The U.N. Security Council on Thursday backed U.N. peacekeepers in the Golan Heights carrying machine guns, as fallout from the Syria war increases in the ceasefire zone.

The council passed a resolution to extend the mandate of the force until the end of the year. It also called on Syrian government and opposition fighters to stay out of the zone where peacekeepers monitor a three-decade-old ceasefire between Syria and Israel.

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday eased sanctions against Iraq imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait amid a significant thaw between the neighbors.

The council lifted the threat of action linked to the search for Kuwaitis and property missing since the invasion ordered by the former dictator.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly condemned on Monday the clashes in the southern city of Sidon, extending his sympathy to Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji and to the families of those who have been killed in the fighting.

He said: “We are at one in our support for President Michel Suleiman, for the institutions of the state and for the security forces, and in particular the army, at this difficult juncture.”

Russia believes it is time to consider relaxing sanctions pressure on Iran amid hope of progress in the standoff over its nuclear program, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying Tuesday.

"It is necessary to avoid tightening the sanctions pressure against Tehran and start thinking about ways for a possible weakening (of sanctions) in a way that is tangible for Iran," Lavrov said in an interview with Kuwaiti news agency KUNA

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for high-level talks with Chinese officials on North Korea, Syria and other issues, his spokesman said.

Ban will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and senior foreign policy officials during his stay, spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken to Russia's Vladimir Putin after Moscow offered to bolster the beleaguered U.N. peacekeeping force monitoring the Israeli-Syrian ceasefire line on the Golan Heights, Netanyahu's office said Sunday.

"We discussed issues linked to Syria where the situation is becoming more complex by the day," Netanyahu said in remarks communicated by his office.

Russia on Friday agreed to a U.N. Security Council statement that demanded that its ally Syria allow humanitarian access to the border town of Qusayr.

The British-drafted statement, agreed after Russia had blocked a virtually identical statement at the weekend, called for "immediate, safe and unhindered" access to Qusayr.

Six world powers engaged in stalled talks with Iran over its nuclear programme said Wednesday it was "essential and urgent" Tehran cooperates with the U.N. atomic agency over allegations of bomb research.

The U.S., China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany also said they were "deeply concerned" by Iran's continued expansion of its nuclear program despite U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for a suspension.

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin reiterated on Wednesday that his country supports stability and security in Lebanon, stressing that Moscow rejects any intervention in the country's local affairs.

“We back stability and security in Lebanon. The members of the U.N. Security Council all voiced their support to maintaining stability and security in Lebanon,” the ambassador said.

Libya said on Sunday it will appeal to the International Criminal Court to reverse its decision to prosecute Seif al-Islam, a son of slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

"We will obviously appeal" as required within five days of the announcement of the decision taken on Friday, Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.