SOME OF THE BEST GAMERS ON THE PLANET descended on the Finnish capital today in the hopes of playing their way to a $25,000 (22,000 EUR) grand prize. 

TEENAGE CLIMATE ACTIVIST GRETA THUNBERG offered a scathing rebuke to world leaders at the UN Climate Summit in New York last night, stating that they "are failing us" in their response to climate change. Her outspoken speech to delegates rapidly went viral around the world today.

14-year-old Finnish guitar prodigyJuho Ranta-Maunus has won the title of Young Guitarist of the Year 2020 in an annual competition held by music magazine Guitar World. According to the magazine, “young guitarist” was the most hotly contested category this year.

Ranta-Maunus hails from Seinäjoki (South Ostrobothnia) and began playing the guitar at the young age of eight. His playing style is heavily influenced by progressive rock and metal. 

Police have arrested 17 people for flouting regulations and disobeying orders at two anti-coronavirus restrictions protests that took place in Helsinki last weekend. 

Protestors gathered at separate demonstrations at the Senate Square and the Helsinki Central Station on Sunday afternoon. The former, which did not acquire the necessary permissions from police and was subsequently deemed illegal, had around 200–300 people. 

LAURA KUKKONEN, AN 18-YEAR-OLD musical talent and Helsinki native, took to the stage at the Hollywood Bowl last night to take first place at a global violin championship. The 'Play with Ray' competition gave three talented finalists the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles to play on stage alongside world-renowned violin master Ray Chen.

17 STUDENTS AND FOUR TEACHERS at a school in Porvoo have entered quarantine after it emerged that a fellow student they had been in close contact with has tested positive for the coronavirus. 

A TOTAL OF 24 UNACCOMPANIED MINORS have arrived in Finland this week, after being relocated from refugee camps in Greece as part of a deal agreed with the European Commission and EU member states to accept more asylum seekers. 

MORE THAN 50,000 ENROLLED ONTO DUOLINGO'S FINNISH LANGUAGE COURSE within the first four days of it going live last week, according to a press release from Duolingo's representatives. 

SOME OF THE BIGGEST STARS of online streaming platforms such as Youtube, Twitch, Tik Tok, and podcasting are in the Finnish capital this weekend, along with 17,000 of their biggest fans. 

THE FAR-RIGHT GOVERNMENT OF HUNGARY has launched further verbal attacks on Finland, continuing months of hostile language from the Orban administration in response to Finland's strong stance against Hungary's clampdown on civil liberties and an escalating corruption situation. 

A TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR ON FRIDAY that resulted in close to an entire month's worth of rain hitting the Greater Helsinki region has paralysed public transport and caused significant disruption across the city. 

Aalto University has introduced a free online course aimed at equipping foreign students and jobseekers with the tools they need to navigate the challenges of working life and build a career in Finland. 

A key aim of the course, which is titled Finland Works, is to encourage international students residing in Finland to remain in the country by helping them get a foothold in the job market. 

According tobudget proposals by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Finance, funding for new academic and research projects next year will be around 50 million euros less than this year.  

The Minister of Science and CultureAntti Kurvinen told the Finnish News Agency (STT) that while ongoing research will receive sufficient funding, decreased income from the state-owned gambling monopoly Veikkaus will adversely affect any new project proposals from 2022 onwards.

A NEW WIDE-RANGING STUDY INTO THE SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWINGS of some of the world's wealthiest and most influential business people has revealed that in some cases, close to half of their Twitter followers are fake accounts. 

The resultsof the latest wastewater study by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) indicates that amphetamine use in the country is rising at an alarming rate, particularly in the Helsinki metropolitan area. 

There has been a fivefold increase in the use of the substance since the institute first began monitoring drug habits through wastewater analysis in 2012. 

A DRONE ATTACK ON AN ARAMCO facility in Saudi Arabia which has sent oil prices soaring has triggered global fears of an imminent recession. The attack, believed to have been launched by Houthi militia fighters in Yemen, instantly knocked out a facility responsible for producing 5% of the world's daily oil supply. 

According tothe Finnish National Infectious Diseases Register, approximately 200 people in the country have contracted the COVID-19 virus after being vaccinated for the same. 

Hanna Nohynek, chief physician at the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) told MTV that it is difficult to determine the exact number of infections, as many of those who were inoculated could have mild symptoms and may be unaware that they have the virus.

According to a report by Yle, at least a hundred children have been hospitalised after they contracted diarrhea from food contaminated with salmonella in Central Finland. The trend, which is especially common in small children, has become increasingly frequent since last week. 

A majority of the cases are from the city of Jyväskylä; however, the children’s unit of the Central Finland Healthcare District has been treating patients with symptoms of salmonella infection from various parts of the region. 

STT reportsthat Baltic countries are facing record levels of hospitalisations and deaths due to the COVID-19 virus. In an interview with television channel TV3, Latvia’s Minister for HealthDaniels Pavluts revealed that the number of COVID-19 hospital patients in the country jumped to over 1,400 on Monday—the highest recorded so far.

Pavluts stated that if the burden on Latvia’s health system continues to grow, the country will require foreign aid, which would include bringing in healthcare staff from abroad and transporting intensive care patients to other countries if necessary.