Category Archives: Macau

Aman who lives in a Red code building attempted to jump from his apartment at Yue Xiu Gardens along Avenida do Ouvidor Arriaga.

He was transported to hospital after displaying signs of emotional distress yesterday, according to the Fire Services Bureau.

The Public Security Police (PSP) dispatched police with shields and firefighters to enter the unit. During the inspection, it was found that the man was irritated and was emotional because of being stuck at home for too long due to the lockdown of the building.

He had allegedly expressed his desire to jump off the building, which led the family to call authorities.

This incident is directly related to the pandemic because of such issues as unemployment and pressure, said a citizen on a social media post that shows police cordoning off the area.

I feel that Macau has become a sad city, and I can no longer see the warmth of Macau in the past, said another.

According to the report, the area where the building is located had been in lockdown from July 8 and the health code had been turned to a red code, which bans residents from leaving their apartments. Staff Reporter

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Man in red zone attempts to jump from building - Macau Daily Times

Peruvian prosecutors said Wednesday they will investigate President Pedro Castillo for alleged influence peddling, overturning an earlier decision to wait until his term ended.

The president is alleged to have put undue pressure on army and air force chiefs to favor military officers sympathetic to the leftist government in the annual promotion process.

The probe was suspended in January by the former attorney general on the grounds that Castillo could not be investigated while exercising his mandate.

But on Wednesday the prosecutors office tweeted that it had annulled that suspension, and that a preliminary investigation would take place.

The president has been summoned to testify on August 4.

Castillo, a leftist, has only been in power since last July his term ends in2026 but Congress has already voted to try and remove him twice.

In June, Castillo testified in an investigation into alleged corruption in his political and family circle.

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Peruvian president to be investigated for influence peddling - Macau Business

Germany will on Thursday remember more than 180 people killed in severe floods a year ago, as concerns mount over climate change and the country looks to overhaul its planning for future disasters.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will embark on a tour of the Ahr valley, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz will attend a memorial event in the hard-hit town of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler.

A series of events are also planned in neighbouring Belgium, where 39 people were killed in the deluge.

Severe floods pummelled parts of the German Rhineland over two days in July last year, ripping through entire towns and villages and destroying bridges, roads, railways and swathes of housing.

Between 100 and 150 millimetres (four and six inches) of rain fell between July 14 and 15, according to the German weather service an amount that would normally be seen over two months.

Forecasters had issued warnings, yet many residents were simply unaware of the risks of such violent flooding, with dozens found dead in their cellars.

The disaster prompted criticism of Germanys flood warning system and a criminal inquiry was opened into local officials for negligent homicide.

The government has since pledged to introduce phone alerts in the form of cell broadcasting and to reinstall sirens, many of which have been taken down in recent years.

Introducing a new disaster management plan on Wednesday, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser admitted there had been major failures over the past years and decades.

The government is planning a new annual civil protection day from 2023 to raise awareness of how to respond in a disaster and make our country more crisis-proof, Faeser said.

The disaster also raised concerns about climate change, with one international study showing that man-made global warming had made the floods up to nine times more likely.

A year on, Germany is set for more extreme weather with temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) expected this week as a heatwave sweeps across Europe.

Ralph Tiesler, president of the BBK federal disaster management agency, told the Funke media group on Wednesday he believed some areas in Germany may become uninhabitable due to extreme weather events.

I say that some areas should not be resettled due to climate change and the acute threat of severe weather disasters and floods, he said.

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, a town of 30,000 people famed for its thermal baths and wellness tourism, was among the areas hardest hit by the floods.

Over 2,000 people have since left the town, but the majority have chosen to stay and rebuild their homes even as promised help is slow to arrive.

A return to the way things were will still take time, town mayor Guido Orthen told AFP, with the rebuild very much a work in progress.

We still have temporary infrastructure, temporary playgrounds, temporary schools, temporary roads that make life possible, he said.

With former chancellor Angela Merkel still in charge at the time of the floods, the government pledged a total of 30 billion euros ($30 billion) in federal and state aid to help with the reconstruction effort.

But in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, only 500 million euros in aid has been handed out of the total 15 billion euros set aside.

In neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia, 1.6 billion euros of government support has been approved for use, out of a total of 12.3 billion euros.

Frustration is building among those trying to rebuild their lives.

We want to exist in the eyes of Germany, Iris Muenn-Buschow told AFP from the dilapidated ground floor of her home in the town of Sinzig.

We have the impression that everything else that goes on in the world is more important than what happens here in Germany, she said.

by Ina FASSBENDER with Femke COLBORNE in Berlin

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Flood anniversary prompts sadness and soul-searching in Germany - Macau Business

British Conservative leadership contender Penny Mordaunt came under blistering attack Thursday after she surged in the race to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as another candidate faced elimination.

The little-known Mordaunt, a committed Brexiteer who was briefly Britains first woman defence secretary before moving to less senior government jobs, has emerged as the darling of Tory grassroots members.

In the first round of voting by Conservative MPs on Wednesday, she came a strong second behind former finance minister Rishi Sunak and ahead of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and was installed as the new favourite by bookmakers.

Polls point to the Royal Navy reservist beating Sunak, Truss and the other three remaining candidates comfortably, once the members decide between the final two.

Two candidates were knocked out Wednesday, and the bottom ranking contender was to be eliminated in a second vote by MPs later Thursday.

Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, one of those eliminated,threw his support behind Sunak, whose resignation from the cabinet last week helped spark a ministerial revolt against Johnson after months of scandal.

Drawing a pointed contrast to Johnson, Hunt said the former Chancellor of the Exchequer was one of the most decent, straight people with the highest standards of integrity in politics.

But the wealthy Sunak faces questions about his familys tax affairs and prior decision to retain US residency. And he is opposed to immediate tax cuts to confront a post-pandemic cost-of-living crisis, stressing the need instead for fiscal responsibility.

Truss, who campaigned against Brexit in Britains 2016 referendum before becoming a zealous supporter, was formally launching her campaign with vows of tax cuts and a smaller state.

My mission is to make our country an aspiration nation, where every child, every person has the best opportunity to succeed, she was expected to say, as her supporters urged two outsiders still in the race to drop out to avoid fragmenting the right-wing vote.

Mordaunt, a junior trade minister who is relatively untainted by the scandals of Johnsons premiership, has come up the middle between Truss and Sunak with a campaign strong on patriotic themes.

But the Daily Mail took aim at her stance on transgender people, one of Britains culture war debates that has energised the partys right-wing.

Mordaunt was telling lies after previously supporting transgender people in the role of equalities minister, only to take a harder line at her campaign launch this week, the newspaper quoted a Truss ally as saying.

Her political enemies have also jibed at Part-time Penny, alleging she has not taken her government roles seriously.

That line of attack was given new impetus from a dramatic intervention by former Brexit minister David Frost, who was Mordaunts boss until both moved on last year.

Based on their time working together, Im afraid I would have grave reservations about her entering 10 Downing Street, Frost told TalkTV, revealing that at his request, Johnson had removed her from their department.

Im sorry to say this that I felt she did not master the detail that was necessary in the negotiations (with Brussels, over Northern Ireland) last year, he said.

She wouldnt always deliver tough messages to the European Union when that was necessary, and Im afraid she wasnt sort of fully accountable, she wasnt always visible. Sometimes I didnt even know where she was.

There was no immediate response from the Mordaunt camp.

Several television debates between the remaining candidates loom, with the first Friday night, ahead of weeks of nationwide hustings in front of Tory members. The eventual winner is set to be announced on September 5.

by Jitendra JOSHI / Joe JACKSON

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New UK Tory favourite accused of lethargy and 'lies' - Macau Business

The amendment to the Gaming Law has finally been approved, ending a troubled process that began nine months earlier with the launch of a controversial public consultation and without prior consultation with casino operators.

Among the changes introduced, the broadening of the range of financial obligations (fiscal and parafiscal) of future concessionaires stands out.

Although in a normal economic situation, they may make sense, in the current domestic (zero-economy) and external environment (with particular focus on the restrictions imposed by Mainland China on citizens wishing to travel for gambling activities), they will certainly adversely impact Macanese casino operators lives.

The financial obligations are, in addition to the special gaming tax, which remains at 35% of gross gaming revenue, as follows:

Contribution in the amount of 2% of gross gaming revenues to a public fund (not necessarily the Macau Foundation) whose purpose is the promotion, development, or study of actions of a cultural, social, economic, educational, scientific, academic and philanthropic nature. Set in 2002 at 1.6% of gross gaming revenue, the new percentage represents an increase of 0.4% in the direct tax burden.

Contribution in the amount of 3% of gross gaming revenues to urban development, tourism promotion, and social security. Set in 2002 at 2.4% of gross gaming revenues (1.4% for SJM), the new percentage represents an additional 0.6% (1.6% for SJM) in the direct tax burden.

Minimum of 5 billion patacas of share capital and net stand during the concession term. The new minimum share capital is 25 times the share capital currently set (200 million patacas), and no distortions to commercial law rules regarding net stand exist. To understand (or not) the systems logic, the new minimum share capital is 50 times higher than that required to open a bank (100 million patacas).

Bond as a guarantee of performance of legal and contractual obligations. Fixed in 2002 at 700 million for the first five years of the concession and 300 million for the remaining period, it is expected that the Macau government will revise the values upwards since they represent values from more than 20 years ago.

Payment of complementary income tax on profits and dividends. Since 2002, the Macau government has granted casino operators (very) generous tax exemptions, exempting from this tax the whole profits from gaming activities. And allowed a lump sum payment in lieu of the complementary income tax on dividends distributed to shareholders. In several replies to written interpellations from the Macau Legislative Assembly members, the Macau government has always justified the tax breaks to prevent the same income from being taxed twice. Curiously, no amendment to the Gaming Law was made in this regard. Could this be understood as a paradigm shift, with the principle of normal taxation of complementary income tax now fully applicable? Is the Macau government aware that this fact pushes the final tax burden above the 50% mark?

Remuneration due for the use of the casinos and gaming equipment and utensils, which will revert to the Macau SAR at the end of the concessions and subconcessions (as once the reversion occurs, the casinos cannot be sold by the Macau SAR). It includes, as could not be otherwise, remuneration for the use of casinos that, although legally not required to revert to the Macau SAR, were, kindly and certainly without coercion, ceded free of charge by the concessionaires and subconcessionaires for reversion. What criteria will be used to determine the remuneration for the use? Market price?

Premium (as compensation for the concession award), divided into a fixed part (set in 2002 at 30 million patacas) and a variable part, according to the type of tables operated (established in 2002 at 300,000 patacas/year for each VIP table and 150,000 patacas/year for each non-VIP table) and 1,000 patacas/year for each gaming machine, with a minimum guarantee of no less than 45 million patacas/year. Using the same criteria to determine the (special) premium charged for the extension of the concessions and subconcession, the new fixed part of the premium should not be less than 95 million patacas/year. As for the variable part of the premium, we will see what awaits the concessionaires, hoping that the Macau government has done its homework and learned its lesson, realizing that it makes no sense to keep it among the criteria for the awarding of concessions, where it appears as the value to be proposed by the concessionaires.

Special premium, corresponding to the special gaming tax due to the difference between the gross revenue generated by gaming tables and gaming machines and the minimum threshold set by the Chief Executive. It is a mystery what criteria will be selected to determine whether the gross gaming revenue of a gaming table or machine located, for example, at Casino Lisboa, should be higher/lower than that found in any other casino when the data that could serve as a reference refer to a reality that no longer exists, either because it is based on the junket operation, or before the restrictions imposed by Mainland China towards gambling.

Investment plan, whose value was set in 2002 at a minimum of 4 billion patacas for the 20 years concessions. The investment amount for the 10-year concession period (expected to be put out to tender) should be 5 billion patacas. The Macau government has stated in the past that the requirement for the new share capital was because it wanted future concessionaires to have sufficient funds to execute the investment plan (unaware that share capital does not serve this purpose but as a general guarantee for creditors and as a means of limiting the liability of shareholders). Since new brick and mortar developments will most likely not be required, what kind of investment casino operators will be forced to make remains to be seen.

Bank guarantee to ensure compliance with labor debts. Varying on the number of employees, it was set under the concession and sub-concession agreements at 3.5 billion (SJM), 2.31 billion (Venetian), 1.63 billion (Galaxy), and 1.21 billion (Wynn), and 820 million (MGM and Melco).

Full coverage of outstanding gaming chips and joint and several liabilities of qualifying shareholders (5% or more) for the outstanding gaming chips upon the termination of the concession. It is unknown whether the Macau government has previously ordered the creation of provisions, the adoption of solvency ratios, or the application of other prudential rules on the chips in circulation. The new measure ends a casino operators significant funding source (at almost zero cost).

Corporate social responsibilities that concessionaires must assume. Given the legal framework, the Macau government expects the concessionaries to meet public needs that they should develop or take care of using public money.Without the determination of precise limits, this obligation can turn into a white elephant.

Except for the exemption or reduction provided for the payment of complementary income tax and the exemption or reduction in the percentage of the contributions due, the legislator did not create where could and should safeguard mechanisms to be activated in economically troubled times. The rigidity of the law is not compatible with disturbed economic cycles such as the current one. It is one thing to provide safeguard mechanisms. It is quite another to use these safeguard mechanisms.

And the example of the expansion of foreign countrys customer markets as a justification of the public interest required for the Chief Executive to grant a reduction or exemption to concessionaires in the payment of contributions does not seem to make sense. As a matter of fact, in the Opinion of the 2nd Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly on the draft law proposal amending the Gaming Law, it seems that the intention of the Macau government is not to reduce contributions by more than 1% when it states that when deciding on the reduction or exemption, the Chief Executive, on the assumption that he will ensure that the percentage of the current concessionaires contributions does not fall below the current level [4%], will fully assess the benefits that the concessionaire will bring to Macau at all levels, with the reduction focusing on the revenue generated by foreign tourists with the expansion of markets. What makes the Macau government think that the concessionaires will be interested in benefiting from the 1% reduction when, for example, for more than 20 years, they have not shown any interest in providing dredging services to benefit from 1% less in the payment of the contributions that SJM has always benefited from? How much will they need to spend to benefit from such a percentage?

What objective criteria could be used? Better yet, what criteria are consistent with Mainland Chinas (new) policy towards gambling, reflected, among others, in the restriction of movement of citizens wishing to travel for gambling activities or the warnings given to foreign countries to stop soliciting and promoting gambling to their citizens? What mechanisms will be implemented? Are we going to have air bridges with third countries? Zero-cost air travel? Tracking of players to find out which casino operator brought them if they played, and how much they spent? Do players want to be tracked? And if they play at a different casino operator, who benefits? And will the route monopolies that Air Macau only operates part of being reviewed? Will casino operators finally have a say in the development of Macau airport and Macau as a regional airport hub? What makes the Macau government think that casino operators will be more successful in the efforts it has been pushing for years to promote Macau throughout Asia through the companies representing the Macau Tourism Office, namely in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, and Malaysia?

Whatever criteria are used, they will always have the enormous disadvantage (promoted by the Macau government itself) of making exactly equal concessions operating under different fiscal/parafiscal burdens, which will constitute a source of problems in the medium-long run.

Fortunately, the Macau government did not change the stamp duty so that the concessionaires of the (still) most crucial industry in Macau will pay, as in 2002, only 50 patacas as stamp duty for the signing of the concession contracts

Wishful thinking or not, all financial obligations without proper safeguard mechanisms make casino operators more economically vulnerable and, in the adverse economic situation in which they will be implemented, may represent death by a thousand cuts for the gaming industry.

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OPINION - Death by a thousand cuts - Macau Business

A total of 13,132 new electric cars were sold in Ireland in the first half of this year (H1), up 61.8 percent when compared with the same period last year, the countrys Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Friday.

Of all the new electric cars sold in H1, 8,309 were electric-only cars, up 98.54 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, 4,823 were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), up 22.69 percent year-on-year, the CSO said.

Combined sales of electric-only cars and PHEVS accounted for 21.08 percent of all the new private cars sold in Ireland in the first six months of this year, an increase of 7.52 percentage points from the same period last year.

A total of 62,268 new private cars were sold in Ireland in the January-June period of this year, up 4.08 percent year-on-year, said the CSO.

Last year, the Irish government unveiled a plan under which it aims to increase the number of electric vehicles in the country to 945,000, including 845,000 passenger cars, by the year 2030. At the end of 2021, the number of electric vehicles in the country was estimated at 45,000.

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Electric car sales in Ireland up nearly 62 pct in H1 - Macau Business

New Zealand recorded 9,307 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

The seven-day rolling average number of community cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand currently stands at 8,690. The ministry also reported 570 hospitalized cases currently, including nine cases in intensive care units, and 22 new deaths from COVID-19.

There were 251 more infected people who have recently travelled overseas, according to the ministry.

As winter school holiday will begin from next week, the ministry has reminded the public of preventing winter illnesses. With so many respiratory illnesses circulating, the ministry is encouraging New Zealanders to pay extra attention to their childrens health, and their own, over the coldest months of the year, it said.

New Zealand has reported 1,413,437 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the country.

New Zealand is currently under the orange settings of its COVID-19 Protection Framework, with no limits for gatherings.

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New Zealand reports 9,307 new community cases of COVID-19 - Macau Business

Over 100 movie theaters in Shanghai resumed operation on Friday after about four months of epidemic-led closure.

According to a statement released by the film bureau of Shanghai, movie theaters are currently allowed to receive an audience at a 50 percent capacity at most, and viewers shall not sit closely beside each other.

The city will also ensure daily health monitoring of cinema staff, rational scheduling of screenings, infection prevention and control in theaters, among other things, to ensure the safety of audiences, according to the bureau.

Several cinemas in Shanghai arranged early hour screenings on Friday. Before 12 a.m. on Friday, some moviegoers were already seen lining up in front of a UME cinema in Xintiandi, a landmark entertainment area in Shanghai.

Our staff have returned to their posts weeks ago to prepare for our reopening, engaged in such works as disinfection, machine maintenance, and film scheduling, said the manager of the cinema.

During the 2022 Spring Festival holiday, Shanghais film market led all Chinese cities with a total box office of 259 million yuan (about 38.6 million U.S. dollars).

Movie theaters in Shanghai suspended operation on March 10 due to COVID-19 flareups. More of them will reopen when they meet requirements for epidemic prevention and control.

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Over 100 movie theaters reopen in Shanghai - Macau Business

At least 103 Rwandan refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) arrived Wednesday in their home country, the government said Thursday.

In a statement, Rwandan Ministry of Emergency Management said the returnees are currently hosted at a reception center in western Rwandas Nyabihu district.

While at the reception center the returnees will receive resettlement support including funds, food items for three months, registration for national identity card and community-based health insurance for one year, said the statement.

More returnees are expected to arrive via the western Rusizi border on Friday, it said.

Since 1994 over 3.5 million Rwandan refugees have returned home and reintegrated in the country, according to data from the ministry.

For the last five years, Rwanda in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) received 15,643 returnees mainly from the DRC, the ministry said.

The Rwandan government reaffirmed its commitment to ensure the safety and sustainable reintegration of all returnees.

The government will also continue to work with various partners, including neighboring countries and UN agencies in finding possible solutions to improving the wellbeing of all refugees living in Rwanda as well as finding long-term and durable solutions for them, it said.

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More than 100 Rwandan refugees repatriated from DRC - Macau Business

The Czech Republic has recorded 1,549 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the highest daily count since the start of May, data from the countrys Health Ministry showed Friday.

The daily number of infections in the Czech Republic started rising at the end of June. Last week, the country reported more than 1,000 daily cases for five consecutive working days.

The daily number of hospitalizations has also almost doubled in the past two weeks, from 134 on June 24 to 262 on July 7.

Authorities have said that the more contagious subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron virus are to blame for the rise in infections.

Local media quoted the Health Ministry as saying that the number of infections would keep rising for several more weeks, but hospitals and intensive care units would be able to cope.

The Czech Vaccinology Society has recommended a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose for people over 60. It is also recommended for those over the age of 12 with a severe immunocompromising condition, and the health staff who work with such patients, as well as for those in social care facilities.

We recommend administering the second vaccine booster dose at least four months after the first booster dose, the Society said on its website.

The Czech Republic has recorded more than 3.9 million COVID-19 cases and over 40,300 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic. Nearly 6.9 million people in the country, which has a population of about 10.5 million, have been fully vaccinated, according to data from the Health Ministry

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COVID-19 infections rising in Czech Republic, 4th vaccination recommended - Macau Business