One in every two hundred residents of Latvia took to the streets for the protest, a hole of nearly 2 billion euros has formed in the state budget of Latvia, and a Czech woman has been named the most beautiful on Earth... We present the traditional weekly roundup of news that did not go unnoticed.
People in the Square: What Did They Want
Last Thursday, 10,000 people protested against the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. Considering that in recent years no public idea has been able to gather such a number of people in a protest surge, this is significant. Remembering that our population is nearly 2 million, it’s not that much. Only one in every two hundred made it to the rally.
It is clear that any normal person is against violence. But existing laws already protect against it. What Latvia lacks are laws that would protect the population from corrupt authorities, from catastrophic income inequality, and from the rapid extinction of the population. I would join protests against these ugly phenomena. Would you?
Money: We Have a Budget, What’s Missing?
The Saeima discussed and conceptually supported the budget for 2026 for two days. The budget discussion took almost 14 hours, including breaks.
The coalition emphasized that next year the main focus is on investments in security - increasing funding for the defense sector. Support for education and families was also highlighted. The opposition, in turn, most often criticized the budget deficit and "living on credit," as well as scaring the country with bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, the budget has a hole - the consolidated budget revenues are planned at 16.064 billion euros, while expenditures are 17.945 billion euros, which is almost two billion more.
Latvia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to be 43.953 billion euros next year at current prices, with a budget deficit of 3.3% of GDP, and the national debt not exceeding 55% of GDP.
Law: Notary Instead of Court
The Saeima of Latvia approved amendments to the Civil Procedure Law and the Notary Law aimed at strengthening the protection of children's rights in divorce cases.
The amendments stipulate that agreements on custody, communication rights, and child support in the event of a divorce will have legal force and be subject to direct enforcement without the need to go to court.
Until now, such agreements, although made, did not have indisputable legal force, which often led to legal disputes where the child effectively became the object of contention and suffered moral distress, noted the authors of the initiative from the Ministry of Justice.
Normal Flight: airBaltic Brings Profit
This happened for the first time in two years and after significant losses. The airline controlled by the Latvian government ended the first nine months of 2025 with a profit of 4.25 million euros. The previous year, the company recorded a loss of 48.5 million - thus, the turnaround in financial results was quite noticeable.
The group's revenue for the same period increased by 3.3% to 594.3 million euros. Over nine months, the airline transported 3.9 million passengers - 1.7% more than a year ago.
The number of flights performed, including ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) flights, increased to 60,300, which is 5.9% higher than last year's figures. Of these, 36,300 flights were performed on the company's route network (+2.4%), and 24,000 were under ACMI (+11.7%). The average cabin occupancy rate was 80.5%, slightly below last year's level.
Recall that in 2024, the consolidated loss of the airBaltic group reached 118.2 million euros.
Housing: You Don’t Live Here!
Over the year, 400 people declared their place of residence without legal grounds. To reduce this practice, a control system will be implemented that can automatically check whether a person's declaration has been annulled in the last three years due to its illegality.
If such a fact is discovered, the electronic service will inform the person that they can only submit a declaration in person, presenting documents confirming the existence of legal grounds.
Those without violations can declare electronically, as usual.
Individuals who have committed an offense, even if they wish to declare their ownership, will not be able to do so remotely. They will be on a blacklist for three years, and this period will serve as both a preventive and motivating measure to encourage good behavior.
Declarations can only be made for one place of residence. The amendments also stipulate that the property owner will receive information about individuals declared at their property to their official email.
Weather: November Has Warmed Up in Latvia
On November 6, temperature records for November 6 were broken in Kolka and Pāvilosta. In Kolka, the air warmed up to +13.6 °C, while in Pāvilosta it reached +13.2 °C. For comparison, the nationwide record for this date is +14.3 °C and was recorded at the Skulte station in 1967.
By 3:00 PM, air temperatures in Latvia ranged from +8.6 °C in Zoseni to +12.6 °C in Kolka and Mērsrags.
The average daily temperature was about six degrees above the climatic norm for early November.
Beauty Will Save the World: Czech Woman Named Most Beautiful on Earth
21-year-old Czech model and student of marketing and public relations, Natali Pushkinova, won the international beauty pageant "Miss Earth – 2025." The final of the competition took place on November 5 in Manila, Philippines. 82 contestants from around the world competed for the crown. This was reported by the ABS-CBN television channel and Euronews.
The most beautiful girl on Earth also confessed that, according to family legends, among her ancestors may be the Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. However, no evidence has been found so far.
Against the backdrop of rumors about possible Russian roots, Natali received negative messages from some of her fellow citizens, but she does not intend to change her surname.
