Latvian President Valdis Zatlers has begun a weeklong working visit to the United States that will include meetings with government officials and politicians, speaking to Baltic-Americans and participating in an ethnic school’s commencement ceremony.

The president’s agenda, according to his press office, begins May 14 with a speech to the U.S.-Baltic Foundation’s business development conference in Washington, D.C. The conference is part of the foundation’s annual Gala weekend program.

The same day the president is set to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California; Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida, who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe; Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio.

He also will visit the Latvian Embassy in Washington, D.C., where he will view the art exhibit “Latvian Dimensions: Contemporary Installations and Sculpture” and present Latvian state honors to a number of U.S. officials and Latvian-American community activists.
 
On May 15, the president is slated to visit The Brooking Institution, where he will present a speech, “Opportunities and Challenges Beyond 2009: The Role of Transatlantic Partnership in a Post-Economic Crisis World.” The presentation is scheduled from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington. Also on the schedule is a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and a speech during a reception for the U.S.-Baltic Foundation’s Gala.
 
The next day, May 16, sees the president speaking at the opening of the Joint Baltic American National Committee’s conference on Baltic security. In the evening, Zatlers will speak again during the U.S.-Baltic Foundation’s Gala, when he will be the guest of honor.

Before leaving May 17 for Seattle, the president and First Lady Lilita Zatlers will attend a Family Day church service and Latvian school commencement ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. in the Latvian Ev. Latvian Lutheran Church of Washington, 400 Hurley Ave., Rockville, Md.

On the West Coast, Zatlers is scheduled May 18 to visit the University of Washington, where among other agenda items he is to visit with Assistant Professor Guntis Šmidchens and students in the Baltic Studies Program. Later in the day he will meet with the Seattle Latvian community at the Latvian Cultural Center, 11710 Third Ave. N.E., Seattle.

The president on May 19 will visit Microsoft Corp. and meet with company CEO Steve Ballmer. Zatlers also is to meet with Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who is president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Program. Finally, Zatlers is to speak to the World Affairs Council at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle. To register for the event, telephone the World Affairs Council at +1 (206) 441-5910. Tickets are USD 10 for council members and for students, USD 20 for nonmembers.

The First Lady’s schedule during the U.S. trip includes a tour of a Ronald McDonald House Charities mobile assistance center in Washington, D.C. A similar project could be implemented in Latvia, according to the president’s press office.

Mrs. Zatlers, who is patroness of a boarding school and developmental center for children with hearing difficulties in Valmiera, will visit similar schools in the Washington area. Among these are Key Elementary School, which has integrated students with special educational needs, and Gallaudet University, where she will learn about a program for children with hearing loss.

Also in the nation’s capital, Mrs. Zatlers is to visit the Newseum, a museum about journalism and the news industry, where she will present the book Latvia Under the Rule of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, 1940-1991 as a gift from the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. The First Lady also will tour the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
 
In Seattle, Mrs. Zatlers will accompany the president when he meets with the Latvian community and when he visits Microsoft.

Latvia has finished seventh in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship after a 4-2 quarterfinal loss May 7 against Canada.

A scoreless first period may have suggested the two teams were evenly matched, but the Canadians got more agressive in the second period and took advantage of power plays to overpower the Latvians. The game was played in the PostFinance Arena in Bern, Switzerland.

Latvian goalkeeper Edgars Masaļskis held steady against the Canadians through the first period, even though they tried 16 times to get the puck into the net, according to a game summary posted on the IIHF’s Web site, www.iihf.com. The Latvian offense only got off eight shots on the Canadian goal.

Canada turned up the pressure during the second period, taking 22 shots on goal compared to Latvia’s four. At 6 minutes, 37 seconds into the period, Canada’s Dany Heatley scored with help from Derek Roy and Shea Weber. At 14:03, Dan Hamhuis made it 2-0 on a power play. He was assisted by Steve Stamkos and Drew Doughty.

Even though they were short-handed at the time, the Latvians finally got on the scoreboard at 17:30 into the second period. Guntis Galviņš, with help from Herberts Vasiļjevs, got the point against Canadian goalkeeper Chris Mason. Seventeen seconds later, Canada’s Stamkos showed the Latvians the flip side of a short-handed goal, using a power play to his advantage to make it 3-1. He was assisted by Hamhuis.

With just about 45 seconds left in the second period, Latvian forward Lauris Dārziņš was taken out of commission when he was slapped with a two-minute penalty for hooking and a 10-minute penalty for game misconduct.

Latvia tried to reassert itself 1:27 into the third period when Vasiļjevs, assisted by Aleksandrs Niživijs and Aleksejs Širokovs, scored. About a minute and a half later, the Canadians answered when Matthew Lombardi made it 4-2. Colby Armstrong and Braydon Coburn were credited with the assist.

Not that it mattered much in the end, but Canada’s Hamhuis was sidelined with just about two and a half minutes left in the came when he was penalized two minutes
for checking to the head and neck area and 10 minutes for misconduct. In all, the Canadians earned 26 minutes in the penalty box, compared to the Latvians’ 24 minutes.

For the game, Canada had 48 shots on goal, while Latvia had 23.

Canada advances to the semifinals.

Thanks to the hometown team, Latvia will face Canada in the quarterfinals of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Championship underway in Bern, Switzerland.

After its May 3 loss to Russia during the qualifying round, Latvia sat in fourth place out of the six teams from Group E hoping for a spot in the quarterfinals. The top four teams would advance, while the bottom two would be eliminated from the tournament.

Switzerland surprised the U.S. with a 4-3 overtime victory May 4, but the win was not enough to save the hometown team from being eliminated from the tournament. Because of how points are distributed for victories in the tournament, Switzerland would have had to win during regulation time, rather than overtime, to push Latvia out of the competition.

Meanwhile, Sweden topped France 6-3, securing a place for itself in the quarterfinals. The French, like the Swiss, have been eliminated from the tournament.

Latvia’s match against Canada is scheduled for 16:15 hours Swiss time May 7. The game will be played in the PostFinance Arena in Bern. The winner of the game will play either Sweden or the Czech Republic in the semifinals.

The last time Latvia made the quarterfinals was 2004, but it lost to Sweden and did not advance further.

At this point, Latvia is guaranteed no worse than an eighth-place finish in this year’s World Championship. In all, 16 teams are participating in the tournament.