Latvija in brief - 2011-10-27

One of the nine Home Guard recruits, injured in an Oct. 23 explosion at the Adazi proving ground, has died from his injuries in the hospital. He is 17th Anti-aircraft Defense Battalion soldier Ilmars Mitenbergs. Two more men remain in critical condition. National Armed Forces Commander Raimonds Graube, who ordered an immediate investigation into what caused the blast, has expressed his sympathy to Mitenbergs’ next of kin. The accident at the Adazi proving ground occurred after a training exercise with an anti-aircraft artillery weapon. It is unclear what exactly happened, but Latvian Radio is reporting that an explosion had occurred - unrelated to the training exercise.

A turning point could come at the beginning of November in the so-called ‘oligarch case’ - Corruption Prevention Bureau (CPB) investigators are preparing to hand over part of the evidence to the prosecutor’s office, which will then have to decide whether to bring charges against LPP/LC Chairman Ainars Slesers and Mayor of Ventspils Aivars Lembergs, the magazine Ir reports. Investigation in the case is taking place in at least three directions, and, according to the magazine’s information, CPB will divide it into several separate criminal cases in order to speed up the process. The first case that the prosecutor’s office could receive is about the alleged bribery in the election of Riga Freeport’s board chairman and the Freeport’s advertising contracts with publishing house Mediju Nams. CPB could request the prosecution bring charges against Slesers for bribery, but against Lembergs for bribery in the interest of a third party. Ir has found out that this turn of events might be expected this month or at the beginning of November. CPB has not made an official announcement because the general public will be informed about the decision after it is made, CPB representative Andris Vitenbergs said.

At the beginning of September, Latvia’s population stood at 2,211,200, which is 2,400 persons less than a month ago, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s data, reports Nozare.lv. At the beginning of September 2010, Latvia’s population was 2,236,200. In September 2009, Latvia’s population reached 2,253,600. In January 2011, Latvia’s population stood at 2,229,600. Information on 1.9 million residents was collected during the first two rounds of the nationwide census. The data on the remaining 300,000 residents is still being collected. The official results will be announced at the end of this year.

A majority, or 68 percent, of economically-active Latvian residents negatively evaluate ex-president Valdis Zatlers’ (ZRP) political activities post-presidency, according to a survey carried out by the market, social and media research company TNS Latvia and the LNT television channel, reports LETA. Thirty percent of respondents assess Zatlers’ political activities “extremely” negatively, 38 percent as “quite” negatively. 17 percent believe that the ex-president’s political activities can be looked at positively, while 15 percent had no opinion. The study was carried out from Oct. 18 to Oct. 20; altogether, 800 residents ages 18 to 55 were interviewed.