German competition guardians Face to face with Google, Apple & Co.

Status: 23.06.2021 3:56 p.m.

The big tech companies from the USA are becoming more and more powerful all over the world. There are also new players from China. The Bundeskartellamt does not just want to accept market power.

From Sebastian Tittelbach, WDR

For a few months now, one hears an abbreviation more frequently in the office corridors of the Federal Cartel Office: GAFA. They are the first letters of the really big ones: Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. And Bundeskartellamt President Andreas Mundt has all of these in his sights. “We are talking about the most powerful companies in the world. We’re getting very strong companies in China – so this is by no means an American event, it’s a global trend.”

New rules have been in effect since the beginning of the year

German competition law changed at the beginning of the year. Since then, the cartel watchdogs have been able to take action against Internet companies more easily. And the 400-person authority from Bonn does not shy away from tech giants from overseas worth billions. “It’s not about throwing sand in the machine”says head of the authorities Mundt. “Our aim is simply to end anti-competitive behavior at these companies.”

Amazon already had to reorganize its marketplace under pressure from the Federal Cartel Office. Amazon has given the smaller retailers who offer their goods there more rights. The Federal Cartel Office is currently taking a look at Apple. “We know what kind of universe Apple maintains, and I personally see it that way that restrictions of competition are possible”, so Mundt. “And now let’s see how this process develops.”

The pandemic is leaving its mark

The corona pandemic did not leave the Federal Cartel Office completely without a trace. In 2020, the investigators only went out for a single search – for reasons of hygiene, the head of the authorities said: “We were out last summer, and we’re honestly looking forward to going back out now, if the numbers allow.”

Even without searches, the Bonn authorities found enough evidence to punish companies. She imposed 349 million euros in fines last year. Half a billion less than in 2019, but still well above the long-term average. Above all, steel and aluminum forges, manufacturers of street sewer castings, such as covers made of cast iron or concrete, and wholesalers of pesticides have to pay. Elsewhere, the cartel watchdogs were more flexible because of Corona: in the automotive industry, for example, they approved collaborations between companies so that the supply chains did not collapse completely in the pandemic. “Then other cooperations are possible between companies where you might have concerns outside of the pandemic, then say in the pandemic: The economic situation is such that you can and must cooperate”, explains the head of the Cartel Office, Mundt.

High hopes, more work

He has great expectations of the new competition register, which was launched in the spring. “The competition register is simply about registering companies that owe something. Violation of minimum wage et cetera.” Such companies can be banned from public tenders for three to five years.

The Bundeskartellamt expects more work on merger control in the current year. Because of the pandemic, there could be more company mergers. The cartel office will examine such mergers without any corona bonus, announces the head of the authorities Mundt. Because when companies merge, it is usually forever – but hopefully not the corona pandemic

Currency under $ 1.20 How weak is the euro going to be?

Status: 06/18/2021 2:09 p.m.

In the USA there are signs of a turnaround in interest rates, in Europe the key interest rate will probably remain low for a long time to come. That has been burdening the euro for days. How much will the common currency still become cheaper? The prospect of rising interest rates in the US has recently weighed on the euro. The common currency fell in the past few days from rates at 1.22 to below 1.19 US dollars. Experts cited the interest rate meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) as an explanation for this strong movement. After years of zero interest rate policy, the American monetary authorities had promised interest rate hikes, at least for the longer term. Accordingly, two rate hikes can be expected by 2023.

First of all, the Fed will in all probability cut back its security purchases later in the year, with which it had pushed down long-term interest rates on the bond market in recent years. The expectation of an economic recovery with rising inflation rates alone had pushed the yield on ten-year US government bonds up from around 0.5 percent to just under 1.8 percent since the summer of last year.

Long-term rates still negative

Yields on the German stock market have also risen sharply in recent months, albeit at a significantly lower level to date. The yield on ten-year Bunds is still around minus 0.2 percent. In the low, the interest rate was only around minus 0.67 percent. Despite rising inflation rates in Germany and the euro area, the European Central Bank in Frankfurt unwilling to be, to follow the central bank colleagues in Washington and to consider at least less security purchases in the near future. In May, the inflation rate in the euro zone was 2.0 percent, slightly above the central bank’s price stability target. In Germany they moved Producer prices even rose 7.2 percent in May compared to the previous year and therefore stronger than it has been for almost 13 years. The prices were driven by the sharply rising prices of so-called intermediate goods.

Bundesbank boss for the end of the bond purchases

“In the long run this will work noticeable in consumer prices The economists at Commerzbank said: “A central bank in crisis mode, which, as ECB President Christine Lagarde said in her last press conference, does not even talk about whether a reduction in bond purchases might be necessary. appears well behind the curve in comparison. “In the opinion of the experts, the monetary authorities have thus missed the entry into the exit from the zero interest rate policy.

An opinion that is also shared by the President of the Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann. Weidmann has spoken out in favor of an early end to the trillion dollar bond purchases by the European Central Bank (ECB) after the pandemic. The focus is on the purchase program called “PEPP” the monetary guardian. “When the emergency for which the PEPP was created is over, it must be ended,” Weidmann told the “Handelsblatt”. But whether Weidmann will prevail is unclear. There are thus signs for the near future that the dollar could retain or even expand its interest rate advantage.

German exporters benefit

For German vacationers who want to spend their free time outside the euro area, that would be bad news – they would have to pay more for foreign currency. The export-oriented German economy, on the other hand, is benefiting from the trend. Last year, just 36 percent of German exports went to the countries of the euro area. And even if you include EU countries with their own currencies such as Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom, which has since left the country, the share of exports last year was just over half.

A good sixth of exports even went directly to the USA. In fact, the impact of the dollar rate on German exports is likely to be significantly greater. Because some international currencies are directly linked to the US dollar. These include, for example, the Saudi riyal or the diram of the United Arab Emirates. Both Saudi Arabia and the Emirates are countries that traditionally buy and import many German products with the money they earn from oil exports.

Dollar weakness later in the year?

If the US dollar gains strength, German companies have two options. Either they reap additional profits with unchanged prices. Or they react with price cuts in order to gain market share – both attractive prospects for companies.

But at this point in time it seems questionable how long the euro will actually continue to decline. Because for autumn and winter, experts like those at Commerzbank are expecting inflationary dynamics to decline again in the USA. Then “the US dollar euphoria will soon be over”

Computer technology A quantum leap for Germany?

Status: 15.06.2021 6:25 p.m.

Europe’s first quantum computer was inaugurated in Ehningen near Stuttgart. The ultra-fast computer from IBM is supposed to help the economy compete with China and the USA. From Michael Herr, SWR The “marvel of technology”, as Angela Merkel called it, is massive: the quantum computer, IBM and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on Tuesday at the German headquarters, is supposed to have a footprint of three by three meters at a height of three meters of the IT group in Ehningen near Stuttgart has presented to the public. According to IBM, the “most powerful quantum computer in the industrial environment of Europe” has officially arrived in Swabia. It was set up in November last year. Because of the pandemic, the computer could only be inaugurated today. The expectations that many have placed on the system are even greater than the computer: some experts predict that quantum technology will be the starting point for the next industrial revolution. The quantum computer should also ensure that Germany is at the forefront when it breaks out.

03/09/2021

Favorite project of the Chancellor

The new computer in Ehningen is called “Quantum System One” – and is considered a kind of favorite project of Merkel. At least it could be switched on live at the opening. She arranged the project herself – on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos 2019, during a conversation with IBM boss Ginni Rometty. In the autumn of the same year the promise was made: the computer will come to Germany. The Fraunhofer researchers will initially use the facility exclusively until the end of 2023. Fraunhofer President Reimund Neugebauer said that computing power would be rented to research institutions and companies of all sizes. Companies should also make use of their research results. Only recently, a quantum alliance of leading corporations in the field was founded in Germany. On board are among others BASF, SAP and VW. A total of six projects have now been started with partners from science and industry to research quantum technology, possible application scenarios and algorithms. The computer is the first that the US corporation IBM is making available outside the USA.

October 24, 2019

Computer technology revolution

Now that the potential of supercomputers has largely been exhausted, quantum computers are seen as a new beacon of hope for industry and research. Wherever large amounts of data arise, for example in the simulation of molecules or in drug research with its innumerable variables, quantum computers have the edge. The reason for this lies in their special type of information processing. A normal computer calculates in bits. However, these can only assume two states, 1 or 0. The computing power that can be provided is therefore limited. Quantum computers, on the other hand, calculate with qubits, tiny quantum particles such as photons or electrons. To put it simply, these can not only alternately assume the states 1 or 0, but both at the same time. This enables you to carry out many calculations in parallel.

05/12/2021

Germany Developing country in quantum computing

So far, Germany and Europe have practically not appeared on the world map of quantum computing. This is shown not least by the fact that it first took a US company to bring the first commercial quantum computer to Europe. The big players in the business are in the USA; A total of 13 established companies are currently working there on computers or associated software, including names like Google and Microsoft. China has also invested huge sums in the technology. In order to catch up with the deficit of the German economy, the state has reached into its pockets: 40 million euros are provided for the system in Ehingen, financed by the federal government and the state of Baden-Württemberg. The Chancellor said it was a future technology that could achieve breakthroughs in medical technology and revolutionize materials research because the speed of computers would make very complex calculations possible. With its funding of two billion euros until 2025, the federal government wants to support market-oriented development. In addition, Germany wants to develop its own quantum computer demonstrator with a company consortium in the next two years. In Germany the results of quantum technology research must now be used “as quickly as possible”, also economically, said Merkel. In other words: New industrial applications for the technology are needed. Many possible uses of quantum mechanics have so far only been at the research stage.

Exclusive 02/04/2021

Quantum technology improves cancer diagnostics

You can already see the potential of the technology at the start-up “NVision” in Ulm. 30 employees from nine nations work here. They share knowledge and curiosity for quantum physics. They are making use of their principles for new diagnostic methods with which cancer can be detected better and earlier. To do this, they use a sugar-like active ingredient that makes cancer cells detectable in the magnetic resonance tomograph. “We make sugar visible by using quantum technology to magnify the signals it sends out ten thousand times.” explains Ilia Schwartz, one of the founders of “NVision” and one of the most renowned quantum scientists at all. With the new technology, tumor diagnoses could soon be made without the use of radioactive contrast media. And doctors would gain deep insights into diseased tissue like never before: Tumors could be detected earlier and the success or failure of therapies could be determined. The new computer should also ensure that such success stories of quantum technology become even more common in Germany. However, there is another problem to be resolved on the way there: So far, there has been a lack of a sufficient number of programmers in this country who can exploit the potential of the new machine.

EU-US summit Brussels and Biden – the sticking points

Status: 15.06.2021 2:04 p.m. Subsidies, punitive tariffs or relations with Beijing – the European Union and the USA are still fighting over a whole range of explosive problems after the change of power in Washington. An overview. The United States and the European Union are clearly trying to improve their relations again after the Trump presidency. Disputes in economic and geopolitics have been simmering for years. The new US President Joe Biden is as tough on some issues as his predecessor Donald Trump. On other questions, however, he showed a willingness to compromise in advance. When he meets EU leader Ursula von der Leyen today, these issues will be the main focus:

Subsidy dispute over Airbus and Boeing

For 17 years, the EU and the US had been fighting because they accused each other of improperly subsidizing their aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing. Since Biden took office, there was a kind of armistice until July 11th. In the run-up to the summit, both sides had hoped to be able to resolve this dispute. In fact, the EU and US reached an agreement at today’s meeting. There is a breakthrough on the subject, said EU Commission President von der Leyen. This will open a new chapter in relationships – with cooperation instead of legal disputes. During Trump’s tenure, the United States had received permission from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to impose punitive tariffs of $ 7.5 billion on goods and services from the EU. Airbus aircraft were subject to a tax of 15 percent. A year later, Brussels also received WTO approval to impose punitive tariffs on US imports totaling four billion dollars.

October 18, 2019

Punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum

At the meeting between Biden and the EU leaders, the trade conflict over steel and aluminum will also come on the table. The commission hopes that the guest from Washington will agree to lift the punitive tariffs of 25 percent on European steel exports to the USA by December 1st. After Trump was voted out of office, Brussels decided not to raise its tariffs on whiskey, jeans or Harley-Davidson motorcycles as planned on June 1. Now it is up to the USA to turn words into deeds, says Deputy EU Commission President Valdis Dombrovskis. Trump had accused the EU of unfair trade practices and imposed punitive tariffs on imports in this area in June 2018. As a result, European steel exports to the USA rose by 25 percent and exports of aluminum by ten percent.

05.03.2021

Digital tax and data security

Brussels also sees a need for discussion regarding the taxation of digital content from US technology companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook. The EU accuses companies of skilfully shifting their sales and profits to avoid tax payments in the EU. A Europe-wide tax for digital corporations has therefore been discussed in the EU for years. France and other EU countries have already introduced national digital taxes. In the meantime, both sides within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have agreed to start negotiations on the taxation of digital content. Brussels and Washington are also looking for a new agreement to enable the exchange of personal data from the EU to the US. This is important for the business models of the US digital corporations. The European Court of Justice overturned the so-called Privacy Shield Agreement last year because it did not adequately protect European data from access by US authorities and secret services.

11/25/2020

Further consideration for Nord Stream 2?

The German-Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2, which is supposed to double the capacity of Russian deliveries through the Baltic Sea, could also cause some tension at the meeting. She wasn’t just a thorn in Trump’s side. Biden also rejects the almost finished project – but obviously does not want to jeopardize the transatlantic partnership, which has just recovered. The US fear that Moscow has a means of political leverage in the pipeline. The planned start of Nord Stream 2 was delayed by US sanctions under Trump. In a gesture to Berlin at the end of May, Biden’s government decided not to impose sanctions on the operating company Nord Stream 2 AG and its German managing director. Washington wanted to create space for talks with the federal government.

analysis 05/20/2021

Relations with China

As far as relations with China are concerned, things seem to have calmed down a bit. The fact that the EU reached an investment protection agreement with Beijing without waiting for Biden’s inauguration to coordinate with the new US president was clearly disapproved in Washington. There one expects more support from the Europeans against the Chinese rival. The EU has since put the deal with China on hold and is unequivocally opposed to unfair trade practices and human rights abuses. After the EU imposed sanctions on the situation of the Muslim Uyghur minority in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, Beijing responded with sanctions against EU politicians and scientists. The European Parliament then refused to ratify the agreement. With information from Matthias Reiche, ARD-Studio Brussels

07/30/2020

Prices rise by five percent Highest US inflation since 2008

Status: 10.06.2021 5:44 p.m.

In the USA, consumer prices have risen as sharply as they did almost 13 years ago – which is felt above all by car buyers. The European Central Bank also expects higher inflation in the euro countries. Is it just a short-term phenomenon or is inflation now making its big comeback? In the USA there is a growing fear of ever higher prices. Some are already pulling Parallels to the 1970s when President Jimmy Carter failed to get a grip on high inflation and job misery. Although the USA is still a long way from the double-digit inflation rates of that time, the price jumps are getting bigger from month to month. After inflation had risen above four percent in April, it has now climbed to 5.0 percent in May. That is the highest rate since August 2008. Experts had only expected an increase in the cost of living of 4.7 percent. “The dreaded five has become a reality,” said market observer Thomas Altmann from investment management company QC Partners.

Federal Reserve under pressure

The strong growth impressively proves that the price surge in April was not a slip-up, said LBBW analyst Dirk Chlench. “The US Federal Reserve is coming under increasing pressure to reconsider its view that the recent price hikes are only of a temporary nature.” As in April, the prices for used cars turned out to be the biggest inflation driver. They rose again strongly – and, according to the US Department of Labor, accounted for around a third of the monthly price increase.

Core inflation at its highest level since 1992

Particularly alarming is core inflation, which excludes volatile components such as energy and food. It climbed 3.8 percent in May. The last time there was such a sharp increase was in 1992. In April, the core inflation rate was 3.0 percent. The end of the corona lockdowns and the trillion dollar cash injections by the US government have been driving inflation in the US for months. Prominent economists like Larry Summers, Olivier Blanchard and Mohamed El-Erian warn against underestimating the danger. According to Blanchard, the high government spending under US President Joe Biden could overheat the economy.

Just a passing trend?

Most economists are still looking at the trend with serenity, however. In their opinion, the development is mainly based on temporary factors. The US service sector is back in normal mode in many places. Prices for air travel and hotel accommodation are picking up again and are well above the previous year’s level, says chief economist Thomas Gitzel from VP Bank. “So there are so-called base effects at work once more.” At the same time, the shortage of semiconductors is now at least indirectly affecting consumer prices. If there are no new cars due to a lack of semiconductors, customers switched to used cars. These would have become significantly more expensive. Gitzel predicts that the price level will slowly drop from a high level in the summer months. The US Federal Reserve (Fed) claims that inflation will only pick up temporarily. Because compared to the previous year, the economic downturn in the Corona year 2020 resulted in high rates of price increase. That is why the central bank has not yet seen itself under pressure.

Little movement on Wall Street

Wall Street barely reacted to the renewed surge in inflation. The Dow Jones rose by 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 even jumped to a record high. The US dollar gained against the euro. So investors do not anticipate a tightening of monetary policy in the US for the time being. In the eurozone, too, the money locks are still strongly open. The European Central Bank (ECB) is sticking to its trillion-dollar anti-corona crisis program (PEPP) and plans to expand bond purchases in the next quarter compared to the first three months of the year. In doing so, the central bank wants to avoid tightening the financing conditions for companies, states and private households.

ECB raises inflation forecast

The rising inflation hardly worries the euro watchdogs . The higher euro will dampen inflation, said ECB President Christine Lagarde. Nonetheless, the ECB raised its inflation forecast. According to the central bank, inflation should be 1.9 percent in 2021. In March, the ECB was still assuming an increase of 1.5 percent. For 2022, the monetary authorities expect an annual price increase of 1.5 percent and for the following year unchanged at 1.4 percent. According to the ECB, inflation that is too high can lead to a price spiral. Higher prices mean consumers get less goods for their money. So they demand higher wages in order to be able to maintain their standard of living. In turn, in order to pay the higher wages, companies continue to raise the prices of their products. On the other hand, permanently low prices are seen as a risk for the economy: companies and consumers could then postpone investments – in the hope that it will soon become even cheaper. In the medium term, the ECB is aiming for an annual inflation rate of just under two percent. In Germany, the inflation rate is already above this level. In May the Consumer prices compared to the same month last year by 2.5 percent , the highest value since September 2011.

More exports in April Exports almost up again Pre-crisis level

Status: 09.06.2021 11:00 a.m.

Thanks to strong demand from Europe and the USA, German companies exported more for the twelfth month in a row in April. Above all, cars “made in Germany” were in demand. The German export economy continues to grow – albeit not quite as strongly as it was recently. In April it achieved an increase of 0.3 percent compared to March. In total, the companies exported goods worth almost 112 billion euros. This was announced by the Federal Statistical Office. It was the twelfth consecutive month of growth in German exports.

48 percent more exported than in April 2020

Compared to the same month last year, the increase was almost 48 percent. However, this plus must be seen against the background that in April 2020 the German economy was fully in corona lockdown. The strongest growth in exports to Great Britain was in April of the current year. 64 percent more goods were sold there – compared to the same month last year. Exports to the EU countries rose by almost 59 percent and to the USA by around 60 percent. 16 percent more goods were exported to China.

German cars pull the most

German cars were the best exports. Car exports rose by 280 percent. However, this was related to the fact that car production had been shut down sharply due to Corona in April 2020. Exports of German electronic goods rose by 36 percent. In the meantime, exports are only 0.5 percent below the level of February 2020. That was the last month before the effects of the Corona crisis became noticeable in Germany and before the restrictions on the economy began.

Delivery bottlenecks and shortages of raw materials easily dealt with

Economists are impressed by Germany’s export strength. Although material shortages and the lack of intermediate products weigh on industrial production, “but at least the industry succeeds in exporting goods,” said VP Bank’s chief economist, Thomas Gitzel. In April, the German industry had produced less than in the previous month due to delivery bottlenecks and scarce raw materials. In May there could be a setback for the German export economy. The export expectations of the industry surveyed by the Ifo Institute fell from 23.9 points in April to 23.0 points.

Optimism for the rest of the year

Despite small skid marks, German exporters are confident for 2021. The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) recently raised its export forecast to plus eight percent. Previously, growth of only six percent was expected.

After a hacker attack Investigators come to extorted pipeline millions

Status: 08.06.2021 02:12 a.m.

It has been a month since the largest gasoline pipeline in the United States was hacked. The operator paid millions to the extortionists. Now the investigators report a success. After the hacker attack on the largest gasoline pipeline in the United States, investigators recovered most of a ransom payment in the digital currency Bitcoin. The US Department of Justice announced that 63.7 Bitcoin, currently valued at around 2.3 million US dollars, had been seized. The FBI was able to identify a digital wallet that hackers allegedly used to collect a payment from the company concerned, said the agency’s deputy director Paul Abbate.

Hacker from Russia suspected behind the act

The company Colonial Pipeline announced in early May that it had been the victim of a hacker attack. As a result, the pipeline, through which about 45 percent of all fuel consumed on the US east coast runs, was temporarily completely shut down. There were petrol shortages in parts of the country. The capital Washington was particularly hard hit, where at times 88 percent of the gas stations ran out of fuel. “It was an attack on one of our most important national infrastructures,” said Lisa Monaco from the US Department of Justice. The US government suspects hackers from the DarkSide group from Russia behind the crime. Both US authorities and IT security experts strongly advise companies against paying ransom so as not to incentivize cyber criminals to blackmail them. But the pipeline operator paid, as company boss Joseph Blount admitted in the “Wall Street Journal” at the end of May. He authorized a payment of $ 4.4 million. Blount explained the controversial decision by saying that the company was unsure about the extent of the system damage caused. According to the US Department of Justice, Colonial Pipeline had quickly notified the FBI that DarkSide had broken into the computer network and the company had paid the requested ransom of 75 Bitcoin.

Colonial boss praises investigators

In so-called ransomware attacks, data on computers is encrypted – and the attackers usually demand a ransom for the release. Cases in which companies paid were also known before. But it is extremely rare to get the money back. Colonial chief Blount praised the work of the FBI investigators in a statement. He also said the private sector needs to take cyber threats seriously and invest to better defend against them. “Ransomware attacks have increased in scope and sophistication over the past year, targeting our critical infrastructure, businesses of all kinds, entire cities and even law enforcement agencies,” said Monaco from the Justice Department. “Ransomware and digital extortion pose a threat to national and economic security in the United States.” Just a few weeks after the attack on the gasoline pipeline, the world’s largest meat company JBS was hit by a massive cyber attack. Large parts of the production in North America and Australia were paralyzed.

Are you craving to immerse yourself in the mountainous spaces filled with terraced fields in Vietnam? Lao Cai is an ideal place, few places can compare. Coming to this northern mountainous province, you can see the natural beauty and discover the culture in many places such as Lao Cai city, town Sapa to the roof of Indochina Fansipan… For a memorable trip, visitors should experience another trekking trip through the forest to the border region of Vietnam to Kunming, China. Green landscape in summer in Nam Cang commune, Sa Pa district, Lao Cai province. Photo: VNE In addition, the American newspaper also introduced more world wonders: Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Philippines; Red Lotus Lake, Thailand; Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia; Komodo, Indonesia… Recently, the world’s leading travel website TripAdvisor has just announced the annual awards voted by users for 2021, including voting for world-famous destinations. In this ranking, Hanoi capital ranked 6th and Hoi An (Quang Nam) ranked 11th voted by tourists. According to visitors, the charming capital of Vietnam has existed for thousands of years. Besides preserving monuments such as the old town, monuments and colonial architecture, Hanoi is still developing more modern day by day. “Hanoi may not have kept its previous names like Thang Long or ‘flying dragon’ but Hanoi has never forgotten its glorious past, such as the sites of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Hoa Lo prison proves it”, comments by travelers on TripAdvisor. Lakes, parks, shady streets and more than 600 temples also contribute to the attractiveness of this city, which can be easily explored by taxi. Meanwhile, Hoi An ancient town is rated by tourists as “a well-preserved model of an important Southeast Asian trading port from the 15th-19th centuries”. TripAdvisor voters also advise tourists when traveling in Hoi An ancient town “let the skilled tailors here tailor you a few clothes according to your own measurements”.

The Riverview Company has dug numerous wells in Arizona over the past six years. Photo: Guardian. Cynthia Beltran arrives in Sunizona, the center of Cochise County in the state of Arizona, USA in the fall of 2020. Although the area lacks potable water, Beltran can’t do anything because of financial constraints. Also due to lack of money, she accepted to manage 100 USD a week to buy water, instead of spending 15,000 USD to deepen the existing well in the new apartment. With a man with only a part-time job, Beltran soon surrendered to the $100-a-week payment and was forced to live with the help of his neighbors. “I’ve run out of options,” she said. Beltran is not the only case of the Willcox basin, which is about 5,200 square kilometers in Arizona. According to the state Department of Water Resources (ADWR), 78 wells dug between 2015 and 2019 have dried up. This number could increase to 100 in a few months. Several homes in Sunizona have been abandoned because the owners cannot afford to deepen an existing well or dig a new one. However, even with the ability to pay, there is no guarantee the drilling will be successful. Sunizona residents attribute the situation to the fact that Riverview, based in Minnesota, began digging wells with depths of 300-800 meters. They’ve been doing this since the beginning of 2015, and they’re causing the groundwater level to drop more and more. Riverview is not the first well drilling company in Sunizona, but they are the largest and deepest digging organization. Within 5 years, from January 2015 to November 2020, the number of wells in the area increased from 494 to 898. Kevin Wulf, a spokesman for Riverview, acknowledged the impact of the increase in the number of wells but believes it is not the only cause. “It is rumored that we came to dry the valley, then left. But no way, we do.” There is no question that Riverview changed the economic landscape of the Willcox Basin in just a few years. The company turned this place into an economic center thanks to the dairy farming and trading industry. They spent $38 million to buy Coronado dairy cows and bid for 2,600 hectares of land in the Kansas Settlement, north of Sunizona, on the day they started their business. To date, the company has spent about $180 million more to own more than 20,000 hectares of land, mostly agricultural land. The size of the company’s cow herd is estimated at about 150,000 cows. Sources close to Riverview say that the parent company prefers to invest in Arizona because the natural and climatic conditions are similar to the California valley where they have been successful. In addition, in this western state, there is no law regulating the amount of water pumped by each farmer household. “The Willcox Basin is the Wild West. The water there is free to use without any strings attached. As long as you have money to drill a well, you have water and no other planning or reporting,” said Kristine Uhlman, a retired hydrologist at the University of Arizona. Surrounded by five mountain ranges, the aquifer of the Willcox Basin is abundant. Before large-scale agricultural pumping started around 1940, the aquifers there had enough water to service Tucson, the nearest major city at the time, for 970 years, ADWR reports. Unlike the Southwest, the saline part of the aquifer of the Willcox Basin is only about 30 meters, and most of it is fresh water below. Uhlman says that in some areas, groundwater can be several kilometers above the surface. Because of this speculation, the Riverview Company and water-starved farmers have been descending into the valley for about a decade. However, due to lack of management, from 1940 to 2015, the groundwater level here decreased from 60 to 90 meters compared to the pre-development level. A retired ADWR official said the rate of decline increased from 0.6-1.2 meters a year before 2015 to 0.9-1.5 meters a year after 2015, when Riverview arrived. business. A water well in Arizona has risen by nearly 1 meter due to drought. Photo: AZ. According to an independent study by ADWR, Riverview drilled about 21% of the 315 new wells between January 2015 and October 2019. Specific numbers were not disclosed, but Riverview spokesman Wulf said: “Our total water usage is carefully monitored internally. We support state law that requires the measurement of all rural wells. This proposal has stalled in recent years, because of objections from other farmers.” Riverview’s claim to reduce water use causes a lot of skepticism. Two veteran local farmers, Joe Salvail and John Hart, say that while many residents have left their homes due to lack of water, Riverview has ramped up off-season planting, maintaining a two-crop-a-year rate. These factors increase the total amount of water used. In 2015, a group of farmers, ranchers, and government officials proposed the installation of meters on wells. Even so, the plan has created deep divisions within the community and the state legislature. “The leaders back then had no say. Almost no one wants to talk about it anymore,” Hart said. The prospect of Sunizona in particular and Arizona in general, in the long term, is forecasted to be bleak. According to ADWR research, if pumping levels are kept at the current level, water levels will drop by as much as 280 meters in the Kansas Settlement by 2115, compared with 1940 levels. According to the agency, most of the water remains in the strata The reservoir will be so deep that it will be almost impossible to pump up. “The reality is Riverview is drawing water from the bottom. It’s like when you suck water from a bucket, you’ll have water until it’s empty. While people with shorter straws, they get nothing.” hydrologist Uhlman commented. In addition to the state of Arizona, the US also issued an urgent notice about the risk of water shortage in the state of Nevada. The main reason, according to the US Bureau of Reclamation, is climate change causing less snow and ice to flow into lakes and rivers. In addition, hotter temperatures dry the soil, causing more river water to evaporate as it flows through the drought-stricken western United States.

An individual Aedes aegypti mosquito captured in Costa Rica (Image: Reuters) Proposed by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Authority (FKMCD) and Oxitec – a British biotechnology company supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – this project aims to release large numbers of volatile mosquitoes. genetically modified in the Florida Keys this week; the two organizations said in a joint statement. As the first step of the plan, mosquito bins will be placed in six sites, and within 12 weeks will release about 144,000 Aedes aegypti mosquitoes – the strains most closely linked to infectious diseases such as fever. hemorrhage, Zika and yellow fever. If the plan works out, male mosquitoes that are unable to bite will mate with local female mosquitoes – resulting in the death of their eggs – helping to control Aedes aegypti populations and reduce transmission. epidemic spread. Approved by the Environmental Protection Agency in May 2020, the project also seeks to reduce the doses of local chemical insecticides that are harmful to the wildlife. The UK-based company, founded at the University of Oxford in 2002, also claims that it has a “high level of” support from the Florida Keys residents. But in fact, many local people expressed skepticism, even expressed opposition to local leaders. “We are not scientists, but we can read. What Oxitec says and what we read from other sources is completely different, ”Meagan Hull, a local resident, told a village council meeting in March. “We realized that it was a crime that we were forced to participate in this experiment,” Hull said. Another local resident said she was “extremely concerned” about the upcoming plan, pointing to the risk that genetically modified female mosquitoes will emerge massively in the community. “Everyone says it won’t happen, but I don’t believe it,” she said, pointing to the “lack of transparency” of Oxitec and government agencies. Even some officials have expressed concern, with Council member Mark Gregg calling the genetically modified mosquitoes “Frankenstein mosquitoes”. “I heard others say that we are being turned into guinea pigs” – he said. However, FKMCD confirmed the need to improve mosquito control measures, given that some species of mosquitoes are becoming resistant to insecticides, adding that Oxitec’s project could provide the tools. new “safe, friendly with the environment and with a focus”. Oxitec is no stranger to genetically engineered mosquitoes, and has released more than 1 billion of these mosquitoes in South America and the Caribbean, as a 27-month trial in Brazil in 2013, seek to reduce local mosquito populations by 90%. Like the current Florida Keys initiative, genetically modified mosquito eggs are planned to die in Brazil, but Oxitec drew criticism in 2019 after researchers released a report showing mosquitoes. reproduce as usual, and up to 60% of the individuals analyzed have traces of genetic modification. A similar Oxitec project in the Cayman Islands was also canceled in 2018, after local officials concluded it had failed. Health Minister Dwayne Seymour also said the plan “did not achieve the results we thought”. A few months before the Cayman Islands contract collapsed, the company announced it was a partner with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation of US billionaire Bill Gates to produce “friendly” mosquitoes, this time the strain. Anopheles transmits malaria. Since then, Oxitec has received only a modest $ 8.5 million from the Gates Foundation, according to its financial statements, and has received more than $ 1.2 million year-to-date alone.

The photo was taken in 1889. The residence of lawyer Elliot Fitch Shepard (the nearest building) and his wife, Margaret Vanderbilt Shepard, daughter of William H. Vanderbilt, at 2 West 52nd Street. The ornate house of Shepard’s brother-in-law, William K. Vanderbilt, lay beside it. In the distance is St. Church. Thomas Episcopal and Presbyterian Church on Fifth Avenue. The photo was taken in 1899. Two women walk beside a row of wagons near Madison Square. A woman overlooks the Statue of Liberty from the deck of a ferry in the early 1900s. The statue was made and given to America by France in honor of America’s 100 years of independence. 1901. Children play skiing in Central Park. The park’s long and narrow design is the result of a 1858 competition with victories for Connecticut-born landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and British-American architect Calvert Vaux. 1911. Times Square in neon lights, taken more than a century ago. 1915. A group of women led the Manhattan Delegation in the Election Party for Women parade, a New York City-based political organization. 1921. Deputy Police Commissioner John A. Leach (right) watched two men pour alcohol down a sewer, after a raid enforced a ban on the production and sale of alcohol. Congress passed the 18th Amendment in 1920, banning the production and sale of alcohol, opening up a 13-year period of alcohol ban. This ended with the adoption of the 21st Amendment in 1933, which repealed the 18th Amendment. 1923. Young girls dancing Charleston in Harlem, a residential neighborhood in New York City. Although the dance existed before the 1920s, it gained popularity after appearing on the Broadway show Running Wild in 1923. 1925. A corner of New York’s East Side in the mid-20s. If you look closely, you will see shops selling diamonds, fur and suitcases, as well as an advertisement for a loan office in the photo. . 1930. Unemployed men line up waiting for bread and necessities during the Great Depression. In 1932, 1 in 3 New Yorkers was unemployed, and about 1.6 million people lived on government subsidies. 1938. Aerial view of the crowd welcoming New Year’s Eve in Times Square. People in America started to welcome the new year in Times Square since 1904. 1940. A group of people look out from above the Empire State Building. It was the tallest building in the world until the 1970s, when the World Trade Center won this position. 1947. A child waved an American flag from the crown of the Statue of Liberty. The crown’s 25 windows overlook the surrounding New York Harbor. 1953. Pedestrians weave through the busy traffic of New York City. 1958. Two models wearing fur coats, velvet berets and waist-length skirts walked across the Tudor City Bridge during a photo shoot for Vogue magazine. 1961. Three walkers holding umbrellas fight snow and wind as they cross the intersection at 148 Street in Harlem. Blizzard occurred in February 1961 with some areas recorded snow as thick as 50cm. 1966. A helicopter landed on top of the Pan-Am building (now the MetLife building), designed by the German architect and Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius. 1967. Business premises at the corner of 7th Avenue and 42nd Street in Times Square. People on the subway in 1976, along with the famous Lark cigarette commercial. New Yorkers crowded on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1978 after a serious power failure caused the subway system to stop working. Pedestrians walk past the entrance to the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street. The 1980s was a decade marked by wealth, especially in New York City, a trend that existed until the 1987 stock market crash. 1999. A crowd of 30,000 people ran across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island during the New York City Marathon. Today, it is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 participants in 2019./.