Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius urged the Catholic Church to cooperate in an investigation into child sexual abuse by two local priests, BNS reported. He called for answers on whether the Church had taken sufficient measures to detect, prevent, and report such abuse. “Moral authority mandates the highest standards of responsibility,” he stated. In the…
Latvia has closed its border with Belarus for “technical reasons,” Interior Minister Janis Dombrava announced late on 31 July 2026, LSM reports. A day earlier, Dombrava urged Latvian residents not to travel across the border to or from Belarus. Kristine Petersone, spokesperson for Latvia’s State Border Guard (VRS), said that the border was closed due…
Latvia’s Interior Minister, Janis Dombrava, has called for an internal investigation of State Police chief Armands Ruks, LSM reports. Earlier, an off-duty police officer killed a man in Priekule and another police officer caused a road traffic accident near Aizkraukle, both while severely intoxicated, LETA and LSM reported. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Dombrava…
The party congress of Lithuania’s governing coalition member, the Union of Democrats for Lithuania (DSVL), has elected MEP Virginijus Sinkevicius as the party chairman for a four-year term, BNS reports. Sinkevicius defeated Health Minister Linas Kukuraitis soundly in the leadership vote. Sinkevicius has served as DSVL’s interim chairman since April 2026, following the resignation of…
Lithuania’s Court of Appeal has found MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the far-right populist party, Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA), guilty of antisemitism, BNS reports. The court found that Zemaitaitis had incited hatred against Jews and grossly trivialised the Holocaust, systematically distorting historical facts and making “dehumanising comparisons.” The court ordered the MP to pay a…
Lithuania’s incoming new coalition government may try to resume official dialogue with neighbouring Belarus on reopening transport links and trade, The Baltic Sentinel reports. Political analyst Vytautas Bruveris noted that many rural voters of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) and the Lithuanian Union of Farmers and Greens (LVZS), especially in eastern Lithuania, were tired…
The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has approved amendments allowing prisoners from other countries to be housed in Estonian prisons, ERR reported. At the same time, the parliament ratified a prison leasing agreement with Sweden. Earlier, the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, ratified the agreement, ERR reported. Under the deal, Sweden can send up to 600 adult…
Two pro-Russian activists facing criminal liability in Latvia and Lithuania, Aleksejs Roslikovs and Antanas Kandrotas, have fled to neighbouring Belarus, LRT reports. Roslikovs, a former member of the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, and former member of the Riga city council representing the pro-Russian For Stability party, has been charged in Latvia with incitement of national…
Latvia’s Supreme Court has annulled the Riga Regional Court’s decision to acquit all defendants in the so-called second digital TV criminal case, LETA reports. The defendants include former transport minister Ainars Slesers, chairman of the populist Latvia First (LPV) party, former prime minister, prominent businessman Andris Skele, as well as several former executives at the…
