News of 7 November: Jēkabpils Protest, Kraków Shooting and Bomb Threats Across Europe
A few hundred people in Jēkabpils protested against Russian grain transit through Latvia, while a shooting in Kraków, Poland, left six people dead. The roundup also covers a European probe into bomb threats and the reopening of Tvaika Street in Riga.
In Latvia on 7 November, a few hundred people gathered in Jēkabpils for a rally called "No to Blood Grain!", protesting against the transport of Russian grain through Latvia. The protesters want the transit stopped completely so that Russia earns less money, which they say it directs to its invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs of the United List party also addressed the crowd. He promised to submit a bill next week that would ban new contracts for grain transport. The premier stressed that a Latvian ban alone would not be enough and that a solution must be reached together with the European Union.
Shooting in Kraków
Six people were shot dead and 15 wounded today in the historic centre of Kraków, a city in southern Poland, local police and officials said. In the afternoon a man drove into the main market square and fired at passers-by from a car. Four women and two men were killed, and 12 of the wounded are in critical or life-threatening condition. The shooter is a 24-year-old Polish citizen, and police say he acted alone and the public is safe. He was wounded in an exchange of fire with officers, and two police officers were also injured. A large number of other firearms and a lot of ammunition were found in his car. The motive has not yet been established.
Bomb-threat campaign
European security services are investigating possible Russian involvement in this week's campaign of bomb threats against aircraft, airports and media offices, the Financial Times reports. Some intelligence officials consider Russia the most likely organiser. Searches found nothing dangerous.
Other news
Bavarian parliament speaker Ilse Aigner could become Germany's next president, according to several German media outlets. In Riga, traffic has been restored on Tvaika Street after a fire in a building there. The Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum marked Martinmas with dances, mask-making and riddle-guessing.
