Category Archives: Macau

European researchers have developed a way of decoding the feelings of pigs through their grunts, oinks and squeals in a project aimed at improving animal welfare.

Biologists studied over 7,000 recordings from 411 pigs, from the brief squeaks of satisfaction at feeding time to the desperate cries at slaughter, before classifying them into 19 different categories.

We show that its possible basically to figure out the emotions of the pigs according to their vocalisations, project leader Elodie Briefer, a lecturer at the University of Copenhagen, told AFP.

The project, split between Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, France and the Czech Republic and published in the journal Nature, offers a new way of improving animal welfare by laying the groundwork for a tool that can categorise an emotion based on the noise produced, according to the researcher.

We also run a machine learning algorithm which produces a spectrogram, then it is trained to recognise negative and positive contexts.

Once developed, the new tool would allow farmers, who today can mostly only check the physical well-being of the animals, to monitor their mental health.

The researcher said if the negative squeals increase, the farmer would be alerted that something was wrong and could check.

The Scandinavian country is home to 13.2 million pigs making it the leader in Europe with over two per capita and for the Danish Agriculture and Food Council the implications of the study are promising.

This concept could potentially be a useful tool among others in the work to monitor the health and well-being of pigs, Trine Vig, a spokeswoman for the council, said.

According to Briefer they reached 92 percent accuracy of classifying the valence (or) whether the call is negative or positive, and 82 percent accuracy in classifying the actual context in which the sounds were produced.

According to the findings, positive feelings are expressed in short grunts, while negative sentiments are most often expressed with longer sounds.

But why focus on the pig rather than a cow or a rabbit?

For the authors of the study, the pig, known for its wide range of squeaks and noises, was the perfect match.

Theyre very vocal, which makes them easier to study, the researcher said.

They produce vocalisations all the time, even in a low intensity situation, they would still vocalise.

by Camille BAS-WOHLERT

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Researchers decode pigs' well-being through oinks and grunts - Macau Business

Catholic zealots in the Philippines whipped their backs bloody and raw on Good Friday, as the fervently religious country marked Easter with gruesome displays of faith.

Scores of men their faces covered walked barefoot as they flogged themselves with bamboo whips under a blazing sun near the capital Manila, while others carried wooden crosses as they were beaten, in a ritual frowned upon by the Church.

Roy Balatbat, his skin still bearing fresh wounds from a public flailing on Thursday, walked for about a kilometre, striking himself and stopping to prostrate in prayer on the hot ground.

Its punishing but if you have a wish, you will endure the pain, Balatbat, 49, told AFP in Hagonoy municipality, Bulacan province.

I have been doing this for 30 years since I was a young man. My devotion is that I will only stop when I cant do it anymore.

While most devotees in the mainly Catholic nation spend Good Friday at church or with family, others go to these extreme lengths to atone for sins or seek divine intervention.

Before the grisly flogging begins, the mens bare backs are deliberately punctured to make them bleed.

Veterans of the gory spectacle display scars of previous whippings, while others endure the punishing act for the first time.

I inflict the wound to the penitents, if theres not much blood coming out, theyll ask for another one so their sins would be forgiven, Reynaldo Tolentino, 51, explained.

They wont feel the pain when theyre doing the penitence as long as they are sincere in doing it.

Good Friday is also usually marked by crucifixion reenactments in a city north of Manila, but the event was cancelled for the third year in a row due to Covid-19.

About a dozen Catholics regularly have themselves nailed to wooden crosses as penance for their sins. The event attracts thousands of tourists.

We do not encourage acts of self flagellations and crucifixions, said Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines public affairs committee.

The suffering and crucifixion of Christ is already enough to save humanity, he told AFP, adding devotees should instead confess their sins.

The Philippines has lifted most Covid-19 restrictions after a sharp fall in infections and rising vaccination rates.

But the health department warned Thursday of a possible surge in cases as Filipinos dropped their guard and mingled more freely.

by Ron LOPEZ

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Religious whipping marks Good Friday in the Philippines - Macau Business

Welcome to the fourteenth and final in a series of articles on the Macau gaming law IAGpublished throughout the month of March and early April:

Thank you all for your great support during this Macau gaming law series. What began as a planned 10-part series finished as 14 parts, as there were so many important issues to cover. As of the time of writing this series has received over 18,000 page views, and no doubt that number will creep up to perhaps over 20,000 eventually.

So, where to from now? The next step in the process is for the Second Standing Committee of the Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) headed by Andrew Chan Chak Mo to complete its review of the law, and then for the wider AL to pass the law, no doubt with some amendments, which Mr Chan has promised to do by 26 June. I fervently hope that some of the issues raised by IAG in this Macau gaming law series, and raised by others, are considered and we see a more efficient law governing the industry in Macau. After all, this is the law which will set the ground rules for the next decade. The Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, will be attending a plenary session of the AL on 12 April, and this should be an excellent opportunity for his input.

Of the issues raised in this series, which are the most crucial? Judging from the number of page views (around 2,700), reversion of gaming areas is a very important one. I also think the chip cap rule as it currently stands is unworkable, and more clarity would be very useful on the provisions relating to minimum income, directors liability, the Managing Director, and operating in other jurisdictions.

I have no doubt the law will be passed as planned by late June. And I have no doubt the tender documents are already substantially drafted, waiting to be released within days of the law being passed.

While no-one knows how long the government will provide for the tender process, we all know the finish line is on 31 December, so it seems plausible the government will provide perhaps two to three months essentially Q3 of this year for the tender process to play out. Expect the announcement of the winning six bidders sometime in say October or perhaps early November. After that we will see a period of negotiation of the concession contracts about four to six weeks feels right to me. This takes us to some date in December, during which we will likely see six signing ceremonies or if were running close to the wire maybe one big ceremony for all six concessionaires! What a sight that would be.

Expect to hear the popping of champagne corks in December.

After that, the sleeves will be rolled up and the truly hard work of recovering from the COVID disaster will begin. Bring on the 2023 to 2032 new decade of the Macau gaming industry. It will be fascinating to watch.

This is the final article in the series.

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Macau Gaming Law series part 14: And that's a wrap where to from here? - IAG - Inside Asian Gaming

CMB Wing Lung Bank Limited and FWD Insurance have signed a bancassurance partnership in Macau to provide insurance products and services.

Bancassurance isan arrangement between a bank and an insurance company allowing the insurance company to sell its products to the banks client base.

Both sides also considered that thepartnership will provide a competitive advantage to both companies in capturing the vast opportunities in the fast-growing market of the Greater Bay Area

The new partnership with FWD will enrich our insurance productsandservice scope for Macau residents who constantly look for more innovative and comprehensive options. We believe the partnership will also further strengthen CMB Wing Lung Banks advantage in GBA cities, the banks Deputy General Manager, Li Qi, said in the announcement.

CMB Wing Lung Bank is a subsidiary of China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. (CMB), a bank based in Shenzhen and the first share-holding commercial bank to be wholly owned by corporate legal entities in China upon its founding in 1987.

At present, the Bank has over 30 banking business outlets and CMB Wing Lung Private Banking Centre in Hong Kong, its service outlet network also covers mainland China, Macau and overseas, more than 2,000 people in its staff force.

Meanwhile, FWD Hong Kong & Macau are part of the FWD Group, a pan-Asian life insurance business offering life and medical insurance, employee benefits, and financial planning.

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CMB Wing Lung Bank Limited and FWD Insurance sign bancassurance agreement - Macau Business

Chinas factory-gate inflation was higher than expected in March, official data showed Monday, as Russias war on Ukraine pushes up oil prices while a domestic Covid-19 resurgence strains food supplies and consumer costs.

The producer price index (PPI) measuring the cost of goods at the factory gate grew 8.3 percent on-year, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures showed.

This was slightly more than a Bloomberg poll of economists expected, while PPI also rose on-month.

Geopolitical and other factors have pushed global commodity prices to continue increasing, driving the prices of oil, non-ferrous metals and other related industries to rise further domestically, NBS senior statistician Dong Lijuan said in a statement.

Chinas consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of retail inflation, rose more than expected as well, by 1.5 percent on-year in March, the NBS said.

Although consumer demand eased after festive periods earlier in the year, some food prices have picked up due to rising international prices of wheat, corn and soybeans and domestic Covid-19 outbreaks, Dong said.

This comes as world food prices hit an all-time high in March following Russias invasion of Ukraine, an agricultural powerhouse, according to a UN agency.

Russia and Ukraine make up a massive share of exports in major commodities such as wheat, vegetable oil and corn.

Zhaopeng Xing of ANZ Research said energy prices had become the major driver for both CPI and PPI.

CPI inflation could rise further in April as households across China have been stocking up on food and other necessities after taking lessons from the fallout of Shanghais lockdown, Nomuras chief China economist Ting Lu told AFP.

As the financial hub locked down almost entirely in recent weeks, residents had trouble getting groceries while Covid controls snarled supply chains to the rest of the country.

Due to lockdowns and transport disruptions in northeast China, the largest grain production base in China, this years spring farming may have been delayed and the risk of food shortage may rise in the second half, Lu added.

This piles pressure on the worsening global food shortage caused by the military conflict in Ukraine, he said.

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China factory inflation higher than expected as oil prices bite - Macau Business

The looming execution of a US mother-of-14 sentenced to death in a controversial case for the murder of her toddler daughter has provoked backlash from celebrities like Kim Kardashian and a growing movement that reaches well beyond US borders.

Melissa Lucio is to be put to death on April 27 for the 2007 murder of her two-year-old daughter Mariah, whose body was found at the family home covered in bruises, days after falling down stairs.

Pregnant with twins at the time, Lucios life had been marred by both physical and sexual assault, drug addiction and financial insecurity. She was immediately suspected by police of having hit her daughter and questioned at length, just hours after the death.

After saying that she hadnt done it nearly a hundred times, at 3:00 am she made a completely extorted confession, according to Sabrina Van Tassel, director of the hit documentary The State of Texas vs. Melissa, which came out in 2020.

I guess I did it, Lucio eventually told her interrogators when questioned about the presence of the bruises.

That confession was the only thing they had against her, said Van Tassel, convinced that there is nothing that connects Melissa Lucio to the death of this child, there is no DNA, no witness.

During the trial, a doctor said it was the absolute worst case of child abuse he had seen.

But Mariah had a physical disability which made her unsteady while walking, according to Lucios defense and which could have explained her fall.

The defense also argued that the bruises could have been caused by a blood circulation disorder.

None of Melissas children had accused her of being violent. As for the prosecutor, he was later sentenced to prison for corruption and extortion.

Now the documentary has sparked widespread interest, causing a whole movement to coalesce around Lucio.

Reality star Kim Kardashian tweeted to her tens of millions of followers on Wednesday that there were so many unresolved questions surrounding this case and the evidence that was used to convict her.

And Lucios story has ignited media in Latin America, fascinated by the tale of the first Hispanic woman to be sentenced to death in Texas the US state that has executed the most people in the 21st century.

In France, former presidential candidate Christiane Taubira said Lucio is probably a victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Even one of the jurors who sentenced her expressed his deep regret in an editorial published on Sunday.

Lucio is also winningsupport from US Republicans, traditionally defenders of capital punishment.

About 80 Texas lawmakers from both parties have demanded authorities call off the execution.

Several have been to visit her in prison. As a conservative Republican myself who has long been a supporter of the death penalty I have never seen a more troubling case than the case of Melissa Lucio, said one of them, Jeff Leach.

The flood has come as a shock for the death row inmate, her son John Lucio told AFP.

When he showed her the messages from celebrities like Kardashian, she couldnt believe it.

The last 15 years have been very difficult, said Lucio, who was a teenager at the time of the tragedy and had to cope with it, knowing that I lost my sister and then my mother being charged for it.

But this year has been the hardest because we got the execution date in January, said the 32-year-old.

He is convinced that she would never have been condemned if she had had the money.

The case brings to light the issue of false confessions.

It is difficult to estimate how many there may have been, but according to data from The Innocence Project, which fights against miscarriages of justice, out of every four people wrongly convicted and exonerated thanks to DNA evidence, one had already confessed to the crime.

In homicide cases, that number rises to 60 percent, according to Saul Kassin, professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

And someone who, like Lucio, has experienced trauma and violence is less resistant, more likely to comply, they have less tolerance for the stress of an interrogation, and is therefore more likely to admit to a crime they did not commit, he said.

Lucio has exhausted her appeals but her team has filed a clemency petition, typically not decided until days before an execution. Prosecutors can also withdraw the death warrant and agree to reinvestigate the case, according to the Houston Chronicle.

And if all else fails, Texas governor Greg Abbott still has the authority to delay Lucios death.

A strong supporter of capital punishment, he has only granted clemency once before.

by La DAUPLE

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Wave of support for US mother awaiting execution - Macau Business

Three tombs dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) were recently found in north Chinas Shanxi Province, according to the provincial institute of archaeology.

Archaeologists said that the tombs are about 2 km west of Houzhai Village, Shuozhou City, and are located in the key area where the farming and nomadic cultures blended in ancient times.

Based on the shapes, features and styles of the tombs, archaeologists speculated that two of the three tomb owners were husband and wife. Unearthed relics include potteries, lacquerware, ironware, stone tools, copper coins, silver ornaments, bone combs, and tower-shaped pots.

Tower-shaped pots had not been spotted in tombs prior to the Tang Dynasty, said Gao Zhenhua, an official with the institute, adding that it was a new object that originated during this dynasty as a result of the influence of traditional funeral customs and the advent of Buddhism. It was believed that the object will help the deceased eat and drink in the underworld.

Considering the time, scale, geographical environment and the number of funeral items in the tombs, it can be inferred that the owners of the three tombs were ordinary people, Gao said.

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Tang Dynasty tombs discovered in China's Shanxi - Macau Business

In a dim room near the banks of Indias Ganges river, arms glide over a creaking loom as another silken fibre is guided into place with the rhythmic clack of a wooden beam.

Mohammad Sirajuddins cramped studio is typical of Varanasis dwindling community of artisans painstakingly working by hand to produce silk saris, uniquely cherished among their wearers as the epitome of traditional Indian sartorial style.

The city he calls home is revered among devout Hindus, who believe that cremation on the banks of its sacred waterway offers the chance to escape the infinite cycle of death and rebirth.

But Sirajuddins own reflections on mortality are centred on his craft, with competition from more cost-efficient mechanised alternatives and cheap imports from China leaving his livelihood hanging by a thread.

If you walk around this whole neighbourhood, youll see that this is the only house with a handloom, the 65-year-old tells AFP.

Even this will be here only as long as I am alive. After that, nobody in this house will continue.

Varanasis hand-weavers have cultivated a reputation for excellence over centuries, specialising in intricate patterns, floral designs and radiant golden brocades.

The Banarasi saris so-called in reference to the citys ancient name they produce are widely sought after by Indian brides and are often passed on from one generation to the next as family heirlooms.

The elegant garments fetch handsome prices Sirajuddins current work will go on sale for 30,000 rupees ($390) but the cost of inputs and cuts taken by middlemen leave little left for weavers.

Compared to the hard work that goes into making the sari, the profit is negligible, Sirajuddin says.

His neighbours have all switched to electric looms for their garments, which lack the subtleties of hand-woven textiles and sell for just a third of the price but take a fraction of the time to finish.

The fortunes of Indias textile trade historically a cottage industry have long been subject to sudden and devastating upheavals from abroad.

Its delicate fabrics were prized by the 18th century European elite but British colonisation and Englands industrial-era factories flooded India with much cheaper textiles, decimating the market for hand-woven garments.

Decades of socialist-inspired central planning after independence bought some reprieve by shielding local handicrafts from the international market.

But economic reforms in the early 1990s opened the country up to cheap goods just as the countrys northern neighbour was establishing itself as the globalised worlds workshop.

Chinese yarn and fabric came in everywhere, said author and former politician Jaya Jaitly, who has written a book on Varanasis woven textiles, adding that sari factories there had for years been emulating the citys unique patterns and detail.

All of these thriving industries got killed through Chinese competition, and their ability to produce huge quantities at very low prices.

Jaitly said local weavers needed urgent protection from government to preserve a wealth of artisanal traditions that otherwise risked disappearing.

We have the largest number of varieties of handloom, techniques, skills more than anywhere else in the world, she said.

I think thats truly a tradition to be proud of.

Demand for Banarasi saris, already limited to a select Indian clientele able to justify spending at a premium, has also suffered in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The virus threat may have receded in India, but job losses and a big dent to the economy have taken their toll.

The weavers are suffering a lot. They are not getting the right price for their products, payments are also coming late, said local sari merchant Mohammad Shahid, his store empty but for sales assistants stacking silk garments on the shelves.

Shahid was nonetheless hopeful that well-heeled and discerning customers would return.

Those who know the value of handloom will continue to buy and cherish our saris. The handlooms can dwindle but they will never go away, Shahid, 33, told AFP.

by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

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Indian sari weavers toil to keep tradition alive - Macau Business

Garbage clogs the banks of Iraqs Tigris River in Baghdad but an army of young volunteers is cleaning it, a rare environmental project in the war-battered country.

With boots and gloves, they pick up soggy trash, water bottles, aluminium cans and muddy styrofoam boxes, part of a green activist campaign called the Cleanup Ambassadors.

This is the first time this area has been cleaned since 2003, shouts a passer-by about the years of conflict since a US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.

The war is over but Iraq faces another huge threat: a host of interrelated environmental problems from climate change and rampant pollution to dust storms and water scarcity.

The 200 volunteers at work in Baghdad want to be part of the solution, removing garbage from a stretch of one of the mighty rivers that gave birth to the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia.

It breaks my heart to see the banks of the Tigris in this state, said one 19-year-old volunteer, who gave only her first name, Rassel, working under Baghdads Imams Bridge.

We want to change this reality. I want to make my city more beautiful.

The task is Herculean in a country where it remains common for people to drop their trash on the ground.

The green banks of the Tigris, popular for picnics by families and groups of friends, are usually littered with waste, from single-use plastic bags to the disposable tips of hookah pipes, especially after public holidays.

There is a lot of plastic, nylon bags and corks, said Ali, also 19 and an organiser of the cleanup event.

The group then handed their collected waste to the Baghdad City Council which took it away, bound for a landfill.

More often the garbage ends up directly in the Tigris. It is one of Iraqs two major waterways, along with the Euphrates, that face a host of environmental pressures.

The rivers or their tributaries are dammed upstream in Turkey and Iran, over-used along the way, and polluted with domestic, industrial and agricultural waste.

The trash that flows downriver clogs riverbanks and wetlands and poses a threat to wildlife, both terrestrial and aquatic.

When the water empties into the Gulf, plastic bags are often ingested by turtles and dolphins and block the airways and stomachs of many other species, says a United Nations paper.

In Iraq which has suffered four decades of conflict and years of political and economic turmoil separating and recycling waste has yet to become a priority for most people.

The country also lacks proper infrastructure for waste collection and disposal, said Azzam Alwash, head of the non-governmental group Nature Iraq.

There are no environmentally friendly landfills and plastic recycling is not economically viable, he said.

Most garbage ends up in open dumps where it is burned, sending plumes of acrid smoke into the air.

This happens in Iraqs southern Mesopotamian Marshes, one of the worlds largest inland deltas, which Saddam once had largely drained. They were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2016, both for their biodiversity and ancient history.

Today a round-the-clock fire outside the town of Souq al-Shuyukh, which is the gateway to the marshes, burns thousands of tonnes of garbage under the open sky, sending white smoke drifting many kilometres away.

Open burning of waste is a source of air pollution, and the real cost is the shortening of Iraqi lives, said Alwash.But the state has no money to build recycling facilities.

Even worse is the air pollution caused by flaring burning off the gas that escapes during oil extraction.

This toxic cocktail has contributed to a rise in respiratory illnesses and greenhouse gas emissions, a phenomenon the UNs climate experts have voiced alarm about.

Environment Minister Jassem al-Falahi admitted in comments to the official news agency INA that waste incinerations toxic gases affect peoples lives and health.

But so far there have been few government initiatives to tackle Iraqs environmental woes, and so projects like the Tigris cleanup are leading the way for now.

Ali, the volunteer, hopes that their effort will have a more long-term effect by helping to change attitudes.

Some people have stopped throwing their waste on the street, he said, and some have even joined us.

by Ammar Karim

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Iraqis clean up river as first green projects take root - Macau Business

Posted on: March 15, 2022, 10:34h.

Last updated on: March 15, 2022, 06:07h.

The Treasure Island Resort World in Macau is still under construction, but is already dealing with a tragedy. The property, which Genting Hong Kong previously backed, is a crime scene following a mans apparent suicide there today.

The Macau News Agency reports that the Macau Firefighter Corps received a report at about 9:30 local time this morning. It indicated that a man was calling for help and was asking for a team of crisis negotiators to arrive on the scene.

A 50-year-old man, who was not identified, died today after apparently jumping from the top of the Treasure Island resort. The property, still under construction in Nam Vam Lake, is unique to Macau in that its development does not include a casino.

Police officers and members of the negotiation group arrived and started to talk to the man, who had climbed to the rooftop of the unfinished building. He suddenly bowed before the crowd at around 11:10 and it was apparent he was going to jump.

Firefighters rushed forward to help, but he didnt give them a chance. He leaped to his death, with the entire incident caught on camera.

After some searching, rescue personnel found the mans lifeless body in bamboo scaffolding located between the 13th and 14th floors. They retrieved him and transported him to the Conde S. Januario Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

Reports indicate that the man was not an employee in the construction of the resort. However, not much else is known. An investigation is underway to determine his identity and to unravel the circumstances that may have led him to commit suicide.

Treasure Island, which was initially expected to open this June, is a unique property in Macau. It is among the first not to include a casino. This is in keeping with the Chinese national policy for Macau to diversify local tourism and move away from gambling.

Treasure Island covers an area measuring 8,100 square meters (87,187 square feet) at a cost of approximately MOP4.7 million (US$583.8 million). It will be 70 meters (229 feet) tall and include 600 rooms in total.

Genting Hong Kong sold its interests in the complex in 2021 for US$95.85 million. At the time, the company planned on focusing on its cruise business. Unfortunately, that didnt work out.

The property is preparing to enter trial operations this October, with a planned launch in December. It will offer a number of non-gaming amenities, including a UFC fitness center, an Under Armour store, a Beebeeland gaming center, and a Five Guys restaurant.

Treasure Island will also have open-air, Japanese-style hot springs, a first in Macau.

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Genting-Linked Treasure Island in Macau Sees Man Jump to His... - Casino.Org News