A summit of leaders from the BRICS group of major emerging economies kicks off in Brazil Sunday – but without the top leader of its most powerful member.

RIO DE JANEIRO -Leaders of the growing BRICS group of developing nations were set to gather in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, calling for reform of traditional Western institutions while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateralism in an increasingly fractured world.

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,