ReportWire

Tag: Helsinki

  • Missing Brit vanished in Bangkok after tourist disappeared in similar case

    Missing Brit vanished in Bangkok after tourist disappeared in similar case

    [ad_1]

    A BRIT went missing from a holiday in Thailand just after an Australian tourist vanished in an eerily similar case.

    Lincolnshire native Simon Robinson, 27, hasn’t been since or heard from since he phoned his girlfriend from Bangkok on July 26.

    7

    Simon (left) disappeared from Bangkok just days after an Australian
    This is Kieran James Cramer, an Australian who also vanished in the busy city

    7

    This is Kieran James Cramer, an Australian who also vanished in the busy city
    Kieran's dad flew in and found him, but why he went missing is still unknown

    7

    Kieran’s dad flew in and found him, but why he went missing is still unknown

    7

    In the same month, Australian Kieran James Cramer disappeared in the busy southeast Asian city on July 1.

    The student nurse, 28, was nowhere to be seen or heard for more than two weeks.

    His dad Darren jetted in from Australia to launch his own search, filing reports with local cops, the embassy and Interpol.

    Eventually he found his son in Bangkok – but how he went missing remained a mystery.

    Darren told Daily Mail Australia: “We found him in Bangkok … (But) he won’t talk to us.

    “We are very worried about his safety at the moment.”

    Simon travelled to Thailand for a solo trip originally supposed to be July 22-August 3.

    But for an unknown reason he cut it short, telling his girlfriend he’d fly home July 26.

    He never showed up.

    Distraught family members believed he vanished in Bangkok, before a man claiming to be a Thai immigration officer told them he boarded a plane to Finland.

    Missing David Maynard shared tragic final posts days before his entire family vanished at sea after boat capsized

    Both are cases of men in their 20s going missing from trips in Thailand and bewildering their worried families.

    Simon’s sister Sarah Dale Robinson’s latest social media update said: “We have received confirmation that Simon did board the flight on the 26th July.

    “A massive thank you to everyone that has shared and the kind people that have found this information out as the authorities at both sides haven’t done anything.

    “I am waiting for a call back from the police and embassy in Helsinki.”

    It’s believed he took a Finnair flight from Bangkok-Helsinki, but never hopped on a connecting jet into the UK.

    Friend Demi Guttesen also wrote on Facebook: “Please share. Simon’s whereabouts are still unknown and he is still very much missing but now the focus is on Helsinki, Finland where his connecting flight would have landed at the time he was last active on his social media.

    “If anyone has any connections in Helsinki or Finland please let me know. Thank you.”

    The Foreign Office didn’t comment on Simon specifically, simply saying it stood ready to help any Brit abroad.

    Timeline of missing Brit Simon Robinson

    July 22: Simon flies to Thailand for a solo trip

    July 26: He phones his girlfriend, letting her know he’ll return to the UK early

    August 2: He still hasn’t been seen and family start posting on social media to raise public awareness. They fear he never left Bangkok

    August 5: Family now believe Simon did in fact board a plane, but to Helsinki, Finland

    August 6: It’s revealed he was last active on social media the same time a flight to Finland was due to land

    Both men went missing after spending time in the busy Bangkok streets

    7

    Both men went missing after spending time in the busy Bangkok streetsCredit: Instagram @thailandluxe
    Simon is now thought to be here in Helsinki, 5,000 miles from Bangkok

    7

    Simon is now thought to be here in Helsinki, 5,000 miles from BangkokCredit: Getty – Contributor
    Family will be hoping Simon's case ends like Kieran's - found

    7

    Family will be hoping Simon’s case ends like Kieran’s – foundCredit: Asia Pacific Press via ViralPress

    [ad_2]

    Owen Leonard

    Source link

  • Biden touts Europe trip as a success

    Biden touts Europe trip as a success

    [ad_1]

    Biden touts Europe trip as a success – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    President Biden will return to Washington, D.C., Friday after a five-day trip to Europe in which he met with military allies. The president stressed the strength of the ties he went there to maintain. CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang reports on what Biden said he accomplished during his time abroad.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Biden in Finland after NATO shows solidarity with Ukraine at summit

    Biden in Finland after NATO shows solidarity with Ukraine at summit

    [ad_1]

    Biden in Finland after NATO shows solidarity with Ukraine at summit – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    President Biden is in Finland, celebrating the country as the newest member of NATO. His visit comes on the heels of the NATO summit, where world leaders pledged support for Ukraine. Weijia Jiang reports from Helsinki.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Art-loving Helsinki deputy mayor caught graffitiing the city | CNN

    Art-loving Helsinki deputy mayor caught graffitiing the city | CNN

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    A deputy mayor in Helsinki is facing possible legal action after being caught spray-painting graffiti with a friend.

    Paavo Arhinmäki, deputy mayor responsible for culture and leisure in the Finnish capital, issued a statement Saturday admitting that he and a friend had been caught by security guards after painting inside a train tunnel leading to the city’s Vuosaari harbor.

    In the post, Arhinmäki apologized for “this stupid foolishness of mine. I’m asking for forgiveness,” adding that he and his friend had long been inspired by the graffiti adorning the walls of Pasila, a district renowned for its urban art.

    It cost the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency €3,500 ($3,800) to clean the graffiti from a concrete slab inside the tunnel, a spokesperson for the agency told CNN over email.

    “Now there is still on-going police investigation for legal action and its consequences,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The costs of cleaning up are collected from the perpetrators after the police investigation is done,” they added.

    Meanwhile, Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat published a photo of the graffiti and tweeted about the incident.

    CNN has reached out to Arhinmäki and Eastern Uusimaa Police Department for further comment.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Finland to start building fence on Russian border next year

    Finland to start building fence on Russian border next year

    [ad_1]

    HELSINKI — Construction of a planned barbed-wired fence along Finland’s long border with Russia will start early next year, Finnish border guard officials said Friday, amid concerns in the Nordic country over the changing security environment in Europe.

    The initial three kilometer (1.8 mile) stretch of the fence will be erected at a crossing point in the eastern town of Imatra by the summer of 2023. It will eventually extend to a a maximum of 200 kilometers (124 miles).

    Finland’s 1,340 kilometer (832 mile) border with Russia is the longest of any European Union member.

    In October, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said there was consensus among lawmakers to build a fence to cover parts of border with Russia in a project that is estimated to cost a total of 380 million euros ($393 million) and scheduled to be completed by 2026.

    According to Marin, the fence’s main purpose would be to help border guards monitor and prevent possible large-scale illegal migration seen as a hybrid threat” from Moscow.

    Her government hasn’t publicly cited Russia’s war in Ukraine or Finland’s decision to join NATO as a reason to build a fence. But Helsinki is concerned over developments both in Russia and Ukraine, as well Moscow’s threats of retaliation should Finland join the military alliance.

    Politicians and experts have said it is not sensible – or even possible – to erect a fence along the entire length of Finland’s long eastern frontier that runs mainly through thick forests. In some places the Finnish-Russian border is marked only by wooden posts with low fences meant to stop stray cattle.

    The fence, initially proposed by the Finnish Border Guard, is set to be built in stages ranging from five kilometers (3 miles) of up to 52 kilometers (32 miles).

    It would be erected mainly in southeastern Finland, where most border traffic to and from Russia takes place, but short sections would also be built in the northern Karelia region and the Lapland region in the Arctic.

    Col. Vesa Blomqvist, border guard commander in southeastern Finland, said that once completed, the fence will significantly bolster border control.

    “The fence gives border guard patrols more reaction time by revealing movement of people and preventing, slowing down and directing movement,” Blomqvist said in a statement.

    The fence will be three meters (10 feet) high with a barbed-wire extension on top. Apart from extensive patrolling, the Finnish border guard currently uses electronic and other devices to monitor border activity.

    ———

    Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

    [ad_2]

    Source link