BRICS Summit Attracts Global Interest Not Seen in Years

The leaders from the five-member group of nations known as BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are beginning a three-day summit in Johannesburg on Tuesday, where they are discussing expanding the club that harbors ambitions of becoming a geopolitical alternative to Western-led forums like the Group of 7. The latest gathering of leaders has garnered a level of international interest rarely seen since the group was first formed 14 years ago. Russia's invasion of Ukraine along with a trade war between Beijing and Washington have reinvigorated the debate over whether the bloc will remain a loose…