Despite falling juvenile crime rates across the country, violence at schools is as common as ever, says Latvia's State Police.
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This year fewer than 12,000 future students have applied at Latvia's universities, a few thousand fewer than last year, reported Latvian Radio on July 12.
There'll be traffic restrictions in central Riga ahead of the Riga Marathon over the weekend,
Allegations of violence and abuse against children have been reported at Jelgava City Orphanage as part of an investigation into state-provided childcare by Latvian Radio in a strand titled Children of the System.
British police have arrested a 1983-born Latvian woman who had planned a contract killing of a Latvian official, Latvia's State Police said on Tuesday.
The number of missing people is on the rise in Latvia. Last year the police and volunteers were looking for 900 people.
On February 5, 2016 the first asylum seekers arrived in Latvia under the EU relocation scheme. Currently Latvia has admitted 207 refugees from camps in Greece, Italy, and Turkey. However there is little data over whether they're still in Latvia, reported Latvian Radio.
A Kurdish man Tarik and his family - wife and seven children - were one of the first to be officially recognized as refugees in Latvia. Together with dozens of other refugees, he fled to Germany but was forced to return as he wasn't allowed to work there. He may have to live on the streets as his refugee benefits run out soon.
The performance of Latvia's 15-year-olds in maths and science is around the OECD average, however students are lagging behind their counterparts in reading, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 research encompassing 72 countries.
On October 25 the government deferred a decision on extra funding for higher education in 2018 and 2019. The funds would allow to continue state-paid tuition in universities at current levels but the government postponed the verdict to next week.
The Education Ministry has plans to reduce the number of state-sponsored students by 5,500 over the next three years. The Latvian Students Union (LSA) says it will protest the decision, reported Latvian Radio Thursday.
An aging workforce as well as a gender gap are among the problems in Latvia's education, outlined in a report on education trends in OECD member states published Thursday. This is the first report on Latvia as an OECD member state, reported Latvian Radio's Vita Anstrate.
Latvia's media regulator, the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) will be given authority to close websites streaming TV illegally in a bid to curb television piracy, reported Latvian Radio Thursday.
Cigarette butts, plastic dishes and even old light bulbs are found lying on Riga Gulf beaches in alarming quantities, according to volunteers of the My Sea initiative, reported Latvian Radio Friday.
Shy and taciturn, Tefaye from Eritrea is waiting on the court to grant him asylum. He has fled indefinite military service in Eritrea. He wants to study maths and as he's had unpleasant experiences in Latvia he wishes for the people here to become more tolerant. Read his story in Latvian Radio's latest strand about refugees who want to live in Latvia and are residing at the asylum seekers' center in Mucenieki.
Bunana, an ever-smiling woman and a mother of three, is waiting for the court to legally recognize her as a refugee. During her time here, she has already learned some Latvian. She wants to remain in Latvia as this is a place she can feel safe for her own and her children's lives. Read her story in Latvian Radio's latest strand about refugees who want to live in Latvia.
46-year-old Ahmed from Baghdad has arrived in Latvia with his family and has been here for nine months. He wants to open a restaurant of traditional Iraqi foods, or become an interpreter to help other asylum seekers. Read his story in Latvian Radio's latest strand about refugees who want to live in Latvia and are residing at the asylum seekers' center in Mucenieki.
19-year-old Dina and her family come from Baghdad. She's been here for nine months now and is studying Latvian. She hopes to become an engineer one day. Her story is part of a Latvian Radio strand about people from the Mucenieki asylum seekers' center who are learning Latvian and want to make their future here.
Several dozen people are residing at the Mucenieki asylum seekers' center, having arrived in Latvia after fleeing war and danger to their lives. Only a few have so far been legally recognized as refugees. Latvian Radio unveils a new strand about the people from Mucenieki who are learning Latvian and want to make their future here.
Latvia has already refused 66 out of 123 asylum requests made at the country's Citizenship and Migration Affairs Office (PMLP) this year, and human rights activists are pointing out deficiencies at Latvian courts ruling on asylum requests, reported Latvian Radio Monday.
The SIA Tineo company has claimed €4.4m in damages for the Zolitūde supermarket building that crashed in November 2013 taking 54 lives, reported Latvian Television and Latvian Radio. Tineo is the owner of the supermarket building.
Latvia could in 2017 introduce military training at universities, either integrating it into study programs or offering non-compulsory military training courses, reported Latvian Radio Sunday.
As the Latvian-language branch of the Kremlin's Sputnik propaganda wire has resumed operations under a new domain, the Foreign Ministry will turn to the Security Police over the possibility to block the website again, reported Latvian Radio Wednesday.
The new government will have to decide on whether to merge the state-owned communications companies Lattelecom and Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (Latvian Mobile Telephone - LMT). PM designate - potentially the head of the incoming government - Māris Kučinskis is skeptical about the decision, reported Latvian Radio Wednesday.
Starting February, the state could again start providing refugees in the Mucenieki asylum seeker center with food and hygiene products. Since summer when the EU funding period concluded, the refugees, who are provided a meager daily sustenance of €2.15, have been receiving additional material assistance only from NGOs and volunteers, Latvian Radio's Vita Anstrate reported Thursday.
The lunar meteorite Northwest Africa 8783 is from Monday on display at the University of Latvia Friedrich Zander's Museum of Space, reported Latvian Radio Monday.
The state-backed housing loan program for families with children, which was restarted this year, has already helped some 1,000 families. According to estimates, another 800 families could get state backing from the program, reported Latvian Radio Monday.
The State Police (VP) has prepared and sent the first tickets for foreign drivers that have violated Latvian traffic laws, reported Latvian Radio Friday.
Riga's network of night shelters for the homeless are gearing up for the winter season when they are all that stand between dozens of rough-sleepers and the prospect of freezing to death in a Baltic winter, reports Latvian Radio's Vita Anstrate.
The State Cultural Monument Protection Authority (VKPAI) has started an inquiry into the illegal sales of Swedish cobblestone - a staple of many Latvian cities such as Rīga and actually protected by the law as cultural heritage - taking place on the ss.lv portal (a classifieds website similar to Craigslist). It's not clear how the cobblestone made it into the illegal market, while the City Council of Liepāja, where the seller say the cobblestone comes from, thinks it may have some answers, reported Latvian Radio Friday.
Municipalities renovate roads and sidewalks with concrete paving slabs, either with their own funds or by procuring EU financing. However, this paving is often damaged within the first year and even the first month of use.
A year and a half after Euromaidan, Eastern Ukraine is still a war-torn region, while reforms in governmance are still wanting. Latvian Radio visited Ukraine and inquired how Latvia helps and can help the country on the path to European integration and better governance.