Month: August 2025

KYIV/washington (TIP)- World leaders condemned Russia’s massive missile and drone strikes that killed at least 21 people, wounding 48 and damaging European Union’s mission and British Council offices in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Thursday, Aug 28.
Thursday’s attack was the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since US President Donald Trump met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
President Trump was unhappy but not surprised by Russia’s deadly strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the White House said, while urging “both sides” to end the war started by Moscow’s invasion.
“He was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised. These are two countries that have been at war for a very long time,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Putin was “sabotaging” hopes of peace following the “senseless” strikes. The Russian ambassador to London was summoned to the foreign office.
“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack. “We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions.”
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said two strikes landed 20 seconds apart about 50 metres from the EU Mission to Ukraine building in Kyiv. She said no staff were injured in the strike.
“Just spoke with President Zelensky, then President Trump, following the massive strike on Kyiv which also hit our EU offices. Putin must come to the negotiating table,” European Commission head von der Leyen wrote on X.
“No diplomatic mission should ever be a target. In response, we are summoning the Russian envoy in Brussels,” Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said Thursday in a post on X.
The British Council, which promotes cultural relations and educational opportunities, also said its Kyiv office had been “severely damaged” in the attack and was closed to visitors until further notice.
Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine slammed Russian strikes on Kyiv, saying they threatened the US president’s proposals to end the Ukraine war. “These egregious attacks threaten the peace that @POTUS is pursuing,” Keith Kellogg said on X, noting that they hit “innocent civilians” and EU and British missions in the Ukrainian capital.
Russia’s latest strikes on Kyiv show that it is not interested in negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that “Russia showed its true face” in its latest overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense detected the presence of 41 Chinse military aircraft, seven naval vessels and an official ship operating around its territorial waters as of 6am (local time) Thursday, Aug 28. As per Taiwan’s MND, of the 41 sorties, 21 crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, and southwestern ADIZ.
In a post on X, the MND said, “41 PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 24 out of 41 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Aug 27, Taiwan’s MND recorded 23 sorties of PLA aircraft, seven PLAN vessels and an official ship operating around its territory. MND said that 16 out of 23 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern ADIZ.
In a post on X, it said, “23 sorties of PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 16 out of 23 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern and southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded.”
Earlier, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung had named China a “regional troublemaker” after the Solomon Islands barred Taiwan and other dialogue partners, including the US, from the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders’ Meeting, Taipei Times reported, citing an Australian daily.
Citing the “Pacific Way” of inclusiveness, Lin warned that excluding dialogue partners undermines the forum’s ability to address common challenges, as per Taipei Times.
Rejecting Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, Lin underlined that the People’s Republic of China “has never ruled Taiwan for even a single day,” and noted that UN Resolution 2758 makes no reference to Taiwan, according to Taipei Times.

Buenos Aires (TIP)- Argentina’s Ambassador to India Mariano Caucino on Wednesday, Aug 27, announced that the country has relaxed visa rules for Indian citizens holding valid US visas.
According to a resolution published in the official gazette, Indian nationals with tourist visas to the United States will now be able to enter Argentina without having to apply separately for an Argentine visa. Welcoming the development in a post on X, Ambassador Caucino said, “The Argentine Government has eased entry into the country for Indian citizens with US visas. The resolution published in the Official Gazette allows Indian citizens with tourist visas to enter the United States without needing to apply for an Argentine visa. This is a wonderful news for both Argentina and India. We’re ready to welcome more Indian tourists into our wonderful country.”
The visa announcement comes at a time when India and Argentina are stepping up cooperation in multiple areas.
In July, the two sides held the 2nd Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on Agriculture in New Delhi, where officials, including Indian Co-chair Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, took part virtually. Both developments highlight the growing engagement between the two countries.
According to a release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the meeting was co-chaired by Sergio Iraeta, Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, from the Argentine side. Both sides underscored the significance of the meeting as a key milestone in deepening bilateral cooperation in the fields of agriculture and allied sectors.
During the meeting, Devesh Chaturvedi highlighted that Argentina is a crucial partner for India. He said that the partnership between the two countries is rooted in a spirit of collaboration, sharing knowledge, technologies, and best practices that benefit both nations. He emphasised that opportunities exist in areas such as agricultural mechanisation, pest control, climate-resilient agriculture, and joint research.
In response, Sergio Iraeta underscored Argentina’s commitment to strengthening its valued partnership with India. He highlighted Argentina’s strong interest in deepening cooperation in key areas such as agricultural mechanisation, genome editing, and plant breeding technologies, among others. He further emphasised that both countries, with their rich agricultural experience, have the potential to complement each other in enhancing productivity, promoting mechanisation, and improving farmers’ welfare.
Adding further context, Muktanand Agrawal, Joint Secretary (Plant Protection), DA&FW, provided an overview of the agriculture and allied sectors, emphasising India’s remarkable agricultural achievements. He highlighted a series of innovative initiatives launched by the government to strengthen the agricultural sector, which included the use of digital solutions, promoting climate-resilient agricultural practices, risk mitigation, and credit to the farmers.
Both sides also discussed key issues related to cooperation in horticulture, the value chain of oilseed and pulse cultivation, mechanisation, precision agriculture, carbon credit for farmers, biopesticides, locust control and management, new breeding technologies, and market access, among other issues.

Beijing (TIP)- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will be among more than two dozen foreign leaders to attend China’s massive military parade next week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.
The parade, to be held in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3, is part of China’s commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II following Japan’s formal surrender.
The announcement, which places Putin and Kim at the top of Xi’s guest list, sets the stage for an extraordinary photo-op with the three autocratic leaders standing side by side atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing, in an unequivocal show of unity.
North Korean state news agency KCNA confirmed Kim’s attendance, in what would be the North Korean leader’s first trip to China since 2019. Kim, who has only embarked on 10 foreign trips since assuming power in 2011, last left his isolated country in 2023 to meet Putin at a remote spaceport in Russia’s far east.
The parade offers the reclusive head of the world’s most heavily sanctioned regime a rare opportunity to appear alongside other world leaders who are gravitating toward an alternative world order Xi and Putin have pushed to create.
Confirmation of Kim’s attendance at the parade comes just days after US President Donald Trump said he would like to meet the North Korean leader this year.
Beijing is projecting military strength at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty as Trump upends American alliances and partnerships. It also comes amid China’s increasingly assertive posture toward Taiwan and its territorial disputes with neighboring countries.
A total of 26 foreign heads of state and government will attend the parade, including Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei told a news conference in Beijing.
Narendra Modi, the prime minister of Pakistan’s arch-rival India, who will be in the Chinese city of Tianjin for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this weekend, is not among the list of leaders attending the parade.
Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who is serving as that country’s acting president after a military coup toppled an elected government in 2021 and plunged the country into a devastating civil war, will also attend.
Other guests include Russia-friendly European leaders Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia and Slovakia’s Robert Fico.
Notably absent are leaders from major Western capitals, even though China was a crucial partner of the Allied powers in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The country’s fight against Japan’s full-scale invasion became a major front of the war in Asia, ending only in 1945 with Japan’s surrender.
Conflict continued in China between communist and nationalist forces until the former eventually came out on top in 1949 leading to the creation of the People’s Republic of China that Xi now helms.
The 70-minute parade will feature more than 10,000 troops, over 100 aircraft and hundreds of pieces of ground equipment, showcasing China’s growing military power under Xi, who has made the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) a central mission of his rule.