Adani’s ‘renewable energy marvel’ trapped in US bribery indictment NEW DELHI: Betting big on the clean energy goals of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, billionaire Gautam Adani found backers in France’s TotalEnergies and the Qatar Investment Authority as he set out to build the world’s biggest renewable energy project. The crown jewel of his company, Adani Green, is an energy park in western Gujarat state planned to be five times the size of Paris on completion, and producing 50 gigawatts by 2030, or roughly a tenth of India’s clean energy goals. Now the plan faces a hurdle in the form of a US indictment of Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director Vneet S Jaain, accusing them of paying bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts, and misleading US investors during fund raises there. Since the news, stock of Adani Green has nosedived 36 per cent, losing $9.6 billion in market value.Adani Group has denied the accusations in the US indictment as baseless, and vowed to seek all legal recourse.But fund-raising could get complicated. “To the extent of raising additional capital for newer projects, any sort of regulatory issues become problematic,” said Deepika Mundra, a senior analyst at M&G Investments based in Britain. “Particularly if you want to tap international markets.” Adani Green is one of many public and private companies key to helping India achieve its goals, she added. “It is quite important that all these (Adani Green) projects go through.”The Adani Green boom is reflected in a surge of 10,000 per cent in its shares between 2018 and 2022 as power demand in India swells, spurring it to develop the energy park in Khavda in Gujarat. “For us, this renewable energy park is a symbol of our commitment to sustainability and a symbol of national pride,” Adani wrote in his annual report in June.When complete, its output would be “enough to power nations like Belgium, Chile, and Switzerland”, he added. Adani has committed investment of $100 billion in the renewables sector, seen as core to the ports-to-airports conglomerate that is worth more than $135 billion.Now the tide is turning for Adani Green, described by US prosecutors as being at the heart of ‘The Corrupt Solar Project’. After the US indictment, TotalEnergies, which holds a stake of nearly 19.8 per cent in Adani Green, was among the first to react, saying it would not invest more in the group for now. It had not been made aware of the bribery case, even though Sagar Adani was served a grand jury subpeona last year by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, it added. The Qatar Investment Authority, with a stake of 2.7 per cent, declined comment. But standing firm for now is GQG Investors, which holds a stake of 4.2 per cent. In an internal client note seen by Reuters, it said, “We believe the fundamentals of the companies we are invested in remain sound”. Adani Green added power capacity of 37 per cent each year to reach 11.2 GW by September this year, from a mere 2 GW in the 2018-19 financial year.Its next big target is 50 GW goal by 2030, or a capacity addition of 31 per cent each year, it told investors in a presentation in November. ‘RENEWABLE ENERGY MARVEL’ Adani Green’s revenues of $574 million during the period from April to September this year were up 20 per cent on the year, boosting its cash profit 27 per cent to $313 million over that time.With large solar, wind and hybrid power developments in Gujarat and the desert state of Rajasthan, it is developing smaller pumped-storage hydro power projects in five Indian states. The facilities in Rajasthan and Gujarat were to have supplied the power contracted for in the Adani deals that US prosecutors allege to have been granted after payment of bribes.One of them is the partly developed marquee project in Khavda, just 18 miles (30 km) from the international border with Pakistan. It is described by Adani as “a renewable energy marvel in the making”. Adani is targeting a massive jump in operational capacity at the location to 30 GW by 2029, up from 2.25 GW now. Energy from the park can power 16.1 million homes each year, Adani says. Reuters was among media which toured the project site in April, when thousands of labourers worked on construction and scores of solar panels were being installed.Engineers that day talked up the potential of the project, which would sprawl across 540 sq km (210 sq miles) when complete, saying it would be visible from space. “The kind of support being provided by the central government, and I must say, the state governments also, is extraordinary,” Managing Director Vneet S Jaain said at the time.Jaain, one of three Adani executives, besides Gautam and Sagar Adani, indicted for offering bribes to Indian state officials to secure deals, has not responded to a request for comment from Reuters.France celebrated the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral on Saturday at a special church service that featured a standing ovation for the firefighters who saved the 12th-century landmark from destruction during a 2019 blaze. A two-hour service attended by incoming US president Donald Trump among other world leaders began with the archbishop of Paris knocking on the doors of the cathedral three times. "Notre Dame, model of faith, open your doors to bring together the far-flung children of God in joy," archbishop Laurent Ulrich commanded, banging with a wooden staff crafted from a roof beam that survived the inferno five years ago. Trump could be seen sitting on the front row as guest of honour next to French President Emmanuel Macron, with invitees marvelling at the freshly cleaned walls, new furniture and state-of-the-art lighting installed as part of the overhaul. In a short speech, Macron expressed the "gratitude of the French nation" for the restoration work, achieved at frenzied speed over the last five years. France had "rediscovered what great nations can do -- achieve the impossible", he said. One of the most moving moments came when firefighters in their protective gear walked through the congregation to thunderous applause as the word "Merci" ("Thank you") was beamed on the intricate facade and famous belltowers of the Gothic masterpiece. Small crowds of Parisians and tourists braved wet weather and high winds outside to witness the renaissance of a monument, which came close to collapsing due to the intensity of the inferno that toppled its roof and spire. "I find it really beautiful, even more so now that the spire has been restored," Marie Jean, a 27-year-old dentist from southwest France, told AFP outside. The reconstruction effort cost around 700 million euros ($750 million), financed from donations, with the re-opening achieved within a five-year deadline despite predictions it could take decades. Workers had to overcome problems with lead pollution, the Covid-19 epidemic, and the army general overseeing the project falling to his death while hiking in the Pyrenees last year. Saturday's service featured classical music, the cathedral's choir as well as the "re-awakening" of the 8,000-pipe organ which is considered the voice and soul of the cathedral. A televised public concert planned outside featuring Chinese piano virtuoso Lang Lang and possibly US singer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams had to be pre-recorded on Friday night because of the stormy weather. Held up as an example of French creativity and resilience by Macron, Notre Dame's renaissance so soon after the fire comes at a difficult time for the country. The sense of national accomplishment in restoring a symbol of Paris has been undercut by political turmoil that has left France without a proper government since last week when prime minister Michel Barnier lost a confidence vote. Macron is hoping the re-opening might provide a fleeting sense of national pride and unity -- as the Paris Olympics did in July and August. He scored a major coup by attracting Trump along with around 40 heads of state and government, including Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who was given a round of applause as he entered Notre Dame. Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the presidential palace shortly before the ceremony, with future US military support for Ukraine's war effort against Russia's invasion expected to have been discussed. Trump has vowed to end the nearly three-year Ukraine war when he takes office on January 20, sparking fears in Kyiv that he will force Ukraine to make territorial concessions to Russia. "It seems like the world is going a little crazy right now and we will be talking about that," Trump told reporters as he prepared to sit down for talks with Macron. One surprising absentee on Saturday was Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church. He sent a message addressed to the French people and weighed into a row about whether the place of worship and tourist attraction should remain free to enter. The "immense" numbers set to visit Notre Dame should be welcomed "generously and free of charge", he said, clearly opposing a proposition from the French culture ministry to charge for entry. The exact cause of the 2019 blaze has never been identified despite a forensic investigation by prosecutors, who believe an accident such as an electrical fault was the most likely reason. On Sunday, the first mass with 170 bishops and more than 100 Paris priests will take place at 10:30 am (0930 GMT), followed by a second service in the evening at 6:30 pm which will be open to the public. adp-sjw/jj
West Ham produced the perfect away performance as goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka secured a 2-0 victory over Newcastle to ease the pressure on head coach Julen Lopetegui. It is a win that Lopetegui will hope kickstarts his Hammers reign, having warned his side could not use a congested fixture schedule as an excuse for failing to ignite their season. The Irons headed to Newcastle for Monday Night Football having lost two of their last four Premier League games. The spotlight was firmly on Spanish coach Lopetegui and the direction of his team - with home fans having vented their frustrations on the back of a frustrating goalless draw against Everton before the international break. Player ratings Newcastle: Pope (6), Livramento (6), Schar (6), Kelly (5), Hall (7), Longstaff (5), Guimaraes (5), Willock (5), Gordon (5), Isak (6), Joelinton (6). Subs: Trippier (n/a), Tonali (6), Wilson (6), Barnes (6), Jacob Murphy (6). West Ham: Fabianski (8), Wan-Bissaka (8), Todibo (6), Kilman (8), Emerson Palmieri (7), Soucek (7), Bowen (7), Soler (7), Lucas Paqueta (9), Summerville (7), Antonio (8). Subs: Coufal (6), Mavropanos (6), Ings (n/a), Rodriguez (n/a), Irving (n/a). Player of the Match: Lucas Paqueta. Lopetegui, who took over from David Moyes in the summer, continues to shut out all the noise, and throughout the encounter on Tyneside his players showed their best face. Soucek's well-placed header after 10 minutes was protected at large by Lukasz Fabianski between the posts at the other end, with the veteran goalkeeper denying Anthony Gordon from point-blank range. Trending Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Newcastle - who drop a place to 10th on goal difference - had started well, denied the opener when Alexander Isak was fractionally ruled offside before producing a composed finish. The Sweden international then blasted wide, while Gordon flashed another opportunity off target after the restart when fed by substitute Harvey Barnes. It would prove a costly miss as, just two minutes later, Wan-Bissaka collected Jarrod Bowen's pass inside to arrow his low shot beyond Nick Pope via the far post. Also See: Stream the Premier League with NOW Watch Premier League highlights Live Premier League table Premier League fixtures A resurgent Arsenal are the next visitors to the London Stadium on November 30, which is swiftly followed by a midweek trip to Leicester and then successive Monday night fixtures against Wolves and at Bournemouth. With his side now six points clear of the relegation zone, Lopetegui will hope this is just the start of better things to come. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Carragher: Big result for Lopetegui Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher speaking on Monday Night Football: "It's a brilliant result for West Ham - but for any team going away to Newcastle on a Monday night, you know how tough it's going to be. "That would be a tough game for Man City and for Liverpool. The odds were stacked against them to win this game, but they've won it. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "They've now got to use this as a springboard going forward. It's more important for the manager than for West Ham. "There's no doubt had they lost and then again against Arsenal, they'd have been closer to the bottom three. "There's no doubt about it, the situation with the crowd and the owners, it would have got very twitchy for the manager." West Ham lethal with Paqueta patrolling midfield Sky Sports' Ben Grounds: Crisis? What crisis? This is what West Ham fans have been crying out for this season: a team full of fight, grit and a cutting edge going forward. Soucek and Wan-Bissaka combined to burst Newcastle's bubble to hand Lopetegui breathing space with a priceless Premier League away win. Team news Eddie Howe's men were culpable for both goals, but also guilty of not using the wealth of possession they enjoyed effectively enough on a night when chances went begging and with it their hopes of climbing into the top six. By contrast, the visitors were lethal on the break and produced the most fluent passages of play. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Joe Willock whipped a shot just wide of Fabianski's left post but, with Carlos Soler linking well with player-of-the-match Lucas Paqueta in the centre of midfield and Bowen and Crysencio Summerville taking a direct approach from the flanks, the Hammers were a constant threat on the counter. The hosts were in disarray at the back and it took a series of blocks and Pope's saves from Soucek and Soler to preserve their hopes of a fightback. Callum Wilson's penalty appeals, to his astonishment, were waved away on his first appearance of the season following a clumsy challenge by fellow substitute Konstantinos Mavropanos. It was the slice of good fortune West Ham's performance deserved. Bowen: Big turning point in our season West Ham's Jarrod Bowen speaking to Sky Sports: "I said we needed a performance and we did that. Newcastle always score at home so to keep a clean sheet and score twice, it's a tough place to come to. "We did that perfectly. You always play to win the games. It was down to us to get the second goal, if you settle on a lead it can come back to haunt you. "That was the level it takes to play for this club. The desire, work rate and quality shown from everyone. It is important that we rest up. It's a massive game on Saturday [vs Arsenal]. "They are a top, top side. We can take a lot from this game. The group we have had are so good. There is a real togetherness but sometimes you can fall off with new players. "It's down to me to show what it means to play for this club. Every one understood the assignment. We have been disappointed with our standards this season but that was more like it. "We should be pushing for European football every season." Why West Ham love Mondays - Opta stats Story of the match in stats... What's coming up in the Premier League? Tom from Southampton became a millionaire for free with Super 6! Could you be the next jackpot winner? Play for free!
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Saints’ Bryan Bresee Makes One Of Most Athletic NFL Plays Ever To Win Game For New OrleansArteta wanted his team to prove their European credentials following some underwhelming displays away from home, and the Gunners manager got exactly what he asked for. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard got their continental campaign back on track in style following the 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan last time out. A memorable victory also ended Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season, a streak of 17 wins and one draw, the vast majority of which prompted Manchester United to prise away head coach Ruben Amorim. The Gunners had failed to win or score in their two away games in the competition so far this season, but they made a blistering start in the Portuguese capital and took the lead after only seven minutes. Declan Rice fed overlapping full-back Jurrien Timber, who curled a low cross in behind the home defence for Martinelli to finish at the far post. Arsenal doubled their lead in the 20th minute thanks to a glorious ball over the top from Thomas Partey. Saka escaped the clutches of his marker Maximiliano Araujo to beat the offside trap and poke the ball past advancing goalkeeper Franco Israel for Havertz to tap home. It was a scintillating first-half display which completely overshadowed the presence of Viktor Gyokeres in Sporting’s attack. The prolific Sweden striker, formerly of Coventry, has been turning the heads of Europe’s top clubs with his 24 goals in 17 games this season – including a hat-trick against Manchester City earlier this month. But the only time he got a sniff of a run at goal after an optimistic long ball, he was marshalled out of harm’s way by Gabriel. David Raya was forced into one save, tipping a fierce Geovany Quenda drive over the crossbar. But Arsenal added a third on the stroke of half-time, Gabriel charging in to head Rice’s corner into the back of the net. Our second-half goalscorers ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aFCIMffFaK — Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 26, 2024 To rub salt in the wound, the Brazilian defender mimicked Gyokeres’ hands-over-his-face goal celebration. That may have wound Sporting up as they came out after the interval meaning business, and they pulled one back after Raya tipped Hidemasa Morita’s shot behind, with Goncalo Inacio netting at the near post from the corner. Former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards fired over, as did Gyokeres, with Arsenal temporarily on the back foot. But when Martin Odegaard’s darting run into the area was halted by Ousmane Diomande’s foul, Saka tucked away the penalty. Substitute Trossard added the fifth with eight minutes remaining, heading in the rebound after Mikel Merino’s shot was saved, and Gyokeres’ miserable night was summed up when his late shot crashed back off the post.
President-elect Donald Trump will return to power next year with a raft of technological tools at his disposal that would help deliver his campaign promise of cracking down on immigration — among them, surveillance and artificial intelligence technology that the Biden administration already uses to help make crucial decisions in tracking, detaining and ultimately deporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status. While immigration officials have used the tech for years, an October letter from the Department of Homeland Security obtained exclusively by The Associated Press details how those tools — some of them powered by AI — help make life-altering decisions for immigrants, including whether they should be detained or surveilled. One algorithm, for example, ranks immigrants with a “Hurricane Score,” ranging from 1-5, to assess whether someone will “abscond” from the agency's supervision. The letter, sent by DHS Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen to the immigrant rights group Just Futures Law, revealed that the score calculates the potential risk that an immigrant — with a pending case — will fail to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The algorithm relies on several factors, he said, including an immigrant’s number of violations and length of time in the program, and whether the person has a travel document. Hysen wrote that ICE officers consider the score, among other information, when making decisions about an immigrant’s case. “The Hurricane Score does not make decisions on detention, deportation, or surveillance; instead, it is used to inform human decision-making,” Hysen wrote. Also included in the government’s tool kit is a mobile app called SmartLINK that uses facial matching and can track an immigrant’s specific location. Nearly 200,000 people without legal status who are in removal proceedings are enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, under which certain immigrants can live in the U.S. while their immigration cases are pending. In exchange, SmartLINK and GPS trackers used by ICE rigorously surveil them and their movements. The phone application draws on facial matching technology and geolocation data, which has been used before to find and arrest those using the app. Just Futures Law wrote to Hysen earlier this year, questioning the fairness of using an algorithm to assess whether someone is a flight risk and raising concerns over how much data SmartLINK collects. Such AI systems, which score or screen people, are used widely but remain largely unregulated even though some have been found to discriminate on race, gender or other protected traits. DHS said in an email that it is committed to ensuring that its use of AI is transparent and safeguards privacy and civil rights while avoiding biases. The agency said it is working to implement the Biden administration’s requirements on using AI, but Hysen said in his letter that security officials may waive those requirements for certain uses. Trump has publicly vowed to repeal Biden's AI policy when he returns to the White House in January. “DHS uses AI to assist our personnel in their work, but DHS does not use the outputs of AI systems as the sole basis for any law enforcement action or denial of benefits,” a spokesperson for DHS told the . Trump has not revealed how he plans to carry out his promised deportation of an estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. Although he has proposed invoking wartime powers, as well as military involvement, the plan would face major logistical challenges — such as where to keep those who have been detained and how to find people spread across the country — that AI-powered surveillance tools could potentially address. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, did not answer questions about how they plan to use DHS’ tech, but said in a statement that “President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation” in American history. Over 100 civil society groups sent a letter on Friday urging the Office of Management and Budget to require DHS to comply with the Biden administration’s guidelines. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Just Futures Law’s executive director, Paromita Shah, said if immigrants are scored as flight risks, they are more likely to remain in detention, "limiting their ability to prepare a defense in their case in immigration court, which is already difficult enough as it is.” SmartLINK, part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, is run by BI Inc., a subsidiary of the private prison company The GEO Group. The GEO Group also contracts with ICE to run detention centers. ICE is tight-lipped about how it uses SmartLINK’s location feature to find and arrest immigrants. Still, public records show that during Trump’s first term in 2018, Manassas, Virginia-based employees of BI Inc. relayed immigrants’ GPS locations to federal authorities, who then arrested over 40 people. In a report last year to address privacy issues and concerns, DHS said that the mobile app includes security features that “prohibit access to information on the participant’s mobile device, with the exception of location data points when the app is open.” But the report notes that there remains a risk that data collected from people "may be misused for unauthorized persistent monitoring.” Such information could also be stored in other ICE and DHS databases and used for other DHS mission purposes, the report said. On investor calls earlier this month, private prison companies were clear-eyed about the opportunities ahead. The GEO Group’s executive chairman George Christopher Zoley said that he expects the incoming Trump administration to “take a much more aggressive approach regarding border security as well as interior enforcement and to request additional funding from Congress to achieve these goals.” “In GEO’s IS program, we can scale up from the present 182,500 participants to several hundreds of thousands, or even millions of participants,” Zoley said. That same day, the head of another private prison company told investors he would be watching closely to see how the new administration may change immigrant monitoring programs. “It’s an opportunity for multiple vendors to engage ICE about the program going forward and think about creative and innovative solutions to not only get better outcomes, but also scale up the program as necessary,” Damon Hininger, CEO of the private prison company CoreCivic Inc. said on an earnings call. GEO did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement, CoreCivic said that it has played “a valued but limited role in America’s immigration system” for both Democrats and Republicans for over 40 years. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.Alex Ovechkin is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with a broken left leg
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