The world’s two first hydrogen-powered trains have begun service in Germany. The trains, which operate in between northern German towns, are a step away from traditional diesel power. According to a press release from Alstom, the trains’ French parent company, they are are “equipped with fuel cells which convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity. Source Popular Mechanics
Renewable
The North Sea may be a prime spot for wind parks, but Estonia is betting it can build and maintain turbines for less. The small nation is pushing ahead with ambitious plans for an offshore wind park in the Baltic Sea. Source: DW
A senior Indian negotiator says his country will cut back its use of coal, if sufficient cash for renewables emerges from a Paris deal. Dr Ajay Mathur said coal would be restricted if there was help to pay for “more expensive” green energy. Source: BBC
Bill Gates has pulled together a multinational band of investors to put billions into clean energy. The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist is set to announce his latest endeavor, the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, at the climate change summit in Paris alongside President Obama and French President Francois Hollande. Source: CNN Money
China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter, wants a legally binding agreement to be reached at a world climate summit in Paris that begins on Nov. 30. China hopes the summit will prove to be “monumental” for climate change, said Xie Zhenhua, the nation’s special representative on climate change. Source: Bloomberg
The U.K. government will make keeping the lights on the top priority with natural gas and nuclear power playing a central role in that goal, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd is expected to say in a major speech later Wednesday setting out a new energy policy for the country. Source: WSJ
EDP Renewables, Mitsubishi, Chiyoda, Engie and Repsol entered into an agreement to implement a floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Northern Portugal, known as the WindFloat Atlantic project. The project, located 20km off the Portuguese coast, is planned to be operational in 2018. Source: Offshore Engineer
The US has reportedly informed Turkey of its formal exclusion from the new F-35 consortium agreement.
The long-awaited decision comes as little surprise, following Turkey’s acquisition of Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft weapons system, amid fears over its compatibility with the F-35 and its possible use for Moscow to obtain intelligence on NATO members. Source Arab News
After weeks of tension over a build-up of Russian troops close to Ukraine’s border, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered a number of units in the area back to their bases.
The EU estimated that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers had amassed near the border as well as in Crimea, which was seized and annexed by Russia in 2014. Source BBC
Pakistan’s Parliament is expected to consider a resolution on Tuesday about whether the French envoy should be expelled over the publication of controversial cartoons depicting Islam’s Prophet, testing whether the government gives in to threats from radical Islamists. Source France24
Germany’s parliament has approved the first set of regulations of contact restrictions and other measures that would uniformly affect the entire country. Lawmakers voted as police were breaking up a major public protest. Source DW
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West not to cross a “red line” with Russia, saying such a move would trigger an “asymmetrical, rapid and harsh” response. Source BBC
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has emphasised that, despite a reference to Taiwan in a joint statement released after his recent meeting with US President Joe Biden, there is no possibility of Japanese forces being committed to any military contingency surrounding Taiwan. Source South Chinese Morning press
The recent murders of five women in Sweden have sparked debate and calls for policy change in the country often lauded for its gender equality. Two of the murders took place in broad daylight, while one was killed at home in the same room as her young baby. Most of the victims have not been named in Swedish media, which is usually due to families not giving consent. Source The Local
Pakistan’s Parliament is expected to consider a resolution on Tuesday about whether the French envoy should be expelled over the publication of controversial cartoons depicting Islam’s Prophet, testing whether the government gives in to threats from radical Islamists. Source France24
Greece recognises Sputnik V as ‘equivalent’ to European vaccines. Greece will recognise Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine in its vaccination certificate, making it easier for Russian tourists to travel and spend their summer holidays in Greece. Source Euractiv
Taiwan’s largest annual military exercise will begin in earnest this week, with the country using sophisticated software to simulate a full-scale enemy invasion and gauge its reaction to a worst-case scenario lasting eight days. Source Newsweek
Saudi and Iranian officials held direct talks this month in a bid to ease tensions between the two foes, a senior Iranian official and two regional sources said, as Washington works to revive a 2015 nuclear pact with Tehran and end the Yemen war. Source Reuters
The Chancellor stressed that Germany had always advocated for Ukraine to remain a transit country in the export of gas from Russia to the European Union Source Tass
China’s economy grew by double digits in the latest quarter but an explosive rebound from the coronavirus pandemic is slowing abruptly as manufacturing and consumer spending return to normal. Source AP
It finally happened, that glorious moment, when, after teetering on the verge for weeks – for reasons we’ll get into shortly – the incredibly spiking US gross national debt, after kissing the line a couple of times for a moment, finally, and suddenly by a big leap, jumped over the $28-trillion mark, with a $143-billion leap in one day on Wednesday, March 31, following some big Treasury sales. Source Wolfstreet
The Russian Akademik Cherskiy vessel has arrived at the construction site to lay pipes for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, Nord Stream 2 AG, project operator company, told reporters. Source Tass
Holders of UK government bonds are suffering the worst quarter in at least two decades as Britain’s economic prospects brighten, setting a contrast with the eurozone where a more sputtering recovery from the coronavirus crisis is helping haven assets hold their value. Source FT
Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell to a nine-month low in February amid bitterly cold weather, and expensive lumber and rising mortgage rates could cool the housing market this year. Separately on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, surged 34.8% to a 12-year high of $647.2 billion in 2020 as the pandemic severely disrupted exports. Source Reuters
Turkey’s currency tumbled as much as 15% after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sacked the country’s central bank governor over the weekend. Naci Agbal had been credited as a key force in pulling the lira back from historic lows. Source BBC
- The Fed expects core inflation to hit 2.2% this year, but has a long-run expectation of it sticking around 2%.
- The U.S. central bank also indicated that it didn’t plan to hike interest rates through 2023 and that it would continue its program of buying at least $120 billion of bonds a month.
- Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, described the move in yields as a “belated overreaction” to the Fed’s projections and Jerome Powell’s statements on Wednesday. Source CNBC
The US State Department called for companies to cease activity on the controversial pipeline or face sanctions. The US has slammed the project as a Russian plan to “divide Europe and weaken European energy security.” Source Deutsche Welle
Nokia on Tuesday (16 March) announced plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs within two years to trim costs and invest more in research capabilities, as the Finnish telecoms group seeks to step up its challenge to Sweden’s Ericsson and China’s Huawei, write Supantha Mukherjee and Essi Lehto. Source EU Reporter
- Industrial production jumped 35.1% in the January-February period from a year earlier, compared with a median estimate of 32.2% in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
- Retail sales climbed 33.8% in the period, versus a forecast of 32%.
- Fixed-asset investment rose 35%, well below a projection of 40.9%.
- The jobless rate was 5.5% at the end of February, up from 5.2% in December.
- The CSI 300 Index pared an earlier loss of as much as 1.5% after the data dump to trade 0.8% lower as of 10:25 a.m. in Shanghai.
- The yuan was little changed in both onshore and offshore markets. Source Japan Times
