Presidents Putin and Poroshenko have agreed on a permanent ceasefire in the Donbass area of east Ukraine, the Ukrainian leader’s press office reports following a phone conversation between the two. “The phone call resulted in an agreement on a permanent ceasefire in Donbass. An understanding has been reached on the steps to be taken to end the hostilities,” a corresponding message from Poroshenko’s... 

A long-term truce in Gaza has been agreed with Israel, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas said. The ceasefire announced by Egypt came into effect at 16:00 GMT with almost immediate reports of warning sirens going off in southern Israel. “We have responded to the Egyptian proposal for a complete and comprehensive cease-fire, which starts at 19:00 Cairo time,” Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas,... 

Masses of people are fleeing renewed Israeli bombardment in Gaza. At least 40 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza strip on Friday, with Israel also alleging that Hamas had fired early morning rockets. This latest, 72-hour UN-brokered ceasefire, has now officially collapsed. Soon after the ceasefire started at 8am local time (05:00 GMT), an Israeli tank opened fire in the southern Rafah area,... 

Israel and Hamas have agreed to unconditionally begin a 72-hour ceasefire in the embattled Gaza Strip on Friday, the United States and United Nations said Thursday. The ceasefire will begin at 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Friday, Aug. 1, US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in a joint statement. During the three-day cessation, forces on the ground will remain... 

The aftermath of an artillery shelling of Slavyansk by the Ukrainian military. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has decided to not prolong the ceasefire with Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, announcing an end to a fragile deal to deescalate tensions in the country’s eastern regions. “We will attack and will free our land,” Poroshenko said. The ceasefire officially ended at 19:00... 

Over 1,000 protesters led by the Ukrainian army’s Donbass Battalion fighters gathered for a rally in central Kiev on Sunday. The demonstrators are demanding that President Petro Poroshenko end the ceasefire and impose martial law. The Sunday rally was organized by Donbass Battalion Commander Semyon Semenchenko, who told the pro-Kiev protesters on his Facebook page to gather near the presidential... 

Qatar’s prime minister has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to intervene and impose a ceasefire in Syria. The premier made the comments at the 11th annual US-Islamic World Forum in Doha on Monday. “It is incumbent on the international community, especially the Security Council, to act urgently and decisively to adopt a resolution…to ensure the security and safety... 

At least one Palestinian has been killed and seven others injured by Israeli fire in the southern Gaza Strip despite an Egypt-mediated ceasefire. Medical sources said a 21-year-old Palestinian lost his life on Friday as Israeli forces opened fire in the village of Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis. The Palestinian emergency service identified the dead man as Abdelhadi Qdeih Anwar, a farmer who wanted to...