Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis was in a car accident, when his car crashed into a Riga mini-bus on Brivibas Street. Both the driver of the bus and Godmanis were taken to Riga's First Hospital. Godmanis was originally diagnosed with a head injury and a possible concussion. However, later reports stated that he was diagnosed with the fissure of temporal bone and concussion of the brain. The prime minister was on his way to a meeting with President Zatlers, with lights and sirens blazing, which the mini-bus driver claims he did not hear. Godmanis is ready to return to work and will chair the next government session, but is not yet completely recovered.
A few dozen protesters gathered for a picket outside the Latvian embassy in Kiev July 1 to demand the release of arrested National Bolshevik leader Vladimirs Lindermans, currently on trial.The demonstrators handed their demands to a representative of the Latvian embassy. Representatives of the Riga Center District Court told BNS that Lindermans had already been questioned at the hearing at which he described the case against him as a provocation and fabrication. The court is scheduled to hold debates at which the prosecution is expected to propose a sentence for Lindermans. He is being tried in Latvia for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Another vandal was caught urinating on the Freedom Monument. This time, it was a local. Twenty-one year old Nikolay is a citizen of Latvia and is being held by municipal police for desecrating the national symbol. According to the police, the man was caught on camera by video surveillance when he was urinating at the monument on June 28. The police were immediately notified of the offense. The patrol arrived on the scene in under a minute and detained the young man. He was then taken to the police station where Riga's Dome Commission is still discussing an appropriate fine.
Toll roads are coming to Latvia. The transportation committee approved the fee initiative for heavy vehicles. The Transport Ministry has suggested an amendment to the taxation law, effective Jan 1, 2009. The amendments outlines the plan, requiring drivers of 12 ton and heavier vehicles to pay a toll when using Latvian roads. Foreign heavy vehicle operators will have to pay 11 euros a day for crossing Latvia, but locals are only obliged to pay around 400 euros a year. The revenue generated from the tolls will be spent repairing state roads.
The number of cinemas in Latvia has reduced by half from 30 cinemas in 2000 to 14 cinemas in 2007. Despite the reduction of the number of cinemas, the number of films screened increased by 80 percent and cinema attendance increased by 62 percent. Cinemas in Latvia mainly featured films produced in the United States. Production of cinema films reached considerable growth during the last seven years. In 2007 as many as 11 films and 151 short films were produced in Latvia, compared to four films and 21 short films in 2000. The publishing business saw an increase in books, newspapers and magazines, as well.
