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Polaris of Enlightenment

The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

The Nordic Times

The Nordic Times

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https://nordictimes.com/world/argentinas-brics-rejection-a-gamble-amid-economic-turmoil/

World

Argentina’s BRICS rejection: A gamble amid economic turmoil

Updated November 29, 2023, Published November 29, 2023 – By Sukanya Saha
3 minute read
Sukanya Saha
sukanya.saha@nordictimes.com

In the labyrinth of Argentina's economic woes, President Javier Milei's recent rejection of BRICS membership adds a new layer of complexity to the nation's uphill battle against inflation, dwindling foreign reserves, and a looming debt crisis.

Argentina's economic narrative reads like a tale of multiple currencies and a precarious financial tightrope. With inflation rates soaring well above 140 per cent, and an official exchange rate at odds with the elusive "blue dollar," Argentina's economic landscape is a patchwork of uncertainty.

The recent decision to pay international debts in Chinese yuan, leveraging a standing swap line with China, reflects the urgency and creativity required to navigate this financial maze.

As Argentina grapples with a severe shortage of foreign exchange, exacerbated by drought conditions and a poor harvest, the rejection of BRICS+ membership raises eyebrows. The BRICS alliance, with its economic prowess and diverse resources, could potentially offer Argentina a lifeline to weather the storm.

One of the primary advantages of BRICS+ membership lies in the access to a diverse array of markets and resources. For a nation like Argentina, grappling with inflation and a shortage of foreign exchange reserves, the benefits of aligning with a coalition of emerging economic giants are hard to ignore. These nations collectively represent a vast consumer market and a rich tapestry of industries, offering Argentina the prospect of new trade avenues and investment opportunities.

President Milei's libertarian ideals emphasise a minimalistic approach to government intervention, but the rejection of BRICS+ raises questions about the administration's commitment to fostering economic growth. In an era where economic interdependence is the norm, opting for isolation might hinder Argentina's ability to attract foreign investment and forge mutually beneficial partnerships.

It's also crucial to consider the geopolitical chessboard. In rejecting BRICS+, Argentina may find itself sidelined in discussions that shape the rules of the global economic game. As this alliance solidifies its influence, decisions made within its confines could impact trade agreements, currency valuations, and economic policies worldwide. By refusing a seat at this table, Argentina may inadvertently forfeit a voice in shaping the rules that govern its economic destiny.

However, President Milei's administration appears to be steering towards economic autonomy, even as the nation faces the pressing need for external support.

The urgent need for Argentina is crystal clear: reduce inflation. Yet, the path to achieving this goal is riddled with challenges. The central bank, burdened with short-term, peso-denominated treasury bills and a precarious interest income scenario, must navigate the balance between controlling inflation and preventing a currency freefall.

The question of debt is paramount. Argentina's outstanding international bonds, valued at a mere 30 cents on the dollar, signal an impending restructuring. While the global market might not be shocked by Argentina's restructuring, the country's $45 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) underscores the critical importance of a realistic repayment plan.

Argentina's actions and policies resonate far beyond its borders, influencing the IMF's lending approach and potentially setting legal precedents in sovereign debt enforcement.

The real-world experiment lies in the hands of the Argentine president. If Milei's proposal to dollarise the economy becomes reality, it could redefine the understanding of a country's debt carrying capacity. Dollarisation may offer a semblance of stability, but the risk of a deep default looms large, turning all domestic debts into a claim on Argentina's non-existent dollar reserves.

In rejecting BRICS+, Argentina appears to be charting its own course. Whether this bold move proves to be a masterstroke or a miscalculation remains to be seen. As the world watches, Argentina stands at the intersection of economic uncertainty and the quest for autonomy, navigating uncharted waters with the hopes of finding a solution that will reshape its destiny.

Sukanya Saha
sukanya.saha@nordictimes.com
Sukanya Saha is a contributing editor at The Nordic Times. Based in New Delhi, she is an accomplished journalist who has previously worked with several major Indian media outlets such as NDTV, India Today, IANS, and Jagran English. Currently, she is associated with Hindustan Times. In 2022, she topped the BRICS International Journalism Programme from India. Committed to understanding the complex dynamics that shape our world, Sukanya's passions range from world politics to science and space exploration.

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https://nordictimes.com/world/us-excludes-south-africa-from-g20/

World

US Excludes South Africa from G20

Donald Trump's USA

Published November 27, 2025 – By Editorial staff
South Africa will not receive an invitation to the 2026 G20 meeting if Donald Trump gets his way.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

US President Donald Trump announces that South Africa will not be invited to next year's G20 summit in Miami. The decision follows serious allegations of an ongoing genocide against South Africa's white minority.

Trump claims that systematic attacks and murders of white farmers in South Africa have occurred under the government's silence.

In a post on Truth Social, he writes: "They are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them".

He directly links the allegations to his decision: "At my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year".

Trump adds that the US will also stop all payments and subsidies to South Africa. He also criticizes American media, which he accuses of remaining silent about what he calls genocide.

Among others, the American president singles out The New York Times as particularly complicit through their silence.

Ramaphosa rejects the allegations

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and other representatives strongly reject the picture of an ongoing genocide.

— That is not the government's policy, Ramaphosa said in May this year, when the issue of land seizures and violence against white farmers came up during a meeting with Trump at the White House.

Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump during the spring meeting at the White House. Photo: screenshot/White House

Both politicians and courts in South Africa have consistently denied that there is a targeted genocide against white people in the country.

According to the president's spokesman Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa noted Trump's "regrettable statement" and rejected claims that South Africa does not deserve its place in the G20.

— As a founding member of the G20, South Africa values consensus, collaboration and partnership, Magwenya explained.

The G20 group consists of 19 countries, the EU and the African Union. This year's summit in South Africa was conducted without the presence of high-ranking American representatives, after Trump refused to back down from his allegations.

Next year's G20 meeting will be held at Trump National Doral, the family company's golf resort outside Miami.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/russia-producing-weapons-in-volumes-adversaries-couldnt-have-dreamed-of/

World

Russia producing weapons in volumes adversaries “couldn’t have dreamed of”

The war in Ukraine

Published November 26, 2025 – By Editorial staff
Sergei Chemezov is the head of Rostec, the Russian state-owned defense conglomerate.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Russia's defense industry is now manufacturing more artillery shells and aerial bombs than any other country in the world, according to Sergey Chemezov, head of the state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec. Production has increased dramatically since the conflict in Ukraine escalated in 2022.

In an interview with the news agency TASS, published on Tuesday, Chemezov outlines a significant escalation in weapons manufacturing, writes RT.

— We are supplying aircraft, tanks, infantry vehicles, howitzers, electronic warfare systems, drones and much more in enormous quantities. No country in the world today produces as many shells and aerial bombs, he says.

Chemezov states that he cannot provide exact figures but notes that the production volumes are such that the country's adversaries "could not have dreamed of".

Production multiplied many times over

Russian officials have repeatedly highlighted the increased defense production over the past three years. In May 2024, President Vladimir Putin stated that ammunition manufacturing had increased fourteenfold since the military operation began, while drone production had quadrupled and the production of armored vehicles increased 3.5 times.

Russia has consistently condemned Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, arguing that they only prolong the conflict without affecting its ultimate outcome.

Kremlin open to negotiations

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated on Tuesday that Russia wants to achieve its goals "through political and diplomatic means" and that the country remains "completely open to a negotiation process". At the same time, Moscow accuses Kiev of wanting to continue the fighting, backed by its Western allies.

Russia has also accused the EU and Britain of obstructing ongoing peace efforts.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/american-academics-propose-nuclear-weapons-for-us-allies/

World

American academics propose nuclear weapons for US allies

Published November 24, 2025 – By Editorial staff
Professors Mark Raymond (left) and Moritz Graefrath write in a joint opinion piece that US allies should be allowed to acquire their own nuclear arsenals.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The American journal Foreign Affairs has published a debate article by two professors at the University of Oklahoma that challenges prevailing security policy principles. The professors suggest that the United States' closest allies should consider acquiring nuclear weapons themselves.

The article, authored by professors Moritz S. Graefrath and Mark A. Raymond, has received extensive international attention and sparked controversy, though no Western country has yet officially endorsed the proposal.

In the widely discussed text, the duo argues that countries such as Canada, Germany, and Japan have both the technical capacity and security interests to develop nuclear weapons themselves – thereby reducing their dependence on US military protection.

The article states that "America’s allies should go nuclear. Selective proliferation will strengthen the global order, not end it".

The text highlights that these countries already participate in advanced military cooperation with the US and have access to the resources required for developing nuclear weapons.

The authors continue: "What the three allies would need – and what the United States can and should provide – is public support and diplomatic cover for their transition to becoming nuclear-armed states, as well as technical and doctrinal guidance to ensure robust command and control safeguards".

The debate surrounding the article has quickly gained momentum, and so far none of the countries mentioned in the text have officially endorsed the proposal, instead maintaining strong support for international disarmament and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Critical reactions

Germany, for example, based on official statements, policy decisions and debate contributions, stands firm in its policy against nuclear proliferation and emphasizes that the country has no plans to change this principle.

Government representatives have expressed that Germany's position continues to support international disarmament agreements and that they reject all proposals to develop their own nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, American and European experts have criticized the authors' reasoning as risky and have warned that such a development could trigger a new global arms race.

The background to the Foreign Affairs article is the increased geopolitically tense situation, where US commitments regarding the so-called nuclear umbrella are being questioned in several places in Europe and Asia.

Several European leaders have recently requested discussions about independent deterrence and nuclear weapons cooperation within NATO.

The US and other nuclear powers have so far rejected such discussions, continuing to insist on diplomacy and disarmament as the fundamental strategy.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/world/marjorie-taylor-greene-leaves-congress-after-conflict-with-trump/

World

Marjorie Taylor Greene leaves Congress after conflict with Trump

Donald Trump's USA

Published November 23, 2025 – By Editorial staff
Marjorie Taylor Greene explained her withdrawal in a video on X.
3 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Marjorie Taylor Greene, formerly one of Donald Trump's most loyal allies in Congress, announced on Friday that she is resigning from the House of Representatives. She said she refused to be "a battered wife hoping everything goes away and gets better" and face a primary campaign against a Trump-backed challenger.

The resignation marks a dramatic turn for the Republican congresswoman from Georgia, who was once among Trump's closest allies and a vocal advocate for his "America First" agenda. The relationship between the two has deteriorated sharply in recent months, primarily due to disagreements over the release of investigation documents linked to American-Jewish sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a ten-minute video on social media, Greene explained that the decision to resign was due to the prospect of facing a Trump-backed Republican challenger in the primary and the risk of Democrats taking over the House of Representatives in next year's midterm elections. She also complained that Congress has largely been "sidelined" since Trump returned to the presidency in January.

— I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and don't want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me from the president we all fought for, only to then fight and win my election while Republicans likely lose the midterms, Greene said.

— I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better, she added.

Trump's reaction and internal concerns

In an interview with ABC News, Trump called Greene's resignation, which takes effect on January 5, "fantastic news for the country".

The conflict between Trump and Greene has raised concerns among some Republicans that Trump's "Make America Great Again" base could split ahead of the midterm elections, when Democrats hope to regain control of Congress.

Greene's resignation will reduce the Republican majority in the House of Representatives to 218 members versus the Democrats' 213. In the Senate, Republicans hold a 53-47 majority.

Growing independence from Trump

Recently, Greene has shown increased independence from Trump. She joined an initiative in the House of Representatives to force the release of Epstein documents despite Trump's objections, criticized party leadership for poor handling of healthcare costs during the recent government crisis, has demanded that the US stop sending American taxpayer money to the Ukraine war, and called Israel's attacks on Gaza genocide.

Trump, in turn, became increasingly critical. Before the House voted overwhelmingly to release the Epstein documents, he called her a "traitor" and "disgrace" to the Republican Party. He withdrew his support and called her a "ranting lunatic".

In her video, Greene defended her Epstein vote.

— Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for, she said.

Greene said she was proud of her conservative voting record and added, in a jab at Trump, that "loyalty should be a two-way street".

Greene won her district in northwestern Georgia with 64 percent of the vote in 2024.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com