Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has criticised new sanctions imposed by the US on the country as a “very ugly move”.

NATO as accused Russia of breaching Ukraine’s sovereignty by directly supporting rebels in the east of the country.

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, speaking after an emergency meeting with NATO ambassadors, said that "despite hollow denials", it was clear that Russian forces illegally crossed the border into Ukrainian territory.

"This is not an isolated action, but part of a dangerous pattern over many months to destabilise Ukraine as a sovereign nation," he said.

"This is a blatant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It defies all diplomatic efforts for a peaceful solution."

Rasmussen called on Russia to halt all military action and supporting the rebels, and to take “immediate and verifiable steps towards de-escalation of this grave crisis".

Kurdish forces have recaptured three oil fields near the city of Mosul, which were overrun by Islamic State militants in recent weeks.

IS blew up the installations at Ain Zalah as they retreated from the Kurdish Peshmerga attack.

The water situation in the US city of Detroit has been described by the UN as “an affront to human rights”.

Around a third of the total population in the city, which declared bankruptcy last year, are faced with having their water supply cut off as they are unable to pay their bill, The Times reported.

More than a thousand Russian troops are operating inside Ukrainian territory according to NATO, who released satellite images showing forces with heavy weaponry.

"Over the past two weeks we have noted a significant escalation in both the level and sophistication of Russia's military interference in Ukraine," Dutch Brigadier-General Nico Tak, head of NATO's crisis management centre said reports Reuters.

"We assess well over 1,000 Russian troops are now operating inside Ukraine," he said, referring to Russia's actions as "incursions" rather than an invasion. "They are supporting separatists (and) fighting with them."

"We have also detected large quantities of advanced weapons, including air defence systems, artillery, tanks and armoured personnel carriers being transferred to separatist forces in eastern Ukraine," he said.

The UN Security Council met in an emergency session, and NATO and EU leaders said they will will consider a response on Friday, but Russia denied that its troops where in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Peter Poroschenko also said that Russians were supporting pro-Moscow rebels, who captured Novoazovsk and other parts of southeast Ukraine.

Members of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (Undof) in Syria’s Golan Heights are being held by an “armed group” according to the UN.

A UN spokesperson said the 43 peacekeepers were detained "during a period of increased fighting beginning yesterday between armed elements and Syrian Arab Armed Forces within the area of separation".