SOLOMON HUGHES highlights a 1995 Sunday Times story about the disappearance of ‘defecting Iraqi nuclear scientist.’ Even though the story was debunked, it was widely repeated across the mainstream press, creating the false – and deadly – narrative of Iraqi WMD that eventually led to war
Time will tell what the future holds for Brics
Self-organisation, reducing dependency on the dollar, and possibly expanding the number of member states were all up for discussion at the Brics summit in Johannesburg earlier this week, writes TONY BURKE

ECONOMIST Jim O’Neill (now Lord O’Neill) originally coined the phrase “Brics” in a 2001 Goldman Sachs economic paper, The World Needs Better Economic Brics, which discussed the prospects for four emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Brics soon became a term used by journalists, pundits and politicians as a soundbite and buzz-phrase.
Last week in Johannesburg, South Africa, this year’s conference of the Brics countries took place and the media sat up and took note.
More from this author

How underground bands formed a vital part of the struggle against white supremacy

New releases by Samba Touré, Santrofi, and Piers Faccini & Ballake Sissoko

The towering figures of the North American right and the South American left are set to clash this summer as Brazil hosts Brics, an alliance Trump is determined to smash, reports TONY BURKE

The looming Trump presidency has forced unions to rebuild their unity and strength, writes TONY BURKE, as the SEIU returns to the AFL-CIO, healing the 2005 rift over organising priorities and getting ready to fight the right together
Similar stories

The towering figures of the North American right and the South American left are set to clash this summer as Brazil hosts Brics, an alliance Trump is determined to smash, reports TONY BURKE

JENNY CLEGG sets out and then responds to eight key doubts about the Brics+ alliance in light of the developments at Kazan, arguing it represents a significant challenge to US hegemony and provides a path towards a multipolar world

Thirty-six countries, representing over half of the global population, gathered in Russia to discuss a new financial and economic infrastructure for the world. The potential impact could be immense in the long run, writes MARC VANDEPITTE