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Spain evacuated an additional 294 Afghans via Pakistan and flew them into Madrid late Wednesday evening, it said. "This flight is further evidence that we are keeping our commitment to not leave anyone behind," said Spanish foreign minister José Albares, in a statement. Spain has so far evacuated 3,900 Afghans since the Taliban takeover last year.

Russian oil production has fallen by less than 3 percent since the invasion of Ukraine, with western energy sanctions having only a "limited" effect, the International Energy Agency has found, as flows are rerouted to India and China. In its latest monthly report, the agency said Russia's oil production in July was 310,000 barrels a day below prewar levels, while total oil exports were down by 580,000 barrels a day.

Donors at an international conference in Denmark pledged over €1.5bn to boost Ukraine's military capabilities in its war against Russia. The pledges were made by 26 countries. "We are not getting tired. We are increasing the amount of aid to Ukraine," said Ben Wallace, UK's secretary of state for defence, who-costed the conference alongside with Danish defence minister Morten Bødskov.

Despite the war, the Ukrainian Premier League is preparing for a new football season. "We continue to compete and cheer. We continue to fight and win," Ukraine's sports minister said.

The Swedish government has agreed to extradite a Turkish citizen with Kurdish roots wanted for credit card fraud to Turkey, amid the backdrop of Turkey's Nato threat.

The EU needs to be clear eyed about China's new diplomatic charm offensive, as it's more likely driven by short-term necessity than any fundamental policy re-assessment.

Thousands of firefighters in the forested area near Bordeaux, France, are battling a wildfire, which has already forced 10.000 to flee.

Beijing's club was meant to forge stronger European relations. Lithuania left it last year. Now Estonia and Latvia have also decided to walk over Chinese bullying.

Sweden overtook France as the biggest net exporter of power in Europe during the first half of this year, as France shifted from a net exporter to a net importer of energy, amid structural problems in its nuclear sector. Sweden exported 16 terawatt hours (TWh), energy data analyst EnAppSys found. In addition to France, Norway also saw its renewable hydro-generation reduced as a prolonged drought reduced water-reservoir levels.

Italian far-right politician Giorgia Meloni told Italian, French, and Spanish press Wednesday that "the Italian right has handed fascism over to history for decades now" and that "we fiercely oppose any anti-democratic drift" in Italy. Meloni, who tops polls to become prime minister in September, used to be a self-avowed fascist, but blamed left-wing media for caricaturing her. Disgraced Italian ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is running to be a senator.

Some 50 people are feared to have drowned after a boat carrying 80 migrants from Turkey capsized in stormy weather off the coast of Greece Wednesday. "Protecting human life is a daily concern and our absolute priority," Greek shipping minister Ioannis Plakiotakis said, The Guardian reports, amid ongoing coastguard efforts to seek survivors. Greece has been widely accused of illegal pushbacks of migrant boats, endangering lives, in the past.

Ukrainian officials says Russia launched 120 'Grad' rockets at an area around the town of Nikopol overnight killing three people and wounding seven, reports Reuters. "The enemy is concentrating its efforts on establishing full control over the territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions," said Ukraine's General Staff, in a report issued on Thursday. It noted more 60 settlements and military targets had been targeted by the Russians.

Ambitions to ship between 2m and 5m tonnes of grain out of Ukraine each month via a safe corridor for international shipping were "achievable", the UN has said. "We're expecting to see a big uptick in applications for transit," from shipping firms, senior UN official Frederick Kenney said in Istanbul Wednesday, Reuters reports. Some 12 ships have so far sailed from Ukraine under a Turkish-brokered deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Greece will be more free to spend its own money and borrow on markets after exiting an "enhanced surveillance framework" on 20 August imposed by international creditors in 2018 after three bailouts worth €260bn. "A difficult chapter for our country comes to a close," Greek finance minister Christos Staikouras said. "Greece returns to a European normality and will no longer be an exception in the euro zone," he added.

Denmark has promised to train Ukrainian soldiers in the UK and at home as part of Western efforts to see Russia lose its invasion of Ukraine. "Denmark will support a British-led training project with 130 Danish soldiers and at the same time offer to train Ukrainian soldiers in Denmark," its foreign ministry said Wednesday. Training will cover urban warfare and tactical operations of soldiers with almost-zero military experience, Denmark said.

Estonia summoned Russia's ambassador in Tallinn Wednesday to complain about violation of its airspace by a Russian helicopter Tuesday. "Estonia considers this an extremely serious and regrettable incident that is completely unacceptable," its foreign ministry said. It made a similar complaint in June, amid mounting Russian assertiveness in the Baltic region, which has also put Nordic countries and Poland on high alert of a potential military clash with Nato armies.

An EU embargo on Russian coal imports came into effect at midnight on Thursday, as part of sanctions designed to starve Moscow of fossil-fuel revenue.

The Belgian parliament's recent decision to ratify its prisoner-exchange treaty with Iran is a grave mistake, and one which exemplifies the many downfalls of dealing with Iran's human-rights abuses on a case-by-case basis.

Kosovo prime minister Albin Kurti has warned of possible armed conflict with Serbia, following heightened border tensions with Belgrade over the past month.

A Russian hacker group is said to have crashed the website of the Finnish parliament on Tuesday afternoon, reports Finnish state media outlet Yle. Yle says the denial-of-service attack was carried out by Russian hacker syndicate NoName057(16). "We decided to make a 'friendly' visit to neighbouring Finland, whose authorities are so eager to join Nato," said the syndicate on its Telegram channel.