More Charges have been brought against three of the officials involved while the liability of one is still being assessed Latvian Television reports that three of the four persons involved in the case are former Mayor Vents Armands Krauklis the head of the Ērģeme parish administration Pēteris Pētersons and a board member of the cider brewery "Mūrbūdu sidra darītava" Ltd Krišjānis Putniņš KNAB has referred the criminal proceedings to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) The investigation has uncovered evidence that a representative of a beverage producer together with two officials of the Valka municipality allegedly defrauded the European Union (EU) Structural Funds and the Latvian state budget on a large scale with material damage of €581.709.76 to the EU and Latvia "This is the first criminal case successfully investigated by the KNAB on alleged fraud of EU funds which has been referred to the EPPO for prosecution It is unacceptable that criminal and fraudulent methods were used to attract structural funds KNAB will continue to work closely with the EPPO to prevent EU fund fraud," explains Ineta Cīrule KNAB Deputy Head for Investigative Activities As a result of the pre-trial investigation KNAB suggested to the European Public Prosecutor's Office to prosecute two Valka municipality officials and a company representative for large-scale fraud.  The case regards building a facility in the municipality for whom a tenant were to be selected in an open tender The investigation has found that the tenant was already known before.  In cases where the potential tenant of a particular facility is unknown and is selected following an open tender the municipality is entitled to mobilize up to 85% of the EU funds If the facility is being built for a specific purpose and the potential operator is known EU co-financing is available between 45% and 55% with a higher contribution from the company itself The Central Finance and Contracts Agency (CFLA) is the responsible authority for monitoring the allocation and use of EU funds Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor Valga (Estonia) and Valka (Latvia) were for centuries a single city in Livonia that went by the German name of Walk when Latvia and Estonia won their independence in 1918 and it ended up being divided into two separate cities straddling the border EU and Schengen Zone accession have seen border checks disappear and residents can walk from one country to another to shop visit and even to order to a pizza on one side to collect on the other The next six days will be filled with fun events including a 'Borderless Party' on June 7 a Walga-Valka Race on June 9 and a Big Children's Party on June 11.  You can read some reflections on Valga-Valka – or should that be Valka-Valga? – in this recent feature The community has definitely benefited from the freshly renovated station building The lobby is warmer and the whole building friendlier for visitors and residents alike… providing a fresh outlook for the Valga-Valka twin-towns There are two stations on the border of Estonia and Latvia One is in Valga on the Estonian side and the second is in the small town of Lugaži (Valka) in Latvia residents on both sides of the border use the Valga railway station where they can get trains to either capital and generally enjoy better public transport connections in the district The EU-funded project helped to renovate the station bringing them up to today’s standards and improving services for both Estonian and Latvian travellers The Valga junction is part of the main Riga-Pskov rail connection Its classic brick building dates back to 1890 and the last time it received major attention was after World War II the building and facilities were maintained by the city but by 2012 it was clear investment would be needed to refurbish the station outdated fittings and problems with plumbing and flooding the main passenger and reception areas (lounge Now the common areas of the station look fresh  Electronic boards mounted on the walls display bus- and train schedules including international travel times in multiple languages The front of the building also has new information boards displaying the time Residents of Valka make up a large proportion of the regular passenger flow through Valga station which is why it was targeted for renovation to act as a joint railway and bus transportation hub for the twin-towns Estonian Railways had previously renovated the line between Valga and Tartu the improvements in infrastructure and comfort mean better conditions for travellers from both sides of the border and pave the way for better overall service including faster train connections on major routes such as Riga-Valmiera and Valga-Tallinn Feedback on the renovations from passengers and the community has been very positive friendlier” station building serves as a hub for the twin-towns and inspiration for new developments in Valka including adding information boards with bus- and train schedules and city maps for Valka and Valga Common city planning like this makes sense saving resources and strengthening ties between the two cities Total investment for the project “Renovation of Valga-Valka Railway Station” is EUR 481 927 with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 399 999 through the “Objective 2 Increased Cohesion of the Programme Area” for the 2007-2013 programming period The investment falls under the priority “Reducing isolation through improved internal and external connectivity of the programme area” Award Winning Mega-Agent with 20+ years experience During an attempt to peruse Campaign Finance Reports for the Port Arthur Mayoral election on April 8 The Examiner discovered that only one of four mayoral candidates had submitted their report of campaign contributions and expenditures by the April 3 deadline: Charlotte Moses In attempt to gather said information from the remaining three candidates The Examiner was met with a multitude of responses who said he “didn’t have time” to turn in the paperwork and that he would do it at his convenience When asked if he possibly didn’t turn in the report because he hadn’t received any contributions to his campaign Vincent said “no,” acknowledging that he had received “some” but said he knew it was due and “hasn’t had time to go to City Hall to file it.” the mayoral candidate called back to say he didn’t usually talk to reporters and that if what was wanted was “a good story,” the media should instead find out why unnamed past candidates never filed campaign finance reports “including the mayor that’s going out right now – and really do some reporting.” In a candid conversation about his idea of “real reporting,” Vincent was asked respectfully how he had time to be mayor if he didn’t have time to turn in the proper paperwork I do it at my convenience as far as paperwork goes… I’m not in office now “I didn’t sign no ethics paperwork because I’m dealing with the city of Port Arthur and people who have no ethics It’s not a mandatory thing that I sign – I researched it and I know it’s not mandatory that I sign that piece of paper.” “I’m dealing with representatives inside the city of Port Arthur government that have no ethics so everybody wants me to play fair and play by the rules That’s the reason I’m running for freaking mayor,” Vincent continued nobody follows the guidelines – go ride around and look at the city of Port Arthur and see where signs can and can’t be put…our code enforcement has not removed ’em they’ve been reported as being signs in the wrong places and they haven’t done anything… Vincent turned in an incomplete campaign finance report showing receipt of $1,500 in contributions which is intended to report itemized expenditures a call to Allen “Opie” Valka revealed that he had not yet received donations of campaign funds “I can’t expect people to give me funds when they’re already having a hard time with money,” said Valka I haven’t had not one dollar donated…I got a couple of shirts my wife made with her Cricut…I took my old city council signs and my wife put mayor on them.” Valka filed his campaign finance report April 11 reporting $0 in contributions and $0 in expenditures Charlie Lewis said he had given the city his 30-day report “The campaign manager said he did that last week,” said Lewis upon learning the city had not yet received the report “He’s usually on top of everything…I’ll light a fire under him and get ’em on up that way – must have been an oversight.” a campaign finance report was turned in and signed by Lewis absent any numbers in the contributions and expenditures fields Moses reported a total of $28,090.16 in political contributions and $21,933.12 in political expenditures as of the deadline April 2 with her largest campaign contributor being Faddi’s Development Group LLC Kaprina Frank serves as Moses’ campaign treasurer Finance reports are governed by the Texas Ethics Commission and while it is the Ethics Commission that holds candidates accountable for following the laws delivering the basic information is the responsibility of the Port Arthur City Secretary Sherri Bellard “I gave them all of that information when they applied,” said Bellard Moses submitted her campaign financial report April 2; it was scanned and put on the city of Port Arthur website April 8 are available online at: https://cityhall.portarthurtx.gov:444/WebLink/Browse.aspx?startid=8429&row=1&dbid=0 State Representative Dade Phelan recently introduced several campaign finance bills aimed at boosting “transparency These bills target concerns centered on financial transparency • House Bill 366 requires political ads using altered or A.I.-generated media to include disclosures stating the content “did not occur in reality,” and creates a criminal offense for violators (with exceptions for ISPs and broadcasters) • House Bill 3592 limits campaign contributions from individuals outside of Texas to candidates for state mandates detailed reporting of PAC spending closes loopholes and ensures public access to campaign finance info • House Bill 4958 requires political ads about officeholders not on the ballot to disclose funding sources “These proposed bills are a crucial step toward ensuring greater transparency and accountability in our political system,” Phelan said The Port Arthur municipal election will be held Saturday Early voting will be conducted each weekday from 8 a.m.  –  5 p.m with extended voting hours at City Hall and PA Public Library until 6 p.m Polling locations can be found online at portarthurtx.gov local news has kept our communities informed and engaged and its demise strains the fabric of our society The Examiner with each and every issue informs it is expensive yet essential to maintain a free society A festival uniting the twin towns of Valga (Estonia) and Valka (Latvia) kicked off on Thursday Friday brings a "Borderless Party," to be followed by a fair on Saturday, and various other events through to next Wednesday, June 12, LSM reports on its English-language page are effectively the same town but long bisected by a national border drawn up in 1920 by British civil servant Sir Stephen George Tallents After joining the Schengen Area of free movement border controls disappeared – save for a period during the Covid pandemic – meaning Estonian and Latvian residents and other visitors can freely meet and mingle and perhaps do a spot of cross-border shopping More information in English is here Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update! 0)" class="article-poll-disclaimer" ng-bind="totalVotes + ' hääletajat'"> {{option.votes}} {{selectedLanguage.poll.votes}}/ Iga kasutaja võib hääletada {{poll.optionLimit}} vastusevariandi poolt co byly v Evropě čínskou nákladní lodí údajně přeťaty dva podmořské komunikační kabely došlo k podobnému incidentu také u pobřeží Tchaj-wanu Tchaj-wan této „kabelové válce“ čelí již podstatně delší dobu V pátek společnost Chunghwa Telecom oznámila že čínská loď Šun-sing 39 poškodila podmořský komunikační kabel u severního pobřeží ostrova Podle Chunghwa Telecom a tchajwanské Správy pobřežní stráže bylo poškození kabelu způsobeno minulý pátek nákladní lodí Šun-sing 39 plující pod kamerunskou vlajkou severovýchodně od oblasti Jie-liou v Nové Tchaj-peji Ačkoliv je loď oficiálně registrována v Africe tchajwanské úřady spojují tuto loď se společností Jie Yang Trading Limited registrovanou v Hongkongu a vedenou státním příslušníkem Čínské lidové republiky (ČLR).Tchajwanská pobřežní stráž následně vyslala hlídku která plavidlo zadržela a nařídila mu návrat do vod přilehlých k přístavu Ťi-lung za účelem dalšího vyšetřování Podle vysílacího systému lodi a satelitních dat vleklo plavidlo v místě poškození podmořského kabelu po mořském dně kotvu Tchajwanský bezpečnostní představitel incident označil za součást rostoucího celosvětového trendu sabotáží podmořských kabelů Čínský Úřad pro záležitosti Tchaj-wanu toto tvrzení odmítl označil událost za běžný námořní incident a obvinil tchajwanskou Demokratickou pokrokovou stranu (DPP) ze „zahrávání si s protičínskými náladami“ vážně ovlivní její schopnost čelit podobným incidentům ze strany ČLR Jen málo států proto disponuje dostatečnými vnitrostátními předpisy zatímco UNCLOS ukládá tresty pouze plavidlům jež poškodí kabely mimo teritoriální vody svého státu která se týkají bezpečné plavby cizích lodí těmito vodami Tchaj-wan se však potýká se sabotáží podmořských kabelů již několik let. V letech 2016 až 2020 byly opakovaně poškozovány komunikační kabely spojující ostrovy Ma-cu (馬祖) s hlavním ostrovem Úředníci pracující v oblasti národní bezpečnosti tak zdůrazňují tři klíčová preventivní opatření která je možné podniknout: zlepšení odolnosti podmořských kabelů vytvoření mezinárodního výstražného systému a ustanovení globálního rámce odpovědnosti Mezinárodní spolupráce je totiž zásadní pro zamezení dalším takovýmto incidentům v budoucnosti Globální konektivita Tchaj-wanu – jakožto námořního státu – je hluboce závislá na stále důležitějším zabezpečení vlastních podmořských kabelů že internetová konektivita je nezbytná pro logistiku a průmysl téměř v každém sektoru jak dalekosáhlé byl byly důsledky případných výpadků internetu na Tchaj-wanu zejména vzhledem k jeho roli technologické velmoci v oblasti výroby polovodičů Tento článek je součástí brífinku Bezpečnostního centra Evropské hodnoty Indo-Pacifik aktuálně. Máte na tohle téma jiný názor? Napište o něm vlastní článek. Texty jsou tvořeny uživateli a nepodléhají procesu korektury. Pokud najdete chybu nebo nepřesnost, prosíme, pošlete nám ji na medium.chyby@firma.seznam.cz. Stačí mít účet na Seznamu a můžete začít psát. Ty nejlepší články se mohou zobrazit i na hlavní stránce Seznam.cz Take note – story published 1 year and 5 months ago Eventually an international commission headed by British civil servant Stephen George Tallents was to decide who got the city According to the most entertaining account of what ensued Tallents got so fed up with the constant bickering of both parties he ended up drawing a line on a map along the Varžupīte/Konnaoja an innocuous little stream that ran through Walk and declared that henceforth it would be the international border with Valga on the north side and Valka on the south side Tallents later went on to found the Institute of Public Relations During the Soviet occupation of both countries, the stream was allowed to return to obscurity, only for renewed independence to make it a sort of miniature Livonian Rubicon again, and then for the Schengen Agreement to send it into well-earned retirement One of the more uncomfortable facts is that 28 Finns were killed at the Battle of Paju in January 1919 defending Estonian independence against the pro-Soviet Latvian Red Riflemen The Finns also distinguished themselves on Latvian territory in the liberation of Alūksne from the Soviets A memorial hill stands by the side of the highway close to the scene of the Paju battle on the road from Valga to Tartu A similarly-sized hill stands in the recently constructed cross-border park along the banks of the River Pedele/Pedeli in Valka There on top of 'Porridge Hill' (Putraskalns/Pudrumägi) in Latvia it is a literal stone's throw to the border below. If you did throw that stone – or a bowl of porridge – it would land close to a shopping centers on Estonian territory I recall seeing a woman standng outside it center last year busking by singing Latvian folk songs She seemed to have a fairly appreciative foreign audience on her impromptu international tour On the Latvian side of the border are a few shops selling cheap alcohol and the tendency of Estonians and Finns to cross the border and fill their cars with bottles is well recorded But less well-known is the fact that Latvia charges duty on coffee So there is a less-well-known trend of Latvians wandering across to buy a few cheap packets of a different drug Putraskalns hill is equipped with a pair of powerful binoculars which are free to use though the general direction in which they are pointed suggests they might be there so you can examine Estonian apartment blocks to see if anyone has left their curtains open while they wander around in their underwear The experience of geographical difference between the Latvian and Estonian sides of the border is one thing but it can be greatly enhanced by what we might call temporal difference For example I was recently in the twin cities when it was a public holiday in Latvia but an ordinary working day in Estonia It was as if the two towns drifted slightly further apart for the day when there were election posters prominent on the Estonian side but there were no elections happening in Latvia it felt as if Estonia's political parties were shouting into a void.  It is also worth mentioning my two favourite places to eat: Walk Cafe on the Latvian side (lunchtime special is the best value in the whole country and a good place to eavesdrop local business deals) and Kohvik Johanna on the Estonian side which contains everything I consider necessary in a really good cafe: excellent coffee studious young men reading books and elegant old ladies in berets My routine when visiting Valka/Valga/Walk is always the same I catch the 12:33 train from Cēsis in Latvia which arrives in Valga (the only station is a couple of hundred meters across the border) at 13:42 The station is quite grand – oversized in fact – but there's no time to waste I walk as quickly as possible the 500 meters to Säde park For a few minutes I have the appearance of being just another anonymous middle-aged Estonian man on his lunch break Little do they suspect that in fact I am an international traveller who has just just crossed the border and who is treating everything around me as different and exotic By preference I choose one of the benches brightly painted with folk motifs in which case the clunky 1980s-style ones will suffice At one end of the duck pond is an attractive villa half-old form very much suiting a city infused with duality The older part was a villa built in 1902 for an entrepreneurial local wonderfully named Gotthold Eduard Emil Zencker During the Estonian war of independence the Latvian Red Cross ran a soup kitchen from the building and it later served more sinister purposes as headquarters for the Communist Party and occupying Nazi German forces as well as seeing service as an orphanage and youth center Since 1996 it has been Valga Central Library The building's own history is probably just as informative as the history section located within it.  A desire to catch a train in order to feed the ducks in another country may raise questions about my psychological well-being but I see this little routine as therapeutic rather than pathologic Indeed the character of the park itself tends to support my little pan-Baltic fantasy life Nearby in the park is a statue honoring 'Toomas Nipernaadi' a popular character in Estonian literature with his battered hat held aloft on a stick he is an "eternal wanderer" who has all sorts of pointless and picaresque adventures According to the information beside the statue he is precisely the type who would approve of going to another country and sitting on a bench for no particular reason: "He strode along the paths in the fields, picked flowers There was something artistic and naive in his entire being Nipernaadi was the creation of August Gailit an Estonian writer who – as is clear from his name (Gailītis is a common Latvian surname) – had Latvian ancestry he attended the Latvian school in Walk and later worked as a journalist in Latvia and as press attache at the Estonian embassy in Rīga If Gailit and Nipernaadi are allowed to wander around having Quixotic adventures I don't see why the rest of us shouldn't be allowed to do the same.  I need to hurry to get back to the Valga railway station in time for the departure at 15:03 of exactly the same train which brought me up here There isn't even time to buy packets of coffee Just outside the station is an information board giving details of another piece of delightful Latvian-Estonian absurdity "Due to setting of the national border between Estonia and Latvia after World War 1 the beginning of the railway line to Mõniste appeared to be in Latvia and large sums of money were demanded from Estonia Thus a new railway line through Kaagjärve was constructed and trains to Mõniste did not pass Latvian territory." waiting for me in the shadow of the oversized station tower It's my Latvian train departing from Estonia hi-tech trains for Tartu that the Estonians have amusingly nicknamed "carrots" due to their orange color.  My Latvian train is older, slower and louder than the state of the art carrot but it's also a lot cheaper. The return ticket costs me a little over 5 euros. I can leave at lunchtime consume a poppy seed cake and a considerable slice of Baltic history and still be home in time for an early supper It is proto-Rail Baltica on a budget and it is just one of the attractions of the Estonian-Latvian border zone “Exactly 100 years have passed since the tiny river Varžupīte / Konnaoja divided the town of Walk into Valga (EE) and Valka (LV) The motto of Valga–Valka is “One city The project aim is the development of a joint territory to improve physical connectivity promote tourism and activate entrepreneurship The new center is architecturally and profess The new center is architecturally and professionally designed so that the border has become an attraction instead this is a concrete example of multi-level partnership built upon common local goals and values Despite legal differences in the two countries the construction of the twin city centre came to an end without major incidents and was completed ahead of schedule The great opening is expected for spring 2021 The project received an ERDF contribution of 2,9 million EUR Do you want to know how the construction of the new center was done? Have a look at this video!   Now that construction is finalised, dissemination activities include the outdoor orienteering game “walk VVALK”  taking place between 12 and 27 December Get to know more about this project FOTO: Arvo Meeks / Lõuna-Eesti Postimees Take note – story published 1 year and 11 months ago Viesturs Zariņš (New Unity/Latvian Farmers Union) said that Krauklis had lost the trust of the opposition members of the City Council due to various alleged offenses selfish decisions. Krauklis referred to Zariņš' words as 'half truths in a pile of lies' Krauklis said that some Members had one objective since the beginning of this parliamentary term – to overthrow him “It is not about professionalism or the style of work but it is a desire to gain management for themselves,” the mayor commented on the opposition's intention Latvian Television observed on Thursday that people were protesting against Krauklis' dismissal Photo: Dinija Jemeļjanova/Latvijas Televīzija “We can imagine – we are driving and now we have 60 TV towers between Valmiera and Strenči,” Armands Broks “The size of one wind turbine is planned to be 200 meters high which is similar to the Valmiera television tower plus we're still putting another 100 meters up which will be the rotor blade,” he said Armands Broks is also the initiator of the initiative on the platform “Manabalss” to review the construction of wind farms in Latvian forests “This area from the Strenči toward Valka is part of the Ziemeļgauja protected landscape area it's on my value scale one of the pearls of Vidzeme with its unique nature with the Cirgaļu dunes that partially fit into the area there's also a very high diversity of plants different bird and animal species,” says Broks Even more worried are residents of homes in the area we only have the northern windows without those great skyscrapers,” says Solvita Miezīte She said the concern is how giant wind turbines will affect the environment animals and whether or not they will endanger human health but how they will interact with each other, how all those low sound frequencies will leave an impact on health but not that number in this small area of land,” says Miezīte Other residents of Valka civil parish are also worried about how the construction of these giant towers and later operation will affect the environment and also quality of life: There are plenty of open places in Latvia that can be found where such large forests do not need to be destroyed.” This project is being implemented by “Latvian wind parks” When asked why this pine forest array is chosen for the wind farm board Member of the joint stock company “Latvian State Forests” said that only 27% of Latvia's forest areas can be suitable for wind parks “More than 70 percent of Latvia's state forest area has already been completely excluded from any potential exploration of wind farms whether they are existing environmental protection restrictions or it is population,” Kalns explained “We've been through the fact that overall agricultural land is also regarded as a high value remembering that we are still in sync with the Russian energy system… So only forest areas are left,” said Kalns The Nature Conservation Agency (DAP) explains that the environmental impact assessment process has been initiated and experts have already carried out research on both birds and habitats in previous seasons is also wary of assessing the construction of a wind farm in the forest “The report should evaluate complex all related impacts there are several projects happening right now the number of projects is close to two dozen right now,” Strode says “We're not excited from a conservation standpoint about wind farms being built in forest areas it's not something where there's a lot of experience in the world either if indeed all these projects are to be carried out then this could have a negative impact on the natural values as a whole,” said the DAP head Locals also say that project promoters should explain what the benefits of this idea are if there is so much to lose a public consultation meeting on the planned wind farm was held via videoconference with another public consultation next spring where the results of the environmental impact report will be presented Take note – story published 5 years and 1 month ago "The person in charge of the emergency situation [Prime Minister] Jüri Ratas has extended an exception for the Valga-Valka border crossing point to allow people who live in the twin city to freely travel between work and home," an Estonian government press release said "Implementing the exception allows residents of the Valga-Valka area Only persons without symptoms of illness may cross the border in the twin city The exception also allows for the area to function as normally as possible in the emergency situation which also means keeping economic damages as low as possible," the statement said.  The official document is attached to this story As previously reported by LSM the scrap metal has previously visited Rīga The T-72B will be on display in the central square that links the two towns from May 10 to June 6 for anyone who wants to see it Take note – story published 6 years and 3 months ago leaving only a SEB teller machine in the border town with a population of about 5,000 This means that locals have to go to Smiltene or Valmiera towns to use banking services Meanwhile the local authority is in the process of setting up a credit and savings association which could cover some of the missing banking functions such as providing loans to local residents.  Johansone did say that the Finance Ministry is rather skeptical about this initiative.  The center said a passenger infected with the Covid-19 virus was on the bus Passengers who were on the bus are asked to remain in self-isolation for 14 days and contact the Disease Prevention and Control Center at 67271738 LTV reported that Rīga city will remove most discounts for passengers using municipal transportation Only discounts for disabled people and social workers will remain in effect This measure is to be taken to reduce passenger crowding in public transport combating the spread of the novel coronavirus.  Similar measures have been taken in Daugavpils Take note – story published 1 year and 9 months ago Take note – story published 6 years and 9 months ago journalist with the Latvian newspaper Ziemeļlatvija said that where initially the company wanted to have the casino in the city center it had to look for alternative locations as the city center location was too close to schools "A refusal had been received earlier from the town managers of Smiltene The Valka regional council decided in June that the location on Rujiena Street is a suitable one," Karpova said The nearest educational establishment to the Rujiena Street location is the Valga County Center for Vocational Education situated on the Estonian side of the border The Lithuanian company wishes to operate a casino with 20 slot machines and the possibility for sports betting The border town of Valka is seeing booze sales boom as Estonians and Finns are coming to the country to stock up on cheaper alcohol.  a Latvian town and municipality in northern Latvia on the border with Estonia along both banks of the River Pedele where one can literally leap from one country into the other on the swings that are erected on the very Latvia-Estonia border perhaps only historians know that the town was a major bone of contention of the two fledgling states Valka offers a variety of sightseeing spots lush recreational parks and is definitely a great place to do some business The Baltic Times Magazine spoke to Ivo Leitis Public Relations Specialist of the Valka municipality to find out more about the town and the municipality What is the origin of the name of the town and the municipality It is believed that the city name Valka is related to Latvian verbs "vilkt" and "valkāt" or the noun "valks" which in the early days was used as a description for wetland areas or swamps  The noun "valks" originally described a place where people dragged their boats or cargo from the basin of the River Gauja to the River Pedele Then they travelled to the basin of the River Emajegi and after that to Estonian lakes and Russian lands What are the most interesting facts about Valka I’ve read that the decision of the Latvian Provisional National Council to proclaim in 1917 the independent Republic of Latvia was made namely in Valka And also that the town was a subject of a dispute between the newly born Latvian and Estonian states then the decision to proclaim the independence of the Republic of Latvia was made in Valka The board of the Latvian Provisional National Council operated independently in Valka and created a structure that covered all areas of the emerging country when the border was set between the newly independent states of Latvia and Estonia As the members of the International Commission (Great Britain Estonia) couldn’t decide about the location of the border the final decision was made by the chairman of the court of arbitration The main part of the city was given to Estonia when Latvia and Estonia joined the Schengen visa-free travel zone the Riga and Raja Street border post was officially opened The border significantly interfered with the development of both cities so joining the Schengen area was a real celebration in Valka and Valga.  What are the main places of sightseeing in Valka The newly built Valga – Valka Twin Town Centre is a place with a unique opportunity to be inside a city centre that’s located right on the border of both countries Here you can literally swing from one country into the other on swings that go across the Latvia-Estonia border.  Valka-Lugazi Evangelical Lutheran Church is located right next to the centre The first written record of the church dates from 1477 Different historical styles can be seen on the exterior of the church due to it having been rebuilt and repaired after frequent wars The church tower can be accessed as a viewing platform that offers a splendid view of Valka/Valga - one city Both cities also have numerous monuments that honour the history of both sides of the twin city as well as multiple parks and recreational areas along which the flow of transit and tourists grows every year We have a railway and Valka / Valga is home to about 20,000 people Valka has become a popular destination for shopping and services among Estonians Valka has ready-made premises of various sizes for manufacturing (owned by both the municipality and the private sector) we are also ready to develop joint projects and get involved in the development of new production areas We can promise maximum municipal support and speedy decision making property prices are still much lower than in other cities of similar size Yet Valka/Valga lacks a hotel with at least 50 rooms It interferes both when organizing events and when working with large tourism companies we offer both historical buildings and plots of land We are sure that a hotel and SPA would be a successful business project  What are the main economic activities in Valka Are there any distinguished companies in Valka Valka is a place with a favourable environment for the development of multi-disciplinary businesses 58.57% of the rural territory of the county is occupied by forests which is the basis for the development of forestry and woodworking in the county The second most developed industry is agriculture One of the most distinguished companies in Valka is “PEPI RER” with 25 years of experience in manufacturing of polyethylene foam and the air bubble film field The company exports their products to more than 40 countries worldwide The export rate has reached 90% of the company's sales What are the culture events worth attending in Valka in 2023 Every year the Twin Cities Valga/Valka Festival is held in celebration of and dedicated to the anniversary of granting city rights This year the celebrations will take place from the 7th to the 11th of June The festivities will include art exhibitions a joint disco party on the border as well as an exciting auto sprint rally across the border through the twin city centre This year we will also continue our established tradition - the joint Valka/Valga festival parade which will end in Putraskalns near Pedele where an impressive multimedia fountain show will take place the Great Charity Border Market takes place in Valka/Valga The event takes place for two days and is filled with various cultural and sport events as well as contests such as “BBQ Without Borders” A newly established tradition is common New Year’s celebrations Latvians and Estonians meet on the border to celebrate the New Year together with various festivities A notable event is the International Valga Military History Festival Every year many history re-enactment clubs travel to the Festival The event holds re-enactment battles from different time periods has a military parade through the city with historical uniforms Who are the most prominent people of Valka A lot of noteworthy people have been active in Valka throughout history but arguably the most prominent is Janis Cimze and founder of Latvian choral music and initiator of professional Latvian music.  He was the first prominent Latvian figure in music whose example inspired extensive collection Thanks to the activities of Cimze and his students the first All-Estonian (1869) and All-Latvian (1873) Song Festivals were held.  Cimze headed Vidzeme Teachers' Seminary in Valka where he taught future teachers the conducting of choirs and harmonisation of folk songs Now Valka Local History Museum is located in the very same building which housed the Vidzeme Teachers' Seminary Many of the educational establishments in Valka bear his name Janis Cimze was buried in Lugazi Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery which was later renamed Cimze Cemetery.  Can you tell any funny stories related to Valka Do some Valka residents also speak Estonian due to proximity of Estonia Before Latvia and Estonia joined the Schengen visa-free travel zone residents who travelled across the country border were subject to regular border control checks particularly those who lived in one country but worked in the other had to change passports far more often due to them being filled up with country entry stamps There is a unique structure in Stoķu Cemetery located in Valka parish You can enter the cemetery chapel from Latvia It is the only structure with such peculiarity in the entire country Despite the close proximity and everyday shopping habits across the border not as many people in Valka/Valga speak both languages as one might assume Perhaps it is because Latvian and Estonian languages are part of different language families while Latvian belongs to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages What websites do you recommend to get better acquainted with Valka The distance from the Latvian capital city Riga is 160km and from Tartu (Estonia) - 90km A convenient way to travel to Valka/Valga is by train You can find more information about objects of interest places of accommodation and catering in our websites: websites www.valka.lv www.visit.valka.lv and www.visitvalgavalka.com A subscription to The Baltic Times is a cost-effective way of staying in touch with the latest Baltic news and views enabling you full access from anywhere with an Internet connection. Subscribe Now! 2025 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy Privacy Policy Take note – story published 8 years and 6 months ago As alcohol in Tallinn isn't as cheap as it used to be, Finns who used to go to Estonia to stock up on booze have turned a page and are now going to Latvia's Valka, reported Finnish public broadcaster YLE via the Iltalehti daily Friday Italehti reported store owners at Latvia's Valka - right on the border with Estonia - as saying that busloads of Finns "It seems like there are only Finns here." The newspaper reports that a liter-bottle of Russian Standard vodka costs €24.99 in Tallinn making the more time consuming trip to Latvia economically sound not only from a Finnish Recently the third liquor store was about to open in Valka Previously Estonia's Health Ministry expressed worry about the cross-border alcohol trade carried out by Estonian companies on the Latvian side of the border.  AI localization company Orange Inc. revealed on Friday two new manga releases for the week of November 29 for its new e-bookstore service "emaqi." The manga serialized in Futabasha's Monthly Action magazine from 2013 to 2019 and has 12 volumes The series inspired two spinoffs: one with one volume and another with two volumes a single mother with two failed marriages and one daughter leading to an unforgettable night together As their physical relationship intensifies just a physical connection." Shoko is left heartbroken The manga launched in Futabasha's JOUR magazine in 2011 and is ongoing with 37 volumes currently The manga has also inspired the Sefure no Pride: Age 21 spinoff The manga also inspired two live-action films that opened in July 2023 and August 2023 emaqi is currently hosting a welcome campaign where first-time buyers get 80% off of specific manga until December 19 Readers can create a free account on emaqi and access the platform's wide range of content and sample chapters or previews that are available for readers to try out Readers can buy individual volumes of a manga title or subscribe to an ongoing series directly through the platform and Orange is considering launching the service as a mobile app next year The underground rapid transit lines have been under construction for almost two decades due to various project delays The cross pinnacle on the Tower of Jesus Christ will be ready to receive visitors in 2026 on the centennial of Gaudi’s death Now you can get your wine in Talence by paying directly in Bitcoin That’s because the state has to spend money on updating the railway infrastructure rather than subsidizing the cost of the popular pass Steffen Romstöck said that he would respect the residents’ choice and would take over the helm of the municipality which will come into force from 1 January 2025 Rethinking renewable energy sources for the urban landscape But operating them is still illegal under the country’s legislation can inform and inspire communities and entrepreneurs that still feel trepidation at the prospect of energy transition it has a unique modular design that allows it to be shortened and lengthened like a train that’s the promise made by the mayor of Paris the district has long been known as the hangout spot for the artsy crowds Hostal de Pinós is located in the geographical centre of the autonomous region the ranking considers several distinct but essential factors these quiet areas will now be available on all main routes in the country The academic institution shows a deeper understanding of the well-being of its students Latvian and Estonian towns of Valka and Valga celebrate common history the Latvian and Estonian cities of Valka and Valga (respectively) are celebrating their common history and common Prior to gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1920 With the establishment of newly independent Latvia and Estonia the city was separated and divided to the respective states The countries were again subjugated by the Soviet Union in the 1940s and gained independence after its collapse The border between the cities was entirely removed with the countries’ accession into the Schengen area in 2007 commemorating their common history under the slogan “One Town Two Countries” – the public transport even has stops that go through the border This year’s celebrations will be held on 11 and 12 May and will include what’s become a main attraction - the barbecuing competition between the towns – “BBQ Without Borders 2019” the cities will also celebrate European Day dedicated to the upcoming European elections You will be able to find the European area in Valga’s central square The programme for the celebrations also involves concerts a charity lottery and tons of others cultural events The 10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns (ESCT) sets the stage for stronger cooperation between the EU national and local level to fast track Europe's transition to climate neutrality Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces An interview with the Mayor of a Polish city that seeks to reinvent itself An interview with the newly elected ICLEI President and Mayor of Malmö A conversation with the Mayor of Lisbon about the spirit and dimensions of innovation present in the Portuguese capital After it became clear that Today, the Anti-Corruption Commission (CPC) entered offices and facilities related to Rumen Gaitanski - Valka and the former head of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) Stoyan Mavrodiev, only MEDIAMALL can show you exactly where in Greece the two suspects are hiding 3 years ago Rumen Gaitanski - Valka bought a luxury property in the resort complex “Sani” located on the first arm of the Halkidiki peninsula Gaitanski immediately started his illegal constructions and at one point even the Greek authorities imposed a fine on him and were ready to initiate criminal proceedings against him Gaitanski is buying his house in the villa area of “Sani” for 3.4 million euros subsequently making additional repairs for at least another 600 thousand euros The interior of his property was handled by his last wife Gaitanski's neighbor is another Bulgarian oligarch and former boss of “Lukoil” - Bulgaria due to unpaid taxes worth nearly 300 thousand euros to the Greek state His property is located in the resort village of Posidi located again on the first arm of the peninsula Mavrodiev's luxurious house is surrounded by a high wall and dozens of cameras which aim to protect the swindler from prying eyes of tourists from a recorded conversation between Stoyan Mavrodiev and Dimitar Lambovski it became clear that the former is buying the property from the latter and for this purpose they are even illegally transporting a huge amount of cash across the Bulgarian-Greek border Then it became clear from the conversation that Mavrodiev wanted to buy one of the two houses as a gift for the then Prime Minister Boyko Borisov More news from Bulgaria The decision is of the Sofia Court of Appeal Gaitanski is accused of being the instigator of the investigation into a BGN 148.5 million loan granted by the Bulgarian Development Bank and was detained by a prosecutor's measure for up to 72 hours after he voluntarily surrendered to the law enforcement authorities The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office insisted that the court impose a measure of "detention in custody" of Gaitansky He was represented at the court session by lawyer Krasimir Donkov Gaitansky's defense presented a list of documents They show the amount of taxes paid in the amount of BGN 88 million to companies related to the accused The defense also claims that there is no document or witness in the case that says Rumen Gaitanski met with Stoyan Mavrodiev or the management board of the Bulgarian Development Bank The charge is biased for political purposes and will not hold up in court Rumen Gaitanski stated that the trial against him was rigged and added that he never asked for a loan and did not know anyone from the management of BBR The prosecutor's office requested that Gaitanski remain in custody the law stipulates from 10 to 20 years in prison the analysis of the documents collected in the case shows fictitious securing of the loan There is a danger that Gaitanski will exert pressure if he is released and evidence in the case will be destroyed the former executive director of BBR Stoyan Mavrodiev and Ivan Georgiev a representative of the company "Rodway Construction" Mavrodiev was declared a national wanted person by a decree of the Anti-Corruption Commission INDIANAPOLIS — Three new faces are roaming the Plains at The Indianapolis Zoo Valka and Ravdna were welcomed to the cheetah yard this week The three came from Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas "The weather was purr-fect for them to go out & explore their new habitat," the zoo said in a social media post the three were hesitant at first but they eventually ventured out to explore their new surroundings There are a few new faces roaming around the Cheetah Yard over in Plains! 🐆 We are pleased to introduce Astrid, Belka & Ravdna, three sisters who come to us from our friends at @FossilRim in Texas. The weather was purr-fect for them to go out & explore their new habitat. pic.twitter.com/gB0dKy6rSM Visit the zoo's website for more information The border cities of Valga in Estonia and Valka in Latvia now share a unique central square half of which is in one country and the other half in the other The vision to restore the once broken historical space in a modern way came from Catalan architects The outgoing year will mark a century from when the historical city of Walk was divided along the Konnaoja (Frog Creek) with one part remaining in Estonia and the other in Latvia The question who should get Valga caused headaches around the time the countries restored their independence while local governments have tried to come up with a way to soften the disjuncture in recent years The newly completed shared central square of the two cities quite literally offers common ground for residents and should also draw tourists once the pandemic passes "Architects were facing two controversial problems – how to reunite the split city space on the one hand while highlighting the special character of the location on the other," said Valga local government architect Jiri Tintera all other signs of the border have disappeared from the city a border booth and bench where one person can sit in Estonia and the other in Latvia This kind of shared city space is unique in the world and one can constantly feel one's borderline location – it is also possible to swing from one country to the other "The swing clearly emulates Estonian and Latvian village swings that traditionally served as meeting places We put our swing right on the border so people could swing in and out of the two countries," Tintera said Wooden pergolas on the border display quotes by famous Estonians and Latvians from the Valga/Valka area "We got lucky because the architectural competition went the way of Catalan architects who brought to Valka a southern European vision of city space using local and familiar materials such as wood and bricks These wooden pergolas that offer shade from the wind and sun are one such element," Tintera said The pergolas also help hide away old privately owned sheds One must hope that entrepreneurs running a Selver supermarket in the old winery can breathe new life into a tower under heritage conservation While the Valga Municipality does not intend to restore the Vana Ramsi windmill there are plans to render it safe to be used as a venue for small events TALLINN - On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Schengen Area on Dec the twin towns Valga and Valka on the Estonian-Latvian border will be visited by Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid and her Latvian counterpart Raimonds Vejonis as well as representatives of Estonian and Latvian embassies and the European Commission 21 will mark the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Schengen Agreement which guaranteed free movement between Valga and Valka for citizens of both towns permanent border control on the border between Estonia and Latvia was removed and movement between the two towns was simplified the border between the two towns will be remembered by showcasing old photographs topical films will be shown at the Valga cinema a quiz will be carried out in local schools and a concert will take place on the border An agreement was reached for the two towns that were once one The twin towns of Valka and Valga are perhaps the perfect example of the benefits of open borders and European integration but after Estonia and Latvia won their independence a border was put between them – the town of Valka remained in Latvia and Valga in Estonia After to the virtual disappearance of borders following the two countries’ accession to the European Union citizens of Valka and Valga once again felt like a single community – able to freely travel Yet the coronavirus pandemic threatened to change that considering the closure of their borders in order to limit the spread of the disease After Estonia imposed a state of emergency the two municipalities immediately went to work trying to find a way to keep the flow of people between them flowing they came up with several proposals that were presented to the Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Ratas and other government officials Their feedback was quick and positive and the Estonian PM declared that locals from Valka and Valga who need to cross the border in order to get to work are still allowed to do so – as long as they do not have symptoms of coronavirus The details of the decision are yet to be worked out The municipalities are currently working on a solution that would allow only for those who work on the other side of the border to pass Among the proposed solutions are the issuing of temporary documents or the creation of a special list that would feature the names of people who are allowed to cross.  This is what he said in "Face to Face" on bTV the Minister of Innovation and Growth Rosen Karadimov who is also the former chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bulgarian Development Bank on the occasion of the loan granted by the bank to Rumen Gaitanski – Wolf in the amount of BGN 150 million This provoked all the extraordinary follow-up actions we took The BBR in 2019 has nothing to do with the BBR in 2024 and one of the reasons is precisely this credit I became chairman of the Supervisory Board in November 2022 and found seven large credit exposures It can be assumed that contracts that were not valid at that time were provided as collateral for this loan I want to emphasize that the elections are held by the Central Election Commission the government is responsible for the material and technical provision He assured that any signal of vote buying will be checked The master of this prevention is the prosecutor's office the Ministry of the Interior will create it as an organization A Lithuanian company is planning on opening a casino next to the Alko1000 store located in Valka on the Latvian side of the Estonian-Latvian border the South-Estonian regional edition of daily Postimees reported journalist with the Latvian newspaper Ziemeļlatvija said that while the Lithuanian company initially wanted to opn the casino in the city centre it was forced to look for alternative locations as the city centre location was too close to schools "A refusal had been received earlier from the town managers of Smiltene," Karpova said "The Valka Regional Council decided in June that the location on Rūjiena Street is a suitable one." The nearest educational institution to the Rūjiena Street location is the Valga County Centre for Vocational Education The Lithuanian company is planning on opening a casino with 20 slot machines and the opportunity for sports betting and still had two more stops along the way before returning to Narva I had organized my two months in Europe so I was settled in Narva for the first half of the trip and typically only consisted of my  ordering food or drinks an anonymity that can be at once both refreshing and exhausting as does understanding and attempting to translate and while I have become accustomed to packing and repacking my bags (a task I loathe) the relief of returning home — wherever home happens to be — never goes away I arrived just in time for a series of exhibition openings happening that evening I very quickly realized just how much I was starved for friendship Tallinn has a small but incredibly tight-knit art community Lingering infrastructure from Estonia’s Soviet past had created a culture where being an artist is considered a profession In addition to monetizing the profession (or at least creating a foundation for monetizing it) massive studio complexes had been built for working artists one of which is adjacent to the Tallinn Art Hall which is the central exhibition hub for contemporary and experimental exhibitions in the city The Art Hall would be considered a state-run nonprofit by our U.S The opening that evening was in a small satellite space associated with and just down the street from the Art Hall; the show looked at the T-Shirt as an object of communication and material culture in Estonia While the exhibition was exciting and unexpected it turns out the environment was what I really needed I was greeted by friends in the Tallinn art community I had known for five years My professional relationships had turned to friendships throughout the course of those years and for the first time in weeks I had the sense that I was no longer an outsider; I was surrounded by a community I was able to percolate on my time in Ukraine and Poland and shifted my focus to get back into artists’ studios communicating easily and talking art with some of the smartest people I know But this was still just a stop along the way so I continued on to the sleepy border town of Valga which is just about an hour southwest by train from Tartu people had told me that Valga needed to be a stop on my itinerary Located in the southwestern edge of Estonia Valga is one of a few villages that has experienced the problem of depopulation since the early aughts a problem that proliferates throughout Estonia’s smaller villages as opportunity to diversify personal income become more attractive in places like Finland and Sweden These opportunities are just a short ferry ride across the Baltic Sea Smaller villages also lose people to larger cities as tech investments have created more immediate needs for blue collar labor in places like Tallinn Tech growth inevitably also means a real estate boom any city that has a skyline dotted with cranes is probably experiencing some tech growth cycle Part of an abandoned structure in the Old Town of Valga and was ready to take time in one country for a few days I hadn’t done any due diligence of checking COVID requirements to cross the border and I had left my passport back in my apartment in Tartu I wandered from the train station into what Google showed me was the city center meandering walk through parks with green trees and quaint European roundabouts; it felt like a Sunday in the countryside and those who were used the public park benches and lush grass to laze about in the sunshine — soaking in as much as they could before the darkness of winter settled over the Baltics in search of somewhere to eat lunch and have a coffee In the distance I spotted the tower of a church and decided to make my way towards it to get a better view of its architecture The church itself was small and a bit underwhelming point my hunger was starting to quietly scream and I pulled my phone out to search for a place to sit and eat That was when I realized that the blue dot marking my location on Google Maps was on the wrong side of the border line Border demarcation between Estonia and Latvia I still can’t fully piece together how or when it happened I had walked across the border into Latvia I had just walked across an invisible line and the only thing that made that line clear was the app in my phone and not even an office to demarcate the space really — that looked like it could be an immigration office Outside the building was a uniformed gentleman who was clearly enjoying a calm drunk Sunday; he was sitting on the ground leaning against the structure’s wall with a beer in hand complete with a semi-covered structure made of red-stained wood that integrated the dividing lines between the two villages — and countries — into its architecture As an art person who is responsible for wayfinding I would say it was effective in terms of blurring the border yet ineffective in conveying an actual place I was so discombobulated by the lack of pretense along this border that I needed a minute to simply take it in Since I was still harboring the fear of getting stuck in a place I didn’t have documentation for I didn’t want to push my luck and wander too far into Latvia I had left my passport in a completely different city Even sitting at the only open cafe felt a little risky since I was actually still on the Latvian side Never in my life had I experienced a border crossing so seamless and easy that I didn’t even realize I had done it This was the European border crossing experience I had expected more of I was thinking that seamless crossings like this were a thing of the long we are all led by a crippling fear of losing something We can’t let go of the deep and profound need to ground ourselves in a place and identity that divide us the things that create the demarcations in our own identities but instead a freedom in both movement and identity that meant it just didn’t matter anymore I walked back and forth between Valga and Valka multiple times that day I followed every single sidewalk and footpath that would take me across I just wanted to be able to say that there was once a tiny moment between two tiny villages where freedom was actually free Thank you to Dorota Biczel for sharing and clarifying so much for me so openly Brian Nagurney and his father John Nagurney This piece was a hopeful read in light of what is happening in Ukraine you shouldn’t be afraid to go over and explore valka from valga nothing bad would ever happen I’m from valka and never I was charged or held responsible for not bringing a passport into valga because we are the same city but with different countries and rules but the police aren’t bad people here even in corona lockdown people from each side crossed the boarder fine so if you ever visit don’t be scared go for it it is this freedom that really makes valga/valka a unified village that is seamless and old fashioned a bit but quite frankly I wouldn’t want it any other way Alfred.B and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" HAA Cultural Events Calendar has launched a cross-border service in the Estonian and Latvian border towns of Valga/Valka bringing the number of Estonian towns the company operates in to 15 The two town centers are just 10 minutes' drive apart Since both Estonia and Latvia are in the Schengen Zone of free movement "Valga/Valka is the first place where we are launching a cross-border service as these towns are so closely connected with each other journeys can be started on either side of the border," Aleksei Kolesnikov the price per kilometer is €0.59 cents and the price per minute €0.13 Bolt is also encouraging new drivers in the region to sign up "If there are people living around Valga who have a car and would like to earn some additional money by driving You simply need to go through a short training session and complete the necessary documents online," Kolesnikov said Bolt currently operates in over 30 countries worldwide Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update Rural municipality mayor of the South Estonian town of Valga Margus Lepik (Reform) says that document checks at the border which separates the town from the Latvian town of Valka should be removed including to allow minors to cross the border between the twin towns without parental consent Lepik says that with the growing movement between the two towns for instance during jointly-organized exhibitions the requirement for having a travel document to hand should be lifted a kindergarten group wanted to travel 500 meters to visit another group [across the border] they had a friendship arrangement with The group's leaders wanted to do things by the book and asked the police what documents were needed When it became clear that the written consent of both parents was required they did not venture over the border even though the kindergarten's backyard abuts on to the border," Lepik said noting that he was away from the town at the time Lepik proposes a "Valga-Valka special zone" which would cover both towns from within with a controlled state border running round the outskirts of both towns with the two towns coming under one municipality being an ideal with former MEP Igor Gräzin (Centre) the only national-level politician in Estonia so far to have welcomed the idea we are still in the same position in both countries There are politicians and officials who are very aware of [the problem] this usually clashes with general rules and bureaucratic obstacles," Lepik explained The question also remains whether a different approach in border checks is needed in the town(s) The Police and Border Guard Board have said that no unaccompanied minors have to date been sent back from the border nor are Latvian children crossing in the other direction checked "We have a joint art school on the Latvian side of the broder and the children cross the border all the time as a result we have no guarantee that checks will not happen Our goal is still to comply with the laws of both countries we would still need to change the regulations both of them," Lepik continued Both Estonia and Latvia joined the Schengen Area of free movement in 2007 resulting in the removal of border checkpoints However the authorities of both countries can still carry out spot checks Those living in Estonia on a resident's permit should still take their passport when traveling to Latvia or Finland since the Estonian ID card is not a travel document for non-citizens Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update! Businessman Rumen Gaitanski - Vulk and former CEO of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) Stefan Mavrodiev have left Bulgaria about ten days ago with both of them currently residing in their luxurious properties in Greece According to exclusive photos from the website Top Press the wanted businessman Rumen Gaytanski-Valka is peacefully sunbathing on his yacht in Greece  It should be noted that the scandalous businessmen Rumen Gaytanski-Valka and Stoyan Mavrodiev former director of the Bulgarian Development Bank are soon to be declared internationally wanted This has been confirmed by the Ministry of Interior After the actions and searches on Wednesday it became clear that the authorities do not have information on Gaytanski's whereabouts. The businessman Rumen Gaytanski-Valka and ex-CEO of the Bulgarian Development Bank Stefan Mavrodiev left Bulgaria about ten days ago and are currently residing in their luxurious properties in Greece the Commission for Countering Corruption (CCC) raided offices and properties related to Vlaka and former director of the Bulgarian Specialized Prosecution Office  According to sources from "Mediamall" Gatanski has been in our southern neighbor for two weeks There he owns an ultra-luxurious house in the "Sani" complex The property is located in the affluent complex situated on the first arm of the Halkidiki peninsula - Kassandra Gaitanski bought the house for 3.4 million euros and subsequently made additional renovations for at least 600 thousand euros former director of the Bulgarian Specialized Prosecution Office situated again at the first finger of the peninsula Mavrodiev's luxurious house is surrounded by a high wall and dozens of cameras aimed to keep it away from the curious eyes of tourists and passers-by  Gaitanski is caught on camera preparing to go on a tour with his yacht while authorities in Bulgaria are searching for him offering a view of the azure waters of Cape Sani and restaurants with international and Greek cuisine  Each of the bright and spacious rooms has a view of the Aegean Sea or the beautiful landscaped gardens All of them have a private terrace or balcony and a bathroom with a tropical rain shower While the country is searching for the money Rumen Gaytanski is on vacation in Greece. Who is Rumen Gaytanski involved in the cleaning of Sofia and several other cities owner of part of Borisov Garden - the name of Rumen Gaytanski-Vulka has resurfaced in the news flow in recent weeks Institutions are involved in a series of scandalous cases surrounding the businessman The businessman gets his nickname from one of the two companies responsible for waste collection in Sofia in the 90s - DITC and "Wolf 96" The concession from Stefan Sofiyanski's time has been terminated as Sofia is in the midst of a garbage crisis Containers are overflowing and Gaytanski's companies refuse to clean the city the mayor of Sofia is GERB's leader Boyko Borisov Borisov boasts that he "mobilized" against Vlaka and became mayor Although this is Borisov's main slogan companies owned by Rumen Gaitanski continue to participate in the cleaning of several neighborhoods in Sofia during GERB's rule  While he is getting out of waste collection and cleaning in Sofia Vlaka is once again entering and earning millions only through the back door provided equipment to the municipal company "Chistota-Iskar" for the cleaning of three capital neighborhoods for 12 million leva the problem was acknowledged by Yordanka Fandakova and the lowest possible level in the administration was dismissed… in January 2020 The capital municipality once again awards contracts to "Zauba" and the consortium "Green Partners BKS" for the cleaning of eight districts in the capital "Zauba" is owned by Rumen Gaytanski through "Wolf" He is not formally involved in the management of "Green Partners" but 80% of the company is owned by Zdravko Andreev who is a member and chairman of the Board of Directors of "Zauba" and "Bio Mining" Gaytanski continues to profit from waste management contracts in other cities such as Stara Zagora "Green Partners-BKS" won a second 5-year contract for cleaning Sliven worth 28 million leva without VAT Gaytanski's company has been cleaning Sliven since earlier the company won a public procurement contract worth 20 million leva the company responsible for waste collection and disposal is a large Austrian firm    Borrowing from the BDB  A company connected to Gaitanski was also one of the largest loan recipients from the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) which in 2019 took a loan from the state bank worth nearly 150 million lev Last week it became clear that the BDB is losing 97% of the non-performing loan The loan in question has been the subject of a political scandal since the conclusion of the contract in 2019 and in 2021 it was one of the reasons for the replacement of director Stoyan Mavrodiev and the BDB management by the interim government while Kiril Petkov was Minister of Economy neither CPCONPI nor the Prosecutor's Office represented by Ivan Geshev reacted  The Commission for Combating Corruption has taken action on a crime involving a loan and claims that part of the money from the government loan was subsequently used to pay off a loan for the "Varna" thermal power plant of Ahmed Dogan to the private "D bank" Gaitanski and Dogan had a short official partnership in a company called "Water-Vital" in 2017 but their informal relationship is much older  Illegal constructions near the Iskar Dam  During the summer of 2020 it became clear that Gaitanski was building a hotel complex in the State Hunting Estate "Iskar" in violation of the law The story of the illegal constructions of Gaitanski near the Iskar Dam is also related to one of the businessman's companies - "Bio Mining" AD The battle against illegal construction and the attempts to demolish it took almost 4 years After years of "listening" on the part of the Ministry of Agriculture the news about the terminated 15-year concession of its company came again a few days ago В ритуала участват Националната гвардейска част и Гвардейският представителен .. Нека Свети Георги Победоносец закриля и дава сили на всички които носят великото име на свети Георги .. Гостите на държавния глава ще могат да разгледат Гербовата зала Отхвърлете всеки опит за разкол и съхранете честта си когато е живяла под знака на доблестта и .. Министър-председателят честити Деня на храбростта и Българската армия Ще продължим да участваме активно и в общи инициативи на НАТО и ЕС и ще .. която ще е гарант за грижата към вас и вашия по-добър живот Консервативният блок ХДС/ХСС спечели изборите през февруари Американският президент направи коментара пред репортери в Овалния кабинет Лидерът на ГЕРБ отбелязва срещата с генерала в София Българинът винаги е имал тази черта в характера си да разбира от всичко - от борба Стефка Костадинов несъмнено е една от най-успешните ни състезателки сред .. Ще успеят ли Весела Лечева и Наталия Киселова да отговорят на високата летва Изборите са съдбовни за БСП - столетницата успяваше да се запази като значим .. Russia does not have the military and economic capacity to engage in a real war against the Old Continent the instilled fear leads to irrational thinking Critical point for Europe was the decision for full and unconditional support .. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Valka is excited to introduce a new approach to salmon portioning and pin bone removal––the Valka Cutter It brings X-Ray and 3D imaging technology together with robot controlled water jets to detect and remove pin bones and skillfully analyze fillets for portioning Cutting edge technology is used to efficiently and effectively portion and remove the pin bones of salmon fillets Each fillet is assessed for size and thickness and in accordance with user specifications using the imaging system and portioned to maintain uniformity and efficiency Because this imaging system is so thorough a variety of cutting patterns and programs can be implemented depending on individual fillet size Not all fillets will be in the same state when being processed the Valka Cutter can use various tools to handle both pre-rigor and post-rigor fillets Tilted 2D and dynamic 3D water jet robots are used to complete complex optimization tasks and a serrated steel belt holds fillets in place whether they are skin on or skinless The Valka Cutter goes above and beyond the traditional parallel line fillet cutting techniques to cutting angled and curved patterns significantly broadening portioning options Having these new possibilities means fillet use is maximized and waste is brought down to the minimum Because these features come together in one machine there is less product handling and a reduction in the amount of labor needed for trimming Icelandic novelist Halldór Laxness understood this well: “Show how the large-scale farmer exploits the small farmer,” he urged himself in preparation for writing the novel Independent People two-volume epic of subsistence agriculture published in 1934 and 1935 His other two realist novels from that decade World Light and Salka Valka (the latter of which is out in a new translation next month) depicting labor organization efforts in Icelandic villages where volatile European markets have left many farmers and fishermen destitute these sweeping novels comprise Laxness’s greatest achievement though he continued publishing at a steady clip for another half-century Among the grim topographies of these books there are a few constant fixtures—a union to be joined a better world on the verge of possibility Laxness was hounded by fears of being dismissed as a mere polemicist Edgar Hoover essentially blacklisted his works in the United States suspecting Laxness of funneling royalties to Icelandic communists praising a reissued translation of Independent People in 1997 found Laxness’s intention to lay bare the intricacies of agricultural exploitation at odds with the work’s seemingly accidental greatness: “It sounds like the worst book a writer ever contemplated.” in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1955 Laxness felt it was time for a bit of reputation-management With the air of a man giving voice to long-buried grievances Laxness declared that he had been “accused of three C’s—Catholicism I guess I will have to present my books for the answer for that is a matter of opinion.” This was a tidy attempt at spin a lie aimed at improving his standing among the Western literary establishment: for many years Laxness had been an ardent believer in Soviet-style communism he shifted his focus to the cause of pacifism he eventually denounced Stalin and distanced himself from the Soviet Union especially after the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary and the persecution of Boris Pasternak Laxness tempered his politics in later books presenting himself instead as a sort of modern-day Nordic bard a successor to the thirteenth-century sagas that represent Iceland’s foremost literary inheritance This is how critics have tended to read his work since it began reappearing in English in the late 1990s treating his leftism as a youthful error and recasting even his earlier books in the hazy sentimental glow of warmed-over liberal humanism Laxness’s most politically committed novels have been retooled as chronicles of heroic self-reliance of a hardened and fiercely independent people carving a spiritually fulfilling existence from the frozen northern soil One critic called them “some of the world’s most substantial thank-you notes.” How did the work of one of the most prominent leftist writers of the twentieth century come to be so misunderstood It is tempting to imagine Iceland at the start of the twentieth century as a place out of time ultima thule—an “unfulfilled dream,” as the poet Hannes Hafstein put it The country was marked by centuries of stagnation and foreign subjugation The industrial revolution did not begin in earnest there until the arrival of trawler fishing around 1907; when Laxness was born in 1902 Reykjavík was home to around seven thousand people Halldór Laxness tempered his politics in later books restless and filled with swaggering ambition leaving behind a country he had begun to lament as a cultural backwater he set about writing stories not in Danish—a more feasible a precocious handful of overwrought novels and essays churned out before his late twenties Laxness toes a line between idealization and resentment He depicts Iceland as a place of fantastical beauty mingled with unrelenting hardship where glacier-swollen rivers run clear and fast down to fallow miles of wind-blasted heath provincial childhood manifested in a lifelong proclivity for the grandiose an inclination toward the abstract and totalizing over the concrete and subtle after staying as a guest at a Benedictine monastery in Luxembourg as well as a book-length apology for the faith But Laxness was ill-suited to monastic life riding the first highs of recognition from his novel The Great Weaver from Kashmir he abandoned Europe and Catholicism for a new continent and creed “I shall always feel indebted to the country that made me a socialist,” Laxness said later in life referring to the three years he spent in Hollywood Personal disappointment may have paved the way for his political awakening “I am convinced that I can earn millions of dollars by making movies in a considerably short amount of time.” In Hollywood he made neither money nor movies who introduced him to leftist ideas and circles a collection of essays written during those years that remains largely untranslated into English the political beliefs and intentions that would guide his career The perceived lack of culture that Laxness had disdained in Iceland was the product of exploitation and deprivation: “Culture is first and foremost built on the defeat of poverty and powerlessness,” he wrote which are a direct result of how “the proletarian’s children are sucked to the marrow so as to benefit the bloodhounds of capitalism.” Socialism was necessary not just to improve material conditions in Iceland but to create a literary culture worthy of his work He returned home determined to write novels exposing the chicanery by which the forces of capital exploited Icelandic workers He joined the Union of Revolutionary Writers in Iceland and the Icelandic chapter of International Workers’ Relief and two travelogues about the Soviet Union His intention with these travelogues was explicit: in a letter to a Soviet official arranging his first trip “I would like to go to Russia to write a book of propaganda in my native language.” In the resulting books—Going East (1933) and following a second trip to the Soviet Union The Russian Adventure (1938)—Laxness parroted Stalin’s rhetoric on even the most controversial issues brushing over the famine in Ukraine and describing the victims of purges as vermin distancing himself from these two books (for which Susan Sontag later called him “obtusely philo-Soviet”) Laxness claimed his full-throated loyalty to Stalin was a product of “gullibility.” But his propaganda was not the result of a naive faith in the Soviet Union’s perfection—it was the work of a savvy political operator Laxness’s novels from the 1930s present a different problem being neither works of straightforward socialist realism nor the tales of virtuous self-reliance some believe them to be originally published in two volumes in 1931 and 1932 represents his first attempt to integrate his sense of socialism’s liberatory promise into a cohesive artistic vision Set in the remote fishing village Óseyri in the 1910s the novel traces the growth of the eponymous protagonist into a fiery labor organizer with the arrival in Óseyri of eleven-year-old Salka and her mother the pair had hoped to travel from northern Iceland down to Reykjavík having neither the health nor the money to complete the trip they soon discover that charity is anathema to Óseyri The place is governed by an intractable spirit of deference to a wealthy merchant who employs the villagers in his fishing business and keeps them from starvation by selling food on credit hoping to escape his constricted life for one of high culture and opportunity in the words of an elderly villager named Eyjólfur Sigurlína’s mental and physical health decline rapidly She converts to Christianity and joins the local chapter of the Salvation Army where nightly services offer a distraction from the village’s unrelenting bleakness The bulk of the first volume is concerned with the false consolations of religion—there is a sense of Laxness casting off his devout younger self The same hunger for solace and understanding that led Sigurlína to Christianity also drives her to seek out a worldly savior an insensate fisherman named Steinþór to whom she becomes abjectly attached the volume concludes with her suicide: the villagers find her washed up on shore A persistent feature of Laxness’s style is the blurring of the boundaries between thought and reality The language of the various worldviews that dominate the village seep subtly into the initially detached narration inflecting the story with a claustrophobic sense of how ideology shapes perception even the weather appears as a manifestation of fatalism or Christianity depending on the reigning opinions at that moment: on the first hopeless night when Salka and Sigurlína arrive in Óseyri and look for shelter as it always does with such people”; after Sigurlína’s conversion the narrator remarks that “the Creator’s favorite weather for this village was rain.” A decade has passed since Sigurlína’s death defying the village’s otherwise rigid gender norms has joined the ranks of the fishermen and helped organize them into a union the merchant Bogeson lowers the wages of the non-unionized shore workers newly radicalized after befriending socialists in Copenhagen and intent on turning Óseyri into a socialist collective though the origins and motivations of their political commitments are markedly different: Arnaldur came by his views through an intellectual conversion and his political vision is resolutely internationalist aligned in every sense with Comintern orthodoxies; Salka and her commitment to socialism is pure praxis growing out of her own experiences of exploitation and the power struggles of Óseyri Their differences are representative of a tension within Laxness himself struggled with the question of bringing his utopian vision to Iceland as are their political efforts—Arnaldur abandons Salka and Óseyri to set sail for America The village is too small for his grand ambitions the villagers too anesthetized by the myths of the mercantile spirit to fully embrace revolution Salka Valka is far from a triumphant portrait of the labor movement A prominent Icelandic communist criticized its depiction of leftist infighting Soviet publishers weren’t interested in a proposed translation considering it “half counter-revolutionary,” according to Laxness He may have believed that a realistic depiction of labor politics would carry more rhetorical force: in Going East he is careful to manage expectations about the Soviet Union which he warns is not “a Paradise.” Nonetheless it represented progress toward “a better and wiser form of society.” This is a narrow interpretation of his intentions—Laxness the novelist is not Laxness the propagandist and political persuasiveness is not an adequate explanation for the novel’s undeniable success both as a literary achievement and an expression of his most deeply held beliefs Perhaps the novel is best considered as a meditation on failure: on not living up to one’s ideals or sustaining a movement as well as the more existential failures behind these strategic ones—the failure of characters to reach beyond the bounds of their selves to overcome the fundamental loneliness at the core of Laxness’s melancholy vision This loneliness is the dark undercurrent of Salka Valka inexorable hindrance to meaningful connection and collective action Salka’s most formative memory is of waking in the middle of the night to discover that her mother has slipped out for a tryst with Steinþór She realizes then that Sigurlína is entirely separate unknowable: “To grow up is to come to the realization that you have no mother when Arnaldur decides to leave Óseyri for good he despairs that neither love nor the revolution can truly be fulfilled all alone; he feels it when the moment of death approaches.” This harrowing ever-present sense animates Laxness’s work If in Salka Valka Laxness depicts the triumph of loneliness was his most complete consideration of how people could overcome it—how adapting a phrase from the left-anarchist group The Invisible Committee they might “find each other.” The story follows Bjartur of Summerhouses manic desire is to be utterly self-sufficient indebted to nothing and no one but the land and his flock The book has often been read as a lament for the lost world of such farmers whom productivist European agricultural policies rendered largely obsolete Bjartur’s untenable devotion to independence has tragic consequences: he loses his farm and drives away his family including—most painfully—his cherished stepdaughter Independent People is frequently compared to The Growth of the Soil Knut Hamsun’s 1917 paean to pastoral individualism against the degrading yoke of industrialized capitalism But Laxness wrote Independent People in part out of opposition to Hamsun’s work the bitter fruit of the national fetish for self-determination that stands in the way of socialism individualists like Bjartur are described as “wanting to live and die on their own terms like feral cats.” A similar refrain runs through Independent People: when farmers starve it is said that “at least they had lived like independent men at least they had died of hunger like free people.” It is only in the final pages of Independent People that Laxness offers a glimpse of an alternative Bjartur and his only remaining son trek to a nearby fishing village where Bjartur’s stepdaughter moved after he cast her out they encounter a crowd of striking fishermen inspired by the news of the recent Russian Revolution—thieves and freeloaders like those of the striking villagers in Salka Valka are surely doomed; an army of police will soon arrive Bjartur finds himself sharing a meal of stolen bread with the fishermen listening as they describe how “capitalism punishes people much more for not stealing than for stealing.” Eating a slice of stolen bread is a small concession to necessity but it is enough to put a crack in the facade of Bjartur’s ethical code He wonders fleetingly if those on strike “were the only just men,” for “either the authorities were the officers of justice and these men criminals or these men were the officers of justice and the authorities criminals.” In this moment of collective transgression there is a respite from they set out together to make a new home for whatever time remains to them Their climactic departure exquisitely mirrors the end of Salka Valka—instead of the defeated revolutionary abandoning Óseyri and those he loves there newly alive to the possibilities of solidarity It is scenes like this that linger in the mind from Laxness’s best works: moments of aching intensity when the brittle solitude of his characters gently crumbles This is the essence of Laxness’s project: an exploration not of self-reliance Such moments happen always at the far reaches of experience at births and deaths and final leave-takings when the promise of transformation and the knowledge of futility seem most entwined They are what grant these novels their astonishing familiarity their nearness to our own fragmented time of radical imaginings and punishing actualities They represent the fullest expression of how Laxness saw society and the people for whom he wanted to transform it—those surviving beneath the mire of capital In a media environment that tolerates tail-chasing The Baffler is a rare publication willing to shake the pundit class free of their own worst impulses But running a charitable organization of this magnitude requires serious dough and subscriptions only cover a fraction of our costs we rely on the good will of generous readers like you So if you like the article you just read—or hate it so you can ridicule us online for years to come—please consider making a one-time donation to The Baffler Charlie Lee is an assistant editor at Harper’s magazine and cofounder of Soft Punk magazine Bucket Hat / $30 Valka has unveiled revolutionary frozen fish processing solutions that feature the technical precision and sophisticated design necessary to produce and ship high-quality products destined for the freezer aisle The new Aligner Packing Robot and High-Speed Portion Grader for IQF products are part of a new line of frozen fish processing solutions enabling processors to maximise value and minimise waste.  The Aligner Packing Robot is set it apart from standard equipment in the frozen fish processing category because it applies a game theory algorithm based on the weight or quality of each fish to determine the best solution batches and packs unique quick-frozen (IQF) fillets with the unique capabilities to meet the most specific packing requirements With a capacity of up to 80 frozen pieces per minute of fish ranging in size from 80 to 800 millimetres in length the Aligner Packing Robot boasts a carousel car that gently handles products from the scale to the box These remarkable features ensure premium product quality and significantly reduce waste The Belgian fish processor is aiming to enhance its flexibility with multi-species processing in order to diversify its retail offering The Belgian fish processor Gadus has signed an agreement for a new fillet portioning line from the Icelandic equipment manufacturer Valka Sign up for a trial to have access to our articles Please check your inbox to reset your password securely and easily and the latest news from around the seafood world straight to your inbox Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Your California Privacy Rights The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Undercurrent News With more than a dozen major construction projects across the Texas A&M campus on his resume veteran project manager Craig Valka has been named Senior Associate Athletics Director for Capital Projects.Bjork Tabs Valka to Oversee Athletics Capital Projects Jun 28 by Estonians in Latvia has attracted media attention but a recent decision by the Latvian government to restrict the sale of goods on weekends has seen Latvians from Valka come to the neighboring Estonian town of Valga to do their shopping now expects the Latvian government to grant an exception to border areas from the rule valid since December 5 according to which only pharmacies and stores selling food and basic necessities can be open in Latvia during weekends and the sale of alcohol and tobacco products is forbidden also at these stores.  people living Valka are making use of the exception to the overall quarantine rules awarded to residents of the two neighboring towns to do their shopping in Valga on the Estonian side of the border.   said that when he went to Valga to check out the situation last weekend he saw greater numbers of Latvians than usual near all of Valga's major stores.  the numbers of cars with Latvian license plates at the parking lots of Valga's supermarkets were not particularly big.    Krauklis has sent an appeal to Latvian leaders asking for an exception for stores in Valka not only when it comes to alcohol We have to fight for it to become reality before Christmas," Krauklis said Spokespeople for stores in Valga on the Estonian side of the border say they could see an increase in purchases made in Valga during the first weekend when the restrictions were in force in Latvia "We did see indeed that the number of customers at Valga Rimi grew by as much as over 10 percent last weekend Also alcohol sales increased substantially -- we saw an increase of almost 200 percent in that Thus it apparently can be said indeed that this time around the Latvian government has done a favor to the Estonian economy with its restrictions," Katrin Bats said that a certain increase in the sales of alcohol could be noted at their store in Valga "Purchases of alcohol are nearly double last year's level While the restrictions valid in Latvia definitely may play a certain role when making a comparison with last year it has to be remembered that due to the travel restrictions also purchases by Estonians from Latvia have declined," Kikas said also said that an increase in customer numbers could be seen last weekend.