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Independence Day in Finland 2019, Will a Prime Minster Attend the Presidential Party?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

Finland’s Independence Day (itsenäisyyspäivä) is on Friday – December 6. It’ll be one of my first Finnish Independence Days in Finland for over a decade. In recent years, I’ve celebrated at Finnish consulates and embassies in places like Istanbul and Abu Dhabi. Now back from living abroad, I admit Independence Day feels especially good. Finland has come far in its 102 years as an independent country.When did Finland become Independent?Finland became independent on December 6, 1917 in what could only be described as an anticlimactic political saga full of bureaucratic hurdles. It was a result of good timing and strategic planning by the political elite in Finland, such as Prime Minister Pehr Evind Svinhufvud and Finnish Minister–Secretary of State Carl Enckell. They saw an opportunity when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian government in November 1917. Finland had been part of Russia since 1809. Previously, it had been part of Sweden.  The Finnish senate decided to use t...

Finland’s Prime Minister Resigns…Rinne Home for Christmas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

UPDATE 3 December 2200 HELSINKI: As expected, Antti Rinne has resigned as Finland’s Prime Minister. He’ll stay on to lead a caretaker government until a new PM is agreed, or in the unlikely event a snap election is called. See below for who we’re betting will be Finland’s next Prime Minister. The Finnish Government is in deep trouble. It is very likely that Prime Minister Antti Rinne will be ‘home for Christmas,’ or perhaps we should say ‘by Christmas’. Rinne is currently under heavy scrutiny due to allegedly making false statements regarding the recent postal strike. In the early evening on December 2, the Centre Party (Finnish: Keskusta) expressed a lack of confidence and distrust in Rinne, who is a member of the Social Social Democratic Party (Finnish: Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue). The Centre and SDP are the main parties in the current coalition government. Other parties have previously expressed concerns over the PM...

Personal finance tips and tricks for Finnish university students

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

Overall Finland is a good country for students. We get a free education (even university is free) in one of the best school systems of the world and some really nice social benefits as a student, such as financial aid, housing allowance and a student loan that we don’t even have to pay fully. However, at the same time Finland is one of the most expensive countries in the world which means that as a student with limited income, you have to play your (financial) cards wisely. How to obtain financial advantage while studying at university? Usually, when people think about studying at university, they think about all that freedom enjoyed by young people, but also how expensive it is. In Finland, studying in university or in polytechnic (university of applied sciences) is generally free, but still, most people end up taking student loans and/or rely on their parents for financial aid. Social benefits for students are simply not enough for most students in Finland. How...

Women’s basketball: Niamaya Holloway says she remains committed to Gophers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

One half of Lindsay Whalen’s big-time, all-Minnesota recruiting class has declared it will stay with the Gophers since Whalen stepped down as coach at her alma mater.Niamaya Holloway, a forward from Eden Prairie who missed this season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during summer practice, said Tuesday on Twitter that she will remain with the Gophers.“I committed to be a Gopher and that’s what I’m sticking to,” she wrote. “Getting healthy and rehabbing this knee are my biggest priorities. I cannot wait to step on that court in a Gopher jersey!”Also Tuesday, leading scorer Mara Braun, a guard from Wayzata who averaged 15.6 points for the Gophers (11-19 overall, 4-15 Big Ten) as a freshman, announced she will remain.The morning after the Gophers’ first-round loss in the Big Ten tournament last Wednesday, the athletics department announced in a statement that Whalen had stepped down after leading the Gophers to a 71-76 record in five seasons. Athleti...

Capt. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger: Safety in the skies is paramount. Don’t cheapen pilot training and experience

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

In backrooms and dark corners, airline lobbyists, particularly the Regional Airline Association, are scurrying all over Washington, still trying to undo all the hard work that has been done to make air travel the safest form of transportation in human history. They’re doing this for the usual reasons. They want to try to cheapen pilot training and levels of experience for their own financial gain and expedience. They’re trying to do what is easier and cheaper for them, not what is best for passengers or crews, or for their industry.Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)Once again, it is necessary that those of us who deeply understand that safety really must be the priority are having to refight the same battles that we have had to fight too many times before.This time around, the lobbyists are trying to weaken pilot experience requirements by seeking super credits for certain training experiences and, in so doing, substantially lower the number...

Toews talks Budget 2023 in rural roundtable

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

By Ian CroftLocal Journalism Initiative [email protected] the drop of the new provincial budget on Feb. 28, the Alberta government held a post-budget round table on the following day to go into more details of some of the main concerns of this budget is addressing. Travis Toews, president of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, started things off by going over some of the main and minor themes that were key in this budget.“Budget ’23 really consists of a number of things,” said Toews. “Two themes that have been standing agenda items for every budget since we took office, number one is that Budget ’23 includes the objective standing agenda item of positioning Alberta’s economy for competitiveness resulting in economic growth, investment attraction, economic diversification, job creation, and ultimately expanded fiscal capacity which result in additional government revenue. That’s been a standing agenda item in every budget that I have presented. I believe that s...

Alberta’s low tax regime paying off in Budget 2023, argues Hunter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

By Trevor BuschSunny South NewsAlberta’s Budget 2023 isn’t showing any fiscal blue clouds based on a wealth of petro-dollars pouring into government coffers over 2022, but financial analysts are warning some rainy days may not be far off as key indicators continue to point to a recession in the near future.While the prospect of an economic recession is slowly moving from speculation into the realm of hard numbers, Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter is firmly focused on the positive aspects of the UCP’s budget which includes posting an expected $2.4 billion surplus.“It’s always nice when we have royalties,” said Hunter. “But I don’t think that’s the whole picture. I think the full picture is the fact that for the last three years, we’ve been very careful with our budgeting. We’ve got our per capita spending and government spending in line with the other top four provinces in Canada. Before that we were an outlier. And I think that that has now allowed us to be able to be in this enviable ...

County approves Phase 2 for bike path connecting city with Coaldale

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsCounty council has approved the Phase 2 and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Cor Van Raay LINK Pathway Project.Over a decade in the making, the project will move forward with the proposed 11 km Phase 2 route which will connect the 3.5 km Phase 1 segment at Highway 512 to the City of Lethbridge.Following council’s decision, Lethbridge County Reeve Tory Campbell said “Approving Phase 2 of the Cor Van Raay LINK Pathway today aligns with the goals in the County’s Strategic Plan,” and added the County’s, “focus on regional collaboration and governance that represents the best interest of our community were factors in the decision to move forward with this project.”Of the nearly six hour council meeting on March 2, an hour and 45 minutes was spent discussing the Link Pathway Project Committee’s request for Council to approve Phase 2 of the MOU between the Cor Van Raay Link Pathway Committee, Lethbridge County and the St. Mary River Irrigation Distr...

Local basketball teams prepare for 1A/2A zones

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

By Garrett SimmonsSunny South NewsKate Andrews High School took home the Deep South Basketball League senior boys championship last Wednesday with a big 75-56 win over Coaldale Christian.It was a battle between top ranked Kate Andrews and third ranked Coaldale Christian, as the teams both made it through their respective playoff brackets.Kate Andrews started its run with a win over No. 8 Picture Butte, and then defeated No. 4 W.R. Myers in the semis. Coaldale Christian beat No. 6 Immanuel Christian Secondary School to start the playoffs, and then upset No. 2 Stirling in the semifinals.Picture Butte’s playoff run came to an end with a consolation semifinal loss to Winston Churchill High School.Now, the focus for local high school teams shifts to the 1A and 2A zone championships, hosted this week by Lethbridge College.For the 1A girls, Picture Butte started its tournament with a late game Monday night against Erle Rivers (results unavailable at press time). A win in the opening round ...

Ignorance is not bliss

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

Dear Editor,MLA Drew Barnes tells us Tamara Lich was “…subject to the most overreach from a government imaginable.”(News- Mar. 1/’23).  His imagination is stultified, and his statement is on par with one by the other Medicine Hat MLA, Danielle Smith, who told us “Those not vaccinated are the most discriminated against group I have seen in my lifetime.”(News- Oct.22/’22)Please review the following examples of actual, real “government overreach” and “discrimination”, and remember that Ms. Lich and the unvaccinated all had a choice open to them, and they freely made their choices, but Mr. Barnes and Ms. Smith think they should be exempt from the consequences of their choices.  Up to about 100 years ago women were disqualified from voting in federal and provincial elections in Canada. Indigenous people were not allowed to vote federally until well into the 1950s-I don’t have an exact date.In Alberta, people with mental development problems were sexually sterilized, forcibly, under Socia...