Europe

20 July 2022; MEMO: People in Norway and Canada have launched crowdfunding campaigns to help buy Turkish combat drones for Ukraine's war effort against Russia's invasion, following on from efforts made by some other countries.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/: Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom started construction of the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant in Egypt on Wednesday, an official at Rosatom told TASS.

"We have started [the construction of a nuclear power plant in Egypt]," the official said.

El-Dabaa will be the first nuclear power plant in Egypt and the first major project of Rosatom in Africa.

MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to head the supervisory board of a national movement of children and youth during a video conference meeting with the finalists of the Bolshaya Peremena (or the Great Change) contest on Wednesday.

"I am happy to accept the proposal. I hope that my interaction with the new movement will benefit me, my colleagues who will be involved in the movement’s activities one way or another, as well as all of its members," Putin said.

MOSCOW, July 20./TASS/: The idea of total domination of the ‘golden billion’ is racist and neocolonial, dividing the peoples into first and second-rate, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, speaking at the Strong Ideas for a New Time forum.

BRUSSELS, July 20. /TASS/: The EU Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) agreed the seventh package of sanctions against Russia, a source in EU institutions told reporters on Wednesday.

"The Coreper agreed the seventh package of sanctions, including gold embargo, black list expansion and updates to financial and trade sanctions," the source said.

MILAN, July 20 (Reuters) - Fire brigades in Tuscany on Wednesday battled for a second day to control a wildfire that has forced hundreds to evacuate, while a blaze in northeast Italy spread to Slovenia and threatened to leave the city of Trieste without power and water.

Wildfires have broken out in several parts of Italy this week as temperatures keep rising.

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson bowed out of his final showpiece parliamentary appearance with a round of applause from his party, jeers from opponents and an enigmatic exit line: "Mission largely accomplished ... hasta la vista, baby."

Johnson was forced to announce his resignation earlier this month after a mass rebellion against the latest in a string of scandals that his party decided had undermined his ability to lead the country any longer after three turbulent years in charge.

PRAGUE, July 20 (Reuters) - Taiwan parliament speaker You Si-kun warned against China's power ambitions in a speech at the Czech parliament on Thursday in a visit drawing a rebuke from Beijing.

You said Taiwan was gaining more say internationally but that also authoritarianism was on the rise.

"I would like to speak to all our friends around the world with whom we are linked by democracy to study carefully and understand the nature of the Chinese communist regime and how to nip it in the bud," You said in a speech to the Senate, interpreted into English.

KYIV/LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine has asked its international creditors, including Western powers and the world's largest investment firms, to freeze its debt payments for two years so it can focus its dwindling financial resources on repelling Russia.

Facing an estimated 35% to 45% crash in GDP this year following Moscow's invasion in February, Ukraine's finance ministry said on Wednesday it was hoping to finalise the deferral on its roughly $20 billion of debt by Aug. 9.

July 20 (Reuters) - Moscow's military "tasks" in Ukraine now go beyond the eastern Donbas region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, as the Kremlin's forces shelled eastern and southern Ukraine.

Lavrov also told state news agency RIA Novosti that Russia's objectives will expand still further if the West keeps supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons such as the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).