EP 175: JBS, a major meat producer cyber attacked, India’s active COVID below 2 million & more!

Sree Iyer: Namaskar. Today is June 2nd Tuesday and Welcome to Daily Global Insights with Sri and Sree, episode number 175. We begin with news from the United States. Sridharji, in the United States, a major meat producer JBS USA, has been reeling from an organized cybersecurity attack that has disrupted its operations in the United States and abroad. Sir, what do you think is the cause? Is it also another ransomware attack?

Sridhar Chityala: It is another ransomware attack and I think just we are receiving the breaking news, it is the confirmation that it’s somewhere from Russia. But, we are going to soon find out it’s just a ransomware attack, it’s not any government-initiated or a covert attack by the Russians as was the case for suspected in the colonial pipeline attack and other attacks that have happened around the world. But, still, it is disrupted and it had happened on Sunday. The operations are at least, you know, trying to get back into gear. But more than nine states, where the operations have been impacted including in Brazil and Australia, Brazil is the headquarters

Sree Iyer: Remember viewers, that when the Georgia state passed new voter registration laws that major league baseball, made a move away for its All-Star game from Atlanta. Now there’s a lawsuit that demands that the MLB move it back to Atlanta or pay 100 million as damages. So this is the established, you know, groups who had planned on this game being played in Atlanta. As you know, if you have seen IPL you know, that there’s a lot of organization that goes around it, a lot of logistics, lot of things, get moved around all those things have now gone waste.  And that is what this lawsuit about.  Sridharji, what can you tell us about this lawsuit? And do you think it has a chance to succeed?

Sridhar Chityala:  It’s by job creators network. The suit has been filed in New York, which is where the MLB headquarters is. There are also conservative groups supporting it, their small business group supporting it. Cobb County is making a case that there are many people who are affected or the minority community is, the minority Community is owned small businesses in that part of the county which is pretty close to where the games were being held.  As you rightly pointed out there is a substantial amount of planning and infrastructure that was put in place. And then, you know, there’s a huge revenue implication. If you recall during the Georgia elections, they were saying that you know, they need the lockdowns to be lifted because many of them have been impacted by the shutdowns or the lockdowns as you may call it. So, I think there’s a very strong opportunity that this could come back on or this would be, 100 million or somewhere close to some amount of fine being paid because it is definitely business disruption, in fact.

Sree Iyer: In other news, Biden Administration is suspending all oil and gas leases in Alaska’s, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as it reviews the environment, impacts of drilling. Now, this has been in the pipeline for a long time. Alaska is one of the major suppliers of oil, as a matter of fact, Alaskans, if I remember correctly, get a paycheck from their state of around 3,000 dollars whether it is a month per month or per year, I don’t know that it’s called as the gasoline dividend. And I am sure they are going to ask a question or two about this. What are your thoughts, Sir?

Sridhar Chityala:  Firstly, it’s a 19.6 million-acre, rich oil reserve. It is also home to the environmentalist would say to, you know, Polar Bears, Caribou, Snowy Owls, migrating birds, etc, etc. This issue has been on the boil since 1995 when both Democrats and Republicans supported it. And then, President Clinton vetoed it. And then, of course, in 2016, when President Trump assumed became the president, he looked at it and he said the environmental agency, which has put this case together, lack credibility because, apparently, when you make a case, your analysis should include, what is a reasonable alternative in the absence of your lack of reasonable alternative? EPA cannot enforce under the pretext when a huge amount of Revenue that closing is involved as you pointed out. So this is you to be tap but it is home to zillions of barrels of oil. So this is the background. So, this is the fight and that is going to not just stop here. It’s going to extend into a number of areas, as the story unfolds within the Biden Administration.

Sree Iyer: If one were to look at the US Presidency as a black box, then it’s very easy for one to come to the conclusion that it is not the man who is Anointed president, who is calling the shots. Somebody is moving the levers from behind. This is becoming very, very clear. I don’t know when one of these skimmers are going to spill the beans, but we certainly are working hard to find out and prove to you that it is not Mr Biden, who is doing all this stuff. It’s just one disaster after another.

Here’s the next one, Biden’s coming war on Farmers. Team Biden will assert that PM 2.5 and Sridharji will explain what that is. Kills hundreds of thousands annually and that there is no safe level of exposure. Is it a fertilizer or what is it, sir?

Sridhar Chityala:  A new study by somebody from the Obama administration, which is an independent group, I think they were granted about 10 million dollars to conduct this study. It is very interesting, they find that the emissions caused from fertilizers, missionary used tilling all these things that go on in farming results, in this dust that is going up and that’s called as PM 2.5 and how many people get killed between 3.5 to 8 people annually, get killed. So, to me, it’s an environmental issue. So therefore we must now look at the amount of farming land that is a cultivatable plus, you must also be looking at what control mechanisms need to be put in place. So if you talk about the height of hypocrisy and height of, the height of basically, what I call as very ostentatious approached by Biden and his team to look at everything and anything to basically go after the red states where agriculture is the reigning profession. Then, you know, they’re hitting the nail on the head and I think this is where this is coming from, you know, how do you go after these people and basically stop rural farming and then move towards, I don’t know what the alternative is, whether they will say, maybe we should import everything from China.

By the way, China imports its needs, it doesn’t have enough food for feeding its own people. It is reliant on imports, which is one of the reasons why they are in this conquest of all these different places because they don’t believe in importing. They only believe in exporting. But if they own the lands from where they acquire be it Australia, be it Nepal, be it Bhutan, be it Sri Lanka or the South Asian Nations then their food needs are met. Okay, So I think that this is a ludicrous report that is much more to come on this and we will report more stories as Biden and his progressives go after these stupid and silly programs, which is mitigating, all the economic activity, which brings home revenues.

Sree Iyer:  If the Biden administration is serious about saving the climate, then they need to look no further than BEEF, the amount of impact, having to produce beef in a commercial way. If you have gone to any Beef farm you would be aghast to see the inhuman conditions in which these cattle are grown, and then they’re taken to the abattoir and the amount of water and other resources that are expended to do this thing. Please first fix that one and tell America, okay from Tomorrow, onwards no beef for you and see what happens. Since this is stupid, nonsense, that’s going on. That’s just me. Sir, I could be wrong. I am just an independent. I hold no brief for Trump, neither do I hold a brief any of these so-called Progressive. I don’t know if they can even spell beef. Let’s hope that they can.

Next News DC liberal take on Big Pharma, lower drug prices versus fewer new cures as it shakes up the Pharma industry. Again, there was an interesting video that I had put up with Dr Shiva Ayyadurai on PGurus Channel, where we were talking about how the Pharma industry is trying to move away from drugs to vaccines. So that anything that they produce vaccines two things, one is every year, the patient has to buy it. The second thing is vaccines are not as liable for the company as drugs are, somebody was to have injurious harm from ingesting a drug that the company is responsible for, but, not so if they are selling a vaccine. Sir, your thoughts.

Sridhar Chityala:  My thoughts are that this is yet, another agenda of the progressive, Biden Administration, basically, to go after what we call the redistribution of wealth and shifting of the burden. So, if you attack the Pharma industry and force them to reduce prices on the critical drugs or across the industry for distribution, then there is a cost involved in less used but, highly required drugs. One, those prices are going to shoot up because it’s a zero-sum game on the profitability side for the Pharma industry, that’s number one. Number two is what they’re pointing out is that there is specific research that they need to conduct, they allocate a significant part of their profits, towards the research for attempting to cure new types of diseases that are looming out there. So, all those research programs are going to be stopped. So the question is therefore when you make this an approach, what is the cause and effect that goes into it, it looks like the progressives are saying, we couldn’t care, we need to fix the current, we don’t care about the future, will deal with it, and that is going to only result in a disaster. So whether they will get away with it. We don’t know.

But right now, the way the Biden Administration is governing and conducting, the whole legislative process is you pass an executive order or you send it to the House, the House passes the bill, it comes to the Senate and they have no votes in the Senate. So, then they bring Harris and Harris over-rules and a filibuster cannot be applied that is the 60 votes that is required. Then, you go to the president and the president signs the order, and basically ask the Pharma industry to implement it. So we have kind of come up with a new type of architecture where you will bulldoze your way into getting the program’s irrespective of the legal aspects involved from a constitutional point of and also the cause and effect of the economic consequences that seems to be the way Biden is going. And this Pharma is one more example. And, you know, farming is another example, pipelines is another example. Illegal immigration is another example, we can go on and on and on. When you look at this program, there seems to be no scientific economic rationale but, just simple bulldozing its way towards what they believe in the agenda rather than the economics.

Sree Iyer:  Sir, one wonders, If this is how this government is going to work, that it is going to rely on its partisan strength to pass legislation in Congress and Senate then one almost wonders. If all the Republican elected Congressman, women and Senators should just go back to their constituencies and work on the 2022 elections, why even be in Washington DC because nobody is listening to you, nobody’s covering what you’re saying. You might as well go and picket in front of the Mexico border, at least one or two stray, social media channels, such as ours will pick it up and at least broadcast that these guys are trying too hard to make sure that the illegal immigration is stopped, this has become like a joke. What exactly is it? My big problem here sir, when, when Democrats come, they violently pull everything in One Direction. Then, the Republicans come and they’re in the name of setting it right there. Violently put it in the right direction for God’s sake, we need to move forward, not sideways, left and right. This is just my rant, sir. I don’t know what your thoughts are.

Let’s go on to the next one Supreme Court rules Asylum applicants bear, the burden of proof, reversing the ninth circuit. Now, this is interesting. Perhaps you can explain this a little bit more, sir.

Sridhar Chityala:  Okay great. So in now what happens is when you have an asylum Seeker or when somebody who has come in illegally now, the word illegal doesn’t exist. So a migrant when he is presented in front of the circuit courts. The case is argued by the Department of Justice and basically, or the ICE or the immigration enforcement officials, not the Department of Justice, the immigration department. So, you have them, you know, making the case. So what the circuit courts have decided is that the government makes its case to say, there’s not enough evidence for him to be given the Asylum, that’s what the government says. Whereas what you find is the circuit court rules that the fellow stays on in the United States, basically, because it is not up to the individual to establish his credentials as valid credentials. It is up to the government to prove that his credentials are illegal. So, this was contested in Supreme Court, Supreme Court, in 9-0, which means unanimous verdict said, this violates the Constitutional process. This is what is enshrined in the Constitution and passed by Congress. Namely, a guy who is illegal has to justify why he needs asylum and established his credentials. It’s not up to the government to go and, you know, go after and spend money to establish the credentials of the individual. It is the person who is seeking Asylum that must establish the credentials. So they are overruled and reset it. This is yet another Progressive agenda. What you’re going to find is that this fellow who is going back, who’s going to be deported will not be deported and the new policy that Biden is coming up, which is going to say, well, you know, you are deported but now we bring you back because we don’t classify you as an illegal migrant. You are now a legal, aspirant trying to seek a permanent residency or citizenship in this country, we welcome you. That’s what is going to happen. Supreme Court has ruled, but the Biden administration will move its executive order to bring this guy back in.

Sree Iyer:  Viewers, if you look at this, one particular instance about allowing illegals, I will also allow always call it illegal. Because if this is what is going to happen, I can see in the near future every American citizen selling their house, selling whatever immovable property, they have got on an RV and get Getting a certification that they are a migrant. And they will also start enjoying the benefits of the state. Why do they have to work? And pay taxes. This is Anarchy at its infancy and it just doesn’t make any sense to me.

Sir, Joe Biden’s DHS now wants to bring deported aliens, illegal aliens back to the US. day. Mr Mayorkas dropped the roadmap for Mass migration. This thing again is proved that there is more than one hand steering the ship because, you know, there’s one ruling one day, exactly opposite the other day. And then again, somebody again tries to set the things right? Where the heck is the chief of staff? He supposed to be the one maintaining discipline. What is happening to Ron Klain missing, missing in action, sir?

Sridhar Chityala:  Ron klain is missing in action. Another great personality who is missing in action, who is supposed to be in charge is the vice president of the United States Miss Kamala Harris, she’s is like, I don’t want to get my hands dirty and probably upset my presidential chances. So I’m neither visiting the Border. But what I will do? I will travel across Mexico and Central America and then I will talk about developmental programs in those Nations. Whereas here I won’t touch any of these things which are namely let Mr Mayorkas and let Madame Escobar who is the deputy secretary deal with this issue around immigration, surges etc. Etc. And these guys are prepared to make statements, that is very contrarian to the reality on ground reality. What’s happening in the United States?

Sree Iyer:  I can tell Madam Kamala Harris that, you know, not every site is going to forget all the shenanigans that happened in the first few months of this presidency. All these are going to come and bite, bite you in the wrong place, ma’am. And by the way, we compete with elephants for memory. So we do remember. So, you can be sure of that.

Biden prods Congress to support a bill that would allow about 11 million undocumented immigrants to apply for legal purposes and residency and citizenship. So you have migrants coming in a new storm, then the existing people of 11 million, he is going to try and normalize them and then this is the gerrymandering of its worst kind most obvious and I’m just aghast that there are other people who become citizens after forever because they have to go through the right process of getting the citizenship into this country. Why don’t you let all the students who come in also automatically become citizens? Why don’t you give them a roadmap for that too? Why not? They are the ones actually going to be finding your pie in the sky programs. You might as well do that too. Sir, your thoughts.

Sridhar Chityala:  I think you have analyzed and you have, you know, framed it very, very appropriately within the context of the whole shenanigans,  you know, that is called as immigration that is going on. I think these progressive have a much broader agenda, their broader agenda is to make sure that the Democrats, the progressive led Democrats, retool the United States, and they want to remain in power eternally. And the only way they can do it brings all these illegals from outside and basically put a program in place, all of them can vote from day one and distribute them across all different states, economically hurt the red States. And you know, this gas pipeline is one, this labour reform is another this all this what you call the unemployment and Covid benefit programs is another, then we come to the infrastructure plans programs shortly about how the money is being. When you look at all these things, you either don’t need to work or the government gives you to do a minimum amount of work so that you really can bring this economy down and you borrow your way. So we’re going to borrow $6 trillion per year for the next four years. That’s 24 trillion dollars to be added as part of what is not accounted for from the revenue side of the budget. We will discuss that separately, but that is where we are heading with this Progressive Administration.

Sree Iyer: Yes, indeed. And in Indian news, Indian scientist to study the efficacy of the single dose of Covishield vaccine and mixed doses of vaccines. Government to step up vaccination to 10 million vaccines per day but stepped up manufacturing from Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik 5 from mid-July to early August, It still takes a few weeks to turn and crank it up, that’s why they are showing this timeline. Sir, your thoughts.

Sridhar Chityala: I think, this is consistent with some of the research that is going on in the United States. The US scientists are also looking at, whether you can do a single shot vaccine and whether you can do a mixed vaccine, that could also incorporate a booster dose rather than a 2 shot vaccine. That’s very much the research that is going on also in the United States. So it’s good to see that the Indian scientists are doing something with the Indian versions of the vaccines which are the Covishield – the AstraZeneca modified Indian version, Covaxin – a homegrown Indian vaccine and clearly Sputnik has stepped up and come in and it wants to be part of the Indian vaccine program. I would not like to miss out on two important people – one is Eli Lilly which is working with 5 manufacturers and then also J&J. Notwithstanding the challenges in the United States, J&J wants to work in India with the manufacturers to deliver a single-shot vaccine. Then, I think there is also a company from Hyderabad – I think you have covered that there is another single-shot vaccine that is also being contemplated from India. So you have a range of programs and they are now looking at how to optimize rather than go ahead with these two shot programs. One cocktail for the first and then a mixed cocktail for the second.

Sree Iyer: India’s active Covid cases fall below two million. So at least some light at the end of the tunnel, sir.

Sridhar Chityala: It is, I think the number is now somewhere close to 187. The net Active cases are coming down by virtue of more people getting discharged relative to fewer people contracting the disease. Well, the damage has occurred by virtue of the calamity that has struck India, the United States, and Brazil. They are the three most affected countries by virtue of the contraction of the covid. We have seen a maximum number of people impacted in terms of the contraction of the ailment and the maximum number of casualties related to the number of active cases.

So I think, in the Indian case it is because of sheer volume and in the United States, the fatality rate relative to the total is very, very high. 600,000 to about 30 million people who contracted. That’s a very significant number. We saw that in the first year and most of it occurred when the vaccine was not out. So India survived the first wave and got affected in the second wave. The United States took the bulk of the hit in the first wave and Brazil is continuing its challenges. So I think that’s my take.

Sree Iyer: On Indian conspiracy theories, you can mull this over. I know a lot of you have watched this thing called Sacred Games on Netflix and if you look at the whole premise of that plot, I don’t know how much of it was captured in the series but the book is certainly worth a read. A certain politician finds it very convenient to get himself admitted to a hospital just around the time the second wave broke out. Was it engineered? Who knows? At least this government has acted proactively and said that there’s a third wave coming. Clearly, there’s some intelligence gathering that has happened and they know that somebody is seeding all these things. This is again, conspiracy theories. You can take my word for it or you can find out the truth for yourself.

Next Point, index of eight core industries – coal, crude, oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement, and electricity – the April 2021 production rises over 56%. Is this 56% year over year or quarter over quarter?

Sridhar Chityala: Year over year.

Sree Iyer: Indian manufacturing activity slips in May. SBI now forecasts a GDP growth of 7.9%. I think it was earlier saying 10% probably with 2% adjustment, sir.

Sridhar Chityala: The original projection was 12% – 12.8%. Now they’re saying, by virtue of these extended lockdowns, they believed that it could be 8%. I still believe that there would be a stimulus that the Indian government would be launching very similar to the US. Of course, in the United States, we have a continuous stimulus. We don’t stop. Every quarter, we have a stimulus. So therefore here, the Indian government is contemplating the next stimulus program so which may tilt it to about 10%, if there are no further lockdowns or shutdowns, as the case may be. I have one big issue with these lockdowns. Here, in the United States, I keep trying to say to the policymakers, you really have to study the Red States, the Republican states such as Florida, Republican states such as Texas, Republican states such as Tennessee, Republican states such as Wisconsin. You just have to study these states or even Idaho for that matter which is agriculture, you really have to study and find out whether really the lockdowns and shutdowns help or whether opening people to go into the atmosphere and feel the natural ecosystem and environment helped them in conjunction with social distancing and wearing the mask. In Republican states, there were no masks, but social distancing norms were prevalent, and all those economies have done well. Whereas those Blue economies, where they have shut down the economies, have not done well. So, I don’t know whether India is doing the right thing or India firmly believes that it cannot do social distancing, therefore, lockdown and shutdowns are the only ways to go, we don’t know. But that’s an issue that India must look at.

Sree Iyer: In meanwhile, in Russia related news, there is no change in the S400 contract with India, it will continue as per the agreement, says Russian foreign secretary Lavrov. So if I remember correctly, India was slow walking and saying that you don’t need it today, we can take it a little bit later. I don’t know if India was saying that, or if Russia was saying that. Maybe you can clarify some of these things and then we can move on to the next section.

Sridhar Chityala: In one simple sentence, this is shifting geopolitics. That’s all I can say. So I don’t think anything has changed and there are 10 people shouting at the top of their voice around what they think. Around the same time Kelly was in India, Lavrov was in India. So, I think what happens in the conversations between the governments, we don’t know. But very clearly, in my view, there is a shift in the political landscape. Who knows, I think Russia is back with India as an ally and says, ‘okay, now we are together and I’ll help you deal with it.’ And that seems to be the trend. Of course, France and Israel, are very much anchored with India. The UK is very much anchored with India and some of the West Asian nations are very much anchored with India. This is notwithstanding, the fact, what happens to Mr Netanyahu later today.

Sree Iyer: In Global News, Egypt’s Intelligence Chief holds truce talks with Hamas in Gaza. This is a first, isn’t it? Egypt is coming into Gaza to hold talks while there is an Israeli government in place.

Sridhar Chityala: No, this is another area policy that Mr Blinken’s visit has resulted in. Blinken’s visit to Israel resulted in two things. One is the shift in power from Benjamin Netanyahu. Second, is Egypt acquiring a significant role in the truce that is being played out, What used to be called, Palestinians and Israelis, now, we have a third player called Hamas. So it is Hamas, Palestinians, and Israelis where Egypt is the truce maker. Now, to have this truce being held in Gaza when you have a state of Israel, Israel has to feel whether its sovereignty is being compromised by a third Nation coming in and talking about peace in its own country. So many people say Iranians have implicitly won this game hands down. So is there an Iranian play that is happening behind the back or behind the Biden Administration? Only time will tell.

Sree Iyer: Myanmar heads for a long and bloody Civil War as Resistance Militia steps up attacks on the Junta. So now you have hardening stances on both sides but the Resistance Militia is very unorganized. What is this comprised of, sir?

Sridhar Chityala: It is a new resistance group of probably a lot of Suu Kyi supporters plus, probably it is a game that is going on again between China versus non-China and Russia is also got an investment in Myanmar. So there’s a new set of people who probably are funded, they seem to be organized and this has not brought to an end. This could be much more damaging to Myanmar’s economy and could be lasting for days. Usually, when you have a civil war that goes on for a long time, the economy gets destroyed. Just recently, Myanmar came out of its Junta regime and became mainstream and was inducted into ASEAN. We saw the resurgence and there was also an ASEAN Economic Summit that was held in Myanmar. But I think it looks like we’re back to square one

Sree Iyer: The Royal Malaysian Air Force scramble its Jets after it noticed 16 PLA Air Force planes heading into its airspace. More sabre-rattling?

Sridhar Chityala: Now, I think it is not only sabre-rattling but China is testing the veracity. There is a vacuum, there is a global power vacuum. So it is casting it’s net fast and wide. Remember Malaysia had cancel China’s infrastructure project. It did not give access to some of the things that China was asking for. The Malacca Strait is a very important passage in the Malaysian Corridor. So what does it do? It sends 16 planes and calls it a routine operation, probably spilt into airspace. Whenever you talk to the Chinese, whenever you say they spilt in, they say, ‘well, it’s part of our territory.’ usually. It’s ever elastic and flexible territory that China owns around the world. It can enter at will, it can withdraw at will because it thinks that in the absence of a global superpower, it can do anything that it wants.

Sree Iyer: Viewers, we want to take a quick segue and show you a small video clip of Senator Ted Cruz visiting the house in Ashkelon where the health care provider from India, Soumya got killed by a rocket that was launched by Hamas. Here we go. It’s a very short clip. You can take a look at it.

Ted Cruz (in the video clip): We’re at the home in Ashkelon in southern Israel. This is a home where an elderly woman and her caretaker were when a Hamas rocket came and hit the home. You can see, that’s the bed of the elderly woman. They got the warning that the rocket was coming. She evacuated, her caretaker didn’t make it out. Her caretaker is killed right here. You can see the damage caused by the rocket here. The rocket came through the roof of the house, destroyed the roof of the house. If you go to the back in the house, you can see, this is all of the damage that came from one Hamas rocket. One terrorist who murdered a woman here in Ashkelon.

Sree Iyer: That was the clip of the place where Soumya is working. Our heartfelt condolences for the family, what has been a very serious, death in the family got really politicized by the Kerala political apparatus. None of them turned up even as part of handing the body. Very, very sad when you see that a representative from the Israeli government accompanies and goes to the house and says how much he appreciated the service of this health care provider. And then, the Indian politicians, for whatever reason, these guys have their head I don’t know where. Anyway, this is just my observation. But then the people deserve this. If you elect such people, this is what you’re going to get.

Sir, next news. The US flags serious concerns over Cambodia’s China-backed Navy base. Is the US going to just keep talking or are they going to do something about it, sir?

Sridhar Chityala: I think, the US would have acted under the Trump Administration. In the present Biden Administration, what do you see as an activity is, there was a sabre-rattling in the first initial days’. A couple of times they went down the Taiwan Strait then they said they’re going to form an alliance between Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. I think Korea soft-pedalled it. And now what do you have? Regan has been moved out and is going towards the Middle East, where it came from. Regan and Nimitz were the two carriers that were supposed to maintain deterrence and peace in the region. So they have answered the question. I have mentioned this, from 2008 to 2016, it is the Obama-Biden administration that made sure that China became a threatening power in Indo-Pacific, Pacific, and the South China Sea. A lot of those incursions and developments occurred during that specific period and what you are witnessing is the continuation of the same under the Biden Administration. So there is no sabre-rattling. There is Is no QUAD, basically that one QUAD meeting. There are no regular contacts around what’s happening around the defence. There’s no coordination. All those things are stopped in the last 90 days relative to what happened in the first one month of the Biden Administration, which seems to be purely ceremonial and cursory. But the last three months which are May, April, and March, nothing.

Sree Iyer: A fast-spreading deadly covid-19 variant announced in South China. WHO announces new names to covid-19 variants. While Europe is showing positive movements in covid recovery with Britain. So we are seeing the numbers go down in Europe but look like what goes around comes around for China.

Sridhar Chityala: Indeed, I think China is significantly impacted especially South China and the Guangdong province. The numbers that we are hearing is very close to more than a million people affected. But you never hear any numbers from China. So I think that’s the story.

As far as Europe is concerned, there is very positive news. I think yesterday, if I’m correct, Britain has almost had zero new cases. They seem to be in pretty good shape. And also I think they’re pretty close to completing the vaccination program, at least the first vaccine to the entire population of the United Kingdom. So they’ve done a good job. I take France, Germany and Holland seem to be doing reasonably well. Italy is on the recovery but still not there as yet. Spain, the same situation. But generally, Europe is contemplating opening up its borders for the US visitors at least for the summer. That is the plan that they have.

Sree Iyer: In Markets News, Oil rises to a two-year high as OPEC and allies reconfirm lifting production. Oil finished at $68 a barrel with Brent finishing at $70.56. The pump price is now around $4.75 a gallon. That is the lowest cost in a pump in California, so, it’s outrageous.

Sridhar Chityala: Before I move to this topic, WHO is now renaming these variances with Greek alphabets. So we will give some of these names tomorrow. It is no longer the China covid virus.

Now, coming to the oil, the reason why the lifting the production is now you can drill more and you can release more to the market because you have lifted the prices. The prices have gone from somewhere $34, we were around $40 – $45. Now, it has gone past 70 that makes it effective and makes it efficient and as you pointed out that the price per gallon ranges from $4 to $4.75.

So there’s this famous little campaign that Trump has launched. And he shows this gas station price, which we display here quite boldly, and he’s pointing his finger and says, ‘look, you already miss me’. So that’s the truth.

Sree Iyer: In World economic leaders call for $50 billion of donations from the wealthy nations to help stop the covid pandemic. It is Airborne, you need to do what you need to do to first preserve yourself and then you can think about other countries. Now, we know for sure it came in from a lab. So if you can turn it on, surely you can turn it off. I don’t know what this is. This is just again putting more smoke on mirrors. This is my call, sir, your take and then we can wrap this up.

Sridhar Chityala: So my take is, if all of you have watched PGurus interview by Sreeji with RVS Mani, you will know the exact way this program can be launched, I don’t want to talk about the technical terms that Mr Mani has used. But if you get a chance, please listen to this program, you will know exactly how this was harmonized, constructed and how a launch is orchestrated from a terminal. But he’s done a damn good job in making the case in that interview. I would encourage everybody, if you have not watched it, to go and please watch it rather than me commenting on it.

So on that note, I think that the markets are up, the oil is up, there are more things that we are shutting down, but don’t worry, we are going to have a $6 trillion budget coming year after year. Whether you work or don’t work, you have money in your bank account, that is the new regime that we have in the United States.

Sree Iyer: Thank you very much Sridharji, and as always, we’ll be back tomorrow with more news. And in fact, tomorrow is going to be a cracker of a session because you’ve been working hard at putting together something that will incontrovertibly prove that Mr Fauci was hand in glove with the top virus scientist from China. So with that, we conclude today’s program, and we will see you again tomorrow. Namaskar.

Sridhar Chityala: Namaskar. Thank you. Have a wonderful day.