Hong Kong  - Macau Monday defended its decision to refuse entry to a group of pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong, saying it ejected them to safeguard public order under an internal security law.

Five people, including legislators Leung Kwok-hung and Lee Cheuk- yan, were turned back when they arrived Sunday morning as part of a delegation of 33 pro-democracy activists.

Hong Kong  - Gambling revenue in Macau's casinos has fallen by 30 per cent in January compared to the same month last year as punters stay away, according to figures released Friday.

Spending in the casinos over the Chinese New Year was down dramatically with gamblers spending a little more than half over the three-day holiday what they spent last year in a single day.

Macau  - The global financial crisis has taken its toll on Asia's inaugural sex trade show after several firms pulled out of the Asia Adult Expo, a media report said Friday.

More than 60 exhibitors are taking part in the four-day event at the 3,000-room Venetian Macao hotel, the South China Morning Post said.

Kenny Los, chief executive of Vertical Expo Services, which organized the event, said the handful of companies that withdrew were US investment firms specializing in the adult industry.

"They mainly invest in manufacturers and suppliers as well as adult publications," he said.

Macau - Tougher visa controls on mainland Chinese visitors led Macau to post a 10 per cent fall in gaming revenue in the third quarter from the previous quarter, a media report said Monday.

The July-September figure of 25.98 billion patacas (3.25 billion dollars) was down from 28.88 billion patacas in the second quarter, the South China Morning Post said.

Data from the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau showed that while third quarter revenue rose by 27.76 per cent year-on-year, the pace of growth had slowed compared with the 54.6 per cent surge between January and June.

Macau - Visitors to Macau are paying local children 10 to 20 patacas (1.25 to 2.50 dollars) to beat immigration queues at the land border between Macau and Zhuhai in southern China, a media report said Friday.

People hiring Macanese children can clear immigration within 20 minutes compared to the 60 minutes it usually takes during peak hours, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said.

They are taking advantage of a rule that anyone "guarding" a Macanese child may use resident channels to cross the border that 8.9 million people traversed in the first half of this year.

The "service" has become more popular since the start of the summer school holidays as parents offer their children for rental.