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By Riazat Butt | Associated Press ISLAMABAD — Supporters seeking the release of imprisoned Pakistani former Prime Minister Imran Khan broke through a ring of shipping containers blocking off the capital on Tuesday, and battled security forces despite a government threat to respond with gunfire. Six people have died in the violence. Thousands of security forces have poured into central Islamabad in an attempt to quell protests in support of Khan that have gripped the capital and its surrounding areas since Sunday. The popular politician has been in jail for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases that his party says are politically motivated. Authorities say only courts can order the release of Khan, who was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament. He has been imprisoned since his first conviction in a graft case in August 2023. On Tuesday, Pakistan’s army took control of D-Chowk, a large square in downtown Islamabad’s Red Zone, which houses key government buildings and where visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is staying . Paramilitary rangers and police were also out in force and some fired warning shots into the air. Still, Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who is leading the protests, made slow progress toward the square in a heavily guarded convoy, surrounded by well-wishers. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi threatened that security forces would respond with live fire if protesters fired weapons at them. “We have now allowed police to take any decision according to the situation,” Naqvi said later while visiting the square. Protester Shahzor Ali said people were on the streets because Khan had called for them to be there. “We will stay here until Khan is among us. He will decide what to do next,” Ali said. “If they again fire bullets, the bullet will be responded with the bullet,” he said. Protester Fareeda Bibi, who is not related to Khan’s wife, said people have suffered greatly for the last two years. “We have really suffered for the last two years, whether it is economically, politically or socially. We have been ruined. I have not seen such a Pakistan in my life,” she said. Police so far have used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowds. The dead include four members of the security services and one civilian who were killed when a vehicle rammed them on a street overnight into Tuesday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the attack, saying an “anarchist group” was deliberately targeting law enforcement personnel. There was no claim of responsibility for the ramming. A police officer died separately. Scores of people have also been injured, including journalists who were attacked by demonstrators. Dozens of Khan supporters beat a videographer covering the protest for The Associated Press and took his camera. He sustained head injuries and was treated in a hospital. Pakistani media have mostly stopped filming and photographing the rally, instead focusing on the security measures and the city’s deserted streets. By Tuesday afternoon, fresh waves of protesters made their way unopposed to their final destination in the Red Zone. Most demonstrators had the flag of Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, around their shoulders or wore its tricolors on accessories. Naqvi said Khan’s party rejected a government offer to rally on the outskirts of the city. Information Minister Atta Tarar warned there would be a severe government reaction to the violence. He said the government did not want Bushra Bibi to achieve her goal of freeing Khan. “She wants bodies falling to the ground. She wants bloodshed,” he said. In a bid to foil the unrest, police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday and suspended mobile and internet services in some parts of the country and messaging platforms were also experiencing severe disruption in the capital. Related Articles World News | Pleasanton appoints first-ever female police chief World News | Brazil police: Bolsonaro participated in 2022 coup plot World News | Opposition forces flood the streets in Albanian capital World News | Controversial resolution fails to make council agenda in Los Gatos World News | Opinion: California’s climate decisions today can address tomorrow’s problems Khan’s party relies heavily on social media to demand Khan’s release and uses messaging platforms such as WhatsApp to share information, including details of events. The X platform, which is banned in Pakistan, is no longer accessible, even with a VPN. On Thursday, a court prohibited rallies in the capital and Naqvi said anyone violating the ban would be arrested. Travel between Islamabad and other cities has become nearly impossible because of shipping containers blocking the roads. All educational institutions remain closed. Pakistan’s Stock Exchange lost more than $1.7 billion Tuesday due to rising political tensions, according to economist Mohammed Sohail from Topline Securities. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this report.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein was carted off the field and taken to a hospital with a left leg injury sustained while being sacked in the first quarter of Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference game at Louisville. The redshirt freshman's left ankle was caught at an awkward angle beneath Louisville defensive end Ashton Gillotte's hip on a twisting tackle for a 4-yard loss at midfield. Panthers medical personnel rushed to Holstein's aid, with a cart arriving quickly on the field within minutes. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

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Japan’s high-level Strategic Policy Committee disclosed Dec. 25 a set of energy supply and demand scenarios for fiscal year 2040-41 (April-March) aligning with a 73% greenhouse gas reduction target and a scenario with the slow introduction of decarbonization technologies with a boost in the primary energy supply of natural gas. The FY 2040-41 energy supply and demand scenarios, part of the draft 7th Strategic Energy Plan, Japan’s principal energy policy, were released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Strategic Policy Committee. The multiple scenarios that are part of the plan reflect the country’s difficulty in drawing up the energy supply and demand outlook for about 15 years ahead. The draft FY 2040-41 energy supply and demand scenarios, which align with the country’s provisional target of a 73% cut in GHGs by FY 2040-41 from FY 2013-14, expects the country’s final energy consumption volume to be about 260 million-270 million kiloliters in the fiscal year to March 2041, compared with 310 million kl in FY 2022-23. Under the scenarios, the country’s energy self-sufficiency is expected to improve to around 30%-40% in FY 2040-41 from 12.6% in FY 2022-23. The FY 2040-41 primary energy supply under the 73% GHG cut-aligned scenarios is about 420 million-440 million kl, down from 470 million kl in FY 2022-23, led by significant drops in fossil-fuel-based primary energy supply, despite an increase in non-fossil fuel-based primary energy supply. Under the 73% GHG cut-aligned scenarios, the primary energy supply of natural gas is at around 80 million-90 million kl, with petroleum at around 90 million-120 million kl and coal at about 40 million-50 million kl in FY 2040-41, compared with natural gas at 100 million kl, petroleum at 170 million kl, coal at 120 million kl in FY 2022-23. In another scenario with slower-than-expected progress in introducing decarbonization technologies such as renewable energy, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), Japan expects primary energy supply of natural gas to be about 110 million kl, or 74 million mt in FY 2040-41, increasing from the FY 2022-23 level. The natural gas in the primary energy supply of 74 million mt in FY 2040-41 underlined the country’s need for a long-term and stable LNG supply. However, it could also send mixed signals to the industry as the country’s proposed share of thermal power in Japan’s power generation mix will plunge to 30%-40% in FY 2040-41 from 68.6% in FY 2023-24. “[The slow technology advancement] scenario assumes that insufficient cost reductions in innovative technologies until FY 2040-41 enable only existing technologies to penetrate and expand, as well as a significant reduction of fossil energy sources as a total in the total primary supply, while at the same time an increase of LNG supply and total power generation [volumes],” said Hiroshi Hashimoto, senior fellow at the energy security unit of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. “That means even a more important role of LNG in filling the gap of smaller supply of other energy sources,” Hashimoto said. “This apparently encourages more proactive procurement activities.” Experts surveyed by S&P Global Commodity Insights estimate Japan’s natural gas in primary energy supply to be in the 54 million-74 million mt range in FY 2040-41 based on their calculations of the country’s primary energy supply of gas of about 54 million mt to 61 million mt under the 73% GHG cut-aligned scenarios for the fiscal year, as well as gas in primary energy supply standing about 66 million-67 million mt in FY 2022-23. “As Japan’s natural gas consumption volume is estimated to be about 54 million mt to 74 million mt over varied scenarios in FY 2040-41, as well as suggesting it to be increased or decreased from more or less than 67 million mt in FY 2022-23, which sends mixed signals in the prospective natural gas demand in the draft Strategic Energy Plan,” said Takayuki Nogami, chief economist at Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security. “Amid uncertainty over the scale of LNG demand toward FY 2040-41, Japanese utilities would likely have to take a conservative approach toward LNG procurements for their businesses,” Nogami said. Given the range of natural gas supply in the primary energy mix, Takeo Kikkawa, president of the International University of Japan, said: “It will not serve as a basis for natural gas buyers for their procurement with a large range like this,” adding that it is “meaningless.” Kikkawa, who was for many years previously involved in the formulation of the Strategic Energy Plan as a member of the METI’s advisory committee, said that the slow technology advancement scenario might turn out to be the most likely scenario. “As they have expressly written it, this might be a likely scenario in mind,” Kikkawa said. “Conversely, this would mean that [Japan] would need to buy a considerable amount of natural gas; however, it is hard to read that way as the base scenario shows a decrease.” “The tone of hydrogen and ammonia has diminished [quantitatively], while the role of [synthetic] methane has relatively increased [qualitatively]” in the draft Strategic Energy Plan, Kikkawa added. The 73% GHG cut-aligned scenarios expect Japan’s hydrogen and its derivatives supply in the FY 2040-41 primary energy supply to be about 20 million kl. However, hydrogen and its derivatives supply is expected to drop to around 10 million kl in the FY 2040-41 scenario with slow technological advancement. While synthetic methane does not specifically form part of the FY 2040-41 primary energy supply in the draft Strategic Energy Plan, it is placed among decarbonization solutions, which could gradually displace the use of natural gas as a result of technological advancement as a pathway even after achieving 2050 carbon neutrality. The proposed share of thermal power in FY 2040-41 comes as Japan outlined in the draft Strategic Energy Plan that it will maximize the introduction of renewables as its main power source and seek a balance in its power generation mix for stable energy supply and decarbonization. The proposal is based on a provisional FY 2040-41 outlook covering multiple scenarios, which suggest that Japan’s electricity generation volume will reach 1.1 trillion-1.2 trillion kWh, up from around 985.4 billion kWh in FY 2023-24, driven by expected growth in power demand from digital transformation and green transformation. The provisional FY 2040-41 power generation mix comprises renewables at about 40%-50%, thermal power at around 30%-40% and nuclear power at about 20%, compared with renewables at 22.9%, thermal power at 68.6% and nuclear power at 8.5% in FY 2023-24. The provisional FY 2040-41 share of thermal power, however, does not include a breakdown of each power generation source, such as coal, LNG and oil, nor does it present an explicit share of hydrogen and ammonia in the proposed power generation mix. The Strategic Policy Committee approved the draft 7th Strategic Energy Plan to be sent for a 30-day public comment expected to start by the end of the year, which will be followed by a cabinet approval for formulation. Source:

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