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View this email in your browser Biden’s Blue Dot seeks to derail China’s Belt and Road By Richard Javad Heydarian Amid an escalating new Cold War, the Biden administration is mobilizing allies and partners to slow China’s technological strides and arrest its rising global influence. In particular, the US has doubled down on reviving the so-called Blue Dot Network, a long-dormant initiative launched by the previous Trump administration to counter Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Egypt in ascendency amid Middle East reset By Jonathan Gorvett As a key player in the recent Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire and with its diplomats more active than they have been in years, Egypt is back as a major influencer in Middle Eastern affairs. From Gaza to Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean to the Horn of Africa, Cairo is now key in a host of contentious disputes that will make the difference between regional war and peace. G7: Desperately seeking relevancy Subscribe to AT+ premium to read Pepe Escobar’s take on the upcoming G7 meeting in Cornwall. A Sinophobic crusade pursued by the grouping will have few if any takers, he says, due to members' rising dependence on Chinese goods and markets. What matters is the G20. Huawei’s HarmonyOS aims at US tech dominance By David P. Goldman Huawei’s new Harmony operating system isn’t just a substitute for Google’s Android software for smartphones, industry experts say, but an ambitious effort to unify handsets and laptops with the internet of things and big data analysis. The potential pushes the envelope of imagination. The Fed is the culprit in commodity inflation By David P. Goldman Commodity prices and real world trade volume tend to move in lockstep. Something different happened during the past year, when non-fuel commodity prices rose much farther than the modest recovery in world trade volume would have indicated, the result of the Federal Reserve’s tsunami of a monetary stimulus. Subscribe to Asia Times’ flagship regional newsletter for the latest reporting, commentary, and analysis from across Southeast Asia. China, Russia stay the course on jumbo jet dream By Frank Chen China and Russia have recommitted to keep their joint CR929 wide-body airliner program afloat, with significant progress recently being made in both countries on a stop-and-start US$10 billion venture that aims ultimately to compete with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, but there's still a long haul ahead before the jumbo plane gets off the ground. HK vaccination rate boosted by lucky draw frenzy By Jeff Pao Prizes including a one-bedroom luxury apartment, shopping vouchers and gold could be enough to help people overcome their hesitation and get Covid-19 shots in Hong Kong. Property developers and charity foundations have offered prizes worth a total of HK$120 million (US$15.4 million) to encourage people in the territory to get vaccinated. Small mod nuke reactors fuel new waste debate By Scott Forester There’s an argument that with all the interest in “advanced” nuclear reactors as a reliable 24/7 replacement for coal and oil-fired electrical power generation, enthusiasts are overlooking the elephant in the room: nuclear waste with a close-to-forever radioactive half-life that must, somehow, be stored safely for centuries. Indonesia tycoon’s name is mud over unpaid disaster dues By John McBeth Fifteen years since a flood of toxic mud and gas spewing out of a breached natural gas well cut road links and forced the mass evacuation of East Java villagers, firms controlled by coal tycoon Aburizal Bakrie have still to pay at least US$100 million in compensation for causing the disaster. Huawei swerving from smartphones to smart cars By Frank Chen Riding a wave of patriotism and driven by government support, Chinese tech giant Huawei has wheeled out plans to help steer the nation’s accelerating smart car industry, with the firm continuing to drop hints it will diversify away from its Western sanctions-hit telecom business and towards automotives. Meet the team behind AT+ Premium content Copyright © 2021 Asia Times, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for The Daily Report at https://www.asiatimes.com Our mailing address is: Asia Times Suite 203, Kin Wing Commercial Building  24-30 Kin Wing Street Tuen Mun, NT Hong Kong Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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