Metsä's Joutseno pulp mill is undergoing a market-related downtime the company will reconstruct the roof of the mill's bailing plant building Towards the end of August, Metsä Fibre had completed the negotiations on temporary layoffs of 190 employees at the company's Joutseno NBSK pulp mill in Finland the company has stopped production in order to "adapt to the current market situation." The company did not provide detailed information on the duration of the commercial shutdown at the Joutseno mill Under the agreement with employee representatives consluced in late August it can lay off the employees by up to 90 days in the period between September and January  The company will benefit from the temporary production downtime to repair the roof of the mill's bailing plant building which is said to be in risk of collapsing "The mill's baling plant building has been placed under a temporary operating ban [on 19 Septmebr] due to the potential risk of collapse detected in the roof structures," the company said The dismantling of the roof structures and ensuring safe work conditions is estimated to take two months but the company will provide a more detailed schedule once the project plan has been be drawn up The Joutseno pulp mill in Lappeenranta has a production capacity of 690,000 tpy Besides softwood pulp the mill also produces biochemicals and supplies surplus electricity to the grid Service Customer Service+49 7224 9397-701servicenoSpam@GO-AWAYeuwid.de Editorial Team+49 7224 9397-0papernoSpam@GO-AWAYeuwid.com Get the latest news about developments and trends in the industry sent to you once a week free of charge by newsletter Sign up for our newsletter We use cookies and external services on our website others enhance your user experience or help us improve this website You can change your privacy settings any time by clicking privacy policy Necessary cookies are required for the correct functioning of the website Content from video platforms and map services is blocked by default. 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You can find more information on the individual external services in our privacy policy Metsä Fibre will start negotiations on possible temporary layoffs at its Joutseno pulp mill in Finland citing a need for temporary adjustment of production to meet low delivery volumes The change negotiations involve the entire workforce of the Joutseno mill; around 190 people in total would last up to 90 days and could be implemented in several tranches by the end of January 2025 and timing of the layoffs will be clarified by the end of this year Metsä Fibre produces pulp and sawn timber as well as other bioproducts such as biochemicals and bioenergy Metsä Fibre’s sales totalled €2.5bn (£2.14bn) while sales of the whole Metsä Group were €6.1bn Metsä Group said it achieved sales of nearly €2.94bn President and CEO Ilkka Hämälä said: “The first half of 2024 was financially very weak for Metsä Group This was due to lower year-over-year sales prices political strikes caused a loss of €60m in operating profit. The gas explosion at the Kemi bioproduct mill’s evaporation plant reduced comparable operating profit by approximately €100m before insurance compensation positive development is seen in many of our businesses the pulp market was strong in the second quarter “Demand for fresh fibre paperboards in 2024 has clearly improved from last year's record low levels.” the group’s Kemi bioproduct mill returned online in June after the damage resulting from a gas explosion at the evaporation plant had been repaired in May the group completed a transaction with which the ownership of its Russian subsidiaries was transferred to the VLP Group Metsä Group discontinued its business operations in Russia The completion of this transaction means the group no longer owns anything in Russia Printweek welcomes informed debate, but please read our House Rules before posting Printweek is the premier website for the print industry Metsä Fibre is considering temporary layoffs at its Joutseno pulp mill in Finland The company announced it had started corresponding negotiations with employee representatives The talks involve the entire workforce of the site the planned temporary layoffs would last up to 90 days and would be implemented in several tranches by the end of January 2025 Metsä Fibre emphasised the need for the move saying that production had to be temporarily adjusted to meet low delivery volumes The talks started last week and are expected to take approximately two weeks Details on the temporary layoffs and their duration would be clarified by the end of 2024 The Joutseno pulp mill produces softwood pulp with an annual capacity of 690,000 tpy The mill also produces biochemicals and generates its own energy Content from video platforms and map services is blocked by default. If access to these services is accepted, separate consent is no longer required when using them. You can find more information on the individual external services in our privacy policy. Open image viewerFile photo of the facility at Joutseno 13:03The Eastern Finland Court of Appeal has ordered that a Nigerian woman and her two young children be released from a detention unit in Joutseno had been held at the detention facility for almost two months the detention of a child must only be used as a last-resort measure and the period of detention should be as short as possible The appeal court's ruling overturns the verdict of a lower court which had prolonged an ordeal the woman previously told Yle was "like being in prison" The family will now move to the Joutseno open reception centre while they await their re-application for asylum to be processed the appeal court ruled that the conditions for keeping the children in continued custody had not been met especially as the period of detention had already lasted for almost eight weeks the court noted that keeping the woman in detention would have been against the best interests of the children as they would have to be separated from their mother the 27-year-old woman initially travelled from her native Nigeria to Italy in search of a better life she ended up as a sex worker in Italy and fled to Finland last year to escape her violent husband She applied for asylum in Finland but her application was immediately rejected on the grounds that she had already received a residence permit in Italy In her first application to the Finnish authorities the woman did not mention that she had been a victim of human trafficking confirmed to Yle that a second asylum application has now been submitted to the Finnish Immigration Service Migri — with a decision likely in the next couple of weeks the family will live at the Joutseno reception centre "I am happy with the Court of Appeal's decision which considered the matter from the children's point of view She added that the family would like to stay in Finland where they have previously lived and have built a support network services and collaboration opportunities for researchers Astrid Joutseno/Swan examines grief of a dying person as a cultural affect.  “The grief of the dying is not discussed and often goes unaddressed in Western culture research and healthcare,” Joutseno/Swan says research on grief in the fields of psychology and neuroscience has produced fresh insights on the topic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has demonstrated that the same brain regions are activated when grieving as when navigating to a destination grief can thus be described as the presumed route to a loved one ceasing to exist and the focus on overcoming grief may result in harmful expectations Joutseno/Swan develops concepts and investigates alternative ways of knowing.  Virginia Woolf wrote in her essay ‘On Being Ill’ about the lack of language for illness in literature and culture,” she notes Or perhaps we’re yet to identify and name these descriptions and linguistic expressions because the way grief is discussed in literature often confounds our expectations Our notions of grief are so narrow: crying being unable to live and function normally having uncomfortable and difficult emotions Life writing can give the writer the means to explore grief and illness life writing refers to text types and other forms of expression the writer uses to narrate their experiences.  “The term encompasses many types of writing autobiographical works of fiction and memoirs Research on life writing has been able to produce knowledge about experience and highlight the lives of the marginalised,” says Joutseno/Swan.  In her award-winning doctoral thesis Joutseno/Swan explored maternal life writing in the online environment shedding light on issues such as the overlap between motherhood and cancer She set out to examine how sick and dying mothers compose their lives into narrative.  The grief of the dying began to interest her as she simultaneously found herself living in death’s anteroom for years without being able to find research about the experience.  “Recognising the grief of the dying helps the terminally ill and their close friends and family.”  this makes research on the grief of the dying feel valuable.  The incidence of cancer in the population continues to grow medical innovations have led to people living longer with terminal cancer Any long-term illness entails living with uncertainty.  Losses are compounded when life with a terminal illness is prolonged leading to the constant presence of trauma “Life with metastatic cancer is defined by various individual challenges including grief,” says Joutseno/Swan.  She notes that research often addresses grief from the perspective of outsiders not from the dying person’s point of view.  “What’s it like to be aware of your own death every day to always be at the ‘gates of death’?” she asks Joutseno/Swan was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago Since 2017 she has been treated for a metastatic form of the disease a new personalised chemotherapy regimen became available in Finland saving her from almost certain death.  I didn't feel relieved; I knew things were as they were supposed to be. You cannot cure or stop grief always present,” says Joutseno/Swan.   In the Research Council of Finland project Counter-Narratives of Cancer: Shaping Narrative Agency Joutseno will investigate the grief of the dying  She believes it will yield a wealth of new knowledge on the topic.  At Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Joutseno/Swan is focusing on the features and manifestation of grief as a cultural affect She is studying the archives and story of the professional 20th century musicians Kerttu Wanne (violin) and her own relative and namesake Astrid Joutseno (piano) exploring how grief is layered in their potential stories and in the researcher’s analysis.  This study also finds Joutseno/Swan in search of her Jewish great-grandfather Eliasz Dobrzyniec a violinist in Turun soitannollinen seura (Turku musical society) from 1912 to 1914 whose story was lost in the family narrative.  Her research focuses on knowledge production through the combination of artistic and scholarly work Her research outlines the role of grief as an intergenerational bond and uncovers grief in the many layers of her material and process.  Astrid Joutseno/Swan won the University of Helsinki doctoral thesis award for her 2022 thesis Life Writing from Birth to Death: How M/others Know In 2022 she worked with an artist grant from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland In 2023 she began her postdoctoral research at the University of Turku’s Centre for the Study of Storytelling with funding from the Alfred Kordelin Foundation She is currently exploring grief in her role as Postdoctoral Fellow in the Arts funded by the Kone Foundation at Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Joutseno will work in the Research Council of Finland research project Counter-Narratives of Cancer at the University of Turku.  You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Finnish president had accused Moscow of guiding people towards Finland in act of revenge for cooperation with US Finland has said it will close some crossing points on its border with Russia after the Nordic nation accused Moscow of guiding asylum seekers towards its territory in an apparent act of revenge for Helsinki’s cooperation with the US said on Thursday that four of nine crossing points on the 830-mile border would be closed on Friday night in response to a rise in the number of refugees and migrants Since Finland’s Nato accession earlier this year tensions between the two countries have become increasingly strained “The government has today decided that Finland will close some eastern border crossing points The eastern border for that part will close on the night between Friday and Saturday,” Orpo told a press conference vowed “very clear action” over the arrivals have been steadily growing along the border in south-east Finland in recent days Russian border guards usually stop people without valid EU visas from crossing into Finland. But on Wednesday Niinistö said he believed Russia had started guiding asylum seekers towards Finnish crossing points in retaliation for Helsinki’s plans to sign a defence cooperation agreement with Washington. Read more“I don’t see the border traffic ending in any other way than with very clear Finnish action,” Niinistö said at a press conference in Bonn The border guard authority said that as of 6pm local time 74 asylum seekers had arrived at the border in south-east Finland on Wednesday On Tuesday the number was 55 and on Monday it was 39 he said Finland should be prepared for a “certain malice” from Russia after joining Nato we are now constantly being reminded every day that Finland joined Nato maybe it was the DCA [defence cooperation agreement] that triggered the situation,” he said He supports government plans to enable traffic at the border to be restricted I now understand that it won’t end on its own.” a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry dismissed Niinistö’s statement as “absolutely groundless” said Moscow deeply regretted Finland’s decision to distance itself from what it described as previously good bilateral relations Free newsletterA digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day the border guard authority banned people from crossing the border by bike in reaction to “foreigners travelling from Russia to Finland by bicycle without adequate travel documents for entering the Schengen area” Finland adopted legislation last year that would allow crossing points to stop receiving asylum applications in the event of mass immigration orchestrated by another country a border studies professor at the University of Eastern Finland said Helsinki was overreacting to a Russian attempt to exert pressure Laine said: “This is hybrid-influencing machined by Russia and a key element in it is to create havoc and panic I would say they got it with very little effort.” The Finnish Refugee Council said the right to seek refuge should be respected regardless of where applicants came from or how they accessed the border Kemira is expanding sodium chlorate capacity in Joutseno to meet rising demand from the pulp industry Construction of a new line and cell room based on Kemira’s own technology is expected to start in June 2016 with the unit expected to be in operation during the fourth quarter of 2017 Investment costs are in the range of €50-60 million president of Kemira’s pulp & paper segment said consumption of bleaching chemicals was increasing due to recent pulp mill expansions and greenfield projects in the Nordics He commented: “This investment supports our strategy to grow faster than the market and to strengthen Kemira’s position as the leading chemical supplier for the pulp & paper industry.” Sodium chlorate is the raw material for chlorine dioxide the primary bleaching agent for kraft pulp which is produced on site at the mills CHEManager Innovation Pitch supports innovation in the chemistry and life sciences start-up scene and start-ups to present their companies to the industry Are you ready to elevate your pharmaceutical operations Download our exclusive whitepaper and discover how compliance with Good Distribution Practice (GDP) is essential for the safety and integrity of pharmaceuticals Valmet has received an order for a new wood handling line from Metsä Group's Joutseno pulp mill The expansion works are starting this year and will be completed during spring 2020 Metsä Group's investment will make it possible to process larger amounts of fiber wood The order is included in Valmet's first quarter of 2019 orders received The value of the order is around EUR 10-15 million "Our softwood debarking capacity will increase with a third as a result of the expansion This increases the effectivity of our operations and ensures the reliability of our debarking long into the future and also enables the increase of the pulp production capacity in the future," says Ari Tanninen Vice President for the Metsä Fibre Joutseno mill "Our high capacity wood handling line provides an energy efficient safe and high yield solution for the Joutseno mill We are happy to continue our good cooperation and also have the ability to do performance monitoring through our Industrial Internet applications to further improve the performance of the mill's wood handling," says Paulo Aguiar Valmet's delivery includes a log infeed conveyor with de-icing hydrostatically supported debarking drum and state-of-the-art horizontal feed chipper The capacity of the new wood handling line will be 470 m3/hour Valmet will supply a new wood handling line to Metsä Group's Joutseno pulp mill in Finland Metsä Fibre Joutseno pulp mill is world's largest single line polysulfide softwood pulp mill The annual production capacity of the Metsä Fibre Joutseno mill is 690,000 tons of soft wood Metsä Group's board industry company Metsä Board's chemi-mechanical refiner pulp mill is located at the same site The chemi-mechanical refiner pulp produced in Joutseno is mainly used for Metsä Board's own folding boxboard production Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers Valmet's strong technology offering includes pulp mills as well as power plants for bioenergy production Our advanced services and automation solutions improve the reliability and performance of our customers' processes and enhance the effective utilization of raw materials and energy Valmet's net sales in 2018 were approximately EUR 3.3 billion Our more than 12,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day Finland and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Read more www.valmet.com, www.twitter.com/valmetglobal Processing of personal data HELSINKI FINLAND The Eastern Finland Court of Appeal has ruled that a Nigerian woman and her two children must be released from the Joutseno detention centre where they had been held for nearly two months following the rejection of their asylum claim will now be moved to the nearby Joutseno open reception centre while their second application for asylum is processed The court stated that the legal conditions for keeping the children in detention had not been met It also ruled that separating the children from their mother would not have served their best interests Finnish law states that detention of children is only permitted as a last resort and for the shortest possible period The ruling overturns an earlier decision by a lower court that extended the family’s detention The woman previously told Yle that the experience felt "like being in prison" The 27-year-old woman arrived in Finland last year from Italy where she had originally travelled from Nigeria She told authorities she fled Italy to escape an abusive husband after being forced into sex work In her initial asylum application in Finland she did not disclose her background as a victim of human trafficking The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) rejected her application on the grounds that she already held a residence permit in Italy which includes information about her history of exploitation Wehka-aho said she was satisfied with the Court of Appeal’s ruling “I am happy with the Court of Appeal's decision which considered the matter from the children's point of view the family will be required to report to the Joutseno centre twice daily A decision on the new asylum application is expected in the coming weeks where they had started to establish a support network they would prefer to return there if granted permission to stay The case has highlighted concerns over Finland’s treatment of families in the asylum process particularly the use of detention for children The appeal court’s decision underscores the legal requirement to consider the welfare of children above other factors in such proceedings Advertisement inquiries and other after-sales issues: info@helsinkitimes.fi Helsinki Times is the first and only English language newspaper providing news about Finland in English A weekly print edition of Helsinki Times was published from March 2007 up until Feb Helsinki Times is an online-only publication and other groups and individuals interested in Finland from all around the world © Helsinki Times All rights reserved.  Terms of Use | Privacy Policy Valmet will supply an energy management solution to optimize production and energy consumption at Kemira Chemicals’ bleaching chemical plants in Äetsä and Joutseno in Finland Valmet Oyj’s trade press release on November 25 Valmet will supply an energy management solution to optimize production and energy consumption at Kemira Chemicals’ bleaching chemical plants in Äetsä and Joutseno in Finland The order was included in Valmet’s orders received of the third quarter 2019 The solution will be delivered to the customer in November 2019 and commissioned in May 2020 “The new solution will enable us to combine electricity purchasing and production planning in Äetsä and Joutseno our plants will be able to optimize production at the right time We will gain significant electricity cost savings at an annual level,” says Ilkka Palsola “The solution is based on Valmet’s existing production optimization system developed for energy production plants We are now applying it for the first time to the energy-intensive industry The solution improves electricity purchasing and provides plants with a more active role in the electricity market This is an important step forward for Valmet as a supplier of intelligent energy solutions,” says Tiina Stenvik Kemira's new N3 chlorate plant at Joutseno Valmet’s delivery includes a Valmet DNA Energy Management System which is part of the Valmet Industrial Internet portfolio and utilizes several data sources in production optimization Valmet will also supply a Valmet DNA Information Management System for storing and further processing data as well as for reporting The energy management solution will be delivered in cooperation with Valmet’s Industrial Internet partner Energy Opticon Kemira is a global chemicals company serving customers in water-intensive industries It provides the best suited products and expertise to improve its customers’ product quality as well as process and resource efficiency The company’s focus is on pulp & paper Kemira had annual revenue of around EUR 2.6 billion and 4,915 employees +358 40 821 6886VALMET Corporate Communications Our more than 13,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day Read more www.valmet.com, www.twitter.com/valmetglobal Processing of personal data Temporary closures amid ongoing strikes in the transport and logistic sector are also planned at UPM and Stora Enso mills labour union workers in the logistics and transport sectors in Finland entered into a two week strike in protest over government plans for labour market reforms and social welfare reduction The strike is affecting the functioning of the country's ports and railway system and if executed as announced is expected to have an impact on raw material supplies and deliveries in many industries Finnish Metsä group is one of the first companies in the forest products industry to announce production downtime due to the strikes has announced temporary shutdown affecting the company's Kaskinen and Joutseno pulp mills.The shutdown was expected to start at the Kaskinen BCTMP mill on March 15 with the Joutseno BCTMP mill closing down production on 17 March Chemical pulp operations at the Joutseno pulp mill run by the group's subsidiary Metsä Fibre are said to be closed as of 15 March The reason behind the mills' closure was the interruption of rail transport of wood raw material due to ongoing strikes in Finland The company did not provide information on the potential duration of the temporary downtime but said that it expected the shutdowns to have significant financial impact and effect customers' deliveries Besides Metsä group, mill closures are reportedly on the agenda at the other two forest products industry giants in Finland, UPM Kymmene and Stora Enso. According to the public broadcaster Yle UPM plans to shut down "at least four factories while the political strike is ongoing and may close more." Stora Enso has prospected the closure of the company's Varkaus containerboard mill Musical performancesEmmi Kujanpää, doctoral researcher and artistMaria Konoshenko, researcherAstrid Swan, artist and researcher & Nicole Hassoun, researcherChoir-leader Johanna Lehtinen-Schnabel, Opi-suomea-laulaen choir leader, doctoral researcher Panel participantsEmmi KujanpääTanja Tiekso, musicologistJohanna Lehtinen-Schnabel Nina Öhman, musicologist HCAS Tanja Tiekso is a PhD and associate professor in musicology, writer and musicians, currently working at University of Helsinki as senior researcher in project City as Space of Rules and Dreaming (Kone Foundation 2021–2025). Johanna Lehtinen-Schnabel is a choir conductor/music teacher (MuM) and a doctoral researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki (Sibelius Academy). Nina Öhman (PhD, M.B.A) is a musicologisit studying women’s roles in music cultures, the singing voice, and American popular music. She currently works as a Core Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies at the University of Helsinki. She is the editor-in-chief of Musiikin suunta journal. She serves as the vice-chair of the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology (SES) and as the President of the board of the Finnish American Studies Association (FASA). Maria Konoshenko is a researcher working on the musical aspects of language at the University of Helsinki and an award-winning singer (mezzo-soprano) of Russian origin. Starting out as a performer of Renaissance and Baroque music, she later moved on to the 20th century repertoire ranging from Russian art songs to tangos and folk music.  Open image viewerImage: Kari Kosonen / YleWif Stenger29.1.2018 12:17•Updated 29.1.2018 12:44An asylum seeker died at the Joutseno reception centre detention unit in Lappeenranta’s Konnunsuo district on Sunday He was a young asylum seeker from North Africa Reception centre director Jari Kähkönen confirmed the man’s death to Yle but declined to provide more details “The news has shocked the reception centre’s residents and staff I’m very sorry about what has happened,” Kähkönen says Officials say they are being offered crisis support the NGO Right to Live - Stop Deportations said: "Yet another young asylum seeker has ended up in a desperate act at a detention unit....yesterday [he] had told other detainees that he would rather die in Finland than return to his home country Asylum seekers had informed Joutseno staff of the youngster’s intentions...it is apparent that the staff did not take the warning seriously His countrymen found him in his room early this evening...Asylum seekers are now sitting in the corridor outside the office and [asking] why they are being kept in prison even though they have not committed any crimes...According to our information the deceased asylum seeker had been imprisoned at Joutseno for months Asylum seekers at the Joutseno facility have been protesting about their situation “There has been this kind of discussion,” Kähkönen confirmed to the Lappeenranta newspaper Etelä-Saimaa Kähkönen says that those held in the unit are always told the reasons for their detention but that “they don’t all always understand the legislation" He added that there has been one such ‘similar mortality’ in the facility’s 25-year history the detention unit now holds 33 rejected asylum seekers awaiting deportation Next week more will be brought in to fill its new 69-bed capacity Konnunsuo is now part of the city of Lappeenranta and lies some 15 kilometres from the Russian border It was the site of a prison established during the Finnish Civil War of 1918 State to build new custody centre for deporteesPublished 20132013Lappeenranta asylum seekers upset about new accommodationPublished 20122012Sources: Yle, Etelä-Saimaa You don't have permission to access the page you requested. What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed. record highsThe week begins with Finnish print media reporting on a brutal murder in Joutseno and on piggery surveillance Open image viewerImage: Krista Karppinen/Yle2.11.2015 9:09•Updated 2.11.2015 19:38Papers in Finland all carry a story on the murder of a 16-year-old girl in Joutseno A 19-year-old man was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of a killing that police say warrants the charge of murder due to its grisly nature The victim has not as yet been positively identified Tampere region paper Aamulehti says police deny rumours of the body being burned and of there being a sexual motive for the death "The crisis aid around this tragedy is still ongoing in schools in the area," says crisis centre manager Timo Salmisaari who underlines the importance of schoolchildren getting support from teachers Doctors will perform an autopsy on the victim today Monday Meanwhile another regional newspaper Turun Sanomat runs a front page article on industrial pig farms It's no wonder that breeding facility conditions are of interest to Finnish officials especially following recent news of animal mistreatment in slaughterhouses but piggeries are actually closely monitored TS says that although membership in a conditions surveillance initiative called Sikava is voluntary practically all pig farms belong to it due to the system's help with partners like abattoirs Some farmers even say that check-up rounds are a little bit too frequent with a veterinarian visiting about once a week Finland is the only country in the world that has eradicated enzootic pneumonia from pigs That's an internationally impressive feat," says animal health association director Pirjo Kortesniemi in the piece A health story tops Finnish number one daily Helsingin Sanomat as well With flu season approaching with the cold days and nights the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare reports that about one in six of the 1.2 million flu shots it orders go unused The flu vaccine should be taken in December at latest and shows graphically that the height of the likelihood of getting influenza is in February At-risk potential flu-sufferers such as the elderly and the very young receive free flu shots at clinics around the country One good reason for getting the vaccine – though the article reminds readers that the virus' behaviour is hard to estimate – is that the side effects of influenza are increasing in Finland "It looks like the flu shot now being administered has a high rate of protection," infection specialist Niina Ikonen says in HS "How people's immune systems respond to the vaccine and to infections suffered previously is a case-by-case thing." Sister dailies Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti both run headlines of a "super warm start to November" The start of the month is not just set to be warm but to actually break all previous heat records for the time period "With the advance forecast showing figures like these it's quite likely to find a weather station that tops the median estimate," says meteorologist Kristian Roine from Foreca "The exact record depends on just where the sun will shine." The current record is held by Jomala in Åland where exactly 13 degrees Celsius were measured on November 12 Open image viewerThe main building of Joutseno reception centre in Lappeenranta Image: Kalle Purhonen / YleYle News20.11.2020 15:21A total of 25 asylum seekers from a refugee camp in Malta have arrived at the Joutseno reception centre in Lappeenranta The group is made up entirely of members of single-parent families from the East African region, and their relocation is part of the Finnish government’s commitment to take in a total of 175 asylum seekers from Mediterranean refugee camps a number of other EU countries have also agreed to receive asylum seekers from the camps The Joutseno reception centre is currently running at half its capacity with only 130 residents occupying the 250 available spaces Reception centers across Finland are reporting similar figures as the coronavirus crisis continues to affect the number of people seeking asylum in Finland The centre’s Acting Director Antti Jäppinen told Yle that the figures are at an historically low level less than 1,100 new asylum applications had been registered in Finland this year which is the lowest number since the 1990s," Jäppinen said adding that the trend is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future Open image viewerA standard room at the Joutseno reception centre which is now operating at half its capacity Image: Monica Slotte / Yle"Although it is difficult to predict the future there is currently no prospect of a significant increase in the number of applicants in Finland or the EU," he said The low level of occupancy has at least helped the centre to better tackle the spread of the coronavirus pandemic as few people and more space mean it is easier for residents to observe health guidelines "In the accommodation section and in the canteen safe distances can be better maintained and the number of people exposed in connection with possible infections will be much smaller," Jäppinen said Open image viewerThe Joutseno Reception Centre and Detention Unit are former prison buildings Image: Elli Sormunen / YleYle News25.3.2020 14:05About a dozen detainees of the Joutseno detention centre near Lappeenranta have begun a hunger strike in protest at their continued detention despite the coronavirus pandemic about ten people said they were on hunger strike Three of them came to eat normally on Tuesday," Antti Jäppinen deputy director of the Joutseno reception center Jäppinen added that the hunger strikers are protesting that their indefinite detention because of travel restrictions introduced over the coronavirus outbreak people are currently unable to travel abroad from Finland except in exceptional circumstances "Their main message is that they should be released," Jäppinen said One of the hunger strikers at the Joutseno Detention Unit said he finds everyday life in the unit very stressful and that time passes very slowly Noori came to Finland from Afghanistan in 2015 and applied for asylum but an appeal against that rejection is now being processed and now he says he believes the police expect him to flee Finland even though he professes to have done "nothing wrong" "The police told me that if I was let out I would go to another country again," Noori told Yle adding that he believes he does not present a danger to anyone and would like to wait for his asylum decision at home or with his friends Open image viewerEach detainee in the detention unit has their own room Image: Pyry Sarkiola / YleNoori has been most recently living in the North Karelian municipality of Lieksa where he is studying construction at a vocational school "I could report to the police in Finland whenever there is a need," Noori suggested the fear that he or another detainee would leave the country without permission is unfounded under the current circumstances People are not even able to travel abroad." Police in Sweden have started to consider whether detainees should be released from detention centres because countries such as Afghanistan do not currently accept people from coronavirus-infected areas Legislative Director of the Interior Ministry's immigration unit no similar considerations are currently being taken in Finland Koponen points out that it is up to the police to decide on detention and that the ministry cannot comment on individual cases "The detained person shall be released normally within six months or up to 12 months after they receive their decision The person can bring the case to the District Court every two weeks," Koponen said the detention unit does not decide on the release of residents but these decisions are made on a case-by-case basis by the police Open image viewerAntti Jäppinen is the Deputy Director of the Joutseno Reception Centre and is also responsible for the operation of the detention unit Image: Elli Sormunen / Yle"Ultimately the district court will determine whether or not there are legal grounds for detention," the deputy director of the Joutseno reception centre Police were unavailable for comment when contacted by Yle about whether or not they could begin to release detainees in detention centres pending further consideration both the Joutseno reception centre and the detention unit have improved general hygiene standards in an effort to fend off any spread of the coronavirus such as increased cleaning and prohibiting visits to the reception centre from outside The number of group activities for residents has also been reduced and there is no longer a bus service from the reception centre to take residents to local shops The reception centre and detention unit are former prison buildings located in the village of Konnunsuo They are part of one of the largest reception centres in Finland for the past eight years Currently there are about 170 people residing there awaiting asylum decisions The detention unit at the reception centre is used to detain people for many different reasons such as a police suspicion that they may commit a crime Some detainees have also been denied asylum but police want to keep them in custody over concerns that they might go into hiding before repatriation to their home country The nearly 70-person detention unit currently has about 30 inhabitants who cannot leave the facility there is no information on how long the hunger strike in the Joutseno detention unit will last but Jäppinen said the situation is constantly being monitored and that hunger strikes are not a new phenomenon in Joutseno "Let's just say that these are by no means unprecedented Police say they have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with what they characterised as a particularly brutal and cruel killing Open image viewerHautakynttilöitä nuorisotalo Rientolan edustalla Joutsenossa lokakuussa 2016 Image: Kare Lehtonen / Yle1.11.2015 19:44•Updated 1.11.2015 19:51When reports of the killing of a teenage girl in the small town of Joutseno in southeastern Finland first emerged on Friday police had a difficult time finding eyewitnesses or tips from the public police cordoned off a perimeter around the yard of the Rientola Youth Centre and conducted investigations on Saturday The police have released little information regarding the incident so far and have not announced where the victim's body was found said that police have been questioning the 19-year-old male suspect all day Sunday at the Imatra police station and there are no other suspects believed to have been involved," Liikanen said Administrators at the Joutseno School are bracing themselves for a sad and difficult week Joutseno School principal Heikki Laivamaa says that while the victim has not yet been officially identified the murder has shocked students at the school "There are a lot of rumours and [the youths] are wondering about what happened," Laivamaa said "We're setting up measures in accordance with the school's emergency plan to support the children and young people." The Finnish Red Cross and a church group have now set up a crisis centre at the youth centre a place where people can go for support or to talk with others about the incident that shook the village over the weekend A man who identified himself as Jarmo told Yle that he thinks the murder was shocking and when he heard the news on Saturday he couldn't believe what he was hearing "I had to call my daughter to make sure I heard it correctly," Jarmo said "Not long ago the Rientola yard was a place for the family to grill sausages," Jarmo lamented Now part of the centre's yard is a makeshift candlelight memorial said she heard about the news from her daughter "I told my girl 'please don't tell me any more.'" false rumours on social media began to spread that an asylum seeker was somehow involved Police began conducting extra patrols of the Joutseno asylum seeker reception centre before it became clear that the prime suspect was a 19 year old Finnish man Police chief denies charge of keeping mum about criminals who are asylum seekersPublished 20152015Police seize 54kg of amphetamines, uncover smuggling ringPublished 20152015Sources: Yle asylum seekers tell YleA group of four Syrian men attempted to enter Finland via its eastern border last week Open image viewerSyrian nationals Nehad Naasan Rakan Ismail and Altaif Shekh Ahmed arrived in Finland last week Image: Kalle Purhonen / YleYle News15.1.2024 10:54There are between 2,000 and 3,000 people waiting in Russia for Finland to re-open its eastern border a group of recently-arrived Syrian asylum seekers have told Yle The Finnish Border Guard detained the four men near the border town of Parikkala in South Karelia last Wednesday on suspicion of trying to enter the country illegally They are currently residing at the Joutseno reception centre in Lappeenranta but told the story of their journey to Finland with the help of Moayad Salami an English-speaking asylum seeker who arrived at an earlier date Open image viewerOne of the group is 22-year-old Altaif Shekh Ahmed Image: Kalle Purhonen / YleTrip to Finland costs €6,000Through their interpreter the men recalled how they found a smuggler via the instant messaging service Telegram They each paid the smuggler 6,000 euros to facilitate their passage to Finland where two taxis operating under the Yandex brand brought them close to the border they were told that they would have to cross the border on their own They were not aware Finland had closed its borders with Russia and had thought they would enter Finland at a checkpoint Open image viewerThe Joutseno Reception Centre is a former prison Image: Kalle Purhonen / YleThe men claimed they walked through a forest for about eight hours until they reached Finland Walking through the deep snow was difficult the forest was dark and cold during the night and they used a GPS navigating tool on their mobile phones to find their way The group told Yle that they do not know the identity of the smuggler who brought them to Finland who acted as an interpreter for the men during the interview by Yle noted that there are many smugglers available on the Telegram platform The men said they decided to come to Finland because they wanted a better life in Europe One of the group said he left Syria about a year ago and spent some time in Belarus before attempting to enter the EU through Poland Another of the men only arrived in Russia from Syria a couple of weeks ago while the remaining two said they departed from Syria about six months ago Open image viewerThe group of Syrian men are aged between 18 and 22. Moayad Salami, the group's interpreter for the interview, is on the right of the photo. Image: Kalle Purhonen / YleSome of the group also told Yle that they had made a previous attempt to reach Finland, when the border was briefly re-opened in December but they were turned back by Russian officials due to their expired visas On Friday, Finnish authorities announced that they have begun investigating about 1,000 asylum seekers over suspicions that they committed a border offence when they entered the country. All of the suspects in the case have applied for asylum in Finland at an eastern border checkpoint since August. A border offence usually means that a person has attempted to cross the border into Finland without the requisite documentation or from a place other than an official crossing point. Open image viewerJari Kähkönen has run the Joutseno Reception Centre for 11 years Image: Kalle Purhonen / YleYle News23.8.2020 17:55Jari Kähkönen director of the Joutseno Reception Centre in Lappeenranta has been named as the new Director General of the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) the government appointed Kähkönen to replace Jaana Vuorio who has led the agency since 2013 but was denied a bid to serve another term in office Kähkönen meanwhile has headed the Lappeenranta facility since 2009 beginning as a senior inspector of reception centres in 2004 He points to 2015 as a "watershed year" for Migri and his own career as that year Finland faced a sudden influx of more than 32,000 asylum seekers Migri didn't mean much to the average person on the street but now many people have an opinion about it one way or another," he says Kähkönen takes over the main office in Helsinki's Pasila district as of 1 September but declines to reveal yet what policy changes "I'm planning to go to Pasila next week Jaana Vuorio has kindly promised to show me around and advise me," he says Recent months have been exceptionally quiet at Finland's reception centres due to the pandemic travel restrictions "There have been very few new customers only a handful in the past couple of months," says Kähkönen The number of people at the Joutseno centre has dwindled to around 120–130 Kähkönen predicts that after the pandemic has subsided That could erupt when the pandemic is over And if travel within Europe becomes easier of course that will also be reflected in the number of applicants here," he says