An epidemic has been declared in Latvia, a small patient has died in a Riga hospital, American sanctions have been lifted from Belarusian fertilizers… We present the traditional weekly roundup of news that has not gone unnoticed.
Loyalty: what are you to them — a package?
The initiative to expel disloyal individuals from Latvia has been handed over to the Saeima commission. The initiative calls for the development of a law on the expulsion of disloyal citizens and the revocation of their Latvian citizenship to strengthen the country's security.
The authors of the initiative from the public emphasize that the goal of the proposed measures is to create a safe environment, prevent threats, and strengthen national security. They also argue that the implementation of the initiative will contribute to the growth of national self-awareness among Latvians and highlight the indivisibility of the state concerning national values, territory, laws, and language.
To this end, they urge the urgent development of a new law or amendments to existing regulations to ensure the possibility of expelling such individuals and revoking their Latvian citizenship. And this is where the hitch lies. A disloyal person cannot simply be sent away like a package if they do not have citizenship of another country.
Infection: an influenza epidemic has started in Latvia
Moreover, this year it has clearly rushed in, starting several weeks earlier. Hospitals are already feeling an increase in the number of patients and are declaring quarantine, while medical professionals say this season promises to be severe. However, the peak of the disease can be expected around the Christmas holidays.
"Influenza starts very acutely: with a high temperature — up to 40 — and headache, pain in the eyeballs; it breaks bones. A person does not have joint pain, does not have muscle pain, but their limbs feel as if they are being broken. By the end of the first day, on the second day, a dry, cutting cough adds to the symptoms," listed the charms of this season's influenza by the chief physician of the Latvian Infectology Center, Baiba Rozentale.
As usual, the epidemic has fallen on the heads of the responsible comrades from the Ministry of Health - the vaccines have run out.
Tragedy: potassium, sodium – what’s the difference?
After the death of a child at the Children's Clinical University Hospital (CCUH), when medications were mixed up, several investigations and checks will be conducted both in this and other hospitals. This was stated by the Minister of Health, Hosam Abu Meri.
A patient in the oncology department, treated at CCUH, may have received the wrong medications and died, reported Latvian television. The portal la.lv, in turn, reported that an eight-year-old patient died as a result of what was presumably a mix-up of medications by hospital staff, who administered potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride.
Is the staff burning out at work? Are they underpaid? Did they not study well? - These questions should be answered by an internal investigation.
Recognition: there is something inhuman about the "People" of the year
Time magazine has awarded the title of Person of the Year to a group of artificial intelligence creators, emphasizing that they are the ones defining the direction of technological development and having the greatest influence on 2025, reports the BBC.
"2025 has become the year when the full potential of artificial intelligence burst into our field of vision and when it became clear that there is no turning back," the editorial board announced its decision on social media. - For the fact that the age of thinking machines has become a reality; for what has simultaneously fascinated and concerned humanity, for changing the present and expanding the boundaries of the possible, the creators of AI have been named Time's Person of the Year 2025.
One of the two covers of the magazine features Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, X owner Elon Musk, and the "godmother" of artificial intelligence, Fei-Fei Li.
Experts note that this current decision highlights the speed at which artificial intelligence and the companies creating it are changing society.
Announcement: Will Vecmilgravis and Bolderāja be connected by a ferry?
Riga City Council will consider the possibility of organizing ferry services between two remote districts of Riga, separated by a waterway. At a meeting of the urban development committee, deputies called for support for this initiative, emphasizing that currently, during peak hours, a trip on public transport from one district to another takes two hours, whereas by ferry it would take 15 minutes.
Deal: prisoners in exchange for fertilizers
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has once again proven that he is quicker than his European colleagues in grasping the "trends" set by US President Donald Trump.
Last weekend, an elegant and mutually beneficial deal took place. Trump lifted sanctions on the important Belarusian export enterprise "Belaruskaliy." And the father released 123 truth-seeking prisoners and other dissidents from captivity.
