US president Joe Biden will travel to India next week to participate in the G20 Summit and will have a bilateral meeting with prime minister Narendra Modi on September 8, the White House has announced.
India, president of the G20, will host global leaders for the summit scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi.
During the summit, Biden will “commend” Modi for his leadership of the G20, the White House said.
G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including the clean energy transition and combatting climate change.
They will also discuss ways to mitigate the economic and social impacts of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, and increase the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty.
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. The members represent around 85 per cent of the global GDP, more than 75 per cent of the global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.
But Chinese president Xi Jinping is going to skip the summit and premier Li Qiang is set to represent China at the conclave, people familiar with the development said on Saturday (2).
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already conveyed to Modi his decision to not attend the summit in-person as he has to focus on the "special military operation" in Ukraine.
(PTI)
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.