Europe

SEVASTOPOL, August 20. /TASS/: The Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters was attacked with a drone on Saturday, with no casualties reported, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on his Telegram-channel.

"I am at the [Black Sea] Fleet’s headquarters now. A drone hit the roof here 25 minutes ago. Unfortunately, it was not downed. <…> There are no casualties," Razvozhayev wrote.

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/: Russia is preparing official confirmation of tests taken from Russian troops hospitalized with signs of severe poisoning upon completing their mission in the Zaporozhye Region for sending to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"The evidence of the Kiev regime’s chemical terrorism will soon be submitted to the OPCW," the ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 40,010 over the past day to 19,077,764, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday.

The growth rate stands at a new high since March 14.

As many as 3,450 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, up 3% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients increased in 42 regions, while in 39 regions the figure decreased. The situation remained unchanged in four regions. A day earlier, 3,349 people were rushed to hospitals.

PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 20. /TASS/: Russia's Defense Ministry begins mass production of Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles, and it will be documented this year, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Saturday in a televised interview with Rossiya-1 channel on the sidelines of the Army-2022 forum.

"We are starting serial production of the Tsirkon missile. In fact, we have put it (the missile - TASS) into service, and it will be documented as early as this year, let’s call it that," he said.

LISBON, Aug 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — Portuguese Minister of Economy and the Sea Antonio Costa Silva said that the government will take measures to facilitate the immigration to Portugal and ease the shortage of workers, which he described as “the heart of the government’s concerns.”

Speaking at the opening of the 41st edition of the Handicraft, Tourism, Agriculture, Commerce and Industry Fair, in the city of Lagoa in southern Portugal, he admitted the “need to significantly increase the active population, because this is an extremely important asset for the country’s development.”

Aug 20 (Reuters) - Weeks of baking drought across Europe have seen water levels in rivers and lakes fall to levels few can remember, exposing long-submerged treasures - and some unwanted hazards.

In Spain, suffering its worst drought in decades, archaeologists have been delighted by the emergence of a prehistoric stone circle dubbed the "Spanish Stonehenge" that is usually covered by the waters of a dam.

Aug 20 (Reuters) - New blasts resounded in the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula on Saturday and a Russian missile hit a residential area of a southern Ukrainian town not far from a nuclear power station, wounding 12 civilians, Russian and Ukrainian officials said.

That strike at the Pivdennoukrainsk (South Ukraine) nuclear station and fresh shelling near the Zaporizhzhia station, Europe's largest such facility, prompted new fears of a nuclear accident during the war, Ukrainian officials said.

Aug 20 (Reuters) - Russia's defence ministry accused Ukraine on Saturday of poisoning some of its servicemen in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia in late July.

An adviser to Ukraine's interior ministry said in response that the alleged poisoning could have been caused by Russian forces eating expired canned meat.

PARIS, Aug 20(Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to travel to Algeria next week, the Elysee palace announced on Saturday, saying that the official visit will take place from Aug.25-27.

Macron accepted an invitation by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, his office said. It will be Macron's second official visit to the North African country which holds close business ties with Paris.

BERLIN, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Shortly before his two-day trip to Canada, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received support for his interest in Canadian liquid natural gas to help replace Russian gas imports from an unexpected ally: Ukrainian state-owned gas company Naftogaz.

Kyiv has been at loggerheads with Berlin over its gas imports policy: firstly over its deal with Moscow to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and more recently over its deal with Canada to get a repaired turbine for the Nord Stream 1 delivered back to Germany.