30.11.21 CORONAVIRUS ... Around a quarter-of-a-million disposed medical masks have been collected under a recycling scheme in Tallinn, in the five months of the project's operation.

30.11.21 NEWS ... The Competition Authority (Konkurentsiamet) says it will investigate the circumstances of the temporary closure of a major cinema complex during the festive season, fearing that the move might not be for the reason given – that cinema-goer numbers were small along with the effects of Covid restrictions – and was instead a way of getting around anti-trust regulations in Estonia. At the same time, the cinema itself says it may look at alternative ownership arrangements.

30.11.21 ECONOMY ... While worldwide coronavirus spread and the accompanying restrictions swept the ground from under the feet of many companies, clinical laboratory SYNLAB has seen its profits go up five-fold during the pandemic.

30.11.21 NEWS ... Head of the Ülemiste shopping mall in Tallinn, Guido Pärnits, said that both consumer interest in expenses, and the low reference base compared with the pre-crisis period, plus the released pension funds following reforms which came into effect at the start of this year, are behind the recent retail trade growth. Retailers are also optimistic about the coming months and consider delivery difficulties and growing expenses more likely developments than declining consumer interest.

30.11.21 NEWS ... The government is not currently considering adding dental care to the list of services reimbursed by the Health Insurance Fund, but there are several plans on the table to make expensive dental treatments cheaper for people, Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik (Center) said.

30.11.21 ECONOMY ... The third attempt of selling the T1 Mall of Tallinn is set to begin on Wednesday with five companies registering to bid for the bankrupt shopping center by the deadline on Tuesday.

30.11.21 NEWS ... Minister of Defense Kalle Laanet (Reform) and Estonian Defense Forces commander Lt. Gen. Martin Herem spoke with restraint about the Riigikogu's national defense committee's a proposal to take out a defense loan to develop a medium-range air defense system.

30.11.21 ECONOMY ... Siim Raie has announced his resignation as director of the National Heritage Board (Muinsuskaitseamet), after seven years on the job. The decision was a mutual one between him and the culture ministry, he told ERR's culture portal.

30.11.21 NEWS ... Lawyer of Estonia's former Minister of Education and Research Mailis Reps said in an interview with Kuku Raadio that the prosecutor's office has not been very objective in drawing up the charges and claimed that the prosecutor's office's bias stands out in many aspects.

30.11.21 NEWS ... On Sunday, the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK) named a new church government, tasked with executing the decisions of the church council.

30.11.21 CORONAVIRUS ... A Tallinn cafe has been ordered to close for business, due to non-compliance with coronavirus restrictions. Cafe staff had been instructed to not check customers' coronavirus certification and identity, ERR reports.

30.11.21 OPINION ... We live in a time of fast change, a smart world with an information space where we can understand that some things may bot continue to grow, and some things may diminish, historian and ERR science editor Maarja Merivoo-Parro said in a speech before the Riigikogu on the Day of Perpetual Estonian Nationhood – a day where Estonia has now been independent for longer than it labored under Soviet occupation.

30.11.21 NEWS ... Refugees from Syria, Iran and Turkey visited ETV's talk show "Hommik Anuga" over the weekend to speak about why they had to leave their home countries and why they chose Estonia. They said Estonians' fear of refugees is understandable.

30.11.21 NEWS ... The Riigikogu will start discussing Estonia's positions on the climate package 'Fit for 55' which the government approved last week.

30.11.21 NEWS ... The economic growth of 8.6 percent registered in Estonia for the third quarter of 2021 fell short of the expectations of analysts, who estimated at the end of last week that the growth in Estonia's gross domestic product (GDP) would come close to 10 percent.

30.11.21 NEWS ... An aging population and its concentration in bigger cities such as Tallinn and Tartu forces a review the current hospital network. As a result, it may be possible that in a few decades from now, treatment at the current level may be suspended in the smaller counties.

30.11.21 CORONAVIRUS ... In relation to the worldwide spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, the government cabinet decided on Tuesday to impose a testing requirement on eight Southern African countries, along with Egypt and Turkey.

30.11.21 CULTURE ... The third Eesti Laul quarter final heat takes place this Saturday and will be broadcast live by ETV. This time, all entries will have their lyrics in foreign languages – in practice entirely in English. Eesti Laul is Estonia's annual competition to pick its entry into the Eurovision Song Contest.

30.11.21 ECONOMY ... According to a Transport Administration regulation, the total number of kilometers for bus routes in all Estonian counties must be reduced by 2 percent. This could lead to underused county bus routes being closed down.

30.11.21 ECONOMY ... Turnover of retail trade enterprises stood at €784 million in October, state agency Statistics Estonia reports.

30.11.21 NEWS ... Fifty members of the Estonian Defense Forces are preparing to go to Poland to help repair a 40-km stretch of the Polish-Belarusian border.

30.11.21 NEWS ... Citing a sharp rise in the price of electricity, Elektrilevi OU, the distribution network company of Estonia's state-owned Eesti Energia Group, will raise the average price of network services by 3 percent from March 1, 2022.

30.11.21 CORONAVIRUS ... As of Tuesday morning, 296 coronavirus patients are being treated in hospitals across Estonia and 724 new cases were recorded in the last day, data from the Health Board shows. There were two deaths.

30.11.21 CORONAVIRUS ... Narva Hospital has put the brakes on its vaccination bus service, since there were too few people using it and maintenance got too costly for the hospital.

30.11.21 NEWS ... British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss discussed regional security with Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets (Center) during a visit to Tallinn on Tuesday.

30.11.21 ECONOMY ... The availability of living spaces in Tallinn is set to worsen in the future, experts believe. Entrepreneurs are preparing by developing rental houses and apartment buildings in the capital city, which is not too profitable of a step, but it does ensure stable cash flow.

30.11.21 CORONAVIRUS ... The foreign ministry has issued a statement advising against travel both to South Africa and the southern African region, following a joint decision made by European Union member states in the wake of the Omicron coronavirus strain detected in South Africa late last week.

30.11.21 CORONAVIRUS ... Head of the government's scientific council Irja Lutsar said the experts do not support easing restrictions in Estonia. They recommended the government start testing travelers arriving from Southern African countries.

30.11.21 NEWS ... Tuesday, November 30 has been declared a national flag day. The event, dubbed the Day of Perpetual Estonian Nationhood, is new in that it marks parity between the amount of time Estonia has been an independent country, and the amount of time it was under Soviet and Nazi occupation – a little over half a century each.

30.11.21 ECONOMY ... Estonia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 8.6 percent on year to the third quarter of 2021 (Q3 2021), state agency Statistics Estonian reports.

30.11.21 NEWS ... Drivers who still have summer tires fitted to their cars are being advised to keep their vehicles off the roads after several days of heavy snowfall.

30.11.21 ECONOMY ... Enefit Green, the renewable subsidiary of state-owned energy group Eesti Energia, has announced a public procurement to acquire solar panels with the tender estimated to cost €100 million.

29.11.21 NEWS ... Estonia should cautiously move "step by step" towards recognizing Taiwan, Riigikogu member Madis Milling (Reform) said on Monday during a working visit to the island. Opening a Taiwanese representation in Estonia could become a long-term goal.

29.11.21 NEWS ... The European Union's new package of Belarus sanctions should enter into force on Thursday (December 2), Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets (Center) said on Monday.

29.11.21 CULTURE ... British electronic music band Jungle is set to perform at the Noblessner Foundry in May next year as part of its tour for the "Loving in Stereo" album.

29.11.21 ECONOMY ... Although the coronavirus is still ongoing, new records are being set in different areas every week, even exceeding pre-crisis period results. Estonians are living better than ever, but it's important to ask when will the bubble break.

29.11.21 NEWS ... U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Latvia this week to participate in the NATO foreign ministers meeting, the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn said on Monday.

29.11.21 CULTURE ... The Grand Prix of the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) was won by "Dear Thomas", a film by German director Andreas Kleinert, which tells the story of Thomas Brasch, a writer and filmmaker, who was persecuted in East Germany.

29.11.21 NEWS ... The current record-breaking tariffs for electricity are in no way specific to Estonia, state-owned company Eesti Energia has said. Prices are at a very high level across Europe due to increased demand caused by cold weather.

29.11.21 SPORTS ... Estonian national mixed doubles curling team Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill went undefeated to take victory at a World Cup event held in Riga over the weekend.

29.11.21 NEWS ... Lawmakers from the Baltic states met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday in a sign of further cooperation between European Union nations and Taiwan.

29.11.21 NEWS ... The government approved €30 million in supplemental budget resources to improve ventilation systems in schools and kindergartens, but local municipality governments will only allocate €13.4 million to ventilation systems, spending the rest on sidewalks and street lighting.

29.11.21 NEWS ... Former Minister of Education and Research Mailis Reps (Center) has been charged with fraud and embezzlement by the Public Prosecutor's Office. It is alleged she spent approximately €7,500 of ministry money as her own.

29.11.21 NEWS ... A National Audit Office (Riigikontroll) audit shows that more than 40 percent of the adult population has not been to a dentist in five years. This shows that the goals of the dental care benefits system established in 2017 have not realized, as €40 yearly is not enough for lower-income people to receive dental care services.

29.11.21 NEWS ... The Forum Cinema at Tallinn's Coca-Cola Plaza will close in December due to low numbers of customers and coronavirus restrictions, newspaper Ärileht reported on Monday.

29.11.21 CORONAVIRUS ... Regardless of the coronavirus spread lowering considerably in Estonia recently, Tuesday's government cabinet sitting is unlikely to result in any restrictions being eased. The new Omicron variant of the virus could instead see more restrictions imposed on arrivals from abroad, Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik (Center) said.

29.11.21 NEWS ... While the state budget is in the midst of a major surplus, state institutions are working hard to fulfill budget cuts. The Transport Administration must find a way to cut €3.8 million from its budget and has decided to remove roadside toilets and trash containers.

29.11.21 NEWS ... Nearly 1,000 uniformed personnel will participate in Kaitseliit's (Defense League) annual exercise Orkaan (Hurricane) in western Estonia later this week.

29.11.21 NEWS ... Heads of the EU commission and NATO visited Lithuania and Latvia on Sunday to stress unity with the counties on the European Union's borders which have been subject to a "hybrid attack" from Belarus in recent months.

29.11.21 NEWS ... Estonia will chair a meeting in the UN Security Council to highlight the continuing impunity in Syria for violent crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.