On May, 2013 explosions hit Scientific Research Center in Jamraya caused by an Israeli rocket attack

With just over sixteen months to go before the Scottish referendum there are still significant gaps in the Scottish Government's proposed foreign policy, according to a report published today by the Foreign Affairs Committee of UK Parliament. There is an urgent need for clarity and candour on the international challenges an independent Scotland would face.

Americans are largely against military intervention in North Korea and Syria – according to a survey published for CBS News and the "New York Times". Not the foreign policy, but economy and employment require immediate action – they say.

Lithuania is increasing its contribution to the European Union-led operations by deploying an Autonomous Vessel Protection Detachment (AVPD) to the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation ATALANTA off the Somali coast as of the second semester of 2013. The Lithuanian AVPD will be protecting a World Food Program (WFP) chartered ship delivering humanitarian aid to various ports in Somalia.

President Obama in his weekly video address said that because Republicans in Congress allowed a series of harmful, automatic budget cuts—called the sequester—to take effect, important programs like Head Start are now forced to reduce their services.

New rules to ensure that chemicals used in industrial processes, such as manufacturing plastics, textiles, aspirin, flu and allergy remedies, dyes and perfumes, are not diverted to the illegal production of heroin, speed or crack were adopted by the Civil Liberties Committee on Wednesday and by the International Trade Committee on Thursday.

On the 25th of April 2013 the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Lithuania and the Netherlands and the Minister of European Affairs of Denmark visited Kyiv, Ukraine. They held talks with president Yanukovych and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kozhara. They also met with members of the opposition and representatives of the civil society.

More people and regions will benefit from the EU Youth Employment Initiative thanks to amendments voted by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee on Tuesday. This initiative is to give effect to the "youth guarantee", whereby any young person in the EU who has been unemployed for more than four months is to be offered a job, training or an apprenticeship.

EP president Martin Schulz paid tribute to the victims of German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau during a visit on 20 April. "The visit to Nazi German death camp Auschwitz changes you. It changed me," he said. "There are no words to describe the enormity of this crime. We must never, ever forget." During his first official visit to Poland, Mr Schulz also took part in the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising and met with Polish politicians.