Finland

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Divers find remains of Finnish WWII plane that was shot down by Moscow with a US diplomat aboard

HELSINKI (AP) — The World War II mystery of what happened to a Finnish passenger plane after it was shot down over the Baltic Sea by Soviet bombers appears to finally be solved more than eight decades later.

https://apnews.com/article/finland-estonia-missing-wwii-plane-us-soviets-8376e3aa3237ec2e551749afc74ccbbe?

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Finland stops Russia-linked vessel over damaged undersea power cable in Baltic Sea

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables, police said, in the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure in the region.

https://apnews.com/article/eu-finland-estonia-baltic-sea-power-cable-6741ef1ce9130602abac6214d7297717?

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Finnish investigators find an anchor drag mark on the Baltic seabed after suspicious cable damage

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) — Finnish investigators probing the damage to a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables said they found an anchor drag mark on the seabed, apparently from a Russia-linked vessel that has already been seized.

https://apnews.com/article/finland-estonia-russia-cable-undersea-sabotage-nato-c676c2ddb89db3dba60c96cfea4a0679?

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Helsinki goes a full year without a traffic death

Helsinki has not recorded a single traffic fatality in the past 12 months, city and police officials confirmed this week.

https://yle.fi/a/74-20174831?

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Finland runs Europe’s biggest civil defense exercise since the end of World War II

At a civil defense shelter in the Finnish city of Kuopio, more than 2,000 people including volunteers and students took part. The scenario: cyberattacks have disrupted power and water, while missile strikes from neighboring Russia remain a threat. I caught up with AP European security correspondent Emma Burrows, who took part in the exercise, which included spending the night in a vast, cavernous bunker.

First, what was it actually like spending the night in the bunker? I’ve slept in worse places! We were inside a cave hewn out of rock and had three-person bunk beds. Quite a lot of the participants were Finnish conscripts being trained to operate the shelter. It was interesting to hear how – although people weren’t necessarily happy about doing national service – they thought it’s a good thing for society because it makes people think about others.   What are some of the key lessons Finland is learning from Ukraine? They can see that, in Ukraine, people need to find shelter quickly – and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a bunker that can withstand a nuclear attack. I met a Ukrainian student from Odesa during the exercise and he thought practicing is a good thing. His city was attacked with missiles and, even though it might seem crazy to rehearse for the worst, he said nobody in Ukraine thought they’d be hit and so it’s better to be prepared.