Vilnius - Lithuanians go to the polls Sunday to vote in a general election. But this year's campaign is proving to be very different from the ones that preceded it.

Where previous general elections have usually been boisterous, affairs featuring flamboyant politicians making often outrageous statements at colourful rallies, this year's campaign has been uncharacteristically calm.

Riga - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas told the national parliament Monday that the country's reputation for homophobia was justified.

"This is true: Lithuania is one of the most homophobic countries in the EU. This has to be viewed as a fact," Vaitiekunas said in response to a parliamentary question from Member of Parliament Ausrine Marija Pavilioniene.

Riga  - Lithuania and Poland on Monday urged NATO foreign ministers to offer Georgia and Ukraine a path to membership when they meet to discuss Russia's military intervention in the Caucasus.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Lithunian President Valdas Adamkus made the appeal before Tuesday's NATO emergency meeting in Brussels, citing "the uncontrolled violence and use of force in Georgia."

Vilnius - Lithuania's annual inflation eased to 12.2 per cent in July, down from an 11-year high of 12.5 per cent in June, the Department of Statistics reported Friday.

Rising inflation, coupled with slower growth, is increasingly clouding the economic prospects for the small nation, once known as one of the "Baltic Tigers" along with Estonia and Lithuania.

International organizations including the International Monetary Fund have said Lithuania, along with neighbouring Latvia and Estonia, faces the prospect of a recession amid a drop in consumption and property prices.

Vilnius  - Lithuanian parliament passed a law banning a public display of Soviet and Nazi symbols and national anthems, local media reported Wednesday.

Vilnius (Lithuania), May 23 : Lithuanian archaeologists, carrying out exc