Finland's Maritime Traffic At Growing Risk

Maritime traffic experts are demanding that the state provides more funding for the monitoring and management of the growing ship traffic in the Gulf of Finland. According to the Finnish Maritime Administration, dozens of Finland's coastal radar and radio facilities are in need of immediate replacement.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id89306.html

Finnish Court: Man Intentionally Infected Five Women with HIV

A district court has ruled that a Rovaniemi man intentionally infected five women with HIV. The ruling furthermore said that he is guilty of attempting to infect several others.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id89270.html

New Fertility Laws in Finland Drive Patients Abroad

Some Finnish patients receiving fertility treatments have taken their fertilised embryos abroad to Estonia or Latvia for treatment. Last autumn a new law came into force in Finland, which prohibits the anonymous donation of reproductive cells. The law has meant that embryos created by unidentified donors can no longer be used.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88917.html

Minister Calls for Doping Investigation in Finland

The Ministry of Education, which oversees sports, has called for the Finnish Ski Federation to respond to claims that Finnish cross-country skiers used doping, i.e. performance-enhancing drugs, in the 1990s.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88993.html

Finnish Police Commissioner's Use of Official Car Probed

A preliminary investigation is being launched against National Police Commissioner Markku Salminen, following a probe by the Interior Ministry. According to the Espoo district prosecutor, the initial probe did not rule out the possibility that Salminen may have misused his official car by driving between his work and home. He is being investigated for breach of official duties.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88674.html

Finnish FM Disagrees With PM on Olympics Attendance

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb says that under current circumstances, he personally would not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, noting that "human rights go before sports".

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88748.html

Finland's Oil Spill Response Insufficient

Current measures for oil spill prevention and response on the Gulf of Finland are insufficient, according to a report by rescue departments, the WWF, and Finland's Environmental Administration.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88667.html

Finnish Union Criticises Proposed Hike in Day Care Costs

The Association of Kindergarten Teachers in Finland has criticised the government's proposal to increase day care fees. The trade union argues that the planned hike will undermine the position of families with children, and weaken children's rights to public day care. Members of the union say that the proposal could result in parents who earn less than average salaries having to pay the most for day care.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88477.html

Finnish Report: Depression Costs Society 1bn a Year

The costs of clinical depression to Finnish society are higher than previously thought -- about one billion euros annually, according to a report broadcast Thursday by YLE television's current affairs programme "Silminnäkijä" ("Eyewitness").

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88286.html

Finnish Gunman Spent Months Planning Massacre

Police investigators say that Pekka-Eric Auvinen, the 18-year-old pupil who shot dead eight people and and took his own life at the Jokela School near Helsinki in late November, had been planning the attack at least since March 2007. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) released about 600 pages of investigation material on Thursday. Police also reported that Auvinen had been a victim of school bullying from the age of 10.

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Jokela+gunman+spent+months+planning+massacre/1135235647535

Finnish Marine Safety Boss Fired After Scuffle

The Finnish Maritime Administration has fired its Director of Maritime Safety after he was involved in a scuffle with a security guard.Paavo Wihuri was dismissed by the administration's board following an incident last July when he refused to show his identity card to a security guard after working hours and shoved him out of his office.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88153.html

Finnish Universities Face Cuts in Art and Cultural Study Spots

Fewer students in Finland may be granted university study spots in humanities and cultural fields. For example, by 2012 the number of students majoring in culture and arts is to be reduced by 50 percent.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id88103.html

Inflation Surge Pushes Prices up in Finland

Prices in Finland rose by an average 0.9 per cent in March, according to Statistics Finland. Prices rose very quickly. If the rate were to stay the same all year, the annual inflation rate would reach 11.3 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent for last year. The rate would be the highest seen in Finland since the 1970s. Under the price stability goals of the European Central Bank, inflation is seen to be under control if it is no more than two per cent a year.

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Inflation+surge+pushes+prices+up+by+nearly+one+per+cent+in+March/1135235591571

Helsinki Immigrant Services Backlogged

Police services for immigrants are suffering serious backlogs. In recent months immigrants have had to queue for hours at a time simply to file applications for residence. Police say the slowdown is the result of a sharp rise in immigration.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87991.html

Leader of Finnish National Coalition Party Called a Turncoat

Former Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva, who was forced to resign after a furore involving about 200 text messages that he sent to an erotic dancer, says that his departure was prompted by a sudden change of heart by National Coalition Party Chairman Jyrki Katainen. In a newspaper interview, he said that US President Bill Clinton was caught for something considerably worse than sending text messages, and he was not removed from office.

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Kanerva+calls+party+leader+Katainen+a+turncoat/1135235566685

Finland: Jet Fuel Spills into Kemi River

A tanker truck that skidded off the road near Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland has spilled 20,000 litres of jet fuel, most of which flowed into the waters of the Kemi River. The truck was carrying around 50,000 litres of the jet fuel. Emergency service units at the scene blocked off a ditch leading to the river in an effort to prevent more of the spill from polluting the still partly ice-covered waters. Although this type of fuel quickly evaporates, it does pose a hazard to river wildlife.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87989.html

Some Foreigners Pay Big Deposits for Phone Contracts in Finland

Persons with foreign backgrounds may have to pay deposits of up to 600 euros before a Finnish mobile phone operator takes them on as a customer, reports the newspaper Savon Sanomat. DNA, Saunalahti and Elisa can ask for deposits of hundreds of euros. The money, which they can hold onto for up to a year, does not collect interest.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87912.html

Finnish Social & Health Care Fees Up in August?

The government wants to raise social and health care fees sharply next autumn.Under the cabinet's proposal, some fees would rise by 16.6 percent as of early August. For instance the maximum fee for child day care would rise from 200 euros to 233 euros. Meanwhile some other fees would decline.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87644.html

Diplomat Staff Suspected of Abusing Workers in Finland

The staff of two embassies in Finland are suspected of keeping female workers in nearly slave-like conditions. The newspaper Keskisuomalainen reports that authorities discovered two cases where domestic workers' freedoms of movement were severely limited, and they were forced to work exceptionally long days. The women managed to escape and alert the authorities of their plight.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87465.html

Witness Intimidation on the Rise in Finland

In as little as a year, the number of cases necessitating witness protection by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has doubled. Hundreds of witnesses or victims are threatened each year. It's becoming more common for witnesses to testify from behind screens and some even resolve to changing their identities.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87386.html

Finnish Teachers: Pupil Behaviour Worsening

More than half of Finnish teachers say that pupils' behaviour has become worse during their careers, according to a survey carried out by the Trade Union of Education in Finland and the magazine Kotiliesi. Classroom teachers who responded to the poll said pupils aged seven to 12 are more restless, self-centred and have shorter attention spans.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87387.html

Finland's FIIA Director Gets Verbal Warning for Alcohol Use

The board of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) has handed the institute's director, Raimo Väyrynen, a verbal warning concerning his use of alcohol. The board considered complaints from the institute's staff on Tuesday. Last week, YLE reported that several FIIA employees had complained about Väyrynen's behaviour to the board. Several of the complaints mentioned alcohol use.

http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id87437.html

Street Violence More Common in Finland's Cities

Violence has risen 20 percent in the past five years in Finland's larger cities. Violence has risen particularly in the cities of Vantaa and Turku. Recently, the Oulu Police noticed an alarming trend in the increase of assault crimes -- and decided to thoroughly examine crime statistics. Oulu has more unemployed youths that rely on assistance from the state than the rest of the country. In their study however, the police found that violence has risen particularly in the cities of Vantaa and Turku over the past five years.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id86996.html

Crime Up in Finland

Crime went up slightly last year from the year before. According to Statistics Finland, 815,000 crimes were reported to police in 2007. The regions of Etelä-Savo and Southwest Finland saw the largest relative increases in crime. The data includes 238,000 traffic violations.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87100.html

Battered Babies on the Increase in Finland

More and more infants are turning up at hospitals with injuries that authorities suspect are caused by violence. According to research published in the Finnish Medical Journal, enquiries into cases of suspected infant abuse in south western Finland have nearly tripled over the last few years.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id87120.html

Record Number of Drowning Victims So Far This Year

A record number of individuals have drowned in Finland so far this year. Finland's Environmental Administration warns people that ice in Finland is not safe to walk on, with the exception of Lapland.

http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id87251.html

Finnish hunters Suspected of Animal Cruelty in Estonia

A Finnish group of hunters on a trip to the Estonian island of Saaremaa has been accused by an Estonian animal welfare group of animal cruelty and violating the country's law on hunting. In a video shown on the Estonian television channel TV3, a Finnish-Estonian hunting party, who appear to be intoxicated, have caught a young wild boar, which an Estonian man pulls by the ears. The animal squeals and tries to escape, as the hunters' dogs attack it.

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Finnish+hunters+suspected+of+animal+cruelty+in+Estonia/1135235217977

Finland: HIV Trial Begins in Rovaniemi

The district court in Rovaniemi has charged a man with deliberately infecting, or attempting to infect, 19 women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The prosecutor says five of the women have been infected with HIV. In the case of the infected women, the man is facing aggravated assault charges.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id86855.html

Finnish Nokia Refuses to Return German Grant

Mobile phone maker Nokia has refused to refund grants it received from Germany when it established a factory in Bochum. The finance minister of the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen had demanded that the company pay back the grants it received, plus interest: a total of 41 million euros.

http://www.yle.fi/news/id86775.html