Lawmakers pass bill on trade in rough diamonds

The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed a government-initiated bill which will enable Macau to implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), which then will allow the city to formally engage in the international trade in rough diamonds in line with international standards.The bill will take effect on October 1.The bill’s outline was passed during a plenary session of the legislature in April. The legislature’s Second Standing Committee held four meetings to review the

August 8, 2019 | BY admin

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Police nab ‘unhappy’ man for driving on Guia running track

A driver was taken to a police station for questioning after he drove on the Guia Municipal Park’s running track yesterday afternoon, according to local Chinese-language daily Exmoo.The incident happened at about 2 p.m. yesterday when a male driver in his forties drove his car on the running track on the hill. Runners and pedestrians managed to dodge the car. There were no reports of injuries.Some of the people at the scene asked the driver to get out of his car, resulting in a quarrel in

August 7, 2019 | BY admin

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Macau Foundation launches Macau Memory website

The public Macau Foundation (FM) yesterday launched its “Macau Memory” website – an online platform containing various forms of historical materials related to Macau – so that members of the public can gain access to materials such as historical documents, historical maps, old newspapers and postcards on the Internet.“Macau Memory” is a project that the foundation launched several years ago to collect various kinds of historical materials about Macau and then sort and digitalise

August 7, 2019 | BY admin

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Pearl Horizon owners petition legislature to review ‘home swap’ law

Members of the Pearl Horizon Condominium Owners United Association petitioned the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday, urging AL President Kou Hoi In to review the law on the development of the government’s “home swap” housing project.The association’s president, Kou Meng Pok, handed their petition detailing his group’s concerns about the fact that some Pearl Horizon pre-sale buyers are not benefitting from the “home swap” scheme to an AL official outside the Legislative Assembly

August 7, 2019 | BY admin

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Chan says current election systems ‘suitable for Macau’

Secretary for Administration and Justice Sónia Chan Hoi Fan said yesterday that the current systems to elect the chief executive and legislators are suitable for Macau.Chan made the remarks when replying to an oral interpellation by directly-elected non-establishment lawmaker Au Kam San during a plenary session of the legislature.In his interpellation, Au asked whether the government plans to reform the chief executive and Legislative Assembly (AL) elections, so that the chief executive

August 7, 2019 | BY admin

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World Heritage Committee doesn’t object to Guia building height: govt

Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) Acting Vice President Choi Kin Long said yesterday the bureau had not received any objections from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee regarding the height of a controversial building project, the construction of which has been mothballed since 2008, on Guia Hill that activists say blocks the view of the Guia Lighthouse heritage site.Choi made the comment during a press conference at the bureau in Praça do Tap Seac about the bureau’s participation in the 43rd

August 7, 2019 | BY admin

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Centre organises contest to train future fashion designers

The Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM) is holding its 19th Macau Fashion Technology Youth Competition aiming to train future fashion designers, Ng Ian Io, the senior manager of the Creative Fashion and Image Department of the centre, said during the contest’s opening ceremony in Rua dos Pescadores yesterday.The 4-day competition comprises 15 contestants, most of them secondary school pupils. A contestant, Sio Weng Ian, said there was enough training in the city for

August 7, 2019 | BY admin

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Taiwanese cheats trio out of 2.45 million yuan in investment scam

Two mainlanders and a Taiwan resident were cheated in an investment scam by a Taiwanese junket operator, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lai Man Vai said during a regular press conference yesterday.According to Lai, the 58-year-old Taiwanese suspect is surnamed Chen. He told the police that he works as a junket operator in Macau. The three victims comprise two males and a female. The male victim from Taiwan is a 68-year-old retiree. The two mainland victims are a 35-year-old businesswoman and a

August 7, 2019 | BY admin

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Govt drops bill on 60 billion pataca ‘sovereign wealth fund’

The government announced yesterday that it has requested the Legislative Assembly (AL) remove from the agenda for tomorrow’s plenary session the discussion on the outline of its controversial bill which proposed the transfer of 60 billion patacas from the government’s financial reserves for the setting-up of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Investment and Development Fund.The bill was to amend the government’s 2019 budget so that the government could allocate the 60 billion

August 6, 2019 | BY admin

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NMA activists urge govt to withdraw ‘sovereign wealth fund’ bill

The non-establishment New Macau Association (NMA) petitioned the government yesterday afternoon, urging it to withdraw its controversial bill on the setting-up of the Macau Special Administrative Region Investment and Development Fund.Several NMA members handed in the petition to an official outside Government Headquarters. They did so a few hours before the government announced the bill’s withdrawal from tomorrow’s plenary session’s agenda.Lawmaker-cum-activist Sulu Sou Ka Hou, a

August 6, 2019 | BY admin

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Group opposes ‘small-circle’ CE election

The small Macau People Power group handed in a petition at the Office of the Chief Executive yesterday morning, requesting the government “implement” Annex I of Macau Basic Law and carry out a true “One Country, Two Systems” principle.Szeto Fai, who heads the group, told reporters in front of the office that he was opposed to this month’s “small-circle” chief executive election as there is only one candidate.According to Szeto, in a public forum in January Chief Executive Fernando

August 6, 2019 | BY admin

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2 Illegal casino money changers scam gambler out of over HK$2 million

The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested two illegal money changers on Sunday for cheating a gambler out of 1,793,000 yuan (2,052,130 patacas), PJ spokesman Leng Kam Lon said in a regular press conference yesterday.Leng identified the first suspect as a 32-year-old man surnamed Wang. The second suspect is 22 years old and is surnamed Yang. Both male suspects were engaged in illegal money changing activities in local casinos’ VIP rooms. The 27-year-old female victim is from the mainland. Her

August 6, 2019 | BY admin

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MTR hires over 570 staff for LRT operation: GIT chief

Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation, which will be the operator of Macau’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) for at least five years, has already hired over 570 staff, of which three-quarters are local residents while the others are mainly experienced technical managers from the Hong Kong MTR, Transport Infrastructure Office (GIT) Director Ho Cheong Kei told lawmakers yesterday.Ho announced the figures during a Q&A session in the legislature’s hemicycle.Ho added that 450 of the local staff have

August 6, 2019 | BY admin

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Tourist hurts septuagenarian in fork row: police

The police arrested a mainland tourist on Sunday for hurting a septuagenarian with a fork in a row in the ATM area of a local bank branch, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Cheong Heon Fan said during a regular press conference yesterday.According to Cheong, the suspect surnamed Cui is in his thirties who holds a valid permit to visit Macau. The victim, who is in his seventies, is a local retiree. His personal information was not released.The incident happened at the bank branch in Avenida

August 6, 2019 | BY admin

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