Gaza/Jerusalem, August 8
Explosions and gunfire resounded in Gaza today after a 72-hour ceasefire ended with Israel bombarding the coastal strip, killing a 10-year-old boy in retaliation to a barrage of rockets fired by Hamas, as talks in Cairo for a durable truce virtually collapsed.

Gaza-based militants fired first after the temporary truce expired at 8 am (local time), launching 21 rockets toward Israel and marking the resumption of the month-long devastating conflict that has killed nearly 1,900 Palestinians and 67 people in Israel, including 64 soldiers.

The IDF said, in total, more than 36 rockets were fired at Israel today. The military said its Iron Dome anti-missile shield had intercepted three rockets, while the remaining ones fell on open ground.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to retaliate after the rocket attacks. "The Israeli prime minister and defence minister have ordered the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) to retaliate forcefully to the Hamas breach of the ceasefire," an official said in a statement.

Thousands of Palestinians who had returned to their houses again took refuge at UN shelters. "The moment it dawned upon people this morning that there was no chance of a long-term ceasefire agreement they started leaving their houses, especially in the eastern part of Gaza.

Some of them whose houses had been destroyed in bombings earlier and had pitched tents also returned to our facilities", a UN worker in Gaza said.

IDF retaliated strongly to rocket fire by Gaza militants calling the unprovoked attacks "unacceptable, intolerable and short-sighted". Israeli jets struck multiple targets across the Gaza Strip, following the barrage of rocket attacks in which two people, including a soldier, were injured.

A ten-year old Palestinian boy was killed and five others injured in an Israeli air strike on a mosque in the Sheikh al-Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City. Six other Palestinians were injured across Gaza.

UN figures indicate that 73 per cent of the 1,890 Palestinian victims, or 1,354 people, were civilians. At least 429 of those civilians were children, it said.

Fire from Israeli tanks and gunboats was also reported from northern and central Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel pulled out of talks in Cairo, officials and medics said. "Israel will not negotiate under fire," an official said. — PTI 

Kabul, August 8
Afghanistan's two feuding presidential candidates today signed a deal confirming they would form a national unity government after an audit of votes is completed to decide the winner of the fraud-tainted election.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Kabul to try to mediate an end to the country's election impasse, welcomed the deal as a major advance in bringing Afghanistan back from the brink of political chaos.

The threat of spiralling ethnic unrest has loomed large since Abdullah Abdullah refused to accept a preliminary vote count that put Ashraf Ghani ahead, saying that the June 15 election had been stolen by massive ballot-box stuffing.

"Today myself, our team, and Dr Ghani and his team have taken another step forward in the interests of strengthening national unity in the country... and also to bring hope for the better future for the people of Afghanistan," Abdullah said.

But the two candidates have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks over both the audit and the draft power-sharing plan, and attention will focus on whether all their supporters accept the deal. — AFP

Donetsk, August 8
Fierce battles on Ukraine's porous eastern border left 15 government servicemen dead as fears of a possible invasion swirled after NATO urged Moscow to withdraw its troops along the frontier.

International tensions also rose as Western countries hit out at a Russian food embargo imposed as revenge for sanctions slapped on Moscow over its backing for insurgents in Ukraine.

Kiev said seven soldiers and eight border guards were killed over the past 24 hours as a bloody three-day battle with pro-Russian rebels eventually forced several government units to retreat from the border in the southeast of the war-torn Lugansk region.

The renewed violence came after NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Moscow to "pull back from the brink" and as Western countries warned that Russia could be preparing to send troops across the border in the guise of a humanitarian mission.

Heavy shelling again rocked the main insurgent bastion of Donetsk today, an AFP journalist reported.

The centre of the one-million strong city appears to have become a new battleground in the fighting, coming under sustained shelling for the first time yesterday, with mortar fire hitting a hospital and residences near a key rebel base.

The rebels, believed by the West to be backed by Russia, have not stepped back in the face of a fierce government assault.

Yesterday they downed a Ukrainian fighter jet and fired on a medical evacuation helicopter. The new prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko admitted that the situation was "difficult and tense" but said "the troops' morale is strong." — AFP

London, August 8
European dairy firms halted production of cheese and butter destined for Russia and Norwegian salmon prices fell, as a wide array of small fresh food producers felt the first impact from Moscow's tit for tat ban on their goods.

Russia stopped imports of most food from the West on Thursday in retaliation for US and EU sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine. Roughly 10 percent of EU agricultural exports go to Russia, worth around 11 billion euros per year, according to European Commission figures.

While Western multinationals were counting on their local manufacturing plants to help them weather the ban, small farmers are not so lucky.

They said trucks bound for Russia were turning around mid-route, 8,000 tonnes of peaches were stranded in northern Greece and fears were spreading about the impact on products ranging from Spanish ham to Scottish mackerel.

Norwegian salmon prices are expected to fall 10 percent in the next week as a result of Russia's food sanctions, traders and analysts said on Friday, forcing farmers to scramble for new markets at a time when prices are already under pressure.

"It's important that the producers cut their output next week," said one exporter, who declined to be named. "When this ban was announced yesterday, it was complete chaos." Scotland's fishing industry also expected to be hit given Russia's importance as an export market for mackerel. The industry's main body said it was "extremely concerned".

Arla Foods, which says it is Europe's largest dairy cooperative, stopped production of all goods for the Russian market on Thursday night, it said on Friday. The market accounts for 1 billion Danish krone ($179.6 million) a year, or 1.3 percent of Arla's global annual revenue. — Reuters