Author: Himalaya Post

BEIJING –  China’s coal imports in July hit a record high in four and a half years as demand for coal-fired electricity increased during the summer, official data showed. China imported 29 million tonnes of coal in July, up 49 percent year on year, the highest monthly volume since January 2014, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. The value of imports surged 63 percent year on year to 17.9 billion yuan (about 2.6 billion U.S. dollars) in July, the data showed. China is promoting the use of clean energy to reduce its dependence on coal, but the latter still accounted for 60.4 percent of the country’s energy consumption in 2017. The share narrowed by 1.6 percentage points from the previous year. Increased imports and port inventories kept a lid on coal prices. The Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index, the country’s benchmark power coal price, stood at 567 yuan per tonne for the week between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7, the same as the previous week. ...

BUCHAREST –  More than 450 people were hurt and around 30 arrested during a huge anti-corruption protest in Bucharest, Romanian police said on Saturday, a day after the rally. Police had used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters as tens of thousands rallied to call on the leftwing government to resign. Many demonstrators needed treatment after inhaling pepper spray and tear gas, while others suffered blows, hospital sources said. Around 30 police were also injured, 11 of whom were taken to hospital. Police rejected criticism from the centre-right opposition that its officers had used excessive force, saying its response to violence by dozens of protesters had been “gradual and proportionate”. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, whose country currently holds the EU rotating presidency, criticised the clashes, which also saw a cameraman for Austria’s public broadcaster injured. “We strongly condemn the violent clashes in Bucharest where numerous demonstrators and journalists were injured. We expect full explanations,” he said on Twitter. “Freedom of expression and, related to that, freedom of the press are basic freedoms of the EU, which we clearly recognise and which must be unconditionally protected.” Local media said up to 80,000 people had taken to the streets, among them many Romanian expatriates who returned home to show their anger at the graft in one of the EU’s most corruption-plagued member states. About a thousand officers in...

New Delhi [India] – As torrential rains continue to lash Kerala, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi apprising him of the situation and urging the latter to release sufficient funds immediately to the Kerala government for their relief and rehabilitation efforts. Flash floods, caused by incessant rains, have wreaked havoc in several districts of the state, killing nearly 30 people since July end. Rahul wrote, “The most severe disaster to have struck the state in the last five decades this natural calamity resulted in massive economic and human losses.” He said that the fishermen community were the most affected group due to flash floods and landslides caused due to heavy downpour. “At a time when the fishing industry is yet to recover from the adverse impact of Ockhi cyclone, this disaster has a deadly blow, especially to fishermen,” Rahul continued. He added, “The widespread destruction of critical public infrastructure like power supply lines and roads will only prolong the recovery process. At this juncture, it is critical to acknowledge the looming humanitarian crisis facing Kerala.” The Congress president expressed hope that the Centre would extend cooperation with the Kerala government and provide funds to facilitate the relief efforts. Earlier today, the Kerala government said that the families of people who died due to flood in the state, will receive compensation of...

LESBOS ISLAND, Greece – Three years ago, the Greek island of Lesbos found itself at the heart of Europe’s greatest migration crisis since World War II. At the height of the influx, some 5,000 refugees and migrants, mostly from war-torn Syria, were landing on the island’s beaches on a daily basis. Hundreds never survived the journey across the Aegean Sea. More than 800 people, including many children, died in 2015 in the Eastern Mediterranean. The situation quickly reached emergency proportions for beleaguered Lesbos authorities trying to regulate the flow, register the exhausted survivors, and find shelter for them. Local residents hastened to lend support, providing blankets, clothes and food until the arrival of refugee agencies and volunteer groups. Three years on, the situation has changed drastically. An agreement brokered between the European Union and Turkey in March 2016, in which Turkish authorities promised to stop people-smugglers in return for EU aid, has limited the flow. EU border agency Frontex vessels patrol the waters between Greece and Turkey, as do NATO ships. Some 35-80 people currently arrive on a daily basis, but even this is enough to keep the island’s holding camps near breaking point. There are over 9,500 refugees and migrants currently on the island, with the main camp of Moria filled to more than double its capacity. Very few are allowed off the island — mainly the ill...