Moscow takes control of Ukraine's New York town, Chinese Prime Minister visits Russia, Kamala Harris will "never bow down"

The developments in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, the US Democratic National Convention, a series of trips by world leaders... are some of the world's outstanding news of the day.

New York town in Ukraine. (Source: Euronews)

Europe

* Russia takes control of key town in eastern Ukraine: On August 20, Russian forces announced that they had taken control of the key central town of New-York in the Toretsk area, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it is “one of the largest settlements in the Toretsk region and a strategically important logistics center for Novgorodskoye.” (AFP)

* The leader of Germany's far-right party demanded that Ukraine compensate the Western European country's economy for the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in September 2022.

The head of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party Alice Weidel posted on the social network X: "The damage to the German economy caused by the sabotage - allegedly ordered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and not Russian President Vladimir Putin as we have been assuming - should be counted for Kiev."

Ukraine must “pay for this loss,” she said. “Any aid that burdens German taxpayers must stop.”

Earlier, Ms. Weidel's AfD party also voiced support for the call to stop military aid to Kiev. (Tasnim)

* Czech Republic buys large-caliber ammunition for Ukraine with income from frozen Russian assets in the European Union (EU).

The Kremlin has called plans to use profits from frozen Russian assets to provide military aid to Kiev “theft” and vowed to take legal action against anyone involved in the decision. (Reuters)

* Ukraine could join NATO with “temporary administrative borders” without having to wait until Kiev fully restores control over its entire national territory, according to Czech President Petr Pavel .

“I believe that restoring full control over the entire territory is not a necessary condition,” Pavel said, expressing hope that in the coming years, Ukraine will negotiate peace with Russia. (Novinky)

* Russia and Azerbaijan signed seven cooperation documents during Russian President Putin's state visit to Baku from August 18-19.

Mr. Putin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev signed a joint statement, three intergovernmental agreements and three memorandums of understanding.

These documents, especially the joint statement, reaffirm "the friendly and allied nature of our relations," President Aliyev said. (TASS)

* Bulgaria postponed parliamentary elections after President Rumen Radev refused to sign a decree approving the formation of a caretaker government until after October 20.

Ms. Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva - the Prime Minister candidate appointed by President Radev himself - proposed a list of interim government headed by her, but Mr. Radev rejected this list and withdrew the nomination of Ms. Kozhareva.

As such, the caretaker government of Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev will remain in power until parliament comes up with a new shortlist of potential prime ministerial candidates. (Euro News)

* Belgium extends negotiations to form a coalition government: On August 19, the Royal Palace of Belgium announced that King Philippe has allowed politician Bart De Wever - whom he appointed to form a new government after the election last June - to extend the time for negotiations to form a government until August 22.

Mr De Wever is trying to form a coalition between five parties, including the nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the liberal Reform Movement (MR), the Christian Democrats of Flanders (CD&V), En Marche and Les Engagés.

According to Belgian media, representatives of the five parties could not agree on Mr. De Wever's proposal and suspended negotiations early on the morning of August 19. (Reuters)

Asia-Pacific

* Chinese Premier Li Qiang began his visit to Russia at the invitation of his host counterpart Mikhail Mishustin and co-chaired the 29th regular meeting between the heads of government of the two countries.

During the visit, the two Prime Ministers will hold talks to exchange in-depth views on bilateral relations, practical cooperation and key issues of mutual concern. (TASS)

* Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim paid an official visit to India and held talks with his host counterpart Narendra Modi on August 20.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Modi said the two sides "decided to elevate their cooperation to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership" and strengthen cooperation in areas such as semiconductors, financial technology and defense manufacturing.

For his part, Prime Minister Anwar emphasized that the two sides will cooperate in all areas because "there are many areas that we need to explore further." (Reuters)

* Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Aleksandr Alekseyevich Moiseyev visited India from August 19-22 to strengthen naval ties between the two countries and explore new avenues for bilateral cooperation.

The visit is a testament to the longstanding relationship between the two navies, according to a statement from the Indian Ministry of Defense. (ANI)

* United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Asia-Pacific from August 19.

Mr. Guterres will visit the Samoa Islands (August 21-23), Auckland City of New Zealand (August 23-24), Tonga (August 24-27), Timor Leste (August 28-31), Singapore (September 1-2) and China (September 2-5).

During this time, he will attend international forums, meet with leaders of host countries to build solidarity and promote progress in implementing common development goals. (THX)

* The international community's commitment to the goal of denuclearizing North Korea, including South Korea and the United States, is firm, according to a statement from the South Korean Foreign Ministry at a press conference on August 20.

“The government will continue to work toward the denuclearization of North Korea through a ‘deterrence, dissuasion, and diplomatic dialogue’ approach… Regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election, we will continue to maintain close communication and coordination with the US on policies related to North Korea and its nuclear issues,” ministry spokesman Lee Jae Woong said.

During the day, the US and South Korea also launched a large-scale joint exercise with the participation of five fighter squadrons, lasting 120 consecutive hours to enhance operational and response capabilities on multiple fronts. (Yonhap)

* Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has set its leadership election date for September 27. Candidates will campaign from September 12.

The vote counting will be conducted and preliminary results will be announced on the same day. A total of 734 party members will vote in this LDP presidential election, of which 367 are members of the National Assembly.

If no candidate wins a majority, the two candidates with the highest number of votes will advance to a second round of voting by members of the Diet and representatives of provincial party committees. The candidate with the highest number of votes will then officially become the new LDP president for the 2024-2027 term. (Kyodo)

* Australia and Indonesia have agreed to sign a defense cooperation agreement, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a joint press conference with Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto in Canberra on August 19.

According to Mr. Albanese, this "historic" agreement will strengthen close defense cooperation between the two countries through measures to enhance dialogue, interoperability and expand practical activities. (ABC News)

Middle East-Africa

* Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets at Israeli military positions in the Golan Heights on August 20 “in response” to Israeli attacks on eastern Lebanon on August 19. (AFP)

* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to work to free all hostages in Gaza, "both living and dead".

Currently, Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators are urging Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire and release the remaining hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

On August 19, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a “bridging proposal” put forward by Washington to resolve differences that have hindered a ceasefire in Gaza, and urged the Hamas Islamist movement to make a similar move. (Times of Israel)

* Airlines extend flight suspension to the Middle East: Germany's Lufthansa Group continues to extend the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv (Israel), Tehran (Iran), Beirut (Lebanon), Amman (Jordan) and Erbil (Iraq), until August 26.

In addition, Swiss International Air Lines, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings will also avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace until August 26 due to concerns about the current escalation of tensions in the Middle East. (Times of Israel)

* Egypt demands that Israel completely withdraw its troops from the Rafah border crossing and the Philadelphia corridor, according to a senior Egyptian source.

The source added that Israeli media reports that Cairo had agreed to allow Israeli forces to remain present in the Philadelphia corridor were false in both form and substance. (Al-Qahera News)

America

* The US Democratic National Convention opened on the evening of August 19 and will last until August 22 in Chicago, Illinois, Midwest.

At the convention, the party's presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will outline their vision for the country and how they plan to defeat Republican Donald Trump in November.

During the opening session, US President Joe Biden solidified the Democratic nomination for Vice President Kamala Harris by officially "passing the torch" to her in the race for the White House.

He also assured attendees that Kamala Harris would “never bow down” to Russian President Vladimir Putin if she wins. (Sputnik)

* The US accuses Iran of election interference: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the US issued a joint statement accusing Iran of interfering in the US presidential election through cyber attacks targeting the campaign headquarters of two presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

However, Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations issued a statement stating that such arguments are "baseless and without any merit", and asked the US to provide Iranian authorities with evidence accusing Tehran of involvement in election interference. (AFP, TASS)

* The US has approved the sale of Apache attack helicopters to South Korea along with related equipment and logistics services worth $3.5 billion to help the Asian ally strengthen its defense capabilities.

According to the Defense Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the US Department of Defense, South Korea has requested to purchase 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, 76 T700-GE-701D engines, 456 AGM-114R2 hellfire missiles, 152 AGM-179A combined air-to-surface missiles and 40 AAR-57 missile warning systems as well as many other weapons. (Yonhap)

* Strike to protest judicial reform in Mexico: On August 19, thousands of judicial workers in the capital Mexico City went on strike to protest the Judicial Reform Project initiated by the ruling National Reconstruction Movement (Morena) party and awaiting approval by Congress.

A large-scale strike has paralyzed the operations of judicial agencies in this city.

A statement from the Mexican Association of Judges (Jufed) expressed concern about the impact of the Project on the decentralization of power in the judicial system, as well as the independence of judges in the performance of their duties. (Reuters)

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