BLOWN ON SAND: Storm-force winds drove the ferry Vardo aground in the Soela Strait between the Estonian islands of Hiiumaa and Saaremaa; the ferry's five passengers were rescued by the border guards. The five passengers were brought ashore in a border guard motor boat by 11:25, but the three crew remained on board the vessel for the time being, border guard spokesman Urmo Kohv said. The Vardo, plying between Triigi, Saaremaa, and Soru, Hiiumaa, ran into a sand shoal 150 meters from the Soru port as it was about to enter the harbor after crossing over from Saaremaa.
HISTORIC BUILDINGS BURNED: The Riga police have opened an investigation into the fire at the Open Air Museum on Friday, May 26. According to State Police spokesman, Krists Leiskalns, no criminal case has been initiated yet. Material from the scene has been handed in for examination. The fire completely destroyed a 19th century stockyard and an 18th century barn. It also seriously damaged a dwelling house. The blaze spread over 600 square meters and a 500 square-meter area of buildings were gutted. The fire brigade arrived only four minutes after the fire erupted. Still it was too late to save the burning buildings.
SAFER PLACE TO SWIM: A Finnish warship, which launched on a mine-sweeping operation in waters off the Estonian capital on May 26, found four World War II sea mines in the coastal waters of Naissaar Island by the evening of the first day. A spokesperson for the Estonian Navy said the Finns mapped the mines, so they could be rendered harmless during some future mine-sweeping operation. The Finnish ship arrived in Estonia on May 22 to look for and to render harmless mines left in the Bay of Tallinn during World War II.Specialists regard the Baltic Sea one of the most mine-infested seas in the world.
EVEN CLOSER TO GOD: The head of the Lithuanian Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevicius, died at the age of 80 in the country's second largest cityof Kaunas on May 28. Poor health restricted Sladkevicius to making just a few public appearances over the past several years. However, he has always been the chief moral authority of the Lithuanian society. Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus has recently said that Sladkevicius' personality can undoubtedly be considered the 20th century's model of morals, service to God, truth and humanness.
DRUNK DRIVING ACCIDENTS DOWN: In the first four months 669 accidents were registered in which at least one of the drivers involved was intoxicated, the State Traffic Safety Administration said - 26 people died and 279 were injured in these accidents. The number of alcohol related accidents has plunged 11.4 percent compared to last year. The number of people killed because of drunk driving has dropped 40.9 percent and the number of injured by seven percent.
POLAND GIVES BIG GUNS: Lithuanian Minister of Defence Ceslovas Stankevicius and Polish deputy Defence Minister Romuald Szeremetyew signed a protocol on May 24 on handing over Poland's donated weapons to Lithuania to equip Lithuanian units in the joint peacekeeping battalion LITPOLBAT. Poland has donated 10 armoured personnel carriers MTLB, two guns for armoured personnel carriers LM-60K, over 100 items of firearms, such as submachine guns Beryl of several modificatins, hand guns, two machine-guns PK, 11 radio transmitters, several thousand pieces of ammunition, several food storage thermos flasks and a set of medicine.
FIRST FIVE IN THE CLEAR: The EU countries have announced the decision that there was no need to continue talks with Lithuania on the first five chapters, as these could be now be regarded as concluded. The five chapters are: statistics, science and scientific research, education and training, common foreign and security policies, small and medium business. Lithuania's chief negotiator, Vygaudas Usackas, said he believed that the above conclusion would be approved at a meeting of Lithuanian and EU foreign affairs ministers due to open on June 14.
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