Latest from Sa2eh
The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Leaders of Russia and China snub Brics summit in sign group's value may be waning
Russia and China are not sending their leaders to a Brics summit starting in Brazil on Sunday in what may be a sign that the group's recent expansion has reduced its ideological value to the two founding members. China's 72-year-old leader, Xi Jinping, has attended Brics summits for the past 12 years. No official reason has been given for sending the premier, Li Qiang, other than scheduling conflicts. Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, is facing an international criminal court arrest warrant and may have decided not to travel to Rio to avoid embarrassing the summit hosts, who are signatories to the ICC statute. Mongolia has been in an acrimonious legal dispute with the ICC after it did not act on the warrant when Putin visited last year. Putin abandoned his plans to attend the 2023 Brics summit in South Africa after the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was unable to offer any guarantees regarding Putin's arrest or otherwise under the warrant. Putin is accused by the ICC of being instrumental in abducting and deporting tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. Brics, often described as the developing world's alternative to the G7 group of nations, has undergone a recent rapid expansion, but in the process has diluted its coherence as a body offering an ideological alternative to the western capitalism represented by the G7. Its founding members were Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, but the group last year expanded to include Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, countries in various stages of economic development and with varying levels of antagonism towards the west. The additions skewed the body towards autocracies, leaving Brazil, South Africa and India uneasy. Brazil has said the Brics grouping is just one sign of an emerging new world order. Speaking recently at the Overseas Development Institute, the former Brazilian foreign minister and current ambassador to London, Antonio Patriota, said Donald Trump's 'America first' foreign policy would move the world order away from the US as a superpower and towards a multipolar world with power spread more evenly. 'The US, through its policies, including on tariffs and sovereignty, is accelerating the transition to multipolarity in different ways,' Patriota said. He added that new alliances were likely to develop that would challenge the current distribution of power. 'It's difficult to argue today that Europe converges with the US policy on trade or on security or on sustaining democracy, for example. So where there used to be one unique western pole, now perhaps there are two.' Brazil, an emerging diplomatic powerhouse in the global south, may benefit from Russia and China's leaders being absent this weekend, since it wants to use the summit to champion a theme of inclusive global governance reform. It would not want the focus to be solely on criticism of western double standards in the Middle East and Ukraine. The hosts have a set of concrete proposals: the green energy transition, cooperation on vaccines and expanding most-favoured nation status to all countries in the World Trade Organization. Patriota denied that new multipolarity – a world in which many different cooperative alliances are formed – was inherently unstable, arguing it was unilateralism that had been the more disruptive force. 'There is strong support for preserving multilateralism, but that does not mean that we need to preserve it as it stands,' he said. 'Brazil is arguing we shouldn't wait for another world war, or for something of that nature, or scale, to start reforming. Unless there is a strong movement towards reform now, we run the risk of reaching a tipping point.' But Dr Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, has argued Brazil will struggle to impose an agenda on the Brics. 'Brics was an unwieldy group before it opened its membership – even if the stated goals of the emerging-economy alliance were initially laudable and long-overdue,' he wrote recently. 'While UN security council expansion was once a stated goal, China was always likely to block India's accession to the body. Brazil's commitments to reduce carbon emissions were also likely to collide with Saudi Arabia, Russia and the UAE's oil- and gas-based economic interests (though Brazil has doubled down on oil production and exports despite its public rhetoric over climate change).' India is also opposing the idea of a Brics currency as an alternative to the dollar. Nevertheless, Xi's decision to stay away is puzzling, given the US's retreat from its global leadership role has provided a golden opportunity for China to pick up the mantle. Dr Samir Puri, the director of the centre for global governance at Chatham House, questioned whether a transition to a new multilateralism was happening. 'It seems that the ending of one international order does not necessarily beget the sudden arrival of another,' he said. 'The vacuums created by the US's sudden retreat from multilateralism and global governance will not be automatically filled by others.'
South Wales Guardian
22 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
‘We will beat Government for second time in court' – Kneecap at largest ever gig
The 45,000-strong crowd in Finsbury Park, London watched them walk on in front of a screen that said 'Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people'. They were supporting Irish band Fontaines DC, whose front man Grian Chatten joined to perform their collaboration Better Way To Live. People echoed the Belfast group's chants when they repeated the 'f*** Keir Starmer' and 'you're just a s*** Jeremy Corbyn' comments made at Glastonbury the previous weekend. Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs as Mo Chara, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier this month charged with a terror offence and will return next month. Fellow member Naoise O Caireallain, who uses the stage name Moglai Bap, said 'if anyone's free on the 20th of August, you wanna go to the court and support Mo Chara' before shouting 'free Mo Chara, free, free Mo Chara'. Wearing a keffiyeh, O hAnnaidh responded: 'I appreciate it, the 20th of August is going to be the second time Kneecap have beat the British Government in court – in their own court, on their own terms, and we're going to beat them for the second time. 'I tell you what, there is nothing like embarrassing the British Government.' Last year Kneecap won a discrimination challenge over a decision by former business secretary Kemi Badenoch to refuse them a £14,250 funding award. The UK Government conceded it was 'unlawful' after the band launched legal action claiming the decision to refuse the grant discriminated against them on grounds of nationality and political opinion. It was agreed that the £14,250 sum would be paid by the Government to the group. During the performance the group intermittently broke off the mosh pits and raucous crowd by addressing the war in Gaza, which is a recurring theme of their shows. O hAnnaidh said: 'It's usually around this point of the gig that we decide to talk about what's happening in Palestine. 'I understand that it's almost inhumane that I'm thinking of new things to say on stage during a genocide, for sound bites. 'It's beyond words now, like, we always used to say obviously they're being bombed from the skies with nowhere to go, but it's beyond that now. 'They've been being starved for a few months on end, and not only that, the areas that they have set up, to collect aid and food, have turned into killing fields and they're killing hundreds a day trying to collect food.' He continued: 'It's beyond words, but again, we played in Plymouth last night to 750 people and we did the same thing, so it doesn't matter how big or small our audience is, Kneecap will always use the platform for talking about this.' O Caireallain had said earlier in the show: 'They can try and silence us, they can try and stop us, but we're not going to stop talking about Palestine – as long as there's a genocide happening in Palestine we're going to keep talking about it and yous are going to keep talking about it, and they can't stop us.' The UN human rights office has recorded 613 killings near humanitarian convoys and at aid distribution points in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed American organisation since it began operations in late May. On Friday its spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings, but 'it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points' operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The GHF has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside their immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel's military. The Israeli military has said previously it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops.
Belfast Telegraph
22 minutes ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Lewis Crocker closes in on dream Windsor Park world title rematch with Paddy Donovan
The dream of Belfast boxer Lewis Crocker to fight at Windsor Park in his much anticipated rematch with Limerick's Paddy Donovan is moving closer, with hopes rising that the all-Ireland contest will be for a world title. Talks have been ongoing between all the relevant parties for some time now and there is a desire to finalise everything and announce a blockbuster evening of boxing in the coming days, with September 13 the most likely date at present for Crocker v Donovan II.
Auto Blog
22 minutes ago
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
SUVs vs Sedans: The Data Behind America's New Favorite Car
How SUVs Flattened the Sedan Dream In 2025, for every sedan sold in the U.S., nearly four SUVs rolled off the lot. That's not a marketing blip—it's a cultural shift that's been two decades in the making. Sedans once ruled the American cul-de-sac. Now they sit lonely in rental lots, gathering pollen and existential despair. Let's put it into drive: In 2005, sedans outsold SUVs by more than 2 to 1. In 2025, the inverse is true. The station wagon died in the '90s. The sedan? That funeral's happening now—in slow motion, with a premium sound system and 360° cameras. Looking at the data, if you are a geek like me, have you ever seen such a perfect crossover line chart? So what happened? Why did the sedan, once a symbol of mid-size American reason, lose its spot in the driveway? Let's break it down. 1. The View from Up Here: Visibility Wins Americans like seeing over traffic. Period. We're a nation of drive-thru pragmatists—if you can't see the menu board from the driver's seat, forget it. SUVs give you elevation, posture, and that tall-boy sense of control. Sedans? You're crouching. Behind a Sprinter van. In the rain. Sure, center of gravity matters on a twisty backroad. But for most people, the 'canyon' is a Costco parking lot, not the Pacific Coast Highway. SUVs ride higher and feel safer—even if crash data tells a more complex story. 2. Trunk Space Isn't Sexy—Cargo Room Is You ever tried stuffing a teenage hockey player, their gear, and a golden retriever into a Corolla? SUVs redefined what American families expect from their haulers. Fold-flat seats. Liftgates you can open with your foot. Room for a week's worth of road trip junk food and regret. Sedans had trunks. SUVs have zones. And automakers know it—look at the Ford Edge, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V. These aren't niche vehicles. They're the Big Macs of the road. 3. Sedans Got Fancy, SUVs Got Cool Back in 2008, SUVs were still suburban-school-run boxes. Now they're sculpted, turbocharged, and optionally electrified. Meanwhile, sedans either went fleet-rental basic or luxury-snob awkward. That weird moment when your neighbor buys a $72,000 electric Lucid Air while you're still making payments on a '22 Civic? That's what killed the sedan. Crossovers like the Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 offer premium-feel without premium price tags. They look good next to your grill, your gym bag, and your life. Sedans now feel like the 'business casual' of transportation: polite, functional, uninspired. 4. Electric Future? SUVs Are Already There You want a Tesla Model 3? Cool. But what everyone else is ordering is a Tesla Model Y. Or a Mustang Mach-E. Or a Rivian R1S. The EV future is skipping the sedan—straight into crossover shape. It's packaging efficiency. Battery layout works better in taller frames. And again: cargo, clearance, command seating. Most automakers are leaning hard into this—because that's what sells. 5. Real Talk: Sedans Still Have a Pulse… Barely Toyota's still making Camrys. Honda's still moving Accords. But it's getting lonely. Even performance sedans are pivoting—see the Dodge Charger Daytona EV or BMW's slope-roofed M variants. The sedan isn't dead. It's just being slowly pushed into 'enthusiast only' territory. Like stick shifts. Or compact discs. Final Lap So here we are: a nation where the driveway kings wear hiking boots, not loafers. Sedans still have their devotees—folks who want refinement over road height, balance over bulk. But they're losing the numbers game. Fast. The real question? What happens when the SUV gets too big, too bloated, too… everything? Do we cycle back to the sedan? Or are we just one cupholder away from a full minivan revival? Don't laugh. We've seen that before. About the Author Brian Iselin View Profile
Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
HAMISH MCRAE: Behind the scenes in the US, there are lots of reasons for concern
It's party time in America. Thursday saw Donald Trump get his 'big, beautiful' budget bill through Congress. The economy is still thumping out more jobs, another 147,000 in June. That helped share prices hit yet another all-time high, with the S&P 500 index now up 7 per cent this year. The chip-maker Nvidia pushed towards $4 trillion in value, making it worth more than all the companies on the London Stock Exchange put together. And then on Friday it was the Independence Day holiday, not something we particularly celebrate in the UK, but I was glad to be watching the fireworks on a beach in Florida – the state that thanks to Trump and his Mar-a-Largo resort, can now make a decent pitch to have become the place where it all happens. It's certainly a long way from that miserable news from Blighty about soaring Government borrowing costs, a tearful Chancellor and the prospect of more swingeing tax rises in her Autumn Budget. And yet, and yet. Behind the scenes, there are lots of reasons for concern. Start with trade. Next Wednesday is the deadline for countries to agree trade deals or be hit by much higher tariffs. The timing is absurdly tight, and Trump has said that countries where there is no agreement will get letters imposing tariffs of 20 to 30 per cent. This matters for Europe, which unlike the UK doesn't yet have even a basic agreement on future levies. The markets in the US seem to think it will all be sorted: another case of the TACO trade, Trump Always Chickens Out. They have been encouraged by the fact that, so far, tariffs that have been imposed have not led to a significant increase in inflation. In theory, that's bound to happen, but in practice importers seem to be shouldering the burden by cutting their margins. You can only do that for a while. Then there's the budget. In the UK, we are profoundly concerned about maintaining our credibility in the markets, and rightly so. In the US, they don't seem to care, and at the moment can get away with it. The budget, with tax cuts for the better-off and some small trimming of outlays, will inevitably increase the fiscal deficit. I'm always suspicious of precise calculations about the impact of tax changes, and the overall effect may turn out to be quite modest. But the truth is that the US government plans to borrow around 6 per cent of gross domestic product for years to come. Some of that money has to come from abroad, with foreigners currently owning about 30 per cent of the national debt. So far, they have been prepared to do so, but the mood could shift. The main sign of such a change in attitude towards investment in US government securities has come in the exchange rate. So far this year, the dollar has fallen at the fastest rate since 1973. It is down more than 10 per cent on its trade-weighted average, and the lowest it has been for three years. You can soften the story a bit by pointing out that it was overvalued then, and it probably still is. As argued here last week, thanks to further dollar weakness, I expect the pound to go to $1.50. To be clear, this is not a panic run on the dollar; more a sensible reassessment of what it ought to be worth. But coming on top of the tariffs, a weaker currency will push up prices, and like the rest of us, Americans are feeling pretty battered by inflation. There's another warning signal: the housing market. It's gone soft. Prices are steady, nationally up just 0.6 per cent on a year ago. But the number of sales is down by 5 per cent, and there are 16 per cent fewer homes on offer. It's such a huge country that it's hard to generalise, but there is a feeling that the market has shifted from boom to stagnation, and in some areas, notably here in Florida, there's a slump. So there are cracks in the feet of the US giant. But let's not kid ourselves. The rest of the world does not seem important from this side of the Atlantic. The money is here. New York dominates global finance, and as far as equities are concerned, it has utterly squashed London. It has been a humiliating week for the UK and rather a triumphant one for the US.
