The US wants to limit investment in China, Pakistan dissolves its parliament, Poland sends 2,000 troops to "guard" the border with Belarus

Russia continuously shot down UAVs attacking Moscow, German people protested against providing missiles to Ukraine, Belarus conducted military exercises near the border with Lithuania and Poland... are some notable world news in the past 24 hours.

Poland sends 2,000 troops to border with Belarus. (Source: DW)

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some of the day's international news highlights.

Russia-Ukraine

*Russian President Putin urges to accelerate infrastructure construction in newly annexed regions : Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 9 pointed out the importance of continuing construction projects in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and Kherson and Zaporozhzhia provinces. These are the four new Russian regions annexed in 2022 according to the Russian Constitution.

President Putin said: “There is still much to be done in terms of transport, roads and railways. And of course, the international North-South transport corridors, the Arctic Ocean route, the Eastern training grounds, the Trans-Siberian Railway...”.

According to the Russian leader, about 30,000 km of roads have been built and repaired, emphasizing that the construction industry plays an extremely important role in Russia's economy and social sphere. (VNA)

* Ukraine attacks the center of Donetsk : On August 8, TASS news agency reported that a series of powerful explosions shook the center of Donetsk.

According to the Donetsk delegation to the Joint Coordination and Control Center for War Crimes in Ukraine (JCCC), 12 155 mm shells were fired at Kievsky and the central Voroshilovsky district of the city in less than half an hour. One shell hit a shopping area in the center of Donetsk.

On the same day, the acting leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, said that a Ukrainian shelling killed three people and wounded 11 others in the republic. (Reuters)

*Russia declares control of strategic positions in Kharkov province: Russian military website reported on August 9 that in the area of ​​Kupyansk city in Kharkov province, fierce fighting is still taking place between the Russian army and the Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU).

To date, Russian military units have occupied important strategic positions near settlements located south of Olshany and Pervomaisky.

In the area of ​​the village of Kleshcheevka on the outskirts of the city of Bakhmut, the VSU attempted to break through the VSRF defenses and capture the settlements of Kleshcheevka, Andreevka and Kurdyumovka. Ukrainian artillery shelled the Russian positions. However, the Russian units destroyed a large number of VSU artillery batteries. Thanks to the smooth coordination of the Akhmat special forces and other parts of the Russian army, the 22nd VSU brigade was almost completely destroyed. (Sputnik News)

*Russia shoots down UAVs attacking Moscow: The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 9 that the country's air defense systems had thwarted Kiev's plan to launch an attack using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Moscow.

“In the early morning of August 9, on the territory of Moscow region, an attempt by the Kiev authorities to carry out a terrorist attack using drones was thwarted,” the statement said. The attack did not cause any casualties or damage.

Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that two UAVs attempting to fly into Moscow were shot down in the suburbs. Earlier, on August 6, Russian air defense systems destroyed a UAV in the Podolsky district of the Moscow region. (Sputnik News)

Asia

*China plans to hold summit with Japan on sidelines of 56th ASEAN Summit in Indonesia: Diplomatic sources said on August 9 that China has informed Japan that Beijing is considering a summit between the two countries' leaders on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia next September. If the plan is implemented, this will be the first meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang.

Tokyo has been seeking to improve bilateral relations with Beijing, as relations between the two Asian nations have recently been hampered by Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea . ( Kyodo )

*North Korea prepares to reopen after COVID-19 pandemic: North Korea has invited foreign golfers to a tournament in Pyongyang, another possible sign that the country is opening up after Chinese and Russian officials attended a military parade last month.

Information on the DPR Korea Tour website shows that Pyongyang welcomes foreign golfers to participate in the tournament, which is held in the North every spring and fall. The post also includes the email address and phone number of the “Golf Tour Company” – Pyongyang’s official tourism agency – but does not say when the tournament will take place.

North Korea has been under a strict lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020. But there are signs that Pyongyang may be becoming more flexible in its border controls. (AFP)

*UN concerned about South Korea inviting Myanmar ambassador to arms exhibition: Mr. Thomas Andrews, the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, expressed concern about the South Korean government allowing the Myanmar ambassador to Seoul to attend an event promoting weapons systems in May.

In a letter to the South Korean government on June 6, Mr. Andrews wrote: "His participation in this event legitimizes an illegitimate military government and raises doubts about South Korea's policy regarding arms transfers to the Myanmar military."

Mr Andrews expressed concern after Myanmar Ambassador Thant Sin attended the event in Pocheon, South Korea on May 2, which displayed tanks and other weapons to foreign envoys from 18 countries.

The South Korean government later sent a reply on July 26, explaining that Seoul invited all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to attend the event "in accordance with established practice."

South Korea has banned military exports to Myanmar and suspended bilateral defense cooperation after the country's military staged a coup in February 2021. (Yonhap)

*Pakistan dissolves parliament , paving the way for elections : Pakistan dissolved parliament on August 9, paving the way for the formation of an interim government led by technocrats to oversee elections that will not include former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Under Pakistani law, a general election must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of parliament. However, the outgoing government has warned that the election process could be delayed.

Pakistan has been in political turmoil since former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in April last year, culminating in his imprisonment on corruption charges. Khan has denied any wrongdoing and said the investigations were a political conspiracy to prevent him from returning to power. Khan was arrested at his home in Lahore on August 5 after a court in the capital Islamabad sentenced him to three years in prison for corruption . (AFP)

* Chinese Foreign Minister to visit Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia: China's Foreign Ministry said on August 9 that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia from August 10-13.

Mr. Wang Yi has just been appointed as Foreign Minister to replace Mr. Qin Gang, who was dismissed on July 25. Mr. Wang Yi served as Foreign Minister of China from 2013-2022, before holding the position of Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China . (Reuters)

* Japan considers defense aid to many countries, including Vietnam : Japan has begun discussing the provision of defense equipment to six countries in 2024. Under Japan's Official Security Assistance (OSA) program, the countries on the list to be provided with defense equipment include: Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and Djibouti.

To provide equipment to countries such as Vietnam, Mongolia and Djibouti, Japan's Foreign Ministry hopes to include related costs worth about 5 billion yen in its financial plan for fiscal 2024, a 150 percent increase from the same-purpose spending for the Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Fiji in the current fiscal year.

OSA is a new cooperation framework aimed at enhancing the security of countries that “share common foreign policy goals with Japan” on specific issues. Unlike Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is limited to non-military support, OSA — stipulated in Japan’s revised National Security Strategy in December 2022 — allows for direct support to the militaries of certain countries. (The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Europe

* Poland sends 2,000 troops to reinforce border with Belarus : On August 9, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wasik announced that the country will send 2,000 soldiers to the border with Belarus, double the number requested by the border guards, to prevent illegal border crossings and maintain stability in the area.

Poland has grown increasingly concerned about its border region since hundreds of battle-hardened Wagner fighters arrived in Belarus in July at the invitation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Poland has also seen a surge in migrants from the Middle East and Africa attempting to cross into Poland in recent months.

Deputy Minister Wasik also accused the current attempts by migrants to illegally enter Polish territory of being orchestrated by the Belarusian authorities.

The Minsk government has yet to respond to Warsaw's decision, as the Belarusian army has just begun military exercises near the border with Poland. (AFP)

* Germany opposes supplying cruise missiles to Ukraine : In the debate over supplying Germany's Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, the majority of Germans oppose this.

According to NTV news site on August 9, a poll conducted by the Forsa public opinion research institute said that only 28% of people believe that Germany should give in to Kiev's demands, while the majority (66%) reject this request.

Kiev has been pressing Berlin for months to transfer the missiles, while politicians from the Greens, the Free Democrats (FDP) and the conservative CDU/CSU have also asked the German government to transfer the Taurus surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine. The first politicians from Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD party have spoken out in favor of transferring the cruise missiles to Ukraine. However, both Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius have so far rejected the transfer.

According to the survey, only 7% of Germans surveyed believe that the war in Ukraine will end this year. The majority, 91%, believe that the war will last until next year . (DW)

* Ukraine has weapons that most NATO countries do not have : According to the German newspaper FAZ on August 9, Ukraine demonstrated military ingenuity in the war against Russia when on the one hand it still had to use Soviet equipment for defense, but on the other hand it also used many types of Western weapons and had to modify the systems to use them appropriately, even developing weapons that most NATO countries do not have.

Ukraine successfully converted its aircraft to fire Storm Shadow cruise missiles delivered by the UK in May. The German-made Taurus cruise missiles that Kiev is seeking to deliver will also have to be fired from such modified aircraft. Over the past year, Ukraine has launched US AGM-88 HARM air-to-surface missiles from Soviet MiG-29s.

However, the Ukrainian armed forces have not only shown creativity in combining different systems, Kiev has also developed its own weapons that most NATO countries do not yet have. So-called Ukrainian-made sea drones, equipped with explosives and detonated on impact, have participated in several attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

According to one developer, the speed of this device currently exceeds any other underwater vehicle in the Black Sea region, and its construction only began when the war broke out. There are also reports of Ukraine successfully using its own anti-ship missiles, new long-range drones, and mobile anti-drone jammers. (Reuters)

*Russia introduces the latest mobile missile complex launcher Yars : At the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2023" taking place in Patriot Park, on the outskirts of Moscow, from August 14-20, Russia will for the first time introduce the launcher of the mobile missile complex Yars and the upper stage of the latest Avangard missile.

"Along with the traditional Topol mobile ground-based missile system launcher, for the first time an automated launcher and combat mission support vehicle for the Yars mobile missile system will be introduced," said Commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Sergei Karakaev.

In addition, at the forum, Russia also introduced the Listva remote mine clearance machine. Earlier, General Karakaev said that the Strategic Missile Forces will complete the re-equipment of modern Yars missile complexes by the end of 2023. (TASS)

* Italy suspends "golden visas" for Russian and Belarusian citizens : Italian authorities said the country has suspended its Investor visa program for Russian and Belarusian citizens.

The Italian magazine Altreconomia reported on August 8 that the Italian government had granted at least 32 Russian citizens two-year “investor” visas out of 36 applications. This means that more “golden visas” were granted to Russian citizens than were granted to citizens of the United States (12) and the United Kingdom (12).

According to Altreconomia , the Italian government made this decision more than a year after the European Commission (EC) recommended that EU members by March 2022 suspend their investor visa programs for Russian and Belarusian citizens because “some Russian or Belarusian citizens who are under sanctions or who are providing significant support to the war in Ukraine may already have EU citizenship or privileged access to the EU, including free movement within the Schengen area.” (AP)

*Major US companies want to resume the Russian market : Russian Consul General in Houston (USA), Mr. Alexander Zakharov said that major US companies do not want to lose the Russian market and want to resume cooperation.

“While new projects in Africa and Latin America are attractive to US businesses, they cannot replace the projects they used to have in Russia in terms of profitability,” Mr. Zakharov said. “The Americans will not want to lose the large Russian market in the future. It is possible to build new supply chains, but it will take years, even decades.”

"Large companies clearly want to resume cooperation. American businesses do not want to lose the Russian market or give it to any other country," Zakharov added. (TASS)

* Russia lost nearly 29 billion USD in the first 7 months of 2023: According to data released by the Russian Ministry of Finance on August 8, Russia's federal budget deficit in the first 7 months of this year was 1.8% of GDP, equivalent to 2.817 trillion rubles (about 28.9 billion USD).

“According to preliminary estimates, total federal budget expenditures in the first seven months of this year amounted to 17.341 trillion rubles (about $178.3 billion),” the ministry said, adding that the figure was up 14 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, total federal budget revenue in the first seven months of this year reached 14.525 trillion rubles (about 149.3 billion USD), 7.9% lower than the same period in 2022.

However, the ministry also assessed that there was a noticeable positive trend in non-oil and gas revenues. Specifically, non-oil and gas revenues reached 10.332 trillion rubles (about 106.2 billion USD), up 19.8% year-on-year. Meanwhile, oil and gas revenues reached 4.193 trillion rubles (about 43.1 billion USD), down 41.4% year-on-year . (THX)

* Belarus conducts military exercises near the borders with Lithuania and Poland : On August 8, Belarus announced that its armed forces are holding military exercises near the borders with Lithuania and Poland.

According to the Belarusian Defense Ministry, one stage of the exercise took place at the Gozhsky training ground in Grodno in conditions “as close as possible to a real combat situation.” Tensions between Belarus and Poland have increased in recent days, particularly over the presence of Wagner paramilitary forces in Belarus following a coup in June.

Earlier on August 7, Poland deployed 1,000 more soldiers to the border area with Belarus, a day after Warsaw accused Minsk of orchestrating another wave of migration into the European Union (EU) through the Polish border . (Vietnam News Agency)

Middle East – Africa

*Egypt successfully salvages sunken tugboat in Suez Canal : On August 8, Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced that it had successfully salvaged the tugboat "Fahd" that sank in the Suez Canal on August 5, and affirmed that the salvage operation did not affect maritime activities on this sea route.

On August 5, the tugboat "Fahd" sank after colliding with the LPG tanker China Gas Legend, flying a Hong Kong (China) flag, at the 51st kilometer of the Al-Balah bypass in the Suez Canal, killing one crew member. Six other crew members were rescued. According to the SCA, a total of 146 ships passed through the Suez Canal in the past two days, with a total net tonnage of 8.4 million tonnes. (Aljazeera)

*UAE and US promote joint action to ensure stability in the Middle East : At a meeting in Abu Dhabi on August 8, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed the close strategic relationship between the UAE and the US, affirming the desire to further strengthen bilateral relations.

According to the UAE state news agency WAM , President Sheikh Mohamed and Mr. Sullivan also discussed regional and international developments, and stressed the importance of joint action to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East.

Mr. Sullivan previously met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials in Jeddah last July to discuss measures to "promote a common vision in the region ." (Aljazeera)

* Egypt buys large volume of Russian wheat: Egypt's Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade said on August 9 that the country has signed an agreement with Russia to buy 235,000 tons of wheat. "The contract for the purchase of Russian wheat was signed in accordance with international practice," the ministry said. According to the agreement, 175,000 tons of Russian wheat will be delivered by sea from September 15 to 30, while the remaining 60,000 tons will be delivered to Egyptian ports from October 1 to 15.

Earlier, the business daily reported that Moscow had sold its first wheat shipments to Egypt after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal. Egyptian state-owned company GASC received 30 bids during the tender process, 20 of which were for Russian wheat. Egypt had been a major buyer of Ukrainian grain under the Black Sea grain deal . (The Gulf News)

America

*US plans to limit investment in China: US President Joe Biden plans to limit some US investments in China, a move that could open another front in the confrontation between the two economic powers.

Biden is expected to issue a long-awaited executive order to screen foreign investments in technologies sensitive to China, according to people familiar with the matter. The order is aimed at preventing US capital and expertise from being used to accelerate the development of technologies that could support China’s military modernization and threaten US national security.

The order is expected to target U.S. private equity, venture capital and joint venture investments in China in the semiconductor, quantum computing and artificial intelligence sectors. (Reuters)

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