THE SQUIZ

Five significant world leaders are gathering in South Africa over the next 2 days in a meeting that will be closely watched by Western nations, particularly the US. The ‘BRICS’ summit brings together Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, India’s Narendra Modi, China’s Xi Jinping, and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa – as well as Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who’ll be joining via video call due to the international arrest warrant out on him… The 5 nations are united by their distaste for a world order dominated by America, along with their combined economic might making up a quarter of the global economy. And on the agenda: growing the BRICS membership to include nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina. In one expert’s words, that would constitute “a challenge for the West”.

WHY HAVEN’T I HEARD OF THIS GROUP?

BRICS is more of an informal alliance that has been around since the mid-2000s, but there has been little to point to in terms of significant progress or coordination. But the diplomatic isolation of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and China’s flaring tension with the US has created an environment where that could change, and some collective muscle could be flexed. One thing we’re likely to hear a bit about this week is the debate about opening the door to new members. China’s in favour of expanding the BRICS bloc, while Brazil, India, and South Africa are more wary, preferring to keep membership tightly held.

ISN’T HAVING MORE FRIENDS BETTER?

We’re no experts in diplomacy, but that seems to be the general idea – and it’s something that Ukraine is relying on. Yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the “historic” announcement that the Netherlands and Denmark would supply Ukraine’s military with F-16 fighter jets. He’s been trying to get his nation’s hands on the US-made aircraft for months, and it was just last week that America agreed they could be sold. (Note: even though the planes are with other nations, they need US permission to pass them on). As for their effect – military experts say that Ukraine’s weakened air force has emboldened Russian pilots and meant Ukraine couldn’t defend its skies. That includes Saturday’s missile strike that saw 7 people killed and 144 injured in the northern city of Chernihiv. For its part, Ukraine has continued its drone strikes against Moscow, leading to flights in and out of Domodedovo airport being restricted due to the threat.

Intrigued about BRICS? Why wouldn’t you be… We help you build your wall of knowledge with today’s Squiz Shortcut. Take a listen/have a read here.