India eyes UAE cooperation in developing green hydrogen industry 

India eyes UAE cooperation in developing green hydrogen industry 
Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space Jitendra Singh (AFP)
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Updated 17 January 2023

India eyes UAE cooperation in developing green hydrogen industry 

India eyes UAE cooperation in developing green hydrogen industry 
  • India aims to reduce green hydrogen production costs and expand the industry by 2030 
  • UAE is one of the world’s pioneers in developing renewable hydrogen technology

NEW DELHI: The UAE’s experience and know-how would help India in its green hydrogen program, authorities and experts said on Tuesday, following a new cooperation agreement between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi. 

Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister R.K. Singh visited the UAE over the weekend and signed a memorandum on green hydrogen development and investment with his Emirati counterpart, Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei. 

Green hydrogen, also called renewable hydrogen, can be used as fuel. It is produced from the electrolysis of water in a process powered by renewable energy and thus does not generate polluting carbon emissions. 

All over the world, green hydrogen is emerging as a future alternative to fossil fuels, and the UAE has been one of the pioneers in developing it.  

“The UAE has not only vast experience but also a lot of technological progress in green hydrogen,” Sunjay Sudhir, India’s ambassador to the UAE, told Arab News. 

“The UAE can also bring in investment,” he said, adding that as India has made huge progress in green hydrogen, there were “lots of complementarities between the two countries.”  

Earlier this month, India approved an incentive plan of 197.4 billion rupees ($2.4 billion) to promote the green hydrogen industry and become a major exporter in the field. 

The program, the National Green Hydrogen Mission, 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. 

It is expected to cut about 50 million tons of annual carbon emissions, as the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases seeks to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. 

The plan is also forecast to help reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels and cut import costs by 1 trillion rupees. 

The agreement with the UAE is seen as a step forward in implementing these plans.
“It’s an important step forward given that renewables are the future,” said Muddassir Quamar, a Middle East expert at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses.“I think where India can benefit is investments and technology cooperation.” 

The cooperation is likely to be beneficial for both countries. 

“India can collaborate on the production of low-cost electrolyzers that will play an important role in reduced cost of green hydrogen production,” Dr. Lakshmi Priya, a researcher at the Indian Council of World Affairs, told Arab News. 

India and the UAE were “old energy partners” and it would be easy for them to cooperate, she said. 

“The MoU will definitely help India in accelerating our green hydrogen mission…It is a significant move on part of both the countries as the need of the hour is to lap up the opportunities emerging from this new sector.” 


US senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for war on terror

US senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for war on terror
Updated 15 sec ago

US senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for war on terror

US senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for war on terror
  • Passed in October 2001, the congressional authorization s still used to this day to justify US military action against terror groups that are deemed to be a threat against America

WASHINGTON: The US Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to continue congressional authorization for the use of military force in the global fight against terror, turning back an effort by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to repeal the 2001 measure.
Senators rejected the amendment 86-9 as they are debating a separate repeal of two authorizations of military force in Iraq. There is broad bipartisan support to withdraw that congressional approval granted in 1991 and 2002 for military strikes against Saddam Hussein’s regime.
While those two authorizations are rarely used and focused on just one country, Iraq, the 2001 measure gave President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism, approving force “against those nations, organizations, or persons” that planned or aided the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Passed in October 2001, it is still used to this day to justify US military action against terror groups — including Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, such as Daesh and Al-Shabab — that are deemed to be a threat against America.
The 2002 measure that launched the invasion of Iraq 20 years ago this week has been used much less frequently, and supporters of repealing it say it is vulnerable to abuse. President Joe Biden has said he supports that repeal.
Senators in both parties said they might be open to eventually replacing the 2001 authorization for the war on terror and narrowing its authority, but they argued that it should not be fully repealed. “We have not yet had that substantive discussion,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., ahead of the amendment vote.
Paul said that by repealing only the Iraq authorizations, Congress is “missing the point” since Hussein’s regime no longer exists. By leaving the 2001 measure in place, Congress is keeping the authorization that approves “war everywhere, all the time,” he said.
The Senate is expected to vote next week to repeal the two Iraq measures. In a test vote this week, 19 Republicans voted with Democrats to move forward on the legislation.
It’s unclear whether leaders in the Republican-controlled House will bring the bill up for a vote, even if it passes the Senate. Forty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation repealing the Iraq authorities when then-majority Democrats held a vote two years ago, but current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., opposed it then.
McCarthy signaled this week that he is open to supporting the measure, but it’s unclear whether House Republicans will move the Senate bill without any changes. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said he is interested in replacing the two Iraq authorizations instead of just repealing them, a move that is unlikely to have support in the Senate.
McCaul met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday on the authorizations of military force and other issues.
“I’m going to be for replacement,” he said coming out of that meeting. “I’ll see what the leadership does.”
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the lead Democratic author of the Senate bill to repeal the Iraq authorizations, said he believes bipartisan support in the House could move votes. Noting McCarthy’s new openness, he said he views the House as “getting better and better every day” on the issue.
Kaine and Indiana Sen. Todd Young, the Indiana Republican who is also leading the push, have argued that repeal will help the United States’ strategic partnership with Iraq.
“That relationship I think is not lost on some of the members who were now willing to vote for repeal,” Kaine said.


UK police link attacks where men set on fire after leaving mosques

UK police link attacks where men set on fire after leaving mosques
Updated 22 March 2023

UK police link attacks where men set on fire after leaving mosques

UK police link attacks where men set on fire after leaving mosques
  • Rayaz’s family told the Daily Mail that he is being treated in hospital for serious burns to his chest, face and arms
  • The attacks have caused panic in Birmingham, prompting officers to ramp up patrols

LONDON: British police on Wednesday said a man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was set on fire on his way home from a mosque in central England had also been arrested for a similar incident in London last month.

In the first incident, an 82-year-old victim was engaged in conversation by a man as they both left the West London Islamic Centre before he was doused in a liquid, believed to be petrol, and set alight. Police said the injured man suffered burns to his face and arms.

The second victim, 70-year-old Mohammed Rayaz, was walking home from a mosque in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham on Monday evening when he was approached by a man who sprayed him with a substance and then set his jacket alight. He remains in hospital with severe injuries.

“At this stage we cannot speculate around the motive for the attacks, this is a live investigation and our main aim is to make sure communities are safe and that we bring justice for the victims,” West Midlands Police said in a statement.

On Tuesday, West Midlands Police said counterterrorism officers were supporting their investigation. 

Rayaz’s family told the Daily Mail that he is being treated in hospital for serious burns to his chest, face and arms, and is in “extreme pain.”

His nephew told the Mail: “I’ve been to visit him and he looks in a very bad way. He’s not able to speak much and can’t see anything at all.”

The 27-year-old added: “He’s wrapped up in a lot of bandages and we are just praying that he recovers and that there (are) no long-lasting effects from this horrible attack.

“We don’t want to reveal the name of the hospital where he’s being treated but my uncle is in the intensive care unit and is being well looked after. We’re all praying for him.”

Sources told the Mail that the attacker had approached Rayaz and asked him: “Do you speak Arabic?” The pensioner replied: “I only speak Punjabi.”

Seconds later, Rayaz was sprayed with an unknown substance and set alight.

“We are all very upset and angry by what’s happened but it’s positive that the police took immediate action and responded to this attack very seriously,” Shahbo Hussain, a lawyer acting as a spokesman on behalf of the Rayaz family, told the Mail.

“This attack was dealt with by the UK’s counterterrorism unit and we’ve been meeting with them on a regular basis.

“The whole community is united in their condemnation of what happened. Our priority at this time is to support Mr. Rayaz and his family.”

Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood, on Wednesday said she had spoken to Rayaz on a video call.

“The victim and his family have been known to me for many years,” she said. “He is such a well-known, well-loved member of our community and it is very upsetting to see him bandaged up, unable to use or move his hands. 

“He can’t see anything at the moment because his eyes are very badly swollen. As we know he does have very serious injuries to his face.

“He was able to speak and the first thing he said was thank you to the community for helping him and helping the police with their inquiries and getting an arrest so quickly.

“It was a real testament to his character and wasn’t thinking about himself even though he was in immense pain.

“The family are very touched with how everyone helped and got the evidence together for the police and we were able to chase minute by minute the movements of the attacker which must be of immense use to the police as they continue their investigation.”

The attacks have caused panic in the area, prompting officers to ramp up patrols. Meanwhile, Muslim leaders told the Mail that they fear copycat attacks.

Mohammed Khalil, a 68-year-old living near the Birmingham mosque, told the Mail: “I didn’t know the victim well but when we passed in the street, he was always a lovely guy.

“I have lived on this road for 46 years with my wife and nothing bad has happened here before.

“Since the incident everyone is living in fear. How do we know there aren’t more people going to do it or another attack is planned?”

Another resident echoed Khalil’s comments, adding: “There is a genuine fear amongst people about copycats doing this. In a video I have seen, it appears the attacker looked like he held up a phone and took a picture of the man on fire.

“If that is the case then I am frightened about this starting a horrible online craze. You already have people kicking doors for TikTok videos, what is next? Setting Muslims on fire and filming them as they burn?”

(With Reuters)

 


At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities

At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities
Updated 22 March 2023

At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities

At least nine dead in Russian air strikes on two Ukrainian cities
  • The attack left a gaping hole in the top floor of a five-storey dormitory
  • Regional police chief Andrii Nebytov said an ambulance driver who went to the scene was among the dead

RZHYSHCHIV, Ukraine: Russian air strikes on Ukrainian cities on Wednesday killed at least nine people in attacks that President Volodymyr Zelensky said showed Moscow was not interested in peace.
In a series of early-morning drone strikes, at least eight people were killed and seven were injured when two dormitories and a college were hit in Rzhyshchiv, 40 miles (64 km) south of the capital Kyiv, emergency services said on Facebook.
One person was rescued from the site and four people were believed trapped under rubble. Rescue operations were continuing on Wednesday night.
The attack left a gaping hole in the top floor of a five-story dormitory. A pile of rubble marked where part of another building had stood, a Reuters witness said.
Regional police chief Andrii Nebytov said an ambulance driver who went to the scene was among the dead.
Hours later, two residential buildings were damaged in a missile strike on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. One person was killed and 33 taken to hospital, officials said.
The Ukrainian military said it knocked out 16 of 21 Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russia.
“Every time someone tries to hear the word ‘peace’ in Moscow, another order is given there for such criminal strikes,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter in an apparent reference to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia, which ended on Wednesday.
Zelensky described the attack on Zaporizhzhia an act of “bestial savagery.”
Russia invaded its neighbor Ukraine 13 months ago and has carried out waves of air attacks. Russia says it is targeting infrastructure as part of what it calls a “special military operation” to remove what it says is a threat to its own security. Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked war to grab territory.
“The majority of people (at the dormitories) were saved because they ... were in bomb shelters,” police chief Nebytov said.
Viktoria, a town resident, said she heard the first explosion at 2 a.m.
“I woke up from that first explosion and went outside, where I heard another Shahed. It flew very low,” she said. “And then there was another explosion, from the first explosion there had already been a fire ... And a third time something flew by.”
A Rzhyshchiv College employee, who gave her name as Svitlana, said the students clearly knew what to do after the explosions occurred.
“Well, the children called us, we came here and took them to our homes ... Then, we sent them home,” she said. “The children were in the shelter, they did everything right.”
Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said Russia probably carried out the Zaporizhzhia attack with high-speed rockets fired from the Tornado-S multiple rocket launch system.


Shamima Begum’s former friend who inspired her to join Daesh ridicules her as ‘non-believer’

Shamima Begum’s former friend who inspired her to join Daesh ridicules her as ‘non-believer’
Updated 22 March 2023

Shamima Begum’s former friend who inspired her to join Daesh ridicules her as ‘non-believer’

Shamima Begum’s former friend who inspired her to join Daesh ridicules her as ‘non-believer’
  • BBC tracked Sharmeena Begum after escaping from Syria’s Camp Hol
  • Former London schoolgirl discovered to be raising money to help Daesh regroup

LONDON: Shamima Begum’s best friend, whom she claims inspired her to join Daesh, was tracked down by the BBC after escaping from a Syrian detention camp. 

Sharmeena Begum, no relation, was Shamima Begum’s schoolmate in Bethnal Green, east London. In December 2014, she fled to join Daesh in Syria, with Shamima and two other friends following her two months later.

The BBC tracked Sharmeena down after she escaped from Camp Hol prison for women who were with Daesh and their children.

A journalist from the “Shamima Begum Story” podcast, posing as a sympathizer, contacted Sharmeena online after receiving a tip-off about a social media account she was using.

In her exchanges with the BBC, Sharmeena ridiculed Shamima as a failure and a non-believer, claiming she had tainted the reputation of the women who had joined Daesh. 

Sharmeena also said her former friend was “just another individual, living off the benefits” who did not contribute at all.

Sharmeena, still in Syria, is in hiding and going by a different identity.

A former Daesh member told the BBC that she is fanatical even according to the extremist group’s standards. 

When asked if she regretted joining Daesh, Sharmeena dodged the question, saying only that she did not want to return to the UK and be sent to prison. 

The BBC also discovered Sharmeena illegally fundraising for Daesh members while in hiding. She has been posting about detention camp conditions on social media while appealing for cryptocurrencies. 

Although it is unclear how much money she has raised in total, one account revealed 29 transactions totaling $3,000. 

The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces who guards detainees at Camp Hol expressed concern that money like this is assisting Daesh in regrouping, purchasing weapons, and planning escapes and attacks. 

“If we...look at the camps, there are little children who are a few years old and are being raised on the ideology of how to kill,” Gen. Newroz Ahmed told the BBC, saying that her people are among those being targeted and killed.

Camp Hol hosts over 65,000 people of 57 different nationalities. Guards say they have discovered grenades, guns and explosive belts smuggled in and that 50 people have been murdered there over the last six months, the BBC reported.

For her part, Shamima said Sharmeena played a big role in influencing her to run away to Syria to join the extremist “caliphate.” 

Shamima told the BBC: “I was being manipulated into thinking this was the right thing to do and I was being manipulated with lies about where I would be going and what I would be doing. 

“I mean, in my opinion, even though Sharmeena probably is still radical, I will say she was also a victim of (Daesh),” she added.


Romania further extends influencer Andrew Tate detention

Romania further extends influencer Andrew Tate detention
Updated 22 March 2023

Romania further extends influencer Andrew Tate detention

Romania further extends influencer Andrew Tate detention
  • Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in late December
  • Their detention has been extended every month since then by Romanian judges

BUCHAREST: A Romanian court on Wednesday extended the detention of controversial influencer Andrew Tate while he’s being investigated along with his brother for alleged human trafficking and rape.
Tate, 36, and his brother Tristan, 34, were arrested in late December, and their detention has been extended every month since then by Romanian judges.
Under Romania’s legal system, pre-trial detention can be extended to a maximum of 180 days, pending possible indictment.
The Bucharest Tribunal ruled to extend their detention by a further 30 days, a decision which can be appealed.
The latest extension left the brothers “speechless,” their media team said.
“The substantial material damages they have suffered are nothing compared to the moral ones. Their image has been irreparably harmed,” it said.
The brothers continue to deny all charges brought against them.
Tate, a British-American former kickboxer who has millions of online followers, along with his younger brother and two Romanian women, are under investigation for allegedly “forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking and rape.”
As part of the probe, Romanian police raided several properties connected to the Tate brothers and seized many of their assets, including a collection of luxury cars.
A court document from January said that one woman was “recruited” from the UK after she fell in love with Andrew Tate, who then brought her to Romania “with the goal of sexual exploitation.”
In 2016, Tate appeared on the “Big Brother” reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views before being banned for misogynistic remarks and hate speech.
Tate was allowed back on Twitter after the South African billionaire Elon Musk bought the company.