BRICS is no longer in need of proving to the naysayers its sustainability and viability. The time has now come for it to expand its membership and reach among emerging markets.
South Africa today hosts the 10th BRICS Summit amid growing global trade tensions[PREUSS]
The world was in the grips of a growing financial crisis when Brazil, Russia, India and China first agreed to form an economic bloc in 2008.
Putin and Trump met at the 25th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Vietnam in November 2017 [PPIO]
Russian president Vladimir Putin met his US counterpart Donald Trump with a slight advantage in Helsinki, Finland on Monday.
That would be a World Cup advantage.
Putin was in attendance at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow where in a dramatic finale to what many agree has been the most successful World Cup in years, France defeated Croatia 4 to 2.
In their opening sit-down in front of the press in Helsinki, Trump reiterated his tweet from the previous evening:
The Russians can be proud of hosting one of the most crucial World Cup tournaments in recent memory.
The official World Cup Russia 2018 ball handed over to Qatar
This one is for the record books having seen a number of firsts – title holders Germany ousted from the first round for the first time in 80 years; the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), through which many penalties were awarded – including in the France-Croatia final; the first own goal in a final game; the fewest red cards since 1970 … the list goes on.
Economic growth forecasts for 2018 have been ratcheted higher as data exceeds expectations
Growth rates in BRICS nations such as China and Russia have exceed expectations of the IMF and other forecasts [Xinhua]
The news that China’s GDP growth in 2017 was 6.9 per cent as opposed to the government target of 6.5 per cent and the January 2017 international Monetary Fund (IMF) projection of 6.5 per cent is merely the latest in a sequence of economic data releases that has pushed economists to play catch-up with economic reality.
There are far fewer children living under poverty in South Africa, the Child Gauge 2017 report found [Xinhua]
A new report from South Africa’s Children’s Institute is raising alarm bells that development of children in the country appears to be lagging behind.
The South African Child Gauge, published in Cape Town every year since 2005, monitors the progress of children in the country with particular emphasis on their rights.
This year, the report warned that violence against children remained widespread in South Africa.
Workers make bicycle parts at a factory at Ludhina in the Indian state of Punjab. India remains one of the strongest emerging market performers, analysts agree [Xinhua]
Investments in emerging markets have been on the rebound in the past 18 months soaring to new levels despite the dollar and oil prices fluctuation, and look likely to continue their upward climb in the coming year.
Is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the insane leader of a rogue state as the media makes him out to be? Here, he is addressing the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang [North Korean Central News Agency]
News that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, also known as North Korea) on Sunday successfully tested its sixth hydrogen bomb, meant for long-term missile warfare, has brought speculations of a nuclear Armageddon back to the fore.
China is one of the biggest importers of South African maize [Xinhua]
The 79 per cent increase in the 2017 maize harvest compared with 2016 will boost South Africa’s economic growth by one percentage point, John Purchase, the chief executive officer of the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) told The BRICS Post.
Zuma’s ANC rejected calls by the opposition to remove the president in November’s no confidence vote [Xinhua]
The 25 Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party were evicted from the South African Parliament on Thursday after they had delayed the State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Jacob Zuma by 78 minutes.
