By Lisandra Paraguassu and Manuela Andreoni RIO DE JANEIRO -Leaders of the growing BRICS group of developing nations met in Brazil on Sunday, calling for reform of traditional Western institutions while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateral diplomacy in an increasingly fractured world.

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.

BRICS leaders descended on sunny Rio de Janeiro Sunday, ready to issue a dark warning that US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" import tariffs risk hurting the global economy.