Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Easter has visited the ancient Christian town of Maaloula, which the army troops recently recaptured from militants, state television says.
Four people have been reported killed in a gun battle in restive eastern Ukraine, shattering a fragile Easter truce in the crisis-hit former Soviet republic.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry has slammed Israel for preventing UN and European diplomats from passing through a barricade to attend a pre-Easter ritual in a church in al-Quds (Jerusalem).