Last week, Belarusian oppositionist Tsikhanouskaya called for unity of her compatriots and opposition, Klaipeda CEO said Taiwan could help recover lost cargo flows.
Lithuania reports 1,318 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths
Lithuania has recorded 1,318 new coronavirus infections and no deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, official statistics showed on Friday, August 12. Most of the new cases, or 954, were primary, 349 were secondary, and 15 were tertiary. The number of hospital patients now stands at 142, including nine ICU cases. The 14–day primary infection rate has risen further over the past 24 hours to 595.2 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests up to 53.4 percent. More than 1.1 million people in Lithuania have tested positive with COVID-19 at least once. Some 69.9 percent of the Lithuanian population have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far.
Border guards deter 30 irregular migrants away on border with Belarus
Lithuanian border guards on Thursday, August 11, turned away 30 migrants attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service said on Friday, August 12. Lithuanian border guards have sent over 12,000 people back to Belarus since August 3, 2021, when they were given the right to deny entry to irregular migrants. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people to cross the border. Almost 4,200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally last year.
Lithuania probes pro-Russian Ukrainian blogger’s finances
Lithuania’s Prosecutor General’s Office last week commenced an investigation into the assets and finances of Anatoliy Shariy, a pro-Russian Ukrainian blogger, as well as possible money laundering, the 15min news website reports on Friday, August 12. The investigation was launched in response to a statement by a Russian lawyer Mark Feigin who alleged that Shariy, as a resident of Lithuania, may have been carrying out unregistered activities, receiving undeclared income from unclear sources in Russia and not paying taxes since 2012. Shariy now lives in Spain. Having fled Ukraine, the man, introducing himself as a journalist, was detained in Spain in May at Ukraine’s request and later released on a promise not to leave. He’s now awaiting a court decision on his extradition to Ukraine. Shariy has been amassing an audience of millions of Russian speakers and assets in Spain for the past 10 years, using the asylum and residence permit granted to him by Lithuania. In June, the Migration Department banned Shariy from coming to Lithuania.
Lithuanian, Taiwanese bus makers to assemble a joint venture
Vėjo Projektai, a Lithuanian manufacturer of electric buses, and Tangeng Advanced Vehicles Co, Taiwan’s largest maker of passenger and freight vehicles, set up a joint venture with a production unit in Lithuania to develop electric vehicle and battery module technologies, Vėjo Projektai said on Thursday, August 11. Jonathan Ho, CEO of Tangeng Advanced Vehicles Co, says the two companies will work together to develop liquid-cooled battery module technology and set up a production centre to meet European needs.
Lithuanian airports report 77.5 percent spike in passenger numbers in July
The number of passengers traveling through Lithuanian airports soared by 77.5 percent in July year-on-year to 577,000, reaching 97 percent of the passenger traffic figure recorded in July 2019. Between January and July, the country’s three international airports saw their total passenger numbers increase 3.6 times year–on–year to 2.9 million. The three airports also posted a 93 percent annual increase in flight numbers, to 29,200, in the seven-month period, Lietuvos Oro Uostai (Lithuanian Airports, LOU), Lithuania’s airport operator, reported on Wednesday, August 10. In July alone, the number of flights rose by an annual 26.3 percent, to 4,800, but was way smaller than in the same month of the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (5,500). Vilnius Airport alone served 426,000 passengers in July, reaching 95 percent of its pre-pandemic passenger traffic for the same month. The airport also handled 3,500 flights, up 29.6 percent from a year ago, but down 16.7 percent from July 2019.
Klaipėda CEO pins hopes for lost cargo flows on Taiwan
Algis Latakas, CEO of Lithuania’s western port of Klaipėda, who was part of the Lithuanian delegation in Taiwan, said on Wednesday, August 10, that cargo flows from Taiwan to Klaipėda have almost halved over the past three years, but the port hopes them to grow again. Some 70,000 TEU were handled in Klaipėda in 2019, and the number dropped to 40,000 recently, he said. In his words, Taiwan’s ports handle about 260 million tons, making it one of the largest hubs in East Asia.
Poland’s Rafako responsible for uncompleted Vilnius CHP construction
Rafako, a Polish construction company that is under restructuring currently, and which was the main contractor for the construction of the biofuel unit of the Vilnius CHP plant, is responsible for the unit’s unfinished construction, the Stockholm arbitration has ruled, Ignitis Grupė (Ignitis Group), Lithuania’s state–owned energy group that manages the Vilnius CHP, said in a statement on Tuesday, August 9. The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce set a mandatory period for the parties to try to reach an amicable agreement. The issues of reimbursement of damages incurred by the Vilnius CHP and its size are scheduled to be examined during the second stage of the arbitration proceedings, Ignitis said. Ignitis Grupė says that Rafako carried out work worth 107 million euros and was paid the amount. Under the contract, the Polish company was to receive around 150 million euros in total.
Lithuania posts 13.2 percent average annual HICP inflation for July
Lithuania’s average annual inflation rate, as measured by the EU Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), stood at 13.2 percent in July, the latest figures from the country’s statistics office, Statistics Lithuania, showed on Tuesday, August 9. The year-on-year growth in consumer prices was mostly driven by increased prices for fuels and lubricants, heart energy, milk and milk products, electricity, meat and meat products, bread and cereal products, solid fuels, vegetables, materials for the maintenance and repair of the dwelling, and gas.
Belarusian oppositionist Tsikhanouskaya calls for unity
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the symbol of Belarusian opposition, in Vilnius now, called her compatriots on Monday, August 8, in a conference of Belarusian opposition in Vilnius to unite as the 2nd anniversary of the presidential election in Belarus is marked. Tsikhanouskaya says she’s aware that the people who voted for her in the presidential election did so primarily to express their disapproval of Lukashenko. However, she stressed, she was the one who received an important mandate to lead the people of Belarus. She also responded to criticism that she was not doing enough, saying that miscalculated action could hurt people and she was not going to put them in danger for the sake of results.
Week in Lithuania: on Friday 1,318 new COVID-19 cases recorded, no deaths on Friday; Lithuanian, Taiwanese bus makers to establish a joint venture
