On 18 November Latvia celebrated its 104th anniversary. Although in Latvia the week passed in a generally festive mood, the last couple pf days were not as uplifting in other parts of the world.
This week Europe was shaken by the news of a Russian-made missile hitting Poland. Two people were killed when the missile struck a village of Pshevodov located not far from the Ukrainian border. Poland is a NATO member state and although at first there were rumours that the missile was fired by Russia, officials decided to perform an investigation to determine what exactly happened before making any conclusions. Article 5, meanwhile, is unlikely to go into effect.
Following reports that the missile in question may have been, in fact, fired by the Ukrainian army, the Zelenskyy was quick to announce – he is confident the missile did not come from his country’s armed forces. The investigation continues.
Coalition negotiations continue in Latvia – parties have yet to reach any tangible result. The biggest obstacle at the moment is between New Unity and the Combined List. National Alliance representative Raivis Dzintars has said it would be humiliating if three experienced political organisations with majority votes in the parliament fail in composing the new government.
Latvians, meanwhile, were more shocked by the news that Sadales tīkls JSC may increase the electricity transmission tariff by an average of 75% next year. This means that electricity bills of households whose monthly electricity consumption is around 100 kWh may increase by six to eight euros.
BNN gives you a summery of the most relevant events of the past week in the following topics: Missile attack in Poland; Whose missile was it?; NATO’s eastern border; Coalition negotiations; Tariff increase; Explosion in Turkey; State language is a must; Eight billion people.
MISSILE ATTACK IN POLAND
Article 5 is unlikely to go in effect after Poland; Latvia’s security situation remains unchanged
Photo: PexelsAlthough a Russian-made missile struck Poland, a NATO member state, killing two people in the village of Pshevodov on Tuesday, 15 October, Article 5 of NATO treaty is unlikely to go into effect, said Commander of Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) Gen. Leonīds Kalniņš and Minister of Defence Artis Pabriks.
Press-secretary to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lukasz Yasina said in a statement that a «Russian-made missile crashed in Poland near its border with Ukraine on Tuesday and killed at least two people». He added that Russian ambassador to Poland was summoned to provide explanations.
In his interview, Kalniņš mentioned that Both NATO and Poland will definitely condemn Russia for what happened. However, he added that it is unlikely Article 5 will go into effect, and this incident may be resolved through negotiations.
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WHOSE MISSILE WAS IT?
Zelenskyy: Kyiv is not responsible for the missile that hit Poland
Photo: Scanpix/ZUMA Press WireUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that he is completely sure the missile that hit Poland and killed two people was not fired by Ukrainian armed forces, BBC informs.
Ukrainian army’s top commanders assured him it was not one of their missiles. The president requested letting Ukrainian officials participate in the investigation and be provided with access to the explosion site. These comments came from Ukraine after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reported that the missile was likely fired by Ukrainian armed forces. «But the main message is that Russia bears the ultimate responsibility, because this would not have happened hadn’t Russia waged a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine,» Stoltenberg told BBC. He added that NATO must supply Ukraine with better anti-air defence systems.
Polish President Andrzej Duda announced on Wednesday, 16 November: «From the information that we and our allies have, it was an S-300 rocket made in the Soviet Union, an old rocket and there is no evidence that it was launched by the Russian side».
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NATO’S EASTERN BORDER
Lithuania requests tighter defence of NATO’s eastern borders
Photo: UnsplashLithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced that NATO must immediately reinforce its eastern border and station more anti-air defence systems, Reuters informs.
After the missile incident in Poland on 15 November, Lithuanian president invited NATO to enhance defence of the eastern border. «NATO sky must be 100% defended… Lithuania will actively support deploying (NATO) air defences along the Polish-Ukrainian border,» Nauseda told media, adding that this condition also applies to other borders along the eastern flank.
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COALITION NEGOTIATIONS
National Alliance leader fears humiliating failure in composing Latvia’s new government
Raivis Dzintars. Photo: Evija Trifanova/LETAFailure of three experienced organisations to compose a new government would be humiliating, said National Alliance’s leader Raivis Dzintars in an interview to TV3 programme 900 seconds.
NA took part in last week’s round of «quiet diplomacy». This run of negotiations was different when compared to regular negotiations because it was not very formal, said Dzintars, adding that at official meetings every word spoken can leave an impact on the negotiation process, which often puts partners on edge and abstract in their statements, «which is something listeners and observers are sick of at this point».
This is why the quiet diplomacy was an attempt to reach the points that prevent the coalition from moving forward.
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TARIFF INCREASE
Electricity transmission tariff in Latvia may increase by average of 75%
Photo: PexelsLatvian electricity transmission system operator Sadales tīkls JSC submitted to the Public Utilities Commission (SPRK) a new tariff project, which provides for increasing the electricity transmission tariff by an average of 75%.
Sadales tīkls informs that the planned increase of the electricity transmission tariff, rapid rise in the prices of electricity, as well as the resources necessary for the maintenance and development of the electricity grid comes from the increase of costs worth EUR 183 million this year.
For a typical household – apartment owners with monthly electricity of 100 kWh – the tariff increase, transmission fee included, will be about EUR 6 to EUR 8.
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EXPLOSION IN TURKEY
Explosion on shopping street in Istanbul kills six
Photo: UnsplashAt least six people were killed and 81 were wounded in an explosion that took place on a busy shopping street in Istanbul on Sunday, 13 November, BBC informs.
The blast took place in the Taksim Square area at around 16:20 p.m. local time. Turkish minister of the interior reported that a suspect was detained – a woman. Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay informed that the terror attack was carried out by a woman. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to punish those responsible for this attack.
At a press-conference the president condemned this attack and said there is terrorism in the air.
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STATE LANGUAGE IS A MUST
Estonian legistation proposes to impose state language level on food couriers
Photo: PixabayThe Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia submitted the bill of legislative amendments to the Language Act and the Public Transport Act. It would affect the language requirements for taxi drivers and food couriers, writes Estonian media ERR.
The proposed changes in the legislature would, among other things, affect the audio advertisements in malls and other public places. To come into force, the bill would need to be debated at the Riigikogu, pass three Riigikogu votes, and receive presidential assent.
Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas told that these changes are necessary because society has changed, and many factors that weren’t important ten years ago have surfaced. As the Language Board of Estonia indicated, there are plenty of complaints about misunderstandings that involve a lack of Estonian language knowledge. It concerns mostly the service sector – taxi drivers and food couriers, especially those who work via applications. Lukas said that the aim is to make Estonian more visible and dominant, and it would protect the Estonian consumer.
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EIGHT BILLION PEOPLE
World’s human population passes eight billion
Photo: UnsplashAccording to information from the United Nations, the number of humans on the planet has reached eight billion, and this happened a mere 11 years after the seven-billionth milestone, BBC informs.
After the baby boom wage in the mid-20th century the growth of the human population on the planet has started slowing down. About 15 years may be necessary for the population to reach nine billion. UN experts believe the planet may see a population of ten billion no sooner than 2080. It is difficult to determine the exact number of people, and the UN admits that their proposed number may be one or two years behind the real situation. It is believed that 15 November may have been the exact moment the eight million milestone was reached.
In previous years the UN put efforts into finding milestone children – five-billionth, six-billionth and seven-millionth resident of Earth. What do their stories tell us about population changes in the world?
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BNN summary of the week: Missile in Poland. NATO’s eastern border. Coalition process. Eight billion people
