The Economist: Helsinki world's 7th most livable city
Helsinki has again been ranked as one of the best cities in the world. The latest index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks the Finnish capital in seventh place worldwide, down from sixth last year.
Melbourne took the top spot, nabbing the title as the world's most livable city. Canada's Vancouver, which dominated the rankings for almost a decade, is now third behind the Austrian capital, Vienna.
Cities were scored on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality health care, cultural events, the environment, education and the standard of infrastructure.
Australian cities featured prominently in the top ten, with Sydney ranked sixth and Perth and Adelaide in joint eighth place, according to the survey.
Recent turmoil affected results
The Arab uprisings prompted a fall in livability for affected cities in the Middle East. This was most pronounced in Tripoli, where the descent into civil war saw its ranking plummet from 107th to 135th. The Greek capital Athens meanwhile dropped five places to 67th due to recent government cutbacks and protests.
The Economist Intelligence Unit survey ranked 140 cities based on research involving resident experts and in-house analysts.
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SDP chair rejects calls to appoint new Foreign Minister
Social Democratic Party chair and Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen has rejected calls to appoint a new Foreign Minister, saying that incumbent Erkki Tuomioja is “the right man” for the job. The demands followed Urpilainen’s decision Friday to shake up the party's cabinet lineup.
Restaurant Day celebrates Finland’s growing culinary diversity
A group of hard-boiled food enthusiasts has cooked up the ninth Restaurant Day, which takes place Saturday. The idea has been to feed a grass roots movement celebrating food, fellowship and community. Today’s festival of culinary delights involves more than 1,500 so-called pop-up restaurants in Finland and beyond.
Bus drivers’ strike continues through the weekend
Bus drivers who shut down their engines and walked off the job at a Vantaa bus depot last Tuesday will continue their work stoppage through the weekend. The drivers are protesting plans to introduce a new shift system, which they say provides inadequate rest periods. Employer and employee representatives have had no success resolving the impasse.
"Russian Google” Yandex sets up in Mäntsälä
One of the world’s largest search engine providers has announced plans to fast track construction of a server centre in Mäntsälä, in southern Finland. Yandex, also known as the “Russian Google” says Finland is an ideal location for a server hub, partly due to competitive energy prices.
Finnish cabinet now running on woman power
The SDP cabinet reshuffle announced Friday has transformed the makeup of Finland’s cabinet, tipping the balance in favour of women. The government’s ministerial lineup now features ten women and nine men. Finland was previously led by a majority female government during Matti Vanhanen’s second term and by his successor Mari Kiviniemi.
Finland’s ”gay” Eurovision entry leaves Georgians cold
Thousands of supporters gathered in the Georgian capital Tblisi for a major gay rights demonstration in support of the Eurovision song contest and in honour of this year’s International Day against Homophobia. The backdrop to the demonstration has been outrage caused in the traditionally conservative country by a girl-on-girl kiss in the climax of the performance of Finnish Eurovision competitor Krista Siegfrids.
SDP Chair Urpilainen: Cabinet changes to continue
SDP chair and Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen thanked her party’s ministers for their efforts following the announcement of a re-assignment of portfolios Friday. The new ministers are to be confirmed in their posts by the President next week. Urpilainen said that other changes are in the offing for the party's ministerial group.
IT firm Tieto culls jobs again
Last year, Tieto announced the elimination of 1,300 jobs in a large scale restructuring programme. This time around the Finnish IT company is looking to downsize its consultancy and integration services and plans to cut nearly 200 jobs in Finland.
SDP reshuffles portfolios
The Social Democratic Party on Friday announced changes in its line-up of cabinet ministers. Two are to be replaced while one will take over a new portfolio.
Summery weather rolls in
Warm temperatures nationwide and the chance of thunder showers in southern and central regions are making it look a lot like summer again.
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