CINXE.COM
Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en-US" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:fb="http://www.facebook.com/2008/fbml" xmlns:og="http://opengraphprotocol.org/schema/"><head profile="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/vocab" prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns# fb: http://ogp.me/ns/fb# article: http://ogp.me/ns/article#"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1"><meta http-equiv="x-dns-prefetch-control" content="on" /><link rel="preconnect" href="https://g.ibtimes.net" /><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://g.ibtimes.net" /><link rel="preload" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-Regular.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin><link rel="preconnect" href="https://d.ibtimes.net" /><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://d.ibtimes.net" /> <script>var CEN_DOMAIN='ibtimes.com';var current_timestamp=new Date().getTime(),mobile_device=(/android|webos|phone|ipad|ipod|blackberry|mobi|opera mini/i.test(navigator.userAgent)),bot_engine=/bot|http|python|grabber|crawl|search|fetch|feed|proxy|spider|curl|wget|okhttp|slurp|inspector|synthetic|mediapartners|yahooysmcm|aolbuild|bingpreview|facebookext|facebookcat|accoona|htdig|ia_archive|larbin|-perl|stackrambler|webcapture|downloader|WebCopier|xenu|validator|Snoopy/i.test(navigator.userAgent),dfpSlots={},dfpEx=[],fqtag={cmd:[],scmd:[],fcmd:[],fscmd:[]},oa=oa||{},doFir=doFir||[],doReady=doReady||[],dataLayer=dataLayer||[],brW=window.innerWidth||document.documentElement.clientWidth||document.body.clientWidth||[],brH=window.innerHeight||document.documentElement.clientHeight||document.body.clientHeight||[],no_lc=0,LJ=function(d,e,f){var a,c;a=document.createElement("script");a.type="text/javascript";a.async=!0;a.src=d;"undefined"!=typeof e&&(a.onload=e);"undefined"!=typeof f&&(a.onerror=f);c=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];c.parentNode.insertBefore(a,c.nextSibling)},LC=function(d,e,f){var a,c;a=document.createElement("link");a.rel="stylesheet";a.href=d;"undefined"!=typeof e&&(a.onload=e);"undefined"!=typeof f&&(a.onerror=f);c=document.getElementsByTagName("link")[no_lc++];c.parentNode.insertBefore(a,c.nextSibling)},setCookieHours=function(name,value,h,domain){var date,expires=host='';if(h){date=new Date();date.setTime(date.getTime()+(h*60*60*1000));expires="; expires="+date.toUTCString();if(domain)host=";domain="+domain};document.cookie=name+"="+value+expires+host+"; path=/"},setCookie=function(name,value,days,domain){if(days)days*=24;setCookieHours(name,value,days,domain)},deleteCookie=function(name){setCookie(name,"",-1)},getCookie=function(c){c+="=";for(var d=document.cookie.split(";"),b=0;b<d.length;b++){for(var a=d[b];" "==a.charAt(0);)a=a.substring(1,a.length);if(0==a.indexOf(c))return a.substring(c.length,a.length)}return null},getCookieString=function(t){return getCookie(t)||""},getUrlParameters=function(t){var n,r={},s=/=/.test(t);return(s?t:location.search.substring(1)).split("&").forEach(function(t){""!=t&&(r[(n=t.split("="))[0]]=n[1])}),!t||s?r:r[t]},loadJS=function(arr,c){LJ(arr[0],function(){if(arr.length>1){arr.shift();loadJS(arr,c)}else c()})},appendCSS=function(d){var o=document.createElement("style");o.innerHTML=typeof d=='object'?d.data:d;document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(o)},GCSS=function(u){var x=new XMLHttpRequest();x.open('GET',u);x.send(null);x.onreadystatechange=function(){if(x.readyState===4&&x.status===200)appendCSS(x.responseText);}},execFunc=function(o){if(typeof o=='object'){while(exe=o.shift())exe();o.push=function(f){f()}}},hb_debug=getCookie('ibt_debug')?1:0,ibt_log=function(){if(hb_debug){var a=[].slice.call(arguments);a.unshift('|IBT|');console.log.apply(console,a)}},ibt_error=function(){if(hb_debug){var a=[].slice.call(arguments);a.unshift('|IBT|');console.error.apply(console,a)}},DOMAIN=document.domain;if(DOMAIN==location.host){var str='',a=DOMAIN.split('.');for(var i=1;i<a.length;i++){str+="."+a[i]};DOMAIN=str.substr(1)};JSON.split=function(c,d){var a=c.split(d||"|"),b={};for(i=0;i<a.length;i+=2)b[a[i]]=a[i+1];return b};oa.geo=JSON.split(getCookieString('X-UA-Info')||'country|OTHER|state||city||ip|');(function(){var u=navigator.userAgent,o=/Android/.test(u)?['Android',(u.match(/Android ([\d]+)/)||[,0])[1]]:/Nintendo/.test(u)?['Nintendo',(u.match(/(?:Nintendo ([\w]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/iPhone|iPod|iPad/.test(u)?['iOS',(u.match(/(?:iPhone|iPod|iPad).+OS ([\d]+)/i)||[,0])[1]]:/Maci/.test(u)?['Mac OS',(u.match(/Mac OS X ([\d]+)/)||[,0])[1]]:/Win/.test(u)?['Windows',(u.match(/Windows NT ([\d]+\.[\d]+)/)||[,3])[1]]:/CrOS/.test(u)?['Chrome OS',(u.match(/(?:hrome\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/Tizen/.test(u)?['Tizen',(u.match(/(?:Tizen ([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/PlayStation/.test(u)?['PlayStation',(u.match(/(?:PlayStation ([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/WebOS/.test(u)?['WebOS',(u.match(/(?:WEBOS([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/Fuchsia/.test(u)?['Fuchsia',1]:/Linux/.test(u)?['Linux',(u.match(/(?:Linux ([\w]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/OS\/2/.test(u)?['OS/2',(u.match(/(?:OS\/2;? ((?!OS)[\w]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/Unix|OpenBSD|FreeBSD|X11/.test(u)?['Unix',1]:/Apple\s?TV/.test(u)?['Apple tvOS',(u.match(/(?:OS ([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:bot_engine?['Bots',1]:['Unknown',0],b=bot_engine?['Bots',1]:/ndroid.+; wv/.test(u)?['Android Webview',1]:/(iPhone|iPod|iPad)(?!.+Safari)/i.test(u)?['iOS Webview',1]:/edg/i.test(u)?['Edge',(u.match(/(?:edg(?:e|a|ios)?\/)([\d]+)/i)||[,0])[1]]:/firefox|fxios/i.test(u)?['Firefox',(u.match(/(?:(?:fox|xios)\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/opr/i.test(u)?['Opera',(u.match(/(?:opr\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/opera/i.test(u)?['Opera',u.indexOf("ersion")!=-1?(u.match(/(?:sion\/([\d]+))/)||[,0])[1]:(u.match(/(?:era(?:\/|\s)([\d]+))/)||[,0])[1]]:/msie|trident/i.test(u)?['MSIE',(u.match(/(?:(?:ie|rv)(?:\:|\s)([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/samsungbrowser/i.test(u)?['Samsung Internet',(u.match(/(?:ser\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/silk/i.test(u)?['Amazon Silk',(u.match(/(?:silk\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/[\w\s]+browser\//i.test(u)?[u.match(/([\w]+browser)\/[\d]+/i)[1],(u.match(/(?:ser\/([\d]+))/)||[,0])[1]]:/palemoon/i.test(u)?['PaleMoon',(u.match(/(?:moon\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/puffin/i.test(u)?['Puffin',(u.match(/(?:ffin\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/safari/i.test(u)&&/version/i.test(u)&&!/chrome/i.test(u)?['Safari',(u.match(/(?:sion\/([\d]+))/)||[,0])[1]]:/chrome/i.test(u)?['Chrome',(u.match(/(?:ome\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/crios/i.test(u)?['Chrome',(u.match(/(?:crios\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/seamonkey/i.test(u)?['SeaMonkey',(u.match(/(?:Monkey\/([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:/PlayStation/i.test(u)?['PlayStation',(u.match(/(?:tation ([\d]+))/i)||[,0])[1]]:['Unknown',0];oa.os={name:o[0],version:o[1]};oa.browser={name:b[0],version:b[1]}})();window.addEventListener('message',function(e){if(e.data=='GetFQ'&&e.origin.indexOf(location.host.replace(/www1?\./,''))>-1){e.source.postMessage('NoPassFQ='+NoPassFQ,e.origin)}});var openLogin=function(u){if(typeof u=='object')u=u.url;jQuery("body").css("overflow","hidden");jQuery("#SIGNIN").remove();jQuery("<div />",{"id":"SIGNIN"}).html('<div class="nw-login"><span class="zephr-modal-close">×</span><div class="login-popup"><iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" id="Oframe" allowtransparency="true" src="'+u+'" style="min-height:350px;"></iframe></div></div>').appendTo("body");jQuery("#SIGNIN").on('click',function(e){closeLogin()})},closeLogin=function(){jQuery("#SIGNIN").remove();jQuery("body").css("overflow","inherit")},adjustLoginHeight=function(h){jQuery("#Oframe").height(h)},login_success=function(sess){jQuery(".sign-up").html("LOGOUT").on('click',function(){location.href="https://signin."+DOMAIN+"/oauth/logout"});closeLogin()},LANG='en',commentHeight=function(data){jQuery("#block-ibt-comment iframe").height(data.height)};var login_success=function(sess){closeLogin();jQuery("article").removeClass("wall");jQuery(".login-btn .sign-up2").hide();jQuery(".login-btn .myaccount").show();jQuery(".only-before-login").hide();if(typeof sess=='object'){sess=sess.sess};jQuery("<div />",{"id":"TEMPE"}).html('<iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" allowtransparency="true" src="https://comment.'+DOMAIN+'/comment/oauth?sess='+sess+'" style="position:absolute;visibility:hidden;width:1px;height:1px;"></iframe>').appendTo("body");jQuery("#TEMPE iframe").on("load",function(){jQuery("#TEMPE").remove();if(jQuery("iframe.comment").length){jQuery("iframe.comment").get(0).contentWindow.postMessage({'action':'success',},'*')}});afterLogin()};function afterLogin(){};doFir.push(function(){jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(".sign-up2").on('click',function(e){e.preventDefault();e.stopPropagation();openLogin('https://signin.'+DOMAIN.replace(/ibtimes\.[\.a-z]+/,'ibtimes.com')+'/oauth?l='+jQuery(this).attr('data-lang'))})});if(mobile_device){jQuery(window).on('scroll.fonts',function(){jQuery(this).off('scroll.fonts');GCSS('https://g.ibtimes.net/www/css/fonts_inline_2.css')})}else{GCSS('https://g.ibtimes.net/www/css/fonts_inline_2.css')}})</script> <title>Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls</title><meta name="news_keywords" content="Opinion,South Africa,Biden,IS,US,Africa command" /><meta name="description" content="Biden, facing dwarfing popularity, found Africa good to champion the cause of War on Terror against the Islamic State (IS) ahead of elections in the country which will determine who controls the" /><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.ibtimes.net/south-africa-biden-is-52444" /><meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1" /><meta property="fb:app_id" content="263851690471857" /><meta property="fb:pages" content="128026713884051"/><meta property="og:type" content="article"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="International Business Times"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://www.ibtimes.net/south-africa-biden-is-52444"/><meta property="og:title" content="Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls" /><meta property="og:description" content="Biden, facing dwarfing popularity, found Africa good to champion the cause of War on Terror against the Islamic State (IS) ahead of elections in the country which will determine who controls the Congress." /><meta property="og:image" content="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg"/><meta property="og:image:alt" content="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa as they arrive for a working session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal" /><meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" /><meta property="og:image:height" content="800" /><meta property="article:publisher" content="https://www.facebook.com/IBTimes"/><meta property="article:section" content="Opinion" /><meta property="article:tag" content="South africa" /><meta property="article:tag" content="Biden" /><meta property="article:tag" content="Is" /><meta property="article:tag" content="Us" /><meta property="article:tag" content="Africa command" /><meta property="article:published_time" content="2022-11-09T03:33:35-05:00"/><meta property="article:modified_time" content="2022-11-09T03:33:35-05:00"/><meta name="twitter:site" content="@ibtimes"/><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"/><meta name="twitter:title" content="Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls"><meta name="twitter:url" content="https://www.ibtimes.net/south-africa-biden-is-52444"/><meta name="twitter:description" content="Biden, facing dwarfing popularity, found Africa good to champion the cause of War on Terror against the Islamic State (IS) ahead of elections in the country which will determine who controls the Congress."/><meta name="twitter:image" content="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg"/><link rel="preload" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff2/Newsreader16pt-SemiBold.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin><link rel="preload" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Genericons.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin><link rel="preload" href="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=736&f=dd71a9cb19998f30b175322ac249ee10" as="image" media="(min-width: 1100px)"><link rel="preload" href="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=1100&f=bb458f746774e67ae3f7532c7075920d" as="image" media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1099px)"><link rel="preload" href="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=736&f=dd71a9cb19998f30b175322ac249ee10" as="image" media="(min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 767px)"><link rel="preload" href="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=480&f=d552cda9f4827141fb94c8c4617f2cf6" as="image" media="(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 479px)"><style data-id="main">@font-face{font-family:'Josefin Sans';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/JosefinSans/JosefinSans-Bold.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/JosefinSans/JosefinSans-Bold.woff) format('woff');font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'Newsreader';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff2/Newsreader16pt-BoldItalic.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff/Newsreader16pt-BoldItalic.woff) format('woff');font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'Newsreader';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff2/Newsreader16pt-Italic.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff/Newsreader16pt-Italic.woff) format('woff');font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'Newsreader';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff2/Newsreader16pt-Regular.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff/Newsreader16pt-Regular.woff) format('woff');font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'Newsreader';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff2/Newsreader16pt-SemiBold.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff/Newsreader16pt-SemiBold.woff) format('woff');font-weight:600;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'Newsreader';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff2/Newsreader16pt-SemiBoldItalic.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Newsreader/woff/Newsreader16pt-SemiBoldItalic.woff) format('woff');font-weight:600;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'DM Sans';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-Regular.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-Regular.woff) format('woff');font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'DM Sans';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-Bold.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-Bold.woff) format('woff');font-weight:bold;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'DM Sans';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-BoldItalic.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-BoldItalic.woff) format('woff');font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'DM Sans';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-Italic.woff2) format('woff2'),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/DMSans/DMSans-Italic.woff) format('woff');font-weight:normal;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}@font-face{font-family:'Genericons';src:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Genericons.woff) format("woff2"),url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/fonts/Genericons.woff) format("woff");font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}.container-fluid,.container{max-width:1200px;margin-right:auto;margin-left:auto}.container-fluid{padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px}.row{margin-left:-15px;margin-right:-15px}.col-xs-1,.col-sm-1,.col-md-1,.col-lg-1,.col-xs-2,.col-sm-2,.col-md-2,.col-lg-2,.col-xs-3,.col-sm-3,.col-md-3,.col-lg-3,.col-xs-4,.col-sm-4,.col-md-4,.col-lg-4,.col-xs-5,.col-sm-5,.col-md-5,.col-lg-5,.col-xs-6,.col-sm-6,.col-md-6,.col-lg-6,.col-xs-7,.col-sm-7,.col-md-7,.col-lg-7,.col-xs-8,.col-sm-8,.col-md-8,.col-lg-8,.col-xs-9,.col-sm-9,.col-md-9,.col-lg-9,.col-xs-10,.col-sm-10,.col-md-10,.col-lg-10,.col-xs-11,.col-sm-11,.col-md-11,.col-lg-11,.col-xs-12,.col-sm-12,.col-md-12,.col-lg-12{position:relative;min-height:1px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px}.col-xs-1,.col-xs-2,.col-xs-3,.col-xs-4,.col-xs-5,.col-xs-6,.col-xs-7,.col-xs-8,.col-xs-9,.col-xs-10,.col-xs-11,.col-xs-12{float:left}.col-xs-12{width:100%}.col-xs-11{width:91.66666667%}.col-xs-10{width:83.33333333%}.col-xs-9{width:75%}.col-xs-8{width:66.66666667%}.col-xs-7{width:58.33333333%}.col-xs-6{width:50%}.col-xs-5{width:41.66666667%}.col-xs-4{width:33.33333333%}.col-xs-3{width:25%}.col-xs-2{width:16.66666667%}.col-xs-1{width:8.33333333%}.col-xs-offset-12{margin-left:100%}.col-xs-offset-11{margin-left:91.66666667%}.col-xs-offset-10{margin-left:83.33333333%}.col-xs-offset-9{margin-left:75%}.col-xs-offset-8{margin-left:66.66666667%}.col-xs-offset-7{margin-left:58.33333333%}.col-xs-offset-6{margin-left:50%}.col-xs-offset-5{margin-left:41.66666667%}.col-xs-offset-4{margin-left:33.33333333%}.col-xs-offset-3{margin-left:25%}.col-xs-offset-2{margin-left:16.66666667%}.col-xs-offset-1{margin-left:8.33333333%}.col-xs-offset-0{margin-left:0}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.col-sm-1,.col-sm-2,.col-sm-3,.col-sm-4,.col-sm-5,.col-sm-6,.col-sm-7,.col-sm-8,.col-sm-9,.col-sm-10,.col-sm-11,.col-sm-12{float:left}.col-sm-12{width:100%}.col-sm-11{width:91.66666667%}.col-sm-10{width:83.33333333%}.col-sm-9{width:75%}.col-sm-8{width:66.66666667%}.col-sm-7{width:58.33333333%}.col-sm-6{width:50%}.col-sm-5{width:41.66666667%}.col-sm-4{width:33.33333333%}.col-sm-3{width:25%}.col-sm-2{width:16.66666667%}.col-sm-1{width:8.33333333%}.col-sm-offset-12{margin-left:100%}.col-sm-offset-11{margin-left:91.66666667%}.col-sm-offset-10{margin-left:83.33333333%}.col-sm-offset-9{margin-left:75%}.col-sm-offset-8{margin-left:66.66666667%}.col-sm-offset-7{margin-left:58.33333333%}.col-sm-offset-6{margin-left:50%}.col-sm-offset-5{margin-left:41.66666667%}.col-sm-offset-4{margin-left:33.33333333%}.col-sm-offset-3{margin-left:25%}.col-sm-offset-2{margin-left:16.66666667%}.col-sm-offset-1{margin-left:8.33333333%}.col-sm-offset-0{margin-left:0}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.col-md-1,.col-md-2,.col-md-3,.col-md-4,.col-md-5,.col-md-6,.col-md-7,.col-md-8,.col-md-9,.col-md-10,.col-md-11,.col-md-12{float:left}.col-md-12{width:100%}.col-md-11{width:91.66666667%}.col-md-10{width:83.33333333%}.col-md-9{width:75%}.col-md-8{width:66.66666667%}.col-md-7{width:58.33333333%}.col-md-6{width:50%}.col-md-5{width:41.66666667%}.col-md-4{width:33.33333333%}.col-md-3{width:25%}.col-md-2{width:16.66666667%}.col-md-1{width:8.33333333%}.col-md-offset-12{margin-left:100%}.col-md-offset-11{margin-left:91.66666667%}.col-md-offset-10{margin-left:83.33333333%}.col-md-offset-9{margin-left:75%}.col-md-offset-8{margin-left:66.66666667%}.col-md-offset-7{margin-left:58.33333333%}.col-md-offset-6{margin-left:50%}.col-md-offset-5{margin-left:41.66666667%}.col-md-offset-4{margin-left:33.33333333%}.col-md-offset-3{margin-left:25%}.col-md-offset-2{margin-left:16.66666667%}.col-md-offset-1{margin-left:8.33333333%}.col-md-offset-0{margin-left:0}}@media screen and (min-width:1200px){.col-lg-1,.col-lg-2,.col-lg-3,.col-lg-4,.col-lg-5,.col-lg-6,.col-lg-7,.col-lg-8,.col-lg-9,.col-lg-10,.col-lg-11,.col-lg-12{float:left}.col-lg-12{width:100%}.col-lg-11{width:91.66666667%}.col-lg-10{width:83.33333333%}.col-lg-9{width:75%}.col-lg-8{width:66.66666667%}.col-lg-7{width:58.33333333%}.col-lg-6{width:50%}.col-lg-5{width:41.66666667%}.col-lg-4{width:33.33333333%}.col-lg-3{width:25%}.col-lg-2{width:16.66666667%}.col-lg-1{width:8.33333333%}.col-lg-offset-12{margin-left:100%}.col-lg-offset-11{margin-left:91.66666667%}.col-lg-offset-10{margin-left:83.33333333%}.col-lg-offset-9{margin-left:75%}.col-lg-offset-8{margin-left:66.66666667%}.col-lg-offset-7{margin-left:58.33333333%}.col-lg-offset-6{margin-left:50%}.col-lg-offset-5{margin-left:41.66666667%}.col-lg-offset-4{margin-left:33.33333333%}.col-lg-offset-3{margin-left:25%}.col-lg-offset-2{margin-left:16.66666667%}.col-lg-offset-1{margin-left:8.33333333%}.col-lg-offset-0{margin-left:0}}@media screen and (min-width:1440px){.col-xl-1,.col-xl-2,.col-xl-3,.col-xl-4,.col-xl-5,.col-xl-6,.col-xl-7,.col-xl-8,.col-xl-9,.col-xl-10,.col-xl-11,.col-xl-12{float:left}.col-xl-12{width:100%}.col-xl-11{width:91.66666667%}.col-xl-10{width:83.33333333%}.col-xl-9{width:75%}.col-xl-8{width:66.66666667%}.col-xl-7{width:58.33333333%}.col-xl-6{width:50%}.col-xl-5{width:41.66666667%}.col-xl-4{width:33.33333333%}.col-xl-3{width:25%}.col-xl-2{width:16.66666667%}.col-xl-1{width:8.33333333%}.col-xl-offset-12{margin-left:100%}.col-xl-offset-11{margin-left:91.66666667%}.col-xl-offset-10{margin-left:83.33333333%}.col-xl-offset-9{margin-left:75%}.col-xl-offset-8{margin-left:66.66666667%}.col-xl-offset-7{margin-left:58.33333333%}.col-xl-offset-6{margin-left:50%}.col-xl-offset-5{margin-left:41.66666667%}.col-xl-offset-4{margin-left:33.33333333%}.col-xl-offset-3{margin-left:25%}.col-xl-offset-2{margin-left:16.66666667%}.col-xl-offset-1{margin-left:8.33333333%}.col-xl-offset-0{margin-left:0}}.fn,.flex-n{-webkit-flex:none;flex:none}.f1{-webkit-flex:1;flex:1}.flex-xs{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex}.flex-wrap{-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap}.flex-wrap.row:before{content:none}.fd-c{-webkit-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column}.order-1{-webkit-order:1;order:1}.order-2{-webkit-order:2;order:2}.order-3{-webkit-order:3;order:3}.ai-fe{-webkit-align-items:flex-end;align-items:flex-end}.ai-c{-webkit-align-items:center;align-items:center}.ai-s{-webkit-align-items:stretch;align-items:stretch}.as-fe{-webkit-align-self:flex-end;align-self:flex-end}.as-c{-webkit-align-self:center;align-self:center}.jc-c{-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center}.jc-sb{-webkit-justify-content:space-between;justify-content:space-between}.jc-sa{-webkit-justify-content:space-around;justify-content:space-around}.jc-fe{-webkit-justify-content:flex-end;justify-content:flex-end}.flex-sm-1,.flex-md-1,.flex-lg-1,.flex-sm-2,.flex-md-2,.flex-lg-2,.flex-sm-3,.flex-md-3,.flex-lg-3,.flex-sm-4,.flex-md-4,.flex-lg-4,.flex-sm-5,.flex-md-5,.flex-lg-5,.flex-sm-6,.flex-md-6,.flex-lg-6,.flex-sm-7,.flex-md-7,.flex-lg-7,.flex-sm-8,.flex-md-8,.flex-lg-8,.flex-sm-9,.flex-md-9,.flex-lg-9,.flex-sm-10,.flex-md-10,.flex-lg-10,.flex-sm-11,.flex-md-11,.flex-lg-11,.flex-xs-12,.flex-sm-12,.flex-md-12,.flex-lg-12{width:100%}.flex-xs-11{width:91.66666667%}.flex-xs-10{width:83.33333333%}.flex-xs-9{width:75%}.flex-xs-8{width:66.66666667%}.flex-xs-7{width:58.33333333%}.flex-xs-6{width:50%}.flex-xs-5{width:41.66666667%}.flex-xs-4{width:33.33333333%}.flex-xs-3{width:25%}.flex-xs-2{width:16.66666667%}.flex-xs-1{width:8.33333333%}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.flex-sm{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex}.flex-sm-12{width:100%}.flex-sm-11{width:91.66666667%}.flex-sm-10{width:83.33333333%}.flex-sm-9{width:75%}.flex-sm-8{width:66.66666667%}.flex-sm-7{width:58.33333333%}.flex-sm-6{width:50%}.flex-sm-5{width:41.66666667%}.flex-sm-4{width:33.33333333%}.flex-sm-3{width:25%}.flex-sm-2{width:16.66666667%}.flex-sm-1{width:8.33333333%}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.flex-md{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex}.flex-md-12{width:100%}.flex-md-11{width:91.66666667%}.flex-md-10{width:83.33333333%}.flex-md-9{width:75%}.flex-md-8{width:66.66666667%}.flex-md-7{width:58.33333333%}.flex-md-6{width:50%}.flex-md-5{width:41.66666667%}.flex-md-4{width:33.33333333%}.flex-md-3{width:25%}.flex-md-2{width:16.66666667%}.flex-md-1{width:8.33333333%}}@media screen and (min-width:1200px){.flex-lg{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex}.flex-lg-12{width:100%}.flex-lg-11{width:91.66666667%}.flex-lg-10{width:83.33333333%}.flex-lg-9{width:75%}.flex-lg-8{width:66.66666667%}.flex-lg-7{width:58.33333333%}.flex-lg-6{width:50%}.flex-lg-5{width:41.66666667%}.flex-lg-4{width:33.33333333%}.flex-lg-3{width:25%}.flex-lg-2{width:16.66666667%}.flex-lg-1{width:8.33333333%}}.visible-xl,.visible-xs,.visible-sm,.visible-md,.visible-lg{display:none !important}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.block-fusion-ads{margin:20px calc(50% - 50vw)}.visible-xs{display:block !important}.hidden-xs{display:none !important}}@media(min-width:768px) and (max-width:991px){.visible-sm{display:block !important}.hidden-sm{display:none !important}.fsm{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;width:100%}}@media(min-width:992px) and (max-width:1199px){.visible-md{display:block !important}.hidden-md{display:none !important}.fmd{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;width:100%}}@media(min-width:1200px) and (max-width:1439px){.visible-lg{display:block !important}.hidden-lg{display:none !important}.flg{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex}}@media screen and (min-width:1440px){.visible-xl{display:block !important}.hidden-xl{display:none !important}}.pull-right{float:right}.pull-left{float:left}.element-hidden{display:none}.element-invisible{position:absolute;clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);clip:rect(1px,1px,1px,1px);overflow:hidden;height:1px}.hidden{display:none;visibility:hidden}.hide{display:none}.show{display:block}.clearfix:before,.clearfix:after,.container:before,.container:after,.container-fluid:before,.container-fluid:after,.row:before,.row:after{content:" ";display:table}.clearfix:after,.container:after,.container-fluid:after,.row:after{clear:both}.affix{position:fixed}.absolute{position:absolute}*{-moz-box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;border:0 none;list-style:none outside none;margin:0;outline:0 none;padding:0;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing:grayscale}html,body,div,object,iframe,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,p,blockquote,ol,ul,li,form,legend,label,table,header,footer,nav,section,figure{margin:0;padding:0}div.image a,header,footer,nav,section,article,hgroup,figure{display:block}ul li.expanded,ul li.collapsed,ul li.leaf{list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.page-nav ul li.leaf{width:48%;display:inline}ul.primary{margin:0;padding:0;text-align:center}ul.primary li a{background-color:transparent}ul.primary li a:hover{background-color:transparent}ul.primary li.active a{background-color:transparent}li a.active{color:inherit}.ui-tabs{padding:0;position:inherit}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav{margin:0;padding:0}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav li{border:0;float:inherit;list-style:none outside none;margin:0;padding:0;position:inherit;top:0;white-space:nowrap}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav li a{float:inherit;text-decoration:none;padding:0}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav li.ui-tabs-selected{margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:0}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav li.ui-tabs-selected a,.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav li.ui-state-disabled a,.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav li.ui-state-processing a{cursor:pointer;color:inherit}.ui-state-default a,.ui-state-default a:link,.ui-state-default a:visited{color:inherit}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav li a,.ui-tabs.ui-tabs-collapsible .ui-tabs-nav li.ui-tabs-selected a{cursor:pointer;color:inherit}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-panel{background:none;display:block;border:0;padding:0}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-hide{display:none !important}.ui-state-default,.ui-widget-content .ui-state-default,.ui-widget-header .ui-state-default{background:none;color:inherit}.ui-corner-all{border-radius:0}.ui-widget-content{background:none;border:0;color:inherit}.ui-widget{font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav{margin:0;padding:0}.ui-widget-header{background:none;border:0;color:inherit;font-weight:inherit}.ui-corner-bottom{border-radius:0}body{font-family:sans-serif;min-width:320px;background-color:white}body::before{content:"";display:block;position:fixed;top:-1px;left:0;right:0;height:1px}body>img,body>iframe{display:none}#BF_WIDGET_1{height:0}a{text-decoration:none;outline:0}a:active,a:hover{text-decoration:none}iframe,object,img{max-width:100%}img{vertical-align:middle;height:auto}.image img{width:100%}form select,form .form-text,form .form-submit{-webkit-appearance:none;border-radius:0}form select::-ms-clear,form .form-text::-ms-clear,form .form-submit::-ms-clear{display:none;width:0;height:0}form select::-ms-reveal,form .form-text::-ms-reveal,form .form-submit::-ms-reveal{display:none;width:0;height:0}form .form-submit{cursor:pointer;text-align:center}::-webkit-input-placeholder{color:#666}:-moz-placeholder{color:#666}::-moz-placeholder{color:#666}:-ms-input-placeholder{color:#666}.form-text:focus::-webkit-input-placeholder,form .form-submit:focus::-webkit-input-placeholder{color:transparent}.form-text:focus:-moz-placeholder,form .form-submit:focus:-moz-placeholder{color:transparent}.form-text:focus::-moz-placeholder,form .form-submit:focus::-moz-placeholder{color:transparent}.form-text:focus:-ms-input-placeholder,form .form-submit:focus:-ms-input-placeholder{color:transparent}input[type="text"],input[type="submit"]{-webkit-border-radius:0;-webkit-appearance:none;-webkit-border-radius:0}picture.lazysize{display:block;background-color:#f0f0f0;width:100%}picture.lazysize img{width:100%;opacity:0;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-transition:opacity 500ms ease-in-out 100ms;-moz-transition:opacity 500ms ease-in-out 100ms;-o-transition:opacity 500ms ease-in-out 100ms;transition:opacity 500ms ease-in-out 100ms}picture.lazysize img.lazyloaded{opacity:1}.b-lazy-wrap{display:block;background-color:#f0f0f0;width:100%}span.b-lazy,img.b-lazy{width:100%;opacity:0;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-transition:opacity 500ms ease-in-out 100ms;-moz-transition:opacity 500ms ease-in-out 100ms;-o-transition:opacity 500ms ease-in-out 100ms;transition:opacity 500ms ease-in-out 100ms}span.b-lazy.b-loaded,img.b-lazy.b-loaded{opacity:1}.page-top.fixed{left:0;right:0}.dfp-tag-wrapper{background:#f5f5f5 url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/ad.gif) no-repeat center center;height:251px;overflow:hidden;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;font-family:sans-serif}.dfp-tag-wrapper iframe{margin:auto;max-width:inherit}#dfp-ad-top-wrapper{border-bottom:1px solid #ccc}#ad-right3-wrapper .dfp-tag-wrapper{height:600px}#ad-bottom-wrapper .dfp-tag-wrapper{height:90px}.page-sidebar .block{clear:left}.embed-responsive{position:relative;display:block;height:0;padding:0;overflow:hidden}.embed-responsive .embed-responsive-item,.embed-responsive iframe,.embed-responsive embed,.embed-responsive object,.embed-responsive video{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;height:100%;width:100%;border:0}.embed-responsive-16by9{padding-bottom:56.25%}.embed-responsive-4by3{padding-bottom:75%}.videocontent-wrapper{background-color:black}.videocontent{position:relative}.node-article .break-2,.node-article .break-3{clear:right}.node-article .videocontent iframe{margin-bottom:0}.source{margin:20px 0;font-size:13px;color:#999}.source a{text-decoration:underline;color:#444}.source a:hover{text-decoration:none;color:#444}.block-ibtmedia-facebook{margin-bottom:30px}.block-ibtmedia-facebook .fb_iframe_widget span,.block-ibtmedia-facebook .fb_iframe_widget iframe{min-width:100%;max-width:100%}.item-list .pager{margin:0}.item-list .pager li{margin:0;padding:0}.genericon{font-size:20px;vertical-align:top;text-align:center;display:block;font-family:"Genericons";cursor:pointer}.genericon-chat:before{content:"\f108"}.genericon-collapse:before{content:"\f432"}.genericon-comment:before{content:"\f300"}.genericon-expand:before{content:"\f431"}.genericon-downarrow:before{content:"\f502"}.genericon-facebook:before{content:"\f203"}.genericon-facebook-alt:before{content:"\f204"}.genericon-feed:before{content:"\f413"}.genericon-flag:before{content:"\f468"}.genericon-googleplus:before{content:"\f218"}.genericon-googleplus-alt:before{content:"\f218"}.genericon-home:before{content:"\f409"}.genericon-info:before{content:"\f455"}.genericon-instagram:before{content:"\f215"}.genericon-linkedin-alt:before{content:"\f208"}.genericon-linkedin:before{content:"\f207"}.genericon-tiktok path{fill:#fff}.genericon-youtube:before{content:"\f213"}.genericon-mail:before{content:"\f410"}.genericon-menu:before{content:"\f419"}.genericon-next:before{content:"\f429"}.genericon-pinterest-alt:before{content:"\f210"}.genericon-pinterest:before{content:"\f209"}.genericon-previous:before{content:"\f430"}.genericon-reddit:before{content:"\f222"}.genericon-search:before{content:"\f400"}.genericon-subscribe:before{content:"\f463"}.genericon-tumblr:before{content:"\f214"}.genericon-twitter:before{content:"\f202"}.genericon-uparrow:before{content:"\f500"}.genericon-warning:before{content:"\f414"}.genericon-close:before{content:"\f405"}.genericon-close-alt:before{content:"\f406"}.uxab .article-header h1{font-weight:bold}.uxab .article-body{position:relative}.uxab .article-body::before{background-image:url('data:image/svg+xml;base64,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');background-size:100%;background-image:-webkit-gradient(linear,50% 0,50% 100%,color-stop(0%,rgba(255,255,255,0)),color-stop(100%,#fff));background-image:-moz-linear-gradient(rgba(255,255,255,0),#fff);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(rgba(255,255,255,0),#fff);background-image:linear-gradient(rgba(255,255,255,0),#fff);content:"";display:block;position:absolute;bottom:0;left:0;right:0;height:100%}.uxab #dfp-ad-bottom{border-top:0}.page-footer .twitter-x{display:inline-block;width:12px;height:12px;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/social/twitter-x-black.svg) center/90% no-repeat}@media(max-width:1100px){#ad-bottom-wrapper .dfp-tag-wrapper{height:251px}}@media(max-width:767px){.uxab .page-content{padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px}}@media(max-width:700px){.dfp-tag-wrapper,#ad-bottom-wrapper .dfp-tag-wrapper{height:calc(100vw/1.20);display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}}.ts-btn{text-align:center;position:relative;margin-top:-30px}.ts-btn a{-moz-border-radius:6px;-webkit-border-radius:6px;border-radius:6px;display:inline-block;background-color:#30bced;color:white;padding:0 25px;font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;line-height:50px;letter-spacing:2px;text-indent:2px;text-transform:uppercase}.ts-btn a:hover{filter:alpha(opacity=60);opacity:.6;text-decoration:none;color:white}.container-fluid,.container{max-width:1310px}body{font-family:Newsreader,serif;line-height:1.375;min-height:1500px}a{color:inherit}a:hover{text-decoration:none}main{padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:30px}main .content-right .block{margin-bottom:20px}.most-tabs,.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav.most-tabs,.block-title{display:block;color:#005dd1;font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;font-family:"Josefin Sans",sans-serif;margin-bottom:15px;margin-top:15px;padding:0;position:relative;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:1.5px}.ui-tabs .ui-tabs-nav li.ui-tabs-active a{font-weight:bold}#ibt-video-title{max-width:300px;margin:30px auto 0}h3{color:#222}.byline{font-size:13px}.summary{margin-top:16px;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714;font-family:Georgia,serif;color:#666}article a:hover{text-decoration:underline}.feature article{padding:18px 0;border-top:1px solid #eee}.feature article::before,.feature article::after{content:" ";display:table}.feature article::after{clear:both}.section-blocks{position:relative}.section-blocks .block-declaration{font-size:13px;color:#a5a5a5;font-family:'DM Sans',sans-serif}@media screen and (max-width:539px){.section-blocks .block-declaration{margin-top:-17px;margin-bottom:17px}}@media screen and (min-width:540px){.section-blocks .block-declaration{position:absolute;right:0;top:20px}}.section-blocks .h2{font-size:22px;line-height:1.1818}.section-blocks .h3{font-size:17px;line-height:1.1765}.feature article .image{float:left;margin-right:15px;width:120px}@media(min-width:481px) and (max-width:767px){.feature article .image{width:134px}}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.feature article .image{width:267px}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.section-blocks .feature article .image,.content-left .feature article .image{width:204px}}.feature article h3{font-size:20px}.section-blocks .summary{margin-top:6px}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.section-blocks .image.full-sm{margin:0 -15px}.l-section-block>li:first-child .heading{margin-top:15px}}@media screen and ((max-width:599px) or((min-width:768px) and (max-width:991px))){.l-section-block>li:nth-child(n+2){margin-top:20px;padding-top:20px;border-top:1px solid #f0f0f0}.l-section-block>li:nth-child(n+2) article{display:flex}.l-section-block>li:nth-child(n+2) .image{width:160px;max-width:calc(50% - 7px);margin-right:15px;flex:0 0 auto}.l-section-block>li:nth-child(n+2) .heading{margin-top:0;flex:1 1 auto}}@media screen and (min-width:600px){@supports(flex-wrap:wrap){.l-section-block{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap}}}@media screen and (min-width:600px) and (max-width:991px){.l-section-block>li:first-child{width:100%;flex:0 0 auto}.l-section-block>li:nth-child(n+2){width:calc(50% - 10px);margin-top:20px;flex:0 0 auto}.l-section-block>li:nth-child(2n+2){margin-right:20px}.blocks{display:flex;flex-flow:row wrap}.blocks>div{width:calc(50% - 10px)}}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.l-section-block-1>li:first-child article{display:flex;align-items:center}.l-section-block-1>li:first-child .image{width:60%;flex:0 0 auto;margin-right:15px}}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (max-width:991px){.l-section-block-2>li:first-child article{display:flex;align-items:center}.l-section-block-2>li:first-child .image{width:60%;flex:0 0 auto;margin-right:15px}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.l-section-block-1>li:first-child .image{width:50%}.l-section-block-1 li:first-child{width:calc((100% + 41px)*5/9 - 41px);flex:0 0 auto}.l-section-block-1 li:nth-child(n+2){width:calc((100% + 41px)*2/9 - 41px);margin-left:41px}.l-section-block-2 li:first-child{width:calc((100% + 41px)*4/9 - 41px);flex:0 0 auto}.l-section-block-2 li:nth-child(n+2){width:calc((100% + 41px)*2.5/9 - 41px);margin-left:41px}.l-section-block li:nth-child(n+2){position:relative}.l-section-block li:nth-child(n+2):before{content:'';position:absolute;left:-21px;top:0;bottom:0;border-right:1px solid #f0f0f0}.l-section-block-2 li:first-child article{position:relative;padding-bottom:0 !important}.l-section-block-2 li:first-child .image{width:100%;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;float:none}.l-section-block-2 li:first-child .heading{position:absolute;padding:20px;left:0;bottom:0;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box;color:#fff;background:linear-gradient(to top,rgba(0,0,0,0.9),transparent)}}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.section-blocks .featured:not(.full) article{display:flex;align-items:center}.section-blocks .featured .image{float:left;flex:0 0 auto;margin-right:17px;margin-bottom:4px;width:50%}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.section-blocks .featured.full{width:43.75% !important}.section-blocks .featured.full+div{width:56.25% !important}.section-blocks .featured article .image{width:50%}}.feature article h3{font-size:20px}.feature article.full{display:block;border-top:0;padding-top:0}.feature article.first{border-top:0;padding-top:0}.sticky-scroll .feature article.full .image{float:none;width:100%;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:12px}.sticky-scroll .feature article.full h3{font-size:26px;line-height:34px;font-family:Georgia,serif}.feature .related-items{font-size:15px;padding-top:5px;padding-bottom:5px}.feature .related-items li{padding-top:5px;padding-left:3px}.feature .related-items li::before{display:inline-block;content:"";background:#b1b1b1;width:5px;height:5px;margin-right:8px;margin-bottom:3px}.feature2 .image{margin-bottom:20px}.feature2 article{padding-bottom:10px}.feature2 article::before,.feature2 article::after{content:" ";display:table}.feature2 article::after{clear:both}.feature2 .related-items li{margin-top:10px;padding-top:10px;border-top:1px solid #eee;font-weight:bold;font-family:"Gotham Narrow",sans-serif}.feature3 article{padding:12px 0 10px;border-top:1px solid #eee}.feature3 article::before,.feature3 article::after{content:" ";display:table}.feature3 article::after{clear:both}.feature3 article .image{float:right;margin-left:15px;margin-bottom:4px;width:120px}@media(min-width:481px) and (max-width:767px){.feature3 article .image{width:134px}}@media(min-width:768px) and (max-width:991px){.feature3 article .image{width:204px}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.content-left .feature3 article .image{width:204px}}.feature3 article:first-of-type{display:block;border-top:0;padding-top:0}.sticky-scroll .feature3 article:first-of-type .image{float:none;width:100%;margin-left:0;margin-bottom:12px}.feature4{padding-bottom:15px}.feature4 .image a{position:relative}.feature4 .image a::before,.feature4 .image a::after{-moz-transform:translate(-50%,-50%);-ms-transform:translate(-50%,-50%);-webkit-transform:translate(-50%,-50%);transform:translate(-50%,-50%);content:"";display:block;position:absolute;top:50%;left:50%}.feature4 .image a::before{background-image:url('data:image/svg+xml;base64,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');background-size:100%;background-image:-webkit-gradient(linear,0% 0,100% 100%,color-stop(0%,rgba(0,0,0,.1)),color-stop(60%,rgba(0,0,0,.8)),color-stop(90%,rgba(0,0,0,.6)));background-image:-moz-linear-gradient(left,rgba(0,0,0,.1) 0,rgba(0,0,0,.8) 60%,rgba(0,0,0,.6) 90%);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(left,rgba(0,0,0,.1) 0,rgba(0,0,0,.8) 60%,rgba(0,0,0,.6) 90%);background-image:linear-gradient(to right bottom,rgba(0,0,0,.1) 0,rgba(0,0,0,.8) 60%,rgba(0,0,0,.6) 90%);-moz-border-radius:50%;-webkit-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;width:35px;height:35px;z-index:1}.feature4 .image a::after{content:"\f452";font-size:20px;font-family:"Genericons";color:white;z-index:2}.feature4 .large{position:relative}.feature4 .large h3{font-size:18px;padding-top:15px;padding-bottom:20px}.feature4 .large .image{position:relative;padding-bottom:3px}.feature4 .large .image::before{content:"";display:block;height:3px;*zoom:1;filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(gradientType=1,startColorstr='#FF2EA4BF',endColorstr='#FF080057');background-image:url('data:image/svg+xml;base64,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');background-size:100%;background-image:-webkit-gradient(linear,0% 50%,100% 50%,color-stop(0%,#2ea4bf),color-stop(20%,#3ca1da),color-stop(48%,#4b9ffa),color-stop(75%,#4b5fb1),color-stop(100%,#080057));background-image:-moz-linear-gradient(left,#2ea4bf 0,#3ca1da 20%,#4b9ffa 48%,#4b5fb1 75%,#080057 100%);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(left,#2ea4bf 0,#3ca1da 20%,#4b9ffa 48%,#4b5fb1 75%,#080057 100%);background-image:linear-gradient(to right,#2ea4bf 0,#3ca1da 20%,#4b9ffa 48%,#4b5fb1 75%,#080057 100%);position:absolute;bottom:0;left:0;right:0}.feature4 .large .image a::before{width:66px;height:66px}.feature4 .large .image a::after{font-size:38px}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.feature4 .large .image a{padding-bottom:56.25%;overflow:hidden}.feature4 .large .image a img{-moz-transform:translate(0%,-50%);-ms-transform:translate(0%,-50%);-webkit-transform:translate(0%,-50%);transform:translate(0%,-50%);position:absolute;top:50%;left:0;right:0}}.feature4 .small{margin-bottom:15px}.feature4 .small::before,.feature4 .small::after{content:" ";display:table}.feature4 .small::after{clear:both}.feature4 .small .image{float:left;width:139px;margin-right:15px}.feature4 .small h3{font-size:16px;color:#444}.feature4 .medium .image a::before{width:53px;height:54px}.feature4 .medium .image a::after{font-size:32px}.feature4 .medium h3{font-size:16px;line-height:24px;padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:45px}.above-fold{margin-bottom:30px}@media screen and (max-width:599px){.above-fold .block-title{margin-top:30px}.above-fold .top-story .block-title{margin-top:0;padding-top:0}.above-fold .top-story .block-title:before{display:none}.above-fold .top-story .heading{margin-top:15px}.above-fold .image.full-sm{margin:0 -15px}}@media screen and (min-width:600px){.above-fold .block-title{margin-top:0;padding-top:0}.above-fold .block-title:before{display:none}.latest-news-block{margin-top:25px;padding-top:25px;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e4;align-items:flex-start}.top-story article,.latest-news-block{display:flex}.top-story .image,.latest-news-block .more-news{width:calc((100% + 41px)*3/5 - 41px);flex:0 0 auto;order:2}.top-story .txt,.latest-news-block .latest-news{flex:1 1 auto;order:1}.top-story .image{margin-left:20px}.latest-news-block .more-news{margin-left:41px;position:sticky;top:50px}.latest-news-block .more-news:before{content:'';position:absolute;left:-21px;top:0;height:100%;border-left:1px solid #e4e4e4}.above-fold .latest-news{display:flex;flex-direction:column;position:sticky;top:50px}.above-fold .ul-timeline{flex:1 1 auto}.crypto-block .main{width:calc((100% + 41px)*3/5 - 41px)}.crypto-block .crypto{width:calc((100% + 41px)*2/5 - 41px)}}@media screen and (min-width:600px) and (max-width:991px){.above-fold .aside{display:flex;margin-top:25px;padding-top:25px;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e4}.above-fold .bottom-line,.above-fold .economy-focus{width:calc(50% - 20px);flex:0 0 auto}.above-fold .bottom-line{margin-right:41px;position:relative}.above-fold .bottom-line:after{content:'';position:absolute;right:-21px;top:0;height:100%;border-right:1px solid #e4e4e4}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.above-fold{display:flex;align-items:flex-start;margin-top:10px}.above-fold .main{width:calc((100% + 41px)*5/7 - 41px);margin-right:41px;flex:0 0 auto;position:sticky;top:50px;display:flex;flex-direction:column}.above-fold .latest-news-block{flex:1 1 auto}.above-fold .main:after{content:'';position:absolute;top:0;right:-21px;height:100%;border-right:1px solid #dedede}.above-fold .aside{flex:1 1 auto;position:sticky;top:50px}.above-fold .aside>:not(:last-child){margin-bottom:50px}}.section-blocks:last-child{margin-bottom:40px}.block-title{margin-top:0;margin-bottom:20px}.block-title.default{color:#000}.block-title.alert{color:#c31233}.block-title:not(.noborder){margin-top:30px;padding-top:20px;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e4}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.block-title{position:relative;padding-top:30px;border-top:0;color:#000}.block-title:before{content:'';width:100vw;position:absolute;left:-15px;top:-5px;height:4px;background:#f2f2f2;border-top:1px solid #e7e7e7}}@media screen and (max-width:991px){.section-blocks .gallery4>li:not(:last-child){margin-bottom:20px;padding-bottom:20px;border-bottom:1px solid #e4e4e4}.section-blocks .gallery4 article{display:flex}.section-blocks .gallery4 .image{flex:0 0 auto;width:47%;margin-right:15px}}@media screen and (max-width:499px){.section-blocks .gallery4-full-sm article{display:block}.section-blocks .gallery4-full-sm .image{width:100%;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:20px}}@media screen and (min-width:640px){.section-blocks .gallery4{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap}}@media screen and (min-width:640px) and (max-width:991px){.section-blocks .gallery4>li{width:50%;box-sizing:border-box;padding-right:10px;flex:0 0 auto}.section-blocks .gallery4>li:nth-last-child(2){margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:0;border-bottom:0}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.section-blocks .gallery4>li{width:calc(25% - 31px);flex:0 0 auto;box-sizing:border-box}.section-blocks .gallery4>li:not(:last-child){margin-right:41px;position:relative}.section-blocks .gallery4>li:not(:last-child):after{content:'';display:block;position:absolute;top:0;right:-20px;height:100%;border-right:1px solid #e4e4e4}.section-blocks .gallery4 .image{margin-bottom:20px}}.section-blocks .feature article{border-top:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:22px}.section-blocks .feature .related-items{padding-top:0;padding-bottom:15px;margin-top:-13px}.section-blocks .row{margin-left:-25px;margin-right:-25px}.section-blocks .row>div{padding-left:25px;padding-right:25px}.section-blocks .feature2 .row>div{border-left:1px solid #e4e4e4}.section-blocks .feature2 article{padding-bottom:22px}@media screen and (max-width:991px){.section-blocks>.row{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column}.section-blocks .featured2 article:after{content:'';display:table;clear:both}.section-blocks .featured2 .image{float:left;margin-right:20px;margin-bottom:4px;width:50%}.section-blocks>.row .feature2{-webkit-order:1;order:1}.section-blocks>.row .feature{-webkit-order:2;order:2}}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.section-blocks .feature2 article::before,.section-blocks .feature2 article::after{content:" ";display:table}.section-blocks .feature2 article::after{clear:both}}@media screen and (max-width:500px){.section-blocks .featured2 .image{margin-right:15px;width:50%}}@media screen and (max-width:767px) and (min-width:481px) and (max-width:767px){.section-blocks .feature2 article .image{width:134px}}@media screen and (max-width:767px) and (min-width:768px){.section-blocks .feature2 article .image{width:204px}}@media screen and (max-width:767px) and (min-width:992px){.section-blocks .section-blocks .feature2 article .image,.content-left .section-blocks .feature2 article .image{width:204px}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.section-blocks .row{display:flex}.section-blocks .featured2{display:flex}}.ul-dots{margin-top:17px}.ul-dots li{padding-left:18px;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;font-family:Lora,serif;position:relative}.ul-dots li:not(:last-child){padding-bottom:5px}.ul-dots li:before{display:inline-block;content:"";width:6px;height:6px;margin-bottom:3px;border-radius:50%;background:#6a6a6a;position:absolute;left:0;top:.5em;margin-top:-2px}.ul-plain{margin-top:20px}.ul-plain li{padding:10px 0;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;font-family:Lora,serif;border-top:1px solid #f4f4f4}.ul-plain li:last-child{padding-bottom:0}.ul-timeline{padding-left:31px;position:relative}.ul-timeline:before{content:'';position:absolute;left:2px;top:0;bottom:0;border-right:2px solid #dedede}.ul-timeline>li{position:relative}.ul-timeline>li:not(:last-child){margin-bottom:30px}.ul-timeline>li:before{content:'';display:inline-block;width:6px;height:6px;border-radius:50%;background:#c31233;border:4px solid #fff;border-width:4px 0;position:absolute;left:-31px;top:0}.ibt-spotlight,.ibt-fast-start{padding:20px}.ibt-spotlight h2,.ibt-fast-start h2{margin-bottom:10px;font-size:19px;text-transform:uppercase;font-family:'Josefin Sans',sans-serif;white-space:nowrap}.ibt-spotlight p,.ibt-fast-start p{margin-bottom:15px;font-size:13px;line-height:1.3846;color:#555;font-family:'DM Sans',sans-serif}.ibt-spotlight img,.ibt-fast-start img{float:right;margin-left:10px;margin-bottom:10px}.ibt-spotlight:after,.ibt-fast-start:after{content:'';display:table;clear:both}.ibt-spotlight{background:#f2f8fc}.ibt-spotlight .btn{display:inline-block;padding:10px 20px;font-size:15px;font-family:'DM Sans',sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;color:#fff;background:#0a65bf}.ibt-fast-start{background:#f5f5f5}.ibt-fast-start form{display:flex}.ibt-fast-start input,.ibt-fast-start button{padding:7px}.ibt-fast-start input{border:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-right:0;flex:1 1 auto}.ibt-fast-start button{flex:1 0 auto;padding-left:12px;padding-right:12px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:11px;font-family:'Josefin Sans',sans-serif;color:#fff;background:#af893d}.crypto-block .more-news:not(:last-child){margin-bottom:50px}.crypto-block .more-news .block-title{color:#000}.more-news li.item{clear:both}.more-news li.item:nth-child(n+2){margin-top:20px;padding-top:20px;border-top:1px solid #f0f0f0}.more-news li.item:nth-child(n+2) .image{width:162px;float:left;max-width:50%;margin-right:15px}.more-news li.item:nth-child(n+2) .heading{margin-top:0}.editors-picks .splide__arrows{position:absolute;right:-8px;top:-15px;display:flex}.editors-picks .splide__arrow{position:static;transform:translateY(-100%);padding:5px 8px;height:auto;width:auto;background:none;border-radius:0}.crypto-block .crypto .related-items li{margin-top:20px;padding-top:20px;border-top:1px solid #f0f0f0}.crypto-block .crypto .related-items article:after{content:'';display:table;clear:both}.crypto-block .crypto .related-items .image{width:140px;float:right;margin-left:15px;max-width:50%}.crypto-block .crypto .related-items .heading{margin-top:0}.heading{font-family:Newsreader,serif;line-height:1.2}.heading:not(:first-child){margin-top:15px}.heading.fz15{font-size:15px}.heading.fz16{font-size:16px}.heading.fz17{font-size:17px}.heading.fz18{font-size:18px}.heading.fz19{font-size:19px}.heading.fz20{font-size:20px}.heading.fz22{font-size:22px}.heading.fz27{font-size:27px}.heading.fz28{font-size:28px}.crypto-block .aside .ul-sponsored article{margin-bottom:30px}@media screen and (max-width:599px){.crypto-block .image.full-sm{margin:0 -15px}.crypto-block .image.full-sm .image-tag{padding-left:15px}.crypto-block .crypto .related-items{position:relative;padding-bottom:25px}.crypto-block .crypto .related-items:after{content:'';position:absolute;bottom:0;left:-15px;width:100vw;height:4px;background:#f2f2f2;border-top:1px solid #e7e7e7}.crypto-block .aside .ul-sponsored{margin-top:30px}.ibt-spotlight,.ibt-fast-start{position:relative;margin:0 -15px}.ibt-spotlight{padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:25px}.ibt-fast-start{padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:35px}.ibt-spotlight:before,.ibt-fast-start:before{content:'';position:absolute;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:4px;background:#f2f2f2;border-top:1px solid #e7e7e7}.ibt-spotlight:not(:last-child),.ibt-fast-start:not(:last-child){margin-bottom:23px}}@media screen and (min-width:600px){@supports(flex-wrap:wrap){.crypto-block{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:flex-start}}.left-block{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:flex-start;position:relative;width:100%;padding-bottom:25px}.left-block:after{content:'';display:block;position:absolute;right:-20px;top:0;height:100%;border-right:1px solid #dedede}.crypto-block .block-title{margin-top:0;padding-top:0;border-top:0}.crypto-block .crypto{position:relative;order:1;margin-right:41px}.crypto-block .crypto:after{content:'';display:block;position:absolute;right:-20px;top:0;height:100%;border-right:1px solid #dedede}.crypto-block .main{order:2;position:sticky;top:50px}.crypto-block .left-block .crypto{position:sticky;top:50px}.crypto-block .crypto .related-items:not(:last-child){margin-bottom:50px}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.left-block{width:calc((100% + 41px)*5/7 - 41px);margin-right:41px;flex:0 0 auto;position:sticky;top:50px}.crypto-block .aside{position:sticky;top:50px}}.crypto-block .aside:after{border:0}@media screen and (min-width:600px) and (max-width:991px){.crypto-block .block-title:before{display:none}.crypto-block .aside{width:100%;margin-top:20px;padding-top:25px;position:relative}.crypto-block .aside:before{content:'';width:100vw;position:absolute;left:-15px;top:0;height:4px;background:#f2f2f2;border-top:1px solid #e7e7e7}.crypto-block .aside .ul-sponsored,.crypto-block .aside .cont-block{display:flex}.crypto-block .aside .ul-sponsored li,.crypto-block .aside .content,.ibt-spotlight,.ibt-fast-start{width:calc(50% - 10px)}.crypto-block .aside .ul-sponsored li:first-child,.crypto-block .aside .cont-block .content:first-child{margin-right:20px}.ibt-blocks{display:flex}.ibt-spotlight{margin-right:20px;margin-bottom:0}}@media screen and (min-width:992px) and (max-width:1159px){.ibt-spotlight img{position:relative;top:20px;max-width:40%}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.more-news li.item:first-child .image{width:50%;float:right;margin-left:10px}.more-news li.item:first-child .heading{margin-top:0}.ibt-spotlight:not(:last-child),.ibt-fast-start:not(:last-child){margin-bottom:23px}.crypto-block .main:after{content:'';display:block;position:absolute;right:-20px;top:0;height:100%;border-right:1px solid #dedede}.crypto-block .aside{width:calc((100% + 41px)*2/7 - 41px)}.crypto-block .aside .content:not(:first-child){margin-top:40px}}.ibt-video .h3{font-size:14px;line-height:1.4286;font-family:Lora,serif}.ibt-video a{cursor:pointer}.image.has-tag{position:relative}.image.has-tag img{display:block}.image.has-tag .image-tag{position:absolute;left:0;bottom:0;display:block;padding:7px 7px 0 0;line-height:1;letter-spacing:.1em;background:#fff}.image.has-tag .alert{color:#c50d4e;font-size:11px;text-transform:uppercase;font-family:'Josefin Sans',sans-serif}.image.has-tag time{font-size:11px;font-family:'DM Sans',sans-serif}.image.has-tag time:before{content:'';display:inline-block;width:0;height:0;vertical-align:middle;border:0 solid transparent;border-width:5px 0;border-left:9px solid;margin-right:7px}.image.has-tag time.sm:before{border-width:4px 0;border-left-width:8px}.ibt-video .primary .h2{font-size:28px;line-height:1.2857;font-family:Lora,serif}.ibt-video .primary .summary{color:#555}.ibt-video .primary:not(:last-child){margin-bottom:20px;padding-bottom:20px;border-bottom:1px solid #f0f0f0}@media screen and (max-width:559px){.ibt-video .block-title{margin-top:0}.ibt-video .videos{padding-bottom:30px}.ibt-video .videos article{display:flex}.ibt-video .videos>li:not(:first-child):not(:empty){margin-top:20px;padding-top:20px;border-top:1px solid #f0f0f0}.ibt-video .videos .image{width:calc(50% - 10px);margin-right:20px;flex:0 0 auto}.ibt-video .videos .txt{flex:1 1 auto}}@media screen and (min-width:560px){@supports(flex-wrap:wrap){.ibt-video .videos{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;margin-right:-20px;margin-bottom:-20px}}.ibt-video .videos>li{display:inline-block;vertical-align:top;width:144px;margin-right:20px;flex:1 1 auto;max-width:calc(50% - 20px)}.ibt-video .videos>li:not(:empty){margin-bottom:20px}.ibt-video .videos .image{margin-bottom:17px}}@media screen and (max-width:639px){.ibt-video .image.full-sm{margin:0 -15px 25px}.ibt-video .image.full-sm time{padding-left:15px !important}}@media screen and (min-width:640px){.ibt-video .primary{display:flex;align-items:center}.ibt-video .primary .image{flex:0 0 auto;width:calc((100% + 20px)*3/5 - 20px);margin-right:20px}.ibt-video .primary .txt{flex:1 1 auto}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.page-video-block{display:flex}.page-video-block:not(:first-child){margin-top:30px;padding-top:30px;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e4}.page-video-block>div{flex:1 1 auto}.page-video-block>div:first-child{flex:0 0 auto;width:calc((100% + 41px)*5/7 - 41px);margin-right:41px;position:relative}.page-video-block>div:first-child:after{content:'';position:absolute;right:-21px;top:15px;bottom:0;border-right:1px solid #dedede}.page-video-block .block-title{margin-top:0;padding-top:0;border-top:0}}.most-popular-list{padding-bottom:14px}.most-popular-list li{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;border-top:1px solid #eee;padding-top:15px;padding-bottom:15px}.most-popular-list li:after{content:" ";display:table;clear:both}.most-popular-list li:first-child{border-top-width:0}.most-popular-list li .item-number{-webkit-flex:none;flex:none;-webkit-order:1;order:1;width:30px;font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;font-family:"DM Sans",sans-serif;color:black}.most-popular-list li .item-link{-webkit-flex:1;flex:1;-webkit-order:2;order:2;font-size:15px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:bold;font-family:Lora,serif}.most-popular-list li .item-link a:hover{text-decoration:underline}.most-popular-list li .item-image{-webkit-order:3;order:3;-webkit-flex:none;flex:none;margin-left:10px;width:85px;height:85px;overflow:hidden;position:relative}.most-popular-list li .item-image img{-moz-transform:translateX(-50%);-ms-transform:translateX(-50%);-webkit-transform:translateX(-50%);transform:translateX(-50%);position:absolute;top:0;left:50%;height:100%;width:auto;max-width:inherit}@media screen and (min-width:560px) and (max-width:991px){@supports(flex-wrap:wrap){.most-popular-list{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap}.most-popular-list li{width:calc(50% - 10px)}.most-popular-list li:nth-child(odd){margin-right:20px}.most-popular-list li:first-child{border-top-width:1px}}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.most-popular-list{padding-bottom:0}.most-popular-list li:last-child{padding-bottom:0}}.page-footer{font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif}.page-header{position:relative;background-color:white;font-family:'DM Sans',sans-serif}.page-header,.page-nav,.page-edition{font-size:13px;line-height:16px}.page-header .menu,.page-nav .menu,.page-edition .menu{font-weight:500;font-size:14px}.page-header .menu a,.page-edition .menu a{padding:12px 15px;display:block}.page-nav .menu a,.page-nav .item{padding:12px 15px}.page-header .menu a:hover,.page-nav .menu a:hover,.page-edition .menu a:hover{background-color:black;color:white}.page-nav .menu{padding:12px 0}.page-edition{font-family:"Gotham Narrow",sans-serif;color:#080808;-moz-transition:all .3s ease;-o-transition:all .3s ease;-webkit-transition:all .3s ease;transition:all .3s ease;opacity:0;visibility:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;right:0;width:30%;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,.5);overflow-y:auto}.page-header .top{border-bottom:1px solid #ccc}.page-header .bottom{border-bottom:3px solid black}.page-header time{display:inline-block;text-transform:uppercase;color:#868686;margin-right:15px}.page-header>div{padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px}.page-header .genericon{padding:10px 0}.page-header .logo,.page-header .logo-beta{flex:1}.page-header .logo-sm a,.page-header .logo a{display:block;margin:0 auto}.page-header .logo-sm a{background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/ibt-logo-2023-sm.svg) center/contain no-repeat;width:53px;height:26px}.page-header .logo-sm-beta a,.page-header .logo-beta a{background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/logo-sm-beta.svg) center/contain no-repeat;display:block;width:58px;height:22px;margin:0 auto}.page-header .logo-sm a,.page-header .logo-sm-beta a,.bottom .subscribe-btn a{display:none}.page-header .genericon::before{content:"";width:20px;height:20px;display:block;background-position:center;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat}.page-header .genericon-menu::before{background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/icon_menu.svg)}.showMenu .page-header .genericon-menu::before{background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/icon_close.svg?1);background-size:14px}.page-header .genericon-search::before{background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/icon_search.svg)}.icon-search{background:#fff url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/icon_search.svg) no-repeat left top/contain;width:20px;height:20px;margin-right:15px;cursor:pointer}.search-form{border:1px solid #eee;border-radius:20px;padding:15px 15px}.search-form .form-text{width:70%}.showSearch .page-header .genericon-search::before{background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/icon_close.svg?1);background-size:14px}.topic-block{text-align:center;padding:10px;border-bottom:1px solid #ccc}.toggle-button2{display:inline-block;color:#005dd1;font-weight:bold;margin-right:14px}.toggle-content2{display:inline-block;font-size:14px}.toggle-content2 li{display:inline-block;margin:0 14px !important}.page-header .top .subscribe-btn{position:absolute;right:0}.page-header .subscribe-btn a{display:inline-block;padding:8px 10px 6px;background-color:black;color:white;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:500;letter-spacing:1px;text-align:center;margin-left:15px}.page-header .top .subscribe-btn a{position:relative;right:50px}.page-header .bottom .subscribe-btn a{position:relative;right:40px;display:none}.page-header .subscribe-btn .sign-up{word-spacing:-4px}.page-header .menu{display:flex;color:#080808}.page-header label{display:inline-block;color:#222;cursor:pointer;margin-left:15px}.page-header .logo{position:absolute;top:50%;left:50%;transform:translate(-50%,-50%);width:75%;height:26px;max-width:calc(100% - 76px);text-align:center}.page-header .logo a{position:relative;display:inline-block;left:-3%;width:100%;max-width:600px}.page-header .logo a .logo_text{display:inline-block;width:100%;height:26px;text-indent:-1500px;overflow:hidden;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/ibt-logo-2023.svg) left center/100% no-repeat}.page-header .logo a .edition{position:absolute;top:-2px;right:-20px;font-size:.85em;font-family:sans-serif;font-weight:bold;text-transform:uppercase;padding-left:3px}.page-header .login-btn{position:absolute;top:26px;right:6px;width:30px;cursor:pointer}.page-header .bottom .login-btn{display:none;top:7px;right:12px}.page-header .login-btn .myaccount{display:none}.page-header .login-btn ul{width:200px;border:1px solid #ccc;position:absolute;top:38px;right:0;background:#fff;z-index:99999999;display:none}.page-header .login-btn li{padding:10px}.page-header .login-btn li a{display:block}.fixed-header{padding-top:124px}.fixed-header{.page-header{position:fixed;z-index:101;top:0;left:0;right:0;transition:top .5s}.page-header{.btn-edition,time{display:none}.bottom .subscribe-btn a,.bottom .login-btn{display:block}}.logo-sm a,.logo-sm-beta a{text-indent:-200px;overflow:hidden;display:block}}.fixed-header.down-scroll:not(.video-primis) .page-header{top:-43px;transition:top .5s}@media screen and (max-width:375px){.page-header .genericon::before{width:14px;height:14px}}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.page-header .top>div{height:80px}.page-header .logo-beta a{width:500px;height:33px;background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/logo-md-beta.svg)}.page-header .genericon{padding:10px}.page-header .genericon-menu{margin-left:-10px}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.page-header .top>div{position:relative}.page-header .genericon{padding:10px 15px}.page-header .genericon-menu{margin-left:-15px}}@media screen and (min-width:1160px){.page-header .logo a{width:600px}}@media screen and (min-width:1220px){.fixed-header{.page-header .top{display:none}.bottom .subscribe-btn a{display:block}}}@media screen and (max-width:1374px){.page-header{time{display:none}}}@media screen and (max-width:1235px){.page-header{.btn-edition{display:none}}}@media screen and (max-width:1219px){.fixed-header{padding-top:81px}.fixed-header .block-sticky{top:81px}.fixed-header.down-scroll:not(.video-primis) .page-header{top:-81px;transition:top .5s}.page-header .bottom,.topic-block{display:none}}@media screen and (max-width:991px){.page-header .top>div{padding-left:0;padding-right:0}.page-header .subscribe-btn .newsletter{display:none}.page-header .subscribe-btn .sign-up{word-spacing:normal}}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.fixed-header{padding-top:51px}.fixed-header .block-sticky{top:51px}.fixed-header.down-scroll:not(.video-primis) .page-header{top:-51px;transition:top .5s}.page-header .top>div{padding:12px 0;justify-content:start;align-items:center}.page-header .genericon{padding:0 15px;margin-left:-15px}.page-header .subscribe-btn{display:none}.page-header .login-btn{top:12px}.page-header .logo{position:static;transform:none;width:100%;max-width:83%;line-height:20px}.page-header .logo a{max-width:90%}}.page-nav{font-family:"DM Sans",sans-serif;color:#080808;-moz-transition:all .3s ease;-o-transition:all .3s ease;-webkit-transition:all .3s ease;transition:all .3s ease;opacity:0;visibility:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;left:0;width:100%;background:#fff;overflow-y:auto}.page-nav .menu{display:block;background-color:white}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.page-nav .menu{column-count:2;column-gap:0}}.page-nav .menu a,.page-nav .item{display:block;line-height:24px}.page-nav .toggle-content ul.menu li.leaf{color:#313131}.page-nav .search-form{border:0;border-radius:0;border-bottom:3px solid #000;background:#fff}.page-nav .search-form .form-text{flex:1 1 auto}.page-nav .search-form .icon-search{order:2;margin-right:0;width:16px;height:16px}.page-nav .newsletter{background:#fff;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5}.showMenu .page-nav{opacity:1;visibility:visible;position:fixed;z-index:200}.showEdition .page-edition{opacity:1;visibility:visible;position:fixed}.page-edition .toggle-active{background-color:black;color:white;cursor:pointer;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:24px;padding:12px 15px;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5}.editions .toggle-active::before{content:"\f475";font-family:"Genericons";display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;font-size:20px;margin-right:15px}@media(min-width:768px){.page-nav{top:81px;max-width:400px;box-shadow:3px 3px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);height:calc(100vh - 81px)}.page-nav .follow-us{border-bottom:0}}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.page-nav{top:51px;height:calc(100vh - 51px)}.page-header .genericon-search{display:none}}.follow-us{background-color:white;border-bottom:3px solid black;text-align:center;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:24px;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5;padding-top:29px}.follow-us-title{text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:500;font-size:11px;color:#555}.follow-us-links{padding-top:16px;padding-bottom:32px}.follow-us-links a{width:30px;height:30px;display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;color:#121212;position:relative}.toggle{background-color:white}.toggle-button{cursor:pointer;font-weight:normal;font-size:15px;line-height:24px;padding:12px 15px;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5}.expand .toggle-button,.toggle-button:hover{background-color:black;color:white}.toggle-button::after{content:"\f431";font-family:"Genericons";display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;font-size:20px;float:right}.editions .toggle-button::before{content:"\f475";font-family:"Genericons";display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;font-size:20px;margin-right:15px}.expand .toggle-button::after{content:"\f432"}.page-nav .toggle-content{display:none}.page-nav .expand .toggle-content{display:block}.featured .toggle-content{color:#3e3e3e;font:15px/24px "Roboto",sans-serif;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5;padding:12px 15px}.featured .toggle-content a:hover{color:black}.newsletter .mail::before{content:"\f410";font-family:"Genericons";display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle;font-size:20px;margin-right:15px}.follow-us-links a svg{position:absolute;top:50%;left:50%;transform:translate(-50%,-50%);transition:color .2s}.follow-us-links a::before{font-family:"Genericons";font-size:18px}.follow-us-links a svg{width:14px;height:14px}.follow-us-links a.facebook:hover{color:#3b5998}.follow-us-links a.twitter:hover{color:#1da1f2}.follow-us-links a.instagram:hover{color:#405de6}.follow-us-links a.linkedin:hover{color:#0077b5}.follow-us-links a.telegram:hover{color:#26a5e5}.fg-1{flex-grow:1}.follow-us-links .fg-1{text-align:center;max-width:66px}.search{position:absolute;z-index:1;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);right:0;height:40px}.search form{-moz-transition:all .3s ease;-o-transition:all .3s ease;-webkit-transition:all .3s ease;transition:all .3s ease;position:absolute;right:70px;z-index:1;top:0;width:0;overflow:hidden}.search form input{height:40px}.showSearch .search{left:70px}.showSearch .search form{width:calc(100% - 70px)}.search form>div{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;background:#fff;width:100%}.search form>div .form-item{width:100%;margin:0}.search form>div .form-item .form-text{font-size:14px;width:100%}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.search form>div .form-item .form-text{text-indent:15px}}.search form>div .form-actions{width:40px;height:40px;position:relative;margin:0}.search form>div .form-actions::before{display:block;content:"\f400";font:26px/40px "Genericons";width:40px;height:40px;text-align:center;position:absolute;top:0;right:0;background-color:black;color:white}.search form>div .form-actions .form-submit{width:40px;cursor:pointer;position:relative;background-color:transparent}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.search{top:calc(100% + 23px)}.showSearch .search{left:0}}.tabs.primary{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;border-bottom:1px solid #eee;margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px}.tabs.primary li{border:1px solid transparent;margin-bottom:-1px}.tabs.primary li a{display:block;padding:5px 10px}.tabs.primary li.active{font-weight:bold;font-family:"Gotham Narrow",sans-serif;border-color:#eee;border-bottom-color:white}.searchform{position:absolute;left:0;right:0;opacity:0;visibility:hidden;transition:.3s;z-index:1}.showSearch .searchform{opacity:1;visibility:visible}.searchform>div{background-color:white}.searchform input[type="text"]{width:100%;height:80px;color:black;font-size:18px}.searchform input[type="submit"]{position:absolute;top:0;right:0}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.searchform{bottom:3px}.searchform input[type="text"]{height:40px;font-size:15px}}@media screen and (max-width:991px){.searchform{background-color:rgba(0,0,0,.5);height:100vh}}.item-list ul.pagination{border-top:1px solid #eee;margin-top:30px;padding-top:30px;margin:10px 0;text-align:center;font-family:'DM Sans',sans-serif;font-size:14px}.item-list ul.pagination li{display:inline-block;margin:0 7px}.item-list ul.pagination li a{display:block;min-width:20px;height:20px;line-height:20px;border-width:0;border-radius:100px;text-transform:uppercase}.item-list ul.pagination li a:hover{text-decoration:underline}.item-list ul.pagination li.pager-item a{color:#000}.item-list ul.pagination li.pager-current{width:20px;height:20px;line-height:20px;text-align:center;color:#fff;background:#000;font-weight:bold;border-radius:100px}.countdown_wrap{border-top:1px solid #ddd;font-weight:bold;line-height:24px;font-family:"Gotham Narrow",sans-serif;position:relative;max-width:300px;margin:35px auto 40px}.countdown_wrap::before{content:"";display:block;height:5px;background-color:#f9f9f9;position:absolute;top:0;left:1px;right:1px}.countdown_wrap header{padding-top:15px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px;padding-bottom:16px;border-left:1px solid #ddd;border-right:1px solid #ddd}.countdown_wrap .box-title{font-size:15px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#676767;letter-spacing:1.5px;margin-bottom:4px}.countdown_wrap .title{font-size:18px;color:black}.countdown_wrap iframe{vertical-align:middle}.scroll-top{-moz-transition:all .3s ease;-o-transition:all .3s ease;-webkit-transition:all .3s ease;transition:all .3s ease;width:50px;height:51px;position:fixed;z-index:1000;right:10px;bottom:10px;display:block;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/totop.png) center/contain no-repeat;cursor:pointer;filter:alpha(opacity=0);opacity:0;visibility:hidden}.scroll-top.show{filter:alpha(opacity=70);opacity:.7;visibility:visible}.pf{font-weight:500;font-size:13px;line-height:1.2;color:#333;background:#fafafa;border-top:1px solid #ccc;border-bottom:2px solid}.pf a:hover{opacity:.8}.pf .logo{margin-bottom:35px}.pf .logo a{display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:374px;height:21px}.pf .logo a:hover{opacity:1}.pf h2{display:none}.pf .title{font-family:'Josefin Sans',sans-serif;font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;text-transform:uppercase;padding-bottom:18px}.pf-top{text-align:center;border-bottom:1px solid #333;padding-top:40px;padding-bottom:35px}.pf-top .social a{display:inline-block;width:36px;height:36px;border:2px solid white;font-size:16px;line-height:32px;border-radius:50%;margin-left:6px;margin-right:6px}.pf-middle li a{display:block;padding:8px 0}.pf-middle li button{cursor:pointer;display:block;padding:8px 0;background:none;color:#333}ul li.subleaf{padding-left:10px}.pf-bottom{text-align:center;color:#999;padding-top:30px;padding-bottom:30px}@media(min-width:768px){.pf-bottom{text-align:right;padding:0;position:relative}.pf-bottom>.container-fluid{position:relative}.pf-bottom .logo-block{transform:translate(0,-50%);right:15px}}.footer-list-follow-us a>span,.footer-list-follow-us svg{display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle}.footer-list-follow-us a>.icon{margin-right:1em;min-width:12px;text-align:center}.page-footer .copyright{font-size:11px;margin-top:7px}@media(min-width:768px){.pf .logo a{max-width:450px;height:25px}.pf-top .social a{width:41px;height:41px;line-height:37px;margin-left:15px;margin-right:15px}.pf-middle{position:relative;padding-top:40px;padding-bottom:40px}.pf-middle::before{content:"";display:block;opacity:.09;max-width:1280px;margin:0 auto;height:100%;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0}.pf-middle>div{position:relative}}@media(max-width:767px){.pf-middle ul:not(.footer-list-follow-us){column-count:3;column-gap:0}}@media(max-width:499px){.pf-middle ul:not(.footer-list-follow-us){column-count:2}}@media(max-width:767px){.pf-middle .container-fluid{padding-left:0;padding-right:0}.pf-middle .container-fluid>div{border-bottom:1px solid #ccc}.pf-middle ul{padding-left:15px}.pf-middle ul li{display:none}.pf .title{padding:15px;line-height:1;font-weight:normal;cursor:pointer}.pf .title::before{float:right;content:"";display:block;width:8px;height:8px;border-bottom:1px solid #333;border-right:1px solid #333;-webkit-transform:rotate(45deg);-moz-transform:rotate(45deg);-o-transform:rotate(45deg);-ms-transform:rotate(45deg);transform:rotate(45deg);margin-right:10px}.pf .expand ul li{display:block}.pf .expand ul{padding-bottom:25px}.pf .expand .title::before{-webkit-transform:rotate(-135deg);-moz-transform:rotate(-135deg);-o-transform:rotate(-135deg);-ms-transform:rotate(-135deg);transform:rotate(-135deg)}.footer-follow-us{display:flex;align-items:center}.footer-follow-us .title,.footer-follow-us .menu,.footer-follow-us li{display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle}.footer-follow-us .title{flex:1 1 auto}.footer-follow-us .title:before{display:none}.footer-follow-us .menu{margin-right:10px}.footer-follow-us li.leaf{padding-top:0}.footer-follow-us .txt{display:none}.footer-follow-us a>.icon{margin-right:0;padding:5px 15px}}#SIGNIN{position:fixed;z-index:10001 !important;top:0 !important;left:0 !important;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.7) !important;-webkit-backdrop-filter:blur(2px) !important;backdrop-filter:blur(2px) !important;font:14px/20px "Helvetica",sans-serif !important;color:#333 !important;height:100vh;width:100vw;overflow-y:scroll;padding-bottom:20px}#SIGNIN .nw-login{position:relative;margin:auto;max-width:525px;width:96%;z-index:99999999}.login-popup{margin-top:30px;border-radius:7px;padding:10px;background:#fff}.login-popup iframe{width:100%}.sponsored-block,.pro-block{position:relative;margin-top:15px}.sponsored-block .image-text,.pro-block .image-text{position:absolute;top:0;width:100%;text-align:center;background-color:#c50058;font-family:"Gotham Narrow",sans-serif;font-size:14px;padding:4px;color:#efefef;font-weight:bold;text-transform:uppercase}.sponsored-block .image-text a,.pro-block .image-text a{text-decoration:none}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(2) article{content:'';display:table;clear:both}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(2) .image{float:right;width:160px;max-width:50%;margin-top:16px;margin-left:15px}@media(max-width:599px){.section-above-fold .image.full-sm{margin:0 -15px}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(2) article{margin-top:25px;padding-top:25px;border-top:1px solid #e2e2e2}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(n+3){margin-top:30px}.section-blocks .l-section-block li{margin-bottom:20px}.section-blocks .gallery4{margin-top:30px}}@media(min-width:600px){@supports(flex-wrap:wrap){.section-above-fold{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap}}.section-above-fold>div:first-child{order:2}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(3){order:3}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(2) article:nth-child(n+2){margin-top:20px}}@media(min-width:600px) and (max-width:859px){.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(2) .image{display:none}}@media(min-width:600px) and (max-width:991px){.section-above-fold>div:first-child{width:calc((100% + 20px)*3/5 - 20px);flex:0 0 auto;margin-left:20px}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(2){width:calc((100% + 20px)*2/5 - 20px)}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(n+3){width:100%;margin-top:25px;padding-top:25px;border-top:1px solid #e2e2e2}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(n+3) .image{width:calc(50% - 10px);margin-right:20px;flex:0 0 auto;float:left}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(n+3) article~*{overflow:hidden}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(n+3) .heading{margin-top:0}}@media(min-width:992px){.section-above-fold>div:first-child{width:calc((100% + 41px)*3/7 - 41px);flex:0 0 auto}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(n+2){width:calc((100% + 41px)*2/7 - 41px)}.section-above-fold>div:nth-last-child(n+2){position:relative;margin-right:41px}.section-above-fold>div:nth-last-child(n+2):after{content:'';position:absolute;right:-21px;top:0;bottom:0;border-right:1px solid #f0f0f0}.section-above-fold>div:nth-child(2) article:nth-child(n+2){margin-top:50px}}.section-more-news .heading{margin-top:0}@media(max-width:374px){.section-more-news .heading{font-size:16px}.section-more-news .image{margin-bottom:10px}.section-more-news .summary{clear:both}}@media(min-width:375px){.section-more-news .summary{overflow:hidden}}@media(max-width:799px){.section-more-news .heading{font-size:20px}}@media(max-width:699px){.section-more-news .heading{font-size:18px}}@media(max-width:399px){.section-more-news .heading{font-size:16px}}@media(max-width:991px){.l-section-main .banner{display:none}.page-video-block{margin-top:20px}}@media(min-width:992px){.l-section-main{display:flex;margin-top:40px;padding-top:40px;border-top:1px solid #d4d4d4}.l-section-main .most-popular{margin-top:0}.l-section-main .block-title{margin-top:0;padding-top:0;border-top:0}.l-section-main>div:first-child{width:calc(100% - 347px - 31px);flex:0 0 auto}.l-section-main-full-width>div:first-child{width:calc(100%)}.l-section-main>div:nth-child(2){width:339px;margin-left:38px;padding-left:38px;border-left:1px solid #ddd;flex:0 0 auto}.l-section-main>div:nth-child(2) .ibt-blocks{margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:30px}.section-more-news-block .banner{margin-top:50px;text-align:center}.page-sidebar .content{margin-top:30px}.block-fusion-lemon{margin-bottom:30px}}.block-title:not(.noborder){margin-top:30px;padding-top:20px;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e4}@media screen and (max-width:767px) .block-title{position:relative;padding-top:30px;border-top:0;color:#000}.block-title{margin-top:0;margin-bottom:20px}html,body,div,object,iframe,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,p,blockquote,ol,ul,li,form,legend,label,table,header,footer,nav,section,figure{margin:0;padding:0}*{-moz-box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;border:0 none;list-style:none outside none;margin:0;outline:0 none;padding:0;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing:grayscale}user agent stylesheet div{display:block}.center,.social-capital .most-tabs{text-align:center}body{font-family:Newsreader,serif;line-height:1.375}body{font-family:sans-serif;min-width:320px;background-color:white}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.block-title:before{height:0;border-top:0}}@media screen and (max-width:1459px){.subscribe-btn{display:none}}.editors-picks{position:relative}.sign-up2{cursor:pointer}.video-link{cursor:pointer}.zephr-modal-close{color:#fff;top:-20px;position:absolute;right:5px;font-size:1.8em;cursor:pointer}.page-header .logo a .edition{right:-30px}.breadcrumb-wrapper{font-size:14px;color:#333;margin-bottom:20px;display:block}.breadcrumb-wrapper .topic-title>a{font-size:22px;font-weight:bold;font-family:"Josefin Sans",sans-serif}.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb>span{color:#999}.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb span{text-transform:uppercase;font-size:18px;font-weight:bold;font-family:"Josefin Sans",sans-serif}@media(max-width:767px){.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb span{font-size:15px}}.breadcrumb-wrapper .topic-title>a::before,.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb>span::before{content:'';border-left:1px solid #ccc;height:1em;vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block;margin:0 10px}.breadcrumb-wrapper .topic-title>a:first-of-type,.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb>span:first-of-type{color:#111}.breadcrumb-wrapper .topic-title>a:first-of-type::before,.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb>span:first-of-type::before{content:none}.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb>a{margin-left:10px}.breadcrumb-wrapper a:hover{text-decoration:underline}.story main .container-fluid{max-width:1150px;margin-top:5px}@media(min-width:768px){.story main .container-fluid{margin-top:30px}}.story main .page-sidebar{position:static}.article-header h1{font-size:30px;line-height:1.15;font-weight:600;font-family:'Newsreader',serif;font-style:normal;margin-bottom:40px;color:#0e0e0e}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.article-header{margin-bottom:30px}.article-header h1{font-size:36px;margin-bottom:40px}}.article-header .subtitle{font:normal 18px/28px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:7px;color:#222}.article-header .byline{font-size:14px;color:#333;font-family:'DM Sans',sans-serif;font-weight:bold;border-top:0}.article-header .byline a{color:#0e0e0e}.article-header .byline time{display:block;margin-top:10px;font-weight:normal;font-size:13px}.article-header .byline a:hover{text-decoration:underline}.article-header .byline .author-extra{display:inline-block;font-style:normal}.article-header .byline .genericon{font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit;font-family:inherit}.article-header .byline .genericon::before{font:normal normal 16px "Genericons";display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle}.article-header .byline .genericon-twitter::before{color:#1da1f2}.article-header .byline .genericon-linkedin::before{margin-right:3px;color:#0077b5}blockquote{border-left:4px solid #e5e5e5;padding-left:54px;margin:45px 0;color:#222}.article-body blockquote p{font:normal 20px/30px 'Merriweather',serif;font-weight:600}.quoteLeft{font:normal 20px/30px 'Merriweather',serif}.byline-social{border-top:1px solid #e9e9e9;padding:13px 0}.byline-social .social-share{margin-top:8px}.genericon-flipboard{background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/flipboard.png) !important}.social-share .genericon{width:36px;height:36px;margin-left:3px;font-size:16px;line-height:36px;color:#738a8d;font-size:24px}.social-share .genericon:hover{text-decoration:none}.social-share .genericon-facebook-alt{font-size:22px;color:#3b5998;margin-left:0}.social-share .genericon-twitter{color:#1da1f2}.social-share .genericon-tumblr{color:#35465c}.social-share .genericon-linkedin{color:#0077b5}.social-share .genericon-pinterest{color:#bd081c}.social-share .genericon-reddit{color:#ff4500}.social-share .genericon.genericon-flipboard{background-color:transparent !important}figcaption,.figcaption{display:block;margin:0;padding:4px;font-size:13px;color:#444;line-height:18px;text-align:left}figcaption a,.figcaption a{text-decoration:underline}figcaption a:hover,.figcaption a:hover{text-decoration:none}.newsletter-in-article .title{font-weight:600 !important;font-family:'Newsreader',serif !important;font-size:19px !important;color:#af893d}.newsletter-in-article .description{color:inherit !important}.newsletter-in-article input[type="email"]{background:transparent !important;border-color:#ccc !important}.newsletter-in-article input[type="submit"]{background-color:#af893d !important}.newsletter-in-article a{color:#af893d !important;text-decoration:underline}.image-style-side{text-align:center;float:right;max-width:50%;margin-left:20px}.image-style-side img{width:auto}#dfp-ad-bottom-wrapper{margin-bottom:30px}#ad-sticky-wrapper{display:none}#ad-sticky-wrapper.block-sticky{position:fixed;width:100%;left:0;bottom:0;top:initial;margin:0}#ad-sticky-wrapper .dfp-tag-wrapper{height:50px}.on-sticky{padding-bottom:50px}.article-body{color:#222;font-size:18px;line-height:34px;word-wrap:break-word;font-family:'Merriweather',georgia,'times new roman',serif}.article-body::after{display:table;clear:both}.article-body .imageBox{font-family:'Merriweather',serif;font-weight:400}.article-body .dfp-tag-wrapper .dfp-tag-wrapper{margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px}.article-body #dfp-ad-bottom,.article-body #dfp-ad-top{padding:0}.article-body ul,.article-body ol,.article-body p{margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px;font-weight:300}.article-body ul a,.article-body ol a,.article-body p a,.article-body .disclaimer a{color:#0e0e0e;text-decoration:underline}.article-body ul a:hover,.article-body ol a:hover,.article-body p a:hover{text-decoration:none;border-bottom:0}.article-body ol{padding-left:20px}.article-body ol li{list-style:decimal;padding-bottom:14px}.article-body ul li{padding-left:25px;padding-bottom:14px;position:relative}.article-body ul li:before{content:"\f428";font-size:18px;font-family:"Genericons";position:absolute;top:0;left:0}.article-body .tvplayer ul li:before{content:none}.article-body .key-points{font-size:16px}.article-body .key-points ul,.article-body .key-points ol{padding-left:30px;border-bottom:1px solid #eee;padding-bottom:10px;margin-bottom:30px}.article-body .key-points ul li,.article-body .key-points ol li{padding-bottom:8px;margin:10px 0}.article-body .key-points ul{padding-left:30px}.article-body .key-points ol{padding-left:40px}.article-body .figure{display:block;margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px}.article-body figure.pull-left{margin-right:30px;margin-bottom:15px}.article-body figure.pull-right{margin-left:30px;margin-bottom:15px}.writer-info .image{-moz-border-radius:50%;-webkit-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;float:left;margin-right:15px;padding:0;overflow:hidden;width:60px}.writer-info .image img{-moz-transform:translate(0%,0%);-ms-transform:translate(0%,0%);-webkit-transform:translate(0%,0%);transform:translate(0%,0%);width:auto;max-width:inherit;height:60px}.writer-info .summary,.writer-sponsored .summary{-moz-transition:all .3s ease;-o-transition:all .3s ease;-webkit-transition:all .3s ease;transition:all .3s ease;font-size:13px;height:0;overflow:hidden}.writer-info .summary.expand,.writer-sponsored .summary.expand{height:auto}.writer-sponsored .image{float:left;margin-right:15px;padding:0;overflow:hidden}.writer-sponsored .image img{height:60px}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.article-body .key-points ul,.article-body .key-points ol{margin-left:20px}}.small-related{font-size:16px;padding:0 0 20px}.small-related .block-title{margin-bottom:5px;margin-top:0}.small-related .t{font-size:18px;line-height:1.125;font-weight:bold;padding:8px 0;font-family:Newsreader,serif}.small-related .t::before{content:"";display:inline-block;background:#6a6a6a;width:5px;height:5px;border-radius:50%;margin-right:10px;margin-bottom:3px}.author-bio{margin-top:30px;padding:5%;background:#fbfbfb;font-family:'DM Sans',sans-serif}.author-bio img{width:60px;border-radius:100px}.author-bio .name{font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;margin-left:1em}.author-bio .bio{margin-top:15px;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5;color:#6d6d6d}.node-webform h1{margin-bottom:10px}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.page-content{min-height:2500px}.node-webform h1{font-size:24px;line-height:28px;letter-spacing:-.29px}}.node-webform form{padding-top:10px;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5;margin-top:46px}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.node-webform form{margin-top:56px}}.node-webform .form-submit{max-width:310px}.node-webform .form-actions,.node-webform .form-item{margin-top:20px}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.node-webform form>div{display:-webkit-flex;display:flex;-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap;margin-left:-10px;margin-right:-10px}.node-webform .form-item{width:50%;padding-left:10px;padding-right:10px}.node-webform .webform-component-textarea{width:100%}.node-webform .form-actions{width:100%;padding-left:10px;padding-right:10px}}.content-correction{margin:5px 0 60px}.content-correction .user-btn a{font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;line-height:14px;letter-spacing:2px;text-transform:uppercase;color:black}.content-correction .user-btn a:hover{filter:alpha(opacity=60);opacity:.6;text-decoration:none}.content-correction .genericon-close-alt{-moz-border-radius:4px;-webkit-border-radius:4px;border-radius:4px;width:50px;height:50px;background-color:#e5e5e5;text-align:center;top:35px;right:0}.content-correction .genericon-close-alt::before{filter:alpha(opacity=50);opacity:.5;content:"";width:50px;height:50px;display:block;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/sprite.png) -95px -255px/240px no-repeat}.content-correction .genericon-close-alt:hover{filter:alpha(opacity=60);opacity:.6}.content-correction .correction-form header{padding-right:80px;font-size:18px;line-height:28px}.content-correction .correction-form header p{padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:25px}.content-correction .correction-form form{-moz-border-radius:6px;-webkit-border-radius:6px;border-radius:6px;background-color:#f7f7f7;border:1px solid #e5e5e5;padding:15px 30px 30px;margin-top:0}.content-correction .correction-form form .form-textarea,.content-correction .correction-form form .form-text,.content-correction .correction-form form select{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e5e5e5}.content-correction .correction-form form .form-textarea.error,.content-correction .correction-form form .form-text.error,.content-correction .correction-form form select.error{border-color:#ff0500}.content-correction .correction-form form .form-textarea{-moz-border-radius:6px;-webkit-border-radius:6px;border-radius:6px}.content-correction .correction-form form .form-submit{max-width:100%}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.content-correction .correction-form form .form-submit{max-width:370px}}.content-correction .correction-form form .webform-component-email{width:100%}.content-correction .correction-form form .form-actions,.content-correction .correction-form form .form-item{margin-top:15px}.content-correction .correction-form form .webform-component--article-id{margin:0}.content-correction .message{padding-top:35px;padding-right:80px}.content-correction .message h3{text-transform:uppercase;font-size:16px;line-height:28px;letter-spacing:1px}.content-correction .message p{font-size:18px;line-height:28px}#continued-below{font-style:italic;color:#959595;margin-bottom:25px}span.embedded-image{display:block;text-align:center}span.embedded-image span{display:block}span.image-info{text-align:left;padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:35px;margin-bottom:35px;position:relative}span.image-info::after{display:block;content:"";width:50px;height:1px;background-color:#e5e5e5;position:absolute;bottom:0;left:0}span.image-info span{padding-top:10px}span.image-info .image-caption{font-size:15px;line-height:19px;color:#333}span.image-info .image-credit{font-size:13px;line-height:16px;letter-spacing:3px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#181818}@media(min-width:1366px){.videocontent.fixed{width:33.33333333%}}.mStickyPlayer .videocontent{top:36px}.next-caption a{border-color:#79ce00}.next-caption a::before{background-color:#79ce00}.next-caption a:hover,.next-caption a::after{background-color:#79ce00}.arb-btn a::before{background-color:rgba(121,206,0,.6)}.count-link{background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/icon-slideshows.png) center/contain no-repeat;color:#79ce00}#engage_IBTimes>div{max-width:100%;margin-left:0 !important;margin-right:0 !important}.btn-style4 .arb-btn.next a,.btn-style3 .arb-btn.next a{background-color:#79ce00}.btn-style4 .arb-btn.next a:hover,.btn-style3 .arb-btn.next a:hover{background-color:#469b00}.arb-wrap .social-share .block-title{margin-bottom:0;margin-right:10px}.arb-wrap .article-body{margin-bottom:20px}.slideshow-content figcaption{background-color:#f5f5f5}.ad-badge{max-width:230px;margin:0 auto}.article-body .slide{border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5;padding-top:25px;padding-bottom:25px}.article-body .slide-title{font-size:24px;line-height:30px;padding-bottom:25px}.article-body .aff{margin-bottom:30px;text-align:center}.article-body .aff figure a{display:inline-block;border:0}.article-body .aff figure a:hover{background:none}.article-body .aff-button a{display:inline-block;padding:15px 30px;border-radius:3px;background-color:#ed2939;border-bottom:2px solid #b31724;color:#fff;font:bold 20px/20px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;text-decoration:none}.article-body .aff-button a:hover{background-color:#b31724;color:white;text-decoration:none}.article-body .aff figure{background-color:transparent}.article-body .aff figcaption{padding:5px 0 0;border-bottom:0}h2.second{margin:10px 0 0;padding:40px 0 40px}div.divider{clear:both;margin-top:40px}div.divider:after,div.divider:before{display:block;height:4px;border-width:4px 0;margin-bottom:4px;border-style:dotted;content:"";opacity:.3}.logos{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap}.logo-label{display:inline-block;color:#666;width:75px;line-height:16px;margin-top:10px;margin-right:10px}.logo-img{position:relative;top:0;margin-right:13px;margin-left:13px;margin-bottom:16px}.logo-imgs{width:calc(100% - 97px)}@media(max-width:767px){.article-body .aff figure{margin-bottom:10px}.logo-label{margin-top:0;margin-bottom:20px}.logo-imgs{width:100%}#dfp-ad-bottom-wrapper{margin-bottom:20px}}@media(min-width:768px){.article-body .aff figure{padding-right:15px}}.contributor-block{background:#f4f4f4;margin:25px 0;padding:25px 25px 5px;font-size:.8em}.contributor-block .author{font-weight:bold}.contributor-block .desc{clear:both;color:#777;margin-top:25px;line-height:1.3em}.contributor-block .by{display:none}.contributor-block .writer-info .image{position:relative;top:-13px}.wall-guide{display:none;text-align:center;padding:50px 5px 0 0;margin:40px 0;border:1px solid #ccc;background-image:linear-gradient(to top,#eee,#ccc)}.wall .wall-guide{display:block;position:sticky;bottom:0;z-index:99}.wall-guide .login-block{margin-bottom:20px}.wall-guide button{background-color:#021691;padding:10px 10px;color:#fff;border-radius:4px;cursor:pointer;min-width:120px}.wall-guide .or{margin:7px 0}.wall-guide .tips{margin:30px 0 10px}.v_text .wall-guide ul{margin:0}.wall-guide li{text-align:left;margin:0;list-style:none;font-size:13px}.article-body .wall-guide li:before{content:''}.wall-guide li em{color:#666;font-size:.9em}.wall-guide a{text-decoration:underline}.close-wall{position:absolute;top:0;right:10px;cursor:pointer;display:inline-block;font-size:.8em;color:#555;font-style:italic;text-decoration:underline}.wall-guide .genericon{font-size:12px;margin-left:4px;background:#000;color:#fff;display:inline}@media(max-width:599px){.wall-guide{margin-left:-15px;margin-right:-15px;font-size:.85em}.wall .wall-guide.on-sticky-ad{bottom:50px;transition:bottom .5s}.wall-guide .login-block{margin-bottom:20px}.wall-guide .tips{display:none;padding-right:10px}}.contributor-block .author-extra{display:none}#SIGNIN .poster-comments{position:relative;margin:auto;max-width:1000px;width:96%;height:90vh;z-index:99999999;margin-top:50px}#SIGNIN iframe{display:block;height:100%;width:100%;border-radius:5px}.live-item{border-top:1px solid #ccc;padding:20px 0}.live-summary{border-top:0;padding:0}body{min-height:1500px}.article-body .related.ic{margin-top:20px}.related ul{margin-top:0}.content-correction{margin-top:20px}#block-ibtmedia-dfp-ibtmedia-dfp-belowcontent{min-height:500px}body.cms #block-ibtmedia-dfp-ibtmedia-dfp-belowcontent,body.pelcro-subscribed #block-ibtmedia-dfp-ibtmedia-dfp-belowcontent{min-height:0}.social-share .genericon.genericon-flipboard{background-color:#f52828}.genericon-flipboard{background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/img/home/flipboard_srrw.webp) no-repeat 50% 50% #f52828}.article-body::after{display:table;content:' ';clear:both}.article-header .byline{width:calc(100% - 280px);min-width:250px}.tv,.tv-mobile,.tv-mobile-old{position:relative;width:100%;padding-bottom:56.25%}#ibt-video.stn-video .tv{display:none}#ibt-video.vidazoo .tv{position:absolute}#ibt-video.vidazoo .tvplayer{display:none}#ibt-video.vidazoo #tv-box{min-height:225px}.ad-stn-video-wrapper{height:435px;width:100%;display:block}.tv-in{position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;background:#ccc}.close-tv{font-size:10px;line-height:16px;position:absolute;top:-18px;right:0;padding:0 3px;z-index:3;background:#000;color:#fff;border:0;display:none}#tv-box .video-title{position:absolute;display:none;left:0;top:0;width:100%;height:100%;overflow:hidden;color:#ccc}#tv-box.disabled,#ibt-video-title.disabled{display:none}.most-popular{margin-top:20px}.block-fusion-newsletters{border-top:1px solid #eee;padding-top:19px;margin-top:19px}.daily-newsletter{margin:0 0 20px}.daily-newsletter a{width:100%;height:100px;padding:10px;background:left top/cover no-repeat;display:block}.daily-newsletter a:hover{text-decoration:none;cursor:pointer}.daily-newsletter label{font:13.5px/13.5px Times,'Times New Roman','serif';color:#af8a3d;border-bottom:2px solid #af8a3d;margin-top:5px;padding-bottom:5px;float:right}.daily-newsletter span{font-size:11px;color:#848484;font-family:Gotham,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'sans-serif';display:block;float:right}.daily-newsletter button{background-color:#af8a3d;border:0;color:#fff;padding:7px 12px;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold;text-transform:uppercase;margin:5px 40px 0 0;float:right;border-radius:8px;box-shadow:0 1px 1px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 10%),0 1px 1px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 10%);cursor:pointer}.under-article-widget{min-height:500px}.noad #block-ibt-comment .content{min-height:350px}.noad .under-article-widget{min-height:0}@media screen and (max-width:700px){.block-fusion-newsletters{padding-top:16px}.daily-newsletter{margin-bottom:5px}}.ad-margin-bottom{margin-bottom:15px}.newsletter-in-article{margin:15px 0;border-top:#ccc 1px solid;border-bottom:#ccc 1px solid;padding:25px 0;font:13px/17px Arial,sans-serif}.newsletter-in-article .title{font:bold 18px/22px 'Gotham Narrow',sans-serif}.newsletter-in-article .description{font-size:11pt;color:#666;margin:10px 0}.newsletter-in-article input[type="email"]{border:1px solid black;background:#f8f8f8;width:100%;max-width:465px;height:35px;text-indent:20px}.newsletter-in-article input[type="submit"]{cursor:pointer;background-color:#30bced;color:#fff;padding:10px 32px;margin-left:4px}.newsletter-in-article .form-input{margin:5px 0 15px}.newsletter-in-article a{color:#30bced}.meet-ibt{border-top:1px #e1e1e1 solid;padding:10px;clear:both;margin-bottom:20px}.meet-ibt .meet-ibt-title{font-size:15px;font-weight:700;font-family:“Gotham Narrow”,sans-serif;text-transform:uppercase;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:15px;line-height:20px}.meet-ibt .buttons a{margin-right:2%;display:inline-block;margin-bottom:12px}.mid-message{margin:15px 0;border-top:#ccc 1px solid;border-bottom:#ccc 1px solid;padding:25px 30px;font:13px/17px Arial,sans-serif}.mid-message .image{width:38%;float:left}.mid-message .image img{width:200px}.article-body .mid-message h2{font:bold 18px/22px 'Gotham Narrow',sans-serif;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:0}.mid-message .description{font-size:11pt;color:#666;margin:10px 0}@media screen and (max-width:1100px){.flex-block{flex-direction:column}.col-md-8{width:100%;float:none}.col-md-4{width:100%;float:none}.tv-mobile-old #tv-box{position:fixed !important;bottom:60px;right:0;width:215px !important;z-index:3;transition:right 1s}.tv-mobile #tv-box{position:fixed !important;top:51px;left:0;width:100%;background:#000;z-index:3;transition:right 1s,top .5s ease 0s}.down-scroll .tv-mobile #tv-box{top:0;transition:top .5s ease 0s}.tv-mobile #tv-box .tv{width:215px !important;height:121px;padding-bottom:0}.tv-mobile #tv-box .video-title{display:block;padding:20px 24px 19px 230px;font:400 13px/16px 'Lato',sans-serif}.tv-mobile #tv-box .video-title p{display:block;width:100%;height:100%;overflow:hidden}.tv-mobile .close-tv{top:8px;right:8px}.tv-mobile .show-close-button .close-tv{display:block}.tv-mobile .video-js .vjs-control-bar{height:35px}.tv-mobile .video-js .vjs-control-bar .vjs-button{width:2.2em}.tv-mobile .vjs-button>.vjs-icon-placeholder:before{font-size:1.8em}.tv-mobile .video-js .vjs-time-control{line-height:1.8em}.tv-mobile .video-js .vjs-progress-control{top:-23px}.tv-mobile .video-js .continue .continue-span{font-size:12px;margin-top:7px}.tv-mobile .video-js .vjs-big-play-button.continue{line-height:.7em;min-width:85px;height:50px}.tv-mobile .video-js.vjs-has-started .continue{margin-left:-1.7em}.tv-mobile .videojs-ad-wrap .ad-control-bar{height:37px}.tv-mobile .videojs-ad-wrap .ad-button{width:40px;height:34px;font-size:2em;line-height:1.4em}.tv-mobile .videojs-ad-wrap .ad-countdown{top:15px;font-size:.9em;left:42px}}#ibt-mobile-avf{position:relative;display:none;z-index:10}#ibt-mobile-avf #ibt-video .group{display:none;margin-top:0 !important}@media screen and (max-width:640px){.mid-message{padding:25px 0}.mid-message .image{width:100%;float:none;padding-bottom:10px}.mid-message .image img{width:100%}.mid-message h2{line-height:1.2em;padding-bottom:0}.mid-message p{margin-bottom:0}.newsletter-in-article input[type="submit"]{margin:5px 0 0 0;width:100%}.meet-ibt{padding:10px 0}}.filed-under{margin-top:20px}@media screen and (max-width:991px){.page-top{display:none}#ibt-mobile-avf{display:block;width:100%;min-height:calc(100vw/1.66);padding-bottom:15px}#ibt-mobile-avf.disabled{display:none}.o-video{position:absolute;width:100%;padding-bottom:56.25%;z-index:-1}.o-video button{position:absolute;width:135px;height:63px;line-height:1em;left:50%;top:50%;margin:-33px 0 0 -67.5px;color:white;background:none;cursor:pointer}.o-video button span{display:inline-block;margin:2px 0 0 10px;font:400 21px/120% 'Lato',sans-serif;vertical-align:top}.video-spinner{position:absolute;left:calc(50% - 25px);top:calc(50% - 25px);display:inline-block;width:50px;height:50px}.video-spinner:after{content:" ";display:block;width:38px;height:38px;border-radius:50%;border:6px solid #fff;border-color:rgba(43,51,63,.3) rgba(43,51,63,.5) rgba(200,200,200,.5) rgba(230,230,230,.7);animation:video-spinner 1.2s linear infinite}@keyframes video-spinner{0%{transform:rotate(0deg)}100%{transform:rotate(360deg)}}#ibt-mobile-avf .videocontent-wrapper,#ibt-mobile-avf .tv-in{background:none}}.block-ibtimes-article,.block-fusion-ads{clear:both}.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb span.category.blue{color:#6d787a;font-size:14px}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.category{font-size:27px;line-height:30px}.breadcrumb-wrapper .breadcrumb span.category.blue{font-size:18px}}.category{font:bold 20px/20px sans-serif;color:#f72210;margin-bottom:15px}.tnc{font-style:italic;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:12px;line-height:1.8em;color:#666}.article-body .key-points ul,.article-body .key-points ol{margin:0}.story main .container-fluid{max-width:1188px}.latest-list{display:flex;flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;width:100%;gap:4%}.latest-list li{flex:45%;font-weight:bold;font-size:1em;margin-bottom:20px}.latest-list li img{width:100%}.latest-list li .item-link{margin-top:7px;font-family:Arial}#second-list{display:none}@media screen and (max-width:640px){#latest{display:none}#second-list{display:block}}@media screen and (max-width:640px){.most-popular-list li{display:block}.most-popular-list li .item-number{display:none}.most-popular-list li .item-image{width:100%;height:inherit;margin:0;margin-bottom:10px}.most-popular-list li .item-image img{transform:none;position:static;width:100%}.most-popular-list li .item-link{font-size:1.3em;font-family:Arial}}.v_text{clear:both;display:block;color:#222;word-wrap:break-word;display:block;box-sizing:border-box}.v_text .credit{font-size:12px;color:#777}.v_text .credit:before{content:'(Photo: '}.v_text .credit:after{content:')'}.v_text .cap{margin:0 15px 0 0}.v_text .captionBox{position:relative;margin:0;padding:2px 3px 4px 3px;font-size:12px;color:#222;text-align:left}.v_text .caption{margin:0;padding:2px 3px 4px 3px;font-size:13px;color:#444;line-height:18px;text-align:left}.v_text .imgPhoto{vertical-align:bottom}.v_text .featured_video .embed-feed{position:relative}.v_text ul,.v_text ol{padding:0;margin:20px 0 20px 20px}.v_text ul li{line-height:1.5em}.v_text ol li{line-height:1.5em}.rate01{display:inline-block;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/hope/img_rate1.gif) no-repeat left top;width:78px;height:13px;text-indent:-5000px}.rate02{display:inline-block;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/hope/img_rate2.gif) no-repeat left top;width:78px;height:13px;text-indent:-5000px}.rate03{display:inline-block;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/hope/img_rate3.gif) no-repeat left top;width:78px;height:13px;text-indent:-5000px}.rate04{display:inline-block;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/hope/img_rate4.gif) no-repeat left top;width:78px;height:13px;text-indent:-5000px}.rate05{display:inline-block;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/hope/img_rate5.gif) no-repeat left top;width:78px;height:13px;text-indent:-5000px}.v_text .max-full{width:100%}.galleryLeft{clear:both;float:left;margin:3px 20px 5px 0;position:relative;color:#333;font-size:8pt;overflow:hidden;max-width:60%;height:auto}.galleryLeft .span{position:absolute;top:60px;left:70px;font-size:25pt;font-weight:bold;color:#f90}.galleryRight{clear:both;float:right;margin:3px 0 5px 20px;position:relative;color:#333;font-size:8pt;overflow:hidden;max-width:60%;height:auto}.galleryRight .span{position:absolute;top:60px;left:70px;font-size:25pt;font-weight:bold;color:#f90}.galleryLeft .prev,.galleryRight .prev,.galleryLeft .next,.galleryRight .next{width:40px;height:56px}.galleryVt{clear:both;margin:0 auto;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;position:relative;padding:0;max-width:100%;height:auto}.galleryVt>figure{clear:both;margin:5px auto;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:center;position:relative;max-width:100%;height:auto}.galleryVtNone{clear:both;margin:0;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:center;position:relative;padding:0;max-width:100%;height:auto}.galleryVtNone>figure{clear:both;margin:5px auto;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:center;max-width:100%;height:auto}.galleryVtRight{clear:both;float:right;margin:3px 0 5px 20px;position:relative;padding:0;max-width:60%;height:auto}.galleryVtRight>figure{margin:5px auto;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;max-width:100%;height:auto}.galleryVtLeft{clear:both;float:left;margin:3px 20px 5px 0;position:relative;padding:0;max-width:60%;height:auto}.galleryVtLeft>figure{margin:5px auto;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;max-width:100%;height:auto}.galleryFull{clear:both;margin:5px auto;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:center;position:relative;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;height:auto}.galleryNone{clear:both;margin:5px 0;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;position:relative;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;height:auto}.gallery{margin:auto}.quoteFull{clear:both;margin:10px 20px 5px 0;padding:10px 10px 7px}.quoteFull .quote{color:#000;line-height:1.7em;font-style:italic;position:relative}.v_text .quote:before,.v_text .quote:after{font-size:3em;position:relative;line-height:0;font-family:georgia,'times new roman',serif}.v_text .quote:before{top:.4em;left:-.1em}.v_text .quote:after{top:.4em;left:-.1em}.quoteFull .small{font-size:.8em;font-weight:bold;color:#000;margin-top:10px}.quoteLeft{clear:both;float:left;margin:10px 20px 5px 0;padding:10px 10px 7px;width:40%}.quoteLeft .quote{color:#000;line-height:1.7em;font-style:italic}.quoteLeft .small{font-size:.8em;text-align:right;color:#000}.quoteRight{clear:both;float:right;margin:10px 0 5px 20px;padding:10px 10px 7px;width:40%}.quoteRight .quote{color:#000;line-height:1.7em;font-style:italic}.quoteRight .small{font-size:.8em;text-align:right;color:#000}.quoteLeft,.quoteRight{padding:10px 15px 10px}.quoteLeft .small,.quoteRight .small{text-align:right;font-size:.8em;margin-top:10px}.fullPoll,.leftPoll,.rightPoll{margin:10px auto}.leftPoll{clear:both;float:left;margin:10px 20px 5px 0;max-width:60%}.rightPoll{clear:both;float:right;margin:10px 0 5px 20px;max-width:60%}.poll_label{background:#c00;color:#fff;font-size:18px;margin:0;padding:10px 10px 10px 20px}.poll{padding:15px 20px 10px;border:1px solid #eee;border-top:0}.poll .po_title{font-size:15px;font-weight:bold}.poll .poll_message{font-size:12px;color:#c00}.poll ul.poll_ul,.poll ul.ul_result{list-style:none;margin:0;padding:10px 10px}.poll li{list-style:none !important;font-size:14px;border-bottom:1px solid #eee;line-height:36px;margin:0;padding:10px 0 !important}.poll li:before{content:"" !important}.poll li input{height:15px;margin-right:5px;width:15px}.poll .poll_submit,.poll .return_poll{text-align:center}.poll .return_poll,.poll .ul_result,.poll .poll_message{display:none}.poll .poll_submit input{background-color:#e1451d;border:0;color:#fff;font-size:18px;height:41px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:6px;width:231px}.poll .poll_submit a,.poll .return_poll a{font-size:12px}.poll .other{width:80px;margin-left:20px}.relatedCode{position:relative;clear:both;float:left;margin:3px 20px 5px 0;overflow:hidden}.fullCode{clear:both;margin:10px auto 20px;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;height:auto;padding-top:5px;padding-bottom:5px}.fullCode .innerBox{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden}.fullCode iframe{width:100%}.fullCode img{max-width:100%;height:auto;display:block}.noneCode{clear:both;margin:10px 0;overflow:hidden}.rightCode{position:relative;clear:both;float:right;margin:3px 0 5px 20px;overflow:hidden}.v_text .instagram-media{margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;max-width:500px;width:96%}.v_text .twitter-tweet,.v_text .twitter-video{margin:auto !important}.v_text .tiktok-embed{border-left:0;padding-left:0}.jsbox,#jsbox{overflow:hidden;padding:0;margin:0}.v_text .code{margin:0;padding:0}.v_text iframe{margin:0;padding:0;border:0;max-width:100%}.fullCoding{padding:20px;border:1px dashed #333;background:#eee;margin:20px 0;font-size:.75em}.block3{margin:20px 0 20px 20px;padding-left:30px;padding-right:15px;position:relative}.block3:before{content:'“';font-size:50px;position:absolute;left:7px;top:7px}.block3>*:last-child:after{content:'”';font-size:50px;line-height:0;position:relative;top:21px;left:5px}.block1{clear:both;border:1px solid #777;padding:5px 20px 5px;margin:20px 0;background:#eff3f5}.block2{clear:both;border:1px solid #777;padding:5px 20px 5px;margin:20px 0;background:#f8f2e4}.block4{padding:15px 0;border:0 solid #ccc;border-width:6px 0;font-size:22px;max-width:80%;margin:0 auto;margin-bottom:50px;margin-top:50px}.block5{position:relative;clear:both;padding:0;border:0;margin:20px 0;background:none}@media screen and (max-width:768px){.block4{max-width:90%}}.block1Left{clear:both;float:left;margin:6px 20px 10px 0;border:1px solid #ccc;padding:0 15px 15px;background:#eff3f5;font-size:.9em}.block1Right{clear:both;float:right;margin:6px 0 10px 20px;border:1px solid #ccc;padding:0 15px 15px;background:#eff3f5;font-size:.9em}.block2Left{clear:both;float:left;margin:6px 20px 10px 0;border:1px solid #ccc;padding:0 15px 15px;background:#f8f2e4;font-size:.9em}.block2Right{clear:both;float:right;margin:6px 0 10px 20px;border:1px solid #ccc;padding:0 15px 15px;background:#f8f2e4;font-size:.9em}.block5Left{position:relative;clear:both;float:left;margin:6px 25px 10px 0;padding:0 0 5px 0;border-top:1px solid #bbb;border-bottom:1px solid #bbb;background:none;font-size:.9em}.block5Right{position:relative;clear:both;float:right;margin:6px 0 10px 25px;padding:0 0 5px 0;border-top:1px solid #bbb;border-bottom:1px solid #bbb;background:none;font-size:.9em}.block2Right p,.block1Right p,.block2Leftt p,.block1Left p,.block5Left p,.block5Right p,.block2Right h3,.block1Right h3,.block2Leftt h3,.block1Left h3,.block5Left h3,.block5Right h3,.block2Right h4,.block1Right h4,.block2Leftt h4,.block1Left h4,.block5Left h4,.block5Right h4{margin:12px 0}.block1Leftt ul,.block1Right ul,.block2Left ul,.block2Right ul,.block5Left ul,.block5Right ul{margin:0;padding:0 0 0 18px}.block1Leftt ol,.block1Right ol,.block2Left ol,.block2Right ol,.block5Left ol,.block5Right ol{margin:0;padding:0 0 0 25px}.block1Leftt hr,.block1Right hr,.block2Left hr,.block2Right hr,.block5Left hr,.block5Right hr{margin:10px 0}.block1:after,.block2:after,.block5:after{display:table;content:" ";clear:both}.fullItem{margin:20px 0;clear:both;border:2px solid purple;padding:20px}.fullItem .top-item{font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd;padding:0 0 20px;position:relative}.fullItem .top-item:after{content:" ";display:block;clear:both}.imageLeft{clear:both;float:left;margin:20px 20px 5px 0;position:relative}.imageRight{clear:both;float:right;margin:20px 0 5px 20px;position:relative}.imageBox{clear:both;margin:10px auto;font-style:normal;position:relative;max-width:100%;height:auto}.innerBox{margin:auto;max-width:100%}.imageNone{clear:both;font-size:11px;color:#111;margin:10px 0;display:block;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;position:relative}.fullArticle{clear:both;font-size:15px;margin:10px 0;padding:0 0 5px;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/feb2014/bg_dot_line.gif) repeat-x left bottom}.v_last .fullArticle{background:none !important}.fullArticle ul{padding:0;margin:10px 0 0}.fullArticle ul li{list-style:none;margin-left:0;padding-left:18px;margin-bottom:9px}.fullArticle ul li a{border:0;color:#0e0e0e;display:block}.relatedArticle{clear:both;float:left;font-size:15px;border-top:#8adb2b 3px solid;margin:10px 20px 0 0;padding:10px 0 10px}.relatedArticle .label{font-size:15px;font-weight:700}.relatedArticle ul{padding:0;margin:10px 0 0}.relatedArticle ul li{list-style:none;margin-left:0;padding-left:18px;margin-bottom:9px}.relatedArticle ul li a,.rightArticle ul li a{border:0;color:#333;display:block}.rightArticle{clear:both;float:right;font-size:15px;border-top:#8adb2b 3px solid;margin:10px 0 0 20px;padding:10px 0 10px}.rightArticle .label{font-size:15px;font-weight:700}.rightArticle ul{padding:0;margin:10px 0 0}.rightArticle ul li{list-style:none;margin-left:0;padding-left:18px;margin-bottom:9px}.relatedNews{clear:both;width:300px;float:left;border-top:#8adb2b 3px solid;font-weight:700;font-size:17px;margin:10px 20px 0 0;position:relative;max-width:50%;background:#eee}.relatedNews .rnews{border:1px solid #ccc;border-top:0;padding:12px 8px 12px 10px}.relatedNews .label{font-size:14px;position:absolute;top:149px;right:0;background:#8adb2b;color:#fff;padding:3px 6px;display:block;text-align:left;text-transform:uppercase}.relatedNews .background{display:block;width:100%;height:180px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center}.relatedNews a{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;cursor:pointer;border:0;display:block}.relatedNews a:hover{text-decoration:underline}.relatedVideo{position:relative;clear:both;float:left;margin:3px 20px 5px 0}.rightVideo{position:relative;clear:both;float:right;margin:3px 0 5px 20px}.fullVideo{position:relative;clear:both;margin:10px auto 0;max-width:100%;height:auto}.noneVideo{position:relative;clear:both;margin:10px 0 0;max-width:100%;height:auto}.header1{color:#0d53a3;font-size:18px;font-weight:bold}.header2{color:#052260;line-height:24px;font-size:12pt;font-weight:bold}.header3{color:#051f58;line-height:24px;font-size:11pt;font-weight:bold}.header4{color:#222;line-height:24px;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold}.videoWrapper{position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;clear:both}.videoWrapper iframe{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%}.comparative{clear:both;margin:10px auto;max-width:100%}.comparative .relative{position:relative;overflow:hidden}.comparative .cover-box{position:absolute;left:0;top:0;z-index:1;width:50%;height:100%;background-color:#000;opacity:.6}.comparative .cover-box2{position:absolute;left:50%;top:0;z-index:1;width:50%;height:100%;background-color:#000;opacity:.2}.comparative .cover-box3{position:absolute;left:0;top:50%;margin-top:-112px;z-index:3;width:100%;color:#fff;font-size:33px;text-align:center}.comparative .cover-box3 div{margin:16px 0}.comparative .stick{position:absolute;left:50%;top:0;z-index:2;width:4px;background-color:#fff;height:28%}.comparative .stick2{position:absolute;left:50%;bottom:0;z-index:2;width:4px;background-color:#fff;height:28%}.parallax .image{clear:both;height:400px;background-attachment:fixed;background-position:center;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:cover}.scurrent{position:absolute;right:0;z-index:99;padding:4px 6px;opacity:.5;background-color:#000;color:#fff;width:85px;text-align:center}.dnext{position:absolute;right:0;z-index:99;height:100%;width:50%;cursor:pointer}.dprev{position:absolute;left:0;z-index:99;height:100%;width:50%;cursor:pointer}.dnext .next,.dprev .prev{cursor:pointer;display:block;position:absolute;top:47%;width:45px;height:80px;margin-top:-48px;-webkit-border-radius:2px;-moz-border-radius:2px;border-radius:2px;-webkit-box-shadow:inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.2);-moz-box-shadow:inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.2);box-shadow:inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,0.2);background-color:#000;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:center;opacity:.4;z-index:99}.dnext .next{background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/hope/btn_next.webp);right:5px;transition:all .3s ease 0s}.dprev .prev{background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/hope/btn_prev.webp);left:5px;transition:all .3s ease 0s}.dnext:hover .next{opacity:1}.dprev:hover .prev{opacity:1}.sliding img{max-width:100%;height:auto;width:auto}.v_text .table-block{margin:20px 0;overflow-x:auto}.v_text table{padding:0;border-spacing:0;border-collapse:collapse;width:100%}.v_text tr,.v_text tbody{padding:0}.v_text th{padding:5px 10px;background-color:#f3f3f3;color:#333;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:.8em}.v_text td{padding:5px 10px;font-size:.8em;border:1px solid #aaa;min-width:50px}hr{margin:20px 0;border-top:1px solid #777;display:block}hr.dashed{border-top:1px dashed #777;clear:both;visibility:hidden;margin:0;height:0;overflow:hidden}hr.spacer{padding:8px 0;border:0;visibility:hidden;width:100%}.imageLeft,.imageRight,.galleryVtLeft,.galleryVtRight,.quoteLeft,.quoteRight,.relatedArticle,.rightArticle,.relatedVideo,.rightVideo{max-width:60%;height:auto}.relatedArticle{width:300px !important}.block2Left,.block1Left,.block5Left,.block2Right,.block1Right,.block5Right{max-width:50%;height:auto}.v_text>.imageLeft:first-child,.v_text>.imageRight:first-child{margin-top:25px !important}.imgPhoto{width:100%;height:auto}#tvplayer_main{position:absolute;z-index:20;width:100%;height:100%}.v_text .thumb-movie img{width:100%;height:auto;display:block}img.sensitive{visibility:hidden}.sensitive-content{color:#fff;font-size:20px;line-height:26px;text-align:center;width:300px;position:absolute;left:50%;top:50%;margin:-100px 0 0 -150px}.c-display{color:#fff;font-size:28px;padding:20px 20px;background:#db4b19;border-radius:5px;cursor:pointer;position:absolute;left:50%;top:50%;margin:-10px 0 0 -120px}.v_text video{max-width:100%}.v_text h1 a,.v_text h2 a,.v_text h3 a,.v_text h4 a,aside a{display:initial;border:0}.v_text h1 a:hover,.v_text h2 a:hover,.v_text h3 a:hover,.v_text h4 a:hover,.v_text strong a:hover,aside a:hover,.relatedArticle a:hover,.fullArticle a:hover,.rightArticle a:hover{text-decoration:underline}.v_text .precode{white-space:pre-wrap;padding:20px 10px 20px 20px;border:1px solid #777;background:#eff3f5;font-size:.9em}#social-btns{margin:20px 0 20px}.share-container{width:383px;margin:auto;float:right}.social-wrap{border-top:1px solid #ddd;border-bottom:1px solid #ddd;padding:10px 0;color:#fff;margin-top:10px}.social-wrap .icon-text{display:table-cell;vertical-align:top;width:440px;padding-right:20px}.social-wrap .icon-more{display:table-cell;vertical-align:top;width:61px;min-width:61px}.social-wrap i{font-size:40px}.social-wrap .social-icon{left:10px;position:absolute;top:10px}.byline .ico-twitter-left:before{width:16px;height:17px;content:' ';display:inline-block;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/social/twitter-x-black.svg) left 10%/80% no-repeat;vertical-align:middle}.social-share .icon{cursor:pointer;width:36px;height:36px;display:block}.social-share .twitter-x-black{background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/social/twitter-x-black.svg) center 55%/53% no-repeat}.social-share .pocket{background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/social/pocket.svg) 50% 60%/60% no-repeat}blockquote.embed-twitter,blockquote.twitter-tweet{border:1px solid #ddd;border-radius:15px;max-width:550px;padding:30px;margin:auto;font-size:.85em;position:relative}blockquote.embed-twitter a,blockquote.twitter-tweet a{border-bottom:0;color:#1b95e0}blockquote.embed-twitter:before,blockquote.twitter-tweet:before{background-repeat:no-repeat;content:'';display:block;height:1.3125rem;right:17px;position:absolute;top:16px;width:1.5rem;background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/www/img/social/twitter-x-black.svg);background-size:20px 20px}.comment-wrap .top-tainer{margin-top:0}textarea.comment-text{color:#333;padding:15px;border:2px solid #ccc;height:183px}#article-add>figure,#article-add>aside{display:block;width:100% !important;float:none !important;max-width:100% !important;margin:10px auto !important}#article-add .imgPhoto{display:block;margin:auto}.v_first>figure,.v_first>aside{margin:10px auto 0 !important}.v_text .ad-mpu{border:0}.odds--container{clear:both;background:#f5f5f5;float:left;font:700 16px/24px 'Source Sans Pro',lucida sans,arial,sans-serif;margin:0 15px 10px 0;text-align:center;width:300px}.odds--header{background:#ffb80c;padding:15px 0}.v_text div .odds--header a{color:#0e0e0e}.v_text .odds--header div{margin:0}.odds-match{padding:1em}.odds-match .h4{font-weight:700}.odds-option{background:#fff}.v_text .odds-option div{margin:0;padding:1em 0}.odds-option p:nth-child(2){border-bottom:1px solid #e5e5e5;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5}.v_text .odds--container div a{color:#0e0e0e;border:0}.odds-cta{color:#ffb80c}.odds-terms{color:#999;font-size:.8em}audio{width:90%;margin:auto;display:block}@media screen and (max-width:510px){.odds--container{float:none;margin:10px auto 0;max-width:100%}.v_text .embed-feed a{display:none}}.galleryHz{clear:both;margin:5px auto;display:block;max-width:100%;margin:20px auto;justify-content:space-between}.galleryHz .innerBox{display:flex;flex-flow:row nowrap}.gallerySquare{clear:both;margin:5px auto;display:block;max-width:100%;margin:20px auto;overflow:hidden}.gallerySquare .innerBox{display:flex;flex-flow:row wrap;justify-content:space-between}.gallerySquare .imgPhoto{display:block}.gallerySquare .caption{height:100%}.gallerySquare .circle img{border-radius:50%}.gallerySquare .square-item{overflow:hidden}.galleryHz .square-item{flex:1 1 auto}.galleryHz .square-item img{height:100%}#v_article .afterClear::after,#v_article .beforeClear::before{clear:both;display:table;content:" "}.fullLayout{clear:both;position:relative;margin:0 auto}.fullLayout .layout-row{display:flex;flex-flow:row wrap;justify-content:space-between;margin:0 -14px}.fullLayout .layout-item{padding:0 14px;background:#fff}.fullLayout .column2 .layout-item{width:calc(50% - 28px)}.fullLayout .column3 .layout-item{width:calc(33.333333333% - 28px)}.fullLayout .column4 .layout-item{width:calc(25% - 28px)}.fullLayout.valign1 td{vertical-align:middle;border:0}.fullLayout.valign2 td{vertical-align:bottom}.valign1 .layout-row,.valign2 .layout-row{display:table !important}.valign1 .layout-item{display:table-cell;vertical-align:middle;width:50% !important}.valign2 .layout-item{display:table-cell;vertical-align:bottom;width:50% !important}.v_text .fb-post{width:500px;margin:auto;display:block}.twitter-tweet,.twitter-video{margin:auto}.v_text .tiktok-embed{min-height:480px}@media screen and (max-width:510px){#v_article .imageLeft,#v_article .imageRight,#v_article .quoteLeft,#v_article .quoteRight,#v_article .relatedArticle,#v_article .rightArticle,#v_article .relatedVideo,#v_article .rightVideo,#v_article .block2Left,#v_article .block1Left,#v_article .block5Left,#v_article .block2Right,#v_article .block1Right,#v_article .block5Right,#v_article .leftPoll,#v_article .rightPoll{float:none;margin:20px auto;max-width:100%;width:auto !important}#v_article .imageLeft .imgPhoto,#v_article .imageRight .imgPhoto,#v_article .galleryLeft .imgPhoto,#v_article .galleryRight .imgPhoto,#v_article .galleryVtLeft,#v_article .galleryVtLeft>div,#v_article .galleryVtLeft .imgPhoto,#v_article .galleryVtRight,#v_article .galleryVtRight>div,#v_article .galleryVtRight .imgPhoto,#v_article .galleryLeft,#v_article .galleryRight,#v_article .inside-left-mpu{float:none;margin:10px auto 0;max-width:100%}#v_article .imageLeft .imgPhoto,#v_article .imageRight .imgPhoto{margin:0}#v_article .relatedNews{float:none;margin:10px auto 0;width:100%;max-width:100%}#v_article .relatedNews .background{background-size:100% auto}.valign1 .layout-item{display:block}.fullLayout .column2 .layout-item{width:100% !important}.fullLayout .column3 .layout-item{width:100%}.fullLayout .column4 .layout-item{width:100%}.gallerySquare.each-item .square-item{flex:1 100% !important}}pre{line-height:1.1em;white-space:pre-wrap}p.clicknow{text-align:left;font:bold 17px/17px Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin:20px 0}p.clicknow a{display:inline-block;background-color:#1c9bef;color:#FFF !important;padding:15px 20px;border-bottom:0;text-decoration:none !important;text-transform:uppercase;min-width:300px;text-align:center}@media screen and (max-width:510px){p.clicknow{text-align:center}p.clicknow a{min-width:330px;padding:19px 20px}}#big-shots-overlay .flex-wrap{display:flex}.v_text .imageBox{text-align:center}.v_text .imageBox .inBox{display:inline-block}#SIGNIN{position:fixed;z-index:10001 !important;top:0 !important;left:0 !important;background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.7) !important;-webkit-backdrop-filter:blur(2px) !important;backdrop-filter:blur(2px) !important;font:14px/20px "Helvetica",sans-serif !important;color:#333 !important;height:100vh;width:100vw;overflow-y:scroll;padding-bottom:20px}#SIGNIN .nw-login{position:relative;margin:auto;max-width:525px;width:96%;z-index:99999999}.login-popup{margin-top:30px;border-radius:7px;padding:10px;background:#fff}.login-popup iframe{width:100%}.proscons .fullLayout .layout-item{background:#f3f3ff;padding:20px 30px}.proscons .layout-row{width:100%}.proscons ul{margin:0}.proscons ul li{margin:5px 0;padding-bottom:0}.proscons .pros,.proscons .cons{font-weight:bold;font-size:1.2em;margin-bottom:13px}.proscons .pros::before{content:'✔ ';color:green;font-size:1.2em}.proscons .cons::before{content:'✖ ';color:red;font-size:1.2em}.proscons td{background:inherit}.divTable{display:table;width:auto;border-spacing:2px;width:100%}.divRow{display:table-row;width:auto}.divCell{float:left;display:table-column;width:50%;border-top:2px solid #777}.divRow:nth-child(1) .divCell{border:0}.divCell:nth-child(2){color:#33c;text-align:right}.v_text .creditcard .caption{background:#eef;margin-top:5px}.creditcard{border:1px solid #eee;box-shadow:rgba(200,200,200,.3) -5px 5px;padding:16px}p.btnnow{text-align:left;font:bold 17px/17px Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin:20px auto;width:200px}p.btnnow a{display:inline-block;background-color:#1c1bbb;color:#FFF !important;padding:15px 20px;border-bottom:0;text-decoration:none !important;text-transform:uppercase;min-width:200px;text-align:center;border-radius:10%}.boxtypeB ul li{line-height:1em}#SIGNIN .poster-comments{position:relative;margin:auto;max-width:1000px;width:96%;height:90vh;z-index:99999999;margin-top:50px}#SIGNIN iframe{display:block;height:100%;width:100%;border-radius:5px}.v_text .cap{margin:0 20px 0 0}.v_text .captionBox{position:relative;padding:10px 15px 15px;text-align:left}.v_text .caption{margin:0;text-align:left;padding:10px 15px 15px;color:#666}.v_text .credit{margin-top:5px;text-transform:uppercase}.relatedNews,.relatedArticle{border-top:#000 3px solid;font-weight:normal}.relatedNews .label{background:#000}.relatedNews a{border-bottom:0 !important}.block3{border-left:0 !important}.vjs-box{position:relative}.vjs-box:before{display:block;content:"";width:100%;padding-top:56.25%}.imgPhoto{cursor:pointer}.v_first .imgPhoto{width:100%}.imageLeft,.imageRight,.galleryVtLeft,.galleryVtRight,.quoteLeft,.quoteRight,.relatedArticle,.rightArticle,.relatedVideo,.rightVideo{max-width:50%;height:auto}.slide .fullLayout{margin:0 auto}.promo-box{margin:20px 0}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.article-body .related.ir{float:right;width:200px;margin-left:30px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:10px}}@media screen and (max-width:768px){#v_article>figure.imageBox,.article-body>figure.imageBox,.article-body>figure.imageLeft,.article-body>figure.imageRight,.article-body>figure.galleryFull,.article-body>figure.galleryHz,.article-body>figure.comparative{margin:0 calc(50% - 50vw) 20px;max-width:inherit !important}}.article-body h2{margin-top:24px;margin-bottom:24px}.article-body h3{margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:20px}.imageBox .link,.imageLeft .link,.imageRight .link{position:absolute;top:0;bottom:0;left:0;right:0;opacity:0}.fact-check{text-align:center;margin:20px auto;position:relative}.product-item{text-align:left;margin:20px auto;position:relative;font-size:26px;font-weight:bold}.fact-check:after,.product-item:after{display:block;content:"";border-top:3px solid #ccc;transform:translateY(-1rem);position:absolute;top:30px;left:0;width:100%;z-index:1}.product-item:after{border-top:2px solid #1c9bef;top:35px}.fact-check span.fc,.product-item span.fc{background:red;color:white;padding:0 20px;display:inline-block;z-index:2;position:relative}.product-item span.fc{background:#1c9bef;padding:0 5px 0 8px;font-size:.7em;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;width:50px;text-align:center}div.n-forum{background-color:#f41e12;padding:30px;border-radius:8px;color:#ffff;margin:20px 0}.n-forum a.link{color:#ffe400;font-weight:bold}.n-forum a.link2{color:#ffe400;text-decoration:underline}.fullItem .star{margin-left:10px;color:#666}.art19-web-player.awp-medium{min-height:198px}.big-shots{position:relative}.big-shots .n-title{margin-bottom:18px;display:none}.big-shots .n-title .icon-n{position:relative}.big-shots .n-title .icon-n::before{content:"";display:block;width:26px;height:25px;border-right:3px solid #f72210;border-bottom:3px solid #f72210;position:absolute;bottom:-4px;right:-4px}.big-shots h2{text-transform:uppercase}.big-shots .description{padding-bottom:20px}.big-shots .image{position:relative}.big-shots .cover.mask{position:absolute;top:0;right:0}.big-shots .cover.mask::before{-moz-transition:all .4s ease;-o-transition:all .4s ease;-webkit-transition:all .4s ease;transition:all .4s ease;display:block;content:"";width:82px;height:83px;background:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/images/icon-arrow-dia-down.svg) center/37px no-repeat rgba(18,18,18,.8);position:absolute;top:0;right:0}.big-shots .cover.mask:hover{top:1px;right:1px;left:1px;bottom:1px}.big-shots .cover.mask:hover::before{width:100%;height:100%;background-image:none;background-color:rgba(18,18,18,.1)}.big-shots .info{padding:15px 30px 30px;text-align:center;border:1px solid #d9d9d9;border-top:0;position:relative}@media screen and (max-width:767px){.big-shots{margin-left:-15px;margin-right:-15px}}.front .big-shots .cover.mask{bottom:0;left:0;z-index:1}.v_text .big-shots .container-fluid{padding-left:0;padding-right:0}.story main .big-shots .container-fluid{margin-top:0}.affiliate .imageBox figcaption{background:#000;color:#fff;position:absolute;bottom:0;right:0;padding:5px 10px}.affiliate .imageBox .credit{color:#ccc}.affiliate .v_text p a,.affiliate .v_text h3 a{color:#1c9bef;text-decoration:underline}.v_text .imageBox{text-align:center}.v_text .imageBox .inBox{display:inline-block}.v_text p,.v_text blockquote p,.v_text h3,.v_text h4{margin:20px 0;padding:0;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box}.v_embed .related li{margin:0}.lazyload{visibility:hidden}figure{background-color:#fff}@media screen and (min-width:768px){#sticky1,#sticky2{position:sticky;top:45px}#sticky1{float:right}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){#sticky0{position:sticky;top:45px}#sticky3{position:sticky;top:45px}}.sticky-box::after{clear:both;display:table;content:' '}.content-bottom{padding:15px}#block-ibtimes-tv-blocks-homepage-video a{cursor:pointer}.forex-widget{display:block;line-height:0;background:#000}@media screen and (max-width:767px){html{overflow-x:hidden}.pagination{margin:20px 0 !important}}.flex-block{display:flex;flex-direction:column;align-self:stretch}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.flex-block{flex-direction:row}}.block-sticky{position:sticky;top:41px;z-index:2}.filed-under{font:bold 12px/12px Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;letter-spacing:1.5px;text-transform:uppercase}.filed-under a{display:inline-block;color:#fff;background-color:#30bced;padding:9px 20px;margin-right:10px;margin-bottom:10px}.section-title{font:bold 32px/32px "Gotham Narrow",sans-serif;color:#222;border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:30px;margin-bottom:5px;text-align:center}.social-share{width:270px;height:36px}.article-body .block-sticky{position:static}.article-body .dfp-tag-wrapper{margin:20px auto}.noad .dfp-tag-wrapper,.noad .page-top,.noad #ad-right1-wrapper{display:none}.byline-social .byline time{min-width:290px}#block-ibt-comment .content{min-height:400px;overflow-x:hidden}</style><link rel="preload" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/sys/css/splide.min.css?v=1740484656" as="style" onload="this.onload=null;this.rel='stylesheet'"><noscript><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/sys/css/splide.min.css?v=1740484656"></noscript><link rel="preload" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/sys/css/video-initial.css?v=1740484656" as="style" onload="this.onload=null;this.rel='stylesheet'"><noscript><link rel="stylesheet" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/sys/css/video-initial.css?v=1740484656"></noscript> <script>var relList=document.createElement('link').relList;if(!!(relList&&relList.supports&&relList.supports('preload'))){}else{GCSS('https://d.ibtimes.net/widget/graphic?path=sys/css/splide.min.css&v=1740484656&mime=text/css');GCSS('https://d.ibtimes.net/widget/graphic?path=sys/css/video-initial.css&v=1740484656&mime=text/css')}</script> <link rel="preload" as="script" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/sys/js/b2e588e58df17f453cc914f4e9558750.js?v=1740484656" /><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://www.googletagmanager.com" /><link rel="preload" as="script" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/sys/js/b2e588e58df17f453cc914f4e9558750.js?v=1740484656" /><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://stats.myibtimes.com" /><link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net" /> <script>oa.pageinfo={"articleId":"52444","articleTitle":"Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls","writerId":"293","writer":"Bijoe Kap","editorialTeam":"","section":"Opinion","sectionId":"102","language":"en","publishedTime":1667982815,"publishedDate":"20221109","published":"1","content_channel":"n\/a","content_channel_iab":"n\/a","content_channel_iabs":["n\/a"],"categories":"opinion","source":"IBTimes INTL","video":"N","video_type":"n\/a","video_ap":"N","layout":"standard","paragraphs":24,"page_type":"article","wordcount":"845","related_count":0,"classification":"","tier":"","article_value":0,"story_location":"","keywords":"South Africa,Biden,IS,US,Africa command"};var setCookieSecure=function(name,value,days,domain){var date,expires,host='';if(days){date=new Date();date.setTime(date.getTime()+(days*24*60*60*1000));expires="; expires="+date.toGMTString();if(domain)host=";domain="+domain}else{expires="; expires=0"}document.cookie=name+"="+value+expires+host+"; path=/; secure; samesite=lax;"},LJS=function(b,c,d){var a=document.createElement("script");a.src=b;d?a.async=!0:a.defer=!0;c&&(a.id=c);b=document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0];b.insertBefore(a,b.firstChild)},LJSA=function(src,id){LJS(src,id,1)},site_name="International Business Times",site_id="ibtintl",site_domain="ibtimes.net",is_gdpr=/EU|AT|BE|BG|HR|CY|CZ|DK|EE|FI|FR|DE|GR|HU|IE|IT|LT|LV|LU|MT|NL|PL|PT|RO|SK|SI|ES|SE|GB|IS|LI|NO/i.test(oa.geo.country),gdpr_applies=ccpa_applies=usp_applies=gpp_applies=!1,uspString='1---',consentPrebid={},dataLayer=dataLayer||[],referrer='',timerStart=Date.now();ibt_log("Country",oa.geo.country,0);dataLayer.push(oa.pageinfo);if(oa.pageinfo.layout=='corporate'){}else{if(oa.geo.country=='US'&&/CA|CO|CT|UT|VA|OR|MT|TX|IA|IN|TN|FL/i.test(oa.geo.state))usp_applies=!0;else if(is_gdpr)gdpr_applies=!0;else if(oa.geo.country=='BR')gpp_applies=!0;if(usp_applies||gdpr_applies||gpp_applies){consentPrebid={gdpr:{cmpApi:'iab',timeout:500,defaultGdprScope:!0},gpp:{cmpApi:'iab',timeout:500},usp:{cmpApi:'iab',timeout:500}};var sirdata="WdMaR";LJ("https://cache.consentframework.com/js/pa/41059/c/"+sirdata+"/stub");LJ("https://choices.consentframework.com/js/pa/41059/c/"+sirdata+"/cmp",function(){ibt_log('CMP Sirdata loaded')})}}</script> <script>var utm_result2=getUrlParameters();if(document.referrer=='')referrer='direct';else if(document.referrer.indexOf(location.protocol+"//"+location.host)===0||document.referrer.search('(.*)www-ibtimes-net.cdn.ampproject.org([^/?]*)')===0)referrer='internal';else referrer='external';function TrafficSource(r,u){if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?facebook\./.test(r)||/FBAN|FB_IAB/.test(u))return'Facebook';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?newsbreak(app)?\./.test(r)||/NewsBreak/i.test(u))return'NewsBreak';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?toutiao\.com/.test(r)||/TopBuzz/.test(u))return'TopBuzz';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?flipboard\.com/.test(r)||/Flipboard/.test(u))return'Flipboard';if(r=='')return'Direct';if(utm_result2.utm_medium=='email')return'fromNewsletter';if(r=='https://www.ibtimes.net/'||r.indexOf('https://www.ibtimes.net/?')!=-1)return'fromHomepage';if(/^https?:\/\/www\.google\.com\/amp\/s\/www\.ibtimes\.net/.test(r))return'AmpGoogle';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?google(apis)?\./.test(r)||/com\.google\.android\.googlequicksearchbox/.test(r))return'Google';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?(bing|msn)\./.test(r))return'Microsoft';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?yahoo\./.test(r))return'Yahoo';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?newsnow\./.test(r))return'NewsNow';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?smartnews\./.test(r))return'SmartNews';if(/^https?:\/\/([\w\.]+\.)?reddit\./.test(r))return'Reddit';if(/^https?:\/\/t.co\//.test(r))return'X';if(/axelspringer\.yana\.zeropage/.test(r)||r.search('upday')===0)return'upday';if(/^https?:\/\/www-ibtimes-net\.cdn\.ampproject\.org/.test(r))return'AmpCdn';if(referrer=='internal')return'Internal';return'Other'};var trsource=TrafficSource(document.referrer,navigator.userAgent),brtype='web',highval=!1,emlhs=getCookieString('emlhs'),frhp=getCookieString('frhp'),connection=navigator.connection||navigator.mozConnection||navigator.webkitConnection,con_type=(connection===undefined)?"no_info":connection.effectiveType;ibt_log("con_type",con_type);if(oa.browser.name.indexOf('Webview')>-1)brtype=oa.browser.name=='Android Webview'?'wv_android':'wv_ios';if(trsource=='fromNewsletter'||trsource=='fromHomepage'||emlhs||frhp)highval=!0;var highval_str=(highval)?"1":"0"</script> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/themes/favicons/apple-touch-icon.png"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/themes/favicons/favicon-32x32.png"><link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/themes/favicons/favicon-16x16.png"><link rel="manifest" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/themes/favicons/site.webmanifest"><link rel="mask-icon" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/themes/favicons/safari-pinned-tab.svg"><link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://g.ibtimes.net/themes/favicons/favicon.ico"><meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#000000"><meta name="msapplication-config" content="https://g.ibtimes.net/themes/favicons/browserconfig.xml"><meta name="theme-color" content="#000000"> <script>var pbjs=pbjs||{},googletag=googletag||{};googletag.cmd=googletag.cmd||[];pbjs.que=pbjs.que||[];(function(){var v=document.createElement('video'),p;v.src="data:video/mp4;base64,AAAAHGZ0eXBpc29tAAACAGlzb21pc28ybXA0MQAAAAhmcmVlAAAC721kYXQhEAUgpBv/wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA3pwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAcCEQBSCkG//AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADengAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAcAAAAsJtb292AAAAbG12aGQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPoAAAALwABAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADAAAB7HRyYWsAAABcdGtoZAAAAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIAAAAAAAAALwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQEAAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACRlZHRzAAAAHGVsc3QAAAAAAAAAAQAAAC8AAAAAAAEAAAAAAWRtZGlhAAAAIG1kaGQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKxEAAAIAFXEAAAAAAAtaGRscgAAAAAAAAAAc291bgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFNvdW5kSGFuZGxlcgAAAAEPbWluZgAAABBzbWhkAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAkZGluZgAAABxkcmVmAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAMdXJsIAAAAAEAAADTc3RibAAAAGdzdHNkAAAAAAAAAAEAAABXbXA0YQAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAgAQAAAAAKxEAAAAAAAzZXNkcwAAAAADgICAIgACAASAgIAUQBUAAAAAAfQAAAHz+QWAgIACEhAGgICAAQIAAAAYc3R0cwAAAAAAAAABAAAAAgAABAAAAAAcc3RzYwAAAAAAAAABAAAAAQAAAAIAAAABAAAAHHN0c3oAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIAAAFzAAABdAAAABRzdGNvAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAsAAAAYnVkdGEAAABabWV0YQAAAAAAAAAhaGRscgAAAAAAAAAAbWRpcmFwcGwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAtaWxzdAAAACWpdG9vAAAAHWRhdGEAAAABAAAAAExhdmY1Ni40MC4xMDE=";if((p=v.play())!=undefined)p.then(function(){ibt_log("[AUTOPLAY]Allow");dfpSlots.autoplay=1},function(){v.volume=0;v.muted=!0;v.play().then(function(){ibt_log("[AUTOPLAY]MutedOnly");dfpSlots.autoplay=2},function(){ibt_log("[AUTOPLAY]Blocked");dfpSlots.autoplay=2})})})()</script> <script>LJ('https://g.ibtimes.net/sys/js/b2e588e58df17f453cc914f4e9558750.js?v=1740484656',function(){doAfterLoad()})</script> <script>function extractHostname(t){return(t.indexOf("//")>-1?t.split("/")[2]:t.split("/")[0]).split(":")[0].split("?")[0]};dfpSlots.pginfo={"refresh_time":"30","max_refresh":"100","desktop":"top|0|0|0,right1|0|1|0,right2|1|0|1,right3|1|1|1,right4|1|0|1,bottom|1|0|1,video|0|0|0,MGID|0|0|0,NextMillennium|0|0|0,oop1|0|0|0,oop2|0|0|0,oop3|0|0|0","tablet":"top|0|0|0,right1|1|0|0,right2|1|0|1,right3|1|0|1,right4|1|0|1,bottom|1|0|1,video|0|0|0,MGID|0|0|0,NextMillennium|0|0|0,sticky|1|1|1,oop1|0|0|0,oop2|0|0|0,oop3|0|0|0","mobile":"top|0|0|0,right1|1|0|0,right2|1|0|1,right3|1|0|1,right4|1|0|1,bottom|1|0|1,video|0|0|0,MGID|0|0|0,NextMillennium|0|0|0,sticky|1|1|1,oop1|0|0|0,oop2|0|0|0,oop3|0|0|0","desktop_num":6,"tablet_num":7,"mobile_num":7};dfpSlots.pbjs=0;dfpSlots.aps=0;dfpSlots.limit={'s':4,'m':30,'d':90};dfpSlots.cap={'s':0,'m':parseInt(getCookie('cap_m')||0),'d':parseInt(getCookie('cap_d')||0)};var site_random=Math.random(),ibtmedia_device=mobile_device?(screen.width<768||screen.height<768?'mobile':'tablet'):"desktop",group_cat=excl_label=amzn_video_bid=prebid_video_bid=prebid_cust_param=fbprom=fbpromoc=otherpromoc=keyExC="",keyEx=[],NoPassFQ=DVPreFilter="N",adBlock="U",adblockedcmd=[],site_ads=1,pageFocus=site_ads_text='Y',dfp_cat="n/a",fq_ref=extractHostname(document.referrer)||'Direct',pageRefreshed="N",w1200=(brW>=1200)?"Y":"N",fqs_loaded=fqs_load_timeout=pbjs_loaded=amznads2_loaded=is_bot=!1;if(ibtmedia_device=='desktop'&&screen.width<=1024&&oa.os.name=='Mac OS'){ibtmedia_device='tablet';mobile_device=!0} if(!oa.geo.device)oa.geo.device=ibtmedia_device;if(dfpSlots.pginfo.desktop_num+dfpSlots.pginfo.mobile_num+dfpSlots.pginfo.tablet_num==0){site_ads=0;site_ads_text='N'} if(getCookie('nwcmsmode')){site_ads=0;site_ads_text='N_CMS'}if(getCookie('ibtfreead')=='1'){site_ads=0;site_ads_text='N_SUBSCRIBER'} if(window.bot_engine){site_ads=0;site_ads_text='N_BOT'}else if(site_id=='ibtus'&&(oa.os.name=='Linux'||(oa.os.name=='Android'&&parseInt(oa.os.version)<=5)||(ibtmedia_device=='desktop'&&(/HK|ZA|MY|ID|VN|IN|TR|PH|NO/i.test(oa.geo.country)||(oa.os=='Windows'&&/IN|ID|VN/i.test(oa.geo.country))||(oa.os=='Mac OS'&&/CH|PK/i.test(oa.geo.country))||(oa.browser.name=='Chrome'&&(oa.browser.version=="8"||oa.browser.version=="11"))||(oa.browser.name=='Firefox'&&oa.browser.version=="11"))))){site_ads=0;site_ads_text='N_BLOCKED_COUNTIRES'} if(oa.geo.country=='US'&&ibtmedia_device=='desktop')dfpSlots.limit={'s':2,'m':10,'d':30};if(site_id=='ibtus'&&!/pb=0/.test(location.href)&&(dfpSlots.limit.m<=dfpSlots.cap.m||dfpSlots.limit.d<=dfpSlots.cap.d)){site_ads=0;site_ads_text='N_ADS_CAPPING'} var ts='nonpromoted',utm_result=getUrlParameters();dfpSlots.onvideoplay=[];if(utm_result.utm_campaign=='promoted'&&utm_result.utm_source=='facebook.com'&&utm_result.utm_term){ts="fbpromo";fbpromoc=utm_result.utm_term;setCookieHours("fbpromo",fbpromoc,1);fbprom="&fbpromo="+fbpromoc}else if(getCookieString('fbpromo')!=''){ts="fbpromo";fbpromoc=getCookieString('fbpromo');fbprom="&fbpromo="+fbpromoc}else if(utm_result.utm_source&&"outbrain googlead axnative mgid".indexOf(utm_result.utm_campaign)>-1){ts=utm_result.utm_campaign;otherpromoc=utm_result.utm_term;setCookieHours("otherpromoc",otherpromoc,1);setCookieHours("otherpromo",ts,1);fbprom="&"+ts+"promo="+otherpromoc}else if(utm_result.utm_source=='AppleNews2'&&utm_result.utm_term){ts="applepromo";otherpromoc=utm_result.utm_term;setCookieHours("otherpromoc",otherpromoc,1);setCookieHours("otherpromo",ts,1);fbprom="&"+ts+"="+otherpromoc}else if(utm_result.utm_campaign=='keywee'){ts='kwfbpromo';otherpromoc=utm_result.utm_term;setCookieHours("otherpromoc",otherpromoc,1);setCookieHours("otherpromo",ts,1);fbprom="&"+ts+"="+otherpromoc}else if(utm_result.utm_source=='mobileposse'){ts='mobileposse';setCookieHours("otherpromo",ts,1)}else if(document.referrer.indexOf("nativeapp.toutiao.com")>-1){ts='toutiao';setCookieHours("otherpromo",ts,1)}else if(getCookieString('otherpromo')){ts=getCookieString('otherpromo');if(getCookieString('otherpromoc')){otherpromoc=getCookieString('otherpromoc');fbprom="&"+ts+"promo="+otherpromoc}};if(utm_result.utm_source=='Facebook'&&utm_result.utm_term=='boosted')ts="fbboost";var utm_source=utm_result.utm_source||"",fq_source=utm_source?encodeURIComponent(utm_source+"|"+utm_result.utm_medium+"|"+utm_result.utm_campaign):fq_ref;ibt_log("ts:",ts,", device:",ibtmedia_device,", mobile:",mobile_device,screen.width+"x"+screen.height,brW+"x"+brH);dfpSlots.network_id="124813052";dfpSlots.adunit="ibtimes.net";dfpSlots.vid_adunit="vid.ibtimes.net";if(/vs_adtest=/.test(location.href)){dfpSlots.adunit='test.'+dfpSlots.adunit;dfpSlots.vid_adunit='test.'+dfpSlots.vid_adunit;dfpSlots.test=location.hash.match(/vs_adtest=([\w]+)/)};dfpSlots.headercmd=[],dfpSlots.sizes={},dfpSlots.slots=[],dfpSlots.slotobjs={},dfpSlots.lazyslots=[],dfpSlots.lazyslotpos=[],dfpSlots.totallazy=0,dfpSlots.dsp_adunit='/'+dfpSlots.network_id+'/'+dfpSlots.adunit+'/';LJ("https://g.ibtimes.net/www/js/adblock_prebid.js",function(){adBlock='N'},function(){adBlock='Y';ibt_log('ADS Ad Blocker Detected');execFunc(adblockedcmd)});(function(w,info){var d=document;d.addEventListener("visibilitychange",()=>{pageFocus=(d.visibilityState=="visible")?"Y":"N";ibt_log("pageFocus: ",pageFocus)});d.dispatchEvent(new Event("visibilitychange"));if(info){info.advertisement=site_ads_text;w.wo_section=info.categories||"ndef";w.wo_pagetype=info.page_type||"ndef";w.pb_videos=info.video||"N";if(info.categories)dfp_cat=site_id+'-'+(wo_section.replace("-","_"));if(wo_pagetype!="article"&&wo_pagetype!="slideshow"){setCookieSecure("frhp",1,1,"."+site_domain)}}else w.wo_section=w.wo_pagetype="ndef",w.pb_videos="N"})(window,oa.pageinfo);keyEx=[];var verification_callback=function(){ibt_log("ADS vcallback","fq_loaded:",fqs_loaded,"fq:",NoPassFQ,"a9:",amznads2_loaded,"pb:",pbjs_loaded,'ad:',site_ads,Date.now()-timerStart);if(fqs_loaded&&pbjs_loaded&&amznads2_loaded&&site_ads){clearTimeout(hb_timeout_var);initAdserver()}};var fq_callback=function(ivt){if(!fqtag.loadedfq){fqtag.loadedfq=!0;fqtag.score=ivt.score;fqtag.result=ivt.msg;if(fqtag.score>=0.65&&!/pb=0/.test(location.href)){keyEx.push('|ibt| IVTFilter');NoPassFQ="Y";appendCSS('.dfp-ad-lazy {display: none !important;}')}else{if(ivt.msg=='Timeout')NoPassFQ="T";else if(ivt.msg=='ByPass'&&/pb=0/.test(location.href))NoPassFQ="P";else if(ivt.msg=='NoDetection')NoPassFQ="D"} if(ivt.ip){oa.geo.ip=ivt.ip;oa.geo.country=ivt.country} ibt_log('ADS ivtcheck_callback',ivt.msg,ivt.score,' IVT :',NoPassFQ,Date.now()-timerStart)} ivt_common()},ivt_common=function(){if(!fqs_loaded){fqs_loaded=!0;if(keyEx&&keyEx.length){keyExC="&kwgroup="+keyEx.join().toLowerCase().replace(/\|(ibt|ple)\| /g,'').replace(/\s/g,'_')+"&excl_cat="+keyEx.join()} googletag.cmd.push(function(){if(oa.geo.ip)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("ip",oa.geo.ip);googletag.pubads().setTargeting("rsk",NoPassFQ);ibt_log("ADS excl_label:",keyEx);if(window.keyEx&&keyEx.length){googletag.pubads().setTargeting("kwgroup",keyEx.join().toLowerCase().replace(/\|(ibt|ple)\| /g,'').replace(/\s/g,'_').split(","));for(i=0;i<keyEx.length;i++)googletag.pubads().setCategoryExclusion(keyEx[i]);}});doFir.push(function(){if(NoPassFQ!='Y'&&DVPreFilter!='Y')execFunc(fqtag.cmd);execFunc(fqtag.fcmd);jQuery(window).on('scroll.fqscmd',function(){jQuery(window).off('scroll.fqscmd');if(NoPassFQ!='Y'&&DVPreFilter!='Y')execFunc(fqtag.scmd);execFunc(fqtag.fscmd)})})} verification_callback()};var fqtimeout=setTimeout(fq_callback,4000,{'score':0,'msg':'Timeout'});LJ("https://stats.myibtimes.com/tool/ivtcheck?callback=fq_callback&ref="+document.referrer+"&cb="+Date.now(),function(){clearTimeout(fqtimeout)});var loadAdTags=function(){LJ("https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js",function(){ibt_log('ADS gpt.js loaded',Date.now()-timerStart)})};var adsTagLoad={'set':(mobile_device)?'asap':'asap',cmd:[]};if(adsTagLoad.set=='asap')loadAdTags();else adsTagLoad.cmd.push(loadAdTags);var abt_rand=Math.floor(site_random*2)+1,abt=abt_rand.toString(),abt100=Math.floor(site_random*100),videoAdUnit=[],pbSlots=[],amzSlots=[],pbSlotsLazy={},amzSlotsLazy={};var PREBID_TIMEOUT=2000,FAILSAFE_TIMEOUT=PREBID_TIMEOUT+2000;if(abt==1)PREBID_TIMEOUT=1000;if(adsTagLoad.set=='asap'&&dfpSlots.pbjs==0&&dfpSlots.aps==0)FAILSAFE_TIMEOUT=100;switch(ibtmedia_device){case "mobile":break;case "tablet":break;default:} if(site_ads){if(amzSlots.length){adsTagLoad.cmd.push(function(){ibt_log('ADS APS requestBids',Date.now()-timerStart);apstag.fetchBids({slots:amzSlots,timeout:PREBID_TIMEOUT},function(bids){ibt_log("ADS APS returned:",bids,Date.now()-timerStart);googletag.cmd.push(function(){amznVideoAPS(bids);apstag.setDisplayBids();amznads2_loaded=!0;verification_callback()})})})}else{ibt_log("ADS APS no initial slots");amznads2_loaded=!0;verification_callback()}}else{ibt_log('ADS Disabled ads request.');appendCSS('.dfp-tag-wrapper, #dfp-ad-top-wrapper {display: none !important;}')} var amznVideoAPS=function(bids){amzn_video_bid=bids.filter(function(bid){return bid.mediaType==='video'}).map(function(bid){return bid.encodedQsParams||bid.helpers.encodedQsParams()}).join('')},amznVideoAPS_refresh=function(){apstag.fetchBids({slots:[{slotID:'',mediaType:'video'}]},function(bids){ibt_log('ADS apstag_vidbid_refresh:',bids,Date.now()-timerStart);amznVideoAPS(bids)})};var adexl_fpd=keyEx.join().toLowerCase().replace(/\|ibt\| /g,'').replace(/\s/g,'_').split(",");const displayPricingGranularity={"buckets":[{"precision":2,"max":3,"increment":0.01},{"precision":2,"max":8,"increment":0.05},{"precision":2,"max":20,"increment":0.25},{"precision":2,"max":50,"increment":0.5}]};const videoPricingGranularity={"buckets":[{"precision":2,"min":0.25,"max":20,"increment":0.25},{"precision":2,"max":30,"increment":0.5},{"precision":2,"max":60,"increment":1}]};if(site_ads){googletag.cmd.push(function(){ibt_log('ADS GPT initial defineSlots',dfpSlots.slots,Date.now()-timerStart);var ads=dfpSlots.pginfo[ibtmedia_device].split(","),ad=[];switch(ibtmedia_device){case 'mobile':dfpSlots.sizes.top=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.right1=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.right2=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.right3=[[300,600],[160,600],[120,600],[336,280],[300,250],[250,250],[320,100]];dfpSlots.sizes.right4=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.bottom=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.sticky=[[320,50],[300,50]];break;case 'tablet':dfpSlots.sizes.top=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.right1=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.right2=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.right3=[[300,600],[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[320,100]];dfpSlots.sizes.right4=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.bottom=[[300,250],[336,280],[250,250],[300,100],[320,100],[180,150]];dfpSlots.sizes.sticky=[[320,50],[300,50]];break;default:dfpSlots.sizes.top=[[970,250],[728,90],[970,120],[970,90],[970,66]];dfpSlots.sizes.right1=[[300,250]];dfpSlots.sizes.right2=[[300,250],[728,90],[250,250],[468,60]];dfpSlots.sizes.right3=[[300,600],[300,250],[160,600],[120,600],[250,250]];dfpSlots.sizes.right4=[[300,250],[728,90],[250,250],[468,60]];dfpSlots.sizes.bottom=[[728,90]]};for(o in ads){ad=ads[o].split("|");if(dfpSlots.sizes[ad[0]]||ad[0].indexOf("oop")>-1){if(ad[3]=="1"){dfpSlots.lazyslots.push(ad[0])}else dfpSlots.slots.push(ad[0])}};for(var i=0;i<dfpSlots.slots.length;i++){if(highval&&(dfpSlots.slots[i]=='oop1'||dfpSlots.slots[i]=='oop2'||dfpSlots.slots[i]=='oop3')){continue} if(dfpSlots.sizes[dfpSlots.slots[i]]){ibt_log('ADS GPT definedSlot',dfpSlots.slots[i],Date.now()-timerStart);dfpSlots.slotobjs[dfpSlots.slots[i]]=googletag.defineSlot(dfpSlots.dsp_adunit+dfpSlots.slots[i],dfpSlots.sizes[dfpSlots.slots[i]],"dfp-ad-"+dfpSlots.slots[i]).addService(googletag.pubads()).setTargeting("pos",dfpSlots.slots[i]).setTargeting("refresh","N");if(dfpSlots.rdm)dfpSlots.rdm_slots.push(dfpSlots.slotobjs[dfpSlots.slots[i]]);}else{ibt_log('ADS GPT defineOutOfPageSlot',dfpSlots.slots[i],Date.now()-timerStart);dfpSlots.slotobjs[dfpSlots.slots[i]]=googletag.defineOutOfPageSlot(dfpSlots.dsp_adunit+dfpSlots.slots[i],"dfp-ad-"+dfpSlots.slots[i]).addService(googletag.pubads()).setTargeting("pos",dfpSlots.slots[i]).setTargeting("refresh","N")}} doFir.push(function(){for(o in dfpSlots.lazyslots)jQuery("#ad-"+dfpSlots.lazyslots[o]+"-wrapper").addClass('dfp-ad-lazy');})});pbjs.que.push(function(){if(ccpa_applies||gdpr_applies){pbjs.setConfig({consentManagement:consentPrebid})}})} var checkReqCap=function(n,p='',d=''){if(site_id!='ibtus')return 0;var t=Date.now(),g=dfpSlots.latestRequest?t-dfpSlots.latestRequest:0;if(g>1e3){dfpSlots.cap.s=0;if(g>6e4){dfpSlots.cap.m=0;if(g>864e5)dfpSlots.cap.d=0}} if(dfpSlots.cap.s>=dfpSlots.limit.s)return 1e3;if(dfpSlots.cap.m>=dfpSlots.limit.m)return 6e4-g;if(dfpSlots.cap.d>=dfpSlots.limit.d)return 864e5-g;dfpSlots.cap.s+=n;dfpSlots.cap.m+=n;dfpSlots.cap.d+=n;ibt_log('ADS Request Cap passed',dfpSlots.cap,p,d);setCookieHours('cap_m',dfpSlots.cap.m,0.017);setCookieHours('cap_d',dfpSlots.cap.d,24);dfpSlots.latestRequest=t;return 0},gptRefresh=function(pos,div){ibt_log('ADS GPT fetching req.',pos,div);googletag.pubads().refresh([dfpSlots.slotobjs[div]])},defineDFPSlot=function(pos){if(!site_ads)return;var div=arguments.length>1&&arguments[1]?arguments[1]:pos,pb=0,amz=0;ibt_log('ADS lazy slot loading',pos,'dfp-ad-'+div);if(!dfpSlots.slotobjs[div]){ibt_log('ADS GPT lazy definedSlot',pos,Date.now()-timerStart);dfpSlots.slotobjs[div]=googletag.defineSlot(dfpSlots.dsp_adunit+pos,dfpSlots.sizes[pos],"dfp-ad-"+div).addService(googletag.pubads()).setTargeting("pos",pos).setTargeting("refresh","L");googletag.display("dfp-ad-"+div)};if(dfpSlots.aps){var cfg=0;for(var i=0;i<amzSlots.length;i++){if(amzSlots[i].slotID=="dfp-ad-"+pos){cfg=amzSlots[i];break}};if(cfg==0){ibt_error('define slot',amzSlots,pos,div);return};ibt_log('ADS lazy APS request',pos,'dfp-ad-'+div);apstag.fetchBids({slots:[cfg]},function(bids){ibt_log('ADS lazy ',pos,div,'aps bid back:',bids);apstag.setDisplayBids();if(pb)gptRefresh(pos,div);else amz=1})}else amz=2;if(dfpSlots.pbjs){pbjs.que.push(function(){ibt_log('ADS lazy prebid request',pos,'dfp-ad-'+div);pbjs.requestBids({timeout:PREBID_TIMEOUT,adUnitCodes:['dfp-ad-'+div],bidsBackHandler:function(bids){ibt_log('ADS lazy ',pos,div,'prebid bid back:',bids);pbjs.setTargetingForGPTAsync(['dfp-ad-'+div]);if(amz)gptRefresh(pos,div);else pb=1}})})}else if(dfpSlots.rdm){pbjs.que.push(function(){ibt_log('ADS lazy RDM request',pos,'dfp-ad-'+div,dfpSlots.slotobjs[div]);pbjs.rp.requestBids({callback:function(bids){ibt_log('ADS lazy ',pos,div,'RDM prebid bid back:',bids);if(amz)gptRefresh(pos,div);else pb=1},gptSlotObjects:[dfpSlots.slotobjs[div]]})})}else pb=2;if(amz==2&&pb==2)gptRefresh(pos,div);},insertLazySlots=function($,pos,div,w){h='<div id="ad-'+div+'wraper" class="block block-fusion-ads"><div id="dfp-ad-'+div+'-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper dfp-ad-lazy"><div id="dfp-ad-'+div+'"></div></div></div>';if(w)$.after('<'+w+'>'+h+'</'+w+'>');else $.after(h);dfpSlots.lazyslotpos[div]=pos;dfpSlots.lazyslots.push(div)},removeLazySlots=function($,div){$("#ad-"+div+"-wrapper").remove();delete dfpSlots.lazyslotpos[div];if(i=dfpSlots.lazyslots.indexOf(div)>-1)dfpSlots.lazyslots.splice(i,1);},loadLazyAdUnits=function(){var nl=dfpSlots.lazyslots.length,pos='',div='',h_load=0;if(dfpSlots.slots.length||nl){if(nl&&NoPassFQ!='Y'){for(var i=0;i<nl;i++){if(div=dfpSlots.lazyslots.shift()){pos=dfpSlots.lazyslotpos[div]?dfpSlots.lazyslotpos[div]:div;var ad=jQuery('#dfp-ad-'+div+'-wrapper').offset();if(pos=='sticky'){ad.top=1000;h_load=300}else h_load=mobile_device?brH*2:brH*1.5;if(ad&&ad.top&&jQuery(window).scrollTop()>=(ad.top-h_load)&&!checkReqCap(1,pos,div)){dfpSlots.slots.push(div);if(div==pos){if(pbSlotsLazy[pos]){if(dfpSlots.pbjs)pbjs.addAdUnits(pbSlotsLazy[pos]);pbSlots.push(pbSlotsLazy[pos]);delete pbSlotsLazy[pos]};if(amzSlotsLazy[pos]){amzSlots.push(amzSlotsLazy[pos]);delete amzSlotsLazy[pos]}}else{var chk_loadedslot=1;for(o in pbSlots){if(pbSlots[o].code=='dfp-ad-'+pos){pbSlots.push(JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(pbSlots[o])));pbSlots[pbSlots.length-1].code='dfp-ad-'+div;if(dfpSlots.pbjs)pbjs.addAdUnits(pbSlots[pbSlots.length-1]);chk_loadedslot=0;break}};if(chk_loadedslot){if(pbSlotsLazy[pos]){pbSlots.push(JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(pbSlotsLazy[pos])));pbSlots[pbSlots.length-1].code='dfp-ad-'+div;if(dfpSlots.pbjs)pbjs.addAdUnits(pbSlots[pbSlots.length-1]);};if(amzSlotsLazy[pos]){amzSlots.push(JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(amzSlotsLazy[pos])))}}else{for(o in amzSlots){if(amzSlots[o].slotID=='dfp-ad-'+pos){amzSlots.push(JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(amzSlots[o])));break}}}};defineDFPSlot(pos,div)}else dfpSlots.lazyslots.push(div)}}}else{jQuery(this).off("scroll.lazyads")}}},prebidVideoAd_refresh=function(){};fqtag.cmd.push(function(){dfpSlots.lazytmp=[];googletag.cmd.push(function(){jQuery(window).on('scroll.lazyads',loadLazyAdUnits)});doFir.push(function(){if(jQuery(window).scrollTop()>100)googletag.cmd.push(function(){jQuery(window).trigger('scroll.lazyads')})})});var initAdserver=function(){if(pbjs.initAdserverSet)return;pbjs.initAdserverSet=!0;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var n_slots=0;for(o in dfpSlots.slotobjs)n_slots++;checkReqCap(n_slots);if(dfpSlots.pbjs){ibt_log("ADS prebid_attempt_init_adserver",Date.now()-timerStart);pbjs.que.push(function(){pbjs.setTargetingForGPTAsync();ibt_log("ADS prebid_set_key_values",pbjs.getAdserverTargeting());if(n_slots){ibt_log("ADS GPT fetching req. with prebid pbjs.",Date.now()-timerStart);googletag.pubads().refresh()}})}else if(n_slots){ibt_log("ADS GPT fetching req.",Date.now()-timerStart);googletag.pubads().refresh()};if(dfpSlots.headercmd){while(exe=dfpSlots.headercmd.shift())exe();delete dfpSlots.headercmd}})},adsTimeout=function(){window.hb_timeout_var=setTimeout(function(){fqs_load_timeout=!0;amznads2_loaded=!0;pbjs_loaded=!0;ibt_log("ADS Failsafe_timeout",Date.now()-timerStart);ivt_common('Timeout')},FAILSAFE_TIMEOUT)};if(adsTagLoad.set=='asap'){adsTimeout();execFunc(adsTagLoad.cmd)}else doFir.push(function(){jQuery(window).on('scroll.adtagload',function(){if(jQuery(window).scrollTop()>5){jQuery(window).off('scroll.adtagload');FAILSAFE_TIMEOUT+=2000;execFunc(adsTagLoad.cmd);adsTimeout()}})});googletag.cmd.push(function(){ibt_log('ADS GPT disabledInitialLoad',Date.now()-timerStart);googletag.pubads().disableInitialLoad();googletag.pubads().setCentering(!0);googletag.pubads().setPrivacySettings({trafficSource:(ts=='nonpromoted')?googletag.enums.TrafficSource.ORGANIC:googletag.enums.TrafficSource.PURCHASED});googletag.pubads().setTargeting("cat",dfp_cat);googletag.pubads().setTargeting("video","N");if(oa.pageinfo){if(oa.pageinfo.articleId)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("article_id",oa.pageinfo.articleId);if(oa.pageinfo.topics)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("topics",oa.pageinfo.topics.split(', '));if(oa.pageinfo.content_channel_iabs)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("content",oa.pageinfo.content_channel_iabs);if(oa.pageinfo.layout)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("layout",oa.pageinfo.layout);if(oa.pageinfo.paragraphs)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("paragraphs",oa.pageinfo.paragraphs.toString());if(oa.pageinfo.page_type)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("page_type",oa.pageinfo.page_type);if(oa.pageinfo.keywords)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("keywords",oa.pageinfo.keywords.split(','));};if(window.pageFocus)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("focus",pageFocus);if(window.w1200)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("w1200",w1200);if(window.referrer)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("referrer",referrer);if(window.ts){googletag.pubads().setTargeting("ts",ts);if(fbpromoc)googletag.pubads().setTargeting(ts,fbpromoc);else if(otherpromoc)googletag.pubads().setTargeting(ts+"promo",otherpromoc);};if(window.trsource)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("trsource",trsource);if(window.brtype)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("brtype",brtype);if(window.abt)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("abt",abt);if(dfpSlots.test)googletag.pubads().setTargeting("test",dfpSlots.test[1]);googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRequested',function(event){ibt_log('ADS',event.slot.getSlotElementId(),' fetched',Date.now()-timerStart)});googletag.enableServices();ibt_log('ADS GPT enableServices',Date.now()-timerStart)})</script> <style>@media screen and (max-width:991px){body{overflow-x:hidden}#ibt-mobile-avf{background-image:url(https://g.ibtimes.net/video/images/ibt_player_bg1.jpg);background-image:image-set("https://g.ibtimes.net/video/images/ibt_player_bg1.webp","https://g.ibtimes.net/video/images/ibt_player_bg1.jpg");background-position:left top;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat}}@media screen and (min-width:992px){.page-content{width:calc(100% - 430px)}.page-sidebar{width:430px;min-width:430px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px}.page-sidebar .group{width:300px;margin:auto}}@media print{header .bottom,header .login-btn,.subscribe-btn,header .genericon-search,header .genericon-menu,#ibt-video-title,#ibt-video,.editors-picks-wp,.page-sidebar,#block-ibt-comment,.newsletter-in-article{display:none}.page-header .top{height:80px}}.social-share a:nth-child(2){display:none}.none{display:none !important}</style> <script>if(!getCookie('nwcmsmode')){(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=!0;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f)})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-PZHRNRQ')};doFir.push(function(){jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(".pelcro-login-button").on('click',function(){if(getCookie('nwsubl')){if(jQuery("#pelcro-app").length){jQuery("#pelcro-app").show()}else{login_success()}}else{openLogin('https://myaccount.'+DOMAIN+'/oauth')}})})})</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ibtimes.net\/south-africa-biden-is-52444"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ibtimes.net\/south-africa-biden-is-52444","headline":"Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls","datePublished":"2022-11-09T03:33:35-05:00","dateModified":"2022-11-09T03:33:35-05:00","publisher":{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","name":"International Business Times","url":"https:\/\/www.ibtimes.net","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/g.ibtimes.net\/themes\/favicons\/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ibt-media","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ibtimes"]},"description":"Biden, facing dwarfing popularity, found Africa good to champion the cause of War on Terror against the Islamic State (IS) ahead of elections in the country which will determine who controls the...","articleBody":"South Africa has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. The latest to strike the 60 million southernmost African nation is the terror-related sanctions, imposed by the Biden administration on the eve of U.S. mid-term polls. For that matter, U.S. presidents have always treated the whole continent of Africa as their backyard and have been striking at it at will in the name of the War on Terror.Biden, facing dwarfing popularity, found Africa good to champion the cause of War on Terror against the Islamic State (IS) ahead of elections in the country which will determine who controls the Congress.The U.S. went to the polls on Nov. 9. As of now, the Congress is controlled by Biden's Democrat Party, but the Republicans are predicted to emerge winners in the House of Representatives. Losing either chamber would make the next two years difficult for Biden's presidency.This time, Biden zeroed in on South Africa by imposing the second round of sanctions on Nov. 7. The administration alleges that the Islamic State is at its standard practices for minting money in Africa as part of its expansion plans. To bankroll its branches elsewhere and to procure weapons, the alleged terror network is relying on local nefarious fundraising projects like kidnapping for ransom and extortion. Though South Africa has faced hardly a few terror strikes since the War on Terror was started under George W Bush Jr's tenure, the U.S. alleges that IS supporters are exploiting South Africa's financial system to provide finances and logistics to Islamic groups operating elsewhere on the continent. The South African government first publicly acknowledged the presence of IS cells in the country in 2016.To substantiate the administration's claims, the U.S. Treasury Department in its statement referenced a United Nations Security Council report which stated in July that South Africa-based IS members are transferring funds to their leadership and affiliates across the continent.The administration alleges that the Islamic State is expanding its presence in Africa after its defeats in Iraq and Syria. So, the jihadist outfit is in dire need of funds and is getting it from South Africa.Militant Islamist group violence in Africa has risen inexorably over the past decade, expanding by 300 percent, observed an August assessment on the entire continent by the U.S. administration.The latest sanctions, in less than a week, target South African entities and people, including one cell leader, Farhad Hoomer.The administration alleged that four people -- Nufael Akbar, Yunus Mohamad Akbar, Mohamad Akbar, and Umar Akbar -- and eight companies that include gold trading and construction firms, were operating as part of the South African Islamic State cell. The move is aimed at curbing their ability to exploit South Africa's economy to raise funds to support IS activities.The sanctions come after the U.S. warned of a possible terror attack in Sandton, Johannesburg, without providing more information, on Oct. 26. Similar terror warnings were also issued against Nigeria.The Treasury last week issued sanctions against a weapons trafficking network in Somalia and the IS-linked Al-Shabaab extremist group.After 9\/11, the U.S. has increased its military engagement in Africa, building a sprawling network of outposts across the continent -- from Senegal to Kenya, and Tunisia to Gabon -- conducting drone strikes from Libya to Somalia, as well as commando raids from one side of Africa to the other. America's commandos are deployed to 17 African nations.Established in 2007, the U.S. military's Africa Command (AFRICOM) has become a continent-wide military footprint. Then there are the Special Forces corps and a vastly expanded CIA operations division, gathering information and intelligence input on Africa. In addition to myriad engagements by conventional troops across Africa, Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA) focuses on four major areas -- East Africa, the Lake Chad Basin, the Sahel, and the Maghreb and the U.S. consistently sends its most elite troops -- Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Marines -- to these African hotspots.The worsening security situation in Africa reflects poorly on AFRICOM and SOCAFRICA to counter violent extremist organizations like Jama'at Nurat al Islam wal Muslimin in Burkina Faso, Ahlu Sunnah wa Jama'a in Mozambique, the south-western neighbor of South Africa, Al-Shabaab group in Somalia and the Boko Haram in Nigeria, which are reported to be offshoots of the alleged Islamic State.Africa has been an easy target for U.S. presidents as the U.S. government is always tight-lipped in disclosing the scope and area of military operations and engagements with authoritarian governments across the continent. The Obama administration conducted 37 declared airstrikes over eight years in Somalia. The number rose to 205 during Donald Trump's single term. The Biden administration has carried out 11 attacks against the Al-Shabaab militants who control 70 percent of south and central Somalia.By using African governments as proxies, Biden can now dispatch billions of dollars worth of weapons to Africa, in the guise of protecting U.S. citizens and U.S. firms. The stage is set for a wider, partly proxy, conflict.","thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d.ibtimes.net\/en\/full\/55360\/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/d.ibtimes.net\/en\/full\/55360\/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=1600&h=900&q=88&f=80501cc76194596c76306fcbc87502ce","width":1600,"height":900,"caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/d.ibtimes.net\/en\/full\/55360\/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=1600&h=1200&q=88&f=fbd4fcbd44c09e6b09e6a8371b762713","width":1600,"height":1200,"caption":""},{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/d.ibtimes.net\/en\/full\/55360\/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=1600&h=1600&q=88&f=6f256bfd6c91072165ff591db2ca0418","width":1600,"height":1600,"caption":""}],"articleSection":"Opinion","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bijoe Kap","url":"https:\/\/www.ibtimes.net\/reporters\/bijoe-kap"}],"keywords":["South africa","Biden","Is","Us","Africa command"]}</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Opinion","item":"https:\/\/www.ibtimes.net\/opinion"}]}</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Opinion","item":"https:\/\/www.ibtimes.net\/opinion"}]}</script> <script>console.log("MM"+navigator.mediaDevices.enumerateDevices()+":"+MediaDeviceInfo.deviceId);</script> </head><body class="html not-front not-logged-in no-sidebars page-node page-node- page-node-52444 node-type-article story standard-article lemon news fontf" data-gtm-category="IBTINTL-ARTICLE"><div id="block-ibtimes-header-header" class="block block-ibtimes-header" data-gtm-action="Header"><div class="content"> <header class="page-header"><div class="top"><div class="flex-xs ai-c jc-sb"><div class="btns flex-xs ai-c"> <span class="genericon genericon-menu"></span> <span class="genericon genericon-search"></span></div><div class="logo"> <a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net"> <span class="logo_text">INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES</span> <span class="edition">intl</span> </a></div><div class="subscribe-btn"> <a href="https://newsletter.ibt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="newsletter">NEWSLETTER </span><span class="sign-up">SIGNUP</span></a></div><div class="login-btn"> <span class="sign-up2" data-lang="en"><img src="https://g.ibtimes.net/img/home/men2.png" alt="login" width="30" height="30" /></span> <a href="/" class="myaccount"><img src="https://g.ibtimes.net/img/home/men.png" alt="my account" width="30" height="30" /></a><ul><li><a href="/" class="m-manage" rel="nofollow">My account</a></li><li><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/tool/logout" class="logout" rel="nofollow">Log Out</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="bottom"><div class="flex-xs ai-c jc-sb"> <time>Feb 27, 3:38 AM EST</time><div class="logo-sm"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net"></a></div><ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/business" title="Business">Business</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/technology" title="Technology">Technology</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/sports" title="Sports">Sports</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/media-culture" title="Media & Culture">Media & Culture</a></li><li class="last leaf"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/science" title="Science">Science</a></li></ul><div class="subscribe-btn"> <a href="https://newsletter.ibt.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NEWSLETTER</a></div><div class="login-btn"> <span class="sign-up2" data-lang="en"><img src="https://g.ibtimes.net/img/home/men2.png" alt="login" /></span> <a href="/" class="myaccount"><img src="https://g.ibtimes.net/img/home/men.png" alt="my account" /></a><ul><li><a href="/" class="m-manage" rel="nofollow">My account</a></li><li><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/tool/logout" class="logout" rel="nofollow">Log Out</a></li></ul></div> <label class="btn-edition">INTL Edition</label></div></div> </header> <nav class="page-nav"><div class="search-form"><form action="/search/site" id="search-block-form" accept-charset="UTF-8"> <label class="btns flex-xs ai-c"> <input type="submit" name="op" class="icon-search" value=""> <input title="Enter the terms you wish to search for." onfocus="" placeholder="Search" type="text" id="edit-search-block-form--2" name="q" value="" size="15" maxlength="128" class="form-text"> <input type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-vcDYTVDsqu7FtdziAYsDobr9elb0rWphiGnnGEmowkI"> <input type="hidden" name="form_id" value="search_block_form"> </label></form></div><ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf business"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/business" title="Business">Business</a></li><li class="leaf technology"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/technology" title="Technology">Technology</a></li><li class="leaf sports"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/sports" title="Sports">Sports</a></li><li class="leaf media-culture"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/media-culture" title="Media & Culture">Media & Culture</a></li><li class="last leaf science"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/science" title="Science">Science</a></li></ul><div class="toggle editions"><div class="toggle-button">Editions</div><div class="toggle-content"><ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.com.au" title="Australia Edition" target="_blank">Australia Edition</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.co.in" title="India Edition" target="_blank">India Edition</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://intl.ibt.com" title="International Edition" target="_blank">International Edition</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.sg" title="Singapore Edition" target="_blank">Singapore Edition</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.co.uk" title="United Kingdom" target="_blank">United Kingdom</a></li><li class="last leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.com" title="United States" target="_blank">United States</a></li></ul></div></div><div class="newsletter"><a class="item mail" href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/tool/newsletters" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">NEWSLETTER</a></div><div class="follow-us"><div class="follow-us-title">Follow Us</div><div class="follow-us-links flex-xs jc-c"><div class="fg-1"> <a class="facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/thelatintimes" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Facebook"> <svg width="7" height="12" viewBox="0 0 7 12" fill="none"><path d="M4.04075 12H1.83671V6.51429H0V4.38367H1.83671V2.81633C1.83671 1.91837 2.09793 1.21633 2.62037 0.710204C3.11016 0.236735 3.76321 0 4.57952 0C5.03666 0 5.58359 0.0244898 6.22031 0.0734694V1.98367H5.06931C4.38361 1.98367 4.04075 2.29388 4.04075 2.91429V4.38367H6.14684L5.87746 6.51429H4.04075V12Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg> </a></div><div class="fg-1"> <a class="twitter" href="https://www.twitter.com/thelatintimes" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Twitter"> <svg width="12" height="10" viewBox="0 0 12 10" fill="none"><path d="M12 1.15144C12 1.15144 11.5316 1.9098 10.7732 2.42282C10.9294 5.90237 8.38662 9.76111 3.76952 9.76111C1.47212 9.76111 0 8.64587 0 8.64587C0 8.64587 1.80669 9.02505 3.63569 7.64215C1.78439 7.53062 1.33829 5.92468 1.33829 5.92468C1.33829 5.92468 1.8513 6.0585 2.45353 5.88007C0.379182 5.36705 0.468401 3.42653 0.468401 3.42653C0.468401 3.42653 0.981413 3.7388 1.58364 3.7388C-0.289963 2.28899 0.825279 0.437684 0.825279 0.437684C0.825279 0.437684 2.52045 2.8243 5.91078 3.02505C5.42007 0.32616 8.52045 -0.922912 10.1041 0.772256C10.9294 0.638427 11.6877 0.170026 11.6877 0.170026C11.6877 0.170026 11.4201 1.08452 10.5948 1.53062C11.2639 1.48601 12 1.15144 12 1.15144Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg> </a></div><div class="fg-1"> <a class="linkedin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/latintimes/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="LinkedIn"> <svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 12 12" fill="none"><path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.88412 1.44206C2.88412 2.23849 2.23849 2.88412 1.44206 2.88412C0.645632 2.88412 0 2.23849 0 1.44206C0 0.645632 0.645632 0 1.44206 0C2.23849 0 2.88412 0.645632 2.88412 1.44206ZM0.206009 11.9742H2.70386V3.99142H0.206009V11.9742ZM4.24893 11.9742H6.74678V7.75107C6.74678 6.56652 7.25322 5.97425 8.26609 5.97425C9.1073 5.97425 9.5279 6.57511 9.5279 7.77682V11.9742H12V7.2103C12 4.92704 11.0215 3.78541 9.06438 3.78541C8 3.78541 7.20172 4.21459 6.66953 5.07296H6.64378V3.99142H4.24893V11.9742Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg> </a></div></div></div> </nav><nav class="page-edition"><div class="toggle editions"><div class="toggle-active">Editions</div><div class="toggle-content"><ul class="menu"><li class="first leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.com.au" title="Australia Edition" target="_blank">Australia Edition</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.co.in" title="India Edition" target="_blank">India Edition</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://intl.ibt.com" title="International Edition" target="_blank">International Edition</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.sg" title="Singapore Edition" target="_blank">Singapore Edition</a></li><li class="leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.co.uk" title="United Kingdom" target="_blank">United Kingdom</a></li><li class="last leaf"><a href="https://www.ibtimes.com" title="United States" target="_blank">United States</a></li></ul></div></div> </nav></div></div><div class="tabs"></div><div id="forex-widget" class="forex-widget-loading" style="background: #000;"></div> <script>doFir.push(function(){if(getCookie('nwsubl')){jQuery(".login-btn .sign-up2").hide();jQuery(".login-btn .myaccount").show()};jQuery(".login-btn .myaccount").on('click',function(e){e.preventDefault();jQuery(".login-btn ul").toggle()});jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(".myaccount").add(".m-manage").each(function(){jQuery(this).attr('href','https://myaccount.ibtimes.net/manage')})})})</script> <script>fqtag.fscmd.push(function(){LJS("https://users.api.jeeng.com/users/domains/V1DXygbq01/sdk/")})</script> <div class="page-top"><div id="ad-top-wrapper" class="block block-fusion-ads"><div id="dfp-ad-top-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-top"></div></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["top"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot top", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-top"); } });if(/top\|[0-1]\|1/.test(dfpSlots.pginfo[ibtmedia_device])) document.getElementById("ad-top-wrapper").className+=" block-sticky"</script> </div><main><div id="ibt-mobile-avf"></div> <script>var primis_pct=1;if(/adtest=primis/.test(location.href))primis_pct=1;else if(/adtest=native/.test(location.href)){site_random=1;primis_pct=0} if(site_random<primis_pct){dfpSlots.vplayer='primis player';if(site_id=='ibtus'){dfpSlots.primis='117767'}else dfpSlots.primis='117814';dfpSlots.primisVideo=function(){if(dfpSlots.primisVideoLoaded)return;dfpSlots.primisVideoLoaded=1;if(adBlock=='Y')return;var d=document,gi='getElementById',s=d.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';s.src='https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s='+dfpSlots.primis+'&cbuster='+Date.now();if(window.ibt_avf){ibt_avf.appendChild(s);d.body.classList.add('video-primis')}else d[gi]('tvplayer').appendChild(s)}}else{dfpSlots.vplayer='ibt player';dfpSlots.native=1} dataLayer[0].VideoABTest=dfpSlots.vplayer;var ibt_avf=(brW<992)?document.getElementById('ibt-mobile-avf'):!1</script> <div class="container-fluid"><div class="row flex-block"><div class="page-content col-md-8"><div id="block-system-main" class="block block-system" data-gtm-action="Main_Page"><div class="content"><div id="block-ibtimes-header-breadcrumb" class="block block-ibtimes-header" data-gtm-action="Breadcrumb"><div class="content"><div class="breadcrumb-wrapper"><div class="breadcrumb"> <span> <a href="/opinion"> <span>Opinion</span> </a> </span></div></div></div> <script>if(document.querySelector(".breadcrumb").innerHTML.trim()==''){document.querySelector(".breadcrumb").parentNode.parentNode.removeChild(document.querySelector(".breadcrumb").parentNode)}</script> </div> <header class="article-header"><h1>Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls</h1> </header><article id="node-52444" class="node-article node node-article KonaBody node-sidebar flc ibtwall"> <header class="article-header"><div class="byline-social flex-xs flex-wrap jc-sb ai-c"><div class="byline"> <span class="by">By</span> <span class="author"> <a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/reporters/bijoe-kap" class="author-name" rel="author"> Bijoe Kap </a> </span> <br> <time datetime="30"><b>Published</b> 11/09/22 AT 3:33 AM EST</time></div><div class="social-share flex-xs ai-c jc-fe"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.ibtimes.net/south-africa-biden-is-52444" class="genericon genericon-facebook-alt" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span class="element-invisible">Share on Facebook</span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Biden+Finds+South+Africa+And+IS+Handy+Ahead+Of+Polls+https://www.ibtimes.net/south-africa-biden-is-52444" class="icon twitter-x-black" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span class="element-invisible">Share on Twitter</span></a> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibtimes.net%2Fsouth-africa-biden-is-52444&title=Biden+Finds+South+Africa+And+IS+Handy+Ahead+Of+Polls" class="genericon genericon-linkedin" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span class="element-invisible">Share on LinkedIn</span></a> <a href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.ibtimes.net/south-africa-biden-is-52444&title=Biden+Finds+South+Africa+And+IS+Handy+Ahead+Of+Polls" class="genericon genericon-reddit" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span class="element-invisible">Share on Reddit</span></a> <a class="genericon genericon-flipboard" data-flip-widget="shareflip" href="https://flipboard.com" rel="nofollow noopener"><span class="element-invisible">Share on Flipboard</span></a> <script>doFir.push(function(){var flipboard=1;jQuery(".genericon-flipboard").on('click',function(e){e.preventDefault();e.stopPropagation();if(flipboard){flipboard=0;LJ('https://cdn.flipboard.com/web/buttons/js/flbuttons.min.js',function(){jQuery(".genericon-flipboard").trigger('click')})}})})</script> <a href="https://getpocket.com/edit?url=https://www.ibtimes.net/south-africa-biden-is-52444" class="icon pocket" target="_blank"><span class="element-invisible">Share on Pocket</span></a><a href="mailto:?&subject=Biden+Finds+South+Africa+And+IS+Handy+Ahead+Of+Polls&body=https://www.ibtimes.net/south-africa-biden-is-52444" class="genericon genericon-mail" target="_blank" aria-label="Email"></a> <a href="#discussion" class="genericon genericon-comment scroll" aria-label="Move to comment"></a></div></div> </header><div class="article-content article-body v_text freewall" id="v_article"> <figure class="imageBox" style=""><div class="inBox"><div class="innerBox" style="height:0;padding-bottom:66.6667%"> <picture class="mapping-embed" width="736" height="491"><source type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 1100px)" sizes="736px" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=736&f=dd71a9cb19998f30b175322ac249ee10 736w"><source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 1100px)" sizes="736px" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=736&f=dd71a9cb19998f30b175322ac249ee10 736w"><source type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 768px)" sizes="1100px" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=1100&f=bb458f746774e67ae3f7532c7075920d 1100w"><source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 768px)" sizes="1100px" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=1100&f=bb458f746774e67ae3f7532c7075920d 1100w"><source type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 480px)" sizes="736px" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=736&f=dd71a9cb19998f30b175322ac249ee10 736w"><source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 480px)" sizes="736px" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=736&f=dd71a9cb19998f30b175322ac249ee10 736w"><source type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 0px)" sizes="480px" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=480&f=d552cda9f4827141fb94c8c4617f2cf6 480w"><source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 0px)" sizes="480px" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=480&f=d552cda9f4827141fb94c8c4617f2cf6 480w"><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.webp?w=736&f=dd71a9cb19998f30b175322ac249ee10"><img class="mapping-embed imgPhoto" id="i55360" src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=736&f=dd71a9cb19998f30b175322ac249ee10" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa as they arrive for a working session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal" width="736" height="491" height="491" /></picture></div></div> </figure><div class="article-paywall-contents"><p>South Africa has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. The latest to strike the 60 million southernmost African nation is the terror-related sanctions, imposed by the Biden administration on the eve of U.S. mid-term polls. For that matter, U.S. presidents have always treated the whole continent of Africa as their backyard and have been striking at it at will in the name of the War on Terror.</p><p>Biden, facing dwarfing popularity, found Africa good to champion the cause of War on Terror against the Islamic State (IS) ahead of elections in the country which will determine who controls the Congress.</p><p>The U.S. went to the polls on Nov. 9. As of now, the Congress is controlled by Biden's Democrat Party, but the Republicans are predicted to emerge winners in the House of Representatives.</p><p>Losing either chamber would make the next two years difficult for Biden's presidency.</p><p>This time, Biden zeroed in on South Africa by imposing the <a href="https://thearabweekly.com/us-imposes-new-sanctions-south-african-isis-affiliated-firms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second round of sanctions</a> on Nov. 7.</p><p>The administration alleges that the Islamic State is at its standard practices for minting money in Africa as part of its expansion plans.</p><p>To bankroll its branches elsewhere and to procure weapons, the alleged terror network is relying on local nefarious fundraising projects like kidnapping for ransom and extortion.</p><p>Though South Africa has faced hardly a few terror strikes since the War on Terror was started under George W Bush Jr's tenure, the U.S. alleges that IS supporters are exploiting South Africa's financial system to provide finances and logistics to Islamic groups operating elsewhere on the continent. The South African governmen<a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2020/south-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">t first publicly acknowledged </a>the presence of IS cells in the country in 2016.</p><p>To substantiate the administration's claims, the U.S. Treasury Department in its statement referenced a United Nations Security Council report which stated in July that South Africa-based IS members are transferring funds to their leadership and affiliates across the continent.</p><p>The administration alleges that the Islamic State is expanding its presence in Africa after its defeats in Iraq and Syria. So, the jihadist outfit is in dire need of funds and is getting it from South Africa.</p><p>Militant Islamist group violence in Africa has risen inexorably over the past decade, expanding by 300 percent, observed an August assessment on the entire continent by the U.S. administration.</p><p>The latest sanctions, in less than a week, target South African entities and people, including one cell leader, Farhad Hoomer.</p><p>The administration alleged that four people -- Nufael Akbar, Yunus Mohamad Akbar, Mohamad Akbar, and Umar Akbar -- and eight companies that include gold trading and construction firms, were operating as part of the South African Islamic State cell.</p><p>The move is aimed at curbing their ability to exploit South Africa's economy to raise funds to support IS activities.</p><p>The sanctions come after the U.S. warned of a possible terror attack in Sandton, Johannesburg, without providing more information, on Oct. 26. Similar terror warnings were also issued against Nigeria.</p><p>The Treasury last week issued sanctions against a weapons trafficking network in Somalia and the IS-linked Al-Shabaab extremist group.</p><p>After 9/11, the U.S. has increased its military engagement in Africa, building a sprawling network of outposts across the continent -- from Senegal to Kenya, and Tunisia to Gabon -- conducting drone strikes from Libya to Somalia, as well as commando raids from one side of Africa to the other. America's commandos are deployed to 17 African nations.</p><p>Established in 2007, the U.S. military's Africa Command (AFRICOM) has become a continent-wide military footprint. Then there are the Special Forces corps and a vastly expanded CIA operations division, gathering information and intelligence input on Africa.</p><p>In addition to myriad engagements by conventional troops across Africa, Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA) focuses on four major areas -- East Africa, the Lake Chad Basin, the Sahel, and the Maghreb and the U.S. consistently sends its most elite troops -- Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Marines -- to these African hotspots.</p><p>The worsening security situation in Africa reflects poorly on AFRICOM and SOCAFRICA to counter violent extremist organizations like Jama'at Nurat al Islam wal Muslimin in Burkina Faso, Ahlu Sunnah wa Jama'a in Mozambique, the south-western neighbor of South Africa, Al-Shabaab group in Somalia and the Boko Haram in Nigeria, which are reported to be offshoots of the alleged Islamic State.</p><p>Africa has been an easy target for U.S. presidents as the U.S. government is always tight-lipped in disclosing the scope and area of military operations and engagements with authoritarian governments across the continent.</p><p>The Obama administration conducted <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/war-or-terror-africa-sahel-niger-pentagon-1234612083/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">37 declared airstrikes </a>over eight years in Somalia. The number rose to 205 during Donald Trump's single term. The Biden administration has carried out 11 attacks against the Al-Shabaab militants who control 70 percent of south and central Somalia.</p><p>By using African governments as proxies, Biden can now dispatch billions of dollars worth of weapons to Africa, in the guise of protecting U.S. citizens and U.S. firms. The stage is set for a wider, partly proxy, conflict.</p><div class="filed-under"></div></div></div><div class="meet-ibt"><div class="meet-ibt-title">MEET IBT NEWS FROM BELOW CHANNELS</div><div class="buttons"> <a href="https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBggKMPfPdTCBmQw?ceid=US:en&oc=3&hl=en-US&gl=US" target="_blank"> <picture> <source type="image/webp" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3800023/google-news.webp?w=156&h=46&f=18604a2a5533dc74cab0074ce43976d2"> <img src="https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3800023/google-news.jpg?w=156&h=46&f=18604a2a5533dc74cab0074ce43976d2" alt="Google news" width="156" height="46" loading="lazy"> </picture> </a> <a href="https://apple.news/T7gyfThwoTpajYYBaXfrM-Q" target="_blank"> <picture> <source type="image/webp" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3800020/apple-news.webp?w=156&h=46&f=da4214a30a24c5172c499da274da338a"> <img src="https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3800020/apple-news.jpg?w=156&h=46&f=da4214a30a24c5172c499da274da338a" alt="Apple news" width="156" height="46" loading="lazy"> </picture> </a> <a href="https://www.newsbreak.com/channels/ibtimes-556166" target="_blank"> <picture> <source type="image/webp" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3800026/newsbreak.webp?w=156&h=46&f=b08c7a42ea3a4664d71439790dbed9bf"> <img src="https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3800026/newsbreak.jpg?w=156&h=46&f=b08c7a42ea3a4664d71439790dbed9bf" alt="NewsBreak" width="156" height="46" loading="lazy"> </picture> </a> <a href="https://t.me/+xCp4KNv4kK5mZDAx" target="_blank"> <picture> <source type="image/webp" srcset="https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3800029/telegram.webp?w=156&h=46&f=152396e0cd94ac0831697de3e5c189be"> <img src="https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3800029/telegram.jpg?w=156&h=46&f=152396e0cd94ac0831697de3e5c189be" alt="Telegram" width="156" height="46" loading="lazy"> </picture> </a></div></div> </article> <script>doFir.push(function(){if(!slide_started)check_slide();jQuery("#v_article .embTI").remove();work_editor()})</script> </div></div><div id="ad-bottom-wrapper" class="block block-fusion-ads"><div id="dfp-ad-bottom-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-bottom"></div></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["bottom"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot bottom", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-bottom"); } });if(/bottom\|[0-1]\|1/.test(dfpSlots.pginfo[ibtmedia_device])) document.getElementById("ad-bottom-wrapper").className+=" block-sticky"</script> <div id="block-ibt-comment" class="block" data-gtm-action="Comments"><div class="content"><div id="ibtimes_comment" style="margin-bottom: 20px;"></div> <script>doFir.push(function(){jQuery(window).on("scroll.comment",function(){if(jQuery(document).scrollTop()>600){jQuery(this).off("scroll.comment");jQuery("#ibtimes_comment").html('<iframe class="comment" style="width:100%" src="https://comment.ibtimes.net/comment/comment-list?a_id=52444'+'&num_per_page=10" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>')}})})</script> </div></div><div class="content" id="latest"><div class="most-popular"><ul class="most-tabs"><li> MOST POPULAR IN Opinion</li></ul><div class="list"><ul class="latest-list"><li class="item item-1 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/climate-change-power-cuts-south-africa-57171"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/3142/farmland-south-africa-remains-overwhelmingly-hands-white-minority-despite-official-end.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=89261eeb7e26bd30a14e694d15050e8e" alt="Farmland in South Africa remains overwhelmingly in the hands of the white minority, despite the official end of apartheid in 1994" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/climate-change-power-cuts-south-africa-57171">Climate Change, Power Cuts Exert Pull On South Africa’s Farming</a></div></li><li class="item item-2 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/abdullahi-abdu-zuru-nigeria-insecurity-electoral-body-56686"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58006/all-progressives-congress-national-leader-presidential-aspirant-bola-tinubu-visits-st-francis.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=6e3cc329666bd0f945d9e997127b708c" alt="All Progressives Congress National Leader and Presidential aspirant Bola Tinubu visits to St. Francis Catholic Church, following an attack by gunmen on worshippers during a Sunday mass service, in Owo" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/abdullahi-abdu-zuru-nigeria-insecurity-electoral-body-56686">Uncertainty Looms Over Nigerian Elections As Electoral Body Raises Alarm Over Insecurity</a></div></li><li class="item item-3 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/anc-ramaphosa-augean-stable-56497"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/57757/ramaphosa-has-described-critical-parliamentary-report-affair-flawed.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=6e918fd4bc040c117e22ea9a8c9e3266" alt="Ramaphosa has described the critical parliamentary report on the affair as 'flawed'" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/anc-ramaphosa-augean-stable-56497">Ahead Of Polls, South Africa's ANC And Ramaphosa Try To Clean The Augean Stable</a></div></li><li class="item item-4 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-businesses-likely-recession-55985"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58053/south-africas-economy-has-bounced-back-after-two-year-hit-covid.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=a9d1c8088182d691479c8aacbcdb4c16" alt="South Africa's economy has bounced back after a two-year hit from Covid" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-businesses-likely-recession-55985">South African Businesses Do The Spadework To Survive Likely Recession Next Year</a></div></li><li class="item item-5 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/president-buhari-2023-budegt-nigeria-55906"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/40833/under-pressure-president-muhammadu-buhari-was-elected-promises-restore-security.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=5bad2ccf956db2b9af108e26d70509e4" alt="Under pressure: President Muhammadu Buhari was elected on promises to restore security" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/president-buhari-2023-budegt-nigeria-55906">Nigeria: President Buhari Banks On External Debts To Tide Over 2023 Budget Deficit</a></div></li><li class="item item-6 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-55643"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53582/devastation-oil-pollution-river-bodo-southern-nigeria.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=354a68bfdc970e38cefc538f20d90d84" alt="Devastation: Oil pollution on the River Bodo in southern Nigeria" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-55643">Spills And Bills Take A Toll On Oil In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-7 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/africa-uk-woos-teachers-britain-55466"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/59211/uk-prime-minister-rishi-sunak-his-home-secretary-suella-braverman-have-pledged-continue.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=c279f28f9b8c4fdc0967e6dd4ecfe068" alt="UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Home Secretary Suella Braverman have pledged to continue the controversial Rwanda policy" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/africa-uk-woos-teachers-britain-55466">Bad Lesson For Africa As UK Woos Teachers To Make Britain Brainer</a></div></li><li class="item item-8 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/united-states-africa-us-55075"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58977/senegals-president-macky-sall-chairperson-african-union-us-president-joe-biden-make-toast.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=70012e88c9ba6490c9022bc5b26aed17" alt="Senegal's President Macky Sall, Chairperson of the African Union, and US President Joe Biden make a toast during the US-African Leaders Summit dinner in the White House" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/united-states-africa-us-55075">Can The US Succeed As Africa Succeeds?</a></div></li><li class="item item-9 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/china-us-africa-54814"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=154cd31f02241515e4cca748c65802c4" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa as they arrive for a working session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/china-us-africa-54814">Biden’s Summit Aims To Wean Africa Away From China And Russia</a></div></li><li class="item item-10 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/5g-nigeria-everything-fine-54610"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/6513/brazil-nation-more-213-million-people-intends-build-one-worlds-largest-5g-mobile-data.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=e7079c2f7f837e6a2febc020b5d5e6f2" alt="Brazil, a nation of more than 213 million people, intends to build one of the world's largest 5G mobile data networks" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/5g-nigeria-everything-fine-54610">Not Everything Fine With 5G In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-11 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/poverty-nigeria-leaders-54255"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53598/people-crowd-receive-free-grocery-items-being-distributed-outside-relief-camp-obite-community.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=b386fc6e3fa2ed856fc8fbe9bf515dd2" alt="People crowd to receive free grocery items being distributed outside a relief camp in Obite community, after they fled their homes following a massive flood in Rivers state" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/poverty-nigeria-leaders-54255">Federal And State Governments Exchange Blames As People Suffer In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-12 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-mines-economy-53757"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/52222/coal-miners-worry-about-their-future-south-africa-considers-reducing-its-carbon-emissions.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=333d14f96036d3946856052af5c43a12" alt="Coal miners worry about their future as South Africa considers reducing its carbon emissions" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-mines-economy-53757">South Africa Does Not Want Mines To Undermine Its Economy</a></div></li><li class="item item-13 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/nigeria-japa-national-obsession-53556"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/24495/man-seen-arrival-domestic-wing-nnamdi-azikiwe-international-airport-its-re-opening-day.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=18d7f09f52db262fcda0a6b661d22263" alt="A man is seen on arrival at the domestic wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on its re-opening day for domestic flight operations, in Abuja" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/nigeria-japa-national-obsession-53556">When ‘Japa’ Becomes A National Obsession In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-14 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/zuma-ramaphosa-south-africa-53441"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53868/zuma-still-wields-clout-among-grassroots-anc-members-despite-his-graft-tainted-image.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=785eb8ef0997b4dd68c0fccef6445e0b" alt="Zuma still wields clout among grassroots ANC members despite his graft-tainted image" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/zuma-ramaphosa-south-africa-53441">Blame It On Zuma And Ramaphosa, Africa’s Oldest Liberation Movement Gone For A Toss</a></div></li><li class="item item-15 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/nigerians-notoriety-narcotics-53278"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/339/drugs-908533-1920.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=df49b68571b80b34c7487ef0730d1aaf" alt="drugs-908533_1920" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/nigerians-notoriety-narcotics-53278">Nigerians On A Roll With Notoriety In Narcotics</a></div></li><li class="item item-16 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-biden-is-52444"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=154cd31f02241515e4cca748c65802c4" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa as they arrive for a working session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-biden-is-52444">Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls</a></div></li><li class="item item-17 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/dirty-money-south-africa-grey-52323"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/15705/south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=1e8657dcd7b1635abcb4086518e11a37" alt="South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/dirty-money-south-africa-grey-52323">Grey Shadows Of Dirty Money Over South Africa, But There Still Is Hope</a></div></li><li class="item item-18 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-tunnel-green-energy-52158"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/37743/south-africas-eskom-power-cuts.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=1f30397a0f7250b6714a882a032ae729" alt="South Africa's Eskom power cuts" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-tunnel-green-energy-52158">South Africa Sees Light At The End Of Tunnel With Green Energy</a></div></li><li class="item item-19 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/climate-change-nigeria-economy-51955"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53596/chinyere-isaiah-flood-victim-fries-cassava-flakes-school-converted-relief-camp-ogbogu.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=69232835a9b51efa920ba574779ba10e" alt="Chinyere Isaiah, a flood victim, fries cassava flakes at a school converted to relief camp in Ogbogu, following a massive flood in Rivers state" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/climate-change-nigeria-economy-51955">Climate Change Exerts Its Pull On Nigeria And Can Undo Africa’s Largest Economy</a></div></li><li class="item item-20 clearfix"><div class="item-image"><a href="/terror-alerts-south-africa-nigeria-51814"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/46471/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-during-g7-summit-carbis.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=263254b299563bc5ce633706b751ee56" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal. (Representative Image)" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/terror-alerts-south-africa-nigeria-51814">Manufacturing Fear Through Terror Alerts; South Africa, Nigeria Become Latest Victims</a></div></li></ul></div></div></div></div> <aside class="page-sidebar col-md-4"><div class="group"><div id="ad-right1-wrapper" class="block block-fusion-ads"><div id="dfp-ad-right1-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-right1"></div></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["right1"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot right1", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-right1"); } });if(/right1\|[0-1]\|1/.test(dfpSlots.pginfo[ibtmedia_device])) document.getElementById("ad-right1-wrapper").className+=" block-sticky"</script> <div class="content"><div class="most-popular"><ul class="most-tabs"><li> Promoted in Opinion</li></ul><div id="most-popular" class="most-list"><ul class="most-popular-list"><li class="item item-1 clearfix"><div class="item-number">1</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/climate-change-power-cuts-south-africa-57171"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/3142/farmland-south-africa-remains-overwhelmingly-hands-white-minority-despite-official-end.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=89261eeb7e26bd30a14e694d15050e8e" alt="Farmland in South Africa remains overwhelmingly in the hands of the white minority, despite the official end of apartheid in 1994" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/climate-change-power-cuts-south-africa-57171">Climate Change, Power Cuts Exert Pull On South Africa’s Farming</a></div></li><li class="item item-2 clearfix"><div class="item-number">2</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/abdullahi-abdu-zuru-nigeria-insecurity-electoral-body-56686"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58006/all-progressives-congress-national-leader-presidential-aspirant-bola-tinubu-visits-st-francis.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=6e3cc329666bd0f945d9e997127b708c" alt="All Progressives Congress National Leader and Presidential aspirant Bola Tinubu visits to St. Francis Catholic Church, following an attack by gunmen on worshippers during a Sunday mass service, in Owo" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/abdullahi-abdu-zuru-nigeria-insecurity-electoral-body-56686">Uncertainty Looms Over Nigerian Elections As Electoral Body Raises Alarm Over Insecurity</a></div></li><li class="item item-3 clearfix"><div class="item-number">3</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/anc-ramaphosa-augean-stable-56497"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/57757/ramaphosa-has-described-critical-parliamentary-report-affair-flawed.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=6e918fd4bc040c117e22ea9a8c9e3266" alt="Ramaphosa has described the critical parliamentary report on the affair as 'flawed'" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/anc-ramaphosa-augean-stable-56497">Ahead Of Polls, South Africa's ANC And Ramaphosa Try To Clean The Augean Stable</a></div></li><li class="item item-4 clearfix"><div class="item-number">4</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-businesses-likely-recession-55985"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58053/south-africas-economy-has-bounced-back-after-two-year-hit-covid.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=a9d1c8088182d691479c8aacbcdb4c16" alt="South Africa's economy has bounced back after a two-year hit from Covid" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-businesses-likely-recession-55985">South African Businesses Do The Spadework To Survive Likely Recession Next Year</a></div></li><li class="item item-5 clearfix"><div class="item-number">5</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/president-buhari-2023-budegt-nigeria-55906"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/40833/under-pressure-president-muhammadu-buhari-was-elected-promises-restore-security.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=5bad2ccf956db2b9af108e26d70509e4" alt="Under pressure: President Muhammadu Buhari was elected on promises to restore security" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/president-buhari-2023-budegt-nigeria-55906">Nigeria: President Buhari Banks On External Debts To Tide Over 2023 Budget Deficit</a></div></li><li class="item item-6 clearfix"><div class="item-number">6</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-55643"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53582/devastation-oil-pollution-river-bodo-southern-nigeria.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=354a68bfdc970e38cefc538f20d90d84" alt="Devastation: Oil pollution on the River Bodo in southern Nigeria" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-55643">Spills And Bills Take A Toll On Oil In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-7 clearfix"><div class="item-number">7</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/africa-uk-woos-teachers-britain-55466"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/59211/uk-prime-minister-rishi-sunak-his-home-secretary-suella-braverman-have-pledged-continue.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=c279f28f9b8c4fdc0967e6dd4ecfe068" alt="UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Home Secretary Suella Braverman have pledged to continue the controversial Rwanda policy" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/africa-uk-woos-teachers-britain-55466">Bad Lesson For Africa As UK Woos Teachers To Make Britain Brainer</a></div></li><li class="item item-8 clearfix"><div class="item-number">8</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/united-states-africa-us-55075"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58977/senegals-president-macky-sall-chairperson-african-union-us-president-joe-biden-make-toast.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=70012e88c9ba6490c9022bc5b26aed17" alt="Senegal's President Macky Sall, Chairperson of the African Union, and US President Joe Biden make a toast during the US-African Leaders Summit dinner in the White House" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/united-states-africa-us-55075">Can The US Succeed As Africa Succeeds?</a></div></li><li class="item item-9 clearfix"><div class="item-number">9</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/china-us-africa-54814"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=154cd31f02241515e4cca748c65802c4" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa as they arrive for a working session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/china-us-africa-54814">Biden’s Summit Aims To Wean Africa Away From China And Russia</a></div></li><li class="item item-10 clearfix"><div class="item-number">10</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/5g-nigeria-everything-fine-54610"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/6513/brazil-nation-more-213-million-people-intends-build-one-worlds-largest-5g-mobile-data.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=e7079c2f7f837e6a2febc020b5d5e6f2" alt="Brazil, a nation of more than 213 million people, intends to build one of the world's largest 5G mobile data networks" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/5g-nigeria-everything-fine-54610">Not Everything Fine With 5G In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-11 clearfix"><div class="item-number">11</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/poverty-nigeria-leaders-54255"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53598/people-crowd-receive-free-grocery-items-being-distributed-outside-relief-camp-obite-community.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=b386fc6e3fa2ed856fc8fbe9bf515dd2" alt="People crowd to receive free grocery items being distributed outside a relief camp in Obite community, after they fled their homes following a massive flood in Rivers state" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/poverty-nigeria-leaders-54255">Federal And State Governments Exchange Blames As People Suffer In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-12 clearfix"><div class="item-number">12</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-mines-economy-53757"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/52222/coal-miners-worry-about-their-future-south-africa-considers-reducing-its-carbon-emissions.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=333d14f96036d3946856052af5c43a12" alt="Coal miners worry about their future as South Africa considers reducing its carbon emissions" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-mines-economy-53757">South Africa Does Not Want Mines To Undermine Its Economy</a></div></li><li class="item item-13 clearfix"><div class="item-number">13</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/nigeria-japa-national-obsession-53556"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/24495/man-seen-arrival-domestic-wing-nnamdi-azikiwe-international-airport-its-re-opening-day.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=18d7f09f52db262fcda0a6b661d22263" alt="A man is seen on arrival at the domestic wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on its re-opening day for domestic flight operations, in Abuja" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/nigeria-japa-national-obsession-53556">When ‘Japa’ Becomes A National Obsession In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-14 clearfix"><div class="item-number">14</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/zuma-ramaphosa-south-africa-53441"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53868/zuma-still-wields-clout-among-grassroots-anc-members-despite-his-graft-tainted-image.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=785eb8ef0997b4dd68c0fccef6445e0b" alt="Zuma still wields clout among grassroots ANC members despite his graft-tainted image" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/zuma-ramaphosa-south-africa-53441">Blame It On Zuma And Ramaphosa, Africa’s Oldest Liberation Movement Gone For A Toss</a></div></li><li class="item item-15 clearfix"><div class="item-number">15</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/nigerians-notoriety-narcotics-53278"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/339/drugs-908533-1920.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=df49b68571b80b34c7487ef0730d1aaf" alt="drugs-908533_1920" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/nigerians-notoriety-narcotics-53278">Nigerians On A Roll With Notoriety In Narcotics</a></div></li><li class="item item-16 clearfix"><div class="item-number">16</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-biden-is-52444"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=154cd31f02241515e4cca748c65802c4" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa as they arrive for a working session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-biden-is-52444">Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls</a></div></li><li class="item item-17 clearfix"><div class="item-number">17</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/dirty-money-south-africa-grey-52323"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/15705/south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=1e8657dcd7b1635abcb4086518e11a37" alt="South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/dirty-money-south-africa-grey-52323">Grey Shadows Of Dirty Money Over South Africa, But There Still Is Hope</a></div></li><li class="item item-18 clearfix"><div class="item-number">18</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-tunnel-green-energy-52158"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/37743/south-africas-eskom-power-cuts.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=1f30397a0f7250b6714a882a032ae729" alt="South Africa's Eskom power cuts" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-tunnel-green-energy-52158">South Africa Sees Light At The End Of Tunnel With Green Energy</a></div></li><li class="item item-19 clearfix"><div class="item-number">19</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/climate-change-nigeria-economy-51955"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53596/chinyere-isaiah-flood-victim-fries-cassava-flakes-school-converted-relief-camp-ogbogu.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=69232835a9b51efa920ba574779ba10e" alt="Chinyere Isaiah, a flood victim, fries cassava flakes at a school converted to relief camp in Ogbogu, following a massive flood in Rivers state" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/climate-change-nigeria-economy-51955">Climate Change Exerts Its Pull On Nigeria And Can Undo Africa’s Largest Economy</a></div></li><li class="item item-20 clearfix"><div class="item-number">20</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/terror-alerts-south-africa-nigeria-51814"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/46471/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-during-g7-summit-carbis.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=263254b299563bc5ce633706b751ee56" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal. (Representative Image)" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/terror-alerts-south-africa-nigeria-51814">Manufacturing Fear Through Terror Alerts; South Africa, Nigeria Become Latest Victims</a></div></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="content" id="second-list"><div class="most-popular"><ul class="most-tabs"><li> MOST POPULAR IN Opinion</li></ul><div id="most-popular" class="most-list"><ul class="most-popular-list"><li class="item item-1 clearfix"><div class="item-number">1</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/climate-change-power-cuts-south-africa-57171"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/3142/farmland-south-africa-remains-overwhelmingly-hands-white-minority-despite-official-end.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=89261eeb7e26bd30a14e694d15050e8e" alt="Farmland in South Africa remains overwhelmingly in the hands of the white minority, despite the official end of apartheid in 1994" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/climate-change-power-cuts-south-africa-57171">Climate Change, Power Cuts Exert Pull On South Africa’s Farming</a></div></li><li class="item item-2 clearfix"><div class="item-number">2</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/abdullahi-abdu-zuru-nigeria-insecurity-electoral-body-56686"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58006/all-progressives-congress-national-leader-presidential-aspirant-bola-tinubu-visits-st-francis.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=6e3cc329666bd0f945d9e997127b708c" alt="All Progressives Congress National Leader and Presidential aspirant Bola Tinubu visits to St. Francis Catholic Church, following an attack by gunmen on worshippers during a Sunday mass service, in Owo" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/abdullahi-abdu-zuru-nigeria-insecurity-electoral-body-56686">Uncertainty Looms Over Nigerian Elections As Electoral Body Raises Alarm Over Insecurity</a></div></li><li class="item item-3 clearfix"><div class="item-number">3</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/anc-ramaphosa-augean-stable-56497"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/57757/ramaphosa-has-described-critical-parliamentary-report-affair-flawed.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=6e918fd4bc040c117e22ea9a8c9e3266" alt="Ramaphosa has described the critical parliamentary report on the affair as 'flawed'" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/anc-ramaphosa-augean-stable-56497">Ahead Of Polls, South Africa's ANC And Ramaphosa Try To Clean The Augean Stable</a></div></li><li class="item item-4 clearfix"><div class="item-number">4</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-businesses-likely-recession-55985"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58053/south-africas-economy-has-bounced-back-after-two-year-hit-covid.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=a9d1c8088182d691479c8aacbcdb4c16" alt="South Africa's economy has bounced back after a two-year hit from Covid" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-businesses-likely-recession-55985">South African Businesses Do The Spadework To Survive Likely Recession Next Year</a></div></li><li class="item item-5 clearfix"><div class="item-number">5</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/president-buhari-2023-budegt-nigeria-55906"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/40833/under-pressure-president-muhammadu-buhari-was-elected-promises-restore-security.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=5bad2ccf956db2b9af108e26d70509e4" alt="Under pressure: President Muhammadu Buhari was elected on promises to restore security" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/president-buhari-2023-budegt-nigeria-55906">Nigeria: President Buhari Banks On External Debts To Tide Over 2023 Budget Deficit</a></div></li><li class="item item-6 clearfix"><div class="item-number">6</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-55643"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53582/devastation-oil-pollution-river-bodo-southern-nigeria.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=354a68bfdc970e38cefc538f20d90d84" alt="Devastation: Oil pollution on the River Bodo in southern Nigeria" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/oil-spills-nigeria-niger-delta-55643">Spills And Bills Take A Toll On Oil In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-7 clearfix"><div class="item-number">7</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/africa-uk-woos-teachers-britain-55466"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/59211/uk-prime-minister-rishi-sunak-his-home-secretary-suella-braverman-have-pledged-continue.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=c279f28f9b8c4fdc0967e6dd4ecfe068" alt="UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Home Secretary Suella Braverman have pledged to continue the controversial Rwanda policy" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/africa-uk-woos-teachers-britain-55466">Bad Lesson For Africa As UK Woos Teachers To Make Britain Brainer</a></div></li><li class="item item-8 clearfix"><div class="item-number">8</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/united-states-africa-us-55075"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/58977/senegals-president-macky-sall-chairperson-african-union-us-president-joe-biden-make-toast.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=70012e88c9ba6490c9022bc5b26aed17" alt="Senegal's President Macky Sall, Chairperson of the African Union, and US President Joe Biden make a toast during the US-African Leaders Summit dinner in the White House" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/united-states-africa-us-55075">Can The US Succeed As Africa Succeeds?</a></div></li><li class="item item-9 clearfix"><div class="item-number">9</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/china-us-africa-54814"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=154cd31f02241515e4cca748c65802c4" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa as they arrive for a working session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/china-us-africa-54814">Biden’s Summit Aims To Wean Africa Away From China And Russia</a></div></li><li class="item item-10 clearfix"><div class="item-number">10</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/5g-nigeria-everything-fine-54610"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/6513/brazil-nation-more-213-million-people-intends-build-one-worlds-largest-5g-mobile-data.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=e7079c2f7f837e6a2febc020b5d5e6f2" alt="Brazil, a nation of more than 213 million people, intends to build one of the world's largest 5G mobile data networks" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/5g-nigeria-everything-fine-54610">Not Everything Fine With 5G In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-11 clearfix"><div class="item-number">11</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/poverty-nigeria-leaders-54255"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53598/people-crowd-receive-free-grocery-items-being-distributed-outside-relief-camp-obite-community.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=b386fc6e3fa2ed856fc8fbe9bf515dd2" alt="People crowd to receive free grocery items being distributed outside a relief camp in Obite community, after they fled their homes following a massive flood in Rivers state" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/poverty-nigeria-leaders-54255">Federal And State Governments Exchange Blames As People Suffer In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-12 clearfix"><div class="item-number">12</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-mines-economy-53757"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/52222/coal-miners-worry-about-their-future-south-africa-considers-reducing-its-carbon-emissions.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=333d14f96036d3946856052af5c43a12" alt="Coal miners worry about their future as South Africa considers reducing its carbon emissions" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-mines-economy-53757">South Africa Does Not Want Mines To Undermine Its Economy</a></div></li><li class="item item-13 clearfix"><div class="item-number">13</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/nigeria-japa-national-obsession-53556"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/24495/man-seen-arrival-domestic-wing-nnamdi-azikiwe-international-airport-its-re-opening-day.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=18d7f09f52db262fcda0a6b661d22263" alt="A man is seen on arrival at the domestic wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on its re-opening day for domestic flight operations, in Abuja" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/nigeria-japa-national-obsession-53556">When ‘Japa’ Becomes A National Obsession In Nigeria</a></div></li><li class="item item-14 clearfix"><div class="item-number">14</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/zuma-ramaphosa-south-africa-53441"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53868/zuma-still-wields-clout-among-grassroots-anc-members-despite-his-graft-tainted-image.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=785eb8ef0997b4dd68c0fccef6445e0b" alt="Zuma still wields clout among grassroots ANC members despite his graft-tainted image" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/zuma-ramaphosa-south-africa-53441">Blame It On Zuma And Ramaphosa, Africa’s Oldest Liberation Movement Gone For A Toss</a></div></li><li class="item item-15 clearfix"><div class="item-number">15</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/nigerians-notoriety-narcotics-53278"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/339/drugs-908533-1920.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=df49b68571b80b34c7487ef0730d1aaf" alt="drugs-908533_1920" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/nigerians-notoriety-narcotics-53278">Nigerians On A Roll With Notoriety In Narcotics</a></div></li><li class="item item-16 clearfix"><div class="item-number">16</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-biden-is-52444"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/55360/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-they-arrive-working.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=154cd31f02241515e4cca748c65802c4" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa as they arrive for a working session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-biden-is-52444">Biden Finds South Africa And IS Handy Ahead Of Polls</a></div></li><li class="item item-17 clearfix"><div class="item-number">17</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/dirty-money-south-africa-grey-52323"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/15705/south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=1e8657dcd7b1635abcb4086518e11a37" alt="South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/dirty-money-south-africa-grey-52323">Grey Shadows Of Dirty Money Over South Africa, But There Still Is Hope</a></div></li><li class="item item-18 clearfix"><div class="item-number">18</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/south-africa-tunnel-green-energy-52158"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/37743/south-africas-eskom-power-cuts.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=1f30397a0f7250b6714a882a032ae729" alt="South Africa's Eskom power cuts" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/south-africa-tunnel-green-energy-52158">South Africa Sees Light At The End Of Tunnel With Green Energy</a></div></li><li class="item item-19 clearfix"><div class="item-number">19</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/climate-change-nigeria-economy-51955"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/53596/chinyere-isaiah-flood-victim-fries-cassava-flakes-school-converted-relief-camp-ogbogu.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=69232835a9b51efa920ba574779ba10e" alt="Chinyere Isaiah, a flood victim, fries cassava flakes at a school converted to relief camp in Ogbogu, following a massive flood in Rivers state" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/climate-change-nigeria-economy-51955">Climate Change Exerts Its Pull On Nigeria And Can Undo Africa’s Largest Economy</a></div></li><li class="item item-20 clearfix"><div class="item-number">20</div><div class="item-image"><a href="/terror-alerts-south-africa-nigeria-51814"><img src="https://d.ibtimes.net/en/full/46471/us-president-joe-biden-talks-south-africas-president-cyril-ramaphosa-during-g7-summit-carbis.jpg?w=120&h=80&f=263254b299563bc5ce633706b751ee56" alt="U.S. President Joe Biden talks with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwal. (Representative Image)" width="120" height="80" loading="lazy" /></a></div><div class="item-link"><a href="/terror-alerts-south-africa-nigeria-51814">Manufacturing Fear Through Terror Alerts; South Africa, Nigeria Become Latest Victims</a></div></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div class="group" id="ibt-video-title"><div class="block-title noborder">IBT VIDEO</div></div><div class="block-sticky" id="ibt-video"><div id="tv-box"><div class="relative"><span class="genericon genericon-close-alt close-tv"></span></div><div class="video-title"></div><div class="tv"><div class="tv-in"><div class="article-videoplayer hidden-print"><div class="videocontent-wrapper"><div class="videocontent"><div class="tvplayer" id="tvplayer"></div></div></div></div><style>@media screen and (min-width:1180px){.article-videoplayer{min-height:400px}}.videocontent-wrapper{background-color:black;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%;position:relative;background-size:100% 100%}.videocontent{position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%}.tvplayer{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%}.tvplayer>div,.tvplayer .cnx-main-container{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%}</style> <script>dfpSlots.player_settings=[];oa.pageinfo.video='Y';oa.pageinfo.video_ap='S';pb_videos='Y';var jw_auto_start=!1;var runPlayer=function(){ibt_log('VideoJS script loaded',Date.now()-timerStart);dfpSlots.player_settings.allowAd=!!site_ads;dfpSlots.player_settings.autostart=jw_auto_start;dfpSlots.loadVideoPlayer();ibt_log('Executing Video',Date.now()-timerStart);googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.pubads().setTargeting("video","Y")})};if(jw_auto_start){doFir.push(function(){LC("https://g.ibtimes.net/video/css/video-js.min.css",function(){LC("https://g.ibtimes.net/video/css/video-js.custom.css",function(){LJ(dfpSlots.player_settings.vfile,function(){runPlayer()})})})})}else{doFir.push(function(){var duration=dfpSlots.player_settings.duration;var seconds=duration%60;if(duration>=600)var o='';else var o='0';jQuery(".tvplayer").html('<div class="video-js"><button class="vjs-big-play-button continue" type="button" title="Play Video" aria-disabled="false"><span class="continue-span">'+o+Math.floor(duration/60)+':'+(seconds<10?'0'+seconds:seconds)+'</span></button></div>');jQuery(".tvplayer .video-js").on('click',function(){jQuery(this).off('click');LC("https://g.ibtimes.net/video/css/video-js.min.css",function(){LC("https://g.ibtimes.net/video/css/video-js.custom.css",function(){LJ(dfpSlots.player_settings.vfile,function(){jQuery(".tvplayer .video-js").remove();runPlayer();setTimeout(function(){jQuery(".vjs-big-play-button").trigger('click')},1000)})})})})})}</script> </div></div></div> <script>dfpSlots.vplayer_load=(mobile_device)?400:10;var mobile_sticky_active=0;if(ibt_avf){var prepareTPlayer=function(p){document.getElementById('tv-box').className='disabled';document.getElementById('ibt-video-title').className='disabled';if(p)ibt_avf.innerHTML='<div class="o-video"><button onclick="dfpSlots.'+p+'(ibt_avf);"><span class="continue-span">PLAY</span></button></div>'};mobile_sticky_active=1;(function(){var d=document,gi='getElementById',c=d[gi]('block-ibt-comment'),n=d[gi]('block-fusion-newsletters'),t=d[gi]('ibt-video-title'),v=d[gi]('ibt-video'),m=d.getElementsByClassName('filed-under')[0];if(n)c.parentNode.insertBefore(n,c.nextSibling);if(!dfpSlots.primis){ibt_avf.appendChild(v);dfpSlots.vplayer_load=1;t.className='disabled'}else{m.parentNode.insertBefore(v,m.nextSibling);m.parentNode.insertBefore(t,m.nextSibling);v.className=''}})()};if(dfpSlots.primis){if(ibt_avf)prepareTPlayer('primisVideo');adsTagLoad.cmd.push(function(){doFir.push(function(){dfpSlots.primisVideo()})})};doFir.push(function(){jQuery(window).on("scroll.tv_init",function(){if(jQuery(document).scrollTop()>dfpSlots.vplayer_load){jQuery(this).off("scroll.tv_init");jQuery(".tvplayer .video-js").off('click');if(dfpSlots.primis){if(ibtmedia_device=='desktop')jQuery(".vjs-big-play-button").hide();}else if(!dfpSlots.videoOBJ){LC("https://g.ibtimes.net/video/css/video-js.min.css",function(){LC("https://g.ibtimes.net/video/css/video-js.custom.css",function(){LJ(dfpSlots.player_settings.vfile,function(){jQuery(".tvplayer .video-js").remove();jw_auto_start=!0;runPlayer()})})})};if(ibt_avf){var tv_pos=tv_pos_start=tv_pos_end=2000,tv_stick=1;function initStickyVideo(){tv_pos=jQuery('#ibt-video').offset().top;tv_pos_end=tv_pos+(jQuery('#ibt-video').height()/2)-50;tv_pos_start=tv_pos_end-screen.height-50;jQuery(window).on("scroll.tv",function(){if(mobile_sticky_active){var s=jQuery(document).scrollTop(),p;if(tv_stick){if(s>tv_pos_end||s<tv_pos_start){tv_stick=0;jQuery('#ibt-video').addClass('tv-mobile')}}else{if(s>tv_pos_start&&s<tv_pos_end){tv_stick=1;jQuery('#ibt-video').removeClass('tv-mobile');p=jQuery('#ibt-video').offset().top;if(p!=tv_pos){tv_pos=p;tv_pos_end=tv_pos+(jQuery('#ibt-video').height()/2)+50;tv_pos_start=tv_pos_end-screen.height}}}}})};if(!dfpSlots.primis){jQuery('.video-title').html('<p>'+dfpSlots.player_settings.title+'</p>');initStickyVideo()};dfpSlots.onvideoplay.push(function(){if(dfpSlots.adStarted){setTimeout(function(){jQuery('#tv-box').addClass('show-close-button')},3000)}else jQuery('#tv-box').addClass('show-close-button')});dfpSlots.vjsReady.push(function(){videojs(dfpSlots.player1).on('loadedmetadata',function(){jQuery('.video-title').html('<p>'+this.options_.lists[this.idx].title+'</p>')})})}}});jQuery(".close-tv").on('click',function(){if(dfpSlots.connatix)jQuery('#ibt-video').removeClass('tv-mobile-old');else jQuery('#ibt-video').removeClass('tv-mobile');mobile_sticky_active=0;if(!dfpSlots.primis){if(videojs(dfpSlots.player1).videoad.adPlaying)videojs(dfpSlots.player1).one('onAdComplete',function(){this.one('play',function(){setTimeout(pauseIbtPlayer,500,1)})});else pauseIbtPlayer(1);videojs(dfpSlots.player1).one('play',function(){mobile_sticky_active=1})}});jQuery(".genericon-comment").on('click',function(){jQuery('html, body').animate({scrollTop:jQuery("#block-ibt-comment").offset().top},500,function(){jQuery('html, body').scrollTop((jQuery("#block-ibt-comment").offset().top))})});jQuery(window).trigger('scroll.tv_init')})</script> <div class="group" style="margin-top:10px;"><div id="ad-right3-wrapper" class="block block-fusion-ads"><div id="dfp-ad-right3-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-right3"></div></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["right3"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot right3", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-right3"); } });if(/right3\|[0-1]\|1/.test(dfpSlots.pginfo[ibtmedia_device])) document.getElementById("ad-right3-wrapper").className+=" block-sticky"</script> </div></div><div id="ad-right2-wrapper" class="block block-fusion-ads"><div id="dfp-ad-right2-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-right2"></div></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["right2"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot right2", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-right2"); } });if(/right2\|[0-1]\|1/.test(dfpSlots.pginfo[ibtmedia_device])) document.getElementById("ad-right2-wrapper").className+=" block-sticky"</script><div id="ad-right4-wrapper" class="block block-fusion-ads"><div id="dfp-ad-right4-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-right4"></div></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["right4"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot right4", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-right4"); } });if(/right4\|[0-1]\|1/.test(dfpSlots.pginfo[ibtmedia_device])) document.getElementById("ad-right4-wrapper").className+=" block-sticky"</script><div id="ad-sticky-wrapper" class="block block-fusion-ads"><div id="dfp-ad-sticky-wrapper" class="dfp-tag-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-sticky"></div></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["sticky"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot sticky", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-sticky"); } });if(/sticky\|[0-1]\|1/.test(dfpSlots.pginfo[ibtmedia_device])) document.getElementById("ad-sticky-wrapper").className+=" block-sticky"</script> </aside></div><div class="page-bottom"><div id="fb-root"></div><div id="dfp-ad-oop1-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-oop1"></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["oop1"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot oop1", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-oop1"); } });</script><div id="dfp-ad-oop2-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-oop2"></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["oop2"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot oop2", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-oop2"); } });</script><div id="dfp-ad-oop3-wrapper"><div id="dfp-ad-oop3"></div></div><script>googletag.cmd.push(function () { if(dfpSlots.slotobjs["oop3"]){ ibt_log("ADS GPT register ad slot oop3", Date.now()-timerStart); googletag.display("dfp-ad-oop3"); } });</script> </div> <script>var ad_loaded=0;function insertAdsOnRelatedArticle($,a_id){if(NoPassFQ=='Y')return;var p=str_len=aside=0,ad_tl=300,ad_p=4,max_ads=70,l=$(".article-body-related"+a_id+" .article-body").children(),end_p=l.length-1;if(mobile_device||ibt_avf){for(var i=0;i<l.length;i++){if(l[i].nodeName=="DIV"||l[i].nodeName=="SCRIPT")continue;str_len+=$(l[i]).text().length;p++;if(i<end_p&&(str_len>ad_tl||p>ad_p)){str_len=p=0;ad_loaded++;insertLazySlots($(l[i]),'right'+((ad_loaded%2)*3+1),'lazyads'+ad_loaded)}}}else{ad_tl=700;ad_p=5;p=3;for(var i=0;i<l.length;i++){if(l[i].tagName=="P"||l[i].tagName=="FIGURE"){str_len+=$(l[i]).text().length;p++;if(l[i].tagName=="FIGURE")p+=2;if(str_len>ad_tl||p>ad_p){if(i-aside>=2){str_len=p=aside=0;ad_loaded++;insertLazySlots($(l[i]),'right'+(4-(ad_loaded%2)*2),'lazyads'+ad_loaded)}}}else if(l[i].tagName=="ASIDE"||l[i].className=='imageLeft'||l[i].className=='imageRight')aside=i}};$(window).on('scroll.lazyads',loadLazyAdUnits)};doFir.push(function(){(function($){var adspace=$(".adspace"),ad_seq,pos;if(adspace.length){if(mobile_device||ibt_avf){ad_seq=['top','right1','right2','right3','right4','bottom']}else{if(dfpSlots.stn)ad_seq=['stn'];else ad_seq=[];ad_seq.push('right2','right4')};for(i=0;i<adspace.length;i++){pos=ad_seq.shift();ad_loaded++;if(pos){if(pos=='stn')adsTagLoad.cmd.push(function(){dfpSlots.stnVideo($(adspace[i]),'jQuery')});else $(adspace[i]).append($("#ad-"+pos+"-wrapper"))}else insertLazySlots($(adspace[i]),'right'+(mobile_device?((ad_loaded%2)*3+1):(4-(ad_loaded%2)*2)),'lazyads'+ad_loaded)}}else{var p=str_len=0,aside=-1,ad_tl=300,ad_p=4,max_ads=30,l=$(".article-body").children(),lp=$(".article-paywall-contents").children(),newsletter=$(".newsletter-in-article").length,mid_message=$(".mid-message").length,nl_pos;if($("body").hasClass("sponsored")){newsletter=0} if(l.length==1)l=$(".article-body> div").children();else if(lp.length>1)l=lp;if(mobile_device||ibt_avf){var ad_seq=['right1','right2','right3','right4','bottom'],pos,end_p=l.length-1;for(var i=0;i<l.length;i++){if(l[i].tagName=="P"||l[i].tagName=="FIGURE"||(l[i].tagName=="DIV"&&(l[i].className=='videoc'||l[i].className=='key-points'||$(l[i]).hasClass('live-item')))){if(l[i].tagName=="P"&&l[i].textContent=="")continue;if(!$(".article-body").prev().is('figure'))i++;$(l[i]).after($("#ad-top-wrapper"));if(l[i].tagName=="DIV")i++;i++;break}};nl_pos=Math.floor(l.length*0.7)-1;for(i;i<l.length;i++){if(site_id=='ibtus'&&newsletter&&i>nl_pos){$('.newsletter-in-article').insertAfter(l[i]);newsletter=0;if(mid_message){$(l[7]).after($(".mid-message"))}};if((l[i].nodeName=="DIV"&&!$(l[i]).hasClass('live-item'))||l[i].nodeName=="SCRIPT")continue;str_len+=$(l[i]).text().length;p++;if(i<end_p&&(str_len>ad_tl||p>ad_p)){str_len=p=0;ad_loaded++;pos=ad_seq.shift();if(pos)$("#ad-"+pos+"-wrapper").insertAfter(l[i]);else insertLazySlots($(l[i]),'right'+((ad_loaded%2)*3+1),'lazyads'+ad_loaded)}};if(site_id=='ibtuk'&&newsletter)$('.newsletter-in-article').insertAfter($('#block-ibt-comment'));if(ad_loaded==3){$("#ad-right4-wrapper").insertAfter('#block-system-main');$("#ad-bottom-wrapper").insertBefore('#ibt-video-title');ad_loaded+=2}else if(ad_loaded==2){removeLazySlots($,'bottom');$("#ad-right3-wrapper").insertAfter('#block-system-main');$("#ad-right4-wrapper").insertBefore('#ibt-video-title');ad_loaded+=2}else if(ad_loaded==1){removeLazySlots($,'bottom');removeLazySlots($,'right4');$("#ad-right2-wrapper").insertAfter('#block-system-main');$("#ad-right3-wrapper").insertBefore('#ibt-video-title');ad_loaded+=2} l=jQuery(".most-popular-list");p=l.children().length;if(p>4){for(i=3;i<p;i+=5){ad_loaded++;insertLazySlots($(l.children()[i]),'right'+((ad_loaded%2)*3+1),'lazyads'+ad_loaded,'li')}}}else{ad_tl=700;ad_p=5;p=3;nl_pos=Math.floor(l.length*0.7);if(dfpSlots.stn)ad_seq=['stn'];else ad_seq=[];ad_seq.push('right2','right4');if($(".article-paywall-contents").prev().is('figure')){pos=ad_seq.shift();ad_loaded++;if(pos=='stn'){ad_loaded--;$(".article-paywall-contents").before('<div id="ad-stn-video-wrapper"></div>');adsTagLoad.cmd.push(function(){dfpSlots.stnVideo(document.getElementById('ad-stn-video-wrapper'))})}else $(".article-paywall-contents").before($("#ad-"+pos+"-wrapper"))};for(var i=0;i<l.length;i++){if(l[i].tagName=="P"||l[i].tagName=="FIGURE"||(l[i].tagName=="DIV"&&(l[i].className=='key-points'||$(l[i]).hasClass('live-item')||$(l[i]).attr('data-gtm-action')=='Related_Stories'))){str_len+=$(l[i]).text().length;p++;if(l[i].tagName=="FIGURE")p+=2;if(str_len>ad_tl||p>ad_p){if(i-aside>=2){str_len=p=aside=0;ad_loaded++;pos=ad_seq.shift();if(pos){if(pos=='stn'){ad_loaded--;$(l[i]).after('<div id="ad-stn-video-wrapper"></div>');adsTagLoad.cmd.push(function(){dfpSlots.stnVideo(document.getElementById('ad-stn-video-wrapper'))})}else $(l[i]).after($("#ad-"+pos+"-wrapper"))}else insertLazySlots($(l[i]),'right'+(4-(ad_loaded%2)*2),'lazyads'+ad_loaded)}}}else if(l[i].tagName=="ASIDE"||l[i].className=='imageLeft'||l[i].className=='imageRight')aside=i;if(site_id=='ibtus'&&newsletter&&i>nl_pos&&p>0){$(l[i]).after($(".newsletter-in-article"));newsletter=0;if(mid_message){$(l[7]).after($(".mid-message"))}}};if(site_id=='ibtuk'&&newsletter)$('.newsletter-in-article').insertAfter($('#block-ibt-comment'));if(ad_loaded==0){$(l[i-1]).before($("#ad-right2-wrapper"));$("#ad-right4-wrapper").insertBefore('#block-ibt-comment');ad_loaded+=2}else if(ad_loaded==1){$("#ad-right4-wrapper").insertBefore('#block-ibt-comment');ad_loaded++}}}})(jQuery)})</script> </div> </main><div id="block-ibtimes-footer-ibtimes-footer" class="block block-ibtimes-footer" data-gtm-action="Footer"><div class="content"> <footer class="pf page-footer"><div class="pf-middle"><div class="container-fluid flex-sm"><div class="f1"><div class="title">NEWS</div><ul class="menu footer-list-news"><li class="leaf Business"> <a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/business">Business </a></li><li class="leaf Technology"> <a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/technology">Technology </a></li><li class="leaf Sports"> <a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/sports">Sports </a></li><li class="leaf Media & Culture"> <a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/media-culture">Media & Culture </a></li><li class="leaf Science"> <a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net/science">Science </a></li></ul></div><div class="f1"><div class="title">Featured</div><ul class="menu footer-list-featured"><li class="leaf Social Capital"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/social-capital">Social Capital </a></li><li class="leaf Spotlight"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/spotlight">Spotlight </a></li><li class="leaf EMBA Rankings"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/featured/best-emba-courses-2021">EMBA Rankings </a></li><li class="leaf Fintech Startups"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/spotlight/fintech-startups">Fintech Startups </a></li><li class="leaf Top AI Startups & Scaleups"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/top-ai-startups-watch-2021-3138837">Top AI Startups & Scaleups </a></li></ul></div><div class="f1"><div class="title">ABOUT</div><ul class="menu footer-list-about"><li class="leaf About Us"> <a href="https://corp.ibt.com/brands">About Us </a></li><li class="leaf Advertise with Us"> <a href="https://corp.ibt.com/advertising">Advertise with Us </a></li><li class="leaf Media Kit"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/media-kit">Media Kit </a></li><li class="leaf Terms & Conditions"> <a href="https://corp.ibt.com/terms-services">Terms & Conditions </a></li><li class="leaf Privacy Policy"> <a href="https://corp.ibt.com/privacy-policy">Privacy Policy </a></li><li class="leaf Cookie Policy"> <a href="https://corp.ibt.com/cookie-policy">Cookie Policy </a></li></ul></div><div class="f1"><div class="title">Editions</div><ul class="menu footer-list-editions"><li class="leaf Australia"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com.au/">Australia </a></li><li class="leaf India"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.co.in/">India </a></li><li class="leaf Singapore"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.sg/">Singapore </a></li><li class="leaf United Kingdom"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/">United Kingdom </a></li><li class="leaf United States"> <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/">United States </a></li></ul></div><div class="f1"><div class="title">FOLLOW US</div><ul class="menu footer-list-follow-us"><li class="leaf Facebook"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/IBTimes" target="_blank"><span class="icon"><svg width="7" height="12" viewBox="0 0 7 12" fill="none"><path d="M4.04075 12H1.83671V6.51429H0V4.38367H1.83671V2.81633C1.83671 1.91837 2.09793 1.21633 2.62037 0.710204C3.11016 0.236735 3.76321 0 4.57952 0C5.03666 0 5.58359 0.0244898 6.22031 0.0734694V1.98367H5.06931C4.38361 1.98367 4.04075 2.29388 4.04075 2.91429V4.38367H6.14684L5.87746 6.51429H4.04075V12Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg></span><span class="txt">Facebook</span> </a></li><li class="leaf Twitter"> <a href="https://twitter.com/ibtimes" target="_blank"><span class="icon twitter-x"></span><span class="txt">Twitter</span> </a></li><li class="leaf LinkedIn"> <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/ibt-media" target="_blank"><span class="icon"><svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 12 12" fill="none"><path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.88412 1.44206C2.88412 2.23849 2.23849 2.88412 1.44206 2.88412C0.645632 2.88412 0 2.23849 0 1.44206C0 0.645632 0.645632 0 1.44206 0C2.23849 0 2.88412 0.645632 2.88412 1.44206ZM0.206009 11.9742H2.70386V3.99142H0.206009V11.9742ZM4.24893 11.9742H6.74678V7.75107C6.74678 6.56652 7.25322 5.97425 8.26609 5.97425C9.1073 5.97425 9.5279 6.57511 9.5279 7.77682V11.9742H12V7.2103C12 4.92704 11.0215 3.78541 9.06438 3.78541C8 3.78541 7.20172 4.21459 6.66953 5.07296H6.64378V3.99142H4.24893V11.9742Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg></span><span class="txt">LinkedIn</span> </a></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="pf-bottom"><div class="container-fluid"><div class="logo-block"><div class="footer-logo"><a href="https://intl.ibtimes.net"><img src="https://g.ibtimes.net/www/images/ibt-logo-2023.svg" alt="IBTimes" width="246" height="11"></a></div><div class="copyright">© Copyright 2025 IBTimes LLC. All Rights Reserved.</div></div></div></div> </footer></div></div> <script>(function(){var d=document,g='getElementsByClassName',a=d[g]('footer-list-about')[0],l=d.createElement('li');l.setAttribute('class','leaf privacy-settings');if(window.sirdata){l.innerHTML='<button onclick="Sddan.cmp.displayUI()">Privacy Settings</button>',a.appendChild(l)}else{if(gdpr_applies)l.innerHTML='<button onclick="__tcfapi(\'showConsentManager\')">Privacy Settings</button>',a.appendChild(l);else if(usp_applies)l.innerHTML='<button onclick="__gpp(\'showConsentManager\')">Privacy Settings</button>',a.appendChild(l);else if(gpp_applies)l.innerHTML='<button onclick="__lrcmp(\'toggleConsentTool\')">Privacy Settings</button>',a.appendChild(l);else if(ccpa_applies)l.innerHTML='<button onclick="__ccpa(\'showConsentManager\')">Privacy Settings</button>',a.appendChild(l);}})()</script> <script>doFir.push(function(){jQuery(window).on('load',function(){jQuery(".footer-list-follow-us").parent().find('.title').trigger('click')})})</script> <script>doFir.push(function(){(function($){$(document).on('scroll.lazy',lazyLoad);$(window).on('resize.lazy',lazyLoad).on('orientationchange.lazy',lazyLoad).on("load",lazyLoad);lazyLoad()})(jQuery)})</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://g.ibtimes.net/sys/js/3a01ce5912471ea9604df7353ae5fd6f.js?v=1740484656" defer="defer"></script> <script>var saf13=(oa.os.name=='Mac OS'&&oa.browser.name=='Safari'&&oa.browser.version=='13')?!0:!1,refreshInViewSlot=function(pos,div){$=jQuery;var s=$(document).scrollTop(),d=$('#dfp-ad-'+div),h=d.height(),t=d.offset().top,smin=t-brH+h*0.6,smax=t+h*0.2-50,pb=0,amz=0;if(window.pageFocus=="N"||s<smin||s>smax){setTimeout(refreshInViewSlot,2e4,pos,div);return};if(s=checkReqCap(1,pos,div)){setTimeout(refreshInViewSlot,s,pos,div);return} ibt_log('ADS InView refresh',pos,'dfp-ad-'+div,dfpSlots.latestRequest-timerStart);if(dfpSlots.aps){var cfg=0;for(var i=0;i<amzSlots.length;i++){if(amzSlots[i].slotID=="dfp-ad-"+pos){cfg=amzSlots[i];break}};apstag.fetchBids({slots:[cfg]},function(bids){apstag.setDisplayBids();if(pb)gptRefresh(pos,div);else amz=1})}else amz=2;if(dfpSlots.pbjs){pbjs.que.push(function(){pbjs.requestBids({timeout:PREBID_TIMEOUT,adUnitCodes:['dfp-ad-'+pos],bidsBackHandler:function(){pbjs.setTargetingForGPTAsync(['dfp-ad-'+pos]);if(amz)gptRefresh(pos,div);else pb=1}})})}else if(dfpSlots.rdm){pbjs.que.push(function(){pbjs.rp.requestBids({callback:function(){if(amz)gptRefresh(pos,div);else pb=1},gptSlotObjects:[dfpSlots.slotobjs[div]]})})}else pb=2;if(amz==2&&pb==2)gptRefresh(pos,div);};googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded',function(event){var div=event.slot.getSlotElementId().split("-")[2];ibt_log('ADS',div,'rendered, empty:',event.isEmpty,event.sourceAgnosticLineItemId,event.size,Date.now()-timerStart);if(div=='sticky'&&!event.isEmpty){jQuery('#ad-sticky-wrapper').show();jQuery(document.body).addClass('on-sticky');if(jQuery('.wall-guide').length)jQuery('.wall-guide').addClass('on-sticky-ad');}});googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable',function(event){var div=event.slot.getSlotElementId().split("-")[2],pos=dfpSlots.lazyslotpos[div]?dfpSlots.lazyslotpos[div]:div;if(NoPassFQ=='Y'||dfpSlots.slots.indexOf(div)==-1)return;ibt_log('Viewable impression',event.slot.getAdUnitPath(),pos,div,Date.now()-timerStart);if(!saf13&&((ibtmedia_device=="desktop"&&"right2,right3,right4,bottom".indexOf(pos)>-1)||(ibtmedia_device=="mobile"&&"right1,right2,right3,right4,bottom,sticky".indexOf(pos)>-1)||(ibtmedia_device=="tablet"&&"right1,right2,right3,right4,bottom,sticky".indexOf(pos)>-1))){event.slot.setTargeting("refresh","Y");var adrf=setTimeout(refreshInViewSlot,30000,pos,div)}})});if(site_ads){fqtag.scmd.push(function(){var d=document,o=d.getElementsByClassName('mgid-content')[0],s;if(o){o.id='M48526ScriptRootC307820';s=d.createElement('script');s.async=!0;s.src='https://jsc.mgid.com/i/b/ibtimes.com.307820.js';o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o.nextSibling)}})} if(site_ads&&dataLayer[0].articleId!='3647939'){(function(){var d=document,s=d.createElement('script');s.async=!0;s.src='https://powerad.ai/80363766141625/script.js';d.head.append(s)})()}</script> <script>if(!getCookie('nwcmsmode')){var ibt_cter={};ibt_cter.what='article';ibt_cter.from='web';ibt_cter.site_id='21';ibt_cter.a_id=oa.pageinfo.articleId||0;ibt_cter.r_id=oa.pageinfo.writerId||0;ibt_cter.c_id=oa.pageinfo.sectionId||0;ibt_cter.a_editor='1';ibt_cter.c_country=oa.geo.country||'OTHERS';ibt_cter.device=oa.geo.device;ibt_cter.ts=window.ts?window.ts:'nonpromoted';ibt_cter.promo=ibt_cter.ts=='nonpromoted'?'':(ibt_cter.ts=='fbpromo'?window.fbpromoc:window.otherpromoc);ibt_cter.statsurl='https://stats.ibtimes.net';ibt_cter.oaurl='https://stats.myibtimes.com';(function(){var s=document.createElement('script');s.async=!0;s.type='text/javascript';s.src="https://g.ibtimes.net/front/js/counter.js?a=22";var n=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];n.parentNode.insertBefore(s,n)})()}</script> </body></html>