US dollar: ‘Wounded hegemon’ or secure as most powerful currency on earth?
Faced with Trump’s tariffs and threats, BRICS countries are trying to reduce dollar use in trading with each other.

Faced with Trump’s tariffs and threats, BRICS countries are trying to reduce dollar use in trading with each other.


![Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a speech during the Ceremony in Defence of Democracy in Brasilia, on January 8, 2026 [Evaristo Sa/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/AFP__20260108__922U8C8__v1__HighRes__BrazilCoupAttemptAnniversary-1769227401.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)





![Young men showing off military weapons in gang-controlled Rio de Janeiro. [Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/image-1767116420.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Move comes after a former police chief convicted in the coup plot was caught in Paraguay trying to flee to El Salvador.
Ex-Brazilian police chief caught using fake Paraguay passport in attempt to board flight to Panama, sent back to Brazil.
Bolsonaro’s operation addressed a painful double hernia; doctors anticipate five to seven days of hospitalisation.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes has approved a request for the ex-president to leave prison for hernia treatment.
EU delays Mercosur trade deal until January amid farmer protests and opposition from France and Italy.
European champions Paris Saint-Germain pushed all the way in Intercontinental Cup final in Qatar by South Americans.

Thousands of people protested against a bill that would reduce the prison sentence of former President, Jair Bolsonaro.
The controversial bill, which prompted a scuffle in Congress’s lower chamber, now proceeds to the Senate for a vote.

A Brazilian lawmaker was removed from Congress by police on Tuesday as he staged a protest against a bill.