Kapok | Accountable responsibility

For any political leader, probing the hearts and minds of constituents is of utmost importance, whatever the political regime. In a democratic setting, elected officials have learned to engage at

Friday, August 21, 2015 – edition no. 2383

* IFT President | Macau needs hospitality graduates to fill jobs in Cotai * 2015 food festival to cost over mop10 million * HK food critic Walter Kei unveils photo exhibition * Tianjin

OnHub | New route for Google

* Movies: Fantastic Four * Books: In the Dark Places by Peter Robinson * Music: Wild Ones by Kip Moore * Wine: The Sub-Alpine Secret * Food: Tempted To Wine And Dine   DOWNLOAD

Nothing remotely fantastic about ‘Fantastic Four’

I'll admit it. About an hour into "Fantastic Four," the inexplicably plodding and dreary new attempt to adapt the beloved Marvel story, I started thinking about Ethan Hunt from "Mission:

‘In the Dark Places’ has solid, multilayered plot

Peter Robinson's intelligent series about Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks deftly explores contemporary issues that by their nature often take place in the urban areas of Yorkshire, England, with the

Kip Moore explores gray areas on ‘Wild Ones’

Of all the backward-ball cap-wearing male country singers, Kip Moore takes the dirt road less traveled. The songs on his debut album tended to search his soul. But on "Wild Ones,"

News of the World | Google heads down new path with ‘OnHub’ wireless router

Google is making a Wi-Fi router as part of its ambition to provide better Internet connections that make it easier for people to access its digital services and see more

The Sub-Alpine Secret

Sandwiched between Burgundy and Switzerland, Jura is perhaps France’s best-­kept vinous secret, one with idiosyncratic character and Byzantine complexity. Named after the Jura Mountains, it refers to both the département

Food | Tempted to Wine and Dine

Renowned for its superb continental cuisines, Temptations has employed a European garden theme for its interior design. The gentle yet striking vine lighting installation in the center of the room

Shopping |Dress like a Princess

Korean style and cosmetics are all the rage these days. Obsessed with youth, Koreans have the audacity to wear colorful clothes and are not afraid of plastic surgery. For girls

The Buzz | UN warns of risk of Israeli-Palestinian escalation

The U.N. political chief says the risk of escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “is palpable.” Jeffrey Feltman told the U.N. Security Council yesterday that the past month has seen “unconscionable crimes

Els and Hend to compete for Venetian Macao Open title

Four-time Major champion Ernie Els and six-time Asian Tour winner Scott Hend have confirmed their return to the Macau Golf & Country Club to compete for the Venetian Macao Open

World Briefs

CHINA A U.N. human rights expert has criticized China for its lack of transparency in handling a chemical blast in Tianjin. Baskut Tuncak says the disaster might have been prevented

Sands China applies for deadline extension | Company still committed to open Parisian in 2016

Sands China Ltd has applied for a deadline extension to complete The Parisian Macao, according to an interim report filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week. “We have applied

Grant Bowie says MGM Cotai opening on schedule

MGM China’s resorts in the Cotai Strip will be opening in the fourth quarter of next year as scheduled, according to Grant Bowie, the group’s CEO and executive director, who

FT report | V-shaped gaming recovery unlikely, Daiwa says

One of the most bearish analysts on Macau just got even more pessimistic. Daiwa said it now predicts gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Macau to fall by 34 per cent this

Galaxy earnings plunge 46 pct on downturn, costs of new casinos

Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. reported second-quarter earnings plunged 46 percent on higher operation cost from its new casino resorts and amid a declining market in the city’s gambling industry. Adjusted earnings

Junior training program nurtures future lion dancers

Over 40 minors have completed MGM Macau’s first lion dancing training program. They received their certificates yesterday afternoon at the casino after almost two months of training. The first-ever “Junior Lion

DSEJ grants scholarships to encourage students majoring in Education

Aiming to cultivate more outstanding local teachers and to build a stronger teaching staff for Macau, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) has decided to continue its funding schemes

Rosário says authorities too optimistic when estimating public works completion

The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo Rosário, apologized on air during yesterday’s TDM talk show to residents who had purchased pre-sale flats for the uncompleted Ilha Verde public

Foreign labor falls in June

Macau received fewer migrant workers in June than in May, the Labour Affairs Bureau revealed yesterday in its reply to lawmaker Lei Cheng I’s written enquiry. Earlier, Lei had stated

Prof. Rui Martins to head Architecture and Engineering Committee

Mr Martins holds a degree in Engineering, as well as master’s and PhD in the same field. Local architect Eddie Wong, who was awarded the design project for Macau’s second public

Corporate Bits | anthony cabot calls for frank talk at macao tourism and culture summit 2015

Legal luminary Anthony Cabot, a member of the Advisory Board for The Macao Tourism and Culture Summit 2015 at the Macao Gaming Show, has called for frank talk about Macau

Markets | Asian stocks fall as oil’s decline signals slowing China economy

Asian stocks fell a fourth day as a deepening commodities selloff raised concern growth may be slowing in China, and as investors await clues from the Federal Reserve on the

Chinese group Anbang Insurance offers 3.5b euros to buy Novo Banco

The group was selected by the Bank of Portugal for final negotiations in the process of selling Novo Banco, the bank that inherited the healthy business activity of Banco Espírito

Ship loading times in Maputo, Mozambique, reduced to two and a half days

The Maputo Port Development Corporation (MPDC) plans to reduce the time it takes to load a 40,000 ton ship at the port to two and half days, said operations manager

Stock volatility rattles investors

China’s volatile stock market is taking shareholders on a white-­knuckle ride, threatening to drive out the small investors Beijing hopes will help pay for reforms of state industry. After falling 6.1

Hong Kong | Pro-democracy students charged a year after Occupy protests

The Reuters news agency has reported that two key figures in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement have been charged with illegal assembly almost a year after students staged huge democracy protests

Gov’t to give tax breaks to more small companies as growth slows

China will provide tax breaks to more small companies as policy makers seek ways to spur domestic consumption and boost an economy growing at the slowest pace in more than

State media: Tianjin firm used connections for hazmat permit 

The son of a former police chief is one of two silent owners of the warehouse for hazardous materials in Tianjin where explosions killed at least 114 people, and used

Shanghai-led group starts work to lift sunken S. Korea ferry

A Chinese-led consortium began preliminary work yesterday to salvage a South Korean ferry that sank last year, killing more than 300 people, officials said. South Korea awarded a USD73 million contract

Congestion | Asia’s ‘infrastructure gap’ threatens to hamper growth

Looking out at bumper-to-bumper Monday morning traffic crawling along the Philippine capital’s main avenue, taxi driver Ranilo Banez shook his head in frustration. Congestion has gotten so bad as the economy

Thailand | Police chief says Bangkok bombing carried out by ‘a network’

Thailand’s national police chief said yesterday that a deadly bombing at a central Bangkok shrine was carried out by “a network,” as police released a sketch of the man they

Syria | Islamic State beheads leading antiquities scholar in Palmyra

Islamic State militants beheaded one of Syria’s most prominent antiquities scholars in the ancient town of Palmyra, then hung his body from one of the town’s Roman columns, Syrian state

Greek financial crisis | German parliament overwhelmingly approves third bailout

Germany’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a third bailout for Greece yesterday, removing a key hurdle to providing new loans to the country and keeping it from defaulting on its debts in as little

MACAU DAILY TIMES