Posts by The Hanseatic
Silent animated film lands Latvia its first Oscar
A wordless animated film from Latvia made using open-source software beat out some of the biggest names in Hollywood on Sunday, as the county won it first-ever Oscar, drawing attention to its film industry.
Flow, made using Blender, a free graphics software tool, cost $3.4 million (€3.2 million) to produce. The favourite to win as best animated feature during the 97th Academy Awards, was The Wild Robot, produced by the Dreamworks studio and costing $78 million to make.
The film is described as a parable that uses the story of a black cat, a dog, a capybara, a ring-tailed lemur and a secretary bird trying to survive a catastrophic flood to show how humans can overcome their differences and work together.
The film is the second second animated film directed by Gints Zilbalodis, but with Flow, he appears to have hit his artistic stride.
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“I think you can express a lot more without words. Some of these emotions and ideas I couldn’t articulate with words but with music, sound, movement and editing, I can say a lot more,” he said. “Those are my favourite kinds of films and favourite scenes and are very cinematic and transcend cultural boundaries.”
Finland releases cable-damaging tanker
Finnish police on Sunday released the dark-fleet tanker accused of damaging an undersea cable between Finland and Estonia on 25 December.
The police are continuing to investigate the Eagle S and members of its crew, but the enquiry, they said, had reached a point where it was no longer necessary to prevent the ship from leaving Finnish waters.
The decision came after Fingrid, the Finnish grid operator, and Elering, its Estonian counterpart, waived their right to continue to have the Cook Islands-flagged vessel detained, saying that the cost of doing so would likely exceed its value.
The two firms said they still plan to file a lawsuit against the Eagle S and its Dubai-based owner for the damages the ship caused.
Read MorePoland in final stages of submarine negotiations
Poland is in advanced negotiations with six countries to purchase three new submarines under the long-delayed Orka programme, with a decision expected by early 2025, Polish media report.
The defence ministry is in government-to-government talks with France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and South Korea, evaluating proposals based on submarine capabilities, financing and delivery schedules.
The need to purchase new submarines has been given impetus by mounting concerns over the security of the Baltic Sea following Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine and recent incidents of underwater cables in the Baltic being damaged in suspected acts of sabotage.
In recent weeks, Paweł Bejda, the deputy defence minister, has met with officials in Italy, Germany and Sweden to review offers. Further talks with French representatives are scheduled in the coming weeks, Rzeczpospolita, a Polish news outlet, reported.
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In related news, Sweden, on 13 February, re-launched the HMS Halland, the third of its three Gotland-class submarines to undergo comprehensive mid-life overhauls. The programme began in 2018 and is being used to preview new technology that will be employed in its forthcoming Blekinge-class submarines.
Source: TVP
Nordic Investment Bank lending to Nordics, Baltics up 26% in 2024
The Nordic Investment Bank saw its lending to the five Nordic and three Baltic countries rise by a quarter last year, as it continued its focus on long-term investments in sustainable energy and productivity.
The NIB disbursed €4.4 billion in 2024, the largest amount in its 50-year history, baring 2020, when lending ballooned as the bank sought to stave off the economic impact of the pandemic.
Lending is forecast to again be strong in 2025, the bank said in its annual report, released on Friday.
Some 20% of disbursements related in some way to energy, reflecting the Nordic-Baltic region’s climate goals and accelerated transition towards energy independence and security.
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NIB is an international financial institution jointly owned by the Nordic and Baltic states. It finances projects that improve productivity and benefit the environment of the Nordic-Baltic region. Starting last year, it expanded its mandate to include some defence-related investments.
Russian LNG plants halt exports as sanctions kick in
Two small-scale Russian producers of liquefied natural gas located on the shores of the Baltic Sea have suspended supplies, ship-tracking data showed on Thursday as US sanctions kicked in.
Washington last month introduced new sanctions against Russia in response to its unprovoked attack on Ukraine, including against the Portovaya LNG and Kryogaz-Vysotsk plants, with a grace period until 27 February.
Kryogaz-Vysotsk, controlled by Novatek and Gazprombank, last dispatched a cargo on 18 February, with delivery to Belgium’s Zeebrugge terminal on 22 February, ship-tracking data show. The data also show that Portovaya LNG’s last cargo was delivered to customers in mid-January.
A tanker called Pearl, formerly known as Pskov, was last loaded with gas from Portovaya earlier this month and is anchored in the Gulf of Finland, along with the Velikiy Novgorod, a gas carrier that is also servicing the project.
Source: Reuters
Read MoreSwedish MEPs alarmed over Polish EU fisheries priorities
Poland risks undermining efforts to revive fisheries in the Baltic Sea, Swedish representatives in the European Parliament have warned.
In a letter sent to the Polish government, the five Swedish MEPs who sit on the parliament’s fisheries committee have asked whether its aim of achieving a better balance between the interests of the fishing industry and environmental concerns will mean removing emergency measures to address past mismanagement of the Baltic Sea fisheries.
The measures were first implemented in 2019 and have been accompanied by drastically reduced quotas, in some cases closing fisheries entirely on the advice of biologists.
Poland currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, which sets the direction for the 27-member bloc. In an address to the fisheries council last month, the country’s fisheries minister said Poland was committed to sustainable fisheries practices, as well as protecting economic opportunities for fishermen.
Source: SR
Read MoreMagnus Karlsson named LKAB CFO
LKAB has appointed Magnus Karlsson as its new chief financial officer. In his role as CFO, Magnus will serve as a member of the group management team. He begins in the position at the start of the third quarter.
Magnus most served as CFO for commercial operations at Scania. Prior to that, he held several financial leadership positions in areas such as controlling, treasury and accounting.
Connect with Magnus on LinkedIn
Read MoreMari Parkkila receives €30,000 research grant
Mari Parkkila of the GeroNursing Centre at the University of Oulu has received a €30,000 grant from Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation for her doctoral-dissertation research.
The aim of the research is to describe the competence of nurses in restorative care of older patients in geriatric hospital wards and the effectiveness of nurses’ educational intervention on older patients’ need for healthcare services and readmission.
The goal is also to produce information for the development of nursing work on restorative care of older patients in hospitals and health centers wards. The education is developed in the GeroNursing Centre, and it is based on scientific knowledge and is online training.
The GeroNursing Centre (GNC) is a centre of research and expertise at the University of Oulu, providing research, education and networks for both the successful aging of older adults and the well-being at work of health care professionals. The GeroNursing Centre represents the best-available evidence-based expertise and practices in the field.
Read MoreSwedes preparing to receive Bornholm refugees
Amid Swedish fears of Russian expansionism in the Baltic, local authorities in Ystad say they are preparing for a situation in which they receive refugees from Bornholm.
Ystad is a Swedish council, but it is the mainland port for the primary ferry serving the Danish island.
The Swedish military considers Bornholm, along with other Baltic islands, as targets of potential Russian attacks, and that has led Ystad council to include refugees from the island in its civil-defence planning.
Police on Bornholm are responsible for co-ordinating civil defence. In the event of an attack, they say their directions would come from Copenhagen, but Ystad officials have called for co-ordination at the council level with Bornholm.
Source: Ystad Allehanda / TV2/Bornholm
Read MoreBornholm’s off-season tourism growth offsets summer decline
The number of overnight stays on Bornholm grew marginally in 2024, but more visitors outside of the summer season and an increase in the number of visitors from non-core markets suggests that the island’s second-largest industry may be poised for growth in the years to come.
End-of-year statistics published by Destination Bornholm, the island’s tourism board, show the number of overnight stays rose at an annual rate of 0.1% in 2024, to 1,691,257.
Denmark and Germany remained the two largest markets for Bornholm’s 4.1 billion kroner (€550 million) tourism industry. Though fewer Danes and Germans are visiting during the July-August high season, the decline has been somewhat made up by an increase in the number of visitors in shoulder seasons. The result is a tourism season that now spans from March to December.
Destination Bornholm highlighted significant—if small—increases in the numbers of visitors from emerging markets, including France, Italy, the UK and America, that it reckons could make up for the high-season decline.
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