The Tallinn Circuit Court has suspended permits to hunt problem bears pending a ruling on an appeal filed by NGO Eesti Suurkiskjad, which had challenged the permits.

Estonia's government is considering pushing back its Rail Baltica completion target to 2034 to make greater use of EU funding and reduce the rail project's cost to taxpayers.

Estonia's government is aiming to wrap up 2027 state budget talks next week, with ministers weighing spending needs against a target to cut the budget deficit to 4 percent.

Liina Vahtras, who has just become minister of economic affairs and industry, previously served on the management board of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS) and also sat on the board of Rochna Invest OÜ — a company whose portfolio startups received a total of €1.25 million in support from EIS during the same period. Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Vahtras acted in accordance with the rules because she did not take part in making the funding decisions.

The Tallinn Circuit Court has suspended permits to hunt problem bears pending a ruling on an appeal filed by NGO Eesti Suurkiskjad, which had challenged the permits.

As the days grow shorter, Tallinn's annual "Light Walks" ("Valgus kõnnib") festival returns, transforming Kadriorg Park into an immersive canvas of light and music.

Eesti naiskond teenis Usbekistanis Samarkandis jätkuval 46. maleolümpial teise võidu. Meeskond kaotas Ukrainale, kuigi Ilja Siroš sai jagu maailma paremikku kuuluvast suurmeistrist.

Reformierakond teatas sel nädalal, et valitsusremont on läbi saanud. Kui suurem osa ühiskonna tähelepanust keskendus uuele kaitseministrile Martin Heremile, siis remondijärgse kontrolli käigus ilmus ootamatult praaki välja hoopis majandus- ja tööstusministri vahetamisest.

Left-wing opposition parties led by Magdalena Andersson look set to form the next government.

There is no doubt over the outcome of this vote, but for the Kremlin they are still an important moment.

Rates are held for the sixth time in a row but the Bank of England says high energy prices make a future rise more likely.

Unite union, which represents 36,000 Barclays staff, calls for a one-off payment to offset increased travel and childcare costs.

The global response to the Russia sanctions bill the U.S. Congress approved late Wednesday has been swift and defiant, with Moscow warning it would prolong its war on Ukraine, India vowing to protect its interests, and Beijing pushing back against what it called illegal “long-arm jurisdiction.” The bill, which U.S. President Donald Trump must still sign into law, would slap mandatory sanctions on Moscow’s leadership, energy sector, defense industry and “shadow fleet” seaborne delivery system for embargoed Russian fuel. It also empowers Trump to hit the five largest global purchasers of that fuel with 100% sanctions, a cudgel that has U.S. allies worried. China has bought 50% of Russian crude exports since 2022, India 37%, Turkey 5% — and the EU 5%. The bloc has also been the largest buyer of Russian LNG (49%) over that period, as well as the largest buyer of Russian pipeline gas (32%), according to data from the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air non-profit. The bill “falls ​under the category of unfriendly actions, and of course the ​imposition of any additional sanctions by the U.S. would certainly complicate efforts to find a peace settlement in Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov ​told reporters Thursday.  The Indian foreign ministry said New Delhi had previously “very clearly articulated” the potential impact of the measures on its relationship with Washington, and would “take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests.” Meanwhile, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing’s trade relations were not “subject to interference or coercion from any third party.” As for the EU, critics of the sanctions bill argue it gives Trump too much leeway to issue waivers for major Russia supporters (e.g. China) with whom Washington is seeking wider trade deals, or conversely to pursue vendettas against U.S. allies who displease him, such as the EU, based on the oil and gas purchases of some member countries (e.g. Slovakia and Hungary). Trump has not said whether he will sign the Russia sanctions bill, although the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that he intends to do so, citing the White House. The European Commission has not publicly commented on the legislation.

PARIS — French presidential candidate Gabriel Attal laid out an ambitious pro-European platform for his campaign Thursday, vowing to make France part of a powerful, economically muscular “United States of Europe” if he wins next year’s race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron. “The great mission of my generation is to realize the European dream and to give birth to the United States of Europe,” he said, borrowing language from Victor Hugo. “I don’t want my generation to witness Europe becoming the 51st U.S. state or the 24th Chinese province.” Speaking to lawmakers, former ministers and employees at an aerospace startup in the heart of Champagne country, Attal laid out a series of proposals that appeared to be drawn straight from the playbooks of Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, the Italian statesmen who authored two landmark reports on the bloc’s economic agenda. To better compete with the U.S. and China, Attal proposed implementing a two-speed EU so like-minded partners can more quickly merge their economies, regulatory frameworks and labor and capital via a new dedicated treaty to be approved by citizens via referendum. Attal also advocated for joint European debt, removing intra-bloc trade barriers and encouraging bloc-wide mergers, especially in telecoms and financial services. Attal’s advisers told reporters that the former prime minister is trying to stake out a position as one of the most pro-European options in a crowded field of candidates. The 37-year-old centrist has struggled to break through, and polls have repeatedly shown him lagging behind his main ideological rival, Edouard Philippe, and euroskeptic front-runner Marine Le Pen. But since launching his campaign in May, Philippe has stayed relatively quiet on matters relating to Brussels — which gives Attal a way to better distinguish his campaign from that of Philippe. It’s a risky strategy, though. Voters in France are less sanguine about the bloc’s future than other Europeans, with many still frustrated after the Commission last year pushed through a massive trade deal with Latin America that was widely viewed domestically as a threat to the French agriculture industry. The EU is also seen as a source of environmental rules that French farmers consider too strict while business see the bloc as a source of red tape. Attal in his speech paid tribute to Macron’s European legacy while also criticizing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, accusing her of overlooking the bloc’s problems in her Wednesday State of the Union speech — which he called “too little, too late.” He also hit out against the trade deal she agreed to with U.S. President Donald Trump last year. Should Attal win, it will be up to von der Leyen to decide the professional fate of his romantic partner, Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, given the potential conflict of interest. Séjourné swore an oath upon taking office to prioritize EU interests over national matters, and his term runs beyond the French presidential election in April 2027. Séjourné said in a recent interview that he did not believe there would be a conflict of interest if Attal won the election but added that it was a “legitimate” question. Attal campaign director Maxime Cordier said a group of MEPs will endorse the plans in an op-ed in the coming days. MEP Valérie Hayer, who heads the Renew group and backs Attal’s presidential bid, stressed that Attal was the first candidate to pitch a project to reform the bloc and she accused the European Commission and some member countries of “inertia” in implementing the Draghi agenda.

Chelsea announce that Clearlake will acquire the stakes of Todd Boehly and director Mark Walter.

Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi says Saudi claims that the group targeted Mecca are a 'heinous lie'.

Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has welcomed the EU’s proposal for Canada to become the bloc’s first ‘associate member’, despite threats from Donald Trump over the plan. The US president said Washington could impose ‘very serious tariffs’ or halt trade if the EU went ahead with the plan. But in a defiant speech to the European parliament, Carney called for ‘deep cooperation’ and said polling showed the overwhelming majority of Canadians supported closer ties with Europe. Lucy Hough speaks to Europe correspondent Jon Henley – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

This blog is now closedMeanwhile, we are getting some interesting lines from Paris that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, convened the chiefs ⁠of ⁠the ​different political parties to discuss the ​crises ‌in ‌the Middle East ‌and Ukraine and their consequences on the energy market.The meeting will ‌be held on Friday morning at 10:30am local time on Thursday (that’s 9:30am UK) and military and intelligence officers will share ⁠the information they have ​provided to ​Macron, his ​office said ​in ‌a ​statement. Continue reading...

Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson expected to face tricky task of trying to form a coalition

Chancellor skips UN General Assembly to contain mounting CDU crisis amid far-right surge in eastern states