No gaming table request from The 13: regulator

Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) Director Paulo Martins Chan said yesterday that his bureau has not received an application for gaming tables from The 13, which bills itself as one of the world’s most luxurious hotels, in Coloane.Chan made the remarks while speaking to reporters after attending a press conference about the “F.I.T.” – a programme launched by Sands China to support the city’s small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) – at the Venetian in

April 7, 2017 | BY admin

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Election committee to change ballot format

The Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Committee (CAEAL) has decided to change the format of ballot papers to minimise the risk of electors making a mistake when casting their vote, CAEAL President Tong Hio Fong said yesterday.The legislative elections will take place on September 17.Speaking to reporters after a regular meeting of the committee at the Public Administration Building in Rua do Campo, Tong, a judge by profession, said the lines of the squares in which voters put their tick

April 6, 2017 | BY admin

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Ng ‘doesn’t rule out’ reelection bid with fellow NMA activists

Lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong, one of the founding members of the grassroots New Macau Association (NMA), said yesterday he did not rule out the possibility of running for reelection later this year with other NMA activists.Speaking to The Macau Post Daily in a phone interview last night, Ng said, “I don’t rule out the possibility [of running in the direct legislative elections with members of the NMA]. However, I don’t intend to be their partner at this stage.”Ng also said he had not decided

April 6, 2017 | BY admin

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Melco rebrands Hard Rock Hotel as The Countdown

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited is rebranding its existing Hard Rock Hotel at City of Dreams casino-resort complex in Cotai as The Countdown, the gaming operator said in a statement yesterday.The statement said that the resort’s Hard Rock Hotel will be operated under the name The Countdown from July until March 31 next year.“The [Countdown] Hotel will feature a countdown clock timed to the unveiling of a new phase of development of City of Dreams, set to become the most stylish

April 6, 2017 | BY admin

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Graft busters reveal officials’ wrongdoing

Published yesterday in the Official Gazette (BO), the Commission Against Corruption’s (CCAC) 2016 Annual Report reveals a string of cases involving government officials’ alleged malfeasance.Commissioner Cheong Weng Chon handed the report to Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On last month.According to the report, the commission received 910 complaints and tip-offs, with a 14.7 percent year-on-year increase. A total of 252 of the cases were classified as alleged criminal offences, while 658

April 6, 2017 | BY admin

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Macau makes it easier for Taiwanese to visit

The Public Security Police (PSP) said in a statement yesterday that Taiwan residents can visit Macau using their Mainland Travel Permits for Taiwan Residents (commonly known as Taiwan Compatriot Permits) removing the need to obtain a local entry permit, starting from Monday.The statement said that Taiwan residents can stay in Macau for 30 days when they use their Taiwan Compatriot Permits to enter the city.Currently, Taiwan residents can visit Macau with passports issued by the Taiwan

April 6, 2017 | BY admin

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Councillors oppose public housing on ex-Scala plot

Members of the Urban Planning Council yesterday voiced disagreement with the government’s plan for a huge public housing project with a proposed height limit of up to 155 metres, on the plot of the abandoned La Scala luxury housing project near the airport.Yesterday’s regular meeting of the council, held at the Transport Bureau (DSAT) Building, included a discussion about the proposed legal development conditions for the project on the plot, which is at the bottom of Big Taipa Hill, in

April 6, 2017 | BY admin

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Gangs use new people-smuggling method: Customs

The Macau Customs Service said yesterday that criminal gangs have come up with new ways to smuggle illegal immigrants to Macau.The gangs now smuggle smaller numbers of illegal immigrants each time, but more frequently, to avoid detection by the authorities, the Customs Service said.Senior Customs officers yesterday briefed the media about their law enforcement work since the central government granted Macau jurisdiction over its coastal waters. The press briefing took place at the Marine

April 4, 2017 | BY admin

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Groups urge govt to speed up rebuilding village houses

Five Coloane community associations petitioned Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On yesterday, asking the government to speed up the implementation of its plan of rebuilding village houses involved in the long-running controversy over land titles on the island.The five associations are the Coloane Residents Association, Coloane Son I Charity Association, Coloane Si Mui Association, Hac Sa Village Residents Mutual Help Association, and Ka Ho Village Residents Mutual Help Association.According to

April 4, 2017 | BY admin

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Animal rights group fears vet bill will lead to higher fees

Macau Abandoned Animals Protection Association (AAPAM) Vice Chairwoman Josephine Lau Pui Chan said yesterday she was worried that veterinary fees will increase after the government-drafted Animal Disease Prevention and Veterinarian bill is passed by the legislature.A month-long public consultation process on the bill was launched yesterday. There is no existing law to regulate veterinarians in Macau.During a phone interview with The Macau Post Daily, Lau said the bill classifies veterinary

April 4, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt sets up body to reform public admin

The government has established a committee to coordinate the implementation of measures to reform the city’s public administration system, according to an announcement in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.The announcement was made in the form of an executive order signed by Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On.According to the announcement, one of the tasks of the Public Administration Reform Coordination Committee is to draft the government’s public administration reform objectives, as

April 4, 2017 | BY admin

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Man scammed out of 5 million yuan: police

A non-local man lost over 5 million yuan in a phone scam last week when several Putonghua-speaking men claimed to be local Immigration Department staff and mainland policemen and prosecutors, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said yesterday.Lei announced the scam during a regular press conference at the PJ headquarters.According to Lei, the 52-year-old victim received a phone call from a Putonghua-speaking man who claimed to be a staff member of the local Immigration Department on

April 4, 2017 | BY admin

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CE backs speaker’s rejection of interpretative law draft

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On supports Legislative Assembly (AL) President Ho Iat Seng’s decision to reject a debate and vote on the draft of an “interpretative law” on the Land Law’s clauses regulating provisional land concessions which lawmaker Gabriel Tong Io Cheng submitted to the legislature last year, according to a statement by the Government Spokesperson’s Office yesterday.Tong, who heads the Law Faculty of University of Macau (UM), is a government-appointed deputy to

April 4, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt launches ‘Convergence of Thousands of Talents’

The government launched its ‘Convergence of Thousands of Talents’ platform yesterday, a year after the government’s ‘Thousands of Talents Programme’ began, to promote cultural and academic exchanges between young locals and their counterparts in the mainland.The platform’s launching ceremony took place at Macau Forum in Zape. Led by the Office of the Chief Executive (GCE) and being carried out by the Macau Foundation (FM), the three-year ‘Thousands of Talents Programme’ aims to

April 3, 2017 | BY admin

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