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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

European steelmakers have appealed to trade officials to tackle a surge in Chinese steel exports that has driven European prices below the cost of production.

A new, comprehensive system of tariffs is needed to address the market-distorting effects of global overcapacity and protect domestic manufacturers battered by weak demand and high energy costs, producers and Europe’s main trade body told the Financial Times.

China, the world’s largest producer of steel, is expected to export more than 100mn tonnes of the metal this year, more than any year since 2016. The surge has already raised trade tensions and prompted several countries to introduce tariffs on imports.

Direct Chinese exports to Europe are small since the introduction of safeguards on certain steel products in 2018, but the industry has said it is suffering the knock-on effects of higher imports from elsewhere.

The volume of exports from China was “huge”, said Genuino Christino, chief financial officer at ArcelorMittal, Europe’s biggest producer. He said the industry was “back to the crisis that was led by the high exports from China in 2015 and 2016”.

The flood of “subsidised, below-cost Chinese steel exports” was threatening the sustainability of Europe’s steel industry and its low-carbon transformation, said German steelmaker Salzgitter.

Russell Codling, director of marketing and business development in the UK for India’s Tata Steel, said current market conditions were a “huge issue” for the industry, especially with “demand on the floor”.

“The [European] commission needs to take bold measures such as a tariffication scheme to tackle the root causes of the problem, which are huge excess capacities in China and other countries,” said Salzgitter.

Regulators should introduce a more “global, tariff-like measure” to help European producers, which were suffering the knock-on effects of Chinese sales to other markets, said Axel Eggert, director-general of Eurofer, the trade body.

Europe’s existing safeguards had lost their effectiveness and were unable to absorb the volume of imports, he added.

“Chinese export prices today are below production costs,” said Eggert. 

Several countries have already taken action to address market problems, including Canada. In July, the US announced a 25 per cent duty on any steel coming from Mexico that had not been melted and poured in North America. India said last week it was in talks to tackle rising steel imports.

Imports of flat steel products to the EU rose 30 per cent in the first four months of 2024, according to Thyssenkrupp Steel, Germany’s largest producer. That trend, along with poor demand and high energy costs, was “putting significant pressure” on the European industry, the company said.

It was also jeopardising investment in the sector’s green transition, it added.

The EU market is “pretty weak”, said Bastian Synagowitz, global head of steel research at Deutsche Bank, adding that “imports are still rising”.

Arcelor’s Christino said the situation in Europe was “particularly challenging” given the combination of weak demand, high energy costs and the rise in imports. He pointed out that the continent used to be a net exporter of steel.

“Now we are a net importer,” he said.

With Europe’s existing safeguards due to expire in two years, Christino said it was even more important that the EU “gets right” its proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism, which will tax products based on their carbon content. The levy should be expanded to cover a wider range of products, the company said.

Matthew Watkins, principal steel analyst at CRU Group, said an additional challenge for Europe’s steelmakers was a rise in imports of Chinese steel-containing goods, notably electric vehicles, which “then compete with European manufacturing industry — in other words, with the domestic European demand source for steel”.

The EU already has more than 40 investigations into dumped or subsidised Chinese goods exports of all types. In metals, there are punitive duties on organic coated steel products, aluminium foil and radiators, iron and steel pipes and tubes and fasteners, such as screws.

The commission is investigating complaints about Chinese exports of tin plate, steel track shoes and pipe fittings. A probe is under way into hot rolled flat steel from Egypt, India, Japan and Vietnam.

However, one commission trade official said there was no appetite for a fight with China on steel, while Brussels was trying to get member states to approve tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. That process has already prompted trade retaliation from Beijing.

The commission declined to comment.

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The Caspian Tiger once roamed Central Asia near the Caspian Sea. Its habitat spanned 350,000 square miles across Iran, Turkey, China, and Kazakhstan. Caspian Tigers settled mainly along streams and rivers and surrounded themselves with shrubbery.  

Results from DNA tests have shown that Siberian Tigers are the closest living relatives of the Caspian Tigers—so close, indeed, that the two species are “almost taxonomically synonymous,” Discover magazine reported in November 2023. This means Siberian Tigers might well thrive in the areas where Caspian Tigers once lived. To make that happen, scientists have been setting up a suitable habitat for Siberian Tigers in Kazakhstan in hopes of releasing them starting in 2024.

In the effort to reclaim this extinct breed’s habitat, many questions arise. Is it ethical? Would this tiger be a threat to the human population of these areas, or vice versa?  If the Caspian Tiger could not survive before, largely due to hunting and habitat loss, how do we know it would survive now?

Such fascinating and necessary questions are relevant everywhere and should be just as widely discussed, but the dearth of science coverage in the corporate media makes the conversations all too limited.

Source: Sofia Quaglia, “Why Did the Caspian Tiger Go Extinct?” Discover, November 10, 2023.

Student Researcher: Ella Troxell (Frostburg State University)

Faculty Evaluator: Andy Duncan (Frostburg State University)

In a recent interview, Sky News implied Israel’s counterterrorism efforts could “trigger a third intifada.” But here’s the truth: the IDF is targeting known terror cells planning imminent attacks on Israeli civilians—just last month, a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv nearly caused a mass tragedy.

Calling the previous intifadas “uprisings” leaves out the real story: they were campaigns of terror, like the horrific Sbarro Pizza bombing in 2001. Israel isn’t provoking another intifada—it’s protecting its people from terrorism.

Photo Credit: Wisam Hashlamoun via Flash90

(credit: courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park)

Situated on the corner of 59th St and 6th Ave just across the street from Central Park, The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park offers a yearly suite package not to be missed. Its location along the parade route of the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade makes it an idyllic location to wrap guests in the magic of the parade. 

The hotel offers a $25,000-per-night Thanksgiving Specialty Suite package that includes unparalleled parade views from your room and brunch for up to eight guests in the Artists’ Gate Suite. Located on the 3rd floor, the suite offers exceptional views of Central Park and Sixth Avenue from its 13 large windows, providing a perfect viewpoint to the parade below. Designed for entertaining, the suite features two separate living rooms, a guest bathroom, billiards room and a dining room which seats eight. 

(credit: courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park)

Along with an overnight stay for you and four guests in the Artists’ Gate Suite, this package includes other perks such as a $250 room credit, gourmet treats, luxury airport transfers and more. Due to the popularity of the three-hour parade in Manhattan and the hotel’s perfect vantage point to see the giant balloons, fabulous floats and great entertainers, the package is so popular that it sells out a year in advance! So if you and your friends and family are looking to celebrate Thanksgiving in true splendor, make sure to call the hotel to reserve for next year.

The property also offers a Thanksgiving Package for stays in rooms or suites with exceptional parade views, or regular non-parade view rooms, early reservations and special amenities designed to create lasting memories for families and loved ones. Rates vary but start at $3,000 per night for non-parade view rooms, with parade-view rooms also booking out a year in advance. 

Guests who stay at the hotel will also have access to on-property restaurant Contour, numerous wellness experiences – including the first stateside La Prairie Spa and innovative Movement Studio – and an unrivaled starting point for an incomparable luxury retreat in the city. 

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) — Four people were killed and 17 others injured when multiple shooters opened fire Saturday in what police described as a targeted “hit” on one of the people killed at a popular nightlife spot in Birmingham, Alabama.

The shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday in Five Points South, a district filled with entertainment venues, restaurants and bars that is often crowded on weekend nights. The mass shooting, one of several this year in the city, unnerved residents in the area and left city officials pleading for help to both solve the crime and address the broader problem of gun violence.

“The priority is to find these shooters and get them off our streets,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said at a Sunday press conference.

The shooting occurred outside Hush, a hookah and cigar lounge, in the entertainment district. Blood stains were visible on the sidewalk outside the venue on Sunday morning.

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said authorities believe the shooting targeted one of the people who was killed, possibly in a murder-for-hire. He said a vehicle pulled up and “multiple shooters” got out and began firing, then fled the scene.

“We believe that there was a ‘hit,’ if you will, on that particular person,” Thurmond said.

Police said approximately 100 shell casings were recovered at the scene. Thurmond said law enforcement was working to determine what weapons were used, but they believe some of the gunfire was “fully automatic.” Investigators were also trying to determine whether anyone fired back, creating crossfire.

Police said officers found two men and a woman on a sidewalk with gunshot wounds and they were pronounced dead there. An additional male gunshot victim was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to police.

By early Sunday, after victims began showing up at hospitals, police had identified 17 people with injuries, some of them life-threatening.

The area of Birmingham is popular with young adults because of its proximity to the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the plethora of nearby restaurants and bars.

Geoffrey Boshell, a 22-year-old biomedical engineering student who lives nearby, said he was working on a school project when he heard a burst of rapid pops that he said sounded like automatic gunfire.

“I heard it, looked out my window and immediately see people screaming, fleeing the scene,” Boshell said.

The shooting in the bustling and popular area was unnerving, he said. “I’m not sure scared is the right word. Just very disturbed that it was happening right outside where you are living.”

Ashton Mills, 24, who lives in a nearby apartment complex was headed to work Saturday night when she heard a “bunch of popping sounds.”

“It’s scary, especially as a single woman walking around the city,” she said. “I’m definitely a lot more on guard.”

Woodfin expressed frustration at what he described as an epidemic of gun violence in America.

“We find ourselves in 2024, where gun violence is at an epidemic level, an epidemic crisis in our country. And the city of Birmingham, unfortunately finds itself at the tip of that spear,” he said.

The Birmingham mayor also urged state and federal officials to give cities more tools to address gun violence. He put both hands behind his back to illustrate what it is like for cities to combat crime. Alabama last year abolished the requirement to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public.

Woodfun said there is an “element” in the city that is too comfortable carrying Glock switches — which convert semi-automatic handguns to deliver more rapid fire — and assault-style rifles with the intent of doing harm.

“Elected officials locally, statewide and nationally have a duty to solve this American crisis, this American epidemic of gun violence,” the mayor said.

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Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

Russia’s chess team is to remain banned from international competitions, officials have ruled.

In a dramatic move, an International Chess Federation (Fide) general assembly meeting in Budapest voted to maintain sanctions against Russia and its ally, Belarus.

Both countries were kicked out of the federation after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Those supporting the move say chess in Russia is controlled by Vladimir Putin, with people including the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, sitting on the board which runs the game domestically.

A majority of delegates in Budapest voted in favour of a motion to conduct consultations with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the possibility of lifting some restrictions against children and vulnerable groups.

However, bans against the Russian national team, officials, flag and anthem in international competitions will remain.

The final decision now rests with the federation’s strategic body, the Fide Council, which is unlikely to overturn the results of the ballot.

Malcolm Pein, head of the English Chess Federation, told the BBC the result was a “crushing defeat” for Russia.

“There is no doubt that many delegates feared consequences for the governing body’s relationship with the IOC if policy diverged,” he said.

Sixty-six countries supported the motion, with 41 opting for a third option – that all restrictions should remain in place.

Just 21 countries voted to lift sanctions. As well as Russia and Belarus, they included several former Soviet republics and other Russian allies in Africa and Asia.

The highly anticipated vote was seen as a test of Western resolve to maintain pressure on Russia in culture, sport and diplomacy.

Before voting began, Ukraine called on delegates to reject the proposal to lift sanctions.

“It’s a victory for Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Chess Federation’s Viktor Kapustin told the BBC.

“This vote means that Russia does not have enough support that they assumed they had,” he added.

“Russia is an aggressor and invader, and the aggressor must be punished in all spheres of their life, including sport. It’s important to keep the sanctions, or even strengthen them. For them to recognise their crimes.”

Russia said politics should be left out of chess and urged other representatives to vote to lift all sanctions.

Kyiv was supported by England, Scotland, Wales, the US, France and many other western nations. The IOC, with which Fide is affiliated, had also recommended that the organisation comply with an earlier decision by the Olympic body that sanctions against Russia in sport remain in place.

Following Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Fide voted to ban the Russian national team and officials from competitions.

In a separate move, a Fide commission applied sanctions to the Russian Chess Federation (CFR) last June, excluding it for two years for “bringing chess into disrepute” and violating the international organisation’s principles.

It found that the Russian federation had organised tournaments in areas of Ukraine illegally occupied by Russian forces and reprimanded Fide’s Russian president for his membership of the CFR board.

Earlier this month, the ban was commuted to a €45,000 (£37,700) fine and the reprimand cancelled, a move which was criticised by Ukraine and its allies.

Ex-defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who are both under international sanctions, are also CFR board members.