Can Europe escape Gazprom's energy stranglehold?

When it comes to gas supplies to the EU, Russia's state-owned corporation steps on the brakes. Is Russia building up political pressure in order to push through the operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline?


Europe needs Russian gas to stay warm when temperatures drop

Trouble is brewing on the European gas market. In the wake of a long, cold winter, natural gas reservoirs are unusually low and should, in principle, be refilled very quickly. Russia's state-owned corporation Gazprom could increase supplies.

The market leader, however, has not done that, despite prices recently reaching a 13-year high. In turn, there is growing concern across Europe that there may be insufficient gas supplies for the upcoming winter.
No additional transit through Ukraine

Gazprom has not booked any additional gas transit through Ukraine in July, although deliveries of Russian natural gas to the EU will drop by more than 2 billion cubic meters this month.

Due to scheduled maintenance, the two remaining transportation routes to Germany will be temporarily discontinued. The Yamal pipeline across Belarus and Poland was shut down this week, and the much larger Nord Stream pipeline through the Baltic Sea will be closed between July 13 and July 23.

Russia's "Fortuna" vessel is one of two ships which are laying pipes for the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline

"It appears Gazprom not only optimizes price and quantity, but that it would rather exert pressure in order to ensure completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline," Joachim Endress, head of the Berlin-based consulting firm Ganexo, observes in his second-quarter 2021 Gas Market Report.

Gazprom insists that it fulfills all its obligations.

"Long-term contracts are the basis of our business in Europe. We strictly fulfill our customers' orders, and we book transit capacities accordingly, not vice versa," the corporation's press department told DW.
Unusually empty natural gas reservoirs in Germany, Austria

Gazprom's fulfillment of its contractual obligations has not been challenged. The question remains why the corporation was not — despite high demand and prices — increasing its supplies to Europe and what exactly it was doing to fulfill those obligations, Heiko Lohmann, a Berlin-based independent gas market expert, told DW.

"What's notable, and this is really something new, is that Gazprom obviously fulfills its contracts by taking significantly more gas than usual from reservoirs in Europe and, possibly, even by purchasing trading quantities on the European market. At least, that's what I hear from dealers," Lohmann said.

As a result of this approach, Gazprom's two most important reservoirs in Europe — the first, the largest in the EU, in the northwestern German town of Rehden, the other, in the western Austrian town of Haidach — were almost totally depleted at the beginning of summer, and replenishment has only just begun. "This is utterly unusual for Gazprom and calls for political interpretation," the expert said.

Nord Stream 2 'crucially important' for EU energy security

No secure supply without Russia

Such interpretation can be found rather easily in official Russian media. State news agency Novosti offered the following explanation for the strategy and tactics of the state-owned Russian gas corporation: "During the assessment of any move by the corporation on the European market one should always bear in mind one crucial fact: Gazprom must finish construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline."

Austria's largest natural gas reservoir is located in Haidach, near Salzburg

The Novosti article straightforwardly recognizes that "Russia withholds its supplies" and not just with the aim of replenishing both corporation and public coffers. "The second — and no less important — aim is to accustom our Western partners to the obvious idea: guaranteeing their own security of supply is only possible in close partnership with Russia."

It appears, at the moment, that Europe will, via Ukraine, only receive as much gas as stipulated in the Russian-Ukrainian five-year transit contract concluded at the end of 2019. For Gazprom, it makes no sense to provide less as the booked quantity must be paid completely either way. The corporation, however, also doesn't want to book additional capacities at a much higher charge.
Political pressure from Moscow in favor of Nord Stream 2?

The contract, however, stipulates that during the first year, 2020, transit quantities should amount to 65 billion cubic meters, but that they are reduced thereafter, in 2021 to 2024, to 40 billion cubic meters annually, since Gazprom assumed at the time of signing that construction of Nord Stream 2 would be completed — which was thwarted by US sanctions.

A gas-compressor station in Boyarka, near Kyiv: Ukraine is a key transit country for gas supplies to Western Europe

This is what brings about the current situation: Europe receives, via Ukraine, significantly less gas than it likely will need. At the same time, Gazprom fulfills its contractual obligations by letting its European reservoirs run dry, and the corporation can afford itself extended maintenance service to both its pipelines into the EU.

Ultimately, all this could lead to a situation in which, at some point in autumn perhaps, Russia's state-owned corporation tells the Europeans to choose between two alternatives: Either grant an operating license for Nord Stream 2 — construction of which will probably have been completed by then — with its capacity of 55 billion cubic meters very quickly, or face major gas supply problems during the winter as reservoirs are still half empty, and the Russian energy giant can choose not to increase gas deliveries through Ukraine

Also at stake: the role of natural gas in decarbonization

This scenario is supported by the fact that, during an auction on July 5, Gazprom did not want to book additional transit capacities in either Ukraine or Poland for one year in advance, arguing that this could still be done on a monthly or quarterly basis. This seems to be another clear signal that, from autumn 2021, the Russian state-owned corporation plans to service increased gas demand in Europe exclusively through its own new pipeline in the Baltic Sea.

A protester at a Fridays for Future demonstration in Cologne, Germany

For the time being, Heiko Lohmann, who has said, "It would be much more comfortable for Europe to have this pipeline," does not believe that such an obvious attempt at blackmailing Europe is possible.

"Thus far, Gazprom has never really exerted pressure on its Western European buyer countries — at least, it has never become known," he said. "If a precedent happened now, for the first time, this would have devastating consequences for Gazprom in the political debate."

For if Gazprom actually began "to exert overt pressure" in autumn, this would enormously fuel an already heated debate in Europe about the short-, medium- and long-term role of gas within the framework of decarbonization and strengthen the position of all those who champion a much quicker withdrawal from using natural gas, Lohmann told DW.

Initially, though, Europe would have a serious supply problem.

Heiko Lohmann is an independent gas market expert

Birds are dying in the United States and no one knows why

There's a new epidemic, this time among birds. An illness is infecting them in the US capital ― and it's spreading. Experts say the cause is unknown.



No one knows what is killing the birds in large numbers


While humans and other animals continue to grapple with COVID-19, a new epidemic seems to have hit multiple bird species in North America.

Across the United States, people have been finding dead birds. The birds appear to have been hit by a wave of mysterious illnesses since April.

Ornithologists (bird experts) say the dead or ailing aviators tend to have swollen eyes as well as neurological issues that seem to be causing the birds to lose balance.

"It’s not unusual to see birds with eye problems," says Jim Monsma, director and founder of the animal rescue center City Wildlife in Washington, D.C.

Monsma has worked in animal protection and rehabilitation within urban areas for 25 years, especially in the D.C. area.

But it took Monsma and his colleagues a while to realize that what they were seeing was "not usual."

"We didn’t know at first we were dealing with an epidemic," Monsma says.


Birds are dying in alarming numbers in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in the US
Looking for the cause

They now think that multiple bird species have been contracting an odd illness for about two months. And the illness has spread at least 965 kilometers (600 miles) from the capital, across the Midwest regions of the United States and into the state of Indiana.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) published a report on the mysterious bird deaths in early June. Details remain hazy, but experts are trying to trace the epidemic back to its origins.

"The first one we saw was in April. In the beginning of June, that's when we started sending birds to an animal center, where they were alarmed to hear our numbers at the time. Now, we're up to just under 200 that are infected," Monsma says.
Still no diagnosis

Animal centers have been examining the birds for a possible cause of death or illness, but tests have been inconclusive so far.

"West Nile [disease] is ruled out. . . Everything has been ruled out. To date, we still do not know," says Monsma, citing tests conducted by Wildlife's clinic director, Cheryl Chooljian.

The USGS is just as baffled by the epidemic.

"At this point, the USGS doesn't have updates beyond the interagency statement," says Marisa Lubeck, a spokesperson with the department.


One theory is that birds pass the mysterious disease to each other while hanging out at bird feeders

Theories for the illness

Experts do still have their theories. And one of them links the disease with the arrival of Brood-X cicadas that made their appearance around late April to early May — the same time people started to notice the dead birds.

It's just a theory, but it is something to work on, according to ornithologists. And continued research is important because another bird flu could prove very dangerous for people as well.

"We are losing our population of birds at an alarming rate," says Monsma, including Fledglings, European Starlings, Bluejays and others.

"About a third of the species in America are decreasing rapidly. It's spreading to other species," he says. "And we certainly cannot rule out the possibility that it might spread to humans."

He says that historically and currently "when you see an outbreak among animals, it's a cause for worry. It's something you don't want to dismiss."

Some residents in Washington, D.C. have already gotten rid of their bird feeders in an effort to contain the disease

Don't feed the birds

There is some hope for the winged creatures ― the amount of sick birds reported to City Wildlife has gone down over the past two weeks. To eliminate the spread of the disease among various species, Monsma says City Wildlife has informed D.C., Maryland and Virginia to take precautions and take down bird feeders or bird baths. Some residents have already gotten rid of their feeders, while others have taken another route and attached bird skeletons to them to ward off birds that regularly come to visit.

The United States Geological Survey advises to cease feeding birds until the epidemic is over. If feeders and bird baths are kept, they are to be cleaned with a 10% bleach solution. Pets are to be kept away from sick or dead birds.

But even with the numbers of infections decreasing, there is no end in sight yet. Experts say the public can help by sticking to the cautionary measures in order to contain the illness before it is too late.

Opinion: Tokyo Olympics without fans is the least they can do

Due to the pandemic, the Olympic Games will take place without spectators for the first time. Unlike UEFA, the organizers in Tokyo have shown the minimal level of responsibility, says DW's Stefan Nestler.

    

You won't see any spectators here for a while yet

"We had no choice," said Seiko Hashimoto, the head of the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee, after announcing the decision to ban spectators from next month's Games.

It's been clear for several months that foreign visitors would not be able to travel to Japan, but organizers had hoped to allow 10,000 local fans per event in order to create at least a semblance of Olympic flare.

But now, it's official: for the first time ever, the Olympic Games will take place in empty arenas. Welcome to Tokyo 2021: The Coronavirus Games.

The organizing committee had no other option but to pull the plug after discussions with the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Hard facts and the general atmosphere saw to that.

For the last three weeks, COVID-19 infection rates have continued to rise in Japan. As in many other countries across the world, the highly infectious delta variant is chiefly responsible.

DW's Stefan Nestler

The deteriorating situation has only added to a public mood that was already increasingly critical of the Olympics, with many in Japan fearing that the Games could turn into a super spreader event.

The virus as a souvenir

The concerns are understandable. The biggest sporting event in the world combined with a pandemic — the two just don't match.

Over 11,000 athletes plus thousands of coaches, team members, officials and journalists from all over the world are expected to descend on Tokyo. The probability of at least some of them bringing the virus with them is surely close to 100%, as is the likelihood that others will end up taking it back home with them as an unwanted souvenir.

Of course, the nuclear option would have been to cancel the Games altogethet, which could hardly be expected just two weeks before the opening ceremony.

But, in banning spectators from the events, the organizers in Tokyo are at least taking a minimal amount of responsibility — which is more than can be said for European football's governing body, UEFA, and their European Championships.

UEFA has facilitated the spread of the virus with partly, and sometimes completely, full stadiums and has willingly accepted the risk of potential deaths.

This op-ed was adapted from German by Matt Ford.

World Bank estimates cost of rebuilding Gaza at $485 mln after Israeli bombardment


A Palestinian holding fragments of papers walks past the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, June 10, 2021. (Reuters)

The Associated Press
Published: 08 July ,2021

Rebuilding Gaza after the latest devastating war between Israel and the territory’s militant Hamas rulers will cost up to $485 million, the World Bank said.

The report says it will take up to $380 million to repair the physical damage alone, with more required for other recovery needs. Israel carried out waves of airstrikes during the 11-day conflict in May and Palestinian militants fired thousands of rockets, most of which were intercepted. More than 260 people were killed, the vast majority of them Palestinians.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Gaza has been under a crippling Israeli and Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinians forces in 2007 and is still scarred from three previous wars between Israel and the Islamic militant group.

The World Bank said the war caused up to $190 million in economic losses, in a territory where unemployment already hovered around 50 percent.

It says over 4,000 homes were demolished or partially damaged.

“This is yet another unfortunate episode in which the Palestinian people in Gaza saw themselves in the midst of conflict and destruction,’’ said Kanthan Shankar, the World Bank director for the West Bank and Gaza.

The report, carried out with the United Nations and the European Union, was released Tuesday.

At least 254 people were killed in Gaza during this latest war, including 67 children and 39 women, according to the Gaza health ministry. Hamas has acknowledged the deaths of 80 militants. Twelve civilians, including two children, were killed in Israel, along with one soldier.

Israel blamed the civilian losses on Hamas, which placed rocket launchers and other military infrastructure in residential neighborhoods. The military said it made every effort to spare civilians.

Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinian residents have borne the brunt of recurrent conflicts and hostilities during the past three decades.

Movement in and out of the territory is heavily restricted, power outages are frequent, and Gaza is also coping with a coronavirus outbreak.

US states got more money from Washington than they needed for Covid-19 relief

REUTERS/EVELYN HOCKSTEIN

Post-Covid states have money to spend; where is it all going?

By Raymond Scheppach
Professor of Public Policy, University of Virginia
Published July 9, 2021

Across the country, states got huge infusions of cash from the federal government to help them deal with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic; the most recent infusion of money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which was President Biden’s Covid-19 stimulus plan. Naomi Schalit, senior politics editor of The Conversation, interviewed the University of Virginia’s Raymond Scheppach about whether the federal government gave the states more money than they needed. Scheppach is a state budget expert who ran the National Governors Association for 28 years, worked in the Congressional Budget Office for seven years, and is considered an authority on state and federal relations. He says the flood of federal money may have been a rare occurrence in federal-state relations: too much of a good thing.
What can states do with the latest infusion of money from the federal government?

States will get $195.3 billion over the next year in extremely flexible funds to be spent essentially on any healthcare costs or to offset any negative economic effects related to Covid-19.

In addition, states can invest the funds to improve drinking water quality, support wastewater and stormwater treatment capacity, and expand broadband access.

Given that the impact of Covid-19 differed substantially by state, it appears that the drafters of the legislation wanted to cover all of the direct health and economic costs of the pandemic. But in situations where individual states had less need, they could use the additional funds for infrastructure, where virtually every state has substantial needs.
Are there limits on how the money can be spent?

The two major restrictions are that states could not use the funds to lower taxes or to make extraordinary deposits to pension funds. The pension restriction exists because a number of senators believe states such as Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Kentucky have been irresponsible in not setting aside enough money to pay for even half of their future pension liability

The only other restriction is that all funds need to be obligated or committed by Dec. 31, 2024, and spent by the last day of 2026. During most past economic downturns, states have often assisted local government, but this is not necessary this time as the legislation also included $154.7 billion to other governments such as cities, counties, tribes, and territories.

Overall, the funds in this stimulus were far more flexible than those in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a stimulus bill passed during the Great Recession to limit the economic contraction and help states weather the economic downturn. While substantial funds were provided to states in that package, most had to be used for state-administered federal programs such as highway construction and maintenance, housing weatherization for low-income individuals and families and the construction wastewater treatment systems.
Did states receive more federal money for pandemic recovery than they need?

To answer this question, it is important to look back over the last year to see how much the Covid-19 pandemic affected state finances, and to look forward to see how rapidly the economy and thus state revenues will recover.

It appears that the pandemic-related economic downturn in states was quite muted, confounding everyone’s expectation, including mine.

First, revenues have held up surprisingly well. For example, sales tax revenues actually grew by 0.5% in fiscal year 2020 and are on track to increase 2% in fiscal year 2021. This is largely because consumers continued to shop but did so online as opposed to in malls. Most states now tax online sales. A few states depend heavily on revenues from the extraction of oil and gas, and that source held up well as prices recovered much faster than expected and production levels were maintained.

Most important, income tax revenues were also up 0.3% in fiscal year 2020, and are on track to be up 2.8% in fiscal year 2021. This is because many middle- and higher-income individuals shifted from the office to working from home with little unemployment interruption.

On the spending side, early action by the federal government largely cushioned the traditional explosion of Medicaid spending that happens during an economic downturn. On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law, and it included an increase of 6.2% in the share that the federal government paid to states for their Medicaid spending. This additional Medicaid money from the federal government allowed states to use the 6.2% they had originally budgeted for Medicaid for other needs, like education. One example: For a small state like Connecticut, this could be over $550 million.

The other factor that is important to calculating whether the states got too much money is how much state revenues will rebound over the next year.

The pent-up demand for travel, entertainment, and eating out in restaurants means the US economy is estimated to have grown 8.6% during the second quarter of 2021 and 6.4% in 2021, relative to 2020. Consumers have money to spend as the savings rate was up substantially during the pandemic.

This all adds up to a rapid recovery and will quickly translate into similar growth in state sales tax and income tax revenues, the two largest sources of state revenues. Additionally, Medicaid enrollment will shrink as individuals find jobs and get employer-paid healthcare once again, further lowering state spending.

So, did states receive too much money in the Biden rescue plan? The answer is definitely yes, given that state revenues never declined very much, coupled with the federal government’s assistance in offsetting the spike in Medicaid, and the fact that the current recovery will be robust in terms of state revenues all support this conclusion.
What are the economic challenges for states in the future?

Many states are increasing their spending for fiscal year 2022 by double-digit percentages, such as Vermont at 14.5%, Pennsylvania at 21.3%, and North Carolina at 11.6%. Much of these funds will be spent on elementary, secondary, and higher education, as well as Medicaid.

Once the federal money is all spent, many states may be looking at a serious budget problem: not enough money to support the spending levels they’ve assumed in their fiscal year 2022 budgets. That will likely happen when the economy slows, and actual revenues fall short of the levels assumed in their budgets.

States will also have difficult decisions this year regarding how much should go into current operations and how much goes to long-run investments, like further spreading broadband.

Spending all the federal money by the mandated end date of Dec. 31, 2026, may also be difficult, and there is the potential risk that the federal government will take back any uncommitted funds. That would put pressure on states to spend or lose the funding, which could lead to some bad, or at least inefficient, choices. Quickly solved problems could take precedence over ones that may be more serious, but take more time to address.

For example, a state might commit funds to wastewater treatment, where it can be spent quickly, as opposed to highways, where the need is greater but the planning horizon is longer.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

 

Watch live: VSS Unity launch the billionaire Richard Branson to space

By Boyko Nikolov 

WASHINGTON, BM – Today, July 11, 2021, at 9 a.m., EDT begins the era of private space tourism with the flights of the Virgin Galactic VSS Unity spacecraft and billionaire Richard Branson on board. A crew of six astronauts will take off from New Mexico.

The VSS Unity Crew, Photo credit: CNN

Co-pilot Dave Mackay and his co-pilot Michael Masucci (this is his second space flight) will pilot VSS Unity and launch Richard Branson, Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor; Colin Bennett, Virgin Galactic lead operations engineer; and Sirisha Bandla, Virgin Galactic researcher.

“Astronaut 001” is the code name of Richard Branson with which he wants to identify himself as the first space tourist in human history, but with the ship VSS Unity. “As the founder of Virgin Galactic, I am extremely proud to have this incredible VSS Unity space crew on my side. I have always been a dreamer. My mother told me never to give up and strive for the stars. This July is our dream. It’s becoming a reality and we’re very excited to share this moment with you. But when we get back to Earth, I’m going to announce something very exciting that will allow many more people to become astronauts. Because space belongs to all of us,” billionaire Richard Branson said in the presentation video of the flight.

The last little over 12 months have proved crucial in the development of the space industry, and are likely to change our minds about space flight. It all started on May 30, 2020, when the private space company of billionaire Elon Musk launched the first private space flight to the International Space Station with two astronauts on board – Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken and the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The success was twofold, as Elon Musk showed that the booster could successfully return to Earth and land, paving the way for reusable carriers.

Today, Richard Branson will try to be the first American civilian to visit outer space. But its success can be challenged by another American billionaire – Jeff Bezos and his space company Blue Origin.

Blue Origin refuses to recognize this space flight attempt because Unity will not cross the Carman line. This is the limit of 100 km above the earth’s surface, beyond which space begins. According to the International Aviation Federation, at such altitudes, the first space speed (7.91 km / s) is already needed to create lift. According to NASA, space starts even higher – at 122 km, because this is the limit at which space shuttles crossed when returning to aerodynamic maneuvering, ie. flight based on the Earth’s atmosphere. In this sense, there will be no space flight for the Bezos team today.

Two billionaires have already been in space, but with a Russian state-owned company, Charles Shimoni of Hungary (2007) and Guy Laliberte of Canada (2009), one of the founders of Cirque du Soleil, spent several days aboard The International Space Station.

 

Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson set to win space race against Bezos

The 70-year-old British billionaire is blasting off nine days before Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' own flight. But Bezos' company says Branson is simply not flying high enough.

    

Richard Branson, third from the right, is heading into space with five other team members.

British businessman Richard Branson is looking to go where no billionaire has gone before by blasting off towards the stars on board a Virgin Galactic vessel later on Sunday.

The 70-year-old entrepreneur behind Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Records looks set to beat Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the ultimate space race between some of the world's richest men.

The 70-year-old Branson is set to fly above the NASA-defined limit for outer space

Bezos plans to travel on July 20 on his own New Shepard ship built by his Blue Origin firm. The Amazon founder is set to pilot the spacecraft himself.

The world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, is set to fly to space nine days after Branson

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also has ambitions to travel to outer space and eventually Mars, although his timetable is less clear. However, Musk's SpaceX project is expected to carry civilians into space as early as September this year.

Space X's Elon Musk has plans to build a city on Mars

What will Branson's flight be like?

Branson, who will be joined by two pilots and three other passengers, is expected to climb to 88 kilometers (55 miles) above Earth during a journey that will last roughly an hour.

In a short video released on Twitter, he said that his goal was "to turn the dream of space travel into a reality - for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone."

For his first flight, he will be joined by two pilots, Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, as well as Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor, lead operations engineer Colin Bennett, and Sirisha Bandla, a research operations and government affairs vice president.

They will take off from a base in New Mexico later on Sunday.

Elon Musk, the founder Space X and Tesla, suggested in a social media post that he would attend the launch.

"Will see you there to wish you the best," he wrote on Twitter.

Is Branson's plane flying high enough?

There was no well-wishing from the Bezos camp, with Bezos' Blue Origin company pointedly noting that Branson is not even set to cross what most countries see as the border of outer space.

Branson's VSS Unity will climb to over 80 kilometers, which the US air force and NASA considers to be the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space. But the World Air Sports Federation, known by its French acronym FAI, is the world governing body for air sports and defines human spaceflight differently.

The Lausanne-based organization defines outer space 100km above Earth's mean sea level, the so-called Karman Line, 20km higher than Branson is going to travel.

Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith dismissed Virgin Galactic’s approach as "a very different experience" because "they’re not flying above the Kármán line."

How much money is there in space tourism?

That controversy has not dissuaded people from snapping up tickets for the first space tourism flights.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Bieber are among the 600 customers to have stumped up for the $250,000 (€210,000) seats.

Branson founded Virgin Galactic 17 years ago, with it now attempting to finish development testing this year so it can begin flying space tourism passengers in early 2022. He, Musk and Bezos ave invested billions into their respective projects, but this could prove to be a canny investment.

Switzerland's UBS predicts the value of the space tourism market will hit $3 billion (€2.5 billion) annually by 2030.

jf/dj (AP, AFP, dpa)

Star Wars: Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic flight to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel
By: Vaishali Dar |
July 11, 2021 

Richard Branson is set to take off for space today, beating fellow billionaire businessmen Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, and ushering in a new era of private commercial space travel

A file photo of Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson outside the New York Stock Exchange (AP)

Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson is scheduled to take off with the crew of the test flight of his Virgin Galactic space plane today—two weeks before Jeff Bezos. This would be yet another landmark achievement by Branson, marking a new era of private commercial space travel. Last week, Branson had tweeted: “I’ve always been a dreamer… My mum taught me to never give up and to reach for the stars. On July 11, it’s time to turn that dream into a reality aboard the next Virgin Galactic spaceflight.” He will be “testing the private astronaut experience” alongside four mission specialists and two pilots.

That’s not all. The billionaire also shared a teaser of an additional announcement after his flight. “When we return, I will announce something very exciting to give more people a chance to become astronauts, because space does belong to us all,” he said. “So watch this space.” VSS Unity spacecraft will have onboard Virgin Galactic’s mission specialists, including chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses, lead operations engineer Colin Bennett, vice-president of government affairs at Virgin Galactic Sirisha Bandla, and pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci. The one-of-a-kind experience will be livestreamed on the company’s website, as well as on its Twitter, YouTube and Facebook channels.

Branson’s flight into space is the latest development in the big billionaire space race. Before him, Jeff Bezos, founder of retail giant Amazon, grabbed headlines last month with news of his travel to space on July 20 as part of the first crewed flight by his space company Blue Origin. For more than two decades, both Branson and Bezos have been testing suborbital rockets to take on a 2,300-mile-per-hour ride above earth. Branson, Bezos and even Elon Musk have been leading the new age of commercial spaceflight with technologies that would be economical and safe.

However, if all goes as per plan, Branson would become the real showstopper with an early takeoff. In interviews, though, Branson has stated that he has no intention of competing with anyone. In fact, he has agreed to invite Bezos to watch the event. In a CNN interview, he said that any suggestion that Virgin Galactic may be compromising safety in an effort to get Branson to space before Bezos is “completely wrong”.

Virgin Galactic (a carrier airplane that can reach high altitudes around 90 km to view earth’s curvature) would fly with commercial space transportation operator licence approval granted by the Federal Aviation Administration, the largest transportation agency of the US government, which regulates all aspects of civil aviation, as well as surrounding international waters.

Space travel now doesn’t seem so distant. With qualified space travellers, the digital revolution and sophisticated tech, we will see a new class of explorers in the future. More companies are placing bets on the sector in the coming months—rocket-builder Astra and satellite broadband-focused AST & Science are in talks with companies Rocket Lab, Spire Global, BlackSky, Momentus.

Talking about the opportunities in the space travel market for companies like Virgin Galactic, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Branson told CNBC in an interview last week: “There’s room for 20 space companies to take people up there… The more spaceships we can build, the more we can bring the price down and the more we’ll be able to satisfy demand, and that will happen over the years to come.”

Earlier, Virgin Galactic’s leadership had forecast that “around two million people can experience” space flights that are priced in the $250,000-$500,000 range, as per reports. At the moment, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are competing to take passengers on short flights to the edge of space (suborbital tourism), while Musk’s SpaceX plans to launch private passengers on further, multi-day flights (orbital tourism), as per reports

Here are just some of Richard Branson's near-death experiences ahead of his first space flight


By Chris Isidore, CNN Business
Updated 10:23 AM ET, Sat July 10, 2021



New York (CNN Business)Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur who is set to take a test flight on his Virgin Galactic spaceship to the edge of outer space on Sunday, has rarely been one to shy away from risky activities, and because of that he's narrowly avoided being killed numerous times in his nearly 71 years.
Some of the near-death experiences were the result of bad luck, such as a stubbed toe in 1980 that nearly sent him down a deep gorge on his private island to the jagged rocks below.

Everything you need to know about Richard Branson going to space this weekend
Some were the result of publicity-seeking promotions, such as bungee jumping off Victoria Falls as part of a television show about him or leaping off the side of a Las Vegas casino to promote flights to the city by one of his airlines. Both stunts left him bloody and injured.
Some were just due to his sense of adventure, such as numerous balloon accidents as he attempted, and sometimes succeeded, to set records for long-distance balloon flights.




Coast Guard helicopters head back to the Barbers Point Naval Station after rescuing multi-millionaire adventurers Richard Branson and Steve Fossett and pilot Per Lindstrand after they were forced to abort their latest round-the-world bid due to bad weather December 25. The giant hot-air balloon, shown deflating in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii, took off from Morocco December 18, travelled about 8,200 miles (13,120 kms) -- about half the distance of its intended odyssey.
His second autobiography, "Finding My Virginity," includes an appendix entitled "75 Close Shaves," in which he details some of the instances when his life has been at risk. Here are some of the highlights he wrote about on that list, in his own words:
1972: Survived a fishing boat sinking on honeymoon with my first wife, Kristen, off Mexico. We decided to jump off the boat and swim for shore, while the others stayed put -- we were the only survivors.
1976: Flew a microlight aircraft by mistake. It was the first time I'd sat in it, I had no idea how to fly it and accidentally took off. I was pulling wires out desperately. I cut the engine and managed to crash-land into a field. My instructor died in an accident the next day
1980 -- I stubbed my toe while walking around Necker Island and suddenly fell down a gaping gorge. I managed to get my hand to the other side, and Steve Barron managed to rescue me, pulling me up before I fell to what would have been certain death on the jagged rocks below.
1985 -- Sank in the [high-altitude hot-air balloon capsule] Virgin Atlantic Challenger 1 as we were crossing the Atlantic, had to be pulled out of the ocean.
1986 -- Crashed a car while driving through the Alps with my family. I hit some ice and went down a small cliff and turned the car over.
1986 -- On my first solo hot-air balloon flight, I crashed badly, smashing into the ground. It was a sign of things to come.
1986 -- On my first time skydiving, there was one cord that opened the parachute and one that got rid of it. I pulled the wrong cord by mistake. I was falling through the air before an instructor managed to yank my spare ripcord.
1987 -- On our attempt to cross the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon, the balloon's solar heating was too good and we headed up, up and up with seemingly no way to stop it. My co-pilot Per managed to bring the balloon down just before the capsule imploded and we tumbled to our deaths.


Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand attend a press conference to announce their 'Trans Atlantic Balloon Challenge' attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the 'Virgin Atlantic Flyer' hot air balloon on May 12, 1987 in New York City.
1987 -- On the same challenge I lost my co-pilot when Per jumped into the Atlantic, leaving me alone in the hot-air balloon as it disappeared back above the clouds. I was convinced I was going to die. On that memorable flight...I managed to crash the balloon into the North Sea and was rescued by helicopter.
1989 -- I decided to make an entrance to my wedding with Joan, dangling from a helicopter in an all-white suit. I dropped into the shallow end of the pool by mistake, smashed my legs, and spent the whole wedding hobbling.


Virgin chairman Richard Branson arrives for his wedding to partner of 14 years, Joan Templeman, on the Caribbean island of Necker
1991 -- In a hot air balloon saw it catch fire at 30,000 feet. We managed to extinguish the fire before the balloon was destroyed. On the same balloon flight, we lost half our fuel when full tanks dropped as we jettisoned empty fuel. We thought we would run out of fuel halfway across the Pacific, before strong winds in the jet stream saved us. We crashed in the Artic -- successfully completing the challenge, but crashing in minus-50-degree temperatures 3,000 miles from our planned destination in Los Angeles.


Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand in the balloon capsule before launch in Japan, 1991
2001 -- Narrowly missed stepping on a live track with 25,000 volts charged above, while inspecting our new tilting trains in England.
2004 -- Agreed to do a bungee jump off Victoria Falls as part of my TV show "The Rebel Billionaire." As I fell through the air I clipped my head on something and came back up with blood streaming down my face.
2007 -- Jumped off Palms Casino in Las Vegas as we announced Virgin America's new route to the city. After initially refusing to do the jump, I reconsidered and plunged down the building at high speed in strong winds. I smashed painfully hard into the buildings. Fortunately I hadn't spun around, so my backside hit the wall rather than my head. It completely ripped the back of my trousers off, cut my legs and arm open and badly bruised my hand.


Founder of the Virgin Group Richard Branson stunts off The Palms Fantasy Tower at The Palms Casino Resort on October 10, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2016 -- My life flashed before my eyes as I went over the handlebars while cycling on Virgin Gorda. My bike disappeared over the cliff, I escaped with a cracked cheek, severe cuts and bruises and a torn shoulder.

Messi announces retirement after Argentina win Copa America title



Argentina's Lionel Messi (centre) holds the trophy as he celebrates with teammates after beating Brazil 1-0 in the Copa America final. APGulf Today Report

Finally Lionel Messi cried with joy as Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in Sunday's Copa America final to secure the national team's first title in 28 years and the superstar's first major international trophy.


Argentina's Lionel Messi is thrown into the air by teammates. AFP


After four losses in the finals, early exits in major tournaments and even a decision to retire from the national team the superstar celebrated a much-awaited title in the Maracana Stadium.

Messi was 18 years old when he made his international bow in 2005 for a powerful Argentina side.

Messi's hopes of international success were repeatedly frustrated despite a glittering career that has seen him help Barcelona to win the Champions League four times, La Liga 10 times and the Copa Del Rey seven times and finally Sunday's Copa America title that ended Argentina's 28-year drought of major trophies,


Lionel Messi kneels at the end of the Copa America final soccer match at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. AP

The captain Messi also broke the team's record for international appearances with 151 matches.

History would not repeat itself this time around as Messi not only inspired his side but also finished the tournament as the top goalscorer and with the most assists.

He was named the player of the tournament, during which Messi equalled and then broke Javier Mascerano's record of 147 caps for Argentina, setting a new mark of 151 on Saturday.


Fans of Argentina celebrate after the nation's victory. AFP

Brazil became last-minute hosts of Copa America two weeks before kickoff after original organisers Colombia and Argentina withdrew. Many players protested against the tournament taking place as the COVID-19 pandemic caused thousands of deaths a day in South America, even more so in Brazil where 532,000 have died.Officials allowed a few thousand fans into the Maracana for the decider, the only match in the tournament to have spectators. There was very little social distancing in celebrations, and some fans removed their masks.

Fans go wild on the streets as Lionel Messi leads Argentina to Copa America - in pictures

Barcelona star finally lifts a trophy for his country


Jul 11, 2021

Argentina fans went wild in Buenos Aires as Lionel Messi's side won the Copa America, their first trophy after a wait of 28 years.

Messi finally lifted his first silverware for the national team, filling in one of the biggest gaps in his decorated career, made all the sweeter as it was in the domain of their arch rivals Brazil.

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Copa America: Lionel Messi's trophy wait is over as Argentina beat Brazil

Argentina's winning goal at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro came in the 22nd minute after veteran forward Angel di Maria lobbed goalkeeper Ederson.

The trophy saw a huge outpouring of relief for Argentina fans, who last saw a victory when Messi was only six years old. Saturday's victory in Rio gave the team their 15th Copa America title, equalling Uruguay's total.

Barcelona star Messi had reached the final of Copa America three times and lost all of them in 2007, 2015 and 2016.

Now, at last, he will have good memories at the Maracana, where Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany.

Fireworks and wild partying followed the final whistle, as can be seen in the gallery below

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Fans celebrate in Buenos Aires after Argentina won the Copa America with a 1-0 victory over arch rivals Brazil. (MATIAS BAGLIETTO/REUTERS)
The National

Biden's competition order seen fueling long-run gains for economy

Olivia Rockeman, Bloomberg News
Jul 9, 2021

President Joe Biden’s new plan to promote competition across industries and in the labor market can deliver long-run gains for the U.S. economy by boosting productivity and wages, economists say.

The president announced an executive order on Friday that directs federal agencies to ban or limit non-compete agreements -- which make it harder for workers to switch jobs in search of higher pay -- along with a raft of proposals aimed at barring unfair competition between large and small businesses.

While there’s a focus on the technology, agriculture, transportation and drug industries, some of the measures will apply across the economy. The aim is to counter a trend that’s seen market share in many industries become concentrated in a small number of businesses, widening gaps in income and wealth, the administration says.

“If it’s successful, that’s going to create more competition, improve mobility in the labor market, and in the longer run we could see maybe some upside risk to our forecasts for wage growth and productivity,” said Ryan Sweet, head of monetary policy research at Moody’s Analytics.



Waning competition and the dominance of large firms has been a hot topic for economists in recent years. A series of studies have found that in most U.S. industries there is more concentration now than there was a few decades ago.

Many researchers have argued that this is one reason why wage increases have been slow: with markets for goods or services divided up among a smaller number of competitors, workers in those industries end up with less bargaining power.

‘Flawed Belief’

Reducing the trend toward corporate consolidation will promote competition and provide benefits for workers, consumers, farmers and small businesses, the White House said in a statement outlining the executive order. The measure also aims to step up enforcement of antitrust laws.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest business group, called the idea that the economy has become too concentrated a “flawed belief,” and warned the administration against neglecting the importance of large firms for economic growth.

“In many industries, size and scale are important not only to compete, but also to justify massive levels of investment,” the group said in a statement Friday. “Larger businesses are also strong partners that rely on and facilitate the growth of smaller businesses.”

The move to ban non-compete agreements -- contractual clauses in which workers agree that if they quit or are fired, they can’t leave to work for a competitor, at least for a time -- could remove a barrier to better pay in many industries.

The clauses are meant to prevent trade secrets from being exchanged. Instead, they often end up locking workers into bad jobs and reducing their bargaining power, said Karla Walter, director of employment policy at the Center for American Progress.


What’s a ‘Competitor’?

In 2014, for example, it was revealed that sandwich chain Jimmy John’s was requiring workers to sign non-compete agreements that banned them from working at one of the sandwich chain’s competitors for a period of two years following employment there. The company’s definition of a “competitor” was wide-ranging, encompassing any business that was near a Jimmy John’s location or derived 10% of its revenue from sandwiches.

Walter said that by barring non-compete agreements -- which an estimated one-third of Americans have signed -- worker mobility would increase and entrepreneurs would find it easier to attract talent.


It’s “an important change that will give workers more leverage for higher wages,” said David Jaeger, a labor economist at the University of St. Andrews. “Stockholders in large corporations may feel a pinch in the short run, but the increased competition will likely spur overall growth over the longer term.”

The executive order also calls on regulators to take steps to lower drug prices, toughen merger enforcement in technology and banking, and ensure transparency in airline and shipping fees.

The breadth of the order makes its economic impact hard to gauge, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the right-leaning American Action Forum. He said the enforcement of non-compete agreements is something that often happens at the state level.

Sweet at Moody’s said that growth benefits from an increase in competition could take years to emerge, but he sees a possible boost to entrepreneurship in the shorter term that could help job creation.

“The net benefit to GDP is down the road,” Sweet said. “But if it boosts productivity even a little bit it’s going to raise the speed limit of the economy.”