Category Archives: Macau

A total of 13,132 new electric cars were sold in Ireland in the first half of this year (H1), up 61.8 percent when compared with the same period last year, the countrys Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Friday.

Of all the new electric cars sold in H1, 8,309 were electric-only cars, up 98.54 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, 4,823 were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), up 22.69 percent year-on-year, the CSO said.

Combined sales of electric-only cars and PHEVS accounted for 21.08 percent of all the new private cars sold in Ireland in the first six months of this year, an increase of 7.52 percentage points from the same period last year.

A total of 62,268 new private cars were sold in Ireland in the January-June period of this year, up 4.08 percent year-on-year, said the CSO.

Last year, the Irish government unveiled a plan under which it aims to increase the number of electric vehicles in the country to 945,000, including 845,000 passenger cars, by the year 2030. At the end of 2021, the number of electric vehicles in the country was estimated at 45,000.

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Electric car sales in Ireland up nearly 62 pct in H1 - Macau Business

New Zealand recorded 9,307 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

The seven-day rolling average number of community cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand currently stands at 8,690. The ministry also reported 570 hospitalized cases currently, including nine cases in intensive care units, and 22 new deaths from COVID-19.

There were 251 more infected people who have recently travelled overseas, according to the ministry.

As winter school holiday will begin from next week, the ministry has reminded the public of preventing winter illnesses. With so many respiratory illnesses circulating, the ministry is encouraging New Zealanders to pay extra attention to their childrens health, and their own, over the coldest months of the year, it said.

New Zealand has reported 1,413,437 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the country.

New Zealand is currently under the orange settings of its COVID-19 Protection Framework, with no limits for gatherings.

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New Zealand reports 9,307 new community cases of COVID-19 - Macau Business

Over 100 movie theaters in Shanghai resumed operation on Friday after about four months of epidemic-led closure.

According to a statement released by the film bureau of Shanghai, movie theaters are currently allowed to receive an audience at a 50 percent capacity at most, and viewers shall not sit closely beside each other.

The city will also ensure daily health monitoring of cinema staff, rational scheduling of screenings, infection prevention and control in theaters, among other things, to ensure the safety of audiences, according to the bureau.

Several cinemas in Shanghai arranged early hour screenings on Friday. Before 12 a.m. on Friday, some moviegoers were already seen lining up in front of a UME cinema in Xintiandi, a landmark entertainment area in Shanghai.

Our staff have returned to their posts weeks ago to prepare for our reopening, engaged in such works as disinfection, machine maintenance, and film scheduling, said the manager of the cinema.

During the 2022 Spring Festival holiday, Shanghais film market led all Chinese cities with a total box office of 259 million yuan (about 38.6 million U.S. dollars).

Movie theaters in Shanghai suspended operation on March 10 due to COVID-19 flareups. More of them will reopen when they meet requirements for epidemic prevention and control.

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Over 100 movie theaters reopen in Shanghai - Macau Business

At least 103 Rwandan refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) arrived Wednesday in their home country, the government said Thursday.

In a statement, Rwandan Ministry of Emergency Management said the returnees are currently hosted at a reception center in western Rwandas Nyabihu district.

While at the reception center the returnees will receive resettlement support including funds, food items for three months, registration for national identity card and community-based health insurance for one year, said the statement.

More returnees are expected to arrive via the western Rusizi border on Friday, it said.

Since 1994 over 3.5 million Rwandan refugees have returned home and reintegrated in the country, according to data from the ministry.

For the last five years, Rwanda in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) received 15,643 returnees mainly from the DRC, the ministry said.

The Rwandan government reaffirmed its commitment to ensure the safety and sustainable reintegration of all returnees.

The government will also continue to work with various partners, including neighboring countries and UN agencies in finding possible solutions to improving the wellbeing of all refugees living in Rwanda as well as finding long-term and durable solutions for them, it said.

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More than 100 Rwandan refugees repatriated from DRC - Macau Business

The Czech Republic has recorded 1,549 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the highest daily count since the start of May, data from the countrys Health Ministry showed Friday.

The daily number of infections in the Czech Republic started rising at the end of June. Last week, the country reported more than 1,000 daily cases for five consecutive working days.

The daily number of hospitalizations has also almost doubled in the past two weeks, from 134 on June 24 to 262 on July 7.

Authorities have said that the more contagious subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron virus are to blame for the rise in infections.

Local media quoted the Health Ministry as saying that the number of infections would keep rising for several more weeks, but hospitals and intensive care units would be able to cope.

The Czech Vaccinology Society has recommended a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose for people over 60. It is also recommended for those over the age of 12 with a severe immunocompromising condition, and the health staff who work with such patients, as well as for those in social care facilities.

We recommend administering the second vaccine booster dose at least four months after the first booster dose, the Society said on its website.

The Czech Republic has recorded more than 3.9 million COVID-19 cases and over 40,300 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic. Nearly 6.9 million people in the country, which has a population of about 10.5 million, have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Health Ministry

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COVID-19 infections rising in Czech Republic, 4th vaccination recommended - Macau Business

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero have pledged to strengthen coordination and increase cooperation on building the Belt and Road between their countries.

They met Thursday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers meeting held in Bali, Indonesia.

During the meeting, Wang said the solid mutual trust and friendship established between the two heads of state have provided strategic guidance for developing bilateral relations, adding that China appreciates Argentinas adherence to friendliness towards China.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and China is willing to work with Argentina to advance the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road, helping accelerate their respective development and revitalization, Wang said.

Wang said that both sides should take the opportunity of the 2022 Year of China-Argentina Friendship and Cooperation to increase mutual understanding to cement the popular support for bilateral friendship for the sake of bilateral pragmatic cooperation in the next 50 years.

Wang noted that the Chinese side understands and supports Argentina in maintaining its territorial sovereignty and national dignity, and will stand firmly with the Argentine side on issues concerning each others core interests.

Both as important emerging markets, China and Argentina share extensive consensus and common interests on international and regional affairs, Wang said, adding that China is willing to join efforts with Argentina in practicing true multilateralism, maintaining basic norms governing international relations and safeguarding international fairness and justice.

Argentina and China enjoy a long history of friendship, Cafiero said, noting that the Argentine side admires Chinas development achievements and appreciates China for its support for Argentina in safeguarding the sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands.

He stressed that Argentina firmly pursues the one-China policy and hopes to enhance the synergy with the Belt and Road Initiative, make better use of the bilateral cooperation mechanism and chart the course for the next 50 years of bilateral cooperation.

Argentina speaks highly of Chinas important leading role in advancing global development and appreciates China for inviting Argentina to the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders meetings, Cafiero said, voicing his countrys readiness to strengthen the synergy with the BRICS mechanism.

He said Argentina appreciates China for taking an objective position on international affairs and appealing for a ceasefire to give peace a chance.

The Argentine side is willing to work with China to strengthen South-South Cooperation, uphold multilateralism and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of emerging markets, Cafiero said.

Both sides exchanged views on China-Latin America cooperation and agreed to boost communication and coordination, so as to help Latin America address the spillover effect of the Ukraine situation.

Wang expressed Chinas support for Argentina in assuming the pro tempore presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, saying China is ready to join hands with Argentina to build the China-Latin America community with a share future featuring equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness and people-centered wellbeing.

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China, Argentina agree to strengthen coordination, Belt and Road cooperation - Macau Business

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Hong Kong and Macau - USEmbassy.gov

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is set to travel to Tehran on Friday for a surprise visit that could breathe new life into stalled talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Borrell was due to arrive in the Iranian capital at night to meet Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials, Irans foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.

Diplomacy is the only way to go back to full implementation of the deal and to reverse current tensions, Borrell tweeted as the EU confirmed his two-day trip in a statement.

News of his previously unannounced visit comes after Amir-Abdollahian said last week that Iran still believed the negotiations could succeed.

The landmark deal has been hanging by a thread since 2018, when then US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord and began imposing crippling economic sanctions on Americas arch enemy.

The administration of incumbent US President Joe Biden has sought to return to the agreement, saying it would be the best path with the Islamic republic.

The talks in Vienna, which began in April last year, aim to return the United States to the deal, including through the lifting of its sanctions on Iran, while ensuring Tehrans full compliance with its nuclear commitments.

The negotiations stalled in March amid differences between Tehran and Washington, most notably due to a demand by Iran to remove its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from a US terror list.

Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday stressed Iran was serious about reaching an agreement.

I hope we can reach the final point of the agreement in the near future with realism from the American side, he said, adding that the nuclear negotiations train has reached difficult stops as they near the end.

On Thursday, Enrique Mora, the European Unions coordinator for the talks, tweeted a picture of himself dining together with Borrell and US negotiator Robert Malley at a restaurant in Brussels.

In depth conversation about #JCPOA and regional perspectives in the wider Middle East. Malley reiterated firm US commitment to come back to the deal, he wrote, referring to the accord by its formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The agreement reached between Iran and six major powers Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US gave the Islamic republic relief from sanctions in return for guarantees it could not develop an atomic weapon.

Iran has always denied wanting a nuclear arsenal.

In April, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States still believed a return to the accord was the best way to address the nuclear challenge posed by Iran.

Blinken warned at the time that the breakout time for Iran to develop a nuclear bomb if it so chooses was down to a matter of weeks after the deal pushed it beyond a year.

The International Atomic Energy Agencys board of governors adopted a resolution this month censuring Iran for failing to adequately explain the previous discovery of traces of enriched uranium at three sites which Tehran had not declared as having hosted nuclear activities.

On the same day, June 8, Tehran said it had disconnected a number of IAEA cameras that had been monitoring its nuclear sites.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi later confirmed that 27 cameras had been disconnected, leaving about 40 still in place.

The move by Iran, he warned, could deal a fatal blow to the negotiations unless the UN nuclear watchdogs inspectors were given access within three to four weeks.

The visit by Borrell, however, could be a determining factor in the fate of the deal.

During the talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the accord, Iran has repeatedly called for guarantees from the Biden administration that there will be no repeat of Trumps pullout.

by Payam Doost Mohamadi

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EU top diplomat bids to 'reverse tensions' on surprise Iran visit - Macau Business

Police in Ecuadors capital fired tear gas Thursday to disperse Indigenous protesters who tried to storm congress on the 11th day of crippling demonstrations over fuel prices and living costs.

Protesters had earlier won a concession from the Ecuadoran government when President Guillermo Lasso, isolating because of a Covid-19 infection, granted them access to a cultural center emblematic of the Indigenous struggle but commandeered by police over the weekend.

However, later in the day, a group of Indigenous protesters, led by women, headed towards congress only to be pushed back by police as violent clashes broke out.

Police fired tear gas while protesters threw rocks, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails.

This is a very bad sign, given we asked our base to march peacefully, said protest leader Leonidas Iza.

Thursdays clashes, which spread to a neighboring park, left a 39-year-old protester dead by gunfire, according to the Alliance of Human Rights Organizations, bringing to four the total of number protest-related deaths since the marches began on June 13.

An estimated 14,000 protesters are taking part in the mass show of discontent, and some 10,000 of them are in Quito, which is under a night-time curfew.

Six of the countrys 24 provinces are under a state of emergency.

The protesters demands includea cut in already subsidized fuel prices which have risen sharply in recent months, as well as jobs, food price controls, and more public spending on healthcare and education.

Francisco Jimenez, Ecuadors minister of government, announced the concession earlier Thursday, saying it was made for the sake of dialogue and peace.

The aim, he said, was to to stop roadblocks, violent demonstrations, and attacks.

The protesters hailed the move.

It is a triumph of the struggle, Iza proclaimed over a megaphone, advancing on the center with hundreds of others in jubilatory mood.

The Alliance of Human Rights Organizations said a 38-year-old man died on Wednesday in the southern town of Tarqui in clashes between protesters and police, which it accused of violent tactics.

Dozens of people have also been injured in the countrywide demonstrations that Indigenous groups have vowed to continue until their demands are met.

The police, for its part, said the man had died of a medical condition that occurred in the context of the demonstrations.

Two other people died on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Alliance, which also reported 92 wounded and 94 civilians arrested in 11 days of protests.

Officials say 117 in the ranks of police and soldiers have been injured.

On Wednesday night, some 300 protesters occupied a power plant in southern Ecuador and briefly took its operators hostage, authorities said.

Ecuador, a small South American country riddled with drug trafficking and related violence, has been hard hit by rising inflation, unemployment and poverty all exacerbated by the pandemic.

The protests, which have involved the burning of tires and tree branches by vocal marchers brandishing sticks, spears and makeshift shields, have paralyzed the capital and severely harmed the economy with barricades of key roads.

The government has rejected demands to lift the state of emergency imposed in response to the sometimes violent demonstrations called by the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie).

I cry to see so many people mistreated by this government, protester Cecilia, an 80-year-old who did not give her full name, told AFP as she marched with an Ecuadoran flag and a banner reading: Lasso, liar.

Conaie led two weeks of protests in 2019 in which 11 people died and more than 1,000 were injured, causing economic losses of some $800 million before the then-president abandoned plans to reduce fuel price subsidies.

Lassos government has ruled out cutting fuel prices this time, as it would cost the State an unaffordable $1 billion per year.

Conaie credited with ending three presidencies between 1997 and 2005 insists the state of emergency be lifted before it will negotiate, but the government has said this would leave the capital defenseless.

It was unclear whether the group was ready to negotiate after Thursdays concession.

Official data showed the economy was losing about $50 million per day due to the protests, not counting oil production the countrys main export product which has also been affected.

Producers of flowers, another of Ecuadors main exports, have complained their wares are rotting as trucks cannot reach their destinations.

by Santiago PIEDRA SILVA / Lina VANEGAS

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Clashes, tear gas, even as Ecuador protesters win government concession - Macau Business

The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it was ordering all products produced by Juul Labs off the market after finding the vaping giant had failed to address certain safety concerns.

The decision, which Juul said it would appeal, clears the way for rival brands to increase their share of the market it once dominated.

It is also a blow for tobacco giant Altria, maker of Marlboro cigarettes, which acquired a 35 stake in Juul in 2018 to diversify its business strategy in the face of falling smoking rates.

Todays action is further progress on the FDAs commitment to ensuring that all e-cigarette and electronic nicotine delivery system products currently being marketed to consumers meet our public health standards, said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in a statement.

Products affected include the Juul device and its pods, which currently come in the flavors Virginia tobacco and in menthol, at nicotine concentrations of five and three percent.

After completing a two-year review of the companys marketing application, the FDA found the data presented lacked sufficient evidence regarding the toxicological profile of the products, it said.

In particular, some of the companys study findings raised concerns due to insufficient and conflicting data including regarding genotoxicity and potentially harmful chemicals leaching from the companys proprietary e-liquid pods, it added.

Juul said in a statement that it respectfully disagrees with the FDAs findings and that its products met the statutory standard of being appropriate for the protection of the public health.

We intend to seek a stay and are exploring all of our options under the FDAs regulations and the law, including appealing the decision and engaging with our regulator, Juuls chief regulatory officer Joe Murillo said.

Juul was blamed for a surge in youth vaping over its marketing of fruit and candy flavored e-cigarettes, which it stopped selling in 2019.

In January 2020, the FDA said sale of e-cigarettes in flavors other than tobacco or menthol would be illegal unless specifically authorized by the government.

The agency has approved some e-cigarette products from other makers such as Reynolds American, the current market leader, NJOY and Logic Technology Development.

Juul has argued that vaping products can provide a solution to the harmful health impacts from conventional cigarettes.

Juuls products exist only to transition adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes, Chief Executive KC Crosthwaite said on the companys website, adding that the company is working hard to rebuild its reputation following an erosion of trust over the past few years.

The impact of the FDAs decision is far from certain given the likelihood of an appeal, Goldman Sachs said in an analysis issued before the announcement. There are already several precedents for reversal of such orders, it noted.

Juul currently holds around 36 percent share of the US vaping market, a substantial reduction on the roughly 70 percent it held before the FDAs actions on flavored e-cigarettes, the Goldman Sachs note said.

On Tuesday, President Joe Bidens administration announced it would develop a new policy requiring cigarette producers to reduce nicotine to non-addictive levels, a move that, if successful could upend the tobacco industry.

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US orders all Juul vaping products off the market - Macau Business