Solar energy

An inner city food charity has started to do a takeaway service for the needy due to an alarming rise in demand. Huge queues are lining up every day outside the People’s Kitchen, Newcastle, in scenes reminiscent of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Food banks and charities across the UK have warned of rocketing demand. But there has been a fall in donations as millions struggle with the cost of living crisis . Desperate dads turn up in suits after work to ask for food parcels. Our stark image of the hungry comes after Tory MP Lee Anderson said there was no ‘massive use for’ food banks in this country - and suggested people should learn to cook. Volunteer Tim Cantle-Jones, 61, from Newcastle ( Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror) People’s Kitchen volunteers told how the number of meals served each day had doubled from 150 to almost 300 after lockdown. When the Mirror visited there were around 70 queueing up outside for mince and dumplings, served with a hot … [Read more...] about Food charity offers takeaways for desperate poor who can’t afford energy to cook

In its initiative to make the sprawling campus spread over about 300 acres carbon neutral, the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K) at Surathkal has now designed and developed 11 electric vehicles on its own for use by its students, faculty and staff members. The institute has also built a solar powered charging station to feed the e-vehicles. Thanks to major financial support for its E-Mobility Projects at the Centre for System Design (CSD) by its alumni and donors. Of the e-vehicles included three scooters, a foldable scooter, two bikes and five cycles. Pruthviraj U., Head, E-Mobility Projects told The Hindu that of the two bikes one is being used by the institute’s security personnel for campus surveillance. Another bike has been given to the Forest Department for the surveillance in the Kudremukh National Park area. The other vehicles are in use in the campus and are geo fenced. “The initiative began when the COVID-19 lock down began. The team comprising … [Read more...] about NIT-K rolls out electric vehicles to make campus carbon neutral

Fast food chain Greggs has warned of increasing costs and said customers should expect further price rises as a result. In an update to shareholders the company said costs had been increasing across the market. Roger Whiteside , who will step down as Greggs’ chief executive on Tuesday, said the business is in the process of working out its latest potential price increases due to cost inflation. “At the start of the year we made some increases and then, when the reduced rate of VAT went back to normal, we had to add that back onto prices where we’d been able to pass the reduction to customers during Covid ,” he said. “We are now going to have to make some increases again soon. Recommended Coleen Rooney to resume evidence in Rebekah Vardy court battle - live ‘Putin likely to have lost third of troops in Ukraine’ – follow live “It will be on selected items, but it will be across different areas, so there might be 5p or 10p increases … [Read more...] about Greggs warns of rising costs as sales bounce back after pandemic

Online furniture retailer Made.com has seen shares plunge after warning it is set to slump to a full-year underlying loss due to tumbling sales and supply chain woes. The group’s shares slumped by more than a fifth at one stage as it slashed its sales outlook and said trading would remain “highly challenging” this year. Made.com – which floated on the stock market last June – forecast full-year gross sales would fall by up to 15%, while ongoing supply chain disruption is also hitting its bottom line. It said it expects to post an annual underlying loss of between £15 million and £35 million, dragged lower also by a £5 million cost of supply chain issues. Recommended Coleen Rooney to resume evidence in Rebekah Vardy court battle - live ‘Putin likely to have lost third of troops in Ukraine’ – follow live The firm had in March forecast underlying earnings of up to £15 million. Made.com said: “Although Made’s performance has remained strong … [Read more...] about Made.com shares slump on warning over losses and sliding sales

If Ukraine had joined NATO as Russian President Vladimir Putin once feared, it would have added an extra 210,000 troops and 2,550 tanks to the alliance's military strength, bringing the total up to at least 3.7 million personnel, including troops, personnel and civilian fighters. Putin has always justified his invasion of Ukraine as a means to stop the eastward expansion of the 30-strong Western military alliance but Finland and Sweden have both dramatically increased military spending since the war began on February 24. The two countries have announced their intention to join NATO, signaling that Putin's war aims to prevent the alliance from getting stronger are backfiring. Moscow has been quick to warn that the two countries' move to join the alliance will be met by "retaliatory steps," including deployment of nuclear weapons. However, Sweden's ruling party approved the country's bid to join NATO on Sunday, as well as Finnish politicians calling for their country to … [Read more...] about Putin’s NATO Backfire? How Finnish, Swedish Forces Compare With Ukraine’s

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a vocal critic of Finland and Sweden since reports emerged that they were seeking to join NATO in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24, both Finland and Sweden have been considering ending decades of military neutrality to join the 30-nation alliance, contradicting Putin's war aims while doing so. Putin has repeatedly said that the eastward expansion of NATO was the reason why his country invaded Ukraine. The war has killed thousands of people on both sides and displaced millions more. Sweden followed Finland on Monday and confirmed it will apply to join NATO. Finland has an over 800-mile border with Russia and has fought two wars against the country in the past, and it has become increasingly concerned about its security following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly warned that there will be "retaliatory steps" to the two countries' move to join the … [Read more...] about What Vladimir Putin has said about Finland and Sweden joining NATO

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba on Monday laid the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone here. Once completed, the Centre will be a world-class facility welcoming pilgrims and tourists from all over the world to enjoy the essence of spiritual aspects of Buddhism. “Taking forward our cultural ties. PM @narendramodi and PM @SherBDeuba perform Shilanyas ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter. Taking forward our cultural ties. @narendramodi and PM @SherBDeuba perform Shilanyas ceremony of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage. pic.twitter.com/GRGdne7wOj — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) May 16, 2022 “The centre is being built at the initiative of the International Buddhist Confederation, New Delhi,” … [Read more...] about PM Modi lays foundation stone for India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Nepal’s Lumbini

Synopsis India, which has an electricity trading deal with Nepal, is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure including hydropower plants, as New Delhi looks to grow its influence in its smaller neighbours, where China is also increasingly active. India and Nepal will build a 695 megawatt (MW) hydropower plant , officials said on Monday, as the Himalayan nation looks to exploit its abundant potential to generate clean energy to ease power shortages. India, which has an electricity trading deal with Nepal, is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure including hydropower plants, as New Delhi looks to grow its influence in its smaller neighbours, where China is also increasingly active. The Arun IV project will be jointly built on the Arun River in Nepal's east by India's Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam ( SJVN ) Ltd and Nepal's state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) owing 51% and 49% of equity respectively, NEA spokesperson Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai … [Read more...] about India, Nepal agree to build hydroelectric power plant

One has to be either super confident about creating a plot out of nothingness or really lacking in ideas to write almost an entire movie around a love letter and the confusions that arise from it. Beyond the story of sibling rivalry, much of the happenings in Jo & Jo are built around this anonymous love letter, which is addressed just to Jo, leading to Jomon (Mathew Thomas) and his elder sister Jomol (Nikhila Vimal) suspecting each other of being its recipient. But the letter is just the latest reason for their fight. Remaining inside home for much of the time during the lockdown, the two have been at each other's throats over one matter or the other. Jomol constantly raises her voice over the unequal treatment that they get from their parents, with her being saddled with the household chores, and him getting everything done for him by the others. Debutant director Arun. D. Jose, who co-wrote the script with Raveesh Nath, treats much of her outbursts as just reasons for more … [Read more...] about ‘Jo & Jo’ movie review, Mildly funny, and struggles to leave an impact

In this second and concluding part of a one-hour interview given to N. Ram at ‘Temple Trees' in Colombo, Mahinda Rajapaksa , Sri Lanka's President, responds to questions about his ambitious initiative for a trilingual Sri Lanka, the role of the English language, the contentious 18th constitutional amendment, the jailing and conviction of General Sarath Fonseka, the status and future of 11,000 hard-core LTTE cadres and supporters, and relations with India. You have taken a special interest in language policy. You have announced a Ten Year Presidential Initiative for a Trilingual Sri Lanka and before that the initiative to promote English. This seems to have been thought out over the long term. How do you see this going? Last year was the Year of English and Information Technology. With that the people started spoken English, they started learning English. So I thought the best thing was that all Sinhalese must learn Tamil now, the Tamils must learn Sinhala, and they must all … [Read more...] about ‘Help us bring the communities together’