Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

ABUJA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — At least 10 bodies have been found and dozens of people are still missing after a passenger boat carrying about 50 people capsized in Nigeria's northern Sokoto state, authorities said Monday.

Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency chief Aminu Liman Bodinga told Xinhua by telephone that at least 10 people had been rescued following the incident which occurred in Goronyo Local Government Area on Sunday afternoon.

The wooden boat was heading to the local market in Goronjo when the tragedy occurred. “The cause was probably overloading,” said A. L. Bodinga, citing the results of the preliminary investigation.

Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement on Sunday evening that more than 40 people were missing. Rescuers, including local divers and volunteers, have joined the ongoing search and rescue efforts.

Nigeria is prone to frequent maritime accidents, often due to overloaded vessels, poor safety practices and adverse weather conditions. –0–

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Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

KAZAN /Russia/, Aug. 18 /Xinhua/ — The 3rd international forum "Sprouts: Russia and China – Mutually Beneficial Cooperation" opened in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, on Monday. More than 10,000 people are taking part in the event.

The business program of the forum, which will take place from August 18 to 19, includes about 100 events, including more than 60 business sessions, during which participants will be able to discuss issues of economics, finance, industry, education, culture, investment, transport and tourism.

The Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov in his speech at the opening ceremony emphasized that the forum "Rostki" is one of the important events in cooperation between Russia and China, uniting delegates, experts and partners from both countries. "Russia and China have been developing strategic bilateral relations based on mutual understanding and respect for many years," he noted.

According to the head of the region, Tatarstan pays great attention to cooperation with China. R. Minnikhanov especially noted that the development of business and tourist ties is facilitated by direct air service between Kazan and Chinese cities, thanks to which one can fly directly from the capital of Tatarstan not only to Shanghai, but also to Sanya.

Consul General of China in Kazan Xiang Bo, in turn, stated that the forum "Sprouts" continuously transforms Chinese-Russian agreements reached at a high level into practical results of interregional cooperation. Over the 3 years of its development, the forum has become an important platform for promoting Chinese-Russian interregional cooperation, effectively promoting the socio-economic development of the regions of each country and playing an increasingly important role in bilateral relations, the diplomat stated.

“I am confident that, thanks to our joint efforts, the Rostki forum will undoubtedly make an even greater contribution to promoting the deepening and practical implementation of Chinese-Russian interregional cooperation,” the consul general added. –0–

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — The People's Bank of China (PBOC, central bank) has extended a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Bank of Thailand.

The swap size under the updated deal, which was signed by PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng and Bank of Thailand Governor Setaput Sutiwartnarueput, is 70 billion yuan (about US$9.81 billion), or 370 billion Thai baht, according to a statement on the PBOC website on Monday.

It is noted that the term of the agreement is 5 years and can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties.

The PBOC noted that the extension of the agreement will contribute to further deepening monetary and financial cooperation between the two countries, simplifying bilateral trade and investment procedures, and maintaining financial market stability. –0–

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

ZAGREB, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — Croatian President Zoran Milanovic on Monday said Croatian troops will not take part in "foreign wars," referring to the conflict in Ukraine.

“Croatia is a member of the European Union and NATO and is bound exclusively by the obligations arising from membership in these blocs,” Z. Milanovic said in his publication on social networks.

He stressed that Croatia has no obligations arising from political or military agreements between the leaders of the states of the so-called “coalition of the willing.” According to him, the Croatian government is not authorized to involve the country in any new coalitions that could provide for the deployment of Croatian troops on Ukrainian territory.

Z. Milanovic has repeatedly spoken out against sending Croatian troops to Ukraine. He has also accused the United States and NATO of waging a proxy war against Russia through Ukraine and criticized Western sanctions against Russia, calling them “absurd” and “useless.”

In July of this year, Z. Milanovic called on Western leaders to resume dialogue with Russia in order to help end the conflict. –0–

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

Moscow, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday held telephone conversations with the leaders of Tajikistan and South Africa and informed them of the results of the Russian-American summit held in Alaska, the Kremlin press service reported.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin called the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to share his assessment of the results of the Russian-American summit held in Anchorage," the statement said. It was emphasized that E. Rahmon welcomed the steps aimed at a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.

Earlier, it was reported that the Russian president had a telephone conversation with the head of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. “Vladimir Putin shared the main results of the Russian-American talks at the highest level in Alaska,” the Kremlin press service noted, adding that the South African president expressed support for the ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.

The day before, V. Putin spoke on the phone with the presidents of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus. –0–

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

BRUSSELS, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — European leaders will hold a preparatory meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Monday ahead of talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House later in the day, the European Commission said.

According to the EC agenda, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend both the preparatory meeting and the multilateral meeting in Washington. –0–

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

Tashkent, Aug. 18 /Xinhua/ — A ceremonial opening of the photo exhibition “China and Uzbekistan: Cooperation within the SCO” was held in Tashkent recently, jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Uzbekistan and the Uzbek newspaper “Fergana Pravda”.

In his speech, the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Uzbekistan Yu Jun highly appreciated the achievements of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in development, especially noting the importance of the "Shanghai spirit" and the work done by China during its chairmanship of this organization. The readiness of the People's Republic of China to use the SCO platform to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Uzbekistan, promote common development and prosperity, and jointly create a closer community of shared destiny of the SCO was emphasized.

In preparation for the event, photographers from all over Uzbekistan presented more than 500 works dedicated to the SCO and Chinese-Uzbek cooperation, of which the organizers selected more than 50 photographs. The exhibition will last a week and is open to visitors free of charge. –0–

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — China's northernmost high-speed railway (HSR), located in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province, has carried more than 100 million passenger trips in the decade since it opened and operated, the Heilongjiang Daily newspaper reported Monday.

Let us recall that on August 17, 2015, the first high-speed railway in this province, Harbin – Qiqihar, was put into operation, which became the northernmost of the high-speed railways operating in the country.

The opening of the Harbin-Qiqihar High-Season Railway, which has greatly facilitated passenger travel, has reduced the train travel time between Qiqihar and Harbin (the capital of Heilongjiang Province) from 5 hours in 2015 to 1 hour 24 minutes. Thanks to the launch of this high-seasion railway, the travel time between Qiqihar and Beijing has also been reduced to 6 hours 10 minutes.

At present, the number of trains running on the Harbin-Qiqihar East Siberian Railway has increased to 54 pairs from 20 pairs in the initial period of its operation. The shortest interval of trains is 6 minutes, which significantly improves the efficiency of passenger transportation and makes travel more convenient for the population.

Over the past ten years, the Harbin-Qiqihar Higher School Railway has promoted the development of various industries along the route and the integration of regional economies. It has also promoted the promotion of Daqing wetland tours, parent-child tours, school study tours and one-day tours using the services of the Higher School Railway. At the same time, the Harbin-Qiqihar Higher School Railway closely links the cities along the route, ensuring the free flow of market elements such as talent, capital and technology, promoting the prosperity of the Harbin-Daqing-Qiqihar Industrial Corridor.

In winter, Heilongjiang Province experiences strong winds and heavy snowfalls. At minus 35 degrees Celsius, the train runs at 250 km/h on the aforementioned high-speed railway, which makes it difficult to maintain locomotives. To cope with such challenges, the Harbin Branch of China State Railway has completed 51 projects to reconstruct the bogie system, brake system and other systems of the electric train to protect against cold, and has also developed and put into operation a “visual detection system for electric train faults”, a hot water pressure boosting system for melting ice and removing snow, and an intelligent robot for inspecting the underside of the electric train. Over the past ten years, the trains on this high-speed railway have traveled a total of 81.89 million km safely, accumulating valuable experience in the operation and maintenance of high-speed railways in China under severe cold conditions.

At present, Heilongjiang Province has a number of high-speed railway lines, including Harbin-Qiqihar, Harbin-Mudanjiang, Mudanjiang-Jiamusi, Harbin-Jiamusi, with a total length of over 1,400 km. Meanwhile, the construction of the Harbin-Yichun high-speed railway is progressing smoothly, and the increasingly dense high-speed railway network has injected strong energy into the all-round revitalization of Heilongjiang Province. -0-

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