Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva

The share of young boys starting ADHD medication in Finland has more than doubled since 2017, with use remaining above comparable levels in Sweden and Norway, according to data published by Finland’s Social Insurance Institution, Kela.

In 2025, 3.1% of boys aged six to eight started ADHD medication, up from 2.9% in 2024 and 1.4% in 2017.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (2nd L) visit damaged building of the Ukrainian Academy of Science in Kyiv on October 4, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP / Lehtikuva

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on Sunday as air raid sirens and explosions sounded across the Ukrainian capital, where another Russian drone strike hit the Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River.

Merz travelled to Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky as Germany prepared further military and energy support and deeper cooperation with Ukraine's defence industry.

Storage tanks at the Lavera oil refinery in Martigues, southern France on March 17, 2026. G7 countries have agreed to release "100 million barrels" of diesel and crude oil from their reserves over the next four months, their leaders said on October 2, 2026. Photo: Miguel Medina / AFP / Lehtikuva

G7 countries have agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from emergency reserves over four months as governments seek to curb fuel prices and ease pressure on households and businesses.

The release will start immediately and will be coordinated through the International Energy Agency, according to a joint statement issued after a virtual meeting on Friday.

Nobel Committee Secretary General Thomas Perlmann (R) speaks to the media in front of a screen displaying the names of this year's laureates (L-R) Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel during the announcement of the winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 5, 2026. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP / Lehtikuva

American scientist Karl Deisseroth and German researchers Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries that gave scientists a way to control nerve cells using light.

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced the award in Stockholm on Monday.

Israeli soldiers conduct a raid in the Palestinian town of Beddu, northwest of Jerusalem on September 21, 2026. Photo: Zain Jaafar / AFP / Lehtikuva

Sixty-two Finnish citizens are serving in the Israeli military, according to figures obtained by Swedish public broadcaster SVT from the Israel Defense Forces.

The figures form part of data showing that hundreds of Nordic citizens are registered with the IDF, while tens of thousands of its personnel hold citizenship in two or more countries.

SVT reported that 150 Swedish citizens, 99 Danish citizens and 35 Norwegian citizens are serving in the Israeli military alongside the 62 Finnish citizens.

The Eastern Finland Court of Appeal building, photographed on 25 August 2026. Photo: Lasse Keskinen / Wikimedia Commons

The Eastern Finland Court of Appeal has increased the prison sentence of a British man convicted of attempting to murder a Finnish woman in Joensuu after travelling from Britain and monitoring her movements for several days.

Satinder Minhas, 32, received a sentence of six and a half years, one year longer than the term imposed by North Karelia District Court in January. The appeal court also increased the compensation payable to the victim.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez makes a televised statement to call early elections at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid on October 5, 2026. Photo: Screengrab from footage released by La Moncloa / AFP / Lehtikuva

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called a general election for 29 November after parliament rejected his government's housing measures, bringing an early end to a legislature marked by weak parliamentary support and growing protests over rents and evictions. The election had not been due until 2027.

Sánchez announced the decision from the Moncloa Palace on Monday after a weekend of consultations with members of his government and Socialist Party officials. He said voters should decide whether to give his government a broader parliamentary base.

Demonstrators hold a banner reading 'General strike' during a protest against evictions and high rent prices on Plaza de Espana in Madrid on October 3, 2026. Photo: Javier Soriano / AFP / Lehtikuva

Tens of thousands of people marched in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Saturday to demand action on housing, a day after parliament rejected two government decrees covering evictions, rental contracts and property investment. The protests followed weeks of public anger over rising housing costs and the eviction of an 87-year-old Madrid resident.

Spain's government said about 70,000 people attended the Madrid demonstration. The city's Tenants' Union gave a figure of 500,000. The estimates could not be independently reconciled.

Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen during a plenary session of Parliament in Helsinki on 2 October 2026. Parliament voted during the afternoon session on confidence in Häkkänen and the government as a whole. Photo: Emmi Korhonen / Lehtikuva

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government and Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen retained the confidence of Finland’s parliament on Friday after separate opposition challenges over the government’s Middle East policy and Häkkänen’s visit to Israel.

MPs backed the government by 93 votes to 62, with 21 abstentions. Häkkänen secured a wider majority, winning his confidence vote by 114 votes to 61.

Kazakhstan is holding AI MONTH from September 23 to October 23 as part of the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. The month-long program features a wide range of events dedicated to artificial intelligence and digital technologies, bringing together the tech community, businesses, educational institutions, startups, international experts and regional initiatives from across the country.

Smoke rises over a bridge spanning the Dnieper River following a drone attack in Kyiv on October 2, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Serhii Okunev / AFP / Lehtikuva

Russia struck Kyiv’s Northern Bridge on Saturday, damaging its road surface and trolleybus power lines as attacks on the Ukrainian capital’s transport network continued for a third day.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were injured and traffic from the city’s eastern bank to the western side was halted after the strike.

Emergency crews went to the bridge, one of the main crossings over the Dnipro River.

Fuel prices at the St1 petrol station in Tullinpuomi, Helsinki, on 11 September 2026. Photo: Roni Rekomaa / Lehtikuva

Eurozone inflation rose more than expected in September as energy costs pushed consumer prices further above the European Central Bank’s target, leaving policymakers to decide whether the latest surge requires another interest rate rise.

Eurostat estimated annual inflation across the 21-country currency bloc at 3.8%, up from 3.2% in August. A Reuters poll had put the expected rate at 3.6%.

Prices rose 0.6% from August, according to Eurostat’s flash estimate.

Police released a photo of the object found in the sea off Helsinki. Photo: Police

A metal object found floating in a shipping channel off Helsinki triggered a police and coastguard operation that stopped passenger ship traffic for several hours before authorities determined that the object posed no danger.

Finnish police said the object was most likely a mechanical part from an old shipwreck. The Navy confirmed in its initial assessment that the find was not an explosive.

File photo of a Wolt courier in Helsinki. Photo: Antti Hämäläinen / Lehtikuva

McDonald’s has opened a heated waiting room for Wolt couriers at its Autotalo restaurant in central Helsinki, giving delivery riders a place to sit and charge their phones between orders, Helsingin Sanomat reports.

The room, near Kamppi, includes heating, a bench, a collection counter and an electrical socket. It does not have a toilet. Couriers interviewed by HS said the space becomes useful when they face longer waits between deliveries or work during cold weather.

President Alexander Stubb (left) and Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen at a ceremony marking the arrival of the Finnish Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II multirole fighters in Rovaniemi on 1 October 2026. Photo: Markku Ulander / Lehtikuva

Finland has marked the arrival of its first F-35 fighter jets with a ceremony at Rovaniemi, beginning a transition that will replace the Air Force’s Hornet fleet by 2031. President Alexander Stubb said the aircraft would strengthen Finland’s defence and deterrence for decades.

The Finnish Air Force presented the F-35A Lightning II at Lapland Air Wing on Thursday. An F-35 and a Hornet took part in demonstration flights after low cloud initially threatened to keep the aircraft on the ground.