Estonian ride-hailing service provider Bolt will separate its taxi drivers in Lithuania by language proficiency, ELTA reports. Bolt spokesman Mantas Cizas siad that the company would apply stricter standards to communication and behaviour in the “Bolt” category, requiring that drivers speak fluent Lithuanian or English. Those who fail to do so can continue in the…
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…
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…
Protesters in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, have asked the government to protect the Kedainiai-based fertiliser producer, Lifosa, from closure, BNS reports. Around 300 protesters took part in a rally outside the government office in central Vilnius on 26 July 2023. Kristina Krupaviciene, chairwoman of the Solidarumas (Solidarity) trade union, said that the goal of the rally…
Lithuania’s national startup ecosystem facilitator, Startup Lithuania, will host Startup Fair 2023 in Vilnius on 7 September 2023, Startup Lithuania reports. More international investors are expected to attend the event. In total, over 60 speakers are expected to give presentations and participate in the discussions. Also, 40-50 startups will compete for participation in the acceleration…
Lithuania’s State Commission of the Lithuanian Language (VLKK) recently ordered the authorities in Vilnius district municipality to remove bilingual Lithuanian-Polish signs in the villages of Azulauke and Bieliskes, LRT reports. The municipality refused to comply and took the issue to the Administrative Disputes Commission, which found that VLKK’s order was unlawful and unfounded. Audrius Valotka,…
Several hundred people gathered in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, on 19 July 2023 to protest against plans by local property developer Dobilo Daigas to cut down nine trees in a small green space in the city centre, LRT reports. Dobilo Daigas plans to expand a café on the small square, which is part of the historic…
A leak of alleged security details of NATO’s summit in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, was linked to a breach of Lithuanian government IT systems, the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) announced, BNS reports. NKVC director Vilmantas Vitkauskas said that the seriousness of the incident was “likely to be greater than initially thought.” The government chancellery has…