Parliament passed an amendment to the Labor Code that holidays coinciding with non-working days would be compensated for by moving them to the nearest working day. One will not necessarily have to follow this model to get lost ("stolen" Lithuanians like to say) holidays back: employers and employees agree on a scheme of holiday compensation. The provision is expected to compensate for the 2006 New Year, which falls on a Sunday. If President Valdas Adamkus signs the amendment by then, the holiday will be moved to Monday Jan. 2 in compensation.
Some 80 young Belarusians, who had never been abroad before, arrived in Vilnius to learn about democracy and free-market function. The Danish non-governmental organization SILBA organized the one-day visit, along with Denmark's Social Democratic youth.
Parliament passed a resolution urging Turkey to admit to the Armenian genocide almost 100 years ago. "Parliament (...), condemning the genocide of the Armenian nation committed by the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1915, calls on the Republic of Turkey to recognize this historical fact," reads the resolution adopted on Dec. 15. Armenia believes that the Ottoman Empire massacred their people during and after World War I, and therefore current Turkey should recognize the actions by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
The bodies of two Polish drivers were discovered in the cabin of a Scania truck parked near Vilnius' territorial customs, local authorities said. Petras Burdelis of Vilnius police told the Baltic News Service that, according to preliminary data, the two men died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas heater. A preliminary examination found no marks of violence on the two bodies, which were discovered lying in bunks inside the truck.
Among Christmas goods for sale this year: "A divorce by common agreement of both spouses just 250 litas (72 euros)!!! Let's celebrate the New Year being free," reads an advertisement for incredible discounts placed by former lawyer Saulius Vaiksnoras in the Lietuvos Rytas daily. According to the paper, Vaiksnoras has been banned from working as a lawyer for disrespectful remarks about a Vilnius court judge. He has established a company, the Real Asset Price, which provides legal consultations. An employee of Vaiksnoras' company was quoted as saying that the firm had earlier taken 500 litas to prepare divorce documents. So from this week until New Year's the service will half the price.
