Russia Hosts | Leaders of 32 countries will gather in the southwestern Russia city of Kazan today to attend the BRICS summit in a show of defiance to European efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. While the grouping wants to present itself as a counterweight to the EU and the US, its members are struggling to identify a direction for the group or agree on its membership, including potentially Turkey’s. Tight Vote | Moldovans voted in favor of opening a path to EU membership, but only by a razor-thin margin, highlighting a divide in the country over whether its future belongs with the West or with Russia. Some 50.5% of Moldovans voted in favor of the measure, with a margin of around than 13,000 votes, many of which came from Moldovans living abroad. Secret Insurers | Russian oil tankers are increasingly turning to shadowy methods to get insurance, which includes turning to local insurers and those based in Cameroon and Kyrgyzstan in a bid to circumvent Western sanctions. The new arrangements cast doubt over how payouts will be made, and whether they will be on time, in case something goes wrong. It’s also unclear what would happen if there’s a spill. ‘Poor’ China | EU officials will challenge Beijing at the upcoming UN climate negotiations over its insistence that it’s still a “developing” country. That status exempts China from paying into a $100 billion kitty to assist countries in meeting their climate goals. That irks the EU, which is looking to China for help as it negotiates with countries that want to expand the fund to $1 trillion a year. |