Estonia

There has been a steady increase in calls to a helpline run by the Health Council for poisonings, which can be reached on 16662 and is run by operators who all speak English; the line has been designed with the aim of reducing the burden on hospitals

Estonia is one of the freest countries in the world, with a score of 95 out of 100 according to the Freedom House Freedom in the World 2024 index

Over the next two years, the Ministry of the Interior will test a new 'Taskusireen' system (Pocket Siren) that sends threat notifications to smartphones; it can send messages when mobile connections are down and even when the phone is in silent mode

Estonian TV series 'Detective von Fock' has been awarded almost €250.000 in funding as part of a new EU pilot project to promote European productions

A new forum was launched to help people in Estonia with a refugee background, specially for supporting them in defending their communities and addressing their concerns

Estonians were able to vote for their representatives in the European Parliament three days before the official date of the European elections, despite technical problems with the online voting platform

Average life expectancy in Estonia rose to a new record high of 79 years, according to data from Statistics Estonia; however, the number of years people live in good health decreased in 2023: men live disability-free for 56,4 years, women for 59,5 years

The EU demanded explanations from Russia over what it called an 'unacceptable' provocation against Estonia, that had complained that Russia had removed without authorisation some of the navigation buoys placed on the Estonian side of the Narva River

As of 1 May, the Narva border is closed overnight due to the decrease in traffic; Russia closed the border to car traffic in February

University of Tartu Hospital suspects that some cases went undetected by home HPV testing conducted by Synlab Estonia in 2021, challengin the credibility of HPV at-home tests

Cases have been reported in Tallinn where parents have had their children secretly record what is happening in kindergarten with smart watches

The bill to introduce a motor vehicle tax in Estonia, currently undergoing second reading in Riigikogu, has become one of the most hotly debated issues; among the most vocal critics are car collectors, some of whom own hundreds of vehicles