Illegal software is offered by half of Latvia's computer stores, the Business Software Alliance said. Director Sanita Meijere told the Baltic News Service that a "secret buyer" campaign showed it is possible to purchase illegal software in 46 percent of the country's computer stores, the largest proportion of which are in Bauska, Jurmala, Olaine and Tukums. "When customers said that they were buying a computer for home use, the shop assistants themselves offered to install illegal software on the computer. It should be added that the sellers often required as high a price as a licensed software pack for home users would cost," Meijere said.
FlyLAL-Lithuanian Airlines launched flights from Riga on March 31. The carrier offers flights from Riga to 14 European cities via Vilnius. The company said it expects to carry about 90,000 Latvian residents this year.
Forty-four percent of Latvia's roads are in poor or very poor condition, the head of Latvijas Valsts Celi (Latvian State Roads) said. According to the company's information, 15.9 percent of the main motor roads have extremely bad surfacing, and only 3.1 percent of the main roads are in excellent condition. Some 23 percent are in good condition and 30 percent are satisfactory. LVC Chairman Talis Straume said that Latvia's bridges are in even worse condition. He said 175 of Latvia's 936 bridges are in a very bad state, while 386 bridges are in bad condition. Only 160 bridges are in good condition, he said.
