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Malaysia's Central Bank international reserves at US$104.2 bln as at Aug 15

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia Aug 21 (NNN-Bernama) -- Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) (Malaysia's central bank) international reserves amounted to US$104.2 billion as at Aug 15 compared with US$104.5 billion as at July 31, 2018.

In a statement today, the central bank said the reserves were sufficient to finance 7.6 months of retained imports and were 0.9 times the short-term external debt.

Russian hi-tech firm to showcase stealth camouflaging for troops and military hardware

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia’s state-run hi-tech corporation Rostec will demonstrate stealth camouflaging for troops and military hardware at the Army-2018 international military and technical forum outside Moscow, Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov told TASS on Monday.

The camouflage developed on order from Russia’s Defense Ministry changes its pattern and color depending on the environment and will be used as coating for military hardware and the soldiers’ outfits.

Russia won’t grieve over US refusal to mend relations

MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Russia is determined to work towards ending the crisis in Russian-US relations, but "it is not going to grieve" if Washington fails to reciprocate, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Monday.

"The Russian president hopes for the best. He would like to end the deepest crisis in our relations. He has repeatedly said so himself. This intention remains, but at the same time nobody is going to grieve, if we do not see Washington’s reciprocity on that score," he said.

UAC, Russia’s defense ministry to sign contract for Su-57 planes by end of summer

MAGADAN, August 19. /TASS/. Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the Russian defense ministry plan to sign a contract for the firth batch of Su-57 fighter jets by the end of this summer, probably at the 2018 Army forum, UAC President Yuri Slyusar said on Sunday.

India ready for constructive engagement with Pak: Modi to Imran

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to his newly elected Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, conveying New Delhi's commitment to pursue "meaningful" and "constructive" engagement with Islamabad and emphasising the need to work for a terror-free South Asia, official sources said today.

In a letter to Khan on August 18, the day he was sworn in as Pakistan's 22nd prime minister, Modi also expressed India's commitment to building good neighbourly relations between the two countries while congratulating him, the sources said.

U.S. ends Syria development fund, urges "rich countries" to pay instead

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has ended the development fund for Syria, urging "rich countries" to pay instead.

In a tweet, Trump said "the United States has ended the ridiculous 230 Million Dollar yearly development payment to Syria."

"Saudi Arabia and other rich countries in the Middle East will start making payments instead of the U.S.," he said. "I want to develop the U.S., our military and countries that help us!"

Merkel, Putin hold talks on tough issues

BERLIN, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in north of Berlin on Saturday, with the topics ranging from Syria, Ukraine, Iran as well as the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

The meeting came after Merkel's visit to Sochi in May. Before holding talks at the Schloss Meseberg outside Berlin, the two leaders addressed reporters.

"I am of the opinion that controversial issues can only be addressed in dialogue and through dialogue," Merkel said.

Chinese firms plan more soybean meal substitute imports to offset plunge in U.S. soybean imports

BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies are confident in securing overseas supplies of soybeans and soybean meal substitutes to counter the fall in imports of U.S. soybeans, according to industry insiders.

A survey of related firms points to widespread readiness and proactiveness in the industry as Chinese firms turn to more competitive suppliers from South America and other parts of the world.

During the May-August period, over 36 million tonnes of South American soybeans arrived in China, with more to come in November.

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