Flying in a military jet out of Ämari Air Base
(NATO Video)
https://www.facebook.com/NATO/videos/281761590468236/
Cover Image: Screenshot off of NATO video
https://www.facebook.com/NATO/videos/281761590468236/
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COVID in the Baltics
- 1,679 in Estonia ⬆️ (1,324 last week)
- 2,758 in Latvia ⬇️ (3,133 last week)
- 3,303 in Lithuania ⬆️ (2,939 last week)
(BNN)
“Koroonaviiruse andmestik.” - Eesti Terviseamet
“Kus On Maskid?” - Postimees
“Detailne Ülevaade: Viiruse leviku tõkestamiseks hakkavad kehtima täiendavad piirangud.” - Postimees
“Estonia's travel restrictions on arrivals from Monday, November 1.” - ERR
“Estonia plans new restrictions to avoid lockdown like Latvia.” - ABCNews
“Estonian Health Board forecasts the coronavirus situation to deteriorate further in November.” - ERR
“Sweden's COVID-19 pandemic response was 'too slow', says report.” - Euronews
“Moscow shuts most workplaces as COVID cases and deaths soar.” - Euronews
“The next coronavirus wave in Europe.” - Politico-Europe
Friday 29. October 2021
Videoloeng: Eesti turbaalad võiks siduda rohkem süsinikku kui metsad
Iuliia Burdun, Tartu Ülikool | Novaator
“Looduslike soode ja turbaalade taastamine võimaldaks vähendada märkimisväärselt Eesti kasvuhoonegaaside heitmeid, märgib Tartu Ülikooli geoinformaatika teadur Iuliia Burdun.”
NB! - The video within the article is narrated in English, with Eesti subtitles.
“The current state and ecological restoration of peatlands in Estonia.” - by Martin Küttim, Liisa Küttim and Raimo Pajula, Open Edition Journals
Ülemiste ühisterminali planeering valmib aasta lõpus
(ERR)
“Projekti mahajäämus graafikust, millele juhtis hiljuti tähelepanu ka riigikontroll, pole mõjutanud ühisterminali ehitamise plaane ning ehitustöödega on plaanis alustada järgmise aasta suvel, ütles Pruul. Esimesed tööd on seotud terminali põhjaväljaku, maa-aluste kommunikatsioonide, trammitee ning 1520 mm raudtee ümberehitamisega. Praeguste plaanide järgi valmib ühisterminal hiljemalt 2026. aastal.”
https://www.err.ee/1608383339/ulemiste-uhisterminali-planeering-valmib-aasta-lopus
“Planning for Ülemiste Rail Baltica to be completed by end of the year.”
“Tallinna ringraudtee eriplaneering jõudis valitsusse arutamiseks.”
“Rail Baltica project signs 19,7 million euro grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.” - Helsinki Times
President Karis Varssavis: Poola roll Läänemere piirkonna julgeolekus on võtmetähtsusega
(Postimees)
“Vabariigi president Alar Karis kohtus Varssavis Poola presidendi Andrzej Dudaga. Presidendid arutasid kohtumisel julgeolekuolukorda, samuti regioonile oluliste taristuprojektide – nagu Balti riikide elektrivõrkude sünkroniseerimine ja Rail Baltic – hetkeseisu.”
“Interview: President Alar Karis.” - Postimees
“Estonian president visits Warsaw.” - Radio Poland
“Another day, another EU fine for Poland.” - Emerging Europe
“Euroopa kohtunõukogusid koondav ühendus heitis Poola välja.”
“Estonian president praises Poland's role in ensuring security in Baltic Sea region.” - The Baltic Times
Poland MPs approve Belarus border wall amid tensions with EU over migrants
(France24)
“The wall will cost an estimated 353 million euros ($407 million) and is planned to stretch over more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) on the European Union's eastern border. … Poland has responded to the unprecedented influx by sending thousands of soldiers to the border and implementing a state of emergency there, as well as hastily building a razor-wire fence.”
Niinistö meets Putin in Moscow
(Yle)
“The Finnish and Russian presidents met face-to-face for the first time in more than two years, with some fraught issues possibly on the agenda.”
Mida koroonahaigetega Eesti haiglas tehakse?
(Novaator)
“Ligi kaks aastat pärast koroonapandeemia puhkemist on arstide valikud koroonahaigete ravis endiselt piiratud. Kuigi mõned ravimid aitavad suremust tõenduspõhiselt vähendada, on nende mõju väiksemapoolne, misläbi tuleb leppida eeskätt koroonahaigete sümptomite leevendamise ja nende hingamise toetamisega, nendib Põhja-Eesti regionaalhaigla intensiivraviarst Hans-Erik Ehrlich. Nõnda on vaktsineerimine riskide maandamiseks endiselt parim lahendus.”
https://novaator.err.ee/1608386282/suur-ulevaade-mida-koroonahaigetega-eesti-haiglas-tehakse
“Enne Covid-19 patsientide välisriiki saatmist kasutatakse ära kogu Eesti ressurss.” - Postimees
Kolm Soome ajakirjanikku said süüdistuse Soome kaitseväe julgeolekusaladuse paljastamises
(ERR | Delfi | Yle)
“Minimaalne karistus julgeolekusaladuse paljastamise eest on neli kuud vanglakaristust. Maksimaalne karistus aga hoopis neli aastat vanglakaristust.”
https://www.err.ee/1608386234/kolm-soome-ajakirjanikku-said-suudistuse-saladokumentide-avaldamises
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https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12165670
U.S. MC-130J lands on Gotland highway during Special Ops exercise
By David Cenciotti, The Aviationist
“Gotland island, in particular, is considered extremely strategic in the region, so much so it’s considered as “a fixed aircraft carrier in the Baltic”. Last year, The Swedish military had to deploy four naval warships and an unspecified number of ground forces and warplanes in response to a major Russian naval exercise that also included a simulated amphibious landing set off regional alarms. U.S. Special Operations aircraft regularly operate in Sweden and Gotland and it seems more than likely it will be even more the case in the future.”
https://theaviationist.com/2021/10/24/mc-130j-himars-gotland/
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| Gotland Island: "The fixed aircraft carrier in the Baltic" |
Two US B-1B strategic bombers on training missions over Estonia
(ERR)
“… having flown from RAF Fairford, England, where they are usually based.”
https://news.err.ee/1608381602/us-rockwell-b-1s-in-weekend-exercise-over-estonia
Thursday 28. Oct. 2021
RMK saab voli kohalikke kaasamata raiuda 37,000 hektarit metsi
Ülle Harju, Postimees
“Kas on tegu kohalikele armsa metsaga või mitte, saab meile öelda kõige legitiimsem kogukonna esindaja – kohalik omavalitsus,” kiitis Andres Sepp seadusemuudatusi, mida ette valmistades palus RMK omavalitsustel KAH-alasid määratleda. “Läheme uute valitud volikogudega praegu meile teada olevaid KAH-alasid uuesti arutama.”
https://www.postimees.ee/7371127/rmk-saab-37-000-hektarit-metsi-kogukonnavabaks
Report: The EU is 'three generations' away from gender equality
(Deutsche Welle)
“Gender equality has only slightly improved in the European Union in recent years and the situation will likely remain dismal due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new report published on Thursday revealed. The EU as a whole scored 68 points out of a possible total of 100 in the 2021 Gender Equality Index published by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). This marked an improvement of just 0.6 points over 2020, and just under 5 points in the past 11 years.”
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-is-three-generations-away-from-gender-equality-report/a-59658384
“Gender Equality Index 2021: Fragile gains, big losses.” - The European Institute for Gender Equality
“COVID-19 caused 'big losses' for gender equality in Europe.” - Euronews
Belarusian civil society in Lithuania: how really welcome are we?
(Lithuanian Tribune)
“Over the last several years, more and more Belarusian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been relocating to Lithuania after it became too difficult or, in some cases, even impossible for them to operate in their home country due to political reasons.”
https://lithuaniatribune.com/belarusian-civil-society-in-lithuania-how-really-welcome-are-we/
EU’s job is not to build external border barriers, says Commission vice president
(Politico-Europe)
“The European Commission is ready to support member countries in strengthening the bloc’s external borders against the “hybrid threat” posed by international migrant flows but doesn’t want to pay for the construction of physical border barriers, Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said Thursday.”{
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“Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after last week’s Council summit that no EU money would be spent to build “barbed wire and walls.”
Europe's energy prices are soaring and could get much worse
(Euronews)
“A series of market, geographic and political factors have coalesced into a perfect storm that shows no signs of abetting as the continent enters the autumn season, temperatures gradually decrease and heating becomes indispensable. Analysts are already warning the crisis, which is exacerbated by a mixture of temporary and structural problems, will be prolonged and the worst may yet to come. … Although the European Union is gradually cutting down on its long-time dependency on fossil fuels – renewables became the bloc's main source of electricity for the first time in 2020 – the shift has not been fast and widespread enough to contain the fallout from the crunch.Together, natural gas and coal still supply more than 35% of the EU's total production.”
https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/28/why-europe-s-energy-prices-are-soaring-and-could-get-much-worse
“Is Europe’s Energy Crisis Self-Inflicted?” - Carnegie Europe
Wednesday 27. Oct. 2021
President Alar Karis’ first visit to Finland
(ERR)
“Karis met with Finnish president Sauli Niinistö.”
https://news.err.ee/1608383183/president-karis-strengthening-connections-with-finland-important
Nato chief visits Helsinki, leaves door open for Finnish membership
(Yle)
"Finland is one of NATO's closest partners and we very much appreciate the fact that we have been able to strengthen this partnership over the last years," NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said. "While we work closely together, NATO also fully respects Finland's strong independent security policy.” President Niinistö has previously stated that Finland becoming a member of NATO is a possibility, and noted during the Monday afternoon press conference that relations between the Nordic nation and NATO have developed in recent years and "continue to develop”. "We have a lot of common understandings about how we can guarantee the most important thing in ordinary people's lives, that is peace," Niinistö said.”
—
“However, Finland's neighbour Russia has become increasingly uneasy with what it sees as NATO’s encroachment on its natural sphere of influence.”
Opinion: The Nordic Countries Are Not Actually Socialist
(Foreign Policy)
“Nordic countries are often used internationally to prove that socialism works. It’s true that social democratic parties are enjoying success in this part of the world. Yet while Nordic countries are seeing a partial comeback for social democratic parties, their policies aren’t in fact socialist, but centrist. Nordic nations—and especially Sweden—did embrace socialism between around 1970 and 1990. During the past 30 years, however, both conservative and social democratic-led governments have moved toward the center. Today, the Nordic social democrats have adopted stricter immigration policies, tightened eligibility requirements for welfare benefit systems, taken a tougher stance on crime, and carried out business-friendly policies. …”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/27/nordic-countries-not-socialist-denmark-norway-sweden-centrist/
Tuesday 26. Oct. 2021
Several EKRE politicians leave the party in protest
(Postimees)
“… following an anti-vaccination rally held in Tallinn’s Freedom Square on Saturday and the party leaders' statements there. Sworn lawyer Urmas Simon, Tallinn city council member Kairet Remmak-Grassman and Kadrina council member Siim Umerov were among the better-known members to announce plans to leave.”
—
“Simon said that the Saturday rally, where EKRE leader Martin Helme demanded the removal from office of a democratically elected government, became the last straw for him. “Excuse me, was it a call for revolution or violently overthrowing the government? One should be able to realize that the government will not resign nor anything change as a result of public chanting, unless it was a call to march on Toompea Hill and stage a coup. I see elements of offenses against the state here,” Simon said.”
https://news.postimees.ee/7369478/several-ekre-politicians-leave-the-party-in-protest
Meeleavaldus Tallinnas: kutsuti üles kodanikuallumatusele ja nõuti valitsuse tagasiastumist
(Postimees)
“Kohale oli tulnud tuhandeid inimesi üle Eesti – nii Pärnust, Võrust kui Saaremaalt. Postimees käis uurimas, mis neid inimesi ühendab ja miks osalejate hinnangul on nende põhiõigused ohus.”
Is the European Court of Justice about to unravel?
(The Spectator)
“For the European Union to work, its law must be supreme. All member states have courts, but those courts submit to the EU’s own court, the European Court of Justice (the ECJ). The UK knew and accepted this. By the time the Lisbon Treaty was signed, everybody knew this. That is why Poland and Germany are both legally wrong to have denied that EU law is supreme and declared that their national courts have the final say. Legally speaking, both have done a unilateral declaration of independence: taken back control. An important article examining the crisis has laid this bare. While it’s quite technical (the EU’s power lies in these boring-but-powerful rules) it’s worth understanding the depth of what is now an EU rule of law crisis.”
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/is-the-european-court-of-justice-about-to-unravel-
Russia | Venemaa
Russia Rights Group Sees Political Prisoners Soar
(The Moscow Times)
“The number of political prisoners in Russia has risen sharply this year in a trend that recalls late Soviet-era repression, Russia's leading rights group Memorial said on Wednesday. It listed at least 420 political prisoners in Russia, including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny who survived a poisoning attempt with Novichok nerve agent last year.”
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“That figure was up from 362, the group told reporters and activists in Moscow after a year that has seen an unprecedented crackdown on critical voices, including Navalny, who in February was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison on old embezzlement charges. … but that the real number was thought to be "two or three times higher.”
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“Soviet-era dissidents estimate that there were more than 700 political prisoners in the Soviet Union in 1987.”
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/10/27/russia-rights-group-sees-political-prisoners-soar-a75427
Russian-Ukrainian War will continue until Ukraine becomes a second Belarus
(New Eastern Europe)
“Dmitry Medvedev has penned two statements on Ukraine. The first was written as Russia’s president in a blog in August 2009, whilst the second was released during his time as deputy head of the Russian Security Council in October this year. In both, he essentially said that the countries’ poor bilateral relations will remain until Ukraine effectively becomes a second Belarus. Medvedev stated that Russia could not deal with “nationalists” in power, whether that be Viktor Yushchenko in 2009 or Volodymyr Zelenskyy now in 2021. As a result, Moscow would “Wait for the appearance of a sane leadership in Ukraine, which does not aim for total confrontation with Russia or organise foolish “Crimean platforms” created to trick the country’s population and flex their muscles before the elections, but at building equal and mutually beneficial relations with Russia. It is only worth dealing with such leadership in Ukraine.” Medvedev also added the warning that “Russia knows how to wait. We are patient people.”
Russia’s (cancelled) ecological referenda
(Riddle)
“One of the major stories of recent years in Russia — though still not widely discussed — has been how various ecological and conservationist movements have coalesced. This year, they tried to stage a series of regional ecology-related referenda. They did not succeed, but this does not mean these initiatives will have no impact. …”
https://www.ridl.io/en/russias-cancelled-ecological-referenda/
Putin has pledged carbon neutrality by 2060. He claims Russia’s forests will do much of the work
(Washington Post)
“Even as large swaths of the Siberian forest have burned in wildfires — made increasingly worse by climate change — the Kremlin has focused its strategy to slash emissions on the region’s trees. … Putin claimed this year that Russia’s vast territory, especially its forests, could neutralize “several billion [metric] tons” of carbon dioxide emissions — a figure climatologists say is unrealistic and undermines the viability of his carbon-neutrality pledge.”
Moscow Tells Central Asia—Don't Host NATO or U.S. Forces
(The National Interest)
“Nearly two months after the withdrawal of essentially all Western forces from Afghanistan, Russia has made it crystal clear that it doesn't want to see any foreign military build-up in the region. On Wednesday, Moscow called on countries neighboring Afghanistan not to host any international military forces—and named the United States and NATO specifically …”
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/moscow-tells-central-asia—dont-host-nato-or-us-forces-195664
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