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Defence

Lithuania hands over command of NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE to Netherlands

Lithuania officially ended over six-month long period of command of NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1). On January 22, Commander Giedrius Premeneckas (Lithuanian Navy) handed over command of SNMCMG1 to Commander Peter A.J. Bergen Henegouwen (Royal Netherlands Navy) at Den Helder naval base of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Ministry of National Defence said. […]

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s speech in Vilnius in full

Mikhail Khodorkovsky‘s speech in Vilnius last week drew considerable controversy, with some saying his suggestions of easing economic sanctions on Russia played right into Vladimir Putin‘s interests, while others noting Khodorkovsky’s sober and measured reasoning. The following is a full transcript of Khodorkovsky’s address, translated from Russian by Katerina Sinkevičienė. […]

Seimas of Lithuania
Foreign affairs

Lithuania calls for further suspension of Russian delegations rights at Council of Europe PA

The plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to be held in Strasbourg on 26–30 January will address the question of whether to approve the credentials of the Russian delegation to be renewed in 2015 at the expiry of the sanctions applied by the PACE against the Russian delegation because of the annexation of Crimea and the escalation of military tensions in eastern Ukraine. […]

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Economy

British rail companies interested in Rail Baltica project

UK rail companies working in international projects and providing rail infrastructure services such as planning, construction and management of innovative and sustainable railways met the representatives of the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications. During the meeting, the companies had the possibility to learn more about Lithuania’s strategic project Rail Baltica 2 and other rail projects implemented in the country, the Ministry of Transport and Communication said. […]

São Paulo
Foreign affairs

Lithuania’s deputy foreign minister discussed cooperation opportunities with Brazil

On 19 January, Lithuania’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mantvydas Bekešius met with Under Secretary General for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Carlos Antonio da Rocha Paranhos, Oswaldo Biato, Director of the Europe Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other officials. The officials discussed bilateral relations and opportunities for economic cooperation, the MFA said. […]

Algirdas Vaclovas Patackas
Society

Lithuanian MP voices threat against LGBT* rights organization

Member of the Lithuanian Parliament Algirdas Vaclovas Patackas has publicly warned the leader of LGL, a Lithuanian LGBT* rights NGO, that the organization is “playing with fire” and that its activities might result in a “black, repulsive and totally unacceptable response” similar to that which “happened in Paris.” The statement by the MP was issued as a response to the organization’s humourous suggestion to use 10-litas notes, that have been taken out of circulation, as LGBT* souvenirs. […]

Dalia Grybauskaitė
Foreign affairs

President Grybauskaitė discusses key tasks for the year with foreign ambassadors

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with foreign ambassadors accredited to Lithuania. At the meeting, the president reviewed the main tasks and events of the last year, thanked the ambassadors for cooperation, and discussed the introduction of the euro and Lithuania’s key objectives for the year, the presidential press service said. […]

Culture

Scholars offer recommendations for history policy makers of Lithuania and Belarus

Historical memory has a strong impact on the cohesion of political society. The historical memory of any given society is affected by a whole range of factors, such as the methodology and content of history teaching at school, the creation of various memorials and alternative sources of information about the past. Most of these factors depend on the political sphere and are a direct consequence of political or administrative decisions. In short, a consequence of state history policy. […]

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Culture

The Summer of Sangaile included in the main programme of Berlinale Panorama Section

The Summer of Sangaile, a film by Lithuanian director Alantė Kavaitė, will be screened in the main programme of Berlinale Panorama. The film will have its European première in Berlin while its world première is scheduled in a couple of days in Sundance. […]