Macao's incoming chief executive thanks incumbent government for smooth transition

Macao's Chief Executive-elect Sam Hou Fai said that he appreciated the incumbent administration's strong support for a smooth transition of power and responsibilities to his term of government starting Dec 20.

Sam was elected on Oct. 13 as the sixth chief executive-designate of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), garnering 394 votes from the 400-member election committee, and appointed by the central government on Oct 25.

Sam, 62, is set to succeed incumbent Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng on Dec 20 for a five-year term.

He was born in Zhongshan of south China's Guangdong Province in May 1962 and moved to Macao in the 1980s. He joined Macao's first group of judicial auditors in 1995, was appointed president of Macao's Court of Final Appeal on Dec 20, 1999 and held the post for nearly 25 years until Aug 28 this year.

"My job has two parts. The first is to communicate with incumbent Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and his administrative team to ensure a smooth handover between the fifth-term and sixth-term governments. This part actually started on Nov 1 and is more intensive now. The second is to prepare my administrative team, that is to pick up main officials. The first part is going very smoothly. I am also very grateful to Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and his administrative team for their close cooperation and strong support," he said.

The newly-elected chief executive said he has already been through a psychological transition. Being a judge, Sam said, it means to be low-profile and keep distance with the public; but becoming a chief executive, he has to be outgoing and socially active. However, being discreet is a prevailing principle for both the roles, he said.

"Be careful in what you say before some important policies are implemented. Only when we reach consensus after listening to broad opinions and having wide discussions can the chief executive make explanations to the public. So being careful in what you say still works. Otherwise, it is easy to mislead the public, cause controversies and even affect social stability," he said.

Macao's incoming chief executive thanks incumbent government for smooth transition

Iran's capital Tehran was subjected to large-scale airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Friday night while two U.S. ​warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, Iranian forces said.

At around 21:00, an aircraft was seen flying over northeastern Tehran, and subsequently, Iran's air defense system was activated.

More than two hours later, Iran was hit by another air attack, leading to major explosions. It came after the Iranian military announced that its air defense system had successfully shot down a U.S. A-10 fighter jet, marking the second U.S. warplane hit by Iranian fire that day. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday night threatened to hit Iran "extremely hard over the next two to three weeks," a timeline he has recently set for ending the monthlong war.

Iran has rejected a U.S. proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire delivered to Iran through a "friendly" country, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Friday.

The report added that Iran's response to the offer was not given in writing, but through the continuation of attacks in the battlefield.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East.

Tehran hit by large-scale US-Israeli air attacks