Source: Our world in data
In recent years, global powers have clearly distanced themselves from the rules-based order and moved closer back to the times of power politics. The corona crisis has proven, at the latest, that we need multilateralism and international cooperation in order to survive.
Pedestrians in Helsinki on 27 October 2020. (Teemu Salonen – Lehtikuva)
TWO YEARS has passed since a pedestrian last died in a road traffic accident in Helsinki, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
Dennis Pasterstein, the superintendent in charge of traffic safety at Helsinki Police Department, on Monday tweeted that his own notes indicate that the last traffic accident that claimed the life of a pedestrian in the city occurred in April 2018.
Members of the media waited for the government to wrap up its talks about the coronavirus epidemic on the steps of the House of the Estates in Helsinki on Sunday, 3 May 2020. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)
THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Sanna Marin is set to uphold the state of emergency declared over the coronavirus pandemic, reports Iltalehti.
Sources interviewed yesterday evening by the daily indicated that the government is eager to retain the possibility to order health care professionals to work and impose restrictions on internal movement if the epidemic exacerbates rapidly in some areas of Finland.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against Finland in a case brought to it by the daughter of an Iraqi man who was allegedly shot dead shortly after being denied asylum and leaving Finland. (Frederick Florin – AFP/Lehtikuva)
THE MIDDLE-AGED Iraqi man who until recently was believed to have been killed is suspected of aggravated fraud and aggravated forgery by the National Bureau of Investigation (KRP), reports YLE.
YLE on Thursday wrote that it has obtained information indicating that the man is believed to have staged his own death in Baghdad, Iraq, in December 2017.
Social distancing was observed as people celebrated May Day in downtown Helsinki on 30 April 2020. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)
THE NEW CORONAVIRUS is presently estimated to have a reproduction rate (R0) of 0.8 in Finland, according to Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP).
The reproduction rate refers to the average number of people that contract the virus from a single carrier, with a rate lower than one thereby indicating that the epidemic is decelerating rather than accelerating.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats would receive almost a quarter of the vote if the parliamentary elections were held today, finds a poll commissioned by Alma Media and Iltalehti. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)
AN OPINION POLL by Alma Media and Iltalehti shows that the Social Democratic Party has consolidated its status as the most popular political party in coronavirus-era Finland.
Support for the Social Democrats, the poll found, surged by three percentage points to 24.1 per cent between March and April. The Finns Party, by contrast, saw its approval rating drop from 20.1 to 18.8 per cent, after dominating virtually all opinion polls before the pandemic.
Finnish children in early-childhood and years one to nine of basic education will return to classrooms starting on 14 May 2020, the government announced on Wednesday, 29 April 2020. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)
FINNISH TEACHERS have expressed their puzzlement with the government-issued instructions for bringing pupils back to the classroom as of 14 May.
The government announced the lifting of the weeks-long ban on in-person teaching earlier this week, advising education providers to, for instance, re-organise teaching environments more spaciously and utilise excess facilities to avoid unnecessary physical contact between pupils and staff.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin (left) and Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo on Monday announced the government will begin relaxing the measures adopted to fight the new coronavirus on 1 June 2020. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)
THE FINNISH GOVERNMENT on Monday said it will begin gradually tearing down the restrictions adopted to slow down the spread of the new coronavirus on 1 June.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) announced in a press conference late yesterday evening the ban on public gatherings will be relaxed to apply to gatherings of more than 50 instead of 10, while cafés and restaurants are to be allowed to re-open in a “controlled and step-by-step” manner.
I started my job as the Minister of Defence in June 2019. It has been almost a year now. Then, almost a year ago, I couldn't have imagined what the situation would be now.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s (THL) head office in Helsinki on 21 April 2020. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)
NOT MANY PEOPLE in Uusimaa appear to have developed an immunity against the disease caused by the new coronavirus, suggests a new study conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
THL on Wednesday published the first results of the study of the prevalence of coronavirus antibodies in the 1.65-million-resident region, admitting that the low prevalence came as a surprise.
A glimpse inside a model facility tent earlier today (Image: Lehtikuva)
HELSINKI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (HUS) has unveiled prototypes of new emergency hospital facilities designed to meet surging demand should a sudden spike in COVID-19 hospitalization materialize. The new facilities are designed to be quickly constructed in underground car parks around Helsinki.
Cherry blossoms in bloom in Roihuvuori (Image: Lehtikuva)
THE JAPANESE CHERRY BLOSSOM TREES in Helsinki's Roihuvuori neighbourhood have begun to bloom, offering a colourful vista that is rarely seen in other parts of Finland.
Member of the Retuperä VPK orchestra perform at Aalto University (Image: Lehtikuva)
ANNUAL VAPPU CELEBRATIONS ARE NOW UNDERWAY across the Finnish capital, with disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic having already had a clear impact on the annual holiday, as city officials urge the public to stay at home throughout the coming days. You can see some select photos of May Day-eve celebrations in Helsinki by scrolling down.
It may take the Finnish economy 20 years to recover from the blow delivered by the new coronavirus, says Risto Murto, the CEO of Varma. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)
THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK could wipe out 20 years of growth from the Finnish economy, states Risto Murto, the CEO of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company.
“There is a risk this won’t end well,” he wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “Finland’s GDP (real) will drop below the levels of 2008. If the recovery is as subdued as it was from the financial crisis, we’re about to miss out on economic growth for 20 years.”
The Finnish basic school system was created because we wanted to ensure that the whole nation would receive an adequate education. By affording education to all students, regardless of their family background, we wanted to enable every student to find employment and pursue his or her dreams. At the time, the political right opposed the introduction of basic school. Today, we know that Finnish basic school is a success story admired around the world.
A Finnair aircraft with its turbine engines covered with red canvas sat grounded at Helsinki Airport on 14 April 2020. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)
FINNAIR is preparing an equity issuance in response to the losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Finnish majority state-owned airline reported yesterday that its operating result fell 95 million euros into the red between January and March, following a 16-per-cent drop in revenue to 561 million euros.
