More than one in ten Estonians are now employed in the construction industry, figures from Eurostat show. First quarter data for 2007 showed that 11.2 percent of employed persons in the country were construction workers. Only Ireland and Spain have a higher proportion of construction workers, the EU statistics office said. Meanwhile, average monthly wages in Estonia have hit 11,549 kroons (738 euros), and average hourly rates are now at 66.50 kroons. Statistics Estonia said the increase was more than 20 percent on 2006 figures.
An Estonian man shot and killed outside a Costa del Sol bar was connected to organized crime, the Spanish newspaper Diario Sur reported. The 38-year old man, identified as Kiur, was shot in the back of the head as he was enjoying an evening drink on the terrace of a bar on Aug. 26. The helmeted assassins escaped on a motorcycle, witnesses said. The newspaper said the victim had worked installing saunas for a year, and had links to crime gangs. Police said a close friend of the victim was arrested in Feb. 2006 over the kidnapping of a British national two years ago. Investigations are continuing.
Road authorities plan to ban trucks from driving on the busy Tallinn-Tartu highway on Friday afternoons in an attempt to curb traffic accidents. The National Road Administration said the restriction will be implemented before the end of the year. The 186km two-lane road is the country's busiest highway, and carries its peak traffic load on Friday afternoons. The authority said restrictions on truck traffic on certain days were common in Europe, but had not been applied in Estonia before.
Geologists have warned that Estonia will run out of its shale oil deposits 's its major source of power 's within 50 to 100 years. The Society of Geologists said the country would face a shortage of natural resources in coming decades, particularly in its access to crushed stone for construction. The society set a deadline of 2016 for the nation to decide if it should curb its use of the diminishing oil shale. At the same time, Economic Affairs Minister Juhan Parts said Estonia was now very interested in taking a stake in a new nuclear power plant in Finland.
