#i'm gonna miss president super nintendo

[beardedmrbean]

Savon Sanomat is among the morning's papers carrying an STT news agency report that in terms of media coverage, Pekka Haavisto (who is a Green MP but running as an independent) and Alexander Stubb (NCP) are leading the pack of candidates in Finland's upcoming presidential elections.

An analysis of more than 14,400 articles by the media monitoring company Retriever found that Haavisto had almost 4,300 mentions in the domestic media during the review period from the beginning of September to Tuesday of this week.

Stubb registered just 120 fewer mentions.

Current Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (Finns) ranked third in terms of the number of media mentions. Immediately behind him was Mika Aaltola, an independent.

"The visibility of Halla-aho, who ranked third, has been boosted not only by publicity about the presidential election, but also by statements related to parliamentary work and party politics. It is interesting that Aaltola, who has lost support in the polls, reached as high as fourth in terms of media visibility," Retriever media analyst Pilvi Bisi was quoted as saying.

The president's job

An editorial in Thursday's Aamulehti points out that the powers of the President of Finland have been narrowed over the few past decades by shifting more authority to parliament and the government.

The paper writes that it is a good thing that power is not too concentrated in any single organ of state.

When times were even better in Finland it was even considered whether the entire institution of the presidency was completely irrelevant, Aamulehti continues. This is something that has not been heard in the ongoing presidential election campaign, it notes, adding that there is no doubt that the president's role is vital for Finland today.

As the paper reminds readers, the president is the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Forces, manages foreign policy in tandem with the government, represents Finland at Nato summits, as well as appoints certain high office holders and judges.

However, in Aamulehti's words, "The most important task of our future president is to keep Finland on the world map."

It stresses the importance of what kind of image of Finland the president gives to the world and what kind of relations the president succeeds in creating and maintaining with the world's powers.

Also, Aamulehti expects that Finland's next president will have a significant role to play within Nato, as the Nordic countries rise to a brand new strategically important position on the world map.

And, although the president does not actively engage in domestic politics, in the current world situation, the president represents to many what the paper describes as a "trusted influencer" fully dedicated to promoting Finland's interests.

"The job is not easy and people's expectations are high. That's clear," writes Aamulehti.

More asylum applications

A number of people who entered Finland without valid travel documents this autumn, but declined to apply for asylum, have now done so, reports Ilta-Sanomat.

In November, some of the people who arrived at the Vartius border crossing without the required documents did not apply for asylum at that time. Now the situation has changed.

Major Timo Keinonen, the deputy commander of the Kainuu Border Guard, told the paper on Wednesday that almost all of the migrants who crossed the border at the Vartius checkpoint in November have now asked for asylum in Finland. Keinonen added that the lack of clarity about the situation was most likely related to a language barrier.

As Ilta-Sanomat notes, any of the arrivals from Russia who did not have the documents required for entry, and do not apply for asylum, can be returned either to Russia or to their original country of origin.

Popular neighbourhoods

Helsingin Sanomat looks at which parts of the capital region are most attractive to home buyers based on reactions to listings on the Oikotie online real estate service.

The service, which claims more than one million users a week says that the most popular areas in the capital region are currently Lauttasaari in Helsinki, Tapiola in Espoo and Tikkurila in Vantaa.

The top ten most popular neighbourhoods in the capital itself are Lauttasaari, Töölö, Munkkiniemi, Ullanlinna, Kallio, Oulunkylä, Laajasalo, Vuosaari, Kruununhaka, and Punavuori.

Falling housing prices have been most clearly seen in Helsinki's Ullanlinna, where average square metre prices were more than 10 percent lower in the first half of this year than last year, according to Oikotie.

Chilly start to the new year

Iltalehti reports that longer-term weather forecasts indicate that 2024 will kick off with plenty of snow and below average cold temperatures.

Foreca meteorologist Joanna Rinne told the paper that although day-to-day and week-to-week variations are still uncertain, it looks like the whole of January will be colder than usual, and that some really bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures are a possibility, especially in the north of the country.

[lewisibarra1512]

The true reason how and why I quietly quit Super Smash Bros. (A warning rant)

(NOTE: The following post you're about to read after the jump is based on my frustrating relationship with the Smash community and their current state, including the former president being involved for wrongly accusing one of my favorite Nintendo villains King K. Rool. If you're easily offended, please do not attempt to reply to this post while acting harsh. I don't want to have to see or hear stuff people are doing nowadays.)

This is something I've never been able to explain since my return to Tumblr, let alone coming out as to who or what I currently am. But to tell you the truth, I wanted to get this out of my chest and set the record perfectly straight: I am an ex-Super Smash Bros. player. I know what y'all are thinking "Why'd you quit?" "Where the hell were you?" Or "Did you missed out on EVERY character reveal that made my wallet empty just like magic?" Just consider the following: I was never big into the community ever since I've been a blacksheep for so long. Especially since the latest installment alone became a downgraded kid's party game that doesn't look entirely like a real fighting game in general. I'll go on ahead and share my frustrating relationship with Smash and what made me quit the Smash scene.

I wanna take you back to the year 1999 when Super Smash Bros. originated on the Nintendo 64, the first console that introduced me to gaming with the likes of Super Mario 64 as a primitive source of open world environments. It was basically a four player brawler where instead of original characters, they'd have Nintendo All-Stars come together and beat the crap out of each other in a more lighter tone of every Godzilla movie. Then there was this commercial where Mario, Donkey Kong, Big Nose and Japanese Michael Rodent were frolicking through the flower field until suddenly, they get into a fight. It was unexpected at first, but it was funny. Even though it was a best seller, it didn't pave the way of being catered to competitive players until the late and great Hiroshi Yamauchi's final console release under his watch was the Nintendo GameCube. Two years later while the latter was around the corner during launch, Melee arrived on the scene, introducing a fast paced mechanic with wave dashing abilities. It gained even more stages than its predecessor, as well as an adventure mode and special events exclusive to single player matches. And it also saw its first foray into female representation such as Princess Peach, Zelda and Mewtwo (I prefer a female variant more, so don't try testing me on it). Super Smash Bros. Melee, after it was unveiled, achieved over 7.41 million copies, making it the best seller and would later appear in tournaments. Both the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance were two of the last consoles made by Yamauchi before his retirement in 2002 due to his age, until he was replaced an imcompetent con-artist turned money grubbing scumbag. I'm not gonna get into detail as to who he is, so let's say his name is Lans G.

Before Lans G. took over Nintendo, there was a certain villain that caught my absolute attention by surprise. It's not Ridley, Ganondorf or even King Dedede. It's King K. Rool. He made his first appearance in Donkey Kong Country circa 1994 when an overrated system was released four years prior. I loved his design and physical appearance, as well as the ability to turn his crown into a boomerang; use a blunderbuss to shoot enemies; fly around with his trusty propeller pack and even participating in a game of boxing. Right next to an overweight orangutan named Diddy Kong, who also originated on the same system, K. Rool is considered a shoe-in of having no super powers. Who needs them when you've got the muscles and the belly to keep all crocodile lovers like me company? Although I never owned the game and the overrated system during the 90's (despite having to own a NEW Nintendo 3DS XL in 2016), I quickly fell in love with him. And after making appearances in Diddy's Kong Quest, Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, the Land series on Game Boy and Donkey Kong 64, it was the day I became a full on supporter for King K. Rool only.

From then on, I started to fully support K. Rool into returning to the world of Nintendo, just to see if he could make another appearance. But to my utter disappointment, I noticed there was no sight of him. Only a series of bland tiki mask enemies who were featured in Donkey Kong Country Returns. Then I tried again in the newest installment, simply known as Tropical Freeze. Same thing, but with Lord Fredrik and the animal vikings involved. Both the Donkey Kong Country games made specifically for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch respectfully without the disastrous use of motion controls were entirely developed by RETRO Studios, a company based in Texas. They were ordered by Lans G. to eradicate any mention about King K. Rool, so he can force Donkey Kong and friends to be better off without him. And that alone broke my heart. Finally, came Super Smash Bros. 3D. Or just Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS due to the popularity of handhelds. Smash 3D was the first of its kind to be developed on a portable system to allow players fight anytime, anywhere. That's their unique marketing slogan: Fight anytime, anywhere. I tried unlocking every character from reveal trailers and those that weren't featured on the 3DS' negatively received counterpart and, just like Returns and Tropical Freeze alone, K. Rool was STILL nowhere to be found. I was completely devastated and hurt by how the Smash community started treating K. Rool as if he's nothing but an "irrelevant" and "less iconic" Nintendo villain. I knew that if they all found out I was an avid K. Rool lover and supporter, I feared they'd start jabbing me right in the cheek and beat me up! But then came my final chance to redeem myself: the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot.

When the site was launched, I got lucky enough to cast my vote for K. Rool to be playable in Smash 3D, so I can enjoy buying his merchandise and show those self entitled weeaboos who's the REAL boss around here. After filling in the vote, I was all set! I felt glad and happy to realize there were other players out there who disliked the weeaboo culture that also casted their vote for K. Rool. I could imagine myself playing as King K. Rool in Smash 3D, where I wouldn't have to sit through another Smash game involving another generic anime fighter. But when I heard the unfortunate news about him, my victory was short lived. Lans G. decided to troll me and the fans of giving players a King K. Rool Mii costume for brawlers. I looked at it in silence, then felt like I was dead on the inside. Momentarily, I got angry. Having a K. Rool costume for Mii brawlers meant it was nothing but a slap in the face for those who voted for him, because Lans G. knew how popular he was just before he died. And months later, after a web show they should have cancelled was brought back, they publicly announced Bayonetta was unveiled as the new winner of the Fighter Ballot. And then started to give players Cloud Strife in the middle of my birthday. Really? A Final Fantasy VII character? I'm going to cause a major uproar, but I certainly hate Square Enix. I mean, what even is the point of comparing Final Fantasy to Sonic the Hedgehog if we never have gotten VII on the SEGA Saturn? If it were up to someone who had the heroic efforts of porting it over without pirating it, we never would've had to stare at a 24 / 7 picture of Bernie Stolar on literally just about anything.

After DLC was wrapped up, and all the Fire Emblem characters were pretty much overrepresented, I decided to look up on who was responsible for making every Fire Emblem game to date. Not only was the game developed wholly by Intelligent Systems, but much to my rage, dismay, frustration, irritation, humiliation and fury, it was indeed Tohru Narihiro, being the co-producer of every Smash game while he brought Marth and Roy to Melee. It was at this moment my chances, dreams and hopes of supporting King K. Rool were brutally shattered into millions and millions of pieces before they suddenly disappeared. By that time, I was at the breaking point of renouncing weeaboos, anime, generic human characters and first party game development. If Lans G. could've brought King K. Rool back from the dead, let alone have him return to the world of Nintendo for a brand new Donkey Kong title, then all was lost. My wish was to see King K. Rool make an appearance in a brand new Donkey Kong game, and yet it was all for nothing. Over an entire decade without King K. Rool's glorious and official return, everything was on Narihiro. Since I realized it was his fault, he was the one who started this hate, drama, controversy and scrutiny, and call me crazy, all because he was nothing but a big, fat, stupid bitch! Yes, I know. I know. Everyone hates it when I say that, but I needed to get that out of my chest. After I sold my copy of Smash 3D and earned some money, a new president Tatsumi Kimishima rose to the top and unveiled the greatest thing he only created while destroying the so-called legacy that was Lans G.: the Nintendo Switch.

Originally known as Nintendo NX, it was the go-to source of two different ways: At home, or on the go. I chose the latter, since I'm into handheld gaming. It was a breakthrough console that received so much love by third party publishers and indie developers (me included) they made amends to port so much games that Lans G. made Nintendo miss out on, such as Skyrim, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Mega Man, Sonic, DOOM, Shovel Knight, Freedom Planet, Shantae, Yooka-Laylee, Gunvolt and so many more. Then there were highly acclaimed hits exclusive to Nintendo such as Breath of the Wild, Kingdom Battle, Super Mario Odyssey and Cruis'n blast. All four games that were released on the system were produced and handled by Kimishima himself, and nowhere did it say "it stinks"! However, the Switch wasn't the biggest saving grace. Around 28 March 2017, a game called Rivals of Aether was the true reason it made me quietly quit Super Smash Bros. forever.

Rivals of Aether is regarded as a true spiritual successor to Melee, except its roster heavily consists of anthropomorphic animal champions from warring civilizations, as well as having a story mode, rollback netcode, unique controls, stunning graphics, animation and a killer soundtrack to listen to. It even boasts guest characters such as Ori from both the Blind Forest and Will of the Wisps, and the eponymous Shovel Knight. Really, who wouldn't love everyone's favorite anthropomorphic fish in disguise as a valiant warrior holding up a shovel? The game originally came out on PC 28 March, and again on XBOX ONE X 22 August and quickly received critical acclaim, claiming it was the biggest indie answer to Super Smash Bros. The result was that a company known as Aether Studios, founded by former Microsoft representative Dan Fornace, implemented a successful use for GameCube controllers and the revival of wavedashing. However, in terms of this, no shields or ledge grabbing were involved. Instead, hardcore gamers and players of Rivals would instead rely on wall jumping back on the stage and parry against incoming attacks from opponents, and that's a nice thing about it too. And when the definitive edition was just around the bend, it also added in the Milestone System (because it's free) and Tetherball Mode, as well as forthcoming characters in alphabetical order like Hodan, Mollo, Olympia and Pomme. But, out of everything that there is, there was one character whom I adore a lot: Ranno. When he was the first DLC character introduced at Super Smash Con (and then one year later with the successful inclusion of Shovel Knight), my mind blew me away as to why no one ever thought of having a frog chracter apper in a Rivals game. So I smiled with no regrets and tried the game out on Steam, and it worked. I even took home a few plushies that were themed to Rivals and made by Symbiote Studios, such as Ranno, Shovel Knight and Clairen. Out in the middle of nowhere, the former of the two would make guest appearances in games like Brawlhalla, Fall Guys and M.U.G.E.N., where I find it heartwarming. Speaking of heartwarming, Rivals of Aether also has a stunning community full of fun and exciting people to see and let them compete for cash and prizes. Afterwards, Aether Studios decided to retool the community safety guidelines in response to all this negative BS that's been circling aroudn Massy. After Rivals became a huge success, Dan and his team decided to bring the game over to the Nintendo Switch and called it Rivals of Aether - Definitive Edition, so I would start playing it anytime, anywhere. I do enjoy the idea of having four elements come together like fire, water, air and earth and then start beating the living hell out of each other. Ranno, for example, was the reason I began to love and support while entirely making fun of the other guy. It's not Zetterburn, Orcane, Wrastor, Kragg nor anyone else, but it's Massy's favorite final evolved water starter. Then there's the Steam Workshop where players can customize their own fighter and be able to upload them to Rivals only, unless they have a pixel art themed animation software. If Massy or Lans G. can't bring K. Rool back, let any fan do it! Outside of Rivals, Aether Studios also created Lovers of Aether, where the player can decide who will go to the prom instead of the Ding-Dong Tree as a date; Creatures, a mobile based card game similar to Hearthstone and the Elder Scrolls Legends; Dungeons, a roguelike RPG action adventure spin-off where players assume the role of Fleet as the main hero who is on a mission to embark on a journeye to find Julesvale herself, and a new 3D Rivals game I'm certainly looking forward to. Oh, and did I forget to mention they also made a comic series?

Fast forward to today, I've been with the Rivals community for about several years since Ranno swooced right in and guided me out of the dumpster fire that was Smash. Originally, I was considering buying Rivals on the eShop during a Black Friday Sales event in 2020, but then Limited Run Games made a physical release and became a full on sponsor for fighting games. Eventually, I did. After two years of being among the first GameMaker game to hit Switch around 24 September, I connected my Nintendo Switch GameCube Controller adapter to my Multiport USB PlayStand, I bought the game and started playing immediately. So Nintendo gave Dan and Aether Studios the OK signal, and Rivals was definitely the reason I quit Super Smash Bros. entirely. They let it happen, because there were so much indie support being given. Playing as Ranno felt like I relived the days of Smash for 3DS, but on a better selling system. And I was never able to put it down, considering why 64 and 3D condemned any wavedashing mechanic nor fast gameplay. Of course Aether Studios would oversee the popularity of the Switch and be all "Breath of the Wild and Odyssey became highly acclaimed titles, huh? However, it's missing something. What exactly would it want? Well, our opinions had been validated so many times lately, and the fact we admire our faithful newcomer Lewis over supporting Ranno and Clairen because they make the best couple, so we decided to come out and state... 'Screw it! Let's beat Sakurai and release Rivals of Aether - Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch while we do some damage, Rivals style!'" Unlike myself who's more of a full on supporter for third party publishers and indie developers, Nintendo fans just wouldn't wanna bother playing it. Much to my delight of course, since I already renounced first party games in 2016.

While I had the pleasure of playing Rivals on the Switch, I couldn't bring up the fact Massy went out of his way and made it unacceptably clear Super Smash Bros. is for "good boys and girls". I have a translation to that remark: it's for kids. FOR. KIDS. People couldn't expect high tier fan requests for characters like the DOOM Slayer, Liu Kang, Mai Shiranui or even Phoenix Wright to be in the roster, because it's targeted for a younger demographic! But the worst part about the Smash games is its dreaded community. There were a lot of people wanting characters like Crash, Geno or Travis to show up in the roster; whining and complaining about Waluigi not being playable twice due to assist trophies; not being able to shower or put on some deodorant; causing a fight over losing and even claim that it's a real fighting game instead of being catered to children as a party game. And then, as reported by Reddit user JFMV763, there were over 103 top Smash players who got away with sexually assaulting victims and minors before they got kicked out, leaving the community crumbled to pieces. I, as an ex-Smash player / fan, felt deeply shocked and surprised by the fact this unexpectedly happened, mainly because all of the players who wound up becoming sex predators were a part of the Weinstein effect. I wonder if Miramax managed to buy all four Pokemon movies after Spell of the Unknown? Maybe who knows, but that's just me.

If I'm going to review Smash Ultimate, I'd give it a -10 / 10. Why? I can't say. Besides, even if Rivals of Aether wasn't developed by Fornace nor Aether Studios, I would've given Ultimate a chance. But unfortunately, I highly doubt that. Hell, it's incredibly unplayable it'll wind up being sent back to various game stores so no one wants to go through the same old stuff over and over again. I for one don't wanna blow $130 for both the game and its expensive DLC. This is coming from a 90's kid turned cartoonist who welcomed third parties / indies as better alternatives.

As for Lans G. himself, think about it: the Wii branding, motion controls, getting rid of King K. Rool, glorifying weeaboo culture, shunning furries... what made you think he was gonna do for you, bring a negative impact to your life so y'all should feel happy for his bullshit excuses? Apparently obvious. You can always leave your complaint in the complaint box, but I don't check that shit.

That aside, I want to address what completely happened around July 2020. Now, I'm not a doctor, but I will share some advice: you're single. And you want to go on a date with someone, that's fine. And then you wanna get married before having a baby, so that's alright with me. But the thing is, as I've mentioned over qutting, there were so much assault towards underage victims who spoke against so-called Smash players like Cinnpie, Keitaro, Sky, D1 and ZeRo before e'rrybody else dropped out of its scene forever. Please remember: Don't sexualize kids. Don't engage in a relationship with them. And never, ever, under any circumstances, rape them. Either way, you're completely fucked.

So, yeah. Rivals of Aether was presumably the reason why I quit Super Smash Bros. over knowing it had become. Especially since Massy failed to address the allegations against players while becoming relentless. I'd rather be spending the day off at the Swampy Estuary talking about how real frogs are the best and why they're absolutely important in my own daily life.

Alright, rant over. I'm gonna go wash my hands and drink water before I do something else...

[beardedmrbean]

The latest Yle poll shows the Finns Party candidate Jussi Halla-aho closing the gap with the two front runners in Sunday's first round of the presidential election.

By the time polls closed in advance voting on Tuesday evening, turnout had hit 44.0 percent.

Iltalehti points out that the distribution of these votes is not yet known, but takes a look at what the final results may be, based on voter surveys.

Political researcher Hannu Lahtinen, a specialist in voting behaviour, said he believes that especially the supporters of Finns Party and the Greens will be out in force on election day, and if the votes cast in advance follow the pattern of the latest polls Jussi Halla-aho (Finns) may be a serious contender for a spot in the second and final round.

Lahtinen's analysis is based on the assumption that advance voting reflected a Helsingin Sanomat poll published Monday that found 22 percent support for Alexander Stubb (NCP), 20 percent for Pekka Haavisto (Green) and 18 percent for Jussi Halla-aho.

According to Hannu Lahtinen, much now depends on whose supporters cast advance votes and whose will cast their ballots on Sunday. Typically the bulk of advance votes are cast by older voters and those in rural areas.

He told the paper that although Halla-aho's numbers are on the rise, in general Green candidates usually get a boost from the votes cast on the actual election day. So, it is reasonable to assume that backing for Pekka Haavisto will be higher when the votes on election day have been counted, than it looked in the polls.

Iltalehti also pointed out that media appearances and campaigning around the country by all of the candidates can still make a difference before results are in on Sunday.

Backing for more taxes

Two key opposition parties, the Social Democrats and the Greens, are calling on the government to strengthen the economy by finding more tax revenues, writes Helsingin Sanomat.

The chair of the Greens, Sofia Virta, posted a suggestion on the message service X for taxation of dividends issued by unlisted companies.

The idea was backed by SDP MP Joona Räsänen, who stated in a release that the public sector economy needs to be strengthened both by reducing spending and increasing revenues, including a change in the dividend tax relief currently provided to unlisted companies.

As the paper points out, the International Monetary Fund IMF said Tuesday that, in addition to cuts and structural reforms, a tightening of taxation is needed in Finland. The IMF listed carbon emissions taxation, unifying VAT rates and reforming dividend taxation of unlisted companies as some of the measures that could be implemented.

Security concerns

An editorial piece in Thursday morning's Aamulehti looks at upcoming Nato drills in the region and says that the number of military exercises, and the number of troops participating in them, the flow of news about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the Houthi missile attacks in the Red Sea and the US response to them, all easily arouse concern and fear about Finland also getting into a war.

More than 90,000 soldiers will participate in Nato's Steadfast Defender exercise by the end of May. The Nordic Response 24 sub-exercise will be training for joint defense in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Some 4,100 Finnish troops will participate in the exercise, half of them reservists.

Concern and fears about security, the paper writes, are pointless, saying that never before in its history has Finland been so well equipped to defend its territory as it is now. Russia will not attack Finland, says Aamulehti, because it would result in immense losses for Russia and the response of the currently 31 and soon 32 Nato countries. In addition, Russia's resources are currently being consumed at a furious pace by what the paper calls "Putin's stupid attack" in Ukraine.

Europe is getting its defense industry up to speed. The war in Ukraine will end with the defeat of Russia, be it in five or fifteen years. Meanwhile, Finland has no need to panic, writes Aamulehti.

Up and down

Winter weather continues to be something of a rollercoaster ride.

Ilta-Sanomat reports that the rain which has been plaguing southern Finland in particular will end, for now, as the weather cools on Thursday and Friday, with nighttime temperatures falling to as low as -15C in southern areas.

More snow is once again in the forecast across the whole of the country at the weekend, but it will not be the same type of "snow inferno" as experienced last week, writes Ilta-Sanomat.

However, the paper warns readers that fluctuating temperatures and fresh snowfall will again mean very slippery road conditions.

[beardedmrbean]

Several news outlets, including Iltalehti, pick up on Finnish President Sauli Niinistö's interview in the New York Times.

The paper said US President Joe Biden has consulted Niinistö throughout Russia's war against Ukraine. The NYT also quotes the Finnish president as saying that Europeans should not dismiss the risks of a wider war.

Niinistö described Russian President Vladimir Putin as highly knowledgeable and even obsessive about Russian culture. According to the paper, Biden had asked Niinistö to reason with Putin to prevent Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

Saudi links

Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) said the government should investigate whether it would be possible to legally prohibit the flow of Saudi Arabian money to organisations and foundations operating in Finland.

Her comments in Ilta-Sanomat follow its story over the weekend about a mosque operating in an apartment building's clubroom designated as a daycare space. This flat is owned by a foundation called Pohjoismaiden säätiö sr, which receives funding from Saudi Arabian businessmen, according to IS.

The foundation's chairman, Aladin Maher, told IS that he believes the Finnish officials want to suppress the growth of Islam. IS also quotes Maher as making anti-gay comments that Rantanen said were incompatible with western values.

New in school

In light of recent trouble in Finnish schools, Helsingin Sanomat reports that these days some schools employ special coaches to support pupils.

These new professional roles are more focused on students' well-being rather than directly on teaching, according to HS. The city of Helsinki said these coaches' presence has been found to significantly reduce school absences, to the extent that there are now 28 permanent school coaches in the city's primary schools.

"The highlight is recess. It's wonderful to be the adult who always has time to chat," said school coach Hanna-Kaisa Virtanen, who said her remit includes improving children's interpersonal skills.