Activists urge govt to reveal its nuclear contingency plans

New Macau Association (NMA) President Scott Chiang Meng Hin and Vice-President Jason Chao Teng Hei urged the government yesterday to reveal its contingency plans in case of a nuclear incident.The grassroots group held a press conference at its office.The press conference was held to address the alleged safety concerns over a future nuclear plant in Taishan city, which is located 67 kilometres from Macau, as it has been claimed by Hong Kong media reports that despite concerns over design flaws

June 2, 2016 | BY admin

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IPM to start speech therapy programme: govt

Several official bodies are working together to launch a four-year bachelor’s degree programme in speech and language therapy at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) in the academic year 2017-18, Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) President Celeste Vong Yim Mui said yesterday. Vong talked about the planned programme at the Conde de Sao Januario Hospital Centre during a press conference, after the opening ceremony of the government’s Paediatric Joint Assessment Centre, which is located in the

June 2, 2016 | BY admin

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Man set up burglary of friend’s flat: police

A 28-year-old local man was arrested on Monday for allegedly arranging a burglary at his friend’s flat last month, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a special press briefing yesterday. The spokesperson said that a man reported to the police on May 1 that his flat had been burgled. The victim also told police that he noticed a back-up set of keys he had hidden in a shoe cabinet outside his flat was missing after the burglary.After investigating, the police identified a

June 2, 2016 | BY admin

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Tam pledges more breastfeeding-friendly workplaces

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng said yesterday that all entities under his portfolio would spare no effort in creating a more breastfeeding-friendly environment on their premises.The policy secretary made the pledge after officiating over the opening ceremony of the government’s Paediatric Joint Assessment Centre in the public Conde de Sao Januario Hospital Centre. Apart for rooms for assessments and medical treatments, the new centre also has a breastfeeding

June 2, 2016 | BY admin

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May casino revenue falls 9.6 pct on tighter rules

Macau’s gaming revenue dropped more than analysts’ forecast in May, as tighter rules affecting gamblers increased the challenges for the city’s casinos.Gross gaming receipts fell 9.6 percent to 18.38 billion patacas, completing a two-year decline, according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Co-ordination Bureau (DICJ). That followed a 9.5 percent decrease in April and compares with the median forecast of an 8 percent drop by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.Please read the full

June 2, 2016 | BY admin

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Trio nabbed over HK$33 million Ponzi scheme: police

Three local men were arrested in the last few weeks for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme which they started in 2014 involving at least HK$33 million, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said yesterday.According to the spokesperson, the trio are shareholders of a group of companies which ran a real-estate agency in Macau.According to Wikipedia, a Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation where the operator, an individual or organisation, pays returns to its investors from new capital

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmakers raise food safety concerns

Lawmakers yesterday raised concerns over food safety if the government goes ahead with its plan to issue more licences for the selling of fresh meat, fish and vegetables.The legislators raised the issue during a Q&A session with government officials.Directly-elected lawmaker Ho Ion Sang, a vice-president of the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (commonly known as Kai Fong), said he worried about food safety after fresh meat, fish and vegetables can be sold in more

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Security chief vows to improve staff language skills

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said yesterday that the city’s law enforcement agencies have always encouraged their staff members to enrol in language courses to improve their fluency in various languages.  Wong made the remarks during a Q&A session in the Legislative Assembly (AL). Lawmaker-cum-unionist Leong Veng Chai said during the session that some public security officers whose first language is Portuguese had told him they felt that their superiors did not always

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Good Shepherd Centre to hold ‘Celebration Walk’ over domestic violence law

The Good Shepherd Centre said in a statement yesterday that it will organise a “Celebration Walk” on Sunday “to congratulate the Macau government for listening to the voices of the people and especially to the voices of so many who have been victims of domestic violence.”The statement pointed out that the Legislative Assembly passed a “just” domestic law on May 20, “which we are very happy about.”According to the statement, Sunday’s walk will set off at 3 p.m. from Victoria

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Gaming union urges govt to push for wage rise

Gaming Professionals Association President Cloee Chao Sao Fong urged the government yesterday to get actively involved in getting the city’s gaming operators to increase their employees’ wages based on the rate of inflation.Chao made the plea before meeting officials of the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) at the bureau yesterday.Chao said that due to the current inflation rate many low-level gaming employees were struggling to earn a decent living wage, even though the six gaming operators

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Councillor calls for ‘Macau Nobel Prize’

The local government should set up the “Macau equivalent” of the Nobel Prize, Ieong Chi Wa, a member of the Tourism Development Committee, said yesterday, adding the proposed prize would be a good way to “nurture talents” for the city. Ieong, a board member of the Macau Tourist Guide Association, made the remarks during a consultation session on the draft of the government’s first Five-Year Development Plan for advisory body members under Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Vehicle imports drop 52.1 pct in Jan-April

Macau’s imports of motor vehicles – cars and scooters – dropped by 52.1 percent year-on-year to 434 million patacas in the first four months of the year, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday. Imports of mobile phones fell by 54.7 percent year-on-year to 1.6 billion patacas. Imports of gold jewellery dropped by 24.3 percent to 1.79 billion patacas. Imports of watches went down by 37.1 percent to 1.4 billion patacas. Construction material imports decreased

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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4 trees illegally removed in Fai Chi Kei: police

The Judiciary Police (PJ) are investigating the illegal removal of four trees in Fai Chi Kei, PJ spokesman Ho Chan Nam said yesterday. Announcing the case during a regular press briefing at the PJ headquarters, Ho said the four trees planted by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) in Rua Nova do Patane were worth about 52,000 patacas. According to Ho, IACM officials told the police on Monday that the four-metre tall trees had been dug up and removed. He also said that during

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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Hotel guests rise 11.5 pct in April

Macau’s 106 hotels and inns recorded 917,000 guests in April, an increase of 11.5 percent year-on-year, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday. Mainlanders accounted for 66.5 percent and 12.5 percent of all guests respectively. While the number of guests from the mainland grew 16.7 percent year-on-year, the number of those from Hong Kong fell 8.2 percent. Guests’ average length of stay dropped by 0.1 night year-on-year to 1.3 nights. Please read the full

June 1, 2016 | BY admin

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