Give a little whistle
At a cabinet meeting March 7th, the Latvian government backed a draft Whistleblower Protection law.
It provides protection for individuals who leak official information from employers and state institutions, provided that information is deemed to be in the public interest and empowers law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to take action if whistleblowers face reprisals or threats for doing so.
Delna, the Latvian branch of Transparency International believes that the draft law still needs to be improved to improved, but it now moves on to the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, for debate and amendment.
Thank you for the music
The annual Great Music Awards were handed out March 7 at a star-studded event in Riga.
Musician of the year was violinist Eva Bindere, while the concert of the year was one featuring The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra – conductor Mariss Jansons and legendary songwriter and jazz musician Raimonds Pauls.
Prizes were awarded in seven categories, with lifetime achievement awards handed to cellist Ellionora Testeļeca and veteran conductor Edgars Račevskis.
Hot shot
Latvian ice hockey player Kristofers Bindulis has officially signed a three-year contract with the National Hockey League leaders the Washington Capitals.
The contract had already been announced in the North American press but has now been confirmed. 21-year old Bindulis has been in the US since 2013 and is rated as an outstanding future prospect.
Wet, wet, wet
Snowfall and melting ice continue to create problems across Latvia. Flooding along the banks of the River Daugava has isolated several settlements with reports of gardens and summer cottages inundated.
Emergency services reported a spike in road traffic accidents too due to difficult driving conditions in most of the country while a couple of thousand homes in Latgale region are currently without electricity.
Read me, but don't look at me
Latvian writers are preparing to tout their talents at the London book fair, taking place in the UK March 14 to 16.
In an effort to attract the interest of foreign publishers, a campaign has been launched stressing how introverted and reluctant to engage face to face Latvian writers are. The hashtag #iamintrovert has been invented as part of the campaign, but it remains to be seen if anyone can summon up the courage to use it.
You can read all the latest news from Latvia in English, Latvian and Russian at www.lsm.lv
