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China A city in the north has killed three housecats after they tested positive for COVID-19, according to a local media report yesterday, as the country takes increasingly strict measures to contain new outbreaks. The authorities in Harbin, where 75 cases have recently been discovered, said the action was taken because there was no available treatment for animals with the disease and they would have endangered their owner and other residents of the apartment complex in which they lived, Beijing News online said. More on p6

Philippines Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is officially hanging up his gloves. The eight-division world champion and Philippine senator yesterday announced his retirement from the ring. “I would like to thank the whole world, especially the Filipino people, for supporting Manny Pacquiao. Goodbye boxing,” the 42-year-old said in a video posted on his Facebook page. “It is difficult for me to accept that my time as a boxer is over. Today I am announcing my retirement.”

Thailand Bangkok and other areas of central Thailand received new warnings of possible major flooding, even as disaster relief authorities said yesterday the threat had eased in 13 of 30 provinces elsewhere that were lashed by seasonal monsoon rains. Seven people have died and two are missing since the weekend from flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Dianmu, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigations said.

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ZHUHAI, BABYHo Iat Seng said that if no new Covid-19 cases are detected today, the quarantine to enter Zhuhai from Macau will likely be lifted at the strike of midnight P3

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DIRECTOR & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF_Paulo Coutinho [email protected] ASSISTANT EDITOR_Lynzy VallesCONTRIBUTING EDITORS_Leanda Lee, Severo Portela, Sheyla Zandonai

NEWSROOM AND CONTRIBUTORS_Albano Martins, Annabel Jackson, Anthony Lam, Emilie Tran, Irene Sam, Ivo Carneiro de Sousa, Jacky I.F. Cheong, Jenny Lao-Phillips, João Palla Martins, Joseph Cheung, Juliet Risdon, Linda Kennedy, Paulo Cordeiro de Sousa, Renato Marques, Richard Whitfield, Viviana Seguí DESIGNERS_Eva Bucho, Miguel Bandeira | ASSOCIATE CONTRIBUTORS_JML Property, MdME Lawyers, PokerStars, Ruan Du Toit Bester | NEWS AGENCIES_ Associated Press, MacauHub, MacauNews, Xinhua SECRETARY_Yang Dongxiao [email protected]

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REACHING OUT!

send newsworthy information and press releases to: [email protected] website: www.macaudailytimes.com.mo

RICHARD BLOOMER UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

I’M a fitness enthusiast. I also adhere to a nutrient-dense,

“clean” eating program, which means I minimize my sugar in-take and eat a lot of whole foods for the purpose of optimizing my health.

You might wonder how effec-tive such a diet and exercise plan would be in the fight against CO-VID-19, since some have sug-gested – without supporting evi-dence – that vaccination may be unnecessary if a detailed wellness lifestyle is closely followed.

As a research scientist who has studied nutrition for close to 20 years, I have watched the well-ness community’s response to the COVID-19 vaccines with great interest. While eating right can fa-vorably impact the immune sys-tem, it is not reasonable to expect that nutrition alone will defend against a potentially life-threate-ning virus.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH NUTRITION SCIENCE

My lab group at the Universi-ty of Memphis studies the effect of food and isolated nutrients on human health. In January 2009, we conducted an initial study of a stringent vegan diet. We enrol-led 43 men and women who were allowed to eat as much plant-ba-sed food as desired, but drank only water, for 21 days.

The results demonstrated im-provements in many variables re-lated to cardio-metabolic health, such as blood cholesterol, blood pressure, insulin and C-reactive protein – a protein that increases in response to inflammation. We have since completed multiple human and animal nutrition stu-dies using this dietary program.

My lab’s research has resulted in some 200 peer-reviewed scien-tific manuscripts and book chap-ters specific to nutrients and exer-cise, and the interaction between these two variables. The results of our work, as well as that of other

scientists, clearly demonstrate the power of food to favorably impact health.

For many individuals, a positi-ve change in eating habits results in such an improvement in clini-cally relevant measures like blood cholesterol and glucose that doc-tors can sometimes reduce or eli-minate certain medications used to treat high cholesterol and dia-betes. In other cases, these mea-sures improve but the patient still requires the use of medications to control their disease. This tells us that in some situations, a great nutrition program is simply not enough to overcome the body’s challenges.

NUTRITION, OTHER WELLNESS APPROACHES DO MATTER

Although certain natural pro-ducts have been discussed as treatments for COVID-19, little emphasis has been placed on whole food nutrition as a protecti-ve measure. I think this is unfortu-nate, and I believe strengthening

our immune system with the goal of battling COVID-19 and other viral infections is of great impor-tance. And the evidence tells us that a nutrient dense diet, regular exercise and adequate sleep can all contribute to optimal immune function.

Regarding nutritional intake, a recently published study using a sample of health care workers who contracted COVID-19 noted that those who followed a plan-t-based or pescatarian diet had 73% and 59% lower odds of mo-derate to severe COVID-19, res-pectively, compared to those who did not follow those diets. Althou-gh interesting, it’s important to remember that these findings re-present an association rather than a causal effect.

While people can use nutrition to help shore up their immune system against COVID-19, diet is only one important conside-ration. Other variables matter a great deal too, including stress management, nutritional supple-

ments and physical distancing and mask-wearing.

But to be clear, all of those ele-ments should be considered tools in the toolbox to help combat CO-VID-19 – not a replacement for potentially life-saving vaccines.

VACCINES ARE NOT PERFECT, BUT THEY SAVE LIVES

I find it interesting that nearly all parents understand the impor-tance of having their kids vaccina-ted against serious illnesses like mumps, measles and varicella. They do not expect that certain foods, or a nurturing environ-ment, will do the job of a vaccine.

Yet, when it comes to CO-VID-19, this thought process is abandoned by some who believe that a healthy lifestyle will subs-titute for the vaccine, without seriously considering what the vaccine actually does to provide protection against the virus – so-mething that a healthy lifestyle alone simply cannot do.

When contemplating whether to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, consider the following: All medi-cations have risks, including thin-gs as seemingly benign as aspirin. Hormonal contraception – some-thing used by millions of women every month – is thought to cau-se an estimated 300-400 deaths annually in the U.S. The same is true for cosmetic surgery, Botox injections and other elective pro-cedures.

Many people are willing to ac-cept the low risks in those cases, but not with those involving the COVID-19 vaccines – despite the fact that the risk of serious com-plications or death from CO-VID-19 far outweighs the low risk of serious adverse events from the vaccines.

No lifestyle approach, inclu-ding strict adherence to a holis-tic, nutrient-dense diet – vegan, plant-forward or otherwise – will confer total protection against COVID-19. The vaccines aren’t perfect either; breakthrough in-fections do occur in some cases, though the vaccines continue to provide robust protection against severe illness and death.

I encourage people to do all they can to improve the health and functioning of their immune system, naturally. Then, seriously consider what additional protec-tion would be gained from vacci-nation against COVID-19. When people make decisions based on the latest science – which is always evolving – rather than on emotions and misinformation, the decision should become much clearer. MDT/THE CONVERSATION

THE CONVERSATION

Can healthy people who eat right and exercise skip the Covid vaccine? The answer is no

www.macaudailytimes.com.mothu 30.09.2021


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Macau-Zhuhai travel likely to resume if no new cases: CEANTHONY LAM

CHIEF Executive Ho Iat Seng has said that if no new Covid-19 cases are detected today, the qua-

rantine-upon-arrival measures for entrants to Zhuhai from Ma-cau will likely be lifted.

He made the announcement at a special press conference yester-day as he returned to Macau late Tuesday from an official visit to mainland China.

The official purposes of Ho’s trip were to attend ceremonies of the National Games in Shaanxi

province and visit Sichuan provin-ce for Macao Week: a campaign to promote Macau tourism.

Ho mentioned yesterday that, after these two stops, he went to Beijing for meetings with natio-nal officials before heading back home Tuesday night.

As soon as he returned home, he spoke with officials in Zhuhai via video-conference to discuss border restrictions.

Consensus was reached that the current border restrictions will remain in effect until at least the end of this month, which is today.

Currently, those entering Zhuhai from Macau are requi-red to present a negative PCR test result issued within 24 hours and will be quarantined centrally upon arrival.

Yesterday, Ho explained that in the best-case scenario, if there are no new cases detected yester-day and today, border controls are likely to return to normal settings.

The border restrictions this time are tighter than previous restrictions. In August, when the city detected infections in a fa-mily of four, Zhuhai authorities shortened the validity period for

PCR tests for border crossing to 24 hours but did not impose a requi-rement to quarantine on arrival.

Ho explained that authorities in Zhuhai are more vigilant this time because the city is currently hosting the International Air Show. “Zhuhai authorities don’t want any problems to [negatively] impact the Air Show,” Ho said.

When questioned by the press on whether a return to the “nor-mal state” of border restrictions refers to 48-hour or seven-day PCR test result validity, Ho explai-ned that he meant the lifting of the requirement to quarantine on arrival.

“However long the PCR validity is, at least we can resume normal border crossings [without qua-rantine],” he said.

The CE admitted that even if restrictions are lifted, it will not provide a stimulus in time for the

October 1 Golden Week, but ad-ded that it will be helpful to com-muters who cross the border for work.

With regards to border nor-malization between Macau and Hong Kong, Ho confirmed that while the local government ea-gerly anticipates the resumption of normal interactions between the two Special Administrative Regions (SARs), such adjustmen-ts need to conform to national standards. This statement aligns with earlier comments made by public health doctor Leong Iek Hou, coordinator at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The local government has rei-terated that Macau’s border heal-th restriction measures must align with national standards, hinting that unless mainland China wai-ves the quarantine-upon-arrival requirement for entrants from Hong Kong, Macau will retain its own tight controls on entrants from the neighboring SAR.

However, Ho hinted that Guangdong and Hong Kong are in negotiations on the relaxation of border health restrictions, and he therefore hopes there will be good news soon. When these re-laxed measures come to fruition, Macau will be able to resume nor-mal interactions with Hong Kong.

LATE INTRODUCTION OF VACCINATION HOLIDAYS

Although he wants more mem-bers of the public to take the Co-vid-19 vaccine, Ho reiterated that vaccination should be voluntary.

He was questioned on whe-ther the local government will follow the lead of its counterpart in Hong Kong by offering one-day vaccination holidays to its civil servants.

Ho said that this must be con-sidered in a wider sense. “If we implement this measure, should we offer an extra day of holiday to our colleagues who have taken the vaccine?” he questioned. He sees this as a moral debate.

Giving an extra day of leave to the 38,000 or so civil servants is not a big concern for the govern-ment, Ho explained, but it will im-pact the rest of the SAR’s approxi-mately 200,000 workers.

In addition, he said, reviewing those who have taken the vaccine before the implementation of the proposed policy would incur a great administrative cost.

Finally, he added that it wou-ld send a harmful message to the public that if they are willing to wait, they will receive greater benefits.

Further amendments to quarantine hotel assignmentsSECRETARY for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie

Ao Ieong announced yesterday that the govern-ment has implemented new arrangements for the assignment of quarantine hotels. Entrants to Ma-cau will be categorized with reference to the origin of their travel. Those from low-risk areas will not be quarantined, which is the measure already in effect.

Entrants from high-risk areas, by contrast, will be quarantined at the Public Health Clinical Center in Coloane.

In addition, a specific hotel will be designated for workers at quarantine hotels who are exposed to

higher infection risks at work, such as janitors and security guards. They will be managed in a closed loop.

Those from mid-risk areas will still be quaranti-ned, but compliance measures will be slightly tigh-tened.

Officers from the police forces and the Health Bureau will conduct spot checks to ensure the cor-rect implementation of disease control guidelines.

The frequency of regular PCR tests will also be in-creased in the hopes of pinpointing potential new infections as early as possible. AL

THE annual Macau Grand Prix will be held as usual this year, the CE con-firmed, because it is a well-received and iconic major event both culturally and economically in Macau.He noted that despite the chal-

lenges last year, the event was able to proceed, hinting that this year it would be less challenging.The CE fears that if the event is suspended this year, its image in the international arena will be damaged.

‘Iconic’ GP will go ahead this year



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Gov’t to revise budget as GGR expected to tumble

LYNZY VALLES

CHIEF Executive Ho Iat Seng expects the city’s gross ga-

ming revenue (GGR) to fall fur-ther, missing the initial gaming revenue forecast, due to the cur-rent Covid-19 outbreak.

In a press conference held yes-terday, the CE said that MOP130 billion in gaming industry reve-nue for this year was originally a “conservative estimation.”

The city’s GGR for the first half of the year was MOP49 billion, 25% lower than forecast. This means that the city’s casinos wou-ld need MOP81 billion in revenue in the second half of the year to meet the government’s forecast total for the full year.

However, gaming results saw a sharp downturn in August, with the lowest GGR this year recorded due to the Delta variant cases of the coronavirus discovered ear-lier that month.

The city’s GGR plummeted to MOP4.44 billion in August, a drop of 47.4% month-to-month.

An aggregate MOP8.44 billion in gaming revenues was reported in July, an increase of 29.2% from the previous month.

Despite this increase, the accu-

mulated gaming revenue was still lower than analysts had expected, as the median analyst forecast was a 540.5% increase year-on--year.

Today being the last day of September, Ho foreshadowed

another downturn in revenue since Zhuhai has imposed stricter measures for those entering the city from Macau.

Fitch Ratings forecasts that the GGR in 2021 will be nearly 65% below 2019 levels, recove-

ring to 35% below 2019 by 2022, and fully recovering in 2024. So far, between January and Au-gust this year, Macau generated a total GGR of MOP61.9 billion, about 21% of the 2019 amount.

The CE also acknowledged

THE Chief Executive (CE) Ho Iat Seng has

taken responsibility for the loopholes in quaran-tine hotels that caused the five recent Covid-19 infections in the city.

At a special press conference yesterday, Ho was asked whether the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) should be held respon-sible for letting these alleged loopholes persist without implementing responsive measures.

In response, Ho hin-ted that if someone

THE average occupan-cy rate of hotel rooms

stood at 38.4% this mon-th, a month-on-month drop of 25.3 percentage points due to temporarily tightened entry and exit requirements in August.

Three Delta variant outbreaks in August led to stricter border measu-res to prevent the spread of the virus.

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indica-ted that the number of guests checking into ho-tels and guest-houses in

should be blamed for the flaws, it should be him.

“I don’t have enough

August rose 136.8% year--on-year to 435,000, with the number of main-

eyes to monitor all that happens in these qua-rantine hotels,” he said.

land guests (300,000) soaring by 573.9% while local guests

“The MGTO director, like me, has one pair of eyes only.”

The CE added that he is not trying to shield any of his officials, but that he was just being prag-matic.

“We now have a lot of quarantine hotels accommodating more than 2,500 individuals, meaning that we need a relatively large team to service and handle them,” Ho explained.

He revealed that he had even admitted the flaws in talks with natio-

(109,000) decreased 11.7%. The recent figures are

measured against low baseline figures, as the city only re-opened to the mainland in August last year following the ou-tbreak of the pandemic.

At the same time, the average length of stay for guests rose by 0.4 ni-ghts year-on-year to 1.8 nights.

In the first eight mon-ths of 2021, the average occupancy rate of guest rooms was 50.5%, up by 27 percentage points year-on-year. A total of

nal officials.Reiterating earlier

comments from the Health Bureau, he stres-sed that the most impor-tant task now is to consi-der how the government can solve the problems.

He added that the government has investi-gated which bureau has ultimate responsibility for the practices of se-curity guards. “Finally, without other options, I have decided to deploy our security forces to assist in this operation,” Ho announced. AL

4,509,000 guests at hotels and guest-houses were recorded.

There were no inbou-nd package tour visitors in August, however al-most 2,000 visitors joined local tours.

The number of ou-tbound residents using the services of travel agen-cies was around 6,000, 94.7% of whom visited mainland China. In the first eight months of 2021, the number of visitors joining local tours rose 262.9% year-on-year to 34,000, and outbound re-sidents using travel agent services increased by 37% to 124,000. LV

Ho takes responsibility for quarantine hotel flaws

Average hotel occupancy in August at 38%

UM holds conference on higher education development The University of Macau (UM) Centre for Macau Studies and Faculty of Education yesterday held an online conference titled “Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the University of Macau: Conference on the Current Situation and Future of Higher Education in Macau.” During the event, experts and scholars discussed various issues related to the current and future development of higher education in the SAR. Other topics discussed at the conference include whether higher education in Macau has nurtured writing teachers needed in primary and secondary schools, the mode of learning assessment for undergraduate students, and the current status of national education for university students.

Gov’t provides support to residents in red, yellow zones

The Municipal Affairs Bureau and the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) have set up a special support team to maintain and assist the restricted areas with red and yellow code. Apart from the daily provision of three meals to the residents of the red code area, service points are also set up for collection and distribution of supplies in the red code area to facilitate the transfer of supplies from relatives and friends to the residents. At the same time, the IAS makes phone calls to the residents of the red and yellow code areas regularly to better understand the needs of relevant residents and to provide appropriate assistance.

that, with the upcoming National Holiday, the city’s recent Covid-19 cases will have a negative impact on tourist arrivals which will also affect small and medium enter-prises as well.

Late last year, the Legislative Assembly approved the 2021 bu-dget, which allocated MOP26.6 billion from the financial reserves to address the public administra-tion deficit.

Ho said yesterday that, in 2020 and 2021, the government will use MOP100 billion in reserves to balance the accounts.

The CE also revealed that he has instructed the Secretariat for Economy and Finance to study the impact of the pandemic on the city this year.

Earlier this month, prior to the September Covid-19 cases, Lei Wai Nong, Secretary for Economy and Finance, had admitted that the gaming revenues this year would be adjusted, though no fi-gures were given.

Macau is still under “imme-diate prevention status,” declared on Saturday last week following the detection of cases of the Del-ta variant on Friday, followed by five more cases over the following four days.



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GAMING

Osaka selects MGM as integrated resort partner

LYNZY VALLES

MGM Resorts Inter-national has an-nounced that MGM Japan, together with

its joint venture partner Orix, has been selected by Osaka as its inte-grated resort partner.

Osaka’s selection of the MGM--Orix consortium marks an im-portant step in MGM’s long-term bid to develop one of Japan’s first integrated resorts.

“It is an honor to be selected as Osaka’s partner in developing an integrated resort. I commend the city in undertaking a com-prehensive and thoughtful pro-cess to meet its goal of developing a world-class integrated resort in Osaka,” said MGM Resorts CEO and president Bill Hornbuckle in a statement.

“We will work closely with pre-fectural/city municipal govern-ments to deliver an iconic, uni-quely Japanese destination war-ranting Osaka’s selection as home to one of Japan’s first integrated resorts,” he added.

Details of the proposed appro-ximately USD10 billion develop-ment were also unveiled, show-casing MGM’s vision to bring a “world-class resort experience” to Osaka, designed to transform the region into a top entertainment and hospitality destination.

The proposed location for the

integrated resort is the waterfront on Osaka’s Yumeshima island.

“Nowhere is the future of tou-rism and hospitality more exci-ting than Japan, and Osaka is the perfect location for that future to begin. We couldn’t be more exci-

ted for the opportunity to help enhance and grow Osaka’s repu-tation as a world-class destina-tion,” Hornbuckle added.

According to MGM Resorts, the company has had a full-time development team in Japan for

more than seven years, “enga-ging with Japan’s business com-munities, [immersing itself] in Japanese culture and laying the foundation for a project that em-bodies Japan’s unique history and heritage.”

The planned hotels and ame-nities — MGM Osaka, MGM Villas, and MUSUBI Hotel — will have a total of 2,500 total guest rooms, approximately 400,000 square feet of conference space and approximately 330,000 squa-re feet of exhibition space, inclu-ding an “Innovation Laboratory.”

The next step is for MGM, to-gether with Orix and Osaka’s pre-fectural and city governments, to submit an Area Development Plan to Japan’s central govern-ment during the October 2021 to April 2022 application period.

Integrated resort licenses are expected to be issued by the cen-tral government in 2022.

Osaka’s selection of MGM-Orix is one of several steps in the licen-sing process following the 2018 passage of Japan’s Integrated Re-sort Implementation Act.

On January 6, investment firm Snow Lake Capital published an open letter urging MGM Resorts International to sell off 20% of its MGM China stakes to a leading Chinese consumer or travel and leisure company – either of which would be regarded as a “strategic shareholder.”

According to the letter, this transaction would unleash capi-tal for MGM Resorts to secure an integrated resort opportunity in Osaka, catapulting the group into position as the largest player in Ja-pan’s gaming industry.



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COVID-19

Harbin kills three housecats that tested positive for virusA city in northern China

has killed three house-cats after they tested positi-ve for COVID-19, according to a local media report yes-terday, as the country takes increasingly strict measures to contain new outbreaks.

The authorities in Har-bin, where 75 cases have re-cently been discovered, said the action was taken becau-se there was no available treatment for animals with the disease and they wou-ld have endangered their owner and other residents of the apartment complex in which they lived, Beijing News online said.

The owner tested positi-ve for the virus on Sept. 21 and went into isolation af-ter leaving food and water out for the three cats.

A community worker dropped in and gave the cats coronavirus tests, whi-

ch twice came back po-sitive. Despite an online appeal by the owner, iden-tified only as Miss Liu, the cats were put to sleep Tues-day evening.

Pet ownership is increa-singly popular in China, and the newspaper’s report on the case drew more than 52,000 comments.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of animals spreading SARS--CoV-2, the virus that cau-ses COVID-19, to people is “considered to be low,” although it is known to be transmissible from people to animals in some situa-tions, especially when there

is close contact. COVID-19 has been re-

ported on mink farms in several countries, including cases in which it was sug-gested humans might have been infected by the ani-mals, prompting mass culls of the animals.

“People with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should avoid contact with animals, including pets, li-vestock, and wildlife,” CDC said on its website.

“At this time, there is no evidence that animals play a significant role” in sprea-ding the virus to people, it said.

“Some coronaviruses that infect animals can be spread to people and then spread between people, but this is rare. This is what ha-ppened with SARS-CoV-2, which likely originated in bats,” the CDC said.

The theory that the virus was passed from bats to hu-mans, possibly through an intermediary species such as a pangolin or bamboo rat, has been strongly favo-red by scientists studying the origins of COVID-19, which was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

Animal rights group PETA said animals should be treated “just as humans should be treated” and that it has seen no evidence that humans have caught the vi-rus from cats.

“PETA urges guardians to protect themselves and their animal companions by taking basic precautions: If you aren’t shaking so-meone’s hand, that person shouldn’t be petting your dog or cat, either,” it said.

The killing of the cats is an example of the some-

times extreme measures China has taken to control the virus, even when infec-tion rates remain far below those in other countries.

Lockdowns, mask wea-ring, mass testing and high vaccination rates have been credited for suppressing new infections.

Yesterday, mainland China reported just 11 new locally transmitted cases, eight of them in Harbin and three in the eastern city of Xiamen, both of which have had recent outbreaks.

China currently has 949 patients being treated for COVID-19. It has reported 4,636 deaths from the ill-ness among a total of 96,106 reported cases.

Health officials said China has fully vaccinated more than 1 billion people out of a population of just over 1.4 billion. MDT/AP

EMILY WANG FUJIYAMA, SHENYANG

PEOPLE ate breakfast by the light of smartphones and sho-

pkeepers turned on generators as cities across China enforced power cuts yesterday to meet offi-cial conservation targets and ease shortages in some areas.

News reports blame high coal prices they say make power com-panies reluctant to meet booming demand, while economists say the real motive is political: Offi-cials are under pressure to curtail energy use to meet official targets.

In Shenyang, the northeast’s most populous city, restaurant owner Li Yufeng used a battery from an electric bicycle to run a pot for noodles after seeing a notice power would be switched off at 7:30 a.m. Li said he started work two hours early, at 6 a.m., to prepare chicken, sauces and other dishes.

“There are some impacts, but not a big impact,” said Li as cus-tomers ate by smartphone lights.

Factories in China’s busiest manufacturing provinces have been ordered to suspend produc-tion for up to a week, prompting concern global supplies of smar-tphones and other goods might be disrupted. Now, urban nei-ghborhoods are being blacked out, triggering pleas on social media for the government to sol-ve the problem.

China’s power consumption is growing at almost double its usual rate, while the ruling Com-munist Party is trying to reduce energy intensity, or the amount used per unit of economic ou-tput.

The power cuts come as glo-bal leaders prepare to attend a U.N. environmental conference by video link on Oct. 12-13 in the southwestern city of Kunming. That increases pressure on Presi-dent Xi Jinping’s government, as

the meeting’s host, to show it is sticking to emissions and energy efficiency targets.

The cuts are “largely driven by energy consumption control measures, with power shortages affecting another few provinces,” Lara Dong of IHS Markit said in an email.

“This is in line with China’s decarbonization ambitions,” she said.

The Cabinet’s planning agen-cy warned in August that 20 re-

gions had exceeded energy use and pollution targets after ma-nufacturing rebounded from the pandemic. The government has ambitious plans to make the eco-nomy cleaner and more energy--efficient, so failing to meet those targets can be a career-ending blunder.

The power cuts “could be more disruptive than previous shorta-ges,” Bank of America said in a report. Due to shortages in some areas, it said, “a relaxation of the government’s energy consump-tion goals may not immediately alleviate the power crunch.”

China is one of the world’s bi-ggest emitters of climate-chan-ging industrial gases and con-sumes more energy per unit of economic output than developed countries. Given its huge popula-tion, on a per capita basis it ranks much lower.

China also is preparing for the Winter Olympics in the capital, Beijing, and the nearby city of Shijiazhuang in February, a pe-riod when it will want clear blue skies.

Officials in Jiangsu province, a manufacturing hub northwest of Shanghai, told state media some cities there have used up 90% of this year’s quota for power use. The officials of the provincial planning agency were cited as saying individual city govern-ments had to decide how to meet their targets.

The government of Guang-dong province, China’s biggest manufacturing center, has cited both official energy use limits and low water levels in hydro-power reservoirs that provide a big share of its electricity.

In Liaoning province, where Shenyang is the capital, the go-vernment said in a statement Sunday that power demand hit a record high in the first eight months of the year. It said Liao-ning has suffered shortages sin-ce then due to a decline in wind power and other sources.

The government of neighbo-ring Jilin province blamed a shor-tage of coal. It said in a statement Monday its governor would visit miners in nearby Inner Mongolia to line up additional supplies.

Some advance warnings of power cuts to residents in Shenyang and other cities cited a need to ration power but didn’t say why.

Li, the noodle restaurant ow-ner, showed a reporter a notice circulated on social media that said power would be out in his neighborhood from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Shopkeeper Yang Chang had a generator running on the si-dewalk to keep freezers full of meat cold.

“As long as there is electricity we can sell things, unlike restau-rants that need water,” said Yang. Yang didn’t know or care what the reason for the power outage was but said, “it’s understandable.”

“I was born in the ‘90s. When I was little, electricity wasn’t stable,” said Yang. “Although we are having difficulties, the government will find a solution.” MDT/AP

A worker in protective clothing handles Covid-19 test samples in Bayan County of Harbin city in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang Province



ASIA PACIFIC亞太

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BEIJING said yesterday it will block Taiwan’s appli-

cation to join a Pacific Rim tra-de initiative, citing as its rea-son the island’s refusal to con-cede that it is a part of China.

The Cabinet’s Taiwan Af-fairs Office yesterday said Taiwan’s participation in re-gional trade cooperation is based on the “one China prin-ciple.”

“We oppose the Taiwan region participating in any trade arrangements of an of-ficial nature or signing any trade agreements of an official nature,” spokesperson Zhu Fenglian told reporters at a biweekly briefing.

China claims democrati-cally-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its control by force if neces-sary. It refuses to recognize the island’s government and has increasingly sought to isolate the independence-lea-ning administration of Tsai Ing-wen.

Taiwan announced on Sept. 23 that it had applied join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a week after China submitted its own application to join.

The 11-nation CPTPP, whi-ch took effect in 2018, includes agreements on market access, movement of labor and gover-nment procurement. Other members include Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and New Zealand. The U.K. also has started ne-gotiating to join after it left the European Union.

The CPTPP originally was called the Trans-Pacific Part-nership, a group promoted by then-President Barack Oba-ma. His successor, Donald Trump, pulled out in 2017. President Joe Biden has not rejoined it.

China and Taiwan split af-ter the Communist Party sei-zed control of the mainland in 1949 amid a civil war. They have extensive trade and in-vestment ties but no official relations, and China has been using increasingly threatening language toward the island while applying military, diplo-matic and economic pressure against it. MDT/AP

China vows to keep Taiwan out of Pacific Rim trade group

Japan’s former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida bows as he won in the Liberal Democrat Party leadership election in Tokyo yesterday

JAPAN

Ex-diplomat Kishida wins party vote, to become new PMMARI YAMAGUCHI, TOKYO

FORMER Japanese Fo-reign Minister Fumio Kishida won the gover-ning party’s leadership

election yesterday and is set to become the next prime minis-ter, facing the tasks of reviving a pandemic-hit economy and ensuring a strong alliance with Washington to counter growing regional security risks.

Kishida replaces outgoing par-ty leader Prime Minister Yoshihi-de Suga, who is stepping down after serving only one year.

As new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Kishida is cer-tain to be elected the next prime minister on Monday in parlia-ment, where his party and its coalition partner control both houses.

In his victory speech, Kishida vowed to tackle “national crises” including COVID-19, the pan-demic-battered economy and the declining population and birthrate. He said he would pur-sue “important issues related to Japan’s future” through a vision of “a free and open Indo-Pacific” that counters China’s assertive-ness in the region.

Kishida defeated popular vac-cinations minister Taro Kono in a runoff after finishing only one vote ahead of him in the first round, in which none of the four candidates, including two wo-men, was able to win a majority.

In a landslide 257-170 victory in the second round, Kishida re-ceived support from party hea-vyweights who apparently chose stability over change advocated by Kono, who is known as some-thing of a maverick and a refor-mist.

Kishida is under pressure to change the party’s high-handed reputation, worsened by Suga, who angered the public over his handling of the pandemic and insistence on holding the Sum-mer Olympics in Tokyo despite surging infections.

The long-ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party des-perately needs to quickly turn around plunging public support ahead of lower house elections coming within two months.

Kishida said he heard many voters in the past year com-plaining that they were being ignored. “I felt our democracy is in a crisis,” he said in his speech. “I, Fumio Kishida, have a special skill of listening to people. I am determined to make an effort toward making a more open LDP and a bright future for Japan to-

gether with you all.”The 64-year-old former fo-

reign minister was once seen as an indecisive moderate. Lately, however, he has shifted to be-come a security and diplomatic hawk as he sought support from influential conservatives to win the party election.

Kishida has called for a further increase in Japan’s defense ca-pability and budget, and vowed to stand up to China in tensions over self-ruled Taiwan that China claims as part of its territory, and Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.

On the economy, Kishida has called for a “new capitalism” of growth and distribution to nar-row the income gap between the rich and the poor that widened under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-ser-ving leader, and worsened during the pandemic.

He also pledged to promote clean energy technology to turn climate change measures into growth opportunities and pro-posed a generous economic re-covery package.

“I will start a positive cycle of growth and distribution” to rai-se people’s income, not just to benefit big companies,” Kishida said at his first news conference as LDP president. He pledged to defend democracy, peace and stability and raise the country’s international profile.

Overall, little change is expec-ted in key diplomatic and securi-

ty policies under the new leader, said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the Univer-sity of Tokyo.

Kishida supports close Japan--U.S. security ties and partner-ships with other like-minded democracies in Asia and Europe, in part to counter China and nu-clear-armed North Korea.

Yesterday’s vote was seen as a test of whether the party can move out of the shadow of Abe, a staunch conservative. His in-fluence in government and party affairs has largely muzzled diver-se views and shifted the party to the right. Political watchers say Kishida’s win indicates a conti-nuation of LDP power politics led by Abe and his influential allies.

“The results showed that LDP does not and cannot change,” said Yukio Edano, head of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. “As new LDP president, Mr. Kishida should explain how his leader-ship is different from the Abe-Su-ga administrations.”

Kishida has called for party re-forms by limiting terms for exe-cutive positions, but is seen as a choice who could prolong an era of unusual political stability amid fears that Japan could return to “revolving door” leadership.

“Concern is not about indi-viduals but stability of Japanese politics,” Michael Green, senior vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and Interna-

tional Studies, said in a telepho-ne briefing ahead of the vote.

Green said voters will be wa-tching if Kishida is swayed by power politics within his party or is attuned to the public.

Suga is leaving only a year af-ter taking office as a pinch hitter for Abe, who suddenly resigned over health problems, ending his nearly eight-year leadership, the longest in Japan’s constitutional history.

Kishida lost to Suga in the 2020 party leadership race, whi-ch was determined by party hea-vyweights even before the vote. A third-generation politician from Hiroshima, Kishida has a reputa-tion among his fellow lawmakers as polite and honest.

He was first elected to parlia-ment in 1993. An advocate for nuclear disarmament, he escor-ted former U.S. President Barack Obama during his 2016 visit to Hiroshima, the city that was obli-terated together with Nagasaki in U.S. atomic bombings in the clo-sing days of World War II.

As foreign minister under Abe, he struck a 2015 agreement with South Korea to resolve a row over the issue of women who were se-xually abused by Japan’s military during World War II, part of a le-gacy that still hampers relations between the two countries.

The banker-turned-lawmaker enjoys drinking sake and is a staunch supporter of his home-town professional baseball team, the Hiroshima Carp. MDT/AP



page 8WORLD 國際

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The Hollywood film star James Dean has been kil-led in a road accident in California, USA.

The 24-year-old actor was behind the wheel of his German-made Porsche sports car when it was invol-ved in a head-on collision with another car 30 miles (48 km) east of Paso Robles this evening.

Mr Dean’s mechanic, Rolph Wutherich, who was a passenger in the car, was taken to hospital with se-rious injuries. The driver of the other car was also injured.

Medics said Mr Dean, who was dead on arrival at hospital, suffered a broken neck and numerous broken bones.

At the time of the accident the road racing enthu-siast was on his way to a race meeting at Salinas, California.

James Dean completed his latest film “Giant”, an adaptation of Edna Ferber’s book about Texas, just yesterday.

His first film, “East of Eden”, cast him firmly into the spotlight and many critics believe he had a glittering Hollywood future ahead of him.

Farm boy James Byron Dean was born on 8 February 1931 in

Marion, Indiana to Winton and Mildred Dean. When he was five the family moved to Los Angeles

where Winton Dean had secured a new job as a den-tal technician.

His mother died when he was eight after which Jimmy returned to the Midwest where he was brou-ght up by his aunt and uncle on their Indiana farm.

After attending UCLA university in California he moved to New York to pursue his acting career.

He appeared in several television shows before gaining his first major role in “East of Eden.” His se-cond film “Rebel Without a Cause” has not yet been released.

Preparations are now being made for Mr Dean’s funeral.

Courtesy BBC News

1955 James Dean killeD in car smash

In context

The legend of James Dean lives on to the present day. He was buried in Fairmount, Indiana and his grave is visited by thousands of people every year. Although he was fast becoming a Hollywood star when he was alive, he was elevated to cult status after his death. Within a year of the accident nearly four million people had joined his fan club and his studio was receiving up to 4,000 letters every day. His image of rebellious youth, compared at the time to Marlon Brando, continues to make £100 millions every year. A rumour began after his death that he was not actu-ally killed in the car crash but was hideously deformed and is still alive in a Californian hospital.

this day in history

ZIMBABWE

Vaccine mandates squeeze some of world’s poorestFARAI MUTSAKA, HARARE

FOR months, Acholo Jani was told to get a CO-

VID-19 vaccination because it might save his life. He hesi-tated, fearful of potential side effects. But the moment he was told it would save his job, Jani got in line.

The 43-year-old me-chanic’s employer is among many in Zimbabwe man-dating shots for their staff, including the government, which is requiring the vacci-ne for its 500,000 employees. That sets the southern Afri-can nation apart from nearly every other on the continent, where the most immediate challenge is still simply ac-quiring enough doses.

Zimbabwe, by contrast, says it has ample supply for now, mostly purchased from China, but that hesitancy is holding back its campaign — a problem that has also troubled other African coun-tries, partly driven by a ge-neral distrust of authorities. But Zimbabwe’s strategy is raising worrying rights ques-tions.

Critics say that, unlike in richer countries that have made use of mandates, Zim-babwe’s rollout isn’t up to the task. Vaccination centers so-metimes run out of supply, and poor urban townships and rural areas have often been starved of doses in re-cent months.

What’s more, they say, it’s cruel to put at risk the live-lihoods of people who are some of the world’s most vul-nerable and already suffering during the pandemic.

“The Zimbabwe govern-ment should first focus on making sure that vaccines are equally available to all people without any obstacles before considering making them mandatory,” said Dewa Mavhinga, southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch.

Mavhinga called for ad-dressing vaccine hesitancy “in a way that builds public trust and confidence in the vaccines without the use of force.”

But the government, known for being authorita-rian, appears ready to dou-ble down. It already requires vaccines at places of worship and has suggested exten-ding the mandates to public buses — a critical mode of transportation for the coun-try’s poor. Access to informal markets, on which millions rely to buy or sell goods, mi-ght also be restricted.

Those measures would effectively make the vaccine a requirement for the vast majority of Zimbabwean adults, even the two-thirds of the working population with informal jobs unlikely to be touched by employer man-dates.

At Jani’s workplace, a vac-

cination card, a pocket-sized booklet with the govern-ment’s emblem on the front, is now “your gate pass,” he said.

“There is nowhere to hide,” he said while waiting for his vaccine on a dusty road outside a clinic in the Mufakose township of the ca-pital, Harare.

Jani eventually got his first shot — after joining the line at 5 a.m. and waiting for se-ven hours — but others are not so lucky.

Some have waited hou-rs on end only to be told the vaccination center was clo-sing early because of limited supplies or a lack of staff. People eligible for second shots have also complained of being turned away from centers giving preference to those seeking first doses. A new batch of vaccines arri-ved recently, and lines appear to be shortening.

Around 15% of Zimba-bwe’s 15 million people are fully vaccinated — well above the overall African rate of 4% but far from the government’s goal of 60%. The country has so far received 12 million do-ses, mainly of the Chinese Si-nopharm and Sinovac vacci-nes, which require two shots. Just over 5 million have been administered, according to data compiled by Johns Ho-pkins University.

Peter Mutasa, the presi-dent of Zimbabwe’s largest

labor federation, said that the government is mainly at fault for not vaccinating enough people.

“Workers have been trying to get vaccinated,” he said.

Mutasa’s organization, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, is fighting mandates for workers in court, one of the only organizations in the country to be publicly oppo-sed to them. Other groups appear unwilling to speak out for fear of being labeled anti-vaccination.

Mutasa is not against the shots but said linking them to employment means jobs will be lost “unnecessarily” in a nation where employment is precious after the eco-nomy collapsed just over 10 years ago with record levels of inflation and many live a precarious existence. Nearly half Zimbabwe’s population live on less than $1.90 a day.

Mandates will cause “car-nage,” he said.

Dr. Agnes Mahomva, the chief coordinator of the go-vernment’s COVID-19 res-ponse, defended mandates, saying they are aimed at “protecting everyone” and arguing they remain volun-tary in a way.

“If one doesn’t want to be vaccinated, no one is going to come to their house to grab them and vaccinate them,” she said.

But Mutasa noted that workers desperate for a pay-check have “no way to say no.”

Zimbabwe has reported nearly 130,000 virus cases and about 4,600 deaths, ac-cording to Johns Hopkins. While those tolls, as elsewhe-re, are likely to be under-counts, the virus has not wei-ghed particularly heavily in Zimbabwe, a fact that may be contributing to a lack of ur-gency in getting vaccinated.

Dr. Johannes Marisa, the president of Zimbabwe’s Medical and Dental Priva-te Practitioners Association says that as a result manda-tes are critical.

“You have to sort of coer-ce people if you are to make any headway,” Marisa said. “Human rights are impor-tant, but public health takes precedence.”

Marisa believes other Afri-can countries will follow suit, as the biggest challenge on the continent moves from acquiring vaccines to getting them into the arms of the he-sitant. Given the outcry from African leaders pleading for more vaccine equity at the U.N. last week — a situation the Namibian president cal-led “vaccine apartheid” — that moment seems a way off. MDT/AP



INFOTAINMENT資訊／娛樂

The Born Loser by Chip Sansom

SUDOKU

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sale sign; 13- Journalist Pyle; 15- Injure; 16- The sacred scriptures of Hinduism; 17- Scope; 18- A big fan of; 19- Slow movement; 21- Altruistic; 23- Upper hand; 25- Actual; 26- Howe’er; 29- Historical chapters; 31- Established procedure; 35- Fireplace shelf; 36- Biblical brother; 38- TV producer Michaels; 39- Geraint’s lady; 41- Decoration; 43- Huff and puff; 44- Utopian; 46- Second king of Israel; 48- Beverage commonly drunk in England; 49- Uttered gratingly; 51- Stiff bristle; 52- Office no.; 53- “You are ___”; 55- Permits; 57- Sot; 61- Child’s toy; 65- Cosmonaut Gagarin; 66- Dough; 68- Unwritten; 69- Socialite Maxwell; 70- Org.; 71- “That smarts!”; 72- Ocean; 73- Hard to hold; 74- Lucie’s father; DOWN: 1- Hot rock; 2- Second hand, took advantage of; 3- Verdi heroine; 4- Grammarian’s concern; 5- Airmail letter; 6- Song syllable; 7- Taverns; 8- Large cat; 9- Ruination; 10- Skills; 11- Old Testament book; 14- Conger catcher; 15- Summit of an earthy mound; 20- Impression; 22- Fall short; 24- Having auricular protuberances; 26- His and her; 27- Accord maker; 28- Tony’s cousins; 30- Fountain treats; 32- Component of organic fertilizer; 33- Building addition; 34- Free to attack; 37- Umbilicus; 40- Waterflea; 42- Ability to read; 45- Vichyssoise veggie; 47- Numbers to crunch; 50- Stage play; 54- Uneven; 56- Lost a lap; 57- Turns red, say; 58- Dominion; 59- Bear in the sky; 60- Medicinal amount; 62- Not false; 63- Resinous substances; 64- K-12; 67- Chat room chuckle;

Yesterday’s solution

Emergency calls 999Fire department 28 572 222PJ (Open line) 993PJ (Picket) 28 557 775PSP 28 573 333Customs 28 559 944S. J. Hospital 28 313 731Kiang Wu Hospital 28 371 333Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) 28326 300IAM 28 387 333Tourism 28 333 000Airport 59 888 88

Taxi 28 939 939 / 2828 3283Water Supply – Report 2822 0088Telephone – Report 1000Electricity – Report 28 339 922Macau Daily Times 28 716 081

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MIN MAX CONDITION

CHINA

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Mar. 21-Apr. 19The universe has been keeping you on your toes, Aries. Thursday’s skies continue to unlock more stories, as retrograde Mercury backs into a square with truth-revealing Pluto.

Apr. 20-May. 20You’re being asked to stretch yourself beyond your known limits today, Taurus. Thursday’s skies find your ruling planet, lover Venus, locked into a clashing square with big-picture Jupiter.

TaurusAries

May. 21-Jun. 21Pairing is likely to illuminate any hidden tensions not being acknowledged on the intimacy and relationship front. Aim to be honest and direct without exploding at others.

Jun. 22-Jul. 22Magnetic Venus locks into a square with visionary Jupiter. This pairing is mostly a positive one that buoys partnership growth but may also highlight unmet expectations.

CancerGemini

Jul. 23-Aug. 22Thursday’s skies are chock full of action to acknowledge. Magnetic Venus’ squares off with big-picture Jupiter, highlighting where further efforts could be made around partnership growth.

Aug. 23-Sep. 22You gain cosmic insight from following the sharp movements of messenger Mercury. Today’s skies find Mercury in a bind, as it retrogrades back into its second difficult square with truth-revealing Pluto.

Leo Virgo

Sep.23-Oct. 22Lean into the optimistic mindset washing over you today, Libra. Rather than justify away your hopefulness with logic, aim to embrace the expansion the universe is encouraging you toward!

Oct. 23-Nov. 21Today’s cosmic landscape finds you reviewing your place in the world at large, Scorpio. The moon prowls through spot-light seeking Leo, forming a tense square with lover Venus.

Libra Scorpio

Nov. 22-Dec. 21Your ruling planet, jolly Jupiter, receives an unhappy visit from other-oriented Venus today, sparking some tensions between what is and is not communicated clearly in your intimate one on ones.

Dec. 22-Jan. 19Beware of snapping back at bosses or those in authority - but also feel free to calmly state your truth. Elsewhere, magnetic Venus mingles with big plan Jupiter, imbuing the day with a bounce-back, positive attitude.

Sagittarius Capricorn

Feb.19-Mar. 20Aim to clear the air without burning bridges! Meanwhile, lover Venus meets with optimistic Jupiter, imbuing the day with grand visions of love and romance - some that may be out of reach!

Jan. 20-Feb. 18You’re likely to be digging up mental treasures worth examining today. Messenger Mercury locks into a harsh encounter with truth-seeking Pluto, pushing you to plummet into the depths of your subconscious.

Aquarius Pisces



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CORPORATE BITSSands China participates in responsible gaming promotion

Ritz-Carlton, Macau is col-laborating with Italian fashion brand Max Mara to present the exquisite Max Mara Anniver-sary Afternoon Tea Set and the Max Mara Anniversary Sig-nature Coffee Collection at

Sands China team mem-bers participated in a Gaming Industry Responsible Ga-ming Promotion Day 2021 roadshow recently at Sands China properties, hosted by the Macao Gaming Industry Employees Home Integrated Services Centre.

The Ritz-Carlton Macau partners with Max Mara to launch tea setTea Set is a “seamless match of luxury and consummate taste, which features sweet and savory delicacies inspired by the sophisticated design of Max Mara. “

The savory selections inclu-de enticing classical European treats such as the heaven-ly Truffle Custard Vol au Vent, Lobster Rillettes, Caviar, Brio-che Toast, and the lovely Pros-ciutto Rose, Sun-dried Tomato Cream and Spinach Profiterole.

Meanwhile, the Max Mara Anniversary Signature Cof-fee Collection, with five dif-ferent palates (caramel, tof-fee, vanilla, pumpkin and mint), is exclusively offered at The Ritz-Carlton Café from Oc-tober 1 until February 28, 2022.

gaming during the roadshow, which reached more than 500 team members in total.

The roadshow also provi-ded an opportunity for Sands China’s Responsible Gaming Ambassadors to practice their skills, as 20 of them were on hand at the event to help talk to team members about res-ponsible gaming.

As Responsible Gaming Am-bassadors, team members undergo additional training to gain enhanced knowledge of problem gambling, and awa-reness of the importance of responsible gaming – in order to provide appropriate respon-se and assistance to patrons exhibiting signs of problem gambling.

The Ritz-Carlton Bar & Loun-ge and The Ritz-Carlton Café, respectively, from October 1 until February 28, 2022.

Celebrating the fashion brand’s 70th anniversary, the uniquely designed Max Mara

Held in back-of-house team member areas, the aimed to increase team members’ awareness of responsible ga-ming and to refresh their res-ponsible gaming knowledge.

Team members got a chan-ce to play games and join ac-tivities related to responsible

AVIATION

Troubled HNA Group proposes paying 40% of debtsHNA Group, a Chinese

airline operator that ran into financial trouble after a global acquisition spree, has proposed a plan to sett-le $61 billion in debts owed to thousands of creditors by paying 40% of the total.

The conglomerate warned in a statement this week that it faces possible liquidation due to “mismanagement and investment disorder.” HNA Group said Friday its chair-man and CEO were detained

by police on suspicion of unspecified crimes.

HNA Group, which ope-rates Hainan Airlines and other carriers, bought ho-tels, a stake in Deutschebank AG and other assets abroad starting in 2014, financed by bank loans and bond sa-les. The company was stru-ggling to pay its debts when last year’s global travel shu-tdown to fight the corona-virus devastated its aviation business. The government

of the southern province of Hainan took control in Fe-bruary 2020.

The repayment plan, re-leased Tuesday by HNA’s pu-blicly traded Hainan Airlines Holding Co. subsidiary, said an administrator has asked a court to confirm the com-pany is obligated to pay 161.2 billion yuan ($25 billion), or about 40% of the 397.2 billion yuan ($61 billion) claimed by 4,915 creditors.

Creditors would receive

BRITAIN’S government plans to allow researchers to use gene-edi-

ting techniques to develop crops that can increase yields, reduce the need for pesticides and cut greenhouse gas emissions as the U.K.’s exit from the European Union allows it to deviate from the bloc’s rules.

Gene editing could help scientists to quickly breed crops that are more nu-tritious or resistant to pests and disea-ses, the government said in announ-cing its plan to make it easier for scien-tists to conduct research in the field.

Scientists draw a distinction be-tween gene editing, which involves the manipulation of genes within a sin-gle species, and genetic modification, which moves DNA from one species into a different one. Under EU rules, however, they are regulated the same way.

“Gene editing has the ability to har-ness the genetic resources that nature has provided,’’ Environment Secretary George Eustice said in a statement. “It is a tool that could help us in order to tackle some of the biggest challenges that we face - around food security, cli-mate change and biodiversity loss.”

Academics praised the decision as a first step.

“Genome editing is the most exci-ting technology that I have seen in my many years working in crop science,’’ said Wendy Harwood, head of the crop transformation group at the John In-nes Centre, a 110-year-old institution that researches plant science and ge-netics. “The technology makes it possi-ble to introduce small changes in crop DNA that lead to the characteristics we need such as disease resistance, better nutritional quality or more resilience to climate extremes.” MDT/AP

shares in Hainan Airlines and no more than 100,000 yuan ($15,500) in cash to se-ttle one-third of the debt, the plan said. It said HNA Group and related companies will be responsible for two-thirds of the remaining debt.

HNA Group said Friday its chairman, Chen Feng, and CEO, Tan Xiangdong, were “taken under compulsory measures” by police due to “suspicion of crime.” It gave no details but said opera-tions “are not affected.”

HNA attracted attention in Washington in 2017 when it agreed to buy a hedge fund from Anthony Scara-mucci, who was due to take a White House post as then--President Donald Trump’s liaison to Wall Street. The two sides called off the deal in 2018. MDT/AP

AGRICULTUREUK permits development of gene-edited crops in climate fight



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Sheriff’s Sebastien Thill celebrates with teammates after scoring Moldavian side’s second goal

FOOTBALL

Newcomer Sheriff stuns Real Madrid in Champions LeagueTALES AZZONI, MADRID

REAL M 1, SHERIFF 2

THE start to life in the Champions League couldn’t be going much better for Moldovan

club Sheriff.Sébastien Thill scored a 90th-

-minute winner as the newco-mers stunned Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium yesterday [Macau time].

Thill netted with a powerful shot into the top corner from the edge of the area to give Sheriff its second consecutive victory. It leads Group D with six points, three more than Madrid and five more than both Shakhtar Done-tsk and Inter Milan, which drew 0-0 in Ukraine in the other group match.

Sheriff beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 in its opener at home, while Madrid won 1-0 at Inter.

“For us this is a dream come true to have won here,” Sheriff captain Frank Castañeda said. “We’re so happy, and just enjoying

it. We have full faith in what we’ve been doing and things are going well for us. We didn’t just come here to sit around, we know how good our players are and luckily for us Madrid weren’t able to take their chances and we took ours.”

Sheriff is the first club from the Moldovan league to qualify for the group stage of the Cham-

pions League, although it is ba-sed in the breakaway region of Transnistria, a self-proclaimed independent nation which isn’t recognized by any United Na-tions member state.

The club founded just over two decades ago is funded by the She-riff company, which runs large parts of the economy in Transnis-

tria and has strong political ties.“We were unlucky,” Ma-

drid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “Everything went their way and nothing went our way. More than concerned, we are sad. We lost because of details.”

The visitors had rarely threate-ned until opening the scoring af-ter a breakaway in the 25th, with Jasurbek Yakhshiboev finding the far corner with a firm header past Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Cour-tois.

A mistake by Courtois a few minutes later while trying to move the ball up the field nearly gave Sheriff another goal, with Yakhshiboev’s shot missing just wide of the post.

Benzema, Vinícius Júnior, and Eden Hazard all had scoring chances as Madrid kept pres-suring, but failed to capitalize on them while Sheriff threatened on counterattacks.

Sheriff goalkeeper Giorgos Athanasiadis was named the player of the match for helping stop a Madrid attack that had more than 30 attempts.

“This is soccer,” Madrid mid-fielder Casemiro said. “We were in control during the entire ma-tch and had many scoring chan-ces. They had only two and sco-red twice.”

Benzema equalized from the penalty spot in the 65th after a controversial foul on Vinícius Jú-nior as he tried to get past a de-fender inside the area. The refe-ree initially let play continue but awarded the penalty after che-cking the video review.

Less than 10 minutes later, Sheriff had a potential winner by substitute Bruno called back for offside, but Thill still secured the victory near the end with a booming first-timer that hit the upper corner of the net.

“We played a really good game,” said Thill, who became the first player from Luxembourg to score a goal in the Champions League. “The side were so brave with how we played and luckily enough I was able to score a bit of a stunner.”

Sheriff players celebrated lou-dly after the final whistle as many Madrid fans jeered their team af-ter its second consecutive setba-ck at the Bernabéu.

Ancelotti made four changes at once after the equalizer, with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos among those coming off the ben-ch.

Madrid next visits Shakhtar Donetsk, while Sheriff plays at In-ter Milan. MDT/AP

the BUZZ

Think tank finds Chinese aid to Pacific nations has declined

China gave significantly less aid to Pacific island nations in re-cent years despite Beijing’s diplomatic efforts to increase its in-fluence in the region, according to a Sydney-based think tank.

Chinese aid to the Pacific shrank by 31% in 2019 to $169 million, the Lowy Institute said in its annual Pacific Aid Map released yesterday.

Only the World Bank pulled back more that year, but that had been expected after aid tripled between 2017 and 2018 through an extraordinary burst of investment, said Jonathan Pryke, Pacific Islands program director at the international

policy think tank.“There has been a consistent level of growing engagement

from China in previous years and we’ve seen this sharp decline in 2019 which is against the narrative,” Pryke said.

The map is a data base covering 66 donors and tens of thou-sands of aid projects in 14 Pacific island sovereign nations, whi-ch exclude the French territories of New Caledonia and French Polynesia.

Data since 2019 including the impact of the pandemic are in-complete and are not included in the latest report.

OPINIONAnimal FarmAlbano Martins

Tunisia’s president yesterday named the country’s first female prime minister, appointing her to lead a transitional government after her predecessor was sacked and parliament suspended. President Kais Saied named Raoudha Boudent Ramadhane, a 63-year-old professor at a prestigious engineering school, to the prime minister’s post in a surprise decision. The president’s office said in a statement that Saied instructed the new prime minister to name a new Cabinet as soon as possible.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi yesterday. It was the first in-person meeting for Putin in over two weeks. On Sept. 14, the Russian president went into self-isolation after a staff member he worked in close contact with contracted coronavirus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters that the two-week self-isolation ended for Putin yesterday.

Vatican Pope Francis yesterday accepted the resignation of the Catholic bishop of Brooklyn, New York, Nicholas DiMarzio (pictured), weeks after a Vatican investigation cleared him of sexual abuse allegations. DiMarzio is 77 years old, two years beyond the normal retirement age for bishops. Francis accepted his resignation and appointed Bishop Robert Brennan of Columbus, Ohio, to take over in Brooklyn, the Vatican said.

Greece Police have arrested five people and detained at least 20 others following clashes involving youths backed by an extreme right-wing political group. The youths entered a vocational high school and hurled gasoline bombs, flares, and rocks at a rival gathering organized by left-wing university student groups against government education reforms.

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Economy, where are you and where are you going?

1. Deflation (measured by the average chan-ge in CPI over 12 months, and which is no-thing more than negative inflation) started in March this year and has worsened monthly, until July. Having reached its lowest point in June (-0.58%), deflation stood at -0.57% in July and -0.54% in August. The reason for this lower deflation is simple, for the first time this year, the year-on-year change turned positive in July. Note that the year-on-year change has been negative since September last year!

The September data will be released later in October, but I forecast inflation to be ne-gative (deflation) in September even if the year-on-year change continues positive. Pro-bably in September, deflation will have fallen in a range between -0.41 and -0.45 percent!

At best, we will only return to inflation in the last month of the year; if, in the meantime, the economy doesn’t sink further, which may well happen in these crazy times.

I predicted -0.55 percent deflation in Au-gust. It remained at -0.54 percent, although low in the range that had been advanced (-0.58 to -0.54)!

2. The Government of Macau has set a target of 130 billion for gaming revenue in 2021.

Possible?At the beginning of the year, perhaps, as it

was only necessary for the gaming industry to produce something like 10.833 billion per month to meet that goal.

The target for gaming is of course the target for government budgeted revenues for 2021.

All prudence is lost! The time has come for second, third and more public budgetary re-visions.

Once the figures published by the DICJ for August were made known, things became more problematic.

It will be necessary for gaming to produce something like 17.023 billion from Septem-ber to December each month in order to rea-ch 130 billion at the end of the year.

The worst performer for gaming forecasts is Morgan Stanley, who on January 11 of this year, despite reducing their initial forecasts by 10 percent, anticipated that by the end of the year those revenues would reach 184.86 billion patacas.

Now, starting in September, the Virgin Mary would need to perform a great miracle, as it would now need 30.738 billion patacas each month to reach this new goal, albeit smaller.

There is no God for this here game that star-ts to stink like the devil. Nor is there a Mother-land to extend a hand to all these sinners.

Mathematically and economically, it is still possible to achieve the Government’s fo-recast, golden week is already lost, but not Morgan Stanley’s, for which we would have to return to the good times of 2014 or before, nor even the Deutsch Bank’s or Fitch’s fore-cast, though much more recent.

Such a number is sacrilege for the people of the North.

Distributing so much money for an activity that violates the ‘new normal’ book of rules, I don’t think it’s likely today.

Wrong are those who think that these noble people of the North will accept this gross er-ror only because of the wretched pelf!

These are real patriots, not ’pocket patriots’ like the many false ones we know.

We only must look at the draft document for public consultation on the gaming law to see that a typhoon seems to be on its way. Is there no one who is a little more prudent in this land that was once the City of the Name of God?

LOLITA C. BALDOR, WASHINGTON

THE top U.S. military officer told Congress

that he knew former Presi-dent Donald Trump wasn’t planning to attack China and that it was his job to reassure the Chinese of this in the phone calls that have triggered outrage from some lawmakers.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chie-fs of Staff, delivered a vehe-ment defense of two calls he made to his Chinese counterpart, saying he was responding to a “signifi-cant degree of intelligen-ce” that China was worried about a U.S. attack.

“I know, I am certain, that President Trump did not intend to attack the Chinese. ... And it was my directed responsibility by the secretary to convey that intent to the Chinese,” Milley told the Senate Ar-med Services Committee yesterday [Macau time]. “My task at that time was to de-escalate. My message again was consistent: Stay calm, steady, and de-es-calate. We are not going to attack you.”

Milley has been at the center of controversy after reports that he made two calls to Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army to assure him that the United States was not suddenly going to go to war with or attack China.

Details of the calls were first aired in excerpts from the recently released book “Peril” by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

While the hearing lar-gely focused on the troop withdrawal from Afgha-nistan and the chaotic evacuation of Americans, Afghans and others from the country, a few sena-tors condemned Milley for what they saw as inappro-priate communications with Li.

In his most extensive comments to date on the matter, Milley said the calls on Oct. 30 and Jan. 8 were fully coordinated with the defense secretaries at the time as well as other U.S. national security agencies. And he said that such mi-litary-to-military commu-nications are critical to prevent war between great powers that possess nu-clear weapons.

The calls came during Trump’s turbulent last months in office as he challenged the results of the 2020 election. The se-cond call came two days after Jan. 6, when a violent mob attacked the U.S. Ca-pitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s White House vic-tory.

Milley said the October call was made at the di-rection of then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the second was done at the

request of the Chinese and coordinated with then--acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller’s office.

Asked if he spoke with the book’s authors and if his remarks were “accura-tely represented,” Milley said he spoke with Woo-dward and that he has not read the book but has seen press reports on it.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked that he pro-vide more answers once he’s read the book. She and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., questioned whether Milley shared private presidential conversations with the au-thors.

Milley said he did not leak private conversations he had with Trump, and said he routinely speaks with the media to provide information and trans-parency to the American people.

Milley also addressed a call he received from Hou-se Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He said Pelosi “called me to inquire about the pre-sident’s ability to launch nuclear weapons. I sought to assure her that nuclear launch is governed by a very specific and delibera-te process.”

He said he assured her that while the president is the sole nuclear launch au-thority, “he doesn’t launch them alone.” He said that as chairman he is part of the launch decision pro-cess. MDT/AP

Milley defends calls to Chinese at end of Trump presidency

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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley

chief executive takes a step closer to open an

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