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Brussels:The European Union (EU) will convene an "extraordinary meeting" next week over the escalating tension with North Korea, the 27-nation bloc's diplomatic service announce.

Representational image. Reuters

North Koreaannounceda detailed plan on Wednesdayto launch a salvo ofballistic missiles toward the Guam, a US Pacific territory. This has come after the two countries exchanged a fresh salvo of verbal attacks which saw President Donald Trump vowing to give a befitting reply to the isolated kingdom with 'fire and fury'.

This scenario does not come as a surprise to the world community as both the countries have long been engaged in a war of words. However, this time the threat has reached a "new stage",warnedthe Japanese defense ministry.

EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini will chair the meeting of the Political and Security Committee (PSC), in a bid to thrash out the bloc's possible next steps on the situation in North Korea, the European External Action Service said in a statement on Friday.

Mogherini, after meeting her international counterparts in the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, Philippines, has decided to call the meeting, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

Mogherini's decision came one day after the Council of the EU broadened a sanction list targeting North Korea in response to its latest test-launch of ballistic missiles.

The list now includes 62 individual and 50 entities subject to an asset freeze and travel restrictions in the EU.

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European Union to hold 'extraordinary meet' to discuss escalating tensions with North Korea - Firstpost

The European Union said Friday that it plans to hold an extraordinary meeting late next month over a growing tainted egg scandal as it revealed that products contaminated with an insecticide have now spread to 17 countries.

Millions of eggs have been destroyed or pulled from supermarket shelves since July 20, when it was made public that the pesticide Fipronil, which is dangerous to human health, was found mixed with another treatment sprayed on chickens for ticks, fleas and lice, known as Dega 16.

Almost all lab tests show that only very low levels of Fipronil much lower than the maximum permitted have been detected in eggs from the treated chickens, although one test in Belgium was above the European limit. Poisoning by small doses has few effects and requires little treatment. Heavy and prolonged exposure can damage the kidneys and liver or cause seizures.

The scandal has caused major political fallout, with neighbors Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany squabbling over who is to blame, and who knew what and when. Poultry farmers have been hardest hit, and are blaming the chemical industry for compromising their business and exposing consumers to danger.

The EU's executive Commission said Friday that contaminated eggs have been found at producers in four countries: Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Eggs or egg products from those producers have reached Austria, Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden, as well as Switzerland and Hong Kong outside the EU.

The Commission announced that it is aiming to hold talks between EU ministers and food safety agencies concerned on Sept. 26.

"The aim is to draw the relevant lessons and discuss the ways to continuously improve the effectiveness of the EU system to deal with food fraud," Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said.

She said the EU's "priority remains to manage the situation, to continue to coordinate and to reassure our citizens."

In France, Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert said that tests on imported eggs contaminated with pesticide show no risk to public health.

Travert said on RMC radio Friday that some 244,000 eggs imported from the Netherlands and Belgium and sold in France were affected.

He said test results received overnight from the French food safety agency on affected eggs and egg products showed "the level of contamination does not present a risk for the consumer."

France has also confirmed one farm in the Nord-Pas de Calais region was found to have used Fipronil, and is now blocked from selling eggs.

The Agriculture Ministry says the French farm reported on July 28, as the scandal was coming to light, that Dega 16 had been used on the farm by a Belgian subcontractor, and the ministry claims no eggs concerned have been sold.

Danish food safety authorities say 20 tons of boiled and peeled eggs linked to the pesticide scandal were sold in recent months to a distributor in Denmark, which in turn sold them to canteens, cafes and catering companies in the country.

The agency said Thursday the Danish distributor, Danaeg Products, has been ordered to recall the eggs because "the content is illegal" but "not dangerous."

German Agriculture Ministry spokeswoman Jennifer Reinhard said Friday, "the facts need to be swiftly and fully investigated."

She noted that there are rapid alert systems that should be used if consumers are at risk.

"There must be no compromises when it comes to food safety," Reinhard said. "Information needs to be shared between (EU) member states without delay."

In Poland, Jan Bondar, a spokesman for the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, said that an estimated 40,000 potentially contaminated eggs have been imported but were not sold to consumers. He said the eggs came from the Netherlands and were delivered by a German company. Contamination hasn't been confirmed but they came from farms where contaminated eggs were found. He said the eggs would either be destroyed or returned to the producer.

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European Union plans talks as tainted eggs scandal hits 17 countries - Los Angeles Times

New Delhi: The European Union (EU) is providing 200,000 euros (INR 15,052,000) in humanitarian aid funding to the northeastern states of Assam and Manipur, where floods have wreaked havoc since May, the Delegation of EU in New Delhi said on Friday.

According to a statement issued, the aid will directly benefit 25,000 badly affected people in the flood-stricken areas.

Representational image. PTI

"This EU contribution underlines our commitment to the people of India, many of whom have suffered devastating losses as a result of the flooding", said David Sevcik, Head of the South Asia Regional Office for the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), in the statement.

"The funding will ensure essential aid is delivered to those most in need, thereby helping them to survive this hard time".

The statement further said that this EU-funding supports the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) in delivering much-needed assistance through the distribution of emergency relief items such as family tents, tarpaulins, temporary sanitation facilities and mosquito nets.

"Water purification tablets and storage are provided to ensure the impacted families have access to clean water," it stated.

"In addition, training sessions to promote good hygiene practices are being organised alongside the delivery of personal hygiene items, including soaps and sanitary napkins."

The EU-funded aid targets eight of the hardest-hit districts, Karimganj, Nagaon, Dhubri and Barpeta in Assam and Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal and Bishnupur in Manipur.

The funding is part of the EU's overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Many lives, including 84 in Assam alone, have been lost and a number of homes have been fully or partially destroyed.

According to authorities, the severe flooding has affected more than 1.7 million people and over 100,000 hectares of crop land was lost in the flood waters.

"Whilst many people have returned to their places of origin as water levels begin to recede, humanitarian needs remain immense," the statement said.

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European Union to provide 1.5 crore aid to flood-affected Assam, Manipur - Firstpost

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EU officials said they would hike taxes on certain metal imports from the country to as high as 28.5 per cent to compensate for unfair practices carried out by Chinese firms.

Beijing has long stood accused of dumping steel - subsidising manufacturers so they can sell it at below production cost - on the global market to try and destabilise manufacturing industries in the West.

US president Donald Trump has already promised to take the Eastern giant to task and now the EU is following sit with tough measures it is hoped will protect steel working jobs in Europe.

Eurocrats said an eight-month investigation had uncovered clear evidence that certain corrosion-resistant steels being sold by Chinese firms were benefitting from unfair state subsidies.

They added that in response all such goods entering into the EU will now be subject to a rising scale of tariffs, from 17.2 per cent up to 28.5 per cent, to even up the market.

In a statement the EU Commission said: "It was provisionally concluded that the imposition of measures would contribute to the recovery of the European Union industry by allowing price increases enabling the industry as a whole to return to a profitable situation."

The state-owned Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that the new measures will affect exports by the Shougang Group, Shagang Group, Hesteel Group and various other companies.

It also carried a strong denial of the claims by officials in Beijing, who said they were unfair and unreasonable. Firms affected have up to 25 days to challenge the EU decision at a hearing.

The stand-off comes as Brussels looks to set an increasingly expansionist trade agenda after Brexit, with officials actively reviving deals with partners like Japan, Canada and Mercosur.

Europe looks set for a possible trade war with the US over Donald Trump's proposed regime of tariffs, also designed to combat Chinese dumping, which could badly affect European companies.

AFP/Getty Images

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British Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox delivers remarks on 'The Future of UK Trade Policy' at the American Enterprise Institute

Senior eurocrats including Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem has said the bloc is "making preparations" to retaliate in the event the US introduces new tariffs hitting EU products.

The high-ranking Swedish official said the EU would be unjustifiably hit by the tariffs, but Mr Trump has shown little sign of backing down as he looks to deliver on a key pledge to bring manufacturing back to the US rustbelt.

Brussels is also embroiled in a separate row with Washington over new sanctions on Russian energy companies which may impact on infrastructure projects taking place within the bloc.

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European Union - EU slaps new import tariffs on Chinese steel to ... - Express.co.uk

Mohammada Khan, 42, a truck driver, said in a telephone interview that he had lost six members of his family including two children and two women in the airstrike, which hit a minibus in which they were fleeing. We got to the area of the bombing and put their body parts in a truck and brought them to Jalalabad city, where we buried them this morning, he said. There were no ISIS members in the area. It was not a valley or a mountainous area. It was a clear area, and they should understand that people in the vehicle are civilians, as the car was a civilian car.

Mr. Khan added, But it was Gods will, so we cannot say anything.

On July 24, Afghan officials said, nine civilians were killed in an American airstrike on a prayer ceremony held in Haska Meena, near the border with Pakistan, by relatives of ISIS members who had been killed.

The American military asserted that that strike, too, targeted fighters. This is the second false claim of civilian casualties in the same district within the last three weeks, the military said in a news release.

As American airstrikes continue at a rapid pace, there have been a number of such episodes in recent months.

Claims of civilian deaths from airstrikes have occurred this year in Kunduz in the north and in Helmand Province in the south, often as a result of fighting in areas where it can be difficult to distinguish insurgents from civilians.

Haska Meena District, also known as Dih Bala District, is in a rugged area neighboring Achin District. Achin was long a stronghold of the Islamic State and was where the United States dropped the so-called mother of all bombs in April, the largest conventional bomb ever deployed, on a tunnel and bunker complex where insurgents had taken refuge.

That led Islamic State fighters to seek new refuge, including in the Tora Bora cave and tunnel complex in Nangarhar, which Osama bin Laden once used as a hide-out. The Islamic State fighters are believed to be relatively few, and in the Nangarhar area they fight against both the Afghan government and the more numerous Taliban insurgents.

The United States military has deployed Special Forces and airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Afghanistan and says it has killed dozens of the groups leaders and hundreds of fighters this year.

Casualties among Afghan civilians, especially women and children, have risen to a record this year, according to a recent report from the United Nations. Most of those deaths have been attributed to insurgents, particularly through suicide bombings, rather than to airstrikes and other pro-government actions, the report said.

Rod Nordland contributed reporting from London.

A version of this article appears in print on August 12, 2017, on Page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Afghans Say U.S. Strike Hit Civilians.

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US Airstrikes in Afghanistan Are Said to Kill 16 Civilians - New York Times