On 1 June in Vilnius, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Andrius Krivas met with a delegation of the United States Congress advisors and discussed important bilateral issues, the security situation in the region and the world, measures to ensure security in Lithuania and the region, and allied support in the area. The meeting also discussed the situation in Ukraine and in other Eastern Partnership countries, issues related to energy security and information security.

Once again Somalia has been victim of a terrorist attack, which caused numerous casualties following the assault on the Ambassador Hotel in central Mogadishu yesterday, 2 of June.

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius met with the member of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, Yang Jing. During the meeting the further development of bilateral relations between Lithuania and China was discussed, as well as the cooperation between the countries in the China’s +16 format, partnership in the fields of logistics and transport, and economic and cultural relations.

The influx of irregular migrants continues to pose a challenge to Europe. According to Frontex 13,800 people had to be rescued in the central Mediterranean over the last week alone. The EU is working on different ways to manage migration better. On Monday 30 May Parliament's civil liberties committee approved proposals concerning migration and cooperation with other countries, paving the way for a better management of the EU's borders. Read on for an overview of what is being proposed.

The High Representative and the European Commission set out an EU vision in further support of Myanmar’s transition process.

Since taking over vast swaths of Iraq and Syria ISIS has carried out a campaign of violence and subjugation against Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities. As mass killings and desperate attempts to flee put several of these groups at risk of extinction, the human rights subcommittee held a hearing on 30 May to shed light on the plight of those caught up in the unrest. Minority representatives from the region shared their first-hand observations with us.

On 28 May, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, who is visiting Iran, met with the President of Iran Hassan Rouhani. In the first meeting in history, the officials highlighted the interest of the two countries to exploit opportunities for bilateral economic cooperation after Iran and the international community had reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme the previous year.

The news of the release of the journalists Salud Hernandez-Mora, Diego D'Pablos and Carlos Melo, that I discussed just a few days ago in Bogota, is a great relief.

The EU Commission should go on negotiating with the USA to remedy “deficiencies” in proposed “Privacy Shield” protection for EU citizens’ data transferred to the US for commercial purposes, Parliament says in a non-legislative resolution passed on Thursday.

On her official visit to Tbilisi, Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, congratulated Georgia on its 25th anniversary of independence and stressed that Lithuania had always supported and would continue to support Georgia on its path of European integration.