Eesti in brief

Estonian discus thrower Gerd Kanter became the most successful athlete in Estonia’s post-Soviet history when he won the silver medal at the European Championships in Zurich in mid-August, reports Postimees Online. Kanter won the silver medal with the result of 64.75 on Aug. 13. German Robert Harting became the European champion with the result 66.07, while the bronze went to Polish athlete Robert Urbanek (63.81). The discus thrower is the first Estonian athlete after the state regained independence to have won ten medals from title competitions. Before this, he shared the top position - with nine medals - with cross-country skier Kristina Smigun-Vahi, decathlonist Erki Noole and judo wrestler Indrek Pertelson. Kanter won the Olympic Games’ gold medal in Beijing in 2008 and bronze in London in 2012. He was world champion in 2007 in Osaka and has two silver medals (2005, 2011) and two bronze medals ( 2009, 2013) from World Championships as well as three silver medals from European Championships.

While the Russian-speaking population in Estonia trusts Russian media channels and the flow of information from Russia most, the influence of Estonian news media on non-Estonians can also be noted, reports Eesti Paevaleht. A study commissioned by Delfi and Eesti Paevaleht reveals that Russian channels are trusted most among Estonia’s Russian-speaking population; 62 percent of the 350 respondents say that these are reliable. Nearly half of respondents (48 percent) believe the content of Estonia’s Russian-language information producers like Delfi in Russian, or Public Broadcasting’s Russian-language news portal. Among those who believe the flow of information comes from Russia, the trust is even higher, 58 percent. What stands out is the impact of Estonian-language news media on non-Estonians. Already more than half (55 percent) of 15-29-year-olds consider Estonian-language Internet portals important. It is this group among whom the trustworthiness of Russian channels is the lowest (57 percent).

The government approved on Aug. 14 a bill that sets an upper limit to the interest rate on consumer loans and is part of a package of legislative acts the government is compiling to solve problems in the controversial ‘speed lending’ market, reports Public Broadcasting. The draft law stipulates that a consumer credit contract is null and void if the credit cost rate that the consumer has to pay exceeds, by three times, the most recent Bank of Estonia six month average interest rate on consumer loans. This rate is published each Jan. 1 and July 1. As of August, the triple rate is 102.17 percent. According to the new regulations, a contract that exceeds the triple credit cost rate would be automatically null and void. When the consumer credit contract is voided, the consumer has to pay back the principal on the loan by the contract date, less the excessive interest.