BRICS News

World wildlife conference opens in South Africa

An elephant roams the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The illegal ivory trade as well as animal trafficking is the fourth largest criminal activity in the world, the EU says [Xinhua]
South African President Jacob Zuma on Saturday opened the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Johannesburg, a gathering which will discuss key wildlife conservation issues.
The conference is set to last until October 5.

Separate Syria ‘rebels’ from terrorists – Lavrov

Lavrov told the press at the UNGA that Washington’s position on Syria is undermining global stability [Xinhua]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told the United Nations General Assembly that separating opposition groups from Islamist terrorist factions is a necessary step to end the Syrian conflict.
“It is fundamentally important to meet the United Nations Security Council requirement to separate the so-called moderate opposition from terrorists. The United States and members of the US-led coalition bear special responsibility for this process,” Lavrov said.

India to acquire 36 French fighter jets

Dassault Aviation’s Rafale fighter is a multi-role aircraft that will boost India’s air force capabilities [Xinhua]
India has signed an $8.8 billion deal to acquire 36 new multi-role Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault, in what is the country’s largest defense purchase in decades.
Indian Defense minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian signed the deal on Friday; the first of the jets are scheduled to be delivered by 2019.

China, Canada discuss trade agreement

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau attend the signing ceremony of a series of bilateral cooperation documents in Ottawa, Canada, Sept. 22, 2016. [Xinhua]
A free-trade agreement may be in the cards for Canada and China, both sides confirmed on Thursday at the heels of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s four-day visit to Ottawa.
“We have reached many new consensuses in [the areas of] economics and trade,” said Li at a joint press conference with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in Ottawa.

BRICS commit to global growth, stability

(160921) — NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2016 (Xinhua) — (From L to R) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra pose for a group photograph during a meeting of foreign ministers from the BRICS nations on the sidelines of a series of UN conferences in New York [Xinhua]

Lula lambastes judge who ordered his trial

There are many who feel the corruption allegations are designed to prevent Lula from running in 2018 presidential elections [Xinhua]
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has come out swinging against a judge who ordered him to stand trial for allegations of money laundering while in office.
Lula accused anti-corruption judge Sérgio Moro of being politically motivated and said that charges brought against him by federal prosecutors were part of a scheme to discredit him and ruin his career.

Investors nervous ahead of Fed meet

Asian and emerging markets hope the Fed will hold off from increasing interest rates [Xinhua]Global stocks were uneven Tuesday ahead of an announcement from the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee on interest rates.
The FOMC began to meet today for a two-day conference which culminates in an announcement of fiscal policy on Wednesday.
While US Stocks opened higher on Tuesday Asian stocks closed in the negative.
The Benchmark Shanghai composite closed lower 0.10 to 3,022.99 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.08 to 23,530.86.

Oil prices drop ahead of producer’s meeting

Prices at the pump have fallen in many countries [Xinhua]
Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday on fears of saturation in US crude oil stocks despite market hopes for an agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries on capping output.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.46 per cent to $43.10 at press time, while international benchmark Brent crude fell 0.54 per cent to $45.70.
Oil prices were also dragged down by statements from Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino who said that oil markets were oversupplied by about 10 per cent.

Brazil’s Temer faces ‘stubborn’ recession

Temer wants to raise taxes and cut public spending [Xinhua]
An index which measures economic activity in Brazil’s farming, industry and services sectors has contracted, a new report has shown.
The central bank’s IBC-BR index for July fell 0.09 per cent, defying forecasts that it would rise.
In June, the index strengthened by nearly 0.40 per cent.