俄羅斯國防部：俄羅斯已從烏克蘭被俘人員中接回103名軍人，作爲交換，103名烏克蘭軍人已被移交。

MIIT deputy director Gan Xiaobin told an AI industry meeting in Beijing on Aug. 18 the ministry will accelerate R&D on intelligent chips and other core technologies and explore brain‑like intelligence, world models and physical models. The ministry will push an integrated agenda covering technology innovation, application deployment, ecosystem cultivation and safety governance. It will prioritise scenario-driven rollout—implementing model‑data resonance, humanoid robots and embodied‑intelligence real‑scene training—to promote virtuous interaction among models, data and scenarios. MIIT also plans to speed development and application of standards in key areas, issue influential practical standards, launch a pilot ethics‑review initiative, strengthen AI science and technology ethics governance, develop new safety‑governance technical tools and establish full‑lifecycle safety governance mechanisms.

Aug 19 — The U.S. and South Korea announced they will end this year’s planned annual joint military exercises early. Days earlier President Trump had proposed scaling back the drills, citing his rapport with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At a regular briefing on Aug 19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing had already addressed related questions and reiterated that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and promoting a political solution are in all parties’ common interest.