PARIS -- Demand for renewables is set to increase in all key sectors in 2021 and China, which "alone accounts for about half of the increase in global renewable electricity generation," plays a critical role, chief of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

"We expect this year the share of renewables in the world electricity generation comes to 30 percent, the highest in the history. This is mainly the result of the achievements in a few countries but China plays a critical role," Fatih Birol said in an interview with Xinhua.

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NEW DELHI -- India's federal government Wednesday announced that it has waived off the import duty on Remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral drug, to provide affordable medical care for the COVID-19 patients, officials said.

"Considering the immediate requirement on the recommendation of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, the Department of Revenue has waived customs duty on Remdesivir and its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API)/Key Starting Material (KSM). This step will further augment domestic availability of Remdesivir injection," Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers D. V. Sadanand Gowda said.

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- New Zealand enterprises expressed continued interest in participating in the 2021 China International Import Expo (CIIE), as an overseas promotion for the event was held in Auckland on Wednesday.

At the opening speech via video, Ma Fengmin, CFO of China International Import Expo Bureau, said: "More than 150 New Zealand enterprises participated in the past three expos. The exhibition booths have covered nearly 20,000 square meters. Even during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, nearly 50 New Zealand enterprises participated in the exhibition, and achieved positive results on site.

"The fourth CIIE will be held offline in Shanghai from November 5 to 10, 2021. Hundreds of enterprises have signed contracts to participate in the Expo up till now. Fonterra, Zespri, Comvita, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and other companies have signed the participation agreements," Ma said.

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WINDHOEK -- Namibia has allocated 20 million Namibian dollars (1.4 million U.S. dollars) to fight a locust outbreak that has so far invaded seven regions and destroyed over 700,000 hectares of land, an official said Wednesday.

"Two weeks ago they invaded five more regions, destroying over 700,000 hectares of crop fields and grazing land in five of the seven regions," said Mildred Kambinda, director of agricultural production, extension and engineering services at the Agriculture Ministry. Enditem

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