Minutes from Latvia

Six years ago Inga and colleague Sanita Jemberga founded the Baltic Center for Investigative Journalism, Re:Baltica and since then has helped to break numerous major news stories, often with an emphasis on corruption and inequality. 

Inga also helped put together the acclaimed 2016 documentary The Master Plan, exposing a shady network of Kremlin-connected groups in the Baltic states.

As usual, the conversation roams far and wide covering everything from fake news and journalistic ethics to the well-known global media conspiracy to make everyone miserable.

We hope you enjoy the podcast.

5 years and still counting! Thanks to everyone who's been with us all this time. Support us: https://t.co/thSHP3RxZ3 pic.twitter.com/ySeCqb4LBh

It's a podcast of two parts with the first half covering Martin's reasons for getting involved in the aviation industry in the first place and his almost six years at the helm of airBaltic, during which time he has turned the company around and started the overhaul of the entire fleet.

In the second half we broach the slightly more sensitive questions of ticket prices, investor relations and even his pay -- which prompts a response that is well worth hearing.

As ever, we hope you enjoy the podcast!

This is a podcast of two halves, with the first section dealing with Latvia's strengths (and a few weaknesses) in the IT sector.

The second half of the show sees us move into the occasionally acerbic world of social media. speaking of which, you can follow Juris' running feuds and staunch defense of freedom of expression via his Twitter feed. 

Juris also writes an occasional blog which is rarely less than provocative and always entertaining, which you can read by following the link below.

I just published “Telia in Latvia — The Tar Baby Gets Kicked Down the Road Again?” https://t.co/HAwdhqrenB

We discuss the purpose and work of STRATCOMCOE, how it has adapted to the fast-changing world of Strategic Communications (along with a helpful explanation of what that actually means) and some of the recent research performed by the center, some of which may even bring a smile to your face!

And just to prove that's its really not hush-hush and For Your Eyes Only, here are links to STRATCOMCOE's website, Facebook page and Twitter account, where you can look up all the items discussed.

Today #NATO-#Russia Council meets.

Football investor ejected

Valērijs Belokons, a businessman from Latvia, has been let go as president of the Blackpool Football Club.

He was suspended after a judgement in the Paris Court of Appeal, which relates to disputed allegations of money laundering.

The owners of Blackpool FC, the Oystons, and Belokons, are also set to go head to head in the summer in a separate legal case in the High Court in London. 

In February the Paris Court of Appeal annulled a $16.5 million award for Belokons against Kyrgyzstan for the 2010 takeover of Manas Bank, owned by Belokons.

Ice-melt continues

Water levels rose rapidly throughout the night at Jēkabpils, Krustpils and Līvāni, according to the Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center.

At night water levels rose 6.6 m at Jēkabpils, which is at the level of 2013 great spring flood. However by morning it had dropped by 30 cm to 6.32 m above the baseline measure. 

Only the Daugava River is in danger of flooding.

Seventeen refugees arrive

Seventeen asylum seekers from Eritrea arrived in Latvia from Italy on Wednesday under the EU relocation scheme, said the Citizenship and migration affairs office on March 9.

Latvia has admitted 255 refugees under the EU plan so far.

Ballet business at Saeima

Saeima might decide on granting Latvian citizenship to the Riga-born dancer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov in late April, MP Ilmars Latkovskis told LETA news agency.

As previously reported, Baryshnikov seems to be in favor of accepting the citizenship.

You can read all the latest news from Latvia in English, Latvian and Russian at www.lsm.lv.

Agriculture Minister Janis Duklavs met with European Fisheries Commissioner Karmenu Vella in Brussels March 8 to discuss the release of a fishing ship being held in custody by Norway.

Norwegian coastguards impounded the Latvian ship, the Senator, for taking snow crabs near the Arctic island of Svalbard. Norway says it has exclusive rights to fish the entire continental shelf around the island. The European Union, of which Latvia is a member, disputes this.

The European Commission will send a note to Norway in the near future, demanding the urgent release of the ship and the cancellation of a €180,000 fine imposed by the Norwegian authorities. The owners of the Senator claim they are losing €7,000 a day while the ship remains impounded.

Flood waters in Daugavpils region show no sign of disappearing, with four small settlements, home to around 20 people, completely cut off.

Ice blocks have accumulated in the river in the area of Nicgale and the water level continues to rise. Other settlements are threatened, but residents show little sign of wanting to leave, with one telling LTV he would only do so when the waters reached his window.

A parliamentary committee meeting Wednesday supported amendments to the Road Traffic Law that would lengthen the period between technical inspections applicable to new cars.

At present, all cars must undergo an annual inspection regardless of their age. Under the terms of the new amendments, cars up to four years old would only need to be inspected every other year.

This spring the Latvian Fund for Nature will begin a sixth season of live transmissions from birds' nests.

Since 2012, WWF has placed discreet live cameras in the nests of protected birds to allow viewers to watch all the drama of mating, egg-hatching a territorial battles.

Birds starring in the new season will include sea eagles, black storks, the famous Riga chicken hawk and for the first time, ospreys.

See all the live action HERE.

You can read all the latest news from Latvia in English, Latvian and Russian at www.lsm.lv

At a cabinet meeting March 7th, the Latvian government backed a draft Whistleblower Protection law.

It provides protection for individuals who leak official information from employers and state institutions, provided that information is deemed to be in the public interest and empowers law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to take action if whistleblowers face reprisals or threats for doing so.

Delna, the Latvian branch of Transparency International believes that the draft law still needs to be improved to improved, but it now moves on to the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, for debate and amendment.

The annual Great Music Awards were handed out March 7 at a star-studded event in Riga.

Musician of the year was violinist Eva Bindere, while the concert of the year was one featuring The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra – conductor Mariss Jansons and legendary songwriter and jazz musician Raimonds Pauls.

Prizes were awarded in seven categories, with lifetime achievement awards handed to cellist Ellionora Testeļeca and veteran conductor Edgars Račevskis.

Latvian ice hockey player Kristofers Bindulis has officially signed a three-year contract with the National Hockey League leaders the Washington Capitals.

The contract had already been announced in the North American press but has now been confirmed. 21-year old Bindulis has been in the US since 2013 and is rated as an outstanding future prospect.

Snowfall and melting ice continue to create problems across Latvia. Flooding along the banks of the River Daugava has isolated several settlements with reports of gardens and summer cottages inundated.

Emergency services reported a spike in road traffic accidents too due to difficult driving conditions in most of the country while a couple of thousand homes in Latgale region are currently without electricity.

Latvian writers are preparing to tout their talents at the London book fair, taking place in the UK March 14 to 16.

In an effort to attract the interest of foreign publishers, a campaign has been launched stressing how introverted and reluctant to engage face to face Latvian writers are. The hashtag #iamintrovert has been invented as part of the campaign, but it remains to be seen if anyone can summon up the courage to use it.

You can read all the latest news from Latvia in English, Latvian and Russian at www.lsm.lv

There is fresh intrigue at Latvia's national airline airBaltic, after LTV reported the surprise sale of a large holding in the company.

The 20% stake in the airline bought by German investor Ralf-Dieter Montag Girmes a year ago for 52 million euros is being sold to a Danish investor named as Lars Thuesen by LTV.

Speaking on LTV March 7th, Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said ownership changes would strengthen the company but did not give details of the deal.

Fresh snowfall, plus melting ice and a strong wind have created dangerous conditions on roads across the country during the last 24 hours.

Snow and flooding completely blocked the main trunk roads from Riga to Daugavpils for a time. Officials are warning motorists to drive with care and to avoid unecessary jouneys.

Sharply rising waters in the River Daugava have also caused localised flooding in Daugavpils and Jekabpils district.

The ruling government coalition agreeed at a meeting March to postpone a decision about shutting down the Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy liquidation.

The Eduation Ministry favours closing the institution and transferring its students to other colleges as part of a streamlining plan. Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said after talks with coalition parties that the issue would be revisited in two weeks' time after further discussions.

Public Ombudsman Juris Jansons had asked Kučinskis not to go ahead with the liquidation plan, describing it as premature and not sufficiently evaluated.

Members of Bauska district council have called an extraordinary meeting in order to declare a state of emergency due to the appaling state of the roads in the area.

Councillors are calling on the Government and ministries to take immediate action to improve gravel roads which are full of potholes, making driving hazardous and frequently damaging vehicles.

Unless action is taken people will continue to leave the district, resulting in a worsening of the demographic situation and a downturn in business, councillors claim.

You can read all the latest news from Latvia in English, Latvian and Russian at www.lsm.lv

Controversy surrounds a dinner in Dubai recently attended by Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis.

LTV's De Facto investigative news show reported March 5th that the dinner attended by Vejonis and high-ranking officials of the United Arab Emirates had been organized by the charge- d'affaires at the Latvian Embassy in the UAE, Rudolfs Bremanis, shortly before he left his position.

Bremanis left the diplomatic service to become an entrepreneur promoting investments from the gulf states into Latvia and used photographs of the dinner on social media to promote his new company.

The dinner had already proven to be controversial as the photographs show President Vejonis sitting next to former Transport Minister Ainars Slesers, a former politician widely regarded as one of Latvia's cadre of oligarchs.

Upon his return from Dubai, Vejonis urged the government of Maris Kucinskis to participate in the Dubai 2020 Expo event.

This year it is planned to establish a network of client service centers across Latvia to help residents access local and national government services more easily, according to the ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development.

Setting up the centers in 13 different municipalities will cost around 183,000 euros, the ministry said.

Latvian triple jumper Elvijs Misāns set a new personal best to claim fourth place in the European Indoor athletics Championship in Belgrade.

Misans broke his own personal best in the first round, with a jump of 17.02 meters and narrowly missed out on a podium place. The gold medal was won by Nelson Evora of Portugal with a jump of 17 meters and 20 centimeters.

State police are warning motorists to drive safely ahead of the introduction this summer of 40 mobile speed cameras in addition to the fixed speed traps already in operation.

Police say enforcement will be strict, particularly for repeat offenders and revealed that one car has been clocked exceeding the speed limit no fewer than 58 times, while another was recorded doing 148 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.

You can read all the latest news from Latvia in English, Latvian and Russian at www.lsm.lv.

Participating in this bold experiment alongside Mike Collier are Liva Perkone from the recent TechChill event and Zane Bojare of business accelerator Start Up Wise Guys.

The good news is that after Mike's usual rambling introduction the guests take over with some fascinating insights into the startup scene, investments, names to watch and much, much more.

Follow them on Twitter via the link below!

#PitchBattle pitches available there too! If you missed out on something live at #techchill, use opportunity to see it in the archive https://t.co/fPLH6euEFw

A Brit and two Latvians walk into a radio booth... Thank you @mikskoljers and @zancy_ for a great time talking startups and TechChill! pic.twitter.com/fEjwRysQRM