Snowless detritus in Bodom, Espoo, in January 2020. The Finnish Parliament’s Grand Committee on Wednesday confirmed that Finland will insist on revisions to the European Commission’s proposal for a nature restoration law. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE GRAND COMMITTEE of the Finnish Parliament finalised its statement on the nature restoration law proposed by the European Commission.

The committee concluded that the law cannot be approved unless it is amended substantially, national forest policy interests are taken into consideration and national costs are made substantially more reasonable.

LEHTIKUVA

Injuries and violence take the lives of some 12,000 people around the world each day, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

As reflected in a new WHO report, Preventing injuries and violence: an overview, 3 of the top 5 causes of death among people aged 5-29 years are injury-related, namely road traffic injuries, homicide and suicide. In addition to those, injury-related killers are drowning, falls, burns and poisoning, among others.

Black Friday kicked off the Christmas season in e-commerce. Posti delivered over 1.4 parcels during last week.

Even though Black Friday was officially on November 25, sales campaigns took place throughout the week. Many stores started their campaigns already on the pervious Friday.

A person fishing. Rapala VMC on Monday announced its decision to discontinue the manufacture of Rapala lures in Finland, report YLE and Helsingin Sanomat. (Lum3n – Pexels)

RAPALA-BRANDED LURES and Marttiini-branded knives will no longer be manufactured in Finland.

Rapala VMC on Monday communicated that it has decided to pull the plug on its manufacturing operations in Vääksy, a village in Asikkala, Päijät-Häme. The operations will be moved to its long-standing manufacturing plant in Pärnu, Estonia.

The three winners of K-STARTUP Demo Day plan to set foot in the European market. AimbeLab, Next Meta and Coconut Silo won the award at SLUSH 2022 K-STARTUP Demo Day, allowing them to form valuable connections with international investors that meet the companies' needs.

20 Korean companies took part in the startup and tech event SLUSH in Helsinki.

LEHTIKUVA

According to a new analysis by researchers at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, deforestation worldwide proceeded more or less as anticipated from the trends established over the last 15 years, despite the significant upheavals in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers analysed historical deforestation data (2004-2019) from the Terra-i pantropical land cover change monitoring system to forecast expected deforestation trends for 2020 in the publication "Has global deforestation accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic?" released in mid-November 2022.

Power lines, street signs, trees and blocks of flats in Vantaa in October 2020. Latest statistics on property sales and housing loan drawdowns indicate that the house market has continued to contract sharply in Finland. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE PROPERTY MARKET in Finland has continued to cool down rapidly.

Statistics Finland on Wednesday reported that the number of old dwellings in blocks of flats and terraced houses sold with the help of real estate agencies decreased by 29 per cent year-on-year in October.

LEHTIKUVA

Students who have registered as attending a traditional university or a university of applied sciences must pay a healthcare fee to Kela each term. The 2023 rate of the student healthcare fee is EUR 36.80 per term. Students can pay the fee starting now.

In 2023, the student healthcare fee in higher education is 36.80 euros per term.

Acute infection upsets a healthy balance between good and bad microbes in the gut, especially with antibiotic treatment, according to Rutgers scientists who examined the impact of the virus that causes COVID-19 on patients' microbiomes, the collection of microorganisms that live in and on the human body.

The research could result in the creation of probiotic pills to correct any gastrointestinal abnormalities in future patients, according to the researchers.

A border official looked at the site of an upcoming fence on the border between Finland and Russia in Imatra, Southeast Finland, on 18 November 2022. YLE on Tuesday reported that many Russians are believed to have overstayed their visa after fleeing military call-ups to the Schengen Area. (Lauri Heino – Str / Lehtikuva)

SOME OF THE THOUSANDS of Russians who rushed into Finland as rumours of a military call-up became reality earlier this autumn have stayed unlawfully in the Schengen Area, writes YLE.

Matti Pitkäniitty, the director of international affairs at the Finnish Border Guard, on Tuesday stated to the public broadcasting company that he believes “thousands” of Russians remain in the Schengen Area.

The extension from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti includes five new stations. The photo is from Espoonlahti. Photo: City of Espoo

The new metro extension from Matinkylä to Kivenlahti opens on Saturday 3 December. The metro brings many new opportunities to Espoo and ensures that the city will maintain its vitality.

The metro serves residents by improving transport connections and attracts housing, services, jobs and innovation clusters to areas close to the tracks.

A child at home in Helsinki in September 2017. Rising consumer prices have resulted in some 30,000 more children living in poverty in Finland, according to an expert interviewed on YLE Radio Suomi. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)

THE SURGE in consumer prices has increased the number of children living in poverty and families who rely on food aid, according to experts who discussed the issue on YLE Radio Suomi on Monday.

“Price increases have indeed had a radical impact on families with children,” said Tiina Ristikari, the development director at the Itla Children’s Foundation.

LEHTIKUVA

Rapid, low-cost, and accurate tests are still required for epidemiological surveillance and healthcare services to monitor and contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Brazilian researchers have contributed to this field's efforts by creating an electrochemical immunosensor that identifies antibodies against the virus.

The innovation is described in an article published in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering.

Garden of Lapinlahti Hospital. Photo by Yiping Feng and Ling Ouyang. Helsinki Partners

The City of Helsinki continues to plan the future use of the Lapinlahti Hospital area in interaction with city residents and the users of the area. The aim of the planning is to find a sustainable solution for the renovation of the culturally and historically significant property in cooperation with NREP. The intention is to keep the current size of the park area, and there will be no new construction in the area.

Anne Kalmari (Centre), the chairperson of the Parliament’s Agriculture and Forest Committee, attended a panel discussion in Helsinki on 9 November 2022. Information obtained by Helsingin Sanomat suggests Kalmari was the key architect of the revisions introduced to the government bill for a new nature conservation act, a bill the agrarian centre-right party had previously approved. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE CENTRE PARTY has continued its campaign to resuscitate its ailing popularity by shooting down legislative proposals it had signed off on as part of the ruling coalition, frustrating its coalition partners.

Members of the Centre in the Parliament’s Environment Committee on Tuesday sided with the opposition parties in opposing a government bill for a new nature conservation act, one of the most important legislative projects of the election cycle for the Ministry of the Environment.