U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated veteran diplomat David Hale as ambassador to Pakistan.

Hale, currently ambassador to Lebanon, has previously served as the top U.S. diplomat in Jordan and was special envoy for Middle East peace under Obama.

Sudan has failed to arrest its long-time leader Omar al-Bashir for genocide and war crimes, the International Criminal Court ruled on Monday, referring the matter back to the U.N. Security Council.

Bashir, 71, is wanted by The Hague-based ICC, the world's only permanent court, for his role in the western Sudanese region of Darfur where insurgents rose up in 2003 in an ongoing conflict that has left more than 300,000 people dead.

The U.N. Security Council on Friday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution condemning the use of chlorine in Syria and threatening measures if chemicals are used in attacks in the future.

The measure was endorsed by 14 of the 15 council members with Venezuela abstaining in the vote.

Despite pressure from sanctions and a high-level Franco-German mediation, the conflict in east Ukraine shows little sign of ending, Lithuania's foreign minister said Monday.

"Despite all these efforts, the situation has almost not changed," Linas Linkevicius told Agence France Presse in an interview. "We do not see any effect."

Russia has offered Iran advanced surface-to-air missiles after scrapping a similar deal in 2010 because of U.N. sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program, the state defense company said Monday.

Any such a deal is likely to go down badly in Washington as Western countries seek to keep up the pressure on Iran to agree a comprehensive deal on its nuclear activities.

Shiite militiamen who seized power in Yemen vowed to defy "threats" as the U.N. Security Council prepared to adopt a resolution Sunday calling on them to step aside or face consequences.

Yemen is a traditional U.S. ally in the fight against Al-Qaida, but the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country has descended into chaos since the militia known as Huthis overran the capital in September.

The U.N. Security Council plans to adopt a resolution next week aimed at halting funding to Islamic State militants from oil, antique trafficking and ransoms, diplomats said Friday.

A draft text, drawn up by Russia, was distributed to the 15 member countries ahead of closed-door discussions.

The U.N. Security Council demanded the immediate release of all hostages held by the Islamic State group, as Jordan vowed to do everything it can to save the life of a pilot captured by the militants.

The 15-member council condemned on Sunday the "heinous and cowardly" murder of a Japanese journalist after the jihadist group claimed he had been beheaded.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has received assurances from Arab and Western diplomats that the clashes which took place between Israel and Hizbullah following an attack on an Israeli military convoy would not lead to a full-fledged war.

Salam's visitors were quoted as saying on Thursday that the Prime Minister, who made contacts with the diplomats after the clashes, received guarantees that the international community will exert every effort to preserve stability in Lebanon.

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned the "heinous" attack on a hotel in Tripoli that left nine dead and said those behind the terrorist act should face justice. 

Five foreigners -- an American, two Filipinas, a French citizen and a South Korean national -- were among those killed when gunmen stormed the luxury Corinthia Hotel in the Libyan capital.