Travel light and with a mask: Europe unveils plans to get planes back in sky
(Reuters)
“The Commission unveiled sweeping proposals aimed at ensuring people can start traveling safely across the continent again as governments try to revive tourism and airline industries brought to a halt by the coronavirus.”
Lennureisijaid ootab ees suur hulk uusi reegleid
(Postimees)
“Esmaspäeval, 18. mail avab airBaltic taas otselennuliinid Tallinnast Amsterdami, Kopenhaagenisse, Oslosse ja Riiga; Vilniusesse saab lennata 25. maist. Nii avaneb järgmisest nädalast aina enam ka eestlastel võimalus omal nahal kogeda, kuidas on reisilennundus koroonapandeemia mõjul muutunud.”
Will American travelers be pariahs in this new world?
(The Daily Beast)
“One thing is sure: Gone are the days of the American abroad, at least for those hoping to summer in Europe this year. The new models on how to reopen European travel do not have room for the American tourist for the foreseeable future. The key to any successful reopening in Europe is based entirely on risk assessment, meaning anyone coming from a nation deemed risky or careless will be the first to be banned.”
—
Simply put, anyone who has been under the lax American approach to the pandemic, which has been the laughing stock of Europe, won’t be welcome any time soon.”
COVID-19 Eestis
Viimati uuendatud: 15. mai 2020
[Harjumaa 633 | Saaremaa 548 | Pärnumaa 131 | jne.]
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Friday
15. May
__________
Otsustatud: eriolukorda ei pikendata
(Postimees)
“Võtsime valitsuses vastu otsuse lõpetada Eestis pühapäeva, 17. mai, keskööl üle üheksa nädala kestnud eriolukord. Kuna meie kõigi pingutuste ja kaasabi tulemusena on koroonaviiruse olukord oluliselt paranenud, ei vaja me sellega võitlemiseks enam eriolukorda,” teatas reedel peaminister Jüri Ratas oma videopöördumises.”
Balti riigid kaotasid ametlikult reisipiirangud
(Postimees)
“Leedu, Läti ja Eesti välisminister kirjutasid reedel Riias alla vastastikuse mõistmise memorandumile, millega kaotati ametlikult reisipiirangud kolme riigi vahel ning taastati kodanike ja elanike vaba liikumine maanteedel, raudteedel, laevade ja lennukitega, teatas Leedu välisministeerium.”
Ehitatakse uus idapiiri lõik: milline see välja hakkab nägema
(Delfi - Interaktiivne Graafik)
“Sel suvel lüüakse kopp maasse ja kolme aastaga peaks Kagu-Eestis valmima esimene veerand kogu plaanitud maismaapiiriarendusest.”
Mida te laamendate, küsis punakindral
(ERR)
“Moskva-meelsete rünnak Toompeal 15. mail 1990 oli Eesti iseseisvuse taastamise aja üks murde- ja kiirenduspunkt.”
The EU is having a bad crisis
(The Economist)
“Today, Europe is a beacon of liberal values and an exemplar of a gentler type of capitalism. Yet the EU has also lost its way. The pandemic in Europe is not just an economic crisis, as elsewhere in the world, but is fast becoming a political and constitutional crisis, too. This is solvable in principle, but the EU’s members cannot agree on what is needed to make their union more resilient, nor on how to bring about reform. …”
Can Low Fuel Supplies Be a Showstopper for NATO Allies?
(CEPA)
“The existing NATO fuel supply infrastructure in Western Europe has not been extended to cover Baltic and Black Sea region allies, not even to the eastern part of Germany.”
Beware of Antibody-based COVID-19 ‘Immunity Passports’
(Scientific American)
“COVID-19 has rendered conventional passports pointless for the foreseeable future. But many countries are exploring the idea of a new type of “immunity passport” to permit people with antibodies against the COVID-19 virus to escape lockdowns. …”
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Thursday
14. May
__________
Kuuse-kooreürask vallutab järk-järgult Eesti kuusikuid
(Novaator)
“Kuuse-kooreüraski kahjustused on plahvatuslikult suurenenud.”
—
“Riigimetsa majandamise keskuse (RMK) andmete kohaselt oli eelmisel aastal RMK majandusmetsas kooreüraski kahjustusi 681 hektaril. Sellel aastal on RMK leidnud kuuse-kooreüraski kahjustusi 2830 hektaril oma majandusmetsas. RMK kogu majandusmetsa pindala on 650 000 hektarit.”
RMK üraskitõrje hoopis soosib üraski levikut, mets hävineb
(Tartu Postimees)
“Kuuse-kooreürask ohustab Eestimaa kuusikute püsima jäämist, sest senised tõrjemeetmed on ebapiisavad või suisa kahjulikud. Aga mis siis on valesti?”
Estonia’s Shiny Event at the UN Exposed Disagreements with Russia
by Kristi Raik, ICDS
“On 8–9 May, the world commemorated the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. One of the highlights of this occasion was supposed to be a magnificent military parade in Moscow, with a number of world leaders attending to celebrate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazism. However, the Covid-19 pandemic forced Russia to postpone the parade. It also inspired Estonia to organize an innovative high-level event at the UN that can be considered a success in both organizational and substantive terms.”
Sweden’s Coronavirus Strategy Will Soon Be the World’s Strategy
(Foreign Affairs)
“Rather than declare a lockdown or a state of emergency, Sweden asked its citizens to practice social distancing on a mostly voluntary basis. Swedish authorities imposed some restrictions designed to flatten the curve: no public gatherings of more than 50 people, no bar service, distance learning in high schools and universities, and so on. But they eschewed harsh controls, fines, and policing. Swedes have changed their behavior, but not as profoundly as the citizens of other Western democracies.”
Estonia to pave more gravel roads
(World Highways Management)
“The Ministry of Economic Affairs has allocated €5 million for the paving of 15 roads in Võru, Valga and Põlva counties this year.”
Secretary General commends Estonia’s commitment to NATO
(NATO)
“NATO remains fully committed to the security of Estonia, with our battlegroups, with our air policing, and with our ironclad commitment to your security.”
Finnish Soldier Is Latest Odd Image To Grace Russian Victory Day Poster
(RFERL)
“On May 4, officials in the city of Usinsk, in Russia's northern Komi Republic, hung a Victory Day banner featuring a photo of a sturdy, chiseled soldier holding a reindeer on a lead with the inscription: "During the Great War, people and reindeer fought north of the Arctic Circle. We honor them, standing in silence. May they have eternal glory!"
—
“It took locals only a few hours to point out that the soldier in the photograph was a Finn who participated in the campaign against the Red Army.”
__________
Wednesday
13. May
__________
Coronavirus: Not Putin’s kind of crisis
by Kadri Liik, ECFR
“Deep down, Putin is a fairly pure and style-true exemplar of Soviet hagiography. And he makes no effort to conceal this … The Soviet canon of glory is all about effort, mobilization, and heroism, collective as well as individual. This theme penetrated the young Putin’s mind so deeply that it became a permanent feature of his worldview, an evident silver thread from his earliest interviews to his latest speeches. … The coronavirus, though, is different. It does not lend itself to Soviet-Putinist concepts of glory and heroism. …”
Russia’s Confident Trump
is in Their Pocket
by Julia Davis, The Daily Beast
“Vitaly Mankevich, international relations expert and the president of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, told Komsomolskaya Pravda—one of the most popular newspapers in Russia—that “the United States will abandon excessive pressure on Russia, since it does not pose an existential and ideological threat to Trump’s America (unlike the USSR during the Cold War). The White House will probably even try to pull Russia over to the U.S. side, offering investments and lifting sanctions.” Mankevich further predicted “a decrease in American activity in the Baltic states, Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East.”
—
“Perhaps the tastiest bargain of all would be the anticipated handover of Ukraine to the Kremlin, in exchange for Russia’s support of the United States in its brewing conflict with China.”
—
“On a larger scale, Vitaly Mankevich predicted the disintegration of NATO and the opportunity for Russia to re-establish a hold over Eastern Europe unseen since the times of the Soviet Union. Of course, Mankevich emphasized, “this scenario is relevant only if Donald Trump is re-elected for a second term in November of 2020.”
Baltic Pipe Will Undermine Moscow’s Geopolitical Hopes for Nord Stream 2
by Paul Goble, Jamestown Org.
“Baltic Pipe (is) an alternative north–south pipeline that will carry gas from Norway via Denmark to Poland, and from there, potentially also to Ukraine.”
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Tuesday
12. May
__________
Houses of worship open in Estonia
(Baltic Times)
“There are 595 religious associations, meaning churches, congregations, associations of congregations, and convents and monasteries in Estonia.”
Europe must prepare for US exit from Open Skies Treaty
(The Guardian)
“A joint statement by a group of 16 retired military commanders and defense ministers, coordinated by the European Leadership Network (ELN) released on Tuesday, said the OST was a vital pillar of stability between nuclear powers.”
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