The world at a glance . . . International

last updated 8 January 2015

Yekaterinburg, Russia

New bloc on the block: Brazil, Russia, India, and China called this week for a new “supernational currency’’ to rival the U.S. dollar at their first formal summit as the “BRIC” bloc of emerging economic powers. The four discussed ways to promote their own currencies as well as the development of a new international currency. “There can be no successful global currency system if the financial instruments that are used are denominated in only one currency,” said Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. “Today this is the case, and that currency is the dollar.” The term BRIC was first coined in 2001 by the investment bank Goldman Sachs, whose analysts argued that the economies of the four countries denoted by those initials were growing so fast, they could outpace the U.S., Europe, and Japan by 2050.

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Hosting Kim Jong Un: The presumed next leader of North Korea secretly visited China last week to appeal for food and energy aid, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported. Kim Jong Un, the youngest son and reported heir of dictator Kim Jong Il, told Chinese officials that he would be inheriting power from his ailing father, the paper said, citing North Korean sources in Beijing. Chinese officials in turn reportedly urged Kim Jong Un to refrain from conducting any more nuclear tests. China did not confirm or deny the visit, saying only that “normal exchanges” between Pyongyang and Beijing were continuing. Next to nothing is known about the younger Kim, other than that he attended university in Switzerland and speaks fluent German.

Teaching honesty: Indonesia has opened thousands of “honesty cafes” in schools and government buildings, in which patrons use the honor system to leave money for snacks and drinks. The attorney general’s office, which sponsors the cafes, hopes they will teach civil servants and ordinary citizens to think about the importance of being honest. Only about 5 percent of the cafes said customers were walking off without paying, officials said, and schools that operate the cafes have reported a decrease in cheating on tests. Bribery of public officials and police is routine in Indonesia, which is one of the world’s most corrupt countries, according to corruption watchdog Transparency International.

Miranda rights for Taliban: Congressional Republicans and conservative pundits are complaining that the Obama administration has been reading so-called Miranda rights to suspected terrorists captured in Afghanistan. The controversy flared after Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said he learned during a fact-finding mission that U.S. authorities were telling enemy combatants that, among other things, they had a “right to remain silent.” The practice, he said, could lead to a loss of critical information. “That information they have is perishable,” Rogers said. “The goal is to get them to cooperate early and talk about where their pals are.” The Justice Department said the policy of “Mirandizing” certain high-value detainees began during the Bush administration and is necessary for the sake of possible future prosecutions. Said Gen. David Petraeus, head of Central Command, “We are comfortable with this.”

Plot against the government: Turkey was in an uproar this week after a newspaper reported that elements of the military were secretly plotting against the Islamic-leaning ruling party. The newspaper Taraf printed a purported military document describing a plan to discredit the ruling party through a smear campaign. The military, the self-appointed guardian of Turkey’s secularism, has been at odds with the Justice and Development Party ever since the party took power in 2002. The military rushed to reassure Turks that it was not planning to bring down the government, saying it would discharge any officer who failed to respect the rule of law. “If it is proved that the document is genuine,” the military said in a statement, “we are confident that the culprits will be punished through the judicial authorities.”

Hostages killed: Yemen charged this week that three foreign hostages found dead in the Yemeni desert were killed by a local Shiite rebel group, but others suspect al Qaida. Yemeni officials blamed the Shiite group known as the Houthis for the kidnapping and murders of three female aid workers—two Germans and a South Korean. But the Houthis denied the charge, and independent analysts said tribal groups in Yemen rarely kill hostages but rather hold them for ransom. “A lot of people are looking at this as it may have been something al Qaida has carried out,” said Princeton University terror expert Gregory Johnsen. Earlier this year, al Qaida’s branches in Saudi Arabia and Yemen merged to create al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Killings continue: Though the tragedy no longer seems to generate much international press attention, Sudanese forces are still attacking civilians and torturing activists in Darfur, the U.N. said this week. “I continue to receive reports of arbitrary arrests, detention, as well as allegations of ill-treatment and torture of human-rights defenders and humanitarian workers by security forces,” said Sima Samar, U.N. special envoy for Sudan. She said Sudanese forces were also bombing Darfur villages from the air. Six years of conflict have killed up to 300,000 people and uprooted more than 2.7 million in Darfur.