26.06.19 ... The Saaremaa and Hiiumaa ferries transported a record number of passengers and vehicles between June 21 and 24, shipper TS Laevad reported on Tuesday. A total of 61,005 passengers and 21,130 vehicles were moved along the Virtsu-Kuivastu and Rohuküla-Heltermaa routes in just four days.
26.06.19 ... The alliance's annual Ramstein Alloy exercise is underway in the airspace of the three Baltic states, with allied air forces practising air policing and airspace control as well as the cooperation of allied and local units.
26.06.19 ... Truuväli, who retired in 2010, was Estonia's first chancellor of justice after the country regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. As a member of the Constitutional Assembly's expert committee as well as the head of Estonia's National Electoral Committee in the early 1990s, Truuväli played an important role in the democratic development and the reestablishment of Estonian institutions after the end of the Soviet occupation.
26.06.19 ... Russia is playing on the differences between the European Union and the Council of Europe, which has the potential to cause considerable confusion, political scientist Karmo Tüür said on Tuesday, commenting on the decision of the council's parliamentary assembly to readmit Russia.
26.06.19 ... The man who shot two taxi drivers outside Tallinn's Telliskivi Creative City in the early hours of June 21 did not know his victims, police confirmed on Tuesday.
25.06.19 ... CityBee will launch an electric scooter rental service in Tallinn on Friday with a fleet of 100 scooters.
25.06.19 ... Researchers from the University of Tartu are for the first time participating in an international space mission with the European Space Agency to intercept a comet.
25.06.19 ... The power engineers to be furloughed starting mid-July as part of substantial layoffs announced announced by Eesti Energia earlier this year will likely have difficulties finding employment at comparable wages, trade unions say.
25.06.19 ... Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu condemned changes that allow Russia to return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Tuesday.
25.06.19 ... The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted early on Tuesday to restore Russia's voting rights, five years after suspending them following Russia's annexation of Crimea. The Estonian delegation, consisting of MPs Eerik-Niiles Kross (Reform), Indrek Saar (SDE), and Raivo Tamm (Isamaa), all voted against.
25.06.19 ... Almost 20,000 people attended the main concert of the Tartu Song Festival on Saturday, the first event to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Song and Dance Festival.
25.06.19 ... Five gravestones in Tallinn's Rahumäe Jewish cemetery were pushed over in the night to 23 June, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) reported.
25.06.19 ... ERR's correspondent on Estonia's western islands, Margus Muld, reported on Sunday that the number of people on Saaremaa, the largest island, almost doubled over Midsummer, as some 20,000 tourists added to 33,000 permanent inhabitants.
25.06.19 ... Despite a series of traffic accidents, the Midsummer weekend was relatively quiet, the Rescue Board reported. Apart from the usual drunk drivers and swimmers, the number of calls made to emergency services was low.
23.06.19 ... President Kersti Kaljulaid addressed Sunday's Victory Day parade, noting the scope everyone in Estonian society has in contributing to the country's sense of security.
23.06.19 ... Tallinn water utility Tallinna Vesi has seen its claim against the Estonian state overruled by the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID), and has been ordered to pay costs likely to be in excess of half a million euros.
22.06.19 ... Between June 19 and 23, 1919, Latvian and Estonian forces fought for control over the territories of the two fledgling republics. They faced the Landeswehr, an army raised by the Baltic German nobility and Imperial Germany to turn the proposed United Baltic Duchy into a political reality, and the lands beyond the Lithuanian border into a German vassal state.
22.06.19 ... Kristian Jaani, head of the Police and Border Guard Board's (PPA) northern prefecture, says the possible motive for Friday's murder of a Tallinn taxi driver is not yet known, though all indications suggest the killer deliberately targeted those in that profession.
22.06.19 ... The Ministry of the Interior has submitted a bill of amendments to the Aliens Act 2009, the Population Register Act 2000, and the Health Services Organisation Act 2001, Baltic News Service reports.
21.06.19 ... At a press conference on Friday afternoon, authorities confirmed that Raivo Jürimäe, the suspect in the shooting of two taxi drivers early on Friday morning, held a firearm license, that he didn't have a criminal record, and that there had been no signs of mental health issues previous to the incident either.
21.06.19 ... The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) informed media that the suspect in the shooting of two taxi drivers outside Tallinn's Telliskivi Creative City early on Friday morning, 30-year-old Raivo Jürimäe, was found and identified at a bus stop in the village of Nabala in the early afternoon. According to Prefect Kristian Jaani, Jürimäe committed suicide when police arrived.
21.06.19 ... The city administration of Tallinn is offering the producers of director Christopher Nolan's upcoming spy movie, "Tenet," a 10-day period to shoot scenes of the movie along the city's Laagna Road.
21.06.19 ... Property prices in Estonia rose both year-on-year (y-o-y) to Q1 2019, and when compared with Q4 2018, Statistics Estonia reports. The rises affected houses in particular, and were seen across two different indices, the Dwelling Price Index and the Owner-Occupied Housing Price Index. Only in Tallinn was a very small drop seen, and this solely with apartments, between Q4 2018 and Q1 2019.
21.06.19 ... Defense ministry Permanent Secretary Kristjan Prikk presented the ministry's Cross of Merit, Second Class, awarded to Maj. Gen. Linda L. Singh, of the Maryland Army National Guard Thursday.
21.06.19 ... Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) joined governmental leaders from Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in signing the implementation roadmap for the Baltic power grid synchronization with the continental European system on Thursday, further reducing Estonia's links with the Russian grid.
21.06.19 ... A deal procuring €40 million-worth of long-range anti-tank weaponry has been signed between Estonia and German arms company EuroSpike GmbH.
20.06.19 ... Tallinn Municipal Police (Mupo) have started confiscating bicycle rickshaws from drivers who have repeatedly violated the regulations, stating that fines have not been a sufficient deterrent. The first two vehicles were confiscated on Wednesday.
20.06.19 ... Minister of Defence Jüri Luik (Isamaa) met with his Latvian and Lithuanian colleagues in Tartu on Wednesday, where a joint communique was signed highlighting the priorities in the field of defense cooperation in the near future.
20.06.19 ... Interior minister Mart Helme (EKRE) says that there are differing opinions on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and its reform, within the coalition government.
20.06.19 ... Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas (Centre) announced on Thursday that he has given state-owned train operator Elron the order to draw up procurement documents for the purchase of four new trains, with an option to buy two more.
20.06.19 ... Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) says no further alcohol excise duty rate cuts are on the table, following an announcement that Latvia may cut its own rate on strong alcohol by 15 percent.
20.06.19 ... The state has agreed to provide €5 million in funding for a Hollywood movie being filmed in Tallinn in June and July.
20.06.19 ... Estonia's population is set to stand at 1.2 million in 2080, according to recent baseline scenario projections from Statistics Estonia. This represents a fall from the current figure of a little over 1.3 million, though at the same time a slowing of the general decrease in recent decades.
20.06.19 ... The coalition government is currently seemingly split on whether finance minister Martin Helme (EKRE) acted unilaterally on a vote on European Stability Mechanism (ESM) reform. Centre and Isamaa state he should have consulted Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) prior to dissenting, Baltic News Service reports.
20.06.19 ... Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) was in Stockholm, Sweden Wednesday, where he met with counterpart Margot Wallström (Social Democratic Party). The ministers discussed bilateral relations, regional cooperation and security policy, as well as Russia.
20.06.19 ... The University of Tartu (TÜ) has almost broken into the top 300 places in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, its highest ranking to date.
19.06.19 ... Matti Maasikas has been appointed new European Union Ambassador to Ukraine. Maasikas is currently undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
19.06.19 ... Estonia is to take part in a Group of Seven (G7) meeting for the first time, on July 4.
19.06.19 ... Tallinn City Government has sent its conditions for road closures ahead of filming on an upcoming Hollywood movie, "Tenet", covering a 24-hour period on the last day of June and primarily affecting Pärnu Highway.
19.06.19 ... Interior minister Mart Helme (EKRE) has hit out at allegations of plagiarism leveled against police chief Elmar Vaher.
19.06.19 ... The wolf rescued from the Pärnu River in February, making international headlines, has most likely been shot and killed, ERR's online news in Estonia reports.
19.06.19 ... Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) is in Stockholm, Sweden Wednesday, meeting his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallström (Social Democratic Party).
19.06.19 ... Suspended Swedbank CEO Robert Kitt says that regardless of the outcome of either the bank's internal investigation into potential Anti-Money Laundering (AML) infringements, or external investigations by the supervisory authorities, Swedbank will remain a safe and reputable bank for customers.
19.06.19 ... More than 1,200 uniformed personnel will take part in this year's Victory Day parade in Tartu on Sunday, the Defence League announced. For the first time, the latter won't line up its units by district, but by service branch, demonstrating recent quantum leaps in the preparedness of Estonia's volunteer force.
19.06.19 ... President Kersti Kaljulaid has rejected the amended Defence Forces Organisation Act for the second time, arguing that the extended surveillance capabilities stipulated in the act violate citizens' basic rights. The Supreme Court will look into the constitutionality of the act this fall.
19.06.19 ... According to Finance Minister Martin Helme (EKRE), the shoot in Tallinn for Christopher Nolan's upcoming movie "Tenet" will have a broader positive impact on the local economy. For this reason, Helme has now said he is in favor of covering part of the production company's costs out of Film Estonia's funds.
18.06.19 ... Bolt (formerly branded Taxify) will introduce its electric scooter rental service in Tallinn on Wednesday. Users will be able to use scooters by way of Bolt's ride-hailing app. A second company, Citybee, announced a similar service.
18.06.19 ... President Kersti Kaljulaid met with her Croatian counterpart, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, in Tallinn on Tuesday. The two presidents discussed cooperation between the two countries, as well as a range of other subjects.
18.06.19 ... The coalition government is weighing up whether to loan €5 million towards funding the filming of Christopher Nolan-directed movie "Tenet", some of which has already commenced, in Tallinn.
18.06.19 ... Estonian businessman Hillar Teder, who was accused of having bribed former Tallinn mayor and long-time Centre Party chairman, Edgar Savisaar, admitted on Tuesday that he helped covertly fund the party in 2014. Teder was released from the trial on grounds of expediency, daily Postimees reported.
