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This is the World in Brief from the Economist.

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Joe Biden, America's President and Narendra Modi, India's Prime Minister, met privately after a welcoming ceremony for world leaders attending the G20 summit in Delhi, India's capital.

The White House prescribed the session as one of, quote, warmth and confidence.

Neither Vladimir Putin, Russia's President, nor Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart, is at the summit, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine is expected to be a notable sticking point among attendees.

The world is not on track to meet its climate goals. The UN warned in its first stocktake since the Paris Agreement of 2015.

Countries had agreed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade, but the UN said that reaching that target would require an additional 20 gigatons worth of carbon reductions this decade.

World leaders will meet at COP28 in November to assess their progress.

Global rice prices rose by 9.8% in August, compared with the previous month, hitting a 15-year high.

India, which accounts for about 40% of the world's rice shipments, banned the export of non-Basmati white rice in July, after heavy rains wiped out many paddy fields, prices have soared since then.

Still, overall food prices fell by 2.1% in August.

Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic Congresswoman for California, announced she would run for re-election in 2024.

The 83-year-old was the first woman to be elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, and held the role longer than any other Democrat.

She stepped down from the party's leadership after Republicans recaptured control of the chamber in November's midterms.

Britain's latest round of auctions for renewable energy failed to secure any bids for offshore wind farms, a further sign that the country's plans to cut carbon are faltering.

Developers said that the government had not helped them, with more expensive building costs, up by as much as 40% from last year.

That will impede Britain's goal of lifting offshore wind capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2030, from 15 gigawatts today.

For Vladimir Zelensky, Ukraine's president, said his country was, quote, ready if it is necessary to hold elections, but acknowledge that a free and fair poll would be difficult in wartime.

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