Libya’s foreign minister urged the UN Security Council on Wednesday to lift an arms embargo to allow the country’s military to fight jihadists, amid growing alarm over the threat from the Islamic State group. Mohammed al-Dairi made the appeal to the 15-member council after Islamic State militants beheaded 21 Egyptian …

Egypt pushed for action against jihadists in Libya ahead of a UN Security Council meeting Wednesday but faced reluctance from Western powers who stressed the need for a political solution. After launching air strikes against Islamic State group targets in Libya this week in response to the jihadists’ beheadings of …

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has called for a UN-mandated peacekeeping force to monitor a tattered ceasefire deal in east Ukraine. “We see the best format would be a police mission from the European Union. We are sure this would be the most effective and best guarantee for security,” Poroshenko said …

At least 36 mourners at a funeral ceremony were killed and 27 wounded when an unidentified plane bombarded a village in Niger near the Nigerian border, the army said today. The strike yesterday came as Niger takes part in a regional offensive against Nigeria-based Boko Haram fighters, who have extended …

India and the US have held their first ever bilateral dialogue on the UN and multilateral issues in the spirit of the “Delhi Declaration of Friendship” that strengthens and expands the two countries’ relationship. “Today’s discussions focused on international peace and security, peacekeeping operations, counter-piracy, the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the …

The EU Wednesday condemned the actions by the Russia-backed separatists in Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine as “a clear violation of the ceasefire.” “The separatists must stop all military activities. Russia and the separatists have to

NATO on Wednesday urged Russia to withdraw all forces from eastern Ukraine and to end  its support for the pro-Moscow separatists as a ceasefire appeared to unravel. “I urge Russia to withdraw all its forces from eastern Ukraine, to stop all its support for the separatists and to respect the …

The United Nations envoy to Syria said Feb. 17 he has received a commitment from the Syrian government to suspend airstrikes and artillery shelling on the city of Aleppo for six weeks to allow a proposed U.N. plan to “freeze” hostilities in the country’s largest city to be tested. Staffan …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed yesterday to end India’s status as the world’s number one defense importer, saying he wanted 70 percent of hardware to be manufactured domestically by the turn of the decade. Speaking at the start of a major aviation industry conference, Modi told hundreds of foreign and …

The United States has welcomed the signing of civil nuclear cooperation agreement between India and Sri Lanka, saying it is consistent with IAEA safeguards and other international standards and practices. “We welcome regional cooperation on nuclear energy that is consistent with IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards and other international …