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.

07.01.25 NEWS ... Tallinn will remove snow from all sidewalks in the city starting next year, Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) said at a press conference on Tuesday.

07.01.25 NEWS ... The tanker that damaged the EstLink 2 undersea cable remains under investigation in Finland. ERR's foreign affairs program "Välisilm" looked into how international maritime law can address the situation and what kind of support can be expected from NATO.

07.01.25 NEWS ... The cost of living in Estonia is so high now that it is not worth moving here from another country unless you work in the tech sector, which traditionally wages well above average, or have some other source of income and ideally from another country, one long-term expat in Estonia has said, as reported by Postimees.

07.01.25 NEWS ... Eesti 200 and the Reform Party must decide whether to risk a conflict with the Social Democrats, with whom they share a coalition and who oppose stripping voting rights from stateless persons, or to take the chance that the opposition will block efforts to revoke voting rights from Russian citizens as well.

07.01.25 NEWS ... The coalition parties have yet to reach a unified stance on how to improve people's living standards. The Social Democrats want to lower the value-added tax (VAT) on food products, Eesti 200 is focused on reducing energy prices, while the Reform Party prioritizes ensuring Estonia's security and promoting economic growth.

07.01.25 NEWS ... The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) gets reports virtually every week about individuals causing distress to members of the public by firing starter pistols, weapons with blank rounds, or even toy guns, in public places.

06.01.25 NEWS ... Tallinn wants to bring commercial and entertainment activities to the Linnahall area in the spring and summer to create a welcoming space for residents to spend time, said Külli Tammur, head of the Põhja-Tallinn district.

06.01.25 NEWS ... The second-tier Tallinn Circuit Court concurred with a Harju County Court decision which found EKRE MP Kert Kingo and he co-defendant Martin Traat guilty of fraud, clarifying the legal qualification of the offenses and confirming key facts in the case.

06.01.25 NEWS ... The police fined Riigikogu member Jaak Valge €300 for firing a starting pistol in a public place.

06.01.25 NEWS ... Phone fraud in Estonia is continuing to rise, causing experts and authorities to warn that caution and common sense are key to avoiding the increasingly sophisticated schemes, Maaleht reported.

06.01.25 NEWS ... A decade ago, North Tallinn's Kopli district was a rundown industrial area with a bad reputation. But now it's one of the capital's fastest developing regions, and its ugly days are a thing of the past.

06.01.25 NEWS ... Minister of Justice and Digital Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) told newspaper "Põhjarannik" Viru Prison will not close in the near future, as it could one day be needed to house prisoners of war.

06.01.25 NEWS ... "Vikerhommik" reached out to Hannes Hanso, who is currently rowing across the Atlantic Ocean with Mart Kuusk. Hanso admitted that the long sea voyage has been quite a challenge, with the ocean testing the men in every possible way.

05.01.25 NEWS ... According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, the population increased last year in only three counties: Harju County, Tartu County and Hiiu County. In all other counties, the population declined. The largest decrease was in Ida-Viru County, where the number of residents fell by 1,800 people.