Latest Estonia News
news | ERR
Van Gogh immersive exhibition to open in Tallinn's Telliskivi
An international immersive exhibition dedicated to the works of Van Gogh will open at Telliskivi Creative City in Tallinn on June 18.
news | ERR
Estonian intel: 82% of foiled terrorist attacks in Ukraine involved Telegram agents
The overwhelming majority of uncovered terrorist attacks in Ukraine were carried out by people using the Telegram messaging app, the Military Intelligence Center of Estonian Defense Forces has said.
Politics | ERR
Government delaying important decisions before election, Isamaa claims
Several important promises in the coalition agreement between the Reform Party and Eesti 200, will remain unfulfilled during this parliamentary term, the opposition said as the summer break approaches.
Politics | ERR
Center Party backs Karis for second presidential term
The Center Party officially backed President Alar Karis for a second term on Saturday but also called for direct elections where the head of state is chosen by the people, not the Riigikogu.
Society | ERR
Margus Tsahkna: The evil behind the June deportation has not disappeared
History teaches us that crimes left unpunished give rise to new crimes, Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said on the 85th anniversary of the June deportation of Estonians to Siberia by the USSR.
Society | ERR
New observation tower opens in Harku Municipality
A new observation tower was opened earlier this week in Meriküla, Harku Municipality, which connects the clifftop and the seaside area.
Postimees
OTSEBLOGI ⟩ Väike Curacao viigistas kiire juhtvärava järel, kuid Saksamaa läks uuesti ette 2:1
MM-finaalturniiri E-alagrupi avab mäng neljakordse maailmameistri Saksamaa ja debütandi Curacao vahel. Postimees vahendab pühapäeval kell 20 algavat kohtumist otseblogis.
Postimees
FOTO ⟩ Vehklemise olümpiavõitja Erika Kirpu sai emaks
2021. aastal Tokyos Eesti epeevehklemise naiskonna koosseisus olümpiavõitjaks tulnud Erika Kirpu sai emaks. Sellest andis ta teada pühapäeval sotsiaalmeedias.
BBC News
Swiss voters reject 10 million population cap, early projections say
Not all votes have been counted, but the current trend suggests 55% of participants voted against the proposal.
BBC News
Royal Marines board Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in English Channel
Marines were joined by National Crime Agency officers in the six-hour long operation in the early hours of Sunday.
BBC News
UK and Japan agree £18bn investment deal
Japanese firms will spend billions on UK infrastructure and offshore wind, Downing Street says.
BBC News
Why the US economy keeps defying the odds
Why has the American economy continued to outperform so many of its peers, despite facing the same global shocks?
POLITICO
Hegseth’s timeline for Strait of Hormuz is a bit murky
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday did not pin down the timeline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the American blockade there. During an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Hegseth stated that the waterway would reopen “immediately” upon the signing of a newly announced memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran. But he clarified the remarks just moments later with a timeline that was less definitive about the blockade on Iran. “So ultimately the blockade will stay as the strait opens,” Hegseth said. “And then the blockade will open and then the straits open. And if that takes 30 days to fully mature, or two weeks to fully mature, but it will start immediately, as the president has said.” The Strait of Hormuz has been a critical point of contention between the U.S. and Iran throughout negotiations. Iran began blocking ships from entering or leaving the waterway shortly after the war started in February, including through the use of sea mines. In effect, oil prices rose sharply. After the U.S. and Tehran were unable to agree to a permanent ceasefire that saw the strait reopen, President Donald Trump in April ordered the U.S. Navy to “begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.” Trump has maintained that there will be no peace deal without Iran fully reopening the strait, though he has also said the U.S. has control of the waterway. The president on Saturday announced the pending memorandum of understanding in a post to social media. While he provided little detail on the negotiations, he stated the strait will reopen “immediately after it is signed.” But Iranian officials have yet to confirm their stance on the deal, and questions began swirling around the future of the agreement after Israel said its military attacked Hezbollah targets in Beirut on Sunday. However, Hegseth assured CBS that “we are on track” for the signing to take place Sunday — and Trump himself condemned the strikes. “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social. Trump added that Israel has “the right to defend itself against threats,” but insisted the threat was “very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed.” He urged parties not to let the strikes “disrupt this important process.” “We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down,” Trump said. “There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!”
POLITICO
The G7 wants to prove it can work together. Iran, Ukraine and even Ebola may stand in the way.
The White House’s goal for this week’s G7 summit in France is modest: show the world’s biggest economies can still work together. Many of the other member countries have equally limited expectations. But with uncertainty over what comes next in Iran, Ukraine desperate for more U.S. missiles and an Ebola outbreak exposing fresh fractures between Washington and its European allies, even that low bar may be hard to clear. A successful summit, in President Donald Trump’s eyes, would have his fellow leaders recognize their “shared mutual interests” while “opening up a line of dialogue” on topics they disagree on, said a senior White House official, granted anonymity to preview the summit. The official named shared security and trade as the top two issues for the White House heading into Évian-les-Bains. “Part of every goal of G7 is to come out showing that these countries can work together,” the official said. “They may not always agree on everything, but at least everyone knows where everyone stands, and they can at least agree to work on issues together in a constructive manner.” The gathering of seven of the world’s largest economies and democracies comes at a volatile global moment. In the run-up to the summit, Trump’s posture on Iran has swung sharply — from threatening to strike Iran “VERY HARD” on Thursday to announcing that a peace deal would be signed on Sunday, though Iran still had yet, as of Sunday morning, to confirm a deal has been reached. The muted ambitions from the United States and European countries reflect how the world has come to operate in the Trump era, in which avoiding a blowup and papering over differences with a message of cohesion is viewed as a win. French President and G7 host Emmanuel Macron’s office on Thursday declared “this G7 is already a success,” pointing to the fact that China, which is not a member, participated in a video call ahead of the summit to discuss economic imbalances. But one British official, who, like some others in this report, was granted anonymity to speak freely, said expectations for the trip were “very low” and deadpanned that the U.K. delegation was just hoping the plane Wi-Fi worked. A G7 diplomat, meanwhile, set the bar for success just at Trump’s attendance. “If Trump comes, it will be a success,” the diplomat said. “He is attending [the summit] … And the Americans are taking part in the talks, so things are looking good.” Trump’s distaste for multilateral forums is well known, though allies note that he sees them as a useful mechanism for advancing bilateral relationships. And even as the U.S. might like to see more coordination to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, those allies say the U.S. still holds the upper hand going into the meeting, as other countries pursue their own needs from Washington — relief from tariffs, further engagement on Ukraine and reducing reliance on Chinese supply chains. “If you go down the list, and you look at the economies and the geopolitical realities of the other G7 members, they need American support, and they need American leadership a lot more than we need a nice communique from them,” said Alex Gray, who served in a senior role at the National Security Council in Trump’s first term. “That’s just the reality of power in the international system, even today.” As it did out of last year’s gathering in Canada, which Trump left early amid tensions between Iran and Israel, the G7 is expected to pass on issuing a sweeping, joint communique. Instead, France, which currently holds the G7 presidency, will issue an overall declaration, accompanied by ad hoc declarations, according to Macron’s office. Topics under discussion for those declarations include critical minerals, research to fight cancer, protecting children online, international solidarity, social impact investment and reducing risk of investing in developing nations. What happens in the aftermath of a potential Iran deal will likely be a key topic in Evian. The senior White House official earlier this week noted promises from countries like France and the United Kingdom to help protect shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz once it reopens — but said any other asks of G7 countries would come post a deal being reached. A senior administration official said Saturday that there is “a lot that the G7 countries have said that they can do once that deal goes forward,” particularly when it comes to securing the strait. “As the straits open, we’re going to be very involved in demining, and to the extent that G7 countries can participate in that, that’s also going to be a helpful thing to get things back to normal as quickly as possible,” the official said. And while Trump has said a peace deal would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon “through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement,” questions remain over the future of the country’s nuclear program — ones that will need to be answered in the coming weeks. Other priorities for the summit include investment partnerships, innovation in artificial intelligence, Ebola outbreak response, critical mineral supply chain resilience, illegal immigration and drug smuggling and energy exports, a second White House official said. But for some Trump allies, the bar for a successful summit is so low that it’s the imagery, not the policy, they’re most anticipating. “I’m not sure there’s a big policy get,” one former Trump official acknowledged. But the person ran through several possible permutations for the photo-ops: Trump with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the pair with Macron, or Trump in a solo meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “The president’s an image guy, so he’ll be thinking about this a lot,” the person added. At the top of Europe’s list of priorities is Ukraine. Kyiv is gaining ground for the first time in years but is running short of Patriot interceptors and heads into the summer with a crippled power grid. Zelenskyy is expected to attend a dedicated G7 session Tuesday, but there is transatlantic skepticism he’ll leave with commitments on his most pressing ask. “While Ukraine is in need of Patriots, unfortunately, given the global shortage, I would be skeptical about the opportunity for President Zelensky to secure a successful deal in that regard,” Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told reporters. China also looms over the summit — even if at a distance. Macron on Thursday hosted a video call between G7 leaders and Beijing to discuss global trade imbalances, a notable step for a group that has taken an increasingly confrontational stance toward China in recent years. Conversations will continue at the G20 in December and the International Monetary Fund will support the effort, according to Macron’s office. And the Ebola outbreak has created another unlikely fault line. Kenya, which France invited to sit at the G7 table Tuesday, is now the site of violent protests over the Trump administration’s decision to send infected Americans there for treatment rather than repatriating them home, a policy a Kenyan court blocked late last month. The World Health Organization has said travel restrictions in the U.S. and more than a dozen other countries are hurting its ability to effectively respond to the outbreak. The Trump administration has defended the approach as necessary to keep the virus from American soil, but European allies have been left to grapple with the consequences. A U.S. doctor was, for instance, sent for treatment in Germany after contracting Ebola while operating on a patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “The U.S. has done a phenomenal job of ensuring that none of it spreads to the U.S., whereas WHO is hitting us on, ‘They’re not letting their own people back in.’ We’re trying to prevent spread into the U.S. Of course we’re not going to let infected people into the U.S.,” the senior White House official said. “There’s always that tension between WHO and what the U.S. does.” Giorgio Leali, Esther Webber, Clea Caulcutt and Myah Ward contributed to this report.
Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
Thousands protest as Trump, other world leaders set to meet for G7 summit
Activists rally in Geneva to denounce policies of G7 countries ahead of group's annual meeting this week in France.
Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera reports from Israeli attack site in southern Beirut
Al Jazeera reports from the site of an Israeli attack on a residential building in southern Beirut.
Europe | The Guardian
Police stop Tommy Robinson on his way back to London from Russian trip
Met seizes far-right activist’s phones after he disembarks flight at Heathrow under counter-terrorism provisionsBritish police say they stopped the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and seized his phones as he returned from a trip to Russia.Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, met Elon Musk’s father in Moscow during his trip. Continue reading...
Europe | The Guardian
Swiss voters appear to reject proposal to cap population at 10 million
Far-right plan defeated in referendum, according to projection by national broadcaster SRFVoters in Switzerland appeared on Sunday to have rejected an unprecedented far-right proposal to cap the country’s population at 10 million in a divisive referendum dubbed “the Swiss Brexit”.A projection by the national broadcaster SRF, which traditionally calls referendum votes, showed that about 55% of voters were against the proposal by the Swiss People’s party (SVP) and about 45% were in favour. Continue reading...
Europe
Swiss voters reject proposal to cap population at 10mn
Projections showed 54 per cent of voters rejected the initiative backed by the rightwing Swiss People’s party
Europe
UK intercepts Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in English Channel
Prime minister hails ‘yet another blow to Russia’ as part of effort to clamp down on those fuelling Ukraine war