Hybrid Power Plants & Flexibility — 

The Future Of The Grid

Aerial photos of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Flatirons Campus near Boulder, Colorado. Photographed from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). 

(Photo by Joshua Bauer / NREL)

ByU.S. Department of Energy
Published 1 day ago

Imagine an electric grid powered by clean, renewable energy. Now imagine that this grid provides all the comfort and convenience consumers have come to expect as well as grid reliability and resiliency services that are similar to—or better than—conventional plants. That is the promise of the FlexPower project.

With support from the U.S. Department of Energy Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium, FlexPower brings National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers together with other National Laboratories to develop a colocated variable hybrid generation power plant enhanced with energy storage at NREL’s Flatirons Campus. Participants include the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia).

As renewables displace conventional generation, hybrid renewable power plants combined with energy storage can transform variable resources such as wind and solar photovoltaics (PV) into fully dispatchable and flexible energy sources. These hybridized power plants will be capable of operating in day-ahead and real-time energy markets and providing essential reliability and resiliency services to the grid.
Rethinking Renewables

“This research will help accelerate the adoption of utility-scale variable wind and PV resources by demonstrating how hybridization can smooth the transition to clean energy,” said NREL Chief Engineer Vahan Gevorgian. “For the power grid to economically and reliably integrate large amounts of variable renewable generation, it will require robust energy storage capabilities and a rethinking of the value renewable energy assets bring to the grid.”

To support this transformation, researchers will test a variety of energy storage systems, including pumped storage hydropower, battery, hydrogen, flow battery, kinetic, and ultracapacitor energy storage. In addition, the project will focus on advanced control strategies and resource forecast techniques. Sophisticated controls can improve the dispatchability and availability of variable generation by taking advantage of the complementary nature of wind and PV resources and increasing capacity factors for renewable projects with minimum or, in some cases, no additional transmission buildup. Improved forecasting allows hybrid plants to participate in energy and ancillary services markets in the same way conventional generation plants do.

By combining generation, storage, advanced controls, and improved forecasting in hybrid plants, operators can achieve economies of scale by sharing infrastructure as well as siting and permitting costs. These plants can also provide the full spectrum of existing essential reliability services as well as new, evolving grid reliability services. For example, hybrid plants can provide self-black starts as well as power system black starts, can operate in islanded mode, and can participate in power system restoration schemes. And hybrid plants are scalable, ranging from small microgrids to large, interconnected power systems.

The FlexPower project is of great interest to a wide range of stakeholders, including regulators, reliability organizations, system operators, utilities, plant owners and operators, equipment vendors, and island power system owners and operators.

“Hybrid renewable energy plants could introduce the national and global energy sectors to a new and potentially disruptive class of power systems,” Gevorgian said. “The FlexPower project will demonstrate the value of renewable energy assets and suggest strategies for using them more efficiently to reduce curtailment, increase energy production, and smooth variability. The result could be high-value grid services and a more secure and resilient power supply.”
Sharing the Findings

The FlexPower research results will be freely accessible to all stakeholders in the form of public domain information and other assets. Specifically, stakeholders will have access to the FlexPower controller architecture; control codes developed by NREL, INL, and Sandia for industrial control platforms; hybridization-potential assessment maps and databases; results of regional impacts studies; and reports, publications, regional webinars, conference presentations, and other outreach materials.

NREL’s Flatirons Campus grid-scale hybrid system will provide a test bed for companies and researchers to validate and demonstrate their hybrid plant concepts and strategies. The fully operational multi-MW hybrid power plant will be capable of demonstrating all types of dispatchability, reliability, and resiliency services. It will also provide a grid-scale test bed that offers hybrid system demonstrations for a range of stakeholders, opportunities for control and equipment vendors to test new hybrid controls and hardware, a venue for workforce education and new international collaborations, and a validation platform for standardizing hybrid technologies.

FlexPower was funded in part by U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, Water Power Technologies Office, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, and the Office of Electricity.

Article courtesy of NREL

NGOs To Refuse Invitations To Speak At Fossil-Fuel Sponsored Media Events


Oil rig. Photo courtesy of Pixabay/Pexels (CC0)


T&E and 15 other leading European civil society organisations have said they will no longer accept invitations to speak at media events on EU policy sponsored by fossil fuel companies. They made the announcement in an open letter to the editors of three European news organisations, Euractiv, the Financial Times and Politico Europe.

ByGuest Contributor


Published10 hours ago


Open letter from Transport & Environment.

Sir / Madam,

As European campaigners for climate action and climate justice, we are writing to you to inform you that we will no longer accept invitations to speak at events organised by your media organisation on EU policy with the sponsorship of fossil fuel companies.

For the fossil fuel industry, like the tobacco industry before it, image is everything. Being seen as a legitimate partner and part of the solution to the climate crisis is key. By sponsoring high profile events organised by media outlets such as yours, the fossil fuel industry is buying a platform to gain credibility and undue influence.


In an era when disinformation spreads on social media, and when advertising and editorial content are increasingly tricky to tell apart, we firmly believe that free media has a pivotal role to play to uphold democracy and free speech.

However, the pursuit of objectivity is not served by letting the fossil fuel industry sponsor media platforms. The continued role of coal, oil and gas interests in accelerating the climate crisis and undermining climate action is not a matter of opinion, and allowing the industry to continue to frame the conversation can only serve to delay the urgent steps needed to limit global heating to a level nature and society can withstand.

In the words of the millions of climate-striking schoolchildren: our house is on fire. And the fossil fuel industry has a petrol can in its hand. When fossil fuel companies exploit the credibility of your media platforms as part of a strategy to set the terms of public debate and to position themselves close to decision-makers, you are helping them pour fuel on the fire.

We would be grateful for you to publish this letter so that your readers and event participants may be informed as to why our organisations are absent from any events you may organise with the support of the fossil fuel industry. And we urge you to go further in addressing the insidious problem of fossil fuel influence, by no longer organising any event with sponsorship of fossil fuel companies.

Yours truly,

Fossil Free Politics
Alter-EU
CIDSE
Corporate Europe Observatory
Counter Balance
European Federation of Public Service Unions
Food and Water Action Europe
Friends of the Earth Europe
Global Witness
Greenpeace
HEAL
Naturefriends International
Transport & Environment
Youth for Climate
WWF European Policy Office
350.org

World's First Fully Electric Tractor Could Outclass All Rivals

And it can perform autonomous tasks, with zero emissions.

By Christopher McFadden

 Sep 04, 2021 

The Monarch tractor.Monarch Tractor


Thanks to companies like Monarch, farm machinery is finally getting its own electric vehicle awakening. The company's latest fully electric and autonomous tractor could prove revolutionary for the agricultural industry.

What's more, this e-tractor couldn't have come at a better time. Farmers around the world are struggling with labor shortages, climate change, safety concerns, increasing customer awareness of sustainability, and other synthetic costs imposed on them through government regulations.

Source: Monarch Tractor

Monarch's Tractor has been designed to help alleviate as many of these issues as possible for prospective buyers of their e-tractors. According to Monarch, it does this "by combining electrification, automation, machine learning, and data analysis to enhance farmer’s existing operations, increase labor productivity and safety, and maximize yields to cut overhead costs and emissions."

As it stands, the company has already secured several hundred working farms as prospective buyers for their new e-vehicle.

Traditional tractors tend to run on diesel which is not the best fuel to burn for the environment. They also pump out the same amount of emissions as 14 average-sized cars.

Being 100% electrical, the Monarch Tractor has zero tailpipe emissions -- unlike many of its predecessors. With extra storage, the e-tractor can act as a sort of ATV and work as an ad hoc power generator in the field.

That's three functions for the price of one.

Besides, it's also very powerful. The tractor’s electric drivetrain is capable of pumping out 40HP (30KW) of continuous power and short duration peak power up to 70HP (55KW) in a small footprint for multi-purpose usage.

Monarch's electrical tractor is pretty smart

Another interesting feature of the tractor is its ability to operate completely autonomously. By integrating the latest advances in autonomous technology and software, the tractor can be programmed to perform a series of tasks on demand.

This also enables the tractor to potentially be one of the safest available on the market. Its safety features include but are not limited to, roll and collision prevention, vision-based Power Take-Off (PTO) safety, and 360° cameras to keep operations smooth and employees safe, day and night.

Another fascinating feature of Monarch's Tractor is its ability to learn using its integrated "Deep Learning and Sensing Suite". Using this system, the tractor can collect up to 240GB of data a day while in operation in the field.

Source: Monarch Tractor

The tractor can use this data on any preprogrammed farmer's instructions to help refine and improve farming practices and give the farmer real-time updates on crop yields.

"Monarch Tractor is able to digest this data and provide long-term analysis of field health, improving accuracy the longer it runs. Additionally, the collected data is securely stored in a Monarch cloud," says Monarch.

The tractor can be controlled remotely using a smartphone or personal device, and users receive constant updates, alerts, micro-weather reports, analysis reports, and storage for more efficient farm planning.

So far, Monarch has received much praise for its innovative tractor from farmers and industry experts alike.

The company was awarded “2020 Tractor of the Year” in the AgTech Breakthrough Awards, was named one of World Ag Expo’s "Top 10 Best New Products," and was recognized in Fast Company’s "Best World-Changing Ideas: North America, Energy, and Food."

The tractor's starting price tag is around the $50,000 mark, and prospective buyers can reserve a unit for as little as $500. Units began shipping in February of this year.

From a sustainability and logistics point of view, the potential impact of this tractor on the agriculture industry cannot be understated. Doubtless, Monarch's competitors will be watching the progress of this groundbreaking piece of farming machinery very closely.

U.S. Gulf Coast oil industry struggles with uneven Ida recovery

Author of the article:
Reuters
Marianna Parraga and Liz Hampton
Publishing date:Sep 03, 2021 •

HOUSTON — The engine of the U.S. offshore energy production struggled to recover from Hurricane Ida on Friday as a lack of crews, power and fuel left most Gulf Coast oil and gas output offline five days after the storm passed.

Ports were reopening, crews returning to offshore facilities and some pipelines restarted as companies completed post-storm evaluations. But getting oil flowing again was more difficult as damage at hubs slowed larger facilities. A lack of power onshore kept some refiners sidelined.

About half the originally evacuated platforms remained unoccupied and 93% of oil production and 89% of natural gas was offline, government data showed. Some wells in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about a fifth of U.S. output, could be shut for weeks, analysts said.

EMERGENCY OIL

The White House sought to ease worries about regional fuel shortages by providing a combined 1.8 million barrels of crude oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to refiners’ Exxon Mobil and Placid Refining Company to produce gasoline.

An offshore transfer station that funnels oil and gas from three large oilfields remained shut on Friday. Some 1.7 million barrels of oil and 1.99 billion cubic feet natural gas output were offline, government data released on Friday showed.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the primary U.S. deepwater export terminal near where the storm made landfall, also remained closed, according to its website. A prolonged outage could hamper U.S. crude oil exports to Asia, said analysts.

“Refiners might resort to the SPR to request crude as Exxon did if pipelines from the Gulf are not ready” by mid-month, said Robert Campbell, head of oil products research at consultancy Energy Aspects. “This is going to be a long recovery.”

DAMAGES OFFSHORE

Chevron said none of its platforms were damaged and it returned workers to all six by Friday. Two offshore pipelines operated by Enbridge were ready to return to service.

But Royal Dutch Shell, the largest Gulf of Mexico oil and gas producer, said it has recovered just 20% of usual production.

Ida damaged an offshore facility called West Delta-143 that connects three large oil basins accounting for an eighth of the Gulf’s oil production, Shell said. The extent of damage was not immediately clear.

“Shell’s West Delta situation is an indication of how slow recovery will be this time,” said Aaron Brady, an analyst with consultancy IHS Markit. “We can expect that a significant amount of oil is likely to be offline for some time, possibly weeks.”

Damages to offshore oil facilities could cost insurers about $1 billion, estimated CoreLogic.

PORTS REOPENING

Most Louisiana ports have reopened, including the Port of New Orleans, while Port Fourchon, an offshore resupply hub, reopened on Thursday for daylight operations only. Extensive damage at Port Fourchon were affecting deliveries to offshore platforms, analysts said.

Louisiana’s largest utility Entergy Corp late Friday took steps to remove transmission lines in the Mississippi River blocking vessels from reaching oil refineries west of New Orleans. The company did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the effort.

About 820,000 homes and businesses in the state lacked power, according to tracking firm PowerOutage.com. About two-thirds of gasoline stations from New Orleans to Baton Rouge were without fuel, said gasoline tracker GasBuddy.

Tony Odak, chief operating officer of Stone Oil Distributor, which supplies fuel to offshore producers, said he has begun getting supplies from as far away as Port Arthur and Galveston, Texas.

“We are securing resupply outside the Mississippi River right now,” said Odak. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Liz Hampton, Sabrina Valle and Arathy Nair; Writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Richard Pullin, Louise Heavens, David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)

A BEASTLY DAY

Quebec reports 666 new COVID 19 cases, one death, hospitalizations remain stable

By Sidhartha Banerjee  The Canadian Press

Posted September 4, 2021 10:26 am



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Quebec reported 666 new COVID-19 cases in its latest data on Saturday, with one additional death attributed to the virus.

The province’s health department said the number of patients in hospital remain stable at 147, while the number in intensive care climbed by three to 52.

The seven-day average for new cases stands at 599. According to Health Department data, 81 per cent of the latest new infections were among people who were not adequately vaccinated.

On Twitter, Health Minister Christian Dubé wrote that about 20 new cases have required hospitalization each day over the past week and active hospitalizations have remained stable.

But he noted that intensive care stays for that same period are 36 per cent higher, moving from 38 to 52 cases, and patients are staying longer in the ICU.

“The daily hospital news puts enormous pressure on our staff, especially in Greater Montreal,” Dubé wrote Saturday. “To limit the number of hospitalizations and particularly the impact on intensive care, we must continue to increase our vaccination coverage and monitor health measures.”

The province administered 25,269 vaccine doses on Friday, including more than 8,300 first doses.

Dubé published a missive on his Facebook page on Friday, saying Quebecers would have to get used to living with the virus as variants emerge in different places, putting off collective immunity against COVID-19.

“Instead of looking for the date when all this will end, we will have to learn to live with the virus,” Dubé wrote. “We will have to accept a certain number of cases and a certain number of hospitalizations if we want to return to a normal life.”

One of those measures is the province’s vaccine passport. Officials said the VaxiCode application that runs the province’s proof-of-vaccination system has now been downloaded 3.2 million times.

Quebec launched its vaccine passport on Sept. 1, which is required to access certain non-essential activities and businesses, including bars, restaurant dining rooms, gyms and sports venues.

There is a two-week grace period but as of Sept. 15, people and businesses in violation of the health order could face fines.

China’s Technology Workers Get Unions
September 04, 2021

FILE - The app of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is seen on a mobile phone in front of the company logo displayed in this illustration picture taken July 1, 2021. (REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo)


Two major Chinese technology companies, Didi Global and Jd.com, set up labor groups for their employees this week. Also called unions, such groups are controlled by workers and designed to protect their rights and interests on the job.

The creation of these unions is a major change in the technology industry in China, where organized labor is very rare.

Did Global is an online ride-sharing business. Jd.com is an online marketplace.

China’s regulatory agency has been closely watching the country’s biggest technology companies this year. Regulators have sharply criticized the industry for having policies that abuse workers and violate shoppers’ rights. The regulatory agency has launched several investigations and ordered fines against some companies.

Delivery workers move parcels from an automated sorting belt to carts at a JD.com's smart logistics center on Singles Day shopping festival, in Beijing, China November 11, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

The government is urging companies to set up programs to share wealth more fairly with workers. The push is part of President Xi Jinping’s plan to ease inequality in China, the largest economy after the United States.

At first, Didi's workers at its Beijing headquarters will supervise the union with guidance from the All China Federation of Trade Unions, or ACTFU. That information is from two people who have knowledge of the matter. The people were not given permission to speak to media and asked not to be identified.

A newspaper with a connection to the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions announced that JD.com established a trade union. The report included photos of the ceremony the company held, which was attended by many government officials.

JD.com confirmed the news, saying that some of its local workplaces had created unions in past years. It said the new union’s aim is to cooperate on planning and resources.

Didi did not answer a request for comment.

Didi has been criticized by state media for not paying its drivers fairly. The company said in April it would set up a drivers’ group to settle the wages problem. The company has also been the subject of an investigation by several Chinese officials since its $4.4 billion U.S. stock market listing in June.

Didi and JD.com are believed to be the biggest technology companies in China to have set up company-wide unions. But officials in the Hubei area say unions have been set up there for workers of the companies Meituan and Alibaba's Ele.me.

Meituan is an internet service that lets users order food, buy travel, book entertainment, book housecleaners and do much more.

Ele.me is an online service for ordering and delivery of food.

Neither Meituan nor Alibaba answered Reuters’ requests for comment.

The two food delivery firms have been criticized in local media for their treatment of delivery workers. The companies do not give most of these workers basic social and medical insurance.

In July, the ACFTU and seven other Chinese government agencies published guidance on protecting the rights of such contract workers. It also suggested unions play a major part in helping negotiate with companies.

All unions in China are required to register with the ACFTU. But the agency has often been criticized for its inability to negotiate better terms for workers.

Aidan Chau is a researcher for the China Labour Bulletin, a workers’ rights organization based in Hong Kong. He said the country's unions mostly avoid facing abusive policies at big companies. Instead, they deal directly with individual employees' problems on a case-by-case basis. They also provide more general support for workers, such as programs for health and safety.

Last month, China's highest court ruled that a common employment policy, known as "996,” violates the law. “996” means working from nine in the morning to nine at night six days a week. Chinese technology companies are known for expecting employees to follow the “996” system.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Reuters news agency reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

 Manitoba

School support staff in Thompson end strike days after walking off the job

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Union members have until Tuesday to vote on whether to accept school division’s latest offer

CBC · Posted: Sep 04, 2021 

School support workers in Thompson began picketing on Monday. (Submitted by Matt Winterton)

School support staff in Thompson, Man., felt they had no choice but to strike since they couldn't convince their employer to meet at the bargaining table even once.

But four days after they started picketing, the striking staff not only got their first meeting, but a satisfactory contract offer. 

Union spokesperson Matt Winterton said he was relieved to be pulled off the picket line on Friday and presented with that proposal.

The offer included retroactive wage increases, non-monetary language changes to the collective agreement and repayment of benefit premiums the union paid during the strike, he said.

"Basically right then and there, I looked at the offer and I knew we could … take that to the members for a vote," said Winterton, whose United Steel Workers Local 8223 union represents around 180 support and clerical staff at the School District of Mystery Lake in northern Manitoba.

"We're pretty in touch with the membership at that point and what their desired outcome was."

• School support staff in Thompson on strike

Winterton said when he brought the offer out to the striking workers on Friday, he was met with cheers.

"It was ecstatic. The energy was unreal. People were relieved," he said.

"Our members didn't want to be on strike. They knew they had to … but they wanted to be at school for the kids."

Those workers — including clerical staff, educational assistants, custodians and maintenance workers — also wanted to be treated on par with teachers in terms of wage increases, Winterton said.

"They weren't looking for any more," he said.

Pay hikes

The contract offer provides that, with proposed retroactive wage increases that stretch back four years to when the last contract expired, Winterton said.

That includes a 1.5 per cent increase for July 2017 and January 2018, a 1.6 per cent bump for July 2018, a 1.4 per cent hike for July 2019 and a 0.5 per cent boost for July 2020. It also proposes a cost-of-living adjustment for July of this year.

• Pembina Trails teachers get pay bump, even though division 'hobbled by arbitrary cutbacks': arbitrator

Workers have until 4 p.m. Tuesday to cast their ballots and potentially ratify the latest offer.

Winterton said about 75 per cent of the union's members have already voted, but the poll will stay open for a few more days so the long weekend doesn't stop anyone from making their voice heard.

CBC News has reached out to the school district for comment. In a Facebook post earlier this week, it said it hoped to reach an agreement with the two bargaining groups and that it will try to maintain all services possible at schools.

About 180 workers were on strike in the School District of Mystery Lake, including clerical staff, educational assistants, custodians and maintenance workers. (Submitted by Matt Winterton)

Winterton said he's "very confident" the vote will be strongly in favour of the new offer and staff will return to work in time for the first day of classes on Thursday.

"The impression I get [from] both the school board and our members is, 'Hey, it's crunch time. We're going to get back to work,'" he said.

"'We're going to get the school year up and running ASAP and it'll be without a hitch going forward.' That's kind of the feeling, the message that I'm getting."

Boom time for Afghan arms dealers in Taliban heartland


Issued on: 05/09/21

Weapons dealers in Panjwai, Kandahar province, are flush with inventory after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

 JAVED TANVEER AFP


Panjwai (Afghanistan) (AFP)

The Taliban takeover may have plunged Afghanistan into uncertainty and economic pain, but arms dealer Khan Mohammad is making the most of it.

Sandwiched between a pharmacy and a general store, his shop in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province -- the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban -- is flush with fresh inventory.

Camouflage combat vests and bandoliers hung from the walls as Mohammed showed off his wares, including US-made Smith & Wesson pistols and ammunition belts.


More pistols, grenades, walkie-talkies and jars full of bullets lined the glass display in the front.

Pistols, ammunition belts and accessories are on sale in the Panjwai market 

JAVED TANVEER AFP

The end of the conflict has led many weapon-owners to conclude they no longer need them, Mohammad explained.

"People who have had guns at home for years bring us their weapons," he said.

Mohammad has a customer lined up too.

"We buy them and sell... to the Mujahideen," he said, referring to the Taliban.

"The Taliban don't let anyone else take (the weapons)."

Mohammad did not just have weapons -- there were accessories too.

The Panjwai arms dealers also have Taliban flags and accessories for sale 

JAVED TANVEER AFP

White Taliban baseball caps with the Muslim proclamation of faith printed on them hung from the ceiling. The group's flags were also on sale.

Another dealer in the dusty Panjwai market, whose shop was adorned with large Taliban flags and pictures of the group's top leaders, had more potent offerings.

They included assault rifles -- variants of the AK-47 as well as the US-made M4 and M16 -- and even light machine guns.

The Taliban for years procured weapons and ammunition from the black market. They also captured arms and equipment from the battlefield and abandoned military posts, according to UN and Western monitors.

Pistols, hand grenades and ammunition are seen on display at a shop in Panjwai, Kandahar

 JAVED TANVEER AFP

And the recent collapse of the Afghan military created an arms bonanza for the militants.

Alongside a large haul of American-made infantry weapons, Afghanistan's new rulers now possess equipment and vehicles -- including humvees, armoured personnel carriers, and at least one functioning Black Hawk helicopter.

The militants are also making the most of their spoils.

One arms dealer told AFP that the Taliban purchase their stock, and do not let others buy weapons JAVED TANVEER AFP

The Taliban are cashing in on a wide variety of items from abandoned Afghan and Western military bases.

They seized Panjwai district in July as the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan gathered pace.

In the local market, everything from construction material to metal trays salvaged from the district's Afghan military base was for sale.

"We bought all these things from the Taliban after they conquered the Afghan army base," said vendor Murtaza, who gave only one name.

"Now we bring them to the market to sell."

© 2021 AFP

#KASHMIR  IS  #INDIA'S #GAZA

India charges late Kashmir leader's family under anti-terror law
Issued on: 05/09/2021 -

Indian paramilitary troopers patrol a road in Srinagar as security forces maintained a lockdown across Kashmir in recent days 

TAUSEEF MUSTAFA AFP

Srinagar (India) (AFP)

The family of a separatist icon from Indian-administered Kashmir have been charged under a sweeping anti-terrorism law for allegedly chanting anti-New Delhi slogans and wrapping his body with Pakistan's flag after he died, officials said.

Tensions in the Himalayan territory, which is disputed between India and Pakistan, have been heightened since Syed Ali Geelani died on Wednesday at the age of 92 in the main city of Srinagar.

Police in Kashmir said a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) -- which effectively allows people to be held without trial indefinitely -- was registered on Saturday against Geelani's family

The family were accused of "raising anti-national slogans and resorting to other anti-national activities" at the influential resistance leader's home soon after his death.

They have not yet been detained by police.

His son Naseem Geelani did not deny the allegations but repeated earlier claims that police took his father's body away to be buried in the middle of the night just hours after his death, and did not allow the family to perform last rites.

Police have refuted those allegations.

"We told the visiting police officers that they had taken control of everything after my father's death and that we were mourning. We had no way of knowing who was doing what," the son told AFP on Sunday.

A video widely shared on social media showed the leader's body wrapped in a Pakistani flag before police officers took it away amid a scuffle with his family members.

Chants of "we want freedom" were heard in the background during the mayhem.

Authorities on Sunday eased a lockdown imposed to maintain calm after his death across Kashmir, allowing for limited movement. An internet and mobile phone shutdown was partially eased on Saturday.

Geelani, a popular figure in the region, spent over five decades fighting for self-determination for people in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Islamabad observed a day of national mourning after Geelani's death and funeral prayers for the leader were held across Pakistan and in Turkey.

In Srinagar, Indian troops are guarding Geelani's grave and no-one is allowed to approach it.

Anger has simmered in the territory since 2019 when New Delhi controversially revoked the region's semi-autonomy and brought it under direct rule.

Residents in the Muslim-majority region say repression has intensified in the two years since the changes.

India has used the vaguely-worded UAPA legislation against thousands of Kashmiri residents, journalists and dissidents, according to activists.

Rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces for decades, demanding independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan that controls a part of it.

Tens of thousands have died in the fighting, most civilians.

© 2021 AFP

SUPERSPREADER EVENT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Hundreds of thousands of Indian farmers protest Modi agricultural laws

Issued on: 05/09/2021 - 

People attend a Maha Panchayat, or grand village council meeting, as part of a farmers' protest against agricultural laws in Muzaffarnagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India on September 5, 2021. © Adnan Abidi, Reuters

Text by: NEWS WIRES

Hundreds of thousands of farmers gathered in India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, the biggest rally yet in a months-long series of demonstrations to press Narendra Modi's government to repeal three new agricultural laws.

More than 500,000 farmers attended the rally in the city of Muzaffarnagar, according to local police.

The demonstration in Uttar Pradesh, a predominantly agricultural state that's home to 240 million people, will breathe fresh life into the protest movement, said Rakesh Tikait, a prominent farmers' leader.

"We'll intensify our protest by going to every single city and town of Uttar Pradesh to convey the message that Modi's government is anti-farmer," he added.

Over the past eight months, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on major highways to the capital, New Delhi to oppose the laws, in India's longest-running farmers' protest against the government.

The measures, introduced last September, allow farmers to directly sell their produce, outside government-regulated wholesale markets, to big buyers. The government says this will unshackle farmers and help them get better prices.

Farmers, however, say the legislation will hurt their livelihood and leave them with scant bargaining power against big private retailers and food processors.

Farming is a vast sector that sustains almost half of India's more than 1.3 billion people, and accounts for about 15% of the country's $2.7 trillion economy.

Balbir Singh Rajewal, another farmers' leader, said Sunday's rally was a warning for Prime Minister Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, which next year will contest a state assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, often seen as a barometer of the popularity of the federal government.

"Our message is very clear - either repeal the laws or face defeat in the state election," he added.

(REUTERS)