11 Aug 2018; DG: Only days after Left politician Sahra Wagenknecht announced her new movement, dubbed Aufstehen or Stand Up, tens of thousands have vowed support. The movement could present a leftist case for limiting migration.

Washington, Aug 14 (PTI) The US hopes to further strengthen ties with Pakistan in the years ahead and work with its people and government to advance shared goals of security, stability and prosperity in South Asia, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo today said.

Wishing the people of Pakistan on the country's 72nd Independence day, Pompeo, in a statement, said for more than seven decades, the relationship between the US and Pakistan has "rested on the strong foundation of close ties between our two peoples."

BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- China Tuesday expressed strong dissatisfaction with the U.S. government as it passed and signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019, which includes negative China-related contents, in disregard of China's opposition.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2019 into law. The bill includes clauses such as directing a whole-of-government strategy on China and submitting the assessment and plan on strengthening Taiwan's force readiness.

MAIMANA, Afghanistan, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least 17 Afghan soldiers were killed late Monday after Taliban militants overran an army base in the northern part of the country following a three-day intense fighting, a local source said Tuesday.

The clashes started last Saturday after hundreds of Taliban militants stormed and besieged the base, known as Camp-e-Chenayeeha in remote Ghormach district of Faryab province in which about 106 army soldiers were stationed.

14 Aug 2018; AFP: Austria's capital Vienna has beaten Melbourne to be ranked the "world's most liveable city" in a new annual survey released Monday, ending the southern Australian city's seven-year reign.

It is the first time a European metropolis has topped the annual chart compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit which identifies the best urban playgrounds to live and work in.

MINSK, August 14. /TASS/. A meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Defense Ministers’ Council Coordination Committee will discuss the development of the joint air defense system, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The 49th meeting of the CIS Defense Ministers’ Council Air Defense Coordination Committee, scheduled to be held in Minsk on August 14, will particularly discuss ways for the development and improvement of the CIS joint air defense system," the statement reads.

ANKARA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The plunge of Turkish lira is "a plot against Turkey" and the country will seek new partners and markets if the United States does not back down on its hostile policy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

Talking in a meeting in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, Erdogan said the current fluctuations in the exchange rate could not be explained by logic.

"I here declare that we have seen your plot and we are challenging it," said Erdogan, apparently referring to the United States.

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Aug 13 (PTI) Pakistan today released 30 Indian prisoners, including 27 fishermen, from jail as a goodwill gesture ahead of the country's Independence Day tomorrow.

The release of the prisoners "is in line with Pakistan's consistent policy of not politicising humanitarian issues," Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in a statement.

The 30 prisoners being set free also include 27 fishermen, it added.

"This is a humanitarian gesture to mark Pakistan's Independence day on August 14," he said.

GAZA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 95 percent of the industrial factories in the Gaza Strip have stopped production due to the closure of the commercial crossing point of Kerem Shalom between Israel and the coastal enclave, officials said Monday.

Ali Hayek, chairman of The Palestinian Businessmen Association in Gaza said in an emailed press statement that after most of the industrial factories stopped its production, "around 75,000 workers and labours remained unemployed."

AKTAU /Kazakhstan/, August 12. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has highly estimated the results of the fifth Caspian summit that ended with the signing of the convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

"Naturally, this even will go down in history as the one that took place in Kazakhstan. It is a great event we have been heading to for two decades, have been trying to find a solution. And now it is found. Naturally, it will encourage closer cooperation in the Caspian region," Putin said at a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Sunday.

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/. Russia is ready to ease visa requirements for some categories of Turkish citizens, the Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday ahead of Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Ankara on August 13-14.

"It is planned to discuss aspects of easing visa requirements for the two countries’ nationals. We confirm our readiness for visa liberalization for certain categories of Turkish citizens," the ministry said.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- It had been expected up to about 400 white supremacists to gather outside the White House on Sunday. However, by 4:00 pm local time, only dozens of them emerged and marched through Washington D.C. , accompanied by huge boos from crowded counterprotesters separated by heavy police presence.

"Go home, Nazis", "Shame", counterprotesters yelled at the far-right demonstrators, some of them hiding their faces with masks, bags or flags.