St Augustine’s Church closed after outbuilding’s roof collapse

The wood ceiling and roof tiles of a second-floor room of an outbuilding of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed St Augustine’s Church collapsed yesterday afternoon, and the historic site has been closed due to safety concerns, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) said yesterday in a statement.No-one was injured in the accident, the statement said, adding that the room, which was not open to the public, had been empty and not usually used. Government-owned broadcaster TDM said last night that at the

May 30, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmaker slams govt over ‘abandoned’ cars in car parks

Grassroots lawmaker Au Kam San has slammed the Transport Bureau (DSAT) for not tackling the many apparently abandoned vehicles that have been occupying public car parks for a long time, adding the government should look into the matter and solve the matter.Au, a vice-chairman of grassroots Macau Community Development Initiative, makes the criticism in a written interpellation submitted to the Legislative Assembly yesterday. A copy of the interpellation was sent to the media.The veteran lawmaker

May 30, 2016 | BY admin

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Body found on rocks on Coloane shoreline

The Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a statement yesterday that the body of an unidentified man was found on the rocks lining southern Coloane’s Long Chao Kok coastline.According to the statement, the Judiciary Police received a call from the Public Security Police (PSP) at 8 a.m. yesterday, saying that a resident reported to the PSP at 7:15 a.m. that he had discovered a body on the rocks.  An initial investigation showed that the man, estimated to have been aged between 20 and 40, had

May 30, 2016 | BY admin

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‘Reasons to look into’ Jinan Uni donation: CCAC chief

Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) chief Cheong Weng Chon said on Saturday there were reasons to look into the public Macau Foundation’s (FM) controversial decision to donate 100 million yuan (123 million patacas) to Jinan University in Guangzhou.Cheong made the remarks on the sidelines of a public event at the Luso-Chinese Vocational School in Rua 1 de Maio. The foundation was set up by the government in 2001. It is mainly funded by 1.6 percent of the gross revenues of Macau’s

May 30, 2016 | BY admin

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Smoking lounges breach WHO convention: health group

The Macau Association of Health Policy said in a statement yesterday that setting up smoking lounges in indoor public places or workplaces was a violation of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).The statement was sent to the media yesterday. The association made the statement in response to what lawmaker-cum-restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo, who chairs the legislature’s 2nd Standing Committee, said on Thursday. According to Chan, the

May 30, 2016 | BY admin

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Residents want permanent electoral affairs body

Several residents urged the government yesterday to consider making its electoral affairs commission permanent. They were among the 30 residents who spoke about the government’s Legislative Assembly election amendment bill during the second – and last – public consultation session on the issue, which was held at the Macau Science Centre in Nape.The residents said the commission would be better suited to collect the public’s views on the legislature’s direct and indirect election

May 30, 2016 | BY admin

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Forum questions city’s tourism carrying capacity

Macau Forum guest speakers and audience members raised concerns yesterday about the city’ tourism carrying-capacity if the number of visitor arrivals in 2025 reaches 40 million as forecast by the draft of the “Macau Tourism Development Master Plan”.The forum is a weekly public debate programme run by government-owned broadcaster TDM. About a dozen audience members attended yesterday’s forum about the draft master plan released by the Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) last week.The

May 30, 2016 | BY admin

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7 of 9 lawmakers back casino smoking lounges: committee chief

Seven of the nine lawmakers who attended a committee meeting of the legislature yesterday supported the continuation of smoking lounges in casinos, provided that the lounges met the government’s safety standards, lawmaker-cum-restaurateur Andrew Chan Chak Mo said yesterday.The legislature’s 2nd Standing Committee resumed reviewing a government-initiated tobacco control and prevention amendment bill yesterday. The meeting was closed to the media, as is customary. Chan, who chairs the

May 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Crimes, traffic accidents drop in Jan-April: police

Senior Public Security Police (PSP) officer Lam Keong said yesterday that the number of crimes and traffic accidents recorded in the first four months of the year dropped 1.9 percent and two percent year-on-year, respectively.Lam also said the police would continue its liaison work with the city’s various civic associations on crime prevention and the promotion of public awareness on traffic safety.Lam made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting with staff members of a residents’ service

May 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmaker calls for crèche subsidy for low-income families

Lawmaker-cum-businessman Chan Meng Kam is urging the government to set up a subsidy for low-income families so that they can afford to send their children to a crèche.Chan made the suggestion in a written interpellation submitted to the government. His office sent copies of the letter to the media yesterday.According to Chan, there are 49 crèches in Macau, with 33 of them receiving permanent funding from the government, and 37 being non-profit entities. Please read the full article in

May 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmaker urges govt to speed up HOS deals

The government should speed up its “sluggish” process of preparing purchase agreements for home-ownership scheme (HOS) flat buyers to sign, legislator-cum-community leader Si Ka Lon says in a written interpellation released to the media yesterday.The lawmaker says in his interpellation, which has been submitted to the government, that many HOS flat buyers told him that they had been living in their flats for a long time but were still waiting to sign their purchase agreements with the

May 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Regulator expects CTM’s ‘concession assets’ deal to be renewed

Telecom operator CTM’s agreement with the government about the company’s management of Macau’s telecom “concession assets” will be automatically renewed later this year as stipulated in the contract, if the company does not violate the deal, Telecommunications Regulation Bureau (DSRT) Acting Director Tam Van Iu said yesterday. She made the remarks on the sidelines of a seminar hosted by Hutchison Telephone (Macau) Company Ltd. at the Macau Science Centre. The government

May 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Doorman says was barred from leaving post during meal breaks

Zhang Yifen, a doorman whose contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the month, said yesterday he had filed a complaint with the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) about his superior who had ordered him not to leave his post during his daily two-hour meal breaks and that he was not paid for the two hours.With the assistance of staff members of grassroots lawmakers Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San Zhang held a press conference at their joint office in Iao Hon.Zhang is a

May 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Year’s first typhoon signal hoisted at 10 p.m.

The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) hoisted this year’s first No. 1 typhoon signal last night.The signal was hoisted as a tropical depression was formed 310 kilometres south of the city at around midnight. It was heading north-northwest at about 20 kilometres per hour.According to the bureau’s website, based on the current trajectory of the storm, the bureau expects that the tropical depression will bring occasional downpours to the city today.This image taken from the

May 27, 2016 | BY admin

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