If Ukrainian rebels shot down the Malaysian jetliner, killing 298 people, it may have been because they didn’t have the right systems in place to distinguish between military and civilian aircraft, experts said at the weekend.

Hundreds of people are feared dead after a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane was apparently shot down over eastern Ukraine.

Islamic militants have vowed to march on Baghdad to settle old scores after seizing a number of cities and towns in Iraq.

The diplomat who was president of the UN Security Council in April 1994 apologised today for the council’s refusal to recognise that genocide was taking place in Rwanda and for doing nothing to halt the slaughter of more than one million people.

North Korea will be punished if it carries out its threat to conduct a nuclear test, John Kerry has warned.

The United Nations has voted overwhelmingly to recognise a Palestinian state, but the Palestinians still face enormous limitations: they do not control their borders, airspace or trade, they have separate and competing governments in Gaza and the West Bank, and they have no unified army or police.

The United Nations voted overwhelmingly today to recognise a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.

Former CIA director David Petraeus was sneaked into the Capitol today, away from the media, to face lawmakers’ questions about the attack on the US Consulate in Libya – just one week after he resigned over an extramarital affair.

A resolution expanding the number of UN observers in Syria from 30 to 300 and demanding an immediate halt to violence has been approved by the UN Security Council today.

Syria’s government is failing to honour its pledges to implement a ceasefire plan aimed at ending more than a year of bloodshed, and violence there has escalated since a truce took effect a week ago, the UN chief has said.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that the crisis in Syria is getting worse and claiming more lives every day even though President Bashar Assad’s government insists it is withdrawing troops ahead of a UN deadline to end the violence.

Rebels who seized control of Mali’s remote north effectively partitioning the country in two have announced a ceasefire, saying they had reached their military goal.

International envoy Kofi Annan has told the UN Security Council that Syria informed him its military will complete the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons from populated areas by April 10.

The US has closed its embassy in Damascus today and pulled all diplomats out of violence-racked Syria as it stepped up pressure on President Bashar Assad to surrender power.

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to lift the no-fly zone over Libya on October 31 and end its authorisation of military action to protect civilians.

Sudan will withdraw all its troops from the disputed Abyei region at the same time as the United Nations fully deploys its 4,200-strong force, the country’s UN ambassador has said.

Russia and China have vetoed a European-backed UN Security Council resolution that threatened sanctions against Syria if it did not halt its military crackdown against civilians.

The Syrian army launched more raids on protest strongholds today, defying growing international criticism over the regime’s deadly crackdown.

European nations seeking to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime yesterday presented a revised resolution to the United Nations condemning the country’s government for its deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters.

Turkey’s prime minister has urged the United Nations not to impose sanctions on Libya, warning today that the Libyan people would suffer most, not Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

US President Barack Obama welcomed leaders of 47 countries to a Washington summit on nuclear security today and delivered a stark warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands.

The highest-ranking American diplomat to visit Burma in 14 years offered improved relations if the country's military regime moves toward democracy.

Britain led warnings over violence in Sudan as the UN Security Council extended the 13,500-strong UN peacekeeping mission there for a year.

Egypt's UN Ambassador tonight said representatives of Israel, the Palestinians and Hamas have agreed to meet tomorrow for talks brokered by Egypt.

The United States blocked approval of a UN Security Council statement calling for an immediate Israeli-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza and Israel and expressing serious concern at the escalation of violence.

The United States has blocked approval of a UN Security Council statement calling for an immediate Israeli-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza and southern Israel and expressing serious concern at the escalation of violence.

The UN Security Council today expressed regret at Burma’s slow progress in opening talks with the pro-democracy opposition.

Taiwan today pledged to forge ahead with its campaign for United Nations membership, as China celebrated an expected victory after a Taiwanese application to enter the world body was rejected for the 15th straight year.

The UN Security Council voted last night to extend the authorisation of the Nato-led force in Afghanistan, ahead of a high-level meeting to focus on promoting national reconciliation in the country.

The United States and Britain today delayed a vote on a resolution that would expand the UN mandate in Iraq so that Iraq’s prime minister could revise a new draft which increased the focus on humanitarian issues.

Sudan has dismissed as unjustifiable the threat of slapping new sanctions because of the Darfur conflict, vowing to do everything it can to protect what it sees as its national security.

The world’s major powers have sent a strong signal to Iran that they remain united in seeking to rein in its nuclear ambitions.

Major world powers moved closer to agreement last night on a modest package of new sanctions against Iran.

The world’s major powers made progress in agreeing on possible new sanctions against Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment but some differences remain, UN diplomats said.

The UN Security Council votes today on a successor to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

South Korea’s foreign minister cemented his position as favourite to succeed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan when he became the only candidate to escape a veto during an informal Security Council ballot.

North Korea has accused the United States of torpedoing six-party talks on its nuclear programme.

The United Nations appealed to European countries today to contribute troops to an expanded UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon to balance the commitments from Muslim countries, so that both Israel and Lebanon will view it as legitimate.

Three leading Arab officials were to appear before the UN Security Council this evening to demand that a draft resolution on ending the war between Israel and Hezbollah seek Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon once fighting ends.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution today giving Iran until August 31 to suspend uranium enrichment or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

ISRAELI troops met fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerrillas yesterday as they crossed into Lebanon to seek tunnels and weapons after warning residents in a 20-mile swathe of the south along the border to flee.

Israeli troops met fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerrillas today as they crossed into Lebanon to seek tunnels and weapons after warning residents in a nearly 20 mile swath of the south along the border to flee.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for an immediate halt to the escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia but said “there are serious obstacles to reaching a ceasefire or even to diminishing the violence quickly".

Israeli troops met fierce resistance from Hezbollah guerrillas today as they crossed into Lebanon to seek tunnels and weapons for a second consecutive day as Israel refused to rule out a full-scale invasion.