‘If we don’t discuss a new way to finance developing countries, they will stay poor for more than 100 years,’ he said. On Friday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva urged the creation of a new financing model to address sustainable development challenges and the global climate crisis.

“If we don’t discuss a new way to finance developing countries—especially the poorest in Africa and Latin America—they will stay poor for more than 100 years,” he said during his opening speech at the 10th meeting of the New Development Bank (NDB) in Rio de Janeiro.

Lula highlighted that the NDB, established at the 2014 Fortaleza Summit in Brazil, has proven to be an inclusive multilateral financial forum capable of driving this effort. “Its main role is to create new financing formats,” he said, stressing the need for a more independent financial system by increasing the use of local currencies.

“It is essential that BRICS countries use their own currencies in financial operations, as we are already doing with 31% of NDB-funded projects,” the Brazilian leader said, noting that this distinguishes the NDB from other international financial institutions.

Lula also emphasized the need for new funding mechanisms to combat the climate crisis, pointing out that wealthy nations have failed to meet their 2009 Copenhagen Summit pledge to provide $100 billion annually to poorer countries for climate action.

He expressed concern for tropical forest nations like Congo, Indonesia, and Amazonian countries, reiterating the need to support Indigenous peoples and local communities protecting these resources.

NDB President Dilma Rousseff echoed this sentiment, stating that climate financing “must be more than just a promise—it must be a concrete mechanism for adaptation, energy transition, and resilience,” particularly in nations most affected by extreme weather.

Rousseff stressed that the NDB “must be at the forefront” of this effort by increasing investments in green projects.

The NDB, founded by BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), finances infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member states and other emerging economies.

The text reads, “President Lula participates in the annual meeting of the New Development Bank (NDB).“

Brazil’s BRICS Priorities

This year, Lula outlined two core priorities for BRICS: advancing South-South cooperation to overcome structural inequalities and build strategic autonomy, while forging alliances for balanced, sustainable economic, social, and environmental development. Brazil has identified six key action areas:

1. Global Health Cooperation – Strengthening equitable access to medicines, vaccines, and health technologies, as well as bolstering the Global South’s health sovereignty against Western pharmaceutical dominance.

2. Trade, Investment, and Finance – Boosting BRICS trade flows, expanding local currency use in international exchanges, and reinforcing the NDB as an alternative to the IMF and World Bank.

3. Climate Change – Pushing for a unified BRICS stance in multilateral forums, focused on climate justice, Amazon protection, green financing, and technology transfer.

4. AI Governance – Advocating for global AI rules that respect human rights, cultural diversity, and sovereign development of applications.

5. Multilateral Peace and Security – Demanding structural U.N. and Security Council reforms to include more Global South representation and negotiated conflict resolutions.

6. BRICS Institutional Development – Strengthening the bloc’s operational structures, refining expansion mechanisms, and establishing a permanent secretariat.

The Republican politician called the idea ‘ridiculous,’ adding that it would cause confusion and chaos. U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s threats to form a third political party to rival Democrats and Republicans.

“I’m saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump said and called that idea “ridiculous,” adding that it would cause confusion.

The feud between the two billionaires began in early June after Musk blasted Trump’s landmark One Big Beautiful Bill, a gargantuan tax and spending package that Trump signed into law on Friday, the Independence Day.

Musk lambasted the legislation, saying it could add trillions of U.S. dollars to the national debt. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” he said.

In response, Trump posted on social media that third parties “have never succeeded in the United States,” adding that “the one thing (they) are good for is the creation of complete and total disruption & chaos.”

In reaction to these statements, some political analysts have commented on the viability of the formation of a new partican with the capacity to become an effective third electoral option in the United States.

“Right now, Republicans have narrow margins in both chambers of Congress. If Musk were to fund primary challengers or independent general election candidates… that could cost Republicans in next year’s midterms. Building a real party, rather than a vanity project, would involve finding and running credible candidates up and down the ballot, for unglamorous offices like school board and city council,” said Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College.

“Things like this have been tried not very long ago… The problem is that a political party needs a core idea. This venture would have to attract people younger than 45 who are already politicians on some level, and who have real political talent. If Musk were to just concentrate on knocking out specific Republican senators and members, that would be a slightly better plan than starting a new political party,” said Clay Ramsay, a researcher at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland.

“There are lots of people who would like choices between the two major parties. Each has moved to the extremes and does not represent the broad swathe of America. He needs to find someone to lead the party who could appeal to more people,” said Darrell West, a Brookings Institution senior fellow.

In 2024, Juraj Cintula, a 72-year-old retired man, fired five shots at Fico, causing serious injuries to his abdomen and hip. On Tuesday, Juraj Cintula, the man who shot Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in 2024, refused to testify as his trial began at the Specialized Criminal Court in Banska Bystrica.

Though he declined to speak, Cintula expressed disagreement with the reclassification of the charges against him. What was initially classified as premeditated attempted murder of a protected person has now been elevated to terrorism.

Prior to the trial’s opening, the defense unsuccessfully attempted to reach a plea deal with prosecutors, proposing a 12-year prison sentence. However, the prosecution maintained that no such agreement was possible due to the severity of the charges.

Cintula, a 72-year-old retired man, fired five shots at Fico, causing serious injuries to the prime minister’s abdomen and hip, including damage to the large intestine and soft tissue of the bladder.

The attack took place May 15, 2024, as Fico was leaving a Cabinet meeting in the town of Handlova. He was approaching a group of citizens gathered in front of the House of Culture when the shooter opened fire.

The text reads, “This Tuesday begins the trial of Juraj Cintula, a 72-year-old leftist who shot Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in May 2024. The man, who claims to have no regrets, faces life in prison.”

During the trial, the court heard a recording of Fico’s statement, along with testimony from journalists who filmed the incident, additional eyewitnesses, and medical and psychological experts. “Long live free culture, long live democracy,” Cintula shouted upon arriving at the courthouse.

If convicted, he faces a sentence ranging from 25 years to life in prison. The proceedings, held under tight security, are considered among the most significant in the recent history of the Central European country of 5.5 million people. The case file includes more than 6,200 pages spread across 18 volumes. Cintula is being tried alone, as he acted without accomplices.

While Cintula’s role in the attack is not in question, his motivation is expected to become one of the trial’s key issues. He used phrases similar to those voiced by opposition parties during protests held before the shooting, prompting the government to accuse the political opposition of paving the way for the attack by creating a “climate of hate” and fostering polarization.

The opposition, for its part, blames Fico for the country’s political division and criticizes his combative rhetoric. The trial is set to resume Wednesday.

Caracas, Jul 10 (Prensa Latina) The electoral campaign for the July 27 elections to elect mayors and councilmen will officially begin tomorrow, Friday, announced the secretary general of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello.

In his Wednesday night program Con el Mazo Dando, the political leader pointed out that 335 mayors and 2,471 councilors will be elected for this electoral process -the 33rd since the arrival of the Bolivarian Revolution- with an equal number of alternates.

He added that in parallel, on Sunday, July 27, the youth will vote in a popular consultation for 37 thousand projects that were presented, discussed and evaluated by the youth in the assemblies of their communities.

The PSUV leader described this exercise as “participative and protagonist democracy”.

Commenting on the opposition sectors, Cabello stated that “they lost control of the territory” and, what they had, they will end up losing because of the “political stupidity of not participating in the elections”.

He predicted that in the elections at the end of July “the panorama that is foreseen is that the Revolution will win the 335 mayoralties”.

The head of the Unified Command of the Bolivarian Revolution, Jorge Rodríguez, predicted weeks ago the triumph of the forces of the Simón Bolívar Great Patriotic Pole (Gppsb) in all the mayoralties, for which they have been preparing themselves organizationally.

In the regional elections of last May, the Gppsb obtained an overwhelming triumph in the governorships by winning in 23 of the 24 states of the country, while it dominated by ample majority the number of seats in the National Assembly.

Cabello disqualified the reiterated message of opposition leader María Corina Machado that the Bolivarian government is going to fall and about alleged setbacks, to which he responded that in the last years there has been a process of consolidation of the Popular Power around the victories of the revolutionary forces.

She assured that nobody believes her anymore, which is evidenced by the data reflected in the polls in which her popularity is low and going downhill.

The National Electoral Council planned the electoral campaign from July 11 to 24, in which 53 political formations will participate, divided into 36 national political parties, 10 regional ones, three national indigenous organizations and four regional ones.

Of the total number of councilmen, 1,420 candidates will be elected by list vote, equivalent to 60 percent; 982 by nominal suffrage, 40 percent, and another 69 will represent the native peoples.

For these municipal elections, 21 million 524 thousand 126 voters are summoned, of which 227 thousand 281 will vote abroad.