In his opening address at the Cybertech Forum 2019 in Tel Aviv, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis underlined that cyber tools, together with disinformation attacks, have become a challenge to national security and no country is immune to cyber-attacks.

“Cyber security is a top priority for Lithuania. We authorized the Ministry of National Defence to be the only institution responsible for policy making in the field. Also, the National Cyber Security Centre has been transformed to a powerhouse managing all cyber incidents. There were 55 000 cyber attacks last year alone. Today, Lithuania is recognised as a worldwide leader in the field, claiming the first place in the National Cyber Security Index”, said the Prime Minister.

Representatives of Lithuania and Poland met on Wednesday in Warsaw to discuss important bilateral energy projects. The meeting focused on the synchronization of the power networks, a new gas link and green energy.

"The key issues will include the progress of the synchronization of the Baltic power networks with that of continental Europe and the upcoming moves. Also, the existing situation will be discussed, related to the implementation of the Gas Interconnection Poland–Lithuania (GIPL) project," the Lithuanian Energy Ministry told BNS Lithuania before the meeting.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs commissioned the Market and Opinion Research Centre ‘Vilmorus Ltd.’ to conduct a public opinion survey, which found that Lithuanians believed in the importance of foreign policy and diplomacy for security of the country and its inhabitants.

Nearly three out of four respondents (70%) believe that Lithuanians living abroad contribute to a better awareness and attractiveness of Lithuania abroad, help to attract investment to Lithuania, implement various projects planned to help Lithuania prosper, allocate money to charities and support initiatives, support their families and friends in Lithuania, and foster the Lithuanian national identity abroad.

Attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with Dr. Fabiola Gianotti, Director General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

At the meeting, it was announced that Lithuania was going to host two CERN business incubation centers – one in Vilnius and another in Kaunas. An agreement on the establishment of business incubators will be signed this coming February.

It is the first time that CERN – one of the world’s largest and most advanced research organizations – launches an incubation center in an associate member state. Currently, the network of CERN incubators has sites in nine countries only. Lithuania will be the tenth nation to gain unique access to CERN’s newest technologies, data bases and expertise.

The Bank of Lithuania invites FinTech companies to participate in the LBChain project where, together with leading blockchain experts, they will develop or test their blockchain-based innovations. The project will be presented on 6 February at Switching gears with LBChain hosted at the Blockchain Centre Vilnius.

The LBChain is the world’s first blockchain-based sandbox developed by a financial market regulator that combines technological and regulatory infrastructures. The platform will enable Lithuanian and international start-ups as well as financial and FinTech companies to gain new knowledge, carry out blockchain-oriented research, test and adapt blockchain-based services and offer state-of-the-art inno

70 percent of people in Lithuania consider themselves happy, an emotional climate survey carried out by the Human Study Center shows. There were 56 percent of such people in 2010.

"Lithuania is becoming emotionally more attractive to its citizens. Such patriotic events as the state's centenary has considerably contributed to people feeling better and happier. It's a good opportunity to look at yourself from the positive side and feel that togetherness and unity," psychologist Gintaras Chomentauskas, head of the Human Study Center, said in a statement.

It was a weekend to remember in Lithuania’s capital as residents and visitors to the city gathered to celebrate Vilnius’ 696^th anniversary. Despite the city’s relatively ancient age, the weekend-long celebration was filled with youthful exuberance. 

Among the activities planned for the birthday celebration was a spectacular Festival of Lights. The event was a gift of sorts to the city – artists from eight different countries came to Vilnius and collaborated on 22 unique light installations, giving everyone the opportunity to see many of the city’s landmarks dressed in dazzling and vibrant colours. These landmarks included iconic and historic buildings, bridges, churches and squares in and around the city’s UNESCO-listed Old Town.

On 28 January, employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with representatives of the Lithuanian Jewish Community, former prisoners of Vilnius and Kaunas ghettos, foreign diplomats who reside in Lithuania, and members of various cultural organizations, commemorated the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“Today we honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and express our determination to contribute to the efforts of the democratic world to prevent such a tragedy from happening again,” said the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Darius Skusevičius.

The American Library Association on Monday announced the top books, video and audio books for children and young adults, including Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children's book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States.

"The Fox on the Swing" is the 2019 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in Lithuanian as "Laime Yra Lape," the book was written by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė, translated by The Translation Bureau and published by Thames & Hudson, Inc.

Over 20 kg of archived materials collected by the local Lithuanian community is travelling to Lithuania from Uruguay.

The documents include the first editions of Lithuanian newspapers published in Uruguay, letters of interwar Lithuanians, sent to Lithuanians in South America, as well as the whole archive of the Lithuanian community in Uruguay, including photos of meetings and commemorations, theater posters and diplomats' speeches.

On 21 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius attended the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which discussed the action plan against disinformation.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister noted that the forthcoming European Parliament Elections would become another challenge, which would show the EU's resilience to third-country propaganda. Therefore, rapid and effective implementation of the action plan against disinformation is needed.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, presented Lithuania’s experience and achievements in cyber security.

The plenary session focusing on cyber security challenges and measures to tackle them was attended by many heads of state, political and economic leaders and addressed ways of protecting the cyber space and esuring its security.

According to the President, safe and secure cyber space is a precondition for the survival of democracy. As industrial and technological development rapidly progresses, cyber security becomes a vital part of national security.

The European Commission's decision to grant 323 million euros for the first stage of the Baltic power grids' synchronization with the continental European system is important news both to Lithuania and to the Baltic region as a whole, Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said. 

"Second, this is important news in practical terms. This means not only that we are starting to actually implement synchronization projects, but also that we will have the maximum possible 75% EU funding," Vaiciunas told reporters.

This week dozens of global blockchain movers and shakers gathered at Blockchain Centre Vilnius in Lithuania to catch up on the latest developments in the blockchain industry. Lithuania is consolidating its position as an attractive gateway to European single market for global blockchain and fintech players.

A number of blockchain companies from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Australia, the United States, Canada, and other countries partnered or set up their businesses in the capital Vilnius just over one year.

Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU, notably driven by the rise in the nights spent by non-residents of the country visited, reported Eurostat.

The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in 2018 grew in nearly all Member States, with the largest increases being observed in Latvia (+8.3%), Lithuania (+7.7%) and Malta (+6.5%), followed by Poland (+5.8%), Romania (+5.5%) and Belgium (+5.4%). In contrast, decreases were registered in Luxembourg (-4.3%), Ireland (-1.5%) and Spain (-0.9%).

Homanit, a leading manufacturer of medium-density and high-density wood fibreboards from Germany, has announced building a plant in the Vilnius region. The company is expecting to around 100 million euro and hire 440 employees in the first five years of operations.

The company explains its decision to build a production plant in Lithuania by the growing demand from local manufacturers, which Homanit already supplies from two plants in Poland.

Vilnius is never getting old – the city is celebrating its 696th anniversary with a modern and colourful twist. The birthday celebration will last for the whole weekend. Discover the secrets of the Old Town, enjoy a creative atmosphere of the city, and get to know the modern Vilnius.

If you are in Vilnius on the 24-27th of January, come join the party!

Polish President Andrzej Duda has granted high state awards to more than ten Lithuanian citizens for their merits in developing Polish-Lithuanian cultural, scientific and media cooperation and activities for the benefit of the Polish community in Lithuania.

Among those awarded are prominent literary critics, including the new Culture Minister Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, museum workers, journalists and translators.

Lithuanian film centre published new catalogues “Lithuanian Feature Films 2018–2019“, “Lithuanian Documentary Films 2018–2019“ and “Lithuanian Animation and UR Films 2015–2019“ presenting new and upcoming films of Lithuanian production companies. There you will find all the information about 32 feature films, 47 documentaries, 29 animations and 5 interactive and virtual reality films.

This list of recommendations, carefully compiled by three Lithuanian music writers and bloggers, provides a great introduction to what is hot right now in the Lithuanian music scene.