Category Archives: Macau

Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing

SIBU (Jan 3): Dudong assemblyman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said more scam victims have come forward after he had recently exposed a Macau scam cheating case.

In a press statement, he said the victims here could have lost tens of millions of ringgit in losses to the scam.

This is a grave matter beyond our imagination. Although the victims have all lodged police reports, the cases have ended up nowhere.

I call on the police, particularly officers in the commercial crime unit, to leave no stone unturned in their investigation to calm down the public who are gripped by fear of the scam, he said.

Tiong added he had his statement recorded by police to help in the investigation of cases linked to Macau scams.

He said the police are answerable to the people, while claiming that Sibu has become a hotbed for Macau scam cases.

Therefore, there is a need for the police to handle these cases with top priority.

They must employ theAnti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001to immediately freeze bank accounts of the criminals and to probe the source of their income.

When a person opens a bank account, he has to furnish particulars such as his name and identity card.

Therefore, the police must probe to find out where the scammed amount has gone to, and not to drag their feet in their probe.

In the end, this only causes the victims to suffer heavy losses, he added.

According to Tiong, many individuals had posted messages in his Facebook account, expressing regret of the weakness of the police.

He said some victims did not want to lodge police reports as they believed their cases would end up nowhere.

I feel there must be a change in the police attitude. I have furnished all details concerning the scam cases to the police, including the messages I received from members of the public.

I hope the people will also cooperate fully with the police. Stand up courageously and lodge your reports. Let the police have more clues in their probes to rope in the scammers.

If we adopt such couldnt care less attitude, Sibu will become a hotbed for the scammers to increase their criminal activities here.

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Tiong: 'More coming forward after I exposed Macau scam case in Sibu' - The Borneo Post

China wants to use the Beijing Winter Olympics to showcase its green credentials but there are concerns over the environmental cost of a Games relying on artificial snow in one of the driest places in the country.

It is difficult to independently verify Beijings claims around the Games, which begin on February 4, and environmentalists told AFP they fear a backlash from authorities if they analyse Beijings green targets.

This is what we know:

What is China promising?

China has pledged to power the Games using only wind, hydro and solar energy despite relying on coal to power nearly two-thirds of its economy.

The city of Zhangjiakou, one of the three Olympic hubs, has installed wind farms spanning hundreds of acres that can produce 14 million kilowatts of electricity similar to the power Singapore can produce.

Authorities have also covered mountain-sides with solar panels that they say will generate another seven million kilowatts.

The Beijing Olympics organising committee told AFP that China built a dedicated power plant that takes on power generated from renewable sources, stores it and transmits it to all venues.

This should ensure uninterrupted power supply, it said.

But Chinas economy has relied on decades of coal-fuelled growth and is still building more coal-fired power plants than the rest of the world combined.

Will smog affect the Games?

In an attempt to clear Beijings notoriously smoggy skies before the Olympics, coal stoves in 25 million householdsin northern China were replaced with gas or electric.Tens of thousands of factories were also fined for exceeding emissions limits.

Steel plants around Beijing have also been ordered to cut production by half.

The number of heavily polluted days in the Chinese capital fell to 10 in 2020 compared to 43 in 2015, according to the environment ministry but the citys air quality still regularly exceeds World Health Organization standards.

A 2015 assessment by Greenpeace said that the biggest lesson from the 2008 Olympic Games (also in Beijing) has been the realisation that merely moving dirty industries from Beijing to neighbouring provinces does not bring lasting air-quality improvements.

What about transport?

Some 655 hydrogen buses will be used to transport athletes and officials during the Winter Games, state news agency Xinhua said.

Organisers said 85 percent of vehicles used for the Games will run on either electricity or hydrogen.

Given that only domestic spectators will be allowed to attend due to the pandemic and even those numbers look like being very limited flight emissions are likely to be lower than the average Olympics.

The coronavirus has also greatly reduced the number of international flights to China.

Where will snow come from?

The events in the parched mountains of Zhangjiakou and Yanqing, north of Beijing, will completely rely on man-made snow.

Artificial snowhas been used to varying degrees since the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.

China estimates it will need around 49 million gallons of water to make artificial snow for events such as skiing and snowboarding, according to a 2019 blueprint by the countrys national economic planner.

The water would come from reservoirs in Zhanjiakou, but would account for less than one percent of the water supply of the city, a member of the Beijing Olympics organising committee told state-run Global Times.

So-called snow-makers say the water used to make snow contains no chemical additives and when it melts the water will naturally re-enter the soil.

How viable are winter sports?

The city of Beijing is extremely water-stressed, with 185 cubic metres of water per person per annum for its 21 million inhabitants less than a fifth of the supply needed per UN standards.

When China won the bid to host the Olympics, one of the key propaganda lines was that it would help put 300 million people on the ice.

But environmentalists say promoting winter sports that rely on artificial ice and snow could worsen the water woes.

Carmen de Jong, of the University of Strasbourg, said:To have Games in a site or region without snow is unsustainable since it is water- and energy-intensive, damages soil health and causes erosion.

To create events without the primary resource it depends on is not only unsustainable, its irresponsible.

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Will Beijing's 'green Olympics' really be green? - Macau Business

The hunt began even as the smoke was still clearing on January 6: dozens of federal agents went to work sifting through social media posts, analyzing scores of videos and analyzing anonymous tips as they scrambled to understand who did what that day in the temple of American democracy.

The effort represents one of the largest investigations the FBI has ever conducted, said Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

These extraordinary efforts have resulted, in less than a year, in the arrest and charging of more than 725 Donald Trump supporters who, after listening to the outgoing president repeatedly denounce what he claimed was a stolen election, stormed into the Capitol building as members of Congress were poised to certify the victory of Joe Biden.

That list has grown almost by the day, and it could ultimately double in length: while federal investigators originally estimated that 800 people took part in the siege of the Capitol, they now say the number is closer to 2,000.

The accused are predominantly men (87 percent), most of them white, and with an average age of 39 which is generally not the age of extremists, according to Vidino, whose center has compiled detailed data on those charged.

They come from across the United States, with varied socioeconomic profiles (including lawyers, landscapers, real estate agents); and those with military backgrounds or who have faced bankruptcy are significantly overrepresented.

The varied group includes far-right extremists and the conspiracy-minded, but also ordinary supporters of Trump convinced by his insistent claims that the election was stolen.

Most of the accused are not charged with any violence or vandalism but merely with having illegally entered the building; they generally face only misdemeanor charges of trespassing or disorderly conduct on restricted grounds.

Prosecutors appear eager to process members of the group as quickly as possible, often through plea bargain agreements that avoid the need for trial: 165 of the accused have already reached such agreements, and some 50 have been sentenced.

Most of those sentences have been relatively light: one young man, who admitted having stolen a beer from the office of House speaker Nancy Pelosi, was sentenced to 20 days in prison, to be served on weekends allowing him to keep his job.

But 34-year-old Jacob Chansley, who became instantly famous after pictures of him standing shirtless and wearing a horned fur hat inside the Capitol circulated worldwide, received a more serious sentence of 41 months.

His lawyer Al Watkins says the sentencing gap sends the wrong message. That perspective does not look right for those who believe that they are political prisoners, he told AFP.

The longer sentences are just beginning to be handed down, against those accused of the most serious crimes: the approximately 225 individuals accused of acts of violence, notably against Capitol police.

The heaviest sentence so far has gone to Robert Palmer, a 54-year-old Florida man accused of attacking police with boards and a fire extinguisher. He received a five-year sentence.

Some 40 people are being charged with criminal conspiracy, which implies a pre-organized attack.

This serious charge has been levied primarily against members of far-right groups like the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters.

These defendants, some of whom have been held in preventive detention for months, are expected to face jury trials beginning as soon as February.

One member of the Proud Boys, a New York man in his 30s, has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for a lighter sentence.

So far, no one is being accused of sedition or insurrection serious charges mentioned early in the investigation but which are difficult to prove.

Vidino said prosecutors have been trying to be as imaginative as possible in framing charges. In the United States, he noted, investigators can pursue foreign extremist groups but not American organizations that may have radical or violent ideologies.

A key question remains: Who, among key figures not at the Capitol building that day, may have incited or orchestrated the assault. For now, investigators are leaving that matter up to the members of Congress pursuing their own investigation.

Even if Republican senators saved Trump from conviction in his impeachment trial in February, he is not yet in the clear.

The House of Representatives created a select committee to cast light on the role of the former president and his advisors. If it finds sufficient grounds, nothing would prevent prosecutors from filing charges.

And that would open a weighty new chapter in the already sprawling investigation.

by Charlotte PLANTIVE

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After the US Capitol riot, a sprawling inquiry continues to grow - Macau Business

A record number of women are due to make up the next Dutch government after the incoming coalition published its list of ministers and secretaries of state on Sunday.

An unprecedented 14 of the 29 ministers and secretaries of state will be women, including 10 of the 20 ministers.

The four-party coalition will be sworn in on January 10 after reaching a deal in December a record 271 days after elections in March handing Prime Minister Mark Rutte a fourth term in office.

Previous finance minister and centre-right leader Wopke Hoekstra, known for his hawkish stance on spending, will become foreign minister. Former foreign minister Sigrid Kaag will replace him in the exchequer brief.

The finance ministers appointment is closely watched as the Netherlands is seen as one of the European Unions frugal four member states alongside Austria, Denmark and Sweden that clash with other nations over the EUs budget.

Ernst Kuipers, who was responsible for moving coronavirus patients around the country, will replace Hugo de Jonge as health minister.

Continued here:

New Dutch government to have record number of women - Macau Business

A major coalition of Malian political parties on Sunday rejected the military-dominated governments plan for a transition lasting up to five years before the country returns to democratic rule.

The army has dominated landlocked and conflict-wracked Mali since August 2020, carrying out two coups and postponing elections it had previously committed to hold next month.

Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop submitted the new plans to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Saturday, following a national reform conference boycotted by political parties and social organisations.

The plans are for a five-year prolongation of the transition period, starting from January 1.

The coalition, representing around 10 parties, said the timetable violates the transition charter, has not been discussed in Mali and cannot in any way be the deep desire of the Malian people.

Consequently, the group rejects this unilateral and unreasonable timetable, it added in a statement.

Coalition spokesman Sekou Niame Bathily told AFP the parties dissassociate themselves from the military governments plan and want to proceed with quickly organising elections.

ECOWAS, which has threatened to impose sanctions on Malis ruling junta for postponing the elections, will hold an extraordinary summit on Mali in Ghanas capital Accra on January 9.

Colonel Assimi Goita has led Mali since an August 2020 coup ousted former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, after weeks of street protests over perceived corruption and Keitas handling of a bloody jihadist insurgency.

Under pressure from France and Malis neighbours, Goita pledged that Mali would return to civilian rule in February after holding presidential and legislative elections.

But he staged a de facto second coup in May 2021, forcing out an interim civilian government and disrupting the timetable.

The junta cited persistent insecurity in Malis restive north in its decision to postpone the elections.

Two-thirds of the countrys territory is out of the governments control as self-defence militias and armed men affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State group mete out violence on civilians and soldiers.

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Mali parties reject army's five-year democratic transition - Macau Business

*By Therese Tu

The SARs Monetary Authority (AMCM) in an announcement today (Wednesday) it requested Bluemount Financial Group Limited (Bluemount Financial) to submit a written reply regarding the suspicion of illegally operating securities transactions amounting to nearly 120 million Hong Kong dollars for a year.

In the announcement, AMCM stated that they believe there are strong indications that Bluemount Financial engaged in financial intermediary activities, including investment transactions in bonds, stocks, funds and other kinds of securities without permission from December 2019 to November 2020, seeking customers and signing contracts with them in Macau with a total of 119,180,000 HK dollar investment.

According to relevant financial laws, the maximum fine for this act could be twice the benefit illegally obtained.

Bluemount Financial was established in Macau with two Hong Kong residents in charge of its business.

On April 8, 2020, AMCM announced that Bluemount Financial has never been granted a license to engage in any financial activities in the SAR.

According to Article 2 Paragraph 1 of the Macau Financial System Act, only licensed financial institutions can engage in financial activities in Macau. Any person or entity that engages in financial activities without permission would constitute particularly serious violation of the law referred in Article 122, paragraph 2, subparagraph b of the Macau Financial System Act and can be fined up to MOP 5 million.

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AMCM urges brokerage firm to respond over HKD120 million unlicensed transactions - Macau Business

*By Therese Tu

Zhuhais Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to exceed 370 billion RMB by the end of 2021 with government future plans to boost the citys GDP to 600 billion RMB in the next five years, according to a recent announcement made in the Ninth Congress of the Communist Party of China in Zhuhai.

The figure accounts for a 6 per cent increase over 2020.

In 2021, the citys GDP rises to the sixth place in Guangdong province, with the per capita GDP reaching to the standard of high-income economy, Secretary of Zhuhai Municipal Party Committee Lv Yuyin stated.

In the next five years, the Zhuhai government expects to boost the citys GDP to 600 billion RMB.

In the same congress, Zhuhai government proposed to vigorously develop the real economy, advanced manufacturing, information technology industry, new energy industry, biomedicine-based health industry, cosmetics-based fine chemical industry, smart home appliance industry, marine equipment, port logistics, and digital economy .

Also, Zhuhai authorities proposed to fully support the construction of Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone Hengqin, lead the development of the cooperation between Zhuhai and Macau and deepen the collaboration between the Greater Bay Area cities.

Mr Lv said that Zhuhai will make efforts to innovate customs entry arrangements and make good use of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, to promote the policies of Macau vehicles northward and Hong Kong vehicles northward.

Zhuhaialso hopes to build the city into an important transportation hub in the Greater Bay Area, accelerating the establishment of an international port at Zhuhai Airport, the construction of the citys second airport and the construction of the third phase of the Gaolan Port Container Terminal.

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Zhuhai GDP set to expand by 6 per cent in 2021 - Macau Business

Cabo Verde registered 172 people infected with the new coronavirus responsible for theCovid-19 pandemic in the last 24 hours, the highest daily record since May, according to data released by theministry ofhealth.

The archipelagos virology laboratories have processed 1,366 samples since Monday also a multi-month high with an overall positivity rate for the new coronavirus of 12.6%.

The previous maximum number of new daily cases had been recorded on 28 May (183 newly infected).

CaboVerde has returned to contingency status in the face of increased cases ofCovid-19, banning New Years Eve parties in the streets, the prime minister announced.

It is for the good of everyones health. Itis for the good of protecting employment, income and economic activity that the government is taking these measures, in the conviction that if we do not act now, it will be worse for everyone, Ulisses Correia e Silva said during a message to the country from the Government Palace in Praia, in which he announced the new measures.

Cabo Verde has had atotal of 39,345 cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2 since 19 March 2020 (when the first infected person was diagnosed in the archipelago), spread across all 22 municipalities of the nine inhabited islands, according to data from the ministry of health.

Covid-19 has caused more than 5.40 million deaths worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest report by Agence France-Presse.

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Cabo Verde: Highest number of daily infections since May - Macau Business

In his message for the New Year, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged everyone to strive for recovery that benefits people, the planet, and prosperity.

The world welcomes 2022 with our hopes for the future being tested by deepening poverty and worsening inequality an unequal distribution of COVID vaccines climate commitments that fall short, and by ongoing conflict, division, and misinformation, lamented the top UN official.

These are not just policy tests, but moral and real-life tests, he added.

Yet, these are tests that everyone can pass if we commit to making 2022 a year of recovery for all, said the secretary-general.

Guterres then outlined how recovery should be carried out on each front.

It is imperative that every person be vaccinated against the pandemic, he said.

As for the economic recovery, the UN chief emphasized that wealthier countries must support the developing world with financing, investment, and debt relief.

Meanwhile, to heal the wounds of mistrust and division, he affirmed that a renewed focus should be placed on science, facts, and reason.

While conflict resolution calls for a renewed spirit of dialogue, compromise, and reconciliation, restoring the planet requires climate commitments that parallel the scale and urgency of the crisis, said Guterres.

Furthermore, the UN chief noted that moments of great difficulty can also be moments of great opportunity to come together in solidarity because they offer the chance to unite behind solutions that can benefit all people. And to move forward together, with hope in what our human family can accomplish.

Together, lets make recovery our resolution for 2022, concluded the secretary-general. I wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year.

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UN chief urges that recovery be resolution for 2022 - Macau Business

Omicron still poses very high risk and could overwhelm healthcare systems, the WHO warned on Wednesday, as the highly transmissible coronavirus variant fuelled record outbreaks in many countries.

Case numbers have shot up 11 percent globally in the last week, forcing governments from China to Germany and France to find a difficult balance between anti-virus restrictions and the need to keep economies and societies open.

The Netherlands and Switzerland said Omicron had become the dominant strain in their countries,andwhile some studiessuggested it causes milder Covid-19, the World Health Organization urged caution.

The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high, the UN health agency said in its Covid-19 weekly epidemiological update.

Consistent evidence shows that the Omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling time of two to three days.

The WHO said early data from Britain, South Africa, and Denmark which currently has the worlds highest rate of infection per person suggested there was a reduced risk of hospitalisation for Omicron compared with Delta.

But it added that further data was needed to understand Omicrons severity.

And despite those studies, Omicrons rapid growth will still result in large numbers of hospitalisations, particularly amongst unvaccinated groups, and cause widespread disruption to health systems and other critical services, warned WHO Europes Covid Incident Manager Catherine Smallwood.

Painful restrictions

Europe was again one of the hotspots for the pandemic, which is known to have claimed more than 5.4 million lives around the world.

France, Britain, Greece and Portugal all reported record daily case numbers on Tuesday. France reported almost 180,000 infections over 24 hours.

To hold back the tide, many nations on the continent have brought back curbs with heavy economic and social consequences.

Contact restrictions were in place in Germany for the second year in a row heading into the New Year, as Europes biggest economy shut nightclubs and forced sports competitions behind closed doors.

It also limited private gatherings to 10 vaccinated people or two households where any unvaccinated people are present.

Finland on Tuesday said it would bar unvaccinated foreign travellers from entering. Only residents, essential workers or diplomats will be exempt.

The Nordic country, like Sweden, had begun requiring negative tests for incoming non-resident travellers from Tuesday, a day after Denmark applied the same measure.

But the Belgian governments plans to introduce further restrictions were thwarted as a court suspended an order closing entertainment venues.

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had announced the original measure on December 22 as Belgium saw a sharp increase in the percentage of tests showing the Omicron variant.

Travel chaos

The Covid spikes around the world have caused severe disruptions to travel over the holidays, with thousands of flights cancelled worldwide.

They are also threatening sports events again.

Englands top football league is grappling with record cases, while China has imposed strict lockdowns on millions of people to control the spread of the Delta variant ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Mexico Citys mayor on Tuesday cancelled the capitals massive New Years Eve celebrations as a preventative measure after a rise in Covid-19 cases.

The top American sports leagues have also been hit, as the United States battles a surge fuelled by Omicron, as well as large pockets of unvaccinated people and a lack of access to quick and easy testing.

The US Centers for Disease Control has halved the isolation period for asymptomatic cases to try and limit disruptions and mass labour shortages.

President Joe Biden said the United States was generally well prepared, though some hospitals could be overrun.

As New Yorkers marked Good Riddance Day at Times Square burning pieces of paper representing their worst memories of 2021 many just wanted to say goodbye to Covid-19.

I want to get rid of Covid and quarantines, said teacher Robin Myers on Tuesday.

So that my kids can be normal again and see their friends and be out and be social.

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WHO warns of 'very high' Omicron risk as Covid surges worldwide - Macau Business