Russian Nord Stream Gas Pipeline Restarted after Maintenance

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
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Russian Nord Stream Gas Pipeline Restarted after Maintenance

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

The Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany restarted on Thursday after 10 days of maintenance work, its operator told AFP.

"It's working," a Nord Stream spokesman said, without specifying the amount of gas being delivered. The German government had feared the pipeline would not be reopened by Moscow after the scheduled work.

According to data given by Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom to Gascade, the German operator of the line, 530 GWh would be delivered during the day.

This was only 30 percent of its capacity, Klaus Mueller, president of Germany's energy regulator, the Federal Network Agency, said on Twitter.

Gazprom has cut flows to Germany via the vital Nord Stream 1 pipeline by some 60 percent in recent weeks, blaming the absence of a Siemens gas turbine that was undergoing repairs in Canada.

The German government has rejected Gazprom's turbine explanation and believes Russia is squeezing supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea has been shut down since July 11 to undergo annual maintenance.



Trump Says He May Skip G20 Summit in South Africa, Cites Policy Disapproval 

US President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn after exiting Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn after exiting Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Says He May Skip G20 Summit in South Africa, Cites Policy Disapproval 

US President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn after exiting Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn after exiting Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 29 July 2025. (EPA)

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he might skip the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) leaders' summit in South Africa in November and send someone else to represent the United States, citing his disapproval of South African policies.

"I think maybe I'll send somebody else because I've had a lot of problems with South Africa. They have some very bad policies," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump has taken issue with South African domestic and foreign policies - ranging from its land policy to its case accusing Israel of genocide in the US ally's war in Gaza.

Trump signed an executive order in February to cut US financial assistance to South Africa. In May, Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with false claims of white genocide and land seizures during a White House meeting.

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also boycotted a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in South Africa, which has the G20 presidency from December 2024 to November 2025.

Washington, both under Trump and former President Joe Biden, has complained about the case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, where it accused Israel of genocide over its military assault in Gaza.

Israel's assault has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and also led to accusations of war crimes at the International Criminal Court.

Israel denies the accusations and casts its Gaza offensive as self-defense after a deadly October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and in which over 250 were taken hostage.

Diplomatic relations between the US and South Africa have also been strained under Trump due to South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies to address the legacy of centuries of racial inequality.

Ramaphosa, who has urged Trump to attend the G20 summit, rejects Washington's claims that South Africa will use its land policy to arbitrarily confiscate white-owned land.