❗️LIVE NOW: #SPIEF2023 grand opening ceremony

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Gas futures in Europe have increased by 13.6%, almost reaching $500 per 1,000 cubic meters, according to data from the London-based ICE exchange on Thursday.

July futures on the TTF index — Europe's largest hub — opened at $422.2 per thousand cubic meters (-1.3%). As of 08:21 GMT, they were trading at $485.8 (+13.6%). Moments earlier, the price almost reached %500, which marks a 16% increase.

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🌐 The Northern Sea Route is the biggest achievement in the field of navigation, DP World CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told Sputnik.

💬 “We are honored to cooperate with Rosatom, and this cooperation needs only to be strengthened,” bin Sulayem said at #SPIEF2023.

The route has number of advantages and is shorter than other similar routes, which saves both time and money, he added.

💬“It is important to create the appropriate infrastructure, a fleet, we need cargo carriers, LNG tankers. We are ready to help Russia with these tasks,” bin Sulayem said.

▪️Russia plans to ramp up shipping through the route to 80 million tons by 2024, and 270 million tons by 2035, and has spared no expense to create the necessary infrastructure and security environment for it.

▪️The route runs through Russia’s exclusive economic zone, stretching from the Barents and White Seas to the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea. It’s estimated that sea-based shipment of cargoes through the route could be between 40 and 60 percent faster than via major arteries like the Suez Canal and the Cape of Good Hope.

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❗️LIVE NOW: Putin holds talks with Algerian counterpart in Moscow

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🇷🇺 Share of 'unfriendly' currencies in Russia's int'l payments falls to 36% by May

The share of unfriendly states' currencies in Russia's international payments had decreased to less than 36% this May against 87% in early 2022, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Sergey Vakhrukov said on Thursday.

"If in early 2022, export payments were carried out in currencies of unfriendly states [mainly, the dollar and the euro], the share of 'toxic' currencies in these payments fell to 48% by late 2022. By May 2023, the share was less than 36% and there is a good tendency for a further decrease," Vakhrukov said at #SPIEF2023.

Amid a changing global economic and political situation, the priority for most countries that pursue an independent policy should be the creation of an alternative international financial architecture, the Russian official stated. This issue was especially acute for Russia, which had ended up in a difficult situation due to Western sanctions, he added.

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🧊 One of the most popular stands at #SPIEF2023 belongs to the Russian Ministry for the Development of the Far East and Arctic.

💬 Vladimir Putin famously declared in 2017 that the economy development of these regions is the “national priority of the 21st century.” That mission gained additional urgency after the unprecedented wave of Western sanctions imposed last year.

▪️The Far East and Arctic are expected to play a central role in Russia’s economic pivot to Asia.

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🇰🇵 North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles towards Sea of Japan, Seoul says

Pyongyang launched two short-range ballistic missiles from 7:25 p.m. to approximately 7:37 p.m. (from 10:25 to 10:37 GMT) from the Sunan region towards the Sea of Japan, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a report.

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❗️LIVE NOW: #SPIEF2023 panel “Energy of the 21st Century: Challenges of Today as Opportunities for Tomorrow”

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❗️Russian MoD’s briefing on the special military operation’s progress in Ukraine:

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces in the DPR struck a command post belonging to the 128th Mountain Assault brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces;

▪️ The Russian Aerospace Forces delivered successful surgical airstrikes on the production sites for Ukrainian attack drones, resulting in the elimination of the targets;

▪️ During the fighting in the DPR, as many as 340 Ukrainian soldiers were wiped out;

▪️ Russian troops repelled five attacks by the Ukrainian military in the DPR;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces destroyed two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups near Kupyansk;

▪️ The Russian army shot down two Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft in the DPR;

▪️ Russia’s air defense intercepted five HIMARS and Uragan projectiles, and downed 25 Ukrainian drones;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces beat back two Ukrainian attacks in the Zaporozhye Region, wiping out as many as 25 Ukrainian servicemen and three tanks;

▪️ Russian troops eliminated more than 50 Ukrainian soldiers, and Kiev’s Akatsiya and Gvozdika and Grad self-propelled guns near Krasny Liman;

▪️ The Ukrainian military lost as many as 155 people and three tanks in the DPR’s south and in the Zaporozhye Region.

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🇺🇸 Texas Gov. busses migrants to LA, says Biden ‘refuses to secure border’

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has sparked controversy by sending a busload of undocumented migrants from his state to Los Angeles, California. He criticized President Joe Biden's border policies and highlighted Los Angeles as a sanctuary city that migrants are drawn to. The bus carried approximately 42 migrants, including eight children, and arrived at LA's Union Station.

The move by Abbott is part of a trend among Republican governors, including those of Arizona and Florida, who have been sending migrants to Democratic "sanctuary" cities to express their frustration with the situation at the US-Mexico border. Last year, Abbott reportedly sent tens of thousands of migrants to various cities, including Washington, DC and New York.

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📹 Aftermath of Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk

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🇦🇲🇦🇿 Moscow questions Washington’s sanity amid reports of US meddling in Karabakh

The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed concern over reports of the Biden administration making threats of renewed violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, questioning the sanity of US mediators. The ministry raised concerns about the US trying to impose its mediation services and gain a foothold in the region.

On Wednesday, Russian media reported that the US had issued an ultimatum to Karabakh Armenians, demanding negotiations with Azerbaijani representatives in a third country. If refused, Azerbaijan would reportedly launch a counter-terrorist operation in the disputed region.

As of now, US officials have not provided any comments on the matter.

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📹 Footage of the visit of the head of the IAEA Rafael Grossi to the Zaporozhye NPP

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Cyclone-battered New Zealand slips into recession, faces 'awkward' outlook

New Zealand has entered a recession for the first time since 2020, with its economy contracting by 0.1% in the first quarter of this year. This marks the second consecutive quarter of negative growth, meeting the technical definition of a recession.

The decline was primarily driven by a slowdown in services, exports, and agriculture, particularly in business services, which fell by 3.5%. The recession was further exacerbated by the severe impact of the cyclones Hale and Gabrielle, as well as teachers' strikes.

Additionally, the country is experiencing inflation above the Central Bank's target range, currently at 6.7%.

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