Latvia

RIGA, Latvia — Members of Latvia’s center-right coalition government yesterday agreed to keep working together after voters backed their plans for painful reforms required by an international bailout program to fix the Baltic country’s crippled economy. With more than 99 percent of precincts counted, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ minority coalition mustered more than 57 percent of the vote in Latvia’s parliamentary election Saturday and earned 63 seats in the 100-member legislature, the Central Election Committee announced.

Last year, when Eugene Levin returned to his native Latvia, he found a chilling, hand-drawn diagram of houses in the small town where his ancestors once lived. The map, hanging in a museum, was sketched more than 70 years ago. Many of the houses, including one that belonged to his great-grandparents, were marked with an "X": these were the homes of Jewish residents. On July 18, 1941, nearly all of those families, including children, were murdered. Levin's grandfather, Mozus Berkovich, survived because he was away, studying dentistry in Riga.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Marian Hossa scored early in the second period last night and Slovakia followed its big victory over Russia by routing winless Latvia, 6-0. Jaroslav Halak made just 21 saves for the shutout. He was sent to a big first-period lead with goals by Lubomir Visnovsky, Richard Zednik, and Jozef Stumpel. Michal Handzus had a goal one minute after Hossa’s score in the second. Ivan Baranka made it 6-0 late in the game. Slovakia finished the preliminary round with five points thanks to a win in regulation and the shootout victory over Russia.

Felix Loch became the first German in 22 years to win the overall World Cup luge title after a victory in Latvia on Saturday. Loch won despite placing fifth after the first run. He edged defending champion Armin Zoeggeler of Italy by 0.053 seconds. Inars Kivlenieks of Lativa was third. Loch was assured the overall championship thanks to his commanding lead over teammate David Moeller with one race left in the nine-race series.

SKRUNDA, Latvia - Latvia sold a deserted town built around a Soviet-era radar station to a Russian investor who bid $3.1 million at an unusual auction yesterday, officials said. The town formerly known as Skrunda-1 housed about 5,000 people during the Cold War. It was abandoned over a decade ago after the Russian military withdrew from Latvia following the Soviet collapse. A representative of a Russian investor won the bidding contest in Latvia’s capital, Riga, with an offer of $3.1 million, said Anete Fridensteina-Bridina, a spokeswoman for the...

NASHVILLE -- Former Nashville Predators center Sergei Zholtok died yesterday in his native Latvia of an apparent heart ailment. He was 31. The Predators' website said Zholtok, who was drafted by the Bruins in 1992 and played in Boston from 1992-94, died while playing for the Riga 2000 team this year during the NHL lockout. TSN.ca reported that Zholtok excused himself from a game in Belarus and collapsed and died on the way to the locker room. Zholtok appeared in 588 NHL games from 1992-2004 with Boston, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Nashville.

World champion Martins Dukurs of Latvia failed to win a World Cup skeleton race for the time in more than a year, with Frank Rommel leading a 1-2 German finish. Dukars last lost a race on Dec. 17, 2010 and had won all four previous events this season. His run ended at 15 wins when he finished sixth Saturday. Alexander Kroeckel was 0.82 seconds behind Rommel and Matthias Guggenberger of Austria was third, 0.92 behind. Dukurs leads the overall standings by 73 points over Rommel.

Felix Loch became the first German in 22 years to win the overall World Cup luge title after a victory in Latvia on Saturday. Loch won despite placing fifth after the first run. He edged defending champion Armin Zoeggeler of Italy by 0.053 seconds. Inars Kivlenieks of Lativa was third. Loch was assured the overall championship thanks to his commanding lead over teammate David Moeller with one race left in the nine-race series.

Four years after shocking Russia in a preliminary-round game in Turin, Slovakia did it again late Thursday night, upsetting the gold-medal favorite, 2-1, when Pavol Demitra scored on the Slovaks’ seventh attempt in a shootout at Canada Hockey Place. “Anybody can beat anybody,’’ said Boston Bruins defenseman and Slovak captain Zdeno Chara, whose team was the first to play back-to-back nights in the Olympic tournament. Russia couldn’t hold a 1-0 lead in the second period, with Marian Hossa tying the game at 9:48 of the third.

The French Basketball Federation says Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is recovering well from a troublesome ankle problem and should be ready to join his France teammates later this week. Noah has been receiving treatment on his right ankle in Los Angeles. The team doctor for the Bulls and the French team's physician are pleased by the way the ankle has responded to the treatment. The FFBB said on its website that "after seeing the conclusions from the two specialists, the franchise (Chicago Bulls)

Martins Dukurs of Latvia dominated a skeleton World Cup event on Saturday for his fifth victory of the season. The world champion had a combined two-run time of 2 minutes, 17.45 seconds to finish 1.76 seconds clear of New Zealand's Ben Sandford. Matthew Antoine of the United States trailed Dukurs by 1.82 to finish third for his season's best result. Dukurs earned 225 World Cup points to extend his lead to 106 over Germany's Frank Rommel, who finished in a tie for fourth place.

World champion Martins Dukurs of Latvia failed to win a World Cup skeleton race for the time in more than a year, with Frank Rommel leading a 1-2 German finish. Dukars last lost a race on Dec. 17, 2010 and had won all four previous events this season. His run ended at 15 wins when he finished sixth Saturday. Alexander Kroeckel was 0.82 seconds behind Rommel and Matthias Guggenberger of Austria was third, 0.92 behind. Dukurs leads the overall standings by 73 points over Rommel.

Latvia's three-year euro7.5 billion ($10 billion) bailout program that helped the Baltic country avert bankruptcy has come to an end. Latvia's government says it used only euro4.4 billion — or nearly 60 percent — of the loan, which was provided by the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis praised Latvians in a statement Thursday, saying they weathered the greatest crisis in the country's history. Latvia's economy suffered one of the worst collapses in the world, with output shrinking 23...

Thomas Florschuetz piloted Germany 1 to victory for his first World Cup win in four-man bobsled on Sunday, a day after claiming the two-man event. Florschuetz's crew of Gino Gerhardi, Kevin Kuske and Thomas Blaschek finished in 1 minute 50.52 seconds to edge the Russian crew of Alexsandr Zubkov by 0.02 seconds. Oskars Melbardis piloted Latvia to third, 0.13 seconds behind. Olympic champion Steven Holcomb's crew matched Florschuetz for the fastest second run but placed sixth in the first run to leave the Americans fourth overall.

A Russian businessman arrested last week in connection with financial fraud in the Baltics has quit as chairman and director of the second-tier English soccer club Portsmouth. Vladimir Antonov was detained and later released on bail along with a Lithuanian business partner following allegations of asset-stripping at two banks, Snoras Bank in Lithuania and its Latvija Krajbanka subsidiary in Latvia. Antonov's Convers Sports Initiatives was placed into administration — the British equivalent on bankruptcy — on Tuesday.

Latvia's banking authority has suspended all operations of a mid-sized bank due to missing assets discovered during a audit. The bank, Latvijas Krajbanka, came under scrutiny last week after its controlling shareholder, Snoras Bank, was nationalized after regulators in neighboring Lithuania discovered that up to several hundred million dollars in assets were missing. Latvia's Finance and Capital Markets Commission said late Monday that it was taking over management of Latvijas Krajbanka and had appointed a temporary caretaker.

Thomas Florschuetz piloted Germany 1 to victory for his first World Cup win in four-man bobsled on Sunday, a day after claiming the two-man event. Florschuetz's crew of Gino Gerhardi, Kevin Kuske and Thomas Blaschek finished in 1 minute 50.52 seconds to edge the Russian crew of Alexsandr Zubkov by 0.02 seconds. Oskars Melbardis piloted Latvia to third, 0.13 seconds behind. Olympic champion Steven Holcomb's crew matched Florschuetz for the fastest second run but placed sixth in the first run to leave the Americans fourth overall.

A Russian businessman arrested last week in connection with financial fraud in the Baltics has quit as chairman and director of the second-tier English soccer club Portsmouth. Vladimir Antonov was detained and later released on bail along with a Lithuanian business partner following allegations of asset-stripping at two banks, Snoras Bank in Lithuania and its Latvija Krajbanka subsidiary in Latvia. Antonov's Convers Sports Initiatives was placed into administration — the British equivalent on bankruptcy — on Tuesday.

The French Basketball Federation says Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is recovering well from a troublesome ankle problem and should be ready to join his France teammates later this week. Noah has been receiving treatment on his right ankle in Los Angeles. The team doctor for the Bulls and the French team's physician are pleased by the way the ankle has responded to the treatment. The FFBB said on its website that "after seeing the conclusions from the two specialists, the franchise (Chicago Bulls)

RIGA, Latvia — Members of Latvia’s center-right coalition government yesterday agreed to keep working together after voters backed their plans for painful reforms required by an international bailout program to fix the Baltic country’s crippled economy. With more than 99 percent of precincts counted, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ minority coalition mustered more than 57 percent of the vote in Latvia’s parliamentary election Saturday and earned 63 seats in the 100-member legislature, the Central Election Committee announced.