BRICS News

Zuma’s ANC rejected calls by the opposition to remove the president in the latest no confidence vote [Xinhua]
South African President Jacob Zuma has survived yet another attempt to remove him from power after a vote of no confidence in his leadership was overwhelmingly defeated in parliament on Thursday.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), called for the vote a week after the former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, released a report into “State Capture” (when private interests covertly influence the government’s decision-making apparatus).

Will Temer spearhead a revitalization of Brazil’s economy in 2017? [Xinhua]
Brazilian President Michel Temer appeared less optimistic about the country’s emergence from recession, on Tuesday, saying he expects the economy to recover as late as the second half of next year.
During his speech to the powerful National Confederation of Industry (CNI) lobby, Temer acknowledged that cutting the budget deficit and reversing the course on recession will take time. He also said that he wanted to boost Brazil’s financial rating and combat rampant unemployment.

Xu has been for years considered one of China’s wealthiest men operating one of the most successful hedge funds, but some accused him of manipulating markets [Xinhua]
Xu Xiang, general manager of the Shanghai-based company Zexi Investment, has been indicted for allegedly manipulating the securities market, the People’s Procuratorate of Qingdao City, a thriving port in China’s eastern Shandong province, said on Thursday.

Photo taken on November 1, 2016 shows a screen broadcasting Chinese astronaut Chen Dong on the space lab Tiangong-2 [Xinhua]
Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated the two astronauts aboard the space lab Tiangong-2 at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Wednesday, local media reported.

Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States [Xinhua]
Global stocks suffered a sudden and sharp reversal of fortune early Wednesday as Republican candidate Donald Trump looked increasingly likely to become the 45th president of the United States.
By the time he was declared the winner at 07:45 GMT, the Dow Jones industrial plummeted 827 points, the S&P 500 was down 107 points, and the Nasdaq 100 lost 241 points.

Modi has made fighting corruption and increasing ease of doing business in India cornerstones of his legacy [Xinhua]
In a surprise move, India will withdraw the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes from circulation effective midnight Tuesday official sources said in New Delhi.
The measure came following an announcement from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said it was an essential move to tackle graft in the country and crack down on unknown sources of income.

China-India strategic partnership and cooperation has been positively served by all the visits and interactions between the country’s leaders President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi [Xinhua]
The eighth meeting of the China-India Defense and Security Consultation group met on Tuesday and concluded with a statement pledging to boost the strategic mutual trust and cooperation between the two powerful nations.

China’s CH-5 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also known as “Rainbow 5”, also debuted at the airshow [Xinhua]
The 11th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, in south China’s Guangdong Province, closed on Sunday with a total of 402 deals worth over $40 billion, organizers said.

Li, center, has promoted trade and connectivity, stepping up production capacity and tourism cooperation with the CEEC [Xinhua]
China is ready to step up economic cooperation with the Central and Eastern European countries, Premier Li Keqiang said at the sixth China-CEEC Summit in Latvia on Saturday.
Li said that over the past five years, cooperation between the “16+1” had acquired a more effective institutional framework, and more solid prospects for further expansion in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Fighting in and around Aleppo has not subsided some groups said on Thursday, barring many civilians from leaving the city [Xinhua]
An offensive by Islamist rebels, some of whom are affiliated with Al-Qaeda, has killed at least 74 civilians in government-held western Aleppo, human rights groups reported on Saturday.
Twenty-five of those killed were children, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On Saturday, a number of families leaving Aleppo through a ‘safety corridor’ afforded by the Russian and Syrian air forces reportedly came under rebel fire.