American International Group (AIG), one of the world's biggest insurance companies, is moving its service center operations out of Vilnius. It is the first services center of a foreign company to announce its intention to discontinue operations in Lithuania.

The civic empowerment of the Lithuanian population grew last year, experts from the Civil Society Institute said on Monday as they presented their annual Civic Empowerment Index (CEI).

Due to increasing numbers of passengers and flights, Vilnius Airport started reorganising the territory of the arrival terminal. As soon as in 2018, after the implementation of the reconstruction plan, taxi drivers and buses will drop off and pick up passengers at the transportation hub located farther away from the terminal, while access to the airport territory will be controlled by a barrier.

Compared to the rest of the world, Europe has the best levels of social protection and ranks highly in terms of quality of life and wellbeing. However, it faces a wide range of challenges: The effects of the economic crisis are still deeply felt in many member states and, even though things have already improved in many countries, great disparities remain within the EU. Unemployment rates are decreasing overall but vary strongly among EU countries.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg conducting a visit in Lithuania praised Lithuania for increasing defence spending and efforts to strengthen security in the region at a meeting with Ministers of National Defence and Foreign Affairs in the evening of June 11. The NATO leader also underlined that as Lithuania increased defence financing it also strengthened the Alliance’s resolve to enhance collective defence.

Some changes have occurred near the accesses to Vilnius Airport. From 19 June, 15 free parking minutes at the short-term car park in front of the passengers arrival terminal will be available without restrictions instead of once per day.

Lithuanian leisure carrier Small Planet Airlines expanded its fleet by adding one more Airbus aircraft in the beginning of this summer. In total fleet consists of 22 Airbus 320 and Airbus 321 aircraft. All of them are already booked for the summer season. During this period Small Planet Airlines plans to carry 1 million passengers, companies representative informed.

The Lithuanian parliament has decided that Belarus' nuclear power plant under construction in Astravyets, a mere 50 kilometers from Vilnius, is unsafe and poses a threat to national security, environment and public health.

On Tuesday, 20 June, Distinguished Visitors and Media of Exercise Iron Wolf 2017/Saber Strike2017 will take place in Jonava district, in the central part of Lithuania. The event is expected to be attended by the President of the Republic of Lithuania, HE Dalia Grybauskaitė, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as the Minister of National Defence of Lithuania, Mr. Raimundas Karoblis, Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas. Also, ambassadors, chiefs of defence of other NATO countries, members of the Lithuanian Parliament, authorities of Kėdainiai and Jonava municipalities and other high-ranking guests are expected to attend.

The heads of Lithuania's Curonian Spit municipality of Neringa are concerned over the practice of renting out yachts docked at the Nida port to tourists as hotels.