Tony Öhberg | Finland Today | News in English

The Rise of Robert Helenius and Why He Hates The Finnish Attitude

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 22, 2015 11:27 pm | Human Interest

Robert Helenius, ‘The Nordic Nightmare’, has been under the radar, improving himself. After two years, he is faster, stronger and more focused than ever.

Mexico has 450 billion euros to invest in foreign countries – Finland one of the targets

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 20, 2015 7:40 pm | Politics

Jose Antonio Meade Kuribrena, the secretary of foreign affairs of Mexico, visited Finland for the first time on Friday to discuss the investment business and, of course, the international politics and its problems: counterterrorism, the disarmament of nuclear weapons and the value of a strong environment treaty.

President Niinistö wishes happy Chinese New Year of the Goat

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 20, 2015 6:00 pm | Politics

“I would like to send my warmest wishes to the people of China from the snowy Finland, the home of the Santa Claus. I wish you happy Chinese New Year!” Niinistö says in his greetings.

Swede’s try six-hour workdays – A model for Finland too?

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 20, 2015 4:58 pm | Nation

Swede’s are trying a six-hour workday. In a hospital in Norrland, the employees will work six hours instead of eight and get paid fully. This has raised discussion in Finland, too. Could the model work here?

Hundreds celebrate Chinese New Year of the Goat at the Lasipalatsi Square in Helsinki

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 18, 2015 7:53 pm | Culture

Chinese New Year was celebrated at the Lasipalatsi Square in Kamppi starting from 16:00 on Wednesday afternoon. Hundreds of people gathered at the square to enjoy the performances, the food and the New Year countdown at 18:00 when the year turned from the year of Horse to the year of the Goat/Sheep.

Here’s how Finland will strengthen military cooperation with Sweden in the near future

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 18, 2015 12:03 pm | Politics

Carl Haglund, the minister of defence and his Swedish counterpart, Peter Hultqvist, received a report on Tuesday evening, which explains how the neighbouring countries will strengthen their military cooperation in the future.
Here are the highlights of the report conducted together by the militaries and the defence ministries of Finland and Sweden.

More fighters join radical militant organisations from Finland than from Ireland, Switzerland or Norway

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 17, 2015 5:13 am | Nation

The number of foreigners that have joined Sunni militant organisations in the Syria, Iraq conflict continues to rise, according to an insight report published by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence ICSR.

Over 400,000 Finns start their skiing vacation on Monday

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 16, 2015 3:17 pm | Nation

In total, during the upcoming three weeks, as the date for the vacation varies regionally, the vacation is celebrated by about 800,000 pupils. Somewhat 114,000 citizens involved in working life held their winter vacation in February last year and the number is expected to remain close to the same.

This is how Finland’s security policy looks like after increased terrorism and Russia’s actions

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 16, 2015 5:12 am | Nation

The threat of terrorism is on the rise and the complexity of threats and risks is growing, and the relationship between Russia and the West is now characterised by mistrust and the prospects for cooperation have deteriorated.

Here’s What Finnish Celebrities Expect From Fifty Shades of Grey

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 14, 2015 9:56 pm | Entertainment

While waiting for the invitational premiere of Fifty Shades of Grey to start, the guests, consisting of celebrities and Grey-fans, sipped champagne and mingled and snacked on popcorn. I asked about some of the expectations of the celebs before the bell rang.

World Bank president Jim Yong Kim arrives to Finland for fight against poverty

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 13, 2015 5:08 pm | Politics

Jim Yong King, the president of World Bank, and the fighter against inequality, visited Finland on Wednesday.

FILM REVIEW: Fifty Shades of Grey attempts to rewrite the script of love

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 11, 2015 12:00 pm | Films

Dakota’s role as Anastasia is the best part of the film. Her screen presence and how she acts the role of the innocence and determination and the naivety, however just subtle enough, to keep the viewer on toes.

Finland is the only country in EU where homelessness continues to decrease

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 11, 2015 3:48 am | Nation

Finland is the only country in the European Union where homelessness continues to decrease, a study, released on Tuesday, reveals.

There is more milk than in past nine years – pork production declines with 186 kilos of slaughtered meat

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 9, 2015 4:39 pm | Nation

Last year, dairies received just over 2.288 million litres of milk, according to the statistics released by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). The production volume was the highest in nine years, and the amount of produced organic milk kept rising, with 47 million litres produced.

Russian news agency quotes President Niinistö wrong on a sensitive subject

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 9, 2015 8:08 am | Politics

President Sauli Niinistö was quoted wrong by the Russian news agency, Interfax, on Saturday.

After Watching This Video Saying Even A Few Finnish Words Correctly Makes You Feel Like A Superhero

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 8, 2015 6:36 pm | Entertainment

After watching this video, created for an installation at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year, where foreigners try to pronounce Finnish compound words, saying correctly even a few phrases makes you feel like a superhero.

Whisky Business

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 7, 2015 7:16 am | Culture

UISGE whisky festival brings together the whisky enthusiasts and about 200 bottles of unique flavours from around the world.

I wish there were more films like Theo’s House

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 6, 2015 8:00 am | Films

Theo’s House is one of those films that leave you thinking about love, life and the shortness of it.

President Niinistö flies to Munich to discuss the collapse of international order

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 6, 2015 5:14 am | Politics

President Sauli Niinistö will attend the Munich Security Conference on February 6-8 in Germany.

Interior minister Päivi Räsänen is on sick leave after the car crash

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 3, 2015 4:05 pm | Nation

After the car crash on Monday, interior minister Päivi Räsänen is on sick leave until Sunday February 8.

WATCH: Liam Neeson stars in a 9 million USD Super Bowl commercial for the Finnish Supercell

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 3, 2015 5:16 am | Entertainment

Actor Liam Neeson joins with the Finnish mobile game company Supercell in a commercial for their top mobile game ‘Clash of Clans’.

PICTURES: Prince Edward and Countess Sophie meet with the Finnish presidential couple

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 2, 2015 7:03 pm | Politics

The Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, and Countess Sophie arrived in Finland for a week-long visit.

Interior minister Päivi Räsänen is rushed into hospital after car crash

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 2, 2015 3:12 pm | Nation

Päivi Räsänen, the minister of the interior, is rushed into the hospital on Monday morning after a car crash.

Prince Edward and Countess Sophie are visiting Finland on Monday

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 2, 2015 5:41 am | Nation

The Earl of Wessex and the countess: Prince Edward and Sophie, are visiting Finland on Monday. Picture: Yate Armadillo/Flickr

DocPoint pulls a record crowd of about 30,000

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 2, 2015 4:54 am | Films

DocPoint breaks the record amount of spectators in the history of the six-day-long documentary festival with almost 30,000 visitors in Helsinki.

PICTURES: Winners of the Jussi Film Awards 2015

Posted by Tony Öhberg | February 1, 2015 7:32 pm | Culture

Producer Aleksi Bardy grabs the award for the best film ‘They Have Escaped’ and the other winners in pictures.

Finland steps up border control

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 30, 2015 5:55 am | Nation

Finland has stepped up the border control after the terrorist attacks in Paris.

Demonstrators Rally Against Killing of the Endangered Wolf

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 29, 2015 7:07 am | Archives, Human Interest

Hundreds rally in Helsinki against thinning of the endangered wolf population in Finland on Wednesday.

President Niinistö and Berzins: Finnish and Latvian citizens are afraid

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 28, 2015 2:37 pm | Politics

President Sauli Niinistö discusses with his Latvian counterpart, President Andris Berzins, about the concern of citizens, sanctions and Russia.

President Niinistö: Injustice never justifies violence

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 27, 2015 10:15 pm | Politics

President Sauli Niinistö speaks about injustice, violence and the Holocaust at the Synagogue of Helsinki on Tuesday evening.

“Every series is supposed to bring significant content on the big screen”

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 27, 2015 9:15 pm | Films

The world changes but there is one subject that sticks: Russia,” says Ulla Simonen, the artistic director of DocPoint documentary film festival, during the opening ceremony at the Savoy theatre on Tuesday evening.

DocPoint showcases a total of 166 documentaries – starts today

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 27, 2015 4:28 pm | Films

Eleven Finnish documentary films from 2014 will be shown at the DocPoint documentary festival at the end of January. They are all subtitled in English.

Siwa cuts prices of several dozen products and Valintatalo and Euromarket too

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 27, 2015 2:46 pm | Nation

Prices of several dozen products will be cut during the following week in Siwas, Euromarket and Valintatalo – in the stores owned by Suomen Lähikauppa Oy, according to the CEO, Rolf Holmlund.

Finnish UFC fighter Makwan Amirkhani drops his opponent in 8 seconds

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 27, 2015 8:45 am | Nation

“Would a rematch be an option for you? Or do you just want to move on?” Makwan...

Finland commemorates victims of the Holocaust today

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 27, 2015 7:17 am | Nation

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp in the contemporary Poland, where about 1.1 million prisoners were killed.

President Niinistö in Brussels: We have to think how to improve relations with our big neighbour

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 24, 2015 6:00 am | Politics

President Sauli Niinistö visited Brussels on January 21-22 to meet the heads of various EU...

Secret crime register of the Finnish police contains over 10,000 names – celebrities on the list

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 23, 2015 6:16 am | Nation

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was the first person of high profile who was found in the secret register of the Finnish police in the spring of 2013. Now, several Finnish politicians and artists were found in the database as well.

To join or not to join: that is the question when US Air Force calls for military exercise in Estonia

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 21, 2015 6:38 am | Politics

The upcoming Nato military exercise with Estonia at the beginning of May causes confusion among Finnish politicians and the media.

Kaisaniemi metro station is now University of Helsinki

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 20, 2015 4:27 pm | Nation

Kaisaniemi metro station is ceremonially renamed to University of Helsinki on Tuesday afternoon.

S Group drops prices of groceries as much as 30 per cent on Monday – view examples of the new prices

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 19, 2015 3:23 am | Nation

Prices of popular goods at S Group’s grocery stores will drop permanently as much as 30 per cent on Monday.

The Dudesons win Golden Venlas in two categories – Iranian-born Alizad grabs the prize for bright spot of the year

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 17, 2015 12:03 am | Nation

The Golden Venla Awards, the Finnish equivalent of the American Emmy’s, were handed out late on Friday evening for the best Finnish television shows in 2014.

Man commits double axe murder in Oulu – police shoot the suspect after attacking an officer

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 15, 2015 5:00 pm | Nation

A man murders two people at a local pub in Oulu with an axe. The police shoot the suspect.

A data workgroup: Finland needs to change the law on internet surveillance in fighting terrorism

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 15, 2015 2:06 pm | Politics

A working group on data acquisition hands a report to Carl Haglund, the minister of defence, to open up a discussion on changing laws on monitoring internet traffic in the fight against terrorism. However, this could also jeopardise the privacy of ordinary citizens.

Iivo Niskanen and Sami Jauhojärvi win the Athlete of the Year award

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 14, 2015 12:05 am | Nation

The Finnish Athlete of the Year is a duo, Iivo Niskanen, 23, and Sami Jauhojärvi, 33, who won Olympic gold in men’s cross-country skiing team sprint at Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. It’s the first time in the history of the Finnish Sports Gala when a duo wins the title.

PM Stubb after the unity rally in Paris: Unforgettable

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 12, 2015 3:45 am | Politics

Stubb was one of the marchers among a crowd of over 1.5 million in the unity rally in Paris on Sunday afternoon, which was arranged to commemorate the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Hundreds of people write and draw condolences in Helsinki for victims of Charlie Hebdo attack

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 11, 2015 8:56 pm | Human Interest

About 250 people send their condolences to the French Embassy on Sunday.

Prime minister Stubb to attend Charlie Hebdo commemoration march in Paris on Sunday

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 11, 2015 1:17 am | Politics

Prime minister Alexander Stubb will travel to Paris to attend the Unity Rally, arranged to honour the victims of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.

Victims of Charlie Hebdo attack are honoured in Helsinki on Sunday – gathering supports Unity Rally in Paris

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 11, 2015 12:51 am | Human Interest

HELSINKI – On Sunday, January 11, a support gathering to honour the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre will be arranged at Kansalaistori, between Kiasma and the Music Centre, at 16:00.

Port of Helsinki enjoys a record-breaking year in passenger and cargo traffic

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 10, 2015 10:22 pm | Nation

The Port of Helsinki, the main harbour of Finland, enjoys a record-breaking year in both: the passenger and cargo traffic.

Snow showers and icy roads ahead

Posted by Tony Öhberg | January 10, 2015 4:43 am | Nation

Winter storm will send howling winds across southern Scandinavia and northern Europe through the weekend and usher gusting winds and snow showers to Finland, too.

Author: Tony Öhberg

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