Summary: The Foreign Ministry is trying to evacuate about 240 people from Afghanistan, while the Interior Ministry says it will not send anyone back there.

Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  (Green) confirmed on Wednesday that two Finnish officials arrived in Afghanistan the previous night to facilitate further evacuations of Finnish citizens.
 So far, a total of 70 Finnish nationals have asked for assistance in leaving the country, according to Haavisto.
 Making the comments on Wednesday afternoon following a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee, Haavisto said that a total of 22 Finns have been evacuated from Afghanistan so far, four of whom departed on Tuesday night.
 Earlier this week Finland vowed to evacuate 170 Afghans from the country, including embassy support staff.
 When a reporter asked whether he thought it was safe for people to remain in Afghanistan, as the Taliban has claimed, Haavisto said it was a decision for people to make on their own.
 "Whether to stay in Kabul is a personal question. We cannot influence [people's decisions], but we have informed everyone on the Finnish list that they are welcome to come to Finland and that we will protect them," he said.
 Interior Ministry: No repatriations
 Haavisto characterised the situation at Kabul's civilian airport as difficult.
 The minister explained that the time planes were able to wait on the tarmac for passengers to board was limited, with some aircraft being forced to take off when they are only half full, because people could not reach them in time.
 "We need more cooperation in order for this to work better," he said.
 Also on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said that Finland will not return anyone to Afghanistan, even those who have received negative asylum decisions.

70 Finnish nationals await evacuation from Afghanistan, minister says


Summary: A Tampere hospital patient was first in the world to join a new coronavirus drug trial, the papers report.

Finland can meet its ambitious climate goals, but it will take a lot of work. That's the conclusion of a  new report  by state innovation fund Sitra,  Swedish-language Hufvudstadsbladet  reports.
 The current  Sanna Marin  (SDP) government set a target of carbon neutrality by 2035, and for Finland to be "carbon negative" - ie, that the country would absorb more CO2 than it emits - shortly after that.
 A key task will be to cut the subsidies that encourage farmers to grow crops on peatland, report co-author  Mariko Landström  told HBL. At the same time, people should be encouraged to cut back on eating meat so that less land is given over to growing fodder for livestock, she said.
 According to HBL, most of agriculture's climate emissions come from peatlands, even though they account for only a tenth of arable land.
 With the clock ticking, the "administrative bottlenecks" holding back green energy also need to be addressed, the paper writes.
 "For example, wind power is already being expanded without subsidies, but the planning and permitting processes are dragging on," Landström said.
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 Tampere first in global Covid drug trial
 A Tampere University Hospital (TAYS) patient was the first in the world to enter the second stage of trials of new coronavirus treatments, writes  Pirkanmaa local Aamulehti .
 Story continues after photo.
 Tampere University Hospital is taking part in the World Health Organisation's "Solidarity" Covid drug trial Miikka Varila / Yle
 The patient, who joined the trial in early August, has since been joined by over a dozen more from around Finland, said  Jarno Rutanen , principal investigator on the WHO Solidarity drug trial at TAYS.
 Two drugs, one used to treat leukaemia and the other, infliximab, for rheumatoid arthritis, are the subject of the global trial, Aamulehti writes.
 "During the pandemic, it has been observed that rheumatoid patients with Covid-19 who have taken infliximab before becoming ill have had less severe disease than those who have not had this treatment," Rutanen told the paper.
 Coronavirus patients hospitalised at TAYS will be able to opt in to the trial, Aamulehti writes. A computer model will randomly select which of the two drugs, infliximab or leukaemia treatment imatinib, they will receive on top of the standard measures.
 July tourist numbers break records
 Visitor numbers in Central Finland broke all-time records this July, according to  local paper Keskisuomalainen .
 The vast majority of tourists to the region were domestic travellers, but they came in far greater numbers than last summer, the paper writes.
 "Where last year visitors avoided cities, this summer, for example, hotels in Jyväskylä also set records in July. People have been longing for a holiday, and at the beginning of the summer the coronavirus seemed to be receding. After a gloomy winter, we were back to normal," said local tourism board chairman  Markus Kallio .
 Many businesses were unprepared for the July rush, Keskisuomalainen reports, as some struggled to find staff.
 "The much talked-about shortage of workers is bad. It has been very difficult to find cooks, waiters and cleaners," Kallio told the paper.
 "During the pandemic a lot of people have had to be laid off, and this has led to a lot of changes in the job sector, for example. Workers have left for the retail sector and young people are not joining a trade in the same numbers as before," he added.

Thursday's papers: Climate crunch, Covid trial and tourist record broken


Summary: Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo told Yle taking quota refugees was the best way to help people fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of the Interior will propose an increase of Finland's refugee quota to 2,000 in the government's budget negotiations, Interior Minister  Maria Ohisalo  (Green) has told Yle.
 Finland's current refugee quota is 1,050 people. The quota system shares out refugees among EU member states according to a calculation based on key data such as GDP, unemployment figures and national population.
 The proposed increase has been prompted in part by the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, Ohisalo said, following the Taliban's rapid advance and capture of much of the country.
 "There is a risk that people will start moving as soon as they get out of there," Ohisalo said in an interview with Yle's  Ylen Aamu  programme.
 The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri)  said on Wednesday  that bringing Afghan refugees to Finland from Afghanistan's neighbouring countries would require a political decision on quotas.
 Ohisalo told  Ylen Aamu  she believed increasing the refugee quota was the right move as taking people into Finland directly from refugee camps through the quota system is the most effective way to help people fleeing Afghanistan.
 Ohisalo: EU more ready to accept refugees than in 2015
 According to Ohisalo, EU interior ministers gathered at a meeting to discuss the situation in Afghanistan this week appeared more open to receiving refugees than during the migrant crisis of 2015-16.
 "It is clear that Europe will see the movement of these people, and therefore every EU member state must be prepared for this," Ohisalo said.
 "We need to support people there as much as possible, but also take responsibility if people come here," Ohisalo added.
 On Wednesday a Migri official told Yle they were preparing for refugees to arrive from Afghanistan, but did not expect the situation to escalate suddenly.
 "It will be interesting to see how much and in what time frame the situation in Afghanistan affects us here in Finland. Probably to some degree, but the scale is hard to envisage at this point,"  Pekka Nuutinen , the director of Migri's reception unit said.

Interior Ministry proposes doubling Finland's refugee quota


Summary: Perttu Nousiainen was found to have approved property transactions that caused substantial financial losses for his former employer.

Helsinki Distict Court has ordered former chairman of the board of the Finnish Youth Foundation  Perttu Nousiainen  to pay nearly €8 million in damages to the foundation after it found he approved property transactions that resulted in  substantial financial losses  for his former employer.
 The transactions were agreed in breach of the statutes of the Youth Foundation's subsidiary companies and Nousiainen's duty of care under the Companies Act, the court said.
 Nousiainen was ordered to pay the money in absentia, as he did not participate in the case nor defend himself.
 Perttu Nousiainen, a former chairman of the Centre Party's youth wing and municipal politician, was a member or chairman of the board of the Finnish Youth Foundation from 2010 to 2018. He was fired from his position in 2018 after criminal allegations were made against him.
 According to Yle's investigative journalism programme  MOT  , Nousiainen's current whereabouts are unknown. He is suspected of several offences in an ongoing, wide-ranging police investigation into the activities of the former management of the Finnish Youth Foundation and its business dealings.
 Foundation sues its former bosses
 The Centre Party-affiliated Finnish Youth Foundation has  filed numerous lawsuits and criminal cases  against its former caretakers after new management took over in 2018.
 Story continues after photo.
 The majority of the damages stem from the purchase of this apartment building in Lahti in 2014 Meeri Niinistö / Yle
 While the foundation was successful in claiming damages against Nousiainen, it has a similar action pending against other former board members in connection with the same property deal. The court has not yet ruled in their case.
 If found to have caused material harm to the Finnish Youth Foundation by the court, they will become jointly-liable for millions of euros in damages.
 "The court's decision shows that the Finnish Youth Foundation is strongly committed to thoroughly investigate the misconduct at the foundation and to claim compensation for the losses incurred by the foundation,"  Jari Laine , the foundation's current chairman said.
 However, it is unlikely that the Finnish Youth Foundation will ever receive compensation. Nousiainen already has debts of several hundred thousand euros in foreclosure.
 Suspicious property deals in Lahti
 The majority of the damages, more than €7 million, relate to property deals concluded by the Finnish Youth Foundation's management in Lahti in 2014.
 The foundation bought an apartment building at Hämeenkatu 24 from construction company Salpausselän Rakentajat in Lahti for 8 040,000 euros. However, according to external valuations commissioned by the new management of the Finnish Youth Foundation a few years later, the true value of the property was significantly lower, at roughly 1.7-2.6 million euros.
 In 2019, the foundation sold the dilapidated building at a loss of around 7 million euros.
 Story continues after photo.
 Ex-CEO Aki Haaro (right) and Nousianen are suspected of taking bribes in connection with the Lahti property deal, police say.  Yle MOT ja Markku Ulander / Lehtikuva
 The Youth Foundation entered into several other projects with the Lahti-based construction firm at around the same time. Helsinki police have said they suspect significant bribes were paid to Perttu Nousiainen and former CEO of the Youth Foundation,  Aki Haaro .
 Haaro resigned  as CEO in 2018 amid a police investigation into transfers of hundreds of thousands of euros from an Estonian shell company to businesses owned by Haaro and ex-chairman Nousiainen.
 In 2018 it was reported that police suspected the building firm’s managers of aggravated tax fraud and other offences.
 In early August, local paper Etelä-Suomen Sanomat reported that  Mika Wilenius , the former owner of Salpausselän Rakentajat and a suspect in the wide-ranging, Finnish Youth Foundation-linked criminal investigation, had died.

Ex-Youth Foundation boss ordered to pay millions in damages


Summary: The fund said the country is in a good position, but inadequate economic incentives and deficiencies in infrastructure are among the obstacles to be tackled first.

Finland is on the right path to reaching its climate goals, however there are still key obstacles that need addressing, a new  report  by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra has found.
 Current government ambitions include a draft law mandating that Finland become carbon-neutral by 2035, in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Accord goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
 The law also seeks to include targets for reducing emissions by 60 percent by 2030 and by 80 percent by 2040. The targets could bring emissions down to 1990 levels.
 Guided by an extensive literature review and approximately one hundred expert interviews, Sitra investigated whether Finland is anywhere close to reaching its goals.
 The report found quite a few obstacles standing in the way of effective climate action, mainly the lack of long-term planning, inadequate and wrong financial incentives, inadequate education and skills training and the unfair distribution of the risks brought about by climate solutions. Licensing and other administrative barriers should also be removed from the path of climate solutions to make the transition smoother, the report suggested.
 Efforts to reduce emissions should come from across different sectors, Sitra climate expert  Mariko Landström  said, adding that action should come from the state and municipalities as well as from companies and citizens alike.
 The state is responsible for regulation, setting incentives and removing administrative barriers while municipalities' decisions guide the community structure and infrastructure. Companies can further develop solutions and make practical investments while ordinary citizens and consumers vote with their feet, guiding the demand of products and services, Landström explained.
 Sticks, carrots and clarification of long-term plans
 The report also urged Finland's decision makers to think more long-term when it comes to action on climate change.
 An emissions budget and targets for carbon sinks should be set for 2040 and 2050, the report said, and it also delves into what policymakers can do to encourage - or discourage - climate-friendly activity.
 "Solutions must be financially viable so that they can be deployed on a sufficiently large scale. Incentives are currently lacking completely, for example in carbon sequestration, agro-climate action and the efficient use of natural resources," Landström said.
 Story continues after photo.
 Forestry management subsidies are not having the desired effect, Sitra's report noted. Antti Eintola / Yle
 Other sectors, such as forest management, are meanwhile seeing subsidies steered in the wrong direction, according to Landström.
 "Before long, we'll need to give up on subsidies heading in the wrong direction, but the transition should be made on a case-to-case basis. It is often necessary to update guidance completely," she added.
 In the case of forestry, the Sitra expert said that climate action could be encouraged by rewarding the restoration and carbon sequestration of Finnish forests.
 Wetland farming should be guaranteed the right to agricultural subsidies and other new incentives for emission reductions should be developed, while at the same time, support should be lifted from peatland farming and replaced by emissions-based fees and compensation requirements, the report said.
 The biggest everyday changes in the Sitra report concern food and transportation.
 According to the report, transportation should see a comprehensive tax, fee and subsidy reform while sustainable food, in turn, should be encouraged by public procurements as well as nutrition recommendations and education.
 From carbon neutrality to carbon negativity
 The Finnish Climate Panel estimated that Finland's share of the world's emissions budget until 2050 will be 79 megatons. Finland's net emissions totalled around 38 megatons in 2019 alone.
 However, if Finland becomes carbon neutral by 2035, it could soon then reach carbon negativity, meaning that the country's carbon sinks would absorb more CO2 than human activity emits, helping offset the emissions of previous decades.
 Sitra's report argues that Finland should shift its focus from carbon neutrality to carbon negativity, and prepare to make that shift by the 2040s, Landström said.
 Change can be slow, and climate measures like energy-smart building stock and a climate-conscious society can take time to put into practice, the report warned.
 "We must already choose solutions that are in line with the long-term goals, in order to avoid unnecessary investment in temporary solutions. Developing solutions is often a slow process, so we need to be on the move early enough," Landström said.

Sitra report: Finland can reach climate goals, but strong action required


Summary: June saw record numbers of mortgage applications in Finland as people put their pandemic savings into the housing market.

While the coronavirus pandemic has seen a rise in people moving out of cities, house prices in Finland's growth centres have continued to rise, according to  Peetu Keskinen , an economist at Pellervo Economic Research (PTT).
 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Oulu are among the Finnish cities that have seen an outflow of people to their outskirts over the course of the pandemic.
 In January-June of this year municipalities located near large urban areas were the most sought after locations for home movers,  Timo Aro , a leading specialist at regional development consultancy MDI, told news agency STT in early August.
 Tuusula, Järvenpää and Sipoo, all located around 30 kilometres from the centre of Helsinki, and Kaarina, 10 kilometres from the centre of Turku, gained the most new residents in the first half of 2021.
 The pandemic showed that the trends of the 2010s, which saw continued migration from rural to urban areas of Finland, were reversing, Aro said.
 Record mortgage lending in June
 "The message from banks has been that there have been a lot of loan applicants," Keskinen said.
 However, he added that Finland is not on the verge of a housing market price bubble like Sweden. In Sweden, house prices have developed more rapidly than in Finland, due to Sweden's looser lending policy. As a result, prices in larger urban areas have risen rapidly.
 Finland's urban centres remain attractive, Keskinen said, with the number of prospective buyers sometimes outstripping the available housing supply.
 "When vaccination coverage gets to a good level, people will certainly want to go to work and see other people," Keskinen said.
 Middle income earners who were able to save money during the pandemic were a major factor in June's record mortgage lending.
 "When the majority of the service-dependent economy is shut down, one place to spend money is the housing market," Keskinen said, adding that some of those savings went towards both renovation work and buying new homes.
 Price movements during the interest rate pandemic have varied from city to city, PTT found, influenced by factors such as the state of the labour market. In the southeastern city of Kotka house prices initially fell, but later returned to normal.
 High price levels may drive people out of growth centres
 Keskinen also called for action to ensure that Finland's cities remained affordable.
 While rates of housing construction are relatively high, especially in Helsinki, so is demand, which is why the increase in housing supply is not reflected in falling prices.
 "Some people are forced to live in Helsinki for work or school, which puts them on an unequal footing with those living in cheaper areas, a problem that should be addressed in the coming decades," he said.

Covid pushed house buyers to the suburbs - but city housing costs remain high


Summary: The move is aimed at helping to prevent problems caused by gambling.

A feature allowing gamblers to limit their losses will be installed on slot machines operated by Finland's state gambling monopoly Veikkaus from September.
 Loss limits allow players to place a cap on the amount of money they could potentially lose over a given period of time.
 The move is the latest measure introduced as part of the agency's corporate social responsibility programme aimed at preventing  gambling-related harm .
 The Ministry of the Interior has set a maximum loss limit of 500 euros per day and 2,000 euros per month, Veikkaus' Communications Manager  Pipsa Öhman  said.
 "However, the idea is that the person themselves sets their own loss limits," Öhman added.
 Since January this year,  players must authenticate themselves  using a Veikkaus-issued identification card before using slot machines, which are generally located in stores, restaurants, kiosks, service stations and the agency's own gambling arcades across Finland.
 This means that the feature can track the gambler's losses from slot machines to online gaming.
 "The devices know how to connect the player and the loss limits can be followed as players can no longer play anonymously," Öhman said, with Veikkaus estimating that the reform will have a "significant impact on reducing problem gambling".
 Veikkaus' profits provoke debate
 Veikkaus' profits have recently been the subject of much debate, with Minister of Science and Culture  Antti Kurvinen  (Cen)  proposing at the beginning of this month  that from 2024 revenues earned by the gambling monopoly should be transferred to the state budget.
 The minister said that the betting agency's incomes are declining, and without a change so will the income of charities and other groups that benefit from its profits. Veikkaus revenues are distributed to organisations in the fields of culture, sports, science, and youth work as well as social welfare and health.
 The government has agreed to set up a parliamentary working group to consider how Veikkaus' income could be distributed in the future.
 Kai Mykkänen , chair of the National Coalition Party's parliamentary group, said in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat in July that he would immediately cut the link between Veikkaus' gambling revenues and the grants received by organisations.

Veikkaus slot machines to include loss limiting feature


Summary: Can Finland help Afghans as their country is taken over by the Taliban?

This week's podcast looks at the departure of western countries from Afghanistan as the capital Kabul falls into the hands of the Taliban.
 Former peacekeeper  Elli Flén  said that she disagreed with the US view of the Afghan mission, which had a narrow focus on anti-terrorism operations.
 "The American president says now that America was not there for nation-building. Well I was. And that was pretty clear for us, that we were helping the Afghan army and the Afghan police to take more responsibility for security. And we were there to build a safer and more secure Afghanistan."
 You can listen to the full podcast using the embedded player here, via  Yle Areena ,  Spotify  or  Apple Podcasts  or on your usual podcast player using the  RSS feed .
 Article continues after audio.
 Flén said these policy debates were 'semantics' in the end, and there was a more pressing humanitarian need right now.
 "For me, the main worry is the real people who are still stuck there," said Flén. "And they feel betrayed. Whatever we do, whatever we decide, whatever our policy lines are, we shouldn't make such swift moves as we do now."
 Charly Salonius Pasternak , a leading researcher at the Finnish Institute for International Affairs, said, "engaging in politics and society can be dangerous, and maybe that's just a notice you give to people," said Salonius-Pasternak. "We'll keep supporting you rhetorically at least, maybe financially in other words, but we cannot guarantee your security. That would be laying the cards on the table."
 Climate action needed, focus on farmers
 Last week's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made for grim reading. In the first podcast back after the summer we looked at the Finnish context, with the emphasis on upcoming budget negotiations and pressure from the Green Party for more action from agriculture to mitigate and limit climate change.
 Liisa Pietola , Director for Environment, Climate and Nature issues at farmers' union MTK, said her members are not delighted about the current pressure on them to do more to combat climate change.
 "I must say that our farmers were quite hurt," said Pietola. "They couldn't understand this because we have gone out of our way for at least two decades because we have tried to protect our waters by reducing tillage, by having more green cabbor on our fields so we have already adapted quite a lot of measures which we can see that they are climate measures because these are also sequestrating carbon into the soil."
 Till Sawala  from climate activist group Extinction rebellion, meanwhile, told us that even if Finland's agriculture sector is not quite the same as other countries, farmers need to do more.
 "Even if there are other sectors that we need to perhaps cut even more drastically, in order to get to net zero we also need to address animal agriculture," said Sawala. "Methane is a very important greenhouse gas and it also stays in the atmosphere for a long time so the only way to reduce greenhouse gasses to a sustainable level, is to reduce the amount of meat we consume and the cattle that we raise that cause these methane emissions."
 Join the conversation!
 This week's show was presented by  Egan Richardson  and  Zena Iovino  with reporting from  Veronica Kontopoulou . The producer and was  Mark B. Odom  and the audio engineer was  Pasi Ilkka .
 If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, just contact us via WhatsApp on +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or at yle.news@yle.fi and allpointsnorth@yle.fi.

APN podcast: Afghan dilemmas and climate questions


Summary: The owner of the Kärkkäinen department store chain sent an anti-vaccine message to employees, calling on them not to get vaccinated.

Juha Kärkkäinen , owner of the Kärkkäinen chain of department stores, has called on the company's employees not to take the coronavirus vaccine.
 "I urged them to watch the videos and links and to refuse the jab," Kärkkäinen confirmed to Yle on Thursday.
 Kärkkäinen's message to employees was sent through the company's internal communication system, tabloid Iltalehti reported, in which he claimed that Covid vaccines are dangerous and lead to harmful side effects.
 The Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea said that it had received about 11,000 reports of side effects related to coronavirus vaccines by last week, by which time over six million doses of the vaccine had been administered across the country.
 Labour Law Professor  Seppo Koskinen  told Yle that the law does not expressly forbid an employer from disseminating anti-vaccine information to employees, as long as the employer does not urge anyone to commit an illegal act.
 "The employer also has freedom of speech. However, I do not recommend any employer to act like Kärkkäinen," Koskinen said.
 Employer's obligation to provide a safe working environment
 Although there is no provision in Finnish law preventing an employer from spreading anti-vaccine information within the company, doing so is a violation of the employer's responsibility to employees, according to  Erika Kähärä  of services workers' union PAM.
 "The employer has a responsibility for occupational safety and health. It is against the spirit of the employer's obligation to even call for the vaccine not to be taken," Kähärä said.
 In practice, this responsibility for safety means that the employer must assess risks to employees, such as that posed by a possible coronavirus infection. If the worker is considered to be at-risk, their tasks and duties could be altered, Koskinen cites as an example.
 Kärkkäinen told Yle that he does not know the vaccination situation of all of his employees, but the department stores do have similar precautions in place as in other stores, such as hand disinfectant stations at entry points.
 "We do not put pressure on people about vaccines or masks," he said.
 Call for more guidance from authorities
 Koskinen advised Kärkkäinen to review issues related to health, safety and vaccinations with an external party, such as an occupational health specialist.
 "In my opinion, the situations related to coronavirus are such that the employer should consult an expert if their own knowledge of the subject is not enough," Koskinen said, an opinion echoed by PAM specialist Kähärä.
 Koskinen also called for more guidance to be provided by authorities, such as from the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman, which could advise on the processing of personal data within the workplace, for example in relation to health or vaccination information.
 "Here, guidelines should be drawn up for employers on what to ask about taking the vaccine and what to not ask. This way, employers would not have to settle things in their own way," Koskinen said.
 Far-right links, anti-semitic views
 However, Kärkkäinen told Yle that, in his view, he is protecting his employees by providing them with the anti-vaccine information.
 "I am so socially responsible that I call for more research into this matter and for consideration to also be given to taking the vaccine," Kärkkäinen said.
 The retail magnate has  previously made headlines  because of his strong links to far-right groups, the publishing of  anti-semitic texts  in freesheet newspapers and a conviction for agitation against an ethnic group.

Union criticises retail boss over antivax email sent to staff


Summary: There are an estimated 60 Finnish citizens in Afghanistan waiting to evacuate from the country.

Finland is preparing to send troops into Afghanistan to protect Finnish citizens and help evacuate them out of the country, Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  (Green) confirmed at a press conference on Thursday evening.
 "The government met today and decided that a Defence Forces team is required in Kabul, that is, a force to protect Finnish workers, our own team, on the ground and if possible to help with evacuations from inside Kabul airport," Haavisto said.
 Several other countries have also sent military units to Afghanistan to assist in the evacuation of their citizens.
 The foreign ministry is in contact with around 60 Finnish citizens who are still in Kabul but have not been able to get to the airport. Some 34 Finnish citizens have already been evacuated.
 The force will include dozens of armed soldiers and will only operate at Kabul International Airport and its immediate vicinity, the foreign minister added, with orders to ensure evacuees board flights out of the country.
 This week's episode of the All Points North podcast looked into the departure of western countries from Afghanistan as the capital Kabul falls into the hands of the Taliban.
 You can listen to the full podcast using the embedded player here, via  Yle Areena ,  Spotify  or  Apple Podcasts  or on your usual podcast player using the  RSS feed . Article continues after audio.
 "It has become clear that the help of the Defence Forces is needed to ensure safe evacuation," Minister of Defence  Antti Kaikkonen  (Cen) said at the briefing.
 The measure utilises a law on granting and requesting international assistance, which requires the government to report to Parliament.
 Haavisto said the decision to send in troops was made at the government session on Thursday, and Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee will meet on Friday morning to discuss the proposal before the matter is debated and voted on at a plenary session on Friday.
 Earlier on Thursday the committee had met to discuss the already announced evacuation plans, which exclude security guards who protected Finnish diplomats and politicians in Kabul.
 Haavisto said afterwards that the matter had been discussed, but Finnish citizens and directly-employed staff were the current priority, and officials had their hands full with them. He also said Finland did not want to make promises it could not keep.

Finland sending troops to Kabul to safeguard evacuation


Summary: Roughly 0.2 percent of vaccinees have reported symptoms that vary from the not-so-serious to fatal, HBL reports.

Finland's President Sauli Niinistö believes Finnish troops being deployed in Afghanistan to safeguard the evacuation of Finnish citizens from the country will not be at risk of harm, according to an  interview in tabloid Ilta-Sanomat .
 The  government announced  the deployment of a small team of Defence Forces personnel to the Afghan capital on Thursday, the first time a Finnish military force has been deployed in a strictly protective capacity.
 "The article on international military assistance, which has been in force since 2017, applies here. This has never been applied to a Finnish military unit before," Niinistö told IS.
 The move follows similar deployments by Denmark, Norway and Germany. Parliament is due to confirm the proposed deployment in a vote on Friday.
 "They don't seem to have run into any danger, and I don't think the Finns will either," Niinistö stressed.
 In response to questions from Ilta-Sanomat on when the Finnish troops would be withdrawn from Kabul, Niinistö said the timeframe was unclear, but "the sooner, the better."
 The President refused to say how long the operation had been in preparation.
 This week's All Points North podcast looks at the departure of western countries from Afghanistan as the capital Kabul falls into the hands of the Taliban.
 You can listen to the full podcast using the embedded player here, via  Yle Areena ,  Spotify  or  Apple Podcasts  or on your usual podcast player using the  RSS feed .
 Article continues after audio.
 Vaccine side effects
 While side-effects are more common with the coronavirus vaccines than with other jabs, they don't tend to be serious, an expert from Finland's medicines agency Fimea has told  Swedish-language Hufvudstadsbladet .
 "There is more fever and headache than with other vaccines, but the symptoms usually disappear in a few days," Fimea senior doctor Maija Kaukonen told HBL.
 From the roughly six million doses of Covid vaccine distributed in Finland so far, there have been around 11,000 reports of side effects after the jab, the paper reports. They vary from the mild to the fatal.
 One 40-year-old man who suffered a stroke 11 days after his jab earlier this summer became the youngest person to die following a coronavirus vaccine in Finland, HBL writes. Lifestyle factors, which can include being a heavy smoker, obesity and high blood pressure may also have been a factor in the case, the paper says.
 "Deaths among our oldest and most frail elderly people in nursing homes across Finland may also be attributed to the vaccines," Kaukonen told HBL.
 "Common, simple reactions to them triggered the spiral that eventually led to deaths of the elderly. The deaths were recorded according to their underlying diseases, but the vaccine cannot be ruled out as an intermediate, triggering cause," she said.
 Anyone can file a report of vaccine side-effects with Fimea, HBL reports, although it is recommended to first seek medical attention in severe cases and include your doctor's feedback.
 "Sometimes what we get from patients is so vague that we can't do anything [with the information]," Kaukonen told the paper.
 _ Get the biggest stories direct to your inbox with our weekly newsletter. Sign up  here ! _
 Back to work and back to spending hours in the car
 It is not only 'back to business' for a lot of people in Finland returning to their workplaces, but also back to the long dreaded car commute, local daily  Aamulehti  writes.
 The Tampere local observed the traffic situation of home commuters between 15:30 and 16:30 on Thursday, and found tightly-packed queues of vehicles stretching from Tampere's Hämeenpuisto all the way to Rautatienkatu - a distance of roughly a kilometre.
 The partial return to workplaces, following the limbo of remote working, is only partly to blame for the worsening traffic congestion, Aamulehti writes. The biggest culprit is the "nothing if not familiar" to Tampere locals roadworks and tramline construction sites, the paper claims.
 Others also blame the traffic lights as unfairly favouring public transport over drivers, Aamulehti reports.
 "People are quick to judge that the traffic lights have been poorly adjusted. But we have in fact used Finland's best [traffic] planner. All commuter groups would like to see their trip become smoother, however that's a pretty impossible equation to solve," the city's planning manager,  Ari Vandell , told Aamulehti.

Friday papers: Finnish troops to Afghanistan, vaccine side effects, Tampere traffic congestion


Summary: Kurvinen said that it is time Finland lifted restrictions, stressing that anti-vaxxers should not stand in the way of that happening.

Finland should continue to ease coronavirus restrictions to hasten the return of society back to normality, according to the Minister of Science and Culture  Antti Kurvinen  (Cen).
 Speaking on Yle's breakfast TV show Ylen Aamu on Friday morning, Kurvinen said he hoped that Finland would adopt the British model of abandoning coronavirus restrictions as the vaccination rollout progresses.
 "When will the number of vaccinated people in Finland be large enough, that there is no risk of overburdening hospitals and that all restrictions can be removed," Kurvinen asked during his appearance on the programme.
 The EU Covid passport is due to be introduced in September, Kurvinen added, but there are several problems standing in the way of that happening, such as the complicated enactment process of a new law and the strict legal interpretations of the Finnish Constitution.
 The Minister further spoke of people's social responsibility to get the coronavirus vaccine, when offered.
 "Society cannot be held hostage to a small, loud, tin-foil-hat-wearing and conspiracy theories-reading minority that will not get the vaccines. We cannot keep having restaurants' opening times tightened, adults' group exercise classes banned and cultural events restricted for months on end," Kurvinen said, adding that "it can't be that we all have to suffer because of this small group of people."

Culture minister would drop Covid restrictions, adopt UK model


Summary: Insurance company doctors must now give their opinions in clearer and more consistent language, which providers hope will help cut the number of appeals against decisions.

The Pension Appeal Board and insurance providers have welcomed new rules that force insurance company doctors to cut the jargon and give clearer reasons for their decisions.
 The new law, which came into force in July, applies to the written opinions of medical staff that are used in insurance decisions. They can also determine whether or not an applicant qualifies for a disability pension.
 The law also requires that insurers' doctors now include a special clause in their written statements which states that the opinion is given on the basis of their "expertise and conscience".
 Insurance company doctors had been criticised in the past over cases where a disability pension case had been rejected, contrary to the opinion of the medical staff treating the applicant.
 Fewer appeals
 Finland's Pension Appeal Board (TELK), which heard more than 5,300 appeals on occupational pension matters last year, welcomed the change.
 "This is a good reform, and it will certainly have an impact on the pension institutions when they draw up their justifications," TELK chair  Petteri Immonen  said.
 According to TELK, the opinions of a patient's own doctors have only been available to the appeals board when specifically requested by the patient.
 "It is precisely these medical reports which should give as much detail as possible of the findings of the medical examinations and preferably, if they are available over a longer period of time, of the progress of the disease. And, of course, the treatments and the effects of the treatments," Immonen said.
 Story continues after photo.
 Varma doctor Jan Schugk said he'd already made changes prior to them becoming law. Yle
 Occupational pension insurer Varma also welcomed the new law, saying it hoped it would lead to fewer appeals against decisions.
 "This has, in my view, clearly improved the readability and comprehensibility of the opinions. We will see over time how it will be reflected in fewer appeals against these rejection decisions than we have had previously," Varma's Chief Medical Officer  Jan Schugk  said.
 The company said it had already implemented many of the changes prior to them becoming law. One move to improve clarity saw Varma medical staff refer to claimants by name in their written opinions, instead of by a third-person pronoun.
 Law calls on insurers' conscience
 Another new aspect of the law is the language it obliges insurance company doctors to use in their decisions.
 Doctors must now conclude by affirming that the opinion given is made "on the basis of the information available to me, my expertise and my conscience".
 Varma's Schugk said he had already used similar wording in his own decisions.
 The new wording differs slightly from older phrasing used, amongst others, on social insurance institution Kela's Certifcate-A form used to apply for sickness benefits, which states that a decision is based on a doctor's "honour and conscience".
 "Honour as a term is perhaps a little old-fashioned, and I would not be surprised if at some point it were to be dropped from the medical certificate insurance as well," Schugk said.
 "However, it is essential for the content of the statement that it is based on the available information and the expertise of the doctor," he added.

New rules on cutting medical jargon welcomed by pension providers


Summary: There will be an estimated 70-84 wolf territories across Finland this autumn.

The chances of hunting dogs encountering a wolf in Finland's forests this autumn have increased significantly from last year, according to the Life BorealWolf ( LifeSusi  in Finnish)  project , as the nation's wolf population has grown over the past 12 months.
 "Now people should be very careful and make every effort to find out where the wolves are. No dogs are allowed in areas where there are wolves,"  Mari Tikkunen  of the Finnish Wildlife Agency said.
 There were an estimated 54-59 wolf herds and pairs in Finland in March, according to figures provided by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), and a lot of litters have been born this year, especially in areas where food has been plentiful.
 The population growth means that there will be between 70 and 84 wolf 'territories' across Finland this autumn, Luke added.
 Every year, there are an average of between 30 and 50 dog injuries caused by wolves in Finland. Last year that figure was 57, based on the number of applications for compensation under the Game Animal Damages Act.
 Story continues after the graphic.
 The map shows an approximation of wolf territories in March 2021. Green denotes a confirmed territory, yellow is probable, and red is uncertain. The black circles show where dogs were killed or injured by wolves in 2020 and for which compensation has been sought. The shades of dark grey are areas where wolves are expected to migrate in November 2021. Susi-life-hanke
 Although the wolf population has gradually shifted towards western Finland in recent years, the majority of wolf-induced dog injuries still occur in eastern Finland.
 Panels previously installed by Luke to track wolf movements are no longer operational, meaning there is less information for hunters this hunting season about where wolves might be located.
 "In the past, hunters have been able to look at locations where there were herds of wolves. They were given an indication of where some of the wolves were on the move and that helped direct the hunt to areas where there were no wolves," Tikkunen said.
 The latest information on wolf sightings can be obtained from local hunting societies or the  riistahavainnot.fi  (roughly translated as 'game observations') website. Hunters also share information about wolf sightings in their area, for example in Whatsapp groups.

Hunting groups, dog owners warned of increased wolf population


Summary: HJK have a chance of progression, but things look bleak for KuPS.

Finnish clubs had contrasting evenings on Thursday as they sought to make it through to the group stages of Europe's second and third most prestigious continental club football tournaments.
 HJK Helsinki went down to a narrow defeat against Fenerbahçe in Istanbul, leaving them with a chance of progression to the Europa League group stage, but KuPS look set to exit European competition after a 4-0 home defeat against Union Berlin.
 HJK coach  Toni Koskela  told the club website he had "mixed feelings" after his club kept German superstar  Mesut Özil  quiet, only to see him replaced by  Muhammed Gümüskaya , who scored the winner on 65 minutes.
 "In my opinion we played a good match and were the better side for long spells," said Koskela. "We could have gotten an even better starting point for the home match. But everything is open and we will definitely be strong at home."
 KuPS come a cropper
 Kuopio team KuPS had a much less enjoyable evening against Union Berlin in the Conference League playoffs, losing 4-0 after conceding three goals in the first 31 minutes.
 Taiwo Awonyi  got two goals,  Max Kruse  scored one and  Andreas Voglsammer  added a fourth deep into injury time.
 The match was played in Helsinki as KuPS' home stadium in North Savo does not meet Uefa requirements. Union Berlin are not allowed to play European games at home either, with the second leg in the German capital held next Thursday at the city's Olympic Stadium.
 They were able to play in front of fans however, as new restrictions on gatherings in the capital region do not come into force until Friday 20 August.
 HJK say they will also try to play in front of nearly 5,000 fans, as they will split the seats into blocks. They are following the lead of the National Opera, which has announced that Friday's performance of  Cavalleria rusticana  and  Pagliacci  will not stick to the rules laid down by regional authorities.
 The audience will be roughly a fifth of capacity, but they will not have separate entrances and refreshment stands as they enjoy  Pietro Mascagni’s  and  Ruggero Leoncavallo’s  works.
 HJK will operate a similar policy as they welcome the 28-time Turkish champions to Töölö, splitting the crowd into different seating blocks but allowing them to mix as they enter, leave and obtain snacks.
 HJK will progress in Europe even if they lose this tie, as they would then drop into the Conference League group stages rather than play in the slightly more prestigious Europa League.

Finnish clubs take stock after contrasting play-off first legs


Summary: Some children in Pirkanmaa received false information about coronavirus vaccine side-effects, says Tampere University Hospital

Young people in Finland continue to be targeted by campaigns that aim to spread false information about the coronavirus vaccine, Tampere University Hospital (TAYS) has said.
 According to the hospital, false information claiming that young people had been taken to the emergency room following their jabs has even been sent directly to the phones of children in Pirkanmaa.
 There are no such patients, TAYS confirmed.
 "I find this kind of false scaremongering against young people utterly reprehensible," TAYS infectious diseases doctor  Reetta Huttunen  said in a statement released on Friday.
 Earlier in August the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said a fifth of 12-15 year-olds had  already got the jab .
 Vaccine smear campaign
 Earlier this month,  Yle reported  on a nationwide campaign to spread vaccine disinformation to young people in Finland.
 A group calling itself  Pelastetaan lapset  or, "Let's Save the Children" began spreading false information about the vaccine on social media following Finland's decision to  open vaccinations up  to 12-15 year olds in early August.
 The group prompted similarly-named charity Save the Children to release a statement saying that the closeness of the two organisations' names was "very unfortunate" and emphasised that it was not involved in any way with the anti-vaccine campaign.
 According to cybersecurity professor  Jarno Limnéll , the group's website was clearly designed and presented in order to influence people's opinions.
 "A familiar-sounding name is used and medical experts with their titles are introduced," he said, adding that it always raises suspicions when a site does not have any contact information or are intentionally hidden.
 "When this website has a questionable name that is clearly intended to be confusing and there is no proper contact information, then yes it suggests that everything is not quite right," Limnéll said.
 What are the side-effects of the vaccine?
 In an effort to combat the false information spread in Pirkanmaa, TAYS released guidance on the most common symptoms experienced following vaccination.
 The side effects of vaccines are similar in young people as in adults. The most common symptoms are pain, swelling and redness at the injection site, fatigue, headache, chills, muscle pain and fever. These symptoms are not serious and will pass.
 Tension and release of tension - related to fear of injections or relief at getting the Covid jab - can cause people to feel unwell and even faint. However, these reactions are related to the vaccination situation and not to the vaccine itself, TAYS said.
 In the United States and Canada, millions of 12-17 year olds have received the Pfizer/BioNTech (also known as Comirnaty) vaccine and, according to TAYS, there have been no safety issues detected for the jab in this age group.

Anti-vaccine disinformation sent to Tampere kids' phones


Summary: Saramo served as Minister of Education during Li Andersson's parental leave.

Left Alliance MPs have elected  Jussi Saramo  to lead the parliamentary group of the party, at its summer meeting in Vaasa.
 The 43-year-old will succeed  Paavo Arhinmäki , who takes up a new job as Deputy Mayor of Helsinki.
 "The parliamentary group had a good-spirited meeting. It is an easy start to this post," Saramo said, adding that "this is not the first time I have stepped into Paavo's shoes."
 Both Arhinmäki and Saramo have chaired the party's youth wing.
 The first-term MP from Uusimaa is currently serving as the first vice-chair of the party. He has most recently covered  Li Andersson  as Minister of Education during her maternity leave between December and June.

Jussi Saramo to chair Left Alliance Party parliamentary group


Summary: Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of raw opium - the main ingredient in heroin. But experts say the risk of a rise is low.

The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan has fuelled speculation that the global supply of heroin could increase as a result.
 Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium - the key ingredient in heroin and other opiate drugs. According to the  United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime , the percentage of Afghan land devoted to farming opium poppies grew 37 percent in 2019-2020 alone.
 With a rise in production, there are fears that European countries could see increased heroin use as the supply rises.
 But National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) special investigator  Jari Leskinen  told Yle the risks were overstated.
 "The fear of a heroin tsunami as a result of the Taliban regime is based on ignorance. The huge and steady flow from Afghanistan has been going on for a long time and will continue," he said.
 Leskinen does not believe that demand for the drug will rise in Finland in the future, arguing that the flow of heroin from Afghanistan has remained high and constant, under both the Taliban and the US-backed government. A change of government unlikely to affect this.
 "The UN's annual reports make it quite clear that, year after year and decade after decade, Afghanistan is the main producer of raw opium and heroin, whoever is in power," Leskinen said.
 Police: Subutex will continue to hold its own
 In Finland, heroin was replaced by buprenorphine - usually known by the brand name Subutex - in the early 2000s, a period when heroin had caused many overdoses and deaths.
 Although it is available on prescription in Finland, smuggling Subutex is also a very lucrative business, Helsinki police say.
 Story continues after photo.
 Many drug users switched to Subutex in the early 2000s as it was seen as being "safer" than heroin Antti Kolppo / Yle
 "Subutex is brought to Finland from France, as well as the streets of some other places. One tablet costs a few euros. In Finland, they may ask for dozens of euros, or even in northern Finland or in prisons a hundred euros. Subutex has a high profit margin in Finland," said  Markku Heinikari , inspector at Helsinki Police Department's narcotics unit.
 According to the experts, Subutex has all but replaced heroin use in Finland.
 "Most of the Subutex trafficked by foreign criminal groups comes to Finland. Nowhere else is it used to the same extent," Heinikari said.
 "It may well be that the supply to Europe is increasing, but since there is no demand for heroin in Finland, you wouldn't start pumping it into markets that are not attractive. But if there was demand, there would certainly be heroin here," he said.
 By contrast, there is a huge amount of marijuana coming into Finland, because demand is very high, Heinikari said.
 Story continues after photo.
 Finnish customs seized a shipment of some 4,000 Subutex capsules in 2019 Tulli
 However, the drug police are monitoring whether the change of power in Afghanistan will spark an increase in heroin use in Finland.
 "We have to base our view on the facts. If heroin starts to appear in Finland, of course there will be a reaction," Heinikari said.
 'Supply can fuel demand'
 Kaarlo Simojoki , CEO and Chief Medical Officer of substance abuse and mental healthcare provider A-Klinikka, believes there may well be demand for heroin in Finland in the future.
 "The drug market is always affected by what is on offer. For its part, it creates demand," he said.
 Simojoki takes methamphetamine as an example. When its price fell and there was ample supply, its popularity rose.
 Story continues after photo.
 A 2019 study found amphetamines were still Finland's drugs of choice, while cocaine use was also rising AOP
 "If we have demand for opioids in Finland, this could also be reflected in an increase in the use of heroin, especially if the price of heroin started to fall," he said.
 One reason for Simokoki's concern is the increase in so-called "problem opioid use" in Finland - the usage of illegal or non-prescription opioids like heroin.
 "Problem opioid use doubled between 2012 and 2017. This includes all opioids, such as heroin, buprenorphine, codeine, tramadol and pentalyn," he said.
 This sharp increase in problem opioid users creates fertile ground for heroin, Simojoki argues. Of particular concern is the fact problem opioid use has increased especially among 25-34 year olds, creating a new generation of potential heroin users.
 THL: We wouldn't count heroin out
 The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) said that while Subutex usage had limited heroin's appeal in Finland, the country should be prepared for an uptick in heroin users.
 "If the supply of heroin were to change substantially, with a sharp drop in price, an increase in use in Finland cannot be ruled out under any circumstances," said  Teemu Gunnar , head of THL's forensic chemistry department.
 However, Gunnar agreed that the unique position of Subutex in Finland could help prevent an increase. In many Nordic countries, southern Europe and Russia, heroin use has traditionally been much higher than in Finland.
 "In Finland, the dominance of buprenorphine as an opioid in substance abuse is exceptional in global terms. It could be argued that users in Finland are used to using buprenorphine and that this would prevent a switch to heroin," he said.

Will the Taliban's return fuel a rise in heroin use in Finland?


Summary: Football clubs and others view the Opera's plan as a test case.

A plan for the Finnish National Opera to let in a paying crowd without the multiple additional separate entrances, toilets and refreshment stands currently required by the letter of the law has been approved by the State regional Administrative Agency (Avi) for Southern Finland.
 The Opera had earlier announced its plan to let in 300 people to the 1,300 capacity auditorium, but was not planning to seat them in separate blocks with their own entrances and toilets.
 As a consequence, the regional Avi asked Helsinki's municipal inspectors to check the arrangements complied with Covid restrictions. They gave the green light, partly because the opera house is such a big space for the 300 people allowed in.
 "In Avi's decision there is a reference to blocks, for example so that sanitary facilities can be used in staggered intervals so that it can be ensured that groups have the opportunity to remain separate," said the head of Helsinki's food safety unit,  Riikka Åberg .
 "Spaces should be cleaned and disinfected between the groups. It depends what kind of premises it is — what kind of toilets and how large the building is — there are different ways of complying with the Avi decision."
 The premiere of  Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci  is therefore going ahead as a double bill on Friday, as planned.
 Helsinki football club HJK view the Opera arrangements as a test case, and have announced that they plan to let in some 4,000 fans for their Europa League play-off second leg against Fenerbahce next Thursday.
 They have divided their Töölö stadium into 81 'blocks' and hope that will be enough to satisfy the Covid regulations.
 On Thursday, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health had said that Avi officials could exclude children and young people's hobbies from Covid restrictions, after suffering severe criticism when hobbies were apparently banned and then allowed again in the Helsinki region.
 On Friday morning the Culture minister Antti Kurvinen (Cen) said that he hoped Finland could ease all restrictions, following the lead of the United Kingdom.

Opera's Covid crowd plan approved


Summary: The pandemic has spurred isolation, anxiety and depression among immigrants and young people in Finland, studies find.

Almost a year and a half after its emergence, the coronavirus continues to have an effect on mental health, with issues particularly evident among children, young adults and immigrants.
 Covid stress is hitting people hardest in the 18-to-34 age group. That's according to a study conducted by IRO Research Oy on behalf of the non-governmental organisation Mieli Mental Health Finland.
 "We had expected that the elderly, who were forced to stay home, would suffer the most, but it was younger people — the ones going through their lives' most socially active phase, where you're making friendships for life, maybe even looking for a life partner — who were affected the hardest by the drastic changes to their lives," psychiatrist  Kristian Wahlbeck , director of development for Mieli Mental Health Finland, told Yle News.
 Language barriers grew during pandemic
 Immigrants in Finland have also been disproportionally affected. A study by the Finnish Youth Research Society in the autumn of 2020 studied the effects of Covid on everyday lives of 15-to-25-year-olds, including their interactions with healthcare and employment services.
 "When we looked at Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking youth compared to those who have another mother tongue, it was the non-Finnish and Swedish speakers that felt like their quality of life had deteriorated the most," said Wahlbeck.
 For  Amjad Sher , who arrived as a refugee from Pakistan in 2016 and is now a member of Finland's national cricket team, the past year has been a trying one.
 "When Covid started, I didn't know how to interact with my Finnish friends about the pandemic. Should I ask them, as regularly as I would before the pandemic, to meet and go out to dinner or sauna? I didn't know, and that was taking a toll on me," Sher explained.
 The isolation, Sher adds, took its toll not just on him personally, but on the immigrants that he works with through Miitti, a non-profit aimed at integrating new arrivals into Finnish society.
 "We don't really target a certain group of people, but most of our beneficiaries were the people who were on the verge of social isolation anyway. They were not just coming [to Miitti] to learn the language or to learn the dances; it was their safe zone," Sher explained, adding that when in-person meetings were banned, he was bombarded with messages from the programme's participants.
 "It was heartbreaking," he says.
 Amjad Sher Diego James
 With organised activities eliminated, many started spending time together any way they could.
 "A lot of people get annoyed by immigrants just hanging around in the market squares, but they can't see this from the immigrants' perspective," Sher said.
 "In the immigrant community we've had to build a new family again. This is how we deal with our trauma. Almost every one of us goes through post-traumatic things, and we kind of deal with it by being around each other all the time. When this was all hitting, and you couldn't see each other, the only thing that comes in are the traumas of the past," he explained.
 For many, the alternative to physical contact was connecting with a like-minded community online, a phenomenon that concerns Sher.
 "I know friends who were locked in for, probably, 128 days who created their own other reality where there were people who were listening to them. Now that the restrictions have been lifted, you can see how strangely they're behaving," he said.
 Mental health problems
 Throughout the last quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021, Mieli registered a significant increase in the number of people seeking help and support for mental distress. The deterioration in mental health was also noticeable in the amount of sick leave taken last autumn and during the spring of this year.
 "All other causes for sick leave actually decreased in 2020, except for anxiety disorder, which saw an increase. This is something we can attribute to the pandemic," Wahlbeck noted.
 Kristian Wahlbeck/THL THL
 Wahlbeck’s greatest concern is the lack of support and care geared towards children and young adults. The issue is not a reluctance to seek help, but the backlog in public healthcare, where the wait-times can, at worst, be several years. He said he is particularly concerned that care at an early stage, which could be considered preventative, is neglected.
 "There are those who currently have mild symptoms, but if we do not offer them the care they need for their depression and anxiety, we will notice, over time, a deterioration in their mental health. This could result in more sick leave and, at worst, an increase in suicides," Wahlbeck added.
 With the public healthcare sector unable to keep up with demand, Wahlbeck said he believes it is time for schools and employers to step up and provide more support. In regard to the pandemic, Wahlbeck encourages employers to offer their staff an opportunity to discuss their feelings about returning to work after a year of social distancing, both with each other and, if needed, with a professional.
 If a person is experiencing anxiety or depression, the first step is to speak to someone, he advises.
 "It’s important to talk about how you are feeling, maybe initially with friends or people you trust. That can already ease some of the anxiety. But if that does not help, one can contact our crisis hotline or come to our crisis centre, free of charge, or contact your own health care centre ( terveyskeskus )," says Wahlbeck.
 Sisu: A double-edged sword
 Known for their fortitude, Finns have relied on " sisu " (a Finnish term associated with stoic determination, bravery and resilience) to get through many historical crises. But to those working in mental health,  sisu  is a double-edged sword.
 "This idea that by clenching our teeth we can get through anything, it does help us move forward, but in regard to mental health — especially in light of a pandemic that is giving rise to a lot of challenges —  sisu  sometimes results in people being ashamed of their anxiety, and it keeps them from seeking help. It can have a detrimental effect on the stigmatisation of mental health care," said  Jaakko Mustakallio , head of the upcoming _Mielenturvaa-_campaign by PR firm Ellun Kanat, in collaboration withMieli Mental Health Finland and Mielenterveyspooli, which aims to place more responsibility on the workplace in providing mental health services for their employees.
 There is, however, an upside to Finnish fortitude.
 "The positive side of  sisu  is our resilience. We've made it through war and misery – we ought to get through a pandemic as well," Wahlbeck said.
 One of the reasons Finland had such a good handle on this global crisis, he adds, is the country's  high level of trust in authority  and  ability to separate disinformation from reputable news .
 "There was not the kind of spread of disinformation in Finland, as in perhaps other countries. We don’t have the same level of vaccine scepticism as in other places. And there is a high level of trust in authorities that endured throughout the entirety of the pandemic," says Wahlbeck.
 In terms of coming out of our socially distanced lives, Wahlbeck said there's light at the end of the tunnel, in part because of  Finland's vaccination rollout . He is also encouraged by the lowered threshold in seeking mental health care.
 "People are more willing than before to seek help, especially among younger generations. Their attitude toward mental health care is more accepting, so there has definitely been a positive shift," he said.
 "The pandemic has placed mental health back on the agenda, with people being able to discuss how they are doing emotionally. There is a new openness surrounding mental health, and that is an improvement," he concludes.

Immigrants, youth suffer more mental health issues during pandemic


Summary: The soldiers are tasked with helping the effort to evacuate Finnish citizens and embassy staff from Kabul.

Finland's President  Sauli Niinistö  has approved the government's proposal to send Finnish troops to the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul in order to help safeguard evacuations from the country, after a day of debate in the legislature including committee hearings, a session of the government and a full debate in parliament.
 MPs had been recalled from their summer break to discuss the deployment, as the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan made the evacuation of Finnish citizens and others more difficult.
 Legislators expressed broad support for the deployment at a plenary session of parliament on Friday afternoon, although a vote was not held. Discussion then moved to parliament's foreign affairs committee, before being passed to the government and then the president for final approval.
 Taliban dependence
 The troops are tasked with operating at the airport in Kabul, and will not venture beyond its immediate surroundings. Speaking on Friday evening, Niinistö said that the environment was less than ideal and success could not be guaranteed.
 "We have all seen that the situation is extremely unclear and therefore very difficult," said Niinistö.
 The president said that the situation was changing all the time, and the atmosphere was getting tenser.
 "For this reason any forecasts about the success of the evacuation operation are pretty difficult. It depends what kind of stance the Taliban takes in future. They have the keys to the solution in their hands."
 Streamline decisions
 Some MPs had suggested a more streamlined decision-making process might be better, but that argument was rejected by Left Alliance MP  Anna Kontula , who said parliamentary debate was a key part of democratic decision-making.
 Finns Party MP  Tom Packalén  criticised the decision by Finland not to evacuate security guards from Kabul, because they were employed by a sub-contractor rather than directly by the state. There are strong indications they could be in serious danger of Taliban reprisals.
 Green MP  Satu Hassi  joined that criticism, saying that the distinction seemed 'artificial'.
 Haavisto replied that the logistical challenges of operating in Kabul at the moment meant it was not possible to double the number of evacuees immediately.
 "But of course we listen to parliament, and parliament's views on this matter," said Haavisto.
 Unprecedented move
 Leading researcher  Charly Salonius-Pasternak  told Yle on Friday morning that the move to send forces to Kabul was unprecedented in recent Finnish history.
 "Finnish soldiers have been sent on crisis management operations and other missions for decades," said Salonius-Pasternak.
 "But sending armed Finnish troops without being part of an international crisis management operation, that is totally exceptional. But then so is the situation at Kabul airport."
 This week's All Points North podcast discussed the situation in Kabul and its impact on Finnish policy.
 You can listen to the full podcast using the embedded player here, via  Yle Areena ,  Spotify  or  Apple Podcasts  or on your usual podcast player using the  RSS feed .

Parliament and president approve Finnish troop deployment in Kabul


Summary: The foreign affairs ministry said Finland would evacuate more than the 240 people the country pledged to previously.

In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Minister for Foreign Affairs  Pekka Haavisto  (Green) said that embassy staff members hired by Finland had been evacuated from Afghanistan along with members of their families.
 As of Tuesday morning, Haavisto said Finland had facilitated the evacuation of more than 200 people from the country, noting that most of the evacuees were women and children.
 He said that around 40 people of that number were members of the EU delegation in Kabul.
 Haavisto concluded the tweet by saying that the operation would continue.
 Meanwhile, the foreign affairs ministry said Finland would evacuate more than the 240 people the country pledged to previously.
 Photos: Finnish troops assist in Afghanistan evacuations
 Meanwhile, the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) on Tuesday published photographs of  troops assisting  in the ongoing evacuation operation in Afghanistan.
 The photographs show soldiers escorting evacuees aboard a military aircraft at Kabul airport.
 Story continues after the photo
 Puolustusvoimat
 The pictures also show Finnish troops on patrol along a fence at the airport, lined with people waiting to be evacuated, sitting and standing along a wall.
 Story continues after the photo
 Puolustusvoimat
 The Finnish troops arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday and got to work right away, according to the FDF. Finland's operations in the country are limited to Kabul airport and its immediate surroundings, the Defence Forces added.
 Some of the Finnish soldiers have previously been deployed in Afghanistan on peacekeeping missions.

Finnish troops to continue in Afghanistan evacuation operations, minister says


Summary: The boy's parents secretly recorded staff racially abusing their child.

A school pupil in Ilmajoki has returned to class this week after  parents recorded staff racially abusing him  — but his mum will sit in on classes 'until trust is restored'.
 The boy stopped attending school last spring, when his behaviour deteriorated and his parents discovered he had been racially abused by staff.
 The boy's parents confirmed their suspicions when they hid a recording device in the boy's backpack, securing evidence of racist abuse of the boy by staff.
 Progress 'as planned'
 Ilmajoki's head of education  Janne Hakala  says the case has proceeded in the way he'd agreed with the parents.
 The municipality's education committee considered the case in early August, hearing from the parties involved and examining that plan.
 "Among other things, resources for special needs education have increased," said Hakala, adding that Ilmajoki has appointed a special needs education rector.
 In practice that's a change of job title that is not linked to the boy's case, according to Hakala. The person in that role had previously served as a learning support co-ordinator.
 Mother in attendance
 Hakala declined to discuss the details of the case, but the boy's mother said that the boy has been promised his own youth worker will assist in attending school.
 The boy's school year started late because the person selected for that job declined the position, and a new candidate is currently being sought.
 Yle is not naming the mother or child because of the sensitive nature of the case.
 This week the boy returned to school, however, with his mother alongside him on a temporary basis.
 Because the boy is not always able to say exactly what happened at school, his mother wants to be able to see for herself what takes place.
 "Until trust is restored," said the mother.
 "We have agreed that the boy is at school for 2-3 hours a day. We're taking each day as it comes."
 The parents hoped that their son would be able to switch to a school in neighbouring Kurikka, but the mother says that plan did not come to fruition.
 The new everyday school routine is therefore being built piece by piece in the old school in Ilmajoki.
 "We really hope that our son can return as quickly as possible to a normal school rhythm," said the mother.
 The parents have made an official complaint over their son's treatment to the regional administrative agency, and asked the police to investigate.
 Neither investigation has advanced much, with the police saying they were still deciding whether or not to launch a preliminary investigation.

Autistic pupil returns to Ilmajoki school accompanied by mum after racist abuse from staff


Summary: The prosecution initially sought day fines for the defendant, but the court issued a harsher ruling.

Western Uusimaa District Court has handed down a 30-day suspended sentence to an Espoo man for inciting ethnic hatred on social media. His posts threatened the lives of certain ethnic groups.
 The court's ruling in the case was exceptional, as it handed down a suspended prison sentence—a harsher punishment than the fines sought by the prosecution.
 The case hinged on the defendant's social media posts dating back to 2019, when he discussed killing immigrants in comments on a friend's public Facebook page. The man said he hoped violence would drive migrants out of Finland.
 In addition to threats, the man made derogatory comments about foreigners.
 Criminal law expert: "Ruling was well-founded"
 Criminal law professor  Kimmo Nuotio  said European legal practices differentiate hate speech that threatens violence from that which is insulting and derogatory in nature.
 Nuotio noted that the Western Uusimaa court acted in accordance with this custom.
 "The district court's ruling was merited and well-founded," he explained.
 The defendant still has the ability to appeal the court's decision. During the trial he denied committing any crime, claiming his posts fell under the right of freedom of speech.
 The court, however, found that the man could not claim freedom of speech for comments that were not not only violent hate speech but also reinforced negative stereotypes.
 Ninety-three percent of the time, courts in Finland hand out fines (ranging from 30-50 days) in cases involving the incitement of ethnic hatred, according to data compiled by Statistics Finland.
 In this case, the prosecution sought a punishment amounting to 50 day fines. But Western Uusimaa District Court found fines to be insufficient in light of the crime.
 "In this case, the incitement crime was more serious as the posts threatened the lives of people of certain ethnicity," explained Western Uusimaa District Court judge  Teemu Vanhanen .

Suspended sentence for man who incited ethnic hatred on Facebook


Summary: Krista Kiuru told Helsingin Sanomat on Saturday that Finland may need vaccination cover of 90 percent to fully reopen.

Family Affairs and Social Services Minister  Krista Kiuru  (SDP) told Helsingin Sanomat on Saturday that a surge in Covid cases this autumn would demand vaccination coverage of up to 90 percent for society to completely reopen.
 She said vaccine coverage in the country needs to rise in line with new infections.
 "The risk in opening up is that if we don't get this fourth wave under control, we'll need even higher vaccination cover to keep society open. Right now it appears that it's very difficult to achieve coverage of more than 85 percent. This threat is real," Kiuru told the daily.
 However earlier this week, Culture Minister  Antti Kurvinen  (Cen) said Finland should  continue to ease  coronavirus restrictions to hasten the return of society back to normality. He suggested Finland adopt the British model of abandoning coronavirus restrictions as the vaccination rollout progresses.
 The government previously outlined an 80 to 90 percent vaccination target for everyone 12 and older.
 Finland's institute for health and welfare (THL) reports that more than 70 percent of the population has received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

HS: Full reopening of Finland may require 90% vaccination cover, minister says


Summary: Finns Party leader Riikka Purra says Finland should target Afghan aid to the country's neighbouring regions.

Finns Party leader  Riikka Purra  on Saturday said Finland should channel Afghan aid efforts to the country's neighbouring regions dealing with an influx of people fleeing the Taliban.
 Speaking on Yle's Ykkösaamu talk show on Saturday, the leader of the opposition party claimed that Finnish military resources were being used to repatriate Afghans living in Finland who were visiting their former home country.
 "Finnish military is also securing the return of people awarded refugee status in Finland, but then returned to Afghanistan to vacation, or whatever," she said.
 Purra was, however, unable to specify how many individuals she was referring to in this statement.
 On Friday, Finland said it would  send troops to Kabul airport  to support the activities of its evacuation team there. Finnish troops are tasked with operating at the airport in Kabul. They will not venture beyond its immediate surroundings. Finland has said it aims to evacuate 240 individuals.
 Purra noted that Finnish authorities urged its citizens to leave Afghanistan weeks ago.
 "I wouldn't deploy the Finnish Defence Forces to pick people up now. They should leave on their own," she said.
 The party leader, however, noted that Finland should help locally hired staff at the mission in Kabul leave "if they risked their lives to serve Finland."
 Purra said she would like to see humanitarian aid targeted to areas surrounding Afghanistan, and that the party does not want to see the Afghanistan crisis spark a refugee influx to Europe.
 "Immigration is not the most efficient means of helping, neither from a financial nor a humanitarian standpoint," she said, adding that "Finland, the EU and the international community should focus on helping those fleeing Afghanistan to meet their basic needs in areas near Afghanistan."
 "Zero refugees"
 Purra has called for abolishing Finland's refugee quota. That said, the nationalist party does not support nearly doubling Finland's annual refugee quota from 1,050 to 2,000,  as proposed earlier this week  by Interior Minister  Maria Ohisalo  in light of the Afghanistan crisis.
 Purra moreover criticised Finland for being poorly prepared to handle any growth in asylum cases.
 Finland's current refugee quota is 1,050 people. The quota system shares out refugees among EU member states according to a calculation based on key data such as GDP, unemployment figures and national population.
 _This week's  All Points North podcast  discussed the situation in Kabul and its impact on Finnish policy._
 You can listen to the full podcast using the embedded player here, via  Yle Areena ,  Spotify  or  Apple Podcasts  or on your usual podcast player using the  RSS feed .

Finns Party affirms "zero refugees" policy amid Afghan crisis


Summary: Turku University Hospital has confirmed a measles infection in a young unvaccinated child.

Turku University Hospital (Tyks) said a child infected with measles visited the hospital's pediatric unit on Thursday, potentially exposing 100-150 people in different areas of the building.
 Possible exposure zones include the pediatric reception area on Thursday (19.8) between 12.15pm and 2.15pm as well as the Mäntymäen health clinic for infectious diseases on Wednesday (18.8) from 10am to noon.
 Tyks said it would contact individuals it deemed at risk. Those concerned about a potential exposure can also call the hospital at 02 313 0263.
 Transmitted via respiratory droplets, measles is a highly contagious viral disease and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms include sore eyes and sensitivity to light, high fever and a rash.
 In 2020, public health institute THL said 96 percent of infants in Finland had had the MMR vaccine protecting against measles, mumps and rubella, with three out of five municipalities reaching the 95-percent coverage rate critical for herd immunity.
 Measles symptoms usually begin about nine to 11 days after infection, according to the THL.
 Finland considers almost all of those born in or after 1975 to have received the MMR vaccination at a child health clinic or school. People born before 1965 are assumed to have had the disease.

Turku measles case exposes up to 150


Summary: Like many Finns, Katri Ylinen used to find getting absolutely hammered every weekend fun. Until it wasn't anymore.

Waking up head spinning with memory blanks to fill and regret creeping in is a Sunday morning ritual all too familiar for many people in Finland. However recent years have seen increasing numbers of people in the country making the choice to put an end to remorseful mornings by  drinking less or cutting alcohol out completely .
 But what is it like giving up booze when surrounded by heavy-drinking Finns? Can you still go out and have a good time?
 "I think that alcohol is and always has been an unusually important substance for Finns. There's even a phrase that I've heard so many times abroad that somebody drinks like a Finn, so I think that says something about the issue," said  Katri Ylinen ,co-founder of the sobercurious community  Darravapaa  (or hangover-free in English).
 Heavy drinking nation
 When it comes to alcohol consumption per capita per annum, Finland barely makes it to the top 10. But there is a lot of binge drinking, meaning that the times that people in the country choose to drink, they often go all in.
 Around half a million people in Finland drink well above the risk limit, according to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Nearly 80 percent of alcohol consumption is classed as hazardous use, which occurs when the drinking limit is exceeded or when alcohol is consumed by risk users.
 "From what I have been observing, in Finnish mainstream culture, we don't really have a concept of celebrating and partying without alcohol. Or at least if we do, it's very marginalised. And we love to sing karaoke, but only after we have had some drinks. And we love to take over the dance floor, but we need to get tipsy […] we need a few  rohkaisuryypyt  first," Ylinen explained.
 Rohkaisuryypyt  (translated as encouragement sips) refers to the act of sipping alcohol in order to gain the courage to engage in activities such as singing karaoke or going on the dancefloor.
 However, after a few years of partying and "getting hammered on a weekly basis," Ylinen decided in her late twenties that her booze habits got to the point where it was not "fun anymore." The hangovers and ensuing emotional downers were starting to take their toll.
 "It almost felt like a cultural shock to learn how to navigate my social life and emotions without alcohol. Despite being born and bred in Finland, suddenly, when I quit drinking alcohol, it felt like I was part of some very different culture. There was like a full on culture shock going on," Ylinen said.
 However, the process of overcoming personal demons and getting used to sobriety was only further hampered by external factors such as bar menus. Ylinen suddenly found herself in the position of having to specifically ask staff about non-alcoholic options. The 30-year-old said that still today, staff get awkward when asked about alcohol-free drinks. Ylinen also said that she rarely receives recommendations, and servers always ask whether she has a specific beverage in mind.
 "You are not always as respected as a customer if you don't drink alcohol at a Finnish bar," Ylinen said, adding "maybe the staff thinks that I am not going to bring as much profit because well, the people who drink non-alcoholics usually don't drink as fast or as much as alcohol-ingesting customers."
 Generation Dry
 Despite the challenges, Ylinen is not alone in her new sober lifestyle. Researchers have found that alcohol consumption among people in Finland has steadily declined since 2007. Almost one in three young adults in Finland said they don't drink alcohol at all, up from 16 percent in 2018 and 12 percent in 2016, according to a 2020 survey conducted for the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks industry.
 Ylinen described the phenomenon as a result of a combination of factors—alcohol having lost its cool status, parents having stricter attitudes towards drinking and younger people having "better and more cultured ways to rebel" nowadays with the opportunities introduced by social media.
 This is also something that Ylinen's support group addresses, predominantly through Instagram and Whatsapp. On its social media posts,  Darravapaa  will often remind its audience that people choose to stay alcohol-free for various reasons expanding beyond a troubled past with the substance or a pregnancy, Ylinen said.
 Green MP  Iiris Suomela  said that government policy has also played a significant role in the steady decline of alcohol's popularity. Finnish alcohol laws are among the strictest in Europe, with a 9pm purchase curfew and supermarket ban on selling products with alcohol content exceeding 5.5 percent. Products above the 5.5 volume mark are only available at state-owned Alko stores.
 "We've been fairly successful in terms of our policies. And of course, one important thing is being strict about not selling alcohol to people who look like minors, or who might pass the product on to minors," Suomela explained.
 Suomela further highlighted the big role the heavy taxation of alcohol plays.
 As for currenr alcohol-related laws, Suomela said she is "happy with the current state of affairs." Any suggestions of liberalising alcohol laws should be "carefully considered," especially in regard to the pandemic's strain on people's mental health, according to the MP.
 "I think the one big failure of current policymaking is that healthcare and social services don't always reach those who need it. I don't believe that we should make it harder to get alcohol in Finland," Suomela added.
 Going mainstream
 But what should people drink instead? Suomela and Ylinen agree that it is high time Finnish bars and restaurants catered to sober and sober curious customers in a similar way that the needs of vegetarian and vegan options have been increasingly incorporated onto menus in recent years.
 "Also, I think it's very important that the options are visibly available, because that lowers the threshold, and that puts you in an equal situation with other customers. I don't know if it needs to be labelled 'non-alcoholics,' but of course it's much easier to spot the non-alcoholic drinks on the menu if they are clearly marked," Ylinen underlined.
 The sobercuriosity advocate said that customer demand for more sophisticated alcohol-free products is growing and that businesses should get on board by having a good selection of non-alcoholics available.
 "I think that we should just normalise the idea that a non-alcohol drinking customer is just as valuable a customer as someone who drinks," Ylinen said.
 Workplaces and other organisations should be more inclusive by offering non-alcoholic options at office parties, Suomela added.
 "It's a matter of equality between people in different situations in their life. So it's important to consider that there might be a worker or another member of the group who needs that non-alcoholic option just like with vegetarian or vegan people."
 Progress, according to Ylinen, is "slow, but it's happening."
 Perhaps, Finnish society as a whole is indeed beginning to turn the page on its relationship with heavy drinking and scepticism towards sobriety or moderation.
 "I think that slowly we are, we're maybe getting a little bit rid of the idea that an alcohol-free person is like this boring, dry person. We're not dry. We still like to drink, just not alcohol," the sober curious influencer concluded.

Does sober curiosity fit into Finnish party culture?


Summary: Finland says it's prepared to offer Covid booster shots for the fully inoculated early next year.

Health officials in Finland have started preparing for a Covid vaccine booster campaign this winter, though the government has yet to make a final decision on whether such doses are needed.
 The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health said there was no rush to administer third doses at the moment, as the vaccine appears to retain its effectiveness well.
 "There are no signs now that the efficacy would have dwindled. If monitoring indicates that booster doses are necessary, then that's how we'll proceed,"  Taneli Puumalainen  of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health said.
 Puumalainen noted that the coronavirus situation this autumn would show whether a third dose is needed after full vaccination.
 Should Finland decide to roll out a new mass inoculation campaign against coronavirus, the boosters would initially target vulnerable individuals.
 "If there's reason to administer third shots, then we'll start with residents at elder care facilities, the elderly and individuals with chronic conditions," he explained.
 While Finland faced slow deliveries of initial vaccine doses, Puumalainen said he did not believe logistical issues would impede booster shipments.
 Finland is a part of the EU's joint vaccine purchasing effort.

Finland plans Covid booster jabs over winter


Summary: A physicians' interest group says public healthcare should become more attractive to draw doctors.

Finland's public healthcare sector is missing around one thousand doctors. The Finnish Medical Association (FMA) says the answer is not only to train more physicians, but also to make working in the public sector more attractive.
 The results of an FMA survey polling employers indicate that Finland is lacking some 300 doctors in primary care as well as 600 specialists.
 Tuija Rajaniemi , chair of the FMA, said public healthcare needs more funds to recruit doctors.
 Finland's doctor shortage is not a new issue. Previous debate on the topic has focused on the need to expand medical schools. But the FMA said the answer is not as simple as adding medical students to the pipeline, as physicians finish specialising around 15 years after starting their medical studies.
 The FMA points out that the number of doctors has increased by a third in the past two decades. Rajaniemi said the crux of the matter is that many perceive working in the public sector as demanding and unattractive.
 "We need more support personnel, like secretaries, in the public sector. A doctor's job should also be flexible," Rajaniemi said.
 While the private sector offers doctors higher salaries, Rajaniemi said it was not entirely a question of money. She said there was more flexibility in the private sector, where doctors have more control over their working hours and patient load.
 Finland's doctor shortage also has a geographic component. Small municipalities often struggle to attract highly specialised healthcare workers.
 Too few doctors means longer patient queues. The government programme calls for adding 1,000 doctors to primary care to improve people's access to healthcare. Rajaniemi, however, said money has not been allocated to educate more doctors.
 "If Finland says it needs more doctors then we need to have a discussion about whether the country is prepared to allocate more than nine percent of GDP for healthcare.
 Finland and Iceland are the only Nordic countries using less than ten percent of GDP to fund healthcare, according to 2018 figures from public health institute THL.

Finland faces public sector doctor shortage


Summary: Finland has now evacuated some 110 people from Afghanistan, Finnish media reports.

As in much of the rest of the world, Afghanistan has a prominent place in Finnish media on Monday morning.
 Finnish troops arrived in Kabul on Saturday to support the Foreign Ministry's relief team at Kabul airport as the situation there grows increasingly dire, and all the papers report Sunday evening's press briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the operation.
 Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  (Green) said evacuees include the Finnish mission's current and former locally hired staff, reports  Helsingin Sanomat .
 "They are coming with their families. The youngest evacuee is a baby just a few weeks old," Haavisto said on Sunday evening, adding that about half of Finnish citizens or permanent residents in Afghanistan have been brought to safety.
 The Foreign Ministry stressed that the chaotic situation at the airport remains the main challenge faced by Finland and the other evacuating countries.
 "At times people at the airport have been trampled to death. In these instances we can't in good faith invite people to come to the airport," Haavisto said.
 Enticing commuters
 Some customers taking advantage of Helsinki Region Transport's campaign offering half price season tickets have been debited full price, reports Swedish-language daily  Hufvudstadsbladet .
 "Users purchased 21,800 season tickets on the first day of the campaign, with 11,600 of them being first-time in-app purchases," said HSL spokesperson  Johannes Laitila  of the campaign aimed at bolstering passenger volumes that have dwindled during the pandemic.
 He said customers using an earlier version of the HSL app have been overcharged.
 "We encourage everyone who was incorrectly debited to fill in a form on the HSL website for reimbursement," Laitila said.
 The discount is, however, only available to HSL app users, as travel cards aren't equipped to accommodate temporary price adjustments, he added.
 Say what?
 Finnish has a reputation as a difficult language, but that said, many common English words also stump Finnish speakers.
 Hiace, delete and Fairy—these are some of the most common tongue twisters for Finns.
 Ilta-Sanomat 's compilation of tricky foreign words also included U2, Levi's, Halloween, butter chicken and Weetabix, which the tabloid said Finns can mostly manage by using Finnish pronunciation.

Monday's papers: Afghan evacuations, post-pandemic public transport and weird words


Summary: The Hungarian workers contacted the police as they said their zero-hours contracts did not reflect promises made to them by a Finnish staffing agency.

Police have closed a preliminary investigation into the employment conditions of foreign berry pickers at a farm in northern Finland.
 The  probe was launched last year  after the workers complained that the zero-hours contracts they were offered did not reflect the promises made to them by a Finnish staffing agency, which also deducted a portion of their pay.
 Chief Inspector  Nina Similä  said the police and the Regional State Administrative Agency (Avi) of Northern Finland visited the farm in July 2020 and found 18 Hungarian employees present at the time of the inspection.
 Some of the pickers had already tried to leave, she added, and the police and the local authorities decided to proceed with the preliminary investigation as a suspected case of workplace discrimination.
 The pickers had argued that the staffing agency was in breach of contract, as there wasn't enough work to go around for everyone in the group.
 However, police found no grounds to substantiate this claim and they have closed the case.

Police take no action over berry pickers' zero hours contract


Summary: Some single-use plastic items, like straws, are banned in Finland as of Monday.

Finland has ratified an EU directive banning certain single-use plastic products that went into force in July. The so-called  Single‑Use Plastics Directive  aims to reduce the volume and impact of plastic products on the environment.
 The farewell to banned plastic items will not likely hugely impact people's daily lives, as stores have already been stocking alternative products and the outlawed disposables can be sold off until they're gone.
 Plastic-stemmed cotton buds are now made out of paper or wood. In the run-up to the ban, fast food restaurants have swapped out plastic straws for paper ones.
 The plastic products affected by the ban include plastic straws, utensils and plastic-covered disposable plates, plastic ear swabs, plastic balloon sticks, plastic cocktail or drink mixing sticks as well as single use oxo-degradable plastic products and some types of polystyrene, including various food packaging.
 As of Monday, some products, like tampons, sanitary pads, cups, tobacco filter products and wet wipes, must also clearly indicate that they contain plastic. The marking consists of an image of a turtle to illustrate the aim of the directive is to combat plastic pollution, particularly litter that ends up in waterways.
 An Yle investigation earlier this year found that Finland  ended up burning most of the discarded plastic  that was sorted by households for recycling.
 The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) is responsible for implementing the directive.

Plastic straw ban comes into force