British troops have begun a training mission in Ukraine, helping government forces fighting pro-Russian separatists, the Ministry of Defense in London said Thursday.

The BBC reported that 35 personnel are in the southern city of Mykolaiv as part of a two-month mission, although the ministry spokeswoman declined to confirm the details.

The Mexican Navy stepped up patrols off the Pacific coast resort of Cabo San Lucas after a group of U.S. and European tourists camping on an island were robbed and left stranded.

Navy forces will also carry out patrols on beaches themselves in Baja California state, the Navy said in a statement.

Shocked Tunisians faced calls Thursday for a united front against extremism after an attack on foreign tourists that left 19 people dead and bore the hallmarks of a jihadist assault.

The main trade union confederation and other civil society groups announced plans for a silent demonstration outside the Tunis museum where 17 foreign tourists and two Tunisians were killed on Wednesday.

Vanuatu has hit out at aid groups swarming the cyclone-ravaged Pacific nation over a lack of coordination, which it said cost precious time getting help to those in need, while warning food will run out in a week.

Relief agencies have been battling logistical challenges in the sprawling archipelago with a lack of landing strips and deep water ports hampering their efforts to reach distant islands and get a better grip on the full scale of the disaster.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to issue a new statement to confirm its unanimity to safeguard Lebanon and its stability in face of the growing terrorist threats as U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag is set to head to Saudi Arabia and Iran to reach a breakthrough on the presidential stalemate.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Thursday, U.N. Assistant-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet and Kaag briefed the Security Council's five permanent members -- the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France – during a closed meeting on U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's report on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Mexico's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of a prisoner who had spent 23 years in jail for a double murder after it concluded he had confessed under torture.

Alfonso Martin del Campo Dodd was in his 20s when in 1992 he was sentenced to 50 years in jail over the death of his sister and brother-in-law.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was blasted Thursday after referring to the opposition leader as the "Dr. Goebbels of economic policy" in a rowdy parliamentary question time, sparking cries of "disgusting".

During a heated exchange about his economic credentials the conservative Abbott said criticism coming from Labor was like "the arsonist complaining about the fire".

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas has said that Lebanon will ask the international community for 2.1 billion dollars in assistance at the Kuwait donors conference this month.

Derbas, who on Wednesday attended a ministerial meeting for the refugee crisis cell under Prime Minister Tammam Salam, told al-Liwaa newspaper that Lebanon aims to urge the assistance to help it resolve problems linked to the displaced Syrians on the course of two years.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh downplayed on Thursday Washington's concerns on the possibility of involving Lebanese banks in money laundering operations to finance terrorism, in particular the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“Lebanon's banks are fortified due to the strict measures imposed by the Central Bank and the monitoring bodies,” Salameh stressed in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper.

Defense Minister Samir Moqbel signed on Thursday a decree to extend the term of Army Intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Edmond Fadel, which ends on March 20.

The decree extends Fadel's term by six months, media reports said.