Brics without straw

No-shows by Xi and Putin underscore the difficulties of a bloc that once sought to reshape world politics View in browser James Kynge • Tuesday 8 July 2025 Dear friend, Welcome to today's Sensemaker. Long stories short Israel's defence minister outlined plans to confine Gazans to one part of the strip. The first part of the public inquiry's report into the Post Office IT scandal is due today. A charity cut ties with the author of the Salt Path over claims of lies and deceit (more below). Brics without straw The annual summit of Brics, a growing world grouping seen as the Global South's answer to the G7, met in Rio on Sunday and Monday. But its two heaviest hitters stayed away. So what? Presidents Xi and Putin were absent at a time when the coalition faces the toughest test of its relevance since it was founded in 2009, even as it expands. The 11 members of Brics account for about 40 per cent of global GDP, and their average growth rate remains significantly ahead of the rest of the world. But the Rio summit faced critical challenges including last year's addition of Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Indonesia, which has brought fresh divisions and entrenched old ones; wars in the Middle East and Ukraine; and Donald Trump's tariff threats. Xi's no-show. China is by far the largest Brics economy and styles itself as a leader of the developing world. So Xi not turning up for the first time in more than a decade, without a credible excuse, has to be seen as a downgrading of the importance Beijing accords the group. Lula's loss. Xi's absence was particularly felt by Brazil's president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has ambitions to bolster his country's leadership role within Brics and among developing countries seeking the democratisation of the international system. Putin's absence. Putin, Xi's closest ally in Brics, beamed in by video link to claim the liberal order is "obsolete". He faced arrest if he travelled to Brazil in person since the country is part of the International Criminal Court, which has an outstanding warrant for Putin for the alleged abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children. Another Bric in the wall. The grouping called the bombing of Iran, one of its new faces, a "blatant breach of international law" but didn't mention the US or Israel by name – an indicator of the limited influence of Brics, which cannot back up statements with policies. Autocratic drift. The more than doubling of Brics membership last year, largely driven by China, drew concerns from members such as India and Brazil because it tilts the grouping much further towards autocracy. Among the new members, only Indonesia is a democracy, while Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and the UAE are authoritarian states in varying degrees. Competing loyalties. The Saudis and Emiratis, meanwhile, are staunch military allies of the US, while India is also stepping up its defence partnerships with the West. This has further fragmented a bloc that was already struggling for cohesion. At an earlier meeting in April, its foreign ministers failed to agree on a final statement. And yet. The grouping remains useful politically, especially to Russia. Its statement – signed off by two key American allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE – barely mentioned Russia's actions in Ukraine, beyond calling for a "sustainable peace settlement" and criticising Ukraine's strikes on Russian infrastructure in May and June. For developing nations, the bloc still represents the most credible alternative to the US-led West and is a useful forum for expressing dissatisfaction with the current world order. Around 30 countries have applied to join or expressed interest in joining, including Malaysia, Bangladesh and Turkey, a NATO member. Talk of the town. While its statement covered everything from AI and food production to boosting the representation of the Global South in multilateral institutions, Trump's trade policies took up much of the summit's attention. The bloc lamented "unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures", but did not directly call out the Trump administration – another pulled punch. That's unlikely to stop Trump… In fact, he immediately hit back with a threat to impose extra duties of 10 per cent on countries that align themselves with "anti-American policies". The Observer News Matrix Postcard from SW19 For a while yesterday, the world turned upside down. Novak Djokovic was collapsing in on himself like a dying star. There was a faint whiff of a failing dynasty in the air. Wimbledon's Centre Court, beside itself with pre-grief, mumbled and grumbled with even greater vigour than usual. Alex de Minaur, the Australian 11th seed best known to British audiences as Katie Boulter's floppy-haired fiancé, was making the greatest men's player ever look average. It was Djokovic's first time losing a set 6-1 at Wimbledon. After going two breaks behind one suspected he might be trying to conserve his energy – but even that was concerning enough. He has never been one to cede opponents an atom's width, let alone an entire set. Read George Simms' report from day eight at the Championships. The Nibs Capital Economy, business and finance Tariff pause After muscling his signature tax bill through Congress last week, Donald Trump has turned his attention back to his global trade war. His delayed "reciprocal" tariffs of up to 50 per cent, announced in April, were supposed to swing into effect on Wednesday. This deadline has now been pushed back to 1 August. His administration had promised to sign 90 deals in 90 days, but it has struggled to finalise agreements and has delayed imposing tariffs several times. So far the US has struck deals with just two countries: the UK and Vietnam, which won tariff reprieves after agreeing to open up their markets. A truce with China also saw both countries pause sky-high retaliatory tariffs. On Monday, Trump started sending letters to other countries, telling them to strike a deal before the new August deadline expires. US stocks sank by one per cent in response. Technology AI, science and new things Cold sweat Scientists at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University have developed a cement-based paint that keeps buildings cool by "sweating". Several cooling paints already exist. These lower temperatures by emitting heat as infrared radiation or by reflecting sunlight. The new paint, known as CCP-30, does both of these things while also absorbing water when it rains. As this water evaporates, it removes heat from the surface of the building, just as sweat cools the human body when it evaporates from the skin. In a trial, it proved 10 times more effective than existing radiative cooling paints and reduced the electricity consumed by air-conditioning and fans by 30 to 40 per cent. It is also 10 to 30 times cheaper and has a lower carbon footprint, partly because it requires fewer coats. Ideal for damp islands that suddenly heat up. The 100-year life Health, education and government Cruelly tricked A paramedic has been jailed for more than 10 years for giving a pregnant woman abortion drugs without her knowledge. Stephen Doohan was married when he met the victim while on holiday in Spain in 2021. Afterwards they struck up a long-distance relationship. When she found out she was pregnant with his child in 2023, she visited Doohan in Edinburgh. She then had a miscarriage after he inserted the abortion pills into her vagina during consensual sex. The victim, who identified the medication after finding some of the tablets under Doohan's bed, reported him to the ambulance service, who passed the information to the police. Doohan pleaded guilty to assault, sexual assault, and causing the woman to have an abortion. The judge told Doohan his crimes were "almost as serious as any this court is ever asked to sentence". Our planet Climate and geopolitics Patriot games Russia pounded Ukraine with the biggest aerial bombardment of the war on Friday, launching 539 drones and 11 missiles. Most were directed at Kyiv, whose residents spent hours sheltering in tube stations and other sites. It was the latest in a string of attacks, which have intensified in recent weeks. Drones are lumbering weapons and can be shot down relatively easily: only 72 made it past Ukraine's air defences. But missiles travel much faster. Ukraine could fend them off more effectively if it had more US-made Patriot air defence systems. But Donald Trump has halted the supply of several critical weapons to Kyiv, including 30 Patriot missiles, claiming US stockpiles are too low. Volodymyr Zelensky raised Patriot missiles in a call with the US president on Saturday. He said the pair had agreed to strengthen Ukraine's air defences but did not secure any guarantees, meaning Ukraine remains vulnerable. Culture Society, identity and belonging Playing it cool The ancient Romans valued rhetoric, valour and seriousness. Dandies of the 19th century placed great emphasis on personal grooming. Now an international team of researchers say they have identified the attributes that make someone "cool". According to the study, the attributes are: being hedonistic, extroverted, powerful, autonomous, open and adventurous. These contrast with the qualities of "good" people, who tend to be conformist, warm, agreeable, conscientious and calm. The research is based on a survey of 6,000 people in a dozen countries, ranging from Australia and Nigeria to Turkey and China. Each participant was asked to think of someone they think of as "cool", "uncool", "good" or "not good". They then rated their personalities and values. When it came to coolness, there was surprisingly little variation between countries, suggesting "the meaning of cool has crystallised on a similar set of values and traits around the globe," the researchers wrote. And finally… On Saturday, The Observer published an investigation into lies and deceit behind the Salt Path, a book about a couple who walked England's coastal path that was recently adapted into a film. In response, the PSP Association has cut ties with the pair. The charity promotes research into progressive supranuclear palsy, similar to the condition supposedly afflicting Moth Winn in the book. It said it had worked with them in "good faith" but added "too many questions currently remain unanswered". Thanks for reading. Please tell your friends to sign up and tell us what you think. James Kynge james.kynge@observer.co.uk Additional reporting by Fred Harter, Stephen Armstrong, Phoebe Davis and Nina Kuryata. Edited by Fred Harter and Xavier Greenwood.     More from The Observer The Slow Newscast The mystery of Francis Bacon's minder The story of how a boxing match helped solve a 50-year art world mystery Click here to listen → Follow Follow The Observer on social media on your preferred platform:   The Observer     The Observer Food Monthly The Observer Magazine The Observer New Review   Listen Listen for free in the Tortoise app or wherever you get your podcasts: Want to change how you receive these emails? Update email preferences Copyright © 2025 Tortoise Media. All rights reserved. Did this email get caught in your spam filter? 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