RT News - August 20 2026 (09:00 MSK)

It's a big shakeup in Ukraine. The deputy head of Vladimir Zelensky's office is sacked following a raid by the nation's anti-corruption body, with the boss of a major bank also getting the boot over a money laundering scheme. As anger erupts in a Philippine community over a proposed AI data centre, the pressure is too much for a Norwegian investor, who leaves - and pulls the plug on the project. Syria meets with the IAEA - and the organisation agrees for Damascus to retain full control of its nuclear stockpile and use it for civilian purposes. That's as Iran has had the same intention, but is under massive Western sanctions and a US-led bombing campaign.