🗣️ On the importance of the new BRICS members:

“So when you have 40% of the population in the BRICS already and that includes only five countries, you can imagine what 40 countries together, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, mainly, joining the BRICS, how powerful this organization is going to be and how their currency one day… The BRICS currency is taking the kind of the shape but it needs more power, more strength and more understanding among all these countries so the world can breathe finally and say 'Well, we don't have only the dollar,‘“ Elijah Magnier, a veteran journalist, told Sputnik.

🎧 Listen to more of Magnier’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines

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📹 Videos continue to emerge online allegedly showing a private jet crashing in Russia's Tver region

❗️ Eight bodies found at crash site of Embraer plane in Russia’s Tver Region, according to emergency services.

❗️What is known so far about the plane crash in Russia’s Tver region:

▪️Eight bodies have been found at the crash site;

▪️There were ten people on board, including three crew members;

▪️The Federal Air Transport Agency said an investigation has been launched;

▪️Representatives of law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working on the spot;

▪️The investigation was taken under personal control by the governor of the Tver region, Igor Rudenya;

▪️The private plane allegedly carried Wagner Group chief Evgeny Prigozhin.

🗣️ On Biden’s intentions to prolong the Ukraine conflict in order to get reelected:

“We've also seen other leaked documents that say that the US knew from the beginning that Ukraine's counteroffensive would most likely fail… This has only to do with attacking Russia. And now I think it has most to do with Biden trying to win the 2024 election. That is to say he wants to prolong this conflict at all costs to the Ukrainians through November 2024, because he fears if Russia wins the conflict before then that he will not be reelected,” Dan Kovalik, labor attorney, human rights activist, and author, told Sputnik.

🎧 Listen to more of Kovalik’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

👉 Watch the full episode of our podcast on Rumble

⚡️ The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed that Evgeny Prigozhin was on board the plane that crashed in the Tver region

❗️The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency published the list of passengers of the plane that crashed in the Tver region:

Propustin Sergey
Makaryan Evgeniy
Totmin Alexander
Chekalov Valeriy
Utkin Dmitry
Matuseev Nikolay
Prigozhin Evgeniy

Crew members:
Levshin Aleksei, commander;
Karimov Rustam, co-pilot;
Raspopova Kristina, flight attendant.

Dmitry Utkin (call sign 'Wagner') - the military head of Prigozhin's PMC, was also among the passengers of the plane, according to the Federal Air Transport Agency.

🔺The five BRICS countries took firm stances on global issues, defending interests of the majority - President Putin
🔺A real challenge to the dollar: Fifteen countries may join the BRICS New Development Bank
🔺Retired CIA intelligence officer Larry Johnson: Ukraine blames foreign journalists for botched counteroffensive

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📹 In the Zaporozhye region, Russian FPV drone operators discovered and destroyed two Ukrainian tanks.

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Swiss firm faces probe over failed deal to sell Ukraine-bound Leopard tanks

Switzerland’s Defense Ministry has asked external auditors to investigate the state-run arms maker Ruag AG’s botched attempt to sell 96 Leopard 1 tanks to Germany’s Rheinmetall AG defense contractor.

Ruag planned to sell these non-operational tanks to Rheinmetall, which in turn looked to refurbish them in order to deliver the tanks to Ukraine, where Russia continues its special military operation. The Leopard 1s, which have been stored in Italy since 2016, belong to Ruag.

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📹 In South Donetsk, crews of Russian Ka-52 reconnaissance and attack helicopters destroyed Ukraine armored vehicles with precise strikes of guided missiles.

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South Africa Interested in Russian Technical Electricity Solutions: Minister

As South Africa continues to grapple with an energy crisis that threatens its economic stability, the country is looking to Russia for technical assistance.

🗣 "So part of our engagement with [Russian officials] is to understand how did they extend the life of those assets without increasing the emissions level and also other fuel sources," Minister of Electricity, Dr. Kgosientsho David Ramokgopa, told Sputnik Africa.

While the details of the talks have yet to be finalized, the South African minister expressed his gratitude for the #BRICSSummit2023 delegations' willingness to help.

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🇨🇳 Xi says BRICS states should step up as mediators in pressing issues

"We should support each other on the issues of interest for each of us, strengthen coordination on main international and regional issues, actively mediate in resolving pressing issues and promote political settlement," Xi said at a plenary session of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The Chinese chairman also called on fellow BRICS leaders to stand against economic coercion and focus on common development through cooperation.

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🇯🇵 Japan starts releasing Fukushima wastewater into Pacific Ocean despite protests

The process is being broadcast live by leading Japanese television companies.

The nuclear plant's operator TEPCO has collected more than 1 million tonnes of wastewater more than a decade after a massive tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011.

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