BRIEFS: EPM launches Open Day

The Portuguese School of Macau (EPM) will be holding an Open Day tomorrow addressing its current student community, prospective students and the public in general, said vice-principal Zélia Mieiro.  The school will be open between 10am and 5pm, with a series of activities planed to capture the attention of different visitors. Ms Mieiro revealed that specific activities were planed for prospective students looking to enroll or know more about the school’s Preparatory Year for foreign students. The Preparatory Year, which was implemented in 2009/2010, is an intensive one-year program comprising mainly of Portuguese classes for foreigners. Ms Mieiro said that two students enrolled in the Preparatory Year, one in elementary and the other already in secondary school, will be sharing their experience with those visiting the school tomorrow.  Other activities include musical and theatre performances, and the inauguration of a rock-climbing wall. Currently, the school has about 557 students from 22 different nationalities.

Mandarin Oriental probes potential credit card breach

Upscale hotel chain Mandarin Oriental says that it is investigating a potential credit card breach at its hotels. “Unfortunately, incidents of this nature are increasingly becoming an industry-wide concern,” the company said in an emailed statement. Mandarin Oriental said that it is cooperating with credit card agencies and forensic specialists.  The company didn’t disclose how many hotels were affected, nor how many customers had reported fraudulent charges on their credit cards. Mandarin Oriental operates hotels across the world, including in Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Prague, Boston, Las Vegas, Macau and Barcelona.