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 Rytas v Besiktas (14 October 2015) |
 Town Hall Reception (21 September 2015) |
Latest Stories
| Lithuania Euro Ready | 14 August 2014 |
At its second attempt, Lithuania has finally been allowed to officially adopt the euro as of 1 January 2015. And just as well, as Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius either threatened or promised to resign, depending on your political leaning, if Lithuania failed to become the 19th country to join the single European currency.
After contentiously missing out in 2007 when Lithuania’s inflation rate was 2.63% and not under the required threshold of 2.6%, Lithuania again met all other criteria quite easily. |
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| Lithuanian anti-LGBT laws blocked | 27 March 2014 |
Text: Paul Penny Amidst the admonitions and international condemnation following the recent introduction of draconian anti-gay laws in Nigeria and Uganda, news from Lithuania (13 March), where a bill proposing Russian-style “gay propaganda” laws was blocked by MPs, came as a relief to LGBT rights activists. A majority of members of the Lithuanian Parliament voted to bring the proposal to a vote (39 in favour, 34 opposed, with 20 abstentions). However, the anti-gay legislation was defeated because of parliamentary rules that require a threshold of votes to be reached as well as a majority.
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| Ukraine Struggle Captured | 20 March 2014 |
As Ukraine’s struggle for independence turns more towards diplomacy and trade wars, we were recently reminded of the sacrifices that were born in Maidan Square. Peter Olar has compiled an exhibition named: Maidan - Images of Freedom. The photographs are taken in Maidan Square during the winter struggle, which started in late November 2013 after former president Viktor Yanukovich renegged on a deal of establishing closer ties with the West.
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| Real Estate in Lithuania and Baltic region slowly rising | 20 November 2013 |
According to Ober-Haus Lithuanian Apartment Price Index, Vilnius apartment prices grew for the ninth month in a row in October 2013, up 0.3% to €1,208/sqm. During the current year apartment prices in Vilnius increased by 1.6%, and since the lowest price level in May 2010, have increased 4.7% (+€54/sqm).
In October this year 864 apartments were sold in Vilnius, up 38% over the same period last year, and represents the highest volume of apartment sales in October for the last 10 years. |
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| President Grybauskaitė meets with Ban Ki-moon | 18 November 2013 |
President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-moon, who is visiting Lithuania for the first time. The meeting focused on Lithuania's preparations to work in one of the principal organs of the United Nations - the Security Council. The topics discussed also included today's biggest challenges to global security and other urgent issues on the UN agenda.
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| We’re playing for medals | 20 September 2013 |
Lithuania were never going to take this game easy, and just as well, because we needed every ounce of grit and determination to put away the Italian threat.
It was Lithuania’s defence that held the Italians scoreless for half of the last period that allowed us to drag out the four point victory, but even then the last few minutes were far from relaxed as the Italians always managed to stay close enough to threaten. |
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| Belgium Cast Aside | 14 September 2013 |
Belgium might be the de facto capital of the European Union, but Lithuania showed that we are very much the current President. Belgium started well and even led late in the first half at 12 – 11, but from then on all traffic went the way of Lithuania. |
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| Whew | 10 September 2013 |
Riding a roller coaster would be a more sedate way to spend this last week, but here we are, as expected, about to play in the next round of Eurobasket 2013. Sure, we did it on the back of a loss which is most unsatisfying, but in the end it was enough – just. | |
| Big Brothers to the Rescue | 9 September 2013 |
Ksistof and Darjus Lavrinovic hit five of six three pointers between them, and ultimately that proved the difference between Lithuania and Montenegro and a nerve-wracking overtime win.
In the crucial penultimate game in the first round of Eurobasket 2013 the brothers sent a grim message to opposition benches saying we have a variety and depth that is the envy of many teams. |
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| Back on track, but still a steep climb ahead | 7 September 2013 |
Lithuania is back on track with a win over our Latvian brothers. You’ll notice I never said easy, in fact the correct adjective would more accurately be tough, and a lot harder than the 8 point margin suggests.
Latvia had nothing to lose. A team always known for its physical play, this year they have some extra talent to throw into the mix, so it was no great surprise to see them above Lithuania in the Group B standings before the start of this third round match. |
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| Ouch - Lithuania loses to Serbia in Eurobasket opener | 5 September 2013 |
Lithuania opened its campaign in Slovenia with a notch in the loss column after a more defensive and disciplined Serbia controlled a physical game.
See full picsFirst of all Serbia out-hustled Lithuania. Knowing that Lithuania are short of quality point guards the Serbs kept constant pressure on the ball-carriers and never let them control the game as they had against weaker teams in the warm-ups. |
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| Jonas Valančiūnas on the eve of his NBA debut | 31 October 2012 |
Text: Ray VysniauskasJonas Valančiūnas is on the eve of his NBA debut, something that the basketball public has seen as inevitable for quite a few years, and especially since he was the drafted at five in 2011. He faces a tough initiation into the big league with nine of the Raptor’s first eleven games against last year’s playoff teams, and 15 of their first 22 games on the road. Then in his first game he faces Indiana Pacers’ All Star centre Roy Hibbert. The Toronto public has taken a shine to the young man from Utena who continues to present an easy public persona and impresses on court with his athleticism and work ethic.
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| A crucial step towards Lithuania‘s energy independence? | 22 August 2012 |
Response from the Japanese Embassy regarding the article: A crucial step towards Lithuania‘s energy independence? Mr. Ray Vyšniauskas Dear Mr. Vyšniauskas, As I have read your article “Crucial steps towards energy independence?” in the July/August 2012 edition of LiTnews, I am writing to draw your attention to the following factual inaccuracies:
The type of power plant to be built in Visaginas is not the same type as Fukushima nuclear power plant. The reactor type proposed for the Visaginas project is the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), which is the only Generation III+ reactor with a proven operational record. It is different from the reactor at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was designed 30-40 years ago. ABWR licensed in Japan and the United States, excels in terms of safety, operational efficiency and cost performance, which were achieved through the years of research and development conducted by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, power utilities and manufacturing companies of Japan. Also, in February this year Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told visiting Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius that Japan would share the experience and lessons learned from the accident at Fukushima and contribute to enhancing nuclear safety in Lithuania
We are not closing all of the nuclear power plants. The operation of power plants had been stopped for regular safety inspections, however if proven to be safe through the inspections, the Japanese Government can give permission for power plants to restart the operation, taking the opinions of the local governments and residents into consideration. Through the formal procedures, in June and July, the Japanese power utility Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. received permission for resuming operation of two reactors at the Ohi nuclear power plant and the two reactors are now in operation. I hope this letter could help you understand better and correctly on the matter.
A crucial step towards Lithuania‘s energy independence?Text: Ray VysniauskasThe Lithuanian government has been busily trying to sign off on the Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant before elections in October. With polls giving the Kubilius government little chance of holding onto power after October, there has been a great sense of urgency in pushing Visaginas as far as possible, and in making the road to building a new nuclear power plant irreversible.
Both the government and President Grybauskaitė have been pushing the importance of energy independence, wanting to move both the nuclear power station and the proposed LNG terminal forward despite the benign political climate. |
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| Rūta Meilutytė - A Deserving Champion | 10 August 2012 |
Lithuanian Olympic champion Rūta Meilutytė was welcomed home by a large crowd gathered at Vilnius Rotuse recently. Rūta Meilutytė won Lithuania’s first gold medal in swimming since independence and astounded not only Lithuania, but the whole world, with her fairy-tale performance.
The 15 year old Rūta has been steadily climbing the junior ranks in her sport, and said that she entered the Olympics only wanting to improve on her personal best performances, and left the rest to fate. Well fate astounded us all as the youngest swimmer in the 100 metre breast-stroke final surprised her opponents in the heats, bamboozled them in the semis with the fastest qualifying time, and then blew them away in the final where she managed to hold off a fast finishing Rebecca Soni and find that little extra in the last couple of strokes to touch the wall first in an impressive 1:05.47. |
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| Belarus Accuses Lithuania of Spying | 10 August 2012 |
The Belarus KGB recently announced the arrest of a Lithuanian spy ring allegedly operating out of the Lithuanian Embassy in Minsk.
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| Lithuania and the Euro | 10 August 2012 |
Text: Ray VysniauskasLithuania has done quite well at handing the economic downturn, albeit largely on the back of cutting wages and pensions and the poorest in our society shouldering the majority of the burden.
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| Mayor Zuokas on Vilnius | 10 August 2011 |
Text: Ray VysniauskasArtūras Zuokas is in his second candidacy as Vilnius Mayor. His first term from 2000 – 2007 was at once heralded as visionary and wasteful, and his second term continues to polarise the community. The media savvy Zuokas enjoys a high public profile, often seen zipping around Vilnius on his Segway and a recent video of him running over an illegally parked car in a tank went viral on the internet, giving him worldwide exposure. It is now just over a year since he started his second tenure as the boss of Vilnius and we thought it best for Mayor Zuokas himself to talk about his work and vision for Vilnius and Lithuania.
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| Vinnie Jones and Smolyaninov to star in new Lithuanian movie | 10 August 2012 |
Hollywood action star Vinnie Jones, whose credits include such international hits as “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”, “Gone in Sixty Seconds” and “X-Men: The Last Stand”, and who recently finished shooting in “The Tomb” opposite Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, joined the cast of an outrageous “The Hangover” meets “Snatch” action-comedy-thriller “Flight Redirected”, directed by Emilis Velyvis (Zero 2).
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| Lithuania conquers the Caribbean | 10 August 2012 |
It’s old news now, but Lithuania conquered the Caribbean and took home the treasure of an Olympic berth for London 2012.
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| EC welcomes Lithuania’s fiscal discipline | 10 August 2012 |
Brussels, 30 May. The European Commission adopted recommendations commending Lithuania’s efforts to correct the budget deficit. However the Commission encourages continuing adherence to disciplined spending policies, reform of the pension system, implementation of a number of measures to promote employment, especially for young people, and restructuring the energy sector.
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| Wizz Air the largest Vilnius airline | 10 August 2012 |
Wizz Air recently introduced a second Vilnius-based airplane to its Lithuanian schedule and became the largest airline operating from the Lithuanian capital.
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| SOE profits up 350% in 2011 | 9 August 2012 |
The results of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) keep improving and the net profit of SOEs (including special taxes to the State) was LTL246.6 million in 2011, which was 3.5 times more than the previous year (this sum excludes losses of LTL182 million due to the bankruptcy of the Bankas Snoras).
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| Lithuanian runners complete Sierra Leone marathon | 9 August 2012 |
On 9 June, a team of six runners from Lithuania completed the first marathon ever to be held in Sierra Leone.
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| VAT laws ammended | 29 July 2012 |
In June Seimas adopted amendments to the Law on the Value Added Tax which allows a reduced 9% VAT rate for press, public transport services, and technical assistance for the disabled. |
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| President's State of the Nation Address | 7 June 2012 |
Dear Fellow People of Lithuania, This time our meeting - provided for in the Constitution - is taking place at a very special moment.
The longest-serving Government reports on its work, elections are approaching, society has started to divide into camps and finds it more difficult to speak the same language. We stand on the threshold of decisions critical for our country and the future of our children. |
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| Crime and Law Enforcement in 2011 | 31 May 2012 |
The latest edition of "Crime and law enforcement activities in 2011" has been released. As the name suggests, this publication documents criminal activity and the work of law enforcement agencies over the preceding year, as well as provide statistical information on law enforcement activities.
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| Seimas wastes our time and money again | 31 May 2012 |
Text: Ray VysniauskasThe Seimas (Parliament) of Lithuanian on 16 May approved a progress strategy - Lietuva 2030 (Lithuania 2030) – which was drafted by the government.
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| Decline in Lithuania's Average Wage | 29 May 2012 |
Average Gross Monthly Wage LTL2138.1 The average gross monthly earnings in Lithuania, excluding individual enterprises, in I quarter 2012 was LTL2138.1. Compared to IV quarter 2011, this is a drop of 1.7%. In the public sector the decrease in gross monthly wages was larger than in the private sector (falls of 2.5 and 1.0%, respectively) and was LTL2267.5, in the private sector the average gross wage was LTL 2057.8.
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| National Men’s Basketball Squad Called to Arms | 24 May 2012 |
In a press conference on Tuesday 22 May, Kestutis Kemzura announced his 19-man shortlist for the Lithuanian national team. The names include Sarunas Jasikevicius, who decided to have one last crack at the National Team and notching up another Olympic Games.
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| Lithuanian Unemployment rate 14.5% | 22 May 2012 |
Statistics Lithuania informs that, according to the Labour Force Survey data, the unemployment rate in Lithuania for I quarter 2012 was 14.5%, which is by 0.6% more than in IV quarter 2011. In I quarter 2012, there were 230,900 unemployed persons in the country, which is by 8,800 (4%) more than in IV quarter 2011.
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| Decision Time for Ukraine | 15 May 2012 |
President Dalia Grybauskaitė had a bilateral meeting in Kiev with the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych recently. In Kharkov, the President met with Mikhail Dobkin, the Governor of Kharkov Region, and visited former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in hospital.
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| Žalgiris Has All the Answers | 14 May 2012 |
In the long awaited season showdown it turned out Rytas was the no-show and Žalgiris walks away with all the season’s honours.
After their sixth loss to Žalgiris for the year, and ninth in a row, the team of green is now caring for all three domestic trophies as well as the regional BBL silverware. |
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| A crucial step towards energy independence? | 10 May 2012 |
Text: Ray VysniauskasThe Lithuanian government issued a press release on the signing of an energy agreement recently. This can best be seen as an attempt to quell any doubts among potential partners that may arise in the medium term future with general elections due in October, and polls showing that the current government has little chance of being re-elected.
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| Lithuanian Politicians Finally Agree on Something | 9 May 2012 |
With Lithuania’s next general election due in October, the parliament has shown rare solidarity in signing a defence policy agreement ahead of the NATO summit to be held in Chicago from 20 – 21 May 2012.
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| TeliaSonera launch takeover of TEO LT | 8 May 2012 |
TeliaSonera has agreed to acquire 7.87% of the shares in TEO LT from East Capital for €0.637 (LTL2.20) per share and will thereby increase its ownership to 76.16% (from the current 68.29%).
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| CIA Prisons Still an Issue | 30 April 2012 |
Lithuania has done its best over the last five or six years to ignore the issue of secret CIA Prisons in Lithuania, but the Soviet-era tactic of ignoring it until it goes away is just not working.
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| Belarus Backs Down on Border Security Citing Blackmail | 26 April 2012 |
Belarus will reduce the number of border guard troops on its borders with the EU. The change is in response to increased EU sanctions against Belarus, in a tit-for-tat game of politics.
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| Swiss Wish to Limit Lithuanians | 25 April 2012 |
The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its dismay about the decision by the Swiss Government to re-establish limitations for certain categories of residential permits for specific EU citizens, including Lithuanians.
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| It's good news, and really bad news for Lietuvos Rytas | 24 April 2012 |
First the good news - Lietuvos Rytas played their best game of the season recently to defeat much more highly fancied Khimki in securing a 2 - 1 series win and a spot in the Final Four of the VTB United League.
An added bonus is that Rytas will also host the Final Four weekend in Vilnius, having a home court advantage in its race for the title against Moscow CSKA, UNICS and Lokomotiv-Kuban. |
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| New Domestic Violence Laws Start to Bite | 23 April 2012 |
Four months ago Lithuania adopted new laws in protection against domestic violence. In that time police have received nearly 10,000 reports of domestic violence and have opened over 3,300 investigations, reported News Radio.
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| Seimas votes against early elections | 18 April 2012 |
On 17 April the Lithuanian parliament - Seimas - failed to carry a motion bringing forward the next national elections.
The bill was supported by 50 member, 24 voted against the proposal and there were 25 abstentions. A three fifth vote of members, or 85 votes were needed to carry the amendment. |
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| Lithuania Post Moves to Electric Cars | 23 April 2012 |
Lithuania Post recently introduced an electric car for the provision of postal services. Based on estimations made by the company, the electric car will make savings of several thousand litas per year.
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| Over LTL1 Billion for Roads in 2012 | 12 April 2012 |
This year, the sum of LTL915.9 million will be allocated from the State Budget for the development of the Lithuanian road network and implementation of traffic safety measures.
Together with EU support funding, which will make up LTL270 million, the total investment into the national road network will be almost LTL1.2 billion. |
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| New oil field discovered in Lithuania | 12 April 2012 |
A new oil field discovered by Manifoldas UAB in the surroundings of Ližiai and Laigiai villages in Klaipėda district, Endriejavas region, has already been approved and entered in the Register of Mineral Reserves of the country.
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| Employee Earnings Analysis - October 2011 | 12 April 2012 |
Last year, one fifth, or 20% of employees in Lithuania earned LTL800 or less per month, more than half of them worked part-time.
Statistics Lithuania announced that in October 2011, compared to October 2010, the number of employees who earned the minimum monthly wage (MMW) or received a wage of LTL800 or less, including individual enterprises, accounted for 20.8% (or 215,600) employees and decreased by 0.3%. More than half of these employees (114,200) worked part-time. |
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| Lithuania Closer to Nuclear Deal | 10 April 2012 |
Text: Ray VysniauskasLithuania is ever closer to constructing a new nuclear plant in Visaginas after signing a concession agreement with Hitachi Ltd recently.
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| Lietuvos Rytas let the big one slip | 6 April 2012 |
Lietuvos Rytas relinquished an 18 point lead to arch-rival Žalgiris and lost 86 - 81 in their regular season LKL encounter last night.
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| Daylight Savings starts this Sunday | 23 March 2012 |
Lithuania will switch to daylight saving time on Sunday 25 March by setting clocks forward one hour at 3 am local time.
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| Lietuvos Rytas downs Donetsk | 21 March 2012 |
Lietuvos Rytas started its quest for Eurocup gold, and a Euroleague ticket, with a win over Donetsk in Vilnius last night.
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| Exports up 2.2%in January | 15 March 2012 |
Exports in January 2012 were worth LTL5.6 billion and imports LTL6.4 billion and the foreign trade deficit was LTL0.8 billion according to Statistics Lithuania, based on non-final data obtained from customs declarations and Intrastat reporting data.
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| A Tale of Two Marches | 11 March 2012 |
Round up and photos of two contrasting March 11 marches.
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| Politics should not keep Seimas from strategic tasks | 9 March 2012 |
Prior to the Seimas' spring session, President Dalia Grybauskaitė and members of the Board of the Seimas traditionally meet to discuss key legislative initiatives.
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