Helsinki  - Finnish-based Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said Thursday its operating profit dropped by 21 per cent in the third quarter 2008.

Operating profit for the quarter was 1.46 billion euros (1.98 billion dollars), compared to 1.86 billion euros for the corresponding business period in 2007.

Net sales dropped 5 per cent in the quarter to 12.2 billion euros.

Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a statement he believed Nokia was "well positioned for the current times," citing the group's "scale, brand, improving product portfolio and low cost structure."

Helsinki - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday welcomed Russia's withdrawal from buffer zones set up near the separatist province of South Ossetia in Georgia, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said.

Finland currently holds the chair of the 56-nation organization.

OSCE military observers had "observed the withdrawal," Stubb said in a statement.

OSCE observers, however, reported that Russian troops have not withdrawn from the Alkhagori area, he added.

Helsinki - A row continued to rage Friday in Finland over the hiring and subsequent firing of a female chief editor, allegedly due to her same-sex relationship.

Some 30 female students from Tampere College, north-west of Helsinki, staged a protest Friday outside the editorial offices of the Aamulehti daily, Finnish news agency STT reported.

Aamulethi is owned by the Alma Media group that had recently named Johanna Korhonen editor-in-chief of the Lapin Kansa newspaper, also part of the group.

Helsinki - A Finnish prosecutor was to probe police over events in the run-up to a school shooting in western Finland a week ago that claimed 11 lives, reports said Tuesday.

The probe was linked to the fact that police had allowed the 22-year-old man who killed 10 people to keep his gun.

The gunman, identified as Matti Saari, had been interviewed by a police officer Monday, on the eve of the shooting after he had posted videos on the internet of himself firing a gun at a shooting range.

The day after the interview Saari went on a rampage, shooting 10 people - eight female students, a male student and a male teacher.

Helsinki - All 10 victims of a school shooting in the west of Finland a week ago were shot at close range, police said Monday.

The victims - eight female students, one male student and a male teacher - were taken to Helsinki for formal identification and autopsies after the bloodshed on September
23 at the trade school in Kauhajoki.

The gunman, identified as Matti Saari, 22, died the same day of self-inflicted injuries a few hours after the rampage.

Lead investigator Jari Neulaniemi told reporters that the victims had been shot at close range, some had been hit in the chest or head.

It was still not clear if any of the victims died of asphyxiation or burns due to fires Saari set after the shootings.

Helsinki - Finnish police said Friday all 10 victims of this week's school shooting in western Finland have now been identified, but withheld their names.

The bodies of the victims - eight female students, one male student and a male teacher - were taken to Helsinki for formal identification after the bloodshed Tuesday at the trade school in Kauhajoki.

The identification process included matching DNA and dental records since the gunman, identified as Matti Saari, had set fires in the school and several of the bodies were burned.

Autopsies and other forensic tests were to determine the cause of death. Some victims may have died of asphyxiation or burns.

Sari, 22, died Tuesday of self-inflicted wounds after the rampage.