Looking forward to India trip, disappointed Xi not attending G20 summit: President Biden
Washington (PTI): US President Joe Biden has said that he is looking forward to his trip to India this week but is disappointed that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will not attend the G20 summit in New Delhi.
Biden will travel to India on September 7 to participate in the G20 Summit and will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 8 on the sidelines of the historic meeting, the White House announced on Friday.
In its capacity as the current president of G20, India is hosting the annual summit of the influential grouping in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.
Ahead of his trip, reporters asked Biden on Sunday whether he was looking forward to his visits to India and Vietnam.
"Yes, I am," Biden replied.
He expressed his disappointment over President Xi of China not attending the summit in New Delhi.
"I am disappointed, but I am going to get to see him," Biden said in response to a question.
Biden, along with more than two dozen world leaders, is scheduled to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi that is being hosted by Prime Minister Modi.
According to recent media reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi are not likely to attend the summit.
India is awaiting a written confirmation from China on President Xi's participation in the G20 Leaders Summit, Muktesh Pardeshi, Special Secretary for G20, said on Friday.
"We have seen some reports in the newspapers. But, we go by written confirmation. And we have not seen (a written confirmation). Unless we see that I am not in a position to say either way," Pardeshi told PTI when asked about reports of Xi skipping the G20 meeting and deputing Prime Minister Li Qiang for the event.
Premier Li is likely to travel to India after attending the East Asia summit in Jakarta. In 2021, Chinese President Xi did not travel to Italy to participate in the G20 summit due to China's COVID-19 restrictions.
Pardeshi said the participation of world leaders in summits such as the G20 is usually conveyed through a diplomatic note.
"I think that is awaited...We have received most of the other confirmations," he said on Xi's participation.
US President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are among the G20 leaders who have already confirmed their participation in the summit.
Modi will hand over the baton of the G20 Presidency to Brazilian President Lula on September 10.
Brazil will formally assume the G20 Presidency on December 1
The G20 member countries represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
The grouping comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU).
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Gas tragedy waste disposal: Police register five cases against protestors opposing incineration
Dhar (MP) (PTI): Madhya Pradesh police have registered five cases against protesters in Pithampur of Dhar district who opposed the planned disposal of 337 tonnes of toxic waste linked to the Bhopal gas tragedy in their town, an official said on Saturday.
Protests rocked Pithampur, around 50 km from the district headquarters, on Friday after toxic waste reached Ramky Enviro company, where the incineration is to be carried out.
The protests prompted the authorities to impose prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) banning the assembly of five or more persons around Ramky Enviro.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Kumar Singh said five separate cases were registered on Friday night in connection with the protests for disrupting public peace.
He said in some cases, people were named, while in others, first information reports (FIRs) were registered against unidentified persons.
Singh said normalcy prevailed in Pithampur town on Saturday morning, and all industrial establishments were functioning.
According to police, cases were registered at Pithampur Sector-1 police station under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) sections 283 (the exhibition of false lights, marks, or buoys with the intent to mislead navigators), 341 (possession of counterfeit any seal, plate or other instruments with intent of forgery), 149 (collection of men, arms, or ammunition with the intention of waging war against the Government of India), 147 (waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India), 285 (causing danger, obstruction or injury to any person in any public way), 126 (2) (intentional obstruction of a person's movement), 190 (unlawful assembly) and 191 (rioting).
During the protests on Friday, a mob of 500-600 people marched to Ramky Group's Industrial Waste Management Private Limited premises, but the police dispersed them in time.
Two persons attempted self-immolation during demonstrations in several parts of the town amid a bandh call given by Pithampur Bachao Samiti. However, the quick response of the crowd prevented a tragedy, and the men were admitted to a local hospital.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav chaired a high-level meeting on Friday night to review the situation and decided to apprise the courts about the latest position on the issue and not proceed until further court orders in the matter.
He said the state government only transported the Union Carbide waste with safety parameters in compliance with the Supreme Court's instructions and the High Court's order.
The court had given a deadline for the waste to reach the designated place before January 4, he added.
Yadav took cognisance of the prevailing situation and said if any threat or sense of fear arises among the public about security, then the state government will try to present this subject before the court, and action will be taken only after this.
