Hello im daryn joy this is counting the cost on aljazeera your weekly look at the world of business and economics this week. A battle for the heart of opec who will capitulate 1st putin all m. B. A. s as a price war decimates the market. Will the most liberal democratic nations by beijings Ai Facial Recognition Technology to control their citizens. And the lebanese lived a dream that was a delusion while lebanon was drowning in debt words of the Prime Minister of his country defaulted on its debt for the very 1st time. Well at a time when the world is dealing with the fast spreading coronavirus that has decimated supply chains induce panic buying and grounded flights the last thing it needed was 2 nations declaring economic war well saudi arabia and russia have been working together to prop up oil prices for the last 3 years but fell out of a riyadhs insistence that they agreed to cut oil supplies by 1500000 barrels a day the reason was simple china the biggest importer of oil was turning back tankers as the coronavirus forced the economy to a standstill. Well oil prices have had their biggest one day crash in the 991. 00 gulf war and theres more pain to come as saudi arabia and russia flood the market with more Oil Goldman Sachs predict that oil prices could hit 20. 00 a barrel both nations should be able to stomach a protracted economic war saudi arabia has Foreign Exchange reserves of 490000000000. 00 and russia has reserves of 448000000000 dollars foreign reserves of course are important without them an economy can grind to a halt unable to pay for imports and pay for its debt that is where it becomes a little more tricky saudi arabia may need to borrow money to fill in between what is spent and the revenue it receives it needs all prices at around 82. 00 a barrel to balance its budget and russia according to the International Monetary fund needs oil at 42. 00 a barrel there but for economies when in themselves of Oil Dependency it means they have less money to spend in those areas but whats at the heart of the fallout well russia has been angered by sanctions targeted at rossen if trading a subsidiary of the russian oil giant washington imposed the sanctions last month over its continued support in selling Venezuelas Oil well in return moscow was hoping to get riyadh on side to inflict economic pain on u. S. Shell producers who moscow fields have been taking a free ride in the back of opec plus is cuts in production what share of production has pushed the United States into the number one spot as the worlds biggest producer of oil moscow hopes it could lead to the collapse of some of those businesses if Oil Prices Remain below 40. 00 a barrel. So lets get some analysis now joining me from london is niamh aslam hes chief market analyst at the trade name good to have you on the program how long do you think saudi arabia and russia can keep up this fight and whether the low oil prices they can keep up for the for the for the for this fight for long why because it is killing both countrys economy the oil where it is trading currently isnt really good for russia or for saudi arabia so i think it is better for both countries to troy in the towel and be more sensible with their porsche which is curbing the oil supply which the market really needs otherwise this 30 percent one day drop that weve seen because of the failure of these 2 particular countries curbing the supply can get even more even more worse in the market so do you think them that the 2 sides can reconcile their differences and perhaps get opec plus back together i mean is this a fight about who controls opec m. B. s or putin to answer the latter part of who controls the fight is obviously m. B. s is in the driving seat put in is isnt even in the picture with respect to that and yes the far right was in a it all started with russia are not coming to the table d and not villan to curb the supply what n. B. S. Took it to a different level when the saudi arabia announced that it is going to increase its Oil Production to 12300000. 00 Barrels Per Day so i think both countries as i said before really need to consider this situation carefully and through this concept is that who is going to control the narrative with respect to a pay i think now is the time that it all supply should be massively curbed and that is the only only situation where it we can see some sort of arrested. Mission with respect to the oil and demonic question and thats an interesting point you make 9 because isnt it in the interest of both countries that us shale produces do not benefit from any opec plus production cuts though thats a really interesting thing because when the prices were trading in around 45. 00 russia wasnt willing to cut the price because it really want to us shell industry to suffer but now the prices are even more lower you knows. That hes thats where the brant is really w. T. R. Is really trading at so it is going to even the u. S. Shell industry more as compared to where they were there when the prices were trading at 45. 00 so are we going to see some reaction from saudi arabia or from a pipe plus in my opinion yes definitely because both countries are eager to make some sort of a supply cut very soon i think it is only a matter of time before we hear that and that are really part of the vice its just a quick thought on saudi arabia why is it taken so long for aramco to fall below its i. P. O. Price the iran co i. P. O. The stock price was massively supported by the government virenque shares right and it is not something new because we have seen various different Central Banks supporting the equity market 3 corporate debt and sometimes even direct intervention into the stock market who knows today the European Central bank could be doing something very similar as well but to answer your question precisely i think in the wrong because the stock price had a massive support from the government lets talk about investors finally if we can spin it a hugely volatile week for the markets hasnt it i mean how should small investors trade the market now where should they be putting their money right now like if youre a retail in rest there then the Current Situation presents a huge opportunity you should be preparing go Shopping List now rather the. Going into the market and start mining it but if you are a day trader then the current market volatility presents a huge opportunity because were looking at the dow jones index for instance where 1000 point its just become a norm usually you dont see that sort of movement in the market so from an investor perspective were down 20 percent bear market official territory right now but i think the market is still going to continue to move to the downside so for Retail Investors they dont really need to rush into the markets now because it is going to continue to move lower it is only a start of a bear market there is no control of a corner virus more wars news is about to come were going to see that in in the in Economic Data and also baked into unease as well so sit tight keep repairing your Shopping List no muslim thank you very much indeed for talking to counting the cost thank you now the Rapid Advances in Technology May give the appearance that its all for our own benefit but at what cost china has used its vast Surveillance Network more than 350000000. 00 face recognition cameras to suppress its minority we get muslims and introduce a controversial social Credit System where now india is rolling out cameras under the guise of law and order its estimated it plans to spend 4300000000. 00 by 2024 on the project delhi has already captured the biometric records of more than a 1000000000 people while the United States says more than 70000000. 00 cameras one for every 4. 00 citizens washington has warned its agencies and local governments not to buy chinese made cameras but thats not stopping u. S. Companies like the delegate silverlake unquote come from investing in firms critical to chinas Surveillance Network since time raised a 1000000000. 00 from investors valuing the company at 4500000000. 00. Well now china has turned its facial Recognition Network to detect citizens coronavirus. As this report. What is all thats needed and to jump subway system the citys a 1st in china to set up facial recognition gates in all of its underground stations the government says its about customer convenience. Here this is especially have before people will carry a lot of heavy bags all the people who dont have a cash or their smartphones had run out of battery these problems could be solved by facial recognition now facial recognition cameras are being used alongside infrared temperature scan is to help contain the spread of corona virus in the city of home joe a man was reprimanded after facial recognition cameras filmed him leaving his home before completing 2 weeks of. High tech surveillance cameras allow authorities to access a citizens travel history there are more of these in china than in any other country in the world an estimated 350000000 roughly one for every 4 people. Now last season john doe are using. Composites. The same more for their faces i think only. The technology is part of the governments nationwide plan to boost security and surveillance cameras will be linked to foreign and other personal data making it easier for police to identify and monitor citizens than ever before for some the benefits are clear. Heard about facial recognition recently as new and seems very to use. But others are wary of how that information will be used. In our days the leaking of private information is common and the problem is very serious is something im afraid of. Facial recognition is used to name and shame minor offenders such as pedestrians who have no traffic lights but the government says its crucial for catching criminals and everyone with nothing to hide has nothing to fear so positive aspect is because people are now living under the spotlight they will be more careful with their behavior but of course there is a risk privacy is violated and information being abused. In should john human Rights Groups say muslims for the week a minority of being monitored and imprisoned using the vast digital Surveillance Network one of which several u. S. Technology companies have helped build. In junk joe people can so far choose but the choose facial recognition dates but that may be way out. Well joining us now from london is chadri hes the head of think tank future advocacy so talk us through how it is being used right now because of course the big elephant in the room is chinas Surveillance System and its draconian use against some ethnic minority. So what were saying is the increases of facial Recognition Systems in china also across the world and these systems basically are the out of a decade of selfies and social media we live in an increasingly Data Driven Society and what weve seen every recently is individual spatial data being collected and deployed for Surveillance Systems or so i sense. In china as perhaps. At the more extreme and of those deployment are big so what about then more democratic societies like the u. K. India and the us i mean theyre rolling out systems under the guise of fighting crime but the evidence to date from the u. K. Hasnt been a resoundingly success of that many u. K. And lots of respects as a world leader and how to run a surveillance state its important to remember the context which the u. K. Finds itself in london is the 2nd most surveilled city in the world with 420000 cities t. V. Cameras for example which is just behind beijing which is on a 1000 more and this far ahead of washington which any has 30000. 00 c. C. T. V. Cameras and the way its being used in london is as you said for surveillance passes each individual now in london for example will be subjected to facial recognition cameras which essentially scans the facial dates on individuals faces in a way thats very different actually see how c. C. T. V. Is and i guess the main difference between the u. K. And perhaps china is that there are theories some checks and balances in the areas and trying to it being used for almost everything you can get a made about sim card without having the subject of a recognition china and we know that the us has cautioned against using chinese made camera systems whats the state of play here rick. The u. S. Actually this theres a lot more question back i think against facial Recognition Systems especially in california where most that most of these Tech Companies are based there are themselves imposing bans on facial Recognition Systems even though thats where the developers are so they do seem to be a bit further ahead in terms of pushing back against this kind of technology whereas in the u. K. China india is another example indias is rolling out facial Recognition Systems in particular for elections so if you want to go and vote at a polling station there are trialing facial recognition cameras a number of polling stations there in india also actually within the wider context of the current virus scanner youre seeing facial Recognition Systems being deployed in different parts of the world and it is worth pointing out that despite all the controversy surrounding all this it hasnt stopped private equity and funds from buying into Chinese Companies that are streets ahead facial Recognition Technology eric yes but potentially a huge market in the future if you think about it because this is this would be of interest to every Security Service across the world every police force across the world will potentially be interested in facial Recognition Technology for surveillance so those Companies Like the head of it now absentia going to be in a leading position in the future and you are seeing companies in china perhaps. Leaping ahead in this space and just a final thought to you how close are the big chinese Tech Companies to the actual chinese stated so because we know that some technology is being used as a tool for social control in china. Theres a lot over that the reason why china is so powerful when it comes to technology is because they have so much state backing for a lot of new developments whereas in the us dependent on Silicon Valley you depend on calling together resources across Member States china has a lot of state investment in state support for Technology Startups example i gave earlier about about sim cards this is a mandated system in china theres also leaping ahead so. As a recent report there are cameras in china which can identify individuals even if theyre wearing a medical facemask. There is a really almost quite big. Difference between our part of china is the world. Thank you very much indeed for talking to counting the cost now for the 1st time in its history lebanon says it will default on its 90000000000 dollar debt mountain the Prime Minister sunday oben a televised address said how come we pay creditors and there are people in the streets who do not have the money to buy a loaf of bread so in a huddle in beirut has more businesses are closing unemployment is rising inflation is soaring and the local currency depreciated by at least 50 percent and now for the 1st time in its history lebannon is defaulting on paying its debt the countrys facing its worst economic crisis in decades. Bring in every day of the program to take a life of demonstrating listen to the u. K. Prime minister Boris Johnson speaking on coronavirus just taken in cobra for the whole of the of the u. K. As we said last week our objective is to delay and flatten the peak of the epidemic by bringing forward the right measures at the right time so that we minimize suffering and save life and everything we do is based scrupulously on the best scientific advice last week we asked everyone to stay at home if you had one of 2 key symptoms a High Temperature or a new and continuous cough today we need to go further because according to sage the Scientific Advisory committee on emergencies it looks as though were now approaching the fast growth part of the upward curve and without drastic action cases could double every 5 or 6 days so 1st we need to ask you to ensure that if you or anyone in your household has one of those 2 symptoms then you should stay at home for 14 days that means that if possible you should not go out even to buy food or essentials other than for exercise and in that case at a safe distance from others if necessary you should ask for help from others for your daily necessities and if that is not possible then you should do what you can to limit your social contact when you leave the house to get supplies. And even if you dont have symptoms and if no one in your household has symptoms there is more that we need you to do now and so 2nd now is the time for everyone to stop nonessential contact with others and to stop unnecessary travel we need people to start working from home where they possibly can and you should still avoid pubs clubs theaters and other such social venues goes that saying repeat the message we should all only use the n. H. S. When we really need to and please go on line rather than ringing n. H. S. 111 now this advice about avoiding all unnecessary social contact is particularly important for people over 70 for pregnant women and for those d with Health Conditions with some Health Conditions and if you ask why are we doing this now why now why not earlier or or later why bring in this very draconian measure the answer is that we are asking people to do something that is difficult and destructive of their lives and the right moment as weve always said is to do it when it is most effective when we think it can make the biggest difference to slowing the spread of the disease reducing the number of victims reducing the number of fatalities and as we take these steps we should be focusing on the most vulnerable so ferde. In a few days time by this coming weekend it will be necessary to go further and to ensure that those with the most serious Health Conditions are largely shielded from contact from social contact for around 12 weeks and again that the reason for doing this in the next few days rather than earlier or later is that this is going to be very disruptive for people who have such conditions difficult for them but i believe its no necessary and we want to ensure that this period of shielding this period of maximum protection coincides with the peak of the disease and its now clear that the peak of the epidemic is coming fast in some parts of the country than in others and it looks as though london is now a few weeks ahead so to relieve the pressure on the London Health system and to slow the spread in london its important that londoners now pay special attention to what were saying about avoiding non essential contact and to take particularly seriously the advice about working from home and avoiding confined spaces such as pubs and restaurants. Lastly it remains true as we said in the last few weeks that risks of transmission of the disease at Mass Gatherings such as sporting events are relatively low but obviously logic it was as we advise against unnecessary social contact of all kinds its right that we should extend that advice to Mass Gatherings as well and so weve also got to ensure that we have the critical workers we need that might otherwise be deployed at those gatherings to deal with this emergency so so from tomorrow we will no longer be supporting Mass Gatherings with emergency workers in the way that we normally do so Mass Gatherings were now moving in phatic lee away from and i know that many people including 1000000 millions of fit and active people over 70 may feel listening to what ive just said that there is something excessive about these measures but i have to say i believe they are overwhelmingly worth it to slow the spread of the disease to reduce the peak. The to save lives minimize suffering and to give our n. H. S. The chance to cope over the last few days ive been comparing notes and talking to leaders around the world and i can tell you that the the u. K. Is now leading a growing Global Campaign amongst all our friends and allies who are in the g 7 the g 20. The un the i. M. F. All those bodies in which we play a significant role were leading a campaign to fight back against this disease to keep the economy growing to make sure that humanity has access to the drugs and the treatment that we all need and the u. K. Is also at the front of the effort to back business to back our economy to make sure that we get through it i know that we are today asking a lot of everybody it is far more now than just washing your hands though they clearly washing your hands remain this important but i can tell you that across this country people and businesses in my experience are responding with Amazing Energy and creativity to the challenge that we face and i want to thank everybody for the part that you are playing and that youre going to play. Our chief scientific advisor will now have a date us on where we are over the patrick so we look along the same age as measures that can save lives and protect people the objectives as i laid out last time are to really suppress the curb in order to keep it below n. H. S. Capacity so that the n. H. S. Can cope and to shield the vulnerable and those most likely to get severe disease so that we protect them across this period. Most people its worth reminding us have a mild disease but some do not this is a very fast moving situation the latest numbers that we reviewed it say suggests that we are entering a fast growth period or on the cusp of doing so and london is ahead of other parts of the country we at the outset laid out a plan and advised that we would implement it the measures at the right stage and in the right combination the right combination to ensure that we get the biggest impact unfortunately that time is now for many of these measures what were doing is implementing them actually at the stage of the epidemic which is a little bit earlier than has been done in some other countries given where we are in terms of the epidemic now the measures have 2 objectives one is to delay the transmission of this virus across the community and the 2nd is to keep people safe the measures as the Prime Ministers outlined include whole household isolation so if one person gets the symptoms of new persistent cough or fever the whole household stays isolated for 14 days the reason its 14 days is the 7 days for the person whos got the infection