Ilta-Sanomat reminds readers that by mid-April, the snow in southern Finland will have melted, and it remains to be seen whether Russia will start diverting larger numbers of asylum seekers across the eastern land border.
Reviewing the government's decision on Thursday to keep all eight checkpoints on the eastern border with Russia closed until 14 April, the paper points to a government memo which estimates that if the border restrictions were not in place, Finland would see "at least around 10,000-20,000 asylum seekers per year" entering from Russia.
Ilta-Sanomat also goes back to President Sauli Niinistö's speech at the opening of Parliament in which he compared the international regulations concerning asylum to a Trojan horse. If someone wants to misuse the framework of rules, they can use it to direct large numbers of people into the territory of an opponent – something, the president said no one could even have imagined when the Geneva Convention of 1951 and the regulations enacted since then were drafted.
Niinistö's remarks on the issue referred to a "tough challenge" and the "coming spring".
The paper notes that while Niinistö did not elaborate on his reference to the spring in detail, it probably includes the idea that the situation on the eastern border will change as the snow melts.
Ilta-Sanomat writes that the next "stunt" involving asylum seekers by Vladimir Putin is likely to be seen only then. The soon-to-be-elected new president of Finland will be in office from the beginning of March, and testing his nerves might also tempt Putin.
But Putin hardly wants to give the signal that Russia's borders are out of control. The numbers that will be allowed through are therefore likely to be such that Finland will be forced to keep on its toes, but Russia itself will not lose control of its borders, writes Ilta-Sanomat.
Socially vulnerable cities
Helsingin Sanomat reports that Turku is one of the most socially vulnerable cities in Finland, according to Terhi Tikkanen-Lindström, an expert at the planning and consulting company WSP Finland.
The paper explains that social vulnerability has several components. Low income, child poverty, joblessness and low foreign-born worker employment levels are among the best known, as they often lead to social exclusion.
Social vulnerability is in part explained by factors such as the increasing frequency and certainty of divorce, the rise in single-parent families and the challenges of the integration of migrants.
"For single-parent families, the challenges may be reduced income and the fact that single parents do not have the opportunity to invest time in their work and thus influence their income levels," Tikkanen-Lindström told the paper.
As a result of poverty, the position of children is weakened, and the feeling of exclusion and stigmatisation carries on well into adulthood, notes Helsingin Sanomat.
According to the WSP's 2023 Regions Survey, the risk of segregation has increased in larger Finnish cities. Turku is the most vulnerable among the nation's cities with over 100,000 inhabitants.
WSP measured the vitality of municipalities using 21 indicators. Of these, child poverty and the employment rate of foreign-born workers were combined into separate social vulnerability indices.
However, Turku has seen an upswing in the employment of foreign-born people, which is a key factor in reducing segregation and increasing regional prosperity.
According to Tikkanen-Lindström, the way to combat segregation in regional development is to maintain "social mixing" in the regions, and to ensure the stability of the public services network.
"With immigration now likely to continue to increase, this is even more important," she pointed out.
Child poverty is a particular concern in Turku. Society must ensure that every child has a safe environment in which to grow up, with opportunities to participate in early childhood education, school, after-school activities and hobbies. Children need to feel they belong, writes HS.
"Children should be put at the centre of city strategies, especially now that the birth rate has fallen. Children are our future," Tikkanen-Lindström told the paper.
Prom night for the "old ones"
On Thursday high school seniors across the country celebrated their last days of school on riding in open-bed trucks, tossing candy to passers-by in a tradition known as "penkkarit".
Now, as several papers, including Savon Sanomat point out, Friday is the turn of the juniors to celebrate their new status as the "old ones" at school – and that means it's the Finnish equivalent of prom night.
Schools all over the country are holding formal dances where junior class members in flowing gowns or dark suits take to the dance floor in front of their classmates and an audience of parents and friends.
Meanwhile, as the paper notes, seniors will be hitting the books in preparation for matriculation exams which start on 12 March.
Cold goes on and on...
Stating the obvious, Ilta-Sanomat published an STT item that noted it is unusually cold for the time of year in Finland.
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), the thermometer read -39.7 degrees Celsius in the Lapland municipality of Savukoski.
Friday will be sunny in most parts of the country, with some clouds, especially in the north.
Aamulehti spoke with FMI meteorologist Sini Jääskeläinen, who said that the colder-than-normal weather is forecast to continue throughout February and into the first week of March.
But there is a bright side. Cold temperatures means little chance of heavy snowfall and that means less snow shovelling in the weeks ahead.
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