At India’s flagship industry event, entrepreneurs present solutions to fuel energy transition

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Updated 14 February 2025
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At India’s flagship industry event, entrepreneurs present solutions to fuel energy transition

At India’s flagship industry event, entrepreneurs present solutions to fuel energy transition
  • Local and international exhibitors display their new technology at India Energy Week 2025 in New Delhi
  • Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister highlights adoption of biofuels, renewables and hydrogen

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of Indian entrepreneurs and innovators have presented their inventions and new solutions at India Energy Week 2025 in New Delhi, displaying their efforts to contribute to the country’s energy transition programs.

Tens of thousands of visitors, officials and delegates took part in the Indian government’s flagship annual energy event, which ran at the Yashobhoomi convention from Tuesday through Friday, featuring exhibitions by 700 local and international industry players.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who opened India Energy Week, highlighted the country’s vision of transformation and decarbonization, as the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases seeks to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070

“What we are seeing today is a recalibration of strategy — prioritizing near-term profitability while keeping long-term transition efforts in play ... the primary focus remains on increasing the adoption of biofuels, renewables and hydrogen,” he told the event’s participants.

“The transition isn’t about eliminating hydrocarbons overnight but leveraging them strategically while scaling renewables to mitigate emissions ... Even when renewables become the dominant energy sources, oil and gas will continue to play a pivotal role — not just in power generation but in stabilizing grids, industrial hydrogen and energy storage innovations.”

India aims to generate 500 GW of electricity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, under its nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement.

The solar power sector is the dominant contributor to the country’s renewable energy growth, accounting for 47 percent of the total installed renewable energy capacity. It has observed a 3,450 percent increase in capacity over the past decade, rising from 2.82 GW in 2014 to 100 GW in January 2025, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The country is also heavily investing in green hydrogen — and emerging future alternatives to fossil fuels. Developing technologies to produce it is part of India’s flagship initiatives.

Also known as renewable hydrogen, green hydrogen can be used as fuel and is produced from the electrolysis of water. The process does not generate polluting carbon emissions but is currently very expensive.

India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission launched in 2023 aims to reduce production costs and increase the scale of the industry by 2030, as it targets the production of 5 million tons of green hydrogen generating 125 GW of power a year.

Renewable energy growth is fueled by local production and inventions, with India’s private sector being a top contributor to the transition process.

“There is a green hydrogen mission from the government of India to produce 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen by 2030 ... there are incentive programs run by the government,” said Rohish Kalvit, vice president of Pune-based h2e Power Systems, one of India Energy Week’s exhibitors, told Arab News.

His company is manufacturing electrolyzer stacks and fuel cell stacks, which are critical components in the production and use of hydrogen energy,

“We are helping in the national green hydrogen mission in terms of manufacturing that particular molecule ... as well as doing a lot of R&D (research and development) activities on the material part and the technology part (to) produce cheap and affordable hydrogen in the near future,” Kalvit said.

“India Energy Week is a platform which is being set up by the government of India to bring all the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), vendors, suppliers as well as offtakers to come and understand at what level each company is working in the hydrogen sector ... people are coming with open minds in order to join hands together at multiple levels to grow in this particular business.”

Raj Process Equipments and Systems, one of the leading process equipment manufacturers in India, was presenting its biogas-based solutions.

“The future is completely about biogas, compressed natural gas. We will be replacing petrol and diesel with this CBG — compressed Biogas ... it is the same as CNG (compressed natural gas), but in case of compressed biogas we get the gas from waste. From municipal waste we make biogas, we upgrade it we make it equivalent to CNG and this we use for vehicles,” said Binu Panickar, the company’s vice president.

“Biogas will be the future. It will completely replace the oil, petrol, diesel. People will completely rely on this technology.”

For him, India Energy Week was like “Maha Kumbh Mela” of the country’s energy sector — a reference to the country’s biggest religious pilgrimage, which draws millions of worshippers.

“Various technology providers are taking participating in it and we have seen a good platform to show the people what we can provide. We can see good number of visitors coming. They are getting knowledge from this event.”


Chinese aircraft carriers in Pacific show country’s ‘expansionist’ aims, Taiwan says

Chinese aircraft carriers in Pacific show country’s ‘expansionist’ aims, Taiwan says
Updated 49 min 12 sec ago
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Chinese aircraft carriers in Pacific show country’s ‘expansionist’ aims, Taiwan says

Chinese aircraft carriers in Pacific show country’s ‘expansionist’ aims, Taiwan says
  • China has been flexing its muscles by sending an unusually large number of naval and coast guard vessels through a swathe of East Asian waters

TAIPEI: The two Chinese aircraft carriers spotted conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time send a political message about the country’s “expansionist” aims, Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday.

Japan’s defense minister said the previous day that the appearance of the Chinese aircraft carriers signified Beijing’s intention to further widen its capabilities beyond its borders.

Koo said the armed forces had a “full grasp” of the carriers’ movements.

“Crossing from the first island chain into the second island chain sends a definite political message and their expansionist nature can be seen,” he told reporters in Taipei.

The first island chain refers to an area that runs from Japan down to Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo, while the second island chain spreads further out into the Pacific to include places like the US territory of Guam.

China’s navy, which has been honing its abilities to operate farther and farther from the country’s coast, said on Tuesday the carrier operations were a “routine training” exercise that did not target specific countries or regions. China operates two carriers, with a third undergoing sea trials.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, keeps a close watch on Chinese military movements given the regular drills and war games Beijing stages around the island, and has been modernizing its weapons to better face the People’s Liberation Army.

Taiwan Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Ching-jan, speaking to lawmakers later on Wednesday, said a dozen or so of 66 Lockheed Martin F-16V fighter jets ordered from the United States should arrive this year, with the rest in 2026.

“The US side was optimistic about next year’s scheduled delivery at last month’s meeting on the project, and was very optimistic about the delivery of more than 10 aircraft this year,” he said.

Taiwan has complained about delivery delays for the jets, which have advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems to better face down the Chinese air force, including its J-20 stealth fighter.

Since May, China has been flexing its muscles by sending an unusually large number of naval and coast guard vessels through a swathe of East Asian waters, according to security documents and officials, in moves that have unnerved regional capitals.

Japan’s defense ministry confirmed the two carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, were operating in separate areas of the Pacific on Saturday, both near remote southern islands belonging to Japan.

Earlier, Japan said the Liaoning sailed within its exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima, a remote island east of Iwo Jima.


Australian murder suspect denies drying deadly mushrooms

Australian murder suspect denies drying deadly mushrooms
Updated 11 June 2025
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Australian murder suspect denies drying deadly mushrooms

Australian murder suspect denies drying deadly mushrooms
  • Erin Patterson denies all charges in the trial, which has made headlines worldwide
  • She says the beef-and-pastry dish, which she cooked in individually sized portions, was poisoned by accident

SYDNEY: An Australian woman accused of murdering three people with death cap mushrooms denied Wednesday that she turned the fungi into dry powder for the fatal meal.

Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with murdering her estranged husband’s parents and aunt in July 2023 by spiking a beef Wellington lunch with the mushrooms.

She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth lunch guest – her husband’s uncle – who survived the dish after a long stay in hospital.

Patterson denies all charges in the trial, which has made headlines worldwide.

She says the beef-and-pastry dish, which she cooked in individually sized portions, was poisoned by accident.

Three months before the lunch, phone records placed Patterson in the Victoria state township of Loch, where a sighting of death cap mushrooms had been posted online, the court heard.

Prosecutor Nanette Rogers alleged that within two hours of finding death cap mushrooms in Loch, Patterson bought a dehydrator to use on the fungi.

Patterson admitted to buying the dehydrator.

But she denied purchasing it to dry the death cap mushrooms or that she went to Loch to find the dangerous fungi.

A month later, phone records placed Patterson in a second town in the area, Outtrim, just days after a sighting of death cap mushrooms had been posted online, the court heard.

Patterson denied she went to the area to find the fungi, but said she may have driven by the area.

Rogers suggested Patterson “blitzed” the death cap mushrooms into a powder in order to hide them in the meal.

“Disagree,” Patterson said.

The court heard Patterson had told people that she served the beef Wellington leftovers to her children a day after the lunch, as her sickened guests lay in hospital.

The accused said she scraped off the mushroom and pastry from the dish because her children were fussy eaters.

The prosecutor asked Patterson why she would feed leftovers to her children, while knowing or suspecting that the same meal had put her guests in hospital.

“I didn’t know or suspect that,” Patterson replied.

The prosecutor accused her of telling a “lie about feeding the leftovers” because it gave her “some distance from a deliberate poisoning.”

Patterson replied: “I don’t see how it could, but I disagree.”

The home cook had also invited her estranged husband Simon to join the family lunch at her secluded home in the Victoria state farm village of Leongatha.

But Simon turned down the invitation saying he felt uncomfortable going, the court heard previously. The pair were long estranged but still legally married.

Simon’s parents Don and Gail, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, attended the lunch. All three were dead within days.

Heather’s husband Ian fell gravely ill but recovered.

The trial in Morwell, southeast of Melbourne, is expected to last another two weeks.


Former student kills 10 in Austrian high school shooting

Former student kills 10 in Austrian high school shooting
Updated 11 June 2025
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Former student kills 10 in Austrian high school shooting

Former student kills 10 in Austrian high school shooting
  • Shooter acted alone and took his own life in the toilet at Dreierschuetzengasse high school in Graz
  • Europe has been shaken by attacks at schools and universities in recent years that were not connected to terrorism

GRAZ, Austria: Austria will observe a national day of mourning and a minute’s silence on Wednesday after a former student shot dead 10 people at a high school in an unprecedented case of gun violence that stunned the Alpine country.

The 21-year-old shooter acted alone and took his own life in the toilet at Dreierschuetzengasse high school in Graz, police said.

Investigators found a good-bye letter addressed to the suspect’s parents during a search of his residence, but it included no clues about his motive.

After arriving in Graz, Chancellor Christian Stocker described the shooting as “a national tragedy.”

“This is a dark day,” he told reporters Tuesday as he announced three days of national mourning. A minute’s silence will be observed across the country at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Wednesday.

Nine victims were immediately confirmed and a woman died later in hospital from her wounds, an official said. A 17-year-old French student was among the victims, his father said.

Twelve people suffered serious injuries and police said support was being provided to witnesses and those affected.

According to police, the alleged perpetrator was an Austrian from the Graz region who used two legally owned weapons.

He was a former student at the high school, but never finished his studies there, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner told reporters.

Bouquets of flowers and candles were placed in front of the school, which has around 400 students aged between 14 and 18, and nearby businesses closed.

One resident, originally from the United States, whose children attend a nearby elementary school and kindergarten, said she was “shocked” and it was “a lot to take in.”

“In my home country it happens more often as we know, but that it happens here is unheard of,” she said, declining to give her name.

“Graz is a safe city,” said Roman Klug, 55, who said he lived close to the school that he said was “known for its openness and diversity.”

Condolences poured in from across Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that “France extends its deepest sympathy to the victims’ families, the Austrian people and Chancellor Stocker during this difficult time.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “our thoughts are with our Austrian friends and neighbors” following the “horrific” shooting.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban offered his “deepest condolences.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “the news from Graz touches my heart,” while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathies to the families of the victims following the “tragic news.”

Attacks in public are rare in Austria, which is home to almost 9.2 million people and ranks among the 10 safest countries in the world, according to the Global Peace Index.

While still less common than in the United States, Europe has been shaken by attacks at schools and universities in recent years that were not connected to terrorism.

In France, a teaching assistant was killed in a knife attack at a school in the eastern town of Nogent on Tuesday.

In January, an 18-year-old man fatally stabbed a high school student and a teacher at a school in northeastern Slovakia.

And in December, a 19-year-old man stabbed a seven-year-old student to death and injured several others at a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia.

In December 2023, an attack by a student at a university in central Prague left 14 people dead and 25 injured.

A few months earlier, a 13-year-old gunned down nine fellow classmates and a security guard at an elementary school in Belgrade.


Pentagon slashes in half its request for Air Force F-35s – media report

Pentagon slashes in half its request for Air Force F-35s – media report
Updated 11 June 2025
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Pentagon slashes in half its request for Air Force F-35s – media report

Pentagon slashes in half its request for Air Force F-35s – media report
  • The Air Force now plans to seek $3.5 billion for the F-35 aircraft, and another $531 million for advance procurement of materials for it

The Pentagon is scaling back by half its request to Congress for the US Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-35 jets, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

A US Defense Department procurement request document sent to Capitol Hill this week asked for 24 of the planes, down from 48 that were forecast last year, the report said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Lockheed Martin and the Department of Defense did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

The Air Force now plans to seek $3.5 billion for the F-35 aircraft, and another $531 million for advance procurement of materials for it, the report said.

The Pentagon has also requested 12 of the Navy’s carrier version of the F-35, lower than the 17 Congress approved for this fiscal year, while the Marines would also see a reduction of two from this year’s funding, the report added.

In May, Lockheed Martin’s finance chief said the firm expects to be awarded a finalized contract on its F-35 jets, which have been beset by delays related to a technology upgrade.

The defense contractor delivered a total of 110 F-35 fighter jets to the United States and its allies in 2024. Lockheed’s F-35 program accounts for around 30 percent of the company’s revenue.


California governor says ‘democracy is under assault’ by Trump as feds intervene in LA protests

California governor says ‘democracy is under assault’ by Trump as feds intervene in LA protests
Updated 11 June 2025
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California governor says ‘democracy is under assault’ by Trump as feds intervene in LA protests

California governor says ‘democracy is under assault’ by Trump as feds intervene in LA protests
  • Gavin Newsom: ‘California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next’
  • California governor is head of the heavily Democratic state known as the epicenter of the so-called Trump resistance

LOS ANGELES: Calling President Donald Trump a threat to the American way of life, Governor Gavin Newsom depicted the federal military intervention in Los Angeles as the onset of a much broader effort by Trump to overturn political and cultural norms at the heart of the nation’s democracy.

In a speech Tuesday evening, the potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate said the arrival of National Guard and Marine troops in the city at Trump’s direction was not simply about quelling protests that followed a series of immigration raids by federal authorities. Instead, he said, it was part of a calculated “war” intended to upend the foundations of society and concentrate power in the White House.

“California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next,” a somber Newsom warned, seated before the US and California flags. “Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.”

As head of the heavily Democratic state known as the epicenter of the so-called Trump resistance, Newsom and the Republican president have long been adversaries. But the governor’s speech delivered in prime time argued that Trump was not just a threat to democracy, but was actively working to break down its guardrails that reach back to the nation’s founding.

″He’s declared a war. A war on culture, on history, on science, on knowledge itself,” Newsom said. “He’s delegitimizing news organizations, and he’s assaulting the First Amendment.”

Newsom added that Trump is attacking law firms and the judicial branch – “the foundations of an orderly and civil society.”

“It’s time for all of us to stand up,” Newsom said, urging any protests to be peaceful. “What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.”

His speech came the same day that Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents, with some guardsmen now standing in protective gauntlet around agents as they carried out arrests. The judge chose not to rule immediately, giving the Trump administration several days to continue those activities before a hearing Thursday.

Trump has activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders, though the Marines have not yet been spotted in Los Angeles and Guard troops have had limited engagement with protesters. They were originally deployed to protect federal buildings.

Newsom’s speech capped several days of acidic exchanges between Trump and Newsom, that included the president appearing to endorse Newsom’s arrest if he interfered with federal immigration enforcement. “I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing,” Trump told reporters.

Over the years, Trump has threatened to intercede in California’s long-running homeless crisis, vowed to withhold federal wildfire aid as political leverage in a dispute over water rights, called on police to shoot people robbing stores and warned residents that “your children are in danger” because of illegal immigration.

Trump relishes insulting the two-term governor and former San Francisco mayor – frequently referring to him as Gov. “New-scum” – and earlier this year faulted the governor for Southern California’s deadly wildfires.

Trump has argued that the city was in danger of being overrun by violent protesters, while Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have called the federal intervention an unneeded – and potentially dangerous – overreaction.

The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated in the city’s downtown hub. Demonstrations have spread to other cities in the state and nationwide, including Dallas and Austin, Texas, Chicago and New York City, where a thousand people rallied and multiple arrests were made.

Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the US to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. It’s one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a US president.

“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see,” he said from the Oval Office.