Preliminary data released by Lithuania's statistics department on Nov. 13 shows that one in five of the nation's inhabitants was living at risk of poverty last year. The margin of poverty risk was 437 litas (127 euros) per month for one person and 918 litas for a family of two adults and two children 14 years of age or younger. Compared to 2005 figures, the number of people living in the risk zone dropped by 0.5 percent.
Amnesty International has called upon its members to unite against homophobia in Lithuania. In a Nov. 12 press release, the organization also called upon Lithuanian leaders to respect the right to peaceful freedom of assembly and the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. The statements were made in response to Vilnius city council's refusal to permit a gay assembly in Town Square this October. Amnesty International is the largest human rights organization with 2.2. million members worldwide.
President Adamkus met with Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf in Stockholm on Nov. 13. Adamkus highlighted the importance of the proposed energy bridge between Lithuania and Sweden, stressing that decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in 2009 would otherwise not only make Lithuania more dependent on a single energy supplier but would also increase the consumption of environment-unfriendly energy. The Lithuanian president also invited Sweden's royal couple to attend Lithuania's millennium anniversary festivities in 2009.
