Europe

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Cabinet met Wednesday to decide on a package of immediate aid for victims of last week’s floods and consider longer-term plans to rebuild devastated areas.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and ministers are expected to approve a package of around 400 million euros ($472 million), financed half by the federal government and half by Germany’s state governments, to help people deal with the immediate aftermath of the flooding and repair some of the damage.

SUKHUM, July 20. /TASS/: The Russian military presence in Abkhazia is subject to bilateral agreements with Moscow, it complies with international law and in no way affects the territory of Georgia, let alone Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry of Abkhazia said in a commentary on Tuesday following a trip to Georgia by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who also visited the Georgia-Abkhazia border along the Enguri River.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/: Russia and its allies are capable of neutralizing any threats posed by Islamic extremists, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan and Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov said at an online discussion of the Valdai international discussion club.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/: Russia confirmed 23,770 COVID-19 cases over the past day, a new low since July 6, and the total case tally hit 6,006,536, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Tuesday.

The number of new cases grew by 0.4% in relative terms.

Moscow confirmed 3,188 COVID-19 cases over the past day. Some 2,478 COVID-19 cases were recorded in the Moscow Region, 1,934 in St. Petersburg, 527 in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 491 in the Sverdlovsk Region and 490 in the Krasnoyarsk Region.

Currently, 474,401 people are undergoing treatment in Russia.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/: Russia’s S-500 next-generation missile system has struck a fast-moving ballistic target in a training exercise at the Kapustin Yar range. The first S-500 system will be procured to the Moscow Region’s air and missile defense unit after a full cycle of tests is completed, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

"The S-500 cutting-edge missile system has carried out a test combat shooting at the Kapustin Yar training ground to strike a fast-moving ballistic target. According to data recorders, the target was engaged," the military agency noted.

ZHUKOVSKY, July 20. /TASS/: Models presented at the MAKS 2021 International Aviation and Space Salon clearly demonstrate that the development potential of the Russian aviation is high, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday when opening the event.

"What we see now in Zhukovsky obviously demonstrates that the Russian aviation has high potential for development. Our aircraft industry also continues creating new competitive aviation equipment," the President said.

LONDON, Jul 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) – England lifted almost all its remaining COVID-19 restrictions yesterday, according to its roadmap out of lockdown.

As the number of daily infections continues to rapidly increase, the final stage of easing virus restrictions came with a note of caution.

Yesterday was described by the British government as Freedom Day, where almost all legal restrictions on social contact have been removed.

BERLIN, July 20 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel headed again to the country's flood disaster zone on Tuesday, her government besieged by questions over how Europe's richest economy was caught flat-footed by flooding that had been predicted days earlier.

The floods have killed more than 160 people in Germany since tearing through villages, sweeping away houses, roads and bridges last week, highlighting gaps in how warnings of severe weather are passed on to the population.

20 July 2021; MEMO: The European Union is set to send a military mission to Libya to bolster the bloc's influence as a foreign superpower, according to a leaked paper, reports Anadolu Agency.

Libya's peace process requires large-scale disarmament, demobilisation, and the reintegration of combatants as well as fundamental security sector reform, according to an internal paper from the EU foreign service dated July 1 seen by Brussels-based news outlet EUobserver.

20 July 2021; MEMO: German journalist associations on Monday demanded clarification and counter-measures in the wake of revelations about the use of an Israeli-made spying software against activists and reporters, says Anadolu Agency.