LATVIAN GOVERNMENT TAKES CONTROL OF FAILED BANK.

The Latviangovernment has taken over the failed Baltija bank, will reorganize it and then return it to new owners, BNS reported May 25. The news agency reported that many Latvian parliamentarians had criticized the government for failing to monitor the situation, and for allowing the bank to get in so much trouble. (Saving the bank is now estimated to cost nearly $200 million.) A senior Latvian official told the Monitor that he suspected Russian and criminal interests had created the crisis in order to destabilize the Latvian government.

Ukrainian Parliament Issues Ultimatum To Crimea.