INDONESIA has become a full member of Brics, Brazil, which holds the bloc’s presidency for this year, has announced.
Jakarta’s candidacy was endorsed by Brics leaders in August 2023, according to a statement by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry on Monday.
However, the world’s fourth-most populous nation opted to formally join the bloc only after the formation of its newly electedayd government last year.
The 25th anniversary meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation in the Kyrgyz capital may offer a glimmer of hope that international relations do not need to be defined by endless confrontation, writes KENNY COYLE
Sovereignty and the rule of law are under threat from Trump’s attacks on Lula’s administration just as they have been across Latin America, argue CARLOS MARTINEZ and SARA VIVACQUA


