Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine claimed yesterday to have completed their end of a February deal with government forces to withdraw heavy weapons from the frontline as part of a truce.

EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said yesterday a "good deal" was near as an end-March deadline looms over talks on Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini downplayed yesterday the threat of fresh sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, insisting instead on the need for full implementation of the latest ceasefire accord.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has requested a meeting with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, a government source said yesterday, after Athens got no help from the European Central Bank to address a cash squeeze.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Thursday Russia could play a decisive role in resolving the crisis in Libya, during a rare visit by a European leader to Moscow.

Warsaw bank manager Grazyna Dubiel would not normally be behind bars on a Sunday.

The wife of a Frenchman on death row in Indonesia says she refuses to believe she has seen him for the last time, as fears grow he will soon be executed with a group of foreigners.

The US and Russian foreign ministers expressed cautious optimism after holding talks in Geneva yesterday

Ukraine's frontlines were relatively calm yesterday ahead of high-level EU-mediated gas talks between Kiev and Moscow.

Thousands of supporters of Italy's Northern League have poured into one of Rome's biggest squares for a rally against immigration.

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"