The energy commodities trader and convenience store network AS VIRŠI-A (hereinafter – Virši) commences its operations in Lithuania – the first service station is already open near the town of Marijampole The 314 m2 facility is equipped with solar panels and will soon have charging stations installed for electric vehicles.  The location near Marijampole is the first step in strategic development abroad and this decision marks the Company’s further development plans in Lithuania.  “Lithuania is a key market for our growth due to two primary factors the country has experienced robust economic expansion over the past decade its strategic geographic location positions it as a crucial transit hub for our private and corporate clients accessing other European markets While entering a new market is inherently challenging the successful launch of our operations is a testament to the dedication and collaboration of our team and partners,” comments Jānis Vība The location near Marijampole was strategically chosen Vība believes the new service station will significantly enhance the region's infrastructure and improve travellers' comfort: “As one of the first service stations on the route from Poland to Lithuania its large size and convenient access from the A5 motorway make it an ideal stopover With nearly three decades of experience and as a leading Latvian market player we are confident in Virši’s ability to offer a wide range of high-quality products and services to both existing and new Lithuanian customers making the Lithuanian fuel market even more dynamic,” stated J The facility was constructed with a strong emphasis on both energy efficiency and customer comfort and automotive products carefully curated to meet the needs of Lithuanian consumers a café is also available on-site.  Virši is undertaking rapid growth in Latvia with 80 service stations currently operational and an additional four under construction for opening later this year Despite the challenging fuel product and energy market Virši’s retail fuel sales volume increased by 9.5% in 2023 significantly outpacing the Latvian market's 1.0% increase confirming the Company's growing market share in Latvia and its ambition to become a major player in the Lithuanian fuel market in the coming years Virši is a rapidly growing energy commodities trader and convenience store network with 29 years of experience Currently there are 81 locations in the Virši network and these employ over 820 employees across all of Latvia the shares of AS Virši-A have been admitted to trading on the Nasdaq Riga Alternative Market First North 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 Marijampolė Railway Station was designed by the architect Edmund Alfonsas Frykas who called it a passenger house or a palace Its construction started in 1923 and it was the first railway station built in the newly independent Republic of Lithuania It was also the first railway station designed by Frykas – he later followed up with stations in Rokiškis Marijampolė residents call their station the pearl of Lithuanian railways and in 2018 it was voted the most beautiful station in the country complete with authentic ceramic tile floors The station hosts exhibitions and educational activities “We work to organise activities for people to come and get to know each other and we tried to make the space so cosy that the magic of the trains and the rails would fascinate people so that they could have a coffee here or take part in a discussion evening,” says Ramona Šilerytė-Cvirkienė head of the (Ki)tokia Stotis (Different Station) initiative Lithuanian Railways spokeswoman Džiuginta Daujotaitė says that the station must be alive The plan is to exhibit the old passenger benches and other rare exhibits that were in use at the station in the 1920s and 30s “We will celebrate the centenary of the station throughout the year plein-airs – we need to get to know the building we are celebrating,” says Daujotaitė “This building is very important from an architectural point of view It is the historical heritage of the entire town its development,” emphasises Artūras Visockis The building is already popular with tourists but the town hopes to make it even more celebrated as the very first railway station built in independent Lithuania More The 314 m2 facility near Marijampole is the first step in strategic development abroad the successful launch of our operations is a testament to the dedication and collaboration of our team and partners,” said Jānis Vība “As one of the first service stations on the route from Poland to Lithuania making the Lithuanian fuel market even more dynamic,” stated Vība Virši is also expanding in Latvia Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor The Transport Ministry said the 16-kilometre stretch near Marijampolė “is the longest and most technically challenging part of the project” “We managed to complete the modernisation in just over a year,” it noted Work on the 16-kilometre highway stretch started in June 2023 and was carried out by Fegda Group’s companies Fegda and Tilsta under a contract worth 223.6 million euros a leading Lithuanian road and bridge construction company Via Baltica is a trans-European highway that runs from Warsaw to Tallinn Kordiyaka won three of the six events to take the gold Written by Phil BlechmanLast updated on August 1st The 2022 Marijampolė International strongman contest took place on Aug. 20, 2022, in Marijampolė, Lithuania. The single-day competition featured 10 athletes competing across six events: an Overhead Medley, a Deadlift, a Frame and Fingal’s Finger Medley Pavlo Kordiyaka won three of the six events — both medleys and the loading race — to secure his spot atop the podium He ranked 3.5 points ahead of runner-up Mantas Lalas and 4.5 points higher than bronze medalist Gunnar Gimbutas Check out the results of each of the six events below A post shared by Павло Кордіяка (@pavlo_kordiyaka) [Related: 2022 Giants Live World Tour Final Events Announced] The Overhead Medley challenged athletes to lift a 140-kilogram log, a 120-kilogram rock, and a 90-kilogram heavy dumbbell with each arm twice The athlete who performed all six lifts in the fastest time possible won.  but Kordiyaka put the roster on notice with the fastest time of 37.02 seconds Athletes were challenged to perform as many reps as possible of a 300-kilogram Bavarian deadlift Karolis Aleksandravičius was the lone strongman to reach double-digit reps For those unfamiliar with a Bavarian lift, check out the video below of the 1995 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest which featured the event: [Related: Luke Stoltman Shares a Behind-the-Scenes Look At His 2022 Shaw Classic Withdrawal] Each strongman attempted to carry a 400-kilogram frame and flip a pair of Fingal’s Fingers in the fastest time possible Kordiyaka locked up his second event win as the only athlete to finish in sub-30 seconds Gimbutas finally found his groove in the Deadlift Hold taking first-place points as the only strongman to eclipse 30 seconds Andris Dilāns wasn’t too far behind sustaining the hold for just over 29 seconds The Loading Race consisted of five implements ranging from 100 to 160 kilograms The goal was to load all five in the fastest time possible The Shield Carry event tasked each strongman to carry a 170-kilogram shield for distance Despite Kordiyaka’s eighth-place finish in this event he had enough of a buffer in his overall lead to hang on to first place and take home the gold Featured image: @pavlo_kordiyaka on Instagram Phil is a native New Yorker passionate about storytelling The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting Copyright © 2025 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot Get the most important global markets news at your fingertips with a Bloomberg.com subscription. 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Vienna (AUT) bounced back and won the FIBA 3x3 Taipei Challenger on October 29 They defeated Marijampole Mantinga (LTU) 22-10 in a well team-play performance Vienna (AUT) got five streak wins without any loss from pool play showing the power of the world ranking No.2 The Austrians continued to increase the intensity on defense keeping Marijampole (LTU) to only 10 points in the whole game Enis Murati received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the tournament He scored 34 points for the team and got 9 points in the Final game Vienna and Marijampole got their tickets to the Manama Masters 2023 together with Princeton (5th in the standings) as both Amsterdam (3rd) and Hangzhou (4th) were already qualified Vienna (AUT)2.Marijampole Mantinga (LTU)3.Amsterdam HiPRO (NED)4 Princeton (USA)6.Saitama ALPHAS EXE (JPN)7.Ulaanbaatar MMC Energy (MGL)8 Yokohama BeefmanEXE (JPN)9.Taichung Hong Jia (TPE)10 Changhua (TPE)11.Cijin Jong Shyn (TPE)12.Al Wukair EXPO 2023 (QAT) By 2013-07-24T10:09:00+01:00 Nordic Investment Bank is providing a €114m 19-year loan to fund the standard gauge line and modernisation of the Minsk - Vilnius - Klaipeda and Kaunas - Kaliningrad corridors LITHUANIA: The Ministry of Transport & Communications has selected its preferred route for the Polish border to Kaunas (Jiesia) section of the future 1 435 mm gauge Rail Baltica corridor Four options had been studied by a joint venture of Sweco Lietuva and DB Engineering & .. Recent legislation has paved the way for the development of high-performing multimodal transport networks in 24 French conurbations centred around rail as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions USA: Virginia Passenger Rail Authority launches a $264·5m project to extend the Washington DC – Roanoke Amtrak service over a Norfolk Southern-owned line to the university city of Christiansburg Site powered by Webvision Cloud a delegation of the Cypriot national team landed in Kaunas on Wednesday evening demanded that the game be moved to another stadium The alternative venue was found in Marijampolė The turf in the Darius and Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas was damaged during the multiple music concerts that were hosted here over the summer It is hard to understand that back in March our ideas and indications to the stadium manager about the condition of the stadium and the possible consequences were not heard and now we have this situation,” said LFF President Edgaras Stankevičius “The beginning of the cycle has been marked by a dark spot and now it is not the financial losses that are important to talk about but the failure of the stadium operator to properly manage the situation in terms of the maintenance of the stadium and the damage to our fans and to football,” he added while admission to the game in Marijampolė will be free According to the Lithuanian Prison Department seven out of eight convicts imprisoned for life have refused to receive meals from the Marijampolė Prison “Several of them chose self-harm as a form of protest The necessary medical assistance was provided to the convicts there is no danger to their lives,” the statement said the protest was triggered by the administration of Marijampolė Prison taking stricter control over the inmates’ shopping in the prison shop allowing them to buy only the products they are entitled to without exceptions The Marijampolė Prison has reinforced the protection and supervision of inmates and the administration is actively involved in resolving the situation This work, TF Stilwell fuels Stryker convoy through Baltics, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright The CPT published its report and recommendations for Lithuania last week following its delegation’s February visit to prisons in Alytus the committee notes the positive actions taken by the Lithuanian authorities since the last CPT visit in 2021 including a drop in the prison population and legal changes to ensure the reintegration of prisoners the informal prisoner hierarchy is gradually changing mainly due to general societal and generational changes the informal prisoner hierarchy remains the key element in the persistence of the illegal trade in drugs (and mobile phones)” these activities are closely linked to organized crime in the community and need to be tackled much more vigorously by the Lithuanian authorities,” the report states The committee also stressed the need for more to be done to significantly reduce the influx of illicit drugs into prisons and to eradicate the influence of the informal prisoner hierarchy these being the key causes of the endurance of widespread endemic inter-prisoner violence facilitated by the dormitory-type accommodation The Justice Ministry has told BNS that once the CPT recommendations have been thoroughly examined the ministry and the Lithuanian Prison Service will have to plan specific measures to address the shortcomings and submit a detailed report on implementing the recommendations within three months failure to do so may be followed by a vote to make a public statement after an explanation by the country “We unequivocally agree with the committee’s observations that a lot of homework remains to be done both in terms of improving the infrastructure and in terms of further combating legislation breaches in prisons,” Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska said in a comment forwarded to BNS proper conditions for the execution of sentences require high-standard infrastructure that the ministry and the Prison Service have invested into over the past few years a contract will be signed for the construction of a new prison in Šiauliai for which the government has earmarked funding and to reconstruct the dormitory-type facilities at Alytus Prison into a cell-type prison should be completed this year this year Vilnius spent the most on its Christmas tree – 118,700 euros This is slightly more than last year’s 89,500 euros The record year for Vilnius was 2022 when the city’s main Christmas decoration cost 231,000 euros sitting in a structure resembling a Christmas toy As Vilnius looks forward to 2025 when it will become the European Green Capital the Christmas composition also reflects the principles of sustainability More than 80 percent of the materials used for decorating the city’s Christmas tree are recycled or reused The city’s Christmas tree lighting celebration cost 96,000 euros this year Marijampolė City Municipality has not replied to LRT’s questions about the cost of its Christmas tree the contract available at the Central Public Procurement Information System states that the city spent 80,300 euros on decorating its main Christmas tree and the surrounding area a metal frame covered with natural spruce branches was erected in Marijampolė The city’s Christmas tree is 18 metres high and decorated with a 1.4 km long garland and shining hearts this year Kaunas decided to save and spent half as much – 80 thousand euros – on its main Christmas tree The town has installed a 17-metre-high natural spruce tree decorated with handmade gingerbread decorations It is estimated that the tree features over 200 different shapes of gingerbread Kaunas also organised a Christmas tree lighting ceremony allocating almost 180,000 euros for this event (170,000 euros in 2023) Mažeikiai spent 50,800 euros on its Christmas tree this year (42,300 euros in 2023) decorated with silver toys and garlands of warm light The city spent an additional 20,000 euros on the Christmas tree lighting ceremony Panevėžys allocated 42,000 euros for the construction and decoration of its Christmas tree – the same as last year Lithuania’s fifth-largest city has unveiled an 18-metre-tall frame covered with natural spruce branches It features 3D decorations and thousands of lights Panevėžys also allocated 64,000 euros for decorating the city and 23,000 euros for the Christmas tree lighting event Šiauliai allocated around 39,000 euros (42,400 euros in 2023) for its natural Christmas tree “Next year’s tree is planned to be decorated with the existing decorations without investing in the purchase,” reads the reply from Šiauliai City Municipality and white toys of various sizes and a garland of more than 3 kilometres of lights The city also spent 54,200 euros on the Christmas tree lighting event Jonava spent 30,250 euros on its main Christmas tree (23,500 euros in 2023) The city’s main Christmas decoration is made of a metal frame and natural spruce branches and resembles an elf’s hat The municipality also spent 47,190 euros on decorating the city for Christmas (excluding the cost of the tree) and 16,000 euros on the Christmas tree lighting event After spending only 7,400 euros on the Christmas tree last year this year Utena allocated a larger sum – 26,700 euros – for its main festive decoration Utena also unveiled a tree made of a metal frame and natural spruce branches It is decorated with national ornaments and warm lights The city did not answer when asked how much it spent on the Christmas tree lighting event Alytus spent 31,300 euros on its main Christmas tree this year (25,100 euros last year) a Christmas tree lighting ceremony was organised in the town for 25,000 euros Unfortunately, the initial Christmas tree in Alytus fell victim to strong winds in Lithuania this week It was soon replaced by a natural spruce tree donated by one Alytus resident Lithuania’s port city of Klaipėda is often the most economical when it comes to Christmas decorations it allocated 12,600 euros for the main Christmas tree and almost 5 kilometres of coloured garlands did not cost anything The only investment was the mechanism which rotates the tree Klaipėda also spent just over 34,000 euros on the tree-lighting ceremony nine suspects have been detained in Kaunas and Marijampolė counties on suspicion of distributing psychotropic substances to minors and unlawful disposal of psychotropic substances with the intention to distribute them,” Prosecutor Nomeda Urbonavičienė told a press conference on Thursday and one of them is a Kaunas school student Some of them cooperate with law enforcement head of the organised crime investigation unit of the Marijampolė County Chief Police Commissariat said the investigation was launched after several cases of unconscious minors ending up in hospital with drug poisoning and a large quantity of dangerous psychotropic substances Lithuania’s Minister for the Economy noted that companies like CIE LT Forge play a key role in the Lithuanian regions “Production companies that set up in these districts encourage young people who want to develop their careers to remain in Lithuania The case of CIE LT Forge is unique in that it enables Marijampolė’s skilled automotive specialists to play a part in producing vehicles for Audi Volkswagen and other world-famous brands,” the Minister stated CIE LT Forge is developing strongly as a company with annual turnover at €16 million and a staff of more than 150 The new production line will triple the company’s output up from 500,000 to 1.5 million crankshafts per year And the quality of the crankshafts produced in the Marijampolė facility which are more durable and efficient because they are forged rather than casted has gained the company a client base of major European car producers When producing for such high-level clients choosing the correct investment location is crucial “The shareholders were looking for the most suitable location to develop production capacity The decision to expand in Lithuania was also prompted by the country’s convenient geographical location which enables us to easily reach our most important buyers Invest Lithuania and the municipal administration of Marijampolė also made a considerable contribution to the implementation of this project,” said Mr Masionis Lithuania was chosen from a number of high-quality forging facilities belonging to CIE Automotive in Europe a foreign direct investment development agency in order to continue competing with these countries and other industry leaders such as Hungary more focus should be put on the education system and on the training of more qualified specialists in Lithuania “The attractiveness of the investment environment in the regions largely depends on whether local educational institutions train suitably qualified specialists for work in international manufacturing facilities It is they who determine the distinctiveness and attractiveness of the region,” argues Mr Katinas which has been operating in Marijampolė for a few years is actively cooperating with the regional vocational training centre which prepares car mechanic specialists The company goes on to employ some of the centre’s graduates This example demonstrates that only through cooperation between educators and investors can good results be achieved,” Mr Katinas said this new investment project is a major success story with Mayor Vidmantas Brazys delighted that the municipality could play a role in facilitating it “The Municipality of Marijampolė considers the attraction of investments one of its major goals,” the Mayor said “That is why we granted CIE LT Forge a concession on its real estate tax worth €150,000 over a 5-year period This decision helped to attract €7.5 million’s worth of investments into the town for the construction of the new production line and for the provision of 60 new jobs the concession will be paid off in less than 4 years with the economy of the whole municipality receiving a boost,” pointed out Mr Brazys The five young people will be working with students from local schools in Marijampolė teaching English as well as sharing other skills and experiences the Institute said in a press release.“In the current circumstances we have many challenges in working with international volunteers I'm glad that motivated young people are choosing to volunteer in Lithuania,” said Aistė Rutkauskienė the project manager at the Business and Community Development Institute Despite the logistic challenges presented by the pandemic which is financed by the EU Solidarity Fund and can last anything between two weeks and 12 months is becoming increasingly popular amongst young people across Europe The young volunteers in Marijampolė are soon to be joined by two more peers from Russia and Kosovo.The EU Solidarity Fund was set up in 2002 to provide assistance to European Union member states when large-scale disasters occur the competition is on: which town has the prettiest is that more are opting for natural spruces eschewing geometrical perfection that can only be achieved with artificial frames remain a must – with the darkest month of the year upon us Christmas trees must shine and sparkle in the dark Take a look at the Christmas trees across Lithuania: Marijampolė is transformed into the centre of Europe with the opening of the biggest second-hand car market on the continent and traveller who published a book on Marijampolė several years ago the market was indeed the point where the East met the West signatory to the 11 March 1990 Independence Act Marjampole: Oder Europas Wiederkehr aus dem Geist der Städte Schlögel was slightly suspicious of the fact that Europe's geographic centre lay just outside Vilnius The German author believes that the centre of Europe should be in Marijampolė the town situated on the route connecting Warsaw and Berlin to Riga ordinary people actually discovered Europe – they'd drive miles into the unknown the town lives an active life of trade and commerce,” Plečkaitis once said in Marijampolė Forum “Citizens of Marijampolė often visit Poland These are the people who build bridges for the European civilization.” It would be hard to call Marijampolė a provincial town And not only because it looks incomparably more modern than Kapsukas – as the town was called under the Soviets Should local residents wish to see sport stars play or artists perform Kaunas is just 50 kilometres away – besides an internationally-acclaimed graphic artist and illustrator makes a stop in her native town on the way from her current home in Germany she gave a performance together with her partner the authorities unveiled a bench dedicated to Urmana outside the Arts Centre Marijampolė boasts a lively cultural and entertainment scene – its modern Arts Centre holds events every week popular Lithuanian and international singers and theatre companies come to perform politicians and diplomats come from Vilnius to hold discussions most only cross the town on their way elsewhere One factor that plays to Marijampolė's advantage is relatively bad service in Poland – eastbound travellers rush to cross the country and spend the night on the Lithuanian side Finns like the town as a venue for conferences Young Marijampolean Vaida has recently seen off her sweetheart to Vilnius She also considered moving to the capital city but decided she could not bear to leave her native town Many other people interviewed by 15min confirm – both entrepreneurs and people they employ are comfortable living in Marijampolė board chairman of one of the biggest business groups in the country His house is in the nearby village of Kumelionys you'd have to drive an hour or two to reach an institution you need And if I need to drive to Vilnius – I can admire the scenery on the way You can't get into an argument after a trip like that “I had a meeting in Vilnius recently I left 2 hours 20 minutes before the scheduled hour and still didn't make it in time says he did not even consider to move to a big city might have been important under the Soviets A computer with a good internet connection allows one to work from any place on Earth many large companies are located in the provinces major dairy processing plants like Rokiškio Sūris and Pieno Žvaigždės are located outside the main urban centres One Arvi group company is situated in Kaliningrad – some 120 kilometres from Marijampolė Vilnius is at least 140 kilometres away and Klaipėda Marijampolė is located on the crossroads of two important highways will soon connect Helsinki to Central Europe while the other one runs from Kaliningrad via Minsk all the way to Moscow Lithuania's second city Kaunas is 60 kilometres away Kaliningradians go to spas in Druskininkai via Marijampolė and so do Kaliningrad-bound Belarusians the town will soon be traversed by the European-gauge railway Rail Baltica – something that will give a new lease on life to Marijampolė: “Everyone starting in Kybartai near Kaliningrad and ending in Igliauka midway to Vilnius they will have to come either here or to Lazdijai to catch a train if people get into the habit of coming here instead of to Kaunas We see a bright future for Marijampolė – it should be valued as a true border town.” Even though entrepreneurs appreciate living in a border town the reach of their businesses is not limited to the regional or even national market soups – all produced in the 20,000-square-meter Mantinga processing plant in Marijampolė – get exported to 30 countries manages an even more extensive international business network which includes turkey farm Arvi Kalakutai animal by-product processing and utilization plants in Lithuania Marijampolė is our native town,” says Justas Kučinskas Being based in this town is becoming an advantage We can create a work environment that would be impossible in Vilnius.” Entrepreneurs recruit hard-working and talented staff from surrounding villages some of them are even provided with a ride to work and lunch by their employers There is a massage chair in Mantinga administration building – for those who work at their computers but she was made the company's representative to Scandinavia “People are less motivated by money than by seeing a purpose in what they do realization that they work form something more than just profits new businesses spring up,” Kučinskas believes who is arguably the biggest entrepreneur in town is also a patron of many cultural events: “You cannot take away what's inside but if there is no sense of responsibility And those who want to be free are welcome in Marijampolė.” in cooperation with the municipal authorities set up a non-profit company Sveikatingumo Idėjos (Ideas of Healthy Living) to ease cooperation between the authorities and businesses in promoting education The company has a budget of one million litas (some 300 thousand euros) and applies for EU funding Mantinga supports institutions of education and social services Marijampolė is inextricably associated with sugar It started back when the region was part of East Prussia the variety could also have been brought to these parts by the Napoleonic army determined that lands surrounding Marijampolė the company Lietuvos Cukrus (Lithuanian Sugar) built the first sugar plant in the country here which was the backbone of the town's industry was the child of Lithuania's new business class that emerged after the country seceded from the Russian Empire According to historian Norbertas Černiauskas the wealthy Vailokaičiai brothers asked several farmers in Suvalkija to plant sugar-beet and then took the tuber crops to sell in East Prussia Learning there that the Germans quite liked the Lithuanian product When strikes and road blocking campaigns prevented the plant from being handed to Danish investors and was on the verge of bankruptcy local farmers turned to the owner of Arvi with a plea to save the company Kučinskas' group acquired the plant and modernized it “The theory goes like this: a successful solution requires a SWOT (strengths it was the other way round: success followed decisions that were made intuitively Success rewards not those who jump on the right train but those who miss the train altogether and then arrive on their own train offer something that wasn't there before,” Kučinskas explains how the sugar business was saved The plant employs some 350 people (or half the number off the season) it produced almost 37 thousand tons of sugar The production season usually lasts September to December due to record-high yields (270 thousand tons of sugar-beet processed) only 26,043 tons of white sugar can be sold within the EU Only Lithuanian-grown tuber crops are processed in the Marijampolė plant Most are grown by farmers in the surrounding districts the plant signed contracts with 193 farmers is not above putting on a pair of rubber boots himself and splashing through the fields: “I find it interesting Farmers and our raw stock require attention we could not run a factory without that.” which started operations right before the Russian crisis in the late 1990s the company opted for expansion and offered new products to the market “We spotted a niche – as people were to cut their spending on restaurants and cafés and instead lunch at their offices or homes we offered food for those in a rush: pizzas we would have definitely contracted,” Agentas says who suddenly switches from discussing Marijampolė to national issues therefore we've suffered many collapses and losses and buildings were destroyed that could  have been used productively The government was incompetent to solve problems we saw large companies collapse – but we could have saved them.” The biggest and most progressive of all companies was the food processing machinery plant that had a workforce of over 2 thousand people the maker of food packaging machinery selling its produce in Europe The plant that used to produce canned foods an industrial food packaging machinery design and manufacturing company It exports most of its production to other European countries and even Africa – as does another company Marijampolės Pieno Konservai (Marijampolė Canned Milk) often referred to as the capital of Suvalkija It grew out of the village of Pašešupis – meaning a place by the river Šešupė – which was first mentioned in written sources in 1667 Another settlement started growing in the vicinity financed a church and a monastery of the Marian Fathers the Russian Tsar's administration banned press in Latin characters became the centre of Lithuanian national movement One of the beacons of the national enlightenment was the local gymnasium that had among its pupils Jonas Basanavičius and Vincas Kudirka – the fathers of the Lithuanian national revival Lithuanian-speakers made up 18 percent of the town's population which was 50-percent Jewish the share of Lithuanians grew to almost two thirds In 1941 most of Marijampolė Jews were exterminated by the Nazis and their collaborators Marijampolė County is the birthplace of many people who played key roles in the 19-century national revival A number of the signatories of the 1918 Independence Act came from here the chairman of the Council of Lithuania that drafted the document linguist and the father of the modern Lithuanian language so the local dialect was used as the basis for standardized Lithuanian The police in Marijampolė District received a report at 03:36 that a Mazda car was carrying migrants The car was spotted on the Marijampolė-Kalvarija road but it failed to stop when signalled to do so by the police The car veered off the road into the Šešupė River in Liudvinava at around 03:50 and launched a search for the car’s driver Preliminary information indicates that the migrants had crossed into Lithuania from Latvia With Latvia recording a record number of attempts at irregular border crossings from Belarus Lithuanian border guards say that the majority of migrants then head for Lithuania A total of 1,643 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus so far this year Lithuania is planning to send 20 border guards to help Latvia cope with the migrant flows Lithuanian border guards have prevented a total of around 20,900 people from crossing in from Belarus since August 3 when they were instructed to push them back The number includes repeated attempts by the same people were injured when their car overturned while being chased by the police in the central Lithuanian town of Jonava officers began to pursue the Opel Astra after it failed to stop when signalled to do so at the entrance to Jonava at around midnight The vehicle veered off the road in the town They were taken to hospital with various injuries and handed over to the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) after receiving medical assistance Preliminary information suggests that they arrived from Latvia a football club in Lithuania's western town of Marijampolė presented Hikvision as its new general sponsor on Tuesday Marijampolė Stadium will bear company's name The 6.74-million-euro company is majority-owned by the Chinese state and was sanctioned by the US government last October for its role in surveillance of Uighurs in Xinjiang and other ethnic and religious minorities in China “It's a state-controlled company whose technology is used to surveil monitor and make life unbearable for Chinese dissidents a million of whom have been sent to concentration camps and persecuted religious minorities,” said MP Mantas Adomėnas “It's like naming the stadium ‘Gulag’ or ‘Gestapo’,” he added saying that the deal was signed with the Lithuanian division of the company and Hikvision has been sponsoring other sports teams around Europe “Since they [Hikvision] are sponsoring clubs like Ajax Amsterdam I don't see a problem here,” Murauskas told LRT.lt He added that the company was simply promoting its products “I have or see no ties with the Chinese government,” according to him he said that “people are free citizens and can criticise if they don't trust something” the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said FK Sūduva's sponsorship deal was legal since Hikvision is not under European Union sanctions are not legally binding for European Union subjects,” the ministry said the MFA always recommends abstaining from business deals with subjects in any [sanction] lists Read more: Chinese demonstration in Vilnius unmasks Beijing's reach into Lithuania – LRT Investigation Read more: Lithuania must take Chinese threat as seriously as Russia's, analysts say covered in 12 metres of lights was unveiled in Anykščiai Christmas mail can be found inside the Christmas tree in Marijampolė The Visaginas Christmas tree is unique – it grows in Santarvės square where it was decorated Kretinga’s silver Christmas tree is covered in 20,000 white lights The Christmas tree in Naujoji Akmenė was unveiled during a light show The Joniškis Christmas tree is growing next to the town’s Cultural Centre Ten smaller trees hold the shroud of the main Christmas tree in Ignalina The Gargždai Christmas tree is covered in more than 8,000 LED lights The Mažeikiai Christmas tree is decorated with a shroud of golden lights Druskininkai unveiled a Christmas tree decorated with a golden crown Alytus has decided to go for a more modest Christmas tree to emphasise “community and not decorations” The Panevėžys Christmas tree features huge decorations The Christmas tree in Palanga is one of the most innovative this year The main Christmas tree is accompanied by a 25-metre-long Christmas train it is planned to continue important road projects - among them the further renovation of the "Via Baltica" section from Marijampolė to the Lithuanian-Polish border the reconstruction of the Vilnius-Utena road implementation of sustainable mobility projects Representatives of the road sector also hope for a breakthrough in the international railway project "Rail Baltica" but they are not sure whether it will happen The Lithuanian Motor Road Directorate (LAKD) claims that one of the most important works next year is the continuation of the implementation of the largest independent Lithuanian road infrastructure project "Via Baltica" from Marijampolė to the Lithuanian-Polish border works in 2024 will be continued in the most technically complex and longest section "Extremely complex reconstruction works are intended to be completed here in the summer of 2024 10 roundabouts will be built in this section 45 km of connecting roads will be constructed and the largest and most modern recreation and vehicle parking lot in Lithuania will be installed," LAKD asserted in a comment sent to Elta it is also planned to start renovation works on the last remaining section of the project The length of this section is more than 12 km 1 green bridge for animal migration and 10 roundabouts are planned to be built on this part of the road as well as the entire "Via Baltica" project from Marijampolė to the Polish border 2 out of 4 sections of Via Baltica planned to be renewed Among the most important works of the next year the Directorate of Roads mentioned the development works of road infrastructure important for ensuring national security in 2024 it is planned to start the construction work of the Jonava bypass near the Rukla military training ground the Pirčiupia-Jašiūnai road near the Rūdininkai military training ground is planned to be repaired The renovation of a 20-km-long road important for national security is planned to be completed in the coming year renovation works will also begin next year on the Mikashiūnai-Rūdininkai road which is planned to be completely reconstructed in 2025 And the nearby road Ėuolija-Juodšilia-Jašiūna is planned to be renovated in the coming years" reminding that in 2023 the road near the Pabradė military training ground was renovated It is also claimed that great attention will be paid to ensuring road safety and maintenance of the country's bridges, viaducts and overpasses. LAKD claims that at the end of next year Beautiful it is planned to finish the reconstruction of the bridge over Neris (A it is planned to renew the overhaul of the Trakai viaduct It is also planned to continue the overhaul of the overpass (Sargėnai) of the Kaunas–Marijampolė–Suvalkai road it is planned to start reconstructing the bridges over Nevėžis and to start the construction of the temporary bridge over Krunas" reminding that this year they repaired 18 bridges or viaducts in the country LAKD also plans to carry out projects of sustainable mobility (pedestrian and bicycle paths) - to start maintenance work on the Smilytė-Nida pedestrian and bicycle path (the section through Juodkrantė towards Pervalka at Pervalka and from Pervalka and Preila towards the sea) the first reconstructed part of which has already been opened as well as the construction of trails in other regions "The construction works of the pedestrian and bicycle path from Kretinga to Vydmantai This trail will connect Kretinga with Palanga and will significantly strengthen the recreational potential of the coastal region and at the same time will improve the communication of local residents - after the completion of the contract work it will be possible to choose clean and health-friendly movement by bicycle or on foot for trips between Kretinga and Palanga" the works on the installation of the pedestrian and bicycle path at Birštonas which will connect Birštonas with the surrounding settlements The 3,4 km long trail is planned to be completed by July 2024 it is planned to install a pedestrian and bicycle path on the part of the national road Vilnius-Polockas (Vilnius district)," said LAKD the Directorate of Roads will continue the transformation of the company next year will continue to make the ongoing processes more efficient and increase the quality of the country's road infrastructure It is planned to pay a lot of attention to improving the quality of the main roads of the country and to maintain a high pace in carrying out simple and capital repair works on the country's roads Associations "Lithuanian roads" Head Šarūnas Frolenko highlighted that large-scale road reconstruction works are expected in 2024 on the "Via Baltica" and Vilnius-Utena roads and the repair of bridges in poor condition should also gain momentum he noted that sector participants also expect a breakthrough in the "Rail Baltica" project but whether it will happen is still unclear Frolenko assured that he is worried about the volume of repairs on main and other roads next year "In the Road Maintenance and Development Program (KPPP) this amount is allocated specifically to the Molėtai-Utena section and the total size of the fund remains unchanged from 2021," said the head of Lietuvos kielių to Elta are the amounts of the contribution from the bank solidarity tax and the European Union (EU) funds "The amounts are not expected to become clear until around 2024 so until then it will remain unclear how much of the especially necessary ongoing repair works will be able to be implemented," he said Road construction and repair sector companies according to 2023 won public procurements will carry out such large-scale projects as Rail Baltica the development of the Kaunas airport platform the project "Rail Baltica" will be implemented by "Fegdos grupė" Its portfolio includes two contracts for this project worth 94,8 and 106,48 million The balance of the works of the first contract in 2024 EUR with VAT value of the "Via Baltica" contract which will be implemented in the coming years will carry out the bridge construction project on the highway A1 near Kleboniški The value of the project is about 70,5 million The plans of "HISK group" include the expansion project of the Kaunas airport platform reproduction and distribution are permitted only with the written consent of UAB "Naujosios medijos grupė"