Finland

For Finland, protecting its roads in World War II was essential, so flying trees were invented

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In a war it is not only doing and being, but also appearing. We have already seen recently how Iran pretended to have parked fighters so that Israel wastes its missiles, but this trick of playing catch-up is older than gunpowder. In fact, in World War II the United States had until ‘Ghost Army’ who was dedicated to these tasks. Precisely within the framework of the second war on a planetary scale, this curious story of concealment of infrastructurewhich is run by Finland. Finland is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, the easternmost of the triad made up of Norway, Sweden and Finland. That makes it have a border with Russia, only at that time it was the USSR. Its situation on the map made it fight three wars in three different positions: the Winter War where it was attacked by the Soviets, the Continuation War in which the USSR attacked it, taking advantage of the Nazis’ Operation Barbarossa and the Lapland Warin which he fought against Germany after signing his armistice with the USSR. The photo that illustrates the cover of this piece and that you can see in full immediately after this paragraph was taken by Osvald Hedenström and is preserved in the photographic archive of the Finnish Defense Forces, along with the legend written by the photographer: “The Finns have camouflaged the 10 km from the border on the Raatteen road with country roads, with fir trees that seem to hang in the air, because right on the border there is an observation tower erected by the Russians. Suomussalmi, Kuivajärvi 1941.06.27” Flying trees on the Raatteen road. Sa-Kuva The cheapest camouflage of World War II That is to say, the legend makes three facts clear: that there was camouflage that covered the 10 kilometers of road from the border, which included rural roads and the main highway, and that the threat was a Soviet observation tower right on the muga. As? With fir trees lying. The Finnish army was noticeably inferior to the Soviet one, so they took advantage of the terrain, explains Colonel Petteri Jouko, a military historian at the Finnish National Defense University. for Atlas Obscura: “The Finns did not have the funds to purchase large quantities of artificial camouflage, such as nets, they did use trees, leaves and foliage to confuse the enemy” Because Finland is also a country with exuberant nature: the density of its forests is around 75% of the territory. according to the FAOso discovering critical infrastructure for the movement of troops and supplies such as roads or railways was a piece of cake for the Soviets. Obviously this resource of camouflaged roads was only effective for sky-level observationbut not for reconnaissance aircraft. Trees laid to hide critical infrastructure. Sa-Kuva This camouflage technique was technically simple but arduous. The Finns cut down the pine trees near the roads and then suspended them with steel cables that they had tied to other trees at the ends, although they also used wooden poles. The result, as can be seen just above, in another photograph from the Finnish archive, is that it seemed that the trees were flying over the roads, which from a bird’s eye view appeared to be just another leafy forest. Currently, none of these tree structures have survived; the passage of time and the abandonment of these rural roads has condemned them to their disappearance. In Xataka | Ukraine has found the antidote to Russian kamikaze drones in World War II: an optical illusion worth 500 euros In Xataka | A secret Nazi bunker in Germany hides the most sought-after treasure on the entire planet: hundreds of tons of rare earths Cover and photographs | SA-kuva (Finnish Defense Forces photo archive)

In 1885, Finland mistakenly built a lighthouse in Sweden, so its neighbor redrew the border to return it to them.

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The Market Island It is most particular. How Guinness certifiesalong with Koiluoto, is the smallest uninhabited island shared between two nations: Sweden and Finland, once integrated into the Russian Empire (became independent in 1917but the history of Finland is another story). Unlike other islands with this casuistry such as Hispaniola (shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic), its border is not more or less a straight line: It looks like an S, as you can see in the image that illustrates this article. The reason for this winding muga is a lighthouse. As a curiosity, the Market lighthouse It had its lighthouse keeper in charge of managing it until it was automated in 1977, at which time the island became uninhabited, beyond tourists who came to visit its impressive fauna. Located at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea, Märket is halfway between the islands bordering the Swedish provinces of Uppsala and Stockholm to the west, and the Finnish archipelago of Åland to the east. The western part of the island is administered by Sweden and is also divided into two provinces: Uppsala and Stockholm. The eastern area corresponds to Hammarland, belonging to the Finnish autonomous territory of Åland. Although the exact date on which Märket emerged from the sea is unknown, geology is based in the postglacial rebound rhythm of the region (greater than 5 mm per year) to point to the 16th century. Märket barely has 0.033 square kilometers, spread over a surface of mostly smooth diabase rock, with a maximum elevation of about 3.5 meters above sea level. On its northern and southern coasts there are coves that serve as natural ports for small boats. To prevent ships from running aground on its reef, in 1885 the Tsar of Russia commissioned the construction of a lighthouse, designed by the Finnish architect Georg Schreck: the wayward Märket lighthouse. Stay with one piece of information: Schreck chose the highest point on the island to build it with all the sense in the world: it is the least exposed to waves and ice. The Märket Island lighthouse has caused Sweden and Finland to change their borders But before we go to 1885, let’s move to 1809, the moment when Sweden and the Russian Empire drew their borders in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn. According to this agreement, the borders would be fixed on geographical elements and the sea border would be fixed in the Åland Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, with the islands assigned to the nearest country. The topographical description of 1811 ruled: that line crossed Märket exactly through its geographical center. This original border can be revised in the historical archive Histdocwhich houses the official record: Original Märket border. Official document of the governments of Sweden and Finland. Via Histdoc You don’t have to pay much attention to observe an abysmal difference between the original border and the current one. Now it is time to travel back in time to 1885 when, after enduring the harsh climate (even in summer) of the island, the construction of the lighthouse was completed. Then two other attached buildings would arrive, a warehouse and a machine room. There was just one tiny, tiny problem.: They had planted it on the Swedish side. Märket is (and always has been) an inhospitable island in the wilderness, not a place to pass through or stay. So no one bothered to solve this little problem until the 1980s. Specifically, the formal border demarcation process of 1979-1981 officially showed that the lighthouse was between 35 and 60 meters west of the central point of the islet: on the Swedish side. As you can see on the map, the buildings are marked in part B, entirely on the Swedish side. So in 1985 they resolved it amicably. A joint Swedish-Finnish commission decided to modify the border so that the lighthouse was on the Finnish side through an exchange of territories, which generated that characteristic S shape. The maritime borders could not be modified without affecting the fishing areas, so they were limited to the land. Since then, the border has been marked with perforations in the rock itself (doing it any other way is not feasible due to its meteorological conditions) for almost 500 meters. In Xataka | A man bought a desert island in 1962: he planted 16,000 trees and turned it into an anti-rich sanctuary In Xataka | There is a paradise island that you only enter armed. And the United Kingdom wants to “liberate” it from the United States Cover | Google Maps and tt_koski

In Finland they already know how to deal with excess heat from data centers: convert it into district heating

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Helsinki has found an unexpected ally to decarbonize its heating in the midst of the rise of artificial intelligence: waste heat from data centers. The same heat that servers generate when processing millions of queries, training AI models, or moving Internet traffic is no longer wasted. In the Finnish capital, this thermal flow – which is growing at the same rate as the digital world – is beginning to become shelter for tens of thousands of homes. A digital sector that is now heating up cities. For years, data centers were known for one uncomfortable characteristic: they generated a lot of heat and needed huge cooling systems to dissipate it. Now that residual heat is already being channeled to the Helsinki heating network, thanks to agreements signed with operators such as Equinix, Telia and Elisa. Data Center Dynamics remember that the company It has been testing this model for more than a decade – the first pilot tests date back to 2010 – but now the scale is completely different: the thermal demand of the city is enormous and the volume of heat generated by the digital economy is growing non-stop. The result can already be seen, a single data center can heat up to 20,000 homes, according to official figures from Helen. The Telia plant, for example, already recovers up to 90% of the heat generated by its servers, enough to heat 14,000 apartments, and in a few years it could double that figure to 28,000. A change in the way heat is produced. Digital heat recovery is more than just a technological curiosity. It represents a change in the way district heating is conceived. In the words of the Finnish company“the electricity consumed by data centers always ends up being converted into heat.” The difference is that now that heat is no longer released outside: it is reused. The engineering behind urban heat. Finland can convert digital heat into district heating because it has a network of district heating especially advanced: a network of pipes that distributes hot water to homes, schools and public buildings. The process is as follows. A data center generates heat: the servers run 24/7 and are continuously cooled. That heat, instead of being dissipated outside, is captured. It is then recovered and transferred; To do this, data centers can install their own recovery systems or use those offered by the energy company. The heat is sent to an “energy platform”, where heat pumps raise it to useful temperatures. Then, the temperature is adjusted to the 85–90 ºC necessary so that the water can circulate through the urban network. This is where high-temperature heat pumps come into play—some of which, like Patola’sthey work even with outside air at –20 ºC. Finally, the heat is injected into the grid and distributed throughout the city to heat thousands of buildings. Closing the energy circle. To understand why Finland leads this model, we must look at an essential technological element: heat pumps. Not only domestic ones, but also large-scale industrial ones, capable of raising waste heat to temperatures useful for an urban network. Europe—and especially the Nordic countries— has become a world leader of this technology. Finland has 524 heat pumps per 1,000 homes, a figure second only to Norway, and its cities have been electrifying heating for decades. This combination—cold climate, tradition of district heatingheat pump industry and the need to decarbonize quickly—turns Finland into an urban-scale energy laboratory. A model with limits. Although the system works, it is not a panacea. As Middle Parenthesis remembersnot all data centers are close to cores with thermal demand, not all generate enough heat to justify the investment, heat recovery improves efficiency but does not reduce the electrical consumption of data centers, and in hot climates or widely dispersed cities, replicating it is much more difficult. Still, the trend is clear. With the expansion of AI and the growth of cloudthe amount of heat available will only increase. The Nordic countries – Sweden, Norway, Denmark – already take advantage of it, and large operators such as Microsoft and Google They explore similar systems across Europe. From silicon to the stove. The Finnish model shows that, even at the heart of digital infrastructure – those data centers that power our online lives – there can be hidden a useful and concrete source of energy for everyday life. The heat produced by our searches, our videos or our conversations with AI can be transformed, with the right infrastructure, into heating a home in Helsinki. In a world desperately seeking clean heat, Finland has already found a tangible, scalable and surprisingly logical answer: turning the thermal problem of the digital age into a solution for the Nordic climate. A silent reminder that, sometimes, the energy transition advances with a simpler approach: taking advantage of the heat that servers already produce tirelessly. Image | freepik and freepik Xataka | Someone cut five undersea cables in the Baltic. Finland already points to a ship from the “shadow fleet” as responsible

Finland has realized that its welfare state is not enough to avoid the birth crisis. Now look for how to stop it

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The world has been looking at the Nordic countries for decades with a mixture of admiration and envy for their model of social welfare. A clear example is Finland, a benchmark in education, aids to motherhood and spent in social benefits. None of this, however, has prevented him from seeing how his birth rate it contracts little by little. In fact, the fall has been so forceful since 2010 and its rate is at such low levels that the Government has decided to hands to work. Now you have a diagnosis… and a formula with 20 ingredients. What does the data say? That Finland has a birth problem. A particularly complex one. The statistical basis The World Bank shows that its birth rate has plummeted over the last six decades, going from 2.7 during the baby boom to 1.3 in 2023. The decline was particularly sharp between the 1960s and 1970s, followed an oscillating curve until the last decade and accelerated again towards 2010. latest data of Macrotrends show a slight recovery, but the rate still remains far from past values. Why is it important? Because it shows that Finland has a problem, one recognized without half measures by the Government itself. “Finland’s birth rate has been declining rapidly over the past 15 years. In 2024 the country’s total fertility rate became as low as 1.25,” recognized last March the Ministry of Social Affairs, which admits that although Finland is not the only country dealing with this challenge, the collapse there has been “exceptionally rapid” in the last decade and a half and threatens to become an economic and social challenge. “Finland’s rate has fallen to a historic low and the decline has been more pronounced than in the other Nordic countries. There is a considerable gap between the ideal number and the actual average number of children. It is essential to find solutions to reduce the gap,” advocated in spring the Minister of Social Security, Sanni Grahm-Laasonen. In 2023 the indicators of the neighbors Norway and Sweden there were around 1.4 children on average per woman, also far from the replacement rate that allows countries to stay away from immigration. Why is the birth rate falling? That’s the million dollar question. And the one that the Finnish authorities did a while ago. To answer it in 2024 the Government commissioned a report which had to clarify the factors that hinder the country’s demographic engine and (just as important) explore possible solutions. The task was relevant because, as the Executive assures, in Finland there is “a big difference” between the number of children that couples want to have and those they have. “Studies show that Finnish family policy has favored both well-being and birth rates and continues to play an important role. However, the current decline is mainly due to the fall in the number of first births and the increase in the proportion of childless people,” reflect Professor Anna Rotkirch, from Väestöliitto (the Finnish Family Federation), one of the experts who participated in the preparation of the birth report. Did you identify the causes? Yes. And no. The Government quote somebut he also recognizes that there is no “clear reason” that alone explains the decline in birth rates. “Therefore there are no easy solutions to stop it,” the Ministry of Health resigns itself before listing some factors that come into play, such as cultural changes, unstable relationships, health, the situation of the labor market and income or the problems of reconciling professional life and parenting. The NPR organization was recently one step further and interviewed experts and young Finns to find out how they approached parenthood. Poa Pohjola and Wilhelm Bomberg, aged 38 and 35, are the first ones he cites in his analysis: the couple has been together for about three years and last July they had their first baby, although Pohjola admits that not so long ago he believed he would never have children. “It seemed impossible to me,” the woman confesses. His case is paradigmatic because it agrees with a phenomenon that Finnish researchers have observed and can be extended to many other countries, including Spain: delayed maternity and the increase in people who directly choose not to have children. In the case of Finland this has led to a fertility rate slightly lower to that of the EU average and nations such as Iceland, Denmark, Sweden or Norway. Does it matter beyond Finland? Yes. And it matters because Finland offers a particularly interesting case study. As remember Liisa Siika-ahofrom the working group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, “in Finland benefits and services for families are relatively good.” In fact the Nordic countries they usually stand out precisely because of the facilities they provide for having offspring. Specifically Finland does it in aspects such as incentives, education and paid leave. “We can no longer claim that our good family policies explain the good fertility of the Nordic countries,” points out to NPR Annelie Miettinen, from the state agency Kela. “What baffles researchers is how this can be true, because all of these countries are relatively good at offering family support,” Miettinen said, “but there are really no good explanations for today’s very low fertility rates.” Just as it happens in Spain if the country is managing to weather the demographic storm is basically thanks to the immigration flow. How to solve it? A few months ago the Government made public a report on the topic that includes twenty proposals focused on the family and birth rate, all based on the premise that the commitment to early childhood education, family leave and economic support will boost birth rates. Until it is confirmed, the Health Department itself remains cautious. “In Finland the benefits and services for families are relatively good. This means that there are no areas where simple changes can be made,” takes on Sikka-aho. “However, all systems require maintenance and that is what many of our proposals address. It is unlikely that … Read more

We have been intrigued by the “blue areas” in which longevity shoots. His secret may be in Finland

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Scientists have observed for year “Blue Areas” With a mixture of fascination, suspicion And a pressing question: are there places that people usually enjoy longer and healthier lives? Is it easier to meet centenary people in certain regions From the planet, like Okinawa (Japan), Ikara (Greece) or Sardinia? And if so, why? A group of Finnish researchers believe they have found A new candidate To “Blue Zone” to the west of your country, a finding that can help us better understand these mysterious areas. For now, they have already managed to generate expectation. What happened? Some time ago a group of researchers from the Åbo Akademia University based in Turku (Finland), a peculiar objective was proposed: finding out if a part of its country fits the characteristics of what is usually known as ‘blue areas’geographical areas that stand out for the high longevity and healthy life habits of its inhabitants, two realities that experts believe they are directly related. To be more precise Nordic scientists focused on a handful of territories of the old Western Finland: The Swedish majority region of Ostrobotnia, South Ostrobotnia and the Åland islands. As explained in The article In which they have reflected their conclusions, their idea was to analyze the longevity indicators and then find out if the best results corresponded to the cities in which people enjoy a healthier lifestyle. But … What is “blue zone”? Regions in which people (apparently) enjoy longer and more healthy lives than normal. It is not a new concept. Its origins can be traced At least until 2004when the magazine Experimental Gerontology public A broad study on the centenary population of Sardinia, Italy. In it the authors marked with that color (blue) the regions of the map in which the longevity data were higher. In addition to identifying them geographically, researchers speculated that these indicators could be explained by factors such as nutrition, lifestyle or the proliferation of genetic characteristics that favored the locals. The fact is that the ‘blue areas’ liked and shortly after, in 2005, a journalist from National Geographic He used it in Another article in which he talked about three regions of the planet where on average the population enjoyed longer and healthy lives: Okinawa, in Japan, Loma Linda, in California, and Sardinia. The text was affected in the same idea: the phenomenon connects with certain healthy habits in these territories, such as nutritional diets, physical activity, stress control and moderate alcohol consumption, among others. And what did they find out in Finland? Åbo researchers identified a series of curious phenomena who, in summary, have taken them to conclude That the Swedish region of Ostrobotnia “could be a blue zone”, with a population characterized by its high life expectancy, health and positive life habits. However, that’s just one of your conclusions. And maybe not the most interesting. To understand it it is necessary to know Your study and the figures on which it supports. What figures? The most interesting are longevity. According to The data collected in Journal of Aging Research In the åland islands life expectancy among babies who came to the world between 2020 and 2022 was 83.5 years, in ostrobotnia of 83.1 and in southern ostrobotnia of 81.8. Any of these data exceeds both the mean of Finland (81.6) and EU’swhich is around 81.5. Worldwide, life expectancy at birth in 2022 was 72.6 years and, According to statistathat global average will not approach that of Ostrobotnia until the end of the century. Of course, it is a global average. In Spain the data is already Very simulate. And what does that tell us? The Åbo team did not limit himself to studying longevity records. After all, the blue areas have not been analyzed only according to demographic data. Experts also take into account factors such as “lifestyle and health”, which includes social relationships, diet, physical activity or even vital purposes. By taking into account these parameters, experts reached a conclusion: the relationship between them (longevity and the characteristics of blue areas) are not as evident as one would expect. What does it mean? That the greatest longevity data are not necessarily in the regions that best fit the ideal characteristics of a “blue zone”. It sounds confusing, but it is better understood with an example. The longest study of the study was Åland, an area that effectively presents good health data, but is “diverted from several principles” of what could be considered the ideal lifestyle. In part of Ostrobotnia something different happens: the healthy lifestyle is well implanted and yet its life expectancy is less than in other areas. What is the conclusion? There are several. To begin the researchers concluded that, if the age, health and implementation of the lifestyle of the blue areas, the Swedish Obstrobotnia are taken into account It could be considered Perfectly one of those redoubts that stand out for their longevity. Just like Other regions of the planet, such as Okinawa, Ikara or Oglybasra. However, research throws another more interesting reading, especially in the face of future studies on blue areas: when analyzing them it is important to take into account the context. “The possible coherence between longevity, health and lifestyle I could vary in different cultural, political, social and economic contexts,” indicates the articlewhich acknowledges that their data shows that “the Nordic regions with greater longevity are not necessarily adhere to the lifestyle of blue areas.” In other words, they insist: “The important lifestyle principles for longevity can vary in different regions.” Why is it interesting? Because beyond the implications it may have for Western Finland, its authorities, doctors and demographers, research throws new data and keys to the study of blue areas, a concept that in recent years has aroused two feelings: fascination … and skepticism. Since National Geographic public Your article The concept has generated debate and suspicion of those who warn that their scientific base results Little solid. In 2019 Dr. Saul J. Newman launched An article in which … Read more

Someone cut five submarine cables in the Baltic. Finland already points as responsible for a ship of the “shade fleet”

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In the middle of Christmas, five submarine cables that connect Finland and Estonia were damaged. According to the Finnish Prosecutor’s Officeit was a deliberate act: an oil tanker dragged its anchor for about 90 kilometers and cut the electric interconnection Estlink 2 and four telecommunications cables. More than seven months later, on August 11, 2025, The Prosecutor’s Office presented positions For aggravated damage and aggravated interference in communications against the captain and two officers of the Eagle S ship, a ship linked to the call “shadow”That the European authorities associate with the elusion of restrictions on Russian crude. On the night of December 25, 2024, the Estlink 2 link stopped operating suddenly and, shortly after, failures were detected in four data cables that cross the same section of the Gulf of Finland. The service did not collapse thanks to alternative routes, but the technical impact was immediate and the authorities opened an investigation focused on the trajectory of a ship that sailed near the affected area. 90 kilometers groove at the bottom of the Baltic. The damage pattern was unequivocal: a prolonged groove in the seabed that coincided with the passage of the Eagle S. The researchers point out that The trajectory of the ship registered in the navigation data flashes with the damaged areas. Police recovered an anchor whose location coincided with the Eagle S route and with the detected groove, information between the evidence that motivated the accusation against the three officers. A cable that transports 650 megawatts under the sea. Estlink 2 is a high voltage electrical interconnection in direct current that joins Finland and Estonia for the seabed. He entered into market operation in December 2013 and was inaugurated in 2014; Its capacity reaches 650 megawatts and its function is to balance the electrical demand between the two countries. After the cut, Fingrid and Elering activated contingencies to maintain stability, and the link returned to the market at 01:00 of June 20, 2025 after repairs. In addition to the power grid, Four telecommunications cables were damagedaffecting part of data traffic between Finland and Estonia. Among the impacted operators are Elisa, Cinia – of public majority ownership – and a cable managed by CITIC. The repair work began days later and extended several weeks; According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the owners have assumed at least 60 million euros in direct repair costs, without relevant impacts on end users thanks to the alternative routed. An old acquaintance under magnifying glass. He Eagle s It is an oil company registered in the Cook Islands that sailed from the Russian port of UST-Luga with oil products and was detected in the vicinity of the affected area. Several media place their property in Caravella Llc Fzbased in United Arab Emirates. The ship appears in the so -called “Shadow Flot”, formed by boats with opaque structures that have continued to operate despite the restrictions. The European Union included Eagle S on its list of ships sanctioned on May 20, 2025. Can Finland judge it? The debate on jurisdiction. The defense claims that the cuts occurred outside the Finnish territorial waters. Because of this, Reuters pointsthe country would not have competence to prosecute the crew. The Prosecutor’s Office appeals to the territorial effect: the consequences occurred in Finland, in the electricity and communications, and that would justify the criminal action. Helsinki’s court now has the task to decide on competition and, where appropriate, set procedural deadlines. The result of the judicial decision will mark the next chapter of the case. If the Court accepts Finnish competition, the process against Eagle S officers will be a milestone in the European response to attacks against critical infrastructure. Images | HTM (Wikimedia Commons) In Xataka | The USA opened the way and China took note: it is updating its fleet with ships that have electromagnetic catapults

The summers are so short in Finland that he has accepted a guest to enjoy the beaches: kilos of poop

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A few months ago, the Finnish nation was proclaimed for the eighth time the country Happy on the planet. Then we saw that nothing is perfect, because while it happened, the United States landed to prepare them next Battle for the Arctic. And between one thing and another, summer has reached its beaches. As always, it will not be very long, and this year is accompanied by an exorbitant amount of excrement. Brief and disputed. I told this week The New York Times. In a country where summer lasts just two months and the sun becomes a scarce good, every warm day is almost like a miracle. Helsinki, like the rest of the country, lives those weeks with intensity: crowded beaches, whole bicycle families and citizens anxious to take advantage of temperatures that in any other place would seem soft, but that exceed historical records here. However, in that space of evasion an unexpected intruder has appeared: the Barnaclas geeseRobust and gregarious birds that have colonized parks, avenues and, above all, the beaches of the capital. His MASIV PRESENCEA (more than 5,000 accounted for in the area last summer) has transformed the outdoor life into a constant surveillance exercise, where walkers must measure each step so as not to sink into excrements that accumulate in surprising quantities. The daily excrement. The problem, although an anecdotal in appearance, directly affects the enjoyment of a summer that the Finns consider sacred. On the beaches, before extending the towel you have to Check the groundVolley players pray not to land Bruces in a brown puddle, and parents watch with anguish that their young children do not confuse manure with sand or grass. The Times told That, in the parks, the lawn is upholstered with feces that are embedded in the soles, and in the central avenues the geese cross pedestrians with the same naturalness as the beatles very Beatles in Abbey Road. The figures illustrate the magnitude of the challenge: on some beaches, maintenance personnel collect more than 20 kg of excrement per daya volume that requires whole crews of seasonal workers, multiplied in the last decade. Failed innovations. For years, the Helsinki City Council has tested methods To contain the plague. They tried to mix the stool with the sand, but the water ended up contaminated. They used recordings of sea eagles to scare birds, but the geese got used to it soon. It was even studied to hire trained dogs, as other cities do, although they were too expensive and little available. The Great hope This summer was a machine designed by the maintenance team itself. A kind of sieve with wheels, similar to a manual corteped, which had to separate the feces from the sand. The problem? In practice it was Heavy and ineffective In humid soils, and ended up relegated to a warehouse. In the end, the most reliable resource remains the most rudimentary: shovel, gum gloves and infinite patience. Inevitable coexistence. The battle against geese, however, is limited by legislation and Finnish ethics: urban hunting or mass sacrifice is not allowed, such as in Canada or California, where transfers or culeing. In Helsinki, geese are not only a nuisance, but already part of the summer landscape, inserted in the urban imaginary and the daily routine of its inhabitants. In fact, the workers who collect the manure find a certain serenity in the repetitive task (although the smell persecutes them later). The reality is that, in a country where summer is too short to waste it, the Finns seem to accept this uncomfortable invasion as a price to pay to enjoy its beaches. With humor and stoicism, they have assumed that between the sun, water and sand there will always be a third guest: the omnipresent goose … and its inevitable trace. Image | JIP In Xataka | Finland is the happiest country in the world. And is also preparing thoroughly for the most unhappy end: war In Xataka | Finland has found a cheap way to store energy all winter: a tower of 2,000 tons of sand

Now we know what the US Army did in Finland. Russia is expanding its troops on its border with Europe

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In April there was a paradox that we count. While Finland again became the “happier” nation From the planet, a United States army had reached its borders to prepare for “the worst.” Thus began a simulation where Finland’s defense forces and a Washington operation were trained together for a eventual invasion. If there was any questions about who the enemy was, Russia has just cleared it. Remove silent. I told it in Exclusive the Wall Street Journal supported by the satellite data that he had achieved. While much of international attention is still focused on war in Ukraine, Europe begins to worry to a series of strategic movements of the Russian army that, without making almost noise, are redefining the military balance of the continent. In the Russian city of Petrozavodsk, about 160 kilometers from the border with Finland, military engineers work on the expansion of bases and the creation of a new headquarters that will house tens of thousands of soldiers in the coming years, many of which today fight in Ukraine. These troops, according to Intelligence sources Western, they are not designed for the current war, but for future confrontations with NATO. Moscow has intensified recruitment, modernized rail infrastructure in border areas and duplicated its military budget, already exceeds 6% of GDP. President Putin has ordered that the size of the Russian armed forces increase until 1.5 million troopsand although publicly denies expansionist aspirations, its government continues to give contradictory signs, including official statements that affirm the need to prepare for a possible confrontation With the Atlantic Alliance. Rejuvenate the army. It is one of the consequences. The rebound of military spending has promoted an unprecedented acceleration in weapons production. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia manufactured around 40 T-90m tanks a year. Now produce almost 300although many are not sent to the front, but are reserved in national territory. Artillery and ammunition production has also increased, and Russian drones have won in quality and volume. Thus, the Moscow army, far from collapse, is being reconfigured faster than most analysts had planned, with new units, equipment and a constant rotation of troops that allows to maintain pressure in Ukraine while other formations are prepared on Russian soil. In fact, some European intelligence services alert A “B” scenario: If a fire is achieved in Ukraine, Russia could be in a position to launch a large -scale war in Europe within five years, or even before if you perceive weakness in NATO cohesion. Tensions on the eastern flank. No doubt, Russian military strengthening has unleashed immediate reactions in Baltic and Poland countries, which have already Started to reinforce Its borders with ditches, antipersonnel mines and anti -tanks, the acquaintances as “dragon teeth”. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have abandoned international treaties on mines, and several governments consider plausible that Russia seeks to test the solidity of NATO through a limited incursion in a member state with Russian population, as Estonia. To this is added the concern caused by covert operations attributed to the Russian Intelligence Servicessuch as sabotage attempts and murders in Western Europe. Hence, many analysts warn that the Kremlin could bet on a lower provocation that fractures consensus within the alliance, especially if you perceive internal divisions or lack of coordinated response. Territorial strategy For its part, The Journal remembered that Putin has resorted to the historical legacy of the Russian military force (which beat Napoleon and Hitler) to justify the war in Ukraine and his ambition to recover influence on former allies who have leaned towards the West. The Russian government has reorganized its internal military structure creating new districts Around Moscow and St. Petersburg, and has increased logistics cooperation with Belarus, its main ally and basis of operations in the current war. In the Leningrad Military District, which borders Estonia, Latvia and Finland, medium -sized brigades are being transformed into divisions of up to 10,000 troopsand barracks, hospitals, warehouses and new railway routes are being built that connect with Norway, Finland and the south of St. Petersburg. Finland, who historically has tried to avoid tensions with Russia but is now part of NATO, Observe carefully The renewal of ancient border steps and the construction of railway headers that would allow the passage of mechanized forces, with direct implications for their national security. New social elite. Explained the medium that one of the pillars of this military reconstruction is the huge Increased recruitmentpowered by Financial incentives that in some cases exceed $ 20,000 to sign a contract. These sums far exceed Average annual income In many Russian regions, and have allowed a constant flow of new soldiers (between 30,000 and 40,000 per month According to estimates) that allows Russia to maintain its presence in Ukraine without exhausting its strategic reserve. Not just that. In addition, the medium exposed another measure that we have already counted a few weeks ago: veterans are receiving Extended benefitsas positions in local governments and seats in Parliament, consolidating the military estate as a New National Elite. The new recruits will be mostly intended for the units that are deployed at the border with NATO, and for them the new armament is reserved, while the Ukrainian front continues to receive reconditioned Soviet material. Russia’s next strategic military exercises, called Zapadthey will focus on these border regions, and they are expected to serve as a demonstration of force addressed to both NATO and internal public opinion. New power architecture. In summary, Russia is betting very strongly that her military resurgence, combined with a possible Western fatigue before the Ukrainian conflict, returns her back A seat in the table where new security rules in Europe are defined. Although figures like Trump They discard the possibility that Russia has ambitions beyond Ukraine, the facts Described in the Journal On land and warnings of multiple European intelligence agencies suggest otherwise. If you want also, Moscow seems to trust that an NATO divided, uncoordinated or weakened by internal conflicts will be forced to negotiate from a disadvantage … Read more

An US Army has reached the happiest country in the world. His immense border with Russia has changed the panorama of Finland

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Finland lives A paradox. The nation became for the eighth consecutive year in the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 of the University of Oxford and the United Nations. However, and no matter how happy the lives of its citizens are, its geography has changed the geopolitical situation. While the country was crowned with such virtue, an United States army had come to prepare for “the worst.” Happiness. With an average score 7,736 out of 10the Nordic country maintained its leadership in a ranking based on the evaluation that people make of their own lives, through surveys that cover three years and measure subjective perception, social ties and trust. They accompany him in the top positions other nations of the North European Like Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, consolidating a pattern that highlights the virtues of strong social systems, access to nature, community cohesion and collective well -being as pillars of a satisfactory life. Harvard said that Finland’s persistent success was not noisy, nor depended on advertising campaigns, nor a national identity built on exceptionality. Rather, rather, on a Silent and robust balance between nature, social protection, free time, daily civism and an extended perception of security and mutual trust. Almost the same could be said of the rest of the “north” nations, the same whose geography could change the status quo. A new front. Almost along with New York Times counted A scene that had occurred in another area of ​​the nation. In mid -February, an emergency fictional message sent by Finland’s defense forces activated a large -scale military exercise: an enemy invasion required immediate assistance. Dozens of American soldiers, members of the newly created Arctic Division of the American Armythey left from Fairbanks, Alaska, and crossed the northern pole to land in Rovaniemi, north of Finland. Equipped with M-4 rifles, machine guns and rocket launchers, they were deployed in snowy forests, dresses with special white uniforms and steam waterproof boots. Although It was a drillthe geopolitical and climatic background endowed it with the most disturbing gravity: with the melting of the Arctic ice, this inaccessible region is inaccessible has now returned strategiccausing powers such as Russia, China, the United States and various European nations They actively train for a possible conflict in extreme conditions. The new Arctic centrality. According to Canadian General Robert McBridethe world’s armies have left behind the era of the “war on terror” to focus Your attention in the Arctica territory that, like We have been countinghas acquired prominence for its strategic value, natural resources and emerging transport routes. In that context, cooperation between Finland and the United States It has intensifiedespecially since Finland joined NATObecoming the country of the alliance with the most extensive border with Russia: 1,340 kilometers. The historical past (Finland He fought against The Soviet Union in World War II) reinforces the defensive nature of this relationship. “Russia will take everything that is not nailed to the wall,” recalled a said Finn -cited by Janne Kuusela, defense official, to the Times. Despite recent political changes and Trump’s verbal approach to Moscowin the icy field, cooperation between the two countries seems solid and determined. The United States Army displaced to the area Ice war. What’s doubt, put on the worst stage, the Arctic War It presents unique challenges. “It’s like operating in space. No one will come to help you. And the environment can kill you,” summarized the American colonel Christopher Brawley. The cardinal rule: stay dry. Finnish soldiers must pass An extreme test It consists of throwing themselves, with all the equipment on, in an open hole on an icy river, going quickly and changing clothes before suffering freezing, what they should do with the help of their classmates, since their hands stop responding in seconds. Jackson Crites Videman, a conscript of dual Finnish and American nationality, lived at 36 degrees below zero. We remember that Finland is one of the few democratic countries with conscriptionand before the latent threat of the east, ha Increased your budget In defense. Although the war in Ukraine has significantly reduced the Russian presence in the border region, the Finns calculate that it will only take between five and ten years to establish a tangible danger again. Preparations: Winter war. The designation in 2022 of the 11th Airborne Division of Alaska as the first and unique Arctic Division of the United States marked A doctrinal change. The US army tested new uniforms, combat skis and vehicles with caterpillars capable of climbing frost pending. During the drill in Finland, they showed a New transport model that climbs on the snow efficiently. Plus: Special rations For cold weather, with high caloric content, they reflected in the tests the amount of energy that simply demands to stay hot in that environment. And if winter imposes its rules, summer also does not offer relief in the enclave: with perpetual sun and without night, disappears The advantage of glasses Night vision, and when ice melts, the earth becomes an impassable lodazal of dense forests, rivers, lakes and marshes. No name, but with coordinates. Had the New York Times That, during the maneuvers, the troops took advantage of frozen rivers as improvised highways. With their rifles behind the back, they slipped quickly on the ice, in an environment that demands physical resistance and strategic clarity. Result? The exercise was finally considered a success For the commanders. Before the question of whether the proximity in recent times between Trump and Russia was a reason for concern, Finnish General Sami-Antti Takamaa was blunt to the middle: “It doesn’t worry me at all. The American airborne division has just arrived from Alaska. That is what matters to me.” Finland and NATO. Thus, and while the global geopolitical balance seems to stagger between tense alliances and resurgent threats, Finland, the happiest country in the world For eighth time With its 5.6 million inhabitants and an extreme geography, it emerges as one of the Defensive bastions more strategic in Europe. … Read more

The EU has asked all Europeans to collection for 72 hours. Finland has been doing it for years and this has gone

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“New realities demand a new level of preparation in Europe.” The phraseIt is from the president of CE, Úrsula von der Leyen, and defines well The turn who has just given Brussels with the presentation of his ‘Union strategy’a plan with which Brussels aspires that EU homes are prepared for “emerging threats and crises.” Among its 30 guidelines there is a especially curious And that has generated expectation: Brussels wants European homes to supply enough supplies to survive without external help at least 72 hours during emergencies. You will not have to look far to know how to do it: in Finland he has a teacher who has been doing pedagogy for some time about the importance of prepare for crisis and that households are self -sufficient for 72 hours. Prepare for emergencies? That’s how it is. The CE has just launched a plan with which the 27 member countries (and their homes) are more prepared to “emerging threats.” Which is it? In The statement in which the EU initiative presents some, such as Climate changethe natural disastersthe Cybersecurity… And “the growing tensions and geopolitical conflicts”, the latter especially interesting with the EU in full Rearme process and distancing Between Brussels and Washington. To make it clear that the plan approach is wide von der Leyen He stressed The importance of households living in flood areas know how to act whether their houses are flooded or expedite the response times against forest fires. Of course they are not the only emergencies in mind. Yesterday The country The draft advanced From the document and among the threats for which Brussels wants us to be prepared “the possibility of armed aggression”. Click on the image to go to Tweet. And how do we prepare? The strategy drawn by Brussels touches many sticks. In fact it includes 30 “key actions” and an action plan in which we talk about issues such as preparing hospitals and schools, improving the storage of critical materials, reinforcing civil-military cooperation, improving disaster prevention and threats and working with partners such as NATO. Among all these proposals there is one however one that has generated expectation: the European Commission wants households to have “essential supplies during a minimum of 72 h in emergency situations. “ In The practice That happens that families have water reserves, medications, batteries and sufficient foods to subsist three days without help. “In case of external disturbances, the initial period is the most critical,” warns the CE In his draft. For the message to be even clearer, today, coinciding with the presentation of the Community Strategy, the Crisis Management Commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, has hung A video in which it reveals what should be included in an emergency kit. Is it a surprise? No. And not only by the international climate, marked by three years of war in Ukraine and the awareness that Europe will not be able to count forever (and unconditionally) with “The security umbrella” of the US. Months ago the former president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, elaborated A broad report on behalf of Von der Leyen in which the “urgency” of strengthening Europe was already advancing to changes in “the geopolitical and security panorama.” “The key task today is to ensure that we are able to provide security to Europeans and are prepared for all risks,” Niinisto insisted at the time. One from The observations collected in their report pointed out that all homes must be equipped to be self -sufficient for at least 72 hours. And those orientations They have played a key role in the plan now drawn up by Brussels. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Is there any reference? Yes. Finland herself, an EU member who shares More than 1,300 km of border with Russia and Lidia with other handicaps, such as its climate or war history. Are those or not the causes the truth is that the Nordic nation It takes time preparing their population to deal with crises and their citizens are more than accustomed to messages that recommend having sufficient provisions to subsist without external help for at least 72 hours. Moreover, Finland, like other countries around his surroundings, such as Sweden either Norwaydistributed months ago An exhaustive guide in which it explained to its population how to prepare against incidents and crisis. In the document, Available onlineis addressed how to respond to electricity and water cuts, prolonged interruptions of banking services and the Internet, extreme natural phenomena or “long -term crisis, such as a pandemic or military conflict.” “With what emergency fights?” That is one of the first questions that the Finns who resort to the guide must answer. The list It is wide and includes from cybersecurity problems to forest fires, storms, floods, terrorist attacks, current and water cuts, epidemics or “military conflicts.” “Preparation is a civic skill in the current world situation”, pointed a few months ago to Bloomberg Kimmo Kohvakka, General Director of Rescue Services. “Knowing what to do in case of incident is a solid base.” How are you doing with 72 h? What there is no doubt is that Finland has managed to expand the message that households must provide resources and prepare to endure independently for at least three days in case they deal with, for example, supply cuts. He recognizes it in The Guardian Suvi Aksela, of Nasta: “The 72 hours have become a brand here in Finland.” To achieve this, their authorities have had to make an interesting pedagogy effort that goes back several years. For some time Finland celebrates every beginning of February the National preparation dayduring which the authorities Remember Its inhabitants who must have what they need to fix them without public services for at least 72 hours in case of emergencies such as natural disasters or military attacks, including kits. That zeal connects with decades of works of preparation in the country and has made it A reference In the matter. Would you survive 72 hours? Perhaps one of the … Read more

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