Speaking at the UN Future Summit in New York on Monday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb reiterated a proposal for a reform of the UN Security Council which he first aired in an interview with the Reuters news agency last week.
As reported by Kauppalehti, Stubb would like to abolish vetoes by Security Council members and add five new permanent members. Stubb would also like to see the introduction of a possibility to expel from the council any country waging an illegal war of aggression.
The Security Council currently has five permanent members and ten rotating members. The permanent members are the states which were the victors of the Second World War, namely the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia. Under Stubb's proposal, of the five new permanent members, two each would come from Africa and Asia and one from Latin America.
"If in the long term one or two of these proposals could be pushed through, that would be great. The most urgent of these would probably be to increase the number of members of the Security Council," Stubb told Finnish journalists at a briefing at UN headquarters.
However, writes Kauppalehti, Stubb did not provide any estimate of the time frame for his suggested reforms.
The president added that a functioning UN is in Finland's interest, otherwise the world will not be able to solve problems related to climate change, conflicts, migration, technology and sustainable development.
"We are afraid that the UN will be sidelined," Stubb said.
National interest
Stubb also told journalists that he had talks on the situation in the Middle East with both Iranian President Masoud Pezeškian and King Abdullah II of Jordan, reports Iltalehti.
"I am concerned. The risk of escalation is real and at the moment efforts are being made to contain it one way or another," Stubb said.
Finland voted last week in favour of a UN General Assembly motion declaring Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal.
The move drew criticism from politicians in some Finnish government parties, including the Finns Party and the Christian Democrats.
Stubb said the vote was the right decision.
"Finland always supports international law, and if the international court is of the opinion that the Israeli settlements are illegal, then we will support that decision," he explained.
Finland has contracted for the purchase of an air defence system, known as David's Sling, from Israel. According to President Stubb, the current situation does not affect the deal.
"We have come to the conclusion that the David's Sling is one of the best air defence systems available on the market, so we will stick to it. In this, Finland's security has priority," Stubb said.
The march of AI
Jyväskylä's Keskisuomalainen is among the papers to carry an STT news agency report that almost half of large Finnish companies are planning to replace some operations with artificial intelligence (AI).
An "Enterprise Pulse" survey commissioned by the OP Group found that companies are typically looking at using AI to replace jobs in reporting, data processing, customer service and communications.
More than a quarter of respondents do not plan to replace jobs with AI.
Half of the large Finnish companies surveyed say AI will play a critical role in their success. In addition, 37 percent of respondents said that they believe Finland is currently an attractive international destination for AI projects.
The survey, conducted by the pollster Taloustutkimus was conducted in April and May of this year, and canvassed 100 Finnish companies with a turnover of at least 100 million euros.
Warmer autumns
The weather this past weekend was more like what one would expect for the time of year, following weeks of exceptionally high temperatures nationwide.
Helsingin Sanomat writes that on Tuesday, temperatures will again rise to as high as a summery 18 degrees Celsius in southern Finland and some other regions.
Interviewed by the paper, Mika Rantanen, a researcher at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, noted that September has been exceptional warm by many standards. Temperature records have been broken at almost every weather station in the country. He said that, as a result, the growing season in the south of Finland may continue until mid-October.
A warmer and longer summer will provide a longer growing season, but it also increases the number of pests in fields and forests.
The effects of the warm September weather is also being felt in the Baltic Sea. According to Rantanen, waters in the Gulf of Finland are still at 17 degrees Celsius, which would be normal for early August. At this time of year, sea water temperatures should be around 12 degrees.
Looking ahead, Rantanen said he believes that he number of exceptionally warm autumns will increase.
"Summer is getting longer at both ends. In Sodankylä, for example, this year's summer was the second longest on record," he points out to HS.
Dealing with bears
Iltalehti tells readers that a number of bears have kept police busy in eastern Finland over the past week and they are now asking the public to report any new sightings.
An encounter with a bear in the wild can be a very frightening experience, but panic in such a situation is the worst option. Bears can run much faster than humans.
"Turning your back and running away can trigger a bear's predatory instinct," says Juha Kuittinen, game manager of the Finnish Game Centre's North Karelia region.
According to Kuittinen, bears will generally avoid humans, but staying calm is a good idea in any close encounter.
"Bears should not be provoked in any way, such as by shouting or riling them in any way. You should try to remain calm and leave the vicinity," he advises.
On the other hand, a bear intruding into your own yard should be scared off.
"From of the shelter of the building, shouting from a window or door should be used to try to get the bear out of the yard," Kuittinen explains. " In a rural area shooting into the air with a hunting rifle is also a good way of scaring it away, for example."
Currently, bears can only be hunted in reindeer husbandry areas. In the rest of Finland, bears are protected and hunting is only allowed with a special permit.
Last March, the Finnish Natural Resources Institute estimated the number of bears in Finland at 2,100-2,250. The population is estimated to be about 20 percent larger than in 2023.
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