A Latvian society, the goal of which will be to maintain and develop Latvian ethnic identity and cultural heritage, has been formed in Ireland, according to the Internet portal Delfi.

The society was founded in May. The first meeting was attended by 12 people as well as Latvia’s ambassador to Ireland, Indulis Ābelis. The embassy in Dublin has been instrumental in organizing Latvian social and cultural life, most recently encouraging the founding of a Latvian school.

An embassy official told Latvians Online in May that an estimated 20,000 Latvians live in Ireland. Many have come in recent years in search of work.

The Latvian Society in Ireland (Latviešu Biedrība Īrijā, or LBĪ) will be led by Elēna Kargina, Jānis Kargins and Ilze Torpa-Adebayo. Monthly meetings are planned at Luther House, 24 Adelaide Road, Dublin. For further information about the society, e-mail Jānis Kargins.

So far just one resident of Latvia, a woman who received a minor head injury, has been identified among hundreds of people hurt in the July 7 terrorist bombings in central London, according to the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the LETA news agency.

The woman spent the night in a London hospital but has been released.

About 700 people were hurt and more than 50 killed when three bombs exploded in London’s subway system and one ripped apart a double-decker bus during the morning rush hour, according to London’s Metropolitan Police. Although police say they have not received any claim of responsibility for the attacks, news reports have pointed to an al-Qaeda group’s announcement on a Web site that said it organized the bombings.

Of the injured, 22 are in a serious condition and remain hospitalized, police said. Of those, none are residents of Latvia, the foreign ministry in Rīga said.

The Latvian Foreign Ministry asks those who know of persons who could have been in the blast areas and whose whereabouts remain unknown to telephone the ministry in Rīga at +371 7016364 (during work hours) or +371 9287398 (24 hours a day). The ministry said it is trying to confirm the whereabouts of at least 56 individuals.

(UPDATED 08 JUL 2005)

It is not yet known if any Latvian citizens are among the more than 30 people killed and at least 700 injured July 7 in a series of bomb blasts in several central London underground stations and one double-decker bus, according to the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

British authorities and hospital officials have not yet released the identities of those killed or hurt in the coordinated blasts, which appear to be the work of terrorists. News media have reported that an al-Qaeda group in Europe, in a statement on its Web site, took responsibility for the attacks.

The bomb blasts occurred during the commuter rush hour.

The Latvian Foreign Ministry has asked those who know of persons who could have been in the blast areas and whose whereabouts remain unknown to telephone the ministry in Rīga at +371 7016364 (during local work hours) or +371 9287398 (at any time). The ministry, in an announcement on its Web site, said that about 50 calls had been received so far.

The same information may be provided to British officials in London by call the emergency hotline number at +44 870 156 63 44.

Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, in a letter to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, condemned the attacks and offered the nation’s sympathy, according to the president’s press office.