Libyan forces battled to clear Islamic State insurgents from the western city of Sabratha on February 25, in fighting that killed at least three Libyans and one of the militants, officials said.

The head of the World Health Organization warned on February 24 that the Zika outbreak would likely worsen before nations besieged by the mosquito-borne virus linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil see relief.

The United States and China have agreed on a draft resolution that would expand UN Security Council sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its latest nuclear test and hope to put it to a vote in the coming days, council diplomats said on February 24.

President Barack Obama launched a final push on February 23 to persuade Congress to close the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, despite strong opposition from lawmakers who do not want detainees transferred to the United States.

Military forces loyal to Libya's eastern government said on February 23 they had taken control of two key neighbourhoods in Benghazi, building on gains made against Islamist fighters over the previous three days.

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel groups accepted a plan for a cessation of hostilities to begin on February 27 and the United States warned it would be hard to hold the country together if the fighting did not stop.

Islamic State fighters were reported to have tightened their grip on a Syrian government supply route to Aleppo on February 23 as the army battled to retake the road as part of its campaign to seize the city.

NATO advisers want Afghan soldiers to spend less time manning checkpoints and more taking the fight to Taliban militants, a key tactical shift the coalition hopes will enable local forces to quell a rising insurgency.

Australia and other countries should follow the U.S. lead and conduct "freedom-of-navigation" naval operations within 12 nautical miles of contested islands in the East Vietnam Sea, a senior US naval officer was reported as saying on February 22.

The United States and Russia announced plans for a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria that would take effect on February 27 but exclude groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda's Nusra Front, a loophole Syrian rebels immediately highlighted as a problem.