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Putin Faces Calls For Peace At BRICS Summit

Published

11 months ago

October 24, 2024

Editor

World leaders called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine at the BRICS summit in Russia on Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin told them he welcomed offers to mediate in the Ukraine conflict.

The Russian leader is casting the gathering as a sign that Western attempts to isolate Moscow have failed, but faced direct calls to end the Ukraine conflict from some of his closest and most important partners.

The meeting of around 20 world leaders in the central city of Kazan is the largest diplomatic forum held in Russia since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.

Starting in 2009 with four members — Brazil, Russia, India and China — BRICS has expanded to include other emerging nations such as South Africa, Egypt and Iran.

In a joint statement, the group said it was “deeply concerned about ongoing conflicts and instability in the Middle East and North African region.”

It also criticised Israeli attacks on UN staff in southern Lebanon and urged that Lebanon’s “territorial integrity” be “preserved.”

At a plenary session earlier on Wednesday, leaders had lined up to call for peace in both the Middle East and Ukraine.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian urged BRICS members to “use all their collective and individual capacities to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Xi repeated his call for a ceasefire, saying: “We need to… stop the killing and work tirelessly for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue.”

And Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also called for escalation in both the Middle East and Ukraine to be avoided.

“As we face two wars that have the potential to become global, it is essential to restore our ability to work together toward common goals,” he said in an address to the summit via video conference.

– Mediation offers –

The European Union on Wednesday urged BRICS members to use to forum to pressure Putin to “immediately” halt his offensive on Ukraine.

In private bilateral talks, Putin welcomed offers by several BRICS leaders to mediate in Ukraine, even as he told them his forces were advancing on the battlefield, his spokesman said Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters Putin had also used the meetings to tout “the very positive dynamics on the front for the Russian armed forces”.

Russian troops have been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine for much of 2024, though neither side has been able to make a decisive breakthrough.

Xi, a key Putin ally, told the summit there must be “no escalation of fighting” in Ukraine.

“We must adhere to the three principles of ‘no spillover from the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no adding oil to the fire by relevant parties’, so as to ease the situation as soon as possible,” Xi said.

Without referring to any specific conflict, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also issued a call for peace.

“We support dialogue and diplomacy, not war,” he said.

Brazil’s Lula said it was “crucial” to open peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

– Multipolar order –

Xi and Modi have previously touted their own peace initiatives for Ukraine, though there has appeared to be little progress.

Putin has demanded Ukraine effectively capitulate by ceding more territory in its east and south as a precondition to ceasefire talks.

Kyiv has ruled out giving up land in exchange for peace and currently occupies part of Russian territory following a brazen cross-border summer offensive.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also casting himself as a possible peacemaker, will hold talks with Putin later on Wednesday, while UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will meet the Kremlin leader a day later.

Moscow sees the BRICS platform as an alternative to Western-led international organisations like the G7.

In opening remarks to the summit, Putin said the process of “forming a multipolar world order is underway, a dynamic and irreversible process.”

Xi and Modi also used the summit to hold their first formal meeting in five years, days after the neighbouring countries reached a deal on their contested border. .

Xi said it was their “fundamental interests” that the two sides “strengthen communication and cooperation”.

The BRICS group also called for the Global South to be given a bigger role on the world stage and more deeply integrated into international “decision-making” platforms.

AFP

Headline

Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

Published

11 hours ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year, following a similar government demand to split up its empire that was shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.

Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

According to filings, the US government will argue that Google should spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations. The DOJ will also ask that after the divestitures are complete, Google be banned from operating an ad exchange for 10 years.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

“We’ve said from the start that DOJ’s case misunderstands how digital advertising works and ignores how the landscape has dramatically evolved, with increasing competition and new entrants,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.

Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

This remedy phase of the US trial follows a first trial that found Google operated an illegal monopoly. It is expected to last about a week, with the court set to meet again for closing arguments a few weeks later.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.

Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.

Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

AFP

Headline

Google Faces Court Battle Over Breakup Of Ad Tech Business

Published

11 hours ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Google faces a fresh federal court test on Monday as US government lawyers ask a judge to order the breakup of the search engine giant’s ad technology business.

The lawsuit is Google’s second such test this year after the California-based tech juggernaut saw a similar government demand to split up its empire shot down by a judge earlier this month.

Monday’s case focuses specifically on Google’s ad tech “stack” — the tools that website publishers use to sell ads and that advertisers use to buy them.

In a landmark decision earlier this year, Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google maintained an illegal grip on this market.
Monday’s trial is set to determine what penalties and changes Google must implement to undo its monopoly.

Google will argue that the divestiture demands go far beyond the court’s findings, are technically unfeasible, and would be harmful to the market and smaller businesses.

In a similar case in Europe, the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust enforcer, earlier this month fined Google 2.95 billion euros ($3.47 billion) over its control of the ad tech market.
Brussels ordered behavioral changes, drawing criticism that it was going easy on Google as it had previously indicated that a divestiture may be necessary.

The trial begins in the same month that a separate judge rejected a government demand that Google divest its Chrome browser, in an opinion that was largely seen as a victory for the tech giant.

That was part of a different case, also brought by the US Department of Justice, in which the tech giant was found responsible for operating an illegal monopoly, this time in the online search space.
Instead of a major breakup of its business, Google was required to share data with rivals as part of its remedies.

The US government had pushed for Chrome’s divestment, arguing the browser serves as a crucial gateway to the internet that brings in a third of all Google web searches.
Shares in Google-parent Alphabet have skyrocketed by more than 20 percent since that decision.

Judge Brinkema has said in pre-trial hearings that she will closely examine the outcome of the search trial when assessing her path forward in her own case.

These cases are part of a broader bipartisan government campaign against the world’s largest technology companies. The US currently has five pending antitrust cases against such companies.

Headline

Peru Anti-government Protesters Clash With Police

Published

1 day ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Hundreds of anti-government protesters clashed with police in the Peruvian capital Lima on Saturday, throwing stones and sticks as officers fired tear gas on the demonstrators, AFP journalists reported.

The protest, organized by a youth collective called “Generation Z”, is part of growing social unrest in Peru against organized crime, corruption in public office, and a recent pension reform.

“Today, there is less democracy than before. It’s getting worse… because of fear, because of extortion,” said 54-year-old protester Gladys, who declined to give her last name.

Around 500 people gathered in the city center, under heavy police presence.

“Congress has no credibility, it doesn’t even have the approval of the people… It is wreaking havoc in this country,” said protester Celene Amasifuen.

The clashes broke out as demonstrators tried to approach executive and congressional buildings in Lima.

The radio station Exitosa said that its reporter and a cameraman were hit by pellets, commonly fired by law enforcement.

Police said at least three officers were wounded.

Approval ratings for President Dina Boluarte, whose term ends next year, have plummeted amid rising extortion and organized crime cases.

Several opinion polls show the government and conservative-majority Congress are seen by many as corrupt institutions.

This week, the legislature passed a law requiring young adults to join a private pension fund, despite many facing a precarious working environment.