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09:10 Finland's foreign ministry asks Russia to report on forest fires
Finland's foreign ministry has asked Russia's emergency and forest authorities for information on the forest fires in Russia and about measures taken to extinguish them, according to a statement by the ministry Tuesday.
Forest fires raging in Karelia on the Russian side of the border are not about to spread into Finland, but increasingly poor air quality due to smoke has worried Finnish authorities.
The foreign ministry is looking into the situation at the request of the ministry of the interior. Finland's embassy in Moscow and main consulate in St Petersburg have communicated to Russia Finland's concerns about environmental damage caused in Finland by the forest fires, the foreign ministry said in the statement.
09:25 Pilot dies in hydroplane crash in Finland
The pilot of a hydroplane died in an accident in south-eastern Finland Tuesday evening, according to the Salo police.
The plane crashed into power lines and fell into a lake below. Police said the pilot was the only person in the plane and nothing indicating a crime is connected with the incident.
10:38 Iceland debates joining eurozone -Iceland's FM in Finland
Valgerdur Sverrisdottir, Iceland's foreign minister, said there is a serious debate in Iceland on joining the eurozone. Ms Sverrisdottir, speaking at a news conference in Finland Tuesday, said Iceland still did not have any intention of joining the European Union.
During her visit Ms Sverrisdottir met with Erkki Tuomioja (soc dem), Finland's foreign minister, for talks on bilateral relations and Finland's EU Presidency.
Mr Tuomioja was sceptical about Iceland joining the eurozone without being an EU member, although he commented that Serbia and Montenegro already uses the euro without being part of the EU.
11:08 Jordanian, Finnish FMs discuss Middle East in Finland
Abdulilah al-Khatib, Jordan's foreign minister, met with his Finnish opposite number Erkki Tuomioja (soc dem) in Finland Tuesday for talks on the situation in the Middle East.
Mr Tuomioja said the foreign ministers had discussed issues related to the conflict very extensively and that the meeting had been important. According to Mr Tuomioja Jordan has usually had a constructive role in the Middle East and that the country considered the EU to be an important partner.
The Jordanian foreign minister's visit is to be followed up Wednesday by a visit to Finland by Jordan's King Abdullah II. King Abdullah is to meet with Tarja Halonen, Finland's president, for talks on the Middle Eastern crisis.
Mr Tuomioja is to travel to Egypt Wednesday for talks with Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the country's foreign minister.
11:54 Finland's Aspocomp's posts loss, sells module division
Finnish electronic component maker Aspocomp posted Wednesday a 9.4 million euro operating loss for the January-June period. In the year-ago period the company's loss was at 7.3 million euros.
Aspocomp's net sales increased to 80.2 million euros for the first half of the year, up from 75.4 million euros year-on-year.
"Performance in the first half of the year was unacceptable due to the ongoing conversion project at the Salo, Finland PCB plant," Maija-Liisa Friman, chief executive, said in a statement Wednesday.
According to Ms Friman the markets for printed circuit boards (PCBs) grew throughout the first half of the year. Asian markets are estimated to grow by around 10 per cent during the second half while decline is expected elsewhere.
The company also stated Tuesday that it was selling its modules division to Selmic, a Finland-based company. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Aspocomp's shares went down 7.6 per cent Wednesday morning following the company's statements.
12:17 Dr Puska chosen as Finland's candidate for WHO director general
Dr Pekka Puska, 60, the director general of the National Public Health Institute of Finland, has been chosen as Finland's candidate to be the new director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), provincial daily Karjalainen reported Wednesday.
The new director general is to be chosen at an extraordinary general meeting in Geneva in November.
Dr Puska's candidacy was proposed at the EU's UN work group in Brussels, the social and health ministry told the Finnish News Agency (STT) Wednesday. All official applicants will be known by September 5.
After the sudden death of WHO's previous director general, Dr Lee Jong-wook, Dr Anders Nordström has worked as acting director general since May.
13:04 In Finland, electricity shortfall possible by 2009 -Fingrid's Toivonen
Finland's electricity production capacity might prove to be insufficient in the time leading up to completion of the third nuclear power plant at Olkiluoto in 2009, Timo Toivonen, national grid operator Fingrid's chief executive said in a statement Tuesday.
Mr Toivonen's assessment of a possible energy shortfall before 2009 was based on a report on the development of the Nordic electricity market by Nordel, published in the spring.
According to Mr Toivonen, Nordel's forecast indicates that once Olkiluoto 3 is ready, power plant capacity will be sufficient. "Before the unit is completed there could exist insufficiency," Mr Toivonen added.
Olkiluoto's third unit is to have a capacity of 1,600 Megawatts.
13:18 Egyptian, Finnish FMs to discuss Lebanon crisis in Egypt
Finland's foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday that Erkki Tuomioja (soc dem), foreign minister, is to visit Egypt Wednesday and Thursday.
Mr Tuomioja is to meet with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit for talks focusing especially on finding a solution to the crisis in Lebanon.
13:27 Fourth UN Khiam casualty confirmed as Finland's Jarno Mäkinen
The fourth UN military observer killed at the Khiam observation post in Lebanon has been identified in Tel Aviv, Israel. Finland's Defence Staff confirmed Wednesday that the fourth casualty is Lieutenant Commander Jarno Mäkinen, as previously believed.
The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization's (UNTSO) base in Khiam was destroyed on July 25 in an air and artillery strike by the Israeli army. Four UN military observers, from Austria, Canada, China and Finland, died in the strike.
13:40 Finland's Amer Sports narrows losses, increases net sales
Amer Sports, a Finnish sporting equipments group, reported Wednesday a pre-tax loss of 19 million euros in the January-June period, compared to a 25 million euro loss in the year ago period.
Net sales for the group in the first half of the year were up to 740 million euros from 690 million euros one year ago.
14:46 Smoke from Russian forest fires reaches Finland's capital
Smoke emanating from Russian forest fires on the other side of Finland's eastern border has reached the country's capital. The city's air was still smoke-free on Wednesday morning, but by midday, an easterly wind had begun to blow smoke into Helsinki. The density of the smoke has also led to poor visibility in certain areas.
"The direction of the wind will dictate how much smoke there is in the Helsinki air," said Marjatta Malkki, air quality expert at the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV).
The Finnish Meteorological Institute has forecast easterly winds for the coming days.
"According to our forecasts, there will be most smoke on Thursday in the northern parts of Estonia. The wind will turn slightly to the south, and so the smoke will no longer blow straight into the Helsinki area. The level of smoke present in Helsinki today will be found in the Tallinn area tomorrow," said research professor, Risto Hillamo, of the institute.
RAIN NEEDED TO CLEAR AIR
The highest levels of smoke density are on Finland's eastern border with Russia, but there is little hope of rain to clear the air in the next few days.
"Rainfall would clear the air and calm the fires, but there is no rain forecast for the coming days," added Professor Hillamo.
15:05 Ryanair to expand flights from Tampere, Finland
Budget airline Ryanair announced on Wednesday its plans to start operating a Tampere-Dublin flight as of December 2006. The flights to Dublin would depart from Finland's Tampere-Pirkkala airport four times a week.
Ryanair began operating flights from Tampere three years ago. According to company estimates, almost 400,000 people have flown to or from Tampere with Ryanair already this year. The company views Finland as a growing market, and expects its growth in Finland to reach 20 per cent this year.
Ryanair currently flies to three destinations from Tampere-Pirkkala.
The company is Europe's biggest budget airline and operates 351 routes, flying to 23 countries.
15:59 Income differences between Finnish men and women persist - report
The BIT Research Centre of Helsinki University of Technology published its report on equal pay through pay systems reforms on Wednesday, concluding that income differences between men and women could still be reduced. The report observed that new pay systems are insufficient to address the problem, and workplace bosses should be encouraged to value the work of all workers under their authority equally. This is deemed to require training and education.
The project, funded by Finland's health ministry and the European social fund, studied the practices and salary changes at workplaces in five Finnish cities, as well as various large industrial companies.
The pay systems reforms resulted in smaller income differences between the sexes in a number of industry workplaces, but similar effects were not found in the city workplaces studied, according to the report. The frontrunner was found to be the chemicals industry, where income differences between male and female employees had been reduced by almost 30 per cent. However, it is noted that the income differences in this sector were particularly large prior to the reforms.
WOMEN UNINFORMED
The researchers participating in the project interviewed workers and organised educational sessions focused on income differences. The researchers also analysed statistics on salary developments since the pay systems reforms were implemented. In the workplaces studied, thirteen different pay systems based on collective bargaining contracts were used, of which a number dated back to the mid-1990s.
The project leader, Carita Lahti, noted that it was previously widely believed that the pay systems reforms would automatically reduce the practice of unequal pay. This is not, however, the case, as old values continue to influence the differing value placed on work conducted by men and women, even under the new systems.
Therefore, the report recommends that workplace bosses undergo training to challenge underlying values giving rise to unequal pay. The research has also identified weaknesses in women's knowledge of salaries and pay rises.
OPPOSITION TO REFORMS
A large part of wage differences can be explained by the fact that men and women are employed for different tasks and in different sectors. As such, they frequently work under different pay systems.
Not all workplace bosses were in favour of the pay systems reforms for equal pay, and the study found the reforms to be strongly opposed in some workplaces.
The project studied workplaces in Helsinki, Järvenpää, Lohja, Pori and Turku. Among the companies participating in the research were Cloetta Fazer, Nokia and Ekokem.
16:14 Finland's Greens undergo image re-haul
Finland's Greens announced a re-haul of their image on Wednesday. The party is no longer to be known by its former title, the Green League, and is to take on its more commonly used title, the Greens. The party has also renewed its logo.
The Greens' new party colour is brighter and clearer. The party chairwoman, Tarja Cronberg, claimed that the re-haul is intended to brighten both the party's image and its message.
She added that the Greens have been perceived as a party of change, and therefore insecure. The Greens are now on a mission to show voters that changes can often bring security, whether the changes concern reducing dependency on oil or improving the situation of those engaged in short-term work.
16:50 Finnish President, Jordanian King call for Middle East ceasefire
Discussions between Finland's president, Tarja Halonen, and the King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday concluded with a mutual call by the leaders for an unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
"I wish to stress that an end to violence in southern Lebanon would save civilian lives," said President Halonen.
According to the president, the onus is now on the UN Security Council, from whom a resolution is awaited on the crisis in Lebanon.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict affects Jordan particularly, due to its border with Israel and Palestine, as well as the fact that the country hosts a significant Palestinian minority.
The two leaders also discussed the situation in Iraq, which is Jordan's north-eastern neighbour.
