Katri Kulmuni, the chairperson of the Centre, presented the party’s new visual look to members of the media in Helsinki on 13 June 2020. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

KATRI KULMUNI, the chairperson of the Centre, has declared that the ruling party is opposed to the provincial division laid down in the social and health care reform proposal of Krista Kiuru (SDP), the Minister of Social Affairs and Health.

Kulmuni confirmed the party’s firm position on the issue on Facebook on Wednesday, echoing the statements of Jari Leppä (Centre), the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

Workers at a construction site in Helsinki on 15 April 2020. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH INSTITUTE for Health and Welfare (THL) has encouraged construction sites to step up their efforts to combat the new coronavirus following the detection of several infection clusters in Finland.

“Special attention should be paid to fighting the coronavirus epidemic because construction sites have workers from many countries who are often housed in small quarters and move from one site to another,” it stated in a press release on Tuesday.

MORE THAN 50,000 ENROLLED ONTO DUOLINGO'S FINNISH LANGUAGE COURSE within the first four days of it going live last week, according to a press release from Duolingo's representatives. 

People came out in numbers to spend the hot summer day at the Oittaa beach in Espoo on 27 June 2020. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

PEOPLE in Finland flocked in great numbers to bodies of water to boat, swim and sunbathe as temperatures lingered over the 25°C-mark for almost three weeks in June, including – for the first time in 20 years – over Midsummer.

The warm weather unfortunately brought with it a high number of drownings, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

A shot of the terrace with Helsinki Cathedral in the background (Image: Lehtikuva)

THE LONG-AWAITED 'SUPER TERRACE' ON HELSINKI'S SENATE SQUARE is due to open to the public tomorrow, with seating for 480 people and a number of pop-up restaurants to be introduced to the square as a means of allowing safer dining in the age of COVID-19. 

Ministers Maria Ohisalo, Sanna Marin and Anna-Maja Henriksson reacted at a government news conference in Helsinki on 15 April 2020. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

FITCH RATINGS on Friday lauded the Finnish government for a “swift and comprehensive” policy response to the coronavirus epidemic in re-affirming its AA+ credit rating and stable outlook for Finland.

“Policy response to the pandemic has been swift and comprehensive, highlighting the flexibility and countercyclical capacity of Finland's public finances,” it stated.

A screenshot of the Finnish Air Force official Twitter account, featuring the new logo (Image: Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH AIR FORCE HAS UNCEREMONIOUSLY REMOVED THE SWASTIKA SYMBOL from its general staff ID and logo, with no prior announcement of the decision. The symbol has been in use in the air force for over a century. 

Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo (Greens) arrived for a government meeting at the House of the Estates in Helsinki on 15 June 2020. (Mikko Stig – Lehtikuva)

MINISTER of the Interior Maria Ohisalo (Greens) has hinted that the Green League could be ready to abandon the five-party ruling coalition if it fails to make progress on the climate objectives set forth in the government programme.

“If we stop or start taking steps back, we’ll have to think about our involvement in the government carefully,” she declared to Iltalehti on Sunday.

The border-crossing point of Ylitornio in Finnish Lapland on 4 June 2020. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

MEDICAL EXPERTS have expressed their concern about the coronavirus situation in Finland, especially in south-west Lapland.

“The coronavirus epidemic is not over – everyone must understand that,” underscored Aki Lindén (SDP), a former chief executive of the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS). “The global situation is worse than before. The same goes for Sweden. The risk of a new rise is real also in Finland.”

A nurse holding the hands of an elderly person in Helsinki on 9 August 2016. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)

A STUDY by Tampere University and the University of Helsinki has discovered a number of problems related to the social position of old-age pensioners in Finland.

The 36 interviews conducted in the study point to a phenomenon known as social death, the condition of not being accepted as fully human by the general public. The phenomenon is evident in, for example, the impersonal treatment of elderly people who are believed to be out of reach due to memory disorders.

The loan-to-collateral ratio limit will be raised from 85 to 90 per cent in a bid to rejuvenate the stagnant housing market in Finland. (Martti Kainulainen – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH FINANCIAL Supervisory Authority (Fiva) has announced its decision to restore the maximum limit on new housing loans from 85 per cent to the statutory level of 90 per cent of the value of collaterals.

The maximum limit for the so-called loan-to-collateral ratio was lowered to 85 per cent only two years ago in a bid to rein in the indebtedness of households in Finland.

The Finns Party’s Juha Mäenpää spoke to reporters ahead of the last parliamentary session before the summer recess in Helsinki on Friday, 26 June 2020. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH PARLIAMENT has denied Prosecutor General Raija Toiviainen a permit to bring criminal charges against Juha Mäenpää (PS), a first-term legislator from Vaasa, Western Finland.

Members of the Parliament on Friday voted 121 for and 54 against granting the request to remove the parliamentary immunity of Mäenpää, falling well short of the necessary five-sixth majority.

The Päivö storm brought rains also to the capital region. (Olivia Ranta – Lehtikuva)

OVER 50,000 HOUSEHOLDS in eastern Finland remain without electricity after a ferocious storm swept across Karelia, Savonia, Kainuu and Ostrobothnia between Tuesday and Wednesday, reports YLE.

The Päivö storm brought heavy rains and strong winds with gust speeds of over 25 metres per second to the areas, plucking up trees on its way north and causing disruptions not only in electricity distribution but also in road and rail traffic.

People took in the warm summer weather on a beach at Lake Kuusijärvi in Vantaa on Friday, 26 June 2020. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

OFFICERS at Eastern Uusimaa Police Department have made progress in their pre-trial investigation and interrogations linked to a life-threatening incident that took place on a beach at Lake Kuusijärvi in Vantaa on Monday, 22 June.

A police spokesperson revealed yesterday that all of the young people suspected of involvement in the incident are under 18 years of age.

THE EMBASSY OF FINLAND IN WASHINGTON, D.C., and various members of the Government have issued statements rebuking claims that PM Sanna Marin had made a certain disparaging comment about the Trump Administration.