International

Ukraine's parliament has passed a new law to increase the size of the armed forces to counter the threat from pro-Russian separatists in the east.

The bill proposes a force of 250,000 personnel, including 204,000 active troops - up from 184,000.

The government said its army began the second stage of withdrawing its heavy weapons on Thursday in line with the ceasefire agreed in Minsk last month.

A lull in fighting has led to hopes that the truce may be broadly holding.

Rebels battled government troops in the village of Shyrokyne, near Mariupol, in the early hours of Thursday, interior ministry adviser Zoryan Shkiryak said. But he added that there had been no other serious fighting in the area.

Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said it had started military exercises involving anti-aircraft troops.

They are taking place in southern Russia, as well as in the disputed Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the Crimean peninsular, which was annexed by Russia from Ukraine last year.