News and views, mostly from the Alternative Media

Joe Lauria at ConsortiumNews
Why we're never told why we're attacked

After a Russian commercial airliner was downed over Egypt’s Sinai last October, Western media reported that the Islamic State bombing was retaliation against Russian airstrikes in Syria. The killing of 224 people, mostly Russian tourists on holiday, was matter-of-factly treated as an act of war by a fanatical group without an air force resorting to terrorism as a way to strike back.

Yet, Western militaries have killed infinitely more innocent civilians in Muslim lands than Russia has. Then why won’t Western officials and media cite retaliation for that Western violence as a cause of terrorist attacks on New York, Paris and Brussels?

Instead, there’s a fierce determination not to make the same kinds of linkages that the press made so easily when it was Russia on the receiving end of terror. ...

....Before the major invasion and air wars in Iraq and Libya of the past 15 years, the 1950s was the era of America’s most frequent, and mostly covert, involvement in the Middle East. The Eisenhower administration wanted to contain both Soviet influence and Arab nationalism, which revived the quest for an independent Arab nation. After a series of coups and counter-coups, Syria returned to democracy in 1955, leaning towards the Soviets.....

....Wading into the psychology of why someone turns to terrorism is an unenviable task. The official Western view is that Islamist extremists merely hate modernity and secularism. That might be their motive in wanting to backwardly transform their own societies by removing Western influence. But it’s not what they say when they claim responsibility for striking inside the West.

To ignore their words and dismiss their violent reaction to the long and ongoing history of Western intervention may shield Americans and Europeans from their partial responsibility for these atrocities. But it also provides cover for the continuing interventions, which in turn will surely produce more terrorism.....

Corey Schink and Mike Tutundjian
Armenia vs Azerbaijan, East vs West:
Nagorno-Karabakh crisis and the NATO-Israeli connection
Victoria 'F**K the EU' Nuland's visit to Azerbaijan last year had analysts wondering whether something was afoot. While Nuland surely wouldn't visit a country in order to oversee destabilization along Russia's border (she's never done than that before, right?), a heated conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan would do just that. The sudden and violent eruption of this 'frozen conflict' at a time of vastly improving Iranian-Azeri-Russian economic and military cooperation provides both the means and motive for NATO/Israeli forces - an opportunity to destabilize Russia and Iran in one blow.

Historical background
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at war two times over the Nagorno-Karabakh region - once in 1918 and the second time in 1988, in the last years of the Soviet Union. Azeris began massacring Armenians in Azerbaijan, causing a large number of people to flee. Then they attacked the ethnically Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan with a modernized military, attacking people trying to defend themselves with hunting rifles or whatever they could get hold of. The Azeris blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh and all transport and shipments into Armenia proper. Turkey joined the blockade, while Georgia was having its own civil war with Abkhazia, making border crossing there very difficult. So the only border Armenia had that wasn't blockaded (or impaired) was its Iranian one. That blockade is still in place today, although the Georgian border has generally calmed down. ....

Robert Fisk at Independent
Echoes of Stalinism abound in the very modern Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict
The same old enemies are clanking around the black mountains of Karabagh: Russian power, Turkish expansionism and Armenian nationalism
...Now I have to say that I always thought that the current war in Nagorno-Kharabagh was a particularly dirty conflict. When it was rekindled with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1988, one of Yerevan’s excuses for “taking it back” was that it contained some of the nation’s oldest churches. True. But there are plenty of Turkic historical roots in Karabagh. In much the same way, eastern Europe contains some of Teutonic Germany’s oldest buildings, and much of the Balkans boasts fine Ottoman Turkish architecture. But the ruins of ancient heritage make a very dodgy excuse for war.

By the time I was covering the Karabagh war in the early 1990s, Armenian militia bands were murdering Azeri villagers in massacres eerily similar – though on a smaller scale – to those which occurred during Turkey’s genocide of the Armenian people in 1915; no wonder the Armenians in the capital of Yerevan denied these well-documented modern killings – those at Khojali in 1992, for example – for they undermined the victimhood of the Armenian people.....

From RT
Welcome to the world of Western humanitarian interventionism

How stingy a friend Britain proved to be when - following much political grand-standing and calls for a very 'humanitarian intervention' against the Gaddafi regime in Libya - it could only muster £50,000 towards Libya’s reconstruction for 2016.

Following what can only be described as a brutal leveling of Libya’s infrastructure in the name of ‘democracy building’ in 2011, the very powers that volunteered their military assistance so that liberty’s flame could shine brighter in North Africa (as the story goes) have completed deserted the Libyan people.

Let me repeat that ridiculous figure one more time so it can truly sink in: £50,000! £50,000… Unless Libyans possess magical powers by way of making money stretch a long ways, I’m not quite sure what Britain’s donations will achieve - if not maybe hurt Libyans’ pride....

From WashingtonPost
Saudi Arabia passes Russia as world’s third biggest military spender
Global military spending reached almost $1.7 trillion in 2015, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time since 2011, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms expenditure around the world.

The United States remained far and away the top spender, which despite a dip from 2014, accounted for more than a third of total global spending. It was followed by China and then, perhaps surprisingly, Saudi Arabia, which supplanted Russia in third place. (The figure for China in the chart below is based on a SIPRI estimate.).....

Eric Draitser at MintPress
BRICS Under Attack: The Empire’s Destabilizing Hand Reaches Into South Africa
An undercurrent of political manipulation pulses beneath the surface of popular South African demonstrations organized around legitimate grievances. But who’s pulling the strings? And why?

Major protests have gripped South Africa in recent months as political forces have emerged to give voice to a growing discontent with the government and ruling party. Beneath the surface of these demonstrations organized around legitimate grievances, however, there’s an undercurrent of political manipulation.

South Africa and its ruling African National Congress (ANC) party have been targeted for destabilization due to the country’s burgeoning relationship with China and other non-Western nations, most obviously typified by South Africa’s inclusion in BRICS, the association of the five major emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Last year, for example, China surpassed the United States and European Union as South Africa’s largest trade partner, and the ANC has been hard at work promoting further trade cooperation. Answering questions in the National Assembly, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa explained: “We trade more effectively with China because the relationship is based on win-win; mutual benefit that they can get out of the relationship and that we can get out the relationship.” 

But recent protests against the ANC government have threatened the ruling tripartite coalition of the ANC, along with the South African Communist Party and Congress of South African Trade Unions.

A number of groups on the left such as the ...

Prof James Petras at GlobalResearch
Terror Bombing in Brussels and Paris: Europe’s “Islamist Legionnaires” Come Home to Fight

...The deliberate US (Zionist)-EU-Saudi strategy to divide and conquer Iraq initially involved working closely with Sunni feudal tribal leaders and other extremists to counter the rising power of pro-Iranian Shia.  They promoted a policy of fragmenting the country with the Kurds dominating in the North, the Sunnis in the center and the Shia in the south (the so-called Joseph Biden-Leslie Gelb Plan of national dismemberment and ethnic cleansing).  The rationale was to create a weak central authority completely under US-EU tutelage and loose group of fragmented subsistence fiefdoms in what had been the most advanced secular Arab republic.

Despite pouring billions of dollars in arms from the US to create a puppet-colonial Iraqi ‘national army’, the Saudis and Israelis pursued their own policy of financing sectors of the Kurds and violent Sunni opposition – with the latter forming the original mass base of ISIS.

As the US-client Shia regime in Baghdad focused on stealing billions while killing or exiling hundreds of thousands of educated Sunnis, Christians and other secular Iraqis from the capital, the morale of its US-puppet troops plummeted. With the entire experienced and nationalist Iraqi officer core purged (slaughtered or driven into hiding), the new puppet officers ....

From ChristianPost
Father Thomas Uzhunnalil Not Crucified by ISIS but Alive and 'Safe,' Indian Minister Says
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said Catholic priest Tom Uzhunnalil, who was previously feared to have been crucified by the Islamic State on Good Friday, is alive, safe, and efforts are being organized for his release.
Catholic Bishops' Conference of India spokesman Father Gyanprakash Topno told the Press Trust of India that Swaraj met with CBCI delegates and told them that reports claiming Uzhunnalil has been killed are not true....

BRICS news and updates .... February 6

From SCMP:
India and Russia back China's call for 'new world order'
Foreign ministers of two nations meet Chinese counterpart in Beijing as China 'seeks to counterbalance US influence' in the Asia-Pacific
Russia and India added their voices on Monday to China's call for a new world order and endorsed Beijing's plans to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war.
The foreign ministers of the three nations met in the capital for talks just a week after US President Barack Obama made a high-profile trip to India.
After Monday's  meeting, President Xi Jinping gave a positive assessment of China's ties with the two nations, despite New Delhi's apparent distrust towards Beijing.
In a joint communique, the three nations vowed to "build a more just, fair and stable international political and economic order" and a "multi-polar" world.....

From Reuters:
  Chinese iron ore imports seen rising to 1 bln tonnes as top miners rule...

...China's iron ore imports are forecast to rise to a record 1 billion tonnes this year, with main suppliers Australia and Brazil expanding their share in the world's top market for the raw material, justifying their plans to expand output.

The move by global miners Vale, Rio Tinto , BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group to boost production has fuelled a glut that has slashed iron ore prices by more than 50 percent over the past year....

From BRICSpost
Chinese President says   will align with Russia in global affairs
Even as Washington and its allies intensified their  harsh rhetoric against Moscow, Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed that Beijing will step up cooperation in global affairs with Moscow in 2015.

Xi said China will aid Russia in preparing for the BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Ufa in July where the two nations will jointly maintain emerging economies’ interests and promote global economic governance reform.
Xi met visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday in Beijing.

The leaders of five of the world’s largest emerging markets are showcasing a new $100 billion currency reserve fund and $100 development bank. The BRICS have evolved from the original term coined in 2001 by then-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist Jim O’Neill to describe the growing weight of the largest emerging markets in the global economy.
Meanwhile, Chinese and Russian officials are preparing to jointly commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII this year.
They should use it to “celebrate the historic contribution the two countries, as main battlefields in the east and west, made in the war, and to maintain postwar peace and security”, Xi told Lavrov.....


From NITIcentral
Terming the development   of the green economy for sustainable development as the most "pressing" global agenda, Russia today advocated a combined effort by the BRICS countries for implementing eco-friendly initiatives and priorities.

It also said that future cooperation with India on "pressing" issues like water resources treatment, environment security and decrease of dangerous emissions will be discussed in "detail" at the BRICS summit, scheduled to take place later this year in Moscow.

"During the BRICS meeting of environment ministers, we have chosen specially the topic of development of green economy resolution of environmental problems and competitiveness of business in the context of green economy. We believe it is the most pressing agenda for all the world," said Russian Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi, who is currently on a visit to India.
He said that at the meeting of the environment ministers, Russia will also discuss the probable mechanism and technologies for implementing these priorities in the economy as part of a policy for increasing the quality of life in BRICS countries, which comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
"We would like to suggest that the effort of the BRICS countries should be combined and put together for implementing green initiatives and priorities in our economies so as to increase its competitiveness and business attractiveness," the minister said.....

From RTBusiness
The Russian government has submitted a bill to lawmakers to ratify the BRICS bank. The New Development Bank will have assets of $100 billion from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and rival the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The New Development Bank agreement will come into force only after all five countries ratify the legislation.
"The agreement envisages the creation of a multilateral financial institution, the New Development Bank, that will finance infrastructure projects and sustainable development projects in BRICS countries and developing countries," says a briefing note obtained by TASS. .....

From GlobalTimes:
Next July, Russia will be hosting  the seventh summit of the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Back in 2009, Russia hosted the group's first summit, in Yekaterinburg in the Urals. This time, President Vladimir Putin has chosen Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, a short distance west of the Urals.

The political distance Russia has traveled in the last six years, and particularly in 2014, is much greater. As a result, Moscow is likely to pay more attention to BRICS than before. During the Russian presidency, BRICS will take another step toward pushing for reforms in global governance and enhancing the member states' impact on global issues.

By hosting the leaders of the leading non-Western nations, Putin will demonstrate to the Russian people and the world that his country is anything but isolated. BRICS, after all, brings together countries whose combined population is 3 billion, 40 percent of the world's total. They also account for a quarter of the global GDP and nearly a fifth of international trade. .....

The decoupling from the dying Empire is picking up speed

So many similarities between the America of today and the days in mid-1770s when the colonies of Britain decided to decouple from the powers in Britain. The continentals ran out of patience with the English king and his harsh unreasonable policies imposed on them and took the bold step of not only fighting for independence but within no time at all, making such a great success of a united America.  How did their descendants in less than 250 years manage to make such a mess of it all today?  

I find it so heartbreaking that the Americans of today do not pay any heed to the reason why their ancestors had opted for independence from their masters over the ocean.  The harsh warlike bullish nature of the America of today is not unlike the commands and bullying that came from England during those years before the war for independence.  It is this same reason why today we are seeing the BRICS and other nations seeking to decouple from the bully Empire.   

BRICS news and updates .... January 6

While the NATO warlords and witches dream of enriching the armaments makers and themselves by dropping missiles and bombs which cost anywhere between $70,000 to $1 M+ a pop .... on every nook and corner of the world they take a dislike to,  the BRICS have been hard at work improving the lot of their own countrymen and the lot of their neighbouring nations as well.

From BRICSpost:
China neighbours laud $3.09 bn aid from Beijing  
China’s neighbours, including Cambodia, have lauded the $3.09 billion Chinese aid announced during a regional summit in Thailand on Friday.
“China plays a very important role in assisting GMS countries to boost economy and reduce poverty,” said Kao Kim Hourn, Cambodian Minister and aide to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“China’s financial support is vital to expediting the development of physical infrastructure in the GMS member countries. All countries in the GMS highly appreciate China’s active contributions to the development of their respective countries,” he added.
China has offered infrastructure funds and production aid to five neighboring countries which sharing the Mekong River.
The offer includes $1 billion for infrastructure inter-connectivity, $490 million in grant for poverty alleviation and $1.6 billion in special loans for China’s production capacity export.

China also promised to invest $16.4 million to dredge waterways along the Mekong River and prevent natural disasters, said Li.
The five beneficiary countries are Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar which, along with China, form the GMS bloc.......

From Itar-tass:
 Russia boosts oil reserves by 550 million tons in 2014.
Russia boosted its hydrocarbon reserves by 550 million tons of oil, 900 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 100 million tons of gas condensate in 2014, Natural Resources Minister Sergey Donskoy said on Tuesday, citing specified data.........

From CelebrityYahoo:
South African woman wins Miss World  beauty pageant in London
A 22-year-old South African woman, Rolene Strauss, won the Miss World 2014 beauty pageant in London on Sunday, the organizers said in a statement....


From ChinaBriefing:
China Announces Location of New Free Trade Zones, Expands Shanghai FTZ - 
At a bi-monthly meeting on December 28, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress mapped out the specific locations of the three new Free Trade Zones (FTZ) announced earlier. The meeting also announced the expansion of the Shanghai FTZ, as well as the simplification of a number of investment procedures in these zones.

It was announced that the Guangdong FTZ will include the Nansha New Area in Guangzhou, Shenzhen Qianhai and Zhuhai Hengqin New Area, covering a total of 116.2 square kilometers. The Tianjin FTZ, with a total area of 119.9 square kilometers, will be comprised of Tianjin Port, Tianjin Airport and the Binhai New Area industrial park. Lastly, the 118.04-square-meter Fujian FTZ will include industrial areas in the provincial capital of Fuzhou, the whole of Xiamen and Pingtan, a new industrial park targeting investment from Taiwan. ......

From BRICSpost:
India manufacturing sector output hits 2-yr high in Dec: HSBC
In encouraging signs that the Indian Prime Minister’s “Make In India” campaign may gain momentum in the coming months, HSBC says India’s manufacturing sector grew at its fastest pace in two years in December.
The sector ended 2014 on a high note on strong orders flows, including from abroad, according to an HSBC survey released on Friday.
The headline HSBC India Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a composite gauge designed to give a single-figure snapshot of manufacturing business conditions — stood at 54.5 in December, up from 53.3 in November.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing the “Make in India” campaign, designed to attract foreign investment by highlighting ongoing changes.........

From Bloomberg:
Defying the rout in oil prices, the coffee and sugar markets are rallying because of supply concerns in Brazil, the world’s top producer and exporter of the so-called soft commodities.
Those raw materials helped prevent the Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 energy, agriculture and metal prices from slumping to a 12-year low amid a collapse in crude and fuel. The broad gauge has tumbled to the lowest since March 2009, and a drop of an additional 1.4 percent will send the measure to a level last seen in November 2002. In 2014, arabica coffee soared 50 percent, the most among index components, amid the most-severe drought in decades...........

From BRICSpost:
Chinese locomotives reach Thailand, to replace GE  
As China attempts to establish itself as a credible rival to sector leaders such as Germany’s Siemens, Canada’s Bombardier and Japan’s Kawasaki, the first batch of Chinese locomotives were delivered on Sunday to Thailand.
China’s CSR locomotives will replace the General Electric locomotives which have hauled Thai cargo trains since 1995. Thailand has never used any other locomotive since.
Officials of the State Railway of Thailand on Monday said two China-made locomotives, shipped from southwest China to Laem Chabang port in Chonburi province, were the first consignment of a fleet of 20 locomotives, the rest of which will be gradually shipped to the Thai railway firm..........

Russia to build nuclear plants for India


Below is link to a Reuters article on "doubts" about the canal being built by a Chinese billionaire businessman in Nicaragua.  Instead of focusing on how the project will create  thousands of jobs in one of the poorest countries in South America, the journalist prefer to shower doubts on the completion of the project and wonders if  Washington had been consulted.  Why would a sovereign country consult Washington for permission to build a canal in its own land and waterways which would primarily benefit its own citizens? 
From Reuters: 
 .... "The aim is the canal," said Cruz, the ex-ambassador. "But even if they only build a Caribbean port, this country will have achieved something it hasn't managed in 500 years.".....

From TheEconomist:
ON DECEMBER 22nd an odd couple  —Nicaragua’s left-wing government and a Chinese-born telecoms magnate—say they will begin the realisation of a dream that has captivated Nicaraguans for generations: the construction of an inter-oceanic canal to rival Panama’s. According to Manuel Coronel, an octogenarian who runs the canal authority, their intentions are now beyond dispute. “When the bride and groom set a date, you know it’s serious,” he says......

From Reuters via MailOnline;
U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua voices concerns  over Chinese-led canal
The U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua said on Tuesday it was concerned by a lack of information surrounding the planned $50 billion, Chinese-led canal that would bisect the poor Central American nation.
Work began in late December on the 172-mile (278-km) waterway, which its Hong Kong-based developer HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (HKND Group) says will be operational by 2020, but so far it has been met with widespread skepticism......

From Bloomberg:
Brazil Iron-Ore Exports Surge   as Vale Boosts Production
Brazil, the world’s second-largest iron-ore exporter, said shipments of the steelmaking raw material jumped to the highest in at least nine years as Vale SA (VALE5) boosted output.
Exports gained 18 percent last month to 37.4 million metric tons compared with 31.8 million tons a year earlier, the country’s ministry of Development, Industry and Trade said on its website today. That’s the highest monthly iron-ore volume since at least April 2005 when Bloomberg started compiling data.....

The EEU is born ... January 1, 2015

To negate the influence of the warmongering satanic cult known as NATO,  the peace-loving inhabitants of planet Earth can take solace in organizations like the BRICS,  EEU  and the Silk Road masterminds.... countries that have governments who strive to create jobs and elevate the poverty-ridden instead of burying them six feet under in bits and pieces after killing them off in wars.

From Xinhuanet:
The founding of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is a first step toward a more unified Eurasian region, Alexander Gusev, director of the Center for Strategic Development of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Countries, has said.

"Based on the Customs Union (CU) and Common Economic Space, the EEU is only the starting point of the big work of creating a unified Eurasian Union," Gusev told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

The EEU is a regional organization founded by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It officially came into effect on Wednesday, and was enlarged on the following day by Armenia's accession.

The EEU's main objectives are to form a single market, create more opportunities for the free movement of goods, services, investment and labor forces within the borders of the member countries by 2025, as well as introduce a coordinated economic policy.

The establishment of the EEU has already brought tangible benefits to its member states, said Gusev, adding that low gas prices from Russian energy producers, as well as favorable conditions for economic development and customs, are guaranteed to member states.

The EEU is an important step for Russia to fulfill the dream of a unified Eurasia, and an energetic booster to other economic or political associations in the region like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and China's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative, Gusev said, noting that the EEU and the Silk Road Economic Belt are not competitors.

"The initiative of Silk Road aims to integrate Central Asian countries into a common economic space," which is welcomed by the EEU members, Gusev said.

Moscow and Beijing can work together to promote economic development, social stability and regional security in Central Asia and Eurasia, added Gusev..........

BRICS news and updates ..... December 7

From SputnikNews:
Russia and Turkey agreed to work alongside representatives of the business communities to identify possible obstacles for conducting payments in their national currencies.

Russia and Turkey are set to work on increasing payments between the countries in their national currencies, the Russian-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission said Wednesday.
“The working group on financial and banking cooperation, taking into account information about detected barriers, is to continue its work to eliminate them and increase the volume of payments in the national currencies of Turkey and Russia,” the commission said.......

From AlJazeera:
Russia and Turkey sign major trade deals 
President Putin says South Stream gas pipeline to EU scrapped and names Turkey as partner for alternative project.
The leaders of Russia and Turkey have signed a series of major trade and energy deals in the Turkish capital amid differences over the crises in Syria and Ukraine as Moscow copes with Western sanctions.

Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, said at a news conference in Ankara that Russia would reduce the gas price for Turkey by six percent, starting next year, and agreed to supply it with an additional three billion cubic metres.
Putin also announced Moscow was scrapping the South Stream natural gas pipeline project - that would avoid Ukrainian territory to deliver Russian gas to Europe - because of the European Union's opposition to it..........

From Reuters:
Rattled by Chinese submarines, India joins other nations in rebuilding fleet
 India is speeding up a navy modernization program and leaning on its neighbors to curb Chinese submarine activity in the Indian Ocean, as nations in the region become increasingly jittery over Beijing's growing undersea prowess.

Just months after a stand-off along the disputed border dividing India and China in the Himalayas, Chinese submarines have shown up in Sri Lanka, the island nation off India's southern coast. China has also strengthened ties with the Maldives, the Indian Ocean archipelago.
China's moves reflect its determination to beef up its presence in the Indian Ocean, through which four-fifths of its oil imports pass, and coincides with escalating tension in the disputed South China Sea, where Beijing's naval superiority has rattled its neighbors............

From BRICSpost:
China, Brazil satellite launch boost for developing countries: Xi
Brazil and China intend to increase bilateral science and technology cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff said on Sunday in remarks that would be welcomed by Brazilian authorities who want to reduce the dependence on US and EU space equipment.

Rousseff and Xi exchanged congratulatory messages on the launch of the CBERS-4 satellite, jointly developed by China and Brazil, on Sunday from China’s Taiyuan base.
In his message, Xi noted that the CBERS (China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (CBERS) Program has “set a successful precedent for developing countries to conduct cooperation in space industries”.

In recent years, the program has yield fruitful results, claimed the Chinese President on Sunday. China launched the CBERS-4 satellite, jointly developed with Brazil, on Sunday from the Taiyuan base by Long March-4B rocket, the milestone 200th flight for the Long March rocket family and the fifth joint mission for BRICS members China-Brazil...........

From NDTV:
Ahead of President Vladimir Putin's visit  here, Indian and Russian officials will be holding talks on the multi-billion dollar Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) joint project.
Defence sources said talks would be held before Putin's visit on December 10 as both India and Russia are keen to go ahead with the FGFA...........

From PressTV:
India does not support West sanctions against Russia: Official
An Indian official says New Delhi refuses to support the Western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine and seeks instead to strengthen relations with Moscow.

Ajay Bisaria, the deputy secretary for Eurasia at India’s Foreign Ministry, made the remarks on Friday while confirming a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to India next week.

“India has clearly said that it cannot be part of the economic sanctions against Russia,” said Bisaria.
The deputy secretary added that New Delhi and Moscow hold a “special and privileged strategic partnership,” saying the two countries are shaping “a joint view of their relation for the next 10 years” in order to strengthen ties. 
India and Russia “have identity or similarity in views on important global issues, including on the threats of terrorism, particularly in Russia and the neighborhood and on the need to defuse the Cold War-like tensions that are increasingly manifesting themselves in global relations,” Bisaria added........

From BRICSpost:
BRICS to jointly fight tuberculosis, Ebola  
Health ministers from the BRICS group signed an agreement Friday in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro to establish a joint strategy to fight tuberculosis and a working group to thwart the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Brazil currently holds the chair of BRICS.
The ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have agreed to boost the distribution of anti-tuberculosis medicine among affected people in BRICS countries and other poor nations.
The joint strategy is expected to be implemented from March 2015........

From dnaIndia:
The International Monetary Fund has said that China has overtaken the United States for the first time as the largest economy in the world.
According to Fox News, the US has been overtaken as the largest economy for the first time in decades.
The IMF recently released the latest numbers for the world economy, stating that China will produce $17.6 trillion and the US would produce $17.4 trillion in terms of goods and services.....

From BRICSpost:
“China helped us belong to BRICS”- Zuma  
South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday said the African country owes its membership of BRICS to Chinese efforts.
“China helped us to belong to the BRICS family. We are proud to count the People’s Republic of China as among such friends who lent moral, material and political support to achieve a free and just South Africa,” said Zuma while delivering a lecture at China’s prestigious Tsinghua University.

In 2011, South Africa joined to give the BRICS a broader geographic representation. South Africa will establish an African regional center for the newly formed $100 BRICS bank........

From Russia&IndiaReport:
India in favour of trade with Russia using rupee, rouble   - P.S. Raghavan
India is eager to use national currencies in trade with Russia, Indian Ambassador to Russia, P.S. Raghavan told RIA Novosti in an interview.
“Our two countries have been discussing trade in national currencies as an initiative that can significantly increase the volume of bilateral exchanges of goods. Our Central Banks have recently set up a Joint Working Group to work out modalities,” the ambassador said. “We would like to see an early completion of this exercise.” He added that there have also been talks between the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and the Vnesheconombank for a guarantees cooperation arrangement, “by which they would facilitate loans in local currencies for Indian and Russian companies seeking to invest in each other’s countries. This arrangement could boost mutual investment.”.......

BRICS news and update .... November 16

The BRICS give me hope for the restoration of sanity to our planet.  Instead of advocating for wars, these countries are busy creating opportunities to uplift the citizens of their respective countries.  I know, I know .... haters of Russia and China will say that these two are the world's main suppliers of weaponry,etc.etc.  To them I say ... it's business... if there's a demand for their goods, why shouldn't they make more to meet the demand?  

From YahooNews:
 Russia signs deal to build 2 nuclear reactors in Iran, another 6 may follow
Russia signed a contract Tuesday to build two more nuclear reactors in Iran to be possibly followed by another six, a move intended to cement closer ties between the two nations.
The deal comes less than two weeks ahead of the Nov. 24 deadline for Tehran to sign an agreement on its nuclear program with six world powers. Tuesday's contract has no immediate relation to the talks that involve Russia and the United States, but it reflects Moscow's intention to deepen its co-operation with Tehran ahead of possible softening of Western sanctions against Iran.
Nuclear officials from the two countries signed a contract Tuesday for building two reactors at Iran's first Russia-built nuclear plant in Bushehr........

From RT:
President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping  have signed a memorandum of understanding on the so-called “western” gas supplies route to China. The agreement paves the way for a contract that would make China the biggest consumer of Russian gas.
Russia’s so-called “western” or "Altay" route would supply 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year to China.
The new supply line comes in addition to the “eastern” route, through the “Power of Siberia” pipeline, which will annually deliver 38 bcm of gas to China. Work on that pipeline route has already begun after a $400 billion deal was clinched in May.
“After we have launched supplies via the “western route,” the volume of gas deliveries to China can exceed the current volumes of export to Europe,” Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller told reporters, commenting on the deal.
Speaking to journalists on the eve of his visit to Beijing, Putin was optimistic about prospects for the new gas deal with China......

From BRICSpost:
BRICS discuss ratification of new Bank, $100 bn CRA Leaders of the five BRICS nations have met in Brisbane on Saturday ahead of the annual G20 Summit, aimed at boosting trade and economic ties between the group.
The leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Jacob Zuma and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff discussed ratifying the newly formed $100 billion BRICS Bank and the $100 billion Contingency Reserve Arrangement (CRA) by parliaments in the five countries.

“They [the BRICS leaders] asked their Finance Ministers to designate the President and the Vice-Presidents of the NDB well in advance of the next BRICS Summit in Russia. The Leaders also announced the setting up of an Interim Board of Directors that will lead the next phase establishing NDB,” said a joint statement issued after the meet.

The BRICS leaders also discussed the $100 billion Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA).
“The Leaders asked their Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to ensure that, by the next BRICS Summit, the CRA Working Group concludes the procedural rules and operational guidelines of the Governing Council and the Standing Committee of the CRA,” the statement added.
In Brisbane, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff urged BRICS to “focus on strengthening their domestic markets, in an effort to rebuild their economies”, said a Brazilian government statement......

From SovereignMan:
Brazil Builds Its Own Fiber-Optic Network  To Avoid The NSA
This past week Brazil announced that it will be building a 3,500-mile fiber-optic cable to Portugal in order to avoid the grip of the NSA.

What’s more, they announced that not a penny of the $185 million expected to be spent on the project will go to American firms, simply because they don’t want to take any chances that the US government will tap the system.
It’s incredible how far now individuals, corporations, and even governments are willing to go to protect themselves from the government of the Land of the Free.
The German government, especially upset by the discovery of US spying within its borders, has come up with a range of unique methods to block out prying ears.
They have even gone so far as to play classical music loudly over official meetings so as to obfuscate the conversation for any outside listeners.
They’ve also seriously contemplated the idea of returning back to typewriters to eliminate the possibilities of computer surveillance.
More practically, the government of Brazil has banned the use of Microsoft technologies in all government offices, something that was also done in China earlier this year.
The Red, White, and Blue Scare has now replaced the Red Scare of the Cold War era. And it comes at serious cost.
From Brazil’s rejection of American IT products alone, it is estimated that American firms will lose out on over $35 billion in revenue over the next two years.......

From BRICSpost:
Prominent film production firms of India and China  on Wednesday announced their first joint venture to make a new co-production, working title “Kungfu Yoga”, which could feature top Hollywood stars such as Jackie Chan. Chinese and Indian film markets are set to expand massively in the coming years, with more theater screens and more major companies entering the fray.
This is the first project to be initiated after both governments signed an agreement on film co-production in New Delhi during President Xi Jinping’s visit to India last month.  Global consultancy IHS Technology estimates the Chinese cinema market will be worth $4.6 billion in 2014.

The agreement between Indian firm Viacom-18 and Chinese firms Taihe and Shine World was inked on the sidelines of the Indian film festival in Xi’an, capital of north-west China’s Shaanxi province, which began on Tuesday as part of ‘Glimpses of India’ festival...........

From CNTV:
China pledges 40 bln US dollars for Silk Road Fund   
In his address to the Host’s Partners Dialogue in Beijing Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, “Asia-Pacific economies are counting on enhanced regional connectivity to boost growth and competitive edge.”

He also said, "Asian economies must expand strategic trust through more opening up and connectivity.”
China will provide financial support of US$40 billion to establish the Silk Road Fund, another concrete measure to put the connectivity pledge into action. 
Xi presided over the Host’s Partners Dialogue on Saturday, a meeting with seven Asian leaders, who are not APEC economic leaders. Also at the talks was the secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The key message was "Enhancing Connectivity Through Partnerships."..........

From BRICSpost:
Brics GDP bigger than G7 in purchasing power: Putin  
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Moscow wants to work with other countries to “remove the imbalances in the global economy”.
In Vladivostok on Friday, Putin said the GDP of the BRICS countries calculated at the purchasing power parity is greater than that of the G7, the Group of major industrialized nations.

“As far as I know, the GDP of BRICS is $37.4 trillion, while that of the G7 is $34.5 trillion. And if we go and say: ‘No, thank you, we are going to do this and that here on our own, and you can do it the way you want it,’ this will only add to the imbalances. If we are really set to resolve some issues, we should do that together,” he told Russian agency Itar Tass.......

From IndiaToday:
Jumping on to the Make in India bandwagon, old ally Russia has put forward a series of joint manufacturing projects to New Delhi, proposing to manufacture helicopters, airliners and satellite navigation systems, besides setting up a multi-billion dollar start up fund to promote nano technology.
A slew of projects have been discussed at the top level during the recent visit of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, all aimed at going beyond the tradition supplier-buyer relationship that made Moscow the largest supplier of defence equipment to India for the past few decades. It has recently been replaced by the US in the past three years.
Sources said that Russia expressed its keenness in participating in the Make in India initiative and a few projects could be concretised during President V Putin's to New Delhi next month. One proposal that will be studied by interest in India is to set up a joint USD 3 billion dollar fund to promote joint start-up companies in the nanotechnology field with applications from defence to aerospace and manufacturing.....

From ITAR-tass:
Russia’s Central Bank to create alternative to SWIFT bank transaction system by mid-2015
The idea of creating a Russian alternative to the SWIFT transaction system was put forward by Russia’s Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Rossiya banking association in September
Russia’s Central Bank plans to create a domestic alternative to the SWIFT international bank transaction system by May 2015, a Central Bank official said on Tuesday.
The Central Bank of Russia wants the national payment card system to operate along with the financial message system. The regulator also intends to create a SWFT message processing center, Deputy Director of the Central Bank’s National Payment System Department Ramilya Kanafina said.
The idea of creating a Russian alternative to the SWIFT international bank message system was put forward by Russia’s Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Rossiya banking association in September.
Russia’s Finance Ministry published a bill at that time proposing regulation for the SWIFT system, as well as for the Bloomberg and Reuters financial market data terminals in the country.
In late August 2014, media reports said the UK had proposed banning Russia from the SWIFT network as part of an upcoming new round of sanctions against Moscow over its stance on developments in neighboring Ukraine. However, this proposal was not supported by the EU countries at the time......

From Ventures:
South Africa has, in many ways, demonstrated continental leadership in mitigating the effects of climate change. From policy introductions to alternative energy, the southernmost country in Africa has achieved a significant level of success in combating the phenomenon that may affect developing regions the most; sustainable energy.

The country’s Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, listed a few of these initiatives. Renewable Energy Independent Power Purchase Programme (REIPPP), the most popular, is aimed at supplementing the country’s energy supply with renewable energy.

“Today there is rapid uptake of large-scale renewable energy technologies through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Purchase Programme (REIPPP). So far under the REIPPP programme, 3,933 MW have already been procured,” she said.

There is also the National Green Fund through which South Africa is “greening” its cities. This can be seen in a number of actions including reducing energy loads in buildings, creating a recycling economy and restoring wetlands to protect water resources, according to the minister.....

From UJUH:
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies and the Minister of Small Business Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu today addressed the Cape Agulhas Business Summit in Bredasdorp, Western Cape. The Business Summit focussed on how to strengthen Small Medium Micro Enterprises to contribute towards the local economy in rural municipalities.

Minister Davies said that government together with business, labour and civil society have begun on plans to unlock the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans through operation Phakisa. He said that this will assist the country to realise the largely untapped potential of the marine space, aquaculture and boat building

“In 2010, the ocean contributed approximately R54 billion to South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounted for approximately 316 000 jobs. South Africa’s oceans have the potential to contribute R177 billion to the country’s GDP while creating 1 million new jobs by 2030. The government is now developing a blue economy strategy to help realise the full potential of its marine resources”, he said.

Minister Davies added that the aquaculture sector that currently contributes R1billion to the GDP and employs about 4000 people has the potential to contribute towards job-creation and poverty alleviation.

“The sector can achieve significant growth with a GDP of R3 billion and 20 000 new irect jobs........

BRICS news updates .... October 31

Brazil's Dilma Rouseff wins another term much to the chagrin of the powers-that-be in the USA.
From BRICS:
Over a grueling past three months,  Brazil has seen the most divisive campaign and the toughest election since its democratization process in 1989. The campaign ended with the reelection of President Dilma Rouseff, from Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers Party) with 51.64% of the votes and a mandate for leading the country for the next four years.
Although the margin that divided them was very slim- 54.5 million to Dilma Rousseff against 51.0 million votes to Aécio Neves – they had very different policy prescriptions, especially of reviving an ailing economy.
While both agreed on the need for social spending and economic growth to fight poverty, Neves accused Rousseff of not backing reforms needed to stimulate growth....

From BRICS:
Brazilian Central bank’s (BCB) move on Wednesday to raise its policy rate by 25bp to 11.25 per cent is a sign that reelected President Dilma Rousseff will be more market-friendly, analysts concluded.
The bank said the inflation risks have changed since their last meeting in September.
“In light of that, the committee considered it appropriate to adjust monetary conditions in order to guarantee, at a lower cost, the prevalence of a more benign inflation outlook in 2015 and 2016,” the Brazilian Central bank said in its statement.
The BCB’s target is to keep annual inflation at 4.5 per cent.....

From WantChinaTimes:
China to buy 5,000 Russian air-to-air missiles: Japanese report
China is likely to purchase 5,000 R-73 and R-77 air-to-air missiles from Russia, writes Toshiyuki Roku, retired commander of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Air Development and Test Command, in an article for the Tokyo-based Japan Military Review.....

From EconomicTimes:
India re-elected to UN Economic and Social Council 
India has overwhelmingly won its re-election to the UN body on economic and social issues, garnering the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group. 
The 193-member UN General Assembly yesterday elected 18 members of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2015. 

China's government uses diplomacy to unite their rail companies so they stand a better chance on global bids ... whereas; our Canadian govt. hinders Bombardier in every which way and dampens the great Canadian company's holdings in  Russia by sanctions on that country.

From Xinhaunet:

China's top two train makers   will merge after a 14-year split to explore the global market for their high-speed railway technology, analysts said.
The two, China CNR Corp. Limited and CSR Corp. Limited, will announce the details of their merger over the weekend after confirming the news on Tuesday.
The move aims to avoid "in-fighting" between the two in their exploration of the global market, said Wang Mengshu, a railway expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
The two split in 2000, and the then Ministry of Railways (MOR), which became the China Railway Corporation in 2013, delineated the companies' major sales domains with the Yellow River as the boundary. It also tried to set a boundary for the two in the overseas market to reduce their competition....

From TheDiplomat:
China’s Emergency Relief to South Sudan   
The ongoing violence in South Sudan has had an unbearable humanitarian cost. Currently, more than 1.4 million South Sudanese are internally displaced and the UN estimates that $1.8 billion in humanitarian aid is needed in 2014.

As one of the most important investors in the previously unified Sudan and now in the independent South Sudan, China has displayed what is by its standards unprecedented diplomatic activism to support the peace talks in Addis Ababa, mainly through its contribution to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and active mediation efforts. However, the emergency relief it has extended to Juba amid the conflict has received far less attention......

Nothing much of worth on South Africa unless you think the opening of a "gay friendly" mosque is progress. The country is still busy with the blade runner and the last I read on the most boring topic in the world was that SA's prosecutors are appealing the verdict and want to try the blade runner again because everybody including the janitor in the prosecutors' offices have not had a chance to have their say on the matter.  South Africa is the weakest link in the BRICS .... there's no doubt about it.  How did the other four even let this country join the group?

From BRICS:
China, India launch new Asia Infrastructure Bank  
In a landmark achievement, 21 Asian nations including China and India on Thursday signed on a new infrastructure investment bank which would rival the World Bank.
The governments of Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam signed on as founding members of the new Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing on Friday.
One of the first projects of the new Bank is expected to be financing infrastructure projects along the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “Maritime Silk Road” re-establishment.
Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said on Friday the “multi-national financial institution which is fair, just, open … with a good governance structure” will be an “efficient financing platform for infrastructure”.

Lou said the AIIB has a different focus than established multilateral organizations such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB).
China and other emerging economies, including BRICS, have long protested against their limited voice at other multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank.
China is grouped in the ‘Category II’ voting bloc at the World Bank while at the Asian Development Bank, China with a 5.5 per cent share is far outdone by America’s 15.7 per cent and Japan’s 15.6 per cent share....

From Reuters:
Russia won court approval on Thursday to seize shares held by a billionaire businessman's company in oil producer Bashneft over its "improper privatisation", marking a success for the latest state move to reclaim prized corporate assets. 
Moscow's Arbitration Court ruled in favour of prosecutors who said Bashneft was unlawfully sold to local authorities in the early 2000s before being sold in 2009 to oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Sistema, controlled by tycoon Vladimir Yevtushenkov......

BRICS news updates .... October 15

From VancouverObserver:
In a world history moment, China has just pushed off the United States as the world's top economy, according to new data from the International Monetary Fund.
The measurement, known as Purchasing Power Parity, shows that Chinese consumers are able to buy more shoes, Starbucks and cars than Americans can with their money - a clear sign of China's rising wealth and superpower status.
"It's been expected for a long time," said Yuen Pau Woo, Distinguished East Asia Fellow, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada in Vancouver.
“If we haven’t already understood how important China is to Canada, I sure hope this statistic wakes us up, and prompts an even more focused reorientation of our political, economic and diplomatic energies to a building of durable relations with China.”

“China is not an option for the Canadian economy, it is an imperative."..........

From WorldBulletin:
India and China have agreed to pull back troops ranged against each other on a remote Himalayan plateau, the Indian government said on Friday, ending their biggest face-off on the disputed border in a year.
The two armies mobilised about 1,000 soldiers each in Ladakh this month, accusing the other of building military infrastructure in violation of an agreement to maintain peace until a resolution of the 52-year territorial row.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said she met her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in New York on Thursday and the two agreed to withdraw their soldiers to their original positions by the end of the month.
"The bad phase is over," state-run All India Radio quoted her as telling reporters in New York.........

From BRICSpost:
Russia and China have signed several multi-billion dollar deals on Monday, including nuclear energy, finance, tourism, high-speed railways, apart from the agreement on gas deliveries to China via the eastern route.
Chinese and Russian Premiers Dmitry Medvedev and Li Keqiang have held the 19th Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government in Moscow during which 40 inter-governmental agreements were signed.
The two allies have also signed a massive currency swap deal worth $24.4 billion. The agreement was inked between the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Russian Central Bank on Monday “to facilitate bilateral trade and investment”.
The agreement lasts for three years and can be extended if both sides agree, the PBOC said on Monday in a statement on its website.
Beijing is keen on substituting the US dollar with the yuan in all of China’s trade with other countries. The Chinese currency now trades directly with the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar, the Brazilian real, the EU’s euro, the New Zealand dollar and many other currencies.......

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a long speech to a 20K strong American Indians (most of whom I bet are dual passport or dual citizenship holders given the way they were jumping around and applauding every other minute) at Madison Square Garden. Below is vid of what John Stewart the comedian thought of that event.


China is on a roll.  The sanctions on Russia are a God-send for China.
From BRICSpost:
China, Italy sign deals worth $10 bn  
Chinese and Italian companies signed deals worth 8 billion euros (more than $10 billion) in Rome on Tuesday, a highlight of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Italy.
The deals signed after Li met his Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi, covered investment, engineering and technology and financial cooperation.
Renzi described the deals as “antipasto” to more cooperation with Beijing in the future.
Italy’s defence firm Finmeccanica said it will supply China with 50 helicopters for a 400 million euro deal.....

From Xinhuanet:
China and Russia have signed   a memorandum to jointly build a high-tech park in each country as the two look to further innovation in science and technology, authorities said on Tuesday.
The park in China will be located in the new town of Xixian Fendong in Shaanxi and will initially occupy four square kilometers. In Russia, 200,000 square meters of buildings will be built in the Skolkovo Innovation Center in Moscow, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said in a press release Tuesday.
Part of China's revival of the "Silk Road", the high-tech parks are being developed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF), the Skolkovo Fund, and the local government of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.......

From Forbes:
In Brazil Elections,  President Dilma Has A Better Country On Her Side

From SINA:
China and Russia on Monday inked a host of cooperation deals ranging from finance and investment to energy and high-speed railways.
Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, witnessed the signing of the about 40 agreements after holding the 19th China-Russia Prime Ministers' Regular Meeting.
The documents, including governmental accords and business contracts, also cover trade, people-to-people exchanges, advanced technology, satellite navigation, currency swap and customs..........

And, the data that can no longer be hidden no matter how hard the Western powers-that-be try to:
From ITAR:
A new G7 emerges, the Financial Times said on Wednesday  
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday released its latest World Economic Outlook. A striking new finding emerges: the seven largest emerging markets are now bigger, in gross domestic product terms, than the long established G7 group of industrialized nations, when measured at purchasing power parity (PPP), the British daily said.
A hypothetical new G7, comprising the BRICs Brazil, Russia, India and China and three of the so-called MINT economies Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey - has a combined GDP of $37.8 tn (at purchasing power parity) compared to $34,5 tn for the old G7 Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.
The new attempts to measure GDP also confirm that, in PPP terms, China is now the world's largest economy, overtaking the US (as revealed by the FT in April). At market exchange rates, the US economy is worth $17, 4 tn and the Chinese $10.4 tn. With an adjustment for relative prices, China’s economy moves up to first place, with a GDP of $17.6 tn.
Russia is the sixth among the new top 10, ahead of France and the UK.
“The new estimates point to a dramatically changed world: half of the twenty largest economies are now emerging markets and half are from the established rich world,” the Financial Times said.

Brazil keeps on adding more jobs but Reuters seem to think the numbers are low. Has Reuters seen the USA's numbers lately even the massaged and manufactured numbers are dismal compared to the Brazilian ones.
Brazil adds 123,785 net payroll jobs in September -Labor Ministry
Brazil's economy added a smaller-than-expected 123,785 net payroll jobs in September, the lowest for the month since 2001, the Labor Ministry said on Wednesday.
Brazil added 101,425 jobs in August.
Latin America's largest economy was expected to have added 140,000 payroll jobs in September, according to the median forecast of seven economists......

From Business IAfrica:
President Jacob Zuma will release the results    of work done to explore the potential of the country’s ocean economy at the first Operation Phakisa open day in Durban on Wednesday. 
"Operation Phakisa is designed to answer that fundamental question, how do we turn our good plans into action to improve the lives of our people and to make the National Development Plan come alive," President Zuma said.
Four priority sectors have been selected as new growth areas in the ocean economy, which include aquaculture and offshore oil and gas exploration. 
The other priority areas are marine transport and manufacturing and marine protection services and ocean governance. 
"We have constantly lamented that we have good plans but the implementation part is a challenge. We are now focusing intensively on implementation," President Zuma said. 
Operation Phakisa is an adaptation of the Big Fast Results methodology that was successfully applied by the Malaysian Government in the delivery of its Economic and Government Transformation Programmes.....

The more money Indians make, the more they travel.  I think our Bombardier was hoping to win this contract. **sigh**
From BBC:
Indian budget airline IndiGo  has signed an agreement to buy 250 A320neo aircraft from Airbus.
The agreement is thought to be Airbus' single largest order by number of aircraft, the firms said on Wednesday.
The deal is expected to be worth $25.7bn (£16.1bn) at list prices, although airlines typically get a discount, news agency Reuters reports.
IndiGo is India's largest domestic airline by market share and operates 540 flights daily across India.......