Summary: There are now some 4,000 fully-electric vehicles on Finnish roads, and around 20,000 plug-in hybrids.

Electric vehicles have been hailed as part of the solution to the climate crisis, but are they a practical option in the Finnish winter?
 They can be, according to the experts, so long as you follow a few simple rules. The first thing to remember when driving an electric vehicle is not to mess with the battery. It’s big and could be dangerous, so if you do break down leave it alone until a professional arrives to help.
 Other than that, these 7 tips will keep you in good working order as you drive home (or elsewhere) for Christmas.
 1. Make sure you have enough power left in the battery to get to your destination
 Roadside assistance mechanic  Matti Niemi  says that running out of power is a relatively common experience.
 "Drivers always trust their car’s computers too much and check from there how much fuel they have left," says Niemi. "If the car shows a 70km range left in the tank, there’s not much fuel left. It could be that the journey ends after the next hill."
 Turku Energia product chief  Kimmo Kuusinen  emphasises that drivers of fully-electric cars should plan their trips carefully and know where they will charge the battery along the route.
 "When the battery is a quarter full, you should think about where you’re going to charge it up," says Kuusinen. "I’d stress that it pays to plan your route well and map out the charging points in advance, so you can get to them in time."
 2. Check beforehand how you connect and disconnect the charging cables
 Matti Niemi says that his roadside assistance colleagues regularly exchange experiences to understand better the issues with electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
 Turku-based Niemi says he’s heard from colleagues in the capital city region that some drivers have difficulties using the charging points.
 "Motorists sometimes can’t get the cable disconnected after charging," says Niemi. "Apparently people have never used them before or haven’t read the instructions."
 Calling the help desk of your charge point provider is one effective way to deal with potential technical problems, but it’s also important to understand properly how to connect and disconnect the cable when you’re driving a new car.
 3.Take the right charging cables with you
 Many commercial charging stations have their own cables, but if you’re in a new location at Christmas you might need to have your own.
 Check they’re in the car before you set out to ensure you don’t get caught short.
 4. Warm the car at a charging point before you set off
 Batteries run down quicker in cold weather than in the summer. Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, says that it pays to use the heating before you set off to leave as much battery power left for the drive itself.
 In the coldest conditions battery capacity can be reduced by as  much as 41 percent when heating is used .
 Heating the car when still hooked up to a power source ensures you won’t get too cold on the road, and you’ll still have enough juice to get where you’re going.
 5. Only charge where you know it’s safe
 It is possible that you will need to charge unexpectedly. In those cases, check the electricity source can handle the charging process.
 Fuses might blow and there is even a fire risk if you plug the car in to a normal socket.
 6. Make sure you have enough time for the journey
 Matti Niemi recommends calm, leisurely travelling at Christmas time. It’s better to arrive late than not at all, says Niemi.
 Drivers of fully-electric vehicles may already adopt a slower driving style, as that helps conserve the battery.
 Kimmo Kuusinen says that in this, as everything else, planning is crucial.
 "With an electric car it is crucial to understand before you set out where you can make a pit stop," says Kuusisto.
 Online services provide the best guide to networks of charging points.  Latauskartta  is one, and each provider will also have a map in their app.
 7. Keep the roadside assistance number handy
 Things can go wrong for even the most careful drivers, so be sure to take spare clothes to keep warm if you need them. It’s also prudent to take a spare key and give it to another member of your party, and to check levels of windscreen washer fluid.
 Lastly, a number to call when things go wrong is good to have handy.
 Operation Snowflake helps drivers every year around this time, and their number is 02008080.
 Their operators will arrange roadside assistance and help for drivers who get into difficulties around Christmas time.

Can you drive an electric car home for Christmas? Sure, so long as you remember these 7 tips


Summary: Middle income earners will pay nearly 200 euros more per year, while high earners will fork out close to 700 euros extra.

Increased health insurance and pension contributions as well as slightly higher taxes will eat into the salaries of middle and high-income earners in 2020, according to the Taxpayers Association of Finland.
 All the same, the organisation said these groups could see a bump in purchasing power if unions can agree wage hikes in ongoing collective bargaining agreements and when they will take effect.
 Next year, middle income earners should see their purchasing power rise by 0.9 percent. This figure takes account of a nearly-three-percent rise in income and a 1.3-percent increase in annual consumer prices or inflation.
 In determining earnings, the association calculated possible salary increases agreed in collective bargaining agreements as well as pay scales in different sectors, overtime compensation, bonuses and vacation pay.
 When the association crunched the numbers, it concluded that middle income earners being paid 3,466 euro a month will pay up to 180 euros more in taxes annually.
 Story continues after graphic.
 Taxpayers Association of Finland, Harri Vähäkangas / Yle
 In particular, this group will fork out more for health insurance contributions, which will rise from zero to 0.68 percent of their wages. Pension insurance contributions will also rise as a result of the competitiveness pact introduced by the  Juha Sipilä  government in 2016.
 To ease the pain, economists do not expect to see any dramatic increase in the annual growth of consumer prices or inflation. However the petrol and cigarettes will become pricier as taxes on these commodities will rise next year.
 "The purchasing power of the average wage earner looks promising if they get some kind of pay rise. The growth in buying power will remain on the plus side," head economist of the taxpayers' association  Mikko Kirkko-Jaakkola  commented.
 Taxation will increase most in the case of Finland’s highest income earners (monthly pay from 5,743 to 9,188 euros), who will find themselves with less money in hand for discretionary spending in 2020. They will likely have to hand over several hundreds of euros more every year, according to the taxpayers’ association.
 Lower taxes for lower income groups
 Taxation on monthly wages of less than 2,000 euros could ease up slightly during 2020, boosting purchasing power. However the biggest winners will likely be low-income pensioners who will be taxed more lightly and will also benefit from increased national and guarantee pensions.
 "We are talking about tens of euros a month at most," Kirkko-Jaakkola noted.
 In downtown Helsinki, retiree  Jukka Mustonen  said that he lives quite comfortably so he will not be significantly affected one way or another by a pension rise of a few dozen euros. On the other hand he said he is worried about how Finland will maintain its welfare programmes.
 "When you listen to them, then [you see that] they aren’t doing terribly well in this economy. I am actually very concerned about the situation and above all about whether we’ll be able to maintain the so-called welfare society,” he added.
 The economic outlook for next year is shrouded in uncertainty, according to the head economist.
 "Economic development next year does not appear to be very positive. On the other hand it is linked to uncertainty and risk in the global economy that could swing either way," Kirkko-Jaakkola added.
 A series of economic forecasts issued throughout the autumn confirm the slightly downward trend. Finland’s short-lived economic recovery now appears to be a thing of the past as economists try to determine if a slump lies ahead or if the upsurge will continue, the economist continued.

Middle, high income earners to pay more tax in 2020


Summary: A deal before Christmas is now "highly unlikely" as unions hold out for better wages.

Worker and employers representatives have rejected a proposal by national mediator  Vuokko Piekkala  aimed at settling an ongoing strike by 100,000 industrial workers that  began on December 9 .
 In a press release on Friday, the Industrial Union stated that is not satisfied the proposal will guarantee its members adequate wage growth throughout the period of the agreement.
 "In our view, the offer does not sufficiently take into account productivity developments in the sector, inflation or wage developments in competitor countries," said  Riku Aalto , president of the Industrial Union.
 In a separate release, employer representative Technology Finland criticised the proposal, saying that it was unacceptable in terms of its structure as well as its cost-effectiveness..
 Agreement before Christmas "highly unlikely"
 Minna Helle , labour market director at the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, said she hoped the parties could continue the negotiations, despite the setback.
 "The escalation of the situation in the labour market is not in anyone's best interests. The long period of disagreement and the widespread strikes at the beginning of December have already caused great uncertainty and huge financial losses. The faltering economy and employment situation will not withstand new shocks," Helle noted, adding that despite the urgency there is not much chance of a deal being agreed in the coming days.
 "It is highly unlikely that an agreement will be reached before Christmas," Helle stated.
 This is the second time a proposal has been rejected in this dispute. The first proposal, tabled earlier in December, would have seen wages in the industry rise by about 1.6 percent over two years. The latest proposal increased that figure to 2.4 percent.
 Helle emphasised that the stalemate is not uncommon in industrial dispute negotiations.
 "In difficult situations, this happens, and it is not uncommon for several proposals for reconciliation to be made before an agreement is reached," she said.

Unions, tech firms reject strike settlement proposal


Summary: The new PM told Yle on Saturday she wondered why the conservative NCP decided to take a hard line on Finns at al-Hol.

Speaking on Yle's talk show Ykkösaamu on Saturday, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she was very pleased with the government’s decision to  repatriate Finnish children  from the al-Hol refugee camp.
 “It’s up to ministry officials to determine whether Finland will also help the mothers,” she said.
 Marin emphasised that it was not up to the government to decide the fate of individual Finns living in the al-Hol refugee camp.
 Earlier this week, Marin caused a political storm when she asked the opposition National Coalition Party (NCP) whether they were “ashamed” for saying that Finland should not help children at al-Hol if it also meant repatriating their mothers.
 “I spoke from the heart,” she told Yle about her strong words directed at the NCP during a  heated parliamentary debate . “I have spent a lot of time thinking about the fate of children at al-Hol and I wondered why the NCP decided to profile itself in this way.”
 Marin also took aim at the NCP for questioning the actions of Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  as he allegedly rolled out a plan to  evacuate the Finnish camp residents  ahead of the government's official policy on the matter.
 She said Haavisto  had the full support  of both the government and legislature.
 “The fact that the Constitutional Law Committee is examining his actions [regarding Finns at al-Hol] is simply a part of the workings of a constitutional democracy.”
 Polls: Residents have confidence in PM
 Marin told Ykkösaamu that just one month ago she would not have believed that she would become premier. And now, less than  two weeks into the job , media outlets have commissioned polls on how people in Finland believe Marin will manage.
 Half of residents surveyed by local news conglomerate Uutissuomalainen said they believed Marin would succeed in her post. A third said they thought she would fail as prime minister and a fifth had no clear opinion. Overall, women placed more faith in Marin than men whereas respondents over the age of 70 had the most confidence in her.
 Eighty-five percent of SDP members said Marin would do well as premier, compared to just 22 percent of Finns Party adherents.
 The poll, which surveyed 1,000 residents, was carried out by pollster Tietoykkönen between 12 and 16 December and carried a 3.1-percentage point margin of error.
 Meanwhile another poll by tabloid Ilta-Sanomat found that a narrow majority believed Marin’s cabinet would remain intact until the end of the government term.

Sanna Marin: ”It's not the government’s job to decide individual al-Hol cases”


Summary: Asbestos exposure is the main cause of work-related cancer in Finland.

From the start of 2020, employers in Finland will have a greater responsibility to notify workers of carcinogenic substances. Health officials are  expanding a list  of potentially carcinogenic substances to include 22 new compounds, including formaldehyde, wood dust and silicone dioxide.
 In Finland, asbestos-related lung cancer is most prevalent in the male-dominated construction sector, also putting plumbers, machine shop and metal workers at risk, according to the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
 Employers will be obligated to inform workers of all cancer-causing substances, compounds and working methods. The new rules will bring Finland one step closer to harmonisation with EU guidelines.
 Slow and silent killer
 Data from the Finnish Cancer Registry shows the greatest work-related cancer correlation between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, a cancer often attacking the lining of the lungs. Finnish researchers have also indicated a connection between nose cancer and wood dust.
 Asbestos-related lung cancer in Finland is most common among people building and repairing airplanes, trains and airplanes.
 In addition to asbestos, other main carcinogenic substances include quartz dust, which occurs in any work involving the processing of stone substances, and diesel engine exhaust, according to the health watchdog.
 Most work-related cancer in Finland today stems from exposure that occurred decades ago. Between the 1960s and 1980s building materials containing asbestos were widely used. At the time construction workers did not take any precautionary measures.
 Kirsi Koskela  from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health said some forms of work-related cancer can take 50 years to develop.
 She said large companies have become generally better at protecting workers than small firms.
 Sitting is bad, too
 Eero Pukkala , outgoing research director from the Finnish Cancer Registry, said sedentary office workers are also at risk of developing cancer, including bowel and uterine forms of the disease.
 “Exercise is a form of prevention,” he said.
 Over time, women’s risk for developing breast cancer grows if they remain childless. Alcohol is meanwhile a particular risk factor for men working in the hospitality industry, especially if they also smoke.
 Last month, Finland signed on to a European-wide Roadmap on Carcinogens initiative, which aims to reduce workers’ exposure to carcinogens.
 Across the EU, some 80,000 people succumb to work-related cancer every year.

New rules aim to better inform workers of cancer risk


Summary: Import restrictions and a weak rouble mean Russians are spendling far less in Finland than they used to.

Russian tourists today spend some 20 percent less in Finland than they did at the start of the decade. In the halcyon days of the early 2010s, Russians dropped over one billion euros in Finland annually.
 January is typically the most popular time for Russians to visit Finland, but the eastern neighbour is no longer providing the post-Christmas cash injection it used to.
 Today, Russians visiting Finland will part with an average 220 euros per person, of which a whopping 155 euros will be spent on goods, leaving very little money for hotels, restaurants or services.
 Pasi Nurkka  from travel research company TAK said that in 2012 Russian travellers spent up to 190 euros per person on goods in Finland.
 The falling value of the Russian rouble is the main reason Russian tourists are spending less, according to TAK. Import restrictions are also dampening shopping enthusiasm.
 But retailers told Yle that despite the downward trend, Russians remain an important customer group. Department store Stockmann said Russians make more tax free purchases than Chinese shoppers.
 Finland’s major retailers told Yle that Russian visitors load their baskets with coffee, tea, sweets and fish—foodstuffs carrying import restrictions. This year Russia cracked down on personal imports, lowering the allowed value from 5,000 to 1,000 euros at land crossings.
 TAK said it believes 2019 will witness a five percent uptick in the number of Russian trips to Finland over last year. That said, this year saw a 30 percent rise in visa applications over 2018.
 Meanwhile Lappeenranta, some 30 kilometers from the Russian border, has high hopes for its new airport, which is expected to serve some 160,000 travellers in 2020, half of them Russian.

Weak rouble hits Russian tourists' wallets in Finland


Summary: A citizens' initiative and recent poll find that many want fireworks off the shelves.

The sale of fireworks for the New Year's season began on Friday, but Finnish consumers are increasingly calling to ban retail sales of the seasonal pyrotechnics.
 A poll by paper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus found that nearly half of respondents (47 percent) said they would support a ban on the retail sales and personal use of fireworks.
 A gender analysis of the results found that 57 percent of women and 38 percent of men are against the use of fireworks by anyone except trained professionals. The results are also relative to age: 60 percent of respondents over the age of 64 would ban New Year's rockets, compared to just 37 percent of those under 30 years old.
 The survey conducted by TNS Kantar Agri interviewed 1,089 Finnish residents. The margin of error for the results is +/- three percentage points.
 Health, safety, environment
 For now, individuals in Finland may set off fireworks between 6 pm on Tuesday 31 December and 2 am on Wednesday 1 January.
 The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) said that safety goggles are compulsory for people who use fireworks; observers should also take precautions to protect their eyes and face. Fireworks cause 10-30 people to be hospitalised every year.
 Tukes found that 13 people were injured by fireworks on last New Year's Eve, only one of whom was wearing goggles at the time. Ten of the victims were setting off fireworks when they were hurt.
 A citizens' initiative to ban the non-professional use of fireworks gathered more than 65,000 signatures in 2018; Parliament's legislative director  Tuula Kulovesi  received the initiative in November.
 The initiative's proposal – which includes concerns over animal rights and the environmental damage caused by thousands of chemical explosions and the resulting debris – is currently under parliamentary deliberation.
 The initiative would not prohibit the use of small pyrotechnics such as sparklers, squibs and Roman candles.
 The value of the annual fireworks market is some 30 million euros, according to the pyrotechnic artists' association PITE.
 Zero major parties on board
 In early December daily Uutissuomalainen published the results of a poll of Finland's political parties on the subject of fireworks. The only group to support the full ban of consumer fireworks was Movement Now (Liike Nyt) and its lone MP,  Harry Harkimo .
 The Finns Party, National Coalition Party and Centre Party all oppose the ban outright.  Hanna-Leena Mattila , the Centre parliamentary group's vice chair, said a prohibition may lead to a rise in dangerous homemade fireworks.
 Responses from the Social Democratic Party, Greens, Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats indicated that they would investigate the matter before deciding. The Left Alliance did not respond to the poll.

Voters want firework ban, parties don't


Summary: Finnish officials are bringing two Finnish children back from a Syrian refugee camp on Saturday night.

Ministerit, ministeriöt ja valtioneuvosto

Two Finnish children from the al-Hol refugee camp are in the care of Finnish authorities and en route to Finland on Saturday evening, the Foreign Ministry's Under Secretary of State  Pekka Puustinen  said at a press conference on Saturday just after 8pm.
 Puustinen said the operation to repatriate the two children began on Monday when officials learned they were in a particularly vulnerable position.
 "Thirty Finnish children are still at the camp and preparations for aiding them continue," he said.
 To ensure the children’s safety and privacy, the Foreign Ministry said it would not release any further details. It also stated it would not provide any information regarding measures taken by Finnish authorities abroad to access the children.
 Once in Finland, the children will undergo health checks before being handed over to child welfare officials.
 Puustinen said the Foreign Ministry's actions to repatriate the children were based on the Finnish constitution as well as international agreements ratified by Finland.
 On Thursday the Foreign Ministry said it was preparing to bring back two children from the camp. Yle later confirmed that  Kurdish officials had picked up the children  from the camp in Syria, taking them to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, where they were to be handed over to Finnish authorities.
 A relative in Finland of someone at the camp told Yle that Kurdish officials had previously rounded up all of the Finns at the camp for fingerprinting and photographs.

Foreign Ministry: Two Finnish kids from Syrian camp headed to Finland


Summary: Sunday is the shortest day of the year, but a week from now Finland will already see five more minutes of daylight.

Sunday marks the winter solstice in Finland and the rest of the northern hemisphere.
 On 22 December the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator. In practical terms it means Sunday will have the shortest amount of sunlight of the year.
 On Sunday, Helsinki will see five hours and 40 minutes of daylight, Jyväskylä five hours and four minutes, whereas Utsjoki in the far north will have no daylight at all.
 Sunday is overcast and rainy in much of the country.
 “This year’s winter solstice is perhaps turning out to be the dreariest day of the year,” said Yle meteorologist  Kerttu Kotakorpi .
 If all of this darkness seems depressing, fear not. The worst of it is over.
 Starting Monday, the days will gradually become longer once again as the northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun.
 “A week from now the days will be around five minutes longer,” Kotakorpi explained.
 By the spring solstice, on 21 March, nights and days in Finland will be of roughly equal length. From then on, Finland will see more light than darkness, with the amount of sunshine peaking during the summer solstice, also known as  Midsummer .

Days growing longer after Sunday's winter solstice


Summary: Management teams in Finland continue to be male-dominated, a study by Yle finds.

Women on average occupy one-fifth of spots on the management teams of Finland’s top 40 companies, according to an investigation by Yle.
 Firms' gender ratios, however, vary greatly.
 Women are entirely missing from the management teams of engineering company Metso Group and mobile phone maker HMD Global, which produces Nokia-branded phones. However, pension companies Elo, Varma and Ilmarinen had the highest proportion of women in management positions, accounting for about 50 percent of members.
 In Finland, women managers tend to work in communications and human resources but rarely in business management or managing director roles.
 “Human resources and communications are fields where women have had good opportunities to get ahead,” headhunter  Mimma Silvennoinen  told Yle, adding that men have only recently taken an interest in HR, bringing the role into the board room.
 The Finnish Chambers of Commerce network told Yle it’s concerned that women are often relegated to support functions on management teams, such as legal affairs, communications, HR, and finance. Male business managers are meanwhile heading up product units and service development.
 “Women have maintained a very traditional role in the corporate world. More women are joining management teams, but very few of them are heading up top positions,” said  Leena Linnainmaa , outgoing vice managing director of the Finnish Chambers of Commerce.
 Silvennoinen said she encourages women to seek out middle management positions as stepping stones to the C-suite.
 Two female CEOs in Finland’s top 40
 Just two of Finland’s 40 largest companies are headed by women. Swedish-born  Annica Bresky  is forest company Stora Enso’s newly-appointed president, whereas  Satu Huber  is the CEO of the Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company.
 Linnainmaa said women like 44-year old Bresky, who studied aquatic and environmental engineering, are important role models for girls and women.
 “Society should encourage girls to study math and technical subjects. Employers should make it a strategic goal that women and men have the same opportunities for advancing in their careers. Women also need to expand their knowledge base and take on new challenges,” Linnainmaa said.
 As a headhunter, Silvennoinen said it has been years since she was last requested to recruit a man for a job.
 “These days, companies often say they’re hoping to find a woman.”

One-fifth of top managers in Finland women


Summary: Networks built during conscription can be beneficial in later life.

A  new study  shows that people from above-median income households can boost their income if they do  military service  with people from families with higher incomes.
 Researcher  Elias Einiö  found that a 10,000-euro increase in dormmates' parents earnings translated into a 2.6-percent hike in income between the ages of 28 and 42, if a conscript himself is from a family with above-median income.
 That effect was evident but not as pronounced among conscripts whose parents earned less than the median annual salary, which was 31,930 euros in 2017.
 Social stratification reinforced
 This effect was only found among people whose families were higher-income to start with. Lower-income soldiers, on the other hand, were found to be more likely to pursue higher education if they were army colleagues with better-off recruits.
 Their incomes, however, didn’t increase as much as those from higher-income families.
 Einiö also found that better-off conscripts were more likely to work in the same companies as their friends from army days, suggesting that networks built during military service are important in future working life.
 The study’s abstract says that the "findings imply that social stratification reinforces economic and educational inequality between rich and poor families".
 Societal benefits
 Some 70 percent of Finnish men complete military service. Conscription is compulsory for male citizens, with exemptions granted for health reasons, if people fail the fitness tests or if conscripts opt for non-military service instead.
 The army therefore serves as a giant melting pot for male Finnish society. At present Finnish conscripts are divided alphabetically into dorms. The result is pretty much the same as a random selection.
 It's possible that the trends uncovered in this research might have practical implications with benefits for society.
 "For example in the United States Air Force Academy there has been research into how students could be split into groups to maximise their performance," says Einiö.
 Since 1995, women have been  allowed to serve on a voluntary basis , with an average of 400-600 doing so annually.

Study: Army buddies from high-income families boost income in later life


Summary: Santa has set off on his magical journey from Finland's snowy far north.

It’s official: Santa Claus has filled his burlap sack with gifts and is taking his reindeer-powered sleigh through the snow to spread Christmas cheer around the world.
 For 30 years, Yle has filmed Santa starting his yuletide journey, which the European Broadcasting Union spreads throughout its public service network. Yle first broadcast Santa  setting off on his sleigh in 1965 , with the annual journey from Lapland becoming an Yle staple in the 1980s.
 In Finland  Santa Claus is known as Joulupukki  (literally, Christmas goat in English). Kids here commonly receive a personal visit from the red-suited, jolly fellow at their homes on Christmas Eve.
 But due to Santa's tight schedule, those visits are usually carried out by Santa surrogates who — often in exchange for a fee or home baked goods — carry out the tradition while dressed up as the hirsute icon in cities, towns and villages across the country.
 Despite changing times and attitudes about snail mail, kids everywhere still love sending letters to Santa. Finland's Santa receives hundreds of thousands of letters sent from children around the world every year.
 You can listen to our weekly All Points North podcast via this embedded player, Yle Areena, Spotify, iTunes or your normal pod player using the RSS feed.

Watch: Santa begins Christmas journey from Korvatunturi


Summary: President Sauli Niinistö denied all 50 applications for clemency in 2019.

President  Sauli Niinistö  has rejected all applications for criminal pardons this year, according to daily Helsingin Sanomat.
 HS  reported on Monday  that Niinistö did not exercise his power to free any inmates this year. He denied all fifty applications that came across his desk in 2019, saying that none of them fulfilled the criteria for a presidential pardon.
 "I have used the right to pardon in situations where the circumstances in a convict's life, relating to health or family for instance, have significantly and substantially changed. That was not the case in any of this year's applications," Niinistö said.
 The Supreme Court of Finland (KKO) provides an official statement on the pardon applications as a basis for the president's decision, though the president may override these recommendations. The Supreme Court did not recommend any criminals for pardon in 2019.
 Niinistö has used his power to pardon offenders far more sparingly than previous presidents, giving special consideration to just two people in 2018 and a total of twenty people during his seven years in office. The number of clemency applications from prisoners has also gone down, from over 300 in the 1980s and 90s to fewer than one hundred in recent times.
 Historic powers may shift
 President  Mauno Koivisto  pardoned about fifty people per year in the 1980s. His successor  Martti Ahtisaari  pardoned some thirty people annually, and  Tarja Halonen  pardoned an average of twenty criminals each year she was in office.
 This is the first time in at least 56 years that not a single prisoner was offered clemency, secretary  Johanna Nyberg  from the Ministry of Justice told HS.
 "Presidents of Finland have offered at least one pardon every year since 1951, until now. We could not find any instances of zero-pardon years before that," Nyberg said.
 The Constitution Act of 1919 grants the president the power of pardon. However, Niinistö has stated consistently that he believes special pardons should be within the purview of the Supreme Court instead. His position is still the same, he said.
 "It's not a top priority, but if the Constitution comes under scrutiny in some other context, this is a feature that should be addressed."
 The President's Office  website describes  the appeal process.
 "In an individual case, the President of the Republic can remit a sentence or other criminal penalty imposed by a court. The President cannot waive obligations based on public or civil law, such as taxes, maintenance payments or bank loans. Anyone can submit a petition for a pardon, which does not require the consent of the person to whom it applies."

HS: No pardons from President Niinistö in 2019


Summary: Powder on the ground is nearly one metre deep in some parts of Finland's northernmost region.

Many Lapland residents will spend this Christmas enjoying record snow cover, according to data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute, FMI.
 The institute said that snow hit record depths in areas such as Pokka in Kittilä, Tähtelä in Sodankylä and Saariselkä in Inari.
 In Pokka, powder is nearly 80 centimetres deep, while in Tähtelä and Saariselkä snow cover is around 70 centimetres. Except for coastal areas, most of the north has been blanketed by at least 50 centimetres of snow.
 FMI said that this Christmas will be slightly warmer than usual in Lapland, with the mercury hovering around zero degrees Celsius in southern Lapland and a few degrees below freezing further north.
 Motorists should look out for poor driving conditions on Monday in the far north due to snow and freezing rain.
 However the snowfall will ease during the evening and overnight. Christmas Eve will be cloudy with more snow likely in some areas.
 You can listen to our weekly All Points North podcast via this embedded player, Yle Areena, Spotify, iTunes or your normal pod player using the RSS feed.

Record Christmas snow cover in Lapland


Summary: The holiday season traditionally means shorter business hours and full closures in some cases.

Although a move to deregulate business hours has seen more businesses serving customers during the holidays, consumers would do well to make sure they know exactly what stores are open and when.
 Last-minute shoppers should still be able to do business on the eve of Christmas Eve, 23 December, when stores will maintain normal service hours. However the situation will change from Christmas Eve, 24 December,  when Finland traditionally celebrates the holiday .
 While many stores will serve customers, they will likely close earlier than usual.  Alko , Finland's national monopoly alcohol retailer, will open from 9 am and will close at noon and remain closed until 27 December. There are a few exceptions that customers can check for  on the firm's website .
 Outlets operated by  national mail carrier Posti  will operate normally on 23 December, but will close their doors from 24 – 26 December. However customers may still pick up and drop off parcels at other service points, which they can  check on the company website.
 Planes, trains and automobiles
 Airports operator Finavia  has warned that airline passenger traffic usually rises at this time of year, especially in Helsinki. The authority is calling on passengers to arrive early at the airport to ensure they have enough time to park, check-in and complete other parts of the departure process. The  Finavia website provides several tips  for smooth holiday travel.
 Meanwhile the outlook for domestic holidaymakers travelling internally for the holiday was generally positive, with road traffic safety officials saying they did not expect heavy traffic on Monday or Tuesday. Officials said that while motorists might encounter snow in the north and sleet or rain in the south, driving conditions should not be particularly challenging.
 Helsinki Regional Transport  HSL said that the Christmas holiday will usher in  changes to public transportation services  in the capital region. According to HSL, commuters can expect schedule changes with additional services on some routes.
 Services will run normally on 23 December, but timetables will follow a Sunday schedule on 24, 25 and 26 December. Additionally bus services in Kirkkonummi and Sipoo will only run until 4 pm on Christmas Eve and the authority will provide extra services to cemeteries. Commuters would do well to seek additional information and  check schedules on the HSL website .
 National rail company VR  has also announced changes to its Christmas operations, with services slowing down after 6 pm on 24 December. Timetables will observe Sunday schedules from 24 – 26 December.
 On Christmas Eve commuter trains will run according to Sunday hours until 4 pm after which the service will be cut back. Similarly on Christmas Day, train services will be less frequent until noon, before following Sunday timetables. Train passengers are being advised to  check timetables for up-to-date information .
 Inter-city coach company Matkahuolto  has advised commuters to  check holiday timetables on its website  or via the Bussiliput app. When in doubt, passengers can also call the firm's 24-hour service number for timetable information at 0200 400. The calls cost 1.98 euros/minute.
 You can listen to our weekly All Points North podcast via this embedded player, Yle Areena, Spotify, iTunes or your normal pod player using the RSS feed.

Holiday reminders: Postal services, commuter trains and more


Summary: President Sauli Niinistö is currently in his second and final term in office and cannot stand for re-election in 2024.

Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  is a clear favourite to become Finland's next president, according to a poll by tabloid daily Ilta-Sanomat. Some 17 percent of poll respondents threw their support behind the former Greens chair to win the presidential election in 2024.
 Haavisto has come under intense scrutiny in recent times for  his handling of government's plans to repatriate Finnish citizens  at the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria. He later  won a confidence vote  in parliament over the furore.
 Haavisto was a candidate in the 2018 election but came second when incumbent  Sauli Niinistö   won an overwhelming first-round majority of votes  to secure a second term in office.
 Respondents' second-favourite option for president was Centre Party politico and Bank of Finland governor  Olli Rehn , with 10 percent backing. He was followed by current Left Alliance chair and Education Minister  Li Andersson  as well as the Social Democratic Party's EU Commissioner  Jutta Urpilainen  – both of whom claimed seven percent approval to become president.
 Finns Party and National Coalition Party chairs  Jussi Halla-aho  and  Petteri Orpo  respectively both attracted the support of six percent of respondents. A sizeable proportion of the 1,000 respondents surveyed -- 16 percent -- said that could not name a favourite for the next presidential contest, while another 11 percent said they would not vote for any of the alternatives presented.
 Niinistö serving final term
 A similar poll by Alma Media during the autumn also found Haavisto to be a favourite for president, with 33 percent backing him for the post. The Alma Media survey also had Rehn in second place with support from 11 percent of voters. In this poll however, Halla-aho and Helsinki mayor  Jan Vapaavuori  claimed third spot with 10 percent support. The polls are not comparable because the number of respondents and candidate line-up were different.
 Pollster Taloustutkimus conducted the survey for IS, and research head  Tuomo Turja  told the paper that the al-Hol flap did not seem to directly influence the outcome, but he speculated that it may have.
 Niinistö is currently in his second and final term in office and cannot stand for re-election in 2024. After the last presidential election in 2018, another IS poll found that 27 percent of voters backed Haavisto for president.
 Taloustutkimus interviewed 1,004 respondents for the poll between 9 and 17 December. The poll's margin of error was +/- 3.2 percentage points. The Alma Media poll was conducted last autumn by Tietoykkönen and surveyed 1,500 people.

Poll: Pekka Haavisto a favourite for Finland's next president


Summary: The Red Cross says it handed out the 70 euro food coupons to those in need.

The Good Christmas Spirit campaign (Hyvä Joulumieli in Finnish) says it has handed out some 28,000 food vouchers to hard-up families over the festive season.
 The vouchers are worth 70 euros and help to fund a proper  Christmas meal  for those who might otherwise go without.
 Social workers are in charge of allocating the vouchers, which are paid for each year via a charity fundraising drive by the Red Cross and the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare.
 The Red Cross says food poverty is evident all through the year, not just at Christmas, according to a survey it carried out among social workers.
 Of 108 social workers to reply to the survey, one in four said poor families cut back on food spending and struggle to provide a balanced diet.
 One in five said their customers relied on food banks.
 “This tells us that the poorest families with children have to constantly rely on forms of aid that are intended to be only temporary or a last resort to be used when all other safety nets fail,” said  Maaret Alaranta , social well-being coordinator for the Finnish Red Cross, in a press release.

Charity drive delivers Christmas food vouchers for 28,000 families


Summary: The tradition has been running for at least 700 years.

Finland has made its declaration of Christmas peace, officially marking the start of the festivities in a ceremony in the centre of the former capital city, Turku.
 The declaration was made by the city’s head of protocol,  Mika Akkanen  from a balcony in Brikkala House on the city’s Old Great Square near the cathedral.
 The declaration was read in Finnish and Swedish and interpreted into Finnish sign language, and was followed by a rendition of the national anthem in Finnish and then Swedish.
 The Finnish Navy Band and two local male voice choirs led the musical entertainment, and finished with a rendition of the March of the Pori Regiment.
 The tradition dates back more than 700 years, and has been broadcast on the radio since 1935. Television broadcasts began in 1983.
 Traditionally the declaration meant that anyone committing a crime over the festive period would receive a harsher punishment, but that is no longer the case.
 You can listen to our weekly All Points North podcast via this embedded player, Yle Areena, Spotify, iTunes or your normal pod player using the RSS feed.

Finland marks ‘official’ start of Christmas with peace declaration


Summary: The carbon offsetting scheme may be in breach of Finland’s strict fundraising laws.

Compensate, a carbon-offsetting scheme established by former Green Party MP  Antero Vartia , is to be investigated by the police over possible breaches of fundraising laws.
 The National Police Board requested the investigation after a long-running saga in which the Compensate founder has asked the board to rule on how his non-profit can operate its monthly subscription carbon offsetting service.
 Finnish law requires that fundraising requires a permit if donors do not receive anything in return for their money. The issue with monthly carbon offsetting contributions, then, is whether or not carbon offsetting is a genuine service or product.
 Senior Inspector  Jouni Kitunen  of the Police Board confirmed to Yle that the request had been made.
 "The National Police Board is of the opinion that the foundation’s operations are fundraising, for the purposes of he fundraising law, because there is a danger of mixing fundraising for charitable purposes and commercial activities," said Kitunen.
 "Under this model it is very difficult to understand whether the donor is making a donation or buying a genuine product or a service."
 Vartia told Yle he was surprised by the investigation, as he had been in discussions with the board since September and had filed a fundraising permit application in early December.
 He is a well-known entrepreneur in Finland, having co-founded the Löyly sauna complex before selling his stake to co-founder  Jasper Pääkkönen  to focus exclusively on the carbon-offsetting venture.
 Compensate functions as a foundation, which in turn wholly owns a company which purchases carbon offsets. Users can calculate their carbon footprint and subscribe to pay a certain amount each month which Compensate promises to then spend on carbon offsets to mitigate climate change.

Police board requests investigation into carbon-offsetting foundation


Summary: Fizzy wine sales have grown by over one million litres in the past decade - and not just for festive occasions.

Consumption of sparkling wine and champagne is on the rise around the world, and the fizzy drinks have also grown in popularity in Finland over the past decade.
 The country's national alcohol retailer Alko estimated that consumers in Finland will have sipped about 5.4 million litres of champagne and sparkling wines this year, quite a bit more than the 4.2 million litres that went bottoms up in 2010, nearly a decade ago.
 Sommelier and wine expert  Heidi Mäkinen  said that sparkling wines are being increasingly paired with food and that they're enjoyed beyond traditional festivities and celebrations.
 "Sparkling wine suits quite many dishes, precisely because of their bubbles. This concept has been noticed by consumers in Finland too, which explains why consumption of bubbly has increased beyond holidays and parties," Mäkinen explained.
 Tips from a master
 Earlier this year, the Finnish sommelier was named a "Master of Wine" by the London-based Institute of Masters of Wine. There are currently just 389 official wine masters around the world,  according to the institute .
 Mäkinen said sparkling wines should be consumed cold from wider wine glasses than old fashioned champagne flutes. She said the wider glass gives the wine more room to breathe.
 Story continues after photo.
 Master of Wine Heidi Mäkinen. Jyrki Lyytikkä / Yle
 As for food pairings, Mäkinen said sparkling wine goes well with air-cured ham, cheeses and seafood, saying they're all good options for a bubble-based New Year's party. As a rough guideline she said the saltier the food, the drier the wine should be.
 She also noted that indulging in sparkling wine doesn't necessarily have to break the bank, saying that there are plenty of good, affordable brands available nowadays.
 Sparkling wine sales bubble by 1m litres
 Alko's records showed that since 2010 sparkling wine and champagne sales steadily increased until 2017, the year Finland celebrated 100 years of independence.
 While sales have slightly dipped since that landmark year, people in Finland are still drinking well over one million litres more of the bubbling beverages than they were a decade ago.
 Sales of the significantly pricier variety of sparkling wines, French champagne, have also increased by around 27 percent compared to the beginning of the decade, according to Alko. Meanwhile, sales of sparkling wines, including the Italian variety prosecco, increased by about 29 precent over the past 10 years.
 However, sparkling wines and champagne aren't the only drinks being consumed more these days. According to Alko's business director  Kari Pennanen , sales of booze-free wines have also increased by 12 percent this year.
 "People want to eat and drink healthier [these days], Pennanen said.

Celebrations: Finland thirsty for sparkling wine, champagne


Summary: Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo revealed on New Year’s Eve that she had married her partner Miika Johansson.

Interior Minister and Green Party chair  Maria Ohisalo  announced on Tuesday that she had married biofuels trader  Miika Johansson .
 Johansson works with North European Oil Trade, which operates in the wholesale oil and biofuels market. The firm is owned by Finnish duopoly retailer S-Group’s SOK and Finnish energy company ST1.
 Johansson had previously disclosed on LinkedIn that he would be taking up the position of director responsible for ST1’s renewable energy business unit in May.
 Story continues after tweet.
 Ohisalo and Johansson were in a relationship for several years before tying the knot.
 On Tuesday, the minister published a wedding photo on her Twitter and Instagram accounts and wrote that "an amazing year and decade has come to the best possible end. We said 'I do'".
 "Happy New Year," she added.
 The bride was dressed in a full-length white bridal gown with a lace bodice and carried a bouquet of white flowers.

Interior Minister marries oil firm exec


Summary: The New Year will usher in a slew of changes that will affect daily life and incomes for many.

Whether you love it or hate it, the  Juha Sipilä  government’s activation model will be permanently laid to rest starting 1 January. However the ghost of  the controversial scheme  to get unemployed jobseekers into work will live on – at least for a short time.
 That’s because unemployment benefits for the month of January will be paid on the basis of the model, which required jobseekers to either sign up for training, part-time work or start a company during a three-month assessment period. Failure to meet the conditions resulted in a 4.65-percent reduction of the benefit.
 Elimination of the model will cost about 50 million euros. However the state will save roughly 12 million euros as people whose benefits had been cut under the scheme will no longer apply for income subsidies or housing benefits to make up for the shortfall in their income. This means the final price tag for the activation model burial will be some 39 million euros.
 Income tax changes
 Low- and middle-income earners will find they pay somewhat lower income taxes in 2020. The 200-million-euro tax relief programme will involve increasing the limit for basic deductions as well as income-related and pension deductions. Income taxes will also be subjected to an index adjustment that reflects possible income increases.
 A "solidarity tax" on  high-income earners  introduced by the Sipilä government in 2015 will remain in effect until the end of the current administration’s term in office. However the withholding tax for foreign executives will fall from 35 percent to 32 percent.
 The overall effect of all fiscal measures implemented will mean that taxes paid by pensioners and low income earners will remain about the same as in 2019. However the overall effect on middle income earners will be a 0.4-percentage-point tax hike, while high income earners will pay an overall 0.5 percentage points in taxes.
 Employers will also face higher contributions for basic unemployment allowances, labour market support and sickness and parental allowances.
 Bigger pensions for low-income retirees
 National pension recipients will see a 34-euro increase in their monthly pensions, while the guarantee pension will rise by 50 euros per month. The measure will increase the full pension for a retiree living alone to roughly 663 euros, while pensioners co-habiting will receive 592 euros monthly. Starting 1 January, the full guarantee pension will be about 835 euros. An estimated 610,000 seniors will benefit from the pensions hike.
 Hike in the retirement age
 The lowest retirement age will increase by three months. Persons born in 1957 (62-year-olds) will continue to be able to retire at age 63 and nine months. The rise in the pensionable age was the result of  pension reforms implemented in 2017 .
 The 2020 life expectancy coefficient -- which helps determine the size of pensions paid out -- will reduce pensions for people 61 years old and younger by 4.6 percent. It will not affect people who have already retired.
 Subjective right to daycare restored
 The new government has restored the subjective right to full-time daycare to all families with small children. The regulation will take effect from August. The right means that even stay-at-home parents can send their children to full-time daycare if they so choose. In 2016 the Sipilä government introduced a measure to provide  only part-time daycare if one parent was at home full-time .
 Higher payments at the pump
 Starting in August, it will become that much more expensive to fuel a car, following a 250-million-euro petrol tax hike. This will likely result in a 6.3-cent increase in the price of petrol and a 6.9-cent rise in the price of diesel.
 Aid boost for students
 The New Year will usher in a 25-euro increase in the study grant for students caring for a child. The overall benefit will rise to 350 euros per month. In other cases the study grant will see a one-percent bump in August, when the benefit will be linked to the national pension index.
 Starting this year, an annual index adjustment will take place at the beginning of the autumn term. At the same time, the income limit for qualifying for the benefit will increase by about 4.5 percent to mirror overall changes in wages. Additionally, the study material supplement paid to low income families will increase by about 50 cents to 47.30 euros monthly.
 Cheaper passports and ID cards
 The cost of passports and ID cards will rise from 1 January. Getting a new passport by visiting a police station will set you back 51 euros, while an online application will cost 45 euros. Meanwhile the price of an ID card will fall to 54 euros if you apply in person, while an electronic application will drop to 48 euros. The lower prices have been attributed to more efficient processes and growing volumes of applications.
 Costlier sugary drinks
 Taxes on sugary soft drinks will make it more expensive to support a sweet habit. The excise tax on beverages with more than 0.5 percent sugar will rise from 27 cents to 32 cents per litre, while the tax on other drinks will creep up from 12 to 13 cents per litre.
 The tax on powdered beverage mixes will increase from 1.72 cents to 2.04 cents per kilogram, while the tax on other drink mixes will see a bump from 1.04 euros to 1.13 per kilogram. At the same time the tax on low-alcohol drinks will shoot up to 32 cents per litre or 11.40 cents per centilitre of ethyl alcohol.
 The tax increases will push up the price of sugary soft drinks by an estimated average of three percent, while prices of other drinks will rise one percent on average.
 The tax exemption threshold for small-scale production of soft drinks will rise from the current 50,000 litres to 70,000 litres, while a similar change will apply to the beverage packaging tax.
 Household expenses credit falls
 The household expenses tax credit - which covers things like home renovation or other household work - will come under pressure in 2020 as the maximum allowance falls from 2,400 euros to 2,250 euros. Also starting 1 January the mortgage interest rate deduction will fall to 15 percent from 25 percent, and the deduction will be rolled back entirely in 2023.
 Pricier cigarettes
 Smoking will become more expensive as tobacco products taxes will rise by an average of 14 percent between 2020 and 2021. The tax hike will affect the price of cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos as well as pipe and smoking tobacco and fine-cut tobacco for rolling cigarettes. The increases will be implemented in four stages with the first taking effect from 1 January, the second from the beginning of July, the third from the beginning of 2021 and the fourth from July 2021.
 The cost of cigarettes and fine-cut tobacco will increase by 12 percent on average. The price of a pack of 20 cigarettes will rise by about 95 cents.
 New investment option
 Starting 1 January investing will become more accessible by way of equity savings accounts. Customers of banks offering the service can transfer a maximum of 50,000 euros to equity savings accounts for investing in publicly-listed companies. Customers will only pay taxes on the returns on their investments when they withdraw money from the accounts.
 Cheaper public transportation in capital region
 The prices of tickets for the longest routes served by Helsinki Regional Transport (HSL) will fall starting Wednesday. The price cuts will affect trips on zones three and four – tickets on zones ABC, BCD, CD, and ABCD, representing a reduction of 2.4 percent of all ticket prices. Starting 1 January, R-kioski outlets will begin to charge consumers for selling HSL tickets.
 Population and local registries to merge
 In 2020 the Population Register Centre and local registry offices will merge to form a new entity, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency or the Finnish Data Agency. The new organisation will focus on digitalisation and accessible information for customers.
 Restrictions on foreigners' land purchases
 Persons from outside the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA) will have to apply to the Defence Ministry for a permit to purchase property in Finland. The aim of the reform is to allow the government to intervene in real estate deals that may pose a threat to national security.
 At the same time a new regulation will take effect giving the state the preemptive right to purchase properties deemed to be close to strategic locations.
 Support for debtors
 Debtors facing distraint orders on their salaries will in future be allowed to keep 22.63 euros per day plus an additional 8.12 euros per day for living expenses. In addition, the ground for sick pay will also change so that the allowance will be calculated on the basis of an individual’s annual income.
 Prescription medicine deductibles change
 Starting 1 January personal deductibles for the cost of prescription medicines will be visible at pharmacies. The annual deductible in 2020 will rise to 577.62 euros, up from 572 euros. An individual who pays more than the annual excess will only receive 2.50 euros for each subsequent prescription.
 Changes to sentencing
 The New Year will see changes to suspended prison sentences. For example it will become more difficult for repeat offenders to get suspended prison sentences. In addition defendants aged 21 and over who get suspended sentences will also be required to serve a monitoring sentence. Under current legislation only persons under the age of 21 are sentenced to monitoring sentences.
 Brexit effects
 The UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January ushers in restrictions on the movement of some people and will also affect flights and parcel post. The change means that Finnish Customs will have to check up to one million airline passengers, thousands of flights and more than 600,000 parcels originating in the UK.
 Ordering goods from the UK will also become more costly. The change will especially affect products coming from China, which leads other countries in mail order business. This means an increase in processing fees of a few dozen cents for goods coming from China.
 In additional consumers will have to pay a 2.90-euro customs clearance processing fee for goods valued at more than 22 euros. The fee to be applied on extra-EU goods will take effect from 31 January.

Taxes, pensions, daycare: What changes in 2020


Summary: Provincial Finland is losing women to the cities.

Several Finnish regions have lost a large proportion of their young women in a short space of time, according to figures from Statistics Finland.
 In Kainuu and South Savo, the number of women aged between 15 and 44 has dropped by a third since 2001. In Kymenlaakso and Satakunta the reduction is around a fifth, and similar but less severe drops are recorded elsewhere in the country too.
 "The change has been pretty steep in a short space of time," said  Timo Aro  of the regional development consultancy MDI.
 Young people have always been keen to move, but population flows have grown in the last two decades. They are also less likely to return to their former homes in the provinces.
 That has a knock-on effect on birth rates. Even an increase in the average number of children each woman has in the provinces will not significantly boost overall births if the number of women has fallen so dramatically.
 Timo Aro says decision-makers have not yet paid sufficient attention to the trend.
 "There has not been an awakening to this," said Aro. "In Finland we think about one thing at a time, whether it is  urbanisation ,  reducing birth rates  or a ‘ birthing drive ’. It’s about time we woke up to young women’s and also young men’s migration."
 Southern cities winners
 Only two regions in Finland showed an increase in the number of young women residents. Pirkanmaa, which contains the country’s second city Tampere, and Uusimaa, which hosts Helsinki, both have more women now than they did in 2001.
 In the autonomous island province of Åland, the number of women has remained steady. Everywhere else, it’s fallen.
 The university towns of Oulu, Jyväskylä and Turku all have more women than they did in 2001, but those women’s desire to have children has dropped and all three towns have fewer births than they did in 2001.
 Even some regions that have larger populations now have fewer women than they did in 2001. For instance Päijät-Häme and Kanta-Häme have more people overall but some ten percent fewer young women.
 Nationwide, the number of young women has dropped by 2.7 percent since 2001.
 Finding solutions to the problem is difficult, according to Aro.
 "If nothing is done, the situation will get worse in the future," said Aro. "One big question is immigration. It’s difficult to find other balancing mechanisms in the long run than increasing birth rates and immigration."
 "They are both sensitive subjects, about which it is difficult to have any kind of society-wide discussion," said Aro.

Women flee Finnish countryside, some regions' female populations down by a third


Summary: Marin said that society’s strength can’t be measured by the wealth of its most affluent members.

In her Prime Minister's traditional New Year message, Sanna Marin said that Finland’s strength lies in "its people and their knowledge", with education playing a key role in the country’s success.
 Marin also lauded changes her government brings in from 1 January, which she says will raise the incomes of some 70 percent of Finns.
 "The strength of a society is measured not by the wealth of its most affluent members, but by how well its most vulnerable citizens are able to cope," writes Marin. "The question we need to ask is whether everyone has the chance to lead a life of dignity."
 The premier said that she wants to make Finland "a financially responsible, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable society".
 Carbon neutrality work to do
 She cited the government’s goal to make Finland  carbon-neutral by 2035 , which is one of the most ambitious goals in the world.
 "We are entering a decade during which we must find solutions for combating climate change," wrote Marin. "This calls for decisions that reduce emissions and strengthen carbon sinks. We will rely on scientific data, while taking account of the social and regional impacts of the solutions proposed."
 She stated that Finland and Europe have the chance to be trailblazers in finding climate solutions, and suggested that bold decisions will need to be taken.
 "There is enormous demand and a huge market for new climate technology," wrote Marin. "Will our country have the bold pioneering spirit needed to prosper?"
 Koivisto guidance
 Finland has been criticised for maintaining subsidies for  high-emission peat extraction and failing to implement measures to meet its lofty climate ambitions .
 Closing out her message, Marin said she had enjoyed an Yle documentary series about former president  Mauno Koivisto , which she said put  recent turbulence in Finnish politics  in its proper perspective.
 She then quoted his guidance in uncertain times: "If we can’t know for sure how things will go, let’s assume that all will go well."
 You can read Sanna Marin's New Year message in English in full  here .

Prime Minister Sanna Marin emphasises "most vulnerable citizens" in New Year message


Summary: Many Finnish Christmas foods come from the harvest festival kekri, but thankfully lye fish has been dropped from the menu in recent years.

For better or worse, you can’t spend Christmas in Finland without sampling a traditional Finnish Christmas table ( joulupöytä ). Including oven-baked ham, dry-cured salmon, cold beetroot salad and more root vegetable casseroles than you’ll know what to do with, Finns enjoy their Christmas meal on 24 December.
 But it wasn’t until the late 1800s that Finns started celebrating Christmas. They used to celebrate  kekri,  a pagan festival which marked the end of the harvest season, in November.
 Christmas traditions with roots in kekri
 Kekri , which was regarded as the last opportunity for Finns to eat fresh food before the following spring, was a harvest festival of sorts that combined what we now think of as Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. It involved a big feast, lots of drinking and one guest dressing up as a " kekri  buck", a goat-like animal that represented the god of cattle and fertility and roamed the village, knocking on doors and asking for offerings. Think of it as a sort of bovine trick-or-treater.
 Although  kekri  is no longer widely celebrated, Suomenlinna in Helsinki still hosts an  annual  kekri   celebration , complete with a candle-light concert, beer tasting workshops and a buck burning ceremony.
 "Kekri  took place after the harvest had been reaped and the slaughter had been done," Head of Museum Operations at Jyväskylä University Museum  Pirjo Vuorinen  tells Yle News. "It was a time when people had a lot of food and could afford to eat well."
 How did Santa become Finnish? Find out in a special edition of the All Points North podcast via this embedded player, Yle Areena, Spotify, iTunes or your normal pod player using the RSS feed.
 One of the Christmas foods that comes from  kekri  is the traditional centrepiece of the Finnish Christmas table: oven-baked ham.
 "Farmers would feed up one of their pigs before the celebration," explains Vuorinen
 Ham is still a big part of the festivities, with 75 per cent of Finns saying that it belongs on the Christmas table, according to a survey by Finland’s second largest grocery retailer K-Group.
 Story continues after photo
 Ham is an essential part of Christmas dinner for many Finns.  Petri Aaltonen / Yle
 "Finnish Christmas foods come from the resources that Finns were traditionally surrounded by," the museum curator adds. As well as root vegetables, this includes fish.
 "Finns eat fish all year round, because Finland is full of lakes and surrounded by sea, but they’ve always tried to catch a more special fish for Christmas. In the north of Finland, this is often salmon, which is then salted."
 Thankfully lye fish, a gelatinous dish which is prepared by soaking reconstituted stock fish in a solution of lye, is no longer a standard part of the Finnish Christmas table.
 The aroma is a cross between a gym bag and a pigsty, and the consistency is soft, squishy and decidedly un-fish-like.
 Some connoisseurs claim it’s okay if you can get past the smell, but these days fewer people are venturing that far.
 "The popularity of lye fish has fallen to one third of what it was," senior archivist at the Finnish Literature Society (SKS)  Juha Nirkko  tells Yle News, citing a survey by a supermarket chain.
 "The Christmas boxes"
 The pureed potato, carrot and swede casseroles that often flummox foreigners and are pretty much indistinguishable from baby food—known as the ‘Christmas boxes’—have their roots in  kekri  too. They were easy to make because root vegetables were available in Finland in November.
 "The vegetable casseroles originally come from south-west Finland," notes Nirkko.
 Story continues after photo
 Vegetable boxes recall a time when root veg (and not much else) was plentiful during the Finnish winter. Kati Kemppainen / AOP
 Nowadays many Finns opt to buy their Christmas boxes ready-made, with beetroot and sweet potato casseroles becoming almost as popular as the traditional ones, according to K-Group.
 But one box has been dropped from the menu.
 "Liver casserole, which used to be eaten at  kekri , isn’t eaten at Christmas anymore," Nirkko explains.
 Rice porridge and the lucky almond
 After watching the Declaration of Christmas Peace, a tradition since the 1300s, Finnish families sit down for their Christmas porridge.
 "For a long time, Christmas porridge was made with Finnish barley," Nirkko says. "The porridge can be cooked on the stove or baked in the oven."
 "Just as the Romans used to hide a lucky bean in their food, Finns hid an almond in their Christmas porridge," says Nirkko. "It brought luck to whoever ate it."
 Story continues after photo
 Rice porridge with cinnamon offers a sweet start to the Christmas festivities. Henrietta Hassinen / Yle
 Nowadays Finns tend to make their porridge with rice instead of barley.
 "Rice came to Finland in the 1800s," Vuorinen adds. "It was around then that Finns started adding cold raisin fruit soup ( rusinakiisseli ) to their porridge too."
 After finishing their  kekri  feast, it was traditional to leave out any leftover food and keep the sauna warm overnight. “This was an offering to the spirits and ancestors,” Nirkko says. “It was customary to make enough Christmas porridge for the spirits of the home and the animals of the forest too.”
 Sweet treats and home-brewed beer
 Finns have always enjoyed sweet foods at Christmas, including pinwheel-shaped tarts that contain prune jam and were accused of  looking like swastikas  by the Swedish press in 2013.
 "The first recipe for these Christmas tarts comes from Swedish author Cajsa Warg’s famous 1755 cookbook [ Guide to Housekeeping for Young Women ], but their exact origin is unknown," Nirkko explains.
 Gingerbread biscuits are also a big part of Christmas in Finland.
 "Gingerbread was bought to Turku in the 1600s," says Nirkko. "It was based on honey cake, which came from the pharaohs of Egypt. Gingerbread first became popular in European monasteries, eventually becoming popular with the general public… After a while, sugar replaced the honey."
 Anyone who has spent time in Finland won’t be surprised to hear that alcohol plays a huge role in Christmas here, with state alcohol monopoly Alko seeing their sales double in the festive season. “At Christmas we sell almost four times the amount of sparkling wine and champagne that we normally sell, Alko’s Products and Services Educator  Anri Lindström  told Yle News.
 But before the 1800s, Finns used to brew their own alcohol.
 "In the days of  kekri , Finns used the wheat they had harvested to make home-brewed beer," Vuorinen explains.
 The one thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the tendency to overeat.
 "At  kekri , people ate throughout the day," Vuorinen said. "And at Christmas we still make a huge quantity of food and eat far too much."
 So, what are you waiting for? Pile up your plate with mushed up vegetables and pickled fish and… tuck in?
 If you want to try making some traditional Finnish Christmas foods for yourself, you can find lots of recipes here. Good luck!

Rice porridge, baked ham and root vegetables: Why do Finns eat 'vegetable boxes' at Christmas?


Summary: Finnish troops currently stationed in Iraq will be re-deployed to Erbil in Kurdistan.

Finland will re-organise its crisis management operations in Iraq starting in 2020, according to the Finnish Army.
 On Monday the Army said that the move to revamp operations followed the restructuring of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) – the military offensive against the Islamic State lead by the US.
 The Army announced in a statement that the multinational base used by Finns in territory controlled by the Iraqi central government will cease training and protection operations at the end of the year.
 Finns currently stationed there will be re-deployed to Kurdistan to join Finnish troops operating in Erbil as part of the Kurdistan Training Coordination Centre.
 The change will bring an end to the mission of Finnish protective forces in Iraq. The Finnish contingent will join the operation with about 80 peacekeepers whose remit will be training, mentoring and support operations.
 Finland has participated in the OIR since August 2015, while its crisis management unit in Iraq (SKJI) began operations in Iraq in 2018.

Finland to re-deploy crisis management troops in Iraq


Summary: White-backed and three-toed woodpeckers rarely appear in the hundreds.

Birdwatchers in 2019 spotted the second-largest number of rare woodpeckers recorded so far in Finland.
 Sightings of Eurasian three-toed woodpeckers came in at 628 migration reports, and 579 endangered white-backed woodpeckers were also spotted, according to  observation database Tiira .
 The record-breaking year for white-backed woodpeckers was in 2015, when watchers tallied 885 individuals. As many as 1,600 three-toed woodpeckers were spotted in 2008. The sighting records in the Tiira database begin in 2006.
 "There have been three good years for migration in the past 14 years,"  BirdLife Finland  conservation expert  Petri Lampila  said. "Only some dozens of woodpeckers make the journey to Finland on off years, so this year's figures are a good sign."
 Migration from Russia
 No data is available on exactly where the birds actually start their eastward journey, as the woodpeckers are not tagged, but Lampila said they are known to originate in Russia.
 "When there are this many on the move, it means the breeding and nesting of the species has gone well. When young woodpeckers have trouble finding territory they take off and start wandering."
 Story continues after photo.
 Three-toed woodpeckers (Picoides tridactylus) excavate new nests each year. Yle/Pentti Kallinen
 Lampila said that high migration years may improve Finland's woodpecker population if some individuals do not make the return journey west. However, a majority of the woodpeckers that flew into the country in autumn will likely not survive the winter.
 "Most wil probably die in the first winter, from the stress of migration or lack of suitable habitats. Both the three-toed and white-backed woodpeckers are high-maintenance species," Lampila said.
 The white-backed woodpecker nearly went extinct in Finland in the 1990s, when there were barely 20 couples in the wild. BirdLife Finland now estimates there to be between 180 and 400 pairs of white-backed woodpeckers in the country.
 Finland has an estimated 20,000-34,000 three-toed woodpecker couples. The most common species, the great spotted woodpecker, is alive and well at some half a million nesting couples.

Rare woodpeckers turn out in large numbers


Summary: Finnish police responded to more domestic calls than one year previously.

Christmas Eve 2019 was busier for police officers than the previous year. Helsinki police reported 209 assignments, which is 45 percent more than in 2018.
 A majority of the calls were domestic calls such as noise complaints and assault. Police were also called to defuse numerous altercations in restaurants and bars.
 Despite there being an uptick in police assignments, Christmas Eve was still quieter than a regular weekend, police said.
 Assault, vandalism reported
 Police in Eastern Finland also reported domestic abuse calls.
 An inebriated 40-year-old man assaulted his 30-year-old wife on Christmas night in North-East Savo, attacking her with his fists and wielding a hockey stick. Police apprehended the man and charged him with assault.
 In Kuopio the front door of the police station was found broken around 6 am on Wednesday. Police say the perpetrator escaped identification due to "blind luck", as a change of shift was in progress when the vandalism was committed.
 Meanwhile in Tampere a man in his fifties went head to head with a group of four young men around midnight, the Central Finland Police Department said.
 All five were ejected from the restaurant, but their disagreement continued outside. The middle-aged man fell to the ground, where he was kicked and strangled by the group of younger men. The attackers fled the scene while the fifth man received first aid. Police said they are investigating the matter as assault.
 Weapons confiscated
 Helsinki police also booked five armed men in Malmi on Christmas Eve.
 According to daily  Ilta-Sanomat , police said they received the call at 4:11 pm. One of the suspects had a starter's pistol in his possession; police also found various blades and truncheons on the property on Karviaistie.
 The men were taken to Pasila police station, suspected of possession of an offensive weapon and firearms offenses.
 A police source said the men were apprehended swiftly and without incident.

Police emergencies increase over holidays


Summary: What went right, what went wrong, and what made us laugh in 2019.

You can listen to our weekly All Points North podcast via this embedded player, Yle Areena, Spotify, iTunes or your normal pod player using the RSS feed.
 It's been quite a year in Finnish news, and not just because of the  recent government crises  and the  elevation of  Sanna Marin  to become the  youngest Prime Minister in the world .
 From the  parliamentary  and  European elections  to the passing of a  controversial ski jump legend  and glorious successes in  football  and  ice hockey , we've covered a lot of big stories here at Yle News.
 We asked AFP's Helsinki correspondent  Sam Kingsley  and Yle's head of content planning  Katariina Luoma  to help us mull over the year's events – and even ask what might come next.
 Join the conversation
 If you have any questions or comments or would like to participate in the discussion, contact us via WhatsApp on +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or at yle.news@yle.fi. You can also give us your feedback on our English language news services via our  survey .
 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  Egan Richardson  and  Denise Wall.  Our sound designer and audio engineer was  Tuomas Vauhkonen.

2019: Elections, eagle owls, and is Finland really still the world's happiest country?


Summary: North Ostrobothnia and Kainuu will see snowfall in Finland on Thursday.

Cloudy skies are gradually clearing across Finland over the next few days, leading to a slight drop in temperatures, according to Yle's weather service.
 Mostly clear weather is in store on Friday, with chilly northerly winds sweeping through the country.
 On Saturday, southern areas will see sunny skies as the mercury dips below zero nationwide. A new snow front will meanwhile move in from the west on Saturday, bringing more snow and milder temperatures to Lapland.
 Lapland has seen a  record amount of snow cover  this Christmas, with powder on the ground measuring up to a metre deep in some parts of Finland's northernmost region.

Temperatures dropping ahead of weekend


Summary: Tuition fees at Finnish universities led to a temporary dip in foreign applicants in 2017,  reports Statistics Finland.

More prospective foreign students applied for university in Finland in 2018 than during the last year higher education in the country was free. Since 2016, Finnish universities have been able to  charge tuition fees  from students arriving from outside the EU or European Economic Area.
 In 2017, Finland was home to some 20,000 foreign students, a drop of around 1,000 over the previous year.
 “The dip was, however, not as drastic as we had anticipated,”  Birgitta Vuorinen , director of the Education Ministry’s Division for Higher Education Policy, told Finnish News Agency STT.
 The number of people aspiring to earn a degree in Finland is growing, according to the Finnish Immigration Service Migri and the Department of Education. The universities of Helsinki and Eastern Finland said they have both seen more applicants for their fee-based programmes than they did during the last year they offered free tuition.
 Paying for top programmes
 Finnish universities have found that foreign students are willing to pay for the programmes of their dreams. At the University of Eastern Finland, foreign students make up 40 percent of Master’s graduates in the field of natural sciences.
 Susanna Niinistö-Sivuranta , development director at the University of Helsinki, said instituting tuition fees has led to the school drawing a more globally diverse pool of applicants.
 “We are now seeing more applicants from the United States,” she added.
 Vuorinen said she believed Finland’s quality of education and Finnish society in general are attractive for foreign students. “Finnish education is of high quality, tuition fees are modest and scholarships are available.”
 Annual tuition fees in Finland range from 8,000-15,000 euros at the University of Eastern Finland to 13,000-18,000 euros at Helsinki University.
 “In reality,  grants cover a part of these costs . Only a small number of students pay full tuition fees,”  Harri Siiskonen , academic rector of the University of Eastern Finland, said. “But we’re heading in a direction of rising fees and fewer scholarships.”
 Worklife roadblock
 Some 5,000 foreign graduates leave Finnish universities every year.
 “This is quite large pool of specialists looking to join the labour force. One reason they come here is because they want to work in Finland,” Vuorinen explained.
 Helsinki University said it’s well aware that many of its graduating foreigners encounter obstacles when trying to land a job in Finland.
 “Things like a lack of networks, little experience interviewing for jobs in Finland as well as limited language skills are problematic,” Niinistö-Sivuranta explained.
 At the ministry, Vuorinen said she agreed that foreign students face a slow and challenging journey when it comes to integrating into the Finnish job market. To that end, she pointed out that government agencies have launched  Talent Boost , a cross-administrative programme designed to attract and retain international talent in Finland.
 Siiskonen said universities should also do more to help their foreign graduates.
 "We have to work with municipalities, public and private employers to help our Master’s students make the right connections,” he said.

Tuition fees not dampening foreign students' enthusiasm for Finland


Summary: Thousands of would-be movie goers in Finland are queuing online to buy cinema tickets on Thursday.

Elokuvateatterit & elokuvien esittäminen

Finland's biggest movie theatre chain Finnkino said its website was still operating very slowly on Thursday.
 On Christmas Day technical problems forced Finnkino to close down its online ticket sales.
 Tickets can be bought normally at cinemas.
 “If you’ve booked a ticket for today, it’s a good idea to head to the theatre well in advance to redeem your ticket,” Finnkino sales director  Hannele Wolf-Mannila  said.
 Finnkino on Wednesday said it suspected overwhelming demand for Disney's Frozen sequel, released on Christmas Day, to be behind the problem.

Thousands queuing on Finnkino website


Summary: Christmas return traffic has been flowing evenly on Thursday, reports Traffic Management Finland.

The traffic agency said it does not expect any road congestion on Thursday evening. Driving conditions are mostly good, with the exception of North Ostrobothnia and Kainuu which have seen fresh snow.
 Traffic officials said they expect the highest volume of traffic on southbound highways 3, 4 and 7.
 The number of motorists peaked slightly around noon, but traffic has levelled off through the afternoon,  Auli Aalto  from Traffic Management Finland told Yle. “Most people still have some days off work so they can hit the road some other time.”
 Boxing Day has traditionally been the busiest day for travelling back home from holiday destinations in Finland.
 Officials also said motorists were observing speed limits on Thursday, and no major accidents had been reported.

Return holiday traffic smooth


Summary: Finland’s social insurer Kela reports that it spent 14.9 billion euros on social benefits last year.

In 2018,  health insurance  was Kela's largest expenditure, followed by pensions, unemployment benefits and subsidies for children and families
 Residents in eastern and northern Finland drew more benefit payments than those living in the western and southern parts of the country, Kela’s latest statistical yearbook showed.
 Most Finns receive some form of Kela benefits. In 2018, the agency paid out healthcare reimbursements to nearly 3.8 million people and child allowances for 996,000 kids. Some 377,000 households also drew housing benefits from the social insurer.
 300,000 pensioners receiving less than 1k
 The combined average of earnings-related and national pensions was 1,669 euros per month in 2018.
 People with very little or no earnings-related pensions receive national pensions. For a single person, the full  national pension  was 628.85 euros per month.
 Finland was home to 1.5 million pensioners last year, with the majority—462,000 people—drawing pensions ranging from 1,600 to 2,599 euros per month.
 However 322,000 people were paid out pensions less than 1,000 euros per month.

Kela: Social benefits totalled nearly 15 billion in 2018


Summary: A citizens' initiative and recent poll find that many residents want fireworks off the shelves.

The sale of fireworks for the New Year's season began on Friday, but Finnish consumers are increasingly calling to ban retail sales of the seasonal pyrotechnics.
 A poll by paper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus found that nearly half of respondents (47 percent) said they would support a ban on the retail sales and personal use of fireworks.
 A gender analysis of the results found that 57 percent of women and 38 percent of men are against the use of fireworks by anyone except trained professionals. The results are also relative to age: 60 percent of respondents over the age of 64 would ban New Year's rockets, compared to just 37 percent of those under 30.
 The survey conducted by TNS Kantar Agri interviewed 1,089 Finnish residents. The margin of error for the results is +/- three percentage points.
 Health, safety, environment concerns
 For now, individuals in Finland may set off fireworks between 6pm on Tuesday 31 December and 2am on Wednesday 1 January.
 The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) said that safety goggles are compulsory for people who use fireworks. Observers should also take precautions to protect their eyes and face. Fireworks cause 10-30 people to be hospitalised every year.
 Thirteen people were injured by fireworks last New Year's Eve, according to Tukes. Ten of the victims were setting off fireworks when they were injured.
 A citizens' initiative to ban the non-professional use of fireworks gathered more than 65,000 signatures in 2018. The initiative's proposal – which includes concerns over animal rights and the environmental damage caused by thousands of chemical explosions and the resulting debris – is currently under parliamentary deliberation. The initiative would not prohibit the use of small pyrotechnics such as sparklers, squibs and Roman candles.
 The value of the annual fireworks market is some 30 million euros, according to the pyrotechnic artists' association PITE.
 Little political support for ban
 In early December a poll by Uutissuomalainen found that Movement Now (Liike Nyt) was the only political group to support the full ban of consumer fireworks.
 The Finns Party, National Coalition Party and Centre Party all oppose the ban outright.  Hanna-Leena Mattila , the Centre parliamentary group's vice chair, said a prohibition may lead to a rise in dangerous homemade fireworks.
 Responses from the Social Democratic Party, Greens, Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats indicated that they would investigate the matter before taking a position. The Left Alliance did not respond to the poll.

Poll: Nearly half would ban fireworks


Summary: One in five adults in Finland experiences severe symptoms related to the gloomy polar night period known as "kaamos".

The use of light therapy lamps in public transportation could help combat the seasonal fatigue many people experience during the dark days of autumn and winter, according to National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) researcher  Timo Partonen .
 Professor Partonen has suggested that public transportation vehicles could be fitted with light therapy lamps, especially for passengers commuting to work. He added that the lights have been proven to be an effective treatment to reduce the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
 On the THL website, Partonen  provided a series of tips  (in Finnish) for combating the low moods that often come during the annual gloom of the polar nights when there are far fewer hours of sunlight,  especially in northern Finland . He noted that the main reason that the season (called  kaamos ) creates fatigue and depression is that it disrupts sleep patterns – when people do not rest properly, they feel weary.
 In one instance, he recommends spending time near a light therapy lamp for between 30 and 60 minutes daily, with the best time for the treatment being before 9 am.
 According to Partonen, one in five adults in Finland experiences severe symptoms related to the polar nights, while about two percent experience depression at this time of year.
 Not for everyone
 Helsinki City Transport (HKL) CEO  Ville Lehmuskoski  said that he is cautiously positive about the idea of installing light therapy lamps in city vehicles.
 "I think this is a rather interesting proposal and it's probably worth looking into if health care professionals have brought it up," Lehmuskoski said.
 He said that he understands the discussion about light therapy, because Finland experiences more dark months than many other countries.
 "It's not possible to directly say that this should be done or that the matter should be taken forward, but this is an issue that is worth investigating with health care professionals," the HKL chief hedged.
 Salla Ketola , sales and customer experience director for state-owned rail services company VR said she is also cautiously optimistic about using light therapy in mass transit vehicles.
 "This sounds very interesting. However when it comes to public transportation, not everyone will want to be around a light therapy lamp. This could be something worth trying at some point," Ketola added.

Public transport providers guarded over fatigue-busting light therapy


Summary: The first national study on the link between the disorder and vitamin D was conducted in Turku.

A new study by researchers at the University of Turku has found that children whose mothers had a vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy were 34 percent more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
 This is the first nationwide study to investigate the relationship between ADHD and the presence of vitamin D in the bloodstream of women in early or mid-stage pregnancy.
 "A vitamin D deficiency can affect the likelihood of illness along with genetics, smoking and social factors," said PhD researcher  Minna Sucksdorff  from the Turku child psychiatry unit.
 The study analysed the health of 1,067 children diagnosed with ADHD in 1998-1999 and children from a control group of the same size.
 A global problem
 Vitamin D deficiency is a problem affecting people all over the world, in spite of daily dosage recommendations.
 "This is the strongest evidence yet that prenatal vitamin D levels are related to concentration disorders," said study lead, professor  Andre Sourander .
 ADHD is one of the most common long-term children's disorders. The  paper's abstract stated  that the finding "may have significant public health implications" if replicated independently.
 The Turku University study is part of a broader programme investigating the link between pre-natal health and ADHD. Its goal is to produce data to help identify the disorder earlier and develop preventative treatments.

Study: Low vitamin D levels in pregnancy linked to ADHD


Summary: Helsinki hopes that measures such as higher salaries will help ease a chronic doctor shortage.

The city of Helsinki will begin paying all health centre doctors treating patients a fixed-period task-based bonus, starting 1 January. For full-time employees, the perk will amount to about 1,000 euros a month.
 Helsinki health centres medical director  Timo Lukkarinen  said that the premium will be paid until the end of June 2020. He added that the temporary salary bump aims to combat the city's chronic doctor shortage.
 "We will see how things begin to roll and we will possibly extend the increase until the end of 2020," Lukkarinen added.
 Previous increase implemented
 In addition to the latest pay hike, the city had previously decided on a permanent 250-euro increase for doctors as part of its pay development programme.
 Doctors who are new recruits will also get the 1,000 euro bonus, which Lukkarinen said is attracting professionals from the provinces to Helsinki.
 "From the perspective of health centre operations, a doctor shortage has many knock-on effects, although customers mainly see it as a problem getting an appointment. Because of this, addressing that shortage is an absolute priority," Lukkarinen noted.
 Pay rise "justified"
 According to Helsinki's health and addiction services director  Leena Turpeinen , the pay rise is justified because the shortage of medical professionals has made working at health centres more demanding than usual.
 "When we get new doctors we will be better able to guarantee faster access to care in non-critical cases as well. Naturally we also want to ensure that doctors and nurses currently employed do not have too heavy a work burden," Turpeinen said in a statement.

Helsinki to pay health centre docs monthly €1K perk


Summary: Recycling in Vantaa rose more than 180 percent -- a waste management expert said it is "just the beginning".

Finnish consumers recycled a record amount of plastic in 2019, according to regional waste management agencies. Finns recycled plastic at double or even triple the rate of the previous year.
 Large cities and the capital region saw the highest increase in plastic recycling. Some 90 percent more plastic was recycled in Helsinki and in Espoo, while Vantaa saw a meteoric 186 percent increase in the reuse of plastic.
 Operations chief  Pertti Tammivuori  from Finnish Packaging Recycling Ltd (Rinki) said that improved eco-consciousness has heightened awareness of the benefits of sorting trash.
 "People are waking up. A big part of that is national broadcaster Yle's 'I Love Muovi' [I Love Plastic] campaign," Tammivuori said.
 The Yle project emphasised the use and recycling capacity of plastic, with slogans such as "life without plastic is a naïve dream – plastic itself is not the bad guy".
 Some 600 Rinki eco bins are situated in supermarket parking lots and other public areas. In the largest cities the facilities gather hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic for recycling each year.
 "I predict that plastic recycling will only increase next year, and housing company bins will outperform supermarket collection points," said  Vesa Kärhä,  CEO of the  Finnish Plastics Industries Federation . "This is just the beginning."
 Finnish Plastics Recycling Ltd  manages and develops plastic reuse in Finland. Around 580 domestic companies in the plastics industry employ 12,000 people.
 Housing companies join in
 Housing companies that manage apartment buildings and semi-detached houses have also upped their ante in the plastic recycling game. Yellow-coloured plastic waste recycling bins have appeared on over 2,000 properties during the 2019 holiday season.
 "New housing companies are joining all the time," said customer service chief  Virpi Leppälä  from the Kymenlaakso region's waste management firm. "Growth has been exponential."
 Leppälä agreed with Tammivuori that the notoriety of single-use plastics has fanned the flames of recycling among consumers.
 "The effects of plastic waste on marine life has been widely publicised. People have clearly been expecting better plastic recycling."
 In Kymenlaakso, southeast Finland, housing complexes with more than 10 apartments will be obliged to provide new plastic recycling bins starting in July 2020. In 2021, the policy will extend to all buildings with more than five flats.
 Leppälä underlined the importance of providing easily accessible recycling facilities.
 "The closer the bin is to someone's home, the easier it will be for them to recycle," she said.
 Kouvola, one of the largest cities in the region, saw the highest growth in plastic recycling outside of the capital region (44 percent), driven in large part by inhabitants of single-family houses also picking up the pace and transporting their plastic waste to Rinki sites.

Plastic recycling in big cities doubles in 2019