RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Latvia's largest political party, New Era, demanded on Monday that the country's integration minister resign for not taking more active role in preventing several student protests against the country's plans to require ethnic Russians to be taught primarily in Latvian.
      Krisjanis Karins, New Era's parliamentary chairman, told reporters on Monday his party would file a petition next week demanding that Nils Muiznieks resign.
      Karins said his party blamed Muiznieks for not doing enough to stem a series of recent protests by Russian-speaking students angry about a school reform plan that will require them to take at least 60 percent of their classes in Latvian starting in September.
      The most recent protest on May 1, the day Latvia joined the European Union, drew about 30,000 Russophones and was the largest protest since the Baltic state regained independence amid the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
      "The mess that has developed surrounding the education reform is only worsening integration, and Muiznieks has been inactive in his duties," Karins said.
      But the reform was drafted by the New Era-led government of former prime minister Einars Repse and overwhelmingly approved by the parliament.
      Muiznieks said New Era's call for his resignation was nothing more than an attempt to test the current government's resolve.
      "I think they're basically testing the stability of the government and posturing in the run-up to the European Parliament elections," Muiznieks told The Associated Press. "I think it's funny that New Era would place the blame for the education ministry on me, since they have the prime minister and education minister responsible for the reform in their party."
      As societal integration minister, Muiznieks' is charged with helping to integrate the nearly one-third of the 2.3 million Latvians who are native Russian speakers into society.
      Karins on Monday also called for the center-right government to step down because it lacked a legislative majority with just 46 of 100 seats and was too reliant on left wing parties to pass legislation. But Karins did not say his party would call for a vote of no confidence.
      Emsis' government drew 56 votes when it was approved in March, but the left-wing deputies who gave it that majority are not a part of the government and not committed to supporting it on any policy issue.
      One left wing party that voted in favor of an Emsis-led government, the People's Harmony Party, called a press conference on Monday to say that Emsis had not delivered on promises he made them and that his government could ignore their party at its own peril.
      The current government is the 11th since Latvia regained independence amid the 1991 Soviet collapse. The country's parliaments have tended to be badly fragmented, leading to unstable coalitions.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Latvia's foreign ministry on Wednesday said it refused to issue an entry visa to a Russian foreign ministry official, but didn't say why.
      Mikhail Demurin, the deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's second European department, was refused entry to Latvia on Tuesday. He had been invited to attend a conference in the capital, Riga, by the Baltic Forum, a Latvian think tank.
      "I can confirm it is true but we otherwise have no comment," Latvian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Rets Plesums said.
      The Latvian foreign ministry routinely denies entry visas to Russian politicians it sees as agitators. In the past, it has denied entry to Duma deputy Dmitry Rogozin and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of Russia's ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party.
      Alexander Vasilyev, the Baltic Forum's director, said that refusing entry to a government official is unprecedented and may be part of an ongoing diplomatic row between Latvia and Russia.
      "We are very surprised because Mr. Demurin has taken part in our conferences over the past three or four years and there has never been any problem," he said.
      The Latvian government expelled a Russian embassy official from Latvia in April for allegedly spying, prompting Russia to retaliate by expelling a Latvian official from Moscow.
      Latvia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and joined the European Union in May.

      OSLO, Norway (AP) — Orkla Foods, part of Norway's Orkla ASA Group, said Wednesday that it agreed to buy Latvian food producer SIA SPILVA.
      The terms of the deal for the privately held Latvia-based company weren't released.
      Based in Riga, SIA SPILVA has annual sales of Ç10 million (US$11.9 million) and employs 180 workers. The company produces vegetables, ketchup and other tomato-based sauces, along with mustard, remoulade and desserts as well as jam.
      Most of its products are exported to neighboring Lithuania, Estonia and Russia.

      VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, in a rare show of public anger, blasted local food vendors on Wednesday for raising food prices after the Baltic state joined the European Union last month.
      "Rapid price growth has resulted not from objective reasons but by some merchants' speculative behavior," he said in an interview on national radio.
      The prices of bread, milk, beef and sugar have gone up by as much as 5-10 percent since March, the national statistics agency reported Wednesday, citing fears ahead of joining the EU that prices would skyrocket.
      The agency said prices have remained consistent and kept pace with estimates. But many residents in the new EU members -- Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia -- were concerned about prices going up when they joined the bloc on May 1.
      Lithuania's state competition council has been asked to investigate whether merchants may be colluding with each other to bump up prices.
      But merchants dismissed the speculation, calling market conditions and supply and demand for the rise in prices and rising fuel costs.
      "In the last two weeks, I've paid 30 percent more for gas than I used to," said Vyas Jonkus, who owns a dairy product shop in the capital, Vilnius. "When transportation costs rise, so do the prices on other goods."
      Others have claimed that Lithuania's membership in the 25-state bloc have made it more profitable for the country's farmers to sell their produce and beef abroad for higher prices. That, officials have said, would likely result in higher costs for consumers at home.
      "With the exports increasing, there's fewer amounts left for the local market, so they get more expensive," said Ramunas Vipisauskas of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute.
      Consumer prices were expected to grow by 0.9 percent in May, the biggest jump since 2001, the statistics agency said, reversing the trend of lower prices before EU membership.

      MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday criticized Latvia's decision to refuse an entry visa to a Russian diplomat, calling it an "openly unfriendly step."
      "It must be stated that lately in its statements and activity, the Latvian government has demonstrated an increasingly deliberate aim to aggravate relations with Russia," the Foreign Ministry said.
      Latvia, as a new member of both the European Union and NATO, is proving "unprepared to be guided by the principle of developing a partnership between Russia and the European Union and NATO," the Foreign Ministry said.
      Russia's Mikhail Demurin, the deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's second European department, was refused entry to Latvia on Tuesday. He had been invited to attend a conference in the capital, Riga, by the Baltic Forum, a Latvian think tank. The Latvian Foreign Ministry confirmed the denial, but refused to say why.
      The Latvian foreign ministry routinely denies entry visas to Russian politicians it sees as agitators. In the past, it has denied entry to Duma deputy Dmitry Rogozin and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of Russia's ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party.
      Last month, the Latvian government expelled a Russian embassy official from Latvia for allegedly spying, prompting Russia to retaliate by expelling a Latvian official from Moscow.
      Latvia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and joined NATO in April and the European Union in May. Relations between Russia and Latvia have long been strained.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — In a move that could open old wounds and bring new secrets to light, Latvian lawmakers decided to make public thousands of files left behind by the KGB amid the 1991 Soviet collapse.
      Lawmakers in the Saeima, or parliament, voted 78-9 late Wednesday to open the files and extend a ban on those listed in them from seeking office for another 10 years. Two members abstained and 11 didn't vote.
      "This will remove an unnecessary veil of secrecy from these files," Maris Grinblats, a lawmaker with the center-right For Fatherland and Freedom party, said Thursday. "I think it's doing more harm than good being closed from the public."
      But most of the files that show who worked with the KGB during the Soviet occupation, and whom they tattled on, are long gone. Those files were whisked back to Moscow when the agency left Latvia in 1992.
      "The files are incomplete," said Indulis Zalite, director of the Center for the Documentation of the Consequences of Totalitarianism, which oversees the documents. "Eighty-five percent of the names contained in the files were not involved in anti-political activities,"
      "We have the files of active agents in 1991 — the Gorbechev-perestroika time," he said. "These are not the people responsible for the bloody period of the 1940s and 1950s."
      The parliament's legal affairs committee plans to meet next week with experts, including Zalite, to decide who can see the nearly 4,000 files remaining and how to protect people's privacy.
      While the law is set to take effect next month, analysts say it could be amended before then.
      Since 1994, Latvians could see their own files, if they existed, but the contents were made public only if they ran for public office or sought a job in law enforcement. If someone was found to have connections to the KGB they were banned from running or employment.
      Politically, past KGB involvement has been a career killer. Two lawmakers, Juris Bojars and Janis Adamsons, saw their careers end in 1993 and 2000, respectively, after their files showed they worked with the KGB.
      Although Latvia recently joined the European Union and NATO, starting a new chapter in the country's history, most Latvians remain resentful of the five decades of Soviet occupation they endured and of those tied to it.
      Zalite said the files contain only the names of agents active in 1991 and where and when they were recruited, but they don't say if a person was an active member or just being watched.
      He said the files should remain sealed for as long 50 more years until those named have died.
      Another concern is that some of the files contain the names of government informants in the fight against organized crime.
      "I will never sign any agreement to open the files if I'm not certain that any innocent person is under threat, and I can see that more than one is in a very dangerous position now," said Zalite. "What do they do? Change their name and move to another country?"
      Some lawmakers who voted in favor of opening the files are urging caution, too.
      Oskars Kastens, a representative with Latvia's First party, said the country should follow the route used in neighboring Estonia and Lithuania in dealing with the files.
      In those countries, ex-agents were allowed to declare their KGB affiliation to national security agencies to avoid having their names publicized.

      STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Lithuanian government regulators signed a deal with OM HEX Friday to sell the national stock exchange and central securities depositary for Ç3.1 million (US$3.7 million), pushing the Swedish company closer to its goal of creating an integrated pan-Nordic and Baltic stock exchange.
      OM HEX operates northern Europe's biggest securities market and offers investor access to 80 percent of the Nordic and Baltic equity markets through its ownership of exchange operations in Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Tallinn, Estonia; and Riga, Latvia.
      Shares of OM HEX were up half a kronor to 96 kronor (US$12.62) in trading on the Stockholm exchange Friday morning.
      The company had made no secret of its ambitions to expand into Lithuania and in March competed against a joint bid by Euronext and the Warsaw Stock Exchange for the Lithuanian government's 55 percent-stake in the Vilnius exchange.
      With the deal signed Friday, OM HEX has more than 80 percent of the exchange's shares, along with 32 percent of the securities agency.
      An OM HEX spokesman said the company plans to buy the remaining shares in the Lithuanian exchange this year.
      "We hope to move ahead quickly with the integration of the NSEL and CSDL in order to deliver benefits to the Lithuanian securities market participants," OM HEX deputy chief executive Jukka Ruuska said.
      OM HEX was created through the merger between OM and HEX during 2003. It has two divisions: HEX Integrated Markets division, which operates the stock exchanges; and OM Technology, which makes trading systems and provides technology-related services to financial and energy markets around the world, including Hong Kong and Italy.
      The company employs nearly 1,700 workers.
      OM HEX doesn't own the stock exchanges of Norway, Denmark and Iceland but is part of the Norex alliance with them. Under that body, the exchanges share the same trading system and some costs. So far, OM HEX hasn't indicated any interest in taking over the Oslo, Copenhagen or Reykjavik stock exchanges.
      — — —
      On the Net:
      OM HEX: http://www.omhex.com

      NEW YORK (AP) — Russia and other former Soviet countries outside the Baltics lag far behind most of Europe in political reforms, a pro-democracy nonprofit group said in a report Monday.
      The European Union's recent expansion to include 10 new members, eight of them in eastern Europe, highlights a "widening and worrisome democracy gap," said the report issued by Freedom House.
      "The enlargement of the European Union on May 1 formalized a new divide between the stable, democratic nations of Central Europe and the Baltics and the weaker post-Communist states that continue to lag behind in key areas of democratic development," it said.
      The group's annual "Nations in Transit" study, which analyzes transitions during 2003 in 27 post-communist countries plus Kosovo, tracks progress and setbacks in six categories: electoral process; civil society; independent media; governance; constitutional, legislative and judicial framework; and corruption.
      Russia's ratings declined in the greatest number of categories (5 out of 6), followed by Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Ukraine (4 out of 6 each).
      "The longer-term outlook for democracy in the non-Baltic former Soviet states remains bleak," the report said.
      The overall lack of progress toward democracy in these nations suggests "a growing resistance or unwillingness of government leaders to push forward with positive changes," it said.
      Russia, in particular, is "headed in an increasingly authoritarian direction" and has failed to "lead by example in the region, where its influence remains pervasive."
      Russian President Vladimir Putin's policies "have sought to centralize power, leaving little room for a vibrant civil society, independent media, or political opposition," it said.
      The eight former communist countries that joined the EU in May — Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia -- held their position as the highest-ranking countries in the study, showing strongest overall performance in the six categories.
      The majority of ratings improvements were confined to countries in the Balkans, notably Bosnia and Macedonia.
      Western leaders "must press slow-to-reform governments harder for tangible improvements in securing basic rights, promoting free and independent media, supporting the rule of law, and introducing effective and transparent governance," Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor said in a press release.
      Freedom House, founded more than 60 years ago, is a nonprofit organization with offices around the world that aims to promote democratic values such as human rights, free markets and an independent media. It is partly funded by the U.S. government and supports U.S. involvement in global affairs.
      — — — — —
      The study is available online at: www.freedomhouse.org/research/nattransit.htm
      Country-by-country summaries are available at: www.freedomhouse.org/research/nitransit/2004/summary2004.pdf

      MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's Foreign Ministry lashed out at Latvia's parliament on Tuesday in the latest example of tension between the uneasy neighbors, criticizing legislation it claimed was aimed at forcing native Russian speakers to seek Latvian citizenship or leave the country.
      In a statement, the ministry took Latvia's parliament to task for approving a clause in a citizenship bill under which people gaining permanent residency in other countries could be deprived of the status that allows them to live in Latvia.
      The ministry said the clause, part of a bill that has been approved by parliament but needs the president's signature to become law, would discriminate against some 475,000 people with "non-citizen" status in Latvia -- mostly native Russian speakers with roots in Russia, Ukraine or Belarus.
      If the bill becomes law, a non-citizen who gains the right to permanent resident status in another country after it goes into effect could lose non-citizen status in Latvia, and would have to apply for permanent residency in Latvia if they wanted to return to live and work there.
      "Not even speaking of the absurdity in European practice of the very idea of a "non-citizen," we see the ... decision as a continuation of discriminatory practices by the Latvian authorities toward a significant portion of the population," the Russian statement said.
      It said the message behind the proposed legislation is, "Be Latvian or leave for Russia."
      "We are firmly convinced that such repressive measures will neither resolve the problem of mass lack of citizenship in Latvia nor sever the ties of compatriots with their historic homeland," it said.
      A main goal of the legislation is to spur non-citizens to be naturalized. Parliament eased Latvia's strict naturalization laws at the urging of Western governments and organizations a few years ago, but authorities say people have been slow to take advantage of the changed laws.
      Russian speakers — mostly ethnic Russians — make up more than a third of Latvia's 2.3 million residents. Relations between Russia and Latvia have been strained since the Baltic nation gained independence in the 1991 Soviet breakup after five decades under Moscow's rule.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Iraqi Culture Minister Mofeed al-Jazaeri said Monday that Latvia's help ahead of the hand over of power from the Coalition Provisional Authority next month will help his country rebuild itself, including the tracking of human rights abuses under Saddam Hussein and protecting its archeological past.
      "Some might think the help Latvia is giving is small and maybe it's not a lot when compared to what some other countries give," al-Jazaeri said Monday. "But obviously this help that Latvia is giving is very significant and we view this as an introduction to a much longer cooperation between the two countries."
      Al-Jazaeri arrived in Latvia, which has 122 soldiers stationed in Iraq, on Saturday to meet with several government officials and discuss the Baltic state's role in a United Nations-sponsored program to share their expertise in areas like archaeological preservation, banking and finance, parliamentary reform, and the documentation of political repression.
      Gabriele Kohler, head of the United Nations Development Program in Latvia, said the country's experience in rebuilding after it emerged from five decades of Soviet rule can be used for Iraq, too.
      The program began two weeks ago when two preservationists with Iraq's culture ministry went to Latvia to learn about photogrammetry, a method of documenting archaeological finds. They will return to Iraq on Thursday to begin training their colleagues.
      Latvian archeologists used the technology successfully on a recent expedition to the Temple of Karnak in Egypt, said French architect Bruno Delandes, an expedition member overseeing the training of the two Iraqi preservationists.
      Through UNESCO, and with Czech funds, al-Jazaeri said the culture ministry expects to receive a complete photogrammetry station, which costs about US$30,000.
      The Latvian government last May allocated 55,000 Lats (US$102,000) to help rebuild Iraq. A portion of that money was used to bring the two preservationists to Latvia for training.

      MOSCOW (AP) — Russia may ratify the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty this summer, a prominent legislator said Tuesday.
      Mikhail Margelov, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of parliament, said that the lower house might ratify the 1999 treaty in late June and the upper house could follow suit in early July.
      Margelov, who spoke after parliamentary hearings on the treaty in the lower house, the State Duma, said that the parliament could introduce some conditions for ratification.
      For instance, he said the ratification could be made contingent on a formal pledge by the Baltic nations to join the treaty. Ratification documents could also outline conditions under which Russia could unilaterally withdraw from the agreement, Margelov said.
      The treaty regulates the deployment of military aircraft, tanks and other heavy non-nuclear weapons around the continent. An amended version of the treaty was signed in 1999 to reflect changes since the Soviet breakup, but has not been ratified.
      Moscow has been pressing the ex-Soviet Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which joined NATO in March, to commit to the treaty, saying that their failure to do would threaten Russia's security.
      NATO has linked ratification of the treaty to Russian troop withdrawals from the former Soviet republics of Moldova and Georgia. Moscow, which has dragged its feet on the pullout, says that its pledge to withdraw its forces from Georgia and Moldova is separate from the treaty.
      During the hearings, Yevgeny Buzhinsky, a deputy chief of the Russian Defense Ministry's international relations department, warned lawmakers that Russian ratification of the CFE treaty could strengthen NATO's call for the Russian military pullout from Georgia and Moldova.
      Nevertheless, a Foreign Ministry representative and top lawmakers present at the hearings supported swift ratification.
      Konstantin Kosachyov, the head of the Duma's foreign affairs committee, said Russia's ratification of the CFE would help "strengthen our demand for NATO's quick ratification of the treaty."

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — A nuclear reactor in this Baltic state will be decommissioned and its uranium sent to neighboring Russia under the auspices of a new U.S. program to stem the availability of material that could be used in dirty bombs, officials said Tuesday.
      Andris Salmins, director of the Latvian Radiation Safety Center, said that Latvia's Salaspils Nuclear Reactor will have its waste nuclear fuel removed as part of the US$450 million Global Threat Reduction Initiative unveiled last week in Vienna by U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.
      The Salaspils nuclear reactor, located 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of the capital, Riga, was built in 1961 during the Soviet occupation of Latvia for research into highly enriched uranium. It has never been used to generate energy.
      The facility was closed in 1999 after the government decided it was obsolete, but the plant's decommissioning, including the removal of its nuclear waste, has been put off several times because of a lack of money to pay for it.
      Under the U.S. plan, Salmins said Latvia will only pay a small percentage of the costs of removing the spent fuel. He said the decommissioning is expected to done by 2010.
      Latvia will pay for the fuel to be stored in Latvia and then shipped to Russia.
      The United States, Salmins said, will pay for the transportation of the fuel inside Russia and for its storage and recycling there.
      He said the complete cost of decommissioning and removing the uranium could range between US$10 million-US$20 million, but said the figures were initial estimates.
      Since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, concerns have mounted that terrorists might be trying to acquire material for a so-called dirty bomb -- a device that uses conventional explosives to spread low-level radioactive material over several city blocks.

      BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — The European Union hinted at retaliation Thursday after being jolted by a Russian decision to suspend imports of meat from Europe, potentially disrupting Ç1.3 billion (US$1.6 billion) in annual trade.
      The uproar came just two weeks after a celebratory EU-Russia summit, at which the EU gave its long-sought blessing to Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization.
      "This kind of behavior is not behavior one would expect from a potential WTO member," said Reijo Kemppinen, chief spokesman at the EU's executive commission.
      "We insist that ... these restrictions are given up and difficulties overcome immediately," he added, calling the suspension "unnecessary and unjustified."
      Russia began Tuesday blocking all beef, pork and poultry imports, insisting that the 25 EU countries use a uniform veterinary certificate issued by the commission. At least 11 EU countries have already reported problems: Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, France, Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria and Latvia.
      Currently, although inspection standards are agreed in Brussels, the certificates are handed out by national authorities and Kemppinen said any changes would require rewriting EU law.
      Moscow initially intended to impose the restriction May 1 — when the EU expanded to take in 10 new members, most of them former Soviet satellites -- but extended the deadline by a month during talks between Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and European Commission President Romano Prodi.
      Kemppinen said the EU was "surprised and disappointed" that the restriction was imposed while those talks were continuing and suggested Moscow was motivated by something other than a desire to safeguard the food supply.
      "We don't see anywhere any scientific or substantial basis for these measures, which then implies that the reasons have to be elsewhere," he said. "If they are political ... we certainly hope that they will tell us so."
      Russian media suggested the step was linked to Moscow's desire to encourage a shift -- already underway -- from European imports to domestic producers and cheaper suppliers in former Soviet republics like Belarus and Ukraine that have little chance of ever joining the EU.
      Asked whether the EU was considering retaliation, Kemppinen said it would confine its response "for today" to political pressure.
      "We are confident that facing this political reaction the Russians will comply," he said. But he also noted: "They do have agricultural imports to the European Union," including eggs, milk and meat.
      Anticipating problems, some Polish producers sold larger-than-usual quantities of meat to Russia ahead of May 1 and are waiting for now to see how the problem will be resolved. Meat accounted for 13 percent of Polish food exports to Russia in the first quarter of 2004.
      "Polish meat producers do not lose from lower exports to Russia because importers from other countries, especially from the EU, line up for Polish meat," said Lidia Oktaba, commentator for the Rzeczpospolita daily in Warsaw.

      BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Russia has agreed to allow imports of meats from the European Union again, reversing a decision that had jeopardized trade worth $1.6 billion and jolted relations with the 25-member bloc, an EU spokesman said Friday.
      European Commission President Romano Prodi reached the agreement during a phone conversation with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov late Thursday, EU spokesman Reijo Kemppinen said.
      He said EU officials were awaiting word from Fradkov's office confirming that Russian border and health authorities had lifted the restrictions on beef, pork and poultry imports.
      "The prime minister accepted our views and promised the Russian government will stop these restrictions and will allow trade on food stuffs to continue freely from here on," Kemppinen told reporters.
      In Moscow, the Russian Agriculture Ministry said it had no information on the deal.
      Russia began blocking all beef, pork and poultry imports on Tuesday, insisting that the 25 EU countries use a uniform veterinary certificate issued by the commission. At least 11 EU countries reported problems with their meat exports to Russia: Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, France, Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria and Latvia.
      Although inspection standards are agreed in Brussels, the certificates are handed out by national authorities.
      The dispute posed a potential disruption to nearly $1.6 billion in annual trade.
      Commission officials told EU ambassadors Friday that without a quick resolution, they were prepared to call for "retaliatory measures in a short period of time," such as suspending favorable tariffs on Russian imports to the EU.
      Russia and the EU set a deadline of the end of the September to resolve Russia's concerns about the EU's veterinary certificates on meat imports.
      "The EU applies very strict measures and high standards to ensure the safety of the food we consume and the food we export to Russia," Kemppinen said.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — A Latvian soldier was killed in Iraq, a Defense Ministry spokesman told The Associated Press Tuesday, marking the first time the small Baltic state has suffered a casualty there since joining the U.S.-led coalition.
      "I can confirm that a Latvian explosive ordnance specialist, while trying to disarm a bomb with other coalition soldiers, has been killed. We are still investigating the incident to try to find out how it could have happened," Latvian Defense Ministry spokesman Ivars Grinbergs told AP Tuesday.
      The soldier, who wasn't identified, was killed while on an operation to remove mines with a team of Polish and Slovakian soldiers. Three Slovaks and two Poles were also killed in the explosion Tuesday at a massive munitions dump near the city of Suwariyah, southeast of Baghdad
      A spokesman for the Latvian military, Uldis Davidovs, could not immediately say when the last time a Latvian soldier died while on active duty, but Grinbergs said this was the first time a Latvian soldier has died while serving as part of an internationally led mission.
      Latvia, which joined NATO last month, currently has 116 soldiers stationed in Iraq, most of whom are serving alongside Polish troops, and 11 soldiers serving with a German medical contingent in Kabul, Afghanistan.
      The Baltic state of 2.3 million people regained independence amid the 1991 Soviet collapse. Since then it has firmly allied itself with the United States and the European Union, which it joined in May.
      Governments in the Baltics, including Estonia and Lithuania, have been outspoken supporters of U.S. policy in Iraq, all three dispatching forces last summer. Estonia has about 45 soldiers in Iraq, while Lithuania has around 90. An Estonian soldier was killed by a makeshift bomb while on patrol near the Abu Graihb market in February.
      Many Latvians oppose their country's role in the occupation of Iraq and the death of the Latvian soldier on Tuesday could prompt debate about whether Latvia should scale down its presence in Iraq or end it entirely.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Latvians were saddened Tuesday after one of their soldiers was killed in Iraq, the first since the Baltic state joined the U.S.-led coalition, and debate flared whether the country should remain part of the international force.
      The victim, 35-year-old 1st Lt. Olafs Baumanis, was killed with along with three Slovakian and two Polish troops while defusing old mines and bombs at an Iraqi munitions dump. He was the first Latvian soldier to be killed on an international peacekeeping mission.
      "I want to express my deepest condolences to the family of the soldier who passed away," Latvian Prime Minister Indulis Emsis said. "Unfortunately, this is what happens in war, and the Latvian stance toward Iraq is not going to change."
      Latvia, which joined NATO in March, has 116 soldiers serving in Iraq and nine in Afghanistan.
      News of Baumanis' death rekindled debate in this Baltic country of 2.3 million people about whether Latvian soldiers should be serving in Iraq.
      Governments in the Baltics, including Estonia and Lithuania, have been outspoken supporters of U.S. policy in Iraq, all three dispatching a combined 250 troops last summer. Since then one Estonian has been killed, along with the Latvian killed Tuesday.
      But strong government support for the mission in Iraq does not accurately reflect public opinion, which, according to an April survey conducted by the Latvian polling firm Latvijas Fakti, is decidedly against Latvia being there.
      "I think we should do what Spain did when Madrid was bombed and bring our soldiers back to Latvia," said Svetlana Cirule, a 21-year-old studying economics at the University of Latvia. "Otherwise, al-Qaida will look on a map and point to Latvia and say 'They're next.'"
      Many center-right politicians in Latvia said the death won't change their view.
      "We are a nation that has gone through many wars and we know well the costs of war," said Artis Pabriks, head of the parliament's foreign affairs committee. "On the other hand we have committed to helping the coalition bring Iraqis their freedom."
      Oskars Kastens, a lawmaker with the Latvia's First party, said Latvia should weigh the decision to pull its troops carefully.
      "I don't think it would be a good idea to follow the Spanish example, for it's obvious that them pulling out hasn't made the situation safer," Kastens told The Associated Press. "But if the Polish government decides to pull its troops out of Iraq I think it would be a clear signal that we should do the same."
      The three left-wing parties in the Saeima, or parliament, opposed to Latvian involvement in Iraq since the outset, said they may call upon the center-right government to withdraw its troops as early as this week.
      Just last week, Baltic defense ministers said they had no plans to withdraw the soldiers.
      Latvia regained independence amid the 1991 Soviet collapse. Since then it has firmly allied itself with the United States and the European Union, which it joined in May.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — The Latvian Culture Ministry shut the doors to one of the country's most treasured landmarks and popular tourist attractions, the Dome Cathedral in Riga, after architectural preservationists deemed it in danger of collapsing, a ministry official said Wednesday.
      Built in the 13th century, the red brick Dome Cathedral has long dominated the Riga city scape and has grown to become the largest place of worship in the Baltics. It houses one of Europe's largest organs, with 6,768 pipes, and concerts at the cathedral draw thousands of tourists each year.
      But preservationists say the 8,000 sq. meter (86,112 sq. feet) cathedral is unsafe and Latvian Culture Minister Helena Demakova ordered it closed until several structural problems can be repaired.
      Two of the eight columns supporting the cathedral's roof have 10-12 meter (yard) cracks in them and there is evidence that the ground beneath on of them is unstable, French architect Bruno Deslandes, who conducted a three-month assessment of the cathedral, said Wednesday.
      "We have a lot of significant structural problems," he said. "If the column collapses, the whole roof will, too."
      Besides the faulty columns, said Deslandes, the cathedral's roof is also supported by rotten wooden beams and there are sections insulated with asbestos.
      Fixing the cathedral's faults will be costly, said Deslandes, and could exceed 8.5 million Lats (US$16 million). It could take as long as eight years to completely fix.
      Gunda Ignatane, a Culture Ministry spokeswoman, said Demakova has already begun lobbying the Latvian and Riga city governments for the funding because, she said, the cathedral is one of Latvia's most cherished landmarks.
      "This church a really big part of Latvia's identity," Ignatane said. "When we think about Latvia, we think about this church."
      Last year, more than 100,000 tourists visited the Dome Cathedral, so closing the cathedral at the beginning of the summer tourist season will undoubtedly come at some cost to the Latvian state and the Latvian Lutheran Church, the cathedral's joint owners. But Deslandes applauded Demakova's swift decision to shut its doors.
      "I cannot guarantee the column will collapse and I can't guarantee it will not, but I feel more secure taking this preventative measure and closing the building," he said.

      THE PARLIAMENT:
      The European Parliament — created in 1952 as part of the European Coal and Steel Community, the forerunner of the EU -- aims to provide a democratic balance within the EU's organization that is dominated by the unelected European Commission.
      It has two homes: in Strasbourg, France, and Brussels, Belgium. Its members are elected for five-year terms.
      The first direct elections were held in 1979. Since then, the assembly has gained more legislative powers. These now include the right to approve the EU's annual budget and influence all manner of EU legislation including trade, environment, consumer affairs and other issues, but not defense and foreign policy. Crucially, the assembly cannot propose legislation -- that is the prerogative of the European Commission.
      ELECTION ISSUES:
      No single issue has dominated the campaign across the European Union. Different issues dominate the campaign in member states, including:
       — Turkey's prospects for membership: German and French conservative parties have made this their top campaign issue, hoping to push their agenda to stall Turkey's bid to join the EU at the European Parliament, which has traditionally been a strong backer of Turkey's bid to start entry talks later this year.
       — The EU constitution: Euro-sceptic political parties have used negotiations on getting a constitution for the EU as a major campaign issue, citing it as an example of how, in their opinion, the EU has become a threat to national sovereignty. They argue the new charter does little to make the EU more democratic and will lead to the creation of a European super-state.
       — Europe's role in Iraq: Political parties opposed to the war in Iraq, especially in Britain, the Netherlands, and Italy are hoping to cash in on public opposition to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
       — Membership: Some parties, mostly far-right and Euro-sceptic ones in France and Britain, are using the election to argue against EU membership.
      WHEN DO THEY VOTE?:
      June 10: Netherlands, Britain.
      June 11: Ireland, Czech Republic (two days of voting).
      June 12: Malta, Latvia, Italy (two days of voting), Czech Republic.
      June 13: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden.
      VOTER TURNOUT:
      Average voter turnout for European elections has fallen since the first vote in 1979:
       — 1979 (9 EU members): 63.0 percent
       — 1984 (10 EU members): 61.0 percent
       — 1989 (12 EU members): 58.5 percent
       — 1994 (12 EU members): 56.8 percent
       — 1999 (15 EU members): 49.4 percent

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Latvians began voting Saturday in the Baltic country's first European Union Parliament elections amid forecasts of high voter turnout, with hundreds of candidates vying for Latvia's nine seats.
      In all, 245 candidates from 16 political parties were running. With nearly one-third of the country's lawmakers and government ministers in the race, Latvia has an unusually high number of active politicians with day jobs eager to represent the new EU member state in Strasbourg, France, and Brussels, Belgium, instead of staying home in Riga.
      Recent pre-election polls indicate the three center-right parties that make up Latvia's ruling government coalition could do poorly.
      Instead, polls have shown that voters could send candidates from the extreme right and left of Latvian politics, like former die-hard communist Tatjana Zdanoka, who is banned from holding public office in Latvia, and Guntars Krasts, a former prime minister and member of the nationalist For Fatherland and Freedom party.
      Many members of Latvia's large Russian-speaking minority are expected to vote for Zdanoka, whose candidacy is offensive to many ethnic Latvians. The 54-year-old former mathematics professor was barred in 1994 from holding public office for actively opposing Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
      Zdanoka has said she would work to get Russian accepted as a minority language by the EU and for the formation of a pan-EU party for ethnic Russians. More than a third of Latvia's 2.3 million people are Russian speakers.
      Latvia's central election committee will announce voter turnout numbers later Saturday, but will wait until voting has been completed in all 25 EU countries Sunday to announce the winners.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Nine months after Latvians flocked to voting booths to join the European Union, relatively few showed up at polling stations by late afternoon Saturday in the Baltic nation's first elections for the European Parliament.
      By 4 p.m. (1300 GMT), voter turnout was less than half that of the same time period during the country's EU referendum last September, when more than 1 million Latvians voted.
      A few passers-by lingered at a downtown information booth where some native-Russian speakers were protesting a recent law restricting school instruction in Russian, the language of more than a third of Latvia's 2.3 million inhabitants.
      But there was little of the fanfare that accompanied Latvia's EU referendum. Latvians, thrilled then at joining the EU, seemed disinterested in who might represent their country in the European Parliament.
      Latvian political commentator Karlis Streips said new voter registration laws that assign voters to a specific voting station, as well as higher costs on the heels of EU entry, may have contributed to the low turnout.
      "Latvia joined the EU six weeks ago and the news thus far has been mostly negative," he said. "Fuel has gotten more expensive, movie tickets have gotten a lot more expensive and that may have turned a lot of people off and contributed to the low turnout thus far."
      In all, 245 candidates from 16 political parties were running, including nearly one-third of the country's lawmakers and government ministers.
      Pre-election polls indicated the three center-right parties that make up Latvia's ruling coalition could do poorly.
      Instead, the polls have shown voters could send candidates from the extreme right and left of Latvian politics, like former die-hard communist Tatjana Zdanoka, banned from holding public office in Latvia, and Guntars Krasts, a former prime minister and member of the nationalist For Fatherland and Freedom party.
      Many Russian speakers are expected to vote for Zdanoka, whose candidacy is offensive to many ethnic Latvians. The 54-year-old former mathematics professor was barred in 1994 from holding public office for actively opposing Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
      Zdanoka has said she would work to get Russian accepted as a minority language by the EU.
      Latvia's central election committee will announce final voter turnout later Saturday, but will wait until voting has been completed in all 25 EU countries Sunday to announce winners.

      WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Wednesday launched a drive to track down remaining Nazi war criminals in Poland by offering a Ç10,000 (US$12,000) reward for information leading to their prosecution, drawing criticism from prominent Polish figures.
      The Los Angeles-based center opened a telephone hotline and plans to broaden its campaign with newspaper ads in the next months. Efraim Zuroff, its chief Nazi hunter, said a similar drive already has led to eight investigations in Lithuania and one in Latvia.
      But critics worried it sent a message that Poland, which was invaded by Germany in 1939 and lost millions of its own people, hasn't effectively worked to bring Nazi-era suspects to justice. They also said the offer of money could encourage false accusations against innocent people.
      Bronislaw Geremek, a former Polish foreign minister whose father was a rabbi murdered at the Auschwitz death camp, said he was filled with "disgust and anxiety" that an outside group was coming in with offers of money.
      "I wish instead that the whole world knew how much good Poles did for other Poles by saving Jews," he said on Radio Zet.
      Adam Michnik, the editor of the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper and a respected communist-era dissident, said the reward was dangerous.
      "A denunciation for money provokes my anxiety. It opens the doors to the hell of squaring of accounts, of false charges and of demagogic generalizations," Michnik wrote in a front-page editorial Wednesday.
      "I have great respect for Simon Wiesenthal and his achievements," Michnik wrote, referring to the legendary Nazi hunter who brought about 1,100 criminals to justice in decades of work. "But this idea of the Wiesenthal Center seems misguided to me."
      Zuroff argued that rewards were a common method for tracking down criminals.
      "There is nothing unusual about it," he said by phone from Jerusalem.
      The group's effort, dubbed Operation Last Chance, was launched two years ago in the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and was later expanded to include Austria and Romania -- countries that were allied with the Nazis during World War II.
      Zuroff said he did not know how many Nazi-era criminals could be living in Poland today, but believed there were "many."
      "This is not an accusation against Poland," Zuroff said. "We're trying try to do our best to bring as many murderers to justice as possible while it still can happen."
      Criticism also came from Witold Kulesza, the deputy head of Poland's National Remembrance Institute, a state body that prosecutes Nazi and communism-era crimes in Poland. Kulesza stressed that Poland has worked for decades to track down and prosecute Nazi perpetrators.

      Overview of the European Union and issues to be tackled at a two-day EU leaders' summit. The two biggest issues on the table are getting a final deal on a contentious EU constitution and picking a successor to outgoing European Commission President Romano Prodi:
      MEMBERS: Austria, Belgium, Britain, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
      HISTORY: Founded in 1957 as the European Economic Community to unite the economies of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in hope of preventing another major war in Europe. Internal borders faded, creating a single market for companies and passport-free travel for citizens. In 1999, the EU launched a single currency. Over the years, EU members achieved more political integration and are crafting a defense and common foreign policies. Last year, the EU ran its first military operations with peacekeepers in Macedonia and Congo. Membership jumped from 15 to 25 countries May 1, in the EU's biggest expansion ever.
      HOW IT WORKS: The 30-member, Brussels-based European Commission drafts EU-wide laws and ensures their implementation. The Council of Ministers, comprising representatives of the member nations, approves all EU laws after consulting with the 732-member European Parliament that over the years has acquired ever more legislative powers.
      TOP APPOINTMENTS TO BE MADE:
       — Nominating new president of European Commission for a five-year term. Candidates include Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, and Portugal's EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino.
      EU leaders will have to decide by majority vote who will succeed current EU chief, Romano Prodi, who will end his tenure Oct. 31. A decision could be delayed until July if no clear successor is found.
       — Appointing new EU high representative for foreign and security policy. Javier Solana is vying for a second five-year term as the EU's top diplomat. His current term ends Oct. 18.
      KEY CONSTITUTION ISSUES AT SUMMIT:
       — Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern set a June summit deadline by which to agree on a 465-article constitution, talks on which collapsed in acrimony at the December EU summit. Countries remain far apart on these issues:
       — Voting rights: The draft constitution proposes to overhaul current decision making rules, which would pass EU policies if at least half the members agree and if they represent at least 60 percent of the EU population. Spain and Poland want to retain the current formula giving them 27 votes against 29 for Germany, Britain, France or Italy, countries which have much larger populations.
       — God and Christianity: Eight countries led by Poland and Italy want to have a reference to Europe's religious heritage in the constitution's wordy preamble, noting Christianity's role in shaping European values. France and Belgium are vehemently against any reference however, and Muslim and other religious groups also demand inclusion.
       — The European Commission: An Irish proposal sees a phasing in of a limited 18-member executive by 2014, including the proposed post of EU foreign minister, down from the current 30. Many nations, especially small ones, want a commissioner-per-member formula that would make for a much bigger EU executive.
       — British Red Lines: Britain is vowing to veto the text if it loses right of veto over key sensitive policy areas like social security issues, criminal law, health care, and taxation.
       — Euro Rules: Germany, France, Italy and others want to water down exclusive powers of the European Commission to reprimand EU governments for excessive deficits under rules underpinning the EU's single currency. The Netherlands however, wants the Commission to have more powers to punish those who ignore the rules.
       — Charter on Fundamental Rights: Britain wants more guarantees ensuring the charter, which advances civil liberties in several fields, including labor law, is limited to EU laws only and does not infringe on national law.
       — European Parliament seats: Several countries including Malta and Poland are pushing for more seats in the 732-member EU legislature.
       — EU president and foreign minister: What are their roles, powers? Britain objects, saying the titles suggest a European superstate.

      RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Despite a poor showing in European Parliament elections, Latvia's center-right coalition government survived its first no-confidence vote on Thursday.
      The government of Indulis Emsis, Europe's first Green Party prime minister, survived Thursday's vote with 56 lawmakers out of 100 voting to keep it in power, while 31 voted to oust it. Thirteen lawmakers were absent and didn't vote.
      The vote was called for by New Era, an opposition party with 26 seats in the Seima, or Parliament.
      With 47 seats, Emsis' three-party coalition lacks a legislative majority and could face similar challenges in the coming weeks, particularly if it loses the backing of the left-wing opposition People's Harmony party which helped put Emsis in office in March.
      Leaders from the People's Harmony party, which holds nine seats, said in May they would reconsider their support for the government in the weeks after the EU Parliament elections.
      The other coalition party, the People's Party, said this week it too was considering pulling out of the bloc.
      Opposition parties won six seats in Saturday's EU Parliament election, which party leaders said was as a sign that the current government lacks the support of the Latvian electorate.
      The governing coalition picked up just one seat, while the other two seats went to the center-right Latvia's Way and the left-wing For Human Rights in a United Latvia parties.

      MOSCOW — Tatyana Zhdanok, the first ethnic Russian ever to have won a seat in the European Parliament, is having a busy week. Her cell phone is constantly ringing, and reporters are hanging about asking for interviews.
      Zhdanok, who was elected last weekend, has made it her task not only to represent her country, Latvia, in Brussels for the next five years, but also to make the voices of Russian speakers heard in the newly expanded European Union.
      She and other Russian-speaking activists from several EU countries met earlier this month in Prague to found the Russian Party of the European Union. They hope to get more of their representatives elected to parliaments in their home countries and also to the European Parliament.
      The party's main goal is to defend the interests of the millions of Russian speakers living in the EU, and particularly in the Baltics, where many are denied citizenship, unable to study in their native language and discriminated against in the job market.
      Zhdanok, understandably, is most concerned about the situation in Latvia, where she says about 1 million of the 2.3 million people living in the country are native Russian speakers, about half of whom, or 500,000 people, are non-citizens.
      The situation is odd, she said from Riga. Half of the Russian speakers have a Latvian passport, but under nationality it is written that they are aliens.
      Non-citizens are given a passport, but they are not Latvian citizens and cannot vote or work as teachers or other civil servants.
      Zhdanok is well aware that as the only representative of Russian speakers in the European Parliament her influence will be small.
      The Parliament deals mainly with issues that are important for all of Europe, and according to Katinka Barysh of the Center for European Reform, deputies cannot lobby for issues of interest only to a single country or community.
      Still, Zhdanok, an outspoken human rights activist in Latvia, believes that now that she has become an EU deputy, she will have a better chance of making her voice heard.
      I'll find a way to let people know about the problems of my community and do something about it. I'm a human rights activist. I'm used to fighting, she said in slightly accented Russian.
      After gaining independence 13 years ago, Latvia granted automatic citizenship only to those who had settled in the country before 1940 - the year the country was annexed by the Soviet Union - and their descendants.
      This excluded thousands of ethnic Russians, who were required to undergo a restrictive naturalization process. Under pressure from the Council of Europe, the process was eased in 1998 after a nationwide referendum. Today, to acquire Latvian citizenship, residents must pass an exam testing basic knowledge of Latvia's language, history and constitution.
      The Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia became EU members on May 1. Last weekend, they elected their representatives to the European Parliament.
      Zhdanok, co-chair of the Party for Human Rights in a United Latvia, campaigned under the slogan Russkiye idut, or the Russians are coming, and she focused on issues important for the Russian-speaking community, such as increasing the hours of Russian-language study in state schools and solving the problem of non-citizens. Her party finished third with 10.7 percent of the vote.
      Her campaign was criticized by Antons Seiksts, a former deputy in the Latvian parliament and a leader of the centrist Latvia's Way party.
      The slogan she used was calling more for a separation between the Russian and Latvian cultures than for an integration, he said. Even 1/8ultranationalist Duma Deputy Vladimir3/8 Zhirinovsky has never pronounced words like that.
      Zhdanok said she would try to find a faction in the European Parliament interested in representing regional minorities, perhaps with deputies elected from Catalonia, the Basque region or Wales.
      A former member of the Soviet Communist Party, Zhdanok together with colleagues from Estonia and Lithuania helped found the Russian Party of the European Union at a meeting in Prague on June 4.
      Her co-founders were Georgy Bystrov, mayor of Maardu, a small town near Tallinn, the Estonian capital, and Sergei Dmitryev, a member of Lithuania's parliament. Both ran unsuccessfully for the European Parliament.
      In addition to defending the rights of the Russian-speaking population throughout Europe, the party also will work to promote Russian culture and language in Europe and to improve relations between Russia and Europe, Zhdanok said.
      There are about 6 million Russian speakers living in Europe, about half of them in the Baltics, according to Zhdanok. Germany also is home to more to 1 million, she said.
      Izvestia, however, in a report on the new party in Thursday's paper, printed a map showing about 5 million Russian speakers in Europe and 2.3 million of them in Germany. Only about 1.5 million live in the Baltics, according to Izvestia, which did not give a source for its figures.
      Libor Kukal, the editor of Czech Radio's Russian service and also among the founders of the party, said in an interview with Izvestia that the party was created in the hope that the problems of Russian speakers in the Baltics could be solved with help from Brussels.
      Everyone understands that pressure on the Latvian and Estonian governments from Moscow is useless and can bring the opposite result, he said.
      Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the initiative in an interview with Izvestia printed June 7, saying the new party could complicate relations between Russia and the European Union.
      But Vladimir Socor, a senior fellow of the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, believes that Russian authorities are behind the party. Socor said his suspicions were raised when he read positive reports about the party by the state news agency RIA-Novosti.
      I think the Russian authorities will be very careful to keep a distance from this party in order not to be identified with it. They might support it behind the scenes, he said.
      The Kremlin could see the party as a means to discredit the Baltic countries in the eyes of the EU, Socor said.
      Zhdanok, however, denied any Kremlin involvement in the party. She said Moscow has often used the problems of the Russian-speaking minority in the Baltics for its own ends, which has done little to improve the situation, which is why they decided to create their own party and try to get Brussels' attention.
      Two Moscow political analysts, Vladimir Pribylovsky from Panorama and independent analyst Andrei Piontkovsky, said the Russian speakers in the Baltics have come to understand that they cannot count on Russia.
      In order to defend their rights, the only chance they have is that the European Union pays attention to them, Pribylovsky said.
      But to create a European-wide party is not an easy task. The Russian Party of the European Union would need to have affiliated parties in at least one-quarter of the 25 EU member countries and be represented in their parliaments. So far, this is realistic only in the three Baltic countries.
      There are precedents for such a pan-European party. For instance, the European Federation of Green Parties has 32 member parties around Europe and 15 of them are represented in national parliaments.

      LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Latvia is the biggest underdog in Euro 2004, but coach Aleksandrs Starkovs talks like his team is among the favorites.
      "Everyone is fit, in excellent mood and hungry to stun our rivals," Starkovs said. "Everything is going according to the plan, and I have no major headaches."
      Consider what Latvia — a country of only 2.3 million — is up against.
       — Latvia has no experience in major tournaments.
       — It's the lowest ranked of the 16 teams in the field.
       — It's drawn in the toughest group in the tournament — Group D with Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
       — The odds on Latvia winning is 250-1, according to British bookmakers.
      But upsets are possible. The Latvians reached the finals by shocking Turkey -- a World Cup semifinalist two years ago -- in a two-leg playoff.
      The player to watch is 24-year-old striker Maris Verpakovskis, who scored six goals in the qualifying rounds including the lone goals in Latvia's 1-0 wins against Sweden and Turkey.
      Latvia opens against the Czech Republic on Tuesday in Aveiro. The Czechs, finalists in Euro '96, see themselves as possible quarterfinalists. But if Latvia could pull off an upset, who knows what might happen against Germany and the Dutch.
      "We have no experience at major tournaments, but we players know that starting with a good result against the Czechs would put us in a great position in the group," said Verpakovskis, who plays for Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine.
      "That means a draw or a win is a must, and we can do it."
      Despite the tough draw, Starkovs is upbeat.
      "When playing Germany, the Czech Republic or the Netherlands, we of course are not the favorites," he said. "But in the opening game against the Czechs, we are looking for a win or a draw. We have some advantages and we are going to show them."
      Starkovs has no major injury worries with captain Vitalis Astafjevs, goalkeeper Aleksandrs Kolinko and defender Aleksandrs Isakovs all recovered from minor injuries.
      The Latvians arrived in the Portuguese resort of Anadia on Thursday, and Starkovs said he was not sure who would start.
      Two players seem certain starters: midfielder Astafjevs and defender Mihails Zemlinskis, who began playing with the national team in 1992, less than a year after the Baltic country regained its independence from the Soviet Union.

      ANADIA, Portugal, June 16 (Reuters) — The serious work for Latvia's next game against Germany promised by coach Aleksandrs Starkovs has begun with a recap of the lessons learnt in their late defeat against the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
      "Every team has some minuses and we tried to exploit them against the Czech Republic and will try to do so also against Germany," Starkovs said after Wednesday's intense training session with the players who did not start the first game.
      "It will be a similarly tough match (against Germany on Saturday) but it will be different from yesterday because the Czechs and Germans play differently. All the teams we face are from the elite and our team is just starting its experience."
      Latvia lost 2-1 to the Czechs in their opening Group D match in Aveiro, their first outing in a major tournament, but took great heart from their performance after taking a halftime lead and being just five minutes away from securing a draw.
      There were three key points from the experience, said Starkovs, at 48 the youngest head coach in the tournament.
      "One, we showed we can play with the big teams; two, team spirit is very important; and three, results can hang on minor details."
      GRADUAL PROGRESS
      Striker Maris Verpakovskis put Latvia ahead in first-half injury time before Milan Baros equalised with 17 minutes left and substitute Marek Heinz struck the winner in the 85th minute.
      Starkovs said Latvia's presence in Portugal was part of the team's gradual progress over the past 12 years.
      "Our independence in 1992 also helped develop football in our country. Players have been able to go to clubs abroad and now being in the European Union is one more step in our progress," he said, referring to Latvia's EU entry on May 1.
      "The European championship is a great chance for players to get contracts with better clubs," he added.
      Starkovs also thanked the hundreds of Latvia fans who travelled to Portugal for their backing.
      "We felt their support during the game, although the Czech fans, who numbered many more, helped to lift their team in the second half."
      Starkovs said he would not look at changes to his lineup or tactics until he had assessed the fitness of the 11 players who had started against the Czechs but were resting on Wednesday.
      "There's a possibility of changes but they (the starting 11) are recuperating and we'll see how they look tomorrow," he said.

      BERLIN, June 19 (Reuters) — Latvia's ambassador to Berlin has offered Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn honorary Latvian citizenship if he makes a blunder that helps the underdogs in their Euro 2004 match on Saturday.
      Ambassador Martin Virsis told Bild newspaper that although Latvia do not have much chance of victory he hopes they score a goal against Kahn, who has a Latvian grandmother and whose father was born in the eastern European country.
      "Actually, we don't have a chance in the match but if Kahn makes mistakes and we advance, we'll make him an honorary citizen of Latvia," Virsis said.
      "In Latvia the women are more attractive than in Germany," he added.
      Kahn won FIFA's award for best player at the 2002 World Cup but made several blunders for his club Bayern Munich in key Bundesliga and Champions League matches last season.

      PORTO, Portugal (AP) — Latvia produced one of the biggest surprises in European Championship history on Saturday when the 500-1 outsider held three-time champion Germany to a 0-0 tie at Euro 2004.
      The team expected to be beaten heavily by the three powerhouse teams in Group D also had a clear penalty disallowed when striker Maris Verpakovskis was brought down by Frank Baumann but English referee Mike Riley ignored Latvia's claims.
      The result means that Germany, which also has the Netherlands and the Czech Republic in its group, has just two points from two games and is in danger of going out in the first round for the second Euros in a row. Rudi Voeller's team, runner up to Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, started with a 1-1 tie with the Dutch who faced the Czechs later Saturday.
      Oliver Kahn also rescued Germany against the European Championship rookie with a top quality save just before half time.
      The veteran Bayern Munich 'keeper raced off his line to hold a low shot from Maris Verpakovskis, who had scored Latvia's first goal in a major championship in the 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic in its opening Group D game.
      The match was only 25 seconds old when Latvian defender Aleksandrs Isakovs was shown the yellow card by English referee Mike Riley for a foul on Torsten Frings on the left.
      The Germans took a while to settle but Kevin Kuranyi should have done better in the 14th minute when he took a through ball on his chest and was allowed space to fire a 20-meter shot. But he couldn't get it on target and it drifted harmlessly wide.
      At the other end, Latvian playmaker Andrejs Rubins angled 25-meter free kick which struck Michael Ballack and went for a corner.
      Then the Germans created two heading chances in the space of a few seconds, Ballack climbing to meet a leftwing cross but missing the target and, when the ball came back into the danger area, Kuranyi also headed wide.
      Ballack, who was trying to orchestrate moves from midfield, decided to go direct for goal in the 33rd minute but his 25-meter right foot shot was confidently saved by 'keeper Aleksandr Kolinko. A minute later Kuranyi also powered in a 20-meter shot and Kolinko made a blocking save.
      Ballack went for another long range strike nine minutes before half time but his 35-meter shot was just too high.
      The Latvians broke out to go close to taking the lead in the 39th minute when Verpakovskis collected the ball 40 meters from goal and went on a long solo run with the German defenders chasing him. He held them off and got inside the area but German goalkeeper Kahn raced off his line to smother his left foot shot.
      Frank Baumann, who came off the bench because of an injury to Jens Nowotny, went close to breaking the deadlock when Ballack headed on a corner from substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger. With his back to goal, Bauman curled a shot into the danger area but it flew through a crowded goalmouth wide of the far post.
      The Latvians, who had never been to a major championships before, shouted for a penalty when Verpakovskis burst between two German defenders and appeared to be brought down by Baumann, but Riley ruled it was no foul.
      At the other end, Frings fired a low angled shot wide of the far post.
      The Germans created a great opening in the 59th minute when Philipp Lahm drove in a cross from the left, but Kuranyi and Schweinsteiger got in each other's way in front of goal. The ball rolled to Ballack whose shot was blocked for a corner.
      Kolinko fisted away a powerfully struck 25-meter free kick by Ballack and the Germans went close again in the 67th.
      Lahm put Kuranyi through in the area and the Stuttgart striker crossed the ball towards unmarked Fredi Bobic. But the Hertha Berlin forward was slow to get there and was unable to make contact with only the 'keeper to beat.
      Miroslav Klose should have scored the winner in the second minute of injury time when the Latvian defense, which had performed heroically throughout the game, allowed him to get free in front of goal but his header from no more than five meters went well wide.
      Lineups:
      Germany — Oliver Kahn; Arne Friedrich, Frank Baumann, Christian Woerns, Philipp Lahm, Bernd Schneider (Bastian Schweinsteiger, 46th), Dietmar Hamann, Michael Ballack, Torsten Frings, Fredi Bobic (Miroslav Klose, 67th), Kevin Kuranyi (Thomas Brdaric, 78th).
      Latvia — Aleksandrs Kolinko; Igors Stepanovs, Vitalijs Astafjevs, Mihails Zemlinskis, Olegs Blagonadezdins, Aleksandrs Isakovs, Imants Bleidelis, Maris Verpakovskis (Dzintars Zirnis, 90+2), Andrejs Rubins, Andrejs Prohorenkovs (Marian Pahars, 67th), Valentis Lobanovs (Juris Laizans, 70th).
      Referee: Mike Riley, England.

      BERLIN (AP) — Germans reacted with dismay Sunday to the country's 0-0 tie with 500-1 outsider Latvia at Euro 2004, a disappointment that made front pages across the country.
      "Will we still be saved?" asked the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, underneath a front page image of exhausted German goalie Oliver Kahn lying face-down on the ground.
      "What a football catastrophe," said the paper, which dedicated five pages to the game.
      The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily said that the "the seemingly easiest game ... fell so hard on the players that they couldn't win."
      The Berlin-based Tagesspiegel argued that the German team "developed too few ideas to surprise the massive Latvian defense."
      But, German sports commentator Guenter Netzer, quoted in Der Tagesspiegel, said that the team had clearly put in the effort.
      "They tried, they did something, but they couldn't do any better," he said.
      The Berliner Morgenpost in a commentary chided the team for not doing enough to lay the groundwork for entering the final eight, "and now they have to tremble with trepidation in the finals."
      Germany now must beat the Czech Republic in its last Group D match to prevent a repeat of its early exit from Euro 2000.
      "And if (Coach Rudi) Voeller doesn't do more for the victory in this final match, then the dreams are gone," the Morgenpost said.
      Germany was held to a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in its first Group D match and has only two points from two games.