The total area of forest destroyed by fire in Latvia in the first half of 2023 was more than in the past full three years, according to the State Forest Service (VMD), LETA reports. Altogether 508 forest fires were registered and 607 hectares of forest was destroyed in six months. By comparison, the total area…
NATO’s new defence plans for the Baltic region are “very good and detailed,” Latvia’s Defence Minister, Inara Murniece, stated, The Baltic Times reports. The new plans provide for allied defence of the region from day one of a possible attack. Murniece noted that the plans were drawn up 18 months ahead of schedule. However, executing…
Latvia’s Riga City Council has appointed Vilnis Kirsis (New Unity) as acting mayor, following the resignation of mayor Martins Stakis, The Baltic Times reports. Meanwhile, city councillor Miroslavs Kodis said that the political group of Movement For and Progressives was considering proposing deputy mayor Linda Ozola of the Code for Riga party as acting mayor…
Latvia’s Riga City Council will hold an extraordinary meeting on 5 July 2023, following the resignation of mayor Martins Stakis, LETA reports. The meeting plans to appoint deputy mayor Vilnis Kirsis (New Unity) as the acting mayor of Riga. Deputy mayor Linda Ozola (Code for Riga) supported the appointment of Kirsis as acting mayor until…
Latvia’s Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, leader of the New Unity party, urged his coalition partners to prioritise the national interest and set aside personal ambitions and concerns about their posts, LETA reports. Karins expressed his disappointment that only opposition parties, namely the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) and the Progressives, have attended talks initiated…
Latvia’s Minister of Agriculture, Didzis Šmits, has finally been given access to official secrets, the Agriculture Ministry announced, LETA reports. The Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB) confirmed that the minister has received a permit to access official secrets. Security agencies took six months to review his application. Šmits was the last minister without access to official…
Latvia’s Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins invited every Latvian living abroad to return home, The Baltic Times reports. He stressed their essential role in Latvia and assured them of a warm welcome upon their return. Speaking at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre to diaspora participants of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, Karins urged expatriates to…
The Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees (LIZDA) will ask Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins to adopt urgent solutions to implement the agreement reached with the Ministry of Education and Science after a recent teacher strike, LETA reports. Earlier, LIZDA demanded that Education Minister Anda Caksa resign, which the minister refused to do, insisting…
Coalition partners in Latvia’s Riga City Council — New Unity, Code for Riga, National Alliance, and the Latvian Association of Regions (LRA) — are in talks to establish a new coalition, LETA reports. The factions regard the decision of mayor Martins Stakis to step down as “counterproductive” and emphasised the need to prevent snap elections,…