Summary: Growth in Lapland tourism in 2018 was largely due to foreign visitors, according to Finland's statistics agency.

Foreign visitors are credited with boosting tourism to Lapland in 2018, according to figures published by Statistics Finland on Monday.
 Overnight stays by foreigners accounted for a six percent increase in 2018 over the previous year. British and French visitors topped the list, while overnight stays by domestic travellers remained the same compared to 2017.
 Lapland’s busiest season has traditionally been December, and last year was no exception with 490,000 overnight stays recorded, which represents a five percent increase from December 2017.
 Across the entire country, including Finnish Lapland, there were 1.4 percent more overnight bookings in 2018 than in 2017, reaching a total of 22 million overnight stays.
 Topping the list
 The most hotel rooms were booked in Rovaniemi, where hotel room occupancy was at 91 percent in December 2018, which represents a 0.9 percentage point increase over the previous December.
 Hotels in Inari and Kittilä were also in high demand in December 2018 with a 76 percent occupancy rate.
 However, the actual figures for overnight stays in Lapland are likely higher than those reported by Statistics Finland as the number crunching agency did not include private rental cabins or Airbnb figures in their totals.

Record 3m overnight stays in Lapland last year


Summary: Immigrants job hunting in Finland say they face a language barrier, as well as discrimination with respect to pay and contracts.

Yle News’ All Points North podcast recently tackled the issue of why many migrants face difficulty breaking into the Finnish job market. Contributors came forward with accounts of pay and contract discrimination as well as inadequate access to Finnish language courses.
 According to the latest data available from the OECD, the unemployment rate in the foreign-born population in Finland at the end of 2017 was 15.8 percent. In neighbouring Sweden, the jobless rate among the non-Swedish population was 15.4 percent for the same period.
 Drilling down further, the city of Helsinki reported that at the end of 2016, the unemployment rate among immigrants in the capital was 24.1 percent, compared to 10 percent among Finnish-background residents.
 Both  Eve Kyntäjä  of the SAK, Finland’s largest union confederation and  Taina Susiluoto , a director of the private sector employers’ lobby group EK agreed that foreigners in Finland are an untapped resource in many parts of the country, despite the roadblocks they face breaking into the workforce.
 "The moment I saw you I knew it was a no"
 One woman from Kenya who has completed multiple study programmes in Finland reached out with her account of discrimination in the recruitment process. She also outlined her experiences being hired on chained "work trial" practices by an employer whom she says essentially used her as vacation cover for permanent employees.
 Jane*, East Africa region :  I have a degree in Nursing from a Finnish institution. I would evaluate my Finnish level to be C2. I have a Diploma in Personal and Fitness Training. Now also doing some open university studies at a Finnish University that will lead to a Masters in Public and Global Health. I have sent several job applications in search of saairanhoitaja (nursing) and lähihoitaja (practical nursing) jobs. Most are not responded to. Some have called to ask about my nationality and when I say Kenya, they have said, “Sorry, you have a nice CV but we need a Finnish national.”
 One invited me for an interview and openly told me that because I am foreign, they are not sure whether or not they can trust me and for that reason they could not hire me.
 I opted to do a “työkokeilu” (work trial) for free if it would better my chances. I got a place in the beginning, they promised to hire me after the work trial. Little did I know that they just wanted me to replace their summer workers. Towards the end of the trial when I asked the boss if she could hire me, her response was “You are a good worker and we love your work. We would want you to do three more months of work trial then I will take you to another unit and you do another six months of work trial there.”
 I also opted for a personal trainer job. My first job interview was the saddest. When she (employer) called me inside for the interview, her first statement was “You have the best CV and I have never seen such a combination but the moment I saw you I straightaway knew that it was a no. Our customers are Finnish and will not be happy to have a black personal trainer.
 I have very good qualifications, and I am willing to work and do everything I can to get a job, but it seems like the Finnish job market is not ready for me. I would like to work and give back to society for the education they have given me. I am broken, depressed.
 Two-tier job market already exists
 Eve Kyntäjä, an immigration and integration specialist with the SAK, told APN that illegal unpaid internships and work practice stints are becoming increasingly common, not only among migrant workers but the native population as well. However she noted that immigrants are more vulnerable to these practices because of inadequate Finnish language skills and ignorance of their rights.
 Kyntäjä acknowledged that Finland may already have a two-tiered labour market, where immigrant workers are mostly occupied in low-wage sectors such as construction and services.
 "According to our experiences and several reports and studies there is already this two-tiered labour market in Finland. And much evidence of not getting the correct wage, or getting cash, not being paid [to] a bank account. Then, there are many illegal terminations of employment contracts, no compensation for holidays kept, and of course the problem is that immigrant workers who don’t speak Finnish are in a vulnerable position," Kyntäjä observed.
 Taina Susiluoto of the EK pointed out that employers have a duty to inform workers of their rights.
 "It is a responsible employer’s job to tell the staff their rights. I think in Finland we are at a good level in the labour market in this sense. If somebody does wrong, it’s wrong regardless if it’s a native Finn or an immigrant that’s the object of it. We have an open society where most of these things will come out. People should speak out and contact somebody if they have a problem like this," she declared.
 Nobody speaks "book Finnish"
 Another contributor told APN that his efforts to learn Finnish were stymied by insufficient and inadequate tuition in Finnish when he was studying and had more time to learn. As a father, he said that he can no longer devote as much time and attention to learning the language. He called on institutions to do more to help students learn Finnish and integrate.
 Robert*, Germany : I arrived in Finland in 2009, as most people, for a master’s. I had finished my BA in my home country where I was also a language teacher, a translator and an interpreter – in other words, a very active student and freelancer. I signed up for Finnish lessons, because I wanted to stay here after completing my studies, What was available was in total two or three hours of language courses a week, and it was "book Finnish”"to boot. Not only was that not enough time to actually learn the language, but what we were learning was mostly useless because nobody speaks that version of the language at all.
 After completing my studies I got a PhD position, but the workload made it hard to continue learning Finnish. Now I’ve finished my PhD but I’m also a father which leaves me with even less time to learn it. My point? Nobody noticed or took advantage of my willingness to learn Finnish when I had the time and energy. Now that I’m older and have more responsibilities and am entering the job market after academia and it turns out being fluent in Finnish is a must – obviously since we’re in Finland.
 There is a pretty big disconnect between the integration process Finland expects foreigners to engage in, and the resources put and interest shown – in this case by universities and maybe some government offices – in making sure foreigners can actually integrate.
 Learn Finnish or lose benefits?
 The SAK’s Eve Kyntäjä said that many international students in local universities are represent great potential for Finland. "One reason they have problems getting jobs after graduating is they can’t speak Finnish and there aren’t many workplaces where you can work with no Finnish at all. It would be useful to provide international students with more Finnish courses --and Swedish. Now it’s at a minimum," she added.
 The EK’s Taina Susiluoto said that the EK has proposed tying benefits to proficiency in Finnish. "We at the EK have suggested that we should make as a criteria for benefits in Finland the fact that you learn the Finnish language, not that you go to a course. It would not be enough that you go to a course but that you actually know the language. I think in terms of integration that would be an important new step," she declared.
 However she later clarified that this proposal would be applied to asylum seekers granted residency in Finland.
 Foreigners paid less than Finns
 One contributor from the Latin American region raised the issue of pay discrimination faced by some of his colleagues, a situation that he said led to them leaving the country. He endorsed the view of others who pointed to the lack of adequate Finnish language courses for students pursuing advanced degrees.
 Paul*, Argentina : I’m from Latin America and my research group is quite international. Working in academia in Finland is very nice and there are several opportunities I took advantage of. However I have to say that people in my faculty and related fields have been leaving Finland because they have been discouraged in their work environment. In some cases the pay given to foreigners is less than what is given to Finns.
 Another reason is because social integration is hard. I find it strange how some researchers point out the need for internationalisation and the interest that foreign researchers stay in Finland yet at the same time whenever Master’s or PhD students come to Finland there’s no intensive Finnish courses. I think this is a missed opportunity. There should be more emphasis on teaching spoken Finnish or Finnish for business to those of us who come here to study or for research.
 Majority of foreign students leave Finland
 Susiluoto noted that every year Finland trains up to 3,000 foreign students while the vast majority -- 2,000 -- leave after completing their studies. She said that the EK is now partnering with the City of Helsinki and universities in the region to match graduates with firms.
 "We’re working with Helsinki City together with the universities in this region to try to change the internal processes within the universities so that when we have students coming [from] overseas to Finland, immediately when they are here in the beginning, we ask if they are interested in staying in Finland and finding a job. And then we at EK try to tell the companies. So we are matchmaking and trying to make things better because this has been a problem in the past."
 Meanwhile Kyntäjä said that many graduates of foreign institutions run into obstacles getting their qualifications recognised in Finland, a problem that she noted also affects Finns returning from studying abroad, even from neighbouring Sweden.
 "There are big problems regarding recognition of foreign qualifications and diplomas. If you can’t work according to your qualification which you have got in your own country it’s very frustrating. There is also some evidence regarding returning Finns coming from Sweden and other countries, who have experienced problems finding a job in Finland. There is the issue of losing people who have international experience and international competence."
 * Names changed to protect the privacy of the contributors.
 Edit: Updated at 12.04pm on 12 February to remove certain details about one contributor to protect the individual's privacy.

"I'm broken, depressed": Foreigners struggle to find work in Finland


Summary: The social cost of state-sponsored gambling, welfare state nostalgia, and Helsinki residents throw temper tantrums over snow.

State-owned national betting agency Veikkaus ' top customer segment spends 700 euros a month gambling, reports business magazine  Talouselämä . However the agency is now looking to rake in 200 million euros more in annual profits by 2021, according to the weekly.
 Profits would be sought by making games more appealing to users, Veikkaus sales materials showed. Reacting to the news, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said that Veikkaus’ goal to increase margins would make it more challenging for authorities to combat gambling-related problems.
 According to  estimates by Finland’s National Institute of Health and Welfare,  problem gamblers contribute more than one-fifth (23 percent) of the money spent on gambling. Those with little money to lose—pensioners, the unemployed and those laid-off from work—hand over almost one-third of gambling proceeds. Slot machines—which are usually the biggest problem game for the poor—are more highly concentrated in neighbourhoods with people with lower income, education, and employment levels.
 Trendy welfare state
 Is Finland’s welfare state a reality or a nostalgic remnant of the past? asks a  column  in Swedish-language daily Hufvudstadsbladet.
 The column notes that nostalgia for the welfare state is increasingly becoming a facet of Finland’s country brand—attracting investments and producing export-worthy products, such as  Finnish education  and  baby boxes .
 The columnist finds that instead of undermining it, the glossy finish is endearing welfare ideals across the political spectrum, noting that the concept of universal basic income has not been limited to social progressives, but has gathered traction across the ideological spectrum.
 Snow tantrums
 The City of Helsinki has issued a public service announcement urging residents to refrain from attacking municipal snow ploughers, reports national daily  Helsingin Sanomat .
 Following a number of incidents around the city, Helsinki's public works department tweeted, ”It’s not OK to threaten maintenance workers with violence or jump on snow removal equipment.”
 Some ornery residents have been upset by snow removal machine noises while others have attempted to guide city workers to plough particular stretches of sidewalk.
 The city said Helsinki in the past weeks saw as much snow as it usually does in an entire winter—50,000 truckloads.

Tuesday’s papers: Hidden cost of gambling, the branded welfare state and snow tantrums


Summary: The court said that the man’s imprisonment had been excessive and classified it as persecution.

Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court has overturned a decision by the Finnish Immigration Service, Migri, to reject the asylum application of a Kurdish man convicted by a Turkish court of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party, which Turkey and Nato have designated as a terrorist group.
 The Court ruled on Tuesday that Migri should have approved the man’s asylum application after he was convicted by Turkish authorities for posting images and photos in support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, which has been listed as a terrorist organisation by many states, including Turkey, the US and the UK.
 Turkish courts sentenced the man to two years in prison for disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organisation and for membership in a terrorist group. For decades the PKK has fought for an independent state for Kurds – Kurdistan – in Turkey’s southeast.
 The Court found that the man’s prison sentence had been disproportionate in relation to his actions and deemed his punishment as persecution.
 The Court’s decision overturns not only the Migri order but a previous ruling by the Administrative court that upheld Migri’s decision.
 The Supreme Administrative Court’s decision means that the case will now go back to the immigration authority so the man can be granted asylum in Finland.
 EDIT 13.2.2019 This story originally stated the man had been convicted of 'war crimes', and has been edited to offer more detail on his conviction.

Supreme Administrative Court rules Finland should grant asylum to Turkish Kurd


Summary: Oulu police have held one individual in connection with the new allegations.

Police in Oulu said on Monday that they are investigating two cases of alleged child sexual abuse suspected to have occurred last weekend.
 The suspected cases were first reported by the Oulu regional paper Kaleva and lead investigator Detective Chief Inspector  Eveliina Karjalainen  confirmed to Yle that an investigation had been launched into the alleged offences.
 On Monday afternoon, police issued a statement saying that they suspect that two underage girls were sexually assaulted at a private home. One of the victims is under 16 and the other under 18.
 The cases are being investigated as aggravated rape and in the case of the younger victim, additionally as aggravated child sexual abuse. Other potential offences under consideration include assault and intimidation.
 Police have held one individual in connection with the alleged offences. The suspect has a foreign background and has a Finnish residence permit.
 Police said that the individual has lived in Finland for several years. They declined to comment on whether other suspects are involved.
 Oulu police have been investigating  several reported cases of child sex abuse  since last November.

Two new suspected cases of child sexual abuse in Oulu


Summary: The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will mark the first time that skateboarding is included as an official sport.

Officials in Tampere are considering setting a skateboarding upper secondary school – the first of its kind in Finland.
 If the plan comes to fruition, skateboarding would be added to the sports curriculum of the city’s Sampo central upper secondary school.
 Skateboard enthusiasts can already apply to the Tampere region vocational school, Tredu, as athletes. Tredu officials said that they are willing to cooperate with the local skateboarding community and the Finnish Skateboarding Association to advance the idea.
 Tampere city councillors  Pekka Salmi  and  Juhana Suoniemi  were responsible for sponsoring the proposal.
 Skateboarding will be an official sport in the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, offering men and women the opportunity to vie for gold in street and park versions of the activity.
 The Finnish national team recently beefed up its skateboarding skills  with the addition of 25-year-old professional   Lizzie Armanto , who has been at the top of the sport for several years. During her career, she has won many X-Games tournaments.
 Positive experiences in Sweden
 Officials will have to make a decision about establishing the school this spring if students are to apply for entry in spring 2020.
 Deputy mayor  Anna-Kaisa Heinämäki  described the Tampere initiative as interesting. However she noted that there are still no clear estimates about how much the project would cost.
 She said that city officials will next look into the matter in cooperation with the Skateboarding Association and the Olympics Committee.
 The city official added that the combination of skateboarding and secondary education would also be suitable for Tampere because the region now boasts an international level skate park in Hiedanranta.
 The proposed skateboarding school is not a first, however. Salmi and Suoniemi have pointed out that Sweden’s Malmö district has had positive experiences with skateboarding as part of upper secondary school curricula.

Tampere looking to roll out Finland’s first skateboarding school


Summary: Kela says it is every student's responsibility to ensure that his or her income does not exceed the annual limit.

Social insurance agency Kela is reclaiming study grants issued to nearly 40,000 students, whom it says exceeded the annual income limit in 2017.
 The students have been sent decisions calling on them to repay financial aid they received due to ineligibility. The average sum demanded is just over 1,000 euros.
 Recipients may apply to Kela to request reconsideration of the decree, accompanied by details of their studies and income. Requests must be filed within a month of receiving the injunction.
 Voluntary reimbursements of excess payments of 2018 student aid must be made by the end of May. After that Kela will reclaim any overpaid sums, along with a 7.5-percent fee.
 One in 10 students earned too much
 Kela points out that it every students’ individual responsibility to ensure that their annual income does not exceed the set limit.
 The maximum annual level depends on how many months during the year the student has received financial aid.
 For instance, a student who received grants for nine months in 2017 was allowed to earn up to 11,850 euros during the year from other sources.
 The number of people now being sent repayment invoices is significantly higher than a year ago. At that point reclamation letters were mailed out to 34,800 students,  seeking to claw back a total of 45.4 million euros .
 This time the overall sum due is lower, though, at 43.3 million. The amount shrank because beginning in autumn 2017, most students began to receive general housing allowances instead of housing supplement payments as part of their student financial aid.
 In 2017 some 312,000 students received study grants.

Kela claws back €43m from students who earned too much


Summary: The independent report concluded that it was "very likely" that Finnish SS soldiers committed war crimes.

Ministerit, ministeriöt ja valtioneuvosto

Defence Minister  Jussi Niinistö  has condemned  a new report on possible war crimes committed by Finnish SS soldiers . The study was commissioned by the National Archives and completed by the Finnish Literature Society.
 Writing in a blog post on Tuesday, Niinistö said that his impression of the report was that it did not provide any new evidence that Finnish SS men were guilty of wartime atrocities or persecution of Jewish people.
 "This is why I think it is unjust that the shadow of doubt has been cast over them without any evidence," Niinistö declared.
 The minister pointed out that the legal system abides by the principle that an individual is “innocent until proven otherwise”. He said the same precept should be applied to historical research.
 The contentious report released last Friday says that Finnish volunteers serving in the Wiking Division of Germany’s Waffen SS between 1941 and 1943 "very likely" participated in the execution of Jewish people and other civilians as well as prisoners of war as alongside German troops at Germany’s eastern front.
 However the National Archive said that the source material used for the report did not provide detailed enough information about the role of just over 1,400 Finnish SS volunteers.

Defence Minister slams report on alleged atrocities committed by Finnish SS soldiers


Summary: The game developer's profits fell by more than a quarter in 2018.

Mobile game company Supercell's results took a dive last year. The firm's operating profit shrank to 537 million euros from the previous year's 729 million euros, a drop of 26 percent. Turnover slipped to 1.37 billion, compared to 1.8 billion in 2017.
 Last year's profits are nearly all based on the company's four old games and updates to them, said Supercell CEO  Ilkka Paananen .
 "Profit of more than half a billion euros is a good accomplishment for a company with less than 300 employees and whose latest game was released three years ago," he said in Helsinki on Tuesday.
 The company's main cash cows are still the games  Clash of Clans  and Clash Royale, which together accounted for turnover of more than 10 billion dollars.
 "One important milestone last year was that each of our four games has now exceeded a billion dollars in sales," Paananen remarked.
 Established in Helsinki in 2010, the game developer has offices in San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo.
 New release in China by summer?
 The company began to roll out its fifth game, Brawl Stars, in December, so it does not show up the 2018 results.
 Paananen noted that it did however become the most-downloaded game in countries such as Japan and South Korea.
 "Throughout history, Asian markets have been difficult to conquer for Western game developers," he observed.
 The firm hopes to launch the new title on the Chinese market by next summer at the latest. It has been delayed by a new permit system that China adopted last year, Paananen said.
 China has been one of the biggest markets for Clash Royale, and Chinese investment giant  Tencent  holds an 88 percent stake in Supercell.
 So far Brawl Stars has been downloaded about 80 million times worldwide.
 This year the firm also plans to release major updates to two older games, Boom Beach and Hay Day.
 "Of course we are always developing new games. It's realistic to say that a couple of them will get to the testing stage this year," Paananen said.

Supercell profits slump amid wait for new games


Summary: A wooden dildo maker in Lapland pushes back against criticism following a public funding agency’s decision to grant her a 200,000-euro business loan.

Self-proclaimed "dildo dealer"  Tea Latvala  is the founder of a startup called Teatiamo, a company specialising in wooden dildos and anal plugs. In the past three years the firm has drummed up sales of around one thousand of the organic lacquer-finished dildos, with prices ranging from 199 to 249 euros a piece.
 In January Business Finland, formerly the public tech and innovation funding agency Tekes, granted Latvala a 200,000-euro loan to be issued in tranches.
 "I want to be seen just like any other startup out there. I have already proven myself," Latvala told Yle News.
 Arctic inspiration. Matias Väänänen / Yle
 The wooden dildos stand at the crossroads of art and consumer products, according to Latvala. "But it’s designed as a sex toy."
 Hand made in Lapland
 Initially turned down by state-owned financing company Finnvera for a loan, Latvala found a mentor in  Antti Salminen , a senior specialist at Business Finland, a publicly financed body supporting startups.
 Salminen and Latvala both pushed back against moral police upset by the state supporting a sex toy enterprise.
 Salminen pointed out that Business Finland can only fund legal enterprises. "Sex toys are a legal industry in Finland, and we fund a whole range of technologies."
 "The [value of] the adult toy industry is estimated at an annual 30 billion euros globally, making even a small share of the pie an extremely lucrative prospect," Salminen said of the funding agency's rationale for backing Latvala.
 Ultimately Business Finland said, it invests in companies that will benefit the taxpayer in the long run.
 "She's a great entrepreneur with convincing sales," Salminen added.
 Latvala sees her invention as a new aspect of Finnish timber refinery. She uses a range of wood in her products, from Finnish birch to German walnut and acacia however only birch is native to Finland.
 Latvala said her product range is starting to do well in the natural products sector, with Finnish organic market chain Ruohonjuuri recently launching sales.

Finland's "dildo dealer" defends state funding


Summary: Two Russians were questioned in Lappeenranta after arousing suspicions while crossing the border by train.

A Russian man was detained at the Vainikkala border crossing point in Lappeenranta last week after he was found to have been illegally in the Schengen zone for a decade.
 The man was taken into custody on a train heading from Finland to Russia. Border Guards noticed that his travel documents contradicted his statements about his travel.
 Finnish authorities have determined that he had been living in Sweden. Besides a Russian passport, he had a Lithuanian passport with a different name. He had used the latter while in Sweden.
 “It is a good question as to how he obtained this passport,” said Captain  Ossi Fonselius  of the Southeast Finland Border Guard.
 Persona non grata for 5 years
 At the time of his attempted border crossing, his Lithuanian passport was being carried by another Russian man travelling with him, but there was no attempt to use it to deceive Finnish officials.
 Both men were fined for possessing forged documents. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) imposed a five-year ban on the man’s re-entry into the Schengen area. He was then allowed to return to Russia.
 The Schengen zone includes 26 countries, including nearly all EU states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. There are no routine checks when crossing borders within the area, but travellers must produce a passport or other valid identification on request.

Russian man stopped at border after illicit decade in Schengen area


Summary: Wednesday's papers carry news of a strange proposal to expedite deportations to Iraq, a complaint over care home standards and an expansion in hotel capacity.

Helsingin Sanomat  leads  with an expose of an unusual proposal to the Finnish government to expedite deportations to Iraq. HS reports that the Finnish presenter of The Apprentice, MP  Harry Harkimo , arranged meetings for  Peter Fryckman , a businessman with fraud convictions, and  Saad al-Obaidi , an Iraqi who served as a general under  Saddam Hussein , in an effort to move the proposal forward.
 In a nutshell, the proposed deal was that Finland would purchase expensive defence products for Iraq, which would then sign an accord guaranteeing it would accept deported Iraqis. At present it  only accepts  those with identity papers, voluntary returnees and those convicted of crimes.
 Since 2015 several thousand Iraqis have had asylum claims rejected by Finland and are believed to be undocumented migrants in the country. The Interior Ministry believes there are around 5,000 such Iraqis in Finland, and that their undocumented status makes them a security risk.
 Fryckman proposed in 2016 that the procurements be made via the little-known Swedish Defence Equipment company, which has a small turnover and little track record in major projects like this. The chair of the company’s board  Sven Olof Kviman  told HS that the units (apparently shipping containers converted to screen people for weapons) would be constructed in Iraq.
 HS reckoned that the price quoted—100 million euros or a million euros per container—was around ten times more than similar products would cost if purchased elsewhere.
 Needless to say, al-Obaidi and Fryckman declined to comment on the story. Foreign Minister  Timo Soini , who set up a meeting after he was contacted by Harkimo, also kept schtum.
 Several officials had poor memory of meetings they attended, while Defence Minister  Jussi Niinistö’s  special advisor went to meet the pair with the Interior Ministry’s head of immigration  Jorma Vuorio .
 It was a no-frills encounter, a short meeting that got straight to the point and where ‘not even water was offered’, according to Vuorio. HS noted that, given its shaky foundations, the entire proposal was at least open to accusations of corruption.
 Care home scandal rumbles on
 Several papers carry the STT  report  on the town of Varkaus preparing to make a criminal complaint about the care home operator Attendo. The local authority believes the firm is operating a facility with staff levels so low they are breaching their license.
 Municipal employees are currently visiting the home in question every day and sometimes at night to keep tabs on what's happening, and STT reports that they believe the Jalava home is not operating with the required staffing levels, management procedures or professionally-trained personnel.
 Meanwhile Savon Sanomat  interviews  the sacked manager of the unit.  Virpi Montonen  said that she believes she's a scapegoat, and that individual managers have little power to make the required changes.
 "All decisions went via the regional management," Montonen tells the paper. "Independent decisions can't be made, only recommendations."
 Montonen had transferred to the Varkaus facility from an assisted living location in Kuopio, and said the contrast was stark. She said that the Jalava license stated a minimum of 0.5 staff members per resident was required. She kept the ratio at 0.6 and, she claims, was consistently reprimanded by Attendo managers.
 Recent weeks have seen a string of reports on harrowing conditions in old-age care homes in Finland, with the private contractors Esperi Care and Attendo accused of running sub-standard services, with the CEO of Esperi Care  quitting  over the scandal.
 Helsinki hotel capacity expands
 Kauppalehti has  good news  for anyone planning a trip to Helsinki: between now and 2021 some 3,000 extra hotel rooms will be added in the capital city region, easing a shortage that had pushed up prices.
 The story, which is based on a real estate consultancy's assessment, suggests that the capital will see around a quarter more hotel rooms enter the market. that is likely to increase competition but also potentially increase tourism in the city.
 There are currently some 9,400 hotel rooms in Helsinki, which according to Statistics Finland were in December running at around 70 percent capacity.

Wednesday's papers: Iraqi proposal, care home complaint and Helsinki hotel boom


Summary: A new report suggests Finland’s regional development policies could shift away from relocation of major agencies towards allowing workers to choose their city.

Lääkealan turvallisuus- ja kehittämiskeskus

A new report suggests that Finland’s regional development policies could shift away from relocation of major agencies towards allowing employees the right to choose where they work.
 Workers employed by the state should be able to choose the town they work in, according to a new report on regional development policy that aims to map out how decision-makers can support the regions in the coming decade.
 The ‘Regionalisation policy and principles in the 2020s’ report was presented to local government minister  Anu Vehviläinen  on Monday.
 “Our investigation has shown that the presence of the state in the regions is needed in future, but we have shifted our focus from traditional regionalisation—the relocation of state agencies—towards the dispersal of organisations and utilising ‘location independence’, said  Timo Reina , deputy Managing Director of the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.
 Reina wrote the report alongside State Secretary  Anna-Kaisa Ikonen  of the National Coalition Party. Finland has a long history of supporting the regions through transfers of staff and agencies to provincial locations, for instance in the attempted move of the pharmaceutical regulator Fimea to Kuopio in stages between 2009 and 2014.
 In that case Fimea could not persuade enough experts to move to Savo, and the Kuopio site remains understaffed although nominally the agency’s headquarters.
 The report says that digitalisation opens the door to new possibilities in the location of personnel and operations of the state. ‘Location independence’, that is the idea of not being tied to a certain location for work, would demand different management from state employees than their current key requirement to be in one physical place.
 The report suggests that making location independent working possible is a central factor in competing for talent.
 Traditional transfers of large agencies to the regions could continue to be a factor in Finnish policy, when new units are founded or significant enlargements are planned.
 “Those should usually be situated outside the capital city region,” said Reina.

Report pushes ‘location independence’ for state employees


Summary: The state railway's new point of sales devices aboard long-distance trains will only accept credit or debit cards as of September.

In a few months time passengers won't be able to pay for tickets with cash on-board Finnish trains.
 VR, the state railways, announced on Wednesday that the new point of ticket sales units carried by conductors will no longer allow for cash transactions on long-distance trains as of September.
 The company said in a press release that only card transactions will be accepted, including the Visa Electron card that previously VR has had difficulties with aboard trains owing to technical difficulties.
 According to VR, cash is so rarely used to pay for tickets on trains that it doesn’t cover the costs of cash handling. More than 99 percent of people in Finland pay for their tickets in advance or use a credit or debit card to pay for their tickets in the train says VR.
 VR is also renewing its webstore, mobile apps and ticket automats.
 ”We’re aiming to make the transition as flexible as possible. A long transition time will allow us to inform people through different channels about the use of other forms of payment,” said  Maisa Romanainen , VR's Director of Passenger Services, in the press release.
 VR stopped selling tickets altogether on local trains in summer 2017.

VR to stop cash ticket sales aboard long-distance trains


Summary: In another setback for the outgoing government, two intelligence bills have been postponed over constitutional concerns.

With just over a month left in the legislative term, parliamentary leaders have delayed consideration of a package of proposed laws on oversight of intelligence operations by civilian and military authorities.
 Constitutional experts say that changes demanded by the Constitutional Law Committee have been overlooked in the drafting of the controversial legislation. It would give the Security Intelligence Service (Supo) and the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) expanded eavesdropping powers.
 A full session of Parliament was to have considered the draft laws on military and civilian intelligence laws on Wednesday.
 Instead, they were deleted from the agenda just a couple of hours before the afternoon plenary session was to begin. Their fate is now in limbo, with less than four weeks remaining before the legislature wraps up its four-year term.
 According to a terse statement from Parliament, there were still problems with a report by the Administration Committee regarding the bill on civilian intelligence.
 The companion report on military intelligence by the Defence Committee was also struck from the day's agenda, as the two bills were to have been considered in tandem.
  Supo and Defence Forces would gain eavesdropping powers
 Prime Minister  Juha Sipilä 's centre-right government submitted the legislative package on intelligence to Parliament in late January, based on proposals drafted by the ministries of justice, the interior and defence.
 The cabinet wants to amend the constitution to allow the enactment of legislation on intelligence gathering powers. Under its proposal, limitations on the secrecy of confidential communications deemed essential for protecting national security could be set down in ordinary law under certain conditions.
 According to a government statement, the civilian intelligence legislation would be aimed at "improving our protection capabilities against serious threats to national security...includ[ing] terrorism, espionage by foreign states or disruption of critical infrastructure". It would give Supo beefed-up powers to identify and respond to such threats.
 On the military side, the FDF would be given more powers to gather "human intelligence, information systems, radio signal intelligence and network traffic intelligence...related to serious international threats".
 The Parliamentary Speakers discussed the draft laws on Tuesday and asked the Parliamentary Office to decide how and when the bills could be handled.
 Another key package of legislation proposed by the outgoing government, a proposal overhaul of social and health care services and regional administrations known as  sote , has also been postponed indefinitely.
 Time is short as the legislature has a stack of bills to consider before its term ends on 15 March, ahead of elections in April.

Surveillance bills delayed as parliamentary term winds down


Summary: Helsinki fire safety officers have ordered nine escape rooms in Helsinki to close until they’ve fixed their evacuation procedures.

Nine escape rooms in Helsinki have been ordered to close until they fix faults uncovered by fire safety officers. Evacuation plans were the main area of concern, but inspectors also found escape rooms that had been established in premises that were unsuitable.
 The escape rooms must now fix the issues identified before they can reopen.
 “In the main the problems related to evacuation,” said Fire Chief  Anja Aatsinki  of Helsinki Fire Department. “There weren’t enough emergency exits, there were obstacles to stop people using them or they weren’t well sign-posted.”
 Officers inspected 19 escape rooms in the capital region at the behest of the Interior Ministry, after five teenagers died in an escape room in Poland in January.
 The inspectors found that while the  majority were safe , some escape rooms in Helsinki had been established in inappropriate premises, such as storage units. Aatsinki said she hoped the concerns raised after the tragedy in Poland will be taken seriously by escape room operators and by landlords.
 “I especially want to emphasise the responsibility of real estate owners to ensure that activities on their property are consistent with the building permits,” said Aatsinki. “The building permit is in principle a guarantee that the intended activities can be conducted there safely and healthily.”
 In total Finland has around 100 escape rooms, and a nationwide audit of their safety procedures is underway.

Authorities close nine Helsinki escape rooms after fire safety checks


Summary: In a new survey, Yle Areena has been voted Finland's top internet brand, beating out entertainment giants such as Netflix.

Yle Areena has risen to Finland's number one internet brand, according to an annual brand survey by Taloustutkimus Research that asked respondents to rank the best domestic and international internet brands.
 Yle's streaming site beat out international brands such as Netflix and Amazon.
 With  Yle Areena  in top place, the Finnish Meteorological Institute took second place and the national health care service's Kanta.fi took third place in the survey of domestic brands. Yle.fi was in fourth place; no other media made the top ten.
 Altogether, 175 foreign and domestic brands were included in the poll, which surveyed 3,153 respondents living in Finland.
 Last year Yle Areena was second after Google in the international comparison.
 Yle Areena is used by 78 percent of people living in Finland and is familiar to 92 percent of people living in Finland.

Yle Areena tops Finland’s most valued internet brand list


Summary: The latest case emerged while police were looking into allegations reported a day earlier.

Police in the northern Finnish city of Oulu said on Wednesday that they have uncovered yet another suspected sex crime against a minor. The case is being investigated as suspected aggravated rape and aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Police believe that the crime took place in a private flat in January, and that the victim was a 14-year-old girl.
 Police say the latest case came to light while they were investigating  two other sex crimes  believed to have occurred last weekend. That case, which was reported on Tuesday, centres on the suspected rape of two girls in an Oulu apartment.
 About 10 cases since December
 One victim is described as being under age 16 and the other as under 18. Authorities say the victims knew each other. Police told Yle that social media did not play a role in these two cases, unlike other similar cases in the city in recent months.
 Oulu District Court has remanded a man described as being "of foreign background" in pre-trial detention in connection with the crimes. Authorities say he may face charges including aggravated rape, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, assault and coercion.
 According to Detective Superintendent  Markus Kiiskinen , both investigations are in their early stages.
 22-year-old charged with November assault
 Since December, officials in Oulu have been probing about 10 cases in which men "of foreign background" are suspected of sex crimes against minors. In many of the cases, victims say they were approached via social media.
 Also on Wednesday, the district prosecutor charged a 22-year-old man "of foreign background" with aggravated rape and aggravated sexual abuse of a child. The assault against a 14-year-old girl is alleged to have occurred outdoors in the Tuira neighbourhood in the northern part of Oulu on 17 November. Another sex crime against a minor is believed to occurred on the same date in the same district.

Yet another suspected sexual abuse case in Oulu


Summary: The largest haul of medieval coins unearthed in modern-day Finland will go on display at the National Museum in Helsinki this spring.

The largest discovery of medieval money unearthed in modern Finland will be exhibited this spring at the National Museum of Finland.
 The treasure was unearthed in the vestry of Ulvila Church in the south-western Satakunta region in 2004, along with other medieval artefacts.
 The coins were likely hidden in the church during the 1390s, and originate predominantly from Sweden. There were also Norwegian and Livonian coins, and one from Hamburg among the haul.
 Cultural sponsorship
 The treasure has been conserved with the help of Suomen Moneta, a Finnish expert in collector coins and medals, which wants to act as a cultural sponsor in preserving Finnish history for future generations.
 “Cultural sponsors do a lot of conversation work behind the scenes, which allows these unique artefacts to be preserved,” says  Eero Ehanti , head of the conservation department at the National Museum.
 Ulvila was one of the few towns that existed in Finland during the Middle Ages.
 The coins will be on display from 20 February to the beginning of June at the National Museum in central Helsinki.

Medieval treasure to be displayed to public for first time


Summary: Scofflaws found guilty of the same petty crime seven times within a year could face prison time instead of fines.

Scofflaws found guilty of the same petty crime seven times within a year could face prison time.
 Parliament on Wednesday approved a government proposal to expand the use of conversion sentencing, whereby fines can be converted into prison terms. By a margin of 154-22, MPs agreed that police may refer those who repeatedly commit the same infractions to district courts, which may then jail them at their discretion.
 If a perpetrator is fined for the same reason seven times within a year, a court may then decide to impose a prison term. Under current practice, such scofflaws can in effect get off scot-free, even if they don't pay their fines. If the fines cannot be collected, only a court can turn them into jail time though, not police.
 Justice Minister  Antti Häkkänen  said in a statement that the legislative reform will boost the credibility of the penalties system and respect for the law, as repeat offenders will finally face punishment.
 "According to the approved change in legislation, police will hand over processing of criminal fines when a person who has repeatedly been fined demonstrates disregard. In this situation, it would be justified for conversion sentencing to ultimately lead to imprisonment," Häkkänen said.
 Shoplifting and driving without a license most common
 Police and the Prosecution Service estimate that there are about 9,600 such cases annually. The misdeeds involved are most often petty theft (such as shoplifting) and driving without a valid license. Such offences are typically racked up by the same individuals.
 During 2017, some 900 people were convicted of more than seven cases of petty theft. Officials estimate that the new law will add to the average daily prison population by about 30 people.
 Häkkänen says that the tougher law will improve the chances of such repeat offenders being directed into substance abuse treatment. Statistics indicate that most of those who commit the same infractions over and over have addiction problems and are severely marginalised.
 The legal reform is part of the government's broader package of stricter penalties. During budget talks last year, the government earmarked 10.8 million euros in extra annual funding for police, prosecutors, courts and Criminal Sanctions Agency for these measures.
 The reforms are to take effect by 2021, following upgrades to police and Judicial Administration data systems.

Seven strikes and you're out? Parliament approves jail for repeat misdemeanour offenders


Summary: The incident in a Helsinki grocery store was captured on security camera.

Police in Helsinki say they suspect a man of putting iron nails into protein bars.
 The incident took place in a central Helsinki S-market just before midnight on Friday and was captured on security camera. The sales person removed the affected items off the shelves.
 Earlier on Thursday, police said they were looking for a slim man with dreadlocks and beard, but said later that the suspect had been identified thanks to tips from public.
 Last month, hamburger chain  Hesburger asked police  to find out how needles ended up in its French fries in Lahti.

Man suspected of sticking nails into protein bars


Summary: Oulu upper secondary school students shake off shadows, an 80-year-old's ID card odyssey and a mutt takes to the metro.

Final year upper secondary school students were expected to take to the streets in cities across Finland on Thursday to celebrate the end of formal classes in a tradition known as "penkkarit", where they dress up and throw sweets at onlookers before withdrawing to study for matriculation exams.
 Largest circulation daily  Helsingin Sanomat spoke with students in Oulu , where a series of  suspected child sexual abuse cases  as well as a chain of pharmacy robberies have cast a shadow over the city and penkkarit preparations. HS caught up with some of the departing students, who were nevertheless upbeat about the occasion.
 "Oulu is no different from other big cities. Crimes happen in other places too. A big deal has been made about the ones here," said  Vilma Häkkinen , a senior at the Merikoski upper secondary school.
 Häkkinen told HS that she and her peers planned to wear costumes with a cheerful animal theme: passersby can expect to see a procession of giraffes, hippos and zebras.
 "With things so out of hand it makes you wonder what kind of reputation Oulu has in the eyes of other cities," she pondered. "There is probably room for improvement here, but no one can do it alone," she remarked, adding that Oulu is just a regular city that has grown rapidly.
 Another senior facing matriculation exams,  Jussi Uusvaara , commented that locals in Oulu had become more guarded. "The same probably goes for everywhere, not just Oulu." However he said that it was a positive development that police had been able to uncover the suspected offences.
 ID card runaround
 Tabloid daily Ilta-Sanomat relates  the story of 80-year-old  Kyösti Matiskainen , who waited several weeks for a new identification card, partly as a result of new rules about proving identity and the shuttering of police stations in rural areas. Matiaskainen, who is a sole trader, said he needed the ID card for his work, noting that he would not be able to open a bank account or even get online banking services without one.
 New regulations that came into force at the beginning of the year mean that people can no longer verify their identity with a driver's permit, but must use a passport or ID card to do so. At the same time, the process requires a visit to a police station to prove one's identity. Matiskainen noted that although the visit was somewhat inconvenient for him since the nearest police station is 40 kilometeres away, for some people living in more remote parts of southeast Finland where he resides, the distance to a police station may be 80 kilometres.
 The elderly gentleman's quest was further complicated by the fact that after a long wait, his ID card was delivered to the nearest Matkahuolto bus and freight depot. However he needed ID to retrieve the card, and since he did not have a valid passport, he couldn't do so. He eventually got the document with the help of a friendly Matkahuolto employee, whom he authorised to collect the card on his behalf.
 IS noted that the reform has prompted a spike in applications for ID cards, with police deluged by 48,000 applications in December and 59,000 in January. Instead of waiting just over a week for a new card, applicants now wait up to one month.
 Mutt on the metro
 Tabloid Iltalehti delved into the bowels of the capital to report on the case of  a lone canine seen travelling on the metro  line. According to one eyewitness, the animal appeared to be a fairly young Danish-Swedish Farmdog. The breed has been described as a companion dog that enjoys working and loves a challenge.
 The metro-riding mutt was first sighted at the Puotila metro station in eastern Helsinki. Helsinki City Transport HKL received word that an unaccompanied dog was on the loose and was able to track the canine as it boarded the metro at Puotila. However it seemed to realise that it was headed in the wrong direction, hopped off at Rastila and took the next metro headed in the opposite direction toward downtown Helsinki.
 The dog's metro adventure came to an end in Itäkeskus, where a passenger handed it over to security guards. The errant animal ended up at the Viiki animal shelter after a ride in the guards' patrol car. The story's happy ending came when the shelter reported that the dog's owner had been located and would be re-united with the pugnacious pooch.

Thursday's papers: High school seniors' big day, ID card issues, doggone metro


Summary: Throwing candy from the back of trucks while in fancy dress is an important rite of passage in Finland.

New to Finland and puzzled about the sight of truckloads of  young people gussied  up in sometimes outrageous costumes throwing sweets at passers-by? What you're seeing is a century-old tradition known as " penkkarit " when upper secondary school seniors enjoy their last hurrah – the end of formal classes – before they take a break to prepare for their matriculation exams.
 "It’s one of the greatest things to happen for upper secondary school students and the kids look forward to it. It’s a time when you can be with friends and feel free, take time to celebrate before you start thinking about your final exams,"  Roosa Pajunen  told Yle News.
 Pajunen is chair of Finland's Union of Upper Secondary School Students and not too long ago, she too could be seen riding around in a flat-bed lorry draped with a witty banner and distributing candy to onlookers.
 Pop culture gets a tongue-in-cheek treatment as these Mikkeli students reference their impending liberation from high school in a nod to the film “Fifty Shades Freed”.  Riina Kasurinen/Yle
 The  penkkarit  celebrations took off after 1919, when the first set of matriculation exams were held at the University of Helsinki. Back then, students from all over the country travelled to the capital for the exam. However in the 1920s local schools began to administer the exams, with students cloistering themselves away to prepare for the tests.
 The Lord of the Rings’ Gandalf, Batman’s nemesis the Joker and Winnie the Pooh rub shoulders in Lappeenranta. Tommi Parkkinen / Yle
 After starting out as sleigh rides in the early years of the tradition, the milestone has morphed into today’s high-spirited processions. Typically, the graduating students – known as " abiturientit " in Finnish or more commonly " abit " – select a theme for their costumes and banners, which range from witty one-liners to more serious social or political commentary.
 More fun, less booze
 According to Pajunen, the tradition has held strong over the years, although it's possible to observe some changes in how young people today celebrate the occasion.
 "I have heard that in the past some of the kids used alcohol. When I had my  penkkarit  we didn’t have alcohol but I’ve heard stories about others who have. At the end of the day they decide what to do, but I’d like it to be a safe space for everyone," she noted
 .
 Students from Sipoo run with a clever take on the hit Daft Punk-Pharrell Williams collaboration, “Get Lucky”. “Lakki” refers to the white cap that students receive when they graduate. Yle / Lone Widestam
 Pajunen's comments jibe with findings reported by the public health watchdog THL, which showed that  young people in Finland are increasingly corking the bottle . Meanwhile some school officials were said to be taking extra precautions to ensure no disruptions during the day.
 Last week taboid Iltalehti reported that one school in Vaasa had cautioned seniors against using ski masks or balaclavas or carrying toy guns during the festivities. The school said the measure was a safety precaution. In Porvoo, upper secondary school students told Yle News about security checks that included an airport-style "pat down" on Thursday morning.
 The day’s events include other high jinks such as parodying teachers and other members of staff, producing films and sketches about them, handing out outrageous awards to students and staff, and of course throwing, tossing or pelting sweets at younger students and passers-by.
 However, like their predecessors of a century ago, once the high-spirited activities are over students then retreat for a month-long period of preparation for the rigours of their matriculation exams. Up to last year, the " penkkarit " took to city streets across the country more or less on the same day, however  new education reforms that took effect this year  mean that schools can decide independently when their seniors will hold their pre-matriculation parades.
 Seniors’ ball ushers in new guard
 As the graduating seniors exit the school stage, second-year pupils begin gearing up to assume their role as the school’s oldest students at the top of the food chain.
 Elvis and an astronaut in Lappeenranta. Tommi Parkkinen / Yle
 They mark this rite of passage with  a formal performance of traditional ballroom dances . In upper secondary schools across the country, these seniors-in-waiting don ball gowns and tuxedos for the evening of dance performances, with the effort, expense and overall look of the participants becoming increasingly reminiscent of American proms.
 It can be a costly affair for many, although recent years have seen many enterprising and consumption-conscious young people renting or re-purposing clothing for the occasion.
 Petri Aaltonen / Yle
 Nowadays, the dance routine includes an " oma tanssi " or independently-choreographed segment that incorporates a medley of contemporary dance moves set to current popular music.
 The tradition of the seniors' ball apparently emerged in Helsinki in between 1920 and 1930, when students hatched the idea themselves.

Yle News explains "penkkarit": Why costumed teens in Finland toss sweets from lorries


Summary: Property sales and improvements at its Lindex chain helped, but sales at the iconic retailer's outlets fell short.

Profits increased thanks to improvements at its Lindex clothing outlets and the sale of Stockmann's properties in Russia.
 Finnish department store chain Stockmann announced that its adjusted operating profits for 2018 improved by 16 million euros compared to the previous year.
 Stockmann's CEO  Lauri Veijalainen  said the improvement was chiefly due to successes by its chain of Lindex clothing stores and the sale of Stockmann's properties in Russia.
 On Thursday the company posted adjusted operating profits of 28.4 million euros in 2018, which was an improvement over the previous year's results of 12.3 million.
 "Lindex managed to grow its market share in its main markets, and its online sales continued to grow well throughout the year. Lindex’s adjusted operating profit almost doubled, due to growth in sales, a better gross margin and cost savings," Veijalainen said in a company press release issued Thursday.
 Veijalainen said the improvements were facilitated in part by selling off its  Book House property  in central Helsinki in May and signing an agreement to sell off its Nevsky Centre shopping centre propery in St. Petersburg, Russia last autumn.
 The firm's sale of the Nevsky Centre outlet was finalised last month.
 Veijalainen said that Stockmann Group's net debt was decreased by nearly 200 million, "mainly due to the divestment of the Book House and decrease in working capital."
 Stockmann's end-of-year results worsened
 Veijalainen noted that Stockmann's brick-and-mortar and online retailers did not achieve a positive result, saying that 2018 sales fell short of targets, "to our true disappointment."
 The company saw weaker results - some 1.3 percent less - during the final three months of 2018, compared to the year before, with adjusted operating profits shrinking from 24.2 million euros to 23.5 million euros.
 "The operating result weakened mostly in the last quarter of the year, despite good growth in online sales in the quarter," Veijalainen said.
 The company launched a cost-saving programme earlier this year, aiming to reduce expenses by 20 million euros by the end of 2019.
 The majority of those measures will affect the retail division, according to Veijalainen.

Stockmann's results up last year


Summary: Individuals exposed to the infection may include participants at a dog show rehearsal in Järvenpää.

Health officials in Järvenpää, around 40 kilometeres northeast of Helsinki, confirmed on Thursday that an adult in the city had contracted measles.
 "We received the test results and it was a confirmed case of measles in an adult. The person had been on a trip abroad," explained  Susanna Pitkänen , head of the out-patient unit at the Keski-Uusimaa municipalities' health services division ( Keusote ).
 Pitkänen said she did not know the destination the carrier visited. However she said that the individual received medical attention and was now resting at home. The unit chief said that the infected person belonged to the age group in Finland  that had not been vaccinated against measles .
 Finland added the measles shot to its imunisation programme in 1975. "People who are older than this were assumed to have contracted the disease naturally and received protection that way. This means that in Finland we have a group of people born in the 60s and [early] 70s who have not received the MPR vaccine and have not been infected by measles," she added.
 Pitkänen noted that officials had almost completed charting individuals with whom the infected person had come into contact. Meanwhile Keusote was said to have been cooperating with infectious diseases specialists from the Helsinki-Uusimaa hospital distrïct. According to information obtained by Yle, persons exposed to the infection may include members of the public who attended a rehearsal for a dog show at the Järvenpää agility athlete's arena.
 Rash of cases since December
 Authorities across the country have reported new cases of measles since the beginning of the year. At that time an adult patient was diagnosed with the disease in Espoo. Meanwhile another case was reported, this time when an unvaccinated child at a daycare in Kotka was found to have been infected.
 Measles and its potential complications came into the spotlight in December when a child in Larsmö in western Finland  came down with the highly-contagious disease . The case set local authorities in motion tracking down possible exposures in a region where the vaccination coverage rate is lower than other parts of the country.
 Some time after that,  three other cases of adult infection s were identified in Tampere. Health officials have warned that measles is an extremely contagious air-borne disease.
 The initial symptoms may include a fever, a runny nose and a sore throat. Persons who exhibit these symptoms and think they may have been exposed to a carrier should contact their local health centre.

Officials eye dog show rehearsal over new measles case in southern Finland


Summary: Finnish Meteorological Institute researchers said the reduction in snow cover was caused by global climate change and is likely to accelerate.

Snow cover averages across many areas of Finland have decreased between the years of 1961-2014, according to a study carried out by researchers at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).
 "Snow conditions in high‐latitude regions are changing in response to climate warming, and these changes are likely to accelerate as the warming proceeds," the report's authors wrote.
 The maximum annual amounts of snow cover in southern and western Finland - and locally in some central areas - have decreased by an average of 2-4 cm every ten years during 1961-2014.
 However, there was no statistically significant change in snow cover amounts in northern Finland during that 53-year period, according to the FMI.
 Researcher  Anna Luomaranta  said maximum snow cover averages measured around 20-40 cm in south-western Finland and more than one metre in Finnish Lapland.
 Snow arrives later, ends earlier
 According to the research, the duration of snow cover also decreased during those five decades.
 Luomaranta said that the snowy season arrived later particularly in central, south-western and western parts of northern Ostrobothnia.
 Snow cover melted earlier especially in western Finland, according to the researcher.
 The disappearance of snow cover took place about four days earlier each decade during that period in western areas, and about one to three days earlier across the rest of the country, according to Luomaranta.
 Major regional differences
 "Our results indicate that regional differences of changes in snow conditions can be relatively large, even within such a small (region) as Finland," according to the study summary.
 The annual maximum snow depth that typically occurs in March was found to have decreased across more than 85 percent of the country, most strongly in western coastal areas.
 In almost half of Finland, this decrease occurred despite an increase in snowy weather, according to the research.
 "Our findings highlight the complexity of the responses of snow conditions to climatic variability in northern Europe," the authors stated.
 The report, "Snow cover trends in Finland over 1961-2014 based on gridded snow depth observations," was published by the  International Journal of Climatology .

Less snow cover, shorter winters in Finland since 1960s


Summary: Eastern Finland's declining population numbers poses a threat to welfare services in the region, according to a local official.

The population of Eastern Finland has declined at a rapid rate and the decrease is anticipated to continue over coming decades.
 Figures from Statistics Finland indicate that between 2015 and 2018 the population in the eastern part of the country - which includes six regions from Kymenlaakso in the south to Kainuu in the north - fell by 20,000. At the end of last year, some 930,000 people lived in the area.
 Olli Seppänen  from the Regional Council of South Karelia said the decline is driven by a falling birth rate and the trend among working-age residents to move away. “In relative terms, the number of children and young people has fallen the most,” he said.
 If the decrease continues at the same pace over the next two decades, Eastern Finland would lose around 130,000 residents by 2040.
 “This is a dramatic change. It will create huge challenges in terms of how we can provide services and maintain the current welfare society,” the council's  Satu Sikanen  said.
 “With fewer taxpayers we will have to rethink how to organise our services, while at the same time health care and social costs will increase as the population ages,” she adds.
 More jobs needed
 Drastic measures are needed to slow down the loss of people living in the area, according to Sikanen.
 “We need more new investment and jobs. And in order to get those, transport connections must be improved. It’s very important to have fast rail links, good roads and direct flights to the area,” Sikanen said.
 In addition, education and the development of tourism industry would likely create more employment opportunities.
 The population of Kainuu in the northeast has not suffered from as severe a drop as its neighbouring regions. The area's economy is driven by forest and mining industries and has grown for the past three years.
 In the near future, up to 5,000 new jobs may be created if the planned investments materialise, said  Jouni Ponnikas  from Kainuu Regional Council.
 “In fact, the domestic workforce will not be sufficient. We need workers from abroad,” he added.
 Only about 47,000 children were born in Finland last year,  the lowest figure ever  recorded. However, Finland's population increased by 8,600 people last year due to migration.

Eastern Finland's population in rapid decline


Summary: A weak rouble and high raw material costs have put pressure on the Finnish meat producer's business in Russia.

Meat and poultry producer Atria may sell its Russian operations, the company announced on Thursday. The company said business there has been hurt by the weak rouble and high raw material costs.
 Atria said that its goal is to quickly revitalise its Russian business operations, but noted that it is also investigating the possibility of divesting the unit.
 “That is one alternative. We will look into each of them, and whether to sell all of the Russian business or parts of it,” said chief executive  Juha Gröhn .
 Atria Russia makes up five percent of the group's total turnover and when it entered the Russian market in 2005, the company had high expectations.
 Russian troubles
 ”Our business there has not developed as expected,” Gröhn said.
 According to him, the rouble-euro exchange rate has been unfavourable and the local raw materials expensive. Because of the ongoing countersanctions by Russia on EU food imports, that are related to the Ukraine conflict, Finland cannot export meat to be processed in its Russian plants.
 “The price of Russian meat rose 30 percent between 2017 and last year,” Gröhn said.
 Atria’s annual profits totalled 28 million euros in 2018, down from 41 million the previous year. In addition to Finland and Russia, the group has operations in Sweden, Denmark and Estonia.
 Last week, Atria's competitor HKScan said it plans to  terminate up to 220 jobs  in a savings effort.

Finnish meat firm Atria may sell Russian operations


Summary: The possible effects of failing to pass health and social reforms, hazardous level crossings are still in use and a 60-year-high in February temperatures.

Daily  Helsingin Sanomat  writes about the difficulties that the government’s flagship reforms on social and health care services (_ sote _) are facing and the possible effects that a failure to pass the laws may cause.
 The Constitutional Law Committee is dealing with the reforms now, but time is running out, HS writes, as the current parliamentary term will end in four weeks. It is therefore increasingly looking like the laws will not passed during this government and that the reform will “fall forward.” That means that the processes which have already been initiated at regional level to introduce sote will continue even without a wholesale law reform, HS writes.
 While on the administrative side municipalities may change the way they provide services, the visible effects on patients and clients are likely to remain minor.
 Tarja Myllärinen  from the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities says municipalities are likely to cooperate more. “All regions have discussed the different options, even though they may not have been very vocal about it.”
 Regardless of what happens to sote, the peripheral regions of Finland will suffer as the population ages while big cities will survive, says  Markus Sovala  from Uusimaa Regional Council. “When the money runs out, it will be difficult to make decisions.”
 Nonetheless, any disorder that may result from the postponement of sote will mostly impact administration. “This is not Naples where rubbish piles up on the streets for half a year,” Sovala adds.
 Risky level crossings
 Meanwhile, some level crossings in Finland are so dangerous that passing over them is like playing Russian roulette, according to  tabloid Ilta-Sanomat . Despite  a fatal crash in Raseborg  in 2017, there are multiple level crossings still in use where visibility is very poor but safety has not been improved, according to the paper. One of them is the Simonen crossing near Seinäjoki in Western Finland.
 “Even if they do everything right, people venturing to these crossings can't be enitrely sure they aren't going to be hit by a train. And they don't even know they are playing with their lives,” says  Hannamari Helke  from the Safety Investigation Authority.
 Dangerous crossings are a remnant from the past, when trains were slower and the conductors had more time to react to drivers, IS writes. As speed limits for trains have risen, so too have the problems at the crossings.
 “It’s not legal to build level crossings like this anymore, but for some reason, Finnish law does not require the existing ones to be fixed,” Helke told the paper.
 According to her, people in Finland are used to society taking care of safety, which makes these risky crossings even more dangerous.
 “Closing the crossings would mean that drivers have to take a detour. But that's better than dying," Helke adds.
 Spring's on its way
 Tabloid Iltalehti  reports that Finland is experiencing a February heat wave. On Thursday night, temperature in Rauma, southwestern Finland, climbed to 8.4 degrees – a 60-year record for this time of the year.
 Weather for the weekend is looking to be balmy, with plenty of sunshine across the country and temperatures between four and seven degrees in southern and central Finland. The tip of Lapland may see some snowfall though, IL’s weather map shows.
 For comparison’s sake, IL reports that temperature in Enontekiö, Lapland, hovered around eight degrees at midsummer last year.
 Nevertheless, IL doubts that bars and restaurants in Rauma are ready to open their outdoor patios just yet.

Friday's papers: Reform troubles, dangerous level crossings and February heat wave


Summary: Finland's Environmental Institute said long-term, international cooperation is needed to improve the health of the sea.

Oxygen levels in the Gulf of Finland are exceptionally poor, according to a recent survey of the region by researchers from the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke).
 An analysis by experts on the sea research vessel Aranda in January found that some areas at the bottom of the Gulf did not contain any oxygen at all.
 The reason behind the lack of oxygen in the Gulf - a 30,000 square-km waterway between Estonia and Finland which extends eastward to Saint Petersburg, Russia - is due to salty, oxygen-depleted water flowing in from the Gulf of Bothnia, by Finland's west coast.
 The high level of salt increases the water's density and mass, creating a layer of salt water that stratifies at the bottom of the sea, according to Syke.
 This stratification, along with poor oxygen levels, encourages the release of phosphorous from the Gulf's sea floor, which causes further excess nutrients in the water, a phenomenon called eutrophication.
 Once or twice a decade
 The research vessel Aranda took Syke's experts to study areas of the Gulf of Finland, the Archipelago Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia from 22 January until 1 February. However, sea ice levels were too thick for the expedition to reach the Bothnian Bay, the northernmost region of the Gulf of Bothnia.
 Many areas of the Gulf of Finland featured low levels of oxygen and some did not contain any at all in late January, according to Syke.
 The researchers said that such low oxygen levels in the Gulf are recorded only once or twice per decade.
 The researchers also recorded depleted oxygen levels in northern parts of the Gulf of Finland, but noted that there were normal levels of oxygen in the Archipelago Sea, an island-rich region off of Finland's south-west coast.
 However, the researchers said oxygen levels had worsened in the deepest areas of the Bothnian Sea.
 Closer to the surface, higher phosphorous levels were also measured - a sign of slow eutrophication, or over-enrichment of the water.
 A report on the study concluded that the well-being of the Gulf of Finland entirely depends on the health of the neighouring Gulf of Bothnia.
 The researchers said Finland has limited resources to improve the situation on its own, saying that long-term international cooperation is required.
 "There's no shortcut to solve this situation, but reducing the nutrients (in the water) that come from land is the only way to improve the state of the sea," Syke's specialist researcher  Harri Kankaanpää  said.

Oxygen levels in Gulf of Finland "exceptionally poor," institute says


Summary: Costs can skyrocket as installing charging stations often requires major electrical system upgrades.

Few housing companies in Finland appear to be willing to cough up the cash to install charging stations for residents' electric cars.
 Occupants of apartment blocks and semi-detached homes owned by housing companies are increasingly interested in driving fully-electric cars. But the batteries in these modern vehicles need to be charged regularly, which requires access to electricity, and the price of installing charging stations can quickly escalate.
 Sometimes a complete overhaul of a building's electrical system is needed to install the plug-in charging posts, a situation that significantly raises costs.
 According to a survey commissioned last autumn by the Real Estate Association (Fastighetsforbundet), about 20 percent of housing companies in Finland are interested in installing electric car charging stations.
 However, few companies have actually done it. Only about ten percent of survey respondents said they've taken steps to install charging posts at their properties.
 Housing companies hesitate
 In southern Finland's Kaunianen, a board member of housing company Baselius,  Kurt Ringvall , said the board doesn't appear interested in the matter.
 "We've thought that the housing company will not get involved with this at all," he said, explaining that charger installations are too expensive and that the property's current electrical system would not be able to cope with charging multiple vehicles at once.
 "We carried out a survey that shows our system would be able to handle slow-charging hybrid cars, but if someone has a fully-electric vehicle, it would not have enough power," Ringvall said.
 Story continues after photo.
 Electric vehicle charging plug. Antti Kolpo / Yle
 In order to increase the voltage, the housing company would need to pay for the installation of a new power line, a cost consideration that the board had not yet fully calculated, according to Ringvall.
 However, Ringvall's housing company has agreed that residents with hybrid vehicles who are content with lower-voltage, trickle charging may install a charging point at their own expense.
 Variable costs, requirements
 Such installations can cost from 400 - 2,000 euros per charging point, depending on the situation and electricity requirements. If more voltage is needed than the building's electrical system can provide, then costs go up even further.
 If a building's electrical system is under-powered and someone tries to charge their electric car, there's a risk that one or several circuit breakers simply shut off. When diesel car heater devices and basement lighting fixtures are linked to those circuits, the lights go out and cars freeze up.
 Real estate lawyer  Marina Furuhjelm  said housing companies have had to deal with electricity upgrades before.
 "When induction stovetops were new, we had the same problem. As more and more households bought induction stoves, power consumption increased," Furuhjelm said.
 "Housing companies should be looking at what their electrical systems can handle," she said.
 She said the companies should find out whether their electrical networks are good enough to meet today's standards.
 Last year an EU directive made it possible for housing companies to independently decide by a majority vote whether or not to install vehicle charging points.
 "But that means that housing companies need to find out whether or not their systems can handle them," Furuhjelm explained.
 The charging points themselves are generally paid for by the people who own the parking spots. These residents are also required to pay for system-wide upgrades if they're needed - whether they own vehicles or not.
 However, housing companies can seek funding support for charging point installations from the Housing Finance and Development Center, ARA, according to Furunen.
 The owners of electric vehicles are then responsible for the charging costs.
 Charging at the supermarket
 There are still very few charging stations available in Finland, but their numbers are slowly creeping up. In 2017 there were just over 400 locations offering multiple slow- and fast charging points, while last year their numbers grew to nearly 650.
 In an effort to draw customers, the supermarket sector has started offering customers car-charging services. Kesko, S-Group and Lidl all feature charging points at some of their stores across the country.
 Senior researcher at VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland,  Marko Paakkinen , said the devices help to draw customers and welcomes their initiative. He also suggested that other businesses, like parking facilities, sports halls, amusement parks and workplaces, could also start offering vehicle charging services.
 "If drivers charge their cars several times a day, they can go further without having to seek out charging stations," Paakkinen said.
 Altogether, supermarkets across Finland provide about 160 charging stations and new ones are constantly being set up. Many of them are free to use, but some, like the ones offered at Kesko shops carry fees for fast charges.
 Government has set a goal of having some 250,000 electric vehicles on Finnish roads by the year 2030, but given the hesitation of housing companies on the matter the road to reaching that objective will likely prevent people from making the switch to electric vehicles.
 Another hurdle to reaching that goal is the relatively high cost of electric cars, according to a government report on the issue.
 When and if Finland does reach the goal of a quarter million electrical vehicles on the road, the country's electricity consumption will increase by an estimated percentage point, or about one terawatt hour.
 Once all cars on Finnish roads are battery-powered, electricity consumption will go up by about ten percent, compared to current levels.

Housing companies hesitant to install electric car charging stations


Summary: Journalist Sam Kingsley and political commentator Sini Korpinen join APN to discuss the prospects of Finland's Christian Democratic Party in the April elections.

Finland's Christian Democratic Party is hoping to win voters over with a general election platform that focuses on safeguarding families and traditional values. Can proposals to throw more money at families with children convince the electorate to give them enough leverage to form part of the next government?
 This week APN begins a series of pre-election party snapshots with international journalist  Sam Kingsley  and political commentator  Sini Korpinen .
 The Christian Democrats have been  polling  steadily at under five percent support, but as Kingsley pointed out, Finland has been known to create rainbow coalitions after elections, to amass the majority needed to implement its legislative programme. The Christian Democrats were part of the government up to 2015, he said, so we shouldn't rule out the possibility that they would be welcomed into the fold again after the upcoming general election.
 Despite the party's appeal to tradition, Korpinen added that on the spectrum of conservative parties in Finland, the Christian Democrats are actually more internationally-minded than other parties.
 Transgender comedian  James MacDonald  also weighs in on the discussion in an interview on a recent proposal by conservative councillors in Orivesi near Tampere, to essentially designate the municipality as a binary-sex area and to review the teaching of gender-diversity concepts in local schools.
 According to MacDonald, children are less fixated on gender stereotypes, and excluding discussion about gender diversity in schools harms children who may be struggling with their identity.
 However Kingsley and Korpinen said they don't believe that the gender issue will be a high-priority item for the election, or even for government formation talks. For the Christian Democrats they said, issues that affect traditional families are of paramount importance.
 Discrimination and anti-depressant use top news
 At this stage of our podcast we look at the news stories that engaged our social media audience the most this week. First up, readers were drawn to a  story about obstacles foreigners face breaking into the Finnish job market . This topic resonated deeply with our audience, drawing over 100 comments, including many personal accounts of discrimination when looking for work in Finland.
 Another popular story this week was a story we ran on how  more than 400-thousand people in Finland take anti-depressants . Studies suggest that more than seven percent of adults in Finland annually suffer from clinical depression, with up to one in five experiencing at least mild symptoms.
 And finally,  Finnish president  Sauli Niinistö 's participated in a light-hearted ice hockey tournament  in Helsinki proved to be a fan favourite. The 70-year-old head of state later took took to social media to announce upcoming hip surgery.
 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 podcast episode was presented by  Denise Wall  and  Zena Iovino , with additional reporting by Denise. Our producer was  Pamela Kaskinen ,assisted by  Anna   Ercanbrack ,and the sound engineer was  Anttoni Wikström.

All Points North #40: Platforms, promises and platitudes - Christian Democrats


Summary: The case, which has lasted for years, involved bribes handed to the flamboyant daughter of the Uzbekistan president.

The former CEO of Telia,  Lars Nyberg  and two former executives at the company who were suspected of bribery crimes in Uzbekistan were cleared of all charges by Stockholm District Court in Sweden on Friday.
 The three executives were suspected of having paid around 300 million euros in bribes to Uzbekistan's former dictator's daughter  several years ago .
 Until they were cleared, the three executives- including Eurasia region chief Tero Kivisaari and an executive lawyer - all faced the possibility of serving long prison terms.
 Due to an old law on the books however, the bribery charges were dropped. The court found that the money was not handed to people who had direct influence over the telecoms sector.
 The investigation, which started about six-and-a-half years ago, became Sweden's most expansive bribery probe of all time.
 Among other matters, the extensive probe examined how personally involved each of the three former execs were in the company's bid to bribe its way into the Uzbek telecoms market. Among other things, after it entered the market, Telia secured licenses for 3G and 4G networks as well as phone numbers.
 The prosecutor in the case claimed that the bribes were paid to  Gulnara Karimova , the daughter of the country's then-dictator Islam Karimov. The prosecution claimed she had connections to influential people who helped Telia break into the market.
 Old law helped
 The defence, however, claimed that Karimova could not, according to Swedish law, be considered a person who could be bribed under these circumstances.
 The general secretary of the non-profit Swedish Anti-Corruption Institute,  Nathalie Pahlén ,said the law that helped to free the executives from the charges is outdated.
 "It is an old, bad law. I am not surprised," she told Sweden's national broadcaster SVT.
 Karimova is reported to have been jailed or placed under house arrest in 2015 in Uzbekistan for involvement in the Telia affair.
 Suspicions about the activities of Telia Sonera (as the company was called then) in Uzbekistan resulted in the departure of the firm's board in 2013.
 The company withdrew its operations from Eurasia entirely in 2015.
 The Finnish state owned a major share in Telia Sonera when the investigation and court case was put into motion, but its investment firm Solidium sold off the last of its shares in the company last year.

Former Telia execs cleared of all bribery charges in Sweden


Summary: The newspapers on Thursday include stories on a fierce row between a minister and legal experts, a new poll and a Finn skiing for Bolivia.

Finnish media has in recent days been aflame with escalating rhetoric about the finer points of constitutional law, thanks to Defence Minister Jussi Niinisto of the Blue Reform Party.
 Helsingin Sanomat  reports  on the spat which started on Tuesday when Niinisto described professor Martin Scheinin’s background in the Communist Party, which the Defence Minister apparently regards as disqualifying.
 “Tweets from admirers of the totalitarian Soviet system cannot in future have significance in Finland’s representative democracy,” wrote Niinisto.
 The issue at hand is ostensibly the decision by parliament to return a much-trailed intelligence law to the committee stage after criticism by constitutional law experts. Scheinin and his fellow professor Juha Lavapuro had previously tweeted criticism of the way lawmakers had ignored criticism from parliament’s constitutional law committee.
 In his blog post Niinisto slammed ‘extra-parliamentary forces’ who want to get their way.
 “Constitutional law Talibs hide their own ideological goals behind a fake cloak of expertise and apply pressure via social media to the democratically elected parliament,” said Niinisto, , whose party is currently polling within the margin of error two months from parliamentary elections due on 14 April.
 On Wednesday Prime Minister Juha Sipila  said  that the tone of the discussion about the intelligence law was ‘approaching the limits’, signalling he may prefer a more constructive approach to parliament’s experts.
 “The government’s job isn’t to direct parliament or the experts called by parliament,” Sipila told journalists.
 Polling pressure
 HS publishes a poll by TNS Kantar today which suggests the Finns Party's support is on the rise. The party fractured in 2017 when hardliner Jussi Halla-aho took over as leader, leading to a dip in support, but the HS poll suggests their support stands at 11.4 percentage points.
 The bigger parties' numbers are down, especially Prime Minister Juha Sipilä's Centre Party, so HS  goes  to his home town of Oulu to see a party meeting to try and find out why. The answer is unambiguous: people like their anti-immigration line, especially in the wake of a spate of sex crimes in which asylum seekers are the suspects.
 Sipilä, remember, famously offered his own home to accommodate refugees in 2015 and the Finns Party faithful believe that has played a role in their current boost in support.
 The group that splintered from the Finns Party, Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö's Blue Reform Party, registered one percentage point in the same poll.
 Bolivian ski star
 Iltalehti  has  a story on Bolivia's distinctly Finnish-sounding cross-country skiing star Timo Grönlund, who is competing in the World Championships in Seefeld this week. Grönlund grew up in Kitee, eastern Finland, before moving to La Paz in 2014 with his Bolivian wife.
 He started gathering points under the Federation International du Ski (FIS) qualification system and, once he passed the threshold to compete in the world championships, the Bolivian ski federation ("yes, there is one!" says Timo paid for his trip to Austria.
 It wasn't the most direct route, and it took 36 hours, but it did get him there and he came 29th in the heats, more than four minutes behind the leaders. That's not too bad, concidering how irregularly he gets to ski: he managed a couple of runs in Chile in December, but not much else recently.
 La Paz-based Grönlund does have one trump card, however, in his location. At 3,860 metres above sea level the Bolivian capital is twice as high as many of the camps used for 'altitude training' by endurance skiers.

Thursday's papers: Professors v minister, polling analysis and a Bolivian ski star


Summary: Collectors may claim payment for 25-year-old debts or may even recycle old debts that they buy from other agencies.

Finland's competition and consumer watchdog says collections firms have a duty to provide information about the origin of unpaid debts, the sum outstanding, accrued interest and payment schedules, but many may not be complying with the law.
 According to the debtors support organisation VTY, collections agencies may call on debtors to pay debts incurred over 20 years ago in the 1990s, with interest, without the agency providing original bills or order confirmations for purchases made.
 Deputy head of the organisation  Hilkka Laikko  said that there may well be questionable practices employed in the debt collection industry.
 "Threats [for example], which violate collections law. An agency told one woman that she should just pay up quietly and that if she fought over it, it would be referred to their lawyers and she would be hit with a huge bill," she said in a Radio Suomi interview.
 Laikko noted that there had been cases in which the same expired invoices had been sent to collections repeatedly, as debt collectors cycle through customers. As a result, debtors find it difficult to understand the source of the original liability as the debt is sold on from one collector to another.
 "It’s very difficult. Quite often collections agencies say that it’s not their responsibility to check for settlement of old debts, to determine what has been paid to the original creditor or even what may have been paid otherwise," Laikko explained.
 Debt snowballs from 30 to 600 euros
 Collectors may try to claim payment for debts that are up to 25 years old. In one case an overdue 30-euro health centre fee ballooned to a debt of more than 600 euros over a four-year period.
 "It does sound rather unusual. There are limits placed on municipalities’ collectible health centre fees," said lawyer  Juha Jokinen  of the Consumer and Competition Authority.
 He added that it would be worthwhile to find out how an original outstanding payment of a few dozen euros could snowball to debt of hundreds of euros.
 "According to collections laws and creditors always have a duty to provide a breakdown of outstanding debts on request, their installments as well as a report on accrued interest on the capital amount outstanding and any related costs. These details should be provided and [if not] then we should be notified,” Jokinen observed.
 With respect to old debt recycled from the 1990s, Jokinen called on debtors to find out whether or not their liabilities had expired. At the beginning of the year, one regional administrative authority took the extreme step of revoking the license of a collections firm known as Alektum.
 According to the authority, the firm had displayed repeated shortcomings in its operations and had demonstrated contempt for the law, for good collections practices and for official rulings.
 Rising cost of living, more consumer credit
 "This was just the tip of the iceberg," Laikko declared.
 At the beginning of February, collections firm Annomen announced that it was taking over Alektum’s operations in Finland.
 Meanwhile, the number of people falling behind on their debts and winding up in the claws of debt collectors continues to rise. In 2018, more than 577,000 people were the subject of collections proceedings, an increase of three percent on the previous year. The majority of them, some 90 percent were private individuals, while the rest were companies.
 The rise in collections activity has been attributed to many people living on public support are grappling with rising living costs. In addition  many more individuals are relying on consumer credit to make ends meet .

Consumer watchdog warns of collections firms' shady practices