MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The second Russia–Africa Summit will take place in July 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia's "northern capital". The event is a follow-up to the first meeting of the kind, which was held in Sochi in 2019.
There is pressure from the West on African countries that want to take part in the Russia–Africa summit, and the African states are less than delighted, Oleg Ozerov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large and the head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, said on Thursday.
"Of course, this is all in the public sphere, it's easy to read on the Internet according to the statements made by Western partners, including those who come to African countries. I can't say that African states are delighted with this. Sheer blackmail," Ozerov said.
He added that Moscow proceeds from the premise that African states are sovereign countries that have independence, sovereignty and their own political will, and are quite capable of making decisions that meet their national interests.
The second Russia–Africa Summit will take place in July 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia's "northern capital". The event is a follow-up to the first meeting of the kind, which was held in Sochi in 2019. The main topic of this year's summit will be economic cooperation, with a focus on spheres such as energy and mining, agriculture, manufacturing, transport, and infrastructure development, according to official statements.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also announced that the agenda of the 2023 summit will be more extensive than that of the first one, and a full section on humanitarian cooperation will be organized.
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, Moscow is inviting all African countries to the Russia-Africa summit, in contrast to the United States, which excluded several African countries from the US–Africa Leaders' Summit.
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
