THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUNCED THAT people arriving in Germany from Finland are no longer required to observe a mandatory two-week quarantine. The decision comes as a number of EU countries prepare to relax travel restrictions in anticipation of the summer tourist season.

Helsinki policeare investigating two scout leaders who are suspected of committing sex crimes against children and young adults during troop activities. 

The suspects, aged 20 and 40 respectively, belonged to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Guides and Scouts (Pääkaupunkiseudun Partiolaiset Ry) association, which has reportedly notified all members and their guardians about the developments. 

TWO FINNS HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO NORWEGIAN POLICE AND FACE POSSIBLE IMPRISONMENT after being accused of "throwing stones" across the Norwegian border into neighbouring Russia. 

RESEARCH PUBLISHED IN LÄÄKÄRILEHTI, a Finnish medical journal, has revealed that two male doctors in Finland have now died from COVID-19. The findings do not give any further information about the deceased, but note that they were of 'working age'. 

PROTESTERS FROM BOTH SIDES OF HONG KONG'S escalating dispute over Chinese control of the region faced off in Helsinki's Narinkkatori yesterday, in a peaceful protest attended by both PRC and Hong Kong citizens. 

Finnish policehave revealed that the number of traffic offences committed by minors increased by 45 per cent last year compared to the previous year.

While the legal driving age in Finland is 18, reforms introduced in 2018 have made it easier to acquire an age exception permit, which enables 17-year-olds to get a driving licence in case of special circumstances.

The University of Helsinki has been at the centre of multiple controversies this week. On Wednesday, Iltalehtireported that the university’s Faculty of Theology has admitted to displaying bias towards job applicants on the basis of their surname.  

The issue was first brought to light by a student in a series oftweets on social media platform Twitter. The student accused the Faculty of Theology of only choosing applicants who had a Finnish last name for open positions. 

The University of Helsinki is the only Finnish university that has been included among the top 201 universities in the 2022 World University Rankings by education magazine Times Higher Education (THE). 

The study, which compared 1,662 universities across 99 countries and regions, ranked the University of Helsinki 101st. Institutions are evaluated based on their performance in five keyareas: teaching (the learning environment); research (quantity and quality, income and reputation); international perspective (in terms of staff, students and research); citations (influence on research) and industry income (knowledge transfer). 

According tomultiple news sources, unvaccinated patients account for 77 percent of those hospitalised for COVID-19 in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS).

The Finnish News Agency (STT) reports that the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is recommending that anyone aged 60 or above receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

According to a surveyby childrens’ rights organisation Save the Children Finland, a significant number of children aged 11–17 in Finland have been exposed to grooming online.  

Nearly nine out of ten of those surveyed received sexually explicit messages from an adult online. One in four children are sent inappropriate messages at least once a month, while over one in ten are subjected to sexually explicit behaviour every week.  

US NAVAL FORCES have joined up with dozens of warships from 18 countries, including Germany and Denmark, in the Baltic Sea for one of the largest NATO exercises of the year. 

THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES has upheld a Trump Administration law that prevents virtually all Central and South American migrants from seeking asylum in the country, reversing decades of asylum policy. 

Majority of Finnsare against the introduction of a health tax, according to a poll by Finnish media conglomerate Uutissuomalainen. The proposed tax, which is currently being prepared by the government, would promote public health by increasing levies on items such as sugar. 

The health tax met with strong disapproval from 48 percent of those polled, but 37 percent said they would support it. Around one in seven (15 percent) respondents were undecided. 

Newspapers highlighted PresidentSauli Niinistö’s comments on the coronavirus pandemic and the current situation in Finland.

The local press also reported on the challenges facing schools in light of new regulations and attempts to jump the queue for the COVID-19 vaccine.

THE GOVERNMENT-OWNED GAMBLING MONOPOLY VEIKKAUS has reopened all of the slot machines in bars, supermarkets, restaurants, kiosks, and service stations across Finland today, following a four-month enforced closure that was necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.

THE SHIPPING COMPANY VIKING LINE will be resuming its thrice-weekly cruises from Helsinki to Mariehamn, Åland on July 1 for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 caused cruise operators to shutter their business. 

A VIDEO POSTED ON INSTAGRAM yesterday apparently shows several youths attacking and beating a young female of Somali origin. The short clip has caught the attention of tens of thousands of viewers. The ethnicity of the assailants is not clear.

Helsinki residentswill be able to get the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from all vaccination points without an appointment from Wednesday onwards, according to multiple news sources. After a successful trial on Saturday, city authorities have decided to allow walk-in vaccinations for every day of the week barring Sunday.  

Local papers also reported that The Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa plans to file an official complaint against Social and Health Services in Kymenlaakso (Kymsote) for their alleged negligence in June, when hundreds of football fans from Russia were allowed to cross the border into Finland without health checks.

A WEATHER OBSERVATORY STATION IN UTSJOKI has recorded the second-highest temperatures ever seen in Lapland today, with the mercury hitting 33.5 degrees Celsius. The temperature reading is the highest seen in the region since at least 1914, when temperatures hit 34.7 degrees Celsius. 

TEMPERATURES ACROSS FINLAND ARE PREDICTED TO SOAR as Midsummer weekend approaches, with the Finnish Meteorological Institute predicting that the mercury could hit 30°C in some parts of the country.