- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
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- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
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- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
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- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
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- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
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- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
LED lightbulbs enter Ukrainian resistance fight
Taken for granted by most consumers in rich countries, the humble LED lightbulb was identified on Tuesday as a strategic ally for Ukraine as Kyiv seeks to resist Russian bombing of its power grid.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted how replacing the country's old-style incandescent bulbs by modern LED versions would help the country escape blackouts this winter.
"It maybe doesn't seem very important but fifty million LED lamps will allow us to save one gigawatt of power," he told an international aid conference in Paris attended by around 70 states and international organisations.
Large parts of Ukraine face blackouts and regular load-shedding as the country's power grid buckles under repeated Russian air strikes.
Zelensky said the current power shortfall in the country was around 2.5 gigawatts per day, meaning 50 million LED lightbulbs would reduce this by 40 percent.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen immediately announced that the European Union would fund the purchase of 30 million LED lightbulbs for 30 million euros ($32 million).
They are 88 percent more efficient than traditional ones, she estimated.
"The savings are crucial to reduce the pressure that we have on the power grid now," von der Leyen said.
"In these times of suffering and darkness, it is so important to bring light to Ukraine," she added.
Zelensky estimated that Ukraine needed around 800 million euros in emergency aid in total for its energy sector in the face of Russia's onslaught.
The country is desperately seeking spare parts to repair its power lines, as well as transformers, gas turbines and generators to keep the lights on.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who also championed the idea of LED lighting for Ukraine, condemned Russia's "cynical" and "cowardly" attacks on civilian infrastructure.
"These strikes... which Russia openly admits are designed to break the resistance of the Ukrainian people, are war crimes," he said in an opening speech.
"They violate without any doubt the most basic principals of humanitarian law. These acts are intolerable and will not go unpunished."
T.Vitorino--PC