Europe

MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/: A Russian Su-30 plane prevented border violation by a US MQ-9A Reaper drone over the Black Sea, Russia’s National Defense Management Center said on Sunday.

"On August 27, 2023, Russian air control tools detected an aerial target approaching the state border over the Black Sea. A Su-30 fighter jet from the air defense alert forces was scrambled to identify the aerial target and prevent border violation. The crew of the Russian fighter jet identified the aerial target as a US MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle," it said.

GROZNY, August 27. /TASS/: Russian forces repelled an attempted attack by Ukrainian troops in the Kleshcheyevo area in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday.

"Back to the news from the Kleshcheyevo area. <…> A new video shows the results achieved by the Akhmat special unit jointly with the soldiers <…> of the army corps under the wise command of my dear brother, General Apty Alaudinov <…>. These are the deplorable results of the Ukrainian army’s attempt to attack this morning," Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel.

BUCHAREST, Aug 27 (Reuters) - One person died and 57 were injured after two explosions at a liquefied petroleum gas station in the Romanian town of Crevedia near the capital Bucharest on Saturday.

After the first explosion, the fire spread to two fuel tanks and a nearby house, leading authorities to evacuate everyone within a radius of 700 meters, while traffic on the main road nearby was blocked, according to the government's emergency response unit (IGSU).

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Russia launched an overnight air attack against Ukraine on Sunday, sending missiles over other northern and central parts of the country, authorities said.

The Ukrainian military reported shooting down four cruise missiles out of up to eight total airborne targets detected, adding that the rest of the targets were "probably false".

It also said there were no immediate reports of strikes.

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities on Sunday found 53 people apparently headed for Germany crammed into a small truck that was stopped in the Austrian city of Linz.

Four men were in the cabin of the vehicle when it was stopped on Sunday morning, one of whom fled on foot after getting out of the vehicle, police said. He was arrested, as were three others, on suspicion of smuggling.

In the truck’s cargo compartment, officers found the 53 people, including small children. Most of them were from Turkey, police said.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities on Sunday confirmed the death of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, putting to rest any doubts about whether the wily mercenary leader turned mutineer was on a plane that crashed Wednesday, killing everyone on board.

25 August 2023; MEMO: The Danish government will ban public desecration of the Quran, the country’s Justice Minister said on Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Peter Hummelgaard said the government will introduce a bill to ban the burning of religious scriptures in public places, Ekstra Bladet newspaper reported.

26 August 2023; MEMO: France’s financial crimes prosecutor’s office said on Friday that former President Nicolas Sarkozy will stand trial in 2025 on charges of corruption and receiving illegal campaign funding from Libyan government for his campaign in the 2007 presidential elections that he won.

Sarkozy has always denied these accusations.

He said in a 2018 interview that there isn’t the slightest evidence of the claims. 

LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Around 2,000 artefacts including gold jewellery and gems had been stolen from the British Museum over a long period of time, but recovery efforts were already under way, the museum's chair George Osborne said on Saturday.

The museum, one of London's most popular attractions whose treasures include the Rosetta Stone, an ancient Egyptian relic inscribed with hieroglyphs and other texts, said last week a member of staff had been dismissed after items dating from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD had been taken from a storeroom.

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said on Friday a Ukrainian drone attack had hit a Russian military base deep inside annexed Crimea, while residents reported casualties, explosions and a road closure.

Early on Friday, Russia reported one of the biggest coordinated Ukrainian air raids yet over Russian-controlled territory but said air defence systems had downed all 42 drones attacking Crimea before they could hit their targets.