NATO launches cyber defence centre in Estonia

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, seven member nations -- Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain -- signed documents formally establishing the Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in the Estonian capital. The need for a cyber-defence centre to be opened today is compelling, said General James Mattis, who heads NATO s transformation efforts. It will help NATO defy and successfully counter the threats in this area. The centre, due to open officially in 2009 but which has already been working informally, will conduct research and training on cyber warfare and have a staff of 30, half of them IT experts from the participating countries. The choice of Estonia is no accident: besides having first-hand experience of a cyber-war, the country is home to a flourishing hi-tech industry which has earned it the nickname E-stonia.

Estonian economy slows down to 0.4 per cent, flash estimate shows

We can say there was a very fast slow down in real estate, which doesn t only include development. And we can see railway and transport slowed down significantly, the head of national account service at Statistics Estonia Tonu Mertsina told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa. Slowing domestic demand, rapid wage growth and a cooling real estate market have forced Estonia s government to cut its budget, delay plans to join euro and lower its 2008 economic growth forecast. The gross domestic product grew by 4.8 per cent in the last quarter of 2007. Economy experts predicted the growth to slow down to 2.5 per cent. Detailed economic statistics will be released on June 9. Estonia s expansion slowed to 7 per cent last year from more than 11 per cent in 2006.

Estonia Taxes Farmers for Cow Farts

Following the issues of global warming, Estonia cited that a single cow produces 350 L of methane gas and 1500 L of carbon dioxide a day from flatulence and burping. Can t you see it now! The economy in the United States is approaching the tank, the liberals are examining every source of potential revenue they can find to pay for their failing feel good programs. How long do you think this will take? It will reach us faster than the killer bees did I m afraid. Imagine, Al Gore getting in his Eco Friendly Private Jet and holding a news conference about cow farts and global warming! Lets see, were paying the farmers to produce grain for ethanol, supporting the research into the mating habits of exotic flies, taxes up for the smokers to pay for a mandatory health care program that was never funded, schooling and health care for illegal aliens.

Elcoteq reduces staff in Estonia

Elcoteq has decided to initiate procedures with its Tallinn-based personnel regarding compulsory holiday with partial pay and personnel reductions. Some 330 persons will be affected, of whom the majority will be laid off with partial pay. The exact number of persons involved will be settled after consultation with Labor Inspectorate officials. As manufacturing volumes fluctuate significantly, Elcoteq s policy has been to maintain extensive flexibility in its workforce. As part of the February 2007 Action Plan to improve the company s competitiveness, profitability and cost-efficiency, and because of delays in some customer projects, the company has now decided that the extent of this flexibility should be reduced. Actions already taken to improve operational efficiency also mean that reductions in personnel numbers are now possible. Using the option of compulsory holiday with partial pay maintains the capability of upgrading volumes at short notice while at the same time reducing costs.

Bulgaria Opens Embassy in Estonia: Bulgaria Opens Embassy in Estonia

The EU membership of Bulgaria and Estonia has strengthened bilateral relations and increased business dialogue, which provoked opening an embassy in Tallinn, authorities said. The embassy is also believed to help intensify relationships in the political, economic and cultural spheres. Click here to receive realtime news about this topic in the future. Post your opinion here. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper Sofia Morning News. Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. Source http: novinite.com view news.php

Estonia inflation hits 10-year high as economy slows

Rising inflation, coupled with slower growth, is increasingly clouding economic prospects for the small nation, once known as one of the Baltic Tigers along with Latvia and Lithuania. Estonia s consumer prices rose the most since a 12.6-per-cent spike in April 1998, the government s statistics office said. Slowing domestic demand, rapid wage growth and a cooling real estate market have forced Estonia s government to cut its budget, delay plans to join euro and lower its 2008 economic growth forecast. Estonia s expansion slowed to 7 per cent last year from more than 11 per cent in 2006. A further slowdown is expected this year, partly due to falling retail sales. A Danske Bank report forecast that Estonia s economy will grow by only 2.5 per cent in 2008. Real estate transactions declined to 2004 levels last year and prices dropped by 10-15 per cent year-on-year, the report said.

First patient portal launched in Estonia

The iPatsient (ePatient) portal, began its pilot phase in November 2007 at East Tallinn Central Hospital and is now fully online for all patients to log onto. To date, nearly 1,000 people have used the portal, and if it proves successful it will be rolled across Estonia as part of its e-health strategy. National deployments of the iPatsient portal are due to start in the autumn. Patients can access the portal from the hospital s website using information sent to them on an ID card in the post. In the hospital, they must use the ID card to log onto the system, on home PCs they will need the card number and a PIN code selected by the user. They must then answer preset security questions to ensure the full security of their medical records.

Voice for freedom

I spent my teenage years in a borderline third world country where I shared a small room with both my siblings. It s the small things you tend to miss. At the store there were two choices of soda: coke or sprite our electric water heater limited hot showers to 2 minutes and English reading material was at a premium-I devoured my books in mere days. Living in the states within that context, I appreciate the things I ve had to live without: the sheer number of choices the grocery store has to offer, the 15 minutes I spend on average in the shower now, and the library and local bookstores, which I can lose myself in for hours. However, watching The Singing Revolution last night, I realized I had taken one Big Thing for granted, in large part because I ve never had to live without it: my freedom.

Human remains found in Tallinn center

Defence Ministry spokeswoman Meeli Hunt told BNS that archaeologists found the remains of two persons from the excavation site on the Harjumagi slope. Although it is not yet clear what time the remains are from, Hunt said it was likely that the burial could be from the period of World War II. This could be decided by the relatively good condition of the remains and the fact that and one of them was found wearing boots. A DNA analysis will be conducted following the excavations. The excavations on Harjumagi Hill are continuing with the archaeologists trying to find objects from the grave that could refer to the time of burial. Last month excavations started on the whole territory of the War of Independence Freedom monument. Last month 17th-18th century walls that had not been indicated on maps of the period were unearthed from the soil of the bastion during the excavations.

Tallink Superstar Returns to Work

On Wednesday the vessel turned back to port in Tallinn after departure for Helsinki because of technical faults. The Superstar was carrying 700 passengers from Tallinn to Helsinki when it returned to port soon after a 2 PM departure. Tallink said Wednesday evening that the fault was being investigated, but did not release any more details. The shipping line provided alternative travel arrangements for the passengers onboard. Tallink s Superfast was to make several extra runs between the Estonian and Finnish capitals. Passengers from Helsinki to Tallinn who were booked on the Superstar were transferred to the company s ships Galaxy and Star. Tallink s Superstar entered service just one week ago.