Google has illegally stripped the entire area, removing even the top soil. Photograph: Jarno Artika/The Guardian
Company ordered to stop work at two sites in country, which has found itself at forefront of tech firms’ latest push
Behind a wire fence lies a vast gaping wound of earth. Before Google’s arrival a few months ago, an estimated quarter of a million trees occupied the 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest near the town of Muhos in rural northern Finland. Now they are all gone.
After the tech company illegally stripped the entire area to build a datacentre – taking even the top soil with it – all that remains is a vast expanse of mud indented with the trail marks of machinery, puddles and mounds of earth, roots and branches. Residents say that brown water flowing off the site is going into a stream that feeds the Oulujoki River.
“It doesn’t end. It goes on and on,” says Mari Annala, an ecologist from the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (SLL), looking at drone footage of the former forest from the perimeter.
Earlier this month, Google was ordered by the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority (LVV) to temporarily stop work on Muhos and another site about 100km south-east in the village of Otanmäki after it failed to complete the necessary environmental impact assessments before clearcutting the land. The news has prompted widespread outcry and a national reckoning over what role, if any, the country should play in the global rush to build datacentres to keep up with rapid AI development.
Last week, Google’s Finland country manager, Antti Järvinen, apologised for the forest clearings but claimed the company had acted “on the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time”.
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Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich displays a map of an area near the settlement of Maale Adumim, a land corridor known as E1, outside Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, on August 14, 2025. [Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images]
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday announced plans for 1,000 new settlement housing units in the northern occupied West Bank, a day after 12 Western countries said they intended to impose trade restrictions on goods from illegal Israeli settlements, Anadolu reports.
Smotrich said on US social media company X that 1,665 dunams (411.5 acres) had been added to the Kida and Havat settlements, allowing for the construction of 1,000 new housing units.
The leader of the Religious Zionism party described the move as “another historic step in the settlement revolution.”
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967. The international community considers Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law, a position rejected by Tel Aviv.
“After more than 25 years, the Kida and Havat settlements have finally reached the moment when the government is advancing procedures to legalize their status,” Smotrich said.
Kida and Havat were established in 2003 and 2001, respectively. The Israeli government decided to convert them into recognized settlements in December and March, respectively.
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has touted that since taking office in late 2022, it has approved the establishment of 104 new settlements and established 160 agricultural settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.
Around 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in 156 settlements and 360 outposts across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian figures.
On Tuesday, the UK, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden announced plans to impose trade restrictions on goods originating from the Israeli settlements.
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Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of policy of global privateering.
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Israeli authorities continue construction activities for settlement projects in the Maale Arugot area, expanding the broader land policy agenda across the territory following recent administrative decisions in West Bank on September 3, 2026. [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]
Eleven European countries plus Canada announced plans on Tuesday to introduce national restrictions on trade in goods with Israeli settlements that are illegal under international law, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced, Anadolu reports.
“Today, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden confirm their intention to impose national restrictions on trade in goods with settlements that are illegal under international law and/or to support European restrictions to this effect,” said a joint declaration issued by Barrot.
The statement reaffirmed that the 12 countries are “seriously considering” adopting such restrictions or other measures in accordance with their national procedures.
“In this regard, France, the United Kingdom and Canada welcome the significant measures already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium, and will propose national measures to prohibit trade in goods originating from settlements,” it added.
The declaration decried actions taken by the Israeli government in the West Bank that undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.
“The situation is rapidly deteriorating as settler violence and settlement expansion have reached unprecedented levels, including the unacceptable decision to issue tenders for the E1 settlement project,” it underscored.
They also stressed the need for protecting the possibility of a two-state solution and vowed their determination to work for a just and lasting peace.
“We firmly oppose any action resulting in the annexation of Palestinian land and the forced displacement of Palestinian populations,” the declaration said.
It further urged Israel to immediately halt the expansion of illegal settlements and civilian administrative powers while ensuring that settlers responsible for violence are held accountable for their actions and investigating allegations involving Israeli forces.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of policy of global privateering.
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The flowers on the chair, where Halil’s photo, press vest, and helmet were placed, is seen during funeral ceremony for journalist Emel Halil, who was killed in an Israeli military strike targeting the village of Tayri, in Nabatieh, Lebanon on April 23, 2026. [Elif Öztürk – Anadolu Agency]
The UK and Finland on Saturday condemned attacks on journalists and media workers in Lebanon, calling for urgent measures to ensure their safety, Anadolu reports.
In a statement, the two countries, acting as co-chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition, said journalists play a vital role in exposing the realities of war and must be protected.
“Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war. Attacks on journalists in Lebanon, including journalist Amal Khalil killed in an Israeli strike on 22 April, are unacceptable,” they said.
“As co-chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition, the UK and Finland strongly condemn all violence directed against journalists and media workers,” the statement added.
They urged all parties, including Israeli authorities, to ensure that media workers in Lebanon can operate freely and safely.
“We call on the Israeli authorities and all other parties to make every effort to ensure that media workers in Lebanon can conduct their work freely and safely,” they said.
This came as the Lebanese Press Syndicate Editors reported that at least 27 journalists and media workers have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since March 2, with many others wounded.
The syndicate said journalist Amal Khalil was killed in an Israeli strike on Wednesday in the southern town of Tayri, while her colleague Zeinab Faraj was wounded. It added that Khalil had previously received death threats from the Israeli army.
“With her killing, the number of journalists and media workers killed has risen to 27, in addition to a large number of injured,” the syndicate said. It condemned what it described as Israel’s deliberate targeting of journalists and called on international and Arab press organizations to support Lebanese media workers.
According to Lebanon’s state news agency, Israeli forces prevented rescue teams from reaching the wounded journalists during the attack and targeted roads linking Tayri and nearby areas to block emergency access.
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Nigel Farage objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Protesters on City Square gather during a protest in support of Greenland on January 17, 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Photo by Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images)
“Trump has no legal authority to tariff American allies to bully them into backing his brainless attempt to seize Greenland,” one US lawmaker said.
President Donald Trump on Saturday announced new tariffs on eight European countries that oppose his plan to annex Greenland hours after thousands of people gathered in Denmark and Greenland to declare, “Greenland is not for sale.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland would face a 10% tariff beginning February 1, which would jump to a 25% tariff on June 1.
“This Tariff will be due and payable until such a time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump wrote from his West Palm Beach, Florida gulf course.
The announcement seemed to deliver on a threat the president made Friday to impose tariffs on countries “if they don’t go along with” his designs on Greenland. It also ignored the sentiment of the thousands of people who marched in Denmark and Greenland’s capitals wearing red hats with the slogan, “Make America Go Away.”
“You cannot buy Greenland, you cannot buy a people. It is so wrong, disrespectful to think that you can purchase a country and a people.”
“We are demonstrating against American statements and ambitions to annex Greenland,” Camilla Siezing, chairwoman of the Inuit Association, said in a statement. “We demand respect for the Danish Realm and for Greenland’s right to self-determination.”
Julie Rademacher, chair of Uagut—an association of Greenlanders who live in Denmark that helped organize the demonstrations—said at the Copenhagen protest, as Deutsche Welle reported: “We are also sending a message to the world that you all must wake up… Greenland and the Greenlanders have involuntarily become the front in the fight for democracy and human rights.”
One Greenlander who attended the Copenhagen protest was Naja Mathilde Rosing.
“America has a sense of feeling they can steal land from the Native Americans, steal land from the Indigenous Hawaiian people, steal land from the Indigenous Inuit from Alaska,” she toldNPR. “You cannot buy Greenland, you cannot buy a people. It is so wrong, disrespectful to think that you can purchase a country and a people.”
Protests were also held in the Danish cities of Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense.
Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark with a population of nearly 57,000, 85% of whom do not want to join the United States.
Greenland’s Prime Minister prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen joined a crowd of 5,000 in the island’s capital city of Nuuk, where people carried signs reading, “Greenland is already great,” and “Yankee, go home,” according toCNN.
“We have seen what (Trump) does in Venezuela and Iran,” one protester, named Patricia, told CNN. “He doesn’t respect anything. He just takes what he thinks is his… He misuses his power.”
Yet Trump did not acknowledge the feelings of Greenlanders in his post on Saturday. Instead, he was focused on the actions of eight European countries that have sent small numbers of troops to the island, accusing them of “playing this very dangerous game.”
The leaders of the eight countries and the European Union pushed back against Trump’s threats.
French President Emmanuel Macron likened Trump’s designs on Greenland to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“No intimidation or threat will influence us—neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations,” he wrote on social media. “Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner should they be confirmed. We will ensure that European sovereignty is upheld. It is in this spirit that I will engage with our European partners.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson posted: “We will not let ourselves be blackmailed. Only Denmark and Greenland decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote: “Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty.”
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, meanwhile, said Trump’s tariff announcement came “as a surprise,” noting that it followed a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the week, which he described as “constructive.”
Trump’s latest tariff threat also drew criticism from US lawmakers.
“To threaten Denmark—and now six other NATO allies—in a crusade to take Greenland threatens to blow up the NATO alliance that has kept Americans safe and destroy our standing in the world as a trustworthy ally,” wrote Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Denmark that coincided with Saturday’s protests.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said: “Trump has no legal authority to tariff American allies to bully them into backing his brainless attempt to seize Greenland. This is against the law, it’s a total disaster for America, and Republicans in Congress and the Supreme Court need to find their spines and stop it.”
“ Donald Trump wants to be Tariff King, but he’s nothing more than a tax troll with no legal authority to levy these tariffs, no support from the American people, and no support from his allies.”
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) also called on Congress to act.
“Trump is raising tariffs on eight NATO allies because they rightly support Denmark’s sovereignty in Greenland. Destroying our closest alliances to take Greenland—which Denmark lets us use freely already—is insane. Congress must say NO,” Sanders wrote on social media.
Murray posted: “To my Republican colleagues: ENOUGH. It’s time for the Senate to vote to block these tariffs and to block the use of military force against Greenland. Trump is tearing apart our alliances in real time and the economic and diplomatic consequences will be catastrophic.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) also appealed to Republican colleagues, and pointed out that it would ultimately be Americans who would pay higher prices as a result of the tariffs.
“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us,” he wrote on social media. “Let that sink in. And now Trump is setting tariffs on our allies, making you pay more to try to get territory we don’t need. The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction. Republicans in Congress need to stand up to Trump.”
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) posted a video from the streets of Boston, evoking the spirit of the American Revolution.
“Donald Trump wants to be Tariff King, but he’s nothing more than a tax troll with no legal authority to levy these tariffs, no support from the American people, and no support from his allies. Enough is enough,” he said.
Trump wants to be the Tariff King but he’s nothing more than a tax troll. Imposing tariffs on our allies if they don’t hand over Greenland? Enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/77Hxq59vx7
Ultimately, Trump’s ability to play “tariff king” will be determined by the Supreme Court, which could rule as soon as next week on the legality of many of his tariffs.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
