The Ministry of Social Affairs' plan to reduce ambulance crews from three members to two would make it more difficult to ensure emergency medical services capacity in a crisis or wartime situation, the EDF finds.

The 11th international folklore festival Tartu Folk will take place in Tartu, bringing together folklore communities from Estonia and from the Baltic and Nordic countries.

Estonia needs a political force that combines individual freedom and economic prosperity with a firm commitment to protecting the environment, writes Marti Soosaar.

Nearly two-thirds of Estonia's residents support electing Ülle Madise as Estonia's president, a new Emor survey shows.

The Ministry of Social Affairs' plan to reduce ambulance crews from three members to two would make it more difficult to ensure emergency medical services capacity in a crisis or wartime situation, the EDF finds.

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise is asking the Supreme Court to invalidate a regulation under which the City of Keila has imposed a general infrastructure fee on developers, which Madise says has no legal basis.

Leedu sunniidi moslemite vaimse keskuse ehk esimese muftiaadi mufti Romas Jakubauskas sai kahtlustuse kohtueelses uurimises, mis käsitleb väidetavat inimkaubandust ja dokumentide võltsimist, selgus kolmapäeval peaprokuratuuri pressiesindaja Gintarė Vitkauskaitė-Šatkauskienė kinnitusest.

Iisraeli välisministeerium teatas kolmapäeval oma diplomaatidele, et Araabia Ühendemiraatidest Tel Avivi suunduval lennul aset leidnud rünnaku eesmärk oli õõnestada kahe liitlase vahelisi suhteid.

In total 11 regions of the country were attacked overnight, with residential buildings and railways also targeted, the Ukrainian PM says.

Thirty-one migrants died when their boat went down in November 2021. The trial found that the guilty men were part of two smuggling networks.

A typical household faces an annual gas and electricity bill of £1,999 from January, based on a key forecast.

AI needs "rigorous" testing and safeguards to contain risk, Andrew Bailey says.

The Trump administration is excluding several major allies from a gathering of NATO members next month — after threatening to deploy a “naughty and nice list” against governments that have run afoul of the president’s priorities. The planned meeting in Poland, which Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has spearheaded, is essentially a working group focused on NATO’s future, according to six diplomats familiar with the planning. But many of the countries who didn’t receive an invite — such as the United Kingdom, France and the Baltic countries — are big defense spenders and play key roles in the alliance, leaving their diplomats wondering why they’re being frozen out. They question whether the administration is playing favorites in a way that could further splinter an alliance already struggling with increasing Russian aggression and depleted weapons stockpiles. “We’re doing everything that is being asked of us,” said an official from an excluded ally nation. “We’re trying to understand what the criteria is and what the purpose of these meetings are. Not much has been passed on to us yet.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and the Pentagon declined to comment. President Donald Trump and his top lieutenants have relentlessly criticized NATO since returning to power, on everything from members’ refusal to back the Iran war to the failure of some countries to spend 5% of their GDP on defense. “I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump railed in a Truth Social post this year. Last month, he snubbed another ally — South Korea — by abruptly scaling back a planned joint military exercise while complaining about Seoul’s refusal to join the war against Iran. In April, as POLITICO first reported, the White House came up with something akin to a who’s-in-and-who’s-out list while it looked for ways to punish allies who didn’t adhere to Trump’s wishes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has echoed that vision. He has encouraged “model allies” and warned that those that do not support U.S. interests will suffer consequences. While details on the new NATO working group are still vague, it follows the threat of rewarding some at the expense of others. Colby has held two similar meetings with invitees Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. The countries involved in the meeting — known as the Bergen Group format — insist it’s not meant to rupture the alliance, said a diplomat from one of the invited nations, who like others, was granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Instead, the group intends to come up with ideas it can bring to the full alliance for more stress-testing. “This can be an engine for transformation,” for the whole alliance, the diplomat said. The person acknowledged that some allies are frustrated by the exclusion, especially since many have hit or surpassed the spending targets demanded by the Trump administration. The U.S. might add Denmark to the exclusive club next given the agreement reached between the two countries to expand the American military footprint in Greenland, according to another person familiar with the planning. Colby, who has been the catalyst for the initiative, held a first meeting of its kind in Bergen, Norway, in June and invited the six favored allies. “NATO allies that are rapidly meeting their Hague spending commitments, have the scale to contribute, and are ready to get down to practical business,” he wrote on social media after the meeting. He noted this month at a conference in Washington that “the idea is to pull the whole alliance along,” adding that it “will be a better and stronger NATO that is more durable” and give Europe more military capacity. Colby has taken a longtime interest in smaller format talks between NATO nations. He has focused in previous years on reviving Germany as a military power to contain Russia and dedicating American troops to deal with China’s rise. But even invited allies question why Colby and other defense officials have cherry-picked attendees and left out some of the continent’s largest defense powers, such as Britain. “If they try splitting NATO into the good ones and the bad ones, it is dangerous for the U.S.,” said another of the six diplomats. “But for Europe, this is existential.”

KYIV — Vladimir Putin is intensifying Russia’s pressure on Ukraine, smashing cities, factories, bridges and ports with constant waves of killer drones and missiles. Short on interceptors, Kyiv is having difficulty knocking down Russia’s increasing number of jet-powered drones — and Ukraine’s problems don’t end there. Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi warned journalists this week that Ukraine faces a $27 billion defense funding gap this year, with Kyiv hoping to cover about $7 billion domestically and looking to partners for the rest. Some EU financing remains tied to reforms Kyiv must pass to unlock the money, while other allies have yet to fill the remaining gap. Overnight, Russia launched more than 190 missiles and drones in a nationwide assault that heavily targeted energy infrastructure, causing blackouts in Kyiv. “Since the summer, there has been virtually not a single day when the enemy has not attacked energy infrastructure. But an attack of this scale and intensity has not occurred since the end of the last heating season,” Koretskyi said Wednesday. Following the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his call for allies to send more air defenses. “Every interceptor missile truly saves lives,” he said. “And the closer we get to winter, the more of this protection we need. We must do everything we can to ensure that Russia’s strategy of ballistic and drone terror does not succeed.” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks to the dais during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23, 2026. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images Russia, in recent weeks, has escalated near-continuous drone and missile attacks. Air raid alerts are relentless — day and night — in Kyiv. The strikes have hit railways, energy plants, ports, factories and other critical infrastructure across the country, hammering Ukraine’s economy and adding to pressure on public finances. The government is also considering tax increases as it looks for domestic methods to close part of the defense gap. “Of course, raising taxes is never ideal, but in wartime, we cannot afford the luxury of populism or pretend we can avoid asking anything of the public,” said Oleksandra Myronenko, an economist with the Center for Economic Strategy think tank. Without money, Ukraine’s ability to continue resisting Russia would be undermined, Koretskyi warned. Kyiv needs cash now to place advance orders for weapons and ammunition due next year. “This applies particularly to long-range drones — our ability to carry the war back to where it came from. This is a critical need that needs to be fulfilled,” he said. Koretskyi told reporters that Kyiv will have to shift spending to keep the country fighting and basic government services functioning. “This entails a strict regime of public finance austerity and the deferral of certain non-priority expenditures. These funds are intended to ensure payments to military personnel and support for their families,” Koretskyi said. “First and foremost, we are financing: defense, pensions and social payments, as well as salaries for teachers, doctors and other budget employees.” Newly appointed Ukraine’s Prime Minister Sergii Koretsky delivers a speech to member of Parliament during a session of the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv on July 16, 2026. | AFP via Getty Images Zelenskyy underlined this week that his administration’s “clear task” is to “meet Ukraine’s current defense funding needs. Everything we can do together with our partners, using their funding — and this applies first and foremost to defense orders — must be 100% complete by the end of the year.” Russia also feels the pain Ukraine is not alone in feeling the financial strain. Moscow is also being forced to absorb rising fiscal costs — but its larger economy and ability to raise taxes give it more room to sustain the war. The federal budget deficit reached 5.8 trillion rubles (€60.4 billion) in the first half of the year, which is being financed by a host of tax increases. Russia plans to spend 17.1 trillion rubles (€180 billion) on defense in 2027, Reuters reported, a 27 percent increase on what it had previously budgeted for that year and accounting for more than a third of all budget spending. The Kremlin has lowered its estimates for oil and gas revenue for next year; Ukraine’s ongoing bombing campaign against refineries and energy infrastructure has wrought havoc with production. The Russian military has suffered more than 1.5 million casualties in the war, according to Ukrainian estimates. Russian President Vladimir Putin this week raised the authorized size of the armed forces to about 2.4 million personnel, the fourth expansion since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. A woman walks past a billboard advertising contract service in the Russian army as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle operator for a period of 12 months, offering 5.4 million rubles per year with a two-month training period, in Tambov, on September 9, 2026. | Igor Ivanko/AFP via Getty Images Despite the cash crunch, Ukraine is still able to exert a painful toll on Russia. Ukraine’s army reported last week that its ongoing Operation Vivaldi had pushed Russian forces back in part of the eastern front and captured more than 250 prisoners. Kyiv is also investing heavily in domestic long-range missiles and drones to strike targets inside Russia. Europe under pressure to pay up But Ukraine needs money to fund that war effort. That’s putting pressure on European allies, which supply the bulk of Kyiv’s weapons and finances after the U.S. ended most new aid when Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. The EU is currently paying out installments on its two-year €90 billion loan to Ukraine, but Kyiv is asking for the money to come faster to fill the budget gap. “The funds are needed this fall … especially given the mobilization that the enemy is planning right now,” Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara urged this week. But before releasing more funds, Brussels wants Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, to complete crucial reforms that are part of the country’s roadmap to eventual EU membership. “As reforms in the Rada progress, more budget support too. We have €37 billion still available in this calendar year,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote after meeting Zelenskyy at the U.N. General Assembly earlier this month. Kyiv, for its part, is also putting pressure on Brussels to revisit the more than €200 billion in Russian central-bank assets immobilized across the EU. “We need our friends, our European politicians, to be brave enough and to make some bold actions,” said Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko. Next year looks even more fraught. Marchenko told donors in Brussels this week that Ukraine would require $52.6 billion in aid in 2027, while about $32.6 billion remains unfunded. “Ukraine has no reserve funds to cover its entire spending. If we fail to get external financing, we’re facing a strong cut of all non-priority expenditures — and could even extend to protected expenditures,” said Myronenko, the economist. “If we don’t have the actual cash in our accounts, we won’t have the means to pay military salaries, pensions, and so on. So, if there is no international aid, then everything will be very bad,” she added.

Israeli attacks on residential areas across Gaza killed at least eight civilians and wounded others on Wednesday

Sarsour’s lawyers say the decision threatens free speech protections and plan to fight the ruling.

Designer showcases wool alternatives and ocean-inspired clothes and says ‘kindness requires real work’Stella McCartney has been talking about animal rights at fashion week for 30 years. She is usually a lone voice, but the issue is back in the headlines this season. Outcry over the physical restraining of a Peta protester at a catwalk show by Steven Kolb, the president of New York fashion week’s governing body, has put cruelty in wool production – previously considered niche compared to the hot button topic of fur – on the news agenda.“There is no wool on the runway this season, and I’m proud of that,” McCartney said after her show. She has been working on wool alternatives, including Brewed Protein, a fermented alternative to cashmere and wool developed in collaboration with the Japanese biotech firm Spiber, which was first used in her collections a year ago. Continue reading...

Senior Downing Street officials reach out to thinktanks and pollsters as they look to test backing for reversing BrexitSenior Downing Street officials have been reaching out to thinktanks and pollsters as they look to test public support for the UK rejoining the EU.Aides to Andy Burnham have been talking to EU experts in a range of organisations about how the public would view a promise to rejoin, as momentum builds behind including such a pledge in the next Labour manifesto. Continue reading...

UK and Brussels to go ahead with key November meeting after agreeing to kick talks on industrial subsidies into next year

Decision by Financial Conduct Authority comes as regulators globally walk back on transparency on environmental issues