Iran has received the least possible assistance and cooperation in the global fight against narcotics while facing the most oppressive U.S. sanctions and unilateral coercive measures in supplying equipment and forces for this global fight, he lamented.

He went on to note that the issue of counternarcotic is no exception to the consequences of COVID-19 disease, and all current programs and activities in this area have been affected by the current situation.

Last year (March 2020 – March 2021), amid the pandemic, Iran has participated in more than 20 regional and international events online, in cooperation with the UNODC office in Tehran, he highlighted, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

The counter-narcotics agencies and police forces succeeded in detecting about 1,150 tons of various types of narcotics by strengthening the mechanisms for monitoring and exchanging information between the responsible organizations.

This volume of discoveries is a new and unprecedented record in the fight against drugs, which shows a growth of about 41 percent compared to 2019, he noted, adding, some 90 percent of the substances found were opium, 26 percent heroin, and 48 percent morphine.

This success has been achieved with the martyrdom of 10 law enforcement and counter-narcotics forces in the global front against drug transit, he further stated.

Iran’s anti-narcotics measures

Iran seized some 1,000 tons of narcotics in the Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended March 20, 2020), putting the country in first place in the world, Momeni said in July 2020.

After the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), 3,800 were martyred, 12,000 were wounded and disabled in the fight against drug trafficking, Momeni announced.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has praised Iran’s efforts to fight against narcotics trafficking on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The organization also officially announced that the world’s first place in the discovery of opium, heroin, and morphine belongs to Iran.

According to UNODC, Iran remains one of the major transit routes for drug trafficking from Afghanistan to European countries and has had a leading role at the global level in the drug-control campaigns.

UNODC World Drug Report 2020 estimates that in 2018, 91 percent of world opium, 48 percent of the world morphine, and 26 percent of the world heroin were seized by Iran.

Iran’s drug control efforts led to the seizure of 266 tons of different types of drugs during the period of April-June 2020, a 20 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019.

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He said that if we fail to observe the restrictions, the statistics about those who may contract the diseases will rise up.

The president expressed concern about the upcoming Nowruz holidays cautioning Iranians about possible family gatherings.

He asked the state TV to advise people to use face masks and avoid shaking hands and kissing if they go to the houses of relatives during the Nowruz holidays.

President warned about gatherings and negligence of the health protocols. He said Iran’s activities could function as a “roadmap for posterity, a source for the university courses, and a model to fight contagious diseases” that may break out in the future.

The president further called on people to keep observing the health protocols during the new Iranian year’s holidays, reminding them that the conditions have not reached a stable and reliable state yet.

The coronavirus statistics show that the overall situation in Iran, except in one or two provinces, is satisfactory, the president added, warning though that the fourth wave of a pandemic may erupt in case of laxity in carrying out the health regulations.

Iran on Friday registered the lowest number of daily deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic since late May 2020.

More than 1,477,580 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran.

Three homegrown vaccines have undergone clinical trials in Iran, and several consignments of vaccine have been imported from Russia, China, and India.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, all the additional liquidity ended up going into the market, Bristow said during the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) ‘Profits with a purpose’ conversation with BlackRock’s active equity group managing director Evy Hambro that Glencore’s Aline Cote hosted.

“It is similar to post-2008, where the market wished everything would go back to normal but didn’t know the full damage yet. The liquidity that was provided between 2009-11 was caught in the banks. This time around, it arrived at the market,” Bristow said.

One particular asset Bristow pointed to was cryptocurrencies and their quick ascent this year. “Everyone is so desperate. They are not sure how things are going to work. They are buying things that have no real inherent value in the market. We saw this over-exuberance been 2009-10 and then a major crash,” Bristow said.

These developments benefitted gold and will support the precious metal once again, he added. “We saw a first spike in the gold price; there is another one coming,” Bristow said.

When asked about the silver squeeze trending on social media back in February, BlackRock’s Hambro said that with lots of liquidity and great communication tools, people are searching for a better return.

“It is not surprising. When a crowd gets behind a theme, it tends to have an impact. We saw it play out in silver,” he said.

Bristow also commented, stating that: “There is some logic for the commodity movement but not all commodities. When you look at the messaging, it is very confusing.”

The rest of the conversation was largely focused on mining and the environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

Hambro pointed out that capital flows are changing dramatically towards more ESG-compliant companies. “It is not just a function of liquidity, but it’s a fundamental shift in capital markets. This is about investing from a more evolved perspective into companies that are compliant through the ESG lens.”

Being a good steward of the environment is core to the mining companies, Bristow said, noting that there needs to be a standardized format and investors could have access to. “One of the critical issues is trying to get equivalency. To get one version of the truth that is trusted. That is a challenge to the industry. We need to embrace our critics and work with our institutions,” he said. “What we haven’t done a good job of is make it uniform.”

The ESG standardization is like the early days of safety culture and reporting of incidents, Hambro said. “There were lots of metrics that people were using. It took a while to become standardized. But now that it is, the industry has become much safer.”

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, Bristow said the asset’s quality is the number one thing he looks at, adding that any ESG shortcoming could be fixed with a good management team.

“For me, quality always overruled everything else, including jurisdiction,” he said. “If this market is genuine in its drive to lead responsible mining. Then people who disregard that should trade at a discount. Which will create opportunities for others who are committed to the new modern way of doing business.”

Hambro said an asset with historical liabilities could provide a fantastic investment opportunity, but it all depends on the new management team in charge of it.

“If we were able to find a company that has the fundamental base to it, but it is trading at a discount because of facts, events, or perception attached to ESG, that could be a fantastic investment opportunity. We’ll need to know what policies are being put in place and how the business will run better in the future,” he said.

Both Bristow and Hambro added that the pandemic had accelerated the demise of businesses that were already in decline.

“The pandemic fast-forwarded the things already in place. For example, the demise of the mall in terms of retail. That has been happening already. Industries and sectors that were already declining, declined faster and those growing, grew faster. Shift to online retailers accelerated,” Hambro pointed out.

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He believes that cultural diplomacy is important in developing countries since it paved the way for creating a better understanding of other opinions.

Elaborating on cultural activities of the Italian Embassy in Iran amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he said: The pandemic didn’t stop our programs. We tried to adapt to the new situation and make sure that our programs could continue because they are such an important and defining part of our activity as Italian Embassy in Iran. We have a great connection with Iranians and our ties with Iran have historical depth.”

“We felt it was our responsibility and duty to continue our cultural cooperation in all areas. When Covid-19 first arrived, it was very difficult for everyone. But we adapted our format of operation. For example, in our gatherings, people are always socially distanced. Hence, we produced videos and documentaries and started other projects that can be viewed and delivered online,” he added.

“Our cinema week (Spotlight on Italian Cinema) after being inaugurated in presence was later held online. We also continued the production of two of our documentary series on architecture and theater respectively (“Domus Eyes on Iran” and “8 1/2 Theatre Clips. How Covid-19 Pandemic Has Changed our Life’s”). They are all based on the above-mentioned concept, that is producing videos everybody can enjoy watching, and by so doing feel the deep connection existing between the two countries,” he noted.

Regarding the embassy’s initiatives for the next Iranian year, he said: “We are already working on a number of new initiatives. Some of them are similar in format and concept to the ones I mentioned but cover different sectors. One of them, which is extremely important in my view, is in the area of figurative arts and is intended to showcase the history of cultural and artistic relations between Italy and Iran through the life and work of prominent Italian and Iranian artists. We are working also on a program featuring Italy’s contribution to Iran’s industrial development. A number of additional initiatives we are currently planning include cinema, music, literature, and archeology.”

“We will hopefully resume our project on urban art (“Urban Art Unites”) which was put on hold because of the pandemic since it was difficult to have artists from both countries work together in such an environment,” Perrone said.

“We are also participating in the Fajr Music Festival (Feb 16th to 21st) which is going to be inaugurated in the next few days. Two Italian prominent musicians are coming to Iran and will hold a musical exhibition at Vahdat Hall as well as perform an exclusive concert in the Italian Residence,” he stated.

Commenting on the reduction of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) cultural activities in Iran, an Italian diplomat said: “The pandemic has certainly had an impact, but many programs have switched to online platforms. We participated in the European film festival in November last year, which was entirely held online. We are now discussing ways to hold musical and other joint cultural activities this year, which for the time being have to be planned online.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to developments in the world after the US presidential election, saying: “I hope so. I hope that finally, a more favorable and conducive time comes not just for Iran and its people, who most definitely would deserve that, but also for all countries like my own,  who have a historic friendship with Iran and want to pursue ever stronger relations.”

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A devastating global pandemic and a reckoning with Wall Street appear to have broken the resolve of the shale wildcatters who turned the U.S. into the world’s biggest oil producer. Years of breakneck growth, at the expense of crude kingpins in the Middle East and Russia, have come to an end. If there was ever any doubt, it’s now abundantly clear who has the upper hand in the global oil market.

“In the future, certainly we believe OPEC will be the swing producer — really, totally in control of oil prices,” Bill Thomas, chief executive officer of EOG Resources Inc., the biggest independent shale producer by market value, said earlier this month. “We don’t want to put OPEC in a situation where they feel threatened like we’re taking market share while they’re propping up oil prices.”

The shale industry’s prudence, also echoed by the CEOs of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Occidental Petroleum Corp., means that production will probably flatten after a steep plunge this year. U.S. oil output will end 2021 close to 11 million barrels a day, about the same as it is now, according to forecasters IHS Markit, Rystad Energy, Enverus, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“I see no more growth until 2022, 2023, and it will be very, very light regarding the U.S. shale industry ever-growing again,”  Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield, who’ll run the fourth-largest shale operation in the country after his company completes the takeover of Parsley Energy Inc., said in an interview.

That will surely come as a relief to OPEC and its allies.

At the start of 2020, the group’s efforts to control prices were facing increasing difficulties. The breakthroughs in horizontal drilling and fracking that ushered in the shale revolution made it look as though U.S. production growth might never end. Output surpassed 13 million barrels a day for the first time in February.

Then Covid-19 hit, people around the world stopped driving and flying, and the oil market crashed. President Donald Trump brokered a historic deal with OPEC in April to remove almost a 10th of global production from the market. He said the U.S. contribution would come in the form of market-driven cuts.

That pledge was delivered faster than most predicted, and it made a huge difference. Investors who were already tiring of the shale industry’s cash-burning spree retreated from the sector, and several producers went bankrupt. Before the summer was over, U.S. output had collapsed by 3.4 million barrels a day, almost the same as removing the United Arab Emirates at peak production.

The output from shale wells typically declines in a matter of months, so new ones need to be drilled and fracked just to maintain production at current levels.  A recent uptick in drilling and fracking doesn’t seem to be enough to ensure production growth.

Since hitting bottom in the summer, the number of rigs searching for crude in shale fields has increased by 69 to 241 this week, according to data from Baker Hughes Co.  That’s still down from 683 in March.

Similarly, the number of fracking crews in the once vibrant Permian Basin straddling Texas and New Mexico has increased to 63, an improvement from a meager 20 in June, data from Primary Vision Inc. show. But that’s less than half the 146 teams that were pumping mixtures of water, chemicals, and sand into wells in January to release oil from shale rock in the area.

It’s as though the U.S. suddenly went from being a thorn in OPEC’s side to being an unofficial member of the cartel’s alliance with Russia and other producing nations. Since June, benchmark U.S. oil prices have been remarkably stable, hovering around $40 a barrel, and that’s how OPEC likes it.

Now, when the cartel meets in a virtual gathering on Nov. 30, and the broader OPEC+ alliance on Dec. 1, they’ll probably be more focused on the pandemic’s impact on fuel consumption. Most of the crude the group removed from the market has already been successfully brought back without any turmoil.

While shale’s retreat has made OPEC’s life easier, for the U.S. oil industry it’s been brutal. There have been 43 bankruptcies of exploration and production companies this year through October, according to a report from law firm Haynes & Boone.

Shale may be down but it’s certainly not out, though. The U.S. is still an oil superpower and will remain so for years to come. And there’s always the possibility that higher prices will get explorers drilling and fracking relentlessly like before.

A sustained price rise to $50 a barrel will “trigger growth again,” according to Bernadette Johnson, vice president for strategy and analytics at Enverus. At $60 a barrel, U.S. shale will come back strongly, she said.

The oil market received a boost this week as AstraZeneca Plc became the third drug company to show promising results from a trial of its coronavirus vaccine. That helped push prices in New York above $45 a barrel for the first time since March. If other pieces of bullish news take prices to levels that would encourage shale growth, even if temporarily, producers could seize the opportunity to lock in prices with hedging contracts. That’s a risk OPEC+ will have to consider.

Whether investors will be willing to bankroll shale anew is another question. Before Covid-19, the industry was already buckling under high debts and shareholder discontent. Shale producers burned through about $342 billion of cash since 2010, Deloitte LLP said in June.

Another unknown is what titans Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. will choose to do next year. Both slashed capital budgets by around a third this year, with the biggest cuts coming from U.S. shale.

“Crucially, OPEC+ does not have to battle for market share just yet,’’ Natasha Kaneva, a commodities analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said. “After six months of minimal capital spending, U.S. shale production will remain constrained.”

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Profits at Chinese industrial firms surged 28.2% year-on-year in October to 642.91 billion yuan ($97.79 billion), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Friday, after rising 10.1% in September versus the previous year.

That was the biggest monthly profit growth since Jan-Feb 2017. The NBS combines the results for January and February to exclude distortions caused by the week-long Lunar New Year.

Zhu Hong, a senior statistician at the NBS, said the sharp jump was helped by rising investment income. It also came from a low base in October 2019, Zhu said.

China’s industrial sector has seen an impressive recovery from the coronavirus fallout, helped by resilient demand for the country’s exports. Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday he expects Chinese economic activity to return to a reasonable range next year.

For the January-October period, industrial firms’ profits rose 0.7% on an annual basis, after falling 2.4% in the first nine months of 2020 compared with the same period last year.

That growth was driven by the equipment manufacturing and the electronic sectors, while the auto manufacturing sector also saw a steady recovery in profits, Zhu said in a statement.

Liabilities at industrial firms rose 6.8% on-year at end-October, versus a 6.6% growth as of end-September.

Earnings at China’s state-owned industrial firms were down 7.5% on an annual basis for the first ten months, compared with a 14.3% on-year decline in the January-September period, the statistics bureau data showed.

Private sector profits grew 1.1% on-year in the January-October period, compared with a 0.5% decline in the first nine months.

The industrial profit data covers large firms with annual revenue of over 20 million yuan from their main operations.

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The pandemic is having a mixed effect on drug production in different regions and on smuggling by air, land, and sea, but the overall trend in countries where drugs are consumed appears to be relatively uniform, the UNODC said in the report on COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

“Many countries across all regions have reported an overall shortage of numerous types of drugs at the retail level, as well as increases in prices, reductions in purity and that drug users have consequently been switching substance (for example, from heroin to synthetic opioids) and/or increasingly accessing drug treatment,” the report said.

While opioids like heroin are almost entirely transported by land, where increased checks may be disrupting deliveries, cocaine is mainly shipped by sea. A recent rise in heroin seizures in the Indian Ocean might indicate an increase in heroin shipments to Europe by sea, the UNODC said, Reuters reported.

The current lack of flights will probably have a “particularly drastic” effect on smuggling of synthetic drugs including methamphetamine to countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Australia, it added.

In Afghanistan, the world’s biggest producer of heroin, the opium harvest between March and June might be disrupted if workers are unable or unwilling to travel, the UNODC said, though it provided little evidence to support that.

“A shortage of poppy lancers has already been observed in the western and southern provinces of the country, mainly due to the closure of a border crossing with Pakistan,” it said.

“However, women in poppy-growing households appear to be increasingly engaged in the poppy lancing process, as do people who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis.”

In the Andean countries where the coca plants from which cocaine is made grow, the picture was varied.

“Cocaine production appears to be being impeded, as producers, especially in eastern Colombia, are suffering from a shortage of gasoline, which was previously smuggled from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and is essential in cocaine production,” it said, without stating a connection to COVID-19.

In Bolivia, recent challenges related to the spread of COVID-19, combined with political turbulence in late 2019, appear to be limiting the ability of state authorities to control coca bush cultivation, the UNODC said.

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Shanghai students in their final year of middle and high school returned to classrooms, while only high-school seniors in Beijing were allowed back on campus to prepare for the all-important “gaokao” university entrance exam.

China has largely curbed the spread of the deadly disease but is still on high alert with growing fears of imported cases and the second wave of domestic infections in the northeast.

Teenager Meng Xianghao said he was taking extra precautions on his first day back at Beijing’s Chenjinglun High School.

“I brought masks, garbage bags, and disinfectant,” Meng, who had just taken the subway for the first time in months, told AFP as children in masks and uniform tracksuits filed past police and officials to enter the school.

“I’m glad, it’s been too long since I’ve seen my classmates,” said 18-year-old student Hang Huan. “I’ve missed them a lot.”

A tent set up at the entrance was staffed by a person in a white hazmat suit, while a man wearing a container of disinfectant on his back sprayed the ground by the school gates.

Across the country, schools that have been closed or online-only since January began gradually reopening last month, while virus epicenter Wuhan is set to reopen its high schools on May 6.

Students in the capital will have their temperatures measured at school gates and must show a “green” health code on a special app that calculates a person’s infection risk, according to China’s Ministry of Education.

The ministry said some schools in Beijing had rehearsed the reopening with mock “students” in advance.

Footage from the Communist Party-run Beijing Daily showed some of the city’s 49,000 high-school seniors in classrooms Monday, wearing masks at desks which were spaced evenly apart as teachers welcomed them back with speeches.

A screen at the front showed a photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the teacher talked to the class about the significance of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.

In some cafeterias, students are assigned fixed seating spots spaced at least one meter apart.

Beijing still has strict measures in place to prevent a fresh outbreak, requiring visitors to the city to pass stringent testing requirements and complete lengthy quarantine periods.

In Shanghai, some schools have set aside special rooms for isolating students with “abnormal temperatures,” the ministry said.

Beijing student Xiao Shuhan told AFP he thought some form of social distancing would continue even as classmates and friends reunite.

“We’ll no longer put our arms around each other’s shoulders,” he said.

The long absence from classrooms has added to the pressure on final-year students preparing for the high-stakes “gaokao” exams, which is the only route to Chinese universities and notoriously difficult.

“At school, there’s a certain atmosphere for learning and at home, there is not,” said Wang Yuchen, a 17-year-old student.

China said in March that it would postpone the exams by one month to July this year.

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