The reputation of this period as the silly season has always been a bit undeserved. Things keep happening; things always keep happening. What also happens is that we need to switch off, pay attention to something else, or nothing at all. Likewise, media outlets feel that pressure, not least because staff favors this season to take a break away from it all.

Unfortunately, as far as we, Macau residents (or, at least, most of us), are concerned, the period got a fancy new name staycation. For many, in fact, at-home-cation. So, as things keep happening, as usual, we are somehow bound to pay more attention to them, which is unusual. Still, the mood of authors, this one included, is also under the seasons spell. A few loose thoughts can come together, and no more.

Pick, for instance, the sempiternal topic of the Light Rail. Readers may remember that issues popped up when the company published the 2019 accounts (or whatever passed as such.)

In particular, among other things, it was not clear from where the declared profits could come. The company just operated for free less than three weeks at the end of the year. One of our legislators duly filed a written request for clarification. The government reply came back a couple of days ago. Should this be a normal silly season, we might not have noticed. As things stand, we could not avoid noticing.

Admittedly, we hoped to learn something new, even exciting:how to make profits without revenues. The answer was no need to hold your breath or roll the drums somewhat of an anticlimax. If full sense we can make from the media reports, the answer was that the declared profit is, in fact, a benefit that should not be understood a profit (QED?).

Let us put aside that accounting norms define well enough what a profit is and how it should be determined. Further, let us ignore that there are mandatory rules concerning the publication of financial results by companies. Ignore also, for another moment, that the CE published, on the first day of his mandate, specific legislation aiming to make the results and operations of companies such as this one more transparent and accountable.

Leave all that aside; the answer to this riddle is straightforward. Publish the accounts and other relevant information according to the applicable laws. Nothing could be easier.

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OPINION-Loose thoughts - Macau Business

Although casinos in Macau have resumed operations following the coronavirus-induced shutdown, casino tables still remain empty. This has resulted in a sharp decline in gross gaming revenues (GGR) in July. Notably, gaming revenues from the worlds largest gambling hub fell for the 10th consecutive month. Moreover, GGR declined more than 90% for the fourth straight month.

In July, gaming revenues from Macau plunged 94.5% to 1.3 billion patacas ($162.89 million) following a decline of 97% in June. The can primarily be attributed to a reduction in footfall as China continued to decline individual and group visas to Macau as a safety precaution. The government has also enforced body temperature check at casino entrances.

Moreover, in the first seven months of 2020, GGR fell 79.8%, year over year to $35.1 billion patacas. Notably, the casino operators in Macau were already grappling with a slowdown in China, the coronavirus pandemic has only aggravated their woes. Per Macau's Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) in the first half of 2020, the region witnessed a decline of 83.9% in visitation to the region.

Nevertheless, the worst seems to be over for the gaming industry in Macau as China is slowly easing certain restrictions. In mid-July, the Guangdong province lifted quarantine measures. Further, non-tourist visas will commence for the whole country from Aug 12. Analysts anticipate reissuing of visas to Macau in August or September.

However, Macau is likely to record revenue decline in the rest of the year as well. Moreover, gambling industry is suffering in Las Vegas, which is one of the hotspots for gamblers, due to coronavirus outbreak. Although casinos in Las Vegas have resumed operations, traffic is still very low due to the safety protocols and fears related to the pandemic.

The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #197, which places it at the bottom 22% of more than 250 Zacks industries. Year to date, the industry has declined 27.5%, against the S&P 500s growth of 1.7%.

Shares of Wynn Resorts, Limited WYNN are down 47.4% year to date. In the past 90 days, estimates for the current year have been revised downward to a loss of $11.82 from a loss of $2.74. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Shares of MGM Resorts International MGM have declined 50.9% year to date. The companys performance in 2020 will be impacted by the coronavirus-induced crisis. In the past 90 days, estimates for the current year have been revised downward to a loss of $1.53 from a loss of 33 cents. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. LVS have tanked 36.2% year to date. In the past 90 days, estimates for the current year have been revised downward to a loss of $1.49 from a loss of 27 cents. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #4.

Shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited MLCO have plunged 29.3% year to date. The company, which develops, owns, and operates casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia through its subsidiaries, has been impacted by the deadly virus. The Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) companys earnings estimates for current year have declined to a loss of $1.42 from a loss of 30 cents in the past 90 days.

You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Story continues

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Gaming Industry Continues to Bear Coronavirus Brunt in Macau - Yahoo Finance

Macau has become the third Chinese city to join the Organisation of World Heritage Cities (OWHC), following in the footsteps of Suzhou and Dujiangyan.

According to a note from the Cultural Affairs Bureau, the ceremony took place on Friday (August 7) via video-conference.

During the ceremony, the OWHC presented the certificate of membership to the Macau SAR, which was represented by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, who expressed her heartfelt positive feelings for having the opportunity to witness the official inclusion of Macau as a member city of the OWHC, adding that the Historic Centre of Macau is not only a testimony to the citys historical development, but also a crucial cultural resource that lays the cultural ground for and nurtures the citys future advancement.

The President of the OWHC and Mayor of Krakow, Poland, Jacek Majchrowski, said Macau is a rare example of a place where the aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technical influences of East and West have met for several centuries

OWHC is an international non-profit and non-governmental entity founded in 1993 aiming to facilitate the implementation of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

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Macau joins Organisation of World Heritage Cities - Macau Business

From the peak to the valley.After reaching a record high of nearly 40 million visitors last year, the citys tourism industry has been feeling an unprecedented pinch due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) launched Macau Ready Go, a campaign initially planned for returning visitors that had to be adjusted to cater to local residents. MGTO Director Helena deSennaFernandessuggests the industry needs to undergoa soul-searching to find a way forward in the yet-to-be-known post-COVID-19 new normal. At this juncture, theres no way to predict visitation figures for the coming months, as uncertainty looms. The silver lining is that the city sits next to a massive source market, and Ms.Fernandesanticipates a gradual opening to tourists beyond Guangdong province to include Fujian and Hunan.

Interview | By Jos CarlosMatiasand NelsonMoura

Photos by Cheong Kam Ka

Just recently we had the newborder-crossingarrangements. How much of a light at the end of the tunnel is that, and where do we go from here?

Helena deSennaFernandes:Im sure this newmeasure,therelaxation of border measures,would help restore confidence particularly in the tourism industry. It will also give them hope.

The government has been givingsome subsidies we have been running some programs in order to bring people to spend money, but the issue is that without new visitation, without outside people coming in, its very difficult in the long run because wedo depend very much on tourismin order to sustain many different businesses in Macau.The new border arrangements arevery positive, but I would say that after such a big pandemic, its still a slow recovery.

We cant expect that tomorrow, millions of tourists would come, and that would not happen because on the one hand, people would still have that little bit of fear of travelling, so we need time to overcome that. Then alsoaccording to thenew measures,in order to cross the borderyou have to have your tests done, so that would still need some time for people to get used to, and to get used to travelling again.

They will notcome by the millionssurely.In any case,is there a realistic visitation figure for the whole year?

H.S.F.:Well, its very difficult to do any projections at this juncture because, for one, we have stopped forquite some months, ever sincetowardsendof January basically, tourism hascome very much to a standstill. And we have had very few tourist visitors coming into Macau for a prolonged period of time. We have seen numbers as low as 200 visitors a day, sometimes maybe a couple hundreds more. On a good day, maybe we hada little bit over 1000 visitors.

Wecant expect the visitor numbers to be growing very quickly. Because one, you would be very much conditioned by how many people can actually get their tests done, because that is a prerequisite in terms of crossing the border, and then secondly, with people having gone through such a serious pandemic, they would also think twice about where should I go. We need to give them confidence that Macau, well when we say Macau is ready Macau is also a safe place for people to come to, because we have a responsibility towards our own residents, and we also have a responsibility for the visitors coming in.So that they feel safe, and our local residents also feel safe.

You mentioned the impact the pandemic had on the local industries, obviously travel agencies,tour guides, and bus drivers. How have those efforts panned out so far, and what kind of concerns the sector has expressed to the government, in terms of how they can be assisted in this time?

H.S.F.:To be honest, when we conceived the idea of Macau Ready Go, the initial idea was for visitors, because we started with the Macau Ready Go platform. Why did we chooseMacau Ready Go?Wewould like to convey the message that Macau was ready to restart again, and I would say ready to retake the receiving of visitors again. So that was the whole idea behind why we used the tagline Macau Ready Go. We want to show that Macau has all the conditions, that we have everything in place, thatwe have a very safe environment. We also have very good facilities, and we want to make sure that people know about that.

So, thats why the focus then shifted a little bit to what we callStaycation Staying at home and having a vacation. So thats why the entire focus shifted toStaycationprograms, meaning to say we want to lure our own people, our local residents to tour around so that there is movement, and with those movements also come business, particularly for the SMEs.

Its timeto rethink the entire tourism industry as a whole

{Tourism visitation}will restart at a very slow pace at this point in time

How do you assess the results so far?

H.S.F.:I would say very promising.Travel agencies in Macau have never served local residents, in terms of touring around Macau. Or, they might have served (locals) but in a very limited way.

Many suppliers have opened new facilities for people to go to, say for example: we have never thought of bringing people to go to see Air Macaus operation center. We have never thought of bringing people to go to see for example: the electricity company, the back of the house programs for a lot of the big concessionaires. Theres a lot of interesting work that I believe finally has finally paid off.

Butrealisticallyspeaking, obviously the local sectorcantsurvive on local residents for the future. Are you worried about the impact to the sector in general, lets say next year, if the numbers of tourists continue to be reduced?

H.S.F.:I think that in a way, it is alsotimeto rethink the entire tourism industry as a whole. I think tourists will still continue to come,butit will restart at a very slow pace at this point in time, because obviously, there are no vaccines yet, so international travel has stopped for a long while. The airplanes are not flying very regularlynowadays;there are a lot of border controls in different parts of the world, so there is actually still some time until we actually can resume travelling. Besides that, insurance considerations are also another for international travel, because if insurance companies are not giving or are not covering them in terms of travelling it is very difficult for people to decide on travelling internationally.

So there are many considerations still that we need to overcome. But I think that for us, we have the big advantage due to the proximity we have with one of the biggest markets of the world in terms of tourism, and that is Mainland China. So withMainlandChina gradually opening up,I think we would get very good results. Idontthink it would be as many as before, and probably it would give us some breathing space to restart at a good but gradual pace. Also, it would give us the opportunity to rethink our entire strategy,so there is always a silver lining in any situation. We have to learn from what we call, the new normal, we have to re-program ourselves, and I guess we have to also send out new messages to the world.

You mentioned that our geographic location gives us a sort of competitive advantage in the way for the recovery.Regarding theGreater Bay Area puttingHK aside for nowhow much of a reciprocity do youanticipatein terms of the flow ofvisitors?

H.S.F.:Guangdong is a very important market, in terms of the number of visitors coming in to Macau. Last year, if we look at the numbers, last year we had about 22 million from the mainland, and about 42%, if Im not mistaken, actually come from Guangdong province. Many of the people from Guangdong province, particularly those who live just across the border from us Zhuhai orZhongshan,I think Macau for them, is a good getaway, where they can buy supplies, to buy daily stuff as well, so it is not just for a tourism environment, they are also coming here to get what they need. So Guangdong is also a very important part of this tourism mix, so to speak.

It is very difficult to have number projections for the timebeing, because wedontknow how or when the individual visitation scheme would resume, because obviously, some people may still hold valid visitation permits. But a lot or most of them have expired, or the new registrations or new application are not in place yet. So I think for this month at least, we have to take it slowly for the time being. And besides the permits being granted, they would also need to do the nucleic tests, which is also an issue because the availability for the tests are not infinite.

Macau is not considered to be in the interprovincial group of possibilities. So we still need the next step, but we hope eventually to have some possibilities to get some tourist visitation, from then onwards it can grow again, and not limited to the very small numbers that are crossing.

Thiscrisis, you mentioned, also offers opportunities for soul searching, with regards to the futureofMacaus tourism industry and the citys rebranding. Can you tell us a bit what has been discussed what has been brainstormed here in these sessions?

H.S.F.:I think one of the things we actually discussed internally, is how would tourism be different from now on. One of the answers, or the ideas, definitely is that we would need to work very closely with the health authorities from now onwards. For example, if we wanted to establish a travel bubble, its not because the tourism authorities feel good about it, or the tourism department feels that this would work. Definitely, we need to work with health authorities on the outbound and receiving end. They would have a very big say as to who are able come, who are not able to travel to a certain place,the travel conditions for them. So, going forward, working with health authorities is a must.

There is a lot of confidence building that we need to do for our residents as well, so the messages have to be crafted in a way to say how safe we are, not only that but, showing them what exactly has been done to safeguard their interests, besides giving them good experiences and services. This is something we need to learn as well.

WithMainlandChina gradually opening up I think we would get very good results

It is very difficult to have number projections for the timebeing

Talking about business tourism and events,what can we expect in this rest of the year?

H.S.F.:In terms of the events, speaking about MGTO, obviously we have the travel fair, which was supposed to beheldin April, but we moved that to September. We still have the Global Tourism Economy Forum, which will also need to be shifted a little later in the year. But we have hopes that we would still hold it this year.

For ourselves, we are not able to run the fireworks festival this year. We have decided to go ahead with the light festival, which is now announced to start on the 26 of September, and run until the end of October. We decided thatthereneeds to be something for an earlier time, to try to boost everybodys spirits, so the light festival has always been a veryanticipatedevent.

For the National Day, obviously we will have a fireworks event, and we are looking forward to working together withHengqin, in terms of a combination of drones as well as fireworks. Although we cant run the fireworks contest, we still would have some fireworks, some special events for our residents and eventually our visitors.

We will also run the film festival. But it will have to be probably a combination of physical film watching and also maybe, I wouldnt say virtual, butaonline segment in terms of the competition sections. Because we understand not everybody in the world would be able to come.

Asair travel to and from Macau isverylimited, with which countries and regions are thetourism and health authorities are trying to negotiatethe reestablishingroutes?

H.S.F.:I would be very conservative in that, in these kinds of pandemics, we need to be more on the safe side. For the rest of the year, I would only be looking very much within our immediate vicinity. Meaning to say, Guangdong definitely, hopefully we can have a little further afield in the mainland, traditionally, besides Guangdong, our next market would be Fujian, would be places like Hunan because of the rapid rail system.Then, we would definitely see HK be back in the scheme as well, because HK is, in terms of numbers, the second most important market apart from the mainland. Another one is Taiwan, who seems to have very good control over the pandemic.

At this pointitsstill not possible because of the travel restrictions, but hopefully, before the end of the year, we hope to see some form of development.With regards toother countriesitsvery difficultto guessat this point in time.

Obviously MGTOencountered unexpected situationsthis year.How challenging the past months were to undergo these tasks?

H.S.F.:I think the last few months, starting January, we were into a phase of almost daily or hourly rapid response.Because things are happening all the time, the situation changing from moment to moment.It was really a test of how quickly we can respond and how we can actually put together resources to tackle each task in a short period of time. We have learnt a lot, to be honest. Although we have the TourismCrisisManagement Office, we never would have thought or imagined we would have to do, for example repatriation of residents by vehicle, plane, or by ferry.

It was a steep learning curve, everybody had to learn to react very quickly, think out of the box, so as to invent ways to try to solve different situations. I must admit that we cannot serve everybody, and also we cannot find solutions for 100% of tasks. Sometimes it is not a perfect solution, more or less not the perfect way, but we have to make do with the limitations we are facing. The last few months have really been a big test for everybody, not just us,but alsoour partnersin theimmigrationservices, including health, including the ferry companies, travel agencies, everybody.

Besides Guangdong, our next market would be Fujian,andplaces like Hunan because of the rapid rail system

The last few months have really been a big test for everybody

In the meantime,MGTO is undergoing atransition of the Secretary for Social affairs and Culture to Economy and Finance. Where are we now in terms of that transition?

H.S.F.:I can say we are very close in terms of moving to the Economy and Finance portfolio.Doesntmean once we have moved there we dont work on theculture side, the other side.We do, we will still continue to work together with a lot of our partners. Because tourism entails many aspects, culture definitely is a very important tourism asset, the big events,sportsevents, also important for us. Besides that,we also worked together with the education departments, and other departments. We still have a lot of synergy together continuing into the future.

This transition does hint as a somewhat more business oriented approach to tourism. In terms of your mission would there be any sort of adjustment?

H.S.F.:I think the adjustment would come in terms of the income generating area.I guessthere will bea little bit more focus there. But adding the focus there doesnt mean diminishing the others. I would say for us, for sure, tourism for Macau definitely, is an important economic activity, so we need to make sure people understand that. We also need to work harder, especially after this pandemic, in order to get more income back into Macau.

We are commemorating 15 years on the listing ofMacaus Historic CentreasUNESCO.Some voices have expressed concerns on the impact ofurban developmenton the citysheritageprotection.How much does it concern you that heritage in Macau is being impacted?

H.S.F.:Heritage is very important for us in terms of our entire promotion. Its notjustbecause having Macau listed on UNESCO that we started working on promoting culture. We have actually even in the1990s,wehave always used culture as part of the promotion messages.Heritage and culture is not limited to just buildings. It is also in the environment itself, in the way we eat, the things we eat, the food culture, the way of life of people. It has always been a very important aspect in the ways we promote, if we look at our travel guides, our promotional messages that we have done, on social media, or traditional media. We always put an angle of culture in it. It has become hand in hand with tourism, we wouldnt imagine promoting Macau in terms of tourism without the cultural aspects. It has always been and will continue be a part of the tourism message.

You have been atworking at MGTO for over three decades and have been serving as director since December 2012.The current term ends come December.Whatare your futureplans? Will you continue as MGTO director?

H.S.F.:Itsnot me to decide that;my boss decides whether I continue or not. Well I would say over thesethreedecades, it has beena very interesting job. To be honest, when I joinedMGTO, I would not have imagined civil serviceto belike this. When we look at civil service, people sayitsvery slow, bureaucratic, that was the kind of image of civil service when I joined some 30 years ago. Forme it was a learning experience.I have hadvery good role models to follow.I have been working with CostaAntunes{previous director}for a longtime;hesa very good teacher. And also other colleagues of mine, my past department heads, our Deputy Directors, they have also taught me alot. Also Ive learnt alot from other governmentdepartments, whichwe have worked with very closely.

So everydaytheres somethingnew, you learn something different. Its just keeping our eyes open, our minds open, so that we can try to see something different everyday, to try to accumulate this experience for ourselves.

So are you eager,willing to continue?How do you regardyour career as a civil servant?

MHSF: Very difficult to say, I would always say that we do our part, but the one up there would decide. I do make some plans for myself but they are not set in stone.Plansdo change. Then personally, Im a Catholic, so I always keep a veryveryopen attitude that someone would always tell me exactly where he would want me to be.

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It's a time to rethink the tourism industry as a whole - Macau Business

The diversification of Macaus economy, whose myth is still being spread by those who do not know what else to say, has long been dead and buried.

By Paulo A. Azevedo CEO, Global Asia Media

The different governments have had neither the wit nor the skill to turn political discourse into reality, and the consequences loom over the horizon. We were suddenly brought back to our senses by a virus that is changing the routine of our days.

Without tourists, without casino gamblers Macaus greatest sources of wealth times of austerity were to announced.

When casinos were flooding the city with cash, government officials tried to avoid those words like the plague. They appeared ashamed of the origin of the citys wealth, but they did not shy from congratulating themselves for the citys development made possible by that wealth.

Now, they say it is time to cut costs, expenses, and investments.

The decision would even be understandable, if it were studied rather than a sudden reaction. As historical records demonstrate, many of Macaus existing policies were born out of a Yam Tcha, and thats it.

These policies, which will have an impact on future generations, are made with as much forethought as when one goes to the supermarket and, while looking at the shelves, suddenly remembers: Ah! I also need cookies.

There are no strategies, not even a clear understanding of which expenditures are unnecessary and should therefore be cut because most of the spending is secret.

In the past five years, government agencies have spent nearly one billion patacas on studies and other consultancy services, but only 12 percent was made known to the public.

In other words, we know, more or less, how a little more than 100 million were spent. We can only guess about the rest, hidden behind a black curtain of opacity drawn by those who have the ostensible duty to foster transparency. Lets not even mention the need for such studies and the way they are done. Everything escapes us.

But the purpose of this article is to talk about cash, and to discuss which expenses should be cut in the first place.

As a legislator from the so-called democratic camp recently recalled, of the thousands, millions, hundreds of millions of patacas given to local associations, history does not tell. Government-subsidized association accounts are anything but transparent.

Now, if we consider the existence of so many associations many of them headed by members who are part of the consultative bodies of the various government structures we realize the need for greater transparency. Failure to do so only validates the voices who say, albeit in a whisper, that this opacity only fosters an eternal cycle of political and nepotistic patronage.

This money a lot of money goes into the pockets of associations managed by many people who operate within the governments consultation mechanisms, and thus wield great power and influence. Such people are appointed according to criteria defined by those who govern. They spend money without supervision.

Need I say more?

Expenses must be cut that is out of the question. These are difficult times. But we must make the first cuts where they can be most easily afforded, namely on the fabulous sums that are squandered annually through a maze of baseless and unaccountable decisions. Without transparency, spending cuts will only harm public services and citizens quality of life, while irresponsible spending continues to drain public coffers.

Result: the intention to save money will become another myth, as great as the diversification of Macaus economy.

Original post:

OPINION - The new myth - Macau Business

The pandemic has lifted tourist pressure in Macau, which in 2019 received twice as many visitors from Venice, but experts point out differences between the two cities, both UNESCO world heritage sites, starting with the risks for heritage.

Last year, around 40 million tourists visited the former territory under Portuguese administration, with an area of 33 square kilometers more than Paris (38 million), Venice (20) or Portugal (27 million).

In Macau, before the health crisis, an average of 1.2 tourists entered every second more than 70 per minute, 4,500 every hour, about 109,000 per day.

The cartoonist Rodrigo de Matos, who collaborates with the newspaper Ponto Final and the weekly Expresso, illustrated the floods in a 2017 cartoon: a can of sardines with the brand Macau. Before the covid, it was everyday life, mainly in the city center: there were areas where it was practically impossible for a person to walk, it was reminiscent of a disco, he recalls.

Living in the territory since 2009, the cartoonist had never seen the city so empty, except during the occasional typhoon, and believes that it improved the quality of life of the residents. We take the opportunity to see some parts of the city that we dont normally go to, due to the flood of people. For those who didnt know the historic center, its the ideal time.

Those who walk these days find an empty city, from the historic center left by the Portuguese to the existing 40 casinos.

The president of the International Council of Portuguese Language Architects (CIALP), Rui Leo, who arrived in the territory in the late 1970s, criticizes the enormous transformation of the city since the liberalization of the gaming industry in 2002.

In recent years we have been subjected to an excess [of tourists] that is truly distressing, with consequences in everything: there are no more cafes or neighborhood grocery stores in the historic center, he exemplifies.

The complaints are the same as those in Venice or Barcelona, and, more recently, Lisbon: gentrification, rising real estate prices, pollution, degradation of monuments.

But if Macau suffers from equal tourist pressure, the situation is different, defends Leo. The tourist who goes to Venice or Lisbon goes there because of the heritage, the architecture, the city itself, while in Macau the people come because of the casinos, he explains.

For that reason, in Venice and Lisbon heritage is safeguarded, because it is very clear that without that heritage there is no tourism. In Macau, there is no such awareness: heritage can disappear, and it has disappeared, he laments.

From the top of the staircase of the ruins of So Paulo, you can see the Grand Lisboa, the crown jewel of the former magnate Stanley Ho, in a territory where the casinos rival the authentic heritage left by the Portuguese.

We have the Venetian, which is the imitation of Venice, the Parisian, with the imitation of the Eiffel tower, and we will have the Londoner, points out the architect Maria Jos de Freitas, who has lived in Macau since 1997, two years before the handover to China.

For the doctoral student in Portuguese-influenced heritage, it is this Disneyland species that attracts the thousands of tourists from China looking for a European atmosphere, with visits to the historic center being nothing more than an appointment.

They go through the ruins of So Paulo to take a photo and say I was here, they dont even have time to read the signs, he criticizes.

The visit nevertheless leaves marks on the historic center, registered as a World Heritage Site on July 15, 2005. The ruins of So Paulo are constantly being visited by tourists, and buses and pollution, and all road traffic in the area, they are extremely harmful , she stresses.

The architect points out that there is still no plan for the protection of the Portuguese legacy in Macau, foreseen in the heritage safeguard law of 2013, approved just eight years after enrollment in UNESCO.

Without legal guidelines, the heritage left by the Portuguese was quickly surrounded by real estate pressure, with the Government authorizing the construction of casinos on the peninsula and buildings to emerge around the protected area.

The most recent controversy involves Guia Lighthouse, the first lighthouse on the southeast coast of Asia, threatened by plans to build a 90-meter building.

The case led Associao Nova Macau to file a complaint with the Commission against Corruption, on July 23, a month after the Guia Lighthouse Safeguard Group complained to UNESCO.

In 2017, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee criticized the Macau Government for the possible impact of high-rise developments on the landscapes of Farol da Guia and Colina da Penha, warning that the lack of a heritage safeguard plan could put in jeopardy danger to their status.

For Rui Leo, the degradation does not seem easy to reverse, when 80% of Macaus GDP comes from gambling revenues, the great tourist attraction.

Any monofunctional economy is a place where there is not much debate, laments the architect, considering that the territory risks losing what makes its difference: a heritage of five centuries, at the crossroads between east and west.

This makes Macau not an alienated or unbearable place, like Doha [the capital of Qatar] or Dubai, where there may be a lot of money, but there is no world: they are fake cities, made of nothing, he defends.

Paula Telo Alves

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Pandemic has lifted tourist pressure in the city, with twice as many visitors from Venice - Macau Business

The Macao government will lower the current testing fee of MOP 180 to MOP 120 for its nucleic acid testing (NAT) scheme from Wednesday next week, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said that from today, residents can make an appointment to undergo their nucleic acid tests from Wednesday next week. The statement reminded that those who have made an appointment to undergo their tests before Wednesday next week will still have to pay the current testing fee of MOP 180.

The statement said that if those who have made an appointment to undergo their tests before Wednesday next week want to reschedule their tests so that they will only have to pay the new testing fee of MOP 120 they can change the date using the online appointment system if they have already paid the fee of MOP 180, in which case they can apply for the refund of the MOP-60 difference. If they have still not paid the fee of MOP 180, they will have to cancel their appointment first before making a new appointment, the statement said, in which case the government cannot guarantee that places will still be available for them when they make a new appointment.

Residents who plan to visit Guangdong have to make an appointment online to be tested for COVID-19 under the Macao governments NAT scheme so that they can present a NAT certificate confirming that they have tested negative for COVID-19 when crossing the Macao-Zhuhai border.

The Macao government launched its NAT scheme on 7 May when its first and main testing station at the Taipa Ferry Terminal in Pac On started operating. The Health Bureau (SSM) has commissioned a third-party testing institution Kuok Kim (Macau) Hygiene Examination Company Limited to carry out COVID-19 testing there.

A new testing station for the governments NAT scheme, which is located at the Macau Forum complex in Zape, came into operation last month. The new Macau Forum testing station is temporarily being operated by the Health Bureau before it will commission a third-party testing institution to carry out COVID-19 testing there. The government has not said whether the same testing institution Kuok Kim or a new one will carry out the COVID-19 testing.

(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)PHOTO The Macau Post Daily/Maria Cheang Ut Meng

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Government to reduce NAT fee to MOP 120 - Macau News

The government-appointed Talents Development Committee (SCDT) said in a statement on Thursday that it expects an oversupply of teaching staff for non-tertiary education schools in the next three years.

The committee also released data from a research project on the topic.

The statement said that the aim of the research was for the general public to understand the demand for teaching staff in Macao and use it as a reference for career planning. The research surveyed all 78 non-tertiary education schools in Macao and gathered information about the demand for teaching staff from 2020 to 2023, according to the statement.

Non-tertiary education comprises primary and secondary schools as well as schools for pupils with special needs and kindergartens.

According to the data, the 78 non-tertiary education schools require 7,411 teaching staff, yet they only need to recruit 235 new teaching staff members, with the data showing that the demand for new teaching members is just 3.2 per cent of the total staff needed. The data also showed that the demand for new teaching staff will decrease over the next few years, predicting that in 2022-2023, only 124 new teachers will be needed.

The statement also predicted that there will be an oversupply of teacher-training graduates in the next few years. Besides primary education institutions, all other institutions will have an excessive supply of teacher-training graduates, according to the research.

(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)

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Committee predicts oversupply of teaching staff in the next 3 years - Macau News

Egyptian mother-of-three Menna said she was caught off guard when a bulldozer clearing space for a controversial highway flattened much of a mausoleum that doubled as her home in a sprawling cemetery.

The earth mover suddenly hit the wall and we found ourselves throwing our things in a panic outside, she told AFP.

They kicked us out on the street, she said, surrounded by rubble and dust in the UNESCO-listed world heritage site.

Mennas parents and grandparents had made their home among the graves of the City of the Dead, the oldest necropolis in the Muslim world.

For those unable to afford prohibitively high rents in Egypts capital,the burial chambers provide shelter for thousands like her.

Many built extensions to the original mausoleums, eking out a largely tranquil, if bizarre, existence side-by-side with dead sultans, singers and saints in the sprawling east Cairo cemetery.

But Menna said her peace and that of the dead was shattered by the arrival of workmen.

It was awful. We moved the dead on straw mats, she said.

She and her husband shifted several bodies, including the remains of her father, to a segment of her home still intact.

Menna is now living with neighbours in part of the cemetery that is not in the demolition area.

Dozens of bodies were displaced by the construction work in the second half of July, according to local media, to make way for the 17.5 kilometre (11 miles) Al-Ferdaous, or Paradise, highway.

Ferdaous, connecting major Cairo road arteries, is the latest instalment of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisis urban vision.

He is intent on transferring the centre of political power to a new capital, about 45 kilometres east of Cairo a mega-project in the desert overseen by the militarys engineering arm.

Sisi led the armys overthrow of elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following mass protests against the Islamist leaders rule.

He won his first term as president in 2014 and was re-elected four years later with more than 97 percent of the vote.

It is not just residents of the City of the Dead who are upset by the demolition work undertaken there.

Galila El-Kadi, a Marseille-based veteran architect and urban researcher, said the site is an important component of the capitals urban history.

A final resting place for illustrious figures including singer Farid al-Atrash and writer Ihsan Abdel Kouddous as well as ordinary Egyptians, the Islamic necropolis founded in the seventh century stretches over 6.5 kilometres (four miles).

It is full of ornately designed domes with chiseled Koranic verses that have been the object of fascination for orientalist painters and historians.

Kadi, who authored a book on the City of the Dead (al-Qarafa in Arabic), said the demolition had reached a historic perimeter where luminaries are buried, including Sultan Abu Said Qansuh of the Mamluk dynasty in the 15th century.

Shesaid the demolitions would result in a loss of Cairos visual identity and its memory.

They reveal the blind and arbitrary character of a haphazard urban planning vision, driven by a bulldozer policy, Kadi alleged.

UNESCO told AFP that it was neither informed nor consulted about the demolition work undertaken in July.

The World Heritage Centre is following up with the Egyptian authorities to review the matter and assess any potential impacts on the Outstanding Universal Value, authenticity and integrity of the property, it added.

On social media, Egyptians have documented the urban destruction with photos of their family vaults as well as historic ones.

A Twitter user with the handle @morocropolis said his maternal family had maintained a vault in Qunsah Street since the 1940s.

He declined to give his full name fearing his criticism of the highway project would land him in trouble.

The authorities told us that they needed part of the womens burial chamber, but they started to destroy the fence and the tombstones before the remains were moved, he told AFP.

He said he will not be eligible for compensation since the crypt was partially, rather than fully, destroyed.

Egypts ministry of antiquities defended the work undertaken in the cemetery last month and said there was no destruction of monuments.

Only recent graves were moved, it said.

But Menna said she is haunted by the disturbed bodies.

They abuse the living and the dead, without mercy and in the end, no one cares about us.

by Hager Harabech

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Egypt highway uproots graves, homes in 'City of Dead' - Macau Business

A three-member Lebanese parliamentary bloc resigned Saturday in protest at the Beirut blast widely blamed on government negligence and corruption, bringing to five the number of MPs to quit since the disaster.

In an emotional speech during a funeral service for one of his top party officials who died in Tuesdays blast, Samy Gemayel announced his resignation and that of the two other MPs from his Kataeb party.

Your comrades took the decision to resign from parliament, Gemayel said, addressing Kataeb secretary-general Nazar Najarian, one of the 154 confirmed victims of the explosion at Beirut port.

Gemayel criticised the reactions of several top politicians who argued the international aid effort following the disaster would be an opportunity to break the diplomatic isolation of Lebanon.

A new Lebanon must be born on the ruins of the old one, which you represent, he said, addressing the authorities at large and their clan leaders.

The Christian partys three resignations from the 128-seat parliament come after those of Marwan Hamade from the party of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and independent MP Paula Yacoubian.

Yacoubian told the CNN news channel that she was urging the entire parliament to stand down.

As the MP of Beirut, I took the decision of resigning because I feel Im a false witness in this parliament, she said.

Theres nothing we can do, the decision-making is outside the parliament, she said. Everyone should resign.

Lebanons ambassador to Jordan also resigned in the aftermath of the blast, caused when fire spread to a depot where a huge amount of ammonium nitrate had been stored for years, unsecured.

Early evidence shows top officials knew of its presence at the port and that safety procedures were knowingly and repeatedly violated.

The government has promised a swift and thorough enquiry but public trust is low that an investigative committee chaired by top officials will uncover the real culprits.

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String of MP resignations after Beirut blast - Macau Business