Musk calls those who condemn decision not to turn on Starlink off coast of Crimea treasonous

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🇹🇷 Erdogan discusses the establishment of a gas hub in Turkey on the sidelines of the G20 summit

💬"In the financial center of the Atasehir district in Istanbul, we will open an energy center where we will deal not only with gas but also with oil, minerals, and renewable energy sources... In addition to this, there will be a gas hub in the Thrace region [in western Turkiye]. We discussed this issue with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in Sochi," Erdogan told reporters.

The Turkish president added that he discussed the energy issue with counterparts during meetings on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India.

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🇺🇸US ‘trained & funded' 9/11 terrorists just like it arms Ukraine

As the United States remembers the victims of the deadly 9/11 terrorist attacks that shook the country 22 years ago, it is worth noting that Washington made a “deliberate choice” to "help create" the very extremists who masterminded them, Peter Kuznick, professor of history at the American University, told Sputnik.

💬"The US did help train, recruit and arm and educate the Islamic extremists who would then blow back against the United States on 9/11," said Peter Kuznick.

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🇷🇺 Russia will add Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia to the visa-free travel list

💬 "We are working toward establishing a visa-free system with countries of the Middle East and South Asia. We have proposed completely annulling visas for Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. One of the reasons for interest in this issue is the possibility of increasing the traffic of tourists, including premium-class visitors," Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said at a panel at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok.

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🪙 Ruble’s share in Russia’s exports tops 50 percent as dedollarization gains momentum

The US dollar’s slow, creeping decline as the currency of choice for global trade and central bank reserve holdings accelerated in 2022, when Washington and its allies attempted, and failed, to sanction Russia into submission amid the crisis in Ukraine. Moscow and its partners reacted by ramping up trade in local currencies.

💬“In the structure of our trade turnover, the ruble’s share is growing very strongly, of course. For example, in exports, over half of payments are in rubles. In imports, payments are still made mainly using the currencies of unfriendly countries; in general, ruble payments account for more than a third of overall trade turnover,” acting Federal Customs Service chief Ruslan Davydov told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

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🇨🇳 The yuan bounces back from a 16-year low after the People's Bank of China steps in

The currency fell to a rate of 7.26 to the US dollar last week, but peaked at around 7.35 on Friday before settling at just over 7.32 on Monday. Unnamed currency traders in China said lenders were selling dollars.

Singapore-based foreign exchange strategist Christopher Wong said intervention by the People's Bank of China "underscores policymakers' resolve to keep the yuan depreciation pressure in check." But "it remains early to tell if this is really a turnaround due to the effects of economic support measures," Wong said.

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🇷🇺🛫 Two Tu-22M3 long-range bombers performed a scheduled flight over international waters in the Baltic Sea lasting five hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said

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💬 "If there was a war, Russia would certainly activate ships and other aircraft and what have you in international waters and perhaps off the coast of the United States to deal with that. They're just assuming that what they've got over there right now is going to be sufficient for this exercise" Michael Maloof, a former Pentagon senior security policy analyst, commented on NATO preparing its biggest live joint command exercise since the Cold War.

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🇷🇺 How big is Russia's grain market?

Russia's agricultural dominance, fueled by cutting-edge techniques and expansive fertile lands, positions it as a powerhouse in global grain trade. Boasting record harvests and strategic exports, it has become the cornerstone of the world's food supply.

👉 Sputnik unravels how Russia's grain export industry has transformed the nation's economic landscape and explains this industry's key trends

🇷🇺 Russian tankmaker wants to restart production of legendary ‘flying tank’

Russian machine-building company Uralvagonzavod is mulling reinitiating the manufacturing of the T-80, turbine engine-equipped main battle tank which singlehandedly gave birth to the third generation of tank construction.

First introduced into service with the Soviet Army in 1976, the T-80 was the first third-generation MBT in the world, and the first tank model using a powerful multi-fuel gas turbine engine as its main source of propulsion, providing the 42.5-46 ton machine with pep which can prove critical in tank-on-tank encounters.

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🇺🇸 New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has invoked an emergency health order to suspend for 30 days the right to open and concealed carry of firearms across Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, an American broadcaster reported on Monday.

Grisham's decision to enact the suspension comes in response to a recent surge in deadly shootings, including the incidents involving a 13-year-old girl in July, a five-year-old girl in August and an 11-year-old boy this month - all occurring in the Albuquerque area, the news agency stated.

The emergency order will take effect on September 8, the agency added.

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❗️ Biden administration close to approving delivery of long-range missiles with cluster bombs to Kiev, media report

❗️ US State Department approves possible $4 billion sale of integrated air defense and combat command system to Poland - Pentagon

NATO's Steadfast Defender drills near Russia signal bloc's shift to 'war footing'

All thirty-one NATO countries plus Sweden are reportedly gearing up to conduct the bloc's biggest military drills since the Cold War in early 2024. Sputnik reached out to Michael Maloof, a former security policy analyst with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, to get a sense of the risks posed by the exercises.

Read his full analysis

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❗️ A Ukrainian drone has attacked the town of Rylsk in Kursk Region for the second time this evening, the roof of the administrative building has been damaged, there were no casualties, Governor Roman Starovoit has said.

Earlier, a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives in Rylsk, damaging facades and breaking several windows in two buildings. There were no casualties.