TODAY: Putin heads to Latin America, cancels Cuba debt, says Brazil a key global player; new rules for state company bank accounts; France and Germany call for Ukraine cease-fire; summer camps to deter children from activism; Marvel comics to be investigated.

Speaking on the eve of a trip to Latin America, President Vladimir Putin called on Brazil and his other BRICS affiliates to play a greater role in world affairs – namely, to counter US influence.  Putin has commenced a five-day trip, during which he will make stops in Cuba, Argentina, and Brazil in a bid to strengthen ties.  Brazil’s role will be particularly important, he said, in developing ‘the emerging poly-centric world order’.  Putin’s first move on arriving in Cuba was one of ‘brotherly love’ – announcing that Russia will write off 90% of Cuba’s $35.2 billion debt, stipulating instead that Cuba will pay back $3.2 billion over a 10 year period.  A new law states that state companies will no longer be allowed to hold bank accounts with firms that have less than $296 million in capital.  Mining company Mechel may be permitted to declare bankruptcy.  The New York Times reviews some current exhibitions in Russia, noting that Russian artworks ‘often assume a political or moral significance they would not be freighted with elsewhere in the world’.