The special closed-end real estate investment company AB Tewox (hereinafter referred to as the Investment Company) and UAB Lidl Lietuva have completed a transaction for the acquisition of two Lidl store buildings The Investment Company acquired the stores in Jurbarkas each with an area of approximately 2,000 sq The buildings have long-term lease agreements with UAB Lidl Lietuva which will use the proceeds to continue the company’s expansion strategy in Lithuania Luminor bank has provided financing of 6.7 mEUR for the acquisition The Investment Company was advised by the law firm TGS Baltic and Lidl Lietuva was represented by the law firm Sorainen paulius.nevinskas@lordslb.lt https://lordslb.lt/tewox_bonds/ Vaidas and Rauni have lived in Lithuania for 14 years The woman learned Lithuanian by listening to the radio every day on her way to work in Kaunas She speaks Lithuanian well but says she would like to speak even better “I want to integrate and communicate with people I learned the language by listening to LRT RADIO on my commute to work in Kaunas because he doesn’t want to speak Lithuanian with me,” she smiles Vaidas says he speaks English with his wife out of habit he was working as a navigator with no compatriots around where the Lithuanian man was transporting cargo from Iceland We joke that he has explored the whole world and in Finland the ship has reached the end of the earth because when you translate the word Finland She disagrees with the stereotype that Lithuanians are a cold people Many visitors from Finland also come to visit the family as Rauni grew up in a family of 18 children I feel safe in Lithuania and don’t want to live anywhere else Sometimes it’s scary when people ask me if I would like to live in Finland again I just miss my family and friends,” she says Vaidas and Rauni had lived in Finland for eight years “A childhood friend recommended the place where we live now and on Wednesday we bought it,” Vaidas recalls they did not keep the house on the plot of land they had purchased the couple built a Finnish house made by a company “We chose what kind of house we wanted and the company brought all the logs The couple also have a hand-built stove in their backyard Rauni’s friends from Finland have promised to fly to Lithuania in their private plane to taste the pizzas that Vaidas bakes Vaidas learnt the art of pizza-making while working in Spain in a camping restaurant he learned the tricks of the trade from a famous Italian master “This oven is the very first one and is not as nice as the others It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to have an oven Vaidas graduated from a nautical school and worked as a navigator for 15 years He became interested in this profession during the school’s open days he did not limit himself to seafaring – he lived in Spain for four years when Lithuania was still part of the Soviet Union He defected and applied for political asylum there “The army unit where I had served belonged to the KGB When I was applying for a job on ships in Soviet times they saw this entry and they tried to recruit me as a snitch That was a time when nobody asked you if you want to do it “I was still young and had a Catholic upbringing I went to a priest and told him everything He said I was young and gave me a blessing to defect to the West,” Vaidas recalls “There was a newspaper article about Simas Kudirka who jumped from a Soviet ship onto an American ship and ended up in the West,” he recalls Kudirka’s was a notorious and unfortunate case in 1970 The American coast guards did not let him stay The incident caused outrage in the US and led to new guidelines for handling defections Simas told me that I was lucky,” Vaidas says “He had to spend two years in prison somewhere in Siberia while I didn’t have to because I came back to Lithuania only in 1992.” The port authority expects such grain shipments from Jurbarkas to Klaipėda to be carried out by the river on a regular basis using two vessels this is a project that allows us to think that in the future inland waters will be used more and more to transport cargo from that part of Lithuania to Klaipėda,” Algis Latakas “We can bring a large part of the cargo in one go by waterway to the port where that cargo can then be transferred to bigger ships and those ships can then sail to the country where the cargo is to be sent,” he said The port authority estimates that one voyage on the Nemunas River will carry about the same amount of grain as 40–54 trucks which should reduce the amount of truck traffic on the roads and in the streets of Klaipėda director of the Inland Waterways Authority said that it took about 16 hours to deliver the 1,000-ton cargo of grain from Jurbarkas to Klaipėda but in the future the barges could reach the port in 13 hours while sailing at night The grain transported to the port by the river Nemunas will be shipped to high-tonnage vessels by Bega said that the company has been loading grain from barges for twelve years so it would not need to make any additional preparations “This is a typical method of unloading; it is not complicated It is only important that the barge has its own schedule,” Rimkus told reporters the company can unload 1,000 tons of grain in about one hour Andrius Armonaitis of Akola Group (formerly known as Linas Agro Group) and trade company and the supplier of the first grain cargo transported to the port by the river Nemunas said that transporting grain by water is much cheaper than by road transport He told reporters that the company aimed to ship about 30,000 tons of grain annually by the river Nemunas the waterway could be extended to Jonava to carry fertiliser cargoes from Achema to Klaipėda attempts were made in the past to transport gravel from Jurbarkas by barges oversized cargo and containers were transported along the Nemunas The requested URL was not found on this server The president “is playing with fire,” Leon Panetta said in response to Donald Trump’s latest anti-Muslim tweets It’s a “dangerous game to play,” the secretary commented further  Panetta’s chief concern was the adverse situation Trump is creating for America in world politics perhaps grimmer danger and it comes with the ongoing demonization of a minority.  The worst instance of this arguably happened under the German Nazis.  We study them a lot Trump’s tweets were unverified videos purportedly showing Muslims engaged in horrific acts of violence.  The videos were originally tweeted by the far-right extremist group known for its hateful and bigoted views about Muslims and immigrants.  Many Americans are disturbed observing such hateful rhetoric coming from our highest office.  Others are inspired and encouraged.  White supremacist David Duke’s tweeted response said The president is indeed playing with fire as he’s inciting hate and he may bring ruin upon our country and beyond History can serve as a reminder of what happens when a powerful leader’s hate-inciting speech is left unchecked and normalized We don’t like to compare ourselves to the emergence of Nazi Germany but it is exactly this comparison that is most instructive for our current situation and what ordinary citizens must do lest we suffer the consequences How did the Nazis convince Christians to turn on their Jewish neighbors They used the same techniques used by Britain First falsely accusing Jews of crimes and whipping up hatred against them German soldiers and their Lithuanian collaborators created spectacles like we see in the videos Lithuania had been invaded by the Soviet Union many ordinary Lithuanians greeted them as liberators.  a month after the German invasion and after the younger Jewish men of the city had been murdered the Jews who remained in Jurbarkas were ordered to meet at the town library Lithuanian Christians removed the bust of Joseph Stalin from the library and made old Jewish men carry it.  Women were given pictures of other Soviet leaders while the Lithuanian Christians hurled rocks and bottles at them and called them Communists This farce had one purpose: to demonize the Jews to "prove" that they were in league with the hated Soviets to make it easier to kill them a few days later and the babies were taken to the Jewish elementary school where Lithuanian Christians forced their Jewish neighbors to dig their own graves and then murdered them all How do you convince people to kill old women You turn those innocents into dangerous enemies designed to inflame irrational emotion against an entire group Those were the tactics that contributed to the murder of Melinda's family and millions of other Jews.  They were also the tactics used in Cambodia and mass persecution have occurred.  And they are the tactics used by Britain First to produce its lies—lies now spread by our president Some readers may think that the comparison between what is occurring in our country now and the lead up to the Holocaust is far-fetched Trump and his collaborators are priming the masses into the normalization of hate and other minority groups are experiencing serious repercussions.  Hate crimes are on the rise since his presidential bid began and hate crimes against Muslims have increased sharply during his first year in office.  The dangers of his rhetoric are real and are affecting Americans and America every day In the Second World War it was America who helped defeat the Nazis and the Fascists our historic victory does not make us immune from the same delusions and hate that drove too many Europeans in the 1930s and before The enemy of Germany then was not Jews; it was the Nazis The enemies of America now are not Muslims but hate-incited nationalists and the leaders that embolden them.  Johnna Malici is a Muslim American and a member of the Islamic Society of Greenville.  Contact her at jmalici@sabeelacademy.com.  Dr Melinda Menzer is a professor of English at Furman University She is a Jewish American and a congregant at the Temple of Israel in Greenville Klaipėda Port Authority is steadfastly moving forward with the implementation of the Port’s vision to become an innovative hub for port services This direction is reflected in ambitious development plans the Port Authority plans to invest EUR 308 million in modern infrastructure From offshore wind energy infrastructure to green hydrogen production Klaipėda Port aims to be the region’s most advanced maritime transport hub poised to meet both market and environmental challenges the Klaipėda Port is building its future – progressive and sustainable Our vision is to become an innovative hub for port services and green energy – one that not only adapts to global changes but also shapes them It is a path where tradition meets innovation and sustainable development becomes an integral part of the port’s identity” Director General of Klaipėda Port Authority In addition to the traditional annual investments in the modernization of port quays, renewal of railway lines the Port Authority will also focus on developing new infrastructure in the port which will be of national importance during the 2025–2028 period One of the most important projects in the coming years is the infrastructure for offshore wind energy projects on the Smeltė Peninsula and as the area will be used for the assembly the site will be adapted to accommodate high loads (40 t/m²) with the water area depths adjusted to meet new requirements The Klaipėda Port is preparing to implement one of the largest projects in its history – to develop and start using a new 100-hectare area in the southern part of the port Funds have been earmarked for preparatory work on its development in the coming years New infrastructure will also be developed for cruise shipping at Klaipėda Port The reconstruction of the existing quays and the construction of new ones will soon begin on the land at central part of the city The water area depths will also be adjusted to meet the new requirements of the area the new cruise ship terminal area will also become a new attraction for Klaipėda residents and visitors It will create an attractive venue for port events with an open amphitheatre oriented towards the water which has focused on sustainability projects in recent years will continue to maintain its investment pace in this area ferries will be moored in the port and will be supplied with electricity directly from the shore to reduce pollution and noise Three stations that will supply ferries with electricity will be installed at Klaipėda Central Terminal and one at Klaipėda Container Terminal in the southern part of the port The electrification of quays is also planned for those quays where container ships and cruise liners The new modern fleet base is currently under construction and will be ready to accommodate three new ships by the end of this year. Two hybrid pilot boats and the country’s first green hydrogen-powered waste collection ship are currently under construction The green hydrogen required by the new waste collection ship will also be produced at the port The Port Authority is developing the first green hydrogen production and supply project in the Baltic States which is set to be completed next year. In Klaipėda Port green hydrogen will be produced by electrolysis using a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) type electrolyser It is planned to produce around 500 kilograms of hydrogen per day and up to 127 tonnes per year will be used to refuel other vehicles - ships Hydrogen will be available for public transport and to refuel private cars Agreements have been signed with one of the stevedoring companies operating in Klaipėda Port and with LTG Group for the use of green hydrogen in locomotives and rail transport To promote the development of inland waterway transport investments are planned for the development of Jurbarkas Port After signing a cooperation agreement with the Jurbarkas District Municipality last year the Seaport Authority plans to begin construction of a new port in Jurbarkas this year at the confluence of the Nemunas and Mituva rivers These ambitious plans reflect the strategic direction of Klaipėda Port - not only to maintain but also to strengthen its competitive position in the Baltic Sea region while simultaneously taking responsibility for environmental protection and sustainable growth A subscription to The Baltic Times is a cost-effective way of staying in touch with the latest Baltic news and views enabling you full access from anywhere with an Internet connection. Subscribe Now! 2025 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy Privacy Policy You’re driving down a dirt road near the village of Misa when suddenly a dozen youngsters emerge from the woods and their faces are painted green and brown; they wear tree branches around their heads and arms—camouflage They’ve just finished a training simulation: liberating a hostage from enemy soldiers a section of Latvia’s National Guard it is the country’s largest paramilitary group While these groups have existed for decades their ranks have swelled in recent years in response to Russian aggression Among the paramilitary volunteers are bikers Each group has its own division dedicated to training young men and women in military tactics and patriotism; some volunteers are as young as 12 years old They seek to defend their borders and train the warriors of tomorrow to prepare for whatever Putin has planned next We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com A collection of winning and honored images from this year’s nature-photo competition A collection of amazing recent images made with the Hubble Space Telescope Mourners of Pope Francis gathered at the Vatican scenes from the the second weekend of Coachella 2025 and landscapes of the Earth’s arctic and subarctic regions The candidates are Laurynas Kasčiužūnas and Arvydas Anušauskas science and sport minister now serving as the party’s interim chairwoman the chairman of the party’s Jurbarkas branch Kasčiūnas’ candidacy has been proposed 65 times by party branches more than any other candidate except for former Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė has been proposed 29 times Friday afternoon was the deadline for candidates to decide whether to stand in the election The campaign for those who chose to run will last throughout January Both TS-LKD members and non-members who support the party will be eligible to vote in the election The first round of voting will take place on February 9 The party chairperson is elected for a four-year term Former Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis stepped down as the party’s chairman after October’s parliamentary election "Almost 10,000 lightning strikes were recorded overnight The most thunderstorms occurred in Suvalkija west of Kaunas and in central Lithuania," the country's Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT) said on Wednesday the most precipitation during the last day fell in Klaipėda Jurbarkas and Rietavas in western Lithuania Firefighters were called 12 times to remove trees blocking roads "Today will be stormy weather in Lithuania," the weather forecasters said on Wednesday Heavy rains will hit Lithuania on Wednesday midday Brief showers are also expected in many areas short showers are expected in many districts The temperatures will rise to 19–24C degrees with temperatures dropping to 16–21C degrees The death toll was the highest in the country since the start of the pandemic Some 314 cases were recorded in Vilnius County The biggest clusters of new infections surround the administrations of local municipalities in Biržai District Outbreaks have also been recorded in 16 hospitals – in Švenčionys Clusters have also been recorded in care homes across the county the backlog of untraced cases has increased to 1,100 meaning that health officials are yet to analyse where the people got infected with the virus Read more: Health officials under pressure: instead of funding, we were told to ‘optimise’ Some 28,262 people have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic 21,339 people are still ill with the virus A total of 235 people have died of Covid-19 in Lithuania and another 80 coronavirus-infected people have died of other causes Some 78,306 people remain in isolation and 846 are hospitalised The country has since June 1 registered 432 cases of coronavirus infection contracted abroad A total of 1,132,514 tests for Covid-19 have been carried out in Lithuania so far, including 13,092 over the past 24 hours.Read more: Lithuanian healthcare system close to collapse, doctors warnCORRECTION: Due to an editing error the earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the number of active coronavirus cases Evelina Gudzinskaitė said the Migration Department investigated reports about a Lithuanian national serving in the Russian forces and collected evidence from other institutions and the internet a citizen of Lithuania and without the permission of the government of the Republic of Lithuania is serving in the Russian forces in the war against Ukraine,” Gudzinskaitė LRT.lt has contacted Kvietkus for a comment The story was first reported by the blogger Skirmantas Malinauskas Kvietkus is reportedly from Jurbarkas and has a criminal record Kvietkus’ social media profile contains photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin and of himself wearing a Russian uniform but the Belarusians refused to let him in after checking his background and then he left via Sovetsk [in Kaliningrad],” says Sigitas Maliauskas head of the Ukraine support organisation Isle of Snakes Minister of Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas has said that the Lithuanian intelligence has been aware of Kvietkus service in the Russian military “This is a serious matter and the state has to react,” said the minister Lithuanian intelligence agencies do not disclose whether there are more Lithuanian nationals fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine absolutely," he told Vilnius Regional Court which opened his case on Monday The man said he first became interested in Nazism when he was 12-years-old He took an interest in explosives two years later and would test them in the woods near his native town of Jurbarkas Beržinskas went on to study in Vilnius after graduating from high school but came back to Jurbarkas around a year later because he was not on good terms with his fellow students and studies did not go well Beržinskas said that he had initially studied at the Military Academy and was later enrolled in a programming course at the University of Applied Sciences in Vilnius "I kept the materials needed for production [of explosives] in the closet of my dormitory room," he told the court Beržinskas began plotting a terror attack last September He made explosives when his roommates were away he said he began thinking about "what to blow up” he said he had initially wanted to blow up the Foreign Ministry but dropped the idea because the surroundings were "too open" Beržinskas said he later chose buildings in Juozo Balčikonio Street which is where the Western Union offices are located He said his goal was to damage infrastructure and cause financial damage The public prosecutor is seeking a reduced four-year prison sentence for Beržinskas and he fully admits his guilt and regrets having committed the crime said that his client met the criteria for a non-custodial sentence The court is expected to issue its ruling on September 18 Beržinskas was detained on October 15 and charged with placing an improvised explosive device outside the offices of Western Union in Juozo Balčikonio Street and spraying "FK Division" "Siege" and a swastika on the building's wall on October 6 Police representaittives previously said if the device had gone off it would have exploded in day-time when people would have been present in the building Lithuanian police said the person had already been under surveillance for his radical views There are no other suspects in the investigation Searches at his home found powerful ready-to-detonate explosives and other chemicals that could be used to make improvised explosive devices as well as an improvised firearm and extremist and nationalist symbols and literature Beržinskas affiliates himself with the far-right extremist group Feuerkrieg Division In recent years, law enforcement across the world have largely dismantled the extremist group, which adheres to the writings of a known American neo-Nazi, James Mason.Read more: Far-right radicalism ‘more dangerous’ than terrorism in Lithuania is the only barrier that prevents inland shipping in the Nemunas river An idea to build locks in the dam is under discussion in Kaunos In the Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant the place for a potential lock was already marked and prepared during the construction of the dam itself starting by by boat from Jurbarkas and crossing the Polish border through the Augustów Canal the Black Sea and the North Sea,» envisaged Vladimiras Vinokurovas director of Lithuania’s Inland Waterways Directorate Read also: Week in Lithuania: Central bank’s new governor wants to modernise it, court orders Klaipėda Port to pay EUR 175,600 to Latvian builders the water depth is lowered or raised to meet the level at the other side of the dam allowing further navigation along the river If a lock is added to the dam of the Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant boats could travel unrestricted for 500 kilometres along the Nemunas‘ waterway Kaunas vice-mayor Andrius Palionis has said that Initial estimated cost could reach 70 million euros another initiative is carried out to encourage inland waterway shipping; infrastructure is already being built along the Kaunas–Klaipėda waterway to regulate water levels and ease navigation The article originally appeared on LRT English: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1389671/locks-for-boats-at-lithuania-s-major-dam-may-resume-international-river-routes The drugs were seized last Thursday by officers from the Pagegiai criminal intelligence and special purpose unit in response to received information. They checked a Volvo V50 in Jurbarkas and found 20 packs with powder The officers also detained a Jurbarkas male resident officers from the State Border Guard Service carried out searches in the apartments of women the Klaipeda man knew and officers found 8,600 euros in cash in one of the apartment and also 51 packs with powers were found in the apartment of a woman The officers found a total of around 70 kilos of drugs and over 11,000 euros in cash Experts later found the packs contained cocaine and amphetamine A court sanctioned the arrest of the two men on one woman for two months The Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant was built 60 years ago and its dam has been a hurdle for waterway transport ever since starting by boat from Jurbarkas and crossing the Polish border through the Augustów Canal the Black Sea and the North Sea,” said Vladimiras Vinokurovas According to Kaunas vice-mayor Andrius Palionis The Kaunas Power Plant also plans to construct the so-called fish ladders to allow fish migration environment specialists propose carrying out several research projects first due to the dubious effectiveness of the already existing ladders a wildlife specialist at the country’s Ministry of Environment or being unable to survive while navigating the Kaunas Reservoir (Kauno Marios)