Summary: A researcher says five planned forestry projects are unsustainable. A CEO, on the other hand, welcomes the potential business boost.

There are currently five major forestry-related projects underway in Finland driven, at least in part, by Chinese investment.
 That's good news to the CEO of a Finnish company involved in one of them.  Heikki Nivala  is the head of Boreal Bioref, a planned billion-euro biorefinery project in Lapland's Kemijärvi. A quarter of the funding for the project, about 250 million euros, will come from Chinese investors.
 Nivala, a nationally-recognised champion of the forestry industry, said he doesn't agree with researchers who've issued warnings about Chinese advancements and investments in the country's forests.
 "We have plenty of forest here. The growing stock is young, the forests are growing quickly and need to be thinned," he said.
 "We are just about ready," he said of the project. "The only things we need now are environmental and building permits, the plant will be built in 30 months," Nivala explained.
 Story continues after photo.
 File illustration of a planned biorefinery project in Lapland's Kemijärvi. Boreal Bioref Oy
 Nivala spearheaded a grass-roots protest movement after paper firm Stora Enso announced it was shutting down a cellulose plant in Kemijärvi in 2007. The facility was closed the following year, but the town's - and Nivala's - name continues to be remembered by many in the country, including lawmakers.
 The town suffered many job cuts when the factory closed, but because of the prospect of Chinese investments, Boreal Bioref has estimated that its planned facility will bring 1,000 new jobs to the little community. The firm has already inked contracts of intent with the Chinese and the facility's environmental permit application is expected to be processed this spring.
 Researcher does the math
 Not everyone is excited about increased activity in the forestry industry.  Jakob Donner-Amnell  is one of them.
 He's a history and geography studies researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, has studied the forest industry's past, present and future - and said he is worried about looming growth in the industry.
 Story continues after photo.
 File photo of pile of timber. Pasi Peiponen / Yle
 "If all of the projects proceed to full-scale efforts, forestry usage levels will rise by 15 million cubic metres and pulp production by three million tonnes. That is not my assessment, I've only put together the capacity and raw materials figures the companies have announced," Donner-Amnell said.
 Last year, Finland cleared some 77 million cubic metres of forests, but adding the anticipated output of the five upcoming projects that sum would rise to some 95 million cubic metres.
 Plans would exceed limits
 "That's 11 million [cubic metres] more than recommended by Luke (the Natural Resources Institute) as Finland's highest sustainable felling level," Donner-Amnell explained, noting that each of the five projects' environmental impact surveys have been carried out individually. He said the combined environmental impact of the projects has not been considered.
 "This is interesting because none of the five projects has been given a final green light yet, the decisions for all of them are expected this or next year," he said.
 Story continues after photo.
 File photo from 2017 of clear-cut forest in Kainuu. Pasi Peiponen / Yle
 Donner-Amnell said the new government will have decide on the projects, because the impact they will have on the forestry industry will be far-reaching and problematic.
 Despite his misgivings about the forestry industry's plans, he said he is not accusing the Chinese of anything.
 "It is our officials - read government and ministers - that are responsible for the entire forestry industry and [they] have the ability to make sure it doesn't go overboard," he said.
 Donner-Amnell said that if the projects go ahead as planned, the bio-based economy will pose threats to the country's ecology and economic interests.
 Chinese opportunity
 But according to Nivala, it is funding from China that is making the Boreal Bioref project viable. He said he personally dealt with the Chinese investors and has visited the country several times.
 "They are tough negotiations, the Chinese have centuries of experience behind them as deal makers. They need raw materials and the forestry industry here in safe Nordic countries are very interesting to them," Nivala said.
 The Chinese state-owned construction firm China CAMC Engineering is Boreal Bioref's longest-running partner and is involved as an investor, but other Chinese players are also engaged in the project.
 The business effort has also received funding from investors in several European countries, as well as Finland. Due to the fact the planned biorefinery will produce more electricity than it uses, energy companies are also involved in the project.
 Story continues after photo.
 File illustration of a planned biorefinery project in Lapland's Kemijärvi. Boreal Bioref
 "The Chinese have done a good deal of preliminary work, they know what their needs are and that it'll be worth their while to come here," Nivala said.
 China is in the process of carrying out an investment strategy across the Nordic region. For example, investment firm Nordic BCI, which is part of Chinese state-owned Beijing Capital Investment, is setting up a 400 million euro fund for investments in the Nordic tech sector.
 China investing billions
 It was recently reported that a Finnish firm looking to construct a  tunnel linking Tallinn and Helsinki  is set to receive some  15 billion euros  from a China-linked investment firm helping to advance China’s Belt and Road initiative.
 Nivala said that China is looking for access to raw materials, and that processing those goods adds value locally.
 "If Europeans pay the most, then we'll send our products to Europe, but if the Chinese pay more, we'll sell to them. It's all about the market economy here," Nivala said.
 The plant in Kivijärvi is one of five major forestry-related projects in the works which are at least partially financed by Chinese investors.
 Boreal Bioref  - planned plant to produce 0.5 million tonnes per year of paper and textile pulp materials in Kemijärvi. Chief investor is Chinese company. Finnpulp  - plans to produce 1.2 million tonnes of pulp in Kuopio. Joint owners of project include a Chinese forestry firm, MTK (Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners) and private investment firm Grizzly Hill Capital. Kai Cell Fibers  - plans to produce 0.6 million tonnes of paper and textile pulp in Kajaani. Chief and most important buyer is large Chinese conglomerate. Metsä Fibre  - plans to more than double production to 1.3 million tonnes of pulp in Kemi. Company is major exporter of cellulose, a large portion of which is exported to Asia. Company part-owned by Japanese firm. Stora Enso  - plans to convert one of its paper plants in Oulu to produce cardboard and to boost its annual pulp output to 0.85 million tonnes. The firm exports a good deal of cellulose to Asia and also operates a cardboard factory in China. On Monday the firm announced it was  cutting up to 400 jobs  at its facility in Oulu.

Firms, researchers at odds over whether Finland's forests can handle Chinese-driven growth


Summary: More than 1,000 people tried to illegally enter Finland via Russia in 2018, according to Lännen Media news consortium.

Russian officials reportedly stopped more than 1,000 people from illegally crossing the border into Finland last year, according to the Lännen Media news consortium.
 The news agency reported on Wednesday that the Finnish Border Guard received the data from Russian officials.
 Interim Border Guard head Major General Pasi  Kostamovaara  told LM that the reported number of intercepted border crossings was five times as high as in the previous year, 2017.
 Officials attributed the high number of attempted border violations to the football World Cup that took place in Russia last summer. Event tourists were able to enter Russia without a visa and  many took advantage of the opportunity to try and enter Finland , they speculated. Most of the people stopped at the border were non-EU nationals.
 Kostamovaara said that he expected that people would continue to try their hand at entering Finland illegally, however not in the numbers reported in 2018.

Paper: Russia intercepted more than 1K attempted border crossings into Finland


Summary: Nearly one-fifth of respondents said they were only vaguely aware of why they use their medication.

More than half of adults in Finland regularly use at least one prescription medication, according to a survey commissioned by the Association of Finnish Pharmacies.
 More than one-third of respondents between the ages of 18-24 said they took medication regularly, compared to 81 percent of older survey participants.
 Nearly everyone who took part in the survey who had regular prescriptions said they knew why they used them. Some 78 percent said they were fully aware of the reasons they take the drugs.
 However nearly one-fifth of respondents, some 18 percent, said they were vaguely aware of the reasons they were prescribed meds. For example, on reason for certain prescriptions is to keep blood pressure within certain levels. If a fifth of the population isn't exactly sure about why they're taking medication, they might not know what the ultimate goal is.
 Room for improvement
 Pharmacy association director  Charlotta Sandler  said that lack of awareness shows there's room for improvement within the industry.
 She has suggested that pharmacy staff should help patients who are regularly prescribed medications with follow-up consultations.
 The pharmacy association has suggested that prescriptions' target outcomes should be written directly on medicine labels. It also proposed that customers who pick up drugs at the chemist should be encouraged by pharmacy staff to actively track the efficacy of their medications.
 This service should be free of charge, Sandler said, and should become a regular part of a visit to the pharmacy. She added that she believes people can learn how to follow up and track their prescription drug use.
 She noted that some participants may well have exaggerated their knowledge of the medications they're taking, pointing to figures from the World Health Organisation estimating that only half of patients take medications as they are prescribed.
 The survey on users of prescription drugs interviewed about 1,000 people in Finland with a 3.2 percent margin of error and was conducted by polling firm IROResearch.

Majority of adults in Finland regularly take prescription medication, survey finds


Summary: Low employment levels threaten welfare services, a researcher challenges the integrity of Finland's legal system and Åland's Stone Age farmers.

Business daily  Kauppalehti ’s editorial takes a critical view of political debates leading up to next month’s  parliamentary elections . KL says political parties can’t see the forest from the trees, as political discussions have become too granular while ignoring the bigger problem of dwindling state coffers.
 KL asserts that with its relatively  low employment rate of 72 percent , Finland can’t afford to maintain the same level of welfare services as Norway, Denmark and Sweden, which have higher GDP per capita. Sweden’s employment rate is around 78 percent.
 The editorial warns against raising taxes to buffer public funds since Finland already suffers from brain drain as taxes influence where people work and live.
 Crossing the line?
 When the country’s small pool of tax experts counsel corporate clients on tax planning while potentially influencing tax laws, a conflict of interest is inherent, writes Swedish-language daily  Hufvudstadsbladet .
 HBL dissects  Santtu Raitasuo' s study, which homed in on the double role tax lawyers often occupy in Finland.
 Raitasuo argued that when the same legal experts that advise corporations also serve as opinion leaders in the field, the scales may be tipped in favour of corporate clients’ interests in tax disputes.
 Finland currently  ranks third  after Denmark and New Zealand in Transparency International's worldwide corruption index.
 Finland's Stone Age farmers
 New DNA evidence suggests that maritime hunter-gatherers on the Åland Islands cultivated barley 5,000 years ago, which is 1,500 years earlier than previous studies about cereal cultivation on mainland Finland have suggested, reports agricultural newspaper  Maaseudun Tulevaisuus .
 Published in  Scientific Reports , a peer-reviewed journal, a team of Finnish and Swedish archaeologists argue that cereal use was intended for ritual feasts, when cereal products could have been consumed with pork.
 Scientists previously struggled to prove that Neolithic hunter-gatherer communities knew how to farm in the latter part of the Stone Age.

Thursday's papers: Financing the welfare state, legal corruption and Stone Age farmers


Summary: Finland currently requires firms to pay employees double pay for Sunday work. A business lobby say this discourages Sunday business hours in small companies.

Some 58 percent of respondents in a recent survey would be willing to allow sectoral employer-employee negotiations about Sunday pay levels, according to the Federation of Finnish Entrepreneurs.
 The poll asked 1,078 random respondents whether employers and employees should be free to settle Sunday pay levels on their own, if both parties are willing.
 Finnish law currently requires people who work on Sundays to receive double the daily pay rate.
 Some 28 percent of respondents did not warm to the idea of sectoral negotiations, while 14 percent did not take a stand one way or the other.
 The business group maintains that current laws prevent many small firms in particular from keeping their doors open on Sundays.
 "It is stated in our Growth Finland target programme that this is something we'd like to see the next elected parliament and government tackle. It would be one way to improve employment because then entrepreneurs would be able to offer workers hours on Sundays as well," says the organisation's labour market director  Janne Makkula .
 The survey was carried out by the pollster Kantar TNS in late January 2019. Results contain a three percentage-point margin of error.
 Edit: Updated on 21 March at 4.25pm to correct a reference to the Confederation of Finnish Industries, EK.

Business lobby-backed poll: Majority willing to negotiate Sunday pay


Summary: Returning Islamist foreign fighters may also pose a rising threat in Finland, warns the former security police.

In an annual report issued on Thursday, the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) says that the number of foreign intelligence agency employees in Finland is large, considering the size of the country. Russia and China are particularly interested in Finland, Supo says in its yearbook.
 Last year cyberespionage efforts by state actors were particularly active, but intelligence services still also use more traditional spycraft methods, the agency says. These include gaining sources to personal data and recruiting individuals who can help to influence the political decision-making process and public opinion. Typically intelligence officers are in the country with diplomatic status.
 "Diplomatic cover is typical, but not the only method. There are intelligence staff who live in Finland permanently, but also some who just visit," Supo director  Antti Pelttari  said at the book's publishing event in Helsinki.
 From year to year, Supo says, foreign intelligence services are perennially interested in Finland's Nato debate, foreign and security policy, Finland's position on EU sanctions and the security situation in the Baltic Sea region.
 Pelttari does not believe that there is or will be any major foreign state efforts to influence next month's parliamentary election.
 "Over the past few years we have focused on efforts to influence election meddling and ways to prevent it. We do not believe that the parliamentary election is the target of significant influence from any foreign state. The European Parliament election may be more vulnerable to influencing efforts," he said. The European election is in late May.
 Terror threat remains elevated
 In Supo's view, the terrorism threat in Finland remained at a heightened level last year, rated as level two on a four-level scale. The most significant threat is from 'lone wolf' individuals or small groups with ties to radical Islamist networks or organisations.
 Supo, formerly known as the security police, says it is tracking 370 people as part of its terrorism prevention measures. A growing number of these individuals have either taken part as foreign fighters in armed conflict in Syria or Iraq, or have expressed interest in doing so or received terrorism training. Supo notes that some foreign fighters from Finland have risen to significant positions within the terror group Isis.
 According to Supo researcher  Pekka Hiltunen , Isis has lost some operational capability along with its loss of territory, but there are still areas where it has solid support. The group's military losses are also triggering a significant rise in foreign fighters' desire to return home.
 These people may pose a threat as they return to Finland, Hiltunen warned.
 "A desire to return is not the same as abandoning radical ideology. Some may be forced to return as it is no longer possible to operate in the same way in that region," he observed.

Supo: Large numbers of foreign intelligence staff in Finland; Russia and China particularly active


Summary: Only a small fraction of human trafficking crimes involving children and teens in Finland are reported, says a report published on Thursday.

A new report finds that youths in Finland have been forced into prostitution, and that the  sugar dating phenomenon  is putting teens at risk.
 The study was conducted by  Elina Kervinen  and  Natalia Ollus  of the European Institute group for Crime Prevention and Control, a UN-affiliated group.
 “Human trafficking isn’t visible on the surface,” said  Veikko Mäkelä,  project manager for the Finnish National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking, an Interior Ministry group which commissioned the report.
 Police and social workers don’t always realise that human trafficking underlies some cases of sexual abuse or that a teen caught stealing is working for someone else.
 Mäkelä and Kervinen both asserted that  sugar dating , which most often involves an older man bestowing gifts on a younger woman, sometimes in exchange for sexual favours, puts teens at risk for trafficking.
 Vulnerable runaways
 Children taken into state custody or runaways are most vulnerable to traffickers. Drug-addicted youths forced to pay off their debts through prostitution are another at-risk group as are young foreign women sold into marriage with immigrant-background men in Finland.
 Mäkelä underscores that traffickers are often people close to children – parents, teachers, relatives or friends – individuals that can manipulate a child’s trust.
 Six convictions
 Since becoming a punishable offence in 2004, Finnish courts have handed down six rulings on child trafficking. Five of the six cases involved native Finnish children.
 One of the cases involved a middle-aged man prostituting a 14-year-old girl after he convinced her to live with him. Another case centred on a drug ring holding an 18-year-old woman captive while prostituting her.
 Since 2007, the Finnish National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking has dealt with some 200 human trafficking cases involving minors and people under 21.
 However Kervinen, who co-authored the report issued on Thursday, said many more victims need help.
 Trafficked asylum-seekers
 Most victims coming through the national assistance system are asylum-seekers, according to Mäkelä.
 The report showed that it was easier for authorities to detect human trafficking abuses among asylum-seekers than the native population.
 Some young asylum-seekers have been sexually abused in their countries of origin, en route to Europe as well as in Finland, according to Mäkelä.

Finnish kids victims of human trafficking, study finds


Summary: Many kids in Finland are using a seat belt when they should still be sitting in a car seat, a road safety campaign shows.

A joint campaign by the Finnish Road Safety Council and police found many cases in which small children were buckled in with seat belts when they should have been travelling in car seats.
 The Finnish Road Safety Council points out children must use a car safety seat until they are 135cm tall.
 Police also found many toddlers travelling in a forward-facing direction. It is widely recognised that rear-facing seats support the head and neck the best in a crash situation. The Road Safety Council recommends children travel in rear-facing seats for as long as seat weight restrictions allow.
 In a few instances, police found that child passengers were not strapped in at all.
 Ari-Pekka Elovaara  of the Finnish Road Safety Council underscored that children’s bodies are far more fragile than adults’ and therefore require the best possible protection in an accident.
 The road safety campaign inspected some 1,100 child passengers.

Safety officials: Parents forego safety seats too soon


Summary: Finland's data ombudsman said he plans to look into whether information sent by Nokia handsets violated data rules.

Radio-, televisio- ja tietoliikennevälineiden valmistus

Some Nokia 7 Plus smartphones sent data to servers in China, according to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
 Finland's HMD Global, which pays for the right to produce and market Nokia-branded phones, confirmed there was a software glitch on a batch of the handsets which has been corrected.
 NRK reported on Thursday that personal data of some of the phones' owners had also been sent to Chinese servers, but HMD denied this.
 The Norwegian public broadcaster was contacted by a Nokia 7 Plus owner who tracked the data sent from his handset. He told NRK that the phone had sent unencrypted data packets to a server in China as the phone was powered up, when the screen was activated or when the phone was locked.
 Finland's data ombudsman  Reijo Aarnio  told news service STT that preliminary information he has seen indicates that Nokia phones had actually sent users' personal information to Chinese servers. The data was reportedly sent to servers run by state-owned China Telekom, China's third-largest mobile telecommunications provider.
 Aarnio told news service Reuters that he plans to determine whether alleged breaches occurred that involved "personal information and if there was legal justification for it."
 Telecommunications firm Nokia, which receives licensing fees from HMD, did not issue a statement on the matter, according to Reuters.
 What was or wasn't sent?
 NRK reported that the sent data packets included information about the phone's location, the nearest cell tower, its telephone number, the SIM card number and the phone's unique IMEI number.
 Using a combination of this data would make it possible to track where the phone was located in real time.
 HMD Global said the problem only affected one batch of the Nokia 7 Plus and caused those phones to send activation data to a server in China. HMD said the personal information of the phones' users could not be identified with the data that was sent.
 The company said the issue has been fixed and that the remedy was part of a security update which was sent to all of the affected handsets.
 The Nokia 7 Plus, which was released as a  flagship handset last year , has been quite popular in China. The first quarter-million of the Android-run handsets reportedly sold out in the first five minutes they were put on the market.

Nokia 7 Plus handsets sent data to Chinese servers, broadcaster reports


Summary: The typical perpetrators and victims involved in alcohol-related deaths are unemployed, middle-aged Finnish men, according to a researcher.

Kriminologian ja oikeuspolitiikan instituutti (Krimo)

Violent deaths related to alcohol saw a significant increase in Finland last year, according to preliminary figures from the Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy (Krimo).
 Despite being ranked by the UN as the  happiest country in the world  for the second year in a row, residents in Finland are increasingly dying in alcohol-related violence. In 2018 booze-linked violent deaths increased by 25-30 percent compared to the year before.
 Martti Lehti , a university researcher from Krimo, said that the number of women who died as a result of alcohol-related violence went down somewhat, but for men that number nearly doubled.
 "The increase is staggering - more than 20 additional men died than during the previous year. In crime statistics this means an increase of more than 30 percent," Lehti said, noting the change cannot be attributed to normal annual fluctuations.
 There were 91 alcohol-related violent deaths in Finland last year. In 2017 some 67 people died under similar circumstances. However, last year's tally may still be adjusted as it is a preliminary statistic, Lehti explained.
 Middle-aged Finns
 The perpetrators and victims involved in alcohol-related violence are typically native-born middle-aged, unemployed Finnish men who get drunk and then use kitchen knives to sort out arguments, according to Lehti.
 The Krimo study found it was common that both perpetrators and victims in alcohol-related deaths were intoxicated with blood alcohol concentration levels of 2.0 promille (mg per ml of blood).
 The rate of violence-related deaths have been on a decline in Finland for a number of years, and the reasons behind last year's spike of alcohol-related deaths - and a reported overall increase in violent incidents - are unknown.
 Alcohol use has been linked to each the deaths themselves, but overall consumption of alcohol only  rose by 0.6 percent  last year. The increased drinking has been attributed to last year's reforms to alcohol laws that permitted stronger beer and alcopops to be  sold in shops , which previously were only available from the state liquor monopoly Alko.
 Alcohol link
 "Although total alcohol consumption has increased moderately, consumption may have increased more in groups where the risk of violence is higher," Lehti said, but noted those factors need closer examination before any conclusions can be made.
 Last year Krimo published a report about a study on the links between the availability of alcohol and the numbers of violent deaths from the beginning of the 1800s until the beginning of the 2000s.
 The study found that the number of violent deaths always went up as alcohol consumption rates increased.
 For example, violent death rates increased significantly when Finland slashed the alcohol tax in 2004.
 The tax was cut by up to a third on spirits, in response to fears that Estonia's EU-membership would lead to unlimited quantities of cheap alcohol flowing into Finland.
 The tax cut led to a 10 percent increase in alcohol consumption. A few years later government began to gradually raise alcohol taxes again.
 A half a century ago, when grocery stores gained the right to sell beer and drinks containing a maximum 4.7 percent alcohol, consumption levels shot up by 40 percent.
 The 10 percent
 Olavi Kaukonen  is operations manager at the A-Clinic Foundation, an NGO which works to prevent and treat substance abuse. He said that even minor overall increases of alcohol consumption is worrying, particularly for large-scale consumers of booze.
 "Many big drinkers are dependent on alcohol and when availability significantly increases even more of their income goes toward buying more alcohol," he said, noting that the use of alcohol is particularly concentrated to a particular group in Finland.
 Just 10 percent of Finland's population - around half a million people - drink about half of all the alcoholic beverages that are consumed.
 "The [alcohol-related] violent deaths mostly affect one group of around 10,000 marginalised people with bleak prospects," he said.
 He said this marginalised group has not received the attention they would need in recent times, even though the country has been discussing social and health care reforms for years.
 Kaukonen said it would not be difficult to break the cycle of violence connected to alcohol abuse.
 "It would go a long way by making it easier for people to get help for substance abuse problems and to increase funding for preventative work," he said.

Alcohol-related violent deaths in Finland up by "staggering" 30%


Summary: Finland's new taxi law has made taxis feel less safe to some and a few months after the refoms rolled out, taxi ride prices around Helsinki grew by 14 percent.

Customers' opinions are divided over the impact of a taxi deregulation that took effect last summer, according to poll results released by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) on Thursday.
 Overall, nearly nine out of 10 respondents were generally satisfied with the quality of taxi services. Three quarters considered taxi availability to be good.
 But people who use taxis often said that it has become more difficult to get hold of a taxi since the law was imposed last at the beginning of July. The Traficom survey was carried out in August and September, so the contrast between 'before and after' was fresh in people's minds.
 Members of special groups who frequently use taxis, such as people with disabilities and others with limited mobility, said that both the feeling of safety in taxis and their availability had diminished. They also felt that drivers had less know-how about customer needs than before.
 Customers generally considered taxis to be safe though, and 85 percent of respondents said that this had not changed significantly since the law took effect. In the Helsinki region, however, one fifth of respondents said that safety had worsened, with many expressing worry about being ripped off on pricing.
 Fares dipped – then rose again
 Taxi fares dropped after the legislation came onto the books, but clearly began to rise again in October.
 Statistics Finland said in early November that the average fare level was seven percent higher than in June, just before the new law came online. In the Helsinki region, prices had leapt by 14 percent.
 Traficom has now published price data for the last quarter of 2018, showing that in October fares were a national average of 3.6 percent higher than pre-reform.
 According to the agency's figures, the biggest price jumps were in Kymenlaakso (9.2%), Uusimaa (7.7%), Kainuu (7.2%), Päijät-Häme (6.0%) and Pirkanmaa (3.3%).
 On the other hand, fares dipped slightly in six regions, with the biggest decline of 2.3 percent in Kanta-Häme. Some these fluctuations were attributed to changes in pricing systems.

Survey: Some taxi customers feel less safe since deregulation


Summary: A quarter of Finland's future workforce could be foreign, worries about the gravitational pull of English and the health-improving benefits of retirement.

To prevent pension costs from spiraling out of control, Finland needs 1.4 million migrant workers by 2050, reports  Helsingin Sanomat .
 That figure is based on calculations commissioned by the national daily from the  Finnish Centre for Pensions  and based on the assumption that Finland will  not see a significant uptick in the birth rate . The pensions agency said Finland’s low birth rate will cause significant pressure to raise employees' pension contributions.
 For the pension system to remain viable, immigration to Finland must double, meaning that some 30,000 foreign workers would have to relocate to the country annually.
 Stemming the English tide
 Meanwhile as HS homes in on Finland’s need to attract more foreign labour, Swedish-language daily  Hufvudstadsbladet  has latched on to Justice Minister  Antti Häkkänen ’s comments that Finland must do more to safeguard national languages Finnish and Swedish from the onslaught of English.
 “Defending your mother tongue doesn’t make you a nationalist,” Häkkänen said.
 Häkkänen said he believed it wasn’t always necessary to write academic papers in English, pointing out that Finnish and Swedish will fail to keep up with specialised terminology if the domestic languages are sidelined in academia.
 Golden years
 While much news has recently centred on how Finland will pay for its  residents’  pensions, business daily  Kauppalehti  foregoes the doom and gloom to report that retirement has many health-boosting benefits.
 A fresh study by the Etla think-tank suggests that hospital visits and  antidepressant use  decrease as people leave the workforce. Researchers found that people take mood-boosting drugs--often as sleep aids--to manage their final years at work.
 The link between anti-depressant use and working was more pronounced among women than men.
 Researchers asserted that any policies to further  raise the retirement age  should consider how working longer affects health and overall wellbeing.

Friday’s papers: Pension problems, the conquest of English and happy retirees


Summary: The Twitter showdown kicked off over tweets between American presidential contender Bernie Sanders and former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.

Kansainväliset organisaatiot ja sopimukset

Finnish Twitter reared its head on Thursday to school former UN ambassador  Nikki Haley  on the nature of the Finnish health care system and how it compares to its American counterpart.
 This week, the former US ambassador to the UN and Republican governor of South Carolina took to Twitter to slam the Finnish healthcare system. "Ask them how their health care is. You won’t like their answer," she claimed.
 Haley was responding to a two-week-old tweet by US Senator and 2020 presidential contender  Bernie Sanders , who favourably compared the cost of having a baby in Finland to costs in the US.
 "In the US it costs, on average, $12,000 (€10,550) to have a baby. In Finland it costs $60 (€53)," Sanders wrote.
 Ordinary Finns were quick to defend their healthcare system, particularly maternity services against Haley.
 It remains unclear what Haley’s specific criticism of Finnish healthcare was, although she did subsequently retweet an article about the Finnish government’s collapse over its failed bid to steer home an expansive package of social and health care reforms (known as  sote ).
 Haley’s cryptic tweet woke up Finnish Twitter and set off a series of counterpunches from Finns online, including Finland’s ambassador to the UN,  Kai Sauer .
 In a lengthy rebuttal, Sauer shared facts about Finland’s healthcare system, writing, "Maternal mortality is the lowest in the world in Finland [according to the World Health Organisation]."
 Sauer also brought up a recent UN report naming Finland thehappiest country in the world for the second year running.
 "Apologies for the delayed reply, but we were out celebrating our rank as the happiest country of the world," he wrote.
 Finland v United States
 It’s not clear what Bernie Sanders’ claims on relative costs for giving birth in Finland and the US were based on, buta 2013 report by the National Partnership for Women and Families found that the average cost of a natural birth for American women with employer-provided health insurance was €11,000 ($12,520).
 As Finnish healthcare is provided by municipalities, it’s difficult to pin down national average costs for giving birth, but apatient charges list from southern Finland health provider HUS gives a daily cost of €48.90 ($55.63), based on the assumption that women will spend at least a day in hospital giving birth.
 Meanwhile, Finland’s birth rate has continued to decline,reaching an all-time low in 2017. Some researchers believethe cost of raising a child may be a factor that contributes to the low rate.

Finns hit back at health care criticism from Trump’s ex-UN ambassador


Summary: Teuvo Hakkarainen saw his fine for attacking a fellow MP more than doubled by an appellate court.

Last summer, Finns Party lawmaker  Teuvo Hakkarainen  was  convicted of assault and sexual harassment  against fellow MP  Veera Ruoho  after a Christmas party in December 2017.
 The Helsinki Court of Appeal has now raised Hakkarainen's punishment from 45 day fines to 80 day fines. Based on Hakkarainen's income, that adds up to 5,440 euros.
 Ruoho, who earlier in 2017 defected from the nationalist Finns Party to the conservative National Coalition Party, was sitting in the Parliament House café with another MP when she was approached by Hakkarainen, who had been drinking at a party elsewhere in the building.
 Ruoho told the court that Hakkarainen grabbed her jaw and tried forcibly to kiss her despite her protestations.
 The appellate court ruled on Friday that a previous district court sentence was insufficient. It ordered Hakkarainen's fine to be raised because the violence was directed toward the head and neck area, involved sexual harassment and took place at their workplace.
 Prosecutor sought suspended jail term
 Prosecutor  Eija Velitski  had called for a two-month suspended prison sentence for Hakkarainen. However the court ruled that the act did not warrant imprisonment, as it did not involved choking.
 It did however find that Hakkarainen had firmly grabbed Ruoho in a headlock and turned her head.
 "Despite the potential danger, [the incident] was very brief and the harm relatively mild," the court declared.
 The prosecutor argued that the assault led to Ruoho having to undergo neck surgery last June, as well as "long-running aches and pains in the neck area as well as insomnia due to shock".
 "If the right spot is pressed there, it can kill you," Velitski told the news agency STT, claiming that the incident had re-activated an old sports injury.
 Ruoho is a former member of the Finnish Olympic taekwondo team and police officer specialising in foreign citizens' issues. She quit the Finns Party in mid-2017 when immigration hardliner  Jussi Halla-aho  became its leader.
 Hakkarainen has a record of seven convictions since 1985, including chopping down trees illegally while drunk, stealing silverware and wine from a church, drunk driving, speeding, and  incitement against an ethnic group  for anti-Muslim comments on Facebook in 2016.
 Either side may still appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

Finns Party MP gets heftier fine for assault, sexual harassment


Summary: The EU has agreed to give the UK extra time to finalise its departure from the bloc – by either two weeks or just under two months.

After suffering two brutal rejections of her proposals for an agreement to leave the European Union, British Prime Minister  Theresa May  has managed to win extra time for her negotiations from EU leaders in Brussels.
 On Thursday, the EU told May that she could delay the separation until 22 May – if she secures MPs backing for her deal in a possible third vote next week. If she fails to win Parliament over, May can only postpone Brexit until 12 April, and must at the same time either leave with no deal or present a fresh set of proposals.
 Commenting on the conundrum facing May, Finnish European Union Commissioner  Jyrki Katainen  said that the country essentially has four options open, none of which is very appealing.
 No options "probable"
 "None of the options really looks probable," Katainen said during a radio interview with Yle Radio Suomi in Tampere.
 The UK was originally scheduled to  leave the European Union on 29 March,  after voters elected to leave the bloc in a contentious referendum in June 2016. May’s administration has since been negotiating – unsuccessfully – the terms on which the country will depart the union.
 According to Katainen, the first option would involve a vote on the previous separation agreement – which was spurned by lawmakers on two occasions.
 "Unfortunately, that might be unlikely," the ex-premier commented.
 If MPs do not back the deal, a second option would be an inevitable "hard Brexit", in which the UK leaves the EU without any agreement to govern future relations. Katainen said that this would be highly disruptive for Britain.
 Brexit a blow for Finland, too
 He noted that it would also be  a blow to Finland , which exports many goods and services to the UK. He said Finnish exports would probably shrink with the introduction of customs tariffs. A no-deal Brexit would also  complicate the ability of Finns  to work, study or travel in Britain, he added.
 The third alternative would be for Britain to ask the EU for a lengthier extension of one to two years, while the fourth would be to cancel Brexit entirely.
 Katainen said that it is very difficult to anticipate what will happen next.
 "The entire Brexit story has been tragicomic. We know what the British Parliament doesn’t want, but we don’t know what it wants," he added.
 "This is a healthy reminder about what populism is and what responsibility in politics means," he remarked.
 Mum on own plans
 Finland’s former prime minister has said that he will not seek another term as EU commissioner, however he commented that he does not know what he will do next.
 "No idea unfortunately. This is the first time I will be leaving politics. I am trying to think what could be next. I am 47 years old, so there is time try one thing or another," he quipped.
 Katainen said his next exploit could involve working in the start-up arena or tackling climate change. His wife  Mervi Katainen  is a candidate in Finland’s upcoming parliamentary elections. The outcome of the election would also impact on the timetable for the Katainens’ return to Finland.

"A tragicomic story": Finland's EU Commissioner takes dim view of UK's Brexit options


Summary: Families could have up to 2,500 euros more cash in hand every year if fathers took their full complement of paternity leave, Nordea Bank says.

Two-income families stand to gain financially if fathers were to use the maximum amount of paternity leave, according to calculations by Nordea Bank.
 The financial institution crunched the numbers and concluded that if the mother in a two-income family earns 2,900 euros monthly and the father brings in 3,500 a month, the family could end up with around 2,500 euros more in hand if the father uses the maximum amount of paternity leave available, compared to not taking any leave at all.
 The calculation assumes that the mother goes out to work for the entire time that her partner is on paternity leave and that the father receives the child home care allowance while he is at home with the little one.
 It also assumes that the earnings-related paternity allowance would cover work-based income lost by staying at home. In the bank’s model, the father would accumulate 4,900 euros for 54 days of paternity leave, based on his pay level. The bank assumed that the father would take leave when the infant reaches the age of 12 months.
 Paternity leave becoming more popular
 According to  Olli Kärkkäinen , a Nordea economist specialising in household finances, the discussion about parental leave should focus more on whether or not a family can afford not to take paternity leave than whether or not they can afford to take it. However he acknowledged that it might be difficult for many families to make precise calculations about the impact of leave on household finances.
 Kärkkäinennoted that the perception that taking paternity leave would dent family finances often arises from confusing different kinds of benefits when calculating the financial impact. In a recent blog posting, the national benefits agency Kela reviewed the reasons why there have been varying assessments of how many fathers use or do not use paternity leave.
 The maximum amount of paternity leave currently available to fathers is 54 working days. According to Kela, dads can stay at home at the same time mums are at home for up to 18 days while mothers are receiving maternity or parental benefits.
 There have been many calls to  reform parental leave  to allow fathers more time to stay at home with their infants. However finding consensus on the subject has been difficult.
 According to Kela, more fathers have been taking advantage of using paternity leave in recent years. However one in four dads still don’t go off on paternity leave at all, and very few use the entire 54 days allowed.
 Very few report a financial hit from having a baby
 A Nordea survey of families with children found that having a baby does have an impact on household finances. Half of parents with young children said that newborns were responsible for at least a small dent in their families’ financial position.
 "Having a child is a major change that can also have financial implications. The birth of a child increases expenses while and at the same time it reduces income. Fortunately, these changes can be anticipated, and this shows in our survey," Kärkkäinen commented.
 The majority of respondents said that the financial impact corresponded with their expectations, while just one in six families said that their finances were adversely affected more than expected.
 Renters face tougher times
 The survey also asked respondents whether or not the birth of a child affected their ability to pay for living expenses. Roughly one in three families said that it became slightly more difficult to manage expenses after a baby was born.
 Just seven percent reported much more difficult paying bills after the arrival of a newborn, while parents living in rental homes reported greater challenges covering expenses than their peers living in owner-occupied homes.
 "Income differences alone do not explain the disparity between [the experiences of respondents in] owner-occupied and rental homes. I believe that the difference was also due to the fact that it is easier for home owners than renters to reorganise their living expenses," the banker noted.
 One in four respondents with mortgages said that they had applied for instalment grace periods because they were expecting a baby.
 The Nordea survey polled 502 respondents with children under the age of six.

Longer paternity leave could boost family finances, bank finds


Summary: The Greens will almost certainly be part of government formation talks after parliamentary elections, says journalist Sam Kinsgley as APN continues its series examining Finland's political parties.

A new  party support poll  shows the Greens with pretty much the same support levels of the outgoing Prime Minister's party, the Centre Party. The APN podcast continued its series of pre-election party profiles by taking a deeper look at Finland's most environmentally-conscious party, currently led by  Pekka Haavisto .
 Our experts, journalist  Sam Kingsley  and political pundit  Sini Korpinen , agree that although the climate change issue is a high priority for each of the parties ahead of the election, the  Greens have the most ambitious platform  for tackling it, having outlined specific targets and timetables. Among other things, the Greens say they want to achieve carbon neutrality in Finland by 2030.
 Journalist Kingsley says the Greens are almost certainly going to be asked to be a coalition partner in Finland's next government. He said the top-polling party, the Social Democrats, and the second place National Coalition Party would probably be both be willing to work with the Greens who can add 10-or-so MP seats to gain a decision-making majority in Parliament.
 Pundit Korpinen says the new Greens platform concept of emphasising political responsibility for enacting climate change policy and taking some of the guilt away from consumers will resonate better with voters than lectures about eating less meat and driving less.
 While other parties are only now jumping on the eco-bandwagon, the Greens have already been working to expanded their repertoire of themes. APN also heard from Turku University's  Jenni Karimäki , a political researcher who's been tracking the Greens for years. She says the party has "successfully broadened their issue ownership" ahead of the elections, and has articulated strong positions on increased funding for early childhood education and universities, for example.
 Election debate on Monday, 25 March
 Voters will get a chance to hear more from politicians as Yle News hosts representatives of the country's nine major parliamentary groups in a live election debate on Monday. You can follow the live broadcast from 3pm (1pm GMT) on 25 March right here at  yle.fi/news , via our  Facebook page  and on  Yle Areena . Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #YleNewsDebate.
 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  Zena Iovino  and  Mark B. Odom , with additional reporting by  Denise Wall .  Pamela Kaskinen  was the producer, and the sound engineer was  Laura Koso .

All Points North #45: Platforms, promises and platitudes - the Greens


Summary: Officials stress that frozen produce should be heated before consumption.

Finnish officials detected listeria bacteria in many imported frozen food products tested last year. However the levels were not high enough to warrant a ban on import or sales of the items, says Customs. The EU has set a maximum level of 100 colony-forming units (cfu) per gram.
 The Customs Laboratory says it found listeria bacteria ( L. monocytogenes ) in frozen vegetables, berries and fruit in 2018, noting that this was the first time it had been detected in frozen fruit. The lab examined 78 batches of frozen fruit, finding listeria in eight of them, or nearly a quarter of samples.
 The bacteria can cause listeriosis, a potentially fatal disease. Newborn infants, expectant mothers, the elderly and people with immune deficiency are particularly at risk. Nearly 1,500 human cases were diagnosed in the EU in 2011, with a mortality rate of 12.7 percent.
 Belgian smoothie mix banned
 The lab found listeria bacteria in 18 out of 80 batches of frozen vegetables tested. These included two maize (corn) samples containing the same type of listeria that has caused local listeria epidemics around Europe since 2015.
 Customs authorities issued warnings to importers about the bacteria findings, and say they have stepped up inspections of frozen fruit in particular this year.
 "Last year's findings reinforce the need for listeria studies. Listeria is destroyed when products are heated, while simply rinsing them with water does not remove the bacteria," said microbiologist  Elina Vatunen  from the Customs Laboratory.
 The lab's inspections also discovered salmonella bacteria in one product, a frozen fruit smoothie mix imported from Belgium. Officials banned the sale of the product.

Customs found listeria in imported foods, allowed sale anyway


Summary: Three Nato countries – Norway, the UK and the US – are taking part in the exercise, along with allies Finland and Sweden.

Planes from the Finnish and Swedish air forces could be seen flying over Finnish Lapland on Friday as part of a multi-national military exercise. Some 10,000 troops from five countries are taking part in the Northern Wind manoeuvres. That includes 1500 troops and 500 vehicles from Finland. The annual exercises centre on northern Sweden, but aircraft will fly over western parts of Finnish Lapland on Friday and Saturday.
 The Swedish and Finnish fighter jets will fly in and out of Rovaniemi, across a wide area including the Tornio Valley, Kemi, Kittilä and Enontekiö. The exercises, called Flygvapenövning 19 (FVÖ19), include low and supersonic flights.
 Taking part at the Rovaniemi air base are 4-6 Finnish F/A-18 Hornet jets as well as eight Swedish Saab Gripen C/D multirole fighter aircraft planes and two Saab Special Flight Operations (SFO) Learjets specialised in electronic warfare.
 Bright flares across the sky
 Military officials advise residents to expect noise as well as bright lights in the sky caused by defensive countermeasures known as chaff and flares.
 Just over 200 Finnish pilots and troops from the Finnish Army are taking part, along with three NH90 transport helicopters. Altogether more than 60 aircraft are participating in FVÖ19.
 It is part of the larger Northern Wind exercise, which involves forces from three Nato countries – Norway, the UK and the US – as well as Finland and Sweden, which are not Nato members, but which cooperate closely with the alliance. However it is not officially considered a Nato operation.
 The air exercises are scheduled to last until next Wednesday afternoon.

Finnish and Swedish fighter jets fly low over Lapland


Summary: The networks firm said it may face sanctions over irregularities discovered at the company that it acquired in 2015.

Finnish networks company Nokia said on Thursday that it’s possible it may face sanctions in the United States over irregularities it has detected at former French rival Alcatel-Lucent. Nokia purchased Alcatel-Lucent for 15.6 billion euros in 2015. At the time it went down as the  biggest corporate acquisition  in Finnish history.
 The company’s share price slid on Friday afternoon following an annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States.
 The networks firm said that it had voluntarily handed over to US securities authorities a report that could trigger a fine, as it revealed the discovery of what it called "compliance issue"s following the purchase of its biggest competitor.
 The company said that the reason for a possible fine might be irregularities that emerged at Alcatel-Lucent during  efforts to merge both companies .
 "During the course of the ongoing integration process, we have been made aware of certain practices relating to compliance issues at the former Alcatel Lucent business that have raised concerns. We have initiated an internal investigation and voluntarily reported the matter to the relevant regulatory authorities, with whom we are cooperating with a view to resolving the matter," Nokia said on page 74 of the filing.
 "The resolution of this matter could result in potential criminal or civil penalties, including the possibility of monetary fines, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, brand, reputation or financial position," it continued.
 The report did not provide any details about the irregularities discovered, according to business paper Kauppalehti, which first reported on the filing in Finland.

Nokia shares drop on compliance concerns at ex-rival Alcatel-Lucent


Summary: Respondents to a nationwide civil rights survey were most satisfied with the rights to assembly and education.

The independent Foundation for Municipal Development in a recent survey found that people in Finland are largely satisfied with the way basic civil rights are enacted in the country. The study by Kantar TNS surveyed some 1,100 people aged 18-78.
 Respondents were found to be most satisfied with the right to public assembly, with 86 percent saying the right is maintained completely or adequately in Finland.
 Other top-ranking freedoms in the survey were the right to education and information (84 percent), the right to one's own language and culture (83 percent) and freedom of speech (81 percent), as  dailies also reported  on Saturday.
 However, only 58 percent of respondents said that necessities such as the right to livelihood and basic care are well provided in Finland; 37 percent said employment and health are more or less neglected by the state.
 Finnish health care is prized by coalition government party supporters. AOP
 Political polarity was also evident in the survey. Finland's social security and health care system was deemed unsatisfactory by 70 percent of Left Alliance supporters and 51 percent of Social Democrats.
 The Centre Party's supporters were more satisfied, as 75 percent of them said the right to social security and health care is maintained adequately or well, with 78 percent of National Coalition Party voters saying the same.
 Supporters of the Finns Party were found in the survey to be the least satisfied with Finland's maintenance of basic rights; 60 percent of them said that the right to freedom of speech is poorly upheld in Finland and only about half (52 percent) said the right to personal freedom and integrity is well maintained.
 The margin of error for the survey is 3 percentage points.

Survey: Basic rights in Finland "satisfactory"


Summary: Entrepreneurs and accountants say the Tax Administration's new database outsources government work for free.

Experts and entrepreneurs increasingly say that small businesses are having their feet held to the fire by the Tax Administration's new  Incomes Register database .
 The centralised register contains comprehensive information on the wages, pensions and benefits of individuals in Finland. Its stated purpose is to combat the grey economy through transparency and to improve access to important data through digital automation.
 However, financial management veterans are saying it is the Tax Administration and the insurance companies that are reaping the real benefits of the law change.
 Since being instated in January, the database has reportedly caused stress and extra labour for firms with less than 10 employees and solo entrepreneurs, which together account for some 95 percent of Finland's businesses.
 Automation requires labour
 Industrial management researcher  Pekka Leviäkangas  from the University of Oulu said that transferring labour downwards from large companies and organisations could technically improve productivity, but that poor-quality data and incorrect decision-making are high risks.
 "Sudden new requirements lead to small businesses being stressed out by the registry law's requirements," Leviäkangas said.
 The preparatory work needed to get various databases and programmes operating efficiently prior to automation is not accounted for in the new law, causing businesses to put in the labour without recompense.
 "This new form of labour transfer is possible because of Finland's cutting-edge digitalisation and high level of education," Leviäkangas added.
 Incomes Register 2019-2020 The data held in the Incomes Register will be used by the Tax Administration, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland Kela, the Employment Fund as well as earnings-related pension providers and the Finnish Centre for Pensions ETK as of 1 January 2019. The number of parties using the information will increase in 2020 , when agencies and institutions overseen by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Statistics Finland, the Employment Fund (adult benefits), non-life insurance providers, unemployment funds and occupational safety and health authorities, among others, begin to use the data held in the Incomes Register. Source:  Tax Administration
 CEO  Niklas Sonkin  of Finland's largest accounting firm Accountor said that large companies could get the Incomes Register working for them in due time; however, that point had not been crossed in late March, and small businesses are still suffering, he said.
 "Decades-old customs have to be overhauled overnight. There will be more costs than benefits," said Sonkin, adding that he hoped the bureaucrats who designed the new system would revisit their work.
 Advance pay harder to get
 One of the concrete downsides to the new law that many employees have noted is that applying for and receiving advance pay on one's salary has become more difficult.
 Until January, employees in Finland could receive a small advance payment on their monthly salary by request alone; the sum was deducted from the employee's next paycheck, along with its income tax.
 However, now the Tax Administration requires that every single payment be reported separately within five days of the actual transaction, instead of once a year as before.
 "This is a misinterpretation of the law," said retired business management trainer  Lassi Mäkinen . "It has increased the work and information load [of small companies] by staggering amounts, while the organisations get easier access."
 Many companies have in fact stopped paying out advance salaries to their employees due to the added workload. Accountor's CEO Sonkin said this is an attitude problem as well as a real challenge for some workers.
 "Families that rely on advance payments each month may find themselves turning to quick loan solutions. It's arrogant for the taxman to effectively shut down this custom and tell low-income earners to buck up," Sonkin said.
 Taxman not-so-adamant
 These and other criticisms have not shaken Finland's Tax Administration, whose Incomes Register chief  Terhi Holmström  defended the system and the five-day reporting requirement.
 "Different rules are hard to remember. It's easier for the payer if the five-day rule applies to all payments," Holmström said.
 According to management veteran Mäkinen, the new tax register also defines a company's payday incorrectly as "the day the money may be used" instead of the day the money leaves the employer's bank account.
 The Tax Administration's immoveable stance on the new registry law cracked in mid-March when project manager  Arto Leinonen  said the government was  "surprised by the problems"  in the system and would have to improve its service during 2019.

Small businesses, experts slam "stressful" Incomes Register


Summary: Media coverage of suspected sexual crimes in Oulu has some voters pondering immigration.

Yle News' voter pulse series tested the temperature of the electorate in Oulu, northern Finland, and found health care reform and immigration to be some of the key issues on the agenda.
 "I think the biggest issue right now is health care,"  John  told Yle News. "And of course I know a lot of people are thinking about the immigrants, especially here in Oulu since we had some pretty big scandals," he added.
 On Wednesday an Oulu district court handed down  a 44-month sentence to a 44-year-old man convicted  on charges of aggravated child sexual abuse and aggravated rape involving a 10-year-old victim. The verdict comes after police began investigating several cases of suspected child sexual abuse in the city late last year.
 Apart from health care, immigration and education, interviewees also cited climate change as one of the major concerns that will be guiding their election decision-making.
 "Global warming, climate change, I think that's the most important thing at the moment,"  Lotta  commented.
 Parties join Yle News debate on 25 March
 Yle News' visit to Oulu took place after Prime Minister  Juha Sipilä  announced his government's resignation over its failed bid to see through an ambitious social and health care reform programme.
 Voters in Finland will go to the polls on Sunday 14 April, but before that listen to our All Points North podcast series profiling the nine major parliamentary groups. Yle News will also host a live debate with representatives of all of Finland's nine major parliamentary groups from 3pm (1pm GMT) on 25 March.
 You can follow the live broadcast right here at  yle.fi/news , via our  Facebook page  and on  Yle Areena . Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #YleNewsDebate.

Watch: Health care, immigration weigh on voters' minds in Oulu


Summary: Yle meterologist Matti Huutonen says there's a good chance to see the colourful Aurora Borealis over Finland this weekend.

Finnish Lapland may be famous for its astounding Northern Lights displays, but this weekend may see the colourful light show brighten the sky elsewhere in the country.
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute, FMI, provides a  service showing the probability of northern lights  in various parts of the country.
 FMI's  Finnish-language pages  predict a "reasonable" chance of seeing the aurora this weekend in southern and central parts of the country.
 Aurora Borealis are caused by collisions between electrically charged particles released from the sun. These particles enter the earth’s atmosphere and collide with gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen.
 The lights are best seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. Recent  eruptions of the corona  -- the gas ring surrounding the sun -- have generated mild geomagnetic storms that release more of the charged particles responsible for the heavenly spectacle.

Northern lights to shine bright over Finland


Summary: A man tried to ambush Foreign Minister Timo Soini on Sunday at a farmers’ market in Vantaa.

Security personnel at the scene quickly wrestled down the perpetrator wearing clothing adorned with the logo of anti-immigrant group  Soldiers of Odin .
 Soini, former leader of the Finns Party who split to set up his own Blue Reform faction in 2017, told onlookers that his security detail apprehended the man attempting to strike him.
 The incident did not deter Soini from continuing his meet-and-greet activities at the farmers' market in Vantaa’s Korso district.
 "Today I faced an unfortunate incident, that nobody should want or hope for," wrote Soini on his blog. "The threatening situation was calmed quickly. I've told police what I saw and experienced. The matter is now being dealt with and investigated by the authorities. They know how to handle this. I thank the security men for their good work."
 Foreign Minister Timo Soini was out in Vantaa on Sunday to lend a hand to the Blue Reform's parliamentary campaign. Timo Jaakonaho / Lehtikuva
 Attacks on politicians are rare in Finland. In 2012, a man  pulled a knife on then-Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen  at a municipal election rally in Turku. Three years later in Tampere a man doused Alexander Stubb, who was Finance Minister at the the time,  in coke .

Attempted street attack on Foreign Minister Timo Soini


Summary: Every year nearly 4,000 women and 1,000 men in Finland are diagnosed with urinary tract infections caused by drug-resistant E. coli bacteria.

“Slightly less than three percent of urinary tract infections suffered by women and fully six percent of male cases are caused by a multi-resistant form of ESBL bacteria,” medical director of the Turku University central hospital  Antti Hakanen  told the syndicated Sunday newspaper supplement Sunnuntaisuomalainen.
 E. coli is the most common cause of urinary tract infections, and its drug-resistant forms are on the rise.
 Physicians in Finland have been turning to broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat drug-resistant organisms.
 ”These drugs may cause patients to suffer more side effects,” Hakanen explained.
 Overall, Finland’s antibiotic resistance situation is good in relation to the rest of the world, according to Hakanen. ”However antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide problem that’s growing in Finland slowly but surely.”

Paper: Thousands in Finland affected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria


Summary: Candidates for parliament should be targeting low-income, young, and eastern regional voters, says a study published in Monday's Helsingin Sanomat.

Helsingin Sanomat reports on  a study carried out at the University of Helsinki  which shows that the lowest levels of voting in parliamentary elections are to be found among low-income groups, people engaged in physical labour for a living, the young, voters in eastern parts of the country, and Finnish citizens living abroad.
 The paper points out that it would be well worth the while of candidates and their parties targeting these groups, as a third did not cast a vote in the last parliamentary election.
 University researchers found wide variation in voting behaviour according to profession. For example, in 2015, only 53.6 percent of people working as waiters voted. Meanwhile, members of upper management in civil service jobs and associations voted at a rate of 96.6 percent.
 The lowest level was among voters engaged in physical labour such as window washers, kitchen staff, construction and warehouse workers. In this category, fewer that 60 percent cast a vote last time around.
 Voting behaviour also varies by location. Voters in eastern parts of the country are less likely to go to the polls than those in the west.
 Age is also a factor. In 2015, only 43 percent of 20-year-olds voted. The most active voters were 70-year-olds, 84 percent of whom cast a vote.
 The lowest level of voting activity was found to be among the some  quarter of a million Finnish citizens living abroad . Researchers found that since the 1980s voting activity in this group has ranged between 5.6 and 10.6 percent, but has been on the rise over the past two decades. For the first time, they are  allowed to cast absentee ballots by mail  in the upcoming parliamentary election.
 Trafficking minors
 The newsstand tabloid  Iltalehti  reports that police in Helsinki are currently investigating four cases of the purchase or attempted purchase of sexual services from minors. The paper notes that several recent studies have pointed out the  dangers of teens being vulnerable to traffickers .
 Police say that some of the approaches made to minors have occurred in public places such as shopping malls and transport stations. According to the police, there are fewer than 10 minors in the capital region professionally offering sexual services.
 As Iltalehti writes, offers of sexual services online or otherwise by minors or adults exploiting minors is not a new phenomenon, but the situation is not getting better. Detective Chief Inspector  Saara Asmundela  of the Helsinki police told the paper that there is a constant flow of reports of attempts to purchase sexual services from minors.
 "It's not a matter of children selling sexual services," Asmundela told Iltalehti. "Rather it's the purchase of sexual services from them. Only purchasing is a criminal act under law."
 Higher and lower taxi fares
 Turku's Turun Sanomat was one of the paper reporting Monday that  taxi deregulation  that took effect last summer has raised prices in some areas and lowered them in others.
 A survey by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency shows that taxi prices have gone up in the regions of Kymenlaakso, Uusimaa, Kainuu, Päijät-Häme and Pirkanmaa. In contrast, they have declined in six regions, the most in Kanta-Häme and Varsinais-Suomi.
 Despite higher fares in some areas, the Ministry of Transport and Communications denies that deregulation has failed.
 Among the reforms introduced last summer was a dismantling of price regulation.
 Spring has sprung? Not quite
 Monday's  Metro  freesheet tells us that unseasonably warm weather looks to be on the way later this week.
 The next few days will remain chilly, and include rain or sleet, but later in the week, the weather, especially in southern parts of the country should be sunny with temperatures edging up to as high as +10C.
 While this is warmer than statistically normal for late March, it is not exceptionally so, and not close to record warm.

Monday's papers: Where to find votes, trafficking minors, pricey taxis


Summary: Four  HIV cases have been detected among young intravenous drug users within a few months, twice as many as in the previous five years altogether.

Helsingin ja Uudenmaan sairaanhoitopiiri

Within about half a year, four young intravenous drug users in the Helsinki region have been diagnosed with HIV infections contracted in Finland. While that may not sound like many, these cases are setting off alarm bells among public health officials, as they signal a setback in anti-HIV efforts.
 "The situation is exceptional as only two such cases were diagnosed in the preceding five years," Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) said in a statement on Monday.
 According to the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), there is now a serious risk of HIV infections spreading among those who shoot drugs. Meanwhile there are more than 1,000 new cases of hepatitis C annually in Finland, mostly contracted in a similar way through the use of shared needles.
 Turnaround in early 2000s
 Around the turn of the millennium, more than 250 people were annually infected with HIV in the capital region after injecting narcotics intravenously.
 "The situation was then brought under control through an increase in testing, health counselling and distribution of clean injection equipment," says HUS.
 The THL urges intravenous drug users to be tested for HIV, noting that it is crucial for infections to be diagnosed as early as possible to prevent them from developing into full-blown AIDS. It also says that health and social workers should step up counselling services and distribution of clean equipment.
 Fewer than 200 new infections annually
 Since 1980, some 4,000 HIV infections have been detected in Finland. The THL estimates that there are also around 600 people who have unknowingly been infected. Since the turn of the millennium, there have been fewer than 200 new infections each year, primarily among men in their 30s.
 Officials in eastern Finland also report a  recent rise in cases among older men  who travel across the border into Russia.
 The THL says that last year 10 people died of AIDS in Finland, the highest number since 2012, when 13 died. Other than 2012, there have been 10 or fewer AIDS fatalities annually since 1996. The first AIDS death was registered 30 years ago.
 Besides intravenous drug users, says the institute, risk groups for HIV infections in Finland are men who have sex with men, prisoners, sex workers as well as some groups of travellers and immigrants, including those involved in commercial sexual exploitation. The THL recommends HIV tests for asylum seekers from areas where "the prevalence of HIV infection exceeds 1.0%, e.g. for sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan".
 Of 153 HIV new cases diagnosed last year, 90 patients were foreigners. Just over two thirds of new patients were male.

Health officials worried by reversal of HIV trend


Summary: Finland's electoral system is weighted towards votes for individual candidates, but researchers say party affiliation is playing an increasingly key role.

Studies indicate that the importance of party affiliation in voter behaviour has been on the rise since the turn of the century. In parliamentary elections in 2011 and 2015, voters tended to give more weight to the choice of a party when casting their votes than to the individual candidate. Research published by the Foundation for Municipal Development in January shows that trend is continuing.
 Researchers say that the significance of the focus on candidates in Finland's parliamentary elections is often exaggerated.
 "In light of the statistics, the idea that the importance of parties has declined over the past few years is not true," says  Ville Pitkänen , a political scientist at the Helsinki-based e2 Research think tank.
 Talk of a decline in party appeal has largely centred on presidential elections. In the  2018 presidential election ,  Sauli Niinistö  was reelected after running as an independent with the backing of an election association, rather than a party. Many of the other candidates who threw their hats into the ring distanced themselves from party affiliations. During the campaign, there were voices that accused the parties of lacking vision, of abandoning ideological principles, and of being behind the times.
 Presidential elections are, however, very much about personality and candidates seeking to attract voters across party lines. In elections for parliament, party affiliation of individual candidates makes a difference, in large part because voting patterns affect the composition of the cabinet.
 Government resignation stirs the pot
 According to Pitkänen, clashes between political parties have reemerged in recent years because of the composition of cabinets. The term of the outgoing Parliament was clearly marked by an ideological divide between the government and the opposition. On the one hand there was a cabinet including traditional centre-right parties, and on the other an opposition with a strong leftist element.
 "That has maybe increasingly meant that the differences between parties is easier to see," points out Pitkänen.
 The  resignation of the government  in early March has stirred the pot, though, setting the two main parties in the cabinet, the Centre and the conservative National Coalition Party (NCP), against each other.
 Pitkänen believes that the idea that there is little difference among the parties stems from the so-called "rainbow coalitions" at the start of the 2000s that brought a wide spectrum of political thought into the same cabinets.
 "When you have more ideologically aligned governments, it probably better brings out what kind of differences there are among the parties," he says.
 Still candidate-centred
 The growing importance of party affiliation does not mean, however, that the days are numbered for Finland's candidate-centred electoral system. While in most parties of Europe one can vote a party ticket, in Finland voters must choose both a party and an individual candidate.
 Voters tend to give greater weight to personality than to actually substance on the issues, points out political science professor  Hanna Wass  of the University of Helsinki.
 Once a voter finds  a candidate that he or she can identify with , party affiliation becomes a secondary consideration.
 "There are indications on the basis of studies that it is almost easier to change one's own views than it is to make a change in the candidate one identifies with," says Wass.
 When polled, though, voters usually downplay the importance of individual candidates.
 "The concept of the 'enlightened voter' is still very much alive and somehow people think that choices based on individuals are of secondary importance. Also, for some reason, voters shy away from non-political viewpoints, such as I want more than anything a female candidate, or one my own age," points out Wass.

Party preference a major factor in elections


Summary: Police are continuing an investigation into Sunday's incident at a farmers' market in Vantaa’s Korso district.

Ministerit, ministeriöt ja valtioneuvosto

On Sunday, security personnel quickly moved to subdue a man wearing clothing adorned with the logo of anti-immigrant group  Soldiers of Odin , who attempted to strike Foreign Minister  Timo Soini .
 Police are investigating  the incident  as both attempted assault and violent resistance to public officials.
 The suspect, a man born in 1967, is being held by police in Vantaa.
 "At the moment, there are no indications that there was anything especially premeditated about the incident, or that any other individuals were involved," stated the head of the police investigation,  Juha Springare , on Monday.
 Soini has been Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2015. He is the former leader of the Finns Party, but left to join the Blue Reform faction in mid-2017.

Police: Attempted attack on Finnish foreign minister was not premeditated


Summary: While the number of people applying for asylum declined by 10 percent, reception system costs fell by roughly a third.

The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) says that its expenditures dipped significantly last year, partly due to a smaller number of arriving asylum seekers.
 Overall costs of the reception system fell from 282 million euros in 2017 to 189 million last year, the agency reported on Monday.
 The daily cost of housing each asylum seeker also declined, from 55 euros in 2017 to 48 last year – about the same as it was before the major influx of asylum seekers in 2015. That year  more than 32,000 people  sought asylum, a far higher number than in any previous year.
 The average cost covers all reception centre expenses including staff salaries and residents' allowances.
 Last year, 4,548 people applied for asylum in Finland, about 10 percent fewer than in 2017.
 About half of the 2018 number were re-applications by individuals whose initial applications were rejected, usually citing new reasons. Overall the number of applicants in the system shrank from just over 13,000 to around 10,700 during the year.
 Migri's overall costs after revenues in 2018 totalled almost 215 million euros, a decline of 22 percent from 2017. The main reason, it says, was the corresponding decline in the asylum seeker population.
 Revenue from application fees edged up slightly from 19 million to nearly 20 million euros, but still did not cover the actual costs of the decision-making process because minors and students are given discounts, the agency said.
 More EU citizens register as residents
 In the bigger picture, the number of immigration permit applications rose. Including registrations of EU citizens’ right of residence, there was an increase of 13 percent to around 96,500 people.
 "Processing this growing number of applications requires that sufficient resources will be secured for the agency for the coming years, so that customers will not have to wait unduly long for decisions," finance director  Kari Kananen  said on Monday.
 Migri reports an uptick in the number of immigrants seeking residence permits based on work or studies along with a slight decline in the number based on family ties. The number of applications by family members who received international protection fell by more than one third. Citizenship applications, meanwhile, rose briskly by nine percent to around 14,200.
 Migri says that it invested heavily in improving customer service and digitising its processes. As a result, it says there are shorter waiting times for appointments, which can now usually be booked within a month.

Migri spending drops 22% as fewer asylum seekers arrive


Summary: More than 100 police reports about fraudulent calls have been filed across Finland within a year, police said.

According to police, more than 100 people in Finland have fallen victim to international phone scams, with an estimated loss of over five million euros.
 ”This activity appears to be international. In a typical case, the victim has received a call from a number starting with +44 – the country code of Great Britain,” says Detective Inspector  Marko Leponen  from the National Bureau of Investigation.
 However, calls have recently originated from other international and domestic numbers too.
 The caller has asked the victims about their wealth and promised them access to foreign investments with considerable returns, police said.
 Within a few days, the victims have been contacted by email to transfer money to a foreign bank account or a cryptocurrency exchange. Initially, the sums requested have amounted to a few hundred euros.
 ”In some cases, the victim was paid back double the amount soon after the initial transfer, which the con artists claimed were returns on an earlier investment,” Leponen said.
 In fact, the money has not been invested in anything, police said.
 While callers seem to favour middle-aged people, victims have come from all age groups, according to Leponen.
 A number of victims have taken out loans for the investments and some have had remote access applications installed on their computers for payment transactions.
 Last year, people were told by Finland's communications watchdog to  ignore fraudulent calls from unknown foreign numbers , especially those from Samoa and Papua New Guinea.

Phone scammers steal 5 million euros from victims in Finland


Summary: Politicians locked horns in English on Monday for the Yle News election debate, and some fared better than others.

Nine politicians locked horns in the Yle News election debate on Monday, with topics from climate change, through ethics in politics to labour market policies under the microscope ahead of elections due on 14 April.
 Our pundits highlights some surprising stances, fixed ideological positions, a likely end to austerity and, amid a nine-way discussion, Finland's 'crowded political marketplace'.
 Sini Korpinen , politics expert for the All Points North podcast, said that she found the ethical dimension raised in the show brought up interesting contrasts when  Veronika Honkasalo , a leftist councillor from Helsinki said she had a clear line on coalition partners. Korpinen doesn’t think everything is so simple.
 "Where do you draw the line? We have seen them walking out of government for some other issues. They are so strict about their principles that I’m not sure they are a good coalition partner. It’s not an easy question when you get into the broader issues."
 Finns Party MP  Laura Huhtasaari’s  reaction was also a point of interest for Korpinen, who said Huhtasaari’s party has shifted slightly as the election approaches.
 "[Finns Party leader]  Jussi Halla-aho  has previously said that the party does not care whether other parties want to be in government with them, but now they have said they want to be in government and they have to react--it is an interesting dynamic," said Korpinen.
 Story continues after photo

 Fellow APN pundit  Sam Kingsley  said that participants' language skills were up to the task.
 "The level of English among all the candidates was extremely impressive, especially when you consider they have to sell their ideas at the same time, even knowing how well Finns speak English," said Kingsley.
 The tricky task of playing a political insurgent when you're actually in the government was given to Environment Minister Kimmo Tiilikainen, and Kingsley felt his role revealed something about this election.
 Story continues after photo

 "He came out fighting against austerity cuts and this government’s record, which showed almost an accepted truth in this election which is that austerity has gone too far," said Kingsley. "He was saying that his government has brought the nation’s finances back into balance, trying to claim that any largesse possible now is thanks to the government’s fiscal record."
 Voters face a difficult decision
 Aki Ruotsala  was a 'good speaker', according to Kingsley, who noted that the general competence displayed in the debate showed how difficult the decision will be for many voters.
 "The debate showed how crowded the Finnish political marketplace is in many ways," noted Kingsley. "Voters have a tough job choosing who they want to vote for, and it will come down to charisma and personality in the end--which we’ve seen in previous elections as well."
 Our pundits were intrigued by the focus of the Finns Party representative on one policy area.
 Story continues after photo
 Yle News / Mark B. Odom
 “It was clear that the only policy area Huhtasaari was comfortable on was immigration, she didn’t have much else to offer,” said Korpinen.
 "It was interesting that Huhtasaari kept talking about asylum seekers and crime when the debate had moved on to talk about employment and integration, and that showed how the Finns Party are really focusing on their core message that immigrants make us unsafe, even though figures perhaps don’t bear that out," said Kingsley. "It showed how ideological immigration is as an issue for the Finns Party.
 The "humane" side of immigration
 Immigration was a hot-button issue, and one dear to the hearts of the Yle News audience. Korpinen noticed one contribution that was perhaps a little surprising.
 "Elina Lepomäki  was very good, talking about the humane aspect of immigration policy--it was unusual to hear a National Coalition Party politician talk like that because usually their party line is about immigrants paying taxes to compensate for Finland’s low birth rate," said Korpinen.
 Korpinen picked out Social Democrat  Antton Rönnholm  and  Elina Lepomäki  as the debate’s star performers, but gave a special mention to the Blue Reform representative.
 "Lepomäki managed to soften the image of the National Coalition, and Rönnholm was very good at talking about values-based politics," said Korpinen. " Tiina Ahva  was very clear and got her points across very well, she didn’t dodge any questions she just answered in a fairly straightforward way."
 "Whatever you think of the party’s policies she was very well-researched, she had clear lines of thought and she came across well," agreed Kingsley. "We can be absolutely sure that we’ll be seeing more of her in years to come, whatever you think of her policies or politics."
 Korpinen also felt the discussion was well-managed, declaring on Twitter that she was starting the ' Denise Wall  Appreciation Group'.
 "I was impressed by the moderators, they were good at holding candidates to account and especially good at keeping watch of the clock!"

#YleNewsDebate pundits' verdict: Hot-button issues and a crowded political marketplace


Summary: Police are asking for public help in finding a man who allegedly assaulted a Left Alliance candidate on Monday.

Helsinki police said on Monday that they are investigating an attack on a foreign-background election candidate in the capital.
 Suldaan Said Ahmed , who is running for Parliament as a Left Alliance candidate, said he was assaulted at the Itäkeskus metro station on Monday afternoon.
 According to Said Ahmed, he was waiting for a train when a Finnish man in his forties approached him, tore leaflets from his hand, hit him in the chest and called him an infidel and a pedophile.
 "You shouldn’t even dream of getting into Parliament," the man yelled, Said Ahmed said on his Twitter account.
 Women nearby tried to calm down the man, Said Ahmed added, but he verbally abused them as well.
 Said Ahmed, who is currently a member of the Helsinki City Council, said he called the police who arrived swiftly. However, the police were not able to capture the suspect who had fled by bicycle.
 "Investigation still in early stages"
 Helsinki Police said on Twitter it is investigating the incident as an assault and defamation.
 "The investigation is still in its early stages," Inspector  Jari Illukka  of Helsinki Police told Yle on Tuesday.
 Police said that two men followed Said Ahmed onto a Metro train after the initial altercation at around 1:30 pm, continuing to insult him until they all disembarked in the eastern Helsinki suburb of Kontula. There the candidate met a police patrol, who tried unsuccessfully to catch the alleged harasser. Police searched the area but were unable to find him.
 They are still unsure of the man's identity, or whether the incidents were captured on any surveillance cameras or seen by any eyewitnesses. Officials are asking the public to come forth with any pertinent information.
 A day earlier,  a man attempted to strike Foreign Minister  Timo Soini  at an election rally in Vantaa.
 4:26pm Tuesday: Updated with latest police statements.

Police probe attack on foreign-background election candidate in Helsinki


Summary: Finnkino pulls a Finns Party ad following social media outrage, Finnwatch accuses Valio subcontractors of migrant labour abuses and Oulu employment worries.

Elokuvateatterit & elokuvien esittäminen

Helsingin Sanomat  reports that cinema chain Finnkino will pull a Finns’ Party ad campaign from its cinemas on Tuesday. The  six-minute long video  depicts politicians and journalists taking bribes and foreigners preying on women and children.
 Critics said the ad -- showing Finns’ frustration growing into a vengeful beast attacking decision-makers -- crossed the line.
 While Finnkino initially said their ad selection board had no problem with the video, they later withdrew it,  taking to Twitter  to say the company doesn’t stand for racism or discrimination.
 Valio and migrant workers' rights
 Corporate responsibility watchdog Finnwatch says two of Finnish dairy giant Valio’s subcontractors in Thailand have sidelined migrant workers’ rights, according to Swedish-language daily  Hufvudstadsbladet .
 One of the companies, which supplies pineapples, doesn’t give workers holiday pay and forces migrant workers to absorb recruitment fees for working in Thailand. Another Valio subcontractor that manufactures thickening agents was found to be in breach of several Thai labour laws.
 Valio said it had taken action to correct the problems reported by  Finnwatch .
 Earlier this year Finnwatch reported that the  majority of Finland’s baby box products are made in sweatshop locations , as social insurance institution Kela's selection criteria prioritises low prices over suppliers' social responsibility.
 Paper workers feel pinch
 Business daily  Kauppalehti  picks up on recent news that forest products giant Stora Enso may be  cutting up to 400 jobs in Oulu .
 Paper factory jobs have been lucrative for local residents, with floor workers earning some 55,000 euros a year.
 The forest products giant's closure of a production line could be major blow to the northern city's struggling economy. KL said line workers will have a more difficult time finding new jobs than the 3,750 engineers Nokia fired in Oulu in 2012.

Tuesday’s papers: Finnkino backpedals on Finns Party ad, migrant labour rights and blue-collar jobs


Summary: An intelligence service official is accused of playing both sides of the field in regard to security at a nuclear firm.

The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) has suspended a detective suspected of official misconduct. He was detained on Monday and his premises searched.
 Alongside his work for Supo, he moonlighted for a company that sold security services to nuclear power firm Fennovoima. Meanwhile in his position at Supo, he was responsible for inspecting Fennovoima's security practices.
 According to Supo, it is clear that a civil servant may not carry on any side business related to his or her official position.
 "Zero tolerance for malfeasance"
 "The Security Intelligence Service's operations are based on trust, and there is zero tolerance for any kind of malfeasance," Supo Director  Antti Pelttari  said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
 The suspect's official duties included carrying out security inspections at companies. He was simultaneously involved in a security firm that sold services to the same companies.
 Supo received a tip-off about the potential conflict of interest last autumn.
 "As soon as we received information about the matter, we passed it on to the Prosecutor General's office for investigation. We are providing our full support to the investigation, Pelttari said.
 The suspect did not have a permit to carry on ancillary activities outside Supo.
 Inspections of controversial nuclear project
 The Prosecutor General's office is responsible for probing any allegations of wrongdoing by police officials. According to the office, the detective was carrying out a security evaluation of the nuclear power company Fennovoima at the request of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (Stuk).
 The company hopes to build a nuclear plant on the Hanhikivi peninsula in Pyhäjoki on Finland's upper west coast with Russian state-owned utility Rosatom. The  long-delayed project  has not been granted a construction permit.
 Supo is responsible for conducting security inspections at Finnish firms that work in partnership with official agencies, in this case Stuk. Such firms handle classified official information.
 As Finnish enterprises involved in international ventures may have access to such classified data, Supo carries out inspections of these companies' data security procedures and background checks on its management figures, among other measures.
 "Fennovoima has this Hanhikivi 1 project underway, and in connection with that we, as the supervisory authority, are given confidential, classified information regarding safety systems," explained Stuk Director General  Petteri Tiippana .
 The nuclear watchdog has  repeatedly criticised Fennovoima  for failing to correct shortcomings in its safety culture, which is says "does not fulfill Finnish expectations".

Supo detective suspected of conflict of interest over Fennovoima inspections


Summary: Would higher prices on meat and sugar nudge residents in a healthier direction or put poorer groups at a disadvantage?

Several parties are calling for higher taxes on meat in the name of public health ahead of the  general elections . Critics, however, point out that higher consumption taxes on meat disproportionately affect low-income earners.
 Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has said  adults in Finland eat too much meat  and not enough vegetables. The health watchdog has also called for residents to increase their daily intake of fruits and vegetables.
 Going green
 Parties across the political spectrum are advocating for taxes steering residents in a plant-based direction. The Social Democrats, Greens and Blue Reform want to tax foods considered unhealthy.
 "Changes to value-added food tax are the most efficient way of affecting consumption habits,"  Sebastian Hielm , Food Safety Director at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, told Yle.
 The SDP is eyeing new taxes on alco-pops and junk food -- processed items with high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat.
 The Christian Democrats said new  sugar taxes  could channel 250 million euros into state coffers, while the Greens said consumption taxes on sugary products could raise up to 130 million in revenue.
 The Blue Reform wants to lower the current 14-percent VAT rate on food and remove all tax on vegetables.
 Taxing burgers?
 Left-leaning parties are meanwhile homing in on meat consumption. The Left Alliance and the Social Democrats have said they want to make it more expensive to eat meat. The Left Alliance and the Greens have called for removing subsidies for meat farmers, causing higher production costs to trickle down to consumers.
 The conservative National Coalition has said it wants to steer Finns’ consumption habits into a more environmentally sustainable direction, suggesting measures such as introducing vegan food in schools and work place cafeterias.
 With its strong rural support base, the Centre Party is unlikely to suggest higher taxes on meat products. The Centre’s election programme calls for Finnish food production to become carbon neutral by 2040, but doesn’t cite climate concerns as a reason for residents to alter their eating habits.
 The Swedish People’s Party has also been low-key on the issue, choosing to talk about consumer awareness instead.
 The Finns Party’s election programme does not mention food or VAT.
 Sticker shock
 Taxes have proven effective in influencing what people put in their mouths-- at least to some degree . But Hielm from the agriculture ministry points out that any increases to VAT would have to be relatively high to be effective, reaching up to 35 to 50 percent.
 ”The problem with raising the VAT is that it hurts the poorest people. However if healthy food was VAT-free, less advantaged groups would have access to healthier options. We know that people on the lower end of the socio-economic scale don’t eat as well as other groups,” he explained.

Parties mull meat tax to offset health, environmental impact