Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has returned home after what is being hailed as a very successful visit to the United States of America, his first formal one as head of government of the largest democracy in the world.
Immediately after landing at the airport, he was back in his element as an election campaigner. In his first public outing in Bhopal, the capital city of central Madhya Pradesh state, he pilloried opposition parties and minority communities as arch-enemies of the country.
He remained silent on the mass killings and arson in Manipur where more than 300 churches have been burned since May 3, with over 130 reported deaths and some 50,000 displaced, most of them Kuki tribals who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
The US visit has been a great success indeed in military terms. India bought US$3 billion worth of the latest in Unmanned Airborne Vehicles, MQ-9B SkyGuardian or Predator drones capable of carrying missiles with nuclear warheads.
There are mutual promises of collaboration in the manufacture of computer chips, advanced aircraft engines, and military surveillance devices. The export of all these to India had been banned because of its military collaboration with the then Soviet Union, and later with Russia.
Not a high cost for the revenge Modi has had on the mighty US.
"There was not one formal invitation for an official visit to the Mecca of the free world"
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.