Finnish-Swedish border
A Swedish and a Finnish town, separated nearly 200 years ago, have announced that they’re getting back together. The Swedish town of Tornio was split in two in 1809 in a border treaty with Russia, which then controlled what is now Finland. The Finnish half kept the name Tornio, but the Swedish half called itself Haparanda. Locals of the towns speak both Finnish and Swedish, and already share a high school and a water plant. Now they plan to build a common main street, merge their bus services, and use both currencies. But there’s no word yet on what the two cities will do about their different time zones.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorshipTalking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programsThe Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
