Finland

HELSINKI, Finland -- Latin, that most famous of dead languages, is alive and spoken in Finland, where the national radio company broadcasts a five-minute news summary completely in Latin every Friday afternoon.The show, "Nuntii Latini" ("Latin News"), began in 1989, when Hannu Taanilla, chief cultural redactor of the radio broadcasting company YLE, asked Latin Professor Tuomo Pekkanen and a student if they would do a few Latin spots on a weekly news magazine. Those short segments garnered so much feedback that YLE soon gave Pekkanen and his crew a weekly show.

LONDON -- Geography, history and some stubborn Nordic patience gave Martti Ahtisaari, 61, the president of Finland, a reasoning power with Slobodan Milosevic and his Russian advocates that no other European leader could match.A European Union member whose very survival as a nation long depended on its ability not to antagonize its mammoth Soviet neighbor, neutral Finland has found itself in the pivotal position of providing the services of an honest broker between Moscow, Belgrade and Brussels.

Medals leaders.. .. .. .. .. .. ..G .. S .. ..B .. ..Tot.Germany .. .. .. ...1 ...0 .. ..2 .. .. ..3Italy .. .. .. .. ..0 ...2 .. ..1 .. .. ..3Netherlands .. .. ..1 ...1 .. ..0 .. .. ..2Russia .. .. .. .. .1 ...1 .. ..0 .. .. ..2Norway .. .. .. .. .0 ...1 .. ..1 .. .. ..2Bulgaria .. .. .. ..1 ...0 .. ..0 ... .. .1Canada .. .. .. .. .1 ...0 .. ..0 .. .. ..1Finland .. .. .. ...1 ...0 .. ..0 .. .. ..1Ukraine .. .. .. ...0 ...1 .. ..0 .. .. ..1Belgium .....

HELSINKI, Finland -- The ball field nestles between two downtown city streets. As the sun edges toward the horizon on a late summer evening, baseball smells waft on a gentle breeze: popcorn, roasting sausages, cut grass.The crowd waits silently as the pitcher takes the plate, flips the ball into the air above the batter's head and steps back. The hitter connects and dashes up the third-base line with a single.Wait a minute: He dashes up the third-base line?Of course -- that's where first base is, about halfway down the path toward third base.

NAGANO, Japan -- Finland's best player sat on the bench in street clothes, and its best goaltender was too worn out to play.Based on that alone, the Finns had little if any reason to think they belonged on the same ice yesterday with Canada, playing for the bronze medal in Olympic men's hockey.Yet despite being outshot 34-15, not having NHL All-Star forward Teemu Selanne and using a club-team goaltender named Ari Sulander whose only other Winter Games appearance came against lowly Kazakstan in the pool-play round, Finland somehow rose up to knock down the Canadians, 3-2, before a stunned crowd of 9,307 at Big Hat arena.

You can say what you want about us newspaper journalists. You can say that we are atheistic, liberal, family-hating, snake-worshiping, Communist perverts. You can say that we dress like the character Ratso in the 1969 movie "Midnight Cowboy" and apparently have our hair styled by angry wrens. But the one thing you CAN'T say about us is that we don't admit our mistakes.Yes, we have made some doozies. Everyone remembers the famous 1948 picture of Harry Truman holding up a copy of the Chicago Tribune with a huge front-page headline declaring DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.

Knee injuries and heart problems aside, if Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin really want to accomplish something during their two-day summit in Helsinki, perhaps they should do things the way Finnish presidents do.That is, negotiate in a sauna bath -- while beating one another with birch twigs. The first one to retreat from the heat -- usually to roll in the snow or dive into the frozen sea -- is the loser. Sort of a small-scale Cold War, with limited casualties.That's just one of the unique pleasures a visit to Finland's capital offers the world's two most powerful tourists today and tomorrow.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton returned to the White House in a wheelchair yesterday, two days after surgeons repaired his damaged right knee. His spirits were high, but he delayed by one day a scheduled summit meeting in Helsinki, Finland, with Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin.The trip to Finland will begin Wednesday in order to give the president extra time to rest -- and to practice the delicate art of moving via crutches and wheelchair. A state visit to Denmark was postponed until July.

An Odenton business park is the top contender to be the site for a new distribution warehouse for the May Co.'s Hecht department stores, according to a county real estate industry source who asked not to be identified.The warehouse of at least 600,000 square feet would employ 150 to 200 people in positions from front-office work to "technical blue-collar" jobs operating the computerized facility, said Rosemary Duggins, marketing director of the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp.

Here's the problem: If you stop 100 people at random and ask them to evaluate their driving ability, every single one will say "above average." It is a scientific fact that all drivers, including those who are going the wrong way on interstate highways, believe they are above average.Obviously, this is impossible: Some drivers have to be below average. Not me, of course. I am currently ranked fourth among the top drivers in world history, between Mario Andretti and Spartacus.But there are many incompetent people out there on the roads, changing speed and direction without warning, or drifting along in the left, or "passing," lane at 23 mph, blinking their turn signals, which they never turn off, even in the garage.

Alta Haywood of Perry Hall recalls watching the northern lights years ago in Gettysburg, Pa. She asks where to go "to have a good chance of seeing this incredibly beautiful sight again." Marylanders' last view of the aurora borealis was Nov. 7, 2004. Go north, closer to the geomagnetic pole, September to March. Alaska, Canada, Iceland and Finland offer aurora packages. Google "aurora borealis tourism."

Carbon dioxide jumps past worst forecast WASHINGTON: The world pumped up its pollution of the chief man-made global warming gas last year, setting a course that could push beyond leading scientists' projected worst-case scenario, international researchers said yesterday. The new numbers, called "scary" by some, were a surprise because scientists thought an economic downturn would slow energy use. Instead, carbon dioxide output jumped 3 percent from 2006 to 2007. The pollution leader was China, followed by the United States, which past data show is the leader in emissions per person in carbon dioxide output.

TURIN, Italy -- This one was for the old guys, the group that ripped away the "chicken Swede" label their predecessors had born and proved that Swedes could win battles in the corners of an NHL rink and any corner of the world. It was for Mats Sundin, 35, the first European player chosen first overall in the NHL draft, in 1989. For Peter Forsberg, 32, who has given his spleen and his knee cartilage in service of his hockey career. For Nicklas Lidstrom, 35, a defenseman of quiet brilliance and big-game performances.

Results recap Medals table Nation G S B Tot Germany 11 12 6 29 United States 9 9 7 25 Canada 7 10 7 24 Austria 9 7 7 23 Russia 8 6 8 22 Norway 2 8 9 19 Sweden 7 2 5 14 Switzerland 5 4 5 14 South Korea 6 3 2 11 Italy 5 0 6 11 China 2 4 5 11 France 3 2 4 9 Netherlands 3 2 4 9 Finland 0 6 3 9 Czech Republic 1 2 1 4 Estonia 3 0 0 3 Croatia 1 2 0 3 Australia 1 0 1 2 Poland 0 1 1 2 Ukraine 0 0 2 2 Japan 1 0 0 1 Belarus 0 1 0 1 Britain...

TURIN, Italy -- Throughout the ages, Finns have had mixed emotions about Swedes. Sweden ruled Finland from about 1200 to 1809, and the Swedish language was taught in Finland's schools. Governmental affairs in Finland were conducted in Swedish, too, until a surge of Finnish nationalism revived old customs and language. Men's hockey Gold-medal game, today, 8 a.m., chs. 11, 4

TURIN, Italy -- If he had grown up in the United States, he would have been playing ball in his backyard, dreaming of hitting the game-winning home run in Game 7 of the World Series. But Teemu Selanne grew up in Finland, so he played in pickup hockey games on an outdoor rink, calling his guys Finland and the other guys Sweden. "We won," Selanne said. Game on, for real, with the world watching. Here tomorrow, the Scandinavian neighbors collide for the Olympic gold medal. "Finland is going to be going crazy," Finnish forward Antti Laaksonen said.

TURIN, Italy -- No smarts, no fire, no luck. No good. Yankees go home. After Finland sent the United States packing from the Olympics with a 4-3 victory yesterday, the Finns weren't sure whether to mock the Americans or rip them. "We can beat anybody we play at this level," Teemu Selanne said, "and we didn't even have to play that well tonight." The Americans lost their last four games here, beating only Kazakhstan. On a night they faced elimination, they didn't do anything consistently, except throw elbows and act up with their sticks.

TURIN, Italy -- In sheer numbers, America rules. For every person in Finland, there are 60 people in the United States. Give Goliath a puck and a stick, however, and Finland hardly trembles. After finishing pool play with another loss yesterday, the United States draws undefeated Finland in the quarterfinals of the Olympic hockey tournament today. The Finns outscored opponents 17-2 in their five pool games. The Americans won one, tied one and lost three, and a loss today would send them home.

Results schedule Nation G S B Tot Norway 1 5 5 11 Russia 4 3 2 9 United States 5 2 0 7 Germany 4 1 2 7 China 0 2 3 5 Netherlands 1 2 0 3 Canada 1 1 1 3 South Korea 1 1 1 3 Italy 1 0 2 3 Austria 0 2 1 3 Finland 0 1 2 3 Sweden 2 0 0 2 France 1 0 1 2 Estonia 1 0 0 1 Croatia 0 1 0 1 Czech Republic 0 1 0 1 Latvia 0 0 1 1 Switzerland 0 0 1 1 Yesterday Medalists ALPINE SKIING MEN'S COMBINED Gold-Ted Ligety, Park City, Utah Silver-Ivica Kostelic,...

TURIN, Italy -- After being one of the cult favorites of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the U.S. men's curling team opened round-robin competition yesterday with an 11-5 victory over defending Olympic champion Norway in the opening match of the day. "[Norway's] a good, strong team, and they're going to win a lot of games over the week," said U.S. team member Scott Baird, 54, the oldest Olympian here. "We were fortunate to get out of this with a win. Everybody wants to get on an early roll."