Main News of August 19

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* A senior Kremlin official has warned it would be “suicidal” for Ukraine to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union, adding such a step would trigger a permanent tightening of customs procedures for Ukrainian goods entering Russia

* United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that a team of UN experts investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria should have full access to reported chemical attack sites

RUSSIA

* Senior Russian officials, including lawmakers, judges and the heads of state corporations, as well as their spouses and underage children, are no longer allowed to keep their money in foreign bank accounts or financial instruments abroad

* The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said it is investigating the misappropriation of 1.4 billion rubles ($43 million) of budget funds allocated to road maintenance in a southern Russian region

* The explosions that sank a Russian-built Indian Navy submarine last week were possibly caused by its weapons igniting, India’s defense minister said Monday, while Russian experts said a human error likely caused the sinking