Eesti in brief - 2007-02-14

  • 2007-02-14
Estonian composer Arvo Part was named the winner of a Grammy Award for the record Da Pacem, a collection of works recorded by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. The award was in one of the competition's less recognized and non-televised categories -- best choral performance. Another Estonian received a mention at the 49th Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 11. Estonian-born conductor Paavo Jarvi led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in two recorded performances which were named the best engineered classical album.

Statistics released by the Estonian Justice Ministry suggest a decline in the crime rate during 2006. Last year 51,843 crimes were registered with police, 3,752 or seven percent less than in the previous year. Serious crimes made up less than five percent of the total, down by 10 percent from 2005. Crimes against property accounted for 63 percent of all registered crimes, ministry spokesman Martin Hirvoja said.

Estonian bus operator Hansabuss announced it would soon launch a regular route between Tallinn and Riga to increase the number of intercity services available to commuters. Rivals Eurolines and Ecolines already offer several daily services between the cities. Meanwhile, connections between Tallinn and Helsinki will also increase when Tallink's newest ferry, the 110 million euro vessel The Star, comes online. From Apr. 1, The Star will make three round trips daily between the two capitals.

The recently connected Estlink undersea power cable is already operating at near-maximum capacity. In its first month of operation, the cable ran at 85 percent capacity. Nearly 200 GWh of electricity was traded between Estonia and Finland - almost one third of all monthly electric power sales in Estonia. The cable appears to be operating smoothly, with only one small technical failure during January, its operator Nordic Energy Link said.