Category Archives: Macau

The construction of a project to channel water from Chinas Yangtze River to the Hanjiang River will start by the end of this month, the Ministry of Water Resources said on Friday.

With a total investment of 59.8 billion yuan (about 8.93 billion U.S. dollars), the project is a supplement to the middle route of the countrys South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

The new project is expected to enhance the water allocation capacity of the Hanjiang River Basin to further ensure water supply to the dry north, the ministry said.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project transfers water from Chinas water-rich south to the arid north through the middle, eastern and western routes. The middle route, the most prominent one due to its role in feeding water to the nations capital, begins at the Danjiangkou Reservoir in the Hanjiang River in central province of Hubei and runs northeastward to Beijing and Tianjin. It began supplying water in December 2014.

China has stepped up water conservancy construction this year, with 10,644 new projects valued at 414.4 billion yuan starting construction in the first five months of the year, Wei Shanzhong, vice minister of water resources, told a Friday press conference.

The investment in the countrys water conservancy construction is expected to exceed 800 billion yuan this year, official data showed.

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Major water transfer project to start construction in China - Macau Business

The subvariants BA.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 are driving the fifth wave of infections in Mexico, Mexican epidemiologist Alfonso Vallejos Paras told Xinhua recently.

The expert, a member of the Department of Public Health of the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said in an interview that these subvariants are mainly striking people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.

This uptick in cases is due to the Omicron subvariants as the virus mutates, he said, explaining that this makes it more contagious while there are still susceptible people.

It is true that there is an increase in cases, but it hasnt reached the levels of previous waves. The number of deaths is expected to be lower due to the vaccination progress, Vallejos Paras added.

The specialist recommended returning to the protective health measures that were in place when the virus first appeared in Mexico in order to contain the new wave.

We have to go back to wearing face masks, washing our hands frequently, social distancing, using ventilated spaces and continuing vaccination to avoid mutations, he said.

The expert also assured that Mexicos health sector is prepared to face the new situation, since hospitals have been equipped with medical supplies and other tools to deal with the disease in the past few years.

He called on people to get vaccinated in order to avoid developing a serious illness and generating a mutation of the virus that could make the entire population more susceptible.

There is always the possibility that the virus could mutate, evade the vaccines protection and make everyone vulnerable, Vallejos Paras warned.

Earlier this week, Mexicos Ministry of Health reported a trend in the increase of COVID-19 infections nationwide.

Against this backdrop, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell told reporters that the spike is part of the process of the virus transition from the pandemic to endemic stage.

As of Thursday, the country had accumulated 5,808,696 COVID-19 cases and 325,091 deaths, according to the latest Health Ministry report.

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Omicron subvariants driving 5th COVID-19 wave in Mexico, expert says - Macau Business

(Ref. No.: FST/CEE/CM/06/2022)

The University of Macau (UM) is an internationalized public comprehensive university in the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) located at the west bank of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The GBA is rapidly developing into one of the leading technology and innovation hubs of the world. UM is placed in 201-250 bracket in the THE World University Rankings and placed No. 322 in the QS World University Rankings in 2022. With a scenic campus of approximately 1 km2 on Hengqin island, UM has achieved significant progress in the past decade as evidenced by its rising international repute, state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities, and the establishment of three State Key Laboratories in microelectronics, Chinese medical sciences, and internet of things for smart city. To support economic diversification of MSAR and deepen collaboration between MSAR and Guangdong Province in Hengqin island, UM will continue to invest in cutting-edge research and develop interdisciplinary programmes in key strategic areas including precision oncology, advanced materials, regional oceanography, artificial intelligence and robotics, data science, cognitive and brain science and economics and finance. Leveraging its 4-in-1 model of education and the largest residential college system in Asia, UM provides all-round undergraduate education, nurturing talent to support social and economic development in MSAR and the GBA as a whole. With unprecedented growth and opportunities for development, UM offers promising career prospects to academics at all levels. It may be noted that English is the working language and the primary medium of instruction at UM.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) of the Faculty of Science and Technology invites applications for the position of Full/Associate/Assistant Professor in the discipline of Construction Management.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The emphasis of our programmes is directed to the areas of Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Construction Management, Environmental Engineering and Water Resources. The objective of our undergraduate programme is to educate and train the students to be civil engineers with formation of good scientific knowledge, sound engineering practice and leadership skills; and to prepare them for their advanced education at international standard. Currently, it has 22 full-time academic staff, around 220 undergraduates and 140 graduate students. UM is among the top 1% in ESI (Essential Sciences Indicators) rankings in Engineering. In the THE World University Ranks, the Engineering and Technology programme is ranked among the 101 125th.

Qualifications

Applicants must hold a doctoral degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering and Management or related areas. Preference will be given to candidates with research and teaching experience at the tertiary education level. To accord the future development, candidates with specialization in construction/project management, quantity surveying, information technology in construction, building information modelling, smart and sustainable building management/ construction, environmental impact assessment and strategic management are preferred.

The selected candidate is expected to assume duty in December 2022.

Remuneration

A taxable annual remuneration starting from MOP828,100 (approximately USD102,230) will be commensurate with the successful applicants academic qualification and relevant professional experience. The current local maximum income tax rate is 12% but is effectively around 5% - 7% after various discretionary exemptions. Apart from competitive remuneration, UM offers a wide range of benefits, such as medical insurance, provident fund, on-campus accommodation/housing allowance and other subsidies.

Further details on our package are available at:https://career.admo.um.edu.mo/learn-more/.

Application Procedure

Applicants should visit https://career.admo.um.edu.mo/for more details, and apply ONLINE. Review of applications will commence upon receiving applications and continue until the position is filled. Applicants may consider their applications not successful if they are not invited for an interview within 3 months of application.

Human Resources Section, Office of Administration

University of Macau, Av. da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, China

Website: https://career.admo.um.edu.mo/;Email: vacancy@um.edu.moTel: +853 8822 8574;Fax: +853 8822 2412

The effective position and salary index are subject to the Personnel Statute of the University of Macau in force. The University of Macau reserves the right not to appoint a candidate.

***Personal data provided by applicants will be kept confidential and used for recruitment purpose only***

** Under the equal condition of qualifications and experience, priority will be given to Macao permanent residents**

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Full / Associate / Assistant Professor in Construction Management job with UNIVERSITY OF MACAU | 296822 - Times Higher Education

Shanghai will impose fresh lockdowns on residents in several city districts this weekend during a mass testing drive, officials said Friday, as President Xi Jinping called for China to stick unswervingly to its strict zero-Covid strategy.

China is the last major economy still pursuing a policy of stamping out all outbreaks, wielding snap lockdowns, mass testing and mandatory quarantines.

But the strategy has come under heightened scrutiny after the fast-spreading Omicron variant triggered sweeping restrictions in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, hammering the worlds second-biggest economy.

In Shanghai, at least 15 of the citys 16 districts totalling more than 23 million people saidthey would conduct PCR tests on residentsin the coming days, while six areas said they would impose lockdowns during the testing drive.

The districts that will impose some lockdowns Minhang, Yangpu, Putuo, Fengxian, Qingpu and Changning are home to more than eight million people.

The mass testing, announced in a series of notices released locally on Thursday and Friday, comes less than two weeks after Shanghai began stumbling out of a gruelling lockdown marked by food shortages and scattered protests.

Despite loosening many restrictions after finally containing Chinas worst outbreak in two years, skittish authorities have continued to impose a shifting mosaic of curbs to guard against a resurgence.

The announcement of mass testing prompted fears of a backslide from weary residents in Shanghai.

I have an ominous feeling, wrote one user on Chinas Weibo social media platform.

Another wrote that fences had started to be put up dividing their residential community into two large areas, adding that they saw panic-buying of rice and oil at the neighbourhood supermarket.

Chinese leaders have attempted to thread the needle between crushing the virus and limiting the damage of lockdowns, with President Xi on Thursday calling for efficiently coordinating Covid-19 prevention and control with economic and social development.

But he said Chinas dynamic zero-Covid approach must be unswervingly upheld, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Experts predict that China will struggle to meet its economic growth target of around 5.5 percent this year as virus lockdowns force business shutdowns and snarl supply chains.

The World Bank has sharply slashed its 2022 growth forecast for China to 4.3 percent, warning this week that Covid disruptions could further slow recovery.

The shockwaves from Chinas zero-Covid policy have hit the global economy as well, especially after the lockdown in Shanghai the countrys biggest city and a major global shipping hub.

Parts of Beijing have also reimposed some restrictions after loosening work-from-home orders and allowing restaurants in the capital to reopen for indoor dining earlier this week.

Two central districts on Thursday ordered the closure of bars, nightclubs and internet cafes, local media reported, after the capital reported a cluster of infections linked to entertainment venues.

Beijing has reported nearly a dozen recent cases connected to nightclubs, after several days of no new cases outside of restricted areas.

Officials put up fresh barriers around several residential compounds in the city overnight, including one near the Beijings embassy district where an AFP reporter saw workers building metal fences and transporting pets out of the compound in crates.

Some companies have also asked employees to prepare to resume working from home, while others were barred from entering their offices after Covid cases or close contacts were found to have visited the buildings.

The latest Beijing outbreak drew anger on Chinese social media, with some blaming club patrons for partying, while others pointed their fingers at the city government and testing agencies.

Clearing Covid seems like a joke Otherwise where did these new cases come from? one Weibo user asked, referring to the citys previous declaration that it had cleared cases outside of quarantined areas.

China reported 73 new local infections on Friday, including eight in Beijing and 11 in Shanghai, according to the National Health Commission.

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Swathes of Shanghai to be returned to lockdown in testing drive - Macau Business

A congressional panel investigating last years mob assault on the US Capitol laid out its case Thursday that Donald Trump and his claims of a stolen election were at the heart of what amounted to an attempted coup to remain in power.

In a prime-time presentation of its findings from a year-long probe, the special committee sought to persuade a divided country of the existence of a deep-rooted and ongoing plot orchestrated by the former president to overturn the result of the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.

President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack, the Republican vice chairwoman of the panel, Liz Cheney, said in her opening remarks at the first in a series of hotly anticipated summer hearings.

Minutes earlier, Democratic committee chief Bennie Thompson accused Trump of being at the center of this conspiracy.

January 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup a brazen attempt, as one rioter put it shortly after January 6 to overthrow the government. The violence was no accident, he said.

Rioters acted at the encouragement of the president of the United States, to march on Congress and block the formal transfer of power by lawmakers to Biden, he added.

The panels carefully produced presentation made use of testimony given behind closed doors by some of Trumps most senior and trusted advisors, including former attorney general Bill Barr and Trumps son-in-law and senior aide, Jared Kushner.

The panel aims to demonstrate that the violence was part of a broader and ongoing drive by Trump and his inner circle to illegitimately cling to or regain power, tearing up the Constitution and more than two centuries of peaceful transitions from one administration to the next.

Thursdays session and five subsequent hearings over the coming weeks will focus on Trumps role in the multi-pronged effort to return him to the Oval Office by disenfranchising millions of voters.

Trump has defiantly dismissed the probe as a baseless witch hunt but the public hearings were uppermost in his mind Thursday as he fired off a largely false tirade on his social media platform, defending the insurrection as the greatest movement in the history of our Country to Make America Great Again.

Following the hearing, he lashed out again on Truth Social, accusing the committee of bias and doubling down on his election fraud claims.

The Unselect Committee of political HACKS refuses to play any of the many positive witnesses and statements, he wrote.

The case the committee wants to make is that Trump laid the groundwork for the insurrection through months of lies about fraud in an election described by his own administration as the most secure ever.

His White House is accused of involvement in several potentially illegal schemes to aid the effort, including a plot to seize voting machines and another to appoint fake alternative electors from swing states who would ignore the will of their voters and hand victory to Trump.

Thursdays hearing featured live testimony from two people who interacted with members of the neofascist organization the Proud Boys on January 6 and in the days leading to the violence.

Emmy-winning British documentary filmmaker Nick Quested testified about his experience shadowing members of the Proud Boys in the days leading up to January 6 and his interactions with them on the day itself.

Quested recalled being shocked by the anger he saw among the groups members, and described the larger rally crowd as transforming from protesters to rioters to insurrectionists.

I was surprised at the size of the group, the anger and the profanity, he said.

Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who was present at the breach of the first barricade, described sustaining head injuries in clashes with the Proud Boys, whose leader has been charged with seditious conspiracy, along with four lieutenants.

I can just remember my breath catching in my throat, because what I saw was just a war scene. It was something like Id seen out of the movies, she said.

I couldnt believe my eyes. There were officers on the ground they were bleeding, they were throwing up I saw friends with blood all over their faces. I was slipping in peoples blood.

The series of hearings will differ from Trumps two impeachments in that he will not be represented in the room as he is not on trial except perhaps in the court of public opinion.

Nevertheless, a number of his most loyal counter-punchers are expected to circle the wagons, challenging the investigation at every turn.

It is the most political and least legitimate committee in American history, the leader of the House Republican minority, Kevin McCarthy, told reporters.

In fact, Congress has wide-ranging oversight powers, and a Trump-appointed federal judge last month emphatically rejected Republicans arguments that the committee is illegitimate.

The panel has not confirmed what it plans to do after the initial slate of hearings, but at least one more presentation and a final report are expected in the fall.

by Frankie TAGGART

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US Capitol riot probe puts Trump at heart of 'attempted coup' - Macau Business

Japans Nikkei stock index snapped a five-day winning streak Friday following a weak lead from Wall Street overnight and as concerns over central banks aggressive monetary policies to combat inflation dented sentiment.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 422.24 points, or 1.49 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 27,824.29.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, lost 25.96 points, or 1.32 percent, to finish at 1,943.09.

Brokers here said that investors were in a risk-off mood from the get-go following Wall Streets plunge overnight.

They said that investors offloaded a broad range of issues following the markets recent run of gains, to secure profits.

The jittery mood was, however, predominantly due to concerns about the economic outlook for the region after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced Thursday it plans to hike its interest rates by 0.25 percentage point, possibly as early as next month and with further hikes possible after that.

Strategists here also pointed out that as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England raised their rates, concerns have been rising abut the outlook for the global economy amid rising inflation.

Market participants feared the impact on the global economy as the central banks of both the United States and Europe have entered a phase of aggressive interest rate hikes, Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., was quoted as saying.

Ahead of the Feds two-day policy setting next week, dealers here also noted that some investors hit the sidelines to await the release of the U.S. consumer price index for May later today.

By the close of play, precision instrument, machinery, and oil and coal product issues comprised those that declined the most, while issues that fell outpaced those that rose on the Prime Market by 1,634 to 176, while 28 ended the day unchanged.

Following the tech-heavy Nasdaqs overnight slide, their Japanese peers lost ground in Tokyo trading, with Tokyo Electron dropping 3.2 percent, while Advantest fell 4.2 percent.

Screen Holdings, meanwhile, ended the day 4.8 percent lower.

Heavily weighted Nikkei issues lost ground, with Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing slipping 0.9 percent, while tech investor SoftBank Group lost 2 percent.

On the Prime Market on Friday, 1,272.53 million shares changed hands, dropping from Thursdays volume of 1,287.27 million shares.

The turnover on the last trading day of the week came to 3,144.95 billion yen (23.47 U.S. dollars).

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Japan's Nikkei snaps 5-day winning streak on inflation concerns - Macau Business

With gun control under debate and monkeypox in the headlines, Americans are facing a barrage of new twists on years-old misinformation in their social media feeds.

Accurate news stories about mass shootings have attracted eyeballs but algorithms have also spurred baseless conspiracy theories from trolls who want to push lies to attract traffic. And thousands have unwittingly shared them on Facebook, Twitter and other sites.

The May 24 attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was a false flag operation aimed at pushing restrictive gun laws, according to Telegram posts from supporters of QAnon.

Carl Paladino, a New York congressional candidate, was among those who shared a similar theory on Facebook, later deleting it.

Others misidentified a shooting victim as Bernie Gores a made-up name paired with an image of a YouTuber who has been wrongly linked to other major news events, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Experts say such misinformation is part of a pattern in which unscrupulous operators intentionally repurpose old narratives.

A lot of this stuff is put together almost in this factory production style, said Mike Caulfield, a misinformation researcher at the University of Washingtons Center for an Informed Public.

You have a shooting event, you have these various tropes you can apply.

Groundless claims of a false flag operation, which refers to political or military action that is carried out with the intention of blaming an opponent, can be traced back to the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

After 20 children and six staff members were killed, InfoWars founder Alex Jones falsely claimed the Newtown casualties were crisis actors people who are paid or volunteer to play disaster victims.

In November 2021, a Connecticut judge found Jones liable for damages in a defamation suit brought by parents of the victims.

But regardless, allegations of staged mass shootings have routinely spread from fringe online networks such as 4chan to mainstream platforms including the social media feeds of politicians such as Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and, more recently, Arizona state senator Wendy Rogers.

Hoax posts misidentifying gunmen or victims as internet personalities have also become common.

In the race to capture online attention following breaking news, recycled narratives can be produced quickly and are easier for audiences to digest, Caulfield said. Content producers make guesses about what may go viral based on past popular tropes, which can help monetize that attention.

When you spread this stuff, you want to be seen as in the know, he said, even though the information is demonstrably false or misleading.

Similarly, false claims about the recent spread of monkeypox a rare disease related to smallpox borrow from Covid-19 misinformation.

Since the outbreak, social media posts have claimed without evidence that the virus is a bioweapon, that the outbreak was planned, and that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is behind it. Others have falsely equated monkeypox to other viruses, including shingles.

Those claims resemble debunked conspiracy theories from the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Memetica, a firm that conducts digital investigations, has researched some of the top Covid-19 misinformation recycled for monkeypox. One widespread theory points to a 2021 threat preparation exercise conducted by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) as purported evidence that the outbreak was planned.

That conspiracy theory is nearly identical to claims about Event 201, a pandemic simulation held in October 2019, that circulated online in early 2020.

What was surprising to me was how similar (Covid-19 misinformation) is now to monkeypox, Adi Cohen, chief operating officer at Memetica, told AFP.

Its the same exact story oh, this is all planned, its a plandemic, heres the proof.

Some monkeypox theories have been shared by conservative figures including Glenn Beck and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, according to Memeticas research. Both have previously promoted misinformation about Covid-19.

Cohen said such tactics may be an effective way to get engagement on social media, regardless of the falsity of the information being shared.

Its the replication of what seems to work in the past, he said. Why work hard when you dont have to?

by Daniel FUNKE

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Old tricks, new crises: how US misinformation spreads - Macau Business

Japan was among five countries elected Thursday to hold a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2023 and 2024.

Switzerland, Mozambique, Malta and Ecuador will also take up two-year positions from January 1 next year.

The five will succeed India, Norway, Kenya, Mexico and Ireland.

The Council is made up of 15 members, five of whom are permanent: the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.

The other ten positions are filled by other countries for two-year stints, five of which are announced each year.

Japan, Switzerland, Mozambique, Malta and Ecuador were voted in by the UN General Assembly in a secret ballot.

Out of the assemblys 193 members, Japan obtained 184 votes.

Deputy foreign minister Odawara Kiyoshi said Tokyos priorities would be security, including energy and food.

Mozambique was elected to the Council for the first time in its history with 192 votes.

Switzerland won 187, Malta 185 and Ecuador 190.

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Japan elected to UN Security council for two years - Macau Business

There are cities in which it is possible to run car races on streets and roads, whether nearby or distant from the city center: from Daytona Beach to Marrakech, from Pau to Bucharest, from recent Baku to Vila Real or Hong Kong.

There are few that manage, considering their size, to balance a relevant historical past with hospitable offerings, delivering at the same time cultural events of excellence, from gastronomy to tourism, from music to scenic arts and movies, keeping a built-in tradition in motor sports, bringing together the world elite, from teams to pilots, from builders to engineers not forgetting royalty, jet-set figures and movie stars.

In this last group we could perhaps choose just three places: La Sarthe (internationally known by the name of the town of Le Mans), Monaco and Macau.

Monaco is an all-city track just over 3 km long in a tiny town (2.02 km2). La Sarthe is the largest circuit of all, and although it has varied over the years, due to the changes that have been introduced, it is approximately 13.626 km long, just over twice the length of Macau (6.276 km).

If, due to the growth of the city, Macau is currently a totally urban circuit, La Sarthe cannot truly be considered as such, since the circuit is semi-permanent, not passing through central areas of the town. Evidence for this lies in the fact that to reach the circuit, one rides to the stations at end of only two lines, blue and red, of the Tramway (the most modern public transport) to Guetteloupe-Ple Sain Sud and Antares-MMArena. Known internationally as La Sarthe, the track uses private and public roads, part of the Bugatti Circuit and national roads.

The nature of the events held at each of these tracks is different, corresponding to different categories of motorsport (Monaco with F1, F2, F3 and promotion single-seaters and some GT cars, Touring and Classics races; Macau with F3, the GTs and the Touring cars, and the French track with the cream of World Endurance and GTs from all over the world.

Despite all these differences, there are certain similarities and dissimilarities between La Sarthe and Macau to underline; some elements that have cut through the doldrums of the last decade, helping project toward the future.

In both cities, we find an important religious heritage, each with its own scale and in its own place Cathedral of Saint Julien/Ruins of Saint Paul, Notre-Dame de La Couture, Lglise Sainte -Jeanne-dArc, Notre Dame du Pr, Saint-Bnoit, La Visitation or the Chapelle de LOratoire, on the one hand, and on the other multiple Catholic and Chinese temples (S, So Domingos, Santo Antnio, Santo Agostinho, So Loureno, So Lzaro, Madre de Deus or the Ermida da Guia next to the Temple of A-M, Kun Iam Tong, Pao Kong, and I Leng). It is possible to find evidence of a secular coexistence between different peoples over centuries as these were lands of passage and settlement of people from the most diverse areas, which continued for one reason or another throughout the 20th century. They were places of encounter in realms from literature to poetry, from cinema to painting, music and theater.

The city of Le Mans celebrates its 90th-race edition this weekend. Over the years Le Mans has become no longer just the 24-hour race, now including other events. A small permanent circuit has been established where it is possible to see the Motorcycling World Championship, truck races or to take car racing driving courses. While for many years Macau welcomed track marshals from Portugal and Hong Kong, even recently at Le Mans there have been volunteers from the Estoril Motor Sports Commissioners Club, and from other parts of the world, working together towards a car race that has gained worldwide recognition and branched out far beyond the racing weekend.

Le Mans became a two-week extended festival that brings cars and drivers into the city and its historic center, in the biggest car show of all.

Residents and thousands of visitors who flock here annually engage with the fabulous machines. The women and men who fly through the Haunaudires at more than 300km/hour, bend to the limit in places as mythical as Mulsanne, Indianapolis or Arnage, dive in Dunlop towards La Chapelle, and pit all their driving skills passing the Ford chicanes or Tertre Rouge.

Unlike Macau, where there is also a museum, in Le Mans it is possible to visit the circuit at night, during the 24-hour race: the city center is full of visitors, persons nourished by world and culture, members of the numerous clubs venerating motorsport coming from all over, who are in the city to remember past races, see old and new friends, revisit memories of other times when many of them were participants. They taste the best delicacies and wines of the Loire Valley, drive their showy cars, offering them for the drivers parade, while sculptured women meander all their prestige and charm. The summer aromas of their tanned skins brought on by the hours spent on the track or walking around the historic center. Multiple musical performances, both publicly organized and spontaneous, take to stages.

Le Mans also has at its service a choir of ambassadors coming from the most diverse areas. These are the people who help build and design the city, its diversity, its industry, its arts, its hospitality. Best proof that the city does not rely only on motor racing events, lies in managing to have people such as Chinese Qi Jianhong (CEO of Spark Roll Group) and Jackie Chan, footballer Didier Drogba, photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, conductor Claire Gibault, pilots Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx and Sbastien Bourdais, singer-songwriter Emmanuel Moire, trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin-Vary, Diana Higbee or world-renowned physician and researcher Bndicte Haettich.

Forever immortalized on the screen by names like Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Patrick Dempsey or Michael Fassbender, the city of Le Mans and Macau share much more than the pages of Jean Gratons books.

But here, where the city without casinos is used for the world famous drivers parade, and city center serves to welcome all those who arrive, weighing and technical checks of the vehicles in the days before the big event are done in the city center, among thousands of fans. Here, we find a sporting and historical heritage that is permanently renewed and cared for, and where private accommodation for foreigners is freely available and encouraged for those for whom there would never be enough hotels. Camping around the circuit is another solution.

Le Mans is an organized, clean and welcoming city in the smallest details, offering friendliness, gardens and green spaces to serve the wellbeing of residents and visitors; where the air is pure and calm and squirrels and different birds walk happily among the visitors. At the same time you can taste a Gamay Saint-Romain without fearing the visit of rodents, cockroaches or mosquitoes. Here, there is no onslaught of any nauseating smell of garbage containers or highly polluted river water, nor are the mermaids at risk of splattering their luminous dresses on the citys filthy and greasy sidewalks.

Here is proof, after all, that to build and maintain a friendly and glamorous city, you dont need casinos and astronomical funds disbursing commissions to third parties. Nor is there a requirement to guarantee safety on the streets by inundating them with video cameras and multiple regulations, prohibitions, and blue lines.

To have a healthy and organized city, just some enlightened and well prepared people are needed, from anywhere in the world and speaking as many languages as possible, along with some common sense, intelligence and organizational skills. These are the talented individuals who know how to receive visitors without absurdities, and who are able to offer a lot of freedom of access, privacy, peace, quiet and, above all, well-being to their residents.

Srgio de Almeida Correia MDT, Le Mans

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Le Mans: keeping the tradition, rejuvenating it daily - Macau Daily Times

People walk in front of Casino Lisboa in Macau, China December 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

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HONG KONG, June 1 (Reuters) - Plunging casino revenues in Macau, the world's largest gambling hub, are taking a heavy toll on the wider economy, forcing hundreds of businesses to close down and pushing unemployment to its highest level since 2009.

The former Portuguese colony on Wednesday posted one of its worst monthly gambling revenues since September 2020, a week after Macau's government warned that rising job losses and financial strains could trigger social conflicts and destabilise the city's security.

The Chinese special administrative region is the only place in the country where it is legal to gamble in casinos. Heavily reliant on casino taxes, which account for more than 80% of government revenue, Macau has had little success in diversifying its economy.

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"We are the most reliant city in the world on tourism. Of course, we didn't have any other industries to fall back on," said Glenn McCartney, an associate professor at the University of Macau.

"Given that we didn't diversify for 20 years. It isn't going to happen tomorrow. There's no quick fix."

Macau's dependence on gambling has been laid bare since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with visitation rates in the first quarter dropping more than 80% compared with the same period in 2019 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

More than 90% of visitors to Macau typically come from mainland China, which continues to pursue a "zero-COVID" policy.

May gambling revenues dropped 68% year-on-year to 3.3 billion patacas ($400 million), and - while up 25% from April - it remains far off the 26 billion patacas hit in May 2019.

Macau's six casino operators are facing daily revenue losses and accumulating debt as liquidity continues to dry up.

China's moves to stem capital outflows and crack down on the opaque junket industry that is tasked with bringing in high-rollers from the mainland have also hampered gambling revenue.

Cost-cutting and mounting economic losses are evident throughout the tiny territory, home to more than 600,000 people, extending to sectors including retail, industrial and commercial services.

The unemployment rate for local residents has risen to 4.5%, according to the latest government figures, up from 1.8% in 2019.

Citing a tough business environment and gloomy outlook for the high-end gaming segment, the Emperor Entertainment Hotel said in April it would close its casino from June 26.

At least seven other casinos are due to stop operations by mid-year, local media reported.

The Macau Economic Association said the local business climate index will remain "poor" for the coming three months.

In an April report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that it would take several years for Macau's economy to return to its pre-pandemic level, with the sharp contraction in activity exposing the city's vulnerability.

Macau's government has urged casinos, which employ tens of thousands of local people, not to fire workers. Instead, some operators have chosen not to renew contracts, or offered unpaid leave or share bonuses instead of giving full salaries.

Cloee Chan, a labour group activist in Macau, said the lack of gamblers, coupled with the closure of VIP parlours and some casinos, posed a major challenge to the local labour market.

"Many workers in the gaming industry are now either under-represented or fired," she said.

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Reporting by Farah MasterEditing by Helen Popper

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Macau's casino losses engulf gambling hub as no quick fix in sight - Reuters