FINLAND

Warm February

WITH temperatures ranging from zero to minus9, February was milder than usual across Finland, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) announced. The most noticeable divergences were measured in Ostrobothnia and Lapland, with temperatures three degrees Celsius above the normal average for February.

Ireland

Safe and sound

IRELAND’S Heritage and Electoral Reform Ministry ordered a halt to cutting hedgerows and verges or burning land until the end of August. Birds and mammals relied on hedgerows and uplands to nurture and feed their young in habitats that kept them safe from predators, the ministry said.

Italy

Bad choice

RESEARCH revealed that the hunter-gatherers who sought refuge 30,000 years ago from the last Ice Age in modern Italy found themselves at a dead end when the ice expanded southward approximately 25,000 years ago. In Italy the population completely disappeared, investigators found.

Portugal

Speak up

PORTUGAL announced that it intended to grant one-year residency permits to citizens who came from Portuguese-speaking nations. This would enable approximately 150,000 immigrants from countries including Brazil to regularise their situation and also tackle labour shortages, the government announced.

Ukraine

Not wanted

UKRAINE accused Russia of trying to export Anime-inspired teenage gangs that originated in Moscow via Telegram. Police said they had blocked 18 Telegram channels and groups “created to conduct Russian military information campaigns, undermine the domestic situation in Ukraine and involve minors in illegal activities.”

Sweden

No cash

A MAJORITY of Swedes told a recent survey that they had not used cash for 30 days, while 95 per cent of the 15-95 age group used the mobile payment app, Swish. Phone-tapping and card-swiping are now used even for church collections, the Copenhagen Business School found.