15.01.25 NEWS ... A sign language choir cannot perform at the Song and Dance Festival this year as there is no time to develop special facilities the event's foundation told the Chancellor of Justice.

15.01.25 NEWS ... It is unfortunate that having children and family behavior have become political issues in Estonia, population researcher Mare Ainsaar said.

15.01.25 NEWS ... An increasing number of times, none of the Police and Border Guard Board's three helicopters are able to take off due to technical issues. Only one of the helicopters is equipped with a de-icing system and even that has been malfunctioning for the past 14 years. The Ministry of the Interior is currently assessing whether the state should purchase additional helicopters or replace the entire existing fleet.

15.01.25 NEWS ... Abandoned cars and overused parking spaces have created environmental hazards, legal hurdles, and rising tensions among local authorities and those crossing the border at the southeastern Estonian Koidula checkpoint, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.

14.01.25 NEWS ... In a country where overconsumption of alcohol is a problem, veteran politician Hanno Pevkur and rapper Rainer Olbri, stage name Metsakutsu, discuss what life in Estonia is like for them as nondrinkers.

14.01.25 NEWS ... The January 6 launch of the new Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius route marks the return of passenger rail service connecting the Baltics. While the full journey — with transfers at Valga and Riga — takes over ten hours, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania's rail operators hope to attract riders for shorter legs.

14.01.25 NEWS ... Senior Prosecutor Eliisa Sommer from the Western District Prosecutor's Office demanded a four-year prison sentence on Tuesday for Kairi Kuusemaa, who is accused of killing her newborn child and desecrating the body.

14.01.25 NEWS ... The creditors of the bankrupt Estonian Development Savings and Loan Association (EAHLÜ) received a letter from an anonymous sender, informing them of an upcoming general meeting and a proposed compromise in the bankruptcy proceedings. However, neither claim is true and the bankruptcy trustee, Martin Krupp, suspects that the message was sent with malicious intent.

14.01.25 NEWS ... According to the Estonian Infra Construction Association, the tragic traffic accident statistics for 2024 are at least partially due to the deteriorating condition of the country's roads, a result of chronic underfunding.

14.01.25 NEWS ... Funding for extracurricular education has decreased by a third over the past five years, with the majority of hobby schools now concentrated in larger municipalities. According to experts, extracurricular or hobby education plays a significant role in preventing social and economic costs, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive national strategy to support the system.

14.01.25 NEWS ... This year, six of Estonia's 79 local governments raised land taxes to the maximum allowable limit, citing last year's drop in land tax revenues following a reassessment of land values.

14.01.25 NEWS ... The Ministry of Education and Research is advancing its plan to bring Estonia's secondary education under state control by 2035. A school system analysis, set to be completed this May, will guide the next steps in the transition.

14.01.25 NEWS ... Thousands of boys in Estonia were vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) last year after the rules were changed in February. Previously, the preventative measure was only targeted at girls.

14.01.25 NEWS ... The Eesti.ee mobile app includes a warning system that allows information to be sent directly to people's phones in crisis situations.

13.01.25 NEWS ... While an increase in financial support could help boost birth rates in the short term, influencing long-term demographic trends is significantly more complex, a population researcher says.

13.01.25 NEWS ... The Legal Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu has approved Harju County Court director Astrid Asi's candidacy for the position of Estonia's prosecutor general.

13.01.25 NEWS ... Where there's snow, there will be people out enjoying it. Recent wintry weather saw kids and grownups alike grab their sleds and hit the sledding hills, including in Tallinn.

13.01.25 NEWS ... Estonia's traffic fatalities rose to 70 in 2024, continuing an upward trend since 2020, before which there had been a fall.

13.01.25 NEWS ... Estonia is planning to ban the practice of keeping dogs chained. According to the new animal protection law, dogs kept outdoors must be housed either in enclosures or within fenced areas.

13.01.25 NEWS ... According to the population department of the Ministry of the Interior, a total of 9,646 births were registered in Estonia's civil registry offices last year, which is 1,075 fewer than the year before.

13.01.25 NEWS ... Despite the state's goal of keeping them out of the penitentiary system, instances of minors being incarcerated in Estonia have been reported, though mainly for remand purposes while awaiting trial.

13.01.25 NEWS ... Two Estonian skiers were tragically killed in an avalanche in France on Sunday, while skiing off-piste in the Val-d'Isère area of Savoie, Le Monde reported.

12.01.25 NEWS ... Rescue workers received over 300 call-outs over the weekend.

12.01.25 NEWS ... On Saturday, January 11, former President Arnold Rüütel was laid to rest at Metsakalmistu Cemetery.

12.01.25 NEWS ... Around 1,765 people are employed in public sector IT services, spread across seven institutions, whose total budget has quadrupled over the past decade. According to a representative from the Ministry of Justice, the most significant growth has been in the field of cybersecurity, which now requires considerably more attention than before.

12.01.25 NEWS ... Although Estonia's gender pay gap has narrowed from 25 percent to 13 percent over the years, it remains significantly higher than in many other countries, to the disadvantage of women. Greater transparency in wages is expected to help reduce this issue, at least in part.

12.01.25 NEWS ... Estonian prisons are once again housing juvenile inmates, despite the state's goal of keeping minors out of the prison system. However, this has proven unavoidable due to the severity of crimes committed by some young offenders.

11.01.25 NEWS ... According to a recent study, there are several areas of Estonia where it takes an unacceptably long time for an ambulance to reach a patient following a call to the emergency services. Additional brigades are needed in several locations, though it remains unclear whether sufficient funding is available.

11.01.25 NEWS ... Friday night going into Saturday morning passed without any major incidents on Estonia's roads, despite the continued heavy snow.

11.01.25 NEWS ... Ukraine is looking to learn from Estonia's experience forming same-sex partnership legislation to provide LGBT+ couples with more rights, Estonia's gender equality commissioner has said.

10.01.25 NEWS ... Vehicle owners can now view their 2025 car tax notice on the Tax and Customs Board's (MTA) website and make advanced payments.

10.01.25 NEWS ... Finland's public health authority THL is contacting people who traveled on the ship from Tallinn to Helsinki with a Measles-infected passenger, Yle reports.

10.01.25 NEWS ... Members of the public in Estonia have been able to pay their final respects to President Arnold Rüütel, who passed away on the last day of 2024.

10.01.25 NEWS ... Heavy snowfall is causing difficulties on roads across Estonia and is especially bad in Saaremaa and Pärnu County. The Transport Administration is urging drivers to be cautious and flights have been canceled at Tallinn Airport.

10.01.25 NEWS ... The Estonian government is to extend the disability severity assessment age limit from the current age of 16 years, to 18 years, starting in February 2027. The aim is to simplify parental support and ensure fairer treatment for children.

10.01.25 NEWS ... While Estonia's prison population continues to fall, the state is reluctant to close prison facilities.

10.01.25 NEWS ... Mayor of the Ida-Viru County town of Kohtla-Järve Henri Kaselo has proposed placing an Estonian flag on an "ash mountain" in an adjacent municipality, Põhjarannik reported.

09.01.25 NEWS ... The renaming of the Estonian Knighthood House on Toompea to the Estonian Representative House, which sparked discontent among history enthusiasts, was driven by the need to provide clearer communication regarding the building, Gert Uiboaed, a symbolism adviser at the Government Office, said.

09.01.25 NEWS ... Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) has nominated Astrid Asi, the current chair of the Harju County Court, as the candidate for Estonia's next prosecutor general.

09.01.25 NEWS ... Residents of Keila are facing significantly higher waste collection fees after the city failed to secure a reasonable contract with a waste management company. The city government plans to compensate residents for the steep increase in costs.

09.01.25 NEWS ... Currently, three-quarters of Estonia's electricity network has been weatherproofed. Over the next decade, Elektrilevi aims to increase that figure to at least 85 percent, though achieving this goal will require significant investments.

09.01.25 NEWS ... Former foreign minister and leader of the Isamaa party, Urmas Reinsalu, said on Vikerraadio's "Uudis +" program that while the motives behind Elon Musk's recent social media interventions in European domestic politics remain unclear, his actions should not be overemphasized.

08.01.25 NEWS ... According to a City of Tallinn press release, the KiVa anti-bullying program, which was implemented in the capital's municipal schools in 2024, has had a positive impact on reducing bullying. The data collected shows that the level of bullying in Tallinn schools is significantly lower than in other Estonian schools participating in the KiVa program.

08.01.25 NEWS ... City officials in the western Estonian town of Haapsalu are locked in a dispute with construction firm YIT over reported errors in work done to a street which may require a full re-work, Maaleht reported.

08.01.25 NEWS ... The risks associated with loans issued to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus crisis have not materialized, according to an overview by the National Audit Office, which examined the implementation of coronavirus crisis measures facilitated by the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS).

08.01.25 NEWS ... Kadri, who currently resides in Florida, USA, and her twin sister Kalvi, who lives in Hawaii, were born in 1976 in Cameroon where their father was working at the time. Although the sisters were born just ten minutes apart and their birth certificates are identical, one is now a full-fledged Estonian citizen, while the other is struggling with Estonian bureaucracy, which refuses to recognize Kadri's documents, as revealed in the latest episode of the "Pealtnägija" investigative journalism show.

08.01.25 NEWS ... According to the Ministry of Justice, the law should be amended to allow the state to prosecute individuals who damage vital communication and energy connections important to Estonia, even if the damage occurs outside Estonian territory, such as in the country's exclusive economic zone.

08.01.25 NEWS ... Non-citizens living in Estonia, also known as gray passport holders, will not lose their voting rights in local government council elections, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said on Tuesday.

08.01.25 NEWS ... Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) supports the government's plan to build a gas power plant in Narva, rather than near Tallinn in Iru, as proposed by Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa).

08.01.25 NEWS ... Minister of Justice Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) has presented two candidates for the role of prosecutor general to the government to replace Andres Parmas, who will step down next month.