After participating in the Conference of Parties-28 (COP28) in Dubai on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a video of the COP28 and reiterated his commitment to work together for a better planet.

Sharing the video on the social media platform X, PM Modi highlighted key moments.

The video included glimpses of his bilateral meetings, interactions with global leaders, and his summit speech focusing on the contribution of all countries against climate change.

In the video, PM Modi was also seen shaking hands and engaging with many world leaders on the sidelines of the COP28 World Climate Action Summit in Dubai.

Thank you, Dubai! It’s been a productive #COP28 Summit. Let’s all keep working together for a better planet. pic.twitter.com/xpQLQJBmQk

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 1, 2023

“Thank you, Dubai! It’s been a productive #COP28 Summit. Let’s all keep working together for a better planet,” PM Modi wrote in the post.

On the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi met with King Charles III. PM Modi called King Charles as significant voice in fight against climate change.

“Earlier today in Dubai, I had the opportunity to interact with King Charles, who has always been passionate towards environmental conservation and sustainable development. He is an important voice in the fight against climate change. @RoyalFamily,” said PM Modi in a post on X.

PM Modi met with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh and both leaders shared views on various issues.

“Met Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Pham Minh Chinh and had a great conversation on various issues,” PM Modi posted on X.

PM Narendra Modi landed at Delhi airport on Friday late night after a landmark visit to Dubai. He wrapped up his day-long visit to the UAE on Friday evening after participating in the World Climate Action Summit of the COP28.

“PM’s visit was defined by fruitful engagements with global leaders and path-breaking initiatives for accelerating global climate action,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X.

During his UAE visit, PM Modi noted that climate change has had an immense impact on countries in the Global South.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A group of Republican senators, led by Marco Rubio, have written to President Joe Biden, calling for a ban on travel between the United States and China until more is known about a respiratory illness that has been rapidly spreading in the Asian country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested that China furnish comprehensive information concerning a recent spike in respiratory illnesses and pneumonia clusters among children.

“Dear Mr President, in light of an unknown respiratory illness spreading throughout the People’s Republic of China (PRC), we call on you to immediately restrict travel between the United States and the PRC. As you know, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of lying about public health crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CCP’s obfuscation of the truth, and lack of transparency, robbed the United States of vital knowledge about the disease and its origin,” the letter from Senators Rubio, JD Vance, Rick Scott, Tommy Tuberville, and Mike Braun.

We asked Biden to ban travel to and from China until we know more about this “mystery pneumonia” outbreak https://t.co/eeufkufVII

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 1, 2023

Throughout the Covid pandemic, the WHO repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of openness and collaboration demonstrated by Chinese authorities in their handling of the pandemic.

“We should not wait for the WHO to take action given its track record of slavish deference to the CCP. We must take the necessary steps to protect the health of Americans, and our economy. That means we should immediately restrict travel between the United States and China until we know more about the dangers posed by this new illness. A ban on travel now could save our country from death, lockdowns, mandates, and further outbreaks later,” the letter added.

The senators defended former US President Donald Trump’s decision to restrict travel from China to the United States in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel ban, which was implemented on January 31 2020, was met with criticism from many, who accused Trump of “xenophobia” and “discrimination”, the letter claims.

However, the Senators argued that the travel ban was the right decision.

“History and common sense show his decision was the right one,” the letter reads.

What China Says 

Addressing concerns surrounding a recent rise in respiratory illnesses in China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi asserted that it is a prevalent global issue and that Chinese authorities are effectively managing the situation.

“Recently we have seen some clusters of flu cases among children in certain parts of China. In fact, that is a very common phenomenon in many countries, and in China that has been put under effective control,” Mr Wang said as quoted by news agency AFP. “China’s interactions with the international community will not be affected by any factors, and we welcome more visits from friends from across the world.”
 

Just hours before Telangana went to polls, Andhra Pradesh took charge of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and began releasing water, leading to tensions between the two states. At around 2 am on Thursday, when most Telangana officials were busy with the polls, nearly 700 Andhra cops stormed into the project and opened the right canal to release 500 cusecs of Krishna water per hour.

“We are releasing water from Nagarjunasagar right canal on Krishna river for the drinking water purposes,” Andhra Pradesh state irrigation minister Ambati Rambabu posted a cryptic message on X on Thursday morning.

But the minister then clarified that they have only taken water that belongs to the state according to the treaty between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

“We have not flouted any treaty. 66% of Krishna water belongs to Andhra Pradesh and 34% to Telangana. We have not used even a single drop of water that does not belong to us. We tried to open our canal in our territory. This water is rightfully ours,” Mr Rambabu told the media.

With tensions flaring, the Centre has stepped in and urged both states to revert to the release of Nagarjuna Sagar waters as of November 28. The proposal was made by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla during a video conference with Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Both states have agreed to the plan.

To avoid further conflict, the dam will be supervised by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which will also oversee that both sides are getting water as per the deal.

The incident came to light on Thursday when Telangana Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari alleged that about 500 armed policemen from Andhra Pradesh came to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and damaged the CCTV cameras and released about 5,000 cusecs of water by opening the head regulators located at gate number 5 and 7.

The move by Andhra Pradesh created “law and order issues” in Telangana subsequently, when polling for the state assembly elections was going on, she said, expressing concern that it would seriously disrupt the drinking water supply of two crore people of Hyderabad and surrounding areas.

Two cases were registered against Andhra Police in Nalgonda district of Telangana.

In 2015, the Andhra Police had made a similar effort to barge into the dam, but Telangana security forces rushed to the spot and prevented the attempt.