Latvia

August 20, 2019, 4:15 am

Blue-collar Latvian ‘Schindler’ saved dozens with few resources of his own

Historical drama ‘The Mover’ tells the story of Žanis Lipke, who managed to hide and transport 60 Jews with limited means, while risking execution by occupying Nazi forces

By Rich Tenorio

Illustrative photo of a chess set. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

July 14, 2019, 8:32 am

Chess grandmaster caught cheating with phone on toilet

Igor Rausis, 58, had raised suspicions by making an unlikely rise in rankings at an advanced age

By AP and TOI staff

Newly elected Latvian president, former European Court of Justice judge Egils Levits gives a press conference in Riga, Latvia, on May 29, 2019. ( Ilmars ZNOTINS / AFP)

July 9, 2019, 12:35 am

Latvia’s new president Levits sworn into office; parents are of Jewish origin

Egils Levits vows to tackle ‘illness’ of inequality, affirms Baltic nation’s alignment with western Europe in inaugural speech

By AFP

May 29, 2019, 5:46 pm

MPs elect ex-Soviet dissident with Jewish roots as Latvian president

European Court of Justice judge Egil Levits and his Latvian patriot parents were expelled from former Soviet Union in 1972 because KGB viewed them as threat

By AFP and TOI staff

April 11, 2019, 3:51 am

Author David Bezmozgis mines meaning of migration in new short story collection

As borders are increasingly politicized, Latvian-born Canadian writer takes readers to ‘Immigrant City’

By Renee Ghert-Zand

A man taking part in a march to honor member of the Latvian Legion SS units in Riga, Latvia, on March 16, 2019. (Courtesy: JFDA e.V. / Grischa Stanjek(

March 17, 2019, 3:23 am

Latvians march to honor troops who fought alongside Nazis

About 1,000 gather in Riga for annual march of veterans of local Waffen SS units, with some 50 counter-demonstrators separated by police

By TOI staff and JTA

Illustrative: A red T-shirt with the acronym and symbol of the former Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

September 7, 2018, 8:41 pm

Baltic states blast Walmart over Soviet-themed shirts

Lithiuanian envoy to US calls on retail giant to remove merchandise ‘with the symbols of mass murder’ from its online store

By LIUDAS DAPKUS

From left: Latvia's Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and Estonia's Prime Minister Juri Ratas, hold a joint press conference following a meeting in Vilnus on August 24, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / Petras Malukas)

August 24, 2018, 5:00 pm

Netanyahu: EU development aid for Iran a ‘poison pill for the people’

PM blasts Europe’s ‘distorted’ view of Israel, says EU’s $21 million financial aid package to Tehran to bolster flagging economy ‘a big mistake’

By Agencies and TOI staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) speaks with his Lithuanian counterpart Saulius Skvernelis in Vilnius, Lithuania, on August 23, 2018. (AFP/Petras Malukas)

August 24, 2018, 12:41 pm

After meeting Netanyahu, Lithuanian leader proposes closer EU ties

Saulius Skvernelis calls for cooperation on counter-terrorism, and more direct dialogue to ‘better understand’ Israeli positions

By Agencies and TOI staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with his Lithuanian counterpart Saulius Skvernelis in Vilnius, Lithuania, August 23, 2018. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

August 23, 2018, 4:40 pm

Netanyahu lands in Lithuania, grandma’s birthplace, in search of European allies

Ahead of meeting with Baltic leaders, PM says he hopes outreach to Eastern European states will help counter EU’s ‘not always friendly’ ties with Israel

By Vaidotas Beniusis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė in Jerusalem on October 20, 2015. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/Flash90)

August 22, 2018, 7:54 pm

Netanyahu to meet Baltic leaders in first trip by Israeli PM to Lithuania

Premier’s visit to Vilnius seen as part of bid to cultivate Eastern European support for Israel in the EU

By AFP

In this file photo taken on June 2, 2018, protesters take part in a demonstration against reforming the minorities education in Latvia in Riga. (AFP Photo/Ilmars Znotins)

June 24, 2018, 8:59 am

Latvia school language reform irks Russian minority, backed by Jewish community

Riga’s chief rabbi throws support behind plan mandating minority schools to teach in Latvian, cites ‘disadvantaged’ Arab students in Israel who study in Arabic

By Imants Liepinsh and Anna Maria Jakubek

Latvian FM Edgars Rinkēvičs, right, with PM Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, June 2018 (Twitter)

June 11, 2018, 7:46 am

Latvian FM: Anti-Israel resolutions don’t advance peace

Visiting Jerusalem, Edgars Rinkēvičs hails Riga’s ‘balanced position’ on Mideast, criticizes Israel’s use of lethal force during Gaza riots

By Raphael Ahren

In this photo taken on April 10 2018, Latvia's Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis poses for a photograph, during an interview, in Riga. (AP Photo/David Keyton)

June 1, 2018, 3:18 pm

US says Latvia banks helped North Korea to skirt sanctions

Washington charges that one of the Baltic country’s largest banks built a business from illegal money transfers, including to Pyongyang’s missile program

By Carlo Piovano

A man dressed in a pre-WWII Latvian military uniform salutes as veterans of the Latvian Legion, a force that was commanded by the German Nazi Waffen SS during WWII, and their sympathizers walk to the Monument of Freedom in Riga, Latvia on March 16, 2016. (Ilmars Znotins/AFP/Getty Images/via JTA)

April 19, 2018, 1:27 am

After Nazi SS veterans hold annual march in Latvia square, one woman fights back

Some of them skinheads wearing fascist symbols, the marchers spark bitter debate among Latvians. Until recently, though, nobody sought to speak out for the victims

By Cnaan Liphshiz