Latvian President Egils Levits will be among the attendees at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, it was announced January 16.
Latvan Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš made the short trip across the eastern border to Belarus January 16 for meetings with his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Roumas and long-time President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Latvian parliament (Saeima) on January 16 asked its Danish counterpart and law enforcement agencies to help find a solution to prevent the extradition of Latvian citizen Kristine Misāne to the Republic of South Africa.
The Latvian government will donate 50,000 euros to international efforts to respond to catastrophic wildfires in Australia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced January 15.
On 14 January in New Delhi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Minister of External Affairs of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and used the occasion - not for the first time - to invite India to open an embassy in Rīga.
Two European Commission (EC) officials have told the Politico news portal that acting secretary-general Ilze Juhansone will be officially appointed as permanent secretary-general of the European Commission at the Tuesday meeting, and Latvian Television's Brussels Correspondent Ilze Nagla confirmed the appointment on January 14.
The hurried introduction of a new Saulkrasti logo by the municipal council, without a public tender competition, has raised several questions, according to a Latvian Radio broadcast on January 13.
On 10 January 2020 in Riga, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, who was in Latvia on a brief working visit to discuss bilateral relations and issues important for the European Union in its relations with neighbouring countries.
Latvian officials suspect that around 40,000 Latvian citizens of an estimated 117,000 who currently live and work in the United Kingdom have yet to register with the British authorities, one of the consequences of the "Brexit" withdrawal of the UK from the European Union.
Maverick member of parliament Artuss Kaiminš was shown the door by the very party he founded and led to spectacular electoral success January 8.
While the speech of Latvia's state president is generally the one give most regard, in recent years it has been preceded by some timely thoughts from the incumbent prime minister.
Latvian State President Egils Levits delivered his first New Year message in office minutes before 2020 clicked into existence, with a speech that criticized consumerism and urged Latvians to have faith in their country and their abilities. The full text, as supplied by the presidential chancellery, is reproduced below verbatim, and the address can also be viewed online.
The last of the year's regular polls conducted by the SKDS research center for Latvian Television in December shows a slight increase in the Harmony party's ratings and a slight drop in the National Alliance's rating, which has allowed the Green and Farmers Union (ZZS) - to rise from third to second place.
Independent Saeima deputy Aldis Gobzems - who a year ago was briefly a nominee to become Prime Minister - spoke in parliament more times than anyone else during the Autumn session, according to figures released by the Saeima Press Service December 27.
On Thursday, December 19, the Saeima conceptually endorsed a draft law to dismiss the Riga City Council, which provides for the dissolution of the City Council and the appointment of an interim administration to be followed by fresh elections. The Saeima determined the draft law is urgent, and therefore will require only two readings instead of the standard three.
A frantic day of legislating in the Latvian Saeima appeared to have paid off, at least in the short term, December 18 with the Ventspils port apparently removed from a U.S sanctions list that had threatened to wreck business at Latvia's second-largest port.
An extraordinary session of the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, was been called for December 18 as the government continues its push to dissolve Rīga City Council over what it says is chaotic mismanagement of the capital city.
Latvian President Egils Levits played host to his counterparts from Estonia and Lithuania at Rīga Castle December 17.
Current National Alliance (NA) leader Raivis Dzintars was reelected at the party union congress on December 14, according to Latvian Television's “Panorāma” broadcast on the same day.
Riga mayor Oļegs Burovs met with recently-intstalled United States Ambassador to Latvia John L. Carwile December 16 with the sun-kissed Californian city of San Diego on the agenda.
The award-winning Re:Baltica investigative journalism team have uncovered more links between one of the parties in Latvia's ruling coalition and foreign political forces with extreme right-wing views.
The State Chancellery Legal Department announced on December 15 that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) and Cabinet of Ministers bill on the dissolution of the Rīga City Council lacks sufficient legal argumentation.
On 12 December 2019, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Andris Pelšs, held political consultations with the First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Titov, the ministry said in a news release.
On 12 December 2019, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts a conference devoted to development cooperation, titled “Latvia’s contribution to sustainable global development: Seeking new cooperation models”, organised in cooperation with NGO the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation.
The Welfare Ministry promised to amend the criteria for granting a company social enterprise status after structured water producer Memory Water gained this status and a 133 000 euro grant, while employing disabled persons for only a few hours a week, Latvian Television's Panorāma broadcast reported on December 9.
In the wake of the sanctioning by the United States of prominent businessman-cum-politician - or in the U.S. Treasury's words, "oligarch" - Aivars Lembergs and businesses with which he is linked, the Latvian government on December 11 outlined a new plan to take over control of the freeports of Rīga and Ventspils.
Issues around improving the Latvian voting system were discussed at the Central Election Commission (CVK) conference, including creating an electronic voter registry to make voting with an ID card easier, as well as the benefits and risks of online voting, CVK Chair Kristīne Bērziņa told Latvian Radio on December 6.
Latvia has once again been mentioned in the world of showbiz - the popular American comedy show Saturday Night Live featured Latvian President Egils Levits in the show's famous opening sequence on December 7.
On 6 December 2019, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, approved Ilze Brands-Kehris as his Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, the highest-ranking post in the UN structure ever held by someone from Latvia, according to a release from the ministry of foreign affairs.
On Friday 6 December Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš met with Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Ratas, Prime Minister of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis to discuss issues of importance to the Baltic region – most pressingly the Rail Baltica project following recent resignations from executives overseeing the project and expressions of concern from other employees, as previously reported by LSM.