Brazil plays host to a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies Sunday and Monday during which pressing topics like Israel’s attack on Iran, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and trade tariffs imposed by U.

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.

Leaders of the BRICS group of major emerging economies are meeting in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday for a two-day summit. The BRICS acronym is derived from the initial letters of the founding member countries: Brazil,