What are the advantages 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

SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - Superb individual goals from English pair Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell gave Chelsea a 2-0 win away to Porto in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday in Seville as the Londoners made the most of their few chances. Midfielder Mount ran on to an incisive pass from Jorginho then swivelled to get past a defender before firing the ball low and hard into the far corner to prise Porto open in the 32nd minute and score his first Champions League goal. Left back Chilwell also got off the mark in Europe's top competition to grab Chelsea a second away goal in the 85th to take into the second leg on April 13, which will also be played at Sevilla's Sanchez Pizjuan stadium due to coronavirus restrictions on travel between Portugal and England. "We knew it would be a tough game. We kept going, we got the goal in the first half and the second secured a good win," said Mount. "The job's not done. They'll fight for the next leg and we'll have ... » Learn More about Mount, Chilwell give Chelsea advantage over Porto

The Glaston Tower is located at the 16-ha Ortigas East. It’s been more than a year into the pandemic and by this time, we all know how important it is to prioritize our health and well-being in this new normal. Even businesses will need to step up to make sure their employees are working in modern, healthy, and safe workspaces. So what kind of workspace should we have? Nowadays, conversations are dominated by emerging trends, new priorities and work-from-home arrangements. As such, offices are being reimagined and retooled to fit anticipated needs amid and beyond this pandemic. Ultimately, the goal is to find ways for employees to become more productive while still ensuring their health, safety and well-being. Scores of surveys and researches now highlight the need for sophisticated technologies, bigger spaces for community building among employees and sustainable, green measures that ensure better air quality, access to natural lighting and ventilation, among others. For ... » Learn More about The Glaston Tower: My kind of workspace

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

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

MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Friday (Apr 9) said he was overwhelmed after receiving effusive praise from his Leeds United counterpart Marcelo Bielsa ahead of their Premier League clash on Saturday. Argentine Bielsa, who steered Leeds back to the top flight after a 16-year absence this season, described Guardiola as a magical man, and said he had given up trying to emulate the Spanish coach's style of play. Guardiola, who previously hailed Bielsa as one of the most important influences on his trophy-laden managerial career, was quick to return the compliment. "I'm overwhelmed, I feel weird. He's a huge competitor. I'm not going to try to be weak after these words because they can do whatever they want," Guardiola told a news conference. "He's the most honest person. He will always be in my heart and I always feel I don't deserve it because of course if there is one person who can find the secret or the way we want to play it is him." Leeds, who have ... » Learn More about Football: Man City’s Guardiola moved by Bielsa’s glowing tribute

After below-target collections from value-added tax (VAT) and sugar-sweetened beverages elicited government audit of taxpayers, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is now also double-checking if importers paid the correct higher excise taxes slapped on motor vehicles under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act. This was confirmed by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero Tuesday during the House ways and means committee hearing on the first year of implementation of the TRAIN law. Sought for details, BOC spokesperson Erastus Sandino B. Austria told the Inquirer that audit notification letters were issued by the agency’s post clearance audit group (PCAG) on Jan. 11, which were later served to nine car importers on Jan. 22-23. “It’s a compliance audit. We are not saying outright that they have violations. It is only to check if they are complying with customs regulations relative to correct declaration and payment of duties,” Austria explained. He noted the ... » Learn More about BOC to audit vehicle importers’ tax compliance

To ensure that all oil companies are complying with fuel marking, officers of the Bureaus of Customs (BOC) and of Internal Revenue (BIR) will start field testing on April 26. In a statement on Thursday, the BOC said random field and confirmatory testing would cover diesel, gasoline and kerosene—oil products which since September 2019 were being injected with a chemical marker signifying payment of correct import duties and excise taxes.The BOC and the BIR will check if these products contain the required fuel-marker level. “The field-testing process will be done using mobile laboratory units equipped with analyzers capable of detecting the official fuel marker’s presence in any fuel sample. The test result will be generated on-site and will indicate a pass or fail result,” the BOC said. “Products with failed results will be subjected to confirmatory testing in the fuel-testing facility. For purposes of transparency, the owner of the fuel or his representative will be allowed to ... » Learn More about BOC, BIR set to start fuel-marking compliance field testing

The Philippine economy may be hard-pressed to even grow by 5 percent this year as no relief is yet in sight from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic a year since the outbreak, prompting a return to tough lockdown protocols. This was according to Romeo Bernardo, economist at New York-based think tank Global Source, who said in a research note dated April 5 that the present crisis was a “concrete display of what has kept us worried all this time and why we have not been able to shake off a more pessimistic outlook for the economy.” At the beginning of the year, median forecasts of 13 institutions polled by the Inquirer indicated that the Philippines might grow by 6.5 percent this year, rebounding from the trecord 9.5-percent contraction last year. With the recent return to hard lockdowns due to surging COVID-19 cases last month, various analysts have downgraded their GDP growth forecasts with cuts of as much as 1.8 percentage points, reducing projected growth to below 6 percent. ... » Learn More about Economist sees slim chance of 5% GDP growth