Briefly

RUSSIA

Sanctions show US' lack of political will'

New sanctions against Russia show the "lack of political will and unwillingness" of the United States to build Moscow-Washington relations on a partnership basis, the Russian Foreign Ministry says. The ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the comments after the US on Friday announced new sanctions against Russian individuals and entities over the alleged poisoning of the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

FRANCE

Migrants plucked from English Channel

About 100 migrants have been rescued off the coast of Calais in northern France while trying to cross the English Channel, the local French maritime body said on Saturday, without specifying from where those migrants had come. French President Emmanuel Macron said this month that there was a risk a wave of migrants would sweep toward Europe after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.

PALESTINE

Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza

Israeli fighter jets attacked posts and facilities of the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, late on Saturday, Palestinian security sources and witnesses said. The airstrikes were launched in response to clashes earlier in the day between dozens of Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers on the borders between Israel and the besieged coastal enclave, in which an Israeli sniper was seriously wounded. Several explosions were heard in central and western Gaza Strip, causing damage to Hamas' posts and facilities, while no casualties had been reported, the sources said.

UNITED STATES

At least 8 dead after floods in Tennessee

At least eight people were dead and more than 30 people missing in Humphreys County in the southern US state of Tennessee after severe floods hit the area on Saturday, authorities said. Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the flooding is the worst he has seen in his 28 years with the department. Power outages and a lack of cellphone service have compounded the problems, Davis said. Rural roads and highways throughout the county were washed away after up to 30.48 cm of rain fell in parts of Middle Tennessee on Saturday and caused catastrophic flooding, The Tennessean reported.

Xinhua - Agencies