Technology News

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s new environmental protection minister has set some ambitious goals: She believes she can use her office to play an important role in the global battle against climate change while also promoting peace in the volatile Middle East.

Tamar Zandberg laid out her agenda in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the upcoming U.N. climate conference in Glasgow. She says Israel, despite its small size and own inability to reach the global goal of zero net emissions by 2050, has the potential to be a key player.

Zandberg said the country is eager to share its expertise in green technologies. Israel is widely considered a world leader in areas such as solar energy storage, sustainable protein alternatives, agriculture technology and desalination.

“These are fields where Israel is already in the cutting edge frontier of global innovation, and we hope that this is something that small Israel can contribute to bigger countries than us to adjust better to the new climate reality,” she said.

Major countries, including China and India, have become important markets for Israeli environmental technologies. Zandberg said she already has held a pair of meetings with her counterpart in the United Arab Emirates, which established diplomatic ties with Israel just over a year ago, and that the two countries have teams working together on issues like agriculture and water in the arid Middle East.

Israel and Jordan last week held a signing ceremony on a new water-sharing agreement, and Zandberg said the two countries are having “extensive talks” on various environmental issues.

“Our neighbors share our region and share our climate,” she said. “So it’s only natural that we will face them together. That can contribute to climate change, but also to the regional stability and to our peace in the Middle East.”

Zandberg took office in June as part of Israel’s new government — a diverse patchwork of small and midsize parties spanning the political spectrum. This includes deep ideological differences over how to handle the decades-long conflict with the Palestinians.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett heads a religious, ultranationalist party that opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, and Bennett, a former leader of the West Bank settlement movement, has ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians.

Zandberg’s Meretz party is the most dovish member of the eight-party coalition and supports a two-state solution with the Palestinians. As part of the coalition deal, forged to prevent the country from plunging into a fifth election in a two-year span, all members were forced to compromise on their core beliefs.

Zandberg acknowledged some frustration with the limitations created by the political reality, but said environmental cooperation provides an opportunity to improve the atmosphere and lay the groundwork for future negotiations. She said she has met with her Palestinian counterpart, and that professional teams meet regularly to work on issues of mutual concern, such as protecting shared water resources.

“We live here together and we share the land and we share the air and share the water,” she said. “The better we communicate, the better our peoples will live.”

At home, Zandberg has a long to-do list.

Israel has acknowledged it will fall short of the goal of the international community to reach zero net emissions by 2050. It expects to reduce emissions by 85% by that time. Environmentalists have cited a lack of political will by previous governments and the country’s reliance on newly discovered natural gas for energy for the lower target.

Zandberg said this figure was calculated based largely on a situation inherited from previous governments. She also said Israel’s relatively high population growth is an obstacle. And while Israel lags on its own renewable energy goals, she said the government is determined to help the world reach the zero-emissions target through its technology exports and to do more on the domestic front.

“That’s our goal to close that gap,” she said. “We are working on new climate legislation for the first time in the Israeli parliament. We are working on the series of implementation plans, how to take the low carbon economy governmental declaration and make it a reality in sectors of energy, transportation, waste, agriculture. So we are serious.”

There are other challenges. The Dead Sea, which is actually a salty lake situated at the lowest place on earth, is slowly shrinking. This is the result of years of water diversion from the Jordan River for drinking and agriculture and from damage caused by mineral-extraction companies. A secretive oil pipeline deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has raised fears that an oil spill might one day destroy the Red Sea coral reefs, prized by scientists for their unique resilience against warming seas. Water resources that traverse Israel and the occupied West Bank are threatened by sewage and pollution.

Zandberg said her team is involved in negotiations to ensure that Dead Sea factories, which are among Israel’s worst polluters, address environmental concerns as licenses are renewed in the coming years. The Israel-UAE pipeline is now under review by the government, “and we will express our concerns in those discussions,” she said. Zandberg has been pushing for a new tax on single-use plastics to go into effect next year.

Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director of EcoPeace, an environmental advocacy group with offices in Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, said it is too early to judge Zandberg’s performance. But he said her appointment has raised hopes that Israel can finally make some progress on long-festering issues.

“We’re in a very unique position where we have a minister of environment who is extremely committed to the issue and wants to succeed,” Bromberg said. “You have an environment minister who’s an environmentalist.”

Whether she succeeds, he said, will depend in part on her political skills, largely her relationship with Bennett. Despite their different backgrounds, Bromberg said that so far they appear to have a good rapport.

“It’s still very early days. The issues are enormous,” he said.

Copyright
© 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly lower Thursday, after major Chinese property developer Evergrande said a plan to sell its property management arm to a smaller rival had fallen through.

France’s CAC 40 shed 0.4% in early trading to 6,679.78, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.2% to 15,498.69. Britain’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.4% to 7,198.09. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down 0.3% at 35,375.00. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.3% to 4,516.75.

China Evergrande Group’s shares tumbled 12.5% while shares in Evergrande Property Services slipped 8%. In a notice to the Hong Kong exchange Evergrande said it was having difficulties selling off assets to resolve its cash crunch.

Hopson Development Holdings’ shares rose 12.4% after it said was unable to complete the purchase. Trading of shares in all three companies was suspended pending a resolution of the transaction.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.5% to 26,017.53, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.2% to 3,594.78.

Some “verbal assurances by government officials and loosening of home loans for some of its major banks suggest that the authorities are monitoring the property market risks, hoping to reassure markets of the knock-on impact on the economy,” said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG in Singapore.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.9% to finish at 28,708.58, as the world’s third largest economy headed into nationwide elections to select a new prime minister.

The candidate from Japan’s ruling party, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has given mixed messages about his policies, and his “new capitalism” measures, which include promises to reduce income disparities. That has done little to reassure markets so far.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, inching up less than 0.1% to 7,415.40. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2% to 3,007.33.

The market has been gaining ground as investors shift their focus to the latest round of corporate earnings. Stocks have been choppy for weeks as rising inflation and lackluster economic data raised concerns about the path ahead for the economic recovery.

Several large companies are still due to release their earnings this week. American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Union Pacific will report on Thursday.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 33 cents to $83.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 59 cents to $85.23 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 114.04 Japanese yen from 114.27 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1643 from $1.1651.

Copyright
© 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s first domestically produced space rocket reached its desired altitude but failed to deliver a dummy payload into orbit in its first test launch on Thursday.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who observed the launch on-site, still described the test as an “excellent accomplishment” that takes the country a step further in its pursuit of a satellite launch program.

Live footage showed the 47-meter (154 foot) rocket soaring into the air with bright yellow flames shooting out of its engines following blastoff at Naro Space Center, the country’s lone spaceport, on a small island off its southern coast.

Lim Hye-sook, the country’s science minister, said Nuri’s first and second stages separated properly and that the third stage ejected the payload – a 1.5-ton block of stainless steel and aluminum – at 700 kilometers (435 miles) above Earth.

But she said launch data suggested that the third stage’s engine burned out early after 475 seconds, about 50 seconds shorter than planned, failing to provide the payload with enough speed to stabilize in orbit.

Officials from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the country’s space agency, said debris from the payload would have landed somewhere in waters south of Australia. The institute was planning to form an inspection committee soon to analyze what went wrong and map out adjustments before the rocket’s next test launch.

The launch, which took place at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT), had been delayed by an hour because engineers needed more time to examine the rocket’s valves. There had also been concerns that strong winds and other conditions would pose challenges for a successful launch.

“Although (the launch) failed to achieve its objectives perfectly, it was an excellent accomplishment for a first launch,” Moon said in a televised speech.

“The separations of the rockets, fairings (covering the payload) and the dummy satellite worked smoothly. All this was done based on technology that is completely ours,” he added.

After relying on other countries to launch its satellites since the early 1990s, South Korea is now trying to become the 10th nation to send a satellite into space with its own technology.

Officials say such an ability would be crucial for the country’s space ambitions, which include plans for sending more advanced communications satellites and acquiring its own military intelligence satellites. The country is also hoping to send a probe to the moon by 2030.

Nuri is the country’s first space launch vehicle built entirely with domestic technology. The three-stage rocket is powered by five 75-ton class rocket engines placed in its first and second stages. It is designed to deliver a 1.5-ton payload into orbit 600 to 800 kilometers (372 to 497 miles) above Earth.

“The launch left some frustration, but it’s meaningful that we confirmed we have obtained core technology” for space launches, said Lim, the minister.

Scientists and engineers at KARI plan to test Nuri several more times, including conducting another launch with a dummy device in May 2022, before trying with a real satellite.

South Korea had previously launched a space launch vehicle from the Naro spaceport in 2013, which was a two-stage rocket built mainly with Russian technology. That launch came after years of delays and consecutive failures. The rocket, named Naro, reached the desired altitude during its first test in 2009 but failed to eject a satellite into orbit, and then exploded shortly after takeoff during its second test in 2010.

It wasn’t clear how North Korea, which had been accused of using its space launch attempts in past years as a disguise for developing long-range missile technology, would react to Thursday’s launch.

While pushing to expand its nuclear and missile program, the North had shown sensitivity about South Korea’s increasing defense spending and efforts to build more powerful conventionally armed missiles.

In a speech to Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the U.S. and South Korea of “destroying the stability and balance” in the region with their allied military activities and a U.S.-led “excessive arms buildup” in the South.

While Nuri is powered by liquid propellants that need to be fueled shortly before launch, the South Koreans plan to develop a solid-fuel space launch rocket by 2024, which could be cheaper to build and prepared for launch more quickly. Such rockets would also be ideal for more sensitive space launches, including those involving military intelligence satellites.

South Korea’s space ambitions received a boost in recent years as the Trump and Biden administrations took steps to ease decades-long U.S. restrictions that capped Seoul’s missile development before eventually allowing its ally to build conventional weapons with unlimited range and warhead weight. In easing the so-called missile guidelines, the U.S. also removed a limit on how powerful South Korea’s solid-fuel rockets can be for space launch purposes.

South Korea currently has no military surveillance satellites of its own, which leaves it relying on U.S. spy satellites to monitor North Korea. Officials have expressed hopes of launching domestically developed, low-orbit military surveillance satellites using the country’s own solid-fuel rockets in the next several years.

Copyright
© 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

LONDON (AP) — Regulators are stepping up scrutiny of the United Kingdom’s music streaming market to see whether there is enough competition after lawmakers outlined concerns that major online platforms like Spotify may be too dominant.

The U.K.’s competition watchdog said Tuesday that it will carry out a “market study” to assess whether fresh measures are needed to improve streaming competition.

The Competition and Markets Authority is taking action after an inquiry by lawmakers, who said in a report that three major music labels — Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music — dominate the U.K. recording market. That allows them to cut better deals with streaming platforms and leaves smaller rivals at a disadvantage, while artists complained they’re not receiving a fair share of streaming royalties, the report said.

The watchdog said the review was needed because the way people listen to music has transformed over the past decade, with streaming now accounting for over 80% of all the music played in the U.K.

“The U.K. has a love affair with music and is home to many of the world’s most popular artists,” said Andrea Coscelli, the authority’s chief executive. “We want to do everything we can to ensure that this sector is competitive, thriving and works in the interests of music lovers.”

The Competition and Markets Authority uses market studies to check whether there are any competition and consumer issues in a specific market and if so, determines how to tackle those problems, including recommending changes to government regulations or taking enforcement action.

Copyright
© 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

NEW YORK (AP) — Love cryptocurrencies or hate the very idea of them, they’re becoming more mainstream by the day.

Cryptocurrencies have surged so much that their total value has reached nearly $2.5 trillion, rivaling the world’s most valuable company, Apple, and have amassed more than 200 million users. At that size, it’s simply too big for the financial establishment to ignore.

Firms that cater to the world’s wealthiest families are increasingly putting some of their fortunes into crypto. Hedge funds are trading Bitcoin, which has big-name banks starting to offer them services around it. PayPal lets users buy crypto on its app, while Twitter helps people show appreciation for tweets by tipping their creators with Bitcoin.

And in the latest milestone for the industry, an easy-to-trade fund tied to Bitcoin began trading on Tuesday. Investors can buy the exchange-traded fund from ProShares through an old-school brokerage account, without having to learn what a hot or cold wallet is.

It’s all part of a movement across big businesses that see a chance to profit on the fervor around the world of crypto, as a new ecosystem further builds up around it, whether they believe in it or not.

“The one thing you can say for certain is that the advent of the era of the Bitcoin ETF opens up the opportunity for Wall Street to make money on Bitcoin in a way that it hadn’t been able to previously,” said Ben Johnson, director of global ETF research at Morningstar. “The winners in all of this are the exchanges and the asset managers and the custodians. Whether investors win or not is a big, bold question mark.”

Bitcoin has come a long way since someone or a group of someones under the name Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a paper in 2008 about how to harness computing power around the world to create a digital currency that can’t be double-spent. The price has more than doubled this year alone to roughly $62,000. It was at only $635 five years ago.

Supporters of cryptocurrencies say they offer an ultra-important benefit for any investor: something whose price moves independently of the economy, rather than tracking it like so many other investments do. More high-minded fans say digital assets are simply the future of finance, allowing transactions to sidestep middlemen and fees with a currency that’s not beholden to any government.

Critics, meanwhile, question whether crypto is just a fad, say it uses too much energy and point to all the stiff regulatory scrutiny shining on it. China last month declared Bitcoin transactions illegal, for example. The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, said in August that the world of crypto doesn’t have enough investor protection and “it’s more like the Wild West.”

That hasn’t been enough to halt the immense momentum for crypto, as it’s gone from an online curiosity to a bigger part of the cultural and corporate landscape.

U.S. Bank earlier this month said it has begun offering a cryptocurrency custody service for big investment managers. That means it essentially holds their Bitcoin in safekeeping for them, and it expects to offer support for other coins soon.

Other name-brand banks have also announced intentions to offer custodial services for crypto.

“It’s not just in the fringes and dark corners of the Web that it’s happening,” said Kashif Ahmed, president of American Private Wealth in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Ahmed doesn’t recommend his clients invest in crypto. Before then, he said he’ll need to be able to “go to my local supermarket and buy things for my family and offer crypto and not be laughed out of the store.”

But others are more willing to try it.

In a survey by Citi Private Bank of family offices around the world that manage money for wealthy people, roughly 23% said they have made some investments in crypto. Another 25% said they are researching it.

The growing acceptance of crypto on Wall Street has created a new crop of darlings that help people buy it. Crypto trading platform Coinbase has a market value of roughly $64 billion, for example, putting it on par with such established companies as Colgate-Palmolive, FedEx and Ford Motor.

At Robinhood Markets, meanwhile, the company that became famous for getting a new generation of investors into the stock market is increasingly becoming a place for crypto trading. This spring was the first time when new Robinhood customers were more likely to make their first trade in cryptocurrencies rather than in stocks.

In the end, what many on Wall Street see lasting may not be as much Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as the technology that underlies them.

Called the blockchain, it allows for a public ledger that everyone can check and trust, and many expect it to lead to a wealth of innovations. It’s akin to today’s Netflix, Facebook and other services that sprung out of the infrastructure built during the boom and bust of the dot-com bubble.

“The applications built on this new software architecture appear to be growing more quickly than past technologies,” Bank of America strategists Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss wrote in a recent research report positing digital assets are only in their first inning of growth. “New companies are likely to emerge and poorly positioned companies will exit, creating significant upside potential for some and downside for others.”

JPMorgan Chase, for example, is already using blockchain technology to improve fund transfers between global banks. That’s the same JPMorgan Chase run by CEO Jamie Dimon, who said in an interview with Axios this month that bitcoin has “got no intrinsic value.”

Copyright
© 2021 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.