G20 draft tweaked to reflect dissent on cutting 'unabated' fossil fuels
By Sudarshan Varadhan and Nidhi Verma BAMBOLIM, India A draft statement by Group of 20 energy officials was
2023-07-22 20:49
Death toll in Indian landslide rises to 26, dozens more feared trapped
By Siddhi Nayak MUMBAI The death toll from a landslide in India's western state of Maharashtra rose to
2023-07-22 20:45
Heat, War and Export Bans: Global Food Threats Are On the Rise
As scorching temperatures ravage farms from the US to China, crop harvests, fruit production and dairy output are
2023-07-22 15:49
India ‘hopes’ all G20 leaders, including Putin, will attend upcoming world summit
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
2023-07-21 19:51
Maharashtra: Sixteen dead, dozens trapped in deadly India landslide
Operations are on to rescue more people affected by the landslide in a remote village in Maharashtra state.
2023-07-21 13:50
Sexual Assault Renews Focus on Ethnic Conflict in Indian State
Prime Minister Narendra Modi weighed in on the ongoing violence in India’s most remote state of Manipur, breaking
2023-07-21 13:23
Rahul Gandhi: Supreme Court to rule on Congress leader's political future
The Supreme Court will hear Rahul Gandhi's appeal against his conviction in a defamation case.
2023-07-21 12:47
Shocking video emerges of sexual assault in India's Manipur state amid ethnic violence
A graphic video showing two women forced by a baying mob to walk naked in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur has sparked outrage after it emerged on social media and prompted the country's leader Narendra Modi to break his silence on the months-long sectarian conflict tearing the state apart.
2023-07-21 09:50
Manipur: India video shows how rape is weaponised in conflict
A video that shows two naked women being paraded by a mob in Manipur state has sparked outrage.
2023-07-20 18:22
Video of Manipur Alleged Rape Draws First Comments From Modi
A video of two women being paraded naked by a group of men in Manipur has elicited the
2023-07-20 16:28
Netflix ends password sharing in 'big market' India
Only users from a single household will be able to use an account, the streaming giant has said.
2023-07-20 13:52
India PM Modi calls Manipur women harassment incident 'shameful'
NEW DELHI India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the incident of alleged harassment of women in
2023-07-20 13:29