BRICS Summit Convenes in South Africa to Contest Western ...

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the start of a three-day BRICS summit in South Africa, the return of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand, and Japan’s plan to release radioactive water into the ocean.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the start of a three-day BRICS summit in South Africa, the return of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand, and Japan’s plan to release radioactive water into the ocean.

Leaders and senior officials from five of the world’s top emerging economies convened in Johannesburg on Tuesday to kick off the three-day BRICS summit. The bloc—whose members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—represents 40 percent of the world’s population and a quarter of its GDP.

Two key issues will frame much of the bloc’s discussions: expansion and economic growth. The five attendees are expected to discuss criteria needed to admit new countries into the bloc. Argentina, Belarus, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia have all expressed interest in joining. BRICS hopes that by enlarging the group, it can create a counterweight to Western economic and geopolitical dominance, something that has become increasingly important to BRICS members as China’s rivalry with the United States intensifies and Russia’s war against Ukraine drags on.

But not everyone is on board with opening BRICS’s doors. Although Russia wants new allies to support its war effort, India and Brazil both fear that rushing into expansion could dilute the bloc’s influence globally. Meanwhile, South Africa—the smallest economy of the group—wants to pivot expansion efforts toward other African nations. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invited more than 30 African leaders to participate in BRICS meetings this week.

BRICS leaders also hope to create a framework at this week’s summit that will encourage the use of countries’ own local currencies for direct trade. By shifting away from the U.S. dollar, BRICS aims to decrease dollar diplomacy and the strength that Western institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, have on foreign affairs. At this time, though, South African officials said the creation of a common BRICS currency is not on the table.

Given the importance of these economic conversations, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s abrupt decision to skip a BRICS business forum on Tuesday, when he was scheduled to give a speech, raised eyebrows among China watchers. The other four world leaders all gave speeches at the event—even Russian President Vladimir Putin, though his was delivered virtually, as he is not physically attending the summit due to the outstanding International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest. Why Xi chose to play hooky from the event and send his commerce minister in his place is unclear—after all, Xi had just attended a lunch with Ramaphosa shortly before the forum—but it was certainly an odd way to kick off the summit.

Thailand’s past is back. After months of uncertainty and political haggling, Thailand’s parliament confirmed Pheu Thai party candidate Srettha Thavisin as the country’s next prime minister on Tuesday. Yet it is former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who has stolen the show. The 74-year-old founder of Pheu Thai returned to Bangkok on Tuesday after 15 years of self-imposed exile. Upon his arrival, he was immediately escorted to the nation’s Supreme Court to begin his eight-year prison sentence for abusing power while in office.

The belief is that Thaksin struck a deal with the ruling military regime and political elite to ensure his safe return and potentially shorten his time behind bars. However, Thaksin and the Pheu Thai party have rejected these claims. Meanwhile, Srettha now must form a governing coalition with parties that helped overthrow past Pheu Thai governments, including in the coup Thaksin faced in 2006.

Into the water. Japanese officials announced on Tuesday that they will begin releasing more than 1 million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the now-destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean starting Thursday. This first discharge will total 7,800 cubic meters (or more than 2 million gallons) and will take place over 17 days. The plan was determined safe by the International Atomic Energy Agency in July, though some energy experts have suggested that Tokyo pressured the agency to only publish positive reviews of the plan.

The Chinese government strongly opposes Tokyo’s decision, calling it “extremely selfish” and vowing that Beijing “will take all necessary measures to protect the marine environment, food safety, and public health.” Japanese public opinion is also divided over the plan. Japanese officials have been in talks with local fisheries that worried that news of the release would damage their businesses’ reputations. However, Japan announced on Monday that the government and fishing industry came to a “degree of understanding,” spurring Tuesday’s statement.

Look who’s back. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group, has released his first video address since his armed rebellion against the Kremlin on June 23. The 41-second clip released Monday was undated, but it appears to have been filmed in Africa, where Wagner forces maintain strongholds across the Sahel. Prigozhin’s exact whereabouts have been unknown since Russia’s failed coup.

In the video, which was published on several Wagner-affiliated Telegram accounts, Prigozhin reiterated the importance of his paramilitary group’s work on the African continent. “Wagner is conducting reconnaissance and search operations, making Russia even greater on every continent—and Africa even more free,” he said. “Justice and happiness for the African nations.” Prior to Monday’s video release, one of Prigozhin’s last major statements was a written one expressing support for the military coup in Niger, which occurred on July 26.

Invasion of the raccoons is hitting Berlin. This month, Germany’s National Hunting Association announced it had killed a record-high 200,000 raccoons in 2022, as residents complain of the black-eyed critters breaking into their homes—and drinking their beer. Now the real question is: Do they prefer Pilsner or Kölsch?