The newsstand tabloid Ilta-Sanomat crystallized the disappointment of Finland's shut-out loss in Sunday's Ice Hockey World Championship final for players and fans alike with a series of photos of the brightest star of the tournament, 18-year-old Patrik Laine, sitting on the ice, looking crushed and close to tears.
Laine was named tournament MVP, the best forward in the competition and to the media’s all-star team. Even with those personal achievements, Ilta-Sanomat notes, Laine and his fellow teammates had to settle for this year's Silver medal.
The Tampere-based Aamulehti reports that instead of the hoped-for street celebrations, post-game crowds in Tampere were subdued.
Even so, the paper found three young men who despite their disappointment went ahead with their plan for a celebratory swim in the fountain on the city's main square.
Anttoni Åberg, Jere Pohjonen and Sakri Arkimies stripped off and sat in the waters, faces showing their disappointment, but voicing hopes for the next time.
"It would have been fun to be happily splashing around. But, there's still next year," Pohjonen told the paper.
Two passers-by, Vilma Vikman and Vilma Juurinen were not without pride in the Lion's tournament showing, telling Aamulehti that in their opinion the Lion's earned their Silver.
Growing underground?
The Kuopio-based newspaper Savon Sanomat reports that Interior Minister Petteri Orpo is worried that there will be a rise in the number of undocumented immigrants in Finland.
Police recently reported that around 2,500 asylum seekers had vanished from reception centres last year and so far this year. Interviewed by Savon Sanomat on Sunday, Orpo said that most of these people have probably left the country.
"I am more concerned about those whose applications have been rejected and don't want to leave the country. If those getting a negative decision do not want to leave, there is a danger of the creation of a sub-culture, and that these people will go underground," the Interior Minister told Savon Sanomat.
He said an effort is being made to prevent this through the use of special, higher-security centres for people being returned and upgraded police monitoring of aliens.
Orpo also expressed concerns that if local governments do not accept the placement of more people who receive asylum, they will congregate in the capital region and create immigrant "slums".
"I don't want the situation to get out of hand even for security officials, as it has in Sweden," stated Orpo.
According to Orpo, the provision by local governments of places for refugees to live and integrate is poor at the moment. The situation is a bit better in municipalities along the west coast, he said, but more need to be taken in by local governments nationwide.
Cheap travel
The economic and business daily Taloussanomat tells readers today that it is possible to travel by bus or train to a wide number of destination this summer for as little as one euro. The paper's advice, though is to book soon and plan to travel at off-peak periods.
Taloussanomat notes that domestic ticket prices have fallen with a vengeance over the past few years, with the cheapest trips costing from one to a few dozen euros. If one is not bound by a travel schedule, a few dozen euros can get you all around the country.
Not only are long-distance bus services offering low summer fares, some train tickets are being offered at rock-bottom prices. VR restructured its fares in February, and cut prices overall by a quarter. About 15% of train tickets are special low-price fares.
Lower prices have also led to surge in the use of mass transport, with some operators claiming that without today's lower fares, over 50% of passengers would be using their own cars.
While there is a lot of variation in travel pricing, a comparison by Taloussanomat shows that bus travel is still the most economic. Air fares are in a much more expensive class of their own.