New data on the prison populations of European countries were just released by the Finnish Criminal Sanctions Agency (RISE) and the Council of Europe.
The statistics show there are fewer foreigners doing time in Finnish prisons than in European prisons overall, but non-Finns comprise about 16 percent of the population in Finnish prisons the daily Hufvudstadsbladet reports.
In Norway and Denmark the figures are significantly higher – with some one-third of inmates being foreigners. In Sweden the figure is about 22 percent.
Finland's prisons have higher-than-average rates of incarcerating people from the EU, according to the Council of Europe. RISE Researcher Marja-Liisa Muiluvuori says that's because there are so many Estonians in Finnish prisons, the paper writes.
RISE's latest statistics show that there are some 480 non-Finnish people in Finnish prisons. Among those include 121 Estonians, 37 Russians, 35 Iraqis and 32 Lithuanians. These figures include prisoners on remand, according to the paper.
According to Statistics Finland figures, as of 2014 there were some 219,675 foreigners living in the country out of a total population of 5.47 million people.
Pregnant Finnish mothers biggest smokers in Nordics
While tobacco smoking is in decline in the country, Finland leads the Nordics in mothers who smoke during the final months of pregnancy – and ostensibly also throughout, Ilta-Sanomat writes.
According to National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) statistics measured in 2014, some 15 percent of women smoked tobacco during the first trimester of pregnancy – a figure that reportedly hasn't changed much since the mid-1990s.
The number of pregnant women who smoke has been in decline across the Nordic countries since the 1980s, and the habit has fallen off the most in Sweden.
At the beginning of the 1980s more than 30 percent of Swedish women smoked during the first trimester of pregnancy, while today that figure lies at around six percent, the paper writes.
Pendolino train hits van at 140 km/h
Evening tabloid Iltalehti reports that the driver of a van miraculously survived without serious injury after the vehicle was hit by a Pendolino train going approximately 140 kilometres per hour in northern Karelia on Monday evening.
The train, which was on its way from Helsinki to Joensuu hit the van as it was crossing the tracks.
According to fire chief Tiia Turunen the driver tried to get out of the vehicle as the train approached at high speed but did not make it in time.
However, apart from having to be helped out from the vehicle by rescue workers because he was stuck behind the steering wheel, the man appeared to be only slightly injured and walked to the ambulance on his own, Turunen said, but did not specify what type of injury the accident victim received.
The van was completely destroyed, and the crash forced train passengers to be taken by buses for the rest of the journey towards Joensuu, the paper writes.
Kesko plans Citymarket makeover
Food retailer giant Kesko has announced it plans to update its chain of Citymarket grocery store outlets, business paper Taloussanomat reports.
After the renovations, Citimarket outlets will feature Starbucks café outlets and DHL and Posti mail service counters.
Inside the stores, among other things, Kesko's reboot of the chain will focus on fresh, diverse product selections and a smoother shopping experience.
The stores will also update kitchen equipment, cosmetics, flowers, books and stationery departments in the process.
The Citymarket located at the Sello shopping centre in Espoo has already gone through the makeover, which was completed last autumn, the paper writes.
There are 81 Citymarket stores across the country, and the renovations should be complete by the end of 2018, according to the paper.