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Iraqis voted in a parliamentary election on 11 November and, though pre-election surveys predicted a record-low turnout, the final total turnout was 56.11% according to the Independent High Electoral Commission. (Turnout for the 2021 parliamentary election was 43.3%.) Incumbent prime minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani’s Construction and Development Coalition, won 46 seats in the 329-seat Council of Representatives of Iraq. Now the election is over and Sudani faces the task of building a governing coalition. (After the 2021 election,…
Chinese scientists have built and tested a floating droplet electricity generator (DEG) to turn the kinetic energy of raindrops into renewable power. Unlike conventional DEGs, which are used on land and are heavier and costlier, the floating device developed by researchers at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), with the support of Chinese state and provincial funding and programs, uses water for both structural and electric-generation components. In the research, published in the November issue of National Science Review,…
Mining giant BHP has been found liable for a dam disaster under both environmental law and the Brazilian civil code, in a significant ruling handed down by the High Court. The case stems from a deadly dam disaster in Brazil. On 5 November 2015, the Fundao dam in the south-eastern part of Brazil, operated by Samarco, a 50:50 joint venture owned by BHP and its peer Vale, failed, unleashing a deluge of thick, red, toxic mud that wiped out the village of Bento Rodrigues.The collapse of the Fundao dam killed 19 people and is the worst environmental…
Global LNG supply is rising and growth will accelerate in the next two years as major projects in the top exporters, the United States and China, come on stream. Supply growth is set to outpace the global LNG demand increase, leading to an oversupplied market from the end of 2026 onwards, analysts say. The coming glut will likely depress spot LNG prices in Asia, where the price-sensitive buyers such as South Asian importers India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh could benefit from the price drop and boost demand. For Europe, the expected LNG oversupply…
Since the Labour Party came into power in the United Kingdom in July 2024, there has been a major change in the government’s approach to energy. The U.K. is now rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels towards green alternatives, with ambitious climate goals set for the end of the decade and mid-century. Ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil this month, Prime Minister Kier Starmer reaffirmed his commitment to creating a green economy, while the U.K. energy minister Ed Miliband said we must not give up on tackling global warming. …
