Helsinki - Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen rejected Tuesday allegations in a Finnish news documentary that he received building materials free of charge from a construction company.

At a brief news conference, Vanhanen rejected a report on Monday evening by public broadcaster YLE and said he had paid for the materials - lumber for bookshelves for his house built 13 years ago.

Helsinki  - Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen has become engaged to Sirkka Mertala, the prime minister's office said Friday.

The couple have been dating for a year.

The statement was issued after tabloid Ilta-Sanomat in its Friday edition reported that the couple on Thursday bought engagement rings.

Vanhanen divorced his first wife in 2005, and has since been dated several women.

Helsinki - Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's Centre Party dropped to third place after local elections held Sunday, final tallies showed Monday.

Vanhanen noted that his party had probably suffered from being in office and said election results differed.

The Centre Party dropped 2.7 percentage points compared to the 2004 local elections, scoring 20.1 per cent.

Analysts including Goran Djupsund, professor of political science and political communication at Abo Akademi University, did not rule out a shake-up of the party leadership.

Helsinki - Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen is due to visit South Korea and Japan next month, the prime minister's office said Monday.

During the June 4-11 visit, Vanhanen was expected to meet with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and attend an economic forum with the president as well as visit the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea and a Hyundai shipyard in Ulsan.

In Japan he was due to meet with his Japanese counterpart, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and also pay a courtesy visit to Emperor Akihito.

Mumbai, Feb 6: Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen will arrive here today on a two-day visit to take forward the bilateral relations with India.

Vanhanen will be accompanied by Minister of the Environment, Kimmo Tiilikainen and a delegation of Finnish business leaders.

Vanhanen will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today to explore investment and business opportunities in the state and cooperation in environment friendly technologies.

The delegation is also scheduled to meet Indian energy and climate specialists over lunch.