Starting September 1, it will be impossible to rent electric scooters in Paris, RTBF TV channel reported on Sunday.
According to the channel, the city hall does not intend to renew contracts with three private operators who have deployed a fleet of these vehicles in Paris, which will become the first European capital to ban the service of providing electric scooters to the public.
Providers of this service must remove the scooters from the streets of Paris by the end of August.
This decision is based on the results of a city referendum on the use of electric scooters. More than 100 thousand Parisians took part in the vote. The ban was supported by 89% of those who took part in the referendum on April 2.
The reason for this vote was the problems caused by scooters scattered randomly throughout the city, but especially the concern for the safety of their users.
The RTBF notes the criticism of this referendum by the companies concerned, who primarily point to the low turnout of 7.46%. “The turnout could have been more active and representative if the voting methods had been different: more polling stations, electronic voting, municipal information,” the three private operators wrote in a joint communiqué.
In 2022, about 400 thousand trips on electric scooters were recorded in Paris, the TV channel reported.
Short-term rain and thunderstorms are expected in some places on the night of August 28 in the northern part of the country, during the day throughout Ukraine, except for the southwestern part, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, reports the Ukrainian Weather Center.
Wind of variable directions, 3-8 m/s. Temperature at night 17-22, during the day 31-36, in the eastern and Sumy regions 25-30.
In Kyiv on Monday, in some places there will be short-term rain. Wind of variable directions, 3-8 m / s. Temperature at night 20-22°, during the day 33-35°.
According to the Borys Sreznevsky Central Geophysical Observatory, since the beginning of meteorological observations on August 28, the highest temperature in Kyiv was +35.1° in 1943, and the lowest was +6.0° in 1970.
On the night of August 29, no precipitation, and during the day only in the western, central and southern regions there will be short-term rain and thunderstorms.
East, southeast wind, 5-10 m/s. The temperature in the eastern and northeastern regions will be 12-17° at night, 24-29° during the day; in the rest of the country at night 16-21°, during the day 30-35°.
No precipitation in Kyiv on August 29. The wind is mostly southeast, 5-10 m/s. Temperature at night 19-21°, during the day 32-34°.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan has raised its economic growth forecast for 2024-2025 to 4-5% per year from the previously expected 3.5-4.5%, the regulator said in a statement citing its updated macroeconomic forecasts.
This year, GDP growth is still expected to reach 4.2-5.2%.
“Forecasts for the growth of Kazakhstan’s economy in the medium term have been improved. The expansion of business activity will be driven by sustained domestic demand, increased budget expenditures and the recovery of the oil sector. (…) The risks to the GDP forecast are associated with possible problems of access to international markets for Kazakh exports, as well as the likelihood of not achieving the planned oil production,” the statement said.
In addition, the inflation forecast has been adjusted. In the short term, uncertainty about price growth has decreased. In the baseline scenario, inflation is projected to be in the range of 10-12% this year (previous forecast – 11-14%), 7.5-9.5% in 2024 (9-11%), and 5.5-7.5% in 2025 (corresponding to the previous forecast).
“At the same time, without taking into account the direct effect of the increase in utility tariffs, to which the NBU does not respond by changing the key policy rate, the medium-term inflation target of 5% is expected to be reached by the end of 2025. This will be facilitated by the further easing of pressure from the external environment and monetary conditions that are in the restraining zone,” the statement said.
The main risks to the inflation forecast, according to the National Bank, include increased fiscal stimulus, “unanchored inflation expectations,” accelerating inflation in Russia and a possible rise in world food prices due to the failure to renew the grain initiative. Another risk in the forecast is the continuation of pricing reforms in the Kazakh fuel and lubricants market.
Kazakhstan’s economy grew by 3.1% in 2022, with inflation at 20.3%.
For more information on macroeconomics, please see the analytical programs of the Expert Club at https://youtu.be/zCJ1cU3n0sY?si=zfnGIkt5zdhX_j3x
Data from local authorities show that seven people have died and 113 hospitalized in Polish Rzeszów, which is about 100 km from the border with Ukraine, due to legionellosis (Legionnaires’ disease), Bloomberg reports.
Authorities in Rzeszów are conducting tests to find out the source of the outbreak, with results expected on Monday, regional government head Ewa Leniart told Poland’s RMF radio.
She said the contamination is believed to be caused by water in the water supply system and the situation is under control.
At the same time, it is pointed out that Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) is checking whether the outbreak of legionellosis in Rzeszów could have been a sabotage, given the city’s role as a transit center for supplies to Ukraine. Such actions are aimed at ruling out any external influences that could lead to the spread of the disease, Poland’s deputy minister-coordinator of special services Stanislaw Jarin said on Twitter.
Legionellosis (Legionnaires’ disease) is an acute infectious disease caused by various types of microorganisms, which affects lung tissues and is characterized by the development of a severe form of pneumonia. According to the OIE, the most common form of transmission is inhalation of infected water splashes.
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine reports that in the first half of 2023, Ukrainians most often named girls Anastasia, Victoria, Daria, Eva, Zlata, Kateryna, Myroslava, Maria, Sofia, and Solomia.
The Facebook page also reports that in the first half of 2023, the most popular male names were Andrii, Bohdan, Volodymyr, Vasyl, Danylo, Ivan, Matvii, Mykola, Oleksandr, and Yaroslav.
Unika Insurance Company (Kyiv), a member of the non-banking financial group Unika Ukraine, whose shareholder is UNIQA Group (Austria), increased its premium collection by 28% to UAH 1.607 billion in January-June 2023, the company’s website reports.
The largest increase was in hull insurance – +42%, up to UAH 440 million, and voluntary health insurance – +75%, up to UAH 614 million.
It is also noted that according to the results of the first half of the year, the share of premiums in motor insurance in the IC is 36%, property – 14% and personal – 50% of the portfolio.
The amount of insurance payments for the first two quarters of 2020 amounted to UAH 672.7 million.
The company’s insurance reserves as of June 30, 2023 amount to UAH 2.38 billion. The assets accepted to cover insurance reserves exceed the amount of insurance reserves by 83% and amount to UAH 4.34 billion.
The actual solvency margin of Uniqa Insurance Company amounts to UAH 1.462 billion and exceeds the regulatory one by 183%. The insurer’s equity capital is UAH 1.508 billion.
During the reporting period, Unika’s medical assistance department processed more than 733 thousand claims, and more than 92 thousand were processed by technical assistance.
UNIQA Group entered the Ukrainian market in 2006. Uniqa Ukraine currently includes Uniqa and Uniqa Life companies.
The Group is one of the leading insurance groups in its core markets in Austria, Central and Eastern Europe.
