Plots the end of bureaucracy

in countries like Luxembourg. Like a regular embassy, the servers are considered Estonian territory and would give the government a chance to boot up elsewhere if needed.

Making life simpler for citizens has economic benefits in a country otherwise known for unforgiving winters and old growth forests.

The project, which began in 1997, laid the groundwork for Estonia's booming tech sector. Skype, the video-calling service Microsoft bought for $8.5 billion in 2011, is Estonia's most famous high-tech export, but the impact is broader. Information and communications accounted for 5.9 percent of the economy last year.

The government hopes to increase that figure with an "e-residency" program that lets entrepreneurs around the world register their businesses in Estonia and gain a foothold in the European Union. More than 51,000 people from 167 countries have applied at a cost of 100 euros ($114) each.

The advances in digitization are the result of long-term thinking.

When Estonia declared independence in 1991, the economy was so backward in this former Soviet republic it had to be rebuilt from scratch. The leadership looked for an industry where the country could compete. They decided on information technology and the internet, a field that was as new as Estonia, said former President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

When the cash-strapped country needed to replace a 1930s phone system, Finland offered a late 1970s analog system free of charge. But Ilves argued that the government should decline the offer and invest in digital technology.

"The only way we could do really well was to go digital," Ilves said, speaking from Stanford University, where he is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. "We stood a chance of competing there."

Ilves, who grew up in the United States and was introduced to computers in junior high, proposed getting kids started early. The government started building computer labs in schools. Banks supported the move, as it reduced the need for branches in rural villages. More than 99 percent of Estonia's banking transactions now take place online.

Whether Estonia's system can be used in larger countries is an open question, said Zvika Krieger, head of technology policy and partnerships at the World Economic Forum.

What works in a small, progressive country won't necessarily work in sprawling democracies like the U.S. or India.

"When you add in more people, more diverse stakeholders, more layers of government at the city, state, and local level, you are adding in exponentially more complexity," Krieger said. "Estonia is a good first test case. And now the question is whether other countries will find Estonia's success compelling enough to take the risk to try it at a larger scale."

Estonia sees its approach as a prototype for modern democracy — a counterpoint to authoritarian countries intent on using digitization to control their citizens. Ilves, who travels around the world talking about the project, tells other countries that increased efficiency builds trust — and improves governance.

"Estonians hate their politicians just as much as everyone else," he said. "But at least since the administration of the state works extremely well and efficiently, people trust the system."

Andrejs Lunde is among the believers.

He says digital government makes life so much easier that it's worth any potential security risk, pointing out that personal information can be stolen from paperbased systems as well.

"If someone really wants my information, they will get it anyway," said Lunde. "If they can get Hillary's emails, they can get mine."

6 dead in fire at wooden shelter in Warsaw used by homeless

Polish fire-fighters say six people have died in a fire at a small wooden building sometimes used by the homeless in an outlying district of Warsaw. Pawel Fratczak, a spokesman for fire-fighters, said Wednesday the fire took place late on Christmas Day. When fire-fighters arrived at the scene, the small wooden building was in flames and they found six bodies. Fratczak said the cause of the fire is not known but police and prosecutors have opened an investigation.

TURKEY

'Determined' to drive out Syrian Kurdish forces

Turkey said Tuesday it is working with the United States to coordinate the withdrawal of American forces but remains "determined" to clear U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters from northeastern Syria. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that "if Turkey says it will enter, it will," in comments carried by private DHA news agency. His comments came amid reports that Turkey-backed Syrian rebels are getting ready to begin a military operation in and near the northern town of Manbij that is controlled by Kurdish-led fighters. For weeks, Turkey has been threatening to launch a new offensive against the Kurdish fighters, who partnered with the U.S. to drive the Islamic State group out of much of northern and eastern Syria. Ankara views the Kurdish forces as terrorists because of their links to an insurgent group inside Turkey. President Donald Trump announced the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month. The minister also said Ankara and Washington have agreed to complete a roadmap on Manbij until the U.S. withdraws. Under the June deal, Kurdish forces would leave Manbij, in the western Euphrates valley, but delays have infuriated Turkey.

UK

Watchdog inquiry after police crash kills Xmas pedestrian

Britain's police watchdog agency is investigating after a pedestrian in Liverpool was hit and killed by a police car. The Independent Office for Police Conduct says it has launched an inquiry into the fatal crash on Tuesday night. The victim of the Christmas night incident has not been identified. A witness told the Liverpool Echo newspaper the man was crossing a road when he was hit by the police car. Other witnesses said the police car had its blue lights flashing at the time. Police did not reveal details about the incident.

UK

English Channel sees uptick in migrants trying to cross over

British and French authorities said some 40 migrants were rescued in the waters between southern England and northern France on Christmas Day, amid a spike in attempts by migrants to cross the English Channel to British shores on small boats. The French regional maritime authority, or prefecture, said in a statement that a small rubber boat with a failed engine was spotted Tuesday off the coast of Calais. A police helicopter monitoring the area directed a tugboat to the stranded migrants, the prefecture said. The maritime authority said eight migrants, including two children, were found aboard the boat and handed over to British authorities. It didn't provide the passengers' nationalities. Calais, a port city on one end of a Channel tunnel that connects France and England by train, long has been a magnet for migrants fleeing conflict or poverty in Africa and the Mideast. French officials two years ago closed a makeshift camp that swelled to a population of 10,000 at one point as people waited to try to hop trucks taking rail ferries or trains to England. The Channel has seen a recent spike in migrants attempting the trip from France to England in dinghies or other small boats. Britain's Home Office, which oversees immigration, said border agents responded to five separate boating incidents in English waters starting early Christmas Day involving about 40 passengers who said they were from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.