A researcher at work in the laboratory of Amsterdam UMC, one of several in the world where work on a vaccine against the new coronavirus is underway, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 28 May 2020. (Koen Van Weel – AFP/Lehtikuva)

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) proposes in its fourth supplementary budget of the year that 100 million euros be earmarked for acquiring a vaccine against the disease caused by the new coronavirus, Covid-19.

The appropriation is enormous compared to both previous emergency acquisitions and the funding of the national vaccination programme.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s (SDP) Social Democratic Party is thus far the only party to benefit from public satisfaction with the Finnish government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, shows a poll by YLE. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE POPULARITY of the Social Democrats has continued to increase in coronavirus-era Finland, tells the latest opinion poll commissioned by YLE.

The public broadcasting company reported last week that popular support for the ruling party risen by more than a percentage point to 23.2 per cent, a level that extends its lead over other political parties to over five points.

Pupils holding their school-year reports in Helsinki on Saturday, 30 May 2020. The Finnish capital has reported that the resumption of in-person teaching for the last two-and-a-half weeks of the school year has led to no up-tick in the number of coronavirus infections. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)

THE RE-OPENING of schools appears not to have resulted in an up-tick in coronavirus infections in Helsinki.

The City of Helsinki on Thursday reported that nine pupils and two staff members from eight schools across the city tested positive for the new coronavirus during the roughly two-and-a-half-week period between 14 and 30 May.

Katri Kulmuni’s (Centre) vision for her role after relinquishing the portfolio of the minister of finance has stirred up questions among legal experts. (Mikko Stig – Lehtikuva)

OUTGOING Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni (Centre) may not be able to continue as a member of the so-called ruling quintet and chairperson of the ministerial group of the Centre, writes Helsingin Sanomat.

Her plan has been called into question by both legal experts and members of the Social Democrats.

Katri Kulmuni, the chairperson of the Centre, was photographed leaving the Parliament House on Friday, 5 June, after announcing she will step down as minister of finance. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE CHAIRPERSON of the Centre, Katri Kulmuni, has quelled rumours that the agrarian party is considering abandoning the government following her decision to step down as minister of finance over a scandal revolving around her use of public speaking training.

The rumours intensified after the party announced it will postpone its announcement on who will step into the shoes of Kulmuni from Sunday to Monday.

President Niinistö raises the Finnish flag at Mäntyniemi today (Image: Lehtikuva)

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC SAULI NIINISTÖ led commemorations for the Finnish Defence Forces flag day today, raising the Finnish flag alongside members of the military at his official summer residence at Mäntyniemi, Helsinki. 

Katri Kulmuni, the chairperson of the Centre Party, will hand over the portfolio of the minister of finance to Matti Vanhanen, the Speaker of the Parliament. (Mikko Stig – Lehtikuva)

FORMER PRIME MINISTER and Speaker of the Parliament Matti Vanhanen (Centre) has been nominated the successor of Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni.

The 64-year-old experienced lawmaker received the nomination after a unanimous decision by the party government, parliamentary group and European parliamentary group of the Centre Party on Monday.

About 30 demonstrators gathered outside the police station last night (Image: Lehtikuva)

A GROUP OF AROUND 30 PEOPLE staged an anti-racism protest outside Pasila Police Station in Helsinki yesterday evening to protest racist police brutality in the US and around the world. 

Pretty Marc frontman Marc Aulén in Helsinki (Image: Tuukka Kouri)

IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC that is placing unprecedented pressures on small musical acts that now have to contend with cancelled bookings and shuttered venues, a shared passion for the craft of music is vital for keeping creativity alive.

A flooded park on the banks of the Kemijoki River in Rovaniemi (Image: Lehtikuva)

SCIENTISTS AT THE FINNISH ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE have said that the intense flooding in Lapland, which is some of the most extreme in recent memory, has now reached its peak and will likely subside in the coming days. 

Kulmuni answering questions in Parliament yesterday (Image: Lehtikuva)

FINLAND'S MINISTER OF FINANCE KATRI KULMUNI resigned from her post on Friday evening as a result of widespread outrage over the revelation that she spent close to €50,000 of taxpayer money on speech training lessons from a private consultancy firm. 

Ano Turtiainen’s (PS) social media behaviour will be discussed today by the Finns Party Parliamentary Group. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)

ANO TURTIAINEN (PS), a first-term Member of the Finnish Parliament from South-east Finland, has sparked controversy by tweeting a photo mocking George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man whose deaths at the hands of police has kindled widespread protests, unrest and riots in the United States.

Accompanied by the phrase ‘Pink Floud’, the now-deleted tweet contained a photo of a police officer pressing his knee against the neck of Floyd, whose face had been photo-shopped red.

Beach chairs at the popular Cypriot resort town of Ayia Napa (Image: Lehtikuva)

THE GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS HAS REVEALED plans to open up the country to leisure travelers from Finland without restriction from tomorrow.

The coronavirus pandemic has yet to result in a decline in drug use in the capital region of Finland, according to wastewater studies conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). (Martti Kainulainen – Lehtikuva)

THE USE of amphetamine has increased to a record-high level in Greater Helsinki, suggest wastewater analyses conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

THL on Thursday reported that the use of amphetamine in the capital region has surged by approximately 15 per cent year-on-year since mid-March, when the Finnish government declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of couples who filed for divorce jumped by 30 per cent year-on-year over a few-week period in April in Helsinki. (Timo Jaakonaho – Lehtikuva)

THE NUMBER of divorce filings increased by roughly 30 per cent year-on-year during the coronavirus-disrupted spring in Helsinki, reveals a report published by a government-appointed expert panel.

It would be premature to draw any far-reaching conclusions based on an increase – however sharp – over only a few-week period in April, Marika Jalovaara, an adjunct professor of economic sociology at the University of Turku, reminded Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday.