The FBI had no prior knowledge of a police raid in the Philippines last Sunday to arrest wanted militants that went awry and left 44 police dead, an FBI spokesman told Reuters on Saturday.
Germany's Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she hoped a new round of talks with Ukraine and Russia in Berlin could help implement an elusive ceasefire in eastern Ukraine but warned against expecting too much, given another upsurge in the violence.
French President Francois Hollande said after an impromptu visit to Russia for crisis talks with Vladimir Putin on Saturday that a ceasefire could take hold in eastern Ukraine in the next few days.
Fresh volleys of artillery fire were heard across many parts of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, a Ukrainian government statement said, after Kiev warned again of rebel preparations for a fresh offensive.
