Parliament approved lifting rent ceilings following days of standoff between the ruling coalition and the Center Party. According to the Centrists, this move can pose a serious threat to people living in houses and apartments that were returned to their owners and legal heirs during the course of the property reform.
Police will investigate why Estonian Railways management refused to obey a direct order of the rescue department on June 5 to temporarily stop the movement of trains loaded with oil products (see photo). A major explosion in a warehouse near Tallinn triggered the order. The warehouse was near the railway track.
Starting in the next academic year, 21 schools - mostly primary and secondary - will be closed or reorganized, the Ministry of Education and Science stated.
The Consumer Protection Board issued a decree banning vodka advertisements featuring famous Estonian theater and movie actor Marko Matvere on June 15. The board argued that being an entertainment figure, it is illegal to exploit Matvere's image in alcohol advertisements.
President Arnold Ruutel signed a resolution on June 15 to give the First Class Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana to outgoing U.S. Ambassador Joseph Michael DeThomas (photo). DeThomas will be replaced by Aldona Zofia Wos later this year.
Vladimir Chekunov, one of the three former officials of the Russian fisheries supervision authority detained in Moscow last week in connection with illegal distribution of fishing quotas, carried an Estonian ID card, according to Russian law enforcement fighting organized crime. Following an application from his civil wife who lives in Tallinn, Chekunov received an Estonian residency permit in 2002. Law enforcement officials believe that the country could serve as an emergency hideaway for Chekunov.
A record amount of drugs has been uncovered at the Russian-Estonian border in Narva since Estonia joined the EU. A 29-year-old resident of Narva was carrying almost 4 kilograms of hashish and some 68 grams of amphetaminesulphate on his way from Russia to Estonia.
Due to the summit of the Baltic Sea states' prime ministers, scheduled for June 21, control at the Estonian borders will be tougher until June 22, according to the Ministry of Interior.
About half of teenage girls in Estonia have experienced sexual harassment, according to the survey "Experience and Attitides of Sexual Mistreatment Among Estonian Youth" carried out by the sociology faculty of Tartu University.
