Latest society & culture news and updates from Finland in English.
The laboratory at Hauho health centre in Kanta-Häme, Finland, now opens only one day a week while neighbouring Lammi has four days. Residents fear the entire health station could close, and Fimlab says no second laboratory day is planned for Hauho.
Finland's Consumer Ombudsman is taking Lippupiste Oy to the Market Court over event ticket pricing. KKV says mandatory order fees are revealed only at payment, and the ombudsman seeks a 100,000 euro conditional fine.
Two people are suspected of secretly filming residents at Mainiokoti Koski in Myllykoski, Kouvola, including during diaper changes. Mainiokodit business director Satu Ahola confirmed the secret filming to Yle and said she is sorry. The case has moved to prosecution consideration, and the Permit and Supervision Agency says it has received several similar notifications.
Metsähallitus estimates that about 545 endangered Saimaa ringed seals live in Lake Saimaa, 15 more than last year. An estimated 116 pups were born, but poor nesting conditions and bycatch mortality are slowing the population's recovery.
More than 100 gravestones were toppled at Joutseno cemetery in Lappeenranta last July. Surveillance cameras have since stopped vandalism, and mediation is planned for three under-15 suspects.
Koskienergia has applied for a permit to build a pumped-storage plant at Parantalankoski in Äänekoski. Villagers fear for the clear-water Pyhäjärvi, while the company says the plant would provide balancing power for wind and solar.
Helsinki police are investigating a pimping operation with dozens of foreign victims and hundreds of thousands of euros in proceeds, with suspects remanded in custody. Separately, Helsinki taxi drivers told Helsingin Sanomat they face harassment and false accusation threats from drunk passengers, while Metsähallitus has ended maintenance at 154 rest stops across Finland.
Five men in their twenties are on trial at Varsinais-Suomi District Court for hostage taking over an alleged two-day incident in Turku, Paimio and Salo in April 2022. All five also face charges of assaulting the hostage and aggravated breach of domestic peace.
Kalliolan Setlementti filed for bankruptcy on Monday, ending crime and dispute mediation in Western Uusimaa. The region's mediation office received 700 referrals last year, and THL is seeking temporary arrangements with the Helsinki and Vantaa offices.
A fire broke out in the upper floor of a two-storey house in Sälinkää, Mäntsälä, on Wednesday. Two children and the family's dogs escaped, and no one was injured. The 12-year-old in the room where the fire started closed the door, slowing the spread, the rescue department said.
A 30-year-old man died in Jyväskylä last week after trying to escape a fire through the stairwell. Seven people have died in stairwells in Finnish fires this year, compared with one or none in a normal year.
Vaasa Administrative Court has ordered PVO-Vesivoima and Kemijoki Oy to draft plant-specific fish passage plans at Kemijoki and Iijoki hydropower plants. The court overturned broad stocking obligations set in 2024 and restored earlier requirements, while extending obligations to plants the regional agency had rejected.
A child cut their lip after falling between a cabinet bed and a wall at Kuokkalankulma daycare in Lempäälä on 17 September. The permit and supervision agency found no unlawful conduct but said induction of substitutes was inadequate, and Lempäälä has since tightened rest-period safety instructions.
At least eight tires have burst on roads in Kärkölä in Päijät-Häme this autumn, with crushed gravel spread on the roads suspected as the cause. One family lost five tires, and a contractor is checking documents for the regional office.
A glass roof has been completed over the medieval Pälkäne ruin church in Pirkanmaa. The church had been roofless for more than 130 years after a storm collapsed its roof in 1890.
Metsähallitus has paused felling at Kukkarojärvi near Pieksämäki while endangered species are surveyed. Activists from Metsäliike and Elokapina stopped the 25-hectare logging site on Monday and again on Tuesday.
Dead white-cheeked geese have been found at several sites in North Karelia, with the most carcasses in Tohmajärvi, Liperi and Joensuu. Bird flu is suspected but was not found in the first samples from Tohmajärvi, and samples from oddly behaving birds are being analysed by Ruokavirasto.
Pohde has relaunched the tender for temporary facilities at Oulu University Hospital after indoor air problems in the old buildings created a risk of service interruptions. The earlier 33 million euro element hospital project was halted in August following a Market Court complaint.
Metsähallitus has paused 25-hectare logging at Kukkarojärvi in Pieksämäki after Metsäliike and Elokapina activists stopped the machines on two consecutive days. The area will now be surveyed for endangered species before any decision on continuing the felling.
A man was hospitalized with a single stab wound and a woman was taken into custody after a neighbor alerted emergency services to a violent incident at a Kerava apartment building on Tuesday morning. Police are investigating the woman for attempted homicide and the man for assault.
Billnäs ironworks in western Uusimaa was ordered to replace seven road signs within a year at a cost of €55,000, or have them removed at the company's expense. The state vitality centre now says not all signs may need changing, and the owner has appealed to the administrative court.
Finland's operation and preliminary investigation into the oil tanker Eagle S cost the state nearly 1.4 million euros, Yle reports. The captain and two mates face charges over cable damage in the Gulf of Finland, and their defense is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
A Helsinki driver has spent nearly a year trying to contest a €65 parking fee from a Turku hall run by Park Area Suomi oy, a company almost impossible to contact. Consumer authorities say minor typing errors can be corrected, but only if the operator responds. The case exposes how Finland's private parking enforcement depends on voluntary cooperation that nothing enforces.
Karjalohja's village association in Lohja bought a closed health centre from the city for one euro and rented it to a private doctor. Six months on, the station offers longer hours and more services than the wellbeing county did, and the model is spreading to other regions.