Rajeev Jhawar, the son of Brij Kishore Jhawar, is an Indian industrialist with over three decades of experience in strategic management. He is an alumnus of Ranchi University and London Business School. He started his journey as Sr. Vice President (Commercial) and became the Managing Director of Usha Martin Limited in 1998. He has been the Managing Director at Usha Martin Limited since May 19, 2008, and in the three decades that he has been at the helm of the Usha Martin Group, he has accelerated growth, built a meritocracy and enhanced stakeholder value. Usha Martin started its business as a wire rope manufacturing company. The group has set new standards in the manufacture of wire rods, bright bars, steel wires, specialty wires, wire ropes, strand, conveyor cord, wire drawing and cable machinery. The company is also in the business activities of Steel, Wire & Wire Ropes. Rajeev Jhawar is the Director of Neutral Publishing House Ltd. He graduated from London Business School and completed Management Development Course at the University of Pennsylvania. Rajeev Jhawar has been Vice Chairman of Usha Martin Education & Solutions Limited since September 2010. His leadership qualities, sharp business acumen, in-depth understanding of business administration and strategic decision making has taken the Group to an altogether higher growth trajectory. Rajeev Jhawar has been an Independent Non-Executive Director of Orient Cement Limited since August 09, 2014. He serves as an Executive Director of Usha Martin Limited. He serves as Director of Usha Martin International Ltd., Usha Siam Steel Industries Public Company Ltd., Thailand, Brunton Wolf Wire Ropes FZCO, Dubai, Usha Breco Ltd, Usha Breco Realty Ltd, KGVK Rural Enterprises Ltd, KGVK Social Enterprises Ltd, Redtech Networks India (P) Ltd, PARS Consultancy & Services Pvt. Ltd. And Jhawar Venture Management Pvt. Ltd. He has been a Non-Executive Director at Usha Martin Education & Solutions Limited since March 4, 2000. He has been Director of Usha Breco Limited since March 30, 2010. He is also on the boards of various corporates including Orient Cement Limited (part of CK Birla group companies) and Neutral Publishing House Limited which has a leading regional newspaper under the flagship title ‘Prabhat Khabar’ published in the Indian cities of Patna, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Jamshedpur & Kolkata. Post covid market analysis by Rajeev Jhawar Rajeev Jhawar shares his observation about the industry post covid. After the coronavirus, the industry witnessed a pandemic and subsequent lockdown disrupted overall economic activity. The Indian steel industry struggled to keep pace with the sharp fall in steel demand. Adverse market conditions forced steelmakers to cut their operations by up to 50% by the end of 2019-20 and early 2020-21. Further, he also makes his views on the various stimulus measure taken by the government to enhance the growth of the economy. Rajeev Jhawar, managing director, UML, said the various measures announced by the central government to stimulate the economy are likely to bear fruit after the monsoon. While the pandemic has not yet been eradicated, the growth is likely to occur as all the industries had learnt to live together with the pandemic. Rajeev said while the demand for wire rope in the international market was very modest, domestic demand in various sectors was very low due to the lockdown in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Rajeev Jhawar says that their plant is currently operating at 50-55% of the installed capacity. However, export demand is good and we are supported by the depreciation of the rupee, he said. The company expects capacity to increase by the second half of this financial year once the covid situation is brought under control and domestic demand picks up. Usha martin in wire rope manufacturing The company’s global R&D centre in Italy is actively engaged in the design of wire ropes and uses property design software to develop products. The company also has a comprehensive R&D facility in its manufacturing unit at Ranchi. “Product innovation that meets the customers’ needs is a continuous process for us. We are a major supplier of several OEMs,” explains Devadip Bhowmik, director, sales & marketing, UML. The market leader in India in wire ropes, Usha Martin can produce a wide range – from 4.8 mm to 130 mm in diameter – of wire ropes. “Our USP is diverse quality products that cater to large customers,” adds Bhowmik. “It is the concept of a ‘super market’, where one can pick up everything under one roof.” Describing the advantages of the overseas operations, Rajeev Jhawar affirms that these operations provide a significant synergy and support to the overall business performance. It also helps us to spread the offerings across the globe. The Covid pandemic had adversely impacted UML’s demand but the international market is expected to open up, though slowly. Rajeev Jhawar thinks that in the next five years, the segment will see good demand. Mr. Rajeev Jhawar has also cautioned all to remain agile and responsive to the changing market needs and focus on increasing market share in high contributory products. Rajeev is bullish about the segment and expects oil & gas, ports and shipping to be the growth drivers. On a consolidated basis, 35-40 per cent of Usha Martin’s revenue is from exports to Europe, South East Asia, the US and the Scandinavian countries. “Usha Martin has been supplying us with wire ropes for heavy-duty cranes for ports over decades now,” says Harinder Singh, business head, coal import terminal, Adani Ports & SEZ. Performance-wise, UML’s products are on par with the imported ropes. But though the quality is good, there is a need to improve the services, says Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin enjoys strong brand recall in the segment. Usha Martin is now in the process of strengthening its projects and services under the new leadership. The adopted HR policy of the company identifies future leaders. The HR processes find high-potential performers. UML nurture them internally through training and development, as part of a succession planning process, so that future leaders can be developed within the organization. This is what Rajeev Jhawar feels. Usha Martin has a workforce of 2,300. The average age group of the company’s management is below 50.
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In November last year, I woke up to find two messages on my mobile phone that were sent by my bank. One of the messages was a one-time password number and the other informed me that Dh53,000 ($14,431) had been deducted from my account. The transaction was carried out from Baku, Azerbaijan.
The money that had been taken was my life savings. I immediately contacted my bank, the police and the Central Bank of the UAE to inform them that my money had been stolen without my knowledge. The police investigated my case and gave me a letter detailing the incident, which I then gave to the bank for its investigation into the matter. However, the bank told me that it was a secured, authorised transaction and it was not responsible for my money disappearing. I don’t understand how this happened as I did not give the OTP to anybody and it happened while I was sleeping. I have since lodged a complaint with the bank as I am unhappy with their decision. I have also made a formal complaint with the central bank. I don’t know what to do to get my money back. It is all I have and nobody is helping me. Aside from lodging official complaints, which I have done, what else can I do to get my bank to investigate the matter and reimburse my life savings? MA, Dubai Debt panellist 1: Sameh Awadallah, acting global head of retail banking at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Sadly, you are not alone in what is becoming an increasingly common kind of fraud, both in the Gulf region and around the world. While OTPs remain an incredibly safe way to carry out transactions, there are several ways in which criminals are succeeding in deceiving people into sharing them — either through pretending to be calling from your bank or by using malware. It is important to remember that no bank will ever call you to ask for an OTP or your account password. If you were asleep when this happened, it might be spyware or malware that enabled the fraudsters to hack into your phone to access the OTP sent to your device. If your bank has refused to help you, you may be protected under the central bank's Consumer Protection Department, which has been created to help people resolve any disputes they may have with a bank or other financial organisation. Many banks use dual-factor authentication, which requires you to log on to your bank account using your username and password. This serves as the first layer of protection. An OTP cannot be generated without that first step being taken as it acts as the second layer of security. Therefore, it is possible that the fraudsters who appear to have hacked into your phone will also have gained access to your banking username and password, either through malware or by you mistakenly disclosing your details. If you have not done so already, you would be well advised to change all your online passwords and usernames. Debt panellist 2: Jaya Ratnani, managing partner at Freed Financial Services The rise of online banking comes with many benefits but they also raise privacy and security concerns, which have led to an increase in fraudulent cases. However, banks are constantly updating their technology and authentication processes. To ensure your online transactions are secure, it is important to follow a number of steps:
However, in your case, if the bank has declined your request, it means that the OTP was verified for the transaction to be secured. Banks can retrieve the proof that an OTP was used through their systems. In such cases, any compensation or insurance claim is not usually approved by the bank. However, you can continue to approach the central bank or get a written confirmation from the police and file a case in court, along with the corresponding evidence. Debt panellist 3: Alison Soltani, founder of Leap Savvy Savers I am sorry that you are going through this and can only imagine the pain caused by having such a large amount of money stolen from your account. As mentioned, you have already raised a complaint with the police, your bank and the central bank, which means you have taken most of the steps to recover your stolen money. My advice would be to contact the police again and explain what has happened since your previous report to see if there is any further support they can offer you. You could also keep following up with the central bank through its website, by visiting its office in Abu Dhabi or calling 800 22 823. It will be obliged to investigate your case, and I recommend that you request specific timelines and outcomes so that you know when to expect updates and a potential resolution. Be aware that the investigation may be a lengthy process — some investigations into fraudulent bank activity can take from 120 to 180 days. If the bank is not at fault, the card issuer — usually Visa or MasterCard — may have to investigate which specific merchant was responsible for the transaction before refunding the money. Your final option is to seek legal advice. If you do not have the financial means to do this, you could reach out to Facebook groups and bloggers in the UAE to check if there are any lawyers who may be willing to take on your case for a reduced fee or offer you a free consultation. Unfortunately, financial scams have become very sophisticated in recent times and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to track and recover stolen money. I am aware that this won’t help your current situation. However, it is always advisable to spread money out over several financial institutions and keep some offshore. This way, if you become the victim of fraudulent activity, the perpetrator will not be able to access your life savings. Additionally, try to use credit cards and cash for all of your financial transactions as recovering stolen money from credit cards is an easier process and you are at a much lower risk of your savings being stolen. Finally, never save your card details on any websites, change passwords regularly and clear cookies and history from your devices frequently. You have already taken reasonable steps to recover your money and, while I would continue contacting the relevant authorities to pursue your case, it may be worth directing some energy and effort into building your savings pot again, but this time, taking necessary precautions to protect your hard-earned cash. I wish you the very best of luck. Sensex surges 500 pts, Nifty tops 17450 as Russia-Ukraine talks progress; Infosys, Airtel up3/29/2022 Share Market News Today LIVE: Domestic equity market benchmarks BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading over half a per cent higher on Wednesday, a day before monthly F&O expiry, as Russia-Ukraine talks progressed.BSE Sensex was hovering around 58400, while NSE Nifty 50 tops 17400. Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) were top Sensex gainers. Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, NTPC, and ITC were among top index laggards. Barring Nifty Metal, and Nifty Oil & Gas, all the sectoral indices were trading with the gains.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the talks with Russian negotiators have had some positive signs but warned that Moscow could not be trusted.
Russia announced after Tuesday’s talks between the delegations in Istanbul, Turkey, that it would significantly reduce military operations near Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and the northern city of Chernihiv. The US and others earlier expressed scepticism about Russia’s announcement. “Yes, we can say that the signals we hear from the talks are positive, but these signals can’t silence the explosions of Russian shells," Mr Zelenskyy in a video address on Tuesday evening. "Of course, we are seeing all of the risks. Of course, we are not seeing grounds to trust the words coming from representatives of the country that continues fighting to destroy us.” He said Ukrainian troops’ “courageous and effective actions” forced Russia to reduce its action around Kyiv and Chernihiv. Mr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would continue the negotiation process but stressed his mistrust in the Kremlin. “Of course, Ukraine supports the talks and will continue the negotiation process to the extent required," he said. "We are counting on the result. "We must have real security for us, for our country, sovereignty and our people. Russian troops must leave occupied territories. "Sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be guaranteed. There can’t be and there won’t be any compromises on sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Of the sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Mr Zelenskyy said: “Countries should not assume that certain talks will affect the lifting of sanctions from Russia. "The issue of sanctions can’t be resolved until the war ends, until we bring back everything belonging to us and until we restore justice. "On the contrary, sanctions must get stronger weekly and they must be of high quality.” “I’m sure you have seen the news today that the Russian Defence Ministry allegedly decided to ‘cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv’. "Well, we can say the same about Chornobaivka, as if Russian aviation decided to fly less and Russian hardware decided to drive less. “It’s their [Ukrainian troops defending Kyiv] courageous and effective actions that have forced the enemy to pull back in this direction, but we shouldn’t let our guard down. "The situation hasn’t become easier. The scale of challenges hasn’t narrowed. "The Russian Army still has great potential to continue attacks against our country. They still have a lot of hardware and they are not running out of absolutely rightless people that they can send to the war.” In a post to accompany his video on Instagram, Mr Zelenskyy wrote: "Of course, we see no reason to trust the words of certain representatives of a state that continues to fight for our destruction. Ukrainians are not naive people. "Ukrainians have already learnt during these 34 days of invasion and over the past eight years of the war in Donbas that only a concrete result can be trusted." U.S.-India bilateral relations for decades had more form than substance. Gauzy rhetoric about “shared democratic values” papered over tensions rooted in differences over the Cold War. The U.S. wanted India to choose sides; Indian leaders, fresh from an anti-colonial struggle, preferred charting an independent course to being trapped in the slipstream of others’ disputes.
But if India’s leading role in the Nonaligned Movement — and its arms deals with the Soviet Union — put a ceiling on the bilateral relationship, the American public’s generally positive view of India’s struggle for freedom and commitment to democracy established a floor. As a result, even when political tensions arose, the U.S. provided development assistance to India, people-to-people exchanges expanded, and scientific cooperation grew. The collapse of the Soviet Union signaled an opportunity for a new chapter in the bilateral relationship. The respective governments in the 1990s in Washington and New Delhi began to develop cooperative approaches in a number of areas, including trade, foreign policy, and even military-to-military engagement. India’s nuclear tests in 1998 strained relations and produced U.S. sanctions, but President Clinton’s visit to India in 2000 marked a post-sanctions turning point, which President Bush cemented when he lifted the sanctions in 2001. Shared concerns about the security implications of China’s growing regional assertiveness provided an additional impetus for Indo-U.S. strategic cooperation. This led to increased U.S. arms sales to India, bilateral and regional military exercises, the U.S. designation of India as a Major Defense Partner, and a number of new consultative fora, including regular meetings between the U.S. Secretary of State and Defense Secretary with their Indian counterparts and revitalizing the dormant Quadrilateral Security Dialogue of the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia. What has been a generally positive trajectory in Indo-U.S. relations, however, is running into choppy waters. One reason is Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine. Despite President Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting in September 2021 the two countries’ “Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” India, like China, has declined to criticize Russia’s attacks on Ukraine at the UN or elsewhere — and it is cutting deals with Russia for discounted oil purchases. This is not surprising, since an estimated 85 percent of India’s military equipment still comes from Russia and the two countries have similar views on the legitimacy of regional spheres of influence, but it suggests the Indo-U.S. “strategic partnership” is transactional, not based on core strategic interests — or values. Additionally, India is better at talking about strategic partnerships (it has also declared such “partnerships” with Russia, Japan, the UK and France) than in delivering much of substance to those partnerships. One recent analysis found that India is becoming less effective at projecting power in the Indian Ocean (its perceived regional sphere of influence) even as China steps up it regional presence and capabilities. More significantly, government-led undermining of India’s democratic institutions, processes, and traditions threatens the most fundamental basis for the traditional Indo-U.S. relationship, let alone a strategic partnership. Many in and out of the country see democracy as being under siege in India. A recurring theme since Modi’s 2014 election has been pressure on and harassment of perceived opponents of the government, such as media owners, journalists, political activists, Muslims, and even judges. Pressure and harassment have come from the government, the police, and Modi’s supporters outside of government, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other more extreme Hindu nationalist groups. Political opponents reportedly may be arrested, beaten, lose access to government advertising, or, in the case of judges, reassigned if their rulings are inconvenient. As a result of this sustained governmental pressure on the nation’s democratic institutions, Freedom House dropped India from the upper ranks for free nations to a rating of being only partly free; a Swedish research institute now calls India under Modi an “electoral autocracy.” These anti-democratic developments in India are not yet reflected in U.S. government statements, which still feature paeans to the two countries’ “shared democratic values,” but some analysts of the region are starting to take notice and others will follow. If it continues, the undermining of India’s democratic institutions and traditions will have a corrosive effect on the popular view of India in the U.S. As a result, the reliable floor under Indo-U.S. bilateral relationship may become less solid and could drift down. Ironically, this could lead to the U.S.–India relationship becoming more like the U.S. relationship with Pakistan, which has never had much popular support among the American public, but U.S. government national security officials and foreign policy analysts in think tanks and academia saw the country and the bilateral relationship as important. The Indo-U.S. relationship, too, could become a creature of government officials and think tank experts, with an atrophying link to the American public at large, despite the sizeable number of Americans with family ties to India. Neither country would be well served by a downward trend in relations; each needs to take action to prevent the Pakistan-ization of the Indo-U.S. relationship. India cannot ignore the fact that its significant international influence owes more to its past democratic success than its still unfulfilled potential to be an economic and security powerhouse. It is the rare autocracy that has meaningful allies. Modi needs to forego seeking short-term domestic political gains at the expense of India’s democracy in favor of India’s long-term economic and strategic interests. Modi should also move faster on diversifying India’s military supply arrangements. For its part, the U.S. needs to recognize India’s military, budgets, location, public attitudes, development objectives, and threat perceptions are not like other U.S. partners. As a result, the U.S. needs to carefully tailor its actions and expectations to build a meaningful strategic relationship with India. Stimson Center analysts, among others, have made some useful recommendations in this regard. But the U.S. should also put the health of India’s democracy on the agenda, given its importance to the durability and character of the bilateral relationship. The U.S.–India relationship has not, so far, lived up to the rhetoric each country has used to describe it. Nonetheless, the two countries are important to each other, and an effective partnership would be strategically important, regionally and globally. Achieving a sustainably effective Indo-U.S. strategic partnership, however, will require more realism and candor in what each expects of and can contribute to the partnership — and agreement that their relationship must have as its foundation shared (and implemented) democratic values. Kenneth C. Brill is a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer who served as an ambassador in the Clinton and Bush administrations. He also served as Consul General in Kolkata and Charge’ d’affaires, a.i. at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Sanctioned billionaire Roman Abramovich was in Turkey for the start of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday.
He was at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, where the talks are taking place, and listened to a speech by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but it was not immediately clear what role he has, if any, in the ceasefire negotiations. Mr Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club which is up for sale, was among a group of people who suffered symptoms consistent with poisoning after attending earlier peace talks in Ukraine. The Russian oligarch, who is involved in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, is understood — along with at least two Ukrainian negotiators — to have developed red eyes, constant and painful tears and peeling skin on their faces and hands since the meeting at the beginning of this month. Mr Abramovich, whose superyacht is also reportedly in Turkey, has had a number of his assets targeted by international sanctions after the Russian war in Ukraine began. Other oligarchs' homes, yachts and businesses have been added to an expanding list of people and businesses hit by UK sanctions. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met on Tuesday for the first face-to-face talks in nearly three weeks, with Ukraine seeking a ceasefire without compromising on territory or sovereignty as its forces have pushed Russians back from Kyiv. Mr Erdogan welcomed delegations from both sides to the palace and said “stopping this tragedy” was up to them. Ukrainian television reported that talks had begun with “a cold welcome” and no handshake. Ukraine and the United States hold little hope of an immediate breakthrough. But the resumption of face-to-face talks is an important first step towards a ceasefire in a Russian invasion that is stalled on most fronts but inflicting horrible suffering on civilians trapped in besieged cities. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said of the talks in Turkey: “We are not trading people, land or sovereignty.” “The minimum programme will be humanitarian questions and the maximum is reaching an agreement on a ceasefire." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said talks so far had not yielded any substantial progress but it was important they continued in person. Top Volkswagen shareholder Porsche Automobil Holding supports plans to list luxury sports car maker Porsche but the conflict in Ukraine could affect the timing of the proposed initial public offering, the holding company said on Tuesday.
Volkswagen aims to conduct the Porsche IPO in the fourth quarter of 2022, though that may change if the conflict in Ukraine drags on, Porsche Automobil Holding's finance chief said. "We cannot rule out, if the conflict lasts a longer time, that this could have potential implications on the listing," Johannes Lattwein told a news conference, without elaborating on how it would affect plans. No final decision has been made on the proposed IPO, the company said. A framework agreement for the listing proposed by Volkswagen in February includes selling 25 per cent plus 1 ordinary share in the car maker to Porsche Automobil Holding as well as listing up to 25 per cent of Porsche's preferred stock. Some 49 per cent of the IPO proceeds would be paid out to Volkswagen's shareholders as a special dividend. "Porsche Automobil Holding thereby supports the plans of Volkswagen to expand its financial flexibility and accelerate the technological transformation of the group," it said in a statement reporting its annual results. "Due to the leading positioning of Porsche in the sport and luxury segment, this attractive investment would diversify our portfolio and our dividend inflows," Mr Lattwein said. Porsche Automobil Holding, which is controlled by the Porsche and Piech families and holds a 31.4 per cent equity stake in Volkswagen, has no plans to reduce its stake in the German car maker, Hans Poetsch, chief executive of the company and chairman of VW’s supervisory board, said. The IPO would also not impact the composition of the Volkswagen supervisory board. Porsche Automobil Holding reported a 2021 group result after tax of €4.6 billion ($5.06bn). It forecast group results after tax in 2022 at between €4.1bn and €6.1bn, not including the impact of the possible Porsche IPO. At least 80 per cent of Britain’s gas supplies and 70 per cent of oil must be sourced from abroad by 2030, a UK oil and gas trade body said on Tuesday, unless there is investment to boost North Sea output.
Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said major investment is needed to offset a reliance on imports after Norway became the leading supplier of gas to Britain last year – the first time a single country has become the primary source. Deirdre Michie, chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, said Britain’s overall oil and gas production will fall by up to 15 per cent a year unless there is rapid investment in new infrastructure. “This decline is much faster than the predicted reduction in UK energy demand so, if there is no such investment then, by 2030, we will be reliant on other countries for at least 80 per cent of our gas and 70 per cent of our oil,” Ms Michie said. “That gap will have to be filled by imports, meaning the UK will become ever more dependent on other countries.” This reliance on imports is already happening, according to OEUK’s 2022 Business Outlook Report, after Norway's flows of natural gas exceeding Britain’s supply from its own continental shelf. Energy security is a key political challenge following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and while Norway is a “reliable” source to import from, the country also has other customers it is committed to, the body said. While 10 oil and gasfields are expected to start up in the UK in 2022 and early 2023, total gas supplies from the UK North Sea fields – net of volumes consumed by producers themselves – are expected to be between 28 billion and 30 billion cubic metres this year, according to OEUK. That compares with 29 billion cubic metres in 2021, a sign that output is stagnating. In comparison, Norwegian gas supplies to Britain exceeded 32 billion cubic metres last year, accounting for 64 per cent of the UK’s imports, the report showed. Investment in Britain’s oil and gas sector has dropped sharply in the past decade and is expected to be about £4 billion this year, a significant drop on the £16bn a year in 2014 and £5.5bn in 2019, OEUK said. Main drivers of the decline include major producers shifting away from fossil fuels as the UK transitions to net zero and an ageing UK basin, as well as a lack of support from the government, OEUK said. Producers are urging the government to back the oil and gas industry with stable, long-term policies, as surging energy prices cause misery for householders who are facing much higher energy bills. The Labour party is calling for a windfall tax on energy companies. However, it has also stressed the need for global investment in energy to increase supplies. While the International Energy Agency has proposed a “no new investment” strategy around the world for the oil and gas sector, OEUK said failing to open up new oil and gas resources would make the UK and other countries “increasingly reliant on Russia and Opec member states”. “It would push their share of the global oil supply market from 37 per cent now to 52 per cent by 2050. This has obvious implications for UK energy security,” Ms Michie said. This can be avoided, however, by tapping resources in the North Sea, which still has more than 11 billion barrels of reserves – enough to meet UK demand for 13 years at current rates, she added, particularly during the transition to a net zero future. “There is still enough oil and gas under our waters to maintain supplies during the transition to net zero,” Ms Michie said. Last year, the UK consumed 76 billion cubic metres of gas, with 32 billion cubic metres of this coming from Norway, while 29 billion cubic metres came from the UK continental shelf. With 45 million tonnes of oil produced in 2021, overall output was down by 17 per cent on 2020 and by 20 per cent on 2019. “The energy gap between what we produce ourselves and that which comes from other nations will keep growing unless we invest in exploration and production on the UK's continental shelf,” said Ross Dornan, OEUK’s market intelligence manager. “We must also accelerate the development of cleaner energy like hydrogen. Investment now will give us energy security in the years to come.” Ms Michie said there is also great potential for wind. “The government wants the current 10 gigawatts of offshore wind generation capacity to expand fourfold – meaning we must install about 3,000 more turbines by 2030,” she said. “Electricity, however, accounts for only a fifth of the UK’s energy consumption. The UK has had some success in decarbonising power generation but the central roles of oil and gas in transport and heating have changed little since 2000,” Ms Michie said. “It means mass hydrogen production, plus carbon capture and storage, must also come of age, alongside other measures to decarbonise transport and industry.” Security services in Germany are monitoring the use of the pro-Russian Z symbol as Ukraine urged its allies to ban an emblem it described as showing “public support of barbarism”.
A symbol resembling the Roman letter, which does not exist in the Cyrillic alphabet, was painted on Russian tanks when they rolled into Ukraine. It has also been adopted by civilians as a show of support for Moscow’s troops. One suggestion is that it was painted on Russian tanks to distinguish them from those of Ukrainian forces. The symbol has been compared to Nazi and communist iconography and was worn by presenters at a pro-war rally addressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. On Tuesday, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, urged countries to criminalise what he said was a symbol of support for the month-long invasion. “Z means Russian war crimes, bombed-out cities, thousands of murdered Ukrainians. Public support of this barbarism must be forbidden,” he said. Several German states have already moved to ban the symbol. On Monday, the federal interior ministry announced that it could be treated as a criminal show of support for the invasion. “The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is an illegal act. Anyone who openly endorses this war is liable to prosecution,” the ministry said. This could include the use of the Z symbol which security services have put “in their sights”, it said. The city government in Berlin said people could be jailed for up to three years or be fined for displaying the Z. Its meaning has been the subject of speculation since it was spotted on Russian vehicles. The sign has variously been interpreted as an abbreviation of the Russian term “za pobedu”, meaning victory, or for “zapad”, meaning west. Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, suggested it could stand for “zveri”, meaning beasts. He compared it to the name Station Z given by the Nazi SS to part of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. In Lithuania this week, MPs introduced legislation to equate the Z with banned Nazi and Soviet symbols to counter what they called propaganda. Swiss insurance company Zurich said it was removing its own Z logo from social media because it did not want to be misinterpreted as supporting Russia in the conflict. In the Cyrillic alphabet used by some Slavic languages, including Russian and Ukrainian, the “Z” sound is represented by what looks like the number 3. Russian soldier who 'didn't see point in war' surrenders and hands over tank to Ukrainians3/29/2022 A Russian soldier laid down his weapons and offered a T-72B3 tank to the Ukrainian military in exchange for £7,500 because he “didn’t see the point in war”, authorities in Kyiv said.
The member of the invading forces deserted the Red Army after his two crewmates fled and returned to Russia and his commanding officer threatened to shoot him. Victor Andrusiv, the Ukrainian minister of internal affairs, posted a photo on Facebook showing a soldier lying face down in the ground near a tank, while another soldier points a gun at him. The soldier known as “Misha” phoned Ukrainian police to arrange to meet them after authorities had sent messages to Russian soldiers with information about how to surrender, Mr Andrusiv said. He will have a chance to obtain Ukrainian citizenship, authorities said. Misha’s account adds to reports suggested morale among Russian soldiers in Ukraine had hit rock-bottom. “A few days ago, Misha called us,” Mr Andrusiv said, adding he “didn’t see the point of war”. “We handed over the information about him to the [Ukrainian military intelligence],” he said. “Misha said that there was almost no food left, military management is chaotic and practically absent. Demoralisation is colossal . . . The Russians are giving up!” The soldier will be kept under watch for the rest of the war in “comfortable conditions with a TV, phone, kitchen and shower,” Mr Andrusiv said. The handover was arranged by Ukrainian special forces who used a drone fitted with a camera to detect any signs of a possible ambush. Russia’s war in Ukraine has been stalled due to logistical problems and a lack of food supplies for soldiers, reports suggest. Earlier this month Ukrainian troops claimed to have captured a KamAZ armoured vehicle fitted with a kitchen where meals for troops had been cooked. Just three ingredients were found in the kitchen – onions, potatoes and jars of pickles. By contrast Ukraine's troops have been supported across the country by households providing fresh food from their kitchens, despite the privations caused by the war. |
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