Military spending dropped in 2012 thanks to deep cuts in the United States and Europe, which made up for increases in countries such as China and Russia. Military expenditure as a whole fell 0.5% to $1.75 trillion last year in the first decline in real terms since 1998. Today’s graphic breaks down military spending by region and shows the top spenders by value and percent of GDP.

China has become the world’s fifth-largest arms exporter, its highest ranking since the Cold War, with Pakistan being the main recipient. According to SIPRI, China replaced Britain in the top five arms-dealing countries between 2008 and 2012, a group dominated by the United States and Russia, which accounted for 30% and 26% of weapons exports. Today’s graphic shows the world’s largest arms exporters and importers.

A newly discovered asteroid about half the size of a football field will pass nearer to Earth than any other known object of its size today. The asteroid, named 2012 DA14, is apparently unrelated to the meteorite that exploded over Russia earlier this morning. Today’s graphic shows the trajectory of the 2012 DA14 asteroid.

24 Jan 2013Audrey Scarff

Here is a round up of TV coverage from Day 1 at Davos:

Europe: A key topic for discussion is the state of the economic crisis in the European Union.

Italy’s Minister of Economic Development, Corrado Passera, talks about the challenges Italy faces in order to grow its economy: (more…)

Highlights from Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos include discussions with policy makers, top executives and thought leaders from around the globe.

Follow live coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

By Tim Heritage, Bureau Chief, Russia, CIS and Central Europe

10 Oct 2012Thomson Reuters

Twenty top-level speakers including policy makers, CEOs and oligarchs visited our offices in Moscow during the fifth Reuters Russia Investment Summit to speak on topics ranging from the state of Russia’s economy and the dangers facing Vladimir Putin, to the problems faced by those who are critical of the president. For a summary recap report of the Summit, click here.

Highlights of the Reuters Russia Investment Summit included: (more…)

20 Sep 2012Thomson Reuters

What are the risks and the opportunities of investing in Russia today?

Russia, as always, poses a riddle to investors: Even as high prices for oil – its main export – are keeping the $1.9 trillion economy afloat and the budget in surplus, stocks languish at a 50% discount to other emerging markets and capital continues to flee the country, reflecting deep concern about the future of the world’s largest country and oil producer. Although Vladimir Putin exudes strength as a leader, the lack of political choice suggests that Russia’s veneer of stability is fragile.

How the Russian economy and business will fare as the West grapples with its debt crisis will be among the topics discussed at the Reuters Russia Investment Summit, where our journalists will interview some of the country’s most influential entrepreneurs, executives and policy makers. (more…)

With anticipation growing for the London 2012 Olympics, today’s graphic looks at the three big winners from the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The medal recipients were dominated by the world super powers: United States, China and Russia. See which five events each country was most successful in as well as the total number of metals won overall. How do you think these countries will fare in the 2012 London Olympics?

For all the latest Olympics news, make sure to check out the Reuters Olympics landing page, Facebook page and follow the conversation on Twitter. You can also follow all the action on our iOS device with the Reuters Olympics London 2012 mobile app.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an executive order in May aimed at further upgrading state policy in education and science to help the country better meet the demands of the innovation economy.

11 Jul 2012Thomson Reuters

In addition to an increase in funding for state research foundations and more spending on research and development, the order called for Russian researchers to increase their share of publications in the international scientific journals indexed in Web of Science.

Part of the Web of Knowledge platform, Web of Science provides access to citations databases and is primarily used by researchers, administrators, faculty and students. Its content includes coverage of the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities in more than 12,000 journals worldwide.

“We have worked for about three years to influence departments in the Ministry and the Russian Academic of Science,” explained Vice President of Sales Erik-Jan Van-Kleef. “Pavel Kasyanov – Country Manager for Scientific & Scholarly Research – and I lobbied to show them that Web of Science is the superior reference and gold standard. Over the years, we built a relationship by managing lots of demonstrations and organizing a workshop at the Russian Academy of Sciences.” (more…)

Today’s graphic compares the G8 economies with three important indicators. See how the countries match up with regard to GDP growth (Q4 2011), government debt (as a % of GDP) and military spending (% of gov’t expenditure). Do any of the figures in this chart stand out or surprise you?