UKRAINE: Heavy fighting raged in the Kharkiv region today forcing at least 4,000 civilians to evacuate towns and villages, officials said.

The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the region, giving up more land as Russian forces continued their major advances.

POLAND: A fire broke out this morning in a vast shopping centre housing 1,400 shops and service outlets in the Bialoleka district in Poland’s capital.

The fire brigade said more than 80 per cent of the Marywilska 44 shopping complex was on fire, and 50 teams, including chemical and environmental rescue specialists, were carrying out rescue operations.

A police spokesperson told the news agency PAP there were no injuries reported. Authorities also sent a text message warning Warsaw residents, telling them to stay at home with the windows closed.

CANADA: A fourth Indian national living in Canada was charged on Saturday with the killing of a Sikh separatist leader last June that became the centre of a major diplomatic row with India.

British Columbia’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said in a release that Amandeep Singh was already in the custody of Peel Regional Police in Ontario for unrelated firearms charges.

PAKISTAN: A protest against rising costs of food, fuel and utility bills turned violent in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, leaving a police officer dead and dozens of people injured, officials said today.

A police officer was killed in Dadyal town, authorities said. 

Police have detained several demonstrators across Kashmir, which is divided between Pakistan and India.