Lietuva in brief - 2007-06-20

  • 2007-06-20

Some 1,700 troops from 11 countries are in Lithuania to participate in Amber Hope 2007, a military exercise aimed at preparing multi-national forces for international peacekeeping missions, the Lithuanian defense ministry said. The exercise started on June 18 and will continue until July 9 at a military base near Klaipeda. Troops from NATO members Britain, the United States, Canada, Poland, Germany, Latvia and Estonia are taking part.  Also involved are non-member Finland, and the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which are tied to the trans-Atlantic alliance through its Partnership for Peace program. Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus have also sent observers to the venue. Amber Hope has been held in Lithuania every two years since 1997.

Lithuania wants to maintain and support the current contents of the European Union's Constitutional Treaty but will suggest the inclusion of a provision on ensuring joint European energy security, if the document is amended, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said on June 19. Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus has already discussed the inclusion with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel. He offered that the EU Constitutional Treaty should include a provision on common European energy policy that would decrease Lithuania's dependence on Russia. The EU Constitution is to be the key issue in the talks between the leaders of the 27-member EU countries in Brussels on June 21 's 22. Adamkus and Kirkilas plan to join in the talks.

The lyrical film essay "Before Flying Back to Earth" by Lithuanian movie director Arunas Matelis was ranked first in a list of the top 50 documentaries of all time, published on the "List of the Best" Internet site. Matelis' documentary topped "Bob Dylan - No Direction Home" by internationally renowned veteran director Martin Scorcese, which placed second. The "List of the Best" is made on the basis of ratings by visitors to the world's largest movie database, IDMb. "Before Flying Back to Earth" tells the story of children living in an oncology ward. It has earned several prizes around the world, including the prestigious Directors' Guild of America award.

Roman Abramovich, a Russian oil tycoon who is one of the world's wealthiest men, will not attend June 23 - 24  festivities to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Taurage, where his grandparents lived before World War II. He had received an official inviation to the events. According to Taurage mayor Robertas Piecia, Ambramovich did not rule out the possibility to visit the city some time in future. Piecia told the BNS news agency that Abramovich in an e-mail letter thanked him for the invitation but said he was already scheduled to visit the Chukotka region in northeast Russia, where he is governor. Abramovich holds 16th place in the list of worldwide billionaires as published by Forbes magazine this spring. The richest citizen of Russia and owner of soccer club Chelsea operates assets worth 18.7 billion.