Summary: Workers of immigrant background report a variety of indirect or unconscious discrimination on the job, researchers say.

Awareness and understanding of the issue of racism in the Finnish workplace is still developing, according to  Michaela Moua , Senior Officer at the Office of the  Non-Discrimination Ombudsman . In general, racism is usually understood to mean saying something overtly racist or committing a racist act.
 However, workplace racism can be much more than that, and it is often not thought of as racism at all.
 "This can happen at a structural level, for example in relation to pay, or to other benefits of the employment relationship or career advancement. Even if other factors, such as educational background and job performance, are the same, advancement in a career may still be more difficult and slower [for an immigrant]," Moua says.
 In Finland, racism in the workplace is rarely experienced as a direct act such as racist harassment or bullying, according to  Barbara Bergbom , a senior expert at the National Institute for Occupational Health, but instead typically occurs in indirect ways.
 "When people of immigrant background feel that they are being bullied, it often leads to feelings of isolation and exclusion. The behaviour might be direct, but the racism contained within it might be indirect," Bergbom explains.
 Research Manager  Anu Castaneda  coordinates research and development activities on cultural diversity at the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). According to Castaneda, indirect racism and discrimination are difficult to identify and therefore can be difficult to tackle. In general, they manifest themselves in the form of unfair or less respectful treatment of a person.
 "Discrimination has a lot to do with mental health, perceived health, social well-being and experiences of trust with other people. Indirect discrimination also has these same connections," Castaneda says.
 "You speak good Finnish"
 Bergbom believes that the more distant the culture that a person comes from, the more likely he or she is to be experience racism in the Finnish workplace. People from Africa and the Middle East have reported the most incidents of experiencing unfair or unequal treatment at work.
 Bergbom says there is still very little research on the experiences of bias against employed immigrants in the workplace in Finland. However, it is known that there is discrimination in recruitment.
 "Apparently there is especially a problem in Finland for those coming from Africa. But in general, immigrant backgrounds' experiences of their work and work community are largely positive. Quite many are satisfied," Bergbom says.
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 According to the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the experiences of people with immigrant backgrounds in the Finnish workplace are largely positive. Jari Kovalainen / Yle
 Moua also notes that everyday racism is about seemingly innocuous small words or deeds. For example, because of skin colour, people may be asked very intimate questions.
 "Where are you from, or how do you speak such good Finnish? These are probably the most common questions. It may not be enough to answer that I'm from Munkkiniemi or that my mother tongue is Finnish; they want to know more. And it's not once or twice, but this will be asked hundreds of times throughout a person's life," Moua says.
 Everyone in the workplace should have the chance to choose if they wish to reveal personal details or not, but people of ethnic background are often denied this freedom of choice, she observes.
 "I'm not a racist, but ..."
 Anu Castaneda , research manager at THL, argues that everyone has prejudices and that sometimes this leads to people acting in a discriminatory way towards others.
 A person's own life experiences and background shapes their thinking, and typically one's own way of thinking about things is considered normal, while another person's way of thinking is considered abnormal.
 According to Castaneda, a good example of this is the phrase "I'm not a racist but..." which is used by many people.
 "It is extremely difficult for us to perceive ourselves as being creatures that discriminate against each other. It would be more beneficial for us to dare to admit that we are all in some way discriminatory, and then to be consciously liberated from it", Castaneda explains.
 Bergbom also believes that people discriminate against each other, whether unconsciously or not.
 "This is also about what you are used to. If you are accustomed to a diverse environment and your friends come from different cultural backgrounds, then the attitude is different. The majority of young people have friends of immigrant background," Bergbom says.
 However, Finland remains a fairly homogeneous country in terms of working life. There are many professions in Finland that do not have a first generation immigrant in the workforce.
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 In the construction industry in Finland, a large number of workers are immigrants. However there are still many professions that have never had an immigrant worker. Karoliina Simoinen / Yle
 In Bergbom's view, being labelled a racist often scares people so much that they become overly aware of racism and even hypersensitive. Then when they are at work they do not dare not say anything in case it is perceived as racist.
 However, developing awareness is a normal and natural process. However, it is common for workplaces to jump from one extreme to the other before finding the appropriate middle ground, Bergbom adds.
 Importance of a workplace community
 Castaneda points out that for many people who move to Finland, the importance of the workplace as a community and social system is more pronounced than for someone who grew up here. An immigrant may not have friends in Finland other than work colleagues.
 "The work community is an important forum for immigrants to experience inclusion and attachment. It is therefore especially important to invest in it. When this is understood, we can really do a lot of good with our small-scale work in our own work communities," Castaneda believes.
 Castaneda attaches great importance to all kinds of people doing all kinds of work. Otherwise, there is a risk that employees of Finnish descent are perceived as experts, while those of foreign descent are seen only in certain jobs, such as cleaners or drivers.
 "Although we do not consciously notice it, we are beginning to see the world as one where people of a certain appearance do certain jobs. This is important, especially for the emerging generations, in terms of what kind of vision they have for the future," Castaneda says.
 The expert points out that it is important to consider how minorities are discussed in terms of working life, and to make it clear that no discrimination or racism will be tolerated in the workplace.
 Prevention is always easier and cheaper than a cure. Even if there are no problems, there must be clear agreement in the workplace about who or where employees of immigrant background workers can report if they experience prejudice on the job.
 Ombudsman probes discrimination against people of African origin
 Agreed processes increase the sense of job security and the atmosphere, and a good workplace culture is one where diversity is accepted and workers are allowed to be who they are, Castaneda adds.
 Moua hopes that employers will make it clear what is acceptable in the workplace, as without the commitment of management such measures will not succeed.
 "It should not just be that there's an equality day every year, but that it is constantly maintained," Moua says.
 This autumn, the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman will begin a research study on the issue of discrimination in Finland against people of African origin. The survey will focus on racial discrimination and harassment both at work and in the education sector. The results of the study are to be published early next year.

"I'm not a racist but...": Bias in Finnish workplaces often indirect


Summary: Half of adults meet fitness requirements, but only a third of young men and one fifth of young women are active enough.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has found that a large number of Finns, particularly young students, are not getting enough exercise. The research revealed that adults, as well as high school and primary school students, are exercising at an increasingly high rate, but many still fail to meet the recommended standards.
 ”Compared to other countries, Finland has physically active and sporty people. However, the challenge remains for the least physically active population groups, such as the elderly or the less educated, to catch up,” stated THL researcher  Heini Wennman.
 Wennman pointed out that special attention should be paid to young people, as they fell significantly short of the recommended exercise goals when compared to adults, with the results suggesting that that boys get more exercise than girls.
 Approximately every third male primary or high school student exercises enough in their free time, while with girls, it is every fifth student. Among vocational school students, every fifth male and every sixth female exercised the recommended amount.
 Additionally, the study found that more than half of adults exercise enough according to the recommended level of at least three hours a week. However, only every third adult regularly partakes in intensive fitness training. This means that up to 70 percent of adults get only light exercise or do not exercise at all in their free time.
 According to statistics collected in 2017, primary, vocational and high school students clearly exercise less than the recommended amount, seven hours per week, in their free time.
 According to the THL, Finland is on its way to achieving the World Health Organisation’s (WHO)  physical activity goal , which was established in 2013. The objective is to reduce the physically inactive population by 10 percent by 2025.

Survey: Finnish youth not getting enough exercise


Summary: Finnish prosecutors believe that at least one of identical twin brothers is shown executing civilians in an Isis propaganda video.

Two Iraqi twins are back in court over allegations that they took part in a massacre in the Iraqi city of Tikrit in 2014. The terror group Isis is accused of executing at least 1,000 unarmed civilians at Camp Speicher.
 After many delays, the latest round of the 27-year-old brothers' legal process began on Monday at the Turku Court of Appeal.
 According to local newspaper Turun Sanomat, the court tried to bring the case to trial in August last year, but was unable to gain access to question witnesses living in Iraq.
 "Now it appears that hearings will be conducted in Iraq. A lot of work has been done to achieve this," state prosecutor  Tom Laitinen  told the paper on Monday.
 Next week the court plans to hear testimony from Iraq via video link, first from the prosecutor's witnesses and later those called by the defence.
 The identical twins arrived in Finland as asylum seekers in 2015. They were  arrested in December that year  on suspicion of involvement in the killings, following tip-offs from other Iraqi asylum seekers in Finland who had seen an Isis propaganda video showing the massacre.
 However they were  acquitted by a district court  in Tampere in May 2017. The prosecutor is now challenging that ruling, and calling for the men to receive life sentences for manslaughter and aggravated murder.
 Grisly video
 On Monday, the defendants were questioned in court, which also compared photos of their noses in an effort to determine if either or both appear in videos filmed at the scene of the mass killing.
 The Isis propaganda video shows a man with a red beret, long hair and a beard executing at least 11 people.
 "That combatant closely resembles both of the brothers. However the image quality is so poor that we have not been able to come to definite conclusions through technical procedures as to whether the man in the beret is either of the brothers," Laitinen told the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat.
 The twins' lawyers insist that neither of them appear in the video. They have also argued that the case should not be tried in the Finnish courts.
 Laitinen points out that Finland is obliged by international treaties to investigate allegations of terrorism and war crimes even if they occurred in another country.

Iraqi twins back in court over Isis massacre allegations


Summary: Local newspapers unpick the threads of last weekend’s police shooting and offer good news on the weather front.

A Porvoo hotel served as a month-long base camp for the pair of brothers suspected of  opening fire on two police officers  in the southern Finland town last weekend,  writes daily Helsingin Sanomat . Like other local news media, HS devotes considerable real estate to opening up the background to the shooting late Saturday night that left two officers injured, with one still in hospital.
 The largest-circulation daily reports that police used a saw on the door of the brothers' motel room as they continued gathering evidence for what authorities are investigating as attempted murder. HS says that according to information it received, the men, aged 25 and 30, previously claimed that they were working at a local construction site, while one local with whom they interacted said they understood that the men were working "off the books".
 The motel was about one kilometre from the site of the shooting incident. Other residents told HS that the men did not cause any trouble before Saturday night and that their Volvo estate wagon had become a familiar sight in the area.
 The owner of a wholesale business opposite the scene of the shooting,  Markus Lahtela , said he had seen two "mean-looking" men walking along the roadside on Saturday night. He described the duo as "the type I wouldn’t want to meet in an alley". He later recognised them in the news after they had been detained. Lahtela also told HS that there had been a series of petty crimes in the area of late – not burglaries, but minor cases of larceny.
 Childhood spent in Porvoo
 HS journalists did some traditional gumshoe work and  interviewed locals for a profile of the brothers , who were said to have grown up in Porvoo before moving to Sweden when the elder brother was in eighth grade. The paper learned that the older brother had competed in mixed martial arts fights in Sweden.
 The older brother's acquaintances included several Finns, some of whom live in the Itä-Uusimaa region of southern Finland. "At first I was a bit shocked when I heard about it," said one source who last met the brothers about 10 years ago.
 "Maybe they were a bit wild, but then we all were," the person told HS.
 Another interviewee said that as a student, the older brother was known to be a shoplifter. That person claimed to have last seen one of the men about a year ago. The source described the older man as a petty crook with ties to criminal circles in Sweden and said they were not surprised to hear that the older brother is suspected to have been involved in Saturday night’s daring crime.
 Swedish paper's ambush theory
 Meanwhile tabloid  Ilta-Sanomat reports  that the older suspect apparently had no criminal background in Finland but had been under scrutiny for tax and accounting offences in Sweden three years ago.
 IS is one of the local papers that links to  Swedish evening paper Expressen , which carries a story alleging that the men were the ones who placed a call to local emergency services on Saturday night to lure police to the Ölstens industrial area in western Porvoo. Once police were on the way, they laid in wait to ambush the unsuspecting patrol unit.
 IS also references the online service of  commercial broadcaster MTV , which claims that the suspects made off with one of the injured officers' firearms. The broadcaster notes that lead investigator  Kimmo Huhta-aho  of the National Bureau of Investigation did not comment on the assertion when interviewed on Monday night.
 Changing climate and longer summers
 Tuesday’s papers also find time to focus on another pet subject in Finland – the weather. Tabloid daily  Iltalehti reports that  daytime highs reached 25.1 degrees Celsius in the Åland Islands on Monday. In Finland, 25 degrees represents  a symbolic "heat threshold"  when locals consider the weather to be officially "hot".
 "A warm air mass is linked to a high pressure [zone] and when the sun is blazing in the sky, temperatures will rise," Foreca meteorologist  Kristian Roine  explained to IL, adding that the next three days will likely see highs rise above 25 degrees.
 By Friday, precipitation could have a cooling effect, however conditions could heat up again over the weekend with the warm weather extending into next week.
 According to the meteorologist, Finland is seeing the effects of climate change. "Heat records have been broken every year since 2010. Climate change has been real over the past 20 years or so," he added.
 The last time Finland saw a balmy end to summer was in 2002. Back then temperatures exceeded 25 degrees in two locations on 3 September. The highest temperatures were 25.4 degrees recorded in Mietoinen in western Finland and 25.1 degrees in Anjalankoski in southeast Finland’s Kymenlaakso region.

Tuesday’s papers: Anatomy of a crime and August closes on a summery note


Summary: Estimates of the value of the transaction range from 230 million to 350 million euros.

An Israeli game firm is set to buy Finnish game studio Seriously Digital Entertainment, according to reports by various media organisations.
 Finnish business paper Kauppalehti reported on the deal on Tuesday, saying that sources it interviewed estimated the value of the transaction at between 230 and 350 million euros. Meanwhile tech news site Venture Beat put a price tag of 247 million euros (275 million dollars) on the deal.
 Established in 2013, Seriously posted profits of 0.3 million euros on revenues of 59 million euros.
 Seriously founder and creative director  Petri Järvilehto  told Kauppalehti that this year the firm is on course to post revenues of between 116 and 125 million euros. Järvilehto, who is also a Rovio alumnus, added that there were several candidates interested in purchasing the Finnish game maker.
 "Their technological expertise in data analytics, artificial intelligence and programmatic advertising is the best in the field and way ahead of us. Our specialty is in creative content and branding," Järvilehto told KL.
 Seriously is known for its compelling puzzle game Best Fiends, set in a miniature universe that pits a squad of bugs against menacing slugs. So far players have downloaded the game and its different elements more than 100 million times and nearly two million players use the original application daily.
 Playtika is best known for casino mobile games, but it has been looking to gain a foothold in the entertainment market with various purchases.
 Last year the US game giant Zynga, the maker of the hugely popular Farmville title,  purchased Finnish firm Small Games  for 610 million euros.

Reports: Israeli firm to snap up Finnish game maker for up to €350m


Summary: Over 4,000 new operators have received taxi licences since the industry was deregulated last year.

Finland's Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, which issues and controls taxi licences, will send a letter of formal notice to about 350 taxi operators over the coming days urging them to pay outstanding taxes and fees within three months. If they fail to do so, the agency will remove their license to operate taxis.
 The number of formal notices issued by the agency this year is more than twice that of previous years, when approximately 120-130 firms received such notifications.
 The increase can be attributed in part to the introduction of the  Transport Services Act in July last year , which made acquiring a taxi license easier than before, and led to the agency issuing over 4,000 new licences.
 Unfamiliar territory for new entrepreneurs
 Many of the new operators have little or no experience of running a business, and an increasing number of taxi companies have failed to make compulsory payments, according to  Pasi Hautalahti , a senior specialist at Traficom.
 However, Hautalahti does not believe that the failure to pay taxes and fees is caused by a systematic decision, but is rather due to a lack of experience and understanding of the rules on the part of the new operators.
 "The biggest omissions are VAT invoices. When there are new operators in the industry who have no experience running a business, VAT invoicing may be new," Hautalahti explained.
 The Transport Services Act significantly loosened the requirements needed to obtain a taxi license, and Hautalahti believes this has created a knowledge gap.
 "I have a lot of questions related to training. Among other things, the new Transport Services Act removed the mandatory four-week taxi operator training requirement," Hautalahti said. "This training helped the operator to acquire the skills needed to run a business, but now it is no longer required, and is not a prerequisite for granting a permit as before."
 Tax administration notes lack of registrations
 The Finnish Tax Administration announced at the beginning of July this year, on the anniversary of the introduction of the new law, that it noticed a quarter of the new licencees, or 1,000 out of the 4,000, had not yet registered with the tax authorities.
 At the time,  Marko Myllyniemi , the tax authority's Director General, told Yle that the authority was concerned about the growth of a grey economy as the new legislation took effect.
 "We have noticed some disturbing developments, but we will not draw any conclusions yet. We will monitor these issues and see how taxes and other charges accrue, and then respond to the situation as needed," Myllyniemi said in an interview at the beginning of July.
 Hautalahti confirmed to Yle that the tax administration's grey economy unit asked Traficom for all taxi license holders' business IDs and personal identification numbers. The authority then cross-checked them against their own records to check if all registrations were valid, and if there were any overdue taxes and debts.
 "The tax administration is looking at the issue through the perspective of tax revenue. The tax authorities said that the tax accruals are lower than they were in previous years," Hautalahti said. “We have thousands of new companies in the industry, and I understand that there hasn't been a huge drop in demand for taxi services, so that's a strange equation."
 The numbers are "surprisingly large"
 Initial investigations found that approximately 9,800 licensees had not paid the necessary taxes and fees, with tax authorities reporting over 1,500 taxi companies for further examination.
 According to Hautalahti, most of the cases concerned very small amounts, but there were also a number of more worrying cases.
 "I didn't expect the number to be that high. The old law was accompanied by an annual oversight obligation, and the centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, which handled the licensing matters, collected similar information," Hautalahti said.
 Statistics from a 2016 report show that there were a total of 1,245 taxi companies with unpaid taxes, and now there are more than 2,400 companies on the list.
 Hautalahti points out that most debtors owe so little that not all of them came to Traficom's attention.

Hundreds of taxi licenses at stake as firms fail to pay taxes


Summary: Polytech students, especially women, who earn higher degrees tend to earn significantly more after graduation.

A master's degree from one of Finland's universities of applied sciences can raise an employee's salary by thousands of euros, according to a report released by the Labour Institute for Economic Research (PT) on Tuesday.
 "Our research indicates that five years after beginning master's studies, the participants' [average annual] wage income was about 2,900 euros higher than that of a control group," says Professor  Petri Böckerman  of the University of Jyväskylä, who is also a research economist at the PT. The study compared vocational master's students to vocational bachelor's recipients who did not attend vocational master's programmes over the course of several years.
 Abbreviated as YAMK in Finnish, such degree programmes, also known as vocational master's degrees, are offered by Finnish universities of applied sciences (also known as polytechnics or AMKs) to students who already hold polytechnic bachelor's degrees.
 More impact in health and social services
 Over the short term, the benefit of a master's degree is significantly higher in the health and social services branch than in business or technical fields, the researchers say.
 Meanwhile women with such degrees tend to see a bigger bump in wages than men.
 Finnish universities of applied sciences have granted master's degrees since 2004. Since then the number bestowed annually has grown steadily to the current level of around 3,000.
 The study was bankrolled by the state-funded Academy of Finland. Most of the PT’s permanent funding comes from the SAK, STTK and Akava trade union confederations.

Master's degrees in applied sciences tied to higher income


Summary: The 10-year-old fashion firm Samuji owes creditors 150,000 euros.

Finnish fashion brand Samuji has begun a crowdfunding campaign to stave off bankruptcy. The firm was founded a decade ago by  Samu-Jussi Koski , former Creative Director of Finland’s iconic Marimekko brand.
 On Monday, the firm launched a week-long campaign last week on Finland’s biggest crowdfunding platform, Mesenaatti. By Tuesday morning the fund had accumulated 20,000 euros.
 The company has an ambitious funding target, some 400,000 euros, with a minimum goal of 150,000 euros, which corresponds to the amount it owes to creditors.
 In addition to the crowdfunding initiative, Samuji will host an art auction in early September to help raise funds to bail out the company.
 Karoliina Hellberg ,  Tuukka Tammisaari  and other artists have agreed to contribute some of their creations for the auction.
 Hellberg told Yle that the auction should take place next Wednesday, 4 September, adding that details about time, place and participating artists will be revealed in the next few days.
 Unpaid pension contributions behind bankruptcy
 In July, daily Helsingin Sanomat reported that Samuji had filed for bankruptcy. The firm had defaulted on employees’ pension payments, which pensions firm Ilmarinen sought to recover, resulting in the bankruptcy filing.
 Samuji owed some 150,000 euros in unpaid pension contributions. At the end of July, CEO  Frank Svenfelt  told HS that there were two major reasons for the company’s collapse.
 In the first instance, the firm lost two major resellers in 2017. "Two of our three big resellers shut down for reasons unrelated to us. This had a very big impact on us," Svenfelt said in July.
 The other factor was the fashion brand’s failed foray into the US market. Samuji opened a retail outlet in New York in late 2016, which however closed its doors in April this year.

Finnish fashion firm turns to crowdfunding to dodge bankruptcy


Summary: The two-year record pace of construction looks to be over as permit applications are down by a third year-on-year.

Rakennusten tai niiden osien rakentaminen

A significant drop in the number of building permit applications represents a clear sign that Finland's two-year record-breaking construction boom may soon be over, according to the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries (CFCI).
 The federation cites a report by Statistics Finland, which found that only 11,598 permits were issued in the second quarter of this year, down from a 15,261 over the same period last year - a drop of nearly 25 percent.
 In 2017, a total of approximately 44,000 permits were issued for the building of new homes, and the figure was roughly the same again in 2018. This year however, that number will decrease to an estimated 39,000, and next year to 36,000, which represents a fall of 20 percent.
 In May, the number of permits issued for the construction of high-rise apartment buildings fell by a whopping 45 percent compared to last year, while in June it was down by almost 30 percent.
 Story continues after graphic.
 Statistics Finland and Construction Union of Finland, Harri Vähäkangas / Yle
 Forecon, a construction industry consultancy firm, recently estimated that the number of new residential apartment block building projects had fallen by about a fifth in the early part of this year compared to the same period last year, the trade magazine Rakennuslehti reported.
 Yet although question marks remain over how steep the downward trajectory of the industry may be, the direction has been visible since February 2018, says CFCI's chief economist  Jouni Vihmo .
 "Housing construction is slowing down as expected, but during this spring and summer the pace has clearly accelerated," Vihmo explains.
 Geographical divide
 The number of applications for permits to build new homes has been at an unprecedentedly high level across Finland over the last couple of years, especially as provincial urban centres such as Seinäjoki, Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Joensuu have grown rapidly. However, these cities are seeing huge drops in the number of permit applications.
 Despite the slowdown, large construction firms such as YIT and SRV say they do not believe the industry is headed for a collapse, but rather that construction will return to the pre-boom levels.
 "In Finland, the standard level is approximately 35,000 homes per year. Now, perhaps, we will return to that level," says  Antti Inkilä , Business Director of the construction company YIT.
 Story continues after photo.
 Large investors are interested in real estate investments due to the low level of interest rates, says Antti Inkilä, Director, YIT Markku Pitkänen / Yle
 Antero Nuutinen , Head of Housing at SRV, says his firm are preparing for a drop in construction levels.
 "Finland has built a lot recently while demand has been strong. If the total number of new builds decreases, we will certainly start to see the effects as well," Nuutinen says.
 Chief economist Vihmo of CFCI estimates that the drop will be most significant in provincial cities, while the Helsinki region will continue to grow.
 "The downward trend will be especially evident in smaller cities, which have seen quite high rates of housing construction in recent years. The Greater Helsinki area is going counter-current and growth will continue," he predicts.
 Why housing production matters
 According to the construction industry, 150,000 new homes will be needed in Finland during the four-year tenure of the current government. This means that 37,500 new homes should be completed each year for the next four years.
 Construction is a huge source of employment for people, and the sector will become even more important if Finnish exports start to struggle.
 Ultimately, Vihmo believes that the construction of new houses facilitates economic growth as well as the movement of labour, which is the ability of workers to move after jobs when needed.
 Story continues after photo.
 The Helsinki region  accounts for almost half of the construction of new builds in Finland. Mikko Koski / Yle
 Vihmo also urges the current government to support urbanisation by speeding up zoning as part of the reform of the Land Use and Building Act, and also fast-track major rail projects. According to Vihmo, the urbanisation debate has ground to a halt since last spring's elections.
 "The government now needs to boldly accelerate major rail projects and take into account intra-city projects such as the Espoo City Track. The effects of the projects are obviously lagging behind, but new housing is needed with urbanisation, even though economic growth is slowing down," Vihmo says.

Plummeting permits signal end of Finland's housing boom


Summary: Oodi has become a popular meeting place for Helsinki residents and welcomed more than two million visitors this year.

Helsinki’s new flagship library Oodi has been voted winner of the 2019 Public Library of the Year award by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). The recognition was awarded at the organisation’s annual conference currently taking place in Athens, Greece.
 Other finalists were from the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. Located a stone’s throw from other landmarks such as the Central Railway Station, the Finnish Parliament and the Helsinki Music Centre, Oodi has become a tourist magnet in the cityscape since  it opened its doors just ahead of Independence Day  on 5 December 2018.
 Story continues after photo.
 Ismo Pekkarinen / AOP
 Crowds thronged for a look at the sprawling wood-clad facility, with visitor numbers so large in the first week, that officials were forced to strictly regulate access to the interior.
 Oodi’s  popularity has not dimmed  during the months since it opened to the public – less than one year into service, the library has welcomed 2,136,910 visitors.
 Oodi’s distinctive design was the result of an international competition, with a submission by the Finnish firm ALA Architects emerging victorious. The price tag for construction of the library was 98 million euros.
 Story continues after photo.
 Open and airy, Oodi has become the city's "living room". Ismo Pekkarinen / AOP
 The airy and open design offers visitors three floors of books and activities as well as spaces where people can work quietly or where kids can cavort and play board and mobile games. In a nod to Finland’s expansive forests, the design makes liberal use of wood in the structure and includes living trees on the upper level.
 "Oodi is Helsinki’s new Central Library and a living meeting place. Its wide range of services and facilities are available to residents seven days a week, from early in the morning till late in the evening. Oodi functions as a living room for residents, located right at the heart of Helsinki," according to the library’s website.
 Story continues after photo.
 Yle
 The library has a collection of 100,00 books, magazines, sheet music, films and games, with book titles in 17 languages.
 Accolades for libraries in Espoo and Vantaa
 Two other Finnish libraries were also recognised at the IFLA’s Athens conference. Public libraries in Espoo and Vantaa – both in the Helsinki metropolitan area – also received awards in categories for library-produced short films and marketing campaigns respectively.
 Espoo city libraries were honoured  for a video , "100 Reasons why these Finnish Libraries are the Best in the World", produced to commemorate Finland’s 100th anniversary of independence.
 Meanwhile, Vantaa’s "pocket library" application also drew accolades. The app  allows users to reserve books and renew loans , get reading recommendations and borrow titles from friends, among other things.

Helsinki’s Oodi voted world's best new library for 2019


Summary: The child was taken to Italy without the father's permission after joint custody had been awarded to both parents.

The Central Finland District Court in Jyväskylä has handed a six month suspended prison sentence to a mother who took her own child to Italy without the permission of the child’s father.
 In addition, the mother must pay 4,500 euros in compensation to the child. Damages and expenses awarded to the father amount to almost 14,000 euros.
 The woman took the child to the southern Italian island of Sicily in July 2017, and the child did not return to Finland until about one month ago. The removal of the child to Italy took place three weeks after the Vaasa Court of Appeal ordered that custody of the child be shared jointly between the father and the mother.
 A year later, the Central Finland District Court ruled that the boy should live with his father. However, the mother did not provide her address to Finnish authorities, apparently in an attempt to prevent the child from being returned to Finland.
 The mother was eventually brought to Finland through an international arrest warrant.
 The judgement in the case is not final, and is subject to appeal.
 Edit: Updated on 31 August at 11.47am to indicate that the Central Finland District Court ordered that the boy should live with his father and not that it awarded the father sole custody as was previously stated.

Mother gets suspended sentence for abducting own child


Summary: Finnish papers tackle the gaps in the Porvoo shooting, a law to curb false testimony and a first-time wind turbine safety survey.

A dramatic news story on  two brothers  who  shot and injured two police officers  in Porvoo last weekend is making the tabloid rounds this Wednesday, as police still investigate the many details in the case that are not yet publicly known.
 Daily Iltalehti lists  five main unknowns in the open case, starting with the emergency call that prompted officers to investigate an industrial area of the city of Porvoo just after midnight on Sunday. The initial caller reported a "routine disturbance" – but the identity of said caller is still a mystery, even though head investigator  Kimmo Huhta-aho  confirmed that the person is relevant to the solving of the case.
 Information on the exact sequence of events at this initial location is still sketchy; however, IL writes that several news outlets speculated on Tuesday that it was a planned ambush.
 The motives of the two identically-dressed brothers are still not yet fully understood, according to IL. While Huhta-aho said the course of events resembled organised crime patterns, chief of police  Seppo Kolehmainen  said on Sunday that he was not aware of such a connection. The duo have no prior criminal record.
 Reports about the length of the men's stay in Porvoo differs between newspapers, as does explanations as to why  their apprehension took nearly a full day . Police have also not yet divulged the extent of the injuries suffered by the two police officers.
 Follow the Yle News website and our radio broadcasts for updates on this story as it develops.
 Courts want to crack down on lying under oath
 Finland's top-selling daily  Helsingin Sanomat writes  about a new measure to address one of the most glaring problems in the modern justice system: false testimony and the unreliability of witness memory.
 HS writes that the passage of time is a problem for justice because human memory is incredibly fickle, being easily influenced by a variety of factors.
 The Ministry of Justice published a memo on Wednesday suggesting a potential solution: videotaping all first-time eyewitness testimonies for further review and corroboration.
 Witnesses forget things over time, the Justice Ministry said. Yle
 The amount of court appearances could be limited to just one per case and wrong sentencing could decrease. The differences between testimonies in district courts versus courts of appeal are also a severe problem, according to the District Court of North Karelia.
 "At worst the district court hearings are little more than rehearsals for the stage show that is the court of appeal trial," the regional court wrote.
 Finland's parliament previously ordered an investigation into the pros and cons of video recording in court rooms back in 2014, HS outlines. Meanwhile courts in neighbouring Sweden have been using videotaped testimonies for more than a decade, leading to a reduction in the number of hearings.
 "Courts of appeal [in Sweden] have come to the conclusion that the ability to review testified evidence has improved the quality of decision-making, because the witnesses' memories are more recent in district court, making for more accurate testimony," HS quotes the Ministry of Justice.
 Most birds safe from windmills in Ostrobothnia
 Meanwhile the first Finnish investigation into the  potential health risks  posed to birds by wind turbines in forested regions has discovered that the windmills have very little impact on bird populations.
 Local paper Kaleva wrote  that the study headed by biologist  Ville Suorsa  from tech company FCG took five years. The wind power parks in Northern Ostrobothnia, indeed anywhere in Finland, were surveyed for long-term risk factors for the first time.
 Kaleva reports that the study observed bird behaviour for 324 days in the far northern regions of Simo and Ii, and 120 days in Kalajoki and Pyhäjoki. Monitors found a total of 48 birds that had collided with turbines, representing 19 species; not all of the birds found were killed by the impact.
 No swans or geese were found in the set, despite being previously considered most at risk of injuring themselves on pylons and blades.
 The bird that had the most trouble with dodging the power structures was the capercaillie or wood grouse. Kaleva writes that 13 of the 48 birds were of this species.
 "Fowl of this kind have poor forward-directed vision," Suorsa said. "The bottom of the white wind power stations against a dark background may appear to these birds to be clearings in a forest, which they sometimes try to fly through."
 However most birds, including migratory species, were found to be able to avoid the massive structures.

Wednesday's papers: Shooting mysteries, videotaping witnesses, birds dodge windmills


Summary: Construction of the 600-million-euro facility is set to be completed in two years.

Tech giant Google announced it has begun construction of a new data centre in the Southern Finland city of Hamina.
 Google said it has already selected part of its team of main contractors, including both domestic and international companies.
 One of the companies chosen is the American engineering agency Fluor. Construction sector papers wrote that Fluor is currently hiring employees for the Hamina centre through its Dutch subsidiary.
 "Subcontractors have the opportunity to work out smaller work contracts with local contractors, as long as the work goes smoothly," said Google spokesman for Finland and Sweden  Joakim Larsson .
 Construction of the data centre will ramp up in late 2019 and early 2020, when the need for labour will likely employ 1,500-1,700 people.
 The construction of the facility will take about two years. After its completion the data centre will employ 30 new tech workers.
 Google announced its new 600-million-euro investment in May. The company's first data centre was built in the old paper factory in Summa, a suburb of Hamina, in 2011.

New Google data centre to employ 1,700 builders in Hamina


Summary: One shop steward told Yle that he fears in future postal workers will be paid in social benefits.

Postal workers union PAU has expanded  a strike  that started on Sunday evening to cover truck drivers, in protest at what the union says is undue pressure on agency workers to work during the strike.
 PAU’s head shop steward in Pirkanmaa,  Leo Harra , was standing outside the Multisilta sorting office in Tampere on Monday.
 “We’re banned from the whole area. During the strike we stay outside the gates,” said Harra.
 Posti: This strike is illegal
 According to the employer, this week’s industrial action is illegal. However, despite the strike, Posti’s Head of Control Centre  Jarmo Ainasoja  said that most deliveries will get to customers as planned.
 “At the moment, it looks like a small number of mail could be delayed by about a day,” said Ainasoja. “We are sorry to all our customers for any inconvenience caused.”
 Morning newspaper deliveries are not affected by the strike.
 According to Ainasoja the extent of disruption depends on how big a proportion of the Posti workforce goes out on strike.
 “Managers promising 200 euro bonuses”
 According to Harra, agency workers and managers are currently working at sorting offices. He says Posti’s tactics are worthy of criticism.
 “Posti has acted disgracefully in trying to break the strike,” said Harra. “Posti has promised bonuses and threatened agency workers with reductions in hours. Managers have been promised 200 euro bonuses.”
 Yle asked Posti about Harra’s claims, and they did not deny them.
 Posti has ‘Kiitos’ bonuses, which are paid to workers for good work,” Posti’s communications department said. “These payments are in use in exceptional situations too.”
 Harra also criticised the much-reported salary of the company’s CEO, as well as the bonuses paid when the company is not doing well.
 He says he regards the bonuses paid to managers during the strike as ‘outrageous’.
 “This is unprecedented,” said Harra. “If Posti now has resources for this kind of payment, why doesn’t it have the resources to pay others?”
 “Kela will pay our wages”
 PAU’s strike was sparked by Posti’s attempt to transfer parcel sorting staff to a collective labour agreement allowing much lower pay.
 According to PAU the move could cut pay in sorting offices by between 30 and 50 percent. The average salary is 2,200 euros, meaning that the pay cut is around 660 euros.
 “If pay is cut by 30-50 percent, our wages are paid by Kela [the social insurance institution responsible for welfare],” said Harra. “Everyone can consider if their own salary was cut by that much, is it right?”
 According to Posti, the union’s comparison does not give an accurate picture.
 “The Industrial Union’s collective agreement has planned payments for performance and the total package is, at best, higher than it is now,” said  Turkka Kuusisto  of Posti’s Package and online shopping operations group. “You can’t just compare the monthly salaries on the chart.”
 Posti aiming for ‘working conditions on the same level’
 Posti says it is aiming for 150-200 million euros worth of savings, and says it wants the same kind of working conditions as at competitors.
 Harra rejects that argument, saying that DHL and other package delivery firms in Finland do not use the agreement that Posti is aiming for, preferring the transport sector agreement.
 “If the employer gets what they’re aiming for, Posti’s competitive advantage is huge,” said Harra. “Is Posti, as a state-owned company, aiming for profits? In my opinion it isn’t. People should have decent wages.”
 Posti says it is currently the only company in Finland using the postal and logistics sector agreement thrashed out with PAU.
 Transport firms that also deliver packages follow the transport union’s agreement. Some ten percent of Posti’s own employees are also covered by that agreement, according to Turkka Kuusisto.
 Shop steward: “Labour market strife starting in other sectors”
 According to Posti 700 workers are transferring to the Industrial Union’s distribution collective agreement.
 Harra fears that this kind of collective agreement ‘shopping’ could spread to other parts of the economy.
 “If Posti gets what it wants, then this kind of thing will spread elsewhere,” said Harra.
 Transport, railway and maritime unions have condemned Posti’s actions and Harra says he’s sure that support actions will happen if a resolution isn’t reached.
 “I believe that customers are behind us,” said Harra. “People walk past and wish us good luck.”
 Turkka Kuusisto says that the company is seeking flexibility through the changes.
 “We are not aiming for cost savings first and foremost, but above all we want flexibility in our package sorting work,” said Kuusisto in a statement. “Our goal is flexible and similar working conditions to our competitors’.”
 Professor: Impact on other negotiations
 Tampere University’s labour researcher and professor of sociology  Harri Melin  says that the Posti dispute could have an impact on other union-employer negotiations this autumn.
 “This autumn will be quite warm in the labour market,” said Melin, who cites economic growth and lengthened working hours imposed by the last government as upward pressures on pay settlements.
 On the other hand, economic forecasts suggest growth might not continue.
 Melin says that similar moves to find cheaper labour conditions will become more common in Finland. Posti is, according to Melin, a test case, because it is one company in one sector trying to minimise the cost of labour.

Union slams bonus payments during strike action


Summary: Finland could replace imported soybean meal with the expanded production of domestic broad beans, the minister claimed.

Ministerit, ministeriöt ja valtioneuvosto

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry  Jari Leppä  is calling for Finland to stop importing soybeans within the next five years.
 In a blog post on his personal website on Tuesday, the Centre Party MP argued that imported soybean meal would be unnecessary if domestic production of broad beans (also known as fava beans) were to be expanded to 80,000 hectares,  up from 22,000 hectares  (data from 2017).
 "This expanded amount would account for about four percent of Finland's farmland," Leppä said. A total of 7 percent of Finland's land mass is used for farming.
 Leppä's special adviser  Satu Haapaniemi  told Yle that the minister's aim is to primarily stop using soy in Finland as animal fodder; originally Leppä did not differentiate between the different uses of the soy bean.
 Late on Tuesday he specified that the use of soy for human consumption should also be curbed.
 "There are all sorts of different non-animal foods these days. We are hoping for innovations that could replace soy in all uses as far as possible. But the main message here is the animal feed," Leppä said.
 Ecology first
 In his original blog post Leppä notes that imports of soy for livestock feed have risen significantly in the past decade. Most of it comes from the US as well as Brazil, whose leadership recently came under international criticism for encouraging the razing of rainforests for new farmlands.
 Leppä asserts that Brazilian soybeans do not meet accountability criteria or Finland's target of carbon neutrality by 2035. Therefore he argues that Finland should be essentially soy-free by 2025.
 He notes that soy is an important source of protein for animal feed, but that the Finnish feed industry has worked hard to replace it with domestic raw materials such as oats, peas and rapeseed.
 Soy still fed to pigs and chickens
 Finnish milk and beef production is already nearly soy-free, says Leppä, who is a long-time beef and dairy farmer himself.
 In pork production, soy accounts for about six percent of fodder,  Marjukka Manninen , an expert at the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK), told the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat last week. Meanwhile about 15 percent of feed for broiler chickens comes from soy, with the rest mostly domestic grains.
 "This is the right direction when we think about climate change as well as changing food trends. We have very great potential in this protein-rich domestic crops," Leppä writes.
 He says it is realistic that for instance 80,000 hectares of broad bean cultivation could replace all imports of soybean meal, noting that this would be less than four percent of Finland's cultivated land.
 One of the few holdovers from the previous Centre-led cabinet, Leppä has been Minister of Agriculture and Forestry since May 2017. He has been a beef and dairy farmer in South Savo since 1980 and an MP since 1999, earning the dubious distinction of being the MP with the highest earnings from agricultural subsidies for several years running, to the tune of 120,000 euros in 2016.

Agriculture minister: Finnish animal feed to be soy-free by 2025


Summary: No harmful chemicals were found in the textiles, but pensions agency Kela fired the supplier of the malodorous product.

Finland's official maternity packages for the rest of 2019 will not include a roll of gauze textile due to the latest batch having an unpleasant odour, social insurance institution Kela reported on Wednesday.
 The company that packs the baby boxes, Logistikas Hankinta were the ones to detect the odd whiff.
 While the smell was described by Kela legal benefits chief  Johanna Aholainen  as "musty and foul", she said no mothers have received defective gauze.
 The rolls of gauze are delivered to Kela by a company called Imlitex Textile. Kela immediately terminated its contract with the provider.
 "The products come all the way from Pakistan, so it's hard to say where the smell came from," Aholainen said.
 Kela said that no harmful chemicals were found in the gauze when scrutinised in a laboratory. Aholainen said that the lab analysis was not enough, however, as all products in the maternity package must be odourless.
 No replacement could be found for the gauze in time for the rest of the year's kit deliveries.
 All families in Finland with newborns receive a maternity kit or a one-time cash benefit  as part of Kela's maternity grant .
 More than ten products reviewed in Finland's  world-renowned baby box  from 2018 were made in circumstances that involve serious labour rights shortcomings, according to the corporate responsibility watchdog Finnwatch.

Smelly gauze removed from 2019 maternity kits


Summary: The Border Guard's air patrol located the man within minutes using a thermal imaging camera.

The air patrol squadron attached to Finland's Border Guard has posted footage on the unit's  official twitter account  of the moment a helicopter using thermal imaging search located a missing man.
 The man, reported to be in his 80s and suffering from a memory disorder, disappeared in the Eastern Finland municipality of Liperi in North Karelia on Tuesday morning.
 Volunteer rescue service and sniffer dogs failed to locate the man despite hours of searching during daylight hours. However, the man was found shortly before midnight using thermal imaging technology, just minutes after the helicopter search began.
 Watch the moment the man was located using a thermal imaging camera. Story continues after video.
 The man was found lying in undergrowth about half a kilometre from where he was reported missing. According to the patrol squadron, the man was moving when he was found.
 An ambulance was called to the scene and the man was taken to a local hospital for examination.
 Story continues after image.
 Commander  Ismo Siikaluoma  of the Border Guard told Yle that the thermal imaging camera is a powerful tool in the search for missing persons, especially in the dark and in bad weather conditions . Specialised cameras can also be used for land, water and air exploration.
 "The thermal imaging camera makes it easy to detect objects that are warmer than the environment quickly and from far away. It also works in daylight," says Siikaluoma.
 Story continues after video.
 However, Siikaluoma added that heavy rain or snowy conditions may make it challenging to use the thermal imaging camera.

Watch: Helicopter's infrared camera finds missing elderly man


Summary: The European Commission called on Finland to reconsider a new vehicle category days before the reform takes effect.

Minister of Transport and Communications  Sanna Marin  said on Wednesday that the government should re-evaluate plans to adopt a new class of vehicles, lightweight cars, following the advice of the EU Commission opposing the proposal.
 The reform is due to take effect on 1 September.
 Speed-limited passenger vehicles, also known as lightweight cars, are a new class of transportation with a minimum age limit of 15 years instead of the normal 18. The vehicles have a maximum speed of 60 km/h; and the cars must have an unladen mass of 1,500 kg or 1,800 kg for fully electric versions.
 On Tuesday the EU notified Finland that the planned traffic law amendment may endanger traffic safety on Finnish roads. Specifically, the Commission said that vulnerable road users such as small children, pedestrians, cyclists and animals could be at risk under the new law.
 In February  the Finnish Cyclists Federation filed a complaint  with the Commission over the plan to re-designate some vehicles as lightweight cars.
 Story continues after photo.
 Minister of Transportation and Communications Sanna Marin of the SDP. Antti Eintola / Yle
 Marin said on Twitter that the European Commission's public note on Finland's new car law should be taken very seriously by government.
 "The mass of a lightweight car is considerable. They have powerful motors and they may accommodate up to five passengers including the driver, and they may even be used to pull trailers. These combined factors drastically compromise road safety, even with a low maximum speed," the Commission wrote.
 The EU also said that the proposed lightweight cars would be in the same category as tractors and much flimsier moped cars – but that the class of vehicle would not actually correspond to either.
 Drivers with a license for a light all terrain vehicle ( ATV or quad, category AM/121), passenger car (category B) or motorcycle (category A) would be allowed to drive the lightweight cars.
 "There are no restrictions on the other technical properties of passenger cars being converted to lightweight cars, such as the power, acceleration, type of transmission, or number of seats," the  Finnish Transport and Communications Agency  website said.

EU Commission: Lightweight cars too dangerous for Finnish roads


Summary: The market value of Solidium’s equity portfolio at the end of June was 7.7 billion euros.

State investment holdings firm Solidium paid the government some 338 million euros in dividends for the period July 2018 to 30 June this year.
 Solidium is a state-owned limited liability company that manages the government’s ownership in companies of national importance, according to the firm’s website.
 Solidium’s profits before extraordinary items amounted to 334 million euros, down slightly on its profit of 359 million euros in the preceding year for a 2.9-percent decline in return on investment.
 The market value of Solidium’s shareholding portfolio at the end of June was 7.7 billion euros while money market investments totalled 452 million euros.
 Last year stock markets experienced a steep drop, however this year they rebounded.
 At the end of June, Solidium held shares for the government in 13 Finnish firms. They are telecoms company Elisa, chemicals manufacturer Kemira, cranes and lifting equipment maker Konecranes, industrial machinery group Metso, networks and telecoms firm Nokia, tyre company Nokian Tyres, steel manufacturer Outokumpu, tech and mining company Outotec, insurance group Sampo, Swedish-Finnish steel processor SSAB, pulp and paper products firm Stora Enso, IT services firm Tieto and tech and automation provider Valmet.
 Solidium acquired shares in Nokian Tyres, Konecranes  and Nokia  during the accounting period.
 The firm previously held a roughly 15-percent stake in the  troubled Talvivaara Mining Company  and  later held seven percent in Ahtium , which became Talvivaara's successor following the mining firm's restructuring and rebranding. Ahtium filed for bankruptcy in March 2018.

Finnish govt pockets €338m in dividends from state investment firm


Summary: Daytime temperatures crept past 25 degrees Celsius in Lapland on Wednesday -- a first this late in the month.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute FMI said that temperatures in Lapland have never before exceeded 25 degrees Celsius after 27 August.
 However on Wednesday afternoon the mercury inched past the 25-degree-mark – known as the " heat threshold " in usually cool Finland – to reach 25.3 degrees in Kittilä and Muonio.
 The FMI posted a tweet showing daytime highs recorded in different parts of Lapland on Wednesday, simply hashtagging the post "helle" or "heat" in English.
 Yle meteorologist  Kerttu Ketakorpi  said that warm air currents will continue to waft over Lapland on Thursday. However she noted that it is not possible to same if the 25-degree weather will persist.
 Meanwhile the FMI predicted continuing sunshine and warm conditions for Thursday. However a system of scattered showers with occasional thunder is expected to move in from the west on Friday.
 Skies are forecasted to clear heading into the weekend, according to FMI.

Record August heat in Finnish Lapland


Summary: Finland's press looks at reluctance to comply with e-commerce rules, resistance-building bacteria, and hate mail.

Finland's most widely-read newspaper Helsingin Sanomat covers  postponed changes to payment and banking standard s that were set to shake up e-commerce in Europe.
 The European Union's  second payment services directive , designed to harmonise and improve existing rules for electronic payments, will enter into force in mid-September. In addition to imposing strict security requirements for e-payments across Europe, the new directive is also meant to open up markets and give consumers more choices.
 HS writes that banks and companies throughout the EU have dragged their feet on implementation of the new rules that will, for example, make several current mobile services more complicated. The paper says the only firms that have eagerly adopted the changes in Finland are payday loan peddlers, as they are "eager to get their hands on customer bank information".
 Three major changes are expected, HS says. First, lists of bank security codes for accessing online banking services will be phased out. Banks operating in Finland have come up with different alternatives, following differing timelines. At Nordea and Danske Bank, a  mobile app  that generates a security code will replace the lists, while OP bank will introduce a "mobile key" that is in effect an extra PIN code, the paper writes.
 Second, consumers making purchases online will be required to jump through more hoops. Mobile services that allow commuters to buy tickets for public transportation with just one click, for example, will in future redirect buyers to an identification verification service before the transaction is approved. For items costing less than 30 euros, consumers will only have to verify every sixth purchase, HS writes.
 The third main change will be an option allowing customers to authorise third-party merchants and authorities to  access personal bank accounts  and secure payments directly. The paper writes that interest in this area has been weak in Finland, as only six applicants have sought permission from the Financial Supervisory Authority to explore this alternative.
 Kids benefit from more contact with dirt
 Joensuu-based daily Karjalainen carries a STT story on a new study that concludes that  exposure to microbes in the home wards off asthma in children.
 The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) examined microbiota from over 400 Finnish homes and determined that those with larger amounts of bacteria from outdoors may reduce children's risk of developing asthma. The study says contemporary Finns spend 90 percent of their time indoors on average, leading to less contact with microbes from the natural world.
 "In this study, we identified certain groups of bacteria found in soil that protect against asthma. These groups of bacteria provided more effective protection against asthma than the previously observed diversity of microbiota", senior THL researcher  Anne Karvonen  tells the paper.
 She encourages families with small children to forgo rubber-coated urban playgrounds and regularly play in nature.
 "Extremely offensive" letter
 The Jyväskylä-based newspaper Keskisuomalainen reports on  Social Democratic Helsinki city councillor  Abdirahim "Husu" Hussein , who says he plans to file a crime report with the police after receiving a threatening letter containing a hangman's noose.
 The paper says the message "referred to Hussein's ethnic background in an extremely offensive manner" and warned him not to interfere in the activities of Finnish politicians.
 In July, the Somali-born politician created an uproar by tweeting that all Finns Party politicians, voters and supporters were racist. Several complaints, including from Finns Party MP  Jouni Kotiaho  and Nurmijärvi city councillor  Maiju Tapiolinna , calling for an investigation were submitted to the police.
 Helsinki police announced in early August that they would not be opening a pre-trial investigation into Hussein's tweet.

Thursday's papers: Deferred e-payment updates, asthma prevention and a hangman's noose


Summary: Experts believe commercial cultivation of pears and cherries will expand in the country.

Horticulturist  Arno Kasvi  marvels at a peach tree growing in Ruissalo, part of the southwestern city of Turku. The tree, which has flourished on a shady slope in the centre of the garden, was a gift and is already 10 years old. Kasvi has been following the stages of the tree’s annual growth cycle.
 "The tree has not really been cared for, but it still produces an edible harvest. It grows best in the shade. The problem with growing peaches in Finland is that they begin blooming too early in the year, for example on the walls of houses, even in January. At that time of the year, there are no pollinators around," said Kasvi.
 Story continues after photo.
 Peaches in a Finnish garden. Minna Rosvall / Yle
 Peach trees are not usually covered in a protective blanket in winter, nor are they shielded from the sunlight. This particular tree’s health demonstrates the effect of climate change on home gardens.
 "If the tree is cared for, it would yield a more regular harvest. The amount of produce has varied in recent years. Sometimes the peaches come in bucketfuls, like this summer, and other times there are distinctly less," said Kasvi.
 Worth trying exotic varieties
 The Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) is carrying out extensive research into how climate change is affecting the country. The institute predicts that the temperature will rise by two to seven degrees Celsius while rainfall will increase by six to 20 percent by 2080.
 Saila Karhu , a research professor at the institute, unveils a steadily growing grapevine outside its Piikkiö office.
 "There was a building here earlier, and the vine would grow on its outer wall. The building has been demolished, but the grapes continue to grow at a steady rate. It’s surprising that authentic varieties of grapes that thrive in Finland have been found, including varieties that can be eaten and used to make wine," she added.
 Story continues after photo.
 A flourishing grapevine in Piikiö. Minna Rosvall / Yle
 Karhu notes that this too is a result of climate change. She expressed astonishment at peaches and apricots not only being able to withstand the Finnish winter but being harvested regularly.
 "Sweet cherries could become a new crop, and the commercial cultivation of pears will likely increase significantly. The production area of apples, in turn, will be extended towards the North," she said.
 Karhu suggests growing exotic varieties of fruit in home gardens, but she does not recommend cultivating them for commercial purposes. She points out that it is easier to grow annual plants, as you need not worry about them surviving the winters.
 Warm winters and quickly melting snow aid plant growth
 A magnolia that bloomed last spring outside the institute’s Piikiö office is still flourishing. The beech tree, which was planted in the 1930s, has begun sprouting germinated seeds and reproducing for the first time ever in the past few years.
 "Climate change has led to a prolonged growing season, with less snow, and snow melting earlier in the spring. Very cold winter seasons are also expected to decrease, as will their likelihood. This will promote the protection of more delicate plants," said Karhu.
 Story continues after photo.
 Seeds from a beech tree in Piikkiö. Minna Rosvall / Yle
 Additionally, autumn weather will be milder for longer, but it will also be very wet and rainy. This could adversely affect plant dormancy in winter.
 "If autumn is fairly warm and long, the plants are in a good position to prepare for winter, and it aids their dormancy," Karhu said.
 Eggplant and corn crops thriving
 Kasvi encourages fruit cultivators to experiment. He displays eggplants growing in a bed at the University of Turku's botanical garden.
 "Eggplants thrive in greenhouses in Finland, but these demonstrate that they flourish in the open as well," Kasvi said.
 He then quickly switched to the topic of corn and quinoa.
 "Quinoa, like corn, is an Incan grain from South America. Corn is maturing at a high rate right now. The amount of heat is good, as April and May were exceptionally hot and there were no frosty nights. If horticulturists or farmers do not succeed this summer, they should change their fields," Kasvi said.
 Story continues after photo.
 .
 Corn cultivators need not worry about the crop surviving winter. Minna Rosvall / Yle
 He emphasises that using the same plot of land for several years lets you gain agricultural and horticultural experience, and proposes growing different varieties.
 "There are varieties of maize that are easy to cultivate, but I only recommend growing peach trees as a hobby. It is a high maintenance crop compared to corn, for example." Kasvi said, also highlighting the limited yield. "It should be remembered that peach trees bloom as rarely as plum trees. They also need to be pruned, as the tree could crack under the weight of an abundant yield."

Climate change spurs growth of exotic fruit in Finland


Summary: A group of boys had stolen the flag hours after it had been raised at the city hall in Kouvola, southeast Finland.

A rainbow flag that was stolen from Kouvola’s city hall on Saturday was found burnt the next day. Municipal officials raised the flag in front of the city hall in the morning as a means of participating in last Saturday’s pride event, but it was stolen the same evening. Surveillance camera footage showed three boys taking the pride symbol off the flagpole.
 According to local paper Kouvolan Sanomat, the burnt remains of the rainbow flag were found outside the city hall on Sunday.  Minna Acarca , service advisor of Kouvola city, told Yle that she believes the burnt flag is the same one that was stolen. The city had filed an official crime report after the theft.
 The national organisation for LGBTI rights Seta has condemned the stealing and burning of the rainbow flag. According to Seta, the act incites hatred towards the LGBTI community and reinforces the sense of insecurity felt by the minority group.
 A spate of rainbow flag thefts
 About twenty pride events were organised in various parts of Finland this year. According to Seta, some of the events were disrupted when rainbow flags were stolen. Flags have been stolen in cities such as Kokkola, western Finland and Oulu in the northwest.
 Story continues after photo.
 Saturday's pride parade in Kouvola Pyry Sarkiola / Yle
 "Vandalising flags is a hateful and hurtful act. It is a concrete way of demonstrating that LGBTI people are not welcome in the locality,"  Sakris Kupila , a representative of Seta, said in a statement.
 According to Seta, the number of pride events has increased over the past year, particularly in small towns which do not usually have pride-related activities.
 The flag was flown only once
 The rainbow flag had flown in front of the city hall in Kouvola for only six hours. It was raised at 10.00am and was stolen at around 4.10pm. It was supposed to fly in front of the city hall till 6.00pm.
 The city had ordered the brand new flag specifically for the event, and it was used just once. This was the second time this year that Kouvola participated in a pride event.

Southeast Finland city's pride flag stolen, burnt


Summary: Populist movements worldwide -- including in Finland -- seek to delegitimise human rights activities, the analysis says.

World politics have shifted, and as a result, Finland needs to update its human rights policy. This is the conclusion of a new report compiled by the Finnish government.
 "Finland in the International Human Rights System" set out to analyse the continuities and disruptions in the development of the Finnish operational environment from the time of the last report in 2014 to the spring of 2019.
 The analysis considered Finland's human rights policy in the context of United Nations and European Union human rights activities. It found that global trends and political power shifts have made it necessary to critically evaluate the potential of the international human rights system to adapt to several critical changes.
 Populist groups threaten rule-based system
 Populist groups in western countries are working to undermine the legitimacy of a rule-based human rights system, the study maintains.
 It says four worldwide trends (environmental change, migration, new technologies, and the changing security paradigm) are in particular eroding the international system of human rights, with state sovereignty being emphasised over multilateralism, and "growing multipolarity and multivocality" making it more difficult to reach agreements on international forums.
 "The highly politicised - and currently some of the most controversial - themes include climate change, immigration and gender equality, which turn into obstacles to effective cooperation in both global and regional human rights forums," the report reads.
 The analysis advises Finland to take human rights issues better into account "on all levels of governance", in both international and domestic decision-making.
 State institutions crowded out
 According to the Finnish report, the rise of China and other non-western states has made the world order more pluralistic and less fixed into blocs. At the same time, the influence of non-state actors such as cities, businesses and service organizations has become more pronounced.
 Businesses in particular are taking a growing role in addressing the problem, the analysis states, sometimes pushing NGOs and government organizations to the periphery. The report doesn't go so far to say that such institutions are in crisis, however.
 "[…] the rise of crisis-talk is partly connected to the rise of populism. Naming something as a crisis is a method used to legitimate drastic political actions and to find scapegoats. Stepping out of this framework may help with identifying chances of cooperation and new points in the agenda," the government report says.
 Work to do domestically
 The report formulates eight goals Finland should strive for when shaping its human rights policies in the future. Among other things, actors are to maintain a human rights-based approach in developing technological projects and security agendas, promote migrant rights in line with international agreements, and actively promote gender equality.
 Finland's government report says western states should work to encourage broad social participation and shore up people's faith in human rights protections.
 "Finland has been noted to have one of Europe’s worst records of racism against Muslims, and the problem of hate speech (both in racist and gendered forms) has been brought up even as a problem for democracy. These issues, which include violence against women, treatment of the elderly and the level of social protection, have direct links to the mitigation of the negative human rights impacts of global trends, and should be addressed as effectively as possible," it recommends.

Finland's human rights policy in need of update, gov't study finds


Summary: The men were remanded into pre-trial custody on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder.

The Itä-Uusimaa district court in Vantaa has remanded two men into pre-trial custody on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder, following an incident in which two police officers were shot in Porvoo, southeast Finland late Saturday night.
 The remand hearing for the younger of the two men, who are said to be  brothers with Swedish citizenship , began shortly after 2.00pm on Thursday afternoon and wrapped up shortly afterwards at about 2.15pm. The older brother has dual Finnish-Swedish citizenship.
 The 25 year-old man’s name was given as  Raymond Johannes Granholm . According to Yle reporter  Päivi Happonen , the younger suspect initially hid his face as the session began but later sat in court with his face uncovered.
 The remand hearing for the other suspect, the older brother whose named has been reported as  Richard Nicholas Granholm , began immediately afterwards. That session ended at about 2.30pm.
 The hearings took place behind closed doors and the suspects were brought into the courtroom via a back door, away from the glare of the media gathered at the courthouse.
 Media were however allowed into the courtroom for photos following the second remand hearing. During that time, the older Granholm concealed his face behind a cardboard folder.
 Police questioning to continue
 Police  detained the two men on Sunday evening  following an incident in Porvoo, some 50 kilometres east of Helsinki, in which two police officers were shot while responding to a routine call. Yle reported on Wednesday that the policemen did not discharge their weapons before they were shot.
 The suspects fled the scene when backup units arrived and were on the loose for several hours. They were eventually apprehended in the Tampere area following a high-speed chase during which they also allegedly shot at police in pursuit.
 The younger of the injured policemen was discharged from hospital on Monday, but the older officer is still receiving treatment for his injuries. However, his condition has been said to be stable.
 Police said that they will continue questioning the suspects and added that they have not yet interviewed the officers who were injured in Saturday night’s shooting.
 Police have until 24 January 2020 to complete a preliminary investigation and press formal charges.
 Edit: Updated at 6.20pm with information about the police deadline for completing an investigation and charging the suspects.

Porvoo shooting suspects remanded into custody in Vantaa court


Summary: Prime Minister Antti Rinne described UK premier Boris Johnson's actions as "very contradictory".

Kansainväliset organisaatiot ja sopimukset

Finnish Prime Minister  Antti Rinne  has said that moves to suspend the UK Parliament means that lawmakers may not be able to prevent the country from exiting the EU without an agreement to cover future relations.
 Rinne was responding to UK PM  Boris Johnson ’s request to  Queen Elizabeth  this week to prorogue parliament.
 "Johnson’s message yesterday is that he has got enough of a signal from his meeting with [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel to focus on taking matters forward in his own parliament. But today the message came that that initiative had been deferred. It tells me that Johnson’s actions are very contradictory," Rinne said on Wednesday, adding that the situation now looks worse than one day earlier.
 "It definitely increases the risk of a no-deal Brexit," he added.
 Analysts believe that if the UK crashes out of the EU, it would complicate movement between Britain and mainland Europe. It could also affect the economy and make the availability of medicines problematic.
 Given Finland’s presidency of the EU Council, Rinne said he has offered his assistance in ensuring that the UK does not leave the EU without a deal. However Rinne said he now has to wait and see.
 "At the moment the situation seems chaotic. We are awaiting clarification from the UK [to see] if we can somehow assist," he added.
 Haavisto: No-deal Brexit could bring many surprises
 Meanwhile Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  offered comments on the current situation from a Greens parliamentary group meeting in Hämeenlinna.
 "Of course from Finland’s perspective it’s important that Brexit is orderly, however it happens. As the holder of the EU presidency, we naturally hope that it will happen with an EU agreement, to regulate relations between the EU and Britain," he remarked.
 Haavisto pointed out that a disorderly Brexit could mean many surprises in the future.
 Story continues after photo.
 Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto at the Greens parliamentary group meeting in Hämeenlinna on Wednesday Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva
 "A no-deal Brexit involves many risk factors and it could be bad for everyone economically. In the days [after Brexit] we don’t know how the movement of goods and people will work, what will be the status of EU workers in Britain and the Northern Ireland border question is also difficult. There would be much to negotiate after a no-deal Brexit," he continued.
 Haavisto said that he believed that Brexit will also be on the agenda during unofficial meetings of EU foreign ministers at the end of this week.
 The minister said that Finland’s direct message to the UK is that regardless of whether or not the country remains in the EU, bilateral relations must continue, even if only because many UK citizens live in Finland and vice versa.

Finnish PM says UK Parliament suspension "increases risk of no-deal Brexit"


Summary: A photographer was surprised to find an online retailer selling household fabrics with the image of her cat.

24-year old photographer  Adalmina Ollanketo  was in for a shock when she came across bed linens with the image of a familiar-looking cat in a certain Facebook group. It later turned out that the feline in question was her very own pet,  Minttu .
 "I created a Facebook post to investigate and found out that the very same picture had also been used on other products," Ollanketo said.
 Ollanketo realised that apart from sheets, the photo had been printed on hoodies, mousepads and decorative wall hangings on online retail sites such as Wish, Aliexpress, Amazon and eBay.
 The 24-year-old sleuth speculated that the photo was plucked from the DeviantArt website, an online service popular among artists and to which she had contributed photos 10 years ago.
 "I was so shocked about those sheets. I knew that the photo had been previously copied for products like wall hangings but I wasn’t expecting this. Others are stealing and making money from work that I’ve done. I personally don’t benefit from my work," she declared.
 Ollanketo’s story was first reported by the  Oulu-based daily Kaleva  (€).
 When the young photographer wrote about her experience on Facebook, many readers said that she had taken a risk by publishing her photos on the social channel. However she noted that publishing photos is part of a photographer’s work.
 "Pictures are need for marketing. We cannot get clients if we don’t publish photos and provide information about ourselves. Photographers can’t stay in hiding, photos must be visible because of the profession," she declared.
 A screenshot from the retail website, Wish. Kuvakaappaus Wishilta
 Although people share photos via public channels that doesn’t mean that can be freely copied. Photographers have exclusive rights over the photos they take, noted  Jenny Rontu , co-founder legal tech startup Someturva.
 "Using someone else’s photo without permission is a violation of the photographer’s copyright. The photographer has exclusive rights over their photos," Rontu noted.
 Everything can end up in the wrong hands
 Everything that is shared publicly in online platforms is also in danger of ending up in the wrong hands, pointed out social psychologist and media researcher  Suvi Uski .
 "You lose full control over your content the second it goes online. People can take screenshots of content and there are also apps that save everything that is shared on a platform," she explained.
 The increased use of social media and increases the misuse of photos, Rontu added.
 "The prevalence of the problem is also evident given that different digital services have emerged to help [people] determine if their photos have been misused online," she continued.
 Use a watermark
 Ollanketo said that she intends to contact the website and merchant of the household items in a bid to receive compensation for the use of her cat’s likeness on the products. She said that she had previously been involved in a battle with internet giant Amazon and knows that the she may end up empty handed.
 "You can’t really ask the merchants to do anything beyond removing the products from sale. There are many such pictures around and it’s a big job. I don’t really know whether or not I’ll even get them removed at all."
 She said that in future she will consider using a watermark on her photos and she called on others to think about ways to ensure that their photos are not misused in other parts of the world.
 "You have to safeguard your rights. Photos can be cropped or watermarks can be used, for example. After this I may be forced to use such measures."
 Check to see who has rights to your content
 Some social media platforms in particular ask users to hand over copyright of their content to the service provider. In practice this means that the platform can use images and information for purposes such as data analysis.
 Uksi pointed out that different applications have wildly varying practices. Users need to be proactive and should themselves check their privacy and user rights settings. She said that it is now routine for platforms to listen in to users’ conversations.
 "It’s good to switch off microphones, deny permissions for photos and location data. The rule of thumb should be to not divulge anything extra about yourself. It’s not too late to draw the line and to begin protecting personal privacy right away," the researcher added.
 Uski said she hoped that people would always try to hold people to account for misusing photos in cases similar to Ollanketo’s.
 "If there is a situation where something must be taken offline, it would make sense to contact the service provider. If we’re talking about sensitive material then it would be best to contact the police," she concluded.

Finnish photographer warns of online retailers "copying" private photos


Summary: In May, an appeals court convicted Jari Aarnio's ex-subordinate of official misconduct and leaking state secrets.

The Helsinki Police Department has decided to fire a senior detective who worked under  corrupt ex-cop  Jari Aarnio  when he was in charge of the unit's narcotics unit. The detective, who was widely referred to as Aarnio's "right hand man", was suspended from police duties while he awaited trial.
 A Finnish appeal court found the detective guilty of four counts of official misconduct and one instance of violating state secrets in May. The sentence was part of the court ruling associated with  Aarnio's trial  for a number of criminal offences.
 Helsinki deputy police chief  Heikki Kopperoinen  said that as a rule, police officers should enjoy the trust and respect of the public and fellow authorities.
 "The police department sees the senior detective's behaviour to have endangered confidence in the proper conduct of police duties," he said in a bulletin.
 "Completely unbelievable" statements
 The appeals court ruled that the detective had violated his office by granting unjustified television surveillance licenses to a district court. The convicted man had given the district court false information in a particularly sensitive matter. The court's ruling in the case is final.
 The court said the ruling was also influenced by several "completely unbelievable" statements the defendant made that were "incompatible with the evidence".
 "The employer assesses trust by weighing all the known facts, and in this case, there is a clear loss of confidence," Kopperoinen said.
 The court rejected a call by the prosecution to discharge the detective, but Kopperoinen said the department still has a right to fire an employee if it is considered necessary.
 "Dismissal is a criminal penalty. The court's decision does not influence what the employer chooses to do. The employer has a right to size up the situation and assess the official's suitability for the job," he said.

Police sack former "right hand man" of convicted ex-narcotics cop


Summary: The Finnish press covers custody hearings and an Interior Minister setting out her plans to improve police work.

The  Granholm brothers’ hearing at Vantaa District Court  occupied a fair amount of space in the Finnish press on Friday morning, but details were still scant on the suspects, their motivations, and almost everything else.
 The suspected Porvoo police shooters’ hearing yielded few details for the public, but the papers still found plenty to write about. Helsingin Sanomat has the  older brother’s rap sheet  from the Swedish courts, while Ilta-Sanomat has  six open questions  after the day’s events.
 The Porvoo case coincided with something of a (social) media storm engulfing Interior Minister and Green Party leader  Maria Ohisalo , who has been heartily criticised by the radical right-wing Finns Party since she took office.
 On Monday morning Iltalehti  published  an article based on an interview with Ohisalo headlined ‘Maria Ohisalo: Seeking asylum is a basic right that goes before everything else’. That’s quite a stance for an Interior Minister to take, and caused an avalanche of criticism from other politicians and ordinary citizens on social media, but she didn’t quite say that in the article.
 Iltalehti offered Ohisalo a right of reply but refused to change the headline. If there is a complaint, the case will be ruled on by the self-regulation body the Council for the Mass Media in Finland (Finnish acronym JSN).
 Since then she has been criticised both for drawing attention to previous governments’ cuts to police funding and for failing to demand extra funding off the back of the shootings.
 On Friday she joins  Seppo Kolehmäinen , who chairs the National Police Board, in penning an  opinion piece  in Helsingin Sanomat. She emphasises plans for a code of ethics for police, more officers patrolling growing cities, maximum response times and a plan to raise police numbers to 7,500 nationwide by 2022.
 She does admit that Finland has the lowest number of police per capita in Europe, so it remains to be seen whether her critics will be placated.
 Housing benefit benefits the big landlords
 Ilta-Sanomat  has  a big report on the relationship between housing benefit payments and property companies’ profits, which is unsurprisingly pretty symbiotic.
 In 2017 the city of Helsinki received nearly 40 million euros in housing benefit payments for rented accommodation it owns. Sato got 27 million euros while Kojamo, which is part-owned by Finnish trade unions, took 22 million euros.
 The paper points out that in 2018 Kojamo paid trade unions some 20 million euros in dividends, making them beneficiaries of a system some have said keeps rents high.
 Slot machine defence
 Aamulehti  reports  on moves by the hospitality industry group MaRa to prevent slot machines being removed from bars, restaurants and petrol stations.
 The proposal has been on the agenda thanks to a citizens’ initiative and some problematic Veikkaus advertising, but the businesses that host these gambling opportunities are reluctant to give them up.
 MaRa says that removing the machines is an over-reaction.
 “If the problem according to Veikkaus is 1.3 percent of households and the solution is removing slot machines completely from restaurants and petrol stations, in our opinion that is an over-reaction,” said MaRa CEO  Timo Lappi .
 The businesses make some 80 million euros directly from the 2,300 machines in bars and restaurants and roughly 800 in petrol stations.
 They claim significant benefits in employment too, but as AL points out, the problems of gambling addiction are also left for these communities to deal with.

Friday’s papers: Porvoo hearing, Ohisalo defence, housing benefit millions and bars defend slot machines


Summary: The postal workers' union has suspended its strike after assurances from the minister in charge of state-owned firms.

Suomen Ammattiliittojen Keskusjärjestö SAK

The Finnish Post and Logistics Union (PAU) decided to suspend its strike early on Wednesday. The decision came after it received word from Minister of Ownership Steering  Sirpa Paatero that a controversial contract plan would be put on ice . Posti had planned to shift some 700 employees under the scope of a new collective bargaining agreement, a move the union said would have lead to sharp cuts in their wages.
 "PAU has received further clarification regarding the timeout message from the Minister of Ownership Steering in connection with the collective labour agreement dispute, which allows for the suspension of industrial action for the time being," PAU chair  Heidi Nieminen  said in a statement.
 The union demands that Posti transfer Parcel and E-Commerce sorting staff back under the aegis of the main company Posti Oy so that collective labour agreement negotiations can re-start "with a clean slate".
 "Employees are to return to work for their next shifts, if possible," Nieminen added.
 Nieminen expects sympathy job action by other unions to end as well. However she tells Yle that the union is prepared to launch more industrial action if the contract dispute is not resolved.
 Posti intended to move the workers under other unions' collective agreements, which PAU estimated would have led to some employees' wages falling by as much as half as well as weaker contract terms.
 The strike, which began on Sunday evening, was to have gone on until midnight Wednesday.
 Posti CEO: Letter deliveries could end before 2025
 Meanwhile Posti CEO  Heikki Malinen , who has been  under fire for accepting hefty salary raises  while employees are seeing their pay cut, predicts that home delivery of newspapers and magazines could end by 2025, and that letter deliveries may even come to a halt even sooner.
 Malinen told the newspaper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus that he expects delivery of printed periodicals to continue until at least 2025 or 2030, but that the future of hand-delivered letters looks increasingly challenging over the next few years.
 MT estimates that a decline in letter and newspaper deliveries has put a 70-million-euro dent in Posti's turnover.
 Malinen said that the planned changes in collective agreements are intended to give the state-owned company more flexibility, as the business increasingly shifts toward package deliveries and logistics.
 As most packages are delivered toward the end of each week, the firm already in effect only delivers letters only four days a week, the paper notes.
 Although the package delivery business is growing, so is the competition. Malinen notes that Posti now competes with 16 domestic delivery firms as well as many more from abroad.

Postal union calls off strike; CEO predicts end to home deliveries


Summary: Finland could reach a key WHO target by 2025 if risk factors continue to decline.

Finns' risk of dying prematurely has decreased, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) says. However more people are becoming overweight or obese, which may slow the otherwise positive development.
 On Friday the THL released a major survey of research and predictions on endemic diseases in Finland. It indicates that premature mortality based on the country's most common diseases has decreased across the board. This is mainly due to the reduction of key risk factors including smoking and high cholesterol.
 Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases have dropped significantly in the country over the past quarter century, but the decline has slowed in recent years. The main factors that make early death more likely are unhealthy diet, lack of exercise and harmful alcohol consumption.
 "Premature mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases has declined because known risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol have reduced and the treatment of diseases has improved," THL Research Professor  Pekka Jousilahti  said a statement.
 "On the other hand there has been unfavourable development in some areas including proliferating overweight and obesity," he added.
 BMI soaring
 The WHO classifies individuals as overweight and obese based on body mass index (BMI), which is determined by dividing a person's weight by the square of his or her height. It considers any adult with a BMI of 25 or more to be overweight, while those with 30 or more are obese.
 In Finland BMI and waistlines expanded significantly for both men and women between 1992 and 2017. In 1992, just 16 percent of men and 15 percent of women were obese, but by 2017 this had risen to 23 percent for all.
 Cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases are responsible for more than half of all deaths in Finland, including among people of working age.
 In 1970, the chance of dying of one these illnesses before the age of 70 was 40 percent for men and 20 percent for women. By 2017, the corresponding figures had dropped to 13 percent for men and seven percent for women.
 If current trends continue, these numbers should fall to around 10 percent for men and just over five percent for women by 2025, the THL predicts. If so, Finland would reach the WHO's goal of cutting premature mortality from such diseases by one quarter between 2010 and 2025.

Finns' risk of premature death declines but obesity remains a stumbling block