Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - Aug. 19, 2022

Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

Russia said it hopes representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will soon be able to visit Zaporizhzhia to defuse the crisis at the nuclear power plant.

Russia must immediately withdraw its troops from Zaporizhzhia and end all attacks and provocations, said Ukraine's president.

Any potential damage to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is suicide, and it must not be used as part of any military operation, the UN secretary general said.

We don't want a new Chernobyl, said Türkiye's president on the nuclear plant crisis in Ukraine, adding that Türkiye is temporarily hosting nearly 325,000 Ukrainians.

For peace talks to begin, Russia must first leave occupied Ukrainian territories, Ukraine's president said after talks with his Turkish counterpart and the UN secretary general in Lviv.

There will be no solution to the global food crisis without ensuring global access to Ukraine's food products and Russian food and fertilizers, the UN chief said after a trilateral meeting in Lviv.

Polish President Andrzej Duda congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his "constructive role and efforts" in resolving the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Türkiye and Ukraine signed a memorandum on the reconstruction of Ukrainian infrastructure damaged due to the ongoing war with Russia.

More than 622,000 tons of grain were shipped from Ukrainian ports since Aug. 1 as part of a recent grain export deal signed between Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine.

A fresh Russian attack on Ukraine's northern city of Kharkiv killed at least seven civilians, said local authorities.

The death toll from Wednesday's explosion in Kabul rose to 21, said an Afghan official.

The Israeli army stormed and ordered the closure of seven Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the occupied West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, witnesses said.

The US expressed concern over Israel's closure of several Palestinian non-governmental organizations in the occupied West Bank.

Brussels sees its influence slipping away in Latin America and is preparing to ramp up diplomacy and economic relations in 2023, according to EU documents revealed by the Spanish daily El Pais.

A federal judge in the US state of Florida ordered the Justice Department to unseal parts of the warrant affidavit used to carry out the FBI search on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

The US said it has agreed to launch formal negotiations on a bilateral trade framework with Taiwan early in the fall amid already high tensions with China over the status of the island nation.

China opposed the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade amid high tensions over the status of the island nation.

The UN warned of increasing violence at the al-Hol refugee camp in eastern Syria, home to families of suspected Daesh/ISIS terror group members.

Pope Francis said there is not enough evidence to launch an investigation into Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet for allegations of sexual assault, said a Vatican spokesman.

Hadi Matar, the man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie in the US state of New York, pleaded not guilty to multiple offenses.

UK's rail network is once again in complete chaos due to fresh strikes that began on Thursday, with union bosses warning the dispute could continue "indefinitely" unless their demands are met.

Allen Weisselberg, one of Donald Trump's top executives, accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to 15 felonies regarding a scheme to avoid paying taxes on lavish perks as Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization.

Homes and forests are being set ablaze in the Azerbaijani border region of Lachin by illegally settled Armenians as they leave the region, recently captured footage showed.

The leaders of Kosovo and Serbia were unable to find a compromise on a license plate dispute, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

US Senator Chris Coons met separately with Kenya's President-elect William Ruto, veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta amid uncertainty over recent election results.

Around 274 million people across the world will need humanitarian aid and protection this year, the UN said on the eve of World Humanitarian Day.

Eurozone annual inflation hit a new record high of 8.9% in July, up from 8.6% in June, according to official figures.

Leaked videos sparked controversy after they showed Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin dancing and singing with friends, and others in the crowd shouting "cocaine."

A number of Jordanian journalists held a vigil in commemoration of the 100th day since Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by an Israeli sniper in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Estonia's visa ban on Russian tourists entered into force.

The death toll in Algeria's forest fires rose to 31, in addition to 160 injuries, the Algerian civil protection authority said.

At least six people died and 20 others were injured after sudden thunderstorms and torrential rains on the French island of Corsica, the interior minister said.

Türkiye has detected another illegal pushback of irregular migrants by Greek authorities, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said.

America's leading health agency announced that it is planning a complete overhaul of its structure and operations due to major mistakes in handling the COVID-19 pandemic response. -