TOP NEWS

The criticism against Sanna Marin
Sanna Marin is criticized for jet set life: "Disappointed"

Finland's former Prime Minister Sanna Marin (S) now works as an advisor at the Tony Blair Institute. At the same time, her new life is receiving criticism in her home country, reports Aftonbladet.

"I have never been so disappointed in a politician as I have been in Sanna Marin," writes journalist Meri Valkama in a column in the newspaper Demokraatti. Valkama is of the opinion that Marin has lost her ability to take a stand.

- Valkama believes that Marin could push important political issues, but it's all about her appearance, glamorous acquaintances and world tours, says Anu Koivunen, professor at the University of Turku, to Aftonbladet.

Journalist and author Salla Vueorikoski, who recently published a book about Marin, says in an interview with Swedish Yle that power "possibly" went to the former prime minister's head.

The Tony Blair Institute, Marin's new employer, is a non-profit organization based in London.
Swedish graffiti on the Finnish embassy in Moscow: "SD" and "Åland is ours"

"Åland is ours" combined with two flowers and the letters "SD". It was scrawled on the Finnish embassy in Moscow last Friday, Swedish Yle reports.

Five men are said to be behind the vandalism. The police arrested the people, but the nationality of the men is unclear. The Sweden Democrats state that they have nothing to do with the graffiti.

- This is apparently silly and unnecessary damage, says the Sweden Democrats' press director Oskar Cavalli-Björkman to the channel.

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The new space race
US General: Believes Russia Tested Nuclear Satellite

Russia may have developed and tested a satellite capable of delivering nuclear weapons into Earth orbit. This is what the head of the US Space Force, General B Chance Saltzman, tells TT.

- Our current nuclear weapons doctrine has a deterrent effect so that nuclear weapons should not be used. That's why it's so destabilizing that Russia is taking this to another level, says Saltzman.

Saltzman does not want to answer how the US might respond to the Russian plans. But the general says at the same time that "to deter something, you don't have to respond with exactly the same capacity".

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The future of the EU
The president of the EU Parliament wants a defense union

The EU should create its own security and defense union as a complement to NATO. This is what the parliament's newly elected Speaker Roberta Metsola says in an interview with Spanish El Mundo.

- The EU must constantly become stronger, more cohesive and more efficient.

At present, there is an extremely uncertain situation in Europe in view of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the EU must be ready for anything regardless of who is president in the United States, she adds.

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The Russian invasion The battles
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense warns of "powerful Russian offensive"

Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky warns that the Ukrainian forces are currently facing "one of the most powerful Russian offensives" since the start of the war. CNN reports.

Russia has gained ground in eastern Donbas, a region that President Vladimir Putin intends to take full control of.

Reuters writes that Russian forces are advancing at the fastest pace since March 2022.

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Sweden and the climate
The government's wind power report: Three yeses since taking office

The government's no to 13 proposed wind farms in the Baltic "raises questions about how Sweden will be able to meet its plans to double annual electricity production." That is written by Reuters.

- I think most people understand that today's announcement is a tough decision, says Energy and Industry Minister Ebba Busch (KD), according to TT.

The government has given its approval to three offshore wind farms since it took office in 2022. A further ten are still awaiting word.

Wind power accounts for just over 20 percent of Sweden's electricity production. The majority of power plants are located on land.

The government plans to expand nuclear power by at least 2,500 megawatts by 2035.