WATCH: French Professor Says There is no Second Wave

In a recent interview on French television Prof. Jean-François Toussaint of the Université Paris-Descartes has said that hysteria over a “second wave” in France is based on the widespread misinterpretation of data. His main points are as follows:

Deaths in France (and all across Europe) have fallen to almost zero.

“Second Wave” headlines are counting “new cases”, not deaths

These cases are almost all young, healthy people exhibiting no symptoms

Politicians are being irresponsible and scaring people for unnecessarily

Scientists on the “Science Council” don’t believe in the measures they’re prescribing and happily break their own rules.

Prof. Toussaint caps it all with this quote:

There is not, at this time, any scientific argument that attests to the usefulness of masks”

Before repeating (as we have said ourselves and which Dr Luis de Benito of Madrid stated last week) that we no longer talk about deaths, but instead talk about second waves and new cases, because the death figures have dropped to almost zero.

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We no longer talk about deaths, because they’re averaging less than 10 per day – for three weeks less than 10 per day – so now we have passed to some future fear…next week, next month, next spring…

He is right about this, across Europe excess mortality is now either average or below average. The danger, if indeed there ever was much, has apparently passed.

https://fort-russ.com/2020/08/watch-french-professor-says-there-is-no-second-wave/

Beijing says Chinese military won’t ‘dance to tune’ of US, urges Washington to quit policy of ‘anxiety and paranoia’

China’s military won’t bend to US posturing in the region, Beijing has warned, adding that Washington should abandon its current foreign policy trajectory and seek mutual cooperation.

Beijing’s relationship with the United States has become “unusually severe and complicated,” Senior Colonel Wu Qian, the spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense, said on Thursday, describing bilateral ties as being at a low point. The two nations established formal relations in the 1970s.

“China will not dance to the US' tune, nor will we acquiesce to its reckless behavior,” the spokesman said, warning that China will take “forceful measures” to safeguard its national interests.

He stressed the importance of maintaining communication channels between the two nations’ militaries and called for an increase in dialogue to avoid misunderstandings.

Washington should rethink its “strategic vision” in regards to China and approach the Asian power “with rationality and an open mind, and pull itself out of the swamp of anxiety and paranoia,” Wu suggested.

The comments come hours after China’s foreign ministry slammed the US for allegedly trespassing in a no-fly zone during Chinese military drills. The ministry said the presence of the U-2 spy plane in the area was a “naked provocation” and could have caused an “unexpected accident.” The US military insisted that the reconnaissance plane had not violated any international agreements or rules.

https://www.rt.com/news/499196-us-china-military-dance-tune/

Turkey Refuses To Suspend Maritime Gas Exploration, Multiple Military Exercises And Manoeuvres Continue

Greece has announced plans to extend its territorial waters along its western coastline facing Italy, and held a second day of military exercises in waters where Turkey has sent a survey ship escorted by warships to explore for oil and gas, challenging Greece’s claim to maritime jurisdiction over the area.

The Turkish vessel Oruc Reis has been carrying out seismic research for oil and gas for several weeks escorted by Turkish warships. Athens, which says the ship is operating over Greece’s continental shelf in an area where it has exclusive rights on potential undersea gas and oil deposits, sent warships to observe and track the Turkish flotilla.

Both countries have sent warships to shadow each other this month in an area between Crete and Cyprus where the Turkish vessel is prospecting for potential gas and oil deposits. Greece and Turkey both conducted military exercises within the area on Tuesday (25 May).

Speaking before the national Parliament earlier this week, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece is planning to exercise its legal right to extend its territorial waters along its western coastline, which faces Italy, from six to 12 nautical miles.

The planned extension would not affect the territory at the centre of the Greek-Turkish dispute. But the prime minister told parliament that Greece was abandoning decades of ‘passive’ foreign policy. Turkey has warned in the past that an extension of Greek waters to 12 nautical miles in the Aegean Sea, facing the Turkish littoral, would be seen as a reason to declare war on Greece.

Mitsotakis described Turkey’s actions as ‘illegal and provocative’, adding that Athens was willing to start talks as part of a German-brokered initiative, but only if the Turkish seismic surveying work were halted. “Our position is crystal clear and can be summarized in six words: When provocations stop, talks can start,” he said during a debate on the ratification of deals Greece recently made with Italy and Egypt setting out maritime boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones. Greece’s deal with Egypt in particular has angered Turkey.

Lawmakers ratified the Italy deal by majority vote late Wednesday. They also ratified most of the agreement with Egypt, with a vote on one article remaining to be voted upon later this week. The government holds a comfortable majority in parliament, and the article is expected to pass. LINK

Meanwhile, Turkey has accused France of exacerbating the conflict after joining joint exercises with Greece, Italy and Cyprus. President Erdogan stated on Thursday that Turkey has no intention of suspending gas exploration activities in disputed areas.

The declarations followed a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Berlin to try to persuade EU member Greece and neighbouring Turkey to return to diplomatic paths to resolve their dispute over maritime boundaries and jurisdiction.

The ministers were expected to debate a series of sanctions and other policy options that could be used to pressure Turkey to suspend drilling for energy reserves in the disputed areas of the eastern Mediterranean.

Germany has promised to act as a bridge between the two neighbours to defuse tensions, while on Wednesday US President Donald Trump held phone calls with the leaders of Greece and Turkey.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said he was in “constant contact” with Greece and Turkey. “My message is that the situation must be resolved in a spirit of allied solidarity and in accordance with international law,” Stoltenberg said when meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. “Dialogue and de-escalation are in everyone’s interest.”

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akara criticized France for joining Italy, Greece and Cyprus in three-day air and maritime military exercises off the eastern Mediterranean island, saying Turkey will not be deterred by the show of force, and Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy accused France of deploying fighter jets on the ethnically divided island of Cyprus under the ‘pretext’ of conducting military exercises, claiming that the deployment is a breach of the treaties reached in 1960.

France and Greece are deploying fighter jets and navy ships as part of military drills, while Cyprus will activate its air defence system to test its capabilities, the Cyprus Defence Ministry reported on Wednesday.

Turkey has also issued an advisory notice, known as Navtex, stating that it will be conducting live-fire military exercises on September 1 and 2 off the southern coast of the Mediterranean, that is, off the coast of Cyprus. LINK

https://southfront.org/turkey-refuses-to-suspend-maritime-gas-exploration-multiple-military-exercises-and-manoeuvres-continue/

Alibaba & other Chinese firms may freeze India investments as business relations sour after deadly border clash

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is reportedly halting investment in Indian startups, in another sign that recent deadly clashes along the countries' Himalayan border are eroding business ties between the two Asian economies.

Apart from the major online retailer, “a few” other Chinese firms are also reviewing their investment plans for India, sources have told Reuters. The companies reportedly plan to not pour any more cash for around half a year, as they waiting for things to “cool off.”

Alibaba, as well as another major Chinese tech major Tencent, have been heavily investing in Indian businesses over the last five years. While Chinese venture capital investments in India totaled over $4 billion, Alibaba alone has poured over $2 billion into Indian startups.

Chinese funds have helped over a dozen Indian businesses to become unicorns (to reach valuation of over $1 billion). According to Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House, 18 of India’s 30 unicorns, including the most valued ones – such as payment system Paytm and food delivery platform Zomato – are now Chinese-funded.

While China’s investors are putting fresh investment on hold, they have no plans to reduce stakes or exit investments, according to the recent report. One of the sources explained that this is due to the market condition and to the fact that there aren’t many buyers.

Jack Ma's Ant Group – an affiliate of Alibaba Group – has earlier hinted that it faces challenges in India due to the recent changes in the country’s foreign direct investment regulations. The company is currently preparing for its blockbuster IPO, which may become the biggest in history.

https://www.rt.com/business/499112-alibaba-halts-india-investment/

Ukraine president pitches foreigners, especially Jews, to invest in his country

Vlodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, launches English-language investment campaign; office says it’s ‘particularly important to attract Jewish investors’ due to historic ties

JTA — If you’re looking for a good investment, you should put your money on Ukraine – especially if you’re Jewish.

That’s the message from the office of the country’s Jewish president, Vlodymyr Zelensky, about a new campaign that aims to attract new investments to help grow Ukraine’s stunted economy.

The first video of the campaign, featuring Zelensky speaking in English with a heavy Ukrainian accent, does not mentions Jews. The one-minute film focuses on Ukraine’s tourist potential and 5% tax on information technology industries.

Jewish Community of Kharkov/via JTA)

JTA — If you’re looking for a good investment, you should put your money on Ukraine – especially if you’re Jewish.

That’s the message from the office of the country’s Jewish president, Vlodymyr Zelensky, about a new campaign that aims to attract new investments to help grow Ukraine’s stunted economy.

The first video of the campaign, featuring Zelensky speaking in English with a heavy Ukrainian accent, does not mentions Jews. The one-minute film focuses on Ukraine’s tourist potential and 5% tax on information technology industries.

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But Zelensky is hoping that Jews in particular will answer the call, in light of the country’s historical significance for Jews, a spokesperson from Zelensky’s office told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

“The president finds it particularly important to attract Jewish investors from across the world in light of the historic ties between the Jewish people and Ukraine, which has remained relevant also today with hundreds of thousands of Jewish tourists visiting Ukraine each year,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not wish to be named, citing presidential protocol.

https://youtu.be/SlfI94oSdkM

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraine-president-pitches-foreigners-especially-jews-to-invest-in-his-country/

China – US Tensions Continue, PLA Fires ‘Aircraft Carrier Killer’ Missiles During Drills

China has lodged a protest with the US embassy after the Pentagon sent a reconnaissance aircraft over an area where live-fire military drills were being conducted in the northern military region in the Bohai sea. China also sent another message, firing two ‘aircraft carrier killer’ missiles into the South China Sea.

The US has been accused of sending a U-2 reconnaissance plane into an area that was previously declared to be a no-fly zone to fly over Chinese live-fire military drills that were being on Tuesday (25 May), another provocative move adjacent to China’s borders that will keep tensions between Beijing and Washington high for the foreseeable future.

China’s Defence Ministry called the unauthorized U-2 flight an unsafe practice and said that it constituted a threat “seriously interfering in normal exercise activities”.

The statement warned that an ‘unexpected incident’ could have easily resulted, which presumably means the spy plane may have been targeted as a perceived threat to the military units’ security.

In a statement responding to China’s strong diplomatic and public protests, the US military said a U-2 flight was conducted in the Indo-Pacific region and it was “within the accepted international rules and regulations governing aircraft flights.

Pacific Air Forces personnel will continue to fly and operate anywhere international law allows, at the time and tempo of our choosing.” LINK

The U-2 aircraft can fly at over 70,000 feet and effectively carry out reconnaissance activity at long range, therefore it was not necessary for it to enter the no-fly zone to monitor the military exercises and it is difficult to interpret it as anything other than a deliberate provocation meant to further antagonize Beijing.

In an unusual move, this week China’s military has been conducting parallel military exercises in four separate areas, including drills in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and South China Sea.

Presumably as a response to the Pentagon’s derisive attitude to Chinese concerns about US military activity adjacent to its borders, which have included numerous sorties by nuclear capable long-range strategic bombers and extended manoeuvres in the South China Sea by three US aircraft carrier strike groups over the last few months, China launched two missiles – including an ‘aircraft-carrier killer’ – into the South China Sea on Wednesday morning (25 August), sending a clear warning to the United States of China’s ability to defend its territory and adjacent areas.

One of the missiles, a DF-26B, was launched from the north-western province of Qinghai, while the other, a DF-21D, lifted off from Zhejiang province in the east. Both missiles were fired into an area between Hainan province and the Paracel Islands, the South China Morning Post reported.

The DF-26 has a range of 4,000km (2,485 miles) and can be used in nuclear or conventional strikes against ground and naval targets.

The DF-21 has a range of around 1,800km, with state media describing the most advanced in the series, the DF-21D, as the world’s first anti-ship ballistic missile.

The Chinese news agency’s source said the missile launch was aimed at improving China’s ability to deny other forces access to the South China Sea, a disputed region.

“This is China’s response to the potential risks brought by the increasingly frequent incoming US warplanes and military vessels in the South China Sea,” the source said. “China doesn’t want the neighbouring countries to misunderstand Beijing’s goals.”

Earlier this month, the PLA held military exercises near Taiwan “to safeguard national sovereignty”, exercises that coincided with US Health Secretary Alex Azar’s trip to the island.

In July, China’s People’s Liberation Army conducted military exercises in the South China, East China and Yellow seas, while two US aircraft carriers conducted tactical air defence exercises in the South China Sea – manoeuvres the US said were “in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific”.

https://southfront.org/china-us-tensions-continue-pla-fires-aircraft-carrier-killer-missiles-during-drills/

Pompeo ends Middle East tour with no further peace declarations

Pompeo's trip comes in advance of a planned visit next Monday to the UAE by an official Israeli delegation led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo returned to Washington on Thursday after a whirlwind four-day trip to the Middle East, in which he was greeted with handshakes and smiles but received no further affirmations from Arab leaders with regard to normalized ties with Israel.

“The Omani people are so warm and generous. I’m grateful for our strong partnership. Thanks to Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said for our steadfast friendship,” Pompeo wrote in an upbeat tweet from the Omani capital of Muscat on Thursday.

In an earlier tweet, he said the two had discussed “the importance of building regional peace, stability and prosperity through a united Gulf Cooperation Council.”

Pompeo arrived in the region in the aftermath of the dramatic announcement two weeks ago that Israel and the UAE planned to normalize ties. He visited Israel on Monday and the UAE on Wednesday.

An Israeli delegation led by National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat plans to visit the UAE next Monday.

There was media speculation that El Al would take the Israeli delegation and fly over Saudi territory for the first time. El Al denied the report.

US National Security Council Adviser Robert O’Brien also plans to head to the UAE next week, together with US Special Adviser Jared Kushner, US Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz and Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook.

Pompeo also visited Sudan, Oman and Bahrain, which are expected to follow the UAE in normalizing ties with Israel. During his visit, however, none of them gave a nod in that direction.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Tuesday said he was not mandated to normalize ties with Israel and asked that the issue not be linked to discussions with the US on the country’s removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

In Bahrain on Wednesday, Pompeo failed to secure a statement from Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa about normalized ties with Israel.

The US is ready to assist in the normalization of ties between Bahrain and Israel if needed, a senior US State Department official said during the Bahrain leg of the trip.

“If we can help facilitate normalization with Bahrain, we’re ready,” the official said.

Khalifa said he welcomed US efforts to achieve the Israel-UAE accord, noting “the importance of re-doubling efforts to realize a just solution which utilizes peace as a strategic option to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” state news agency BNA reported.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee, tweeted his appreciation of Bahrain’s comments, thanking it for insisting that there must first be peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and only then can normalizing ties with the Arab world occur. This includes the idea of a two-state solution at the pre-1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/pompeo-ends-middle-east-tour-with-no-further-peace-declarations-640195

Capital One Cuts Credit Card Borrowing Limits As US Reduces Support For Unemployed Americans

One month after credit card giant Capital One Financial disappointed investors after reporting losses more than $1 billion for the second consecutive quarter (with 80% of revenue coming from net interest income, of which 60% comes from the card business, the top line was hit really hard), there was more bad news. According to Bloomberg, Capital One - which is perhaps most exposed to the financial state of the US middle class of all US financial companies - is cutting borrowing limits on credit cards, and reining in its exposure as the U.S. reduces support for millions of unemployed Americans.

"Capital One periodically reviews accounts based on a variety of factors and may make changes to existing credit lines," the company told Bloomberg.

Capital One, which is third-largest US credit card lender after JPMorgan and Citigroup, has been at the forefront of offering cards to people with riskier profiles, which while boosting the company's value during expansions, has made it especially sensitive to economic downturns. Its management of credit is watched closely as a harbinger of what’s to come at other major banks according to Bloomberg, and sure enough the latest numbers were woeful: shortly after it slashed its dividend from 40 cents to just 10 cents, the company added reserves of $2.7BN in Q2, on top of the $3.6BN it added in the first quarter, making reserves 6.7% of total loans outstanding (in theory,t This should be enough to weather net charge-offs around 350bps per year in the next two years).

And while the company's 2008-2010 average was higher at around 450bps, peaking at over 500bps in 2010, the company has benefited from forbearance programs as customers are deferring auto payments but continue to pay down their credit cards, which also means less net interest income. Indeed, net interest income fell 9% QoQ (-5% YoY) as margins narrowed, making the company's NIM contraction was the worst among large peers. Margins nosedived 100bps QoQ to 5.78% - the lowest in the past decade.

All of that prompted the company to take aggressive measures ahead of what appears to be an almost certain double dip should fiscal stimulus not be extended in the immediate future. As Bloomberg notes, suspense has been mounting in the credit card industry in recent weeks, as Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration deadlocked on extending $600 in additional weekly unemployment benefits. That assistance has helped millions of households keep up with debts as the pandemic sent unemployment soaring above 10%. As we showed recently, spending by unemployed people who claim ongoing unemployment assistance from regular state programs - which amounts to some 14.5 million people - has tumbled since the July 31 fiscal cliff.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/capital-one-cuts-credit-card-borrowing-limits-us-reduces-support-unemployed-americans