Estonian athlete Henry Räppo won the Ironman Tallinn 70.3 for the second year running. In the women's race, Italy's Marta Bernardi took victory, with Liis Kapten finishing third.

A book of condolences has been opened at the Stenbock House in memory of former prime minister Siim Kallas, who passed away at the start of the weekend, aged 77.

A book of condolences has been opened at the Stenbock House in memory of former prime minister Siim Kallas, who passed away at the start of the weekend, aged 77.

Estonian politician Siim Kallas, a former prime minister, foreign minister and vice president of the European Commission who also held several other senior positions, died overnight Friday into Saturday.

The Level 2 storm which hit Estonia on Saturday has started to subside, though strong winds and rain are still forecast for Sunday.

The impending arrival of Saturday's storm saw kitesurfers head out to catch the wind and the waves ahead of it making landfall.

Saksa autohiiu Volkswageni tegevjuht hoiatas pühapäeval, et ettevõte on enam kui kriitilises olukorras.

Kui torm on majale katuse sisse löönud, puu autole kukkunud või vesi keldrisse tunginud, tekib esimese asjana küsimus: mida nüüd teha?

Mykhailo Fedorov has also called for wartime elections to be held in Ukraine.

A government minister says people have been taking risks by going into the water, with 301 deaths since 19 June.

The review of how rates are calculated in England and Wales could lead to reform of the system.

The fast-fashion giant's shares are due to start trading in Hong Kong on 1 September.

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music We’re back! And so are Ukraine’s key backers. On the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, leaders meet in Kyiv this Monday to discuss new pledges of support for the country.  On the podcast, Zoya Sheftalovich and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Nick Vinocur discuss what support Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is looking to secure from the Coalition of the Willing ahead of another difficult winter. Next we look at elections in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany is on course for a sweeping victory. If it wins an outright majority, its lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, could become the first AfD state premier.  Plus: e-scooters get a reprieve until the end of the year in Brussels, much to Nick’s delight. The Brussels government announced it had found a way around a legal ruling that threatened to remove the scooters from the streets on Sept. 1.  Questions? Comments? Get in touch! You can message us or send a voice message to our WhatsApp here or at +32 491 05 06 29.

This past May and June, while the Strait of Hormuz crisis was at its peak and a fifth of the world’s traded oil was looking for a way around the blockage, researchers from Kapa Research were interviewing the businesses that move the cargo. We spoke with 314 shipowners and C-suite executives ​from​​​ the world’s leading shipping groups and asked them how they see the years ahead. ​ ​​The responses reveal a level of confidence that exceeded expectations. An overwhelming 94​​​ percent​​​​​​​ express optimism about their company’s prospects​, and 70​ percent​​​ believe global shipping is in better shape today than it was five years ago. The Global Shipping Outlook 2026 is Kapa Research’s quantitative study of the industry’s leadership, with respondents across every major shipping region, from Europe’s main maritime cent​er​​​s to the United States and Asia. Because fieldwork ran at the height of the crisis, the survey is a rare real-time record of how shipping leaders think under pressure. Geopolitical crises in Ukraine, the Red Sea and the Middle East are named the most serious problem​s​ for shipping today by 76​ percent​​​ of respondents, the top concern in every region we surveyed. Yet when we asked what the Hormuz crisis means for their own company, 40​ percent​​​ said it creates new opportunities and only 23​ percent​​​ see significant obstacles. ​ ​​Nearly half of the industry’s leadership regards turmoil as good for business​​.​ The logic is pragmatic. Conflict pushes ships onto longer routes, longer routes absorb vessel supply​​ and freight rates rise while demand for goods persists. Shipping moves against the cycle. When instability rises, so do revenues. The responses reveal a level of confidence that exceeded expectations. An overwhelming 94​​​ percent​​​​​​​ express optimism about their company’s prospects. ​​The industry also treats this as a lasting reset rather than a temporary challenge. 76​ percent​​​ expect the effects of the Hormuz crisis on global shipping to outlast six months, and opinion splits almost in half on whether this is the sector’s most serious crisis of the past 50 years, ​which covers​​​ the oil shocks, the tanker war, the global financial crisis and C​ovid​​​-19. One phrase from our interviews captures the mindset behind optimism: ​“​​​​Shipping keeps working even when the world stops.​​”​​​​ We therefore asked the uncomfortable question directly. Does global shipping today want peace​​ or does it benefit from turmoil? The peace camp wins, but only just: 54​ percent​​​ to 46​ percent​​​. Even among those who say the crisis hurts their own company, a third concede that the industry gains. Such cando​​r is rare in any sector, and it tempers any expectation that shipping will lobby hard for de-escalation. Markets gaining on volatility do not vote against it. Confidence, however, does not mean that the influence equilibrium stays the same. Asked which power will affect developments in global shipping the most in the years ahead, 76​ percent​​​ of our respondents point to the East, meaning China and India, while 17​ percent​​​ choose the West. China is rated the leading shipbuilding nation by 69​ percent​​​, the operator of the most competitive fleet by 62​ percent​​​ and a near-universal 96​ percent​​​ ​​call its role important for ​​strengthening ​​global shipping. Trust, though, has not moved East with the tonnage. Only 17​ percent​​​ rate Chinese ship management highly, while traditional maritime powers such as Greece, Norway​​ and Germany continue to be recognized as the industry’s superior managers. The same shift appears when executives rate the world’s leaders. Xi Jinping​, the president of China,​ stands alone at the top with a net favourability (percent of positive minus percent of negative views) of ​​+44, ahead of Narendra Modi​, the prime minister of India,​ at +24, while the bottom of the ranking is crowded with political leaders at the cent​er​​​ of today’s wars and confrontations. For an industry that plans in decades, predictability seems to weigh more than political alignment, and maritime leaders reward the global actors who ensure a more predictable environment. Nearly half of the industry’s leadership regards turmoil as good for business​​.​ The study’s technology section shows where the next edge will be decided. Shipping’s digital core has advanced from its experimentation phase. Remote monitoring and voyage optimi​z​​​ation are standard equipment, used by over seven in ten companies, while a second wave, predictive maintenance and ​Internet of Things ​​​sensors, is scaling, and a third, ​artificial intelligence (​AI​)​ analytics and digital twins, is only emerging. Each wave reaches roughly half the companies of the one before it. Tradition survives alongside the sensors, since 70​ percent​​​ still track fleet performance with the noon report (a holdover from the age of sail). ​AI​​​ is the divide to watch​:​​​ 65​ percent​​​ of companies already use or pilot AI, yet only 7​ percent​​​ use it extensively​​ and adoption splits along tonnage lines. Among fleets above one million deadweight ​​tonnes, 79​ percent​​​ work with AI, against 50​ percent​​​ in the mid-sized tier. Scale buys data, teams and budgets, the returns compound, and command of AI and cybersecurity will help set the new shipping hierarchy. As one shipowner told us, “Better positioning produces better data, which produces better positioning.” No such technology will replace shipping crews. The shortage of skilled personnel remains the third most serious problem in the ranking, at 37​ percent​​​, and companies respond with high safety standards, competitive pay, internet access on board and training. Two findings point to a deeper change​:​​​ 72​ percent​​​ of companies intend to employ more women at sea​​ and 74​ percent​​​ now call ESG​ (environment, social, governance)​ performance important to their overall business strategy. Shipping keeps working even when the world stops.​One response from the interviews Shipping carries about four​-​​​fifths of world trade, so the way its leaders think matters far beyond the industry. What they told us at the peak of a crisis is that volatility is now structural, that the cent​er​​​ of maritime gravity is shifting East, and that they plan to keep moving through whatever comes. Governments, corporations and international organi​z​​​ations facing the same instability have lessons to draw from ​their​​​ resilience. ​​The full Global Shipping Outlook 2026 report is available ​here​​. ​​A special thanks to LAROS by Prisma Electronics SA for their insights and support in this year’s study.​

Abbas Araghchi said new US sanctions, likely to be unveiled Monday, are like watching the 'same movie on repeat'.

Syria's foreign minister meets Israeli officials to de-escalate tensions after Israeli strike near Turkish border.

Rightwing voices seize on plans to offer Black children an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool in the German capitalIt was meant to be an outing for Black children in Berlin and their families, offering them an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool set up by a local theatre.But the plans, slated for earlier this month, had to be scrapped after they were seized on by rightwing and conservative voices to whip up outrage, leaving organisers fending off racist emails and threats. Continue reading...

PM will use independence day trip to announce sharing of classified information about Storm Shadow componentsBritain will boost Ukraine’s capacity to make its own long-range missiles, Andy Burnham will announce on Monday, as he travels to Kyiv for the country’s independence day on his first foreign visit as prime minister.Burnham will arrive in the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning at a crucial time in the war, with Kyiv braced for another wave of Russian missile attacks and the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, facing his most direct domestic challenge. Continue reading...

The multi-award-winning Italian writer turns memory into drama in this warm, teasing account of an early-1970s adolescence

Veterans of one of cinema’s most glamorous gatherings share their favourite places in La Serenissima