Group a building block for Africa

An unusually heavy downpour hit the South African coastal city of Durban for two days before the BRICS summit's debut on African soil, but interest and inspiration for a better platform for emerging markets were still sparked at the summit.

Although politicians and experts are still not satisfied with the current "declaratory level" of BRICS, they are busy pushing agreements and cooperation in the International Conference Center of Durban to move the bloc to a more consolidated status that can bear "more fruit".

Much farther north, the European Union is trying to find a way out for Cyprus' bailout plan that pushed the financial crisis in the region a step deeper. No one knows how long the crisis is going to last nor where it is heading.