With more ASEAN states expressing interest in and considering joining the group of emerging economies BRICS, analysts have also raised concerns that this may lead to an overdependence on China

The BRICS emerging-market nations — the acronym stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has gone from a slogan dreamed up at an investment bank two decades ago to a real-world club that controls a multilateral lender

NATO pledged further comprehensive support to Ukraine at the meeting in Washington. The NATO center in the city of Wiesbaden in Germany will play an important role in the future.

Today one can see an increasingly divided NATO, which does not possess a clear view on the challenges of dual containment. With Ukraine’s fatigue lingering on, and the specter of Biden’s senility and a new Trump presidency, the idea of pivoting east is gaining traction - however important allies within the Alliance will challenge that notion.

The bloc's meeting failed to reach any consensus on actual changes, with the only decision by members being to continue the proxy war with Russia.

The new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fully supports the use of UK-sourced "Storm Shadow" air-launched cruise missiles against targets within Russia's undisputed territory, with no apparent limitations. Starmer's Labour Party won the general election on July 4, with him confirmed as the new PM on July 5. Just four days later, he reiterated that the British government supports the unrestricted use of its long-range weapons against Moscow.