Europe

OSLO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Norway faced more floods and evacuations on Thursday as rivers swelled above their banks to their highest levels in decades after heavy rain that meteorologists said resulted from unusual weather patterns.

More than 4,000 people are currently evacuated from their homes in southern Norway, officials said, almost half of them in the town of Hoenefoss some 40 km (25 miles) north-west of Oslo, an increase from around 3,000 people on Wednesday.

KYIV, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea on Thursday to release cargo ships trapped in its ports since the outbreak of war, a new test of Russia's de facto blockade since Moscow abandoned a deal last month to let Kyiv export grain.

At least initially, the corridor would apply to vessels such as container ships that have been stuck in Ukrainian ports since the February 2022 invasion, and were not covered by the deal that opened the ports for grain shipments last year.

9 August 2023; MEMO: The UK and Turkiye have struck an agreement to "disrupt and dismantle" human smuggling and trafficking gangs across Europe, as well as the supply of small boat parts.

10 August 2023; MEMO: A Danish anti-Islamic and ultranationalist group escalated attacks Wednesday on the Quran, despite wide-ranging condemnation, reports Anadolu Agency.

Members of the Danske Patrioter, or Danish Patriots, burned copies of the Muslim holy book in front of the Turkish, Pakistani, Algerian, Indonesian and Iranian embassies in Copenhagen.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian rocket attack on Wednesday killed two people and wounded at least seven others in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, which is near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials said.

Although regional governor Yuriy Malashko initially said three people died in the attack on a residential area, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko later said two people died and one other person had been resuscitated.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Western countries' statements about providing security guarantees to Ukraine are empty, groundless excuses, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"Security guarantees presuppose the words 'guarantees' and 'security' and, overall, a range of certain characteristics as well, but these are missing here. No one here can even say anything about it, so these are empty, absolutely groundless excuses that are becoming more and more numerous," the diplomat told Sputnik Radio.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Poland is planning to form a joint Polish-Ukrainian military unit ostensibly for security, but with the ulterior motive of occupying western Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu said.

He drew attention to the dangers associated with Poland’s militarization. "there are plans to create a permanent so-called Polish-Ukrainian formation ostensibly to ensure the security of Western Ukraine, but in fact - for the subsequent occupation of this territory," he said.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: Russian assault groups continued their advance in the Kupyansk area over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.

"In the Kupyansk direction, assault teams of the western battlegroup capitalizing on the results of air and artillery strikes continued their offensive on a wide front in their areas of responsibility and improved their tactical position," the spokesman said.

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: The dollar surpassed 98 rubles on the Moscow Exchange for the first time since March 25, 2022.

The dollar grew by 0.95% to 98.03 rubles and later slowed down to 98.01 rubles (+0.94%). At the same time, the euro rose by 1.21% to 107.75 rubles, the yuan - by 1.04% to 13.56 rubles.

The MOEX index added 0.99% and reached 3,115.99 points, the RTS index was at the level of 1,001.64 points (+0.18%).

MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/: EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell is simply twisting the facts, putting forward unfounded, untenable arguments in his statements concerning the Black Sea grain deal and Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.