Tax policy works best when people understand what is being taxed, why it is being taxed and where the money goes. Once that connection disappears, trust in the system quickly disappears as well, writes Tõnu Kolts.

An iconic Setomaa landmark is back after reservists and U.S. allies teamed up during Estonia's Spring Storm exercise to rebuild a giant stone "7" on Seitsmemägi Hill.

Russia is trying to draw Europe into the role of peace mediator to escape new sanctions, Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said after the U.S. stepped back from leading the process.

The Riigikogu opposition does not think the Reform-Eesti 200 coalition will collapse before the election next spring, but believes a minority government is possible if MPs start joining other parties.

An iconic Setomaa landmark is back after reservists and U.S. allies teamed up during Estonia's Spring Storm exercise to rebuild a giant stone "7" on Seitsmemägi Hill.

The Ministry of Justice wants to raise the so-called blank media levy paid on every recording device, while businesses say the move would create an unjustified competitive advantage for foreign online retailers.

Vene väed tegid esmaspäeva õhtul õhulöögi Donetski oblastis asuva Kramatorski kesklinnale, kus sai vigastada vähemalt 11 inimest, edastas uudisteagentuur Unian võimuesindajate informatsiooni.

Venemaa jätkab ulatuslike õhurünnakute korraldamist Ukrainale võttes sihtmärgiks tsiviiltaristu ja tappes tsiviilelanikke, kirjutas esmaspäeval väljaanne Bild, mida vahendas ukrainlaste uudisteagentuur Unian.

It comes after the Ukrainian capital suffered one of the biggest aerial assaults of the war overnight on Saturday.

The pontiff also warned of a "new digital slaveries" in his first encyclical since becoming Pope last year.

Lord Wolfson tells the BBC Next now typically receives double the number of applicants for one role than it did two years ago.

Tech minister Liz Kendall told the BBC the government would publish a response to the consultation in the summer.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney invoked the turmoil of Brexit in warning that Alberta’s referendum proposal is “a very dangerous bluff” for Canada. “People say it’s the start of a negotiation process, but for some people it’s the start of real separation,” Carney said Monday, referring to Premier Danielle Smith’s plan to hold a referendum in October on whether Alberta should pursue a formal separation vote. “That is a very dangerous bluff,” Carney said, pointing to the turmoil that followed the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union a decade ago. The decision by almost 52 percent of British voters to leave the EU unleashed a wave of instability during the second half of Carney’s tenure as governor of the Bank of England, and sent populist ripples across the Atlantic when President Donald Trump unexpectedly won power months later. Carney’s remarks, his most pointed criticism since Smith announced Thursday she would allow Albertans to vote on a prereferendum question, drew on his January Davos speech in which he urged solidarity and unity over what he called the “rupture” in the world’s multilateral order. Carney had a front-row seat when then-British Prime Minister David Cameron’s gamble to allow a referendum backfired with consequences still being felt today. “I saw firsthand what happened in the United Kingdom, when the view was, ’Vote for this, it will be soft, and then we’ll negotiate,’” Carney told reporters. “They’re still 10 years later trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for, but what they ended up having.” Carney was asked whether he tried to dissuade Smith from going down a referendum path. “The premier doesn’t always take my advice,” he replied. Carney has expended domestic political capital in a bid to mend a decades-old rift between Ottawa and Alberta, by signing a memorandum of understanding with Smith’s government that could pave the way for a new oil pipeline from the province’s oilfields to the British Columbia coast. The Alberta deal has drawn fire from B.C.’s government, some Indigenous groups and environmentalists, who accuse Carney of abandoning his climate credentials and betraying his former role as the United Nations special envoy on climate action and finance. The Alberta MOU is also part of Carney’s “nation-building” major projects strategy, designed to kickstart construction of other large-scale energy and infrastructure projects, including greener options such as electricity and nuclear power, to strengthen the Canadian economy in the face of Trump’s economic threats. Carney made clear Monday that the referendum question undermines the stability potential investors seek. “Is it the democratic will of Albertans? Did they vote for this in the last provincial election? No, they didn’t. It wasn’t on the ballot paper, wasn’t in the mandates or platforms of the governing party … It is what it is.” Carney said he would be “campaigning for Canadian unity,” stressing the upside of staying in a strong country that benefits all provinces. “Being part of Canada brings many economic advantages, being part of our large market, being part of free trade agreements with one and a half billion people around the world,” Carney said. “It’s more than economic benefits, it’s social,” Carney added. “Canadians take care of each other. We take care of each other in our social programs, we take care of each other across different provinces, we look out for each other internationally. And this is a time where it’s particularly important.” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and other party members have also pledged to campaign for Canadian unity, and several unofficial “stay” campaigns have launched. “I’m a strong Canadian federalist, a proud Albertan and a proud Canadian,” said Poilievre, who now represents an Alberta riding. “I want a strong Alberta within a united Canada, and all Conservatives will be campaigning for Canadian unity in Alberta.” The Alberta question will dominate the final two weeks of Canada’s legislative sitting before a summer recess. Two Alberta Liberals were forced to address it on Monday at an announcement on an unrelated matter. “Being Albertan and being Canadian, they’re just the same thing,” said Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski. “They’re intertwined. …. And the heartbreaking aspect is being now asked, at this point in time, to sort of choose between what aspect of my being that I am.” Calgary Liberal MP Corey Hogan said the referendum push is not representative of the will of the majority of Albertans, pointing to two recent polls that show separatists drawing as little as 26 percent and 28 percent support. “This is an agenda that’s being driven by a small group of Albertans. Some of them would have been separatists under any situation,” said Hogan. Earlier this year, Carney warned the Trump White House not to meddle in the Alberta separatist movement after it was revealed that separatists had reached out to MAGA. Smith also visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago in January 2025 before he returned to power.

ROME — Italy’s governing right-wing coalition appeared on course Monday night to disappoint hopes of a center-left resurgence, as early municipal election results signaled wins in provincial cities for the right two months after the government’s crushing referendum defeat. The results threaten to debunk opposition claims that the left of the political spectrum is sufficiently unified to challenge PM Giorgia Meloni’s coalition nationally in elections next year. With around half of votes counted the center left was on track to retain Salerno and Prato, while the right was holding or advancing in several symbolic battlegrounds. In Venice the center right appeared likely to fend off an aggressive challenge the opposition had framed as proof that a broad progressive alliance could defeat Meloni’s bloc. The coalition was also on track to win in Reggio Calabria and was ahead in Arezzo, reinforcing the sense that conservative voters remain largely consolidated despite speculation that the referendum setback had weakened Meloni’s grip on power. The local elections had been closely watched as the first real political test since the failed March justice referendum, with opposition parties seeking to brandish the vote as evidence that cooperation between the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement and smaller left-wing forces could generate national momentum. Around a tenth of Italian citizens were able to vote across more than 700 municipalities. Senator Raffaele Speranzon of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party told journalists in a post-election briefing that a victory in the first round in Venice would be “world class,” and suggested that the presence of numerous national center-left party leaders had harmed the opposition campaign.

The prime minister called for an independent investigation into Israeli mistreatment, but stopped short of penalties.

Demonstrators gathered near the presidential palace in La Paz as police maintained blockades and tensions remained high.

Mercury in Spain also climbs to well above normal with weather event set to continue for several more daysMore than 350 French towns have recorded their highest-ever temperatures for May as France and the UK set national heat records amid an extreme early-summer heat event that could see the mercury rise to 40C in parts of Spain by the end of the week.The UK’s Met Office said the country’s all-time record for May was broken when a temperature of 34.8C was recorded at London’s Kew Gardens. Continue reading...

Scientists say record-breaking heat is a reminder of how climate crisis is affecting livesThe fierce heat sweeping across Europe over the bank holiday weekend has beaten the UK’s all-time temperature record for May, with scorching highs of close to 35C.A temperature of 33.5C was recorded at Heathrow airport on Monday lunchtime, according to provisional data from the Met Office, beating the previous May record that was set in 1922 and reached again in 1944. Later in the afternoon a temperature of 34.8C was recorded at London’s Kew Gardens. Continue reading...

Proximity of people appears to reduce stifling effect of wolves on small predator populations, scientists find

John Healey is latest government figure to be affected by suspected Russian electronic attack