News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that there were 59 institutions offering vocational training courses in 2022. A total of 1,625 courses were organised, an increase of 13.2% year-on-year. Total number of participants rose by 23.2% to 78,080. Those who took Health courses surged by 250.1% year-on-year, mainly due to an increase in participants in Rescue Techniques courses; those who participated in Production & Processing of Food & Beverages courses grew by 55.3%, while those who took Tourism & Leisure courses decreased by 17.4%.
…

The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP213.5 billion (USD26.40 billion) at the end of April 2023. The reserves decreased by 0.7% from the revised value of MOP215.0 billion (USD26.60 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-April 2023 represented 10 times the currency in circulation or 84.2% of pataca M2 at end-March 2023.
…

To alleviate the flooding caused by heavy rain in Fai Chi Kei district and Lam Mau district, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) will build a pumping station and box culvert drain in Bacia Norte do Patane in phases to increase the overall drainage capacity in the districts. The waterfront area in Rua do Comandante João Belo will also be expanded through the construction works for the construction of a waterfront leisure area with a total area of over 2,000 square metres to provide a more diversified leisure space for the public. To reduce the impact on traffic, the space for vehicular traffic in Rua do Comandante João Belo will be widened at the early stage of the construction works to create conditions for a carriageway, so that vehicular passage will be maintained during the construction period. Meanwhile, the public are advised to pay attention to the temporary traffic arrangements to be implemented in the relevant road sections.
…

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) established May 17^th of each year as the “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day” (WTISD). The theme of this year is "Empowering the least developed countries through information and communication technologies". In order to celebrate the WTISD event and deepen the understanding of ICT’s driving effect for accelerating urban development, the Macau Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) will conducted the following celebration activities:
…

In order to celebrate the International Museum Day on 18 May, 20 museums in Macao co-organized the annual event of the museum sector, the “Macao International Museum Day Carnival 2023”. The event was held in a lively atmosphere and featured a wide range of intriguing activities, including dances and performances, game booths, experience activities, workshops and online games, unleashing the charm of museums in the community, attracting the active participation of residents.
…

…

Saifur Rahman, president and CEO of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), visited the University of Macau (UM) and exchanged ideas with researchers at the university on disciplinary development. Rahman also gave a talk titled ‘Technologists’ Role in Addressing Climate Sustainability’ as part of the University Lecture Series to explore the importance of carbon reduction to the sustainable development of the environment and how to build a relevant scientific and technological system.
…

Due to inspection works, the Guia Chapel and some peripheral areas, under the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), will be temporarily closed to the public from 16 to 19 May, . During this period, , the Guia Fortress will be open for visits as usual.
…

The CCAC has released the results of an inquiry into the land plot at Rua dos Pescadores where buildings no. 15 and 17 (commonly known as the “Leather Factory”) were located. In response to the fact that at that time the Administration accepted the maintaining of the status of the building already constructed on the grounds that it should not be subject to the declaration of invalidation arising from the corruption case of the former Secretaryfor Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long and the fact that the land use period was approved to be extended in and after 2018, the CCAC believes that they, to a certain extent, met the principle of useful and effective use of land and there were no apparent administrative illegalities or irregularities. The street alignment plan, on which the construction of the relevant building was based, was issued four years before the entry into force of the Law of Urban Planning, and there was therefore no situation of false starting or circumventing the law as such. Nevertheless, in the CCAC’s opinion, as the Administration did not, when calculating the premium for the aforesaid land plot, deduct the amount of the premium according to the amount already paid for the fulfillment of the original concession contract but according to a hypothetical amount of the premium payable by the current concessionaire if it had completed the architectural project of the previous concessionaire, such practice lacked consideration of logical reasonableness and fairness of interest distribution. Therefore, public works departments are suggested to seriously review the relevant practice and step up efforts to consolidate the premium regime in force so that the actual market value of the land of Macao may be reflected on the premiums and the precious land resources of the Macao SAR may be fully protected.
…

The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre indicates that similar to the Mainland, the current COVID-19 landscape in Macao is dominated by Omicron XBB subvariants (including XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.1.9, etc.). The gradual decline of natural infection- and vaccine-induced immunity, coupled with the emergence of new subvariants and the increasing flow of people, has resulted in a rising activity of the coronavirus in the local community. In order to help the public in assessing their medical needs, the Health Bureau has released the “Advice for Seeking Medical Attention for Patients of COVID-19” (hereinafter “the Advice”) with reference to the experience and suggestions on COVID-19 treatment around world. The Advice supersede the “Important notes for home isolated medical observation of Covid-19 cases”.
…