The Daily Populous

Friday December 16th, 2022 day edition

image for Finland defence minister to take two months’ paternity leave amid Nato bid

Finland’s defence minister will take almost two months’ paternity leave early next year amid his country’s bid to join Nato, a move his Centre party praised.

“We proudly support Antti Kaikkonen’s decision,” the party leader and finance minister, Annika Saarikko, said.

In Finland, fathers whose children were born before September 2022 are entitled to 54 days paternity leave.

About 80% of dads in Finland take some amount of paternity leave, the government said last year.

While several ministers have taken maternity leave during their stints in the current government, Kaikkonen is one of the first male ministers to go on paternity leave.

In the late 1990s, the then-prime minister, Paavo Lipponen, took paternity leave in a groundbreaking move.

The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said in November that the country would approve Finland and Sweden’s accession to Nato next year. »

Twitter suspends journalists who have been covering Elon Musk and the company

Authored by nbcnews.com

The Twitter account for Mastodon, a platform billed as a Twitter alternative, was also suspended early Thursday evening.

Twitter accounts operated by NBC News journalists were unable to tweet any links to Mastodon pages.

In early November, shortly after having taken control of Twitter, Musk tweeted that he would not ban the account that tracked his jet. »

House passes bill allowing Puerto Rico to vote on statehood, independence

Authored by pbs.org

The bill, which passed 233-191 with some Republican support, would offer voters in the U.S. territory three options: statehood, independence or independence with free association.

The proposal would commit Congress to accept Puerto Rico into the United States as the 51st state if voters on the island approved it.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, traveled to Washington for the vote. »

Amazon Games and Crystal Dynamics Strike Deal to Develop and Publish Next Major Entry in Iconic Tomb Raider Series

Authored by amazongames.com

Amazon Games and Crystal Dynamics today announced they have reached an agreement under which Crystal Dynamics will develop a new multiplatform Tomb Raider title, with Amazon Games providing full support and publishing the game globally.

The as-yet-untitled new Tomb Raider game is a single-player, narrative-driven adventure that continues Lara Croft’s story in the Tomb Raider series.

“Tomb Raider is one of the most beloved IPs in entertainment history,” said Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Games. »