Specialiųjų tyrimų tarnyba (STT), išnagrinėjusi pranešimą dėl Vyriausiosios rinkimų komisijos (VRK) narės Lauros Matjošaitytės partijai „Nemuno aušra“ anksčiau teiktų konsultacijų, atsisakė pradėti ikiteisminį tyrimą.

Didieji infrastruktūros projektai dažnai vertinami pagal naudą, kurią jie sukurs pradėjus veikti naujai transporto linijai, mazgui ar objektui. Tačiau investicijos pradeda veikti gerokai anksčiau, dar projektavimo ir statybos laikotarpiu, kai užsakomos paslaugos, perkamos medžiagos, kuriamos darbo vietos, mokami atlyginimai ir mokesčiai.

A 10-year-old child and two 30-year-old women were on board the boat - which was carrying 105 people.

Pope Leo spoke to bishops before leading a service attended by thousands of worshippers in France.

The US-Israel war with Iran has caused fuel prices to soar.

The average price of a litre of diesel at the pump stands at 198.32p, according to the RAC motoring body.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged compromise and urged warring parties to make concessions to secure peace in Ukraine during a closely watched speech about Europe in France. “Sadly, war has returned, even to Europe,” the pope said in the eastern city of Metz. “We need to commit ourselves to patient dialogue, to show courage in negotiation and to be willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace.” The pope addressed European issues on his final day of an official visit to France, during which he held talks with President Emmanuel Macron, celebrated a large-scale mass in central Paris, and urged dialogue and compassion for migrants. In a speech delivered to a packed room, the pope did not specify what concessions he thought Kyiv or Moscow might have to make to secure peace. Russian forces are persistently bombing Ukraine and attempting to push forward in the Donetsk region, but the Kremlin’s military has so far failed to subjugate Kyiv after more than four and a half years of all-out war. The pontiff has taken an active role in recent months, pushing for an end to hostilities in Ukraine. In August, Leo sent Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the equivalent of his foreign minister, to Moscow to meet with officials including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Another Vatican envoy is set to visit Russia this week. The visits highlight that Leo is adopting a more proactive role in trying to mediate over Ukraine, with Europe largely absent in diplomacy with Russia, though German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul did meet with Lavrov in New York at the weekend. The pontiff has repeatedly called for the end of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and expressed hope that negotiations would resume and lead to a diplomatic solution. In his speech on Europe, the pope also praised Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the European Union and a practicing Catholic. He also urged migrants to be welcomed “as if they were part of one’s own family,” at a moment when anti-immigration parties are on the rise across Europe, including in France where Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally is topping the polls. “We must grasp the historical significance of what is taking place, namely an unprecedented encounter between peoples and cultures, which calls us to rediscover our roots in new and creative ways, while at the same time listening carefully to others,” he said.

LIVERPOOL, England — Justice Secretary Alex Norris confirmed that a new Courts Bill will seek to address criticism of the Keir Starmer-era plan to scrap up to half of all jury trials in England and Wales. Norris, who replaced David Lammy as justice secretary in July, told an upcoming episode of the “Politics at Sam and Anne’s” podcast that the new bill — heading for the Commons in October — will include “major structural reforms” to speed up court hearings. But he said critics of culling jury trials “had been listened to” since new Prime Minister Andy Burnham indicated in the summer that he would prefer an outcome which entailed “not reducing access to jury trial.” Officials told POLITICO Sunday night that one solution may be a return to original recommendations by Justice Brian Leveson, who was asked by Norris’ predecessor Lammy to review the courts system in a bid to tackle a major backlog that is delaying cases.  Lammy went further than Leveson, pushing beyond his recommendation for judge-and-magistrate panels to replace juries in some cases and instead backing single-judge courts. The proposal raised concern among some lawmakers that a defining principle of the English justice system is under threat.  “We have heard the concerns about the balance between the speed [of the] justice system and people feel[ing] confident about the process,” Norris said Monday morning.  Early release  Norris has also been tasked with solving the hot-button issue of early release for prisoners, a Starmer-era bid to ease overcrowded jails. The justice secretary cited measures intended to reassure the public, including increased restriction zones for those released on bail for serious offences, and more sophisticated tagging of offenders. But Norris also ruled out any changes to the early release of stalking and domestic violence perpetrators, with a major tranche of releases due to begin in October heavily criticized by victims’ and women’s rights groups.  “We would like to have gone further and kept more categories of offender in prison for longer, but we also have to have enough prison places in this country,” he said. The bailing of sex offender Zafer Dogan back to the London address where his offences — which included making thousands of AI-generated paedophile images — took place unleashed fierce criticism last week from Mark Rowley, the London Met police chief. Rowley blasted a system in which “victims are left fearful” and criticized the “unfathomable decisions” of the justice system. Norris said he has had “conversations” about the criticism with the London police chief.

Seoul says Kyiv agreed to a nondisclosure agreement over the prisoners but broke it.

France's maritime police ‌‌said ​they received a distress ​call from an inflatable dinghy carrying 105 people.

Suspects detained are in their twenties and residents of London

Brussels is urging UK tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, but it might take more than that

Eve Irvine is pleased to welcome award-winning author Rob Franklin, joining us to discuss Great Black Hope, his acclaimed debut novel exploring race, class, respectability and belonging. Franklin wanted to write about the worlds he had spent years observing since childhood: including how class and race shape even our most intimate relationships.  At its centre is David Smith, a young Black man from a Southern bourgeois family. His education, manners and connections give him access, but he is constantly aware of the possibility of being cast out. That tension led him to think about respectability politics and the psychological cost of constantly performing an acceptable version of oneself. 

France's far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies emerged from polls with a record 14 seats in the right-wing dominated Senate on Sunday, effectively quadrupling its number in the 348-seat chamber just months before a presidential election.

The uranium sector is therefore becoming a key test of Niger’s new approach to mining — balancing greater national control over strategic resources with the need for foreign capital and expertise to develop them.

A Russian strike hit a nine-storey apartment block in Kharkiv early on Monday, injuring 25 people, including nine children. Emergency workers evacuated 32 residents from the damaged building, according to regional authorities.