Page 30 - Bs Reads

DHL Express Europe presses ahead with West Asia investments despite war

The Deutsche Post DHL group has announced more than 500 million euros ($577 million) in investment in the Middle East through 2030, especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Delhi's peak power demand expected to cross 9,000 MW this summer

Delhi is expected to witness a significant rise in electricity demand this summer, with peak levels likely to cross 9,000 MW, officials said on Thursday. According to the State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) figures, last year, Delhi's peak power demand was 8,442 MW. A BSES spokesperson said that peak power demand in BRPL discom areas of South and West Delhi, which clocked 3,798 MW demand last summer, is expected to reach around 3,997 MW this summer. On the other hand, in the BYPL discom area of East and Central Delhi, the peak power demand, which peaked at 1,824 MW last summer, is expected to touch around 1,991 MW this year. Delhi's peak power demand breached the 7,000 MW mark for the first time peaking at 7,016 MW - in 2018. The expected demand of over 9,000 MW represents an increase of over 300 per cent over the peak power demand of 2,879 MW in 2002. Based on current demand growth trends, Delhi's peak power demand is likely to cross the 10,000 MW mark by around 2028-2029, depend

VOC Port sets aside 90,000 sq m space for containers amid West Asia crisis

VOC Port Authority has made an arrangement of additional 90,000 square meter of space for shipping lines to keep their containers in the wake of the ongoing West Asia crisis, its Chairman Susanta Kumar Purohit said on Thursday. The official made the remarks while replying to a question on the sidelines of PHDCCI conference on shipbuilding and ship recycling. "We have given additional land to our customers where they can keep their goods safely beyond the time limit," Purohit said, sharing preparations made to deal with the situation of container diversions. However, the land remains unutilised as of now as operations and business at the port have not been affected, he said. He said all major ports are in constant touch of the Ministry of Shipping, terminal operators and shipping lines. Speaking further, the Chairman said the government is taking efforts to develop India as a hub of shipbuilding and ship recycling. The move will help save resources and increase availability of raw

Indian Railways approves regularisation of two special trains from Odisha

Indian Railways has approved the regularisation of the Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad and Puri-Patna special trains. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi about the development. "Kindly refer to our discussion regarding regularisation of special trains for public convenience. You would be pleased to know that regularisation of the two special trains have been approved," Vaishnaw said in a letter to the chief minister. Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Special (02832/02831) will now run as Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express (18403/18404) and Puri-Patna Special (08439/08440) will now run as Puri-Patna Express (18405/18406). The daily Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express will depart Bhubaneswar at 8.25 pm and reach Dhanbad at 11 am the next day. Its return journey will commence at 4 pm and the train would arrive at the Odisha capital at 7.45 am the next day. The Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Express will halt at Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Talcher Road, Angul, Rairakhol, Sambalpur city, ...

Netflix launches Eyeline Studios in Hyderabad, its fifth global VFX hub

Netflix on Thursday launched its premier visual effects and virtual production hub, Eyeline Studios, in Hyderabad, marking a significant strategic push in the country's fast growing animation, VFX, gaming, and comics sector. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, state IT minister Sridhar Babu, information & broadcasting ministry secretary Sanjay Jaju, and actor-producer Rana Daggubati, alongside Jeff Shapiro, CEO of Eyeline Studios. Eyeline Studios is Netflix's premier innovation hub for visual effects and virtual production, where practical filmmaking and next-generation technology converge. Founded in 2019, the studio unified with Scanline VFX - a visual effects powerhouse established in 1989 - in 2025 to form a single, comprehensive creative force operating across three divisions: Studios, VFX, and Labs. Its proprietary capabilities include the Light Dome volumetric lighting system, LED volume stages, 4D capture systems, and ...

Invading our islands will make Gulf run with blood: Iran Parliament speaker

Iran's parliament speaker said Thursday that any invasion of Iran's islands will "make the Persian Gulf run with the blood of invaders." It wasn't immediately clear what prompted Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf's comments, which again escalated the rhetoric surrounding the ongoing Iran war. Iran holds three islands it took from the United Arab Emirates before its formation in 1971. There also has been speculation that the United States could target Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Iran's main oil terminal.

Red Dawn Over China: How Soviet support shaped the rise of Communist China

This book explains the dynamics of Chinese politics and shows how the CCP's default response is ruthless control

Centre to leverage digital infra to optimise food, fertiliser subsidies

Government plans to use AgriStack and CBDC-based pilots to better target fertiliser and food subsidies, reduce leakages, and improve transparency in welfare delivery systems

Stories the Fire Could Not Burn: Manipur's serial institutional failures

This is as fair an account of the violence that engulfed the state as possible, but the hurt, sorrow, and loss of the author calls out to you through the pages

On the Future of Species: Book explores power to design future lifeforms

Human beings may soon have the ability to intelligently design future lifeforms. This book offers a glimpse into that unsettling and thought-provoking future

India has no plans to join IEA strategic oil reserve release: Report

The source also said that India has no plans to restrict its fuel exports as it has 'reasonably' comfortable stocks of gasoline, gasoil and jet fuel

Bengaluru hotels face shutdown from March 10 amid commercial LPG shortage

Hotel and restaurant operations in the city are likely to be affected starting March 10, following a sudden and total halt in the supply of commercial gas cylinders, the Bangalore Hotels Association said on Monday. This development comes amid rising energy costs and supply constraints caused by the West Asia conflict. "Since the gas supply has stopped, the hotels will be closed from tomorrow," the association said in a release. Noting that the supply of commercial gas cylinders stopped today, it said, since the hotel industry is an essential service, common people, students, and medical professionals, who rely on the hotels for daily meals, will be affected. "In addition, our hotel industry will also face difficulties until the gas supply returns to normal," it added. The association said oil companies had guaranteed an uninterrupted gas supply for 70 days, making the sudden stoppage a "big blow" to the hotel industry. "Therefore, we expect the concerned Union Ministers to take .

Air India, AI Express to operate 60 flights to West Asia on Tuesday

Air India and Air India Express will operate a total of 60 flights to and from cities in the Middle East, including 32 non-scheduled services connecting the UAE. Amid the escalating Middle East conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, airlines are operating services in a calibrated manner as there are airspace restrictions and closures in the region. On Tuesday, Air India and Air India Express will together operate 14 flights to and from Jeddah, while Air India Express will operate 14 services to and from Muscat. "In addition to the scheduled services, Air India and Air India Express would operate a total of 32 ad hoc non-scheduled flights between Indian cities and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 10 March 2026, subject to the availability of slots and other conditions prevailing at the respective point of departure at the time," a statement said on Monday. These 32 flights will connect to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al-Khaimah from different Indian cities. Akasa Air sai

Trump reviews steps to tame oil prices after Iran war roils markets: Report

The turmoil in energy markets comes at a sensitive moment for the president, who has sought to keep fuel prices low as a cornerstone of his economic message to voters

Uber's women-only option goes nationwide in the US amid safety concerns

Uber launched a feature Monday to allow both women riders and drivers across the US to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its hail-riding platform. The new feature is being rolled out nationwide despite an ongoing class action lawsuit against the policy in California, filed by Uber drivers who argue that it is discriminatory against men. Rival ride-hailing company Lyft is also facing a discrimination lawsuit over a similar offering that it introduced nationwide in 2024. The feature, announced in a blog post, allows women to request a female driver through an option on the app called "Women Drivers." Passengers can opt for another ride if the wait for a woman is too long, and they can also reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance. A third option allows female users to set a preference for a woman driver in their app settings, which would increase the chances of being matched with a female driver, thou

Oil remains potent geopolitical tool, decades after energy crisis

In the West Asia, Iran has leaned on one of its strategic advantages: its ability to disrupt the flow of oil and natural gas through the Persian Gulf and hurt economies around the world

PM Modi speaks to Nepal leaders Rabi Lamichhane, Balendra Shah

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to leaders of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) of Nepal Rabi Lamichhane and Balendra Shah and congratulated them for their election victory and conveyed India's commitment to work with them for mutual prosperity, progress and well-being of the two countries. In his telephonic conversations with the two leaders of Nepal, PM Modi said he was confident that with the joint endeavours, India-Nepal relations will scale new heights in the coming years. "Had warm telephone conversations with Mr. Rabi Lamichhane, Chairman of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and Mr. Balendra Shah, Senior Leader of the RSP," he said in a post on 'X'. The prime minister said he congratulated both leaders on their electoral victories and RSP's resounding success in the Nepal elections. "Conveyed my best wishes for their forthcoming new Government and India's commitment to work with them for mutual prosperity, progress and well-being of our two countries," he ...

Anthropic sues Trump administration over Pentagon 'supply chain risk' tag

Anthropic is suing the Trump administration, asking federal courts to reverse the Pentagon's decision designating the artificial intelligence company a "supply chain risk" over its refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its technology. Anthropic filed two separate lawsuits Monday, one in California federal court and another in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., each challenging different aspects of the Pentagon's actions against the company. The Pentagon last week formally designated San Francisco tech company a supply chain risk after an unusually public dispute over how its AI chatbot Claude could be used in warfare. The lawsuits aim to undo the designation and block its enforcement.

Farmers stage fresh protest in Delhi against India-US trade deal

The protest site, close to the historic Jantar Mantar observatory near the parliament complex in New Delhi, was packed with demonstrators

India emerges as world's second largest arms importer: SIPRI

India was the world's second largest importer of arms and military hardware from 2021 to 2025 and the largest chunk of the imports came from Russia, Swedish think tank SIPRI said in a new report on Monday. Ukraine which received 9.7 per cent of all arms transfers in 2021-25 was the world's largest arms importer in that period, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said. China dropped out of the top 10 arms importers for the first time since 1991-1995 due to expanded domestic production of its own designs, the think tank noted in its report, 'Trends in International Arms Transfers'. The United States supplied 42 per cent of all international arms transfers during 2021-25, up from 36 per cent in 2016-20, it said. Four states in Asia and Oceania -- India, Pakistan, Japan and Australia -- ranked among the 10 largest arms importers globally in 2021-25. The main supplier to the region in 2021-25 was the US, which accounted for 35 per cent of regional arms imports.