13 April 2026

Frankenburg, the Estonian defence tech group that has already set up a company in Vilnius, says it wants to expand missile development and production in Lithuania. Chief executive Kusti Salm said cruise missiles are also under consideration, a move that could give Lithuania another weapons plant and a bigger role in the regional supply chain.

Lithuania’s Prosecutor General’s Office on Monday sent an especially brutal murder case to court, saying the victim died from severe burns after an intentional fire. In politics, Saulius Skvernelis, leader of the Democrats “For Lithuania”, said he would give up his legal immunity through a simplified procedure. In Vilnius, investigators over the past 48 hours have been examining a scheme in which nearly €500,000 of aid may have been obtained through fake young-farmer start-up projects.

In an earlier FNTT case tied to the same support line, at least €750,000 may have been siphoned off through sham land purchases and notary services. Health coverage also focused on the case of 42-year-old Egidijus, whose late-stage colon cancer drew attention. A London study published yesterday added wider context, finding obesity had become the second biggest cause of cancer after smoking, with the sharpest rise in richer countries.

On energy, Litgrid said stronger wind generation cut electricity prices by 28%, while Lithuania met 97% of its power demand over the week. The Defence Ministry is allocating €11m to municipalities for training grounds, and the Juozas Vitkus Engineering Battalion is expanding chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence capabilities with US partners. In culture, Linas Adomaitis announced a summer concert in Palanga with a choir and new premieres, while no confirmed Lithuanian public report has emerged over the past day matching the headline about a father keeping 46 rotting bodies.

The most significant late development was a case in France, where a nine-year-old girl was allegedly kept for more than a year in her father’s van amid trash and feces. In Lithuania, Vilnius mayor Valdas Benkunskas said he opposes the construction of a mosque in the capital and said stricter migration control should be the priority.

Hungary’s Tisza party led by Peter Magyar won Sunday’s parliamentary election, ending Viktor Orban’s 16 years in power. The result immediately shifts the balance in Budapest because Orban had used Hungary’s veto to frustrate EU moves on Ukraine aid and sanctions on Russia.

The next test in Budapest is whether Magyar turns his pro-Brussels reset into cabinet picks and early parliamentary votes. In Brussels, EU officials are also reopening contact with Beijing after months of tension over tariffs, technology and China’s control of rare earth processing. The European Commission last month set out dozens of raw materials projects across 13 member states to reduce dependence on China.

In Ukraine, the Easter truce expired yesterday after Russia’s order ran until 4 p.m., and Ukraine’s military counted nearly 470 ceasefire violations. Both sides also exchanged 175 prisoners each. Over the past 24 hours, Russia launched 98 drones and Ukrainian air defences shot down or intercepted 87; the remaining drones hit 13 locations across the north, south and east, while Kyiv said Russia lost 960 soldiers in the same period, taking its total losses since the full-scale invasion to 933,980.

A fresh Russian strike in Derhachi injured five people. In Estonia, authorities recorded a record number of detentions in cases involving cooperation with Russian intelligence. Ukrainian analyst Serhii Beskrestnov said Russian forces are now mixing short-range air-defence assets at the front because they are short of Pantsir systems.

Hungary's election winner Peter Magyar vowed to end protection for former Polish officials sought by prosecutors and left the door open to cooperation with Russia's energy sector. On the battlefield, Ukraine said it had used robots to seize Russian positions for the first time and had secretly developed missiles capable of striking targets inside Russia.

Donald Trump said yesterday the U.S. Navy would block the Strait of Hormuz if Iran refused to back down after U.S.-Iran talks ended without a deal. American mine-clearing ships have moved into the strait, while Tehran says the channel will remain closed to its enemies until compensation is paid for the damage. Iran’s Quds Forces said today Washington would “achieve nothing,” and the U.S. military said it would begin a blockade of Iran-linked shipping at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Israel has backed a proposal for a maritime blockade on Iran, while Cuba’s president warned the United States against military escalation.

Ukraine and Russia traded fresh drone strikes today after the Orthodox Easter truce expired. Kyiv said it logged 469 violations from 4 p.m. on April 11, including 19 combat drone attacks and 275 drone strikes. Russia’s defence ministry said air defences downed 33 Ukrainian drones. The Israeli army also surrounded a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon.

Chinese media reported today a sharp rise in cases of a chronic infectious disease in a border area near Russia. Doctors said the tick- and wildlife-borne illness has no disease-specific cure, and health authorities have urged people to watch for fever and tick bites after time in wooded areas. A Stanford professor warned over the past day that artificial intelligence could sharply widen the gap between high-skill workers and everyone else. Booking.com warned customers that their data may have been exposed in a security incident.

Saudi Arabia carried out death sentences for seven people in a single day. In tennis, Jannik Sinner returned to world No. 1 today after beating Carlos Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo Masters final.

Donald Trump said the US could strike Iran’s Revolutionary Guard ships, and Tehran responded with a threat to send US warships to the seabed. China’s foreign minister called for preserving the Middle East ceasefire as the immediate priority.