HUS offers remote video consultation for children too Health DF Report The Helsinki-Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) will introduce remote video consultation for children from Friday, said HUS in a press release on Wednesday. The Medical Helpline in Uusimaa will offer remote appointments for children’s illnesses. A doctor can hold a remote video consultation with the child and parent. The service expansion is supported by evidence of high client satisfaction and excellent treatment outcomes in remote appointments. Starting April 19, 2024, remote appointments can be offered for child patients s ..read more

VR sees more long-distance passengers in March DF Report About 1.25 million journeys were made by train in long-distance traffic in Finland in March, showing a year-on-year increase of 19%, said national railway operator VR in a press release on Wednesday. Growth was driven especially by Easter, which fell at the end of March. "In March, we were able to return to normal traffic following the track damage that occurred in February. The growth in passenger volumes in long-distance traffic was also driven by Easter, during which many people travelled to, for example, the north to enjoy the sprin ..read more

Fortum, Vargön Alloys sign 5-year power purchase deal DF News Desk Finnish majority state-owned energy company Fortum and Swedish ferroalloys producer Vargön Alloys AB have signed a five-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with progressive pricing for delivery of approximately 0.4 TWh of electricity and Guarantees of Origin for nuclear power per annum in Sweden. The contract term will starts in December 2024 and runs until the end of 2029, said Fortum in a press release onm Wednesday. The power is sourced from Fortum’s nuclear portfolio in the SE3 (Stockholm) price area in central Sweden. Lon ..read more

Stubb's visit to Sweden to focus on defence and security, bilateral ties DF Report President Alexander Stubb and First Lady Suzanne Innes-Stubb, will pay a state visit to Sweden on April 23–24 at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf, said the President Office in a press release on Wednesday. The aim of the visit is to further intensify cooperation between Finland and Sweden in the current security policy context, both bilaterally and as members of NATO. Promoting cooperation between Finnish and Swedish companies in order to strengthen the countries' global competitiveness and accelerate the ..read more

Finland generates 98% of domestic power demand in 2023 DF Report The total electricity consumption in Finland amounted to 79.8 TWh in 2023, according to Statistics Finland. Net imports of electricity to Finland went down by 86 per cent. Only two per cent of electricity consumption was covered by net imports of electricity. Domestic electricity production covered as much as nearly 98 per cent of Finland's electricity need. The share of domestic electricity production has last been of this magnitude at the end of the 1970s. Finland's total electricity consumption decreased by two per cent in 20 ..read more

More bankruptcies filed in March DF Report A total of 274 bankruptcy proceedings were instigated in March 2024, which is 14 more than in March one year earlier, according to Statistics Finland. In March, the number of staff-years in enterprises that filed for bankruptcy totalled 1,156, which is 245 staff-years more than in March 2023. During the past 12 months, the number of bankruptcies was 16 per cent higher than in the 12 months preceding this period. In March 2024, most bankruptcy proceedings were instigated in the industries of other service activities, construction and trade. In March 2 ..read more

Croatia's ruling party wins parliamentary elections: exit polls DF News Desk The ruling center-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, won the most seats in the parliamentary elections on Wednesday, but fell short of the half of seats required to form a government, exit polls showed, reported Xinhua.    So far, 140 parliamentary seats have been decided, with the HDZ securing 59 seats but falling short of the 76 seats required to form a government. Following behind is the alliance of parties led by the center-left Croatian Social Democratic Part ..read more

Zelensky, Stoltenberg agree to hold urgent meeting of Ukraine-NATO Council DF News Desk Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday agreed to hold an urgent meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, reported Xinhua.    "The Secretary General of the Alliance confirmed the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council at Ukraine's request," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram after a phone conversation with Stoltenberg.    The meeting at the defense ministers level ..read more

Alaska Airlines flights resume after an hour of grounding DF News Desk Alaska Airlines flights have resumed after they were grounded for an hour Wednesday morning, the company said in a statement, reported Xinhua.    In its statement, Alaska Airlines said it had experienced an issue "while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance."    All flights by Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, which is owned by Alaska  Airlines, were grounded from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. local time "out of an abundance of caution," the company said. © DAILY FINLAN ..read more

Israeli airstrike kills 13 Palestinians on gathering in Gaza City DF News Desk At least 13 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a gathering of Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, local eyewitnesses and medical sources said on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.    Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that a drone attacked a gathering of Palestinians trying to access the internet in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.    Medical sources told Xinhua that at least 13 Palestinians died at the scene, and several others sustained varying degrees of injuries had b ..read more