| TODAY |
Updated 16.5.2012. Next update exceptionally on Friday 18.5. c. 13:00 (GMT+3), owing to the Ascension Day holiday.
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NOTES TO READERS
 ASCENSION DAY, 17.5.
HOME
Pressure grows for mining tax
Environmental problems caused by mining have increased pressure on the government for new legislation. On Tuesday Environment Minister Ville Niinistö called on the government to draft a tax on mines. Minister of Economic Affairs Jyri Häkämies is taking a cautious view on the matter, but he commission a Swedish consultancy firm to do a study on mine tax models in different countries. Rising prices of raw materials have prompted many countries to consider the taxation of mining.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Finnish economic growth strongest in eurozone
Growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) among countries using the common European currency, the euro, from the last quarter in 2011 to Q1 this year, was highest in Finland, the European statistics authority Eurostat reported on Tuesday. According to advance figures from Eurostat, Finnish GDP in January-March 2012 grew by 1.3 per cent from the previous quarter. In the entire eurozone the change in GDP from one quarter to another was an even zero per cent, which means that the euro countries narrowly avoided recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The main factor in keeping the area out of recession was strong growth in Germany.
SPORT
Sami Hyypiä signs 3-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen
The Finnish footballing legend Sami Hyypiä, who earlier this spring was brought in by the German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen to take on the role of “team chief” after the club suffered a run of bad results, has apparently passed with flying colours. This week he secured a three-year contract with the club. The three-year deals with Hyypiä and coach Sascha Lewandowski were made public yesterday. In practice, the two will share the coaching duties. The deal signed was based largely on the coaching duo’s strong performance when they stepped into the breach as caretaker managers this spring. Under Hyypiä and Lewandowski’s guidance, Leverkusen grabbed four wins and two draws in its last six games of the season, finishing in fifth place in the league and securing a Europa League spot.
HOME
Spring sowing season is week behind schedule
CULTURE
Tenor Jorma Silvasti named next artistic director of Savonlinna Opera Festival
CULTURE
Karita Mattila to sing in Helsinki also in 2014
BUSINESS & FINANCE
More state funding to fight youth unemployment
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Reindeer herders see rise in income
SPORT
IIHF World Championships: A day of rest before the knockout stages
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| THIS WEEK |
Updated 15.5.2012. Our next weeklies update will be on Tuesday 22.5.2012, c.17:00 (GMT+3)
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CULTURE
A 100-day challenge at new Music Centre
”Hey, aren't you the new MD?" says soprano Anu Komsi with some astonishment as Katja Leppäkoski, 41, climbs the steps leading onto the stage in the Helsinki Music Centre. The meeting is warm and, from Leppäkoski’s point of view, also a little bit historic: this is the first time she has used her own keys to enter the auditorium. In February Leppäkoski, the festival director of the Pori Jazz Festival, was appointed as the new MD of the Helsinki Music Centre. Leppäkoski’s greatest challenge going forward is to rent out the premises to outside users during those one hundred days a year when the centre’s own orchestras or the Sibelius Academy are not holding concerts. “And no, I'm not planning to bring Pori Jazz down here”, Leppäkoski laughs, though she sees no reason why the use of the Music Centre should be limited to certain music styles. The key issue is to keep it open and vibrant, and to develop it into a venue that people will even travel to from abroad.
COLUMN
GUEST COLUMN: European recession can be seen in declining birth rates
COLUMN
Hungary: freedom under threat
HOME
The "Paper Capital of Finland" in decline: the paper mill closure in Voikkaa in 2006 left an entire generation of young people stranded and without prospects
HOME
COMMENTARY: The Auer case and police “Satan worship expert”
HOME
Be very afraid. Tick season has arrived!
METRO
Weapons confiscated from Somali pirates go on display in Helsinki’s Military Museum
METRO
Flea markets bring warmth to city on otherwise chilly Saturday
CULTURE
Finnish cinema’s global breakthrough
SPORT
Eminently affordable disc golf is quickly gaining popularity in Finland
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