The Photo BRICS contest aims to facilitate international cultural dialogue between BRICS countries through photography and other visual aids. This year’s contest witnessed submission of more than 1,000 photos by youths from Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa. The 10 best photos (48 works in total), capturing nature and architecture of the BRICS countries and symbolizing the countries’ values won awards.
 

Duterte had announced, upon being elected, that he intended to pursue an “independent foreign policy”. On September 12, he declared he was “not a fan of the Americans” and that he wanted to “reorient” foreign policy with the U.S. On September 27, he added that he wanted to pursue “new alliances with Russia and China.”

Last week, an amendment buried deep in the text of the National Defense Authorization Act disbanded the bipartisan Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), putting in its place an executive directly appointed by the president of the United States. The idea of handing control of the agency to Donald Trump has left some in the media reeling: Politico wrote this week, “Trump is finally getting his Trump TV—financed by taxpayers to the tune of $800 million per year.” 

A relationship that used to be characterised by the 1969-invoked “change through rapprochement” and “partnership on eye-level”, has seen a rapid cooling over the course of the last two years. Germany and Russia used to be close partners with vibrant exchange on the political, economic, social and cultural levels. 

A major overhaul atop U.S. federal radio and television broadcasting entities could be on the way. An amendment to a defense spending bill that passed Congress would change the leadership of those broadcasts by placing the five broadcast networks under the control of a CEO with expanded powers who is appointed by the president and requires U.S. Senate confirmation.

Russian-sponsored rants about America get airtime in America, while U.S.-underwritten attempts to fairly and honestly inform Russians are massively curtailed. That’s not an uneven playing field; that’s our adversary owning the field and using America’s own liberality to attack U.S. policies and discredit Western values. The new administration needs to push back.