August 19, 2022

*) Erdogan stresses Ukraine diplomacy, warns against nuclear plant fighting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has discussed possible ways of ending the Ukraine conflict in a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and United Nations chief Antonio Guterres. Erdogan said the fighting between Russia and Ukraine will eventually end at the negotiating table, adding that Zelenskyy and Guterres had a similar view. Erdogan added that Türkiye, which has taken the lead in mediating between Kiev and Moscow, will discuss the outcome of the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. *) UK spy head says Russia is losing 'information war' in Ukraine Jeremy Fleming, head of Britain's intelligence service, wrote in an op-ed in The Economist that Russia has failed to gain ground in cyberspace against Ukraine. Fleming said Russia had deployed WhisperGate malware to destroy and deface Ukrainian government systems, adding that online disinformation is a major part of Russia's strategy. Fleming wrote that "Putin comprehensively lost the information war in Ukraine and in the West,” but warned that Russian disinformation could be effective in the rest of the world. *) North Korea says won't give up nukes for South's aid plan The sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, has said the country will never deal with a South Korean proposal to boost the North's economy in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons. State media reported her as saying "the plan to barter 'economic cooperation' for the North’s honour, nukes, is the great dream, hope and plan of South Korea.” "No one barters its destiny for corn cake." *) UN, EU condemn Israel's closure on Palestinian NGOs Israel's closure of Palestinian nonprofit organisations has caused diplomatic backlash, drawing criticism from the UN, EU, and the US. The UN said "Israeli authorities have not given any compelling evidence to UN agencies nor NGO partners working in occupied Palestinian territories to support these designations." The Office of the Europea