National Swedish-language daily Hufvudstadsbladet leads off on a serious note with a preview of the NATO summit that begins in Warsaw on Friday, where the Finnish president will for the first time be ushered into the 'holiest of holies' – a closed-door, free-form working dinner with the leaders of NATO countries. It also looks at the British parliamentary Defence Committee report that weighs the possible impact if Finland and Sweden were to join NATO.
HBL also covers Hillary Clinton's email scandal and notes that more people die of hepatitis than AIDS around the world. There is also room for sport with football and Finnish hurdler Nooralotta Neziri's prospects at the European athletics championships in Amsterdam.
TS: Missing guns, Sex Pistols prophecy
Turun Sanomat reports that at least 18 assault rifles have gone missing from the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) over the past four decades, which is significantly more than the FDF has publicly admitted. Military officials say that RK-62 weapons – which are similar to AK-47's – should not be in the hands of civilians. In June a police officer was killed in Vihti by a man wielding an RK-62. The gun was originally acquired by the FDF but later stolen from the Border Guard.
The most-read story on the Turku paper's website for the past two days has been a Brexit think piece by Esko Valtaoja, a high-profile professor emeritus of astronomy, which begins with these words in English: "Right… NOW! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Valtaoja goes on to write: "Johnny Rotten's snotty laugh rings in my ears. The Sex Pistols' prediction from 40 years ago has finally come to pass: anarchy has come to the UK."
Record-breaking Ronaldo
On a lighter note, TS points out that Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo is poised to become the highest-scoring player ever in the men’s European Championships. On Wednesday evening he matched the previous record of nine goals held by Michel Platini.
The Frenchman made all of his nine EC goals in one tournament, though, in 1984. Earlier in Euro 2016, Ronaldo became the first footballer ever to score goals in four European Championships.
On Wednesday he scored a dramatic header against Wales to put Portugal up 1-0 at the beginning of the second half. Three minutes later Nani put Portugal up 2-0, ending Wales’s dream of making it into Sunday’s final. Portugal will face either France or Germany on Sunday, with the other finalist to be determined on Thursday evening. Yle will carry that semi-final on TV2 with the pregame show beginning at 9.15 pm.
Metro: Bike crash, Seurasaari film shoot
The capital region’s free daily Metro, which only appears a couple of times a week during July, leads off with the latest ruling in the case of a much-debated fatal collision between a car and bicycle in Helsinki’s Töölö district last August. The incident sparked demonstrations on behalf of cyclists’ rights. The driver has been convicted of aggravated manslaughter and other charges for intentionally cutting in front of the cyclist. The man on the bike, who was not wearing a helmet and who had gesticulated at the driver a moment before, was thrown from the cycle and killed. On Wednesday, an appeals court cut the motorist’s prison term nearly in half to two years and eight months, citing the massive publicity surrounding the case and the driver’s health condition, which made him prone to impulsive behaviour. The 36-year-old motorist had suffered brain damage in the 2004 Konginkangas bus crash, the worst road accident in Finnish history, which left 23 people dead.
Most of the rest of the Sanoma-owned Metro's front page focuses on local news: a reader's photo of a house destroyed by fire in Vesala, eastern Helsinki, on Wednesday, a ban on the use of the Moomin name for a dubiously-organised family festival in Espoo, filming a remake of the classic film The Unknown Soldier on the museum island of Seurasaari.
But there's also mention of the upcoming announcements of the US vice-presidential candidates, and a tremendous 88.23 metre javelin throw by Antti Ruuskanen at the European championships in Amsterdam. That will make him a contender at the Summer Olympics, scheduled to begin in Rio less than a month from now.
