General Information
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi), and has a population of 2.9 million. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius; other major cities include Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys. Lithuanians are the titular nation, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of Balts, and speak Lithuanian.
- Population: 2,800,000+
- Area: 65,300 km²
- Coordinates: Latitude: 54.683334350586, Longitude: 25.316667556763
- Timezone: Timezone info not available
- Current Local Time: ailab
Latest Lithuania News
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Naktį Pabradėje neblaivus vyras sužalojo du policininkus
Švenčionių rajone, Pabradėje, šeštadienio naktį, sulaikant viešąją tvarką pažeidusį neblaivų vyrą, šis nestipriai sužalojo du pareigūnus ir buvo sulaikytas, pranešė Policijos departamentas.
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Kariuomenės instruktoriaus namuose rasti neteisėtai laikyti šoviniai, išduotas orderis dėl smurto
Kauno rajone esančiuose Lietuvos kariuomenės instruktoriaus namuose penktadienio popietę rasti ir paimti neteisėtai laikyti 22 kalibro šoviniai, neblaiviam vyrui išduotas apsaugos nuo smurto artimoje aplinkoje orderis, šeštadienį pranešė Policijos departamentas.
BBC News
Europe's deadly heatwave breaks German record and halts public events
Germany's highest ever temperature of 41.3C is recorded provisionally in Saarbrücken, over the border from France.
BBC News
Christmas market attacker jailed for life for murdering six in Germany
A nine-year-old and five women were killed when Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen drove into the market in 2024.
BBC News
Trump threatens 100% tariff on European nations over tech tax
The US president says "Numerous European countries" have been discussing bringing in such a levy.
BBC News
Three unusual things about the King's tax bill
King Charles paid £12.9m in tax for 2024-2025 - here's what we know about his unique tax situation.
POLITICO
Trump administration asks high court to OK its unprecedented immigration detention policy
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to bless its massive expansion of ICE detention — a policy that federal district courts have overwhelmingly rejected. Solicitor General John Sauer is urging the justices to resolve whether people residing in the U.S. without incident for years — sometimes decades — may be subject to mandatory ICE detention while their deportation proceedings play out. It’s a fight that could determine the fate of millions of people, and it could also help define the reach of due process rights for those accused of being in the country illegally. The U.S. Justice Department is asking the justices to sign off on a policy that has been overwhelmingly rejected by federal district court judges across the country, who have described it as a draconian violation of the law and constitutional due process rights. Judges have delivered more than 9,300 rulings against the administration’s unprecedented policy, which targets people who have resided in the U.S. for years and requires them to be detained without the opportunity for a bond hearing while their deportation proceedings are underway. Despite the lopsided result in district courts, Sauer described an “untenable divide” at the appeals court level. Five appellate circuits have ruled on the issue, breaking 3-2 against the administration. A divide among appeals courts typically makes the Supreme Court more likely to intervene. The matter is still pending in another six circuits and could result in additional rulings at any moment. The Trump administration is appealing a ruling of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected the administration’s approach last month and also found people subject to the administration’s new view of mandatory detention have a constitutional due process right to a bond hearing. “Especially given the volume of cases involved, this Court should grant review and resolve this case as swiftly as practicable,” Sauer wrote in a brief urging the court to take up the issue. The result of the administration’s new policy, adopted on July 8, 2025, has been a tsunami of emergency lawsuits filed by people swept up by the new policy. Those cases have inundated courts in every corner of the country, straining the judiciary, inflaming tensions between judges and the Justice Department, and exposing ruptures between DOJ lawyers and their counterparts at ICE. The cases have spiked amid enforcement crackdowns like Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota and Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, which have coincided with broader, sometimes violent encounters between anti-ICE demonstrators and law enforcement. Since Congress updated immigration laws 30 years ago, the modern system has required detention primarily for people apprehended crossing the border or soon after. Those with established roots in the country — often with spouses and children who are U.S. citizens — have been afforded bond hearings in immigration court, a chance to prove they can live safely in their communities while their deportation proceedings pend for months or years. But the Trump administration adopted an unprecedented reinterpretation of the law, treating people apprehended anywhere in the country — no matter how long they’ve lived here — as though they had just crossed the border, subjecting them to mandatory detention without bond. At its essence, the fight is over what it means to “seek admission” to the U.S.. Immigration law labels nearly anyone who arrives in the country without permission as an “applicant for admission.” And it says any “applicant for admission” who is “seeking admission” to the country must be detained without bond. Most judges who have rejected the administration’s approach say the phrase “seeking admission” underscores that the policy was meant to apply to border crossers, as opposed to those in the interior of the country who are no longer “seeking” to get inside. Each of the last five presidential administrations — including Trump’s first — viewed the law this way, they note. And the Supreme Court, in a 2018 ruling by Justice Samuel Alito, described the availability of bond hearings as the “default” rule for “aliens already present in the United States.” But the Justice Department contends that the phrase “seeking admission” is a largely superfluous description of “applicant for admission,” drawing no distinction between people arriving at the border and those who crossed it years earlier. And DOJ attorneys argued Friday in a letter to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the Supreme Court may have tipped its hand in the Trump administration’s favor with a ruling Thursday in a case about the administration’s policy on asylum for people arriving at the border.
POLITICO
Iran’s World Cup dream is still alive — on day that US launched new military strikes
SEATTLE — Iran’s adventure through a World Cup beset by geopolitical complexity and logistical complications will likely continue after the team landed a frenetic 1-1 draw against Egypt.Iran, which began the World Cup as the first competing team at war with the host nation, now waits another day to learn its fate. The results of other games will determine whether Iran proceeds to the tournament’s elimination rounds or heads home. “Reaching the knockout stage under these circumstances would not merely be a sporting achievement; it would also be a symbol of resilience, hope, and national unity,” Abolfazl Pasandideh, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, told POLITICO prior to the match. The high-stakes intra-Mideast encounter kicked off hours after a tenuous peace between the U.S. and Iran was threatened by American strikes on Iranian military installations along the Hormuz Strait. U.S. Central Command described the strikes as a response to an Iranian drone attack on a Singaporean cargo ship that Trump called a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire. Iran’s progress in the World Cup will likely have little direct bearing on the future of any peace negotiations, but the increasing probability that the team could play its next match in Canada rather than the U.S. could ease questions about the team’s status that have bedeviled the Trump administration. “The White House FIFA Task Force has prepared for and is aware of all potential scenarios involving 32 teams that will move into the knockout rounds and will advance from there,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said before the match. Despite being one of the first teams to qualify for the World Cup, Iran’s participation was left uncertain after Trump first launched strikes against the country in February. Iranian soccer officials threatened to boycott the tournament; Trump told POLITICO, “I really don’t care” if the team participated. The politically fraught matchday unfolded against the backdrop of “Pride Match” festivities that had been planned over the last year and a half to take place on June 26. The event was complicated by a FIFA lottery draw that placed Iran and Egypt in Seattle on the designated day. Sports officials from both countries, whose governments are among the world’s most repressive to sexual minorities, objected to the designation. Indeed, despite FIFA’s announcement that rainbow flags would be permitted in the stadium, few were visible as the match began. Instead the stands rippled with the colors of the two Middle Eastern countries on the field, including many of the pre-revolutionary lion-and-sun flags that FIFA has attempted to ban under a stadium code of conduct that prohibits political displays. Among the groups of fans massing near Seattle’s Pioneer Square were many challenging the Iranian regime. Some held pictures of Reza Pahlavi, the son of a former Shah who has put himself forward as a potential national leader, while others recited the names of protestors allegedly killed by government forces. “No deal with murderers. Stop bargaining with Iranian lives,” read one sign held by protesters. By mid-afternoon, news spread on the streets of Seattle of the U.S. military strikes, raising the stakes around a match that would likely help to determine whether Iran’s team would need to negotiate with the U.S. government as it progressed in the World Cup. The U.S. government has not said whether it will further adjust the travel rules should Iran advance in the tournament. “Any measure that facilitates athletes’ participation and competition on equal terms is a positive step,” Pasandideh said of the Trump administration’s relaxed travel rules for the Iran team ahead of the Egypt match. An apparent extra-time goal that would have put Iran through to the knockout round as the Group G winner sent players and fans into paroxysms of joy before being ruled out after a lengthy video review. While Egypt’s path into the next round is guaranteed, Iran will have to wait for results from matches involving Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo to know its future steps. It could end up playing its next match in Vancouver or Dallas — or be forced to head home.“We want them to be able to compete, and if they’re good enough to advance to the next round … they’ll have the opportunity to do that,” White House World Cup task force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani said in an interview earlier this month. The result in Seattle eliminated one possible route for Iran through the tournament that could have included a potential U.S.-Iran quarterfinal on July 6. The earliest the two erstwhile belligerents could now see one another on the soccer field is in an improbable final, where Trump is expected to award the winning team its trophy.
Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
Which teams have qualified for the World Cup 2026 knockouts, round of 32?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage format, criteria and rules for qualification. Find out who's in and who's out.
Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
Which teams are in the World Cup round of 32, and what’s the schedule?
Cape Verde's stunning debut headlines the team list for the World Cup knockouts, which begin on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Europe
Turkey launches security crackdown ahead of Nato summit
Activists have been arrested, journalist accreditations denied and public assemblies banned before July meeting
Europe
Baltic states urge EU to speed up ban on Russian oil imports
Talks about the phaseout stalled after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sparked concerns of an energy supply crisis
France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines
Belgium, Egypt into World Cup last 32 as Iran face anxious wait after stoppage-time drama
Iran were deprived of a certain place in the World Cup knockout phase when a goal in stoppage time that would have given them a 2-1 win against Egypt was disallowed. The draw means the Pharaohs advance to the last 32 along with Belgium, who demolished New Zealand 5-1 to clinch top spot in Group G.
France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines
World Cup: Dembélé reacts to scoring first hat-trick for France
Ousmane Dembélé scored a magnificent hat-trick on Friday, his first with Les Bleus, as France beat Norway 4-1 to finish top of Group I. Here's what the striker said when asked if this was his best ever performance with France
Africanews RSS
Frozen feasts and cool pools help Rome zoo animals survive heatwave
As a severe heatwave grips Italy, Rome's Bioparco is helping its animals stay cool with frozen treats, chilled pools and climate-controlled shelters while the capital remains under a red heat alert.
Africanews RSS
Gamers gear up for GTA VI despite disappointment over digital-only edition
It’s only been on presale for a day and Grand Theft Auto VI is already predicted to be the highest-selling cultural product of all time. Fans were united in relief that the video game’s latest edition has seen a minimal price hike. But gamers aren’t happy that it doesn’t come with a disc.