Hufvudstadsbladet writes that Alexander Stubb took Åland by storm during his first visit there as president on Tuesday.
Describing it as a "charm visit" the paper features a photo of a seemingly endless queue in the main square in the capital, Mariehamn, of people lined up to take selfies with the president.
Hufvudstadsbladet also points to a more serious side to the visit, writing that Stubb said exactly what the Ålanders wanted to hear — the demilitarised status of the autonomous region is not a problem, and that having reviewed Finland's defence plans for Åland, he sleeps well at night.
Iltalehti reports that the president's press conference in Mariehamn on Tuesday was mainly focused on current foreign and security policy issues.
Asked about his statements to the French newspaper Le Monde regarding possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, he stood by his position, stressing that any decision on whether or not to start a negotiation process is in Ukraine's hands.
In reference to the counter-attack by Ukraine in Kursk, Stubb said that Finland would not impose restrictions on the use of the arms it supplies to Ukraine.
"Ukraine has every right to defend itself within the framework of international law," said President Stubb.
Potential for sabotage
Several papers picked up on a report first published online on Tuesday afternoon by Helsingin Sanomat saying that the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) sees Finnish arms aid to Ukraine as a target of potential Russian sabotage.
This summer, Finland sent its 24th shipment of arms aid to Ukraine. Officials have not revealed any details about their content or, for example, the mode of shipment.
The total value of all defence materials sent from Finland to Ukraine now stands at 2.2 billion euros.
Helsingin Sanomat quotes Supo researcher Lotta Hakala as saying that there are no signs of anything unusual concerning the logistics, storage and transport of Finland's arms aid. However, Supo has now publicly said they are potential targets for sabotage.
Supo has also found no evidence of Russian involvement in recent break-ins and vandalism at some water processing facilities in Finland.
The Security Intelligence Service adds, though, that Russia is trying to influence public opinion in countries that support Ukraine in order to create a climate of fear and uncertainty aimed at eroding popular support for Ukraine.
Covid up, but most cases mild
The number of cases of coronavirus infection is on the rise in Finland, but according to the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) symptoms seem to be less severe than in the past, and people are less likely to seek hospital treatment.
Ilta-Sanomat looks at the situation after asking readers to tell the paper about their experiences with covid over the summer, and receiving more than 600 responses by early this week.
The vast majority of respondents said they had mild symptoms after being infected. The most common symptoms included fever, headache, fatigue, cough, runny nose and muscle aches.
This is all very similar to the effects of a common cold.
Around 30 covid deaths were recorded in Finland between June and July this year, compared with over 120 in the same period last year.
Ilta-Sanomat notes that THL specialists have said that for the elderly or others in poor health Covid, like other infections, can still pose a serious and require hospitalisation.
Urban legend debunked
Have you heard of the old lady who feeds bread crumbs to birds from a large bag in Helsinki's central park? The story goes that she wears a black coat and a black scarf in summer and winter and doesn't say a word. If anyone approaches her, she vanishes.
Or how about the treasure hidden under what is now the Laajasalo bridge, stashed away by Carl Olof Cronstedt, a Vice-Admiral in the Swedish Navy? Cronstedt surrendered what is now the Suomenlinna fortress to Russian besiegers in 1808, and the story goes that first, he hid a huge bribe that he received for raising a white flag.
These are a few of the urban legends Helsingin Uutiset mentions before delving into its own investigation of one more — a longstanding rumour that the Helsinki House of Culture is home to an infestation of venomous spiders.
It is a fact that sometime during the 1970s a few Chilean recluse spiders apparently hitched a ride in a crate from South America to Helsinki's Museum of Natural History and established a small colony in the building.
HU set out to find investigate whether there is any truth to claims that something similar happened at the House of Culture.
The facilities production manager, Antti Sarmanne, claims to have seen the spiders several times in well over 20 years on the job.
"I think they came long before me. The story goes that the spiders came to the House of Culture in the equipment of a foreign artist, or from an exhibition," he said.
A thorough search by HU of the cellar's nooks and crannies found spiders, and spiders of more than one species, but none of them exotic or venomous.
Chilean recluse spiders have not been seen outside the Natural History Museum, its curator Timo Pajunen assured HU. During the 1990s, a spider was sent from the House of Culture to the museum for identification and it turned out to be a common house spider.
Helsingin Uutiset's conclusion is that whispers of deadly creepy-crawlers in the House of Culture can safely be ignored.
