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Finland

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Finland. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Helsinki

Head of State

President Alexander Stubb

Head of Government

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo

last updated:

29 November, 2024

Tourists gather at Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland. Photo: AP

Tourism

Finland’s Santa village brings overtourism to the Arctic Circle

Santa’s ‘hometown’ of Rovaniemi, Lapland joins the ranks of Barcelona and Amsterdam as droves flock there for Christmas. Locals aren’t happy.

15 Dec 2024 - 5:15PM

China-EU relations

China’s Xi vows closer links with Finland on green energy, peace in Ukraine

30 Oct 2024 - 3:23PMvideocam

Banking & finance

Explainer | How 5 international brands are growing in China despite spending downturn

22 Sep 2024 - 11:30AM

Banking & finance

Lululemon leads niche apparel brands defying China’s spending downturn

‘Consumers with real spending power still have a strong demand for products that are high-end, experiential and relatively niche,’ analyst says.

22 Sep 2024 - 9:30AM

Lululemon pants on display in the store in New York City on August 22, 2024. Photo: Bloomberg

Performing arts in Hong Kong

HK Phil’s new season kicks off with 24-year-old Tarmo Peltokoski

Named the orchestra’s music director from 2026-27, the young Finnish conductor begins a new season with a programme of Sibelius and Bruckner

2 Sep 2024 - 12:45PM

ANTA Sports

Anta’s interim profit jumps as its ‘Dragon’ Olympic kit boosted sales

Anta’s red-and-white tracksuit, officially named the ‘Champions Dragon Outfit’, used embossing, patchwork and embroidery to create motifs to represent the scales on the dragon’s skin.

27 Aug 2024 - 10:28PM

Music

Japan’s air guitar queen denied fourth world crown by Canadian

Nanami Nagura of Japan’s campaign for a fourth victory at the Air Guitar World Championships ended after two days of silent shredding with Canada’s Zachary Knowles declared the 2024 winner.

25 Aug 2024 - 2:49PM

Nanami “Seven Seas” Nagura from Japan performs during the final of the 2024 Air Guitar World Championship. Photo: EPA-EFE

Estonia

Finnish PM happy China cooperating in Baltic pipe probe, but ‘case is not closed’

Petteri Orpo was reacting to Beijing’s claim that a Chinese ship had accidentally cut a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia.

15 Aug 2024 - 12:17AM

China-EU relations

Beijing admits Chinese ship destroyed key Baltic gas pipeline ‘by accident’

Beijing passed on findings to Finland and Estonia which are conducting criminal probes into incident involving NewNew Polar Bear: sources.

13 Aug 2024 - 12:06AMvideocam

China trade

China-Finland ties, once tight, losing shape as Russia sanctions erode trade links

As Finland cooperates with European Union sanctions on Russia, its relationship with China has suffered as once-lively trade and travel links show cracks.

13 Jul 2024 - 6:00PMvideocam

Previously robust trade and travel ties between Finland and China are being tested, as the European country’s participations in sanctions against Russia have cut off some of its links to the East Asian powerhouse. Photo: Shutterstock

Joe Biden

Highlights from Biden’s news conference, where he vowed to remain in the race

US Joe Biden faced a test hat he had avoided so far this year – a solo news conference with questions from the White House press corps. Here are some key takeaways.

12 Jul 2024 - 11:38AMvideocam

US President Joe Biden at his closely watched press conference. Photo: Reuters

Nato

At Nato summit conclusion, Biden warns China’s Xi of ‘price’ over aid to Russia

Secretary general assails authoritarian regimes and Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong, South China Sea and Taiwan.

12 Jul 2024 - 4:03PMvideocam

US-China relations

Ice Pact: US, Canada and Finland sign shipbuilding deal in challenge to China

Trilateral agreement announced at the Nato summit will see collaboration on the building of polar icebreakers.

11 Jul 2024 - 10:57PMvideocam

Donald Trump

US intelligence official indicates Russia prefers Trump as election victor

Russia is undertaking a ‘whole of government approach’ to influence the US election in November, official says.

10 Jul 2024 - 12:57PMvideocam

Donald Trump dances at a campaign rally in Doral, Florida on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Ukraine war

Mood ahead of Nato summit in US ‘gloomy’ amid Russia war gains

‘Russia is today in a situation which is quite comfortable,’ a European official said, as leaders meet in the shadow of setbacks in Ukraine.

7 Jul 2024 - 3:43PMvideocam

A residential area during an electricity blackout in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 4, following Russian rocket and drone shelling of critical infrastructure. Photo: EPA-EFE

Nato

Threats from Putin, Xi will be a focus of upcoming Nato summit

The defence alliance, which is marking its 75th anniversary, will address the war in Ukraine and China’s role in bolstering Moscow, says senior US official.

6 Jul 2024 - 5:54AMvideocam

119

Performing arts in Hong Kong

HK Phil appoints Finnish conductor, 24, as next music director

Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski says he ‘couldn’t ask for more in an orchestra’, praising its ‘very high level’ as he is named music director of Hong Kong Philharmonic at 24 years old.

4 Jul 2024 - 8:23PM

China-Russia relations

Why Russia is ‘significantly more motivated’ than China to develop Arctic route

Moscow is keen to develop the Northern Sea Route to counteract sanctions, and is ‘significantly more motivated than China’.

2 Jul 2024 - 5:10PMvideocam

Russia is looking for ways to boost the amount of shipping using the Arctic. Photo: Shutterstock

Offbeat

‘So much bullying and judgment’: hobby horse riders on their sport

The 2024 Finnish Hobbyhorse Championships saw some 260 people from 22 countries take part in show jumping and dressage competitions, but riders say they have faced a difficult track on the way.

29 Jun 2024 - 1:15PMvideocam

Singapore

Singapore outranks Japan for world’s most powerful passport in 2024

Singapore passport holders have the most flexibility for travel worldwide, with the ability to visit 195 countries without a visa.

29 Jun 2024 - 11:02PMvideocam

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Golfer Tan makes Olympic history for Singapore, secures spot at Paris Games

Tan will be first golfer from the Lion City to play at a Games, while Amy Yang will represent South Korea after winning her first major.

4 Jul 2024 - 4:02PM

Shannon Tan in action during the Ladies Italian Open this month. Photo: Ladies European Tour

Extreme fitness

F1 star Bottas among those embracing fast-growing sport of gravel riding

Thirty-four cyclists competed in the first edition of Dirty Kanza in 2006 – this year 5,000 riders started the race, now renamed Unbound Gravel, with many more left out.

24 Jun 2024 - 3:08PM

When Valtteri Bottas is not driving his Formula One car, he can often be found racing on his gravel bike. Photo: EPA

Euro 2024

Hungary’s Varga in stable condition after serious injury against Scotland

Forward is likely to undergo surgery after fracturing several bones in his face in a clash with Scotland’s goalkeeper late in the teams’ final group match, which was halted for almost 10 minutes.

24 Jun 2024 - 12:41PM

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong visitors to EU will need travel authorisation from next year

But EU border control officials say system easy to use and will only take ‘about a few minutes’ to complete.

19 Jun 2024 - 2:25PM

European Union

EU leaders see top jobs deal returning von der Leyen by end June

Consensus builds that Ursula von der Leyen would get a second term, other top EU jobs go to Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas.

18 Jun 2024 - 2:35PMvideocam

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Amazon

Groups call on EU not to discriminate US tech giants in cybersecurity

Industry groups say it was crucial that their members have access to a diverse range of cloud technologies.

17 Jun 2024 - 2:59PM

Industry groups warn that a proposed EU cybersecurity certification scheme for cloud services should not discriminate against tech giants. Photo: dpa

US-China relations

Mainland China’s security focus may indicate plans for Taiwan attack: analysts

Witnesses tell US-China Economic and Security Review Commission that many recent reforms prioritised by Beijing can have dual purposes.

14 Jun 2024 - 10:42PMvideocam

US-China relations

New US wave of Ukraine sanctions includes targets in Hong Kong, mainland China

‘We are increasing the risk for financial institutions dealing with Russia’s war economy and eliminating paths for evasion,’ US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says.

13 Jun 2024 - 4:06AMvideocam

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