Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Feb. 23

Syria's Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday the Syrian government consents to observe a cessation of hostilities as agreed upon by the U.S. and Russia.

The ministry said the military campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front will continue in accordance with the U.S.-Russian agreement. (Syria-U.S,-Russia)

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PYONGYANG -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Tuesday that its strategic and tactical weapons are ready to be used for preemptive strikes on South Korea and the United States even if any "small movements" were found among U.S.-S.Korean special forces, the official KCNA news agency said Tuesday.

The first target of the attacks would be Chongwadae, South Korea's presidential office, as well as South Korean authorities, said the KCNA, citing a statement issued by the supreme command of the Korean People's Army (KPA). (DPRK-Warning)

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ISLAMABAD -- At least 15 militants were killed when Pakistani army launched missile strikes in the country's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Tuesday, the military said.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the mouthpiece of Pakistani army, said in a statement that the troops backed by fighter jets from Pakistan Air Force pounded eight militants' hideouts in North Waziristan, a restive tribal area along Pakistan-Afghanistan border.(Pakistan-Airstrike)

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THE HAGUE -- A passenger train derailed on Tuesday outside the town of Dalfsen, northeast The Netherlands, killing one person and injuring 10 others,local emergency services said.

According to witnesses, at around 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) the train collided into a mobile hydraulic crane at a rail crossing 125 km east of Amsterdam, leaving four train carriages overturned on a pasture and the locomotive completely destroyed. (The Netherlands-Train Accident) Endi