Main news of August 20

 WORLD

* Incumbent Afghan President Hamid Karzai said more than 70 militant attacks occurred in almost half of the country's provinces during presidential elections

* U.S. and Uzbek ministries of defense have signed an agreement on military cooperation, including training and educational exchanges, a U.S. embassy spokesman said

* Washington said it regretted Scotland's decision to release on compassionate grounds the former Libyan agent convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103

* The intensive development of Russian-Hungarian cooperation benefits the two countries, as well as all European states, the Russian prime minister said

* Russian Foreign Minister and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed an upcoming meeting on Iran's nuclear program, Russia's Foreign Ministry said

* Ukraine's Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom are holding talks on a possible decrease in the volume of Russian gas to be purchased by Kiev in 2010, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko

* A 45-year-old plumber in west-central Germany attacked his neighbors' houses with grenades over unpaid debts, national media reported

* German Chancellor Angela Merkel remains the world's most powerful woman for the fourth year running, according to a ranking published by Forbes magazine

 

RUSSIA

* Russia's military-industrial commission has submitted to the Finance Ministry a draft 2010 state defense order for 1.109 trillion rubles ($35 bln), a deputy premier said

* The Arctic Sea cargo vessel, recently freed from hijackers by a Russian missile frigate, is heading to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk for an investigation, the Russian defense minister said

* NATO assistance significantly facilitated the search and rescue of the Arctic Sea cargo vessel seized in the Atlantic by a group of hijackers in late July, the Russian NATO envoy said

* The plight of two merchant ships detained by China over debts will be resolved in a couple of days, the Russian transportation minister said

* A collision between two Su-27 fighters at rehearsals for the MAKS-2009 air show revealed problems in flight safety procedures and pilot training, a Russian senior military commander said

* A Russian arbitration court has upheld the British Council's case against tax authorities, saying the majority of the $6.6-million tax claims were unjustified, Russia's Kommersant daily said

* Negligence charges have been brought against senior police officials in the south Russian republic of Ingushetia in the wake of a suicide bombing early this week, federal prosecutors said

* Defense Ministry has decided to resume production of one of the world's largest cargo planes, the An-124 Ruslan (Condor), the country's Air Force chief said