BRICS

Prominent South Africans reacted angrily on Sunday to President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose 100% tariffs on the BRICS countries if they tried to create an alternative to the U.S. dollar as the global reserve and trade currency.

Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Thursday that his country has been offered “the status of partner membership” by BRICS, the China-dominated economic bloc whose founding members also include Russia, India, and Brazil.

Venezuela accused Brazil’s far-left President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of faking a head injury to “veto” the country out of BRICS.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed on Thursday to fight Western nations and “Zionism” alongside Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was among the guests of honor at this week’s BRICS summit, holding a one-on-one meeting with the leader of the host nation, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.

The China-dominated BRICS economic bloc on Thursday announced it has added 13 nations as “partner countries,” including three African nations: Nigeria, Algeria, and Uganda. These partners will have much more limited involvement than full BRICS members, but some or all of them could aspire to membership in the future.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared in Tehran on Thursday that the BRICS summit he had just returned from would herald the end of American dominance on the world stage, telling reporters the decisions made there would “gradually thwart the conspiracy of the U.S. and its allies.”

Genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS summit in Russia on Wednesday, telling the leader that the Chinese Communist Party sought to “unswervingly develop friendly cooperation” with his country.

The China-led BRICS coalition published a declaration from its annual summit on Wednesday focused heavily on the alleged threat of “climate change,” condemnation of human rights sanctions on its rogue members states, and controlling “misinformation.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin scored a public relations victory on the second day of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, by embracing Chinese dictator Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — a photo opportunity that sent the message that Western efforts to diplomatically and economically isolate Russia for invading Ukraine have failed.

Socialist dictator of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro arrived in Kazan, Russia, on Tuesday to participate in the 16th annual summit of the BRICS anti-U.S. bloc.

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin held an hour-long meeting with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping on Tuesday in the sidelines of the ongoing BRICS summit, describing China-Russia relations as an example to the world and a “stabilizing” force in the world.

The annual summit for members of the BRICS anti-American bloc began on Tuesday, focused on its core members engaging in bilateral meetings prior to the largest summit including all nine members a dozens of invited guests from countries interested in joining.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the radical leftist President of Brazil, is against Venezuela’s prospective entry into the BRICS bloc, several Brazilian outlets reported on Monday.

The anti-American BRICS coalition, led this year by rotating president Russia, will convene its heads of state on Tuesday for a summit expected to focus heavily on building a dollar-free parallel economic system, the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and what to do with the dozens of countries that want to be members.

The government of South Africa on Friday asked the Taipei Liaison Office, the de facto embassy of Taiwan, to rename itself as a “Trade Office” and relocate from South Africa’s capital city of Pretoria.

Radical leftist president of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not travel to Russia to attend this week’s BRICS summit after suffering a head injury on Saturday.

The government of Russia confirmed on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is not yet an official member of the anti-American BRICS coalition, claiming that the Middle East will formalize its position one way or the other at this month’s summit.

The government of India was one of a small number of “global south” nations absent on a list of signatories to a letter released this week condemning Israel for declaring the head of the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, persona non grata.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday that the BRICS economic bloc, led by China and Russia, is working to create its own international payment system because the existing Western system is too politicized, and too vulnerable to pressure from the United States.

The communist government of Cuba confirmed on Monday that it has formally requested a “partnership” agreement with BRICS, the China-led international coalition dedicated to eradicating American influence abroad.

Iranian tyrant Ayatollah Ali Khamenei named India in a statement condemning “enemies of Islam” on Monday, equating the situation of Indian Muslims to that of Palestinian Muslims in Hamas-occupied Gaza.

Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) of Iran, on Wednesday called for the China-dominated BRICS economic group to create “a new security structure in the international arena to help the order and security of the future world.”

ExxonMobil produced a report on Monday that anticipated oil demand reaching a “plateau” in 2030 and remaining fairly stable for the next 20 years – a prediction far out of line with political narratives of a “transition to green energy.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he would oppose cooperation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Israel unless a “comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Moscow is preparing to sign a “big treaty with Iran.”

Iran and Bahrain announced they agreed on negotiations to normalize their diplomatic relationship after nearly a decade of strain.

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper predicted on Friday that the Group of 7 (G7) nations, a coalition mostly made up of America and European states, would soon lose its relevance as “internal divisions” challenged its unity, describing coverage of this year’s summit as having a “funeral vibe.”

A recently published study found that the five core members of the BRICS anti-Western bloc emitted more carbon dioxide from power generation than the entire world combined during the first quarter of 2024, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed the interest of Venezuela’s socialist Maduro regime in joining BRICS.

The BRICS coalition representing several rogue states including China, Russia, and Iran issued a statement following its foreign minister meeting on Monday condemning Israel for attempting to defend itself from the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas, specifically its operations in Rafah, Gaza.

The foreign ministers of BRICS member nations – and another 13 countries interested in collaborating with the anti-Western bloc – convened in Russia on Monday for a meeting outside of the confines of the BRICS annual summit to discuss, among other issues, ways to expand trade without the use of the U.S. dollar.

Bolivian socialist President Luis Arce met with his “brother,” Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, in St. Petersburg on Thursday to address “a broad bilateral agenda” that includes Bolivia’s lithium resources and potential membership in the China-led BRICS bloc, currently chaired by Russia.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is expected to attend a meeting next week of top diplomats of BRICS member nations, multiple outlets reported on Tuesday, following remarks in which he expressed his nation’s interest in joining the bloc.

Nicolás Maduro said that, following his regime’s July 28 sham presidential “election,” Venezuela may join BRICS and have sanctions lifted.

Senate Chaplain Barry Black offered a prayer for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi despite being known as the “Butcher of Tehran.”