MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russian ombudsperson Tatiana Moskalkova stated that treatment of Russian citizen Maria Butina, arrested in the US, is "inhumane and degrading", the ombudsperson’s website informed on Monday.

"I would like to express my utmost concern at the actions of US prison authorities during the transfer of Russian citizen Maria Butina from Washington to Alexandria (Virginia State) prison. <…> There are clear signs of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, punishment by the US government and violation of the rules of international law," the message states.

21 Aug 2018; AFP: Iran unveiled its first domestic fighter jet on Tuesday, with President Hassan Rouhani insisting that Tehran's military strength was only designed to deter enemies and create "lasting peace".

Images on state television showed Rouhani sitting in the cockpit of the new "Kowsar" fourth-generation fighter at the National Defence Industry exhibition in Tehran.

State media said it had "advanced avionics" and multi-purpose radar, and that it was "100-percent indigenously made" for the first time.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) The CBI's Special Investigation Team (SIT) today told the Supreme Court that it had filed another charge sheet in connection with the alleged fake encounters by the Army, Assam Rifles and police in Manipur.

On July 30, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the apex court that its had filed two charge sheets before the competent court in connection with the cases.

KINSHASA, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) has said a drug used for the first time on Ebola patients, the mAb114, is working well in North Kivu. It said it expects some patients to leave hospital on Tuesday Aug 21.

Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the INRB’s director-general said 10 Ebola patients had received mAb114 in Beni and that they are waiting for its US manufacturers to deliver more doses this week.

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia is determined to work towards ending the crisis in Russian-US relations, but "it is not going to grieve" if Washington fails to reciprocate, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Monday.

"The Russian president hopes for the best. He would like to end the deepest crisis in our relations. He has repeatedly said so himself. This intention remains, but at the same time nobody is going to grieve, if we do not see Washington’s reciprocity on that score," he said.

ANKARA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified assailants fired gun shots at the U.S. embassy in Ankara early Monday, hitting a window of a security cabin but causing no casualties, local media reported.

At least four gunshots were reportedly fired in front of Gate 6 of the embassy from a white car at around 5 a.m. (0200 GMT) local time, broadcaster CNN Turk reported.

Police are searching for the suspects who reportedly fled in a white car before the car's license plate number could be seen.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to his newly elected Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, conveying New Delhi's commitment to pursue "meaningful" and "constructive" engagement with Islamabad and emphasising the need to work for a terror-free South Asia, official sources said today.

In a letter to Khan on August 18, the day he was sworn in as Pakistan's 22nd prime minister, Modi also expressed India's commitment to building good neighbourly relations between the two countries while congratulating him, the sources said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia Aug 21 (NNN-Bernama) -- Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) (Malaysia's central bank) international reserves amounted to US$104.2 billion as at Aug 15 compared with US$104.5 billion as at July 31, 2018.

In a statement today, the central bank said the reserves were sufficient to finance 7.6 months of retained imports and were 0.9 times the short-term external debt.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called on his government to unite behind him after he survived an internal leadership challenge Tuesday. But several ministers who backed the failed challenger offered their resignations in a move that widens the rift in government ranks.

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia’s state-run hi-tech corporation Rostec will demonstrate stealth camouflaging for troops and military hardware at the Army-2018 international military and technical forum outside Moscow, Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov told TASS on Monday.

The camouflage developed on order from Russia’s Defense Ministry changes its pattern and color depending on the environment and will be used as coating for military hardware and the soldiers’ outfits.

According to the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2018, released on 19 August – the World Humanitarian Day; Turkey was found to be the largest humanitarian aid donor providing $8.07 billion.

Turkey was followed by USA with $6.68 billion and UK with $2.52 billion.

ANKARA, August 18. /TASS/. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has been reelected as chairman of the Justice and Development Party, the Anadolu agency reported referring to the results of the voting, which took place at the party’s sixth general Congress in Ankara.

All 1,380 delegates voted unanimously for Erdogan, who the only candidate nominated for this post.