The SCO & BRICS Play Complementary Roles In Gradually Transforming Global Governance
The SCO & BRICS Play Complementary Roles In Gradually Transforming Global Governance
The processes that are unfolding will take a lot of time to complete, perhaps even a generation or longer, so expectations of a swift transition to full-blown multipolarity should be tempered.
The recent SCO Leaders’ Summit in Tianjin drew renewed attention to this organization, which began as a means for settling border disputes between China and some former Soviet Republics but then evolved into a hybrid security-economic group. Around two dozen leaders attended the latest event, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who paid his first visit to China in seven years. Non-Western media heralded the summit as an inflection point in the global systemic transition to multipolarity.
While the SCO is more invigorated than ever given the nascent Sino-Indo rapprochement that the US was 
is nowadays a household name across the world, both organizations will only gradually transform global governance instead of abruptly like some expect. For starters, they’re comprised of very diverse members who can only realistically agree on broad points of cooperation, which are in any case strictly voluntary since nothing that they declare is legally binding.
What brings SCO and BRICS countries together, and there’s a growing overlap between them (both in terms of members and partners), is their shared goal of breaking the West’s de facto monopoly over global governance so that everything becomes fairer for the 
. To that end, they seek to accelerate financial multipolarity processes via BRICS so as to acquire the tangible influence required for implementing reforms, but this also requires averting future domestic instability scenarios via the SCO.
Nevertheless, the BRICS Bank 
for precisely that reason. As for the SCO, its intelligence-sharing mechanisms only concern unconventional threats (i.e. terrorism, separatism, and extremism) and are hamstrung to a large degree by the Indo-Pak rivalry, while sovereignty-related concerns prevent the group from becoming another “Warsaw Pact”.
Despite these limitations, the World Majority is still working more closely together than ever in pursuit of their goal of gradually transforming global governance, which has become especially urgent due to Trump 2.0’s casual use of force (against Iran and as threatened against Venezuela) and tariff wars. China is at the center of these efforts, but that doesn’t mean that it’ll dominate them, otherwise proudly sovereign India and Russia wouldn’t have gone along with this if they expected that to be the case.
The processes that are unfolding will take a lot of time to complete, perhaps even a generation or longer, due in no small part to leading countries like China’s and India’s complex economic interdependence with the West that can’t abruptly be ended without dealing immense damage to their own interests.
Observers should therefore temper any 
hopes of a swift transition to full-blown multipolarity in order to avoid being deeply disappointed and possibly becoming despondent as a result.
Looking forward, the future of global governance will be shaped by the struggle between the West and the World Majority, which respectively want to retain their de facto monopoly and gradually reform this system so that it returns to its UN-centric roots (albeit with some changes). Neither maximalist scenario might ultimately enter into force, however, so alternative institutions centered on specific regions like the SCO vis-à-vis Eurasia and the AU vis-à-vis Africa might gradually replace the UN in some regards.
Thu, 09/04/2025 - 05:00
The SCO & BRICS Play Complementary Roles In Gradually Transforming Global Governance
The processes that are unfolding will take a lot of time to complete, perhaps even a generation or longer, so expectations of a swift transition to...
The recent SCO Leaders’ Summit in Tianjin drew renewed attention to this organization, which began as a means for settling border disputes between China and some former Soviet Republics but then evolved into a hybrid security-economic group. Around two dozen leaders attended the latest event, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who paid his first visit to China in seven years. Non-Western media heralded the summit as an inflection point in the global systemic transition to multipolarity.
While the SCO is more invigorated than ever given the nascent Sino-Indo rapprochement that the US was US Pressure Might Inadvertently Bring India & China Back Together
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The World Majority envisages gradual and responsible reforms that elevate their roles in global governance with a view towards making International...
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Those who aren’t irredeemably brainwashed and sincerely aspire to understand the global systemic transition to multipolarity as it objectively ex...
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President Putin Cautioned Russian Strategic Forecasters Against Indulging In Wishful Thinking
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The SCO & BRICS Play Complementary Roles In Gradually Transforming Global Governance | ZeroHedge
ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
“The Greek state does not accept you. You only have one choice: to go back. 
Under the new law, which was championed by Mitsotakis, migrants who fail to leave the country after their asylum request is rejected face up to five years in prison and fines of up to 30,000 euros. The penalty for illegal entry is tripled to 10,000 euros. The deadline for leaving after being rejected was slashed from 25 days to 14, and authorities are now authorized to outfit rejected applicants with ankle monitors so they can be tracked until they leave, the 
Crete became a preferred dumping ground for migrant-smugglers after other European countries imposed 
"We will not stop the war until we defeat this enemy," he emphasized, in line with Prime Minister Netanyahu's priory of inflicting a total military defeat on the Islamist group behind the Oct.7, 2023 terror attack.
Soldiers and tanks were spotted pushing into Sheikh Radwan, one of the urban center's largest and most crowded neighborhoods, on Wednesday - with so far at least 24 Palestinians, some of them children, reported killed across the Gaza Strip.
For nearly two years there have been sprawling tent encampments on the edges of and within Gaza city, housing thousands of displaced, and these have been destroyed in the fresh military assault.
Addressing reservists at Nachshonim base, Zamir continued his his speech, "Hamas will have no place to hide from us. Wherever we locate them, whether they are senior or junior figures – we strike them all, all the time."
He described, "We have already begun the Gaza maneuver. We are already entering places we have never entered before and operating there with courage, strength, valor, and an extraordinary spirit."
The Gaza City assault is expected to worsen the Strip's already horrific internal refugee crisis and food crisis, after the UN and various monitoring groups have confirmed famine in some sectors. Dozens if not hundreds of civilians have already died of starvation.
Interestingly, amid anti-Netanyahu protests in major cities and even near his personal residence, some Israeli reservists are revolting, intentionally failing to report for duty. Haaretz 
Times of Israel is among those outlets framing this as retribution for the growing movement to recognize Palestine. "The small forum will also examine a range of possible responses to the expected wave of Western recognition at the UN later this month, including applying sovereignty over parts of the West Bank," the Tuesday 
But the ruling fell far short of some of the most contentious demands from the US government.
Mehta said Google would not have to divest from Chrome or Android.
"Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divesture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints," Mehta wrote in the Tuesday ruling.
Additionally, Mehta ruled that Google must hand over its search results and some of its data to rival companies
In another win for Google, the judge didn’t bar the company from making payments to third parties for default browser placement.
“Cutting off payments from Google almost certainly will impose substantial — in some cases, crippling — downstream harms to distribution partners, related markets, and consumers, which counsels against a broad payment ban,” the judge wrote.
Alphabet shares jumped more than 6% in after-hours trading.
The story centers around the Sixteen Thirty Fund, one of the crown jewels of 
And this time, the pipeline wasn't just about elections, protests, or legislation—it was about directly paying the online voices that shape the political worldview of America's youngest voters.
That "dark money" group, Sixteen Thirty Fund, is Arabella Advisors and is pure Open Society passthrough. Congratulations to Taylor Lorenz for finally catching up to what we've all known for years: that the Democratic party is controlled by Soros. 
And the timing couldn't be more potent. According to Pew Research, over 50% of Americans under 30 say they get their news primarily from social media. Among Gen Z, the number is even higher, with TikTok and Instagram rivaling traditional news outlets as primary sources of information. Combine that with the fact that younger Americans tend to trust influencers more than politicians or journalists, and you begin to understand just how valuable a Soros-funded influencer army really is.
Two of the most prominent figures on the hard-left influencer scene are Taylor Lorenz herself and Hasan Piker. Between them, they embody the cultural energy of the young online left. Yet when it comes to their politics, both are radically anti-Western, openly sympathetic to America's enemies, and fall into the "burn America to the ground" category of the progressive left.
Piker once glorified the 9/11 terrorists. Lorenz routinely amplifies fringe activists and thinks Luigi Mangione is the greatest thing to happen to mankind since sliced bread. Both sit at the center of an online ecosystem that frames nihilism and "death to America" sloganeering as a form of cool, cultural chic.
Both play a key role in mainstreaming hatred for America to young voters.
Now imagine this ethos pumped into classrooms, dorm rooms, and teenage TikTok feeds—not through organic content, but through a dark money-funded pipeline designed to bypass any form of accountability.
That's the real story here: while many Americans are scratching their heads at the state of our politics, wondering why crime rises as prosecutors look away, why borders stay open, why drug decriminalization spreads despite chaos, the answer often traces back to a single man and his bank account. George Soros already bankrolls district attorney races, radical criminal justice reforms, immigration lobbying, "racial justice" organizations, and massive street protests. Now we learn he's also bankrolling the influencers who interpret those same issues for the youngest, most impressionable slice of the electorate.
That should terrify anyone who still believes in transparency, democracy, or the free flow of ideas.
And here's the bitter irony: Taylor Lorenz, a living embodiment of this world, may have finally done her most important piece of journalism, not by accident, but because the truth slipped out in a way that even the left couldn't ignore. She showed us how the sausage is made.
What comes next is the harder question. Will the media class brush this off as "just how politics works"? Or will Americans finally see what's really happening—that their children's politics are being shaped not by authentic cultural voices, but by professionalized operatives on Soros's payroll?
In a nation where young people trust Instagram more than the nightly news, this isn't just clever marketing. It's an engineered future. And unless someone pulls the plug, that future is going to look a lot like the worst instincts of the radical left—slickly packaged, algorithmically boosted, and secretly funded by a billionaire class that pretends to hate billionaires.
Ng expects four new iPhone models to be launched at the beginning of the iPhone 17 cycle:
iPhone 17 (base);
iPhone 17 "Air" (replacing the Plus model);
iPhone 17 Pro; and
iPhone 17 Pro Max.
So, what's really changing with the new iPhone? Good question. The analyst provides some thoughts:
First, the iPhone 17 series will reportedly feature a variety of different form factor changes (Exhibit 1). For one, Apple should debut the first iPhone 17 "Air" model (which should replace the iPhone "Plus" model), featuring a thinner and lighter form factor relative to other iPhone models, with a display size between that of the 17 Pro (6.3") and 17 Pro Max (6.9"). In addition, the iPhone 17 base model display size should now measure 6.3" (v. 6.1" in the base iPhone 16 model), now equal to that of Pro models. Second, the iPhone 17 series should be able to support greater compute intensity, with updated A19 series processor chips and 12 GB of RAM (v. 8GB RAM in the iPhone 16 family). iPhone 17 Pro & Pro Max models should feature premium chip models (likely A19 Pro), and the iPhone 17 (base) and Air models featuring a less advanced chip model (A19 base or less compute intensive A19 Pro). Greater chip power and RAM capacity likely reflects a greater need for compute intensity ahead of upcoming Apple Intelligence feature updates and releases, including the 2026 expected release of AI-enhanced Siri. Third, the iPhone 17 series should see an improved front camera (24 MP v. 12 MP in the iPhone 16 family).
Thoughts on pricing:
Though it has been reported that Apple could raise prices by $50 across its iPhone 17 line up, we expect pricing for iPhone 17 (base) and Pro Max models to be in-line with that of preceding models ($799 128GB base model starting price; $1,199 256GB Pro Max starting price). That said, we believe Apple could implicitly raise prices on the Pro model, in-line with recent reports. While the iPhone 16 Pro started at 128GB at $999, we believe Apple could raise prices by eliminating the 128 GB storage option, moving 17 Pro starting storage and price to 256 GB and $1,099. This would be similar to how Apple raised prices on Pro Max models in 2023 during the launch of the iPhone 15 series, when it eliminated the $1,099 128 GB storage option for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, moving the Pro Max model's starting storage and price to 256 GB and $1,199. We expect iPhone 17 Air pricing to be relatively in-line with the iPhone 16 Plus ($899), due to its specialized thin form factor yet reported inferior battery capacity and single-lens back camera.
And what does the new iPhone mean for Apple's revenue growth? Well, Ng has that topic covered as well:
Overall, we view the iPhone 17 line-up as supportive of sustaining iPhone revenue growth from F2025 into F2026 (GSe iPhone revenue growth estimates for +5% yoy in F2025E, +7% yoy in F2026E). First, from a demand standpoint, we view updates including larger screen sizes on the 17 base model, improved front-cameras, and improved processor chip power as supportive of device refresh, particularly amongst members of the iPhone installed base with devices that are aging (>3 years since purchase) or that do not support Apple Intelligence (devices less powerful than iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max) ahead of the launch of additional AI features in the coming year (AI-enhanced Siri). Second, from a price perspective, we view the potential for an implicit iPhone price increase through eliminating the 128GB $999 Pro model option as supportive of ASP uplift over time, particularly as the iPhone shipments skew increasingly premium over time (Exhibit 5). We are mixed on the benefits of the iPhone 17 Air model. While the thinner, lighter form factor may drive some demand interest, potential features such as an inferior battery & a single lens rear camera (vs. base model with 2 lenses & better camera) may not justify a purchase over the iPhone 17 base model.
Summary of key changes expected in iPhone 17 series
iPhone announcement event has not historically been a stock catalyst for outperformance/underperformance
Promotional activity among US carriers for iPhones
iPhone 17 pricing
iPhone revenue forecast
Remaining product pipeline
How "Awe Dropping" will this upcoming launch event be if the iPhone 17 still looks the same as previous iPhone models?
The Ukrainian president also said Norway could contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine with an emphasis on providing air defense and maritime security.
On Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance 
Reuters has