The International Energy Agency is forecasting that one in five cars sold globally is set to be electric. China continues to dominate the global market. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday that 2024 will be record-setting for electric vehicles sales, with China leading the market. The Paris-based energy watchdog forecasted that electric car sales will hit 17 million this year, compared to 14 million in 2023. More than one in five cars sold globally is set to be electric, according to the IEA.  "Rather than tapering off, the global EV revolution appears to be gearing up for a new phase of growth," said IEA Director Fatih Birol. "The wave of investment in battery manufacturing suggests the EV supply chain is advancing to meet automakers' ambitious plans for expansion. As a result, the share of EVs on the roads is expected to continue to climb rapidly." Sales varying by region Growth in Europe is slowed by "a generally weak outlook for passenger car sales and the phase-out of subsidies in some countries," according to the IEA.  Electric cars are expected to hit 45% of all car sales in China, growing strongly in Europe with 25% and in the US with 11%. As for charging networks, they must expand six-fold by 2035, the IEA states. Lower profit margins and instability of prices for raw materials for batteries, as well high inflation and the termination of subsidy programs had sparked worry about the sector's growth. An increase in the second-hand market also contributes to the lowering of electric technology access. According to IEA, in 2030 around one in three cars in China should be electric, and one in five in Europe and the United States.  

Bangladesh Railway has withdrawn rebate on fares for passengers traveling more than 100 kilometers from May 4. As a result, all types of train fares are increasing. According to Bangladesh Railway officials, it gives about 20-30 percent rebate for travelling over 100km. Director General of Bangladesh Railway Sardar Sahadat Ali, confirmed the information to the media on Monday (April 22). 'The costs of train passengers travelling over 100 kilometres are likely to rise from May 4, as Bangladesh Railway will not provide the existing rebate facility from that day,' said Sahadat Ali. Train fares will be adjusted by withdrawing the the rebate from May 4, he said. However, in response to a question about the rate at which the train fare is increasing, the DG said it will be fixed the commercial branch of the railway.

The export of goods valued at $5.10 billion in March this year. Export earnings increased by about 10 percent. This information was revealed in the updated report of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) released on Tuesday (April 2). However, The earnings from exported goods fell short of the export target form the last month by 0.88 percent. In the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year, overall exports worth $43.55 billion, which is 4.39 percent higher than the same period of the previous year, according to the EPB data. Meanwhile, export earnings in  readymade garments, agriculture and plastic sectors have increased. In the nine months of the fiscal year, export earnings in the readymade garment sector increased by about 5.5 percent.

Over 20 firefighting units and five ambulances were deployed to the scene of the blaze that killed at least four people, authorities said. Prime Minister Sanchez offered "all the help that is necessary" to the city. At least four people were killed and 14 more were injured after a fire tore through a block of apartments in Valencia, Spain, on Thursday. Among the injured were a a seven-year-old child and six firefighters. Of the injured, 12 were transferred to hospitals, according to emergency services. "It can be confirmed that four people have died," Jorge Suarez Torres, deputy director of emergency services for the Valencia region, said. The death toll could rise, with 19 people missing, a source on the city council told AFP news agency.   Building rapidly 'reduced to skeleton' The fire broke out around 5:30 pm local time on Thursday on the fourth floor and spread rapidly through the building, a first responder said. The 14-story building in the Campanar neighbourhood in western Valencia housed more than 130 apartments. Spain's TVE public television said the building was "reduced to a skeleton" in no time. Authorities said 22 firefighting units and five ambulances responded to the incident, while local media reported that a field hospital was also set up at the scene. "Please stay away from the area of the fire to let the emergency services do their work," Valencia Mayor Maria Jose Catala said on social media. Earlier, residents could be seen trapped on their balconies, waiting to be rescued. Experts point to flammable cladding The fire spread so rapidly because the building was covered with highly flammable polyurethane cladding, said Esther Puchades, deputy head of Valencia's Industrial Engineers Association. One neighbor who witnessed the blaze said the building said the fire quickly engulfed the 14-story building "as if it were made of cork." "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The whole side of the building directly opposite was on fire, from the first floor to the sixth and seventh floor," the witness told Spanish broadcaster TVE. "There was a really strong wind and the fire was spreading to the left at a huge speed." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was "shocked by the terrible fire in a building in Valencia" and offered the city "all the help that is necessary." "I want to convey my solidarity to all the people affected and recognition to all the emergency personnel already deployed at the scene," Sanchez said on social media. Valencia Mayor Catala, extending condolences to those who lost friends and family, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that there will be three days of official mourning. The latest incident comes just months after Spain's deadliest nightclub fire in three decades in October. A devastating fire had swept through a nightclub in Murcia, killing 13 people.

China’s real estate market is undergoing a crisis with sluggish sales and a slow economic recovery. Meanwhile, Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are rapidly gaining dominance in real estate sales, while private companies, including giants like Evergrande Group and Country Garden, face looming debt defaults. This power shift is raising questions concerning the Chinese regime’s intent to expand the SOEs and its implications for the broader economy. This phenomenon in the Chinese economy gave rise to the catchphrase, “The state enterprises advance, the private sectors retreat,” meaning that the SOEs are expanding and forcing out private companies. The regime would generally favor SOEs in policies and subsidies and, therefore, gradually eliminate competitors from the market. This trend signals that China’s real estate power landscape is facing a major reshuffling. Real estate contributes to around 30 percent of China’s GDP and is, therefore, critical to the stability of the country’s economy. Data shows that the total sales of China’s top 100 real estate companies from Jan. to Oct. amounted to 4.56 trillion yuan (US$624.7 billion), a decrease of 12.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The top five companies on the sales list were dominated by SOEs backed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Topping the sales list was Poly Real Estate, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Poly Group, whose sales from Jan. to Oct. rose 1.4 percent year-on-year to 368.21 billion yuan (US$50.4 billion). This amount is 6.7 times that of 22nd-ranked China Evergrande’s 54.6 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion). In the second to fifth place on the sales list, all are SOEs, and three out of four of them had increased their sales volume in the past year. In China’s real estate sales rankings from Jan. to Oct., the pattern of the top 100 real estate companies is undergoing a complete remake. Country Garden, a privately owned company, fell out of the top five and ranked sixth, with its sales volume plummetting 49.3 percent year-on-year. Another private property developer, Sunac China, saw their sales plunge the most year-on-year by 50.5 percent among the top 50 companies. The real estate SOEs’ sales performance is even more remarkable in the land market. The amount of land ownership is a crucial resource for real estate companies to develop, which determines their future market share. However, due to the limited capital strength and the downturn of the Chinese real estate industry, the once-large private companies are no longer in a position to acquire more land. The CCP’s state-owned real estate companies are taking advantage of the situation to take control of high-quality land resources. According to data from January to the end of October, among the top 100 Chinese real estate companies, nearly 50 percent of them have almost stopped acquiring land, and most of these real estate companies are ranked in the lower half of the top 100 in terms of sales performance. The top ten real estate companies in land acquisition are all SOEs controlled by the CCP. SOEs also accounted for 66 percent of the land acquisitions, while private Chinese companies only accounted for 22%. This shows that the future dominance of China’s real estate market will be in the hands of these SOEs. Mike Sun, a North American investment consultant, spoke to The Epoch Times: “Seeing the difficulties experienced by private real estate companies, the SOEs seized the opportunity to acquire land for two major reasons. First, they wish to stabilize the market by having the CCP own most of the land in the country. The regime certainly does not want to see their land depreciate in value. Secondly, the SOEs have not suffered significant losses during the real estate crisis. So they are taking advantage of the decline of the private companies to accelerate their goal of expanding state ownership at the expense of privately owned companies, thus achieving dominance in the real estate power map.” Mr. Sun believes that the economic development model led by real estate development and urbanization since 1998 has come to an end and that the collapse of the real estate sector is inevitable. Since the second half of 2021, property prices in China have continued to fall, breaking the previous market trend of only rising prices. China’s economy has also been on a downward trend, with the youth unemployment rate hitting record highs at 21.3 percent in July. Some academics suggest that the actual figure could be as high as 46.5 percent. The real estate crisis in China is also starting to impact the financial sector, which may lead to a broader economic crisis.

The leaders from nine Mediterranean and southern European countries met Friday in Malta to discuss migration with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The meeting came a day after the EU failed to agree on changes to the bloc's migration laws. Some 186,000 people have already arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean Sea between January and September 24 of this year, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Of this, 130,000 have arrived in Italy, an 83% increase compared to last year. Disagreements over solutions to migrant crisis The continuous arrival of boats has put political pressure on the group, which includes Malta, France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Cyprus, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. But even among the nine countries, there are disagreements on how to deal with the crisis. Von der Leyen would hold a separate meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the Malta summit. They will discuss a plan which includes the possible expansion of naval missions in the Mediterranean. Deadly Mediterranean route Separately, the UN's children's agency, UNICEF, warned that  at least 990 people died or went missing in the dangerous central Mediterranean route between northern Africa and Europe, That was three times the number 334, recorded in the same period last year. The agency said 11,600 unaccompanied minors had been among the migrants trying to get to Italy on makeshift vessels between January and September.

The elders of Bar Qambarkhel tribe in Bara took serious exception to increasing incidents of targeted killing and demanded of the law enforcement agencies to take immediate steps to improve the situation. During a jirga held in Takia Qaumi Markaz on Sunday, the Bar Qambarkhel elders termed the inaction of officials against targeted killing a criminal negligence and alleged that not a single person involved in those crimes was nabbed so far. The jirga endorsed the Bara Siyasi Ittehad’s decision of holding protest demonstration while not burying the victim of targeted killing in future. The participants of the jirga also formed a committee comprising 10 representatives from every sub-tribe of Bar Qambarkhel to hold consultations on the incidents of targeted killing and other local issues. They decided to resolve all the domestic issues in accordance with local customs and traditions while not offending the sentiments of any individual or group in the area. TIMBER: The district administration on Sunday seized three vehicles loaded with timber during raids on different warehouses in Jamrud. A statement issued from Khyber House said that the raids were conducted on timber warehouses after receiving information about presence of huge quantity of timber brought illegally from natural forests of Tirah valley. It said that four timber smugglers were also arrested for their involvement in illegal cutting of forest and transporting the chopped timber to markets in Jamrud and Peshawar. The warehouses were also sealed. The residents of Tirah have long been complaining of massive cutting of natural forest in different parts of the valley and then its secret transportation to Jamrud and Bara from where it is sent to major cities of the country. They have been demanding a ban on forest cutting and deputing more forest staff and police at the checkposts to stop the smuggling of timber from the valley. Source: Dawn.com

A series of sharp rises in energy and food prices in Pakistan, pushed its weekly inflation up by 1.30 per cent and annualised inflation up to 29.83 per cent, Geo News reported on Saturday citing The News. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the increase in the sensitive price indicator (SPI) was attributed to an increase in the prices of tomatoes (16.85 per cent), LPG (9.82 per cent), petrol (7.86 per cent) and diesel (7.82 per cent), chilli powder (7.58 per cent), garlic (5.71 per cent), onion (5.50 per cent), powdered milk (5.17 per cent), eggs (3.86 per cent) and broken basmati rice (2.06 per cent). On the other hand, a major decrease was observed in the prices of mustard oil (1.63 per cent), chicken (1.40 per cent), vegetable ghee 1kg (0.51 per cent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (0.36 per cent), pulse gram (0.22 per cent), wheat flour (0.20 per cent) and pulse moong (0.03 per cent). For the week under review, SPI was recorded at 271.56 points against 268.08 points registered last week and 209.17 points recorded during the week ending August 8, 2022.PBS compiles SPI by collecting prices of 51 essential items from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 23 (45.10%) items increased, 7 (13.72%) items decreased and prices of 21 (41.18%) items remained unchanged, Geo News reported. Notably, different weights are assigned to various commodities in the SPI basket. Commodities with the highest weights for the lowest quintile include milk (17.5449 per cent), electricity (8.3627 per cent), wheat flour (6.1372 per cent), sugar (5.1148 per cent), firewood (5.0183 per cent), long cloth (4.2221 per cent), and vegetable ghee (3.2833 per cent). Out of these commodities, the price of milk, sugar, and firewood went up; wheat flour and vegetable ghee decreased; whereas prices of long cloth, and electricity remained unchanged, Geo News reported. Sakina, a homemaker from North Nazimabad said that she does not know how to cater to the food needs of her children, particularly meat. "Chicken is PKR 600/kg at my local shop, beef is more than Rs1,100 and mutton - I have not even bothered checking its price," she lamented, adding that just 250 grams of tomatoes cost 50 PKR, which means straight up PKR 200/kg. "With growing kids, running the kitchen in a single and meagre salary has become close to impossible," Geo News quoted the homemaker. The year-on-year (YoY) trend depicts an increase of 29.83 per cent, on account of rising prices of wheat flour (131.40%), cigarettes (109.57 per cent), gas charges for Q1 (108.38 per cent), tea (97.71 per cent), broken basmati rice (82.86 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (73.73 per cent), tomatoes (67.54 per cent), chilli powder (66.74 per cent), sugar (64.12 per cent), chicken (60.51 per cent), gents sponge chappal (58.05 per cent), gur (57.75 per cent), and potatoes (55.75 per cent), according to Geo News. Commodities that registered a YoY decline in prices included onions (37.10 per cent), electricity for Q1 (18.06 per cent), pulse masoor (15.07 per cent), and vegetable ghee 1 kg (1.13 per cent). A working woman, wishing to remain anonymous, said that her father had taken a bank loan. "Since the interest rates have been increased by the central bank, paying the instalment takes up a major chunk of our combined income," she said, sharing that for a day this week her family had no wheat flour at home to make roti. "We used to be a regular middle-class family, but I feel we are now poor," she said. Notably, Pakistan is battling a huge economic crisis, with staggering inflation and depleting Forex reserves. Weeks before, IMF approved a USD 3 billion bailout to support Pakistan in avoiding a default on its debt repayments. With sky-high inflation and foreign exchange reserves barely enough to cover one month of controlled imports, Pakistan has been facing its worst economic crisis in decades, which analysts say could have spiralled into a debt default in the absence of the IMF deal.  

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology Jitendra Singh on Wednesday asked the G20 countries to “rise above differences” and address the global challenges confronting the world and also act as G20 member responsive for global well-being in the spirit of one family, informed the Ministry of Science and Technology. In his inaugural address at the G20 Science Ministers meeting here, Jitendra Singh said, India recognises the significance of global collaboration and knowledge sharing in addressing the complex challenges of our times and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been repeatedly reiterating this from time to time at every international forum. The Minister called upon to leverage the collective wisdom, expertise, and resources to foster a culture of innovation, promote sustainable development, and ensure a prosperous future for all. The Minister urged the G20 nations to move ahead with a profound agenda to excel in inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth. Referring to the fact that a number of Member States are represented at the highest level in their national science hierarchy, Jitendra Singh said, this group has potential to address major global challenges, as we did recently while combating Covid pandemic. He emphasized that during India’s G20 Presidency, we stand committed to advancing global research and innovation for a better tomorrow, as per an official release. Singh said, in recent times, Scientists and Researchers have been at the forefront of cutting-edge discoveries and advancements across multiple disciplines like space exploration to artificial intelligence, from biotechnology to nanotechnology and have pushed the boundaries of scientific understanding and have fostered innovation that benefits humanity as a whole. He said, as the world grapples with the challenges of climate change and depleting natural resources, it becomes imperative to harness renewable energy sources efficiently. He emphasized that G20 members should remain committed to our Net Zero goals and continue to work on sustainable development and renewable energy and expressed satisfaction that the world has witnessed substantial growth in solar and wind power installations in recent years. Our scientists have been working tirelessly to discover and create materials that can revolutionise the energy sector, making it cleaner, more affordable, and accessible for all, the Minister added. Singh underscored that G20 nations must harness the power of technology and innovation to drive the transition towards cleaner energy sources and promote eco-innovations, such as smart grids, energy-efficient buildings, and sustainable transportation systems, as these initiatives not only mitigate environmental impact but also foster economic growth and create new avenues for job creation, the release said. The Union Minister also pointed out that G20 community has advanced space technologies to predict and monitor various natural hazards, like cyclone, tsunami, landslides, forest fire, space technologies also help a lot in communication. He underlined the need to share products of these technologies to countries, outside G20 also, so that they can better prepare themselves against such calamities. India’s Science Minister told the delegates that developing quantum technologies, exploring quantum communication, cryptography, and quantum algorithms are our next level of G20 research agenda. We aim to scale up scientific and industrial R&D, for accelerating Quantum Technology-led economic growth and leverage several economies into a leading nation supporting sustainable development, he added. Singh said, Scientists have made significant contributions to genetic research and biotechnology and researchers focused on studying the genetic basis of diseases, developing personalized medicine approaches, and advancing genetic engineering techniques. He said, these efforts hold immense potential for improving healthcare outcomes and addressing genetic disorders. The Minister also pointed out that as immunity is directly linked to our health and food, several systems encourage us to develop immunity through food we eat instead of medication. He highlighted that FinTech ecosystems of the world have grown in a tremendous way. Few economies have adopted virtual currencies, whereas few others are using virtual transactions to a large extent. He said, as the world is witnessing rapid digital transformation, cyber-security has become a critical focus and called upon the scientific community to develop algorithms which are difficult for hackers to break. We need to strengthen our cyber-security infrastructure, developing advanced systems to protect critical digital assets and data, he added. Singh said, during these testing times, the world also witnessed rise of several technologies-based startups and these companies excelled in developing AI-based solutions for various sectors, including healthcare, finance, agriculture, and education. He added that the integration of AI and data analytics has helped improve decision-making processes, enhance productivity, and drive innovation in diverse industries, as per the release. Jitendra Singh drew the attention of G20 delegates towards the immense potential of our oceans and seas, in terms of mineral resources, energy solutions and marine food and asserted that all are committed to promoting sustainable practices in fisheries, marine research, coastal tourism, and renewable energy generation. He said, by harnessing the potential of the Blue Economy, we can ensure the well-being of our oceans while driving economic development in a sustainable and responsible manner. We are also concerned about increased plastics and microplastics in our oceans, another important area to focus as it enters into our food chain as several marine organisms consume them. Jitendra Singh expressed concern that while some of the G20 members are facing water scarcity and challenge of water quality, some others are moving in that direction. He said, Precision irrigation, Innovative clean water technologies, such as water purification systems, desalination techniques, and wastewater treatment technologies are to be further augmented and implemented. The Minister added that as we move towards a more sustainable future, it is crucial to explore innovative approaches that minimise waste generation and maximise resource efficiency. We recognize the importance of adopting circular economy principles in the bio sector, which focuses on reducing waste, recycling valuable materials, and promoting a sustainable and regenerative approach to economic growth. He said, we also recognize the role of research and innovation in the adoption of Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) as accelerators that can advance the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and commit to support actions in promoting the same. In his concluding remarks at G20 Research Ministers Meeting, the union minister expressed satisfaction that during the RIIG meetings, member states discussed various topics including, challenges related to energy materials & devices, solar energy utilisation and photovoltaic technology and materials and processes for green energy; and policy issues like role of research, development & innovation in creating new resource-efficient, sustainable and more circular bio-based technologies, products and services; understanding the blue economy science & services; blue economy sectors and opportunities; observation data and information services; marine ecosystems & pollution; blue economy management and perspectives; coastal and marine spatial planning; marine living resources and biodiversity; deep sea ocean technology; and blue economy policy perspectives, the ministry’s official release state. Singh thanked G20 delegates for their constructive and fruitful deliberations, which marked the end of series of RIIG meetings and conferences which India hosted during last 5-6 months, starting from Kolkata to Ranchi to Dibrugarh to Dharamshala to Diu and now to Mumbai under India’s G20 main theme of Vasudhaiva-Kutumbakam or One-Earth One-Family One-Future. We identified Research and Innovation for an Equitable Society, as the main theme of RIIG-2023, he informed. The Minister thanked the members for their active participation and supporting India’s RIIG agenda with valuable inputs and comments on our priority areas. India is fully committed to contribute in attaining the UN SDG-2023 by way of Research and Innovation through International collaboration and partnerships. India hosted a total of 5 meetings and conferences across India under priority topics of i) Materials for sustainable energy; ii) Circular bio-economy; iii) Eco-innovations for energy transition; and iv) Scientific challenges and opportunities towards achieving sustainable blue-economy, which signifies the importance of Research and Innovation for inclusive societal development and growth, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology. 

Cyclone Mocha, which formed in the Bay of Bengal, has now become a 'very strong' cyclone. The maximum wind speed of the cyclone towards the center is now 140 km per hour. On Friday, May 12, Meteorologist Omar Farooq confirmed this matter. Mr. Farooq said, "The maximum sustained wind speed is 120 to 140 km per hour within 54 km of center of the cyclone. The cyclone is now 1,025 km away from Cox's Bazar. According to the latest special notification of Meteorological Department, "The strong cyclone 'Mocha' has condensed into an 'extremely strong' cyclone and is staying over the central Bay of Bengal and the adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal.  It can be more severe. Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Mongla and Payra sea ports have been asked to show warning signal number 2. Warning signal number 2 means that a storm has created in the deep sea, where the sustained wind speed is 62-88 kilometers per hour. Currently, ports are not under the storm, but ships leaving the port may be in danger en route.