Word: estonia
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
What is the worst karaoke performance you've seen? I went on this cruise ship for a story I did for Wired, a karaoke competition on a boat from Finland to Estonia and back again. It was an international competition and it got very rowdy and dramatic and ridiculous and I loved that, but at one point there was a woman who came out dressed as Barbara Streisand in Yentl and I think she started singing "Feelings." I was just like, what is going on? Is this something I'm not understanding because of a cultural difference? Is it common...
Eased Entry. The U.S. Visa Waiver Program has been extended to visitors from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta and South Korea - travelers from those countries are no longer required to apply for tourist visas before entering the U.S., and may stay up to 90 days...
...misery is only just beginning. The former Soviet Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had the highest growth rates in Europe until recently. But, hit by the global credit crunch and economic downturn, the Baltics are now leading Europe into recession. By some estimates, Estonia's economy may already be shrinking. "There's an Estonian saying: Every party ends in tears," says Maris Lauri, an economist at Hansabank, a subsidiary of Sweden's Swedbank...
...pain in property and construction has spread. Estonia's stock index is down 60% in the past year. Tourist numbers have fallen. A third of restaurants in Tallinn's old city center are expected to close in the next few months. It doesn't help that a diplomatic spat between Estonia and Russia, which erupted last year following Estonia's decision to relocate a Russian war memorial, has resulted in a 30% drop in exports through Estonia's ports. Combine all that bad news and it's little wonder that Estonia's unemployment rate, just 4.7% in 2007, is predicted...
Such drastic belt-tightening could trigger protests and political opposition; ruling parties will find winning re-election a lot harder. Since the end of communism, the region has introduced some of the world's most business-friendly policies, including, in Estonia, axing corporate taxes. Such policies are unlikely to disappear immediately. "If anything, we will strengthen them, to improve education and encourage innovation," says Juhan Parts, Estonia's Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications. Whether he feels that way several months from now will depend on just how low Estonia and its neighbors sink. - With reporting by Adam Smith/London