Finland named ‘happiest country’

ACCORDING to the UN World Happiness Report 2023, published on Monday, March 20, Finland is once again the happiest country in the world. It maintains the top position for the sixth consecutive year.

The experts who prepare this annual report carried out surveys among the citizens of 137 countries and evaluated different factors. These included income, health, social connections, the feeling of free­

Decision u-turn protests

IN 2018, Maria Silvia Fiengo and Francesca Pardi were among Italy’s first same­sex couples to be registered as parents.

This was due to the progressive stance, of the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, which allowed children born to parents of the same gender to be acknowledged in the absence of clear national legislation.

This week, however, what was then seen as a major victory for equality and acceptance by the LGBT community was reversed.

Italy’s right­wing government instructed Milan’s city council to stop registering the children of same­sex parents, reigniting a debate around Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s conservative agenda.

Children who are denied the right to have both parents recognised on their birth certificate are left in a legal limbo. Protests are set in Milan by families, activists and political rivals who are opposed to the ban.

dom to make road decisions, generosity, and the absence of corruption.

As highlighted by the report, the perception of the planet’s inhabitants about their lives continues to be ‘remarkably resilient’ despite having gone through a pandemic for three long years.

During this time, the report found that what had been most influential in keeping people’s spirits high has been the ‘pro­social’ acts and support that people had given each other, which was much higher than in previous reports

Finland is the least densely populated country in the Euro­ pean Union, one which usually stands out for its powerful public welfare system and its low corruption rates. It continues to lead the happiest countries in the world, followed by Denmark, and Iceland, both also with high rates of equality and vital evaluation of the respondents.

The Nordic countries ­ with the exception of Sweden ­ managed to maintain lower death rates from Covid­19 thanks to the rapid and effective measures adopted, which was considered highly relevant.

The World Happiness Report has been published every March 20 for the last 10 years.

YOUNG climate activists often make the news across Europe, but one group of older women activists are making waves as they prepare to sue the Swiss government for breaching their human rights by not doing enough to combat global climate change and cutting carbon emissions. KlimaSenniorinnen is taking its case against Swiss authorities to the European Court of Human Rights with the hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 29, in Strasbourg.

2,038 members, all above 64 years of age are making the case along with four

Older and bolder

other women, all aged over 80, who are named in the lawsuit as individual claimants. The case will be the first climate change lawsuit to be heard before the influential European court.

The women from KlimaSenniorinnen will be supported by their own legal team and Greenpeace Switzerland during the hearing. Their lawyers are expected to argue that Switzerland has breached articles two and eight of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Spy network busted

POLISH security forces detained six foreign nationals on suspicion of spying for Russia on Tuesday, March 14. Reports from a Polish radio station said the group has been accused of installing secret cameras to film aid deliveries to Ukraine.

The suspected spy network had allegedly installed several cameras near a small regional airport that has been converted into an international logistics hub delivering military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and had also reportedly developed sabotage plans. Dozens of cameras were found at Rzeszow­Jasionka Airport and at railway junctions in the Podkarpackie region. The airport is an important strategic location for US military forces and is considered a sensitive location. Planes at the airport deliver supplies to waiting trucks that make the 100 kilometre journey to the Ukrainian border.

Poland is one of Ukraine's strongest allies, and its security forces have arrested several people on suspicion of spying for Russia since the invasion last February.