Clear News | Tuesday 7.7.2026

Finnish arms purchases. Women in the Ivalo garrison. Lamentations. Weather.

Finnish arms purchases

First, about defense.

Finland has purchased the fourth largest number of weapons from the USA in Europe.

Europe is dependent on the USA, especially in high technology, such as the most advanced fighter jets.

The NATO summit has begun in Turkey today. The US wants to see that Europe has properly strengthened its own defenses.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says that European NATO countries and Canada have increased their defense spending by 20 percent. This has happened in the past year.

Finland buys even more weapons and services from the US than from Finland.

Women are now in all garrisons

Then news from the army.

There is no longer a single garrison in Finland that only has male recruits. Now, the Ivalo Border Guard Company in Lapland also has female recruits.

A total of 130 new recruits began service in Ivalo yesterday. Less than ten of them are women.

The general service regulations of the army have changed.

Now men are also allowed to have long hair. However, the hair must be tied back.

There are now female recruits in all garrisons in Finland. Previously, there were not enough facilities in Ivalo.

In the Ivalo Border Patrol Company, recruits are trained for demanding reconnaissance or guerrilla missions.

Return of the Lamentations

Finally, about Finnish cultural heritage.

The lamentations are interesting again.

Lamentations are particularly associated with the Karelian cultural heritage in Eastern Finland. Finland lost part of Karelia to Russia in World War II.

Lamentations have often been sung at rites of passage, such as funerals and weddings.

Lamentations have become a topic of renewed interest in the early 2000s. The Rautalammi lamentation course now had a full 25 participants.

Weather

Still a weather forecast.

The weather in Finland will be unstable on Wednesday.

It can rain from time to time throughout the country. It rains the most in Lapland.

Temperatures are below 20 degrees.