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.
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A fire ripped through more than 170 buildings and killed one person in a southern Japanese coastal city on Wednesday, with military and firefighting h...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 19th of November, covering the latest developments you need to...
An Indonesian student suspected of carrying out a bomb attack at his school mosque in Jakarta wrote of feeling isolated in his 42-page diary and drew ...
The Turkish-operated cargo plane that skidded off the runway at Hong Kong's international airport last month (20 October), killing two airport workers...
Ukraine is pushing its European allies to take a political decision to release a proposed $163-billion loan based on frozen Russian state assets next month, as it frets over a gaping hole in the 2026 budget and fallout from an unfolding corruption scandal.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 19th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The Turkish-operated cargo plane that skidded off the runway at Hong Kong's international airport last month (20 October), killing two airport workers, experienced an acceleration in one of its four engines after landing, an initial investigation has found.
An Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese city of Sidon killed 13 people and wounded several others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry on Tuesday (18 November).
Thousands of users in the United States, some parts of Europe and South America on the X (formerly twitter) platform have reported being unable to access the site due to Cloudflare outage.
Emirates Airline is confident in Boeing’s plans for a larger 777X and has ruled out ordering Airbus’s A350-1000 at the Dubai Airshow.
Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler stated on Monday that it would take at least two months to reach initial conclusions and analyse the black box of a Turkish cargo plane that crashed in Georgia last week, resulting in the deaths of 20 soldiers.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday talked up "high-level exchanges" in a call with Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi, hinting at a potential meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japan's new premier, Sanae Takaichi.
The Kremlin stated on Monday that it hoped another summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump could take place once the necessary preparations had been completed.
Ukraine is pushing its European allies to take a political decision to release a proposed $163-billion loan based on frozen Russian state assets next month, as it frets over a gaping hole in the 2026 budget and fallout from an unfolding corruption scandal.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 19th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
An Indonesian student suspected of carrying out a bomb attack at his school mosque in Jakarta wrote of feeling isolated in his 42-page diary and drew inspiration from a Telegram group glorifying white supremacist attacks, according to new details from police.
The Turkish-operated cargo plane that skidded off the runway at Hong Kong's international airport last month (20 October), killing two airport workers, experienced an acceleration in one of its four engines after landing, an initial investigation has found.
Two top U.S. Army officials have made a rare wartime visit to Kyiv by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, arriving on an unannounced trip for talks with Ukraine's leaders in an attempt to revive stalled peace talks with Russia, Politico reported on Wednesday.
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