Radio | News week in plain Finnish | Sunday 1.2.2026

Ukraine. Minneapolis. Unemployment. Social assistance. Electricity prices and wind power

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You can read the news simultaneously below.

Ukraine

People warming their hands by an outdoor campfire.

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Kiev residents warm themselves by an open fire as electricity and heating are out due to Russian bombing. Photo: Maxym Marusenko / Reuters

First, news from Ukraine.

Negotiations on peace in Ukraine will continue in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi says that representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the United States will participate in the negotiations.

Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine over the weekend. Today, Russia has struck, for example, the city of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been going on for almost 4 years.

Minneapolis

People demonstrated against the immigration agency in Minneapolis.

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Protesters demand that ICE stop raids in Minneapolis. Photo: Stephen Maturen / AFP

Then news from the USA.

Protests against US immigration authorities have continued in the city of Minneapolis. Similar protests have also taken place in many other cities.

Protesters are demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stop raids in Minneapolis and that immigration officers leave the city.

Immigration officers have been searching for and deporting immigrants who are in the U.S. without permission. In January, they shot and killed 2 people.

Unemployment

Employment services door in winter Helsinki.

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There are many unemployed people in Finland. Photo: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle

Now domestic news about the number of unemployed.

The number of unemployed people in Finland is still growing. In December, there were over 50,000 more unemployed people than a year earlier, according to Statistics Finland.

Unemployment among young people under 25 is growing fastest.

The EU’s statistical authority Eurostat reports that Finland’s unemployment rate was 10.3 percent in December, the highest in the entire EU.

twenty euro banknotes

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It will be more difficult to obtain social assistance in the future. Photo: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle

Then there is the topic of social assistance.

The conditions for social assistance will become stricter. The changes will come into effect in February and early March.

In the future, social assistance may be halved if a person does not first apply for other benefits, such as student financial aid or unemployment benefit. The person must also demonstrate more precisely that they need support.

Last year, over a billion euros in social assistance was paid.

People have had to apply for social assistance more than before because other benefits have been cut.

Electricity price and wind power

Windmills in a winter landscape.

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There have been freezing problems at wind turbines. Photo: Pasi Takkunen / Yle

Finally, we will talk about the price of electricity and wind power.

Exchange-traded electricity has been expensive this week. The price has been driven up by cold weather and the fact that there has been little wind power.

The amount of wind power has remained low because the wind has been weak. In addition, wind turbines have had icing problems, meaning ice accumulates on the turbine blades.

This was Uutisviikko in plain Finnish. See you again next week.