By Feras Dalatey

DAMASCUS, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Syrian government plans to turn a former military airport in Damascus into a hub for private jets are raising alarm among rights groups and residents who say redevelopment could disturb suspected mass graves and override private land claims.

NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Leaders of the BRICS group of nations will meet on Saturday in the Indian capital of New Delhi for their annual summit, amid mounting geopolitical tension, disruptions in energy markets, shipping, and global trade.

Here is a look at the bloc's history, and the challenges it faces today.

WHAT ISBRICS?

The acronym BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O'Neill in 2001, in a research paper highlighting the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, but it was not until 2009 that the countries came together as a bloc.

Standing outside a bakery in Cairo's working-class El-Marg district, Eman Abdel Fattah thumbed a handful of crumpled banknotes, calculating how much bread she could afford after her family's food subsidy card was suspended.

"We used to worry about having enough money for meat," the 42-year-old mother of four told AFP, inching forward in the queue.

"Now we worry about bread," she said, saying it was the one thing her family cannot do without.

Sept 12 (Reuters) - Iraq ordered the closure of the Shalamcheh border crossing between Iraq and Iran as a precautionary measure after the latest drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, two security sources told Reuters on Saturday.

The sources said a wide-scale operation was underway to pursue perpetrators of the attack on Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh said on Friday its vital East-West pipeline was attacked by drones that were launched from Iraq.

(Reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra; Writing by Menna Alaa El-Din; Editing by Chris Reese)

AI firm Anthropic has said it detected a UAE-linked influence operation that targeted the Muslim Brotherhood and United Nations experts critical of Abu Dhabi's alleged role in Sudan's war.

In a report on misuse of its AI models on Thursday, Anthropic said it uncovered and disrupted the broad campaign it linked "with high confidence" to UAE government officials.

Aimed primarily at the Muslim Brotherhood, the operation used the company's Claude chatbot to generate reports, advocacy materials, social media content and testimony on Sudan.

Members of the 11-nation BRICS group including China, Russia, Iran and India called for calm in the Middle East at a summit in New Delhi on Saturday, overcoming earlier divisions to issue a joint statement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who joined Russian, Iranian, Indian and other leaders in India's capital, told the summit that the Middle East war "does not serve the common interests of the international community".

CAIRO, Sept 12 (Reuters) - An Iraqi military commander was dismissed early on Saturday after investigations confirmed the latest drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia originated from Iraq, according to a statement by Iraq's prime minister's office.

The commander led operations in Maysan province in southern Iraq, according to the statement.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Muayad Hameed; Editing by Chris Reese)

By Mohammed Ghobari, Eman Abouhassira and Yasmine Ghania

ADEN/DUBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Friday, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters, moving to tighten their grip on a vital global shipping route in the widening Middle East war.

By Samia Nakhoul, Humeyra Pamuk and Steve Holland

ANKARA/WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought military assistance from President Donald Trump on Thursday to help fight Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, as the Houthis stepped up their threat to the Red Sea.

Sept 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said drones launched from Iraq attacked its East-West pipeline, but said it would not retaliate for now following a request from Iraq's prime minister, while reserving the right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security and critical facilities, according to a Saudi foreign ministry statement.

(Reporting by Yasmine Ghania and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Chris Reese)