EDMUND HO REPORTED HIS WORK IN BEIJING
Macao's Chief Executive, Edmund Ho, has met top mainland officials for a progress report in a lead up to the territory’s handover anniversary on Wednesday. Mr. Ho was praised for his work by the central governments. Both President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji said they are perfectly satisfied with Mr. Ho's leadership.
BURMA WON'T GIVE IN
Burmese officials have ruled out any reconciliation talks with the opposition unless it supports the ruling military 1)junta. The statements by the country's foreign minister came at the end of the ministerial talks between southeast Asian and European nations in 2)Laos.
HONG KONG BANK'S NEW 1000 DOLLAR BANK NOTES COME OUT
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has 3)unveiled new 1000-dollar bank notes with enhanced security features. As Liza De Guzman reports, the Authority hopes that the state-of-the-art design will help 4)deter 5)counterfeiters.
Hong Kong Bank's new 1000-dollar bank notes is similar in design to the current one but it has three new security features; a 6)holographic window thread visible to the naked eye, a 7)highlight 8)watermark, showing the number 1000 when the note is held against thelight, and 9)embedded 10)fluorescent fibers in red, blue and green colors that show up under 11)ultraviolet light.
Two of the existing security features have also been altered. A security metal thread has been moved to the left and the number of 12)denomination blocks visible under ultraviolet light has been reduced from four to two.
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Joseph Yam said the new security features were very advanced and would be costly to 13)fake.
THE GREEN CHRISTMAS CAMPAINGN
An environment group has launched its fifth annual Christmas card recycling programme. The Friends of the Earth believes that they will collect fewer cards this year, because electronic greetings sent through the Internet are becoming more popular. The aim of the recycling programme is to encourage people and organizations to send fewer cards, and use more enviromentally friendly ways to convey greetings. The group is also seeking to promote the wiser use of natural resources and reduce the amount of waste going to 14)landfills in Hong Kong. As a result 750,000 cards were not sent, saving 188 trees.
WUN WEN ,THE CENTURY'S TOP FEMALE PLAYER
Turning to sports, Zinedine Zidane has been named FIFA world player of the year for the _________time. Old 15)rivalries also 16)resurfaced at the FIFA award ceremony in Italy. FIFA officials tried to diffuse the potentially embarrassing situation over who should be named Player of the Century. They decided to recognize bothMaradona and Pele by 17)splitting the award. However, former Argentine Captain Maradona, who had threatened not to_____ at the event if it meant sharing the award, 18)snubbed his Brazilian 19)counterpart by leaving the ceremony before Pele had received his 20)trophy. The move added a 21)bizarre twist to the ceremony, which saw French midfielder Zinedine Zidane beat Louise Figo and Rinaldo to claim the World Player Award for the second time in three years.
In women's soccer, China's Sun Wen and Michelle Acres of the United States were both recognized as the century's top female players.
NBA
NBA Division champions the Indiana Pacers suffered a surprise home defeat to the Cleveland Cavilers. Indiana led 57-54 at half time and they extended their advantage to seven points during the third 22)quarter. However, the Cavs hit back in the final period. Andre Miller 23)tieing the scores at 88. And Cleveland used a late 24)9-0 run to defeat the Pacers 103 to 95. It was the Cavs' fifth win in a row and their first over Indiana in eight meetings.
