Saare county government has decided to terminate its contract with the national carrier Estonian Air, thus closing the Tallinn-Kuressaare air route, and to launch a new public procurement to find another company to service it.

Flights have become fewer and the fares higher than was initially agreed, reported ETV. Local officials assert that passenger numbers per flight have also been declining as a result.

Although the government subsidizes each one-way flight with 2,000 euros, Estonian Air has said that expenses are still not being covered.

"The frequency of flights is not satisfactory. There are currently seven flights per week, but we would like to see 11 flights. Furthermore, the cost of plane tickets has significantly increased. Those are the reasons that passenger numbers have fallen,” said County Governor Kaido Kaasik.

Before the changes in the flight schedule were made, the popularity of the route increased steadily, Kaasik said, as 49 percent of seats were filled in the first quarter, then 57 percent in the second quarter and 63 percent in the third quarter of 2011. But when the schedule became sparser and prices went up, Kaasik said, the figure fell down sharply to 36 percent.

Ott Tammik

The Tallinn-based human rights group Living for Tomorrow (LFT) is preparing a criminal complaint against several Finnish companies and individuals it says are involved in scamming Estonian construction workers out of their fair wages, Finnish public television revealed on January 25.

LFT is planning to submit information it has collected on the alleged crimes to the Finnish police.

The YLE2 report highlighted the widespread practice of intermediary companies, typically based in Estonia, "renting" out relatively cheap Estonian construction labor to Finnish contractors.

The workers, who are promised Finnish levels of pay, usually end up with far less, sometimes as low as the Estonian minimum wage. Often they are not paid for months on end, YLE said, citing the case of a worker in Kerava who said he was owed 24,000 euros in back wages.

The head of LFT, Sirje Blumberg, said that it was more difficult to tackle such cases under the Estonian legal system because, unlike in Finland, such labor abuse is not considered a form of human trafficking.

New laws recently introduced in Finland may shut down the practice, however. From next year, construction workers will need to wear a badge displaying their Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to gain access to building sites.

Steve Roman

The two border towns, the Estonian town of Narva and the Russian town of Ivangorod on the two sides of Narva river have joined hands to bring its key tourist sights such as its historic castles in order so that they can jointly attract more tourists, writes Eesti Päevaleht daily.

“We want to offer tourists travelling between St Petersburg and Tallinn an opportunity to stay in Narva or Ivangorod for a day or two instead of passing by,” explained Anne Veevo from the development department of Narva City Government.

To finance the project, the city of Narva plans to borrow about 350,000 euros. Among others, the two towns plan to spend about 200,000 euros on advertising their tourist attractions in St. Petersburg.

“The finance ministry has already approved our funding application and the works can now start,” says MP Mikhail Stalnuhhin who signed the funding applications a year ago as chairman of Narva City Council.

The joint project titled Est Rus Fort Tour aims to attract tourists to visit the two castles of Narva and Ivangorod and includes a tourist route.

The total cost of the project is 6.9 million euros and is scheduled to be largely funded from the European Union cross-border programme.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Representatives of the ministry of foreign affairs admit that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that is set to be signed in Tokyo tomorrow will have an impact on Estonian legislation since it will be an international obligation for the state and must be considered when drafting legal acts, writes Eesti Päevaleht.

Indrek Niklus, head of the private law department of the justice ministry says that in addition to ACTA, lawmakers must, for instance, also take into consideration TRIPS treaties that regulate industrial property rights.

“All together we have 21 such international treaties that are relevant in this matter,” said Niklus, admitting that, unlike ACTA, these treaties usually do not regulate the digital world.

“The key is that ACTA will not regulate the contents of intellectual property, but the way it is protected and tells state what they must do to protect and enforce these rights,” added Niklus.

The way how Estonian authorities have handled the passage of ACTA has drawn criticism from various parties, in particular from the Estonian Internet Community group which says that the act is not in line with constitutional law and will hamper innovation.

Justice minister Kristen Michal has denied such accusations in public and says that adoption of ACTA in Estonian law will not restrict personal rights nor limit free speech. “The text of the agreement says so specifically, but the way,” added Michal.

Estonia has already put together a workgroup including representatives of independent observes that is tasked to develop draft a law on intellectual rights reflecting the new implications of adopting ACTA.  The drafting process is expected to take up to three years.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Finnish investors still find the price of new apartments in Tallinn attractive, with some of them having bought ten vacant apartments in new apartment buildings at once, reports Äripäev.

Christian Ayter who is consulting Finnish customers in 1Partner Kinnisvara, a real estate company, said that one reason is that rents in Tallinn are higher than in Helsinki and the property value is actually increasing.

Ayter says that one Finnish investment fund has bought four apartments and is looking for another 16, with average calculated purchase price of 130,000 euros.

„The company is looking in expensive central districts mainly two-room apartments,” said the consultant, but added that there are very few such apartments on offer.

Ayter adds that another private investors has bought five apartments and wants to buy another 15.

At present 1Partner Kinnisvara has 25 Finnish customers who are ready to buy a total of 100 apartments in central Tallinn. „I think I will be able to meet their demands,” he added.

Toomas Hõbemägi

In a move to cut down on the number of taxis illegally operating on its territory, Tallinn Airport will completely overhaul its auto traffic system next month.

From February 15, the upper concourse, which has traditionally served as the pick-up and drop-off points for all buses, cars and taxis, will be closed to all traffic except taxis whose companies have a contract with the airport and private cars intending to pay for parking.  

All other traffic, including city buses, will be rerouted to the lower concourse. Passengers will have to take an escalator ride to connect to the airport's main arrival and departure halls, Õhtuleht reported.

The change is meant to prevent taxis whose companies do not have a contract with the airport from mingling with those that do, namely Tallink, Tulika and Tallinna Taksopark.

Erik Sakkov, a member of the airport authority's management board, said that passengers who want to order their own taxis will still be able to do so, but must wait for them in the parking area.

Steve Roman

On the Safari – Karmen Pedaru and Simon Nessman play nature lovers for Michael Kors’ spring 2012 campaign. Joined by a tour guide and male model Armando Cabral, the duo soak in the sights with Kors’ safari inspired creations featuring animal prints, satchel bags and tawny jumpsuits styled by Brana Wolf.

A group of four Lithuanian nationals, suspected of stealing a truck trailer in Harju County, were detained by the police this month.

The authorities also suspect that the same group is behind the theft of two refrigerator trailers in Pärnu County, along with 62,000 euros worth of goods.

During a last week's search operation, Estonian police together with their Lithuanian colleagues found 27,000 euros worth of products stolen from Pärnu in a hangar located in the Lithuanian town of Klaipeda.

The police is also investigating whether the men are involved in the serial theft of four trailers in Harju County last fall, the Western District Prosecutors' Office said.

Ingrid Teesalu

The government's program to subsidize electric car purchases has attracted 17 applications in Estonia, while having enough funds to support 500 buyers, the Estonian national broadcasting corporation ERR reports.

The program, which gives buyers a discount of up to 50% on the total cost of a fully electric car, is financed by the government's sale of 10 million carbon dioxide credits to Mitsubishi last year, writes LETA.

However, it seems unlikely that the funds for the grant scheme, up to 18,000 euros per purchase, will be spent by November 2012 deadline.

As reported, in the framework of the electric car project, individuals and legal persons are eligible for up to 18,000 euros of support for the purchase, made possible by SA KredEx. In addition, up to 1,000 euros support is being provided for charger purchases and related installation. The support is being provided for purchasing an electric car from a country in the EEA or Switzerland and bearing a European Union type approval. The car must have at least a two-year warranty, the battery, a five-year warranty, and the applicant must be the first owner of the car.

So far, potential consumers have been discouraged by high prices, lack of information about the performance of the electric cars in winter conditions and a small choice of available vehicles, a government press release said. On Monday, KredEx, the agency responsible for the program, announced it will add several new models to the list of vehicles that qualify for the grant.

Currently, there are four models, including the Mitsubishi, Citroen, Peugeot and Valmet. In coming months, a minivan and another small and slow vehicle produced by Polaris and recommended for use on small islands will also be included.

Before the New Year's Grand Sumo Tournament, most fans would have predicted that Hakuho, the reigning yokozuna, would claim his third successive Emperor's Cup, and 22nd title overall.

It was not to be.

In what was perhaps the most interesting basho for sumo fans for some years, four of the five ozeki finally stepped up to the plate and did their job properly — they ran neck and neck for much of the basho, gaps only appearing in Week No. 2 as the men in the uppermost ranks went against each other, and in the end, one of them walked off with his first Emperor's Cup.

That man was Baruto, an Estonian who first arrived on the dohyo in early 2004. At the time entering professional sumo with another young Estonian called Kitaoji who was to return to Estonia homesick before the year was out, Baruto won his first 14 bouts straight in those early years, in the process picking up the jonokuchi and jonidan division titles.

He tore through the four lower divisions, and was promoted to the foot of juryo a little over a year after he entered the sport. Injuries took their toll in his first years as a sekitori, but the past two years have seen him promoted to ozeki, winning 129 bouts compared to just 51 losses, for a basho average of almost 11-4 in that time. Even with a couple of slip-ups in mid-2010, this is an excellent figure, more than worthy of the rank when held up alongside his fellow ozeki, and second only to the yokozuna over the same period.

The pressure is now on, however, to build on his Tokyo title when the sumo association moves down to Osaka in early March for the first tournament there in two years (last year's basho was cancelled amid a series of scandals over bout fixing).

Should he win again in Osaka, he will be promoted to yokozuna (regardless of comments made by an English-language NHK guest on the final day of the Hatsu Basho who mulled the requisites for promotion). Back-to-back Emperor's Cups have been the benchmark for the last seven yokozuna over a period of 20 years, and there is no indication anything would be different in the case of Baruto coming up with the goods.

Indeed, many may even call for promotion with a jun-yusho (essentially, runner's up) promotion if he posts 14-1 and only loses to the eventual winner.

Local lad Kisenosato had a great first tournament at ozeki finishing 11-4, alongside Harumafuji — the latter's best score since last July when he won the top division title with a 14-1. Even Kotooshu reached double figures with only Kotoshogiku (8-7) in sumo's second rank failing to chalk up the minimum 10 wins expected of an ozeki.

The upper maegashira ranks took a pounding as a result of the dominance of the ozeki, with arguably the best result in the top half of the non-sanyaku ranks being posted by Myogiryu.

His gutsy 9-6 at maegashira 5 might just be enough to slip him into a vacant komusubi slot on the March banzuke.

Both Takayasu and Wakakoyu generated much interest pre-basho after excellent showings in the December public practice session but failed to perform anywhere near their best, finishing 6-9 and 5-10 respectively.

In juryo the incredibly talented Chiyotairyu of Kokonoe Beya finished his first sekitori basho 13-2, winning the division and guaranteeing a very large promotion in the process. He is so new to professional sumo that his hair is not yet long enough to shape the traditional topknot, which will no doubt cause a few headlines in March.

Along with Ikioi, who at juryo 3 went 10-5 and will be on home turf in Osaka, Chiyotairyu from Tokyo is perhaps the best next generation homegrown talent. When the time comes, the pair could quite possibly the successors to Kisenosato and Kotoshogiku.

Fuel retailers in Estonia have been increasing fuel prices this week to record high. A litre of petrol 95 costs 1.34 euros while a litre of diesel costs 1.425 euros.

Jaanus Pauts, press spokesperson of Statoil, says that Statoil has never been purchasing fuel at such high price as global oil prices continue to grow.

Prices are record high also because the US dollar has been appreciating against the euro and EU and other countries have imposed import restrictions on oil imported from Iran.

Pauts said that one should not forget that excise duties and VAT make up 49 percent of the retail price and 45 percent is purchase price. In other words, the retailer accounts for only 5 percent of the retail price of fuel.

Finance director of fuel retailer Olerex said that in 2008 the company asked customers about the fuel price that they consider unacceptable. “At that time it was 20 kroons a litre. Today’s price is getting near 22 kroons so the customers seem to have adapted to new prices,” said the representative.

Toomas Hõbemägi

State-owned Port of Tallinn plans to build a 60-metre-high Ferris wheel for tourists near the Tallinn Passenger Port offering great views on the Old Town.

The company’s press spokesperson Sven Ratassepp said that the plan is only a concept and that no decisions have been made yet.

One authority that may block the plan is the municipal heritage authority. Its head Boris Dubovik said that the company’s representatives have been sounding him out about the Ferris wheel plan.

"This cannot be allowed since it would block the view to the Old Town from the direction of Pirita or Russalka. At 60 metres it would be as high as the stone part of the St. Olai’s Church and would distort the view to the Old Town,” said Dubovik.

Speaking about the company’s plans with the port area, Ratassepp said: “We want to develop the area into an entertainment complex. There are tourists who prefer to remain in the port and spend time there.”

Toomas Hõbemägi

... in the race for the Golden Shoe

The Portuguese netted two penalties as his team swept Athletic Bilbao aside to move to the summit of the rankings, with Lionel Messi hot on his heels,

Two penalties in Real Madrid's 4-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao saw Cristiano Ronaldo draw level with Trans Narva star Aleksandrs Cekalujevs in the race for the Golden Shoe.

The Latvian, plying his trade in the Estonian league, has scored an incredible 46 goals this season, and led the table until the Portuguese star's double.

A Lionel Messi hat-trick in Barcelona's thrashing of Malaga ensured that the Argentine remained hot on the heels of his nemesis, and saw the 24-year-old pull away from Robin van Persie, who managed a solitary strike in Arsenal's 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United.

CSKA Moscow's Ivorian striker Seydou Doumbia finished the Russian season with 24 goals, and currently sits in fifth place, while Trabzonspor's Burak Yilmaz scored his 22nd goal during his side's shock defeat to Karabukspor.

Bundesliga duo Mario Gomez and Klaas Jan Huntelaar have taken their battle for the domestic Golden Boot to the European stage, and the Bayern Munich man sits two points ahead of his Schalke counterpart, with the Dutchman level on points with Newcastle's Demba Ba.

Manchester City's big money signing Sergio Aguero is in 10th place courtesy of 14 goals to date in his debut Premier League season.

Rank Player Country Club League Weight Goals Points 1 A Cekulajevs LAT Trans Narva EST 1 46 46 C. Ronaldo POR Real Madrid ESP 2 23 46 3 L. Messi ARG Barcelona ESP 2 22 44 4 R. v Persie NED Arsenal ENG 2 19 38 5 S. Doumbia CIV CSKA RUS 1.5 24 36 6 B. Yilmaz TUR Trabzonspor TUR 1.5 22 33 7 M. Gomez GER Bayern GER 2 16 32 8 Demba Ba SEN Newcastle ENG 2 15 30 K. Huntelaar NED Schalke GER 2 15 30 10 S. Aguero ARG Man City ENG 2 14 28

* = league season finished

History & How It Works

In 1967-68, French football magazine L'Equipe opted to hand out an award to the top goalscorer in all European leagues for his good performances during the season. Between 1968 and 1991, high profile names such as Eusebio, Gerd Muller, Ian Rush and Marco van Basten won the coveted trophy.

However, the gap between big and small leagues started to grow in the early 90's and L'Equipe decided to make the competition unofficial after the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) issued a protest in 1991. Darko Pancev won the award that season with 34 goals, but the CFA claimed that a player had scored 40 goals in Cyprus that term.

Adidas, sponsor of the awards, still handed out the trophy until 1996 before European Sports Magazine (with L'Equipe as a member) decided to make the title official again. ESM divided all European leagues in three groups according to strength, and attached to each group a quotient by which the number of goals is multiplied to obtain the player's rating. The European Golden Shoe was thus no longer necessarily handed to the top goalscorer, but to the player with the most points.

The weightings are determined by the league's ranking on the UEFA coefficients, which in turn depend on the results of each league's clubs in European competition over the previous five seasons. Goals scored in the top five leagues according to the UEFA coefficients are multiplied by a factor of two, and goals scored in the leagues ranked six to 21 are multiplied by 1.5. Goals in all other leagues are all worth one single point.

This measure has prevented players from the so called weaker leagues from winning the European Golden Shoe, since a goal scored in, for example, Armenia, Estonia or Azerbaijan carries less weight than a goal scored in Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga or the Premier League.

Players such as Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Forlan and Lionel Messi have won the European Golden Shoe in the past few seasons.

Enis Koylu

While at present about a thousand Estonian residents are working in the area of St. Petersburg, their number is likely to grow five times in the near future, writes Eesti Päevaleht daily.

Official unemployment in the Leningrad oblast that is bordering with Estonia is only 0.5 percent and companies are desperately looking to hire people. By one report, there are about 10,000 vacant jobs in the area or about as much as there are unemployed in Northeast Estonia.

By some experts, the number of vacancies in the area is expected to grow five times in the next few years.

"This is underexaggeration. Actual demand is much higher. There are seven million people in St. Petersburg, but it is difficult to find young and skilled workers,” says Mart Luts who has security services business in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

According to Luts, more experienced senior specialists in the security services market can earn up to 5,000 euros a month. The problem is that only citizens of Russia can be employed, but since many Estonian residents are also citizens of Russia, they don’t need a work permit and are in a preferred situation.

Toomas Hõbemägi