Established 1914

4th Waxing of Nayon 1369 ME Saturday, 19 May, 2007Volume XV, Number 33

Emergence of the State Constitution is the duty of all citizens of Myanmar Naing-Ngan.

* Development of agriculture as the base and all-rounddevelopment of other sectors of the economy as well

* Proper evolution of the market-oriented economicsystem

* Development of the economy inviting participation interms of technical know-how and investments fromsources inside the country and abroad

* The initiative to shape the national economy must be keptin the hands of the State and the national peoples

* Uplift of the morale and morality ofthe entire nation

* Uplift of national prestige and integ-rity and preservation and safeguard-ing of cultural heritage and nationalcharacter

* Uplift of dynamism of patriotic spirit* Uplift of health, fitness and education

standards of the entire nation

* Stability of the State, community peaceand tranquillity, prevalence of law andorder

* National reconsolidation* Emergence of a new enduring State

Constitution* Building of a new modern developed

nation in accord with the new StateConstitution

Four economic objectives Four social objectivesFour political objectives

NAY PYI TAW, 18 May— Member of the StatePeace and DevelopmentCouncil Lt-Gen KyawWin of the Ministry ofDefence attended thephysic nut growing cer-emony of North-EastCommand at the highlandfarmland-1 near Lashio-Muse Road in Lashio on16 May morning.

After giving physic nutsaplings to social organi-zations and departmentalpersonnel, Lt-Gen KyawWin and Chairman ofShan State (North) PDCCommander of North-East Command Maj-GenAung Than Htut grew

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win attends physic nut growingceremony, opening of bridge, hydropower

stations in North-East Command area

physic nut saplings.Also present on the oc-

casion were Patron ofShan State (North) Wom-en’s Affairs OrganizationDaw Cherry, DeputyCommander Brig-GenHla Myint and wife, de-partmental officials andlocal people, totallingabout 5,000.

Regiments and unitsof Lashio Station put 2,785acres of land under physicnut in 2006-07 and theyplanned to grow 1,200acres of physic nut nextyear.

At Technological Uni-versity of the Ministry ofScience and Technology

beside Lashio-MuseRoad, Lt-Gen Kyaw Winand the commander in-spected construction ofbuildings at the university.Lt-Gen Kyaw Win in-structed officials to nur-ture youth engineers in theregion.

A total of 417 studentsare pursuing education atTechnological University(Lashio).

On arrival at Ad-vanced Bio-diesel Factoryof Hnin Hnin Khaing Co,Lt-Gen Kyaw Win heardreports on efforts beingmade for producing bio-diesel after building sixadvanced bio-diesel fac-

tories in Shan State(North), production proc-ess and running power ofLandcruiser V-8 with theuse of bio-diesel presentedby the commander.

He gave necessary in-structions and viewed pro-duction process of the fac-

tory.At 20-acre Hsinshweli

paddy farm of the com-mand, the commander re-ported on arrangementsfor cultivation of tripplecropping —two paddyand one cold season crop— to ensure local food

sufficiency. The deputycommander submitted re-ports on extended cultiva-tion of Hsinshweli paddystrain on 168,000 acres ofland in 2007-08 and pro-duction for Hsinshweli hy-brid paddy seeds.

INSIDEHealth care services are becoming more effective

and covering more areas as new hospitals have beenbuilt and the existing ones upgraded and extraspecialists and modern equipment provided to themin all 24 special development zones.

U ZAWPAGES 6+7

(See page 8)

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win inspects production process of bio-diesel factory of Hnin Hnin Khaing Co Ltd in Lashio. — MNA

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2 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007

PERSPECTIVES* Oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views* Oppose those trying to jeopardize stability of the State and progress of the nation* Oppose foreign nations interfering in internal affairs of the State* Crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy

People’s DesireSaturday, 19 May, 2007

Forests constitute 52 per cent of the totalarea of Myanmar. Forest resources makesignificant contribution towards nationaldevelopment and economic growth. So for-est resources are to be exploited efficientlyand conserved systematically.

During the 75-year period between 1925and 2000, Myanmar’s forest coverage de-creased by 14 per cent due to timber extrac-tion, and production of charcoal and fire-wood.

Therefore, the Ministry of Forestry istaking steps to regenerate the forests byconserving more than 60,000 square miles offorest reserves, protected forests and natu-ral forests.

Furthermore, since 2004-2005 fiscal year,it has been implementing a five-year planand establishing watershed areas extensivelyfor greening Bago Mountain Range, whereteak and various species of hardwood growdensely.

Regional greening tasks are being carriedout on a large scale in the 13 arid districts ofMyanmar, and the forests are now regener-ated as a result. Respective villages have es-tablished local people-owned tree plantations,village-owned tree plantations for firewood,and tree plantations along the village roads.So, the region concerned will be able to exploitthe forest products before long.

Forests and trees are reliable for thenation’s economic growth. At a time whenthe government is conserving forest reserves,protected forests and natural forests, localbodies and people have to constantly partici-pate in the establishment of special teakplantations and the plantations for the com-mercial purpose and regional greening un-dertakings for perpetual existence ofMyanmar’s forests.

Conserve and protectforests

NAY PYI TAW, 18May—The Central Com-mittee for Drug AbuseControl held its meeting1/2007 at the hall ofMyanmar Police Forceunder the Ministry ofHome Affairs this after-noon.

In his address, Chair-man of the CCDAC Min-ister for Home AffairsMaj-Gen Maung Oo saidthat the government hasformed the CCDAC since1976 with the concept thatdrug elimination is thenational duty. The com-mittee always reviews itstasks to enable the work-ing groups to effectivelycarry out their tasks. Thealternative developmentworking group and thelivestock breeding work-ing group, playing a keyrole in drug eliminationtasks, are to expedite theimplementation of theNew Destiny Project tocontribute to the 15-yeardrug elimination plan ofthe country. As duties havebeen assigned to PoliceForce commanders of re-spective States and Divi-sions as chairmen of theState and Division Com-mittees for Drug AbuseControl, MPF Headquar-ters, CCDAC and DrugElimination Departmentare to give directives tothose chairmen to super-vise the tasks for destruc-tion of poppy plantations.

State and DivisionCDACs are to supervisetownship and villageteams for implementationof the New Destiny Projectby distributing seeds ofcrops to cultivate and har-vest crops. Furthermore,they are to coordinate thetasks with the alternativedevelopment workinggroup.

Myanmar has been

Thanks to 15-year drug elimination plan, poppysown acreage declines year after year

Minister for Home Affairs addresses CCDAC Meeting 1/2007

implementing the 15-yeardrug elimination plansince 1999. Thanks to theplan, the poppy sownacreage declined year af-ter year. The governmenthas been conducting thesurvey on illegal poppycultivation in cooperationwith UNODC since 2001.According to the survey,there were 105,000 hec-tares of poppy plantationin 2001. The Annual Re-port on Narcotic Drugsstated that as 32,770 hec-tares of poppy plantationwere cultivated in 2005and 20,500 hectares in2006, poppy cultivationdeclined by 29 per cent inMyanmar. As a result,opium production couldbe reduced drastically by61 per cent in six years.Furthermore, Myanmarhas cooperated with thePeople’s Republic ofChina since early 2007 tosupervise and assess thetasks for poppy elimina-tion in Northern part atMyanmar with the use ofsatellite photos. So far,exact figures have notbeen available yet, but itis learnt that poppy culti-vation is on the decrease.

The medical treatment

working group is takingmeasures on HIV controlin cooperation withUNODC and internationalNGOs. Hence, the work-ing group is to coordinatewith respective interna-tional organizations to ex-pedite its tasks in line withthe international systemsand to organize trainees forthe rehabilitation camps.

The student youtheducative working groupis to join hands with theMyanmar Anti-NarcoticsAssociation and other lo-cal NGOs for conductingthe training course on dan-gers of narcotic drugs forteachers, while dissemi-nating knowledge aboutdangers of narcotic drugs.

Although Myanmar isstriving for elimination ofnarcotic drugs, certainpersons and organizationsinfluenced by some west-ern countries are accusingMyanmar of not takingeffective measures incombating narcotic drugs.Hence, it is necessary toclarify correct news on en-deavours in drug elimina-tion to be able to rebut theslanderous accusations.

The collecting of baseline data on drug users

plays a key role in com-bating narcotic drugs. AsMPF is placing emphasison law enforcement sec-tor, the medical treatmentworking group is to coop-erate with MANA in col-lecting the base line data.

The minister said heexpects that participationof personnel of Law Of-fices and Courts in theState/Division, Districtand Township Commit-tees for Drug Abuse Con-trol will contribute to thesmooth and speedy imple-mentation of tasks to filedrug related cases.

Vice-Chairmen ofCCDAC Minister ColThein Nyunt and MinisterU Nyan Win also gavespeeches.

Joint-Secretary ofCCDAC Police Col KhamAung reported on the ac-complishment of the min-utes of the Special Meet-ing 1/2006 of the Commit-tee held on 5 August 2006.

Officials of the re-spective working groupstook part in the respectivesectors. Later, the meet-ing ended with conclud-ing remarks by MinisterMaj-Gen Maung Oo.

MNA

Donations invited forvillage librariesYANGON, 18 May — A ceremony to donate

buildings, cash, books and mass media equipment tothe self-reliant village libraries in Yangon Divisionwill be held at No 2 Basic Education High School inSangyoung Township, here, at 1 pm on 21 May.

So far a total of 55,717 self-reliant villagelibraries have been opened in the entire nation underthe supervision of the Information and Public Rela-tions Department. Wellwishers wishing to donatebooks, journals and magazines to these libraries maycontact the department at No 22-24, Pansodan Street,(Tel: 01-254270). — MNA

Minister for Home Affairs Maj-Gen Maung Oo addresses CentralCommittee for Drug Abuse Control Meeting 1/2007.—MNA

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THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007 3

Tut\kun\Ns\S tiu;®mHc\.ÂkI N T E R N A T I O N A L N E W S

US signals to acceptWolfowitz’s resignation

WASHINGTON, 17 May— The United States, in amajor shift, has signalledit would consider a changein leadership at the WorldBank if Paul Wolfowitzdecides to resign volun-tarily, The Wall StreetJournal reported onWednesday.

Until now, the WhiteHouse had voicedunwavering support forthe besieged World Bankpresident, but US officialson Tuesday also suggestedWolfowitz’s ability to leadthe institution may befading, said the report.

The US is willing toconsider “all options,”

including Wolfowitz’sresignation, as part of “aresolution of the questionof what is best for thefuture of the institution,”the report quoted a WhiteHouse official as saying.

The White Houseoverture could provideWolfowitz with a face-saving way to bow out ofthe institution, allowinghim to avoid beingformally dismissed by theBank’s board, said thereport.

Down the road, it couldalso ensure the WhiteHouse retains its influencein picking a successor,since the US would be seen

as opening the door forWolfowitz’s departure,the report added.

Wolfowitz, former USdeputy defence secretary,has been under fire for hisinvolvement in a pay-and-promotion package for hisgirlfriend Shaha Riza, aformer Bank employee.The Bank president hasadmitted granting Riza thepackage on advice froman ethics board at theBank.

MNA/Xinhua

France’s new President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) shakes hands with his newlynamed Prime Minister Francois Fillon at the Elysee Palace in Paris,

on 17 May, 2007.—XINHUA

60 die in Iraq; study warns of collapseBAGHDAD, 17 May —

More than 60 people werekilled and dozenswounded in mortar strikes,drive-by shootings, road-side explosions, suicidebombings and otherviolent attacks in Iraq onThursday, as a new studywarned that the countrywas close to becoming a“failed state.”

The US ambassador toIraq, Ryan C Crocker, saidthe country had tread closeto “the edge of the abyss”but now was makingprogress on politicalreforms needed to help

mend sectarian and ethnicrifts that have pushed thecountry to the brink of civilwar. Crocker cited whathe said was Iraqi politicalprogress toward agree-ments on constitutionalreforms, the sharing of oilrevenue and allowingformer members ofSaddam Hussein’s Baathpolitical party to takegovernment and otherpublic jobs.

US officials hopepolitical compromisesamong Iraq’s Shiites,Sunni Arabs and Kurdswill complement a US

troop buildup in the capitaland help to improve Iraq’ssecurity situation.

Contrary to Crocker’sassessment, some criticssay that political progresshas been too slow, whilemilitary counterin-surgency strategies haveachieved mixed results,reducing some kinds ofsectarian violence —suchas killings by death squads— but having little impacton others, such as largesuicide bombings typi-cally carried out by thegroup al-Qaeda in Iraq oraffiliated Sunni alliances.

A report releasedThursday by ChathamHouse, a foreign policyresearch centre in Britain,challenged the notion thatviolence in Iraq hassubsided since the buildupof US troops, saying, forinstance, that car bom-bings had not diminishedand arguing that radicalgroups were simply lyinglow. “It can be argued thatIraq is on the verge ofbeing a failed state whichfaces the distinct possi-bility of collapse andfragmentation,” the reportsaid.—Internert

Ed Zander, Motorola

chairman and chief

executive officer,

introduces the RAZR2

handset in New York,

on 15 May, 2007.

INTERNET

Man wrongly jailed for 18 years gets $5m

Antarctic ‘treasure trove’ found

CONNECTICUT, 18 May—The Con-necticut legislature yesterday votedunanimously to give $5m (£2.5m) to aman who was imprisoned for more than18 years for a rape he did not commit.

Members of the legislature gave JamesTillman a standing ovation, and saidthey hoped the money would let him livethe rest of his life in relative comfort.

The bill passed by 148 votes to none inthe state’s House and by 33 votes to nonein the Senate. It will be sent to thegovernor, Jodi Rell, who has said shewould be honoured to sign it.

“I think we all wonder, could we be sokind and gentle and humble as we find

this person?” said the Democraticrepresentative Kenneth Green. “He didnot deserve to be incarcerated for 181⁄2years. Five million dollars is the leastthat we can do.”

Both chambers gave Mr Tillman astanding ovation after the vote. MrTillman’s mother wiped away tears asshe and her son were led to the HouseSpeaker’s dais.

Mr Tillman, who was 26 when he wasarrested, was sentenced to 45 years inprison after being convicted of rapingand beating a woman in Hartford in1988.

Internet

LONDON, 16 May—Anextraordinarily diversearray of marine life has beendiscovered in the deep, darkwaters around Antarctica.

Scientists have foundmore than 700 new speciesof marine creatures in seasonce thought too hostile tosustain such rich biodi-versity. Groups of carni-vorous sponges, free-swimming worms, cru-staceans and molluscs werecollected.

The findings, publishedin the journal Nature, couldprovide insights into theevolution of ocean life inthis area. Dr Katrin Linse,an author of the paper and amarine biologist fromBritish Antarctic Survey(BAS), said: “What wasonce thought to be afeatureless abyss is in fact a

dynamic, variable andbiologically rich environ-ment. “Finding this ex-traordinary treasure troveof marine life is our first

step to understanding thecomplex relationshipsbetween the deep ocean anddistribution of marinelife.”—Internet

Actresses AndieMacDowell (L),

Gong Li (C),and Kerry

Washingtonarrive for theevening galascreening of

Chinesedirector WongKar Wai’s in-competition

film “MyBlueberry

Nights” at the60th CannesFilm Festivalon 16 May,

2007.XINHUA

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM3

4 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007

sk\mOs∑m\;Aa; eKt\ek¥a\lWa;

BAGHDAD, 17 May — Three people were killed and16 others wounded when two roadside bomb explodedin quick succession in downtown Baghdad on Tuesday,an Interior Ministry source said.

“Two roadside bombs went off at about 2:45 pm(1045 GMT) in quick succession in a crowded areanear the Taiyran Square in Bab al-Sharji District,killing three people and wounding 16 others,” thesource told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blasts damaged several nearby shops andcivilian cars, the source said, adding that Iraqi securityforces and ambulances rushed to the scene.

MNA/Xinhua

Thousands of dead fishfound in Singapore

SINGAPORE, 17 May— Singapore on Wednesdayfound thousands of dead fish floating in thecountry’s Serangoon River and Punggol Park Canal.

According to Channel NewsAsia reports onWednesday night, the National EnvironmentAgency and the Public Utilities Board have beeninformed of the matter, and they are nowinvestigating the cause of the dead fish.

MNA/Xinhua

Four killed in mortar barrageon Baghdad residential area BAGHDAD, 17 May — Four people were killed

and four others injured in a mortar barrage on aneighbourhood in northern Baghdad Tuesday, awell-informed police source said.

Several mortar rounds landed on the Urneighbourhood in the afternoon, killing fourcivilians and wounding four others,” the sourcetold Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

MNA/Xinhua

Coalition soldier killed inS Afghanistan

KABUL, 17 May— One soldier of the US-ledcoalition forces was killed in Zabul Province ofsouthern Afghanistan, a coalition statement saidWednesday.

Afghan police and coalition forces were attackedon Tuesday by militants 43 kilometres southwestof Qalat City, the provincial capital, the statementsaid, adding one coalition soldier was killed.

The majority of coalition soldiers operating inthe province are Americans.

MNA/Xinhua

Colliery gas blast trapsseven in N-W China

HARBIN, 17 May— Seven miners were trappedin a colliery gas explosion in northeast China’sHeilongjiang Province on Monday, the localgovernment said Tuesday.

The blast occurred at 4:30 pm at Hongyuanmine in Jidong County in Jixi City, a spokesmanwith the provincial coal mine safety watchdog said.

He said 29 miners were working in the pit whenthe accident occurred and 22 were rescued.

Rescuers are continuing to search for the sevenmissing. — MNA/Xinhua

WASHINGTON,17 May— The Bush Admini-stration has failed toadequately fund or upholda 2005 initiative to givepoor countries access tofresh water, US law-makers and nonprofitgroups said on Wednes-day.

Representative EarlBlumenauer, an OregonDemocrat, told a hearing

BAGHDAD, 17 May— Asuicide car bomb attackhit overnight a crowdedmarket in a town in DiyalaProvince, northeast ofBaghdad, killing 14people and wounding 22others, local police saidon Wednesday.

“A suicide bomberdetonated an explosive-laden car into a popularmarket in the town ofMaqdadiyah, some 100kilometres northeast ofBaghdad on Tuesdayevening, killing 14 peopleand wounding 22 others,”a source from Diyalapolice told Xinhua bytelephone.

The powerful blastdamaged several nearbyshops and buildings, thesource added on conditionof anonymity.

Lawmakers worry US givingwater law short shrift

that the State Departmentand the United StatesAgency for InternationalDevelopment misre-presented how they spent200 million US dollars forthe plan last year and havegiven short shrift to sub-Saharan Africa.

The State Departmentused most of the funds forreconstruction work inIraq and Afghanistan,

where the United States iswaging wars, he said. Inan earlier letter, Blu-menauer wrote that it onlyspent 10 million USdollars for water in sub-Saharan Africa, where theUnited Nations says 42 percent of the populationlacks clean water.

The Water for the PoorAct was intended to ensurelong-term projects wouldprovide water where it isneeded most, Blumenauerand others argued.

“We did not pass theWater for the War Act butthe Water for the PoorAct,” said RepresentativeDonald Payne, a Demo-crat from New Jersey whochairs the Subcommitteeon Africa and GlobalHealth.

Claudia McMurray, anassistant secretary of state,and Walter North fromUSAID fended off thecriticism.

MNA/Reuters

Suicide car bomb kills 14in N-E of Baghdad

Afterwards, severalmortar rounds landed onthe town’s main road,apparently, in an attemptto hamper police vehiclesand ambulances fromapproaching the scene, thesource said.

MNA/Xinhua

Three killed in twin bombexplosions in downtown

Baghdad

Chinese monks trainin the use of fireextinguisher at atemple in Jiuhuamountain, eastern

China’s AnhuiProvince, on 15 May,2007. The monks are

serving as the first lineof defence against fire

damage to some ofChina’s old temples,

often constructed withwood and located inmountainous areas

inaccessible to modernfire brigades.

INTERNET

Model Brenda Costa displays a creation bydesigner Villais during the “Puerta de Europa”

bridal fashion show in Madrid on 17 May , 2007. INTERNET

People relax in the sun as a luxury yacht liesanchored in the Bay of Cannes as the 60th

Cannes Film Festival continues on 17 May ,2007. — INTERNET

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THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007 5

E C O N O M I C N E W S

Toyota Motor Corp’s President Katsuaki Watanabe smiles at photographersas he sits inside the new Lexus LS600h during a photo session in Tokyo on 17May, 2007. Toyota said on Thursday that Lexus started sales in Japan of the

LS600h and LS600hL hybrid sedans. — INTERNET

Jose Xavier Fonseca works on a sand sculpturededicated to the 2007 Pan American Games at

Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on 16 May ,2007. Brazil will host the Pan American games in Rio

de Janerio from 13 to 29 July, 2007. — INTERNET

Photo taken on 16 May, 2007 shows part of the colored glass-fiber reinforcedplastic sculpture titled “Shoes Collection” on the international costume townsquare in Suzhou, a scenic city of east China’s Jiangsu Province. The ten-

metre-high sculpture was decorated with over 200 pairs of shoes in a varietyof styles of different times. — XINHUA

LONDON, 18 May —Thousands of loss-making post offices areset to close across Britainunder plans to beconfirmed by Trade andIndustry SecretaryAlistair Darling onThursday.

“I believe that if wereduce the network byaround 2,500 branches,backed by about 1.5billion pounds fromgovernment, we can get asustainable network,”Darling told BBC radioahead of a formal

Post office closures couldreach 2,500 in Britain

announcement later in theday.

Britain’s network of14,300 post officebranches is running up“unsustainable” losses offour million pounds aweek, he said.

The Conservativescondemned the cutbacks.

“This is going to be avery disappointing blowfor communities up anddown the country,”Conservative Trade andIndustry SpokesmanCharles Hendry told BBCradio.

Four million peoplesigned a petition last yearprotesting against theclosure plans.

They said post officesare a lifeline for manypeople, especially in ruralareas.

Darling said a nationalnetwork of brancheswould remain despite theclosures.

“If you went for apurely commercial net-work, you would be downto only about 4,000. Thatwould make no sense atall,” he said.

MNA/Reuters

ABU DHABI , 17 May —Oman and Iran on Tuesdaysigned a memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) oncooperation in oil and gasin Omani capital Muscat,Oman news agency ONAreported.

The MoU was signedby Omani Commerce andIndustry Minister Maq-bool bin Ali bin Sultanand visiting IranianPetroleum Minister VaziriHamaneh. According tothe MoU, the two sidesagreed to cooperate indeveloping joint oil andgas fields, exporting ofIranian gas to Oman andsetting up joint petro-chemical projects.

The volume of Oman’sgas imports from Iranwould be to the tune ofone billion cubic metresper day, Oman’s Maqboolwas quoted as saying.

MNA/Xinhua

PORT HARCOURT (Ni-geria), 18 May— RoyalDutch Shell has startedwork to restore 170,000

Shell regains access to Nigerian oil pipelinebarrels per day (bpd) ofcrude oil production inNigeria after a protest at amajor pipeline hub, aspokesman said onThursday.

The six-day protest inthe Ogoni area of the NigerDelta had raised the tallyof oil supply cut byviolence to about 900,000bpd, or one third of totalcapacity in Nigeria, theworld’s eighth largestexporter. It also pushedup world oil prices.

“We have regainedaccess to the site,” said aShell spokesman.

US major Chevronsaid only about 7,000 bpdof its Escravos oilproduction was still closedon Thursday after acommunity invasion at itsAbiteye facility on 7 May.A spokesman said 70,000bpd had been disrupted by

that dispute, higher thanits original estimate of42,000 bpd.

A Shell source said theAnglo-Dutch companyhad already reopened oneof the valves at the pipelinecomplex in Ogoni, andwould test the systembefore fully restoring oilflows. — MNA/Reuters

Oman, Iranagree on oil,

gascooperation

BANGKOK, 18 May— Thailand’s MeteorologicalDepartment Director-General Supalerk Tansri-wattanawongse said Thursday that 11 aftershockshappened during Wednesday night after an earthquakemeasuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale hit Laos in theafternoon.

Supalerk was quoted by local news group TheNation as saying that the aftershocks were measured at4.7 to 4.9 on the Richter Scale.

On Wednesday at about 15:56 pm (0856 GMT), anearthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale rockednorthern Laos. The epicentre was determined to belocated at an open field in northern Laos which is some61 kilometres from Thai northern district of ChiangKong.— MNA/Xinhua

11 aftershocks jolt Laos

China to look on outboundinvestment in 4 sectors BEIJING, 18 May — The Chinese Government will

look kindly on outbound investment in four sectors —overseas resources, infrastructure, research anddevelopment (R&D) and service industries, said ZhangXiaoqiang, vice-minister of the nation's top economicplanning body on Wednesday.

"The government will offer preferentialdiplomatic, Forex, tax, Customs, credit and insurancepolicies for companies investing in these sectors," saidthe vice-minister of the National Development andReform Commission (NDRC).

He said investing in the four recommended sectorswould help China solve economic bottlenecks, upgradeindustrial structures, promote exports, train humanresources and sharpen the country's competitive edgein international trade.

China's outward investment topped 16 billion USdollars last year, up 32 per cent on the previous year torank 13th in the world, up from 17th in 2005.

MNA/Xinhua

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6 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007

Head of State Senior General

Than Shwe inspected No 1 Military

Hospital, district level 300-bed

people’s hospitals, newly-built

pharmaceutical factory (PyinOoLwin)

and Medical Research Department

(Upper Myanmar), with PyinOoLwin

in Mandalay Division as the base,

during the long Thingyan holidays in

April this year.

Despite his tight schedule, the

Senior General was able to find time

to meet with rectors, professors and

medical superintendents in Mandalay.

The aim of the visit was to make

arrangements that would lead to

harmonious progress of the staff of

the health sector and the medical

profession and the increase in the

provision of modern medicine and

medical equipment for improving

public health standard.

At PyinOoLwin District Hospital

on 16-4-2007, the Senior General said,

“The education, health and cultural

spheres are of vital importance in the

social sector of a nation. In this regard,

the field of education has been

developed with short-term and long-

term projects. As the loss of our culture

will lead to the extinction of our race,

the government has been providing

support to preserve and safeguard

Let’s ensure health and longevityU Zaw

traditions and cultural heritage.

“And in the field of culture, the

government has been endeavouring to

provide advanced medical treatment and

care, disease prevention and health

knowledge.”

In fact, the government laid down

and implemented the first phase of the

health promotion project that covered

the provision of about USD 21 million

worth of modern medical equipment and

the upgrading of hospitals, as necessary.

It also built modern hospitals one after

another in all the 24 special development

zones.

The second phase of the project

involves the task of providing necessary

advanced medical equipment to

hospitals.

The Head of State has been making

arrangements to provide all necessary

material assistance to hospitals, and at

the same time he is giving guidance on

health concepts and convictions.

At Kyaukse People’s Hospital in

April 2001, he gave a work guidance to

staff, urging them to warmly welcome

and treat patients with kindness; to

have welcoming spirit; and to cater

for patients with goodwill and

hospitality. All hospitals have adopted

his guidance as motto and inscribed it in

all their public places. As for health

staff, the motto suits their nature of work,

which is a meritorious way of earning

life.

Concerning the pure goodwill

towards patients, the Senior General said,

“I would like physicians to show

hospitality and kindness to the public

to the most possible degree; place

loving kindness in the fore in providing

the best treatment, while encouraging

the public to talk to, visit and get in

touch with them; and become

benefactors ensuring health and

happiness and longevity for the entire

race as all the people living in the

nation are their close relatives.”

In addition to concepts and

convictions concerning health care

services, the government has already

laid down the objective — Uplift of

health, fitness and education standards

of the entire nation — as a practical work

programme. What is important here is

the profound acceptance and energetic

implementation of the objectives,

convictions and mottos, laid down by

the government in accord with work

requirements, by all ranks in descending

order. The definition of work according

to its nature is that there will be

agreement, mutual understanding and

harmony between the upper and lower

ranks only if the subordinates have the

ability to effectively implement the tasks

in harmony and unison after realizing

the directives of the superiors with

innovation and creativity. Only then can

ideas and words be harmoniously

materialized into deeds that form as a

force for rapid advancement.

As regards the nation’s future, the

Senior General said, “The government

is in the process of ensuring health

and fitness of the people after

foreseeing and weighing up the

nation’s future from all angles.

Without health and fitness, the race

will be in danger of extinction in the

long run. We will have to strive to

offer people greater opportunities

to enjoy health and longevity.”

The Head of State is fulfilling the

requirements to develop PyinOoLwin

into a modern mountain resort. In

addition, he supervised the work of

upgrading PyinOoLwin Hospital to

become a modern 300-bed facility for

visitors to undergo medical checkup

and treatment with peace of mind while

taking an excellent vacation. The

hospital has been reinforced with new

specialists and modern equipment.

And in addition to normal wards, it

also houses suites that include a

bedroom, a dining room and a sitting-

room.

We can visualize that in future,

Mandalay and PyinOoLwin regions

will be famous as prominent places

for medical treatment.

In connection with the task of

widening the scope of health care

services and narrowing the regional

development gap, Senior General

Than Shwe said, “Due to the growing

population of the nation, it becomes

impossible for us to rely only on the

specialist hospitals in Yangon alone.

Specialist hospitals have been set

up in Mandalay too for the people

of upper Myanmar to receive

comprehensive and advanced health

care services as in Yangon. In other

words, Mandalay has been

modernized with advanced facilities

to stand as an urban centre like

Yangon.

“At the same time, health care

services are becoming more effective

and covering more areas as new

hospitals have been built and the

existing ones upgraded and extra

specialists and modern equipment

provided to them in all 24 special

development zones.”(See page 7)

“Due to the growing population of thenation, it becomes impossible for us to relyonly on the specialist hospitals in Yangonalone. Specialist hospitals have been set upin Mandalay too for the people of upperMyanmar to receive comprehensive andadvanced health care services as in Yangon.In other words, Mandalay has beenmodernized with advanced facilities tostand as an urban centre like Yangon.

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM6

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007 7

(from page 6)

Then, the government built a

specialists hospital in Mandalay,

upgraded the hospitals in the

development regions in states and

divisions, and district and township

level hospitals, and established more

station hospitals and dispensaries with

the aim of raising the health standards

of urban and rural areas in parallel.

In addition, it built a university of

traditional medicine and a 50-bed

traditional medicine hospital in

Mandalay under the guidance of the

Head of State on production of

competent traditional medicine

practitioners, extended production of

potent traditional medicines,

emergence of new therapies based on

traditional medicines, and providing

effective health care. As a result, states

and divisions have seen many

traditional hospitals and clinics, and

treatments are being given to the people

on a wider scale.

Apart from the one in Yangon,

two more medical research

departments have been opened in the

central Myanmar and upper Myanmar

to produce new medicines through

research with the use of various species

Let’s ensure health and longevityU Zaw

of herbal plants that grow in the nation,

and to conduct research on western

medical science and medicines.

During his inspection tour of the

Department of Medical Research (Upper

Myanmar) on 19 April 2007, the Head of

State gave guidance, saying that medical

research made significant contribution

towards raising health care.

Medical research departments were

to carry out research effectively to

enhance their images, he said.

It was perceived that the nations that

could do research effectively were

enjoying development, he noted.

Stressing the importance of research

and functions, he urged officials

concerned to make efforts to distribute

Myanmar medicines to the market on a

wider scale.

Inspecting PyinOoLwin Phar-

maceutical Factory, he gave guidance

on quality control of the medicines, and

speeding up production of more potent

medicines. He also gave guidance on

production of own medicines for six

diseases that are common in Myanmar—

malaria, TB, diabetes, hypertension,

dysentery and diarrhoea. It is required to

combine research and production

harmoniously.

At the same time, the government is

taking measures for extensive

development of human resources and

medical experts to provide international

level health care to the people. It opened

dental universities, universities of

pharmacy, University of Nursing and

University of Community Health in

addition to medical universities.

Moreover, it has launched MSc degrees

and PhD degrees courses along with

practical divisions, and is sending

outstanding students abroad for further

studies.

In meeting with physicians in April

1999, the Head of State said that human

resources development played a

dominant role in the drive for

improvement in the technological fields

including the health field. It was

impossible to achieve technological

development without human resources.

Then Myanmar medical science won

admiration of other nations because it

had a large number of skilled physicians,

he said.

The government not only raises the

qualifications of physicians but also

fulfills the requirements.

In meeting with specialists on 22

April 2007, the Head of State said that in

the present day, there had been such a

great change in studies that

specialization is concentrated on

subject-wise rather than generalization.

So the government was producing

specialists with added momentum.

There had been a lot of potent medicines

and medical equipment with high

performance in respective subjects, so

medical staff were to make constant

study to be able to catch up with other

countries in ever-improving medical

science subjects and to apply them

effectively.

Now technological development

and the improvement of medical

science are going together and there

have emerged a variety of potent

medicines and medical equipment.

They are effective, but expensive.

Today physicians and medicines alone

are no longer enough to cure diseases,

and it calls for combining them with

effective medical equipment

harmoniously. So medical staff are to

understand the value and effectiveness

of the medical equipment installed in

the hospitals.

Only then will it be possible for

hospitals to be able to provide better

health care and to win reliance and

trust of the people.

Medical staff at all levels are to

respond to the benevolent attitude and

goals of the government and to show

goodwill in providing health care to

the people. The government, the

people and medical staff should do

their bit to establish a better health

system for raising the health standard

and extending the life-span of the

people.

(Translation: TMT+MS)

(Myanma Alin: Kyemon: 18-5-2007)

*******

At Kyaukse People’s Hospital in April 2001, he gave a work guidance to staff,urging them to warmly welcome and treat patients with kindness; to havewelcoming spirit; and to cater for patients with goodwill and hospitality. Allhospitals have adopted his guidance as motto and inscribe it in all their publicplaces. As for health staff, the motto suits their nature of work, which is ameritorious way of earning life.

Concerning the pure goodwill towards patients, the Senior General said, “Iwould like physicians to show hospitality and kindness to the public to the mostpossible degree; place loving kindness in the fore in providing the best treatment,while encouraging the public to talk to, visit and get in touch with them; andbecome benefactors ensuring health and happiness and longevity for the entirerace as all the people living in the nation are their close relatives.”

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM7

8 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007

(from page 1)After hearing the reports, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win

said that as the government is placing emphasis onagricultural task, all the regions are to give priority to foodsufficiency. Hence, it is necessary to obtain technologicalassistance from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irriga-tion.

After inspecting tapioca plants in the farms, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win gave instructions to strive for exportingtapioca.

Next, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win and party viewed paddy

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win attends… plantations of Lashio Township PDC and local farmersand inspected development of Lashio.

They also looked into thriving physic nut andonion plantations of North-East Command Headquar-ters. Afterwards, they inspected Lashio-Mongyai-Tangyan Road. They attended opening ceremonies ofNampaung-Namma Creek Bridge between Lashio andHsipaw townships, the 20-kilowatt hydropower station inKonpaung Village and 50-kilowatt hydropower station inNamma (Wampon) Village.

Chairman of Lashio District PDC U Khin MaungTun and wellwisher Managing Director U Thein Myint ofNgweyi Pale Co formally opened the bridge. The com-

pany spent K 120 million on construction of the bridge.Chairman of Kyaukme District PDC U Ba Win

and wellwisher Managing Director U Thein Myint for-mally opened the 20-kilowatt hydropower station inKonpaung Village. The company spent K 20 million onconstruction of the power station that can supply electric-ity to 150 houses from Mauktaung and Konpaung vil-lages.

At the ceremony, wellwisher U Thein Myintexplained the purpose of the donations.

Speaking on the occasion, Lt-Gen Kyaw Winsaid that the government is undertaking five rural devel-opment tasks to uplift living standards of the rural people.He praised the local people for their participation in theregional development tasks, while the government isstriving for narrowing the development gap between ruraland urban areas. Later, he expressed gratitude for dona-tions of the wellwisher.

Wellwisher Managing Director U Thein Myintof Ngweyi Pale Co handed over documents related tothe bridge and the 20-kilowatt power station to Chair-man of Kyaukme District PDC U Ba Win and docu-ments related to the 50-kilowatt power station to HsipawTownship PDC Chairman U Khin Kyi.

Next, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win, the commander andparty attended the ceremony to launch the 50-kilowatthydropower station near Wamlon (Namma) Village inHsipaw Township. They viewed installation of turbinesand generation of hydropower.

Ngweyi Pale Co spent K 50 million on construc-tion of the power station to supply electricity to 250houses from Tamlon, Naungnwe, Narnan, Peinhsaingand Narnwe villages of the township.

Later, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win, the commander andparty went back to Lashio.

MNA

YANGON, 18 May— The insurgents arecommitting destructiveacts through variousmeans with the intentionof undermining stability ofthe State, communitypeace and tranquility, andrule of law.

About 50 insur-gents of SSA-S Ywet Sitinsurgent group forciblytook 27 residents and twounidentified men ofMatmon Mone village,Namsang Township, ShanState (South), while theywere watching a video playin a video house in the vil-lage together with othervillagers at about 10.30 pmon 16 May.

The residentsforcibly taken were AikCho (age-13), Thiha (age-17), Panno (age-14),Mulain (age-14), Andaka(age-16), U Su San (age-43), Aik Thone (age-15),U Lone Ti (age-48), AikAut (age-22), Na Lein

SSA-S Ywet Sit insurgent group commits forcedrecruitment, extorts money in Matmon Mone,

Parlin village in Namsang TownshipTatmadaw columns in hot pursuit of insurgent groups

YANGON, 18 May—Jointly organized byNikon Singapore Pte Ltdand Special Style Photo &Electronics, a ceremonyto introduce new modelsof Nikon digital cameratook place at the ballroomof the Traders Hotel thismorning, attended by salesagents, professionalphotographers andmediamen.

Managing Director UMaung Maung Win ofSpecial Style Photo &Electronics extendedgreetings, and Sales andMarketing Manager MrNumako of Nikon

New models of Nikon digitalcamera introduced

Singapore Pte Ltddelivered an openingaddress.

Next, SeniorExecutive Mr William Leeof Asia Technical Office,Nikon Singapore gaveaccounts of new D 40 andD 40x models NikonDSLR Nikon cameras andspare parts are availableat camera sales centres instates and divisions.Special Style Photo &

Electronics, the sole agentin Myanmar, distributesNikon cameras under ayear warranty.

Contact Nikoncamera sales centre, No-W1 Gyobyu street, Westwing of Aung SanStadium, MingalarTaungnyunt Township,Ph: 386935, 252953 ande-mail: nikon@myanmar.com.mm.

MNA

(age-18), Aik Lyan (age-18), Aik Lon (age-23),Aik Ninay (age-17),Seitta (age-14). SeindaLun, (age-28), Aik PeLyan (age-15), Kawwi(age-28), Nandaw (age-17), Aikman (age-16),Aik Maung (age-13), AikLun (age-12), Aik Maung(age-15), Kaung Wein(age-18), Aik Pya (age-23), Na Lein (age-17),Aik Oo (age-25) and NaLein (age-13).

Among them, atotal of ten teenageboys— one 12-year-old,three 13-year old, three14-year-old and three 15-year-old— were taken bythe insurgents. Althoughthe insurgents have saidthat they have not forc-ibly recruited children tothe group, it is found thatthey are committing suchacts in order to do moredestructive acts.

Likewise, about20 insurgents led by

Monkhe of SSA-S YwetSit Group arrived atParlin village of MatMone village-tract inNamsang Township atabout 10 pm on the sameday. They extorted K500,000 from passengerson a trollergy onK e n g t w a n g - P a r l i t -Namsang road.

On receiving theinformation, Tatmadawcolumns in cooperationwith local people are inhot pursuit of the insur-gent groups.—MNA

Mr William Lee introduces new D 40 and

D 40x models Nikon DSLR digital

camera. — MNA

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win inspects Nampaung-Namma concrete bridge.—MNA

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM8

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007 9

Commander Maj-Gen Hla Htay Win views winnowing of paddy in Hlegu Township.—MNA

USDA Secretariat Member U Aung Thaung, CEC members MinisterMaj-Gen Thein Swe and Minister Maj-Gen Aung Min cut the ribbon to

open bridge in Thitpokpin Village. (News on page 16) —MNA

USDA Secretariat Member Minister Brig-Gen Thein Zaw, CEC membersMinister Brig-Gen Maung Maung Thein and Minister Brig-Gen Thein

Aung formally inaugurate auto-exchange of Thitpokpin Village.(News on page 16) —MNA

Barlar high yield paddy plantation under supervision near Yangon-Bago RoadYANGON, 17 May —

Chairman of YangonDivision Peace andDevelopment CouncilCommander of YangonCommand Maj-Gen HlaHtay Win inspected 80acres of Barlar high yieldpaddy plantation beingundertaken by YangonCommand near the junctionof Yangon-Bago Road andNo 3 Highway betweenMingaladon and HleguTownships this morning.

The commander viewedthreshing of paddy on 80acres of land with the use ofpaddy thresher VPT-5imported by Rainbow Coand preparations forharvesting the remainingpaddy plantation. He gave

instructions on supervisionto be made for minimizingloss and wastage in

harvesting paddy, use ofharvesters, threshers anddryers, measures to be taken

for protecting againstflooding at paddy plantations,records to be put on high

yield paddy strains andutilization of natural andchemical fertilizers.

Paddy Thresher VPT-5 can thresh 100 baskets ofpaddy per hour. — MNA

Bridge, auto-exchange office inaugurated…(from page 16)

During his trip to thevillage on 28 February lastyear, residents told himthat the village’s main re-quirements was a bridgespanning a creek flowingacross the village and anauto-exchange office, hesaid. The dream of resi-

dents do come true today,he said.

In conclusion, heurged the local people tobe loyal to the State and toparticipate in implement-ing the rural areas devel-opment tasks togetherwith members of theUSDA.

On behalf of localpeople, a resident spokewords of thanks for con-struction of the bridge andestablishment of the auto-exchange office.

Ministers U AungThaung, Maj-Gen TheinSwe and Maj-Gen AungMin formally opened the

bridge.Afterwards, the com-

mander and party strolledalong the bridge and vis-ited the village.

Next, openingceremon of the auto-ex-change office was held infront of the office. Minis-ters Brig-Gen Thein Zaw,

Brig-Gen Maung MaungThein and Brig-Gen TheinAung formally opened theauto-exhange office.

MNA

NAY PYI TAW, 18 May— Minister for TransportMaj-Gen Thein Swereceived five-memberseismic site survey team ledby Vice-Engineer Mr ChenHuzhong of NationalEarthquake Infrastructure

Transport Minister receives Chinese seismological teamService of ChinaEarthquake Administration(CEA) at the meeting roomof the ministry, here, thisafternoon.

Present also at the callwere Deputy Minister forTransport Col Nyan Tun

Aung and officials ofMeteorology andHydrology Departmentunder the ministry. Theydiscussed the matters relatedto establishing two seismicstations and a seismic datacentre in Myanmar. — MNA

Myanmar-India friendly volleyball match continuesYANGON, 18 May — Myanmar-India

friendly volleyball match continued atNational Indoor Stadium No 1 (Thuwunna)this afternoon.

Among the spectators wereChairperson Daw Aye Aye of CentralWorking Committee of MyanmarWomen’s Sports Federation andresponsible persons, Vice-President UThein Win of Myanmar Volleyball

Federation and executives, guests and govolleyball fans.

In the match of fifth day, Myanmarselected volleyball team of MVF won overIndia University Champion volleyball teamwith 3-0.

Myanmar selected volleyball team wonin all five matches against India UniversityChampion.

MNA

Chinese delegation visits MRTVYANGON, 18 May — A

4-member delegation ledby Director-General MrYang Jianguo of GuangxiZhuang AutonomousRegion Bureau of Radio,Film and Television of thePeople’s Republic of Chinavisited Myanma Radio and

Television on Pyay Road,here, this morning.

Director-General UKhin Maung Htay ofMRTV explained mattersrelated to the MRTV.

The delegationmembers viewed thedemonstration on recording

of sound on the Myanmarfine arts at the RecordingStudio (D) of the RadioMyanmar and thedemonstration onMyanmar traditionaldances and songs at theStudio (1) of the TVMyanmar. — MNA

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM9

10 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007

Members of a specialgroup of Mexico’s

Federal InvestigativeAgency (AFI) take part

in an anti-narcoticsoperation in the Gustavo

A Madero district inMexico City on 16 May,2007. The operation is

part of an ongoingcampaign aimed at

reducing Mexico City’scrime problem.

INTERNET

2nd ASEAN “WEN” conferenceto be held in Indonesia

JAKARTA, 17 May—Association of South-EastAsian Nations (ASEAN)will hold its 2nd WildlifeLaw Enforcement Net-work (WEN) conferenceat the Safari Park (TSI) inBogor, West Java pro-vince of Indonesia, on 21-24 May.

Officials fromASEAN’s 10 membercountries as well as 100participants outside the

grouping will attend theforum, the IndonesianForestry Ministry said ina release issued hereWednesday.

ASEAN groups BruneiDarussalam, Cambodia,Indonesia, Malaysia,Myanmar, Laos, Singa-pore, Thailand, thePhilippines, and Vietnam.

The observers wouldcome from Australia,China, Japan, Nepal, the

United States as well assome international agen-cies. ASEAN WEN wasset up in Bangkok in 2005to uphold laws onendangered flora andfauna. Police, Customsand excise offices,attorney general’s offices,forestry offices andconservation agencies inthe 10 ASEAN membercountries are members ofthe network.

ASEAN WEN bearsthe mission of cementingties among law enforcersin their efforts to eradicateillegal trading in en-dangered flora and fauna.

The first ASEANWEN meeting was held inBangkok last year.

MNA/Xinhua

US actors Chris Rock(L) and Jerry

Seinfeld, dressed in abumble bee costume,

pose during aphotocall on the

Carlton Hotel pierfor DreamWorksAnimation’s “BeeMovie” during the60th Cannes Film

Festival on 17 May,2007. — INTERNET

Endangered turtle found inMekong in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, 17 May—A colony of one of theworld’s largest turtles hasbeen found in a remotestretch of the Mekong inCambodia, raising hopesthe species can be savedfrom extinction, environ-mentalists said onWednesday. Scientists ofConservation Inter-national (CI), WWF andCambodia’s fisheriesdepartment said they hadcaught and freed an 11kilogrammes (24 pounds)female Asian giant soft-shell turtle during a survey

of the river in March. They also found the

turtles’ nesting ground ina riverbank in thenortheastern province ofStung Treng, around 180kilometres (115 miles)north of Phnom Penh.“This incredible discoverymeans that a unique turtlecan be saved fromdisappearing from ourplanet,” CI biologistDavid Emmett said in astatement.

“We thought it might

be almost gone but foundit in abundance in this onepristine stretch of theMekong, making the areathe world’s most im-portant site for saving thisparticular species,” hesaid. The turtle, whichspends 95 per cent of itslife hidden in sand or mudwith only its eyes and noseshowing, can grow up totwo metres (six feet) longand weigh more than 50kilogrammes (110 po-unds). — MNA/Reuters

NATO troops wound six AfghansFloods kill dozens, destroyhouses in Afghan northeast

KABUL, 17 May—Floods triggered by heavy rainshave killed at least 24 people and destroyed more than800 homes in Afghanistan’s northeastern BadakhshanProvince, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

Several other people have gone missing since thedownpour started overnight and hit various parts of theremote and impoverished province on the border withChina, Pakistan and Tajikistan, the ministry said.

It urged local and foreign aid groups to help thevictims. After years of successive harsh drought,Afghanistan had heavy snow and rainfall this year.

Several hundred people have died mostly fromfloods in recent months in various parts of the country.

MNA/Reuters

Two killed in attack onBaghdad’s Green Zone

BAGHDAD, 17 May—Two Iraqis were killed and 10other people wounded when 10 mortar rounds slammedinto the heavily fortified Green Zone compound incentral Baghdad on Wednesday, a US Embassyspokesman said.

Few details were available about those killed in thesecond attack on the zone in two days, but none of thecasualties were embassy employees or contractors, thespokesman said.

Of the 10 injured, eight were identified as Iraqis.The nationality of the remaining two was not clear butthey were neither Americans nor Iraqis.

Insurgents have recently stepped up mortar androcket attacks on the zone, which Houses Parliament,many government ministries, the US Embassy andother foreign missions.

Five US Embassy contract workers were hurt onTuesday when at least one round landed in the zone.Earlier this month, four US Government contractors,all from Asia, were killed in a rocket strike.

Sunni Arab insurgents fighting US forces in Iraqhave claimed responsibility for mortar attacks on theGreen Zone, which housed Saddam Hussein’s mainPresidential Palace until he was toppled in a US invasionin 2003. — MNA/Reuters

KABUL, 17 May—NATO troops wounded sixAfghan civilians in the southern Kandahar Provinceon Tuesday night, a health official said Wednesday.

“Some NATO troops, who were patrolling onTuesday night in Kandahar City, the provincial capital,opened fire on civilians and wounded six of them,”Abdul Qayum Pakhla, Director of Public Health inKandahar City, told Xinhua. The incident occurredbetween 11:00 pm(1830 GMT) and 11:30 pm(1900GMT), he said.

All the six people were under medical treatmentcurrently in a hospital in the city. Provincial governorAssadullah Khalid also confirmed the incident, butdeclined to say if there were any civilian casualties.

MNA/Xinhua

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer launches Windows Vista and 2007 Office at astore in New York on 30 Jan, 2007 file photo. Microsoft Corp said on

Wednesday 16 May ,2007 the growth opportunity for its Office softwaredivision is better than it was seven years ago, because the company is

positioned to expand into new business areas. — INTERNET

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM10

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007 11

350i/-

Nepali jounalist sets recordby scaling Mt Everest KATHMANDU, 18 May— Nepali journalist Kami

Sherpa has made journalists proud by successfullyscaling the Mt Everest the highest peak of the world,the national news agency RSS reported on Wednesday.

Nepal Television journalist Sherpa stepped onthe peak on Wednesday morning. Sherpa, 29, reachedthe highest peak by leading “Nepal Television LionsEverest (Qomolangma) Expedition-2007”, the RSSreported.

Sherpa has long been serving Nepal Televisionand used to file many news reports especially onmountaineering expeditions of the Mt Everest.

MNA/Xinhua

US minority population tops 100 mlnATLANTA, 18 May — The number of people in the United States from

ethnic or racial minorities has risen to more than 100 million, or around onethird of the population, according to a US Census Bureau report on Thursday.

Over 700 bombs captured incentral Thailand

BANGKOK, 18 May — Thai police on Thursdayafternoon captured more than 700 sets of powerfulbombs at a residence in central province of Saraburiwhich is only 100 kilometres from the capital Bangkok.

A squad of policemen raided the house inMuang District of Saraburi on Thursday afternoonafter got clues from informants. A total of 700 sets ofPower Gel explosive were found in the house, a policeofficer told Xinhua.

The owner of the explosive was also detainedby the police and was rushed to Bangkok forinvestigation.

The officer said the power of all the explosivecould blow down a whole mountain.

MNA/Xinhua

Amazon launches MP3 store, playingcatchup with iTunes

BEIJING , 17 May —Amazon.com said onWednesday the companywill launch a digital musicstore later in 2007, sellingonly music tracks free ofcopy protection.

Amazon will beauthorized to sell themusic catalog of EMIMusic Group andotherrecord companies wouldfollow, according to mediareports.

Experts aredismissing this move as asecond-rate effort aimed

at shadowing Apple’siTunes service.

“The announce-ment is a carbon copy ofApple’s deal with EMI,”said Gene Munster, ananalyst with PiperJaffray.“Amazon will offer thesame DRM-free tracks asiTunes, and therefore willhave no competitiveadvantage over Apple.”

Amazon founderand chief executive, JeffBezos said: “Our MP3-

only strategy means all themusic that customers buyon Amazon is alwaysDRM-free and plays onany device.”

Digital RightsManagement, or DRM,locks digital tracks so thatthey can not be copiedfrom mobiles to laptopsor to friends’ devices.

Amazon has notyet determined pricing persong or per album.

Internet

The minoritiesfigure stood at 100.7million, up from 98.3million a year earlier.Within that, the Hispanicpopulation was the fastestgrowing at a rate of 3.4per cent between July2005 and July 2006.

Hispanics werealso the largest minoritygroup, accounting for 44.3million people on 1 July,2006, or 14.8 per cent ofthe overall US population

which, according tocensus data released inOctober 2006, stood atmore than 300 million.

The United Statesprides itself as a countrybuilt on successive wavesof immigration, with theStatue of Liberty in NewYork a powerful symbolof the welcome toimmigrants. But thenation remains dividedover the subject.

Lawmakers have

been struggling to comeup with a formulaproviding tougher borderand workplaceenforcement whileaddressing the status ofsome 11 million illegalimmigrants who live andwork in the shadows.

“About one inthree US residents is aminority,” said CensusBureau Director LouisKincannon.

MNA/Reuters

Myanmar Basketball Federation PresidentProf. Dr Sein Myint presents championship shield

to Yangon Division team.—NLM

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM11

12 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007

Beijing to impose higher downtownparking fees

Clashes in Iraq’s Shiitesouth kill eight

Pino stands with its mother in Le Cornelle naturepark, northern Italy on 16 May, 2007. Pino was

born in the park on 18 March , and came out of itsmother’s pouch about two weeks ago, according to

the staff of the nature park. — XINHUA

AIR BAGAN LIMITED

❖ Must be Single and Myanmar National

❖ At least Basic Education High School Exam Passed

❖ University Degree considered as asset

❖ Age between 18 and 24 years as at 8th June, 2007

❖ For female, height between 5'4" and 5'8", weight to be proportionate

to height

❖ For male, height between 5'6" and above, weight to be proportionate to height

❖ Able to read, write, understand and speak English language fluently,

Second language is compulsory

❖ Positive disposition, caring attitude, smart personality, excellent

verbal communications and interpersonal skills

❖ Mental capacity to read documents, follow instructions, learn and

understand company procedures, rules and regulations.

❖ Able to attend 8 weeks of initial training before confirmation of

employment

Interested persons may personally apply to Air Bagan Head Office not

later than 8th June, 2007 at 4:30 pm together with the following:

Curriculum vitae, qualification papers including Basic Education High

School Certificate, Criminal Clearance from police department, one

recent color full-length photograph and one passport size photograph,

NRC copy.

Only short-listed applicant will be notified.

Please send your application to : Air Bagan Limited, No. 56, Shwe Taung

Gyar Street, Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar.

Phone: 01-513299, 513422, 504273, 514861, 513322

CLAIMS DAY NOTICEMV BANG SRI MUANG VOY NO (61)

Consignees of cargo carried on MV BANG SRIMUANG VOY NO (61) are hereby notified that thevessel will be arriving on 19.5.2007 and cargo will bedischarged into the premises of M.I.P where it will lieat the consignee’s risk and expenses and subject to thebyelaws and conditions of the Port of Yangon.

Damaged cargo will be surveyed daily from 8 amto 11:20 am and 12 noon to 4 pm up to Claims Day nowdeclared as the third day after final discharge of cargofrom the vessel.

No claims against this vessel will be admitted afterthe Claims Day.

SHIPPING AGENCY DEPARTMENTMYANMA PORT AUTHORITY

AGENT FOR: M/S WONGSAMUT OCEANSHIPPING CO., LTD

Phone No: 256916/256919/256921

OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME A MEMBER OF

THE AIR BAGAN FAMILY

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR CABIN CREW

(Qualifications and Requirements)

BEIJING, 17 May—Beijing authorities are toraise downtown parking feesby 150 per cent to discouragemotorists from driving intothe congested city centre.

Motorists will have topay five yuan (0.6 US dollar)per hour instead of two yuan(0.25 US dollar) for parkingclose to downtowncommercial areas, said asource with the BeijingMunicipal Reform andDevelopment Com-mittee.He said the price hike wouldbe adopted this year, thoughauthorities were yet to workout the exact timetable.

But the rise would notapply to parking in theouter areas or residentialareas where the motoristspaid 150 yuan (19 USdollars) a month to securea parking space, he said.

Most of Beijing’sunderground parks chargefive yuan per hour, but aroadside parking spacecosts only two yuan. As a

result, few people drivedirectly into an under-ground park and cars liningup for roadside parks oftenadd to congestion ondowntown roads.

In an effort to diverttraffic from the city centre,the authorities are planningto build more and cheaperparks in some outerregions where motoristscan switch to the subwayfor the second leg of their

trip to work. The cheapestof these parks shouldhopefully cost just twoyuan for a whole day, thegovernment said earlier.Urban road transport hasreached a crisis point inBeijing, with 90 per centof roads operating at fullcapacity and little room forexpansion, according to asurvey by the city's roadtraffic managementbureau.—MNA/Xinhua

Apple updates MacBookBEIJING, 16 May — Apple announced on Tuesday

that it has updated its MacBook laptops with fasterprocessors, more memory and more hard-drive space.

The new MacBooks come in three models — allinclude a built-in iSight video camera and the latestgeneration of 802.11n wireless networking.

“Our Mac business is doing just great right now andthe MacBook is a huge part of that,” said Todd Benjamin,Apple’s dir-ector, Portables Product Marketing. Quotingdata from market research firm NPD, Benjamin saidthat Apple now holds more than 10 percent of the USnotebook market.

Internet

NASIRIYA (Iraq), 17May — Clashes betweenmilitias loyal to Shiitecleric Moqtada al-Sadr andIraqi forces killed eightpeople and wounded 40 inthe southern city ofNasiriya on Wednesday,hospital and police sourcessaid. Saadi al-Majad,director of the NasiriyaHospital, said three Iraqi

soldiers were among thedead. A city official whodid not want to be identifiedput the death toll at 10.

A police lieutenant saidMehdi Army militiasclashed with Iraqi forcesafter police arrested twomilitiamen on Tuesday onsuspicion they weremembers of a team plantingroadside bombs. Witnessesin Nasiriya, 375 kilometres(235 miles) south ofBaghdad, said the fightingerupted before dawn.Fighting eased by noon afterthe militias withdrew fromthe city’s centre.

MNA/Reuters

UN announces 2008 as Int’l Year of Languages UNITED NATIONS, 18

May — The UN GeneralAssembly announced onWednesday 2008 as theInternational Year ofLanguages, in an effort topromote unity in diversityand international under-standing.

Acting without a vote,the 192-member Assem-bly adopted a resolutionby consensus, recognizingthat the world bodypursues multilingualismas a means of promoting,protecting and preservingdiversity of languages andcultures globally.

It emphasized “theparamount importance ofthe equality of theorganization’s six officiallanguages” — Arabic,Chinese, English, French,Russian and Spanish.

The Assemblyrequested UN Chief BanKi-moon to ensure that

all language services weregiven equal treatment andwere provided withequally favourableworking conditions andresouarces.

The Secretary-General was alsorequested to complete thetask of publishing allimportant older UNdocuments on theorganization’s website inall six official languages,

on a priority basis. The Assembly also

emphasized theimportance of makingappropriate use of all theofficial languages in allthe activities of theDepartment of PublicInformation, with the aimof eliminating the dis-parity between the use ofEnglish and the use of thefive other official lan-guages.— MNA/Xinhua

Two S Koreansdie scalingMt Everest

KATHMANDU, 18 May —Two South Koreanmountaineers died onWednesday on Mt Everestwhile trying to find a newroute to the world's highestpeak via its southwest wall,The Himalayan Timesreported on Thursday.

Oh Hee-Joon, 37, andLee Hyum-Jo, 35, bothmembers of a team led bySouth Korea's famousalpinist Park Young-Seok,died after being hit by fallingrocks, according to thedaily.

"We confirmed Oh andLee's deaths from Park overthe phone in the afternoonand their bodies werecollected," a South KoreanAlpinist Federation officialwas quoted by the daily assaying.

MNA/Xinhua

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM12

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007 13

pvaer;®Pc\. eKt\m^P∑M>‘Pi;tui;tk\eqa Nuic\cMeta\”k; tv\eSak\AM.

BEIJING, 16 May —Men who take too manyvitamins may increase therisk of dying from prostatecancer, according toresearchers at the USNational Cancer InstituteWednesday.

The researchers foundthat men who exceeded therecommended dose —taking more than sevenmultivitamins a week —increased the risk ofadvanced cancer by about

Elephants graze in northern Kenya in a file photo. The elephant, the world’slargest land mammal, is being threatened with global extinction by a

“rampant trade” in ivory on the eBay online auction site, animal welfarecampaigners said on 15 May, 2007. — INTERNET

A guard walks past a television set equipped with a liquid crystal display(LCD) by LG. Philips at a store in Seoul, in this 12 Jan, 2006 file photo. Flatscreen maker LG. Philips LCD expects prices of its television panels to fall ata much slower pace this year on stronger demand and limited output growth,

a company executive said on 17 May, 2007. — INTERNET

A model displays an auto in-dash navigation systemin Las Vegas, Nevada, on 6 Jan, 2007. — INTERNET

Too many vitamins increaseprostate cancer risk

30 percent.The study tracked the

diet and health of almost300,000 men over fiveyears to see if there was alink between multivita-min use and prostatecancer.

About a third reportedtaking a daily multivita-min, and 5 percent wereheavy users, swallowingthe pills more than seventimes a week.

Within five years ofthe study’s start, 10,241men had been diagnosedwith prostate cancer.Some 1,476 had advan-ced cancer; 179 died.

Overall, the resear-chers found no linkbetween multivitamin useand early-stage prostatecancer.

“We didn’t see anyrelationship with overallprostate cancer,” said DrMichael Leitzmann, aNational Cancer Instituteinvestigator who worked

on the study.He said the increased

risk from overuse ofmultivitamins was linkedto more aggressive cancerthat has spread beyond theprostate gland or cancerthat proved fatal.

The researchers specu-lated that perhaps high-dose vitamins had littleeffect until a tumorappeared, and then couldspur its growth.

While similar butsmaller studies havesuggested a link too, morerigorous research isneeded, cautioned theresearchers.

This newest studyinvolved men whovoluntarily took vitamins,and those most at risk —perhaps because they hada family history of thedisease — may have beenmore likely to take the pillsin hopes of avoiding theirfate.

Internet

BEIJING, 17 May — Taking aspirin may reducerisk of giving birth prematurely and of potentiallyfatal complications for mothers-to-be, according toa research published in The Lancet journal onThurdsay.

Pre-eclampsia is marked by a sudden increase inblood pressure after 20 weeks and can be fatal to themother and baby.

The study of more than 32,000 birthsfound thatthe risks of pre-eclampsia fell by 10 percent inthose women taking aspirin or other anti-plateletdrugs.

The risk of giving birth before 34 weeks or havinga pregnancy with a “severe adverse outcome” fell bythe same amount, according to the research.

Lelia Duley, professor of obstetric epidemiology atthe University of Leeds, andLisa Askie, of theUniversity of Sydney, combined the results of 31studies to produce the largest and most detailed studyto date.

US experts commenting on the research say aspirinuse would be best reserved for high-risk women whohave had pre-eclampsia before, and not recommendedfor all.

Internet

WASHINGTON, 17 May— Vast areas of snow inAntarctica melted in 2005when temperatureswarmed up for a week inthe summer in a processthat may accelerateinvisible melting deepbeneath the surface,NASA said on Tuesday.

A new analysis ofsatellite data showed thatan area the size ofCalifornia melted andthen refroze — the mostsignificant thawing in 30years, the US spaceagency said.

Unlike the Arctic,Antarctica has shownlittle to no warming in therecent past with theexception of the AntarcticPeninsula, where icesheets have been breakingapart.

Son Nghiem ofNASA’s Jet PropulsionLaboratory in Pasadena,California and KonradSteffen of the Universityof Colorado in Boulder

Aspirin may reducepregnancy problems

Satellite finds big area of Antarctica snow melted in 2005measured snowfallaccumulation and melt inAntarctica from July 1999through July 2005.

They found evidenceof melting in several areas,including high elevationsand far inland in Januaryof 2005, when temper-

atures got as high as 41degrees F (5 degrees C).

“Increases in snow-melt, such as this in 2005,definitely could have animpact on larger scalemelting of Antarctica’sice sheets if they weresevere or sustained over

time,” Steffen said in astatement.

“Water from meltedsnow can penetrate intoice sheets through cracksand narrow, tubularglacial shafts calledmoulins,” Steffen added.

MNA/Reuters

New Delhi records43 degrees Celsius

NEW DELHI, 18 May — Wednesday which hasseen the temperature hit 43 degrees Celsius in theIndian capital city of New Delhi is the hottest dayof this season.

It is also the hottest May 16 in the last fiveyears. Last year, New Delhi recorded a maximumof 38 degrees Celsius on this day, according to theIndia Meteorological Department.

The Indian capital recorded a maximum of42.7 degrees Celsius Tuesday.

The department said that the capital city mayexperience a few spells of rain accompanied bysquall till Thursday evening.

MNA/Xinhua

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM13

14 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007

S P O R T S Roma lift Italian Cup 7-4 on aggregate MILAN, 18 May — AS Roma won the Italian Cup on Thursday

after a 2-1 defeat at holders Inter Milan gave them a 7-4 aggregatevictory.

Inter, who have missed out on a second successive league and cupdouble, produced a spirited display but Roma's extraordinary 6-2victory in last week's first leg proved too much.

Roberto Mancini's side had defeated Roma in the previous twofinals but will have to make do with the league championship thisseason.

In-form Argentine striker Hernan Crespo arched his neck to scorewith a delightful header from Maicon's cross early in the secondperiod to give the home side the lead.

Substitute Julio Cruz, who entered the fray in the first half for theinjured Patrick Vieira, then slid in Luis Figo's pass on 56 minutes tospark hopes of an improbable comeback.

But it was never really on and the frustration boiled over forMancini, who was sent from the dugout for protesting midwaythrough the second half.

MNA/Reuters

Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates apoint during his match against IgorAndreev of Russia at the HamburgMasters Tennis tournament in Ham-burg on 17 May , 2007. Nadal won the match 6-4 ,6-1. — INTERNET

Natalie Gulbis of the US hits from the 13th fairwayduring round one of the LPGA Sybase Classic at

the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton,New Jersey, on 17 May , 2007. — INTERNET

Superfund Pasching's ManuelOrtlechner (L) challenges Rapid Vien-na's Markus Katzer during their Aus-trian League soccer match in Vienna on 17 May , 2007. — INTERNET

Nadia Petrova of Russia retires injuredduring the match against her compa-triot Elena Dementieva at the ItalianOpen tennis tournament in Rome on 17 May , 2007.— INTERNET

Malaysia's Norhafiz Zawani Misbah (R) fights for theball with Sydney FC's Nikolas Tsattalios during theirfriendly soccer match in Sydney on 16 May , 2007.

INTERNET

Mourinho arrested in Dog row

Italy striker Toni to have foot surgery MILAN, 18 May — Italy striker Luca Toni will have

surgery in the next few days to clear up a foot problem,his club Fiorentina said on Thursday. "In considerationof Luca Toni's painful metatarsal, it has been decided toproceed with surgery in the coming days," said a state-ment on Fiorentina's website (www.acffiorentina.it).

The club gave no indication of how long he wouldbe out for but the player, who has been linked with amove to Bayern Munich in media reports, is certain tomiss the last two games of the Serie A season withFiorentina on the brink of UEFA Cup qualification.

MNA/Reuters

LONDON, 17 May —Chelsea manager JoseMourinho has been arrestedin a row with police offic-ers over his dog, a policesource said on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old Portu-guese soccer boss was heldlate on Tuesday after ananimal health official andtwo police officers went tohis central London home toremove his dog, the Sunnewspaper reported.

The paper said the offi-cial wanted to put the doginto quarantine, believingit had been taken out ofBritain and then broughtback without the necessaryinoculations.

It said Mourinho refusedto let the official take thedog and was arrested ataround 10 pm after arguingwith police.

The Sun said Mourinhohad been at Chelsea'splayer of the year awardsand rushed home when hewas called by his wifeTami.

Police left without re-covering the dog, which theSun said was now on theloose.

A Scotland Yardspokesman said: "A 44-year-old man was arrestedon suspicion of obstructingpolice. He subsequentlyreceived a caution for ob-structing police."

He said an officer fromthe Animal Health andWelfare Service had gonewith police officers to seizethe dog because of allegedoffences under the 1981Animal Health Act and the1974 Rabies Order.

MNA/Reuters

Kaka, Ronaldinho leave Dunga juggling hot potato RIO DE JANEIRO, 18 May — Brazil coach

Dunga was left juggling a hot potato onThursday as he tried to explain why Kakaand Ronaldinho's request for a holiday didnot clash with his demands for commit-ment.

Kaka and Ronaldinho have both askedto skip the Copa America in Venezuela onthe grounds that they are tired after a longseason in Europe.

Dunga has said since taking over thathe wants players to feel that playing fortheir country is a privilege and an honour.

On Thursday, he struggled to avoidcontradicting himself as he not only justi-fied Kaka and Ronaldinho's requests butalso included them for the friendlies againstEngland and Turkey in early June.

To add to the dilemma, Dunga, whocaptained Brazil to World Cup victory in1994 and the runners-up place four yearslater, admitted he never dreamt of making

a similar request in his own playing days. "There was one match when I was play-

ing for a club in Japan. They said I couldplay for Brazil on the Wednesday as longas I was back in Japan for a match onSaturday," he said.

"I remember that I arrived back at mid-day and played in the game six hours later.

"There's nothing like wearing the Bra-zil shirt, when you see that everyone, fromdoctors and dentists to building workers,are all on the same side, rooting for theteam and wanting the same thing.

"(Former coach Mario) Zagallo alwayssaid that the Brazil shirt was a second skinand that's how I felt."

Known for his never-say-die attitude asa player, Dunga was brought in last year asa response to Brazil's lacklustre perform-ance at the World Cup when the team wasseen as lacking spirit and ambition.

MNA/Reuters

Kuznetsova battles throughto quarterfinals

ROME, 18 May — Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsovahad to work harder than expected to reach the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Thursday when she easedpast Yuliana Fedak of the Ukraine 7-6, 6-1.

Kuznetsova, the highest-ranking player left in theclaycourt tournament after the elimination of top seedAmelie Mauresmo on Wednesday, twice failed to serveout for the first set and was 4-1 down in the tiebreak beforefinding her rhythm.

Fedak, ranked 138 in the world, had entered the maindraw only as a lucky loser from qualifying.

"It was very hard for me. This is my third week in a rowplaying tennis and I felt so uncomfortable on the ball in thefirst set, so it was very frustrating," Kuznetsova said at thecourtside.

"But I knew I could play better, so I just tried toconcentrate and in the end I started to play better."

Kuznetsova's reward was a last-eight meeting againstlast year's Rome runner-up, Russian Dinara Safina, whobeat Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-2, 6-3.

In the other half of the draw, third seed Jelena Jankovicadvanced by edging out Bondarenko's older sister Alona6-4, 7-5 to set up a last eight meeting with 10th seed ElenaDementieva.

Dementieva's opponent, fellow Russian and fifth seedNadia Petrova, retired with a back problem at 4-3 and 15-0 down in the first set.— MNA/Reuters

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM14

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Saturday, 19 May, 2007 15

Friday, 18 May, 2007Summary of observations recorded at 09:30 hours

MST: During the past 24 hours, rain or thundershowers havebeen scattered in Kayah State and Mandalay Division, fairlywidespread in Kachin and Rakhine States, upper Sagaing,Mandalay, Magway, Ayeyawady and Taninthayi Divisionsand widespread in the remaining areas with isolated heavyfallsin lower Sagaing and Magway Divisions. Day temperatureswere (3ºC) to (4ºC) below May average temperature in RakhineState, Bago, Yangon and lower Sagaing Divisions, (5ºC)below May average temperature in upper Sagaing Division,(7ºC) to (8ºC) below May average temperature in Kachin andShan States and (3ºC) above May average temperature inTaninthayi Division and about May average temperature in theremaining areas. The noteworthy amounts of rainfall re-corded were Myinmu (3.46) inches, Mogok (2.13) inches,Minkin (2.05) inches, Thaton (1.97) inches, Maungdaw (1.65)inches, Taungdwigyi and Dawei (1.50) inches each andMonywa (0.91) inch.

Maximum temperature on 17-5-2007 was 88°F. Mini-mum temperature on 18-5-2007 was 77°F. Relative humidityat 09:30 hours MST on 18-5-2007 was 79%. Total sunshinehours on 17-5-2007 was (3.4) hour approx.

Rainfall on 18-5-2007 was (0.35) inch at Mingaladon,(0.43) inch at Kaba-Aye, (0.20) inch at Central Yangon. Totalrainfall since 1-1-2007 was (20.51) inches at Mingaladon,(24.37) inches at Kaba-Aye and (22.72) inches at CentralYangon. Maximum wind speed at Yangon (Kaba-Aye) was(4) mph from Southwest at (08:30) hours MST on 18-5-2007.

Bay inference: Monsoon in moderate to strong in theAndaman Sea and South Bay and weather is partly cloudy tocloudy elsewhere in the Bay of Bengal.

Forecast valid until evening of 19-5-2007: Rain orthundershowers will be scattered in Kayah State, Mandalayand Magway Divisions, fairly wiedspread in Kachin and ShanStates, Sagaing and Ayeyawady Divisions and widespread inthe remaining areas. Degree of certainty is (80%).

State of the sea: Seas will be moderate to rough inMyanmar waters.

Outlook for subsequent two days: Increase of rain arelikely in lower Myanmar areas.

Forecast for Nay Pyi Taw and neighbouring areas for19-5-2007: Isolated rain or thundershowers. Degree of cer-tainty is (80%).

Forecast for Yangon and neighbouring areas for19-5-2007: One or two rain or thundershowers. Degree ofcertainty is (80%).

Forecast for Mandalay and neighbouring areas for19-5-2007: One or two rain or thundershowers. Degree ofcertainty is (80%).

Weather outlook for fourth weekend of may 2007:During the coming weekend, rain or thundershowers will bescattered in Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay Division, widespreadrain or thundershowers in Yangon Division.

WEATHER

*R 489 Published by the News and Periodicals Enterprise, Ministry of Information, Union of Myanmar. Edited and printed at The New Light of Myanmar Press,No 22/30 Strand Road at 43rd Street, Yangon. Cable Newlight, PO Box No. 43, Telephones: Editors 392308, Manager 392226, Circulation 392304, Advertisement 392223,Accounts 392224, Administration 392225, Production/Press 297028

Saturday, 19 MayView on today

8:30 am Brief news8:35 am Music:8:40 am Perspectives8:45 am Music:8:50 am National news9:00 am Music:9:05 am International

news9:10 am Music:1:30 pm News / Slogan1:40pm Music at your

requestMusic:

9:00pm ASEAN newsExchange newsfrom ASEANmembercountries

9:10 pmArticle9:20 pmMyanma

culture … Dr Khin Maung Nyunt

9:30 pmSouvenirs9:45 pm News / Slogan10:00 pm PEL

7:00 am1. Recitation of Parittas

by Missionary Saya-daw U Ottamathara

7:25 am2. To be healthy exercise

7:30 am3. Morning news

7:40 am4. Nice and sweet song

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8. Musical programme8:30 am

9. International news8:45 am10. Grammar made easy11:00 am

1. Martial songs11:15 am

2. Musical programme11:30 am

3. News11:40 am

4. Games for children

12:05 pm5. Round up of the

week’s TV localnews

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1:20 pm8. Dance of national

races1:35 pm

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4:00 pm1. Martial song

4:15 pm2. Songs to uphold

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5:15 pm6. Musical programme

5:30 pm7. rqepÅl∑c\rqepÅl∑c\rqepÅl∑c\rqepÅl∑c\rqepÅl∑c\

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6:30 pm9. Weather report

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17. The next day’sprogramme

Italian rider Danilo Di Luca (L) competes during the fifth stage of the Girod’Italia cycling race, 173 km (107 miles) from Teano to Frascati, on 17 May ,

2007. German rider Robert Forster won the stage while Di Luca took the leader’spink jersey.— INTERNET

Iraq asks Iranian firms to bid for oil refinery workBAGHDAD, 18 May — Iraq has invited Iranian firms to bid for contracts to build at least four oil refineries

across the country, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said on Wednesday in a sign of growing ties with the United States’regional foe.

“Today, the Iranianfirms have been invited tobid in building refinerieswhich the ministry hasalready announced it wasplanning to build,”spokesman Asim Jihad toldReuters.

Iraq wants to build atleast four refineries to helpit solve chronic fuelshortages. The ministrysaid last year that it wantsto build Nahrain, just southof Baghdad, with acapacity of 140,000 barrels

per day. A second refineryat Kuya in the north, isprojected at 70,000 bpd.

Iraq also plans to builda refinery in Nassiriya, southof Iraq, for export purposeswith a capacity of 300,000bpd and another in southern

Amara. Iraq has eight oil

refineries, none of whichwere damaged during theinvasion. Oil officials saythat the plants are operatingat only 50 per cent-75 percent of capacity, forcingBaghdad to import most ofits fuel.

Jihad said that OilMinister Hussain al-Shahristani agreed with theIranian Ambassador onWednesday to activate anagreement to build apipeline to carry about200,000 bpd of Iraqi crudeto Iran’s southern refineries.

“They have agreedthat the technicalcommittees should beginwithin days mutual visits todiscuss costs and the timethey need to build thepipeline,” Jihad said.

“The Iranians will buythe crude based on marketprice.”

Iraq needs to attractinvestment from interna-tional oil companies todevelop its oilfields andincrease production.

MNA/Reuters

Saturday, 19 MayTune in today

19-5-07NL 5/19/07, 02:21 AM15

4th Waxing of Nayon 1369 ME Saturday, 19 May, 2007

YANGON, 18 May—Eighty-twomembers of National League for De-mocracy of Toungoo Township inBago Division including Daw MyaNyunt, U Tun Hla and U Maung Seinof Kanni Village-tract resigned fromthe party of their own volition on 13May.

They sent their resignation lettersto the NLD Headquarters and localauthorities. In the letters of resignationto Toungoo Township Multiparty De-

82 members quitToungoo Township NLD

mocracy General Election Subcommis-sion, they said that they quit the party oftheir own accord as they were dissatis-fied with the NLD’s activities that donot yield any fruitful results to the Stateand the people, and that they no longerplace faith and trust in the party andparty leaders lacking experience andqualifications. That was why they hadno more wish to discharge the duties ofthe party and they left the party of theirown volition. — MNA

YANGON, 18 May — The amount of rainfall 88 mm (3.46 inches) observed at09:30 hour MST today in Myinmu is the 24 hrs new maximum rainfall record at thestation for the month of May during last 24 years. The former record was 83 mm(3.27 inches) on 20 May 2003. — MNA

New Rainfall Record

NLD does not serve interest of people, State

Commander Maj-Gen Wai Lwin addresses opening of bridge and auto-exchange branch in Thitpokpin Villageof Lewe Township.—MNA

Bridge, auto-exchange branch inaugurated in Lewe Township

NAY PYI TAW, 18 May— A bridge was inaugu-rated and an auto-ex-change branch was putinto operation inThitpokpin Village inLewe Township,Pyinmana District, Man-dalay Division, today.

As part of efforts fordevelopment of rural ar-eas, Union Solidarity andDevelopment Associa-tion, joining hands withthe government and thepeople, is carrying out thefive rural areas develop-ment tasks. The associa-tion completed the trans-port and communicationfacilities in the villageand held the inaugura-tion ceremony today.

The newly-openedsuspension bridge is 250feet long and 4 feet wide.Its clearance is 12 feet highand 140 feet wide. Fiftymanual telephones andtwo auto telephones havebeen installed at the auto-exachange branch.

The inauguration cer-emony was attended byCommander of Nay PyiTaw Command Maj-GenWai Lwin, SecretariatMembers of USDA Min-ister U Aung Thaung,Minister Brig-Gen TheinZaw, CEC Members Min-isters Maj-Gen Thein Swe,Brig-Gen Maung MaungThein, Maj-Gen AungMin and Brig-Gen TheinAung, Deputy Ministersfor Rail TransportationThura U Thaung Lwin andU Pe Than, departmental

heads, executives, organ-izers and members ofMandalay Division,Pyinmana District andLewe Township USDAsand members of socialorganizations.

Speaking on the oc-casion, Commander Maj-Gen Wai Lwin said thatthe government estab-lished 24 special develop-ment regions for the equi-table development ofstates and divisions. Thegovernment is also carry-ing out development tasksin rural areas to narrowthe gap among regionsacross the country.

The government hasalso been making effortsfor strengthening thefriendship among nationalbrethren, prevailence ofthe community peace andtranquality in the regionsand ensuring for the im-provement in the educa-tion, health and transpor-

tation sectors, he said. Hecontinued to say that thegovernment has also beenundertaking tasks forpower supply and estab-lishment of libraries acrossthe nation.

Only then the rural ar-eas, which is home to over70 % of the population,enjoy the fruits of devel-opment, will the entire na-tion develop, he added.Therefore, the govern-ment has also been mak-ing efforts for establish-ment of libraries and forproducing bio-fuel whileundertaking five rural ar-eas development tasks.Besides, ministries, socialorganizations and the peo-ple are participating incarrying out of the ruralareas development tasks.

USDA completed abridge and an auto-ex-change branch inThitpokpin Village ofLewe Township.

The association alsoestablished hydropowerstations and libraries invillages on hills in easternpart of Pyinmana Town-ship, the commander said.The association hasgranted agricultural loansto farmers to improve theireconomy, and has up-graded schools, and theassociation donated desksto schools in PyinmanaDistrict, he said.

In conclusion, the

commander urged localpeople to maintain thenewly opened bridge andthe auto-exchange branchfor their durability.

Afterwards, MinisterU Aung Thaung briefedthe commander on imple-mentation of the five ruralareas development tasksby the USDA joininghands with the people.

Minister Brig-GenThein Zaw reported onopening of the auto-ex-

change branch.Regarding the con-

struction of the bridgeacross Thitpokpin Creek,CEC Member of USDAMaj-Gen Aung Min saidthat thanks to opening ofthe bridge, local peoplewill enjoy fruits of thesmooth transportation,and their economy, andhealth and social sectorswill be underpinned by theauto-exchange branch.

(See page 9)

New bridge ensures smooth transport

The government has been mak-ing efforts for establishment of li-braries and for producing bio-fuelwhile undertaking the five ruralareas development tasks.

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