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Russia Insists it is Observing Ukraine Ceasefire Despite Kyiv Attacks

Putin had unilaterally ordered his forces to pause attacks for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas. Reuters
Putin had unilaterally ordered his forces to pause attacks for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas. Reuters
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Russia Insists it is Observing Ukraine Ceasefire Despite Kyiv Attacks

Putin had unilaterally ordered his forces to pause attacks for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas. Reuters
Putin had unilaterally ordered his forces to pause attacks for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas. Reuters

Moscow insisted Saturday its army was observing a ceasefire it unilaterally declared in Ukraine to mark Orthodox Christmas despite artillery attacks by Kyiv troops.

"Despite the shelling of the armed forces of Ukraine of settlements and Russian positions, the implementation of the declared ceasefire will continue," the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

The statement however added that over the past 24 hours Russian forces repelled a number of attacks by the Ukrainian army in eastern Ukraine and killed dozens of its troops.

AFP journalists in the town of Chasiv Yar south of the frontline city of Bakhmut on Saturday heard heavy artillery fire for much of Saturday morning.

On Saturday, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said that Russia launched one missile strike and fired 20 rounds from multiple rocket launchers over the past 24 hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had unilaterally ordered his forces to pause attacks for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas.

Ukraine has dismissed the halt -- due to last until the end of Saturday (2100 GMT) -- as a tactic by Russia to gain time to regroup its forces and bolster its defenses following a series of battlefield setbacks.

Orthodox Christians observe Christmas on January 7.

Also Saturday, Putin praised the Russian Orthodox Church for supporting Moscow's forces fighting in Ukraine in an Orthodox Christmas message designed to rally people behind his vision of modern Russia.

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World

Belgian Wildfire ‘Encircled’ but Situation Still ‘Complicated’

A firefighter gestures to another as smoke emanates from burnt vegetation during operations against a wildfire at the Hautes Fagnes (High Fens) nature reserve near Baelen, on August 18, 2026. (AFP)
A firefighter gestures to another as smoke emanates from burnt vegetation during operations against a wildfire at the Hautes Fagnes (High Fens) nature reserve near Baelen, on August 18, 2026. (AFP)
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Belgian Wildfire ‘Encircled’ but Situation Still ‘Complicated’

A firefighter gestures to another as smoke emanates from burnt vegetation during operations against a wildfire at the Hautes Fagnes (High Fens) nature reserve near Baelen, on August 18, 2026. (AFP)
A firefighter gestures to another as smoke emanates from burnt vegetation during operations against a wildfire at the Hautes Fagnes (High Fens) nature reserve near Baelen, on August 18, 2026. (AFP)

Firefighters managed overnight to fully surround Belgium's largest wildfire in a century, but the situation on the ground "remains complicated" with crews battling several new flare-ups, authorities said Wednesday.

Crisis cell spokesman Tony Hosmans said the fire raging in the High Fens nature reserve "has been encircled" and is not moving east towards Germany, with the goal today to bring it under control "if possible with aerial support".

"The situation remains complicated due to a number of flare-ups that have occurred in various parts of the site," he added.

The blaze charring the expanse of peatland, pine trees and hiking trails grew over the weekend to half the size of Manhattan -- 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) -- although hundreds of firefighters working night and day have managed to stop it spreading further.

The last area to be circumscribed was a hard-to-access front closest to the German border, with ground crews working all night to close the gap, coming in from the east and north under very difficult conditions.

On-site operations have been complicated by the fens' terrain -- a patchwork of heath, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks.

Water-bombing aircraft from Norway, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands flew in to help, but they were unable to operate at all on Tuesday due to low clouds.

Rain falling intermittently on the area has slowed the fire's spread by increasing humidity levels, but the weather has badly hampered aerial support since Monday.

- Burning underground -

Europe has been swept by weeks of devastating wildfires fueled by dry conditions and a historically hot summer, with France, Greece, Portugal and Spain also battling major blazes.

The High Fens blaze broke out Friday for reasons still unknown in an area that was ravaged by massive fires in 1911, during a similar period of heatwaves.

It is the country's largest wildfire since.

The fire triggered evacuation orders in the German border town of Monschau as well as two Belgian villages, although residents of the hamlet of Sourbrodt have been given the green light to return home.

Even once brought under control, officials have warned it will take weeks or even months of soaking and dousing to prevent the fire from reigniting.

"The fire is burning in the peat, so it is actually underground, sometimes quite deep," explained area fire chief David Covens on a trip into a fire zone.

"Whenever we disturb the ground, when we cut down a tree and expose the soil, the fire can reignite," he said. "We're doing everything we can with the resources available, but we know this is going to take a long time."

World

Hotel Blaze in India's West Bengal Kills 9 and Injures 6

FILED - 16 November 2024, India, New Delhi: An Indian ambulance is parked on the side of the road. Photo: Dirk Godder/dpa
FILED - 16 November 2024, India, New Delhi: An Indian ambulance is parked on the side of the road. Photo: Dirk Godder/dpa
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Hotel Blaze in India's West Bengal Kills 9 and Injures 6

FILED - 16 November 2024, India, New Delhi: An Indian ambulance is parked on the side of the road. Photo: Dirk Godder/dpa
FILED - 16 November 2024, India, New Delhi: An Indian ambulance is parked on the side of the road. Photo: Dirk Godder/dpa

A fire broke out at a hotel in Kolkata in the early hours Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring six in the capital of India’s West Bengal state, police said.

The blaze erupted around 1:45 a.m. at a hotel in central Kolkata close to the West Bengal Fire Department headquarters, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Five fire engines were deployed to bring the blaze under control, while police and disaster management teams carried out rescue operations, the report said. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Firefighters struggled to reach people trapped on the upper floors as thick smoke engulfed the building, a police officer told the news agency.

The fire was brought under control, The Associated Press quoted the officer as saying.

Authorities said their immediate focus was on rescuing anyone still trapped inside and investigating the cause of the fire, which was not immediately known.

Nine people have been confirmed dead but the toll could rise, police told PTI.

Deadly fires, often linked to electrical faults or gas cylinder explosions, are common in India where investigators have frequently pointed to safety lapses and inadequate enforcement of fire regulations as contributing to recurring loss of life.

On Monday, a blaze at a hotel in West Bengal’s temple town of Tarapith left at least seven people dead and several others critically injured.

World

Ebola Cases in Congo Exceed 5,000

People wearing protective clothing prepare for the burial of a man at Nyamurongo Cemetery in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 August 2026. EPA/DIEUDONNE DIROLE
People wearing protective clothing prepare for the burial of a man at Nyamurongo Cemetery in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 August 2026. EPA/DIEUDONNE DIROLE
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Ebola Cases in Congo Exceed 5,000

People wearing protective clothing prepare for the burial of a man at Nyamurongo Cemetery in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 August 2026. EPA/DIEUDONNE DIROLE
People wearing protective clothing prepare for the burial of a man at Nyamurongo Cemetery in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 August 2026. EPA/DIEUDONNE DIROLE

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo now exceeds 5,000, government data showed late on Tuesday, as health officials warn that response efforts are failing to contain the deadly disease.

Congo's 17th Ebola epidemic turned into the biggest in the country's history ⁠in terms of ⁠number of cases in late July and over the weekend the death toll hit 2,378, the public health institute said, surpassing the previous worst outbreak ⁠in 2018-2020.

The institute has so far logged 5,021 cases, according to its latest situation report, making it the second-worst outbreak globally, behind only the 2014 to 2016 epidemic in West Africa in both infections and deaths.

The ongoing outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, ⁠which ⁠has no approved vaccines or treatments.

It has gained momentum since it was declared on May 15, as weak health infrastructure, community resistance, instability and protests by response workers hinder efforts to identify and respond to cases.