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July 19, 2003

Sveiki, all!

Well, it was fun "publishing" the mailer from Latvia, but we'll remember not to do any surfing next time... our connection surcharges from Riga totalled $312.70 dollars, well outpacing our casino losses!

Lots in the news, particularly Latvians upset with Bush for cutting off military aid after their president went out on a limb for him on Iraq:

And in sports,

This edition's featured link is to a Latvian author. A number of the news stories contain links to further information, as well.

As much as Peters loves pictures of old buildings--and took lots on vacation!--this week's picture is closer to nature!

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).

Ar visu labu,

SilvijaPeters

 

  Latvian Link

Now and then we take a peek around the Internet to see if someone thought it was worth giving us a mention... we ran across Latvian author Zinta Aistars' site, at:

http://www.authorsden.com/zintaaistars

If you browse through, you'll find samples of her writing. As always, even though the site has sutff for sale, "we have no affiliation!"

 

  News


In Estonia, a museum to recount Nazi and Stalinist atrocities
AP WorldStream Friday, June 27, 2003 1:46:00 PM
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press
By MICHAEL TARM
Associated Press Writer

      TALLINN, Estonia (AP) -- Prison doors, a getaway boat and deportation orders culled from secret police archives awaited former political prisoners and current politicians as they gathered Friday to open one of the world's first museums detailing Nazi and Soviet atrocities.
      The Museum of Occupations -- a leisurely stroll down the hill from Estonia's parliament in Tallinn -- documents more than 50 years of the Baltic state's occupation, first by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany and then by the Soviets again.
      The museum features filmed testimonials from eyewitnesses, scores of photos and artifacts, such as tattered uniforms worn by prisoners in Russian gulags.
      Museum organizers said the goal is to teach Estonians and visitors about one of the darkest eras in the history of this country of 1.4 million people.
      "The past is now put into this museum as a lesson and as a kind of guarantee that never again will this sort of repression of rights and mass terror take place," said Heiki Ahonen, one of the museum's founders and himself a former political prisoner.
      Promotional materials for the museum also called it a "tombstone for thousands buried in anonymous graves."
      Hundreds of guests, including Estonian Prime Minister Juhan Parts, milled around replicas of two locomotives -- one emblazoned with a Nazi swastika and the other with a Communist red star -- that stand like sentries in the modern, glass-enclosed building.
      Since Estonia -- along with neighboring Latvia and Lithuania -- regained independence amid the 1991 Soviet collapse, Communist-era textbooks have been rewritten and monuments to Soviet and Nazi victims have been erected.
      But the museum is the country's most ambitious effort to come to terms with its past.
      Iron doors in the main hall were once fixed to cramped cells in Tallinn's notorious Central Prison, where both Nazi and Soviet prisoners were held and sometimes shot.
      An aged, wooden skiff on display was used by a dozen Estonians to escape from Soviet oppression in the 1940s by crossing the Baltic Sea to Sweden.
      After the Red Army occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1940, more than 200,000 people were herded into cattle cars and exiled to Siberia, viewed by Josef Stalin as enemies of the government. Many were never heard from again.
      The country suffered a similar fate after Nazi troops ousted the Soviets in 1941. Nearly 1,000 Estonian Jews were killed, and thousands more from elsewhere in Europe were sent to die in concentration camps in the Estonian countryside.
      The Soviet Union reoccupied the country in 1944.
      The museum is located near a sign of the country's future -- the European Union representative office with its blue, gold-starred flag fluttering outside. Estonia is scheduled to join the powerful bloc next year.
 
      On the Net:
      The museum: http://www.okupatsioon.ee

American Logistics Tools Support Latvian Forces in Iraq
PR Newswire Monday, June 30, 2003 12:47:00 PM
Copyright 2003 PR Newswire

      BATTLE CREEK, Mich., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- When Latvia provided its support to operations in Iraq, American logisticians practically lent them the shirts off their backs to help them adapt to their new environment. Since their forces do not usually need desert camouflage uniforms, the Latvian National Codification Bureau (NCB) requested U.S. assistance in locating items of camouflage battle dress such as coats, trousers, and the floppy, wide- brimmed "boonie hats." Technicians at the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) used their cataloging expertise to quickly locate the stock numbers for the desired items. A contingency plan calls for U.S. Army forces in Iraq to provide this type of equipment, especially since the Latvians have nothing comparable in their national inventory.
      The support DLIS personnel provided was part of their mission as the U.S. National Codification Bureau to offer codification and liaison services to NATO countries and other allied nations on items produced in the United States. Their expertise in the Federal Catalog System -- which also serves as the foundation of the NATO Codification System (NCS) -- gives DLIS personnel the added role as the U.S. NCB and representative to NATO codification panels and task groups. This means they also provide cataloging services on all matters related to international codification, support allied nations in their establishment of NCS-compliant cataloging systems, and offer training to NATO members and sponsored nations regarding American and NATO codification methods.
      As part of the Defense Logistics Agency, DLIS employees create, obtain, manage and integrate data from several sources. They share this data through user-friendly products and services such as the Logistics Information Network and the multilingual compact disc that support logistics operations throughout the Defense Department, allied and coalition operations, other federal agencies and elements of the private sector. Their expertise in cataloging and information management makes DLIS personnel important contributors to electronic commerce between the U.S. government and its many suppliers. For additional information, visit www.dla.mil/dlis or call (269) 961-7015.
      An electronic image and caption supporting this story is available at www.dla.mil (news).
      A major field activity of the Defense Logistics Agency, DLIS creates, obtains, manages and integrates data from several sources. It shares this data through user-friendly products and services that support logistics operations throughout the Defense Department, other federal agencies and elements of the private sector. DLIS' expertise in cataloging and information management makes it an important contributor to electronic commerce between the U.S. government and its many suppliers. For additional information about DLIS, visit http://www.dla.mil/dlis or call (269) 961-7019.
      DLA provides supply support, and technical and logistics services to the U.S. Military Services and to several federal civilian agencies. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., the agency is the one source for nearly every consumable item, whether for combat readiness, emergency preparedness or day-to-day operations.
      
      Defense Logistics Agency
      06/30/2003
      CONTACT: Tim Hoyle of the Defense Logistics Agency,
       +1-269-961-7015, or timothy.hoyle@dla.mil
      Web site:
      http://www.dla.mil/dlis
      http://www.dla.mil/

U.S. Ends Military Aid to 35 Countries
Reuters Online Service Tuesday, July 01, 2003 3:00:00 PM
Copyright 2003 Reuters Ltd.
By Jonathan Wright

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The United States said on Tuesday it was cutting off military aid to 35 countries, including Colombia and six nations seeking NATO membership, because they back the International Criminal Court and have not exempted Americans from possible prosecution.
      Another dozen countries were also prohibited from receiving U.S. military aid but they had not been getting any this year.
      The decision to suspend aid is the latest attack by the Bush administration on the international court, set up last year to try war crimes and acts of genocide.
      The United States signed the 1998 treaty creating the court. But the Bush administration is afraid the tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, backed by most European countries, might hear politically motivated prosecutions of U.S. military and civilian leaders.
      The suspension affects $47 million in U.S. foreign military financing and $613,000 in international military and educational training in this fiscal year, which expires on Sept. 30, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
      Under last year's American Service Members Protection Act, the basis for the suspension, President Bush can issue waivers for governments that sign the exemption deals or when he think military aid is in the national interest.
      Bush issued waivers for 22 countries on Tuesday as the deadline passed for governments to sign exemption agreements.
      But those 22 did not include Colombia, one of the largest aid recipients, and the eastern European countries of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
      The United States had already disbursed most of the military aid for this year so the real effect will not come to light until the start of the new fiscal year in October.
      In the meantime, the Bush administration hopes that some of the 35 countries will sign bilateral Article 98 agreements exempting U.S. personnel from prosecution in the court.
      DRUGS AND NATO EXPANSION
      Out of the seven countries invited to join NATO, only Romania has signed an Article 98 agreement with Washington.
      Colombia, where the government is fighting leftist guerrillas and drug traffickers, was allocated about $100 million in military aid this year and has already received all but $5 million of that, Boucher told a briefing.
      Richard Dicker, director of the international justice program at Human Rights Watch, said the suspension of aid worked against some of the Bush administration's other policy goals, such as intercepting drugs in the Caribbean and expanding NATO into eastern Europe.
      "This campaign has brought resentment and bitterness from some of the U.S. government's closest allies and comes at an extraordinarily high price," Dicker told Reuters.
      But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer indicated that the Bush administration would not compromise on the court.
      "This is a reflection of the United States' priorities to protect the men and women in our military," he said.
      "If delivering aid to those states endangers America's servicemen and servicewomen, the president's first priority is with the servicemen and servicewomen," he added.
      The United States had hoped that the threat to withdraw aid would bring a last-minute rush to sign Article 98 agreements.
      Altogether 44 governments have publicly acknowledged signing the agreements and at least seven others have signed secret agreements, U.S. officials say.
      The pace of signatures does appear to have picked up a little. About 25 governments have signed in the last four months, about half of those in the last three weeks.

Mongolia vows to boost cooperation with Latvia
AP WorldSources Online Tuesday, July 01, 2003 3:37:00 PM
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press
Copyright 2003 XINHUA

      RIGA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia wishes to boost cooperation with Latvia, visiting Mongolian President Nachagyn Bagabandy said here on Tuesday. "We want to develop friendly and active politics with Latvia," Bagabandy said at a joint press conference with his Latvian counterpart Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
      He added that Mongolia is also interested in intensifying economic cooperation with Latvia.
      Meanwhile, Vike-Freiberga said Bagabandy's visit to Latvia showed a clear sign that Mongolia hopes to deepen its relations with Latvia. He noted that Latvian businessmen in Mongolia should take the advantage to expand their market share. "There is still much to do in the economic sector to fully use the potential of cooperation," said the president. He also said Latvia highly appreciates the mutual support and cooperation between the two countries in dealing with international affairs.

Disappointment about U.S. decision to cut off military aid
AP WorldStream Wednesday, July 02, 2003 2:36:00 PM
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press
By MICHAEL TARM

      Associated Press Writer
      TALLINN, Estonia (AP) -- A U.S. decision to cut off military aid to dozens of countries because they refused to protect Americans from the purview of the international war crimes court was met with widespread disappointment on Wednesday.
      In the Baltics, some said it was like a slap in the face, noting it was their countries that backed the U.S.-led war in Iraq without concern about the ramifications in Europe.
      "I think there's a broad feeling in Latvia that says, 'How come us? Who helped in Iraq?'" said Atis Lejins, director of the Latvian Institute for International Affairs in Riga.
      Marko Mihkelson, head of the Estonian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the treatment was not what he expected.
      "As future NATO members, we expect to be dealt with as allies, not like this," he said.
      The U.S. State Department stopped US$48 million in aid to 35 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Central and South America late Tuesday.
      U.S. lawmakers set a July 1 deadline for most recipients of U.S. military aid to exempt American troops and other personnel from prosecution before the new court.
      The United States fears the court could leave American soldiers subject to false and politically motivated prosecutions.
      Colombia could be the hardest hit by the U.S. decision, if the dispute continues into next year. Reaction in the South American nation was muted, mostly because only about US$5 million of the US$600 million in this year's aid is at risk.
      Colombia is the third largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid after Israel and Egypt.
      "What the government has to do is continue talking with the United States, examining options and taking into account the legal framework of both countries," Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said.
      In neighboring Ecuador, lawmaker and congressional vice president Antonio Posso said the U.S. decision "is strange behavior that aims to punish poor, third world nations."
      Retired army Gen. Jose Gallardo, who served twice as Ecuador's defense minister, described the step as "a major roadblock to cooperation between the United States and other nations."
      The Brussels, Belgium-based International Criminal Court, or ICC, has the support of 78 countries, but more than 40, including a number of post-communist European democracies, agreed not to extradite U.S. nationals to the court.
      In Slovakia -- slated to join the North Atlantic Treaty organization next year -- the U.S. decision won't change its position, Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan told state-run news agency TASR.
      "Slovakia has its position about the ICC, and that is consistent with the position of the European Union," Kukan said.
      Macedonian Defense Minister Vlado Buckovski said lawmakers there are expected to approve exempting Americans from the court. The country gets US$10 million in military aid and is eager to preserve its ties with the United States, its main strategic partner.
      In Brussels, a European Union spokesman said the U.S. measure had been anticipated. But, "we naturally regret what the U.S. is doing," said Diego Ojeda, a spokesman for external relations.
      The countries affected include:
      Africa: Benin, Central African Republic, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia.
      Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and Slovenia.
      Central and South America: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela.
      Asia: Fiji, Samoa.
      
      On the Net:
      International Criminal Court: http://www.un.org/law/icc/index.html

The European Union at a glance
AP WorldStream Thursday, July 03, 2003 9:00:00 PM
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press
By The Associated Press

      The European Union -- at a glance:
      
      MEMBERSHIP
      Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.
      To join in May, 2004: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia.
      
      HISTORY
      Founded by six nations in 1957 as the European Economic Community to unite the economies of Germany, France and others to prevent another major war in Europe.
      Over the next decades membership expanded to 15. EU now sets continent-wide laws in such areas as environmental protection, labor rights, antitrust and immigration.
      Internal frontier controls were removed in 1992, creating a single market for companies and passport free travel for citizens. Common trade rules make the EU a world economic player to rival United States and Japan. In 1999, euro launched as single currency for 12 EU nations.
      Recent moves encourage closer political ties among member nations, boosting the EU's role on world stage and attempts to forge joint foreign policy goals. Launched first military operations this year with peacekeeping force in Macedonia and Congo.
      
      HOW IT WORKS
      Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
      European Commission functions as EU's executive and civil service; headed by a president and 20 commissioners, who draw up proposals for EU-wide laws and ensure their implementation; powerful role in trade and antitrust policy.
      Council of Ministers comprises representatives of the 15 member nations and must approve all EU laws and sets foreign policy. The chairmanship rotates among member nations every six months.
      European Parliament, 626-member chamber elected every five years by EU citizens; meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France; has power to approve or bloc EU laws.
      
      CURRENT ISSUES
      Controversy over Italy's presidency launched July 1; Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faces criticism over legal entanglements, media empire, Nazi insult to German politician.
      Debate raging over plans for EU constitution due to be approved early next year, critics say it takes too much power from national governments.
      Iraq revealed deep divisions within the bloc, anti-war camp led by France and Germany, pro-US stance from Britain, Spain, Italy.
      Relations with US strained by Iraq, global warming, trade disputes.

Latvian CPI jumps in June on high food prices
Reuters World Report Tuesday, July 08, 2003 6:49:00 AM
Copyright 2003 Reuters Ltd.

      RIGA, July 8 (Reuters) -- Latvian consumer prices rose 0.7 percent month-on-month in June after a 0.2 percent rise in May, bringing the annual rate up to 3.7 percent from 2.5 percent, the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) said on Tuesday.
      The jump in the CPI was primarily driven by food prices -- especially seasonal fruits and vegetables -- up 1.9 percent month-on-month to stand up 5.0 percent from a year earlier.
      Industrial output for May rose by 6.6 percent, year-on-year and seasonally adjusted, down from an increase of 8.9 percent in the fast-growing Baltic state. Manufacturing was strongest, with machinery output up 28.7 percent.
      "Inflation is quite high -- probably higher than expected," said Lene Kule, an analyst at Hansabanka Markets, forecasting inflation would remain high in the near term.
      Latvia's economy grew by a storming 8.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, but the current account deficit -- a chronic problem since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 -- widened to 5.7 percent of GDP in the period.
      The International Monetary Fund warned Latvia in April on the current account gap, but said its currency board was an appropriate anchor in the run-up to joining the European Union as long as government spending was held in check.
      Analysts forecast economic growth of around six percent this year in Latvia, one of 10 mainly eastern European countries in line to join the EU next year. The country holds an entry referendum in September.

Estonia moves to amend constitution for presidential elections
AP WorldSources Online Tuesday, July 08, 2003 4:23:00 PM
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press
Copyright 2003 XINHUA

      RIGA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Estonian government on Tuesday decided to support a bill proposing amendments of the constitution in order to introduce direct elections of the head of state, said reports reaching here from the Estonian capital Tallinn.
      According to the bill initiated on June 12 by 71 MPs, the president would be elected at general polling. The candidate who gets over a half of the votes will become the president. Electing the president directly by people is in line with society's expectations and will give people an additional chance of participating in making decisions important for the state, thus bringing the people closer to the state, the government's press service said.
      Public polls show the majority of Estonians support the idea of direct presidential elections. A referendum is needed to change the constitution. At present the Estonian president is elected by the parliament and if that fails, by the electoral assembly which includes also representatives from local municipalities.

In Latvia, fears of the past remain locked away
AP WorldStream Thursday, July 10, 2003 11:03:00 AM
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press
By TIMOTHY JACOBS
Associated Press Writer

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) -- Debate flared anew in Latvia this week about what to do with thousands of secret police files left over from Soviet rule of the Baltic country.
      Some want the 4,000 KGB-produced files opened for public view, citing their historical importance, while others want them destroyed, fearful of the secrets they contain. The Russian government took the bulk of the files with them when they pulled out of Latvia in 1994. Those that remain are just a fraction of the total.
      Since regaining independence amid the 1991 Soviet collapse, the country of 2.4 million has grappled with its Communist past, and what to do with the thousands of KGB documents that serve as a record of decades of secret police activity is a quandry.
      "Let's put the information on the table and get rid of the speculation," ex-Latvian Prime Minister Guntars Krasts told The Associated Press Wednesday. "We can't live with keeping it in the dark and some people speculating over who is and isn't in there."
      But while giving the public access could clear those who are rumored to have worked for the KGB during Soviet rule, it could also mean others might be wrongly tainted.
      Former Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis said the files should be destroyed, arguing that the KGB was known to forge documents in a bid to smear public figures.
      What to do with the files is coming to the fore because the law allowing access to them by just a handful of agencies expires in 2004.
      The files have typically been used to run background checks on people seeking public office or a job in law enforcement. Any use of the documents was done through the state-run Center for the Documentation of the Consequences of Totalitarianism.
      If someone is found to have had connections to the KGB, they can't be hired.
      Politically, past KGB involvement can be a career killer. Two Social Democrats, Juris Bojars and Janis Adamsons, saw their parliamentary careers end in 1993 and 2000, respectively, after they were found to have served in the KGB.
      Indulis Zalite, who oversees the storage of the files and one of the few with unfettered access to them, said destroying them would be a mistake, but so would opening them up, too.
      "We know that the people in these files worked with the KGB, but we don't know what they did," he said. "We have many names of people who did not-so-nice things for the KGB, but most people weren't involved in political operations."
      Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga called for more discussion before a decision is taken up by lawmakers.

Russian police track down Gogol's missing nose
Reuters World Report Friday, 2003. July 11. 14:03:00
Copyright 2003 Reuters Ltd.

      ST PETERSBURG, Russia, July 11 (Reuters) -- A giant statue of a nose, inspired by Nikolai Gogol's story of a man's pursuit for his runaway nose, was tracked down by Russian police on Friday, 10 months after it vanished.
      Life imitated art when the marble sculpture, erected in Russia's second city eight years ago to honour the tale, went walk-about last September from the house where the story's hero is supposed to have lived.
      The head of St Petersburg's sculpture museum said the 100 kg (220 pound) proboscis was found in a city apartment block.
      "Both the residents and the police, who found the nose, treated it with affection," Vladimir Timofeyev said.
      Gogol's odd story, called "The Nose," tells how a Major Kovalyov goes on a frantic search through the Tsarist capital in search of his nose, which takes on a life of its own and gets up to all kinds of trouble while running round the city.
      Kovalyov finally tracks down his mischievous missing nose, in the nick of time as it is planning a move to Latvia.
      The marble nose is not St Petersburg's only disappearing monument. The city's tiny statue of a bronze bird -- the 11 cm (4.3 inch) Chizhik Pyzhik -- has been stolen dozens of times by intrepid souvenir hunters and art collectors.
      "I have already lost count," Timofeyev said. "We just throw up our hands in despair -- when will they stop?"

Latvian fugitive, reputed gang leader, nabbed in South Florida
AP WorldStream Monday, 2003. July 14. 21:45:00
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press

      MIAMI (AP) -- The reputed Latvian leader of an international gang who escaped from a prison in the Baltic state 10 years ago is in federal custody in South Florida, officials confirmed Monday.
      Vadims Liede, 36, arrested under the alias Rustan Hodjaev, is being held in the Federal Detention Center in Miami, said FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela. He faces federal charges of identity fraud, motor vehicle theft and conspiracy, she said.
      In Poland, Liede is charged with seven murders, multiple armed robberies and with heading an international gang, according to the Latvian news agency LETA.
      Liede had served one year of a 13-year sentence for organized crime at Parlielupe Prison in Jelgava, Latvia, when he escaped on June 1, 1993, with nine other inmates, LETA said. He is considered one of the most wanted fugitives in Latvia, LETA reported, and was the subject of an international manhunt by Interpol.
      The FBI confirmed Liede's identity through his fingerprints, Orihuela said.
      Dzintra Subrovska, spokeswoman for the Latvian prosecutors office, said Monday her office was preparing the documents to give to U.S. authorities to request Liede's extradition. She said he has also been charged with murder in Poland.
      Polish authorities said Monday they are aware of the arrest, according to the Polish Embassy in Riga, Latvia.
      Liede's attorney, Howard Schumacher of Fort Lauderdale, did not return a phone message Monday.
      According to a federal indictment, Liede drove from San Jose, California, to Miami in April or May 2002. He was allegedly part of an identity-theft ring that cheated companies out of $337,242 since July 2000.
      He has been in custody since being arrested under his alias on July 9, 2002, in Coral Springs on a trespassing warrant, said Coral Springs Police Sgt. Rich Nicorvo. Coral Springs is a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, north of Miami.
      On Oct. 15, the federal government charged him with fraud conspiracy, identity fraud and wire fraud.
      He and three co-defendants were accused of defrauding 10 South Florida car dealers, a rental car company and credit card companies.
      The group was accused of trading in stolen vehicles for lesser priced cars and getting cash for the difference using other people's driver's licenses and forged vehicle titles. The stolen cars included four late model BMWs stolen in the New York City area.
      Loans were granted by the dealerships based on credit reports run on the real people whose identities had been stolen.
      Trial is set July 28 for Liede and the alleged ringleader Adam Stettner. On plea bargains, co-defendant Richard Olin has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison, and Keith Kreider was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

Russia, Eastern Europe Most Attractive Expansion areas for merchandisers
PR Newswire Thursday, 2003. July 17. 9:25:00

      PLANO, Texas, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Russia and Eastern European countries provide the best opportunities for food and general merchandise retailers with international expansion plans according to management consulting firm A.T. Kearney's 2003 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), an annual ranking of retail investment attractiveness among 30 emerging markets.
      The GRDI helps retailers address the timing of international expansion by ranking emerging countries based on an analysis of economic and political risk, retail saturation level and the difference between gross domestic product growth and retail growth. The 30 countries are divided into three tiers based on their scores: countries retailers should enter immediately, countries to consider entering and countries to avoid entering at this time.
      Russia rose from the fourth position in the 2002 index to the top spot this year due to a combination of a strengthening economy, reduced inflation rate, limited number of modern retail store concepts, small quantity of international retailers and booming retail sector. Joining Russia on the list of countries food retailers should enter immediately were the Slovak Republic, China, Hungary, India, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Vietnam and Tunisia (see full ranking attached below).
      "Eastern European nations make up three of the top four slots on this year's index," said Jean Piquet, A.T. Kearney vice president and co-leader of the annual study. "The region's output is growing faster than the global average, most countries are expected to join the European Union before the end of the decade and the modern retail market is not saturated. This is the year to target expansion in these markets."
      Russia represents a particularly attractive investment opportunity according to A.T. Kearney. Forecasted inflation has dropped to 16 percent from 84 percent five years ago. Gross domestic product is growing between 4 and 5 percent annually. The country has the largest food market in Europe with many Russians spending as much as 80 percent of their income on food. In addition, the number of modern retail concepts and international competitors is extremely low for a country having 13 cities with more than one million inhabitants.
      Eastern European countries also heavily populate the middle third of this year's index, the countries retailers should be considering entering. Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Latvia and Ukraine represent five of the 10 "countries to consider" category. Both Slovenia and Latvia are new to this year's index. Only two Eastern European countries -- Poland and the Czech Republic -- were classified as "to be avoided" in 2003 by the study. This is due to economic and political challenges as well as rapid concentration in the retail sector in each country.
      Local Retailers Counter International Expansion
      International retailers are in the process of entering 12 new markets in 2003, a sharp decline from the 19 entered in 2002, according to the study. Local retailers in many countries are working to slow expansion by modernizing operations, identifying small chain acquisitions and expanding into new regions of their countries.
      China, which topped last year's index, dropped to third this year as eight global retailers entered the country and increased saturation. Also playing a role in the decline were efforts by local incumbents to solidify their positions through consolidation and alliances. Three Shanghai-based retailers combined operations into a joint holding company, Bailian, with US$8.4 billion in revenue and 4,000 stores across China. Similar consolidation and cooperation efforts in other countries are leading international retailers to step back and focus on reinforcing their existing bases.
      Although local retailers generally enjoy higher margins, delaying the international expansion of global retailers will not be sustainable in the long run. International retailers have the experience, buying scale, systems and cash flow to withstand the low levels of profitability that sometimes follow market entry, A.T. Kearney says.
      Countries experiencing significant drops on this year's index include Taiwan and Mexico, which both fell into the bottom third of the index and are considered "countries to avoid." Taiwan dropped from 11th in 2002 to 24th this year because of rapid growth of modern retail concepts in the country and heavy competition between already established foreign retailers. Mexico fell from 13th last year to 23rd because the strong presence of international retailers presents limited growth opportunities for new market entrants.
      U.S. Retailers Poised to Expand
      As they face slower growth at home, U.S. retailers are looking to international expansion and that is likely to shake up the international retail scene in the next year, A.T. Kearney predicts.
      "Increased competition and limited expansion opportunities domestically are forcing U.S. retailers to seek growth abroad," said Josh Chernoff, A.T. Kearney vice president and leader of its global Consumer Industries and Retail Practice. "With many developed markets in Europe and Asia already well saturated with international retailers from within these regions, U.S. retailers instead must look to emerging markets as their future expansion targets."
      U.S. retailers are greatly under represented on the international stage. No U.S. retailers rank among the top 15 in terms of sales outside their home markets and the two most global U.S. players, Wal-Mart and Costco, both have just 16-18 percent of their sales from international operations (compared with Ahold, a company with 85 percent of its sales coming from operations in 26 foreign markets). Most other U.S. retailers' international operations have been limited to neighboring Canada and Mexico. U.S. retailers have no presence in Eastern Europe or the Mediterranean belt.
      But Wal-Mart has committed to increasing its international sales to 33 percent of revenue in the next few years and Costco is looking to further expansion in Asia. Wal-Mart is particularly well positioned for international success due to its diversity of store formats, including supercenters, warehouse clubs and experimentation with small neighborhood groceries, effective use of technology and established processes for buying from local suppliers. In Mexico, for example, 90 percent of Wal-Mart's inventory is bought locally.
      Flexibility and Timing are Key
      A.T. Kearney's analysis indicates that in addition to managing the timing of market entry, flexibility of store formats also is essential to global expansion success. A.T. Kearney recommends retailers enter new markets with two types of store formats (hypermarket, supermarket, convenience, etc.) and be prepared to adjust emphasis if one format proves more successful. While hypermarkets are now the most popular format used by international retailers to enter new markets, the research shows no correlation between any type of format and international success.
      "Today the top 30 food retailers in the world are in 85 different countries, compared with just 15 countries 10 years ago," said Fadi Farra, A.T. Kearney manager and co-leader of the study. "Yet two out of three retailers don't meet their initial financial targets when entering developing countries. Flexibility and timing need to be higher on the agenda of global retailers as most don't consider these factors crucial for success."
      A copy of the GRDI report is available at http://www.atkearney.com/main.taf?p5,3,1,61
      ABOUT A.T. KEARNEY
      A.T. Kearney (www.atkearney.com ) is one of the world's largest management consulting firms. With a global presence that includes more than 60 offices in 37 countries, spanning major and emerging markets, A.T. Kearney provides strategic, operational, organizational and technology consulting and executive search services to the world's leading companies. A.T. Kearney is the high- value management consulting subsidiary of global services leader EDS.
      About EDS
      EDS (NYSE: EDS), the world's largest independent information technology services company, provides strategy, implementation, business transformation and operational solutions for clients managing the business and technology complexities of the digital economy. EDS brings together the world's best technologies to address critical client business imperatives. It helps clients eliminate boundaries, collaborate in new ways, establish their customers' trust and continuously seek improvement. EDS, with its management- consulting subsidiary, A.T. Kearney, serves the world's leading companies and governments in 60 countries. EDS reported revenues of $21.5 billion in 2002. The company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Learn more at www.eds.com .

2003 A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index
 
2003
Rank
Country 2002
Rank
Grade
1 Russia 4 72
2 Slovak Republic 2 71
3 China 1 67
4 Hungary 3 67
5 India 6 65
6 Turkey 9 64
7 Morocco 5 63
8 Egypt 10 63
9 Vietnam 7 59
10 Tunisia -- 59
11 Korea 14 58
12 Chile 8 58
13 Bulgaria 18 58
14 Slovenia -- 57
15 Philippines 26 57
16 Malaysia 22 57
17 Romania 20 57
18 Thailand 16 56
19 Latvia -- 56
20 Ukraine 12 56
21 South Africa 15 55
22 Czech Republic 23 55
23 Mexico 13 54
24 Taiwan 11 52
25 Venezuela 17 51
26 Indonesia 27 51
27 Hong Kong 21 50
28 Poland 24 49
29 Israel 25 48
30 Colombia 19 47

      Countries falling off 2003 index
      Peru, Argentina, Brazil
      About the study
      A.T. Kearney's Global Retail Development Index ranks 30 emerging countries on the urgency for retailers to enter the country. The scores are based on four variables: economic and political risk; modern retail area per 1,000 inhabitants (hypermarkets, supermarkets and cash and carry stores); number of international retailers in the country; and time pressure (difference or addition between gross domestic product and modern retail area growth).
      CONTACT:
      Douglas MacDonald -- A.T. Kearney
      (+1) 312-223-6892
      douglas.macdonald@@atkearney.com
      Web site:
      http://www.eds.com
      http://www.atkearney.com/main.taf?p5,3,1,61
      http://www.atkearney.com

Fuel oil washes up on heritage site in Baltic Sea
Reuters World Report Tuesday, 2003. July 15. 14:06:00
Copyright 2003 Reuters Ltd.

      ST PETERSBURG, Russia, July 15 (Reuters) -- Spilt fuel has washed up on Russia's Baltic Sea coast and is threatening new damage to the Curonian Spit, a fragile arc of sand listed as a World Heritage site, environmentalists said on Tuesday.
      Officials said the damage may have resulted from a tanker loaded with oil products that sank off Denmark in late May.
      A staging area for millions of migrating birds, the spit is a site of delicate sand dunes where people are forbidden to walk. It extends 98 km (60 miles) into the sea toward Lithuania.
      Alexei Milovanov of environmental group Ekozashchita based in Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad said visitors to the spit on Tuesday found it polluted by oil products which would be all but impossible to remove without serious damage to the spit.
      "The only way to clean it up is to remove the sand with it and if a lot of sand is removed, it increases the threat that it will be washed away, which is already happening," he said.
      Andrei Onishchenko, an official at Russia's Natural Resources Ministry, said the spill was probably from a Chinese tanker that sank in May off Denmark with fertiliser and fuel oil on board, but the precise source was yet to be identified.
      UNESCO, a U.N. educational, scientific and cultural body, says the area is under natural threat from wind and tide and efforts to protect it have been under way since the 19th century. It was made a World Heritage site in 2000.
      Milovanov said Ekozashchita estimated about 200 kilometres (125 miles) of coastline was polluted with about a cup of fuel oil per square metre.
      The Kaliningrad coast, home to three oil and product terminals, has been the site of several fuel oil spills in recent years but Onishchenko said this was the worst.
      The oil business came under public scrutiny in Kaliningrad after oil company LUKOIL said it was preparing to re-launch oil extraction at a platform in the Baltic near the Curonian Spit.
 

  Sports


Tour de France results [excerpt]
AP WorldStream Tuesday, July 08, 2003 12:27:00 PM
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press

      SAINT — DIZIER, France (AP) — Results Tuesday from the third stage of the Tour de France, a 167.5-kilometer (103.9-mile) route from Charleville-Mezieres to Saint-Dizier, with rider, country, team and time.
      1. Alessandro Petacchi, Italy, Fassa Bortolo, 3 hours, 27 minutes, 39 seconds.
      2. Romans Vainsteins, Latvia, Caldirola-So.Di, same time.
      3. Oscar Freire, Spain, Rabobank, same time.
      [...]
 

  Picture Album

Peters' favorite theme (we've mentioned we think it's genetic, judging by his father's photographs) is buildings past their prime which still echo their grander past. Riga, of course, offers an endless collection! For a change of pace, however, this picture, from our vacation just recently past, is from the end of the line of the #11 trolley, down at the lake behind the Riga Zoo. One of the many quiet and serene spots that can still be found in and around Riga.

Kisezers, at the western end of Riga
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