Briefs | Work accident leads  to power blackout,  two injured

Two workers accidentally damaged an electric cable in the construction site of a shopping mall in the Nam Van area. Both men involved are non resident workers and suffered multiple injuries which left one of them unconscious. Following a malfunction in a nearby power substation, buildings surrounding the area were affected by a power blackout which lasted few minutes.

Boats collide in mainland sea area

Two boats crashed into each other in the vicinity of Ponte de Sai Van in the early evening on Tuesday. According to a report by  Jornal Cheng Pou, the accident occurred in an area under mainland China’s administration. One of the boats was carrying sand while the cargo of the other is unknown as it left the scene after the accident. Macao Customs Services and Macau’s Marine and Water Bureau received reports after the accident and sent staff to rescue two sailors who fell into the water. No injuries or deaths have been reported. Zhuhai water authority is now dealing with the aftermath of the accident.

Foreign exchange reserves dip

The preliminary estimate of Macau’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP154.4 billion (USD19.33 billion) at the end of October 2016, according to data released by the Monetary Authority of Macao. The reserves at the end of October had decreased by 0.3 percent month-to-month from the revised value of MOP154.9 billion in September. The ratio of foreign exchange reserves to circulating currency at the end of October remained virtually unchanged, at 12 times the currency in circulation. Also announced in yesterday’s data was the trade-weighted effective exchange rate for the pataca, which rose 1.15 points compared with September and 1.52 points year-on-year to 106.91. Overall, this implies that the exchange rate of the pataca advanced against the currencies of Macau’s major trading partners.

First week of street performance scheme with positive results

A total of 35 people were given approval from the Cultural Affairs Bureau’s (IC) street performance scheme to showcase their talent at Fortaleza do Monte, at Anim’Arte Nam Van and at Casas-Museu da Taipa, according to a notice published by the IC. The 35 applications involved 31 performances, six visual-arts displays, and four handcrafts displays; some of the applicants applied for more than one category. During last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, five people performed at Casas-Museu da Taipa. IC claims that the scheme has shown positive effects in the first week, and that both the artists and the audiences applauded the scheme.