17.08.22 NEWS ... Tallinn Maritime Days (Tallinna Merepäevad) take place later on in the month and will bring a wide selection of vessels large and small to the Estonian capital.

17.08.22 NEWS ... The Estonian Competition Authority (ECA) on Wednesday launched an investigation into the record high exchange rate for electricity to see whether or not it was the result of market manipulation.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Estonian Navy (Merevägi) conscripts swapped the open water for the more enclosed environment of the Estonian forest in a recent training exercise.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Thousands of jellyfish have visited Estonia's shores this month due to the unusually hot August weather.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Although Elering has an emergency standby power plant in Kiisa, it cannot be used to mitigate record high electricity prices, because the system operator does not participate in the electricity market and the emergency plant is only intended to replace regular power plants in the event of an unexpected failure.

17.08.22 NEWS ... One of the factors contributing to the record-high cost of electricity in Estonia on Wednesday is the repairs currently underway on several energy blocks at the power plants in Narva. While two blocks will be restarted within the next few days, Auvere Power Plant is also slated to be shut down for a month of repairs this fall.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Estonia will be able to bar entry to Russians with Schengen visas issued by other EU Member States as the EU's treaties allow such a step, Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsau (Isamaa) said on Wednesday.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Sessions at Narva council chambers which were held this week regarding the removal of the controversial tank monument were mostly conducted in the Russian-language rather than in Estonian, a situation which baffles Ilmar Tomusk, Director General of the Estonian Language Inspectorate (Keeleinspektsioon).

17.08.22 NEWS ... A court has set a date of November 11 for the first hearing in a corruption case concerning allegations of influence peddling at a Tallinn real estate development which engulfed the Center Party, and led to the collapse of the Center/EKRE/Isamaa coalition early in 2021.

17.08.22 OPINION ... Through all the new manifestations of Russian imperialism, a defiant idea has been forming in the minds of many Estonians: this time, we will fight back. The Russian empire may still be stronger than us, and war is never pretty. But we have nothing to lose and we will fight back no matter what. The removal of the [Narva] tank is only a small part of that same preparedness, Ilmar Raag writes.

17.08.22 NEWS ... More than 2,000 people will take part in the University of Tartu's latest coronavirus prevalence study which starts today (August 17). The survey will give an overview of the situation in Estonia before the school year starts.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Monday marked the gala premiere of "Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost," the second movie in a trilogy based on the medieval crime bestsellers by bestselling Estonian author Indrek Hargla. "The Ghost" will hit theaters nationwide by Friday.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Following record-shattering average and peak hourly prices on Wednesday, the average price of electricity in Estonia is to decrease €555.18 per megawatt-hour on Thursday, peaking at €667.04 in the afternoon, according to Nord Pool's day ahead prices* for August 18.

17.08.22 NEWS ... This July, electricity producers linked to Estonian network operator Elektrilevi's grid provided the network with nearly 87 gigawatt-hours of electricity. Elektrilevi also received record numbers of connection applications from solar electricity producers last month.

17.08.22 NEWS ... While there were likely to be minor incidents in Narva on Tuesday evening following the removal of the Soviet tank monument, and of other Soviet-era monuments in the vicinity, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) had no information that any major disturbances would happen, the authority's director general, Elmar Vaher, forecast – and indeed turned out to be correct about.

17.08.22 NEWS ... The Minister of Health and Labor Peep Peterson has signed a decree increasing the beginner's allowance for medical specialists working outside of Tallinn, Tartu or the local governments immediately neighboring thereto.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Estonian and Latvian ministers met in Tartu on Tuesday to discuss transport connections between the countries, including a train connection between Tartu and Riga and Rail Baltic.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Today's record high electricity stock exchange price is due to a number of factors coinciding at the same time and all options to increase imports are exhausted, Nord Pool said on Tuesday.

17.08.22 NEWS ... In the first half of 2022, Estonia collected a combined €24 million in tax revenue from e-residents, exceeding last year's record numbers by 85 percent.

17.08.22 NEWS ... The 'Narva tank' is now inside a hangar at the national war museum in Viimsi, near Tallinn, after its removal Tuesday, and while much of the focus on events dealt with political aspects, the museum's chief noted that, at 30 tonnes, the logistical side was noteworthy too.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Minister of Economic Affairs Riina Sikkut sent a draft decree to the ministries for approval that establishes a framework for auctions of offshore wind farm building licenses.

17.08.22 NEWS ... By 2035, all new cars sold in the European Union will be electric. Although electric vehicles (EVs) account only for 3 percent of car sales in Estonia today, car dealers say that sales are steadily rising.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Following an unsuccessful visual search of the green area where the bite occurred, a common European viper to bite a Tallinn resident walking their dogs in Kristiine District last week has yet to be found.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Minister of Culture Piret Hartman (SDE) said on the "Vikerhommik" radio show that many people in Narva are asking what comes next, following the removal of the "Tank T-34" monument.

17.08.22 NEWS ... While the operation to remove the Soviet-era tank monument from its location just outside the eastern Estonian town of Narva, along with the removal of other Soviet-era monuments and memorials in the area, was logistically speaking a complex task, it was good job well done, and conducted professionally, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) says.

17.08.22 ECONOMY ... Those electricity consumers who are not on a fixed-price contract with their supplier should sign up to a universal service instead, Kalev Kallemets, board chair at energy company Fermi Energia, says, adding that Wednesday's record price per hour of €4,000 per Megawatt-hour will not be the last time such figures are experienced.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Recent polls saw support for the Conservative People's Party (EKRE) grow slightly, while that of the ruling Reform Party shrank.

17.08.22 NEWS ... Tuesday night passed largely peacefully at the site just outside Narva where a Soviet-era tank monument was removed from its plinth earlier in the day, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) says, with members of the public congregating both at the tank's former location and elsewhere remaining under control.

17.08.22 NEWS ... The Estonian Gas Association (Gaasiliit) and the largest natural gas distributor network operator in Estonia, AS Gaasivõrk, argued that the new draft bill regarding natural gas emergency cut-off prioritization is imprecisely phrased, and puts tasks on network operators that are beyond the scope of their competence.

16.08.22 GALLERIES ... A collision involving a truck and a tram at around 5 p.m. Tuesday caused services on the number 2 and number 4 tram line along Tartu maantee in Tallinn to come to a halt.

16.08.22 NEWS ... 14 of Estonia's top chefs have offered to mentor new and enthusiastic cooks in a bid to inspire the next generation of culinary enthusiasts.

16.08.22 NEWS ... The winner of a competition to name a recent addition to Tallinn Zoo, a female two-toed sloth, has been announced.

16.08.22 NEWS ... 'Treski Thrill' a festival of music and inspiration took place for the first time this weekend in Setomaa, southern Estonia. The three day festival, which kicked off on August 12, featured live performances from top Estonian acts including NÖEP, Lexsoul Dancemachine, Tõnu Tubli and Daniel Levi as well as a special inspiration program with saunas, ice baths and coaching workshops.

16.08.22 NEWS ... Since the Estonian War Museum (Eesti sõjamuuseum) already has a Soviet T-34 tank in its collection, and given the tensions surrounding the fate of the Narva tank of the same model, until Tuesday a war memorial in the eastern city, relocating it to Viimsi is inappropriate, the municipal council chair Lauri Hussar (Eesti 200) says.

16.08.22 NEWS ... Finland will reduce the number of visas it issues to Russian citizens by 90 percent, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto said on Tuesday, public broadcaster Yle reported.

16.08.22 NEWS ... The City of Tartu is gifting three county buses to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where the buses will be used primarily to transport children.

16.08.22 NEWS ... Police in Estonia have detained eight people during the removal of several Soviet monuments in Narva on Tuesday, confirmed Narva Police Station Chief Indrek Püvi.

16.08.22 NEWS ... The situation on Estonia's labor market remained favorable in the second quarter of 2022, with employment as well as the number of people receiving declared wages both up. War refugees from Ukraine have begun working and seeking work on the Estonian labor market as well, the Bank of Estonia said.

16.08.22 NEWS ... MEP Yana Toom (Center, ALDE), who is in Narva-Jõesuu today, told Vikerraadio in an interview that people come up to her on the street to express how disgusted they feel over the tank monument's removal. Toom said that recent years' efforts at integration in Narva have been nullified.

16.08.22 ECONOMY ... A total of 1,016 births, 460 girls and 556 boys, were registered in Estonia in July, the Ministry of the Interior says, down 14.9 percent on the same month in 2021. The number of marriages reported stood at 1,153, up 7 percent, while 1,312 deaths were reported for the month, a fall of 2 percent on year.

16.08.22 OPINION ... Tanks are not needed to remember the fallen when there are graves and graveyards, President Alar Karis said on Tuesday, after the removal of the Soviet T-34 tank monument from Narva. Karis believes a line should now be drawn under the issue.

16.08.22 NEWS ... Minister of Culture Piret Hartman (SDE) will visit Narva on Wednesday to discuss the future development of the city and Ida-Viru County.

16.08.22 NEWS ... The Soviet T-34 tank monument, which was removed from Narva on Tuesday morning, arrived at the Estonian War Museum in Viimsi at approximately 3 p.m.

16.08.22 NEWS ... The average price of electricity in Estonia is to increase to €682.05 per megawatt-hour on Wednesday, peaking at a record €4,000 per megawatt-hour Wednesday evening, according to Nord Pool's day-ahead prices* for August 17.

16.08.22 NEWS ... The music program for this year's Station Narva has been announced. The now annual music and city festival, which this year takes place for the fifth time on September 8-11 in Narva, will include live performances from Ukrainian electro-folk band ONUKA, British instrumental acid jazz trio Red Snapper, alongside recently reformed Estonian hip-hop legends A-Rühm and prog-rockers Mahavok.

16.08.22 NEWS ... Toward the start of the year, Estonia's power distribution network operator Elering asked the government for €55 million to develop new grid connection capacity. The government allocated just €8 million.

16.08.22 NEWS ... A controversial Soviet-era tank monument was removed by government order from its plinth in the eastern city of Narva on Tuesday after several weeks of discussion. It has now been moved to the Estonian War Museum in Viimsi.

16.08.22 NEWS ... A public fundraising drive to buy a Bayraktar combat drone for Ukraine has been started in Latvia, public broadcaster LSM reported on Tuesday. The target is €5 million.

16.08.22 NEWS ... As of Monday morning, a total of 136 people in Estonia are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. In all, 4,157 new cases of COVID were diagnosed last week, and another just under 2,000 new lab-confirmed cases can be expected this week, the Health Board said in its weekly forecast.

16.08.22 NEWS ... The situation in Narva is calm and there is no need to ban the sale of alcohol or close the border with Russia, said Tarvo Kruup, prefect of the Police and Border Guard Board's eastern region, on Tuesday.