War looms over Delhi's G20 summit

Plus: Actor Masterson jailed for rape, and see North Korea's "nuclear" sub

View this email online 8 September, 2023 Andy McFarlane As leaders arrive for the G20 summit, the Russian and Chinese presidents are making their absence felt. One year on from Queen Elizabeth II's death, royal correspondent Sean Coughlan reviews the highs and lows of the King's 12 months as monarch. And scroll down to find out how reports of a "mass murder" in an English village proved wide of the mark. Oh, and don't forget to take our quiz of the week. Top of the agenda G20 leaders arrive in India Rishi Sunak accused Vladimir Putin of "blocking out criticism and reality". Credit: PA Media Leaders of the world's largest economies have begun arriving in Delhi for the G20 summit but there's as much talk about who hasn't turned up. Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin, nor his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, are attending - the latter to US President Joe Biden's disappointment, amid heightened tensions with the West. For a second year, the shadow of Russia's war in Ukraine looms over the event, with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling Mr Putin "the architect of his own diplomatic exile". It's likely to prove a barrier to India's bid to achieve a summit declaration, signalling broad agreement on issues of global concern. As Vikas Pandey writes, from Delhi, without their leaders, the Chinese and Russian representatives "may not have the political heft to make last-minute concessions" that are usually required. • In pictures: See how Delhi has spruced up parks - and hidden slums - and hear what Indians think of the "superficial" changes. • Developing world: India has positioned itself as “the voice of the Global South”, writes Vikas Pandey, from Delhi. • ‘India’s son-in-law’: Rishi Sunak is “excited to be back” in the land of his roots, says our political editor, Chris Mason, who travelled with the PM. World headlines • Actor jailed: Danny Masterson has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women in the early 2000s, when he was starring in That '70s Show. Read what prosecutors said about the role of Scientology in the case, in Los Angeles. • Record deluge: Streets and subway stations were under water after the biggest downpour to hit Hong Kong in nearly 140 years of observations. More than 100 people were taken to hospital - see dramatic footage of landslides and streets like rivers. • Apple shares: The tech giant's stock market valuation - the world's highest - has fallen for a second day, shrinking by 6% or almost $200bn (£160bn) in total, after reports Chinese government workers have been banned from using iPhones. • Prison break: Police hunting a terror suspect who escaped from jail searched a London park overnight - get the latest. Daniel Khalife is accused of trying to spy for an enemy state, understood to be Iran. Watch sightings of the delivery lorry he's thought to have clung to during his escape. • North Korea: Kim Jong Un has held a ceremony to reveal a new submarine, which Pyongyang claims can launch nuclear weapons. Analysts are sceptical. See pictures of the craft, decked in national colours. AT THE SCENE | Ancrum, Scotland The search for a lost royal palace Archaeologists and students from Australia, the USA and Canada have descended on a field outside the village of Ancrum, in the Scottish borders, to find out whether a medieval building had a royal past. David Knox, BBC Scotland Documents show the Bishop of Glasgow, William de Bondington, had a summer residence at Ancrum, near Jedburgh, from the 1230s until his death in 1258. The palace entertained Scots royalty, with at least three charters signed there by Alexander II, in 1236. Through the centuries, a substantial building on the Mantle Walls hillside was gradually lost, with stone taken to build parts of the neighbouring village. Local folklore continued to locate the bishop's palace at the site, and ploughing of the land regularly threw up pieces of medieval and post-medieval pottery, as well as human bones. Read More Beyond the headlines The King's 'softly, softly' first year There's no official event marking the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death. But to mark the date, the King has released a favourite photograph of his mother - see it here. Our royal correspondent Sean Coughlan assesses the sort of monarch Charles has been so far. For weekly analysis from Sean to your inbox, I can recommend his Royal Watch newsletter. Read more Something different Office perks The varied ways companies are trying to coax staff back to the office. Read article And finally... The scene in the English seaside village of Chapel St Leonards was horrific: seven bodies strewn on the floor of a cafe, an apparent ritual mass murderer striding among the victims. Police sent five cars to the scene. But all was not quite as it seemed. And the cafe later assured locals: "We are not part of any mad cult." Here's how the comical tale unfolded. Football Extra Newsletter Get all the latest news, insights and gossip from the Premier League. Sign up here Do you have suggestions for what we cover in BBC News Briefing? You can email me to let me know what you think. And why not forward it to friends? They can sign up here. While you're at it, add newsbriefing@email.bbc.com to your contacts list and, if you're on Gmail, pop the email into your “Primary” tab for uninterrupted service. Thanks for reading! – Andy You've received this email because you've signed up to the BBC News Briefing newsletter. Click here to Unsubscribe To find out how we use your data, see the BBC Privacy Policy. 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