Briefs | UM wins 11 awards for outstanding research

University of Macau (UM) scholars took home 11 awards from the ceremony for the “Fourth Outstanding Achievement Awards for Macao Research in Humanities and Social Sciences,” which took place on Monday. Submissions were made to either the monograph category or the paper category. This year, a total of 293 submissions were received (94 monographs and 199 papers) and 56 of these were rewarded. The 11 awards secured by UM scholars include four first-class awards – two from each of the categories. The award-winning works by UM scholars include “Commercial Arbitration between China and the Portuguese-Speaking World” by Fernando Dias Simões, and “Essays on the History of Macau in the Ming Dynasty” by Tang Kaijian. The event was co-organized by the Macau Foundation, the Guangdong Social Sciences Association, and the Social Sciences in China Press.

Singapore unsure if Madonna set to perform

A wave of confusion recently rocked Singapore’s Madonna fans after the pop queen’s website indicated that an unconfirmed show was to be held in the city-state, according to the Straits Times. Previously, Singapore had not been included in the artist’s tour, which includes Macau. But, according to the news agency, Madonna’s website stated that the 57-year-old singer would hold a concert at Singapore’s National Stadium venue on February 28. IMC Live, the concert promoter encouraging Madonna to perform in Singapore, told the Straits Times that they had no comment to make about the gig. As of press time, The Times    could not locate the Singapore concert on Madonna’s webpage, indicating that the posting may have been removed.

PJ agent arrested in connection to hoax

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has arrested one of its own agents and another suspect after the pair allegedly swindled RMB1.55 million from over 200 mainlanders by offering fake job opportunities.The male suspect, who joined the security force in 1999, organized the scheme with his girlfriend. It was said that, starting in May, the duo began offering jobs to mainland Chinese citizens. The job seekers were asked to pay RMB5,000 in return for jobs earning as much as up to RMB10,000 per month.