Category Archives: Latvia

Dutch pair face jail in Latvia after ‘helping refugees in act of compassion’

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Group who crossed from Belarus included sister of one of the accused in case highlighting Latvia’s harsh migration laws

Two Dutch people are facing prison sentences of up to eight years in Latvia over what they say was an act of compassion to help a group of refugees reach safety, including the sister of one of the pair.

The case has put Latvia’s harsh laws on migration under the spotlight and comes as a local rights activist also faces jail time, for helping refugees who crossed into Latvia via the country’s border with neighbouring Belarus.

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EU ministers warned not to relax support for Ukraine amid requests for air defence aid

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Member states warned at meeting not to be complacent but ministers stop short of pledging Patriot missiles

EU ministers have been warned against “relaxing” support for Ukraine but stopped short of new pledges to supply air defence systems that Kyiv is urgently seeking to defend itself against relentless Russian bombardment.

The Ukrainian government has said it is running out of US-made Patriot air defence missiles as Russia intensifies attacks on infrastructure and cities.

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Latvia’s top diplomat steps down after flights scandal

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Krišjānis Kariņš allegedly spent up to €1.3m on private jet rentals for official trips

Krišjānis Kariņš, the Latvian foreign minister, has said he will step down after a scandal over his use of state funds to pay for private flights during his time as prime minister.

Last week, Latvia’s prosecutor general opened an investigation into the misuse of state funds after it was revealed that Kariņš had allegedly spent up to €1.3m (£1.1m) on private jet rentals for official trips.

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Jubilant Latvians given national holiday after shock ice hockey win over USA

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  • Team won bronze at ice hockey world championship
  • Members of parliament pass bill to commemorate win

Latvians woke up to go to work Monday morning, only to find they didn’t have to. Their parliament had met at midnight to declare a holiday after the national ice hockey team chalked up its best result at the world championship.

Latvia, where hockey is hugely popular, co-hosted the men’s championship with Finland, and the country’s 4-3 overtime victory over the United States for the bronze medal on Sunday was greeted with jubilation.

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Baltic states condemn China envoy’s remarks over sovereignty of ex-Soviet nations

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Lu Shaye’s comments raise fresh questions over China’s role in brokering peace in Ukraine

France, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have expressed dismay after China’s ambassador in Paris questioned the sovereignty not only of Ukraine, but all the former Soviet Republics including the Baltic states.

Lu Shaye’s remarks in a TV interview late on Friday raise fresh questions about the faith the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has placed in China to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine.

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‘Extreme event’: warm January weather breaks records across Europe

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At least eight countries experience record high temperatures of ‘almost unheard of’ heat, say meteorologists

Weather records have been falling across Europe at a disconcerting rate in the last few days, say meteorologists.

The warmest January day ever was recorded in at least eight European countries including Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, according to data collated by Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist who tracks extreme temperatures.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: UN chief believes war in Ukraine ‘will go on’; Putin in Belarus for talks with Lukashenko – as it happened

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Antonia Guterres does not see ‘serious’ peace talks in immediate future; Russian president visits Minsk

EU countries will need to reach a compromise on a gas price cap on Monday, and the latest proposal on the table offers a good basis to do so, Malta’s energy minister, Miriam Dalli, has said.

“What the presidency is proposing is a very good step in the right direction,” Dalli said before entering a meeting of the EU’s energy ministers.

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Rishi Sunak to meet UK troops in Estonia and attend Baltic summit

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UK prime minister joins Nordic and Baltic leaders at summit on countering Russian aggression

Rishi Sunak will meet UK troops in Estonia and Nordic and Baltic leaders at a summit on countering Russian aggression, where he will say leaders must sustain or exceed their lethal aid support to Ukraine and their political backing.

Monday’s meeting will come after the UK prime minister was reported to have unnerved some in Whitehall by asking for a “Goldman Sachs dashboard” on the progress of the war and how UK military supplies are used, according to the BBC.

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Neo-Nazi Russian militia appeals for intelligence on Nato member states

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Move by Task Force Rusich raises fears of rogue paramilitary attacks on Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

A neo-Nazi paramilitary group linked to the Kremlin has asked its members to submit intelligence on border and military activity in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, raising concerns over whether far-right Russian groups are planning an attack on Nato countries.

The official Telegram channel for “Task Force Rusich” – currently fighting in Ukraine on behalf of the Kremlin and linked to the notorious Wagner Group – last week requested members to forward details relating to border posts and military movements in the three Baltic states, which were formerly part of the Soviet Union.

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Russian TV station in Latvia loses licence over Ukraine war coverage

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TV Rain had relocated from Russia soon after invasion but on-air remarks by presenter were deemed to take Moscow’s side

Latvia has revoked a broadcast licence for TV Rain, the independent Russian TV station broadcasting from exile, following a scandal over its coverage of the war in Ukraine.

The liberal television station relocated to Riga, the Latvian capital, as well as Tbilisi and Amsterdam shortly after Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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Latvia topples Soviet-era obelisk amid backlash against Russia

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Parliament voted in May to demolish Riga monument to Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany

A concrete obelisk topped by Soviet stars that was the centrepiece of a monument to the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany was taken down in Latvia’s capital on Thursday, the latest in a series of Soviet monuments brought down after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Heavy machinery was spotted behind a green privacy fence at the foot of the nearly 80-metre (260ft) obelisk shortly before it was felled. The column, which had stood like a high-rise in central Riga, crashed into a nearby pond, causing a huge splash at Victory Park.

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Latvia to reinstate compulsory military service as Russia tensions rise

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Defence minister announces move as ‘we have no reason to think Russia will change its behaviour’

Latvia is to reinstate compulsory military service amid growing tension with Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The current military system of Latvia has reached its limit. Meanwhile, we have no reason to think that Russia will change its behaviour,” the Latvian defence minister, Artis Pabriks, told reporters on Tuesday.

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How worried should Europe be as Russia starts cutting off gas supplies?

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Analysis: Putin is determined to use resource as a weapon, as shown in move to cut off Poland and Bulgaria

The unavoidable truth looming over Europe’s response to the invasion of Ukraine is that Russian gas heats the continent’s homes and powers its industries.

While European leaders have vowed to wean themselves off Kremlin-controlled supplies, both of gas and oil, the reality is that this is very hard to do in short order. There will be at least one more cold winter to come before major energy-hungry economies that rely heavily on Russia, such as Germany and Italy, can tap other sources.

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Boris Johnson to host Nordic and Baltic leaders for talks on Ukraine invasion

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Prime minister to host summit of Joint Expeditionary Force as he seeks to bolster European resilience

Boris Johnson is preparing to embark on a series of meetings with Nordic and Baltic leaders as he seeks to bolster European resilience after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The prime minister will host a summit of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in London, where he will urge leaders to work together to ensure no further nations fall victim to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aggression, No 10 said.

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‘I’m a dead man walking’: ex-Russian spy says defectors in UK are at risk

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A Latvian double agent is getting death threats after British authorities inadvertently disclosed his alias

• Russia-Ukraine crisis: latest updates

In April 1997, Vechernyaya Moskva, one of the most popular newspapers in Moscow, published an article on a former Russian intelligence agent, Boris Karpichkov.

The article was illustrated with a picture of Karpichkov’s KGB identity papers, with the crosshairs of a sniper’s rifle superimposed. It warned that the ex-KGB major was wanted by Interpol, faced interrogation by the Russian authorities and was being hunted by organised crime groups.

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Prepare a swift response to Russia invading Ukraine, Latvia tells west

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Nato not sending a clear signal would mean ‘glue that keeps us together’ has failed, says foreign minister

A swift reprisal package against Russia – including US troops and Patriot missiles stationed in the Baltics, the cutting off of Russia from the Swift banking payments system and reinstated sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline – must be prepared now in case it invades Ukraine, the Latvian foreign minister has said.

The warning from Edgars Rinkēvičs comes as Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin prepare to hold talks about the growing tensions.

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Latvia is first country to reimpose lockdown in Europe’s new Covid wave

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Baltic state once seen as coronavirus success story announces month of restrictions including curfew

Latvia has announced a month-long Covid-19 lockdown after an unprecedented surge in infections, becoming the first country in Europe to reimpose far-reaching restrictions amid a new wave of cases in countries across the continent.

The Baltic country has one of the highest rates of new Covid cases relative to population in the world, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after successfully keeping the virus at bay for months.

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Covid rates lower in western Europe than parts of central and eastern Europe

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Slower vaccination rates in east lead to dramatic surge in cases, while UK remains outlier in west as cases rise despite vaccinations

Higher vaccination rates are translating to lower Covid infection and death rates in western Europe than in parts of central and eastern Europe, the latest data suggests – except in the UK, where case numbers are surging.

Figures from Our World In Data indicate a clear correlation between the percentage of people fully vaccinated and new daily cases and fatalities, with health systems in some under-inoculated central and eastern EU states under acute strain.

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British nationals in France face losing rights if they miss residency deadline

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Call to extend 30 June deadline over fears Britons will lose access to healthcare and pensions

Campaigners have warned that tens of thousands of British nationals living in France and three other countries risk losing local healthcare, employment and other rights if they do not apply to remain resident in the next 14 days.

British in Europe, a group set up to protect the post-Brexit rights of about 1.2 million UK nationals living on the continent, have called on France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Malta to extend their 30 June deadline as the Netherlands has done, to 30 October.

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Britons face one-month deadline to retain rights in four EU countries

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Tens of thousands have yet to apply for post-Brexit residence in countries with 30 June cut-off date

Tens of thousands of British nationals in four EU member states have yet to apply for post-Brexit residence, meaning they risk losing the right to live and work there unless they file their demands within 30 days.

UK citizens living in France, Malta, Luxembourg and Latvia have until 30 June to apply to secure their post-Brexit rights. The Netherlands did have the same deadline, but on Monday extended it to 1 October.

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