Author: HeraldStar

India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS), opens new tab hopes to acquire 2.5-3 gigawatt renewable energy projects by 2030, Executive Director Satyan Kumar said on Wednesday. The company already has about 2.5 GW of renewable energy capacity, Kumar told reporters. ONGC is looking to import 3 million ton per year of liquefied natural gas under long-term deals and expects some contracts to be finalised in 12 months, he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that he hopes “countless people from all over the globe” will attend the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics hosted by the United States. Overseas travel to the U.S. fell 2.9% year-on-year in August to about 3.5 million visitors, according to preliminary U.S. government data. It was the sixth month this year that travel declined from a year ago, bucking the global tourism trend and defying expectations that in 2025 annual inbound visitors would finally surpass the pre-pandemic level of 79.4 million. In a wide-ranging speech, Trump said next year…

Alexander Isak scored his first goal for Liverpool while Hugo Ekitike was sent off after bagging a late winner as the hosts beat second tier Southampton 2-1 at Anfield to reach the fourth round of the League Cup on Tuesday. The Swede, a record 125 million pounds ($169.04 million) signing from Newcastle United, found the net in the 43rd minute of a scrappy match — 38 seconds after Southampton’s Adam Armstrong had hit the crossbar. Federico Chiesa provided the assist, as he did for Ekitike, cutting the ball back for Isak to slot coolly home. Southampton hit back through Shea…

When Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, clasped Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh last week, the symbolism was unmistakable. The embrace followed the signing of a “strategic mutual defence agreement”, bringing the Islamic world’s only nuclear-armed state closer to the Gulf’s most ambitious monarchy. A senior Saudi official told Reuters that the pact was merely an “institutionalisation of long-standing and deep cooperation”. But many in India see it differently. Despite Delhi’s cultivated warmth with Riyadh, the pact lands amid heightened hostility with Pakistan, including a four-day conflict earlier this year. Nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars and clashes…

In a large field 45 miles (72km) from Belarus’ capital Minsk, a battle is raging. There are giant explosions as Sukhoi-34 bombers drop guided bombs. Huge plumes of smoke darken the sky. The whole area echoes to the sound of exploding mortar and artillery shells. Helicopter gunships join the attack, while surveillance drones sweep overhead to view the damage. It’s only an exercise, though. Together with other international media we’ve been brought to the Borisovsky training ground where Belarusian and Russian forces are taking part in joint manoeuvres. It’s part of the Zapad-2025 (“West 2025”) military drills. Military attachés, too,…

Malawi’s former President Peter Mutharika has taken a comfortable lead in the country’s presidential race, with two-thirds of districts having reported provisional results. The 85-year old has received around 66% of the valid votes counted so far, with his closest rival, the incumbent Lazarus Chakwera, 70, trailing on around 24%. Results declared so far indicate that Mutharika has won in areas known to be Chakwera strongholds, including the capital, Lilongwe, and Nkhotakota. But Chakwera’s camp has not given up, saying that once results are declared from other areas, his vote will increase and he could force a run-off. A candidate…

A new artificial intelligence tool designed to crack down on fraud has helped the UK government recover almost £500m over the last year, the BBC can reveal. More than a third of the money clawed back related to fraudulent activity during the Covid-19 pandemic, with other cash being recouped from unlawful council tax claims and illegal subletting of social housing. The government will announce later that a new AI tool which has helped to identify the fraud will now be licensed to other countries, including the US and Australia. Civil liberties campaigners have previously criticised the Labour government for its…

Russia’s finance ministry proposed raising the rate of value-added tax on Wednesday to 22% from 20% in 2026 to fund military spending in what would be the fifth year of the war in Ukraine. The proposal comes as U.S. President Donald Trump called Russia a “paper tiger” for “fighting aimlessly for three and a half years” and said that President Vladimir Putin and Russia were in “big economic trouble”. Putin signalled last week that he was open to raising certain taxes to make financial ends meet during the war, noting that the United States had raised taxes on wealthy people during the Vietnam…

The United States expects to finalise trade deals with more Southeast Asian countries in the coming months, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said during a meeting with regional counterparts on Wednesday. Greer was speaking in Kuala Lumpur at the start of a meeting with economic ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, amid concerns within the export-reliant bloc over the impact of U.S. tariffs on their economies. Tariff rates have been set at 19% and 20% for most of the region. Laos and Myanmar have been hit with a 40% rate, while Singapore has a 10% tariff. Greer said…

A group representing nearly all major automakers asked the Trump administration Tuesday to roll back aggressive vehicle emissions limits that seek to force the industry to build a rising number of electric vehicles. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab, Toyota Motor (7203.T), opens new tab, Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), opens new tab, Hyundai (005380.KS), opens new tab and other major automakers, said in a filing with the Environmental Protection Agency that legislation signed by President Donald Trump in June will increase the effective price of EVs and could lead to a near-term decline in EV market share. They argue rules finalized…