Lithuania charges three with defacing anti-Soviet monument
COPENHAGEN - A Lithuanian prosecutor said on Wednesday he had charged three people with defacing a monument to an anti-Soviet resistance leader in January 2024, and that Russian intelligence was the main organiser behind the act.
Prosecutor Rimas Bradunas told a press conference two of the three charged are dual Estonian-Russian citizens, while one is a Russian citizen.
When asked at the press conference about any involvement of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency in the act, Bradunas said: "That was the main organizer, without doubt, yes".
Two of the three detained were arrested in Estonia and handed over to Lithuania, he said. REUTERS
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
South Africa's former deputy president Mabuza dies, SABC reports
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Former Deputy President of South Africa David Mabuza poses for a photo as he arrives ahead of the inauguration of South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa as President at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on June 19, 2024. PHILL MAGAKOE/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's former deputy president David Mabuza has died aged 64, the country's public broadcaster reported on Thursday. Mabuza, who served as deputy president from 2018 to 2023, died in a Johannesburg hospital, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported. Analysts say Mabuza helped President Cyril Ramaphosa win the tight 2017 contest to lead the African National Congress that paved the way for Ramaphosa to become head of state in 2018, succeeding scandal-plagued Jacob Zuma. A former schoolteacher and premier of the Mpumalanga province, Mabuza struggled to shrug off allegations - which he denied - of irregular tenders for a 2010 World Cup stadium and links to political killings. He had not been seen much in public recently and had been unwell, SABC said, without disclosing the illness. REUTERS

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Lockdowns and fights: Sean 'Diddy' Combs back in Brooklyn jail ahead of sentencing
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Sean \"Diddy\" Combs, next to his lawyer Teny Geragos, reacts after learning he will not be released on bail, during his sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial in New York City, New York, U.S., July 2, 2025, in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg NEW YORK - Despite being found not guilty on the most serious counts at his sex trafficking trial, Sean "Diddy" Combs will spend months awaiting sentencing at a notoriously understaffed and violent Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has lived through nearly ten months of lockdowns and fights. Combs, 55, has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center since his September 2024 arrest. The facility, which has also held convicted sex traffickers like British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and rhythm and blues singer R. Kelly, is a far cry from the luxurious Los Angeles and Miami mansions Combs called home until last year. After the verdict was read on Wednesday, Combs' lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian to release him on $1 million bond ahead of his sentencing, expected to take place by October. "I understand that you don't, that Mr. Combs does not want to go back to the MDC," the judge said. Combs shook his head. His hopes of returning to one of those homes and the embrace of his family after being cleared of the more serious charges were soon dashed. The judge denied Combs' request for bail, citing evidence of his violent behavior presented during the trial. In recent years, MDC has been plagued by persistent staffing shortages, power outages and maggots in inmates' food. Two weeks after Combs' arrest, prosecutors announced criminal charges against nine MDC inmates for crimes including assault, attempted murder and murder at the facility in the months before Combs arrived. In January of last year, a federal judge in Manhattan declined to order a man charged with drug crimes detained pending trial at the MDC, calling the conditions there an "ongoing tragedy." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 193ha of land off Changi to be reclaimed for aviation park; area reduced to save seagrass meadow Business More Singapore residents met CPF Required Retirement Sum when they turned 55 in 2024 Singapore PAP questions Pritam's interview with Malaysian podcast, WP says PAP opposing for the sake of opposing Singapore 1 in 4 appeals to waive HDB wait-out period for private home owners approved since Sept 2022 Sport A true fans' player – Liverpool supporters in Singapore pay tribute to late Diogo Jota Singapore Healthcare facility planned for site of Ang Mo Kio Public Library after it moves to AMK Hub Singapore $500 in Child LifeSG credits, Edusave, Post-Sec Education Account top-ups to be disbursed in July Business 60 S'pore firms to get AI boost from Tata Consultancy as it launches new innovation centre here Last August, another judge said he would convert an older defendant's nine-month jail term to home incarceration if he were sent to MDC, citing the jail's "dangerous, barbaric conditions." The U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which operates MDC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The bureau has said it takes its duty to protect inmates seriously. During the eight-week trial, U.S. Marshals transported Combs to and from the courthouse in Lower Manhattan each day from the facility in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, which has also housed former cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried and Luigi Mangione, accused of killing a health insurance executive. Bankman-Fried has since been moved to a low-security prison in California and is appealing his fraud conviction and 25-year sentence. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to murder charges. A jury found Combs not guilty on Wednesday on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, sparing him a potential life sentence, but convicted him on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution that could land him in prison for several years. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. Combs' defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in court on Wednesday that Combs had been housed in "a very difficult part of the MDC" where there have been fights. His lawyer Alexandra Shapiro said in a November 2024 court filing that frequent lockdowns at the facility had impaired Combs' ability to prepare for trial. On Wednesday, Combs' lawyers praised MDC staff, who they said had facilitated their access to him during the trial. "Despite the terrible conditions at the MDC, I want to thank the good people who work there," defense lawyer Teny Geragos told reporters after the verdict. REUTERS

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Man injures four people in attack on German train, police say
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox MUNICH - A man attacked and injured four people on Thursday on a high-speed train in southern Germany around 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) from the Austrian border before being arrested, police said. The ICE 91 train was carrying around 500 passengers from Hamburg in northern Germany to the Austrian capital Vienna. The man was arrested and the rail line shut down, a police statement said. "Today at around 1:55 p.m., (1155 GMT) a man injured several people with dangerous objects on an ICE train heading towards Vienna shortly before Strasskirchen," a statement from police in the southern state of Bavaria said. The attacker was also injured, police said. REUTERS