Category Archives: Macau

The United States is in discussions with India over its position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday, as New Delhi has yet to clearly condemn Moscows assault.

We continue to engage with the Indians, Psaki told reporters.

On Thursday, when asked about the issue by a reporter, President Joe Biden admitted: We havent resolved that completely.

In telephone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an immediate cessation of violence, his office said but he did not explicitly condemn Moscows military operation.

India has historically had close ties with Russia, and Moscow is a major supplier of arms to the South Asian nation.

On Friday, India abstained during a UN Security Council vote over a resolution stating that the group of countries deplores in the strongest terms Russias aggression against Ukraine and which would have demanded the immediate withdrawal of its troops.

Despite months of effort by Washington to consolidate its alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, Biden has yet to completely win New Delhi over to his promise of making Putin a pariah on the international stage.

The Biden administration is particularly keen to breathe new life into the so-called diplomatic Quad Australia, India, Japan and the United States to blunt Chinas expanding power in the region.

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US says in talks with India on its stance over Ukraine - Macau Business

The world must brace for a long war between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow launched an invasion of its pro-Western neighbour, French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Saturday.

I can tell you one thing this morning it is that this war will last, Macrons told Frances annual agriculture fair.

This crisis will last, this war will last and all the crises that come with it will have lasting consequences, Macron added, warning: We must be prepared.

Macron cut short his visit to the agriculture fair, usually one of the main fixtures on the French political calendar, in order to return to dealing with the crisis triggered by the Russian invasion.

War has returned to Europe, this was chosen unilaterally by President (Vladimir) Putin, with a tragic humanitarian situation, a (Ukrainian) people who are resisting and a Europe that is there and resisting by the side of the Ukrainian people, said Macron.

Macron has again called an emergency defence council of top ministers and military security officials to discuss the situation in Ukraine which will take place at 1600 GMT, the Elysee said.

With the war and sanctions against Russia risking damage for specific sectors in France, notably the wine industry, Macron vowed a plan of resilience to help them cope.

The French leader was a key figure in efforts to avert conflict, repeatedly speaking to Putin and seeking in vain to broker a summit between the Russian leader and US President Joe Biden.

The war has also broken out as the clock ticks down to Frances presidential elections in April.

Macron, who is expected to seek and win a second term, has left the official declaration of his candidacy to the last minute, although he must make a move next week ahead of a March 4 deadline to register.

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'This war will last,' warns France's Macron on Ukraine - Macau Business

KUALA LUMPUR: Two men have lost a total of more than RM18,000 to Macau Scams with a new twist involving a downloaded app.

Kuala Lumpur Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Asst Comm Mahidisham Ishak said it all started when the victims were contacted by an "Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) officer".

He said the victims, aged 29 and 36, received calls from the so-called LHDN officer on Feb 15 and 17 respectively.

Each victim was told of overdue taxes that had not been settled.

"The calls were then transferred to a 'police officer', who told the victims they were involved in drug-related offences.

"They were told to download an application and fill in their banking details in the app," said ACP Mahidisham in a statement on Wednesday (Feb 23).

He said after a few minutes, the victims saw reductions of RM5,400 and RM13,700.50 in their respective bank accounts.

"They lodged police reports and we are investigating the cases under Section 4(1) of the Computer Crime Act 1997," he said.

ACP Mahidisham advised the public not to download any unfamiliar application and not to divulge banking details to any third party.

"We urge those with information on crime or any suspicious activity to contact the KL police hotline at 03-21460584/0585, the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-26101559/1599, or the nearest police station," he added.

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Two conned of RM18,000 in Macau Scams with new app download tactic - The Star Online

The Czech Republic and Poland each said Friday they would close their airspace starting from midnight to flights by Russian carriers in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier Friday the Polish airline LOT had already halted flights to Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

As of midnight today, we are halting the traffic of all Russian airline companies in Czech airspace, Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka tweeted.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Facebook that Poland was also preparing such a resolution.

The ban will apply from midnight, Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller later said on Twitter.

A similar decision was also taken by the UK government, which on Thursday banned Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot from flying over Britain.

Moscow responded on Friday by banning all UK-linked planes, including transiting flights, from Russian airspace.

Meanwhile, Moldova said Thursday it was closing its airspace, with all flights redirected to other airports, while Belarus said it was shutting part of its airspace.

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Czechs, Poland to close airspace to Russian flights - Macau Business

The International Olympic Committee, angry at the Russian invasion of Ukraine breaching the Olympic Truce, on Friday urged all international sports federations to cancel their forthcoming events in Russia.

The IOC EB (executive board) today urges all international sports federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus, read the IOC statement.

They should take the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarussian governments into account and give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority.

The IOC and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) both condemned the breach on Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full scale invasion.

The IOC pointed out that all 193 UN member states had agreed last December to a global truce beginning seven days before the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing on February 4 and ending seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games on March 13.

The IOC also said on Friday that the respective national flags of Russia and Belarus should not be flown at sports events.

In addition, the IOC EB urges that no Russian or Belarussian national flag be displayed and no Russian or Belarussian anthem be played in international sports events which are not already part of the respective World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sanctions for Russia.

The IOC also said they were doing all they can to ensure Ukrainian athletes were looked after.

The IOC EB expresses its deep concerns about the safety of the members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine and stands in full solidarity, it said.

It notes that the special IOC task force is in contact with the Olympic Community in the country to coordinate humanitarian assistance where possible.

By Pirate Irwin

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IOC urges all federations to cancel events in Russia and Belarus - Macau Business

*with agencies

Chinas President Xi Jinping said he supported solving the Ukraine crisis through talks in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, state media said Friday, after Moscow launched an invasion of its neighbour.

In a readout of the call on state broadcaster CCTV, Xi pointed out that the situation in eastern Ukraine has undergone rapid changes (and) China supports Russia and Ukraine to resolve the issue through negotiation.

Russian forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing air strikes and sending troops deep into the country, after weeks of diplomatic efforts failed to deter Putin from launching the military operation.

Xi said on the call with Putin it was important to abandon the Cold War mentality, attach importance to and respect the reasonable security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiations.

According to the Chinese media readout, Putin outlined the reasons for Russia launching the special military operation, and told Xi that NATO and the United States had long ignored Russias reasonable security concerns.

He also told Xi on the call that Russia was ready to hold high-level talks with Ukraine.

Xi said China was willing to work with all parties in the international community to advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, and firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at the core, according to the CCTV readout.

Xinhua News agency reports that during the phone conversation, Xi thanked Putin again for coming to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and congratulated the Russian athletes on finishing second in the Winter Olympics medal table.

Xi pointed out that recent dramatic changes in the situation in eastern Ukraine have drawn great attention from the international community, adding that China decides on its position based on the merits of the Ukrainian issue itself.

He called on dropping the Cold War mentality, attaching importance and respecting the legitimate security concerns of various countries and forming a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation.

The Chinese side supports the Russian side in solving the issue through negotiation with the Ukrainian side, Xi said, adding that China has been consistent in its basic position on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and abiding by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

China is ready to work with members of the international community to embrace the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and firmly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, Xi said.

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Xi speaks to Putin, calls for negotiation with Ukraine - Macau Business

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow the government whose leaders he described as terrorists and a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.

Putin also accused Ukrainian nationalists of deploying heavy weapons in residential areas of major cities to provoke the Russian military, a claim that could fuel fears Moscow is creating pretexts for justifying civilian casualties.

In a televised address, he urged the Ukrainian military to take power in your own hands.

It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis, he said, referring to the leadership in Kyiv under President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish.

Putin, who on Thursday ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine, claimed that Ukrainian nationalists were preparing to deploy multiple rocket launchers to residential areas of Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

Ukraines leadership are acting like terrorists all over the world: they are hiding behind people in the hope of then blaming Russia for civilian casualties.

It is known for a fact that this is happening on the recommendation of foreign consultants, primarily American advisers, Putin said.

Separately, Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the alleged deployment: We consider the situation to be extremely dangerous.

Putin and top Russian officials have said Moscows troops are only targeting ultra-nationalists in Ukraine.

Putin also praised Russian troops saying they were acting in a courageous and professional manner.

They are successfully solving the most important task of ensuring the security of our people and our Fatherland, Putin said.

On a conference call to reporters, Peskov accused the Ukrainian authorities of refusing to hold talks with Russians in Belarus, as was previously suggested by Moscow.

After a brief pause Ukrainians said they now want to go to Warsaw, Peskov said. And now they have gone incommunicado.

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Putin calls on Ukraine army to remove leadership in Kyiv - Macau Business

A total of 25 financial institutions have received feedback as the result of the eighth-round disciplinary inspection launched by the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

From Feb. 22 to 24, these financial institutions, including financial regulators, banks, stock exchanges and asset-management companies, were given one-on-one feedback by the 15 inspection teams deployed to conduct the mission and were informed of the prominent issues found during the process.

China has launched stringent crackdowns on financial corruption, and effectively forestalled and defused major financial risks. Its financial sector has achieved new progress, noted the feedback.

However, a range of issues, such as a lack of adequate political consciousness, risk awareness and resolve to push financial reform, and activities violating frugality rules, still remained in these institutions, the feedback pointed out.

Efforts are demanded to conduct thorough examinations on relevant risks while remedying the issues found in the inspection, and shielding the stable financial landscape, said the feedback.

Urging efforts to build a long-term mechanism for the implementation of inspection results, the feedback stressed that remediation efforts should also be combined with financial reform, and boost the high-quality development of the sector.

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25 financial institutions receive disciplinary inspection feedback - Macau Business

The Macau government raked in gaming tax of MOP$33.91 billion (US$4.22 billion) in 2021, according to details published by theFinancial Services Bureau.

The figure represents a 13.8% increase over the MOP$29.81 billion (US$3.73 billion) collected in 2020, although it falls well short of the MOP$50 billion (MOP$6.22 billion) the government had originally estimated under its annual budget for the year.

The annual budget for 2022 predicts gaming tax of MOP$49.76 billion (US$61.93 billion), with the government having collected gaming tax of MOP$3.26 billion (US$405.7 million) in January, up 1.5% year-on-year.

The final gaming tax figure for 2021 comes after the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau previously announced full year gross gaming revenue of MOP$86.86 billion (US$10.82 billion), representing a 43.7% improvement on 2020 but down 70.3% compared with 2019.

GGR was negatively impacted by ongoing border restrictions impacting visitation from mainland China. The 2021 visitor tally of 7,705,943 was still 80.0% lower than in 2019.

Gaming revenue was also impacted by Chinas crackdown on cross-border gambling activities which ultimately saw Suncity Group shut down its junket business following the arrest of CEO Alvin Chau in late November. Tak Chuns Levo Chan was also detained in January, with analysts predicting GGR from the VIP sector will fall significantly in 2022.

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Macau gaming tax climbs 13.8% to almost MOP$34 billion in 2021 - IAG - Inside Asian Gaming

KOTA BHARU: A businessman in his 20s from Machang was duped out of RM140,679 by Macau Scam syndicate members posing as Telekom Malaysia (TM) staff and police officers.

Kelantan police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Shafien Mamat said the victim received a phone call from a person posing as TM staff on Feb 11, claiming that the victim's identity had been used to register a line used in cyber crime cases before being connected to two suspects posing as police officers with the ranks of Sergeant and Inspector.

The victim was deceived into believing that a further probe by 'police' found that he was also involved in a money laundering case involving an investment syndicate where RM400,000 from the victims account was transferred to an individual's bank account.

"The victim denied his involvement was advised to seek the help of ACP Datuk Mohd Fazley who promised to help the victim who was also instructed to submit internet banking details such as username and password as well as ATM card and TAC numbers, said DCP Shafien in a statement on Monday (Feb 21).

DCP Shafien said the victim was also tricked into revealing his mothers bank account, purportedly to assist the investigation to confirm her involvement in investment and money laundering.

"The victim found that 15 transactions amounting to RM140,679 were made from both his and his mothers account between Feb 11 to 15 without their knowledge," said DCP Shafien.

"The suspects claimed that the money was temporarily transferred to Bank Negara for investigation and would be returned, causing the victim to feel suspicious when the suspect advised him to apply for a bank loan, he added, saying that the victim lodged a police report on Feb 15 and the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

"I would like to remind the public to be more vigilant when it comes to Macau Scam syndicates which are constantly changing their characters by impersonating officials from banks, Inland Revenue Board, and courts, he said.

The term Macau Scam was coined because it is believed that it originated from Macau or that the first victims came from there. This has never been confirmed.

The scam often starts with a phone call from someone pretending to be an officer from a bank, government agency or debt collector.

The scammer will then claim that the potential victim owes money or has an unpaid fine, often with a very short window of less than an hour, to settle the payment or face dire consequences.

These unsuspecting victims will then be asked to make payments to get them off the hook. - Bernama

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Machang businessman cheated of RM140,000 in Macau Scam - The Star Online