BBC News with Natalia Royston.

There have been violent clashes between the anti-government protestors and the security forces in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Thousands of demonstrators led by the opposition politician Imran Khan and the cleric Tahir ul Qadri had been holding a sitting outside the office of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, calling for him to step down. Mr. Qadri said policemen opened fire accusing them of a terrorist act.

For 17 days, there was not a single, minor act of violence. And up to now, not a single person of the marches is armed. But the government has started state terrorism, first of all they started the shelling, then they started tear gases, and then they started violent fighting. The whole thing is by God unimaginable.

The BBC correspondent in the city Shahzeb Jillani said the protestors were not entirely peaceful.

From the reports that we are getting this wasn't entirely one-sided. Many of these protestors were carrying sticks, they were carrying slain shots. They also threw rocks at the police. Now reports we are getting is that about a hundred people are injured so far and there are reports that a number of people may have died. But there is no doubt that the situation has really deteriorated tonight.

The Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says European Union leaders have agreed to prepare new sanctions against Russian over its intervention in the conflict in the east of the country. Speaking after meeting with EU leaders in Brussels, Mr. Poroshenko warned of serious consequences if efforts to end the current hostilities failed.

I think that we are very close to the point of non-return, full-scale war, which already happened under territory controlled by separatists. And there are, instead of separatists, are regular Russian troops. And that's why we undertake the enormous efforts to stop that, and to bring the discussion in a diplomatic format.

The European Union has chosen the Polish Prime Minister Donalk Tusk as the next president of the European Council, replacing Herman Van Rompuy. The new Foreign Policy chief is to be the current Foreign Minister of Italy Federica Mogherini. The announcement came as EU leaders discussed imposing further sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. Ms. Mogherini stressed the need to keep diplomatic channels open despite discussion about sanctions.

We still all know that the military way is not the solution to the crisis, for the benefits of the Ukrainians first. And so,as we think and we work on the level of sanctions, we also have to keep the diplomatic way open. And that's our job to do both, hoping that the combination, a wise combination can be effective, which has not been the case so far.

This is Natalia Royston with the latest World News from the BBC.

The Iraqi Army has, backed by Shiite militia forces and Kurdish fighters has launched a major offensive to try to break the siege by the Islamic State jihadists in the town of Amerli. Thousands of people have been trapped in the town for two months,though it is believed there are fewer than previously estimated. Sebastian Usher reports.

The people of Amerli have held up for two months against the jihadist fighters. Iraqi Army has been preparing for days for a concerted offensive to lift the siege of the town. That is now underway on several fronts. So now the Army is backed up by Kurdish fighters as well as Shiite militias. The Iraqi Air Forces is providing cover. Officials denied any involvement from US, which has carried out a number of air strikes against IS elsewhere. The cooperation with the Kurds and Shiite militias will give heart to those inside and outside Iraq who want to see IS driven back. But it's unlikely to be after it recaptured the Sunni heart land that the jihadists have seized; and there the Sunnis themselves take on ISIS, as they once did with their precursor al-Qaeda in Iraq.

An Indian soldier has been killed and a second wounded in clashes with rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir. The Indian Military said the insurgents had crossed the line of control from Pakistan. India's Defense Minister said the incident was extremely serious.

Reports from Sierra Leone say another doctor has died from the Ebola virus. He has contracted the disease while treating infected patients. More than 20 health workers have so far lost their lives to the virus in that country, and many have now gone on strike over non-payments of allowances. Earlier, Liberia lifted a quarantine cordon on a large slum it sealed off more than a week ago to contain the spread of the virus.

Police in Spain have found a seriously ill five-year-old British boy who'd been removed from hospital in England by his parents on Thursday without the doctor's consent. Police are questioning the parents. The boy Ashya King has a brain tumor.

BBC News.