09 Chief Executive succession talk premature

Transcription

Analists comment on Wikicables
Friday 09 September 2011
Chief Executive succession talk premature
Page 36
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Analists comment on Wikicables
Chief Executive succession talk
by Vítor Quintã
and Alexandra Lages
L
Most analysts believe only a catastrophe would stop
Fernando Chui Sai On from securing a second term, which
would make room for other candidates to run in 2019
2019 elections, said Eilo Yu Wing
Yat, a public administration professor at the University of Macau.
“That would mean more time to
increase their political capital
and establish their reputation and
support, both among the elite and
at the grassroots level.”
Chui Sai On’s successor “will
never be anyone close to either
Chui or the local business elite,”
said the international politics expert Arnaldo Gonçalves. “The political situation is mature enough
in Beijing to have a much bigger
say in picking the next Chief Executive.”
Chui again?
Most observers believe Chui Sai
On is sure to run for a second term
at the head of the MSAR in 2014,
just like his predecessor Edmund
Ho Hau Wah.
“That’s what common sense and
past experience tells me,” said former lawmaker Rui Afonso. “Let’s
see if anyone will dare to run
against him,” he added.
Chui Sai On ran unopposed for
the July 2009 elections and “all
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Times
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eaked US diplomatic
cables might discuss possible successors to the current Chief Executive (CE) but local personalities told Macau Daily
Times any talk is for the moment
premature.
Most believe only a catastrophe
would stop Fernando Chui Sai
On from securing a second term,
which would make room for other
candidates to run in 2019.
Although Chui was only swornin in December 2009 a cable sent
from the Consulate General of the
US in Hong Kong to the US Department of State just two months
later already discussed the “next
generation Macau leadership”.
The document said the race to
succeed the current CE is wide
open, an opinion shared by most
personalities who talked to MDTimes.
“Chui Sai On still has three years
ahead so it’s far too early to think
about possible candidates,” said
former lawmaker Jorge Fão. “In
the meantime other people who
are currently not mature enough
leaders might find their way onto
the political radar.”
The president of the Macau
Lawyers Association, Jorge Neto
Valente, downplayed the relevance of the cables released last
week by whistle-blower website
WikiLeaks.
“It has no significance, although
it’s always interesting to know the
analysis that people make at certain moments. The fact is certain
that some analysis is very well
done and others aren’t.”
The cables claim lawmaker Chan
Meng Kam and Executive Council
member Lionel Leong Vai Tac are
the two main candidates.
The president of the Macau Civil
Servants Association and lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho disagrees: “I was surprised to hear
those two names. I think they
have minimal chances in the current electoral structure.”
“Chan Meng Kam has supporters but I don’t know if he has this
ambition” of becoming CE, said
the New Macau Association president, Jason Chao.
The more serious candidates are
likely to put all their chips on the
signs point to” him running again
in three years’ time, said Executive
Council member Leonel Alves.
Arnaldo Gonçalves is more cautious: “We don’t know if he [Chui
Sai On] will run again. He takes
his decisions in a very mature way
and only moves forward when his
mind is perfectly made up. Gonçalves believes a decision will only
be made public in late 2013 or
early 2014.
The US diplomatic cable claims,
“Should Chui fail as CE, he may not
get a second term”. For instance,
Jason Chao recalled, the first chief
executive of HKSAR, Tung Chee
Hwa, resigned just three years
into his second term.
Although Tung said he was stepping down for health reasons, “everyone knows it was due to a loss
of credibility,” said Chao, as Hong
Kong faced a period of high unemployment and deflation.
But with the gaming industry
fuelling an economic boom a similar scenario is “highly unlikely” in
Macau, the pan-democrat admitted. “Beijing will only intervene if
something goes terribly wrong,”
he added.
Chui Sai On’s first term so far
received a positive mark from local personalities. “He has done
an excellent job as the head of the
MSAR,” said Leonel Alves.
Jorge Fão is more lukewarm:
“He could have done more but it’s
not like he has done a bad job. He
has tried to listen to everyone’s
opinion.”
Chui Sai On’s performance “is
ok,” said Eilo Yu Wing Yat. “He
has been able to maintain a stable
society and deal with the circumstances.”
Empty corruption
However, if the CE goes for a
second term, “renewing his team
of secretaries could become an
issue,” said Arnaldo Gonçalves.
“Some have been in place for over
a decade so it’s natural for them
to face a degree of political weariness.”
According to the US cable the biggest threat for Chui Sai On would
be another corruption scandal,
similar to the one that involved
disgraced secretary for Transport
and Public Works, Ao Man Long.
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The impact of such a case “would
greatly depend on whether there
would be direct responsibility
from the Administration. We already had one scandal and nothing
changed,” Rui Afonso stressed.
“Small corruption happens everywhere in the world,” said Jorge
Fão. But the former lawmaker
does not expect to see any more
big corruption scandals because
“Chui [Sai On] himself is much
more cautious and watchful”.
“Macau will not have another
corruption scandal, of that I’m
sure. For Beijing to allow for that
to happen would be to lose all
chances of using the SAR model to
attract Taiwan,” said José Pereira
Coutinho.
The Ao Man Long case was
triggered by investigations conducted outside of the territory,
the former vice-president of the
Macau Cultural Institute, Gary
Ngai, stressed. “And it was Beijing that gave the order to follow
it through,” he added.
Any corruption scandal would
“revive the prospects of Prosecutor General Ho Chio Meng,” which
the US consulate identified as ‘the
sheriff’. But “would he have the
courage to open an investigation
for another case of corruption?”
Gary Ngai questioned.
Unknown sheriff
The July 2009 elections that ultimately saw Chui Sai On run unopposed “was almost a two-man
race. In a popular contest, the
winner would almost undoubtedly have been Prosecutor Ho Chio
Meng,” the US cables claim.
Edmund Ho “was groomed by
both the local elite and the Portuguese Administration for four,
five years to become Chief Executive,” said Arnaldo Gonçalves. On
the contrary “Chui Sai On simply
popped up in the middle of other
possible candidates and it’s still
unclear why all the others gave up.
They must have been pressured to
do so,” he added.
But despite his popularity Ho
Chio Meng remains almost an unknown. According to US cables he
is described as unimpressive by
his staff and as ‘lacking substance’
by academics.
“Honestly I’d rather have an unknown than another familiar face
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2
Times macau
k premature
all chummy with the employers’
lobby,” said José Pereira Coutinho.
“If Macau wants to continue to be
an international, open and transparent city, with the minimum
standards on corruption, it must
nominate a public servant that
clearly dissociates himself from
the business sector,” he said.
But Pereira Coutinho acknowledged that Ho Chio Meng would
find it hard to get the necessary
support from the CE electoral
committee, “unless there was clear
backing from Beijing”.
54-year-old Ho Chio Meng is considered by the US Consulate “too
old” to run for Chief Executive in
2019. Pereira Coutinho disagrees:
“I could see him picking up the Ad-
‘Other people who are
currently not mature
enough leaders might
find their way onto the
political radar
[before 2019]’
Jorge Fão
‘The political
situation is mature
enough in Beijing to
have a much bigger
say in picking the
next Chief Executive’
Arnaldo Gonçalves
ministration and Justice portfolio
in 2014 before running in 2019.”
The Prosecutor General was favoured in 2009 because “he had
privileged personal relations with
some members of the Beijing Politburo,” said Arnaldo Gonçalves.
But the Chinese ruling party is facing major changes in next year’s
elections and “all nine members
of the Politburo could step down,”
he added.
Ho Chio Meng yesterday tried to
downplay the speculation: “The
most important thing right now is
for me to fulfil my job in the best
possible way.” Asked if he would
ever run for CE, he said, “Now is
not the appropriate time to discuss that.”
®
Sure-fire employment
no good for local youth
Local youth are becoming less
smitten with the gaming industry but the lack of competition in
the MSAR labour market remains
a negative factor, experts told
Macau Daily Times.
“In economics, a correct sense
of competition is important,” said
Ricardo Siu Chi Sen, professor of
business economics at the University of Macau.
“Quality of primary and secondary education is important to deliver a right life value system to
the young generation and their
sense of competition,” he added.
The firm restrictions imposed by
the government on imported labour means local workers are just
about guaranteed a job, which
“may indeed have an adverse effect,” Siu said.
‘If Macau wants to be
WikiLeaks ‘has no
an international, open
significance (…).
and transparent city, it
The fact is certain that must
nominate a public
some analysis
servant that clearly
is very well done
dissociates himself from
and others aren’t’
the business sector’
Jorge Neto Valente José Pereira Coutinho.
A senior MGM Macau executive
is quoted in leaked US diplomatic
cables as saying that these restrictions “were ‘dumbing down’
Macau’s young people by generating artificially high wages and
employment opportunities for unskilled residents”.
A senior Wynn Macau executive
agreed: “We’re increasingly being
forced to hire unqualified and unmotivated local workers. Then we
spend lots of money training them,
only to see them perform poorly
and quit after a few months.”
“A bad attitude is a common
weakness among employees in
Macau,” said the leader of the human resources research team of
the Committee for the Economic
Development, Davis Fong Ka Chio
Some staff are still caught up in
the transition between working
for a small and medium enterprise
and “working for a multinational
company, serving thousands of
customers,” he explained.
“It’s a major challenge,” said Fong.
“People need to be prepared to learn
and serve people but with the fast
development companies don’t have
enough time to train them.”
Ricardo Siu believes the territory
would be better off with more nonresident workers. “Maybe we could
look at the experience from Singapore,” he said.
Singapore has been well known
for rolling out the welcome mat for
foreign workers, the numbers of
which rose drastically during the
2004-2007 economic boom.
‘Beijing will only
intervene [in the
MSAR Chief
Executive election]
if something goes
terribly wrong’
Jason Chao
A 2019 bid ‘would
mean more time
to increase their
[candidates’] political
capital and establish
their reputation
and support’
Eilo Yu Wing Yat
‘All sign points
The impact of another
‘Would he [Ho
to Chui Sai On
corruption case ‘would Chio Meng] have
running for a
greatly depend on
the courage to open
second term’ as the whether there would
an investigation
head of the Macau be direct responsibility for another case of
Government
from the Administration’
corruption?’
Leonel Alves
Rui Afonso
Gary Ngai
3
Continues on page 4
‘Now is not the
appropriate
time to discuss
[a possible
bid for Chief
Executive]’
Ho Chio Meng
macau Times
®
In the first half of 2011
‘Many young people ‘People need to be
noticed that when
prepared to learn
the industry’s growth and serve people
slows down they may
but with the fast
face the risk of being
development
unemployed (…) and companies don’t
may hardly be able to have enough time to
find other jobs’
train them’
Ricardo Siu Chi Sen Davis Fong Ka Chio
Sure-fire employment
Continued from page 3
Even though the city-state took
a fresh look at its open-door policy after the 2008 global financial crisis, one third of Singapore’s active population is made
up of non-resident workers.
“Considering the administrative system in Macau, however,
similar measures must be carefully planned and implemented,”
Ricardo Siu stressed.
Illusions gone
According to a cable sent from
the Consulate General of the US
in Hong Kong to the US Department of State in November 2009
a senior MGM executive said the
government’s labour policy is
discouraging local youth from
pursuing higher education.
“Why go to college for years
and then get job offers paying
the same or even less than any
number of unskilled jobs here?”
he questioned, says a document
released last week by whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
Between 2004 and 2007 the
percentage of high school graduates that entered higher education dropped from 80 to 70 percent, said Davis Fong.
This issue was much more significant before 2009, when the
effects of the global financial crisis truly hit Macau, said Ricardo
Siu.
“Many young people noticed
that when the industry’s growth
slows down they may face the
risk of being unemployed,” he
recalled. “And with the skills
learned from the gaming industry, say as dealers, they may
hardly be able to find other jobs,”
the economist emphasised.
“The general public realised
that salaries in the gaming industry are high but part of it is compensation for shift work, which
is a hard thing to do,” said Davis
Fong. In addition, “dealing with
difficult customers can be troublesome for young workers,” as
much as casinos’ “smoke-filled
environment”.
Short sights
But “the problem is still there,”
he added. According to Siu it
mostly affects children who grew
up in families with little education, “which represent a large
proportion in Macau”.
In those families parents usually do not greatly value the
investment in their children’s
education and “they are more
short-sighted when it comes to
income,” he noted.
A government proposal to increase the casino entry age from
18 to 21 is currently under review
at the Legislative Assembly.
When the draft law was presented to lawmakers the secretary for Economy and Finance,
Francis Tam Pak Yuen, acknowledged that, “Some youngsters, as
soon as they reach 18 and finish
high school, immediately look
to the gambling sector for their
first job.”
A higher casino entry age “could
help a bit but may not necessarily resolve the root of the problem,” said Ricardo Siu.
With other secure and well paid
job opportunities still available
in the non-gaming sector, “it
may be difficult to have success
in encouraging their schooling,”
he explained.
The
Administration
also
launched a MOP 5,000 subsidy
for residents to pursue continuing education or higher education courses or certificate/license
exams until the end of 2013.
The amount offered to all residents aged 15 and above “should
be enough,” said Ricardo Siu. But
the programme might still not be
very effective, he admitted.
V.Q.
Over 40 pct of suicide
victims under 34
by Tiago Azevedo
M
acau seems to
have hit a bump
in the road in
terms of suicide prevention, even though
authorities vowed to put more
effort into promoting good
mental health among local
residents.
According to official figures,
42 people committed suicide
in the six months ended June
this year, including a teenager
under 15.
The numbers disclosed on
Wednesday by Domingos Ho
Chi Veng, head of the Mental
Health Commission appointed
by the SAR Government, are
similar to those reported a decade ago.
On average, there were seven
cases of suicide each month
until June 30 this year. Even
though “that is not a sharp increase,” said Ho, Macau recorded 10 more cases than in the
first half of 2010, when 32 people committed suicide in Macau
and two more from the 40 cases
in the same period of 2009.
The official figures also
showed that 42.9 percent of
victims (18) were less than 34
years of age. This year was also
the first time that authorities
reported a case where the suicide victim was less than 15
years old.
In July, a 13-year-old girl
leaped from the 28th floor allegedly because of some school
related problems. Earlier in
the year in April, a 17-yearold boy jumped from a great
height also because of school
related stress.
Between February and June,
five separate incidents of suicide within Macau’s security
forces took place, and more
recently two cases involving
non-locals were reported.
In contrast with last year,
among the 42 suicide victims
in the first half of this year, the
majority (33) were male.
For Professor Chan Kin Sun,
from the University of Macau,
the number of cases in the first
half of this year is already a
“significant increase” from the
previous year.
Chan, who is also an Honorary Fellow in the Centre for
Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong
4
‘In the long run,
our government
needs to carry out
some studies about
Macau’s suicides;
otherwise, we may
not control the
‘worrying’ trend’
Chan Kin Sun
Kong, believes that modernisation “may be the reason behind such an increase”.
“According to Durkheim’s social integration theory and the
experience of developing countries, when the place is facing
a great change, the number of
suicides would increase – due
to higher prevalence rates of
stress, depression and mental
illnesses.”
But there might be other explanations behind these numbers. “Macau has too many
tourists and some of our
tourists are gamblers. I wonder whether the increase in
foreigner suicide cases may
be another reason [which explains these numbers],” Chan
told the Macau Daily Times.
Lack of studies
On Wednesday, the head of
Macau’s Mental Health Commission confirmed that depression and mental disorders
are the two main likely reasons
behind suicides in Macau, but
insisted that the rate in the
territory is not that serious.
“Macau is not a high-risk zone
according to studies done by
local groups,” said the psychiatrist.
However, he admitted that
there is not enough information to clearly identify the reasons behind these suicide cases, especially the ones involving young people, as Macau
lacks a psychological autopsy
service.
On the other hand, there are
no sufficient studies to analyse
the suicide trend in the territory. “There is a lack of relevant
studies to explore the factors
of Macau’s suicide pattern,”
stressed Chan Kin Sun.
“Without such studies, it may
not be easy for our government
to take any relevant measure
to tackle this issue.”
In the meantime, the SAR
government has implemented
some measures, “like outreaching social services and
in-school social services, to
tackle the related issues (youth
suicide), like mental health
and addictive behaviour,” he
said.
The scholar believes Macau’s
trend, although not yet worrying, is similar to most developing regions. Therefore, he
added, “It is reasonable for the
government to study the foreign regions’ experience and
measures, and then determine
Macau’s suicide prevention
programmes.”
“In the long run, our government needs to carry out some
studies about Macau suicide;
otherwise, we may not control
the ‘worrying’ trend.”
Although suicide is a complex
and multi-factorial phenomenon, Ho Chi Veng pledged
the government will disseminate information, improve
education and training, and
decrease stigmatisation, joining with non-governmental
associations to provide better
services for the public.
Tomorrow, Macau will mark
World Suicide Prevention Day,
believing that there are effective ways to fight the increasing number of suicides around
the globe. The theme this year
is ‘Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies’ and the government is urging everyone to
light a candle near a window at
8pm “to show support for suicide prevention, to remember
a lost loved one and for the
survivors of suicide”.
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Judge appointments should
be revised: Neto Valente
by Alexandra Lages
T
he judge appointment system should
be revised in order
to assess professionals’ performance before they become permanent judges in
Macau’s judiciary system,
president of the Macau Lawyers Association, Jorge Neto
Valente, stressed yesterday.
Speaking to reporters on
the sidelines at the swearing-in ceremony of four
judges for the Court of First
Instance (TJB), Neto Valente appeared hesitant facing the fact that one of the
judges, Seng Ioi Man, is only
26-years-old.
“We have to be aware that
we cannot demand wide experience from these young
judges,” Neto Valente said.
“They have been studying
all their lives and we have to
wait for them to get experience,” he added.
“There are other young
judges in Macau courts.
What is wrong in the law is
that they [judges] are appointed on a permanent basis.”
The veteran lawyer also
hinted that there is “discrimination between Chinese and
non-Chinese magistrates”
and suggested adopting the
same mechanism that exists
in the Public Administration
where some people can be
hired with short-term contracts. That, he said, would
allow the appointment of
Four judges of the Lower Court were sworn-in yesterday
judges for just a period of
time. “This will allow us to
assess their performance
[before appointing them
permanently],” he argued.
Neto Valente’s criticism of
the judge assessment system is already well known.
He says the system is included in the law, but it has
been ignored for years. “I’m
just asking to do what the
law says,” he stressed.
In addition, he said the
number of judges in the Final
Appeal Court (TUI) “is not
enough” and suggested Macau
follow Hong Kong’s example
and appoint non-permanent
magistrates for the post,
mainly from other Portuguesespeaking countries.
“There should be more
judges [in the TUI] to allow
a wider debate and a greater
plurality of ideas,” Neto Valente argued.
“With the Common Law,
Hong Kong is allowed to have
non-permanent judges from
common law jurisdictions.
Nothing prevents Macau
from having non-permanent
judges too or just appointing
new ones,” he added.
The Hong Kong Court of
Final Appeal Ordinance provides for a list of non-permanent Hong Kong judges and
a list of judges from other
common law jurisdictions.
Yesterday, five public prosecutors were also swornin on a permanent basis.
Prosecutor General of the
Macau’s Public Prosecutions Office (MP), Ho Chio
Meng, told reporters the five
recruited professionals will
help the office to speed up
the prosecution process in
order to “better address society’s needs”.
However, he also reiterated
that the number of cases have
been growing every year and
hopes that the revision of the
Penal Procedure Code will
bring improvements.
Along the same lines, pres-
ident of the Court of Final
Appeal (TUI), Sam Ho Fai,
said the new judges would
help to alleviate some of the
workload in local courts, in
particular cases related to
juvenile and families. Sam
also admitted there are not
enough judges in Macau to
set up a juvenile court.
‘Huge mistake’
The president of the Macau
Lawyers Association meanwhile strongly criticised the
alleged appointment of the
new head of the University
of Macau’s Law School, who
is likely to come from main-
land China and apparently
has no knowledge of Macau
Law. Neto Valente called it a
“huge mistake” and a “complete nonsense”.
The case was brought to
public attention by the Portuguese-language newspaper Tribuna de Macau last
week, but the university rector, Wei Zhao, did not disclose any information.
According to Neto Valente,
the “local law is a particularity of the Macau identity. It
will be ridiculous [if the appointment is confirmed].
As ridiculous as when some
people think it’s better to
teach law in English because
it is a more widespread language,” he said.
The new head of the Law
School will be selected by
way of an international tender. Knowledge of local law
is not required as an essential requirement. Requirements are knowledge of the
continental European law
or Macau law and holding
a masters degree and having years of experience as a
professor in a renowned university.
Questioned about what
should be introduced in the
revision of Penal Procedure
Code, which is expected to
be launched by the end of
this year, Neto Valente said
“it should not include many
changes”. He only suggested the government should
adapt the code to “today’s
situation”.
The former provisional city hall
broke the law in creating a cemetery
application regulation that seems
“tailor made” to benefit a legal advisor of secretary for Administration
and Justice, Florinda Chan, said the
anti-graft watchdog.
However, in a report released yesterday, the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) acknowledged that
any criminal or disciplinary responsibility has already elapsed.
On December 14, 2001, – just two
weeks before being replaced by the
Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau
– the ‘Câmara Municipal de Macau’
approved an internal regulation allowing for the approval of 10 permanent cemetery applications per year.
City hall immediately opened applications but only for five days, without
informing the public, CCAC wrote.
The regulation should have been
published in the Official Gazette and
in local newspapers, it added.
The corruption watchdog con-
cluded that city hall broke the law by
implementing a regulation whose effects were “not internal” and setting
taxes for cemetery plot rental, despite
not having the power to do so.
On December 21 the city hall approved 10 applications that had
been filed long before the regulation was drawn up. One of them
was the grave of the mother of one
of Chan’s legal advisors, surnamed
Cheang.
‘Câmara Municipal de Macau’
president Sales Marques approved
Cheang’s request despite a recommendation to the contrary from a
subordinate giving no reasons for
the change. The decision should then
have been legally annulled, CCAC
wrote.
“It’s inevitable that one suspects the
approval of these requests was ‘tailor
made’,” the report stresses. CCAC
suspects the approval was done “in
return for benefits in return or by order from above”.
Photo by Manuel Cardoso
Cemetery probe finds
law breach: CCAC
The anti-graft watchdog ‘suspects’ the controversial approval of 10 cemetery applications in 2001 was
‘tailor made’ and done ‘in return for benefits in return or by order from above’
The provisional city hall was under
the supervision of Florinda Chan.
“Considering the individual involved the nature of the case and the
impartiality image that the Administration services must have, the supervisory entity had conditions to take
better measures,” CCAC wrote.
However it would now be useless to
revoke the decision, the report adds,
7
because the cemetery plots are now
occupied and all criminal and disciplinary proceedings have elapsed.
Nonetheless, the document reveals there are ongoing criminal
investigations over this case, including a public servant charged
with a refusal to cooperate with the
CCAC probe.
The report is likely to increase pres-
sure on Florinda Chan, who has already had several lawmakers regularly asking for her head. But the corruption watchdog stressed that it “strives
not to enforce political accountability
but legal accountability”.
In a press statement the government
said it was analysing the CCAC report
and declined to make any comments
for the time being.
China Times
ConocoPhillips oil
spill: not to ‘politicise’
China pledged yesterday not to “politicise” a vast
spill at an oil field operated by ConocoPhillips despite strong criticism of the US petrol giant in statecontrolled media.
The government has ordered an investigation into the
spill in the northern Bohai Bay, which environmental
groups say has badly polluted the waterway and affected
fishermen’s harvest of seafood such as scallops.
“The oil spill is an incident in our bilateral trade cooperation,” foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told
reporters in Beijing.
“Relevant authorities will address this case in accordance with normal procedures and not politicise an isolated individual case.”
ConocoPhillips has taken a beating in Chinese state
media, which has accused the company of displaying
“indifference” and issuing misleading statements about
the spill that first came to light in June.
In a Wednesday meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, the state cabinet ordered a thorough investigation
and vowed to punish those responsible.
The government acknowledged that Bohai Bay was already suffering from “heavy pollution” and said it would
work to limit further industrial and reclamation projects in the area.
Bohai Bay has developed into one of China’s fast-growing industrial regions and has long been cited as one of
the nation’s most polluted maritime areas.
The spill at China’s biggest oil field had polluted
an estimated 5,500 square kilometres (2,200 square
miles) of water as of Monday, the official Xinhua
news agency said.
ConocoPhillips said it halted production on Sunday at
the Penglai 19-3 facility.
The US oil giant, which has denied any cover-up, says
the equivalent of 3,200 barrels have leaked into the sea.
It has defended its record over the spill but accepted responsibility for the damage caused.
It co-owns the oilfield with the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC).
Beijing setting up new
market obstacles: EU group
China is setting up new obstacles for foreign companies
wanting to invest in the world’s second largest economy,
a grouping of European businesses said yesterday.
The claim by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China’s annual report follow repeated calls
from Beijing’s main Western trading partners to ensure
a level playing field for foreign firms.
“Recent measures to further constrict market openness raise questions about stated intentions to create
lasting opportunities for all market actors to compete
on an equal footing,” the EU Chamber of Commerce in
China said.
Launching its 12th annual report, the grouping raised
the example of a new government rule that stipulates
foreign firms can only own a maximum of 50 percent of
a joint venture making components for clean technology cars.
A similar new rule applies for offshore wind farms.
Overall though, foreign ownership in key industries –
such as the auto, telecommunications, finance and refinery sectors – remains limited, the grouping said.
Davide Cucino, head of the chamber, welcomed China’s
new five-year plan for economic development, which focuses on developing the domestic market, consumption
and services in a bid to move away from a dependency
on exports.
But he said “some of those goals are not reflected” in
regulations governing foreign investment.
“We believe that European companies have perfect expertise and technology to match the goals of this [fiveyear] plan,” he told reporters.
The chamber also released a survey of its 1,600 member firms, which revealed that 43 percent think measures adopted by Beijing discriminate against foreign
enterprises, compared to just 33 percent last year.
Of the member companies, 46 percent also feel that
this discrimination will continue for another few years,
compared to 36 percent in 2010.
®
Rich list shows wealth
unhurt by global turmoil
T
he financial turmoil
gripping the world
has had little effect
on wealth in China, where
an ongoing economic boom
keeps creating new US dollar billionaires, Forbes magazine said yesterday.
Releasing its annual list
of China’s richest people,
Forbes said the world’s second largest economy had a
total of 146 billionaires this
year – up 14 percent from
2010, and second only to the
United States that has 413.
Like a similar list released
Wednesday by the Chinabased Hurun report – which
publishes luxury magazines
and runs a research institute
– Forbes crowned machinery tycoon Liang Wengen
the nation’s richest man.
“Even though the stock
market is going down, the
wealth of the most successful
people in China is going up,”
Russell Flannery, Forbes senior editor and Shanghai bureau chief, told reporters.
He pointed to a domestic
building spree, higher demand for consumer goods
and an economic boom
as driving the increase in
wealth in China, which
posted growth of 9.6 percent
year-on-year in the first half
of 2011.
“The high GDP [gross domestic product] growth rate
simply gives a big platform
and a lot of room for people
Chinese businessman Liang Wengen, CEO of Sany
Group (File photo: January 29, 2009)
to find new businesses,” he
said.
Liang,
chairman
and
co-founder of machinery
company Sany, topped the
Forbes list with wealth of
USD 9.3 billion. The Hurun
report estimated his wealth
at USD 11 billion.
The construction tycoon
moved to the number one
spot from third last year, as
China’s building spree created demand for Sany’s cranes
and excavators.
A total of seven executives
from the machinery firm
were on this year’s list – a
record number for one single company, according to
Forbes.
Xiang Wenbo, president
of Sany, who came in 79th
place, told reporters he did
not feel like a “winner.”
“Sany is an industrial
company focused on real
business, so we don’t think
it is such a big deal,” he
said.
In second place on the list
was Robin Li, co-founder of
China’s top Internet search
engine Baidu, with wealth of
USD 9.2 billion.
Baidu has reaped gains
from the partial exit from
China of rival Google, after
the US Internet giant clashed
with Beijing over censorship
last year.
Two brothers took third and
fourth place – Liu Yongxing
of East Hope Group, China’s
largest animal feed producer, and his younger brother
Liu Yonghao, whose company New Hope Group has
interests ranging from feed
to finance.
Beverage magnate Zong
Qinghou of soft-drink maker
Wahaha fell to fifth place
this year from first in 2010.
The total wealth of the 400
people on the list was USD
459 billion this year, up from
around USD 423 billion in
2010, Forbes said.
Among the 146 billionaires
on the list, 12 are female and
eight are under the age of
40. China’s richest woman is
Wu Yajun of property developer Longfor, who came in
at seventh place.
HIV-positive man files discrimination suit
An AIDS patient receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Li Xin, east
China’s Anhui province (File photo: November 30, 2010)
An HIV-positive man in China said
yesterday he was suing local authorities for denying him a job as a primary
school teacher, in a sign of growing assertiveness in the nation’s AIDS community.
If accepted by the court, the lawsuit
will be the second such discrimination
case heard in China, where people with
HIV/AIDS are often stigmatised despite growing signs of openness.
The 27-year-old plaintiff, who goes by
8
the alias Xiao Hai, told AFP he passed a
test and interview for a teaching job in
the southwestern province of Guizhou
in April, but was denied the post after
a health check.
“Authorities told me they couldn’t
employ me because the results showed
I was HIV-positive,” he said, adding he
had filed a lawsuit Wednesday against
human resources authorities in Sandu
Shui Autonomous County.
According to the state-run Global
Times newspaper, his lawyer Chen
Wensheng has asked the court to repeal the rejection of Xiao Hai, which
he argues is illegal and represents job
discrimination.
He said the rejection on health
grounds broke the 2008 Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious
Diseases and other regulations that bar
employers from discriminating against
patients with HIV – the virus that
causes AIDS.
The lawsuit – which has yet to be accepted by the court – is similar to a
landmark case heard last year in the
eastern province of Anhui and widely
believed to be China’s first HIV discrimination case.
The plaintiff in the case, heard in October, also sued local authorities for allegedly denying him a job because he
was HIV-positive, but lost the suit.
HIV/AIDS sufferers have long been
stigmatised in China, but increased
government education and a recent motion picture starring movie star Zhang
Ziyi as an HIV carrier have helped raise
awareness.
China says that at least 740,000 people are living with HIV but campaigners say the actual figure could be far
higher.
Times asia-pacific
Japan’s new PM visits
crisis-hit Fukushima
J
apan’s new Prime
Minister
Yoshihiko
Noda yesterday visited
Fukushima for the first time
since he took office a week
ago, paying tribute to hundreds of workers battling to
contain the nuclear crisis.
Noda told some 200 workers at the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant, which
was crippled by the March
11 earthquake and tsunami,
that “without the rebirth of
Fukushima, there will not be
a rebirth of Japan.”
“An end to the accident is
what our country and the
world is hoping for,” said
the premier, who was clad
in white protective gear, according to local media.
“You hold the key to the
solution to the problem,” he
told the workers, many of
whom have spent nearly six
months struggling to stabilise the world’s worst nuclear accident since the 1986
Chernobyl disaster.
Noda, who was sworn in on
Friday, made his comments
in the operations room of
the plant, which has been
leaking radiation since the
March disaster, then viewed
the exterior of some of the
damaged reactor buildings.
In a meeting later with
Fukushima governor Yuhei
Sato at his office, some 60
kilometres (38 miles) to the
west, Noda apologised for
the nuclear crisis, according
to media.
He also promised to secure sufficient funds for re-
Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (C) listens to Masao Yoshida (R), director of the
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, during a visit to the plant in Okuma, yesterday
construction of the region
– including money to decontaminate areas affected by
radioactive leaks.
Earlier in the day, Noda
visited a sports complex,
built by the plant’s operator
Tokyo Electric Power Co.,
which has become a makeshift base camp accommodating hundreds of emergency workers.
“Since the accident occurred, you all have worked
on the front line for the Japanese people. I express my
heartfelt gratitude,” Noda
said as he bowed to hundreds of workers.
He also praised troops dispatched to the area, saying
they had worked “tirelessly”
for the benefit of Japan.
“I feel proud from the bottom of my heart as the commander-in-chief of the Self
Defence Forces,” he said.
Noda came to power on
Friday, replacing Naoto Kan
who stepped down amid
criticism over his handling
of the aftermath of the triple
disaster – a 9.0 magnitude
earthquake, a tsunami and
nuclear accident.
The towering wall of water battered cooling systems
at the Fukushima plant,
220 kilometres (138 miles)
northeast of Tokyo, triggering reactor meltdowns and
the spewing of radiation into
the environment.
The government has said
some areas close to the plant
may be uninhabitable for
years due to dangerous contamination, amid an erosion
of public faith in how forthcoming officials have been
about the consequences of
the disaster.
Tens of thousands of people
within a 20 kilometre radius
and in some pockets beyond
the plant have been evacuated, but many activists and
scientists have called for a
wider exclusion zone.
Japan is struggling to
bring the crippled reactors
to a state of cold shutdown
by a January target. Noda
also plans to drive around
the no-go zone and observe
local residents’ decontamination work in Date city,
just outside of the evacuation zone.
Court upholds Somali pirate life sentence
A South Korean appeals court yesterday
upheld a life sentence on a Somali pirate
convicted of hijacking a South Korean-operated ship in the Arabian Sea and trying
to murder the captain.
The high court in the southern port of
Busan confirmed the sentence passed in
late May on Mahomed Araye after the
23-year-old had appealed.
Prosecutors had sought the death sentence for Araye for shooting and seriously
injuring Captain Seok Hae-Kyun of the
chemical carrier Samho Jewelry with an
AK rifle.
He was one of five pirates captured during a dramatic January 21 raid by South
Korean navy commandos to rescue the
ship. Eight other pirates were killed.
The five were brought to Busan, the
ship’s home, for trial.
All 21 crew – eight South Koreans, two
Indonesians and 11 from Myanmar – were
freed unhurt apart from Captain Seok, 58,
who is still recovering in hospital after
multiple operations.
The court yesterday also upheld sentences of 13 to 15 years on three other pirates.
But it reduced the sentence on Abdulahi
Husseen Maxamuud to 12 years from 15,
saying he showed “great remorse and admitted all charges”.
The judges also took into account the fact
that the 20-year-old had treated South
Korean sailors well while they were held
hostage, a court official told AFP.
The high-profile trial was the first attempt by South Korea, a major maritime
nation, to punish foreign pirates.
The crime has surged in recent years off
Somalia, a lawless, war-torn country that
sits alongside one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
Investigators say some of the pirates involved in the January raid had taken part
in the hijacking last year of a South Korean supertanker operated by the same firm
as the Samho Jewelry.
The 300,000-tonne Samho Dream
and its 24 crew were released after a
reported USD 9 million ransom payment was made.
Sri Lanka urged to end detention laws
The Human Rights Watch
lobby group urged Sri Lanka to
scrap draconian detention laws
and free thousands of people
held under the regulations.
The New York-based body
said Sri Lanka’s ending of a
decades-long state of emergency last week would have
little effect as separate antiterror laws still allowed people to be detained for long
periods without trial.
About 6,000 people are be-
ing held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA),
the group said, two years
after the end of the island’s
civil war.
“The Sri Lankan government announced that the
state of emergency is over,
but it is holding on to the
same draconian powers it had
during the war,” Brad Adams,
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Asia director, said.
“The government should
repeal all its abusive detention laws and make all laws
and regulations related to
detention public,” he said.
Sri Lanka first introduced
emergency laws in 1983
when the Tamil Tiger rebels
escalated their bloody campaign for an independent
state for their ethnic minority. It ended with the defeat
of the Tigers in May 2009.
The laws, which gave security forces sweeping powers
9
of arrest, were renewed on
a monthly basis with only
brief breaks.
The decision to end emergency rule came ahead of
this month’s United Nations Human Rights Council
meeting in Geneva, which is
expected to discuss alleged
war crimes during the last
stages of the conflict.
Colombo has denied any
wrongdoing and resisted
foreign calls for a probe.
®
Jihadist group backs
China attacks
A militant Muslim organisation believed to be based
in Pakistan has backed recent fatal attacks in China and
predicted more violence, a video released by a US-based
terror monitoring group shows.
The video, purportedly made by the Turkistan Islamic
Party (TIP) and showing the organisation’s leader Abdul
Shakoor Damla, was posted to jihadist forums on Tuesday, according to the Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group.
In the video, Damla, his face obscured, claims attacks in
China’s far-western region of Xinjiang over the summer
were revenge against the Chinese government for “maiming the identity of the Muslims”.
Early in July, more than 20 people were killed in a clash
between Uighurs and police in Xinjiang’s Hotan city –
violence state media attributed to “terrorists”.
Later in the month, two violent attacks in Kashgar city
left 21 people dead, including eight suspects allegedly involved in the incidents. Authorities blamed one of the attacks on “terrorists” trained in neighbouring Pakistan.
Rohan Gunaratna, head of the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism
Research, told AFP that TIP is the parent of the East
Turkistan Independence Movement (ETIM), a group
China and the United States have placed on terror lists.
“The Muslims will... fight against the Chinese occupation until they meet Allah,” Damla said, according to an
English-language transcript of the video.
Beijing has blamed much of the unrest in Xinjiang on
the “three forces” of extremism, separatism and terrorism.
But some experts doubt that terrorist cells operate in
Xinjiang, where Uighurs are Sunni and practice a moderate form of Islam.
According to the SITE translation, the video posted online does not include an explicit claim of responsibility for
the attacks by TIP.
However Gunaratna said the video “very clearly demonstrates the recent attacks in Xinjiang were by the TIP.”
Philippine inflation to
ease: central bank
The Philippine central bank said yesterday it expects inflation pressure to continue easing as it kept both key interest rates and bank reserve requirements unchanged.
The country’s monetary policy-setting board decided
that the existing rates were appropriate, considering the
low risk of inflation and the “subdued economic outlook,”
a central bank statement said.
“The Monetary Board is of the view that the risks to the
inflation outlook may be receding as global inflationary
pressures are expected to ease,” the statement said.
The bank forecast that the Philippines’ average annual
inflation would settle at the three to five percent range
earlier set for 2011 to 2013.
This came after the government announced on Tuesday
that the inflation rate had slowed to 4.7 percent in August
from 5.1 percent in July.
This brought the average inflation rate for the first eight
months of the year to 4.8 percent.
In March and May, the central bank raised key interest rates and in June, it hiked reserve requirements – the
portion of deposits that banks cannot invest – as part of
moves to control inflationary surges.
A bank employee displays US dollar (L)and Philippine
notes (R) in Manila
asia-pacific Times
Thailand seizes US 33
million drugs haul
Thai authorities have seized illegal drugs including heroin and methamphetamines worth
an estimated 33 million dollars that are believed
to have been smuggled from Myanmar, officials
said yesterday.
A military border taskforce, acting on a tip-off,
said it set up a checkpoint in northern Chiang
Rai province late on Wednesday.
Troops tried to stop a suspicious pickup truck
but it managed to get away.
The vehicle and the drugs – including 95 kilos
(209 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine and
3.4 kilos of heroin – were later found abandoned.
The suspects have not been caught.
It was an unusually large seizure, believed
to be worth about 1.0 billion baht (33 million
dollars).
Myanmar is the world’s second-largest opium
producer after Afghanistan and ethnic minority armed rebels in the east of the nation are
believed to be major heroin and methamphetamine traffickers.
A Thai commando stands guard next to packs of
drugs (File photo)
Cambodia jails
paedophile for 12 years
A Cambodian court yesterday sentenced a
British man to 12 years in prison for paying for
sex with three underage girls, one as young as
nine.
Five Cambodians, including the mothers of two
of the victims and a guesthouse owner, also received varying sentences for acting as accomplices in the purchase of child prostitution.
Michael Julian Leach, 51, was arrested in
September 2010 after police followed him to
the guesthouse on the outskirts of the capital
Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh Municipal Court said Leach, a
tourist from London, would be deported after
serving his jail term.
The court also ordered that two of the girls,
who were nine and 13 at the time, should
receive 12 million riel (USD 2,900) each in
compensation.
Leach was first arrested in Cambodia in 2005
on separate child sex allegations but he walked
free because of a lack of evidence.
Cambodia launched an anti-paedophilia push in
2003 to try to shake off its reputation as a sex
predators’ haven. Dozens of foreigners have
since been jailed for child sex crimes or deported to face trial in their home countries.
®
Kashmiris questioned
over Delhi court blast
P
olice in Indian Kashmir
questioned three men
yesterday in connection with a deadly bombing at
New Delhi’s High Court, as the
prime minister acknowledged
systemic “weaknesses” in domestic security.
An emailed claim of responsibility purportedly sent from
Harkat-ul-Jihad
al-Islami
(HuJI), a Pakistan-based Islamist militant group, was traced
to a cybercafe in Kishtwar, a
small Kashmiri town east of
Jammu city.
Local police told AFP that
two brothers who owned the
cafe and one employee had
been taken in for questioning, but no formal arrests have
been made.
Wednesday’s powerful blast
ripped through a crowd of
litigants queuing to enter the
court complex in the heart of
the Indian capital, killing 12
people and injuring nearly 80.
It was the latest in a long list of
bombings in Indian cities and
prompted searching questions
in the national media about the
authorities’ inability to prevent
such attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Police separately released
sketches of two suspects seen
at the site of the blast.
“We have some leads but it
is too early to say which group
is behind it,” Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh told reporters on his plane as he returned
late Wednesday from an official visit to Bangladesh.
“There are obviously unresolved problems and weaknesses in our system and the
terrorists are taking advantage
of that,” Singh said.
“We must work hard to plug
those weaknesses,” he added.
It was the first major attack on Indian soil since triple
blasts in Mumbai on July 13
killed 26 people. It has still not
been established who carried
out those bombings.
The Delhi High Court had
Indian police detain a Kashmiri state government employee during a demonstration
in Srinagar yesterday
also been targeted four months
ago, when a low-intensity
bomb exploded in the parking
lot, causing no casualties and
only minimal damage.
With some experts suggesting the May attack had been a
dry run for Wednesday’s blast,
a number of editorials in the
national press questioned why
security at the court had not
been tightened.
“With cars spilling out of the
car park and no security check
worth its name installed, it
was a veritable invitation for
anyone seeking to perpetrate
violence,” said the Hindustan
Times.
“The excuse of ‘not being
able to prevent every attack’ is
wearing perilously thin,” the
newspaper said.
Highlighting the fact that no
blast case in the last two years
has been solved, The Times of
India said it was “truly shocking” that the court could have
been successfully targeted
twice in such a brief space of
time.
“This speaks of an extraordinarily lax security culture,” the
Times said.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram held a high-level meeting
yesterday at which National
Security Advisor Shivshankar
Menon was also present to
take stock of the situation.
Chidambaram told reporters
that a detailed forensic report
carrying “critical evidence” was
expected later yesterday.
The United States, France,
Britain and Pakistan all condemned the bombing, with
Washington describing it as
“cowardly”.
The attack came just a few
days before the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks
on the World Trade Centre in
New York and the Pentagon.
The area around the High
Court remained cordoned
off as forensic teams picked
through the rubble of the bomb
that blew out a deep crater next
to one of the court’s main entrances.
The investigation is being run
by the National Investigation
Agency (NIA), a body set up in
the wake of the 2008 Mumbai
attacks by Islamist gunmen
that left 166 people dead.
NIA director general S.C.
Sinha said they were taking the
supposed HuJI email claim seriously but added that it would
be “very premature” to confirm
who was behind the bombing.
The mail warned that other
courts would be targeted unless authorities repealed the
death sentence on a man convicted for conspiring in a 2001
Islamist militant attack on India’s parliament.
New claim
Meanwhile, Indian media organisations yesterday received
a new email, purportedly from
the home-grown militant outfit Indian Mujahideen, claiming responsibility for a deadly
bomb attack at the Delhi High
Court.
An earlier unverified email,
sent just hours after the blast,
had claimed the attack for
the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami
(HuJI), a Pakistan-based Islamist group.
Neither claim has been confirmed by police as genuine.
Internal Security Secretary
U.K. Bansal told reporters that
the latest email was being studied by intelligence agencies.
Written in Hindi, it said Indian Mujahideen had timed
the blast to explode when the
crowd outside the court would
be at its largest. It offered no
specific motive for the attack.
“We own responsibility for
this,” it said, while threatening
to carry out another bombing
at a shopping mall in Delhi
next week.
Pakistan probes plane bomb hoaxes
Pakistan International Airlines said yesterday that it was investigating emailed
threats that said two of its planes had
bombs on board, forcing one of them to
divert abruptly to Istanbul.
PIA said it received two emails late
Wednesday claiming there were bombs
on the two flights and directed the pilots to
land immediately at the nearest airports.
No bombs were found on either plane.
“The safety department of the airline
is conducting the investigation into the
emails... but there is no outcome so far,”
PIA’s director of flight operations, Naveed
Aziz, told AFP.
“They are also coordinating with the Airport Security Force [ASF] and other agen-
10
cies responsible for safety, but are yet to
reach any conclusion.”
A senior PIA official who requested anonymity said computer experts at the airline
and security forces were carrying out the
inquiry.
“This is a serious matter and if not nipped
in the bud such hoax emails in future could
damage our reputation and bring a bad
name for our country internationally,” the
official told AFP.
The first plane had departed Lahore,
bound for the British city of Manchester,
when it was diverted to Istanbul’s Ataturk
Airport, causing panic among the 378 passengers, airport authorities and Turkish
media reported.
The passengers were evacuated from the
aircraft and sniffer dogs searched the Boeing 777-300 EA for three hours before the
bomb threat was declared a hoax.
A second flight from Lahore landed
safely at its planned destination in Kuala
Lumpur after a threat was received while
it was mid-air.
A search of that aircraft found no explosive devices on board.
“We cannot ignore such threats, we are
looking into the matter,” said a spokesman for the civil aviation authority, Pervez
George.
An airport security official said safety restrictions had been tightened at Pakistani
airports following the hoax.
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Times
Under the
Mid-Autumn moon
O
n the eve of September 13th – the ‘Fifteenth
Day of the Eight Lunar Moon’ – Macau celebrates one of the Chinese community’s most
popular festivals under the Chinese Lunar
Calendar: the Mid-Autumn Festival, or “Moon Festival”
and also curiously dubbed by the long-time Macanese
residents in their own patois the “Festa do Bolo Bate
Pau” (or Mooncake festival).
Many events were once more timed for occasion, as
the running up to the festival celebrations start at least
a month earlier and the city is profusely decorated with
lighted lanterns of many shapes and colours.
Most family gatherings are usually done in outings, to
privilege long walks and moon watching in open spaces,
terraces, verandahs, hillside and beaches.
Thus, aside from the religious rituals and private parties, there are many programmes to choose from, open
to all and with free admissions.
MDTimes has a few suggestions included in our
“What’s On” section and but is including one more, very
much linked to one of the most visible characteristics
of the festival: paper lanterns, specially with the lunar
rabbit design.
Paper lanterns have been ingrained in the Chinese
culture for long, being used in most celebrations and
rituals. On festive and colourful occasions like this, as
well as during the Chinese New Year, lanterns symbolize happiness and an auspicious fortune.
So from today, September 9, if caring to view an interesting exhibition with a large volume of creations on the
subject, drop by the One Central Macau at 3 pm or later
on to view “Traditional and Creative Rabbit Lanterns: an
Exhibition by Carlos Marreiros and Friends”.
This event features all creative lanterns presented along the previous
four editions of the exhibition-project
kicked off in early 2009. The collection of rabbit lanterns will become an
itinerant exhibition throughout Portugal, Spain, Italy and other European
countries. The initiative was launched
by Albergue SCM/ALBcreativeLAB
and gathers contribution of many artists from several professional sectors and cultures. Coupled
with a few workshops led by
one of the oldest local artists in lantern-making, Sou Wa Gui,
the project aims to arouse the interest
among the locals, specially the youngest, for traditional culture and folk art.
Among other festive events, also
springing from the core of folk tradition,
and organised by the Civic and Municipal
Affairs Bureau, there will be storytelling and
ballad singing from September 11-13 in the
evening, at several venues, including the
Carmo Hall (Taipa), Nam Van Lake Nautical
Centre, and the Macau Tea Culture House.
The teahouse adjacent to the Lou Lim Ioc
garden, regarded as one of the most romantic
places in town will be full of lanterns.
At the nautical centre, by the Nam Van Lakes
you may also participate and enjoy sending off
floating Lotus Lantern with well wishes on Monday
(the eve of Mid-Autumn festival) at 8:30 pm.
Yet another curious event will be the “Chasing the
Moon on a Starry Night’ (Tuesday, at 8:30 pm) when
moon-watchers will have a look at the full moon with
telescopes at the Grand Taipa Country Park, under
the guidance of experts. Remember, it’ll be the fullest moon of the year.
Don’t forget to have a bite on the moon cakes that
you’ve been offered out of friendship and solidarity. And
answer in the same manner for the sake of unison and
a peaceful world.
CJ
11
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2011
Press Play
TDM
Friday
by MC LA
Indie pop
Slow Club
– Paradise (2011)
Not One Less
23:30
Friday
13:00
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23:30
01:00
01:40
TDM News (Repeted)
News at 24H (RTPi) Delayed Broadcast
RTPi Live
Non-Daily Portuguese News
(Repeated)
Soap Opera
Main News, Financial & Weather
Report
Noon News RTPi (Live Delayed)
Soap Opera
TDM News
Not One Less
Report (Repeted)
RTPi Live
Saturday
10:50
11:00
11:30
12:30
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18:45
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Documentary Serie
Oggy
Detective Bogey
Zig Zag
TDM News (Repeted)
News at 24H (RTPi) Delayed
Broadcast
Soap Opera
Contest
Documentary Serie
TDM Talk Show
Report
Comedy
Drama
TDM News
Variety
Variety
Report (Repeted)
RTPi Live
Slow club’s “Paradise” will be release on September 12th.
Slow Club hail from Sheffield and are a sort of one man
band, only with two people. Charles Watson strums guitar
and sings while Rebecca Taylor plays drums and all sorts of
weird instruments, like water-filled glass bottles, spoons and
the back of a wooden chair. And sometimes an organ called
Miles. Not something you get to see and hear every day, but
it is preciously this engaging originality that has secured
them a mass of followers and led to nationwide tours with
likes of Fionn Regan, Noisettes, Hot Club de Paris, Tilly and
the Wall, Jamie T and Jeremy Warmsley.
After giving the world such a joyous gift in the form of their
debut album ‘Yean so’, Slow Club generously deliver another
with their new album ‘Paradise’, set for release through prestigious indie label Moshi Moshi Records this September.
“The rockabilly jangle pop tunes on ‘Yeah, So’ combine witty
lyrics touching on heartbreak, death and despair with shiny
harmonies, thundering percussion and folk guitars and the
result is an album that manages to create a totally unique
sense of riotous melancholy. The sheer scope and charming
complexity of this record is hugely impressive.” – The Fly
Blues Rock
The Pack A.D.
- Unpersons (2011, Mint Records)
Sunday Mass
Miscellaneous
Cooking
TDM News (Repeted)
News at 24H (RTPi) Delayed
Broadcast
Zig Zag
Miscellaneous
Contest
Soap Opera
Modern Music
TDM Interview
Report
Cougar Town
Criminal Minds Sr.5
Landmarks
TDM News
Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceans
TDM Talk Show (Repeted)
Report (Repeted)
RTPi Live
Dear Reader
– Idealistic Animals (2011, City Slang)
Dear Reader is a folk rock band,
from Johannesburg, South
Africa, who make catchy, humorous music in styles ranging from acoustic ballads to
electronic loop experiments.
Formerly known as Harris
Tweed, they changed name at
the request of Scotland’s Harris Tweed Authority lawyers.
Much has changed in the 2
years since the release of ‘Replace Why…’, the band second
album. Cherilyn MacNeil, the
singer/songwriter behind the
band, decided to move from
her native Johannesburg to
Berlin, (home of City Slang)
and separated amicably from
long time musical partner Darryl Torr. He chose to stay in South Africa to pursue his burgeoning career as
a producer.
There are break-up records, and then there are break-up records. Idealistic
Animals is a break-up record, but it’s not the kind that finds 28 year old Cheri
MacNeil, the woman behind the artful, charming Dear Reader, weeping into
her chamomile tea about a cold-hearted cheat who left her high and dry. Instead it’s a break-up record with faith, an album that examines the consequences of realising that the very foundation on which one has built one’s life
is worse than fragile.
Electropop
Ladytron
– Gravity The Seducer (2011, Nettwerk Records)
Ladytron will release their
new album Gravity the Seducer, the follow-up to 2008’s
Velocifero, via Nettwerk. The
group recorded the album
in the English countryside,
with Arctic Monkeys/Editors
collaborator Barny Barnicott
co-producing.
In a press release, Ladytron’s
Daniel Hunt says, “Gravity the Seducer is more of
a jump than the last album
was, more ethereal and melodic, a touch more abstract
in places than we’ve gone before, baroque ‘n’ roll. It was
a pleasure to make, took us
right through last summer.
It’s our best record, in my
opinion.”
The new record comes just after a milestone in Ladytron’s career: earlier this
year they released a greatest hits compilation, Best Of 00-10. By now the four
piece synthpop outfit have been around for more than 12 years, and in that
time have released five albums and just as many compilations.
Alternative rock
Wilco
– The Whole Love (2011, dBpm Records)
The Whole Love is Wilco’s eighth studio album and the first full length release
on their own, dBpm Records. Recorded at The Loft in Chicago, The Whole
Love boasts 12 new originals. Produced by Jeff Tweedy with Patrick Sansone
and Tom Schick. Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway.
When Rolling Stone checked in with frontman Jeff Tweedy earlier this year, he
said that the band recorded 20 songs for what has turned out to be a concise
12-cut album. This represents the best of a period in which Tweedy penned up
to 60 new tunes. “It’s a pretty great time for me writing-wise,” he said.
The Whole Love includes the band’s new garage rock-inspired single “I Might,”
as well as a seven-minute track, “Art of Almost,” which starts with shadowy electronics, gently turns into a haunted vocal section, then sprints into a Krautrockstyle blowout. Other numbers, such as spectral ballad “Black Moon” and the
jaunty title track, call back to the group’s roots in country rock.
Sunday
11:00
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Pop
Well, breaking up just got a whole lot easier with Unpersons,
the full-on fourth album in The Pack a.d.’s indomitable catalogue. This is the album to vaporize those who shall not be
named, and erase any trace of their existence with a dense
cloud of fuzz bomb riffs, tribal rhythms, and hard (legal)
drugs.
Braving a bombardment of devils, ghosts, mutants, and arseholes, the determination and prowess of drum demolisher
Maya Miller and belligerent guitarist/vocalist Becky Black
has never been so palpable. The Vancouver duo’s confidence
in the studio and skill as musicians has grown exponentially
between records, culminating with an epically fierce explosion of blues, punk, and garage rock that dwarfs all those
before it.
Like their last two albums, The Pack a.d. recorded Unpersons at the legendary Hive Studios with engineer Jesse Gander. Where famed Detroit producer Jim Diamond (The Dirtbombs, The Paul Collins Beat, The White Stripes), flew in
- on his own insistence - to produce Unpersons first hand.
12
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Friday
39 steps
by Tomé Quadros
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
O
ver time, cinema inspired
both hopes and fears. David
Cronenberg has said that his
films should be seen “from
the point of view of the disease”. Meaning, his style of filmmaking explores
people’s fears of bodily transformation
and infection. Cronenberg is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. In
1996, he received the Special Jury Prize
at the Cannes Film Festival for “Crash”.
In 2006 he was awarded the Cannes
Film Festival’s lifetime achievement
award, “Le Carrosse d’Or” (“The Golden
Coach”). According to Michel Ciment critic (since 1963) and editor (since 1966)
of the influential French film magazine
“Positif” and jury member at the Cannes
Film Festival, Berlin International Film
Festival and Venice Film Festival: “Along
with Peter Greenaway, David Cronenberg
is without any doubt the filmmaker who
is the best critical interpreter of his own
work and he can dissect the very body
of his film with great precision when he
takes a scalpel to it.“
Precisely, Cronenberg – who has been
called “the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the Englishspeaking world” – brought to 68th Venice
Festival his Freud-Jung film entitled “A
Dangerous Method”. The film is based
on a play by British playwright, screen
writer and film director Chistopher
Hampton, who was born in Faial, Azores,
to British parents. Hampton won the
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screen-
Cinema
CINETEATRO Room 1
Love in Space
2:30/4:30/7:30/9:30pm
Starring: Aaron Kwok, Rene liu, Eason Chan
Director: Wing Shya, Tony Chan
Language: Chinese (Chinese subtitles)
Duration: 105 min
CINETEATRO Room 2
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2:30/4:30/9:30pm
Starring: James Franco, Freida Pinto,
John Lithgow
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Language: English (Chinese subtitles)
Duration: 105 min
CINETEATRO Room 2
The Fortune Buddies
7:30pm
play in 1988 for the screen adaptation of
his play “Dangerous Liaisons”.Hampton
was again nominated in 2007 for adapting Ian McEwan’s novel “Atonement”. “A
Dangerous Method” is quite unlike any
other films by Cronenberg, still widely associated with blood, gore and body parts.
The cast includes Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley.
The action, set between 1904 and 1913,
is all about the future and well-being
of Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), a
troubled young Russian woman and how
it becomes the defining issue
between the two men - Carl
Jung and Sigmund Freud.
Aged 18, Sabina arrives at
a Zurich hospital to be
treated by the
young Jung (Michael Fassbender), a fledgling psychiatrist, reaching for greatness
under the gimlet eye of his mentor, Freud
(Viggo Mortensen). Sabina is in a distressing state, flinching from human contact
and contorting her body and face in grotesque gestures of pain and terror. Jung
idolises Freud. As a result of establishing
their supremacy at the dawn of the era of
psychoanalysis, the two men are pulling
increasingly in opposite directions.
The narrative leads the spectator to
Cronenberg characters’ transformations
issue. Due to that, the director said: “[...]
because of our necessity to impose our
own structure of perception on things we
look on ourselves as being relatively stable.“ At the same time, the plot emerges
Jung experiments on Sabina with his innovative “talking cure,” the earliest form
of psychoanalysis, encouraging her to recall her feelings as a child when her father
beat her. But spanking, as any good psychiatrist should know, has consequences.
Disease and disaster, in Cronenberg’s
work, are lesser problems to overcome
than agents of personal transformation.
“A Dangerous Method” feels heavy and
lugubrious. Like Ciment concludes, “[…]
Cronenberg is more adept at a rational,
clinical approach. His great subject is the
fragility and degradation of the body.”
Starring: Eric Tsang, Cho-Iam Wong,
Siu Cheung Yuen
Director: Chung Shu Kai
Language: chinese (Chinese subtitles)
Duration: 91 min
CINETEATRO Room 3
The Whistleblower
2:30/4:30/7:30/9:30pm
Starring: Rachel Weisz,
Vanessa Redgrave
Director: Larysa Kondracki
Duration: 112 min
Macau Tower
1-Sept to 14-Sept
Bad Teacher
Chinese tale of revenge is surprise film in Venice
Murder, revenge and a quest for justice drive Chinese director Shangjun
Cai’s movie, “People Mountain, People Sea,” as the surprise film in competition for the Golden Lion award in Venice.
Based on a true story, the film sees protagonist Tie set off on a mission to
track down his younger brother’s killer after the police manage to identify the
culprit but let him slip through their fingers.
The quest becomes a search for identity and intimacy in a world of brutality
and betrayal as Tie hunts for the killer through the underworld of Southwest
China’s Chongqing city and in the hellish bowels of a mine.
The film’s title comes from a proverb describing “a gigantic crowd of people”
according to the director, whose debut movie, “The Red Awn”, won the 2007
Fipresci prize at the 12th Pusan international film festival.
“The individuals composing the crowd, or the mountain and sea... are struggling for survival, which ultimately leads to the mixed noise of exclamations,
groans and roars,” Cai said.
The cries are “just like the complex, yet majestic sound you hear when standing on a beach or in a valley,” he added.
Despite being cheated of the little money he has and suffering a humiliating
reunion with his ex-girlfriend and the son he has never met, Tie refuses to give
in, continuing his search for the killer at any cost.
“When life is trampled, dignity ravaged, justice abandoned and human nature ruined, more people chose to muddle along,” said Cai.
“I prefer Lao Tie’s stubbornness... Facing the final shackles he does not
choose silence, but to fight with his life, and to use violence against violence
-- it is the ultimate weapon of the proletarians,” he added.
“People, Mountain, People Sea” brings the number of films in competition
Chinese director Cai Shangjun poses during the photocall of
up
to 23 titles. The winner of the Golden Lion award for the 68th edition of
“Ren Shan Ren Hai (People, mountain, people, sea)” at the
68th Venice Film Festival on Wednesday at Venice Lido the festival will be announced on Saturday.
13
2:30/4:30/7:30/9:30pm
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel,
Justin Timberlake
Director: Jake Kasdan
Duration: 92 min
15-Sept to 28-Sept
Bridesmaids
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph,
Rose Byrne
Director: Paul Feig
Duration: 125 min
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Friday
Black opera stars shine
in new South Africa
by Justine Gerardy
W
orld champion soprano Pretty Yende never
knew opera existed until a soaring score of an
airline commercial came over the television in her South African black township home 10 years ago.
The flash of 19th-century French composer Leo Delibes’ classic “Flower Duet”
from his opera “Lakme” so moved the
teenager growing up without librettas
and arias that she asked a high school
teacher the next day what the music
was.
“He told me it’s called opera,” recalled
Yende, now a resident at Milan’s renowned La Scala a decade after telling
her teacher: “I need to do that.”
From Thandukukhanya in eastern South Africa to northern Italy, the
26-year-old was recently handed joint
top honour in the Operalia world opera
competition founded by Spanish maestro Placido Domingo.
“All I wanted to do was to sing. All I
wanted to do was to know how to sing,”
Yende told AFP. “Even now, all I want to
do is to sing well.”
South African black opera voices have
burst onto the international stage, mirroring the country’s shift to democracy,
decades after white Afrikaner soprano
Mimi Coertse debuted at the Vienna
State Opera in 1956.
Experts say their rise is no sudden outpouring of new talent but rather that allrace freedom in 1994 levelled the playing field to allow those with remarkable
gifts who were stifled under apartheid to
enter the game.
“At the moment our best singers are
black,” said Virginia Davids, head of vocal studies at the South African College
of Music based at the University of Cape
Town.
South Africans can be found from Tel
Aviv to London, with soprano Pumeza
Matshikiza performing at Monaco’s
royal wedding – where the principality’s
Prince Albert II married South African
Charlene Wittstock in July – and Sweden-based Dimande Nkosazana taking
first prize in a competition in Italy.
“Formerly. people were not even allowed on the stage and that’s why it
looks as if there is a huge upsurge. But
what it is is that suddenly things opened
up and people started realising they
could make careers,” said Davids.
“These singers have always been there
but they have always been ignored. It’s
a pity because a lot of wonderful talent
has gone missing in the process because
of the situation that we had in this country,” she added.
‘We’re a singing nation’
But local singers are forced to seek
international stages, since Cape Town
Opera is the only full time troupe in the
country and probably the entire African
continent with regular productions locally and tours abroad.
“It’s sad...simply because there aren’t
enough opera companies in South Africa to sustain the employment. Really
to make a living as an opera singer you
need to go to Europe or to the States,”
said the opera’s financial manager Elise
Brunelle.
South Africa’s past has also inspired local composers who have shaped operas
around real-life divas like former president Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie
Madikizela-Mandela, or revamped clas-
sics like Bizet’s “Carmen” into a gritty
shanty town setting.
“There’s so much history and there are
so many people here whose lives and
whose stories are perfectly suited to the
operatic form,” said Brunelle, adding
that foreign audiences also respond well
to the local stories.
“These are stories and people that can
be understood in a worldwide context.”
The students often come from impoverished backgrounds and, unlike their
European counterparts, did not grow up
with pianos and violins.
“The voice is the only instrument they
have – the only way of making music,”
said Davids who was one of South Africa’s first non-white opera singers.
She laments the lack of local stages and
the talent drain as gifted South Africans
head overseas, but hails her opera students here.
“They are very focused and they know
this is what I want to do. They are willing
to put in the time,” Davids said.
The aptitude for an art regarded as elitist “Old Europe” in South Africa – where
it is not unknown for an informal car
guard to break into an aria – also does
not surprise soprano Yende. She says she
is most at peace when singing and views
the stage as home.
“We are a singing nation. We are born
with a beat. We cry, we sing. We laugh,
we sing. We’re sad, we sing. We lose, we
sing. We win, we sing,” Yende said.
“So song has been part of us from a
long long time.”
AFP
South African opera
soprano Pretty Yende
rehearsing with the Cape
Philharmonic Orchestra in
Cape Town
15
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2011
WORLD OF BACCHUS
by Annabel Jackson
Three is not a crowd
It is extraordinary to note that
in the 1960s there were just 16
hectares of Viognier planted in
the northern Rhone – the only
plantings in the world. Now, the
grape is enjoying something of a
revival, also achieving success
outside France, in its own right
and blended with Syrah. It is a
charming grape; an interesting
balance of delicate perfume and
substantial, sometimes oily, body.
The nose here is very mineral
with floral notes – jasmine – plus
peach and apricot. The texture is
creamy, the acidity is gentle, and
there’s a marked mineral-salinity
and bitter almond impression on
Vins de Vienne
Cote-Rotie Les
Essartailles 2008
Area: Cote-Rotie, Rhone,
France
Grape: 100% Syrah
Colour/style: Red. 12.5%
Available at: Watson’s Wine,
26 Rua de Sao Paulo,
Macau
Price: MOP568
Vins de Vienne Condrieu La
Chambee 2009
Area: Condrieu, Rhone, France
Grape: 100% Viognier
Colour/style: White. 14%
Available at: Watson’s Wine,
26 Rua de Sao Paulo, Macau
Price: MOP498
Cote-Rotie is the spiritual home
of Syrah. It means ‘”roasted slope”
and the southerly facing vineyard,
a natural ampitheatre, allows the
grapes to achieve an added layer
of richness, compared to its neighbours, and there is sometimes a
suggestion of burn in the aroma.
Many producers add a few percent
of Viognier to enhance aromas, but
not for this wine, which already has
a lovely perfumed nose with subtle white pepper notes. 2008 was
a vintage which produced wines
somewhat Burgundian in style, with
a gorgeous, supple texture. Here
we have a rich, velvety wine with
blackberry and plum fruits.
T
he big names of the Rhone region
of France are Jaboulet, Chapoutier
and Guigal, but the producer with
a rising star is undoubtedly Les
Vins de Vienne, a joint venture
between three leading winemakers (Yves
Cuilleron, Pierre Gaillard and Francois Villard)
with a quality-driven portfolio from top to bottom. Les Vins de Vienne was the name given
to the wines of the Seyssuel region in Roman
times, which were reportedly of some repute.
The gang of three chose this name for their
negociant firm and domaine, established in
1996, because they set about resurrecting a
long-neglected vineyard area on the steep
hills in the commune of Seyssuel, a touch
north of the town of Vienne, in the far reaches
of the Rhone Valley. Other producers, including Chapoutier, have since joined them, and
it is likely that within a decade this will be a
new French appellation. The three have risen
to prominence very quickly, forging a new
benchmark for negociant and domaine Rhone
wines. Where a negociant would typically buy
grapes after simply agreeing a price, this trio
is minutely involved in the vineyard activities
of their vendors, including details like advising
on pruning techniques and on which particular
day to start picking the grapes. Besides the
production of the wines from the appellation
which is currently called IGP des Collines
Rhodaniennes, such as the Sotanum (100%
Syrah), they produce wines from across the
Rhone appellations: Cote-Rotie, Condrieu,
Saint-Joseph, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage,
Cornas, Saint-Peray, Chateauneuf-du-Pape,
Gigondas and Cotes-du-Rhone. Rather
than each of the three making wines separately, they make each wine as a team, taking
sometimes difficult decisions when they find
themselves in a two-against-one scenario.
Their skill and passion shine through across
their range of wines, from the basic Cotes-duRhone up, and when compared with prices of
good Bordeaux and Burgundy, they offer very
good value for money, too.
Annabel Jackson is a wine and food writer, consultant and
educator. She is a part-time lecturer at IFT.
Lion’s Bar
Tuesday to Sunday
7pm - 5am
(Closed every Monday)
Tel: 8802 2375 / 8802 2376
Monday to Thursday: 6:30 pm - 12:00 midnight
Friday to Saturday: 6:00 pm - 02:00 am
Sunday: 6:00 pm - 12:00 midnight
16
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Friday
Sharks saved from soupy
fate set free at sea
S
by Didier Lauras
aved from the soup bowl at a Thai
restaurant, the baby shark wriggled
out of the bag and into the open sea
– a rare survivor of a trade that kills
millions of the predators each year.
On average an estimated 22,000 tonnes of
sharks are caught annually off Thailand for
their fins – a delicacy in Chinese cuisine once
enjoyed only by the rich, but now increasingly popular with the wealthier middle class.
Thanks to a group of environmental activists calling themselves the Dive Tribe, dozens
of sharks were returned to the wild in the
Gulf of Thailand recently, bought from animal markets or restaurants.
Among them were several young bamboo
and black tip reef sharks which narrowly
avoided ending up as shark fin soup – prized
in particular by the Chinese who believe it
boosts sexual potency.
Gwyn Mills, founder of Dive Tribe, laments
the fact that the plight of sharks is largely
overlooked compared to animals such as elephants and tigers.
He fears it may be only five or 10 years before the damage is irreversible.
“We are losing too many sharks. We can’t
afford to take any more out of the ocean,”
Mills said.
Scientists blame the practice of sharkfinning – slicing off the fins of live animals
and then throwing them back in the water to
die – for a worldwide collapse in populations
of the predators, which have been swimming
since the time of the dinosaurs.
The maritime conservation group Oceana
estimates that up to 73 million sharks are
finned each year around the world, depleting
many populations by as much as 90 percent.
Although the shark is portrayed as an insatiable man-eater in Steven Spielberg’s hit
1975 movie “Jaws”, naturalists say most species pose no danger to humans.
“Actually attacks on people are rare,” said
Jean-Christophe Thomas, a scuba instructor
involved in the shark release.
On Saturday, 60 sharks left their temporary
home at the “Underwater World” aquarium
in the Thai resort city of Pattaya in plastic
bags filled with water. Loaded onto a boat,
they were released one by one back into the
wild.
“I was carrying the plastic bag and did not
even notice when he left,” said Wayne Phillips, a lecturer in marine ecology at Mahidol
University.
“But I like that. He was not given freedom.
He took it. He was living in a tank, then in a
plastic bag. He’s better here.”
While the release was a largely symbolic
event designed to raise awareness, the stakes
are real.
Environmentalists say that sharks, particularly the apex predators, play a vital role in the
marine ecosystem.
“So if we protect the sharks, the rest of the
reef will be protected,” said Phillips. “We
need to make people realise how important
sharks are.”
Environmentalists argue that sharks are
slow to reproduce, making them unsuitable
for commercial fishing.
Some types of shark species, including the
great white and the hammerhead, are endangered, threatened or vulnerable, according to
the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature.
Some countries are taking action.
The tiny Pacific nation of Palau declared
the world’s first shark sanctuary in 2009,
prompting similar moves by the Maldives
and Honduras.
17
Taiwan, one of the world’s major shark
catchers, is moving to tighten measures
against hunting the predator while the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island is
also seeking to ban shark fishing.
The members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) also adopted a resolution in 1994 on
shark conservation and management.
And in 1999, the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation adopted an International Plan
of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.
But a report by the wildlife trade monitoring
network Traffic and the Pew Environmental
Group released in January said not enough
was being done to implement that plan.
“International concern about shark stocks
continues to grow because of an increasing
body of evidence that many shark species are
threatened and are continuing to decline as a
result of unregulated fishing”, it said.
Activists believe the best hope of reversing
the situation is to highlight the benefits of
sharks to the tourism industry.
The animals are a major attraction for snorkelers and scuba divers, but it is increasingly
rare to see the creatures in the seas off Thailand.
Mills argued that one reef shark is worth
many times more to the tourist industry than
it would fetch in a restaurant. He thinks fishermen should be compensated for releasing
the sharks that get entangled in their nets.
While swimming with sharks is a joy for
many scuba divers and naturalists, for some
the shark remains a creature to be feared – an
image unlikely to be helped by the upcoming release of the Hollywood movie “Shark
Night 3D”.
The film tells the fictional story of a group
of carefree teenagers killed off one by one by
hungry sharks in a salt lake in Louisiana.
According to the International Shark Attack
File, compiled at the University of Florida, 79
unprovoked shark attacks occurred around
the world in 2010, six of which were fatal.
This was the highest number in a decade and
an increase of 25 percent on 2009.
For Dive Tribe and other shark lovers, the
battle is only just beginning.
AFP
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2011
Costly Japanese koi targeted by
by Roddy Thomson
P
olice in Belgium admit they
are clueless as
they hunt thieves
targeting prized Japanese
koi – ornamental fish that
sell for thousands of euros
yet are practically uninsurable.
Champion Flemish growers with long and painful
experience as victims fear
ever-more costly security
to protect these creatures
that, left in peace, can live
to 60 and eat their way to
the size of a small pig.
“It’s the financial crisis,” Veerle Jakobs of Nip-
pon Koi Garden, a Japanese-themed estate near
Antwerp holding up to
6,000 fish in high season,
told AFP from her site near
one of Europe’s biggest
ports.
Traders have reported a
sudden series of koi robberies in Flanders in recent
weeks, and two separate
police districts are collaborating on live investigations.
A source who could not
be identified said Interpol
has been called in.
But lost stock is only part
of the story.
Those who have devoted
their lives to raising these
technicolour-dreamlike
fish warn that the crimes
– and regular, but botched,
raids they blame on economic hard times – also
pose a new threat to the
carps’ health.
There is at least a twodecade history of industrial espionage – theft and
poisoning by experienced,
organised gangs is an accepted pitfall of the trade.
But local knowledge that
Flanders is a centre of excellence for decorative fish
beloved by specialist collectors also provides a new
motive – and creates fresh
challenges for owners.
“They took 50 fish from
my tank, but I’ll never see
them again,” Herman Belon told AFP after his koi
were stolen this month in
Sint Niklaas, in western
Flanders.
He reckons they are already on display in Japanese restaurants that won’t
know where they came
from. The flesh is considered too dry to eat, but the
manager of the high-end
La Table Du Dragon in
Brussels, who has at least
60 koi on display, was
shocked when AFP told
him about the robberies.
‘Going on
for 20 years’
Millions of eggs produce
fish sorted by Japanese
breeders within weeks, and
again, like champion studs,
at two-years-old.
Chinese haute cuisine comes to Paris
by Marlowe Hood
T
he opening this
week of Shang Palace restaurant will at
long last answer an
unresolved question: Is Paris
ready for truly gourmet Chinese
cuisine and the prices that come
with it?
That the capital of fine dining
might give an ambitious Asian
eatery the cold shoulder is not
unimaginable.
For most French people, Chinese eats rhymes with bottomof-the-food-chain takeout, not
80 euros for lunch and 120 for
dinner per head.
Only one Chinese establishment in Paris has ever shined in
the Michelin Guide firmament,
and then only fleetingly. Modest by comparison, Chen SoleilEst earned its lone star – literally
front page news across France –
in 1999 and lost it in 2007.
Shang Palace, one of three
noteworthy restaurants at the
new ultra-luxury Shangri-La
Hotel, is clearly reaching for its
own stars, even if the phalanx of
professionals working to ensure
its success are reluctant to say
so.
But if an early sampling of head
chef Frank Xu’s refined Cantonese fare is any gauge of what’s to
come, the restaurant will merit
every twinkling accolade it gets.
What’s more, this is the real
thing, which in France is almost
as cheeky as the lofty prices.
“There is no adaptation to European tastes. Our aim is to be
absolutely authentic,” Xu said in
an interview, speaking through a
translator.
From the crispy suckling pig
to the lion’s head soup to the
steamed crab claw in Hua Diao
rice wine, the 60-odd items on
offer are as faithfully rendered as
they would be in a top-tier Hong
Kong kitchen.
The only concession to western palates, Xu said, is what has
been left out of the notoriously
inclusive Cantonese repertoire
– no sauteed duck tongues or
braised snake on this menu: at
least not yet.
On his first foray outside China, Xu brought four sous-chefs
to handle key posts in his 20man kitchen: a chopper, a dim
sum maker, a barbecue expert,
and a wok chef.
“It can take 20 years to master
one’s wok ‘qi’, which is essential
for bringing out the true flavour
of the ingredients over an intense heat in a short time,” Xu
explained.
More than other regional Chinese styles, Cantonese food is
lightly spiced “so as not to denature the intrinsic flavours,” he
added.
That meant procuring the best,
freshest ingredients possible,
which has been a challenge, said
the Shangri-La’s executive chef
Philippe Labbe, who gave up two
stars at Chateau de la Chevre
d’Or in Eze to oversee the hotel’s trio of restaurants, including his own, L’Abeille.
“We tried 30 different types of
duck before we found one that
18
yielded the signature crispy skin
of Beijing-style roasted duck,”
he said.
In some cases, however, local
produce, and especially meat,
has been better than what was
available in China, Xu said.
Another difficulty was wedding
authentic Chinese food to western table manners, resulting in
a kind of clash of culinary cultures.
Chinese
dishes,
brought
from the kitchen one by one,
are shared by all, whereas the
French tradition dictates that
each shall have his or her own.
Likewise, helping oneself – perfectly acceptable in even the
toniest Chinese establishment –
is associated in the West with a
family-style meal, not high-end
gastronomy.
Then there’s the “lazy Susan”,
the rotating circular tray in the
middle of tables seating six or
more.
At Shang Palace, guests at such
tables are armed with two pairs
of chopsticks, one to grasp from
the common plate, and the
other to eat with. Wine glasses also had to be adapted so
they would not constantly be
knocked over while reaching
for a tasty morsel of abalone
or fermented bean curd.
What went into the glasses
required assiduous research
as well, said the hotel’s chief
sommelier, Cedric Maupoint.
“We taste tested every day
with five or six dishes for
weeks. It was an adventure.”
Xu smiled modestly when
asked if he practiced a “cuisine d’auteur,” the term for
the great innovators that sit at
the pinnacle of France’s culinary hierarchy.
“Creativity in Chinese cuisine is not the same,” he said.
“In France chefs interpret the
tradition. In China, we express it.”
AFP
Chef Frank Xu in his
kitchen of Cantonese
restaurant, Shang
Palace, at the Shangri-La
Hotel in Paris.
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y Belgian thieves
The very best, judged for
their aesthetic qualities,
acquire significant value
as display items. Among
aficionados, koi are considered moving works of
art akin to a Picasso, with
the world-record price being 350,000 euros (USD
500,000).
The biggest dealers in
Flanders know how Belon,
whom they characterise as
an amateur collector, feels.
“They’ve stolen my fish
here before, and poisoned
my ponds – criminal gangs
working to order,” said Jakobs. “But now I think it’s
just someone who wants a
luxury product but doesn’t
have the money.”
She said the thefts “usually happened in the runup to a big trade show.”
“Once we found our koi
at a show one year later.
Every fish is individual –
but when the police compared the photos, they said
the black stripe wasn’t the
same size so they couldn’t
do anything!
“You never get anything
back,” Jakobs sighed. “You
can’t insure the fish unless
at a massive premium, one
third of their value. Materials, equipment, staff, yes
– but not the fish themselves.”
Lloyds of London confirmed to AFP that there
are only a select few policies on the market.
Another veteran of the
trade, Annie Van Alboom
of Paradise of Japanese
Koi near western Ghent,
showed AFP two prize
specimen.
One is a priceless
37-year-old
European
Jumbo champion Chagoi 103 centimetres long
(more than 40 inches).
The other, under heavy
security, already sold for
50,000 euros ($72,000) to
a Brussels millionaire, she
said.
“Ten years ago, thieves
stole 17 and then the next
year another 38 – 75,000
euros worth on that occasion,” she told AFP.
“My father-in-law had
a heart attack and died
when we discovered the
second robbery. They got
one year in jail and were
out in six months.
“It’s been going on all
through the 20 years I’ve
been here,” she said.
Van Alboom has invested
in state-of-the-art laser
alarm systems, and twice
a day braves a nightmare
chamber of flies and excrement to make sure an underground water purification system keeps working.
She and her sons are now
suspicious of visitors, and
call the thieves “opportunist”. “People still want
luxury items, but they
can’t pay for them as easily
now,” she said.
‘Particularly cruel’
Van Alboom also worries
how amateur thieves treat
the koi.
“When I bring mine back
from Japan, it’s a two-day
journey, very stressful,”
she said. “I leave them in
quarantine for 40 days.
Sometimes they lie on the
bottom of the pond looking dead for up to a week,
and don’t even eat.”
19
The thieves carry only
bin bags full of water, “no
oxygen”.
“They pull out the first
one with a big net on a
long pole -- so the others
are terrified. Stress releases
poison, and causes real
damage to their long-term
health,” she explained.
“This crime is particularly
cruel.”
The British Veterinary
Association agrees.
Its animal welfare foundation has offered advice
for ornamental fish keepers, and a spokeswoman
detailed recommendations
on water quality, plant
proximity and diet, as well
as diseases from skin lesions to protruding scales.
They worry that the uninitiated may be tempted
to release damaged koi
into the wild – “illegal, and
dangerous for the environment.”
In the beautiful city of
Dendermonde near Ghent, deputy district attor-
ney Jurgen Coppens told
AFP he is treating Belon’s
case seriously and said koi
thieves could risk “five to
10 years in jail”.
“There is another case
also being investigated in
the next precinct,” he said,
unable to confirm any direct link.
“We haven’t any leads,”
he admitted, “but the minute value is stolen, we don’t
care if it’s fish, jewellery or
a grand piano.”
AFP
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What’s on
TODAY(SEP 9)
Kaluoka’hina, The Enchanted Reef – New Animated Dome
Show at the Macau Science Centre
The Macau Science Centre presents “Kaluoka’hina,
The Enchanted Reef”; an all-new 2D animated Dome
Show at the Planetarium.
The story begins with a volcanic catastrophe that breaks
the spell of “Kaluoka’hina”, the enchanted reef whose
magic protects itself from being discovered by mankind.
Shortly after, the tropical reef is threatened by the
damage made by an oil tanker. Thus the young sawfish,
Jake, and his friend, Shorty, have to go on a mission to
restore the magic of their beloved home. The only lead
they have is an ancient legend that tells of touching the
moon. With no idea how to touch the moon, Jake and
Shorty will have numerous intriguing puzzles to solve
along their most exciting adventure ever.
“Kaluoka’hina, The Enchanted Reef” is the first
family entertainment animation feature film especially
produced for the full dome projection format, offering
a completely new and unique visual panorama
experience.
The Macau Comic Festival this year includes Macau
Original role or brand fair, ‘Macau Comic Arena 2011’
award ceremony and exhibition, and the final of ‘Animeidol
Foreign Language Cartoon Song Contest’. In addition,
Japanese Seiyuu Momoi Haruko was also invited to
perform on the spot. Visitors will be able to enjoy the
performance by Macau Cosplay fans.
Time: 2:30 pm-8:30 pm
(September 10), 1pm-7pm (September 11)
Venue: Macau Forum,
Rua de Luís Gonzaga Gomes, Macau
Admission: MOP30 (September 10),
MOP20 (September 11)
Organiser: Maple Studio
Telephone Enquiries: (853) 6632 9238
http://mcf.org.mo/mcf/
MONDAY (SEP 12)
Wine Museum & Grand Prix Museum
Time: 10am-6pm (Closed on Thursdays, open on Public
Holidays)
Venue: Macau Science Centre, Avenida Dr. Sun YatSen
Admission: Exhibition Hall – MOP 25
Planetarium – MOP35 (2D Dome/ 2D Sky Show)
MOP45 (3D Dome/3D Sky Show)
http://www.msc.org.mo
TOMORROW (SEP 10)
Macau Shopping Festival 2011
The concert, performed by Macau Youth Symphonic
Band, local saxophone player Timothy Sun and awardwinning singer Ho Ka Wing, will combine traditional wind
music and popular music to interpret the passion and
beauty of popular songs and love songs.
Admission: Free
Organiser: Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau
http://www.iacm.gov.mo
Macau New Talent Piano Concert 2011
Time: 8pm
Venue: Grand Auditorium, Macau Cultural Centre,
Av. Xian Xing Hai s/n, NAPE
Admission: MOP80, MOP120, MOP180
Organiser: Macau Band Directors Association
http://www.mbda.org.mo
SUNDAY (SEP 11)
Mid-Autumn Festival
Opening hours: 10m-9pm (Closed on Tuesdays)
Venue: Rua Luís Gonzaga Gomes 431, Basement of
Tourism Activities Centre
Admission: Free
http://www.macautourism.gov.mo
The Macau Shopping Festival will unite shops from
different segments and sizes to create an unprecedented
event ,which offers visitors excellent service, promotions,
discounts, and free gifts. During the event, flea markets
will be held at Fisherman’s Wharf every Friday, Saturday
and Sunday, selling locally produced cultural and creative
products, and local food etc.
You may experience the diverse and dynamic Macau.
Macau’s young pianists Leong Si Lam, Cheong Hou
Teng, Cheng Pui Lam, Lo Hei and others will perform with
several famous young pianists at home and from abroad,
including Wang Diyi, who won the first runner-up title of
the first Macau Open Piano Competition.
Date: September 10-October 7,2011
Fri, Sat & Sunday (2pm-8pm/free admission)
Organiser: Macau Shopping Festival 2011
Organising Committee
http://www.macaushoppingfestival.com
Simple Love Concert
From August, both museums have extended opening
hours to allow more time for visitors to explore the rich
and diverse cultural heritage of Macau. Situated near
to the Golden Lotus Square, the Wine Museum display
rare items such as the 1115 Portuguese wine brands with
756 commercial wines and 359 special collection wines;
the Grand Prix Museum on the other hand, features a
number of automobiles and motorbikes that have raced
in the Macau Grand Prix, and it also pays tribute to
individuals who have made extensive contributions to the
success of the exciting sports event.
The IACM is holding various events for families to
celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in Macau. On the
programming is a ‘Storytelling and Ballad Singing
Performance’ on September, 11-13 (at 8pm) in Carmo
Hall in Taipa, Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre and Macau
Tea Culture House. Experience the lively atmosphere
of the traditional Chinese festival and join the ‘Floating
Lotus Lantern’ at the Nam Van Lake Nautical Center,
where people can write their well wishes on the floating
lantern (September 12 at 8:30pm); The first ever ‘Chasing
the Moon on Starry Night’ (September 13 at 8:30pm) will
provide a moon watching opportunity for public to see
the full moon with telescopes at Grand Taipa Country
Park,where docent with astronomical knowledge will be
there to assist. There are more activities waiting for you.
Let’s have a memorable Mid-Autumn Festival in Macau!
20
Time: 8pm
Venue: Small Auditorium, Macau Cultural Centre, Av.
Xian Xing Hai s/n, NAPE
Admission: MOP60, MOP80
Telephone Enquiries: (853)2855 5555
Organiser: Macau Piano Association
http://www.pianomacau.com
Macau Comic Festival
TUESDAY (SEP 13)
Pandapal Mission: to the East
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“Pandapal Mission: to the East” exhibiting the latest creations of local artist
Helena Ng, which were inspired by the giant pandas.
Located at St. Lazarus Parish, 10 Fantasia is a place to display and promote
the cultural, artistic and creative industries. The area still retains the blend of
the old Macau and Western architectures, while elegant and tranquil views
make it a popular place for taking pictures and immersing in the local arts
and culture.
Time: 11am-6pm (Closed on Mondays)
Until: September 21,2011
Venue: 10Fantasia-A Creative Industries Incubator, Calçada da Igreja de
S. Lázaro, 10
Admission: Free
Organiser: Creative Industries Promotion Association of St. Lazarus
Church District, 10 Fantasia, Associação de Designers de Macau
http://www.10fantasia.com
WEDNESDAY (SEP 14)
Cantonese Operatic Songs Concert
Many Cantonese opera singers from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau
are invited to perform classic Cantonese operas in the concert for devout fans
of Cantonese opera.
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Small Auditorium, Macau Cultural Centre, Av. Xian Xing Hai s/n,
NAPE
Admission: Free (Please contact organizer to obtain tickets)
Organiser: Associação de Ópera Chinesa Lin Chi
THURSDAY (SEP 15)
Macau Open 2011
The Macau Open is set to return bigger and better than ever this year, with
a record prize purse of USD 750,000. Sanctioned by the Asian Tour, The
Macau Open will be staged at the challenging Macau Golf and Country Club.
Macau last hosted Asia’s best professional golfers in 2009 when Thaworn
Wiratchant of Thailand claimed his 11th Asian Tour victory.
September 15-18,2011
Organiser: Golf Association of Macau, Macau Sport Development Board
Venue: Macau Golf and Country Club
*All care is taken in compiling this form guide however Macau Daily
Times accepts no responsibility for any errors in data.
21
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Mouse Click
Webieu
Blog of the Week
Penelope Trunk
by António Espadinha Soares
http://www.webieu.com/
If you’re looking for a service to host your personal
or business website then
you probably already feel
overwhelmed with all the
options available on the web.
This simple site will let you
compare several host service
providers by simply choosing how much you want to
pay, the amount of RAM
the server should have, how
much storage you need and
how much transfer quota.
The site will immediately
present you with a simple
table with the host provider
names; the values of the
aforementioned categories
and a link to each provider’s
plan details.
Video the Week
http://www.penelopetrunk.com/
The business of education is intricate and profitable,
and the mystic that is often attached to it leaves many
to believe that formal education in many fields, especially those that aren’t technical or scientific in nature,
to be of little to no use to those who seek jobs in the
corporate world. Penelope Trunk is such a person, a
mother of two children who has had an interesting
career path and has now become a popular career
counselor. Although her blog in not specifically about
herself, she does illustrate many of her points by way
of personal stories, which makes her brazen opinions
and advice easier to read.
How To Live Before You Die
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html
Steve Jobs, one of the most
influential entrepreneurs of the
digital age, has recently resigned
as CEO of Apple Computer, the
company that he founded along
with Steve Wozniac, due to his
deteriorating health ever since
he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004. This video
is a recording of Job’s speech to
Stanford University Graduates
of 2005 in which he reflects on
his own life so as to inspire these
then fresh graduates to make the
most out of their lives.
Graphicly
App of the Week Decide-O-Tron
http://graphicly.com/
iTunes App Store
If you’re a fan of comic books you’ll love this site. Up until now
there haven’t been any sort of viable comics book distribution platforms. Every sort of traditional media has been making the jump to
digital distribution, but comics haven’t so far found a stable electronic form. Now if you want to read comics, purchase them and
find new titles you can peruse through Graphicly. It’s excellent site
software makes reading comics on a standard computer screen a
delight, and it’s also optimized for tablets and smart phones.
Computer games are no longer the entertainment of little kids. All the children who played
the first computer games have now grown up
into adults with lots of disposable income at
their command, which has turned the gaming
industry into one that is more profitable than
the movie industry. With all the choices of gaming platforms and games you can find it hard
23
to decide on what game to play next. If you’re
either looking to play a classic in your games
library or find a new title that you’re likely to
enjoy, download this free app. It will allow you
to create a comprehensive library of the games
you own and based on that, and your personal
rankings, it will recommend either new titles to
explore or new games to buy.
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Friday09
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Friday
Ask The Vet
by Dr Ruan Du Toit Bester
Please send
all your questions to
[email protected]
or mail to;
Dr Ruan Du Toit Bester
Rua, D.R, L, P, Marquest
2/F, Flat B, Ponte 6A,
Macau SAR.
Tel: +852 66706906
Question Categories
to be covered are:
-All about Dogs.
-All about Cats.
-All about Exotics.
-All about pet
ownership.
-All about nutrition.
We will be focusing
on the following;
Allergies
Avian/Exotics
Behavior
Boarding
Dental
Digestive System
Diseases
Ears
General
Heart
Hormones
Husbandry
Medications
Musculoskeletal
Neoplasia
Nervous System
Nutrition
Reproductive System
Respiratory
Skin
Surgery
Travel
Urinary
Vaccinations
Ask the Vet - is a
service that allows
you to ask questions about your
pets’ health and
behavior. My goal
is to help you, the
pet owner, improve the knowledge of your pet’s
everyday
needs
and health care
in Macau through
a variety of pet
services and veterinary resources
that where never
available to pet
owners before.
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Progressive Retinal Atrophy
– Degeneration in Cats
P
rogressive retinal atrophy or
degeneration (PRA or PRD) is the
name for several diseases that are
progressive and lead to blindness. PRA is not very common in cats, although
the Abyssinian breed seems to have a predilection. In cats, a deficiency of the amino acid
taurine can result in PRA. This is one reason why cat foods and some
feline nutritional supplements contain taurine.
The retina is the structure affected in PRA.
This important part of the eye receives the
light gathered and focused by the other eye
structures. It takes the light and essentially
converts it into electrical nerve signals that
the brain, via the optic nerve, interprets as
vision. The retina contains photoreceptors,
called rods and cones, which help the animal
see in darkness (rods) and see certain colors
(cones). Normally, the photoreceptors in the retinas
develop after birth to about 8 weeks of age.
In PRA in cats, the photoreceptors develop in
the kittens, but as the cat ages, the receptors
degenerate. Progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRCD) is the most common form of
PRA in cats, and starts with night blindness
and progresses to total blindness at 3 to 5
years of age. The late onset of clinical signs
in PRCD is particularly devastating to breeding programs because cats may have already
been bred prior to the onset of symptoms.
the eye may be observed through an ophthalmic examination by a veterinary opthalmologist. More sophisticated tests such aselectroretinography may also be used. Both tests
are painless and the animal does not have to
be anesthetized.
• How is PRA treated?
Unfortunately, there is no treatment for PRA,
nor a way to slow the progression of the disease. Animals with PRA usually become blind.
Cats are remarkably adaptable to progressive
blindness, and can often seem to perform normally in their customary environments. Evidence of the blindness is more pronounced if
the furniture is rearranged or the animals are
in unfamiliar surroundings.
• Can it be prevented? PRA has been shown to have a genetic component. Kittens from parents who have no history of the disease have less risk of developing
the disease. Affected animals should not be
bred and should be spayed or neutered. The
littermates or parents of animals with PRA
should also not be bred. If your cat develops
PRA, notify the breeder, if possible.
In the last several years, DNA testing is being used to identify which genes are
responsible for PRA in dogs. Tests in
cats are not yet available.
Hope this helps.
Till next week,
Dr Ruan • What are the signs?
PRA is non painful and outward appearance of the eye is often normal, i.e.; no redness, excess tearing, or squinting. Owners
may notice a change in personality of their
cat such as a reluctance to go down stairs or
down a dark hallway. This is characteristic of
night blindness, in which vision may appear
to improve during the daytime. As the disease progresses, owners can observe a dilation of the pupils and the reflection of light
from the back of the eye. If the blindness is
progressing slowly, the owner may not notice any signs until the cat is in unfamiliar
surroundings and the lack of vision is more
apparent. In some animals, the lens of their
eyes may become opaque or cloudy.
• How is PRA diagnosed?
Depending on the form of PRA, characteristic changes in the retina and other parts of
Philippines creates haven
for endangered duck
The Philippines has created a protected area to save
a species of endangered wild duck, with just 5,000 of
the birds remaining, government documents released
on Monday said.
The 27 hectare (67 acre) “wetland critical
habitat” was set up for the Philippine duck, a
species found only in the Philippines whose
numbers have been falling due to hunting and
habitat destruction, the documents said.
The environment department order created the protected area in the largely-agricultural Cabusao
district in the east of the country.
“Ensure that existing ecosystems in the critical habitat are preserved and are kept in a condition that will support the perpetual existence of the
25
Philippine duck,” the department order instructed
local authorities.
The Philippine duck, whose scientific name is “Anas
luzonica”, is rated as “vulnerable” by the conservation group BirdLife International, which estimated in
2005 that as few as 5,000 of them may be left.
On its website, BirdLife said the main threats to
the species were excessive hunting and the use of its
habitats for drainage and aquaculture – the farming
of aquatic organisms – and excessive use of pesticides
in rice farms.
The duck is described as having a blue-grey bill,
a “rusty cinnamon” head and neck, and brown and
grey feathers. It feeds on fish, shrimps, insects, rice
and other plants.
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Times world
®
Palestinians launch UN bid,
‘state 194’ solidarity campaign
P
alestinians
yesterday kicked off a
campaign of support
for their bid to become the
194th state to join the United
Nations, calling on UN chief
Ban Ki-moon to back them.
The launch of the campaign,
dubbed “National Campaign
for Palestine: state 194”, is
part of the build-up to September 20, when Palestinian
president Mahmud Abbas is
expected to submit the formal membership request.
In Ramallah, the campaign
got underway yesterday with
a march to UN headquarters
in the West Bank city, where
organisers presented a letter
requesting Ban support the
membership bid.
“Today we began our campaign on the ground and we
chose the UN building because it represents the United
Nations and we expect them
to respond to our demands,”
Ahmed Assaf, the campaign’s
coordinator, told AFP.
Palestinians rally outside the UN building in the West Bank city of Ramallah yesterday as
they kick off a campaign of support for their bid to join the United Nations
“We are no less important
than the other 193 states in
the United Nations and our
message will ask for our
state to be 194.”
A copy of the letter shown
to AFP said the campaign
would continue “until the
state of Palestine is finally
admitted as member state
number 194.”
“Your excellency, the Palestinian people at home and
in the diaspora, particularly
those in refugee camps who
were uprooted from their
homeland and dispossessed
63 years ago, hope that your
excellency will stand by justice and do right by our people,” the letter said.
“The admission of the
state of Palestine to the
UN is an important step
towards ending the occupation and achieving
Palestinian independence
and realising a just and
comprehensive peace in
the Middle East,” it continued.
“We hope that you will join
the international consensus
and support the Palestinian
bid for its long overdue recognition.”
The letter was delivered to
Pascal Soto, head of the UN
office in Ramallah.
“I received the letter and I
will send it to the Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon,” he
said. “It will go today, they
are six hours behind us, so
they will receive it in the
morning their time.”
Around 100 people joined
the march to the headquarters, waving Palestinian
flags and holding signs reading, “We want a Palestinian
state 194 in the UN.”
The protesters chanted
“We want our identity, we
want a state,” and called on
Arab nations to throw their
support behind the membership bid.
Abbas is to submit a formal
request for Palestinian UN
membership to Ban on September 20.
The request is expected to
seek full membership for a
Palestinian state on the lines
that existed before the 1967
Six Day War.
The bid is opposed by Israel and Washington, which
has warned it will block the
membership plan in the Security Council.
If the bid is vetoed in the
body, the Palestinians plan
to turn to the General Assembly where they are expected to easily win the
votes needed to upgrade
their representation from
an observer body to a nonmember state.
West Bank
Syrian forces storm village, kill 3 defectors Second
mosque vandalised
Syria, accused by France of “crimes
against humanity,” yesterday sent
its security forces storming into a
northwestern village where they
killed three military defectors, rights
activists said.
“A force comprising seven armoured
vehicles and 10 jeeps stormed the
village of Ibleen in Jabal Al-Zawiyah
[region] in search of people wanted
by the security services,” the Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights said in a statement.
“Heavy gunfire was heard as the
forces stormed the village,” the Observatory said in a statement received by AFP in Cyprus.
The head of the Observatory, Rami
Abdel Rahman, later told AFP the
killings occurred during a raid on the
house in Ibleen of a brother of one of
defectors, Hussein Harmouche.
Two other deserters were arrested,
Abdel Rahman said, reached by telephone from Nicosia.
Harmouche, an officer, announced
his defection in a June video widely distributed on the Internet and
broadcast on Arab satellite channels,
giving as the reason his refusal “to
fire on unarmed civilians.”
The United Nations says 2,200 people have been killed, most of them
civilians, since democracy protests
flared in Syria in mid-March.
The assault on Ibleen comes a day
after regime forces, according to an
updated toll by rights activists, killed
another 31 people, 29 of them in a
tank-backed raid on the flashpoint
central city of Homs.
The brutal crackdown on protesters
has been widely condemned by world
powers, some of which have slapped
sanctions on the Damascus regime.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe (L) listens to his Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov during a news conference in Moscow where France accused
Syria’s Bashar al-Assad’s regime of crimes against humanity and expressed
hope that Moscow would join sanctions against Damascus
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe pulled no punches during talks
on Wednesday in Moscow with his
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
“The Syrian regime has committed crimes against humanity,” Juppe
said.
“The way it [the Syrian regime] suppressed the popular protests is unacceptable,” he said, expressing hope
that Russia would change its stance
and back UN condemnation of the
crackdown.
European Union nations are considering fresh sanctions against Syria, a
diplomatic source who asked not to
be identified said in Brussels.
“There is preliminary political
agreement” between EU nations on
slapping a ban on oil-sector relat-
ed investment as part of a seventh
round of sanctions against the Assad regime, the source said.
The head of the Arab League, Nabil
al-Arabi, is due in Damascus on
Saturday after a planned visit on
Wednesday was postponed.
Arabi has been commissioned by
the 22-member Cairo-based pan-Arab organisation to travel to Damascus with a 13-point document outlining proposals to end the bloody
crackdown on dissent and push Syria
to launch reforms.
According to a copy of the document seen by AFP, Arabi is to propose that Assad hold elections in
three years, move towards a pluralistic government and immediately halt
the crackdown.
27
Vandals graffitied a West Bank mosque, torched two Palestinian cars and uprooted olive trees overnight in attacks which locals
yesterday blamed on Jewish settlers.
The mosque in Yatma village some 10 kilometres (six miles)
south of Nablus was spray-painted with Hebrew graffiti reading “price tag” and “Migron” in reference to a settlement outpost
where Israeli troops demolished three homes on Monday.
Hardline settlers have adopted what they call a “price tag” policy
under which they attack Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli government measures against settlements.
It was the second time in three days that vandals, believed to be
settlers, had attacked a mosque and daubed the word “Migron”
on the walls. In Monday’s attack, they also tried to set light to the
building, causing fire damage.
During the overnight attacks, vandals also torched two cars in
the nearby village of Qabalan, with witnesses telling AFP they had
seen “settlers” fleeing after setting a BMW alight.
Several kilometres further north, dozens of olive trees were uprooted in a grove between Huwwara village and the hardline Yitzhar settlement, a Palestinian security source told AFP.
The attacks came a day after the army said unidentified “vandals” had attacked military vehicles on a base near Ramallah,
slashing tyres and spraying them with the words “price tag.”
Sugar was also poured into the fuel tanks of two heavy machinery vehicles, which participated in the Migron demolitions, the
army said yesterday.
Monday’s attack on the mosque in Qusra was condemned by the
Palestinians and the European Union, as well as by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A Palestinian man yesterday inspects a burnt car
that witnesses say was torched by Israeli settlers
overnight in the village of Qabalan, near the West
Bank city of Nablus
world Times
®
Kadhafi ‘sold 20 pct
of Libya’s gold’ in days
Former Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi sold around 20 percent of Libya’s gold reserves, worth more than USD 1 billion,
in the final days of his regime, the country’s central bank governor said yesterday.
Qassem Azzoz said 29 tonnes of gold – worth 1.7 billion dinars – were sold to local merchants beginning in April as the
sanctions-hit regime sought to gather much-needed cash.
The price represents a significant discount on current international spot prices.
“The gold was liquidated in order to pay salaries and to have
liquidity, in Tripoli in particular,” Azzoz said.
According to central bank officials some of the gold likely
made its way out of the country to neighbouring Tunisia and
beyond, circumventing international sanctions.
As Libya’s financial system creaks back to life after months
of sanctions and war-caused closures, the hunt is now on
for billions of dollars in assets that are thought to have been
squirrelled-away by Kadhafi and his regime.
While Azzoz said the official balance sheet of the central
bank was largely intact with USD 115 billion in holdings –
USD 90 billion of which are held abroad – he said billions
were likely hidden off the books.
“No assets of the central bank of Libya have been stolen,
gold or otherwise, the only part liquidated was part of the
gold reserves.”
“The Kadhafi regime was known to have hidden sizeable
amounts of funds outside the banking system, unaccounted
for in the first place, there may have been movement of such
assets.”
The bank chief said he would now track down Libya’s assets
“country by country, bank by bank and account by account,”
a tongue-in-cheek reference to Kadhafi’s threat to look for
opponents street by street, alleyway by alleyway, house by
house.
“We will have to calculate oil revenues during his regime
and figure out how much is missing.”
In the meantime, Libya’s new rulers are confident they have
enough cash to make do.
The existing reserves are equal to around 200 percent of
gross domestic product. That is enough to cover the economy
from stalling completely for two years – roughly the time estimated for oil revenues to return to pre-war levels.
To ensure that the influx of cash does not send prices soaring Azzoz said a cap on bank withdrawals would stay in place,
but may be lifted from 250 dinars to 500 dinars this week.
Berlin police detain
two terror suspects
German police arrested two men yesterday on suspicion of
acquiring chemicals for a planned bomb attack and searched
a mosque in Berlin, a spokesman told AFP.
The arrest of a 24-year-old German of Lebanese origin and
a 28-year-old from the Gaza Strip, comes ahead of the 10th
anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United
States and a planned visit to Berlin by Pope Benedict XVI
later this month.
Police raided the homes of the two men in the districts of
Kreuzberg and Neukoelln as well as a mosque in the working
class neighbourhood of Wedding.
The spokesman said authorities had been investigating for
several months but declined to provide further details.
A spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office said it had
launched a probe against the men on “suspicion of preparing
a major violent crime against the state”.
Authorities say they had acquired several coolants and an
acid normally used in farming with the aim of building an
explosive, the daily Berliner Morgenpost reported.
The suspects regularly attended the mosque in Wedding
and occasionally spent the night there, the newspaper said,
adding that the probe began when the companies where the
chemicals were ordered reported the suspicious purchases to
police.
Authorities declined to confirm this.
Rescuers and investigators yesterday work at the crash site of the Russian plane crash near the city of Yaroslavl
Russia mourns ice
hockey team air disaster
by Anna Smolchenko
R
ussia yesterday mourned
the 43 victims of a plane disaster that wiped out a top
ice hockey team as President Dmitry
Medvedev demanded officials put a
stop to a string of air crashes.
An ageing Yak-42 plane carrying three-time Russian champions
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl – a popular
team with several ex-NHL stars on
its roster – crashed on Wednesday
near Yaroslavl, 300 kilometres (185
miles) northeast of Moscow.
A sombre Medvedev said on a
visit to the crash site in the rundown sleepy village of Tunoshna
that Russia could not continue to
suffer from a string of apparently
avoidable disasters and may have
to switch to foreign-made planes.
“This is a shock for the entire country,” said Medvedev after he placed
flowers at the bank of the Tunoshonka river, the wreckage of the plane
lying in the water nearby.
“I’ve given an order to the Investigative Committee and the government to conduct a thorough
investigation,” Medvedev, wearing
a black suit, told officials in a quiet
but firm voice at the site.
“The situation remains unfortunate, and a string of air crashes
which happened this summer shows
that. We cannot go on like that,” he
told top officials including Transport
Minister Igor Levitin and Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Medvedev said that if Russia cannot produce reliable aircraft it would
have to buy foreign-made planes,
which would be a major blow to
Russia’s industrial ambitions.
“The value of human life is above
all the other considerations. I will
give an order to the government and
they will have to find the money. It
will be an extensive programme.”
Medvedev’s mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has particularly insisted Russian carriers buy
Russian-made aircraft to support
domestic producers.
28
Russian President Medvedev yesterday addressed the annual
two-day political conference in the city of Yaroslavl, demanding
measures to stem air crashes
The latest disaster left two survivors including a Russian hockey
player in critical condition and
comes on the heels of a summer full
of deadly transportation mishaps.
Two accidents involving Tu-134
and An-24 jets killed more than 50
people and prompted Medvedev to
call for those aircraft to be retired
in the coming months.
Officials have so far blamed
Wednesday’s tragedy on human
error and aircraft malfunction –
the usual suspects in a string of
past tragedies – and Medvedev demanded that aviation companies
improve their act.
“The number of aviation companies should be drastically decreased
and it should be done in the shortest possible time,” he said.
Levitin, the transportation minister, told the Kremlin chief the
doomed Yak-42 jet was built in
1993 and was expected to work
through 2012.
In a grim twist of fate, the crash
occurred on the eve of Medvedev’s
scheduled visit to Yaroslavl to address a political conference, which
seeks to tout Russia’s economic
and political clout, at the hockey
team’s home arena.
By the time Medvedev arrived to
make his speech after travelling to
the crash site, the venue had turned
into a shrine to the local team, with
thousands of fans placing heaps of
roses and team scarves at its walls.
“Of course, it is hard to speak after
such events,” Medvedev said as he
asked the audience to honor the crash
victims with a moment of silence.
Russia is heading into crucial parliamentary and presidential elections in which neither Medvedev
nor Putin have ruled out running.
Analysts have over the past months
scrutinised the Kremlin chief’s every move for signs of his intentions.
Medvedev barely mentioned the
polls in his speech, touching instead
on everything from social diversity
to ethnic tension to Russia’s embrace of democracy.
Political analysts say persistent
disasters and a tattered infrastructure discredit the Kremlin’s efforts
to promote itself as a global player,
while Medvedev’s persistent silence
over his 2012 plans hurt the country’s battered investment climate.
Putin, considered Russia’s paramount leader, is believed to have the
final say on which of the two will run.
The 18-year-old plane with 45
people aboard was on Wednesday
headed to the Belarussian capital
Minsk where the team was to play
their season opening game.
The two survivors – player Alexander Galimov and crew member
Alexander Sizov – remained in serious condition. AFP
Times BUSINESS
Asian shares mostly up
after German court verdict
A
sian markets were
mostly higher yesterday on news that
a German court had dismissed an attempt to block
the country’s payments to
eurozone bailouts, but gains
were tempered by profittaking.
Early rises were pared as
dealers digested weak economic data, while they also
had an eye on an upcoming speech by US President
Barack Obama on job creation.
Tokyo closed up 0.34 percent, or 29.71 points, to
8,793.12, Seoul added 0.72
percent, or 13.18 points, to
1,846.64 while Sydney was
0.11 percent, or 4.6 points,
higher at 4,188.0.
However, Hong Kong
slipped 0.67 percent, or
135.18 points, to 19,912.82
and Shanghai fell 0.68
percent, or 17.15 points, to
2,498.94.
Germany’s Constitutional
Court ruled that Berlin was
not breaking the law by
joining a eurozone bailout
mechanism, removing an
obstacle to rescues of Greece
and other countries.
The country’s top court
averted a new eurozone crisis by upholding bailouts for
debt-wracked nations but
insisted parliament have a
bigger say in future.
The ruling, nervously anticipated on volatile financial markets, paved the way
for Germany – the European Union’s biggest benefactor – to continue its multibillion-dollar contributions
to bailouts.
“The move might suggest
that Germany may participate more actively in peripheral bailouts,” said St
George Economics in a report to clients, according to
Dow Jones Newswires.
Adding to buying sentiment was the US Federal
Reserve Beige Book report
that provided an improved
assessment of the world’s
number one economy, despite a number of weak indicators, including in manufacturing and jobs.
Asian markets were also
given a lift by a powerful performance on Wall
Street, which bounced back
strongly from several days
of heavy selling.
The Dow jumped 2.47 percent, the S&P 500 surged
2.86 percent and the techheavy Nasdaq Composite
rallied 3.04 percent.
However, in Sydney the
morning’s gains were cut
back as dealers digested
data showing unemployment rose for a second
straight month in August, to
5.3 percent from 5.1 percent
in July.
And in Tokyo, traders were
looking over figures showing Japan’s current account
surplus shrank 42.4 percent
from a year earlier in July,
the fifth consecutive decline
in the wake of the March 11
earthquake and tsunami.
Other data showed a decline in machinery orders in
July, an indication that corporate capital spending was
being deterred as a strong
yen makes exporting firms
less profitable.
The dollar rose to 77.38
yen in Asian trade from
77.26 yen in New York late
Wednesday.
The euro fell to USD 1.4070
from USD 1.4096, but was
well up from the USD1.3972
it hit on Tuesday, its lowest
level since mid-July. The
European single unit inched
down to 108.87 yen from
108.90 yen.
The Swiss franc was mixed
following the Swiss central
bank’s move earlier this
week to cap the currency.
The euro traded at 1.2090
Swiss francs, down from
1.2095 in New York. The
dollar rose to 0.8594 Swiss
francs from 0.8579.
Meanwhile global attention
is on what plans Obama will
unveil to tackle US unemployment after figures last
week showed no jobs were
created last month, stoking
fears over the world’s biggest economy.
And in China, officials are
due to release key inflation
figures after July saw prices
rise at their fastest pace in
three years. Another high
inflation rate could lead to
further monetary tightening
by Beijing, which would depress already weak stocks.
Oil was mixed. New York’s
main contract, light sweet
crude for October delivery,
added 41 cents to USD 89.75
per barrel.
However, Brent North Sea
crude for delivery in October fell 10 cents to USD
115.70.
Gold was trading at USD
1,835.70 an ounce at 0800
GMT, down from USD
1,845.60 on Wednesday.
(AFP)
Hong Kong Disneyland dismisses Shanghai threat
Hong Kong Disneyland, which has
been losing money and struggling to
attract visitors, said yesterday that its
Shanghai counterpart was no threat as
it prepares for the opening of a new attraction.
The Hong Kong park has been battling to increase its popularity since
opening in 2005 and its future came
under fresh scrutiny with the new USD
3.7 billion Shanghai Disneyland, which
is expected to open in 2016.
“Hong Kong Disneyland will maintain
its competitive edge in the region as we
are launching Asia’s only Toy Story
Land,” Andrew Kam, managing direc-
tor of Hong Kong Disneyland, told a
media briefing.
“This will enable us to maintain our
leadership role,” he said when asked
whether Shanghai Disneyland – which
will be three times the size of the Hong
Kong park – posed a threat to his plans
to boost visitor numbers.
Toy Story Land, which is based on the
popular animated film and scheduled
for opening in November, is part of an
HKD 6.2 billion expansion plan that
will see 30 new attractions over the
next five years.
“The expansion project is our largest growth phase since our open-
ing,” Kam said.
Hong Kong Disneyland, which is majority owned by the Hong Kong government, has been desperate to ramp up
the number and quality of its attractions as it tries to get in more punters.
Mainland China is a major source of
visitors for the Hong Kong park, last
year accounting for 2.2 million visitors,
or 42 percent of the total.
Hong Kong Disneyland saw its net
loss narrow to HKD 718 million (USD
92 million) in its last fiscal year ended
October 2, compared to HKD 1.32 billion a year earlier, partly due to an increase of visitors.
29
®
China needs 5,000 new
planes by 2030: Boeing
US aviation giant Boeing said yesterday it estimated China
would need 5,000 new planes worth USD 600 billion by
2030, as growing wealth among the middle class triggers an
air travel boom.
Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing’s
commercial airplane section, said the Seattle-based company
had revised up its expectations from last year, when it predicted China would need 4,330 new planes by 2029.
Tinseth told reporters in Beijing the upgrade comes after the
company enjoyed “a better year” than expected in China and
also reflects greater demand for air travel among Chinese.
“Sustained strong economic growth, growing trade activities, increasing personal wealth and income, as well continued market liberalisation will be the driving forces in shaping
China’s air travel market,” he said.
“But also, especially as we look at the international, we see
an opportunity for the Chinese carriers to grow their market
share.”
Boeing predicts that over the next 20 years, Chinese airlines’
fleet of planes will increase from the current 1,750 to 5,930.
Of the new planes, 16 percent will be replacements for ageing aircraft and 84 percent extra purchases, Tinseth said.
China’s air travel is booming, with 267 million air passenger
trips recorded in the country in 2010, up 15.8 percent from
the previous year, official figures show.
“We are becoming more Asia-centric,” said Tinseth.
“For the first time last year, the North American travel market was surpassed by travel within the Asia-Pacific [region]...
China will account for more than 40 percent of demand in the
Asia Pacific” over the next 20 years, he added.
‘Especially as we look at the international, we see an
opportunity for the Chinese carriers to grow their
market share’: Boeing’s Randy Tinseth
OECD warns of sharp
slowdown in G7 countries
A new recession in some rich countries cannot be ruled out
and the eurozone crisis could deepen, the OECD warned yesterday urging most central banks not to raise interest rates.
The OECD revised sharply down its growth forecasts for the
rest of the year for Group of Seven (G7) rich industrialised
countries and expected at least one quarter of contraction in
Germany and Italy.
The US economy would grow by 1.1 percent in the third quarter of this year from the previous quarter, and by 0.4 percent in
the fourth quarter, the OECD said.
The eurozone was set for third-quarter growth of 1.4
percent but switching into a downturn of 0.4 percent in
the last quarter.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development stressed the high level of uncertainty mainly because of
the impact of debt problems in the United States and particularly in Europe, where the crisis “could intensify again.”
A recession is generally considered to occur if quarterly
growth is negative from output in the previous quarter, twice
in a row.
In a particularly grim interim assessment, the OECD said the
Japanese economy could grow by 4.1 but would then show zero
growth in the fourth quarter.
The main driving force in the eurozone, Germany could grow
by 2.6 percent in quarter three but was set to contract by 1.4
percent in the fourth quarter.
For France the estimates were plus 0.9 and plus 0.4 percent,
for Italy minus 0.1 percent and then plus 0.1 percent, for Britain plus 0.4 and plus 0.3 percent and for Canada plus 1.0 and
plus 1.9 percent.
In the French version of the report, the OECD said: “The possibility of recession is not ruled out in some big economies in
the OECD.”
However, the English version read: “The risk of more negative growth going forward has become higher in some major
OECD economies.”
Both versions added: “But a downturn of the magnitude of
2008-2009 is not foreseen.”
corporate news Times
®
Hennessy’s music
mixing packs Cubic
C
lub Cubic was packed
last Friday night to
welcome three Hong
Kong music stars that joined
a one-off concert, as part of
Hennessy Artistry’s Global
Art of Mixing series. Rocker
Paul Wong, dance music
singer Sherman Chung and
cantopop star Denise Ho
were the highlights at City of
Dreams resort.
Cognac brand Hennessy
V.S.O.P has launched The
Global Art of Mixing program
aimed at blending contemporary musical artists from
different genres. The series
has so far included parties in
New York, Moscow, Taipei,
Shanghai, Beijing, Ho Chi
Minh City and Kuala Lumpur.
The show was successfully
staged in Hong Kong in August, where Paul Wong and
Sherman Chung performed.
On Friday at club Cubic they
were joined by pop diva Denise Ho, known as HOCC,
Dance music singer Sherman Chung (L), rocker Paul Wong (C) and cantopop star Denise
Ho (R) packed club Cubic last Friday as part of Hennessy’s Global Art of Mixing series
to mix pop, rock and dance
music.
The opening performance
was in the hands of Hong
Kong veteran Paul Wong.
Together with his band ‘The
Postman’ Wong sang about
love and social issues while
displaying his trademark
guitar skills.
Next on stage was cantopop
star Denise Ho who brought
some of the most well known
September means cheese at Sofitel
Cheese is king of Friday nights at hotel Sofitel
this month thanks to the new ‘Le Rendez-Vous
des Fromages’ temptation. A selection of over
15 different types of cheese from all around the
world is on offer.
This wide array is presented each Friday night,
from 7 to 10 pm at Rendezvous Lounge for all
cheese lovers. The different offers are sourced by
Sofitel’s French executive chef Martin Becquart
from various locations throughout the world.
The cheese is then paired with different sauces,
homemade chutneys, dried fruit and nuts, freshly
baked bread and beverages such as wine, champagne, whisky and Port wine.
But this is not the only special promotion at
Sofitel this month. With one of the most important festivals for Chinese people coming soon,
the hotel launched the Mid-Autumn Festival
Seafood Dinner Buffet at Mistral, especially with
family gatherings in mind.
Sofitel is proposing an East meets West fusion
dinner that includes traditional and modern
Cantonese hot dishes, fresh seafood including lobsters, oysters, hairy crabs, scallops and
prawns, and also a French dessert station.
Also this month the hotel is launching ‘World
of Sofitel’ dinner buffet for guests to experience
dishes from Sofitel hotels worldwide. Mistral restaurant offers cuisine from Australia, Thailand,
Cambodia, India, the Philippines and China.
The buffet includes dishes such as mixed
spring rolls with foie gras, green mango and
basil leaves, spicy fish curry Krabi style,
lamb Adobo with morels and green pepper
and wok tossed blue swimmer crab with
chilli and shallot.
melodies from her nine-year
career. The energetic songs
were sung together by the
provocative diva and the
youthful crowd.
But the real mixing began
when Ho was joined by Paul
Wong and his band for a
first-time ever collaboration,
introducing a fresh feel to a
now classic cantopop tune.
The duo soon became a trio
as Sherman Chung popped
on stage. The three stars gave
the crowd a unique rendition
of Beyond’s hit song “Under
a Vast Sky”.
Chung’s dance music made
up the last of the concert,
including a new song called
‘Take it’ and some hits from
her still early career. Her dynamic dancing style led the
way for the rest of the night,
which was left to Cubic’s own
DJs.
CEM celebrates Mid-Autumn
Festival with elderly
With Mid-Autumn Festival just around
the corner, some 20 CEM Ambassadors
together with senior citizens from Centro
de Dia Brilho da Vida, Caritas Macau participated in the Energising Tour. The ambassadors of the public electricity provider
also presented guests with a party full of
games.
CEM arranged a bus for more than 40
senior citizens to the Coloane Power Station. At the exhibition, the senior citizens
learned about CEM’s history and power
generation process.
“The tour allowed senior citizens to
get inside knowledge on green energies
and raise their environmental protection
awareness,” the company said.
After the visit, senior citizens joined CEM
Ambassadors team members to perform
songs and play lantern riddle games for
prizes.
“CEM has always put a lot of effort into caring for and serving the community, including
offering the tariff discount for the senior citizens, organizing CEM Ambassador Team to
provide voluntary social services for people
in need and participating in community activities regularly, as well as visiting orphanages and senior centres during the festivals,”
they said in a press release.
Crown presents Royal Moroccan Experience
Spa at Crown at City of Dreams is offering a royal sensory journey with a series of
exclusive new treatments for the months
of September and October. Rich in the
rare organic Argan oil, the treatments are
designed to relax and rejuvenate using
concepts that originate from Moroccan
culture and tradition.
“The imperial Moroccan treatments are
beauty rituals which offer a luxuriously
pampered retreat from the pressures and
stress of everyday life,” they said in a press
release.
Until October 31, guests can relax at The
Spa at Crown with a royal facial treatment,
body treatment and other tailored pack-
ages, complete with Moroccan music and
signature drinks.
The products and treatment concepts
of the royal Moroccan treatments are inspired by the royal city of Marrakech, the
most important former imperial city in
Morocco’s history. All products are formulated with the rarest organic Argan oil
which is native to Morocco.
Exceptionally rich in unsaturated fatty
acids, Argan oil is one of the most powerful antioxidants extremely rich in Omega
6, Omega 9 and Vitamin E. The treatments
aim to detoxify, renew energy for a unique
well-being sensation and restore all rituals
of traditional hammam.
30
The Spa at Crown at City of Dreams presents the Royal Moroccan Experience with
a series of new treatments for the months of September and October
Times corporate news
®
World’s top supercars head to Macau
CTM wins corporate strategy award
Local telecommunications operator CTM
received the Corporate Strategy Excellence
Award 2011 for the company’s long-term
achievements in business development,
service innovation, brand management
and sales and marketing strategy, the company announced in a press release.
This year, CTM has been nominated for
the first time in the election of ‘Corporate
Strategy Excellence Award’ in Hong Kong
and has become one of the six companies
in Macau to be awarded such a prize.
The award presentation ceremony was
held on Tuesday in Hong Kong. According
to the committee of ‘Corporate Strategy
Excellence Award’, CTM, with its customer
oriented strategy, has been offering a comprehensive range of telecom services that
serves the need of the local community.
With a strong history of providing innovative services, the company has been
maintaining its leadership position in the
telecom arena. “Alongside this achievement, CTM has established clear business
objectives, with an aim to further increase
its brand awareness through effective promotional strategies,” they said.
“The Corporate Strategy Excellence
Award 2011 is recognition of the company’s
dedication to serve the local community
for the past 30 years, which has not only
proven the success of CTM’s branding and
marketing strategies, but also highlighted
the company’s capabilities in continuously
providing high quality telecom services to
Macau residents,” the company said.
The ‘Corporate Strategy Excellence
Award’ is organised by East Week, and the
evaluation criteria for this award include
corporate vision and strategy, creativity,
business performance and future development.
Venetian Macao gets hotel award
Galaxy wins basketball cup
Galaxy Entertainment Group’s team was
the winner of the fifth edition of the Macau
Gaming Industry Labourers Association
Basketball Cup beating Melco B team in
the final on Monday.
Even though the Galaxy team was participating for the first time in this competition, it made it through the preliminary
rounds and into the final.
The 16-player-strong squad may have
surprised its opponents with their skills
but they spent the last four months preparing for the cup, according to a press
statement.
The final was a close match but Galaxy
Top Marques, the showcase for
the world’s best supercars, will
hold its Asian edition in Macau
starting this year with a live drive
test track.
The event will take place from
November 24 – 27 at the Venetian Macao and the organisers of
Top Marques Macau expect the
first edition of the show to attract
around 20,000 visitors over four
days.
Supercar aficionados will get
their overdose of thrills as they see
the curtain raised on the industry’s latest, state-of-the-art innovations from Ferrari, Maserati,
Pagani, GTA Motor, Koenigsegg, Gemballa, Fisker, Conquest (Knight XV), Lamborghini, Audi
Jaguar, Land Rover and many more.
One of the Monaco auto show’s main draws is the fact that some guests will be invited to test
out new cars on Monaco’s F1 racing track.
Like its Monaco counterpart, the highlight of Top Marques Macau will be the test drive track.
Organisers say that Macau authorities have agreed to close 2.1 kilometres of road around the
exhibition space for the exclusive use of Top Marques Macau test drives.
“We are very impressed with what the destination has to offer. With abundant exhibition
space, exceptional hospitality, quality infrastructure and a high-spec test track, Macau was
the obvious choice to host Top Marques,” said founder and chairman of Top Marques, Lawrie
Lewis.
“We are very excited to be hosting Top Marques Macau, the first show of its calibre in the
region,” added John Hardyment, chief executive of Bayshore Pacific Exhibitions Limited, the
event partner for the only officially sanctioned Top Marques in Asia.
“It is a testament to the strength and position of Asian consumers in the luxury goods market. We are committed to bringing the most exclusive and desired items in the world to this
arena and look forward to strengthening our presence here in the coming years,” Hardyment
continued.
Along with the star-studded line-up of pioneering super and luxury cars, Top Marques Macau
“will also feature watches and an exclusive Jewel Gala with remarkable, limited edition, timepieces and jewellery,” the organisers said in a press release.
The show will also feature pleasure boats, property, art and many other luxury products, displayed under one roof, across 13,650 square metres of event space.
eventually prevailed to clinch the win at
96-84 to become the best among the 18
teams in the tournament.
“We dedicated our spare time to preparing for this competition because we all
wanted to take the trophy home,” Galaxy
team captain Lam Wun Fai said. The pit
manager of table games at Galaxy Macau
resort also said the team allowed him to
make new friends.
The Macau Gaming Industry Labourers Association hopes the event can raise
awareness of team members in the industry about the importance of maintaining
regular exercise as a healthy life style.
The Venetian Macao received the Five-Star
Hotel of the Year award, awarded annually by
TravelWeekly China. This is the first time that
the Venetian Macao has earned this particular
distinction.
The honour is a part of the China Travel & Meetings Industry Awards, which aims to recognise
the best enterprises in China’s travel, meeting and
incentive industry. Organised by a leading trade
publication of the travel industry in China, the
event has won recognition from the industry for
its fairness, transparency, and creativity since its
Venetian Macao’s regional sales
debut in 2002.
manager, Steven Sun, accepts
“We are delighted to receive this Five-Star Hotel
of the Year award. The Venetian Macao strives to TravelWeekly China’s award for the 2011
Five-Star Hotel of the Year
be the leader in its field when it comes to service
and innovation,” said Gunther Hatt, executive vice president of Operations of the Venetian Macao.
“It’s a welcome endorsement from our guests and visitors, as well as our peers and professionals in
the MICE industry, and we accept it with gratitude. We look forward to many more years of providing
the unmatched quality and attention to detail that our guests and visitors have come to expect and
enjoy,” he added.
Over 100,000 votes were cast during the voting phase, with finalists in each category having been
selected by a panel of top industry experts. The judging of the awards included criteria such as superior
product and excellent service, wide industry recognition and public popularity, and guaranteed fulfilment of promises to both customers and partners, among many other factors.
In the meantime, Sands China announced that the next recruitment fair will take place on September
28 and 29 and open to all Macau ID holders.
The operator held its latest Recruitment Fair at the Venetian Macao on August 25 and 26, and around
1,300 job seekers attended. A variety of positions were available, including guest services, room attendant, public area attendant, food and beverage server, steward cleaner, engineering technician, surveillance operator, cage cashier, and warehouse runner, among others.
The August recruitment fair is the second organised by Sands China, having completed their first on
July 28 and 29.
‘Clean Tuesdays’ launched in the territory
The British Business
Association
of
Macau
(BBAM) in conjunction
with the Clean Tuesday organisation in Europe, has
announced that it has created a local chapter of the
worldwide
environmental issues networking and
learning group. The inaugural session was held on
Tuesday in the Grand Lapa
Hotel.
The event was organised
by the Environment Committee of BBAM. Explain-
ing the rationale behind
the event, Valdis Dunis,
a member of the committee, said, “Clean Tuesday
Macau aims to bring together people interested in
the use of clean and green
technologies in Macau and
the Pearl River Delta for
informal discussions and
to listen to short presentations on relevant subjects.”
He went on to describe the
background of the movement, “The first European
event took place in 2008 in
Paris and then expanded
widely linking CleanTech
entrepreneurs in the rest
of France, China, Morocco,
Israel, UK and now, we are
proud to say, for the first
time in Macau.”
Around 45 people attended the session, networking
over drinks and listening to
three experts from Macau
and Hong Kong who gave
presentations.
Charles
d’Haussy, founder of Clean
Tuesday Hong Kong, spoke
about Clean Tuesdays
31
worldwide, plus the latest
in low-power LED lighting
solutions.
Richard Whitfield, professor of Intelligent Systems and Technology from
Macau’s University of St.
Joseph, spoke on the University’s new Ilha Verde site
and its campus clean power
and energy saving plans.
Steve Wong, CEO of GreenTech Outpost Hong Kong,
spoke on Vertical Axis Wind
Turbine Power Generation
from Macau’s Roof Tops.
(Starting left): Steve Wong, CEO of GreenTech Outpost
Hong Kong, Richard Whitfield, from the University
of Saint-Joseph, Valdis Dunis, member of BBAM’s
Environment Sub-Committee, and Charles d’Haussy,
founder of CleanTuesday Hong Kong
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®
32
Times infotainment
®
The Born Loser by Chip Sansom
Weather
China
Min
Beijing
Harbin
Tianjin
Urumqi
Xi’an
Lhasa
Chengdu
Chongqing
Kunming
Nanjing
Shanghai
Wuhan
Hangzhou
Taipei
Guangzhou
Hong Kong
17
7
16
16
17
11
19
21
17
20
25
18
23
25
25
27
Asia-Pacific
Seoul
Tokyo
Manila
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City
Bangkok
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
New Delhi
Mumbai
Karachi
Jakarta
B.S. Begawan
Sydney
Melbourne
Brisbane
World
Min
19
23
22
25
23
25
24
26
26
25
26
24
25
12
8
15
Min
Moscow
Frankfurt
Paris
London
New York
10
10
16
16
20
Max
24
20
25
27
26
24
28
25
24
24
29
23
29
34
34
32
Max
24
31
29
29
30
33
34
33
34
30
34
32
33
18
13
22
Max
14
16
24
21
28
Condition
shower/cloudy
clear
shower/cloudy
cloudy
overcast
clear/cloudy
cloudy
shower
moderate rain
shower
cloudy/thundershower
shower
moderate rain
cloudy
cloudy/shower
cloudy/shower
Condition
overcast
cloudy
thunderstorms
showers
thunderstorms
thunderstorms
fine
cloudy
thunderstorms
rain
cloudy
mist
showers
rain
showers
thunderstorms
Easy
Easy +
Medium
Hard
Condition
overcast/shower
shower
overcast
overcast/shower
shower
Across
Your Stars
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
March 21-April 19
April 20-May 20
May 21-June 21
June 22-July 22
You feel more alive right now and ought to
be able to attract a lot of the right kind of
attention without breaking a sweat. Things
are looking good and you want to get more
out of life!
You need to fall back on your buddies,
coworkers or other allies today -- it’s almost
impossible to pull off a win on your own.
That doesn’t mean you’re weak, just that it’s
a big deal.
If a friend starts to look at you funny, think
back to what you just said -- it could be that
what you meant as a joke came out as an
insult. It’s too easy to give offense today, so
try to backtrack quickly!
You should find that it’s easier or cheaper
than you had imagined to get an upgrade
today. Bump up to first class, add a new
graphics card to your computer or see about
getting a better romantic buddy.
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
July 23-August 22
August 23-September 22
September 23-October 22
October 23 - November 21
You surprise family and coworkers with your
moxie today and should get all the praise
you know you deserve. It’s a good day to
share the good energy, though people seem
to want to adore you alone.
Try not to worry too much about why all
those people are making so many demands
on your time and attention -- just deal with
them and move on. It’s not a sign of worse
things to come.
You may start to get a bit snippy after
question number twenty or thirty comes
your way today, but try hard to keep an even
keel. Sometimes you’re the go-to person for
a surprising number of friends.
You are thinking hard about your work,
school or other major life tracks today -- and
you might be tempted to make a big change!
Make sure all the key players agree or at
least act like they do.
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces
November 22-December 21
December 22-January 19
January 20-February 18
February 19-March 20
Share the wealth, even if you’re feeling a
bit miserly. The more generous you are
today, the more likely folks are to remember
you when they’re trying to decide whom to
support later on.
At least one person in your life is hiding
a secret and while it may not be all that
devastating, you should still try to ferret it
out. Be as subtle as you can -- otherwise,
they’ll shut down on you!
Someone is being inflexible and that drives
you nuts. You should try to get them to chill
out and see things your way -- or any other
way, really. It may take quite a while to get
there, though.
When anyone but one of your kids start to
make mistakes today, you should look the
other way. Even if it is your kid, you should
think long and hard before deciding to
seriously intervene.
1- Portico; 5- Despised; 10- Tabula ___; 14- Shipping deduction; 15- 1836
siege site; 16- Stravinsky ballet; 17- Pope’s power; 20- Device with 88 keys;
21- ___ de mer; 22- Fable; 23- ___ be my pleasure!; 25- Nocturnal tropical
lizard; 27- Roundworm; 31- Long for; 35- Son of Judah; 36- Scandinavian;
38- Bass, e.g.; 39- CD-___; 40- Ref’s decision; 41- Antlered animal; 42Yank’s foe; 43- AT&T rival; 44- As opposed to synthetic chemicals?; 46Hamlet, e.g.; 47- Fortified wine; 49- Like a recluse; 51- Alleviated; 53- Male
sheep; 54- Income source; 57- Draft org.; 59- Floored; 63- Hallucinatory;
66- Oops!; 67- Tree insect; 68- Go it alone; 69- “All The Way To ___”, song
by REM; 70- Erupts; 71- Window ledge;
Down
1- Pace; 2- Cab; 3- “Jaws” boat; 4- Eternal; 5- Thigh; 6- Grad; 7- Scarlet
bird; 8- Author Zola; 9- ER VIP; 10- Shoot from the root of a plant; 11Not “fer”; 12- Smoke deposit; 13- Actress Heche; 18- Feminist Lucretia;
19- Antiaircraft fire; 24- Asses; 26- Device for cooling; 27- Standards;
28- Methuselah’s father; 29- Jackie’s predecessor; 30- Entrance; 32Gold measurement; 33- Nicholas
Yesterday’s solution
Gage book; 34- Renaissance fiddle;
37- Expensive; 40- Flog; 45- Painful
hospital development; 46- Gloom;
48- Sound again, again; 50- Disfigure;
52- Bar, legally; 54- Boot attachment;
55- 1975 Wimbledon winner; 56- City
on the Rhone; 58- Diving duck; 60Yours, in Tours; 61- Volition; 62- Earth
Day subj.; 64- Delivery room docs; 65Apr. addressee;
Crossword puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com
Useful telephone numbers
Emergency calls 999
Fire department 28 572 222
PJ (Open line) 993
PJ (Picket) 28 557 775
PSP 28 573 333
Customs 28 559 944
S. Januário Hospital 28 313 731
Kiang Wu Hospital 28 371 333
Commission Against Corruption
(CCAC) 28326 300
IACM 28 387 333
Tourism 28 882 184
Airport 59 888 88
Taxi (Yellow) 28 519 519
Taxi (Black) 28 939 939
Utilities
Water Supply – Report 1990 992
Telephone – Report 1000
Electricity – Report 28 339 922
Macau Daily Times 28 716 081
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Athletics
Pistorius aiming for
2012 Olympics
‘B
lade Runner’ Oscar
Pistorius said yesterday he aims to compete in both the Olympic and
Paralympic Games in London
next year following his medalwinning debut at the world
athletics championships.
The 24-year-old won a silver
medal on Friday for his part in
helping South Africa to reach
the 4x400 metres relay final
in Daegu and is now targeting
further success at both Games
in 2012.
He dismissed concerns that
he would not be able to train
and peak for both events,
which are just over two weeks
apart.
“I think that’s been a worry
with some people,” he told
reporters at the International
Paralympic Day event in London’s Trafalgar Square.
“Four or five months, I’m
able to peak that long. My biggest thing is that I’ll have to
qualify.
“I’ve moved over the last
four years more to 400 and
200 metres and the 100 is still
something that’s a big chal-
Sprint runner known as ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius
(R) poses yesterday with Chairman of the London
2012 Organising Committee Lord Sebastian Coe (L)
and British Paralympian Ellie Simmonds during the
international Paralympic Day in Trafalgar Square
lenge for me, although I ran
the second-fastest time ever
this year in May at the Paralympic World Cup, I ran 11.04
seconds.
“So I know I’m in good condition for that but the guys are
hot on my heels. [US sprinter]
Jerome Singleton’s a phenomenal competitor so I’m going
to have to be very focused.
“It’s not going to be the physical aspect next year but more
of the mental to stay dedicated
and focused.
“I’ve got great training staff
and coaching staff. I’ve got a
lot of faith in them. They won’t
let me down and they’ll be
there next year when I need
advice on when to rest, when
to train, how to prepare.”
Pistorius, who runs with carbon fibre prosthetic running
blades, was the first amputee
to compete in the world athletics championships.
He reached the semi-finals of
the 400m individual event and
ran in the semi-finals of the relay, although he was dropped
for the final in which South
Africa won the silver medal
behind the United States.
Singleton said he was looking
forward to taking on Pistorius
in the 2012 Paralympics.
“There are going to be some
great rivalries,” he told AFP.
“If you like Muhammad Ali
and Joe Frazier or Larry Bird
and Magic Johnson, Oscar P
and Jerome Singleton is going
to be a phenomenal race.
“Just come out here and see
people overcome challenges
and know that in your life
you can overcome these challenges too.”
Ice Hockey
Russians hope to resurrect stricken team
Russian ice hockey league chief Vyacheslav Fetisov said yesterday he is
hopeful of resurrecting the stricken
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team “in the next
two to three days” despite much of the
squad being killed in a plane crash.
The start of Russia’s ice hockey league
season was postponed in the wake of
the tragedy, which killed 44 people
including members of the three-time
Russian champions as they travelled to
their first match of the season.
KHL (Continental Hockey League)
president Alexander Medvedev said
yesterday the new season will likely
start on Tuesday.
Fetisov meanwhile said players from
around the league have offered to participate in the rebirth of the club by
playing for Lokomotiv.
“The new Lokomotiv team will be
formed within the next two or three
days,” said Fetisov, the most decorated
hockey player in Russian history.
“They will play in the new KHL season.”
He added: “Many of the league’s players said right after the tragedy they
were ready to support Lokomotiv and
play for Yaroslavl in the new season. At
least 30 players have already expressed
their desire to play there.
“This says a lot about players’ solidarity and the tremendous traditions of
our hockey.”
Fetisov said the league would be
working out a solution to allow players
to transfer from other clubs, although
players from Lokomotiv’s youth squad
could also be called upon.
Medvedev said: “The new season will
likely start Tuesday.
F1 driver, Brazilian Bruno Senna
Formula One
Senna confident ahead
of Italian challenge
Bruno Senna will go into this weekend’s Italian Grand
Prix confident of improving on his debut outing with the
Renault team at last month’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old Brazilian nephew of the late legendary triple world champion Ayrton Senna has ousted German Nick
Heidfeld from the Renault team and believes having one race
under his belt will enable him to make progress at Monza.
He said: “Of course, in Spa, I didn’t know what to expect
in terms of the competitiveness, but it was extremely encouraging that I managed to develop my pace quickly, and
work with the team well.
“I have a strong working relationship with the engineers,
and I am eager to get into the cockpit because I feel more
confident heading into this race.
“As with any sport, miles on the clock and experience instil confidence.”
Senna has been confirmed as Renault’s second driver
and as team-mate to Russian Vitaly Petrov for the rest of
the year following Heidfeld’s decision to accept an out-ofcourt settlement from the team.
Heidfeld was replaced abruptly before the Belgian Grand
Prix and claimed that the team had broken the terms of
his contract.
Heidfeld said: “Obviously I’m disappointed to leave the
team in the middle of the season,” he said.
“I would like to wish all the friends I made at Enstone a
successful end to the season. One thing is for sure – I’ll be
back racing at the highest level soon.”
Football
Golf
Mihajlovic hits
at Prandelli
Yosuke Tsukada grabbed
the first-round clubhouse
lead with a five-under-par
65 at a blustery and stormhit ISPS Handa Singapore
Classic yesterday in only his
second Asian Tour event.
The 26-year-old Japanese mixed seven birdies
against two bogeys to take a
single-shot lead over Malaysia’s Danny Chia, Daisuke
Kataoka, also from Japan,
and Thai veteran Thaworn
Wiratchant, who all returned
with matching 66s.
“I just enjoy playing golf and
making friends here on the
Asian Tour,” Tsukada said
after his impressive round at
Fiorentina coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has hit out at Italy
counterpart Cesare Prandelli over his treatment of forward Alberto Gilardino.
Prandelli left Gilardino out of his match-day squad for
both the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Faroe Islands and
Slovenia over the last week and reportedly claimed the
forward had not seemed particularly calm.
Prandelli actually brought Gilardino to Fiorentina when
he was the coach there and even sold Giampaolo Pazzini
having replaced him with Gilardino.
And yet since taking over the Italy job he has favoured
Pazzini, putting him on the bench instead of Gilardino
alongside Mario Balotelli, with Antonio Cassano and
Giuseppe Rossi occupying starting berths.
“Prandelli says he felt Gilardino was less serene but that’s
rubbish, he could have come up with a better excuse,” said the
Serbian coach who also hit out at Prandelli when he left Gilardino out of his squad for August’s friendly against Spain.
“Alberto has always trained well with us, with his head
on his shoulders.
“I’d like to see how the others train, how Cassano trains
every day, or Balotelli given I know them both.
Tsukada grabs lead in Singapore
Orchid Country Club.
“It’s a tough course but just
being able to go out there
and enjoy myself on the golf
course has helped to keep
me at the top of my game
today.”
Taiwan’s Wang Ter-chang
rolled back the years with
a 67 to take a share of fifth
place with six other players including Myanmar’s
Nay Bala Win Myint and
South Africa’s Jbe Kruger at
the USD 300,000 full-field
event.
Six players will have to
return at 8:00am today to
finish their first round after
lightning forced a 75-minute
suspension in the afternoon.
Tsukada started strongly
with an opening birdie on
the par-four 10th hole. He
bogeyed the 15th hole but
made a quick recovery with
two more birdies on the 16th
and 17th holes.
After reaching the turn in
32, the Japanese cruised
home in his inward nine
with four more birdies on
holes one, two, six and nine
but not before picking up
another bogey on the fifth
hole.
Thaworn continued to
show why he is one of Asia’s
best when he kept up his
charge for his 13th title. But
35
he acknowledged that the
revamped Orchid course has
made his title bid tougher.
“There are many tough
holes this week. Fourteen
and 18 are also really difficult. Eighteen was against
the wind and I think that’s
the most difficult hole that
I’ve played in my life,” said
the 44-year-old.
“I always aim to win at
every event that I play in.
But I can’t expect to win
as there are many things
to think about, the course
conditions and how I feel.
Also, it would also depend
on the course if it fits me,”
added Thaworn.
®
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Quake shakes Japan nuclear zone
An earthquake rattled Japan’s tsunami-ravaged northeast coast late yesterday, US geologists said, but there
were no immediate reports of further damage and no tsunami alert.
The tremor struck under the Pacific Ocean, not far from
the epicentre of the March 11 quake-tsunami disaster that
killed more than 20,000 people and triggered the world’s
worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl
years
ago.
Friday2509
September
2011
The latest earthquake had a magnitude of 5.2, the US
Geological Survey said, at a depth of 29 kilometres (18
miles).
It hit at 10:38pm (1338 GMT), 137 kilometres from Fukushima, site of the crippled nuclear plant that has been
spewing radiation since March’s catastrophe.
Closing News
China’s suicide rate
‘among highest in world’
A
person tries to kill
themselves in China every two minutes, the government and
state media said yesterday,
giving the country one of
the highest suicide rates in
the world.
China’s suicide rate is
22.23 people out of every
100,000, the Centre for
Disease Control and Prevention said on its website.
“Our nation has one of
the highest rates of suicide
in the world,” the Beijing
Youth Daily quoted Beijing
Health Bureau spokesman
Mao Yu as saying.
About 287,000 people kill
themselves in the country
of 1.3 billion every year,
while about two million try
to commit suicide annually.
China marks World Suicide Prevention Day on
Saturday, according to the
Beijing Youth Daily.
The disease control centre
said suicide is the biggest
killer among Chinese aged
15 to 34.
Extreme pressure to perform well at school and to
find employment were the
main reasons behind the
high rate of suicide among
China’s youths, media said.
The suicide rate in rural
areas is three times higher
than in urban centres and
accounts for 75 percent
of China’s suicide total, it
said.
According to the Guangzhou Daily, the number of
suicides in China has risen
sharply during the reform
and open period, when
the nation’s economy has
boomed.
A person attempts to commit suicide in China every
two minutes, the paper
said.
In 2009, the British medical journal The Lancet
identified Lithuania, Finland, Latvia, Hungary, China, Japan and Kazakhstan
as all having exceptionally
high rates of suicide, 20 per
100,000 people or higher.
Low cereal stocks, extra demand,
prices high: FAO
Cereal production is now this year
forecast to reach 2,307 million tonnes,
three percent higher than in 2010.
The FAO said maize supply was a cause
for concern following downward revisions
to crop prospects in the United States, the
world’s largest maize producer, because
of hot weather in July and August.
Average wheat prices were also up nine
percent in August as a result of the strong
demand for feed wheat and shrinking
supplies of high quality wheat.
Rice prices, too, increased, with the
benchmark Thai rice price up five percent
from July, driven by a policy change in
Thailand, the world’s largest rice exporter, where the rice paddy will be purchased
from farmers at above market prices.
War crimes court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
has asked Interpol to help with the arrest of fugitive
former Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi for crimes
against humanity, his office said yesterday.
“The prosecutor of the International Criminal
Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, is requesting Interpol
to issue a red notice to arrest Moamer Kadhafi for
the alleged crimes against humanity of murder and
persecution,” it said in a press release.
An Interpol red notice seeks the arrest for an extradition or surrender of a person to an international court based on an arrest warrant.
The prosecutor is also requesting red notices for
the arrest of one of Kadhafi’s son Seif al-Islam and
his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, it added.
NGO expert barred
from EU-China
seminar
Beijing blocked a member of a leading non-governmental rights group from attending a two-day
EU-China human rights seminar, despite protests
from Brussels, the EU said yesterday.
China refused to issue a visa to a member of New
York-based Human Rights in China (HRIC), who was
invited to take part in the talks that ended Wednesday, the EU embassy in China said in a statement.
HRIC had been asked to attend the dialogue as a
representative of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights, an EU official told AFP.
“The EU made it clear to the Chinese side that it
deeply regrets that one participant from a leading
European NGO was not allowed to participate,” the
statement said.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman said he was
unaware of the visa refusal when questioned by reporters yesterday.
The European Union regularly organises meetings
between China and EU groups on the issue of human rights, as well as a high-level dialogue that normally takes place twice a year, alternating between
an EU country and China.
HRIC said it was told that the foreign ministry called
the group an “anti-China” organisation, whose participation in the seminar was “totally unacceptable”.
HRIC did not name the expert who was barred.
MDTimes is hiring journalists/reporters
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World food prices were steady between July and August but extra demand for cereals kept their price high,
the latest figures from the UN’s Food
and Agriculture Organization showed
yesterday.
The FAO Food Price Index averaged
231 points last month compared to 232
points in July. It was 26 percent higher
than in August 2010 but seven points
below its all-time high of 238 points in
February this year.
Cereal prices rose, as even though
production is expected to increase, it
will not do so by enough to offset the
additional demand, the FAO said.
“Stocks continue to be low and prices
continue to be high and volatile,” the
organisation said.
The Cereal Price Index averaged 253
points in August, up 2.2 percent, or five
points, from July and 36 percent higher than in August 2010.
The rise was largely offset by declines
in international prices of most other
commodities included in the index,
oils and dairy products in particular,
the FAO said.
ICC: Interpol help
for Kadhafi’s arrest
Requirements:
• Solid knowledge of English and Chinese
(written and spoken)
(Knowledge of Portuguese language regarded as an added asset)
• At least three year’s experience in the profession
(Macau residents given preference)
Wages pending proven experience and CV
Send applications and CV to:
[email protected]
36

09 Chief Executive succession talk premature

Transcription

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