Summary: A top Finnish justice official says that a wait of more than a year for a residence permit decision was unlawful.

The Deputy Chancellor of Justice has criticized the Finnish Immigration Service Migri in a ruling on a complaint concerning the more than one year it took to process an application for a residence permit.
 The case concerned an application for a residence permit on the basis of family ties. Migri spent 13 months handling the application and ignored inquiries from the applicant during the process.
 By law, Migri is required to provide a decision on such applications within nine months.
 According to Deputy Chancellor of Justice  Mikko Puumalainen , Migri cannot use a heavy workload or lack of resources as an excuse not to fulfil its legal obligations. He added that Migri has had problems for years in bringing its services into line with legally-required standards.
 In the case reviewed by the Deputy Chancellor, the first concrete action taken by Migri was a request for further information sent to the applicant and the applicant's spouse a year after the application was filed in July 2017.
 The applicant's spouse had made inquires with Migri concerning the application processes on several occasions in 2017 and 2018, but received no reply.
 Demand for improvements
 According to the Immigration Service, the delay in processing the application was due to a backlog of work and a mistake made by the official handling the case.
 The Deputy Chancellor of Justice says that it is Migri's responsibility to ensure that applications are not delayed. He added that Migri is also required to respond to requests for information about the timetable of the process and projected dates for a decision on applications.
 Puumalainen has now ordered the Immigration Service to inform him no later than by 10 November what measures it has undertaken to ensure that deadlines for application processing are not missed and that mistakes are avoided.
 Migri is furthermore being asked to inform the Deputy Chancellor of Justice how it intends to monitor and improve its customer services. The complainant in the case in question also reported being treated rudely by Migri officials during telephone calls.
 This is not the first time that the Office of the Chancellor of Justice has ruled in favour of complaints about extended processing times and ignoring inquires.
 In May 2017, the Chancellor of Justice issued the Immigration Service a formal notice of dereliction of its obligations after it exceeded the mandated processing time for a residence permit application by four months. At that time, the Chancellor of Justice stressed the importance of the reunification of families in resuming a normal life and in integration for people who have fled persecution.

Residence permit delay deemed illegal


Summary: Finland is hosting Bold Quest, an annual US-led military exercise involving troops from 14 countries.

A major international military exercise began in Sodankylä, Finnish Lapland, on Wednesday. About 100 foreign soldiers are taking part in manoeuvres in Sodankylä, along with several Norwegian tanks.
 The Riekko 19 field training exercise, named after the willow grouse and led by the Jaeger Brigade, is being held in the Kyläjärvi–Lintuselkä–Mellankangas area through 24 May, with a two-day break over next weekend. It's part of the larger Bold Quest event being held in various parts of Finland over the next couple of weeks.
 Taking part in the Sodankylä manoeuvres are about 800 people and 200 vehicles. Most of the troops are from the Finnish Defence Forces' Jaeger Brigade and Kainuu Brigade. Also participating are roughly 100 soldiers from the US and Norway, as well as four Norwegian CV90 combat tanks.
 "From the US, there are around 70 people from a National Guard Engineer Company and around 10 Marines, along with a Norwegian infantry fighting vehicle detachments of about 20 people," says Lieutenant Colonel  Petri Sipilä  from the Jaeger Brigade, who is leading the Riekko 19 field training exercise.
 Sipilä explains that the first three days of the event will include basic exercises such as testing communications equipment and practising the use of English. Next week's schedule includes a five-day combat exercise.
 Testing compatibility
 Riekko 19 is part of a larger series of US-led international military cooperation events known as Bold Quest, launched in 2003. The Finnish Army has taken part in Bold Quest events abroad on a limited scale since 2010, when it was held in Norway. This is the first time one has been held on Finnish soil, and only the third time it has been outside of the US.
 "The foreign troops have brought equipment in order to test the compatibility of our C5 [Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Counter-intelligence] systems," Sipilä says.
 Sodankylä is the main venue for the Bold Quest event, but the Defence Staff headquarters has not revealed how many people have come to the municipality for the event.
 Sodankylä, with a population of just over 8,000, is in central Lapland, nearly 1,000 km north of the capital Helsinki.
 Bold Quest operations will also be held in Rovajärvi and Rovaniemi in Lapland as well as Rissala airfield in central Finland and the southern towns of Riihimäki and Turku. Altogether some 2,200 people are participating, including some 700 Finns. Staff from 14 countries are involved.
 Most of the countries in the Bold Quest coalition are in North America and Europe, but it also includes Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.

US, Norwegian troops join Lapland military exercise


Summary: The fishing boat was seized on Friday, however there were only Estonian nationals aboard the vessel.

Russian authorities have seized a Finnish-flagged fishing vessel, according to Russian news agency Tass.
 Russian officials said the boat, a trawler named Roxen, was seized on Friday after breaching waters of Russia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
 The boat's crewmembers were all Estonian, according to the Finnish consulate general's office in St Petersburg, which said that no Finns were onboard the vessel when it was seized.
 The trawler - reportedly carrying around 7.5 tonnes of fish - was taken to the port of Kaliningrad, capital of the Russian province with the same name, nestled between Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic coast.
 The consulate general's office said it is hoping for an expedient court decision regarding the seizure and that the vessel would be released as soon as possible.
 The incident was first reported in Finland by newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

Russia seizes Finnish-flagged fishing trawler


Summary: As activists in Sweden and France protest petrol price hikes, gas actually costs more in Finland.

Petrol prices have been steadily going up across the EU and Finnish drivers pay the fifth most in the union, according to a survey by the European Commission.
 Every week the commission publishes lists of gasoline prices in EU countries, the most recent of which was carried out on 6 May.
 At the beginning of last week 95-octane petrol was most expensive in the Netherlands, where it cost 1.72 euros per litre. Denmark ranked the second-highest price for petrol, at 1.68 euros, with Greece at 1,65 euros per litre. Just ahead of Finland was Italy, at 1.63 euro per litre.
 Drivers in Finland paid 1.59 euros but in Sweden gas cost less, at 1.56 euros per litre. The most affordable petrol was found in Bulgaria, where a litre cost 1.11 euros.
 There are many factors behind the fluctuation of global petroleum prices, but because the price of crude oil is based on the US dollar, changes to global currency values also heavily affect petroleum product prices.
 Gasoline prices also tend to rise during the summer months when people climb into cars for holiday trips, raising demand for petrol - as well as its price.
 Helsinki petrol station
 Tiina Matela,  who was pumping gas at a petrol station in Helsinki said she was not happy with the price hikes.
 "You feel it in your wallet when prices go up, and start to wonder whether you can really afford to fill up the car," she said, pointing out that since she lives downtown she doesn't need to drive every day.
 "You need to think about the environment, too. Trips across Helsinki are so short that you can walk or take a bus. But when you have to take the kids around, a car is necessary," Matela said.
 According to  fuelseurope.com , the majority of the price of gasoline in Europe is made up of tariffs and VAT.
 Story continues after photo.
 File photo of vehicle traffic. Esko Jämsä / AOP
 Protests in France, planned in Sweden
 A man in Sweden tired of petrol's rising costs sparked a grass-roots movement on  Facebook , and so far nearly half a million people have joined it.
 Sixty-nine-year-old Swede  Janne Berglund  only started the group in April and told the country's national broadcaster SVT he wanted to call people to action in order to get politicians to lower fuel taxes.
 Last autumn, yellow-vested protesters in France also took their grievances -  sometimes violently  - about economic justice to city streets, Part of their demands were to get policymakers to take action about the rising costs of gasoline.
 Berglund's Swedish group is also planning outdoor demonstrations. The group's moderator  Peder Blohm Bokenhielm  told newspaper Expressen that the group intends to remain active until something is done to lower gas prices.
 However in Helsinki, Matela said she doesn't think protests will work.
 "I don't believe in that kind of thing. I'd prefer a national discussion about the issue be started, rather than to start a fuss. [The Swedish group] sounds quite a lot like the demonstrations in France," Matela said.
 Another customer at the Helsinki petrol pumps,  Jyrki Rahkonen , said he doesn't follow petrol price fluctuations very carefully.
 "The price goes up and down, the differences are that big. Of course prices are pretty high, but then they've always been," Rahkonen said
 He said he drives a larger model car because of his job, and that he thinks it is up to car manufacturers to make vehicles as environmentally-friendly as possible.
 "It's silly to blame us [drivers] who need their cars for not thinking about the environment," he said, saying that he thinks the outcry in Sweden about fuel prices might be a good idea.
 Story continues after photo.
 File photo of petrol nozzle. Yahay Arhab / EPA
 Reasons behind fluctuations
 Senior advisor at Finnish petroleum giant Neste,  Lauri Kärnä , said that petrol prices went down last year due to overproduction. This year, he said prices went up due to planned - as well as unplanned - cuts in production at refineries.
 According to recent news reports, the quality of Russian oil headed to Europe via pipelines was significantly tainted by  organic chloride contamination  towards the end of last month.
 Kärnä said a large amount of the Russian oil was unusable, and contributed to rising prices at the pump around the world.
 The ongoing trade war between the  US and China  is expected to stagnate the global economy, a situation which might, according to Kärnä, bring petrol prices downward.
 However, an actual war or other conflict would bring gas prices even further upward, he said.
 "Think of the environment"
 Another customer at the Helsinki gas pump,  Ville Parkkulainen , said he would prefer to ride his bike than drive a car.
 "I drive very little, so the prices don't really affect me. But you really still need a car if you live in Finland. The kids have hobbies and then there's trips to get a bunch of groceries at the supermarket. But if it's a short trip, I'll take the bike instead," he said.
 Parkkulainen said he doesn't think raising fuel prices would help to get people to drive less in Finland, however.
 "A carrot should be offered, rather than a stick. People who don't care about the environment will just get upset over the higher prices. Those like me who care about the environment fill up their cars and drive less. Taking the climate into consideration is the solution," he said.
 While Finland's petrol prices are relatively high, drivers in Hong Kong pay the most in the world. Gasoline in Hong Kong costs around 1.96 euros per litre, according to  globalpetrolprices.com .

Finland's petrol prices 5th highest in EU


Summary: The UK’s protracted exit from the bloc looms over the election of members of the European Parliament.

Finnish citizens will join many of their European counterparts to vote in a total of 751 new members of the European Parliament from 28 member states. Voters in Finland will go to the polls on 26 May to elect 13 MEPs who will serve for the next five-year term until 2024. However if the UK eventually finalises its departure from the EU, the number of Finnish MEPs will climb to 14.
 1. Who can vote
 All Finnish citizens who have reached the age of 18 by election day are eligible to vote in the election, regardless of their location at the time. If a Finnish national has registered to vote in another EU jurisdiction, he or she cannot also vote in European elections in Finland as well.
 By the same token, eligible citizens of other EU countries resident in Finland as well as employees of the EU and of international organisations may also vote in Finland provided they have registered to vote here.
 All eligible voters will receive a polling card from the Population Register Office, with all the information they require to cast their ballot. The card will provide the location of the voter’s polling station on election day as well as a list of advance polling stations in the electoral district.
 2. When and how to vote
 Advance voting in the election runs from 15 to 21 May in Finland and from 15 to 18 May for Finnish citizens living abroad who have registered to vote in Finland. Eligible voters living permanently abroad or staying abroad at the time of the elections may also choose to  vote by post  in the European elections. Some electors prefer to cast their ballots on the official election day – 26 May this year – when polling stations open between 9.00am and 8.00pm.
 Candidates in the Europarliament election are the same in all electoral districts of Finland, so voters may cast their ballot for any candidate. The final candidate list was published on 25 April, just after the parliamentary election. Voters must present a valid photo ID to vote on election day or in advance voting. Valid forms of ID include a passport, identity card or driving licence. It is also possible to obtain a free temporary identity card from the police if a voter does not have a formal ID document.
 For the first time this year, more than 250,000 Finnish citizens living outside the country will have the right to vote by postal ballot in the European Parliament elections. Voters eligible to submit a postal ballot must order the voting kit in advance, cast a vote and return the ballot paper to the relevant municipality in Finland.
 3. Totting up ballots
 Vote counting begins as soon as polling stations close at 8.00pm on election day. However early results based on advance ballots cast in the election are usually available at 8.00pm or soon afterwards.
 Preliminary results will emerge later in the evening and constituency offices will conduct a recount of all the votes on 27 May. In Finland, final national results will be confirmed by the Helsinki electoral constituency office on 29 May.
 More information about the vote is available in multiple languages on the website of the Ministry of Justice, which oversees all elections in Finland.
 4. Brexit puts spanner in the works
 This year’s Europarliament elections have a major fly in the ointment – Brexit – with the UK participating in the ballot despite its 2016 decision to leave the bloc. Prime Minister  Theresa May ’s repeated efforts to secure backing for her deal have been spurned by UK lawmakers and Brussels has granted an extension to the country’s departure deadline until 31 October. This has put Britain in the ignominious position of electing MEPs to a body that it has essentially voted to quit.
 The UK currently has 73 MEP seats in the European Parliament. If it leaves the union, 27 seats will be assigned to other countries and the remaining 46 will be vacant. Finland was among the member states arguing that the extra seats should not be distributed, but that the legislature should simply shrink once the UK leaves the union.

EU parliament elections: 4 things you need to know about voting in Finland


Summary: Helsingin Sanomat delves into Sitra's new report on what Finnish residents need to do to address climate change.

Finns need to eat far less meat and choose other forms of transportation over cars in order to impact climate change, according to leading Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat (HS).  A report  released on Thursday by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, urges Finns to make radical changes to their lifestyles.
 Citing Sitra’s report, HS writes that a person living in Finland negatively impacts the climate five times as much as an individual in India.
 According to Sitra, the gap between Finnish lifestyles and international climate goals is vast. In the next ten years, saying that if the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement are to be achieved, emissions in Finland caused by consumption should be cut by nearly 75 percent.
 Most of the carbon footprint caused by the average person in Finland comes from transportation, housing, as well as food production and consumption.
 But finding solutions to address climate change cannot be the sole responsibility of individuals, as the required changes to address the issue are so great, says  Anu Mänty , senior adviser with Sitra.
 ”Major structural changes are needed. We need to develop new ways of thinking about our economy, infrastructure and consumption-based lifestyles. This requires radical rethinking in politics and administration, as well as in business models and in people’s lives,” she tells HS.
 Better election voter turnout?
 Leading  Tampere daily Aamulehti  suggests that more people in Finland will vote in this year's European Parliamentary elections than five years ago, when less than 40 percent turned out to cast their votes.
 In Pirkanmaa, or the Greater Tampere region surrounding Finland’s second largest city, ”more people are voting than five years ago,” according to Tampere University political researcher  Sami Borg , who was interviewed by Aamulehti.
 Borg forecasts that climate change and immigration will activate people to vote in the MEP elections, especially Greens and Finns Party supporters.
 In Lielahti, Tampere there was a queue of eager voters on Wednesday morning. At the end of that day, 3.6 percent of all eligible Finns had cast their vote; in the Pirkanmaa region that figure stood at 3.9 percent.
 ”On the first day of voting more people voted than [on the first day] five years ago,” Borg told the paper. ”It’s still too early to say whether overall voter turnout will be higher than five years ago.”
 Summer arrives
 Finland’s warmest temperatures of the year were recorded in Turku on Wednesday, writes  tabloid Iltalehti , citing the Finnish Meteorological Institute, which recorded temperatures of 17.5 degrees Celsius in Finland’s third largest city. Espoo was close behind, with 17 degrees Celsius recorded on Wednesday.
 Institute meteorologist  Tomi Kaurinen  told Iltalehti that ”temperatures will continue to heat up and could climb above 20 degrees Celsius in the next couple of days.”
 According to Iltalehti, Thursday will be sunny and clear throughout the country, with highs of 17 degrees Celsius expected in the capital region and slightly cooler temperatures for coastal areas.
 ”Even northern regions will hit 15 degrees Celsius, and Lapland will see temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius,” Kaurinen told Iltalehti.

Thursday's papers: Lifestyle adjustments to curb climate change, brisk MEP voting, and summer arrives


Summary: Some MPs engaged in forming the next government have said tax increases might be in store.

The vast majority, 77 percent of respondents said they do not want to see higher taxes, according to a poll commissioned by business think tank Eva, the Finnish Business and Policy Forum.
 Survey responses were collected in January and February, well before last month's general election. The party which just barely got the most votes in the election, the  Social Democrats , is at the helm of ongoing government formation talks.
 The SDP has its eye on   tax reliefs  granted to small and mid-sized businesses and aims to more heavily tax dividends paid out by unlisted companies, as well as more generally, ownership and capital. Others have said that the next administration is  likely to raise taxes , rather than cut government spending.
 The survey found that the majority would like to see reductions in inheritance and gift taxes, as well as VAT levied on food products.
 Handful would agree to tax hikes
 Survey participants were presented with nine different types of taxes and asked to decide which ones they would like to see raised, reduced or remain unchanged.
 Across the board, the majority of participants said they did not want to see any of the various taxes go up, according to the business lobby.
 One of the questions asked whether respondents personally would be prepared to hand over more tax money to the state. Perhaps surprisingly, 23 percent of the respondents said they would, while 53 percent said they wouldn't.
 About 64 percent said the government should find ways to boost public finances rather than raise taxes, while only 16 percent thought the opposite.
 The survey carried a margin of error of 2-3 percentage points in either direction and queried around 2,000 people between the ages of 18 and 70.

Vast majority in Finland against tax hikes, business lobby poll finds


Summary: A WWF survey finds that 77 percent of Finns would curb felling in forests where it causes great environmental harm.

On a global scale, clear-cutting of forests has resulted in the extinction of hundreds of tree species. In Finland, more than 140,000 hectares of forest are clear-cut every year and the negative spill-off effects on the environment are far-reaching.
 According to a new survey by the World Wildlife Life Fund for Nature (WWF), close to 77 percent of Finns favour legally restricting clear-cutting in areas where it causes the greatest environmental damage.
 The survey, carried out by pollster Kantar TNS for WWF, polled 1,000 people living in Finland. Among the questions asked was whether clear-cutting should be restricted by law in areas where it most gravely impacts the environment, such as groves, peat lands, and on the shores of waterways.
 Close to 77 percent of survey respondents said that they wanted to limit clear-cutting, while 12 percent of survey respondents said they didn’t see any need for restrictions.
 Changes to forestry laws needed
 "Clear-cutting impoverishes Finnish nature, causes waterway eutrophication and hampers climate change mitigation," says WWF Finland's leading forest expert,  Panu Kunttu .
 During the current government formation talks, the future of Finland’s forests will be mapped out.
 "The will of the people regarding limiting clear-cutting should appear in government negotiations and be written into the new government's agenda by changing the Forest Act," says Kunttu.
 Finns want to increase nature conservation funding
 WWF also asked respondents whether funding for nature conservation should be increased in order to halt the impoverishment of nature. Fifty-seven percent of respondents supported increasing funding, while only one in five opposed it.
 "The previous government significantly cut funding earmarked for the creation of nature reserves,” says Kunttu. "Currently less than 30 million euros a year is being allocated, whereas more than three billion euros goes to support environmentally harmful subsidies," he adds.
 Kunttu believes that funding nature conservation should be multiplied so that the degradation of nature can be stopped in Finland.
 "From the point of view of safeguarding nature, it is important that more protected areas be allocated in Finland. The next government must correct the mistakes of the previous one and earmark at least 100 million euros annually for the establishment of protected areas," he argues.

Four out of five Finns favour restricting clear-cutting


Summary: From Wednesday, calling from Finland to another EU country will cost no more than 19 cents per minute.

Kansainväliset organisaatiot ja sopimukset

The price of making a telephone call from one European Union country to another is now capped at 19 cents per minute, thanks to the implementation of an EU directive. Sending text messages across the EU are also capped at six cents, but local VAT of each country is not included.
 The price caps on calls and texts went into force in all 28 countries in the bloc on Wednesday. It will go into effect later in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which are part of the European Economic Area but not EU members. The price ceiling affects communications on mobile networks as well as landlines, according to the EU.
 The cross-EU directive was prompted by major variations in various countries of the per-minute prices of phone calls, and part of a broader harmonisation of the EU's single digital market.
 WhatsApp, Skype increasingly popular
 A couple of years ago EU countries began to  abolish roaming charges , gradually enabling visitors from one country to freely use their mobile phones in another without the risk of additional fees.
 Although internet-based calling and text message services like WhatsApp and Skype are increasingly popular, EU residents still use traditional telephone networks to communicate - wireless or otherwise.
 One quarter of Europeans said they had used landlines, cellular or sent SMS messages across EU borders in the past month, according to a recent survey carried out across the bloc.
 The differences in phone call prices in various countries have varied dramatically. The most expensive cross-EU calls were found in Croatia, Portugal and Ireland, while the most affordable were in Germany, Cyprus and the Netherlands, according to the  European Union.

Price caps on cross-EU phone calls, texts go into effect


Summary: Finnair's impact on the climate has grown in recent years, and the company doesn't plan to reduce total emissions until 2050.

Finnair has admitted to providing misleading information about emissions reduction targets as part of a 'Push for change' campaign to sell carbon offsets to airline passengers.
 While the airline's campaign page suggests that Finland’s national carrier is aiming to reduce overall emissions by 2020, the company said this is not actually the case.
 The Finnish flag-carrier is now Finland’s fourth-biggest producer of greenhouse gases and plans to continue expanding business, which will in turn increase its emissions, a strategy that leading transport campaigner  Andrew Murphy  says is 'inconsistent with' the goals of  the Paris climate accord .
 Figures from the EU  suggest that of the top five Finnish sources of carbon covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), Finnair has increased its carbon footprint the most over the last five years.
 The airline is now Finland’s fourth biggest source of eligible carbon emissions covered by the ETS, producing some 1.1 megatonnes of carbon from flights within Europe in 2018.
 Finnair's ETS-eligible emissions have increased at an average rate of 14 percent per year over the last five years, faster than any of the other top five greenhouse gas sources in Finland. The company  made profits  of 150 million euros in 2018.
 Story continues after graphic.
 Harri Vähäkangas / Yle
 "Last year we increased our capacity quite a bit, so traffic has grown but then also the total emissions have also grown," said  Päivyt Tallqvist , Finnair’s Director of Communications, who also stressed that Finnair is aiming to reduce the amount of carbon emitted per passenger kilometre and is on track to do so through measures to improve fuel efficiency.
 The company has implemented a successful strategy to increase passenger numbers flying to and from the Far East under the tagline 'Fly the shortcut to Asia', using Helsinki as a hub to funnel passengers to other destinations across Europe.
 According to Finnair's 2018 sustainability report, total emissions, including intercontinental flights not covered by the ETS, amounted to 3.9 megatonnes.
 "Misleading" targets
 The company is planning to expand business still further, with no targets for absolute emission reductions due until 2050.
 The report says Finnair is aiming to reduce carbon per 'revenue tonne kilometre (RTK)' by 17 percent by 2020--but if passenger numbers increase as planned, the airline’s overall climate impact will grow.
 However, passengers looking at Finnair's ' Push for Change ' page selling carbon offset products will find mention of a target of cutting CO2 emissions "by 17% by 2020 compared with the 2013 baseline".
 Given Finnair's rapid growth since then, that target would entail a 50 percent reduction on 2018 levels, which is not a target mentioned by the company in its sustainability report.
 When asked about that target, Tallqvist first denied it. However, when she was sent the link and related text said via email "I apologise for the misleading formulation on the website, we will fix that!"
 At the time of writing, ten days after that communication, the 'misleading' target was still on the company’s 'Push for Change' page, which asks passengers to calculate climate impact and then purchase offsets for the carbon produced by their flights.
 Offsets for conscious consumers
 Offsets covering a return domestic flight within Finland can be purchased from Finnair for one euro, a flight within Europe can be offset for 2 euros, while the carbon emitted for a return intercontinental flight costs 6 euros.
 Finnair says that by the end of March 2019, 2,545 passengers had purchased offsets valued at 18,248 euros via the Push for Change programme. Finnair also uses the scheme to offset staff travel greenhouse gas emissions.
 Story continues after photo.
 AOP
 The money either pays for an emissions reduction project in Mozambique or goes towards biofuel made from cooking oil to replace kerosene in the firm’s planes.
 "In 2018, we paid over 11 million euros for emissions rights within the EU ETS, and in total we paid different environment-based taxes and payments of 45 million euro," said Tallqvist.
 Activist: Offsets 'don’t work'
 Tallqvist also cites the CORSIA scheme, an aviation-specific global emissions trading approach that sets the price of carbon at around one twentieth the cost within the EU’s own ETS.
 Andrew Murphy from Transport and Environment, a Europe-wide pressure group, says that it 'won’t do anything'.
 "Offsets don’t work, we need real cuts in emissions," Murphy said.
 Murphy also called on airlines to provide better in reporting on the risk posed to their business model by the threat of heavier regulation and taxation.
 As Finland's  Green Party prepares to enter government , expectations are high that the new cabinet could introduce a flight tax, or push for an EU-wide flight tax, as part of its efforts to fight climate change.
 "Any airline should be reporting on the climate risk they face, because as regulation starts to increase that is a risk to shareholders," said Murphy.
 That’s not enough, according to green transport campaigners, because it is inconsistent with the drastic reductions in carbon emissions the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says are necessary by 2030 to try and avert catastrophic climate change.
 "Anyone who is promoting a target that allows for emissions increases is promoting a target inconsistent with [the] Paris [climate accord]," said Murphy.
 The 2016 Paris Climate Accord was signed by 195 countries, who agreed to aim for drastic reductions in carbon emissions to try to keep climate change to less than 2 degrees Celsius.
 At that level, the IPCC says, there is some hope of avoiding catastrophic changes in the climate.
 Finnair opposes a flight tax, which could be on the way if the Greens form part of a government coalition.
 "We are naturally following the discussion closely, but do not think that a flight tax would be the optimal solution for reducing CO2 emissions from flying, as it cannot be earmarked for environmental work," a Finnair spokesperson said by email. "Also, as the flight tax systems that are in use elsewhere do not account for the aircraft type or fuel consumption, or the use of biofuels, a flight tax does not encourage investments into CO2-reducing technology and the use of biofuels."
 A flight tax was introduced in Sweden in 2018. That year growth in international air travel began to fall, with domestic flights down three percent.
 "People are flying less," said Murphy. "In Sweden people have started to fly less and that has only previously happened in an economic recession. Now it's happening because of climate change."

Finnair emissions targets 'inconsistent with Paris climate accords'


Summary: Ukraine's foreign minister abruptly cancelled a trip to Finland, apparently to protest a planned lifting of Russian sanctions.

Ministerit, ministeriöt ja valtioneuvosto

The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs,  Pavlo Klimkin , has cancelled his participation in a Council of Europe (CoE) conference on Friday in Helsinki, according to the Ukrainian media outlet European Pravda.
 The meeting marks the end of Finland's six-month presidency of the CoE's highest decision-making body, its Committee of Ministers.
 According to the site, Klimkin's move is in protest against plans to lift sanctions on Russia's full participation in CoE activities.
 "The minister has cancelled his visit to Helsinki. This is the first time in years that Ukraine will not be represented at the ministerial level," Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the CoE,  Dmytro Kuleba  told the site.
 The CoE Committee of Ministers recently decided to back a draft resolution allowing Moscow to re-join the organisation's Parliamentary Assembly through an extraordinary procedure. According to the site, "the decision is expected to be approved without any modification or discussion at the session in Helsinki on May 17".
 On Wednesday Klimkin criticised the move, saying it would undermine the 2014 and 2105 Minsk Agreements aimed at ending fighting in eastern Ukraine, which has so far been unsuccessful.
 Finnish ministry: Russia's non-payment a "challenge"
 The CoE voted to exclude Russia from its Parliamentary Assembly after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. In retaliation, Russia has refused to pay its membership dues, which has been a blow to the organisation's budget.
 The ministerial session will be held at Helsinki's Finlandia Hall on Friday. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from member states are expected to attend the meeting, to be chaired by outgoing Finnish Foreign Minister  Timo Soini  in what may be  one of his final acts as a government officia l.
 According to the Finnish Foreign Ministry, the agenda will include "the political, economic and institutional challenges" facing the CoE, adding that "the situation is challenging because of the question of Russia’s continued non-payment of its budget contributions and its right of participation in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly".
 Not to be confused with the EU's European Council, the 47-member CoE describes itself as "the continent's leading human rights organisation". It has 19 non-EU members including Russia and Turkey.
 Finland's presidency of the EU begins on 1 July, just over a month after its CoE term ends.

Ukrainian FM skips Helsinki Council of Europe meeting over Russian sanctions


Summary: The iconic Finnish design house says expanding its e-commerce presence has boosted sales worldwide.

Finnish design, clothing and textile firm Marimekko announced Thursday that its operating profit had doubled during the first quarter of 2019 compared to Q1 in 2018. Between January and March, the firm's operating profit rose to 2.6 million euros, a growth of than 1.2 million euros compared to the same period last year.
 ”The strong figures in the first quarter were driven by a change in the timing of wholesale deliveries and a favourable trend in Finnish retail sales,” Marimekko CEO and President  Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko  saidin a press release.
 Multi-market growth
 Marimekko's net sales rose by 13 percent to 27.1 million euros during the first three months of the year. Net sales grew across all of its markets, with growth in Finland by 7 percent - and internationally by 18 percent.
 The growth in net sales was generated primarily by wholesale sales in the Asia-Pacific region and Finnish retail sales, according to the company.
 One of the drivers of growth, the firm said, was the expansion of its e-commerce presence which included investments in online sales in China. In February, Berlin-based online retailer Zalando began selling Marimekko products in Finland and China.
 The positive news strengthened Marimekko's share price by 15 percent on the Helsinki Stock Exchange on Thursday morning..

Marimekko's Q1 profits double year-on-year


Summary: Temperatures could hit 25 degrees Celsius in parts of Finland, says an Yle meteorologist.

Temperatures in southern and central Finland will likely breach 20 degrees Celsius on Friday and the weekend will be even warmer, according to Yle meteorologist  Joonas Koskela .
 "The air across Finland will gradually warm up and temperatures will rise across much of the country throughout the weekend. Each day will be warmer than the previous day. On Sunday temperatures in south-western areas could reach 25 degrees," Koskela said.
 The meteorologist explained that a high pressure system has been building up in western Finland and will spread across the country towards the south-east on Friday. Meanwhile temperatures will rise and it will be mostly sunny, which will bring up temperatures even further.
 Temperatures in northern Finland could reach 19 degrees on Saturday, when it will also likely be around 9 degrees in northern Finnish Lapland.
 Winds subside, UV radiation goes up
 "There will be very light winds across the majority of the country, but moderate wind is possible as well," Koskela explained, noting that the coast could be cooler than inland areas due to sea breezes.
 Koskela said to expect moderate UV radiation levels from the sun in southern Finland.
 "Remember to protect your skin [with sunblock or clothing] over the weekend if you're out in the sunny weather," he said.
 But Koskela also said that the sunny, summer-like weather could get wetter after the weekend, saying that a low pressure system over western Europe could bring rain over southern and central areas of Finland at the beginning of next week.
 Koskela said he doesn't think any heat records will be broken this weekend.
 "The beginning of May has been very chilly and it's rained a lot in many areas. Forecasts also point to more rain [next week]," Koskela said.

Get out the sunscreen - Finland to warm up this weekend


Summary: Police suspect a group of minors of theft and assault, saying their modus operandi bears the hallmarks of organised crime.

Helsinki police are wrapping up a preliminary investigation into an unusual case in which a group of minors is suspected of aggravated robbery, assault and attempted aggravated theft.
 Late last year, Helsinki police were notified that three or four boys were beating up another young man by striking and kicking him in various parts of his body.
 "The victim says that he was kicked and hit, including being struck in the face with a rock, and that his property was stolen. Some of the perpetrators were in the stairway outside his apartment, but had fled by the time police arrived," said Detective Chief Inspector  Marko Forss , who is leading the probe.
 Drug deal as pretext
 The victim told police that he recognised two of the suspected attackers, even though one of them was wearing a balaclava over his face.
 Based on the victim's testimony, law enforcement authorities detained two suspects. One was soon freed, but police then identified another suspect based on their own investigations.
 The two minors were kept behind bars during the early stages of the probe. As it progressed, three more underage boys were detained, while one who was under the age of 15 was questioned. Those over 15 have since been released but are under a travel ban. The suspects were aged 14-16 at the time of the alleged attack.
 Victim becomes a suspect
 Police say that it soon became clear that the case was related to drug offences. The suspects had apparently been told that there were significant amounts of cash and controlled substances in the victim's flat.
 They had agreed with him via social media to purchase a small amount of drugs. They allegedly planned to steal his key and gain access to the apartment, but didn't make it closer than the stairwell.
 Police now suspect the victim of drug offences. However they have not been able to ascertain whether there was in fact large amounts of cash or drugs at his home.
 "This is an exceptional case in that the modus operandi resembles that of the adult world and organised crime based on its level of planning and seriousness," says Detective  Jari Illukka  of the Helsinki police department. However he adds that robberies in conjunction with drug and  snus  tobacco deals are familiar to police.
 Underage status hampers investigation
 Just over a year ago, the Helsinki police department set up a special team to investigate suspected crimes by minors in the capital region.
 "As in this case, investigations are more difficult in situations where the suspects are under the age of 15. Although prison is no place for someone under the age of 18, suspects under 15 are problematic in that they cannot be arrested," Forss says.
 Another challenge in probing youth crime is dealing with those who have escaped from children's homes or juvenile detention facilities. Last year, authorities in Helsinki sought about 800 such runaways.
 "A runaway child is at higher risk of committing new crimes, but also of becoming a victim of crime. One could also ask whether it makes sense to put children who have committed serious crimes into the same place as those who have been taken into care for other reasons," Forss says.

Helsinki police probe violent attack, drug offences by minors


Summary: Parties in government formation talks propose a new fleet of fast trains, franchises appeal to Finland’s immigrants and Finland's poor Eurovision record.

Finland’s next government will explore the feasibility of three high-speed rail projects, reports national daily  Helsingin Sanomat . New fast links would include connections from Helsinki to Turku, Tampere and, possibly, Kouvola.
 A new high-speed rail network is estimated to cost some nine billion euros--funds that the state has not budgeted for. Parties involved in government formation talks have, however, earmarked some 200 million euros for planning costs, bringing the project one step closer to reality, writes HS.
 The proposed high-speed connection would shave 30 minutes off the current Helsinki-Turku connection, which currently serves some 30,000 commuters daily, according to the paper.
 Immigrants flock to franchises
 The R-kioski convenience store chain tells business daily  Kauppalehti  that it is having a difficult time recruiting franchise owners in Finland.
 However R-kioski managing director  Teemu Rissanen  said newcomers to Finland are breathing new life into the business as their proportion of store ownership continues to grow.
 “During the last five years the share of immigrant background franchise owners has significantly grown. These are customer-oriented people,” he said.
 Rissanen, whose company is looking to recruit around 100 franchise owners, criticised the government’s tax treatment of small business owners.
 Scandinavia v Finland
 Finland is the only Nordic country not to secure a spot in the the Eurovision song contest finals on Saturday in Tel Aviv, reports Swedish-language daily  Hufvudstadsbladet . Contestants from Sweden, Norway and Denmark made it through the semi-finals on Thursday night.
 Finland’s entry, Look Away, performed by Sandstorm hit-maker DJ Darude and  Sebastian Rejman , did not make it past this year’s first semi-final on Tuesday.
 Finland has competed in the Eurovision song contest 52 times, but only won the competition once in 2006 with heavy metal monsters  Lordi  and their song Hard Rock Hallelujah.

Friday’s papers: Bullet trains, immigrant franchise ownership and Finland’s Eurovision losing streak


Summary: The bikes will be available for rent through a mobile app.

Hot on the trail of many  other Finnish cities , Joensuu is set to introduce 85-90 city bikes this summer. Both residents and tourists can use the three-speed bikes that will be made available at 15 bike rack stations across the city. The paid bike service provided by Easybike will kick off in late June or early July.
 Riders need to download a smartphone application and register with the system to be able to rent the bikes. The idea behind the shared city bike concept is that a single rider can use a bike for a maximum of 30 minutes at a time.
 The one-time fee for an hour is one euro and the daily fee is five euros. Users can also opt for 30-day and 90-day passes. If the bike is used for more than 30 minutes at a time, extra fees are levied. Students will enjoy cheaper tariffs.
 The Joensuu city bike experiment is funded by the North Karelian Cooperative, pop music collective Joensuun Popmuusikot, Punamusta Media, private vocational education and training provider Riveria, University of Eastern Finland, confectioner Fazer and Joensuu.
 "It will be interesting to see how such a market-based system will work in the city of Joensuu," said  Juha-Pekka Vartiainen , the Joensuu City Planning Manager. City leaders have given the project a green light for this year only.
 Big boom in city bikes across Finland
 Several Finnish cities have recently jumped on the city bike bandwagon. This spring, the city of  Kuopio  acquired 150 electric bikes for the first time. In Helsinki too, city bikes have become all the rage.Turku Region Traffic currently has over 300 city bikes, which are being used all year around. This summer, city bikes will also be introduced in Lappeenranta, Oulu, Lahti and Iisalmi.
 City officials speculate that groups like students and tourists are interested in using the city bikes.  Petri Varis , the executive producer of Joensuun Popmuusikot, said, "Cycling is the best! It’s both environmentally friendly and fun. It’s great that in today's times we can use a shared bike service."
 Joensuu is already big on biking. According to officials, about one third of daily trips in the city are done by bike — more than three times the national average. Recent upgrades in the Joensuu city centre include bike-friendly additions such as sheltered bike parking lots.

Joensuu wheels out city bikes this summer


Summary: The defendant admitted to killing the three-year-old, but denied the murder charge.

The Helsinki Appeal Court ruled on Thursday to uphold a life sentence handed down to a man who  stabbed and killed his three-year-old daughter  in Porvoo, 50km east of Helsinki, in November 2017.
 The appellate court backed the findings of the district court, which ruled that the offence was premeditated and committed in an especially brutal and callous manner. The 39-year-old French national had attacked his daughter while she was in a park.
 A psychiatric evaluation found that the man was fully aware of his actions, leading the Itä-Uusimaa district court to hand down the murder conviction last summer.
 The defendant appealed the sentence to the appeal court, with the defence arguing that the deed had not been especially brutal or callous and that he had not planned to kill his daughter. The defence also referred to the man’s mental state and extenuating circumstances, such as his divorce and the homelessness that he experienced as a result.
 The convicted man,  Nicolas Mathieu Cherchel  confessed to manslaughter, which carries a minimum sentence of eight years in prison, while murder always results in a life sentence. In addition to the murder charge, the district court also convicted the man on charges of assault, illegal threats, child kidnapping and home invasion, given that he had previously spoken of killing his family.
 Higher damages payout for mother
 The recommendations of the Justice Ministry’s Personal Injury Advisory Board are used as guidelines in determining damages for victims of crime. Recommendations from 2017 indicated that damages in the range of 3,000 – 12,000 euros should be paid upon the death of a child. However in this case, the district court decided to deviate from the guidelines and ordered the man to pay the child’s mother 25,000 euros in damages.
 The court also took into consideration the fact that the child’s mother had witnessed the act. The Helsinki Appeal Court upheld all of the lower court’s arguments as it overturned the defendant’s appeal.
 "The Appeal Court ruled that the matter before it is exceptional and has caused the mother extreme suffering, and for this reason there is justification for an upward adjustment in damages from the recommended scale," the court declared.
 According to Finland's Criminal Sanctions Agency, prisoners serving a life sentences can be released at the earliest after serving a minimum of 12 years.

Appeal court upholds life sentence for father convicted of child’s stabbing death


Summary: Around 20 Finnish companies are using a web-based programme that unites jobseekers and employers.

Many  jobseekers  in Finland find themselves frustrated with filling out multiple job applications only to hear nothing back.  Rekrybotti   (roughly Recruit-Bot) is a new web-based program that chats with prospective applicants for a job, examines their skills and determines if they are a right fit for the role.
 “You don't have to spend hours trying to update your CV and application. Even if you're in a bus, you can leave your contact details through the bot in a few minutes,” said HR Manager  Jenna Kokkonen  from Ropo Capital, which began using the bot for recruitment help this spring.
 The bot asks applicants a series of simple questions about their background and work experience, prompts them to click on options that best describe themselves and takes down their contact details. The entire process can take less than a minute, Kokkonen said.
 New application of bot tech
 However, the bot only breaks the ice. Kokkonen said that the bot sends her a notification after every chat and if a candidate seems interesting, she springs to action. Ropo Capital's first IT employee hired with the help of the bot will commence work in a few weeks.
 While pop-up chatbots are already widespread in customer service applications, using bots for recruitments is a fairly new game. The first bots specifically dedicated to recruitment were introduced in Finland late last year.
 "This is a very interesting trend in the recruitment industry and it is not so much because it is about robotics and bots, but because they make it easier to find a job in many ways,” said  Santtu Kottila,  Marketing Director at Leado, the marketing technology company which brought the recruitment bot to market last year.
 Kottila said that while bots may not differ too much from regular recruitment platforms when you look at the bigger picture, they initiate a dialogue and create an interactive environment for the candidate and therein, lies their novelty.

Tired of filling out job applications? A bot could help you find work


Summary: Rights group ILGA-Europe, which compiled the rankings, noted a "backslide" of rights protections around the world.

Finland was ranked as having the fourth-best laws and policies in the world that protect the rights of the LGBT+ community, according to ILGA-Europe advocacy group.
 The group examined 49 European countries in its 10th index this year. Compared to last year, Finland's ranking went up a notch from fifth, but it still trailed Malta, Belgium and Luxembourg - the top-three ranking nations.
 According to the rights group, the list's rankings are based on: equality and non-discrimination, family, hate crime and hate speech, legal gender recognition and bodily integrity, civil society space as well as asylum.
 Chair of Finland's leading LGBT+ rights group, Seta,  Sakris Kupila , said he was pleased about Finland's standing.
 "It's because of Finland passing the  same-sex marriage law  and the  maternity act , enabling two mothers to be parents," Kupila explained.
 ILGA-Europe also applauded the country's ministry of justice for implementing a two-year project focused on mainstreaming equality and non-discrimination in municipalities across the country.
 The rights group also noted that the Finnish government had commissioned a study to examine the rights and experiences of intersex people, adding that a report on the study is scheduled to be published this spring.
 More work to be done
 However, ILGA-Europe's executive director,  Evelyne Paradis , said many countries were moving backwards in terms of human rights issues relating to the LGBT+ community.
 "If ever there was a time to put high political priority on LGBTI equality, it is now! Last year, we warned about the dangers of thinking that the work was done. Sadly, this year, we see concrete evidence of roll-back at political and legislative levels in a growing number of countries. There is no more time to waste," Paradis stated in a press release on the rankings.
 The rights group said Finland - which received a 69-percent overall score this year - still has work to do regarding rights for all, particularly in terms of the Evangelical  Lutheran Church's  position on same-sex marriage.
 Seta's Kupila agreed that while Finland ranked well this year, there's more work to be done.
 "That fact that Finland placed fourth is good, but we can't rest on our laurels with the notion that everything is good in our country," he said. He pointed out that the Rainbow Map only takes promulgated legislation into consideration in its rankings - not the social climate within a country.
 "We have a polarised climate for discussion these days, with a lot of hate-driven rhetoric. The Rainbow community faces a lot of discrimination in everyday life, at school, at work and in healthcare in Finland. That doesn't show up on the maps," Kupila said.
 ILGA-Europe has carried out European Rainbow Map rankings for the past 10 years, and this year the countries that fared worst in terms of LGBT+ rights include Armenia (6%), Turkey (5%) and Azerbijan (3%).
 Malta, at the  very top of the list  with 90%, far out-ranked the closest runner-up Belgium, which received a score of 73%.

LGBT+ rights: Finland ranks 4th on European Rainbow Map


Summary: Government negotiations see spending troubles, the Centre Party questions Prime Minister Sipilä's leadership and a new cable car is tested.

Daily  Helsingin Sanomat wrote  late on Tuesday that Social Democratic chair  Antti Rinne 's government coalition talks have entered a "difficult phase" marked by an absence of sufficient funds to bring about all the policy proposals currently in the works.
 HS reported that the party chairs have reached a wary consensus that the coming government needs an extra one billion euros to fulfill its plans.
 For the budget to be rounded out, some 700 million euros more in tax gains would be needed. Finland's employment rate would also need to rise to 75 percent from the current 72.6 percent by the year 2023.
 HS sources indicated that the government intends to sell off "vast amounts" of its shareholdings for an injection of 1.5—2 billion euros, most of which is set to fund transport and infrastructure upgrades. An estimated 500 million euros would go towards research and innovation.
 Rinne has said that the government talks are to conclude on Friday, which HS sources said is unlikely due to the sheer number of open questions still dangling over the negotiators.
 PM Sipilä blamed by own party
 While the next coalition slowly comes together, outgoing Prime Minister  Juha Sipilä  is facing severe criticism from his own Centre Party MPs.
 Sipilä's colleagues expressed their displeasure at the premier's leadership style and his special treatment of ex-minister  Anne Berner , according to  regional paper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus ; MPs spoke of a "climate of fear" surrounding Sipilä's behaviour.
 MT's interview and survey information found that many Centre Party respondents do not want Sipilä to take up a ministerial portfolio in the coming government. Sipilä has been tracked to become the next Minister of Finance.
 Sipilä granted then-Minister of Finance Berner the right to veto, which many Centre Party politicians balked at. According to MT, one MP said that during Sipilä's term the PM undermined the party's parliamentary group and made open conversation impossible.
 "In group meetings Sipilä would become angry when criticised," the anonymous MP said. "The parliamentary group should guide the PM, not the other way around. Sipilä also seemed to look down on MPs who were working on so-called "insignificant things", even though the nitty gritty policy work actually has a lot of value for rural Centre Party voters especially."
 Another MP claimed that Sipilä's victim mentality halted the Centre Party's development.
 "When we tried to make big political changes, everything stopped with Sipilä," the anonymous source said.
 Finland's first funicular functional
 The city of Turku is almost ready to inaugurate its Kakola funicular, the first in Finland.  Tabloid Iltalehti tested  the new semi-vertical cable car, which can carry some 480 passengers per hour.
 The funicular was proposed as early as 2010, wrote IL, with the first competitive bidding rounds in 2012. The Kakola hill is too steep for buses or other forms of transport; and the funicular is much cheaper, costing about a third of a bus line's annual upkeep costs.
 The funicular track  is 130 metres long with an elevation of 30 metres from the bottom of the line to the top. Using the funicular is free, and a one-way trip lasts about one minute.
 The 1.9-billion-euro project was supposed to be finished by the end of 2018. Instead Turku will begin public use of the funicular on Friday, 24 May.

Wednesday's papers: Gov't €1bn shortfall, intra-party PM criticism, Turku funicular


Summary: Report urges sweeping legislative changes as current measures are deemed unsatisfactory.

Efforts to eradicate hate speech from Finnish society have been fragmented and poorly coordinated , according to a report commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education and Culture.
 The report, entitled "Words are deeds" ( Sanat ovat tekoja) , was compiled by a working group of Lutheran bishops and makes a number of recommendations on how Finland can take effective action against hate speech.
 Archbishop of Turku Kari Mäkinen led the research working group. Kalle Mäkelä / Yle
 The report's first, and main, recommendation is for the establishment of an anti-hate speech Action Plan. Archbishop  Kari Mäkinen , the spokesperson for the group, described hate speech as a problem that not only affects the direct victims, but society as a whole - and is therefore the responsibility of all of society to tackle it.
 "Hate speech is a symptom. We need to find the background to the social issues that are causing it", Mäkinen said. The group has also recommended the establishment of a centre of excellence for investigating hate speech.
 Freedom of speech does not justify hate speech
 Incidents of abusive or threatening speech or writing against minority groups, otherwise known as hate speech, have been on the rise in Finland in recent years. Last November, Finnish police  reported an 8% year-on-year increase  in the number of crimes motivated by discrimination and ethnic hatred.
 Finland also compared  very poorly in this area to other western European countries in a 2018 report by the EU's Agency for Fundamental Rights , which found perceived racial discrimination, harassment speech and gestures to be most prevalent in Finland.
 The issue of freedom of speech often arises when hate speech is discussed, and the group researched this area too. Mäkinen emphasised that while freedom of expression is an inalienable right, it does not entitle anyone to insult or denigrate another person or group.
 "In society, people have freedom of movement, but that does not mean that they do not need to comply with traffic rules", Mäkinen said.

Lutheran Bishops propose national action plan to tackle hate speech


Summary: Should Finland's conscript call-up extend to women and would it help deter future threats the country might face?

Earlier this year the Finnish Defence Forces reported  a record number of female applicants  for military service. All the same, the current system of military service is quite dated and should not be gendered, says  Suvi Kouri , a sociologist and former army chaplain. According to the military alumnus, Finland's record as a gender equality exemplar doesn't fully extend to the armed services.
 Minna Vähäsalo  of the pacifist organisation Committee of 100 and  Kaj Raninen  from the Union of Conscientious Objectors joined Kouri on APN for a discussion on whether or not women should serve as conscripts in the military.
 Call for diversity in the military
 Vähäsalo said that the Finnish conscription system is outdated and won't address the country's defence needs. She added that an expanded military that includes women would not necessarily address modern threats to society. She called for specialised teams that could respond to cyber threats or the fallout from climate change, which typically do not require large forces.
 Raninen agreed that conscription in Finland is discriminatory in that it is only compulsory for men. However he said there is no need for the system at all. He joined Kouri in advocating for aligning with Sweden and Norway, where the de facto practice is for voluntary service in the military.
 Meanwhile Kouri attributed claims of sexual harassment in the military to the fact that women are a very small minority in the service, as well as to its "masculine" nature. She called for more diversity in the forces.
 Join the APN discussion
 If you have any questions, or would like to share something on your mind, just contact us via WhatsApp on +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter account, or at yle.news@yle.fi.
 The All Points North podcast is a weekly look at what's going on in Finland. Subscribe via  iTunes  (and leave a review!), listen  on Spotify  and  Yle Areena  or find it on your favourite podcatching app or via our  RSS feed .
 This week's show was presented by  Zena Iovino  and  Pamela Kaskinen . The producer was  Denise Wall,  assisted by  Priya Ramachandran D'souza  and the sound engineer this week was  Anttoni Wickström.

All Points North #54: Women in Finland's military - voluntary, obligatory or not at all?


Summary: Despite Ukraine's boycott of the Helsinki meeting to protest the move, all but six of the member countries approved the declaration to return Moscow's vote.

A meeting of the Council of Europe in Finland's capital city saw the group agreeing to allow Russia to start voting again in council proceedings.
 Just six of the 47 states that are part of the council opposed the declaration, which stated that all members of the group should be able to participate on an equal basis.
 Assembly vote still necessary
 Russia’s voting rights were suspended after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which many states condemned as illegal. After this decision, Russia stopped paying its membership fees.
 "This does not itself solve the question of Russia’s participation in the Parliamentary Assembly, because PACE needs to take its own decisions, but this is a positive development in the common response –process. It sends a clear political message about equal rights and obligations," Finnish Foreign Minister  Timo Soini  said in a prepared statement.
 Sergey Lavrov , Russia's foreign minister, said at the meeting that Russia would pay back its debt in full, if Moscow's voting rights are restored at the assembly next month. Russia will then have to accredit a delegation to the Council of Europe, before it can start voting on motions.
 Friday's decision safeguards Russian citizens' access to the European Court of Human Rights, when Russia's court system fails. More than 20 percent of all cases heard at the ECHR last year were pursued by Russian nationals.
 Handing the baton to France
 Ukraine’s foreign minister unexpectedly  cancelled his attendance  of the meeting in Finland on Friday, as he was expecting a positive vote for Russia.
 Foreign Minister Soini concluded the meeting on Friday by handing the reins of the Council of Europe Presidency to France. He also wished the Council of Europe all the best on its 70th anniversary.

Council of Europe votes to restore Russian voting rights


Summary: A grocery chain will begin test flights of drones delivering lunch on 1 June, in Vuosaari, eastern Helsinki.

Finland will see soon the country's first drone-delivered lunches to homes and offices. HOK-Elanto, the largest regional co-operative of one of the country’s duopoly grocery retailers, S Group, has entered into an agreement with the drone delivery firm Wing to start a six-month pilot.
 Wing is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google.
 S Group’s premier grocery store chain, Food Market Herkku, will test Wing delivery of its lunchtime products with the unmanned vehicles starting in early June.
 The test area will be limited to Vuosaari in eastern Helsinki. Customers will be able to order lunchtime products from the Herkku store located in the Itis shopping centre, and have it delivered to them by a drone. HOK-Elanto said in a press release that the products will be dispatched to customers in just a few minutes.
 Flying into the market
 Late last year the drone delivery company revealed  plans to enter the Finnish market  when Wing CEO  James Burgess  made the announcement at  Slush , Helsinki's startup and investor conference.
 In 2015, Finland's postal service  Posti trialed deliveries of packages  using the autonomous flying devices.
 After launching operations in Australia, Wing's CEO said the company chose Finland as its entry point into the European market in part because of existing interest in drones.

Drone-assisted food deliveries to begin in Helsinki


Summary: Nykänen died suddenly at home in early February.

The cause of death of Finnish ski jump legend  Matti Nykänen  was a protracted inflammation of the pancreas, tabloid daily Ilta-Sanomat reported on Saturday.
 The paper said that Nykänen’s siblings confirmed the cause of death.  Nykänen passed away suddenly  at his home in early February. However in March his death was attributed to pneumonia.
 "It’s probably best to confirm this information, because there has been so much speculation about the matter. Unfortunately in Matti’s case, too much had contributed to the illness. I am talking about his alcohol consumption," his sister told the paper.
 The multiple winter Olympic medalist  was laid to rest in his home town of Jyväskylä  in early March.

Paper: Pancreatic ailment behind death of ski jump Olympian Matti Nykänen


Summary: The west coast museum bagged the top spot for its high-quality work, while Helsinki's new Amos Rex received a special prize for its remarkable contribution.

Kulttuuri- ja taidetapahtumat ja -näyttelyt

Museot, näyttelyt sekä historiallisten paikkojen ja rakennusten suojelu

The Finnish Museum Association has awarded the Satakunnan Museo in Pori with the title of Museum of the Year — the most prestigious recognition in the field — for promoting the visibility of the industry with what the association called fresh, new ideas.
 "The museum undertakes uncompromising and professional work towards a common goal. Everyone from the museum employees and Pori residents to the entire Satakunta province is proud of their museum," the jury said in a statement, adding that the museum is a significant social influence in the field.
 Seven museums including Pori's Satakunnan Museo, Helsinki's Amos Rex and Rauma's Lönnström Art Museum, competed for the title.
 Amos Rex snags a special prize
 The jury awarded the  Amos Rex museum  from Helsinki with a special prize in recognition of its remarkable work in the museum industry.
 "The museum in the heart of Helsinki has grown into a phenomenon, drawing considerable attention to the entire museum industry," the panel described. The hugely popular museum opened its doors in August 2018.
 The postal museum Postimuseo won the Annual Museum Communications award for its work on an exhibit titled 'Fanzines and Punk Mail', while the Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki and the Finnish Craft Museum in Jyväskylä, central Finland, won the Museum Card special award.
 The 2019 Museum Awards were presented in the city of Tampere on Thursday.

Pori’s Satakunnan Museo wins Museum of the Year


Summary: Etla researchers say Finland's next government may have to make painful decisions if it hopes to reach an employment rate of 75 percent.

The employer organisation think-tank Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, or Etla, says the employment rate target of 75 percent that many newly-elected politicians are touting cannot be achieved without substantial labour market reforms and wage policies that support international competitiveness.
 Etla's CEO  Aki Kangasharju  says that employment levels will not exceed 72.6 percent without major structural changes.
 "We are basically talking about a Competitiveness Pact 2.0. It'll be hard to push through politically, but it would be the least painful way to create more jobs," he says.
 Outgoing Prime Minister Juha Sipilä's  first labour-cost-reducing pact  was agreed upon in 2016. After more than a year of negotiations – and Sipilä's threats to withhold tax cuts if he didn't succeed – groups representing over 85 percent of Finland's workforce agreed to the savings plan. Among other things, it required workers to increase their time on the job by 24 hours a year and cut the holiday pay of public sector workers by 30 percent.
 Kangasharju says the second round of the labour market reform would have to resemble the first, and would include pay freezes, longer working hours and more cuts to holiday pay. It claims the move would create between 20,000 and 36.000 new jobs. In order to reach an employment rate of 75 percent, 40,000 new jobs would have to be created.
 Other measures that Etla proposed included tightening pension terms and conditions, shortening the maximum child care duration, and doubling the amount of income retirees can earn each month without jeopardizing their pension payments.
 Committed to creating jobs
 Elina Pylkkänen , director of the Labour Institute for Economic Research, the corresponding research institute linked to Finland's trade union confederations, does not care to speculate on a new round of the competitiveness pact. She said that her organisation thinks the answer to improving employment can be found by reforming Finland's family leave policy and increasing retirement age.
 "Up to half of all new retirees leave working life reluctantly. This is something we must pay attention to. We should come up with incentives to encourage people to extend their careers even longer into old age. People who have already retired could also be coaxed back to work," she says.
 Pylkkänen is optimistic about the incoming government's ability to improve Finland's job market.
 "The way I see it, there's a shared understanding about many political objectives, such as improving employment levels. So now it's simply a matter of finding the right methods and financing to make it happen," she says.
 A recent  assessment of the activation model , a punitive model meant to activate the jobless introduced by Sipilä's government, found that most employment centre experts and supervisors would do away with the model entirely. Only one in 10 respondents to the May survey said they believed the activation model helped jobseekers to find work.
 Social Democratic Party leader Antti Rinne, who is currently steering efforts to form a new cabinet, has suggested that he might seek to end the controversial programme as part of the new government's agenda.

Second round of labour market reforms needed, says employer think-tank


Summary: Altogether 33 Europarliament election candidates were charged for suspected offences between 2004 and 2019.

Nearly three dozen candidates  vying for a seat in European Parliament elections  have been charged with criminal offences over the past 15 years, popular daily Helsingin Sanomat reported on Sunday.
 According to the paper’s analysis of data culled from local courts, a total of 33 of the current crop of candidates seeking election were served with criminal indictments between 2004 and 2019. In a field of 269 candidates in Finland, that represents 12 percent.
 The paper noted that the outcome was similar to a previous analysis of parliamentary election candidates, which found that 13 percent had been slapped with charges for suspected offences.
 HS reported that during that same 15-year period, on average 15 percent of all Finnish residents were charged with criminal offences.
 The paper drilled down into the numbers and found that there were major differences among political parties in terms of candidates who found themselves suspected of being on the wrong side of the law.
 No charges recorded against Greens, SPP candidates
 Some 25 percent of candidates representing the populist Finns Party faced charges, while no candidates from the Swedish People’s Party or the Green Party had been charged for breaking the law.
 However candidates from the nationalist Finnish People First (Suomen Kansa Ensin) party racked up the highest number of charges.
 Moreover, 82 percent of election candidates who faced charges were men. It found that during the period under review, 16 candidates had been accused of more than one offence, while one candidate faced a total of eight indictments. All told, the 33 candidates suspected of breaking the law were responsible for 67 charges.
 The paper pointed out that the charges do not necessarily indicate that the candidates were found guilty of the crimes of which they were suspected.
 HS noted that in Finland roughly 95 percent of criminal charges lead to convictions.

Daily: Dozens of Europarliament election candidates in Finland charged with criminal offences


Summary: After a tough domestic election, the Centre Party is in danger of losing a seat in the European Parliament

As voters in Finland prepare to head to the polls for the European election on Sunday, the conservative National Coalition Party (NCP) look set to retain their three MEP seats, according to Yle’s latest measure of voter sentiment.
 The NCP, led by outgoing finance minister  Petteri Orpo , have a proven track record in European elections and have been Finland’s biggest party in the European Parliament since 1999.
 Hot on their heels however are the Greens Party, helped by a 7.9% surge in support since the previous European elections in 2014; and the Finns Party, who are predicted to grow their share of the European vote by 4%.
 Sipilä's problems persist
 According to the survey, the biggest loser in the European elections will be the Centre Party, with an almost seven percentage point dip in support compared to the 2014 European elections. The party's struggles have not been helped by the loss of big name candidates such as  Olli Rehn ,  Paavo Väyrynen  and  Anneli Jäätteenmäki , all former MEPs.
 Such an outcome would see the party’s representation at the European Parliament shrink from three members to two, and would be another huge blow to outgoing PM  Juha Sipilä ’s party after a  poor showing at the recent Finnish parliamentary elections .
 Juha Sipilä and his Centre party face a tough EU election Markku Ulander / Lehtikuva
 The poll predicts that the Centre party's lost seat will most likely be picked up by the resurgent Greens, led by former EU special representative and two-time Finnish presidential candidate  Pekka Haavisto .
 The other parties currently with representatives in the European Parliament - the Social Democrat Party (2), the Swedish People's Party (1) and the Left Alliance (1) - are all expected to retain their seats.
 Low turnout
 The results will however depend heavily on voter turnout, which tends to be significantly lower for European elections than for Finnish parliamentary elections. This makes accurate estimations particularly difficult, according to  Tuomo Turja , Research Director at the pollster Taloustutkimus.
 "These are elections in which a large majority of voters usually abstain," Turja says.
 At the last EU elections in 2014, voter turnout in Finland was just 39%, compared with a figure of 70% for the national elections held in 2015. Parliamentary elections held earlier this year saw 73% of eligible Finns make their way to polling stations, but it remains to be seen if this momentum will carry on into the EU elections.
 There are early signs of voter turnout being higher for this election, with an  increase in advance voting from the figures for 2014 .
 Yle News also found voter appetite to be strong  when we took to the streets of Helsinki recently to gauge public opinion ahead of Sunday's election.

Yle poll: Support increases for NCP, Greens and Finns Party, as Centre struggle


Summary: The persons detained were not members of the far-right group.

Police reportedly intervened when a fracas arose during a procession of the  far-right anti-immigrant group Soldiers of Odin  in Tampere. Central Finland police said that the scuffle involved participants of the march and other parties not affiliated with the self-styled street patrol group and had the potential to escalate into violence.
 Police said that the disturbance occurred as the 80-person procession was coming to an end, when apparent protesters repeatedly attempted to obstruct the progress of the march by shouting and being disruptive. The clash took place at the park next to Tampere’s old library building.
 "There was provocation on both sides. There was some degree of physical contact between the two groups. So far there is no information to indicate that anyone was injured during the incident," police said in a statement.
 Officers detained four people, none of whom were members of the right-wing group. Police said that procession participants were not suspected of any wrongdoing.
 The Central Finland police department said officers were able to defuse the situation and prevent further clashes. The procession continued on its route, however protesters reportedly continued to shout at participants.
 According to police group had notified officials of its intention to assemble for the march, which took place between 5.00 and 7.00pm on Saturday.

Police hold four following scuffle during Soldiers of Odin procession


Summary: A high of nearly 27 degrees Celsius in Ylivieska on the west coast was said to be unusual at this time of year.

Many parts of western Finland basked in uncharacteristically warm weather on Sunday, in some cases exceeding what locals call the "heat barrier" – or 25 degrees Celsius.
 The day’s highest temperature was recorded in Ylivieska in northern Ostrobothnia on Finland’s west coast, where the mercury rose to 26.7 degrees at the local airport. The reading makes it the highest on record for the year so far.
 According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute FMI, Ylivieska sees such high temperatures on average just once in 30 years.
 Altogether afternoon highs passed 25 degrees Celsius in 11 locations in southwest Finland, with the mercury falling just short of the mark in many other places.
 Yle meteorologist  Toni Hellinen  speculated that temperatures could continue to soar on Sunday evening.
 On Sunday FMI had issued warnings for brush fires in northern Finland and for forest fires in the south and southwest.

Western Finland revels in unexpected spring highs


Summary: Survey participants were not, however, especially interested in self-driving vehicles or car sharing schemes.

Nearly half of people in Finland are interested in buying a hybrid vehicle, and a little more than one-third said they'd also consider getting a fully-electric vehicle, according to a survey commissioned by Finland's Central Organisation for Motor Trades and Repairs (AKL).
 Another recent poll found that one-third of Finnish residents said they would be prepared to  buy an electric car .
 The survey of more than 4,000 Finnish residents also found that drivers were overall concerned about the environment, but the most important issues to them regarding vehicle ownership were keeping down driving distances, time as well as costs.
 Kilometre-based car taxes
 More than half of the survey's respondents said they thought it would be a good idea for Finland to implement a vehicle tax based on the number of kilometres a car is driven. However, one in three said it was a bad idea.
 Petrol-powered vehicles are still the most popular on Finnish roads. Most of the people owning diesel vehicles said they chose them because of the longer distances they can travel, as diesel is a relatively cheaper fuel in terms of kilometres per litre, compared to gasoline.
 Respondents in Finland's larger cities — as well as those in two-car households — tended to be more excited about the prospect of driving electric vehicles. People who said they were interested in electric vehicles were generally concerned about climate change and air quality issues, as well.
 Story continues after photo.
 Electric vehicle being charged. Mostphotos
 However, the AKL said there appears to be two stumbling blocks in getting more people behind the wheels of electric vehicles (EV). One reason is their relatively higher cost than combustion engine-powered cars, but also because of the uncertainty of finding vehicle charging stations.
 The organisation noted that it would be important for housing cooperatives to invest in providing charging stations, because drivers tend to charge their cars at home.
 "It is important that plans for new apartment blocks should be designed with charging stations in mind," AKL said in a press release.
 As news spreads of young people taking to the streets in an effort to bring highlight climate change in the national discourse, it might be surprising to note that respondents who said they were interested gasoline-powered vehicles were young as well as working-age adults.
 Diesel vs gas vs electric
 However, people who said they drive less than 15,000 km every year said they would not like to drive a petrol-fuelled vehicle. Two-thirds of those who drive more than 20,000 km a year said diesels were a good alternative.
 "Due to diesels being taxed at a lower rate, they're a good economical choice for those who drive more than 20,000 km per year. The reason people who don't drive diesel cars isn't [usually] due to environmental concerns, but due to the fact they drive too little," AKL's CEO  Pekka Rissa  said.
 Around half of survey respondents said they would like to see Finland implement a kilometre-based tax on vehicles, while one-in-three said they would not give permission for anyone to monitor their driving habits.
 New vehicle safety technologies — like alco-locks and driver-assisted tech — appear to interest Finnish residents, as well. However drivers were not interested much at all in autonomous, self-driving vehicles.
 Drivers also weren't very enthusiastic about sharing vehicles, according to the survey most people wanted to keep the cars they drive within a single household.
 Nearly 4,400 people were queried in the survey, which was commissioned by AKL, Finland's Central Organisation for Motor Trades and Repairs.

Electric vehicles and km-based car tax spark interest in Finland, survey finds


Summary: In Finland, the spring festival took root in 2008, when it was celebrated for the first time on Mother’s Day.

Helsinki residents and visitors gathered in the city’s Roihuvuori Park for annual Hanami celebrations, although the familiar soft pink blossoms had already faded from the park's cherry trees by the time of this year's festival.
 The literal English translation for the Japanese term "hanami" is "flower viewing" and that’s exactly what picnickers indulge in during the good-natured spring gathering.
 The annual free event also provided visitors with a hefty slice of Japanese culture, as they were treated to displays of traditional tea-making ceremonies and tea art, as well as ikebana or Japanese floral arrangements and origami, the art of paper folding.
 Budo, or modern Japanese martial arts and performances on the koto, a stringed instrument, rounded out the programme.
 In Japan, the hanami tradition traces its roots back for centuries and is considered one of modern-day Japan’s most important festivals. Since the festival takes place when the trees are in bloom, the date varies from year to year.
 In Finland, the spring festival took root in 2008, when it was celebrated for the first time on Mother’s Day, just one year after the first 50-odd saplings were planted with the help of Helsinki’s Japanese community.
 Since then the number of cherry trees in the park has expanded to 250, creating the delicate pink canopy that festival regulars have come to know and love.

Gallery: Helsinki’s hanami festival – a slice of Japan in Finland


Summary: Many newspapers report that political parties in government formation talks are expected to agree on a programme by the end of this week.

Turku's  Turun Sanomat  is among the papers reporting that SDP chair  Antti Rinne  is optimistic that the government formation talks he is leading will produce a programme for a new ruling coalition by week's end.
 However, Rinne also stated that even if a programme is ready by Friday, that will not necessarily mean he will be able to announce a new government.
 Before that final step, Rinne plans on holding a two-day seminar for MPs of the parties in the talks to make sure that they understand what has been agreed upon and to get their commitment to supporting government policies.
 On Sunday, the SDP leader denied that the closed-door negotiations have been difficult. Turun Sanomat reports that talks have focused on plans for  at least 700 million euros in tax increases . These revenues are said to be earmarked for measures fulfilling campaign promises to improve spending on education, pensions and care for the elderly.
 Greens in the lead
 The daily Helsingin Sanomat carries  a voter survey  showing that two Green League candidates,  Ville Niinistö  and  Heidi Hautala  are the most popular candidates in next Sunday's EU Parliament elections.
 Niinistö is a former MP, Green League chairman, and government minister. Hautala is currently the Greens' only MEP.
 Third in this poll of more than 1,000 voters is former SDP Member of Parliament  Eero Heinäluoma .
 Finnish voters will be electing 13+1 members to the European Parliament. This means that 13 of the candidates elected will take up their posts when the European Parliament reconvenes, and a 14th Finnish MEP will join their ranks if and when the UK leaves the EU and the seats it currently holds are redistributed.
 At present, the conservative National Coalition Party and the Centre Party each have three MEPs, the SDP and Finns Party two each, while the Left Alliance, Greens and Swedish People's Party have one apiece.
 Meanwhile, the agricultural sector newspaper Maaseuduntulevaisuus carries  the results of a poll  asking Finnish voters if they would want EU defense cooperation to move towards creating a common EU army.
 Of those surveyed, 26 percent were in favour of such a plan, 40 percent opposed, and 34 percent undecided.
 When the question was put to 159 of the candidates in the EU Parliament elections, 84 percent were against the idea of working towards creating an EU army.
 DUI sentences vary
 The tabloid  Iltalehti  reports that the penalty for drinking and driving in eastern and northern regions is less severe than in other parts of Finland.
 The paper quotes a University of Helsinki study showing that nationally, on average, the penalty for first-time DUI is a six-month driving licence suspension and a fine equal to 50 days income for the offender. In cases of aggravated DUI when a driver is found to have a blood alcohol content of at least 0.12 percent, or 0.53 milligrammes in a breathalyser test, the median driving ban is 286 days.
 The lightest sentences, the study found, are handed down by courts in the north and east of the country. Younger offenders also tend to get off with lighter sentences.
 Under new legislation coming into force at the beginning of June, DUI cases will not go to court unless appealed. Police will determine the period for a licence suspension, and prosecutors will set fines in each case.
 Pollen season
 Tampere’s Aamulehti shows readers  a photo of a city beach  on Lake Kaukajärvi with the sand and shore-side waters hidden by a thick carpet of yellow pollen.
 Luckily for pollen sufferers, this is spruce pollen which rarely causes allergic symptoms.
 However, the paper reports that birch pollen, which does bother many people, is still  at fairly high levels  in central and northern parts of the country. In southern regions, the amount of pollen from grasses in the air is expected to start rising this week.

Monday's papers: Crunch week in govt talks, Green EU lead, plenty of pollen


Summary: Single votes may not make a difference, but ballots cast by like-minded people matter, one interviewee said.

With European Parliament elections due in less than a week, voters in Helsinki at least seemed ready for another round at the ballot box. Yle News took to the streets of the Finnish capital to sound out their opinions on the importance of voting, whether or not they think their vote matters and which issues matter most.
 "I think it’s important to vote because they’re making decisions that impact our future and if you’re not voting then you don’t get a say in it and other people get to decide it for you and that’s not good,"  Lauri  declared.
 Greater awareness of EU issues
 Laura  said that she missed voting in the last EU election although she was eligible. She added that this time around she would be casting a ballot.
 "I think I’ve become more aware of the issues that the EU is tackling and that affect the whole European Union," she volunteered.
 Valtteri  said that he would be looking to influence the rollback of Article 17, a tough new EU directive that essentially imposes a "link tax" on aggregators and makes companies responsible for content uploaded on their websites. This exposes such companies to liability if users upload content that violates copyright laws.
 "It really hits the creators when services like YouTube may have to shut down," he noted.
 Other interviewees pointed to the need for change in the balance of power in the EU, as well as action on climate change, human rights and equality.
 Valtteri said that while single votes may not make a difference, there’s strength in numbers. "Other people will have the same opinions and if you all vote your opinion will matter," he advised.
 People in Finland and 20 other EU countries elect new Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)  on Sunday 26 May . Five other countries vote earlier, beginning with the UK on Friday 23 May.
 Voters in Finland will elect 13 MEPs to serve five-year terms. If the UK leaves the EU, Finland will gain one more MEP.

Watch: "Vote to have a say," Helsinki residents declare of EU elections


Summary: A climate petition was handed over to Finnish lawmakers involved in government formation talks on Monday morning.

Nearly 400 psychologists and psychology students have handed a petition to lawmakers involved in government formation talks, demanding that they take measures to combat global climate change.
 The petitioners voiced concern about the anxiety, depression and sense of hopelessness that the future implications of the climate crisis are causing among young people in Finland.
 Psychologists also called on the country make efforts to stem average global temperature increases to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels in order to help protect the mental health of its younger generations.
 The group characterised recent  strikes and demonstrations  by young people as constructive reactions to real concerns about their future.
 The petition was handed over to the five parties involved in ongoing government formation talks at the House of the Estates in Helsinki. Greens MP  Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto  formally accepted the petition on Monday morning.
 "If we do not take the crisis of climate change seriously, it will put considerable pressure on our young people and children who will be forced to bear the consequences of climate change in the future," Alanko-Kahiluoto said.
 Government formation talks  are expected to continue through the week. Head negotiator and chair of the Social Democrats,  Antti Rinne ,has said he wants the discussions to be completed by Friday.

Hundreds of psychologists sign petition to fight climate change, citing youth mental health concerns


Summary: Moona, a plump young Saimaa ringed seal appears to have pushed former seal TV star Pullervo out of the limelight.

WWF Finland’s "norppalive" video stream has a new star on its hands.  Moona , a young, charming and hefty young  Saimaa ringed seal  has been enchanting viewers with her antics on the seasonal live stream.
 "Moona is this young, attractive and fairly good-sized female. She is Pullervo’s pal, they’re from the same clan which includes eight other seals," said nature photographer and activist  Juha Taskinen .
 Pullervo  is  a veteran of the organisation’s annual live stream show ,  having featured since on the NGO’s livecam since 2016 , when he debuted with another female, Sire. The seals form clans, which may share items such as the rocks they use for sunbathing.
 "Some older seals are like the community elders, saying ‘you don’t go anywhere’. Young male seals in particular go off roaming over long distances and as far as I know Moona has also wandered off," Taskinen noted.
 Live stream camera carefully positioned
 If you randomly point a camera at any rock in southeast Finland’s Saimaa region, the probability of capturing a seal is quite low. But you can get lucky if you’re familiar with the animals’ habits.
 "About 20 years ago I went to eat a snack in the area where the camera is now. I heard two seals having a conversation and I took a photo. They were  Siiri  and Pullervo," the photographer commented.
 "When WWF was selecting a location for the camera, this came to mind immediately," he added.
 The rock on which the camera is trained may not seem very special but the local seal population has used it for decades. Moona was also photographed in the area near the location of the norppalive camera back in 2013 and has also been sighted since in 2014, 2016 and last year.
 "Moona has clearly grown during the monitoring period. We still haven’t seen signs of reproduction but she is beginning to get close to that age," University of Eastern Finland researcher  Meeri Koivuniemi  said in a statement on WWF Finland’s website.

New Saimaa ringed seal celebrity charms slow TV fans


Summary: A quarter of Finnish middle school pupils say they've tried to spend less time on their phones, but failed.

In general, teens in Finland are aware that excessive smartphone use has a detrimental effect on their concentration and  sleep patterns . A new media survey by the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL) indicates that about one third of them would actually like to cut back on time spent online or using some specific online service.
 Social media apps have become such an important part of social interaction for teens that most find it difficult to ignore their phones. One out of four pupils of middle school age said that they tried, but had been unsuccessful spending less time engaged on their devices.
 MLL Media Education Planner  Noora Järvi  said that there is a lot of social pressure on young people to be active and constantly available on various platforms.
 Many young people themselves say that they would prefer to spend time with others without handhelds. However, some admit that they find it easier to communicate electronically than face-to-face.
 "It's a good thing that we are able to communicate better than in the past, but meeting people face-to-face can start to feel difficult, and so they don’t necessarily speak directly to others as much. That is, unless it's a best friend, or someone else quite close," Järvi explained.
 Against online bullying
 Few teens appear unable to reduce time spent with social media all by themselves. A common decision among friends to do so is what works best.
 As one teen responding to the survey put it, "It would be great if everyone used their phones less, because if I cut back on my own use and no one else does, there is no reinforcement effect. It's annoying when you can't think of anything else to do together than sit around and spend time on your phones."
 Young people are unanimous about dealing with the biggest problem created by the internet - they want to eliminate online bullying.
 Teens in the MLL survey backed the idea that adults should supervise net use and react to offensive behaviour. They are also aware of their own responsibility. Survey responses repeatedly stressed the hope that everyone would give serious thought to how they treat others online.
 Around 1,500 young people took part in the MLL online survey. Most respondents were of middle school age, but also included some elementary and secondary school pupils.

Teens trying to cut back on smartphone use