New scheduled flight from Turku to Vilnius started

Tourism /

New scheduled flight from Turku to Vilnius started

An airplane with texten Wizz.
The archive photo shows a Wizz Air aircraft.

Finavia announced the new route earlier in September. The first Wizzair flight to Lithuania took off on Friday afternoon.

A new flight route from Turku to Vilnius, Lithuania opened today.

Finavia announced the new route earlier in September. The first Wizz Air flight left for Vilnius on Friday afternoon.

According to Visit Turku Archipelago’s press release, flights will initially operate four times a week and from January onwards three times a week.

A month ago, Wizz Air also opened a flight connection from Turku to Bucharest. In addition, Wizz Air flies from Turku to Gdansk, Poland.

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New scheduled flight from Turku to Vilnius startedRead More »

New scheduled flight from Turku to Vilnius started Read More »

Turku built meadows – an endangered butterfly arrived in the city

Nature /

Turku built meadows – an endangered butterfly arrived in the city

Uusioniity's plants in Turku under the Pauhaniemi bridge.
Newly planted plants under the Pahaniemi Bridge in Turku, Finland, in an archive photo.

Turku’s aim is to build new environments. Now rare butterflies have been found in the meadows.

Rare butterfly species have been found in sandy fields that have been converted into meadows.

According to a press release from the City of Turku, for example, three rare butterfly species were found in the area of the new habitat built in 2023: the endangered root winged warbler, the lady’s tongue warbler and the endangered corn bunting.

The meadow was built next to the Pahaniemi bridge near Ruissalo. A layer of sand was brought in and native plants were sown.

According to the release, the finding of the root glass butterfly in the meadow is especially good news. The root-knot is one of the target species of the city’s LUMO program, as its distribution area is strongly focused on southwestern Finland.

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Turku built meadows – an endangered butterfly arrived in the city Read More »

Lahti’s drastic plan for more than 20 000 university students requires recruitment of foreign students

Lahti News in English /

Lahti’s drastic plan for more than 20 000 university students requires recruitment of foreign students

University of Applied Sciences students' coverall badges.
Increasing the number of students will not be easy, as the age group of people applying to higher education will decrease significantly in 2030.

The new campus plan was presented on Wednesday when the City of Lahti announced its development projects.

Lahti’s plan for a large new university campus and even more than 20 000 students cannot be achieved by domestic forces alone.

This would require more than doubling the number of students at LUT University and LAB University of Applied Sciences Lahti.

– It is no longer enough just to recruit the best and brightest students from within Finland; this attraction must extend beyond our campuses and cities and beyond our borders.

Increasing the number of students is not without problems, as the age group of Finns applying to higher education will decrease significantly in 2030, according to Kilpeläinen.

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Lahti’s drastic plan for more than 20 000 university students requires recruitment of foreign studentsRead More »

Lahti’s drastic plan for more than 20 000 university students requires recruitment of foreign students Read More »

City of Pori to drastically reduce the rent of the Yyteri restaurant area

Tourism /

City of Pori to drastically reduce the rent of the Yyteri restaurant area

Observation picture of Yyteri's restaurant project.
Last summer there were only two restaurant containers instead of four.

Entrepreneurs are being sought for the Yyter dune restaurant area. Last year there were two containers of restaurant business.

The City of Pori lowers the rent of the Yyteri dune restaurants. Next summer’s rent will be €1500, compared to €2500 last summer.

Last summer, only two entrepreneurs could be found in the area.

The city is currently looking for entrepreneurs for next summer. The search will continue until the end of January next year.

There are no ready-made sales containers in the area, but entrepreneurs bring their containers to the area themselves. The rent is paid for the place. According to the release, the city is responsible for the area’s electricity and water connections and customer toilets.

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City of Pori to drastically reduce the rent of the Yyteri restaurant areaRead More »

City of Pori to drastically reduce the rent of the Yyteri restaurant area Read More »

FinnSonic of Lahti, Germany, has made a multi-million deal with the US military

Lahti News in English /

FinnSonic of Lahti, Germany, has made a multi-million deal with the US military

A Finnsonic employee tests the ultrasonic cleaner at the factory.
FinnSonic manufactures, among other things, washers that can clean components of different sizes using ultrasound. Archive photo from July 2025.

The company supplies the United States with a washing line for aerospace components.

FinnSonic, based in Lahti, has concluded a two million euro deal with the US military administration. The company will supply an aerospace component cleaning line to wash aircraft parts, for example.

The company sees the deal as opening the door to the heart of the US defence market.

FinnSonic designs and manufactures solutions for demanding industrial component cleaning and aerospace crack detection applications. The company says its customers include Boeing, Lufthansa, Lego and ABB.

FinnSonic is a family-owned technology company founded in 1979 that directly employs 35 people.

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FinnSonic of Lahti, Germany, has made a multi-million deal with the US military Read More »

Union shocked: subsidised holidays for low-income earners to end

Tourism /

Union shocked: subsidised holidays for low-income earners to end

The abolition of social holidays will undermine the well-being of people on low incomes, says the Welfare Holidays Association.

The subsidised holiday scheme, which was funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, will end after next year. According to the organisation, the subsidy will be cut by more than 23% already next year. STEA, the Social and Health Organisations’ Assistance Centre, announced the decision in a grant proposal on Wednesday.

Hyvinvointilomat ry considers the proposal short-sighted and calls on the decision-makers to re-evaluate the importance of social holidays. The savings for the state are relatively small, but the losses are large, the association says.

Supported holidays have increased well-being, reduced loneliness, supported family resilience and strengthened experiences of equality. The Federation points out that the practical implementation of the holidays has been outsourced to domestic tourism companies through competitive tendering, which has supported the local economy of the destinations.

This year, a total of around 87,000 people applied for a subsidized holiday through all holiday organisations, of which around a third could be selected for a holiday.

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Union shocked: subsidised holidays for low-income earners to endRead More »

Union shocked: subsidised holidays for low-income earners to end Read More »

The wetland to be built on the fields of Hevosopisto will have an impact from Ypäjä all the way to the Baltic Sea

Nature /

The wetland to be built on the fields of Hevosopisto will have an impact from Ypäjä all the way to the Baltic Sea

Black and brown horses on a pasture growing dandelions.
The purpose of the wetland is to control the load of solids and nutrients from the Hevosopisto area into the Loimijoki River. Archive photo.

The wetland, which covers around one hectare, acts as an effective nutrient sink and is also home to many species of organisms.

In Ypäjä, a wetland of about one hectare will be built on the Hevosopisto waterfront near the Loimijoki River.

The purpose of the wetland is to improve the water quality of the Loimijoki River by balancing the water flow. At the same time, the wetland will reduce the amount of solids and nutrients discharged into the Loimijoki River.

The environmental impact of the wetland is far-reaching. The Loimijoki River, which originates in Lake Pyhäjärvi in Tammela, flows into the Kokemäen River, which in turn flows all the way to the Baltic Sea.

– The work done by the college can significantly curb the nutrient load coming from the Loimijoki catchment area, says Ruponen.

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The wetland to be built on the fields of Hevosopisto will have an impact from Ypäjä all the way to the Baltic SeaRead More »

The wetland to be built on the fields of Hevosopisto will have an impact from Ypäjä all the way to the Baltic Sea Read More »

French indie phenomenon clears the table at the Game Awards

Culture /

French indie phenomenon clears the table at the Game Awards

Jennifer Svedberg Yen and Guillaume Broche accept the award for best narrative at The Game Awards.
Jennifer Svedberg Yen and Guillaume Broche, creators of the video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, received the award for Best Narrative at The Game Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was nominated in no less than 12 different categories and ultimately won a record nine awards.

French action role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was awarded Best Video Game of the Year at the annual Game Awards. The Video Game Phenomenon of the Year was awarded in Los Angeles, USA, on Friday night, Finnish time.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was nominated in no less than 12 different categories. According to industry media, this is the most nominations for a single game in the history of the gala. The indie phenomenon ultimately won a record nine awards. It was crowned Best Indie Game, among others.

The game, developed by the French studio Sandfall Interactive and heavily inspired by Japanese role-playing games, is set in a fantasy world whose visual language borrows from the historical French belle epoque.

The game, created by a small studio, has charmed its audience with its tragic and technically impressive story, which deals with dark themes of death and mourning without sparing the player.

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French indie phenomenon clears the table at the Game Awards Read More »

Controversial Lahti bus stop experiment to be decided next week – new plans take into account concerns about vitality of the square

Lahti News in English /

Controversial Lahti bus stop experiment to be decided next week – new plans take into account concerns about vitality of the square

The experiment would involve building new stops on Vesijärvenkatu. Some buses would run along Vesijärvenkatu without bypassing the market. The trial would start in August 2026.

The Urban Environment Committee will decide next Tuesday 16 December on the bus stop experiment.

The experiment would involve building new stops at the corner of Vesijärvenkatu and Aleksanterinkatu. Some buses would run along Vesijärvenkatu without bypassing the square.

The trial would last for a year. It would start in August 2026, during which time the effects would be monitored through passenger surveys, traffic counts and feedback channels.

The stop experiment has divided opinions. Among other things, an address was established against the experiment.

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Controversial Lahti bus stop experiment to be decided next week – new plans take into account concerns about vitality of the squareRead More »

Controversial Lahti bus stop experiment to be decided next week – new plans take into account concerns about vitality of the square Read More »

Last year’s Eurovision winner Nemo says he will give up his prize

Culture /

Last year’s Eurovision winner Nemo says he will give up his prize

Nemo poses on stage with a glass microphone trophy.
Swiss Eurovision 2024 winner Nemo will hold the podium in Malmö in May 2025.

According to the artist, the values of the Eurovision Song Contest will not be realised if Israel is allowed to participate.

Nemo from Switzerland, who won the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, says in an Instagram post that he is giving up his trophy.

He said that the values of the Eurovision Song Contest, such as unity and inclusion, made the competition meaningful to him.

However, Mettler sees that allowing Israel’s involvement is at odds with these values.

– When entire countries leave the competition, it should be clear that something is deeply wrong, he writes.

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Last year’s Eurovision winner Nemo says he will give up his prizeRead More »

Last year’s Eurovision winner Nemo says he will give up his prize Read More »