Riga - When the European Commission told European Union member states they needed to do more to combat climate change and protect the polar ice Thursday, it may not have realized help could soon be at hand from an unlikely source - Latvian sand.

At the Baltic Economic Forum held in the Latvian capital, Riga, recently, experts discussed a new technology that could play a big part in controlling climate change. As a happy by-product, it could also generate large amounts of cash for the small Baltic nation that is currently in recession.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the process of capturing the harmful carbon dioxide released during the combustion of fossil fuels and storing it instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

Riga - NASDAQ OMX Group announced Thursday that it plans to extend the trading hours at its three Baltic exchanges in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

The move comes as the tiny stock exchanges try to attract back investors who fled in the face of a sharp economc downturn in the region.

Trading hours will be extended by two hours from the current 2 pm closing time to give traders a six-hour day starting at 10 am.

At present, traders in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania enjoy one of the shortest working days among financial centres.

The new regime will come into effect from February 2 next year.

Riga - Four regional presidents were to visit Latvia Tuesday to help the small Baltic republic celebrate 90 years since it first declared its independence from Russia.

President Valdis Zatlers of Latvia will be joined by presidents Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia, Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania and Lech Kaczynski of Poland, who will speak at the Latvian freedom monument in the capital, Riga.

The extensive programme of public celebrations, under way for several days, will conclude with a fireworks display over the River Daugava.

Riga - State bail-outs of financial institutions have become almost commonplace in recent months, but still cause a mixture of surprise, fear and sometimes even panic when they are suddenly revealed.

Riga - The prime minister of Belarus, Sergey Sidorski, took advantage of his new-found freedom to travel Wednesday by visiting neighbouring Latvia in his first official trip to a European Union member state since travel restrictions on members of the Belarusian government were lifted on October 13.

Transport and business were on the agenda when Sidorski met his Latvian counterpart, Ivars Godmanis, but no mention was made of sensitive issues such as human rights or missile systems.

Riga - Prices tumbled again on Baltic stock markets Tuesday with the Baltic Benchmark Index (BBI), combining data from the Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius exchanges, closing down 3.2 per cent at 270.22.

The NASDAQ OMX Tallinn exchange in Estonia fell 3.22 per cent, the Vilnius exchange in Lithuania slipped 2.74 per cent and the Riga exchange in Latvia eased by 1.37 per cent.