Firm urges govt to help improve residents’ spoken English

Education First (EF) urged the government yesterday to help improve residents’ spoken English by creating an English-speaking atmosphere in Macau.Founded in Sweden in 1965, the firm focuses on teaching languages, educational travel and cultural experiences, according to an EF statement.EF General Manager of Macau Region Adrian Kwok Gee Kin made the remarks during a press conference at the Fortuna Business Centre (FBC) in Nam Van about the company’s recent report on the 6th Edition of the

November 22, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

1,254 sign petition to halt joint exam

New Macau Association (NMA) activists handed a petition signed by 1,254 residents to the Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) yesterday, urging the government to stop a controversial joint university admission examination scheduled to be held from March 30 to April 2.The joint exam will replace the separate entrance exams of four local tertiary education institutions, namely the public University of Macau (UM), Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM,) and the

November 22, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Rise in public investment needed during downturn: Leong

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said yesterday the government needed to increase public investment to help boost the local economy amid its current downturnLeong made the remarks when attending a plenary session to present the government’s 2017 budget bill, which was unanimously passed by the legislature.According to the bill, the government expects total receipts of 102.94 billion patacas next year, a 0.3 percent decrease from this year. Government expenditure

November 22, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Group calls for intangible cultural heritage promotion amongst youth

The government should put more effort into promoting the city’s intangible cultural heritage amongst young people, the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations’ Cultural and Recreational Committee Director Ian Heng Wa said yesterday.The association is commonly known as Kai Fong.The union hosted a press conference to release the results of a survey on young residents’ knowledge of the city’s intangible cultural heritage. Conducted on August 27 and September 3, the survey

November 22, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Legislature passes bill raising civil servants’ housing allowance

The legislature yesterday passed the government’s bill on increasing public servants’ housing allowance. The bill proposes that the monthly allowance be increased from 30 salary points (2,430 patacas) to 40 salary points (3,240 patacas).The outline of the bill was passed by all 31 lawmakers who attended the plenary session. One lawmaker was absent. Customarily, the speaker of the legislature does not vote.Currently, one salary point for public servants’ salaries is 81 patacas. Chief

November 22, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

21-year-old caught for sex with 4 girls: police

A 21-year-old local man surnamed Ieong was arrested on Friday for the alleged sexual assault of four minors, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a special press briefing on Saturday. Ieong, a part-time construction worker, raped a 13-year-old girl and had had sexual intercourse with three of her friends aged 13 to 14 since March last year, said the spokesperson. According to the spokesperson, one of the two 14-year-old victims, hereinafter referred to as victim A, seldom

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

First win ever for Portugal’s Monteiro in Macau

Tiago Monteiro (pictured) took victory in the Suncity Group Macau Guia Race yesterday – delivering his first ever win around the challenging Guia street circuit. The veteran driver had started the main event from third on the grid, but made a brilliant getaway to surge into the lead past front row starters Stefano Comini of Switzerland and Jean Karl Vernay of France.He was able to build up enough of a gap to hold on to his advantage through Lisboa, and seemed to be in full control until a red

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Britain’s Hickman wins 50th Motorcycle GP

Fans and spectators looked to Macau on Saturday in the hope of seeing a special race to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix and what they got was a classic confrontation from the greatest road racers in the world, with Britain’s Peter Hickman (Bathams/SMT BMW) snatching a last-gasp win in a race packed with last-gasp moments.Pole man Martin Jessopp (Riders Motorcycles BMW), also of Britain, didn’t get the start he needed to secure his first victory on the

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Portugal’s Costa wins FIA F3 World Cup

Portugal’s António Félix da Costa produced a brilliant performance to take his second victory in the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix yesterday.The Carlin driver initially lost the lead from pole position to Brazilian teammate Sérgio Sette Câmara, but capitalised on a Safety Car restart on lap seven to retake the top spot and then hold on for victory.Câmara had had a storming first lap – picking up a good slipstream to slingshot past Britain’s Callum Ilott and Costa on the run through

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Number of young drug abusers halved: official

The number of young drug abusers has decreased by half over a period of eight years, Tang Iok Va, head of the Drug Abuse Prevention Division of the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), said yesterday.Tang made the remarks on the sidelines of an anti-drug event hosted by the Macau General Association of Chinese Students (AECM) at Flower City garden.“According to the government’s central registration system for drug abusers, the youth segment has dropped from 20 percent to 10 percent [of the total

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Civil service couple cheat to buy HOS flat: CCAC

A married couple, both civil servants, have been picked up on suspicion of hiding their ownership of a mainland property so that they could buy a subsidised home ownership scheme (HOS) flat, according to a statement from the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) on Friday.Talking to The Macau Post Daily by phone, a CCAC spokesperson said the husband works in the Office of the Prosecutor General while the wife works for the Housing Bureau (IH).According to the CCAC statement, the couple applied

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Grand Prix attracts many overnight visitors: Tam

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng said yesterday that the Macau Grand Prix this year attracted visitor arrivals of 120,000 on Saturday alone, 20,000 of which stayed overnight.Tam made the comments while speaking to reporters as the four-day 63rd Macau Grand Prix wound up yesterday.“Although there were quite a few alarmingly dangerous parts, [the races] were very thrilling and very appealing, especially being the first year to have two FIA world cup races, so this

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Academic urges local youth to understand mainland

University of Macau (UM) Assistant Professor Chan Kin Sun said yesterday it was important for Macau’s young people to gain a better understanding of the mainland, so that deeper regional co-operation listed in Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On’s Policy Address 2017 last week and the government’s Five-Year Development Plan can be achieved.Chan made the remarks at Hotel Royal where he attended a seminar about talent development in the city. The one-day seminar was organised by the Macau

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Govt to submit sex crime bill to legislature

The government will submit an amendment bill on sex crimes listed in the Macau Penal Code to the legislature this week, Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan said on Saturday.Speaking to reporters at Macau Tower on the sidelines of a public event, Chan said that the bill includes articles which will better protect minors.The government carried out a public consultation on the proposed amendments from December last year to February this year.PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN

November 21, 2016 | BY admin

Comment: 0