News

The Legal and Judicial Training Centre will hold the “Seminar on Internet Crimes: From Global Challenges to Small Countries Response” from March 28 to April 1, 5:00 p.m. to 7 p.m., in the Auditorium of the Law Reform and International Law Bureau (CNAC Building, 6th floor). The Seminar, being part of the 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, will be hosted by Dr. Marco Gercke, Professor at the Cologne University and Director of the Institute for Cybercrime Studies in Germany; and Dr. Anna-Maria Talihärm, Professor at the Faculty of Information Technology, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. The Seminar, conducted in English with simultaneous translation into Cantonese and Portuguese, will cover the following topics: 1. Development of Computer Crime and Internet Crime; 2. Lessons learnt from the past and recent trends;
3. Statistical information;
4. Challenges of Fighting Cybercrime;
5. New investigation instruments and strategies;
6. International approaches in fighting Cybercrime;
7. European legal instruments in fighting Cybercrime;
8. Small countries response to Cybercrime;
9. An overview about the response to Cybercrime in the Pacific and Caribbean – experiences from two EU-funded projects;
10. Case example: Estonia;
11. New trends and changing targets;
12. Attacks against critical infrastructure. The seminar aims to analyse the new phenomenon in the area of internet crime and its associated risks, vulnerabilities and challenges. In an ever-increasingly interconnected globalised world, this phenomenon is assuming an increasing transnational nature, especially from small countries' perspectives. The understanding of the measures taken in the international community to address these problems will contribute significantly to the prevention of that crime and heighten the capacity to fight it. The 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, which incorporates this seminar, has as its main objective the “consolidation of the Macao Legal System” and will take place until December 2012. The execution of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, organized by the different MSAR's entities and public departments, namely, the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services, the Financial Services Bureau and the Institute of European Studies of Macau.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (26th March 16:01 till 27th March 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1195 and 0.1309μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (26th March 10:01 till 27th March 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1309μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (25th March 16:01 till 26th March 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1178 and 0.1309μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (25th March 10:01 till 26th March 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1178 and 0.1291μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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The Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT), continues to maintain close contact with the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the tourism industry and the representation of the Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in Japan as to follow developments after the earthquake struck Japan. The accident in the Fukushima power plant continues to influence the lifestyle in the Macao Special Administrative Region. The Office has appealed to the population not to travel to Japan and to remain attentive to the indications given out by Japanese authorities and take necessary precautions as to guarantee a higher level of personal safety. According to information from the tourism sector, group tours organized by Macau travel agencies have been suspended until the 15th of April, 2011. For further information, travel agencies in which tours were booked should be contacted. GGCT would like to recall that the tourism hotline continues to operate (853-2833 3000), for emergency inquiries as well as the hotline that has been set-up in Japan so that Macao residents who are still in Japan can call for inquiries. The hotline is operating in English and Japanese languages: 09027490386 (for local calls in Japan) and +819027490386 (calling from Macao). Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Embassy in Japan has established an emergency and information contacts (24 hours) as to provide citizens who are in Japan with information: 03-3403-33880, from 09h00 until 01h00 in the morning and 03-3403-3388 extensions 8881, 8882 and 8712 during normal office hours. GGCT appeals to residents who still do not have plans to leave Japan in the near future, to provide their contact details as soon as possible, such as phone numbers, address in Japan and email, to: info@ggct.gov.mo. From the past four days until the present day (25 March), GGCT has not received any inquiry. GGCT accounts for an accumulated total of 311 inquiries, mainly related to the current situation in Japan and the situation of air transportation. On the other hand two Macao residents have already sent their contact details in order to facilitate communication in case of need. For further information, interested parties may also gather further information from the Macao SAR Government web-portal: http://www.gov.mo/
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released summary of GDP for the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2010. (The rates of change mentioned in the text refer to the year-on-year change, unless otherwise specified.) Revival of the growth momentum of the world economy and robust economic growth in Mainland China created favourable conditions to support a rapid rebound of the economy of Macao. Gross gaming revenue and total visitor spending soared substantially upon outstanding performance of the tourism and gaming sector; declines in gross fixed capital formation and merchandise exports slowed down. Integrating the respective information, Macao's GDP for the whole year of 2010 increased by 26.2% in real terms, totalling MOP 217.32 billion; per-capita GDP amounted to MOP 398,071 (about US$ 49,745). At the same time, economic growth for the fourth quarter stood at 27.9% in real terms; the rate of increase for the second and third quarters revised upward from 31.5% and 27.1% to 31.7% and 27.4% respectively. Moreover, the implicit deflator of GDP that measures the change in overall prices rose by 4.1% over 2009. In 2010, major factors that were conducive to the economic growth of Macao included: - gross gaming revenue (excluding gratuities) surged by 57.5% compared with 2009; - total visitor arrivals increased by 14.8%, with per-capita spending of visitors rising in every quarter; - total hotel guests increased by 15.5%; average occupancy rate of hotel rose by 8.43 percentage points; average length of stay of guests stood at 1.54 nights, up by 0.04 night; ] increase in value of retail sales and median monthly employment earnings. GDP Indicators of Macao
(Please see the attached file.) In respect of the GDP structure, relative importance of the major components to GDP registered changes. The notable increase in exports of tourism and gaming services pushed up net exports of goods and services (exports of goods and services less imports of goods and services) to surge by 66.8%, far higher than the level of economic growth, bringing its relative importance to GDP to rise apparently from 41.9% in 2009 to 55.4% in 2010. However, relative importance of private consumption expenditure decreased from 27.6% to 23.3% in 2010, government final consumption expenditure from 9.6% to 8.0% and total investment from 20.9% to 13.3%.
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Organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the 22nd Macao Arts Festival (MAF), to be held from 29th April to the 28th May, features a total of 29 distinguished performances of different cultural and artistic genres from 9 different countries and regions. This year the MAF has chosen “Enjoy Life through Arts”. Tickets for all performances will be on sale from this coming Sunday (March 27th at 10am) at all Kong Seng Ticketing outlets, whereas telephone and online bookings will be available from 1pm on the same day. The organiser will distribute queuing tickets at Kong Seng ticketing outlets at 9am on 27th March. This year's MAF boasts a wide variety of performances. Admission tickets to popular performances will surely be the most sought after by the public. To best secure residents' equal opportunity to cultural and artistic performances, on the first day of ticket sales, ticket sales for the Cantonese opera performance De Ling and Empress Dowager Ci Xi and for the children's performance Ti-tó-tis – Music and Dance for Babies are limited to a maximum of 4 tickets per performance per person. Likewise, on the first day of sale Ticket sales for all other performances are limited to a maximum of 10 tickets per performance per person. The performance Ti-tó-tis – Music and Dance for Babies is aimed for children under the age of 3. Each ticket provides free admission for two extra persons (maximum) aged 4 or above. Due to the special layout of the venue, only one person is allowed to accompany the child to the stage area. Consistently aiming at drawing Macao residents closer to the arts, the MAF offers discounted ticket sales, as usual, including 40% off for purchase of tickets for at least 4 different performances, for purchase of 10 or more tickets for the same performance, holders of Student Cards (full-time students only) and holders of Macao Senior Citizen Cards. In addition, a 20% discount is available for holders of MET (Macao Entertainment and Tourism) cards, teacher cards, youth cards, credit cardholders of Bank of China Macau Branch, Banco Weng Hang S.A., ICBC Macau, Luso International Banking Ltd., BCM Bank and BNU, and holders of Bank of China Tri-Currency Debit Card. Furthermore, to support local artists, 40% discount upon simultaneous purchase of 2 tickets for any 2 local performances (marked “ ”)(only available for performances at the Macao Cultural Centre, Dom Pedro V Theatre and the Macao Tower Auditorium) Detailed information about the MAF is available in the MAF booklet, which can be obtained at the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tap Seac Gallery, Kong Seng Ticketing, Macao Conservatory, Macao Central Library, CTM (Rua Pedro Coutinho Branch and Taipa Branch), Macau Cultural Centre, Public Information Centre, various bookstores and music companies, Café Ou Mun, Clube Militar de Macau, Litoral Restaurant and Akasaka Café, etc. To support a green environment, you may also download the electronic booklet from www.icm.gov.mo/fam. For enquiries, please call 8399 6699. For telephone bookings, please call the MAF 24-hour hotline 2855 5555 (Macao), 2380 5083 (Hong Kong) and 139 2691 1111 (Mainland China). Online booking is available at www.macauticket.com.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (24th March 16:01 till 25th March 16:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1318μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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According to the monitoring data of Gamma Radiation recorded for the past 24 hours (24th March 10:01 till 25th March 10:00) by the Taipa Grande Station of the Macao Meteorological Bureau, the Gamma-ray absorbed dose rate per minute ranges between 0.1187 and 0.1318μGy/h (micro Gray / hour) which is far more below the warning level of 0.35μGy/h. The Macao Meteorological Bureau will continue to pay close attention to this nuclear incident in Japan and monitor for any possible impact on Macao. If any abnormalities being discovered, we will release related message to the public immediately and inform relevant government departments to adopt relative contingency measures.
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