The Chinese military staged a second day of exercises around Taiwan on Wednesday, launching live-fire strikes in the East China Sea and practicing blockade operations near crucial shipping lanes to the east and west of the island.

Britain on Wednesday joined the U.S., European Union and Japan in expressing concern over Chinese military exercises around Taiwan, calling for restraint and to avoid actions that undermine peace in the region.

China has conducted military drills around Taiwan for a second day focusing on the Taiwan Strait separating the self-governing island democracy from China that is a crucial conduit for international trade.

Myanmar’s ruling military has declared a temporary ceasefire in the country’s civil war to facilitate relief efforts following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 3,000 people.

A major rebel alliance in Myanmar on Tuesday declared a unilateral ceasefire in its conflict with the ruling military to support an international humanitarian response to last week's devastating earthquake.

State television MRTV said the truce would run until April 22 and was aimed at showing compassion for people affected by Friday's quake.

The spring call-up for a year's military service came several months after Putin said Russia should increase the overall size of its military to almost 2.39 million and its number of active servicemen to 1.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has ordered 160,000 Russians be called up for military service, marking the country's highest number of conscripts in 14 years. The new order is to be carried out from April 1 to July 15 and applies to Russian men aged 18-30.