President Vladimir Putin will participate this week in his first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Russia, as part of a rare international grouping in which his country still enjoys support. Leaders will convene virtually on Tuesday for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security grouping founded by Russia and China to counter Western alliances from East Asia to the Indian Ocean. This year’s event is hosted by India, which became a member in 2017. It's the latest avenue for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to showcase the country’s growing global clout. The group so far has focused on deepening security and economic cooperation, fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, tackling climate change and the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 2021. When the foreign ministers met in India last month, Russia's war on Ukraine barely featured in their public remarks but the fallout for developing countries on food and fuel security remains a concern for the group, analysts say. The forum is more important than ever for Moscow, which is eager to show that the West has failed to isolate it. The group includes the four Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in a region where Russian influence runs deep. Others include Pakistan, which became a member in 2017, and Iran, which is set to join on Tuesday. Belarus is also in line for membership. “This SCO meeting is really one of the few opportunities globally that Putin will have to project strength and credibility," said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute. None of the member countries has condemned Russia in UN resolutions, choosing instead to abstain. China has sent an envoy to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, and India has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. For Putin personally, the summit presents an opportunity to show he is in control after a short-lived insurrection by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. “Putin will want to reassure his partners that he is very much still in charge, and leave no doubt that the challenges to his government have been crushed,” said Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. India announced in May that the summit would be held online instead of in-person like last year in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where Putin posed for photographs and dined with other leaders. For New Delhi at least, the optics of hosting Putin and China’s leader Xi Jinping just two weeks after Modi was honored with a pomp-filled state visit by US President Joe Biden would be less than ideal. After all the fanfare Modi received from American leaders on his recent visit, “it would have been too soon (for India) to be welcoming Chinese and Russian leaders,” Kugelman said. India’s relationship with Moscow has stayed strong throughout the war; it has scooped up record amounts of Russian crude and relies on Moscow for 60% of its defense hardware. At the same time, the U.S. and its allies have aggressively courted India, which they see as a counterweight to China’s growing ambitions. A key priority for India in the forum is to balance its ties with the West and the East, with the country also hosting the Group of 20 leading economies' summit in September. It's also a platform for New Delhi to engage more deeply with Central Asia. “India glorifies in this type of foreign policy where it’s wheeling and dealing with everybody at the same time,” said Derek Grossman, an Indo-Pacific analyst at the RAND Corporation. New Delhi, observers say, will be looking to secure its own interests at the summit. It will likely emphasize the need to combat what it calls “cross-border terrorism” — a dig at Pakistan, whom India accuses of arming and training rebels fighting for independence of Indian-controlled Kashmir or its integration into Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denies. It may also stress the need to respect territorial integrity and sovereignty — a charge often directed towards its other rival, China. India and China have been locked in an intense three-year standoff involving thousands of soldiers stationed along their disputed border in the eastern Ladakh region. Analysts say China, seeking to posture itself as a global force, is becoming a dominant player in forums like the SCO, where interest for full membership from countries like Myanmar, Turkey and Afghanistan has grown in recent years. “The limitation with the SCO is that China and Russia are trying to turn it into an anti-Western grouping, and that does not fit with India's independent foreign policy,” said Madan. The SCO could also prove challenging for Washington and its allies in the long run. “For countries uncomfortable with the West and their foreign policies, the SCO is a welcome alternative, mainly because of the roles Russia and China play. ... I think that highlights just how relevant and concerning this group could be for a number of Western capitals, especially if it keeps expanding," said Kugelman. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary China downplays Wagner group rebellion to support Russia India’s prime minister bestowed with Egypt’s highest state honour India cannot get tied down to exclusive relationships, says Jaishankar

A manhunt is underway to track down a suspect who police said “intentionally” drove an SUV into a group of migrant workers outside a Walmart in North Carolina. The incident unfolded at around 1.17pm on Sunday when the victims were standing outside the store in Lincolnton, the Lincolnton Police Department said. Suddenly, the driver of a black SUV, described as an older white male, ploughed into the group before fleeing the scene. Six workers were struck and injured in the incident. They were all taken to the nearby hospital Atrium Health – Lincoln for treatment for various injuries. None of the victims’ injuries appear to be life-threatening, police said. “Six migrant workers were hit in what appears to be an intentional assault with a vehicle. All six were transported to Atrium Health – Lincoln with various injuries. None of the injuries appear to be life threatening,” police said in a Facebook post. “The vehicle is an older model mid-size black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a luggage rack. The driver was described as an older white male. The motives of the suspect are still under investigation.” At this time, police are treating the incident as an intentional assault with a vehicle and are searching for the driver. The identity of the driver – described as an older white male – is unknown at this time and the motive for the alleged attack remains unclear. The Lincolnton Police Department is asking that anyone with information about the incident contacts the Lincolnton Police Department at (704) 736-8900. Read More Hollywood nightclub death – latest: Security guard fatally beaten outside Dragonfly club as 11 suspects on run Man convicted of setting up smuggling trip that killed 13 in California gets 15 years in prison

Throughout his performance, Roger Waters reportedly attempted to make analogies between current-day Israel and Nazi Germany

Some 240 Rohingya Muslims, including women and children, are afloat off the coast of Indonesia after two attempts to land were rejected by local residents

WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Friday announced new steps to crack down on short-term health insurance plans and

A boycott by Republican state senators in Oregon threatens to derail dozens of bills, including on gun control and abortion rights, as a deadline looms that could also upend the protesters’ political futures

Kazakhstan held nationwide mourning on Sunday after 42 people died in a blaze at an ArcelorMittal mine, the worst accident in the Central...

Robert Card, with a documented history of mental health issues was the suspected shooter in the horrifying mass shooting that took place in Maine

Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox is pitching a no-hitter through six innings against the New York Yankees

'So on my eight-week postpartum date, I was flying to Spain with my young, eight-week-old baby and Colin,' said Scarlett Johansson

Each of the cast members is believed to have been paid the same amount throughout their time at the show

'I definitely feel like I can do something entrepreneurial,' Olivia Dunne said