🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russia supplied 4.46 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth $2.98 billion to China over January-July 2023, up 62.7% compared to the same period last year, according to data released by China's General Administration of Customs on Sunday.

In January-July 2022, China purchased 2.74 tonnes of LNG from Russia, while, in the whole year, Beijing imported 6.485 million tonnes from Russia for $6.732 billion.

Russian pipeline gas supplies to China increased in January-July 2023 by almost 100% (98.98%) and amounted to $3.942 billion. The Chinese customs does not publish data on the volume of supplies, but only financial information.

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🌍 Forthcoming BRICS Summit 'is already a success', experts say

The world's attention will focus on the 15th BRICS Summit, which is to kick off in South Africa in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The event will bring together the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, along with many other participants from outside the bloc.

Just before the summit, Sputnik Africa decided to discuss the expectations from it with leading experts.

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Key takeaways from Russia's Army-2023 forum

The international military-technical forum Army-2023 wrapped up in Kubinka outside Moscow on Sunday, after the seven-day event was attended by tens of thousands of visitors and saw the signing of hefty defense contracts. The Army-2023 forum, which was held in the Moscow region on August 14-20, saw several major events that took place under its aegis.

What are the main results of the forum?

Check out the event’s official media partner Sputnik to find out.

🇮🇳 🇷🇺 First International Buddhist Forum in Ulan-Ude: Uniting Cultures

The capital of Russia's Buryat Republic, Ulan-Ude, hosted the momentous First International Buddhist Forum from August 17 to 19. The theme of the forum, "Traditional Buddhism and Modern Challenges," resonated across borders, attracting delegates from 13 different nations.

🌐 Diverse representations were evident, with foreign Buddhists hailing from countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan, India, China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Minds from across the globe convened to delve into the depths of Buddhism's essence and confront the contemporary challenges it faces.

📹 Watch our video to learn more!

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🇩🇰 The Danish Ministry of Defense will transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but on the condition that the Ukrainian pilots undergo training, the necessary permits will be obtained, and the country will prepare the infrastructure for the use of aircraft

Earlier, Zelensky said that the Netherlands had agreed to transfer 42 American fighter jets. However, the Dutch prime minister later denied this information to Reuters. Amsterdam has only 42 F-16s, how many of them it is ready to provide to Kiev is still unknown.

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At least 7 people dead after bus with FC Corinthians fans Overturns in Brazil, reports say

A bus carrying fans of Brazil's Corinthians football club overturned on a local highway, killing at least seven people, Brazilian media reported on Sunday.

Seven people died on the spot, while 10 people were trapped under the overturned bus, the report said. Emergency services already arrived at the scene. One of the victims who sustained several fractures was transported to a hospital by helicopter.

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Scott Ritter: For NATO and Ukraine, Reality Bites

Sputnik's columnist Scott Ritter reveals the reasons why Ukraine will never be able to join NATO, quoting from the film Reality Bites. The author also describes the current state of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, noting that the stuffing of the Ukrainian military with weapons did not bring results.

Check out his full article on Sputnik's website

🇩🇪 Scholz says Germany reluctant to drag NATO into conflict as Ukraine awaits Taurus missiles

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz argued on Sunday that his government was not rushing to approve Taurus missile deliveries to Ukraine because it feared dragging NATO into a war with Russia.

🗣 "What we do not want is for the war between Russia and Ukraine... to evolve into a war between Russia and NATO," he said during an open-doors event in Berlin in response to a question about why Berlin was delaying the decision.

Scholz told a German broadcaster in an interview last week that his government was assessing the possibility of granting Ukraine's wish. Talks are underway about whether the weapon could be modified to make it impossible for Ukraine to strike inside Russia.

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Is it a good idea to invest in gold?

Is gold merely a relic of the past or does it still hold a crucial place in modern investment portfolios? As we navigate the complexities of 2023, Sputnik delves into the allure of investing in this precious metal. Debates often revolve around the notion that gold has become an old-fashioned asset, no longer retaining the monetary attributes it once possessed.

Sputnik expounds on the immense value of investing in this precious metal and will further reveal other pertinent aspects.

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🇮🇳 🤿 Meet Delhi's Daredevil Divers Risking Their Lives to Save Drowning People

🗯 "This year, the Delhi flood turned out to be catastrophic, something which the city has never faced, pushing our divers to work tirelessly day in, day out for 10 days without returning their home," Harish Kumar, the in-charge of the Delhi Boat Club, says.

🎖Kumar added that the 20 self-taught divers of his team had managed to rescue 2,600 people, 940 cows, and 450 dogs from floods after the Yamuna River this monsoon season.

The 20 self-taught divers of the Delhi Boat Club can fish bodies out of the water when it is 40 to 50 feet deep without wearing a diving suit or oxygen support.

👉 Read full story on Sputnik India!

🇱🇾 Libyan Central Bank announces reunification after years of division

The bank issued a statement saying that Saddek Omar ElKaber, the governor of the Tripoli-based branch in the west, and his eastern-based deputy, Maree Muftah Raheel, had made a breakthrough at a meeting attended by officials from both branches.

"Both the Governor and his Deputy have announced that the Central Bank of Libya has returned as a unified sovereign institution, and have reaffirmed that they will both continue to make efforts to address the issues that had arose from the division," it read.

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🤔 “Who is the real threat to world peace?”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian counted US military bases

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📹 Russia’s reconnaissance ensures capture of Ukrainian military stronghold

While carrying out their combat mission, Russian servicemen advanced to the reconnaissance area, where, with the help of UAVs, they pinpointed an enemy stronghold.

Having received the info on the target, an assault team, under the cover of T-90 tanks and an infantry fighting vehicle, advanced to capture the stronghold.

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An attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using a fixed-wing drone was thwarted on August 21 at around 06:50 Moscow time, the Russian MoD says

The Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was detected by Russia’s fully operative air defense systems covering the airspace of the Moscow Region and suppressed by electronic warfare systems.

There were no casualties.

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Russian air defense downs another Ukrainian unmanned device in Moscow region, Russian Defense Ministry reports

There were no damage or casualties, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said

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🇿🇦 South Africa has received $5.27 billion from the New Development Bank created by the BRICS countries for the construction of roads, water supply and energy

South Africa is strengthening trade and investment ties with other BRICS countries, as well as cooperating in areas such as technology, security and innovation, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

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APEC economies are concerned by the West's anti-market measures against Russia including the oil price ceiling

They, together with an unprecedented number of illegal unilateral restrictions, short-sighted macroeconomic and unbalanced energy and climate policies of developed countries, have played a key role in destabilizing global energy markets, Russia's senior official for APEC Marat Berdyev told Sputnik

Price cap on Russian oil was introduced in December 2022 as a part of Western sanctions against Moscow.

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🗣 Trump said that, due to his clear advantage, he would be skipping the first Republican presidential primary debate

The former president took to his Truth Social page and emphasized that the “public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had".

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🌍 Expert Explains History of Western-Trained Mercs' 'Destabilizing' Role in 'Disobedient' Africa

The practice of governments training mercenary contingents to interfere in the affairs of African countries is not new and has been used by Western governments since the last century, Ian Liebenberg, Professor in Politics at the University of Namibia, told Sputnik Africa

💬 "The whole idea is to get non-pliant states, i.e., states that are not showing their loyalty and obedience to the US, the UK and France, to always be in the sights and the measures of pressure depends on them," the analyst explained

👉 Read the full story

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📹 A detachment of the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet ships entered the port of Qingdao, China after more than three weeks of joint patrols in the Pacific Ocean

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🇷🇺🇭🇺 Russia's Rosatom state nuclear corporation together with Hungarian partners started the work on the main stage of the construction of the Paks nuclear power plant (NPP) project, also known as Paks-2

The contractor — the Hungarian company Duna Aszfalt Kft. — has started preparations for excavation of soil from the pit under the future block 6, while Bauer Magyarorszag Kft. has begun mobilization of soil stabilization works and continued work on the construction of the impervious protection of the construction site," Rosatom said in a statement.

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