Estonia's border crossing points on the eastern border with Russia will remain closed overnight for another three months and have been further restricted in Narva, the government said on Thursday.

A fresh report from the Estonian Research Council (ETAg) shows that both the number of students admitted to doctoral studies and the number of defended dissertations have increased in recent years. Concerns over Estonian-language higher education have not disappeared, however, as the growth has been driven primarily by students from abroad.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is not a suitable choice as the bloc's negotiator with Russia, former European Commissioner Kadri Simson said.

Minister of Energy and the Environment Andres Sutt (Reform) has completed a new version of the Climate Resilient Economy Act and plans to seek principled approval for it at the government's cabinet meeting on Thursday. The coalition plans to pass the law before next year's elections.

Läti korruptsiooni ennetamise ja tõrje büroo (KNAB) pidas neljapäeva hommikul prokuratuuri ülesandel niinimetatud metsatööstuse juhtumi raames kinni põllumajandusminister Armands Krauze (Roheliste ja Talurahva Liit).

INVL Asset Management kaasas Baltikumis 27,3 miljonit eurot Rūdninkai sõjaväelinnaku projektile.

Children are among the injured after Russia launched drones and missiles across Ukraine, officials say.

Passengers on the ship showing no symptoms are allowed to leave, authorities say, after 49 people fell ill from gastrointestinal sickness.

The economy grew by 0.3% in the month, official figures show, confounding analysts' forecasts of a small contraction.

Flying by air will get more expensive as oil prices remain high, says international industry body boss.

KYIV — Andriy Yermak once mingled with world leaders; now he’s languishing in a Kyiv cell over money-laundering charges. Ukraine’s top anti-corruption court on Thursday locked up President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former adviser for two months in a pre-trial detention center with bail set at $3 million. Earlier this week, state investigators charged Yermak with corruption. Yermak — who, until his spectacular fall in November last year, was the second most powerful person in Ukraine — firmly denied all accusations in court. “I don’t have such funds. Now my lawyer will work with my friends for help [to collect the bail funds],” Yermak told Ukrainian journalists after the decision was announced Thursday. “I think my attorney, the group of lawyers, will file an appeal. I have nothing to hide, I will continue fighting, and I will stay in Ukraine,” Yermak added. In his role as Zelenskyy’s powerful chief of staff, Yermak helped shape Ukraine’s wartime diplomacy and was rarely absent from high-stakes meetings with world leaders, in summit venues from Washington to Brussels. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office charged Yermak with corruption earlier this week. Investigators said he was a member of an organized crime group, involved in laundering $10.4 million on a luxury construction project near Kyiv. The watchdogs did not name Yermak, but said the latest charges relate to the so-called Midas operation, a $100 million corruption scandal at Ukraine’s state energy company that blew a hole in Zelenskyy’s inner circle. The probe has touched other Zelenskyy associates — entrepreneur Timur Mindich and Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukraine’s former deputy prime minister. Both were also charged with corruption but denied the allegations last year. Mindich fled to Israel the day before he was supposed to be arrested. As the probe snowballed, Zelenskyy fired Yermak, his longtime friend and aide, on the same day corruption-busters searched the adviser’s office. According to NABU, the members of the alleged crime group laundered state funds, including from Energoatom, through luxury real estate investments. If Yermak posts bail, he must regularly present himself for questioning at NABU, inform detectives about his whereabouts, not leave Kyiv without the investigators’ permission, submit his passports to the authorities and wear an electronic bracelet, the anti-corruption court ruled Thursday. Zelenskyy’s office said this week it would not issue any comments on the Yermak trial, as the investigation is still ongoing.

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Sky News Is the Labour leadership contest about to get messy and plunge the party into chaos? Sam and Anne start the day expecting Wes Streeting to resign as health secretary to spark a contest, but a new intervention may have changed everyone’s calculations. Angela Rayner has said that an HMRC investigation into her tax affairs is over, paving a way for a challenge. But will she join the contest and can Andy Burnham find a way to enter the fray? The duo analyse the developing situation and ask whether it will be straightforward or complex showdown with the PM.  

The UN warns disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could drive up food and fertiliser costs, and worsen global hunger.

US sanctions imposed on UN expert Francesca Albanese by the Trump administration temporarily ⁠blocked by a judge.

Evika Siliņa said she was frustrated by the response to the incident and late alerts for the populationSlovakia has joined Hungary in condemning the Russian air attacks on the neighbouring region.Slovak foreign minister Juraj Blanár said in a post on Facebook that the strikes undermine prospects for ending the Russian aggression on Ukraine and “limit the space for peace dialogue.” Continue reading...

Brand owner Mondelēz was accused of reducing weight of Alpine Milk bar from 100g to 90g without significantly altering the packagingMany chocolate lovers consider shrinkflation a serious crime – and they have been vindicated after a German court ruled that the makers of Milka cheated consumers by cutting the bar’s size, while keeping the wrapper the same.The three-week case in a regional court was brought by Hamburg’s consumer protection office. It accused the chocolate brand’s US owner Mondelēz of deceiving shoppers by cutting the weight of Milka’s classic Alpine Milk bar from 100g to 90g without significantly altering the distinctive purple packaging. Continue reading...

Prime Minister Evika Siliņa resigns after several incidents of drones crashing in the Baltic state near the Russian border

Bombardment by more than 1,400 drones and 56 missiles over 24 hours is one of war’s largest aerial attacks