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Xi Jinping Gianluigi Guercia / AP  

Economy

Sources: Xi nods G20 meeting for first time 

Chinese President Xi Jinping does not plan to visit the G20 meeting in New Delhi next week, writes the Financial Times, citing sources.  

If Xi Jinping does not participate, it will be the first time he skips the meeting, and it will be a further blow to an already divided forum, the newspaper writes.  

Last week, the Chinese leader actively participated in the much talked about meeting of the Brics countries. 

Military parade in Pyongyang / Kim Jong-Un and Vladimir Putin. TT 

Putin and Kim exchange letters - reportedly approaching arms deal 

Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-Un have promised in an exchange of letters to deepen the countries' bilateral cooperation and are now approaching an agreement on North Korean arms deliveries to the Russian army. This is reported by AP and CNN, among others, after the White House published intelligence information about the correspondence.  

John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, says the arms deal would mean Russia receiving significant amounts of ammunition from North Korea, which the Russian military plans to use in Ukraine. According to him, Russia's attempt to buy weapons from countries like North Korea and Iran is a clear sign of Russia's big problems in Ukraine. 

- There is no other way to look at this than it is desperation and weakness, says Kirby according to CNN.  

Photograph of Dmitry Utkin during the funeral/relatives of Utkin. TT 

The Wagner crash 

Wagner founder Utkin buried in heroes' cemetery  

Dmitri Utkin has been described as the real founder of the Wagner Group. Today he was buried at the Mytishchi cemetery outside Moscow, a federal cemetery for war heroes.  

Utkin is believed to have died in the same plane crash as Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on August 23. He was an outspoken neo-Nazi and, before the Wagner era, was the commander of one of the GRU's Spetsnaz units.  

Both Utkin and Prigozhin are said to have previously received hero medals from the Kremlin, which means that burial can take place under special ceremonial forms. Unlike Utkin, however, Prigozhin was buried quietly in an ordinary cemetery in his hometown of St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

 

 

 

15 dead in fire in the Philippines - fire brigade delayed  

 

15 people have died in a fire in a small clothing factory in the capital of the Philippines, Manila, AP reports. On the way to the fire, the rescue service was delayed both by floods, traffic and the wrong address to the scene.  

 

Most of the victims were factory workers who were sleeping in their rooms when the fire broke out on Thursday morning.  

 

The factory stored combustible materials and textiles used to make clothing and also printed designs on shirts used for business promotions, according to village officials.