An aerial view shows the site where Google's data centre is set to be built in Muhos, Finland, on September 29, 2026. Photo: Alessandro Rampazzo / AFP / Lehtikuva

Google has defended its decision to clear hundreds of hectares of forest for data centres in Finland before completing environmental assessments, claiming it believed authorities had agreed to the work. The dispute has also reached local government, where a senior building inspector has taken leave after alleging that she faced dismissal over comments to the media.

The company cleared approximately 330 hectares in Muhos, northern Finland, and carried out work at another planned data centre site in Kajaani.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (centre left) at a meeting of the Finnish Association of Political Journalists in Helsinki on 13 October 2026. Photo: Markku Ulander / Lehtikuva

Finland's government is considering a €60 million package to help motorists and transport businesses cope with rising fuel costs, but disagreements between coalition parties over how to reduce petrol and diesel prices have delayed an agreement.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Tuesday that negotiations had narrowed the proposed support package to approximately €60 million, with measures aimed at commuters, transport companies and other groups affected by fuel prices.

Photo: Håkan Dahlström

Telecommunications operator Telia Finland has announced restructuring negotiations that could result in the elimination of 355 positions as part of a wider reorganisation affecting approximately 900 jobs across its Nordic and Baltic operations.

The company said on Monday, 12 October, that around 2,050 positions in Finland would fall within the scope of the negotiations, which are expected to last six weeks.

The Helsinki branch of the nationwide Valteri organisation, which includes Valteri School Ruskis and the Swedish-language Skilla school. Photo: Valteri

A state-funded school renovation project in Helsinki has become the centre of a labour exploitation scandal involving unpaid wages, false employment records and a subcontractor allegedly managed from an Estonian prison by a man convicted of involvement in organised crime.

Finland's Construction Union (Rakennusliitto) identified the suspected violations at the Valteri Ruskis school in Ruskeasuo, which serves children and young people requiring special educational support.

Crew members from a vessel struck by drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone arrive at the port of Varna after being rescued on October 6, 2026. Photo: AFP / Lehtikuva

Eleven sailors are missing after drone strikes hit two cargo ships off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast on Tuesday, 13 October, sinking one vessel and damaging another. Bulgaria has summoned Russia's ambassador and requested assistance from NATO and the European Union.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev condemned the attacks, which occurred near the country's territorial waters, and convened an emergency meeting with security officials.

People walking their dogs in sunny weather in Helsinki. Photo: Roni Rekomaa / Lehtikuva

September 2026 was the world's second warmest September on record, with global temperatures reaching 1.63°C above pre-industrial levels for the second consecutive month, according to data released on Monday by the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

The global average temperature reached 16.27°C, exceeding the 1991–2020 September average by 0.82°C. Only September 2023 was warmer, by 0.11°C.

The maternity package introduced in 2026 contains 52 products. Photo: Kela

Finland has begun distributing its 2026 maternity package, known as the baby box, with 52 products instead of last year's 38, following an increase in the state maternity grant from €170 to €210.

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) announced the distribution on Wednesday, introducing additional baby supplies, a soft play ball and a redesigned box.

Photo: Adi Goldstein / Unsplash

Finland's Ministry for Foreign Affairs has introduced an artificial intelligence assistant designed to process classified government information, taking a step towards the use of AI in sensitive public administration work.

The system, named UMAI, entered pilot use on 13 October 2026 and operates within a secure environment approved for handling information classified at national security level IV, the ministry announced on Tuesday.

Participants listen as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks via videolink during the opening session of the Warsaw Security Forum in Warsaw, Poland on October 12, 2026. Photo: Wojtek Radwanski / AFP / Lehtikuva

Russia continued attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure after US President Donald Trump announced an immediate ceasefire covering energy facilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, raising questions about whether Moscow had agreed to the arrangement.

Speaking by video link at the Warsaw Security Forum, Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck a power plant in Kharkiv shortly after Trump's announcement on Sunday.

A bus and passenger cars on the road in Helsinki on 13 October 2026. Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva

Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications has proposed introducing congestion charges in major cities and increasing taxes on electric vehicles as part of a transport funding reform intended for the next government.

The proposals form part of recommendations prepared by ministry officials ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections. They also include ending state subsidies for regional flights and increasing funding for road and railway maintenance.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen at the Helsinki Security Forum in Helsinki on 2 October 2026. Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva

Finland has called on the European Union to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens until Moscow ends its war in Ukraine, as disagreements among member states threaten to delay restrictions on travel from Russia.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen presented the proposal on 12 October, urging the European Commission to introduce binding measures that would prevent Russian tourists from entering the Schengen area.

Electricians restore the power grid in front of a destroyed private house where a 14-year-old was killed in an air attack in Vyshgorod, Kyiv region on September 30, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Vladyslav Musiienko / AFP / Lehtikuva

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacks on each other's energy infrastructure with immediate effect. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the announcement had come as a surprise but expressed support for the proposal, while Moscow had yet to confirm any agreement.

"Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without providing details about the terms or implementation.

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Gemelli University Hospital for an operation to remove a lump from his lung, in Rome on October 13, 2026. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Lehtikuva

Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer after undergoing surgery to remove part of his right lung at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Tuesday, 13 October. The Vatican confirmed that the 71-year-old pontiff had lung adenocarcinoma, a form of lung cancer, and said the operation was successful.

Surgeons removed the lower lobe of the pope's right lung during a procedure lasting approximately 90 minutes. Laboratory tests conducted during the operation confirmed cancer that doctors had suspected following earlier examinations.

A protest against Google and data centres outside Google's Finnish headquarters in Helsinki on 12 October 2026. Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto / Lehtikuva

Around 100 demonstrators gathered outside Google's Finnish headquarters in Helsinki on Monday to protest against forest clearances linked to the technology company's planned data centres in Muhos and Kajaani.

The demonstration, organised by Finnish environmental group Luontoliitto, took place outside Google's offices on Arkadiankatu in central Helsinki between 4pm and 5pm.

Police personnel detain supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) during a protest demanding the resignation of India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter roll irregularities linked to the "special intensive revision" (SIR), in New Delhi on October 10, 2026. Photo: Arun Sankar / AFP / Lehtikuva

Protests continued in India's capital, New Delhi, on Sunday as authorities released three leaders of a youth movement, including founder Abhijeet Dipke. Protesters are demanding the resignation of the country's election chief over allegations of electoral manipulation. Police detained thousands of demonstrators on Saturday, while security forces restricted access to parts of the city to prevent gatherings.

The demonstrations centre on demands for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over a nationwide revision of electoral registers.