Helsinki is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and serves as the seat of the Uusimaa region in southern Finland. Approximately 0.67 million people live in the municipality, with 1.25 million in the capital region, and 1.58 million in the metropolitan area. As the most populous urban area in Finland, it is the country's most significant centre for politics, education, finance, culture, and research. Helsinki is situated 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north of Tallinn, Estonia, 360 kilometres (220 mi) to the north of Riga, Latvia, 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 kilometres (190 mi) to the west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has significant historical connections with these four cities.

Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen – and surrounding commuter towns, including the neighbouring municipality of Sipoo to the east – Helsinki forms the metropolitan area. This area is often considered Finland's only metropolis and is the world's northernmost metropolitan area with over one million inhabitants. Additionally, it is the northernmost capital of an EU member state. Helsinki is the third largest municipality in the Nordic countries, following Stockholm and Oslo. Its urban area is the second largest in the Nordic countries, after Stockholm. Helsinki Airport, located in the neighbouring city of Vantaa, serves the city with frequent flights to numerous destinations in Europe, North America, and Asia. (Full article...)

• ... that the 1992 documentary film Daddy and the Muscle Academy, which focuses on the life of gay erotic artist Tom of Finland, has been broadcast on Finnish television multiple times?
• ... that Alli Lahtinen, the first woman to lead a central government agency in Finland, helped establish the country's national child care system?
• ... that Finnish minister Kyllikki Pohjala learned English while working in New York hospitals to pay for her education at Columbia University?
• ... that the Finnish 7th Division was formed in 1940 by renumbering another unit to make it appear to the Soviets that it had been replaced with fresh troops?
• ... that Meeri Kalavainen, Finland's first minister of culture, helped end a schism in the women's branch of the Social Democratic Party?
• ... that Orvokki Kangas authored six books, including a novel, memoirs, and religious devotionals, after she left the Finnish parliament at the age of 61?

• ...that the Finnish Communist leader Arvo Tuominen broke with the Soviet Union during the Winter War and ordered the Finnish Communists not to assist the Red Army?
• ...that mobile phone throwing is an international sport in which thrown mobile phones are judged by the distance and choreographics of the throw?
• ...that the self-taught weapon designer Aimo Lahti designed over 50 weapons of all types prior to and during World War II, including the successful Suomi M-31?
• ...that Norse sagas record some Finnish campaigns against Sweden in the mid-8th century?
• ...that Larin Paraske, a Finnish oral poet, could recite over 32,000 verses of poetry?

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The Vätsäri Wilderness Area (Finnish: Vätsärin erämaa, Swedish: Vätsäri ödemarksområde) is located along the northeastern shore of Lake Inari in Inari, northern Finland, stretching all the way to the Finland–Norway border. The landscape is dominated by taiga forests of Scots pine, bog and bodies of water. The northeastern part rises as a treeless fell ridge. Vätsäri is one of twelve wilderness areas in Lapland and covers an area of 1,550 square kilometers (600 sq mi). The wilderness has one marked trail and a few cabins. The reserve is under the management of Metsähallitus (Administration of Forests) and was established with the other wilderness reserves in 1991. It is part of Pasvik–Inari Trilateral Park along with Øvre Pasvik National Park and Øvre Pasvik Landscape Protection Area in Norway, and the joint Norwegian–Russian Pasvik Nature Reserve.

The area has a short growing season, cold winters, little precipitation and poor soil quality created by the gneiss bedrock. Lake Inari has been affected by acid rain and loss of fish from the Paatsjoki River Hydroelectric Plants. The reserve is an important habitat of the brown bear and also has a large moose population; reindeer husbandry is practiced by the Samis. Whitefish and vendace are the most common species of fish, the latter being an introduced species. (Full article...)

2 April 2024 – Viertola school shooting

A student is killed and two others are injured in a shooting at a school in Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland. A 12-year-old student is detained. (AP) (Yle)

1 March 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election

Alexander Stubb is sworn in as the 13th President of Finland. (Reuters)

11 February 2024 – 2024 Finnish presidential election

Alexander Stubb is elected President of Finland with 51.6% of the vote.(Yle)

27 January 2024 – Israel–Hamas war

The United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany suspend humanitarian aid to UNRWA over allegations that some UNRWA staff members were involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel. (BBC News) (CBS News)

14 December 2023 – Finland–United States relations

Finland announces the creation of a defense cooperation agreement with the United States. The agreement will grant Finland access to American military resources for use in defensive operations, while the US will gain military access to Finland in the event of conflict. (Reuters)

29 November 2023 – Finland–Poland relations, Finland–Russia relations

National Security Bureau chief Jacek Siewiera announces that Poland will send "a team of military advisors" to the Finland–Russia border in response to an official request for allied support. Finland says it was unaware of the Polish offer. Russia warns against the move, viewing the concentration of troops on the border as a threat. (Reuters)

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Northern Europe

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