Screenprint of the Biobased Solutions Catalogue homepage.
A groundbreaking platform aimed at revolutionizing the use of sustainable solutions in the humanitarian and health sectors has been launched, offering a new way to tackle waste and promote eco-friendly products globally. The Biobased Solutions Catalogue, created through the Waste in Humanitarian Operations: Reduction and Minimization (WORM) Project, will help organizations access and utilize bio-based products in critical health and response efforts worldwide.
Tomi Viitala (left), leading tax expert at the Central Chamber of Commerce, and Juho Romakkaniemi, CEO of the Central Chamber of Commerce, at the Central Chamber of Commerce’s Great Tax Day in Helsinki on September 26, 2024. LEHTIKUVA
Finland has placed 32nd out of 70 countries and tax jurisdictions in the newly released Corporate Tax Haven Index, reflecting weaknesses in its tax laws that allow multinational corporations to exploit loopholes and shift profits abroad. The index, published by the Tax Justice Network, assesses how effectively countries prevent corporate tax avoidance. A higher ranking indicates a country is more lenient toward enabling tax avoidance by large corporations.
Malta has long been a home to many expatriates. The island nation lives off of both tourism trade. Because of this, many of those living in the countries are migrants—many of which only live in Malta for a few years before heading back to their home countries.
One big group of people in Malta are Finns who have come to the island to work in the online casino industry. In fact, a large portion of Malta’s BKT specifically comes from gambling. In this article, we take a look at some of the reasons why Malta is such a paradise for the igaming industry and why there are probably going to be big changes coming for the Finns living there.
The goal of the largest Sauna Day of all time was to encourage everyone to take part and share the experience with the world. This joint effort by sauna-loving nations has now become an official Guinness World Record. Photo: Visit Estonia
In a celebration of their shared sauna culture, Estonia and Finland have set a new Guinness World Record for “Most Photos of People in Saunas Posted on Facebook in One Hour.” The event took place on International Sauna Day, June 8, 2024, and saw 3,909 sauna photos uploaded during the designated hour, with 3,602 officially counted towards the record.
Thousands of participants joined the effort, sharing photos of their sauna experiences between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM Finnish and Estonian time.
Toivo Särkkinen won silver in the Chemical Laboratory Technology category. Photo: Skills Finland / Juha Nurminen
At the conclusion of the WorldSkills competition, Finland celebrated a major victory as Toivo Särkkinen secured a silver medal in Chemical Laboratory Technology. Held in Lyon, France, the event is the largest international competition for vocational skills, drawing 1,400 participants from 69 countries.
Särkkinen’s impressive performance included preparing solutions, handling samples, and conducting precise measurements under strict time constraints.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)
As Beijing prepares to host the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) from September 4 to 6, anticipation is high. Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the Forum on Sept. 5 and deliver a keynote speech. Xi already met with Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit.
During the summit, Xi will host a welcome banquet and bilateral events for the leaders of FOCAC’s African members and representatives of relevant African regional organisations and international organisations invited to the summit.
The state of the Baltic Sea remains poor, but improvements may be on the horizon. LEHTIKUVA
The overall condition of the Baltic Sea remains largely poor, with the effects of eutrophication continuing to disrupt marine biodiversity and the food web. However, recent long-term monitoring offers a glimmer of hope, indicating slight improvements in some areas since the last major assessment in 2018.
The Finnish Environment Institute led an extensive assessment of Finland’s marine environment, analyzing data from 2017 to 2022 using over 100 marine management indicators.
A pedestrian is seen crossing a street near the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on July 18, 2024. LEHTIKUVA / AFP
The German economy continues to struggle, with economic output falling by 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo, expressed a bleak outlook, noting that “hardly any improvement is to be expected in the third quarter of 2024 either.” This sentiment is echoed by the results of the ifo Business Climate Index in July.
Ulla Nurmenniemi, executive director of FinnCham China and Pekka Nieminen, the general manager of Glaston Tianjin, shared their views about the opportunities for Finnish companies in China’s further opening-up.
China’s further deepening reforms and opening-up have enhanced Finnish companies’ confidence in the Chinese market. The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization at its third plenary session.
In a special roundtable discussion on ‘World Opportunities in Deepening China’s Reform in the New Era’, Ulla Nurmenniemi, executive director of FinnCham China, and Pekka Nieminen, general manager of Glaston Tianjin, shared their views on the opportunities for Finnish companies in China’s further opening-up.
(FILES) Delegates attend the closing ceremony of the 20th Chinese Communist Party’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 22, 2022. Top Chinese officials gather in Beijing on July 15, 2024, with all eyes on how they might kickstart lacklustre growth at a key political meeting that has traditionally seen officials unveil big-picture economic policy changes. LEHTIKUVA / AFP
The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) commenced its third plenary session in Beijing on Monday morning. This significant event, running until Thursday, is expected to set the direction for China’s further deepening reforms, impacting the country’s economic and social development for years to come. General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a work report and presented a draft decision on further reforms and modernisation, as reported by Xinhua News Agency.
