The 35th anniversary of the restoration of Estonia's independence was also marked by a concert on Toompea featuring several well-known acts to the public.

While the number of international students at Estonia's universities has been falling in recent years, the latest admissions data point to a renewed interest.

Riigikogu member Kalev Stoicescu, who left junior coalition party Eesti 200 last week, said on Wednesday that he had joined the non-parliamentary party, Parempoolsed.

Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise is likely the only candidate at the presidential elections, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) Rector and potential candidate Tiit Land said.

A ceremonial joint sitting of the 15th Riigikogu and the August 20 Club was held Thursday to mark the 35th anniversary of the restoration of Estonia's independence.

Estonia's second city marked the 35th anniversary of Estonia's independence restoration Thursday with a variety of attractions for all ages.

Kolm Eesti roki raskekahurväelast – Terminaator, Smilers ja Shanon – ühendasid jõud ning andsid Tartus suurejoonelisele suvetuurile võimsa avalöögi.

Kui käivete väike kahanemine pole suurem sündmus, siis koondina oli Tallinna börsil olevatel ettevõtetel kasumi poolest nigel teine kvartal.

At least 17 people were killed in the "massive attack" overnight on Ukraine's capital, as mayor Vitali Klitschko warns hot water supply has been disrupted.

Men born in Ukraine who fought for Russia are tried for treason, but at a prisoner of war camp in western Ukraine, many believe they were defending their homeland.

Jo Boydell had been criticised for the company's handling of issues with its safety and security.

It comes after the interest rate on 30-year bonds reached the highest level in almost 20 years.

A Romanian F-16 fighter jet blew up a sea drone near the Neptun Deep gas platform in the Black Sea this morning, with the country’s president blaming the incident on Russia. Romania’s Ministry of National Defense initially said the uncrewed vessel was carrying explosives, but later clarified it was a maritime drone. President Nicușor Dan condemned Russia in a statement accusing Moscow of endangering “critical infrastructure” and people “working at the platform.” “I strongly condemn the intensification of these types of irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation,” he wrote in a post on X. European Commission President Von der Leyen also weighed in on the incident, lending European solidarity to Romania. “An escalating campaign of threats is underway, unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our Union,” she wrote on X. “With the European Drone Defence Initiative and the Eastern Flank Watch, we are scaling up production in Europe … So we can respond to emerging threats with speed, unity and resolve.” According to a Facebook post by Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruță, the drone was spotted by Romania’s Coast Guard a few hundred meters from the Neptun Deep platform, where several hundred people were working. After consulting the president, Romanian authorities scrambled two F-16 fighter jets and ordered the drone be destroyed. Miruță said the drone had not come from its neighbor: “Through the direct communication channel recently created with the Ukrainian side, I received the official confirmation that it is not of Ukrainian origin.” Neptun Deep is Romania’s largest natural gas development and is located in the Black Sea. Romania began developing the project in 2023, with the first gas to be extracted in 2027; it is expected to help Romania become the EU’s largest producer of natural gas. NATO allies have previously raised concerns about protecting Neptun Deep from Russian drone attacks. Von der Leyen called the incident “hybrid warfare.” The Russian embassy in Romania did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

How Greek farmers milked EU funds from imaginary cows A POLITICO analysis of official data reveals gaps between subsidy claims and recorded livestock numbers. By NEKTARIA STAMOULIin Athens Illustration by Arnau Busquets Guàrdia/POLITICO ATHENS — Greek farmers claimed EU subsidies for tens of thousands more farm animals in 2024 than the country’s official records can account for, according to a POLITICO analysis of government data. The finding threatens to expand a wider Greek  farm-subsidy scandal.   The analysis reveals discrepancies between a shrinking national cattle herd as reported by ELSTAT, Greece’s statistics agency, and the subsidies recorded by the Greek agriculture ministry.   Recent farm scandals have prompted the Athens government to promise overhauls and increase controls over agriculture. “Greek livestock farming is turning a new page,” Agriculture Minister Margaritis Schinas  said at a press conference in June. “It is fulfilling its commitments to the EU and entering a new era in the agriculture sector — one governed by rules, transparency and reliability.”  But the data discrepancies suggest there is further to go before the government has enough information to get a grip on the issue.  For 2024, data from the agriculture ministry shows that the Greek authorities paid out EU subsidies for about 260,000 lactating cows, according to figures cited by a Greek agricultural news site and confirmed by POLITICO with the agricultural ministry.  Because a lactating cow generally produces one calf a year, those cows should have added roughly the same number of calves to the national herd. The agriculture ministry data also shows that during 2024 about 70,000 cattle were slaughtered for meat, which also qualifies for subsidies.   Greece does not publish comprehensive figures for cattle that are culled because of age, declining productivity or disease. But three Greek cattle breeders told POLITICO that such removals amount to roughly 20 percent of the herd each year. Given that there were about 600,000 head of cattle in Greece in 2024, according to ELSTAT, that would be a decrease of about 120,000 animals.   Taken with the subsidies data, that estimate suggests the national herd should have grown by roughly 70,000 that year.  Instead, data compiled by ELSTAT through annual surveys show the national herd has been shrinking, from about 640,000 in 2023 to 600,000 in 2024 to 520,000 in 2025, according to the most recent figures published in June.  The discrepancy could be even larger, said Nikos Dimopoulos, chair of the Kavala Livestock Farmers’ Association. For instance, some of the animals that were slaughtered might have been imported rather than removed from the national herd. In most years, Greece is a net importer of live cattle and exports only small numbers.   “There’s no oversight and we cannot have an exact figure because there is no accurate data,” Dimopoulos said. Authorities only carry out spot checks or investigate following a complaint.   Similar discrepancies appear in Greece’s sheep and goat records. ELSTAT reported a population of about 8.8 million animals in 2025, while some 15.7 million were registered in the country’s Integrated Veterinary Information System, a government database. Two agriculture ministry officials, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to comment on the issue, said the ministry is not responsible for maintaining livestock records and relies on data supplied by municipalities. The country lacks a secure and reliable registry on which to base the payment of livestock subsidies, experts say.    “Unless we carry out a nationwide census of livestock to see what we actually have, we will not have a clear picture,” Dimopoulos said.  Complaints about the discrepancy between the recorded subsidies and the official size of the national cattle herd have been submitted to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office by the recently formed left-wing Elas party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, which conducted its own study of livestock numbers.  “Complaints have been sent to EPPO,” said Thomas Moschos, who heads the party’s agriculture policy. He added that the Agricultural Association of Kastoria, a small-scale farmers’ organization where he serves as president, along with other associations have already submitted cases to the authority.   EPPO, which declined to confirm it was examining the matter, is already pursuing dozens of cases involving people who allegedly received EU agricultural funds for pastureland they did not own or lease, or for farming work they did not perform.   In July the agency announced it had indicted 22 defendants, including four lawmakers from the ruling New Democracy party, as part of its investigation into agricultural fraud. The trials for the lawmakers begin in Athens in October. They all deny any wrongdoing.   Veterinarians and officials at OPEKEPE — the agency formerly responsible for distributing EU agricultural funds that was shut down due to the farm-subsidy scandal — allegedly played a role in inflating livestock records, according to a document EPPO submitted to the Greek parliament asking it to lift the immunity of several lawmakers.  One EPPO case involving a New Democracy lawmaker concerns alleged subsidy payments to a breeder for more cows than he actually owned. According to the case file seen by POLITICO, the lawmaker called a senior OPEKEPE official to press for the payment and said a veterinarian had already altered the breeder’s animal numbers in the official veterinary database, increasing the subsidy for which he was eligible. The case will be heard on Oct. 2.  The scandal has prompted the government to introduce new controls such as an electronic identification system for sheep and goats using stomach capsules, known as boluses. The system is due to be piloted this year on farms with more than 900 animals, covering about 700,000 sheep and goats, before being expanded in subsequent years.  In March, Greece submitted an action plan to EU authorities setting out measures to prevent agricultural funds from being wrongfully doled out.  The European Commission said it would work with Greece to help “further improve the management” of European farming subsidies. “Good progress is taking place,” Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said in a written statement. “But there is still work to be done.” 

Former leader was escorted from Adiala jail to Shifa International Hospital, following court order, local media reports.

US economic restrictions have strained the island's already fragile economy, prompting blackouts and medical shortages.

Volodymyr Zhuravlev had been consulted on Snake Island, a dramatised reconstruction of incidentEarlier this month locals in Zagreb noticed something odd outside an art deco building. Sandbags and barricades appeared in front of the Esplanade hotel, along with a film crew and extras sporting Ukrainian military uniforms. Soon afterwards the actors Sean Penn and Adrien Brody were spotted on the set in the Croatian capital, together with Doug Liman, the Hollywood director of the Jason Bourne movies.Liman had come to shoot his latest fictional political thriller. Its subject: the 2022 Nord Stream explosions, in which a team of Ukrainian divers allegedly blew up a pipeline supplying Russian natural gas to Germany. One of the chief suspects, Volodymyr Zhuravlev, had twice eluded the Germany authorities: once allegedly slipping out of Poland in the boot of a diplomatic car, and on another occasion freed by a court. Continue reading...

Meta chief executive paid roughly €20m for gothic-style mansion built in 1830 and its surroundingsIt stretches the definition of pied-à-terre but Mark Zuckerberg now has a pad in Ireland: Strancally castle.The Meta chief executive and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have bought the gothic-style mansion and its 178-hectare (440-acre) estate in county Waterford to use as a base during visits to Ireland. Continue reading...

Nineteen authorities reach agreement over 2015 disaster in blow to English High Court class action

Its cash generation, broader earnings and lower tech concentration deserve more respect