uutiset (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} uutiset) wrote,@ 2006-12-28 05:58:00 |
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| Entry tags: | english, stt |
[27.12.2006] STT
09:27 Finland among 7 nations calling for Thai tsunami fund probe
Thai newspaper Nation on Monday quoted a diplomat as saying that Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States had complained to Thailand that donations earmarked to help identify tsunami victims had been misused.
The Nation reported that about 750,000 euros of funds from the seven countries had been wasted or disguised as travelling and other miscellaneous costs.
"To be frank, someone has stolen our citizens' money," the English-language paper quoted the unnamed diplomat as saying.
General Kowit Watana, Thailand's national police chief, was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the country would investigate the alleged misuse.
"We will investigate what we have spent their money on," Gen Watana told AFP.
Pasi Tuominen of the Finnish foreign ministry's consular services unit confirmed to the Finnish News Agency (STT) that some donations were unaccounted for. He added the matter had been known for quite some time and that the Thai authorities were investigating it.
"However, the amount of money that is missing is but a fraction of all the donations for tsunami victims," Mr Tuominen said.
Thailand estimates that the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami killed about 5,400 people in the country, about half of whom foreign holidaymakers.
09:53 Finland among 7 nations calling for Thai tsunami fund probe
Thai newspaper Nation on Monday quoted a diplomat as saying that Britain, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States had complained to Thailand that donations earmarked to help identify tsunami victims had been misused.
The Nation reported that about 750,000 euros of funds from the seven countries had been wasted or disguised as travelling and other miscellaneous costs.
"To be frank, someone has stolen our citizens' money," the English-language paper quoted the unnamed diplomat as saying.
General Kowit Watana, Thailand's national police chief, was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the country would investigate the alleged misuse.
"We will investigate what we have spent their money on," Gen Watana told AFP.
Pasi Tuominen of the Finnish foreign ministry's consular services unit confirmed to the Finnish News Agency (STT) that some donations were unaccounted for. He added the matter had been known for quite some time and that the Thai authorities were investigating it.
"However, the amount of money that is missing is but a fraction of all the donations for tsunami victims," Mr Tuominen said.
Thailand estimates that the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami killed about 5,400 people in the country, about half of whom foreign holidaymakers.
10:53 Half of Finnish tsunami cash unspent -MTV3
Less than half of the total funds given by the Finnish people and the Finnish state for reconstruction after the Indian Ocean tsunami two years ago have yet to be spent, Finnish commercial broadcaster MTV3 reported Tuesday.
Although the funds raised by tsunami appeals were to be spent over a timeframe of several years to begin with, relief agencies told MTV3 that rebuilding work had been slower than originally estimated.
The Finnish people donated a total of 34 million euros to the Finnish Red Cross, FinnChurchAid, Unicef, Fida and Save the Children. The top five tsunami relief agencies also received funds from the Finnish state to make a total sum of 41 million euros, 44 per cent of which has been spent.
The Finnish Red Cross received a total of 31.4 million euros. About 32 per cent has been spent with the remainder sitting in a bank account waiting for plans to be implemented.
Building material shortages, especially in Aceh, red tape, planning difficulties and flooding in Indonesia are among the headaches faced by the agencies.
10:58 Finnish consumer confidence up yr/yr, mth/mth at 18.2
Statistics Finland's consumer confidence indicator stood at 18.2 per cent in December, up from 17.9 in November and 16.1 in the year-ago period, the agency said in a statement Wednesday.
The long-term average of the indicator is 13.6.
10:59 Finnish consumer confidence up yr/yr, mth/mth at 18.2
Statistics Finland's consumer confidence indicator stood at 18.2 per cent in December, up from 17.9 in November and 16.1 in the year-ago period, the agency said in a statement Wednesday.
The long-term average of the indicator is 13.6.
12:15 EU agency's urban sprawl report singles out Helsinki
The European Environment Agency (EEA), an EU agency, was quoted as saying by Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday that the Helsinki metropolitan area's expansion into rural areas was a case in point of rampant urban sprawl and the concomitant energy-guzzling way of life.
The agency has rated Brussels, Copenhagen and Helsinki as the fastest-expanding urban clusters in the EU. Helsingin Sanomat quoted an EEA report spanning 24 capital regions as saying that greater Helsinki had the worst urban sprawl in northern and western Europe.
People who live in sparsely populated areas travel longer distances to places like work and generally consume more energy than people in a densely populated urban setting.
Although the EEA report speaks of Helsinki, it actually refers to what is in Finland known as simply the metropolitan area, comprising not only Helsinki itself, but also the cities of Espoo and Vantaa and Kauniainen as well as parts of Kirkkonummi and Sipoo.
13:16 About 20,000 foreigners work illegally in Finland -Paper
Approximately 20,000 foreigners work illegally in Finland each year, Finnish Social Democratic Party (SDP) organ Uutispäivä Demari reported Wednesday.
While the biggest number of grey jobs is in construction, the grey labour market also thrives in hotel and catering, transport and shipbuilding.
According to Uutispäivä Demari, a special branch of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that investigates foreign grey labour has tallied about 2.5 million euros in compensations for criminal gains.
Having operated on an interim basis for a couple of years, the unit, known as Put, is to be a permanent branch of the NBI as of January.
13:37 EU's Rehn says door remains open for SE Europe
Olli Rehn, the European Union's enlargement commissioner, said in a column in Finnish national daily Helsingin Sanomat Wednesday that the union's door remained open for southeast Europe.
The Finnish member of the European commission rejected the media's conclusions of the EU's December summit.
"Many papers ran headlines on the summit claiming that the 'EU has closed its doors'. This gave the wrong picture of what the EU leaders decided," Mr Rehn said.
"The summit did not close the EU's doors."
The Brussels European council meeting in December was the last major event of the Finnish EU presidency. EU leaders reiterated that accession countries must fulfil entry criteria to the letter and do more to reform their justice systems and to fight corruption. The summit also confirmed the suspension of a number of policy "chapters" in the membership talks with Turkey.
"During its presidency of the EU, Finland achieved significant results in the western Balkans. The region's countries were given a frank assurance that each of them could join the European Union as long as they first fulfilled the membership criteria," Mr Rehn said.
"Led by Erkki Tuomioja, EU foreign ministers decided on how to proceed with Turkey's membership talks. A collision was avoided."
14:19 Finland's Alma to cut 35-40 jobs at Kauppalehti
Finnish media group Alma Media said in a statement Wednesday that Kauppalehti, its business daily, would start statutory cooperation procedure talks affecting its entire workforce of about 210 people, adding the aim was to cut 35 to 40 jobs.
"The need for change is partly the result of weaker-than-expected media sales by Finnish business newspapers over several years. Media sales by the business press between January and November this year fell by 3 per cent," the statement added.
14:57 Finland's Hydrocell sells fuel cell vehicles in Britain
Finnish energy-saving technology company Hydrocell is to supply fuel cell-powered bicycles and scooters to the University of Birmingham, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) said in a statement Wednesday.
Hydrocell has a retail agreement with British environmental technology company Valeswood. Production is to begin in 2008-9.
The value of the agreement was not disclosed.
16:02 Finns see no need for mobile internet and email
Three quarters of the Finns interviewed by research company Suomen Kyselytutkimus for the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (Ficora) see no need to use the internet or access email through a mobile phone, Ficora said in a statement Wednesday.
More than half of the respondents said they did not want new mobile phone services in any circumstances.
Some 13 per cent of mobile phone users in the land of Nokia access the internet or email with a handset while almost all send text messages.
