Above Photo: Nurse Tiia Virta works in the intensive care unit of Oulu University Hospital, one of the hospitals that will go on strike as of April 1. Paulus Markkula / Yle. Worker’s unions in Finland’s social and health care services demand immediate staff recruitments and pay increase. Finland – 25,000 health care workers from six hospital districts represented by the Finnish Union of Practical Nurses (SuPer) and the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals (TEHY) are all set to go on strike starting on April 1. Unions are demanding immediate staff recruitments to solve an acute staff shortage in […]
Finnish
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Sweden-based defense and security company Saab submitted its Best and Final Offer (BAFO) to the Finnish defense procurement agency for the Finnish HX fighter procurement. According to a company news release, the proposal comprises 64 Gripen E fighter aircraft and an extensive weapons package, and two GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft. This constitutes the response to the customer’s January 2021 request for a BAFO. Finland is replacing the capability provided by its current fleet of F/A-18 C/D Hornet aircraft. The proposed solution features the latest cutting-edge technology for the continuously changing and very challenging operational environment. Gripen is built to […]
A glamorous photo of Finland’s 34-year-old Prime Minister Sanna Marin with a plunging neckline has sparked an uproar on social media. While many argued this conduct was unbecoming of someone in her position, others started posting similar photos in support of her. Finland’s Social Democrat Prime Minister Sanna Marin has found herself in the midst of a controversy after suggestively posing for the fashion magazine Trendi in a blazer with a plunging neckline, no shirt and no bra. The magazine’s Instagram page was quickly flooded with scathing criticism from social media users, with many suggesting that the image was highly unbecoming […]
The Ruska 20 drill will involve some 5,000 personnel and 60 aircraft, as well as traditional guests from Sweden. Thousands of military personnel will take part in the Finnish Air Force’s Ruska 20 drill, which is seen as the highlight of this year. The week-long drill, which ends on 6 October, is meant to test and enhance the Air Force’s preparedness, provide training for active duty members, conscripts as well as reservists. “Ruska 20 will demonstrate the high readiness of the Air Force in protecting the integrity of Finnish airspace, and securing the functions vital to our society on a 24/7 […]
HELSINKI – The Finnish government’s budget proposal for 2021 has allayed concerns of delays or reduced funding for the Armed Forces’ (FAF) HX Fighter Program. The plan will effectively increase the military’s budgetary framework in 2021 by $2 billion to $5.8 billion to meet phase one of the project’s procurement costs. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced Finland to significantly increase international borrowings and further load national debt, was feared to have a negative bearing of the fighter replacement project, particularly against the backdrop of a potential economic recession and grim forecasts of an 8 to 10 […]
Predictions about the end of the European project have long been bandied about in the corridors of power and in newspaper columns. However, one Finnish MEP has joined the long list of those making the claim that the end may be on the horizon. The European Union is on track to “inevitably” collapse due to increasing concerns over the bloc’s plan to further centralise power in Brussels, a Finnish MEP has told The Express. Laura Huhtasaari, an MEP for the Finns Party and a well-known Eurosceptic in her country, has said that the EU’s continued attempts to bring member states under […]
Dairy company Valio has become the latest Finnish firm to review cultural stereotypes in its branding, such as a man wearing a fez on a Turkish yoghurt package. Despite the fact that the person behind the initial complaint later said his comments were intended as a joke, Valio has scheduled a comprehensive review of its products. Finnish dairy company Valio has pledged to retire stereotypical graphics on its “Turkish” yoghurts, which feature a fez-wearing man. The announcement came following a debate about stereotypical imagery that flared up on Twitter. Ironically, journalist Anter Yaşa, the person behind the debate, later said his […]
In his behind-the-scenes book about his tenure at the White House, former National Security Adviser John Bolton has painted Donald Trump’s administration in an unfavourable light. Among other things, the book claims Trump once asked his chief of staff whether Finland was a part of Russia. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has found herself in the midst of a social media scandal after a bogus assertion was made by a Twitter user. The user, named Lin Peace, suggested that following the publication of former US National Security Adviser John Bolton’s book, where he among other things claimed that Trump thought Finland […]
The debate over the necessity of the general public using masks has persisted in Finland ever since the arrival of the coronavirus amid conflicting messaging from various authorities. So far, the government has refrained from mandating or even recommending face masks, despite numerous calls from experts. A government-appointed scientific panel has recommended the use of protective masks in public and on public transportation in Finland to reduce the spread of coronavirus until a vaccine is found and made available, national broadcaster Yle reported. The panel also noted a significant risk of a second, more severe second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic […]
Finnish aerospace and defense Patria Group has confirmed that the U.S. Army is showing interest in its modern turreted 120 mm mortar weapon system. As noted by the company, U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Patria to determine feasibility of incorporating a turreted, breech-loaded 120 mm mortar weapon system in U.S. mortar carriers. Furthermore, in September 2019, the U.S. Army already conducted a test of the newest Nemo mortar system manufactured by the Finnish Patria company. The live-fire demonstration, which took place at Fort Benning Red Cloud Range on Sept. […]
A recent Finnish study concluded that masks slow the progress of the coronavirus, but cannot entirely eliminate its spread. Overall, they were found to be beneficial, if applied properly and coupled with other precautions. Fabric masks do not protect the wearer from coronavirus, but can help protect other people, the Research Centre of Finland (VTT) has concluded. Researchers also found that a fabric mask is several times inferior to professional protective equipment when it comes to holding back the virus. Having tested polyester and cotton masks, VTT concluded that polyester is a better option than cotton due to its water-resistance and […]
The Armed Forces’ senior leadership has been accused of favouring US firm Lockheed Martin’s F-35 in the ongoing competition for Finland’s fighter jet fleet upgrade. Former Armed Forces commander Jarmo Lindberg allegedly instructed his subordinates to ensure that the choice in the competition falls on the F-35, the Finnish newspaper Suomen Kuvalehti reported, citing anonymous sources with insight in the process. According to Suomen Kuvalehti, both Lindberg and other top military officials have tried to ignore and downplay the weaker sides of the F-35 in various reports and other contexts, while emphasising the weaknesses of the other four candidates. Jarmo Lindberg […]
Finland is one of the least-hit Nordic nations amid the ongoing pandemic, with 5,412 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 246 deaths; it has already started to lift the restrictions, but pundits predict a grim economic outlook. The coronavirus epidemic and the ensuing stern measures, including massive shutdowns and lockdowns, will have resounding economic repercussions, robbing Finland of decades of profits, Risto Murto, the CEO of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, has warned. In his analysis of the economic ramifications of the pandemic in his column for the Oulu-based newspaper Kaleva, Murto forecasted that Finland will have to tackle the outbreak throughout this […]