In Thursday morning's news, Helsingin Sanomat’s lead article reports on the plight of asylum seekers in the Lapland municipality of Salla.
The story introduces resident Eija Kalliainen who runs a small cattle farm near the border. Kalliainen says that despite being accustomed to living alongside border tension all her life, Russia's latest actions have given her pause for thought.
"The newcomers are pitiful; they are just Russian pawns. On the other hand, it would be good for ordinary border crossers if the border remained open," says Kalliainen, noting that she is pleased it's not her who has to make such decisions.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) announced that Finland was planning to close three more checkpoints on its eastern border. The move will leave only one crossing point open with Russia. The closures are to go into effect at midnight on Thursday.
The paper also covers a government memorandum that laid out justifications for the latest closures. According to a police assessment, as movement across the border intensified, there would be increasing risks that further new arrivals could pose security dangers.
The memorandum suggested that criminals, soldiers disguised as civilians or radicalised persons could try to enter the country, says the paper, citing the rapid increase of border crossings in recent weeks.
"The number of weekly arrivals at the current pace would mean approximately 15,000-20,000 annual asylum seekers arriving via the eastern border," the memo states. Its final reference is to the "permissive and active cooperation of the Russian authorities", according to HS.
Tampere's public transport strike upheaval
Meanwhile in Tampere, Aamulehti covers public sentiment regarding strike action which will see drastically reduced tram and bus services operating in the municipality on Thursday. The regional paper put out a call for feedback on the strike on Wednesday and received 88 responses by Thursday morning, many of which lamented the obstacles posed by a lack of public transport.
The quoted reader responses noted the impact on schooling and hobbies, the ability to get to work for those who cannot do so remotely or simply having to make small adjustments to their daily routine involving cars, taxis or car-pooling. Although, one reader was happy that the trams would not be around to cause traffic congestion.
According to Aamulehti, there are strong feelings both for and against the strike.
"I understand and fully support it," one reader submitted, "...politicians need to be woken up so that society doesn't slip into capitalistic narrow-mindedness where only the wealthy have a future."
"It's unbelievable that union bosses make normal taxpayers' everyday life more difficult," says another. "The people suffering the most here are families with children and people without cars with less income."
In more cheerful news, the paper's front page banner proudly proclaimed the arrival of the municipal Christmas Tree which will be installed on Sunday.
Would you like a roundup of the week's top stories in your inbox every Thursday? Then sign up to receive our weekly email.
Discontent at "glass schoolrooms" in Jakomäki
In Helsinki, Iltalehti’s lead domestic news feature puts a spotlight on the renovation of Kankarepuisto's open-plan school in the Jakomäki district. The school now operates in a multi-purpose building which was completed three years ago.
Improvements were made to the facilities in the autumn, at a cost of 814,000 euros. Among other things, different internal spaces were demarcated with glass walls, explains the tabloid.
The renovations have met with discontent from former teachers interviewed by the paper who say it is not suitable for teaching.
"The architects promised peace and harmony. There was noise and chaos," one former teacher at the school told Iltalehti.
Shortcomings in the designs have been duly noted by officials including the city's urban environment unit chief, Jarmo Raveala.
"If we had known better what kind of sound-absorbing structures and closures were needed in an open learning environment, we would have perhaps known how to guide the project better in this matter," he told the tabloid.
According to Iltalehti, Vera Schulman, unit manager of the education and training industry's learning facilities design service, many staff members were consulted on the redesign.
"Since it is an alliance project, some things have also been realised contrary to the hopes of the user industry," says Schulman. "Some of the things that the users have wanted have come true, some have not."
However, according to Iltalehti, Schulman has no interest in scapegoating.
The story concludes with an addendum that Helsingin Sanomat has previously reported on the problems at Kankarepuisto elementary school. IL notes however, that the teacher interviewed by HS praised the recent changes, but still considers the facilities insufficient for the students' needs.
This story was edited to reflect the date of the new border closures, as Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) initially misspoke when making the announcement.
Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here.