Good morning. This is Mared Gwyn, authoring today’s newsletter along with my colleague Angela Skujins, who’s live on your screens this morning. Today: how a Russia sanctions showdown is leaving a bad taste, and why Brussels is facing mounting pressure to address the energy crunch.
Euronews10h agoGood morning. This is Mared Gwyn, authoring today’s newsletter along with my colleague Angela Skujins, who’s live on your screens this morning. Today: how a Russia sanctions showdown is leaving a bad taste, and why Brussels is facing mounting pressure to address the energy crunch.
Euronews10h ago
The EU's extended sanctions framework until 2029 strengthens its stance against Russia, but delisting oligarchs may weaken perceived resolve.
CryptoBriefing•Editorial Team22 Sept
Without an agreement sanctions on nearly 3,000 entities accused of supporting the war on Ukraine will lapse at the end of the day in Brussels The EU is deadlocked over a plan to remove two Russian billionaires, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, from its sanctions list as part of a bitterly disputed deal to keep broader restrictions in place on nearly 3,000 people and companies accused of enabling Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. “Extending sanctions for 36 months would be the right step. However, the price for it must not be simply striking both individuals from the sanctions list. Latvia cannot accept SUCH an offer.” Continue reading...
The Guardian•Jakub Krupa22 Sept
The French push to remove Uzbek-Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov from the sanctions list was stopped by Latvia at the last minute.
Euronews22 Sept
Thousands of people deported from the US to countries where they have no connections. Plus, European spy chiefs warn of Moscow action against Nato Good morning. After a plane journey in shackles, an Iranian woman found herself in the middle of Africa in a country she did not know existed. She is one of thousands of people deported from the US on the back of shadowy deals made with dozens of countries. At what scale are third-country deportations happening? Since returning to office in 2025, Donald Trump’s administration has deported more than 25,000 people to countries that are not their own. Which countries are people being deported to? The Trump administration has struck 35 deals allowing it to deport migrants and asylum seekers to countries where they often have no connections. Is this legal? A US federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration’s third-country removals policy was unlawful. A three-judge panel unanimously agreed that it violated due process. But the government has 90 days to appeal against the court’s decision, and is expected to do so. How imminent is the threat? “Normunds Mežviets, the director general of the VDD, Latvia’s state security service conceded there were signs that Moscow was making preparations for more decisive action in Europe, but said it was not clear whether the plans were simply part of a destabilisation strategy. “It’s still an open question if they have direct and concrete plans or if it’s just within the context of their overall attempts to spread fear and uncertainty in western society,” he said. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Jem Bartholomew21 Sept
After opposing the Ukrainian war and settling in Latvia, Chulpan Khamatova now comes to New York to star in a dark comedy by Ionesco.
The New York Times•Elisabeth Vincentelli21 Sept
Edgars Rinkēvičs reveals that drone warfare in Ukraine is moving at ‘lightning speed’ and current efforts to prepare for an aerial war could be obsolete by next year Latvia’s president has warned that Europe is not keeping up with developments of drone and aerial warfare in Ukraine and that most countries in Nato could not repulse an attack by Russian missiles if the conflict expands. The remarks came during a Guardian interview in Washington DC in which Edgars Rinkēvičs said that the technological developments in drone warfare in Ukraine are moving at “lightning speed” and that current efforts to prepare for an aerial war could be obsolete by the middle of next year. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Andrew Roth in Washington18 Sept
Latvia has barred Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin from entering the country days after the he appeared in a political ad for a party backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, has decided to include Alexander Ovechkin and [International Boxing Association President] Umar Kremlev on the list of personae…
The Hill•Finya Swai18 Sept
Germany will send four Eurofighter jets to defend Latvian airspace during upcoming elections, amid concerns over drone incursions from Russia and Belarus.
Germany will deploy four Eurofighter jets to Lielvārde Air Base in central Latvia for about a week from…
AeroTime•Clement Charpentreau17 Sept
Countries: Latvia, Afghanistan, Russian Federation, Somalia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Ukraine, World Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. Refugees from Ukraine: Latvia hosts about 32,000 refugees from Ukraine under Temporary Protection which constitutes almost 1 per cent of the population. EU’s external borders: UNHCR continues to collaborate with state authorities to improve access to asylum for those irregularly ariving in the southeastern regions bordering Belarus. Education: UNHCR advocates for the inclusion of refugee children from Ukraine into the national education system. HIGHLIGHTS Socio-economic inclusion of Ukrainians The 2025 statistics show a growing socio-economic inclusion of Ukrainian refugees: participation in the national labor force, as well as the average renumeration continues to increase: 10,401 Ukrainians were employed by December 2025, compared to 9,600 in December 2024. Access to asylum at the Latvia-Belarus border In 2025, according to the State Border Guard, over 12,000 attempts to cross the border were prevented at the LatviaBelarus border. This is the second highest total number of attempts recorded since 2021 (the highest number recorded so far was in 2023 with 13,836 attempts). By contrast, the number of persons admitted on humanitarian grounds at Latvia’s border with Belarus is among the lowest: 31 in 2025 and 26 in 2024 in comparison to 428 in 2023.
ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees17 Sept
NATO's bolstered presence in Latvia may deter Russian aggression, influencing regional security dynamics and market perceptions.
CryptoBriefing•Estefano Gomez16 Sept
Latvia's election is set for Oct.3 and Riga has asked Germany for backup.
Acclaimed Catalan filmmaker Carlos Marques-Marcet (“10,000 km,” TIFF Platform winner “They Will Be Dust”), with his first showrunning gig, and sisters Mireia and Joana Vilapuig (“Selftape”) will rub shoulders with creators from Galicia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Mexico and Portugal at the second edition of iSerielizados Mind the Gap co-pro series contest. The international series pitch, […]
Variety•Emeza80515 Sept
Latvia’s flag carrier airBaltic has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, launching a court-supervised…
AeroTime•Clement Charpentreau14 Sept
Latvia’s national airline airBaltic said this Monday it and certain subsidiaries had voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, seeking to restructure its finances while continuing to operate flights as normal. The carrier, which describes itself as the leading airline in the Baltic states, said the proceedings were initiated in the […]
AviTrader•Heike Tamm14 SeptAviation News – Latvia’s national airline airBaltic has voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in New York as it...
Air Baltic Corporation AS (hereinafter – airBaltic or the company), the national airline of Latvia and leading carrier in the Baltic States, today announces that airBaltic and certain of its subsidiaries have voluntarily initiated proceedings under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “U.S. Court”). Chapter 11 is a well-established U.S. legal framework, recognised internationally and used regularly by U.S. and international airlines, that allows companies to restructure their finances and raise capital while continuing day-to-day operations under the supervision of the U.S. Court. airBaltic is using this process to address its financial obligations and achieve a more sustainable capital structure.
