Finland's largest circulation daily, Helsingin Sanomat is among the papers reporting that finance minister Katri Kulmuni intends to dig into her own pocket to pay the close 50,000 euros spent by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment on the services of a company used to coach her public appearances.
The paper says that it has now come to light that the ministry did not follow standard government purchase guidelines in contracting the services offered to Kulmuni.
The secretary of Kulmuni's Centre Party, Riikka Pirkkalainen tweeted Wednesday evening that the party had offered to foot the bill, but that the minister decided that she will personally reimburse the ministry for the coaching costs.
By law, public contracts for acquisitions are awarded only after a competitive bidding process, if the costs exceed 60,000 euros. However, the cabinet has its own guidelines that set the limit at 20,000 euros.
Helsingin Sanomat notes that English-language public presentation coaching services were contracted for government ministers in preparation for Finland's Presidency of the EU Council last year. Those services, comprised of 15-20 hours of individual coaching, cost 8,500 euros per participant.
Racist tweet
Finns Party MP Ano Turtiainen is facing disciplinary action from his party's parliamentary group after posting an image on his Twitter account mocking the death of George Floyd, the American black man who died on 25 May when a white police officer pressed his knee to Floyd's neck during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The tabloid Iltalehti reports that the tweet was later removed, but not before it aroused a backlash on social media.
The paper says that Turtiainen's use of social media has landed him the headlines in the past, as well. Last year, he was sharply criticized for Facebook comments about Ebola deaths in Africa and comments mocking the work of the Red Cross.
Interviewed by Iltalehti, the leader of the Finns Party's parliamentary group, MP Ville Tavio said that Turtiainen's actions were unacceptable and that he will face sanctions.
The group is scheduled to discuss the incident today, Thursday. Actions that may be taken against Turtiainen range from a warning to expulsion from the party group.
Defence Forces Day
Thursday is the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces, an annual event usually marked by a military parade featuring the various branches of the nation's armed forces.
Savon Sanomat is among the dailies reporting that because of restrictions on the size of crowds at public events currently in force, this year's parade, which was planned to take place in the south coast town of Raasepori, has been cancelled.
The day will still include some traditional events such as a flag-raising ceremony at the presidential residence of Mäntyniemi and a wreath-laying ceremony at a war memorial in Helsinki's Hietaniemi cemetery.
There will also be a concert by the Navy band which will be broadcast live by Yle, beginning at 11AM.
Fighter planes of the Finnish Air Force will stage flyovers in several parts of the country.
Oulu's Kaleva reports that the Air Force's Lapland squadron will fly F/A-18 Hornets over a three routes: Rovaniemi–Kemi–Oulu–Rovaniemi, Rovaniemi–Ivalo–Rovaniemi and Rovaniemi–Kuusamo–Rovaniemi.
In the capital, there will be a flyover and the Air Force's Midnight Hawks aerobatics team will present an air show during the morning hours.
Digital summer camps
The Swedish-language daily Hufvudstadsbladet carries a report about a project to provide children with online activities to replace traditional summer camps cancelled because of the coronavirus epidemic.
It focuses on a project providing 31 different digital summer "camps" over a three day period in July for Finnish-Swedish children in grades 1-6 being organized by the Friends of the Swedish Folk School (SFV) in collaboration with eleven other organizations.
The camps will consist of workshops covering a diverse spectrum of topics and activities such as fishing tips, jump rope tricks, making snack smoothies, programming, treasure hunts, animal husbandry, video editing, insect hotels, drama, bike repair, and making musical instruments out of vegetables.
These are not all indoor activities, but all are presented and supervised online using Google Classroom.
Seasonal warning
Noting that warm summer weather has arrived and bar and restaurant terraces are finally open again, the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat reminds its readers that sunshine and alcohol can make for an unhealthy mix.
It points out that dehydration caused by consuming large quantities of alcohol can easily land you in the hospital.
"In the worse case, it may lead to heat stroke. That means you are so dehydrated that your vital functions slow down," Jarmo Kantonen, a physician specialized in substance abuse at Terveystalo explains.
Ilta-Sanomat's writes that if you are drinking in the sun and start to feel weak, it is wise to retreat to a shady spot and have some water and something salty.
It is also wise to use sunscreen. Jarmo Kantonen told that paper that sunburns account for more patients seeing doctors during the summer than do the effects of dehydration.
Kantonen's professional advice is to, "Enjoy the warm weather, and each other, but in moderation."