22.01.20 ... The government's planned pension reform raises several questions from the point of view of the constitution, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise finds in her position from Wednesday.

22.01.20 ... Harju County Court on Wednesday discussed former MEP Indrek Tarand's claim against the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) in which he demands that the party retract false information published about him, and although lawyers had hoped to enter into an agreement in the claim, it appeared suddenly that EKRE does not want an agreement after all, daily Postimees writes.

22.01.20 ... The Information System Authority (RIA) is advising people to temporarily avoid using Internet Explorer until the arrival of new security patches.

22.01.20 ... Acting Prosecutor General Lavly Perling does not consider the so-called Savisaar trial a failure on the part of the Prosecutor's Office, and found that there is less corruption in Tallinn city government than ever before, thanks in large part to the trial.

22.01.20 ... "Truth and Justice" director Tanel Toom's new film "Gateway 6" will be released in theaters next autumn and filming will begin this spring.

22.01.20 ... Beginning February 2, cable channels Kanal 11, Kanal 2, TV3 and TV6 will start broadcasting Tallinn TV (TTV) programs on their channels, daily Postimees writes.

22.01.20 ... The Estonian government has endorsed the principles according to which the state will govern its holdings in companies with a state holding as well as in the development of relevant legislation.

22.01.20 ... Social Democratic Party (SDE) politician Rainer Vakra received an A grade after defending a new bachelor's thesis at the Tallinn University on Wednesday after it was discovered his previous thesis was plagiarized.

22.01.20 ... Representatives of the Reform Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDE) in Tartu met on Tuesday to discuss forming a coalition to find common ground.

22.01.20 ... Fallout from the breakup of Tartu city government's ruling coalition earlier in the week, somewhat of the reverse process potentially happening between the Center Party and EKRE at the national level, and an update on how Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja have been getting on at Hyundai ahead of the new WRC season starting Thursday, vied for attention in Estonia's dailies, weeklies and portals on Wednesday, January 22. All links in Estonian unless otherwise noted.

22.01.20 ... The population of Harju County remains on the rise. Over the past ten years, Estonia's most populous county has seen an increase of more than 55,000 registered residents, nearly 37,000 of whom were registered in Tallinn, and municipalities immediately surrounding the capital city have seen significant population increases as well.

22.01.20 ... Ten million counterfeit cigarettes shipped from Lebanon were destroyed by the Tax and Customs Board, a record number in recent years, on Tuesday.

22.01.20 ... As of the end of the third quarter of 2019, while Greece had the highest debt level among European Union member states, Estonia remained the EU member state with the lowest level of government debt, it appears from data published by Eurostat on Wednesday.

22.01.20 ... Police have been increasingly responding to reports of people carrying weapons only to discover it has been an airgun or toy. Northern Prefect officer Kristian Jaani, said introducing separate marking for airguns would help as would identifying those who buy them.

22.01.20 ... Estonian state-owned regional port operator Saarte Liinid is planning upgrades to the Port of Kuivastu on the Western Estonian island of Muhu in the coming years, including the construction of a hangar for recreational vessels as well as a solar park.

22.01.20 ... The main building and arch of the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds will be lit up each night starting from Wednesday.

22.01.20 ... The Finance Committee of the Riigikogu on Tuesday supported the introduction of five changes to the pension reform bill, which include allowing the withdrawal of all second pillar pension savings at once, in a lump sum, as well as exempting the payout from being counted against an individual's basic tax exemption.

22.01.20 ... Inequalities in health need to be addressed, the Minister of Social Affairs said, after the results of a study showed Estonia has some of the largest gaps between socioeconomic groups in the European Union.

22.01.20 ... Finance ministers of the EU discussed the climate-neutral economic investment plan in Brussels on Tuesday, and Minister of Finance Martin Helme (EKRE) believes that these plans fall significantly short of actual needs, the money will largely come at the expense of other EU activities, and that Estonia cannot be satisfied with the differential treatment of coal and oil shale in the calculation of support.

22.01.20 ... Estonia's European Commissioner Kadri Simson (Center) said that a solution was needed to alleviate the recent emergence of cheaper Russian and Belarusian electricity imports on the Estonian market. She also said that the oil shale industry per se isn't necessarily dead, hinting that options for its continuation and even the construction of a new refinery could happen.

22.01.20 ... Last month, EuroPark increased rates an average of 30 pecent at nine of its parking lots in the heart of Tallinn, citing high demand as grounds for doing so. Tallinn City Center District Elder Vladimir Svet (Center) said that rates at private parking lots are shaped by the market and that city authorities cannot regulate them.

22.01.20 ... For the first time, a database of Estonian contemporary artists, curators and critics has been completed.

22.01.20 ... Estonian tennis star Anett Kontaveit won her opening game at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday, in straight sets, 6:0, 6:2, against local player Astra Sharma.

22.01.20 ... The Treaty of Tartu will be on display later this month at the National Archive and at the Estonian National Museum to mark the centennial.

21.01.20 ... The Center Party consigned itself into the opposition in Tartu following infighting when the ruling Reform Party said on Monday it would form a new coalition with the social democrats. Does Center's Secretary General Mihhail Korb know what happened? He does. But is he willing to talk about it?

21.01.20 ... The prosecutor's office is looking at information arising from a report by business daily Ärpäev, which points to a possible conflict of interest case involving a sitting MP and former head of state lottery Eesti Loto, and a businessman who allegedly gave a loan of close to €300,000 and whose real estate development ended up with Eesti Loto as its main tenant.

21.01.20 ... Tallinn Transport Department is still in the process of adjusting traffic lights on the city's new Reidi Road to ensure the best possible traffic flow, but hopes to wrap up the process by spring.

21.01.20 ... Archer Liisell Jäätma won first place in the women's compound class at the indoor world championship stage held in Nimes, France, making her current overall leader of the women's compound series after five stages, ERR's sports portal reports

21.01.20 ... Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee will very likely draw up a statement to condemn Russia's attempts to interpret the history of World War II in a favorable way and blame other countries for the war.

21.01.20 ... Levikom has contested the circuit court ruling according to which the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) was right when it only included three frequency bands in the state's 5G competition and taken the matter to the Supreme Court. The ministry has also been summoned by a Riigikogu select committee. The competition has been frozen.

21.01.20 ... Personal income tax returns can be filed with the Estonian Tax and Customs Board from February 15 and refunding of tax paid in excess will start on February 26.

21.01.20 ... Mayor of Tartu Urmas Klaas (Reform) says that not dismantling the current coalition agreement with the Center Party would not have made logical sense, following the breakup of the coalition on Tartu City Government Monday night. The move follows a change in leadership in the Center Party in Tartu, and the expulsion from the party of a deputy mayor.

21.01.20 ... Last year, Estonia granted short-term work permits to 28,297 people from third countries. It also issued over 32,000 registrations for employment during fixed periods, and as of January 1, 18,608 such registrations remained in force.

21.01.20 ... Throughout Estonia, nature is showing signs of spring, despite the fact that it is only mid-January.

21.01.20 ... Helve Särgava, a former judge and a member of Tallinn City Council who left the Social Democratic Party (SDE) last summer, announced she had joined the Center Party on Tuesday.

21.01.20 ... Estonia will not be represented at a high-level Holocaust remembrance event to take place in Jerusalem on Thursday, where leaders from at least 46 countries, including the U.S. and practically all EU member states, will present. President Kersti Kaljulaid and Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center) will be on foreign visits on Thursday, but President of the Riigikogu Henn Põlluaas (EKRE) said that he did not receive an invitation to the event.

21.01.20 ... Postimees awarded Tanel Toom, the director of the movie "Truth and Justice", the Person of the Year 2019 award on Tuesday.

21.01.20 ... The Estonian Viru County Court in December found a 68-year-old Russian national guilty of illicit traffic and confiscated over €130,000 in cash which he had hidden in his socks.

21.01.20 ... The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications says up to 3.3 million tons of oil shale mining waste is to be utilized in constructing the high-speed Rail Baltic link, according to ERR's online news in Estonian. Up to four tons had already been earmarked for sale by state-owned power generator Eesti Energia, with Rail Baltic providing a suitable use.

21.01.20 ... The majority of people believe improving welfare is the most important task of the Estonian state, a new survey shows, but support is divided along party lines.

21.01.20 ... Anett Kontaveit's first round Australian Open clash has been postponed to Wednesday, due to scheduling issues as a previous game lasted close to four hours.

21.01.20 ... Estonia's economy is not expected to grow more than 2.5 percent in 2020, analysts for banks SEB and Swedbank said on Tuesday. Swedbank estimated a 2.4 percent increase and SEB predicts a 2 percent rise.

21.01.20 ... Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center) told ERR Monday that his party's travails in Estonia's second city, Tartu, seem irreconcilable at the moment, adding that the collapse of the Reform-Center coalition on the city's government Monday night was a teachable moment.

21.01.20 ... Prime Minister Jüri Ratas will discuss education, e-government, cybersecurity, and foreign policy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland which starts on Tuesday.

21.01.20 ... Foreign Trade and Information Technology Minister Kaimar Karu has not yet decided if he will join the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) which he represents despite not being a party member

21.01.20 ... This weekend's Estoloppet cross country skiing stage has been postponed to March due to the lack of snow, ERR's sports portal reports.

21.01.20 ... The Ministry of Culture has approved operating grants for small private theaters of over €3 million for 2020 is significantly more than last year's figure, which stood at a little over €1.8 million.

21.01.20 ... The coalition of the Reform Party and Center Party on Tartu City Government has broken down, with the majority Reform Party aiming to enter negotiations with the Social Democratic Party (SDE), aiming for a new coalition partnership.

21.01.20 ... President Kersti Kaljulaid reached King George Island in Antarctica on Tuesday making her the first Estonian head of state to visit the continent. She also called for the world to come together and find a solution to climate change.

21.01.20 ... A sports camp for wounded veterans of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) was held in Rakvere last week, where preparations for competition in the 2020 Invictus Games also began. A total of 12 veterans of the EDF will be competing in the 2020 Games in The Hague this May.