Berlin:&nbsp;Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) will on Mondau announce a decision on the possible expulsion of disgraced former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from the party over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.An arbitration committee in the northern city of Hanover has been considering the decision for several weeks after 17 motions for expulsion were received from different chapters of the party, reports dpa news agency.Schroder himself did not appear at hearings and did not send a lawyer.The decision of the arbitration committee can be appealed within two weeks.The former Chancellor, who was in office between 1998 and 2005, has been criticized for years for his involvement with Russian state-owned companies and is considered a close personal friend of Putin.The pressure on Schroder to distance himself from Putin increased after the invasion of Ukraine.In May, he finally announced that he would leave the supervisory board of the Russian energy giant Rosneft.He also turned down a nomination for a supervisory board position at Gazprom.But in a recent interview with private broadcaster RTL/ntv, Schroder once again refused to distance himself from Putin.He also advocated putting the controversial Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline, which was put on hold in light on the Russian invasion, into operation.—IANS

Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) will on Mondau announce a decision on the possible expulsion of disgraced former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder from the party over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 German party to announce decision on expulsion of ex-Chancellor over ties with Putin

Europe

Berlin: Some 800 emergency workers were battling a forest fire in Germany's Saxon Switzerland National Park on Monday with little improvement in sight. "The fire is in a controllable area, but flames are still coming out of the ground," dpa news agency quoted Thomas Kunz of the district administration office as saying. "The high temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius make the number (of workers) necessary because it is a very intensive physical operation," Kunz said.The dry and hard ground has to be dug up with hoes and spades to fight the pockets of embers, he said. As things stand, the operation will continue at this level until at least the end of the week. The use of so-called circular sprinklers, which irrigate a larger area and suppress the flames, has been effective, but these can only be set up in clearings.Due to the strong sunlight, the water evaporates quickly and may not penetrate deep enough into the soil layers, Kunz said. According to the German Weather Service, no rain is expected for the entire coming week. Separately, fire fighters in Berlin were still attempting to extinguish a blaze in the capital's Grunewald forest, which broke out four days ago due to an explosion at a nearby police blasting site.—IANS

Some 800 emergency workers were battling a forest fire in Germany's Saxon Switzerland National Park on Monday with little improvement in sight.

800 fire fighters battle blaze in German national park

Ankara:<span style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-family: Montserrat, MontserratV2, Verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: -0.2px; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;"> A freighter carrying maize from Ukraine on Monday reached Turkey, becoming the first vessel to reach its final destination since a deal was made to release stores of food that have been stuck in Black Sea ports since Russia began its invasion of Kiev in February. The Turkish-flagged Polarnet reached Kocaeli, on the Sea of Marmara, dpa news agency quoted state news outlet&nbsp;Anadolu&nbsp;as saying in a report.So far, 10 grain ships have departed from Ukrainian ports, according to the&nbsp;Turkish Defence Ministry, with the&nbsp;Razoni&nbsp;the first to set off for Lebanon on August 1.However, its arrival has been delayed. The shipments are taking place following a deal reached in July to release millions of tonnes of grain blockaded in the ports of Ukraine, a critical food producer known as the breadbasket of Europe.—IANS

A freighter carrying maize from Ukraine on Monday reached Turkey, becoming the first vessel to reach its final destination since a deal was made to release stores of food that have been stuck in Black Sea ports since Russia began its invasion of Kiev in February.

First ship carrying maize from Ukraine reaches final destination

Ankara:&nbsp;Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet on Friday in the seaside resort of Sochi.Turkey's planned military incursion to attack a Kurdish militia in northern Syria will top the agenda among other regional issues, dpa news agency reported citing Ankara's state broadcaster TRT as saying.Moscow had recently advised against such an offensive. Ankara considers the US-backed Syrian Kurdish militia the People's Defence Units (YPG) a terrorist group and suspects it is linked to domestic insurgents.A Turkish offensive in Syria's north has been on hold since 2019 following two ceasefire deals brokered by the US and Russia.The two leaders will also discuss the war in Ukraine and a grain corridor deal, TRT added.Turkey and the UN recently brokered the deal between Kiev and Moscow to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian ports.According to the Kremlin, on the agenda is also the potential sale of unmanned combat drones from NATO member Turkey to Russia.Shortly after the start of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Erdogan said he would not rule out arms deals with Russia.Turkey maintains close ties with both Ukraine and Russia and sees itself as a mediator between the two neighbors.—IANS

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet on Friday in the seaside resort of Sochi. Turkey's planned military incursion to attack a Kurdish militia in northern Syria will top the agenda among other regional issues, dpa news agency reported citing Ankara's state broadcaster TRT as saying.

 Erdogan, Putin to meet for talks in Sochi

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet on Friday in the seaside resort of Sochi.
Turkey's planned military incursion to attack a Kurdish militia in northern Syria will top the agenda among other regional issues, dpa news agency reported citing Ankara's state broadcaster TRT as saying.

Paris:&nbsp;French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has activated an inter-ministerial crisis team, saying on Friday that her country was experiencing the worst drought ever recorded."The current exceptional drought is depriving many communities of water and is a tragedy for our farmers, our ecosystems and biodiversity," Borne wrote in a statement.The lack of rain is being aggravated by successive heat waves, Borne continued, which on the one hand increase evaporation, but also the demand for water, dpa news agency reported. The situation could continue over the next two weeks and even become more worrying, she added.In France, large parts of the mainland are now suffering from drought.Depending on the severity, different restrictions on water apply, including on irrigation.According to local media, some municipalities were temporarily without water supply.Borne called on the population to use water sparingly.—IANS

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has activated an inter-ministerial crisis team, saying on Friday that her country was experiencing the worst drought ever recorded.