Latvia: Flu epidemic officially declared

An influenza epidemic has begun in Latvia, the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) announced on 8 December 2025, LETA reports. According to data from the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory (NMRL), the share of positive samples for influenza has risen sharply to 18.1%, which exceeds the epidemic threshold of 10%. SPKC reminded that vaccination…

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Estonia: Council chair of public broadcaster dismissed amid row

The supervisory council of Estonia’s public broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), has dismissed its long-term chairman, Rein Veidemann, ERR reports. Earlier, Veidemann had criticised an interview of a same-sex couple with two children that was aired on ETV, saying that the programme ran counter to the values of the majority of Estonians. ERR’s supervisory council elected…

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Lithuania: Thousands rally to defend public broadcaster

Thousands of people gathered outside the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on 9 December 2025 to protest against planned changes to the management of the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reports. Location data from mobile operators showed that around 40,000 people took part in the demonstration, DELFI reported. The protesters accused…

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Lithuania: Ekspress Grupp’s deadline to sell news site postponed again

Lithuania’s Competition Council has again postponed a deadline for the Estonian media group, Ekspress Grupp, to sell off the Lithuanian news website, lrytas.lt, to new owners, BNS reports. The council gave Ekspress Grupp until 7 January 2026 to sell the website. In February 2025, the competition authority ordered the group to sell one of its…

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Latvia: Parliament to discuss stricter regulation against financial fraud

The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, will begin work on legislation to improve consumer protection against financial fraud, Anda Caksa, chairwoman of the parliament’s budget and finance committee, announced, LETA reports. Speaking after a meeting with representatives of the Finance Latvia Association (FNA), Caksa said that legislative changes were needed so as to require mobile operators…

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Estonia: Justice Minister opposes banning children from social media

Estonia does not support banning young people from accessing social media, Estonia’s Justice and Digital Affairs Minister, Liisa Pakosta, announced, ERR reports. Earlier, the European Parliament proposed setting an EU-wide age limit on social media platforms. Under the plan, children could use social media from the age of 13 with parental consent and independently from…

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