Costs of renewable energy

NEW DELHI: US climate envoy John Kerry on Tuesday (Apr 6) pressed India, the world's third-biggest carbon emitter, to set more ambitious green goals ahead of UN talks in late 2021 and Joe Biden's upcoming climate summit. A spokesperson for the US embassy in New Delhi, where Kerry arrived on Tuesday for talks with officials and NGOs, said that India was a "critical part of the solution to the climate crisis." Bloomberg News reported last month that top Indian government officials were debating whether to follow dozens of other countries in setting a goal of net zero emissions by mid-century. When Kerry's April trip to the United Arab Emirates, India and Bangladesh was announced, Washington said the aim was "increasing climate ambition" ahead of President Biden's Apr 22 to Apr 23 summit and the UN negotiations in Glasgow in November. "A key focus for our administration is supporting and encouraging India's decarbonization efforts through clean, zero, and low-carbon investment, ... » Learn More about Kerry presses India ahead of Biden climate summit

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - The iconic statue of Jesus overlooking Rio de Janeiro, one of the city's most recognisable landmarks, has lost a thumb tip to lightning, a report said on Friday. Christ The Redeemer, the giant monument and tourist magnet that looms atop nearby Mount Corcovado, was damaged in a huge storm on Thursday night, O Globo newspaper reported on its website. Standing at 38 metres - pedestal and all - the statue was named in a 2007 global poll as one of seven new wonders of the world. Site caretaker Father Osmar Raposo said the giant concrete figure that juts from the mountain top some 710 metres above Rio's beaches, would undergo repair next month. O Globo broadcast helicopter images of the statue on its G1 web portal, showing part of Christ's right thumb missing. Brazil's national space institute INPE counted more than 40,000 lighting flashes during the three-hour storm which felled dozens of trees and flooded streets. Winds gusting at 87 kilometres ... » Learn More about Lightning costs Rio’s iconic Christ statue tip of thumb

FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo/File Photo VIENNA — U.S. and Iranian officials clashed on Friday over what sanctions the United States should lift to resume compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, with Washington predicting an impasse if Tehran sticks to a demand that all sanctions since 2017 be removed. The two nations laid out tough stances as indirect talks in Vienna on how to bring both back into full compliance with the agreement wound up for the week, with some delegates citing progress. The talks, in which European Union officials are shuttling between the remaining parties to the deal and the United States, aim to restore the bargain at the core of the agreement – restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of U.S. and other international sanctions. The United States was the first to renege on that bargain ... » Learn More about US sees possible ‘impasse’ as it clashes with Iran on sanctions

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner VIENNA — The U.N. atomic watchdog on Friday flagged a new breach by Iran of its nuclear deal with major powers on the day those powers met to revive the agreement, a report by the agency seen by Reuters showed, likely raising tensions with Western powers. The International Atomic Energy Agency avoids saying Iran has breached the deal. At the same time, it generally only issues such ad hoc reports to member states in the event of a breach. Two diplomats told Reuters what the report described amounted to a fresh breach. The breach has to do with what counts officially towards Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, a highly sensitive issue since that stockpile could be enriched further to weapons-grade material suitable for nuclear bombs if Iran chose to do so. It denies seeking such ... » Learn More about UN atomic watchdog reports new Iranian breach of nuclear deal

The debate rages on about ivermectin as a therapy for COVID-19. Given the devastation that the disease has caused, it is not surprising that the public may sometimes seek unconventional therapies. Substances such as vodka, cocaine, gasoline, volcanic ash, and bleach have been proposed as treatments, with some of these being clearly unsafe, and all of these remaining unproven to have benefit. It is not my objective to outline here the evidence for ivermectin. For these I direct the reader to the appropriate resources, including: the US FDA Statement on “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19”; the statement on the website of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Inc. on “the Use of Ivermectin as Treatment for COVID-19,” a consensus by representatives of various medical societies; and the World Health Organization’s advisory “that ivermectin only be used to treat COVID-19 within clinical trials.” All of these, plus other documents by ... » Learn More about Learning to look at the evidence (1)

MANILA, Philippines — Karl-Anthony Towns paid the ultimate tribute to his late mother Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who would have celebrated her 60th birthday and 30th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. The Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star wrote an emotional post on his Twitter and Instagram, more than three months since her mother’s death due to COVID-19 . “Happy 30th anniversary to my parents. More importantly, happy birthday to my reason for being alive. Not a single day goes by without me thinking of you. Your energy is missed not only in the household you built but in this world overall. Love u & miss u more than people know,” he wrote on social media. Happy 30th anniversary to my parents. More importantly, happy birthday to my reason for being alive. Not a single day goes by without me thinking of you. Your energy is missed not only in the household you built but in this world overall. Love u & miss u more than people know. pic.twitter.com/zc0IIide4d — Karl-Anthony ... » Learn More about Karl-Anthony Towns honors late mother on her birthday

BEIJING: Starting on Monday, a commercial autonomous bus called Apollo, produced by Chinese internet search giant Baidu Inc, opened to the public in the mall atrium of Shin Kong Place in Chongqing’s Yubei district. The entire journey takes about 3km without stopping. It takes 20 minutes and costs 25 yuan (RM15). Apollo can carry 14 passengers and has a battery life of 100km. The driverless travel route is set by a small touch screen. It is China’s first commercial autonomous bus entering a commercial route, according to Baidu. Apollo was launched in April 2017 in collaboration with major global carmakers, including Volkswagen, BMW and Ford. Slated to enter mass production in July 2018, Apollo has started operations in Beijing, Jiangsu, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, with a total operating distance of more than 100,000km and safe transport of more than 110,000 people.In 2018, Baidu passed Chongqing’s automatic driving road test licence requirements. At the Smart China ... » Learn More about Driverless buses hit the road in Chongqing

BEIJING (Bloomberg): Chinese authorities are investigating scores of dead pigs found along a section of the Yellow River, according to a state-backed media report, turning the spotlight back on food and water safety in the country. Dozens of pig carcasses were discovered in the Inner Mongolia section of the country’s second-longest river and some were rotting in the water, according to Banyuetan, a magazine run by state news agency Xinhua. Local authorities are investigating the source of the pigs and checking if they carried any disease, in addition to disinfecting the area. This isn’t the first time China has found dead pigs in its rivers. In 2013, thousands of dead pigs were discovered in Shanghai’s Huangpu river -- some of which were reported to be infected with porcine circovirus disease -- threatening the region’s water supply. A year later, authorities pulled more than 100 dead pigs from the Ganjiang River in Nanchang city. The latest discovery comes as China’s hog ... » Learn More about China probes heaps of dead pigs along Yellow River

The partnership aims to provide food and beverage companies in China and Singapore with better access to import and export markets, so that they are able to internationalize and grow their businesses, according to a press release from Trustana. The platform said that the MOU brings in five leading food manufacturers from Chongqing to Singapore. These companies specialize in providing "mala" (hot and spicy) flavor food products, which has an expanding global market with demand grown by 200 percent over the past three years. "Singapore-based buyers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), face major challenges when seeking to expand internationally," said Rebecca Xing, Trustana's General Manager and Head of Product. These challenges include identifying products that will sell well, sourcing from trusted suppliers, managing language and cultural barriers across borders, and navigating the complex processes and operational costs of import with limited volumes. ... » Learn More about Singapore-based B2B platform sign MOU with five Chongqing food suppliers

* Myanmar junta says to hold elections within two years * At least 10 people reported killed by troops * UN envoy rebuffed by generals YANGON, April 10 (Reuters): Nineteen people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar for killing an associate of an army captain, the military owned Myawaddy TV station announced, the first such sentences announced in public since a Feb 1 coup and crackdown on protesters. The report said the killing took place on March 27 in the North Okkalapa district of Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city. Martial law has been declared in the district, allowing courts martial to pronounce sentences. The military rulers who overthrew an elected government said on Friday that a protest campaign against its rule was dwindling because people wanted peace, and that it would hold elections within two years, the first timeframe it has given for a return to democracy. Troops fired rifle grenades at anti-coup protesters on Friday in the town of Bago, near Yangon, witnesses ... » Learn More about Myanmar military sentences 19 to death, says anti-coup protests dwindling