Lebanese Students in Limbo after Fleeing Ukraine War

Arab World

May 1st, 5:17am

Asharq Al-Awsat

In this file photo taken on January 10, 2022, university students are seen arriving at the campus of the Beirut Arab University in the Lebanese capital. ANWAR AMRO AFP/File

Lebanese university students who fled Ukraine are now struggling to complete their education back home, facing a precarious future as an unprecedented economic crisis crushes their country and their career prospects. "Even war is better than being here," said 25-year-old Yasser Harb, who left Kyiv just two days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The final-year medical student is now back in a country where electricity is scarce, public services are dysfunctional at best, the local currency has collapsed and living costs have skyrocketed, AFP reported. He and fellow students are now battling to continue their studies remotely, while others face interruptions amid obstacles to transferring their enrolment. Beirut said in late March that around 1,000 students had managed to leave Ukraine, long a destination for Lebanese seeking more affordable universities. At least 340 of them have registered with Lebanon's education ministry to continue their studies. But Education Minister Abbas Halabi said none of those registered had joined a private university in Lebanon, noting that most had arrived mid-semester. He acknowledged that students "whose universities in Ukraine were bombed could not even recover their transcripts" to proceed with re-enrolment back home. Bassam Badran, president of the country's only public university, the Lebanese University, said returning students would have to wait until the next academic year to enrol. "They will have to pass the entrance examination at the start of the next school year," he said. - 'No sense' - Since returning, Harb has been struggling to complete his degree online from his family home in south Lebanon, as power cuts of up to 23 hours a day wreak havoc with his internet connection and his studies. Even electricity from expensive private generators can be unstable and rarely covers the gaps. "Slow internet makes it hard to understand what our teachers are saying and affects our grades," he told AFP, adding that he was thinking of returning to Ukraine once flights resume. The capital Kyiv has managed to maintain electricity supply despite the ongoing conflict, and public transport has remained functional, with life steadily resuming a semblance of normalcy. "In Kyiv, at least I had all the basic services," Harb said. Samer Dakdouk, a fifth-year medical student at university in Kharkiv, is also struggling to adjust to studying from remote in Lebanon. "Nothing is easy for us here," said the 23-year-old, who occasionally interns at a hospital in Beirut. "Hospital positions are rare in Lebanon but practice is crucial," he said. "Having an online medical degree makes no sense." - 'Burden' - Lebanon's economic crisis has spurred an exodus, with many of the country's educated youth, as well as medical professionals, among those flooding out. Its higher education system, once a source of national pride, has also taken a battering. According to the Arab Barometer survey published in April, nearly half of Lebanon's population is looking to leave. Nathalie Deeb, 24, managed to flee Ukraine for Germany and continue her medical studies remotely from there. "I didn't go back to Lebanon because Germany offers more opportunities and I don't want to burden my parents," she said. Since 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value, and the monthly minimum wage -- once equivalent to $450 -- is now worth about $25. Deeb said annual tuition fees at her university in Kyiv were around $4,400 per year -- five times less than re-enrolling at the average private Lebanese university. The faculty of medicine at the public Lebanese University is saturated with applicants and only accepts a select few. Deeb's father already had to sell their family home in Beirut and move back to his native village in south Lebanon so he could afford to pay for her studies in Ukraine. She said she was "lucky" to have been able to stay in Europe instead of returning to Lebanon. "Those who went back regret it," she said.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3622051/lebanese-students-limbo-after-fleeing-ukraine-war

King Salman Receives Kuwait's National Assembly Speaker, Imams of Grand Mosque

Gulf

May 1st, 5:07am

Asharq Al-Awsat

King Salman with Speaker of Kuwait's National Assembly Marzouk Al-Ghanim (L). (SPA)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received in Makkah on Saturday Speaker of Kuwait's National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim, reported the Saudi Press Agency. King Salman also received Advisor at the Royal Court, Member of the Council of Senior Scholars, Member of Permanent Committee for Ifta and Imam and Preacher of the Grand Holy Mosque Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid; General President of the Affairs of the Holy Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais; Advisor at the Royal Court, Member of the Council of Senior Scholars and Member of Permanent Committee for Ifta Sheikh Dr. Saad bin Nasser Al-Shathri; and Imams of the Grand Holy Mosque. The meeting was attended by Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah; Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region; Prince Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Khaled bin Fahd bin Khaled; Prince Mnasour bin Saud bin Abdulaziz; Prince Khaled bin Saad bin Fahd; Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Musaed; Prince Sattam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz; Prince Faisal bin Saud bin Mohammed; Prince Dr. Hussam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Baha Region; Prince Dr. Abdulaziz bin Sattam bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Ahmed bin Fahd bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Eastern Region; Prince Abdulmajeed bin Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz; and Prince Faisal bin Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3622046/king-salman-receives-kuwaits-national-assembly-speaker-imams-grand-mosque

How Putin Ended Modi’s Cheap Natural Gas Dream

Opinion

May 1st, 5:00am

Andy Mukherjee

Andy Mukherjee -

Call it poor judgment or bad luck, but India’s expansion of natural gas coverage to more than 90% of its population couldn’t have come at a worse time. In January, Adani Total Gas Ltd. and others won keenly contested licenses to add new areas to city gas networks; in February, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. Suddenly, billions of dollars in investment are on shaky ground. After an extraordinary surge last month, European spot prices of natural gas are stabilizing — at three times the average of the past decade. Contracted supplies of liquefied natural gas are cheaper, but with Europe scrambling to secure non-Russian fuel, the discount is shrinking, according to a Bloomberg News report last week. Worse still, it’s unlikely to be a blip: Credit Suisse Group AG predicts that the Russian gas deficit will lead to an annual global LNG shortage of nearly 100 million tons by the middle of the decade. This isn’t what New Delhi anticipated when it decided to raise the share of natural gas in India’s energy mix to 15% by 2030 from under 7% now, as part of a plan to improve air quality. India had nine of the world’s 10 most polluted cities in 2020. Natural gas doesn’t eliminate carbon emissions, but it’s an improvement over diesel. It’s something to hold the fort until better options — such as green hydrogen — become affordable for emerging markets. The environment, however, isn’t the only reason Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a massive push to city gas projects. The move also has political significance. Piped natural gas, or PNG, delivered to urban homes relieves the demand pressure on liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, cylinders. Those can then be pushed to rural areas where the government has helped poor families open 90 million new LPG accounts to help them migrate from burning wood, coal, dung-cake or kerosene to using cleaner cooking gas. The campaign buttressed Modi’s popularity with women voters, which is why the 2016 program saw a jump in enrollment before his successful 2019 reelection bid. But the economics of PNG — and CNG, compressed natural gas supplied to motorists as an alternative to gasoline and diesel — is wobbly. State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Oil India Ltd. produce gas domestically, as does Reliance Industries Ltd. in partnership with BP Plc. Under a complex pricing formula, this output is allocated to city gas and fertilizer firms, the two biggest users, as well as power stations and LPG plants. The prices are artificial. Until last month, the government kept the administered gas price at $2.9 per million British thermal unit — hardly enough for the producers to make much money. The gas extracted from difficult deep-sea Indian fields was allowed to be priced at $6.1 per million Btu. Compare that with what the market is charging: The June delivery contract of the Japan-Korea marker, an Asian benchmark, shot past $50 per million Btu in March, and is currently at about half that level. The cheap pricing provided just-as-artificial legs to demand. The Indian government enthusiastically declared two years ago that $66 billion in investments were lined up into everything from pipelines to city gas infrastructure and LNG regasification terminals. The trouble is with supply. It petered out a decade ago after Reliance’s gas discovery off India’s eastern coast turned out to be less bountiful than originally expected. Since local production never responded to the government’s complicated pricing signal, industries paid $8 to $10 per million Btu for imported LNG in addition to their domestic gas quotas. That was before the war. Now that imported cargo costs a lot more, there’s great hunger for the local stuff, especially in the city gas industry that has grown breathlessly with the government’s encouragement. There’s an added complexity. Setting aside more for city use means giving the fertilizer industry less, forcing it to pay a higher blended price to make the nitrogen-rich products that go into India’s agricultural land. That boomerangs on the taxpayer because the farmer’s cost of urea is also subsidized: Each $1 increase in the gas feedstock price for fertilizer hits New Delhi’s budget calculations by roughly $600 million. As global food shortages intensify, the only hope for India is that its farmers would feed the country with blowout harvests. Fertilizers can’t be trifled with. The economies of urban gas supply will get messier still. India this month raised the administered domestic price from $2.9 to $6.1 per million Btu. City gas distributors will readily take that because LNG imports are much more expensive, but the government is holding down the supply at March 2021 levels. The lofty expectations for demand growth of gas in India are bound to come crashing down, putting a question mark on the financial viability of the licenses won by investors. The inevitable increases in retail prices won’t go down well with the public. Indian consumers don’t have the income power of their European counterparts; nor can they expect checks in the mail to help them cope with higher prices. Cab drivers in India’s capital are already protesting. Demand destruction in India won’t move the needle on global prices, but China, the world’s biggest LNG importer, is a different story. If the Covid-19 lockdown of Shanghai lasts longer and spreads more widely, more spare Chinese gas supply could hit the spot market. While President Xi Jinping’s draconian actions may take the edge off the headache given by Putin, it still may not make Modi’s city gas ambition a sound proposition beyond large metropolises. India’s domestic gas production is tiny, and it has shrunk by 40% over the past nine years. Keeping that base narrow with unsustainable pricing and erecting on top of it a national edifice of unviable city distribution franchises wasn’t a financially prudent move. The dream of cheap gas couldn’t have lasted anyway, all that the war in Ukraine may have done is to end it abruptly. Bloomberg

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3622041/andy-mukherjee/how-putin-ended-modi%E2%80%99s-cheap-natural-gas-dream

Is Elon Musk Really That Bad?

Opinion

May 1st, 4:24am

Farhad Manjoo

Farhad Manjoo -

Elon Musk is hard to love. Elon Musk is hard to like. On his way to becoming the world’s wealthiest person, Musk has emitted so many metric tons of self-indulgent puerility he might have violated the Paris Accords. But one need not find Musk personally or politically appealing to appreciate that his contributions to humanity could end up being profound. Through his endeavors in solar power and electric cars, Musk might do more to combat climate change than just about any lefty environmental activist or politician you can name. Musk looks even better when judged against other globe-straddling billionaires in his orbit. His is not an empire built on inheritance, dumb luck, monopoly or, subsidies notwithstanding, insider access. Indeed, his businesses seek to undermine some of the most harmful and politically entrenched industries on the planet, among them defense contractors, utilities, oil companies and combustion-engine automakers. There is also something straightforwardly inspiring about Musk’s story. After a troubled childhood in South Africa, he immigrated first to Canada and then to the United States, put himself through college and made his own fortune through unending hard work and in pursuit of ambitions far grander than slapping “like” buttons all over the web. Even Musk’s bluster is excusable because underneath the big talk he has repeatedly delivered on his far-out promises. He makes innovative products that work well, that delight customers and that are on balance probably good for the world. Isn’t that the best one can hope for from capitalism? Apparently not. Over the last few weeks, as Musk began looking, at first coyly and then determinedly, to acquire Twitter, I’ve been a bit stunned by the volume of opposition — on Twitter and off — to his bid. On Monday, when Twitter’s board announced a roughly $44 billion deal for Musk to buy the company, the boos reached a fever pitch. I get the worry. Some of Musk’s business practices are loathsome. Tesla employees have alleged rampant racial discrimination, sexual harassment and unsafe practices. Musk’s stated reasons for buying Twitter are also quite vague and naïve. He says he wants to bring “free speech” to the platform, but it’s a mystery what exactly that means, and how he would do so while preventing the service from devolving into a snake pit of hate and harassment even more venomous than it already is. Musk’s own Twitter presence can be insufferable. His tweets are often crude, juvenile and misogynistic, traits that are the basis for perhaps the most unpleasant thing about him — the social-media sausage factory of aggressively bro-ey tech, finance and gamer types who hang on his every word and swarm his every critic. Still, as a longtime Twitter addict, I find the very notion of ruining Twitter amusingly redundant. Twitter’s impact on the world has arguably been quite negative under its current and previous management. During the Trump years, the site became the cudgel with which a media-obsessed president bullied the world into paying attention to little else but him. Twitter’s leaders only found the courage to shut off Trump’s bullhorn after he lost re-election and incited an insurrection. Sure, Musk could reinstate Trump’s Twitter account, and maybe that’d be a disaster for democracy — but that horse left the barn long ago, and it was Twitter’s longtime bosses, not Musk, who held open the door. It’s not just that I doubt Twitter under Musk could get much more terrible than it is now. There’s also lots of room for Twitter to become much better, and Musk, with his enviable track record at managing technologically sophisticated companies and making groundbreaking tech products, might be just the owner to unlock its full potential. Twitter under Musk could experiment with the service’s user interface in ways that its current management has been too slow or scared to try (for instance, my hobbyhorse: Get rid of “quote tweets,” the feature that allows Twitter users to performatively dunk on one another, turning your feed into an endless parade of cheap shots). By staking a hefty chunk of his wealth to take the company private, Musk could also free Twitter from the stock-market’s short-term pressures for advertising growth, letting the company explore new business models — like subscriptions, perhaps — that may be more conducive to long-term sustainability. Or he might think of wholly new ideas for fixing up the place — and I, for one, am excited to see what he comes up with. Musk’s detractors often paint him as motivated by little more than money and politics. But Musk is at best a fair-weather ideologue. His politics are all over the place — he has lobbed silly attacks at Democrats (“Please don’t call the manager on me, Senator Karen,” he tweeted at Senator Elizabeth Warren after she called for him to pay more taxes), but he also criticized Trump’s immigration policies and resigned from presidential advisory councils after Trump quit the Paris climate agreement. Many of Musk’s entrepreneurial passions are long shot bets that could have easily blown up his fortune, and may yet still. In 2002, after earning more than a hundred million dollars by selling PayPal to eBay, Musk could have become a venture capitalist and lived the good life. “Among the least financially advisable projects imaginable for someone in that position would be to start a rocket company,” Ashlee Vance, the Bloomberg reporter and author of a terrific biography of Musk, once wrote. But starting a rocket company is what Musk did — and, after also pouring money into another money-burning venture, Tesla, Musk came very close to losing it all after the Great Recession. Musk’s real genius isn’t in making money, but in making unusually ingenious products. Not long ago I drove a Model S Plaid, Tesla’s top-of-the-line sedan, on a long-weekend trip up the California coast. Tesla unveiled the original Model S in 2012. Back then it was a quixotic machine, a luxury electric car that looked like a plaything for tech execs and presented hardly any threat to the world’s gas-guzzling automakers. In the decade since, Tesla has grown into a remarkable force. Year by year, it improved its products, expanded its product range, and built out a global production infrastructure that has become the envy of the automotive world. Its growth spiked, then exploded, then went supernova: In 2012, it delivered about 2,650 cars. In 2021 it sold nearly a million. And even though the rest of the auto industry, seeing Tesla’s growth, jumped on the electric vehicle bandwagon, Tesla has maintained an indomitable lead. According to Experian’s Automotive Market Trends, in the fourth quarter of 2021, Tesla had just under 70 percent market share of electric light-duty vehicles on US roads; every other manufacturer’s share was in the single digits. Driving the Plaid, I could see why. The car is a dream. It’s one of fastest accelerating vehicles on the market today — at about $130,000, it is said to have the acceleration normally found in multimillion-dollar hypercars. At the same time, like cheaper Teslas, the Plaid is also one of the most environmentally friendly vehicles you can buy. It has a range of up to 405 miles on a single charge and is as efficient as a gas-powered car that gets 101 miles per gallon. What I found most remarkable was how ordinary Tesla has made electric driving. I was in sparsely populated areas of California, but wherever I went I was not very far from a Tesla Supercharger. The whole thing was effortless. As I’ve written before, the electric car is not a transportation panacea — but the world is undoubtedly a better place thanks mainly to Musk’s doggedness in making this outlandish dream a reality. I can’t promise that Musk will similarly revolutionize Twitter. But I can think of many less-skilled and more troublesome owners for the site. And as billionaires go, there are many I worry about much more. The New York Times

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3621996/farhad-manjoo/elon-musk-really-bad

Life Returns Gradually to Normal at ‘Jemaa el-Fnaa’ Square in Marrakesh

Varieties

April 30th, 6:05am

Marrakesh - Asharq Al-Awsat

A general view of Marrakesh's famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square, June 25, 2012. Reuters/File Photo

Wandering in the Jemaa el-Fnaa Square these days can prompt mixed feelings: fatigue after a health crisis that lasted for months and affected tourism worldwide, and cautious optimism about the potential end of the pandemic. This popular square has become a major tourism hub in Marrakesh over the past decades. A visit to the Red City for tourism and relaxation could not be complete without hitting the square, not only to enjoy its restaurants, storytellers, and snake charmers, but also to explore the old city, old souks such as ‘Souk Samarin’, and the historic landmarks including the ‘Bin Youssef School’, the Museum of Marrakesh, and ‘Almoravid Qubba’. Following the global coronavirus outbreak, and the lockdowns and restrictions that paralyzed local travel and closed the borders, the square missed many of its visitors for the first time since its establishment. However, it seems everything is recovering these days, and so does the square, which is gradually reoffering its visitors relaxation, storytelling, good food, skilled craftsmen, heritage, and art. Before the emergence of the virus two years ago, Jemaa el-Fnaa was the only square in Morocco, and maybe in the world, in which life wasn’t affected by cold winters or scorching summer heats, the World Cup or Olympics, or local and international events. Only the pandemic, and the restrictions the authorities applied to control the spread of the virus, forced Jemaa el-Fnaa to change its habits and give up its vivid ambiances. The tourism turnout in Marrakesh, and the Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, didn’t return to pre-COVID levels yet. The pandemic heavily affected the industry, but the square’s visitors believe that this slow economic activity and the limited flow of tourists are much better than the harsh lockdowns. The most important thing now is that the world manages to overcome the virus, so the square can fully recover and lure more tourists from Morocco and abroad. The beginning of the economic and tourism recovery in the square and the city has coincided with Ramadan. Wandering in the Jemaa el-Fnaa Square during the holy month offers a unique experience with the Ramadan-related traditions and rituals that people can see across Marrakesh, considered among the top tourism destinations for people from various cultures. The Holy Month of Ramadan forces Moroccans to change many of their daily habits, however, foreigners can still enjoy the city committed, as a global touristic destination, to meeting the expectations of its visitors of various religions, origins, and cultural backgrounds. Many restaurants and coffee shops keep their doors open during Ramadan, and Jemaa el-Fnaa Square keeps providing its daily services and entertaining activities in the same rhythm.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3620541/life-returns-gradually-normal-%E2%80%98jemaa-el-fnaa%E2%80%99-square-marrakesh

Saudi Crown Prince Meets with Pakistani Prime Minister

Gulf

April 30th, 5:02am

Asharq Al-Awsat

The Crown Prince receives Pakistan's Prime Minister. SPA

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, met on Friday with Pakistani Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah. An official reception ceremony was held in honor of the visiting Prime Minister. After that, the Crown Prince and Sharif held a meeting to review the fraternal and historical relations between the Kingdom and Pakistan. They also discussed the prospects of bilateral cooperation and promising opportunities as well as ways to develop them in various fields. The two sides also reviewed all regional and international issues and discussed a number of issues of common interest. The meeting was attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy; Prince Turki bin Mohammad bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State and Cabinet's Member; Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior; Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Minister of National Guard, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Defense; Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Minister of State, Cabinet's Member, National Security Adviser, Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, who is also the accompanying minister; Minister of Commerce and Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi; a number of ministers and senior officials and the Pakistani Prime Minister's accompanying delegation.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3620476/saudi-crown-prince-meets-pakistani-prime-minister

Saudi King Salman Arrives in Makkah

Gulf

April 30th, 4:49am

Makkah - Asharq Al-Awsat

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques arrives at Al-Safa palace in Makkah. SPA

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, arrived in Makkah on Friday coming from Jeddah. At Al-Safa palace, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was received by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region; Prince Khaled bin Fahd bin Khaled; Prince Mansour bin Saud bin Abdulaziz; Prince Khaled bin Saad bin Fahd; Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Musaed; Prince Sattam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz; Prince Faisal bin Saud bin Mohammed; Prince Dr. Hussam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al-Baha Region; Prince Dr. Abdulaziz bin Sattam bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Ahmed bin Fahd bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Eastern Region; and Prince Faisal bin Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. The King was accompanied by President of the Royal Protocols Khalid bin Saleh Al-Abbad; Deputy Special Secretary to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Assistant to the President of the Royal Court for Executive Affairs Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Askar; Assistant Special Secretary to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Tamim bin Abdulaziz Al-Salem; Chief of Special Affairs of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Abdulaziz bin Ibrahim Al-Faisal; Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Royal Clinics Dr. Saleh bin Ali Al-Qahtani; and Chief of the Royal Guard General Suhail bin Saqr Al-Mutairi.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3620471/saudi-king-salman-arrives-makkah

'Beatle' Gets Life Sentence for ISIS Beheadings

World

April 30th, 4:31am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Alexanda Kotey. Reuters

Alexanda Kotey, part of the ISIS kidnap-and-murder cell known as the "Beatles," was sentenced to life in prison Friday, with relatives of victims addressing him and another member directly in the US court. Kotey, a 38-year-old former British national, pleaded guilty in September, admitting his role in the deaths of four American hostages in Syria as well as the kidnapping and torture of other journalists and relief workers. He was captured along with another former "Beatle," El Shafee Elsheikh, by a Kurdish militia in Syria in January 2018 and handed over to US forces in Iraq before being flown to the United States in 2020 to face trial. Elsheikh was found guilty of all charges earlier this month, and will be sentenced on August 19. Both men on Friday appeared in the court in Alexandria, near Washington, where the relatives of their victims were given an opportunity to speak. "You abducted, tortured, and even participated in the murder of good and innocent people and now you have to live with that for the rest of your lives," Bethany Haines, daughter of one of the victims, told the men. "You both have lost," added the young British woman, whose father David Haines, a relief worker, was beheaded by the third "Beatle," Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed in a 2015 drone strike. The nickname was given to the hostage-takers -- who grew up and were radicalized in London -- by their captives because of their British accents. Active in Syria from 2012 to 2015, the "Beatles" are accused of abducting at least 27 other journalists and relief workers from the United States, Britain, Europe, New Zealand, Russia and Japan. Some were executed, their deaths filmed for ISIS propaganda videos that shocked the world, while others were released for ransoms. Among the victims was American journalist Steven Sotloff, whose mother Shirley on Friday repeatedly urged the two men to "open your eyes please and look at me." "How do you begin to describe the unimaginable impact of the loss of a child, taken in the prime of his young adult life, and how it affects you as a parent, sibling, nephew, cousin, friend, lover?" she said. "Steven's death was like a global worldwide horror movie that was witnessed live and continues to be replayed with the click of a button for millions to see." The mother of aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was initially held by the "Beatles" but was later turned over to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who reportedly raped her repeatedly, also spoke in court. "We have learned some things, and while they are stories of rape, beatings, terror and horror, I am thankful for each shred of truth no matter how painful it is to hear," AFP quoted her as saying. "I am not seeking revenge. I simply want the truth. I believe that is the best way forward for us and our family." ISIS announced Mueller's death in February 2015, saying she was killed in a Jordanian airstrike, a claim disputed by US authorities. Kotey did not speak or show any emotion as Judge TS Ellis handed down the sentence, but his lawyers said that he was remorseful and had agreed to meet the families of his victims.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3620456/beatle-gets-life-sentence-isis-beheadings

North Korea Leader Warns of 'Preemptive' Use of Nuclear Force

World

April 30th, 4:22am

Asharq Al-Awsat

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Reuters file photo

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has repeated his warning that Pyongyang could "preemptively" use its nuclear weaponry to counter hostile forces, state media reported Saturday. Kim told top military officers that to "maintain the absolute superiority" of North Korea's armed forces, the country should be able to "preemptively and thoroughly contain and frustrate all dangerous attempts and threatening moves... if necessary," the official KCNA news agency reported. Pyongyang should continue to build up its arsenal so that it can have the "overwhelming military muscle that no force in the world can provoke," Kim said, calling it the "lifeline guaranteeing the security of our country". The leader's comments followed similar remarks at a military parade on Monday, when he said he could use his atomic arsenal if North Korea's "fundamental interests" were threatened, AFP reported. Kim made his latest comments at a meeting with top brass to praise their work on Monday's parade, which commemorated the 90th anniversary of the country's armed forces and showcased its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles. Despite biting sanctions, North Korea has doubled down on Kim's military modernization drive, test-firing a slew of banned weapons this year while ignoring US offers of talks. Last month Pyongyang test-fired an ICBM at full range for the first time since 2017, and satellite imagery has shown signs of activity at a nuclear testing site. The string of weapons tests comes as South Korea prepares for an incoming president, Yoon Suk-yeol, who takes a more hawkish approach to Pyongyang and has not ruled out a preemptive strike if necessary.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3620451/north-korea-leader-warns-preemptive-use-nuclear-force

Inflation Is Soaring. So Where’s My Pay Raise?

Opinion

April 30th, 4:12am

Chris Bryant

Chris Bryant -

When consumer prices began soaring last year, a trade union representing staff at the European Central Bank demanded their wages increase in lockstep with inflation. This grassroots effort to index pay to price increases was ultimately unsuccessful, but it was incendiary stuff coming from the supposed guardians of euro-area price stability. Indexation, after all, can determine who is shielded from inflation — and who suffers from it. From the ECB’s perspective, it’s fortunate that the practice of linking wage raises to the inflation rate is less common now in Europe than it was in the 1970s. Inflation is increasing at an annual rate of 7.5%, and the bank is desperate to avoid a spiral whereby higher consumer prices beget higher wages, which further lift the price of goods and services. Not indexing wages to rising prices makes those dreaded second-round inflation effects less likely — but the cost is borne by workers whose purchasing power gets diminished. The longer inflation persists, though, the greater pressure there will be to incorporate cost-of-living adjustments in pay. Asking people to simply forgo big salary increases, as Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey rather insensitively did in February, won’t cut it. Workers right now also have some leverage: Eurozone unemployment is at historic lows, and organized labor retains a strong voice on this side of the Atlantic. This week, an influential trade union representing German steel employees demanded an 8.2% pay increase. Workers have reason to feel short-changed, too. Indexation is widely used in the economy to protect the real value of payments. Companies, for example, frequently insist on indexation clauses, allowing them to pass on raw material price increases and other costs to clients. Regulated utilities, telecoms companies and commercial real estate providers are particularly skilled at this. No wonder corporate profits are still going gangbusters. State pensions are also fairly well protected from inflation. Almost all euro-area public pension plans are fully or partially indexed, as is US Social Security, which rose by 5.9% in 2022, the largest bump in 40 years. Pensioners can still experience a real income squeeze due to the time lag between when prices rise and when benefits payments go up. That’s why French President Emmanuel Macron promised retirees their pensions would be re-indexed from the summer instead of from January. In contrast, UK state pensions this month rose by just 3.1%, the inflation rate that applied last fall, which is less than half the now prevailing rate of price increases. Indexation also has an important role in taxation, normally to prevent workers from being penalized when nominal wages rise. Boris Johnson’s government, however, last year froze indexation of key income taxation thresholds until 2026. That means rising nominal wages will cause more UK earners to fall into a higher tax bracket, exacerbating the cost-of-living squeeze. The Treasury is poised to collect more than 20 billion pounds ($25 billion) in extra revenue thanks to the freeze, far more than originally anticipated. Manipulating indexation is stealthier than an outright budget cut, and the UK has shown quite a talent for it. Consider the financing of English universities: Institutions have been barred from hiking tuition fees beyond the current 9,250-pound cap, so in real terms their funding will decline for a further two years. Yet students who borrow from the government to pay those fees are set to be hit with inflation-linked interest charges of as much as 12% until an interest-rate cap comes into force next year. Of course, the British government faces a big bill of its own due to the soaring cost of servicing inflation-linked borrowings. Indexed interest payments added 35 billion pounds to UK debt interest costs in the year to March or around half the total, the Office for National Statistics revealed this week. European governments face a similar predicament. One area where indexation remains uncommon, however, is wages. Economists and employers would say this is for good reason: Beyond the risk of a private and public sector wage-price spiral, tying employee earnings to the cost of living can make it harder for companies to adjust to economic shocks or manage a decline in their own productivity and competitiveness. If all incomes are protected, there’s also less societal pressure to stamp out inflation. Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus are the only euro-area countries to require that inflation developments are automatically reflected in wage-setting, according to the ECB. These account for just 3% of euro-area private sector employees. Around one-fifth of euro-area public sector wages are also indexed to inflation. But such arrangements could become more popular as trade unions push for cost-of-living allowances. Besides the German steel workers I mentioned, there’s evidence Spain is readopting wage indexation, having largely abandoned the practice in the wake of the 2009 recession. As the war in Ukraine and soaring commodity prices continue to sap economic confidence and the growth outlook, job security, rather than inflation-beating pay hikes, may be the priority. Eventually, though, sagging real incomes may spark a political powder keg. Rather than call for workers to spurn pay rises, governments should encourage companies to re-invest profits in the production of goods, services, commodities and clean energy, which in the long run will help curb inflation by rebalancing supply and demand. It’s imperative, too, they help the poorest withstand the cost-of-living squeeze, either via direct fiscal transfers, a cap on household energy bills or by indexing minimum wages to consumer prices. Meanwhile, tighter antitrust enforcement can help redress the imbalance between companies, which have too much pricing power, and workers, who have too little. Thanks in part to differences in indexation, the inflation burden won’t be uniformly shared. How long until workers find their voice? Central bankers hope they don’t. Bloomberg

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3620446/chris-bryant/inflation-soaring-so-where%E2%80%99s-my-pay-raise

Man City, Liverpool Turn Attention Back to Premier League Shootout

Sports

April 29th, 5:44am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Manchester City hold a one-point Premier League lead over Liverpool with five games to play. Paul ELLIS AFP

Manchester City and Liverpool must quickly turn their focus from Champions League glory to the battle for the Premier League title, with no room for error in tricky away trips on Saturday. City, who hold a one-point advantage at the top of the table with five games remaining, travel to Leeds, who are also in need of the points to guarantee survival, AFP said. The Premier League's top two remain on course to end their season with another showdown in the Champions League final after seeing off Spanish opposition in contrasting fashion in midweek. City should have put Real Madrid out of sight in a thrilling 4-3 win over the 13-time European champions, while Goliath got the better of David as Liverpool beat Villarreal 2-0. Champions League considerations could play a major role in the team selection of both title contenders. Jurgen Klopp gave Liverpool fans even more cause for celebration by extending his contract at Anfield for a further two years to 2026 on Thursday. However, the German is far from happy at the scheduling of a lunchtime kick-off just three days after a Champions League semi-final. "It's brutal but it's fine. It's the best situation you can have," said Klopp. "Just go for the next one and try to play the best football you can." City boss Pep Guardiola has a tough balancing act in selecting his side for what is expected to be an energy-sapping visit to Elland Road before their blockbuster return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. - 'Best in the world' - Leeds are unbeaten in five games, but are just five points clear of the relegation zone ahead of a tough run-in, with Arsenal and Chelsea to come after the visit of City. "I think it is the ultimate test," said Leeds manager Jesse Marsch. "I'm very honest when I say that I think they are the best team in the world." Everton have a game in hand to cut the gap on Leeds down to two points, but the Toffees' 68-year stay in the top flight is at serious risk. Frank Lampard could do with a favor from his old club as Chelsea visit Goodison Park on Sunday. By the time they kick off, Lampard's men could find themselves five points adrift of safety should Burnley continue their upturn in form since sacking Sean Dyche. The Clarets have taken seven points from a possible nine under caretaker boss Mike Jackson and will be confident of another huge win when they travel to Watford. The Hornets have lost 10 consecutive home games and their return to the Championship would be virtually confirmed by another defeat. A Burnley victory would also mathematically relegate Norwich, should they lose at Aston Villa. The battle to join City, Liverpool and Chelsea in next season's Champions League looks like a shootout between north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham. Arsenal have a two-point advantage and both sides will be confident of victory this weekend against opposition with European semi-finals on their mind. The Gunners travel to West Ham, who trail Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 after the first leg of their Europa League semi-final. Tottenham host Leicester, who have it all to play for next week in the last four of their Europa Conference League tie after a 1-1 draw with Roma in Thursday's first leg. Fixtures (all times GMT) Saturday Newcastle v Liverpool (1130), Southampton v Crystal Palace, Aston Villa v Norwich, Wolves v Brighton, Watford v Burnley (all 1400), Leeds v Manchester City (1630) Sunday Everton v Chelsea, Tottenham v Leicester (both 1300), West Ham v Arsenal (1530) Monday Manchester United v Brentford (1900)

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3618846/man-city-liverpool-turn-attention-back-premier-league-shootout

Life after Sumo: Retired Wrestlers Fight for New Careers

Varieties

April 29th, 5:35am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Athletes in many sports can struggle to reinvent themselves after retirement, but the challenge is particularly acute for those in the ancient world of sumo. Philip FONG AFP

When Japanese sumo wrestler Takuya Saito retired from the sport at 32 and began jobhunting, he had no professional experience and didn't even know how to use a computer. Athletes in many sports can struggle to reinvent themselves after retirement, but the challenge is particularly acute for those in the ancient world of sumo, said AFP. Wrestlers are often recruited early, sometimes as young as 15, and their formal education ends when they move into the communal stables where they live and train. That can leave them in for a rude awakening when their topknots are shorn in the ritual that marks their retirement. When Saito left sumo, he considered becoming a baker, inspired by one of his favorite cartoons. "But when I tried it out, they told me I was too big" for the kitchen space, said the 40-year-old, who weighed in at 165 kilograms (26 stone) during his career. "I had several job interviews, but I didn't have any experience... They rejected me everywhere," he told AFP. Professional sumo wrestlers or "rikishi" who rise to the top of the sport can open their own stables, but that's not an option for most. Last year, of 89 professional wrestlers who retired, just seven remained in the sumo world. For the others, the restaurant industry sometimes appeals, offering a chance to use the experience gained cooking large meals for their stablemates. Others become masseurs after years of dealing with aching muscles, or leverage their heft to become security guards. - 'Inferiority complex' - But trying to start over when non-sumo peers can be a decade or more into a career track is often demoralizing. Saito said he developed an "inferiority complex" and found the experience of jobhunting far harsher than the tough discipline of his life as a rikishi. "In sumo, the stable master was always there to protect us," he said, adding that his former stable master offered him a place to stay, meals and clothes until his found his feet. Many wrestlers leave the sport with little or no savings, because salaries are only paid to the 10 percent of rikishi in the sport's two top divisions. Lower-ranking wrestlers get nothing but room, board and tournament expenses. Saito wanted to be his own boss and decided to become an administrative scrivener, a legal professional who can prepare official document and provide legal advice. The qualifying exam is notoriously tough, and when Saito passed he opted to specialize in procedures related to restaurants, hoping to help other former wrestlers. His first client was Tomohiko Yamaguchi, a friend in the restaurant industry with an amateur sumo background. "The sumo world is very unique and I think that outsiders can't understand it," Yamaguchi told AFP, suggesting society can sometimes prejudge rikishi. Wrestlers who go from being stopped for photos and showered with gifts can also struggle with fading into obscurity. A rare few may end up with television gigs that keep them in the public eye, but for most, the limelight moves on. - 'Very strong, very reassuring' - Keisuke Kamikawa joined the sumo world at 15, "before even graduating high school, without any experience of adult life in the outside world," he told AFP. Today, the 44-year-old heads SumoPro, a talent agency for former wrestlers that helps with casting and other appearances, but also runs two day centers for the elderly, staffed in part by retired rikishi. "It's a completely different world from sumo, but rikishi are used to being considerate and caring" because lower-ranked wrestlers serve those in the upper echelons, explained Kamikawa. Shuji Nakaita, a former wrestler now working at one of Kamikawa's care centers, spent years helping famed sumo champion Terunofuji. "I prepared his meals, I scrubbed his back in the bath... there are similarities with care of the elderly," he said after a game of cards with two visitors to the center. And while the sight of hulking former rikishi around diminutive elderly men and women might appear incongruous, the retired wrestlers are popular. "They are very strong, very reassuring and gentle," smiled Mitsutoshi Ito, a 70-year-old who says he enjoys the chance to chat about sumo with former wrestlers. Kamikawa has also set up a group that provides advice on post-sumo careers to wrestlers and families worried their sons are not planning for their future. "Sumo is a world where you have to be ready to put your life in danger to win a fight," said Hideo Ito, an acupuncturist who has worked with rikishi for over two decades. "For these wrestlers who are giving it their all, thinking about the future can seem like a weakness in their armor."

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3618841/life-after-sumo-retired-wrestlers-fight-new-careers

Palestinians Clash with Israeli Police at Jerusalem Holy Site

Arab World

April 29th, 5:35am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Palestinian rescue workers attend to an injured man during clashes with Israeli security forces at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, April 22, 2022. /Reuters

Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, the latest outbreak of violence at a site revered by Muslims and Jews alike. At least 12 Palestinians were injured in the early morning clashes at Islam's third-holiest site, Reuters quoted the Palestinian Red Crescent as saying. Israeli police said they intervened when hundreds of people began hurling rocks and fireworks, including in the direction of the Western Wall, where Jewish worshippers gather. "We will continue to act decisively against rioters and outlaws for public safety and security," the police said in a statement. There were almost daily confrontations at the mosque this month when Ramadan overlapped with the Jewish celebration of Passover, which brought hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Jews to the heavily policed compound in the old city. However, the violence had abated this week following the end of Passover and after Israel halted Jewish visits to the huge esplanade which is home to the gilded 7th-century Dome of the Rock and the 8th-century Al-Aqsa mosque.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3618836/palestinians-clash-israeli-police-jerusalem-holy-site

New York's MoMA Exhibits Matisse's Paintings within a Painting

Varieties

April 29th, 5:26am

Asharq Al-Awsat

People look at Henri Matisse's "The Red Studio" (1911) during a press preview on April 27, 2022, at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP

When Henri Matisse painted "The Red Studio" in 1911 he portrayed 11 of his artworks on a single canvas. An exhibition in New York is about to display all the surviving works together for the first time. In "The Red Studio," the French artist reproduced almost a dozen miniature versions of his paintings and sculptures as a way to depict his workshop in the Paris suburbs -- not to mention play with perspective, color, time and space. All the pieces seen in the painting have survived apart from one that Matisse, considered among the greatest artists of the 20th century, had asked to be destroyed after his death in 1954 at age 84, AFP said. The Museum of Modern Art has tracked down the surviving 10 works and will put them on show alongside "The Red Studio" at an exhibition that opens next week. "We did the treasure hunt of finding these things all over the world," the curator, Ann Temkin, told AFP during a preview. "Now you can do the treasure hunt of, 'Oh this one's over there and he has eyes in the real painting but no eyes in 'The Red Studio,'" she added. "Matisse: The Red Studio" runs from May 1 to September 10. It includes six paintings, two sculptures, a terracotta piece and a ceramic dish. They were made between 1898, when Matisse was 28, and 1911. "Some of the paintings were very recent, that he had just made a month or two before he made 'The Red Studio,'" said Temkin. "We had the idea four years ago (of) why don't we see if we can find the real life equivalent of each of the pictures or sculptures that are represented in this painting in an abbreviated way and have a reunion," she added. MoMA already had two of the works and the main piece. It gleaned three from the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen and others from various museums and private collections. The paintings include "Le Luxe II," and "Young Sailor II." In creating "The Red Studio" Matisse "was really making a portrait of his own life as an artist," said Temkin. "How rare is it that an artist invites us into his universe in such an open way?"

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3618831/new-yorks-moma-exhibits-matisses-paintings-within-painting

Two South Koreans, Including Army Captain, Arrested for Spying for North

World

April 29th, 5:13am

Asharq Al-Awsat

North Korea is known to operate an army of thousands of well-trained hackers who have attacked firms, institutions and researchers in South Korea and elsewhere (Photo: AFP/Jung Yeon-je)

Two South Koreans, including a serving army captain, have been arrested on charges of stealing military secrets for a suspected North Korean agent who paid them in cryptocurrency, Seoul police said Friday. The nuclear-armed yet impoverished North -- which is technically at war with the South -- is known to operate an army of thousands of well-trained hackers who have attacked firms, institutions and researchers in South Korea and elsewhere, AFP said. But this is the first case where a South Korean "civilian and an active-duty military captain were caught trying to obtain military secrets, at the behest of a North Korean agent," the police said in a statement. One of them is a 29-year-old army captain who allegedly passed login information for South Korea's Joint Command & Control System -- a crucial military-run internal communications network -- to the suspected Pyongyang spy, Seoul authorities said. The other, a 38-year-old businessman who runs a virtual asset management firm, is accused of giving the army captain a wristwatch with a secret camera to aid in intelligence gathering -- at the request of the spy. The businessman is also suspected of purchasing and assembling a USB-like hacking device called "Poison Tap" to access the Joint Command & Control System, Seoul police said. "The two men have been arrested on charges of violating the national security law," an official at the Korean National Police Agency told AFP Friday. Seoul police said the arrested businessman first met the Pyongyang spy in an online community about cryptocurrency around six years ago, and the trio had communicated only via secure messaging service Telegram. Both were paid in cryptocurrency, the police said. The army captain received about 48 million won ($37,789) from the North Korean agent, while the 38-year-old businessman got around $600,000. "We will strictly respond to security criminals in accordance to laws and principles," Seoul's prosecution office said in a statement. North and South Korea remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with the signing of an armistice and not a peace treaty. Besides having deployed hackers against other countries and companies, the North has also been accused of exploiting its cyber capabilities for financial gain as it looks to shore up its sanctions-hit economy. Earlier this month US authorities said Pyongyang-linked hackers were responsible for a $620-million cryptocurrency heist in March targeting players of the popular Axie Infinity game. A rapid rise in house prices and lackluster gains on the local stock market have driven many young South Korean adults to look to cryptocurrencies for quick profits, local media has reported.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3618826/two-south-koreans-including-army-captain-arrested-spying-north

Dubai to Open UAE's First Robotic Biobank in 2023

Varieties

April 29th, 5:03am

Dubai - Asharq Al-Awsat

Al Jalila Foundation, a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives

Al Jalila Foundation, a member of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, announced that it will establish the UAE’s first robotic biobank, in partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) and the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Thursday. The collaboration is set to advance medical research in the areas of genetic disorders, cancer and other chronic diseases and pandemics, it said. Set to open in 2023 with a capacity to manage seven million specimens, the biobank will be one of the world’s largest in terms of sample capacity. The facility will be located at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Medical Research Institute, part of Al Jalila Foundation, in Dubai Healthcare City. Chairperson of Al Jalila Foundation Board of Trustees Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said, "Access to genetic and imaging data through biobanks is driving forward pioneering approaches to analysis that would have been impossible just a few years ago.” “The launch of the UAE’s first robotic biobank reflects Dubai’s commitment to strengthening the capabilities of the healthcare sector and advancing efforts to improve people’s health. The biobank will serve as a major contributor to the advancement of modern medicine and will enable scientific discoveries that will help enhance the health and wellbeing of the community." Due to the vital role biobanks play in progressing research and advancing medical discovery, the biobank will become an indispensable resource for the new Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Charity Hospital and other healthcare facilities in the UAE to conduct research and offer effective treatment. A biobank is a place to store all types of human biological samples, such as blood, tissue, cells, or body fluids. It also stores data related to the samples as well as other biomolecular resources that can be used in health research. Biobanks have become an important resource in medical research, supporting many types of contemporary research like genomics and personalized medicine, and the development of diagnostics and therapeutics. Dr. Raja Easa Al Gurg, Chairperson of Al Jalila Foundation Board of Directors and Member of the Board of Trustees, said, "Biobanking is a game-changer for healthcare and will revolutionize medical research, leading to better outcomes for patient treatment. The biobank will provide an opportunity for people in the community and researchers to work together to build a better, healthier future for generations to come. Scientific progress will shape the nation’s economy by influencing our knowledge about human health, disease, therapeutics, personalized medicine, and more." Al Jalila Foundation is investing AED17 million to build a state-of-the-art facility and will manage seven million human biological materials. An automated, robotic, Artificial Intelligence based system will ensure biological samples are secured in cryogenic storage (below 80 degree Celsius) maintaining proper sample integrity and retrieval. Dr. Abdulkareem Sultan Al Olama, CEO of Al Jalila Foundation, said, "Biorepositories are places where you can store patient samples and really serve as a hub of collaboration between scientists for doing either population health studies, or looking at cohorts of patients who have specific diseases, and trying to find better therapeutics and diagnostics to treat patients and save lives." Patient confidentiality will be a priority in line with UAE’s laws and regulations. The biological and medical data will be used by scientists for research to make new discoveries about common and life-threatening diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke in order to improve public health. Deputy Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali said the establishment of the robotic biobank is a reflection of Dubai’s vision for advancing healthcare. “I am confident the planned biobank will bring significant value to the healthcare system in Dubai and the region. It is a clear example of how the integration of care with discovery, supported by advancement, can set the foundation for better outcomes for our current and future patients,” he added.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3618821/dubai-open-uaes-first-robotic-biobank-2023

Apple Earnings Are a Big Step Back for Transparency

Opinion

April 29th, 4:17am

Tim Culpan

Tim Culpan -

It’s been more than two years since Apple Inc. issued revenue guidance. The iPhone maker initially blamed the Covid-19 pandemic, and later added chip shortages, for its inability to forecast the future. Yet the move is part of a worrying trend toward decreasing transparency at the world’s largest company. On January 28, 2020, just as lockdown measures were shutting parts of China and a new virus was arriving on US shores, Apple gave a wider than usual March-quarter guidance range because of uncertainty about both consumer demand and supply chain impact. The forecast was for revenue of $63 billion to $67 billion, well ahead of estimates of $62.3 billion, and factored in supply chain struggles from the virus, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said at the time. Three weeks later it canceled that outlook, citing the pandemic, and didn’t issue a new one. Sales ended up coming in at $58 billion, beating updated analyst estimates. Revenue guidance hasn’t returned since. An Apple spokesman on Thursday declined to say if this forecast will ever return. Apple’s reticence is understandable. Current lockdowns in Shanghai, as well as the ongoing chip shortage, are set to impact revenue this coming period by $4 billion to $8 billion, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told investors. According to the company’s own analysis, supply constraints cost it as much as $4 billion in lost revenue for the June quarter of last year, and $6 billion for the September period. Yet all this turmoil is starting to feel like a convenient excuse to share less with investors. In November 2018, Apple announced it would stop providing shipment numbers for its iPhones, iPads and Macs. It still provides revenue figures for those products. “The number of units sold in any 90-day period is not necessarily representative of the underlying strength of our business,” Maestri said at the time. This may be true, but that’s really for shareholders to decide, since they own the company. Investors generally believe that the real reason was to avoid publishing declines once unit growth rates had peaked. Another item that’s seen some backsliding in transparency is its supply chain report. Apple spends significant time and resources tracking vendor compliance in areas like labor, recycling and energy conservation, publishing its findings annually. But it recently appears to have stopped providing a list of top suppliers, and started releasing the broader compliance report without notice or publicity. (Apple hasn’t responded to email queries for further information about the supplier list.) There are several reasons to suggest that Apple actually could provide guidance even during uncertain times. It still gives gross margin and operating expense forecasts, as well as basis-point level analysis of expected impact from foreign-exchange fluctuations. Those figures all rely, to some degree, on how much revenue it expects to bring in during the period. The company also has a very close relationship with its suppliers, even providing equipment to vendors and having its own staff working in their facilities. At the same time, Apple’s integration with its sales channels is arguably tighter than any other physical-goods company in the world. It operates hundreds of its own retail outlets around the world, as well as running an online sales platform that has products shipped from factory to customer directly. If anyone has a grip on what’s going on at the ground level, it’s Apple. Lastly, the earnings and outlook call happens a third of the way through the quarter. It’s not a stretch to believe that by the time Apple talks to investors, it already knows how much it’s sold for approximately 50% of that period. The most recent earnings are a case in point. Maestri just said that Covid-related disruptions didn’t impact the March quarter. And the other factor, chip supply, can be more easily ascertained because these components take weeks to make and have lead times stretching up to a few months. Yet Apple still declined to give guidance when it reported earnings back in January. Let’s compare Apple's approach to Big Tech peers. Microsoft Corp. this week managed to not only provide revenue guidance, but a breakdown by division. Admittedly, the company mostly sells software and cloud services, which isn’t as sensitive to supply-chain snarls. Yet it does sell some hardware, and its PC operating system revenue depends heavily on how many computers are shipped during the period, over which it has almost no control and likely very little visibility. Then there’s Meta Platforms Inc. The company better known as Facebook relies solely on the whims of clients who may or may not wish to spend money on advertising, and who can tweak purchases by the hour. Yet it somehow manages to give a decent forecast, even when its core product of targeted ads gets undermined by new restrictions imposed by Apple on tracking users. It’s Apple’s retail investors who miss out the most. While big institutions like BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. have teams of analysts, access to brokerage research, and can likely get on a call with Apple investor relations anytime, mom-and-pop shareholders have far fewer resources. Instead, they are largely left to parsing public statements made by the company during earnings season. That’s why this pandemic-inspired rollback in disclosure is a worry. Stakeholders deserve as full a picture of what’s going on as early as possible, and using short-term uncertainty as a smokescreen for reducing transparency would be a severe blow for everyone. Let’s hope quarterly revenue guidance returns soon. Bloomberg

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3618771/tim-culpan/apple-earnings-are-big-step-back-transparency

Nokia's Quarterly Profit Beats on 5G Demand

Technology

April 28th, 5:54am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Visitors gather outside the Nokia booth at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

Telecom equipment maker Nokia reported stronger-than-expected quarterly operating profit on Thursday helped by higher demand for 5G gear despite supply chain constraints. First-quarter comparable operating profit rose to 583 million euros ($613 million) from 551 million last year, beating the 513 million euro mean forecast of eleven analysts polled by Refinitiv.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3616771/nokias-quarterly-profit-beats-5g-demand

EU Defies Gas 'Blackmail' as Russia Pushes Deeper into Ukraine

World

April 28th, 5:27am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Anatolii Matukha, 70, stands outside his house, which he says was destroyed by shelling, in Yahidne, in Ukraine's Chernihiv region, on April 27, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

The European Union has warned Russia it will not bend to "blackmail" over its support for Kyiv after the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland. The warning on Wednesday came ahead of UN chief Antonio Guterres arriving in Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, AFP said. Putin issued his own warning the same day, saying that if Western forces intervene in Ukraine, they will face a "lightning-fast" military response. "We have all the tools for this, that no one else can boast of having," the Russian leader told lawmakers, implicitly referring to Moscow's ballistic missiles and nuclear arsenal. "We won't boast about it: we'll use them, if needed. And I want everyone to know that," he said. "We have already taken all the decisions on this." The dire threats came as Moscow claimed to have carried out a missile strike in southern Ukraine to destroy a "large batch" of Western-supplied weapons. As the war, which has already claimed thousands of lives, entered its third month, Kyiv conceded that Russian forces had made gains in the east. Russia's military offensive saw it capture a string of villages in the Donbas region, now the focus of its invasion. And in its economic standoff with the West, Moscow cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, two EU and NATO members backing Ukraine in the conflict. However, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said Poland and Bulgaria are now receiving gas from their EU neighbors. - 'Blackmail' - She described the announcement by Russia's state energy giant Gazprom as "another provocation from the Kremlin". "It comes as no surprise that the Kremlin uses fossil fuels to try to blackmail us... Our response will be immediate, united and coordinated. "Both Poland and Bulgaria are now receiving gas from their EU neighbors," she said. "The era of Russian fossil fuels in Europe will come to an end." EU officials said energy ministers from across the bloc will meet in an extraordinary session on Monday to discuss the situation. European powers have imposed massive sanctions on Russia since Putin's decision to invade his neighbor, while shipping weapons to Ukraine's defenders. But they have moved slowly on hitting Moscow's vast exports, with many EU members -- notably industrial giant Germany -- reliant on Russian energy to keep their lights on. Putin has attempted to turn up the pressure by insisting that Russia will only accept payments for gas in rubles -- hoping to force his foes to prop up his currency. Gazprom announced the halt of gas to both Poland and highly dependent Bulgaria, saying it had not received payment in rubles from the two EU members. But von der Leyen said that "about 97 percent" of all EU contracts explicitly stipulate payments in euros or dollars -- and warned importing firms off paying in rubles. "This would be a breach of the sanctions," she told reporters. The European Commission, meanwhile, sought to lend Kyiv economic support by proposing a suspension of import duties on Ukrainian goods, though the idea still needs to be approved in a vote by the bloc's 27 members. President Zelensky welcomed the plan, saying Russia was "trying to provoke a global price crisis" and stir "chaos" in the world's food market. An IMF report issued Wednesday said the war had "significantly" impacted the Middle East and North Africa, with the crisis dealing a heavy blow to low-income countries dealing with surging inflation driven by rising food and fuel costs. - 'Destruction and painful casualties' - The first phase of Russia's invasion failed to reach Kyiv or overthrow Zelensky's government after encountering stiff Ukrainian resistance reinforced with Western weapons. The campaign has since refocused on seizing the east and south of the country while increasing the use of long-range missiles against west and central Ukraine. Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov predicted "extremely difficult weeks" for the country amid "destruction and painful casualties" during the offensive. In Kharkiv, whose northern and eastern districts are less than five kilometers from the front, at least three people died and 15 were injured in shelling, Governor Oleg Synegoubov said Wednesday. Defenders of the besieged Azovstal factory in the strategic port city of Mariupol described massive bombardments, with Sergey Volyna of the 36th Marine Brigade pleading for extraction for the 600 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians he said remain trapped there. Russia's defense ministry, meanwhile, said its forces had destroyed a "large batch" of weapons and ammunition supplied by the United States and European countries. Russia hit hangars at an aluminum plant near the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with "high-precision long-range sea-based Kalibr missiles", the ministry said. Local authorities denied that weapons had been stored at the factory, which they said had not been operational for six years. Tensions are also rising in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova that borders southwestern Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists in the area claimed shots were fired across the border towards a village housing a Russian arms depot after drones flew over from Ukraine. - 'Dangerous deterioration' - The unrecognized region has reported a series of explosions in recent days that it called "terrorist attacks", leading Kyiv to accuse Moscow of seeking to expand the war further into Europe. Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu called the events a "dangerous deterioration of the situation". Popescu said the Transnistrian authorities announced they would prevent men of fighting age from leaving the region. Russia's targeting of Western-supplied arms came as the United States and Europe started to heed Zelensky's call for heavier firepower. Western allies remain wary of being drawn into war with Russia but have stepped up military support as Ukraine has maintained its fierce resistance. In a Wednesday evening speech from London, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made a fresh call for an increase in arms deliveries to Ukraine, including heavy weapons, tanks and planes. The UN tourism body added to Russia's isolation on the international scene earlier in the day, as most of its 159 members voted to suspend it from the agency. US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, is set to deliver remarks Thursday on "support for Ukrainians defending their country and their freedom against Russia's brutal war," the White House said. - Pledges of justice - Several countries and organizations, including the United Nations, on Wednesday pledged to bring the perpetrators of any war crimes committed during the invasion of Ukraine to justice. Lebanese-British barrister Amal Clooney told an informal meeting of the UN Security Council she feared "politicians calling for justice but not delivering it." "My fear is that you will get busy and distracted and that each day there'll be a little bit less coverage of the war and people will become a little bit more numb to it," Clooney said. UN Secretary-General Guterres' Thursday trip to Kyiv is expected to include visits to the suburbs of Bucha, Irpin and Borodianka, sites of alleged war crimes attributed to Russian soldiers.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3616756/eu-defies-gas-blackmail-russia-pushes-deeper-ukraine