"Olympic swimmer Ari-Pekka Liukkonen has been named as Finland's sports role model of the year. 2014 was a monumental year for Liukkonen as he came out in the build up to the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia to protest the country's position on LGBT rights.

''Finland is warming fast – faster than scientists ever predicted and at nearly twice the rate of any other country on Earth – according to new research from the University of Eastern Finland and the Finnish Meteorological Society. The researchers found that over the past 166 years Finland's average monthly temperatures increased by two degrees Celsius, whereas temperatures over the rest of the planet have increased by only .8 degrees Celsius on average.

"SHARK CAGE is a made-for-TV poker event produced by online poker giant PokerStars. The TV-show pits poker pros with celebrities and members of the general public in a series of single-table poker tournaments with the eventual winner taking home 1,000,000 dollars (more than 800,000 euros). The show also offers up a few twists and turns along the way like a 'shot clock' and a 'shark cage' concept, where a player spends time 'behind bars' if they fold the best hand on the river.

"Celebrations are taking place today across Finland, the beautiful Nordic country of lakes and islands as the 97th anniversary of the day Finns declared independence from Russia is marked. It took a further month for the Russians to acknowledge this formally in January 1918, but for the Finns, with a long history of being part of either Sweden or Russia, enough was enough and December 6th, 1917, is the day Finland left the Russian Empire and became independent.

"Finland's parliament narrowly approved a bill legalising gay marriage on Friday, 28 November after months of heated debate and controversy. Yes, you read that correctly. Finland, often regarded as one of the most inclusive and progressive countries in the world, has only now approved same-sex marriage for its citizens. In the US, by contrast, 35 states have already legalised gay marriage, with same-sex marriage bans recently falling in Arkansas and Mississippi.

"VERY FEW places in the world have given rise to truly global brands: Evian and Cadillac in France are two. But possibly the most famous of them all is Nokia in Finland.

Not that you would know it from visiting the town. The centre consists of a parade of rather bleak shops, an apartment block that would be at home in Soviet-era Estonia and the Bossburger 'meathouse'. This is the sort of town from which teenagers dream of escaping.

"THE FINNISH Central Board of Taxes (CBT) today [16 November] declared that exchanges were providing 'banking services.' The commission rates charged by exchanges were, therefore, in accordance with the EU VAT Directive, exempt from VAT (Value Added Tax).

EU Directives, such as the VAT Directive, specify certain goals to be achieved by member states. The member states are granted considerable discretion as to how they will achieve these goals (see Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). 'EU Regulations,' in contrast, specify both the goals and the means by which states must achieve them.

"...EVERY NOVEMBER, Finland's top papers clamour to dig through the data, tracking the rise and fall of the fortunes of politicians and businessmen, while Finnish tabloids capitalize on the public disclosures to peek into the lives of the country's celebrities. In past years, investigative work based off the annual release of data has exposed tax-dodging cabinet ministers and sports stars with offshore tax havens.

"WESTERN COUNTRIES are at the gates of a new cold war with Russia, sparked by the Ukraine crisis and a continuing failure to grasp the depth and seriousness of Vladimir Putin's grievances with the US and EU, the Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, has warned.

Speaking to the Guardian at his official residence before Thursday's conference in Helsinki attended by the UK prime minister, David Cameron, and Nordic and Baltic state leaders, Niinistö said Finland had a long tradition of trying to maintain friendly relations with Russia. But it would not be pushed around.

"Ever watched a movie and wished that was your life – or at least your vacation?

Now it can be, just as long as your fantasies involve Finland. Over-the-top dreams-to-reality filmmaking is the latest luxury travel offering to come out of the Nordic nation.

Called 'The Hollywood Experience,' the custom-designed travel concept was created by Janne Honkanen, owner of high-end travel company Luxury Action.