Jun 18, 2009 - Usakovs to be Riga mayor...RIGA - Political style rather than a major policy shift are expected to be a stand-out feature of the new-look Riga City Council headed by Harmony Center’s Nils Usakovs, say analysts.
Usakovs is set to be sworn in as Riga’s mayor, following a dramatic voter swing at the June 6 elections.
Ainars Slesers of Latvia’s First Party/Latvia’s Way (LPP/LC) is nominated as the sole candidate for the deputy mayor’s position...
Jun 10, 2009 - Police to close crooked clubs...RIGA - In an effort to stem fraudulent nightclub behavior, President Valdis Zatlers, various ministers and police chiefs have pledged to develop a plan within two weeks that will lead to the closure of nightclubs with a high rate of complaints.
The government also plans to introduce stricter regulations and new legislation for clubs and bars.
According to Interior Minister Linda Murniece, there are eight c...
Jun 03, 2009 - Apartment prices in Riga plummet 50 percent...RIGA - Apartment prices in Riga have dropped an unprecedented 50 percent, according to a report by the Global Property Guide.
This plunge is now the deepest in the world in the first quarter of the year as the country’s economy slipped into one of the deepest recessions in the European Union.
“Latvia is in surprisingly deep trouble,” said the Global Property Guide report. “Average apartment prices in Riga...
May 27, 2009 - AirBaltic on “black list”...The Latvian airline airBaltic has been posted on the European Commission’s “black list” for misleading pricing policies on their ticketing Web site.
AirBaltic, along with Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines and other low cost carriers were put on the black list for not meeting standards and not agreeing to change their policies.
AirBaltic, however, claims that their Web site meets all the basic requirements and said that ...
May 20, 2009 - Child, maternity cuts anger parents...RIGA - There are concerns government cuts to maternity and childcare benefits could cause a further dramatic slump in Latvia’s birth rates and increase financial pressures on already struggling families.
Chief gynecologist at the Riga Maternity Hospital Dace Rezeberga told The Baltic Times there was evidence to suggest cuts to social benefits combined with Latvia’s rapidly deteriorating economic situatio...