Xinhua world news summary at 0030 GMT, April 25

The UN Security Council on Friday expressed grave alarm at the deterioration of Syria's humanitarian situation and demanded that all parties to the Syrian conflict put an immediate end to all forms of violence.

According to a presidential statement adopted by the council at a meeting on Syria, more than 220,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the conflict, including well over 10,000 children. Around half of the population have been forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries.(UN-Syria-Situation)

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WASHINGTON -- A "large" outbreak of HIV linked to needle-sharing among intravenous drug users has hit a rural county in the U.S. state of Indiana, with 142 people testing positive for the AIDS virus since late 2014, U.S. health authorities said Friday.

"Urgent action is needed" to prevent further HIV transmission in Indiana's Scott County, where fewer than five infections have been identified annually in the past, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. (U.S.-HIV-Outbreak)

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VIENNA -- The nuclear negotiations between Iran and six major states made some progress though the pace was slow, Iranian negotiator said on Friday.

"The progress is good," Iranian negotiator Abbas Araqchi told Iranian media. "We are at preliminary stages and the pace is slow but it is good." (Austria-Iran-Nuclear)

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KHARTOUM -- A UN mission said on Friday that its peacekeepers have repulsed two attacks by unidentified gunmen, leaving four attackers dead and six peacekeepers wounded.

The UN-African Union mission to Darfur (UNAMID) said in a press release that the attacks occured in Kass, 85 km north-west of Nyala, capital of South Darfur state. (Sudan-UN-Attack) Endit