The 11 emerging nations -- including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- account for about half the world's population and 40 percent of global economic output.

Brics leaders at a summit yesterday took aim at US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes

The BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as full members. This is the first leaders' summit to include Indonesia.

The BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indone

BRICS leaders set to discuss key global political issues in Rio de Janeiro, but questions over the bloc’s cohesion arise as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin opt to skip the summit.