In brief

May 24, 2006

The Riga municipal police fined 567 people for various violations and recorded 340 offenses during the World Ice Hockey Championship, which ended in Riga on May 21.Of the 567 people fined, 110 were foreigners. Officers launched administrative action against 340 other people, most of whom were local hockey fans. Most of those punished fans were inebriated or caught consuming alcoholic beverages in public places. Seven people, including one foreigner, were brought to a sobering house, and 14 people were hospitalized.Approximately 96 municipal policewere on duty in Riga each day of the tournament, which began on May 5.

Sports ministers from Baltic and Nordic countries met in Riga on May 21, calling on organizers of the upcoming World Cup soccer championship in Germany to make every effort to prevent human trafficking during the tournament. The Latvian Education and Sports Ministry’s state secretary for sports affairs, Edgars Sneps, said the ministers wrote a letter to World Cup organizers, urging them “to take a strict stance against such processes and to restrict them.” Participants of the meeting also agreed to highlight human trafficking issues at various European forums and raise public awareness of the problem. Latvian Education Minister Baiba Rivza pointed out that Sweden and women’s groups have been fighting prostitution by issuing calls to boycott the football tournament in Germany. The meeting welcomed ministers from Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

After months of negotiation, Latvian banker Valerijs Belokons has agreed to invest 5 million pounds (7.4 million euros) into England’s Blackpool soccer club. The news was announced in Riga, after a meeting between Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston, acting manager Simon Grayson and Belokons. Belokon Holding is due to receive the club’s shares as soon as the deal is approved on June 19, according to the BBC’s Web site. Belokons is rumored to take over as Blackpool president, leaving Oyston as chairman. The Latvian banker is expected to make the planned investments over the next few years. Blackpool is playing in England’s third highest soccer league (Coca-Cola Football League One) and currently ranks 19th among the 24 clubs playing in the tournament. Belokons, a well-known Latvian businessman, is the owner of Baltic International Bank, holding 37.2 percent of shares.



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