13.11.26 NEWS ... Elderly residents in Ida-Viru County have lost the right to free bus travel after a pilot project's budget ran out in under two months due to uptake being underestimated.

13.11.26 NEWS ... An outage affecting services provided by Microsoft disrupted operations at numerous Estonian institutions and businesses on Friday, including government agencies, many of which use the company's office software.

13.11.26 NEWS ... Black ice and temperature swings are in the forecast for Estonia in the coming weeks, bringing slippery roads now and the prospect of a colder, snowier spell later this month.

13.11.26 NEWS ... The Health Board has authorized Tallinn Ambulance to operate two reduced-staff nursing ambulance crews during daytime hours in 2027.

13.11.26 NEWS ... Proposed amendments to Estonia's Traffic Act would expand police powers to confiscate noncompliant electric scooters and allow drivers with category B licenses to operate heavier electric vans.

13.11.26 NEWS ... Tallinn's Kanuti Gildi SAAL is hosting a free party symposium on Friday, November 13, blending talks and workshops in English with music, socializing and an early night out.

13.11.26 NEWS ... Growing anxiety over upper secondary school admissions is driving more Estonian ninth-graders to take paid exam preparation courses, raising concerns about unequal access to educational support.

13.11.26 NEWS ... Unclear wording in the Child Protection Act may allow a convicted sex offender to work in a school or kindergarten, on legal expert said, though two ministries disagree.

12.11.26 NEWS ... It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas as the traditional tree arrived at Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats) on Thursday.

12.11.26 NEWS ... More than 125 million text messages may have leaked from the Latvian branch of telecom provider CSC Telecom, potentially affecting people and businesses across the Baltics.

12.11.26 NEWS ... As the nationwide shift to Estonian-language education picks up, southeastern leaders and organizations have pledged to give Võro and Seto a bigger role, including in schools.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Tallinn Administrative Court upheld a claim for damages filed against the Estonian state by businessman Parvel Pruunsild and politician Priit Humal, ordering the state to pay each of them €150,000 in compensation.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Estonian films can still reach Russia through international sales agents and co-production deals, despite efforts to restrict such sales.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Opposition parties do not support next year's draft state budget in its current form and will vote against it in the final vote if necessary.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Communal singing across the Baltics may not be as inclusive today as its reputation suggests, with a new study finding some groups are increasingly left out of the experience.

12.11.26 NEWS ... As scams and fraud schemes continue to proliferate in Estonia, investor and financial literacy advocate Kristi Saare warns that even savvy, experienced investors can be duped.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Rain sleet and snow on the mainland Estonia overnight made roads hazardous Friday morning, prompting the state weather service to issue a warning.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Growing demand for the Cambridge C1 English exam means some Estonian 11th graders may miss out on the final state-funded round as high school seniors get priority access.

12.11.26 NEWS ... About €233 million has gone unpaid by roughly 600–650 companies in three and a half years, the head of the national insolvency service says, following a rise of phoenix schemes.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Interior Minister Igor Taro (Eesti 200) dismisses concerns that residents changing their names or registered ethnicity from Russian to Estonian poses a security threat.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Although Estonia is considered one of the most secular countries in the world today, stories of ghosts, spirits and unexplained experiences have not disappeared. Ülo Valk, professor of Estonian and Comparative Folklore at the University of Tartu, believes the contradiction highlights the vitality and flexibility of Estonian culture.

12.11.26 NEWS ... A draft amendment to the Names Act would remove restrictions on adopting surnames that are either too rare or too common. The Institute of the Estonian Language opposes lifting these restrictions.

12.11.26 NEWS ... Defense Minister Martin Herem said that NATO aircraft were monitoring the situation and Estonia had not authorized the use of its airspace during Ukraine's Wednesday attack on Ust-Luga in Russia.

11.11.26 NEWS ... The South Estonian town of Viljandi has had no parking enforcement officer since June, leaving it tens of thousands of euros short of budgeted fine revenue, Sakala reported.

11.11.26 NEWS ... Technical consultants and apartment associations oppose the government's plan to allocate €160 million in renovation subsidies over the next two years exclusively to prefabricated apartment building renovations.

11.11.26 NEWS ... Police detained 11 people suspected of illegally transporting people across the Estonian border in October. One suspect has already been convicted and begun serving a sentence, while 10 remain in custody.

11.11.26 NEWS ... Latvia's experiment of slashing VAT on food has lowered prices and boosted sales, while Estonian politicians remain divided over a similar move.

11.11.26 NEWS ... The European Commission's proposal to ban social media for children under 13 and require users to be at least 15 to create their own accounts is facing opposition in Estonia.

11.11.26 NEWS ... About 100 of the roughly 500 Estonians defrauded by phone scam ringleader Artur Yermolayev have been identified with the data needed to repay them, and some may be reimbursed this year.

11.11.26 NEWS ... The future of the privately run Käsmu Maritime Museum is uncertain after the state transferred its property to the Estonian Maritime Museum, prompting legal action amid a long-running dispute over land and harbor development.

11.11.26 NEWS ... Nearly 10 percent of Estonia's healthcare needs — almost 300,000 cases of treatment — are unfunded, the new head of the country's largest hospital says.

11.11.26 NEWS ... Residents in a small village in Setomaa, southern Estonia, are having to get used to living between newly dug anti-tank ditches on private land and the border. Locals are concerned about water flowing into the ditches and road access.

11.11.26 NEWS ... Feeding ducks and other birds is contributing to the poor water quality in Tartu's Anne Canal, with bird droppings accounting for most of the pollution, a new study found.

10.11.26 NEWS ... Estonia's centuries-old mardipäev and kadripäev customs were nominated for inclusion on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. A decision is expected in early December.

10.11.26 NEWS ... While many students go abroad on exchange, one young Rapla student chose a different adventure: two weeks at a tiny island school in Kihnu.

10.11.26 NEWS ... Tallinn Zoo has lost its entire collection of an exotic species of pigeon after being killed by two escaped binturongs, Eesti Ekspress reported.

10.11.26 NEWS ... The founder of a new political party representing older people in Estonia wants to give that demographic a voice, and to fund a rise in pensions by boosting the economy and industry.

10.11.26 OPINION ... Debts are meant to be repaid. At least in an ideal world. Yet there are debts that people can legally refuse to pay, but thousands still do so, writes Kaire Sepper.

10.11.26 NEWS ... Tallinn's Christmas tree will be delivered to the Old Town on Thursday (November 12) and decorated over the weekend before the opening of the annual Christmas market at the end of November.

10.11.26 NEWS ... April was the worst month for fraud in Estonia this year, with scammers stealing more than €4 million, including €1.7 million lost by a single company in an invoice fraud scheme known as business email compromise (BEC).

10.11.26 NEWS ... The Estonian Health Insurance Fund has suspended its new appointment reminder service after testing revealed inaccurate patient information and duplicate notifications.

10.11.26 NEWS ... Minister of Economy and Industry Liina Vahtras (Reform) declined to approve a draft regulation introducing Nutri-Score food labeling, citing the need to examine alternatives and address concerns raised by food producers.

10.11.26 NEWS ... A new high school elective launched this week pairs Estonian-speaking teens in Järva County with Narva peers learning Estonian as a second language.

10.11.26 NEWS ... Estonia is considering allowing pharmacy vending machines to provide round-the-clock access to prescription and over-the-counter medications, but pharmacists warn the move could threaten the survival of small rural pharmacies.

10.11.26 NEWS ... Estonia will introduce care coordinators from May 2028 to help people with extensive care needs manage at home, after the Riigikogu social affairs committee discussed the reform.

10.11.26 NEWS ... Seven-time Estonian cubing champion Kaur Tuule says with enough practice and a good grasp of the algorithms, anyone can learn to solve a cube with their eyes closed.

10.11.26 NEWS ... Mardipäev, Martinmas or St. Martin's Day is an Estonian folk calendar holiday held on November 10. The most common tradition includes dressing up as often scary or slightly monstrous beggars and showing up on people's doorsteps singing, dancing, and often playfully flogging the host.

09.11.26 NEWS ... An Estonian teacher in Pärnu says his experience as a single father helps him better understand Ukrainian students separated from their fathers by the war.

09.11.26 NEWS ... A Ministry of Defense review of contracts with ammunition supplier Datasel found shortcomings in background checks, risk assessments and documentation, but no evidence of deliberate concealment or deletion of records.

09.11.26 NEWS ... Tartu has joined an international network launched by Lviv to help European cities learn from Ukraine's wartime lessons in crisis preparedness and urban resilience.