Lietuva in brief - 2004-04-01

French rock star Bertrand Cantat was sentenced to eight years in prison for the murder of actress Marie Trintignant, with whom he was romantically involved at the time of the incident.

At the end of Cantat's trial, the prosecution had asked the court for a sentence of nine years, while the criminal code allows for a sentence of five to 15 years.

Rumors circulated that former President Valdas Adamkus, 77, may run for the post he lost to President Rolandas Paksas in the beginning of 2003 if the latter is removed from office. Conservative MP Andrius Kubilius met with Adamkus, who earlier stated he would not nominate himself, over the weekend and later told journalists his party was ready to nominate a "very strong" candidate.

Russia expelled three Lithuanian diplomats on March 30 in response to three of its Vilnius-based diplmats getting expelled in February. Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis said he had expected the move, though he expressed surprise since the three workers had only been in Moscow for several months.

Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas expressed his support for a plan to revive negotiations over the EU constitution in June. While attending the meeting of European government leaders in Brussels on March 26, Brazauskas said Lithuania would support Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's proposal to close talks on the document by the end of his country's EU presidency.

A poll conducted by Baltijos Tyrimai revealed that MP Viktor Uspaskich had become Lithuania's most popular politician, with 67 percent of respondents saying they approved of him. Pickle magnate Uspaskich resigned from the ruling New Union party last autumn to found his own Labor Party, which he hopes will take control of Parliament following October's elections.