Corgis and Coalitions: Lithuania Struggles With Turmoil, Inside and Out
NEED TO KNOW
Corgis and Coalitions: Lithuania Struggles With Turmoil, Inside and Out
LITHUANIA
Corgis and their owners descended on the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius recently for an international race that drew thousands of spectators to cheer on the diminutive canines.
The dogs ran their hearts out.
The lighthearted fun occurred even as massive geopolitical pressures are mounting within and on the borders of the former Soviet republic on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
Domestically, 44-year-old Inga Ruginienė of the Social Democrats recently became prime minister of the country after a political crisis erupted from fundamental political tensions that won’t likely be resolved anytime soon, the Associated Press reported.
Ruginienė replaced Gintautas Paluckas after he resigned on July 31 amid allegations of “shady” financial dealings, Politico explained.
The new premier will oversee a new coalition that arose after the previous government fell due to disagreements between the Democrats “For Lithuania” political party and the populist Dawn of Nemunas, whose leader was convicted of making antisemitic statements and was barred from handling classified information.
The new coalition faces its own rifts, however. It includes the Social Democrats, the Dawn of Nemunas, the Lithuanian Farmers, the Greens Union, and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance, parties that are often on opposite poles of the political spectrum.
For example, the leader of the Electoral Action of Poles – Christian Families Alliance, Waldemar Tomaszewški, has criticized the government’s opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other anti-Russian measures, like a ban on Russian television. European Pravda, a pro-Ukrainian publication, described Tomaszewški and his party as a “pro-Putin force” whose votes were necessary to keep the Social Democrats in power.
The Social Democrats support anti-Russian measures.
Regardless, Tomaszewški represents how Lithuania’s big neighbor, Russia, has always played a role in the country’s politics.
Lithuania has had a long, proud history as a European power until the Soviet Union seized the country in the wake of World War II. Toward the end of the Cold War, the country declared independence in 1990, then joined NATO and the European Union in the ensuing years.
Now, many Lithuanian leaders are worried that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be interested in retaking their land, too.
Edward Lucas, a longtime Eastern European commentator, for example, recently reviewed a Russian-published history book for the Center for European Policy Analysis that portrays Lithuania as an “artificial creation riddled with Nazism,” echoing claims Putin has made about Ukraine to justify his invasion.
“The book is not some fringe publication – it comes from MGIMO, Russia’s top foreign-policy institute, and is financed by a grant from a public body specializing in (read: weaponizing) Russia’s diaspora,” he wrote. “The foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has penned an approving foreword.”
“History, in the hands of Kremlin propagandists, is a weapon,” he added.
As a result of such fears of Russian takeover, Lithuania recently unveiled 30 miles of defenses to blunt a Russian attack. They include waterways, ditches, “dragon’s teeth” to hinder tanks, minefields, trenches, and fortified positions. Lithuania has also partnered with Ukraine on drones and other cutting-edge military hardware that is changing war today.
“Many countries in Europe are concerned (about Russian intentions),” Business Insider wrote. “But for Lithuania, as well as its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, those warnings have been much more urgent given their position – on the front line of (any future) NATO-Russia war.”
A 2025 report on the state of threats to Lithuania, published by the country’s Department of National Security and the Ministry of Defense, says that there has been a reduction in military capabilities deployed across the Lithuanian border in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad because of the war in Ukraine but emphasizes that they “remain significant.” It adds that Russia’s challenge to the sovereignty of this small country of nearly 2.9 million inhabitants, as well as that of the other Baltic states, Latvia and Estonia, has only increased over the last three years.
“If the war in Ukraine were to end or be frozen, the threats emanating from Russia (…) would persist,” it said. “Moscow would merely reconsider its priority targets.”
The report added that over the past three years, Lithuania has faced a series of Russian acts of sabotage.
Tomas Zvirblis deals with these “destabilization operations” on a regular basis as an intelligence officer with the border protection agency in Kybartai, Lithuania, close to Kaliningrad. He says incursions by Russians emanating from the enclave have increased 50 percent in three years.
“Some come seeking refuge in Europe,” he told Le Monde. “The others are mostly agents sent by the Russians to create incidents, stir division in the country.”
“They try different intrusion and action techniques to see where our weaknesses are,” he added. “It is clear these are war preparations…if they wanted to invade us, the Russians would start by using these destabilization techniques. They haven’t changed their (modus operandi) since the 1960s. There is always this type of operation before they send their troops.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Court Deals Another Blow To Turkey’s Main Opposition Party
TURKEY
A Turkish court annulled the Istanbul provincial congress of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) this week, a ruling widely seen as part of the government’s ongoing crackdown on challengers to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Euronews reported.
On Tuesday, the Istanbul court found that voting in the 2023 provincial congress was invalid, citing procedural irregularities and cash payments influencing votes.
The court also ordered the dismissal of the Istanbul provincial chair, Özgür Çelik, and other administrators from the party.
Çelik and other CHP officials criticized the verdict as politically motivated and vowed to appeal it. Other CHP members described it as a “blatant blow to our democracy” and part of the government’s ongoing efforts to undermine the opposition party.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç said the ruling was a “precautionary” measure rather than a final judgment.
Even so, the verdict comes amid a wider campaign against CHP-controlled municipalities, which since March has led to dozens of opposition mayors and officials being arrested on corruption charges.
Among them is Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, whose arrest triggered the largest protests in Turkey in decades amid concerns of democratic backsliding.
Critics claim that the government is using the courts to hobble İmamoğlu – seen as Erdoğan’s main rival – ahead of future elections, while the ruling party insists the judiciary is independent.
Tuesday’s ruling sent shockwaves through financial markets, with Turkey’s benchmark BIST 100 index dropping almost six percent in early trading before closing 3.57 percent lower at 10,877 points.
The sharp fall echoed investor panic following İmamoğlu’s arrest in March, according to the Financial Times.
Observers added that Tuesday’s verdict also comes ahead of a separate case in Ankara that could nullify the 2023 party congress, which elected the current CHP leader, Özgür Özel.
A judgment against him could reinstate former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, whose tenure drew criticism after he lost the 2023 presidential election to Erdoğan.
Political analysts warned that the crackdown would further weaken Turkey’s opposition ahead of the general elections scheduled for 2028.
Since 2019, the CHP has gained control of major cities, including Istanbul, and made further gains in last year’s municipal elections.
Recent polls suggested that the main opposition could defeat Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party if elections were held today.
Volkswagen’s Brazil Unit to Pay $30 Million Compensation for ‘Slavery’ in the Amazon
BRAZIL
Brazil’s labor court this month ordered Volkswagen to pay about $30 million in collective “moral” damages for subjecting workers to slavery-like conditions at a company-owned farm in the Amazon during the 1970s and 1980s, the Associated Press reported.
The court found that hundreds of workers at a farm in Para state were forced into degrading work conditions. The farm, owned by Volkswagen through a subsidiary, was used for cattle ranching and logging.
In his ruling issued last week, Judge Otavio Bruno da Silva Ferreira said evidence confirmed the farm belonged to Volkswagen and that conditions met the legal definition of slave labor.
“Slavery is a ‘present past,’ because its marks remain in Brazilian society, especially in labor relations,” Ferreira wrote, adding that the legacy of Brazil’s colonial slave system continues to shape society today.
According to the court, around 300 workers were employed in irregular contracts to clear the forest and prepare pastures. They lived in precarious conditions under armed surveillance, were not fed properly, and were forced to remain on the farm under a system of debt bondage. They also had no access to medical assistance, even when affected by diseases such as malaria.
Volkswagen’s cattle ranching and logging operations in the Amazon at the time benefited from government incentives under Brazil’s military dictatorship, which was part of a bigger state plan to develop the region, Reuters wrote.
The case arose in 2019 after the country’s Labor Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation when a local priest provided decades of extensive documentation on the case. Prosecutors formally charged Volkswagen in 2024.
The court’s ruling followed failed talks to settle with Volkswagen’s Brazil unit, with prosecutors saying the company “showed no interest” in negotiations.
Prosecutors argued that the company has to publicly admit its responsibility in the case and issue a formal apology, while also implementing a “zero-tolerance” policy for slave-labor conditions.
In a statement, Volkswagen said it defends human dignity and strictly follows all relevant labor laws and regulations. The automaker announced it would appeal the decision.
Prosecutors said this is the largest reparation of its kind in Brazil’s history, which abolished slavery in 1888, the last country in the Western Hemisphere to do so.
Isolated Taliban Call for International Aid After Deadly Afghan Earthquakes
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers made a rare request for foreign assistance after two earthquakes and aftershocks this week killed or injured thousands of people and destroyed entire villages, aggravating an already dire humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged country, CNN reported.
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake Sunday leveled towns and villages in northeast Afghanistan, killing more than 1,400 people and injuring over 3,000. Rescue workers believe many individuals remain trapped under debris, while officials expect the number of victims to rise, the Washington Post wrote.
On Tuesday, a second 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck northeast of Jalalabad, Nangahar Province, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Strong aftershocks were also felt in Kabul, the capital, a Taliban government spokesperson said. The tremors were felt as far away as neighboring Pakistan.
The most severe damage was in Konar Province, while officials also reported casualties in the neighboring provinces of Nangahar, the location of the earthquake’s epicenter, and Laghman. Relief teams struggled to reach the remote mountainous areas hit hardest due to heavy rain, landslides, and damaged roads.
While Afghanistan is prone to earthquakes, Sunday’s episode was one of the strongest in recent years, striking a country that is already struggling with severe drought and what the United Nations called an unprecedented hunger crisis, the BBC noted.
As a result, the Taliban government – which regained power in 2021 following the withdrawal of the US and to date is only recognized by Russia – has made a rare appeal for international help.
“International organizations have played a key role during such disasters in the past,” said Yousuf Hammad, a spokesman for the Taliban-run National Disaster Management Authority. “We definitely need international humanitarian aid.”
Several neighboring countries, including Iran, Pakistan, and China, have pledged assistance. The United Arab Emirates and India dispatched food and tents to affected regions. The UN, the European Union, and the United Kingdom released emergency funds.
However, there were rising concerns that the recent US aid cuts and international donors’ reluctance to support the Taliban government could slow the disaster response. Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan has already plummeted in recent years, with many international aid groups halting funding over concerns about human rights abuses and repression under the Taliban, especially regarding females.
The British government announced emergency aid for Afghan earthquake victims but said it would be “channeled through experienced partners, ensuring aid reaches those in need and does not go to the Taliban.”
DISCOVERIES
It’s a Potato!
Potatoes are one of the world’s most important foods, a staple in the diet of billions of people.
The evolutionary history of the world’s third most important staple crop, however, has long been incomplete.
Now, a new study has found that potatoes exist because of a lucky accident: A natural interbreeding between two wild plants.
Nine million years ago, an ancient hybridization event between the ancestors of today’s tomatoes and a potato-style plant known as Etuberosum made potatoes possible.
A team of genomic experts, supported by taxonomy and evolutionary biology experts, analyzed 450 potato genomes, including domestic types, and 56 wild relatives.
“Wild potatoes are very difficult to sample, so this dataset represents the most comprehensive collection of wild potato genomic data ever analyzed,” said lead study author Zhiyang Zhang in a statement.
The goal was to discover why modern potato plants resemble wild species of the Etuberosum group – even if those don’t carry the tubers – while some parts of their genome reveal a closer evolutionary link to tomatoes.
The analysis confirmed that the potato carries a balanced genetic legacy from both ancestors, with key genes from each enabling tuber formation.
One gene, SP6A, which signals tuberization, was inherited from the tomato lineage but the potatoes only evolved the thick, starchy underground storage organ present today when paired with another gene, IT1, a gene inherited from Etuberosum that shapes underground stem growth.
“These results make us look at our humble potato in a very different light: potato and all its wild relatives came to exist thanks to a chance encounter of two very different individuals,” said study author Tiina Särkinen. “That’s actually quite romantic.”
This genetic turning point occurred as the Andes mountains were rising rapidly, during a period of major environmental shifts caused by the Atlantic plate pushing beneath the South American plate.
Phylogenetic analysis of the modern descendants of the two “parent plant” lineages shows that they occupy different environments: Tomatoes thrive in hot, dry conditions, while Etuberosum species are adapted to temperate climates.
The ancestor of the potato developed tubers, later potatoes, that helped it to survive the dry, cold conditions of the high Andes. These underground organs enabled the plant to reproduce without seeds or pollination, spreading into new ecosystems.
“Evolving a tuber gave potatoes a huge advantage – it fueled an explosion of species diversity and helped potatoes thrive in some of the most challenging environments on Earth,” said study co-author Sanwen Huang.
This study is especially significant as it might be the key to unlocking climate-resilient potato varieties, as researchers can develop potatoes into a seed crop, speeding up breeding and boosting resistance to disease and climate change.
“Science never stops,” said study author Sandy Knapp, “it keeps asking the next interesting question.”
Editor’s Note: In Wednesday’s Item, “Copper, Gold, and Independence: Bougainville Pledges To Be World’s Newest Country,” we said the autonomous region would be voting on Sept. 4. In fact, local officials rescheduled the vote for Sept. 5 for most polling places in the region. We were not informed of the change until after our publishing deadline. We apologize for any inconvenience.