General Information
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,300 other islands and islets on the east coast of the Baltic Sea. Its capital city of Tallinn, along with the city of Tartu, are the country's two largest urban areas. The Estonian language, of the Finnic family, is the official language and the first language of the majority of nearly 1.4 million people. Estonia is one of the least populous member states of the European Union.
- Population: 1,350,000+
- Area: 45,228 km²
- Coordinates: Latitude: 59.416667938232, Longitude: 24.75
- Timezone: Timezone info not available
- Current Local Time: ailab
Latest Estonia News
news | ERR
Tallinn cultural venue to cover up Stalin-era ceiling mural, stucco details
Tallinn's city-run Mere Cultural Center is covering up a Stalinist ceiling mural and details in a move officials say will make the space more neutral and easier to rent out.
news | ERR
Interior minister backs court oversight for phone, email account searches
The Ministry of the Interior is backing a proposal to require court oversight before authorities can search the contents of phones, email accounts or other digital devices.
Politics | ERR
Central bank economist: All parties contributed to Estonia's rising debt
Estonia's rising debt burden reflects years of decisions by every major ruling party, not just the current coalition, says Bank of Estonia economist Kaspar Oja.
Politics | ERR
Reform Party has no immediate plan to swap out chairman despite ratings slump
Former Reform Party leader Siim Kallas says the party needs a fresh direction and a clear platform ahead of the upcoming election and that the coalition will reach a consensus and elect Estonia's next president in the Riigikogu in early September.
Society | ERR
Tallinn cultural venue to cover up Stalin-era ceiling mural, stucco details
Tallinn's city-run Mere Cultural Center is covering up a Stalinist ceiling mural and details in a move officials say will make the space more neutral and easier to rent out.
Society | ERR
Interior minister backs court oversight for phone, email account searches
The Ministry of the Interior is backing a proposal to require court oversight before authorities can search the contents of phones, email accounts or other digital devices.
Postimees
Prantsuse Rahvusraamatukogust leiti Mozarti käsikiri avaldamata flöödi- ja harfipaladega
Prantsusmaa Rahvusraamatukogu leidis maailmakuulsa Austria helilooja seni tundmatu käsikirja, mis toob päevavalgele seitse uut pala flöödile ja harfile. Muusikateadlane François-Pierre Goy oli pärast 31 aastat Prantsusmaa Rahvusraamatukogu arhivaarina valmistumas rahulikuks pensionile jäämiseks. Kui ta aga 2. veebruaril raamatukogu ühes hoidlas käsikirju läbi vaatas, sattus ta ootamatult tundmatule noodivihikule.
Postimees
Päikesetormid võivad Maa ilma pea koheselt mõjutada
Uus uuring näitab, et magnettormid võivad põhjustada pea koheseid muutusi sademete hulgas, maapinna temperatuuris ja muudes ilmastikutingimustes.
BBC News
Europe's deadly heatwave breaks German record and halts public events
Germany's highest ever temperature of 41.3C is recorded provisionally in Saarbrücken, over the border from France.
BBC News
Christmas market attacker jailed for life for murdering six in Germany
A nine-year-old and five women were killed when Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen drove into the market in 2024.
BBC News
Trump threatens 100% tariff on European nations over tech tax
The US president says "Numerous European countries" have been discussing bringing in such a levy.
BBC News
Three unusual things about the King's tax bill
King Charles paid £12.9m in tax for 2024-2025 - here's what we know about his unique tax situation.
POLITICO
Ein Spaziergang durch Kyjiw mit Botschafter Thoms
Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music Auf einem Spaziergang durch die ukrainische Hauptstadt zeigt Deutschlands Botschafter Heiko Thoms im Gespräch mit Gordon Repinski, wie der Drang nach Alltag für die Ukrainer zu einem bewussten Akt des Widerstands gegen die russische Aggression geworden ist. Thoms blickt auf den härtesten Winter seit Jahrzehnten zurück. Wochenlange zweistellige Minustemperaturen, systematische Angriffe auf die Energieinfrastruktur und das ständige Dröhnen der Generatoren sollten die Bevölkerung zermürben. Stattdessen stärkten diese Kriegsverbrechen den Widerstandswillen. Der Botschafter berichtet von den enormen psychischen und physischen Belastungen für seine ukrainischen Mitarbeiter. Er beschreibt aber auch die rasante militärische und technologische Entwicklung der Ukraine. Das Land ist längst vom reinen Sicherheitsempfänger zum Innovationsstandort geworden. Drohnenregimente, Angriffe auf russische Versorgungslinien und das Vorrücken der „Killzone“ zeigen, dass Kiew das Momentum nutzt. Trotz der militärischen Erfolge und ersten konkreten Verhandlungen bremst Thoms unrealistische Erwartungen an einen schnellen EU-Beitritt der Ukraine bis 2027. Er fordert tiefgreifende Reformen bei Rechtsstaatlichkeit und Korruptionsbekämpfung. Gleichzeitig warnt er davor, dass Deutschland aus dem ukrainischen Resilienz- und Innovationsschub lernen müsse, bevor man selbst in eine ähnliche Krise gerate. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski. POLITICO Deutschland – ein Angebot der Axel Springer Deutschland GmbH Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin Tel: +49 (30) 2591 0 information@axelspringer.de Sitz: Amtsgericht Berlin-Charlottenburg, HRB 196159 B USt-IdNr: DE 214 852 390 Geschäftsführer: Carolin Hulshoff Pol, Mathias Sanchez Luna
POLITICO
Trump administration partially lifts Anthropic’s AI export ban
The Trump administration on Friday partially rescinded its export ban on Anthropic’s most advanced artificial intelligence model — deescalating a confrontation that has caused confusion across the American AI industry. The release clears the way for a select group of more than 100 companies and agencies to gain access to the Mythos 5 model, two weeks after the administration imposed restrictions amid fears that the software could be used to launch cyberattacks. But a second advanced Anthropic model, called Fable 5, remains blocked. Meanwhile, pressure from the White House led Anthropic’s leading competitor, OpenAI, to limit the release of its most advanced model this week because of similar cyber concerns. The series of back-and-forth actions on AI, from an administration that has promised to unleash American companies to dominate the technology, has caused concerns in the industry about how heavy a hand President Donald Trump plans to take in overseeing what kinds of products U.S. developers can release to the market. It’s been less than four weeks since Trump signed an executive order rejecting mandatory federal controls on AI, instead asking leading tech companies to submit new models to a voluntary government review before making them widely available. Conversations between Anthropic and the administration are expected to continue through the weekend on restoring access to Fable, according to a person who was granted anonymity to describe the private discussions. The conversations have also focused on determining a standardized framework to evaluate cases of suspected security bypasses in the future, the person said, beyond just addressing the recent episode. POLITICO reported last week on discussions of a technical assessment that would create ground rules for these kinds of disputes. “Since the issuance of my June 12 letter, Anthropic has worked with the U.S. government to address risks associated with the Covered Models,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote in a Friday letter to Anthropic’s chief compute officer Tom Brown, obtained by POLITICO. “These efforts have yielded significant progress.” Semafor first reported on the new letter Friday night. Anthropic, which has disputed the concerns about its cyber controls, issued a statement later Friday welcoming the administration’s turnabout.“We received notice from the U.S. government that Mythos 5, our strongest cybersecurity model, can be redeployed to a small group of cyber defenders and infrastructure providers,” the company said. “We are working to provision the approved set of providers and restore their access to Mythos 5 as quickly as possible. We are pleased to see this progress and continue to work with the government to expand access to Mythos 5 and make Fable 5 available for general use again.” But others across the industry have expressed a desire for more clarity about the administration’s long-term intentions. Those included OpenAI, which announced Friday that, at the administration’s request, it is making only a limited release of three versions of its new GPT‑5.6 model. “We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default,” OpenAI said in a blog post Friday. “It keeps the best tools from users, developers, enterprises, cyber defenders, and global partners who need them.” Friday’s reversal on Mythos came after Anthropic staff and senior White House officials met over the last two weeks to discuss ways to defuse the dispute, including technical questions about whether the company had done enough to prevent its AI products from being used to launch cyberattacks. The action allows the company to restore access to its Mythos 5 models to a list of more than 100 “trusted partners,” including companies and federal agencies approved by the government, an administration official familiar with the move granted anonymity to discuss it said. “In just two weeks, we have worked diligently to ensure America remains the global leader in AI while safeguarding our security,” said Benno Kass, a Commerce Department spokesperson. The administration had slapped the export restrictions on Fable and Mythos, banning their use by foreign nationals, after a series of tense calls with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about whether the company’s safety guardrails were as solid as promised. Anthropic then announced it was cutting off access “for all our customers to ensure compliance” — while insisting that “we believe this is a misunderstanding.” Amodei and Trump later sat across from each other during a G7 lunch with allied leaders and AI executives last week in Évian-les-Bains, France. The administration’s frantic effort to address the safety issue raised a host of questions about how it would deal with future security concerns in the rapidly evolving AI industry, as well as whether Trump’s aides were unfairly singling out Anthropic after previous clashes with the company. It also left U.S. allies in Europe and Canada abruptly unable to use the new Anthropic models to identify and patch their own cybersecurity vulnerabilities, renewing calls for the EU to lessen its reliance on American technology. Meanwhile, reports of rapid advances in Chinese AI technology have raised worries across the industry about whether U.S. companies will lose their competitive advantage while waiting for administration approvals.
Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
Exclusive: Infiltrating Myanmar’s scam syndicates
101 East goes undercover to expose the playbook of Myanmar’s notorious scam industry.
Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
No school, living in a tent, but it’s exam time in Gaza
Dana Shabat, 18, has to walk an hour every day to go to a cafe to take her high school exams in the Gaza Strip.
Europe | The Guardian
Europe heatwave live: Germany braced for temperatures ‘well over 40C’; extreme heat warnings for England
Forecasters say hottest conditions spreading into central and eastern EuropeAfter decades of climate warnings, why is Europe so unprepared for rising heat?Seawater is seeping into Italy’s longest river as the waterway starts to run dry in the heatwave, hitting a farming heartland that produces the milk for Parmesan cheese.The Po River has never fallen this low so early in the year, raising fears of a devastating drought in July in this corner of northern Italy. Continue reading...
Europe | The Guardian
Trump threatens 100% tariff on European countries that impose digital tax
US president says levy would be imposed immediately and supersede pre-existing trade deals with the country Donald Trump has threatened to place a 100% import tariff on any European country that imposes a tax on digital services from US companies.Writing on Truth Social on Friday, the US president said that “numerous European countries” had been discussing putting a digital services tax on American companies and that “some of these countries are close to actually doing this”. Continue reading...
Europe
German carmakers embark on historic job cuts as Chinese rivals flood market
Threat to industrial model of Europe’s largest economy mounts
Europe
A shot in the arm for Merz
Pension reform plan shows coalition government making bold moves to confront Germany’s problems