Lithuania in brief

The legal team of Yuri Borisov, President Rolandas Paksas' largest financial sponsor who was recently stripped of his Lithuanian citizenship, lodged an appeal with the Vilnius District Administrative Court against his planned deportation, which was initiated by the migration department on Jan. 9.

Customs officials have launched a pretrial investigation into a shipment of three helicopters by AviaBaltika, the aviation company owned by Borisov, to Lithuania. Documents claiming that the shipment was from Bangladesh to Russia via Kaunas reportedly raised the suspicion of customs officers.

MP Algimantas Salamakinas, chairman of the parliamentary ethics commission, told reporters he had gathered enough evidence to initiate impeachment proceedings against controversial MP Vytautas Sustauskas. According to Salamakinas, recorded telephone conversations between Sustauskas and Kaunas underworld boss Henrikas Daktaras would be sufficient basis to impeach the MP.

The Lithuanian Council of Bishops issued a statement expressing concern over a proposed bill on artificial insemination. According to the Roman Catholic clerics, the bill, which would ban the use of donated embryos in fertilization, does not go far enough to curb the use of donor sex cells, which it deems as immoral.
Members of the ethics commission of the Siauliai City Council issued a mild censure to council member Mindaugas Murza for the anti-Semitic protest he led during a Dec. 23 menorah lighting ceremony in the city center. Murza, leader of the National Democratic Party, told the daily Lietuvos Zinios he had no regrets and would organize repeat protests against Jews.

Fiorello Provera, chairman of the Italian Senate's foreign relations committee, hinted that Italy would soon provide financial compensation to Lithuania for its prewar embassy building in Rome, which is now occupied by Russian diplomats. Parliamentary Chairman Arturas Paulauskas reportedly reminded Provera of the issue during a Jan. 15 meeting.