MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany on Thursday emerged from marathon 16-hour talks to announce a comprehensive peace deal for eastern Ukraine, but questions remained whether Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels have agreed on all of its terms.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that the agreement envisages a cease-fire that will be effective starting from the start of the day Sunday (21000 GMT or 4 p.m. EST Saturday) as well as a special status for the rebel regions, provisions on border controls and humanitarian issues.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, however, denied that there was any agreement about autonomy in eastern Ukraine.

More than 5,300 people have died since April in the fighting, which continued to rage Thursday even as the four leaders were engaged in talks.

Speaking to reporters after the exhausting talks, Putin said "it was not the best night in my life but the morning, I think, it is good because we have managed to agree on the main things despite all the difficulties of the negotiations."

Putin added, however, that he and Poroshenko disagreed on assessing the situation in a key flashpoint, the government-held town of Debaltseve, which has been the focus of fierce fighting for weeks.

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French President Francois Hollande, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel hug each other after …

Putin's statement followed the talks brokered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, which dragged for nearly 16 deep into a second day Thursday as the four leaders desperately sought to resolve their differences.

Hollande said he and Merkel are committed to helping verify the cease-fire process in Ukraine, along with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

Speaking after the talks, Hollande said the announcement of a new cease-fire deal has come as a "relief to Europe."

A previous cease-fire agreed in September fell apart as Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels both tried to gain more ground.

"We came to an agreement, an agreement on a cease-fire and on a global political settlement of the Ukrainian conflict," Hollande said. "That global settlement will include all issues, from the cease-fire to the control of the border, to decentralization, and, of course, the pullback of heavy weapons and resuming economic relations."

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gestures as he speaks to the media after the peace talks in Min …

He also praised Putin for applying "pressure as much as necessary on the separatists."

"We were presented with various unacceptable conditions of withdrawal and surrender," Poroshenko told reporters after the talks. "We did not agree to any ultimatums and stated firmly that the cease-fire that is announced is unconditional."

Poroshenko also said the documents signed envisage the withdrawal of all foreign troops and militants from Ukraine — a reference to the soldiers and weapons that Ukraine and the West say Russia has sent into eastern Ukraine to back the rebels. Moscow has denied the accusations, saying Russians in eastern Ukraine were volunteers, but the sheer number of sophisticated heavy weapons in rebels' possession belies the denial.

The French-German diplomatic dash came as President Barack Obama considered rising calls at home for sending U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine, a move that the European leaders fear would only widen hostilities.

The urgency felt by all sides appeared to be underlined by the extraordinary length and discomfort of the talks, which began Wednesday evening in the Belarusian capital and continued uninterrupted through the night as crowds of reporters waited anxiously in a marble-floored, chandeliered convention hall in Minsk.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, enter a ha …

While the four leaders hailed the agreement, it became immediately clear that Russia and Ukraine continued to disagree on how to end fighting around Debaltseve, a key transport hub between the two main rebel-controlled eastern cities.

Putin said that the rebels consider the Ukrainian forces surrounded and expect them to surrender, while Ukraine says the troops have been blocked.

Putin urged the warring parties to show restraint, adding that they agreed with Poroshenko to clarify the situation on the ground.

The Russian leader said that the peace deal they reached also determines a division line from which heavy weapons will be pulled back.

The line of division and other key provisions were contained in a document endorsed by rebel chiefs and the representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. That agreement was endorsed by the four leaders, who issued a separate declaration.

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Associated Press writers Peter Leonard in Donetsk, Ukraine, Vladimir Isachenkov, Jim Heintz, Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

(Reuters) - Police in Washington state shot a man to death who threw rocks at them, officials said on Wednesday, as a video published online appearing to show the incident drew criticism of the officers' actions.

The police shooting in Pasco, Washington comes amid heightened tension across the country in the wake of high-profile police killings of unarmed minorities, particularly in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City.

Officers Ryan Flanagan, Adam Wright, and Adrian Alaniz arrived at the parking lot of a Fiesta Foods grocery store around 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday, where suspect Antonio Zambrano-Montes threw rocks at them, Pasco Police Chief Bob Metzger said in a statement.

The officers attempted to use a stun gun to incapacitate Zambrano-Montes after he would not obey commands to surrender, before they opened fire and killed him, the statement said.

A video of the incident posted on YouTube and cited by local media showed the man running away from the three officers before he was killed.

In the 22-second video, the man moves across the street from the pursuing policemen. He turns to face them briefly, lifting his right arm as if to throw another object, when they open fire, according to the video.

Pasco Police Captain Ken Roske said when reached by Reuters on Wednesday night that the department had reviewed videos of the incident, but could not confirm their authenticity.

"They certainly look like the right intersections," he said, adding that the Tri-City Special Investigation Unit would conduct a full probe into the shooting.

The Seattle Times, which linked to the video on its website, reported that a few dozen people gathered outside Pasco City Hall in protest of the shooting on Wednesday.

In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington called the incident "very disturbing," the paper said.

"Fleeing from police and not following an officer's command should not be sufficient for a person to get shot," ACLU of Washington Director Kathleen Taylor said in a statement, according to the Seattle Times.

Two officers were hit by rocks in the incident, police said. They were treated at the scene, and the extent of their injuries was not provided.

The officers were placed on administrative leave, as per department policy, the statement said.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco)

People walk on rubble as others try to put out a fire after what activists said were airstrikes followed by shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, February 9, 2015.

CREDIT: REUTERS/ MOHAMMED BADRA

(Reuters) - Syrian air force raids have killed at least 183 people in insurgent strongholds east of the capital in the past 10 days, a monitoring group said on Wednesday, in tit-for-tat bombing after rebels fired dozens of rockets at Damascus last week.

The bombs targeted the green belt of Ghouta around the capital and markets in the city of Douma, about 10 km (6 miles) northeast of central Damascus, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Syrian officials were not available to comment.

Rockets fired on Tuesday from Ghouta killed at least 10 people in Damascus. The group behind that attack, Islam Army, said it was in revenge for Syrian army bombing of civilian areas.

On Tuesday many of the wounded were taken from the rubble of flattened buildings to medical centers, the Observatory said.

One barrel bomb attack by Syrian forces last Thursday in a Ghouta market killed at least 40 people, the Observatory said.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday that the Syrian air force did not use barrel bombs, which are containers packed with explosives and projectiles that are dropped from helicopters.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Israeli police said more patrols would be on hand to respond to emergencies brought on by the weather.

In Beirut, Lebanon's capital city, strong waves broke fences, tiles and tore away part of its corniche overlooking the Mediterranean. The storm also brought heavy winds, rain and snow to the mountains.

Lebanese weather forecasters said the wind reached speeds of 60mph.

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Gaza: Palestinians walk along a coastal road in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City during a sandstorm on Wednesday February 11

Capital city: The strong sandstorm first reached Egypt yesterday (February 10), temporarily closing Cairo International Airport to incoming flights

Palestinians stand on the shore of the Mediterranian sea in al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City as huge waves caused by the storn batter the coast

Dust and rubble: A Palestinian man walks in the remains of his destroyed house during the sandstorm in Gaza City's al-Shijaiyah district

Even Prince Charles, who was on a visit to Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, was left windblown and relieved to be on firm ground after his plane experienced a tricky landing.

When Charles stepped off his chartered jet, he told Sultan that the landing had been 'bumpy' and he stuck his arms out and waved them up and down.

The combination of a strong crosswind and the dust storms meant the pilots had a more difficult touchdown than expected.

Swirling dust also plagued the visit to Al-Khuraibah, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Lihyan, and other archaeological sites in and around Al-Ula

As Charles and the Arab prince walked to a 6th century settlement at Al-Khuraibah, where walls still stand three feet high, a small dust storm sprang up and briefly engulfed the entourage of the two princes.

Charles joked: 'Do you mind if I keep my sunglasses on? The dust will get in my eyes.'

Pictured: Gaza City. Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry said air pollution levels were the country's worst in five years

Ihab Mohieddin, head of the Egyptian aviation authority, said departures from Cairo's airport were undisturbed, but arrivals were closed to flights for nearly 70 minutes after vision was reduced to about 165 yards.

Mohieddin said during the closure of Cairo's airspace, four flights were diverted to another airport, while a fifth returned to Amman, Jordan.

The country's second-busiest airport outside of the city of Alexandria was closed to arrivals and departures, and flights were diverted to other airports unaffected by the storm, he added.

Protection: A man covers his face to protect it from the sandstorm in a suburb of southwest Cairo, where the airport was temporarily closed to incoming flights

Refugee camp: The storm, make up of accumulated dust carried from the far reaches of the Sahara Desert in North Africa, reached as far as Gaza City

Severely reduced viability caused traffic in Egypt's capital city Cairo on Tuesday February 10, while Alexandria and nearby Dekheila ports were closed because of the weather

The storm, made up of accumulated dust carried from the far reaches of the Sahara Desert in North Africa, also engulfed Cairo for a second day

The sandstorm hit Egypt after unusually warm and sunny weather for a February day, and the sky over downtown Cairo turned yellow and blotted out the sun

The state news agency said Alexandria and nearby Dekheila ports were also closed because of the weather.

Waves crashed into the shore of the Sinai Peninsula near the resort town of Dahab, forcing lifeguards into the Red Sea to rescue swimmers and divers.

A Japanese diver, who was caught in high waves, was pictured being pulled to safety by a friend in the town.

The sandstorm hit Egypt after unusually warm and sunny weather for a February day, and the sky over downtown Cairo turned yellow and blotted out the sun, limiting visibility.

Rescued: Waves crashed into the shore of the Sinai Peninsula near the resort town of Dahab, forcing lifeguards into the Red Sea to rescue swimmers and divers

The strong sandstorm first reached Egypt yesterday and during the closure of Cairo's airspace, four flights were diverted to another airport, while a fifth returned to Amman, Jordan

Iconic Nile: A businessman walks beside the world's longest river in Cairo, which was engulfed in a sandstorm on Tuesday February 10

Egypt's second-busiest airport outside of the city of Alexandria was closed to arrivals and departures, and flights were diverted to other airports unaffected by the storm

Cairo Tower: The raging sandstorm swept through Egypt, as well as Israel, Palestine and Lebanon, causing air pollution and whipping up huge waves

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S. Korean military holds live fire exercises

North Korea stepped up its rhetoric against the South Wednesday, warning that its neighbour would face a "most miserable end" if it joined the US in "a war of aggression" against Pyongyang.

The threat follows a series of North Korean missile tests, reflecting escalating military tensions on the divided peninsula ahead of large-scale US-South Korea military drills next month.

"The South Korean authorities will not be able to escape the most miserable end if they persistently join the US moves for a war of aggression," the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement published through state media.

"If the South Korean warmongers offer cannon fodder for a US war of aggression against the DPRK (North Korea), South Korea will also be the target of our retaliatory strikes," it said.

The North also has access to "precision and diversified nuclear strike means" designed to target the US in the event of a war, the statement claimed.

On Sunday the North test-fired five short-range missiles into the sea, the day after it had trumpeted the test of a new "ultra-precision" anti-ship cruise missile under the watchful eye of leader Kim Jong-Un.

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South Korean men watch a TV news program on the launch of North Korea's new anti-ship cruise missile …

Next month sees the launch of annual joint exercises by the US and South Korean military, which regularly see North-South relations go into a vertiginous tail-spin.

Pyongyang views the drills as provocative rehearsals for invasion, while Seoul and Washington insist they are defensive in nature.

Last month, North Korea offered to suspend any further nuclear tests if this year's joint exercises were cancelled -- a proposal the US State Department described as a "non-starter".

North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests -- most recently in February 2013 -- and its moratorium offer was seen in Washington as an "implicit threat" to carry out a fourth.

Last week the North's top military body ruled out resuming dialogue with the "gangster-like" US, and vowed to respond to any US aggression with nuclear strikes and cyber warfare.