Society
In order to keep Ukrainian soldiers warm, the Latvian postal service (LP) resumes a campaign 'Knitting for Ukrainian Support'. This autumn, everyone with the skill is invited to knit large-size woolen socks for soldiers, Latvian Television reported on September 21.
At its meeting on September 20 the cabinet approved the candidacy of the Deputy Director General of the State Revenue Service (VID), Indra Kārkliņa, to fulfill the duties of the Director General of the State Revenue Service until the end of the suspension of her boss, Ieva Jaunzeme.
Along with Russia's war against Ukraine, the number of people in Latvia who view Russia negatively has increased from 37% last year to 66% this year, according to a survey conducted by the research center SKDS, LETA reported on September 20.
Latvian Television (LTV) has been hit with a large fine by the country's broadcast regulator after it was deemed to be guilty of breaching laws prohibiting pre-election agitation.
Due to reported violence against children, the Daugavpils child care institution “Pīlādzis” has suspended all employees, LETA reported on September 19.
New restrictions come into force on Monday, September 19 that are designed to prevent Russian nationals with Schengen tourist visas from entering or transiting the Baltic States. Poland, too, is enacting similar restrictions.
If all citizens were to be notified quickly in Latvia in the event of a crisis, it would take nearly two days, as proved recently by the alert exercise carried out by the Ministry of Defense. A quicker way has been worked on for eight years but not much has been achieved, Latvian Television's broadcast De Facto reported on September 18.
Liepāja City Council decided that all Ukrainian children in Liepāja will receive catering discounts at schools and fare discounts in Liepāja public transport, Latvian Radio reported on September 19.
On Thursday, September 15, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law On Maternity and Sickness Insurance, which will introduce compulsory parental leave sharing between parents, informed Parliament.
In 2021, almost seven thousand returning migrants or 'remigrants' came back to Latvia from abroad, according to fresh data from the Central Statistical Office's (CSB) senior expert of the statistics department, Ance Ceriņa.
Latvia is among the European Union countries in which there is the greatest risk of poverty or social exclusion according to Eurostat data published September 15.
76.1 percent of Latvia's residents are very concerned about Russia's war in Ukraine, according to the "Stress Thermometer" survey carried out by Benu Aptiekas pharmacies, the LETA newswire reported September 10.
In July 2022, among the EU Member States for which data are available, Poland granted the highest number of temporary protection statuses to Ukrainians fleeing Ukraine (57 290) as a consequence of Russia’s invasion. Poland was followed by Italy (11 020), Romania (7 395), Bulgaria (6 465) and Spain (6 305), according to latest Eurostat figures.
In the spring, two sanatoriums in Jūrmala belonging to aggressor countries – the Russian-owned “Dzintarkrasts” (also known as "Jantarnij Bereg" and not to be confused with several other properties called "Dzintarkrasts") and the Belarusian-owned sanatorium “Belorusija” – were forced to stop their work.
The Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will work together to apply restrictions to Russian holders of Schengen travel visas, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs confirmed September 7.
In order to "strengthen national security", the Cabinet of Ministers on September 6, supported amendments to the Immigration Law, which envisages setting stricter conditions for issuing residence permits to citizens of Russia and Belarus.
The association “Tavi draugi” (Your friends) will provide food parcels to families of Ukrainian civilians with children in September, Latvian Radio reported on September 1.
Passports and ID cards that have expired since March 1, 2020, when the pandemic began in Latvia, will be valid to use until April 30, 2023, the Saeima decided in the final reading on Tuesday, August 30.
Rīga Support Center for Ukrainian residents will start work on new premises on Amatu Street 4 as of September 5 and will be open to from 9:00 to 17:00, Rīga City Council told LETA on August 26.
In the first piece in this short series we looked at the history of the controversial Soviet Victory Monument in Rīga, presented some survey research and heard from Armands, a member of the public very much in favor of the monument's demolition – which is already under way.
In the first piece in this short series we looked at the history of the controversial Soviet Victory Monument in Rīga, presented some survey research and heard from Armands, a member of the public very much in favor of the monument's demolition – which is already under way.
The overwhelming majority of Baltic residents (93%) believe that women and men should enjoy equal rights, but at the same time some gender stereotypes remain embedded in the society, according to the Novatore Baltic Gender Equality Barometer 2022.
To celebrate Ukraine's Independence Day and to show solidarity with Ukrainians, the association “Tavi draugi” (Your Friends) organizes a 'Sunflower Path' – a live chain of people handing sunflowers from the help center on Ventspils Street to the Ukrainian embassy on Wednesday, August 24.
The association “Tavi draugi” (Your friends) has been actively accepting the public's donations to Ukrainians since the beginning of the war. Although donor activity has declined, the organization has its hands full. On August 23, Latvian Radio went to find out how work was going at Ventspils Street 50, the association's warehouse.
Residents in Latvia are feeling safer at night - this year 69% of survey respondents have noted that they had no fear in the vicinity of their homes alone at night, according to survey data published by the research center SKDS director Arnis Kaktiņš, LETA reported August 21.
On 18 August 2022, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, said that Latvia's assistance to Ukraine so far is equivalent to 0.8% of its gross domestic product (GDP).
In 2021, the average age at which young people had left their parental home in the EU was 26.5 years according to updated Eurostat data published Augist 18.
On Tuesday, August 16, two vans and a truck with Latvian residents' donated aid traveled towards Kyiv in Ukraine, where assistance will be provided directly to Ukrainian hospitals, Latvian Television reported.
Passports and ID cards that have expired since March 1, 2020, will be valid to use until April 30, 2023, the government decided on Tuesday, August 16. The Saeima has yet to decide on the relevant amendments to the Personal Identification Documents Law.
Since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine, 36,648 Ukrainian people have been registered in Latvia so far, while 31,257 refugees have been issued residence documents with the right to employment, according to the latest information gathered by the Ministry of Interior on August 15.
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