Briefs | Vicente Bravo, architect influential in Macau, dies

Vicente Bravo has passed away on Saturday, as confirmed by friend and architect Maria José de Freitas to Radio Macau. Born in Luanda, Angola in 1946, Bravo worked in Macau for many years, namely during the 80’s and 90’s, after arriving in the territory to work with Manual Vincente, another great name of local architecture. Among the many projects for which Bravo was responsible, was the Macau Handover Ceremony Pavilion, which was built before the handover of the region to the Chinese administration. After the handover, the Pavilion gave way to the current Handover Gifts Museum of Macao.

First Greater Bay Area conference of physical societies

The first Joint Annual Conference of Physical Societies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was held on Friday at the University of Macau (UM). Co-organized by UM, Physical Society of Macau, Physical Society of Hong Kong, and Guangdong Physics Society, the event attracted over 350 experts, scholars, researchers, and industry practitioners in the field of physics from the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, and other parts of China. During the event, participants discussed the latest developments and research findings in physics, and explored opportunities for further collaboration and joint development in research and technology in the area.

Philippines wants daily charter flights to Subic

The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) said that it is now working with Royal Air Charter Service to operate charter flights between Macau and Subic Bay International Airport seven times a week. The agreement is expected to produce an additional 697 international air seats, or about 35,308 seats per year for flights from China. “Royal Air is among our airline partners which the DOT is working with to bring in tourists from China,” said a DOT spokesperson, as cited by the Manila Bulletin. “Through our Route Development Team, we are providing marketing support to air carriers to increase tourist traffic to underutilized international gateways in the Philippines, such as Subic Bay International Airport.” Subic Bay is a special economic zone that permits the entry of foreign nationals without a visa for a maximum stay of 14 days.

Health Bureau wants hospital built faster

Commenting on the sidelines of the completion of the foundation for the long-delayed Islands Hospital, the director of the Health Bureau said he hopes that the next stages of construction will be finished quicker. According to public broadcaster TDM, Lei Chin Ion said that authorities were studying whether or not it would be possible to carry out construction 24 hours a day so the hospital could be completed sooner. “Following the pile foundation is the tender for the buildings,” said Lei, cited by TDM. “We aim to see if the construction [of the] Islands Medical Complex project, as it is far from residential areas, has the conditions to be carried out 24 hours a day.”

Unemployment holds steady

The general unemployment rate for the three-month period of April to June 2018 held stable at 1.8 percent, as in the previous period from March to May, according to the latest information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). The unemployment rate of local residents for April to June 2018 was 2.4 percent, down by 0.1 percentage points. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate remained unchanged at 0.5 percent. In the second quarter of 2018, the general unemployment was also 1.8 percent and that of local residents stood at 2.4 percent, decreasing by 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points respectively from the first quarter. Median monthly employment earnings of the employed held stable in the second quarter at MOP16,000 when compared with the first. The median earnings of employed residents stood unchanged at MOP20,000.