HELSINKI, April 23 (Reuters) – Finland will increase defence spending to 3.2% of gross domestic product by 2030, the government said, as it decided to cut other expenditure and drafted its budget for the next four years. Finland’s economy has been ailing since neighbouring Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, prompting Helsinki…
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has met European Union representatives to discuss opportunities for cooperation, with the chief executive saying both sides highlighted a shared belief in multilateralism amid increasing tensions and market turmoil. Ambassador Harvey Rouse, head of the EU Office in Hong Kong, called for both sides to work together, describing the…
Minna Honkanen could not have anticipated the seismic events that would grip Hong Kong after she decided to try her luck there in early 2019. Two months after she arrived, unprecedented social unrest engulfed the city, followed immediately by the coronavirus pandemic, which shut borders and restricted travel for more than two years. Least of…
Alongside death and taxes, there are few things more universally certain than corruption in public procurement. That is a reality worth keeping front of mind in Hong Kong as we home in on those we want to blame for the tragic Wang Fuk Court fire that in November killed at least 161 people and left…
A massive fire engulfed the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong on Wednesday, sparking discussions about the potential for new firefighting technologies to boost rescue capabilities. It was Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in recent decades, as fire rapidly spread across seven adjoining residential blocks covered in bamboo scaffolding. Residential high-rises are closely clustered…
China submitted the highest number of patent applications in 2024, leading global intellectual property activity, a new report shows. A total of 1.8 million patent applications were filed in China last year, accounting for nearly half of the global total and more than three times the number submitted to the United States, according to the…
Home » America Travel News » Finland, Japan, United States, United Kingdom: Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2026 Highlights Stunning Global Destinations for Adventure Seekers Published on October 25, 2025 In the ever-evolving world of travel, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2026 offers a carefully curated list of 25 must-visit destinations and 25…
China topped the world in knowledge and technology outputs this year in a leading innovation index, driven in large part by its scientific productivity, patent applications and hi-tech exports. Despite its strong showing in sci-tech output, China came in 10th overall in the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo)’s annual Global Innovation Index (GII) released last…
The meeting was supposed to be the prelude to the purchase of Finnish icebreaker ships. But as United States President Donald Trump welcomed Finland’s President Alexander Stubb to the Oval Office on Thursday, he veered into a discussion of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) — and his ongoing feud with one of its members,…
A Finnish newspaper has reported growing security concerns in the country over the Chinese ownership of a firm that operates underwater data cables in the Baltic Sea. Helsingin Sanomat reported that there was increased scrutiny over the Chinese state-owned firm Citic Telecom CPC, through its subsidiaries, owning the three telecommunications cables linking Finland, Estonia, and…