Cold beet soup is a culinary staple in Latvia and Lithuania and across Eastern Europe. This year, Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, hosted its “Pink Soup Festival” celebrating the dish. But the city’s tourism agency also started a public beef with Latvia, claiming that the Lithuanian version of the soup is better.
Belarusian authorities have released about 1,000 people detained amid demonstrations contesting the results of the presidential election, in an attempt to assuage public anger against a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests and avoid Western sanctions.
The main challenger in Belarus’ presidential vote, who has refused to concede defeat amid a massive police crackdown on protesters, has left the country and is now in neighboring Lithuania. And, Russia has became the first country in the world to clear a coronavirus vaccine. Also, the Trump administration is reportedly considering additional ways to limit entry at the US-Mexico border.