UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council on Thursday made it easier for Libya to obtain non-lethal equipment such as bulletproof vests and armored cars, but expressed concern at the spread of weapons from the North African country to nearby states such as Mali.

The 15-member council tweaked the arms embargo, imposed at the start of an uprising in 2011 that culminated in the ouster of leader Muammar Gaddafi, in a unanimously adopted resolution that also extended the U.N. mission in the country for one year.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – An “unholy alliance” of Iran, Russia, the Vatican and others is threatening to derail a U.N. declaration urging an end to violence against women and girls by objecting to language on sexual, reproductive and gay rights, some U.N. diplomats said Wednesday.

Delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women are racing to reach a consensus deal on a final document by Friday and some diplomats say the future of the commission – a global policy-making body created in 1946 for the advancement of women – is at risk if they fail to broker a compromise.

PARIS/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – France and its African allies want a heavily-armed force able to counter any resurgent Islamist threat in Mali as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, diplomats said.

The United Nations is considering setting up a 10,000-strong force in the former French colony before presidential and legislative elections in July, a deadline a European diplomat described on Tuesday as “a race against time”.

UNITED NATIONS, March 12 (Reuters) – The United States and
Russia traded swipes at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday
over proposed statements about peace progress in Sudan and South
Sudan, with Russia’s U.N. envoy accusing the U.S. ambassador of
bizarre behavior and making outlandish claims.

It was the latest in a series of tense public exchanges
between Moscow and Washington, whose relations have become
increasingly frosty in recent months because of disagreements
over how to deal with Syria and human rights in Russia.

PARIS/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – France and its African allies want a heavily armed force able to counter any resurgent Islamist threat in Mali as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, diplomats said.

The United Nations is considering setting up a 10,000-strong force in the former French colony before presidential and legislative elections in July, a deadline a European diplomat described on Tuesday as “a race against time”.