Washington, August 30
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States will use a NATO summit next week to push for a coalition of countries to beat back incursions in Syria and Iraq by Islamic State militants who are destabilising the region and beyond.

"With a united response led by the United States and the broadest possible coalition of nations, the cancer of ISIS will not be allowed to spread to other countries," Kerry wrote in an opinion piece published in The New York Times on Saturday.

Public anger over the beheading of American journalist James Foley has led President Barack Obama to consider military strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria. So far, the United States has limited its actions to the group's forces in Iraq.

The militant group, also referred to as both ISIS and ISIL, has seized about a third of each country and declared a caliphate, a reference to an Islamic state ruled by a caliph, which indicates a successor to the Prophet Mohammad, with temporal authority over all Muslims.

Kerry said he and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will meet with their European counterparts to enlist support for a coalition to act against Islamic State militants. "The goal is to enlist the broadest possible assistance," he wrote.

Hagel and Kerry will then travel to the Middle East to shore up support from countries directly affected by the Islamic State threat, he said. Islamic State fighters have exhibited "repulsive savagery and cruelty" as they try to touch off a broader sectarian conflict, Kerry wrote. — Reuters

Taking on Putin: People hold leaflets, reading “Stop Putin” and “Ukraine: 22 years without the war” during a rally against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kiev on Saturday. AFP

Brussels, August 30
European Union leaders today were poised to impose new sanctions against Russia as Ukraine's president warned the conflict with Moscow threatens peace and stability for Europe as a whole. Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko said a strong EU response is needed because his country is subject to "military aggression and terror."

"Thousand(s) of the foreign troops and hundreds of the foreign tanks are now on the territory of Ukraine," Poroshenko told reporters, speaking in English. "There is a very high risk not only for peace and stability for Ukraine but for the whole peace and stability of Europe."

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said before a summit of the 28-nation EU's leaders in Brussels that "sanctions are not and end in themselves" but a means to dissuade Russia from further destabilizing Ukraine.

"Russia should not underestimate the European Union's will and resolve to stand by its principles and values," he told reporters, adding that the escalation seen over the past week cannot go unpunished. "The opening of new fronts and the use of Russian regular forces (on Ukrainian soil) is not acceptable and represents a grave transgression," Barroso added.

NATO estimates that at least 1,000 Russian soldiers are in Ukraine even though Russia denies any military involvement in the fighting that has so far claimed 2,600 lives, according to UN figures.

Conceding ground in the face of a reinvigorated rebel offensive, Ukraine said today that it was abandoning a city where its forces have been surrounded by rebels for days.

The statements by Col Andriy Lysenko indicate that Ukrainian forces are facing increasingly strong resistance from Russian-backed separatist rebels just weeks after racking up significant gains and forcing rebels out of much of the territory they had held. — AP

Johannesburg, August 30
Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane confirmed today that the military had seized power in a coup in the tiny kingdom and that he had fled to neighbouring South Africa in fear of his life.

"I have been removed from control not by the people but by the armed forces, and that is illegal," Thabane told the BBC.

"I came into South Africa this morning and I will return as soon as my life is not in danger," he said.

Lesotho's military seized control of police headquarters and the premier's residence in the capital Maseru in the early hours today, but later withdrew, a government minister told AFP.

"The armed forces, the special forces of Lesotho, have taken the headquarters of the police," said sports minister and leader of the Basotho National Party, Thesele Maseribane.

"The (military) commander said he was looking for me, the PM and the deputy PM to take us to the king. In our country, that means a coup," he said.

The putsch comes just months after a power struggle in the landlocked country that describes itself as the "kingdom in the sky".

Maseribane said people with guns were roaming the city but that he had no information about casualties, accusing the military of jamming radio stations and phone networks.

He accused deputy PM Mothetjoa Metsing, leader of coalition partner Lesotho Congress for Democracy, of involvement in the move to seize power. — AFP

Lahore/Islamabad, August 30
Stepping up pressure on embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, cleric Tahir ul-Qadri set a fresh 24-hour deadline for him to quit as protests around Parliament entered the 17th day today amid efforts by Pakistan army to mediate.

In a late night development, Qadri's camp was visited by a delegation of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) led by vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who convinced the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief to delay his next move.

Following the meeting, the first direct contact between the two groups since they together started the march on August 14, Qadri set a 24-hour deadline for the Premier to step down.

Putting up a brave front, Sharif was dismissive of the protest, describing it as a "tiny storm" that will end soon. Indicating that certain forces were trying to target him, the Pakistan Premier asserted that "conspiracy" against democracy will not be tolerated. "We will not tolerate any conspiracy against democracy. Everyone has seen how many people are part of the sit-ins," he said, adding his government would not let the protesters take Parliament hostage."

A few thousands cannot undo the mandate of millions of people, he said. Qadri has set a number of deadlines since camping outside the Parliament since August 14.

After their meeting, Qureshi reiterated his party's request to postpone further action, which the protesters did not agree to. At this, Qadri came out of his container and asked his followers to give their assent to the PTI proposal.

He said PAT and PTI had a number of views in common and shared the same struggle, cautioning supporters that the government intended to create a split between the two. — PTI