China EV Maker Nio Suspends Production Due to Supply Chain Disruptions

Nio's new electric vehicle (EV) ET7 is unveiled during the media day for Shanghai auto show in Shanghai, China April 16, 2019. (Reuters)
Nio's new electric vehicle (EV) ET7 is unveiled during the media day for Shanghai auto show in Shanghai, China April 16, 2019. (Reuters)
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China EV Maker Nio Suspends Production Due to Supply Chain Disruptions

Nio's new electric vehicle (EV) ET7 is unveiled during the media day for Shanghai auto show in Shanghai, China April 16, 2019. (Reuters)
Nio's new electric vehicle (EV) ET7 is unveiled during the media day for Shanghai auto show in Shanghai, China April 16, 2019. (Reuters)

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio said on Saturday it has suspended production after the country's measures to contain the recent surge of COVID-19 cases disrupted operations at its suppliers.

"Since March, due to reasons to do with the epidemic, the company's supplier partners in several places including Jilin, Shanghai and Jiangsu suspended production one after the other and have yet to recover," the company said on its mobile app.

"Due to the impact of this Nio has had to halt car production."

The company will postpone deliveries of the EVs to users and will work together with the suppliers to strive for resumption while meeting the government's COVID curbs, it added.

China has been taking strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant in several places including Jilin province and Shanghai where plants of major auto part makers and automakers are located.

Tesla has also suspended production at its Shanghai plant since March 28, Reuters reported, after the city started a two-staged lockdown which was later expanded citywide.

Volkswagen's joint venture plant with FAW Group in Changchun, the provincial capital of Jilin, has been shut since mid-March, while its plant in Shanghai with SAIC Motor has been closed since April 1.



Albania Bans TikTok for a Year after Killing of Teenager

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
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Albania Bans TikTok for a Year after Killing of Teenager

A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)
A view of the TikTok app logo, in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP)

Albania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on children.

The ban, part of a broader plan to make schools safer, will come into effect early next year, Prime Minister Edi Rama said after meeting with parents' groups and teachers from across the country.

"For one year, we'll be completely shutting it down for everyone. There will be no TikTok in Albania," Rama said.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

Several European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In one of the world's toughest regulations targeting Big Tech, Australia approved in November a complete social media ban for children under 16.

Rama has blamed social media, and TikTok in particular, for fueling violence among youth in and outside school.

His government's decision comes after a 14-year-old schoolboy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow pupil. Local media had reported that the incident followed arguments between the two boys on social media. Videos had also emerged on TikTok of minors supporting the killing.

"The problem today is not our children, the problem today is us, the problem today is our society, the problem today is TikTok and all the others that are taking our children hostage," Rama said.