Lithuania: Catholic Church to investigate child sexual abuse
The Lithuanian Catholic Church will investigate sexual abuse of children since 1990, LRT reports. The…
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Welcome to Via Baltica, your “information superhighway” for news from the three Baltic tigers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania! Our founder and editor-in-chief is Kerkko Paananen, senior news analyst with more than two decades of professional expertise in covering and reporting on current affairs in the Baltic States. We aim to do one thing well:…
Lithuania: Catholic Church to investigate child sexual abuse
The Lithuanian Catholic Church will investigate sexual abuse of children since 1990, LRT reports. The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference (LVK) decided to launch the investigation into crimes against minors and vulnerable adults within the church after two Lithuanian priests were charged for sexual offenses involving children. Church officials are waiting for guidance from the Holy See…
Latvia: Parliament bans Russian, Belarusian food
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has expanded an existing ban on the import of food from Russia and Belarus, LSM reports. The parliament passed in final reading urgent amendments that will ban the import of not just agricultural goods and animal feed but also food products of Russian and Belarusian origin. The ban will apply…
Estonia: Ban on grain transit from Russia, Belarus
The Estonian government has banned transit shipments of grain from Russia and Belarus, ERR reports. Amid attacks on shipping in the Black Sea, Russia has diverted grain exports away from Black Sea ports to other ports, including on the Baltic Sea coast. Russia and Belarus have not used Estonian ports to export grain to third…
Baltic: Business boom in Lithuania, doom in Estonia in 2024
The share of new businesses registered in proportion to the number of active enterprises in Lithuania was the highest in the entire EU in 2024, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. Lithuania’s so-called enterprise birth rate stood at 17.5% in 2024, compared to 13.9% in Latvia and 12.1% in Estonia. The EU average was 10.4%….
Estonia: Ülle Madise elected president
The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has elected Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise as the country’s next president for a five-year term, ERR reports. Madise received 71 votes in the first round of voting in the 101-member parliament. She was the only candidate. MPs of the opposition Estonian Centre Party and Conservative People’s Party of Estonia…
Lithuania: Nationwide emergency after hurricane storm
The Lithuanian government has declared a nationwide emergency and four municipalities have declared local emergencies after a severe storm on 22-23 August 2026, BNS reported. Wind speeds reached up to 33 mps on the seaside and a month’s rain fell in 12 hours in some areas, according to the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT), BNS reported….
Latvia: Strongest storm in 60 years
Latvia was hit by the strongest storm since 1966 on the night of 22-23 August 2026, LSM reported. Wind speeds exceeded 30 mps in some areas, according to the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVGMC), LETA reported. Several injuries and one fatality were recorded. Electricity distributor Sadales Tikls reported that the storm cut power…
Estonia: Justice Chancellor only candidate for president
Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice, Ülle Madise, has been officially registered as candidate for president, ERR reports. Altogether 75 out of 101 MPs nominated Madise, who was the only candidate registered, ERR reported. Madise will need 68 votes to be elected president in the parliament, the Riigikogu, in the first round on 2 September 2026. She…
Baltic: CIA chief warns Russia against attacking Baltics
The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Ratcliffe, travelled to Moscow to warn Russia against attacking NATO countries, particularly the Baltic States, CBS, Politico, and The Wall Street Journal reported. Earlier, US intelligence assessed that Russia was considering attacks in the Baltic region to test NATO unity. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman,…