24 June 2026

Gitanas Nausėda is meeting prime ministerial candidate Mindaugas Sinkevičius at the presidential palace today to discuss forming a new government after the ruling majority was reshuffled. The meeting should clarify when Nausėda will send the nomination to parliament and how far cabinet changes will go, with sources saying Sinkevičius plans to replace about half the ministers. In Vilnius, the Democrats brought a 10-page list of demands to coalition talks today, covering the government programme and the division of ministries, as the Social Democrats build a new majority with the Democrats and the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union after breaking with Nemuno Aušra.

In Kaunas’ Šilainiai district, a wartime grenade triggered a cordon and a “Shield” operation today, with bomb disposal specialists called in and the area fenced off. Officers will decide after the disposal team’s work whether the device is destroyed on site or taken away for neutralisation. A friend of the Lithuanian fighter Ignas, who was killed in Ukraine, said today that a mine hidden by Russians in a box caused his death in a front-line area, and more witnesses are now being sought to reconstruct his final hours. Lithuania has also stepped in to mediate a Poland-Ukraine dispute over World War Two memory in an effort to protect support for Kyiv and the investment agenda.

At the Ukraine reconstruction conference, President Nausėda reiterated Lithuania’s support for Kyiv until victory, and foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys is also taking part in the talks. Over the past day, Polish authorities detained more than 50 migrants and their escorts moving through Lithuania, underlining pressure on border controls. Lithuania has received the first payment under the EU’s SAFE defence financing instrument for priority defence investment, resilience and military modernisation. Nearly 1 billion euros has also arrived in Lithuania for planned state funding needs. In Kaunas, a 15-year-old girl died in hospital after an incident at a beach, while doctors warned that a single error in cancer diagnostics can carry a high cost for patients.

President Gitanas Nausėda said he will submit Mindaugas Sinkevičius to parliament as prime minister. He also named Kęstutis Budrys as the main candidate for foreign minister, while Sinkevičius said he would present his ministerial picks next week.

In Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian drone struck a moving car today and killed the driver. In Novopetrivka in the Kherson region, a 24-year-old demining specialist was killed in shelling and three other people were wounded.

In Kharkiv, a woman was killed when a Russian overnight strike hit a residential building, and rescuers later found her body under the rubble. In Russian-occupied Sevastopol, parts of the city lost power after a large Ukrainian strike on Crimea, and officials were checking damage to electricity and communications lines. Ukraine said it shot down 95 of more than 100 Russian drones over the past day.

In Moscow, former Kremlin adviser Sergei Markov publicly called yesterday for Russia to punish Europe with nuclear weapons. State-aligned Russian media and pro-war accounts quickly amplified the remark as Western capitals weigh fresh support for Kyiv.

In France, temperatures reached 40C in places over the weekend, triggering limits on outdoor sport, train cancellations and concert stoppages. Paris and Rome opened cooling stations today, and nearly 70,000 people in France were left without power. The WHO’s Europe office says heat has caused more than 200,000 deaths across the region over the past four years.

In Paris, Paris Basketball beat AS Monaco 99-93 after overtime yesterday to win the French league title for the first time. The finals ended 3-2, ending Monaco’s two-year hold on the championship.

A Russian opposition figure was sentenced to seven years in prison over posts about the war in Ukraine. Kyiv said it had received Donald Trump's approval to intensify strikes on Russia to push Moscow to the negotiating table. The head of the IAEA said the agency will carry out inspections at Iran's nuclear facilities.

A UN commission said yesterday that Israeli security forces deliberately targeted and killed Palestinian children, describing the conduct as part of genocide in Gaza. It said 241 children have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023, and more than 21,000 in Gaza; Israel rejected the findings.

Kim Jong Un said in Pyongyang today that a new 5,000-ton destroyer is ready for service and cast it as a step toward a navy armed with nuclear weapons. North Korean state media said he watched cruise missile tests from the ship and ordered naval vessels to be rapidly equipped with hypersonic cruise missiles and tactical ballistic missiles. In Tehran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said today that the U.S.-Iran deal to end the Middle East war amounts to an American defeat. The June 15 agreement reopened the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and set a 60-day negotiating window, but a dispute over full nuclear inspections remains unresolved.

In Washington, Congress showed sharper divisions over the scope and cost of any war with Iran over the past day. Signals from the talks pushed wheat lower, with Chicago July futures slipping to $6.1675 a bushel from $6.2050 and MATIF May wheat holding at 195-197 euros a tonne. Linas Agro's Justas Eimontas said a final deal would likely ease wheat prices further, while renewed tensions would keep grain markets elevated. India tightened rules on foreign funding of NGOs over the past day, while China detained two Japanese citizens on suspected contraband charges.

Croatia beat Panama 1-0 in Toronto yesterday, and Luka Modric made his 200th appearance for the national team. The result kept Croatia alive before a decisive group match against Ghana, while England failed to break Ghana's defense today and dropped valuable qualifying points. Colombia's win over DR Congo opened its path to the World Cup knockout stage.

The IAEA chief said the agency will carry out inspections at Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel’s defence minister said the United States is not requiring an Israeli troop pullout from Lebanon.