Headline news for August 20, 2026: United States total debt crossed a historic 40 trillion US dollar threshold. Ukraine’s lawmakers have approved Yevhenii Khmara as the country’s new defence minister. South Korea and the United States will cut short ​annual joint military drills to five days from eleven.

Synopsis: A round up of global headlines to start your day by The Business Times. 

Written by: Nicole Teo (nicolet@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Claressa Monteiro or Nicole Teo

Produced by: BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media

Produced with AI text-to-speech capabilities

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