new decline in casino seac pai van cupid strikes for hk career shares residents women on the mainland Bloomberg has related the slump fear Nearly 7,500 women from Hong to Aexis Tam’s statements hinting becoming Kong married Chinese men in at restrictions on Chinese tourists ‘second sin 2013, a threefold increase from to ease overcrowding fong’ 2003 P3 P6 P10

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N.º 2257 HKD 7.50 FOUNDER & PUBLISHER Kowie Geldenhuys EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paulo Coutinho

“ THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ ” ad Generation gap within New Macau Association P2

HONG KONG BLOOMBERG Grandma has to find a job P11

WORLD BRIEFS AP PHOTO

CZECH REPUBLIC A man in the Czech Republic opened fire yesterday in a restaurant, leaving at least eight people dead, the town’s mayor said. Patrik Kuncar, mayor of the southeastern town of Uherske Brod, also said the gunman, a local man around 60 years old, then killed himself. A waitress from the restaurant was also hospitalized, he said.

AFGHANISTAN Gunmen in southern Afghanistan kidnap 30 members of the Hazara ethnic community, in what appears to be the latest in a series of attacks on Shiites in the predominantly Sunni country.

INDIA The leader of the U.N.’s expert panel on climate change stepped down yesterday amid an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment in his native India. R.K. Pachauri, 75, had chaired the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2002 and accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on its behalf. More on backpage 25.02.2015 wed

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Catarina Pinto accumulated from numerous NEW MACAU ASSOCIATION different citizens. ACAU’S pro-democracy He added that to their know- Mgroup, the New Macau ledge, the association has Association (ANM in the Portu- never received donations guese acronym) used to be, ac- Younger and older from overseas organizations cording to its former president but they do not discriminate Jason Chao, “a fan club for against funding, either local lawmakers Au Kam San and Ng generations parting ways Kuok Cheong”. But its current leadership is planning to ope- rate the group “more like a po- litical organization,” Chao and The New its current president Sulu Sou Macau revealed in a press conference yesterday. Association The separation between the younger and older generations was initially seems to be embedded into the group’s history. Founded over what we would 20 years ago by lawmakers Au call ‘a fan club’ Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong, ANM’s current youth-based for Ng Kuok leadership has made it clear that they are parting ways on a Cheong and Au number of issues. “The New Macau Association Kam San was initially what we would JASON CHAO call ‘a fan club’ for Ng Kuok salary to the association, association.” fundraising dinner. “The do- Cheong and Au Kam San. Since Chao said that no one can tell Not wanting to rely solely on nation program will be better I took office as president, it has for sure if “an official separa- lawmakers’ financial contri- advertised and regulated. Af- or foreign. Nevertheless, Chao evolved to be a political organi- tion” will take place or not. butions, the political activists ter the mass protest against the stressed that they will not zation,” said Jason Chao, who He revealed that Au Kam San said they are planning to im- compensation bill we received proactively look for foreign served as president between failed to pay his contribution plement two main funding ini- a single anonymous donation donations. In addition, Sulu 2010 and 2014 and is now a for about half a year. Howe- tiatives: one seeking small do- of MOP40,000,” Chao men- Sou made it clear that ANM member of the board. Sulu Sou ver, after being sent a remin- nations from the public, and a tioned. The association recei- will “never apply for any fun- was elected ANM’s president der “he issued a cheque to the second involving organizing a ved an additional MOP10,000 ding from the government.” last year. Looking ahead to the new year, ANM’s executive is planning on introducing a series of reforms, Association managed ‘like a political organization’ including a donation program as they believe the associa- NM leaders are looking to develop “a members to hold a lawful assembly ses- made very few comments on what we tion can no longer rely merely Amore institutionalized” association: “It sion,” he recalled. are doing.” on the donations of the two should be managed more like a political or- Chao stressed that “legislators were When also requested to comment lawmakers. ganization and find ways to sustain itself,” against the raise because they said this on whether ANM’s current leadership Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Chao concluded. would turn the association into an orga- would like to distance themselves from Cheong currently donate one ANM’s younger generation is seen as nization of elites or one which caters to a the lawmakers, Chao stressed that, “we fifth of their income equalling more “radical” than the association’s particular class.” should combine their experience with around MOP10,000 per per- former leaders. The causes they now Current leaders deemed the legisla- our new ideas.” son. However, Jason Chao and tend to privilege also differ in subject tors’ views as “nonsense.” “It’s a ratio- He reiterated that, actually, the ini- Sulu Sou believe this is no lon- matter. The separation is becoming clea- nal move to raise the membership fee tial separation was triggered by the ger a sustainable way to run an rer, as ANM’s current leadership yester- because the medium income has raised lawmakers. “The separation was moti- association: “Elections are hi- day highlighted a few matters in which two or three times over the past deca- vated by them, not by anyone else from ghly unpredictable and this is their views collide. de” and the membership fee hasn’t been New Macau. It was clearly their choice to not a healthy way to sustain an Former leaders and the current leader- updated over the past ten years. “From distance themselves from the leadership association,” Chao explained, ship disagreed on a proposed increase of time to time we have to encounter this at ANM.” adding that the diversification membership fees. Jason Chao explained nonsense from the legislators,” Chao This year, the association’s leaders of funding sources will allow that Sulu Sou had tabled a motion sug- reiterated. plan on holding forums, internships and for a more sustainable develo- gesting to increase the current MOP200 Asked what lawmakers Au Kam San training programs, as well as continuing pment. fee per annum to MOP400. However, and Ng Kuok Cheong think of the an- to hold protests. They are also looking to While lawmakers are still “Au Kam San left before the motion was nounced measures to develop the asso- launch a public consultation on legisla- providing one fifth of their voted on and we did not have enough ciation, Jason Chao replied that, “they tion against sexual abuse.

After conducting in- will penalize any indivi- Resident caught slapping Zhuhai bus driver vestigation into the oc- dual who causes trouble currence, the authorities and disturbance and will found the 63-year-old strive to protect the ri- HE mainland Public traffic dispute. hit the window of a Zhuhai have gotten on the bus and Macau resident, surna- ghts of public transpor- TSecurity Department It was reported by Jornal bus and accused the bus slapped the bus driver be- me Lei, on February 16. tation personnel. The has taken a Macau resi- Va Kio that on February driver of obstructing his fore driving away from the The Zhuhai police said bus company in Zhuhai dent into custody after 9, a man driving a vehi- vehicle when the bus was scene. The incident was that it is still investiga- also thanked the public he was alleged to have cle with both Macau and approaching a bus stop. widely reported by main- ting into the case. It sta- for their attention to the slapped a bus driver in a mainland license plates The man was alleged to land media. ted that the authorities incident.

DIRECTOR AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF_Paulo Coutinho [email protected] A MACAU TIMES PUBLICATIONS LTD PUBLICATION www.macaudailytimes.com.mo MANAGING EDITOR_Paulo Barbosa [email protected] MDT’s Website has logged over CONTRIBUTING EDITORS_Eric Sautedé, Leanda Lee, Severo Portela ADMINISTRATOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER CHINA & FOREIGN EDITOR_Vanessa Moore [email protected] Kowie Geldenhuys [email protected] 86 million page views DESIGN EDITOR_João Jorge Magalhães [email protected] | NEWSROOM AND CONTRIBUTORS_Albano SECRETARY Juliana Cheang [email protected] Martins, António Espadinha Soares, Brook Yang, Catarina Pinto, Cyril Law, Emilie Tran, Grace Yu, Irene Sam, Jacky I.F. Cheong, Jenny ADDRESS Av. da Praia Grande, 599, Edif. Comercial Rodrigues, 12 Floor C, since January 1st, 2012 up to today. Philips, João Pedro Lau, Joseph Cheung, Juliet Risdon, Keith Ip, Renato Marques (photographer), Richard Whitfield, Robert Carroll MACAU SAR Telephones: +853 287 160 81/2 Fax: +853 287 160 84 (Hong Kong correspondent), Rodrigo de Matos (cartoonist), Ruan Du Toit Bester, Sandra Norte (designer), Sum Choi, Viviana Seguí Advertisement [email protected] Thank You! | ASSOCIATE CONTRIBUTORS_JML Property, MacauHR, MdME Lawyers, PokerStars | NEWS AGENCIES_ Associated Press, For subscription and general issues: Bloomberg, Lusa News Agency, MacauHub, MacauNews, Xinhua | SECRETARY_Yang Dongxiao [email protected] [email protected] | Printed at Welfare Printing Ltd

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STATISTICS YNN Macau Ltd. fell to the lowest number of shares in more than two weeks, leading Big spenders widespreadW declines. Bloomberg has related the slump to statements have left the made by the Secretary for Social Af- fairs and Culture hinting at restric- tions on mainland Chinese tourists building to ease overcrowding. Alexis Tam has said that local au- thorities intend to approach Chi- na’s central government in Beijing to examine Macau’s capacity for BLOOMBERG visitors, and to consider the extent to which “too many tourists impact residents’ quality of life.” Wynn Macau dropped by 3.7 pct to GAMING HKD21.95 at the close of trading in Hong Kong. Galaxy Entertainment HE total amount spent by tourists (excluding Group Ltd. and Sands China Ltd. fell Tgaming expenses) in the fourth quarter of 2014 by 2.7 pct, SJM Holdings Ltd. decli- New decline in amounted to MOP14.05 billion, down by 13.9 pct ned by 2.3 pct, MGM China Holdings from MOP16.32 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013. lost 2 pct and Melco Crown Enter- According to the Statistics and Census Service tainment fell 1.7 pct. The benchmark (DSEC), the spending of overnight visitors totaled Hang Seng index also fell by 0.4 pct. casino shares MOP11.06 billion, down by 17.7 pct year-on-year. Chinese President Xi Jinping ur- Conversely, that of same-day visitors increased by ged Macau in December to rely less 4.2 pct to MOP3.00 billion. Per-capita spending of on casinos in order to diversify and from mainland China to visit Macau visitors was MOP1,757, indicating a decrease of 20.2 turn the city into an internationally- and Hong Kong by obtaining entry pct year-on-year. recognised tourism and leisure hub. permits without the need to travel I don’t agree Analysed based on place of residence, the total per- Macau’s casino revenue slumped with tour groups. The program was on expanding capita spending of tourists from mainland China in for an eighth straight month in Ja- first implemented in four cities in the fourth quarter of 2014 was MOP2,038, showing nuary, signalling the longest losing Guandong province and extended China’s individual a drop of 27.3 pct year-on-year. The spending of streak on record. This comes as Xi’s to 49 cities throughout China. those travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme two-year long crackdown on official The number of mainland Chinese visitor scheme (IVS) decreased by 10 pct, amounting to MOP2,618. corruption in favour of stricter tra- visitors to Macau for the first four The per-capita spending of visitors from Singapo- vel rules have deterred high-rollers days of the Lunar New Year rose by because Hong re and Malaysia increased by 10.2 pct and 5.1 pct, from entering the territory. 6.7 pct to 443,421, compared with Kong has a at MOP1,977 and MOP1,718 respectively, whereas As the Times reported, during a Lu- the same lunar calendar period a that of visitors from Japan (MOP1,716), Taiwan nar New Year event on February 19, year ago, according to data from the limited capacity (MOP1,510) and Hong Kong (MOP912) registered Alexis Tam expressed his desire for Macau Government Tourist Office. a year-on-year decrease. Tourists from the United talks between Macau and mainland Hong Kong is also assessing issues CY LEUNG Kingdom had a relatively high per-capita spending authorities to review the Individual of overcrowding and will need to rate among the long-haul visitors, which reached Visa Scheme. determine whether or not to restrict MOP1,518, a figure up by 19 pct year-on-year. “We have to make a scientific deci- or reduce the number of China’s vi- Hong Kong fell slightly over the fes- The total spending of tourists for the entirety of sion [regarding the Individual Visa sitors in collaboration with Beijing, tive season. 2014 reached MOP61.75 billion, up by 3.7 pct from Scheme]. The core principle is that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying China’s Lunar New Year started MOP59.54 billion in 2013. The total spending of our residents’ quality of life should told reporters yesterday. from February 19 this year, while overnight and same-day visitors rose 2.6 pct and not be worsened… There are many “I don’t agree on expanding Chi- the country’s public holiday to mark 9.1 pct, at MOP50.88 billion and MOP10.87 billion possible measures [to be conside- na’s individual visitor scheme be- the festival is from February 18 to respectively. The per-capita spending of visitors red],” he said. cause Hong Kong has a limited February 24. Hong Kong’s markets for all of 2014 was MOP1,959, down by 3.5 pct The scheme was introduced in capacity,” Leung said, adding that reopened yesterday after a two-day year-on-year. 2003 and allows millions of visitors the number of Chinese travelers to break. MDT/Bloomberg

Police to step up patrols on ONE SHOT NEWS noise ‘blackspots’ XINHUA

HE Public Security Police Environmental Noise Law T(PSP) revealed on Mon- came into force, PSP and the day that it will prepare a list Environmental Protection of “blackspots” where people Bureau have received a total have complained about loud of 41 complaints so far. The noises. police said that around half of In a TDM radio program, the complaints can be settled some residents explained through issuing advice. that on some occasions, po- Moreover, the PSP com- lice officers were unable to mented yesterday on the two reach the apartments which cases of prosecution relating were deemed the source of to the noise law involving two the noise because they were Filipino individuals who were in old buildings and there was chatting on the street at arou- no security guard to open the nd midnight. The authorities gate. said that the reason those A PSP spokesperson told the two people were prosecuted media that they will list these is because they were seen locations as “blackspots” in by the officers to be making the future and will arrange inappropriately loud noise. a more frequent patrolling As a result, the officers argue schedule for those areas. that they could not have se- Figures from the Public Security Police showed a further decline in the number of people crossing the borders yesterday. In the first two days the ttled the case by only issuing Until 9pm, 398,679 people crossed Macau’s checkpoints, including 204,758 inbound and 193,921 outbound. There were Prevention and Control of advice. 267,006 people who crossed the border at the Border Gate, with 134,114 of them entering the MSAR. A total of 54,714 people crossed the border at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and 16,854 at the Macau International Airport. 25.02.2015 wed

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CRIME Security guard caught stealing from museum

João Pedro Lau between February 19 and 21, is on duty that day. drawer and empty it. chased more than 4,000 MOP0.5 while clearing it as part of their After investigating and re- The authorities found a pie- stamps that haven’t been sold HE Judiciary Police (PJ) weekly routine. The PJ spokes- viewing the surveillance foota- ce of paper that recorded the since January last year. Thas taken a 27-year-old se- person said that according to ge, PJ targeted a security guard amount he stole in the suspect’s The PJ was approached by the curity guard from the mainland the procedure, all revenue is and asked him to assist in their locker, which matched the re- Macau Post on February 18 af- into custody after he was alleged put inside the upper drawer of investigation. PJ said that the cord of the museum. The man ter the button of the kiosk, whi- to have stolen money from the the safety box at the end of the guard has admitted to stealing claimed that he already sent all ch was for selling the MOP0.5 safety deposit box of the Macau day. After the drawer is closed, the money by jamming the the money back to mainland stamp and is now sealed with a Maritime Museum. the mechanisms of the box will door between the two drawers China. PJ is charging him with metal plate, was damaged twice The authorities received a allow the money to drop into a in the safety deposit box with a aggravated theft and will hand in this month. The records also report at around midday yes- lower drawer. leaflet from the museum. After him over to the Public Prosecu- showed that the kiosk had sold a terday from the museum, Only the senior managing the door was jammed, the mo- tions Office today. total of 4,125 MOP0.5 stamp on claiming that they realized staff of the museum have the ney in the upper drawer could In a separate case, the PJ is two occasions. the sum, totaling around key to the lower drawer while not drop to the lower one and looking for the culprit who has It is unclear why the offender, MOP30,000, went missing the key to the upper draw is the guard could then use the damaged the stamp kiosk at Pra- who is still at large, wanted the from their safety deposit box kept by the security guard who key he kept to open the upper ceta 1 de Outubro twice and pur- out-of-print stamps.

EDUCATION students’ interest in rea- ding and writing activities. “The initiative was very Local writers tour schools to well-received by teachers and students and to broa- share reading experiences den its scope to include more schools. Organizers OCAL writers have by the Macau Foundation ts took part in these lec- intend to promote the Lbeen touring Macau’s and newspaper Macao tures, which adds to the same event this year,” a schools to share their ex- Daily to give a series of existing “Writing Com- representative from the periences of reading and lectures in 16 of the local ments about Reading of a Macau Foundation said. writing with students. secondary schools. Text for Secondary Edu- Several local writers Between November 2014 The Macau Foundation cation Students” contest. were invited to give lec- periences with studen- drawing students’ atten- and January this year, revealed in a statement The contest is in its 20th tures to exchange their ts. “This will help broa- tion towards Macau’s lite- local writers were invited that about 3,000 studen- year and aims to pique reading and writing ex- den their horizons while rature,” they added. ad wed 25.02.2015

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WORK SAFETY Harsher fines proposed for construction safety breaches

possible,” Lam told TDM. The number of serious accidents at construction sites is on the in- crease. DSAL estimates that 800 construction workers were injured in Macau last year, totalling 100 more injuries compared to 2013. In 2012, over 500 people were injured in construction site accidents. Two deaths were reported just last month. On January 20, one worker was killed after the mobile crane he was working in collapsed. Prior to this, another laborer was run over A bite of Macau in London HE Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL) by a mobile crane at Coloane’s Ka Tintends to introduce harsher fines Ho Port and died. ACAU may be a “tiny Tokyo (Nobu) and Hong holds its own history and in relation to breaches of occupatio- Lam Iok Cheong attributes the ac- Mterritory on the sou- Kong (Mandarin Oriental). significance. nal safety law. According to Lam Iok cidents partly to the complexity of thern coast of China,” but Before the dining expe- Macau Patua is presented Cheong, chief of DSAL’s Occupatio- large-scale constructions and partly its culinary tradition is great rience begins, Annabel by promoters as a “unique nal Safety and Health Department, the overwhelming pressure to meet and reaches faraway places, Jackson, anthropologist culinary experience in Lon- new legislation is currently being deadlines which construction com- and now a London-based and author of “Taste of don.” Ten events are sche- drafted. The present regulations sti- panies often face. But the head of group has started to organi- Macau” and “Macau on a duled for this year at the pulate fines ranging from MOP1,000 department at DSAL stated that ca- ze culinary evenings dedica- Plate,” will present a talk. Chinatown Chinese Com- to 5,000 when construction safety ses of occupational safety law viola- ted to Macanese cuisine. The former Times contri- munity Centre close to the rules are violated. tion - like lack of fences or protecti- The Macau Patua Talk & butor, who is working on a Leicester Square station. “The regulations on construction ve wear – are regularly spotted. Taste evening consists of a new recipe-based Macane- Bookings can be made on safety and hygiene were made in “The works are large in scale and four-course dinner prepa- se cookbook, will explain the group’s website (www. 1991. We are now drafting the re- complexity. There is also a time li- red by Chef Lau Suet-Ming, how the Macanese cuisine macaupatua.uk). To enjoy gulations on occupational safety mit on the work. As workers need a Hong Kong native who has blends Portuguese, Chi- one of the culinary events, and health. The penalty will be ad- to rush, they usually neglect their worked in several Michelin- nese, Southeast Asian and guests are asked to pay £40 justed. We already have the initial own safety. Contractors also want starred fine dining estab- African recipes. The result per person (MOP490), with draft. We hope to have public con- to rush, and may also overlook sa- lishments in London (Chi- is a “richly varied canon of each event hosting a maxi- sultation and discussion as soon as fety at the sites,” she told TDM. na Tang at the Dorchester), dishes,” each one of which mum of 10 people. PB

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João Pedro Lau

group of proprietors from A the public housing estate Seac Pai Van residents fear in Seac Pai Van have handed a petition to the Macau govern- ment, expressing their concer- becoming ‘second Sin Fong’ ns regarding the construction quality of their building. They urged the government to com- ne to inspect our unit. Some mission an independent third people came to our apartment party to conduct a full exami- once and inspected it, without nation of the property’s struc- doing anything else,” he said. ture. “They told me that it was only In the petition addressed to a minor problem and said that the Chief Executive Chui Sai they would have some workers On, the residents stressed that to cover the cracks with ce- there were many issues concer- ment. For me, they have not ning the public housing projec- addressed the issue that affec- ts in Seac Pai Van that various ts our lives.” government departments had Apart from the problems in- failed to resolve. It also listed side the apartments, some fa- several problems regarding the cilities inside the buildings, quality of the buildings and the including elevators and emer- facilities inside. gency exit lights, were also They included the so-called said to be prone to malfunctio- “paper wall” incident where ning. “There are times when all paper bags were found in the three elevators [in a building] wall of an apartment in the af- have been out of order… There fordable housing project “Edi- were times when they had even ficio Koi Nga”, located in Seac stopped working for several Pai Van. Cracks were also said hours,” said Mr Loi, a Koi Nga to have emerged on the walls apartment owner. and ceilings of units. There “There were already inciden- was even a case in which the ts in Hong Kong where people switch box of an apartment the load-bearing wall (shear have nobody to appeal to and died in a malfunctioning ele- was damaged, causing a power wall). However, who knows if become homeless, just like [the vator. We are really worried shortage due to water leakage the load-bearing wall was filled Who knows owners] of Sin Fong Garden?” about it. Those elevators [in nearby. with bags too? It is unaccepta- Moreover, Mr Cheang said my building] were brand new The petition also included ble to explain it as a ‘construc- if the load- that even though they have and they just broke down like some issues at Seac Pai Van tion flaw’,” the petition said. bearing wall been offered free repair servi- this. What if one of or several that are affecting the daily li- Speaking to the media, one ces for their apartments, he is of the elevators’ wire ropes ves of the residents, such as of the Koi Nga apartment ow- was filled with still concerned that there has were broken, it would be fatal,” the lack of shops and problems ners, Mr Cheang, said that af- been no examination on the he said. regarding the water quality. ter talking to his neighbors, bags too? It is structural safety and no solu- “Another issue that threatens “Now, we implore the go- he noticed that many of them tion offered to the fundamen- our safety is the emergency li- vernment to provide a time had found objects such as plas- unacceptable tal problems. ghting [that did not activate frame to allow an open and tic bags and newspaper inside to explain it as Another proprietor, Mr Sou- when the power was cut off]. transparent third party pro- their walls. “We are really wor- za, claimed that the cracks on It is just like when there is no fessional surveyor to assess ried that the public housing a ‘construction the ceiling of his bedroom had water coming out from a fire the structure of the buildin- buildings we are living in have already joined together and hydrant. You can imagine how gs, and to hold the contractor structural problems because flaw’ encircled the whole ceiling. In scary it is,” he said. and supervising institutions several public housing projects fact, many decorators told him The proprietors argued that PETITION responsible,” the proprietors [throughout Macau] have had that the construction quality the government is ultimate- wrote in the petition. issues as well… Therefore, we “If there are already problems is very poor and the construc- ly responsible for all the pro- “The government spokes- hope that the government can like these, even if it is only one tion workers were very neglec- blems in Edificio Koi Nga be- person has reiterated that the find a third party to determine to two years since we moved tful. He said that he notified cause it is that authority that part of the apartment [with whether there are actually any in, will the buildings tilt to one the authorities as soon as the chose the contractors who fai- the paper bags in it] was not structural problems,” he said. side in the future and will we cracks in his apartment star- led to deliver on the project in ted appearing. “But the only a professional manner. feedback I got after waiting “We don’t want to be the se- for a long period of time was cond Sin Fong Garden,” they Opinions call for inspection against that they would find someo- warned. public housing irregularities seac pai van project cost hundreds of millions step up its patrolling and inspection rates. Kou Ngon Fong told TDM that people are ACCORDING TO data “in fluke psychology” and do not have a pro- from the government, the per knowledge of the law. “The government public housing projects on should routinely patrol every kind of [public] the Seac Pai Van CN3 land housing. For example, there are 50 affordable plot, where the Edificio housing buildings, [so] the government shou- Koi Nga is located, cost ld inspect 10 percent of the flats in each buil- the government a total of MOP380 million. ding,” he said. Housing Bureau infor- Mr Kou believes that more frequent inspec- mation indicates that tion will deter people from using their apart- Koi Nga comprises eight ments illegally. buildings. The apartments Meanwhile, Ng Sio Lai, secretary-general of there were selling, on av- OLLOWING the Housing Bureau’s reve- the Macau General Union of the Neighborhood erage, for MOP17,166.9 Flation that it has inspected 296 affordable Associations pointed out that the illegal use of per square meter. The housing apartments in Edificio Cheng Chong public housing units has been taking place for a prices of T1 units ranged in early February for irregularities and has long time and the authorities have failed to pa- from MOP488,000 to found 12 units not being used by the registe- trol the buildings strictly enough. “That’s why MOP626,000; T2 from red proprietors as their residency, a member so many cases surfaced so suddenly. I believe it MOP622,300 to 917,700 of the government’s Public Housing Affairs is because the authorities have patrolled more and T3 from MOP911,300 Committee has called for the government to units and in a stricter manner,” she said. to MOP1,097,300. wed 25.02.2015

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分析 BUSINESS 7

He encouraged a focus on spor- tier cars, like the upcoming Acu- ra NSX, and returned Honda to Honda to replace its CEO Formula 1 racing. He also expan- ded Honda’s global manufactu- ring footprint with new plants in amid air bag crisis, sales drop Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Indo- nesia, India and China. Expanding production always carries the risk of quality fum- Elaine Kurtenbach the largest civil penalty levied bles, Brinley said. Consumer Re- Business Writer, Tokyo against an automaker, for not re- ports wouldn’t recommend the AP PHOTO porting to regulators some 1,729 2015 Honda Fit small car to U.S. ONDA Motor Co. — complaints that its vehicles cau- customers because it was the first hurt by falling sales sed deaths and injuries and for model made in Mexico. The Fit and embroiled in a not reporting warranty claims. was recalled in the U.S. in July crisis over defective Amid the crisis, Honda lowered because some parts were assem- Hair bags — is replacing its CEO. its global vehicle sales forecast bled improperly. The Japanese automaker said for the full year to 4.45 million Last October, Ito and other top Monday that Takanobu Ito, its vehicles from 4.6 million. Its U.S. executives took a pay cut after president and chief executive sales grew just 1 percent last year Fits made in Japan were repeate- officer since 2009, will step asi- as plummeting gas prices hurt dly recalled for quality problems. de in June and be succeeded by demand for its lineup of small The massive quality problem longtime executive Takahiro Ha- cars such as the Civic. at Takata centers on air-bag in- chigo. Earlier this month, Ito scra- flators that can explode with The unexpected decision Honda Motor Co.’s newly appointed President Takahiro Hachigo attends a press pped Honda’s goal of selling too much force, blowing apart a follows the recalls of more 6.2 conference at the automaker’s headquarters in Tokyo 6 million vehicles per year by metal canister and sending frag- million Honda vehicles in the 2017, saying the company nee- ments into the passenger com- U.S. — and millions of others own decision to step down. He Other automakers use the ded to focus on quality instead partment. elsewhere — equipped with air has been at Honda since 1978, Takata air bags, but Honda has of on sales targets. Takata’s president, Stefan Sto- bags made by Japan’s Takata when he joined the company as the most exposure and is spen- Stephanie Brinley, a senior cker, resigned in December. Corp. The air bags have infla- a chassis engineer. ding heavily on the recalls. The analyst with IHS Automotive, Hachigo, Ito’s hand-picked suc- tors that can explode, expelling “I believe Honda needs to be- company has lowered its full said Ito’s six-year tenure as Hon- cessor, handled development of shards of metal and plastic. At come one strong team in order -year profit forecast to USD4.6 da’s chief is in line with Honda’s the U.S.-built Odyssey minivan least six deaths and 64 injuries to overcome challenges and the billion from $4.8 billion. past three CEOs. and has guided the automaker’s have been linked to the problem team requires a new, youthful Honda is also facing civil penal- Ito’s tenure was largely a suc- businesses in the U.S., Europe worldwide. leadership,” Ito said, according ties and lawsuits over the issue. cessful one, Brinley said. Be- and China during his 33-year At a press conference Monday, to a transcript provided by Hon- In January, the U.S. fined the tween 2009 and 2014, Honda’s career with Honda, the company the 61-year-old Ito said it was his da. Hachigo is 55. company $70 million, which was global sales grew 28.5 percent. said. AP

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8 BUSINESS 分析

2011, when Gulliver took over as CEO. “Targeting a 10 percent Gulliver seeks extreme solutions return on equity is hardly market-leading, is it?” Mac- quarie’s Firth said. as HSBC breakup option seen The bank’s cost-efficiency ra- tio - a measure of costs versus revenue - jumped to 67 per- Stephen Morris cent last year from 60 percent in 2013. Adjusted revenue SBC Holdings Plc Chief AP PHOTO was little changed at USD62 HExecutive Officer Stuart billion in 2014 from the pre- Gulliver, up against rising ca- vious year. pital demands and a sluggish Though headquartered in global economy, is facing calls London, HSBC still makes to break up Europe’s largest most of its earnings in Asia bank after saying profitability and grew into an emerging- will be lower. market giant through deca- Gulliver, who is also strug- des of deal making, including gling to contain a tax-evasion the acquisitions of Midland scandal at HSBC’s private Bank in the U.K. and Marine bank that he said brought Midland Bank in the U.S. Its “shame” to the company, re- expansion was only halted by ported 2014 earnings that the financial crisis and the re- missed analysts’ estimates, sultant increase in regulation driving the stock down almost and capital requirements. 5 percent. The CEO said par- “If there were disposals ts of the investment bank and from the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, some national divisions don’t Turkey, the market would re- offer sufficient returns and ceive it well because it could may face “extreme solutions.” relieve both cost and capital On Monday, he cited Brazil, burdens,” said Sandy Chen, an Mexico, Turkey and the U.S. analyst at Cenkos Securities in as potential markets for dis- London. “A lot of their global posals, among 74 countries banking and markets probably where HSBC operates. The fails their return on risk-wei- bank has more than 250,000 ghted asset hurdles,” he said, referring to the unit that hou- ses the investment bank. Global regulators have al- ready toughened rules for the The most largest lenders. The Financial Stability Board, the global obvious People use ATM machines outside a branch of HSBC in London regulator led by Bank of En- gland Governor Mark Carney, solution is staff, even after exiting 77 to get around the numbers.” to simplify the firm. I don’t proposed last year that the bi- to break the businesses and cutting some The shares were little chan- rule out that we might make ggest banks be forced to have 50,000 jobs in Gulliver’s four- ged at 577.3 pence at 8:40 a.m. more disposals,” he said, ad- subordinated debt and other bank up, as year tenure. HSBC is the lar- in London after dropping as ding he didn’t accept that the loss-absorbing liabilities equi- gest European bank by market much as 6.5 percent on Mon- bank is too large to be mana- valent to as much as a fifth of the evidence value, leaving it exposed to the day. The bank’s share rating geable and he still believes in their assets weighted for risk. toughest regulator scrutiny. was cut to neutral from buy at the universal banking model. The rule, intended to keep suggests that “The most obvious solution UBS Group AG, while Canac- Return on equity, a measure taxpayers off the hook when the bank is too is to break the bank up, as cord Genuity analysts lowered of profitability, fell to 7.3 per- lenders fail, would apply to the evidence suggests that the their recommendation to cut cent in 2014 from 9.2 percent. the FSB’s list of 30 global sys- big to manage bank is too big to manage,” from buy. HSBC said it’s looking for the temically important banks, ED FIRTH said Ed Firth, a London-based “There are no sacred cows,” measure to exceed 10 percent, with HSBC and JPMorgan ANALYST analyst at Macquarie Group Gulliver said on a conference compared with the 12 per- Chase & Co. identified as the MACQUARIE GROUP LTD, LONDON Ltd. in London. “It’s difficult call. “We’re still on a journey cent to 15 percent range set in most significant. Bloomberg

corporate bits execujet sees significant growth outbound tourism spending of china’s wynn macau celebrates opportunity in the region post-80s travellers to continue to the year of the goat grow in 2015 ExecuJet Aviation Group is support that trend, encoura- predicting an acceleration in ging more people to become According to UnionPay In- its growth in Australasia, as business jet owners for the ternational, the spending of clients in the region increasin- first time.” Chinese outbound travellers is gly turn to support organiza- “This development is in expected to continue to grow tions with global experience turn driving a maturing of the in 2015, driven mainly by in- and scale. business aviation services creased travel and overseas Speaking yesterday at Ava- market. In the past year alo- consumption made by the lon 2015, the Australian Inter- ne, ExecuJet’s managed fleet country’s post-80s generation, national Airshow and Aeros- in Australia, New Zealand and or the Millennials. With the Chi- Wynn Macau celebrated the ceremony. This was followed pace & Defence Exposition, South East Asia has grown by nese Lunar New Year holiday, arrival of the Year of the Goat by a lion dance performance Darren McGoldrick, Vice Pre- 10 aircraft to a total of 18, and a peak season for outbound overseas. A 2014 research with a dragon and lion dance featuring pyrotechnics and sident Australasia, ExecuJet we are experiencing a steady travel, the enormous spending report from the World Tourism performance and the lighting lions that were custom-made Aviation Group, said: “The ma- increase in enquiries. Clien- power of Chinese tourists will Cities Federation (WTCF) re- of 800,000 firecrackers on the in signature Wynn colors. Mr. cro outlook for business avia- ts typically have high service also bring about a “peak har- vealed that Chinese travellers very first day of the Lunar New Coughlan then lit the 800,000 tion in Asia is encouraging, expectations and are seeking vest” for foreign merchants. under 35 years, also known as Year. firecrackers. 100 lion dance with all OEMs predicting rising out businesses like ExecuJet China has become the wor- the “post-80s”, or the Millennial, On February 19, the first day performers then continued to deliveries across the region that have global scale, the ld’s second largest travel and generation have become the of the Lunar New Year, Mr. Ian parade around the hotel with in the next two decades. We resources to invest in quali- tourism economy - the coun- main force of outbound tourism Michael Coughlan, President the accompaniment of drums believe the current high levels ty processes and which offer try’s outbound travellers excee- in China, accounting for over of Wynn Macau, led the mana- and gongs, bestowing wishes of product innovation from air- comprehensive expertise in ded 100 million in 2014, spen- 67.5% of outbound travellers gement team in officiating the of good fortune on the hotel craft manufacturers will only aircraft operations.” ding a record USD164.8 billion surveyed last year. dragon and lion eye-dotting and its guests. wed 25.02.2015

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published in partnership with macauhub.com.mo 中葡論壇 FORUM 9

Sao Tome and 2014 Principe posts trade Trade between China deficit of USD154.5m and Lusophone countries reaches USD132.58b

RADE between China and Angola is second with bi- Tthe Portuguese-speaking lateral trade of US$37.07 countries in 2014 reached billion (+3.23 pct), which re- BLOOMBERG USD132.58 billion, an increa- sulted from Angolan sales of se of 0.85 pct over the figure US$31.09 billion (-2.67 pct) recorded in 2013, according to and Chinese sales of US$5.97 figures from China’s Customs billion (+50.73 pct). Bureau published in Macau. In third place in order of im- This amount resulted from portance was Portugal with A column marks the Equator line in Sao Tome’s Rolas Islet imports from China totaling trade worth US$4.8 billion HE trade balance of Sao 2013 imports reached 145.9 USD86.43 billion (-1.19 pct) (+22.88 pct), in which US$3.13 TTome and Principe for million dollars and expor- and Chinese exports to the ei- billion (+25.15 pct) was in 2014 recorded a deficit of 154.5 ts amounted to 6.7 million ght Portuguese-speaking coun- Chinese exports and US$1.66 million dollars, an increase of dollars. tries worth USD46.14 billion billion in Portuguese exports 11% over the deficit recorded The archipelago of Sao (+4.91 pct). (+18.81 pct). in 2013, reported the National Tome and Principe depends Most of the trade between Chi- Mozambique came in fourth Statistics Institute (INE). on more than 80 pct of ex- na and Portuguese-speaking place with two-way trade tota- The information sent by Sao ternal support to finance countries took place with Brazil ling US$3.62 billion (+119.79 Tome INE indicates that the the state budget, which this and Angola, which together, ac- pct), in which US$1.96 billion recorded deficit was the re- year includes expenses of counted for US$123.97 billion (+64.55 pct) were in Chinese sult of imports totaling 164.5 USD150 million. or 93 pct of the total. exports and US$1.65 billion million dollars and exports Despite the existence of With Brazil, China’s main (+266.37 pct) in Mozambican worth 10 million dollars. a joint oil exploration zone trading partner globally, trade sales. The INE also said that the with Nigeria, as well as amounted to US$86.9billion The other Portuguese-speaking export coverage rate of impor- another exclusive maritime (-3.29 pct) with Brazilian sa- countries – Cape Verde, Guinea- ts was 6.2 pct from January to area, the surveys carried les of US$51.97 billion (-3.15 Bissau, Sao Tome and Princi- December 2014, compared out have not discovered de- pct) and Chinese sales to the pe and East Timor – registered with 4.6 pct in 2013. posits of commercial value. amount of US$34.92 billion trade with China worth a total of From January to December MDT/Macauhub (-3.49 pct). US$184 million dollars.

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10 CHINA 中國

HK seeks to tighten visit scheme: chief executive Cupid strikes for Hong Kong

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun- ying said yesterday that the Individual career women on the mainland Visit Scheme for tourists from the Chinese mainland is not expanding and the government is seeking to tighten it up. Speaking ahead of an Executive Council meeting yesterday morning, BLOOMBERG Leung said the overall number of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year was similar to last year, but the number of those came under the visit scheme dropped. Despite the drop, the government will discuss with mainland authorities measures to tighten arrangements under the scheme, Leung said, adding he understood that mainland tourism growth had placed pressure on local people’s livelihoods. He said that contrary to newspaper reports, the scheme was not being extended to more mainland cities, and that he had been advising the central government not to expand the scheme as Hong Kong’s capacity to receive tourists is limited. Leung added that the government will develop tourism facilities including shopping malls to increase its capacity for visitors. Traffic peaks as CNY holiday ends

China’s railways, air routes and highways saw surging traffic yesterday as the week-long Lunar New Year holiday came to an end. Traffic authorities FTER a few failed relationships followed in Ms Cheung’s footsteps. she says. “Their background is simi- estimated that about 9.7 million trips Ain her home city of Hong Kong, Nearly 7,500 women from Hong lar to that of professional Hong Kong were made by train and some 1.4 million Doreen Cheung did not expect Cupid Kong married Chinese men in 2013, women. They would click.” by plane yesterday, setting new records. to strike when she moved to Shan- a threefold increase from 2003, the Moreover, according to the Finan- Another 73.6 million trips were made by ghai in 2002. paper revealed. Likewise, the num- cial Times, there could be a political highway. Altogether, Chinese passengers A PR manager then in her late 30s, ber of cross-border marriages regis- and social benefit to these marria- made 8.25 million trips by air during the Ms Cheung was attracted by better tered in Hong Kong accounted for 38 ges. Tensions between Hong Kong, week-long holiday, up 7.3 percent year job opportunities in China’s most per cent of the total in 2013, compa- anxious to maintain its status as an on year, according to the Civil Aviation westernized city. As a “leftover wo- red with 32 per cent 10 years earlier. international metropolis, and main- Administration of China. Every year, man” — a term referring to highly It is not hard to understand why land China have risen in recent years, tens of millions of Chinese return to the cities where they work or attend school educated, well-paid but unmarried women look for love outside of Hong most noticeably with last year’s pro- after reuniting with family during the Chinese females in their late 20s or Kong, marriage brokers and socio- democracy protests. Spring Festival, which fell on Feb. 19 this older — she felt her chances of mee- logists conveyed to the broadsheet. Such cross-border liaisons are be- year. The pre- and post-holiday travel ting someone were slim. “I was al- Hong Kong is a tough marriage lieved to help defuse conflicts and rush known as “Chunyun” in Chinese has most 40. The age became a big pro- market for women because of the ci- enhance mutual understanding be- been called the world’s largest human blem. It’s already very late and hard ty’s skewed gender ratio — 876 males tween two sides. “Of course, this migration. for me to find someone suitable,” she for every 1,000 females, a gap pre- [cross-border marriage] brings us told Financial Times reporter Julie dicted to worsen to 712 to 1,000 by closer, says Mr Yip. “What else cou- Zhu in Hong Kong. 2041. ld happen? They can influence us 3 killed in illegal But things changed when she met “Men are in a short supply,” Paul and we influence them too. We don’t gold mine Mr Chen, newly returned to Shan- Yip, an expert on population policy need to be paranoid about this.” ghai after working in New Zealand. at the University of Hong Kong, told But, Mei Ling Liu, founder of Hong Farmers trying to extract gold from an They fell in love and married two the FT. “And men always like to mar- Kong Matchmaker, an elite dating abandoned mine in central China were years later. ry down, women always like to marry agency, voices a note of caution. Al- overcome by chemical fumes, leaving Back then, it may have been rare for up . . . what we will see is an increa- though China and Hong Kong are three dead and six hospitalized, state Hong Kong women to look for love sing number of women who remain geographically close, she warns that media reported yesterday. Rescuers on the Chinese mainland. Traditio- single.” “the core values and social mentality were dispatched to the mine in Songxian nally, older and poorer Hong Kong China’s economic boom — and with are different”. County in the central province of Henan men went to China to find younger it, its growing number of wealthy Some cultural differences may be on Saturday after a tipoff from the brides. But in recent years, according men — has also encouraged women difficult to overcome. The govern- public, the Xinhua News Agency said. to the FT story, thousands of highly to consider partners from the main- ment data, though comprehensive, Although the mine had been abandoned, educated Hong Kong women have land. do not include divorces of cross-bor- making any operations there illegal, Renowned for being independent der couples. local farmers were hoping to separate and selective, says Sandy To, a socio- “Hong Kong people speak terrible remnants of gold from the rock with the logist at the University of Hong Kong, Mandarin and (most) Chinese speak use of chemicals such as sodium cyanide, women from the territory tend to fa- terrible Cantonese,” Ms Liu says. Xinhua said. They were then apparently Men are in a vor Chinese bachelors with decent “When you talk about business, you overwhelmed by the gasses released. short supply. And education, particularly haigui or “sea can struggle and manage. When you Xinhua said the case remains under turtles” — Chinese who have studied talk about love, you really need to investigation. Yesterday was a national men always like holiday and calls to the local government overseas and returned to China. communicate.” rang unanswered. No official notice was to marry down, More than 400,000 haigui retur- “We don’t have a big problem in posted on the county’s website or official ned to the motherland last year, the our daily communication,” says Ms microblog. China has vastly improved women always like newspaper stated, according to Chi- Cheung of her relationship. But her its mine safety record in recent years nese government data. “They speak accent still marks her out as a Hong through the closure of thousands of to marry up fluent Englsih, have the global pers- Kong native. “He (my husband) so- small operations. PAUL YIP pective and cultural sophistication,” metimes makes fun of me.” MDT/FT wed 25.02.2015

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中國 CHINA 11

Lisa Pham and Michelle Yun HONG KONG IGHTY-SIX years old and still job hunting. Wong Siu-ying had to Grandmas vie for jobs as Asia’s stop passing out leafle- Ets on a Hong Kong flyover when she hurt her knee in August. With two-thirds of her social worst aging crisis looms security income spent on rent and no steady allowance from her three children, retirement isn’t an option. “It isn’t enough,” Wong said BLOOMBERG of the roughly HKD2,200 (USD284) a month she gets from the government, which provides a benefit to the elder- ly as a supplementary income, with the expectation families will pay for living expenses. “The most important thing is to find work.” In a city with the most Rolls Royce cars per capita, Wong is among the growing number of elderly forced to sweep streets, collect cardboard for recycling, or hand out pamphlets to stave off poverty. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and World Heal- th Organization forecast Hong Kong will have the highest sha- re of population aged 65 years and over in Asia by 2050, out- pacing Japan. For Hong Kong Chief Execu- tive Leung Chun-ying and his finance secretary, due to hand down the 2015-16 budget today, pressure to help the city’s aging combines with more immedia- te risks including heading off renewed political turmoil after protests last year and girding for higher interest rates. Rival financial center Singa- or 2.8 percent of gross domes- tionary proposals.” “We are therefore not optimis- pore on Monday announced tic product, led by revenue from Even so, the prospect for hi- In a city with tic a consensus on retirement plans to strengthen social se- stamp duties of property and gher interest rates in the U.S., the most Rolls protection financing arrange- curity support for older and stock transactions, land sales, followed in Hong Kong due to ments can be reached.” middle-income workers. The salaries and business taxes. its currency peg to the greenba- Royce cars The Commission on Poverty island’s demographic challenge “It is essential that the gover- ck, raises the risk of undercu- will be seeking public feedback mirrors Hong Kong’s, with the nment adjusts the fiscal policy tting revenue from property per capita, on the pension plans in the se- median age of its citizens set to appropriately so as to address transactions that have kept go- cond half of this year. rise to 47 in 2030, from 39 in the pressures that may arise vernment coffers flush. Wong is among More than a third of Hong 2011. from an aging population and In the meantime, Fok Mei- the growing Kong’s elderly live in poverty, Offering Hong Kong some fis- a declining labor force,” Chow song, who turns 65 next month, according to a government re- cal firepower is a budget sur- wrote in a note this month. is in need of work. The grand- number of port in 2012. That compares plus. Hong Kong-based Bank of “However, given the govern- mother of five said she is taking with an average poverty rate of America Merrill Lynch econo- ment’s extremely conservative a break from cleaning the stree- elderly forced 12.8 percent in OECD countries, mist Marcella Chow estimated a and prudent stance, there is ts of Sham Shui Po, a densely according to a 2013 report. surplus of about HK$62 billion, little expectation of any revolu- populated working-class dis- to sweep Younger generations aren’t streets to stave planning sufficiently for their own futures either. One in five off poverty single workers in their thirties AP PHOTO and forties in Hong Kong don’t have any retirement planning, trict, after her employer woul- according to an online survey dn’t give her enough paid leave conducted by Fidelity Worldwi- to recover from a knee injury. de Investment in 2013. “My children have a lot of bur- That will leave future genera- den,” she said of her three sons, tions in the same shoes as Lee who aren’t able to give her addi- Yuet-yan, who also has to worry tional spending money. about medical expenses for his Hong Kong Chief Executive wife’s respiratory illness. Now Leung in January asked the 79, the former cook is working finance secretary to earmark six days a week as a building se- HK$50 billion for future reti- curity guard. rement financing needs. Even “I like my job and I can con- if enacted, that would be a long tribute to the society,” he said way from providing widespread after completing a nine-hour coverage. shift. “I don’t get any govern- “We cannot rely solely on the ment support and I can ask my government for universal reti- children for money if I need it. rement protection,” Leung said But I’ll keep working for as long in a policy address on Jan. 14. as I can.” Bloomberg 25.02.2015 wed

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12 ASIA-PACIFIC 亞太版

NEW ZEALAND Key told lawmakers. “We have an obligation to support sta- bility and the rule of law in- ternationally. We do not shy Gov’t to send troops to Iraq away from taking our share of the burden when the interna- tional rules-based system is threatened, as it is today.” to train local forces The announcement was cri- ticized by opposition Labour Party leader Andrew Little, Nick Perry, Wellington who said New Zealand should not be sending troops to Iraq EW Zealand will AP PHOTO and that lawmakers should send a small num- have been given the opportu- ber of troops to Iraq nity to vote on the issue. to help train local Little said it was unrealistic to Nforces in their battle against say the troops would be there the Islamic State group, Prime purely in a non-combat role. Minister John Key announced “They won’t just be behind yesterday. the wire, they will be exposed Key told lawmakers the coun- to the much wider conflict,” try would deploy up to 143 mi- Little said. “And it won’t just litary personnel, who would be be the soldiers we send to based “behind the wire” and Iraq, it will be Kiwis traveling would train Iraqi security for- around the world.” ces rather than being actively Little said the Iraqi army involved in combat missions. was broken, treacherous and Key and his government corrupt and was not the right made the decision without organization to defeat the Is- putting it to a parliamentary lamic State group. vote, a contentious move whi- Lt. Gen. Tim Keating, the ch some say was prompted be- chief of New Zealand’s de- cause the government didn’t fense force, acknowledged have the support it needed to that insider attacks by Iraq win such a vote. forces posed a threat, but Key said most of the troops said New Zealand trainers would likely be based in the could add value. Taji military base north of Ba- “We will start with anything, ghdad as part of a joint mis- and we will work toward our sion with Australia. He said mission to develop a professio- the two-year deployment wou- nal Iraqi defense force,” he said. ld begin about May and would Key said New Zealand was be reviewed by the govern- one of 62 nations that were ment after nine months. part of an international coali- Key said the government had tion battling the group. been considering options to He said up to 106 troops expand upon the humanita- would be deployed to the Taji rian assistance it was already base about 22 kilometers nor- providing. th of Baghdad, while others “New Zealand is a country would be sent to the coalition that stands up for its values. An Iraqi army trainee rehearses proper room clearing techniques under the supervision of a U.S. Marine during training, as part headquarters or other facili- We stand up for what is right,” of their commitment in helping combat the Islamic State militant group in Iraq, at Al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province ties in the region. AP

INDONESIA SOUTH KOREA President rejects any intervention in executions Indonesia’s president has rejected any Spy chief says teenager attempts by other countries to intervene in

AP PHOTO the execution of foreign drug traffickers. The government has announced plans to execute joined Islamic State group eight people — one Indonesian and seven foreigners from Australia, Brazil, France, Ghana, Nigeria and the Philippines. President teenager who went te group unit is based. media and telephone re- Joko Widodo told reporters yesterday that A missing in Turkey The man, identified cords that showed him the death penalty is part of the country’s legal last month is probably only by his last name, actively communicating system, and insisted that other countries the first known South Kim, was last seen with people suspected Australian death-row prisoners Myuran should not interfere. He said he has received Korean to join the Isla- leaving a hotel in the to be recruiters from the Sukumaran, right and Andrew Chan phone calls from some foreign leaders asking mic State group, officials Turkish border town of group. that the executions be canceled. In January, said yesterday. Kilis on Jan. 10. An offi- Lee also told legisla- the government brushed aside appeals from several foreign countries and executed an The director of South cial from Seoul’s Foreign tors that there was no Indonesian and five foreigners from Malawi, Nigeria, the Netherlands and Vietnam who were Korea’s National Intelli- Ministry, who spoke on evidence to support convicted of drug trafficking. There are 133 people on death row in Indonesia, including 57 for gence Service, Lee Byun- the condition of anony- media reports that Kim drug crimes. g-kee, told legislators in mity, citing office rules, Kyong Hui, aunt of Nor- a closed-door meeting confirmed that he would th Korean leader Kim MALDIVES that the 18-year-old man be the first known South Jong Un, was dead, said FM blasts foreign concern over arrest of ex-president is alive in Syria and with Korean to join the mili- Kim the lawmaker. Kim an Islamic State group tant group. Kyong Hui last made The government of the Maldives has criticized foreign countries and groups that expressed unit that trains combat South Korean police a public appearance in concern over its recent arrest of an ex-president, saying it will not accept advice on governance personnel, opposition said in a news confe- September 2013, three issues. Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon said yesterday that the arrest of former President lawmaker Kim Kwang rence last month that months before Kim Jong Mohamed Nasheed had been conducted lawfully and he would receive a fair trial. The United Jin said. Kim likely attempted Un executed her hus- States, India and the United Nations were among those who expressed concern over Nasheed’s Kim said Lee didn’t re- to enter Syria with the band, Jang Song Thaek, arrest on Sunday for ordering the arrest of a top judge when he was president three years veal how the spy agency intention of joining the on treason charges, ac- ago. Nasheed has been charged under an anti-terror law and a court has ordered him held in obtained the information Islamic State group, ci- cording to South Korea’s detention until the trial ends. or where the Islamic Sta- ting his computer, social Unification Ministry. AP wed 25.02.2015

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分析 WORLD 13

Lorne Cook and Raf Casert, Brussels GREECE

REECE’S creditors in the G19-country eurozone yester- day approved a list of reforms Eurozone backs reforms; key Athens proposed to get a 4-mon- th extension to its bailout, which should keep the country afloat over the coming months. hurdle to extend bailout An encouraging initial reaction from the so-called institutions — the European Commission, encouraged by the commitment European Central Bank and In- to combat tax evasion and cor- ternational Monetary Fund — to AP PHOTO ruption ... as well as to pursue the reforms Greece proposed in a reforms to modernize the public letter late Monday was backed by administration.” the eurozone nations. In its list of reforms, the Greek Greece had to make the pro- government says it will combat posals in order to get the bailout tax evasion and corruption, re- extended. Without the finan- duce bureaucracy, review public cial lifeline over the coming few spending, modernize the pension months, Greece faces the possi- system, reform the judicial sys- bility of going bankrupt, impo- tem and address rising poverty sing capital controls and ditching through measures that have “no the euro. fiscal effect.” It says authorities “The three institutions agreed will “turn the fight against cor- to start the process with this. ruption into a national priority.” They thought it was a serious It pledges not to roll back any enough list and all the countries privatizations that have already have just agreed with that in the been completed and to “respect meeting so we can start,” said the process, according to the eurogroup president Jeroen Di- law,” of any tenders that have jsselbloem on RTL television. Dutch Finance Minister and the head of the eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem, right, sits next to the chairman of the Committee on already been launched. Privati- The proposal to extend Gree- Economic and Monetary Affairs Roberto Gualtieri during a meeting of the committee at the European Parliament in Brussels zation was one of the elements ce’s bailout, which ends at the of Greece’s bailout that Tsipras’ end of the month, now goes sent ahead of Monday’s deadline, were welcomed, the eurozone mi- the eurozone said in a statement. Syriza party had promised to to some member nations for also met with a favorable respon- nisters said Greece had to take fur- So far, the reform list “is su- cancel. approval. se in the markets. The main stock ther steps to flesh out the details. fficiently comprehensive to be The letter is a general outline of The reform plans, which in- market in Athens was up around “We call on the Greek authori- a valid starting point,” EU Fi- policies and does not include any clude measures to deal with tax 9 percent in afternoon trading. ties to further develop and broa- nancial Affairs Commissioner figures or specific details on how evasion and corruption and were Though the reform measures den the list of reform measure,” Pierre Moscovici wrote. “We are the policies will be achieved. AP

USA UKRAINE Alaska becomes 3rd US Rebels claim weapons state to legalize marijuana pullback begins

Molly Dischner, Juneau which planned to meet Jim Heintz, Kiev early yesterday to discuss LASKA yesterday AP PHOTO an emergency response. USSIAN-BACKED rebels in eas- AP PHOTO Abecame the third U.S. That’s left different com- Rtern Ukraine said yesterday they state to legalize the re- munities across the state have begun a large-scale pullback of creational use of marijua- to adopt different stan- heavy weapons in line with an inter- na, but organizers don’t dards of what smoking in national peace plan that aims to form expect any public celebra- public means to them. In a wide buffer zone between separatists’ tions since it remains ille- Anchorage, officials tried and Ukrainian forces’ artillery. gal to smoke marijuana in and failed in December The claim by Eduard Basurin, a top public. to ban a new commer- rebel commander, couldn’t immedia- In the state’s largest cial marijuana industry. tely be confirmed. Michael Bociurkiw, Russia-backed rebels ride on an armored city, Anchorage, police But Police Chief Mark a spokesman for the observer mission vehicle in the center of Debaltseve officers are ready to start Mew said his officers that is monitoring the fighting in eas- handing out USD100 fi- will be strictly enforcing tern Ukraine, said he couldn’t com- saying about 100 122-mm howitzers nes to make sure taking a the public smoking ban. ment until receiving monitors’ reports would be moved yesterday. toke remains something He even warned people at the end of the day. There was no immediate comment to be done behind closed against smoking on their The peace plan that was signed Feb. from the Ukrainian side, but military doors. porches if they live next to 15 calls for heavy weapons to be pulled officials have said that they won’t pull Peter Lomonaco, co-founder Placing Alaska in the of the Alaska Cannabis Club, a park. back by each side from the front line by back weapons until a cease-fire fully same category as Washin- and CEO Charlo Greene roll a But far to the north, in 25 to 70 kilometers, depending on their takes hold. gton state and Colorado joint at their medical marijuana North Pole, smoking ou- caliber. Yesterday, military spokesman Lt. with legal marijuana was dispensary in Anchorage, Alaska tdoors on private proper- The cease-fire has been troubled by Col. Anatoliy Stelmakh said rebels had the goal of a coalition in- ty will be OK as long as it violations, leading to concern that shelled the town of Popasna seven ti- cluding libertarians, ru- ces, they left many of the doesn’t create a nuisance, it wouldn’t solidify and that fighting mes and launched one barrage on the gged individualists and details to lawmakers and officials there said. would continue. village of Luhanske. small-government Re- regulators to sort out. As of yesterday, adult Russia denies Ukrainian and Western Stelmakh also said rebels tried to publicans who prize the That has left confusion Alaskans can not only claims that it is supplying the rebels storm Ukrainian positions near the privacy rights enshrined on many matters. keep and use pot, they with troops and equipment, with the southern village of Shyrokyne, which in the Alaska state cons- The initiative bans can transport, grow it and possible aim of a full-scale war. is near the strategic Azov Sea port of titution. smoking in public, but give it away. A second Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Mariupol. Concerns persists that re- When they voted 53-47 didn’t define what that phase, creating a regula- an interview with state television on bels aim to take Mariupol to help esta- percent last November means, and lawmakers ted and taxed marijuana Monday, said “such an apocalyptic sce- blish a land corridor between mainland to legalize marijuana use left the question to the market, won’t start until nario is hardly possible.” Russia and the Crimean peninsula that by adults in private pla- alcohol regulatory board, 2016 at the earliest. AP A rebel website cited Basurin as Russia annexed last March. AP 25.02.2015 wed

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分析 WORLD 15

ISRAEL Report: Mossad was less alarmed than Netanyahu on Iran

Ian Deitch, Jerusalem the CIA to establish contact with enough enriched uranium for the Islamic militant group Ha- the first bomb,” Netanyahu said. SRAEL’S Mossad spy AP PHOTO mas, South Korean intelligence He said his assessment was not agency in October 2012 targeting the leader of Greenpea- based on “military intelligence,” had a less alarmist view ce and South Africa spying on but on publicly available U.N. of Iran’s nuclear program Russia over a joint satellite deal. reports. Ithan an assessment delivered by The paper said it had “indepen- The purported leaked Mossad Prime Minister Benjamin Ne- dently authenticated” the cache. cable expresses far less urgency. tanyahu at the United Nations An Israeli official said there “Even though Iran has accu- just a few weeks earlier, accor- was “no discrepancy” between mulated enough 5 percent enri- ding to a purported secret cable Netanyahu’s assessment and ched uranium for several bom- published Monday by two me- the unverified leaks. The official bs, and has enriched some of it dia outlets. spoke on condition of anonymity to 20 percent, it does not appear In a landmark speech to the because he was not authorized to to be ready to enrich it to higher United Nations in September of discuss the matter on the record. levels,” the document says. that year, Netanyahu had bran- The leaks come just days be- “Bottom line: though Iran at dished a cartoon drawing of a fore Netanyahu is scheduled to this stage is not performing the bomb and said Iran was moving speak before the U.S. Congress activity necessary to produce ahead with plans that would about Iran’s nuclear program. weapons, it is working to close allow it to potentially build a nu- In the 2012 speech, the Is- gaps in areas that appear legiti- clear bomb within a year or so. raeli leader held a diagram of mate such as enrichment, reac- But in the document published a cartoon-like bomb showing tors, which will reduce the time Monday by The Guardian and escalating levels of uranium en- required to produce weapons Al-Jazeera, the Mossad is quo- richment. He pulled out a red from the time the instruction is ted as saying “Iran at this stage marker and drew a line across actually given,” it said. is not performing the activity what he said was a threshold Iran reached a landmark in- necessary to produce weapons.” which Israel could not tolera- terim nuclear deal with world The news organizations said te — uranium enrichment to powers in November 2013 un- the document was an assess- 90 percent, the level needed to der which it converted or diluted ment shared with South African make an atomic bomb. its stock of 20 percent enriched intelligence, part of a trove of “By next spring, at most by next uranium. It is negotiating a fi- leaked spy cables sent by several summer at current enrichment nal deal with the U.S., Britain, different intelligence agencies, rates, they will have finished the France, Russia, China and Ger- including the CIA and Russian In this Sept. 27, 2012, file photo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel medium enrichment and move many, with the two sides hoping intelligence. shows an illustration as he describes his concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions on to the final stage. From the- to agree on a preliminary deal in The British newspaper said the during his address to the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly at re, it’s only a few months, possi- March and a follow-up pact in documents detail an attempt by U.N. headquarters bly a few weeks before they get June. AP

USA Republicans struggle for way out AP PHOTO as Homeland shutdown looms

Erica Werner, Washington allow Republicans who much of Iraq and Syria. of his ruling to the 5th U.S. oppose Obama’s execu- Over the weekend, a video Circuit Court of Appeals IVIDED Republicans tive actions on deferring purported to be released by in New Orleans. Dare searching for a deportation for millions Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked “Leave it to the courts. I way out of an impasse over of immigrants living in rebel group al-Shabab ur- think we have an excellent immigration that is threa- the U.S. illegally to regis- ged Muslims to attack sho- case before the Supreme tening to shut down the ter their opposition with pping malls in the U.S. and Court,” Sen. John McCain Homeland Security De- a stand-alone vote. But other Western countries said Monday night. partment within days. Senate Democrats were In the wake of a federal House conservatives, by President Barack Obama gestures as he finishes speaking to With the agency’s bu- quick to point out it left court’s ruling last week contrast, said the court members of the National Governors Association dget set to expire Friday unanswered the question saying Obama overste- developments only stren- at midnight without ac- of how to fund the Home- pped his authority, and gthened their resolve to have the responsibility to previous attempts earlier tion by Congress, Senate land Security Department. putting his immigration use the Homeland Security stand firm against Obama. in the month to advance Majority Leader Mitch “This proposal doesn’t actions on hold, a growing budget to fight Obama on It was unclear whether the House bill had yielded McConnell announced bring us any closer to ac- number of Senate Repu- immigration. They remai- McConnell would succeed similar results. Monday he would sepa- tually funding DHS,” said blicans argued for letting ned adamantly opposed to in breaking the unity of Se- McConnell’s move came rate language overturning Democratic Sen. Chuck the immigration fight play a funding bill that doesn’t nate Democrats, who held after Obama warned the President Barack Obama’s Schumer. “It’s a disgrace out in court, and passing a include language blocking together for a fourth time nation’s governors that contested immigration that ISIS and al-Shabab are “clean” bill to fund Home- Obama on immigration, Monday night to block de- states would feel the eco- measures from the depart- fully funded, but thanks to land Security, free of the and also said they would bate on the House bill that nomic pain of a Home- ment’s funding bill. Republican game-playing, language on immigration. not support a short-term funds the Homeland Se- land Security shutdown, The move seemed aimed the Department of Home- The Obama administra- extension of current fun- curity Department through with tens of thousands of at pressuring Senate De- land Security might not tion on Monday asked U.S. ding levels. the Sept. 30 budget year, workers in line to be fur- mocrats who have oppo- be.” District Judge Andrew Ha- Republican Rep. Mick while also overturning loughed if the agency shuts sed the legislation because ISIS in one acronym for nen in Texas to put his im- Mulvaney said that now Obama’s moves granting down at midnight Friday, the immigration language the Islamic State militant migration ruling on hold that Republicans have full work permits to millions and many more forced to is included. It also would group that has taken over and filed a notice of appeal control of Congress, they in the U.S. illegally. Three work without pay. AP 25.02.2015 wed

th Anniversary

16 INFOTAINMENT 資訊／娛樂

what’s ON ... TV canal macau this day in history

13:00 TDM News (Repeated) Orchid Exhibition Welcomes Lunar New Year 2015 13:30 News (RTPi) Delayed Broadcast Time: 8am-8pm (February 25) 18:10 Brazil Avenue (Repeated) 8am-12pm (February 26) 19:00 TDM Interview (Repeated) Venue: Lou Lim Ioc Garden / No. 10 Estrada de 19:30 Soap Opera Adolfo Loureiro, Macau 20:30 Main News, Financial & Weather Report Admission: free 21:00 Montra do Lilau nquiries E : (853) 8504 1218 21:40 Miscellaneous 22:10 Brazil Avenue Cookin’ NANTA 23:00 TDM News Time: 8pm (Tuesdays to Fridays) 5pm & 8pm (Saturdays & Sunday) 23:30 Champions League Highlights 8pm (March 22, 2015) 23:50 Documentary Series Until: March 22, 2015 00:25 Main News, Finalcial & Weather Report (Repeated) Venue: Sands Theatre at the Sands Macau/ No.203, Largo de Monte Carlo, Macau Admission: MOP280 up cinema Exhibition ‘Foam Tip by Arlinda Frota cineteatro and Transmutation by Carol Kwok’ 1964 Cassius Clay crowned 18 Feb - 25 Feb Time: 12pm-8pm (Closed on Tuesdays) world champion Until: March 31, 2015 STAND BY ME DORAEMON_ Cassius Clay, 22, has been crowned heavyweight Venue: SIGNUM Living Store, Rua do Almirante room 1 2.00, 5.40 pm champion of the world after beating Sonny Liston in Sérgio, no. 285, R/C, Macau Language: Cantonese (Chinese) one of the biggest upsets in boxing’s history. Admission: Free Duration: 95min Clay, from Kentucky, was announced the winner af- Enquiries: (853) 2896 8925 ter the hot favourite retired at the end of the sixth TRIUMPH IN THE SKIES_ round in Miami. room 1 When the bell rang for the start of the seventh rou- “One Hundred Photographers Focus 7.30 pm nd, Liston stayed on his stool in the corner of the on Macau” Exhibition Language: Cantonese (English and Chinese) ring - saying he did not want to continue. Duration: 127min Time: 24 hours Florida state attorney Richard Gerstein is to launch an inquiry into the fight. Until: March 22, 2015 KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE_ Clay was earlier fined around £900 for disgraceful Venue: Level 2 Showcase, MGM Macau room 2 conduct after he ranted at his 32-year-old opponent 2.30, 7.15, 11.30 pm Admission: Free during the weigh-in. Director: Matthew Vaughn He had chanted “I wanna rumble...I wanna rumble!” Enquiries: (853) 8802 8888 Starring: Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Samuel L. Jackson before saying “You’re a tramp. I am going to eat you Language: English (Chinese) Duration: 127min up. Somebody’s going to die at the ringside tonight. Macau Grand Prix Museum Are you scared?” & Wine Museum PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR_ Liston had built his reputation on two first round knock-outs of Floyd Patterson and in the boxing wor- Time: 10am-8pm (Closed on Tuesdays) room 2 ld he was thought to be invincible. enue Rua Luis Gonzaga Gomes, 431, 4.45 pm V : Language: Cantonese (Chinese) Clay had come into the fight after suffering his grea- basement (Tourism Activities Centre-CAT) Duration: 127min test humiliation to date - being knocked down by Admission: Free Henry Cooper’s left hook. Enquiries: (853) 8798 4108 / 2833 3000 STAND BY ME DORAEMON_ Liston reigned supreme when he was challenged by room 2 former Olympic gold medallist Clay, who ring experts 7.15 pm said was “all talk”. Language: Cantonese (Chinese) The majority of sports journalists covering the bout Red Sandalwood Art Exhibition Duration: 95min thought that Clay, who was 7-1 underdog, would be of Old Beijing City Gates no match for Liston. Only half of the seats had been sold and around 8,000 people attended the fight. Time: 12pm-9pm (Tuesdays to Sundays, open on The fight started at 0310 GMT at the Convention Mondays that fall on a public holiday) Hall in Miami Beach and Liston had been widely ex- Until: March 22, 2015 pected to retain his title in the third round. Venue: Level 2 MGM Art Space Liston, known as the “dark destroyer”, had mana- ged to pin Clay to the ropes during round two but in Admission: Free round three the champion was forced to retreat, with Enquiries: (853) 8802 8888 his left eye pouring with blood.

Courtesy BBC News Offbeat

‘Fifty Shades’ dominates box office In context again with USD22.2 million The World Boxing Association let Cassius Clay keep his heavyweight championship following the controversy over his fight with Sonny Liston at Miami Beach. “Fifty Shades FROM VEGAS TO MACAU 2_ Ed Lassman, president of the WBA, had earlier demanded of Grey” stayed that Clay be stripped of his title and recommended giving the room3 AP PHOTO on top of the box 3.45, 7.30, 9.30 pm title back to him if his conduct improved over the next five office. Language: Cantonese (English and Chinese) months. Miami State attorney Richard Gerstein said a month-long Universal’s ero- Duration: 90min tic drama starring inquiry revealed no evidence of match-fixing. He added that Dakota John- there was little doubt that Liston was suffering from a sore PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR_ shoulder during the fight. son and Jamie room 3 Both the original fight and the rematch a year later in Maine, Dornan earned 2.00, 5.45 pm which Clay won with a first-round knockout, have been USD22.2 million Language: Cantonese (Chinese) dogged by allegations of rigging. at No. 1 in its se- Duration: 127min Muhammad Ali, as he was later known to his adoring fans, cond weekend said the victory in Miami over Liston was the most important at the box office. of his career - because he had proved he was qualified to be The total domestic haul for the adaptation of E.L. James’ best- macau tower champion of the world. Shortly after the fight, Clay surprised the sports world by selling novel now stands at $129.1 million. 19 Feb - 04 Mar The action spy film “Kingsman: The Secret Service” and the announcing that he had joined the Nation of Islam and had changed his name to Muhammad Ali. family friendly “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” 12 GOLDEN DUCKS_ His boxing career lasted 20 years, during which he won 56 similarly maintained their respective No. 2 and No. 3 spots. 2.30, 4.30, 7.00, 9.30 pm fights and scored 37 knock-outs. Fox’s “Kingsman” grabbed $18.3 million, while Paramount’s Director: Matt Chow As an admirer once said, Ali would, “float like a butterfly, “SpongeBob” surfed away with $16.7 million. Starring: Eason Chan, Louis Koo, Sandra Kwan Yue Ng sting like a bee”. In December 1981, Ali decided to retire from Oscar-winner “Birdman” stood at 15th, grossing $877,586 Language: Chinese (Chinese) the ring and Parkinson’s disease was later diagnosed. last week at U.S. and Canadian theaters. Duration: 92min wed 25.02.2015

th Anniversary

資訊／娛樂 INFOTAINMENT 17

YOUR STARS THE BORN LOSER by Chip Sansom Aries Taurus

Mar. 21-Apr. 19 April 20-May 20 You’re moving pretty slowly today Your interpersonal relations have — which could mean that you’ve got never gone this smoothly — so it’s to take the day off. Why not enjoy time for you to check in with your this short phase of sloth? Unless people. You can solve almost any you’ve got urgent business, you problem if you just listen and then should take it easy all day long. act from the heart.

Gemini Cancer

May 21-Jun. 21 Jun. 22-Jul. 22 This is not a great time to play Your friendly energy is perfect for games — you need to really focus charming new love interests or job if you want to make it through the prospects — practically anyone is day! The good part is that you can likely to give it up for you today! make a lot of progress if you take Things may start to get really life seriously. interesting tonight. SUDOKU WEATHER Leo Virgo MIN MAX CONDITION Jul. 23-Aug. 22 Aug. 23-Sept. 22 CHINA You can’t help but say no to what It’s time to think about travel once Easy Easy+ at first sounds like a reasonable again — and your great energy is request. It may soon turn out to be pushing you in one specific direction, Beijing -1 5 smoggy/cloudy quite unreasonable, though, so you You should know just what you Harbin -23 -7 clear should be justified in the long run. want, and you should be able to find Today might be hard, though. great deals to get you there. Tianjin 0 4 sleet/cloudy Urumqi -8 2 clear Libra Scorpio Xi’an 1 11 cloudy clear/cloudy Sep.23-Oct. 22 Oct. 23 - Nov. 21 Lhasa -3 12 A cultural epiphany comes your way You should find that things aren’t Chengdu 6 16 cloudy and may help you find new ways to quite as simple as you had expected Chongqing 16 overcast live your life. Things are definitely — so double down and see if you 11 looking up for you and you should can gain a little advantage from the Kunming 6 22 clear be able to convince others to try your unexpected reversal. It may take a new ideas. while to come out ahead. Nanjing 7 10 drizzle Shanghai 7 10 drizzle Sagittarius Capricorn Hard Wuhan 7 10 drizzle Medium Hangzhou 8 11 drizzle Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Your analytical mind is chugging Your romantic situation is getting Taipei 17 26 cloudy/clear along and making short work of a lot more interesting today — and Guangzhou 18 26 overcast life’s little problems. You may find in a good way! Your great energy is that your friends come to you for perfect for letting others know how Hong Kong 19 22 cloudy advice when they see you making you feel, no matter how long you’ve such progress. been together. WORLD Aquarius Pisces

Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Feb.19-Mar. 20 Moscow -2 3 cloudy You feel a little bored today — How’s your love life? Your answer Frankfurt 0 4 drizzle but that may just be par for the is likely to change for the better 2 course. Your life is such a thrill as the day goes on. You may meet Paris 6 drizzle ride most of the time that it can someone new or feel a new surge London 5 7 drizzle be hard to keep it together when of affection for your sweetie. Enjoy things slow down. the ride! New York -7 -5 flurry

CROSSWORDS USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS ACROSS: 1- It’s a long story; 5- Just ___!; 9- Bullwinkle, e.g.; 14- Crude cartel; 15- ___ Beach, Florida; 16- Gardener’s tool; 17- I’d hate to break up ___; 18- Pack ___ (quit); 19- Sublease; 20- Itinerant; 23- Supplement, with “out”; 24- Vane dir.; 25- Oklahoma city; 27- Way to cook; 31- Shade trees; 33- Auction site; Emergency calls 999 Taxi 28 939 939 / 2828 3283 37- Catches sight of; 39- King Kong, e.g.; 40- Rich supply; 41- At the same time; 44- ___ Bator, Mongolia; 45- Wapiti; 46- Mark with spots; 47- Actor Auberjonois; Fire department 28 572 222 Water Supply – Report 1990 992 48- Jack of “Rio Lobo”; 50- Reposes; 51- Change the decor; 53- ___ see it...; 55- Son of, in Arabic names; 58- Pretentious display; 64- Portals; 66- Actress Daly; PJ (Open line) 993 Telephone – Report 1000 67- 1975 Wimbledon winner; 68- Teheran native; 69- ...___ saw Elba; 70- ___ best friend; 71- Patriot Allen; 72- “Jurassic Park” actress; 73- Slaughter of baseball; PJ (Picket) 28 557 775 Electricity – Report 28 339 922

DOWN: 1- Work up lather; 2- Church recess; 3- Will of “The Waltons”; 4- Broadway PSP 28 573 333 Macau Daily Times 28 716 081 opening; 5- Birdlike; 6- Small sofa; 7- Buffalo’s Customs 28 559 944 county; 8- Scorn; 9- Paris “thanks”; 10- Form Yesterday’s solution of poem, often used to praise something; 11- Give the eye; 12- Go after; 13- Harper’s S. J. Hospital 28 313 731 Bazaar illustrator; 21- For ___ sake!; 22- Pants Kiang Wu Hospital 28 371 333 measurement; 26- Erase; 27- Happen again; Crossword puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com 28- ___ Mio; 29- Pertaining to bees; 30- Transgressor; 32- Sri ___; 34- Heavy footwear; Commission Against 35- Mature; 36- Affirmatives; 38- Spirited horses; 42- Apportioned; 43- Water wheel; Corruption (CCAC) 28326 300 49- Mode of action; 52- Red fluorescent dye; 54- Beer mug; 55- Romeo’s last words; IACM 28 387 333 56- Low-quality diamond; 57- Flood survivor; 59- Fictional Jane; 60- Domesticate; 61- This Tourism 28 333 000 ___ outrage!; 62- Horrors!; 63- Nitti’s nemesis; 65- Genetic material Airport 59 888 88

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體育 SPORTS 19

RELAND captain William CRICKET | WORLD CUP Porterfield reckons his team has had enough time to sa- vor its surprising opening Iwin over the West Indies at the After surprising opening win, World Cup. Now it's time to get on with business. The Irish had a four-wicket win over the two-time World Cup Ireland back in action v UAE winners in Nelson, New Zealand, chasing down the target of 305 with four overs to spare nine land are hoping there's no repeat days ago. So they've had plen- of the no result from Saturday. ty of time to prepare for today's Khan scored 45 against Zimba- match against the United Arab bwe, while Shaiman Anwar pos- Emirates, one of the three other ted 67 to bolster the UAE innin- so-called Associate teams at the WWW.ICC-CRICKET.COM gs. They're looking for more from tournament. the top order on Wednesday. "The lads are raring to go," said Ireland will "be targeting us. Porterfield, who is determined We've played lots of games against to continue Ireland's 13-game them," Khan said. "For us, as well, unbeaten streak against the from associates, we've played a UAE. "It's obviously a decent re- lot of games and we know the cord, but it doesn't account for weaknesses as well. So I think it's anything. It's anyone's game. a wonderful opportunity because But, "If we go in there and play it's, you know, it's a very impor- the kind of cricket we want to tant game for us as well. So we're play ... the result can go from targeting definitely this game." there." Khan expected the Ireland ba- The UAE had to wait until tsmen to try to get on top of the Thursday to get started, its first William Porterfield game, but the UAE had plans to game at the World Cup since combat that. 1996 ending in a four-wicket can't expect to pick up where we and then Paul Stirling scored tournament, said the outcome "I think they're batting side, loss to Zimbabwe at Nelson. The left off against the West Indies — 92, Ed Joyce made 84 and Niall in Brisbane was crucial for both and bowling has been their UAE team, comprising part-ti- I think it would be foolish to do O'Brian hit an unbeaten 79 to lift teams. The weekend match be- weakness," he said. "Obviously me players and mostly ex-pats, that. So we've got to prepare well Ireland to 307-6 and a famous tween four-time champion Aus- they'll be very up as an associate, scored 285-7 in an encouraging as we have done again, and have victory. Ireland is unlikely to tralia and Bangladesh at the Ga- and they know they have chances batting display. There's been a look at the UAE." tinker much with its lineup. bba was abandoned due to cyclo- because they beat West Indies much made of the International George Dockrell took 3-50 to UAE vice-captain, Khurram nic rain. There's more rain on the — the extra pressure will be on Cricket Council's plans to cut restrict the West Indies to 304 Khan, the oldest player at the forecast, but the UAE and Ire- them." AP the number of teams competing at the World Cup from 14 to 10 in 2019, mostly due to perfor- day's match against the West Indies, but mances like Ireland's win over Philander ruled out of South Africa’s it was too early to make an assessment on the West Indies and Scotland his availability for the Pool B match against running New Zealand close in its next World Cup match Ireland in Canberra next Tuesday. opening match. "We have to give him every opportunity to Porterfield said his team had make sure that he can be available," Moo- set a goal of reaching the quarter- ACEMAN Vernon Philander has been sajee said. "At the same time we don't want finals, which could further com- Pruled out of South Africa's next World to be foolish by taking short-cuts — we plicate matters for the ICC. Cup match against the West Indies due to will go through the usual treatment proto- "We've spoken openly about a left hamstring injury he picked up during cols. If he passes all the fitness tests and is wanting to make the quarterfi- last weekend's loss to defending champion symptom free going into the Ireland game, nals — at least, that's our first India. he may play." goal," Porterfield said. "We've South Africa team manager Mohammed Philander was only able to bowl four overs come here and expecting to get Moosajee released a statement yesterday against India, leaving South Africa's attack through the group. saying medical scans in Sydney confirmed short of options in a lopsided match at Mel- "There is a long way to go. the extent of Philander's injury, which bourne. South Africa, one of the leading tit- We've played one game of cri- would take a week to 10 days to heal. le contenders, opened the tournament with cket. We've got five to go. We Moosajee said Philander would miss Fri- Vernon Philander a win over Zimbabwe. AP

THE AUTUMN WORLD CUP FIFA recommends November-December for Qatar 2022

FIFA task force yes- a March 19-20 meeting in prevail from May to Sep- Tuesday's recommenda- he said the tournament into early 2022. Aterday recommended Zurich. tember in Qatar, the only tion comes 17 months after would be played in sum- FIFA said it is also looking playing the 2022 World Blatter, who is an IOC remaining effective option the FIFA board — minus mer and the dates could to stage the 2021 Confede- Cup in November-Decem- member, has long favo- is the November-Decem- several members who have only be changed at Qatar's rations Cup in the usual ber to avoid the summer red November-December ber window," FIFA said in left since the hosting vote request. June-July slot in a diffe- heat in Qatar. to avoid clashing with the a statement. after being implicated in Two months ago, Qa- rent Asian country. Three FIFA said the task force Winter Olympics, schedu- European clubs and lea- corruption — ordered a tar was confirmed as host Asian Football Confedera- chose the "most viable pe- led for February 2022. gues oppose FIFA's pro- consultation on finding the when a FIFA ethics com- tion members — Australia, riod" over other proposals "Given that the two bi- posal, which shuts them best dates in Qatar. mittee investigation into Japan and South Korea to play in January, April or dding cities for the 2022 down for several weeks in The process was widely the 2018 and 2022 bidding — were losing candidates May, dates favored mostly Winter Olympics — Al- midseason. seen to have been pre-ju- contests was closed, con- in the 2022 contest, which by European soccer. FIFA maty (Kazakhstan) and The FIFA executive dged by Blatter, who in- cluding that wrongdoing also included the United also said the tournament Beijing (China) — pledged committee chose Qatar as sisted on November-De- did not influence the re- States. should be shorter than the recently to host the win- host in December 2010, cember as the only realistic sults. Russia was chosen as The FIFA-organized Club current 32-day schedule. ter games from Feb. 4-20, when the gas-rich emirate choice. 2018 host. World Cup, which is tradi- The plan must be appro- 2022; that the month of won a five-nation bidding Blatter also reversed his The FIFA task force will tionally played in Decem- ved by the FIFA executi- Ramadan begins on April contest to host the tour- position on the winter have further meetings to ber, could be staged in Qa- ve committee, chaired by 2 in 2022; and that con- nament in the traditional World Cup debate. After study extending the Wor- tar in 2021 as a World Cup President Sepp Blatter, at sistently hot conditions June-July slot. the December 2010 vote, ld Cup qualifying program test event, FIFA said. AP THE Spain’s Rajoy raises 2015 growth Station25.02.2015Air quality wed

th Anniversary BUZZ forecast to 2.4 percent Roadside 45-65 20 Good Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says Spain’s creation. economy will grow by a better-than-expected Rajoy had last predicted the economy would High 2.4 percent in 2015, claiming it as strong evi- grow by 2 percent in 2015, a year in which he Density 60-80 dence that the country has emerged from the faces general elections. Residental severe economic crisis. Despite the growth — Spain also grew 1.4 per- Moderate Opening the annual state-of-the-nation de- cent in 2014 — unemployment remains high at Area opinion bate yesterday, Rajoy said Spain had moved 23.7 percent. Rajoy promised to create some from the edge of the abyss to being the euro- 500,000 jobs this year, raising to 1 million the Ambient 40-60 zone country with the highest growth and job number created since taking office in 2011. Good World Views DSMG SOURCE: The Editors, Bloomberg WORLD BRIEFS Soda tax bubbles up US States predict NEW ZEALAND will send Is it smart to impose a sin tax on soda? Many a small number of troops Americans hate the idea, considering it an impo- to Iraq to help train local sition on personal freedom. Congress, likewise, inmates’ future crimes forces in their battle won’t go near it anytime soon. But it’s been re- against the Islamic State commended – for good reason – by the panel group, Prime Minister of doctors and public-health experts who help John Key announces. define U.S. dietary standards. And it deserves a with secretive surveys More on p12 try – ideally by city and state governments. Americans have a serious sugar problem, as the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee re- cy. Some states never release the evaluations, shielding go-

ported last week. A sugar-rich diet is a major cau- AP PHOTO se of obesity, which can lead to diabetes, heart AP PHOTO vernment officials from being disease and plenty of other deadly and debilita- held accountable for decisions ting ailments. So to suggest that people should that affect public safety. consume less sugar is hardly controversial. But sometimes the assess- To go a step further and recommend using tax ments are not accurate. policy to persuade people to comply may be no- In 2013 in Texas, a routi- vel, but it’s based on a sound and well-estab- ne risk assessment used on lished economic principle: Tax the bad stuff. Le- sex offenders when they are SYRIA Islamic State A guard tower on the fence line at North Central Unit at Calico Rock, Ark vying taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling – released from prison found militants have abducted all of which impose heavy costs on society – has at least 70 Assyrian .S. states are trying to re- AP’s examination. There convicted rapist Darren Vann led to reduced consumption and helped finance Christians, including duce prison populations are dozens of different sur- to be a low-risk to re-offend. the government programs that address the pro- U women and children, blems they cause. with secretive, new psycholo- veys in use. About a year later, in Indiana, after overrunning a Taxing sugary drinks, which are a leading cause gical assessments to predict Many rely on criminals to Vann confessed to police that string of villages in of obesity but have no nutritional value, makes at which inmates will commit tell the truth, and jurisdic- he killed seven women. northeastern Syria, two least as much sense. Perhaps even more; after future crimes and who might tions don’t always check to The Justice Department’s activist groups said. all, according to some studies, modest alcohol be safe to release, despite se- make sure the answers are position on the surveys is consumption may at least have some positive rious problems and high-pro- accurate. They are used in- inconsistent. On one hand, health benefits. No such evidence exists for su- file failures, an Associated consistently across the coun- the department is helping gary drinks. Press investigation found. try, sometimes within the bankroll this movement by AP PHOTO These programs are part of same jurisdiction. The same providing millions of dollars a national, data-driven mo- defendant might be scored to help states develop and roll vement to drive down prison differently in the same crime. out new policies. Yet it’s also While the economic populations, reduce recidi- Supporters cite some re- putting on the brakes and is vism and save billions. They search, such as a 1987 Rand reluctant to use them for the case for a soda tax include questionnaires often Corp. study that said the sur- federal prison population. is sound, the political with more than 100 ques- veys accurately can predict “Criminal sentences must QATAR Long seen tions about an offender’s the likelihood of repeat offen- be based on the facts, the law, as inevitable, a 2022 argument will take education, family, income, ses as much as 70 percent of the actual crimes committed, World Cup in November job status, history of moving, the time if they are used cor- the circumstances surrou- and December is now more time to develop. parents’ arrest history — or rectly. But even the Rand stu- nding each individual case, practically a done deal. A FIFA task force has whether he or she has a pho- dy, one of the seminal pieces and the defendant’s history recommended playing The soda industry, ne. A score is affixed to each of research on the subject, of criminal conduct,” Attor- the tournament in Qatar answer and the result helps was skeptical of the surveys’ ney General Eric Holder told like the tobacco at the end of the year to shape how the offender will overall effectiveness. the National Association of avoid the summer heat industry before it, still be supervised in the system — Some surveys have the po- Criminal Defense Lawyers — where temperatures or released from custody. tential to punish people for in August. “They should not routinely top 40 degrees denies being part of Used for crimes ranging being poor or uneducated by be based on unchangeable — when the World Cup the problem from petty theft to serial attaching a lower risk to tho- factors that a person cannot traditionally kicks off in murders, these question- se who have steady work and control, or on the possibility June. naires come with their own high levels of education. The of a future crime that has not AP Critics ask: Why not tax doughnuts and candy set of risks, according to the surveys are clouded in secre- taken place.” USA Divided Republicans bars, too? But there is an important distinction be- are searching for a tween junk foods and junk drinks. Foods usually way out of an impasse have a modicum of nutritional value and help fill over immigration that the stomach, sending a signal to stop eating. Su- THE is threatening to shut gary drinks do nothing but supply empty calories. down the Homeland One city is already experimenting with a soda AP Photo/Aaron Favila Security Department tax. In November, voters in Berkeley, California, DECISIVE MOMENT within days. Senate voted by a 3-to-1 margin to impose a penny-an Majority Leader Mitch -ounce tax on sugary drinks. (Michael R. Bloom- McConnell announced berg, founder of Bloomberg L.P., supported the he would split language referendum.) A legislator in Connecticut recently overturning President proposed a similar levy. It’s too soon to know Barack Obama’s what the effect of Berkeley’s tax will be, but early contested immigration indications from Mexico – which adopted a su- measures from the gary-drink tax in 2013 – are encouraging. People department’s funding bill. there say they are drinking less soda, and they’re More on p15 better aware of the link between sugary drinks and diabetes and obesity. UK Conservative Party While the economic case for a soda tax is sou- lawmaker Malcolm nd, the political argument will take more time to develop. The soda industry, like the tobacco Rifkind quit yesterday as industry before it, still denies being part of the head of the committee problem. overseeing Britain’s As obesity-related problems worsen and public intelligence services and health expenses multiply, states and cities will announced his retirement need a range of new strategies. Providing grea- from Parliament, after ter subsidies for fruits and vegetables – an idea being caught in a that the federal advisory committee also endor- hidden-camera sting sed – could improve diets. But to fight one of obe- Filipino children chat on top of concrete tubes that will be used for a drainage system at the slum appearing to discuss sity’s leading causes head on, the best weapon district of Tondo in Manila. Will any of these kids beat the odds and escape from their fate? swapping political may be a tax. influence for money.