As soccer greats show off their skills in France for UEFA Euro 2016, children at a soccer camp in the Baltic state of Estonia learn how to use an oak tree which sits in the middle of their pitch, to gain an advantage. 
 
The more than 150-year-old oak tree has kept centrestage since the park was made into a sports ground in the late 1940s, in the coastal town of Orissaare on the Island of Saaremaa. 
 
The tree remains despite an attempt by two Soviet tractors to pull it down. The cables broke, the tree stood strong. 
 
The oak, which is about 15 metres high, won the European Tree of the Year vote in 2015 with over 50,000 votes. It dominates one half of the pitch. 
 
&quot;I think it might be a strange sight for others, a tree in the middle of the football field,&quot; said local coach Mati Ruutel. 
 
&quot;I have been here since my childhood, so for me it is perfectly ordinary that it is in the middle of the pitch.&quot; 
 
On this windy day, 40 children aged between 7 and&nbsp;12 were at a soccer camp, keeping their water bottles cool in the tree&#39;s shade as they got on with their training drills. 
 
When a match is on players make use of the tree to help pass the ball and make it harder for opposing players to get possession. 
 
&quot;It is good for training ... if you need to learn passing your opponent with the ball, then it is good,&quot; said ten-year-old Anette Ige.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Like when the opponent comes from the other side of the tree, then you can come here and she will not guess from which side you are coming, so you have the opportunity to take the ball.&quot; 
 
When asked how would their favourite soccer stars play with such an addition to the pitch, Hendrik Ellar, 7, said his favourite player, Ronaldinho, &quot;would come running, kick the ball against the tree, and he would get the pass back and kick into goal.&quot; 
(Reuters)

The oak, which is about 15 metres standing high in the soccer pitch, won the European Tree of the Year vote in 2015 with over 50,000 votes.

As soccer greats show off their skills in France for UEFA Euro 2016, children at a soccer camp in the Baltic state of Estonia learn how to use an oak tree which sits in the middle of their pitch, to gain an advantage. The more than 150-year-old oak tree has kept centrestage since the park was made into a sports ground in the late 1940s, in the coastal town of Orissaare on the Island of Saaremaa. The tree remains despite an attempt by two Soviet tractors to pull it down. The cables broke, the tree stood strong. The oak, which is about 15 metres high, won the European Tree of the Year vote in 2015 with over 50,000 votes. It dominates one half of the pitch. "I think it might be a strange sight for others, a tree in the middle of the football field," said local coach Mati Ruutel. "I have been here since my childhood, so for me it is perfectly ordinary that it is in the middle of the pitch." On this windy day, 40 children aged between 7 and 12 were at a soccer camp, keeping their water bottles cool in the tree's shade as they got on with their training drills. When a match is on players make use of the tree to help pass the ball and make it harder for opposing players to get possession. "It is good for training ... if you need to learn passing your opponent with the ball, then it is good," said ten-year-old Anette Ige. "Like when the opponent comes from the other side of the tree, then you can come here and she will not guess from which side you are coming, so you have the opportunity to take the ball." When asked how would their favourite soccer stars play with such an addition to the pitch, Hendrik Ellar, 7, said his favourite player, Ronaldinho, "would come running, kick the ball against the tree, and he would get the pass back and kick into goal." (Reuters)

Oak tree sits in middle of soccer pitch, what would Ronaldinho do?

Estonia will take over the rotating EU presidency from Britain in late 2017 after London pulled out to focus on negotiations to leave the bloc, the 28 members of the union said yesterday. 
 
In the first major step towards Brexit after last month&#39;s shock referendum result, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain would no longer take up its scheduled six-month stint next July. 
 
Ambassadors of the 28 member states had reached a &quot;broad agreement&quot; on July 20 to bring forward Estonia&#39;s presidency by six months to take Britain&#39;s place, a spokesman for European Council president Donald Tusk said last week. 
 
A statement on yesterday said that decision was formalised. 
 
Croatia, which in 2013 became the latest state to join the EU, will take over the presidency in the first semester of 2020, the members&#39; statement added. 
 
Slovakia currently holds the presidency and will be followed by Malta in the first half of 2017. 
 
(AFP)

Britain will not take up its scheduled six-month term next July. Estonia will take control over the rotating presidency in late 2017

Estonia will take over the rotating EU presidency from Britain in late 2017 after London pulled out to focus on negotiations to leave the bloc, the 28 members of the union said yesterday. In the first major step towards Brexit after last month's shock referendum result, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain would no longer take up its scheduled six-month stint next July. Ambassadors of the 28 member states had reached a "broad agreement" on July 20 to bring forward Estonia's presidency by six months to take Britain's place, a spokesman for European Council president Donald Tusk said last week. A statement on yesterday said that decision was formalised. Croatia, which in 2013 became the latest state to join the EU, will take over the presidency in the first semester of 2020, the members' statement added. Slovakia currently holds the presidency and will be followed by Malta in the first half of 2017. (AFP)

Estonia to take over EU presidency from UK

Liverpool have finalised the signing of Estonia defender Ragnar Klavan from Augsburg, the Premier League club confirmed on Wednesday. 
 
Klavan agreed a &quot;long-term contract&quot; after passing a medical at Liverpool&#39;s Melwood training ground. 
 
Klavan will cost the Reds a reported &pound;4.2 million ($5.5 million, 5 million euros). 
 
The 30-year-old has won over 100 caps for Estonia and is well known to Liverpool&#39;s German manager Jurgen Klopp, a former Borussia Dortmund coach, after spending four seasons playing in the Bundesliga. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m really honoured to be part of this amazing club, this amazing team,&quot; Klavan told Liverpool&#39;s website. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s hard to put it into words because it&#39;s been a dream of mine for 22 years to come to the Premier League and be a part of this amazing club, Liverpool. 
 
&quot;The Premier League is the most attractive league in the world and you always have amazing players here. This is the home of football.&quot; 
 
Klavan, who featured in both legs of Augsburg&#39;s Europa League last-32 tie against Liverpool in February, will provide cover at centre-back as Mamadou Sakho and Joe Gomez are both currently injured and Tiago Ilori is heading to the Olympics with Portugal. 
 
The defender is Klopp&#39;s fifth close-season signing, following the arrival of goalkeeper Loris Karius, defender Joel Matip, midfielder Marko Grujic and forward Sadio Mane. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

30-year-old Klavan has won over 100 caps for Estonia and is well known to Liverpool's German manager Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool have finalised the signing of Estonia defender Ragnar Klavan from Augsburg, the Premier League club confirmed on Wednesday. Klavan agreed a "long-term contract" after passing a medical at Liverpool's Melwood training ground. Klavan will cost the Reds a reported £4.2 million ($5.5 million, 5 million euros). The 30-year-old has won over 100 caps for Estonia and is well known to Liverpool's German manager Jurgen Klopp, a former Borussia Dortmund coach, after spending four seasons playing in the Bundesliga. "I'm really honoured to be part of this amazing club, this amazing team," Klavan told Liverpool's website. "It's hard to put it into words because it's been a dream of mine for 22 years to come to the Premier League and be a part of this amazing club, Liverpool. "The Premier League is the most attractive league in the world and you always have amazing players here. This is the home of football." Klavan, who featured in both legs of Augsburg's Europa League last-32 tie against Liverpool in February, will provide cover at centre-back as Mamadou Sakho and Joe Gomez are both currently injured and Tiago Ilori is heading to the Olympics with Portugal. The defender is Klopp's fifth close-season signing, following the arrival of goalkeeper Loris Karius, defender Joel Matip, midfielder Marko Grujic and forward Sadio Mane. (AFP)

Ragnar Klavan moves to Liverpool in 5 million euros deal

Upwardly-mobile, tech-savvy young professionals from across the globe are swapping their briefcases and brogues for backpacks and sneakers, setting themselves up as digital nomads who can operate from wherever their laptops can go. 
 
Jobbatical and Teleport, two recent tech start-ups, promise to take the guesswork out of digital job hunting on a global scale. 
 
Both hail from tiny tech titan Estonia and are part of a crop of cutting-edge online sites catering to digital nomads, typically young males who work remotely and move around regions like Southeast Asia every few months. 
 
Their creators insist the start-ups have the potential to shake things up on the global job market, similar to how Estonians previously transformed global communications with Skype and digital international money transfers via Transferwise. 
 
Tallinn-based entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks said she launched Jobbatical two years ago to fill the growing gaps she noticed in global recruiting. 
 
With employment offers from Greece, to Thailand and Costa Rica among others, it takes just a few clicks of the mouse for product or account managers, programmers and other tech professionals to land a dream job, whether programming in Malaysia&#39;s tropical paradise of Penang or managing an adventure travel operation in Bali. 
 
Jobbatical targets &quot;adventurous tech, business, and creative professionals with over five years of working experience,&quot; Hindriks said at the Latitude59 technology conference in Estonia&#39;s capital Tallinn. 
 
She points to &quot;a generational mindset shift&quot; as key to her client base of 70,000 unique users each month across 150 countries. 
 
&quot;The millennial&#39;s view of success isn&#39;t necessarily a house, a well-paying job and a picket fence,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;There&#39;s a huge shift towards defining success as working in terms of things that one truly believes in, and appreciating experiences over material possessions.&quot; 
 
New technologies, less expensive international travel and easier communications mean that moving around to work is &quot;becoming smoother and cheaper than ever&quot;, she added. 
 
Most Jobbatical offers involve positions that, like sabbaticals, last around 12 months, creating a revolving client base. 
 
The company takes a &quot;success&quot; fee of five per cent of the annual salary upon hiring. 
 
Surf more than just the internet 
 
Vicente Gracia, a much-travelled 28-year-old business strategist from Chile, has been surfing more than just the internet since he began using Jobbatical. 
 
Dissatisfied with the terms he was being offered by South American companies, Gracia used it to find a job based in Bali. 
 
&quot;New generations are looking for more than just a paycheck,&quot; Gracia said via Skype. 
 
A keen surfer, he now enjoys riding the waves on a Bali beach every morning during a break in his commute to work. 
 
&quot;For me, being able to prioritise my career and a healthy lifestyle is crucial.&quot; 
 
Insisting that Jobbatical is unique, Hindriks shuns comparisons to online job sites like Monster, insisting that &quot;it&#39;s like comparing Craigslist to Airbnb&quot;. 
 
Describing Jobbatical as a &quot;matchmaker for companies&quot;, Hindriks insists that short-term &quot;jobbaticals&quot; encourage professionals to choose countries off the beaten path - like her own Estonia - that they may not have considered were the positions permanent. 
 
&quot;If you look at the reality, there are no permanent jobs any more, so in that sense we&#39;re bringing honesty to the conversation,&quot; she said. 
 
Peace of mind 
 
Teleport meanwhile takes stock of the personal preferences and expectations of digital job-seekers and then suggests ideal places for them to live and work. 
 
Teleport &quot;scouts&quot;, or local experts, are just a click away to iron out any wrinkles. For a modest fee, they can help with everything from visas to finding the right apartment or the nearest vegan restaurant. 
 
A veteran tech entrepreneur who headed up Skype&#39;s Estonia operations from 2005-12, Teleport CEO Sten Tamkivi insisted his startup goes further than competitors like NomadList, which essentially works like a traditional travel guide. 
 
Tamkivi said that aside from calculating ideal locations based on personal preferences and its &quot;scouts&quot;, its &quot;flock&quot; service also locates the nearest co-working spaces. 
 
Anthony Lapenna, a Frenchman working in New Zealand, is one happy Teleport user. 
 
The service meant he could keep his job, but change hemispheres, shifting from Paris to Auckland, New Zealand, where he continues his role as a software engineer. 
 
&quot;I wanted to go to an English-speaking country in order to improve my English, plus I was kind of sick of the big city of Paris,&quot; he said via email. 
 
&quot;New Zealand is located at the world&#39;s end, which is pretty exciting. I also had a curiosity about the landscape, because I&#39;m fond of hiking.&quot; 
 
&quot;I&#39;ll probably move again, but not before I&#39;ve explored as much of New Zealand as I can.&quot; 
 
And Lapenna is not alone. As Google predicts the world&#39;s online population will double to five billion by 2020, digital nomads are likely to be a growing tribe. 
 
(AFP)

Tech start-ups from Estonia are catering to a growing number of young, laptop-carrying professionals who travel and work remotely

Upwardly-mobile, tech-savvy young professionals from across the globe are swapping their briefcases and brogues for backpacks and sneakers, setting themselves up as digital nomads who can operate from wherever their laptops can go. Jobbatical and Teleport, two recent tech start-ups, promise to take the guesswork out of digital job hunting on a global scale. Both hail from tiny tech titan Estonia and are part of a crop of cutting-edge online sites catering to digital nomads, typically young males who work remotely and move around regions like Southeast Asia every few months. Their creators insist the start-ups have the potential to shake things up on the global job market, similar to how Estonians previously transformed global communications with Skype and digital international money transfers via Transferwise. Tallinn-based entrepreneur Karoli Hindriks said she launched Jobbatical two years ago to fill the growing gaps she noticed in global recruiting. With employment offers from Greece, to Thailand and Costa Rica among others, it takes just a few clicks of the mouse for product or account managers, programmers and other tech professionals to land a dream job, whether programming in Malaysia's tropical paradise of Penang or managing an adventure travel operation in Bali. Jobbatical targets "adventurous tech, business, and creative professionals with over five years of working experience," Hindriks said at the Latitude59 technology conference in Estonia's capital Tallinn. She points to "a generational mindset shift" as key to her client base of 70,000 unique users each month across 150 countries. "The millennial's view of success isn't necessarily a house, a well-paying job and a picket fence," she said. "There's a huge shift towards defining success as working in terms of things that one truly believes in, and appreciating experiences over material possessions." New technologies, less expensive international travel and easier communications mean that moving around to work is "becoming smoother and cheaper than ever", she added. Most Jobbatical offers involve positions that, like sabbaticals, last around 12 months, creating a revolving client base. The company takes a "success" fee of five per cent of the annual salary upon hiring. Surf more than just the internet Vicente Gracia, a much-travelled 28-year-old business strategist from Chile, has been surfing more than just the internet since he began using Jobbatical. Dissatisfied with the terms he was being offered by South American companies, Gracia used it to find a job based in Bali. "New generations are looking for more than just a paycheck," Gracia said via Skype. A keen surfer, he now enjoys riding the waves on a Bali beach every morning during a break in his commute to work. "For me, being able to prioritise my career and a healthy lifestyle is crucial." Insisting that Jobbatical is unique, Hindriks shuns comparisons to online job sites like Monster, insisting that "it's like comparing Craigslist to Airbnb". Describing Jobbatical as a "matchmaker for companies", Hindriks insists that short-term "jobbaticals" encourage professionals to choose countries off the beaten path - like her own Estonia - that they may not have considered were the positions permanent. "If you look at the reality, there are no permanent jobs any more, so in that sense we're bringing honesty to the conversation," she said. Peace of mind Teleport meanwhile takes stock of the personal preferences and expectations of digital job-seekers and then suggests ideal places for them to live and work. Teleport "scouts", or local experts, are just a click away to iron out any wrinkles. For a modest fee, they can help with everything from visas to finding the right apartment or the nearest vegan restaurant. A veteran tech entrepreneur who headed up Skype's Estonia operations from 2005-12, Teleport CEO Sten Tamkivi insisted his startup goes further than competitors like NomadList, which essentially works like a traditional travel guide. Tamkivi said that aside from calculating ideal locations based on personal preferences and its "scouts", its "flock" service also locates the nearest co-working spaces. Anthony Lapenna, a Frenchman working in New Zealand, is one happy Teleport user. The service meant he could keep his job, but change hemispheres, shifting from Paris to Auckland, New Zealand, where he continues his role as a software engineer. "I wanted to go to an English-speaking country in order to improve my English, plus I was kind of sick of the big city of Paris," he said via email. "New Zealand is located at the world's end, which is pretty exciting. I also had a curiosity about the landscape, because I'm fond of hiking." "I'll probably move again, but not before I've explored as much of New Zealand as I can." And Lapenna is not alone. As Google predicts the world's online population will double to five billion by 2020, digital nomads are likely to be a growing tribe. (AFP)

Backpacking digital nomads land dream jobs on the go

estonia

Estonia, News on Estonia, stories on Estonia, articles on Estonia, Estonia stories at Wion, Estonia news, Estonia latest news