7 May 2026

Andrė Lukošiūtė reached the quarter-finals of the Nottingham W35 on Thursday, extending an important week on the ITF circuit. The outdoor hard-court event in Britain carries a $30,000 prize fund and offers valuable ranking points for the Lithuanian player.

In the Baltic Sea early on Thursday, a passenger was winched off the ferry Robin Hood about 50 nautical miles from Klaipėda after crews suspected a spinal injury. Lithuania’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre launched a military AS-365 helicopter from Nemirseta at about 7 a.m., and the patient was flown ashore for further checks and treatment. Business attention is also turning to insolvency risks after Lithuania’s largest recent collapse and a worsening backdrop in key export markets. Germany recorded 24,064 insolvent companies in 2025, up 10% year on year, while Poland continues to see elevated restructuring and bankruptcy cases after a record 2024.

In Spain, Benediktas Vanagas and Aisvydas Paliukėnas opened the FIA European Baja Cup season on Thursday as the No. 1 crew in Cuenca. Rain and cooler weather are expected to make the Baja TT Cuenca route more technical, as the Lithuanian pairing tries to improve on last year’s series podium finish. Elsewhere, prosecutors carried out actions linked to former candidate Eduardas Bužinskas, Lithuania prepared for a visit by Sweden’s royal couple, Denmark’s Etna Foundation completed its acquisition of Brolis Defence Group, and authorities warned residents about major wildfires burning in several regions.

China sentenced to death a convicted paedophile who posed as a courier delivering a gift and murdered a seven-year-old girl. In Lithuania, President Gitanas Nausėda said he had never heard of any condition tying the presence of US troops to cooperation with Belarus and warned that if coalition decisions are not reached by the end of May, they may not come later.

Volodymyr Zelensky said today that Russia is preparing a new phase of the war this year that could become one of the fiercest since the full-scale invasion began. Ukrainian military intelligence links that warning to Russian force buildups on the eastern front, where Moscow has kept sustained pressure on the Donetsk axis for months. Kyiv is adding defensive measures and expects the next few weeks to show where Russia will strike first.

Kremlin-linked sources say Vladimir Putin is preparing for another one to two years of war as peace talks remain stalled. Russia has also tightened security around Putin, expanded surveillance at homes tied to his inner circle and barred some staff from using public transport. Moscow today urged foreign diplomats and mission staff to leave Kyiv quickly, saying a retaliatory strike was imminent. The warning came after Russia said it had shot down 524 Ukrainian drones and five missiles overnight. Kyiv also said Ukrainian and US negotiators held talks in Florida on Russia’s invasion and further coordination.

In Brussels, EU member states and the European Parliament reached an early-morning deal to ban AI tools that create sexual deepfake images without a person’s consent. The compromise includes an exemption for companies that can prove effective safeguards against abuse, and it still needs approval from EU ambassadors. EU institutions also struck a provisional deal yesterday to simplify broader AI rules so companies are not checked twice under overlapping safety, data and consumer-protection laws. Russia’s public clash with Armenia is also sharpening after Zelensky’s visit to Yerevan, leaving Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan balancing Moscow security ties against a western tilt ahead of May 9 commemorations and more EU talks.

Moscow halted trilateral peace talks and said they will resume only if Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donbas. Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned Russia’s allies not to take part in the May 9 parade in Moscow, while a warning was issued in Kyiv to leave the city within 24 hours over a possible retaliatory strike.

Iran-U.S. nuclear talks stalled over enrichment limits and sanctions relief in the past day. Donald Trump said yesterday he was disappointed with Tehran’s position, even though U.S. intelligence has found no evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear weapon. A former U.S. intelligence official said earlier U.S. strikes likely did little to slow Iran’s nuclear programme and that key material may still be buried deep underground. That leaves the White House choosing between more strikes and a deal that would require Iranian buy-in.

A U.S. Navy fighter jet on Wednesday disabled an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz as it tried to break through a U.S. blockade. The Pentagon said U.S. forces have seized other tankers linked to Tehran this week, and the targeted vessel was already under sanctions for carrying Iranian crude. The Washington Post reported that Iran hit many more U.S. military targets than previously disclosed. Drones also struck a Russian defence ministry logistics centre near Moscow.

Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force fired rockets from Type-88 launchers in western Kyushu today, and China lodged a formal protest. Tokyo said the exercise was routine training, while Beijing tied it to the worsening security picture around Taiwan. The World Health Organization said it will send 2,500 hantavirus diagnostic kits to five countries. In Singapore, corporal punishment in schools is back in focus because even nine-year-olds can still be caned in some bullying cases.

Hermano da Silva Ramos, the oldest living former Formula 1 driver, died in France yesterday at the age of 100. The Brazilian-French racer made four World Championship starts in 1955 and 1956 for Maserati and HWM, and his death leaves Britain’s John Rhodes, 98, as the oldest surviving former F1 driver. In Palmyra, officials said today it made sense to bundle as many public works as possible into one stretch to shorten road closures, detours and noise for residents.

Multiple explosions were reported late in an Iranian coastal city and on an island in the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, Goldman Sachs warned that global oil inventories have fallen to their lowest level in eight years, keeping Middle East tensions in focus for energy markets.