Latvia is off to a bad start in the 2011 World Championship of ice hockey, getting trounced in its first match of the tournament and losing defenseman Artūrs Kulda, who has been suspended for three games for a body-check that sent a Czech player to the hospital.

The championship, sponsored by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and being played in Slovakia, runs through May 15.

During the first period of the April 30 preliminary game round between Latvia and the Czech Republic, Kulda checked defenseman Radek Martinek. The Czech player was taken to a Bratislava hospital where he was found to have suffered a severe concussion and a hematoma, according to an IIHF report.

The IIHF Disciplinary Panel handed down the suspension on May 1.

Latvia lost the game 4-2 against the defending world champion Czechs.

Latvia next plays Finland in a preliminary round game scheduled at 20:15 GMT on May 2, and then faces Denmark at 16:15 GMT May 4.

A total of 16 teams are compeing the World Championship. The top three teams in each of four preliminary round groups will advance to the qualifying round, while the fourth-place team in each group will head to the relegation round.

Last year, when the World Championship was held in Germany, Latvia finished 11th overall.

Police in the English city of Peterborough, about 135 kilometers north of London, are seeking the public’s help in locating a 25-year-old Latvian woman last seen April 17.

Gladisa Račāne was last seen that day in the early hours after a night out in Peterborough’s city center, according to a press release from the Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

Račāne, originally from Latvia, had been living in a shared home on Peterborough’s Granville Street.

“It may be that she has gone to live with friends in a different part of the city, but we would just want her to get in touch so her family know she is safe,” Inspector Richard Isley said in the press release.

Račāne is described as slim, white and with very long brown hair. She was last seen wearing white shoes, grey trousers, a yellow top and a red jacket.

Persons with any information about Račāne’s whereabouts should call Isley on +44 0345 456 456 4.

The Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) has presented its Baltic Democracy Award to the two leaders of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), which is also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

JBANC presented the award April 15 to Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) and Co-Chairman Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), according to a press release from the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying organization.

The CSCE was established in 1976 as an independent branch of U.S. government. It is charged with monitoring compliance with the 1975 Helsinki Accords on peace and security in Europe.

Smith was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980, and is a senior member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Smith is also one of the longest-serving members of the House Baltic Caucus. Smith has been instrumental in furthering the CSCE’s cause of promoting human rights and democracy, authorizing three of America’s most influential anti-human trafficking laws and serving on Congressional caucuses focusing on refugees, combating anti-Semitism, and human trafficking.

Smith also has experience in Central and Eastern European affairs, and was present in the Baltics with a U.S. Congressional delegation following the Soviet crackdown in early 1991. He recently introduced the Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011, legislation that supports Belarus’ democratic opposition and calls for American sanctions against that country’s current authoritarian regime.

“Congressman Smith has been a tremendous ally to JBANC,” said Markus Videnieks, a member of JBANC’s board of directors. “He has demonstrated tireless support and wise leadership on issues that are critical to Estonian-, Latvian- and Lithuanian-Americans, and we are proud to be able to recognize him and Senator Cardin for their achievements.”

Cardin was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, Judiciary Committee, Environment and Public Works Committee, Budget Committee and Small Business Committee. From 1987-2006, Cardin served in the House of Representatives, representing Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District.

Cardin has served on the CSCE since 1993 and currently is vice president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Previous JBANC Baltic Democracy Award honorees include Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in 2007; Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), and Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-Neb.) in 2003; Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) in 2001; and Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) in 1999. Before 1999, the award was called the Baltic Freedom Award.

JBANC represents the American Latvian Association, Estonian American National Council and the Lithuanian American Council.