Finland's growth up by 2.7%
Finland’s GDP grew by 2.7 percent last year, according to data released by Statistics Finland. Last year, GDP stood at 189 billion euros.
Initial preliminary data released in March put the rate of growth at 2.9 per cent. In real terms, GDP was still 3 percent lower than in 2008.
In 2009, GDP dropped to a record -8.5 percent, following a global economic crisis triggered by the US financial sector meltdown.
According to Statistics Finland, many sectors in Finland's largely export-dependent economy successfully recovered from the battering caused by shrinking global demand.
The upturn was more apparent in the chemical and metal industries. In the service sector, business, health, social services and real estate all showed a growth in fortunes.
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TS: Tens of Finnish-Greek deal documents still unpublished
Many documents in the collateral agreement between Finland and Greece remain unpublished, according to newspaper Taloussanomat. Finland's Supreme Administrative Court had previously ordered that the secret Finnish-Greek deal be made publicly accessible.
New laws bring record number of citizenships
Some 10,000 people were granted Finnish citizenship last year, after amendments to citizenship legislation. The number of citizenship applications is expected to grow year by year.
Oddity of Finnish law – both illegal and legal to ride a bike drunk
According to the law, riding a bicycle while drunk is a serious traffic offense. However, there is no legal penalty because the law does not specify a legal limit to blood alcohol content for cyclists, or for that matter, someone riding a horse.
Former PM: SDP like the Centre of the 70s
Former Centre Party chairman and Prime Minister during the early 90s, Esko Aho, says he sees parallels between the position of the Social Democratic Party today and that of Centre of the 1970s when his party faced the impact of economic change.
Two collisions in Pirkanmaa injure eight, five seriously
Two separate, but nearly identical head-on collisions in Pirkanmaa on Saturday injured eighth people, five of them seriously.
Fake cops steal from tourists
Three men, two posing as policemen, on Friday scammed a group of Brazilian tourists in Helsinki out of several thousand euros.
Pussy Riot members cancel appearances, whereabouts unknown
Weekend performances in Helsinki by two members of the Russian political performance group Pussy Riot, as well as scheduled interviews, were cancelled on Saturday. According to a web posting on the group's site late in the day, the two had no intention of performing in Helsinki. Organizers say otherwise.
STX Turku begins building TUI cruise liner
STX Turku had something to celebrate for a change, as the construction of a cruise liner for the German shipping company TUI kicked off at the shipyard.
Greens gather for party convention
This weekend, the Green League is holding its party convention in Helsinki and Espoo. Ville Niinistö will continue at the helm of the party.
More younger people, women and foreigners caught drink-driving
A new study shows an overall decline in driving under the influence -- and a change in the profile of those involved.
