News

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) will begin a study on the feasibility of "family hostel" and gather opinions from citizens in Macau. The study includes an opinion poll as well as an analysis of relevant cases and laws in and beyond the region. Starting today (10 June) until 10 July, MGTO is carrying out an opinion poll to understand more about citizens' stance towards the idea of "family hostel". The poll comprises online questionnaires and street surveys conducted concurrently. Citizens can visit MGTO's website: http://industry.macautourism.gov.mo and complete the questionnaire (in Chinese/Portuguese) online during the aforementioned period. The content of the online questionnaire includes ways of establishment, conditions, feasibility, districts and influence of family hostel as well as complementary opinions and suggestions from citizens, etc. Street surveys will cover Macau Peninsula, Taipa and Coloane, with staff interviewing citizens in various neighborhoods. After collecting public opinions, the Office will elaborate the details to the society. Local citizens are welcome to participate in the opinion poll and voice their perspectives actively. As part of the study, MGTO will also analyze relevant cases and laws within and beyond the region. Upon completion of the feasibility study, the Office will write a report which will serve as reference when Macau Special Administrative Region Government might formulate related policies in the future.
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Macau International Airport conducts different types of exercise every year with the aim of training the government entities and operators involved in the airport search and rescue to deal with emergencies. The airport conducted the yearly full scale emergency exercise this morning (10 June 2014) to simulate the scenario of an accident that occurred in the apron involving an aircraft which was being refueled at that time. The accident led to fire and injuries. The airport emergency plan was immediately activated to deal with the accident. The exercise started at 05:00 with the simulation of an aircraft accident in the apron. In the scenario, an aircraft with 120 crew members and passengers was preparing for departure from Macau International Airport. Passengers for the flight were boarding the aircraft which was in the meantime also being refueled. With unknown reason the lift platform of the refueling truck dropped which caused the inboard fuel hose to separate sideways from the aircraft. The fuel was spraying in all directions. There was fire as a result and the flames propagated to the truck and the aircraft engine. The captain of the flight evacuated all people on board at once. The captain of a business jet which was parked nearby also evacuated the passengers and the crew immediately. When the accident was reported to the Administration of Airports, Ltd. (ADA), the airport emergency operations centre was immediately activated to take charge of the accident. The Fire Services and the rescue team arrived on spot. Although there were a number of injuries resulting from the accident, with the assistance provided by and the cooperation between the participating entities, the injured were sent to hospital for medical treatment in a timely manner. The exercise was concluded at 09:00 and deemed smooth. The number of participants was 350. The full scale emergency exercise was carried out in accordance with the 2014 year plan defined by the Facilitation and Security Committee in the beginning of this year. ADA was the coordinator of this drill. Other participating entities were Unitary Police Force, Macao Customs Services, Public Security Police Force, Judiciary Police, Fire Services Bureau, Health Bureau, Marine and Water Bureau, Civil Aviation Authority, Air Macau Co. Ltd., Macau Jet International Co. Ltd., Macau Security Company Ltd. (airport security), Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd. and Nam Kwong Petroleum & Chemicals Co. Ltd. In addition, the Social Welfare Bureau, the Tourism Crisis Management Office, CAM-Macau International Airport Company Ltd. and East Asia Airlines Ltd. took part in the exercise as observers.
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Macau International Airport will conduct the yearly full scale emergency exercise on 10 June 2014 (Tuesday) to test the capacity of the government entities and the airport operators in dealing with emergencies. The exercise will take place from 05:00 to 09:00 on this coming Tuesday. The simulation is of an aircraft accident that happens in the apron and eventually leads to fire and injuries. In view of the possibility that there will be rescue vehicles transferring to and from the airport during the exercise, which might bring irregularity to the road transport nearby, the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR urges the residents to take note of and give understanding to any special traffic arrangement during the exercise near the airport.
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Consumer Council conducted its third 'Supermarket price survey' in June on 6 June for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included 8 supermarkets in Toi San, Ilha Verde and Fai Chi Kei areas in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM's Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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Adding dapagliflozin to conventional drugs for type 2 diabetes may improve glycemic
control without causing significant weight gain, according to a new meta-analysis by a research team from the University of Macau (UM) Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS) and State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine. The research team was headed by Dr. Siu-wai Leung, assistant professor at ICMS. Earlier, the research findings were reported by Reuters Health, and were also published on Medscape, a professional medical website widely used by clinicians around the world. Principal investigator Dr. Leung, along with postgraduate students Sun Yunan and Zhou Yi, as well as four other participants Chen Xi, Che Weng-si, Leong Kai-seng, and Chan Weng-hang, found that when used alone, dapagliflozin acting on the kidney is not as effective in lowering blood glucose levels as other anti-diabetic drugs which increase insulin sensitivity or act on the liver to lower blood glucose; however, when used in combination with conventional anti-diabetic drugs, it greatly improves glycemic control without causing significant weight gain. An anti-diabetic therapy without the side effect of weight gain is what type 2 diabetes patients with predisposition towards obesity have been awaiting for decades. The study by Dr. Leung and his research team was first published in BioMed Central's (part of Springer Science+Business Media) Systematic Reviews, and the British Medical Journal's BMJ Open journals. It was later reported by Reuters Health and media from around the world. The study has also been published as reference material on Medscape, a professional medical website widely used by clinicians around the world.
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To facilitate simplification of procedural flow and for the public's convenience, the online registration and exchange process of the Horse and Goat Zodiac Banknotes for the two Issuing Banks will be conducted jointly. For those who are interested to exchange for such banknotes (only limited to valid Macao permanent and non-permanent identity card holders), they can log onto the joint registration system of the two Issuing Banks via the webpage of the Monetary Authority of Macao (www.amcm.gov.mo) to conduct a one-time online registration within the registration period from 9:00 am on 16 June until 6:00 pm on 11 July 2014. Each Macao resident can only conduct a single registration, but it will simultaneously cover the exchange for both Horse and Goat banknotes of the two Issuing Banks. Each Macao resident can proceed with the exchange for 30 pieces of Horse and 30 pieces of Goat Banknotes of each Issuing Bank, namely 60 pieces of Horse and Goat Banknotes respectively from the two Issuing Banks in total after completing the online registration. The quantity has been predetermined and cannot be altered. Registrants are required to conduct the exchange for the two types of Zodiac Banknotes in one go, with no provision for separate exchange for only one type of note. While registrants should retain their registration records, they can also log onto the online registration system for inquiry of their confirmed registration details. Starting from 6 October 2014 till 31 December 2014, all participating banks will provide note exchange service to registrants during their business hours. Apart from the two Issuing Banks, other locations available for exchange include the selected branches of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Macau) Limited, Tai Fung Bank Limited, Weng Hang Bank Limited, Luso International Banking Limited, Banco Comercial de Macau, China Construction Bank Macau Branch and China Guangfa Bank Macau Branch. Under the new arrangement, the exchange for the Horse and Goat banknotes of the two Issuing banks can be conducted at the chosen location in one go. Registrants should bring along their valid ID card and can proceed in person to exchange for the notes by cash at the chosen location on the selected day. In respect of the note exchange conducted by authorized representatives, the latter will need to bring along their original ID card and submit the following documents to conduct the note exchange on the selected date and location: 1. Authorization form [downloaded from AMCM's website] signed by the registrant;
2. Registrant's ID copy bearing his / her signature;
3. Representative's ID copy bearing his / her signature.
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1. The AMCM has not yet announced the details and arrangements for registration and conversion of relevant zodiac notes, but will do so before long; 2. Recent rumours about zodiac notes on the Internet are false information. The AMCM, in accordance with the law, will pursue any illegal acts that disturb the normal monetary operation.
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On 1 June, Sunday, members of the consular corps accredited to Hong Kong and Macao visited the territory to attend the 25th Macao Arts Festival (MAF). The trip, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), included visits to the exhibition Collotype • Recurrence – Spatial Convergence of John Thomson and Wong Ho Sang held at the Macao Museum as well as the Pak Tai Temple, in front of which they had the chance to watch two films in the Dance Dome - 360° Cinema Experience, included in the Festival's programme. The delegation also attended the MAF closing performance, A Dream of Light, and showed their satisfaction with this visit which allowed them to experience and better understand Macao's cultural and artistic atmosphere. The exhibition Collotype • Recurrence – Spatial Convergence of John Thomson and Wong Ho Sang, presents works by British photographer John Thomson taken between 1868 and 1872 in China, depicting the social and cultural conditions of the time. It also presents wet plate photographic works specially created for this event by contemporary Macao photographer Wong Ho Sang. During the visit to Pak Tai Temple, the consuls, accompanied by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mr. Ung Vai Meng, the Head of IC's Cultural Events Department, Mr. Kent Ieong, were briefed about the history, culture and architectural features of Macao's temples. The visit was followed by two films, Pal O' Me Heart and The Beautiful, included in Dance Dome - 360° Cinema Experience, an intimate cinema set up at the Pak Tai Temple Square that offered viewers an extraordinary immersive experience. At the end of the day, IC organised a banquet in honour of the consular corps, after which guests attended the 25th MAF closing show, A Dream of Light. Representatives of MAVA, creators of the show, were also present at the banquet, sharing with the consular delegation the show's creative and design concepts, allowing these foreign guests to better understand the images and symbols, among others, present in the performance. Following the banquet, the guests headed for the Ruins of St. Paul's, the backdrop for A Dream of Light, to watch this extraordinary audiovisual architectural mapping show which reflects the city's multicultural atmosphere. The members of the consular delegation expressed their great satisfaction for attending the 25th the Macao Arts Festival.
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Consumer Council conducted its first 'Supermarket price survey' in June on 3 June for the implementation of Section 2b), Article 10, Law 4/95/M of 12 June. Surveyed locations included supermarkets near Areia Preta and Avenida de Venceslau de Morais in N. Sra. de Fátima Parish. The latest 'Supermarket Price Survey' is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo), and the 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. The survey is also available free of charge at the offices of Consumer Council, IACM's Iao Hon and S. Domingos Markets, bookstores and libraries. Consumers may also access the resources through WAP channels on their mobile phones. With reference to the local six parishes and the number of supermarkets in each parish, the Council has divided around 100 supermarkets into 8 areas for price collection. The Council collects prices from these supermarkets for the provision of a more comprehensive database for consumers to check price discrepancies and make price comparisons according to their desired locations. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The Macao Orchestra (MO), under the Cultural Affairs Bureau, presents a concert entitled "Beethoven's String Quartet Series IV - Austro-German Airs" included in the orchestra's chamber music series, to be held on 6 June 2014 (Friday) at Dom Pedro V Theatre at 8:00pm. The MO chamber music concert series has been widely acclaimed in the past few years and therefore the Orchestra proceeds with the series for music lovers to experience the magic of the "Father of the String Quartets". In this concert the MO will perform exquisite string quartets from the classical and romantic periods. Beethoven's string quartets are the first choice of music lovers. The composer's String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18 is an early work, influenced by Haydn and Mozart and thus containing certain features of Mozart's works. The programme also features Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2, and Schubert's unfinished piece, the String Quartet No. 12 in C minor, D. 703 'Quartettsatz', offering the public a diversified musical journey. Tickets for this concert are available at Kong Seng Ticketing at MOP 80, and MOP 60; for reservations, please call (853) 2855 5555. For more information and enquiries, please visit Macao Orchestra's website: www.icm.gov.mo/om.
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