Newsweek in plain Finnish | Sunday 1.3.2026

Attack on Iran. Aleksanteri Kivimäki. Diseases. Finland’s Eurovision representative.

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US and Israeli attack on Iran

Smoke cloud over Tehran.

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Smoke rises in the Iranian capital Tehran after the US and Israel struck there. Photo: Atta Kenare / AFP

The big news of the week came from the Middle East on Saturday.

The USA and Israel attacked Iran. They struck with great force in different parts of Iran.

Israel is participating in the attacks because it is an ally of the US.

US President Donald Trump says the attack is intended to protect the US from threats posed by Iran.

The US does not want Iran to develop its own nuclear weapon.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been killed in US and Israeli strikes.

Iran has responded to the attacks with retaliatory strikes. Iran has struck Israeli and US military bases in many Middle Eastern countries.

Chaos has begun at airports in the Middle East.

Thousands of flights have been canceled and airports have been closed.

Sentencing of hacker Aleksanteri Kivimäki

Aleksanteri Kivimäki sits in the courtroom surrounded by blue monitors.

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The Court of Appeal increased the sentence of Aleksanteri Kivimäki. Photo: Lehtikuva / Roni Rekomaa

The Helsinki Court of Appeal this week increased the prison sentence of data hacker Aleksanteri Kivimäki.

Kivimäki committed a data breach at the Vastaamo Psychotherapy Center about 8 years ago.

The District Court sentenced him about 2 years ago. Now the Court of Appeal has extended Kivimäki’s prison sentence by 8 months.

Kivimäki’s sentence is now 6 years and 11 months in prison.

The Court of Appeal says that Kivimäki’s crimes targeted people who were in a vulnerable position.

Kivimäki published the information of over 30,000 patients on the internet and demanded money from them.

The prosecutor in the case is satisfied that the Court of Appeal increased Aleksanteri Kivimäki’s sentence.

Kivimäki may request permission to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court.

Influenza and other diseases

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There is a lot of flu in Finland right now. The holiday season increases infections when there are a lot of people in the same place, for example in restaurants. Photo: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle

The flu season has continued longer than usual.

Experts say that there are a lot of flu infections happening now.

The flu vaccine has not worked well this winter, which is why the flu is spreading more easily than usual.

There are also a lot of common flu and norovirus in Finland now.

Norovirus causes severe stomach illness, diarrhea, and vomiting.

The spread of diseases is increased during the winter holiday season. There are many people, for example, in restaurants at ski resorts or gas stations.

Experts remind us that washing hands and using hand sanitizer are good ways to protect yourself from diseases.

Finnish Eurovision performers

Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen on the green room couches, surrounded by their supporters, getting excited.

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Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen won the New Music Competition. Photo: Miikka Varila / Yle

This week, Finland’s representative for Eurovision was selected.

The audience and experts gave points to the candidates in the New Music Competition on Saturday.

The competition was won by violinist Linda Lampenius and singer Pete Parkkonen.

They perform a song called Flamethrower.

Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen will represent Finland at Eurovision.

The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in May in the Austrian capital, Vienna.

This was a news week in plain Finnish. See you again, let’s hear from you!