With 296 days remaining until the next general elections, Estonian politics is calmer, less polarized and more conservative in its outlook than during the previous election cycle, Mari-Liis Jakobson notes in a commentary on Vikerraadio.

The Estonian Education Personnel Union (EHL) will demand during teachers' salary negotiations that the government fulfill its pre-election promises by raising teachers' minimum salary to 120 percent of the national average.

Varro Vooglaid's recent exit from the EKRE group means that the Riigikogu now has more unaffiliated or independent MPs than at any time before in the 21st century.

EKRE MP Rene Kokk refuted claims according to which whether he will run for the party again in 2027 is somehow connected to the fate of Varro Vooglaid.

The Estonian Education Personnel Union (EHL) will demand during teachers' salary negotiations that the government fulfill its pre-election promises by raising teachers' minimum salary to 120 percent of the national average.

The government has approved new pet identification rules requiring dogs and cats to be microchipped and recorded in a nationwide registry.

Eestis korraldatavate autorallide lipulaevaks on mõistagi MM-etapp Rally Estonia, mis toimub tänavu senisest kompaktsemas formaadis. Rally Estonia peakorraldaja Urmo Aava sõnul aitab muudatus vähendada meeskondade kulusid, säilitades samal ajal pealtvaatajate huvi ja majandusliku mõju.

Väikseid valgeid valesid tuleb suhetes ikka ette. Kuid vahel kasvavad need pisiasjad hiiglaslikeks saladusteks, mis võivad aastakümneid pinna all käärida. Mis on need asjad, millest mehed vaikivad?

Mengele fled Europe after the war but for years there were rumours he spent time in Switzerland.

Among the victims in Kyiv was 12-year-old Lyubava Yakovleva, whose father was killed during the war.

Analysts say the moves have been fuelled by concerns a Burnham-led government would increase government borrowing.

The regulator say the energy supplier breached licence conditions aimed at protecting customers in vulnerable situations.

American and Nigerian forces killed a leader of the Islamic State group in Nigeria in a joint operation carried out Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said early Saturday. “Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Trump said a social media post that offered few details. Al-Mainuki was viewed as the key figure in Islamic State organizing and finance, and had been plotting attacks against the United States and its interests, the Associated Press reported, citing an unnamed official. Trump called him “the most active terrorist in the world.” “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans,” Trump said in his post. “With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.” Trump did not specify where the attack took place. 

OTTAWA — Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney struck a pipeline agreement with oil-rich Alberta on Friday, presenting it as proof of a “Canada that works” amid a separatist strain in the province. Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met in Calgary to sign a deal that could eventually move more than 1 million barrels of Canadian oil a day to the Pacific, creating a direct export route to major energy markets in Japan, South Korea, China and India. The agreement marks a major shift in the Liberal government’s energy policies. Under Carney, Ottawa is now embracing Alberta’s decade-long push to expand oil production and export capacity. It’s an effort made possible by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, which exposed vulnerabilities in Canada’s economic dependence on the U.S. And as the Alberta separatist movements flares up, Carney is attempting to show he is listening to the concerns of the province, which has long accused Ottawa of restricting resource development. “Today, is also about building trust in a Canada that works, a Canada rooted in cooperative federalism, where we build together pragmatically and ambitiously to achieve our shared ambitions,” Carney said Friday. “A Canada where our differences are strengths to be nurtured and respected, not risks to be managed.” Smith has also been working to tamp down the separatist movement, which is calling for a referendum on separating from Canada. The premier has blamed “10 years of bad Liberal policy” under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for fueling western alienation, pointing to climate rules and energy regulations she says hurt Alberta’s economy. “I support sovereignty within a united Canada,” Smith told reporters Friday after signing the pipeline pact. “That means Alberta should stay a part of Canada and continue to pursue and support and enshrine our constitutionally invested rights, and also make sure that the federal government respects them,” she added. “That’s what today is about.” Since coming into office over a year ago, Carney has had to manage caucus divisions over oil, while convincing investors Canada is serious about building energy projects. In November, a member of Carney’s Cabinet resigned over his pipeline push. A month later, Carney delivered a wake-up call to his Liberal caucus, telling them a pipeline could help keep the country together. “This was a no-BS kind of thing,” a Liberal MP who was granted anonymity to discuss the December caucus meeting told POLITICO at the time. “This was coming from someone who grew up in that province, who understands that province, and who was very worried about the feelings of alienation.” This week, the prime minister dismissed the idea that a pipeline is necessary to preserve national unity. But Carney also views the pipeline as an economic win. Trade diversification has become a central pillar of his economic agenda. And he considers access to overseas markets critical to Canada’s sovereignty. Alberta’s United Conservative Party, which is acting as the proponent of the project for now, says it plans to submit its application for the pipeline to the federal government by July 1. The federal government is promising to approve it by October following consultations with Indigenous peoples and the province of British Columbia. Construction could begin as early as September 2027, with oil flowing to a port in British Columbia no later than 2033-34. The expectation is a private sector company will eventually take over the project, which the Alberta government has hinted could come by the time it submits its application this summer. The oil-rich province has also signaled there is significant interest in the project from investors in Asia, where demand for Canadian oil has been rising amid instability caused by the war in the Middle East. The deal is contingent on a new emissions framework for Alberta’s oil and gas sector, including the oil sands, and advancing a carbon capture storage hub to help reach net-zero by 2050.

Sixty-five people have died in a new Ebola outbreak in DR Congo's Ituri province with 246 suspected cases.

At least seven Palestinians were killed when Israeli air strikes hit a residential building and a vehicle in Gaza City.

Firms do not offer cover for some models, or charge more than for equivalent petrol cars, research findsUK insurers are more hesitant to cover some hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) from China than cars from other countries, research suggests.While some drivers can save money by buying cars made in China, they may have more limited options to get insurance than those buying electric, hybrid and petrol cars from Europe, the US and South Korea. Continue reading...

As continent faces tough headwinds, leaders are bearing brunt of delivering bad news to frustrated electorates“People hate you,” the adviser informed his leader. A think-piece in a daily newspaper noted that “almost everyone agrees on one thing: they don’t like him”.The recent disastrous set of local election results in the UK built on Keir Starmer’s longstanding reputational problem: only 11% of Britons believe he has been a good or great prime minister, and nearly 60% believe he has been poor or terrible, according to polling by YouGov. Continue reading...

Alliance chief Mark Rutte set to meet defence groups at meeting in Brussels next week

The bizarre system of credit scoring can punish the prudent and indebted alike