Deportation Costs Under Scrutiny: Ireland’s Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan says the state has spent €2.88m on charter flights deporting 377 people since Feb 2025, including a €735,000 Dublin-to-South Africa flight last Thursday for 42 South Africans (15 children). China-Lithuania Tensions: A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson urged Vilnius to take “early and decisive action” to correct “mistakes” and return to the one-China principle, warning relations can’t normalize without it. Security Cooperation: Ukraine’s National Guard commander Oleksandr Pivnenko visited Lithuania to deepen security ties, training and critical-infrastructure protection, including sharing Ukrainian operational experience. German Brigade Planning: Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius said a permanent armoured brigade in Lithuania is readying for possible conscription if volunteers fall short, with full operational status targeted for 2027. EU Defence Financing: Latvia signed a nearly €3.5bn SAFE defence loan to speed drones, missiles and anti-drone systems, citing Russian jamming impacts on Baltic airspace. Lithuania-Ukraine Drone Industry: RSI Europe and Ukraine’s The Fourth Law agreed to jointly produce drones in Lithuania, combining manufacturing capacity with AI and battlefield feedback. Fact-checking Spotlight: ICIR and FactCheckHub won a Global Fact-Checking Award for exposing AI-assisted Ponzi schemes and platform failures in Nigeria. Crypto Regulation Watch: MiCA’s July 1 deadline is pushing smaller crypto apps toward licensed custody and regulated infrastructure partnerships across the EEA.