Defense Minister Shoigu ordered military units to step up their operations to prevent strikes on Russian-controlled areas.

Rights groups are calling for a probe into allegations of war crimes by UK troops in Afghanistan.

The local governor of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine has called on civilians to urgently evacuate the city of Sloviansk, as Russian forces push ahead to capture the entire Donbass.

As the Russian and Ukrainian armies fight for control of the Luhansk region, our reporter visits a village on the outskirts of Donetsk, which is caught in the middle of the artilleries between the opposing sides.

Russia has urged the Ukrainian forces holed up in a chemical plant in the strategic city of Severodonetsk in the Donbass to lay down their arms by early Wednesday, as it pushes ahead to completely bring the eastern region under its control.

Iraqi security forces have captured more than a dozen Daesh terrorists during a large-scale operation in the capital Baghdad.

Russia has announced a three-day ceasefire in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol to allow the evacuation of civilians from a steel plant in the city.

Russian forces have reportedly launched a series of fresh assaults on different sites in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow's offensive against the former Soviet country continues.

Iryna Vereshchuk says ten humanitarian corridors will evacuate civilians from the besieged cities and towns.

The UN rights chief says Myanmar's military has engaged in widespread human rights violations and abuses, calling on the international community to  take concerted, immediate measures to stem the spiral of violence in the Southeast Asian country.