Lithuania's Grybauskaite declares victory after run-offMay 26, 2014 - 10:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Lithuania's incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaite has declared victory following a second round of voting in the Baltic country's presidential elections, according to BBC News. With nearly all votes counted she had won 58% with her Social Democrat rival Zigmantas Balcytis trailing on 42%. Grybauskaite thanked her supporters for granting her a second term. "No president has been elected twice in a row in Lithuania. It will be a historic victory for all of you," she said. President Grybauskaite's reputation for plain speaking has led to her being dubbed the "Iron Lady", the nickname of former British PM Margaret Thatcher whom she describes as one of her political models. The 58-year-old former EU budget chief - who ran as an independent - focused her campaign on national security. Ahead of the second-round vote, she said Russia had chosen "confrontation, aggression and a review of post-war peace structures". Photo: Reuters Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |