Summary: The police had previously announced plans to begin talks aimed at cutting up to 250 jobs, citing a government decision to reduce the force's budget for 2022.

Minister of Finance  Annika Saarikko  (Cen) will propose allocating an additional 30 million euros to Finland's police force in next year's budget when the fourth supplementary draft is presented on Monday, according to a report by news agency STT.
 Earlier this week, the Police Board  announced plans  to begin codetermination talks with staff representatives aimed at cutting up to 250 jobs, citing a government decision to reduce  the force's budget  for 2022.
 Saarikko told STT that the decision to increase the police's allocation would ensure operations could continue as normal and would also strengthen the force's so-called 'economic buffer' against any unforeseen expenses.
 "Until now, the police have relied on temporary allocations, such as any unused buffer, but now the buffer will be strengthened this year so that the police's financial base for next year can be secured," Saarikko said.
 The minister pointed out that, as a result of the increased allocation, the police may now decide to end plans for codetermination talks, adding that she met with Chief of Police  Seppo Kolehmainen  on Friday to discuss the matter.
 The additional funding could be used to prevent any reductions being made in the number of police personnel, Saarikko said, and would also help work towards increasing the number of officers to the government's goal of 7,500.
 Audit into police budgets, expenditure
 In addition, Saarikko announced that the Interior Ministry will appoint an independent auditor next week to look into the police's budgets and expenditure.
 "At the same time, together with the Ministry of the Interior and the police, we are launching an audit on the use of police budget allocations in recent years and the future expenditure needs," Saarikko added.
 Citing government sources, Helsingin Sanomat  reported earlier this week  that there are question marks over where all the police's money is spent, with expensive IT projects mentioned as one cash drain.
 The interior ministry's chief of staff  Kirsi Pimiä  told Yle that the two- or three-person external audit team could possibly consist of researchers or auditors from Finland's National Audit Office (VTV).
 The audit would be carried out under the guidance of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance, Pimiä added, with a report expected by the end of the year.
 "Some people have already been tentatively contacted. I think we will get the decision to begin early next week," she said.

STT: Finance minister proposes allocating €30m extra for police in 2022 budget


Summary: Shareholders will receive a dividend payment of 72 cents per share on 12 October, the banking group announced.

Nordea Bank has announced that it will issue the largest dividend payout to shareholders in the history of the Finnish stock market later this month.
 The sum, amounting to around 2.9 billion euros, grew to its exceptional size due to a ban on dividends by the Financial Supervision Authority that expired at the end of September.
 The ban was prompted by guidance from the European Central Bank (ECB) which recommended that banks refrain from issuing dividends in 2020 and 2021, with the reasoning that it wanted banks to have a buffer of funds if it was needed during the Covid crisis.
 The dividends to be paid out include shareholder payments originally planned to be distributed this year and in 2020.
 Shareholders are to receive a dividend of 72 cents per share on 12 October, according to the bank. Nordea said that the dividend distribution would not impact its capital adequacy.

Nordea issues largest dividend payout in Finnish stock market history


Summary: Green Party leader and Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo will begin maternity leave in November.

The Green Party has named Pirkanmaa MP  Iiris Suomela  as interim party chair.
 Deputy chair Suomela will take over the party's reins next month, when current leader and Interior Minister  Maria Ohisalo  goes on maternity leave.
 "It is a great pleasure and honour," Suomela said after the announcement. "I came to this movement as a graduate student, specifically to find a place where we could work together against the climate crisis and on behalf of a strong welfare state."
 Ohisalo was  re-elected unopposed  for another term as chair of the Greens at a party meeting in September.
 At 27, Suomela is Finland's youngest MP. She is also deputy chair of the city council in south-central Tampere. She earned an international baccalaureate diploma in Wales and has studied sociology at the University of Tampere.
 Interim interior minister to be named later
 The other two candidates to take over as interim party chair were MPs  Hanna Holopainen  from the eastern city of Lappeenranta and  Atte Harjanne  of Helsinki.
 Harjanne, who earned the most votes in the recent deputy chair election, was seen as unlikely to take over as interim party chair due to his geographic location. The interim chair's most important task will be to lead the Greens into the first-ever regional elections in January – which Helsinki will not participate in.
 The party will name Ohisalo's replacement as interior minister later.
 As all three deputy chairs are first-term MPs, pundits suggest the party may seek someone with more experience, including a possible reshuffle of its current three seats.
 Besides the interior portfolio, Green MPs serve as Foreign Minister ( Pekka Haavisto ) and Minister of the Environment and Climate Change ( Krista Mikkonen ).
 2.10: Updated with more details.

Greens name Iiris Suomela as interim party chair


Summary: The industry predicts a rise in demand for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles since the purchase tax was eliminated on Friday.

Bucking other trends in the rebounding economy, sales of new cars in September fell sharply compared to a year earlier, according to the Finnish Information Centre of the Automobile Sector.
 The automotive industry said that order backlogs are high, but that a shortage of components at car factories has hobbled manufacturing of new cars and caused delivery delays.
 The automotive industry predicts that delivery delays will cut registrations across Europe this autumn, despite strong demand for cars.
 Domestically, it expects a rise in demand for electric and plug-in hybrid cars towards the end of the year due to the government's decision to waive purchase tax on them as of Friday 1 October.
 Brisk trade in used cars in September
 Demand for new cars has returned to close to pre-pandemic levels, but delivery delays will lower registrations of new vehicles this autumn, the centre said on Friday.
 It blames the component shortage on the rapid economic growth as the pandemic subsides in many parts of the world. Poor availability of components has caused disruptions in the production of all types of vehicles, it said.
 Overall this year, new passenger car registrations are up by 7.2 percent from the corresponding period of last year, rising to nearly 79,000.
 However in September, only about 6,500 new passenger cars were registered, down by 22.4 percent from September last year.
 In the first nine months of the year, registrations of new vans were up by nearly 10 percent, but September's tally was down by 8.5 percent from a year earlier. Similarly, registrations of heavy lorries are up by 7.3 percent this year, but sank by more than 20 percent last month.
 Due to the lack of supply of new vehicles, some buyers seem to be opting for older cars. Sales of used cars have been flat for most of the year, but edged up by 2.4 percent in September.
 Industry calls for extension of EV subsidies
 Of passenger cars registered in September, 30 percent were rechargeable, with 19 percent being rechargeable hybrids and 11 percent fully electric vehicles (EVs).
 "Registrations of new electric cars were lower than normal in September, as the car tax, which was abolished at the beginning of October, postponed the registrations of all-electric cars to October," said  Pekka Rissa , Managing Director of the Finnish Central Organisation for Motor Trade and Repairs.
 The abolition of the car tax will reduce the sticker price of the average EV by 1,500 euros, the centre estimates. Together with purchase subsidies for electric cars, it says the incentive to purchase an EV will increase to almost 3,500 euros.
 The purchase subsidy, which is due to expire at the end of the year, should be extended as a matter of urgency, the industry lobbies argue. They note that the average price difference between an electric car and a corresponding internal combustion car is still almost 20,000 euros.
 The automotive industry estimates that the abolition of the car tax, together with purchase subsidies, will increase the number of all-electric cars on the road by about 35,000 between 2022 and 2030. As a result, the CO 2  emissions of the nation's car fleet are projected to decrease by almost 75,000 tonnes by 2030.
 “The tax change also supports companies' transition to electric cars and complements the support for the purchase of electric cars for households, as it focuses on lower-cost models. Companies procure just over a third of new passenger cars, but are currently completely excluded from the purchase subsidies for electric cars,” noted  Tero Kallio , CEO of the Automotive Importers and Industry Association, in the statement.
 The Finnish Information Centre of the Automobile Sector is run jointly by the Finnish Central Organisation for Motor Trades and Repairs and the Association of Automobile Industry in Finland.

Demand for new cars high, but sales slump due to components shortage


Summary: Helsinki streets were busy on Saturday with car and climate demonstrations as well as an annual running event.  Police said they detained 142 protesters.

The Finnish branch of the environmental group Extinction Rebellion, known as Elokapina, said it is expanding its series of protests calling on the government to declare a climate emergency in Finland.
 On Saturday afternoon, members of the group dressed in red made a three-hour silent procession through central Helsinki.
 Shortly after 6pm, police said they had begun detaining protesters who were blocking traffic on Mannerheimintie.
 Around 9pm, they said that 142 people had been taken into custody. Elokapina claimed later that 160 protesters had been detained.
 On Saturday the group also hosted a panel discussion featuring university professors and researchers in front of the Parliamentary Annex building.
 From Sunday through Wednesday, members are to join a volunteer project to restore a drained bog in Jämsä, Central Finland, in hopes that it will serve as a carbon sink. Part of the area is being protected under the Forest Biodiversity Programme for Southern Finland (Metso) programme.
 Elokapina has been demonstrating in front of the Parliament House since Wednesday, when they halted traffic for about an hour on the main thoroughfare, Mannerheimintie. Police detained more than 140 protesters.
 Article continues after photo
 Elokapina demonstrators placed flowers on Mannerheimintie in front of Parliament House on Thursday. Petteri Sopanen / Yle
 Car owners blow horns outside Parliament
 On Saturday traffic in central Helsinki was also hampered by other events, with many streets closed for the Helsinki City Run half marathon.
 Besides the climate action, there was a car owners' protest in front of Parliament House, where motorists gathered to honk their horns on Saturday.
 According to Helsinki police, about 200 cars took part in the hour-long motorists' event, similar to one held in August.
 The protest is backed by a Facebook group that opposes increases in the cost of driving cars. Protesters say that they "oppose all decisions that complicate the position of motorists" and that "motorists are already paying enough taxes". As of Friday, the government abolished purchase taxes on electric and plug-in hybrid cars.
 Rowdy rally fans in Jyväskylä
 Meanwhile police in Central Finland said they were kept busy late Friday and early Saturday night due to celebrations in Jyväskylä associated with the World Rally Championship race and the removal of coronavirus restrictions on of the restaurant and bar opening hours.
 Police said they detained a number of people who were "intoxicated and behaving aggressively" in Jyväskylä.
 Authorities said the ongoing Rally Finland in the Lakeland district was expected to lead to heavy traffic over the weekend, especially on Route 9 in the Jämsä region.
 The three-day, 287-kilometre race is scheduled to end around 2:30pm on Sunday.
 2.10 19.00: Updated with detentions.
 3.10 12:00 Updated with numbers of detainees.

Motorists' and climate protests in Helsinki, rally rowdiness in Jyväskylä


Summary: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and PM Sanna Marin will visit a project tied to Finland’s green-oriented recovery plan.

On Monday, European Commission President  Ursula von der Leyen  makes her first official visit to Finland. She will hold talks on current EU matters with Prime Minister  Sanna Marin  (SDP) in Helsinki.
 During the visit, the Commission will publish its assessment of Finland’s  Recovery and Resilience Plan  (RRP) and present its proposal for the Council of the European Union’s decision on the plan. The process is part of the EU's 730-billion-euro coronavirus recovery package.
 The Council is expected to adopt Finland’s Covid stimulus plan about one month after the Commission publishes its assessment and proposal in Helsinki.
 During the visit, Marin and von der Leyen will take part in a tour focusing on an unspecified project related to Finland's RRP.
 Nearly half for "green transition"
 The Finnish government published its RRP in May as part of its Sustainable Growth Programme.
 The total funding for 2021–23 is estimated at 2.1 billion euros, although the exact figure will not be known until mid-2022.
 The Finnish stimulus plan's four elements are green transition (822 million euros), employment and skills (636 million), health and social services (400 million) and digital transformation (217 million).
 The Green Transition plan reiterates that Finland aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and halt the decline in biodiversity by 2030.
 It includes projects to boost solar and wind energy, biogas and waste heat recovery, hydrogen technology and the electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Other elements focus on phasing out oil heating and developing gypsum treatment of farmland to reduce the nutrient load in the Baltic Sea.
 Each EU country must submit a national RRP as part of the EU's massive pandemic recovery package. The Recovery and Resilience Facility will provide grants of up to 338 billion euros and loans of up to 390 billion.
 Next meeting on Tuesday
 Von der Leyen, a Belgian-born German physician and former defence minister, has led the European Commission since December 2019, the same month when Marin became prime minister.
 Marin and von der Leyen are likely to meet again soon in Slovenia, which holds the EU Council Presidency.
 EU heads of government meet for an informal European Council working dinner on Tuesday at Brdo Castle, ahead of the next day's EU-Western Balkans Summit. Last week von der Leyen visited Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of that conference.

EU President visits Finland to discuss €2bn recovery package


Summary: A massive data leak reveals secret financial arrangements of Putin's inner circle – including a Finnish friend with a major share in a gas giant.

The world's largest-ever data leak reveals hidden holdings of dozens of Russian oligarchs. Russia's energy reserves are also used for operations abroad, says Professor  Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen .
 The massive data leak provides new information about the hidden fortunes of Russian President  Vladimir Putin 's inner circle.
 For instance, investigations by Yle's MOT journalism team reveal how more than a billion euros were channelled to Putin's Finnish friend  Gennady Timchenko  through anonymous tax haven companies.
 Article continues after photo
 The leak includes a document showing a transfer of about one billion euros to Timchenko through anonymous tax haven companies. Yle MOT
 The money was transferred in a covert operation involving several typical hallmarks of corruption and money laundering.
 With the money provided to him, Timchenko acquired a significant stake in Novatek, Russia's second largest gas company.
 According to Russian investigative journalist  Roman Anin , Timchenko in fact serves as a front for Putin.
 "In my opinion, Putin is the real owner of all of Timchenko's companies," says Anin.
 In August, the Russian Ministry of Justice declared that an investigative journalism online media company set up by Anin, iStories, was a "foreign agent". Anin has written a number of articles on corruption among Russia's ruling class. He is now in exile in Latvia.
 Article continues after photo
 Russian investigative journalist Roman Anin is now in exile in Latvia. Jyrki Ojala / Yle
 The United States has also said it considers Timchenko to be a Putin  asset manager  of sorts.
 MOT has spent months examining the activities of Putin's inner circle in partnership with members of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the British newspaper The Guardian and others.
 Timchenko has "always complied with the law"
 Putin did not respond to requests for comment to Yle's MOT desk about the revelations presented in this article. Timchenko declined to be interviewed by MOT, but provided a statement through his lawyer. It did respond to specific questions.
 "My client has always complied with the law in his transactions. Any allegations that he was guilty of or involved in money laundering, tax evasion or any criminal activity are completely incorrect," the letter stated.
 According to the letter, Timchenko sees the questions from MOT and the ICIJ as showing a "preconceived attitude".
 What are the Pandora Papers? The Pandora Papers are a data leak containing nearly 12 million confidential documents from tax haven-based companies, mostly from 1996-2020. The data comes from 14 companies that sell tax haven services. The data was handed over to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Yle's investigative team MOT is the only Finnish media that has access to the data. Altogether more than 600 journalists from more than 117 countries have used the material. They represent some 150 media outlets.
 Dozens of Russian billionaires
 The Pandora Papers leak includes information on 46 Russian billionaires' holdings in tax havens.
 Assets gained through these secret arrangements have been used to buy valuable real estate and yachts, as well as companies of strategic importance to Russia.
 The ownership arrangements concealed through tax havens are also linked to European energy policy and the associated power struggles.
 Russia energy revenues are used to carry out foreign operations on behalf of the Kremlin, says Professor  Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen  of the University of Helsinki's Aleksanteri Institute for Russian and East European Studies.
 Article continues after photo
  Professor Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen of the University of Helsinki's Aleksanteri Institute for Russian and East European Studies Mårten Lampén / Yle
 "These flows of dark money can be directed to various actors who are seen as advancing the needs of Putin's administration," Tynkkynen says. Tynkkynen's research focus is Russia's energy and environmental policy.
 Timchenko's secret billion-euro deal
 Timchenko, known in Finland as a former  part owner of the Jokerit  ice hockey team, has amassed a fortune worth more than 20 billion euros since his friend Putin came to power.
 Timchenko has held Finnish citizenship since 1999 along with Russian and Armenian citizenship, according to the US Treasury.
 "Timchenko is one of Putin's best friends and the businessman closest to the president. He is an example of an 'untouchable' businessman. The police, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and other authorities do not interfere in his activities," says Anin.
 For more than a decade, Timchenko has been a major owner of Russia's second-largest gas company, Novatek. The firm is a major player on the European gas market.
 Timchenko became a major owner of Novatek through a secret operation. In the initial phase, about a billion euros' worth of loans were arranged for Timchenko from anonymous tax haven companies. MOT has not found any evidence that the loans were repaid.
 The operation involved more than 10 tax haven firms, whose owners and sources of funding were carefully concealed.
 Timchenko used the funds to acquire a significant share of Novatek.
 The leaked documents indicate that the deals were approved by the Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom.
 In Tynkkynen's view, it is likely that the deal was also approved by Putin.
 "Of course. No major strategic changes in Novatek are made without the consent of Putin's inner circle," Tynkkynen says.
 Hallmarks of money laundering and corruption
 MOT analysed Timchenko's billion-euro deals according to criteria used in investigations of money laundering and corruption.
 The editors received assistance in identifying these warning signs from an experienced white-collar crime investigator, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case. This expert has experience in carrying out complex money laundering investigations.
 This fact box lists the hallmarks of money laundering.
 What are the hallmarks of money laundering? Opaque ownership, front companies and tax haven-registered companies. Large and unusual money transfers. Lack of clarity as to reasons for payments. Large loans with unclear repayment schedules. Recipients or senders of transfer linked to criminal activity. Banks and financial watchdogs are expected to investigate whether individuals are politically influential — that is, if they are a politician or closely linked to a politician.
 The arrangements were also assessed using metrics similar to those used by banks to assess money laundering risks associated with their customers' operations. Banks have a duty to counter money laundering and to report suspicious money transfers to the police. Timchenko's billion-euro business arrangements appear to bear several hallmarks of money laundering and corruption.
 "Money laundering and tax avoidance are part of tax haven companies' logic. These two needs are certainly not far removed from this Novatek arrangement," says Tynkkynen.
 Novatek is now officially a public company, with shares listed on the London Stock Exchange. Its largest owners are businessman  Leonid Mikhelsson  andTimchenko.
 Novatek representatives did not respond to questions from MOT.
 According to Tynkkynen, Novatek is a company of strategic importance for Russia. It specialises in the sale of liquid natural gas (LNG), which is expected to see rising demand.
 Article continues after photo
 Gazprom HQ in Moscow (file photo) Maxim Shipenkov / EPA
 "The European Union wants to reduce its use of pipeline gas, in other words basically Gazprom gas. It suits the Putin administration's strategy for there to be other Russian suppliers in this sector, since Gazprom is facing some headwinds," says Tynkkynen.
 Energy millions in the 'swimming pool'
 Putin's inner circle has amassed huge fortunes, largely with the help of the Russian state. According to Anin, the use of these funds is actually decided by Putin. In Anin's view, western countries lack a deep understanding of the nature of Russian corruption.
 "In this regard, we refer to the Russian concept of a 'swimming pool'. All of this money and property is in this pool, which is controlled by Putin. The money in the pool is used for various purposes," he says.
 "It could mean buying real estate for employees of the presidential administration, but just as well funding [the Kremlin's] secret foreign operations, such as poisoning Kremlin opponents," Anin adds.
 The funds may also be used to support political movements or parties abroad.
 "Various flows of dark money can be directed to actors that advance the needs of Putin's regime. For instance, Russia has supported right-wing populist parties in recent decades," explains Tynkkynen.
 "Money from the coffers of this corrupt petrostate can be directed to such targets like this," he says.
 Dark money even has an impact on measures to combat climate change, Tynkkynen notes. Populist parties that have received money from the Kremlin oppose climate action. According to Tynkkynen, this is not the primary goal of Putin's regime, which is rather spreading instability in Europe.
 "But this suits Putin's administration because it is so dependent on oil and gas revenues. It sees the transition away from oil and gas as a significant threat," Tynkkynen says. "If we want to advance Europe's fight against climate change, then getting rid of Russian corruption is extremely important."
 From a cleaning lady to a shareholder of "Putin's bank"
 The data leak also unveils real estate deals by a Russian woman named  Svetlana Krivonogikh .
 According to  Russian media reports , she is Putin's former mistress and mother of the president's daughter. A Kremlin spokesperson has denied these allegations.
 The data leak indicates that a tax haven company was set up for Krivonogikh in 2003, just a couple of months after she became a mother.
 Krivonogikh's tax haven firm bought a home in Monaco for 3.6 million euros, according to the principality's real estate registry. Krivonogikh did not respond to requests for comment to MOT or ICIJ about the information presented in this article.
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 Bank Rossiya headquarters in Saint Petersburg (file photo). Anatoly Maltsev / EPA
 Russia media has reported that Krivonogikh, a former cleaner, met Putin in the early 2000s. She now has a fortune worth hundreds of millions of euros, including an ownership share in Rossiya, a major Russian bank. It is often referred to as "Putin's bank".
 "Not just anybody can become a shareholder in Bank Rossiya; one must be right at the core of Putin's inner circle. This shows how close [Krivonogikh] is to Putin," says Anin.

Data leak exposes Putin associates' secret fortunes – including a billion-euro arrangement for the president's Finnish friend


Summary: A major data leak revealing hidden wealth and tax avoidance continues to dominate Finnish media on Monday, but there was some other news, too.

President  Sauli Niinistö  has said there are many "worrisome developments" in relation to Russia, reports business magazine  Talouselämä .
 Speaking to a gathering at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), the president indicated that Finland needs to keep an eye on whether the door to Finland's Nato membership remains open, according to TE.
 "The relationship between the European Union and Russia has effectively withered away. The search for partnership has been replaced with growing suspicion and mutual recrimination. We have genuine differences—that should not be denied. For example, we will not accept the illegal annexation of Crimea, nor will we condone the continued recourse to a set of destabilising activities on the part of Russia," Niinistö said in his address.
 Work from paradise?
 Finnish companies are gearing up for a return to the office, but  Helsingin Sanomat 's most-read story on Monday may indicate that many people don’t only want to continue working from home, but also want be location independent.
 The HS story profiles a four-person Finnish family living on Spain's Costa del Sol, where the father of the family does his engineering job remotely while the mother pursues online studies.
 The Finnish Centre for Pensions told HS that they have been fielding many calls lately from people inquiring about how to maintain their pension and social security benefits when working abroad.
 Finland's official remote work recommendations end in mid-October.
 Do you want the main stories from Finland curated and delivered straight to your inbox? Then sign up for our weekly All Points North newsletter!
 Hobbies for everyone?
 This autumn Finland is  rolling out free children's hobbies  in most municipalities in an effort to give every school kid the opportunity to try an activity.
 But according to Swedish-language daily  Hufvudstadsbladet , many municipalities have received less state funding for organising extracurriculars than they had hoped for. Porvoo had applied for 300,000 euros to provide for kids' hobbies, but received a third of that sum—100,000 euros.
 Municipalities in Finland's most populous Uusimaa region received an average of 3.14 euros per pupil this school year, whereas residents in Ostrobothnia are getting more than twice that sum on average: 8.37 euros.
 Officials told HBL that rural communities may need grants to cover taxi transport to activities, which can contribute to the allowance difference—but grants were also awarded based on the quality of applications, HBL said.

Monday's papers: Finland's Russian relations, working from a holiday destination and hobby funding


Summary: Sebastian Tynkkynen wrote the texts in question in 2017.

Oulu District Court on Monday issued Oulu parliamentarian  Sebastian Tynkkynen  70 day fines—amounting to 4,400 euros—for inciting ethnic agitation.
 Tynkkynen was charged with agitation against an ethnic group after publishing his texts on social media in 2017.
 Prosecutors said his writings slandered immigrants and asylum seekers, and asked for the court to impose fines on Tynkkynen. The Oulu MP had denied the charges.
 Tynkkynen had said that the texts were part of his local election campaign, in which he said he published information sent to him by citizens concerned about immigration.
 Tynkkynen has two previous convictions for incitement against an ethnic group, handed down in  2017  and  2019 .
 Finns Party leader  Riikka Purra  said the latest conviction will not affect Tynkkynen's position in the party, where he is one of three deputy leaders.
 "He has been elected to represent the Finns Party leadership on behalf of the membership, so this [conviction] has no effect on that," Purra said.
 Tynkkynen indicated via a YouTube live stream shortly after the verdict was delivered that he intends to appeal the court's ruling.
 "I have understood that Sebastian Tynkkynen disagrees with the district court's interpretation of whether this was generalised to mean all immigrants and asylum seekers," Purra added.
 Updated Monday 4.10 at 15:43 with comments by Finns Party chair Riikka Purra.

Finns Party MP convicted of ethnic agitation


Summary: Finnish residents will pay some 40 euros per person per year over the next 30 years to finance the EU's Covid stimulus package.

During a brief visit to Helsinki, European Commission President  Ursula von der Leyen  announced that the commission had approved Finland's strategy to use  its share of the EU Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) , paving the way for the Nordic country to receive about 2.1 billion euros over the next couple of years.
 Finland's recovery plan is divided into four areas, including the so-called green transition, digitalisation, employment as well as social and health care services.
 At a joint press conference alongside Prime Minister  Sanna Marin  (SDP) on Monday evening, Von der Leyen said the recovery package was "much more than simple recovery."
 "We're reshaping our continent for decades to come, we're making the Green Deal a reality and we're also accelerating digitalisation in an unprecedented manner. So I'm happy to announce that today, the European Commission has decided to give its green light to Finland's recovery and resilience plan. This follows a thorough assessment and excellent cooperation between our teams," von der Leyen said.
 Marin said that the EU recovery package was a "key tool" to boost EU states' transition to new digital and green economies.
 During von der Leyen's brief visit, she and Marin visited the VTT Technical Research Centre, where work on Finland's first quantum computer is underway. The visit ties into an additional 250 million euros in funding Finland will receive for digitalisation, research and innovation initiatives.
 Finland's share is part of the EU's 750-billion-euro coronavirus recovery package, also known as Next Generation EU.
 Finland's total funding for 2021–23 is estimated at 2.1 billion euros, although the exact figure will not be known until mid-2022.
 Next Generation EU is made up of both loans and grants to finance recovery spending. Finland’s share accounts for 13 billion euros, a mix of debt repayment and loan guarantees payable if a member state defaults on their payments.
 Over the next 30 years Finland will repay some 6.6 billion euros, or 1,200 euros per resident. This comes out to roughly 40 euros per person per year, plus interest.
 Von der Leyen will travel to Tallinn on Tuesday. Estonia is set to receive some 800 million euros in coronavirus stimulus funding, which will in part be used to support the Rail Baltica project aimed at integrating the Baltic States into the European rail network.

EU Commission approves Finland's €2.1bn Covid recovery plan


Summary: More than 200 Finnish citizens were named in the largest data leak in history, 20 of whom have criminal convictions.

The Pandora papers — reportedly the  largest data leak in history  — have revealed that about 20 Finnish criminals acquired tax haven companies between 1996 and 2020.
 The names of more than 200 Finnish citizens appear in the leaked papers.
 Some 22 also had overdue debts of more than 50,000 euros, with the total amount of these liabilities amounting to almost 20 million euros.
 Career criminal on the run
 One of Finland's most wanted men,  Tuomo Ahonen , is a prime example of how criminals have exploited the use of tax haven-based companies.
 What are the Pandora Papers? The Pandora Papers are a data leak containing nearly 12 million confidential documents from tax haven-based companies, mostly from 1996-2020. The data comes from 14 companies that sell tax haven services. The data was handed over to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Yle's investigative team MOT is the only Finnish media that has access to the data. Altogether more than 600 journalists from more than 117 countries have used the material. They represent some 150 media outlets.
 Ahonen is considered by police to be a career criminal, as he has been convicted of a number of serious financial crimes and is currently facing a further charge of money laundering.
 Authorities believe Ahonen is currently in Spain, as he is trying to evade arrest.
 "Ahonen is not currently in state custody," special prosecutor  Johanna Hakanen  confirmed to Yle's investigative journalism unit MOT.
 The Pandora papers revealed that Ahonen set up a tax haven company called Phoenix Black Fire Limited in the Central American country of Belize in 2014 while on the run. The papers did not have any account information for the company, so how the money was used remains unclear.
 Story continues after the photo.
 Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) believe Tuomo Ahonen may be hiding out in southern Spain. Keskusrikospoliisi
 "We are certainly interested to know the name of the tax haven company," Hakanen said.
 Ahonen was apprehended by authorities in 2018 but he escaped before facing the money laundering charge. His case was further complicated by the fact that he had been extradited from Spain to Finland to face the charge.
 "Since Ahonen had been extradited from Spain to Finland, his freedom could not be restricted under the same conditions as if he had been caught in Finland," Hakanen explained.
 To facilitate his escape, Ahonen raised and used money in a way that has led to new financial crime charges.
 "Money was recycled through bank accounts opened across Europe. The money is still missing," Hakanen said.
 Ahonen currently has foreclosure debts in Finland of an estimated nine million euros, and his case demonstrates why criminals like to use tax havens.
 Companies set up within a day
 Ahonen's Belizean tax haven company was set up by a service provider called AABOL, which boasts that it can establish such companies in less than a day.
 Checking the clients' background is a superficial part of the process, even though money laundering regulations state that backgrounds and the origin of the money should be carefully checked.
 Ahonen set up his company by using an offer called the "Ultra Protection Package," a service in which the real owner of the company is encrypted using a decoy, and Ahonen's name was not entered in the shareholder register.
 Story continues after the photo.
 Ahonen chose the "Ultra Protection Package" model from the service provider, which helps to conceal the real owner of the company. Yle MOT / ICIJ
 There are no indications from the data leak that AABOL carried out any checks into Ahonen's background. In a reply sent to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) — the body which received the data trove — AABOL said it cannot comment on the cases of individual clients.
 The company further denied ignoring anti-money laundering legislation and added that it is reviewing clients' backgrounds.
 Lack of international cooperation
 The Director General of Finland's National Enforcement Authority,  Juhani Toukola , told MOT that he is not surprised Finnish criminals are involved with tax haven companies.
 "The phenomenon of trying to conceal criminal proceeds with the help of tax haven companies is well known. These cases are encountered every now and then," Toukola said.
 Hiding assets or property abroad is often an effective way of avoiding detection, Toukola added, as cooperation between law enforcement authorities in different countries is still somewhat limited.
 This is explained, he said, by the fact that European countries often have very different laws on this issue.
 "A Finnish debtor could even own a castle in France, but we cannot access it. In these situations, it is the creditor's own responsibility to try to recover the debts and hire a local lawyer, for example," Toukola said.
 The situation is easier if the case also involves a preliminary investigation by police, such as a suspicion of criminal activity on the part of the debtor.
 "The police have well-established procedures, effective international cooperation and property can be confiscated in criminal cases," he added.
 Finnish police follow the money
 Criminal investigations involving tax haven companies do come to the attention of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) at regular intervals but, according to detective  Tomi Taskila , these are usually cases where significant criminal activity is suspected.
 The NBI makes about a dozen international requests for official assistance about tax haven companies each year.
 "We usually follow the money, that is, we trace the proceeds of crime and at the same time, of course, we gather evidence for the case under investigation," Taskila explained.
 The work is slow, he added, citing that a "quick response" to an international request for assistance usually means waiting about a year.
 In addition, it can happen that crucial information, such as bank statements, cannot be shared internationally under any circumstances.
 "But this really varies a lot. For example, we have received good information from Panama and Jersey recently," Taskila said.
 MOT's investigation found that Finnish police even occasionally have difficulty obtaining official assistance from EU countries, such as Cyprus. The Mediterranean island country is a tax haven, and is especially popular with Russian citizens.
 For criminals, the police's slow access to information is an advantage, as it makes it easier to conceal the criminal origin of the money, via money laundering.
 One of the people named in the data leak is an Estonian citizen who is a suspect in the largest money laundering case in Finnish history. The Court of Appeal is expected to deliver a verdict on that case in December.
 Tax havens are especially beneficial to criminals because the real owners of the companies are difficult to identify. Furthermore, companies that sell tax haven services often do not carry out extensive checks into their clients' backgrounds.
 MOT asked Taskila for his view on a system where a criminal convicted of financial crimes and wanted in their home country can set up a company at high speed and get a bank account.
 "There is a lot of injustice in the world. It could also be possible to address these situations in the target countries on the basis of anti-money laundering regulations, at least within the EU," Taskila responded.
 Anti-immigrant agitator set up Seychelles company
 In 2013,  Ilja Janitskin  — the founder of anti-immigration websites MV-lehti and Uber Uutiset — established a tax haven company in the Seychelles.
 At the time the company was founded, Janitskin lived in Barcelona.
 The Pandora papers data leak does not contain Janitskin's company statements or other documents that would show how much money the company had.
 Story continues after the photo.
 Ilja Janitskin, who ran the anti-immigration websites MV-lehti and Uber Uutiset, died in 2020. Mikko Koski / Yle
 In 2018, Janitskin was  found guilty  of 16 criminal charges related to his websites and handed a prison sentence of one year and 10 months.
 He appealed the verdict to the Court of Appeal, but before the court reached a decision, Janitskin  passed away  in 2020 at the age of 42.
 Convicted murderer applied for tax haven company
 The criminal records of the Finnish tax haven clients is quite diverse: financial crimes, assaults, drug and firearms crimes, and child sexual abuse.
 However, one of them has a particularly notable criminal history.  Markus Pönkä  was convicted of murder in Tallinn in 2007, and he has also committed a series of fraud and financial crimes in Finland.
 In August 2016, Pönkä asked a company called SFM that sells tax haven services to set up a company in Belize.
 Story continues after the photo.
 Markus Pönkä. Keskusrikospoliisi / Lehtikuva
 An SFM employee used the Google Translate tool to translate a Finnish language article by commercial broadcaster MTV News which stated that Pönkä had been convicted of murder and served a long prison sentence, and that he was also facing a new charge related to the planned kidnapping of "a very rich person".
 It is not clear from the Pandora papers if SFM eventually agreed to help Pönkä set up the company.
 In a letter to the investigative journalism body ICIJ, SFM said it would carefully review clients' backgrounds and comply with the law in all its operations. SFM did not however wish to comment publicly on individual clients.
 Yle's MOT unit was also unable to reach Pönkä for comment. In September 2020, Pönkä was extradited to Sweden, where he is suspected of a firearms crime.

Finnish criminals identified in Pandora papers data leak


Summary: "Demands for action will be pretty tough. There will surely be demands for resignation," Nils Torvalds said.

What are the Pandora Papers? The Pandora Papers are a data leak containing nearly 12 million confidential documents from tax haven-based companies, mostly from 1996-2020. The data comes from 14 companies that sell tax haven services. The data was handed over to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Yle's investigative team MOT is the only Finnish media that has access to the data. Altogether more than 600 journalists from more than 117 countries have used the material. They represent some 150 media outlets.
 The massive data link known as the Pandora Papers revealed secret financial arrangements of billionaires and also drew attention to the Czech Republic's Prime Minister  Andrej Babiš , over ownership of a luxury villa in the south of France.
 The documents showed that Babiš acquired a villa on the French Riviera valued at more than 20 million euros through a complex arrangement of ownership, some of which at least were partially based in tax havens.
 Finnish MEP  Nils Torvalds , who is a Swedish People's Party (SPP) member, told Yle Radio 1's morning show on Monday that he planned to bring up the matter with Babiš.
 The SPP belongs to Renew Europe, a European Parliamentary political group in which Babiš's party ANO 2011 also belongs.
 Torvalds said that he thinks the matter will be discussed at Renew Europe's meeting on Monday.
 "Demands for action will be pretty tough. There will surely be demands for resignation," Torvalds said
 According to news agency Reuters, Babiš denied any wrongdoing during a TV debate ahead of parliamentary election later this week.
 Hautala: Authoritarian countries seek out former heads of state
 The Pandora Papers are a data leak containing nearly 12 million confidential documents from tax haven-based companies, mostly from 1996-2020.
 The dealings of more than 300 politicians and public officials were included in the leak, including 35 former or current heads of state, as well as the tax haven activities of dozens of wealthy Russian business leaders.
 Finnish MEP  Heidi Hautala  (Green), also spoke to Yle Radio 1 on Monday morning. She said that former heads of state were highly sought after public relations advisors to authoritarian governments, pointing to two former Finnish Prime Ministers in particular.
 "I do not find it unproblematic, on the contrary, that  Paavo Lipponen , for example, has acted as an advisor to the [Russian gas pipeline project] Nord Stream. Similarly,  Esko Aho  is on the board of Sberbank [a state-owned Russian banking and financial services firm]," Hautala said.
 The Green Party MEP said that the biggest problem at the EU level was due to the member states' differing goals — not everyone seems to want to get rid of financial secrecy.
 "The main problem is that member states have interests that prevent them from pushing for and enforcing EU anti-money laundering legislation," Hautala explained, adding that the exchange of tax information and country-specific tax reporting is also opposed by some member states.

Finnish MEP: Czech PM's Pandora link will be raised at meeting


Summary: Certificates are generally available from the My Kanta healthcare portal, but not necessarily for all.

With Finland's vaccination rollout progressing and the autumn break approaching, authorities have issued a reminder to people planning trips abroad to ensure that they have all the correct documentation in order, based on the requirements of the destination country.
 This generally means having a certificate showing that the holder has received two doses of a Covid vaccine, has recovered from the virus or has a recent negative test result.
 Adults in Finland can access the EU's digital vaccine "passport" from the healthcare portal  My Kanta , and can then choose whether to print out the certificate or display it on the screen of a mobile device.
 Anyone who cannot access the online service can request a certificate of vaccination from their local healthcare provider in print.
 However, the paper issued at the point of vaccination is not a sufficient document for crossing international borders, as it does not contain personal data.
 How to access the EU's digital Covid certificate:
 Log in to My Kanta using authentication such as an online banking ID. From the menu on the left, select Covid-19 Certificate (or Koronatodistus in Finnish). There is also a direct link to the certificate section from the My Kanta home page. Press the pdf link to open the Covid-19 certificate. It should open in a new tab. Save the pdf file to your phone or other device. You can also print out a hard copy of the certificate.
 Children's Covid vaccination certs
 Only some parents or guardians of children in Finland will be able to view their child's Covid certificate in electronic form and print it from the My Kanta portal.
 This is because many children aged over 12 have received the vaccine, and the My Kanta services complies with the Finnish law on age limits for patient confidentiality. According to the law, not all health information related to children aged 10 and over is automatically visible to parents and guardians.
 "In most situations, the best option is to ask for a child's coronavirus vaccination certificate in writing. Some municipalities have provided an email address through which they can be contacted," Kela's specialist  Mari Holmroos  advised.
 However, she added that different municipalities employ different practices, but each region's precise instructions can be found via the websites maintained by the municipalities or by the regional hospital districts.
 As an example, Holmroos cited the City of Helsinki's website, which  advises  that certificates can be printed out at the vaccination point by showing a personal ID or Kela card.
 By contrast, the guidelines in Kuopio are to contact a local health centre to obtain the certificate while residents of North Karelia are advised to request a certificate via an application form or by calling a provided phone number.
 In the case of children, if the young person already has a bank ID or mobile certificate, they can use the My Kanta portal themselves.
 For privacy reasons, a Covid vaccination certificate cannot be sent to a parent's email either.
 However, some parents and guardians may be able to view information about their children over the age of 10, such as information about the coronavirus vaccination.
 This is because different health services have, at different rates, introduced the possibility to record health information that the child is willing to share with their parents or guardians.
 The  Re-open EU website  provides up-to-date information on travel instructions and restrictions related to EU Member States.

Travelling abroad? Kids may need Covid passes too


Summary: On Monday, Finland reported 1,302 new Covid cases since Friday and the country's case incident rate has also increased.

As of Monday 4 October, there were 6,544 new lab-confirmed coronavirus infections reported in Finland over the past two weeks, which is an increase of 445 compared to the previous two-week period, according to the Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
 Until very recently, Finland's Covid cases had been steadily decreasing since the end of August.
 The number of Covid tests being carried out in Finland has also decreased recently.
 Starting in mid-September, authorities began advising fully-vaccinated people with mild symptoms of the illness to not seek out tests.
 On Monday Finland reported 1,302 new Covid cases since Friday, according to THL.
 The health institute stopped publishing daily case numbers on weekends at the beginning of this month, so Monday's figure included cases from Saturday and Sunday.
 Finland has gradually reduced coronavirus-related restrictions as the epidemic situation improved and more people get vaccinated against the illness.
 Last week, local  restrictions on gathering sizes were dismantled  in the capital area, home to the country's largest proportion of Covid cases during the epidemic. As of last Friday, there were no restrictions or caps on crowd sizes recommended by authorities in any part of Finland.
 Hospitalisations up
 After remaining relatively stable for several weeks, the number of people needing hospital care for Covid-19 rose to 136 people over the weekend, 28 of whom in intensive care wards, according to the institute.
 That number, recorded on Monday, represented an overall increase of 14 (and four ICU) patients since Friday.
 As of Monday 71.6 percent of residents over the age of 12 had received both doses of a Covid vaccine, according to THL. Meanwhile, 84 percent of residents over the age of 12 had received their first Covid vaccine dose.
 Incidence rate highest in Satakunta
 Finland's coronavirus infection incidence rate stood at 117.8 cases out of 100,000 inhabitants over the course of two weeks. In the previous two week period the country's incidence rate was 109.8.
 The area with the highest incidence rate (201) was recorded in the hospital district of Satakunta, with the second-highest incidence rate of 161 seen in the North Savo hospital district.
 The country's lowest incidence rates were in Åland (20) and the North Karelia hospital district (29).

Uptick seen in Finland's Covid cases


Summary: Faced with a 30 million euro budget shortfall, last week police announced plans to begin co-determination talks affecting up to 250 jobs.

One week after the Police of Finland announced plans for job cuts in order to meet a budget shortfall, the law enforcement agency said on Monday that a 30 million euro in extra funding promised by the Ministry of the Interior had made the job cuts unnecessary.
 Last week police announced it planned to begin co-determination negotiations with staff representatives aimed at  reducing personnel numbers  by between 200 and 250 person-years.
 However, the Police Board on Monday said the cuts were not needed as the extra funding was coming from this autumn's supplementary budget.
 On Friday, it was reported that the Minister of Finance  Annika Saarikko  (Cen) would  propose allocating  an additional 30 million euros to Finland's police force in next year's budget as the fourth supplementary draft was presented on Monday.
 In a statement, Police Commissioner  Seppo Kolehmainen  said the funds would mean that the agency's special task force on combatting human trafficking would be able to continue its work.
 Kolehmainen said that the law enforcement agency would be able to focus on planning its 2022 activities so that it can fulfil the government's goal of the police force reaching 7,500 man-years and be able to maintain the agency's operational activities at current levels.
 Kolehmainen said the extra money was a "big relief" for the police.

Police call off job cut plans after government boosts funding


Summary: Friday is the tenth day of Elokapina's Syyskapina ('Autumn Rebellion'), which is calling on Finland's government to declare a climate emergency.

Climate activists from the Elokapina protest movement — the Finnish branch of the environmental group Extinction Rebellion — have chained and glued themselves to the entrance of the Government Palace building in downtown Helsinki on Friday morning.
 In a press release, the group said the protest was taking place to demand an explanation from the government as to why it is not taking sufficient action to tackle the climate and environmental crisis.
 The statement added that about 200 protestors are taking part in the demonstration, but that the protest is peaceful and they will not seek to enter the building.
 The group is also demanding a meeting with Minister of Finance and chair of the Centre Party  Annika Saarikko . They said they have met with representatives from other parties, but not from the Centre.
 Saarikko has previously said that she does not consider it appropriate to declare a climate emergency. Elokapina spokesperson  Iokis Laisi  told Yle that the protesters are prepared to wait all day at the doors of the Government Palace for the minister to meet with them.
 Story continues after the photo.
 The protestors are demanding that Finland's government declare a climate emergency. Petteri Bülow / Yle
 Helsinki police said they have started negotiations and an order has been given for the protestors to leave the area.
 The authorities have informed protestors that occupying the exits of the Government Palace building is not acceptable. The police are expected to issue an order to disperse and those who fail to do so are likely to be arrested.
 There are also reports of Elokapina demonstrations taking place on the steps of the Parliament building as well as on Ritarikatu, close to Senate Square, where an estimated 30 protestors have gathered.
 This is the tenth day of Elokapina's  Syyskapina  ('Autumn Rebellion') which began last week when  protestors blocked Helsinki's main thoroughfare Mannerheimintie  and continued this week with the  blocking of traffic  on the capital's Pitkäsilta bridge.
 The 'August Rebellion' calls on Finland's government to declare a climate and environmental emergency, and to create binding legislation that will achieve carbon neutrality by 2025, a decade ahead of the government's current goal of 2035.

Climate activists chain, glue themselves to government building


Summary: Finland's intensive care units are filling up with those who have not had Covid vaccine.

Helsingin Sanomat  reports  that intensive care units are coming under increasing strain because of unvaccinated Covid patients.
 Finland has dropped a lot of the restrictions it had in place to hold down Covid cases, but the pandemic continues, even if those who are vaccinated are now much less likely to be offered a PCR test under Finland's new testing strategy.
 Case numbers  are increasing  and if people are unvaccinated, the illness can be quite serious indeed.
 Tero Varpula , Chief Physician in Intensive Care at Espoo's Jorvi hospital, says that his unit is starting to feel the strain.
 He says that the few ICU patients with coronavirus who have had two doses of a Covid vaccine have other serious medical issues — they could be cancer patients or organ transplant recipients.
 Varpula urges people to get vaccinated to keep them out of hospital even if they do get Covid, saying that it is now more difficult to transfer ICU patients to other units across the country because infections are rising everywhere.
 If this situation continues, it may be difficult to provide normal ICU space for accidents, post-operative care and other everyday aspects of hospital operations.
 As of Monday, some 74 percent of the population aged 12 or over had received two doses of an approved Covid vaccine.
 Meanwhile HS also carries  a letter  from  Olli Ruuskanen , an emeritus professor of infectious diseases, who says that continual use of antibacterial gel could do more harm than good.
 Ruuskanen says the gels kill good bacteria as well as bad, and could well be a waste of time. That's because Covid spreads primarily through aerosols, with much less evidence of transmission on surfaces.
 Ruuskanen says, therefore, that face masks and social distancing are the best ways to prevent the spread of Covid.
 _Would you like a summary of the week's top stories in your inbox every Thursday? Then  sign up for the weekly Yle News email newsletter !_
 Lapland return
 Finland's tourism industry took a hit during the pandemic, with holidays in Lapland suffering from a lack of Asian visitors.
 Kauppalehti  reports  on Tuesday that the industry is now bouncing back, with European visitors replacing those from east Asia.
 KL talks to local tourism officials who are particularly excited about direct flights from Paris to Rovaniemi, which are due to start in December.
 In 2019 tourists spent some 290 million euros in Rovaniemi, but that fell to just 162 million euros in 2020, according to the local tourist board.
 They are projecting a total spend of some 258 million euros in 2022. However, guaranteeing service levels to foreign tourists is an issue, with many workers having left the industry during the pandemic.
 Gambling issues
 Iltalehti  publishes  a deep dive on the gambling industry, in which one former employee of a gaming firm admits that the companies tend to block successful punters and make huge profits from gambling addicts.
 Getting your winnings paid out from a gambling firm can also be problematic, according to IL's sources. The ex-employee says that firms try to delay paying out in the hope that customers will start to spend their winnings on new games, and lose.
 The paper interviews one man who said he had to get lawyers involved to withdraw some 110,000 euros he had in his account at Betfair after a winning bet on the US Presidential election.
 It took two months for his legal team to get the cash, and his legal costs alone were 1,600 euros, but he wondered what would happen to those who are unable to hire lawyers.

Tuesday's papers: ICU blockage, hand sanitiser concerns, Lapland return and gambling problems


Summary: Some slopes in Ruka are opening this coming weekend — with help from last winter's snow.

Ruka, situated in Kuusamo, Northern Ostrobothnia, aims to open three slopes for downhill skiers at the end of this week — even though the first flakes have yet to stick to the ground.
 This is why Ruka Ski Centre is busy spreading out snow saved from last season. It's using frozen white stuff it has stored all summer to blanket slopes ahead of schools' autumn breaks this month.
 "At the beginning of the summer we had stored 140,000 cubic meters of snow, but around a third of that melted so we have 90,000 cubic meters left," explained  Matti Parviainen  of Ruka Ski Centre.
 The centre's slope manager,  Anssi Lakela , said workers use white gauze and sawdust to keep the snow insulated during warmer months.
 Ruka's slopes generally stay open until Mother's Day in May.
 The Levi Ski Centre in Kittilä, Finnish Lapland, is also set to start its winter season next weekend.
 10:33 Corrected location of Kuusamo

Recycling snow in northern Finland for October skiers


Summary: Current narcotics legislation has broad support in Parliament.

An Yle survey of MPs suggests that there's little appetite in Parliament to revisit Finland's drug laws.
 The survey was answered by 138 of Finland's 200 MPs, with 122 of them opposing decriminalisation, 15 supporting it and one unable to answer the question.
 Ten Greens and five Left Alliance members were in favour of decriminalisation. Respondents from the Centre, National Coalition, Finns Party, Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and Movement Now all opposed decriminalisation.
 Last month the Green Party's congress went a step further, narrowly passing a motion in favour of legalising cannabis, putting the issue onto the political agenda.
 Experts and NGOs in the healthcare sector have expressed support for decriminalisation as a policy option, preferring to change the emphasis of drug policy from punishment to social care.
 Legislators opposed to changing the law said they were concerned about a possible increase in drug use, especially among children and young people.
 One Finns Party MP and three Greens said they opposed a general decriminalisation, but would make an exception for cannabis.
 Edited at 16:03 on 5 October, 2021 to clarify that one MP was unable to answer the survey's question.

Yle survey suggests MPs reluctant to decriminalise drugs


Summary: The deadline to appeal the verdict passed on Monday.

Three teenagers who were found guilty of murdering an acquaintance have not appealed their verdicts, and will serve prison sentences for the crime.
 The deadline to file an appeal at Helsinki District Court passed on Monday. Two of the three convicted of murder had expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict, which is the first stage in an appeal process, but in the end they did not file the appeal.
 Prison terms of ten years and one month, nine years and two months and eight years and two months were handed down to the trio, who brutally attacked their schoolmate in December 2020.
 They left him with injuries so severe that the judge ruled they must have known he would not survive. His body was discovered three days after the attack.
 The prosecutor had demanded sentences of 12 years, 11 years and nine and a half years, but did not appeal the verdict either.

Koskela killers accept verdicts, no appeals lodged


Summary: Finland is to receive a record number of influenza shots, but it's unclear if there will be enough for everyone who wants them.

The first doses of influenza vaccine have arrived in Finland and vaccinations for healthcare professionals begin in the next few days. Finland has ordered a total of 2.6 million doses, which health officials hope will be enough for everyone who wants one.
 Finland has prepared for growing demand for influenza vaccinations by ordering 500,000 more vaccine doses for this winter than last season.
 A total of 2.6 million doses are due to arrive for this season. Two million of these are earmarked for public healthcare while 600,000 will go to private health companies. During the 2020-2021 flu season, Finland received a total of 2.1 million influenza vaccine doses. The country has a population of just over 5.5 million.
 Last winter, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a surge in demand for flu shots. As a result, doses ran out and vaccination appointments had to be cancelled.
 Mia Kontio , Chief Specialist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), is hopeful that there will be enough flu vaccine doses this time.
 Article continues after photo
 According to Mia Kontio, more flu vaccine doses were ordered this year because demand was so high last year. Privat.
 "It's really hard to say if there will be enough. There are already half a million more doses here than last season, so the situation is much better," Kontio told Yle.
 "Hopefully as many people at risk as possible will get the vaccine," she added.
 Last winter was the first time that Finland has run out of flu shots. In previous years, some 300,000 doses annually have remained unused. In the past, only about half of those at risk have taken the vaccine.
 Health officials attribute the heightened demand to media coverage and authorities' calls for as many people as possible to take the flu vaccine last autumn. They cited a risk that one may be more susceptible to the coronavirus after having the flu – or vice versa.
 Caregiver jabs begin soon
 Who gets free flu vaccine? - Health and social care professionals and pharmaceutical staff - Pregnant women - Children under age 7 - People aged 65 or older - Those at risk due to chronic illness - Those in close contact to people prone to severe flu - Conscripts beginning military service Source: THL
 Public health care provides influenza vaccines free to risk groups through a national vaccination programme.
 Due to the increased demand for flu vaccine, the priority is vaccinating those who treat flu patients or who are otherwise particularly susceptible to severe influenza.
 According to Kontio, vaccinations of the elderly will be scheduled for late November and early December, so that the protection will be as good as possible into next year.
 Private health companies will also launch vaccinations in the coming days.
 No more vaccines available in mid-season
 If the flu vaccines run out in the middle of this winter as well, it won't be possible to order more in the middle of the season.
 "We have a contract for a certain amount of vaccine and it's impossible to go over that. Last season, there were no more flu vaccines available, they were off the market," said Kontio.

Finland to get record number of flu jabs – but maybe not enough


Summary: The crash took place during morning rush hour at an unguarded level crossing that locals say was known to be dangerous.

Seven young people and a bus driver were hospitalised after a rail accident in Kaskinen, Ostrobothnia, on Tuesday morning. The crash took place shortly before 8am at an unguarded level crossing that the local mayor said was known to be dangerous.
 Police are investigating the accident as aggravated endangerment of traffic safety.
 According to preliminary police data, the bus did not come to a halt at a stop sign as required, but instead drove directly onto the level crossing. The drivers of both the bus and the locomotive took breathalyser tests, which showed no blood alcohol levels.
 According to health officials, none of the injuries were life-threatening, but two patients are in serious condition.
 The bus was taking pupils to secondary schools in Kristinestad (Kristiinankaupunki), another west-coast town some 25km to the south.
 The track maintenance vehicle consisted of a locomotive and one wagon. The locomotive derailed, while the bus was pushed about 30 metres along the track.
 According to rescue officials, 12 people were involved in the accident. All eight people on the bus were hospitalised.
 Article continues after map
 Kaskinen (Kaskö) is a small island municipality in Ostrobothnia, Western Finland. Leena Luotio / Yle
 According to emergency care director  Joacim Tuuri , the injured had fractures and other minor injuries including neck and chest wounds.
 One injured person was transported to Tampere, four to Vaasa and three to a health centre in the nearby town of Närpes.
 "The eight injured patients include seven minors and the bus driver. At the moment, no one is in danger of death," Tuuri said.
 Safety Investigation Authority begins probe
 The locomotive that collided with the bus weighs more than 30 tonnes. The track machine was scanning the track and measuring its width among other tasks.
 According to police and rescue officials, the track machine was moving slowly when it struck the middle of the school bus and derailed.
 The Safety Investigation Authority will conduct a preliminary investigation into the accident. Two officials were on their way to Kaskinen to investigate the crash scene.
 The clearing of the accident site will not begin until documentation and on-site investigation has been completed.
 Crisis counselling on offer
 The municipality of Kaskinen has opened a crisis centre at the local health clinic, which is providing counselling to those who need it. Schools are also providing counselling for students.
 According to Mayor  Minna Nikander , the whole town was shocked by the accident. She noted that there are several unguarded level crossings in central Kaskinen, where accidents and injuries have occurred before. The site of Tuesday's crash has been known as a dangerous place, she said.
 Nikander said that the municipality has worked with the Finnish Road Safety Council (Liikenneturva) and road maintenance firm Destia to improve their safety.
 13:58 Updated with 2 seriously injured.
 15:57 Updated with possible criminal charges and other details.

School bus collides with track maintenance vehicle, 8 hospitalised


Summary: MP Elina Valtonen said the funds were from her time working as an executive at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Finnish MP  Elina Valtonen  of the opposition National Coalition Party (NCP) has acknowledged a newspaper report that she had kept more than 100,000 euros in an account of a British bank on the Island of Jersey, widely considered a tax haven.
 Newspaper Helsingin Sanomat  reported  on Monday that it had seen documentation that Valtonen had — at least in April 2014 — a total of 93,597 British pounds, or more than 100,000 euros in a NatWest bank account on the Island of Jersey.
 Valtonen told Yle that she has not had investment activities on the Island of Jersey.
 "I had no investments or debt on the Island of Jersey. The account was related to being in a situation in which foreign experts or directors come to Britain — as I was at the time — who are entitled to tax relief," Valtonen said.
 She likened the situation to tax advantages granted to international experts who come to Finland. But those arrangements are translated directly into income taxation. Valtonen said the Finnish system was much clearer.
 "The employer has taken a withholding tax on the salary, but afterwards it was possible to apply for tax relief for days when I was, for example, on a business trip abroad," Valtonen said.
 Royal Bank of Scotland
 Merely having deposits or investment in a bank located in a tax haven is not a crime in itself.
 Valtonen said she has since closed the account and that she had been working for the part of the Royal Bank of Scotland that deals with corporate customers. NatWest Bank is a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
 "I was there as a director from 2007-2012," Valtonen explained.
 According to Helsingin Sanomat, Valtonen said that she transferred the funds from the British account to a Finnish account over a period of time and then closed the account completely in 2015.
 The paper also noted that Valtonen said she understood the interest in her Island of Jersey account, as tax havens have again made headlines following the  massive data leak  about hidden fortunes known as the  Pandora papers .
 However, Helsingin Sanomat said that it did not acquire Valtonen's bank information from the Pandora papers data dump, but through other means.
 'Voters will decide'
 According to Yle's information, no Finnish politicians have been found in the Pandora paper documents.
 Valtonen said the case about her British bank account had no connection to the Pandora papers, adding that no tax evasion had taken place.
 She did not comment on whether the matter should have been reported publicly earlier. But that kind of information can play a significant role for politicians.
 "Voters will ultimately decide," Valtonen said.
 The MP hinted that she has suspicions about who leaked the information.

NCP MP had €100k offshore in 2014, denies wrongdoing


Summary: Facebook-owned sites were down for an extended period on Monday.

The head of research at Finnish cyber security firm F-Secure,  Mikko Hyppönen , said that the lengthy Facebook outage on Monday was exceptional.
 Social media platforms Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp were down for around six hours on Monday evening, Finnish time.
 The problem also affected companies that use Facebook as a sign-in service as well as the highly popular Instant Messaging service WhatsApp.
 The social media giant said routers which control traffic between its data centres were updated, causing Facebook's services to collapse.
 Spread out servers
 "It's a bit like fixing your apartment door from the outside and posting your keys through the letterbox," said Hyppönen, who has worked in IT security for more than three decades.
 He says it would be better — and more secure — if online services were offered by different companies across the world, and we were not so reliant on one or two US companies for sign-in and authentication purposes.
 That over-reliance makes the whole internet vulnerable to disruption, he said.
 "It's really significant if for example WhatsApp is down for six hours," said Hyppönen.
 25-and-under
 In the future, the online connection infrastructure will be as important as electricity, according to Hyppönen.
 "The world has changed so much, and we are on the cusp of new things," said Hyppönen.
 While the internet offers tremendous opportunities and enables cross-border interaction, it is also an avenue for criminal activity, among other things.
 In terms of reducing risk on the internet, Hyppönen said he was most concerned about people over the age of 25 — people who have not been affected by the global network since birth.
 He said people under the age of 25 understand the inherent risks of the internet better than older people do.
 Hyppönen, a columnist for Wired and other publications, has worked for F-Secure for 30 years.

Finnish security expert: Web services' concentration in Silicon Valley is a weak point


Summary: "The unvaccinated coronavirus patients have a critical significance in the viability of the healthcare system," HUS' Acting Chief Medical Officer Jari Petäjä said.

Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) has started publishing the vaccination status of Covid-19 patients who have received hospital treatment for the illness.
 The  information  — presented as the proportion of patients who have had a one, two or no doses of a Covid vaccine — will be updated on a weekly basis on Tuesdays.
 Urging everyone to get vaccinated against Covid, HUS noted that there were still around 455,000 people in the district who have not yet received a single vaccine dose.
 "The unvaccinated coronavirus patients have a critical significance in the viability of the healthcare system. We have accumulated a considerable amount of care debt throughout the epidemic," HUS' Acting Chief Medical Officer  Jari Petäjä  said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
 Covid hospitalisations affect other patients
 Meanwhile, HUS reported that the number of people with Covid-19 requiring hospitalisation in the district has increased.
 Most of these people are not vaccinated against the illness, but there are increasing numbers of fully vaccinated Covid patients being hospitalised.
 As of Tuesday 5 October, 2020, there were 41 Covid patients receiving hospital care at HUS, 11 of which were in intensive care.
 Petäjä said that the large number of Covid patients needing care was affecting the treatment of other patients not suffering from the contagious disease.
 "We are striving to move Covid patents who need ICU treatment to other hospital districts, but if that effort is unsuccessful we will be compelled to move scheduled surgeries of other patients to other facilities in the HUS region, if they require intensive care after their procedures," Petäjä said

HUS begins publishing vaccination status of hospitalised Covid patients


Summary: The researchers noted that the amount of help needed by victims will not become clear for some time.

Those who have experienced intimate partner violence found it was more difficult to seek and receive help for those problems during the Covid crisis, according to a recent study.
 A joint research effort — between the Institute for Health and Welfare as well as Tampere and Turku universities — found that being isolated at home during periods of Covid-related remote working and partial lockdown situations prompted domestic violence perpetrators to express their desires to control and exercise power over their victims.
 In addition to physical and mental violence, economic constraints can also be used by abusers, according to the researchers.
 The materials used in the study were based on follow-up surveys collected from domestic violence shelters, as well as interviews with groups at shelter and outpatient facilities, during the Covid crisis.
 The researchers said that the amount of help needed by victims will not become clear for some time.
 "Reaching out for intimate partner violence is usually only sought long after the violence has started. [Consequences of] violence that took place during Covid could become seen as a burden on the healthcare system years from now," said  Marita Husso , a Social Sciences Associate Professor at Tampere University.
 The researchers said there were particular concerns regarding how domestic violence victims belonging to vulnerable groups like children and foreigners are able to find help.
 "Intervening in violence reduces human suffering and saves a significant amount of money," Husso said in a statement.

Covid worsened domestic violence victims' situation, study finds


Summary: Metereologists predict a cold turn to the weather during the upcoming holidays.

Satakunta hospitals are facing the heaviest Covid patient strain since the beginning of the pandemic, tabloid  Ilta-Sanomat  (IS) reports. With increasing numbers of unvaccinated patients winding up in intensive care units, chief doctors are anticipating delays in the treatment of non-urgent and non-coronavirus related conditions, according to the tabloid.
 Similar concerns are further shared by hospitals in Päijät-Häme and Southwest FInland, the paper writes.
 Despite the  recent relaxation  of the mask recommendation urging people to use their own judgement, Satakunta still encourages its residents to use face coverings.
 Hospitals in Helsinki have also noted a rise in admitted coronavirus patients, the number of which has risen sharply in the past two weeks, according to  Helsingin Sanomat . As of Tuesday, HUS hospitals are treating some 41 patients, 11 of which are in intensive care.
 "We are in a situation where we have to think about postponing surgeries," Director of the THL's Department for Health Security  Mika Salminen  told the daily paper while speaking of the importance of closely monitoring hospital resources nationwide.
 As of Tuesday, 136 Covid patients were being treated in Finland's hospitals, 34 of whom in intensive care units.
 UEFA launches investigation into Kamara boos
 The European Football Association (UEFA) has opened an investigation into what appeared to be a racially-charged incident that took place during last Thursday's European League match between Sparta Prague and Glasgow Rangers, according to  Helsingin Sanomat  (HS).
 During the game, Finnish footballer  Glen Kamara  was repeatedly booed in a Prague stadium consisting mostly of  thousands of schoolchildren.
 Last season Kamara was racially abused by defender  Ondrej Kudela  of Slavia Prague, resulting in a subsequent ten-game suspension of Kudela by the association, according to the newspaper.
 UEFA said in a statement that it will announce the results of the investigation as soon as they become available.
 Kamara is currently in Finland, preparing for the World Cup qualifying round between Finland and Ukraine next Saturday, HS reports.
 Sweater weather for autumn holidaymakers
 A high pressure front may bring autumn holidaymakers crisp weather conditions,  Ilta-Sanomat  (IS) reports. Schools across the country will be going on a weeklong break, starting from 11 October.
 This month has been unseasonably warm, with temperatures staying close to 10 degrees Celsius across Finland and northern Lapland experiencing the  warmest October night in 50 years .
 A cold turn is expected to put an end, however, to the warmer-than-average spell after this week, the tabloid writes.
 "The weather is likely to be a little cooler than the seasonal average during the first week of autumn holidays," Foreca meteorologist Joanna Rinne told IS, adding that "next week will be cloudy and sunny so there will be weather favourable for outdoor activities, however holidaymakers should also brace for days that will be more suitable for staying inside."

Wednesday's papers: Covid hospitalisations up, football abuse and a chilly autumn break


Summary: The court said that people in need of mental health services should be able to receive the care they need without fear of that relationship being revealed.

The Supreme Court has ruled that police cannot use patients' personal information as part of an investigation into a data breach at the psychotherapy centre Vastaamo.
 The private mental health services company's database was  hacked on at least two separate occasions  between November 2018 and March 2019, and the hackers subsequently  attempted to blackmail  both the company and their clients.
 Evidence seized by the police during the course of the preliminary investigation contains sensitive patient information, which the Supreme Court has decided cannot be investigated or used in the preliminary probe of a suspected crime.
 Helsinki District Court had previously taken the same position on the use of the data.
 Police had accessed the names and contact details of Vastaamo clients during the early stages of the investigation. However, an objection to the seizing of this data was made and the matter was brought to court.
 In its ruling, the Supreme Court said that the names and contact details are not sensitive information in themselves, but when combined with the knowledge that they are from the database of a mental health services company, they become sensitive and are therefore subject to a ban on seizure and use in an investigation.
 The court's ruling is based on the underlying principle that people in need of mental health services should be able to receive the care they need without fear of that relationship being revealed.
 Information about the use of mental health services is linked to the protection of individual privacy, the Supreme Court added.
 More than  25,000 criminal reports  have so far been filed in connection with the blackmailing of victims of the database hacking, although police estimate that there are still several thousand more potential victims, or an estimated total of around 32,000.
 The investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is ongoing, with the NBI due to begin hearing from the victims of the hack during the coming months.

Supreme Court rules police cannot use sensitive Vastaamo patient data


Summary: Restrictions on bars and restaurants were relaxed across the North Savo region last Friday and in North Karelia in September.

Emergency rooms in Eastern Finland have noted an uptick in people seeking medical care compared to earlier stages of the coronavirus crisis.
 There have also been more alcohol-related injuries and ailments seen in the region.
 According to the director of North Karelia's first aid services,  Kari Törrönen , the patient influx started after coronavirus-related restaurant restrictions were lifted.
 The restrictions were relaxed across the North Savo region last Friday and in North Karelia in the middle of September.
 "People are stone cold drunk," Törrönen said.
 "After all, restaurants were open during the [epidemic], but then [our] work was smoother. Now there's a huge torrent," he explained.
 Bars and restaurants in the region have seen a marked increase in customers, especially on weekends. For example, chain restaurants belonging to the local S-Group cooperative in North Karelia have seen more customers than at any stage since the epidemic started.
 On the other hand, the cooperative's restaurants in North Savo are currently quieter than usual, but the lifting of restrictions has caused a slight increase in customer visits.
 Emergency services in the North Karelia area have seen an increase in substance abuse-related calls, according to  Heljä Vänni , the director of services at Siun sote, the region's social and health services municipal authority.
 Vänni said health care workers were treating patients involved in "accidents, fights or other calamities as well as substance abuse-related matters."
 The number of emergency room visits at Kuopio University Hospital has also increased, and are now for the most part at pre-pandemic levels, according to chief physician  Sari Hämäläinen , who added that the number of such visits could still continue to rise.
 "I suspect that as the autumn vacation week approaches we will see more visitors on holiday, more than last year," Hämäläinen said.

Eastern Finland sees uptick in hospitalisations following restaurant restrictions lift


Summary: Increased childcare duties and the strain placed on female-dominated labour market sectors were among the reasons behind the added impact, THL's report said.

The Covid crisis has impacted young women and part-time female workers especially hard, according to a report by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
 "Care for children and the elderly has piled up on women’s shoulders during the coronavirus crisis, domestic abuse incidents have also increased, while unemployment has hit primarily younger women. It is important to take the impact on gender equality into account in the aftermath of the crisis," THL's specialist researcher  Merita Jokela  said in a press release announcing the results of the study.
 The institute's latest research into gender equality revealed that Finland is one of the few EU countries where women's working conditions suffered more than men's during the pandemic. This is because the female-dominated service sectors as well as part-time positions were hit the hardest.
 According to THL, the coronavirus crisis has shown that the Finnish social security system does support people relatively well in the event of economic shocks, such as unemployment. However, the report noted, the crisis has also exposed the structural weaknesses within Finnish society, which are exacerbated in a crisis situation.
 "This crisis has highlighted how invaluable care work is, and also how undervalued it still is regarded within our society," Jokela said, adding that "for example, this is reflected in how overworked nurses are, as well as their low wages, but also in the added pressure of coronavirus restrictions on unpaid caregivers of children, the elderly and people with disabilities."
 The health, economic and social effects of the coronavirus crisis on gender equality in Finland, is the main focus of this year's annual event 'Equality Days.'
 THL's Centre for Gender Equality is organising the online event on 6 and 7 October in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

THL: Women disproportionately affected by pandemic


Summary: The project will involve the cities of Helsinki, Turku, Espoo, Kirkkonummi, Vihti, Lohja and Salo.

The planning of a high-speed train connection between Helsinki and Turku has officially started, with the project passing from the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency on to the  Turun Tunnin Juna  (roughly translated as 'Turku's One-Hour Train') limited company.
 Turun Tunnin Juna said it has begun drafting the high-speed double track connection, with plans expected to be finalised by 2023.
 The rail project will involve the cities of Helsinki, Turku, Espoo, Kirkkonummi, Vihti, Lohja and Salo.
 "In addition to faster journey times, the new line will link all the localities along the route to the Helsinki metropolitan area, creating a common commuting area for 1.5 million residents in the western part of South Finland," the company said in a press release.
 The project company has been commissioned with five separate track plans. The sections are Espoo to Lohja, Lohja to Salo, Salo to Hajala, Hajala to Nunna, and Nunna to Kupittaa.
 The European Union's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has granted the train project with financial support.
 "50 percent of the total costs have been granted for the design of the Espoo-Salo line and the Salo-Turku double track, up to 37.5 million euros," the company said in its release.

Planning for high speed Helsinki-Turku train moves ahead


Summary: Many businesses in the sector are struggling to pay their debts, the union said, as many farms are facing either bankruptcy or a bleak future.

Finland's agricultural sector will need state assistance to recover from a "dangerous" economic crisis, according to the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK).
 The prices of fertilizer, animal feed and energy have all risen rapidly and unpredictably during the past year, significantly increasing production costs. Furthermore, the drought brought about by Finland's unusually warm summer has reduced yields across the country, in some places even to "catastrophic" levels, MTK added.
 The union has therefore demanded that the liquidity of farms be insured to alleviate the crisis, and has also suggested that amendments be made to Finland's Food Act in relation to food market agreements.
 Many businesses in the sector are struggling to pay their debts, MTK argued, as many farms are facing either bankruptcy or a bleak future.
 Farms that have significantly invested in their operations are of particular concern, the union said, adding that tackling the crisis will require swift action from both the financial sector and the state.
 "This acute crisis requires installment-free loan restructuring and other measures to be agreed with banks," MTK chair  Juha Marttila  said. "The state must also guarantee liquidity loans through the Agricultural Development Fund. We also demand faster payment of subsidies and direct crisis subsidies for farms."
 The union further highlighted that the main issue facing the sector is that producer prices for agricultural products will not rise, due to the rigid contract practices of the grocery trade, even if the increase in farm costs would require such a rise in the producers' prices.

Farmers' union: Agricultural sector in "deep crisis"


Summary: The Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) said the average cost of treating a Covid patient was just over 16,000 euros.

The Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) has estimated that treatment costs for unvaccinated Covid-19 patients in the region could reach one billion euros.
 Serving a populous region including the capital area, HUS is Finland's largest hospital district, and based its calculations on the assumption that every unvaccinated person will eventually get Covid, with a portion of them ending up requiring hospital treatment.
 According to their math, that means nearly 64,000 people will need hospital care for Covid in the coming years.
 The district said the average cost of treating a Covid patient was just over 16,000 euros.
 However, it also noted that the calculations do not include related extra costs of short term sick leave, follow-up health checks, long term treatment, nor the burden placed on the treatment of other patients and illnesses.
 On Tuesday, HUS said there were still 455,000 people in the district who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19. The district also began  publishing the vaccination status  of patients being treated for Covid.

HUS: Unvaccinated Covid patients could cost district €1bn


Summary: A similar model in Norway offers full or partial student debt relief to graduates if they move to sparsely populated regions.

Minister of Science and Culture  Antti Kurvinen  (Cen) has announced his department will finalise a draft proposal during this term of office which seeks to incentivise highly educated workers to move to sparsely populated areas of Finland.
 The scheme, which is based on a similar model in Norway, would offer full or partial student debt relief to graduates of courses such as medicine or teaching if they move to a rural area.
 "The aim is to complete the legislation during this parliamentary term. I hope that we will also start this reimbursement model during this term of office," Kurvinen said.
 The credit scheme could also be used to attract psychologists and social workers to move out of the cities, he added.
 "Getting access to critical workers within the welfare system is beginning to become more difficult in many rural areas. It threatens our promise of providing the same level of services to the elderly in both the Jakomäki region [of Helsinki] and Sevettijärvi [a village in Finnish Lapland]," Kurvinen said.
 Students are sceptical
 However, student teachers at the University of Lapland told Yle that they had doubts whether the incentive would be enough to convince them to move to smaller municipalities.
 Student  Roosa Mäkelä  said that the scheme may work for some, but not for everyone.
 "It's a real advantage and a bonus for those who want to stay in smaller cities anyway," Mäkelä said.
 Story continues after the photo.
 An incentive scheme would not necessarily be enough to convince student teachers Katri Mure, Roosa Mäkelä and Henna Karsikas to move to remote areas. Raimo Torikka / Yle
 Katri Mure , from Sodankylä in Finnish Lapland, said she would not move back to her home village even if given a financial incentive.
 "It's a little too far up north and too small," she said. "Maybe if I went to a small locality in the south, the incentive could support that decision."
 Kainuu Regional Director  Pentti Malinen  told Yle that while he welcomes the incentive scheme, at this stage its effectiveness can only be guessed at.
 The Kainuu region has suffered from severe labour shortages in recent years, Malinen added, and in particular there is a lack of nurses, doctors as well as information and communications technology (ICT) professionals.
 "We have noticed in recent years that very few students from Kainuu who have studied at universities have returned [to the region]. It is definitely worth trying the incentive," he said.
 Malinen's counterpart in Lapland,  Mika Riipi , said he will be happy if the long-awaited introduction of the model finally progresses from words to actions.
 "This alone is not enough to solve anything, but it would be an important part of the palette of tools to attract and hold on [to professionals]. We have a labour shortage in the tourism sector, but it is equally important to secure public services," Riipi said.
 Boosting return migration to remote areas
 Kurvinen said he believes that the Norwegian model could tackle the issue of a lack of return migration, as cited by Malinen, and also make it easier for the spouse of a returning migrant to find work in a remote area.
 "This would offer a carrot to highly educated couples and young families to return and move from other areas to Lapland," Kurvinen said. "It is clear that higher education creates vitality and a positive buzz in a region. University graduates have many skills, even to become business owners."
 The debt forgiveness proposal is one of a series of measures currently being drafted by a parliamentary working group established specifically to promote the development of remote regions. The draft proposes that graduates who take up the offer could see up to 2,600 euros per year removed from their student loans, but they would still be liable to pay the interest on their loans.
 Kurvinen added that the exact details of the draft proposal are still being clarified within the Ministry of Education and Culture, such as whether a pilot project will be carried out first or a permanent change made to the law.
 "I cannot comment on any details," he said. "For example, which regions would be included and whether it would apply to all fields of education or only to healthcare and education professionals."

Minister proposes student debt relief scheme as incentive to move to rural areas