"We could have continued with this flag, but sometimes embarrassing situations can arise with foreign visitors," explained Colonel Tomi Bhem, head of the air defense force of the air wing in the Karelia region, in an interview with Finnish public broadcaster YLE. "Sometimes it's wise to move with the times."

Although Finnish defense forces claim the flag renewal program, launched in 2023 with Finland's NATO membership, is not directly related to alliance membership, the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat revealed the symbol is perceived as "embarrassing in international contexts."

It was also reported that in 2021, German units refused to participate in a closing ceremony of a joint exercise due to the use of swastika flags.

The story behind the controversial symbol began in 1918, shortly after Finland gained independence from the Russian Empire. A Swedish count named Erik von Rosen donated Finland's first military aircraft, and the plane bore his personal symbol, a swastika. Von Rosen, who was a researcher and ethnographer, was the brother-in-law of Hermann Göring, a senior Nazi Party member and commander of the Luftwaffe, the Nazi air force.

Finland fought alongside Nazi Germany in the Continuation War (1941-1944) against the Soviet Union, attempting to regain territories lost in the Winter War. Despite the military alliance, Finland refused to adopt Nazi antisemitic ideology, and Finnish Jews served in its army, and it refused to hand over its Jewish citizens to the Germans. Only at the war's end did Finland switch sides and declare war on Germany.

The new flags will feature an eagle instead of the swastika, and they will be introduced after their preparation is complete, though the Finnish military did not specify when this will be finished. "Von Rosen's swastika has been used by us since 1918, but we already removed it from most air force symbols in previous reforms," stated the message to AP. "Removing it from unit flags is simply a logical continuation."

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Parliamentary security director Aaro Toivonen confirmed a death occurred within the building but declined to provide additional details to Newsweek. The incident took place during parliament's summer recess period, which continues until September.

"The death of Eemeli Peltonen deeply shocks me and all of us," Social Democratic Party parliamentary group chair Tytti Tuppurainen stated. "He was a very well-liked member of our community, and we will miss him greatly. A young life has ended far too soon. We share in the grief of his loved ones and wish them strength in the midst of their sorrow."

Peltonen had recently disclosed health struggles through social media, revealing kidney disease treatment and subsequent secondary infection complications that required medical leave from parliamentary duties. His final Instagram post detailed these medical challenges affecting his legislative service.

The young lawmaker secured his parliamentary seat in the 2023 elections with 5,747 votes, subsequently joining the administration and legal affairs committees. Beyond national politics, Peltonen served on Järvenpää City Council and held the position of City Board Chairman, making him the youngest person ever to hold that role after first winning election at age 18.

Centre Party chair and former defense minister Antti Kaikkonen honored Peltonen's memory through a social media tribute. "I also came to know him as a warm and sympathetic person," Kaikkonen expressed. "The news of Eemeli's passing is shocking and deeply saddening. I extend my deepest condolences to Eemeli's family and loved ones. Wishing them strength in their great sorrow."

Iltalehti newspaper initially reported the parliamentary death, with Ilta-Sanomat providing subsequent confirmation. Public broadcaster Yle sought verification from security officials, who did not dispute the reporting from other media outlets.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo conveyed shock and sadness regarding his colleague's death, Ilta-Sanomat reported. Parliament officials issued a statement acknowledging the death while noting that "Parliament will not comment further on the case while the coroner's investigation is ongoing."

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Named after the Finnish city where it was found, the virus has a diameter of about 200 nanometers, making it roughly twice the size of the influenza or coronavirus. Identified in a compost sample, the discovery suggests giant viruses are more common in soil and water bodies – even in northern environments – than previously assumed.

The researchers mixed environmental samples with a culture of the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii to isolate the virus, uncovering not only Jyvaskylavirus but also other new giant viruses in the samples.

"We determined the genome and structure of Jyvaskylavirus, and it was found to be related to the 'Marseillevirus' previously isolated in France. Additionally, other new giant viruses were identified in the samples," said Professor Lotta-Riina Sundberg, as reported by Science Daily.

Giant viruses, like Jyvaskylavirus, have been discovered in recent years and can be as large as bacteria, sometimes up to 1,000 times larger than their relatives. These viruses can have genomes with up to 2.5 million base pairs in their genetic material, far exceeding the 7,000-20,000 base pairs typical of standard-sized viruses.

According to SciTechDaily, the discovery of Jyvaskylavirus highlights how much remains unknown about the structure, origin, and function of many giant viruses.

"This new discovery will help us better understand the interactions between bacteria and the role of viruses in regulating communities of all living organisms," Sundberg said.

In recent years, over 60 species of giant viruses have been documented in remote regions worldwide, including Europe, South America, North Africa, India, Japan, and Siberia. Scientists have identified giant viruses – some as large as bacteria – that infect amoebas and other microorganisms. One such virus, Tupanvirus, was discovered in 2018 in brackish swamps in Brazil.

Other giant viruses have been found in extreme environments, such as Siberia's frozen soil, where Pithovirus and Mollivirus retained their infectivity after 30,000 years. Researchers have warned that climate change could lead to the release and reactivation of additional harmful viruses as ice melts.

"Despite their intimidating name, giant viruses are not necessarily more dangerous than regular-sized species, and Jyvaskylavirus is not considered a threat to humans," the scientists reported.

The researchers hope further studies will deepen the understanding of these unique microscopic organisms. "These giant viruses play key roles in ecosystems and are more widespread than previously thought," Science Daily reported.

Giant viruses have exponentially larger genomes compared to standard-sized viruses. While many viruses measure tens of nanometers in size, Jyvaskylavirus is larger but still significantly smaller than the largest known giant virus, Pandoravirus salinas, which measures 500 nanometers.

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Russia warned the West on Wednesday that it will view US and NATO vehicles transporting weapons on Ukrainian territory as legitimate targets, just hours after Sweden signaled it was likely to apply for membership in the defense alliance.

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A columnist in the Swedish paper Svenska Dagbladet wrote that Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has already made the decision in favor of joining the organization and will likely submit the official request when Madrid hosts a NATO conference in June

According to the publication, the prime minister was likely to convene a special meeting of her party's governing body in which she might seek official backing for the move, which will be the culmination of an intra-party dialogue that was launched this week.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the TASS news agency in an interview on Wednesday that the US and NATO must rethink their strategy of supplying weapons to Ukraine lest they become entangled in war.

"We are warning that US-NATO weapons transport across Ukrainian territory will be considered by us as legal military targets," TASS quoted him as saying.

"We are making the Americans and other Westerners understand that attempts to slow down our special operation, to inflict maximum damage on Russian contingents and formations of the DPR and LPR (Donetsk and Luhansk People's republics) will be harshly suppressed," he said.

Finland will make a decision about whether to apply to join the 30-member NATO alliance in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday.

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The ruling relates to a 2017 petition from Finnish Police to disband the Nordic Resistance Movement (known in Finland as NMR), which is active in most Scandinavian countries.

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The police petition argued that the organization's activities violated "the law and good practice," by, among other things, spreading "hateful rhetoric about immigrants, sexual minorities and Jews."

NMR, which designates itself as a "revolutionary national socialist" organization, disputed the police petition and argued that its activity was protected under freedom of speech and assembly rights, Finnish broadcaster YLE reported.

The Supreme Court, however, sided with police and said the organization should be banned since its activities by definition were a "misuse of these rights."

"We think the court's decision is a clear message that organizations that are violent and use speech that is racist or in other ways violate human dignity should not have a place in Finnish society," Police Inspector Heikki Lausmaa at the National Board of Police said in a statement.

Following a district court verdict, which an appeals court upheld, the group has been banned since 2018, though police have said they believe its members have tried to resume their activities under a new name.

NMR was founded in 1997 as the Swedish Resistance Movement. Sister organizations then sprang up in other Nordic countries throughout the 2000s, and in 2016 these groups united as NMR.

The group stages protests and produces anti-immigration media, but has also been linked to acts of violence.

In 2016, a 28-year old man died after he was assaulted by NMR members in Helsinki. Watchdog organization Expo reports that several members have been convicted in a series of bombings in Gothenburg in 2016 and 2017.

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"I think the question of a European mission will be discussed there again because this discussion has not yet taken place everywhere and so I believe that the Finnish presidency will play a coordinating role on that," Merkel told a news conference after meeting visiting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.

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EU foreign and defense ministers are due to hold informal meetings in Helsinki in late August. Finland took over the EU's rotating presidency on July 1.

Britain last week joined the United States in a maritime security mission in the Persian Gulf to protect merchant vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran seized a British-flagged vessel. Two weeks beforehand, Britain had called for a European-led naval mission.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said that Germany will not join a US-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz and that it favors a European mission but he has also warned it was rather difficult to make progress on that.

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