BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Swedbank Estonia Picks New Board Members

Swedbank AS has a new all-Estonian management board as of September 1, reflecting the move of the bank's former Latvian and Lithuanian subsidiaries to the direct control of Swedbank AB in Stockholm.

The members are chairman and CEO Priit Perens, who retains his position, the retail head Ulla Ilisson, corporate banking director Robert Kitt, CFO Heiki Raadik, private banking director Vaiko Tammeväli and the credit management division director Rait Pallo. The Latvian and Lithuanian board members were recalled. 

The new management board previously operated as the managing division of Estonian operations.   

Changes also took place in the supervisory board, which will now be headed by Birgitte Bonnesen; legal advisor Tiina Sepp was the only one from the previous supervisory board to keep her post.

The change in the bank's legal structure took effect on July 1. Swedbank's Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian subsidiaries now enjoy equal status.

Kristopher Rikken

Veerpalu has rare genetic mutation, says Tartu scientist

A member of the team of researchers investigating the charges of doping against Andrus Veerpalu says the substance that proved the skier's undoing was produced naturally by the skier's own body. 

Anton Terasmaa said the disgraced skier has a rare genetic mutation that causes his growth hormone levels to spike after exertion. A team of 12 Tartu scientists sequenced Veerpalu's DNA in April and May. 

The findings were sent to the international ski federation, FIS, which had ordered them to remain sealed until recently, said Terasmaa in an article in Eesti Päevaleht. "But now I can inform the Estonian public of the researchers' results: Andrus Veerpalu exhibits uniquely strong post-exertion production of growth hormone," he wrote.

A doping test had found Veerpalu to have a higher-than-permitted level of growth hormone just before the skier had suspiciously brought his career to an abrupt end on the eve of the Holmenkollen world championship in February.

Terasmaa said tests conducted from 2007 to 2010 compared the athlete's levels of the growth hormone before and after a workout. "It became evident that while other skiers had a tenfold rise in the level of growth hormone, in Veerpalu it was a hundredfold."

Terasmaa said that while the level of hormone could be expected to diminish over time even in Veerpalu, "Veerpalu was in a high-altitude chamber after the workout where the level of the hormone does not fall but could be expected to rise even more."

Kristopher Rikken

Linking me to the Soviet military intelligence is nonsense : Ansip

Reform Party chairman and PM Andrus Ansip said yesterday that Indrek Tarand’s claim that Ansip fulfilled military intelligence duties in the Soviet army was nonsense.

“What Tarand said was a total nonsense. Military intelligence had nothing to do with the plant of construction elements, piles of gravel, scrap metal and concrete blocks,” said Ansip commenting on Tarand’s claims that he made during the televised presidential campaign.

According to Tarand, Ansip was deputy commander in political affairs of the Tallinn construction battalion, adding: “These positions belonged to the military intelligence. This was a very prominent job in the Soviet army system”.

Ansip said that only Tarand himself can say why he made such accusations during a televised debate. “Perhaps the reason is that he himself has never said what he did in the Soviet military except that he served in Gachina in Leningrad oblast. I don’t know exactly which troops were stations there, but informed sources have told me that it was a special KGB unit,” said Ansip.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Estonia average wages & salaries rise in Q2

Statistics.ee

Average monthly gross wages and salaries of Estonian employees increased for the fifth consecutive quarter in the second quarter, data released by Statistics Estonia showed Tuesday.

Average monthly gross wages and salaries increased 4.2 percent year-on-year to EUR 857 in the second quarter. Average monthly earnings rose for the fifth quarter in a row.

Meanwhile, real wages, which takes into account the influence of the change in the consumer price index, decreased 1 percent annually in the three-month period, marking the 11th consecutive fall.

At the same time, the average hourly gross wages and salaries grew 4.8 percent on an annual basis to EUR 5.08 during the quarter.

Estonian tramper rescued from gorge

A bad bout of food poisoning and an expedition into extremely dangerous terrain gave Estonian tramper Andre Lipand a 26th birthday he will never forget after he became trapped in a deep gorge in Mount Aspiring National Park at the weekend.

Mr Lipand, who is holidaying in New Zealand, set off alone on Wednesday to complete the Young River-Gillespie Pass-Wilkin River circuit on foot and in an inflatable raft he was carrying.

He was due back from his trip on Friday. When he still had not returned to Wanaka by Saturday - his prearranged "panic" date - his friend raised the alarm with police about 5.30pm.

Wanaka LandSAR media liaison officer Phil Melchior said LandSAR Wanaka's analysis of the situation deemed the cost and risk of a night search unwarranted, so a ground, air and river search was launched first thing yesterday morning, involving 11 LandSAR Wanaka search and rescue volunteers.

The first team sent in to the area discovered Mr Lipand's tracks in the snow going over the Gillespie Pass and evidence he had launched his raft into the Siberia Stream where it intersects with the Gillespie Stream, so the search focus shifted to the Siberia Gorge.

"One of our scenarios was always that he had put his raft in on the Siberia Stream and got into trouble in the gorge, so that was something that we were actively considering, but our understanding was that his plans were to raft the Wilkin River, not the Siberia Stream," LandSAR Wanaka search manager Phillip Melchior said.

"He did a good job getting across the pass in the snow and he was adequately equipped but he should never have attempted to raft down the Siberia Gorge.

"It's extreme tiger country which is just not achievable under any circumstances. It's a big and dangerous gorge in a kayak and you wouldn't raft it and you wouldn't walk it. You would just stay the hell out of it and it's unfortunate that he didn't look more closely at his map."

Kuressaare permits swimming again

The sea around Kuressaare, on the island of Saaremaa, which was found to be unsuitable for swimming due to fecal pollution at the beginning of August, no longer poses a health risk as the pollution levels declined in the past weeks.

The source of the pollution has still not been found. The only thing that has been determined so far is that the fecal pollution that surpassed the legal limit by tens of times drifted to Kuressaare from the nearby Põduste River, reported ETV.

"Indeed, after three weeks, the water at Kuressaare meets the requirements again. The most recent tests show that the concentration of bacteria in the water has dropped to within legal limits, so we were able to raise the yellow flag today to indicate that it is safe to go swimming again," said Deputy Mayor of Kuressaare Kalle Koov.

Koov confirmed that swimming at the beach of Kuressaare no longer poses a health risk for people.

Sigrid Maasen

Toomas Hendrik Ilves elected as President of Estonia for the second term

On Monday, Riigikogu re-elected Toomas Hendrik Ilves for the second term in office as the President of the Republic of Estonia, writes LETA/National Broadcasting.

The chairman of the National Elections Committee Heiki Sibul signed the protocol regarding the elections result. According to the protocol, Ilves received 73 votes of 101 MPs, contender Indrek Tarand received 25 votes.

Two ballots were declared invalid and one cast ballot was not marked.

Speaker of Riigikogu Ene Ergma noted that the Parliament was successful in electing the President of the Republic. She congratulated Ilves on behalf of Riigikogu.

"It's the first time the president was elected in the first round in parliament," Ilves told parliament just after the votes were counted. "I'm ready to serve Estonia and all its people".

This was the first time the President of the Republic was elected in Riigikogu. During previous elections, the matter had been referred to the electoral body consisting of 101 MPs and representatives of local governments as the Parliament had not managed to guarantee a necessary majority of votes to any candidate.

Born in Sweden to parents who fled the 1940 Soviet occupation of Estonia, Ilves, who has spent the better part of his life in the United States, Canada, and Germany, is the first Baltic head of state to be born in exile. He originally took office in October 2006. Ilves, who is fluent in English, German and Spanish in addition to his native Estonian, was elected to the European parliament, where he held the post of first vice-president of the foreign affairs committee.

Juhan Tere

Baltics are prepared for next wave of EU crisis : Ansip

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are prepared to handle a deteriorating economy in the European Union because they cut the size of their budget deficits, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said.

“All the Baltic states, not only Estonia, are pretty well prepared for every type of crisis,” said Ansip in a press conference in the Latvian capital Riga today, with Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius.

The Baltic countries cut spending and raised taxes beginning in 2008 to slash budget deficits after a real estate- fueled boom-turned-bust. Latvia’s deficit is expected to fall to about 3.8 percent of gross domestic product this year from 7.7 percent of GDP last year, Ansip said, citing a conversation he had with Dombrovskis.

Estonia, which had a budget surplus last year, plans another surplus this year, he said.

Estonian president likely to be re-elected in vote

TALLINN — Estonia's president, a former U.S. citizen, is likely to win re-election Monday in a country whose economy stands out as one of the most stable in the debt-ridden 17-nation eurozone.

The presidential vote takes place in Parliament, where the 57-year-old incumbent, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, has the backing of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip's Reform Party and its conservative partner IRL. Together they have formed the backbone of Estonia's ruling coalition for over six years – a record in the typically topsy-turvy world of Baltic politics.

The opposition Social Democrats have said they would also support Ilves, a member of that party before catapulting to the presidency in 2006, giving him as many as 75 votes in the 101-seat Parliament. Only a simple majority is needed to win.

The ballot is secret. Indrek Tarand, a member of the European Parliament, is the only other candidate. He has the backing of the left-leaning opposition Center Party, which is favored by Estonia's sizable ethnic Russian community.

Estonia's president is largely a ceremonial figure. Still the presiden is the formal head of the country's armed forces and can dissolve Parliament and call for new elections.

Alcohol tourism to Estonia set to increase

A higher “sin tax” to be levied on alcohol is expected to accelerate alcohol tourism between Finland and Estonia. The trend has been noticeable with each previous increase in alcohol taxes in Finland.

This year was no different as the amount of alcohol imported into Finland from Estonia also rose. It’s also very easy to take a quick trip to Tallinn at short notice.

The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) and the Finnish Federation of Commerce expect that the planned 100 million-euro increase in the tax on alcohol will fuel an increased flow of hard liquour imports from Estonia.

When alcohol taxes rose in 2008 and 2009 there was a related increase in booze imported by individual travellers. The vast majority of alcoholic beverages imported into Finland now come from either naval traffic or Estonia.

Rising alcohol prices in Finland could mean the same in Estonia. Imre Poll, Manager of the Super Alko outlet in the Tallinn harbour believes that Estonia could soon see higher price tags on booze.

“I worry that when taxes rise in Finland then Estonian politicians will want it to happen here too. It has happened many times before that first Finland hikes taxes, then Estonia does the same,” he explained.

In spite of this the summer weeks have seen especially brisk passenger shipping traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn. Statistics revealing just how much alcohol Finns have brough home with them have not yet been released, but Jaana Kurjenoja, Chief Economist for the Federation of Commerce says the active passenger traffic already foreshadows the official numbers.

“Passenger numbers and travel activity correlate directly with alcohol imports, “ she added.

YLE

LHV takes up retail banking

On August 25, LHV Bank opened a new office on the ground floor of the City Plaza office building in Tallinn and introduced its banking cards.

Having turned from an investment house into a retail bank, the Estonian- capital-based LHV has no intention of establishing a widespread network of offices. Its card holders will be able to draw cash from the ATMs owned by other banks for a 1 euro fee.

Erki Kilu, Chairman of the Management Board of LHV Bank, said that by issuing banking cards, LHV is taking a big step closer to being able to offer day-to-day retail banking services to its customers.

"When we look at our neighbors, we see that there are no countries without nationally owned banks and well-developed local banking sectors," noted Kilu.

"In long-term perspective, Estonia would benefit from the development of a stronger local banking and financial sector, the current weakness of which has also been pointed out by the OECD experts who have visited Estonia," he added.

According to Kilu, LHV aims at becoming the fifth largest bank in Estonia in the next few years, which requires further improvement of the whole scale of banking services.

As a next important step, Kilu wishes to focus on developing and offering private loans.

Sigrid Maasen

Tallinn : European Capital of Culture

Although Nottingham has got two shopping centres and a castle, it is yet to be named European Capital of Culture. Instead the award this year goes to Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn occupies an area of 159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi) with a population of around 412,000. The Old Town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has remained in remarkable condition given the first of its fortresses was built in 1050, and they were bombed by Soviet air forces in WWII. But that’s enough stats from Wikipedia. The bottom line is this place is absolutely gorgeous.

Tallinn is full of cobbled streets, odd shaped buildings, and dimly lit bars. Basically, it’s a mini Prague. It’s absolutely perfect for a romantic meal out or to catch up with friends. We particularly liked the African Kitchen which served up some great curries for five euros. If you fancy a pint in the main square then expect to be paying silly money. We got stung for 6.5 euros for a Chai Latte in a tower wall cafe and it cost 2 euros to get in! Amazing how quickly the shackles of communism can be cast off. Estonia only became an independent democratic state in 1991.

Tallinn has a long and uncomfortable history of invasion. As a sea port city, they’ve had everyone knocking on their doorstep. Naturally the most recent invader is the British stag. I witnessed one group of knuckle draggers kitted out in ‘help for heroes’ T Shirts start chanting ‘Ing-er-land’ at the top of their voices as they entered a gourmet bar hosting one of the many jazz events being put on as part of their culture festival. Expect more of this now that Ryanair offers a £70 return flight. Perhaps anticipating this, there are numerous ‘clubs’ offering dancing girls as well as massage bars that come with a happy ending. If they can be filtered downhill to this area then you might be able to enjoy your night after all.

Members of anti-Soviet resistance group found in Estonian mass grave

TALLINN - The bodies of ten men have been found in a mass grave in southern Estonia, local media reported on Friday, and officials believe they were members of the anti-Soviet resistance group known as the 'Forest Brothers'.

Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) reported that the mass grave was found along a road near Voru, a town and municipality in southeastern Estonia. All the victims died of gunshot wounds or blunt-force trauma, according to a preliminary investigation.

Officials believe the mass grave dates back to the post-World War II period and that the victims were part of the Forest Brothers, who waged a guerrilla war against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

ERR reported that the forest in which they were found was one of the last big resistance battles in 1953, and the Soviet secret police organization NKVD had ordered to bury resistance fighters in secret graves. "These factors make it a relatively high certainty that this is a secret burial ground in the forest," military historian Arnold Unt told the broadcaster.

Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V.

Copterline relaunches helicopter service between Tallinn & Helsinki

After several troublesome years and close-bankruptcy situations,Copterline has manage to keep their plans of restoring Tallinn-Helsinki helicopter line in secret. On 29th July Line-Support Oy registered AgustaWestland 139 helicopter in Finland and has aquired permissions for operating from Hernesaari,Helsinki. Line-Support Oy will operate Tallinn-Helsinki route under Copterline brand.

Suomen Kuvalehden useista eri lähteistä keräämien tietojen mukaan nopea helikopteriyhteys on palaamassa Helsingin ja Tallinnan välille. Kokeneet lentäjät ovat uuden kopteriyhtiön pääosakkaita.

Tarkoin varjeltua hanketta on valmisteltu yli vuoden ajan. Virallisista dokumenteista käy ilmi, että Suomen ja Viron viranomaisilta on hankittu useita lupia kopteriyhteyttä varten. Muun muassa Helsingin kaupunki on myöntänyt yhtiölle ympäristöluvan ja rakennusluvan Hernesaaren terminaalille. Myös Tallinnan kaupunki on käsitellyt yhtiön asioita kaikessa hiljaisuudessa.

Liikenteen turvallisuusvirasto Trafin asiakirjoista selviää, että viraston ylläpitämään ilma-alusrekisteriin on rekisteröity hiljattain, 29. heinäkuuta, Agusta Westland 139 -helikopteri OH-HCR. Kopteri on Line-Support Oy:n nimissä, operaattoriksi on merkitty Copterline.

Estonian Air may invest 400 million Euros in fleet

AS Estonian Air, the country’s national carrier, may invest as much as 400 million euros ($577 million) to enlarge its fleet to 15 aircraft, Eesti Päevaleht reported, without saying where it got the information.

The airline wants to double the fleet in four years and increase the number of destinations to 30 cities from about 20, the newspaper said, citing Chief Executive Officer Tero Taskila. Taskila declined to confirm the size of the planned investment, the newspaper said.

Ott Ummelas

Lennufirma vajab nelja aastaga iga Eesti elaniku kohta ligi 300 euro väärtuses investeeringuid.

„Estonian Air ei saa töötada nagu pesuseep, mis kulub kasutamisel üha väiksemaks ja väiksemaks," ütles Estonian Airi nõukogu esimees Joakim Helenius. „Ainuke võimalus kadumist vältida on lennukipargi suurendamine".

Juurde tuleb osta kolmteist täiesti uut lennukit, mille kogumaksumus võib ulatuda ligi 400 miljoni euroni.

„Suurendame nelja aastaga oma õhulaevastikku praeguselt seitsmelt lennukilt viieteistkümnele, et hakata senise paarikümne sihtkoha asemel lendama kolmekümnesse olulisse linna," teatas Estonian Airi president Tero Taskila. „Me uurime väga tõsiselt 35 uut sihtkohta."

Andres Reimer

Irish LÉ Róisín to Visit Tallinn

The LÉ Róisín, a Large Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Irish Naval Service, will make a good-will visit to Tallinn from August 27 to 30, opening to the public over the weekend.

This is the second visit ever of an Irish naval vessel to Estonia. The first, by the flagship of the Naval Service, the LÉ Éithne, took place in June 2003.

The LÉ Róisín was commissioned into service in 1999, and patrols the waters of the Irish exclusive economic zone as well as further out into the Atlantic Ocean. The ship is 78.84 meters long, has a speed of 23 knots and a crew of 44.

While in Tallinn, the vessel will be berthed at Quay 8 of the Old City Harbor (close to the D-Terminal with access via Jõe or Lootsi tänav) and will be open to the public on Saturday from 14:00 to 16:00 and on Sunday from 13:00 to 15:00.

The visit to Tallinn is part of the vessel's tour of the Baltic, with stops also scheduled in Riga, Helsinki and St. Petersburg.

Erkki Sivonen

Tallinn Zoo celebrated its 72nd birthday

On Thursday the Tallinn Zoo celebrated its 72nd birthday and reported that its list of animals will increase by two rare fishing cats, writes LETA/National Broadcasting.

Press spokesperson of the zoo, Inari Leiman, stated that the male fishing cat named Otto has already arrived in Tallinn. “He arrived from England a couple of weeks ago, but his mate is still to arrive,” he noted.

On Thursday, BBC reported that Otto was sent to Estonia from the Newquay Zoo. Leiman did not know, from which country would the female fishing cat be sent to Tallinn. He said that he hoped that after the mate were found, the animals would be well-suited. “The objective is for them to have offspring,” Leiman explained.

Leiman said that the Tallinn Zoo has had previously fishing cats in its collection, but as there were no successful attempts to find them mates, the last one died without bearing any offspring.

Fishing cats who originate from Asia are an endangered species and hence experts note that it is very important for zoos to be able to form couples that bear offspring.

A weekend in Tallinn for £100 ?

EasyJet is now offering package trips to European resorts and cities for just £100. So, how much of a bargain can you really get on this kind of budget?

A European city break for £100 is a berserk prospect. Berserk. That's a return flight and a two-night hotel stay for less than the cost of a train to Scotland. The thought of exactly what that would get you – a damp floor in a windowless room in a no-star brothel, with a rat the size of a toddler – is almost enough to put you off completely.

And yet easyJet seems to have pulled it off. Until mid-September, it's running a scheme (holidays.easyjet.com) that offers two-night stays in destinations like Berlin, Seville and Prague for £100pp. I ventured to Tallinn for my weekend away, vowing to spend as little cash as possible. But would this financial constraint mean that it'd all be a bit, you know, crap?

Getting to Stansted for a 7am flight (and an easyJet flight, too, with its traditional elbows-out, free-for-all boarding policy) is never fun, but at least Tallinn is just three hours away. My hotel, though, was deeply impressive; the towering, four-star Radisson Blu Olümpia (radissonblu.com) in Tallinn's business district. It's a 15-minute walk to the sights, but it's bright and clean and full of photos of former visitors, like Hillary Clinton and Richard Clayderman. As bargains go, it's ridiculous. The real test was seeing how well Tallinn lends itself to someone as impossibly tightwaddish as me.

Free stuff

National Geographic magazine to be published in Estonian

The National Geographic Society announced that the magazine will also be published in Estonian, writes LETA/National Broadcasting.

The first issue of the National Geographic Magazine in the Estonian language will hit the newsstands in October. The magazine in Estonia will be published under a licence by the National Geographic Society and it will be based on the contents of the English-language original and follow exact rules of the organisation.

In Estonia, the magazine will be published by AlmaliEst, a subsidiary of the leading Lithuanian book publishing enterprise Alma Littera.

The editor-in-chief of National Geographic Estonia will be Erkki Peetsalu. Estonian is the 33rd local language in which the magazine will be published beside the English-language original.

Juhan Tere

Estonian animal protection group fights for snakes' rights over golf course

The Estonian Society for the Protection of Animals and a group of serpentologists have slammed plans to build a golf course in Estonia's capital as it may threaten the lives of vipers and grass snakes.

Tallinn authorities announced plans to build a golf course on the outskirts of the capital at Paaskula swamp. The animals protection group and serpentologists say the construction would destroy the swamp's ecosystem and harm the animals living in that environment.

The specialists said the project may also endanger frogs and lizards, as well as some rare plants.

"The Tallinn authorities in making the decision to build in the snakes' 'home,' have sentenced them [the snakes] to death," Heiki Valner from the animals protection group said, adding that the snakes would find a new home in the gardens of city residents and sooner or later would be killed.

Serpentologist Kadri Vyrel said snakes, including venomous ones, would in the future consider the golf course their new home and conflicts between reptiles and humans would be unavoidable.

RIA Novosti