Estonia: MPs call for closer ties with Israel

Members of the national defence committee of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, visited Israel and called for closer ties between the two countries, ERR reported. The MPs condemned the Palestinian terrorist organisation, Hamas, and urged Palestinians to reject the group. The Estonian parliamentarians encouraged Israel to consider providing military aid to Ukraine. Also, they highlighted…

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Baltic: Tallinn ranks highest on quality of life index in 2024

Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, ranked the highest in the Baltic States on Serbian database Numbeo’s Quality of Life index in 2024, BNS reported. Tallinn ranked 17th out of 195 cities worldwide. Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, ranked 36th on the index, while the Latvian capital, Riga, ranked 88th. Numbeo’s index assesses various factors affecting quality of life, including…

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Lithuania: Two more checkpoints on Belarus border to be closed down

Lithuania will close down two more checkpoints on the border with Belarus as of 1 March 2024, BNS reports. Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said that closing the checkpoints in Lavoriskes and Raigardas would allow authorities to enforce sanctions, prevent smuggling, and screen incoming travellers more effectively. Also, the National Security Commission (NSK) proposed cutting the…

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Baltic: Estonia, Latvia rank high on National Cyber Security Index

Estonia ranks third on Estonian non-profit organisation e-Governance Academy’s updated National Cyber Security Index (NCSI), LSM reports. Estonia ranks third out of 31 countries on the index, with 85.83 points. Latvia is fifth with 79.17 points. Lithuania’s data is not included in the updated index. Estonia scored 80.02 points and Latvia 71.88 points in terms…

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Baltic: Parliamentary speakers visit Canada, US

The speakers of the parliaments of the three Baltic States visited Canada and the US to discuss regional security issues and cooperation, BNS reported. They met with with the speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, Greg Fergus, and members of the Canada-Nordic-Baltic Parliamentary Friendship Group. In the US, the Baltic speakers met with the speaker…

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Latvia: Ministry urges to check businesses for Russia supporters

Latvia’s Foreign Ministry called on authorities to check whether the top management of major Latvian companies and organisations include any Russian, Belarusian, or other third-country nationals who support Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and who may have links to Russian state institutions, LETA reported. The ministry insisted that such persons should be subject to EU…

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Estonia: No external damage found in EstLink 2 power cable

An investigation into the outage of the EstLink 2 power interconnection between Estonia and Finland has so far found no “intentional external damage” in the undersea cable, Estonian transmission system operator Elering announced, ERR reports. The exact location of the fault and the specific cause of the outage remain to be determined, however. Finnish transmission system operator…

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