19 April 2026

Parliament on Friday allowed the Vilnius-based International American School to lease public property for up to 99 years. The English-language school, which has operated in Vilnius since 2004, now gets a much longer horizon for premises planning and capital investment.

Domestic politics is still dominated by the Saulius Skvernelis case. Prosecutors say he took at least €51,000 in cash in Vilnius on several occasions between June and November last year, and parliament is preparing to vote on whether to lift his immunity. The scandal has already forced a leadership reshuffle in the Democrats, with Virginijus Sinkevičius installed as interim chairman.

The retreat from Lithuania’s second-pillar pension system remains a major economic story, with about 21 per cent of savers, more than 300,000 people, filing exit requests in January. LRT says some of that cash is already turning up in furniture and phone stores, while other households are using it to pay down older loans. LRT commentator Justas Eimontas says the global grain market is still being driven by war-disrupted export routes, even as better wheat forecasts in Ukraine and Kazakhstan partly offset weaker Australian yields.

In foreign policy, Kęstutis Budrys reaffirmed Lithuania’s support for Gulf states after Iranian attacks and noted that about 1,000 Lithuanian citizens were in the UAE at the time. In sport, Gerdas Babarskas reached the German Cup final with Bergischer. Over the past day, four bodies were found across several municipalities, police in Klaipėda searched for a missing teenage girl, and 37 migrants were turned back at the Belarus border.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on April 19 that Russia launched more than 1,700 attack drones, more than 1,380 guided bombs and 69 missiles at Ukraine over the past week. He said the strikes hit cities and energy infrastructure, while Kyiv pressed allies for faster deliveries of air-defence systems and tougher pressure on Moscow. In Kyiv on April 18, Zelenskyy also said Russia was building a new offensive axis before any talks, and Britain’s defence ministry said Moscow was expanding Shahed launch sites across several locations.

An investigation linked FSB officers tied to the poisoning of Alexei Navalny to Russia’s state doping programme. In Bulgaria’s parliamentary election, exit poll data showed former prime minister Boyko Borissov’s GERB party in the lead.

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles from the Sinpo area into the East Sea today, South Korea’s military said. Seoul said the launches were detected at 6:10 a.m. local time, called an emergency security meeting and urged Pyongyang to stop immediately.

The launches came days after the UN nuclear watchdog warned that North Korea was making very serious advances in its nuclear weapons programme. In Washington yesterday, former US Space Force commander John W. Raymond warned that China and Russia are building capabilities that could disable American satellites in the opening hours of a war. He said such a surprise strike would blind US communications, navigation and intelligence systems.

In the Middle East, Iran over the past day again rejected Donald Trump’s suggestion that a final deal with Washington is near and said an agreement remains far off. Trump said today that US negotiators will travel to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran. Tehran says the Strait of Hormuz is only partly open to commercial shipping and has threatened to close it again if Washington keeps its blockade on Iranian vessels and ports. Trump also convened crisis talks on Iran, while attention has returned to security risks around the Strait of Hormuz and the possible impact on oil prices.

In the United States, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump’s approval at 43%, with 57% disapproving. The survey found broad resistance to his tariff policy and to his push to expand presidential power, while most respondents said his immigration crackdown has gone too far. The Florida State University shooting case is also moving through the courts after two people were killed and six wounded on campus last year. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the 20-year-old suspect, who investigators said used his stepmother’s former service weapon, with trial set for October.

In Louisiana, a mass shooting killed eight children. Blue Origin launched a rocket for the first time using a previously flown booster.