Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) has received 194 asylum applications so far in 2023, BNS reports. Among them were 40 Iraqis, 34 Belarusians, 18 Afghans, 17 Russians, and 13 Syrians. The applications were submitted at border checkpoints or after crossing the border illegally. Most of those who entered Lithuania illegally were Belarusian citizens. In…
The Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, made a net profit of EUR 53.2mn in the second quarter of 2023, which was up 81% from the same period of 2022, ERR reports. The group attributed the sharp rise in profit to an improvement in net interest income. Meanwhile, operating expenses increased by 72% amid investments in…
A Russian army lieutenant who took part in Russia’s war in Ukraine has fled to Lithuania and applied for asylum, TV3 reports. He was detained at Vilnius bus station, after which he applied for asylum. Earlier, the man had crossed the border from Belarus but was pushed back by border guards. In June 2023, a…
Estonia should strengthen cooperation with Taiwan and consider opening a Taiwanese representative office (Taipei Mission) in Tallinn, Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, stated, ERR reports. Speaking after a joint visit by the heads of the foreign affairs committees of Baltic parliaments to Taiwan, Mihkelson noted that…
A severe storm that hit Lithuania on 6-7 August 2023 toppled over 50,000 trees in forests, the state forest management enterprise, Valstybiniu Misku Uredija (VMU), announced, BNS reports. Valdas Kaubre, director general of VMU, said that the estimated total area of damaged forest amounted to around 2,000 hectares. Most of the trees fell in the…
Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) will deploy more officers to the country’s border with Belarus in response to the threat posed by the presence of Russian private military company Wagner Group’s mercenaries in Belarus, BNS reports. VSAT commander Rustamas Liubajevas refused to disclose how many additional officers would be deployed to the border, however….
Lithuania’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Marius Skuodis, has appointed Simonas Bartkus as the new CEO of the state-owned airport operator, Lietuvos Oro Uostai (Lithuanian Airports, LTOU), as of 16 August 2023. LTOU’s previous CEO, Marius Gelzinis, resigned in June 2022. Bartkus has 10 years of management experience in the aviation and transport sectors. LTOU…
A large fire broke out at Lithuanian waste management company Ecoservice’s sorting facility near the Gariunai marketplace in Vilnius on 5 August 2023, BNS reports. Mindaugas Sestokas, head of Ecoservice’s production division, said that non-hazardous waste had caught fire in the company’s sorting centre. Also, a fire broke out at state-owned hazardous waste management company…
One person was killed during a severe storm in Lithuania on 7 August 2023, LRT reports. Lithuania’s Fire and Rescue Department (PAGD) announced that a woman was crushed to death by a falling tree in the town of Zagare in Joniskis district. The storm caused widespread damage in northern Lithuania, as hail broke windows and…