Europe

Aug 6 (Reuters) - A senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday that talks in Saudi Arabia to make headway towards a peaceful settlement of the war with Russia had been productive, but Moscow called the meeting a doomed attempt to swing the Global South behind Kyiv.

More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, but not Russia, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Sunday.

BERLIN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- According to an internal company document obtained by the German news service Spiegel, it would cost the state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn up to 400 million euros (441 million U.S. dollars) if it had to replace all components supplied by Huawei in its infrastructure.

LONDON, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The British government on Saturday announced a new partnership with social media companies to tackle people smuggling content online, including criminals sharing information about illegal Channel crossings.

Figures show over 90 percent of online content linked to people smuggling is taken down when social media companies are notified, the government said in a statement.

VIENNA (AP) — The far-right Alternative for Germany declared the European Union a “failed project” in its current form as it adopted its program for next June’s European Parliament election at its party convention in the eastern city of Magdeburg on Sunday, the German news agency dpa reported.

The text states that the EU has “completely failed” in all important areas, including its migration and climate policy, and it rejects the Euro as a currency.

VIENNA (AP) — Torrential rains and heavy floods have ravaged southern Austria for the past three days, killing one person who was swept away by a quickly swelling river on Sunday, officials said.

After the person fell into the river, firefighters, divers and water rescuers immediately began rescue operations, according to the press department of the Carinthia province. But rescuers were only able to recover the dead body.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a missile and drone barrage Sunday across parts of Ukraine that killed six people, Kyiv officials said, as Moscow followed through on its promise to retaliate for an attack on a Russian tanker.

Separately, Moscow’s second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 70 drones and missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea, including Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis told young people on Sunday the Catholic Church needs them and urged them to follow their dreams as he wrapped up World Youth Day in Portugal with a massive open-air Mass and an announcement that the next edition would be held in Asia for the first time in three decades.

News that Seoul, South Korea would host World Youth Day in 2027 was a reflection of the continent’s increasing importance to the Catholic Church, given the church is young and growing there, whereas it is withering in traditionally Christian lands in Europe.

06 August 2023; AA: Ukraine early Sunday claimed that 57 Russian missiles and drones were shot down by the air defense systems during overnight attacks on the country’s territory.

“From the evening of August 5 to the morning of August 6, 2023, the Russian invaders launched a massive missile attack on the territory of Ukraine with air and sea-based missiles, as well as Iranian attack drones ‘Shahed-136/131’,” said a statement by the Ukrainian Air Force on Telegram.

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/: The US Embassy in Moscow may turn to the Russian Foreign Ministry if Washington fails to understand what is required to resume the grain deal, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Earlier, the US State Department's coordinator for sanctions policy, James O'Brien, said that Moscow "needs to be clear what it is asking for." He said it was "not clear what Russia regards as success" for resuming participation in the grain deal.

SEVASTOPOL, August 5. /TASS/: A drone boat found in the sea near Sevastopol has been destroyed, and the movement of water transport has been resumed, the city’s governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

"The drone boat was destroyed by the naval forces at a great distance from the shore in the Sevastopol sea zone. All restrictions on the movement of water transport have been lifted," he wrote on his Telegram channel.