Helsinki - Claims of poor quality welding work at a Finnish nuclear reactor under construction were rejected Wednesday by the Finnish nuclear watchdog.

The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) said allegations of "faulty" checks of the welding work being built at Olkiluoto, south-western Finland were "false."

A week ago, environmental group Greenpeace cited "confidential documents" for its call to halt work on the reactor.

Helsinki - Competitors literally started to sweat Friday as qualifying rounds for the Sauna World Championships opened in the small town of Heinola, southern Finland.

Hopefuls - who have proved they have a clean bill of health - sit in the sauna where the temperature is about 110 degrees Centigrade. Every 30 seconds organizers throw about half a litre of water on the stove, generating plenty of steam - and humid heat.

The winner - in the men's and women's respective competition - will be known late Saturday.

Helsinki - A small fire was extinguished early Wednesday at the building site of a nuclear power reactor at Olkiluoto, south- western Finland, officials said.

Helsinki - Finnish-based Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said Thursday it increased its share of the global handset market but its net profit fell 61 per cent in the second- quarter

Helsinki  - Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said Friday he hoped for a "creative solution" in the wake of what appears to be an Irish no to the EU reform treaty.

Helsinki - Finnish flag carrier Finnair Thursday said it planned to cut 500 jobs as part of cost-cutting measures to compensate for soaring fuel prices.

The carrier said fuel prices have "risen throughout the first half of the year at (a) much faster rate than anticipated," estimating the 2008 fuel bill will be 160-180 million euros
(248-279 million dollars) higher than in 2007.

While talks with unions were pending, the cuts were likely to include temporary staff and part-time workers as well as lay-offs, Finnair said.