BRICS News

The prison was the scene of a deadly riot and grisly murder, state officials said [Xinhua]
Brazilian investigators say that an extremely violent brawl, which killed some 60 inmates at a prison in the northern Brazilian state of Amazonas, was sparked by a turf war between two large gangs.
In what is believed to be the grisliest incident in the country’s penitentiary system since 1992, several bodies were beheaded, dismembered, and thrown over the fence of the prison in the city of Manaus, Security Chief for Amazonas State Sergio Fontes told reporters at a presser.

Trump has made a number of comments critical of China which some foreign policy experts fear could roll back good relations between Beijing and Washington [Xinhua]
If the Chinese thought that US President-elect Donald Trump would temper down his rhetoric critical of Beijing on trade and foreign policy, they had better think again.
Late on Monday, Trump tweeted that there was no way the North Koreans would be allowed to develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead which would reach North American shores.

The One Belt, One Road initiative runs through Iran as well [Xinhua]
Keeping in tandem with President Xi Jinping’s One Belt, One Road economic growth strategy, China this week expanded its pan-European railway destinations when a train left Yiwu West station in the eastern Zhejiang province headed for Barking Station in London.
The train’s trek will cover some 11,800 kilometers as it crosses through a number of countries, such as Kazakhstan into Russia, Poland, and Germany before crossing the underwater English Channel rail in France.

A weakened rand coupled with global oil production output has meant that South Africans will see higher prices at the pump this year [Xinhua]
South Africa is set to raise petrol prices by four per cent starting Wednesday the country’s energy department said in a statement.
Starting January 4, the price of petrol in the country will be approximately 50 cents higher per liter.
Diesel prices will also increase by 3.5 per cent, adding 39 cents to the price per liter.

Following the recall of the outlawed 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, India is now coping with a weakened rupee amid foreign cash outflow [Xinhua]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended his controversial demonetization policy in a televised address Saturday marking the New Year.
There have been long queues at ATMs and banks since early November as millions of people have rushed to exchange the withdrawn 500 and 1,000 rupee bills for other denominations.
There have been reports that ATMs and banks have run out of money.

Syria’s strong ties with Russia helped it win back Aleppo and agree to a nation-wide ceasefire earlier this week [PPIO]
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has told Russian officials that the victory of his forces in Aleppo has proven to be a turning point in the war against terrorism in Syria.

Tomomi Inada and other cabinet ministers have routinely visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine [Xinhua]
China and South Korea have condemned a visit by Japan’s defense minister Tomomi Inada on Thursday to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a Japanese war memorial in Tokyo.
The shrine was built in honor of the 2.5 million Japanese dead during the Second World War, but is seen by some of its neighbors as glorifying a Japan’s imperialistic bloody past.

The PBOC will keep monetary policy “neither too tight nor too loose” [Xinhua]
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has kept in tandem with pledges made during December’s Central Economic Work Conference and announced that its monetary policy will remain neutral and maintain sufficient liquidity.
The PBOC said liquidity will remain stable through a number of fiscal policy tools
“At present, China’s economic and financial operations are generally stable, but the complexity of the situation cannot be underestimated,” the PBOC said in a statement.

The Syrian army recaptured Aleppo two weeks ago, leading to significant gains against opposition and Islamist forces [Xinhua]
Moscow and Ankara have agreed to act as guarantors for a nation-wide ceasefire in Syria, reports indicated on Thursday.
The Syrian government and rebel forces, excluding the Islamic State and Al Nusra Front, have agreed to the ceasefire, the Damascus-based SANA news agency reported on Thursday.
Both Islamic State and Al Nusra front forces will continue to be targeted by Russian and Syrian forces.

Brexit has continued to divide UK society as Prime Minister Theresa May moves ahead with negotiations to leave the EU [Xinhua]
The UK economy appears to have hunkered down to beat the adverse effects of Brexit as it moves into 2017.
While it grew at 2.2 per cent in 2016, one of the EU’s most robust and stable economies in the past two years, the forecast for 2017 is a mere 1.2 per cent.
The sterling pound suffered a dramatic plunge against major currencies twice this year although it appeared to rise briefly in late November.