Ten candidates running in the European Parliament election have faced at least one criminal charge over the past five years, according to a report by Helsingin Sanomat.
The most common charges include defamation and incitement against an ethnic group.
The highest number of candidates facing criminal charges are from the Finns Party and the Freedom League. In both parties, 15 percent, or three candidates, have faced one or more charges. The majority of these candidates are men.
With restraining order applications included, the number of Finns Party candidates rises to four, and the percentage to 20.
A charge is not a conviction, and a charge does not necessarily mean that a candidate has committed a crime.
Excessive screen time
High school girls in Helsinki spend up to four hours a day on social media and their average screen time is nearly six hours.
These were the main takeaways from a study conducted by researchers from Helsinki University Hospital, the University of Helsinki, and the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services county in the autumn of 2022 among first-year high school girls in the Helsinki capital region.
Uusisuomi reported that the study, named 3S (School, Sports, and Social Media), aimed to investigate the connections between purposeful studying, sports participation, social media use, body image, mental health, and adolescent development.
The amount of time spent on social media was associated with lower average grades in comprehensive school, higher levels of anxiety, poorer body image, and a negative impact on overall well-being.
"Sixteen percent of the participants met the criteria for possible social media addiction, and these were associated with poorer mental health and well-being. Over one-third of the youth exceeded the threshold for possible anxiety disorder," said Elina Holopainen, a member of the research team.
The study recruited 1,164 15-16-year-old girls starting high school from 21 socio-economically diverse schools in the Helsinki metropolitan area. They represented 59 percent of the girls in the participating schools and slightly over 29 percent of all first-year high school girls in the Helsinki metropolitan area.
All Points North asked examined Finland's relationship with social media. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Get paid to destroy weeds
Now you can make a quick buck by weeding out invasive plant species from Finland.
Commercial broadcaster MTV reported that a Tampere-based mobile app Crowdsorsa has partnered with about 40 cities across Finland to monetarily reward users who pull out invasive species such as lupine or Himalayan balsam.
Participants simply download the game, locate and film the invasive species, remove them, and upload the videos for review. Once their efforts are approved, the player receives a reward in their account — they can earn up to 25 cents per square meter that has been weeded.
The reward is paid by the city where the weeding work is done. The list of cities involved is available on the app.
The idea is to engage residents in combating invasive species and protecting biodiversity while they are out on a stroll in the neighbourhood.
This would be much more cost-effective than assigning a contractor to find and destroy small patches of these invasive plant species, the makers said.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has also been organising similar volunteer efforts for years to eradicate these weeds.
There are hundreds of invasive species growing in Finnish nature. About 150 of them are harmful. However, only two villainous plants have made it into the game.
Himalayan balsam and lupin are easy to recognize, non-toxic, and easy to eradicate, according to the makers.
The game can be played through the summer as long as there is money left in the reward pool.
Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here.
