The Supreme Court of the United States has overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade of 1973 that legalized abortion in the country. By ruling on Friday that the right to abortion was not "deeply rooted in this Nation's history or tradition", the Supreme Court put an end to the nearly 50 years of the federal constitutional right to abortion.

BRICS provides an alternative mode of financing for development, is a platform for South-South cooperation, a game changer in the North-South dialogue, and a balancing mechanism in the context of building a fair global economic order.

In a COVID-wake world of black-swan uncertainties, fluid complexities in power transitions and shifts, and definitive repurposing of global governance compacts, around strategic development portfolios steeped in sustainable and resilient socio-economics, the BRICS, grouping Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, beholds possibilities to condition and showcase alternative trajectories of stakeholder-centric growth models and development paradigms despite its innate limitations.

Older persons are highly visible across Asia and the Pacific: they work in agricultural fields producing our food, peddle their wares as street vendors, drive tuk-tuks, and buses, exercise in our parks, lead some of the region's most successful companies and form an integral part of our families.

The world today is undergoing a profound transformation. Peace and development, which are the goal of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, face severe challenges.

Before the G7 Summit in the Bavarian Alps, being held from Sunday to Tuesday, and the NATO Summit scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Madrid, many diplomatic meetings followed one another.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all been reminded of the adage: Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it. Well, as a former banker, current health minister of Indonesia, and this year's chair of the G20 Health Track, I want to emphasize the importance of both health and the economy, and how they are interdependent.

An oft-repeated slogan in advertising and the media is "content is king". This is especially true when it comes to click-throughs, sales, influencing consumers, or obtaining "likes". Original content is fuel for the media engine in the marketplace of ideas competing to grab eyeballs — which eventually turns into revenue.

India's permanent representative to the United Nations, T.S. Tirumurti, delivered a cross-regional joint statement on climate change, themed "Global Net Zero", on behalf of 10 countries, including China, on World Environment Day on June 8.

More than four decades of reform and opening-up have not only turned China into the world's second-largest economy but also changed the means of payment in the country.

BRICS member states reflect the growing influence of emerging economies worldwide, which is complemented by the decline in the weight of developed countries in the global economy. The contribution of advanced economies to global GDP (measured in terms of purchasing power parity) fell from 64 percent in 1990 to 40 percent in 2019, a situation which worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

The consumer price index in the United States increased 8.6 percent in May, the highest since 1981, outstripping the market forecast of 8.3 percent. To rein in the ferocious inflation and cool borrowing, the US Federal Reserve raised the interest rate by 0.75 percentage point on June 15, the highest hike since 1994.

Editor's note: Scholars from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa exchanged opinions on BRICS' role in international relations and global governance at a recent BRICS-themed online forum organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Following are excerpts from the views the scholars exchanged at the forum or expressed in interviews with China Daily:

China should take serious measures to deal with the short-term impacts of the negative population growth and maintain a healthy fertility rate.

Just over two years after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the deepest global recession since World War II, the global economy continues to face a series of acute shocks.

The United States administration has expelled millions of immigrants over the past century in the name of safeguarding national security and/or maintaining social order. Worse, the number of expulsions has increased in recent years, with many immigrants being deported without due legal process, which is blatant violation of their rights.

Once again, COVID-19 is rampaging unchecked through the US population, because there are no longer any public health measures in place to protect adequately against infection. I myself have taken extraordinary precautions to avoid infection for the last two and a half years, because I met three of the qualifications for severe COVID-19: I am 77 years old; I am a cancer survivor; and for the past 40 years I have been treated for a chronic inflammatory condition that leaves me moderately immunocompromised.

In the age of the internet, it's easy to be a "judge", for one just has to point the finger at another person to label him or her guilty.

The central leadership has emphasized the importance of deepening the capital market reform, including further improving its basic system, in order to make the capital market's functioning more efficient and create more space for the development of all types of capital.

Some observers say that China's dynamic clearing policy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic will hinder the country's growth this year. Indeed, the strict pandemic prevention and control measures have had a huge impact on the economy, especially on the service sector, but the regular nucleic acid testing being conducted in many cities where there are outbreaks will help more cities to gradually resume normal economic activity in the latter half of the year.

Given the sagging economic performance of the country, Shanghai and other areas severely affected by the upsurge in novel coronavirus infections should take measures, such as giving people cash or distributing consumer coupons, to boost the economy.

The United States' decision to not invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the just concluded 9th Summit of the Americas has prompted the leaders of many Latin American and Caribbean countries to skip the meeting or send lower-level officials to attend it.

Spending on scientific leadership and building international research partnerships and collaborations do not mean pouring money into a figurative black hole. Instead, they mean oiling the engine room of scientific discovery. Such spending is the harbinger of productive joint endeavors for mutual advancement in understanding on multiple levels, not just science. It can and has produced spectacular results.

The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia inked a so-called trilateral partnership (AUKUS) in September 2021, according to which the US and the UK will help Australia develop and deploy at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, adding to the Western military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The world seems to be staring at a food crisis. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, world food prices were on the rise thanks to the impacts of climate change and regional conflicts/migration. The pandemic further disrupted food supply chains, and loss of income and employment reduced accessibility to, and affordability of, foods for many low-income populations.

At present, traditional and nontraditional security threats are intertwined, humankind is yet to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic, and the Ukraine crisis is already wreaking havoc.

The 9th Summit of the Americas began in Los Angeles on Monday and will continue till Friday. This is the second time the United States is hosting the summit since the inaugural event in 1994.

Fifty years ago, China and the United Kingdom seized the trend of history, defied various difficulties and established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. Over the past half-century, this relationship has forged ahead despite twists and turns, and borne fruitful results. It has brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries, and contributed to global peace and prosperity. Its growth has been attributable to three tenets that both sides have adhered to during the past five decades:

In many ways, sustainable development is perhaps like sailing a ship to a far-away shore: the goals are often distant, the voyage often long, and the coordinates complicated. Unanticipated headwinds or tidal waves can throw everything off course, with devastating consequences. Yet, ultimately, even the most elusive shore is within reach, if we stay the course.

Delivering a speech at the George Washington University on May 26, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the Joe Biden administration's "3C" policy toward China: cooperate, compete and contest. He also summed up Biden's approach to China with three words, "invest, align and compete".

The strict pandemic prevention and control measures implemented in Shanghai, Beijing and some other places have ironically helped increase the sales of luosifen, a snail-based rice noodle soup dish. In fact, it has been selling like the proverbial hot cakes.

The global economy has shifted into a lower gear as geopolitical tensions, tighter monetary policy, led by the US Federal Reserve, and a slowdown in China combine to weigh on growth. In our base case, global GDP growth moderates to 2.8 percent in 2022 but we think that these three factors could continue to weigh on growth and even trigger a global recession.

College graduates in China will face some unprecedented challenges this year in finding a job due to the imbalance between job opportunities and the number of candidates.

Since both countries are facing severe challenges at home and abroad, they should establish exchange and communication mechanisms in multiple areas, in order to avoid risks in the future.

The impact of the Fed's rate hike has been declining on China, due to the latter's autonomous monetary policy.

The policies of different countries and regions toward e-cigarettes, as well as their views on the pros and cons of e-cigarettes, are different. Still, an increasing number of countries are enacting laws restricting their use because of their harmful effects.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula could deteriorate because the new Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol's policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is similar to that of US President Joe Biden－both believe in putting maximum pressure on the DPRK, instead of using dialogue or engagement, to resolve the peninsula nuclear issue.

China has initiated a new infrastructure investment plan to achieve high-quality growth, which can also help boost economic recovery amid slow global growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Editor's note: President Xi Jinping addressed the conference of the 70th anniversary of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit via video link on Wednesday. Following is the full text of the address:

Given the Chinese economy's development, there is no fear of a large-scale withdrawal of foreign capital from the country as some Western media outlets claimed. As one of the production factors, capital seeks profit, and the inflow and outflow of capital often acts as a barometer of economic vitality, potential and development.

A calm, rational analysis of just a few key measurements will give the answer to the pressing questions on everyone's mind across China and the world.

The federal election in Australia scheduled for May 21 remains in the balance. Whichever party wins the election, the Australian Labor Party or the ruling Liberal National Party coalition, will have China-Australia relations at the center of its economic and security policies.

Vietnam's outstanding foreign trade performance in the first quarter of this year has sparked discussions on whether the Southeast Asian country has been snatching away overseas orders from China due to the sporadic outbreaks of the novel coronavirus in the Chinese mainland that has affected economic activity.

Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, banned palm oil exports on April 28. As expected, the move dealt an immediate, huge blow to the global palm oil markets, causing a steep rise in international grain and oil prices. It also raised concerns for global food security.

Editor's note: The US consumer price index rose to a 40-year high in April, prompting the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates, which has created serious economic problems for economies around the world, especially developing economies. Will the Fed's move reduce inflation in the US? Or, will it end up derailing the global economic recovery? Three experts share their views on the issue with China Daily.

Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos's landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election on Monday has drawn global attention because it will decide the country's future policy direction, and have an impact on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and regional situation. The president-elect is the namesake and son of former president Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos.

Financial technology companies, with the support of governments, can lead the way in making technology a tool for people with disabilities to have greater access to financial services.

The Ministry of Education recently released the compulsory education curriculum content standards and compulsory labor education standards for 2022.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has issued a document, "Opinions on Promoting the Development of Private Pensions", detailing the development of the first-ever private pension plan, which indicates that China is trying to develop a multi-pillar pension system.

The rise in novel coronavirus cases and the higher transmissibility of the Omicron variant have increased uncertainties, prompting the government to implement stricter prevention and control measures in the country. For example, cities such as Shanghai and Changchun, Jilin province, have been under lockdown for weeks.

New guidelines ensure Belt and Road will be catalyst for green development