If there is anything on this planet that resembles the mythical elves, it would be the Scandinavians. They live nearly forever, lead the world in the portion of their income that they donate to help poor countries, are hard-working, practically incorruptible, pathologically honest, supremely healthy, environmentally conscious, literate and multilingual, masters of gender equality. And [...]
You wouldn’t want to mess with Lithuanian basketball player Rokas Narkevicius on the court — SYOGOC photo: Theodon Teo Lithuania has had an illustrious track record in Olympic basketball, winning three bronze medals over the last five Olympic Games. Their legacy looks very much alive, judging by the way the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Lithuanian [...]
Lithuanian rower Rolandas Mascinskas put in a stunning performance to upset Germany’s two-time world junior champion German Felix Bach and to win the junior men’s single sculls gold at Marina Reservoir. Felix, 18, had entered the final as firm favourite after clocking the fastest time during the semifinals. But he never came close to Rolandas, [...]
The Organizing Committee of the Karaoke World Championships (KWC Organization) in Finland has passed the baton to Russia, announcing that Moscow will be the location for the 2010 Karaoke World Championships. For the first time, world’s largest and most prestigious karaoke event will take place in the Russian Capital, and will be placed in the [...]
The US news magazine Newsweek has investigated living conditions in 100 countries and crowned Finland the “best country in the world”. Antti Munnukka expresses his delight in a blog for the daily Etelä Saimaa and admonishes the pessimistic attitude of many Finns: “Happily our mother country Sweden retains third place on Newsweek’s list, while filthy-rich [...]
The daily Latvijas avīze complains that the Latvians are full of apathy in the run-up to this October’s parliamentary elections, and points to the country’s more active and successful neighbour Estonia: “Of course there has been fraud and self-enrichment in Estonia in the past 20 years. And the Estonians have left their country to seek [...]
The traditional Rīga Festival will be held this year in the capital from August 20 to 22, featuring a wide range of events and concerts. The festival will hold a mascot parade and a “cartoon” rally, and the night run, open to anyone regardless of age, nationality, physical condition or occupation. Music and literature devotees [...]
World Bank President Visits Latvia, Urges to Continue Structural Reforms On August 13, World Bank President Robert Zoellick visited Latvia and urged the government to continue structural reforms in order to recover from the economic crisis more quickly. In a conversation with President Valdis Zatlers, Zoellick spoke approvingly of Latvia’s accomplishments in improving the economic [...]
Cats on fire was formed late 2001 in Vaasa, Finland. Since 2004, the group consists of Mattias Björkas (vocals, acoustic guitar), Ville Hopponen (electric guitar), Kenneth Höglund (bass guitar) and Henry Ojala (drums). They are currently based in Turku, Finland. In 2003, CoF released a vinyl single, ‘Solid Work’. 2004, saw the release of another [...]
Hindus have applauded Norway’s Oya Festival (Oyafestivalen) for being a sustainable and green festival in an environmentally friendly zone, calling it “a step in the right direction”. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that in view of global ecological crisis, musicians and artists should not stay silent spectators to [...]
