Apr 10, 2002 (Interspace/PBI Media via COMTEX) — [excerpted]:
      5 degreesE:
      Sirius 2/3
      Latvia has a new satellite earth station capable of uplinking 30 [digital] channels to the Sirius satellites. NSAB are the owners of the new Skyport facility located in the country's capital Riga.

      WASHINGTON (AP) — An 18-foot model of the Titanic is getting its first public display to commemorate Sunday's 90th anniversary of the night the great steamship struck a massive iceberg in the northern Atlantic.
      Eight Russian craftsmen in Riga, Latvia, worked full time for five years to build it, said Gary Kohs, president of Fine Arts Models. That's three years more than it took to build the original, according to the National Geographic Society, which is putting the model on exhibit.
      Kohs has a passion for precision.
      "You can read the lettering on the light bulbs, but it takes a magnifying glass," Kohs said.
      Considered unsinkable, the White Star Line's Titanic was four days into its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, when it scraped against a mammoth iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, 1912. Within 2 1/2 hours, the ship had sunk and taken 1,522 of the 2,227 people aboard to their deaths.
      Robert Ballard, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, who is credited with finding the wreck, dismissed any idea of raising it.
      "Not a chance," he said. "The bow is sunk in 70 feet of soft mud. It broke in two amidships, and the stern has blown away."
      Ballard has been working on exploration of the Black Sea, where four 1,500-year-old wooden ships were found two years ago. He's looking for evidence of a great flood, possibly linked to the story of Noah's ark, the society says.
      Ballard said he someday wants to look for the cruiser Indianapolis, which delivered the parts for "Little Boy," the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan in 1945. A Japanese submarine sank it four days later. A model of the Indianapolis is one of the 16 in the show.
      The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 2 at the National Geographic's Explorers Hall. Admission is free.
      —
      On the Net: National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com
      Titanic facts and figures: http://www.ocean-liners.com/ships/titanic.asp

      PRAGUE, April 11 (Reuters) — European Union Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen warned on Thursday Ireland's failure to ratify an EU enlargement treaty could delay the bloc's expansion into post-communist Europe.
      Ireland is to hold a second referendum on the Treaty of Nice this year, after a first vote last June failed.
      "We need the Treaty of Nice for the conclusion of the (accession) negotiations. That is a must, otherwise a delay would be inevitable," Verheugen told journalists during a visit to the Czech Republic, one of 10 former ex-communist candidates.
      The Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia all hope to join in 2004.
      Mediterranean countries Cyprus and Malta are also expected to be included in the expansion, while Romania and Bulgaria are expected to be left waiting.
      The Irish vote against the treaty showed opposition to its terms, not EU enlargement.
      The Irish government has said it plans to vote again on the Nice Treaty, which makes reforms the European Union says are needed to admit more states, before the end of 2002.
      But opponents predict the treaty could be rejected by even more than the 54 percent against in the first referendum.
      Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said calling the referendum hinges upon whether the EU guarantees Irish military neutrality would not be jeopardised by ratification. He wants the Union to agree this at a European Council meeting in Seville in June.
      "Given the fact strong majority of the Irish people is very much in favour of enlargement, I think it should be possible to make it clear in Ireland that the Treaty of Nice is the precondition for the successful conclusion of the accession negotiations," Verheugen said.
      Treaty critics said the declaration the government plans to obtain in Seville is not enough to guarantee Irish neutrality and the government should insist upon a binding protocol exempting Ireland from contributing troops to the 60,000-strong EU Rapid Reaction Force.

      RIGA, April 12 (Reuters) — Latvia's January-February foreign trade deficit rose versus the same period last year as import growth outpaced a rise in exports, the statistics office said on Friday.
      The office said in a statement total January-February imports rose an annual 9.8 percent while exports increase just 4.2 percent, worrying trend for a country's whose biggest economic headache is a burgeoning current account deficit.
      Total exports in the first two months of the year amounted to 202.2 million Latvian lats ($319 million) while imports amounted to 329.5 million lats. This produced a deficit of 127.3 million lats, a rise from the 106 million lat shortfall reported for the year-ago period.
      The European Union remained the top region of destination for exports, accounting for 60.8 percent of all exports, although the total volume fell three percent year-on-year.
      Picking up the slack somewhat was the CIS, which accounted for 9.6 percent of total exports, and helped the total volume of exports rise 11.2 percent.
      Latvia's current account deficit hit a 10.1 percent of gross domestic product in full year 2001 -- and was a worrying 18 percent of GDP in the fourth quarter.

      ROME (Reuters) — Russia and NATO have reached a "historic agreement" on the creation of a new council giving Moscow a say in decision-making on important NATO security issues, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Friday.
      The accord will be formalized at a NATO meeting in Iceland in mid-May and then signed by heads of state in Italy at the end of next month, Berlusconi told a news conference.
      "The historical nature of this event is that it is the first step toward the total integration of the Russian Federation into the Atlantic alliance," he said.
      Both President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to attend the Italian signing ceremony, U.S. officials said in Washington.
      "A NATO-Russia summit, in the president's opinion, would highlight the new relationship that has been developed between Russia and the West, between Russia and NATO as well as the United States of course," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
      The new joint council will enable Russia to sit as an equal partner with the other 19 NATO nations and help formulate policy on specific security issues.
      Berlusconi's office said the deal was clinched during phone calls Friday between Berlusconi, Putin, Bush and NATO Secretary General George Robertson.
      "It will no longer be a case of 19 countries plus one, as it was before when NATO's 19 member states took a decision and then told the Russian Federation. We will be creating an organism that includes the Russian Federation together with the other countries," Berlusconi said.
      "PRE-COOKED"
      Moscow has long complained that it has no real voice in the existing forum for consultations between Russia and NATO, the five-year-old Permanent Joint Council, because decisions are "pre-cooked" by the 19 allies.
      The plan for the new joint council grew out of a decision by Putin to align his country unambiguously with the international alliance against terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
      However, talks to set up the new forum had hit problems with Moscow pushing for a more robust relationship that could challenge the very nature of the 53-year-old alliance.
      Italy did not say how the differences had been overcome but officials said Berlusconi had managed to negotiate a settlement. The Italian prime minister met Putin in Russia earlier this month and has been in regular contact since.
      "I believe this is a success for our diplomacy, a success for the West and gives me a particular satisfaction because it rewards my efforts," Berlusconi said Friday.
      A meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Reykjavik on May 14-15 will rubber stamp the accord, Italian officials said, adding that the fact the signing ceremony would take place in Italy was recognition of Rome's deep involvement.
      The 19-member NATO Western security alliance is expected to issue membership invitations to as many as seven countries from post-Communist Europe at a Prague summit on November 21-22, some of them sharing borders with Russia.
      Experts say the most likely candidates for early membership are the three Baltic republics, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- as well as Slovakia, provided elections in September return a pro-Western government, and Slovenia.
      Berlusconi said he was delighted that an accord had been reached with Russia before the enlargement process got underway.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Latvia's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Imants Daudiss, has died in Riga of an apparent heart attack. He was 56.
      Once a middle-ranking communist official, Daudiss joined Latvia's drive for independence from Moscow in the late 1980s. He served as ambassador to Russia from 1997-2001 and began his posting in London last September.
      He was elected to the Saeima parliament after the Baltic state regained independence during the 1991 Soviet collapse.
      In a written statement released Monday, Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga paid tribute to Daudiss, who died in the Latvian capital the day before.
      "A man of trust, courage and patriotic feelings, he was one of the brightest diplomats of his country," the president said.
      Daudiss is survived by his wife and a daughter.
      Foreign Ministry spokesman Vilmars Henins said a replacement for Daudiss hasn't been named.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — The Baltic affiliates of Andersen Worldwide have signed a memorandum of understanding with Ernst & Young to merge their operations, the accounting firms said Monday.
      The merger follows similar moves in other countries since U.S.-based Arthur Andersen LLP was accused of obstruction of justice relating to the bankrupt energy giant Enron Corp.
      "This has everything to do with Enron and the damage it's done to the Andersen name," said Per Moller, managing director of Andersen for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
      The merged company will keep the Ernst & Young name and will have about 250 employees and annual revenues of approximately $10 million, Moller said. He added that the merger should be completed within a month.
      Arthur Andersen has been indicted on a federal charge of obstruction of justice for destroying Enron-related documents after the Securities and Exchange Commission started investigating the company.

      Apr 24, 2002 (HART'S EUROPEAN OFFSHORE PETROLEUM NEWSL/PBI Media via COMTEX) — Offshore exploration companies will have a second chance to consider acreage in the Baltic Sea with the launch of a new licensing round by the Latvian government this summer.
      Plans are underway to make available by the summer acreage with favourable licence terms, which include a sliding royalty rate of between 2%-12% and corporation tax at up to 22%.
      A first offshore licence was awarded to Amoco with a local company in 1996 while a non-exclusive prospecting licence for survey work had also been issued to TGS-Nopec. The government has been keen to extend exploration since then. The new round enlarges the territory available and includes virtually all of Latvia's Baltic Sea acreage.
      Work has been underway within the Latvian Development Agency and the State Geological Survey to improve exploration terms.
      Potential licence holders will also be able to review the exploration and production licence terms in future, the state has promised.
      An announcement of the round is expected next month, via the official newspaper, Latvijas Vestnesis.

      BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) — Russian-born Indra Devi, known to followers as the "First Lady of Yoga" who taught Hollywood how to stretch its limbs in the 1940s, died at 102 Thursday in Argentina, her home for the past 17 years.
      Born in Riga in 1899, Devi went to India in 1927 drawn by its spirituality and 10 years later was admitted to an ashram to study a discipline previously almost closed to women.
      She opened the first U.S. yoga studio in California in 1947 and introduced the ancient Oriental practice, which blends strenuous physical stretches with spiritual balance, to stars like Gloria Swanson and violinist Yehudi Menuhin.
      Her popular books "Forever Young," "Forever Healthy," "Yoga for Americans" and five others are credited with helping spread "hatha" yoga, which emphasizes the physical exercises popular with stressed-out urbanites all over the world.
      The teacher died early in the morning of ailments "brought on by old age. She went in peace, without suffering at all," said David Lifar, head of the Indra Devi Foundation in Buenos Aires which she set up on moving to Argentina in 1985.

      RIGA, April 30 (Reuters) — Latvia's parliament on Tuesday approved constitutional changes cementing the role of the Latvian language in elected bodies, a move key ruling parties hope will ease the way for legislation needed for NATO entry.
      Though the move completes the banishment of Russian from parliament, it is aimed, together with further legislation, to ease criticism of discrimination against Latvia's big Russian minority.
      Until now, the role of Latvian as the exclusive language of parliament and municipal governments was not set out in the constitution but in practice this was already the case.
      Parliament approved the constitutional amendments in a 72 to 15 vote, which was the third and final one.
      The bill is aimed at diminishing nationalist opposition to the scrapping of another law under which ethnic Russians -- roughly a third of the 2.4 million population -- have to prove they speak good Latvian before standing in elections.
      Western nations had called the law discriminatory and NATO officials have indicated its removal should help Latvia's bid to join the alliance in November.
      Language is an extremely sensitive issue for the Baltic state, which emerged in 1991 from five decades of Soviet occupation during which Russians were encouraged to move here.
      Many Russians, who account for about one-third of the 2.4 million population, have not learned Latvian and say the election law deprives them of their political rights.
      The new legislation should mean that ethnic Russians will be eligible for election even if they do not speak Latvian -- but would then need to learn the language to follow proceedings.

      RIGA, April 30 (Reuters) — Latvian Prime Minister Andris Berzins asked his welfare minister to resign on Tuesday, his office said, risking a row with an important ruling partner as elections loomed this autumn.
      Berzins's spokesman, Arnis Lapins, said there were two main reasons -- that the premier accused Welfare Minister Andrejs Pozarnovs of falling behind on reforms and "the ministry's handling or rather mishandling of state real estate management in one particular case."
      "The prime minister is ready to submit materials about this case to the prosecutor's office," Lapins said. He did not elaborate.
      A spokesman for Pozarnovs's Fatherland and Freedom party said the minister had agreed to step down but denied any wrongdoing.
      "He sees the prime minister's criticism as part of the pre-election campaign of his party -- of which he is also the chairman," the Fatherland spokesman said.
      The Fatherland spokesman said the party would wait 48 hours for an explanation by Berzins before deciding what to do. He did not say whether the party was considering resigning from the cabinet government over the row, which would strip Berzins's government of its majority on parliament.
      With a general election due on October 5, Berzins's main remaining legislative goal is to liberalise the state election law, which human rights experts say discriminates against the country's large Russian-speaking minority by requiring that political candidates prove they can speak Latvian.
      The law is an obstacle to Latvia's goal of winning an invitation to join NATO, which is expected to issue invitations at its summit in Prague in November.
      Berzins is trying desperately to push through the changes before a May meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Reykjavik.
      Fatherland is opposed to liberalising the law — although it favours NATO membership -- so its leaving the government would probably not change the balance of votes.
      Latvia hopes to wrap up negotiations to join the European Union by the end of this year so it can take part in the bloc's 2004 expansion.

      Apr 30, 2002 (WENN via COMTEX) — [at the top of the list]
      -Latvia spends $2,189 (GBP1,563) annually on feeding each dog in its security force - and $1,282 (GBP915) on each soldier's food.

      PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) — The presidents of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia -- three Baltic states who were formerly part of the Soviet Union -- arrived in Prague Thursday to voice their hopes of joining NATO later this year.
      Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberg, the president of Estonia, Arnold Ruutel, and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus arrived in Prague some six months ahead of a NATO summit meeting to be held in the Czech capital in fall.
      During the Nov. 21-22 summit, NATO is expected to send membership invitations to selected eastern European countries.
      In addition to the three Baltic countries, NATO officials are considering offering membership to Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria in an expansion that will take the alliance's frontiers to within a few hundred miles of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
      NATO membership would be a vital strategic move for the Baltic states, once part of the Soviet Union.
      "Our nations know what it is like to lose freedom, but they also know how it feels to regain it," Vike-Freiberg said. "We intend to defend our freedom in the future."
      Apart from meeting with Czech President Vaclav Havel, the three leaders are scheduled to join a round-table discussion organized by Radio Free Europe before returning home or continuing their separate programs.
      "There are many good reasons for the three Baltic states to join NATO," Havel said. "They share the same values (as other NATO members) and are a natural geographic part of the alliance."
      Responding to Russia's criticism of NATO's eastward expansion, Havel defended the process as a historical necessity.
      "It would not be good to postpone admission of countries that meet the necessary criteria (for NATO membership) just because somebody does not like the idea," Havel said.
      "That would remind me of...the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact," he added.
      In 1939, then Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav M. Molotov and Nazi German's Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop signed a pact under which they agreed not to attack one another, and in a secret addendum, to partition Poland.

      RIGA, May 6, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX) — The Lithuanian National Food and Veterinary Bureau decided on Monday to impose a ban on beef import from Poland, following an announcement by the Polish Department of Agriculture last Saturday that the first BSE-infected cow had been found in that country.
      The Polish Veterinary Bureau confirmed last week that the first case of the so-called mad cow disease had been discovered in a farm in southern Poland, and the area affected had been closed off.
      The director of the Lithuanian National Food and Veterinary Bureau said meat processing factories in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, had imported 88 tons of meat from Poland so far this year.
      The other two Baltic countries, Estonia and Latvia, have not made similar decisions.

      LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) — Following are some of the major events to have occurred on May 15 in history:
      1934 — Karlis Ulmanis seized dictatorial power in a coup in Latvia.

      May 08, 2002 (New World Publishing via COMTEX) — The governments of Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have placed a ban on Polish beef following reports of a case of BSE, or mad cow disease, in Poland. During a meeting yesterday the Polish government decided to appoint a committee to monitor and take action against BSE cases in Poland. The committee will be headed by Deputy Minister Jaroslaw Kalinowski. Poland does not import beef, while export is kept at a steady rate of 50,000 to 60,000 tons per year, 30,000 tons of which constitutes live cattle exported to European Union, while the rest, beef and beef products, are exported to countries of the former Soviet Union. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2) K.S.

      WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Sunday praised the Senate's passage of a bill endorsing NATO's expansion and providing dlrs 55.5 million in security assistance for seven countries seeking admission to the alliance.
      "This vote is a strong show of support for NATO enlargement, one of the president's priorities for the NATO summit in Prague this November, and an essential element of a Europe whole, free, and at peace," according to a White House statement.
      The 19-nation alliance is holding a special summit in the Czech Republic in November to consider expansion.
      President George W. Bush is expected to discuss NATO expansion during a European trip he begins this week that includes a NATO-Russia summit in Italy.
      The countries receiving security assistance are all considered top candidates for admission. They are: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
      The House has already approved the bill, which now awaits Bush's signature.

      MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday criticized Latvian officials for putting 79-year-old former Soviet partisan Vasily Kononov on trial again on charges of committing war crimes.
      Kononov was sentenced in 2000 to six years in jail for allegedly ordering the execution in 1944 of nine civilians, including a pregnant woman, whom he suspected of Nazi sympathies.
      In April 2000, Latvia's Supreme Court ordered Kononov to be released from jail, saying it questioned some of the evidence against him. Prosecutors requested a retrial, which began Monday.
      The killings occurred during the Nazi occupation of Latvia, when Kononov led a small band of pro-Soviet partisans. He claimed that the civilians got caught in the cross fire of a battle between partisans and Nazis.
      "The Russian position on this politically motivated case is well known," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It accused certain groups in Latvia of trying to "rewrite history and the outcome of World War II."
      Moscow will closely follow the trial and offer assistance in Kononov's defense, the statement said.
      Russia had sharply criticized Kononov's earlier conviction. Many Russians consider him a legitimate war hero, and Russian President Vladimir Putin granted him Russian citizenship in April 2000.
      Russia's human rights ombudsmen Oleg Mironov appealed Monday for Latvia to release Kononov into Russian custody, Interfax news agency reported.
      "This gesture of good will on the part of Latvia would become a good impetus for the further development of friendly relations between our countries," Mironov said.
      Latvia was independent before being annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. After the 1941-44 Nazi occupation, the Soviet army returned, remaining there until the Baltic state regained independence after the 1991 Soviet collapse.
      During World War II, many Latvians ended up fighting for either the Nazis or Soviets, often after being conscripted.

      TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Eurovision Song Contest title stays in the Baltics for another year after Latvia won the event Saturday in a closely fought competition with Malta that went down to the very last vote.
      The three hour extravaganza — one of the pop music events in Europe -- was held in the former Soviet Baltic republic of Estonia, which won last year.
      Estonia was the first ex-communist state ever to host the annual show, which is watched by as many as 300 million television viewers.
      Marie Naumova — an established jazz singer with a law degree — won for Latvia with a funked-up, Latin-tinged song called "I Wanna."
      The 21-year-old singer, whose stage name is Marie N, said she was thrilled but overwhelmed by the win.
      "I'm very happy and very nervous and I don't quite understand what is happening at the moment," said Naumova, a member of Latvia's large ethnic Russian minority. "I wasn't expecting this. Not first place."
      Latvia, as Estonia the year before, appeared to benefit from strong backing from its many neighbors. It won the highest possible points, 12, from Estonia.
      Singers representing 24 countries, from Slovenian transvestites to a Russian boy band, battled it out on stage before 7,000 flag-waving fans in Tallinn, the capital.
      The winner was selected by television viewers who called special hotlines. Only those in participating nations could vote, and they couldn't cast ballots for their own country's entrant.
      Latvia's victory in the 47th Eurovision came down to the last vote -- cast by viewers in the third former Soviet Baltic neighbor Lithuania. Latvia won with 176 points, while Malta had 164.
      Euro-sophisticates mock Eurovision for its perky, saccharine tunes, but millions in and around Europe have come to love -- and love to hate -- the event.
      Estonia, a Baltic Sea coast nation of 1.4 million, won the right to host the event when its entrant, Dave Benton and Tanel Padar, triumphed in Copenhagen last year.
      Estonia welcomed the chance to stage the 122 million kroons (dlrs 7 million) event to raise its profile and boost tourism. All three Baltic countries have sought to orient themselves to the West since regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
      The technically complicated show — the largest and costliest production by far in Estonian Television's history -- went off without a glitch.
      Sweden's ABBA was propelled to international fame after it won with "Waterloo" in 1974; other previous contestants include Celine Dion and Julio Iglesias. But most Eurovision winners fade into obscurity.
      One of last year's winners Dave Benton said the victory opened a few doors for him, including a record contract. But his advice to Naumova was to find a good lawyer and not start dreaming of being the next ABBA.
      "Winning Eurovision alone is not it. It's what you do afterward that counts." he said.
      — — —
      On the Net:
      Contest site, http://www.eurovision.tv

      TALLINN, May 25 (Reuters) — A singer from the Baltic nation Latvia danced to the rhythms of far-off Latin America on Saturday to win the Eurovision song contest, the event that propelled the Swedish group ABBA to fame nearly 30 years ago.
      "Marie N," the 21-year-old jazz singer and law graduate Marija Naumova, kept the Eurovision title in the Baltics for a second straight year and had the 6,000-strong live audience dancing and clapping along with her Ricky Martin-esque "I Wanna."
      Naumova won with 176 of the votes in the 47th edition of the annual contest, cast by judges in the participating 24 countries, edging second-place Malta by just 12 points. Estonia and Britain shared third place with 111 points each.
      It was Latvia's first Eurovision title and a surprise to industry pundits. The Estonia-based City Paper English language magazine was among the only media outlets that had tipped "I Wanna" as this year's winner.
      A survey of European book makers had predicted Sweden would win, followed by Germany and Britain.
      "Tonight I'm going to drink. Tomorrow I'm going to go to Riga and hold a press conference, and then I'm going to drink again," an elated Naumova told a news conference.
      An estimated 160 million people worldwide turned the television sets to the show, which was hosted by last year's winner Estonia, Latvia's northern neighbour on the Baltic coast.
      KITSCH-AND-GLITZ
      Many deride Eurovision as a kitsch-and-glitz TV extravaganza -- Slovenia's entry was a trio of transvestites who dress as flight attendants, and Russia's boy-band entry offered lyrics including, "Northern girl Lady Ice. How can I melt you baby?"
      But loyal followers take it seriously and laud it as a gateway to fame for the likes of ABBA, who won in 1974 with their hit "Waterloo."
      Surprised at the second Baltic state victory in two years and by a disappointing 17-point showing by Germany's Corinna May, who had been considered a favourite, a German reporter asked Naumova, "What are we doing wrong?"
      "Maybe you need to just forget about winning and just (concentrate) on what you're doing on stage," said Naumova, who attributed her win partly to her flamboyant stage show.
      Regional alliances often play a part in the contest.
      Naumova's victory was sealed only when votes were recorded from the final country -- which happened to be Lithuania, Latvia's southern Baltic neighbour.
      Naumova, a member of Latvia's large Russian-speaking minority, is popular at home among all ethnic groups and speaks five languages fluently.
      Russia has often accused Latvia of discriminating against Russian speakers, but Naumova said her victory was for all people in Latvia.
      "I consider myself first and foremost as a human and I don't think nationality matters."

      May 29, 2002 (HART'S EUROPEAN OFFSHORE PETROLEUM NEWSL/PBI Media via COMTEX) — Latvia has set a deadline of 30 August for bids for pre-investigation and prospecting in the Baltic Sea which it says offers the prospect of up to 250m tonnes (1.8 Bn bbl) of oil.
      Non-exclusive licences are being offered and a second deadline of 30 October has been set for applications for three oil production licences.
      Licences to explore 19,700km (12,234 miles) of Latvian territorial waters will cost 2,000 lats (E3,475/US $3,200), will be valid for two years and can be extended for up to five years.
      Three 30-year extraction licenses are available 75,000 lats (E130,500/$120,000) and cover areas ranging from 10km (6.25 miles).
      Latvia's round comes after three years of preparation. Maija Vimba, director of the economy ministry's oil and gas industry division, says bidders should not be concerned about a maritime border conflict with southern neighbour Lithuania. He emphasised that all exploration is due to take place 10km (6.2 miles) away from the border zone, avoiding the potential for conflict.
      Royalties have been set between 2-12%, depending on the extraction rate, said Vimba. Last month TGS Nopec acquired a license to survey most of Latvia's territorial waters after a previous tender.

      TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Officials and activists on Friday called for greater public awareness about trafficking in women for prostitution in nations around the Baltic Sea -- saying the trade has boomed since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
      "We want this problem to be on the agenda," Carita Peltonen, a leading Finnish women's activist, said at a three-day conference devoted to the topic that ended Friday. "If there is political will, you can end this business."
      The gathering in Estonia's capital, Tallinn, was attended by 300 delegates from the Nordic and Baltic countries. It was organized by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the ministries of health from the three ex-Soviet Baltic republics.
      The Nordic Council and Baltic leaders earlier this year launched a 1.7 million Danish kroner (dlrs 200,000) campaign aimed at education -- including of women in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania about the pitfalls of prostitution.
      The regional sex trade usually involves poorer women from the Baltics or nearby Russia going to the richer Nordics to serve as prostitutes -- transit made possible when the Iron Curtain came down more than a decade ago.
      Swedish Minister for Gender Equality Affairs Margareta Winberg said that each year 500 prostitutes are brought into Sweden alone -- mostly from the Baltics and Russia; before 1997, she said there was little trafficking.
      Thousands of sex tourists from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark also travel to the Baltics and Russia to use prostitutes. Finns account for 50 percent of those paying for sex in Estonia, according to the Estonian Health Ministry.
      Between 1-4 million women and children have been lured or coerced into the sex trade internationally, said Gunilla Ekberg, coordinator for the regional education project, dubbed the Nordic-Baltic Campaign Against Trafficking Women.
      Worldwide, she said, the business generates some dlrs 7 billion annually.
      Peltonen said the trade in women can be more lucrative than the trade in narcotics.
      "A drug you use once and it's gone," she said. "You can use a woman until she dies."
      There's not complete unanimity about how to combat prostitution. Laws around the Nordic region vary, for instance, with Sweden implementing strict prohibitions on buying sex and Denmark legalizing some forms of prostitution.
      Legalizing prostitution "is a way of giving up and bowing to pressure from the international sex industry," Winberg argued. "I'm convinced these nations won't be able to effectively deal with trafficking."