- Uganda fuel truck explosion kills 11
- Austria's Grand Slam winner Thiem ends career cheered on by home crowd
- Union sees 'tight' vote on contract to end Boeing strike
- Reijnders fires AC Milan to first Champions League points with Club Brugge double
- Record-breaking Liverpool vow to improve against Leipzig
- Uganda fuel truck explosion kills at least 10
- Forest owner Marinakis banned for spitting towards officials
- ECB chief Lagarde invites Trump to visit after central bank criticism
- Blinken urges Israel to reach Gaza truce, allow more aid
- As Trump touts tariffs, Yellen says US has rejected 'isolationism'
- Argentina prosecutors deny releasing Liam Payne toxicology tests
- India, China and S.Africa leaders bolster Putin at key summit
- Windfall tax backlash menaces Spain's green energy sector
- England winger Gordon signs Newcastle contract extension
- Ex-Abercrombie CEO charged with sex crimes
- US plans to contribute $20 bn for Ukraine loan: Yellen
- Critically endangered whale species rebounds slightly
- US interest rate, election uncertainty hit stock market sentiment
- Russian dissident Navalny's memoir published worldwide
- Strong auto prices lift GM results as it eyes China revamp
- 'Dutchman' Hirscher to step out of retirement in Soelden
- UN eyes modest 2024 maritime trade growth, but future uncertain
- 70% of Cuba's population has power back after blackout
- Families separated by front line in Russia's Kursk region
- India, China and S.Africa leaders underpin Putin at key summit
- Navalny memoirs spark mix of curiosity, indifference in Moscow
- Modi calls for quick end to Ukraine conflict in talks with Putin
- Ukraine peace talks, NATO invite may hinge on US elections, Zelensky says
- Leipzig players 'not yet talking' about Klopp, says Openda before Liverpool tie
- IMF predicts slightly slower global growth in 2024 and 2025
- US interest rate, election uncertainy hit stock market sentiment
- Guardiola applauds Man City mentality ahead of Sparta Prague test
- San Siro saga continues as Inter and AC Milan propose new stadium project
- French luxury brand Chanel to sponsor Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race
- Flick calm despite Barca's dire Bayern record
- Kenya court hears challenge to deputy leader's impeachment
- Women footballers call on FIFA to drop Saudi Aramco as sponsor
- Mozambican opposition leader says security forces killed his lawyer
- Modi calls for quick end to Ukraine conflict in meeting with Putin
- Stock markets diverge tracking US outlook
- Snyman returns for Springboks' November internationals
- Bangladesh battle at 101-3 as South Africa threaten innings defeat
- Over 250 women in talks with Harrods over Al-Fayed claims
- England pick Ahmed as third spinner for deciding Pakistan Test
- Verreynne century puts South Africa on top, Bangladesh 19-2 at tea
- Navalny's tomb 'covered with fresh flowers every day': widow
- Schauffele targets more success in Japan after major breakthroughs
- Rare Tintin albums go under the hammer in Paris
- Blinken in Israel to push for Gaza truce
- Most markets fall as traders weigh US rates outlook
India, China and S.Africa leaders bolster Putin at key summit
Some of Moscow's key allies rallied round Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday on the first day of a major summit that the Kremlin hopes will show Western attempts to isolate it over the Ukraine offensive have failed.
Putin is hosting around 20 world leaders -- including China's President Xi Jinping, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- for a three-day gathering of the BRICS group in the central city of Kazan.
The Kremlin leader wants to use the forum to challenge the West and advance his idea of a "multipolar world" as a bulwark against US "hegemony".
The gathering is the largest diplomatic event in Russia since it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and comes after Putin scrapped plans to attend last year's summit in South Africa after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him.
In a series of bilateral talks on Tuesday, including with Xi and Modi, Putin hailed Moscow's close ties and "strategic partnerships" with its chosen partners.
But concerns over Moscow's Ukraine offensive, grinding through its third year, still loomed over the event.
Modi, who is casting himself as a possible peacemaker, called for a quick end to the conflict during televised talks with Putin.
"We have been in constant touch over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Modi told Putin after the two shook hands and embraced.
"We believe that disputes should only be resolved peacefully. We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability," the Indian leader added.
India has walked a delicate tightrope since the Ukraine conflict began, pledging humanitarian support for Kyiv while avoiding explicit condemnation of Moscow's actions.
Modi visited Kyiv in August and Moscow in July in an effort to encourage talks -- an initiative that appeared to make little progress.
Moscow has steadily advanced on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine this year as it strengthens ties with the likes of China, Iran and North Korea.
- 'Chaotic world' -
Xi, meanwhile, praised China's "profound" ties with Russia in what he called a "chaotic" world.
Ties have "injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries", Xi said.
Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation of global "stability."
"Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the stabilising factors in the global arena. We intend to further increase coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order," he told Xi.
The two leaders discussed the conflict in Ukraine behind closed doors, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state media, while providing no details.
"There was an exchange of opinions on Ukraine," the spokesman said.
"In general, on the international agenda, there was a significant convergence of positions," Peskov added.
Ukraine has heavily criticised China for backing Putin, accusing Beijing of supporting and enabling Moscow's offensive.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has also urged an end to the conflict, praised Moscow as a "valued ally" and friend in his meeting with Putin.
"We continue to see Russia as a valued ally, as a valued friend, who supported us right from the beginning: from the days of our struggle against Apartheid, right through to now," Ramaphosa said.
- 'Geopolitical rival' -
The summit is being held amidst tight security in Kazan.
Around 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the Ukraine border, the surrounding Tatarstan region has been previously targeted in drone attacks launched by Kyiv.
Movement around the city centre is being limited, residents advised to stay home, and university students moved out of dormitories, local media reported.
Among the topics on the official agenda will be Putin's idea for a BRICS-led payment system to rival SWIFT, an international financial network that Russian banks were cut off from in 2022, as well as the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Separate talks between Putin and Erdogan as well as Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian are planned for Wednesday.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will meet Putin on Thursday -- a visit slammed by Ukraine's foreign ministry.
The United States has dismissed the idea that BRICS could become a "geopolitical rival" but has expressed concern over Moscow flexing its diplomatic muscle as the Ukraine conflict rages.
Starting with four members -- Brazil, Russia, India and China, when it was established in 2009, BRICS has since expanded to include other emerging nations such as South Africa, Egypt and Iran.
But the group is rife with internal divisions, including between core members India and China.
Turkey, a NATO member with complex ties to Moscow and the West, announced in September that it wanted to join the bloc.
P.Santos--AMWN