Wednesday, April 15, 2015 – edition no. 2291

* New hospital design projects to be concluded by Q3 * Macau GP to have ‘Celebrity Race’ * Region said to be lacking cancer prevention measures * China frees 5 women’s rights activists   DOWNLOAD

Beijing hopes European film buff will raise festival profile

Marco Mueller’s latest of more than 100 trips to China is as general adviser to the fifth Beijing International Film Festival that opens Thursday. The Swiss-Italian’s hiring is part of

Official says PRC may raise damages caps for IP violations

The comments by Lyu Guoqiang, commissioner of Shanghai’s Intellectual Property Office, echo an action plan issued in December by the State Council, China’s top administrative authority, which called for “increasing

Authorities free 5 women’s rights activists after month detention

Chinese authorities have released five women’s rights campaigners whose detentions for more than a month sparked an international outcry and underscored the government’s tight restrictions on independent social activism. The women

Amid tensions, Li meets Japan delegation

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met yesterday with a Japanese delegation led by ex-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, amid halting efforts to reduce lingering tensions between the countries before this year’s

South Korea | Visiting empty desk of ferry victim helps mom cope

Once or twice a week, a mother’s ritual begins. Shin Jumja applies pink lipstick and face powder, gets in her car and drives to the high school her oldest son attended

Japan | Court rejects bid to restart of 2 nuclear reactors

A court issued an injunction yesterday ordering two nuclear reactors in western Japan to stay offline, rejecting regulators’ safety approval for the facility ahead of their planned restart later this

Australia | Gov’t to withhold payments from parents against vaccine

The Australian government has ramped up pressure on parents who oppose vaccination by threatening to withhold child care and other payments from families that fail to immunize their children. The government

Nigeria | President-elect: Can’t promise to find Chibok girls

On the first anniversary of the kidnapping by Islamic extremists of hundreds of girls from a school in northeast Nigeria, President-elect Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday that he cannot promise to

USA | Ex-guards sentenced for Iraq shootings

Defense lawyers are vowing to appeal the convictions of four former Blackwater security guards after a federal judge handed down lengthy prison terms for their roles in a 2007 shooting

This Day in History: 1986 – US launches air strikes on Libya

Around 66 American jets, some of them flying from British bases launched an attack at around 0100hrs on Monday. The White House spokesman, Larry Speakes, has said that the strike was

Offbeat: Manufacturing firm seeks to build world’s largest surfboard

WPRO-AM reports that Bristol-based mouldCAM is building the board for the Visit Huntington Beach campaign in California, which hopes to break the world record for the most people to catch

Football | Extra Time: Burnley wins admirers, punches above its weight in England

With chimneys rising from the former cotton mills which nestle between tightly-packed houses, Burnley provides a quintessentially English vista for fans at the town’s soccer stadium. From the days Burnley was

Swimming | Michael Phelps returns to pool after suspension

Michael Phelps will compete in his first swim meet this week since returning from a six-month suspension following a second drunken driving arrest. The 18-time Olympic champion is entered in five

World Views: China’s great wall of sand

China is building new harbors and airstrips on various reefs and atolls in the Spratly Islands – facilities that, Beijing confirms, will be used for military as well as civil

The Buzz | Pole challenges anti-immigration UK politician to a duel

An aristocratic Pole has challenged an anti-immigration British politician to a duel. Jan Zylinski, who calls himself a prince, says he’s tired of U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage criticizing eastern

World briefs

CHINA Beijing police have arrested two drivers whose supercars collided during a late-night drag race, in the latest scandal to strike the much-reviled offspring of China’s newly rich. The arrests

Mick Jagger to other bands: Make every show count

The only goal The Rolling Stones have left in their career to rock on till the wheels fall off. “The only goal left is to see how far we can run

Policy Address | Social Affairs and Culture – Alexis Tam: Number of mainland visitors reduced to 21m per year

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, announced yesterday that the Tap Seac neighborhood will be transformed into a cultural hub, with the decrepit Hotel Estoril being revamped

A rosy view of the health sector

During the second half of the debate especially, lawmakers posed several questions about the health system in Macau, in spite of the secretary Alexis Tam not having discussed health issues

Kuok Cheong U appointed as new head of public hospital

has been appointed as the director of the Conde de São Januário Central Hospital and vice president of the Health Bureau, according to an announcement by Alexis Tam during yesterday’s

Gov’t to buy Hengqin land to install social facilities

Alexis Tam indicated that the government has had several meetings with mainland authorities in order to buy land in Hengqin island and set up social services there. The secretary has

Crime | Woman faces prosecution for insulting police officers

The suspect, surnamed Ng, was placed in detention by authorities after her alleged involvement in a fight at the entrance of a karaoke venue. A short time into her stay

Overstaying Vietnamese accused of corruption

An unemployed Vietnamese woman has been sent for prosecution by the police, after allegedly attempting to bribe a police officer in exchange for her release last Saturday. According to the authorities,

More construction works seen as a major reason for fatal accidents

According to the Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL), only two fatal industrial accidents occurred in 2013, whereas the number in 2014 surged to seven. With several large-scale construction projects reaching their

CE to visit Fujian for cooperative talks

He will also visit the provincial capital’s urban planning exhibition pavilion to learn about the city’s plan for future development. The Macau delegation also includes the Secretary for Economy and

DSAT blamed for ‘poor supervision’

A citizen protested at the Trasport Bureau yesterday concerning the death of his daughter, who was run over by a casino shuttle bus three years ago. The father, accompanied by

China’s trade shrinks in sign of economic weakness 

China’s trade contracted in March by an unexpectedly wide margin, adding to expectations that Beijing will launch new stimulus to shore up weakening growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Exports fell 15 percent compared

Hong Kong stocks rally to seven-year high as volatility surges

Hong Kong stocks climbed to the highest level since December 2007 as volatility surged and an unexpected drop in Chinese exports spurred speculation that authorities will increase stimulus to support

Nina Ricci heir convicted of tax fraud after HSBC leaks

The heiress of the fashion and perfume house Nina Ricci was sentenced yesterday to a year in prison and ordered to pay heavy fines and back taxes for having hidden

Corporate Bits | Sands Resorts Cotai Strip Macao brings back ‘Meetings more rewarded’ mice package for second year

Available for a limited time, the Meetings More Rewarded package offers benefits for meeting planners and a choice of three hotels to stay at: The Venetian Macao; Conrad Macao, Cotai

China aims to turn Mozambique into a center for natural gas exploration

Mozambique has one of the world’s largest recently discovered natural gas reserves and is starting to receive the first investments at a time when the difficult economic situation in the

World Bank loan of USD500 million to Angola agreed in May

The World Bank spokesperson said that the finance agreement would be signed on 14 May, a new date after the previous date was missed, depending on the conclusion of the

Briefs | Angola and Beijing implement diplomatic and service visa exemption

The Angolan and Chinese holders of diplomatic and service passports have been exempt from visas, since last Saturday, 11 April, the Angolan embassy in China said in a statement. The

Ex-state oil boss admits graft, power abuse

A top official who led China’s biggest petroleum company and later was assigned to oversee state-owned companies admitted in court yesterday that he was guilty of corruption and abuse of power, the

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