12 April 2026

Gout Gout delivered the standout result of the weekend for a Lithuanian news audience, winning the Australian 200 metres title in Sydney in 19.67 seconds and setting a national record. The 18-year-old ran with a legal 1.7 metres-per-second tailwind and moved deeper into senior international contention.

In Vilnius, architects today unveiled a public concept for the station district with new pedestrian links, redesigned public space and a reworked hub around the rail and bus stations. The proposal now goes to municipal review and talks with transport operators because it affects both the station complex and links into the city centre and Naujininkai. A new reading room also opened in central Vilnius today, offering young people a free place to read, study and attend author meetings and discussions through tomorrow.

In Vilnius, POLA and the National Cancer Institute said colorectal cancer kills about 900 people a year in Lithuania, while roughly 1,700 are diagnosed. Doctors said the disease is appearing in younger patients and urged people to use the two-year stool blood test and seek care if symptoms last two to four weeks. Lithuania’s women’s 3x3 basketball team secured a place at the World Championship over the past day.

A Lithuanian court in the past two days rejected a bid by life prisoner Audrius Andrušaitis to reduce his sentence in a case tied to the Tulpiniai gang. Court records say he is serving time for 23 killings and can file any new request only after the statutory waiting period. At the Belarus border, 36 irregular migrants were turned away in the past 24 hours, the highest daily number this year. Kretinga held a Mass yesterday linked to the proclamation of Jurgis Pabrėža as blessed, and in Kaunas three cars crashed over the past day.

European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said Viktor Orban’s defeat in Hungary’s election would matter for Lithuania’s national security. After Peter Magyar’s victory, President Gitanas Nauseda also congratulated him.

Hungary is voting today in a parliamentary election that could remove Viktor Orban’s Fidesz from power for the first time in 16 years. In the final hours of the campaign, Orban and challenger Peter Magyar traded accusations over efforts to disrupt the vote, while observers pointed to an uneven contest shaped by pro-government media and state resources. The result will set Hungary’s course on the EU, aid to Ukraine and ties with Moscow. An Orban aide also said private air defence systems are now being used in Ukraine, pushing the war further into the closing stretch of Hungary’s campaign.

Ukraine’s General Staff said today that Russian forces lost 1,070 troops in the previous 24 hours, taking Moscow’s cumulative losses since February 2022 above 926,000. Kyiv said Russian pressure remains concentrated on the eastern and southern fronts, with the main assault still centred on Donetsk region and rear-area logistics. During the so-called Easter ceasefire, Ukraine recorded 2,299 violations, 15 people were wounded in Donetsk region, and a Russian strike on an ambulance injured medics. The Kremlin said yesterday it would not extend the truce beyond April 20 unless Volodymyr Zelenskiy accepts Moscow’s terms, even though Kyiv had already backed a U.S.-supported 30-day temporary ceasefire proposal.

In Moscow yesterday, a Kremlin-linked talk show dwelt on Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia and growing confusion among viewers about the war’s course. Over the past two days, drone attacks have hit refineries, rail links and military depots in several Russian regions. In the Black Sea yesterday, Ukrainian sea drones struck two empty sanctioned Russian tankers off Turkey, including a vessel identified as Kairo, complicating security for Russia’s oil export routes. In France yesterday, police arrested a man accused of keeping his 9-year-old son locked in a van for years, and the boy was placed in the care of doctors and child-protection officials.

Preliminary results in Hungary show opposition leader Peter Magyar ahead of Viktor Orban. Orban conceded defeat after an election marked by record turnout.

In Islamabad, U.S. and Iranian negotiators ended about 21 hours of talks without a deal on extending the ceasefire or limiting Iran’s nuclear programme. Washington said the talks collapsed because Iran would not commit to forgo a nuclear weapon, while Tehran is still demanding compensation for damage from U.S.-Israeli strikes and the release of frozen funds. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged both sides to keep talking, special envoy Jean Arnault has been sent into the region, and Pakistan is trying to broker fresh talks before the truce expires on April 22. Donald Trump on Saturday again threatened to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure and demanded that Tehran stop interfering with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

After US-Iran talks collapsed, Tehran blamed واشington for double standards and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to drag its enemies into a “deadly whirlpool” in the Strait of Hormuz. Lebanon’s prime minister said he is seeking the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.