Ilta-Sanomat writes that Turkey's change of heart concerning Finland's application to join the western alliance is the result of a tough behind-the-scenes game in which the United States has offered both a carrot and a stick.
Finland's President Sauli Niinistö begins a two-day visit to Turkey on Thursday. It is widely expected that on Friday Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will announce the country's approval of Finland's Nato membership bid.
Risto E. J. Penttilä, the director of the think tank Nordic West Office, told Ilta-Sanomat that he believes that the US has been the driving force in recent developments concerning Finnish Nato membership, having made it clear to Turkey that the delay must end.
Penttilä says that US President Joe Biden and his administration have worked behind the scenes to promote the membership of both Finland and Sweden.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we hear news about F-16 fighter jet purchases [by Turkey] soon," he told Ilta-Sanomat.
President Niinistö visited the US last week where he met President Biden in Washington, even though the original programme did not include talks between the two. Penttilä took this as a sign that matters had moved forward significantly.
According to Penttilä, Turkey is ultimately dependent on the United States. It needs both military and economic cooperation with the US.
He noted, though, that Finland itself has done well in handling negotiations with Ankara. At no point, he said, has Turkey been able to say that Finland is a problem.
Just three years ago
Although it may already seem like the distant past, it was only three years ago as of Thursday that a state of emergency was declared in Finland in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Iltalehti reminds readers.
Because of the Covid pandemic, Finland was in state of emergency from 16 March to 16 June 2020, and again from 1 March to 27 April 2021.
The paper recalls how initially people rushed to stockpile dairy products and toilet paper.
As the state of emergency was announced, Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) and Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru (SDP) held a press conference to reassure people that they could still safely go outdoors.
The capital and surrounding province of Uusimaa were cordoned off from the rest of the country on 28 March of 2020. The police and defense forces cut off all major roads, restricting travel in and out of the province.
Face masks caused public debate from the very beginning. At first, stocks were distributed only to healthcare staff. It was not until August 2020, that the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare THL issued a recommendation on the use of masks by the general public.
The paper notes that in the early stages the Covid pandemic also sparked measures that now seem excessive, such as an order for all people over the age of 70 to quarantine.
Cleaners' strike
Most papers, including Hufvudstadsbladet, report the Thursday start of a strike by cleaning and real estate maintenance personal after the service union PAM rejected a mediation offer in a contract dispute Wednesday.
The strike includes 2,500 employees who work in cleaning services at around a hundred companies. These include VR's trains, Helsinki's Olympic and Katajanokka terminals, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, several hotels and a long list of industrial properties around the country, all of which will be without cleaning services for three days.
This strike ends on 18 March, but the union has issued warnings of two more strike actions if no settlement is reached. Up to 25,000 union members could walk off the job later this month.
Cold keeping birds at bay
Very few spring migratory birds have returned to Finland over the past few weeks, according to the group BirdLife Finland.
The farmers' union paper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus points out that freezing temperatures and cold northerly winds have largely delayed migrations.
However, the forest soundscape already does include the songs of titmice, Eurasian treecreepers and greenfinches, as well as the drumming of woodpeckers.
According to BirdLife Finland, there are a few early returnees. More than 20 skylarks were seen in Turku last week, and in the past couple of weeks more than 70 skylark sightings were reported in the coastal municipalities between Pori and Porvoo.
The most unusual sighting of March so far was made on Monday of last week, when two little auk (Alle alle) were seen in Imatra.
