Public servant numbers to rise next year: Chan

Addressing yesterday’s Q&A session in the legislature’s hemicycle, Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan said the government expects that it will need a total of about 37,000 public servants next year.Chan made the remarks when answering questions from directly-elected lawmaker Mak Soi Kun, on the first day of the two-day Q&A session about her portfolio’s policy guidelines for next year.Chan and several other senior officials of her portfolio attended

November 22, 2017 | BY admin

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In a first, govt spending to surpass 100 billion patacas

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said yesterday that the government expects its total expenditure to be more than 100 billion patacas next year, a 14.5 percent increase from this year’s budget.It would be the first time for the government to spend over 100 billion patacas in a year.Leong made the remarks when attending a plenary session to present the government’s 2018 budget bill.According to the bill, the government expects total receipts of 119.17 billion patacas

November 21, 2017 | BY admin

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Group slams 2018 Policy Address

Jeremy Lei Man Chao, director of the Macau Community Development Initiative, said yesterday it appeared that last week’s 2018 Policy Address by Chief Executive (CE) Fernando Chui Sai On was copied from his previous ones.The veteran activist also said the policy address was “not good enough”.Lei made the remarks yesterday at the grassroots group’s office in Iao Hon during a press conference about the 2018 Policy Address, which Chui delivered last Tuesday.Jeremy Lei Man Chao, director of

November 21, 2017 | BY admin

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Mainlanders rob money changer in guestroom: police

Two male suspects from the mainland robbed a victim of HK$300,000 last Monday in a currency exchange case, and one of the suspects was arrested on Saturday, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Cho Man said yesterday during a special conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape.Chan said that the arrested suspect is a 35-year-old mainlander surnamed Jiang, who claims to be unemployed.According to Chan, the victim, whose surname was not given, worked as a money changer for gamblers. On November 13

November 21, 2017 | BY admin

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Lawmaker can defend himself over possible suspension during plenum: committee

The House Rules Committee has finished drafting a report about the committee’s opinions on a request by the Court of First Instance (TJB) for the suspension of directly-elected lawmaker Sulu Sou Ka Hou from the legislature so that he can be tried for suspected aggravated disobedience, Kou Hoi In, who chairs the committee, said yesterday.Kou, an indirectly-elected lawmaker, briefed reporters after a closed-door meeting of the seven-member committee dealing with the matter.Sou’s suspension

November 21, 2017 | BY admin

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Venetian logs 280 million visits in 10 years: COO

The Venetian in Cotai has recorded 280 million visitations since the integrated resort opened in Cotai 10 years ago, Sands China President-cum-Chief Operating Officer Wilfred Wong Ying-wai said yesterday.Wong made the comments in a speech at a ceremony to mark Venetian’s 10th anniversary.Sands China, headed by US gaming mogul Sheldon Adelson, introduced the integrated resort concept to Macau. According to Wong, Adelson was unable to attend yesterday’s ceremony due to three fractured

November 21, 2017 | BY admin

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Lawmakers pass deposit protection bill

The legislature yesterday passed the outline of an amendment bill on the city’s deposit protection system. The bill proposes that a depositor is entitled to be compensated for the balance in his or bank accounts – when the bank is unable to reimburse its depositors or has declared bankruptcy – without the need for the debts owed to the bank to be deducted from his or her balance.According to Law 9/2012 on the city’s deposit protection system, the deposit protection mechanism is

November 21, 2017 | BY admin

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UM teams develop ‘eco-friendly antibiotic’

Two research teams from the University of Macau (UM) recently developed an environmentally friendly antibiotic, the public tertiary education institution said in a statement yesterday.“Currently, antibiotics are being discharged irresponsibly by pharmaceutical manufacturing plants and hospitals, which has led to the development and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria,” the statement pointed out.The statement said that the UM research study aimed to address the problem by developing a

November 21, 2017 | BY admin

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F3 Macau Grand Prix ends with sensational win

Britain’s Daniel Ticktum driving a Motopark with VEB Dallara Volkswagen took the chequered flag in a sensational win in Macau Grand Prix’s main event yesterday afternoon, the FIA Formula 3 World Cup, passing teammate Sérgio Sette Câmara of Brazil and Carlin driver Ferdinand Habsburg of Austria, who both crashed on the R-Bend of the Guia Circuit.The FIA F3 World Cup was the final race of the four-day Macau Grand Prix.British driver Callum llott of SJM Theodore Racing by PREMA, and Swedish

November 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Tam insists Guia Circuit up to safety standard

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng said yesterday that the Guia Circuit was up to all the required safety standards, in response to the fatal accident of a rider on Saturday and several other pile-ups in other races of the Macau Grand Prix.Tam spoke to reporters after presenting the trophies to the winners of the FIA F3 World Cup at the four-day 64th Macau Grand Prix that wrapped up yesterday.Asked by a reporter whether the Motorcycle Grand Prix would be axed as some

November 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Minimum wage implementation opposed in 1st session

A number of those attending yesterday’s public session for the ongoing public consultation on the proposed implementation of a statutory minimum wage for all employment sectors opposed the proposal.The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) launched a 45-day public consultation period last Monday on the proposed implementation of a statutory minimum wage for all workers. The public consultation will end on December 27.The bureau proposes that domestic helpers and disabled employees will be excluded

November 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt sets up small-sized compacting rubbish skip

The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) has recently bought a number of small-sized compacting rubbish skips, which can be set up in narrow streets, the bureau said in a statement yesterday.The statement said that the bureau has recently set up one such rubbish skip to replace a conventional dumpster in Rua dos Currais near the Barrier Gate border checkpoint.According to the statement, the bureau has been replacing conventional 1,100-litre dumpsters with compacting rubbish skips and

November 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Sombre ending to 51st Macau Motorcycle GP

The 51st Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix got off to its usual exciting start on Saturday afternoon with British riders Glenn Irwin and Peter Hickman setting the pace with fellow Brits Michael Rutter and Martin Jessop in hot pursuit but on the sixth lap tragedy struck when another Brit, Daniel Hegarty, slammed into the wall on Fishermen’s Bend sustaining serious injuries of which he died en route to the public Conde de S. Januario Hospital Centre.Hegarty, riding for Topgun Racing Honda, was taking

November 20, 2017 | BY admin

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Irwin wins Motorcycle GP cut short by ‘serious incident’

Saturday’s 51st running of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix turned into a wheel-to-wheel scrap between pole-sitter Glenn Irwin (TAK CHUN Racing by PBM/Penz13 Ducati) and winner of the previous two events Peter Hickman (SMT/Bathams by MGM Macau BMW).The pair of them left the line side by side and Irwin led all the way through the first turn, but Hickman won the drag-race to Lisboa and the braking competition when the two of them arrived there more or less side by side and already pulling

November 20, 2017 | BY admin

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