Russia Financial News

Sanjeev Chopra on Tuesday said there are no plans to import wheat from Russia under any diplomatic deal. Talking to reporters, he said that are also no plans to restrict non-basmati par boiled rice exports. Last month, Centre had imposed a ban on the export of widely consumed non-basmati white rice, following a ban on broken rice exports last year. He also informed that government will buy 52.1 lakh tonnes of rice from farmers this year as against 49 lakh tonnes procured last year. He said that fortified rice will also be given through National Food Security Act.

COVID pandemic, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has further fortified the country to ensure a complete isolation from the world in terms of news and information. He has built hundreds of kilometers (miles) or upgraded border fences, walls and guard posts since the pandemic began.

Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, announced Tuesday it served 41.6 million passengers in the first half of this year — exceeding figures for the same period in 2019 as travelers return to the air after the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic. The airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates in skyscraper-studded Dubai, long has served as a barometer for the aviation industry worldwide. The new figures at the airport known as DXB reflect figures offered by the International Air Transport Association that traffic worldwide is at 94% of pre-COVID levels. «As we recover with our (half-year) traffic surpassing pre-pandemic levels, we continue to remain committed to ensuring every guest who travels through our airport leaves with a smile,» Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said in a statement announcing the figures. The 41.6 million passengers is up some 50% from the 27.9 million recorded the same time last year, as airlines now have more planes and routes running again. Passenger traffic this year largely has been driven by the airport's standard travel destinations — India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Pakistan.

Read more of our recent coverage of the Ukraine war When Russian tanks began bearing down on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in February of last year, Mykhailo Fedorov was overseeing improvements to an app that provides Ukrainians with easy access to government services. At the time the app focused on fairly conventional tasks: filing tax returns, obtaining business permits, claiming benefits and so on. But the 32-year-old Mr Fedorov and his colleagues quickly added extra features.

The Russian Central Bank says it plans to begin classifying the digital ruble, the nation’s CBDC, as a “high-quality liquid asset” (HQLA), and will likely eventually oblige banks in the country to follow suit.

crude oil imports from Russia dipped for the first time in nine months, while inbound shipments from Saudi Arabia tumbled to their lowest in 2-1/2 years following OPEC+ cuts, tanker data from trade and industry sources showed. Both China and India, the world's biggest and third-biggest oil importers, cut imports from Russia and Saudi Arabia in July after prices rose and as the two oil producers reduced output and crude oil shipments. Saudi Arabia volunteered to cut output by another 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from July through September, and Russia will reduce exports in August by 500,000 bpd, part of a deal among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a grouping know as OPEC+, to curb supplies and support prices. India's overall imports also declined 5.2% from June to 4.4 million bpd oil in July, the data showed, as several refining plants are shut for maintenance during monsoon season.Russian oil imports declined 5.7% to 1.85 million bpd and Saudi shipments fell by 26% to 470,000 bpd, the data showed. India imports more than 80% of its overall oil needs. Indian refiners that have been diversifying their oil import sources to cut costs began snapping up Russian oil at a discount as some Western companies stopped purchasing from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. India's import of Russian oil may now decline further in August and September, however, as refiners plan maintenance at their plants and as Russian crude prices are above the $60-a-barrel ceiling imposed by the European Union and G7 economies after spot discounts shrank, sources said. Russia was still the top oil supplier to India in July, though, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Also read: Russia's Luna 25 crashes on moon's surface ahead of Chandrayaan-3's landing This mission was Russia's first lunar attempt since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union. The United States, the Soviet Union, and China are the only countries to have achieved successful moon landings. Borisov attributed the mission's failure to the interruption of Russia's lunar program for nearly 50 years.

Also read: Chandrayaan-3 Update: Three days to landing on Moon; ISRO shares timing. See here The live coverage of this historic event is scheduled to commence on August 23, 2023, at 5:27 PM. Viewers can watch the soft landing live on various platforms, including the ISRO Website, ISRO's YouTube channel, ISRO's Facebook page, and DD National TV channel as well as National Geographic TV channel.

Macroeconomist Lyn Alden has cast doubt on a proposal that would see five countries work together to develop a common BRICS currency — arguing it will likely struggle to get off the ground and fail to dethrone the United States dollar.

BRICS economic alliance, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are gathering in Johannesburg's financial district of Sandton for a three-day summit. The meeting is anticipated to witness discussions on ways to consolidate political and economic influence in the developing world, marking a pivotal moment in international diplomacy. China's President Xi Jinping's participation in the summit underscores the nation's continued investment in the BRICS alliance as a vehicle for its strategic aspirations.

Asset Management could be seen playing with all his energy on the court. He captioned the video of his tennis practice as ‘Three hours of solid debate prep this morning.’ Born on 9 August 1985, Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy started his journey as an entrepreneur and managed to transform himself into one of the top billionaiares of America. He was born in Cincinnati to an Indian couple.

Moscow have suspended arrivals and departures today, Tuesday, August 22 after the Russian military brought down four Ukrainian drones near Moscow and over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, according to a report published by TASS News. Reuters reported that one of the drones was shot down over Krasnogorsk, a town outside Moscow, that hosts the Moscow regional government. Russia's defense ministry confirmed that there were no injuries in the latest attack.

BRICS Summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for South Africa on Tuesday to participate in the 15th BRICS summit, a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The summit will take place from August 22 to August 24.

Moscow region, the city's mayor said on Tuesday. «Air defence shot down two attack drones. One in the Krasnogorsk area, the other in the Chastsy area,» said Sergei Sobyanin on Telegram, adding that emergency services were responding. He did not give details on damage or casualties. Russia's defence ministry reported two Ukrainian drones had been downed over the Moscow region, adding there had been no casualties. Air traffic at Moscow's Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports had been briefly halted, the TASS news agency earlier quoted an aviation service source as saying. «Glass damage was recorded on several floors» in a multi-storey residential building in Krasnogorsk," the agency said, without specifying whether it was the result of a drone strike. «Several cars parked near the house were also damaged.» Two Ukrainian drones were downed over the Bryansk region near the Ukrainian border, Moscow's defence ministry said on Telegram, adding there were no casualties. In recent weeks, two drone attacks were repelled over Moscow's financial district, each causing minor damage to the facades of high-rise buildings.

Xi Jinping has arrived in South Africa, Chinese state media reported Tuesday, where he will attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. The state visit will be Xi's second of 2023, after making an official trip to Russia in March. «Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Johannesburg on Monday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit to be held here, and pay a state visit to South Africa,» Xinhua news agency said, adding he had been «warmly welcomed» by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. «Xi said that he is very glad to visit South Africa again and looks forward to having in-depth exchanges of views with Ramaphosa on deepening China-South Africa relations and issues of common interest,» Xinhua said. The heads of Brazil, China, India and South Africa plus Russia's top diplomat will gather from Tuesday to Thursday this week under the theme «BRICS and Africa», South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said this month. Russian President Vladimir Putin — who is sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in the Ukraine war — will not attend this year's BRICS conference in South Africa, which is a signatory of the ICC. The Chinese leader previously visited South Africa in 2018 as he sought to enhance his country's diplomatic and economic ties with the continent. On the agenda at this year's summit will be the possible future expansion of BRICS membership, which the bloc has previously indicated it is open to. Several African countries have previously expressed a desire to join the bloc, including Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia. A total of 69 countries have been invited to the summit, including all African states. BRICS, a loosely-defined group that sees itself as a counterweight to Western economic domination,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for South Africa on Tuesday to participate in the 15th BRICS summit. It is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The BRICS summit will be held from August 22-24.

Gas prices in Europe have surged due to concerns over possible strikes at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Australia. The Offshore Alliance union has issued a warning about a potential strike at Australia's North West Shelf facility, scheduled to begin as soon as September 2 if salary negotiations remain unresolved. Bloomberg reported a roughly 10% increase in benchmark gas prices for the European Union and the United Kingdom on Monday. While gas prices had surged following Russia's incursion into Ukraine, they had subsequently decreased. Apprehensions revolve around the North West Shelf facility's role in supplying LNG globally as Australia is a prominent supplier. Alongside this facility, Chevron-operated Gorgon and Wheatstone offshore LNG plants are also undergoing strike votes, with outcomes expected on Thursday. These three plants constitute approximately 10% of the global LNG supply. Ben McWilliams, an associate fellow at Bruegel, a think tank, cautioned that these strikes could have repercussions on worldwide LNG prices. As a response to Russia's reduction in natural gas supplies during the Ukrainian conflict, countries sought alternative energy sources, with LNG being a prominent choice. Australia, alongside Qatar and the United States, is a major global LNG exporter. Cornwall Insight, a research firm, has predicted that the uncertainty surrounding Australia's gas supply could lead to significantly higher gas prices and contribute to a substantial rise in Ofgem's price cap by January. It anticipated a rise in the price cap from £1,925.71 in Q4 2023 to £2,082.56 for a typical annual household bill in Q1 2024.

The crash of Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft into the moon over the weekend isn’t just a setback for President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions to overcome war-related sanctions. It’s also an embarrassment for Chinese President Xi Jinping—Putin’s partner in building a proposed base on the moon meant to challenge the US and its space allies.

Narendra Modi will be in Johannesburg for the Brics leaders’ summit, starting today. The five-nation grouping will meet amid disagreements on expansion and a common currency. Questions persist over the bloc’s relevance, too.

Brics bloc of emerging economies to counterbalance Western influence, while others in the group are reluctant to admit new entrants, such as Iran and Cuba, for fear of alienating Washington. The debate among the Brics nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—about whether and how to expand will likely feature prominently during the group’s first in-person leaders’ summit since the pandemic. The presidents of Brazil, China and South Africa, as well as the Indian prime minister, are set to attend the gathering here starting Tuesday.

lending rate by 10 basis points and left its five-year rate unmoved, in a surprise to analysts who had expected cuts of 15 basis points to both. The recovery in the world's second largest economy has been slowed by a worsening property crisis, weak spending and lower credit growth.