Ukraine yesterday said that isolated clashes were punctuating a shaky truce with pro-Russian rebels after international monitors warned that the conflict in the country stands at a "crossroads".

China has voiced its support for Russia's handling of the Ukraine crisis, with prominent diplomat Qu Xing calling on the West to "abandon its zero-sum mentality".

A UN-backed ceasefire showed signs of taking hold in Ukraine on Wednesday, but tensions remained high after the US accused Russia of "lies" and Britain ordered a small troop deployment to train Kiev's forces.

Foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France yesterday called for a total ceasefire in eastern Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out the "apocalyptic scenario" of all-out war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that Iran was a year away from making a nuclear bomb was contradicted by his secret services, according to reports Monday citing leaked documents.

Pro-Russian forces massing near Ukraine's port city of Mariupol are continuing to attack government troop positions, Kiev said yesterday, fuelling concerns for the fate of an internationally brokered ceasefire.

A bomb killed two people during a pro-government march in the east Ukraine city of Kharkiv on Sunday, officials said, as Kiev's army and rebels wrangled over a truce requiring them to pull back heavy weapons.

The families of three British schoolgirls feared to be travelling to join the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria issued emotional appeals for them to come home Saturday.

Pro-Russian rebels yesterday prepared to swap prisoners with their Ukrainian government foes as part of a battered ceasefire, as an adviser to Ukraine's president said Kiev had lost 179 troops in fighting over the past month.

“No one should have any illusions that it could achieve military supremacy over Russia or to put pressure on us in any form"

Germany's finance ministry yesterday rejected a Greek request to European partners for a six-month extension to its EU loan programme, but the German vice chancellor called it a "starting point".

Greece's crunch talks with its European creditors broke down after just four hours today, pushing the country closer towards a potential exit from the single currency.

Street-to-street fighting broke out for the first time inside a flashpoint town in east Ukraine yesterday, officials and pro-Russian rebels said, dealing a harsh blow to a fragile ceasefire just three days old.

Not all of Philip Levine's poetry was about his hometown of Detroit, but a lot of it was.

A shaky truce in Ukraine was already at risk on its second day yesterday with both the Kiev government and pro-Russian separatists accusing each other of attacks holding up an agreed pull-back of heavy weapons from the frontline.

Moscow said yesterday it would respond to the latest EU sanctions over the Ukraine conflict which target several prominent figures including a popular singer, condemning them as "inconsistent and illogical".

Italian coastguard rescue over 2,000 migrants in difficulty between Italian island of Lampedusa and Libyan coast

Ceasefire: Both sides seem willing, but wrangling over who pulls back from the frontlines first.

The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany were to hold peace talks yesterday aimed at halting a 10-month war in Ukraine where dozens were killed in the latest fighting.

Russia said yesterday that President Vladimir Putin would not tolerate any ultimatums over Ukraine after a report said Germany had given him until tomorrow to agree a peace plan or face new sanctions.