Europe

PRAGUE/WARSAW, Aug 2 (Reuters) - From building apartments for new employees to offering retired workers free canteen meals to share their expertise, Central Europe's arms manufacturers are scrambling for new ways to cope with the biggest boom since the end of the Cold War.

Facing some of the tightest labour markets in Europe, weapons makers in Poland and the Czech Republic are launching or expanding programs to recruit and train new workers after the Ukraine war drove a spike in demand for their productions.

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Poland called in the ambassadors from each other's countries on Tuesday as a dispute escalated after a foreign policy adviser to Poland's president said Kyiv should show more appreciation for Warsaw's support in its war with Russia.

The adviser, Marcin Przydacz, also said the Polish government must defend the interests of the country's farmers - a reference to a ban on imports of Ukrainian commodities which will expire next month.

WARSAW, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Poland said on Tuesday it was rushing troops to its eastern border after accusing Belarus, Russia's closest ally, of violating its airspace with military helicopters.

The Belarusian military denied any such violation and accused NATO member Poland, one of Ukraine's most fervent backers in its conflict with Russia, of making up the accusation to justify a buildup of its troops.

Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko had earlier taunted Poland over the presence of Russian Wagner mercenaries near their joint border.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis challenged Europe to retake its role as a peacemaker and bridgebuilder as he arrived Wednesday in Portugal to open World Youth Day, hoping to inspire the next generation of Catholics to work together to combat conflicts, climate change and other problems facing the world.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with NATO member Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports following the end of a deal with Russia that allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets.

Russia (AP) —The glittering towers of the Moscow City business district dominate the skyline of the Russian capital. The sleek glass-and-steel buildings -- designed to attract investment amid an economic boom in the early 2000s – are a dramatic, modern contrast to the rest of the more than 800-year-old city.

Now they are a sign of its vulnerability, following a series of drone attacks that rattled some Muscovites and brought the war in Ukraine home to the seat of Russian power.

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/: Saudi Arabia plans to host peace negotiations on Ukraine in early August. Russia has not been invited.

TASS has gathered the key takeaways about the preparations for the talks.

Previous developments

On June 26, Germany’s ARD TV channel reported that an international meeting on Ukraine had taken place in secrecy in the Danish capital of Copenhagen on June 24, gathering Western diplomats along with Brazilian, Indian, Chinese and South African representatives.

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/: Russian air defense forces intercepted 16 rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and shot down 21 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Tuesday.

"In the past 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted 16 rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system," the spokesman said.

MINSK, August 1. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that he plans to expedite the establishment of a contracted army using PMC Wagner fighters billeted in Belarus as the backbone of these forces.

"It was my initiative. I want these guys to stay in our country’s armed forces. And, relying on them, to take more active steps to establish a contracted army," the BelTA news agency quoted him as saying.

MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. The topic of expanding BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is "near the top of the agenda" and will be discussed at the upcoming BRICS summit, alt:ough nuances exist among the group’s member states regarding its expansion prospects, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.