Estonia does not need a president who can be everything at once, but an institution that helps keep our constitutional order in balance when the world around us is not, Mari-Liis Jakobson writes.

In what officials say is a first for Estonia, a Tallinn court fined plaintiffs over false academic references generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in a legal filing.

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.

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.

In what officials say is a first for Estonia, a Tallinn court fined plaintiffs over false academic references generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in a legal filing.

Estonia has more than 400 churches, and at least 50 of them will need roof repairs in the coming years.

Autoralli MM-hooaja kaheksas etapp peetakse kivistel Kreeka teedel. Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) hoiab pärast esimest pikemat võistluspäeva esikohta, WRC2-klassis võitleb võidu eest Robert Virves. Postimees vahendab rallit otseblogis

Meeleolukat laupäeva!

Germany's highest ever temperature of 41.3C is recorded provisionally in Saarbrücken, over the border from France.

A nine-year-old and five women were killed when Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen drove into the market in 2024.

The US president says "Numerous European countries" have been discussing bringing in such a levy.

King Charles paid £12.9m in tax for 2024-2025 - here's what we know about his unique tax situation.

Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, author of the award-winning “Goodbye Globalization” and a regular columnist for POLITICO. Her new book, “The Undersea War,” is out later this year. From cyberattacks to arson and drone surveillance, these days European companies are being targeted by all manner of nefarious attacks. These businesses are crucial to the daily functioning of our nations; indeed, that may be the reason they’re being targeted. And yet, in most countries, business and government don’t exchange regular threat updates. With risks proliferating globally, this is a missed opportunity. A newly established Swedish committee shows just what can be done without much hassle or expense. There have been “drone sightings in proximity to offshore energy structures,” reported Offshore Energies UK in April. “Our platforms are 100, 150 miles out in the middle of the sea, so you don’t typically have many neighbors — you don’t have people coming and visiting unless they are there for a very good reason,” Graham Skinner, the trade body’s health and safety manager for offshore infrastructure, told the BBC. “When the crews spot lights in the sky, or things moving around, suspicious activity in general — it’s very obvious that it’s out of place. It may well be that they want to expose weaknesses or test our responses, they may even just be filming to see what is going on.” Drones loitering around crucial offshore infrastructure: That’s an alarming state of affairs. Even more so, as it’s not a one-off or a bizarre occurrence exclusively affecting the oil and gas sector. In recent months, we’ve seen drones loitering around a range of facilities on land, including arms factories. On one of the coldest days of January this year, someone sabotaged power cables in Berlin, leaving some 100,000 residents without power, heat and internet for days. We have also seen arson attacks carried out against warehouses, shopping malls and even defense companies. We’ve seen attempts to bring down airliners using parcel bombs, constant cyberattacks and a string of highly suspicious incidents involving ships and undersea cables. On June 15, Finnish prosecutors charged the captain and another officer on the Fitburg — the ship that struck cables in the Gulf of Finland on New Year’s Eve — with aggravated sabotage and aggravated interference with communications networks. The fact that companies are experiencing an onslaught of disruptive activities should come as no surprise. Businesses are indispensable to the daily functioning of our societies. They are attractive and vulnerable targets, and police and military can’t guard their installations around the clock. In global insurance broker Willis Towers Watson’s recently released annual risk survey, 26 percent of European companies listed grey-zone attacks by Russia as a key concern. When asked what type of grey-zone acts they were concerned about, 65 percent cited attacks on infrastructure, 61 percent economic coercion or retaliation, 56 percent state-sponsored cyberattacks, 39 percent hostile export controls, 37 percent marine disruption — such as attacks on shipping or port blockages — and 32 percent threats to business executives, such as wrongful detention or assassination attempts. In other words, businesses are severely concerned about geopolitically motivated threats and are monitoring them closely. However, they don’t have access to the wealth of knowledge that government intelligence services do. Conversely, intelligence services can’t possibly know everything that businesses do. If the two sides were able to regularly exchange updates — within the limitations of classification, of course — they’d both be better off. They’d also be able to discuss how the government and private sector can work together to ensure companies can keep operating in case of grey-zone attacks or, heaven forbid, war. Several years ago, the U.K. government explored launching such cooperation — an effort I was involved in. While it ultimately didn’t come to pass, the need for this kind of collaboration has only increased since then. Enter the Swedish government, which has now launched a “business council” with similar tasks. Comprised of the CEOs of Sweden’s most vital companies and co-chaired by the country’s defense chief and the director-general of the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency, the council functions as a national-security coordination hub between the government and the private sector. “Sweden’s defense capability is built on the strength of society as a whole. By bringing together leading representatives from the business community, we strengthen our shared ability to face crises, heightened preparedness and ultimately war,” said Chief of Defence Gen. Michael Claesson when the body was launched this spring. Of course, the council won’t solve every problem facing a country that happens to be the target of a hostile nation— far from it. Indeed, the group will only meet twice a year, though if the geopolitical situation worsens, it can convene more often. But the point is to not let perfect be the enemy of good. The Swedish business council costs absolutely nothing, and it convenes the brain power of some of the country’s most influential leaders. That goes a long way. Similarly, Germany has just launched a center for defense against hybrid threats. Although it won’t be able to keep every attack at bay, having such a hub will be vastly superior to not having one. Faced with today’s geopolitically motivated attacks and subversion, countries in fact have the opportunity to innovate. I’m willing to bet more than a few euros that if asked, companies would be up for taking part in new initiatives. They are, after all, the ones experiencing these new threats in the most direct ways. POLITICO occasionally publishes opinion pieces from guest authors to offer our readers a range of perspectives on the intersection of power and politics. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of POLITICO.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 100 percent tariff on European countries that impose digital service taxes on American corporations. In a post to social media, the president said “numerous European countries“ are discussing or “close to actually doing this.” “Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump said. “This TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country, whether implemented, signed, or not. Additionally, the 100% TARIFF will be immediately imposed, if they proceed.” Taxes on online services are frequently imposed to combat the outside influence of Big Tech and frequently target large U.S. companies such as Apple, Amazon and Meta. Trump’s promise to raise tariffs threatens to complicate trade talks with the European Union. Trump’s threat comes one day after EU member states approved an agreement that would slash tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and some agricultural products. In return, the U.S. would cap most tariffs on the European Union at 15 percent. Outside of proposed taxes, the EU has in place various measures designed to crack down on outsized influence from big tech companies, such as the Digital Markets Act, which allows regulators to set strict operating rules and fine large platforms. Several countries — including many outside of the European Union — have also imposed digital services taxes and the Trump administration has repeatedly used tariff threats to pressure them to change their behavior. Last year, Canada walked back its digital service tax over threats made by the president. And more recently, it signaled it could revise its decision to demand online streaming giants pay 15 percent of their Canadian revenues towards supporting regional content. Trump has previously threatened action against countries who implement digital taxes, arguing they unfairly target U.S. tech companies. Earlier this week, the U.K. government defended its use of such taxes.

The US has struck Iran for the first time since the two sides reached a Memorandum of Understanding on June 17.

Rescue workers in one Caracas neighbourhood say no help has arrived, two days after twin quakes tore through the city.

Accumulation on Switzerland’s glaciers from last winter expected to all be gone by Monday amid ‘enormous’ melt rates across AlpsSwiss glaciers are set to lose an enormous amount of ice due to the heatwave battering Europe, according to the head of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (Glamos).The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland’s glaciers is expected to have all melted away by Monday, marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as glacier loss day. Continue reading...

European residents and tourists voiced their concerns over soaring temperatures as the continent continues to grapple with 'the most severe and widespread' heatwave ever. In summer 2022, more than 60,000 people died due to heat in Europe, and the current heatwave is already disrupting lives and livelihoodsEuropean heatwave is worst ever and impossible without climate crisis, scientists say Continue reading...

US president says levy would supersede any trade deals Washington has with other capitals

Carmaker’s move will ratchet up the pressure on European policymakers to slap restrictions and trade barriers on China