BNS Weekend News Summary

TALLINN – A summary of the top news from BNS over the weekend.

– President Alar Karis, speaking at the Rural Parliament event in Oru Park in Toila, recommended paying greater attention to extracurricular education for children and youth, ensuring every child can participate in activities of interest, regardless of their place of residence or family's financial situation.

– The weather will remain partly cloudy with showers in the coming days, with strong winds expected on Thursday.

– According to Urmas Paet, vice-chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Russian leader Vladimir Putin's visit to the disputed Kuril Islands will prompt Japan to increase its defense spending and foster closer security cooperation with other democratic nations.

– The Estonian Trade Union Confederation (EAKL) has warned that the planned transition to more two-person ambulance crews as part of the ambulance service reform could increase the workload for rescue workers.

– Three cruise ships are scheduled to arrive in Estonian ports this coming week, making a total of five visits. The week's most notable visitor is the 316-meter-long Mein Schiff 7.

– Monday's weather will be partly cloudy with scattered showers, though the chance of rain is expected to decrease by evening.

– In an opinion submitted to the Ministry of Climate, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry supports the goal of the Waste Act amendment to reduce food and textile waste. However, the Chamber finds that several parts of the draft bill go beyond the EU's Waste Framework Directive and proposes that these provisions be removed or clarified.

– Lavly Perling, re-elected as chair of the Parempoolsed (Right-wingers) party, stated in her speech at the general assembly that the party aims to lower the value-added tax to 20 percent and income tax to 18 percent within a single election cycle, and to freeze government spending at the current year's level.

– Police have located 12-year-old Romet, who went missing in Pärnu on August 6.

– In an opinion sent to the ministries of justice and digital affairs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry finds that the proposed amendment to the Law of Obligations Act and the Consumer Protection Act exceeds EU requirements regarding the seller's liability term, in some cases extending the period to nearly five years.

– "Latvia must be defended both physically and mentally," said President Edgars Rinkēvičs on Saturday during a speech at a Mass celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at the Aglona Basilica.

– A Lithuanian border guard was slightly injured and almost dragged into Belarusian territory during a border incident in late July, local media reported on Friday. Reportedly, four officers had detained and handcuffed several migrants before being confronted by a group of about 20 people. The officers were forced to retreat, and the migrants, including those in handcuffs, fled back to Belarus.

– Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Sunday thanked Switzerland for its decision to allocate approximately $730,000 for the restoration and preservation of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

– Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced he held a phone call with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis on Sunday, focusing on the situation in the Black Sea.

– The United Kingdom is becoming increasingly involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine by helping Kyiv organize attacks on Russian territory, among other forms of assistance, wrote columnist Anne McElvoy for the British newspaper The i Paper.

– At least 19 people were killed in Russia and Ukraine on Sunday in various aerial attacks that damaged civilian infrastructure on both sides, officials reported.

– Russia is intensifying its attacks on Ukraine, while Ukraine is responding with drone strikes deep in Russia's rear, said Major Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, a commander in Ukraine's drone forces.

– Ukraine has disabled seven of the 10 largest logistics centers belonging to Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer and e-commerce platform, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday.

– Kremlin officials continue to insist that Russia is unwilling to engage in substantive peace talks that do not meet Moscow's demand for Ukraine's complete surrender, despite repeated Ukrainian attempts to initiate negotiations, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported, citing the news portal Ukrinform.

– Ukraine attacked Moscow with drones overnight into Sunday, once again hitting a large logistics center for Wildberries, reports RBC Ukraine.

– North Korea's authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un, who is aiding Moscow in its war against Ukraine, told Russian leader Vladimir Putin he is proud of the strong ties between their nations, state media reported Sunday.

– Andrei Klepach, chief economist at the state development corporation Vnesheconombank (VEB) and a former Russian deputy minister of economic development, predicts Russia will lose a "war of attrition" and face an inevitable social crisis due to new sanctions and attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces, The Moscow Times reported.

– Overnight into Saturday, Ukraine attacked either the Aviakor aircraft plant or the Progress space center in Samara; the two facilities are located next to each other, only a few hundred meters apart.

– Ukraine is preparing new sanctions packages against Russia's defense industry, financial networks, and intermediaries who facilitate the production of missiles and drones and contribute to prolonging the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in his traditional nightly video address, according to the news portal Ukrinform.

– Leaders of the extremist group Hamas met on Sunday in Egypt with Jared Kushner, son-in-law and former special representative of ex-President Donald Trump, who is attempting to advance a Gaza plan that Israel has rejected.

– Twelve people were killed and several others seriously injured in a severe bus crash in Hungary, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on Facebook on Sunday. A Polish tourist bus veered into the oncoming lane on the M3 motorway for unknown reasons, crashed into a ditch, and overturned.

– The Iranian military announced on Sunday it is offering a $30,000 reward for killing or capturing U.S. soldiers, with the reward doubling if a woman carries out the act.

– Over the past six months, Ukraine has started using British drones for deep strikes into Russian territory, The Times reported on Saturday, citing a source in the Ukrainian defense forces.

– The U.S. Democratic Party voted on Saturday to begin its 2028 presidential primaries in states with large minority populations, specifically South Carolina and Nevada.

– Moroccan authorities on Saturday detained nearly three hundred people attempting to enter the Spanish exclave of Ceuta.

– Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that new arms shipments to Ukraine would seriously damage the relations of the United States and Turkey with Russia.

– Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi prayed on Saturday at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which Japan's Asian neighbors view as a symbol of the country's past militarism.