India has said it “hopes” all G20 leaders, including Vladimir Putin, are able to attend this year’s summit in person amid increasing questions over the Russian leader’s participation. India, which walks a tightrope between placating the West and maintaining decades-old ties with Russia, is hosting this year’s G20 summit. It has sought the physical participation of leaders, with the awkward possibility emerging that if Mr Putin were to attend, he would be in the same room with Western leaders for the first time since he called for the invasion of Ukraine. India’s foreign ministry said the G20, to be held on 9-10 September, will take the form of a physical summit in Delhi. Signals to Mr Putin’s potential India visit will be closely watched as the Russian leader has continued to avoid many such meetings since the Ukraine war. His attendance would become a significant occasion, as it would be the first time since Russia’s war that he would be face to face with world leaders like Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak and others who have condemned the invasion. “The invitations have gone out to all the G20 members, invitee countries and international organizations,” foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a media briefing in New Delhi on Thursday. “This is a physical summit and we would hope that all the invitees are able to participate in person.” He said there have been confirmations for the summit, but did not share specifics on any world leaders. India becoming the G20 host has given rise to speculation that Mr Putin could travel there because of Moscow’s longstanding ties with Delhi. He had skipped the summit last year when it was hosted by Indonesia. The Kremlin had earlier cleared up Mr Putin’s schedule at the same time as the G20 summit in September to allow the possibility of him flying to India by cancelling a scheduled event. In March, Mr Putin’s aides reportedly pushed the dates by a week for an annual economic forum in Vladivostok, from its earlier 9-10 September date. Russia’s deputy chief of mission Roman Babuskin had earlier told The Hindu newspaper that G20 is “one of the most important events” for Russia. The speculation comes after it emerged that Mr Putin will not attend the Brics summit in South Africa to be held in late August and will send his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov instead. The decision, however, was made because South Africa is a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and if Mr Putin steps on South African soil, there is a chance he could be arrested. The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for him in relation to the forced deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.. Russian state media said Mr Putin will instead dial in via video link, while Mr Lavrov will fly down to Johannesburg. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said the decision was “by mutual agreement” as any attempts to arrest Mr Putin would be a declaration of war against Russia. Meanwhile, India last month confirmed Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky will not attend the main G20 conference as invites for the summit this year were sent only to members. “G20 participation is for members of G20,” foreign minister S Jaishankar had said at a press conference marking nine years of the foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government. “And for countries and organisations who we have invited and that list we had declared as soon as we assumed presidency of the G20.” The G20 ministerial meetings held this year in India have revealed the country’s reluctance in referring to the Ukraine invasion. Under the Indian presidency, no clear, joint communiques for the G20 meetings have been issued as officials disagreed in calling the invasion a “war”. In the absence of a joint communique, the G20 chair has been publishing a “chair’s summary” as the main outcome document. On Thursday, India’s foreign ministry said it has “optimism” that G20 leaders would be able to agree to a joint communique at the upcoming meeting. “There have been differences in paragraphs related to Ukraine. But largely, there has been a high degree of convergence among the participants on other issues and that’s a very positive thing,” Mr Bagchi stated. Read More India’s Modi stakes reputation on bringing together a G20 beset by international crises G20 nations raked in $50bn in debt repayments from poor countries since Covid, report finds Vladimir Putin to skip South Africa summit where he faced risk of arrest The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s three-time prime minister, has died in Milan, aged 86. A conservative media impresario, AC Milan owner and sometime cruise ship crooner, Berlusconi dominated Italian politics and public life for almost 20 years as the leader of the centre-right Forza Italia party and its People of Freedom successor organisation, leading four governments over the course of three spells as PM stretching from 1994 to 2011. An obvious forerunner to Donald Trump, Berlusconi was a populist as well known for his outrageous remarks (often about other world leaders like Angela Merkel and Barack Obama) and his womanising as he was for his political leadership, with scandal never far behind him wherever he went. His final years in office in particular were marred by allegations of corruption and sordid tales of so-called “bunga bunga” sex parties being staged at his lavish Villa San Martino in Arcore on the outskirts of Milan. The parties first came to light in October 2010 when Berlusconi personally telephoned a police station to request that one Karima El Mahroug, a 17-year-old nightclub dancer from Morocco also known as “Ruby the Heart Stealer”, be released from custody after she was accused of stealing a 3,000 euro bracelet. Berlusconi incorrectly informed the officers he spoke to that the girl was the niece of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in the hope of winning her freedom and preventing any further inquiry into her recent attendance at one of the decadent gatherings then occurring regularly at his home. Ms El Mahroug was duly released into the care of Berlusconi associate Nicole Minetti but, when prosecutors subsequently learned of his intervention on her behalf, an investigation was launched into their relationship given that she was underage. In an interview with prosecutor Antonio Sangermano soon after the police station episode, Ms El Mahroug claimed Berlusconi had sent a limousine to her home to bring her out to the villa for the first time on 14 February that year. “That evening Berlusconi explained to me that bunga bunga consisted of a harem that he copied from his friend [Libyan dictator Muammar] Gaddafi, in which the girls take their clothes off and have to provide physical pleasures,” she said, introducing the wider world to the phrase for the first time. Despite Berlusconi’s insistence that the events were not Roman orgies but simply “elegant dinners”, prosecutors eventually produced a list of 33 young women, primarily aspiring starlets hoping to exploit his influence and break into television via one of his channels, who said they had attended the gatherings and been paid for sex. Detailed accounts were also collected of the parties themselves, which typically consisted of green, white and red foods being served in honour of Italy’s tricolour flag, followed by a floorshow of costumed stripteases – with participants dressing up as nuns, nurses and policewomen or even public figures like Mr Obama or the Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho – after which Berlusconi would pick one of his guests to spend the night with, for which the woman in question would be amply rewarded with expensive gifts, from cash and jewellery to rent-free apartments. Berlusconi would finally be accused of abuse of office and paying for sex in with a minor over his relationship with Ms El Mahroug. The dancer insisted she had never slept with Berlusconi, telling a court: “It’s the first time in my life that a man has not tried to take me to bed. He behaved like a father, I swear.” He was initially found guilty in June 2013 and sentenced to seven years in jail but the verdict was overturned a year later by an appeals court, which ruled there was no proof he had known she was underage at the time of their encounter. Italy’s highest court confirmed his acquittal in 2015. But the disgraced PM was later returned to the dock in Rome, Siena and Milan after being accused of bribing witnesses to lie about the “bunga bunga” scandal, although he was subsequently cleared in each city, most recently in Milan in February 2023. Berlusconi celebrated that verdict earlier this year on Instagram, writing that it had ended years of “suffering, of mud and of incalculable political damage”. The parties would later be recreated in Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s highly entertaining satire Loro (2018) in which Toni Servillo played the ageing Silvio Berlusconi. Read More Silvio Berlusconi: Former Italian PM plagued by tax fraud and ‘bunga bunga’ sex scandals dies aged 86 Silvio Berlusconi obituary: The bunga bunga party loving billionaire who was the king of comebacks Putin pays tribute to ‘dear friend’ Berlusconi Italian news presenter holds back tears as she announces Berlusconi’s death Farewell, Berlusconi – you showed Boris and Trump how it’s done Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

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A Brit was left bemused after being told there was no “vino” for sale at a Rugby World Cup stadium in France. Linda Russ, 64, says women weren’t catered for at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille - as only beer was available. The stadium is located in the historic French province of Provence, which is famous for its wines. But Linda claims the irony was missed by staff - who she says stared back at her with a blank expression and said “non” when she asked for a glass. She was in the south of France with a group of friends to watch England and Scotland’s first games over the weekend. Linda, a retired school operations manager from Bristol, said: “Being in Provence, you would have thought they’d have wine. “The restaurants nearby had it, but there was none in the stadium. It was strange. “There were no alcoholic drinks at the Vélodrome for women. The only alcoholic drink available was beer and it ran out on both days before the match started. “We asked for wine and they said no. “We always go to the Bristol Bears rugby back home. It’s usually always cider or wine for the girls. “I think they just weren’t equipped to deal with rugby fans. “The people serving were so young, we asked for “vino” and they couldn’t understand us at all.” Wine is thought to have been made in Provence for at least 2,600 years, ever since the ancient Greeks founded the city of Marseille in 600 BC. And France and wine are synonymous the world over. Linda, who often goes to rugby games with family and friends, says she enjoys a drink while watching. She said: “We were thinking they may not have cider, which is what we normally have as we’re from Bristol. “We even tried ordering vino blanc and vino rouge, but they didn’t understand us at all!” Linda says the beer that was available quickly ran out too - which she views as a man’s drink. She said: “It was very strange that there seemed to only be alcohol for the men and not for the women. “We also noticed the toilets didn’t stock up on paper towels from the previous night in the women’s toilets. “It was really poor preparation - they were completely overwhelmed.” Asked how the stadium should better prepare for games, Linda said: “Get some wine in, get more beer in, and be more prepared.” “They’ve got to realise us rugby fans drink a lot.” The Stade Vélodrome and World Rugby were approached for comment. Read More Warning to Brits who dined at popular French restaurant after woman dies during botulism outbreak Chorus of disapproval: National anthems sung by schoolkids at Rugby World Cup out of tune with teams France sends the army to ensure water to drought-stricken Indian Ocean island of Mayotte Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv ‘retakes village near Bakhmut’ after Crimea strikes - live Russian pilot tries to shoot down RAF spy plane: ‘You have the target’ Analysis: What we learnt from Vladimir Putin’s summit with Kim Jong-un in Russia

West Ham agree a deal in principle with Ajax for the signing of defensive midfielder Edson Alvarez. The 26-year-old will now head to London to undergo a medical.