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Latvian Link News Picture Album December 30, 2002 |
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Sveiki, all! It's been pretty slow, news wise, since Christmas. But first, we wanted to apologize to our audience that we missed mentioning an event which was widely carried on Latvian TV while we were on vacation: the award of "Latvian Person in Europe of the Year" to Marija Naumova. As the president, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, said herself, Marija garnered more recognition for Latvia with her Eurovision win and personal conduct than Latvia could ever afford to pay to hire a PR company. (Vaira Vike-Freiberga was last year's recipient.) And to those who would say "she's really Russian," we'd only comment that her Latvian was flawless. Only two stories in the news this week:
This week's link is to the company that arranges most of the large shows at the Kipsala international exposition center in Riga. This week's picture is of one of our favorite subjects, a country rose. As always, AOL'ers, remember, mailer or not, Lat Chat spontaneously appears every Sunday on AOL starting around 9:00/9:30pm Eastern time, lasting until 11:00/11:30pm. AOL'ers can follow this link in their AOL browser: Town Square - Latvian chat. And thanks to you participating on the Latvian message board as well: LATVIA (both on AOL only). Our best wishes to all for a happy and healthy New Year! Ar visu labu,
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The firm BT1 arranges most of the shows at the Kipsala convention center in Riga (just across the Daugava from the Old Town, just off the Vansu bridge exit). The schedule for 2003 already includes a book fair, fashion show, boat show, and more. This pointer is to the English page; the site is available in Latvian, English, and Russian. |
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Reuters North America Friday, December 27, 2002
9:22:00 AM
Copyright 2002 Reuters Ltd. RIGA, Dec 27 (Reuters) — Latvia will hold a referendum on joining the European Union on September 20 next year, the government said on Friday. "September 20 was a proposal by the so-called EU integration bureau and the government decided today to adopt that date," Aiva Rosenberga, a spokeswoman for President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, told Reuters. The ex-communist republic was among the 10 mostly east European countries recently invited to join the EU in May 2004, but opinion polls show support trailing most other candidates at about 46 percent with opposition at 36 percent. "The level of support for joining the EU is very low compared to most other countries -- including Lithuania and Estonia -- and so there could be an interest to hold the referendum late to see what the others are doing," she said. Lithuania, which has seen its 'Yes' camp grow to 68 percent in recent polls, will hold an referendum in May next year, while Estonia has decided to hold a referendum on September 14. AP WorldStream Friday, December 27, 2002 7:02:00
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Copyright 2002 The Associated Press By The Associated Press Excerpts — For Saturday, Jan. 4, the 4th day of 2003. There are 361 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1919 — Russian Bolsheviks capture Riga, Latvia. Thought For Today: Our civilization is still in a middle stage, no longer wholly guided by instinct, not yet wholly guided by reason -- Theodore Dreiser, American author (1871-1945). |
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We hope to spend some of next year, again, out in the countryside. For all its cosmopolitan hustle and bustle, life in Riga is still far less complex than the richness found in the blossom of a single rose. |
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