BRICS News

The leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un (front) has vowed to speed up the nuclear and ballistic missile programs [Xinhua]
Despite the threat of all-out war with the US and its allies in the Pacific and the weight of new UN sanctions, North Korea is to push ahead with full-scale development of its nuclear and missile technologies.
During the Second Plenum of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held on Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that military development was a key defensive strategy against the US.

Brazil’s Central Bank is expected to continue to cut interest rates as the inflation rate appears to bottom out [Xinhua]
Brazilian markets are bracing for yet another cut in the benchmark Selic interest rate as inflation continues to fall to record levels.
With the Brazilian economy improving and largely exiting from recession, inflation rates have fallen from near 10 per cent to 2.54 per cent, well below the 4.5 per cent ideal rate set by the Central Bank.

Narendra Modi has maintained that he will seek a free-trade pact with the EU [Xinhua]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded an agreement reached with the European Union to jointly fight terrorism.
“We agreed on fighting against terrorism together and increasing cooperation towards it,” Modi said following talks with delegations led by European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the 14th annual Indo-EU Summit in Delhi on Saturday.

The Saudi monarch is in Moscow, as Iranian and Turkish leaders meet in Tehran
The visit of the Saudi monarch to Moscow all but cements Putin as the central figure in Middle Eastern politics [PPIO]
As US media continues to speculate on the motives behind the tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas and the press in the UK critique Prime Minister Theresa May’s latest policy speech, there have been significant changes in Middle Eastern alliances.

There have been global demonstrations, such as this one in Dhaka, Bangladesh, calling for industrialized nations to do more to save the planet from overheating [Xinhua]
The South African government has called on the United States to remain committed to the accords agreed at the Paris Conference on Climate Change in 2015.

Asian and emerging markets have adapted to the prospects of the Fed increasing interest rates [Xinhua]
The rising US dollar could be the only thing to marginally offset what looks like a stellar year for emerging markets, analysts said this week.
The dollar was up 0.72 per cent against the Russian ruble at press time, and the South African rand by 0.47 per cent, but down 0.64 per cent against the Brazilian real
Nevertheless, the news remains particularly promising in Brazil and Russia, which have for the past three years suffered from a near-debilitating recession.

The S400 surface to air missile system is Russia’s most advanced air defense system [Xinhua]
Russia and Turkey on Friday signed an agreement which has Ankara make a down payment on an advanced anti-missile air defense system.
Turkey had previously indicated that it was interested in buying the Russian S-400 anti-missile air defense system to boost its air defense stature.

BRICS Foreign Ministers held their annual meeting on the margins of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly on 21 September 2017 [Image: MEA, India]In a meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York, BRICS Foreign Ministers said they will seek to gather global support for reforming the world body.
BRICS nations have stressed on the “need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more representative”, said a joint statement.

China and Russia have increased their joint naval exercises, such as the China-Russia “Joint Sea” drills, since 2012 [Xinhua]
China and Russia kicked off the second stage of their joint naval operations in the Sea of Japan amid rising tensions between the US and North Korea.
The Chinese fleet, which consists of missile destroyers, frigates, submarines, helicopters and naval personnel arrived in the Russian port of Vladivostok on Monday.

China and Egypt have signed a number of strategic agreements to boost investment and industrial exchange [Xinhua]
The largest Chinese bank today announced that it had signed two agreements to provide Egyptian banks with loans for foreign enterprise and investment.
The monies from the China Development Bank include a $40-million loan to Egypt’s SAIBANK and the equivalent of $40 million in the Chinese yuan currency for infrastructure construction.