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CAPE TOWN — Presidents Putin and XI and other leaders from the Brics bloc of developing countries will hold a virtual meeting on the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday, with Secretary General Guterres also participating. The leaders of fellow Brics members Brazil, India, and South Africa, as well as of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, which are set to join the bloc in January, will also take part, according to the office of President Ramaphosa of South Africa. Mr. Ramaphosa will chair the “extraordinary meeting” because of South Africa’s position as current chair of Brics,...

Let me begin by saying to all you leftists that I told you so. Lots of leftists are supporting raping, mass-murdering Seventh Century semi-humans, and they are mad that they are now being treated like people who support raping, mass-murdering Seventh Century semi-humans. Apparently, this is a terrible attack on free speech and McCarthyism and probably Islamophobic and transphobic and is the worst thing ever since the last thing that was the worst thing ever. Well, I think it’s kind of funny. They are mad and accuse us conservatives of now embracing cancel culture. You can argue about the definition...

I don’t care if you’re out on the street, waving your flag and chanting your slogans. We won’t die silently the way you want us to… I don’t care that you sympathize with Hamas. I know you wouldn’t tolerate any of the things they did to us if they would’ve done it to you. I don’t care that you’re outraged by Israel’s response to the massacre more than the massacre itself. I don’t care that this doesn’t fit neatly into your carefully constructed narrative of ‘Israel as aggressor’ and ‘Palestinian as victim I know you would do everything to eliminate...

The monthlong trial of Sam Bankman-Fried wrapped up on Thursday, leaving the jury to decide the fate of the FTX founder. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to criminal fraud charges tied to the collapse late late year of crypto exchange FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda Research. The prosecution’s key witnesses were former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle. A jury has found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty of all seven criminal counts against him. The former FTX CEO faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison. Bankman-Fried, the 31-year old son of two Stanford legal scholars and graduate of Massachusetts Institute of...

TOKYO -- U.S. corn prices have slipped to their lowest levels in almost three years as China ramps up imports from Brazil, cutting into demand for American exports ahead of an expected bumper crop. Benchmark Chicago corn futures sank below $5 a bushel in late August and have remained down since. On Sept. 19, they dipped under $4.70 to the lowest since December 2020. This comes amid a drop in purchases by China, the world's largest consumer of corn. China's imports of U.S.-grown corn came to about 240,000 tonnes in August, down from nearly 1.5 million tonnes a year earlier,...

US Debt Clock is now expanded to include BRICS and other interesting changes. The latest version, no longer referencing 'Federal Reserve dollars', now references 'USA Treasury Dollars'. Note that during DJT's term, around 2018 I believe, the FED was placed under Treasury (effectively 'Nationalizing' it). BRICS is now included: The PM section has some changes, with gold/silver still at $0. Gold holdings, interesting to ponder... US at 9000 tonnes:

For years, the World Health Organization has considered the Nipah virus to be a “priority pathogen” because it has the potential to cause a worldwide pandemic. Thankfully, up to this point that has not happened, but now an outbreak in India is making headlines all over the globe. Two victims have already died, and there are four others that have tested positive. A five kilometer containment zone has been established around the homes of the two men that died, and schools and businesses in the region are being forced to shut down. Authorities are hoping that such extreme measures will...

For years, the World Health Organization has considered the Nipah virus to be a “priority pathogen” because it has the potential to cause a worldwide pandemic. Thankfully, up to this point that has not happened, but now an outbreak in India is making headlines all over the globe. Two victims have already died, and there are four others that have tested positive. A five kilometer containment zone has been established around the homes of the two men that died, and schools and businesses in the region are being forced to shut down. Authorities are hoping that such extreme measures will...

China is leading the way in a growing anti-Western economic alliance known as BRICS, a Wall Street term that has morphed into a diplomatic and trading power bloc that threatens U.S. interests abroad. Originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009, these countries invited South Africa to join the political group a year later, when an “S” was added to the BRIC acronym. At the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg last month, six more nations joined the confederation. Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were just admitted to the coalition at the annual...

Billions in Russian oil sale profits are stuck in Indian banks, marking a blow to President Vladimir Putin's attempts to stop using the U.S. dollar for trade. ... ...accumulation of up to $1 billion each month in rupee assets in Indian banks that cannot be accessed due to restrictions by the Reserve Bank of India, which prevent Russian companies from transferring rupees stored in bank accounts in India to Russia and converting them into rubles, Bloomberg reported. ... "India operates a partially convertible capital account, which entails that the [Indian rupee] can be swapped for foreign currencies and vice-versa for...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up Sunday a G20 summit that played down deep divisions over the war in Ukraine and climate change, but gave him a moment in the diplomatic spotlight. ... On Sunday, Modi formally closed the summit by passing on a ceremonial gavel to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country will take the bloc's presidency in December. "We cannot let geopolitical issues sequester the G20 agenda of discussions," Lula said, an implicit reference to wrangling over the Ukraine war. "We have no interest in a divided G20. We need peace and cooperation instead...

The Russian president faces arrest if he travels abroad on a warrant accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine, issued by the International Criminal Court. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 summit in India next month, the Kremlin has announced. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that travel is currently not on Putin’s agenda because he is concentrating on the special military operation, which is what the Kremlin calls Russia’s war against Ukraine. But another issue is keeping him at home. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin accusing him of war...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 Summit in India in person, Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. The format of Putin’s participation would be determined later, he said. India is hosting the G20 Summit and the main event will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10. The summit is likely to be attended by 29 heads of states as well as top officials of the European Union and invited guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations. Putin did not attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa as well. He was represented by Russian...

... “In the cold war, India could walk a middle path because it had no major disputes with either the US or the Soviet Union, and play each other off against each other,Today it can’t do that with the US and China.” Officials and analysts say the nascent US-India strategic alignment is being driven by commercial and defence imperatives related to Beijing. ... India has for years been steadily moving closer to the US and other western countries on arms purchases and defence ties, and officials say the momentum is growing. “We were strangers in defence co-operation at the turn...

India’s commerce chief has described the country’s “heart” as belonging to the US and not China as it relates to trade in remarks delivered before ministers from both countries in New Delhi on Friday. Speaking at a business meeting of Group of 20 member nations, Piyush Goyal asked Wang Shouwen, China’s vice-minister of commerce, how Beijing felt about New Delhi opting not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in 2020. ...Goyal to state that although bilateral trade between the Asian neighbours was on the rise it was “largely skewed in favour of China”. “Indian industry feels that if you...

Erratic climate conditions - including the driest August in more than a century - have sent food prices spiralling above 11% in India, which is a major player in global agri-trade. Just as tomato prices begin cooling down, onions have gotten dearer by a quarter since June in the domestic market. And pulses which go into making the humble dal (lentil soup) are now around 20% more expensive than at the beginning of the year. India's got a "curry problem", some economists say, as the cost of a regular vegetarian meal jumped by a third in the month of July...

Whether it’s the South China Sea or the most distant regions of Tibet, China is always trying to lay claim to more territory. This week China published an annual map which now includes a region controlled by India as part of China.The map was released Monday on the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources standard map service website, just days after the two nations agreed to work to ease tensions at their disputed border.The map also includes Taiwan and the South China Sea as Chinese territory.Here’s an image of the full map:The 2023 edition of China's standard map was officially released...

NEW DELHI: Invites sent by Indian President Droupadi Murmu calling herself "President of Bharat" for a dinner on the sidelines of the G20 summit have stirred speculation that the government may be about to change the country's name. WHAT IS THE CONTROVERSY ABOUT INDIA'S NAME? By convention, invitations issued by Indian constitutional bodies have always mentioned the name India when the text is in English, and the name Bharat when the text is in Hindi. However, the invites - in English - for the G20 dinner called Murmu the President of Bharat. An official at the president's office said they...

NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has replaced the name India with a Sanskrit word in dinner invitations sent to guests attending this week’s Group of 20 summit, in a move that reflects his Hindu nationalist party’s efforts to eliminate what it sees as colonial-era names. Indian President Droupadi Murmu is referred to as “President of Bharat” instead of “President of India” in the invitation sent to G20 attendees. The nation of more than 1.4 billion people is officially known by two names, India and Bharat, but the former is most commonly used, both domestically and internationally....