DAUGAVPILS, Latvia (AP) — Until recently, a display of old clocks, most of them silent and motionless on the wall, was a clear sign that time stood still at the Daugavpils Museum.
      The museum, located in one of Latvia's poorest cities, had barely enough money to pay its 30 employees, and it housed a roomful of relics -- old hats, an antique phonograph and black and white photographs showing a city that had seen better days.
      But in the wake of European Union membership and an optimism that life in the city of 110,000 will improve, residents are looking backward as they prepare to move forward, reminiscing and learning about its best-known former resident, artist Mark Rothko.
      An exhibition of 21 Rothko works is on view at the Latvian State Museum of Art in Riga and a new wing, the Rothko Hall, opened at the Daugavpils Museum displaying 41 copies of the artist's work to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.
      Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Russia, on Sept. 25, 1903, which is now Daugavpils, and his family moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1913. He died in 1970. His work is displayed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as well as museums in Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Spain.
      Recognized worldwide for paintings that often consist of stacked blocks of color, Rothko is credited with helping to define the abstract expressionism movement. But because modern American art was largely dismissed, if not ignored, by the Soviet Union, Rothko was virtually unknown in the city of his birth until the exhibition opened in September.
      Farida Zaletilo, the Daugavpils curator most responsible for Latvia hosting the current exhibition, was not aware of Rothko until his biographer, James Breslin, visited Daugavpils in 1992, a year after the country of 2.4 million residents regained its independence from the Soviet Union.
      Since then, Rothko has become something of an obsession for Zaletilo. Armed with photographs of Rothko's work glued to cardboard poster boards, she has been visiting area high schools in and around Daugavpils for the past three years telling students about the artist and his work.
      The lectures, she said, have sparked an interest in many students, but even those uninterested in art perk up when they hear how much his paintings are worth. One of Rothko's works -- " 9 (White and Black on Wine)" -- fetched nearly US$16.4 million at a Christie's auction last May.
      "Our whole city could live for one year on the money from the sale of one painting," Zaletilo said, laughing.
      She said it was difficult getting people to believe in her project, including the director of her museum. She sometimes had to hitchhike 195 kilometers (120 miles) from Daugavpils to Riga to work on the project because the museum wouldn't pay her US$10 roundtrip bus fare.
      But once she enlisted the help of the American embassy in Riga and Rothko's two children, Kate and Christopher, the project took off. They helped raise US$5,000 for the prints on permanent display now in Daugavpils.
      The display, said Zaletilo, has brought new life to the once empty museum. Before the new Rothko wing opened, the museum raised an average US$55-$70 a month, she said. But since September, the museum sometimes make that in a day.
      "Some time ago the museum was a dead zone — you could hardly find anyone walking around here," Zaletilo said. "Now an art club meets to discuss Rothko's works and foreigners are coming to visit the museum."
      The exhibit moves to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the end of November.

      COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Children from 16 European countries compete Saturday in the first Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
      Before a sellout crowd of 8,000 and millions more watching live on television, 31 children will be vying for the trophy and a title that promises international fame.
      The contest is a smaller version of one of Europe's best-known and most popular music events, the Eurovision Song Contest. The competitors are soloists, duos and bands, ranging in age from 8 and 15.
      "The winners gets a trophy and the honor," said Preben Vridstoft of the Danish Broadcasting Corp., Denmark's member of the European Broadcasting Union. "We said 'no' to letting them win an international record contract because children might not be ready for this."
      The two-hour, 7 million-kroner (US$108,000) show will be broadcast live to 100 million viewers across the continent and a taped version will be shown later in Canada, Japan and Australia.
      Organized by the EBU, the contest mimics the original Eurovision Song Contest, created in 1956, and best known for propelling Swedish pop stars ABBA to global stardom in 1974.
      Each country participating has lined up an act that will play an original song in their native language.
      The youngest contestant is 8-year-old Nicolas Ganopoulos of Greece, while the two oldest are Viktorija Loba of Macedonia and Dutch singer Roel. Both are 15.
      The 31 children represent Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Belarus, Latvia, the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, Poland, Norway, Spain, Romania, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Malta and the Netherlands.
      Like Eurovision, winners will be selected by viewers who call in.
      Unlike its elder cousin, though, the winning country won't automatically host the 2004 edition. Instead, Britain has already been selected in advance.
      "No country must put any pressure on the kids to have them win the contest so the country can promote itself afterward," Vridstoft said.
      A board member of EBU, which represents 71 public service broadcasters covering every European country, Vridstoft first organized a Danish junior song contest in 2001 and a three-nation Scandinavian contest in 2002.
      He suggested a European version to the EBU.
      "At first the European partners smiled when I told them about my idea about a Junior ESC," Vridstoft said. "But when I showed them tapes from the two contests, they were hooked."

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — A Latvian college student detained while traveling in Iraq could be released as early as this week, Latvian officials said Monday.
      "Our armed forces members met with him Friday and were pretty positive that he'd be let out and be able to reside among the Latvian troops there until they could find a way to get him out of Iraq and back in Latvia," Peteris Elferts, Latvia's ambassador-at-large to Iraq, told The Associated Press.
      Latvia, which backed the U.S.-war and occupation in Iraq, has more than 100 troops there.
      The student, Maris Bergholds, is in a prison camp near the city of Umm Qasr, which is in southern Iraq in an area of the country under British control. He was detained by Kurdish police Aug. 22 after seeking their help to retrieve his stolen camera.
      Latvian officials learned that Bergholds, a 23-year-old university student, was in Iraq after his mother received a letter from him Nov. 6. The letter, postmarked Sept. 22, was delivered by the International Red Cross.
      In his letter, Bergholds said he was being held because he may be considered a "foreign fighter."
      His mother, Regina Bergholde, said she was unsure why her son was being held, noting he had hitchhiked to the Middle East from Latvia this summer for a school project and that he wrote in an earlier August letter from Turkey that he intended to travel to a Kurdish area of Iraq.
      Latvian Foreign Ministry spokesman Rets Plesums said the government had issued warnings to Latvians about going to the Mideast, including Iraq.
      Dick Custin, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Riga, said occupation officials were aware of Maris' detention but had no further details.

      FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Ballooning budget deficits could push back adoption of the common euro currency for years in Poland and other Eastern European countries headed into the European Union next year, according to a report released Tuesday.
      The report, from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said Poland "urgently" needed to crack down on spending and said the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary this year won't get their deficits under the limit for membership in the euro.
      The bank said the formerly communist countries in eastern Europe are making good progress in the transition to capitalism and enjoy growing economies. That's a result of rising trade and also of more government spending -- much of it triggered by having to revamp everything from garbage pickup to meat inspection to meet the EU's 80,000 pages of regulations.
      But that spending — along with politically popular money for social benefits and job-preserving subsidies for industries -- mean these countries are still over the limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product imposed as the price of joining the 12-country euro, a key further step in blending their economies with those of richer Western Europe.
      "With fiscal deficits at high levels in the larger central European countries, and lack of action so far to remedy this, many of these countries may well require long transition periods before they can achieve accession to the euro zone under current rules," the bank said.
      The process of adopting the common currency takes several years even in the best circumstances.
      No country was singled out by name, but the report's section on Poland said that budget policy "urgently needs to be tightened" to reduce a deficit that grew to 6.7 percent of the entire economy last year.
      Lagging market reform could also hurt Poland's competitive position against other countries after it joins and trade barriers come down, the report said.
      Poland is also dragging on the selling off state enterprises — holdovers from Poland's years under communist central economic planning, the report said. The government reached only 44 percent of expected privatization revenue last year, and almost half of that came from just one deal, the sale of the Stoen power distribution company to Germany's RWE utility.
      In July, the government canceled plans to sell off the state's share in the Gdanska oil refinery, the country's second largest.
      The report acknowledged the government did move ahead with cuts in employment and subsidies in the money-losing coal industry. The industry employs over 200,000 people but the EBRD economists said that the cost of producing a ton of coal was 140 zlotys (US$36.10) per ton, while the export price is only 80 zlotys (US$20.60) per ton.
      "There's a certain amount of wastage and misdirected spending that will only go away if there's the political will to correct it," said EBRD economist Samuel Fankhauser, one of the report's editors, at a news conference. "Only political will get you there."
      The EBRD is an international financial organization owned by 60 member countries and devoted to promoting market economies and democracy in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
      The warnings follow criticism contained in a European Commission report earlier this month, which said the incoming countries need to speed up required reforms and singled out Poland for "serious concern" in nine regulatory areas.
      Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta and the Czech Republic are set to enter the 15-member union May 1.

      BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — NATO said Friday it is pushing ahead with plans to hold a summit meeting in Istanbul next year despite the spate of bomb attacks in the Turkish city over the past week.
      "There will be no change in plans," said a NATO official, who asked not to be identified.
      U.S. President George W. Bush had already indicated he plans to attend the summit of NATO leaders, scheduled for June 28-29.
      The summit will mark the formal entry of Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia into the Alliance.
      As well as the 26 members of the expanded NATO, leaders of 20 other nations are also expected at the summit, including Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet nations in Central Asia.
      Four bomb explosions in Istanbul over the past week have killed 50 people.

      WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) — President George W. Bush on Friday partially lifted restrictions on U.S. military aid to Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, rewarding key European allies in the war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq.
      Washington suspended military assistance in July to the six countries and many others for failing to shield Americans from the International Criminal Court. It was set up last year to try war crimes and acts of genocide.
      But in a memorandum issued by the White House, Bush said it was "important to the national interest of the United States" to waive the aid restrictions "for only certain specific projects that I have decided are needed" to support NATO's expansion as well as U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
      Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia have either deployed forces to Iraq or have committed to do so.
      The United States say it fears its nationals overseas could be vulnerable to politically motivated charges. The United States signed the 1998 treaty creating the court, but the Bush administration later rescinded U.S. backing.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — A Latvian college student, who was has been held by police in Iraq for three months, could be released later Sunday, officials said.
      Maris Bergholds would be freed when the Latvian government can arrange for someone to collect him at the Iraq-Kuwait border, said Peteris Elferts, Latvia's ambassador-at-large to Iraq. It could happen on Sunday, he said.
      Earlier, in an e-mail to The Associated Press, Lt. Col. Paul Young, a British officer in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, confirmed Bergholds' release had been approved. "I have been advised Mr. Bergholds has been approved for release today," Young wrote Friday.
      Bergholds, 23, who is being held in a prison camp near the city of Umm Qasr, wrote to his mother that he was detained by Kurdish police on Aug. 22 after seeking help to retrieve his stolen camera. The southern Iraqi city is under British control.
      In his letter, Bergholds said he was being held because he may be considered a "foreign fighter."
      His mother, Regina Bergholde, said she was elated that her son was being freed.
      "I believed all the way through that he wasn't guilty of anything," Bergholde told The Associated Press. "I don't know yet whether I'm going to spank him or kiss him. I'll probably hug and kiss him, though."
      According to Bergholde, her son hitchhiked to the Middle East from Latvia this summer for a school project and wrote in an earlier August letter from Turkey that he intended to travel to a Kurdish area of Iraq.
      The Foreign Ministry has issued warnings to Latvians about going to the Mideast, including Iraq.
      Latvia, which backed the U.S.-war and occupation in Iraq, has more than 100 troops there.

      LONDON (Reuters) — Deaths and new cases of HIV/AIDS reached unprecedented highs in 2003 and are set to rise still further as the epidemic keeps a stranglehold on sub-Saharan Africa and advances across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
      New global estimates released Tuesday based on improved data show about 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, including an estimated 2.5 million children under 15 years old. About five million people were infected in 2003 and more than three million died.
      "The AIDS epidemic continues to expand — we haven't reached the limit yet," said Dr Peter Piot, head of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
      "More people have become infected this year than ever before and more people have died from AIDS than ever before," he told Reuters. "It is the first cause of death in Africa and the fourth cause of death worldwide."
      BURDEN OF EPIDEMIC
      Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst affected region with about 3.2 million new infections and 2.3 million deaths in 2003. Southern Africa is home to about 30 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS, yet the region has less than two percent of the global population.
      In Botswana and Swaziland the infection rate of HIV/AIDS among adults is 40 percent. One in five pregnant women in some African countries is infected with the virus, which is more easily transmitted from men to women than the other way around.
      "In two short decades HIV/AIDS has tragically become the premier disease of mass destruction," Dr Jack Chow, of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a news conference.
      "The death odometer from HIV/AIDS is now at 8,000 a day and accelerating."
      Piot said the epidemic, fueled by intravenous drug use and unsafe sex, is spreading in India, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia. And he predicted that it could be years before the back of the epidemic is broken in terms of new infections.
      "The burden of the HIV epidemic will become bigger and bigger over time because it takes on average seven to 10 years after infection before you fall ill and, if there is no treatment, before you die," he said.
      "In other words, even if by some miracle all transmission of HIV stopped, people would still become ill. We are only at the beginning of the impact of AIDS, certainly in Africa."
      REASONS FOR HOPE
      But Piot added that the "AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2003" report also provides hope. There are fewer people being infected in several East African cities and there is also more money than ever being spent on AIDS.
      "Thirdly, there is also a momentum on treatment, even if today only 75,000 Africans -- less than one out of 50 who need it -- are treated with effective therapy. There is now movement to roll out this treatment on a very large scale," he added.
      In a major boost to combat the epidemic, South Africa has announced a plan to provide free antiretroviral drugs to hundreds of thousands of infected people.
      Other African countries are also committing resources.
      "You can't be dealing with education. You can't be dealing with poverty and you can't be dealing with security today without taking the HIV/AIDS epidemic into consideration," said Dr. Debrework Zewdie, the director of the World Bank Global HIV/AIDS program.
      Piot described the developments as a new phase in the fight against AIDS and a time of great opportunities.
      "We need to be as passionate about making sure our children do not become infected with HIV as about treating people who are already infected today," he said.

      TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The three ex-Soviet Baltic republics will draft a joint condemnation of communism, saying they want to go on the historical record denouncing the ideology before they join the European Union next May, an official said Thursday.
      "This is a point of principle," said Ave Mellik, spokeswoman for the Estonian Justice Ministry, which has taken the lead on the declaration. "We want to send a clear message about communist crimes that occurred here. EU countries need to understand what happened as well."
      Communist systems were imposed on Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania after the Red Army invaded in 1940. Tens of thousands of purported opponents of the new regime were executed or deported in the years that followed. The Baltics only regained independence during the 1991 Soviet collapse.
      Mellik said the declaration was also meant to signal backing for the idea of paying compensation to surviving victims. All three Baltic nations have said Moscow should help foot that bill, which could run into billions of euros, though Russians have balked at the suggestion.
      Baltic justice ministers plan on meeting in Tallinn, Estonia's capital, to begin drafting the communique, though it wasn't expected to be completed for several weeks, Mellik said.
      Baltic leaders have long complained that Western Europeans never fully appreciated the scale of oppression in the ex-Soviet Union and Eastern Europe -- and have expressed dismay at Communist parties in Italy and France that, they say, sometimes appear to romanticize Soviet rule.
      "But this declaration is not directed at them and they shouldn't be offended," Mellik said. "How can they object to us condemning crimes against human beings?"

      WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Estonia is allied with Poland against a shake-up of voting power in the expanding European Union, its foreign minister said Monday, arguing that the current system is "clearer" for small nations.
      Poland has joined with Spain to oppose a realignment of voting rights worked out in Nice, France in 2000 which gave considerable influence to medium-sized nations.
      "Estonia's position is that we would prefer the Nice system of voting because it is a much clearer proposal for small countries, like Estonia," the Baltic nation's foreign minister, Kristiina Ojuland, said after talks with her Polish counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.
      Cimoszewicz said that both nations also wanted every EU nation to have a commissioner on the EU's executive -- a key demand of several smaller countries.
      A draft constitution to govern decision-making in the 25-member union would redistribute votes in closer relation to population -- a move critics say will give too much influence to bigger countries such as Germany and France.
      Negotiations on the constitution are to be concluded next month.

      RIGA, Nov 15 (Reuters) — Latvia stunned Turkey with a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Euro 2004 playoff on Saturday, edging closer to their first major championship.
      Turkey, surprise World Cup semi-finalists last year, were outplayed for long stretches of the game and now face a tough task in Wednesday's second leg in Istanbul.
      That task will be made even harder as they will be without defender Emre Asik, who was sent off after 73 minutes for elbowing Latvian striker Vits Rimkus, and keeper Rustu Recber and defender Fatih Akyel who both picked up yellow cards.
      "This is an historic win for the Latvian team," a beaming coach Aleksandr Starkovs said.
      Latvia attacked from the off and Maris Verpakovskis forced a scrambling save from Recber after seven minutes.
      But the lively Verpakovskis was not to be denied and he scored the decisive goal after 29 minutes, turning past Asik and calmly chipping the ball over Recber.
      Turkey finally began to apply some pressure in the final 15 minutes and came close to snatching an equaliser when Emre Belozoglu's powerful diving header hit the post four minutes from time.
      Sour Turkish coach Senol Gunes said he still expected his team to reach next year's finals in Portugal.
      "During practice, everything seemed okay, but the weather today clearly affected the way we played -- we're not used to this kind of weather," he said of the near-freezing conditions at the Skonto Stadium.
      "We couldn't control the game apart form the last stages. "It was a poor pitch and the referee tried to spoil the game."
      Starkovs said his side will be equally dangerous in the second leg in Turkey.
      "In Turkey, we'll probably play differently, relying on fast counter-attacks, using players like Verpakovskis," he said.
      Before the start of the game the players observed a minute's silence in a mark of respect for those killed in car bomb attacks at two synagogues in Istanbul earlier on Saturday.

      SIGULDA, Latvia (AP) — Results Sunday from a World Cup luge meet:
      Men
      Singles
      1. Armin Zoggeler, Italy, 1 minute, 38:385 seconds (49.130-49.255).
      2. Rainer Margreiter, Austria, 1:38.579 (49.287-49.292).
      3. Markus Kleinheinz, Austria, 1:38.622 (49.298-49.324).
      4. David Moller, Germany, 1:38.663 (49.370-49.293).
      5. Kaspars Dumpis, Latvia 1:38.716 (49.304-49.412).
      6. Albert Demtshenko, Russia, 1:38.739 (49.323-49.416).
      Doubles
      1. Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, Austria, 1:26.493 (43.178-43.315).
      2. Christian Oberstolz and Patric Gruber, Italy, 1:26.570 (43.227-43.343).
      3. Tobias and Markus Schiegl, Austria, 1:26.776 (43.465-43.311).
      4. Gerhard Plankensteiner and Oswald Haselrieder, Italy, 1:26.841 (43.401-43.440).
      5. Sebastian Schmidt and Andre Forker, Germany, 1:27.021 (43.492-43.529).
      6. Lubomir Mick and Walter Marx, Slovakia, 1:27.043 (43.436-43.607).
      — — —
      Women
      1. Silke Kraushaar, Germany, 1:26.452.(43.284-43.168).
      2. Sylke Otto, Germany, 1:26.579 (43.297-43.282).
      3. Veronika Halder, Austria, 1:26.955 (43.525-43.430).
      4. Anna Orlowa, Latvia, 1:27.030 (43.571-43.459).
      5. Sonja Mazenreiter, Austria, 1:27.236 (43.702-43.534).
      6. Anke Wischnewski, Germany, 1:27.348 (43.814-43.534).

      ISTANBUL, Nov 19 (Reuters) — Latvia scored two late goals in a 2-2 draw away to Turkey in their European Championship playoff second leg on Wednesday to seal a place at next year's finals.
      The Latvians, who shocked the World Cup semi-finalists with a 1-0 victory in Riga on Saturday, clinched their first appearance in the finals of a major international tournament when Maris Verpakovskis equalised in the 77th minute.
      "We've created a sensation in Europe. Turkey were favourites and I'm very happy that we won," said Latvia coach Aleksandrs Starkovs, who singled out Verpakovskis for special praise.
      Latvian Football Federation President Guntis Indriksons told state television: "This is the greatest achievement in Latvian football history, and the result of years of hard work."
      Turkey, who dominated the match, took the lead in the 21st minute with an exquisite long-range effort from striker Ilhan Mansiz and added a second through Hakan Sukur after the break.
      But two minutes later Jurijs Laizans latched on to a free-kick to get Latvia back into the tie after 66 minutes.
      One Latvian player celebrated the goal by grabbing a corner flag and making the motion of gunning down his team mates.
      The celebrations prompted the crowd to rain down plastic bottles and coins on to the pitch in an incident that is sure to be investigated by European soccer's ruling body UEFA.
      Verpakovskis sealed the aggregate 3-2 victory 11 minutes later, running into the penalty area and beating Turkey keeper Omer Catkic with a right-footed lob under pressure.
      The fiercely partisan Turkish crowd booed their players off the pitch while applauding Latvia. They also chanted for the resignation of coach Senol Gunes.
      Latvia had few chances in a match dominated by the playmaking skills of Nihat Kahveci on the right and Tumer Metin on the left, the latter setting up Turkey's first goal with a pinpoint cross.
      However, Turkey created few scoring chances as the Latvians defended in force and striker Hakan Sukur looked out of sorts, failing to control a series of passes from midfield.
      "Our tactics were successful. We played counter-attacking football," Starkovs said. "The Turkish crowd for their part were great. They applauded us... That doesn't happen everywhere."
      A jubilant Starkovs said it was too early to discuss his team's chances in next year's finals in Portugal.

      RIGA, Nov 20 (Reuters) — Latvia's players and coach were still in a state of shock and disbelief on Thursday after upsetting World Cup semi-finalists Turkey to grab a place in the Euro 2004 finals.
      "I cannot believe it, and I don't know how to act," coach Aleksandr Starkovs told reporters as he arrived home to the Baltic nation of 2.3 million people.
      "I've told the boys jokingly that I guess they want me fired since they raised the target so high," Starkovs, hailed as a tactical genius for his counter-attacking strategy, added.
      Large crowds greeted the team at Riga airport after they returned from Istanbul, having drawn 2-2 on Wednesday to go through to the finals 3-2 on aggregate.
      Defender Mihails Zemlinskis added: "We still don't understand what's happened. This needs to sink in." The politicians joined in the party after fans had celebrated into the small hours of Thursday morning.
      President Vaira-Vike Freiberga said the result was a "wonderful, unique and dazzling" performance by her "golden boys."
      Latvia's Prime Minister Einars Repse said it was perfect timing after the ex-Soviet republic's independence day celebrations on Tuesday.
      "This is not only a historic moment for Latvia and European football history, but also a great gift on its birthday of independence," he said.

      LONDON (AP) — Odds announced by bookmaker William Hill on Thursday after UEFA released the list of seedings for the European Championship. The draw is Nov. 30 in Lisbon:
      France 100/30
      Italy 11/2
      Portugal 6/1
      England, Spain 7/1
      Netherlands 8/1
      Czech Republic 9/1
      Germany 14/1
      Sweden 20/1
      Denmark 33/1
      Greece 50/1
      Bulgaria, Switzerland, Croatia, Russia 66/1
      Latvia 200/1