that people who are over-indebted may still have clean credit scores will therefore not show up in these statistics. According to the NGO, this group continues to grow.
 Foundation chief executive  Juha Pantzar  said that it is important to cut the debt cycle earlier than ever. He added that its counsellors have noted the easy availability of unsecured credit that people are using to consolidate other loans, thereby avoiding payment defaults.
 “However this trend is leading to even more stubborn debt problems such as managing debt by way of distraint procedures. What we need now is immediate and faster reaction times and new ways of restructuring debt as well as financial services to reach people before the burden becomes too great,” Pantzar declared.

NGO: Rising numbers saddled with €100+k in unsecured debt


Summary: The press discuss Finland's top position in the Good Country Index, a 10-fold increase in Chinese visitors to Lapland and the a preference for imported vegetables.

Finland ranks first in the Good Country Index, which measures each country’s contribution to the common good of humanity, reports daily  Helsingin Sanomat.
 Relative to the size of its economy, Finland is the biggest net contributor to mankind, says the survey which measures 35 factors ranging from science to peace, world order, climate, equality and health.
 According to HS, Finland fared best in categories that assessed press freedom, direct investments abroad, the number of patents, freedom of movement, cyber security and free trade, among others.
 Foreign Minister  Timo Soini  will accept the award at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this week, HS said.
 "Finland is a good solid country, and we are trusted in international arenas. This is a result of consistent work which I can see in my job almost daily. This award will benefit the current debate and atmosphere in Finland," Soini said in a statement.
 Ireland, Sweden, Germany and Denmark also featured among the top five countries, while Iraq, Libya and Jemen ranked at the bottom of the list. The US was ranked 40, just above Russia.
 Finland, whose inhabitants make up 0.07 percent of the global population, was rated the world’s safest and most stable country, with the cleanest air and  happiest people  last year, HS said.
 Chinese in Lapland
 The number of Chinese tourists in Lapland doubled between 2016 and 2017, reports tabloid  Iltalehti , as Finland benefited from its reputation as a safe country for travellers.
 "There are about 35,000 annual overnight stays by Chinese visitors in Rovaniemi now. Ten years ago, it was 3,000-4,000," says  Sanna Kärkkäinen  from Visit Rovaniemi tourist information.
 “The period from 2016 to 2017 was really historical for us as the Chinese came to Finland en masse."
 "There were several terrorist attacks in Europe during those years and these security crises benefited us. Our environment is not only clean and pure, it also provides safety," Kärkkäinen said.
 So-called school camps targetting Chinese youth could be the next big thing, Kärkkäinen said. "This would be an opportunity to sell the summer season in Lapland while teaching young people about respecting nature and the special features of Arctic areas," she added.
 According to another story in Iltalehti , Chinese tourists are willing to spend as much as 5,000 euros to see Santa Claus and the Northern Lights.
 Veggies on the rise
 In other news, daily  Karjalainen  reports that people in Finland spend more money than before on fruit and vegetables but the kilogram quantity sold has not increased.
 This is because sales of packaged and more expensive products have grown the most, the paper said, based on figures from the Central Organisation for Finnish Horticulture. These include imported berries and avocados at the expense of salad, cabbage, broccoli and root vegetables.
 Director  Timo Taulavuori  from the organisation said one way for consumers to save money is to choose basic Finnish products and buy imported vegetables and fruit only when they are in season.

Thursday's papers: Finland tops Good Country Index, Lapland popular among the Chinese and veggie sales rise


Summary: The Satakunta district court slapped the senior with a prison sentence for sex crimes and factored in a previous suspended sentence for a similar conviction.

The Satakunta district court has sentenced a Pori man to a 16-month prison sentence following his conviction for sexual abuse of two children, as well as attempted sexual abuse, alcohol offences and illegal sales of cigarettes.
 The ruling also relates to a suspended prison sentence the man received for sexual abuse of a minor and alcohol offences two years ago.
 The 68-year-old had sold and provided cigarettes and alcohol to underaged children and lured them to his home. The youngest of his victims was 10 years old.
 The man denied committing the sex crimes but the court found him guilty. However a separate charge of assault was dismissed. The prosecution justified the assault charge by arguing that the boys allegedly became inebriated from the alcohol they drank. The court ruled that it was not possible to determine the degree of inebriation and the possible impact on their health.
 The court ordered part of the sentence to be sealed.

Pori man gets 16 months jail time for child sexual abuse


Summary: Kokkola residents will pay up to 3,182 euros more than their peers in Helsinki in municipal, church and property taxes, according to a new analysis.

There are major differences in how much tax Finnish residents pay based on their location, according to a new analysis by the Taxpayers’ Association of Finland.
 The organisation said Thursday that among the country’s large cities, Helsinki residents will pay the lowest taxes, while people living in Kokkola on the west coast will hand over more of their income than in any other part of the country.
 The comparison looked at municipalities in mainland Finland and included municipal, church and state taxes, as well as the Yle tax that funds the national broadcaster and social insurance contributions.
 Moreover, the annual difference in taxation between the two places amounts to thousands of euros – with Kokkola residents paying up to 3,182 euros more than their peers in Helsinki in municipal, church and property taxes.
 The association calculated that an average income earner living in Helsinki will pay annual taxes totaling about 14,533 euros.
 Less tax pain in bigger cities
 After Kokkola, taxpayers in Seinäjoki in northern Finland and Kajaani in the east will feel the pinch most. By contrast, people living in Turku and Tampere will feel a lighter touch when it comes to paying taxes. But even so, they will pay about 1,000 euros more than Helsinki residents in annual taxes.
 The NGO concluded that Finland’s largest cities will maintain more or less the same level of taxation this year that they did last year. Nationwide, 46 municipalities will hike taxes, while five will ease them.
 Among larger municipalities, the biggest tax increases will be in Pori in southwest Finland and Vaasa in the west, where residents can expect to pay half-a-percentage-point more in various levies.
 However with a population of just under 1,500, tiny Oripää in the southwest will see taxes rise by 1.5 percentage points compared to last year.
 Wage earners contribute bulk of 2018 tax take
 Meanwhile the Finnish Tax Administration, Vero, reported on Thursday that it collected a total of nearly 69 billion euros in various taxes and levies last year.
 The taxman’s data showed that personal income taxes handed over to the agency increased by 1.7 percent to just over 30 billion euros. Withholding taxes collected from salaries accounted for close to 29 billion euros, while corporate taxes totaled nearly six billion euros, having declined 2.5 percent from 2017.
 Vero said that it collected 17.7 billion euros in VAT and 7.4 billion euros in excise duties last year.
 The figures released Thursday do not include VAT collected by Finnish Customs or taxes collected by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency, Trafi, which include vehicle taxes, taxes after first vehicle registrations and fuel taxes.

Helsinki residents to fork out lowest taxes in 2018, west coast Kokkola to pay most


Summary: The 25-year-old man is expected to be remanded by Oulu District Court on Friday.

A 25-year-old man arrested in Germany on suspicion of child sexual abuse will be extradited to Finland on Thursday.
 The man  was taken into custody  in the city of Saarbrücken in western Germany on 9 January.
 The suspect is  one of eight men under investigation  for alleged sexual offences against minors in Oulu between June and October of last year.
 The man, who is suspected of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, aggravated rape and assault, is expected to be remanded into custody by Oulu District Court on Friday.

Man suspected of child sex abuse to be extradited from Germany to Finland


Summary: Finland's unemployment trend stood at 6.6 percent at year-end, the lowest since October 2008.

Figures published by Statistics Finland on Thursday show that the number of unemployed fell considerably last year. At the end of last December, 146,000 people were jobless, down from 228,000 at the end of 2017.
 The unemployment rate was 5.4 percent at year-end, while the unemployment trend stood at 6.6 percent – the lowest level since October 2008. The trend is adjusted for seasonal and random variations and is considered a more meaningful measurement of unemployment, according to the agency.
 Meanwhile, the trend of the employment rate was 72.5 per cent at the end of December, reaching just  above the government’s target of 72 percent .
 More vacant jobs
 At the same time, the number of available jobs saw a dramatic rise, according to the Employment Bulletin from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
 The number of vacancies reported to Employment and Economic Development Offices across the country totalled 89,600 at the end of December last year, according to the bulletin. In comparison, there were 11,200 fewer unfilled positions available in December of 2017.
 More than a half – about 46,000 – of the available jobs at the end of 2018 were new vacancies.

Unemployment falls to 10-year low in Finland


Summary: The 50-year-old opposition MP was first diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2009.

Social Democratic Party MP  Maarit Feldt-Ranta  announced on Thursday that she is on sick leave because her stomach cancer has returned and that she does not plan to run in the upcoming parliamentary election.
 "This is not a farewell, but a message that I am moving towards a new, more private and calmer stage of life," Feldt-Ranta wrote on her Facebook page.
 "Someday I will die, but all of the other days I'm alive and that's really what I've done, and intend to do in the future, as well," she wrote.
 Feldt-Ranta, who's a member of Finland's Swedish-speaking minority, lives in the southern municipality of Raseborg. She was first elected to parliament in 2007 and served in many roles within the party and for the SDP's Swedish branch.
 Second health issue for SDP this week
 She was nearly selected - coming in second place - by fellow party members to represent the SDP in last year's presidential election and also served as the party's secretary in 2005-2008.
 Her announcement that she doesn't plan to run for a parliamentary seat came only two days after the SDP's party chair  Antti Rinne  announced that  he's on sick leave  until late February due to coronary disease, pneumonia, and a hospital infection.
 Since last summer, the SDP has consistently  led public opinion polls  and will launch its parliamentary election campaign in Helsinki on Saturday. The parliamentary election will be held on April 14.

SDP's Maarit Feldt-Ranta's stomach cancer returns, calls off parliamentary run


Summary: Progress on ratifying the convention has seen years of gridlock over the contentious issue of Sámi land rights.

The  Juha Sipilä  administration has withdrawn draft legislation from Parliament that would strengthen Sámi rights.
 The cabinet said on Thursday in a letter to the Parliament that it would withdraw a 2014 bill  intended to ratify an international agreement  on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.
 Finland has debated the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for roughly 30 years. Lawmakers have been looking at draft legislation to ratify the convention since 2014, but did not get around to debating it before the 2015 parliamentary elections.
 Progress on the bill has stalled over the contentious issue of Sámi land rights.
 On Thursday the government justified pulling the draft legislation by saying that it contains outdated provisions, for example, relating to the role of the forestry management agency Metsähallitus. Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee has already provided a statement on the bill, so it will not be possible to incorporate possible changes before another general election due in April.
 Once a new government takes office later this year, it will have to work with the Sámi Parliament to revise the previous legislative proposal.
 So far, the Justice Ministry has negotiated the bill with the Sámi Parliament, which has also recommended deferring action on the proposal to a new administration on the grounds that a delay of a few more years will not mean any significant changes to Finland’s ratification of the convention.
 The task of ratifying the UN declaration as well as a Nordic Sámi Convention and reforming the local Sámi Parliament will therefore fall to the incoming administration.

Government pulls bill to ratify UN declaration on indigenous peoples' rights


Summary: The con artists are believed to have sent fake emails purporting to be from the United Nations.

Ministerit, ministeriöt ja valtioneuvosto

Scammers are suspected of duping the Finnish Foreign Ministry into handing over some 400,000 euros in development funds last February, according to the National Bureau of Investigation.
 Detective Chief Inspector  Antti Perälä  said the agency is investigating the suspected crime as aggravated fraud and aggravated money laundering. The money that the Foreign Ministry handed over was originally, intended for a project to support the development of the legal aid system in Kyrgyzstan.
 Police said that the swindlers sent an email purporting to come from an employee of the UN Development Programme, UNDP, prompting the Foreign Ministry to pay out the funds.
 "The Finnish state has had these kinds of funding agreements with the UNDP. It has funded ongoing projects according to that agreement. [Someone] has managed to get in the middle, pose as this UN organisation and the money was mistakenly paid into this fraudulent account," Perälä.
 Perälä said the NBI suspects that hackers managed to infiltrate the UNDP’s servers abroad, allowing them to monitor email exchanges.
 "In this way they have been able to send authentic-looking messages to the right persons. Project workers began to ask why the money hadn’t arrived and the ministry immediately began to look into why the money hadn’t reached its destination."
 "Then they found out that the account belonged to a private individual," Perälä added.
 Much of the money recovered
 The investigator said that some of the funds have since been recovered but some of it had been transferred forward.
 "Even some of the money that was passed on has been reclaimed, but not all of it. The NBI currently has identified three people suspected of money laundering offences."
 The suspected money laundering offences are tied to the onward transfer of the ill-gotten gains.
 "For the moment we don’t know who is behind the actual suspected aggravated fraud. The question of where this happened and who engineered it is being investigated by way of requests for legal assistance sent to many countries," Perälä concluded.

Finland’s Foreign Ministry falls for €400K email scam


Summary: Finland produces double the greenhouse gas emissions of Sweden, the electorate worries about climate change and lawnmowers cut the ice.

Finland emitted twice as much greenhouse gas per capita as Sweden in 2016, reports national daily  Helsingin Sanomat . Sweden’s reliance on hydropower and nuclear energy have also contributed to keeping the country's emissions down.
 Nuclear power accounts for 40 percent of all energy produced in Sweden, compared to 27 percent in Finland. Sweden has, however, said it plans to phase out nuclear energy. In contrast Finland wants to up its  nuclear energy capacity .
 Nordic leaders are meanwhile gathering in Helsinki on Friday for a  Nordic climate meeting.  The conference aims to flesh out concrete steps towards a carbon neutral Nordic region. The Finnish government said the most recent IPCC report, which called on states to reduce emissions at a faster pace, was a catalyst for the meeting.
 Climate top election issue
 Climate change and the environment also topped the list of election concerns important to the public, writes Swedish-language daily  Hufvudstadsbladet  of a recent reader survey.
 HBL's audience was mainly interested in how Finland's political parties plan to tackle  climate change and environmental threats  already posed by a warming planet.
 Other top election issues included taxes, education, followed by matters pertaining to migration, integration and racism.
 Cuts to education at all levels in Finland - from daycare to university funding - also concerned readers, many of whom were especially interested in finding out whether universities would be compensated for previous budget slashes.
 Lawnmowers cut the ice
 An all-women’s team is joining the Lavia 12h international lawnmower race, writes regional daily  Turun Sanomat .
 Billed as the ’Le Mans for lawnmowers’ by organisers, contestants circle a two-kilometre track on a frozen lake for 12 hours.
 Team members  Emma Ruotsalainen  and  Henna Haavisto  said they believe lawnmower racing has room to grow in Finland, as it’s a relatively cheap motor sport lacking the license fees usually associated with competitive racing.
 The women said they are not too worried about their safety when speeding over ice, citing a sore stomach from excessive laughing as the main drawback.
 The competition takes place on 9 February in Lavia, some 70 kilometres west of Tampere.

Friday's papers: Finland's affinity for nuclear power, citizens' climate concerns and lawnmowers cut the ice


Summary: EU citizenship is one of the main prerequisites for employment at an EU agency.

British citizen  Jane Mayhew-Smith  says she is worried that her job at the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki could be on the line if the  UK leaves the European Union  without a deal on 29 March and she loses her status as a European citizen.
 Mayhew-Smith moved to Helsinki from London 10 years ago and began working as a researcher at the European Chemicals Agency, ECHA, in 2008.
 One of the main prerequisites for working at an EU agency is citizenship in one of the union’s member states. If the UK breaks from the bloc without an agreement to govern the future relationship between the two sides, then British citizens who don’t hold passports from EU country may lose their jobs in EU agencies.
 "I am very worried. The situation has been very stressful since the result of the referendum in 2016. There is so much uncertainty. It’s even uncertain whether or not Brexit will happen at all," Mayhew-Smith said.
 Mayhew-Smith’s family includes her freelance journalist husband and their two daughters aged 11 and eight, all of whom are UK citizens, however the younger of the girls was born in Finland.
 Road to Finnish citizenship
 Soon after the referendum result, Mayhew-Smith said she  decided to seek Finnish citizenshi p and began intensive Finnish-language courses. She described the programme as tough, as it took place three evenings a week, leaving less time for family. After two years of studies, she passed the course in May 2018 and applied for citizenship in July of the same year.
 "I also applied for citizenship for my girls because I want them to have the opportunity to live, study and work in Finland when they are older – if they want to."
 The Finnish Immigration Service, Migri, said that it takes six to 10 months to process citizenship applications. For Mayhew-Smith, that means she could have a Finnish passport by April. By that time, the UK may have separated from the EU.
 Both girls attend Helsinki’s European School, where the children of EU employees have guaranteed study places and do not pay tuition fees. According to Mayhew-Smith, if she loses her ECHA job, the family will have to pay the fees themselves.
 "The school has said that the children can stay on but it’s not certain. There are limited study places because it’s a small school. Paying the tuition fees would be difficult if I didn’t have work," Mayhew-Smith commented.
 She said that if she doesn’t get Finnish citizenship and cannot find another job in Finland, she will return to the UK with her family and will try to find work in the chemicals field.
 Like  other UK citizens living in Finland , Mayhew-Smith said Brexit has her especially concerned about health care, pensions and the right to study and work.
 Possible changes to Kela benefits
 Suvi Rasimus,  head of the international affairs unit of benefits agency Kela, said that the agency is currently assessing how a no-deal Brexit would affect the benefits provided to Brits in Finland. She noted that in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, Brits in Finland would for the most part have the same status as so-called third country (non-European) nationals, such as Russians.
 Rasimus speculated that there would hardly be any changes to the benefits received by long-term residents in Finland, but with the ongoing Brexit negotiations still open, no one can make any definite pronouncements.
 She called on Brits in Finland to follow updates from Kela and other government agencies adding that they would all provide new information as soon as they have something to tell.
 According to the Finnish Immigration Service, Migri, there are currently just over 5,000 UK citizens residing in Finland. The agency has recommended that they all register their presence here.
 However it said that for the moment,  it cannot provide any guidance  to UK nationals about what they should do to maintain their residency status post-Brexit.
 The agency’s deputy chief  Raimo Pyysalo  told Yle that an estimated 150 UK citizens have applied to become naturalized Finns because of Brexit.

No-deal Brexit may cost Brit in Finland a job at EU chemicals agency


Summary: Rising from seventh place last year, the index now ranked Finland third after winner South Korea and runner-up Germany.

Bloomberg's take on the most innovative countries South Korea Germany Finland Switzerland Israel Singapore Sweden United States Japan France
 Patent activity propelled Finland to the top of list, according an index compiled by American news agency Bloomberg, which gauged innovation through patent trends, among other metrics.
 "Nokia patented a lot which led many companies in Finland to follow suit,"  Kaisa Suominen , a European patent expert with Finnish patent attorney company Moosedog, told Yle News of Finland's eagerness to patent.
 Bloomberg's ranking places the United States and China - two of the world's largest economies - behind Finland, which has a relatively high per capita number of patents, according to Suominen.
 Neighbouring Sweden tumbled five notches to number seven, surpassed, for example, by Israel whose increased patent activity helped it jump ahead five spots over last year.
 Patents boost Finland's standing
 While Bloomberg's ranking system rewards strong patent systems, which give inventors protection over their inventions, patent regimes have increasingly come under fire for slowing entrepreneurship and growth.
 Suominen said she doesn't agree with this criticism, but added that an invention has to be novel and innovative for the system to work.
 Finnish companies have actively sought to trademark their inventions thanks to state-backed innovation funding financing companies' initial patent applications.

Patents power Finland to third in Bloomberg innovation ranking


Summary: A drunken, off-duty police officer struck a woman after she tried to get him to stop shouting racist comments at a taxi queue.

The District Court of South-West Finland sentenced a Turku police officer to fines and court fees, after finding him guilty of slander and assault.
 The ruling stems from an incident in a taxi queue in 2017, in which a woman noticed a man who was acting aggressively toward others waiting for rides.
 According to testimony, the man was shouting racist comments to three men who appeared to be foreigners, who had cut in front of him in the queue.
 The woman tried to calm the man down at which point the off-duty officer hit her in the face. Immediately after the assault, the man announced that he was a police officer.
 The woman filed a criminal complaint, which led to charges against the defendant. The officer admitted to the court that he was intoxicated at the time of the incident but said that he found it difficult to believe that he had behaved as the woman claimed.
 Ordered to pay fines, compensation
 However, the court did not share the officer's opinion on the course of events.
 Because the crime had racist motivations - and due to the fact he is a police officer - the court raised the defendant's fines for the incident.
 The officer was ordered to pay 2,640 euros in fines for the slander and assault charges. He was also ordered to pay 700 euros to the woman he assaulted, as well as her court costs, which amounted to 1,800 euros.
 The South-West Finland chief of police,  Tapio Huttunen , called the incident very unfortunate.
 "We learned about the verdict yesterday [Wednesday]. We will now call him in and then decide what consequences this will have," Huttunen told Yle.
 Potential repercussions the officer could face at work range from a written warning to a temporary suspension.
 Tabloid newspaper Ilta-Sanomat was first to report on the ruling.

Turku cop fined for hitting woman after shouting racist comments in taxi queue


Summary: Only around 100-150 jaywalking fines are issued to pedestrians, cyclists and moped riders in Finland annually.

Jaywalking has become a bit more common in Finland, particularly in the capital area. But one of the first things that many foreign visitors notice on city streets is that local pedestrians usually patiently wait for the "little red man" traffic lights to turn green before crossing, regardless of whether any vehicles are in sight.
 Among its other activities, the Finnish Road Safety Council has been monitoring the behaviour of pedestrians since the mid-1990s. Last year the traffic safety group surveyed zebra crossings in 11 cities, with each featuring between one to three busy intersections outfitted with pedestrian traffic lights.
 The survey found that roughly 90 percent of pedestrians follow the rules of the road and cross the street only when the lights are green.
 In 2017 a  law change  decreed that jaywalking would no longer be a crime. However the activity remains a misdemeanour and people who inappropriately cross the street risk a 20-euro fine. The penalty fee was doubled a few years ago, but according to the Police Board's  Heikki Kallio ,that hasn't changed people's behaviours much.
 Instead, jaywalking has increased somewhat over the years, particularly in central Helsinki.
 "It's common around Helsinki Railway Station, when people are in a hurry to catch a rain or on Mannerheimintie getting on a tram," Kallio said.
 Even as authorities have  increased the monitoring  of vehicles on roads and streets, police rarely hand out tickets to errant pedestrians.
 Processing costs nearly double original fine
 According to police board statistics, only around 100-150 jaywalking fines have been issued to pedestrians, cyclists and moped riders annually in recent years.
 In comparison, some 4,000-6,000 traffic violation fines are issued to motorists each year. The largest number of pedestrian fines issued over the past 15 years was in 2007, when 411 tickets were handed out. The smallest total, a mere 96 tickets, were issued in 2015.
 One reason so few jaywalkers face penalties might have to do with the fact that processing and investigating of the infractions ends up costing more than the total of the fines.
 In 2012, the Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy published a report on the costs of police investigations. The cost of a traffic infraction investigation amounted to an estimated 32 euros, or in the case of jaywalking, about 12 euros more than the original fine. The police board noted that these days investigation costs of a traffic fine can reach up to 40 euros.
 Another reason jaywalking laws likely aren't universally enforced is that police are busy keeping watch over more potentially-dangerous situations, such as cars and other heavy vehicles ignoring traffic laws, according to Kallio.
 "[Officers] also make efforts to tackle the problems posed by light traffic, but it's more dangerous if drivers of vehicles ignore a red light. Generally, pedestrians are only endangering themselves. The difference in the amount of fines [that drivers and pedestrians face] is partly due to this," Kallio said.
 Story continues after photo.
 File photo. Sasha Silvala / Yle
 "Law-abiding Finns"
 The Road Safety Council carried out a survey last summer asking Finnish residents about their thoughts on the severity of traffic offences.
 Some 90 percent of the respondents said that vehicles running red lights were a serious offence, but only just over half of respondents said they considered jaywalking to be a serious infraction.
 The council's planner,  Leena Pöysti , said the survey also asked people what kinds of crimes police should be keeping an eye out for during their patrols.
 "Walking against red lights came in last on the survey," Pöysti said.
 Despite the lack of enforcement and low fines, pedestrians in Finland generally follow the rules anyway, according to Kallio.
 "Compared to the rest of Europe, Finns are law-abiding. Foreigners wonder why pedestrians in Finland stand there waiting for the light to change when there aren't any cars coming and don't just cross the road," Kallio said.
 Police in Finland do not have any plans to expand monitoring pedestrian traffic in the near future, according to the police board.

Few jaywalk in Finland, despite lack of enforcement


The Finnish government is proposing a bill to guarantee UK citizens' right of residence in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
 According to the draft law, Britons who register by the end of March would be allowed to remain in Finland through at least 2020.
 The Finnish cabinet's Ministerial Committee on European Union Affairs on Friday backed an Interior Ministry proposal calling for a separate statute guaranteeing British citizens' right of residence in the country.
 The statute is being drafted to deal with the situation if Britain crashes out of the EU at the end of March without a deal.
 "With this special act we want to ensure that UK citizens now living in Finland can continue to live in Finland without any problems. They just need to register their right of residence as EU citizens by the end of March," Interior Minister  Kai Mykkänen  said in a statement on Friday.
 Earlier this month, Prime Minister  Juha Sipilä   urged British residents to register  as soon as possible with the Finnish immigration service Migri.
 Ministers call for fast-tracking
 The agency estimates that there are more than 5,000 British nationals in Finland who will have to apply for residence permits when Britain leaves the EU. According to the ministerial committee, not all of them may necessarily meet the criteria for residence permits.
 The ministerial group calls for the special act to be fast-tracked so that it can become law before the end of March.
 The statute would decree that all UK citizens  registered by 30 March  could continue to stay, live, work and study in Finland and receive social security benefits at least until the end of 2020, adding that its duration is to be reconsidered later.
 Any UK citizens in Finland who do not register in time will be considered third-country nationals in case of a no-deal Brexit. Therefore they will not have the right to live in the country after 30 March unless the EU and UK agree on visa-free travel.

Government proposes bill to guarantee UK citizens' right of residence post-Brexit


Summary: With a 20-million-euro budget for the first season, Moominvalley is Finland's priciest TV production to date.

The new Moominvalley series is Finland’s most expensive TV show -- with the English-language version featuring top British actors including Jennifer Saunders ,  Matt Lucas  and  Rosamund Pike  -- and a 20-million-euro budget for the first production season.
 ”This is the most expensive Finnish TV series ever, which has added pressure on the production team and the creatives,” says  Marika Makaroff , the creative director and executive producer of the series.
 The series is an adaptation of writer-illustrator  Tove Jansson ’s stories about the much-loved Moomins. Her niece  Sophia Jansson , who leads Moomin Characters Ltd, has been involved in the creative process.
 ”They (Moomin Characters) have naturally been part of the process. As the Moomins have been created using new 3D modelling, Moomin Characters Ltd has been approving each one. The same goes for the music, story and visuals,” says Makaroff.
 Love, loneliness and tolerance
 Background research for the series included going through all of the Moomin books and comics. In addition, all the characters and themes were analysed.
 ”We haven’t left any stone unturned: our themes include the difficulties of relationships, universal questions about love, loneliness, tolerance and different values. These topics are timely and I believe that this is why the Moomins are continue to be so popular, especially in these times,” says Makaroff.
 The English-language version features voice by top British names, including Saunders (best known for  Absolutely Fabulous ) , Lucas (best known for  Little Britain ) and Pike (best known for the movie  Gone Girl ).
 The Finnish-British co-production that has been drawn and animated in Bristol, with a production team includes top names such as  Wallace & Gromit  series director  Steve Box  and  Shaun the Sheep  producer  John Woolley .
 Season 1 premieres in spring 2019 on Yle in Finland and Sky in the UK.

Finland’s most expensive TV show: New Moominvalley series


Summary: The travel protocol is part of new legislation proposed by lawmakers to guarantee the residency rights of UK citizens in Finland.

Government is looking into the possibility of special arrangements for UK citizens in Finland who need to travel after a possible no-deal Brexit.
 The special protocol would guarantee that British passport holders residing in Finland will be allowed re-entry after leaving the country, Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary  Ilkka Salmi  told  Yle News’ All Points North podcast  on Friday.
 "On the issue of travelling outside the EU, you would need a passport and you would need a special piece of registration that you’re registered in Finland and that should do the trick," Salmi told APN, noting that officials had discussed the issue on Thursday.
 "Before any Brexit takes place there certainly will be very clear guidance and these documents provided, so that you should not worry about whether you travel outside Finland or outside the EU for that matter," he added.
 Salmi was responding to concerns raised by  Edward Daniel , a British citizen working at the University of Oulu, who told APN that he was worried about travel plans he had post-Brexit and what would happen to him if the UK leaves the EU without an agreement.
 Salmi said that the Finnish  government is aiming to fast-track new legislation  aimed at guaranteeing the residency rights of Brits in Finland in the event that the UK crashes out of the EU with no deal. The potential travel arrangements would be one of the "technicalities" government officials will have to finalise as a part of the legislative proposal.
 Tight schedule
 With the UK set to leave the union on 29 March and Finland facing a general election on 14 April, there is very little time to write the new provisions into Finnish law.
 However, Salmi said that there is broad consensus in government to try and ensure the bill is passed before the current administration leaves office.
 The ministry official stressed that Brits living in Finland should register with the Finnish Immigration Service, Migri, to ensure smooth processing of their residency post-Brexit.
 You can listen to the full All Points North podcast and the discussion about the residency rights of UK citizens in Finland,  with Brit  Tim Bird  and the Interior Ministry's Ilkka Salmi here .

Government mulling no-deal-Brexit travel protocol for Brits in Finland


Summary: Finland will be enveloped in frigid conditions this weekend, with the mercury plunging near -40 in some areas.

Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen  says that Finland will tumble into the deep freeze over the next few days. Temperatures may approach -30 degrees Celsius in the south and close to -40 in Finnish Lapland. On Saturday, brisk winds will make the cold potentially dangerous in southern and central areas.
 "It means that we may face electricity blackouts. There is now a lot of frozen snow on tree branches and the wind may push them onto power lines. There have already been some outages in central Finland," Huutonen said on Friday afternoon.
 The wind will also bring severe wind chill. For instance southern daytime readings of -10 will feel more like -20 degrees, he said.
 Health problems for risk groups
 On Saturday, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has issued an advisory of poor road conditions in the south-east because of snow. For Sunday and Monday, there is a severe cold warning for the entire country, from Lapland to the Åland Islands.
 "Cold weather may cause health problems for groups at risk," says the FMI, noting that "cold stress complicates outdoor activities" and that "people with chronic illnesses will experience more symptoms than usual".
 Huutonen predicts that Sunday and early Monday will bring the sharpest cold, possibly breaking this winter's cold record of -36.6 degrees measured in Salla, Lapland, this past Monday.
 "Temperatures will drop throughout the country as colder air streams in from the north and east. It's possible that we may get readings of -20 or even -30 in some parts of the south. But I don't believe we'll break the -40 degree mark, even in Lapland," he said.
 "But it will be cold, cold, cold. There will definitely be a spike in electricity consumption," Huutonen added.
 Monday will still be frigid, but Jack Frost will loosen his grip by midweek.
 On Tuesday and Wednesday, daytime temperatures in southern Finland may be as mild as -1 or -2, the meteorologist predicts.

Bitter cold this weekend may trigger power outages


Summary: Finland is finally taking steps to provide Brits in Finland with some clarity about their status post-Brexit and in the event of a possible no-deal scenario.

The clock is ticking for UK citizens across Europe as the date approaches for their country's divorce from the European Union. Brits living in Finland have been anxious about the relative lack of clarity regarding their post-Brexit status.  Ilkka Salmi , Permanent Secretary in the Interior Ministry and  Tim Bird , a UK citizen resident in Helsinki, join our podcast to talk about the situation.
 Before we went on air, the Finnish government announced that it had written up a draft bill that would guarantee that  Britons who register with the Finnish Immigration Service by the end of March would maintain their current status in Finland until at least 2020 . This move already will do much to relieve some of the anxiety, but what will happen after that?
 Tim Bird is a writer and photographer that has lived and worked in Finland for over 30 years. He said that the uncertainty about Brexit has been a real factor for him and for many of his fellow Brits in Finland, as they both await word on how the eventual split will go down, and what the Finnish authorities will do once it does.
 British citizen  Ed Daniel  works for the University of Oulu in northwest Finland. In an APN interview, he said that he proactively went to the Finnish Immigration Service Migri last October to register as a resident, only to be told that they weren't sure what his situation would be.
 Interior Ministry representative Ilkka Salmi said he regretted Migri's understanding of the situation at the time, adding that Friday's announcement of the new draft legislation should answer a lot of questions.
 He said the most important thing for Brits living in Finland to know now is that they should register with the Finnish Immigration Service sometime in the next two months to smoothen the bureaucracy of future arrangements. He also said that Brits in Finland who plan to travel outside the EU after the end of March would also do well to register -  as proof of registration and a passport would be enough to re-enter the country in the event of a no-deal Brexit .
 He vowed that the Finnish government will do everything it can to make the transition as trouble-free as possible for British residents, if the UK leaves the EU at some later date.
 Brexit, polar night, and super moon top weekly news
 APN looked at the top three news stories on our Yle News website over the last week. Not surprisingly, the hottest topic was our original report on British citizens frustrated over the uncertainty of their status in Finland. Migri's current official advice to UK citizens in Finland is still to make sure they are registered as legal residents before Brexit.
 Next, our story about the end of polar night in Nuorgam, Finland's northernmost town up in Lapland, struck a chord. Polar night there began nearly two months ago on November 25, heralding a hazy, blue-tinted period, when the sun does not rise above the horizon. Sunrise in Nuorgam occurred at 11.46am and sunset was at 12.53pm on Friday, 18 January.
 And finally, last Monday's super blood wolf moon also roused readers. Ursa said the full eclipse lasted about an hour. A 'super' moon occurs when the moon is especially close to earth, while a 'wolf moon' is the traditional name for the full moon of January. The next chance to see a total lunar eclipse in Finland will be in 2025.
 If you have any questions, or would like to share something on your mind, just contact us via WhatsApp on +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter account, or at yle.news@yle.fi.
 The All Points North podcast is a weekly look at what's going on in Finland. Subscribe via  iTunes  (and leave a review!), listen  on Spotify  and  Yle Areena  or find it on your favourite podcatching app or via our  RSS feed .
 This week's show was presented by  Denise Wall  and  Zena Iovino . Our producer was  Pamela Kaskinen , our interview with Ed Daniel was contributed by Denise Wall, and the sound technician was  Juha Jäntti .

All Points North #37: Much ado about Brexit with Ilkka Salmi and Tim Bird


Summary: Nearly 654,000 people belong to households at risk of poverty in Finland, according to the most recent figures from Statistics Finland.

Close to 654,000 Finnish residents belong to households at risk of poverty, according to the most recent figures  from Statistics Finland, which were released in December 2018.
 One of those is  Maarit , a 47-year-old mother of three who is chronically ill. She suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a hereditary connective tissue disease, and Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CPRS), which have left her bedridden.
 Maarit is worried about how her family will manage.
 The experimental medicines that would help Maarit (not her real name) are not covered by Kela, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution. There is a leak in the roof and the house does not have drinkable tap water, as getting hooked up to the water network would cost some 30,000 euros.
 Her husband is employed, but all the money he earns goes to support the five-member family's everyday living. And the money isn’t always enough to cover all of their expenses. Sometimes a decision needs to be made about whether to buy medicine or food.
 “Sometimes there’s nothing in the fridge other than light. The boys are growing and need a lot of food. Thankfully, we occasionally get help from anonymous donors,” say Maarit, whose lungs are in such poor condition that she can’t manage without her stationary oxygen tank for more than 15 minutes. A portable oxygen tank that would allow her to move freely outside the family home costs several thousand euros.
 January a tough time
 There are many reasons for the difficulties experienced by families living in poverty. Kela’s support payments may be late, and the reimbursement on prescriptions in the new year only kicks in after a 50-euro deductible has been spent on prescriptions. During December, more money is spent on food as children are off from school, and many bills pile up in January.
 Many charities also stop their support in January after dedicating efforts to Christmas drives.

January difficult month for poor families in Finland


Summary: Finns living outside the country will no longer need to head for the nearest polling station to cast their vote in this spring's elections.

Finnish expatriates will be able to vote by absentee ballot for the first time in the upcoming elections.
 More than 250,000 Finnish citizens living outside the country will have the right to vote by postal ballot in the Finnish Parliamentary and European Parliament elections for the first time.
 Postal voting represents a big change as Finnish expatriates previously had to travel to Finnish embassies or consulates to cast their vote, which may have been thousands of kilometres away in countries such as Australia and the US. The cost of travelling and the time that it would take discouraged many voters. As such, expatriate voting percentages have remained low.
 In Europe, voting by post is available in 16 countries. This is the first time it will be available for Finns living outside of Finland.
 “It took 20 years for us to get this (postal voting) and it is already a bit outdated. We should have online voting,” says the Finnish Expatriate Parliament’s speaker,  Jarmo Virmavirta .
 109,000 eligible voters in Sweden
 However, some other expats feel that postal voting is a big improvement.
 Finnish Expatriate Parliament's deputy speaker,  Hanna Wagner , who lives in Washington, DC, says she has put forward the information about postal voting to young, first-time voters. According to Wagner, the interest in Finland is great. Many expats are considering returning to Finland and many children born in the US have moved there. According to Wagner, Finnish happiness, childcare and the possibility to study in English are among the draws.
 In Sweden, there are 109,000 Finnish expatriates who are entitled to vote, but voter turnout has previously been low. According to the Finnish Expatriate Parliament vice chairperson in Stockholm,  Seija Sjöstedt , a lot of work is being done to activate voters. For example, the Finnish-language Sisuradio and youth organisations have been promoting expatriate voting in the elections. In addition to the young, those who have lived in Sweden for a long time are being encouraged to cast ballots.

Finnish expatriates now able to vote by post for first time


Summary: Watch 19-year-old Viveca Lindfors' medal-winning free programme at the European Figure Skating Championships in Minsk.

Finland's  Vivcea Lindfors  finished in third place after earning 193.40 points, bringing home the first figure skating medal since  Kiira Korpi' s European silver medal in Sheffield in 2012.
 Lindfors, a high school senior, skated to the  Les Misérables  soundtrack.
 Russian figure skaters  Sofia Samodurova  and  Alina Zagitova  respectively won gold and silver.
 The European Figure Skating Championships in Minsk will end on 27 January.

Watch: Finland wins figure skating bronze


Summary: The Left Alliance said the distribution of wealth in Finland will define its parliamentary election campaign.

Left Alliance Chair  Li Andersson  told Yle's Ykkösaamu  programme on Saturday that wealth inequality, widening income gaps, and the provision of health and elder care services are at the top of people's minds.
 "Finns are increasingly concerned about the growing disparity in society," Andersson said, adding that one in eight residents worry about inequality.
 Nearly 654,000 Finnish residents are at risk of poverty, according to the most recent figures  from Statistics Finland, which were released in December 2018.  Meanwhile, a recent  Poverty Watch Report  by the European Anti-Poverty Network found that the number of households with no income at all in Finland has doubled since 2013 to nearly 50,000.
 Andersson also told Yle that she doesn't believe a major social and healthcare overhaul known as " Sote " will happen during the few remaining months of the current government's term. The reform aims to transfer responsibility for health and social services from the country's 295 municipalities to 18 elected regional bodies.
 The Left Alliance chair claimed the contested healthcare reform package could mean more costs than savings.
 "The government can't back up its three-billion-euro cost saving claims," she told Yle.

Inequality focus of Left Alliance election campaign


Summary: Initially disgusted by the idea of noshing on discarded food, Jessica Suni said she quickly realised that ditched plastic-wrapped items were safe to eat.

Helsinki resident  Jessica Suni  has been a ’freegan’ for 20 years, surviving on salvaged food. A portmanteau of ’free’ and ’vegan’, ’freegans’ rescue vegetarian food from dumpsters.
 ”The food was of similar quality to what you would find on the supermarket shelf. The sell by date may have expired but it was still edible,” she explained of her initial foray into food scavenging.
 Story continues after photo
 Liisa Kallio/Yle
 Suni said she wants to minimise her ecological footprint and that 'freeganism' is about more than saving grocery money. Dumpster divers are motivated by ethical consumption, according to Suni.
 ”I can’t even remember the last time I bought new clothes,” she said, adding that she has found neatly ironed and folded clothing in bins.
 On average, Finnish residents throw away 24 kilos of food annually.
 Reclaiming waste
 ”I would always find bananas and bread when foraging. There’s seasonal variation. After Christmas, stores throw out a lot of ham and chocolate,” Suni described of her loot.
 Today Suni doesn’t engage in a lot of after-hours dumpster diving. Instead, she has made deals with local stores to give her food that’s on the way out.
 ”This accounts for about half the food I eat,” she explained.
 Suni adheres to a vegan lifestyle but said she keeps animal products she comes across. ”My dog is over the moon when it gets a cheese or meat treat that we would never buy.”
 But Suni said raking through supermarkets’ trash for useful items is becoming increasingly difficult as many shops now lock their dumpsters.
 ”I never used to come back home empty-handed, but this is how it is now,” she explained, saying she hoped stores were donating leftover food.
 Deals for those who dare
 The best time to investigate trash is in the evening, according to Suni. ”If you want to be discrete, it’s best to do it at night,” she said.
 In all her years of reclaiming food, Suni said she has never fallen ill. ”If I pick something up that has gone off, I just chuck it in my biowaste.”

Food for thought: Helsinki woman survives on salvaged food for 20 years


Summary: Finland’s Justice Ministry is examining the possibility of life in prison without parole following Minister Antti Häkkänen's calls for stronger sentencing.

Justice Minister  Antti Häkkänen  stirred debate in Finland this week following an interview with regional media conglomerate Lännen Media in which he said Finland should establish life sentences without the possibility of parole.
 The minister said this type of sentencing would be available for the most egregious cases, such as those regarding acts of terrorism. The average length of a ‘life sentence’ in Finland is just over 14 years. A convict may be eligible for release after 12 years.
 Life sentences without parole, however, contradict the European Convention on Human Rights.
 "The European Court of Human Rights' interpretation is that inmates serving life should always be able to re-evaluate their sentencing," explained  Heikki Pihlajamäki , a law professor at the University of Helsinki.

Justice Ministry mulls 'eternal' life sentence


Summary: The Finnish Meteorological Institute measured freezing temperatures in Lapland, which broke this winter's record.

The coldest place in Finland is currently the city of Sodankylä in Arctic Lapland, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).
 Meteorologists measured several new records in a row for the winter season 2018-2019 over the weekend. The mercury fell to -36.7 degrees Celsius in Kuusamo around 10 pm, falling past -37 degrees before midnight and finally reaching -38.7 degrees in Sodankylä around 5 am.
 FMI meteorologist  Ari-Juhani Punkka  said the bone-chilling frost is brought on by an Arctic air mass moving through northern and eastern Finland.
 "When you have lots of snow, an Arctic air mass and clear skies, you get biting temperatures," Punkka explained. "East of the Ural Mountains conditions are even more severe and temperatures are colder. We're getting some of that cold now."
 Punkka said that the mass of air currently freezing large parts of the country is the coldest such front currently active within Europe. Subzero figures nearing -40 degrees Celsius are common wintertime lows in Finland.
 "The last time we went under -40 degrees was as recently as 2017," Punkka said.
 Icy cold in store until Monday
 The coldest temperature ever measured in Finland is from 1999, when the FMI reported a record low of -51.5 degrees Celsius in Kittilä, also in Lapland.
 Weather reports predict freezing conditions from Sunday to Monday morning. Meteorologists said that the cold may not sting too harshly as hard winds are not expected. Temperatures may also fall between -20 to -30 degrees Celsius in the south.
 Over Monday the chill is set to subside somewhat, though temperatures in Arctic Finland will likely remain at some -20 degrees Celsius.

"Coldest air mass in Europe" brings -38.7 degree winter record


Summary: Widespread problems have resurfaced in the elder care firm, which municipal administrators say has long neglected its customers.

Several Finnish cities have stopped sending senior citizens to nursing homes run by the company Esperi Care due to severe, long-standing deficiencies in the quality of the firm's services.
 Service sector watchdog Valvira said on Friday that at least one elderly resident is suspected to have died due to the company's negligence.
 According to the Regional State Administrative Agencies for Southern and Western Finland, Esperi Care staff members without medical licenses have administered medicine; the company's nursing homes have been dirty and in disrepair; and nurses have even abused their elderly customers by arbitrarily commanding them to bed or not letting them visit the outdoors.
 Inspector general  Päivi Vainio  from Southern Finland's administrative agency said that the most critical problem with the company's services is that not enough staff members are on call for the number of elderly patients.
 For instance, the operating license for Porvoo's "Vuokko" nursing home requires there to be 0.58 staffers per customer. In truth only one worker routinely has to account for some 30 customers.
 "If you have a unit with 30-40 residents who need toilet assistance and only one nurse there, that means diapers. You might imagine what that feels like," Vainio said. "This is a question of safety, when a nursing home fails to deliver around-the-clock care."
 Nursing homes in Porvoo, Muurame, Lahti, Kristiinankaupunki and Vantaa have cut off ties to Esperi Care facilities in the past; while in some cases the standards of nursing units were raised enough for the city to change their minds, Porvoo and Kristiinankaupunki continue to boycott their local facilities, whose directors claim their problems have been fixed.
 Problems with Esperi Care were first noticed in 2017, when Vainio's Administrative Agency performed an unannounced inspection that uncovered the poor quality of care in Porvoo. Seven "Vuokko" employees have resigned from the centre and 14 time-limited contracts have lapsed since 2016.
 Vicious circle
 Esperi Care CEO  Marja Aarnio-Isohanni  said in a release on Saturday that she regrets the fact that the company's administrators have not taken the critical reports seriously.
 "We are extremely sorry and this has been a learning experience. We will fix these problems at once," Aarnio-Isohanni wrote. "We will hire more personnel. We will make hourly workers full-time employees and improve our admin practices."
 Aarnio-Isohanni was Finland's second wealthiest woman in 2017, earning more than 5.7 million euros that year.
 Legislative chief  Vappu Okkeri  from the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals (Tehy) said Saturday that private nursing homes have far more serious problems with quality of service than institutions run by a city or municipality.
 "The problems with Esperi are the worst,though similar negligence also occurs in other conglomerates such as Attendo and Mehiläinen," Okkeri said. "The real reason is an unhealthy culture of competition. Municipalities try to make savings by outsourcing their elder care, but businesses need to make profit, so the vicious circle is complete."

Multiple cities ditch Esperi Care nursing services – Gross neglect reported


Summary: A 20-year-old Finnish man is reported missing on the Malaysian island of Tioman. A search is underway, the Foreign Ministry said.

A 20-year-old Finnish man is reported missing on the island of Tioman off the eastern coast of Malaysia. Local news reports that the man, who was vacationing in the region, disappeared on Tuesday.
 Malaysian media reported  that a search was mounted as soon as the man's acquaintance filed a missing person's report on Saturday. The team of searchers includes local firefighters and police officers.
 The island of Tioman off the coast of Malaysia. Yle Uutisgrafiikka
 The 20-year-old planned to visit a popular tourist destination, the Asah waterfall, and meet his acquaintance afterwards. When the acquaintance returned home from work on Tuesday the man was gone, but his luggage was untouched.
 Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday it was investigating the disappearance.
 Malaysian authorities said that dozens of people on the island, including rescue personnel and volunteers along with tracking dogs, were searching for the missing Finn.

Finnish tourist missing in Malaysia