An elite pro-Beijing panel on Sunday chose a new leader for the Chinese casino gambling hub Macao.
Ho Iat-seng was picked to be the next chief executive of the former Portuguese colony in a selection process with no other candidates.
Ho, a pro-establishment businessman and politician, will become the city's third leader since China took control of Macao in 1999 after more than four centuries of Portuguese rule.
In this photo released by the Macao Government Office, newly elected Macao Chief Executive Ho lat-seng speaks after the election in Macao, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. An elite pro-Beijing panel has chosen a new leader for the Chinese casino gambling hub Macao. Ho was picked Sunday to be the next chief executive of the former Portuguese colony in a selection process with no other candidates. (Macao Government Office via AP)
Ho will replace the city's current leader, Chui Sai-on, whose term expires in December.
Macao and nearby Hong Kong are former European colonies that were handed back to Beijing, becoming Chinese special administrative regions that retain considerable control over their own affairs under a formula known as "one country, two systems."
Residents of the two cities can elect some politicians but the top leader is handpicked by an elite committee.
While Hong Kong has been gripped by two months of turbulent anti-government protests demanding full democracy, Ho's anointment went ahead with little controversy, highlighting Macao's much weaker opposition movement. Officials said the 62-year-old Ho garnered 392 votes from Macao's 400-member "election committee."
He said he was confident that Hong Kong's protest movement, which began with calls to scrap an unpopular China extradition bill, would not last.
"The protests against the extradition bill will end," Ho said at a news conference, adding that the demonstrations were taking a toll on the enclave's tourism industry.
Macao, an hour by high-speed ferry from Hong Kong, is the world's biggest casino gambling market, raking in revenues dwarfing the Las Vegas Strip and fueled by high rolling mainland Chinese gamblers wagering at glitzy resorts run by companies including Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts.
This story has been corrected to show that Ho will be Macao's third post-colonial leader, not fifth.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has for now denied the A's request to trademark the names “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics.”
The club, which intends to move to Nevada in 2028, has three months from when the refusals were issued Dec. 29 to ask for an extension to file a new application within a six-month period.
The A's were told the nickname “Athletics” was too generic and could be confused with other activities even if associated with Las Vegas.
That, however, has been the club's nickname since the Philadelphia Athletics began playing in 1901. The A's kept the nickname when they moved to Kansas City in 1955 and Oakland in 1968.
The Patent and Trademark Office denied the NHL's Utah team to use the nickname “Yetis” on Jan. 9 because of potential confusion with companies such as Yeti Coolers. Utah, which moved from the Phoenix area in 2024, now uses the nickname “Mammoth.”
The A's relocated to West Sacramento, California, last year to play the first of three planned seasons in the city's Triple-A ballpark. The team is going solely by “Athletics” while playing in the Northern California city.
A $2 billion, 33,000-capacity stadium on the Las Vegas Strip is under construction. Club officials told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Dec. 4 that the ballpark is on schedule to open in time for the 2028 season.
Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the ballpark, and the A’s have said they will cover the remaining expenses. Owner John Fisher has been seeking investors to assist in the funding.
In preparing for the move to Las Vegas, the A's have signed some notable contracts. The most recent was an $86 million, seven-year deal for left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, the richest in team history. Soderstrom signed his contract Dec. 30 at the A's Experience Center in Las Vegas.
The A's acquired second baseman Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets on Dec. 22.
Going back to last offseason, the A's also reached agreements on a $60 million, five-year contract with designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker and a $65.5 million, seven-year deal with outfielder Lawrence Butler. Manager Mark Kotsay signed an extension that takes him through 2028 with a club option for 2029.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
FILE - Athletics' Tyler Soderstrom sprints towards first after hitting an RBI double during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sept. 23, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall, File)
