Legal experts have suggested expanding the range of people eligible for dual citizenship and proposed the introduction of a Lithuanian Charter to handle the issue. President Valdas Adamkus appointed a task force aimed on improving legal acts of citizenship relations. The new draft bill states that people who left Lithuania from Jan. 9, 1919 to March 11, 1990 and their descendants can have dual citizenship, thus extending the period and the number of descendants eligible for dual citizenship. Current legislation allows dual citizenship for those who left Lithuania from June 15 1940 and three generations after 's i.e. children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. The new draft bill also makes dual citizenship eligible for those who were exiled during the years of Soviet occupation, expanding the concept of their progeny to include all of their descendants.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene went to Washington D.C. to meet U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to discuss bilateral cooperation and reinforcement of NATO's collective defense. The purpose of the four-day visit was to spark closer official and personal relations with the new leaders of the Pentagon, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said. The meeting also addressed issues of NATO's transformation and international operations. Jukneviciene also met with Democrat congressman John Tanner, who heads the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and Republican John Shimkus, who is of Lithuanian origin.
Two Latvian citizens on Monday were detained in Rokiskis with 51,000 litas (14,800 euros) worth of illegal cigarettes. The detained traffickers were hauling 25 boxes of contraband cigarettes, the Lithuanian Customs Department said. Customs officers pulled over an automobile with German license registration. The vehicle had tinted windows and was dirty, indicating that the vehicle had recently been taken on dirt roads. Both the driver and passenger were Latvian citizens. The trunk and inside of the car were filled with black plastic bags containing LM cigarettes from Russia. The cigarettes, car, driver and passenger have all been detained.
National Resurrection Party MP Linas Karalius has been hospitalized in India, the party reported. Karalius sent an SMS to his party colleagues saying he was feeling sick and had been admitted to hospital. The party could not specify the city of Karalius' hospitalization or the health problems. The MP was on a visit in India from Jan. 26 through Feb. 8, however, he said he could stay in the country for another week due to his health condition. Karalius flew to India with his own money, though his trip was approved by the Seimas board and the MP said the visit was aimed at making contacts with the Indian parliament and discussing the possibility of founding a group for relations with Lithuania.
The Foreign Ministry has called upon its Brazilian counterpart to guarantee visa-free travel for Lithuanian citizens. Lithuanian diplomats demanded that Brazil abide by the mutual treaty on visa-free travel for its citizens. Brazil lifted visa requirements for Lithuanian citizens on Jan. 13, but the ministry has recently received reports of cases when Lithuanian citizens were refused entry into the country and were asked to have visas.
