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Banners for the upcoming Brics meeting in Johannesburg. Denis Farrell / AP  

Russian invasionBrics meeting in South Africa  

Brics is considering opening to new members Today begins the three-day Brics meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa. On site, several of the countries' leaders will gather and discuss a possible expansion of the economic association to strengthen their position vis-à-vis the EU and the US, reports Reuters.  

- An expanded Brics will represent a diversity of nations with different political systems that share a common desire to have a more balanced global order, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a speech before the meeting. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the meeting because he is the subject of an international arrest warrant for war crimes in Ukraine. Instead, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate.  

Nigerian policemen sit outside an office in Niamey, the capital of Niger. Sam Mednick / AP  

Right now  

Niger is kicked out of the African Union after a coup d'état  

Niger is thrown out of the African Union, writes Reuters. The union announced this in a statement on Tuesday. They also repeated the calls to the coup leaders to release the elected president Mohamed Bazoum. The reason is the military coup in the country at the end of July when the popularly elected president was deposed.  

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has previously said it is prepared to send troops to Niger after diplomatic efforts to restore democracy have failed.  

The African Union called on all its member states and the international community not to do anything that could legitimize Niger's junta. 

Archive image. Elon Musk. Michel Euler / AP  

Economy 

Musk stated that he spoke to Putin - regretted 

Elon Musk is said to have told US defense chief Colin Kohl that he spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in connection with a discussion about Space X and Starlink's role in the development of the war in Ukraine. That's what several sources told The New Yorker magazine.

According to one of the sources, Musk should have said the same thing a few weeks earlier. Soon after, he is said to have tweeted a controversial "peace plan" which included, among other things, letting Russia get Crimea and plebiscites deciding how the map of Ukraine should be redrawn. Musk is said to have then also said that he has "regular contacts" with the Kremlin.  

Musk has since denied having spoken to Putin about Ukraine. Instead, the Tesla boss claims that he only spoke to him once a couple of years ago and then the conversation was about space. US officials testify that Musk is treated as an "unelected politician" because of his corporate power