Europe

Aug 9 (Reuters) - Russia will build up forces at its western borders following Finland's accession to the U.S.-led NATO alliance, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told the governing board of the ministry on Wednesday.

In opening remarks to the Collegium of the Defence Ministry, Shoigu said NATO-member Poland had already announced plans to strengthen its military, and that he expected significant NATO forces and weaponry to be deployed in Finland, whose inclusion has almost doubled the length of Russia's land border with NATO.

OSLO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A dam on a Norwegian river partly collapsed on Wednesday, sending water gushing through a gaping hole in the structure after days of heavy flooding, TV images showed.

The Braskereidfoss power dam on the Glomma River, Norway's biggest waterway, had been unable to open its hatches after its control room flooded.

Water appeared to be flowing through it in a controlled manner following the breach, utility Hafslund said in a statement.

There were no immediate signs of major downstream flooding, a police spokesperson said.

WARSAW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Poland will send 2,000 troops to its frontier with Belarus, the deputy interior minister told state-run news agency PAP on Wednesday, twice the number requested by the Border Guard, to stem illegal crossings and maintain stability.

Poland has worried increasingly about the border area since hundreds of battle-hardened Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus last month at the invitation of President Alexander Lukashenko.

ROME, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Forty one migrants are thought to have died in a shipwreck last week in the central Mediterranean, Italian authorities and United Nations agencies said on Wednesday, citing survivors who have been taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Local public prosecutor Salvatore Vella and three U.N. agencies confirmed media reports that four people who survived the shipwreck had told rescuers they were on a boat carrying 45 people, including three children.

LONDON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Police officers in Northern Ireland have been left "incredibly vulnerable" after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) accidentally made public the private details of every staff member.

The surname, initial, rank or grade, work location and department of all PSNI staff, numbering around 10,000, were published online in error in response to a freedom of information request on Tuesday.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — An explosion on the grounds of a factory that makes optical equipment for Russia’s security forces injured 56 people Wednesday north of Moscow, six of them severely, officials said.

The blast occurred at a warehouse storing fireworks but was on the grounds of the Zagorsk optics manufacturing plant, Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the region surrounding the Russian capital, said.

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Slovenia on Wednesday and promised EU help to the small member state which was ravaged by recent floods that killed at least six people and caused extensive damage.

Von der Leyen said after meeting with Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob that they discussed a package of “three components” designed to provide immediate financial aid but also mid and long-term support for reconstruction.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior lawmakers from the United States and Europe are calling for a change in the Western diplomatic approach toward Serbia and Kosovo amid concern that tensions between the two could rapidly spiral out of control.

In the letter, signed by U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his counterparts in Germany, the U.K., Ukraine and other countries, the lawmakers said U.S. and European Union negotiators were not putting enough pressure on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Polish government announced Wednesday that it is planning to deploy an additional 2,000 troops to its border with Belarus, twice the number the Border Guard agency had requested, as fears of illegal migration rise.

In an interview with state news agency PAP, a deputy interior minister, Maciej Wasik announced the decision and accused the Belarusian authorities of organizing illegal migration.

He said migration pressure on the Polish-Belarusian border area is growing, although it cannot compare to the situation two years ago.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Days of heavy rain triggered landslides and flooding in mountainous southern Norway, where authorities said Wednesday they were considering blowing up part of a dam at risk of bursting to prevent downstream communities from getting deluged.

The Glåma, Norway’s longest and most voluminous river, is dammed at the Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power plant, which was under water and out of operation. Police said a controlled explosion before the dam fails would allow officials to control the flow of water.