Residents and visitors in Helsinki who are interested in the future of driverless public transport can take short rides in a robot-operated bus over the next few months.
 Helsinki's RobobusLine, a project led by the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, is an autonomous bus experiment which takes passengers on five-minute journeys in the city's Kalasatama district.
 The vehicle is steered with the use of lidar (a laser-based version of radar) as well as satellite-based GPS technologies, and travels at a maximum speed of 14 km/h.
 The little bus takes passengers on a pre-programmed route around the neighbourhood, making four stops along the way, using its lasers to scan and measure distances from edges of the road and buildings - as well as to avoid obstacles.
 The bus makes three trips an hour, shuttling between the Redi shopping centre (at Englantilaisaukiosquare) and Isoisänsilta ("Grandfather’s Bridge"). Rides are cancelled if the weather is exceptionally rainy, however.
 Test rides will continue on weekdays through November. Schedules for the route (number 26R) can be found on Helsinki Regional Transport's (HSL) journey planner.  https://reittiopas.hsl.fi/en
 The city celebrates  Helsinki Day  on Wednesday, and is  offering rides on the bus  to mark the occasion from 9:00am - 3:00 pm.
 The rides are free of charge and the boxy, driverless bus is able to carry up to eight passengers at a time.
 Smart city effort
 RobobusLine's project leader,  Eetu Rutanen , said that the Kalasatama district was chosen for testing due to its suitable street layout, and because of other "smart city" projects going on in the area.
 Helsinki is one of three European cities that are currently testing autonomous public transport vehicles. The effort is part of the  mySMARTLife project , which aims to make cities more environmentally sustainable by cutting carbon emissions and boosting the use of renewable energy.
 The mySMARTLife project is funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
 Safety first - and an XBOX controller
 Even if the robot bus technically navigates and drives itself, it is not entirely autonomous at this stage. A human operator is always aboard the bus during the trips to ensure the bus gets to its destination safely.
 Story continues after photo.
 Helsinki RobobusLine driving autonomously in the Kalasatama neighbourhood, with the Isoisänsilta bridge in background. Helsinki RobobusLine / mySMARTLife / Ville Arffman
 If something doesn't go to plan, the attending operator can steer the bus with the help of an Xbox game console controller when needed.
 "Safety is an important part of the project. The bus only goes 14 km/h and if it detects something is in the way, it brakes - hard. There hasn't been anything close to an accident that's happened," Rutanen said.
 Rutanen said that people should anticipate potential cancellations, as the bus is sensitive to weather conditions.
 "This bus doesn't do well in sleet or rain. But we hope that the technology can be developed so that it can become a permanent part of the city's public transport network," he said.

Driverless 'robobus' taking passengers on test runs in Helsinki


Summary: The bank predicts that growth will slow over the next three years, while the jobless rate will drop to six percent.

The Bank of Finland (BoF) has lowered its projection for Finland's economic growth.
 On Tuesday the central bank forecast growth of 1.6 percent this year, edging down to 1.5 percent next year and 1.3 percent in 2021.
 The bank's head of forecasting,  Meri Obstbaum , says that this year's growth prognosis may have to be lowered yet again in light of fresh employment figures that are weaker than expected.
 Global risks for Finnish consumers
 The economic outlook is overshadowed by global economic uncertainty and the threat of trade wars.
 On the other hand, expected rises in wages and the employment rate in Finland, along with low interest rates, should all boost consumers' buying power.
 Still the BoF says that uncertainty is already encouraging people in Finland to save more and spend less.
 It says that economic growth in Finland had begun to reach its limits as more and more sectors faced labour shortages. As growth is slowing, so is the rise in demand for labour, the bank observes.
 The BoF expects the increase in the employment rate will be correspondingly slow, too. It predicts that the unemployment rate will decline to near six percent by around 2021.
 Bank of Finland Governor  Olli Rehn , a former EU economic affairs commissioner, points out that the public sector finances have improved but are still running a deficit. Another challenge is the ageing of the population and the correspondent rise in medical and care costs.
 Employment rate "should be 75-78%"
 Rehn, a former deputy chair of the Centre Party, says that the improvement in the jobs picture of late has partly been due to the economic upswing and partly thanks to the policies of the previous Centre-led government. He notes that growth in employment has not continued at the same pace this year.
 The new government, which also includes the Centre, has a set an  employment target of 75 percent , which Rehn says would be barely sufficient.
 "Over the long term, Finland’s employment rate should be raised to a good Nordic standard. In Sweden, Norway and Denmark employment stands at about 75-78 percent," Rehn said.
 He added that Finland's economy will not be sustainable unless the employment rate rises "significantly" from the current 72.4 percent.

Bank of Finland downgrades economic forecast


Summary: Courses in digital skills will be offered to thousands of the city's unemployed as well as operators of SMEs.

Helsinki Mayor  Jan Vapaavuori  announced on Tuesday that he has signed an agreement with US tech giant Google's President of EMEA Business & Operations,  Matt Brittin , to set up a technology educational centre in the city.
 Vapaavuori said the shared goal is to get 10,000 unemployed residents, as well as small business operators, into the study programme.
 "We're helping jobseekers and entrepreneurs in Helsinki to improve their digital skills. It can advance their careers and possibly make it easier for them to get jobs," he said.
 The exact location of the planned education centre remains unclear, but Vapaavuori confirmed that it will be in the centre of the city.
 Google will fund the educational effort, while the city's role will be promoting the various courses offered, setting up staff as well as determining who will be able to take part in the courses.
 Google has trained 10 million people around the world at similar tech education centres in Europe, the Middle East and Africa over the past four years.
 10m students so far
 The company's project was first rolled out in Spain, a country with a large proportion of unemployed young people.
 Brittin - one of Google's top executives and lead spokesperson for the company about digital skills in Europe - came to Helsinki for the announcement and said he's pleased with the results of the firm's educational efforts.
 He said that 45 percent of those who'd taken Google courses had received promotions, founded new companies or expanded their existing businesses.
 "Half of [those who took part] were women. In the tech sector the proportion of women is usually around 25 percent. This shows there's a demand," Brittin said.
 "Finnish residents make purchases and manage their banking online, but small companies are still lagging in digitalisation," he said, noting that improved digital skills will help local firms grow.
 Google employs some 300-400 people in Finland. The tech giant recently announced plans to  invest 600 million euros  at its server farm in Hamina, which Brittin said was one of the highest-quality data facilities in Europe.

Google setting up tech training hub in Helsinki


Summary: UK-based financier Bill Browder, who requested the investigation, aims to appeal the decision.

Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced on Tuesday that it does not plan to open a criminal investigation into money laundering claims made against the Finnish-headquartered bank Nordea.
 In October last year, an American-born London financier  William Browder   filed a request for investigation  with Finnish authorities, alleging Nordea Bank failed to prevent money laundering activities.
 Browder's investment firm, Hermitage Capital Management, claimed that some 527 Nordea accounts had been involved in money laundering schemes involving more than 200 million euros in suspicious funds.
 However, following a preliminary inquiry into the matter, the NBI said on Tuesday that it did not have jurisdiction in the matter since the "allegedly suspicious acts" had been committed in Estonia and Lithuania.
 Browder responds
 The NBI also said that the money transfers under scrutiny had mostly been made more than ten years ago.
 "So the suspected criminal acts, if any, have also fallen under the statutes of limitation," the bureau said in a press release issued Tuesday.
 "In respect to more recent dates given in the request for investigation, police have no reason to suspect that Nordea Bank or the account holders would have been aware any suspicious operations in the Baltic countries," the NBI stated.
 The law enforcement agency said Browder's request did not reveal evidence that supported claims that Finnish recipients of the payments under scrutiny were aware that the funds were gained from "aggravated tax fraud or some other offences committed in Russia."
 In response to the news, Browder said in a tweet on Tuesday that he plans to appeal the decision.
 Story continues after image.
 Finnish police have said that appeals are not possible in the case. However Browder is able to submit new charges or take the case to higher authorities.
 "They claim the money never touched Finland and was beyond the 10 year statute of limitations. Both are untrue. We plan to appeal," Browder wrote on Twitter.

Finland won't open Nordea money laundering probe, police say


Summary: A post by the Finns Party youth wing shows a fundamental lack of respect for dark-skinned people, the Ombudsman says.

Finland's  Non-Discrimination Ombudsman ,  Kirsi Pimiä , says that the youth wing of the nationalist Finns Party (FP) is suspected of unlawful ethnic harassment and that one of its social media posts was clearly incompatible with the aims of the Youth Act.
 Pimiä declared that the youth group violated the ban on discrimination based on ethnic origin or had at least offended the human dignity of dark-skinned Finns.
 She was responding to a post on the youth branch's Twitter account last month. It showed a dark-skinned family with a text urging people to vote for the FP in the European Parliament election "so that Finland's future doesn't look like this".
 The Ministry of Education and Culture had asked the Ombudsman for a determination as to whether the FP youth organisation's action was compatible with the Non-Discrimination Act. Pimiä wrote in her statement that the action was in clear violation of the equality clause of the Youth Act.
 State may withdraw subsidy
 The ministry may claw back 115,000 euros in state aid granted to the FP youth for this year due to the tweet.
 The youth group has responded to this threat by saying that the post was "an individual member's Twitter post made in error, which does not represent the organisation's stance". The tweet was posted by the group's deputy chair,  Toni Jalonen .
 The youth wing later  deleted the tweet  and said it was thoughtless and contrary to accepted moral principles.
 According to Pimiä, the comments in response to the tweet indicated that at least some of those in leadership positions in the FP youth group believed that the post was intended to spread an "ethno-nationalist" message emphasising the status of the white population.
 Concerns raised earlier in spring
 "It is worth noting that the post was published on a communications channel of the youth organisation of the second-largest party in the Finnish Parliament, and that comments related to the message that are offensive to human dignity have not been deleted," Pimiä said in her statement.
 The Ombudsman says that the actions demonstrate a fundamental lack of respect for dark-skinned people and are offensive to these people.
 Police are also  investigating the case .
 In March, well before the social media post, the Education Ministry had already summoned a representative of the FP youth to discuss the ministry's concerns about the group's previous statements on immigration, which it suspected were in violation of the aims of the Youth Act.
 Finns Party chair Jussi Halla-aho and a number of other FP politicians have been convicted of online hate speech over the years. The party is one seat short of being the largest in the new Finnish Parliament, and has led public opinion polls in recent weeks.

Non-Discrimination Ombudsman condemns youth group's racist tweet


Summary: Finland's print press analyses fireworks in Parliament, a gov't bid to expand ankle monitor use and Finnish trust in the media as a source of news.

The capital city daily Helsingin Sanomat starts out the day with  an analysis of the parliamentary floor debate  between Prime Minister  Antti Rinne  and National Coalition Party chair  Petteri Orpo  in yesterday's plenary session. The paper says the reasons why the centre-right NCP was left out of the new left-leaning government were made clear after Orpo repeatedly questioned the financial sustainably of the  incoming coalition's agenda .
 "The NCP didn't fit in because we refused to fall for this huge bluff," Orpo reportedly said, criticizing the Social Democratic premier for a government programme that adds to the deficit and "showers money on more than a hundred different targets".
 Rinne said that his government aims to create 60,000 new jobs that will strengthen the economy and make it possible to fund the "necessary added expenditures", therefore creating what he calls "social sustainability". The paper says Orpo was visibly irritated during the lengthy exchange, while Rinne remained calm.
 The Finns Party, now the largest opposition party in Finland, in turn criticized the government's plans to add several more ministerial assistant positions and increase development assistance levels, HS reports. The populist party was also critical of agenda policies that would make housing costs and car use more expensive.
 "You, dear government, are leading Finland along the path to destruction, in direct defiance of the people's wishes,"  Ville Tavio , the parliamentary chair of the Finns Party said on Tuesday.
 Debate of the government programme continues Wednesday. Parliament will hold a vote on the plan on Thursday, and since Rinne's five-party coalition enjoys a  comfortable majority  the programme is expected to pass.
 Taken by the ankles
 The Tampere-based newspaper Aamulehti looks at  the new government's plan to extend the use of ankle monitors to persons who have received negative asylum decisions in Finland .
 Criminal Sanctions Agency (Rise) senior specialist  Pia Andersson  tells the paper that if this added electronic monitoring is added to the responsibilities of the agency "it would require legislation granting that power and additional resources to manage it." The government programme proposes  expanding the use of ankle monitors  as a more-liberating alternative to detention that is nevertheless appropriate to safeguard public safety. The monitor is connected to a device in the person's home that tracks their coming and going. Any deviations from approved routines are then reported to Rise's national monitoring system.
 Ankle monitors can also be linked to GPS devices for clear monitoring of the wearers' location at all times, the paper writes. Trips outside of an approved area, for example, trigger an alarm, as does any attempt to remove the device.
 Top levels of trust again
 And the Lahti-based paper Etelä-Suomen Sanomat contains a  story  on how Finland came out on top once again in an international survey of 38 countries' trust in the news media. The  2019 Digital News Report  from Reuters Institute found that 59 percent of Finnish residents say that they can trust Finnish news sources.
 "This is probably due to the Finns’ general trust in social institutions and the fact that the mainstream news media are not politically divided. It seems, though, that even in Finland things are slowly changing. Overall trust in the news is now down nine percentage points from 2015, though trust in ‘news I consume’ dropped only 2 percentage points," University of Tampere researcher  Esa Reunanen  says.
 This year's survey also suggests that more than half of Finland's residents regularly get their news online. Some 62 percent report using smartphones to access news on a weekly basis, while 43 percent say mobiles are their main devices for accessing news content, up from 39 percent last year. Further, 39 percent indicated they access news from social media feeds.
 The report ranks the weekly reach of Finland's news agencies, with public broadcaster Yle on top in the category of TV, radio and print outlets, while tabloid papers Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti are the most widely used sources for online news.

Wednesday's papers: Opposition comes out swinging, ankle monitors for rejected asylum seekers, trust in news


Summary: Under-16s in Finland can get free lunches in more places this summer, as the tradition expands beyond the capital Helsinki.

Warm weather, picnic blankets on the ground and the lively chatter of families — the Vihertie Residents’ Park in the city of Vantaa is a summery postcard on a Monday morning.
 Groups of children queue patiently for their turn to be served, holding bowls and plates brought from home as cheerful city workers chant a lunchtime rhyme before ladling out the day’s special — salmon casserole.
 The park is one of two locations in Vantaa selected for a free lunch pilot this summer.
 Children in the Finnish capital of Helsinki have been able to get free lunches during the summer months since 1942. That service started out as a wartime measure to prevent hunger, but it continued in playgrounds across the city as part of the municipality’s services to families.
 While Helsinki is in its 77th year of offering free lunches — in around 60 playgrounds in the city — the neighbouring municipality of Vantaa is only just testing the waters at Havukoski in the east of the municipality and Martinlaakso in the west.
 The rationale is simple: kids normally get a free lunch at school, and during the long summer holiday, they don’t, so the municipality pitches in to help while parents are still at work. The food is generally a soup, stew or casserole and is usually served after some form of song or group activity.
 Story continues after photo.
 Joni Niemi with his daughters, Nella Niemi (with a cap) and Peppi Niemi at the Vihertie Residents’ Park in Vantaa. Marja Väänänen / Yle
 "It is really good food — It's a great service and it's great for the community," gushed Vantaa parent  Joni Niemi  as he fed his two little girls lazing on a picnic blanket under the shade of a tree on the warm afternoon.
 "Good service for working parents"
 City officials have been serving more than 200 free lunches in Vantaa every day since school ended two weeks ago — 120-150 in Martinlaakso and 60-100 in Havukoski. Authorities estimate that the cost for the entire duration of the trial will be around 25,000 euros.
 Riikka Åstrand , Director of Youth Services in Vantaa, said that there are multiple reasons for municipalities to offer free lunches to anyone under 16 years of age. "First of all, many people have asked for the same kind of service as is available in Helsinki;" Åstrand said.
 "Secondly, it is a good service for parents who might not be able to cook so easily during the week when they are at work and children have long holidays. And thirdly, our youth workers have noticed during our summer activities in previous years that there were children who seemed to be hungry and we wanted to support them in this way," she explained.
 “It is also a good way for both children and those parents who are at home during the day, to get together, meet others and find friends in their own neighbourhood,” Åstrand added.
 While some of the children might go hungry otherwise, many use the service for convenience and use the opportunity to see their friends at a local playground. In that sense it is not food aid as such, but part of the patchwork of universal Finnish services such as free education, subsidised healthcare and more.
 "We have the idea that people in Finland pay a lot of taxes and they should get a lot of services for those taxes," Åstrand noted.
 "However, we did choose the locations where we offer this lunch service in such a way that it is most easily available for those families who most need it," she continued.
 Story continues after photo.
 Vantaa parent Riikka Svennevig with her daughters, Tilda Svennevig (centre) and Ronja Svennevig. Marja Väänänen / Yle
 For many families, it’s one more reason to spend the day outdoors during the brief Finnish summer. "It is nice to be outside when the weather is good. The children also eat better when they are playing outside. And it's free," Vantaa parent  Riikka Svennevig  said.
 Not the first time in Vantaa
 Vantaa first served free summer lunches in the 80s.
 "I enjoyed the service as a child, but it ended in the 90s during the economic depression. A few years ago, Vantaa experimented with it again on a smaller scale, but it never took off — the lunches were served in an area where the people didn’t seem to need the service at that time," Åstrand said.
 Story continues after photo.
 City workers serve free lunch in the Vihertie Residents' Park in Vantaa. Marja Väänänen / Yle
 City officials are still pondering whether or not it will be possible to offer a long-term service.
 "That’s a decision the Vantaa City Council has to make. There wasn’t the budget to offer free lunches all through the summer this year, but the council decided to fund it as a pilot to check out the response," the youth services director added.
 While Vantaa is taking baby steps with its summer lunch programme, Helsinki's established scheme will serve hundreds of thousands of children.
 "We expect to be serving 160,000 to 200,000 children this season. The whole program is estimated to cost anything between 190,000 and 200,000 euros," food services specialist  Sirpa Jalovaara  from the City of Helsinki said.
 "We feel it is a big success"
 Meanwhile Vantaa officials are hopeful about the future of the trial.  Mervi Pykäläniemi , director of the Patotie Kindergarten in Vantaa, who organises the lunches in Martinlaakso in Vantaa described the trial as a big success.
 "Food connects people. One of the mothers told me she is so happy to see her 12-and 13-year-old boys here with their friends — without phones, computers and tablets. I hope this continues because we feel it is a big success," Pykäläniemi said.
 Story continues after photo.

 Mervi Pykäläniemi, director of the Patotie Kindergarten in Vantaa, who organises the lunches in Martinlaakso in Vantaa says this community activity brings people together. Marja Väänänen / Yle
 "This is the first time we are here, but we are definitely going to be here next summer too if this continues," Svennevig remarked as she enjoyed the sunny day with her young daughters.
 Lunches are available at  Helsinki playgrounds  ((in Finnish) on weekdays until 2 August, and at  Vantaa ’s (in Finnish) two locations until 12 July. In the city of  Kerava  (in Finnish), the service is available until 26 July at three locations — in the yards of the Ahjo and Savio schools and in front of the central library. Children just need to turn up at a participating playground with a bowl or deep plate and cutlery by 12 noon.

Finland’s free park lunch programmes spread in summer 2019


Summary: Police suspect fires at a local youth club, two recycling depots and an unoccupied wooden house are related.

Police in the western city of Kokkola have arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of deliberately starting a series of fires.
 The first suspected act of arson was reported on Monday morning. Police said a wall adjacent to the main entrance of a Swedish-language youth club,  Jungsborg , had been sprayed with a flammable liquid and ignited. There were people inside the building when it was set on fire, according to police.
 On Tuesday, a paper recycling container was set alight at the Kattholmantie recycling depot and a little later, another container was ignited near a similar depot at a local Prisma shopping outlet.
 Later on Tuesday afternoon, fire engulfed a deserted wooden house near the city's ice hall on Kaarlenkatu.
 Police believe all of the fires were started intentionally, saying that eyewitness reports identified the same suspect in each incident.
 A local man was taken into custody late on Tuesday evening and will be questioned on Wednesday.
 The most serious charge relates to the fire at the Jungsborg youth centre, because the building was occupied at the time.

Serial arson suspect detained in Kokkola


Summary: Thousands of motorists caught on camera were likely surprised upon receiving multiple speeding tickets in the mail.

Police said on Twitter that a system error at the Police Traffic Safety Centre was responsible for some drivers receiving double or triple fines over the past few days.
 "Because of an error in a system update at the Police Traffic Safety Centre, some customers may have received triple speeding fines or warnings. Fines with the same date and reference number should be paid just once. The rest can be ignored," police tweeted on Wednesday morning.
 As a result of the system error, a total of 5,000 fines and warnings were issued. Of them, 3,500 were double notifications, while 1,500 represented triple notices. Director of the Police Traffic Safety Centre  Dennis Pasterstein  said that the notifications were issued on three consecutive days.
 Police said later on Wednesday that the error had now been fixed. Pasterstein added that he did not believe that anyone would have paid the extra fines.
 "You can see as soon as you open them that they are the same. They are completely identical. The Legal Register Centre will provide a refund to anyone who has paid multiple times," the police officer pointed out.
 Extra payments to be refunded
 Pasterstein said that his understanding is that the Legal Register Centre tracks bank transfers and if several payments have the same reference number, the Centre will refund the money to the bank account from which the extra was paid. He said this procedure was being used because the issue affected only a small number of people.
 The traffic safety chief said that the department had already received enquiries from members of the public about the matter. He noted that many people wanted to make sure that the Centre was aware of the problem.
 "It seemed that after the double [fines] nothing else would happen. But then on Monday morning when there were triples, then people started to react. It appeared that the people who called didn’t take it badly. No one was raging," he explained.
 "However it has created unnecessary work for us here as well as for those who have received these notifications. It is unfortunate," he concluded.

System error causes double and triple fines for speeding motorists


Summary: The prosecution says the two suspects should face life sentences for their crimes.

The trial of two male suspects in a double murder, which occurred in the  southern town of Valkeakoski  in January, began at Pirkanmaa District Court in the Tampere region on Wednesday.
 The prosecutor has called for life sentences in the murders, which took place at an apartment in a residential area of the town. Rescue services were alerted to a fire alarm at the flat and after extinguishing it, discovered the bodies of two men.
 According to police, the victims had been brutally assaulted before their deaths and the suspects had attempted to conceal their crimes by setting the apartment on fire.
 Story continues after map.
 Yle Uutisgrafiikka
 Police claim that the suspects then took one of the victim's cars to escape the scene. The vehicle - which had also been set ablaze - was later found by police about 25 km northeast of the city, in the neighbouring town of Akaa.
 Following an investigation into the burned car, the suspects - both from the city of Tampere - were later apprehended by police in Akaa. The male suspects and victims were all between 30-40 years of age at the time of the killings.
 Prosecution calls for life sentences
 The prosecutor characterised the crimes as particularly callous and cruel, and called for life sentences for the two suspects. The prosecutor alleged that the victims had been severely beaten before their deaths.
 The suspects face additional charges of aggravated assault, arson as well as theft and causing damage to a motor vehicle.
 A third defendant also stands accused of helping the suspects evade police, and faces paying a fine. The prosecutor said the third defendant allowed the two murder suspects to stay at his home, permitted them to burn the items used in the crimes and gave them a change of clothing.
 Both of the suspects have been in custody since being caught by police in January.

Valkeakoski double murder trial begins


Summary: Malware threatened thousands of workstations in the city's network.

The southern city of Lahti reported a cyber attack on its information network systems on Tuesday afternoon.
 Malware was detected on a single machine, from which it could have potentially spread to about a thousand workstations. Anti-virus software however prevented further infection.
 "Malware has been detected," the city said in a Wednesday morning press release. "Anti-virus software has isolated the malware to a number of infected machines."
 Health care customer service delays
 The connection between the city of Lahti and the Päijät-Häme welfare group in southern Finland was cut off as soon as the intrusion was detected, to prevent the spread of malware. The disconnection may cause a delay in the provision of service to customers, the group warned.
 "There are currently no known issues that directly endanger patient safety. We will continue to monitor the situation, and communicate further if the situation changes," Päijät-Häme said in a bulletin.
 The closure of connections had also caused disruptions to the welfare group's human resources and financial systems.
 The city of Lahti has filed a criminal report, and experts are currently investigating the origin of the attack in collaboration with police.

Cyber attack in Lahti disrupts city services


Summary: The initiative aims to define rape in terms of lack of consent - rather than the threat or occurrence of violence.

The Consent2018 citizens' initiative, which aims to redefine rape in Finnish law based on a lack of consent rather than threats or violence, was handed over to parliament on Wednesday. The document received the required 50,000 signatures to be considered by lawmakers by December of last year, later garnering more than 7,000 additional signatures.
 The document was handed over to parliament's legislative director  Tuula Kulovesi  by Greens MP  Iiris Suomela , one of the main drivers of the initiative.
 "We want to ensure that everyone's right to autonomy over their own bodies is fully protected by the [proposed] reforms. When we started the consent campaign, I would not have believed that the goals of the initiative would be in the government's programme one-and-a-half years later," Suomela said in a release.
 Changes on the way
 A Justice Ministry working group already announced in January that an amendment to rape laws was  in the works . The group said it aimed to ensure that sex without consent would always be punishable under the law. At the time, the group was expected to hand over a legislative proposal on the matter once the new parliament was in place.
 As the Consent2018 campaign team was collecting supporters, it said it wanted the law to reflect each individual's right to self determination.
 More than two dozen organisations supported the campaign, including Amnesty International Finland, women's rights and child welfare groups, universities, student unions and others.

Citizens' initiative calling for rape law amendment handed to Finnish parliament


Summary: Motorists paid more for petrol and diesel, while households had to dig deeper for electricity and heating.

Fuel prices in Finland rose significantly over the past year, according to new data from the first quarter of 2019. Statistics Finland said on Wednesday that at the end of March the price of petrol was up three percent compared to the same period one year earlier, while the price of diesel oil rose nine percent over the same period.
 The staggering price increases were also reflected in light fuel oil, which was affected by tax hikes that took effect at the beginning of this year. In the case of this fuel, the price rise was 10 percent on the previous year. Meanwhile price increases in motor petrol and diesel were not due to tax hikes.
 By contrast, the price of coal fell by one percentage point from last year, while natural gas prices went up nine percent over the one-year period. Fuel used for electricity production is not subject to taxation, however it is subject to an excise tax if it is used to produce heating.
 Wood chips and milled peat used to produce electricity and heating saw price increases of one and eight percent respectively. In the case of milled peat, the price rise was affected by steeper taxation.
 Households fork out more for electricity
 In January, residents of single family homes paid two percent more for district heating than they did one year earlier. Meanwhile residents of semi-detached homes and apartments contended with a five-percent price increase for district heating. Consumers using wood pellets for heating their homes also faced a four-percent increase in the price of that commodity.
 Nordic electricity exchange system prices were volatile at the beginning of the year. In January, system prices were on average more than 60 percent higher than the previous year, but by March they were six percent lower than the same period in 2018.
 The average corresponding price of electricity in Finland in March was 12 percent lower than a year earlier. According to the statistical agency, electricity exchange prices were not yet reflected in the prices paid by household customers. Instead, in March, households paid 10 to 12 percent more for electricity than they did the year before.
 Householder electricity prices are based on data published by Finland’s Energy Authority, which publishes supply obligation prices. These prices are typically slow to react to price fluctuations in energy markets.

Finland sees steep rise in fuel prices in first quarter


Summary: Police fine two Finnish supporters, but visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina fans escape punishment

Two supporters of the Finnish national football team have been fined for the use of flares at Finland's European Championship qualifying game against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tampere on Saturday.
 Police intervened when flares were set off as a procession of home fans made their way towards the city's Ratina stadium before the game kicked off.
 Visiting supporters not fined
 However, the Central Finland police have been asked on their official Twitter account why Finnish fans were fined, but supporters of the visiting team Bosnia-Herzegovina - who also used flares - were not.
 According to police, hundreds of Bosnia and Herzegovina supporters left from in front of the Ilves hotel in Tampere city centre on Saturday afternoon, and lit a number of flares as they proceeded towards Ratina Stadium.
 A win for Finland
 However, the supporters responsible for lighting the flares were in the very middle of the procession and police were unable to reach them. They were also unable to identify the offenders, and therefore could not fine them afterwards.
 Finland won the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday thanks to two goals from  Finland's player of the year Teemu Pukki , and followed up this victory with another 2-0 win away to Liechtenstein yesterday evening. The  huuhkajat , or 'Eagle Owls', are now second in their European Championship qualifying group with the next round of games due to be played in September.

Finnish football fans fined for use of flares


Summary: The new government faces its first vote of no-confidence and problems from a cyber attack continue in Lahti.

The Kuopio-based  Savon Sanomat  writes that Finland's new five-party coalition government, headed by Social Democratic Party chair  Antti Rinne , is expected to breeze through its first challenge from the opposition.
 The government's programme came in for sharp criticism on a floor debate on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the course of that debate the National Coalition Party, the Finns Party and the Christian Democrats each filed a motion of no-confidence.
 As this paper points out, the Finns Party is critical of moves by the government which it says will raise the costs of housing and motoring, while the National Coalition Party has come down hard on the cabinet's economic policy proposals and is demanding action  to improve employment .
 The government, which includes the SDP, Centre, Greens, Left Alliance and Swedish People's Party, commands 117 votes in the 200 member parliament. In addition,  Harry Harkimo , who is the sole MP of the Movement Now (Liike Nyt) group, has also announced his support for the government. The no-confidence vote is scheduled for early Thursday afternoon.
 Network services still down in Lahti
 Lahti's  Etelä-Suomen Sanomat  reports that network connections for the health and social services operations of the City of Lahti and the Päijät-Häme region have been suspended to prevent the spread of  malware that infected Lahti's public sector computer system  on Tuesday.
 According to the paper, the infection started with a single computer and spread to around another one thousand.
 Etelä-Suomen Sanomat tells its readers to expect significant disruptions in services at public healthcare centres and dental clinics. Clients of social services offices will also be impacted.
 Patients in need of acute care are being advised to phone health advisory services. Appointments already booked at healthcare centres are being handled, but officials say that some procedures may not be possible and will require a new visit at a later date.
 As of Thursday morning, computer-based patient records, laboratory results and x-ray images were unavailable, and the system of e-prescriptions was offline.
 Officials are as of yet unable to say how long the disruptions may last. Further information is to be made available on Friday.
 Impact of new rape law
 Turun Sanomat presents some  expert legal opinion  on what  newly proposed legislation  redefining rape may mean in the courts.
 If passed by parliament, the new rape law would be based on a lack of consent rather than threats or violence, as is the case now.
 Matti Tolvanen , Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Eastern Finland, told Turun Sanomat that he does not believe that redefining rape will lead to significantly more convictions. He pointed to the fact that it will not change the problem of evidence, that there are rarely eyewitnesses to rape and cases often come down to one person's word against another's. This is very difficult for prosecutors.
 Tolvanen added, though that while the change in the number of convictions may remain small, it will undoubtedly affect attitudes.
 "In the long run, the effect may be quite significant. The message to society is that individuals have the right to self determination and that must be respected," said Professor Tolvanen.
 Tolvanen also believes that the new law may lower the threshold for people to report rapes to the authorities.
 Budget threads
 Ask the average Finn where they got their latest summer apparel, and you're likely to hear something like, ”just past the sporting goods section, three aisles over from the frozen fish counter".
 The capital daily Helsinki Sanomat reports on  a fresh survey  by the Finnish Commerce Federation showing that the most popular place for people in Finland to buy clothing is at hypermarkets and discount retailers.
 The survey, carried out in March-April of this year found that first place was held by Prisma chain hypermarkets where 34 percent of shoppers said they had purchased clothing over the past year. In second place were the Tokmanni discount stores and in third were Citymarket chain hypermarkets.
 Swedish-based clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz came in fourth.
 HS points out that instead of fashion sense, the main criteria for Finnish shoppers is price. Finnish households spend less on average on clothing and footwear than most EU consumers.
 In addition, according to  Terhi-Anna Wilska , a professor of sociology at the University of Jyväskylä specialised in consumerism, the hypermarket phenomenon probably reflects the ageing population. The older one gets, she says, the more comfort takes precedence over fashion.
 What Finnish consumers say they are looking for when they shop for clothes is comfort, practicality, and outfits that can be worn in as many different settings as possible.

Thursday's papers: No-confidence vote, cyber attack fallout, hypermarket fashion


Summary: Finland's biggest airport urges travellers to arrive earlier than usual on Thursday and Friday due to the holiday rush.

Helsinki Airport is bracing for the busiest days for summer vacation departures on Thursday and Friday. The busiest times are between 2pm and 5pm, when there are the most departures. Adding to the stress will be ongoing work to expand the airport, which has resulted in considerable rearrangement of facilities.
 Civilian aviation authority Finavia recommends that passengers arrive at least two hours before all flights. Queues are likely, particularly for security checks.
 Airport Operations Centre head  Jani Ceder  urges travellers to familiarise themselves with the changes before arriving at the airport.
 "It's worth reserving some time to find out about these things, so that the changes don't come as a surprise," he says.
 Finavia's website  offers detailed information on how arrangements have changed at the airport.
 Infrequent flyers should study changes
 If it has been several months or more since you have been to the airport, expect significant changes. For instance the bus and taxi stands are in different places, and driving routes have been changed.
 Ceder says that airport officials have tried to avoid detours that force people to walk long distances. A moving walkway has also been installed from the new bus station, which has been moved from its previous location in front of the Scandic Hotel.
 The traveller drop-off points for those arriving by car are now lower down, as the ramp to the main entrance to Terminal 2 is being dismantled. There are also changes to parking places for people with disabilities.
 Short-term parking is now in parking garage P3, as P1 and P2 parking areas are closed. According to Finavia, there are still enough parking places at the airport though.
 The airport's capacity is being expanded by enlarging terminals and redesigning existing spaces.
 Finavia says the work should be completed by 2022.
 Helsinki Airport is located in Vantaa, some 20km north of the city centre.

Helsinki Airport grapples with summer's busiest days amid renovation


Summary: The Department of Health and Welfare probed customer fees and collection practices at Finnish health centres since 2013.

An increasing number of municipalities in Finland are levying the highest permitted customer fee for a doctor visit, according to a recent study by the Health and Welfare Institute (THL).
 In 2018, 70 percent of Finns lived in a municipality that charged the maximum fee stipulated in health centre regulations for seeing a doctor. In 2016, the corresponding figure was 44 percent.
 Typically, municipalities can charge residents for three doctor visits per year — a maximum of 20.60 euros per visit. The study found differences between the fee collection methods of municipalities — with nearly half of Finns living in municipalities, where they also have to pay for treatment by a nurse.
 THL investigated the customer fees and collection practices at health centres in 2013-18.
 New govt programme aims to reduce fees
 The healthcare fee cap  was raised significantly in early 2016 — the maximum cost of a visit to a health centre was hiked from 16.10 euros to 20.90 euros. Following this, index adjustments have been made for payments.
 The new government in its  programme  has set a goal of renewing the Act on social and health care client fees, as it intends to expand the scope of free services available and reduce fees.

Most public health centres charge highest permitted doctor fees


Summary: Police suspect an Estonian man of smuggling the animals, saying he had been caught before.

Finnish Customs reported that it ordered eight mixed-breed puppies to be euthanised, after the young dogs were brought to Finland from Estonia without any documentation about their health or vaccination status.
 According to police, a 50-year-old Estonian man transported the puppies in a cardboard box stowed in the rear of a car, which was stopped at a ferry terminal in Helsinki's Katajanokka district on arrival from Estonia on Sunday.
 Police suspect the man intended to sell the puppies in Finland and said he had been caught smuggling undocumented dogs into the country before.
 The man is suspected of smuggling, according to the Helsinki police department.
 Story continues after photo.
 Helsingin poliisi
 No documentation
 "He could not produce documents about where the dogs came from, about their health status or if they had been vaccinated or not. The dogs did not have pet passports or ID chips," police superintendent  Anne Hietala  said in a press release.
 "The dogs had to be put down because they could have posed a significant health risk for people as well as other animals," she said.
 Customs' animal crimes investigative team works to prevent animal smuggling in various ways, including cooperating with other authorities and agencies.
 A heightened inspection of animals imported at Helsinki's seaports carried out  by authorities last month  found that the illegal pet trade and puppy-farmed dogs remain a problem in Finland.
 "It is irresponsible to buy pets from smugglers or a puppy factory and also causes animals to suffer. As long as there is demand for these puppies, there will be a supply. Buyers need to meet their responsibilities and ensure their new pets come from reliable breeders and that they are healthy," Hietala said.

Finnish Customs euthanise 8 undocumented puppies from Estonia


Summary: The new Finnish government plans to expand healthcare services, but faces an acute shortage of physicians.

The programme of Finland's  new five-party coalition government  envisages a guarantee that anyone in need of non-urgent healthcare should be able to receive it from a public clinic with no more than a one-week delay. The government estimates that in order to be able to meet that target, public healthcare centres will have to hire 1,000 new physicians.
 The question that immediately arises is  where these new doctors are to be found .
 According to the Finnish Medical Association (FMA), at the end of 2018 there was a shortfall of 228 doctors at public healthcare centres, meaning that six percent of physician vacancies in public clinics were unfilled. The most acute shortage was in Kainuu, in eastern Finland, were 20 percent of positions were empty.
 Public healthcare centres find it difficult to hire doctors for full-time jobs, even when offering flexibility over salaries and working hours.
 Story continues after the photo.
 Tuomas Parmanen, who works as the senior physician at healthcare and social services centre in Hämeenkyrö, would like more focus on public sector care in medical schools. Marko Melto / Yle
 There is also a bump-on effect. Doctors at centres with unfilled vacancies end up carrying a heavy workload, making these jobs even less attractive to would-be candidates.
 One example can be seen in Hämeenkyrö in the south-central region of Pirkanmaa where the local healthcare centre would be ready to immediately hire three or four new doctors full time, if they were available. Nearly half of the centre's physician vacancies are empty.
 Senior Physician  Tuomas Parmanen  says that it has become increasingly hard to hire new doctors.
 "Even if the employer is flexible and, for example doesn't require on-call shifts, young doctors don't want to work in a public healthcare centre. They want to work through staffing agencies. That way, they are not only paid better, but doctors can also decline to be on call or to work evening shifts, which is something that has to be done at healthcare centres," Parmanen explains.
 According to Parmanen, many young doctors are unwilling to commit to a regular position. In addition, uncertainty caused by plans for reforms in the health and social care sector has made a commitment to a job in the public sector look risky.
 Dilemma in the public sector
 Right now, there are close to 30,000 physicians in Finland, more than ever before. This is not, however, reflected in the numbers working in the public sector.
 The FMA says that the answer to the shortage at healthcare centres is not simply to train more doctors, bur to make the public sector more appealing. The new cabinet's programme does not provide any direct solution to this dilemma.
 Juho Kivistö , district chief medical officer at Tampere University Hospital, argues that the workload of doctors is unreasonably heavy, and basic healthcare services in general need to be improved in order to increase the appeal of working at public health centres.
 "Young doctors need support and guidance that is often not now possible to provide with the pressures at work. More senior doctors also burn out under the workload. Untangling all this will start specifically by increasing resources for basic healthcare services," states Kivistö.
 Story continues after the photo.
 Both patients and doctors suffer when healthcare centres are understaffed. Marko Melto / Yle
 The Medical Association believes that the doctors needed to implement the government's programme could be found in the private sector, shifted from occupational healthcare, and requited from among new graduates. However, in order to do so, public healthcare centres need more funding.
 Nurses also affected
 According to the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), implementing the government's healthcare guarantee plan would require hiring 1,100–1,800 more doctors, even though the government programme refers to 1,000.
 In Hämeenkyrö, Parmanen believes that even if all the staff spots for doctors were to be filled, the plan to see everyone seeking healthcare within a week would still not necessarily be possible.
 Efforts to reduce access time to healthcare centre services have included shifting more responsibility to nursing staff and applying more information technology solutions.
 "Doctors have a heavy workload, but they are not the only ones working, let's say, till the sweat pours. All personnel, from the nurses on, are feeling the effects of the shortage of physicians," says Parmanen.
 Training requires more funding
 The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences at Tampere University,  Tapio Visakorpi , has both praise for and concerns about the government's take on healthcare.
 Story continues after the photo.
 Tapio Visakorpi is worried that the quality of education could suffer from demands to train larger numbers of doctors. Marko Melto / Yle
 "The idea of increasing the number of doctors at healthcare centres by 1,000 is, of course, good. But, if more physicians have to be educated, will more resources be available to train them? What about the quality of that education? This has given rise to a lot of discussion," says Visakorpi.
 Visakorpi also has doubts about the government's plan to cut the wait for non-urgent care down to no more than a week. At present, such patients are supposed to receive care in less than three months.
 "That, of course, is too long if someone needs care. On the other hand, one week is a very short time for non-urgent care. I understand that [the parties] wanted the government programme to contain specific demands, but first the shortage of doctors at healthcare centres must be solved," Visakorpi points out.

Where can Finland find 1,000 new doctors?


Summary: The game will feature animated characters and utilise augmented reality tech, according to the developer.

Finnish game developer Next Games has announced it is working on a new mobile game based on the retro supernatural Netflix series  Stranger Things .
 According to the company the game will be a location-based puzzle role-playing game (RPG) and is scheduled to be released on mobile platforms next year. The game will take place in the  Stranger Things  universe and is set in the 1980s, but the characters will be animated cartoon figures rather than human.
 The Helsinki-based game company said the title will also utilise augmented reality technology (AR) along with support from GPS-based Google Maps to bring players into the popular show's supernatural world, according to Next Games CEO  Teemu Huuhtanen .
 "Our core focus will be to deliver on Stranger Things' rich and intense themes like friendship and supernatural adventure, and translate these into snack-sized entertainment on your mobile device. Combined with Netflix’s second-to none ability to reach audiences across the globe, we will deploy all of our accumulated creative and technological expertise to create a game for the fans of the series all around the world," Huuhtanen said.
 Story continues after photo.
 Scene from Stranger Things, featuring actor David  Harbour who plays the character Jim Hopper. Netflix / AOP
 Next Games was the first game developer in Finland to be publicly listed and it specialises in games based on TV series and movies, as well as books.
 In recent years the firm was behind a string of games based on the zombie survival television series The Walking Dead.
 Last year Next Games used AR tech in its game The Walking Dead: Our World, which also uses GPS maps technology in an attempt to merge game play with the real world.
 The third season of  Stranger Things  is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on 4 July.

Finland developing game based on Netflix hit series Stranger Things


Summary: Potentially harmful blue-green algae has increased in lakes over the past week.

The level of toxic blue-green algae in Finnish lakes is presently just slightly above normal for the time of year, but has shown a rise over the past week, reports the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE).
 Sightings have been recorded at 13 monitoring sites in southern parts of the country. However, none of the sightings have been classed as being of considerable or high levels. SYKE adds, though, that there have been four reports from private individuals of blue-green algae blooms in inland waters.
 Unusually warm temperatures at the start of the summer spurred the growth of algae blooms. At present, windy weather is keeping algae mixed with bodies of water.  Kristiina Vuorio , a researcher at SYKE, stated in a press release on Thursday that these same winds may, however, push algae onto shorelines.
 So far there have been no reports of algae blooms in open sea areas.
 Surface temperatures in lakes in southern Finland have fallen to under 20 degrees Celsius. In central regions surface temperatures vary between 12C and 16C. In Finnish Lapland, lake surface temperatures are mostly below 12C.
 Sea waters are also cool, with surface temperatures in open waters at around 15C, slightly warmer in coastal areas. Earlier this month, SYKE warned that  this summer brings with it a substantial risk  of blue-green algae formations in the Gulf of Finland, the northern part of the Baltic Sea.
 Blue-green algae are actually types of cyanobacteria that thrive in warm, nutrient-rich water. People and animals – especially small children and dogs – can become very ill from touching, swallowing or even breathing in water droplets.

Blue-green algae increasing in Finnish lakes


Summary: Ninety percent of applicants got study spots for next autumn, but 7,000 youngsters in Finland were left without.

The Finnish National Agency for Education has unveiled the names of students accepted to the country's vocational schools and academic high schools, officially known as upper secondary schools ( lukio ).
 The agency said on Thursday that nearly 65,000 applicants have been granted places for the autumn term, which begins in August. Altogether there were more than 72,000 applicants.
 Of the lucky ones, 33,000 earned vocational training berths while 31,700 are headed for academic high schools. Some 4,000 vocational school applicants were left stranded, along with about 3,000 upper secondary hopefuls.
 More than 3,200 youngsters were accepted to schools using the minority Swedish language.
 Minimum grade point averages vary greatly
 Nearly 58,000 pupils who just completed their compulsory comprehensive school education — typically aged 16 — applied for further studies or training. Of these only five percent were left without a spot for next autumn. Of all applicants, including older ones, 90 percent scored places.
 The acceptance rate was much lower at some selective high schools, mostly in and around the largest cities. Hopefuls keep a close eye on the lowest grade point average (GPA) of admitted students, which varies from year to year and from school to school, depending on factors such as the number of applicants and spaces available. In Finland GPA is measured on a 10-point scale.
 In Helsinki, for instance, the lowest average minimum GPA for Finnish-language high schools was 7.42 this year, up from 7.33 last year. At Swedish-language high schools, the figure was 7.75 compared to 7.25 in 2018.
 The capital has 11 Finnish-language high schools and three Swedish high schools (known as  gymnasiums ). The Finnish-language schools include those with special emphasis on languages, science, media, sports, art and music.
 Helsinki's special schools attract students from around the country
 "Our upper secondary schools remain popular. Each of the city's high schools has either a specific national mandate or emphasis. Those with a special status receive many applications from beyond the Uusimaa region," the city's upper secondary educational director,  Mervi Willman , told the newspaper Helsingin Uutiset.
 Along with the 14 general upper secondary schools, there are also a few private schools and ones run by foundations. These include schools that teach primarily in English, French, German and Russian, as well as a Steiner school and the European School of Helsinki.
 Helsinki's easiest school to get into this year was Vuosaari Upper Secondary School in a southeastern suburb, where the lowest GPA of admitted students was 7.42. The city recently announced plans to expand the school's capacity from 500 to around 900 students.
 Toughest was Ressu Upper Secondary School in central Helsinki, which was established in 1891, making it one of the country's oldest Finnish-language schools. There, the lowest GPA for admission was 9.32.
 In neighbouring Espoo, the centrally-located Kuninkaantie High School, with an IT and media orientation, was the most selective with a minimum GPA of 9.15.
 Meanwhile South Tapiola High School, which was the city's most selective last year and was rated as Finland's best in a comparison by news agency STT this spring, will have a dramatic drop in its minimum GPA. While those students accepted so far have an average GPA of 9.27, the school still has 35 places in its freshman class unfilled. So it will lower its minimum required GPA to 7.0, making it suddenly the easiest to get into in Espoo. It will begin accepting applications for the unfilled places for a week beginning on Friday.
 In the northern city of Oulu, meanwhile, two very old schools also topped the list: Oulun Lyseo and Oulu SYK, which both required a minimum GPA of 8.67 for admission this year.

Vocational and high schools announce new students' names


Summary: The "pension barometer" also asked what people think about the system's intergenerational fairness.

Roughly one-half of residents in Finland said young adults pay an excessive proportion to the country's national pension programme, according to the Pension Barometer survey commissioned by the Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK), published on Thursday.
 While about 50 percent of respondents said younger people are paying more than their fair share, only about a quarter said they disagreed somewhat with that opinion.
 "The middle-aged are worried about the contribution burden of the young. About one fifth agree completely with the statement. Retirees disagree the most. One-third of them do not find the contribution burden to be too high," ETK economist  Sanna Tenhunen  said in a press release.
 Nearly two-thirds of respondents of all ages said they trusted the pension system, which was a seven percentage point increase year-on-year. Pensioners (87%) and nearly a quarter of those aged 50-64 said they trusted it the most.
 The pension agency's head of research,  Susan Kuivalainen , said the recent boost in trust could be linked to the country's economic situation.
 "The increased trust is at least partly also related to the favourable economic and employment development. These factors have been observed to be linked to trust," Kuivalainen said.
 Among all age groups, young adults (25-34 years of age) trusted in the pension system the least, but the majority of that age group said they did. Fifty-three percent said they trusted the system, while 32 percent said they did not.
 Varying opinion on possible changes
 The barometer also asked respondents whether they were prepared for Finland to make adjustments to the national pension system.
 Forty-two percent said they agreed to the idea of making increases to pension fees paid by workers and employers, while 36 percent said they were not onboard with fee hikes.
 Nearly one-third of respondents said they agreed with the idea of raising the retirement age, while 55 percent said they did not wish to raise it.
 Just 11 percent said that the amounts paid out to pensioners should be reduced, while the overwhelming majority (78%) said they thought pension levels should not be slashed.
 Another majority, 87 percent, said they did not agree with reducing pension payment levels of those already receiving their pensions.
 The median monthly pension in Finland is 1,460 euros, and pension amounts have been gradually rising for decades, according to Social Insurance Institution Kela.
 The Pension Barometer survey was carried out in May, using telephone interviews of more than 1,000 residents aged 18-79. The survey had a margin of error of three percentage points in either direction.

Two-thirds in Finland trust the pension system, survey finds


Summary: If government's plan is implemented, initial maternity and paternity leaves would each last five months.

Prime Minister  Antti Rinne 's government plans to reform Finland's policy of maternity and paternity leave to a model that would allow longer paternity leaves and encourage equal distribution of parental responsibilities.
 "The government programme basically commits to the introduction of some kind of 5+5+5 model," says  Heli Järvinen , a Green MP who took part in the government formation talks that led up to the five-party coalition's agenda.
 In the proposed reform, the maternity leave granted when a child is born would be extended from its current level of slightly more than four months to five months. Parental leave for fathers would be brought up to five months – up from the slightly more than two months of paternal leave.
 Both of these five-month options would be reserved exclusively for each parent - in other words, leave not used by one parent cannot be transferred to the other.
 In addition to those two five-month periods, another five months of parental leave would be made available for parents to divide as they see fit.
 System allows for child home care up to age of three
 Centre Party representatives have pointed out, however, that the third period of leave actually works out to closer to six months if the government succeeds in its bid to preserve the overall duration of maternal leave. In this case, the planned model would be closer to 5+5+6 months.
 "These are our starting parameters; we will discuss things more as negotiations move forward," Social Affairs and Health Minister  Aino-Kaisa Pekonen  of the Left Alliancesaid.
 "I personally feel the 5+5+maybe 6 model is a great step. I've earlier advocated for a 6+6+6 model, in line with my party, but the financial framework naturally sets its own challenges. But we'll set out to improve the system, where families will make their own decisions and choose how to use their parental leave," Pekonen added.
 Finland's child care policies allow one parent to stay at home and care for small children for up to three years. After maternity and paternity leave, one of the parents can continue to care for the child at home without fear of losing his or her job.
 Maternity, paternity and parental allowances account for 70 percent of the recipient's salary, while a child home care allowance consists of a basic benefit amount from the state and an additional amount based on the recipient's salary. Some municipalities pay an additional municipal child care supplement, as well.
 Reform based on EU directives
 Centrist Minister of Science and Culture  Annika Saarikko  noted that EU directives requiring five months of maternity leave provided a foundation for the reform.
 "EU directives define the duration of maternity leave and impose national obligations on us. It is therefore an important part of the road map of principles that the government developed on the basis of tripartite talks. On the other hand, the most important issue for the Centre Party is that the current level of maternity leave is not reduced," she added.
 Estimates about the cost of the leave expansion range from tens to hundreds of millions of euros. Most of the added costs will be covered by Finland's employers and employees, as the relevant daily allowances that safeguard the family’s finances during these initial periods of leave are primarily funded by insurance contributions on earned income.
 The state will end up having to pay only a small percentage of the total expenditure, and Saarikko said that there is no intention to increase the state's contribution at this point.
 Growing interest in paternity leave
 Researcher  Johanna Lammi-Taskula  from the National Health and Welfare Institute (THL) said that experience shows that fathers are more likely to take time off to be with their young children when leave periods are extended.
 "Taking three weeks to be at home at the same time as the mother became popular as early as the 1990s," she added.
 After more time was added to paternity leave in 2003, the number of men staying home with their small children increased steadily. Lammi-Taskula noted that currently about half of new fathers take advantage of the full paternity available.
 "These days when children are born, four out of five dads take two weeks of paternity leave concurrently with the mums. In addition, about half of dads take some additional leave, but not necessarily the full six weeks they're entitled to," she continued.
 The THL researcher pointed out that very few mothers do not take the initial maternal leave that they are entitled to, and the majority of the additional days that can be used by either the mum or dad is generally used by the mother.
 "A very small percentage of fathers take this secondary leave. The situation has been the same for a long time," Lammi-Taskula remarked.
 She said that the new government's proposal could help halt Finland's  declining birth rates , as it gives a clear signal that the state is willing to invest in the interests of new parents. A better division of child care responsibilities could influence how parents view the prospect of combining careers with raising more children, she noted.
 Economist: Employment levels might suffer
 Nordea Bank economist  Olli Kärkkäinen  predicted that the government's idea to offer expanded parental leaves will have a negative effect on employment figures.
 "The reform would certainly not improve employment levels," he declared, adding however that the government never implied that it would, but focused on the potential to improve wellbeing and gender equality.
 "The government has also committed to compensating for any reforms that negatively impact on employment with reforms in other areas," he concluded.

Finland's parental leave reform proposal to promote gender equality


Summary: Why Finland is losing graduates, alcohol prices drop in Estonia, serious car crash near Jämsä, and an angry bar customer

A feature article in the Kuopio-based daily Savon Sanomat reports that only a  third of foreign graduates remain in Finland three years after graduating , with the Finnish language cited as a significant contributing factor in why graduates do not stay.
 According to the article, 40 percent of Master's graduates remain in Finland three years after obtaining their qualification, while only 31 percent of graduates from Polytechnic Universities choose to stay.
 The paper quotes  Tapio Varmola , of the Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, as he calls for decisive government action to keep foreign graduates in Finland.
 "This is a big deal. Despite all the talk, Finland has not done much to promote labour-related immigration," the paper reports Varmola as saying.
 Estonia cuts alcohol tax
 Tabloid daily Ilta Sanomat reports that the  Estonian parliament's decision to reduce tax on alcohol  is likely to lead to a  reversal of the recent trend of Finns travelling to Latvia  for their alcohol needs, and make a return to the traditional Tallinn route. Since Estonia joined the EU in 2000, Finns have been making the ferry trip across the Baltic Sea en masse to the avail of cheaper alcohol prices.
 However, recent tax increases and price hikes in Estonia have led to many Finns taking their custom elsewhere - to Valka in Latvia. The move by the Estonian parliament to reduce alcohol taxes is widely regarded as an attempt to win back their previously-loyal Finnish customers.
 The change in excise duty comes into effect from the beginning of July, and only applies to spirits, beer, cider and long drinks. The taxation of wines and sparkling wines will not change, according to the tabloid.
 Fatal police car crash
 Many papers carry the story of a  two-car collision near the city of Jämsä  in Central Finland involving a civilian vehicle and a police car. According to a report in the tabloid Iltalehti, the accident occurred when the civilian car veered onto the wrong side of the road and into the path of the oncoming police vehicle.
 The driver of the civilian car was killed in the accident. The passenger in the civilian car, as well as the two police officers were also seriously injured. All were taken to Tampere University Hospital.
 Customer drives through bar window
 In Turku, Turun Sanomat reports  on a local man who took considerable exception to being fined by the police  after he failed to pay a taxi fare. The retirement-aged man arrived at his regular bar by taxi, but failed to pay the fare. The taxi driver called the police, and they issued a fine to the man. He was also asked to leave the premises.
 The man returned some time later with his own car, and drove through the front window of the bar on the city's Humalistonkatu. Fortunately no-one was injured in the incident.

Friday's papers: Graduate brain drain, Estonia reduces alcohol tax, fatal police car crash, and a disgruntled bar customer


Summary: Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo stressed that it's important to guarantee the children’s rights in all circumstances.

Ministerit, ministeriöt ja valtioneuvosto

Interior Minister  Maria Ohisalo  has said that the government has not yet made a decision on whether or not Finnish women and children currently  residing in the al-Hol refugee camp  in Syria will be returned to Finland. The camp is run by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and accommodates persons fleeing from territory occupied by the extremist group Isis.
 "The issue is very difficult. There are Finnish citizens there in a tough situation. They have health problems and are in danger. Finland has an obligation in this matter and we are now considering how to move forward," Ohisalo said in an interview on Yle's Aamu-tv on Friday morning.
 According to information obtained by Yle, there are 11 women and 33 children among the Finns at the camp.
 Poll shows division over women's, children's fate
 A fresh survey by pollster Taloustutkimus for Yle indicated that around one-third of Finnish residents believe that the children of Finnish nationals in the camp should not be brought to Finland.
 However just under a quarter of nearly 1,000 respondents said they would bring both mothers and children to Finland, while a corresponding proportion said they  would relocate the children alone .
 Another 16 percent said they couldn’t decide on any of the options offered. Ohisalo said that she was not surprised by the outcome of the poll.
 "You can look at this from many different perspectives. Above all this is a question of human rights, safety and at the same time there are many risks involved and they must be weighed carefully," the minister commented.
 Ohisalo said however that the rights of the children must be safeguarded regardless. She noted that Finland has committed to international agreements that obligate it to act in the best interests of children.
 "That requires above all that the children are safe and we are now looking at procedures. We have to think about whether or not we can do something now to help these children," she added.
 Countries such as Norway and Sweden have already removed orphaned nationals from the camp.
 Government mulling options
 Yle’s sources suggest that earlier this week a civil servant working group completed a report on Finnish citizens still at the camp in Syria. The minister said that it is the first major analysis of the issue, but she added that the matter is constantly being discussed.
 She said that while a way forward is under discussion with the government, she could not indicate when a decision will be made.
 "The situation is grave and people’s life and health are at risk, so we will act as quickly as possible," she noted.
 The previous interior minister,  Kai Mykkänen ,  had been concerned about the radicalisation  of people at the camp. Ohisalo called for an in-depth expert review on that possibility.
 "We will then consider how to try these people for the crimes they may possibly have committed," the minister remarked.
 Question mark over ankle monitors
 The government programme includes a proposal ensuring electronic monitoring of rejected asylum seekers by fitting them with ankle monitors.
 However Ohisalo said that electronic monitoring could also mean telephone-based supervision.
 "From the perspective of society, electronic monitoring is in many ways better than detention."
 She said that the government’s goal is to reform the asylum system to ensure that asylum seekers get more legal aid and to better inform then about the application process.
 "It is important to stress that people can trust Finnish officials. Many immigrants come from countries where there is no confidence in officials and for that reason they may neglect to reveal many important things," she concluded.
 Edit: Updated at 3.40 pm to indicate that al-Hol is run by a Syrian group and houses persons displaced from Isis-occupied areas.

Minister: Finland unsure about what to do with Isis fighters’ wives and kids


Summary: Prime Minister Rinne passes first parliamentary test, as speaker Vanhanen goes on sick leave

The newly-assembled government of Prime Minister  Antti Rinne  won a vote of no-confidence over its proposed agenda by 113 votes to 75 in parliament on Thursday. The programme includes proposals on reversing  the controversial activation model  set into motion by the previous administration to get unemployed people into jobs, a  national strategy for children , and a number of reforms  aimed at helping young people .
 The vote of no-confidence had been tabled by the three main opposition parties - the National Coalition Party, the Finns Party and the Christian Democrats - after the government rolled out its proposals to parliament over the course of two days earlier this week.
 Criticisms
 Opposition parties were fiercely critical of the government's four-year plan throughout the parliamentary debate.
 The Finns Party, now the largest opposition party in Finland, criticised the administration for measures which they argued would increase the cost of housing and transportation. The populist party also questioned plans to create more ministerial aide positions.
 The National Coalition Party cast doubt over the financial sustainability of the government's agenda, and also urged the incoming coalition to propose measures aimed at improving employment.
 Motion easily defeated
 Rinne's government however have a comfortable majority in parliament, and the motion of no-confidence was easily defeated.
 The government has 117 MPs in the 200-seat parliament - with representatives from the Social Democrat Party, the Centre Party, the Greens, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party. Additionally,  Harry Harkimo , a member of the Movement Now (Liike Nyt) group, had also indicated in advance his intention to support the new government's proposed agenda.
 Speaker on sick leave
 Meanwhile former prime minister  Matti Vanhanen  of the Centre Party, who was  elected to the role of parliamentary speaker last week , will take sick leave from Friday 14 June.
 Parliamentary speaker Matti Vanhanen has announced he will be on sick leave from the end of June Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva
 Last week, Vanhanen indicated in an interview with Yle his intention to take leave due to an upcoming heart operation.
 Deputy speakers  Tuula Haatainen  of the Social Democratic Party and  Juho Eerola  of the Finns Party will share the speaker's duties during Vanhanen's absence.

Government sails through no-confidence vote over new agenda


Summary: Helsinki police say an Yle journalist is suspected of aggravated defamation against Finnish film director Aki Louhimies.

Police are conducting a preliminary investigation into whether Yle reporter  Sara Rigatelli  defamed film director  Aki Louhimies  when she published a story in which she detailed  actors' claims of his humiliating and degrading behaviour .
 Detective Chief Inspector  Pekka Hätönen  of the Helsinki Police, however, refused to provide Yle with any details on the case, such as the names of the persons involved.
 Last year, Rigatelli published a story about Louhimies in which many actors, inspired by the worldwide #Metoo movement, came forward to accuse award-winning director of questionable directing techniques in earlier productions.
 Actors who came forward claimed Louhimies' humiliating and sometimes sadistic behaviour largely targeted women, including reports of making one actress eat her own vomit.
 Tabloid daily Ilta-Sanomat said police are also considering whether to launch a preliminary investigation into how  Jouko Jokinen , editor-in-chief of Yle’s Finnish-language news, handled the story. When the scandal broke, Louhimies wanted Rigatelli's story altered, claiming there were factual errors in the reporting. However Jokinen refuted the director's assertions.
 Louhimies  took his complaints to the police after Rigatelli tipped off the BBC  about the criticism he was facing in Finland. As a result, the BBC allegedly cancelled plans to work with Louhimies.

Yle reporter suspected of defaming famous film director


Summary: A graduate researcher found that high blood pressure readings at doctors' offices had genetic roots and weren’t all in patients' heads.

kohonnut verenpaine (taudit, verisuonitaudit)

The so-called "white coat syndrome", where a patient’s blood pressure skyrockets when measured in a medical facility, is not imaginary but is rooted in the individual’s genes, according to new research.
 Helsinki University doctoral researcher  Jenni Rimpelä  examined biobank samples maintained by the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district HUS, and found that genes were responsible for patients' soaring blood pressure at the doctor’s office.
 The syndrome affects roughly 38 percent of Finns, who find that their blood pressure crosses the recommended limit at the doctor’s office but not at home.
 Rimpelä conducted analysis of HUS’ Genres research material. Patients involved in the study were subjected to a comprehensive genome analysis as well as periodic blood pressure measurements at home and at the doctor’s office.
 The results were compared to other research material from Tampere University’s Dynamic data base as well as the National Institute for Health and Welfare’s Finriski 2007 and Health 2000 health surveys.
 Altogether the researcher performed gene association research on the biobank data of more than 1,300 Finnish residents.
 Syndrome associated with neurotic traits
 The analysis found gene variants linked to the phenomenon, Rimpelä said.
 "The most important finding was the SPG7 gene, which is linked to the elevated blood pressure associated with the white coat syndrome," the researcher said in a statement.
 The SPG7 gene is believed to be a factor in hypertension and coronary artery disease. Researchers also found another gene, RASGEF1B, which was associated with another facet of the syndrome — a dramatically reduced blood pressure.
 The research also found that the genes linked to the syndrome operate differently in men and women. When the results were compared to personality trait analyses, they revealed that the white coat syndrome is also associated with neurotic tendencies.

Four in 10 Finns have genes that cause "white coat syndrome", research finds


Summary: The former news personality described the language used to talk about Muslims and Somalis as colourful, but not criminal.

The Länsi-Uusimaa district court has convicted local politician and former MTV3 news anchor  Seppo Huhta  on charges of ethnic agitation over Facebook posts he wrote in 2016.
 In the posts, the alternate Espoo city councillor, who is said to be a member of the Blue Reform, called for Muslims to leave Europe and declared that they are not suited to civilised countries. The court also found that in the posts, which were written between January and February in 2016, Huhta used derogatory language to refer to Muslims and Somalis.
 The court convicted the former  Finns Party  member for writing what it deemed to be slanderous and abusive posts about Muslims and Somalis. It found that although Huhta’s intention was to present views that were critical of immigration and migrants convicted of criminal offences, he should not have slandered entire ethnic groups in the manner that he did.
 The court said that the comments constituted hate speech, were generalisations, and could generate contempt and hostility toward Somalis and Muslims.
 Defendant: Opinions based on political convictions
 The former television personality said his intention was to use the posts to criticise immigration policy and said that he shared opinions that were based on his political convictions.
 On the subject of his comments about crimes committed by immigrants, Huhta said that he was only referring to individuals found guilty of criminal activity. He described his language as colourful and said the terminology he used was commonplace.
 "Although the use of language was in part inappropriate, the intention was only to highlight injustices and to stir up interest in the matter in the manner that he had learned as a journalist," court documents said of his defence.
 The court ordered the defendant to pay a 40-day fine, which represents a total of 400 euros. He was also called upon to delete several Facebook posts put up in 2016.
 Huhta still has the option of appealing the verdict, so the sentence is not yet enforceable.
 Questions over party membership
 According to the website of the city of Espoo, Huhta is a deputy councillor representing the Blue Reform, which split from the Finns Party in 2017.
 However in May, Blue Reform vice president  Tiina Ahva  denied that Huhta was a member of the party.
 "Huhta is not and has never been a member of the Blue Reform," she wrote in an email at the time.
 During municipal elections in 2017, the ex-news reader lost his seat as councillor and became a reserve. He was a previous chair of the Blue Reform’s Espoo chapter.

Ex-news anchor convicted of ethnic agitation over Facebook posts


Summary: Three city officials face labour discrimination charges after ending contract talks with a new hire over prayer breaks.

Three civil servants with Helsinki City’s Urban Environment Division face labour discrimination and dereliction of duty charges in Helsinki District Court after failing to finalise an employment contract with a new hire after he said he was a practicing Muslim and would require prayer breaks during working time.
 In 2016, the city hired the plaintiff as an engineer for the city’s housing production unit, but the recruitment process came to a halt after the plaintiff sat down with a senior civil servant and human resources director from the Urban Environment Division to draw up the employment contract.
 During that meeting the plaintiff told his new employer that he was a practicing Muslim and would need to take daily five-minute breaks for prayers in addition to a one-hour break on Fridays that he did not expect to be paid for. At this point, Helsinki city officials ended the meeting, saying they would revisit the matter. Later on, the senior civil servant told the plaintiff that the Urban Environment Division would not offer him an employment agreement.
 Blame game
 The senior civil servant and HR director now face labour discrimination charges in Helsinki District Court. A third city official, the boss of the senior civil servant, is also being prosecuted on labour discrimination and dereliction of duty charges.
 The defendants said it was unclear who carried the final responsibility for choosing not to hire the engineer.
 In their response to the prosecutor, the HR director said they consulted the city’s policy on prayer breaks which outlined that as an employer, the city aims to allow its workers to practice their faith. The HR director said they forwarded this information to the applicant, but also inquired if the plaintiff could be flexible with the prayer breaks if needed.
 The HR director said the plaintiff was offended by the question—something that in turn incensed the HR director, who denies any wrongdoing.
 The two senior civil servants meanwhile have pointed the finger at each other when it came down to who really made the final decision not to hire the engineer.
 The city has awarded the plaintiff 40,000 euros in damages for discrimination and illegal termination.
 The Helsinki District Court will conclude hearings in the case next week.

Court: Helsinki breaks contract talks with Muslim recruit who wanted prayer breaks


Summary: Officials said they hope to use the soft toys to calm pediatric patients during emergency situations.

Helsinki City Rescue Department was in for a surprise on Wednesday when it received an estimated 60,000 soft toys across collection points set up around the city for Helsinki Day.
 Rescue officials had appealed to city residents in early June to donate clean and undamaged plush toys — to calm frightened pediatric patients in emergency situations. Thousands of children participated in the drive on Helsinki Day by lining up at collection points to part with their stuffed toys for a good cause.
 Officials said they were amazed by the "Teddy Avalanche" in a tweet posted on the Rescue Department’s official account.
 "We thought we would receive a thousand toys or something like that," Communications Manager  Taisto Hakala  told Yle.
 He said the initiative was the brainchild of two firefighter-paramedics, who thought it could be a good idea for rescue officials to carry toys that could soothe pediatric patients during emergency situations — if a child falls ill or is injured when a parent is not around, Hakala pointed out.
 "Hopefully, the toys will bring comfort to children and give them hope that they will be alright," Hakala added.
 Story continues after photo.

 A donated toy at a collection point. Helsingin pelastuslaitos
 Officials said the plushies will be assessed first before they can be used.
 "We cannot circulate soft toys that can pose a danger to kids. We need to inspect them, clean them carefully and double check again before we store the toys, so they remain clean," Hakala explained.
 However, the department is now faced with the dilemma of figuring out a use for the unexpectedly large number of stuffed toys it has on hand. Officials said they do not see enough pediatric patients in a year to find a new home for each of the 60,000-odd soft toys.
 According to Hakala, the rescue service is currently considering distributing the donated toys — to places such as children’s shelters.

Kids donate nearly 60,000 plushies to Helsinki rescue department


Summary: Apart from the captain's sentence, the court slapped the chairman of the shipping company with a 500-euro fine.

The captain of a  water bus that sank last summer  off the coast of Jakobstad (Pietarsaari in Finnish) in Western Finland has received a suspended sentence of three months. The District Court of Ostrobothnia found the skipper of m/s Mässkär,  Daniel Sjö ,  guilty of endangerment and neglecting the seaworthiness of the vessel.
 The water bus sank off the Ådö fishing port last August — all 27 people on board were rescued from the sinking vessel.
 According to the District Court, this was serious negligence, as the captain did not call for help or give the passengers any instructions during the incident.
 In addition to a three-month suspended sentence for the captain, the chairman of the Mässkär board received a fifteen-day fine for a water traffic offence, totalling some 500 euros.
 The boat owners already settled with passengers last October — they received a small compensation as per their demands.
 The sunken ship was used to ferry passengers between the Old Harbor of Jakobstad and the island of Mässkär. Now a new, bigger ship operates on the same route.
 It was reported last year that the vessel owners suspected the water bus may have had a faulty exhaust pipe which caught fire, causing the leak.
 The 10-metre long vessel — registered for 22 passengers and two crew members — was also overcapacity by three people.

Three-month suspended sentence for skipper of capsized water bus


Summary: The two-day event commemorates the 100-year anniversary of the Finnish Aeronautical Association.

The Finnish Aeronautical Association (FAA) celebrates its centenary the weekend of 15-16 June in the southwest coastal city of Turku with an airshow featuring fighter jets, aerial acrobatics, rescue helicopters, formation flying and private aircraft.
 The Turku Airshow will take place on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm, with virtually the same programme on both days.
 The stars of this year's celebratory airshow are fifth-generation F-35 jet fighters from five international  defence contractors  that are competing to win a projected 12 billion-euro contract to  replace Finland's aging Hornet fighter fleet .
 Of the five planes that are in the running, three will take to the skies at the Turku Airshow: the British-owned BAE Systems' Eurofighter Typhoon, the French-made Dassault Aviation's Rafale, and Sweden's Saab Gripen. Boeing and Lockheed Martin will also have their fighter plane candidates on display.
 The airshow will also feature Finland's oldest operational aircraft: Turku Flying Club's Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau, a German monoplane developed in the 1928. Several planes from the Second World War, including the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitt Bf 109, will also take part.
 Planes from the Finnish Air Force, Army Aviation, and the Border Guard will all be represented.
 Airbus 350 and NATO radar plane on hand
 The largest plane that will participate in the Turku Airshow this year is Finnair's Airbus 350 passenger plane. A NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry, commonly known as an AWACS, will also be featured. An airborne early warning and control aircraft, it is distinguished by a rotating radar dome above its fuselage. The first E-3 was manufactured in 1977, with 68 aircraft built before production ended in 1992.
 The Turku Airshow is organized annually by the Turku Flying Club, with support from the Finnish Air Force and the FAA. The 100-year-old FAA has over 200 member organizations and some 9,000 members from all corners of Finland.

Turku Airshow promises impressive aerial displays


Summary: Interior minister Ohisalo was the only candidate vying for the Green Party's leadership position.

Finland's Greens elected  Maria Ohisalo  as the party's new chair in their party congress in the western city of Pori on Saturday. The freshly-appointed interior minister was voted into the position unanimously.
 In her acceptance speech, Ohisalo emphasized her responsibilities as interior minister, saying the office was at the "core of fundamental human rights", as it is responsible for police operations, border control and immigration.
 "I'm not frightened of trolls and I'm not afraid of Nazis," she said, perhaps foreseeing future conflicts with the largest opposition party in Parliament, the anti-immigrant Finns Party.
 The new Greens chair said that the fights against climate change and poverty were the most important political objectives.
 "We must combat climate change in a way that gets everyone on board. The bill cannot be paid by only those who are already having troubles making ends meet. I want to build a Finland in which the societal safety net works," Ohisalo said.
 As a  PhD-level researcher of poverty , Ohisalo suggested she plans to use her knowledge and experience to address increasingly inequality in Finland.
 "I know what poverty in this society is. I have lived it, I have seen it and I have researched it," she said.
 Haavisto's critical support
 Outgoing chair  Pekka Haavisto  – Finland's foreign minister as of early June – said in his speech that the Greens are now a cornerstone of Prime Minister  Antti Rinne 's five-party coalition.
 "This is the greenest government programme in history. If there are any parts of the agenda that deviate from the Greens' own manifesto, it may be due to the fact that four other parties were  in attendance at the House of Estates ," he said.
 In his parting address to the congress, Haavisto also called to mind the party's situation last autumn, when then-chair  Touko Aalto  stepped down from his position due to health reasons and public support for the Greens of Finland began to fall. Maria Ohisalo briefly filled in for Aalto until a new chair could be elected, but said she was unavailable to continue as chair, despite her clear popularity.
 As the party's two-time presidential candidate and one-time chair in the mid-nineties, Haavisto agreed to step into the role temporarily, promising to secure election victories in the parliamentary and EU elections in the spring.
 He proved good on his word, after  the Greens won a record 20 MP seats in April  and  two MEP seats in May . If Brexit becomes a reality, the party will also gain a third MEP seat – giving Finland's Greens as many seats in the European Parliament as the country's centre-right National Coalition Party.
 History in the party wings
 34-year-old Maria Ohisalo was named Finland's new interior minister in June, after the Greens' historic victory at the polls earned her a first-term seat in parliament.
 Even though she had been unsuccessful in earlier attempts to gain a MP position, the doctor of social sciences had been busy behind the scenes, serving as the party's youth wing chair in 2013-2014 and as deputy chair of the party since 2015. She has also held a seat as a representative of the Greens on the Helsinki City Council from 2017 to 2019.

New Greens chair Maria Ohisalo elected by unanimous vote


Summary: Firefighters in the central region of North Savo spent two hours putting out three small blazes on Friday.

A historic train pulled by a steam locomotive caused three grass fires in Finland's centrally located region of North Savo on Friday, leading to a two-hour delay of local train traffic while rescue crews extinguished the flames. News of the fires was first reported by the regional paper Savon Sanomat.
 Sonkajärvi fire chief  Antero Oikarinen  told the news agency STT that preliminary data has led officials to believe that sparks from a faulty carriage bearing were the cause of the fires. A forest fire warning had been issued for the North Savo region on Friday.
 The grass fires started around noon near train tracks connecting the area of Sukeva with the city of Iisalmi, after the museum train travelled through the area.
 Oikarainen said that one of the three fires was larger, while the other two were quite small. Rescue units spent two hours putting out the fires, which were located within 15 kilometres of each other. Units from the neighbouring municipalities of Sukeva and Vierumäki were called in to assist with the operation.
 The museum train was pulled by a historic Finnish-made steam locomotive. The VR Hr1 class (original classification P1) is the largest passenger express steam locomotive ever built in Finland, with twenty-two built between the years 1937 and 1957.
 The famous locomotive is often referred to by its nickname "Ukko-Pekka", a name the public gave to Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, who served as President of Finland from 1931 to 1937.

Sparks from steam-powered museum train ignite grass fires