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In Pakistan’s elections, the Lord of the Rings is showing his wrath

Around The Globe - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 07:49
He has decided to decimate the former governing party, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. And no one will stop him.

Pakistan’s Imran Khan is in political ruin. He’s partly to blame

Around The Globe - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 07:32
The former PM's supporters portray him solely as the victim, but refuse to accept that he blundered too.

Four found guilty of rioting over 2019 storming of Hong Kong legislature

Around The Globe - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 05:14
The storming of the building marked an escalation in the 2019 mass protests that began over a China extradition bill.

India’s Ayodhya wakes up to harsh realities after Modi’s Ram temple event

Around The Globe - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 05:12
As devotees stream in, residents say small town in one of India's poorest states lacks infrastructure to host millions.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 708

Around The Globe - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 02:41
As the war enters its 708th day, these are the main developments.

‘Blood and sweat’: Myanmar resistance fights to overturn military coup

Around The Globe - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 02:02
Three years after the generals' power grab, anti-coup fighters say they want them out of Myanmar's politics.

Heartbreak for Syria as Iran win nail-biting Asian Cup clash on penalties

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 22:19
Iran scrape past underdogs Syria in a penalty shootout to set up a quarterfinal blockbuster against Japan.

Explorers believe sonar image shows Amelia Earhart’s missing plane

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 22:04
A group of deep-sea explorers say they may have located Amelia Earhart’s missing plane.

Argentina lawmakers debate Milei’s ‘omnibus’ economic reform bill

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 21:57
Opposition has pledged to block president's mega-bill to reform the economy, politics and even aspects of private life.

Why does the IMF predict strong Russian growth despite sanctions?

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 21:28
IMF upgrades growth outlook for Russia and downgrades expectations for the eurozone.

UN chief says UNRWA is ‘backbone’ of Gaza aid response

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 20:13
Antonio Guterres is sounding the alarm as donors cut vital funds to the UN Palestinian Refugee agency in Gaza.

The climate cost of Israel’s war on Gaza

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 20:12
The carbon footprint of Israel’s war on Gaza exceeds the annual emissions of 20 countries, according to new research.

CEOs of Meta, X, TikTok grilled about online child safety at US hearing

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 20:09
Parents and lawmakers say executives are not doing enough to thwart dangers, including sexual exploitation and bullying.

Defunding UNRWA is worse than collective punishment

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 19:27
Cutting funding for UNRWA at this time means furthering the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Remote Washington State Town Becomes Hub for EV Battery Production

Technology - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 19:17
Moses Lake, Washington — It’s mid-winter in east Washington state, yet despite the chilly fog, two construction sites in the town of Moses Lake are brimming with activity. Several hundred workers are on an ambitious timeline to complete two new factories slanted to begin production of the next-generation components for electric vehicle batteries later this year. Two American start-ups, backed by $100 million in federal grants each, in addition to commercial partnerships, are racing to secure the domestic supply chain with the next-generation battery materials for EV automakers. “That's going to go into everything from electric vehicles to IoT [Internet of Things] devices to smartphones and wearables and a lot of battery-based applications that we don't even know exist yet,” explains Nik Anderson, director of program management with Group 14 Technologies, as he walks through the company’s vast construction site. Washington is one of the American states planning to ban sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035. For now, electric cars account for 8.6% of new vehicle sales in the United States. Affordable electric vehicles would require a significant scaling of domestic battery production, experts say. According to the Biden administration, affordable electric vehicles and reliable supply chain would require a significant scaling of domestic battery production and the national charging infrastructure. Once fully operational, the two companies’ factories in Moses Lake will be able to annually produce enough material to make batteries for about 400,000 electric vehicles. They also promise to produce a better battery, reducing the ‘charge anxiety’ of electric cars by replacing the graphite in conventional lithium-ion batteries with silicon-based components, which will allow for a faster charge. “The thing that makes our battery better, that uses our SCC55 [silicon-carbon composite] versus traditional graphite, is that it can have up to 50% more energy density, it can allow for extremely fast charging,” said Grant Ray, vice president for global market strategy with Group 14. “When we think about charge times, you know, right now we're hearing 10% to 80% in ten minutes. Well, what if that changes and it comes down to five minutes? What if it starts to get closer to what it really is for, you know, the way we think about refueling a car?” he said. One of the challenges for U.S. EV production with traditional lithium-ion batteries is the need to rely on imports. Daniel Schwartz, director of the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington, says the silicon-based component provides solutions for several challenges. “The primary mineral for what's going in Moses Lake is sand, silica — the most widely distributed mineral in the crust of the earth. Graphite is lower performance, and we are trade-exposed as a nation,” he said. The Biden administration invested in domestic EV battery production as part of its ambitious clean energy agenda. Among the Republican presidential candidates, most reject the urgency surrounding EV adoption, with former President Donald Trump calling it an “all-electric car hoax.” Last September, speaking in front of hundreds of people attending a rally in Clinton Township, Michigan, Trump called prioritizing EVs a “transition to hell,” telling auto workers that Democrats “want to go all electric and put you all out of business." Gene Berdichevsky, CEO of Sila Nanotechnologies, the second startup planning to start EV battery components production in Moses Lake, says the transition to electric vehicles is going to happen regardless of whether the U.S. is taking the lead in the process. “Renewables and batteries are really going to form the basis of 21st-century energy,” he said. “It's critical for the U.S. to build the capacity to be able to have battery production. Catching up to the world leaders in Asia is quite challenging. And so, the way to do that is not to build the same thing, it's to build the next generation of battery technologies.” In Moses Lake, a town of about 25,000 an hour and-a-half drive from the nearest city, all-electric cars are not a common sight. Berdichevsky is convinced that EV adoption in the area is just a matter of time. “We have to recognize that consumers want choice, and some consumers are going to want electric cars with 500 miles (range),” he says. “What we need to do is increase the choices for folks, and the way you do that is through better batteries.” Rosendo Alvarado, a Moses Lake native who took a job as a plant manager for Sila Nanotechnologies, says the remote town became an attractive spot for EV production thanks to the combination of several factors: cheap hydro power provided by local dams; existing manufacturing infrastructure and legacy companies, such as REC Silicon that could become a partner in the EV batteries production; and Washington state policies embracing clean energy initiatives. The cutting-edge industry promises to bring hundreds of new jobs to Moses Lake. Alvarado says he saw the town transforming over time from traditional farming to an industrial community — and expects further change. “We worked in the fields that this building is sitting on today,” he recalls. “It's been fast paced, but super exciting — the opportunities that we are able to bring here for the community and for the EV market.” He says the companies partnered with the local Columbia Basin Technical School and Big Bend Community College to start developing a new workforce as early as during high school classes. “It's a small, tight community. Kind of like everyone knows everyone type thing,” shrugs Nicholas Cruz, a young man out of school walking with his friend down the main street of Moses Lake, when asked about the EV projects coming to town. “It's gonna be exciting in the sense, like, there's more job opportunities and new opportunities to go here because Moses Lake is small, there's not much to it. I am not sure if it will impact me personally — I guess time will tell,” he said.

ICJ rejects most of Ukraine’s ‘terrorism’ case against Russia

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 19:03
Kyiv had accused Moscow of being a 'terrorist' state and claimed it funded separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Two women wearing hijabs denied entry to Democratic campaign event

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 18:43
Two women wearing hijabs say they were barred from entering a Democratic campaign event in the US

What is Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip, now being tested on humans?

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 17:57
Musk said the first person to receive a Neuralink brain-chip implant is recovering.

Is Zelenskyy planning to fire Ukraine’s popular top army commander?

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 17:04
Valerii Zaluzhny has been blamed for last year's's anticlimactic counteroffensive against Russian troops.

‘Unwaveringly loyal’: Why El Salvador’s Bukele is poised for reelection

Around The Globe - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 16:56
President Nayib Bukele seeks to consolidate his power in Sunday’s vote, despite outcry over human rights violations.

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