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ABC News
41 minutes ago
- Business
- ABC News
Inside the mission to stop Putin's 'ghost ships' wreaking havoc on the seas
On Christmas Day last year, Finland and Estonia got an unwanted shock. A power line that ran along the seabed between the two countries was damaged, slashing electricity flow by two thirds. The next day, Finnish police boarded and seized a ship carrying Russian oil bound for Turkey on suspicion of cutting the line along with four nearby internet cables. The Cook Islands-registered ship, named the Eagle S, was later found to have dragged its anchor along the ocean floor for more than 100 kilometres. European Union leaders labelled it sabotage and levelled blame at Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" or "ghost ships" which Moscow uses to avoid Western sanctions imposed on its cargo exports. The incident has sprung NATO allies into action, with joint forces from 11 member nations signing up to tackle sabotage at sea. The ABC gained rare access to the mission and headed out with Dutch and Belgian crews on the Baltic Sea off the coast of Lithuania — a former Soviet country which is now a key Western ally. Taking off from London before dawn, it took two flights and all day to reach the small port city of Klaipeda where we met the convoy. Undersea cables are a vital part of global infrastructure, carrying electricity and data between countries and continents. There are hundreds of them around the world. Commander Erik Kockx has been charged with overseeing this operation in the Baltic Sea. "There have been some incidents with pipelines and cables. We are here to prevent that from happening again," he told the ABC. "The consequences of cutting an underwater sea cable, first of all, it's very expensive to repair it, secondly if it's an energy or data cable, you cut people off from energy or information." Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Finland and Sweden joined NATO, making Russia the only country bordering the Baltic Sea without membership of the security alliance. Since then, multiple cables have been cut or damaged. "Anybody who has any intentions of inflicting damage or harm to any infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region should be aware that it will be observed, it will be monitored, it will be reported, and it will not remain without consequence," Commander Kockx said. Russia's second-largest city and port of St Petersburg is the country's main access point to the Baltic Sea's critical shipping corridor. Further south and wedged between Lithuania and Poland, is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which also hosts strategic port capacity but more crucially is home to a large military build-up of Kremlin forces. The NATO missions are designed to be a deterrent, with a bigger military presence on the surface and eyes underwater inspecting for sabotage. Small underwater drones, remotely operated vehicles and divers are being sent down to build a map of the seabed. Merte Peeters is the commanding officer of the Dutch ship, the Snellius, which is the lead vessel in the mission. "I think it's a two-legged solution, one we show people who basically aren't paying attention sailing around the Baltic, hey someone's looking at you, you are being noticed," he said. "And to the other countries in the vicinity you show that we are present." Most of the accusations of sabotage involve a ship dragging its anchor along the seabed for long distances, in some cases hundreds of kilometres. Two lines were severed within 24 hours of each other in the month before the Christmas Day incident. The Arelion cable between the Swedish island of Gotland and Lithuania was severed and then the C-Lion 1 cable was damaged between the Finnish capital, Helsinki, and the German port of Rostock. A Chinese ship, the Yi Peng 3, is suspected of dragging its anchor over both the cables in a separate act of Russian sabotage. In October 2023, another Chinese ship, the Newnew Polar Bear, was identified as the main suspect for rupturing a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia. The Chinese government admitted the ship was at fault but rejected the suggestion it was intentional. "If I would drop my anchor for this vessel, I would notice, of course," Commanding Officer Peeters said. The Yi Peng 3 and the Eagle S are both suspected Russian ghost ships which have become a pivotal tool in Moscow continuing oil exports in defiance of Western sanctions. By mid-2024, this clandestine armada was responsible for shipping more than 70 per cent of Russia's oil and its by-products. The European Union last month slapped more sanctions on the covert ships and increased the number of banned vessels to 342, although some experts predict the fleet consists of more than 700. Continuing oil exports through undercover means has been critical to keeping Russia's economy afloat and funding its war efforts in Ukraine. Some estimates predict Moscow has spent more than $15 billion building up the fleet, which are often old and rundown ships, which sail without insurance and flags, allowing them to evade detection and sanctions. They also "go dark" by disabling their tracking transponders, making it difficult for authorities to follow their movements. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the use of shadow ships and rejected claims it was responsible for damaging undersea cables in the Baltic. With investigations ongoing, NATO isn't keen to point fingers or inflame tensions but some countries in the region including Estonia, Finland and Germany, have blamed Russia's shadow fleet. But what started as covert shipments to prop up an ailing economy has morphed into a so-called "hybrid war" or "shadow conflict", which are actions taken to destabilise democracies and cause chaos and fear. On another vessel in the NATO mission, Commanding Officer of Belgian ship, Lobelia, Gill Priem tells the ABC his crew have adapted to battle this new type of conflict. "NATO has to adapt to the evolving geopolitical situation in the world," he said. "Since the increased presence of NATO in this region ... we did not have any accidents occurring in this particular region." The alleged acts of sabotage fall short of all-out military action but force countries to react and beef up security measures. While the mission until now has been focused on protecting the hundreds of kilometres of critical cables crisscrossing the seabed, Russia last month upped the stakes. When a suspected Russian shadow ship, named the Jaguar, and under sanction by British authorities, entered Estonian waters, the navy attempted to stop it. The crew on board refused and then the Estonian warship was then met with a Russian fighter jet, which flew into NATO airspace for close to a minute. "They entered the NATO airspace, this is serious," Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told the ABC. "They escalated in the military way, from now on, we cannot say that it is civilian activities. "They were showing their intent to use this force." It was the first time Russia has shown support for an alleged shadow ship. "This reckless use of hundreds of vessels for the purpose to fuel the war machine of Russia, it put us in an explosive mix, and we have to control all of it," he said. "We see how one authoritarian regime wants to avoid the sanctions and is just exploiting all the weak parts of it." The minister, who's been highly critical of the West's response to Russian aggression, has no doubt of Moscow's intentions in the region. "Russia is preparing itself for long-term confrontation and conflict with the West," he said. "If we are weak, if we are not resilient and if we are not resolute, it means we are increasing the opportunities for Russia to use the capabilities for their intent." Intent and sabotage combined make an explosive mix which is sparking fears of a broader European conflict.
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Are The World's Most Sustainable Cities Worth Visiting?
Helsinki, Finland, is one of the world's most sustainable cities. It's no secret that the world's most sustainable cities think their forward-looking views on the environment will attract more visitors. But what's less known is whether being green makes them worth a visit. What are the most sustainable cities? According to the latest Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDSI), they are Helsinki; Gothenburg, Sweden; Copenhagen; Bergen, Norway; and Aarhus, Denmark. (I hope you like Scandinavia.) The GDSI ranks cities' eco-friendliness, assessing 69 criteria across environmental, social, and economic factors. It gives a snapshot of a city's sustainability performance and highlights areas for improvement. Although it isn't focused on tourism, many destination management organizations tout their GDSI scores, hoping it will add to their appeal. "Being sustainable can have a long-term impact on a city as a tourism destination," says Evelyn Xiao-Yue Gong, who teaches operations management at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. "Being rated one of the most sustainable cities in the world inarguably increases the visibility of a city, and evokes travelers' curiosity, both of which are important stimulants for tourism prosperity." But Gong says there's a potential downside. Some visitors may experience inconveniences — like having to recycle or use mass transit instead of driving. "Nevertheless, these small frictions are typically outweighed by the overall positive push on tourism," she adds. But how exactly does that work? Let's go down the list by ranking. Helsinki Cathedral in the city center. The Finnish capital ranks first on a new sustainability list. One of the first things you notice about a city like Helsinki is how squeaky clean it is. Every piece of trash is picked up. Every leaf that falls off a tree is raked. "There are bikes everywhere," says Tampa marketing executive Jasmine Charbonier. "And I mean everywhere." I spent several days last year in Helsinki, and tourism officials there told me that they are pursuing sustainability without worrying about how it affects visitors. And yet it does. The city limits the number of cruise ships in its port, as do the other top sustainable cities. There's a heavy emphasis on mass transit. But most of the green initiatives are not noticeable to the average visitor. The only place where someone might feel it is in the wallet — all those initiatives cost money, so you'll pay more for hotels, restaurants and attractions. Älvsborgsbron Bridge over the sea in Gothenburg, Sweden. When I visited Gothenburg a few months ago, one of the things I noticed was how normalized their sustainability efforts had become. "It's been regarded as the most sustainable city in Europe for numerous years," says Duncan Greenfield-Turk, a travel advisor. "The city runs practically entirely on renewable energy, and public transport is rather effective, which makes exploration simple without a car." Greenfield-Turk says the culinary scene is a standout. Restaurants like Bhoga concentrate on seasonal, hyperlocal foods. Of course, you can't miss the cinnamon rolls at Café Husaren. But there, too, sustainability is not front and center. Gothenburg is known for its food and cultural attractions, and it just happens to be sustainable. Very sustainable. Copenhagen, Denmark, is rated as one of the most sustainable cities in the world. Denmark's capital also has a well-earned reputation for being green, as Lizet Wesselman discovered when she recently spent a month there. "They have an amazing recycling system, which is more extensive than I've ever seen anywhere else," says Wesselman, a blogger who specializes in sustainability. (It is indeed impressive — and complex.) But, she adds, that doesn't really affect tourists. "The two biggest things that are relevant for tourists are the extensive bicycle path network and the fact that the whole city seems to be cashless," she says. I've been touring the world's most sustainable cities, and was only in Copenhagen briefly last summer. But it certainly left an impression. I'm not sure if visitors will notice its commitment to sustainability or even if they will visit because of its sustainability — but there is no question this city means to be green. Panorama of historical buildings of Bergen at Christmas time. "Bergen is one of those places that quietly impresses you," says Cindy Scott, a videographer and outdoor adventurer. "It doesn't shout about its sustainability efforts, but you can feel it everywhere. The city just gets it." On my last trip to Bergen, I was stunned by the number of EVs on the road. Norway leads the way in EV adoption, and nowhere is that more obvious than Bergen, where you really have to look both ways before crossing the street. You can't hear the traffic coming. Scott said as a visitor, she noticed the EVs too, especially the buses. Also, she said the restaurants were proud of their local ingredients, which made them more sustainable. But like other sustainable destinations in Scandinavia, Bergen wasn't in her face about being green. Aarhus by night in the blue hour and reflection in the sea. In Aarhus, sustainability is more visible, according to Richard Burgon, who publishes an RV site. But it's not where you might expect. "I wasn't struck by the green spaces or the green technology," he says. "Rather, it was the extent to which the people living in the areas integrated sustainability in their lives." For example, he found a lot of urban farming projects in Aarhus (not unlike the ones I recently reported on in Berlin). "It felt like something from a futuristic novel," he says. There's a reason behind it. Aarhus has an ambitious plan to invest in green spaces and sustainable design to create a healthier and more livable environment. It's working toward a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 through a range of initiatives, including increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing waste. A consensus of the travel experts I interviewed for this story was yes, it's worth going. But no, you probably won't see a lot of big sustainability projects. It's small stuff like many multicolored recycling bins, urban gardens, and lots of mass transport and bike paths. And it's also knowing that you're supporting a place that aligns with your values — if, indeed, being green matters to you. Kristin Winkaffe, owner of Winkaffe Global Travel, says for most of her clients, sustainability means visitability. "People are looking for places that align with their values," she says, "whether that's supporting local businesses, enjoying eco-friendly accommodations, or exploring cities that prioritize green spaces and clean energy." So if you care about the environment, consider adding one or more of these cities to your "must visit" list, says Jennifer Goff, a travel advisor who specializes in sustainable vacations. "The revenue directed toward local businesses, artisans, and sustainable programs helps improve infrastructure, provides more opportunities for local entrepreneurs, and creates jobs that are rooted in ethical practices," she says. Your visit will have a ripple effect. As tourism increases, other cities will see that sustainability can also affect profitability. And who knows, maybe you'll see your favorite place on the next GDSI list, which is due in October.
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
No one is safe online – blame these depraved teenage hackers
In October 2020, tens of thousands of people across Finland received an email telling them that some of their most intimate secrets were about to be made public. A hacker had infiltrated the computer files of Vastaamo, Finland's largest commercial therapy provider, and was now blackmailing patients, including children, saying their therapy notes would be published online if they didn't pay a ransom of €500 each. The breach was so shocking that when the hacker, who went by the alias 'ransom_man', posted about the accomplishment on Ylilauta, a Finnish version of the notorious online forum 4chan, he was bombarded with messages from fellow users telling him that this time he'd gone too far. Ransom_man was used to making enemies. His real name was Julius Kivimӓki, and he also went by the aliases 'Zeekill', 'Ryan' and 'The Untouchable Hacker God'. He was a 23-year-old from Finland who, both individually and as part of cyber gangs, had been causing havoc online for companies and innocent people around the world since he was 13. In Joe Tidy's Ctrl+Alt+Chaos, an illuminating and often scary book about teenage hackers, Kivimӓki is cast as the talisman of various groups of young men – and they're almost exclusively men – who delighted in causing damage and cruelty on the internet in the 2010s, sometimes for money but mostly just because they could. The trope of teenage 'hackers in hoodies' sitting in their parents' homes and breaking into companies' online systems is now a little outdated. Businesses and organisations these days are more concerned about ransomware gangs and state-sanctioned hackers. Nonetheless, Tidy writes, from around 2010 to 2015, the world saw 'probably the most active period in history for youth cybercrime gangs' – and Kivimӓki was 'one of the chief architects'. Tidy, the BBC's first ever 'cyber correspondent', aims to use Kivimӓki's career to chronicle the rise of a 'sadistic' culture in which being an 'edgelord' – acting as provocatively and outrageously as possible – took precedence over anything else, including how many victims might be hurt, or how badly. The structure doesn't always work: Kivimӓki, who was sentenced in 2022 for the Vastaamo hack and is in prison until 2026, couldn't be interviewed by Tidy, meaning he remains a somewhat shadowy figure despite being the nominal centrepiece. But as an insight into how very young teenage boys can get lured into a world of cybercrime – and, crucially, seem not to care about the pain they're causing – it's fascinating. Until roughly the early 2000s, most amateur hacking groups cast themselves as ethical: they would, for instance, breach online systems to embarrass greedy corporations. But around 2010, Tidy says, something 'went horribly wrong'. Suddenly gangs weren't hacking for any particular reason beyond causing mischief and receiving their peers' recognition. 'If there was any strategy to our attacks,' one former teenage hacker recalls, 'it was mayhem.' Tidy puts much of the blame on Twitter, which 'gave birth to a new generation of fame-hungry hackers' who could boast about their work to win followers and clout. Groups such as Lulzsec, HTP (Hack the Planet), UG Nazi and Lizard Squad – with all of whom Kivimӓki had some involvement or connection – would engage in 'deliberately cruel' acts just to show how irreverent they were. Sometimes these hacks involved a level of sophistication: one group took down both the Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, used by a combined 158 million people, over Christmas 2014. But often the tactics were so simple as to not be considered hacking at all. Among cybersecurity criminals and experts, these young men were derided as 'script kiddies' – the lowest tier of hackers. One favoured technique of these teenagers, for example, particularly in America, was 'swatting': police would be contacted about a bogus 'emergency' at someone's home, so that an armed Swat team was sent to the victim's door. A particularly distressing case, related by Tidy, is that of a 17-year-old boy from Illinois named Blair Strater, who became the focus of Kivimaki's ire: on more than one occasion, armed police appeared in the night at Strater's and his parents' home. The email and social media accounts of Strater's mother were also hacked by Kivimӓki and HTP, who then wrote anti-Semitic and racist tirades under her name. The adult Straters' marriage fell apart, Strater's mother lost her job during the ordeal. At this point, some other teenage hackers begin to distance themselves from Kivimӓki. 'We started to realise the type of person he was. The way he treated Blair was wrong,' one former hacker recalls. Yet the Straters were comparatively lucky. Another incident led to an innocent father-of-two being shot dead on his doorstep by armed police. Meanwhile, another young wannabe hacker who mouthed off about Lizard Squad – with whom Kivimӓki was also involved – was forced to cut himself dozens of times along his forearm and take a picture of it while holding a card saying 'LizardSquad made me do it', in order to get his online accounts back. 'It was pure sadism,' one participant admits. When caught, because most of the perpetrators were under 18, they often received extremely light sentences. For some, this was enough to set them straight, but for others it just made them feel invincible. One former member recounts how 'making global headlines made him feel like a god'. Tidy does a good job of tracking down and talking to such ex-hackers. Unsurprisingly, what comes out is that, in many cases, these boys were extremely lonely, bullied at school or had a hard home life; they desperately wanted the camaraderie of friendship. Most had found their way into these gangs through obsessively playing computer games and coming across forums that listed cheat codes – then matters spiralled. The first parents knew about it was when the police appeared at their door. They'd thought their son was just playing computer games. While there was no hierarchy within these gangs, Tidy says they were usually led by whoever was most outrageous or most sophisticated at hacking. Kivimӓki sounds like he was a dangerous combination of both. When Finnish police raided his bedroom in 2013, he was just 16, but there was so much illegal activity on his computer that they had to limit their investigations to just the bigger cybercrimes. Antti Kurittu, a Finnish cybersecurity expert and former police detective, says that Kivimӓki hacked a therapy company simply because it would cause distress: 'I don't think he was ever interested in cybersecurity that much. He was just interested in causing mayhem to people's lives… he is uncaring to a degree which is difficult to understand.' The spate of 'edgelord' teenage hackers had appeared to have died away; but at the end of his book, Tidy mentions new groups such as Scattered Spider, who appear to be made up of teenage boys, some as young as 16, who work with notorious Russian ransomware groups and are willing to use offline violence as part of their threats. Scattered Spider is alleged to be linked to the recent hacks of Marks and Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods. Authorities believe that gangs will emerge in new digital spaces such as the metaverse, and that the best way to avoid that will be education: teaching children 'where the lines are' online. If we fail to do that, Tidy writes, we're 'enabling the cyber criminals of the future'.
Globe and Mail
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
The insiders' guide: Where to go in Europe to avoid the crowds
Representing six extraordinarily calm and irrefutably cool destinations across Europe – ones shielded from overtourism yet within easy reach of an international airport – these stylish locals and insiders would welcome your company. Here, they talk about their connection to home and how travellers can get the most out of a visit to their corners of the world. Tips and deals to help maximize your summer vacation dollars Arrive by air to Helsinki. Your insider guide: Kati Kivinen, head of exhibitions at the Helsinki Art Museum. Of any place in the Nordic countries, Helsinki is most like a Canadian city, with its deference to forested parks, architectural modesty and embrace of its 80 miles of coastline, at least for a few months a year. Nature is impossible to avoid here. If you're not in it, you're asked to contemplate it. Visit the modernist buildings by Alvar Aalto, Finland's most influential architect, and you'll be confronted with vast windows showcasing the outdoors (a recent renovation of his lakefront Finlandia Hall added even more). Restaurants have hopped on the sustainability bandwagon, heralding foraged dill, blackcurrants, quinces and rowanberries alongside wild salmon and trout. And the art world is overwhelmingly concerned with ecology. The city's third art biennial, on until Sept. 21, seizes on the national preoccupation but shifts the focus from human-centric stories toward Helsinki's natural assets. The principal venue is Vallisaari, a former military island used by Swedish and Russian powers before it was left to rewild in the hands of the Finns. 'Nature has taken over the island, so it's like an outdoor museum,' Kivinen says. 'The natural world has been in the DNA of the biennial from the beginning, but we want to approach the topic with positivity, rather than dwelling in despair. Artists work with common eelgrass, fungi and decaying plants.' A half-hour by ferry from the central port, Vallisaari is one of 300 islands in Helsinki's archipelago and a habitat for butterflies, bats and even otters. But its repurposed military buildings make exhibiting here practical. Visitors can take in paintings inside by local artists such as Gunzi Holmstrom and Carola Grahn, then venture outdoors to tour Ernesto Neto's avian-inspired tent. 'There's a rise in the scenery nearby so the audience can climb up and see its bird shape from above,' Kivinen says. Those with time to spare can explore Finnish sculptor Raimo Saarinen's three olfactory installations. Dotted around the island, they release scents evoking ancient plants and non-native interlopers that crept in with the Russians. 'After,' Kivinen says, 'you should go to the island of Lonna to have a sauna in an old mine storehouse, then swim in the sea and have dinner.' The island's restaurant, called, simply, Lonna Restaurant, serves saaristolaisleipa, or 'archipelago rye' with fresh fish. 'If you go slightly further by boat, there's an Archipelago Museum on the small island of Pentala, where you can explore how people lived at the turn of 20th century. There's a beautiful sand beach there, and a restaurant in the former boathouse.' Kivinen also recommends hanging out at the Cable Factory, on Helsinki's western edge. A former Nokia facility, it now hosts artists studios, a theatre, museum and café. Where to stay: The Solo Sokos Torni hotel, a 1930s heritage landmark in the historic centre with a legendary rooftop panorama bar. Arrive by train from Brussels in 40 minutes. Your insider guides: Shop owners Pieter Boels and Billyjean Passersby aren't quite sure what to make of Rosewood, a concept store where windows display text-art, bulbous pottery and clinical neo-eighties decor. Boels and the mononymic Billyjean, the owners (and newlyweds), opened it five years ago in their house's main floor lounge as a passion project, and the name hearkens back to the 2000s, when 'Rosewood' was an influential font and the street artist Rose Woods was making a name as the Belgian Banksy. Since that era, atypical Antwerp has gained traction as a creative outlier with a reputation for rebellious individual style. Time has brought more attention to fashion-forward Antwerp, but prices are climbing, art subsidies have disappeared and young people struggle to get a foot in the door. 'We started as a gallery, but we also really wanted to sell these people's stuff,' Boels says. 'So our raison d'être is giving emerging designers a platform as well as showcasing our own work. If you're just shopping for fashion, you can go to Brussels, but the idea of Antwerp being unique and a bit extreme draws an audience and those people find our shop – more from outside Antwerp than within.' Located just outside the old part of the city, the townhouse stands between the grandiose monuments of Stadspark and the Japanese wine bar Osaka. On long walks in the area, the couple stops at Studio Helder, a firm of interior architects who showcase unusual furniture pieces from their brand collaborations, and peruse the collectible design at St Vincents, in the centre of historic Antwerp. A few minutes away is Bourlaschouwburg, one of the city's oldest theatres. It's a popular venue for the theatre collective FC Bergman, a slightly anarchistic troupe of six actors Boels and Billyjean count as inspirations. Among art-lovers, Antwerp is perhaps best known for its Old Masters. The garden behind Rubenshuis, former home of Peter Paul Rubens, was recently overhauled with 22,000 plants by homegrown fashion designer Dries Van Noten. But Boels has a soft spot for the contemporary art museum M HKA. And the couple extend their walks to the Nieuw Zuid neighbourhood for the FOMU photo museum and the avant-garde gallery of Tim Van Laere. 'He made the local artist Rinus van de Velde famous,' Boels says. Beyond Rosewood's immediate neighbourhood is Antwerp's central station and a melting pot of Hasidic Jews, Indians, Moroccans and Chinese. Here, the food is a draw. 'The Chinese restaurant 'the Best' is a great example of manifesting,' Boels says. And the converted military hospital Pakt is a goldmine for food and drink. 'We're both vegan, and there's a good plant-based restaurant there called Camionette, as well as Standard, for pizza. The vibe is just right because the industrial architecture has been maintained.' Where to stay: De Witte Lelie, a converted 16th-century gabled townhouse covered in bold wallpapers, swathed in lush fabrics and stuffed with mid-century furniture. Arrive by train from Madrid in less than two hours. Your insider guides: Interior designers Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse of studio Masquespacio. The maximalist, colour-drenched design of Masquespacio is influenced by the artisanal spirit and sunny climate of Valencia, where the sun shines 300 days a year. Follow the pastel interiors from the café-clogged Ruzafa district to the residential seaside enclave El Cabanal and you'll end up in Hernández Palacios's and Penasse's inspirational corner of the city, where colourful ceramic tilework, manufactured locally for generations, is on full display. 'The facades of the houses are made of ceramic tiles in beautiful patterns,' Penasse says. 'Legend says the fishermen living here bought leftover stock from local producers to make their houses beautiful without a lot of money.' Abandoned after the war to make way for high-rise development that never materialized, the ornamental streets have been repopulated and gentrified – most successfully by La Sastreria, a seafood restaurant designed by Masquespacio with marine-coloured checkerboard tile and a rain shower of ceramics dangling from the ceiling. It's joined in the grid of streets by tapas and vermouth bars, and La Fabrica del Hielo, an old ice warehouse that now shows live music and stand-up comedy. From here, the seaside boardwalk and meticulously palm-lined beach are just over the road. Valencia has aged spectacularly well, thanks to the star power of homegrown architect Santiago Calatrava. His City of Arts and Sciences, a giant plaza of skeletal museums and carapace-shaped halls is a highlight of Turia Garden, the rewilded riverbed park running through town. In the summer, Penasse and Hernández Palacios prefer the watery outskirts in the village El Palmar, with its traditional ochre-stucco homes and an emphasis on late paella suppers. Rice fields splay out south of the city in L'Albufera, a natural park on the Turia delta that's been home to fishermen and farmers for generations. Penasse also suggests walking to the northern suburbs around Port Saplaya. Known as the Venice of Valencia, the marina area is home to seafood spots with Mediterranean views. Where to stay: Only You, a boutique hotel a few minutes walk from the art nouveau central market in Port Saplaya. Arrive by train from Paris in an hour. Your insider guide: Olivier Livoir, head of hospitality at Maison Ruinart. The beau monde in Reims, capital of the Champagne region, wear T-shirts and shorts, play French indie rock in their e-cars and entertain in blond-wood bars bathed in light from steel-framed windows. Many have bounced over from sexy careers in Paris to bring their family winemaking operations into the 21st century, and it shows in the paint-spattered tasting room at Taittinger, the feature walls at Krug and the statement lighting at Pommery. Today, champagne tourism is taking cues from the New World and wooing with art and design. Last fall, even France's oldest champagne house, 300-year-old Ruinart, unveiled a massive investment in 'experience': a visitor pavilion designed in ethereal glass and Soissons stone by feted Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. It has beechwood seating in the shape of rose petals with upholstery the colour of chardonnay leaves, and a tasting room with soft, strategic lighting that protects the product. The sculpture garden has been recommissioned and features works by hot, young European artists such as Eva Jospin and Jeppe Hein, who use plaster, powder-coated aluminum, mycelium and resin to evoke the historic chalk cellars of Reims. Trees planted on the new terrace are cork oaks. 'Since the early 2000s, the house has incorporated contemporary works of art into its outdoor and in-house itineraries,' Livoir says. 'The new artist garden, inaugurated last year, is another example of our commitment to art and culture. Each of these works is a way of illustrating the message.' If you visit, be sure to cultivate your chardonnay appreciation. 'The grape variety and its life cycle take centre stage,' Livoir says, 'overshadowing the rich history of the house since its foundation. A tasting of three 100-per-cent chardonnay wines completes the experience.' He suggests a visit to the cellar and bar (specialty cocktail: French 75 with R de Ruinart Brut) after a hike to the summit of the Montagne de Reims, a 286-metre hill coated in vineyards. If you're serious about improving your champagne scholarship, the new Pressoria museum, in a former Pommery pressing plant near Epernay, immerses guests in the mechanics of winemaking. And Phare Verzenay, a 100-year-old lighthouse surrounded by land, has a mini-museum dedicated to the characteristics of the champagne terroir. Livoir also recommends dinner at L'Art de Vivre in Cernay-lès-Reims, a suburb that has not got the memo about moving with the times. The dining is fine here indeed. Where to stay: La Caserne Chanzy, a luxuriously converted fire station across from the city's UNESCO-listed Gothic cathedral. Arrive by taxi or bus from Trieste, Italy, in two hours. Your insider guide: Jerko Sladoljev, director of Top Camping Croatia. The Valalta resort on the western coast of Istria may be the best campground in Europe, according to Sladoljev. He spent decades evaluating the country's 6,000 kilometres of coastline, but keeps coming back to this Adriatic headland near Rovinj, an old Venetian fishing port surrounded by vineyards. Valalta's hiking trails, boating docks, sunset views and four-kilometre white-sand beach have lured tourists from Trieste and Germany since the 1960s. Valalta, it must be said, is a nudist colony – one of the first naturist resorts in a European hub. The practice has waned in other parts of the country, to be sure, but it continues to thrive here thanks to the heavenly location and a COVID-era bump. 'In those days,' Sladoljev says, 'the only good style of living was naturism – no contact with things or people. The practice was completely reborn.' While many of Croatia's naturist spots appease the old guard with a strict no-clothing policy, Valalta takes its reputation for freedom seriously. 'It's more kumbaya,' says Sladoljev of the clothing-optional dress code, 'more of a state of mind.' Most of Istria's beaches, it bears saying, are not the nudist kind. Sladoljev's work covers about 2,000 wild, hidden beaches between Slovenia and Montenegro, but he lives and works on this stretch of coastline. For every naturist at Valalta are a dozen Europeans who come to sail, cliff jump, visit forgotten medieval towns such as Vodnjan and watch dolphins play from the Porec seawall. Off the shore at Medulin are shipwrecks to dive to. On the island of Brijuni, easily reached from the local capital Pula, the remains of a Roman villa stand over a quiet beach – no barrier ropes, no tickets to buy. And just outside Rovinj, you can taste the salt in the air while walking the vineyards and olive groves at Mare, producer of the local malvasia white. From Rovinj's old town, cobbled paths curve around baroque St. Euphemia church to Puntalina, a taverna so close to the water that diners can feel sea spray on their faces and descend ancient marble stairs to dangle their feet in the water between courses. The food still leans into the Italian archetype established centuries ago – pasta with truffles and Adriatic mussels; artichokes, tapenades and squid risotto. When it comes to souvenirs, Sladoljev steers visitors toward Aura, a family distillery that's revived the taste for biska, a local brandy from inland Istria. It's made from wild herbs, apples, mistletoe and local grasses, and sold out of a 17th-century cottage near Rovinj's highest point. Where to stay: Villa Tuttorotto is a grandly decorated converted medieval Venetian palazzo in old Rovinj. Arrive by ferry from Athens in 3.5 hours, or by ferry from Santorini. Your insider guide: Resort owner Ricardo Larriera. On the Cycladic island of Folegandros, there are only 300 permanent residents and just one main road, where the only traffic jams involve beasts of burden. It's hardly a household name, which is why Larriera, an ex-advertising-exec originally from Australia, was able to nab 80 acres of clifftop by the sea for his new resort, Gundari. 'There's a sense of timelessness going back not just to the old Greece but to old values, old senses of community,' Larriera says. 'When you're driving down the road, everyone waves to one another, everyone stops to chat – it's a bit like high school.' Larriera touts the resort's ecocredentials: desalination plant, solar-powered pool, native-plant gardens and a fleet of electric vehicles. Partnering with sustainability consultants back home, he resolved to build almost entirely with traditional methods from the stone beneath his feet. 'We took a punt and felt whatever we excavated would be lovely stone – and it was.' When it's 40 degrees outside, the rooms are cooled by the natural earth slab. But his most resounding success is maintaining and helping to regenerate the local population of rare Eleonora's falcons. His coterie of ornithologists built wooden nests for the birds that shade eggs from the sun and lead guided falcon walks. The eponymous clifftop town, or chora, is best experienced at night, when the five plazas fill with locals and visitors. 'It doesn't feel touristed,' Larriera says. 'Community matters here.' The best restaurants are owned by the farmers themselves, including Chic, where the fresh lamb and produce are island-raised, and Paliomos Winery, serving recipes from the family's yiayia (grandmother) with its own wines. From Gundari, a rocky footpath leads across the south of the island to Katergo Beach, lapped by the denim-blue Aegean. In the other direction is the fine sand of St. Nikolaos beach and Larriera's favourite restaurant, Papalagi. 'It's like the Bondi of Folegandros,' he says, referring to the famous Aussie spot, 'a cliffside restaurant with spectacular seafood and a charismatic owner called Paris. You can take a beautiful walk past ancient lighthouses to get there.' That said, without proper roads, beautiful walks are very much a part of the island experience. 'From a nature perspective it's spectacular, and you get to enjoy that through cobblestone paths and hiking trails that remind you this place has been going for thousands of years.' Where to stay: If Gundari is booked, stay at Anemi Hotel & Spa, a contemporary white stucco villa with a popular pool bar steps from the port.
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We got an inside look at how frontline NATO allies would fight Russia
BI observed Finnish and Polish forces in an exercise simulating a tactical air landing operation. One team seized a strategically located airfield while another had to counterattack and retake it. These kinds of operations are a top Russian military tactic and could prove decisive in a conflict. PYHTÄÄ, Finland — The young soldiers wear dark camouflage and green and black face paint to blend in with the dense forest common on NATO's eastern flank. These conscripts, members of the 3rd Jaeger Company, a unit within the Finnish Army's Pori Brigade, carry anti-tank missile launchers, large mines, and assault rifles. One soldier looks at a paper map, and another calls in instructions on the radio as they scout out recently seized enemy positions. From the nearby road, they cannot be seen. The Finnish soldiers are conducting surveillance operations, but the enemy is not real. It's part of an exercise simulating their reaction to the capture of a strategic airfield, a critical operation that's an expected element of a Russian invasion. Lively Sabre 25, which took place in southern Finland over the past few days, is an element of NATO's larger Swift Response 25 exercise. This event is a series of joint military drills across the Baltic and Nordic regions designed to facilitate cooperation among allies and deter what they see as a serious Russian threat to the east. During Lively Sabre, a "red team," consisting of Polish airborne forces and Finnish troops, executed a tactical air landing operation at an airstrip in the forest. Paratroopers rapidly seized a strategically located airfield, aiming to hold it and bring in the infantry and heavy weapons to launch a lightning assault from it; Russia used similar tactics in a close battle outside Kyiv in 2022. The 3rd Jaeger Company was part of a "blue team" made up entirely of Finnish troops whose mission was to contain the so-called airhead and then mass strength to retake the site — an operation where time is of the essence. Finland doesn't have an airbone brigade in its military structure, so the exercise is a good opportunity to train on battling paratroopers and learn from skilled professionals — in this case, the Polish forces — how to prepare for a tactical air landing, set up a perimeter around the airfield, and defend the site. Establishing an airhead is not an easy operation, especially in an era of widespread sensors and sophisticated air defenses that can detect and destroy an assault force before it lands. "It's extremely difficult," Col. Matti Honko, the commanding officer of Finland's Guard Jaeger Regiment and the director of Lively Sabre, told Business Insider on the sidelines of the exercise. "There needs to be suppression of the air defense, and there has to be air superiority. You have to be able to actually do lots of things before you can do that." Brig. Gen. Michal Strzelecki, the commander of Poland's 6th Airborne Brigade, which led the tactical air landing, said these operations have become even more difficult now than they were in past years. But having the airborne capabilities is still crucial, especially in the early phases of a conflict, when enemy air defenses aren't necessarily ready. The rapid deployment of troops could make all the difference. "Having that kind of capability is essential," Strzelecki told BI at the Pyhtää airfield. The ability to seize an airstrip and hold the position is important, as is the ability to dislodge it from under enemy control. NATO knows this because Ukraine demonstrated it three years ago, early on in its defense against Russia's full-scale invasion. Russian forces tried to capture the Hostomel airport on the outskirts of Kyiv amid their initial push to capture the Ukrainian capital city. This would have given Moscow a decisive advantage, as the Kremlin could have then airlifted more troops, artillery, and fighting vehicles to strike Kyiv from a minimal distance. Russian helicopters carrying assault troops made an initial assault, but they were met with fierce resistance from Ukraine's military. After hours of heavy fighting and counterattacks, Kyiv eventually controlled the airfield. Swift Response 25, which falls under NATO's larger series of exercises this summer, called Defender, comes as the military alliance grows increasingly concerned with Russia and its behavior across Europe, which Western officials have described as malign and aggressive. Allies, especially those along the northern and eastern flanks, like the Baltic states, are watching the Ukraine war closely. They are investing a lot in their defense capabilities by increasing their military spending, buying up weapons, and reinforcing their borders. European nations are also anxious about US reliability. Finland joined NATO just over two years ago, while Poland has been a member for more than two decades. Both share borders with Russia, so they bring an important perspective to the alliance as countries on its front lines. They are well aware of the Russian threat. Strzelecki said the Lively Sabre exercise helps Poland better integrate its forces with Finland. "Finland is a new member of the alliance, so we want to interact with them, we want to train with them, we want to share our experience and also learn from the Finnish Army," he said. "Finland has a long tradition of defending against possible aggression from their neighbor." Indeed, Russia has recently increased its military presence along its shared 830-mile-long border with Finland. Should a clash occur between NATO and Moscow, the region could become a major hot spot. Honko said Finland's accession to NATO in 2023 has already lifted the threshold of threats, and exercises like Lively Sabre are a key element of deterrence that's needed to avoid a real shooting war. "We are in the first line, but then, I think we have a very long tradition of defending our own area by ourselves, and that hasn't changed. In a way, we are a security provider, and not a security consumer," Honko said. Still, he added, "We need the alliance if the day comes, and we can deal with the problem together." Read the original article on Business Insider
