The Finnish Environmental Register of Packaging (PYR) said in a statement Tuesday that while an overwhelming majority of respondents in a poll were in favour of recycling in general only about 36 per cent were prepared to pay a premium in retail prices for recyclable packaging.

About a quarter of the respondents said they sorted plastic packaging, with more than 90 per cent saying they took bottles and tins back to the shop and about 80 per cent reporting that they recycled glass, paper and cardboard.

Market research company Taylor Nelson Sofres interviewed about 1,200 people.

STT

Erkki Tuomioja, a Finnish Social Democrat MP and a former foreign minister, said Tuesday he would return to broadcasting after a 40-year break.

Mr Tuomioja added on his website that he would be a co-presenter of a book programme on MTV3.

The programme is to begin airing in late April.

Mr Tuomioja worked as a current affairs programme presenter before winning a seat in Parliament in the 1970 general election.

STT

Joe Wright, a British film director with Atonement and Pride and Prejudice under his belt, is to begin filming an action film called Hanna, starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana, in Kuusamo in northern Finland this week, the Finnish Film Foundation said in a statement Tuesday.

One lane of the highway between Kuusamo and Kemijärvi was closed on Tuesday.

The foundation added that the Finnish shoot would last five days.

STT

Helsinki eatery Luomo has been granted one of the coveted stars in the latest issue of the Guide Michelin Main Cities of Europe, which hit shelves on Tuesday.

Chez Dominique was allowed to keep its two stars, with Demo, Carma and Postres remaining single-star restaurants.

The French company awards one to three stars to restaurants of exceptional quality. One star denotes a very good restaurant in its category, whereas an establishment awarded two stars has cuisine of such merit that it is worth a detour and an establishment with three stars is deemed worth a journey on its own right.

Michelin has never awarded the full three stars to a Finnish restaurant.

All the Finnish Michelin-starred restaurants are located in Helsinki.

STT

The Finnish Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the lower courts' rulings in a case involving parking tickets issued by ParkCom, a private company.

The Vantaa district court and the Helsinki appeals court had dismissed ParkCom's action against a Helsinki motorist who refused to pay fines issued by the company, ruling that only the authorities could issue parking fines.

By contrast, the Supreme Court ruled that parking in private property constituted a contract between the motorist and the company tasked with managing the parking bay.

STT

The Finnish police said Monday that a man had set himself alight at a filling station in central Rovaniemi late on Sunday.

The police added the man, aged 24, had purchased petrol before dousing himself with some and setting the fuel on fire.

An ambulance that happened to be at the scene rushed the man to hospital. The man sustained serious injuries.

The police said the man's motive was not known.

STT

Finnish national daily Helsingin Sanomat on Monday quoted a poll as indicating that some 59 per cent of the public opposed an increase in immigration, up from 44 per cent returned by a similar poll carried out a year ago and from 36 per cent three years ago.

The paper quoted Heikki Ervasti, a professor of social policy at the University of Turku, as saying that the survey marked a reversal of a trend of rising tolerance that had begun in the 1980s.

Said Aden, chair of the Finnish Somali League, said the outcome of the survey was hardly surprising during a recession.

Commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat, market research company Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) interviewed 1,000 people.

STT

David Beckham, a British AC Milan footballer, is to fly to Finland to undergo Achilles tendon surgery, a number of agencies quoted the Italian football club's doctor as saying on Monday.

Beckham injured his left Achilles tendon during a match on Sunday.

Jean-Pierre Meersseman, the club physician, told Sky TV Italy that Sakari Orava, a Finnish orthopaedic surgeon, was to treat Beckham.

Dr Orava told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that the former England captain would probably not make a full recovery before the world cup in June and July.

He added that the plan was to carry out the procedure in Turku on Monday.

STT

The police in the eastern Finnish town of Varkaus said Friday that a local girl aged 12 had confessed to kidnapping a baby and burying the three-month infant in a snowdrift earlier this week.

The police had said earlier on Friday that the main suspect was a 15-year-old.

The police quoted the 12-year-old as saying during questioning that she had snatched the baby on a whim.

The baby survived three hours buried in the snow.

STT

The police in the eastern Finnish city of Varkaus announced Friday that they suspected a local girl, 15, of kidnapping a baby from a pram and burying the three-month infant in a snowdrift.

The police added that child protection officers had taken the suspect into custody.

The suspected kidnapping took place on Monday, with the baby surviving hours buried in the snow.

Earlier this week, the police upgraded the investigation into an attempted murder inquiry.

STT