Lithuania will keep its border crossings with Belarus closed for a month after balloons carrying cigarettes repeatedly disrupted air traffic at Vilnius Airport. Some exemptions will apply.
The Šalčininkai crossing will remain fully closed, while Medininkai, near Vilnius, will operate with restricted passage. Lithuanian and EU citizens, as well as Russians holding transit documents to Kaliningrad, will still be allowed through.
Officials view the balloon incidents as a deliberate act by Russia-allied Belarus. Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said the measures are meant to send “a clear message to our not-so-friendly neighbour, which is making no effort to address the problem.”
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko criticised the move, calling it a “mad scam” and part of a “hybrid war.” He suggested Lithuania should tackle smuggling on its side and said Belarus would apologise if found responsible.
The incidents come amid heightened European concern after a surge in drone intrusions into NATO airspace last month. In Belgium, Defence Minister Theo Francken said multiple drones were spotted above a military base in Marche-en-Famenne overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, prompting an investigation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the United States to target Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, with an op...
U.S. President Donald Trump said he will stop defence contractors from paying dividends or buying back shares until weapons production speeds up, crit...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he will meet Danish leaders next week, signalling that Washington is not retreating from President Donald Tru...
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to China later this month, marking the first visit by a Canadian leader since 2017....
Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in Krumovgrad, in Bulgaria’s southern Kardzhali province, pushing the Krumovitsa River close to overflowing and p...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the United States to target Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, with an operation similar to the recent U.S. action that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he will stop defence contractors from paying dividends or buying back shares until weapons production speeds up, criticising the industry for delays and high costs.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he will meet Danish leaders next week, signalling that Washington is not retreating from President Donald Trump’s stated goal of acquiring Greenland, despite mounting concern among European allies.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to China later this month, marking the first visit by a Canadian leader since 2017.
Germany’s foreign intelligence service secretly monitored the telephone communications of former U.S. President Barack Obama for several years, including calls made aboard Air Force One, according to an investigation by the German newspaper Die Zeit.
Diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing escalated as Japan slams China's export ban on dual-use goods. Markets have wobbled as fears grow over a potential rare earth embargo affecting global supply chains.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) sources reported a significant movement of U.S. military aircraft towards the Middle East in recent hours. Dozens of U.S. Air Force aerial refuelling tankers and heavy transport aircraft were observed heading eastwards, presumably to staging points in the region.
Iran’s chief justice has warned protesters there will be “no leniency for those who help the enemy against the Islamic Republic”, as rights groups reported a rising death toll during what observers describe as the country’s biggest wave of unrest in three years.
Two people have been killed after a private helicopter crashed at a recreation centre in Russia’s Perm region, Russian authorities and local media have said.
Power has been fully restored to a neighbourhood in Berlin after an arson attack triggered a blackout that lasted more than four days — the second such incident in the city since September.
A U.S. immigration agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in her car in Minneapolis on Wednesday, local and federal officials said, amid an expanded immigration enforcement operation ordered by President Donald Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the United States to target Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, with an operation similar to the recent U.S. action that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he will stop defence contractors from paying dividends or buying back shares until weapons production speeds up, criticising the industry for delays and high costs.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he will meet Danish leaders next week, signalling that Washington is not retreating from President Donald Trump’s stated goal of acquiring Greenland, despite mounting concern among European allies.
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