Yesterday was Estonia’s 20th anniversary as an independent modern European nation. In celebration there is a weekend-long programme of events; including a festival of all things Icelandic. Iceland was the first country to recognise Estonian independence and the countries remain close allies. Read the full story

The Swedish National Audit Office, Riksrevionen, last week published a report on the problems of the Swedish banks in the Baltic states. Read the full story

Last summer’s near-record passenger numbers look set to continue for Baltic Sea shipping lines. “The advance reservation situation is extremely good,” said Pasi Nakki, Deputy CEO of Tallink Silja. Read the full story

The global financial crisis has particularly hurt small countries like Estonia and Iceland, says Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the President of Estonia, whose official visit to Iceland began yesterday. Read the full story

It is commonly agreed and fairly well known that Finland has a drinking problem. Alcoholism is one of this Nordic country’s most pressing social issues, and something the government has been determinedly trying to solve. Read the full story

Despite its admitted financial difficulties, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has approached the Estonian government with an offer to buy out the 34 percent stake it owns in Estonian Airlines. SAS already owns 49 percent of Estonian Airlines. Read the full story

The 9th annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships, which were held in Estonia this year, ended with a pet dog taking the top honour. A Finn, two Estonians, and Cara the dog won their respective categories in this popular Finnish-created event.

For the first time in the history of the prestigious competition, the event was held outside of Finland in the Estonian town of Narva. More than 50 competitors from around the world travelled to Narva to prove they could toss a mobile phone farther than anyone else Read the full story

Two Estonians became the first people in recorded history to successfully swim across the Gulf of Finland. They started their effort in Finland and ended it in Estonia, taking nearly a full day to complete the swim.

Six Estonians with professional swimming experience, five men and one woman, made the attempt to cross the stretch of water between Estonia and Finland, but only two of them made it to the other side. Priit Vehm and Bruno Nopponen were successful in swimming the 55kms, Nopponen finished first with a time of 19 hours and 13 minutes, while Vehm took around 3 hours longer.

The swimmers began in the Finnish port of Porkkala and reached land in the Estonian village of Suurupi. Estonians followed the event in real time through the Internet, as each swimmer was wearing a GPS signal. Estonia is been nicknamed “E-Stonia” for its Internet knowledge.

Although there is no existing record of a successful swim across the Gulf of Finland, an Estonian named Aleksander Laas reportedly swam 40kms from an Estonian island to Porkkala in 1931. Up until 1991, the Gulf of Finland was one of the world’s most heavily-patrolled bodies of water due to the proximity of Leningrad (St Petersburg) and the Soviet Union.