Pro-Russian rebels accuse Ukraine of breaking ceasefire
Donetsk, September 6
Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine today accused Kiev's forces of breaking a ceasefire just hours after it was agreed, and vowed to pursue their independence drive in the east.



A destroyed tank is seen on the outskirts the key southeastern port city of Mariupol on Saturday. AFP

Russia, Ukraine say ceasefire holding, more steps needed
Kiev/Donetsk, September 6
The Presidents of Russia and Ukraine said on Saturday that a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists was holding up fairly well and they discussed urgent humanitarian aid for the shattered region.

Newport, September 6
The US and key allies has agreed that the Islamic State group is a significant threat to NATO countries and that they will take on the militants by squeezing their financial resources and going after them with military might.

With the Islamic State militants spreading across eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq, President Barack Obama noted that the moderate Syrian rebels fighting both the group and the government of Bashar Assad are "outgunned and outmanned." In addition to the action pledged by fellow NATO leaders, he pressed Arab allies to reject the "nihilism" projected by the group.

The new NATO coalition will be able to mount a sustained effort to push back the militants, Obama said. The US secretaries of State and Defense, meeting with their counterparts at the international gathering, insisted the Western nations build a plan by the time the UN General Assembly meets this month.

"I did not get any resistance or pushback to the basic notion that we have a critical role to play in rolling back this savage organization that is causing so much chaos in the region and is harming so many people and poses a long-term threat to the safety and security of NATO members," Obama said at the summit conclusion. "So there's great conviction that we have to act, as part of the international community, to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL, and that was extremely encouraging."

Laying out a strategy for Iraq, Obama hinted at a broader military campaign, likening it to the way US forces pushed back al-Qaida along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. — AP

Islamabad, September 6
At least 160 persons have been killed and 148 others injured in torrential monsoon rains in Pakistan that have wreaked havoc across the country as troops raced to evacuate people from deluged areas.

Premier Nawaz Sharif today chaired a meeting to review rain and flood situation in the country and the damage caused to life and property by incessant showers.

Monsoon rains continue to wreak havoc across Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), increasing the death toll to at least 160, Express News reported today.

The downpour, termed as one of the heaviest ever, started on Wednesday and has since continued to lash certain parts of the country.

Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Major General Muhammad Saeed Aleem briefed the Prime Minister about the ongoing relief activities and measures being taken at the district, provincial and national levels to cope with the emergent situation. Areas in Punjab, PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan have been affected by the rains and flooding. — PTI

Donetsk, September 6
Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine today accused Kiev's forces of breaking a ceasefire just hours after it was agreed, and vowed to pursue their independence drive in the east.

A leading member of the parliament established by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said Ukrainian units had launched several missiles toward rebel positions after the truce went into effect yesterday. "The ceasefire's terms are not being observed," Vladimir Makovich told AFP.

Yesterday "at 9 pm, we saw several missiles launched on the outskirts of the city of Donetsk, and also a heavy armoured column moving from the (neighbouring southwestern region) of Zaporizhia."

His comments were echoed by the "prime minister" of the People's Republic, Aleksander Zakharchenko, in comments to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. "It is too early to speak completely of a ceasefire," he said.

Ukraine's military said earlier there had been no fighting in Donetsk since the ceasefire deal and AFP reporters in conflict zones said the situation appeared to be calm.

The rebel Donetsk parliament's speaker Boris Litvinov insisted that the separatists had not given up their goal of an independent state in the east despite the truce.

He said he disagreed with most of the terms made public by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko after the 12-point peace pact was signed by representatives of Kiev and the rebels in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

"The elements announced by Poroshenko are unacceptable to us. Only two of the articles that they made public were acceptable-the ceasefire and the prisoners swap," Litvinov said in an interview. — AFP

Kiev/Donetsk, September 6
The Presidents of Russia and Ukraine said on Saturday that a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists was holding up fairly well and they discussed urgent humanitarian aid for the shattered region.

Residents and combatants in eastern Ukraine welcomed the respite in a five-month conflict that has killed at least 2,600 people but said they did not expect it to last. They also each accused the enemy of using the truce to rebuild their forces.

"The two heads of state stated that overall the ceasefire was being implemented ... (and) discussed steps to achieve a permanent ceasefire," Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko said in a statement after his telephone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

The Presidents also expressed support for the full involvement of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a rights watchdog, in monitoring the ceasefire. The Kremlin later put out a similar statement on the talks.

In the days before the ceasefire, fighting had been fierce in two hotspots — in rebel-held Donetsk, the region's industrial hub, and also near the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.

Both cities were quiet on Saturday, despite some isolated shelling near Donetsk's airport, which remains in government hands.

Meanwhile, the European Union announced new economic sanctions against Russia late on Friday over its role in Ukraine but said they could be suspended if Moscow withdraws its troops and observes the conditions of the ceasefire.

Russia's foreign ministry responded angrily on Saturday to the measures, pledging unspecified "reaction" if they were implemented. Moscow responded to a previous round of US and EU sanctions by banning most Western food imports. — Reuters