live from washington, this is bbc news. world leaders make their way to new delhi, as the indian capital gears up for the 620 summit. dozens of civilians and soldiers are killed in two separate attacks by islamist militants in mali. and the us promises additional support for ukraine, including controversial weapons as its counter—offensive shows progress. hello, i'm carl nasman. in the coming hours, world leaders will begin arriving in new delhi ahead of this weekend's 620 summit. recent meetings have been dominated by russia's war in ukraine, but india has chosen to shift the group's focus to issues affecting the developing world.

the capital is preparing for the most high—profile event to be held in india in years. security is tight, and the budget for hosting is reported to be more than $100 million. the two—day event will be attended by several world leaders, including us presidentjoe biden — seen here boarding his plane earlier thursday. india's moment on the global stage. to the world, it's promoting itself as a leader. at home, it made the 620 part of daily discourse... let us remind ourselves that this grouping bears an exceptional responsibility... ..holding 200 meetings in 60 different cities... sustainable development goals. ..making the 620 matter. 620 means a lot to me as an indian and it is the biggest achievement i feel for the government. it feels like we are the ones hosting it. that sense of collectiveness is what india is about. and, yes, i'm very

excited for it. new convention centre, new statues, 620 billboards everywhere. delhi has been getting a makeover worthy of bollywood stars, presenting a cleaned up version to the world. but behind these walls — put up just before the 620 — is also india... ..a hidden india visiting world leaders won't see. instead of being cleaned up like the rest of the city, impoverished communities were kept out of sight — something that saddam says makes him angry. translation: to me, it looks very beautiful. - they have transformed delhi. but in making it beautiful, it seems we are stains like craters on the moon. they have made us a stain, which is why they have hidden us. so they might as well remove us from here. this may look like a pile of broken bricks and bits of concrete, but just two

months ago, it was actually people's homes were here and even a community school, but it was torn down. the government says the buildings were illegal. the 620 just happens to be taking place across the street. but it's not what maya was told when her home was destroyed. translation: they broke our| homes and made us homeless. they said they wanted to clean up the area for the 620. they said, "move from here." they removed us all. prime minister narendra modi is facing other domestic issues. his government has been criticised for a rise in religious tensions in india. but the country has shrugged off admonitions ahead of the 620, instead focusing the conversation on issues that matter to the global south. the fact that there is a great power contestation and polarisation in world politics, that's a reality. but amidst that, india's argument has been through the last year, during its presidency, that we cannot forget

a large part of the world, some of the weakest, most vulnerable countries in the world who are facing acute crises of multiple kinds. but those voices are not being heard. india has taken a rotating presidency and turned it into a major event — and in doing so, it has managed to solidify its global importance. samira hussein, bbc news, delhi. president biden�*s upcoming asia trip has two parts, with visits to india and vietnam scheduled. one of the goals is to counter the influence of their common neighbour, china. biden first goes to new delhi to take part in the 620 summit over the weekend. following that gathering, he will attend a diplomatic meeting in vietnam. my colleague caitriona perry spoke with tim roemer, the former us ambassador to india — on what to look out for at the gathering of world leaders. ambassador, thanks forjoining us. what are you expecting from this 620 summit in india? well, you know, when you look at the 620, you have 85%

of the global gross domestic product represented, you have about 75% of world trade, and you have two thirds of the world population. so this is quite an opportunity for president biden and prime minister modi, who will have the stage as world leaders kind of to themselves — with putin and xi missing — to really talk about, as architects, what the shape and the balance of power looks like in asia in the years to come. they can have some big deliverables and talk about implementing what they met on in washington, dc just a few months ago, to talk about the engine deals, the drone deals, the tech deals, the manufacturing deals that the us and india worked on bilaterally. but i also think that there's a big opportunity here for india to project its rise around the world, to the world, to talk about how far they've come in the last several decades — fourth—biggest economy in the world, the biggest democracy,

maybe the biggest population in the world, and their economic growth and progress. so great opportunities, but there'll be some questions at the end of this, too, obviously. the big question's about what goes next. but without vladimir putin and xijinping not there — both deciding to skip it for different reasons — what does that say about where the international order is at now? well, there's certainly a lot of division, a lot of volatility, a lot of opportunity in geopolitics and strategic convergence. i've written the term and heard the term "strategic convergence" now in the last year more than i have in the last 10—15 years, with respect to india's and the united states' strategic interests coming together. so there are opportunities there, you know, with putin and xi missing physically from this meeting in delhi, they're not missing from it, in terms of their influence and their power.

certainly in a joint communique, a joint statement issued at the end of the 620, will they be able to step on any kind of statement that could be put in on ukraine and the ukraine war? my guess is the joint communique, if they come up with one and agree to one, will probably skirt that issue and will be more about reform of the multilateral institutions, to lend more to the poorer countries, and on development and climate issues. they'll talk more about climate change and how to work together across the globe. but whether or not and what's in a joint communique at the end of the day on sunday will be a big question. meanwhile, china's trade with the rest of the world is struggling because of weak global demand. the country's imports and exports have dropped for the fourth month in a row. 0fficials figures show exports fell 8.8% in august

this all comes as the chinese president, xijinping, decides to skip the 620 summit this weekend — missing any chance of meeting with president biden on the sidelines. earlier, democratic congressman from illinois, raja krishnamoorthi, spoke to my colleague caitriona perry about these latest developments. congressman, thanks forjoining us. in your role as ranking member on the committee for strategic competition between the us and china, you of course keep a close eye on trade matters. the latest figures coming out of china show imports and exports fell in august, putting pressure on the manufacturing sector. the slowdown continues — is there any sign of it bottoming out, as far as you can see? not that i can see. i think that they're in a real tailspin in china right now. youth unemployment is above 20%. consumer confidence is low, people aren't buying stuff. on top of all of that, you have the risk of deflation, and you have demographic freefall because the

population is shrinking. so, given all those issues, i think that they have a lot to address. and, with respect, i think that any economic or military aggression is really counterproductive to what they're trying to achieve, which is to improve their economic fortunes right now. so what does that trajectory then mean for domestic trade here in the us? we have very little exposure to china, because we export very little as a percentage of our economy to china — it's a product of the fact that they've used protectionist policies to prevent american companies from really taking advantage of the chinese market. so, while our economy is growing, it's very strong and resilient right now with record low unemployment — unfortunately, the chinese are not seeing that, they're seeing the opposite.

now presidentjoe biden is travelling to india to the 620, and he'll be in that region for several days. he's hoping to sell a message that an alliance with the us is more beneficial to countries than one led by china. do these latest trade figures help him sell that story? sure — and i think everybody knows that. i think that the vast majority of those who will be represented at the 620 know that america is on the rise, that our economy is is doing very well — and will continue to do well — and it's in everyone's best interest to come together and try to create a set of rules of the road, if you will, both for our economies, but also for resolving differences. you don't resolve differences through force, you do so at the table, at the bargaining table. unfortunately, certain countries, russia at the front of them, don't get that — and as a consequence, they're not benefiting from trading with other countries and realising

their full potential. now, the chinese premier, xijinping, is not attending the 620. what message does that send, what does that say about china's relationship with the west? well, i think it's a little bit strained right now, and i think that it's also strained with india. i think recently, china published a map showing that one of the states of india is actually chinese territory. and then, when the indians protested this map, the chinese said, "don't overinterpret what we're trying to do on our map" — and that's just kind of being tenured because, unfortunately, china's neighbours routinely are pointing out that the ccp, the chinese communist party, is engaging in aggression, which is not helping the region grow economically or becoming more secure. and so, i hope that they refrain from those types of aggressive moves going forward. so, by not attending, is china ceding ground

essentially to joe biden, who's there on this charm offensive? well, i think that if you're not present, you're not able to put your message forward. i think it's a lost opportunity for xijinping. it's obviously an opportunity forjoe biden to showcase america's successes, and to continue to weave partnerships and friendships — trying to establish that we need to have a rules—based order govern the indo—pacific region and otherwise, and other places in the world, and i think that would be to everyone's benefit. and congressman, finally, if i can just ask you one question on a domestic matter — you'll all be back at the house of representatives next week, the senate colleagues are obviously there this week. a big task ahead, in terms of trying to agree funding by the end of the month — do you think a deal can get done, or are you expecting a government shutdown? well, we can't have a government shutdown. that would hurt millions of people — whether it's active—duty military not

getting paid, or seniors having trouble accessing help with their social security benefits. but ultimately, it'll be a choice for speaker mccarthy — does he work with democrats and moderates to try to fund the government, or does he give in to hardline extremists at the fringes of his party who are demanding all kinds of extraneous things, including an impeachment inquiry and other matters having nothing to do with the budget, in return for supporting funding the government? i think he should opt for the former. he should work with democrats and others, because we cannot afford a government shutdown. well, you'll all have an intense few weeks ahead, no doubt, and we will be talking about this plenty more. but for now, congressman krishnamoorthi, thank you very much forjoining us. thank you. military authorities in mali say at least 64 people have been killed in two separate attacks by islamist militants. dozens of civilians reportedly

died when a passenger boat travelling on the niger river came underfire in a village about 100 kilometres east of timbuktu later a nearby military camp, downriver in bamba, was attacked with 15 soldiers among the victims. in a statement read on national television, mali's military authorities said 50 jihadists had been killed. the bbc has not been able to independently verify these reports. injune, thejunta, which came to power in 2021, asked united nations forces to end their ten—year mission in the country, claiming that forces from russia's wagner group had the country's islamist militants under control. 6abon's military leaders have released deposed president ali bongo from house arrest. the army seized power last week after mr bongo was declared the winner of the country's presidential election. before the takeover, the bongo family had ruled 6abon for over 50 years. bbc�*s 6hana correspondent thomas naadi has more. the release of ousted

president ali bongo has been met with mixed reactions in this country, with some calling for him to face justice on corruption charges. the junta, in a statement read out on television, said that mr bongo was free to travel abroad for medical care. his likely destination will be morocco, because he had previously travelled to that country to receive treatment for a stroke he suffered five years ago. he also enjoys close ties with the moroccan royal family, and importantly owns a villa in the palm 6rove area of marrakesh. mr bongo's release follows pressure from central african regional bloc — eccas. he was ousted shortly after being declared the winner of the presidential elections last week. the mood in the country remains calm and stable, but many are uncertain about the future, as the general has not indicated when he plans

to return the country to civilian rule. thomas naadi, bbc news, 6abon. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. hurricane lee has strengthened to a category five storm with winds that can exceed 250kph, or157mph. the us national hurricane centre forecasts dangerous beach conditions around the western atlantic through early next week. puerto rico, hispanola, turks and caicos, and the bahamas are being warned of �*life—threatening' rip currents. it's unclear where it could make landfall. in greece, more than 800 people have been rescued after being stranded by severe flooding in the central part of the country. the unprecedented rainfall from the storm system, dubbed storm daniel, has so far claimed 14 lives across greece, turkey and bulgaria. north korea claims it launched its first submarine capable of carrying out an underwater nuclear attack. in photographs released

by state media, leader kim jong—un is seen unveiling the new submarine ina shipyard. a nuclear—attack submarine has long been on the country's wish list of weaponry. you're live with bbc news. nato says ukraine's counter—offensive against russia is showing progress. the security bloc�*s secretary general, jens stoltenberg, told members of the european parliament that ukrainian troops have made gradual gains the kremlin says its air defences downed two suspected ukrainian drones near rostov—on—don. it's home to a key southern russia military base. meanwhile, a ukrainian drone targeted an industrial site, also in southern russia, setting a building on fire. this all comes as us secretary of state, antony blinken, wrapped up his second day visiting ukraine. blinken has pledged another billion—dollar aid package, including depleted uranium shells strong enough to pierce through tank armour, which are seen as controversial due to low amounts of radiation.

i spoke earlier with retired us army lieutenant colonel alexander vindman. colonel vindman, the us announcing it will supply ukraine with these depleted uranium munitions — of course earlier this year, the us also supplying other controversial weapons, these cluster munitions. what do you make of these types of weapons being supplied to ukraine, is this the right move? thanks, carl, for having me on. you know, it's interesting that this is being described as controversial, because this is a cornerstone of the us munitions arsenal. both cluster munitions and these depleted uranium rounds, tank rounds, sabre rounds are central to the way that the us fights. it is controversial because there is, in fact, a movement under way to dispense with mines. mines have been unfortunately responsible for numerous civilian — thousands of civilian wounds, wounded people over the course

of decades, because these minefields don't necessarily disappear after the war is done. what the munitions that the us has provided are actually unique in certain ways — they're improved mine munitions, their dud rate, their failure rate amounts to about i—2%... of course, nevertheless, there will be some duds left over once the war is eventually over. russia has been very critical of these depleted uranium munitions, there are some worries that they could be slightly radioactive. what does this move say about the progress of the counteroffensive? is this either a vote of confidence, or is this potentially a sign of desperation, providing these kinds of weapons? i think it's a necessity, and its rich for russia to criticise the us and/or ukraine on the heels of genocidal attacks on the ukrainian population — an attack yesterday

into a market that killed more than a dozen people and injured scores. i think it's absolutely absurd that the russians still can get away with this narrative that somehow they're the good actor. in reality, this isjust a simple needs—based capability provided to ukraine. we don't have enough conventional munitions in our arsenal, the west doesn't have sufficient conventional munitions in its arsenal — we have plenty of these cluster munitions in the arsenal that we are providing to ukrainians so they could liberate their territory and ease the suffering inflicted by the russians. the depleted uranium rounds are, again, a cornerstone of our tank force — our mi abrams are employed with these depleted uranium rounds. the risk of any kind of radioactive residue, by multiple studies, has been proven to be negligible. most importantly, ukraine is a sovereign state. ukraine is more than capable of making decisions for itself. they understand the risks to civilians, they understand the risks of cluster munitions,

they understand the risks of depleted uranium rounds. they are taking this risk onto themselves, whatever minimal risk exists, so that they could liberate their territory and ease the suffering of their population inflicted by the russians. this week, three us secretaries of the air force, the army and the navy wrote an opinion piece in the washington post, and they're urging alabama senator tommy tuberville to stop blocking the confirmation of hundreds of various military officers. what do you make of tuberville blocking these confirmations? carl, i'll tell you that this this particular action from senator tuberville makes my blood boil. i was forced out of military service by retaliation from the trump administration. the trump administration withheld my name from the promotion list to colonel. i could've either stayed in the service and held up that

entire promotion list for all the colonels in the united states army indefinitely until trump left office, or taken the actions which i did, which is i wasn't going to penalise my fellow peers in the military — or, for that matter, i was not willing to jeopardise us national security. tommy tuberville is doing the exact opposite. he is politicising promotions, he's holding up promotions for a political agenda, has nothing to do with the qualifications of these officers. and it really, really makes me angry. the reason it makes me so angry is because it has an enormous effect on readiness. it has an enormous effect on the ability of the military to retain the best and the brightest that now look at their service as notjust apolitical, but politcised. well, it's important to mention that senator tuberville does argue — he says his actions are not harming military readiness. you say he's wrong? well, i mean, clearly, the secretaries of the service — army, air force, and navy — have said this. every living secretary of defense, months back — i think it was back in may — signed a letter criticising

senator tuberville's hold. this has been going on for months. it is affecting my friends and peers that are that, even at the colonel level, cannot get their promotions because there are restrictions on the number of people that can serve in certain billets. this is having an effect on spouses' employment, this is having effect on children that can't start at the schools that they're supposed to be starting based on the new assignments. this is having cascading effects throughout the entire force — and it's actually having an effect on the perceptions around the military, it's politicising the military. it makes makes my blood boil, it makes me sick. senator tuberville is harming us national security for his own personal gain, for his own personal agenda, enriching his coffers, his campaign coffers, and so forth, and it is completely unacceptable. i am laser—focused on getting him to reverse this extremely harmful policy. lieutenant colonel alexander vindman, former director

for european and russian affairs at the national security council, thank you for your point of view. thank you. peter navarro, a former trade adviser for donald trump, was found guilty on two counts of criminal contempt of congress in a federal trial on thursday. navarro was convicted on two counts after defying a subpoena issued by the house committee investigating the january 6th, 202i attack. 0ur correspondent 6ary 0'donoghue has more. this was an incredibly short trial, lasting just two days, and thejury tookjust about six hours to come to its guilty verdict on both charges. now those charges are contempt of congress — and that's because peter navarro failed to comply with a congressional subpoena from the january 6th committee to produce documents and to appear to give testimony. what they wanted to hear about was something called the green bay sweep — which was peter navarro's own name for a plan to overturn the election results in congress onjanuary 6th. now he said he didn't have to give them the documents or appear because it was all

covered by executive privilege, but the judge threw out that defence before the trial even started. so he was unable to run that, and really offered no defence in terms of his own case. after the court concluded, he appeared and said that he would appeal the conviction. he could face up to a year in prison on each of the charges and up to a $100,000 fine. we are expecting him to be sentenced in january. now he's the second trump adviser to be charged on contempt of congress — steve bannon, of course, got four months for the same charges, but he's still at liberty because his appeal is pending. but here we are, once again, the president's men going to court and getting convicted. thats all from washington. we leave you with these live pictures of london as we hand

off to our colleagues there. stay with us here on bbc news hello there. temperatures have been creeping up day—by—day. and on thursday, we saw the warmest day of the year so far in wisley, in surrey — 32.6 celsius, rounding up to 33 celsius. now, most places ended thursday on a dry, warm and muggy note, but some pretty ferocious thunderstorms, northern ireland through scotland have been raging. they will continue to clear the way northwards of the early part of friday and then we'll start to see some low cloud, mist and fog rolling in off the north sea, affecting eastern scotland and northeast england. a very warm and muggy night come for all areas, particularly across the south. so we start off with this grey, misty, foggy weather across eastern scotland through the firth of forth, and across northeast england. it will gradually burn back to the north sea coast as we move through the morning. so sunshine will make an appearance here fairly quickly, but for most it's another dry, sunny,

and hot and humid day. a bit of high cloud building across england and wales later on. then we could start to see some thundery showers pushing into the southwest of england as we push into the evening. mid—to—high—20s celsius, up to 29 celsius or so for northeast scotland, low 30s for southeast england, another hot day to come. through friday night, we could see these showers, thunderstorms becoming a bit more extensive across central and northern areas, bit of mist and murk around some coasts. otherwise, for most, it's another dry and a warm, muggy night. so into saturday then, we start off with plenty of sunshine around it'll feel very humid at this point. start to see more wind, cloud, breeze picking up for northwest of scotland with this weather front. ahead of it, we'll start to see some showers and thunderstorms breaking out, certainly across scotland, northern ireland, maybe northern parts of england and wales. very hot on saturday, we could be up to 33 celsius again in the southeast. temperatures will be coming down, though, in the northwest. for sunday, we start to see some changes — the air starts to destabilise

from the atlantic as these weather fronts encroach in. so, although much of england wales will have another hot and sunny day, there is the threat of showers and thunderstorms becoming more widespread in the north and the west. temperatures will be coming down across scotland and northern ireland closer to the seasonal norm, but still another hot day for england and wales, with 30 celsius or so in the southeast. the heat lasts for monday across southeastern areas, but then all areas will be cooler with sunshine and showers for the rest of the week.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. the people of sweden have had a lot to get their heads around in the last year. membership of nato hasn't happened yet, but it is coming, and that means stockholm is rethinking its strategic posture. at home, power is in the hands of a conservative coalition which leans on the support of the far—right. when it comes to policy on migration, crime, and free speech, sweden's old liberal consensus is fractured. my guest is sweden's foreign minister, tobias billstrom.

has sweden become europe's most polarised country?