{
  "id": 7184962,
  "title": "Latvian welfare minister sacked for drink-driving",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/latvian-welfare-minister-sacked-for-drink-driving-7184962",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-13T21:18:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/09/14/latvian-welfare-minister-sacked-for-drink-driving"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs dismissed welfare minister Reinis Uzulnieks on Sunday after he was caught by police driving with a dangerously high blood alcohol level. The Union of Greens and Farmers, Uzulnieks' political party, voted to expel him from the party during an emergency meeting. Police stopped the 40-year-old at the weekend and measured his blood alcohol content, which was over 0.3%, nearly six times the legal limit. Uzulnieks' blood alcohol level was reported between 0.309% and 0.35%, far exceeding the 0.05% maximum allowed for drivers. A BAC of 0.4% is considered potentially fatal by medical experts, and at 0.3%, the risk of alcohol poisoning and loss of consciousness is high. The Prime Minister and President Edgars Rinkēvičs both strongly condemned Uzulnieks' irresponsible behavior.",
  "summary": "Reinis Uzulnieks was caught by police while driving with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.3% – or some six times higher than the legal limit.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Latvian welfare minister sacked for drink-driving",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/latvian-welfare-minister-sacked-for-drink-driving",
        "published": "2026-09-13T21:18:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}