Briefs | Macau, Turkey sign air services agreement

The aeronautical authorities of Macau and the Republic of Turkey met in Montreal on Saturday to discuss and sign a bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA). According to the Aviation Authority’s (AACM) statement, the agreement is one of several aimed at encouraging foreign airlines to operate services to and from Macau. During the 39th ICAO Assembly in Montreal, the president of AACM, Simon Chan, and the directorate general of Civil Aviation of Turkey, Bilal Eksi, took the opportunity to sign the agreement on behalf of their governments. The Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Turkey, Ahmet Arslan, attended the signing ceremony. The memorandum of understanding states that the two parties can enjoy multiple designations of airlines, and the designated airlines can enjoy zero capacity restrictions in their operation of scheduled passenger and all-cargo flights.

Local director nominated for Taiwan film awards

“Crash,” a short film by Macau director Hong Heng Fai, has been nominated in the category of Best Live Action Short Film for the 53rd Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. Hong is the first director from Macau to be nominated in this award ceremony. The director, who is currently an independent producer, explained that the movie was entirely filmed in Macau, with all cast and crew members being Macau residents. The movie was supported by the Macao Cultural Centre. The final results will be revealed during the Golden Horse Awards Ceremony, which will take place November 26.

Fake bomb alert at local hotel

Last Wednesday, a mandarin-speaking man reported to the police he had planted a bomb in the lobby of Galaxy JW Marriott hotel. The suspect told the police the bomb would explode 30 minutes after his call. Explosive ordnance disposal officers and the fire squad were sent to the hotel to search for the bomb, but nothing suspicious was found. The police force later confirmed that the man had faked the incident. This information was released to the media more than two hours after the police completed the search. The police authorities have been placed under fire due to delayed reports to the media. However, the police claims that all reporting procedures have been conducted in accordance with the current reporting system. According to the police, the crime scene was not blocked off during the search for the bomb, which proved they evaluated the scene as safe.