Steven Lamy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Sandwiched between Russia and NATO ally Norway, both Sweden and Finland have maintained neutrality in global conflicts. That changed in February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is against allowing two Nordic countries to join NATO over what he deems their support of ‘terrorists.’ His opposition will test the alliance’s unity.
Swedish army medics simulate the evacuation of a field hospital as part of military exercise called “cold response 2022”, gathering around 30,000 troops from Nato member countries plus Finland and Sweden, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in the Arctic Circle on March 25 2022.
Reuters/Alamy
Finland was recently ranked, for the fifth year in a row, as the world’s happiest country. Trust in others in society plays a large role in what makes people there – and elsewhere – happy.
Eight countries with territory in the Arctic make up the Arctic Council.
Mike Swigunski/Unsplash
The Arctic Council was the world’s primary forum for cooperation among the eight Arctic nations and a channel for diplomacy – until Russia launched a war.
Most people who received some money experienced less hunger, sickness and depression, both before and after Kenya imposed restrictions in the pandemic.
Children need the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered by experts in ways they can understand. A briefing may reduce children’s anxiety and increase their understanding of the pandemic.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and German chancellor Angela Merkel have shown good leadership in the fight against COVID-19.
GCIS
It is no accident that those leaders who have responded worst to this crisis have also been the main sources of countless conspiracy theories and misinformation.
On April 15, Finland’s foreign minister Pekka Haavisto (pictured in September 2019) announced on that his country would voluntarily increase its funding of the Wolrd Health Organization.
Wikipedia
Suerie Moon, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)
The world rightly expressed shock and dismay at Donald Trump’s suspension of US funding for WHO. To respond, other governments, funders and citizens are urgently needed to fill the gap.
Year 7 students at the International School of Helsinki, Finland, doing a sustainable development exercise with the author (top left) and fellow teacher Rachael Thrash.
Katja Lehtonen
My year of buying almost nothing saved me thousands of dollars – but also taught me valuable lessons as a teacher, including about the benefits of failure.
The baby box in Finland is embedded as part of the maternity system.
Kela
It has become common to believe that if babies sleep in these boxes, it will help protect them from sudden infant death syndrome. Unfortunately, the research does not back this up.
An old male reindeer weathers a heavy snow storm.
Kerfu/Shutterstock