Responding to a distress call, Swedish and Latvian sailors helped save the crew of a leaky Latvian fishing boat. The call was received at 8 a.m. on Sept. 16 by the Swedish Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Goteborg that a Latvian boat was taking on water in the Baltic sea about 80 kilometers from Ventspils. The boat had left Denmark and a nearby Swedish fishing boat was dispatched to help the Latvian vessel. The Latvian navy sent a coast guard boat to the scene, and put a helicopter on reserve. The boat sank later that day but the crew was transported to Ventspils.
The average length of marriage in Latvia is about 14 years, according to the Latvian Demographic Yearbook, which was published last week. Last year 6,341 couples were divorced, and the average time they spent in marriage was 13.5 years. In rural areas the figure was 14.5 years, with 19 couples only spending one year in marriage in 2005. However, statisticians noticed a growing divorce rate. There were 2.8 per 1,000 in 2005, up from 2.6 in the year 2000. There is an average of 50 divorces for every 100 marriages concluded in the country each year.
