For the past couple of decades, most municipalities beyond Tallinn's "golden ring" have been dancing around a leaky pot of money in a game called "Sustainable Decline," Hans Väre writes.

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.

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.

A bill that would define sexual intercourse without consent as rape has been sent to its second reading by the Riigikogu Legal Affairs Committee after additional amendments were added to define consent.

The Ministry of Finance continues to see a need for the state to retain its holdings in Levira, Eesti Loto, Eesti Energia and RKAS. The state justifies retaining its stake in the former on security grounds.

A bill that would define sexual intercourse without consent as rape has been sent to its second reading by the Riigikogu Legal Affairs Committee after additional amendments were added to define consent.

Ühismeedias pakub nalja Eesti euroloo tõlkeapsakas Soome Yle ülekandes. «Soomlased mäletavad teie laulu igavesti, tänu Erkkile,» naeravad eurofännid.

4.–6. juunini toimuv rahvusvaheline rattatuur Tour of Estonia tuleb tänavu tagasi kolmeetapilisena, kusjuures esmakordselt sõidetakse tuuri avaetapp ehk proloog legendaarsel Pirita velodroomil.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warns of "more waves" of Russian drone attacks on Wednesday.

A court in Bremen has found the manufacturer of the classic Alpine Milk chocolate bar guilty of "shrinkflation".

The travel operator says customers are delaying booking holidays over Iran war concerns.

The biggest tech firms are set to sell millions of smart glasses despite growing privacy concerns.

BRUSSELS — The European Commission is set to make cross-border rail travel easier, allowing passengers to book multiple legs of a journey across different rail operators in a single ticket, according to proposals included in a broader mobility package published Wednesday. The proposals aim to simplify what the Commission has described as a fragmented and opaque ticketing system and improve competition in the sector. It will force dominant rail operators to open their online sales platforms to rivals and extend passenger rights across multi-operator journeys booked in a single transaction. The package includes a new Rail Ticketing Regulation, which would require rail companies with a market share of 50 percent or more in national rail markets to host competitors’ tickets on their platforms. A second proposal would significantly strengthen passenger rights for multi-operator rail journeys by introducing a new category of “single ticket,” covering journeys booked in one transaction even when they involve multiple operators and separate transport contracts. Passengers who miss a connection because of delays or cancellations on earlier legs of the trip would have the right to be rerouted, and request reimbursement, assistance and compensation for the entire journey, even if later legs are with other operators. To prevent circumvention of the rules, railway undertakings, ticket vendors and tour operators would be prohibited from artificially splitting journeys into separate bookings when they could technically be sold under a single ticket. The Commission also wants rail tickets to go on sale earlier. Railway operators would be required to make tickets available at least five months before departure. Alongside the rail-specific measures, the package includes a third, broader regulation on so-called multimodal booking, covering digital platforms across rail, air, bus and waterborne transport. That proposal would impose “neutral display” obligations on major booking platforms, requiring them to rank transport options according to objective criteria such as price, travel time, or emissions, rather than commercial arrangements or sponsored placement. Large multimodal booking platforms deemed to hold “significant market presence” would face additional obligations, including restrictions on exclusivity clauses that could prevent transport operators from selling tickets through rival platforms or their own websites, as well as requirements to share certain data with public authorities for mobility planning purposes. Green MEP Kai Tegethoff welcomed the package as “a big step towards a truly European rail system.” The center-right European People’s Party’s Jens Gieseke also backed the package, arguing it could make cross-border rail travel “significantly more convenient” while opening national markets to greater competition. The proposals will now be sent to the European Parliament and EU countries for negotiations under the bloc’s ordinary legislative procedure.

PARIS — It’s all kicking off between the French far right and the country’s biggest football star. A day after top striker Kylian Mbappé defended his decision to wade into the messy world of French politics in a Vanity Fair profile, the far-right National Rally leaders Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen trolled Les Bleus’ captain on social media. Le Pen and Bardella, both front-runners for next year’s presidential election, were quick to note that the year after Mbappé’s acrimonious departure from Paris Saint-Germain in 2024, the club won the UEFA Champions League — European club football’s most prestigious trophy — for the first time in its history and could do so again after qualifying for the final this year. “I know what happens when Kylian Mbappé leaves PSG: the club wins the Champions League! (And maybe even a second time soon.)” Bardella wrote on X. “He left PSG to join Real Madrid, saying it was to win the Champions League. In the meantime, PSG won it,” Le Pen said in an interview with French radio RTL on Wednesday. Le Pen and Bardella’s party has long had a contentious relationship with the country’s popular national football team. Far-right leaders have provoked consternation in the past by criticizing the racial makeup of the team, insinuating they are less French. In 1996, National Rally founder Jean-Marie Le Pen said that “it’s artificial to bring in players from abroad and call them the French national team.” Mbappé’s current club team, Spanish giant Real Madrid, dominated the Champions League for most of the past decade but has suffered through two uninspired seasons since the Frenchman’s arrival. The pressure is once again on the 27-year-old star as he captains the French team in this summer’s FIFA World Cup, hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., as Les Bleus are considered favorites. In his interview with Vanity Fair ahead of the tournament, Mbappé defended his previous comments urging people to “vote against extremists that want to divide the country” ahead of snap elections in 2024. At the time, PSG star Ousmane Dembélé also urged voters to mobilize against the National Rally, calling its strong election results “alarming.” Forward Marcus Thuram said it was necessary to fight the National Rally as well. “We are citizens, and we couldn’t just sit there and tell ourselves everything is going to be fine and go play. We truly try to fight this idea that a footballer should shut up and play,” Mbappé told Vanity Fair, echoing the now-infamous comments U.S. conservative commentator Laura Ingraham made about NBA star LeBron James. “I know what it means, and what kind of consequences it can have for [this] country when those kinds of people take control,” said Mbappé. Many players on the current team are children of immigrants from France’s former African colonies or were themselves born abroad. Mbappé’s father was born in Cameroon and his mother is of Algerian descent. But as Marine Le Pen has worked to develop her party as a mainstream political force, she and many of her lieutenants have avoided targeting Les Bleus, especially as the national team has enjoyed sustained success over the past decade, including winning the World Cup in 2018 and reaching the final in 2022. Bardella even called Mbappé a “model of assimilation” in 2022.

Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s ex-aide, faces $10.5m corruption charges tied to a luxury real estate project near Kyiv.

Rights groups condemn jailing of journalists for violating a gag order on allegations against President Mohamed Muizzu.

Around fifty people aboard the boat have shown symptoms of the virus, reports sayResponding to the Guardian’s questions, the operator also confirmed that the vast majority of the 1,187 guests on board are British. There are also 514 crew members.Ambassador Cruise Line also confirmed that a 92-year-old man died on board earlier this week, but he did not report any symptoms at the time and the cause of his death is yet to be established. Continue reading...

CEO admits talks with Chery as other European carmakers discuss plans with Chinese firms to share factory spaceBusiness live – latest updatesNissan’s chief executive has confirmed he would consider building cars for other manufacturers at the UK’s largest car factory in Sunderland, amid talks with China’s Chery.Ivan Espinosa said Nissan was “looking at options” for Sunderland and its 6,000 workers as the struggling Japanese carmaker on Wednesday reported steep losses for the year to March. Continue reading...

Human rights groups say Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent back 50 people via Polish airport

Brussels seeks to replicate air travel bookings for trains, ferries and coaches