Chairman of Parliament’s Defence Committee, Jussi Niinistö says there was no link between Finnish Hornet jets on a reconnaissance mission and Russian aircraft that invaded Finnish air space Tuesday. Niinistö said it’s not common practice for the defence force to provide advance information about such recon flights....
Burglaries of homes and cottages rose in the first half of 2014, according to statistics compiled by the Finnish Police Board. The portion of property theft by foreign criminal gangs is growing, as is the number of break-ins in southern Finland compared to the rest of the country. ...
The Finnish Refugee Council has granted Finland's first award for a Neighbourly Deed of the Year. The award coincides with the observation of European Neighbour’s Day Friday....
Hassan Blasim, who has lived in Finland since 2004, is the first Arabic writer to win the prestigious international literary award, which was given to his second collection of short stories "The Iraqi Christ" at a ceremony in London last night. ...
Finnish travelers brought home more than 80 million litres of booze last year, according to a report by the National Institute of Welfare and Health THL. ...
Finland’s Valmet Automotive is ramping up production of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class at its plant in Uusikaupunki following strong global demand. The company says it is launching a two-shift operation at the plant following a recruiting campaign earlier this year. The Uusikaupunki plant now has around 300 new car builders, all of whom have been trained for their profession at the plant during the spring....
Finland has received recognition in an international comparison of school commutes among children and young people. The comparison shows that 75 per cent of Finnish children and young people make their school journey on foot, by bicycle or in some other way that requires physical activity, if the distance is less than 3 kilometres. In addition to Finland, the comparison included 13 countries, of which...
The rights to Finnish author Salla Simukka 's Snow White Trilogy have been sold to 43 countries, most recently to the Faroe Islands. Prior to that, the rights to the trilogy have been sold to countries such as the US, the UK, Japan, Brazil, China and Indonesia. In Nordic countries, the first book of trilogy As Red as Blood was launched in Norway in March this year, and the Danish and Swedish editions...
An extensive co-operation project has been launched to make Tampere a model city for energy-efficient, low-carbon building construction. The parties involved in the project are the City of Tampere, the Tampere University of Technology, the Tampere University of Applied Sciences, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Finnish Forest Research Institute. The project’s objective is to promote...
Just over ten years ago many still harboured doubts about whether Finland could ever be home to international fashion. Long before the noughties, the Finnish fashion industry had shrunk down to a tiny sliver of its former self. No-one ever referred to the “Finnish fashion industry”. Instead they spoke of the Finnish clothing industry. Finns designed and manufactured clothing that was fashionable and...
Finland appears to be close to breaking EU rules on economic governance. According to the National Audit Office the country’s weaker than anticipated economic performance may have pushed it over the limit of EU regulations governing member states' public debt and budget deficits....
The government accepted a bill that would allow Finland to introduce a witness protection programme. The Interior Ministry says the number of cases requiring witness protection precautions has increased along with a rise in organised crime....
Rich with wildlife, the Porkkala peninsula hosted one of the country's first national parks, founded in the 1930s. It lost that status when the Soviet Union leased Porkkala for use as a naval base for 12 years after the Second World War. Activists says it is high time the area regained its park status. ...
Air traffic records show the Russian plane that violated Finnish airspace on Tuesday near 6 pm returned to cross the Finnish flight border again after 10 pm that same evening. A sonic boom was heard in the air at this time, likely the sound of a Finnish Hornet jet fighter breaking the sound barrier. ...
The Climate Leadership Council, launched on Wednesday by SITRA and 6 large companies, encourages cleantech innovations and other ideas that allow businesses and individuals to be forerunners in slowing down climate change. ...
Thursday’s dailies look at government’s move to cream off dividends from majority state-owned companies, habitation trends in Helsinki and Turku and Tuesday’s breach of Finnish air space by Russian jets....
Finland moved up two spots in the annual competitiveness report compiled by the Swiss global business school IMD to reach 18th position in the 2014 ranking. In spite of the slight improvement Finland placed well behind all but one of its Nordic neighbours....
An Yle survey testing voter support for Finnish parties in upcoming European Parliament elections finds that the National Coalition is set to become the biggest winner with nearly 23 percent support from voters. The poll shows the Social Democrats looking to become the biggest loser....
Helsinki City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday night to allow the new museum, which will be located adjacent to Lasipalatsi, to go ahead....
The Family Federation of Finland says it’s concerned that store workers often refuse to sell condoms to young teens, particularly boys. The organisation says the negative attitude may be undermining the work of sexual health educators trying to demystify condom use....