Latvija in brief - 2009-09-17

  • 2009-09-17
Most residents of Latvia would retire before they turn 55, according to a public opinion survey carried out by SKDS and Swedbank, reports news agency LETA. The official retirement age is currently 62 for both men and women. 30 percent of respondents said that they would like to retire when they are 51-55, and another 18 percent said that they would like to retire already in their forties. 29 percent said that retiring at the age of 56-60 would be fine. 10 percent said that they would like to retire after the official retirement age. Swedbank investment management expert Harijs Svarcs says raising the retirement age is inevitable due to the increasing life expectancy and the increasing financial burden on the existing pension systems. The government is planning to increase the retirement age in Latvia to 65 years.

Israel was linked to the interception of the missing cargo ship Arctic Sea last month, a senior figure close to Israeli intelligence has told the BBC, reports news agency LETA. The source said Israel told Moscow it knew the ship was secretly carrying a Russian air defense system for Iran. The Israeli source told the BBC that the piracy story was a cover and that Israel told Moscow it was giving officials time to stop the shipment before making the matter public. On Sept. 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called media speculation that S-300 missiles were on board the Arctic Sea, "groundless." The Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea and its 15 Russian crew vanished in July days after leaving Finland with an apparent cargo of timber destined for Algeria. It was found on August 16 off West Africa. Moscow announced that the Russian navy had captured the hijackers and rescued the crew. Eight men were later charged with hijacking and piracy, including one citizen and one non-citizen of Latvia.

A criminal case in which two British citizens are accused of beating up a Riga Municipal Police officer will be reviewed at trial on Oct. 6 at the Riga Central District Court, reports news agency LETA. The applicable sentence is five to thirteen years in prison, with or without confiscation of property. The two Brits, Matthew Neale, 35, and David Birkinshaw, 33, were extradited to Latvia in mid-July by the City of Westminster Magistrates' court decision. The alleged assault occurred in Riga's Old Town the night of June 13, 2008. The two intoxicated Brits had gotten into a conflict with other customers at a cafe, who called to a policeman on duty, and when he intervened, was attacked, knocked down and kicked. Three Brits were involved in the incident, but the district court ordered two of them to provide home addresses and pay a cash penalty, which they didn't pay, prompting the police to take further action by filing a complaint in Riga Regional Court.