A U.S. congressman has urged the Baltic states and the U.S.A. to jointly demand that the Russian government recognize and apologize for the crimes of communism and Soviet occupation. "Nowhere have the lessons of history been more painfully ingrained than amidst the Baltic peoples," said Republican member of the House of Representatives Thaddeus G. McCotter. He was speaking at a conference of the Joint Baltic American National Committee in Washington on March 5.
Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis, currently on an official visit to Budapest, Hungary, stressed the need to develop economic cooperation between the two countries in a March 7 meeting with Hungarian President Ferenc Madl. Valionis said that bilateral cooperation between the two countries was good, but it was necessary to further develop economic ties by promoting contact within the business community and expanding mutual investment.
An increasing number of women feel happy and loved, and consider March 8 to be a personal holiday, a recent poll has shown. The RAIT market analysis and research group conducted the survey to explore women's attitudes toward a number of issues. According to the survey, 75 percent of women polled said they were happy, with the same percentage of women considering March 8 to be a personal holiday. Only 12 percent of respondents said they felt unhappy, while as many as 86 percent said they felt loved. Businessmen, doctors and athletes were considered most attractive to the women polled, while politicians were seen as least attractive.
Magicians Arvydas and Diana Gaiciunai have decided to challenge one of the world's top illusionists by bettering the record for encasement in ice set by the American David Blaine. The brother and sister will try to endure at least 63 hours in a block of ice. Blaine managed to encase himself in ice for 62 hours without food. LNK television will broadcast the event in late March. A camera and a microphone will be installed in the ice so that viewers can witness conversations between the magicians and the doctors and psychologists who will be watching them.
The Vilnius Chief Police Commissioner's Office will receive 603,744 litas (175,000 euros) from European Union structural funds to teach police officers English. During special six-month courses, 600 police officers in Vilnius will learn the basics of English. Another 14 officers will acquire English language knowledge over two years. In all, the project will last until October 2007. The use of the structural funds will be controlled by the Social Security and Labor Ministry.
Several staff officers or field medics could take part in the UN-led international operation in Darfur, Sudan, which is shaken by civil conflict. The military dispatch would be part of the Standby High Readiness Brigade, of which Lithuania is a member. "Possible involvement in the mission is scheduled for 2006. So far, no decision has been made," Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said.
