There as well ill see you a bit later in about half an hours time off to counting the cost which starts now. Hello im Adrian Finnegan this is counting the cost on aljazeera your weekly look at the world of business and economics this week post sanctions iran is still a hard place to find a job well look at the economic reasons behind the rest of the middle east second largest economy also this week meltdown and suspect these are the nicknames for the two major flaws discovered in the hardware of nearly every computer and digital device worldwide the race is on to fix them. Plus new year new rules for European Finance but thats not all well ask the chief global economist at u. B. S. Whats his dangerous idea. It is the number two economy in the middle east after saudi arabia when it comes to population its second only to egypt around eighty Million People call iran the home and more than half that number is under thirty years of age thats why when demonstrations of the rising prices the economic mismanagement broke out in the new year the world paid attention the demonstrations represent the biggest show of public dissent in the country since rallies took place in two thousand and nine the governments blaming outside interference temporarily shut down social media like instagram and telegram the online messaging service thats used by forty million iranians as well smartphones played an Important Role in the protests but the economy did as i was the resemblance ravi reports from tech ron. The reason that they came out on the streets have gone away thats really. The point Going Forward and it was down to the economy the protests started with dissatisfaction over economic problems in the country the cost of living is rising unemployment especially among young people is very high and they were part of proposals by president Hassan Rouhani said ministration of increasing gas prices exponentially and that was something that was just very unpopular with the people and even the progovernment supporters that are coming out in large numbers now it doesnt mean that they necessarily support the president s policies but they support the governing system in iran and they want to push home that point but they certainly dont necessarily support president Hassan Rouhani and Going Forward his government is going to have to deal with Economic Issues that remain addressed and no doubt those things will continue to be a thorn in his side so we may see some adjustments to proposals to raise gas prices in an effort to continue subsidies that keep the cost of living stable if not bring it down further well iranian oil is now back on International Markets and g. D. P. Is growing after years of recession but there is an equal distribution of wealth among irans regions Foreign Investors a staying away put off by banking worries restrictions are still in place on dollar trades passing through america and theres a fear that sanctions will be restored the country ranks one hundred twenty out of one hundred ninety of the world banks ease of doing business index stated enterprises dominate stifling competition according to some of the sprawling Business Empire of the revolutionary guards dominates the Service Industry theres a rising number of people looking for work unemployment officially stands at around twelve and a half percent but in some parts of the country its over fifty percent analysts say that the Historic Nuclear Deal they go see it in twenty fifteen has failed to deliver prosperity and the protests fueled by anger at the cost of living and widespread corruption. Well joining us now from vienna via skype is dr peter encounter pour began is an economist and managing partner at international a vienna based International Strategic Consulting Firm good to have you with us on the program sir so as as we heard there the largest street protests in years in iran are the high prices and Economic Hardship as far as youre concerned what are the main economic drivers of this discontent obviously you can look at a number of economic phenomena in iran i mean high prices were mentioned but also on unemployment is a key factor. What i would also like to highlight is what economists refer to as underemployment iran has a very educated young population and a lot of these educated citizens are unemployed we have about twenty five twenty six percent youth unemployment in iran and as far as we can follow at this stage there is a direct correlation between the level of unemployment especially youth unemployment and the protests so there are differently a number of factors that are. Basically leading to disenchantment and discontent i want the iranian population especially the lower middle class and the lower income class ok what about corruption is that an issue that plays into this discontent certainly i mean i there is a feeling i would call it as that as a as a heading for all of these issues i would say that the iranians feel that there is injustice in in the country there are there are. There is corruption there is mismanagement there it there are you know rents that various Interest Groups including religious institutions various foundations have in iran while the lower income classes and especially the youth are unemployed. It and then are not catered for so there is a feeling of injustice and corruption is definitely one important element in that these protests began just days after president rouhani revealed his his twenty eighteen budget bill having promised more transparency and than to crack down on corruption what can the president do now to maneuver so that he can use these protests if you like to his advantage well youre right i think one of the grievances is the feeling that a lot of the countrys resources are going to worse institutions that are not really providing what the Iranian Society is asking for not providing jobs not providing prestige or development and the first thing that president rouhani could do is to try to restructure the allocations i mean there are billions of dollars of allocations to various religious institutions foundations military organizations to defeat people feel our own called for and that would be a first step to create to make these institutions more accountable make their budget allocations more transparent and the economy has been improving that money though is not obviously trickling down to the middle classes what do you think is the outlook economically for iran this year i think. The positive Growth Outlook will be there i think the iranian economy has potential to grow it is relatively inefficient at this stage in the Overall Economic activity and there are there is a lot of room for for growth in various sectors through increased efficiency through better management through pushback against corruption but youre right i mean it takes time for for for the overall Macro Economic growth to trickle down to various sectors especially to the provinces where people feel that they are be. Neglected and they are not really benefiting from the economic upturn so the death all took is positive and what about Foreign Investment how important is that to irans economy and in the future International Investors despite the lifting of sanctions very wary still of putting their money into iran how important is Foreign Direct Investment to the country for investment is very very significant not just because capital flow into the economy but also because new technologies and also new Management Concepts will flow into the country as i said mismanagement and inefficiency are issues and part of those issues can be address through through efficient or investment through different concepts and knowledge that can be transferred to the country towards a counterpart really good store your vision many thanks indeed thank you for having me now a Design Change made to computer chips over a decade ago inadvertently opened up a way to let hackers into nearly every computer and digital device the good news is that we now know about the floor in the hardware the bad news is that fixing it will slow down your machine the nicknames given to the bugs found in central processing units which are essentially the brains of your computer a meltdown and specter rob reynolds reports. The worlds Biggest Technology companies are scrambling to fix critical Cyber Security flaws that could compromise every computer smartphone and server sold in the past twenty years packers if they are able to install some Malicious Software on a computer and then go the extra step to take advantage of this problem they can access some really Sensitive Information including passwords Encryption Keys that let them access even more Sensitive Data Security Researchers discovered vulnerabilities in computer chips used in nearly all devices the flaws dubbed specter and meltdown by Security Experts would allow intruders to steal any data on the Systems Companies involved including Apple Microsoft and google the flawed chips are made by intel a r m and a m d googles project zero Security Team said it found the flaws some time last year the Company Announced details of how it is working to protect users of google cloud and Android Devices it says a new version of the chrome browser debuting later this month will include fixes microsoft has also developed an emergency patch that will automatically be applied to all devices running on windows ten apple has not publicly disclosed any fixes for its operating systems those patches will address the melt down bug but they could significantly slow down device performance in some cases by as much as thirty percent the other flaw called specter is harder to fix and will ultimately require a redesign of the chips themselves adrian is a Technology Journalist an i. T. Consultant he says security flaws of this scale are rare no money Security Research is go to great efforts to keep them secret they tell the people who are affected give them time to produce the software thought. And then we all get to hear about it in this case embarrassingly for the Chip Companies the information is leaked before the fix is widely available so that is relatively unusual but it happens certainly it doesnt usually happen on this huge scale. Security flaws happen every month were all used to be updates we get to our devices and those are mostly about fixing security flaws whats left common is ones that affect so many devices and that affect the hardware the physical chips inside the computer as opposed to the software the programs theyre very easily fixed but when you get a fix in something thats a physical actual thing its harder to solve and in this case it comes with penalties when we fix it with software or are still to come on counting the cost of the daily money struggles of people in gaza told through cartoon characters. Now new years day twenty eighteen in california marked the first legal Recreational Use of cannabis as of this week adults over twenty one can possess up to an ounce or twenty eight grams of the drug and can grow up to six Marijuana Plants at home opponents say the law will introduce young people to drug use but analysts say the pot industry could be worth billions of dollars certainly in texas revenue over the next few years the United Arab Emirates and saudi arabia rolled out value added tax for the first time to mark the new year the five percent tax is being applied to most goods and services both gulf states are trying to diversify their economies away from a reliance on oil and gas and new year new rule book for European Finance everything from crowd funding platforms to big banks are affected its known as myth two and its basically about transparency the biggest financial trading overhaul since the two thousand and eight Global Financial crisis demands that trades are reported to a central database dealings done away from public eyes in socalled dark pools of liquidity will be recorded and traceable theres also a requirement that banks pay up for Research Given free by the big investment institutions the same institutions that are also selling Investment Products at its. E. U. Law that consumers are given more information on the kinds of risks theyre buying into when they invest their money the impact of Climate Change is being felt all over the world especially in low lying islands Scientists Say that the rising water level is causing cuba to shrink latin america editor lucy in human reports now from the coastal town of heimat it asked nirvana. What if his wife had lived by the ocean for nearly sixty years long enough to notice that something is changing especially when they look towards the key in front of them. Forty or even thirty years ago during low tar you could walk over to the quay over there and you wouldnt get wet it was totally dry now the target is never lower than this its all because of Climate Change here my daughter grew up here we didnt have this wall and i would lower down there to play on the rocks because it was dry. In high many of us a coastal town youre have vanna everyone notices at the water level is rising on this no lying island its hard to believe what im actually walking on top of what was a Swimming Pool some forty years ago removed about thirty meters away from a beach but no longer exists its yet another undeniable example of how the ocean is eating away at much of cubas coastline. A report prepared by the ministry of Science Technology and environment warns that by two thousand and fifty coastal levels will have risen twenty seven centimeters and by the end of the century it will be up by eighty five centimeters causing the island to shrink significantly. Scientists argue the Climate Change is also provoking more frequent and stronger hurricanes flooding and at the same time prolonged periods of drought inland. The climate experts who prepared the report tell us a major action plan is being implemented to confront this new reality. We are applying new practices like planting corals to increase and reproduce coral reefs and more mangroves which are key barriers for protecting the coastline and we need to adopt new construction practices in the caribbean we have experience building on stilts the list is long but scientists concede. That inevitably many people will have no other choice but to leave their homes and move in. Or unlike the world of finance nature doesnt do bailouts and many senior global economists are warning about a looming ecological credit crunch the fact is we are using up limited resources that are fast running out we may not have much longer before an ecological credit crisis occurs ecological debt is defined as the excess consumption of Natural Resources over and beyond the earths capacity to regenerate joining us now from wilcher in the u. K. Paul donovan pours the global chief economist with u. B. S. Great to have you with us once again poor so a revamped version of markets in Financial Instruments directive for myth two as its known as coming to effect this week the most ambitious yet controversial package of financial reforms what do you make of it and a what are its benefits the aim of of message two is to increase transparency in the Financial Sector so making us those aware of what it is i think or what it is that theyre not painful when they do business with Financial Aid so in that sense its not so to try and increase i dont think it is also a little number of adjustments within the Financial Sector for example research which was very often bungled are we are the brokerage phrases now are to be separated out and priced and people are debating about how that happens are essentially this is an attempt to increase the information that investors have at this point whats your Overall Economic outlook for the for the year ahead for the Global Economy in the u. S. Weve got a new fed chairman. Donald trumps new tax plan coming into effect in europe weve got real breaks it discussions befit to as weve just discussed what do you think well i think the first thing to do is dont stress. On. Its someone once said economists have decimal points in their forecasts to prove they have a sense of humor are the numbers the specifics of the numbers are not something already what weve got broadly speaking is a Global Economy that is operating around about the trend rates of its in the us weve got full employment in europe weve got improving employment and thats going to sustain the Global Economy and growth rates give or take what they were last year inflation may take up a little bit as we go through this year as labor markets tighten wage costs are starting to creep up a little bit but not in an alarming way and the other key factor this year i think will be thats Central Banks are going to continue to tighten policy and for the first time in decades the federal reserves Balance Sheet will be smaller at the end of this year than it was at the start paul youre one of the several economists whove been talking about an ecological credit card crunch. That we may well be be heading towards is that going to impact well first explain what an ecological credit crunch is and and are we heading towards one this year will in environmental term we are doing is consuming on a half planets worth of resources every single year so our current standard of living requires us to borrow our Environmental Resources from future generations to maintain the standard of living that we enjoy today if its reliant borrowing on credit cards for the equivalent of fifty percent of your Household Income by a clearly thats not sustainable and if we run limbs at the point where we can no longer overuse Environmental Resources im tries a fairly dramatic drop in our standard that low. The good news is that the world is changing and adapting and trying to become more efficient in our uses resources news is that all ready running into problems with Environmental Constraints on growth pollution for example in china is reducing Life Expectancy Water Resources in the middle east and in many other countries are now actually limiting growth preventing countries from growing certain sorts of rocks preventing countries from generating electricity all fired power stations need of an awful lot of water to cool them down there were already starting to see Environmental Constraints acting on growth not our full blown credit crunch yet but its a warning that what might come if we dont continue to improve our environmental efficiency as if if that if it came a ecological credit crunch would be worse than the financial credit crunch that we saw in two thousand and seven two thousand and eight absolutely i mean a full scale environmental credit crunch if we were forced absolutely to live within our environment means then you would be talking about a loss of a standard of living between a third of so you know if your standard alone was to hard think you would probably notice that and feel quite agree and that is far far worse than the downside of that that followed the Global Financial crisis two thousand and eight paul that some freestyle thinking here a lot of people beginning of the year continuing to demand change that saying that the only way that the world will change is if that we radically rethink the way in which we do things on the planet for twenty eighteen what would be your dangerous idea of thats a very interesting question i think the dangerous idea are which would radically change the Global Economy will teach well our farm will free move. People to migrate around the world a lot more and that has. Sure launches us mean it leads to more efficient economies overall and certainly probably reduces prejudice all the weird things about a lot of the prejudice and discrimination we see it is by people who arent exposed to immigration you dont know foreigners you dont know foreigners you realise theyre exactly the same as you are a mile dont interest idea i think that would be really trying to alter the world all of me would be to liberalize migration. As always its great to talk to you many thanks indeed for being with us i so much indeed finally this week businesses in the gaza strip have long been struggling under an israeli blockade many owners a barely able to keep their operations afloat now a new cartoon hopes to bring their story and struggles to a wider audience malcolm webb reports from gaza. A girl called know by then ice cream and wins a ticket to visit a Sweet Factory. Where you can bet that they have a good noise a fictional character in an animation made by an israeli right creep but the factory and its owner mohammed tell bonnie a real and some of the many problems operating under the blockade of gaza by israel in egypt. No discovers them as mohammed shows have around starting with a power cut electricity is off most of the time in gaza during my visit i havent explained it since the siege began ten years ago most of his production lines are closed most of the time. He didnt want to fire any of his four hundred staff and family to pen down the wages of employees had their hours cut instead. As the animation also shows the machinery they use has problems too israeli authorities restrict the import of anything they say could be used to make weapons the packaging is meant to be done or semantically by this machine these a spare parts he does not being allowed in this machine puts the cream filling in biscuits the accused technicians come here and service it in order to come this whole production line being down for you some of the equipment these be sent to germany servicing and thats not allowed either. The mohammed doesnt believe the restrictions or just for security reasons its there is that a that its. This is. The scope. And. The people is somebody that is. Israels military assault on gaza his conflicts with hamas havent helped either three years ago the fact she was hit by an israeli rocket. Mohammed gets the Sweet Factory to nor has she sees its problems becomes a story of shattered dreams. The rights group that made it cool says it aim to inform people but also challenge stereotypes we wanted to be able to tell the story of the Movement Restrictions on the gaza strip and do it in a creative way so that we could attract new audiences and open peoples eyes to the fact that there is a different reality inside the gaza strip than the one they normally hear business is also being hurt by israeli restrictions on export mohammed says trade wont pick up in less the siege and at the end of the film no makes everything right with her imagination in reality things arent so simple and causes industries are still crippled malcolm web ending our show for this week if youd like to comment on anything that youve seen you can tweet me a finnigan on twitter please use the hash tag a j c t c when you do or you could drop us a line counting the cost of aljazeera. That is our email address as always theres plenty more for you online at aljazeera dot com slash c. T. C. That takes you straight to our page which has individual reports links even episodes for you to catch up on but that is it for this edition of counting the cost of. The whole team here thanks for joining us the news on aljazeera is next. All dizzy are explores prominent figures of the Twentieth Century and how one of the reasons influenced the course of history beginning with the giants of the struggle for civil rights the most violent resistance to the evils over a veritable who oppress. And continue to keep the negroes to be defense that what you mean by both x. And Martin Luther king preached to fix at this time on all jazeera. China as a serious shortage of women and a lot of. One on one east meets those desperately seeking any way they can at this time on aljazeera. Targeting and live syrias government steps up attacks on the largest remaining rebel stronghold in the country forcing thousands to flee. You know im. 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