Spending on conventional oil and gas exploration could exceed $50 billion this year, reaching the highest figure since 2019, but despite rising investment, the number of discovered fields is decreasing, Norwegian energy research and business intelligence company Rystad Energy said on Wednesday.

The statement added that companies discovered 2.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in the first half of 2023, which is 42% lower than during the same period last year. In particular, 55 fields were discovered, compared to 80 in the first six months of 2022.

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The approval rating of the US Supreme Court has dropped to a record-low 40%, according to a Gallup poll published on Wednesday.

Since 2000, the level of confidence in the top court in the country has decreased by 22 percentage points. In the last three years, it has dropped by 18 percentage points, according to the pollster.

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Two-thirds of UK citizens (66%) have disapproved of the Conservative Party's work in managing the country's topical issues, while only 14% of respondents have supported the party's policies, a YouGov weekly tracker showed on Wednesday.

The survey showed that fewer than half (44%) of the Conservative Party's 2019 voters considered them to be "the best party" to fix the UK economy, while one in 11 (9%) said the Labour Party was the most suitable for tackling the economic issues.

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🇷🇺🇸🇾 Russian Air Force, Syrian special forces hold drills in Hama

In the mock battle, an enemy attacked Syrian troop deployment sites and seized a civilian community.

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🗣️ On how China’s investment has changed the geopolitical game for the US:

“If China is making economic investments, why is the US concerned about this in security terms?… What the United States is not happy about is that Chinese investment means that it no longer has a monopoly on power that it currently has in the region in keeping those states dependent,” Dr. Tamanisha John, professor at Clark Atlanta University and Caribbean regional analyst, told Sputnik.

🎧 Listen to more of John’s analysis in our podcast By Any Means Necessary

❗️Russian air defenses thwarted a Ukrainian UAV attack on the Kaluga region, leaving six drones downed; no injuries or damage reported, the MoD says

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📹 “Unwarranted”: Magic mushroom maven Yellen downplays Fitch downgrade as US economy gets a black eye

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🗣️ On why the US is seeking to get more involved in the Eastern Caribbean:

“China’s making economic and infrastructural investments in the Caribbean region. So you see the US now saying 'Wait a minute, we took our presence out of these Eastern Caribbean region because we didn't view them as strategically beneficial to us anymore, but because China is gaining influence… this could become a security problem for us,” Dr. Tamanisha John, professor at Clark Atlanta University and Caribbean regional analyst, told Sputnik.

🎧 Listen to more of John’s analysis in our podcast By Any Means Necessary

🇺🇸🇫🇷 France moves to block US buyout of reactor parts supplier amid covert energy war

French authorities are reportedly brainstorming ways to prevent nuclear reactor equipment and parts supplier Velan SAS from being bought out by US interests.

💬 “If the US gains control over a maker of equipment for Electricity de France, they could be able to prevent the export of French nuclear reactors to China,” French Senator Marie-Noelle Lienemann said of the US company’s takeover bid. “It’s not just defense industries that are strategic –the nuclear industry is key for France’s economic recovery and its transition,” the lawmaker said.

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🇨🇳🇺🇸 China's rare earth metals ban hits US chip trade restrictions where it hurts

Beijing's new restrictions on the export of eight gallium and six germanium products, on the basis that they have dual civilian and military uses, came into force on Tuesday.

Since other nations reportedly only have enough stockpiles to last two or three months, Beijing's measures could cripple semiconductor production in the rest of the world just when demand is on the rise as Western nations struggle to ramp up production of guided missiles and other arms.

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🌳💀 Russia's secret weapon? 'Bushes of doom'

According to a UK 'intelligence' report, Ukraine’s ‘counteroffensive’ is stuck in the mud because of Russia’s secret weapon - shrubs and weeds. British spies claim that these ‘warrior weeds’ are assisting “small stealthy infantry assaults” by providing cover and helping to “camouflage Russian defensive positions. Also, these ‘battlefield bushes of doom’ have been making “defensive mine fields harder to clear”.

Is British intelligence hinting that Mother Nature is a “Russian agent”?

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❗️Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️De-dollarization of global economy is an irreversible process;

▪️Peskov dismissed the EU’s claim that Russia aims to “create new dependencies” with cheap grain, adding that Russia has always been and remains a reliable supplier;

▪️Russia’s grain supplies would “do more,” if not for sanctions;

▪️The BRICS group is discussing accession of new countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina;

▪️The expansion of the group will be discussed at the BRICS summit in August.

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🇮🇪 Ireland will not follow Sweden and Finland's route to NATO

💬 "[Ireland is] never going to be a significant military power, is never going to be a huge asset to NATO, if we ever were to join it," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said.

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🇺🇸🇦🇺 US conducts first ever live firing of ATACMS missile in Australia

The missile was fired from an M142 HIMARS launcher at the Delamere range in Australia's Northern Territory, according to the report. The HIMARS was delivered by a US transport aircraft MC-130J from the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in the state of Queensland. 

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🇨🇳🇺🇸 US fails to recognize it's reached limits of its power, CIA veteran says

The US president's request to send $345 million military aid package to Taiwan shows the US has "no regard or concern for angering China", Larry Johnson, a veteran of the CIA and the State Department’s Office of Counterterrorism, told Sputnik.

💬 “I think, unfortunately, the United States, if it persists in taking actions like this, will provoke a conflict that will be very damaging to the United States and will weaken it, not make it stronger. The United States can't even fund the one proxy war in Ukraine right now. It's been losing. It can't provide sufficient artillery shells, for example,” Johnson said.

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🇨🇳 Сhina enlists public support to promote private sector investment

According to a social media post by the State Council, the Chinese government will compile reports on various issues, such as obstacles private companies face when entering the market, unfair competition, favoritism towards local businesses, and unjust fines. Local authorities will be prompted to take action in some cases, while more severe instances will be handled by supervision teams sent from Beijing.

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