Europe

LONDON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Seven (G7) held a virtual summit on Tuesday as the United States and its allies scramble to complete evacuations from Taliban-held Afghanistan before the impending Aug. 31 deadline, while contention among the "rich countries club" runs deep over U.S. hasty withdrawal from the Asian country and the chaos it engendered.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland has ended its evacuations from Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday, as the clock ticks down on dramatic Western efforts to help people flee the Taliban takeover ahead of a full American withdrawal.

President Joe Biden declared the day before that he is sticking to his Aug. 31 deadline for completing the U.S. pullout as the Taliban insisted he must, ramping up pressure on the already risky airlift from Kabul to get out as many people as possible in the coming days.

Moscow, Aug 25 (AP-PTI) Russia is preparing to evacuate more than 500 people on four military planes from Afghanistan - its first airlift operation since evacuations from Kabul began.

The Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it will airlift the nationals of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine from Kabul.

Teams of medical workers will be present on each plane, the ministry said, should any of the evacuees require medical attention.

KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, August 24. /TASS/: A new air assault regiment will be formed in Crimea by December 1 this year, Russian Airborne Force Commander Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov told TASS on Tuesday.

"The Russian president’s decree on setting up the regiment has been signed and there is an executive directive by the chief of the General Staff, which stipulates that the [air assault] regiment in Crimea will be formed by December this year," the commander said on the sidelines of the Army-2021 international military-technical forum.

YEREVAN, August 24. /TASS/: The Armenian side lost 3,773 servicemen during the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, while another 243 are still missing in action, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan revealed in parliament during the introduction of a new government on Tuesday.

"We are submitting a new program by the government in an emergency situation where as a consequence of Azerbaijan’s aggression in Karabakh, we lost 3,773 people, while the fate of 243 remains unknown, and some prisoners have not yet returned home," he stated.

KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, August 24. /TASS/: Artificial intelligence technologies are turning into a tool of geopolitical influence, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Oleg Khramov said, addressing the Army-2021 International Military-Technical Forum on Tuesday.

BUDAPEST, August 24. /TASS/: Moscow and Budapest will be able to achieve mutually beneficial agreements in the sphere of Russian gas supplies and construction of the Paks 2 nuclear power plant (NPP) in Hungary, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a press conference after talks with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.

LONDON, Aug 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 800 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK on Saturday – setting a new record for crossings in a single day.

The Home Office said nearly 200 people making the trip were also stopped by the French authorities.

Nearly 12,500 people have made the journey so far this year.

Officials say there are safe and legal routes for migrants and they were working with international partners to tackle the “dangerous crossings”.

VILNIUS, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Lithuania has proposed that the European Union sanction Belarusian citizens and companies which it says are helping migrants cross into EU member states, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Tuesday.

Lithuania and neighbouring EU states Poland and Latvia have reported an increase in the number of migrants, many from Iraq and Afghanistan, trying to cross their borders from Belarus.

BERLIN, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have pulled ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives for the first time in 15 years, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday, just a month before the country's federal election.

Germany goes to the polls on Sept. 26, when Merkel steps down as chancellor after 16 years in office and four straight national election victories. Merkel's imminent departure has heightened divisions over the direction of the party.