Lithuania

15 people have been charged in Lithuania over an alleged plan for arson attacks through courier services backed by Russian military intelligence service GRU; suspects include citizens from Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine

Construction of the long-delayed, 18.000-seat National Stadium in Vilnius is at pace after resuming in July, though questions remain over permits and transparency; the multipurpose complex will include football field, athletics stadium, kindergarten

Social Democratic MP Inga Ruginienė has been appointed as Prime Minister of Lithuania; following the resignation of Paluckas on 31 July, 78 parliament members voted in favor, 35 against and 14 abstained

8 Lithuanian defence and security firms and research institutions have signed a letter of intent with Brazil’s Embraer, one of the world’s largest aerospace manufacturers, in a first official attempt to apply industrial cooperation in defence procurement

The 85th anniversary of the United States' declaration condemning the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states has been marked with a commemorative event in Washington Square in Vilnius featuring flag tribute, national anthems, American-style snacks

Gintautas Markevičius, a Lithuanian man paralysed down one side, set yet another record by covering over 3.000 km around the Baltic States on his electric trike; after more than a month on the road, he was welcomed back in Klaipėda

A passenger boat service in the Neris River will be launched by the end of July in Vilnius and the first electric vessel of the fleet has been unveiled; for Mayor Valdas Benkunskas the new type of transport could fulfill the city's recreational potential

Construction at the Rūdninkai military training area, a €125 million contract, is 6 months ahead of schedule; Lithuanian defence officials are speeding up operations on the campus that will house part of a German brigade deployed to the country by 2027

Within the plan to extend the high-speed railway Rail Baltica up to 114 km in Lithuania by 2025, a new tender has been issued for a 12,4 km stretch

Rounding cash payments began: under the new rules, the final amount of a purchase paid in cash will be rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents; the new practice is part of a gradual move to phase out the use of 1- and 2-cent euro coins

The Constitutional Court ruled that the 'the institution of partnership', as now defined in Lithuania's Civil Code, is unconstitutional because it only provides for a union between a man and a woman, excluding same-sex relationships

Vilnius Gediminas Technical University will receive €669.000 of funding from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, thanks to which researchers will create a programme of 'Cyber Security Seminars' for 200 students from different academic disciplines