French Rock Group Indochine Plays COVID Trial Gig in Paris
Varieties
Paris - Asharq Al-Awsat
People cheer during a concert of French DJ Etienne de Crecy and rock band Indochine, aimed at assessing the risk of COVID-19 transmission at live events, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France, May 29, 2021. (AFP Photo)
Starved of live music for the past year, fans of veteran French rock band Indochine on Saturday got the chance to see their idols in concert, all in the name of Covid-19 research. Around 5,000 concert goers were taking part in the experimental event at Paris's Bercy concert hall. A further 2,500 volunteers who did not attend the concert will be used as a comparison group. The trial to assess the risk of Covid transmission at events has been eagerly awaited by the live music and entertainment sector which has been devastated by Covid-19. "It's been so long that we have waited for a reopening of this kind of event. So finding a concert, in addition to it being Indochine, is really great," Camille, 26, from the Paris region, said, AFP reported. Before being admitted, the concert goers, all aged between 18 and 45 with no special risk factors, handed over an envelope containing a saliva test done earlier on Saturday. Each person was also required to have had a negative antigen test in the last three days. Once inside, no social distancing was required but masks were compulsory. Due to the 9 pm curfew still in place in France, the concert took earlier than normal with Indochine on stage by 6 pm. Similar trials have already taken place elsewhere in Europe and the Bercy concert had been postponed a number of times.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002921/french-rock-group-indochine-plays-covid-trial-gig-paris
King vs. Queen: Defending French Champs Practice Together
Sports
Asharq Al-Awsat
Spectators take photos on their smartphones of a new statue of Spain's Rafael Nadal on day two of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, Monday, May 31, 2021. (AP)
For an audience with the “King of Clay,” the current queen of clay thought it best to come prepared. Worried that she might run short of things to say, French Open champion Iga Swiatek says she readied some talking points before hitting balls in a training session in Paris with her idol, 13-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal. The pre-tournament knock-about between the men and women’s defending champions on red clay made a splash on social media. Unlike many of his opponents, Swiatek got a huge thrill from being on the receiving end of the kicking, spinning left-handed Nadal forehand that spits off the dust. “I got to feel his forehand, which was great, and his topspin. That was a whole new experience for me,” Swiatek said after getting her title defense rolling on Monday with a straight-sets first-round win. “It gave me, like, a lot of positive energy. It was really a huge inspiration for me.” Swiatek, who turned 20 on Monday, had just celebrated her fourth birthday when Nadal won his first French Open in 2005. Finding herself sharing a stage in Paris with the winner of 20 major titles has been among the many lifestyle changes that Swiatek has had to adapt to as a Roland Garros champion. Like Nadal back then, she won last year as a heavy-hitting teenager. For their practice session at Roland Garros, Swiatek said she prepared “some small topics, not to have awkward silence.” But Nadal made her feel at ease. “Rafa is really, really great. He’s a really nice guy. Even though I am pretty introverted, it was really fun for me,” she said. “It’s really nice to see such a champion being normal off court, and also telling jokes and being a little bit sarcastic.” Merci! “Merci, Benoit! Merci, Benoit!” chanted the fans as Benoit Paire left Court Simonne Mathieu after another loss in a year of many. There were tears in his eyes but his heart was warmed by the support. The Frenchman has been piling up losses since the start of the pandemic — he has a 2-15 record this year — and repeatedly said he lost his appetite for tennis, especially because of restrictions preventing fans from attending matches. He was banned from competing for his country at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics by the French tennis federation. On Monday, the 40th-ranked Paire certainly did not feel alone. After only 1,000 spectators were allowed per day at Roland Garros last year because of COVID-19 concerns, more than five times that have been permitted this week. And the hundreds attending his match against 15th-seeded Casper Ruud loudly supported Paire with nice words and applause throughout the three hours of his 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (4) loss. “Life on Tour has been so difficult over the last few months,” Paire said. “I’m back to the tennis I love, with an audience, emotions, sharing. That’s why I do this job, this sport, that’s what makes it beautiful. You don’t play for yourself, you play for everyone, to bring happiness.”
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002896/king-vs-queen-defending-french-champs-practice-together
Lebanon Signs Agreement to Produce Sputnik V Vaccine
Arab World
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat
A medical specialist holds a vial of Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in a department store in Moscow, Russia, January 18, 2021 REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo/File Photo
Lebanon’s caretaker Industry Minister Imad Hoballah announced Monday that an agreement will be signed next week to start producing Russia's Sputnik V vaccine in Lebanon. “During the second week of June, a deal will be signed to produce Sputnik vaccine in Lebanon, through Arwan Pharmaceutical Industries,” Hoballah said following a meeting with President Michel Aoun in Baabda palace. According to Hoballah, this will allow Lebanon to produce 30 to 60 million vaccines annually, provided that the company begins to manufacture the vaccine as soon as the imported raw materials are shipped from Russia. The Arwan Pharmaceutical Industries is a Lebanese company located in the town of Jadra on the Chouf coast, in Iqlim al-Kharroub region. For his part, Arwan’s Chairman of the Board Abdul Razzaq Youssef said that within a period not exceeding two months, the company will start production and manufacture. In a separate development, Hoballah tackled Monday with Aoun the issue of Lebanese exports to Saudi Arabia, expressing Lebanon’s readiness to use the needed tools to prevent illegal exports. He said that Lebanon might sending a delegation to visit KSA and hold talks in this regard.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002891/lebanon-signs-agreement-produce-sputnik-v-vaccine
Fellow Athletes Rally Around Osaka After French Open Withdrawal
Sports
Asharq Al-Awsat
Naomi Osaka. (Reuters)
Leading figures in tennis and sport have rallied to support Naomi Osaka after the women’s world number two withdrew from the French Open in a row about post-match media duties, saying she had been suffering from “depression” and “anxiety.” One of the biggest names in sport, Osaka stunned the tennis world when she pulled out of the Grand Slam after being fined and threatened with expulsion for refusing to show up at an obligatory news conference on Sunday. The four-times Grand Slam champion had signaled her intentions to skip her media duties to protect her mental well-being on social media and returned to Twitter on Monday to announce her withdrawal. “I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can go back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris,” she wrote. While her original stance had earned little backing from her fellow professionals, most of whom saying that dealing with the media was part of the job, her withdrawal triggered a wave of support from around the sporting world. “So proud of you,” multiple Grand Slam winner Venus Williams posted on Twitter. “Take care of yourself and see you back winning soon!” Williams’s sister Serena and younger American players Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens also chimed in with messages of support as the focus shifted from Osaka’s responsibilities to her wellbeing. Billie Jean King echoed comments from fellow women’s tennis trailblazer Martina Navratilova about the importance of mental health. “It’s incredibly brave that Naomi Osaka has revealed her truth about her struggle with depression,” King wrote on social media. “Right now, the important thing is that we give her the space and time she needs. We wish her well.” There were also messages of support posted on social media from athletes in other sports, with golf’s Michelle Wie, NFL players Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett as well as multiple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt offering their backing. “You shouldn’t ever have to make a decision like this — but so damn impressive taking the high road when the powers that be don’t protect their own. Major respect,” wrote NBA All Star Steph Curry. There was some criticism of Roland Garros organizers for their handling of the matter. French Tennis Federation President Gilles Moretton read a prepared statement on Monday offering Osaka their support but the irony of him not taking questions, given the context of the row, was not lost on some. “So the FFT handled the Ms. Osaka mental health concerns without empathy or sensitivity. Then the FFT President refuses to take questions at a presser. An own goal,” wrote former Australian tennis official Richard Ings. Japan’s Osaka, who according to sports business website Sportico earned $55.2 million over the past 12 months, is expected to be one of the biggest attractions at the Tokyo Olympics in July and August. The 23-year-old concluded her statement by saying she would be taking some time away from tennis and organizers of that already troubled event will be desperately hoping she will be back on court long before the Games get underway.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002886/fellow-athletes-rally-around-osaka-after-french-open-withdrawal
Archaeologists Unearth Gold Object Dating to Early Bronze Age
Varieties
Cairo - Hazem Badr
A Roman-era sarcophagus is seen at an archaeological site in the remains of the ancient city of Viminacium, now Kostolac, Serbia, May 29, 2018. (Photo: Reuters)
Archaeologists working in the district of Tübingen in southwest Germany have discovered the region's earliest gold object to date. It is a spiral ring of gold wire unearthed from the grave of an Early Bronze Age woman. The woman's grave was located not far from a group of other Early Bronze Age burials and is apparently connected with the prehistoric hilltop settlement on the nearby Kirchberg. Precious metal finds from this period are very rare in southwestern Germany. The gold probably originates from Cornwall in southwest Britain. The archaeologists say it is unusually early proof of the far-reaching trade in luxury objects of the people of that time. The discovery was published in the latest issue of the journal Praehistorische Zeitschrift. The excavation was led by Professor Raiko Krauss from the Institute of Prehistory and Medieval Archaeology at the University of Tübingen, and Jörg Bofinger from the Baden-Württemberg State Office for Cultural Heritage Management, based in Esslingen, southern Germany. During the excavation, the researchers found that the woman was buried in a fetal position. This type of burial is typical of the late Neolithic period in Central Europe. The only object found in the grave was the spiral roll made of gold wire. It may have been a hair ornament and indicates that the wearer was of high social status. Radiocarbon dating of the bones puts the burial between about 1850 and 1700 BCE—the Early Bronze Age. According to a report by the University of Tübingen, the gold contains about 20 percent silver, less than two percent copper, and has traces of platinum and tin. This composition points to a natural gold alloy typical of gold washed from rivers. The report indicates that the pattern of trace elements resembles that of gold from deposits in Cornwall, specifically from the Carnon River area. The research team considers the gold find from the Tübingen district as evidence that western groups in central Europe had connections with the other regions in the first half of the second millennium BCE.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002876/archaeologists-unearth-gold-object-dating-early-bronze-age
Damascus Denies Issuing License to New Mobile Operator
Arab World
Damascus – Asharq Al-Awsat
People walk past the looted premises of cellphone company Syriatel, which is owned by Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of president Bashar al-Assad, in Daraa March 21, 2011. (Reuters)
The Syrian Ministry of Communication and Technology denied on Monday granting a license to a third mobile operator in the country. Director-General of Communications Regulatory Authority for Post and Communications Manhal Gunaidi clarified that announcing the entry of a third operator is made exclusively by the Ministry and Authority. The Ministry will make the announcement once the final license is granted, Gunaidi said, adding that one of the conditions is that Syrian Telecom must be a partner to the operator. A photo circulated on Sunday claiming the Ministry of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection had approved the operation of a new company, Wafa Telecom. The approval dates back to 2020 and was published in the Gazette but it does not bear the signature or seal of the Ministry. According to the decision, the new company consists of seven firms operating in Syria and their headquarters are in Damascus. Syriatel and MTN have been Syria’s sole telecom operators since 2000. They have been in a dispute with the Ministry of Communication and Technology over unpaid dues worth 233 billion Syrian pounds. Syriatel, which is owned by president Bashar al-Assad’s cousin Rami Mkahlouf, has refused to pay, leading to a dramatic public spat between them. MTN announced that it will meet its dues, but has yet to make a payment.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002846/damascus-denies-issuing-license-new-mobile-operator
Lebanon: 'Positive' Hariri-Berri Meeting to Resolve Obstacles Hindering Govt Formation
Arab World
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat
Speaker Nabih Berri during his meeting with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Monday (NNA).
Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri held a two-hour meeting on Monday to discuss means to remove obstacles hindering the formation of a new government, especially those related to naming non-partisan Christian ministers. While Hariri declined to give comments on the meeting, the National News Agency (NNA) said that the two leaders reviewed latest political developments, noting that the atmosphere was positive. According to the information, Berri put forward a proposal to form a government of 24 specialists who do not belong to any political party. Sources close to the former prime ministers told to Asharq Al-Awsat that Hariri would not abandon his mission, stressing that he would not reject a government of 24 ministers, provided that no party obtains the blocking third. Later on Monday, a meeting was held at the presidential palace in Baabda, in the presence of Berri’s political assistant, MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Hussein Khalil, the political aide to Hezbollah’s Secretary General. Berri’s Amal Movement underlined the need to “take advantage of the positive atmosphere” that was brought about by the speaker’s initiative. In a statement following its regular political bureau meeting, the movement said that openness and communication between the parties was a prerequisite for reaching an understanding over the government formation issue. In turn, Al-Mustaqbal Bloc MP Rola Tabash noted that chances of forming the government were currently almost equal to attempts obstructing it, adding in a post on her Twitter account that while the prime minister-designate was striving to overcome all difficulties internally and externally, a movement “driven by a presidential obsession is creating all obstacles to perpetuate the constitutional distortion, political rifts and social collapse.”
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002836/lebanon-positive-hariri-berri-meeting-resolve-obstacles-hindering-govt
Egypt to Start Easing COVID-19 Restrictions on Tuesday
Arab World
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat
Egypt will begin easing COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday after a drop in infections. (Reuters file photo)
Egypt will lift restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including easing the early closure of shops and restaurants, from Tuesday. The Supreme Committee for the Management of the Coronavirus Crisis said shops, malls, cafeterias and restaurants, which will be allowed to open daily from until 11pm, and until 12 midnights on Thursdays, Fridays and on official holidays. The Committee stressed that fines will be imposed on facilities violating the curfew. They will also be immediately shut for two weeks, and for a whole month in case of repeated violations. Despite the eased restrictions, a ban will continue on all gatherings, events, conferences or parties, and fines will be imposed on people violating these measures. Mass religious celebrations are still banned but weddings will be allowed in open-air venues. Last Sunday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly said the state will continue to implement, with utmost firmness, all precautionary measures in order to keep everyone safe. He said his government is also working to keep all medical centers and hospitals in full readiness to deal with the pandemic. Meanwhile, Health Minister Hala Zayed said Egypt had opened 403 vaccination centers this year and that the ministry was close to inoculating all those who signed up during the first phase of the program. “With the opening of new centers, 110,000 people are now being vaccinated every day, many more than when the program began,” she said. Egypt has reported 262,650 infections, 15,096 fatalities and 192,112 recoveries from the virus.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002826/egypt-start-easing-covid-19-restrictions-tuesday
Turkish Agents Capture Nephew of US-Based Cleric Overseas
World
Asharq Al-Awsat
Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, July 29, 2016. (Reuters)
Turkish agents have captured a nephew of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen in an overseas operation and have brought him to Turkey where he faces prosecution, Turkey’s state-run news agency said Monday. Selahaddin Gulen, who was wanted in Turkey on charges of membership in a terror organization, was seized in an operation by Turkey’s national spy agency MIT, the Anadolu Agency reported. The report did not say where he was seized or when he was returned to Turkey. Gulen’s nephew however, was believed to be residing in Kenya. His case is the latest in a series of forced repatriation of people affiliated with Gulen’s movement, which the Turkish government blames for a failed coup attempt in 2016, The Associated Press reported. Gulen, a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who now lives in exile in Pennsylvania, has rejected the accusations of involvement in the coup attempt. Turkey has designated his network a terrorist group, which it has named the Fethullahist Terror Organization, or FETO. Erdogan announced earlier in May that a prominent member of Gulen’s network had been captured but did not provide details. On July 15, 2016, factions within the Turkish military used tanks, warplanes and helicopters in an attempt to overthrow Erdogan. Fighter jets bombed parliament and other spots in Turkey’s capital. Heeding a call by the president, thousands took to the streets to stop the coup. A total of 251 people were killed and around 2,200 others were wounded. Around 35 alleged coup plotters were also killed.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002821/turkish-agents-capture-nephew-us-based-cleric-overseas
Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, STC Delegation Discuss Implementation of Riyadh Agreement
Gulf
Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Ambassador Al-Jaber during the talks with the STC delegation. (SPA)
Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and General Supervisor of the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen, Mohammed Al-Jaber held talks on Monday with representatives of the Southern Transitional Council (STC). The meeting, which was described as positive, tackled efforts to implement the remaining parts of the Riyadh Agreement, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s ongoing efforts to achieve peace, security, stability and development in Yemen. The STC delegation was headed by Dr. Nasser al-Khubji.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002816/saudi-ambassador-yemen-stc-delegation-discuss-implementation-riyadh-agreement
A digital currency issued by the Federal Reserve would revolutionize the US financial industry. Yet while economic and financial digitization is crucial, as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says, it cannot also be universal. The result is that major economies are going to end up with at least two different kinds of money. The most common worry is that a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, would lead to disintermediation, with individuals or wholesalers putting their money into a CBDC system rather than commercial banks. The result would be fewer loans and less private-sector economic activity. CBDC proponents typically say regulation can fix this problem. They favor some combination of issuance limits on CBDC units, CBDC access for wholesalers and major players only, or penalty interest rates or fees on CBDC holdings. Yet all of these ideas create barriers — you might even call them “capital controls” — between ordinary dollars and CBDC dollars. If there are limits or barriers to dollar-to-CBDC conversion, dollars and CBDC units will not sell for the same price. Why should they? They perform different functions for different clienteles. Of course if the Fed allows unrestricted conversions, a one-to-one price would be enforced by arbitrage. But such open and unfettered privileges are precisely what policy advocates are seeking to limit. The result would be a bit like the Chinese system. The yuan has for a long time had one value within China and another in world markets, with the difference being enforced by capital controls. And with a Chinese digital currency on the way, China may soon have (at least) three different currency prices. In this new world, people will ask whether the US dollar unit of account refers to “ordinary dollars” or to CBDC dollars. There might be two competing “dollar units of account” — or, more plausibly, retail prices would continue to be denominated in terms of ordinary dollars and the CBDC would have a floating exchange rate with respect to these “retail dollars.” Given the sophistication of US business and the widespread distribution of smart phones, which can enable ready calculation, I don’t find this scenario troubling. Nonetheless it would be a revolution of sorts. In particular, the price of the CBDC dollar would become both a major policy variable and a major indicator of where central bank policy is headed. To what extent does the Fed wish to allow transactions, intermediation and resources to flow into the CBDC-linked sector? Current debates about open-market operations or interest on reserves will become arcane and outdated. The regulations roping off the CBDC sector from the retail-dollar sector would become truly significant, and would give the Fed (and other regulatory parties) much greater influence over sectoral allocation. Over time, the CBDC financial sector would become much larger, as more of the economy digitizes and demands the hypermodern CBDC payment and settlement system. That would mean that the dominant US currency — the CBDC dollar —would be fully separate from the mainstream accounting unit, namely the retail dollar. Whether some other currency might replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency is a perennial debate. Maybe the real alternative to the dollar is … the CBDC dollar. Another question is whether privately supplied digitized currencies can coexist with a Fed-issued CBDC. The likely answer is yes. A Fed-issued CBDC, no matter how well run, will not serve all purposes. Market participants might also desire digital currencies with greater privacy and anonymity, digital currencies subject to different regulations, or digital currencies designed to transact with foreigners, including countries with illiquid, non-convertible currencies. After all, it is unlikely that the Fed will allow all foreigners to partake in the new CBDC system, in part because of regulatory requirements, and in part because of fear of global runs. There might also be a “basket” of CBDCs at the global level. It might also be the case that only “wholesalers” are allowed to partake in the CBDC, but banks issue stablecoins to give their depositors indirect access to the Fed’s underlying CBDC system. Banks might try to peg those stablecoins at one-to-one to either retail dollars or CBDC dollars, just as money market funds peg their shareholdings. In either case, there would be yet more monies and additional floating prices. There is also the possibility, of course, that the Fed will take no action toward a CBDC. In that case, other central banks will. So no matter where the policy lands, it is time to fasten your seatbelts. Bloomberg
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002811/tyler-cowen/when-dollar-not-dollar
Violent clashes erupted on Monday morning between armed groups in the Libyan city of Surman, west of the capital Tripoli. The development took place hours after the Presidential Council, headed by Mohammed al-Menfi, officially announced the founding gathering of the national reconciliation commission. According to witnesses and locals the fighting broke out between militias from al-Zawiya that are tasked with guarding Surman prison and between a family in the al-Shaabiya area. Material damage was reported in the clashes. The Government of National Unity (GNU), headed by Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, has yet to comment on the unrest. Meanwhile, the commission will bring together all active figures in the reconciliation process, taking into account the geographic, religious and cultural diversity of Libya and its men, women, youth and civil society. It will hold a series of meetings aimed at setting the vision that will help shape the commission and take the right decision about its leadership, with the hope of holding parliamentary and presidential elections as scheduled in December. Meanwhile, Speaker of the east-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, stressed on Sunday the need to hold the elections on time. He met with a delegation from the Senate Libya Corporation to discuss the reconciliation and efforts to bridge divides between the people. Separately, Dbeibeh kicked off on Sunday an official visit to Italy, his first since his appointment to his post earlier this year. Dbeibeh and the accompanying delegation will attend a business forum with major Italian companies that are interested in investing in Libya. He held talks with Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio ahead of the event.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002806/clashes-west-tripoli-hours-after-unveiling-libya-reconciliation-commission
The Strongest Sign Yet That Inflation Is Transitory
Opinion
Conor Sen
Conor Sen -
Something seems to have changed in housing market psychology over the past month. Prospective buyers who find themselves in bidding wars might not have noticed it yet, but there are multiple signs that the market is beginning to cool. Last week's consumer-price report, which came in much hotter than expected, made investors question whether inflation — turbo charged by reopenings and multiple rounds of fiscal stimulus — is only a passing phase. Fortunately for those who hope it is, rapidly shifting conditions are starting to provide evidence that, at least in the bellwether housing industry, rising prices are starting to cool demand. To the extent other industries begin to follow suit, that's a sign that whatever inflation we get over the next several months will end up being temporary. Housing's a good industry to study because it was one of the first to boom after the onset of the pandemic last spring, so it might be a leading indicator of what we'll see from other parts of the economy over the next several months. New home sales started recovering last May, and by June 2020 were at their highest levels since the 2008 recession. Demand for both new and existing homes has remained strong since then, leading to dwindling housing inventories and a surge in the price of lumber that accelerated in the past six months. Anyone concerned about inflation risks needs to look no further than home prices up 15% over the past year and the price of lumber up by 400%. The parabolic rise in lumber prices in just the past couple months was due in part to homebuilders scrambling to meet obligations they made earlier in the year. Maybe, for example, a builder sold a house to a buyer in January, but without locking in the price of lumber before construction. To complete the house in April they had to pay an exorbitant price, but that was still better than losing the sale or suffering the reputational damage of backing out of a contract. Builders adapt quickly to market conditions, and the landscape now is different from January. There have been anecdotal reports of some builders deciding to pause or slow down rather than continue to operate in a market with such high prices. Those stories were backed up by some hard data in the April housing starts report, which showed that single-family starts for the month were at their second-lowest level since last August. The only lower month was February, when Texas was in a deep freeze. Lumber prices are starting to respond to the pause. The July lumber futures contract has fallen by 25% from its May 7 peak, a sign that the market has found a level where buyers are balking rather than continuing to pay up. And for the first time since buying surged last spring, the inventory of homes for sale has increased for two consecutive weeks, a sign that normal seasonality might be returning. To sustain a high level of inflation requires more than a temporary imbalance between supply and demand — it takes a conscious behavioral change from both buyers and sellers in support of higher prices. And while prices may have risen faster and higher than most participants expected, now the market is starting to behave like this has been a temporary imbalance rather than a structural shift in behavior. Not only are some builders choosing to slow down despite historically low housing inventories, sawmill companies aren't in a hurry to expand capacity, choosing to rake in what they see as short-term windfall profits rather than invest for future demand that they're not sure will materialize. It might be that we're in a new economic environment that really will have structurally higher inflation, but decades of low rates have anchored the psychologies and behaviors of economic actors. If the response to high prices and low inventories throughout the economy is for buyers to pause while they wait for sellers to catch up on production, the result will be a start-and-stop growth environment — but one without the kind of sustained higher inflation that people fear. Bloomberg
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002801/conor-sen/strongest-sign-yet-inflation-transitory
The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us two sides of technological progress. There’s the positive side that’s delivered safe and effective vaccines in record time, helped economies with new stay-at-home online tools and improved disease surveillance and public health. And there’s the negative side that’s turbocharged malicious actors’ and authoritarian regimes’ disinformation campaigns, hacking and disruption of opponents, and fostered a rise in public harms like ransomware attacks and fraud. It’s this grim reality that the West must tackle as economies reopen, and the G7 summit next month is a perfect time to do it. Cyber threats have been warned about over the past year, but the scale and reach of the problem are hitting new heights. The US and Europe have accused China and Russia of stepping up information warfare — from Covid-19 conspiracy theories to misleading information about vaccines — and cyberattacks on Western targets, while further restricting their citizens’ liberties at home. Freedom House, which last year found 75% of the world’s population lived in a country experiencing democratic decline, says the pandemic has cast a “digital shadow.” There's no easy fix. Russia, for example, has left countries like the UK fuming as it fails to go after cybercriminals on its turf. Moscow and Beijing’s push for digital “sovereignty” has emboldened authoritarian regimes, as seen in Belarus’s shocking forced landing of a Ryanair flight last week. The roots of this crisis, which has opened a new rift between the West and strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who enjoys Vladimir Putin’s backing, lie in information warfare. Lukashenko’s ostensible target was 26-year-old Raman Pratasevich, an exiled journalist and former editor of opposition media Nexta, which operates through encrypted messaging app Telegram. There’s a pattern of escalation. Last month, just days after Russia’s security services arrested two Belarusians and accused them of planning an uprising, Minsk said it had foiled a “coup” discussed on video-conferencing app Zoom. Belarus authorities have blocked websites and restricted internet access since Lukashenko’s widely contested re-election in August (deemed by the EU to be neither free nor fair), and his Kremlin backers have lent their support. The “skyjacking” sends the message that Minsk’s online critics aren't safe anywhere, even in exile. It fits neatly with Lukashenko’s persistent siege mentality as he whips up the threat of “hybrid” online-offline warfare supposedly being waged by the West. Crafting a strategy will require going beyond past language advocating “Internet freedom.” The drama around Belarus deserves its own response beyond necessary sanctions, and the EU and US should aim for more solidarity with Belarusian civil society (and journalists-in-exile similar to Pratasevich) with more funding and support. Clara Ferreira Marques: The EU Has to Come Down Hard on Belarus — And Fast Political risk consultant Katia Glod says independent media need support to respond to continuous fines, to counter disinformation and launch alternative websites. As Tadeusz Giczan, Nexta’s current editor-in-chief, told the New Statesman, attempts to raise money via grants have been unsuccessful in the past, leading to financial difficulties. More resources to improve digital literacy would also help: Journalist Hanna Liubakova says independent media will benefit from more tools to combat censorship, whether via virtual private networks, mirroring websites — a way of replicating content via a different server and domain name to circumvent blocking — or other tools. The West should also mount a broader effort to undermine malicious online actors while helping virtuous ones. This means taking better care to ensure surveillance technology isn’t exported to repressive regimes. Lukashenko’s government blocked much of the internet during protests last summer with the help of technology from US-based Sandvine Inc. The company eventually canceled its deal with Belarus, but only after Bloomberg News reported on it. Sandvine’s tools had been used to censor the internet in more than a dozen countries in recent years. The G7 should also name and shame suspected cybercriminals and threaten retaliation for countries that persistently refuse to punish them. It should pour more resources into policing anonymous darknet markets where crime-as-a-service and Covid scam merchants prosper, enabled by pseudonymous cryptocurrencies. This won’t be an all-or-nothing pitched battle between privacy and security. The US and Europe are reluctant to simply let the market decide where consumer eyeballs and data go. One of the best-known anti-censorship tools, the Tor anonymity network, has an obvious dual use: It houses both criminal marketplaces and licit activity wanting to escape prying eyes. Funded historically by US government agencies, Putin in 2014 offered more than $100,000 for a way to de-anonymize it to get at political dissidents. He was rebuffed. Research by Virginia Tech’s Eric Jardine has shown how the benefits of Tor are clustered disproportionately in countries deemed not free or partially free, while its harms cluster in democracies. If liberal democracies don’t craft a coherent strategy that benefits good actors while harming bad ones, the pandemic’s digital shadow will be a long one. Bloomberg
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002796/lionel-laurent/don%E2%80%99t-let-autocrats-run-internet-after-covid
Kuwait: Crown Prince’s Visit to Saudi Arabia Testament to Strength of Ties
Gulf
Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat
Kuwait: Crown Prince’s Visit to Saudi Arabia Testament to Strength of Ties
Kuwait’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia described as historic Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber A-Sabah’s upcoming visit to the Kingdom. Sheikh Mishal is due in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday on his first official trip abroad since assuming his position. Ambassador Sheikh Ali al-Khalid al-Sabah said that his choice of the Kingdom confirms the strength of relations and the significance of Saudi Arabia to Kuwait. The visit reflects the strength of the bonds between Kuwait and Riyadh, reported the Kuwait news agency (KUNA). Sheikh Mishal was named crown prince in October 2020. He will visit the Kingdom at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, with the aim to “cement the depth of the strong ties between their countries.”
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002791/kuwait-crown-prince%E2%80%99s-visit-saudi-arabia-testament-strength-ties
Even if we never learn whether Covid-19 escaped from a lab or jumped to humans from animals, the public is entitled to a closer look at what’s going on in virology labs. Some scientists worry that laboratory scientists are getting too little oversight on projects that could potentially start pandemics. Others worry about the global proliferation of labs that work with dangerous viruses and other pathogens. The journal Nature accused politicians and the press of stirring up a “divisive” argument over the origins of the pandemic, but it’s only reasonable to want an explanation for some curious facts. The virus that has killed 3.5 million people so far and upended the lives of billions of others seems to have its closest relative in horseshoe bats, yet there are no horseshoe bat colonies close to Wuhan, China, where the pandemic was first identified. Wuhan does, however, host a lab holding the world’s largest collection of bat coronaviruses. A World Health Organization team sent to investigate came back with little in the way of plausible explanations for SARS-CoV-2. Nor are the explanations mutually exclusive — the virus could be a naturally occurring bat virus collected by a scientist and placed in a lab from which it later escaped. There’s no convincing evidence that this virus has been genetically manipulated, but it’s well known that scientists have manipulated other viruses to make them more dangerous. Biologist Richard Ebright, a professor at Rutgers University, walked me through a history of biodefense laboratory research going back to 9/11 and the anthrax attacks that followed in its wake. Because Congress was targeted in those attacks, the incident spurred the US government’s interest in researching germ warfare defenses. But things took a strange twist: While it was commonly assumed the attacks were carried out by foreign terrorists, a multi-year investigation pointed back to an American biodefense researcher. Investigators linked the attacks to Bruce Ivins, a virologist at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Maryland, though he killed himself before he could be tried. Perhaps increasing controls over biodefense research would have been a more rational response than ramping up funding. Ebright told me that back in 2003, the scientific community started to voice concerns over the realization that emerging genetic technology might, in principle, allow people to alter viruses to make them deadlier or more transmissible. And indeed, such experiments started happening — funded by the National Institutes of Health and done in the name of defense, or simply to better understand viruses as a line of basic research. A project in 2005 led to the re-creation of the deadly 1918 pandemic flu virus — something that helped scientists understand why that pandemic struck so many young, healthy people, but also led to concerns over the risk of a lab leak. Another project in 2011 altered a bird flu virus so it could spread between mammals. This was a particularly scary creation because bird flu can occasionally jump from birds to humans, killing about 60% of those infected. A version of this that could travel from human to human would be devastating. Debate continued for years over whether the benefits of this kind of research could possibly justify the grave risk, though the research was scheduled to resume in 2019. There’s also US funding for virus surveillance, which carries its own risks. Researchers go out and collect viruses, grow them in their labs, and use them in experiments. Ebright considers this analogous to the space virus collection in The Andromeda Strain, except that now we know that plenty of exotic viruses exist right here on Earth. Scientists have, more recently, been creating genetically altered coronaviruses. That research has been done as a collaboration between US labs and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In one controversial project, researchers took bat coronaviruses and introduced changes to see if they could induce greater pandemic potential. That research was published in 2015 in Nature Medicine. More experiments followed, in which the spike gene of one coronavirus was fused to the backbone of another, creating new viruses increasingly adept at infecting human cells. “And so this is, of course, a cookbook for constructing a virus of extremely high pandemic potential,” says Ebright. Under Obama, there was a "pause" on funding for gain-of-function research in 2014 and calls for a review of existing research, which was carried out through the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Under Trump, there was a new set of controls, which required reviews through the NIH, but Ebright said only two projects were ever reviewed. In practice, this meant weaker protections were in place. Ebright suggests that OSTP or another independent entity should be responsible for oversight, rather than agencies that do research or fund it. Purdue University virologist David Sanders told me he agrees with Ebright’s concerns, but he thinks the danger lies less in these genetic manipulation experiments and more in the worldwide proliferation of labs that deal in deadly pathogens, natural or engineered. He says there should be oversight, but that some genetic manipulation of viruses can provide valuable insights. Gene therapy, for example, uses altered viruses to deliver life-saving genetic material into human cells. And he wasn’t convinced by arguments laid out in an influential article by former New York Times science writer Nicholas Wade, first published in Medium, implying SARS-CoV-2 was the product of genetic modification. There’s nothing about the virus that would make a natural origin unlikely. But how did it get into humans? We still don’t know. And it’s perfectly reasonable to keep asking questions. Bloomberg
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002786/faye-flam/virus-labs-deserve-more-oversight
Lebanon Receives French Report Regarding Beirut Port Blast
Arab World
Asharq Al-Awsat
Wheat grows at the site of a massive explosion that killed more than 200 people and injured scores of others in August of last year, Beirut, May 27, 2021. (AFP)
Lebanon on Monday received a preliminary report from France regarding last year’s massive port blast in Beirut that killed and wounded thousands, judicial officials said. The officials said the French report is useful for the ongoing investigation in Beirut over the August blast, which decimated the country’s main port and caused severe damage to surrounding areas. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, declined to give details about the report, The Associated Press reported. Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate — a highly explosive material used in fertilizers — had been improperly stored in the port for years. The catastrophic blast on Aug. 4 killed 211 people and injured more than 6,000. Days after the explosion, French forensic police experts took part in the investigation and left weeks later. Nearly 10 months after the blast, it is still not known what triggered an initial fire at the warehouse that then caused the explosion or who was responsible for storing the rotting fertilizer at the port warehouse for years. Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned amid outrage over the explosion, and prime minister-designate Saad Hariri has not been able to form a new Cabinet since. That has worsened an unprecedented economic and financial crisis that has seen the local currency collapse and thrown nearly half the country’s population into poverty. Earlier this month, the judge investigating the blast, Tarek Bitar, requested that countries with satellites stationed over Lebanon provide authorities with images taken before and after the explosion that could help their investigation.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3002781/lebanon-receives-french-report-regarding-beirut-port-blast
Iran Oil Cargo Landed on US Shores One Month After Ship Seizure, Records Show
Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat
A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. (Reuters)
A cargo of 1.033 million barrels of Iranian crude oil landed on US shores in March, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed, the second shipment of Iranian oil to be imported into the United States since 1991. The cargo was registered in EIA data released late last week for the month following the seizure by US authorities of the Liberian-flagged tanker Achilleas, which was transporting Iranian crude. The EIA gave no other details on the Iranian cargo, and the agency could not be reached for comment outside of US office hours. Monday is a holiday in the United States, Reuters reported. The United States last recorded Iranian crude and petroleum imports of 3,000 barrels per day for October 2020, EIA data showed, also oil Washington had seized under its sanctions program. Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed that the Achilleas discharged its cargo at the US Gulf port of Galveston in March. The seizure was in line with tough economic sanctions imposed by Washington on Tehran over its nuclear program and the US designation of a number of Iranian groups as terrorist organisations, continuing decades of rancor between the two nations. Iran rejects US accusations of wrongdoing. Iran has been in talks with world powers since April, working on steps that Tehran and Washington must take on sanctions and nuclear activities to return to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear pact.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3001306/iran-oil-cargo-landed-us-shores-one-month-after-ship-seizure-records-show
Intel Reiterates Chip Supply Shortages Could Last Several Years
Technology
Asharq Al-Awsat
Intel announced a $20 billion plan in March to expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity. (Reuters)
Intel Corp's CEO said on Monday it could take several years for a global shortage of semiconductors to be resolved, a problem that has shuttered some auto production lines and is also being felt in other areas, including consumer electronics. Pat Gelsinger told a virtual session of the Computex trade show in Taipei that the work-and-study-from-home trend during the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a "cycle of explosive growth in semiconductors" that has placed huge strain on global supply chains. "But while the industry has taken steps to address near term constraints it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address shortages of foundry capacity, substrates and components." Gelsinger had told The Washington Post in an interview in mid-April the shortage was going to take "a couple of years" to abate, and that it planned to start producing chips within six to nine months to address shortages at US car plants. Intel announced a $20 billion plan in March to expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity, building two factories in Arizona and opening its plants to outside customers. "We plan to expand to other locations in the US and Europe, ensuring a sustainable and secure semiconductor supply chain for the world," Gelsinger said, without elaborating. Intel's plans could directly challenge the two other companies in the world that can make the most advanced chips - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. The two have come to dominate the semiconductor manufacturing business, moving its center of gravity from the United States, where much of the technology was once invented, to Asia, where more than two-thirds of advanced chips are now manufactured.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3001291/intel-reiterates-chip-supply-shortages-could-last-several-years
French Magistrates Question Fugitive Ghosn in Beirut
Arab World
Asharq Al-Awsat
Fugitive ex-auto magnate Carlos Ghosn speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Dbayeh, north of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 25, 2021. (AP)
A team of French investigators began questioning fugitive former auto magnate Carlos Ghosn in Beirut on Monday over suspicions of financial misconduct, Lebanese judicial officials said. The questioning at the Palace of Justice in Beirut was attended by members of the Lebanese judiciary, the officials said. They said seven French judges, most of them investigative magistrates and a prosecutor, were taking part in the questioning, which was attended by Lebanese prosecutor Imad Qabalan. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with regulations Ghosn’s Lebanese and French lawyers said in a statement earlier Monday that their client will be questioned by "French investigating judges, in the context of legal proceedings organized by the Lebanese judicial authorities." The statement added that the "hearing is a voluntary step taken" by Ghosn. During the questioning, which is expected to last several days, Ghosn will be assisted by one Lebanese and two French lawyers. Ghosn has not so far been charged with anything in France, but could be, given preliminary charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering, misuse of company assets, or aggravated breach of trust. Lavish parties in Versailles, questionable payments to an Omani car dealer, suspected tax evasion - these are the subjects of multiple investigations in France involving Ghosn’s actions as the head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi car alliance. They were opened amid new scrutiny of Ghosn after his shocking 2018 arrest in Japan. Ghosn had told the AP in an interview last week that he is campaigning to clear his name, and hopes the visit by French investigators to Lebanon will be his first real opportunity to defend himself since the bombshell arrest that transformed him from a visionary to a prisoner overnight. Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on accusations of financial misconduct and fled to Lebanon a year later. He now faces multiple legal challenges in France after the Japanese accusations triggered scrutiny of his activities there. Meanwhile, several associates are in jail or on trial in Japan and Turkey, in cases related to his financial activities or escape. Ghosn, who fled Japan to Lebanon in early 2020, told the AP he has done nothing wrong and hopes their investigations are eventually dropped. It is an unusual move for French magistrates to question a suspect abroad. Ghosn, who was given sanctuary by Lebanese authorities, grew up in Lebanon and has Lebanese citizenship. Lebanon will not extradite him.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3001271/french-magistrates-question-fugitive-ghosn-beirut
China to Transfer Hosting of World Cup Qualifiers to Dubai
Sports
Asharq Al-Awsat
A sport bubble in Suzhou had allowed overseas teams to compete without needing to quarantine. (AFP)
China will transfer its hosting of the remaining Asia group A football World Cup qualifying matches to Dubai due to COVID-19 controls, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) said on Monday. China was set to host matches between Maldives, Syria, Guam, Philippines and China in Suzhou, where organizers had created a so-called sport bubble that would have allowed overseas players and officials into the eastern city without undergoing quarantine. However, the CFA said the city could no longer host the matches due to recent COVID-19 infections within the national football teams of Maldives and Syria. According to Chinese rules, players from those two countries would have to undergo quarantine and would not be able to participate in the games as scheduled, the CFA said. China is currently second in Group A and has three remaining games against Maldives, Philippines and Syria. Only the winners of Asia's eight groups are guaranteed to advance to the next round of the region's preliminaries along with the four runners-up with the best records. In his debut match in charge of China's national team, former Everton player Li Tie led Team Dragon to a 7-0 win against Guam on Sunday. Nearly 30,000 football-starved fans were in attendance for the match and watched Spain-based striker Wu Lei and naturalized forward Alan Carvalho both score twice.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3001251/china-transfer-hosting-world-cup-qualifiers-dubai
Kuwaiti Breeder Hopes Superworms Will Become New Superfood
Varieties
Asharq Al-Awsat
The worm-like larvae of the darkling beetle, famed for their high protein content, are cultivated in transparent boxes - AFP
Kuwaiti businessman Jassem Buabbas has spent years breeding "superworms" for animal feed and now hopes the creatures will find their way into the diets of citizens. In a small, dark room outside Kuwait City, Buabbas places the worm-like larvae of the darkling beetle, famed for their high protein content, into a transparent box on a bed of bran and cornflour. In another, he puts the mature beetles for mating. "My ambition is for worms to be a successful food alternative for humans," he told AFP. Insects are widely eaten around the globe, with an estimated 1,000 species appearing on the dinner plates of some two billion people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. But apart from traditional diets, cricket pasta and mealworm smoothies have become the latest food trend in some world capitals, with edible insects being promoted as a sustainable alternative to regular protein sources. Some Gulf states have a tradition of eating dried and baked locusts, which can appear in plague proportions. They are considered a delicacy by some, although consumption has fallen out of favor in modern times. While superworms -- in high demand among owners of birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles -- have not yet been approved for human consumption in Kuwait, Buabbas is hopeful that people will be willing to try them. He aims to expand his business beyond the pet trade and get the invertebrates onto dinner plates, in what would be the first such restaurant in the Gulf. He is now experimenting with recipes before seeking permission from the Kuwaiti authorities. "I have so far created three types of sauces... and colleagues of mine have tried and liked them," said Buabbas, who apart from breeding superworms works in the government sector. Regulation is catching up with the food trend -- in May, the European Commission approved dried mealworms for human consumption after the 27-nation bloc's food watchdog said they were safe to eat. The decision was good news for the burgeoning insect farming industry in Europe. - Ever tried them? - Buabbas said a fascination with the secrets of superworms prompted him to travel to Thailand in 2018 to learn more about the animals which are a popular snack there. "At first, I was disgusted by them, but... then I got used to the worms, understanding their behavior and what poses a danger to them," he told AFP. He spends two hours with the creatures every day, feeding them oats, bran, potatoes and carrots, as well as tweaking humidity and temperature levels. He usually produces between 3,000 and 6,000 worms every three months, and at times up to 10,000. The superworms take about 90 days to mature enough to be ready for sale -- each weighing approximately a gram at six centimetres (two inches) long. They fetch $3 for 25 larvae. Buabbas said the superworm business has been lucrative, with bird-breeder customers buying thousands of dollars worth at a time to feed their cardinals and nightingales. Before borders closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, he would transport boxes of worms to other countries. Buabbas markets his business on social media, while he works on superworm recipes that he says will incorporate elements of local cuisine. But when asked how they tasted, he said he didn't know. He's never tried them.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3001226/kuwaiti-breeder-hopes-superworms-will-become-new-superfood
