In a sign of the times, job offers for attractive-looking girls are popping up everywhere, jobs requiring no need for any special skills, and can be found on the Web, with some posted in front of Viru Keskus, reports Eesti Ekspress. These companies are often fronts for prostitution rings and trap the unsuspecting girls into human trafficking organizations. The company making this specific offer, which is registered in Latvia, offers 'candidates' the possibility to earn 15,000-25,000 kroons (960 's 1,600 euros) a month, to work in a downtown office, and enjoy coffee and flirting with foreign guests, the ads say. The work involved, the ads say, is having a conversation with foreigners through a Web camera. An age limit from 18-35 indicates the end use of the girls is in erotic or pornographic content. Other similar job advertisements have also appeared to CV Keskus, where companies are seeking young women to work as strippers in dance clubs, or as dancers-hostesses, reports aripaev.ee.
Postimees has reported that police officers are being forced to take unpaid vacations due to the reduction in general salaries; the police officers' salaries were cut by 8 percent in July, though this won't be enough to balance the budget. East and South Police precincts have solved the problem in favor of obligatory unpaid vacations, reports internet portal www.dv.ee. According to South Police precinct's chief of communications, Remo Perli, all the precincts have been given the chance to decide on their own budgets. Officers have been offered the choice between partially paid holidays, part time work or unpaid vacations. So that no district would be left without patrols, police officers would take the unpaid vacations in turn.
Estonia's Afghan military contingent thanked the outgoing permanent Estonian charge d'affaires in Afghanistan, Daniel Schaer, for his co-operation, writes LETA. Estonian contingency chief in Afghanistan, Major Janno Mark, handed over to Schaer the 'Scoutsbattalion' plaque and recognized him for the work done. Schaer will be replaced in the beginning of August by Tanel Sepp who has had experience with crisis regions during his previous career as a diplomat 's for the past three years, he dealt with the issues regarding Kosovo, Georgia, Afghanistan, Palestine, Congo and Iraq in Estonia's Permanent Representation to the European Union.
Chairman of the Greens' faction Valdur Lahtvee noted that as it is as yet not certain which will be the proposals from other political parties, it cannot be said who they will support, the coalition or the opposition, on the VAT issue, reports LETA. "Positions will first have to be formed 's only then it could be said whether any of them can be supported or not," said Lahtvee. "Today, the opposition does not have any particular positions 's they only make a lot of noise," he added. According to Lahtvee, an advance notice of four days in amending a law is certainly not appropriate and the position of the Chancellor of Justice, that such haste is not in compliance with the Constitution, is correct. "At the same time, we need to look at the context of the emergence of such a law," he added. The matter of raising the VAT rate will be brought up again on Aug.3. In mid-June, the minority coalition was able to have the second supplementary budget for the 2009 adopted with votes from the Greens' faction. This law included the surge in the VAT rate.
