Eesti in brief - 2004-10-27

Alcohol retailers and an outdoor media company may take the Tallinn city government to court over the recently introduced ban on the late-night sale of alcohol. The ban was announced just seven days before implementation, which confused previously arranged business activities. The outdoor ad company ClearChannel, for instance, is demanding about 20,000 euros from the city.

Medics treated over 30 employees from the Elcoteq telecommunication equipment assembly plant in Tallinn on Oct.23 after its workers fell ill from food poisoning. Experts discovered that a high content of salt in the plant's water, which had later been used in the canteen's coffeemaker, apparently caused the sickness.

Residents supported a strike arranged by locomotive operators two weeks ago, according to a Faktum pollster phone survey. About 80 percent of respondents considered the strike justified and half agreed that it successfully contributed to finding a reasonable compromise between the trade union and the employer.

Tartu University scientists discovered a new species of moss two weeks ago on a field trip to Hiiumaa Island. In addition to the newly discovered moss, which currently remains unnamed, the scientists discovered an additional number of rare plants in the forests near Kopu.

The State Prosecutor's Office asked the security police to carry out an inhouse investigation to establish the circumstances of the wiretapping of a phone conversation between a detainee and his counsel earlier this year. Prosecutors said they would decide whether or not the confidentiality of the person being defended and his counsel had been breached once the probe was concluded, spokespeople for the State Prosecutor's Office said. The Estonian Bar Association accused the security police of surreptitiously listening to a phone call between a suspect and his counsel and including the recording in the prosecution file, the media reported this week.