Page 127 - Russia

Trade between Russia, Africa reached $18 billion in 2022: Vladimir Putin

Talking about trade ties, Putin said, "Our mutual trade reached approximately 18 billion US dollars in 2022 and increased by nearly 35 per cent in the first six months of 2023."

North Korea's Kim shares center stage with Russian, Chinese delegates

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shared center stage with senior delegates from Russia and China as he rolled out his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles in a military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, marking a major war anniversary with a show of defiance against the United States. State media said Friday Kim attended Thursday evening's parade with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong from a balcony looking over the city's main square. The streets and stands were packed with tens of thousands of mobilized spectators, who roared in approval as waves of goose-stepping soldiers, tanks and huge, intercontinental ballistic missiles wheeled out on launcher trucks filled up the main road. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the parade also featured ceremonial flights of newly developed surveillance and attack drones, which were first unveiled by state media this week as they reported on an arms exhibition attended by Ki

China providing technology, equipment to Russia, US intel report suggests

The report titled, 'Support Provided by the People's Republic of China to Russia,' said that China has become the most important trading partner of Russia after trade with Western countries plunged

Kim Jong Un meets with Russian defence minister on military cooperation

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss military issues and the regional security environment, state media said Thursday as the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of an armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim and Shoigu talked Wednesday in the capital, Pyongyang, and reached a consensus on unspecified matters of mutual concern in the field of national defense and security and on the regional and international security environment. The report did not specify what was discussed. KCNA also said Kim took Shoigu to an arms exhibition that showcased some of North Korea's newest weapons and briefed him on national plans to expand the country's military capabilities. Photos from the exhibition showed Kim gesturing while talking to Shoigu as they walked near a row of large missiles mounted on launcher trucks. In a rare case of diplomatic opening since the start

Russia refuses to speak at UN on attacks on Ukraine's port city of Odesa

In an escalation of Russia's anger at Ukraine and its Western backers, Russia refused to speak at a U.N. Security Council meeting called to disuss Moscow's recent devastating attacks on the key port of Odesa immediately following its refusal to extend the Black Sea grain deal. The confrontation began at the start of a council session called by Russia on the divided Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky ,protested that Britain, which holds the council presidency, was allowing only two briefers and Moscow wanted a third Archbishop Gideon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian government has cracked down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its historic ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader, Patriarch Kirill, supported Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine. Polyansky accused the UK of bias, censorship and obstruction for limiting the number of briefers. Deputy British ambassador James Kariuki respon

Russian fighter jets damage US MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission

The Sunday incident is the latest in a series of encounters between Russian fighter jets and US aircraft flying over Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit China in October: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit China in October, a top Kremlin official announced Tuesday. Russian news agencies quoted Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, as saying the trip will be timed to coincide with a One Belt, One Road forum in China. Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative involves infrastructure projects to connect Asia with European and African countries. Ushakov said Putin also plans to travel to Turkiye at some point to fulfil a promise to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, although the dates for that visit have not been decided yet. In addition, the Kremin received an invitation for Putin to participate in a Group of 20 summit in India in September, he said. The Russian leader's in-person attendance has not been ruled out, although the format of Putin's participation is still unclear, Ushakov said. The announcement of Putin's travel plans came days after South African officials said he had agreed to skip an economic summit in their country

Russia plans to lower oil export discount to $20/bbl, says finance minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin in February signed a law fixing the discount on Russia's dominant Urals blend of crude oil for tax calculations

Engineering exports see mixed fortunes; trade with Russia surges: EEPC

India's engineering exports to major markets like the United States, the European Union (EU) and China continued to decline in June 2023, reflecting a challenging global trade environment, EEPC India said. The country's shipments to West Asia and North Africa (WANA), North East Asia, and CIS countries, however, showed positive growth during the same period, the Engineering Exports Promotion Council of India (EEPC) said. India's engineering exports declined for the third straight month in June 2023, falling 11 per cent year-on-year to USD 8.53 billion. The decline was led by a sharp fall in exports to the US, EU, and China, it said. Exports to the US fell 12.5 per cent to USD 1.45 billion, while exports to the EU fell 16.2 per cent to USD 1.51 billion. Exports to China fell 20 per cent to USD 184 million. However, an almost threefold increase in engineering exports to Russia reached a substantial USD 116.9 million in June 2023. Cumulatively, during the April-June period of the curr

Ukraine wants ships to keep exporting grain despite Russian attacks

Russia has repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Ukrainian ports key to sending grain to the world. Moscow has declared large swaths of the Black Sea dangerous for shipping. Even the US said ships are at risk of being targeted. There is still interest from ship owners in carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea if they can mitigate the risk, according to a major shipping group. And that's a big if. Despite the warnings and port attacks, which have levelled grain infrastructure, shipping has always been very, very resilient in the face of these sorts of risks, said John Stawpert, senior manager of environment and trade for the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80 per cent of the world's commercial fleet. This week's strikes came after Russia pulled out of a wartime accord that the UN and Turkey brokered last year to provide safeguards for shipping companies in a bid to end a global food crisis. Ukraine which, along with Russia, is a major supplier of whea

Russia comes under pressure at UN Security Council to avoid food crisis

Russia came under pressure at the UN Security Council on Friday from its ally China and developing countries as well as Western nations to avert a global food crisis and quickly revive Ukrainian grain shipments. Moscow was criticised by the UN and council members for attacking Ukrainian ports after pulling out of the year-old grain deal on Monday and destroying port infrastructure a violation of international humanitarian law banning attacks on civilian infrastructure. In response to Russia declaring wide areas in the Black Sea dangerous for shipping, the UN warned that a military incident in the sea could have catastrophic consequences. Russia said it suspended the Black Sea Grain Initiative because the UN had failed to overcome obstacles to shipping its food and fertilizer to global markets, the other half of the Ukraine grain deal. The Kremlin said it would consider resuming Ukrainian shipments if progress is made in overcoming the obstacles, including in banking ...

Russia raises interest rates to 8.5% signalling high borrowing costs

The central bank on Friday lifted its benchmark to 8.5 per cent from 7.5 per cent, more than any forecast in a Bloomberg survey

LIVE: LS adjourned for day amid opposition uproar over Manipur issue

Catch all the latest LIVE updates from across the globe here

Russia's largest lender Sberbank to establish IT centre in Bengaluru

Russia's largest lender Sberbank's branch in India has received permission from the Reserve Bank of India to establish an information technology unit in Bengaluru, where it plans to employ up to 200 IT specialists. The new IT office would house Sberbank's in-house data processing centre, it said. While Sberbank's India branch has been active in New Delhi since 2010 and offers a wide range of financial services, the Bengaluru office will be fully focused on developing information technologies, the state-owned bank said in a statement on Friday. Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of Sberbank's Executive Board, said: "The Bangalore (Bengaluru) hub will not only handle the technological needs of our Indian branch but also develop and implement new digital products for its clients. And in the longer term, we plan to employ up to 200 IT specialists in our new unit", he said.

Russia aims missiles at Ukraine's farm storage after days of hitting ports

Russian cruise missiles, flying low and hugging the terrain to dodge Ukrainian air defences, destroyed farm storage buildings in the Odesa region early Friday, Ukrainian officials said, as the Kremlin's forces expanded their targets following three days of bombardment of the region's Black Sea port infrastructure. Two missiles struck the storage facility, starting a fire, and while workers fought to put it out another missile hit, destroying farm and firefighting equipment, the southern Odesa region's Gov. Oleh Kiper said. The attack injured two people and destroyed 100 metric tons of peas and 20 metric tons of barley, according to Kiper. The attack was small-scale in comparison with barrages in recent days that put Odesa in Russia's crosshairs after Moscow tore up a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain through the key Black Sea port. Russia targeted Ukrainian critical grain export infrastructure after vowing to retaliate for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge betwe

Poland to move soldiers to east of country over Wagner risks: Report

On Thursday, the Belarusian defence ministry said Wagner mercenaries had started to train Belarusian special forces at a military range just a few miles from the border with NATO-member Poland

It's time to get real about rupee's role in international financial system

New Delhi's own experiment with Russian oil should be a sobering reminder of how little sanctions have done to dethrone the US currency. Internationalizing the rupee will neither be swift, nor easy

US imposes new sanctions to cut Russia's access to war supplies, revenue

The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on roughly 120 firms and people from Russia to the United Arab Emirates to Kyrgyzstan in an effort to choke off Moscow's access to products, money and financial channels that support its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions imposed by the Treasury and State departments target dozens of Russian mining, technology and munitions firms and commercial banks. In addition, a group of Kyrgyzstan-based electronics firms and its leadership were targeted as exporters of components and other technology to Russia. A UAE-based engineering company that sent dozens of shipments of electronics to Russia was also sanctioned. The latest sanctions build on those imposed on Russia when the US and other Group of Seven nations rolled out a wave of global actions during a Japan summit in May. Since Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States, working with our allies and partners, has taken unprecedented steps to impose costs on Russia and promot

Russia's Wagner group launch joint training with Belarusian military

Mercenaries from Russia's military company Wagner on Thursday launched joint drills with the Belarusian military near the border with Poland following their relocation to Belarus after their short-lived rebellion, a move that prompted Warsaw to redeploy its troops. The Belarusian Defence Ministry said that the weeklong maneuvers will be conducted at a firing range near the border city of Brest and will involve Belarusian special forces. The ministry added that Wagner's combat experience will help modernise the Belarusian military. A video released on Wednesday appeared to show Wagner's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for the first time since he led last month's rebellion. In the video, Prigozhin was seen telling his troops they will spend some time in Belarus training its military to help make the Belarusian army the second strongest army in the world before deploying to Africa. In addition to their involvement in Ukraine, Wagner mercenaries have been sent to Syria and several African ...

Wagner mercenaries, Belarus hold military exercises near Poland's border

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was shown in a video on Wednesday welcoming his fighters to Belarus, telling them they would take no further part in the Ukraine war for now