May 7 - 13, 2012

myanmartimes
Myanmars first international weekly Volume 32, No. 625 1200 Kyats

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A new era for NLD after reps take oath

By Soe Than Lynn in Nay Pyi Taw DAW Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn in as a hluttaw representative last week, ending the third session of parliament and opening a new chapter in the Nobel laureates near quarter-century struggle for democracy. The 66-year-old stood to read the brief oath in unison with 33 other members of the National League for Democracy elected to the Pyithu Hluttaw on April 1. The oath hands Daw Aung San Suu Kyi public office for the first time and marks a transformation in the fortunes of the opposition leader, who was held under house arrest for much of the last 20 years but is now central to the nations tentative transition to democracy. She had initially baulked at taking the oath, specifically a sentence pledging to safeguard the army-created constitution. But the third sessions of the Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw, which were due to end on April 30, were extended for another sitting day when the NLD announced it would take the oath because it was the desire of the people to see the party in office. Speaking to reporters after last weeks ceremony Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said: I believe I can serve the interests of the people more than before. The NLD is the main opposition force in parliament after securing 43 of the 44 seats it contested in the by-elections. Thirty-eight of its 41 representatives in the national legislatures were present to take the oath last week; Pyithu Hluttaw representatives U Phyo Min Thein, U Phyo Zayar Thaw and Daw Sandar Minn were unable to attend as they were visiting the Australian parliament. It is unclear what influence the party can wield with its minority of seats but independent analyst Richard Horsey said the NLD had a clear popular mandate from the by-elections that would give it an important voice in the next session. Up to now, representatives from the USDP and the military have generally been free to vote independently. By cultivating a consensusbased approach with a focus on what is in the interests of the country, the NLD certainly has the potential to have a major influence on the direction of lawmaking, Mr Horsey said in an email. Pyithu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann last week also encouraged representatives to work together when parliament resumes. All of you are representatives of the people and your top duty is to work for the interests of the people and the nation we should cooperate and unite according to the law and respect the constitution, he told MPs shortly after the oath ceremony. Before the next hluttaw session begins, MPs should explain the activities of the hluttaw and keep in touch with the people of your constituencies and try and fulfil their needs and difficulties in line with the law. He added that the third session had seen seven bills approved and passed into law, while another eight bills had not been resolved by the end of the session would be carried over to the fourth session. With AFP

Monopoly mars sales of cheap SIM cards

By Aung Kyi A MONOPOLY on wholesale sales of mobile phone SIM cards is being blamed for an increase in prices, as customers flock to take advantage of the governments decision to reduce GSM cards to K200,000. Retailers say the two licensed wholesale distributors, Htoo Group of Companies-owned E-lite Tech and Yadanarpon Teleport, are refusing to sell any more GSM SIM cards to most shops and they have instead been forced to buy them at inflated prices on a secondary market. However, a handful of retailers with alleged close links to the distributors appear to have got large stocks of the in-demand SIM cards, even after E-lite and Yadanarpon refused to sell any more to shops. MPT announced that GSM cards would be distributed in Yangon for K200,000 from April 9, while WCDMA cards would be available for K250,000 from April 23 through the two authorised wholesalers. Previously SIM cards cost K500,000. E-lite Tech and Yadanarpon Teleport began distributing SIM cards on April 5 to mobile shops in Yangon with a 1 percent to 1.5pc sales commission. However, they refused to sell cards after April 10 and gave no reason for stopping sales, mobile shop owners said. Before April 9, we could buy SIM cards from MPTs authorised dealers with a sales commission but the number was limited and they closed sales on April 10. So the price of GSM SIM cards rose to K250,000 before water festival, said U Aung Myo Lwin, managing director of ABC Business Center in Ahlone township. When the wholesalers resumed operations after Thingyan on April 23, they refused to sell SIM cards to some private shops in Yangon. This has caused difficulties for retailers, which have struggled to meet demand from customers, particularly those seeking to pay in instalments. I got 600 GSM SIM cards from E-lite Tech with a 1.5pc sales commission before April 9 and in one day sold 300 SIM cards to customers with instalments and 300 cash down. But when I went back to the company to get more, they said the sales had been closed, U Aung Myo Lwin said. About 3000 customers registered to buy GSM SIM cards in instalments in the first week of March so I had to stop accepting instalment sales and now because I cant get more stocks, I cant even sell to all of those registered customers, he said. More page 4

Rural Yangon suffers as ponds dry up

Residents of Thongwa township wait for deliveries of drinking water last week after ponds in the township dried up in April. Water shortages have affected thousands throughout rural Yangon Region, with some 15 villages in Thongwa severely affected. Full story page 10. Pic: Kaung Htet

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Backdown hints at greater pragmatism

of parliamentary BANGKOK For Analysis seats in the NLDs more than two hands, she will decades Daw Aung San Suu Kyi defied Myanmars have to cede ground on some issues military rulers with steely resolve, in order to score wins in others, but analysts say she has now experts say. This atmosphere of give and embraced compromise, even if that take is far from that which swirled means putting principles aside. The Nobel laureate was sworn around her first political speech in on May 2 as a member of in 1988. Although celebrated in the West parliament, a week after initially refusing to take the oath of office for her self-sacrifice and resolve, over the wording of the army- she was accused by the junta of steadfastly refusing any attempt drafted constitution. S h e c l i m b e d d o w n a f t e r at persuasion. But times have changed profoundly President U Thein Sein failed to offer concessions, indicating since President U Thein Sein came compromise may now be the to power last year following the order of the day as Myanmar juntas self-dissolution. And as all sides shuffle closer, creeps towards democracy in an conciliatory language may become astonishing reform process. But the delay meant that on April the currency of the political 30 when UN chief Ban Ki-moon bargaining that lies ahead. U Tha Sein, a member of the became the first foreign leader to make a speech at the nations Rakhine Nationalities Development new parliament, Daw Aung San Party, said his party was both free Suu Kyi and her National League and potentially willing to work for Democracy colleagues were with the NLD. If they want to work in conspicuously absent. T h e N L D h a s g i v e n t h e accordance with our program, we impression, once again, of having will stand with them. Otherwise, missed the train, said Renaud we will not, he said, adding he Egreteau, a Myanmar expert at the was thrilled to see a new opposition force joining the parliament. University of Hong Kong. Even the military appointees who Many of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis supporters will welcome her make up 25pc of the parliament historic debut in political office sometimes depart from the strict following the NLDs sweep of by- partisan line, U Tha Sein said. We found that members of the elections on April 1, held after an military voted in support of our historic national vote in 2010. But Mr Egreteau says there are proposals sometimes, when voting indications of a divide within the is conducted by secret ballot, he NLD between hardliners reluctant said. As for amending the constitution to work with the military, and a more pragmatic group that Daw an issue the NLD has proclaimed Aung San Suu Kyi is increasingly as a priority experts predict it will have to be pushed into the inclined to join. Maybe we will see Aung San background in the interests of Suu Kyi finally free herself from the political calculation. Some government officials have hardliners of her party, he said. But division is likely to stir said privately that the constitution more sharp internal debate. Mr was not written in stone, said Egreteau said the NLDs uncle Jim Della-Giacoma, Southeast figures are still deeply respected. Asia director of the International And in the Burmese culture, it is Crisis Group. But by campaigning for changes not easy to question the authority like a reduction in the militarys of the elders. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her presence in parliament, the NLD party have consistently denounced could make soldiers the opponents the 2008 constitution, which grants rather than allies of change. The party has now to prepare deep powers to the military. But in her new role as an MP, for the next major step on the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will work road towards democracy general within that same document, having elections to be held in 2015. There is important work to be a say on a range of issues, such as foreign aid, development, health done to keep the momentum of reform going, Mr Della-Giacoma and education reform. And with only about 10 percent added. AFP

A lady in the house

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the National League for Democracy prepare to take the hluttaw representatives oath in the Pyithu Hluttaw on May 2. Pic: Kaung Htet

Ban Ki-moon praises NLD decision on oath Hillary Clinton welcomes

By Zaw Win Than UNITED Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last week praised Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for her decision to take the parliamentary oath, saying he was sure she would play a very active and constructive role in the fledgling institution. I know that it must have been a very difficult decision. Politicians sometimes will continue to have differences on some issues, but a real leader demonstrates flexibility for the greater cause of people and country. This is what she has done yesterday, and I really admire and respect her decision. I am sure that she will play a very constructive and active role as a parliamentarian for the betterment and well-being of this great country, Mr Ban said at a joint press briefing with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on May 1. He urged all of the countrys political leaders to always work together or the prosperity and long-term interest of their people. In the course of my meetings with President U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of this government, I have always emphasised the importance of flexibility and wisdom and compromise when they discussed all different ideas and options and policies, regardless of what party one represents, he said. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that the National League for Democracy had always believed in being flexible. Not just as now that we are going to be members of parliament, but we have always believed and have been flexible throughout the years of our struggle because that is the only way in which we can achieve our goal without violence. So I do not think flexibility is going to be a new concept for us, she said. The meeting was the pairs first, as Mr Ban had not been permitted by the military government to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on his previous two visits when she was under house arrest. In response to his invitation to visit the United Nations headquarters, the NLD leader said she would make every effort to do so, but I cant say when I shall be going. Mr Ban said that the United Nations would do its best to support the reform process in Myanmar and would stand by the people in every step and in any way we can. President U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have [come] far. I am sure of that. I am convinced that they will continue to make progress, further still. There is no turning back. We will have to support their efforts for fuller participatory democracy, development and human rights. That is my pledge as secretary-general of the United Nations to work with her and to work with President U Thein Sein and the Myanmar people for this purpose, he said. He said reconciliation between all groups in Myanmar would be an essential element in the democratisation process. The United Nations will try to help this process of reconciliation in any way we can through a peace building process, he said.

NLD entry to parliament

By Zaw Win Than UNITED States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week congratulated National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of her party on agreeing to take the oath to enter parliament. I would like to send my congratulations to these pro-democracy leaders, other newly elected members of parliament, and the hundreds of thousands of voters for their courage and commitment to achieving a more representative and responsive government. President U Thein Sein and his government have also taken important strides toward democracy and national reconciliation, she said in a May 2 statement.

Only 18 months ago, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was under the house arrest. ... For the first time in the countrys history, Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her party will have a role and voice in government, she said. Ms Clinton said it was an important time for Myanmars future. A genuine transition toward multi-party democracy leading to general election in 2015 will help build a more prosperous society. I encourage all political parties, civil society representatives and ethnic minority leaders to work together to address challenges and seize new opportunities for a more democratic, free, peaceful, and prosperous future, she said.

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UN Sec-Gen leaves with profound hope and expectation

By Zaw Win Than and May Sandy UNITED Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon said he left Myanmar with profound hope and expectation for the countrys future, following his three-day visit last week. The visit included meetings with President U Thein Sein, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Pyithu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann, and also saw Mr Ban become the first foreigner to address parliament in 50 years. While in Yangon he met business leaders, launched the Myanmar arm of UN Global Compact and held discussions with leading civil society organisations. I am concluding my third visit to this country but my first visit to the new Myanmar. I leave with profound hope and expectation in the future of this great country, he said at a press conference in Yangon on May 1. He urged the international community to get behind the countrys leaders, who he said had a shared determination to move Myanmar forward. From every front, at every level, I heard a genuine commitment for democracy, political reform and reconciliation, he said. The leaders of this country have a shared determination to write a new chapter for Myanmar. The international community has a shared responsibility to help Myanmar and her people. I know the reform effort is real. We must make sure that it makes a real difference in the lives of people across Myanmar. This is crucial not only for Myanmar, but for the ASEAN region and for our world. There are many challenges. Myanmars experience in democracy is limited. Capacities need to be strengthened, starting with basics, he said. Resources are few. Myanmar receives about six times less in per capita development assistance than similar neighbouring countries. And yet, Myanmar has chosen the road to fuller democracy, greater dignity, and enhanced participation. It is taking significant steps by opening up politically and economically and advancing national reconciliation. At the same time, this is still an uncertain and fragile process. There will be more obstacles and bumps along the road. We need to remain clear-sighted and do all we can to keep up the momentum for lasting change, he said. A major focus of Mr Bans visit was the issue of national reconciliation and particularly the ongoing conflict in Kachin State, which has seen government and Kachin Independence Army troops engaged in fierce but sporadic fighting since June. At least 50,000 people are thought to have been displaced by the conflict. While the government has signed ceasefires with about 10 other groups, many of these remain fragile. He said the UN would explore how best to provide technical and logistical support for the peacebuilding process. We want to help create immediate peace dividends through the resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced people, returnees and migrants, the secretarygeneral said. At the same time, there is no reason why a ceasefire cannot be found in Kachin State as it has in all other regions. Until then, the UNs humanitarian access must continue unfettered. This reconciliation process should be Myanmar-owned, Myanmar-led, he said. We will help and we will provide expertise, know-how ... we will provide necessary financial resources to help accelerate and facilitate this process. We will very closely coordinate with Myanmars authorities. This is what I have discussed with President U Thein Sein and I had a very good meeting with a group of negotiators, members of the Peace Committee yesterday. Mr Ban said the UNs role was changing Myanmar and it was in the process of normalising the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) country program, which he said would support efforts to define and meet Myanmars development priorities. I leave Myanmar satisfied, enthusiastic and determined to help keep the momentum for reform and reconciliation going strong. If sustained, this can put the government and people of Myanmar on the path to a better future for all. They deserve our full support every step of the way. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President U Thein Sein in Nay Pyi Taw on April 30. Pic: Kaung Htet

UN ready assist peace effort in Kachin: Ban

By Sann Oo THE United Nations is ready to work with the government to permanently end conflicts with armed ethnic groups, particularly the Kachin Independence Army, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told journalists in Nay Pyi Taw on April 30. United Nations has [the] experience to assist the Myanmar government in promoting [reconciliation] with the Kachin. If necessary we will try to provide the technical assistance, logistical assistance and if necessary, even the financial assistance, Mr Ban said. We welcome this ceasefire with the Karen, the KNU. Then there is the issue of Kachin. But there is no reason why we cannot have ceasefire agreement with Kachin. UN will do whatever [is] required in assisting Myanmar government efforts, he said. The government has held seven rounds of talks with the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation most recently on March 8 but no agreement has been reached. Fighting started after the breakdown of a 17-year ceasefire in June 2011 and since then at least 50,000 people have been displaced. But Mr Ban said the UN needed to be granted unlimited access to help all displaced people in conflict areas who are in need of humanitarian assistance. He said all displaced people in the countrys border areas also needed to be given citizenship to enable them to return home. This is part of the humanitarian interest and we have a UN [High Commissioner for Refugees] representative, we have UN [Childrens Fund], we have humanitarian coordinator, we have UN resident coordinator and they are all aware of this issue. We will do our best to provide those humanitarian assistances to internally displaced people and citizenship should be granted regardless of ethnicity; that is very important. Granting Myanmar citizenship to those people would be the beginning of the addressing those issues, the secretarygeneral said. He said the United Nations would also normalise the operations of UN Development Program (UNDP), which currently has a restricted mandate. First of all we will discuss with the member states to try to normalise our operation as soon as possible. Right after our visit, we will discuss this matter with the governing body of UNDP, he said. Mr Ban also addressed the issue of ethnic conflict in his speech to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on May 1, when he praised the government and ethnic groups for agreeing ceasefires. I commended the progress made by the government and ethic groups in achieving ceasefire, and encourage both sides to rapidly reconcile all outstanding issues. Meanwhile, the situation in Kachin States is inconsistent with the successful conclusion of ceasefire agreements with all the other major groups. The Kachin people should no longer be denied the opportunity that a ceasefire and a political agreement can bring for peace and development. Let me acknowledge the humanitarian access that we now have in Kachin State. That access must continue, he said.

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Stability of the State, community peace and tranquillity, prevalence of law and order Strengthening of national solidarity Building and strengthening of disciplineflourishing democracy system Building of a new modern developed nation in accord with the Constitution

Four political objectives

Building of modern industrialized nation through the agricultural development, and all-round development of other sectors of the economy Proper evolution of the market-oriented economic system Development of the economy inviting participation in terms of technical know-how and investment from sources inside the country and abroad initiative to shape the national economy must be kept in the hands The of the State and the national peoples

Four economic objectives

Uplift of the morale and morality of the entire nation of national prestige and integrity and preservation Uplift and safeguarding of cultural heritage and national character Flourishing of Union Spirit, the true patriotism Uplift of health, fitness and education standards of the entire nation

Four social objectives

UN to assist with 2014 census

create a consultative body involving local and national government agencies, NGOs, community representatives and professional associations THE United Nations will help to oversee administration of the government on a proposed the census, while a national census in 2014 that would be information campaign would the first in more than three be needed to inform the public decades, following the signing of about the census objectives, an agreement during secretary content and methods, and their general Ban Ki-moons visit rights and obligations. Global last week. standards for census taking, The UN will provide technical approved by the United Nations assistance and help mobilise Statistical Commission, financial support for must be followed, Mr the census under an agreement signed on Global standards for census taking must be followed. Nambiar stressed in his letter. April 30 in Nay Pyi Taw U Khin Yi signed a that was witnessed by Mr Ban and Vice President Dr census. He said that training a letter to U Khin Yi that the letter in response confirming people to conduct the census and census will provide important the governments commitment Sai Mauk Kham. Dr Sai Mauk Kham said gaining access to all areas of the benchmark data for national to these principles, the UN said development planning and in a statement. accurate population data was country would be challenging. U Min Thu, a Pyithu Hluttaw I hope that current and assessment, including on important for the countrys future and the government future ceasefires will make this the impact of the launched representative from Ottarathiri constituency in Nay Pyi Taw, would closely cooperate with possible. The involvement of reforms. He stressed that a credible said the census could help United Nations Population minorities and civil society will census would need to adhere rectify electoral rolls ahead of Fund (UNFPA) to ensure the be crucial, he said. Speaking to journalists in Nay to several key principles, the 2015 general election. He census was conducted according Pyi Taw on April 29, Minister including that it was universal said voter list errors in the April to international standards. T h e a g e n c y s a i d i n a for Immigration and Population and inclusive of all national 1 by-elections had resulted in some people losing the chance statement that the government U Khin Yi said the data would races. He said the country should to vote. was developing a census plan be collected in person by going By Sann Oo and Win Ko Ko Latt with support from UNFPA that included expertise on listing households, making enumeration maps, training enumerators, setting up information technology infrastructure, processing data, and analysing and disseminating the results. Mr Ban said at the ceremony that he was very encouraged by the governments strong commitment to the project and urged donors to support the household to household. Each person will be asked about 40 questions and we will go from home to home to collect the data, he said. He said about 100,000 people would help collect data, while about 20,000 would help to analyse it. About K9 billion would be allocated for conducting the census, he said. Mr Vijay Nambiar, the UN secretary-generals special adviser on Myanmar, said in

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Cheap SIM cards

The owner of Greenline mobile shop in Lanmadaw township said he had also been forced to scrap instalment sales because of low stock. Now we are just selling GSM SIM cards for K215,000 each in cash, she said. Daw Aye Win, the owner of a mobile shop on Insein Road in Hlaing township, said she had also been unable to buy SIM cards direct from the two distributors after Thingyan. We got 50 GSM SIM cards at K200,000 each with 1pc sales commission from E-lite Tech on April 6 and we sold them for the same price within one day, she said. But when we went back to E-lite Tech for more, the company refused to sell them. Instead, shopowners were forced to purchase the SIM cards from other private retailers that are considered to have close ties to the distributors at a K10,000 or K20,000 markup. Because MPT-authorised companies refused to sell SIM cards to us we had to instead buy them from shops like Asia Mega Link, which have stocks to sell to other shops. But of course we had to pay more to get the SIM cards, Daw Aye Win said. A salesperson at the E-lite Tech showroom in Ahlone township said on April 3 that the shop had almost run out of GSM cards and if you would like to buy one, you better leave your name for registration. WCDMA SIM cards were still available, she said. When asked about GSM card wholesale sales, a sales

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supervisor at E-lite Techs head office at Pearl Condominium on Kabar Aye Pagoda Road told The Myanmar Times on May 3: We are not doing any wholesale sales now. If you would like, you can leave your applications or proposals. Our senior executives will decide whether wholesale [SIM cards] will be released or not. However, a senior executive director from the company was quoted in a report in The Voice on April 30 as saying that E-lite Tech would decide which shops it released SIM cards to in the future. Currently E-lite is supplying Mobile King in Tarmwe township, Kyaw Mobile at Yuzana Plaza and Touch Mobile on Insein Road, he said. Customers also expressed disappointment at how SIM card sales had been managed even at E-lites retail outlets. We could still get GSM SIM cards for K200,000 at E-lite Tech shops but customers had to register one or two days in advance and stand in a long queue to buy the cards. The crowd was so large it went outside the doors of the shop, said Daw Aye Thida from Thingangyun township. It was frustrating and I didnt want to waste time and money going back to the [E-lite] shop repeatedly so instead I just bought a GSM SIM card for K220,000 from a shop near my home, she said. One resident of Tarmwe township said: I had to pay K210,000 for a GSM SIM card at the Mobile King shop in our township. Many of the retailers frozen out by distributors and forced to buy from other private

stores have opted to sell SIM cards at no profit, hoping that customers will also by handsets and accessories. We had to pay K210,000 for GSM SIM cards from Asia Mega Link and we sold them at the same price, Daw Aye Win said. It is difficult for mobile shops to sell handsets only, without SIM cards as well. When I went to buy 50 GSM SIM cards from Asia Mega Link, they said I had to buy 30 GSM SIM cards together with 20 WCDMA SIM cards, which are less popular, she said They also asked me to buy 50 K10,000 prepaid cards at no commission. Normally we buy the prepaid cards from [E-lite and Yadanarpon] with a 2 percent commission. This is not a good way for us to have to do business, she said. Retailers have also been incensed by a report in The Voice on April 29 that quoted a senior MPT official as saying that the state-run enterprise was considering legal action against retailers that inflate SIM card prices. The only reason prices are rising is because MPTs authorised distributors refused to sell SIM cards to other private shops. If we still sell them at the official price then we will lose money, said U Aung Myo Lwin. MPTs senior officials should find out the real situation before making announcements like this. And if they are going to take legal action, they should do it against the distributors that refused to sell to most shops, and those retailers who somehow had enough stock to sell to everyone else at inflated prices. The day after The Voice

report, another senior official from MPT told state-run MRTV-4 that it would sell SIM cards direct to the public through its branch offices. However, retailers interviewed for this article said when they made inquiries to MPT about buying SIM cards directly they were rebuffed. Meanwhile, debate is also continuing over a private sector-led push for K5000 SIM cards. On April 23, National League for Democracy Amyotha Hluttaw representative Dr Myat Nyarna Soe submitted a proposal to allow Shwe Pyitagons proposal but U Thit Lwin, the Deputy Minister for Posts and Telecommunications, responded that the plan was currently impossible and prices would decline gradually. Reaction to the ministrys claim has been less than favourable. With MPT regulations and processes so slow, the plan for K5000 SIM cards is like a dream for Myanmar people. I have also heard that MPT plans to sell GSM cards for K100,000 next year, said U Zaw Win, a mobile shop owner in Tarmwe township. If MPT is unable to sell SIM cards for K5000 the market should be liberalised and private companies allowed to undertake the project, U Aung Myo Lwin said. It is not fair for MPT to say that the reason prices are high is because it is expensive to build the infrastructure. MPT should learn how our neighbouring countries have funded mobile phone network expansion, he said, adding that Bangladesh was recently giving out SIM cards for free.

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MyanMar tiMes May 7 - 13, 2012

Hotel room rate crisis rolls on

By Yu Yu Maw TOUR operators and representatives from Yangons foreign-owned hotels last week failed to hammer out a solution to a dispute over room prices and contracts but have agreed to continue discussions. Highlighting the importance of the issue, Deputy Minister for Hotels and Tourism U Htay Aung attended the industry meeting at Inya Lake Hotel on April 28 and urged the two sides to find a solution as soon as possible. Over the past year Yangons handful of international-standard hotels have increased room rates significantly in some cases 300 percent to cater for higher demand from tourists and particularly business travellers. However, agents are upset that the hotels have recently started refusing to set rates in advance for group tourists, a move that has made it difficult to set prices for packages. U Htay Aung said the ministry would give as much support to help the two sides reach an equitable agreement. We know exchange rate is not stable. These times are very difficult for every sector but Myanmar tourism is just a starting to prosper. If we all cooperate we can work for good tour operators and hotels are just like husband and wife, he said. At the meeting, tour operators requested Yangons major hotels to agree one-year contracts on room rates. I want to say openly to Traders, Sedona, Park Royal and Chatrium Hotels: please give us a contract. We can work together on the terms and conditions but please honour a one-year contract. You can raise the price when we make the contract but dont change the contract price later on. In future, Myanmar will become a great tourist destination in the world so we should cooperate and negotiate with each other, said U Khin Zaw, chairman of Tour Mandalay. He cited a number of examples of hotel practices that had made operations difficult for agents: Sedona and Parkroyal were refusing to take bookings from agents for the rest of the year; Chatrium Hotel cancelled a contract on April 5 that was signed on March 2; and contract room rates at Traders Hotel had risen from US$78 last year to $242. U Phyoe Wai Yarzar, managing director of All Asia Exclusive Travel, said it was important for the industry that room rates stabilised. Clients are already giving us feedback that rooms are too expensive, he said. Our big tour operators in Europe have commented that some hotels have increase rates dramatically and it is very difficult for them to convince customers to pay a [room rate] supplement. Sukhdeep Singh, managing director of Myanmar Hotels International, which manages Inya Lake Hotel, said hotel owners were driving the room rate increases. The increases are very high, Mr Singh acknowledged. We do want to give contract [to operators] I promise that I will keep your suggestions but of course I am not a right person to solve this. We are not the owner of this hotel. Representatives from hotels said foreigners exploring for investments were driving the increase in demand and they were already receiving bookings for 2013. Mr Rum Nurani, general manager of Parkroyal, said his hotel was simply responding to demand from a new market that wanted comfortable accommodation. He said another factor in the rate increases was the value of the US dollar, which had declined 19pc over the past year against the kyat. Representatives from the hotels said they would consider the suggestions of tour operators arrange another meeting for further discussions.

Buddhists mark the full moon of the lunar month of Kason by pouring water on the sacred Banyan tree at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon on May 5. Pic: AFP/Ye Aung Thu

Workers, activists highlight labour law issues on May Day

By Ei Ei Toe Lwin ACTIVISTS have called on the government to ensure a new labour law that allows workers to establish labour organisations is properly implemented. Speaking at a ceremony to mark May Day organised by the Freedom for Establishing Labour Organisations group, which was founded on March 7, labour activists said workers were struggling to get the rights afforded them under the Labour Organisation Law. Farmers, workers and celebrities also took part in the event, which was held in Thanlyin township, Yangon Region. The Labour Organisation Law was promulgated late last year and hailed as a breakthrough in workers rights. Drafted in close consultation with the International Labour Organisation, it sets out a process for workers to organiser independent labour organisations, which have been banned for several decades. According to Chapter II of the law, which relates to the establishment of the labour organisations, both employers and workers can freely form labour organisations to campaign for their rights. However, workers and activists said at the May 1 event that organisers faced many deterrents from both employers and civil servants when trying to organise and register a labour group. When I went to the government office to register, officers told me to change the organisation name. We called it a labour union but they said they do not like the name union, said U Myint Soe, a member of the Freedom for Establishing Labour Organisations. According to the law, workers can name their organisation but in practice it is not allowed. Ma Ei Shwe Zin Nyunt, who is also a member of the group, said the workers forming the group did not want to change the name but did so in order to not to lose their rights. We want to see more worker organisations formed and eventually labour unions so we are encouraging workers to form organisation to claim their rights together with unity, Ma Ei Shwe Zin Nyunt said. She said some employers were so worried about workers organising that they dismiss those who try to establish labour groups. Some employers do not welcome labour organisations; they think that workers will form groups and there will be riots. Ma Thidar Kyaw, general secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Association branch at Three Pagoda Pass on the Thai border, said workers in Thailand faced similar problems. We faced difficulties when we were trying to found our group. Some workers lost their jobs but we tried to realise our goal. We plan to register our organisation officially [in Myanmar] and we want to cooperate with other labour organisations, she said. We work officially in Thai border area but we do not enjoy equal rights. Thai workers get more than 300 baht a day but we get only 100 baht. We live under unsafe conditions and we do not get basic rights, such as injury and health insurance. We have to work 56 hours a week without overtime. But we do not know what we can do or who can help us to solve our problems so we formed this organisation to solve these problems ourselves, she said. Similarly, workers in Myanmar want to establish labour organisations to ensure they are paid properly, have access to health insurance and not mistreated by their employers. A representative of the Construction Workers and Farmer Organisation (Nay Pyi Taw), an informal group that plans to register as a labour organisation, said there were frequent problems between construction workers and contractors. Sometimes workers are not paid properly or at all and they do not get any compensation if they are in an accident. For farmers, the threat of land confiscation is the major concern. As construction workers we do not enjoy any rights. Now we expect we can get our rights from this organisation, said Ko Chit Ko Ko said. 88 Generation leader Ko Ko Gyi said at the ceremony that employees lacked knowledge about their rights. He urged workers to study the labour laws and the countrys political situation and to actively and fearlessly participate in forming labour organisations. We can see that there are no labour unions in Myanmar until now. All of us have been living in the darkness. Workers do not know their basic rights. Worst of all, employers state in job vacancies that applicants must state any political affiliations, he said. Workers are also citizens. In this age of democracy, citizens must follow the governments administrative and economic policies. How they take part in this system without having political knowledge? So I want to say lets give up this stupid practice and let all workers take part in politics.

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Shihab Uddin Ahamad, country director, ActionAid Myanmar
HOW democracy works depends on a few institutions and cultures. One of the most important institutions is press. Quality of the democratic environment depends on how free the press of a particular country [is]. Since democracy referred to the people and their opinion, it is important how freely people can share their opinion through media. Government does not have an ear to listen to what people says and what they expect, to listen to the masses, so media is the best tool [to act as] an ear for the government. Lack of press freedom can create anarchy in the state, as the government only hears from interest group around them, which can take the government far from the people. But freedom of the press also brings responsibility to ensure that information in the media is correct and that it is independent. Leaning towards a particular political view or group or publishing news and opinion motivated by business interest is destructive. That kind of behaviour will jeopardise press freedom as well weaken democracy.

World Press Freedom Day - May 3, 2012

Training, new laws focus at ceremony

By Nan Tin Htwe
NEW media laws should enshrine the rights of media professionals and be in line with international standards, journalists said at a ceremony to mark World Press Freedom Day last week. More than 70 journalists from 30 publications as well as foreign correspondents attended the ceremony, which was held at Strand Hotel and organised by the Myanmar Journalists Association. We do not just want a free press for Myanmar. We want a free press that is of international standards, said Pyithu Khit consultant editor U Soe Thein, who is better known as Maung Wuntha. In his speech, he shared a history of Myanmar press, including both times when journalists and newspapers were repressed as well as able to freely inform the public. This is the first time we have held this [ceremony] and we are full of hope. Our country is changing to a democratic state. When theres real democracy, there must be a free press, he said. We want laws that will protect the journalists, not ones that will repress us. U Khin Maung Lay, executive editor at Favourite News, said: Its always said that politics and journalism are twins. But the difference is we never try to rule, just observe. Ko Win Kyaw Oo, managing editor of Mizzima, said holding a World Press Freedom Day for the first time would help to highlight the importance of media freedom among both journalists and the broader public. However, he said that Myanmar journalists lacked training and were not wellprepared to work in a free media environment. He said the poor education system meant the country had few professionals in all areas who really understand what they are doing. It does not mean that we can only become a journalist when we learn at university or formal training. Most journalists work and learn [at the same time]. But if you have already have training [when you start working as a journalist], it is better. While transparency among the business community and government staff had improved somewhat, it was still a major issue, he said. For government officers, being held accountable is still a problem to go free press. They also do not know how to deal with journalists. Ko Aung Pyae, a photographer at Myanmar Post, said there was a lack of collaboration between younger and older journalists. Old journalists need to encourage young journalists and share what they have. They cannot just act like they know something and young journalists do not, he said.

U Win Tin (left) speaks at a ceremony to launch a foundation that provides assistance to political prisoners. Pic: Boothee

Toby Mendel, executive director, Centre for Law and Democracy

I DONT think any other freedom is more important [than press freedom] at this key stage. It has been said that information is the oxygen of democracy and press freedom is the key to ensuring that the oxygen keeps flowing. Without access to different viewpoints as expressed in a free media, democracy simply cannot grow. I think the media should prepare by trying to improve their professionalism as much as possible and also by trying to improve their investigative and reporting skills. In the past, the media was not free to report, and so most journalists did not learn their necessary skill to play the role of watchdog which is a key role for the media in democracy. [It] is very difficult to [say how long it will take to get press freedom]. It really depends on how sincere the government is and how fast it moves. However, I think you can probably expect to have to work toward this and sometimes to struggle for quite some time. As a general theme, I can say that whereas in the past the media could not really hold government and other powerful actors to account. Now that should be starting to change. So, the most important role of the media will be to report on what is happening in the government and country to help ensure that citizens can be informed. Nan Tin Htwe

Freedom, democracy depend on each other

Hantharwady U Win Tin worked as a journalist from 1949 to 1989 for publications including Kyemon, Hantharwady and Thandawsint and was secretary of the Burma Journalists Association (BJA) and Burma Press Council (BPC). In 1989 he began focusing full-time on politics and is a senior member of the National League for Democracy but serves as an adviser to the partys publication, D Wave Journal
By Ei Ei Toe Lwin
How important is media freedom in the transition to democracy? Really democracy means freedom and freedom is democracy. So freedom and democracy depend each other. When building a democratic state, there must be basic rights, such as freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression. Of all these basics rights, media freedom is one of the most important parts in the democracy society. If we say we have democracy without getting these basic rights, it is not a real democracy. What changes have you noticed in the media under the U Thein Sein government? From a personal perspective, I see positive progress. My name was not allowed to be published in the press before .Worst of all, I could not even use a penname when writing articles or features and even if one of my relatives died I could not state our relationship in the obituary. Now, my name can be published in some journals. I can accept an interview like this. Moreover, my old articles were republished in Snap Shot journal. I also see more freedom in the reporting than before. But on the other hand, the Electronics Act can be used to arrest journalists at any time and they can be put in organisation if they have a grievance. Reporters need to be able to report news freely, but they must write within the law. Journalists must always study the laws and restrictions so they dont face libel cases. Reporters should not furious about accusation and threats to sue. Journalists should not hesitate to write journalists] But it is sure that promulgating the law is better than nothing. When will we get full media freedom? We are moving towards being a democratic country and there are a lot of activists, political parties and political forces in many fields working for democracy and human rights. From this there will come an age of political revolution, when power is put in the hands of those people. If that happens, I expect we will get more media freedom. What advice do you have for journalists? Most journalists say, We stand for rights and we value rights so we only write the truth. But there are still many people who misuse political power, businessmen who cooperate with government officers, who violate the moral values of our society. Therefore, journalists should not be content just writing true stories; they should explore those wrong cases and highlight them in the news.

Legal action is must pay to get the price the media some freedom and journalists should write more and more, utilising these rights.

jail for several years. These conditions hinder media freedom. Some journalists and media companies are being sued by government ministries and private companies. How can reporters avoid these problems? Journalists can be sued. In a democratic state, reporters do reporting and sources take action against somebody or some

because of those threats and other deterrents. It is the price reporters and the media must pay to get some freedom and journalists should write more and more, utilising these rights. What do you think about the forthcoming publishing law? I cannot say exactly because I do not know what will be included in this law. I expect there will be only a few opportunities [for

World Press Freedom Day - May 3, 2012

Govt pledges more press freedom

By May Sandy
AGAINST a backdrop of a rapidly changing media environment, representatives from the government, United Nations and Myanmars journalism community came together last week to mark World Press Freedom Day for the first time. Participants emphasised the growing role of the media in Myanmar and its importance in the countrys transition to democracy at the May 3 event, which was jointly organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Ministry of Information and held at Yangons Strand Hotel. Deputy minister U Soe Win delivered a message on behalf of Union Minister U Kyaw Hsan in which he said the ceremony underlined the important role of the media in state building as well as the governments resolve to grant citizens the rights outlined in the 2008 constitution. The deputy minister also highlighted progress on the drafting of a new publishing law that he said would help journalists get access to information easily and also see an independent press council established that would supportive the professional, ethical, technical and socio-economic development of journalists. The draft law is being revised to include feedback from journalists, UNESCO and the attorney generals office, he said. The law will grant journalists greater freedom and the deputy minister said that while this was important, maintaining quality of content and improving access to information was also essential. At the time when we are in the democratisation and state-building process, it is of vital importance for the press to be impartial and objective in featuring news concerning public policies comprehensive in presenting every issue from various perspectives, and avoiding omitting of facts, he said. We need press freedom, but we all must also acknowledge that every citizens right to receive a diversity of information and ideas is also important human rights. Reflecting the official theme of the day challenges to media in a new environment he said that the law would also encompass and recognise online media, while a broadcast media law was also being drafted.

Consultant editor with Pyithu Khit, U Soe Thein better known as Maung Wuntha speaks at the World Press Freedom Day ceremony at Yangons Strand Hotel on May 3. Pic: Ko Taik A joint message from UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Kimoon and UNESCO directorgeneral Ms Irina Bokova was read by professor Dr Lwin Lwin Soe, secretary-general of the Myanmar National Commission for UNESCO. Powerful new voices are rising especially from young people as traditional media workers. Speaking on behalf of journalists, Myanmar Journalists Association Organising Committee patron U Soe Thein (Maung Wuntha) recalled the countrys tradition of press freedom, which he said ran from the era of King Mindon through to the government of the chance to practise their skills freely. With the private daily paper and broadcasting stations now being allowed to begin operating in Myanmar, there may be wider opportunities for budding journalists. To make best use of these opportunities, we need a larger cadre of trained journalists. helping them not only to find resources to sustain themselves, but also to enrich the talents of their journalistic staff. I believe that we are getting closer to enjoying a larger percentage of freedom of press. What we need now is to prepare to be capable of utilising both rights and responsibilities of media freedom. A representative of the Myanmar Writers Association Organising Committee urged those in the media industry to work for their readers. The media people need to write according to the changing situation of the country and the environment that will be good for the people. We must also bear in our mind not to misuse the authority vested in the fourth pillar, and to be faithful to principles of the media law, said U Tin Hlaing, who is better known as Letwinntha Saw Chit.

need press freedom, acknowledge Weevery citizens right tobut we alla must alsoof information that receive diversity and ideas is also important human rights.
where they were silent before. This is why this years World Press Freedom Day is centred on the theme of New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies. The message said that online journalists, including bloggers, must receive the same protection President U Thein Sein, who in his inaugural speech on March 30, 2011 addressed media as the fourth pillar of the nation and promised to respect the role of the press. He said that Myanmar had many good journalists but for many years they had been denied Thus, journalistic training is an urgent need, not only training in factual reporting, but also in how to educate people in democratic practices, he said. We should encourage and promote the establishment of serious independent private daily papers and weekly journals,

Unrestricted press a fundamental foundation of democracy

By Ross Dunkley with Timothy Balding of the World Association of Newspapers
FREEDOM of the press is one of the principal foundations of democracy, the political system which is best placed to achieve and maintain the prosperity and peace which is the legitimate aspiration of all human beings. Freedom of the press is today, more than ever, recognised as a fundamental precondition of durable economic, political, social and cultural progress and stability. It is a powerful ally in the global fight against poverty, disease, corruption, ignorance and illiteracy scourges which affect all our lives, whether we live in industrialised, developed nations or in the poorer countries of the world. Freedom of the press pays, whichever way you look at it. And yet the press and the people who work for it, all over the world, continue to be the victims. In dozens of countries, almost on a daily basis, journalists, editors and publishers are murdered, assaulted, detained and harassed, as their publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down. Journalists tell the story and shine a light in the darkest of places. Imagine if they didnt? So, we need to shine the torch for them now as they have shown a non-violent approach, strength, courage, endurance and rugged determination often in extremely poor conditions in a Myanmar prison all because of the belief in their profession. Fortunately things are changing in Myanmar and the recent release of large numbers of political prisoners, journalists included, should be applauded. It takes a lot of courage to release these prisoners, to confront the ideology you once encompassed and ultimately jettison it. Humanity is changing and so in the fabric of Myanmar. We can believe that the world is becoming a better place. On World Press Freedom Day in 2003, the Dalai Lama said: There is basic humanity, gentleness and human compassion in the world. When there is a problem, a crisis, the media must show that there is an alternative, there is a method, there is potential. The ultimate goals of the media should not be political or financial, but human. We should aim for a better world, a happier world with people trying to be friendly, compassionate, and peaceful. Here I think media have a responsibility. But this does not only concern media, it concerns every field.

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News
MyanMar tiMes May 7 - 13, 2012

Experts urge focus on tobacco education, law enforcement

By Yamon Phu Thit EXPERTS are calling for proper enforcement of a law aimed at controlling tobacco use including the chewing of betel nut that has been largely ignored by authorities and the public. They also expressed concern that too little is being done to curb the consumption of betel nut, which is normally accompanied by tobacco and can lead cancer and other diseases. Myanmar adopted the Control of Smoking and Consumption of Tobacco Product Law on May 4, 2006 to reduce the number of people using tobacco and tobacco-related products. The law contains rules on non-smoking areas and regulations to control the sale, production and advertising of tobacco products. Dr Nyo Nyo Kyaing, a regional advisor for the Tobacco Free Initiative from the World Health Organisations office for South-East Asia, said that she had found no indications that the law was being enforced. We found people smoking in public places where smoking is prohibited and children under 18 years of age buying cigarettes openly. Other tobacco-related products are also on the market without a licence, she said, adding that reducing tobacco use would require a multi-sectoral effort. Rather than working only from health sector, other sectors like education, finance, planning, sports, media and so on. Dr Aung Htun, deputy director of the Department of Healths School and Youth Health Program, told The Myanmar Times by email that a nationwide awareness program was vital to improving enforcement of the law. Everyone is responsible for reducing consumption of tobacco, he said. Tobacco use is one of the major risk factors in non-communicable diseases, which cause an estimated 35 million deaths globally and 7.9 million deaths in the WHOs South-East Asia Region. In April, 2004, Myanmar became a party to an international treaty called the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which aims to reduce cases of tobacco-related deaths and disease. Speaking at World No Tobacco Day in Nay Pyi Taw on May 31, 2011, Minister for Health Dr Pe Thet Khin said smoking-related illnesses posed a significant financial burden for the state. In order to reduce tobacco consumption the government formed the Central Committee for Control of Smoking and Consumption of Tobacco Products in 2011, he added. But treatment expenses are only one aspect of the cost to the nation from tobacco use, experts say. Dr Renu Garg, a regional adviser for

MMA to establish ambulance group, says services are inadequate

By Yamon Phu Thit THE Myanmar Medical Association plans to establish a non-profit foundation to provide 24-hour ambulance services in Yangon, the groups president said last week. The Emergency Ambulance Foundation will be formed before the end of this year to reduce unnecessary deaths that result from poor management of emergency health transport services, president Professor Kyaw Myint Naing said on April 28 at a coordination meeting. The foundation will begin operations in the Yangon municipal area and expand its coverage to other regions in the future. MMA will provide K10 million and is seeking further funding from local and foreign donors. Professor Kyaw Myint Naing said state and private pre-hospital care services were not adequate, with many ambulances not properly equipped. While there are ambulance services in Myanmar most of them are just transportation and cannot provide proper pre-hospital care, he said. The foundation is starting to train doctors, paramedics and ambulance drivers on technical know-how and what to do in emergency situations. Dr Aung Lin, the foundations general manager, said services would be free of charge for emergency patients, while fees for non-emergency transportation would depend on the distance travelled. It will cost between K20,000 and K40,000 depending on the distance if the patient books the ambulance in advance, and by that I mean it is not an emergency situation, he said. According to MMA statistics, there are 40 private hospitals in the Yangon area and 20 ambulances, most of which are not fully equipped for emergencies. An injury survey conducted in 2003 by the Department of Health in collaboration with WHO at Yangon General Hospital showed that more patients arrived by bus than ambulance. The study found that 1.3 percent of patients arrived by ambulance, 1.8pc by bus, 0.7pc by trishaw and the overwhelming majority 91.9pc arrived by taxi.

More than half of the adult male population uses smokeless tobacco products, primarily betel nut, according to a 2009 survey. Pic: The Myanmar Times non-communicable diseases at WHO, told The Myanmar Times that in Southeast Asia non-communicable diseases claimed a higher proportion of young people than in other regions. We are losing a larger percentage of younger people, who are important for the national economy, she said. According to a Noncommunicable Disease Risk Factor Survey conducted in 50 townships in 2009, 44.8 percent of men and 7.8pc of women smoke regularly while 51.4pc of men and 16.1pc of women consume smokeless tobacco, mostly with betel nut. Health experts also expressed concern that the campaign against tobacco use focused too heavily on cigarettes, despite the fact smokeless tobacco products were more widely consumed. When someone says tobacco, people think only of smoking. They dont pay much attention to consuming smokeless tobacco, as in a betel quid, Dr Nyo Nyo Kyaing said. They also think it is not as harmful as smoking. Consumption of betel nut can cause oral cancer, gum problems, cardiovascular and kidney disease and more, she said. A survey on the prevalence of tobacco use in eight members of the WHOs South-East Asia Region Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand found that Myanmar had the highest rate of consumption of smokeless tobacco products. It is likely to have the highest consumption rate in the world, Dr Nyo Nyo Kyaing said. Global Youth Tobacco Surveys conducted in 2001, 2004 and 2007 among students at 100 schools across the country found that while relatively few smoked cigarettes exposure to second-hand smoke in public places and exposure to advertising was high. Dr Nyo Nyo Kyaing said that unlike smoking consumption of smokeless tobacco products did not follow any social or economic pattern. For example, rates of smoking decrease with increased education and income. However, both men and women, educated and uneducated, consume betel, she said. Tarmwe resident U Htay said he had tried unsuccessfully to kick the betel nut habit. The betel quid used to only include betel nut and lime but today they contain many chemicals that we know are harmful, he said. Still, its difficult to quit. I feel angry when I cant chew a betel quid.

News
May 7 - 13, 2012
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MyanMar tiMes

Water shortages hit Thongwa tsp

About 15 coastal villages in Thongwa face worse water shortages than other areas of the township. These villages are far from the town and most people there are poor. Water shortages have also occurred in villages in the west of Thongwa but in that area some people can afford to get water by car or other vehicles, said Ko Lwin Htay Maung, a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which has been donating water and digging tube wells in some villages. Thongwa businessman U Chit Ko Ko said he had been working with other donors in the town to provide water to affected villages since April 12. He said about 30,000 people were thought to have been affected by the shortages and the group was working six days a week to distribute supplies. When we heard about the water shortage we collected money from donors and sent water to the villages. Drinking water is most needed ... we sent both drinking water bottles and water from drinking water ponds in Thongwa [to the villages] via NLD members, he said. In Baiktheik village, about two hours from Thongwa, residents said they were conserving donated drinking water because they were unsure when the next shipments would arrive. The villages two water ponds dried up in early April, before the start of Thingyan. We dare not drink as much of the donated water as we want because we worry that it will run out quickly. A family of six people can get by for about two days with 20 litres of drinking water, said Ma Myat Khin from Baiktheik. She said drinking water could still be acquired in very distant village but it was usually up to women and children to fetch it because the men were busy with work. Some who carried water back from that village on foot were gone the whole day just to have two buckets (about eight gallons). Some villages have also restricted people from other villages taking water from their ponds because they are now also running low, she said. Most of the affected villages use the water remaining at the bottom of ponds for bathing and washing, although they said it smelled even after it had been boiled. We can use only three cups [of water] to take a bath. Sometimes we shower only one time in two days, said U Lone, 59, from Nyunt Paung. Another resident, U Kyi Thein, said the water shortages had affected the livelihoods of people in Nyunt Paung. The four ponds began shrinking since Tabaung [in March]. There are more than 100 houses in the village and the shortage of water is a real burden for everyone. Three times we got drinking water distributed by the NLD and we use dirty water left in the ponds for washing and bathing but now even that water is going to run out, he said. Daw Mya Mya Win from Nyunt Paung said: The first thing we think about when we wake up is water. The water issue is our first

By Aye Sapay Phyu THE harvested fields in Thongwa township, about two hours drive east of Yangon, crackle in the soaring midday temperatures. Trucks laden with water kick up thick clouds of dust as they make the rounds of villages, where residents line up patiently with buckets and containers of all shapes. Once again, water shortages have become an ugly fact of life for rural Yangon Region, where many villages rely on ponds for drinking water. Exposed to the extreme heat, they are susceptible to drying up in summer. Our water pond has been dried up for nearly a month. We then fetched drinking water from a pond in Yangyi Aung village but when that pond ran out, we had to go to another village that was more than an hour by bicycle, Daw Hla Hla Yi, from Baik Theik village in Thongwa, said on April 27. We take water for washing and bathing from ponds about half an hour away. That water looks dirty so we dont use it for drinking. Basically we are busy each day just finding water. According to volunteer groups supplying water to affected areas, about 15 villages ranging in size from 60 to 300 households have been most seriously affected by the shortage.

Residents in Thongwa township wait for water handouts last week. A spell of hot weather has left villages across Yangon Region that rely on water ponds struggling to find enough water. Pic: Kaung Htet priority in everything we do and it has affected our ability to find work. In 2010, the Thongwa area along with much of rural Yangon and Bago regions faced similar shortages when an El Nino weather system delayed the start of the monsoon, and temperatures regularly topped 40 Celsius for several months. While this year is not as severe, U Nyar Nain Da, the head sayardaw at Mingalar Zayar Thiri Monastery in Yangyi Aung village, said water shortages came about once every three years. We didnt see that problem last year because of early rain, said Sayardaw U Nyar Nain Da, adding that the last of his villages three ponds dried up on April 23. Water shortages are also a problem in four or five neighbouring villages. Poor infrastructure is partly to blame few remote villages are connected to a mains water supply but the situation is exacerbated by poverty: many noted that if they had money to buy large jars they could store water collected during rainy season in their homes. Additionally, some coastal areas are unable to sink tube wells because the groundwater is salty, while in other places the required depth of wells makes them prohibitively expensive for residents. We cant drink from a tube well in the monastery compound that is about 495 feet deep because the water is salty. We plan to dig a deeper well and hope to get fresh water, Sayardaw U Nyar Nain Da said. But NLD member U Htin Aung said his party had successfully dug two freshwater tube wells, at Thar Thar Myine and Hay Ma Zalar villages, with support from donors. We had to dig more than 500 feet. That cost about K1.2 million for each, he said. Tube wells save time and money that would have to be spent transporting drinking water from other areas. But one issue is that we cant say for sure that every well will provide fresh water. Residents of affected villages said they would contribute their labour if donors were willing to pay for the other expenses associated with tube wells. We are ready to help. Now one group is digging a tube well near our monastery and villagers help them and provide meals by turns, said Ma Myat Khin from Baiktheik. We have to help them because they are working for our future prosperity.

Trade Mark CauTion

The following Trademark was originally registered in Myanmar in the name of Sheraton International, Inc. which, by virtue of the Declarations of Change of Title dated 20 December 2011, changed its name to Sheraton International, LLC and the said trademark was assigned to Sheraton International IP, LLC. Sheraton international iP, LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, U.S.A., with offices at One StarPoint, Stamford, Connecticut 06902, United States of America, is now the sole and exclusive owner and proprietor of the following trademark:-

Dala could run out of water this week: official

By Sandar Lwin DALA township will face serious water shortages unless a substantial amount of rain falls in the coming week, according to residents and officials. Dala has no underground fresh water and, with the township water supply system very limited, residents mostly rely on earthen rainwater ponds. Almost all ponds have dried up. We have started facing water shortage problems, especially for drinking water. If there is not much rain in the next few days the shortage will be serious like 2010, said Ko Htun, a resident of Dala Township. Two years ago the country faced a prolonged drought as a result of an El Nino weather system. Areas relying on rainwater ponds, including Dala, faced severe water shortages and residents relied on donors for drinking water. U Tin Shwe, patron of the maintenance committee of Mahar Thingyan pond, the largest in Dala, said on May 3 that the pond would be empty in about a week unless more rain arrived. The pool maintenance committee is distributing water to residents every two days. The amount left will be enough for only three rounds of distribution. One foot at the bottom will have to be kept for the fish that live in the pond, he said. Donors have stepped in to help alleviate the shortage, residents and officials said. I have seen several private donors distributing drinking water. The situation is not as serious as 2010 yet but if there is no rain in time I think it will become like that, said Ko Kyaw Myint Oo, a member of a three-member donor group from Yar Za Thin Gyan quarter. Some residents contacted political parties and local non-government and social organisations, such as Dhamma Duta and the Free Funeral Service Society, to request they make donations. A resident contacted us about this issue so Dhamma Duta has arranged to distribute drinking water with two light trucks each starting from April 25, said Ko Ye Lwin, a member of the Dhamma Duta group. Dala township administration officer U Tun Tun Win said three village groups had reported water shortages but agreed the situation was not as bad as 2010. I have inspected all of those villages and our office is helping private donors to reach there. At the moment the regular water sources that are the closest and the most convenient for residents have dried out but some resources are still available a little further away, he said. But if there is not enough rainfall soon, the situation could be changed. We are alert to that possibility. He said the township administrative office was distributing drinking water with a 1600-gallon tanker to villages and quarters and is preparing to install a new pipeline that will be double the capacity of the township water supply system.

THE LUXURY COLLECTION

reg. no. 4324/2009 reg. no. 3441/2012 reg. no. 3442/2012 Used in respect of Temporary accommodation; hotel services, motel services, motor inn services, resort services; providing event facilities; restaurant, bar, lounge, cafe and cocktail services; services for providing food and drink; hotel concierge services; providing facilities for meetings and functions; providing facilities for conferences and exhibitions in Class 43. Any unauthorized use, infringement or fraudulent imitation of the said trade mark will be dealt with according to law. Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L (for eccles & Lee Patent attorneys and Trademark attorneys, Hong kong) P. O. Box 60, Yangon. Dated: 7th May, 2012

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News
May 7 - 13, 2012
major focus of his discussion with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was how to help the countrys poorest. We didnt only discuss a broad political agenda by bilateral relations. We also discussed especially what are the needs for the normal people. This is in the sense of vocational training because Germany is very well experienced in the area of vocational training, education, cultural exchange and especially to concentrate our aid and our help on the needs of the normal people, he said. We discussed the issues, especially how we can help the less privileged people, by education, by water, electricity, infrastructure and medical treatments. Many other areas are possible from our point of view. His visit to Myanmar follows the European Union Foreign Affairs Councils decision to suspend sanctions all of its against Myanmar except for an arms embargo. He said that suspending sanctions may encourage Myanmar to stay on this democratic path and the path for the rule of laws in a sustainable way. So its of course an offer and it is also the encouragement.

MyanMar tiMes

Germany to focus on sustainable support

By Zaw Win Than GERMANY will support the people of Myanmar in a sustainable way that promotes democracy, freedom and the rule of law, the countrys foreign minister said last week. We are here to support a political change, to support reforms on the democratic path in your country and for the people. We want to support the people of Myanmar in a sustainable way for democracy, freedom and rule of law, Mr Guido Westerwelle said on April 29 after meeting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at her Yangon residence. We know that this is not guaranteed yet but this is our main message: Germany stands ready to support the people of your country. We want to support sustainable reforms, he said. Mr Westerwelle is the first German foreign minister to visit Myanmar in more than a quarter of a century. He arrived in Yangon earlier on April 29 and met Daw Aung San Suu Kyi before travelling to Nay Pyi Taw the following day, where he met President U Thein Sein and other officials. Mr Westerwelle said a

Makeover for govt negotiating team

NAY PYI TAW The government will while most others had agreed to choose a team of 50 peace negotiators led ceasefires. The only one remaining is the by Vice President Dr Sai Mauk Kham to settle a conflict in Kachin State and Kachin, he said. The shakeup came after six rounds bring all ethnic groups into the political fold ahead of 2015 elections, a Union of talks with the KIA and its political leaders that have proved fruitless. Minister said last week. Minister for Rail Transportation U Myanmars army says it is only acting Aung Min, who is also responsible for in self defence. U Aung Min said parliament would truces with 10 armed ethnic groups that have fought the government be brought into the process and Nobel Peace Prizefor decades, said on winner Daw Aung San April 30 that fighting between government This reorganisation Suu Kyi was welcome to take part in the troops and the Kachin Independence Army is for efficiency. I dialogue after taking her seat in parliament (KIA) was all that was started with just on May 2. standing in the way of I welcome Aung everlasting peace. five or six people S a n S u u K y i . A s U Aung Min said a soon as shes in the complete overhaul of but it became parliament she will the peace effort was have a legal platform underway to handle a big issue. for her political voice, what would be complex he said. negotiations towards If she chooses to be involved in the lasting political deals, which would be spearheaded by Vice President Dr Sai peace process, its a 24-7 job, or fulltime in the parliament. Its entirely Mauk Kham. This reorganisation is for efficiency. up to her. U Aung Min said he was confident I started with just five or six people but it became a big issue so we need a big political agreements with all the organisation, U Aung Min said after groups would be completed in time for a meeting with UN Secretary-General the next general election so they could all take part. Ban Ki-moon in Nay Pyi Taw. The time frame depends on what He said six groups had already reached the second stage of President needs to be discussed, but by 2015, we U Thein Seins three-step peace plan will have eternal peace in Myanmar, and were involved in political talks, he said. Reuters

Japans funds mangroves, scholarships

By Cherry Thein JAPAN has pledged more than US$10 million for rehabilitation of mangrove forests in the Ayeyarwady delta and human resources development scholarships, the Japanese embassy in Yangon said in a press release. The grant contract was signed on April 21 between Japans ambassador to Myanmar, Mr Takashi Saito, and in the presence of Japanese Prime Minister Mr Yoshihiko Noda and President U Thein Sein. Under the agreement, 583 million yen (about $7.2 million) will be provided for a mangrove rehabilitation plan aimed at enhancing disaster prevention in Ayeyarwady Region, while 251 million yen (about $3.1 million) has been allocated for a scholarship program. The statement said that about 38,000 hectares of mangrove forest along the countrys coastline had been damaged by natural disasters and the restoration of these forests played an important role in disaster risk reduction efforts. The project will see trees planted and cyclone evacuation facilities constructed in Kadonkani forest district. Meanwhile, the Japanese government will also launch a scholarship program for young administrative officers to obtain masters degrees in Japan.

CommeNt
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From pyramid to skyscraper: Myanmars ageing dilemma

Male

1975
100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Female Male

2010
100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Female Male

2050
100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Female

2.4

1.8

1.2

0.6

0.6

1.2

1.8

2.4

3 3

2.4

1.8

1.2

0.6

0.6

1.2

1.8

2.4

3 3

2.4

1.8

1.2

0.6

0.6

1.2

1.8

2.4

Population in millions

After the demographic dividend

Myanmar is a young country - but it wont always be. Now is the time to prepare for an ageing population
By Eduardo Klien THE composition of populations in Asia is changing fast and Myanmar is no exception. Twenty years from now, Asia will have more people over the age of 60 than it does children. Currently there are about 5.5 million older people in Myanmar and this number is likely to double by 2025. By that year, almost one in five will be over 60. Throughout history population structures have generally formed the shape of a pyramid, with a large base of children that gradually narrows as fewer people reach old age. But a radical change is taking place all over the world, including Myanmar. The population pyramid is shifting to a skyscraper, with a more even distribution through all age brackets as illustrated by the graphic accompanying this article. While in 1970 children under 14 the bottom three rows were the large majority, in 2010 the segment of population aged 20 to 50 years had become predominant. By 2030 there will be more people over 60 than children under 14 and by 2050 there will be almost as many people over 80 the majority women than children under five years of age. This change in population structure will not be unique to Myanmar. But what will be different is the speed of the transformation. In the developed countries of Europe, this transition happened gradually over 100 years. In Asia, and in Myanmar, it is taking place our grandparents, we would in just 25 or 30 years. Asia probably have thought of has to adapt to this new them as old when they situation in a much shorter were 55 or 60. Nowadays, timeframe than Europe. h o w e v e r , w e s e e m o s t T h i s p r e s e n t s s p e c i f i c people of that age as still challenges that need to being healthy, active and be considered in national productive. This transition in strategic planning. What are the reasons population structure is for this huge demographic creating opportunities for shift? Basically there are Myanmar. If we see the two drivers: a reduction in pyramid of population in fertility rates and increase 2010, we notice the bulge in longevity. Women are in working age population, h a v i n g f e w e r c h i l d r e n those between 14 and 60 Hmawbi township resident U Ohn Myaing at a ceremony than previous generations years old. This is called the to honour centenarians. Increased longevity and lower a n d p e o p l e a r e l i v i n g demographic dividend: a fertility rates are expected to significantly alter Myanmars significantly longer than time in which the growth of demographics over the next four decades. Pic: Kaung Htet their predecessors of the the working age population is higher than that of their do not have a pension. But need to be advanced. In 20th century. Using United Nations dependents those over 60 ensuring income security in K y a i k l a t o r P a t h e i n , data, we can see that the and under 14 years of age. old age is and will become community organisations reduction in fertility rates is Countries more advanced in even more important in are starting to provide care resulting in a stabilisation this demographic transition, social and economic strategic and support in the daily life of older people who are of populations in countries such as Japan, have the planning It will pose the greatest frail or living alone through like Japan, South Korea, opposite situation, which Italy and Singapore ahead is called the vanishing challenge for the health volunteers in their own of a reduction in total workers, where less people of s e c t o r . F r o m f o c u s i n g communities. This is an population. Demographers working age have to support m a i n l y o n i n f e c t i o u s innovative and effective consider fertility rates of increased numbers of those diseases, it has to adapt method and the expansion of to the prevalence of non- this approach will be crucial 2.1 children per woman of non-working age. I n M y a n m a r , t h i s communicable or chronic for the well-being of more in reproductive age to be necessary to achieve d e m o g r a p h i c d i v i d e n d diseases, which are more vulnerable older people. A demographic change replacement of population is likely to last 20 or 30 prevalent in old age. While levels. Anything above this years at most. It presents most infectious diseases can of this magnitude has will represent population an opportunity to invest be cured, a chronic illness, obvious social and economic growth and below will in health, education and like diabetes, hypertension repercussions that should be considered in the mean a reduction in design of economic total population. Now plans, social protection comes the surprise: The HelpAge Network for Asia/Pacific will hold systems, agricultural Asia has the lowest a regional conference, in collaboration with the policies, and fertility rates in the approaches to health world. That is not only Ministry of Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, at and employment among in South Korea, Japan Sedona Hotel in Yangon from May 8 to 11. The other areas. Planning or Singapore, which at 1 child per woman of event will bring together more than 130 participants at personal, family, community and state reproductive age are from civil society, academics, governments and levels would benefit by well below replacement considering a life course rates, but also in the international organisations from 27 countries. approach, that takes less wealthy countries into account the needs of the region. Vietnam has a lower preparing for a different or arthritis, cannot. Instead, and also the contributions fertility rate than the United p o p u l a t i o n s t r u c t u r e it can be managed and of people at all ages during Kingdom and Myanmar but social and economic often prevented or delayed their increasingly extended (1.94 children) has lower planning has to consider through a healthy lifestyle. lifetimes. than France (1.99 children). this opportunity now rather Clearly the health system (Eduardo Klien is will have to be recalibrated Confirmation of this trend, than in five or 10 years. The change in population to meet the challenges of regional director of HelpAge in the case of Myanmar, will be revealed in the upcoming structure has huge social this changed population International. He is an economist and has previously and economic implications. structure. national census in 2014. Traditionally, care for been a research fellow at the The second factor to In more advanced countries consider in the changing there is intense discussion older people has been a Queen Elizabeth House of population structure is the about retirement ages and concern of their families but the University of Oxford and increase in longevity. A the cost of pensions but changing family structures, lecturer at the University of child born in Myanmar not in Myanmar or other with fewer children and Mexico. He has also been today is likely to live 10 countries of a similar level of older people living longer, as an adviser to governments more years than one born development, where formal well as the large migration in Latin America and has in 1980. People are living retirement concerns only a to cities among people of extensive work experience in longer, which leads us to minority of the population working age, means that socio-economic development reconsider the concept of and farmers or informal complementary ways of in Asia, Latin America and being old. If we remember workers continue to work and caring for older populations Africa.)

Trade Mark CauTion

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BLACK DEVIL
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(reg: no. iV/7531/2005) The above two trademarks are in respect of:- Tobacco; smokers articles; matches- International Class 34 Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademarks or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law. U Kyi Win Associates for Heupink and Bloemen Tabak B.V. on behalf of United Trademark & Patent Services, Lahore, Pakistan. P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon. Phone: 372416 Dated: 7th May, 2012

Car import scheme almost finished: govt

By Aye Thidar Kyaw

TiMESbusiness
By Aung Kyi CAR workshops and mechanics trained in repairing modern vehicles are in great demand as a result of two recent car import programs, owners and workshop managers in Yangon said last week. In September the government launched an overage car import substitution program to remove older vehicles from the road and replace them with newer imported cars. In the following months, the government also allowed overseas workers and companies with foreign currency holdings in state-run banks to import new vehicles. The twin programs have seen Yangons roads flooded with a stream of new or newer vehicles. The Directorate of Transport Administration, which is overseeing the overage car import program, said more than 46,000 old vehicles had been submitted for import permits by the end of March. Car owners said last week it is difficult to find workshops able to quickly diagnose and repair the newly imported vehicles, most of which feature sophisticated electronic components and management systems. Most of the vehicles made in 2002 or more recently have computerised diagnostic systems that require specialised machines; few workshops in Yangon have those machines, said U Aung Myin Moe, a car trader in Yangon. He advised car importers to immediately and carefully inspect newly arrived cars as soon as they arrive in Yangon. U Ah Nga Lay, a service technician at Ko Yar Jar car workshop on Lay Daunt Kan Road in Thingangyun township, said electronic problems were common on the newly arrived vehicles. Some cars have ignition troubles or the battery is dead, and sometimes the power windows have stopped working, he said. He said other common problems included worn brake pads and discs, dirty fuel lines and injectors, with many cars urgently requiring engine oil and transmission fluid changes. Most cars made in 2002 or later have screens that show any faults, and those that dont have

May 7 - 13, 2012

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Car owners struggle for service

MyanMar tiMes

THE governments overage car import substitution program is entering its final stage, the Minister for Rail Transportation, whose ministry is overseeing the program, said in Nay Pyi Taw on April 29. U Aung Min said the scheme, which started in September with cars at least 40 years old, had moved into 20-year-old vehicles and would soon be finished. After it is wrapped up, U Aung Min said people could buy cars from sales centres without needing to provide an import permit. However, he did not say when that would be allowed. We would like to clear out all the old vehicles in Yangon, he said, adding that vehicles with the pazuat prefix were now being accepted by the Directorate of Transport Administration, following the dadwe prefix, which started in February and finished in April. The final prefixes included in the program are nange and dawachike, he said. However, a Ministry of Commerce official told The Myanmar Times that the directorate suspended the substitution program on pazuat-prefix plates in early April. The department wanted to suspend the program because it was finding it hard to manage the thousands of pazuat vehicles. Also, the ministries [rail transportation and industry] wanted to change the policy to bring car prices down and allow people to buy cars freely because the public has complained about this issue, he said. However, the free import and sale of vehicles is not likely to be implemented soon because the hluttaws are already busy with many other matters and the president is also preoccupied, he said. Meanwhile, Minister for Industry U Soe Thein and other ministers have been trying for months to form a committee charged with importing newer buses to replace Yangons ageing fleet. Weve found that traffic junctions in Yangon are filled with taxis and buses and my acquaintances [foreign diplomat s] h a v e su g g e st e d t h at importing and running more buses would help to solve the problem, U Soe Thein said. He added that most importers are individuals who resell their buses at high prices. He said a committee to import the buses and set fair prices was in the publics interest.

A mechanic uses a laptop to diagnose a newer model Mercedes Benz car at Autocare Services in Yangon recently. Pic: Boothee a screen must be checked at a workshop, he said. Failure to fix faults, however minor they might seem, can result in the vehicle shutting down. Modern cars are run by electronic systems that are linked with nearly every component, not just the air-conditioner, radio, TV, DVD player and GPS system but also the brakes, oil pumps, lights, battery and tyres. If any of the parts break its essential to get them fixed or the car might just shut down completely, he said. He said that when replacing parts, the mechanic also needed to upload information into the cars computer. He added that even replacing the battery required the cars computer to be restarted Car owners should check whether the restart discs have been included with their vehicle and, if not, they should find ones from the same models, he said. U Aung Myin Moe said many of the former owners in Japan elected to sell their cars just as the first major faults began appearing. Many of the Japanese owners seem to have decided to sell their cars when major parts needed repairing or replacement because they didnt want to waste the time or money, he said. He added that finding spare parts was also a problem. Spare parts are readily available in Yangon for the most common imports, such as Toyota Mark II sedans [shwe nga goldfish] and Toyota Harriers. And some parts can be found for Toyota Caldinas [setyoke robot] and Mitsubishi Pajeros [pyar byoke toad] but others have to be ordered directly from Japan, he said. U Wai Yan Lin, the chief executive officer of Myanmarcarsdb website, said the need to find spare parts was a key reason for the popularity of the above models. U Aung Myin Moe said he planned to set up a car workshop and spare part import service in Yangon. But I need a lot of investment to buy the parts and set up a workshop. Its also difficult to find quality mechanics in Yangon. I plan to bring some technicians from Singapore in future and provide training to other mechanics, he said. U Zaw Htey, who recently bought a Mitsubishi Pajero, said: My car is easy to drive but the maintenance costs are a burden. When I took it in to have it serviced the bill was only K20,000. But the mechanic said I had to replace the oil pump, U Zaw Htey said. Unfortunately, I couldnt find one in Yangon and had to ask one of my friends in Singapore to buy it for me there and ship it to me, he said. U Zaw Min, the owner of a Honda Fit, said his lack of knowledge about his new purchase caused him to overheat the engine. My car stopped suddenly on the road last month and I had no idea why, he said. When a mechanic came to look at the car he told me that Id been using the automatic gearbox in manual mode and had failed to shift gears, which made the engine overheat. In future Ill take more care to shift gears at the appropriate time if its in manual mode, he said. The cost of replacing the transmission fluid, plus service charges, came to K100,000, he said.

BusiNess
May 7 - 13, 2012
the

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Job watch Job watch

The EMBASSY OF BRAZIL IN YANGON HAS OPENED A VACANCY FOR HIRING A COOK/ CHEF FOR THE OFFICIAL RESIDENCE. CANDIDATES CAN RECEIVE MORE INFORMATION AND SEND APPLICATION TO N.56 PYAY ROAD (6 MILE) UNTIL MAY 16 TH 2012. Diplomatic Mission seeks Housing Assistant Qualifications Required 1) Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Economics, Science, Law or related discipline. 2) Minimum 2-3 years of management/ administrative experience including one year of real estate and residential leasing experience. 3) Level IV (Fluent) speaking/ reading/ writing English and Myanmar. 4) Must have good knowledge of local Real Estate market conditions, pricing structures and business practices, Real Estate laws and regulations of Myanmar to be able to provide sound input for complex negotiations and projects. 5) Must have good judgement, analytical skills, negotiation and supervision skills to assess the market condition and provide advice on leasing opportunities. 6) Must have basic knowledge of MS Office Application including word, excel and outlook. Eligible candidate may submit application to Human Resources Office, P.O. Box 521, GPO, Yangon. not later than May 14, 2012

A worker cuts timber at a factory in Yangon in May 2011. Pic: Kaung Htet

Govt seeks answers to power shortages as industry sweats

By Juliet Shwe Gaung and Win Ko Ko Latt FACTORY owners in Yangons industrial zones said last week they hoped the citys electricity supply board would be able to provide them with more power in the near future. The Ministry for Electric Power 2 announced on April 9 that households in Yangon would receive 24-hour power from that day forward but the industrial zones were not included. Instead, the factories would be provided with a maximum of six hours of electricity a day and be expected to make the rest themselves by running dieselfuelled generators. The state-run New Light of Myanmar on April 26 warned factory owners who were attempting to cheat the system that they would face severe punishments if caught. Small- and medium-sized enterprises operating outside of the designated industrial zones were also informed that they were not allowed to use state-generated electricity from 5-11pm or risk heavy fines from Yangon Electricity Supply Board (YESB). Repeat offenders would face lawsuits from the Ministry for Electric Power 2 and could even be permanently removed from the grid, the notice said. A spokesperson for United Wood, a furniture factory in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone, which receives electricity from noon to 5pm, said the factory consumed about 50 gallons of diesel costing about K195,000 a day. Our kiln, which we use to steam the wood, needs to be run most of the day but right now we operate it for four hours at a time and then rest it for two hours, he said. We would be much happier if we could get eight or 10 hours of electricity from YESB a day, he added. A spokesperson for U Kyu flour company in Shwe Pyi Thar Industrial Zone said the factory received power from 6am to 11am but the site runs 24 hours a day, five days a week. We use about 35 gallons of diesel an hour when there is no electricity. But because we have many competitors were not able to increase our prices, even if the cost of production jumps so we just bear the extra charges, he said. industrial zone officials met with their government counterparts once a month to resolve problems but these meetings had not been called in the past four months by the government. Dr Maung Aung, a senior economist, said reliable electricity supply was necessary to develop industry and he hoped that the shortages would only be temporary. The government has already said that new gas discoveries made after 2013 would not be sold to foreign countries but used to meet domestic requirements, while countries such as Japan are also willing to help Myanmar to boost its electricity production, he said. The minister, who is also chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission, said he had also held talks with both ministers for electric power but had failed to resolve the electricity shortages. He said that Yangons increasing population and industrial base, coupled with a heavy reliance on hydroelectric power, led to electricity shortages at the end of the dry season in April. He said one method of solving the problem was to buy back power exported to China and feed it into the national grid. U Soe Thein was referring to electricity produced at the 180MW Shwe Li hydropower plant in Shan State, which exports most of its power to China. He added that Myanmar is also receiving a greater share of its natural gas, which is used to run gas turbines. U Soe Myint, a previous director general of the Ministry of Energys Energy Planning Department, said that this year the domestic supply of gas from the Yadana project in the Gulf of Mottama had increased to 270 million cubic feet a day (mmcfd) from 200mmcfd the previous year. U Zaw Min, the Minister for Electric Power 1, said on April 29 that both ministries had managed to better last years electricity production in the dry season months of January, February, March and April, which amounted to 1498MW. In the same period this year the ministries managed to produce 1692MW, including 1340MW from hydroelectric plants and 352MW from natural gas. U Soe Thein said Yangon Region consumed about 750MW of electricity.

Website:

www.esearchmyanmar.com

are sorry about the power situation WeYangon and are trying to mend it. in
Spokespersons for several factories told The Myanmar Times that electricity shortages happened nearly every year, although 2011 was unusual because the supply to most zones had been regular. U Aye Lwin, chairman of Dagon Seikkan Industrial Zone, said many factory owners had taken the increased revenues from the lowered cost of production last year and increased worker salaries. Last year, the power was good and most factories took the opportunity to increase staff salaries. However, this year there has been a significant rise in the price of diesel from K2500 to K3900 a gallon and production costs are higher but companies cannot greatly raise the prices of their goods, he said. He said that in the past Minister for Industry U Soe Thein said at a press conference in Nay Pyi Taw on April 29 that American company General Electric would lease four generators to produce 25 megawatts (MW) of electricity each. The generators would be arriving in Myanmar soon, he said. We are sorry about the power situation in Yangon and are trying to mend it, said U Soe Thein. He added that the vice chairman of General Electric met with President U Thein Sein and helped to repair the gas turbine in Thaketa township and promised to help repair other turbines elsewhere. Not having reliable electricity is not only a financial problem but could also discourage potential investment, U Soe Thein said.

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15
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BusiNess
May 7 - 13, 2012
or the products will spoil, he said. He added that only 20 of Yangon Regions 76 factories were operating at present because of the electricity shortages and the high cost of fisheries. Yangon Electricity Supply Board (YESB) announced at an April 6 press conference that the regions industrial zones would be split into two groups and supplied with rationed electricity. One group would receive power from 6am to 11am, while the other will get electricity from 11am to 4pm. However, YESB officials said at the same press conference that residential areas in Yangon city would be provided with power all day. U Tun Aye said the electricity shortages could also be the final straw for some of the factories that are still running, adding that the price of diesel had increased substantially in the past 12 months. U Maung Maung, a fisheries exporter from Kyeemyindaing township, said factory owners had no control over rationing but most would chose to have state-supplied power available when raw materials were processed and when the power usage was at its highest. We usually use between 50 and 70 gallons of diesel a day to run my factory, he said, adding that it cost between K200,000 and K250,000.

MyanMar tiMes

Fisheries factories battle electricity cuts

By Soe Sandar Oo FISHERIES factories already reeling from the affect of the prolonged weakness of the US dollar are now fighting electricity shortages, an official said during the weekly Myanmar Fisheries Federation meeting on April 24. U Tun Aye, secretary of the Myanmar Fishery Products Processors and Exporters Association, said factories were receiving a maximum of six hours of electricity from the national grid a day and had to run generators for the rest of the day. Fisheries factories cannot stop running because we have freezers that must be operated for 24 hours a day

Workers prepare fish for canning at a factory in Yangon. Pic: Myanmar Times Archive

Fisheries industry unveils CMP plan

By Soe Sandar Oo THE Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries last week allowed 10 companies to start contracting processing practice operations, an official said. The new system, which is the same as the cutting, manufacturing and packing method used in the garment industry and which carries the same acronym, allows fisheries processors to import raw products from abroad, process them and then export the finished goods, he said. The 10 factories that have been permitted to start CMP operations are among the 13 that meet European Union quality standards, said U Hnin Oo, chairman of the Crab Entrepreneurs Association. Other factories will be permitted to apply to do CMP work later. But even those 10 companies that can do the work now have not started, he said, adding that the companies were not ready. Daw Toe Nandar Tin, who owns one of the 10 factories cleared for CMP work, said the easing of restrictions would enable factories to hire more workers and get access to more raw materials, which has been a problem in past months. We can plan our operations in the future to protect our fisheries as well, she said. We will be able to keep our factories running through the closed fishing season because well have raw materials from abroad. When we have learned how to run this business well also be able to boost our production of processed goods, she said. U Tun Aye, secretary of the Myanmar Fishery Products Processors and Exporters Association, said all factories should be allowed to run CMP operations because it gave poor people jobs and meant the factories could run all year round. We cannot rely on our marine fisheries stocks because there are months when boats are not allowed to fish. Letting factories import fish and process them for export makes sense and creates plenty of new jobs.

ADB expects to return to Myanmar soon

MANILA The Asian Development Bank expects to resume its operations in Myanmar sooner rather than later, the banks managing director-general Rajat Nag said. Returning to the Southeast Asian country is very likely and very desirable, Nag said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Manila on May 1. Myanmars US$490 million in arrears to the Manila-based bank is not an insurmountable issue, he said. Democracy advocate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became a parliamentarian for the first time last week in a further sign of political opening in Myanmar that may put it back on the map for investors. The United States has said it would ease some economic and financial restrictions on the former military government that floated the nations currency last month. I dont see any reason why not to trust the government, Nag said. They have made fairly far-reaching fundamental reforms leading to the international community being comfortable enough with them to lift sanctions. The country having been closed for so long has huge needs in almost every sector, Nag said. It has many distortions, one of which was the currency, which has now been addressed, which is a very positive step. Bloomberg News

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Chinas heritage plan hits strong resistance

By Sebastien Blanc BEIJING Beijing has announced plans to rebuild some of the gates in its longlost imperial city wall: such is the way of heritage in China, where conservation often means demolition and putting up a replica. The authorities are promising to restore the original appearance of the monumental Ming and Qing dynasty arches in the wall, which was demolished in the 1950s and stood where a ring road and metro line now run. It is a hollow pledge. The landscape is so changed that even though China has excelled at copying for centuries, Beijing residents have lined up to rail against the fake antiquities project. A prime example is the Qianmen district, south of the Forbidden City. It was demolished during the giant renovation of the capital before the 2008 Olympics, then rebuilt as a historical theme park, complete with neon adverts for major international brands. Since then, the practice of making a clean sweep of the past and rebuilding an inauthentic version, for instance with fake glazed roof tiles and kitsch hanging lanterns, has been dubbed qianmenisation. It is an ignorant, stupid and greedy practice said He Shuzhong, founder of Beijings Centre for the Pr otection of Cultural Heritage. throes of qianmenisation. Others have already been transformed into movie sets, as Hua Xinmin, activist and author of the book I Refuse to See My Homeland Disappear, puts it. She is fighting an unequal battle against developers and local Communist officials who enrich themselves by destroying old neighbourhoods: they openly flout the law and forcibly evict residents, who often receive little in the way of compensation. It would be better to spend the money to preserve what is left instead of trying to remake what doesnt exist any more, she said, pointing out that twothirds of Beijings 3000 old hutongs, or alleys, have already vanished. She is furious that the US weekly Time included Chen Lihua, a property magnate who destroyed her old Beijing neighbourhood, on its list of 2012s most influential people in the world. The cycle of evictions followed by demolitions happens in every city in China. In the far west of the

It is an ignorant, stupid and greedy practice.

Ignorant because they do not know the meaning of cultural heritage; stupid, because they do not understand the old citys crucial role for society; and greedy because corruption permeates every step of the reconstruction. Now Beijings ancient Drum Tower and Nanluoguxiang areas have fallen victim to the bulldozers and are in the

Visitors walk past newly built heritage buildings in Beijings historical Qianmen Street on April 22. Pic: AFP country, the Silk Road city of Kashgar is having its historic centre gutted and its traditional brick and mud houses replaced by new buildings, despite cries of alarm abroad. But online social networks are now enabling better organised resistance Huas microblogging feed has almost 15,000 followers. During the Chinese New Year holidays the former Beijing home of renowned architect couple Liang Sicheng (1901-1972) and Lin Huiyin (1904-1955) ironically pioneers of saving Chinese cultural heritage was demolished, provoking outrage online. It is now impossible to approach the site where the residence, which was in theory a protected listed building, stood. The area is controlled by developers, an AFP reporter saw, with security guards preventing access and a fence blocking the view. There is nowhere for future generations to remember their work, lamented Yu Wei, a passerby. In the city of Chongqing, the former residence of Nationalist China leader Chiang Kai-shek recently fell victim to an official preventive demolition. The move triggered widespread criticism and the authorities have meekly promised to rebuild it. AFP

Hamptons home prices rising as luxury beach houses lure buyers

By Oshrat Carmiel NEW YORK Home prices in New Yorks Hamptons, the Long Island ocean-side retreat for summering Manhattanites, increased almost 12 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as the most expensive properties attracted buyers. The median price of homes that sold in the quarter climbed to US$780,000 from $699,000 a year earlier even as total sales declined, according to a report released by New York appraiser Miller Samuel and broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate on April 26. The median for luxury homes in the Hamptons and Long Islands North Fork, defined as the top 10pc of all sales, increased 3.8pc to $4.78 million. The high-end market is showing stability as employment improves and foreign investors seek beachside real estate as a place to park cash, said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. New York Citys financial industry had a net gain of 6700 jobs in the 12 months through March, according to the state Department of Labor. The citys jobless rate was 9.8pc that month, down from 10.2pc in February. The big boys are comfortable parting with money again, said Judi Desiderio, president of Town & Country Real Estate, which released a report this month showing that the dollar value of Hamptons homes that changed hands in the quarter jumped 30pc to $394.4 million. Sales of Hamptons and North Fork luxury properties, which this quarter includes homes priced at $3.4 million or higher, increased to 38 deals from 37 a year earlier, according to the Miller Samuel and Prudential report. Total Hamptons home sales fell 7.1pc to 287 transactions. The median home price in the Hamptons fell to as low as $675,000 in the first quarter of 2009, when demand plunged in the aftermath of Lehman Brotherss bankruptcy. It rose to a post-recession high of $937,000 in the second quarter of 2011. Prices arent rising rapidly, were just seeing strength at the upper end, Miller said. You have a steady diet of high-end property being absorbed. The most expensive property to change hands in the first quarter was a 9000square foot (836-square-metre), six-bedroom oceanfront house at 322 Meadow Lane in Southampton, which sold for $28.5 million in February after almost three-and-a-half years on the market, according to Miller and Streeteasy.com, a property-listing website. The final price was a 16pc reduction from what the owner last sought, according to Streeteasy. Brown Harris, which also released a report on April 26, said the median price of sold homes in the Hamptons climbed 5pc to $815,000. The Corcoran Group, another New York brokerage with offices in the Hamptons, reported that prices declined 5pc from a year earlier to $821,000. Hamptons homes took 6pc more time to sell in the quarter than they did a year earlier, averaging 177 days on the market, according to Miller Samuel and Prudential. Luxury homes spent an average of 122 days on the market, 15pc less time than they did a year ago. Bloomberg

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Squatter squabble in Mayangone tsp

She said many other legitimate homeowners in the area suffered similar problems. And the squatters houses seem to be growing all the time and taking up even more space from my own property, which is really awful, she said. I would like the authorities to take some action on behalf of legitimate property owners, otherwise this could lead to greater problems, she said. The resident, who requested not to be named, said she first complained to the Yangon mayor in 2005, asking for the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) to evict the squatters. However, her efforts failed. However, other homeowners in the eighth ward began writing letters to the authorities in February after they heard that several of the squatters had applied to YCDC to become the legal owners of the plots. Weve suffered from the sewage and noise from these illegal squatters for so many years and then we heard that they were applying for legal leases for the plots they were occupying, the anonymous resident said. I could not believe they would be bold enough to apply for land leases. But they have greatly distorted the social and economic atmosphere of our quarter already and were sick of them. Their untidy residences are also serious fire hazards because they are made from wood, she said. The aim of the letter is to stop the granting of legal leases to the squatters first, followed by their eviction from the ward. Some residents told The Myanmar Times that even though they were unhappy with the presence of the squatters in the neighbourhood, they had not complained because they feared creating conflicts. A 40-year-old resident However, some of the squatters say they have every right to live where they are, adding that the homeowners were to blame for the recent conflict. U Pyay Thein, 73, a squatter in the eighth quarter, said one major disagreement started when the 53-yearold homeowner (quoted at the top of the story) decided to dramatically enlarge her previously humble residence. The owner of a small house on Wuntha Rekita Street started expanding several months ago and has monopolised the surrounding area, he said. The squatters living nearby complained very strongly about the noise and pollution from the construction. But she behaved rudely when they complained to her and upset all of her neighbours. After that, she decided to complain to the authorities because she felt she had to protect her image, he said. As a result of the womans complaints, township authorities have since paid close attention to the ward, which has left many squatters feeling under

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Eighth quarter residents write letter to president complaining about the poor behaviour of neighbours
By Htar Htar Khin PROPERTY owners in Mayangone townships eighth quarter have complained to the president about people allegedly squatting in the area. The quarter, which runs alongside Kabar Aye Pagoda Road, is one of the citys more affluent areas. However, residents say squatters who have long built temporary dwellings on unoccupied blocks can no longer be tolerated because they negatively affect the neighbourhood. A 53-year-old eighth quarter resident said she has lived in the area for a decade and was fed up with the behaviour of the alleged squatters. I bought my house 10 years ago and there are four squatters houses nearby, she said. What upsets me the most is the sewage from their septic tank overflows into my property. I got so sick of it that I decided to try and build a high wall to stop it from happening but the township authorities refused to give me permission, she said. pressure, he said. Township authorities have been asking squatters to show property ownership documents, taking photos of the area and surveying the streets, he said. We feel as if were under constant pressure. Its our right to live here because weve been here for generations and pay all the taxes were supposed to pay, he added. A 40-year-old squatter, whose house is alongside the newly expanded house, said she applied to the township authorities for a land grant after township authorities encouraged her to do so. Weve applied for a land grant with the aid of the township authorities, she said. Rumours that the authorities are corruptly cooperating with us to get these grants are untrue. Were just poor residents but how could we get these land grants without help? she asked. Weve lived here for many years in a narrow space close to the womans house and weve tried to keep quiet but her complaints have deeply upset us, she said.

of Weve suffered this kind years interference almost daily for in a calm manner because we dont want to have quarrels.
Residents wrote a group letter and sent it to President U Thein Sein on February 15 listing three grievances: economic loss from the devaluing of properties alongside squatter houses; increased ambient noise and cluttered streets; and bullying. The letter also alleges that some squatters have illegally sublet their houses for K40,000 a month.

from the eighth ward said: Our home is blocked by one of the squatter houses and weve had to reduce our compound, which makes it hard for traffic to get through and looks very unattractive. Weve suffered this kind of interference almost daily for years in a calm manner because we dont want to have quarrels with the squatters, she said.

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Microsoft readies shot into tablet market

By Glenn Chapman SAN FRANCISCO Microsoft is counting on friends to make it a hit later this year when it crashes a tablet computer party at which Apple has been the star ever since the launch of the iPad. The US software colossus turned a draining patent lawsuit with Barnes & Noble into a mutually beneficial alliance that could make Nook digital books a cornerstone of a content ecosystem vital to selling Windows 8 tablets. Microsoft said last week that it will make a US$300 million investment in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary focusing on the booksellers digital reading capabilities, including its Nook tablet, and its college businesses. It is not a surprise they are making this kind of investment, said Gartner Research analyst Michael Gartenberg. Barnes & Noble is probably the best partner for them, and it ensures Windows has a book and magazine service as part of its overall ecosystem. Tablets powered by Windows 8 software are expected by the end of this year. Amazon.com Kindles based on free Googlebacked Android operating systems and Apple iPads have proven that while buyers like slick hardware, they love devouring videos, music, applications, digital books and other content. Sometimes we focus too much on the technology, said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions On Microsoft, an independent firm that tracks the Redmond, Washingtonbased technology firm. The success of tablets isnt going to be because it is running Windows but because it has the apps people want and a price people want to pay for that kind of device, he said. Cherry is certain Microsoft will make more alliances to cultivate a rich ecosystem for Windows tablets. This is just the beginning; there will be more deals, the analyst said. When you are late to the party you often have to encourage partners to work on the platform. Ironically, Microsoft launched tablet software a decade ago only to see it fail because publishers and readers werent ready for it, according to analysts. Sometimes Microsoft is too early to the party, Cherry said. Timing is everything. Windows-based tablets boasting features such as removable keyboards for typing and styluses for touch-screen commands were released in 2002 but didnt catch on. Once again Microsoft led but let someone else take it away from them, Gartenberg said. Microsoft is often early to the party, has the vision but not the wherewithal to stick with it. Microsoft typically avoids making its own hardware, preferring to provide software to gadget makers. Microsoft device flops include Zune players Microsoft trying to bring some allies into the battle. The digital textbook market was deemed by analysts a shrewd place to start because it has yet to be claimed and premium prices charged by Apple for its slick iPads can be daunting to schools and students. Meanwhile, textbooks are among the strengths of Barnes & Noble and Microsoft computers have deep hooks in education, Enderle said. Where neither one separately is well positioned, together they would be better positioned than Apple is, Enderle said. This gets Nook, Microsoft and Barnes & Noble back in the game. The alliance also means that Microsoft should be able to create a digital books and magazine library that spans the array of gadgets or computers powered by Windows software. Apple and Amazon will both see this as a potential threat and more against that threat, Enderle said. The clock is ticking. Even though Microsoft has advantages, it doesnt have a lot of time to deliver something to market. AFP

A Barnes & Noble bookstore is seen in Washington, DC on April 30. Pic: AFP launched to challenge on iPods and Kin smartphones geared for the young. In contrast, Xbox videogame consoles Microsoft fielded to take on Sony PlayStation systems have become a big winner. Microsoft has a tendency to get the product right but to be stingy so you have the Windows phone failure, Zune failure and Kin failure, said independent analyst Rob Enderle of Silicon Valley. They invested heavily in Xbox, and it succeeded. The timing of Microsofts return to the tablet party is a non-issue since rivals have been unable to overthrow iPad, according to NPD analyst Stephen Baker. This is about Microsoft building up an ecosystem more than anything else, Baker said. This is more

Trade Mark CauTion

NOTICE is hereby given that SiCPa HoLdinG Sa of Avenue de Florissant 41, 1008 Prilly, Switzerland is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following trademark: -

iPads for infants stir fierce debate

PARIS Twenty-two-month-old George sits on a tiny blue chair, at a baby-sized desk, playing with a grown-up toy an iPad, sign of a powerful trend that has set alarm bells ringing among child development experts. Leaning over the tablet, the little Parisian finger-stabs the duck icon on Moo Box, an application with animal images that let out moos, oinks and barks. For his mother Aurelie Mercier, 32, the beauty of iPad apps is they can expand her sons world, like a virtual piano that lets him play music in the absence of the real thing. Its a window onto tons of things that we dont have at home and that can be condensed into a very small object, she told AFP. Fuelled by the likes of George, the number of baby and toddler apps is booming, according to Heather Leister who has reviewed child applications at US website theiphonemom.com since 2009. But psychologists and parents are divided on putting smartphones and tablets into such young hands, a highstakes issue considering how pivotal the first couple of years are to child development. Experts at a panel discussion in New York last month entitled Baby Brains and Video Games urged parents to set limits on electronic device use while acknowledging the magnetic appeal of iPads in particular. You cant pull it from their hands, said panelist Warren Buckleitner, editor of the Childrens Technology Review. George, who spends 30 minutes a week with the iPad, first asked for it at 10 months by pointing and cooing in its direction. Both graphic artists, his parents recently developed their first app, which generates firework-like images to save as screenshots. Though geared toward adults, Mercier lets George play with it, talking softly as he sends yellow stars swirling around the screen. Now they have seen first-hand what toddlers like catchy colours, sound, large buttons, simplicity the pair plan to develop child-friendly apps. Well use George as our beta-tester, Mercier said. Were counting on him to give good advice. For Katie Linendoll, a CNN technology expert in New York, apps are the ultimate babysitter. If you have an app thats simple to understand, a kid will run with that, Linendoll told AFP. But some parents worry about computer culture interfering with the way their children play with conventional toys. Sarah Rotman Epps, a Boston-based consumer technology analyst, said her two-year-old son loves drawing on paper with crayons. But he gets very frustrated when the pictures dont move, and I think that is really coming from the pervasive culture of video and animation. In a nutshell: a hit YouTube video dubbed A Magazine is an iPad that Does Not Work shows a one-year-old trying in vain to scroll tablet-style through a print publication on her lap. This is what troubles Paris child psychiatrist Serge Tisseron who worries apps fail to teach children to properly apprehend three-dimensional space, a key developmental milestone. We know the toddler absolutely needs to engage all his senses, he said. Tisseron is by no means antitechnology the 64-year-old is an avid video gamer but until more research has been carried out he recommends keeping screens out of baby hands. In the first two years of life the brain triples in size, synapses forming as young children experiment with objects they sniff, bite and throw. Despite the iPhone and iPads muchlauded interactivity, Tisseron says they remain limited in terms of sensory experience: they can engage sight, hearing and touch to an extent but not taste or smell. Thats where the simplest of toys, and baby games with no set rules, are crucial, says Texas paediatrician Ari Brown, lead author of a 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report on screen use by children under two. There are some good apps and activities that encourage problem solving, memory, ordering, sequencing virtual versions of games we used to play as kids, Brown said. But no app can replace the value in taking two blocks and figuring out how to stack them one on top of the other. AAP discourages passive television viewing in this age group, but the jury is still out on smartphone use, as the technology is so new that long-term research is not yet available. Apples app store opened in 2008 and the iPad came out in 2010. Brown suggests the main danger is a kind of opportunity cost: when youngsters play with iPads, they are not engaged in what may be more beneficial. That view is shared by Jean-Philippe Vieira, 46, a Paris-area cook who has neither a tablet nor mobile phone and limits his childrens television time to 20 minutes on Friday. He believes toddlers need space to invent their own games, the way he did growing up in Portugal: There were moments when we had nothing to do, but that was great because when you do nothing, you come up with ways to occupy yourself. You dont need technology to play, Vieira told AFP in a park full of yelling children. Vieira, whose sons are three, six and eight, cautions against ushering children into a virtual world and is troubled by the idea of parents using the iPad as babysitter. Those who want to continue the life they led while single without children, well its true these games can be the answer, he said. But is it the right answer? But for Georges mother Mercier, who never leaves her son unattended with the tablet, there is no harm in moderate use spaced out by other kinds of play. In their case, keeping tabs on device use meant moving all the screens in their home behind a closed door, an out-of-sight-out-of-mind tactic to keep George from craving technology. But seeing as we live in a society with screens everywhere, I dont think I should keep him from playing with it. AFP

( reg: nos. iV/3468/2008 & iV/13168/2011 ) in respect of:- Printing inks, security inks, copying inks, printing pastes; paints for any kind of graphic printing; varnishes and lacquers for printing; siccatives, mordants; raw natural resins; metals consisting of foils and powder for painters, decorators, printers and artists; preparations for visible and invisible security taggants or markings, as well as coatings and compositions, all made of or comprising the aforesaid materials - Class: 02 Apparatus and machines for printing and graphic arts and parts thereof, printing machines, printing matrices and printing presses, printing plates, machines and machine parts for producing designs induced by magnetism in a composition of coatings containing magnetic particles, apparatus for orienting magnetic flakes during printing (machine parts) - Class: 07 Electronic, digital or electrically operated equipment for producing, reading and/or for recording coatings and markings or security marks created by printing or other means, especially printers, readers, scanners, surface feelers, apparatus for visualising or for reading coatings and markings or security marks with a frequency within or outside the visible spectrum, apparatus for recording electromagnetically or magnetically detectable coatings and markings or security marks - Class: 09 Printed matter, paper, cardboard and goods made of these materials (included in this class), particularly banknotes, tickets, labels, banderoles, financial, fiduciary and fiscal documents; printing types, printing blocks - Class: 16 Security consultancy, especially professional consultancy with regard to security elements used for the authentication and identification of banknotes, security documents, fiduciary documents and legitimisation documents; licensing of intellectual property - Class: 45
Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademark or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law. U Kyi Win Associates for SiCPa HoLdinG Sa P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon. Phone: 372416 Dated: 7th May, 2012

Staying inside threatens young Asians sight: study

PARIS Shunning the outdoors for books, video games and TV is the reason up to nine in ten schoolleavers in big East Asian cities are near-sighted, says a study published on May 4. Neither genes nor an increase in activities such as reading and writing is to blame, the researchers suggest, but a simple lack of sunlight. Exposure to the suns rays is believed to stimulate production of the chemical dopamine, which in turn stops the eyeball from growing elongated and distorting the focus of light entering the eye. Its pretty clear that it is bright light stimulating dopamine release which prevents myopia, researcher Ian Morgan of the Australian National University told AFP of the findings published in The Lancet medical journal. Yet the average primary school pupil in Singapore, where up to nine in ten young adults are myopic, spent only about 30 minutes outdoors every day compared to three hours for children in Australia where the myopia prevalence among children of European origin is about 10pc. The figure in Britain was about 30pc to 40pc and in Africa virtually none in the range of two to three percent, said Morgan. More than other groups, children in East Asia basically go to school, they dont go outside at school, they go home and they stay inside. They study and they watch television, Morgan said. The most myopic school-leavers in the world are found in cities in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, where between 80pc and 90pc were affected. Of these, 10pc to 20pc had a condition called high myopia, which can lead to blindness. Most of what weve seen in East Asia is due to the environment, it is not genetic, said Morgan. The researchers, collating the findings of studies from around the world, stressed that being a bookworm or computer geek does not in itself put you at risk. As long as they get outside it doesnt seem to matter how much study they do, said Morgan. There are some kids who study hard and get outside and play hard and they are generally fine. The ones who are at major risk are the ones who study hard and dont get outside. The scientist said children who spent two to three hours outside every day were probably reasonably safe. This could include time spent on the playground and walking to and from school. Morgan said ways must be found to get children to spend more time in reasonably bright daylight without compromising their schooling. It is going to require some sort of structural change in the way a childs time is organised in East Asia because there is so much commitment to schooling and there is also a habit of taking a nap at lunchtime, which is from our perspective prime myopia prevention time. AFP

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China offers way out in Chen row

Briefly
HOMS, Syria The head of the UN military observer mission overseeing a troubled ceasefire in Syria said on May 3 that government forces must make the first move to end nearly 14 months of bloodshed. Major General Robert Mood made the call during a visit to Syrias third-largest city Homs. MANILA The United States will this year double military aid to its ally the Philippines, the foreign department in Manila said on May 4. The increase will see military aid in 2012 jump to US$30 million, department spokesman Raul Hernandez said. Earlier report, P. 22. LONDON Boris Johnson was re-elected mayor of Olympic host city London late May 4 to the relief Prime Minister David Cameron, after his Conservative Party took a beating in mid-term local elections. The Labour Party made big gains in the elections at the expense of the Conservatives and their Liberal Democrat coalition partners. CAIRO At least two people were killed in Cairo on May 4 in fierce clashes between anti-military protesters and soldiers, hospital officials and medics said. AFP Earlier report, P. 16. BEIJING The United States said on May 4 that China had indicated it would let blind activist Chen Guangcheng and his family leave the country soon, raising hopes of a resolution to a damaging diplomatic crisis. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said China would expedite travel documents for the rights campaigner, who escaped house arrest and fled to the US embassy, where he spent six days before emerging on May 2. The Chinese government has indicated that it will accept Mr Chens applications for appropriate travel documents, Nuland said in a statement. The United States government expects that the Chinese government will expeditiously process his applications for these documents. The United States government would then give visa requests for him and his immediate family priority attention. Nuland said Chen had been offered a fellowship by an American university, where he could be accompanied by his wife and two children. A spokesman for New York University later said Chen had been invited to study at the institution. Nulands statement appeared to be deliberately vague in hopes of giving China a face-saving way out of the crisis. Officials declined to give a timeframe or to say whether they had firm assurances from the Chinese government. to between China and the United States, he told AFP by telephone earlier on May 4 from the hospital where he is being treated. The unravelling of the deal prompted the United States to renew talks with Chen to try to establish the next move for the activist, who has said he does not want to go into permanent exile but is seeking a period of rest abroad. China has reacted angrily to the case, demanding a US apology for interference in its affairs. But analysts said Beijing would likely allow Chen to leave the country. In extraordinary scenes on Capitol Hill, Chen phoned in to a congressional hearing on his case on May 3 to ask lawmakers for help to travel to the United States and appealed directly to Clinton. I really am fearing for my family members lives, he said, speaking through a mobile phone relayed to the hearing through the chamber speaker system. The thing Im most concerned with now is the safety of my mother and my brother. Chen, a self-taught lawyer, said he felt pressured to leave the embassy, fearing for the safety of his family who suffered repeated abuses at the hands of local officials in their hometown. The US has strongly denied this. Chens flight came despite round-the-clock surveillance at his house in Shandong, where he had been under heavy restrictions after completing his jail term in 2010. AFP

Beijing earlier said Chen was free to apply to go abroad, after the activist said he feared for his and his familys safety in China and wanted to go to the United States to study. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was encouraged by that development in the affair, which erupted ahead of her arrival in Beijing for annual talks that have

been overshadowed by the drama. Progress has been made to help him have the future that he wants. We will be staying in touch with him as this process moves forward, Clinton said. The activist, who spent four years in jail after exposing forced abortions and sterilisations under the one-child policy, unleashed a diplomatic furore with

his flight from his home in northeast Shandong province. US officials said Chen, 40, left the embassy after Beijing pledged he and his family would be treated humanely, but since then he has said he fears retribution by Chinese authorities. I am in great danger... I hope the government will respect the commitments to guarantee my rights agreed

Fast car fetish snags tax evaders

ROME Italian tax evaders are being caught out by their addiction to fast cars, police said last week, announcing the discovery of 10 billion euros (US$13 billion) in unpaid taxes this year. These people are pushed to defraud by the mirage of easy money, to allow themselves the luxuries that they would otherwise not be able to afford, luxuries that are often the first clue, the tax police said in a statement on May 3. It is not enough to put your big car in a relatives name to trick the inspectors, said the statement, adding that more than 2000 people were under investigation for the alleged frauds and that 80 arrests had been made. The police gave the example of a property developer in Perugia in central Italy spotted speeding through town in his Ferrari, Maserati or Mercedes. The cars all in his mothers name led investigators to uncover hidden revenues from property sales of seven million euros over three years. The police said they had found a similar case in the town of Terni where a businessman spent the money he defrauded on a Ferrari and a Lamborghini. In Pescara, they said they were investigating a plumber with three properties, 30 bank accounts and a Ferrari, who faked receipts. Tax police said they had recovered 4.0 billion euros in the first four months of the year, on top of the 6.0 billion euros announced late last month. AFP

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Pre-election clashes leave 20 dead in Egyptian capital

CAIRO Thugs attacked protesters near the defence ministry in Cairo on May 2, sparking clashes that killed 20 people in the tense runup to Egypts first postuprising presidential poll. In a bid to placate the protesters against military rule, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) said it was ready to hand power to civilian rule on May 24 if a candidate wins the first round of the election. The army had said previously it would hand over at the end of June. The dawn assault sparked fierce clashes between the unidentified attackers and the protesters, who had been camping out to demand an end to military rule, with both sides hurling petrol bombs and rocks, the official said. The army deployed troops in central Cairo to quell the clashes, a military source told AFP. A doctor at a field hospital said 20 people were killed and dozens wounded. Four presidential candidates announced they were temporarily suspending their campaigns over the killings. The Muslim Brotherhoods Mohammed Mursi told reporters he decided to stop campaigning for 48 hours in solidarity with The United States said it wants Egypts interim military rulers to investigate the deadly clashes. We want to see the government of Egypt investigate these events and hold those responsible for the violence accountable, said State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner. The targeted protesters, supporters of Salafist politician Hazem Abu Ismail, had been camped out since April 28 after the electoral commission barred the popular hardline Islamist from contesting the election. Protests since the popular uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak last year have often turned violent, with thugs associated to the previous regime often blamed. The electoral commission on April 14 barred 10 candidates, including the Brotherhoods Khairat ElShater and the former presidents intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, from standing in the poll to choose Mubaraks successor. Abu Ismails nomination was rejected because his mother had taken joint US citizenship, but many of his supporters believe he was the victim of a plot by the authorities. AFP

Briefs
Missile dispute near dead end: Russia
MOSCOW Russia said on May 3 its dispute with the United States over missile defence was near a dead end and warned it might have to deploy new rockets in Europe to take out elements of the controversial shield. We have not been able to find mutually-acceptable solutions at this point and the situation is practically at a dead end, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told a televised conference on missile defence issues. The comments came ahead of next months official deployment of the first elements of the new shield.

A man holds spent shotgun cartridges found at the site of the clashes in Cairo on May 2. Pic: AFP the protesters. The SCAF, as the ruling authority, was the first to be responsible, he said. His main Islamist rival, Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, cancelled all activity for the day, his camp told AFP, while leftist candidates Khaled Ali and Hamdeen Sabbahi also announced they were suspending their campaigns. Amr Mussa, a former Arab League chief and a frontrunner in the race, said the violence was proof of the need to put an end to the transitional period according to the timetable, without delay. The military chief of staff, Sami Enan, said the army may transfer power to an elected president on May 24 if the vote is decided in the first round. The presidential election is scheduled for May 23 and 24 and a possible run off for June 16 and 17.

Yves Rossy, known as the Jetman, flies past Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 2, in a photo released by Breitling. The Swiss aviator jumped from a helicopter and used his body to steer his jet powered carbon-kevlar Jetwin as he flew over the city before landing on Copacabana Beach. Pic: AFP/Breitling

UN chief denounces killings of journalists

UNITED NATIONS UN chief Ban Ki-moon on May 3 led international outrage at the growing number of journalist killings, as the bodies of two dead photographers were found in Mexico on World Press Freedom Day. Ban told a press freedom event at the UN headquarters that journalists face dire threats and said that more than 60 were killed in 2011. Impunity for those who attack or threaten journalists remains disturbingly prevalent, he added, calling attacks on journalists outrageous.

Gingrich bows out of race

ARLINGTON, Virginia Former House speaker Newt Gingrich dropped his erratic campaign for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination on May 2. Gingrich made the announcement in the W ash i n g t o n s u bu r b o f Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Callista, at his side. His exit leaves only Ron Paul, an anti-tax and anti-war veteran Texas congressman, officially in the race against presumptive nominee Mitt Romney. Gingrich, 68, best known for his polarising term as leader of the House of Representatives in the 1990s, enjoyed brief spurts of success after a chaotic start to his presidential campaign. But Gingrich won just two nominating contests after the start of the state-by-state race in January in his home state of Georgia and in South Carolina and was a distant third in the fight to take on US President Barack Obama in November. Former US senator Rick Santorum, who overtook Gingrich as the Republicans favorite alternative to Romney, quit the race last month. AFP

Trade Mark CauTion

F. uhrenholt Holding a/S, a Company incorporated in Denmark, of Teglgardsparken 106, 5500 Middelfart, Denmark, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

reg. no. 2792/2009 in respect of Class 29: Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs, milk and milk products; edible oils and fats, vegetable oils, shellfish, not live, fruit sauce, milk powder and dairy products, cheese, butter and cream, all the aforementioned goods also as frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs; protein for human consumption. Class 30: Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca and products made from tapioca, sago, artificial coffee; flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry and confectionery, ices and products made from ices; honey, treacle; yeast, baking-powder; salt, mustard; vinegar, sauces (condiments); spices; ice, artificial tea, candy for food, noodles and products made from flour and corn, soya sauce, soya bean paste [condiment], essences and spices for foodstuffs, except etheric essences and essential oils, all the aforementioned goods also as frozen refrigerated foodstuffs. Class 31: Agricultural, horticultural and forestry products and grains not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds, natural plants and flowers; foodstuffs for animals, including protein for animal consumption, malt. Class 35: Wholesale and retail related to meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs, milk and milk

uHrenHoLT

products; edible oils and fats, vegetable oils, shellfish, not live, fruit sauce, milk powder and dairy products, cheese, butter and cream, deep-frozen meat products, deep-frozen poultry, deep-frozen shrimps, vacuum packed, heat-treated poultry; deep frozen ready-made food in the form of gratins containing meat or meat and vegetables, turkey schnitzels, chicken schnitzels, cordon bleau, meatballs, pork and veal patties, steaks and hamburgers, pizzas and French loaf containing meat or meat and vegetables, protein for human consumption, including frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs; wholesale and retail related to coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca and products made from tapioca, sago, artificial coffee; flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry and confectionery, ices and products made from ices; honey, treacle; yeast, baking-powder; salt, mustard; vinegar, sauces (condiments); spices; ice, artificial tea, candy for food, noodles and products made from flour and corn, soya sauce, soya bean paste [condiment], essences and spices for foodstuffs, except etheric essences and essential oils, including frozen and refrigerated foodstuffs and wholesale and retail related to agricultural, horticultural and forestry products and grains not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds, natural plants and flowers; foodstuffs for animals, including protein for animal consumption, malt. Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark will be dealt with according to law. Win Mu Tin, M.A.,H.G.P.,D.B.L. for F. uhrenholt Holding a/S P.O. Box 60, Yangon E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm Dated: 7th May, 2012

Obama, Noda warn NKorea against N-test

WASHINGTON The United States and Japan warned North Korea last week against a new nuclear test. What Ive tried to do since I came into office (is) to make sure that North Koreans understand that the old pattern of provocation that then gets attention and somehow insists on the world purchasing good behaviour from them, that that pattern is broken, Obama said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda at the White House on April 30. The more you engage in provocative acts, the more isolated you will become, the stronger sanctions will be in place, Obama said, in comments that followed North Koreas controversial failed rocket launch on April 13. Noda noted that the regime carried out its last nuclear test in 2009 amid an uproar over another such rocket launch. That means that there is a great possibility that they will conduct a nuclear test, Noda said. AFP

Immunity granted to anti-Kadhafi rebels

TRIPOLI Libyan authorities granted immunity to former rebels who fought to oust Moamer Kadhafis regime, under a law passed on May 3. The immunity covers military, security or civilian acts undertaken by revolutionaries with the aim of ensuring the revolutions success and its goal, the National Transitional Council said on its website. The NTC also adopted a law that makes glorifying Khadhafi or his regime punishable by a prison sentence.

US raises concern about body bombs

WELLINGTON The United States is monitoring the possibility of terror groups trying to down aircraft by implanting explosives in the human body, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano said on May 2. Napolitano stressed that there was no evidence of an imminent threat from a so-called body bomb, but said the prospect was one of the ever-changing attack strategies that security officials had to combat. AFP

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Bin Laden complained of disaster: US

WASHINGTON Osama bin Laden bemoaned disaster after disaster inflicted by the US onslaught on alQaeda before his death a year ago, a top US official said last week. President Barack Obamas top counter-terrorism aide John Brennan also argued that a US drone campaign had left al-Qaeda seriously weakened and unable to replace wiped-out leaders. Brennan said in a speech in Washington on April 30 that the terror group was losing badly, was a shadow of its former self, and that its core leadership would soon be no longer relevant. He said the al-Qaeda leaders frustration at the demise of his group, which was behind the September 11 attacks in 2001, was apparent in documents seized from his Pakistan compound by US Navy SEAL commandos who killed him a year ago. He confessed to disaster after disaster for al-Qaeda, Brennan said. Brennan also said that subsequent US operations to wipe out senior al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan had left the group reeling. Under intense pressure in the tribal regions of Pakistan, they have fewer places to train and groom the next generation of operatives, theyre struggling to attract new recruits. Morale is low, Brennan said in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. News of bin Ladens death broke in Washington late on May 1, 2011, and in Pakistan on May 2, owing to the time difference. Brennan said that the documents gathered at bin Ladens lair in Abbottabad, outside Islamabad, show the late al-Qaeda leader urged subordinates to flee for places away from aircraft photography and bombardment. Things got so bad for the group which plotted the 9/11 attacks, the deadliest terror strike in US history, that bin Laden considered changing the groups name in a rebranding effort, he said. Brennan also claimed that the administrations tactics against al-Qaeda had made it harder than ever for the terror network to plan and execute large-scale, potentially catastrophic attacks. Today, it is increasingly clear that compared to 9/11, the core al-Qaeda leadership is a shadow of its former self, Brennan said. Al-Qaeda has been left with just a handful of capable leaders and operatives, and with continued pressure is on the path to its destruction. And for the first time since this fight began, we can look ahead and envision a world in which the al-Qaeda core is simply no longer relevant. Brennans speech amounted to the administrations most comprehensive public survey about the state of the struggle against alQaeda. He spent considerable time defending strikes by unmanned US aerial drones in nations like Pakistan, crediting them with dismantling al-Qaedas top leadership and causing bin Ladens distress. Brennan said the strikes were legal, ethical and proportional, and added that Obama had instructed officials to share more details about the secret war. Despite lauding the administrations achievements in hammering top al-Qaeda leaders and the groups capacity, Brennan also warned that global terror threats were still potent, particularly those emanating from Africa. As the al-Qaeda core falters, it continues to look to its affiliates and adherents to carry on its murderous cause, Brennan said, warning that the groups merger with the Shebab group in Somalia was worrying. AFP

Obama questions Romney on al-Qaeda leaders death

WASHINGTON US President Barack Obama on April 30 questioned whether his foe Mitt Romney would have taken out Osama bin Laden. Obama stepped into a fierce election-year row sparked by the anniversary of bin Ladens killing in a raid in Pakistan by US special forces, in a sharp, implicit criticism of his presumptive Republican White House rival. I said that I would go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him and I did it, a steely Obama said in a White House news conference, that took place on the eve of the anniversary of the US Navy SEAL raid which killed bin Laden. If there are others who said one thing and now suggest they would do something else, I would let them explain it, Obama said. Obama did not mention Romney by name in his comments, which escalated a campaign row over who should get credit for the daring helicopter-borne raid deep into Pakistan which killed bin Laden ta year ago. But he was clearly referring to comments Romney made in 2007, when the Republican questioned whether it would be right to infringe Pakistani territory if Islamabad refused to act on intelligence on terror suspects. Its wrong for a person running for the president of the United States to get on TV and say, Were going to go into your country unilaterally, Romney said in August 2007. Obama implicitly accused Romney of changing his story for political gain, in a manner which ultimately called into question the Republican candidates leadership capacity and ability to serve as commander-in-chief. As far as my personal role and what other folks would do, I just recommend that everybody take a look at peoples previous statements in terms of whether they thought it was appropriate to go into Pakistan and take out bin Laden, Obama said. I assume people meant what they said when they said it. That has been at least my practice. The Romney campaign hit back at Obamas comments, accusing the president of stooping to a cheap political ploy and distorting Romneys strong policies on the war on terror. AFP

Trade Mark CauTion

The Siam Cement Public Company Limited, a company incorporated in Thailand, of 1 Siam Cement Road, Bangsue, Bangkok 10800, Thailand, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

New York skyline reaches new heights

NEW YORK New Yorks skyline got a new king on April 30 after the still unfinished World Trade Center tower, built to replace the destroyed Twin Towers, crept above the venerable Empire State Building. Workers gently manoeuvered a steel column into its base atop the skyscrapers skeletal top, bringing the total height to just beyond the 381 metres (1250 feet) of the Empire State Buildings observation deck. The Port Authority, which owns the site, announced a major milestone in the construction of One World Trade Center, certifying that the building would now surpass the height of the Empire State Building, which is the tallest structure in New York City. One World Trade Center, already a gleaming, angular landmark on the citys skyline, will get still taller when construction ends late next year, reaching 541.3 metres (1776 feet) and 104 floors. Not only will that dwarf the 1930s masterpiece of the Empire State Building, but it will be higher than the old Twin Towers, which both collapsed during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which killed almost 3000 people. Although the mammoth construction work to resurrect the Ground Zero area is nearing completion, the project has been plagued by billions of dollars in cost overruns, as well as delays, bickering over designs, and worries over whether the office space will be profitable. However, Mayor Michael Bloomberg stressed the positive, underlining the citys relationship with ambitious architecture. The New York City skyline is, once again, stretching to new heights, Bloomberg said. The latest progress at the World Trade Center is a testament to New Yorkers strength and resolve and to our belief in a city that is always reaching upward. Today our city has a new tallest building and a new sense of how bright our future is, Bloomberg said. The tallest building in the world remains Burj Khalifa in Dubai at 828.1 metres ( 2717 feet), but One World Trade Center will be the highest in the western hemisphere. AFP

(elephant in Hexagon Brand) reg. no. 3990/1994 in respect of cement. Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark will be dealt with according to law. Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L for The Siam Cement Public Company Limited P. O. Box 60, Yangon E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm Dated: 7th May, 2012

The One World Trade Center on April 30, when it became New Yorks tallest building. Pic: AFP

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in singling out three former Murdoch aides former News International executive chairman Les Hinton, News of the World editor Colin Myler and legal manager Tom Crone for deliberately misleading parliament. But it was divided on whether to include the comments on Murdoch. Four committee members from Prime Minister David Camerons Conservative party refused to approve them, but five opposition Labour members joined forces with the sole Liberal Democrat member to push them through. Conservative committee member Louise Mensch said the report would correctly be seen as partisan and that it had lost a very great deal of its credibility. Rupert Murdoch later admitted in a message to News International staff that the report made for difficult reading. For all of us myself in particular it is difficult to read many of the reports findings, Murdoch told staff in an email. But we have done the most difficult part, which has been to take a long, hard and honest look at our past mistakes. A News Corp statement said the panel had highlighted some hard truths and that the company had acted on the failings documented Rupert and James, 39 who quit as executive chairman of News International in February both gave evidence to the committee on July 19. Murdoch senior was attacked with a shaving foam pie by a comedian during the hearing. The 121-page report released on May 1 accused News International of instinctively trying to cover up rather than seek out wrongdoing and discipline the perpetrators. Corporately, the News of the World and News International misled the committee about the true nature and extent of the internal investigations they professed to have carried out in relation to phone hacking, it said. While it did not directly accuse the Murdochs of misleading the committee, it had harsh words for the Australian-born tycoon. If at all relevant times Rupert Murdoch did not take steps to become fully informed about phone hacking, he turned a blind eye and exhibited willful blindness to what was going on in his companies and publications, it said. Murdoch himself had pinned the blame on Myler and Crone when he appeared before a separate judicial inquiry in London on April 26, saying that he was the victim of a cover-up at the News of the World. AFP

MyanMar tiMes

Murdoch accused of willful blindness

LONDON Rupert Murdoch is not fit to lead a major global company, British lawmakers said in a scathing report on May 1, accusing him of willful blindness over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Parliaments influential culture committee said Murdochs USbased News Corporation media empire had misled lawmakers and added that the 81-year-old tycoon and his son James should take corporate responsibility. News Corp said the comments on Australian-born Murdoch were unjustified and highly partisan and noted that the committee itself was split on whether to include the remarks. The long-awaited report was the result of hearings that started shortly after the News of the World, Britains biggest selling and most controversial newspaper, shut last July amid public outrage. Rupert Murdoch is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company, concluded the 121-page report. News International and its parent News Corporation exhibited willful blindness, for which the companies directors including Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch should ultimately be prepared to take responsibility. The report was unanimous

File photos showing Rupert Murdoch (left) and clockwise from centre top, former News of the World editor Colin Myer, James Murdoch, former News International executive chairman Les Hinton and former News of the World legal manager, Tom Crone. Pic: AFP in the report. News Corporation regrets, however, that the Select Committees analysis of the factual record was followed by some commentary that we, and indeed several members of the committee, consider unjustified and highly partisan, it said. Hinton, a Murdoch aide for almost half a century who resigned as head of News Corps Dow Jones unit last year, Myler, who is now editor of the New York Daily News, and Crone all rejected the panels findings. Murdoch shut the News of the World in July 2011 as the phone-hacking scandal exploded with revelations that the tabloid had accessed the voicemails of a murdered schoolgirl.

UK to expand staff at Heathrow in bid to ease long queues

LONDON Britain is to move 80 extra staff into border control roles in a bid to ease lengthy queues at Heathrow Airport just weeks before the London Olympics, immigration minister Damian Green said on May 1. As of today, we are instituting some changes, Green said on a visit to the airport to the west of London, where some passengers have been forced in recent days to wait at least 90 minutes to have their passports checked. During the course of May were employing 80 more people, the minister added. But the Home Office, Britains interior ministry, clarified that the 80 staff were existing employees of the Border Force government agency who were being moved to frontline jobs from back office roles and other locations. Most of the 80 workers will go to Heathrow, the Home Office said. The delays at the airport, the worlds busiest in terms of i n t e r n a t i o n a l passenger traffic and the main gateway for the Olympics which open on July 27, are proving a major embarrassment for the British government. Frustrated passengers resorted to slow handclapping and jeering in queues on April 26 and 27. Green admitted in parliament on April 30 that some passengers from outside the European Union were forced to wait in Heathrows flagship Terminal 5 on April 27 for up to an hour and a half. But the head of British Airways parent company accused the government of misleading the public over queueing times, saying some passengers had been forced to wait at Heathrow for up to two and a half hours. The government is misleading people, International Airlines Group chief executive Willie Walsh said. Green stood by the estimate of waiting times provided by the Border Force, saying: The figures are as accurate as can be. The minister, who blamed the delays on bad weather, said the government would not increase the speed of passport checks at the expense of security. Security is the number one priority, he said as he visited Heathrows Terminal 3 during a quiet period. But after that we have to make sure that the personal experience is as smooth as possible. London mayor Boris Johnson has led complaints about the queues, saying on April 30 that they gave a terrible impression of the UK. AFP

Trade Mark CauTion

NOTICE is hereby given that nippon denshin denwa kabushiki kaisha, (also trading as nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation), a corporation duly organized under the laws of Japan, and located at 3-1 Otemachi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following trademark:-

(reg: no. iV/12623/2011) in respect of:- Scientific, nautical, surveying, electric, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instrument; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording disks; automatic vending machines and mechanisms for coin operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers; fire-extinguishing apparatus Class: 9 Building construction; repair, maintenance, installation services - Class: 37 Telecommunications; telephone directory information; telecommunications gateway services; digital interactive communication; integrated services digital network; television broadcasting; cable television broadcasting; transmission of news in visual images and text to reporters and news agencies via cable television broadcasting and closed circuit television; audio and video teleconferencing; electronic transmission of messages; electronic voice messaging; facsimile transmission; telephone communication services; telecommunication services; data and voice telecommunication; computer-aided transmission of messages and images; satellite communication services; transmission of images by communication satellites; providing information relating to telecommunications, data communications, and broadcasting; providing information on telephone numbers; providing information in a wide variety of fields by telecommunications; communications by telephone, telegraph, computer terminal, videotext, valueadded network (VAN services); teletext services; radio

paging services; telephone paging services; teleprinting; rental and leasing of telecommunication equipment; providing a value-added communication network including on-line retail services via a satellite or telecommunication circuit.- Class: 38 Computer services; leasing access time to computer databases, providing a web site, home page and bulletin board; computerized on-line retail services; computerized ordering via telephone and computer terminals; consultation, design, research and development; updating of computer software; providing interactive access to a global computer information network; providing on-line access to computer databases; computer programming for others, rental and leasing of computers; rental of computer software; providing computer software; designing and hosting home pages on a computer network for others; providing an integrated company information database; leasing or providing access time to computer databases/web sites/ home pages of others via a globally connected computer network; construction drafting, architectural design, engineering, drafting; research and development of products for others; technical analysis and testing of products for others; technical analysis, testing and consultation ; design and development for others; integration services of global, international, and personal computer local area communication networks; providing information in a wide variety of topics of public interest via an interactive computer communication network and a global computer network; providing information in a wide variety of fields by means of a global computer information network; consultation; providing facilities for exhibition; providing multiple-user access to a computer or electronic bulletin board; providing on-line newspaper articles and documentary information; providing on-line magazines, providing on-line facilities for real-time interaction with other computer users - Class: 42 Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademark or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law. U Kyi Win Associates for nippon denshin denwa kabushiki kaisha, (also trading as nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon. Phone: 372416 Dated: 7th May, 2012

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Scientists watch black hole feast on unlucky star

PARIS Scientists have witnessed the rare spectacle of a supermassive black hole devouring a star that had ventured too close an event that occurs about once in 10,000 years, they reported on May 2. Matter-sucking black holes normally lurk dormant and undetected at the centre of galaxies, but can occasionally be tracked by the scraps left over from their stellar fests. Black holes, like sharks, suffer from a popular misconception that they are perpetual killing machines, said researcher Ryan Chornock from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Massachusetts. Actually, theyre quiet for most of their lives. Occasionally a star wanders too close, and thats when stars to determine how far away within a third of an astronomical a feeding frenzy begins. If a star passes too close, the the galaxy was, study co-leader unit (150 million kilometres/ 90 black holes gravitational pull can Suvi Gezari of John Hopkins million miles) of the black hole rip it apart before sucking in its University in Baltimore, Maryland, about the distance of Earth from the Sun. gases, which are heated by the told AFP. This is the first time where Observations over several months friction and start to glow giving away the silent killers hiding allowed the team to conclude that we actually have enough detailed the black hole was at the centre information that we can actually place. determine what kind of star Chornock and his colleagues was torn apart by a black hole observed such a glow in May 2010 through a telescope It was really spectacular and how big the black hole was that did it, said Gezari. mounted on Mount Haleakala She said this was the first in Hawaii, as well as a NASA such space feast observed from satellite. The flare brightened to a peak of a galaxy 2.7 billion light-years beginning to end, and that is very that July, before fading away over away, and about three million exciting because that time scale the course of a year, the scientists times the mass of our Sun similar is how we determine how big the in size to the Milky Ways central black hole is. said. The scientists concluded that the Initially we didnt know exactly black hole. Its victim was probably a star eaten star had lost its hydrogen what this flare was because it was so bright that when we looked in its late, red giant phase which outer shell in a previous pass by the at the galaxy we couldnt see the had tempted fate by wandering to black hole, leaving just its helium core to be consumed in round two. It was really spectacular to have so much info and have all the pieces of evidence come together to form a consistent picture of what happened, said Gezari. Black holes are very dense regions in spacetime with a gravitational force so strong that even light cannot escape. Scientists who study them hope to learn more about the evolution of galaxies. Stars in our own Milky Way galaxy, including the Sun, are too far away to be at risk of being consumed, said Gezari. We would have to wait at least 10,000 years before we would be able to see a star being gobbled by our own black hole, she said. AFP

Hundreds of Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli jails

JERUSALEM At least 1550 Palestinians in Israeli jails are now taking part in a mass hunger strike, Israels Prison Service said on May 2, with two of them marking their 64th day without food. IPS spokeswoman Sivan Weizman told AFP another 100 prisoners had begun refusing food in the previous two days, swelling the number of those on hunger strike to 1550 or more than a third of the total Palestinian prison population of 4700. Two of them, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla, have been on hunger strike for 64 days, with Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)-Israel warning that both were in danger of dying. The Israeli Supreme Court was on May 3 to hear an appeal against their being held in administrative detention, a procedure under which suspects can be held without charge for renewable periods of up to six months at a time. Diab was on May 2 moved from Ramle prison infirmary to the nearby Assaf HaRofeh hospital, a day after PHR warned that he was in immediate mortal danger and not receiving adequate medical attention. Bilal is in a stable condition a f t e r being tr ansferr ed to the gastroenterology department of Assaf HaRofeh hospital, his lawyer Jamil Khatib told AFP. Jawad Boulos, legal advisor to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, who visited Diab on Wednesday, said he was shackled to his hospital bed and watched over by four security guards. A PHR doctor who examined Diab on April 30 found he was suffering from stomach pains, with indications he could be suffering from internal bleeding. She also said Halahla was in urgent need of a CAT scan. Khatib, who is also representing Halahla, tried to visit him at Ramle prison infirmary on Wednesday but was refused permission, he told AFP. Most of the prisoners on hunger strike began refusing food on April 17 in a demand for improved conditions, including increased access to lawyers and family visits, an end to solitary confinement and an end to administrative detention. Weizman said a prison commission was examining the issue of conditions inside jail, but gave no date for when its recommendations would be submitted. The commission had begun its work before the start of the mass hunger strike. AFP

Khartoum says it seeks peace with South Sudan

KHARTOUM Khartoum said on May 3 it seeks peace with South Sudan and hopes the small country responds favourably to African Union and UN resolutions for ending hostilities. The government of Sudan confirms her own strategic calls to have peace between the two states and it hopes the government of South Sudan gives a positive reaction to the African and UN Security Council resolutions, the foreign ministrys spokesman, Al-Obeid Meruh, said in a statement. While recommitting Khartoum to African Union (AU) efforts to end hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan, the foreign ministrys statement was vague in its response to a United Nations resolution backing the AU plan. The UN Security Council on May 2 ordered Sudan and the South to halt hostilities in 48 hours or face possible sanctions, giving diplomatic muscle to AU efforts to end violence and get peace negotiations started. The Minister of Foreign Affairs renews the position of the government of Sudan and her commitment to African solutions to African problems and conflicts, said Meruh. He said the minister, Ali Karti, also confirmed his readiness to cooperate with the AU mediation process led by Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president. Sudan withdrew from that process after South Sudan began a 10-day occupation of the norths main oil field in Heglig last month, a move which coincided with air strikes against the South and raised fears of all-out war. The African Union itself, in a decision on April 24, asked the Security Council to endorse its demand that the two Sudans halt hostilities, start talks within two weeks and complete a peace accord in three months. AFP

Trade Mark CauTion

aCCor, a company incorporated under the laws of France and having its principal place of business at 2, rue de la Mare Neuve, 91000 Evry, France, is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following Trademark:-

reg. no. 7406/2011 in respect of Hotels and restaurants; temporary accommodation; motels, restaurants, cafeterias, tea rooms, bars (except for clubs); convalescent homes; tourist homes; rest homes; thalassotherapy establishments; escorting in society; chaperoning; beauty salons or hairdressing salons; hotel reservation for travellers; rental of clothes, of bed linen and beds, of vending machines; printing. Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said Trademark will be dealt with according to law. u nyunt Tin associates, Intellectual Property Law Firm P.O. Box 952, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: 951 375754, Fax: 951 254321, Email: info@untlaw.com For aCCor Dated: 7 May, 2012.

Trade Mark CauTion

nikon CorPoraTion, a company incorporated under the laws of Japan, and having its principal place of business at 12-1, Yurakucho 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan, is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following Trademark:-

reg. no. 10713/2011 in respect of Class 9: Photographic instruments and apparatus; Cinematographic instruments and apparatus; Optical apparatus and instruments; Tilting heads [for cameras]; Cameras; Range finders [for cameras]; Photo-developing, printing, enlarging or finishing machines and apparatus; Tripods [for cameras]; Shutters [for cameras]; Bellows [for cameras]; Spools [for cameras]; Slide projectors; Self-timers [for cameras]; Photographic flash units [for cameras]; Flash lamps [for cameras]; Viewfinders [for cameras]; Lens filters [for cameras]; Lens hoods [for cameras]; Flash guns [for cameras]; Film magazines [for cameras]; Shutter releases [for cameras]; Lenses [ for photographic apparatus]; Exposure meters; Movie projectors; Transparencies for overhead projectors; Movie film developing or finishing machines and apparatus; Cinematographic cameras; Projection screens for movie films; Editing machines [for movie films]; Sound recording apparatus and instruments [cinematographic apparatus]; Telescopes and the like ; Body-tubes for telescopes [lens-barrels]; Tripods [for telescope]; Periscopes; Binoculars; Reflectors [for telescopes]; Prisms [for telescopes]; Telescopes; Lenses [for telescopes]; Microscopes; Magnifying glasses; Body-tubes for microscopes [lens-barrels]; Metallurgical microscopes; Biological microscopes; Reflectors [for microscopes]; Prisms [for microscopes]; Polarizing microscopes; Stereoscopes; Lenses [for microscopes]; Cameras and parts and accessories therefor; Camera lenses; Cases for cameras and digital cameras; Straps for cameras and digital cameras; Optical apparatus and instruments; Cases especially made for photographic apparatus and instruments; Filters for ultraviolet rays, for photography; Filters [photography]; Flash-bulbs [photography]; Flashlights [ photography]; Shutter releases [ photography]; Shutters [ photography]; Spools [ photography]; Stands for photographic apparatus; Viewfinders, photographic; Tripods for cameras; Epidiascopes; Photographic equipment and parts and accessories therefor; Remote controls for cameras and digital cameras; Cameras with liquid crystal projector; Digital cameras with liquid crystal projector, Measuring or testing machines and instruments; Standard-unit measuring machines and apparatus; Temperature indicators; Gasometers; Thermometers; Water meters; Balances; Tape measures; Japanese style box-shaped volume measure [Masu]; Planimeters; Measuring rules, Derived-unit measuring machines and apparatus; Pressure gauges [ manometers]; Level indicators [spirit levels]; Acoustic meters; Tachometers; Accelerometers; Refractometers; Luminous flux meters; Photometers; Altimeters; Hygrometers; Illuminometers; Vibration meters; Noisemeters; Logs[ measuring machines]; Speed indicators; Calorimeters; Viscosimeters; Concentration meters; Gravimeters; Densimeters; Dynamometers; Flowmeters; Precision measuring machines and instruments; Angle gauges; Angle dividing apparatus (measuring instruments); Spherometers; Inclinometers; Interferometers; Straightness testing machines and instruments; Profile projectors; Graduation checkers [calibration checkers]; Length measuring gauges; Screwthread measuring machines and instruments; Comparators [non-electronic]; Surface roughness testing machines and instruments; Flatness testing machines and instruments; Automatic adjusting/regulating machines and instruments; Automatic pressure control machines and instruments; Automatic liquid-flow control machines and instruments; Automatic fluid-composition control machines and instruments; Automatic liquid-level control machines and instruments; Automatic temperature control machines and instruments; Automatic combustion control machines and instruments; Automatic vacuum control machines and instruments; Automatic calorie control machines and instruments; Program control machines and instruments; Material testing machines and instruments; Metal compression testing machines; Metal hardness testing machines; Metal strength testing machines; Rubber testing machines; Concrete testing machines; Cement testing machines; Textile testing machines; Plastic testing machines; Lumber testing machines; Surveying machines and instruments; Alidades; Meteorological machines and apparatus; Base plates [for surveying purposes]; Distance measuring machines or apparatus [range finders]; Clinometers; Tripods [for surveying machines]; Magnetic compasses [for surveying]; Surveying compass needles; Gyrocompasses; Magnetic gyrocompasses; Photogrammetric machines; Level measuring machines [for surveying]; Precision theodolites; Rod-floats[ for measuring velocity of water current]; Surveying chains; Targets [for levelling rods]; Transits [for surveying]; Levelling rods [for surveying]; Sextants; Astronometric measuring machines and instruments; Meridian transit

telescopes; Astronomical spectrographs; Zenith telescopes; Electronic charts for identifying hiding-power of paint; Thermosensitive temperature indicator strips; Test pieces for rust formation testing; Telecommunication devices and apparatus; Telephone apparatus; Intercoms; Mobile phone; Automatic switching apparatus[for telecommunication]; Manual switching apparatus [for telecommunication]; Telephone sets, Wire communication machines and apparatus; Teletypewriters; Automatic telegraph apparatus; Phototelegraphy apparatus; Manual telegraph apparatus; Repeating exchange machines; Facsimile machines; Transmission machines and apparatus [for telecommunication]; Audio frequency transmission machines and apparatus; Cable transmission machines and apparauts; Power-line transmission machines and apparatus; Open-wire transmission machines and apparatus; Transmission and repeating machines and apparatus; Broadcasting machines and apparatus; Television receivers [TV sets]; Television transmitters; Radio receivers; Radio transmitters; Radio communication machines and apparatus; Portable radio communication machines and apparatus; Aeronautical radio communication machines and apparatus; Multichannel radio communication machines and apparatus for fixed stations; Single-channel radio communication machines and apparatus for fixed stations; Vehicular radio communication machines and apparatus; Marine radio communication machines and apparatus; Radio application machines and apparatus; Navigation apparatus for vehicles [on-board computers]; Radio beacon machines and apparatus; Radio direction finders; Radar machines and apparatus; Loran navigation machines and apparatus; Remote control telemetering machines and instruments; Audio frequency machines and apparatus; Public-address systems and instruments; Compact disc players; Juke boxes; Tape recorders; Electric phonographs; Record players; Sound recording machines and apparatus [audio-frequency apparatus]; Video frequency machines and apparatus; Digital cameras;Videocameras [camcorders]; Videodisc players; Videotape recorders; DVD players; DVD recorders; Parts and accessories for telecommunication machines and apparatus; Antennas [aerials]; Cabinets [for telecommunication apparatus]; Coils[for telecommunication apparatus];Magnetic tape erasers; Magnetic tape cleaners; Magnetic head erasers;Magnetic head cleaners [apparatus]; Loudspeakers; Connectors [for telecommunication apparatus]; Stands and racks [for telecommunication machines and apparatus]; Dials [of telecommunication apparatus]; Electric capacitors [for telecommunication apparatus]; Fuses [for telecommunication apparatus]; Electric resistors [for telecommunication apparatus]; Blank magnetic tapes for tape recorders; Change-over switches [ for telecommunication apparatus]; Plugboads; Pickups [for telecommunication apparatus]; Blank video tapes; Indicators lights [for telecommunication apparatus]; Electrical phonomotors, Headphones, Electrical transformers [for telecommunication apparatus]; Protectors [for telecommunication apparatus]; Microphones [for telecommunication apparatus]; Cleaning apparatus for phonograph records; Blank record disks; Sprays for phonograph records; Digital cameras and parts and accessories therefor; Digital photo frame; Smart phones; Electronic machines; apparatus and their parts; Geiger counters; High frequency welders; Cyclotrons [not for medical purposes]; Industrial X-ray machines and apparatus [not for medical use]; Industrial betatrons [not for medical use]; Magnetic prospecting machines; Magnetic object detectors; Shield cases for magnetic disks; Seismic exploration machines and apparatus ; Hydrophone machines and apparatus; Echo sounders; Ultrasonic flaw detectors; Ultrasonic sensors; Electrostatic copying machines; Electronic door closing systems; Computers; Electron microscopes; Electronic desk calculators; Hard disk drives; Word processors; Electron tubes; X-rays tubes [not for medical use]; Photosensitive tubes [phototubes];Vacuum tubes; Rectifier tubes; Cathode ray tubes; Discharge tubes; Semi-conductor elements; Thermistors; Diodes; Transistors; Electronic circuits [not including those recorded with computer programs]; Integrated circuits; Large scale intergrated circuits; Computer programs; Solid state memory card; flash memory card; computer software for editing and managing of photographs and movies; Laboratory apparatus and instruments; Laboratory experimental machines and apparatus; Air-gas producers; Constant temperature incubators; Constant humidity incubators; Glassware for scientific experiments in laboratories; Porcelain ware for scientific experiments in laboratories; Furnaces for laboratory experiments; Scientific models and specimens; Batteries and cells; Dry cells; Wet cells; Accumulators [batteries]; Photovoltaic cells; Batteries and battery chargers for cameras and digital cameras; Consumer games (apparatus for-] adopted for use with an external display screen or monitor; Electronic circuits and CD-ROMs recorded with programs for handheld games with liquid crystal displays; Phonograph records; Metronomes; Electronic circuits and CD-ROMs recorded with automatic performance programs for electronic musical instruments; Downloadable music files; EP records; LP records; Sound recorded magnetic cards, sheets and tapes; Recorded compact discs; Exposed cinematographic films; Exposed slide films; Slide film mounts; Downloadable image files; Recorded video discs and video tapes; Slides [photography]; Transparencies [photograpy ]; Electronic publications. Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said Trademark will be dealt with according to law. u nyunt Tin associates, Intellectual Property Law Firm P.O. Box 952, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: 951 375754, Fax: 951 254321, Email: info@untlaw.com For nikon CorPoraTion Dated: 7 May, 2012.

AsiA
May 7 - 13, 2012
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Australian tycoon plans to build Titanic II

SYDNEY One of Australias richest men, Clive Palmer, last week unveiled plans to build a 21st century version of the doomed Titanic in China, with its first voyage from England to New York set for 2016. Palmer, a self-made mining billionaire, said he had commissioned state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to build Titanic II with the same dimensions as its predecessor. It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems, Palmer said in a statement on April 30. Titanic II will sail in the northern hemisphere and her maiden voyage from England to North America is scheduled for late 2016. He added that he had invited the Chinese navy to escort the Titanic II to New York. The announcement came weeks after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic, which went down on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg on its first voyage, from Southampton to New York. Palmer said the new ship would be a tribute to the spirit of the men and women who worked on the original, which sank with the loss of 1514 passengers and crew. These people produced work that is still marvelled at more than 100 years later and we want that spirit to go on for another 100 years, he said. Titanic was commissioned by White Star Line and was the largest liner in the world at the time. Palmer said he has established his own shipping company, Blue Star Line, with the new vessel having the same specifications as its predecessor 270 metres long (885 feet), 53 metres high and weighing 40,000 tonnes. It will have 840 rooms and nine decks with design work in conjunction with an historical research team underway. No figure was given on how much it would cost. Palmer is estimated to be Australias fifth richest person, worth more than A$5 billion (US$5.2 billion), thanks to his vast coal and other mining assets in Queensland and Western Australia. His decision to commission a Chinese shipbuilding yard, which will also build other luxury liners for the tycoon, reinforces his ties to the country, which is a key buyer of his coal and iron ore. AFP

Briefs
UN sanctions three North Korean firms
UNITED NATIONS The UN Security Council on May 2 put three top North Korean state firms on a sanctions black list over the countrys failed rocket launch on April 13. US ambassador Susan Rice said the sanctions targeted three very significant North Korean entities, very much involved in their illicit missile and nuclear programs. The three sanctioned firms are Amroggang Development Banking Corporation, which already faces US and European Union sanctions, Green Pine Associated Corporation, and Korea Heungjin Trading Company.

Manila asks US for military equipment

Philippine diplomat said, referring to its dispute with China in the South China Sea. We are submitting a list of hardware that the US can help us out with. This would be in terms of patrol vessels, patrol aircraft, radar systems, coast watch stations, del Rosario said. Were looking for assistance from other international partners who have also been very forthcoming, he added. In his speech, del Rosario said the Philippines was strengthening its partnerships with Japan, Australia, South Korea and other countries in maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. While awaiting new hardware, he said it is important for the Philippines and its treaty ally the United States to continue to conduct military exercises in a better

WASHINGTON The Philippines said on May 2 it has asked the United States to supply its armed forces with patrol boats and aircraft as well as radar systems amid an escalating territorial dispute with China. Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the hardware would help his country achieve a minimum credible defence, a phrase he used in unprecedented talks with senior US officials in Washington earlier last week. We need to know whats going on around us. Thats maritime domain awareness, del Rosario said in answer to a question after a speech at The Heritage Foundation think tank. And we also need to deter any additional incursions into our seas where we have sovereign rights, the chief

way, in more locations, in a more frequent manner. The two nations, which completed extensive war games earlier this month, are bound by a mutual defence treaty in which the United States has pledged to come to the aid of its weaker ally if it faces military aggression. The Philippines and China have been embroiled in a dispute over a shoal in the South China Sea, with both nations stationing vessels there for nearly a month to assert their sovereignty. The Philippines says Scarborough Shoal is its territory because it falls well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as recognised by international law. The Philippines has called for arbitration through the United Nations to end the dispute, but China has refused. AFP

Kabul blast foiled, say security forces

KABUL Afghan intelligence forces said last week they had foiled a large attack in Kabul, arresting a Pakistani suicide bomber driving a truck carrying 1000 kilograms of explosives. The man was arrested early on May 3 on a major road in same area hit on May 2 in an attack on a guesthouse complex used by foreigners, a spokesman said. If this amount could have been used, it would have caused a huge, deadly disaster, Afghan intelligence agency spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told AFP.

Koalas at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, in a file photo taken on January 15 last year. Australia moved on May 30 to protect the most vulnerable populations of the furry tree-dwellers, by listing them as a threatened species in several parts of the country. Pic: AFP

Teenage bomber kills 20 in Pakistan

KHAR, Pakistan A teenage suicide bomber targeting the police killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens at a market at Khar in Pakistans tribal belt district of Bajaur on May 4, officials said. Among the dead were the local chief and deputy in a tribal police force recruited by the government to help defeat the Taliban in the northwest. Twin bomb attacks in Bajaur the previous day killed five people, including progovernment elders and security personnel.

Record leaves stunt woman flushed with pride Probe urged

SYDNEY Stunt woman Jolene Van Vugt was flushed with pride on May 2 after setting a new land speed record for the fastest motorised toilet. Van Vugt, a former Canadian motocross c h a m p i o n , s teered the contraption through some early wobbles to 75 kilometres an hour (46 mph) in Sydney, seven kilometres an hour faster than the previous Guinness world record. Police were on hand to record the feat. I flew into Australia yesterday and came out here to jump straight on the toilet, Van Vugt said. That was so fun and Im stoked to get the record. Van Vugt, 31, who is in Australia to perform at the Nitro Circus stunt show based on the hit MTV series, holds a host of world records, including being the first woman to backflip a dirt bike. AFP

into killing in Cambodia

Trade Mark CauTion

NOTICE is hereby given that LuiGi LaVaZZa S.p.a of Corso Novara 59, 10154 Torino, Italy is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following trademark: -

Trade Mark CauTion

Sumitomo Corporation, a company organized under the laws of Japan, of 8-11, Harumi 1-chome, Chuoku, Tokyo, Japan, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

LAVAZZA
(reg: nos. iV/11778/2011) in respect of:- Coffee Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said trademark or other infringements whatsoever will be dealt with according to law. U Kyi Win Associates for LuiGi LaVaZZa S.p.a P.O. Box No. 26, Yangon. Phone: 372416 Dated: 7th May, 2012

rinGo-L
reg. no. 2348/2002 reg. no. 2486/2007 in respect of Fungicides; Germicides. Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark will be dealt with according to law. Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L for Sumitomo Corporation E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm P. O. Box 60, Yangon. Dated: 7th May, 2012

PHNOM PENH The United Nations and the European Union have urged the Cambodian government to carry out a speedy and independent investigation into the killing of a prominent environmental activist. Chhut Vuthy, 43, was gunned down by a military policeman on April 26 as he was gathering evidence of illegal logging in a remote forest in southwest Koh Kong province. Military police officials said the killer then turned his AK-47 assault rifle on himself, shooting himself twice in the chest a claim that has been greeted with widespread scepticism. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for a full civilian judicial investigation in a statement issued by its Geneva headquarters on May 1. The EU delegation in Phnom Penh also called for a speedy, robust and independent probe, said a statement seen by AFP on May 2. AFP

Probe urged into elephants death

ACEH JAYA, Indonesia Environmental organisation WWF called on the government on May 2 to investigate the death of a Sumatran elephant allegedly poisoned at a oil palm plantation. The 18-year-old female elephant was found dying at the plantation on April 30. WWF changed the Sumatran elephants status from endangered to critically endangered in January, largely due to habitat loss caused by oil palm and paper plantations. AFP

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May 7 - 13, 2012
said, recalling a decade-long dark cloud of war after bin Laden plotted the September 11 attacks in 2001. Yet here, in the pre-dawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon, said Obama, seeking a second White House term later this year. Obama flew into Kabul in secret in the dead of night and signed the deal with President Hamid Karzai, cementing 10 years of US aid for Afghanistan after NATO combat troops leave in 2014. He left after about six hours. We look forward to a future of peace. Were agreeing to be long-term partners, Obama said at Karzais palace. The Taliban said Karzai had no right to sign the deal and accused him of selling Afghan sovereignty to the Americans. The Green Village assault began around two hours after Obama left. Police said suicide attackers wearing burqas struck at 6:15 am local time, detonating a car bomb before clashing with guards. The interior ministry said seven people were killed, including of American forces staying behind to train Afghan forces and pursue the remnants of Al-Qaeda for 10 years after 2014. The deal was concluded just over two weeks before a NATO summit in Chicago, but does not cover the crucial issue of the status and immunity from prosecution in local courts of any US troops remaining in Afghanistan. Instead it commits Washington to specific troop or funding levels for Afghanistan, though is meant to signal that despite ending the longest war in US history, Washington intends to ensure Afghanistan does not revert to a haven for terror groups. Karzai said the US pact was no threat to any third country and he hoped it would lead to stability in the region. The Afghan war has cost the lives of nearly 3000 US and allied troops, thousands of Afghans and hundreds of billions of dollars. About 87,000 US troops and 44,000 other international forces are deployed in Afghanistan along with 344,000 Afghan army and police. AFP

MyanMar tiMes

Attack in Kabul mars Obamas visit

KABUL Taliban bombers attacked a heavily fortified guesthouse used by Westerners in Kabul on May 2 and announced the start of their annual spring offensive, defying calls from visiting US President Barack Obama about ending the war. Seven people were killed after attackers disguised in burqas detonated a suicide car bomb and clashed with guards at the Green Village complex used by the European Union, the United Nations and aid groups, officials said. The Taliban said the assault was a riposte to Obama, who just hours earlier signed a new partnership pact in Kabul to govern Afghan-US relations after 2014 a deal the insurgents dismissed as illegitimate. In an election-year address, Obama presented himself as a commander-inchief capable of ending two long wars, following the US withdrawal from Iraq, and crushing al-Qaeda, and tried to conjure up a new dawn for a US public exhausted by conflict and recession. This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end, Obama

Afghan Special Forces personnel beside the wreckage of the vehicle used in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul on May 2. Pic: AFP at least six Afghans. There were three attackers, the ministry said, one in the suicide car bomb and two who got inside the complex. One blew himself up while the other was shot dead by security forces. Health ministry spokesman Kargar Noorughli said 18 people were wounded and eight admitted to hospital. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP the attack was a message to Obama to say the militants would continue to fight until all foreign forces had left. The militia said its spring offensive, code-named AlFarouq, would from May 3 target foreign invaders, their advisors, their contractors, all those who help them militarily and in intelligence. Just over two weeks earlier, one of the largest attacks in Kabul targeted government offices, embassies and foreign bases. The White House said the pact allows the possibility

Widow shot dead by father

LAHORE, Pakistan The widow of a Pakistani man shot dead by a CIA contractor last year in an incident that sparked a major crisis in AmericanPakistani relations, was killed by her father on April 30 for refusing to remarry, police said. Zahra Faizan, 24, and her mother, Nabeela Shehzad, 50, were allegedly shot dead by Mohammad Shehzad in Pakistans second largest city of Lahore after a family quarrel. The apparent motive behind the murders is a matrimonial dispute. The family had been quarrelling over the refusal of Faizans widow to remarry and today again they quarrelled with each other, senior police official Sajjad Hussain Manj told AFP. Shehzad was very angry and opened fire at his daughter and wife, he added. Shehzad fled after the murders. Zahras first husband, Mohammad Faizan, was one of two Pakistanis shot dead by CIA contractor Raymond Davis in Lahore in January 2011. Davis was arrested over the killings, but set free after US$2 million was paid in blood money to the families of his victims. His release was widely condemned within Pakistan. AFP

Ferry tragedy leaves scores dead in India

GUWAHATI, India The toll from one of Indias worst ferry disasters rose to 113 on May 3 as rescuers fished out the bodies of more passengers who drowned when the boat sank in a river in Assam state. Chandan Brahma, transport minister of the northeastern Indian state, said a search was continuing for bodies of other victims of the double-decker ferry which capsized in the Brahmaputra river during a storm on April 30. Four more bodies were recovered today by fishermen at Indias borders along Bangladesh, taking the number of bodies recovered (so far) to 113, Brahma told reporters in Guwahati, Assams main city. The boat was on its way from the district of Dhubri, 300 kilometres (186 miles) from Guwahati to Fakirganj in Assam. Rescuers and soldiers have salvaged the mangled wreck of the 25-metre (80-foot) ferry, which was reportedly crammed with up to 350 people despite its operating capacity of 225. Some 150 of the ferry commuters swam to the banks of the fast-flowing Brahmaputra while 90 others remain missing, showed official estimates. The Brahmaputra, which is eight kilometres wide at the scene of the accident, flows through northeastern India into Bangladesh and out into the Bay of Bengal. Taleb Ali, 35, a villager who survived the sinking, said passengers had begged the skipper to anchor the ferry at a sandbar when the storm hit midstream, but he refused. Arun Kalita, 30, a road construction worker who swam to safety, said: I could hear many people screaming for Gods help but it was a turbulent river and the storm was very severe. No one could come and rescue them, he said. The death toll could make the ferry sinking one of the worst in recent memory in South Asia, where such disasters are common due to lax safety standards, recklessness and overloading. In one of the last major ferry disasters in India, at least 79 Muslim pilgrims drowned when an overcrowded boat carrying 150 people sank in the eastern state of West Bengal in October 2010. In March this year, some 138 people died in neighbouring Bangladesh when an overloaded ferry carrying 200 people sank in the Meghna river southeast of the capital Dhaka. AFP

Trade Mark CauTion

ishin Hotels Group Co., Ltd., a company organised and existing under the laws of Japan, of 4-3-13, Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

Trade Mark CauTion

Ferrero S.p.a., a company organised under the laws of Italy, of Piazzale Pietro Ferrero 1, 12051 Alba, Cuneo, Italy, is the Owner of the following Trade Mark:-

Trade Mark CauTion

GoLd STar ConSuLTanCY and TradinG PTe LTd, of 192 Pandan Loop, #05-08, Pantech Business Hub, Singapore 128381, is the Owner and Sole Proprietor of the following Trademark:-

reg. no. 3820/2012 in respect of Class 43: Hotel; banqueting services; restaurants; restaurant services provided by hotels; cafes; bar services; wine bar services; professional consultancy relating to hotels. Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark will be dealt with according to law. Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L for ishin Hotels Group Co., Ltd. P. O. Box 60, Yangon E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm Dated: 7th May, 2012

reg. no. 2796/2006 in respect of Beverages with coffee, tea, cocoa or chocolate base; chocolate; chocolate products; preparations made from cereals, pastry and confectionery, ice cream. Fraudulent imitation or unauthorised use of the said Trade Mark will be dealt with according to law. Win Mu Tin, M.A., H.G.P., D.B.L for Ferrero S.p.a. P. O. Box 60, Yangon. E-mail: makhinkyi.law@mptmail.net.mm Dated: 7th May, 2012

reg. no. 11413/2011 in respect of Cigarette in Class 34. Any fraudulent imitation or unauthorized use of the said Trademark will be dealt with according to law. u nyunt Tin associates, Intellectual Property Law Firm P.O. Box 952, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: 951 375754, Fax: 951 254321, Email: info@untlaw.com For GoLd STar ConSuLTanCY and TradinG PTe LTd Dated: 7 May, 2012.

Time out
Fashion show to benefit Childrens Hospital
By May Sandy A CHARITY fashion show organised by the International Cultural and Charity Group and featuring designers from Myanmar and Thailand will be held at Traders Hotel in Yangon on May 11. The Top International Fashion Galleria Yangon 2012 Charity Show will include creations by Pyi Soe Aung, Thwin Su Htwe and Thet Hnin Aye from Myanmar, and Mr Chris from Inspire Boutique in Thailand. Their designs will be presented by 20 models from Yangon-based Talents & Models Agency. Forty outfits by worldleading designers Gucci, Prada and Chanel will also be displayed. Every designer will do four costumes, Thwin Su Htwe said. All my costumes are evening gowns. Since this is a cultural exchange between international fashion and Myanmar fashion, I will use Myanmar textiles such as Myanmar cotton and pasoe [sarong]. D a w L e L e Ti n , v i c e president of the charity group, said proceeds from the show would be used to buy a computerised record-keeping system for Childrens Hospital on Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Road in Dagon township. There are 20 units at the hospital, so we are going to donate one computer for each unit, plus a server for all the computers, she said. The cost will be high because this is for the whole hospital, I think around 10 million to 10.5 million kyats. We will also provide training to the doctors and nurses on how to use the system. Tickets are priced at K30,000 and are available by calling 09-500-2479, 09501-0477 or 09-510-1322. By Zon Pann Pwint DIRECTOR Pangyi Soe Moe has finished shooting a film that traces the history of the Myanmar army from the struggle for independence, through the years of military rule, and up to today. The movie, titled Kyae Sin Maw Kon (A Record Star), is now being edited and scored for background music, and is expected to be shown at local cinemas when it is finished, Pangyi Soe Moe said. If we film the history of the Tatmadaw [Myanmar military], Bogyoke Aung San becomes crucially important in the film. He is the father of the Tatmadaw and he is the initiator of Tatmadaw, he said. F o r t u n a t e l y, I w a s allowed to start filming in 2009. Previously, short documentaries on the history of Tatmadaw were made, but I didnt want to make another documentary because it would make the audience feel drowsy in the cinema. I wanted to write a story and use the history as part of the background. The film shows how the Tatmadaw was formed, highlighting Bogyoke Aung Sans leadership in the movement for independence as well as his speeches. It includes several famous actors, including Lu Min, who depicts a character who abandons the monkhood to become involved in the independence movement; and Wai Lu Kyaw, who plays the role of a teacher who leaves school to join the Burma Independence Army. We shot 10 hours of footage and we will edit it down to 150 minutes. I am confident about the film and I think the audience will like it, Pangyi Soe Moe said.

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The Myanmar Times May 7 - 13, 2012

Movie traces founding of army by Aung San

during World War II but could not due to lack of financial support, but despite these difficulties, I am very satisfied with the films characterisation of Bogyoke Aung San and with the film shots, he said. Pa n g y i S o e M o e s a i d the film also spotlights the loyalty of the soldiers from the Burma Defence Army, who took care of the children of fallen comrades as if they were their own offspring. I have read many books and journals to increase the historical accuracy of my film, but the information varies from book to book so I used the most common versions of history, he said. We know the costume that Bogyoke Aung San wore, but the outfits preferred by the other cabinet ministers were not widely recorded so we had to create their clothing as nearly as we could. Actor U Aung Khine, who plays the role of a sycophant who works for the British government and also as an interpreter for the invading Japanese a rmy, agre ed that the costumes were difficult. Its hard to copy the dress and hairstyle of the people during the colonial period and when the country was occupied by Japan, because there are few accurate records of these periods, he said, adding, But the acting part was not difficult. The director spent three years making this film. He took 15 days to shoot the assassination of Bogyoke Aung San. I hope the quality is good but I cant predict whether people will like it because some audiences favour actors rather than the plot, he said.

Exhibit showcases paintings by kids

By Nyein Ei Ei Htwe A MONTHLY journal aimed at kids is celebrating its 17th anniversary with an exhibition of art by children, which will be held at the YMCA in Yangon from May 23 to 27. Pa Lote Toat, published by Today Publishing House, in February issued a call for children aged five to 16 years to contribute artwork to the show. All income from sales of paintings will be given to the artists. The purpose is to promote childrens efforts, talents and ideas in painting. Showcasing their art in an exhibition and rewarding them with the income from the sales will make them happy, said Ko Tin Min Latt, executive editor of Today Publishing House. This will be the second year that the journal holds an art exhibition to mark its anniversary. Last years show attracted 101 works of art from children, but the editors expect that there will be more participants this year, he said. The efforts of the children this year are greater than we had hoped, and some of them are excellent. Each participant can send two artworks, he said. Ko Ti n M i n L a t t s a i d there were no restrictions concerning theme or media. We accept all media, such as watercolour or oil. The artwork should be framed, and pieces should not be sold for more than K200,000 each, he said. The YMCA is located at No 263 Mahabandoola Road at the corner of 45th Street, Botahtaung township. The exhibition will open daily from 9am to 5pm.

Actor Pyae Phyo Aung prepares to play the role of Bogyoke Aung San in Kyae Sin Maw Kon. Pic: Supplied He said that although he was able to film on location at the Secretariat where Bogyoke Aung San was assassinated, and at Yangon Bogyoke Aung Sans last s p e e c h a t Ya n g o n C i t y Hall but I didnt have the money to get that many people, and I didnt know

the film and II am confident about will like it. think the audience
City Hall where he gave his last speech, financial constraints prevented him from putting [his] imagination fully to use. I needed a crowd of 10,000 people to film any professionals who were adept at creating special effects [to make it appear as if that many people were at the speech], he said. I also wanted to film aircraft dropping rations

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May 7 - 13, 2012
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MyanMar tiMes

Chinese acrobats raise funds for Myanmar libraries

By Nuam Bawi THE China National Acrobatics Troupe performed at the National Theatre in Yangon on April 29 and 30, with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting the Myanmar Libraries Foundation. The troupe was invited to perform in Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay by Mr Li Junhua, Chinas ambassador to Myanmar, with the aim of boosting cultural exchange between the two countries. I believe the troupes performance in Myanmar will help strengthen relations between our two countries, as cultural exchanges are the best way to understand each other, the ambassador told The Myanmar Times on April 29. This is the first program organised by the Chinese embassy for this year, and it is also the first time the troupe has come to Myanmar in more than two decades, he said. The China National Acrobatics Troupe was founded in 1950 and has won 18 gold medals at various international competitions and 14 medals in domestic contests. The troupes performance in Yangon consisted of 10 segments, combining acrobatics, balancing and aerial acts, dance, music and humour. Acrobat Cao Kai, 21, whose performance mixed balljuggling and dance, said the audience was much the same as those in other countries where he has performed. But I felt much warmth while performing in Myanmar because we are the neighbouring countries, he said in an interview with The Myanmar Times. Mr Cao said he started learning the acrobatic arts at the age of seven and joined the troupe in 2004. At first I didnt enjoy learning acrobatics because I was very young. I was a very playful child and always fought with the neighbours kids, so my parents sent me to an acrobatic school because they couldnt handle me, he said. Only later, when I became more proficient, did I start to enjoy it. He said that originally, the acrobatic arts in China were performed at roadside venues, with the artists living off the money donated by passersby. But after the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China, more respect was given to the acrobatic arts. Artists started putting in more effort and coming up with new innovations to attract audiences to theatres, Mr Cao said. Acrobatics is an art that most people cannot perform and that can be very dangerous, so it attracts a lot of people to watch. The troupe also performed in Nay Pyi Daw on May 2 and Mandalay on May 4 and 5. The Myanmar Libraries Foundation, which benefited from the funds raised at the performances, is a local nongovernmental organisation founded in 2009 to support libraries in rural areas throughout the country.

Members of the China National Acrobatics Troupe perform at the National Theatre in Yangon on April 30. Pic: Yadanar

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On Bond film set, everything is top secret

By Karla Adam BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, England On the set of the new James Bond film, Daniel Craig and gang arent letting much slip about the plot of Skyfall. This is what we know: Adele may or may not sing the theme song. Judi Denchs character, spy chief M, may or may not die. There will be guns. All will be clearer once the juggernaut that is Bond the worlds longest-running movie series rolls into cinemas in November on a wave of interest rekindled by the 2006 arrival of Craig as the serious, brooding blond Bond. But for now, prying details out of the cast is about as easy as prying 007s Walther PPK out of his hand. The juiciest nugget from Craig is that Skyfall will be laced with more comedy than his previous Bond outings, which were punctuated by seriousness (verging on sterility in the last film). Im so camp in this one, Ive gone quite far, says Craig, who is wearing tight blue jeans, a grey sweater, white shirt and black tie. While hes clearly buff, its easy to imagine the 44-yearold actor ducking into his local pub unnoticed, save for those piercing blue eyes and the nervous fiddling with his Omega watch. Were sitting in a ballroom at Pinewood Studios, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of London, which for self-defined Bond nerds is a kind of utopia surrounded by elegantly framed movie stills. The general store has a black-and-white stencil of Sean Connery on its window, and the largest stage is known simply as the 007 stage. There is a lightness of touch in the writing, I think, thats not been as evident in the last two, and Im very excited about that, Craig says. A m ore l i g h t - h e a rt e d Bond would be a dramatic departure for Craig, whose first outing as 007, Casino Royale, is often talked about in the same breath as Batman Begins a wildly successful reboot of a film series that returns to its origins with a darker, less sophisticated hero. If critics are concerned about a wittier, funnier outing from Craig, well, he says, you gotta take risks in this business. He is quick to deflect hard questions or even compliments with the kind of self-deprecating humour that seems fitting for 007, even a leaner, meaner one like Craig. And when the veteran Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, who is sitting next to him, comments that he is wiser than when he started, Craig teases her: Im still working with you. I cant be that much wiser. Youd think Id learn. Much is riding on this film, which was plagued by delays following MGMs bankruptcy in 2010. The new studio bosses hope it will fill their coffers, and, for his part, Craig could use a hit. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a commercial success, but several of his other recent films have bombed; a stellar turn here would help cement his longevity as Bond. And Skyfall, to be released 50 years after the first Bond film, Dr No, gave Craig a bigger role than that of lead actor, for it was he who put forward Sam Mendess name for the role of director, having worked with him in Road to Perdition. Craig also cornered Spanish actor Javier Bardem at a fundraising party in Los Angeles and coaxed him into playing the chief villain. Craig explained: I just went: Would you be in the next Bond movie? and he said, Yes, and I went, Great! and that was it. Nobody told me thats how it doesnt happen. Despite winning an Oscar for his portrayal of a hit man in No Country for Old Men, Bardem has such an aversion to violence that he said the Coen brothers, directors of that film, dubbed him the Spanish ballerina. But there he is, on a recent day of filming on the 007 stage, in a thrilling action scene with Craig. The set has been transformed to resemble the deepest, darkest and coldest parts of the London Underground subway system. The ground is flooded with eight inches of water, dyed black to make it look deeper. We watch a debonair Craig clad in one of the 200 suits designer Tom Ford stitched for his character fire his semiautomatic at Bardem. Not bad, James, for a physical wreck, says Bardem, before triggering an explosion that rips a hole through a musty tunnel. When asked to expand on the scene, Bardem says: This is a James Bond movie; everything is top secret. The only seismic plot point the production company will be drawn out on officially is that Bonds loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. More about her was written this time, which was very, very nice for me, Dench says. Less gregarious than her co-stars she admits she is nothing like the frankly bossy head spymaster she has played since 1995 Dench lights up talking about advances in technology or foreign affairs or her coming lunch with the former head of Britains domestic spy agency. Of Skyfall, she says, Its been very well written, I think. But she bats aside questions on the rumours that her character will be killed off. During a morning of guided tours at Pinewood, we stumble on a few other titbits: A sawed-off shotgun will play a prominent role, and Craig and Bardems characters first bump into each other in an abandoned city on an island near Japan. We learn that Bond will sip on a Heineken and will wear tailored swimming trunks, although its not clear whether hell do so while drinking the beer. But while the cast members are coy about the meat of the story, they are brimming with confidence that this film has the ingredients to be the best Bond yet. We have a good story, we got a great cast, we got a great director, says Craig, adding: We are making something thats exciting and thats hopefully going to move people a little. The Washington Post

Nuam Bawi

Free art classes

New Zero Artspace is offering free art classes to anyone who is interested, with a new topic covered each month. Classes will be taught by famous artists from Myanmar and overseas. The gallery is located at No 54 (1-E), Bo Yar Nyut Street, Dagon township, Yangon.

Art exhibition
San Oo and Min Thar Gyi will hold an art exhibition from May 5 to 12 at New Zero Artspace. The gallery is open daily from 9am to 5pm.

Mothers Day fair

Ocean Supermarket will host a trade fair from April 27 to May 13 to celebrate Mothers Day. A song competition will also be held on May 12 and 13 at Ocean Supermarket East Point in Pazundaung township.

Free show
Alternative-rock band Side Effect will mark the release of their new album with a free show at Myawsinkyun, Kandawgyi Park, on May 12 starting at 6:30pm. Big Bag and No U-Turn will also perform.

British actor Daniel Craig (centre), French actress Berenice Marlohe and British Naomie Harris (left) pose during the presentation of the James Bond film Skyfall at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul on April 29. Pic: AFP

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Afghan museum highlights Buddhism

By Lawrence Bartlett KABUL Afghanistan, which achieved global notoriety for cultural barbarism when the Taliban blew up the ancient Bamiyan Buddhas, last week opened an exhibition highlighting the countrys rich Buddhist heritage. In sharp contrast to the religious intolerance behind t h e d e st r u c t i o n o f t h e Buddhas 11 years ago, the immaculate exhibition is on display in the National Museum, itself rebuilt with international aid after being destroyed by civil war. Overlooked by living history represented by the ruins of the neoclassical Darulaman Palace on a neighbouring hill also a victim of war the interior of the museum is a sanctuary of quiet arches and marble floors in a violent land. In the entrance hall is a replica of the Great Buddha of Bamiyan, one of two giant standing statues carved into Bamiyan cliffs in Afghanistans central highlands in the sixth century. But the polyurethane copy is a poor substitute unlike the surviving treasures dating from the second century AD that dedicated museum staff managed to hide and protect through 30 years of conflict and turmoil. One statue shows a leantorsoed Buddha, reflecting the art of the ancient Greeks introduced by Alexander the Great, who staged one of the many invasions of Afghanistan over the centuries, said museum curator Surkh Kotal. Others show damage inflicted by Taliban fanatics who destroyed many of the museums artefacts before their regime was overthrown by US-led troops in 2001 for harbouring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Among the items spared many hidden in secret vaults

Munchs Scream sets new auction record at US$120m

By Brigitte Dusseau NEW YORK The only privately owned version o f E d v a r d M u n c h s T h e Scream one of the most recognisable paintings in history set a world record on May 2 when it sold for US$119.9 million at Sothebys in New York. Heated competition between seven bidders took the price to the highest for a work of art at a public auction in just 12 minutes, sparking applause. World record, announced auctioneer Tobias Meyer after bringing down the hammer. The previous record was held by Picassos Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust, which sold in 2010 for $106.5 million. The Scream is one of four versions of a work whose nightmarish central figure and lurid, swirling colours symbolised the existential angst and despair of the modern age. It was sold by Norwegian Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and supporter of the artist. He plans to establish a new museum in Norway. On two occasions, other versions of the painting have been stolen from museums, although both were recovered. Copies have adorned everything from student dorms to tea mugs and the work has the rare quality of being known to art experts and the general public alike. We r e d e l i g h t e d t o say that this magnificent picture, which is not only one of the seminal images of our history, but also one of the visual keys for modern consciousness, achieved a world record, Simon Shaw, head of the Impressionist and modern department at Sothebys, said. Reflecting the e x c i t e m e n t , S o t h e b y s spokesman Darrell Rocha said there had been an electric atmosphere during the sale of a painting that had been estimated to fetch at least $80 million. A group of seven bidders jumped into the competition early, but it was a prolonged battle between two highly determined phone bidders that carried the final selling price to its historic level, he said. The Screams success means there are just three other works that have sold for more than $100 million. One is the Picasso nude, another is Picassos Boy with a Pipe, which sold for $104.1 million in 2004, and the fourth is Alberto Giacomettis Walking Man sculpture, which fetched $104.3 million in 2010. The version of The Scream sold last week was executed in 1895 and is the only one not held by Norwegian museums. It also features a poem inscribed by Munch in which he explains his inspiration for the work, which depicts the great scream in nature. Olsen said he was very pleased and said he hoped the publicity given by this sale will increase interest in Munchs work and awareness of the important message that I feel it conveys. The scream shows for me the horrifying moment when man realises his impact on nature and the irreversible changes that he has initiated, making the planet increasingly uninhabitable. The sale was the high point of the auction of Impressionist and modern works at Sothebys. Rival C h r i s t i e s h e l d a m o r e muted auction on May 1. Both houses turn to contemporary this next week, with Mark Rothkos 1961 painting Orange, Red, Yellow expected to sell for $35 million to $45 million at Christies. AFP

An Afghan security officer standing guard in front of the damaged remains of Darul Aman palace in Kabul on April 28. Pic: AFP outside the museum are relief carvings depicting the Buddhas life and other artefacts from former Buddhist monasteries in Afghanistan, mainly south of the Hindu Kush mountains. One of those behind the protection of the treasures is museum director Omarakhan Massoudi, who joined the museum 34 years ago. Im happy we preserved some masterpieces through a difficult time in our country, Massoudi said, recounting how a decision was made to move major works to secret locations in 1989 as Soviet forces withdrew and civil war loomed. During that war, some 70 percent of the museums artefacts were looted and smuggled into neighbouring countries to find their way onto the black market, he said. The museum, along with the palace on the hill, was largely destroyed as rival warlords unleashed artillery and rocket fire on the capital in a brutal struggle for power. Then came the Taliban, Islamic hardliners who swept to power in 1996. Towards the end of their rule they destroyed more than 2000 artefacts, Massoudi said, and blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas as idols in March 2001. We have repaired more than 300 statues. Some are on display and we will continue this activity in the future, said Massoudi. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas was a big tragedy because they were a part of our history, a part of our culture, he said. Afghanistan, lying on the famed Silk Road trading route connecting east and west, absorbed Buddhism from India and the religion flourished for hundreds of years before the arrival of Islam in the eighth century. Now, the practice of Bu d d h i sm h a s vi rt u a lly disappeared from a country where more than 99pc of the population proclaim themselves to be Muslim. But the museum is dedicated to keeping the nations history alive. We have to be proud about this very rich heritage of Afghanistan, and we need to transfer it to the next generations, said Massoudi. In a country still at war, with 130,000 US-led NATO troops helping the government of President Hamid Karzai fight a Taliban insurgency, it is still unsafe for the museum to display some of its most important possessions. The famed and priceless 2000-year-old Bactrian gold collection of more than 20,000 gold ornaments, hidden by museum staff during the civil war, has been touring the world since 2006. But closer to home, the ruined grandeur of the Darulaman Palace clearly visible from the museum stands as an enormous exhibit reflecting a less than glorious period in the nations history. AFP

eNtertAiNmeNt News
May 7 - 13, 2012
Israel 64th Independence Day Celebration
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SOCIALITE launched her week at the ice cream testing event at Ikon Mart on April 23, and the next day she attended the press conference for MRTV4s first locally produced drama series, The Sign of Love, at Park Royal Hotel. On April 25, She was at Israel Independence Day reception at Sedona. On April 27 she stopped by Acacia Tea Salon to taste the new wines produced by QP Company, and on April 28 she joined the donation ceremony by Paradise cosmetics company at Mahasi in Hlaing township, followed by lunch with the winners of The Myanmar Times Sudoku game contest at Traders Hotel. The following day Socialite went to the Strand Ballroom for the new face celebrity announcement by Revital. Other stops during the week included a music concert at Sein Gay Har and the Israel Independence Day celebration.

Dr Tha Tun Oo, U Soe Moe and guest U Aung Thu Myaing and Ko Kaung Htet

Myanmar Times Sudoku Game Winners

Paradise Company Donation

U Zaw Aung H E Mr Yaron Mayer with wife, and U Own Myint with wife Daw Swe Swe Aung Thein Ma Aye Aye Aung Ma Phyu Hnin Aung and Ma Moh Moh Thaw Ma Win Thanda

QP Wine Tasting and Launching

Ma Khin Thandar Htay, Mr Jean Marie Bourgeois, Mr Narongchai Chanboonlom and Mr Renato Buhlmann

U Sein Tun

Ma Aye Thida Ma Julie Zaw Ko Aung San and Ma Mya Kyu Kyu Daw Ni Ni Win

Revital New Celebrity Ambassador Announcement

Mr Chad, Mr Renato and Mr Phil Blackwood Ko Ko Ko Aung and Ko Moe Naing Win

Ikon Mart

Ma Su Su Htwe and Ma Yu Yu

Ma Myat Sanda Min and Ms Juree

Mr Narongchai Chanboonlom, Ms Lisa and Ma Su Su Tin

Guests Mr Jayant Ghosh Moh Moh Myint Aung

Ko Than Aung and coffee specialists

Daw Kyi Kyi Htwe and Ko Thet Lynn Aung Ko Wai Phone and Ko Zaw Phone

MRTV-4 Drama Series Launch

Ko Kaung Zan U Myo Myat Thu Wint Yamone Hlaing Yan Kyaw and May Khalar

U Htin Kyaw Tin Moe Lwin

Yadanar Mai Actors

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Ikon Mart Ice Cream Shop Launch

MyanMar tiMes

Klenco Products Launch

Mr Richard Tan

Mr Daniel Bay

U Tin Win

U Win Htein Ko Ye Win Htun, U Sonny Aung Khin, Ms Juree and Ms Miki Ow Ice-cream makers and Mr Giuseppe

Guests

U Than Aung and Ko Moe

Sein Gay Har Anniversary Show

Mr Vito, Mr Antonio, Mr Giuseppe Trovato and guests

Ko Han Win Htut and U Maung Maung Win

Ma Myat Sandar Min and Ko Aung Than Htay

Ko Zaw Phone, Ko Aung Than Htay, Ko Wai Phone, Ms Juree and Ms Miki Ow

R Zar Ni and Ma Chaw Hay Man

A Thin Cho Swe

Audience members

Sandy Myint Lwin

Bobby Soxer Hlwan Paing

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Jeju merges nature, dark history

By John Feffer IM standing with a social worker beneath the palm trees outside a municipal building in the main city of Jeju Island. Were talking about a nearby naval base, which the South Korean government is trying to build and a number of islanders are trying to prevent. Shes repeating a familiar refrain about Jeju that its a paradise on Earth, but one with a dark side. The naval base is only the latest indignity inflicted on this semitropical island 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the Korean mainland. Its just like the story of Genesis in the Bible, I say. Even the Garden of Eden had a snake. She likes this line. Throwing her head back, she laughs very hard. Then she wallops me on the shoulder. Its supposed to be an affectionate cuff. But the social worker is a solidly built woman in her 50s, and she nearly throws me off my feet. I laugh, too, while covertly feeling my shoulder for damage. The women of Jeju have a reputation for strength. The island is famous for its haenyeo, female divers who gather abalone and other seafood for up to five hours a day in the cold sea without scuba gear. The diver figurines for sale in the haenyeo museum on Jeju look like Snow White with goggles. But the real haenyeo are squat, powerful women, many of them still working in this dying profession into their 60s and 70s. The contrast between the hokey figurines and the people they depict illustrates the contradictions of Jeju. The island features several UNESCO World Heritage natural sites and is a premier honeymoon destination for Korean newlyweds. But the South Korean government is tearing up the islands southern coastline to build a modern naval base that would host the countrys three top-of-the-line destroyers. Islanders have

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Jeju Island is famous for its haenyeo, female divers who gather seafood for up to five hours a day in the cold sea, without scuba gear. Pic: The Washington Post/John Feffer a reputation for being more laid back than mainland Koreans, but Jeju also has a long tradition of fiercely resisting outside pressure. Jeju Island is the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisations only triple-crown winner, with designations as a natural preserve, a natural heritage and a geological park. Recently, the island was also listed as one of the new seven wonders of the natural world. Jeju has a spectacular volcanic cone that looks like a grasscovered butte, the longest lava tunnel in the world and an immense extinct volcano, Mount Halla, at the very centre of the island. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Jeju is its contribution to the relatively new field of dark tourism. Over a meal of the islands famous black pig, Anne Hilty, a cultural health psychologist from New York now living on Jeju, tells me that tragic sites, such as Holocaust museums or the new September 11 memorial in New York, are drawing tourists looking for something beyond escapism. For the people of Jeju, she says, a focus on these dark patches of history can either perpetuate a victim mentality or serve as a reminder of the need to work for peace and human rights issues on the premise of never again. My first brush with Jejus dark side comes on arrival, although I wont find this out until later. The airport outside Jeju City is bright and new. But buried beneath the runways are hundreds of victims of execution who were thrown into mass graves. Excavations in 2007 turned up more than 200 bodies, a small fraction of the roughly 30,000 islanders killed in 1948 when Korean authorities and rightwing vigilantes, with the compliance of the United States military, suppressed a popular rebellion. This sordid history is captured with elegiac power at the 4.3 Museum. Located in the Peace Park on the outskirts of Jeju City, the museum is named after an uprising against Korean and US military authorities on April 3, 1948. The museum memorialises the victims with photos, videos and oral histories. A visit to the other major museum in Jeju City, the Jeju National Museum, reveals that the 1948 rebellion was part of a longer tradition. The most famous example involves the 13th century Koryo dynasty on the mainland, which, after initially combating the invading Mongols, ultimately switched sides and in essence collaborated with the enemy. The Jeju islanders, by contrast, continued to resist the combined Mongol-Koryo forces, just as they were later to put up a sustained fight against the Japanese, who occupied Korea during the first half of the 20 th century. The island and its beauty are well worth fighting for. I take a day trip from Jeju City due east to Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, a kind of Mont St Michel of compacted ash thats connected to the island by a spit of land. Walking along the water, with the lava mountain rising up before me, I happen on a group of haenyeo preparing for the days work. They are dressed in black rubber suits and carry bright orange taewak, or floats, that look like fluorescent pumpkins and keep the divers buoyed as they recover their breath between dives. I chat with them about the weather conditions before they set off in their boat. Then I duck into a waterside restaurant for a breakfast of broiled chub mackerel, which comes out sizzling on a metal plate alongside a delightful assortment of panchan (side dishes) including cold acorn squash and warm strips of fish cake. Climbing up Seongsan, which is technically not a mountain but the result of an underwater volcanic eruption, is an ordeal. Its not particularly steep, and the trail isnt long. But its so crowded with tourists that you might as well be at the mall on Black Friday. The views down onto Seongsan port and the nearby islands, however, make enduring the ascending scrum worth it. For a more tranquil hike, I take a ferry to the largest of the islands U-do where the highest point affords similarly spectacular views. U-do is known for its peanuts, so I make sure to try the peanut noodles at a cafe at the base of the promontory and the peanut ice cream at a convenience store as a reward after making my way back down. Heading back from Seongsan, I tramp through the nearly mile-long Manjanggul, the largest lava tunnel in the world. Its cold, dark and wet, which is perfect for a hot summer day in the semi-tropics. Another must-see site is the Cheonjiyeon waterfall in the southern part of the island, with a nearby temple and arboretum (and a Teddy bear museum if your kids arent nature types). Not far from the waterfall is Gangjeong village, the site of the naval base under construction. Protesters have tried to stop the bulldozers. The towns mayor has gone to jail over the base, the countrys most prominent film critic has gone on hunger strike, and celebrities such as Gloria Steinem have raised their voices in protest. Now, since the police pushed them back from the construction site, the protesters occupy an empty lot not far from the large metal fence that shields the base construction from view. Every night they sing, dance, pass around tangerines and speak out against the South Korean governments actions. Its protest Jeju-style. Not everyone in Gangjeong opposes the construction. Some believe that the base will bring jobs to the island. The protesters believe that the price is too high to pay. The island, after all, depends on tourists, and theres also the food. My most spectacular Jeju meal is in the Samyang neighbourhood of Jeju City after my day of climbing lava formations and tunnelling underground. Im supposed to meet someone at Momaejon Garden restaurant to try its famous pumpkin duck. But my guest cant make it, so Im there by myself. I order the duck because its a dish served nowhere else. The food arrives: a mound of smoked duck with wild mushrooms and garlic atop wedges of acorn squash, drizzled with barbecue sauce and surrounded by an astonishing assortment of side dishes, including pickled persimmon, spicy sesame leaves and fried tofu. Next to it is a big bowl of greens that include lettuce, chicory, sesame and kohlrabi. Theres a special mustard sauce alongside the usual red spicy pepper paste. The owner sits down across from me and we talk. She asks where Im from, about my family. She tells me that she used to have a restaurant in Seongsan. She opened this place seven years ago. I ask whether she runs the place with her family. No, she says. Just me. And my staff. I hear a sad story in her voice, but before I can probe, she takes a piece of lettuce and a piece of chicory, places a piece of duck and a piece of squash in the middle, adds some spicy bean sprouts and some of the mustard sauce. She wraps it up and holds it out for me. I start to take it in my hands. But no, she ignores my hands and pushes the little bundle directly into my mouth as if I were a baby. I could try to resist. But shes a strong and persuasive woman. And the pumpkin duck is like nothing Ive ever tasted, sweet and salty and smoky but with a touch of bitterness from the chicory. I feel as though Ive taken a bite out of Jeju itself. The more I eat, the more I think I understand the island. But in the end, its too much for me, too much to eat in one sitting, too much to absorb in one short visit. The Washington Post

Yangon. Tel: 255122, 255 265, Fax: 255119

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DOMESTIC FLIGHT SCHEDULES

DAYS Flight
MON AW 891 6T 405 AW 911 6T 401 K7 222 W9 011 6T 801 AW 761 6T 351 K7 824 AW 791 K7 224 6T 501 K7 228 YH 909 6T 405 AW 891 AW 901 W9 251 6T 401 6T 801 YH 729 AW 761 K7 622 K7 224 6T 501 AW 891 AW 911 6T 401 6T 331 K7 222 6T 801 AW 751 YH 737 K7 824 K7 622 W9 261 AW 791 YH 731 6T 501 YH 909 AW 891 AW 901 6T 401 W9 255 6T 331 YH 729 AW 201 K7 226 K7 224 6T 501 YH 731 AW 891 W9 251 6T 401 YH 917 6T 331 K7 222 AW 751 AW 211 K7 824 6T 501 YH 731 W9 271 6T 403 YH 909 AW 891 AW 911 6T 401 YH 729 6T 801 AW 601 K7 622 K7 224 6T 501 AW 891 YH 909 AW 891 6T 401 W9 255 K7 222 6T 801 AW 211 AW 751 K7 622 6T 501 YH 634 AW 892 6T 402 K7 223 W9 262 6T 802 W9 021 YH 728 AW 762 K7 224 6T 502 K7 825 W9 009 AW 902 AW 892 6T 402 YH 910 W9 011 YH 812 6T 802 W9 251 W9 150 AW 762 K7 224 YH 730 6T 502

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT SCHEDULES

DAYS Flight
MON W9 143 AW 892 YH 918 W9 011 6T 402 K7 223 AW 792 K7 225 AW 892 YH 918 W9 011 6T 402 W9 116 K7 827 K7 225 W9 143 AW 892 YH 918 6T 402 K7 223 W9 143 AW 892 YH 918 6T 402 K7 827 K7 225 W9 143 AW 892 YH 918 6T 402 K7 223 AW 911 W9 143 AW 892 YH 918 6T 402 K7 827 AW 752 K7 225 AW SPL AW 892 YH 918 W9 011 6T 402 K7 223 AW 752 W9 116 YH 738 6T 611 W9 309 6T 611 W9 309 6T 611 W9 309 6T 611 W9 309 6T 607 W9 309 K7 426 6T 611 W9 309 6T 611 W9 309 K7 426 6T 612 W9 310 6T 612 W9 310 6T 612 W9 310 6T 612 W9 310 6T 608 W9 310 K7 427 6T 612 W9 310 6T 612 K7 427 K7 319 6T 707 AW 301 K7 313 6T 707 K7 313 6T 707 K7 319 6T 707 AW 301 AW 301 K7 319 6T 707 K7 319 6T 707 K7 319 6T 707 AW 301 K7 320 6T 708 K7 314 6T 708 AW 302 K7 314 6T 708 AW 302 K7 320 6T 708 K7 320 6T 708 K7 320 6T 708 K7 320 6T 708 AW 302

Dep
06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 07:00 07:30 08:30 11:00 11:30 12:30 14:30 15:00 15:00 06:00 06:15 06:15 06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 08:00 11:00 11:00 13:30 15:00 15:00 06:15 06:30 06:30 07:00 07:00 10:45 11:00 11:00 12:30 13:30 13:30 14:30 15:00 15:00 06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 06:30 07:00 10:30 11:00 13:30 15:00 15:00 15:00 06:15 06:30 06:30 06:30 07:00 07:00 11:00 11:00 12:30 15:00 15:00 06:00 06:15 06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 10:30 10:45 11:30 13:30 15:00 15:00 16:15 06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 07:00 08:00 11:00 11:00 13:30 15:00 08:35 08:35 08:55 09:35 10:50 13:20 14:10 16:30 16:35 16:45 17:20 18:20 08:30 08:35 08:35 08:55 09:25 09:25 13:25 13:30 13:35 16:20 16:35 16:45 17:20 17:20

Arr
08:20 08:20 07:55 08:35 09:15 08:30 09:55 12:55 12:55 13:55 15:55 16:25 17:00 07:25 07:55 08:20 08:20 08:20 07:55 08:35 09:25 12:40 12:55 14:55 16:25 17:00 08:20 07:50 08:35 08:25 09:15 12:10 12:10 13:10 13:55 14:55 14:55 16:25 17:10 17:00 07:55 08:20 08:35 08:35 08:55 08:25 13:30 12:55 14:55 16:25 17:00 17:10 08:20 07:55 08:35 08:50 08:25 09:15 12:25 12:55 13:55 17:00 17:10 07:25 07:40 07:55 08:20 07:50 07:50 13:30 12:10 12:55 14:55 16:25 17:00 08:20 08:30 08:20 08:35 08:55 09:15 09:25 12:25 12:25 14:55 17:00 10:00 10:30 10:55 11:45 12:15 14:45 15:10 17:55 18:00 20:00 19:25 19:45 09:30 10:00 10:30 10:55 10:50 11:10 14:50 14:55 15:00 17:45 18:40 20:00 18:45 19:25

DAYS Flight
WED W9 009 AW 892 6T 332 6T 402 K7 223 W9 021 6T 802 AW 792 YH 738 AW 752 6T 502 K7 825 W9 009 AW 892 6T 332 AW 902 6T 402 YH 812 W9 021 AW 202 K7 224 YH 730 6T 502 W9 009 AW 892 6T 332 YH 918 6T 402 K7 223 W9 251 AW 212 YH 731 6T 502 W9 232 YH 728 K7 825 6T 404 AW 892 6T 402 W9 011 W9 262 YH 812 6T 802 AW 602 K7 224 YH 730 6T 502 W9 009 YH 910 AW 892 6T 402 W9 011 K7 223 W9 256 YH 812 6T 802 AW 212 YH 738 6T 502 W9 143 AW 891 YH 633 6T 401 YH 917 K7 222 K7 224 W9 143 AW 901 AW 891 6T 401 YH 917 K7 224 W9 143 AW 891 6T 401 K7 222 YH 917 AW 781 AW 891 W9 009 AW 901 6T 401 YH 917 K7 224 AW 891 W9 009 6T 401 YH 917 K7 222 AW 891 6T 403 W9 009 6T 401 YH 917 6T 801 K7 224 W9 143 AW 891 YH 909 W9 009 6T 401 YH 917 K7 222 K7 222 AW 792 W9 109 YH 732 6T 502 K7 225

Dep
08:30 08:35 08:45 08:55 09:35 14:10 15:35 16:40 17:10 17:50 17:20 18:20 08:30 08:35 08:45 08:50 08:55 13:10 14:10 16:00 16:45 17:15 17:20 08:30 08:35 08:45 08:50 08:55 09:35 13:35 16:30 17:10 17:20 17:35 17:45 18:20 08:00 08:35 08:55 09:25 10:50 13:10 15:35 16:40 16:45 17:15 17:20 08:30 08:35 08:35 08:55 09:25 09:35 11:20 13:10 13:30 16:00 17:10 17:20 06:00 06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 07:00 15:00 06:00 06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 15:00 06:00 06:15 06:30 07:00 06:30 15:00 06:15 06:30 06:30 06:30 06:30 15:00 06:15 06:30 06:30 06:30 07:00 06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 06:30 10:30 15:00 06:00 06:15 06:15 06:30 06:30 06:30 07:00 08:40 17:50 17:25 17:55 18:05 18:40

Arr
09:30 10:30 10:10 10:55 11:45 15:10 17:00 18:45 18:35 19:15 19:25 19:45 09:30 10:30 10:10 10:15 10:55 14:35 15:10 17:25 20:00 18:45 19:25 09:30 10:30 10:10 10:45 10:55 11:45 15:00 17:55 19:25 19:25 19:00 19:10 19:45 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:10 12:15 14:35 17:00 18:05 20:00 18:45 19:25 09:30 10:00 10:30 10:55 11:10 11:45 12:45 14:35 14:55 17:25 18:35 19:25 07:20 07:35 07:50 07:50 08:05 08:20 18:20 07:20 07:35 07:35 07:50 08:05 18:20 07:20 07:35 07:50 08:20 08:05 17:10 07:35 07:25 07:50 07:50 08:05 18:20 07:35 07:25 07:50 08:05 08:20 07:35 08:30 07:25 07:50 08:05 11:50 18:20 07:20 07:35 07:50 07:25 07:50 08:05 08:20 11:45 19:10 18:20 19:15 19:25 20:00

DAYS Flight
TUE YH 910 AW 762 W9 109 AW 792 6T 502 YH 732 K7 225 K7 222 W9 109 AW 792 YH 732 6T 502 YH 910 W9 109 YH 732 6T 502 K7 225 K7 222 W9 109 YH 732 6T 502 YH 910 6T 404 W9 109 YH 732 6T 502 K7 225 K7 222 YH 910 W9 109 YH 732 6T 502 W9 255 W9 251 K7 622 K7 622 AW 201 W9 255 W9 251 K7 622 AW 211 W9 255 K7 622 W9 256 W9 252 K7 623 K7 623 AW 202 W9 256 W9 252 K7 623 W9 256 K7 623 K7 222 W9 119 AW 761 YH 727 6T 501 YH 731 K7 224 K7 826 6T 801 W9 115 AW 761 YH 811 6T 501 YH 731 K7 224 AW 911 K7 222 W9 119 YH 737 AW 791 6T 501 YH 731 K7 826 AW 761 AW 201 YH 811 W9 109 6T 501 YH 731 K7 224 K7 222 AW 211 W9 109 6T 501 YH 731 K7 826 AW 751 W9 119 YH 811 6T 501 YH 731 K7 224 K7 222 AW SPL AW 751 W9 115 YH 811 6T 501 YH 731 YH 737

Dep
08:40 17:20 17:25 17:25 18:05 18:10 18:40 08:40 17:25 17:25 17:55 18:05 08:40 17:25 17:55 18:05 18:40 08:40 17:25 17:55 18:05 08:40 08:45 17:25 17:55 18:05 18:40 08:40 08:40 17:25 17:55 18:05 06:30 06:30 13:30 13:30 06:30 06:30 06:30 13:30 06:00 06:30 13:30 09:45 12:05 16:50 16:50 09:35 09:45 12:05 16:50 09:45 16:50 07:00 11:00 11:00 11:00 15:00 15:00 15:00 07:00 08:00 11:00 11:00 11:15 15:00 15:00 15:00 06:30 07:00 11:00 11:00 14:30 15:00 15:00 07:00 11:00 11:00 11:00 14:30 15:00 15:00 15:00 07:00 11:00 14:30 15:00 15:00 07:00 11:00 11:00 11:00 15:00 15:00 15:00 07:00 07:30 10:30 11:00 11:00 15:00 15:00 11:00

Arr
10:00 18:40 18:20 18:45 19:25 19:30 20:00 11:45 18:20 18:45 19:15 19:25 10:00 18:20 19:15 19:25 20:00 11:45 18:20 19:15 19:25 10:00 10:05 18:20 19:15 19:25 20:00 11:45 10:00 18:20 19:15 19:25 09:25 09:25 16:30 16:30 09:20 09:25 09:25 16:30 08:50 09:25 16:30 12:40 15:00 19:50 19:50 12:25 12:40 15:00 19:50 12:40 19:50 10:10 12:10 12:10 12:25 16:10 16:25 17:20 08:15 10:20 12:10 12:10 12:40 16:10 16:25 17:20 08:40 10:10 12:10 12:25 15:40 16:10 16:25 08:15 12:10 12:10 12:25 15:25 16:10 16:25 17:20 10:10 12:10 15:25 16:10 16:25 08:15 12:10 12:10 12:25 16:10 16:25 17:20 10:10 08:40 11:40 12:10 12:25 16:10 16:25 12:25

Dep
09:05 09:20 09:35 09:40 09:45 10:30 16:55 17:40 09:20 09:35 09:40 09:45 16:45 11:15 17:40 09:05 09:20 09:35 09:45 10:30 09:05 09:20 09:35 09:45 11:15 17:40 09:05 09:20 09:35 09:45 10:30 08:55 09:05 09:20 09:35 09:45 11:15 17:15 17:40 08:55 09:20 09:35 09:40 09:45 10:30 16:45 16:45 17:20 11:15 13:00 11:15 13:00 09:00 13:00 11:15 13:00 11:15 13:00 15:00 11:15 13:00 11:15 13:00 15:00 12:55 15:00 12:55 15:00 10:40 15:00 12:55 15:00 12:55 15:00 16:40 12:55 15:00 12:55 16:40 07:00 11:30 07:00 07:00 11:30 07:00 11:30 07:00 11:30 12:45 07:00 07:00 11:30 07:00 08:00 07:00 11:30 12:45 11:50 15:55 09:30 15:55 17:15 09:30 15:55 11:30 11:50 15:55 11:50 15:55 11:50 12:25 11:50 15:55 17:15

Arr
10:15 10:30 10:45 10:35 10:55 11:45 19:10 20:00 10:30 10:45 10:35 10:55 17:55 12:30 20:00 10:15 10:30 10:45 10:55 11:45 10:15 10:30 10:45 10:55 12:30 20:00 10:15 10:30 10:45 10:55 11:45 11:05 10:15 10:30 10:45 10:55 12:30 18:25 20:00 10:05 10:30 10:45 10:35 10:55 11:45 17:55 17:55 18:35 12:40 14:45 12:40 14:45 10:25 14:45 12:40 14:45 12:40 14:45 16:20 12:40 14:45 12:40 14:45 16:20 14:20 16:45 14:20 16:45 12:05 16:45 14:20 16:45 14:55 16:45 18:00 14:20 16:45 14:20 18:00 09:10 13:30 09:05 09:10 13:30 09:10 13:30 09:10 13:30 14:50 09:05 09:10 13:30 09:10 10:00 09:10 13:30 14:50 14:00 17:55 11:40 17:55 19:20 11:40 17:55 13:35 14:00 17:55 14:00 17:55 14:00 14:25 14:00 17:55 19:20

DAYS Flight
MON FD 3771 8M 335 TG 304 PG 702 8M 331 PG 704 FD 3773 TG 306 TUE FD 3771 8M 335 TG 304 PG 702 8M 331 PG 704 FD 3773 TG 306 WED FD 3771 8M 335 TG 304 PG 702 8M 331 PG 704 FD 3773 TG 306 THUR FD 3771 8M 335 TG 304 PG 702 8M 331 PG 704 FD 3773 TG 306 FRI FD 3771 8M 335 TG 304 PG 702 8M 331 PG 704 FD 3773 TG 306 SAT FD 3771 8M 335 TG 304 PG 702 8M 331 PG 704 FD 3773 TG 306 SUN FD 3771 8M 335 TG 304 PG 702 8M 331 PG 704 FD 3773 TG 306

Dep Arr
08:30 10:15 08:50 10:35 09:50 11:45 10:55 12:50 16:30 18:15 16:40 18:35 17:40 19:25 19:45 21:40 08:30 10:15 08:50 10:35 09:50 11:45 10:55 12:50 16:30 18:15 16:40 18:35 17:40 19:25 19:45 21:40 08:30 10:15 08:50 10:35 09:50 11:45 10:55 12:50 16:30 18:15 16:40 18:35 17:40 19:25 19:45 21:40 08:30 10:15 08:50 10:35 09:50 11:45 10:55 12:50 16:30 18:15 16:40 18:35 17:40 19:25 19:45 21:40 08:30 10:15 08:50 10:35 09:50 11:45 10:55 12:50 16:30 18:15 16:40 18:35 17:40 19:25 19:45 21:40 08:30 10:15 08:50 10:35 09:50 11:45 10:55 12:50 16:30 18:15 16:40 18:35 17:40 19:25 19:45 21:40 08:30 10:15 08:50 10:35 09:50 11:45 10:55 12:50 16:30 18:15 16:40 18:35 17:40 19:25 19:45 21:40

DAYS Flight
SAT 8M 231 MI 511 8M 6232 MI 517 SUN 8M 231 MI 511

Dep Arr
08:00 12:25 10:10 14:45 11:25 15:50 16:40 21:15 08:00 12:25 10:10 14:45

DAYS Flight
MON 8M 336 FD 3770 TG 303 PG 701 PG 703 FD 3772 TG 305 8M 332 TUE 8M 336 FD 3770 TG 303 PG 701 PG 703 FD 3772 TG 305 8M 332 WED 8M 336 FD 3770 TG 303 PG 701 PG 703 FD 3772 TG 305 8M 332 THUR 8M 336 FD 3770 TG 303 PG 701 PG 703 FD 3772 TG 305 8M 332 FRI 8M 336 FD 3770 TG 303 PG 701 FD 3772 PG 703 TG 305 8M 332 SAT 8M 336 FD 3770 TG 303 PG 701 PG 703 FD 3772 TG 305 8M 332 SUN 8M 336 FD 3770 TG 303 PG 701 PG 703 FD 3772 TG 305 8M 332

Dep Arr
07:10 07:55 07:10 07:55 07:55 08:50 09:15 10:05 15:00 15:50 16:25 17:10 17:50 18:45 19:25 20:10 07:10 07:55 07:10 07:55 07:55 08:50 09:15 10:05 15:00 15:50 16:25 17:10 17:50 18:45 19:25 20:10 07:10 07:10 07:55 09:15 07:55 07:55 08:50 10:05

DAYS Flight
SAT MI 512 8M 6231 8M 232 MI 518 MI 520 SUN MI 512 8M 232 MI 518 MI 520

Dep Arr
07:55 09:20 09:10 10:35 14:10 15:35 14:20 15:45 15:20 16:40 07:55 09:20 14:10 15:35 14:20 15:45 15:20 16:40

YANGON TO MANDALAY

HEHO TO YANGON

YANGON TO BANGKOK

BANGKOK TO YANGON

WED

TUE

THUR

8M 233
MI 517

14:15 18:40
16:40 21:15

THUR

TUE

YANGON TO SIEM REAP

WED 8M 401 SAT 8M 401 08:50 11:25 08:50 11:25

FRI

WED

8M 234

19:40 21:05

KAULA LUMPUR TO YANGON

MON MH 740 8M 502 AK 850 TUE MH 740 8M 502 AK 850 WED MH 740 AK 850 THU MH 740 8M 502 AK 850 FRI MH 740 8M 502 AK 850 SAT MH 740 AK 850 SUN MH 740 8M 502 AK 850 10:05 11:15 14:00 15:00 15:40 16:45 10:05 11:15 14:00 15:00 15:40 16:45 10:05 11:15 15:40 16:45 10:05 11:15 14:00 15:00 15:40 16:45 10:05 11:15 14:00 15:00 15:40 16:45 10:05 11:15 15:40 16:45 10:05 11:15 14:00 15:00 15:40 16:45

FRI

SAT

YANGON TO KUALA LUMPUR

MON 8M 501 MH 741 AK 851 TUE 8M 501 MH 741 AK 851 WED MH 741 AK 851 THU 8M 501 MH 741 AK 851 FRI 8M 501 MH 741 AK 851 SAT SUN MH 741 AK 851 8M 501 MH 741 AK 851 WED CZ 3056 THUR 8M 711 SAT CZ 3056 09:00 13:00 12:15 16:30 18:50 23:05 09:00 13:00 12:15 16:30 18:50 23:05 12:15 16:30 18:50 23:05 09:00 13:00 12:15 16:30 18:50 23:05 09:00 13:00 12:15 16:30 18:50 23:05 12:15 16:30 18:50 23:05 09:00 13:00 12:15 16:30 18:50 23:05 11:20 15:50 08:45 13:15 11:20 15:50 08:45 13:15

THUR

WED

SUN

FRI

YANGON TO MYITKYINA
MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT SUN

SAT

SAT

15:00 15:50 16:25 17:10 17:50 18:45 19:25 20:10 07:10 07:10 07:55 09:15 07:55 07:55 08:50 10:05

THUR

SUN

SUN

MYITKYINA TO YANGON
MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT SUN

15:00 15:50 16:25 17:10 17:50 18:45 19:25 20:10 07:10 07:10 07:55 09:15 07:55 07:55 08:50 10:05

FRI

YANGON TO SITTWE
MON TUE WED THUR FRI

YANGON TO GAUNGZHOU

GUANGZHOU TO YANGON
WED CZ 3055 THUR 8M 712 SAT CZ 3055 08:50 10:30 14:15 15:45 08:50 10:30 14:15 15:45

YANGON TO NYAUNG U
MON

SAT

YANGON TO HEHO
MON

16:25 17:10 15:00 15:50 17:50 18:45 19:25 20:10 07:10 07:10 07:55 09:15 07:55 07:55 08:50 10:05

SAT SUN

SUN 8M 711

SUN 8M 712

TUE

YANGON TO TAIPEI
MON CI 7916 WED CI 7916 FRI CI 7916 14:00 19:25 14:00 19:25 14:00 19:25

TAIPEI TO YANGON
MON CI 7915 WED CI 7915 FRI CI 7915 09:55 12:45 09:55 12:45 09:55 12:45

TUE

SITTWE TO YANGON
MON TUE WED THUR FRI

WED

SUN

YANGON TO KUNMING
TUE CA 906 14:15 17:35 14:15 17:35 14:15 17:35 14:15 17:35 14:15 17:35

15:00 15:50 16:25 17:10 17:50 18:45 19:25 20:10 07:10 07:55 07:10 07:55 07:55 08:50 09:15 10:05 15:00 15:50 16:25 17:10 17:50 18:45 19:25 20:10

KUNMING TO YANGON
TUE CA 905 12:35 13:15 12:35 13:15 12:35 13:15 12:35 13:15 12:35 13:15

THUR

WED

WED CA 906 THUR CA 906 SAT SUN CA 906 CA 906

WED CA 905 THUR CA 905 SAT SUN CA 905 CA 905

MANDALAY TO YANGON
MON

FRI

THUR

SAT SUN

YANGON TO KOLKATA
Mon FRI IC734 IC734 13:30 16:40 13:30 16:40

KOLKATA TO YANGON
Mon FRI IC733 IC728 10:00 14:55 15:50 16:40

SAT

YANGON TO MYEIK
MON TUE

FRI

YANGON TO CHIANG MAI

THUR W9 9607 SUN W9 9607 12:00 13:30 12:00 13:30

SINGAPORE TO YANGON
MON MI 512 8M 232 MI 518 07:55 09:20 14:10 15:35 14:20 15:45

CHIANG MAI TO YANGON

THUR W9 9608 SUN W9 9608 14:30 15:00 14:30 15:00

SUN

YANGON TO SINGAPORE
MON 8M 231 MI 511 08:40 13:05 10:10 14:45

SAT

WED THUR

TUE

8M 233
MI 517 TUE 8M 231 MI 511

14:15 18:40
16:40 21:15 08:00 12:25 10:10 14:45

YANGON TO HANOI
MON VN 956 WED VN 956 FRI SAT VN 956 VN 956 19:10 21:30 19:10 21:30 19:10 21:30 19:10 21:30

8M 234
TUE MI 512 8M 232 MI 518

19:40 21:05
07:55 09:20 14:10 15:35 14:20 15:45

HANOI TO YANGON
MON VN 957 WED VN 957 FRI SAT VN 957 VN 957 16:35 18:10 16:35 18:10 16:35 18:10 16:35 18:10

FRI

NYAUNG U TO YANGON
MON

SUN

SAT SUN

8M 233
MI 517 WED 8M 231 MI 511 8M 6232 MI 517 THUR 8M 231 MI 511

14:15 18:40
16:40 21:15 08:00 12:25 10:10 14:45 11:25 15:50 16:40 21:15 08:00 12:25 10:10 14:45

8M 234
WED MI 512 8M 6231 8M 232 MI 518 THUR MI 512 8M 232 MI 518 MI 520

19:40 21:05
07:55 09:20 09:10 10:35 14:10 15:35 14:20 15:45 07:55 09:20 14:10 15:35 14:20 15:45 15:20 16:40

Domestic
6T = Air Mandalay W9 = Air Bagan AW = Asian Wings K7 = AIR KBZ YH = Yangon Airways FD & AK = Air Asia TG = Thai Airways

International
8M = Myanmar Airways International PG = Bangkok Airways MI = Silk Air VN = Vietnam Airline MH = Malaysia Airlines CZ = China Southern CI = China Airlines CA = Air China IC = Indian Airlines Limited W9 = Air Bagan 3K = Jet Star

MYEIK TO YANGON
MON TUE

YANGON TO CHI MINH

TUE VN 942 14:25 17:10 14:25 17:10 14:25 17:10

HO CHI MINH TO YANGON

TUE VN 943 11:40 13:25 11:40 13:25 11:40 13:25

THUR VN 942 SUN VN 942

THUR VN 943 SUN VN 943

WED THUR

YANGON TO PHNOM PENH

WED 8M 401 SAT 8M 401 08:50 12:50 08:50 12:50 FRI

PHNOM PENH TO YANGON

WED 8M 402 SAT 8M 402 13:50 15:15 13:50 15:15

8M 233
MI 517 FRI 8M 231 MI 511 8M 6232 MI 517

14:15 18:40
16:40 21:15 08:00 12:25 10:10 14:45 11:25 15:50 16:40 21:15

8M 234
MI 512 8M 6231 8M 232 MI 518 MI 520

19:40 21:05
07:55 09:20 09:10 10:35 14:10 15:35 14:20 15:45 15:20 16:40

Subject to change without notice

FRI SAT SUN

YANGON TO GAYA
WED 8M 601 SAT 8M 601 09:00 10:30 09:00 10:30

GAYA TO YANGON
WED 8M 602 SAT 8M 602 11:30 15:00 11:30 15:00

teA BreAk
May 7 - 13, 2012
the

36
MyanMar tiMes

By Richard Vines

NOMA, a waterside establishment in Copenhagen where chef Rene Redzepi serves Nordic dishes such as poached sea urchin and powdered cucumber, last week was named the Worlds Best Restaurant for the third straight year. The Fat Duck, which came first in 2005, slumped to 13 th from fifth last year. It was overtaken by the chefs new venue, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, which entered the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants chart at ninth. The Ledbury, another London restaurant, surged to 14 th from 34th. The highest Asian entries were Iggys, Singapore (26th); Narisawa, Tokyo (27th); and Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo (28th). Also making the list were Waku Ghin, Singapore (39 th); Amber, Hong Kong (44th); and Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand (50th). El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, and fellow Spanish restaurant Mugaritz, San Sebastian, held onto third and fourth places, respectively. DOM, Sao Paolo, rose to fourth from seventh. There is no doubt the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants has changed the history of gastronomy, El Bullis chef, Ferran Adria, said in a message to the organisers. To d a y, i t i s t h e m o s t important event in world cuisine. El Bulli won the best restaurant title five times before closing last year. Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Adria and Redzepi were among the chefs who attended the awards ceremony on April 29 at the Guildhall in London. Some of

Six Asian restaurants on worlds top list 50

Worlds Top Restaurants
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Noma Copenhagen, Denmark El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain DOM, Sao Paulo, Brazil Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy Per Se, New York, United States Alinea, Chicago, US Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London Eleven Madison Park, New York Steirereck, Vienna, Austria LAtelier Saint-Germain de Joel Robuchon, Paris The Fat Duck, Bray, United Kingdom The Ledbury, London Le Chateaubriand, Paris LArpege, Paris Pierre Gagnaire, Paris LAstrance, Paris Le Bernardin, New York Frantzen/Lindeberg, Stockholm, Sweden Oud Sluis, Sluis, Netherlands Aqua, Wolfsburg, German Vendome, Bergisch Gladbach Mirazur, Menton, France Daniel, New York Iggys, Singapore Narisawa, Tokyo Nihonryori RyuGin, Tokyo Quay, Sydney Schloss Schauenstein, Fuerstenau, Switzerland Asador Etxebarri, Atxondo, Spain Le Calandre, Padua, Italy De Librije, Zwolle, Netherlands Faeviken, Jaerpen, Sweden Astrid y Gaston, Lima, Peru Pujol, Mexico City Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York Biko, Mexico City Waku Ghin, Singapore Quique Dacosta, Denia, Spain Mathias Dahlgren, Stockholm Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium The French Laundry, Yountville, California, US Amber, Hong Kong Vila Joya, Albufeira, Portugal Il Canto, Siena, Italy Bras, Laguiole, France Manresa, Los Gatos, US Geranium, Copenhagen, Denmark Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand

Liquid nitrogen ice cream, creme brulee, dehydrated peanut butter and pickled blueberries, served directly onto the tablecloth at Alinea in 2011. The Chicago restaurant was No 7 on the list of the Worlds Best Restaurants. Pic: Bloomberg News/Ryan Sutton the leading chefs, including Brett Graham of the Ledbury and Sat Bains, went to the prime ministers residence, at 10 Downing Street, before the ceremony to supportFood Is Great, part of a campaign to promote Britain overseas. Being named the worlds best can have a dramatic impact on a restaurant. On April 29, Redzepi posted a note on Twitter that he had 1204 people waitlisted for that evening, compared with a total of 14 guests for lunch and dinner exactly two years before. We often had empty tables for lunch before winning, Redzepi said in an interview after his first triumph in 2010. The day after, we had more than 100,000 people trying to book online, which is an obscene amount. So in one day, we could have filled our restaurant for almost 15 years. It was a crazy thing. The Top 50 features eight US restaurants and five from Spain. Six establishments in Asia made the list and the organisers announced plans to start the Asias 50 Best Restaurants awards, to be held in Singapore in February 2013. The table is drawn up from the votes of members of 27 panels around the world, each with 30 members and a chairman or chairwoman. Panellists must pick four restaurants from within their region and three from outside, and they must have eaten in the places for which they vote within the previous 18 months. The full list of panel members is published only after the awards. La Grenouillere in northern France received the 2012 One to Watch award. The restaurant placed at 81. Last years One to Watch, Frantzen/ Lindeberg, Stockholm, rose 37 places to 20. Elena Arzak from Arzak restaurant, in San Sebastian, Spain, was named Veuve Clicquot Worlds Best Female Chef; and Keller, who also owns the French Laundry, Yountville, California, won the S Pellegrino Lifetime Achievement Award. Bloomberg News Leo

YOUR STARS
By Astrologer Aung Myin Kyaw Aquarius Jan 20 - Feb 18

fame will soon come your way. Love will flow under your warm care and responsibility.

Taurus

Material gains will not bring happiness, and all the money in your possession will be not be enough to guarantee happiness. Readjust your mental attitude to coincide with the constructive nature of your soul and you will find satisfaction, which is the basic element of happiness. A life without contentment can only lead to despair in all areas, including love, family relations and social interactions.

Your gift of likeability will bring you closer to your goals than personal merit. Continue to adapt to situations the best you can. Maintaining a mixed social life is important to keeping a balanced perspective, and you will find yourself rising in popularity, particularly because you keep your family at the centre of your relationships. Your lifestyle will require you to make more and more compromises as you strive to remain valuable in the judgment of others. Build harmony in relationships by granting favours and showing understanding.

April 20 - May 20

Taking pride in your work is not a bad thing, unless you allow it to go to your head and cloud your senses. Cultivate a strong dose of humility to create a good balance that will help you maintain clarity of vision. Facing challenges with courage and hard effort will bring successful results, and the struggle will double as a strong declaration of your noble personality supported by a solid foundation of wisdom. Pure love is a gift from the cosmos that will be presented to you before too long.

July 23 - Aug 22

exploration of this side of life will allow you to blissfully enjoy the optimism born of courage and strong determination. It is certain that your dreams will become reality under the favour of Jupiter, the powerful orator of good luck. A precious gift of love will come from someone familiar who has had his or her eye on you for a long time.

Sagittarius

Virgo

Pisces

Make an effort to understand the terms of your social relations at all times. Small, careless mistakes in conversation can have big consequences. Also, do not neglect to rectify small problems in friendships that can lead to major crises if not addressed. Pay attention to the advice of old, trusted partners, but also seek out new people with whom you can build trusting relationships. Face challenges with confidence and make a commitment to reacting positively to negative energy. Expect clear answers from your lover.

Feb 19 - Mar 20

Gemini

A vital transmitter of impulses from the senses to your brain will serve to convey and check information pay attention so you can change those influences within your sphere of influence that require changing. Welcome help from well-wishers and well-known people to strengthen your social forces and shore up your social backbone. You need to learn more about suffering for love. Keep your dual nature in check when it comes to emotional matters.

May 21 - June 20

The path is clear for you to achieve your destiny, which gives you a window of opportunity to do everything based to your own decisions and according to your hopes and desires. There is nothing you should feel worried about, but you must learn more about the value of media and the information you receive. You can perform good deeds through daily self-purification. Many different songs and melodies will play on your romantic frequencies with charm and warmth. Good health will dwell within you.

Aug 23 - Sept 22

Generosity, honesty and humility are among your strongest virtues, which will only grow more potent over time. Your quality of flexibility will also help you face adversity and keep you alive for a long time. In seeking to expand your horizons, and to cover more territory, you will have to increase your range and scope on everything and everybody in touch with you. Take pleasure in fluid and ever-changing relationships rather than wishing for more predictability, which might never come. A great love will soon be at hand.

Nov 22 - Dec 21

Capricorn

Libra

Cancer

Aries

Everyone has problems, but not everyone is unhappy. Relax and enjoy yourself, but also take the time to uncover the source of ongoing social problems. This is certainly a good time to have things your way and the cosmos is cooperating with you, but you can have your way without needless aggression or insensitivity. With some persistence,

March 21 - April 19

You will experience short-term misgivings in your love life, and forgiveness will bring new freshness to a long-standing relationship. Love is an abstract interpersonal examination that is also a secret spiritual measure of human beings. This week will see you take on the mantle of an honourable social role that will bring you one step closer to fulfilling your desires. If you dedicate yourself to performing good deeds, you will become famous for your altruism.

June 22 - July 22

The secret to good health is developing the art of maintaining purity of mind, body and emotions, and understanding that wellbeing is not just physical. Through these methods you can prevent your life from being overwhelmed by dis-ease. Parents, teachers and mentors will play a key role in helping remove obstacles as you strive to scale the heights of greatness. The fruit of love will soon sprout between you and someone who has thus far escaped your attention.

Sept 23 - Oct 22

Your ability to take the long-term view will have a positive bearing on your prosperity and opportunities. Learn to manage yourself better in social affairs; you might find yourself becoming increasingly isolated unless you can become more compatible with others, especially your siblings. Power, authority, wealth and even health are impermanent, but you can maximise their usefulness by applying them to the cause of good rather than selfishness. Use your inner good sense, knowledge and sympathy to find everlasting love.
For a personal reading contact Aung Myin Kyaw, 4th Floor, 113 Thamain Bayan Road, Tamwe Township, Yangon. Tel: 0973135632, Email: williameaste@gmail.com

Dec 22 - Jan 19

Scorpio

Delve into communication and intellectual interests that will expend your mind toward greatness. Your

Oct 23 - Nov 21

Computer
DYNAsTY: Computer Designing & Training Centre. I-Office-18000, Advanced Course25000, Business in Excel Special-15000, DTP-20000, A+-25000, A+ Advanced Course30000, Photoshop Only25000, Professio-nal Graphic Design-30000, Auto CAD (2D/ 3D) Intermediate-40000, Internet & E-mail-5000, Networking-50000, Ph: 09-431-54613. sAI PON PON Computer Services (On Call) Networking & CCTV installation ph :09-43052564, 09-730-85511. R.V Networking & computer mainte-nances Windows installation , software, game, internet, net-work, virus cleaning, Ph :09-420-033781. Add: 75 (d), Thitsar Rd, 13 Block, Yankin, Yangon HiGH Performances Computer System. Computer and Network service/ Operation System, Application Software, Virus cleaning, Internet services, Microsoft Server Configuration, Wire & Wireless Network Installation, Configuration, Ph: 09-43182486. I.C.s system solution (Online services) Computer Maintenance, Wireless Router Configuration, Window OS & Software Installation, Netowrk services direct to the Company , Office & Home. Available contract service. Antivirus Software (License) : 8,500 Ks. Ph: 09 540 9712

730- 35744, Saya Thet (MBBS) 09-731-11782, Korean Native English Teacher Tr. Kim (after 6 p.m) 655647 , Tr. Phyu 09-430-83117 , Sayar Min Aung 09-492-80 490

Expert Service

CONsTRUCTION: We have skilled civil Construction workers and Engineers. (R.C.C. & Steel Structure) S Civil Engineering (Science 1990) Ph: 09500-5817. LICENsED Tour Guide English - Italian - Malay. Khine Tint (O) Gianni.

in Novel, business and ngos materialsetc: Pls Contact Daw Maw Maw San ph: 09-431-97513 mail: maw.san @ gmail. com REAL PROPERTY Service If you want to buy, sell or rent Land, Condominium, apartment, house Office and need advice regarding with property, contact 0973135900,01-569448. dOwnlOadinGService :We offer services for downloading large file with fair price. Just contact us. info. futuretech. mm@

Education

INTEREsTED in studying abroad? Kant Kaw Education Centre is now accepting applications for its June university foundation classes. Limited fee waivers are available so apply now! Available courses Academic Reading and Writing English Foundation General Education (development studies) IELTS Preparation Deadline for applications: May 16, 2012. Add: (605/A), San Yeik Nyein Ph: 6th St, Kamaryut. 01 502 884, Email: info@ gmail.com EnGlisH to MYANMAR, is available...Ph : 09420-070692. WOULD you like to apply for scholarships? College admission essay and personal statement writing. U Thu Ya 09-5066913 I N T E R N AT I O N A L Schools Subjects : English, Maths, Science, Hindi & Social. Will coach your MATHEMATICs : If your child (Kg to Sec-3) from any international schools, is very weak in Mathematics, pls contact : 09-500-4993, 544594. study GuidEs for Grade 10, 11 & Intl school (ISY, MISY,ILBC, Total, PISM, Crane, MLA, Diplomatic, RV) GCSE, SAT , IELTS, TOEFL, Teachers who have got Teaching experience in Singapore, Now back to Myanmar/ Teaching combination of Foreign & Myanmar Style/ Skillful Teachers, Saya Bryan M.E(IT) 09-2150075 , Tr. Ahme B.Sc ( IC) Ph: 09-730-592 65, Saya Htet B.E(IT) Ph: 09-215-0075, 09-

No.11, 5th Flr (Left), Kyun Taw Kyaung St, Kyun Taw Ward (South), Sanchaung, Yangon. Ph: 09-420-030798. REAL EsTATE or Landhousing investment in Myanmar. We coordinately invite Myanmar citizens or nons to cooperate with us as w will take responsibilities with our citizenship scrutiny For those who interest and want to cooperate with us may contact Htet Oo Lwin (Engineer) 09-215-0075 IOLAR Translation Service Ph : 09-73172792, 229301 Email: iolar.translation@gmail. com IP CCTV Camera , IP Video Door Phone, IP Finger Print Time Access Control System, IP Video Door Phone, Car DVR, Car GPS Tracking System, IP PABX Device Sales, Services and Renter 09-537-3222,09-43067778 sEARCH PROPERTY Online : Are you looking to buy, rent, sell or rent out your property? Please visit us at: www.eainsearch.com or call: 09 732 493 78 WE provide:(1) Buying vehicle One stop service for Scrapped-earowners & tax-payers. (2)Courier service for documents & goods to Singapore. (3) Applying Licence in Nay Pyi Taw. (4) Arranging Bank documents. (5) Arranging shipping documents & transportation. (6) Distribution services. (7) Finding oversea customers. (8) Air Cargo & Sea Cargo services. (9) Services for Trading, Banking and Shipping to any country via Singapore. Winner Ocean Trading Co., Ltd :75/B, 15 St, Middle Block, Lanmadaw. Ph: 01-03450030, 212985, 09-430-88422, 09-5161716. TRANsLATION: Those who are looking for a competent translator; I provide English to Myanmar and Myanmar to English. Specialize

gmail. com Ph: 09-5160225,09-515-0720

Language

HOME TUTION japanese language regular course (basic, inter) jpn going course, myanmar language for japanese.09-420055323. EnGlisH study with reading literature and short stories can be learnt here. ESL study for beginner and intermediate students are available. The student treat with film for the listening practice, academic essay writing , biography writing etc & also Critical reading, If you had tried as much as you can to follow the lesson & with skill you got good experiences. This program will help you capability and fill your luck of know-ledge... Academic Spanish can also be inquired here. U Thant Zin : ph 09 5035350 , 01 547442. No:28 - 3 B, Thatipahtan St, Tamwe. RUssIAN : speaking , reading, writing. ph; 09731-61269. PRIVATE Myanmar Language classes for foreigners who live in Myanmar. Progressive and effective teaching systems are available. For details, pls contact to keencentre @gmail. com. HOME TUTION japanese language regular course (basic, inter) jpn going course, myanmar language for japanese, japanese language for kids 09-7303-2296 GRacEs sPEEcH and Drama Academy. Class available for Business

CommunicationCourse , Speech and Drama , Effective Reading class, and Ballet class. For more information , please contact to Graces Academy, Tel : + 730 97836, Email : annie. san@graces-studio. net. EnGlisH language at your home. Interested persons kindly contact ph : 09-430-57719, 09730-21435. MYANMAR for foreigners. Ph: 09-731-61269. GuidE (For Embassy family and others) When you stay in Myanmar,do you want to ask to your children to learn Myanmar language ? Call-09-732-23668 (ko soe thi aung) FOR FOREiGnERs Interested in learning Myanmar Speaking easily & effectively in a short time with Myanmar English Teacher. Save your time & money. Contact : 09-517 9125. KEEN Intl Language Centre - Progressive Myanmar Language Private Classes for Foreigners who live in Myanmar. Effective Program for new sections are available. For more information, pls contact : keencentre @gmail. com TEACHER Daw Khin Thawda Aung, English Grammar & Speaking in 60 hrs. IELTS, TOEFL, GCE & SAT in 120 hrs. Tel: 556571, 09-5089368. MyanMaR lanGuaGE Guide (For Embassy family and others) When you stay in Myanmar, do You want to ask to your children to learn Myanmar language? Call: 09-514-6505, 09730-75265. 501846 Ext:191 (Christine) lEaRn EnGlisH! In a quiet atmosphere and fun with an experienced teacher Certified in TEFL patient, friendly, organized Enjoys English language: daily conversations, business issues, preparation for examinations. Develop your skills: reading, writing, listening comprehension,conversation, grammar and vocabulary. Mode of work: textbooks, novels, magazines, newspapers, audio, video, etc. To all levels & ages individual classes or groups reviews of leveling! Calls Teacher Min Thant Ph: 09-73173175. Email: khinmin@gmail. com

For Sale

HD GaME, app (install) iPhone, iPod touch 6000ks, iPad 8000ks, iTunes account open (free game, app download), All iDevices iOS 5.0.1 version upgrade full untethered jailbreak (power off) 3gs, iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPad 2. contact : 09-514-7480 NIssAN AD Van [2007 Model] [ABS Airbag, AC, PS, PW] Contact : 09-492-75744 FAMOUs PIZZA

RESTAURANT FOR SALE Siem Reap, Cambodia. Profitable & popular restaurant in great downtown location near Old market. All equipment & inventory included. Est. 2001. 4 years remaining on lease. Low monthly rent. Turn-key operation. USD$ 96,000. For details, contact: E-mail: cs_clark@yahoo.com Tel: +855-11-590463 ZTE C-R 750 (CDMA 800 + GSM) Handset ph : 09-428-125107 NEW IPAD (white) 16gb, Razer Starcraft 2 Headphone, Apple Superdrive New Ph: 09-730-48374 TAIWAN use Generator Sale : 60 KVA 400V Mitsubishi 7500 US$ 60 KVA 400V Iveco 7500 US$ 60 KVA 400V johndeere 8100 US$ 30 KVA 400V Mitsubishi 5500 US$ 25 KVA 400V Mitsubishi/Nissan 4200 US$ contact number 09-510-3439 VOLVO 740 GLE (1990 Model) [ New Body with WRTA ] [ 4u/ ] [ ABS Airbag, AC, PS, PW, MP3 Player ] [ Mileage : 53000 Km ] Contact : 09-492-75744 ADsL (Bagan/MPT), WiMax (Bagan), Broadband (Bagan), McWill Contact : 09-73084143 HR sOFTWARE Package: Price 200,000. Modules: Employee Manage-ment, TimeAtten-dance,Payroll. (Avail-able: FingerPrint/ Card). POS Software Package: Price 150,000. (Modules: Inventory Control, Purchase, Sale, Account Payable. (Available :Barcode Printer/ Scanner). Ph:09504-2775. sHARP Aircon (1.5 HP), Window Type, Brand new special price/offer for projects & hotels. Ph: 206001. uRGEnt to sell foe Internet cafe shop At main road (Ba Ho road), Sanchang. 33 computers sets,15kv generator, 4 air conds. 100 Lakhs, Negotiable, Contact : 01-502928, 09-540-8250. RAZER Starcraft 2 Headphone , Apple Superdrive New, HTC sensation XE Beat, Dual Core 1.5mhz, Memory 768mb, 8MP Camera with beat earphone Used Price - 380000. Ph: 09730-48374 canOn diGital Camera EOS:50D (Body only) + 1extra battery and battery grid (BG E2N) In original package and Camera Guide Magazine. @ 600,000-Kyats (Fixed price) ph:09-492-43310. 2 TEA-CUPs Yorkshires Free To Re-Homing Contact: xtionbert@ gmail.com (1) CDMA 800 MHz (09730xxxxx) and used Genuine Samsung Coby SCH-F339 Touchscreen Handset with three colored back cover : 650,000 Ks. (2) USED Geniune SonyEricsson W595 GSM

handset with 2GB Memory card : 70,000 Ks. Contact - Ko Sai : 510770 iPhone 4S - 16G Black Brand new. ph:09- 43184138. TV 21" Toshiba 218*8m + VCD : 80000 SONY 21": 80000/- Sansung oneset 21": 30000/ 1G, ph; 09501-0830

PROPERTY
HousingforRent
BaHan, Apartment along New University Ave Rd, Good electricity & water essential. Fully furnished with 2-3 rooms with attached toilet. Rent Rate - USD500 to USD700 per month. (6 month advance rental). Rental period 1 to 3 years. Pls contact : 09512-8095 - Ma Thinzar Oo BaHan: Golden Valley, Two Story Building, Fully Furnished, Fully Furniture, 2MB, 2SB, Ph,A/C,GoodNeighborhood, 20 Lakhs, Foreigners welcome. Call - 09-432-00669 BaHan, Takathoyeik mon condo, 7F, 1500 Sqft , Fully Furnished, Fully Furniture, 3 A/C, 1 MBR, 2 SBR ,1PH, 6 Lakhs, Ph : 09-731-35900 tHinGanGyun, 40 x 60 3RC ThuMinGaLar Rd, Good location for car show room & business. ph: 09-430-80638. BaHan, Golden Valley, 0.35 acre Land, big garden, 2 storey, ph line, semi-furnished, 4 MBR, US$ 3000 per month, Ph: 09-502-0969 CHINA TOWN apartment, lift, 17x 59', Ph line, 2AC, 2MBR, Jacuzzi, Funished Room, water heater, US$ 1000 / 8 Lakhs per month, Ph: 09-502-0969 MayanGOnE, Pyay Rd, 0.5acre land, 2RC Storey new house, 5 master bed rooms, ph, Fully furnished, big garden, US$ 3500 Per month, Ph: 09-503-4954 KAMAYUT , Inya Rd 0.3acre land, 2.2RC Storey, 2MBR, 7BR, garden, ph line, US$ 3200 per month, Pls call 09-503-4954 gthreds33@gmail. com,all inquiries are welcome. BaHan, (1) Pho Sein Rd, 100' x 80' Land (2) Shwegondine Rd, 30 x 90' Land, Kabaaye Pagoda Rd, 30 x 90' Land. Ph: 09-731-05296, 09-540-5482. HlainG, Aye Yeik Mon Sakawar St, 74' x 96', RC 2 storey, 4 MB, Ph, AC, Ph; 684936, 09-5120747. PWIN OO LWIN, 170' x 70', 1 RC, price : 2300 Lakhs. Ph: 09-5055522 MayanGOnE, 9 mile, 50' x 60', 2 RC, 3 MBR, 4500 Lakhs. Ph: 09-5055522 100 160 ft in Mawhbi area , near by Htin Son village.Hp:09-43109290. LAsHIO : 2Acres Land including the main house and 2storey building. In downtown and Very Good place for business. Price: negotiable Ph: 09515-8738

Training

sMART Body Fitness: We need to care for our parents at home. Also, we want to care for your health. Please, come to visit our fitness center. To get smart and healthy body. Teach in systematically. Ph: 09730-177209. sinGinG Lessons: Professionally trained singing teacher for students of all levels. Please contact 665648. GuitaR Class To Home Ph-09-731-94925 .NET Programming : Home (1) C#.Net, (2) Asp.Net, (3) Sql Server, (4) Other Programming Concept with project contact me:Thanda 09731-63643 MAKEUP Artist from Bangkok is in Yangon for 2 months and avaliable to give private makeup classes in both English and Burmese in request. Availiable subjects are Basic Makeup Application, Products Information & Usageof Know-ledge, Highlighting & Contouring, Film/TV makeup, Photography makeup, Events makeup, Bridal makeup, Male grooming and so on for both Pro and Begginer level. My works can be seen on www. facebook. com/Makeup.Flora and you can contact me directly at 01 80 10 912. Flora (Thet Thet )

Rent / Sale
TAMWAE : Lovely Banglow, 2 Story, 1 MB, 2SB, 50x100' Yard, Fully Furnished, 1Ph, 9 Lakhs, Foreigners welcome. Call - 01-569448, 09731-35900

Want To Hire
NEW ZEALAND businessman seeking apartment/condo/house sharing arrangement with one or two other people. Ph: 09-410-11547. A MNC that is planning to open an office in Yangon is seeking the following for short term and long term lease; Land Crusier, Pajero, and Toyota Hiace, aircon, and must be clean, to include driver. Pls quote on a daily, weekly & monthly lease terms. VILLA OR CONDO (for foreigner) Bahan, Mayankone, Hlaing, Kamayut,Thingankyun, Yankin. RC, MB, SB, Water-Well & YCDC, Good Electricity, A/C, Ph, Attached to Garden, Furnished, Rent Rate - $600 ~ $1000. Pls contact by house owner to Ms. Hnin Si within office hours 9AM to 5PM556692, 540995 NEAR YUZANA PLAZA, warehouse to hire. Ph: 546309.

Travel

cHaunG tHa vacation stay at a wooden house for a family for a very cheap price. 3 nigths, 4 days - 30,000 kyats per night Maximum 5 people. Need to bring your own beddings and kitchen wares. Contact - 561899 ext-119. Additional fee of 5000 - 10,000 kyats involved for cleaning fee. Only house and compound with a fence offered. NYAN MYINT THU Car rental service : 56, Bo Ywe St, Latha. Ph: 246551, 375283, 09-645-0599

Housing for Sale

HlainG tHaR yaR, Large sewing factory ideally located in Hlaing Thar Yar industrial zone one is available for rental ,the factory is well equipped with boilers, generator, large cutting, packing and material storage areas, plus 500 sewing machines all ready and set to run, well suited for someone who is interested in starting a garment factory.Please contact Bill on 525746 , 09550-5220 or email

Want To Buy

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Employment
INGO Position
MEDECINs du Monde (MDM) is looking (1) Project officer - 1 Post in Pyapon : H.A/ M.B.,B.S. Advance diploma/ degree in public health would be advantage. Experience working in PHC and MCH project, preferably with 2 years experience in int'l organization. Excellent skills in Myanmar. Fluent in English especially speaking & writing. Fluent in English 4 skills is preferable. Know-ledge of the rural areas of Pyapon tsp. (2) Field Nurse 1 Post in Pyapon. Requirements: Nursing Diploma or midwife. B.N.Sc or degree in Public Health (Health Assistant). Experience working in position field nurse preferably with an int'l organization. Fair listening, spoken and writing skill English is preferable. Computer knowledge. Pls submit CV and a cover letter to MDM Country Coordi-nation Office : 47-B, Po Sein St, Bahan, Yangon, Ph: 542830, Email: hr.mdm myanmar@gmail. com sOLIDARITEs is looking for (1) Administrative & Finance Manager in Kanpelet, Chin State: University level or equivalent in accounting/ management/ administration.Previous experience: 2 years in a similar position with NGO. Excellent know-ledge of word & excel, knowledge of account-ing software SAGA & HR software HOMERE is a plus. Knowledge of logistics procedures. Fluent spoken & written English and Myanmar. Duty station will be in Kanpelet with frequent field visit/ support to sub-offices & projects intervention area. (2) Administrative & Finance supervisor in Kanpelet, Chin State: University level or equivalent in accounting/ management/ administration.Previous experience: 1 year in a similar position with NGO or private sector. Excellent knowledge of word & excel. Working knowledge in English & Myanmar. Good writing & communication skills. Duty station will be in Kyein Dwe with possible field visits in the projects intervent-ion area. Pls submit application (CV, cover letter, references) by email : hr.solidarites. mm@gmail. com. Closing date: 30 May 2012 MEDECINs Sans Frontieres is looking for motivated & experienced candi-dates for the position of Lab Technician (Myittar Yeik clinic), MSF Project in Tanintharyi Region. Requirement Criteria: A Laboratory Technician diploma/ degree recognized by the state. In basic project with a need for a generic laboratory: no experience is required but it is an asset. In a highly specific project project, the labtech needs an experience on the subject of interest (e.g. TB culture). Languages ...A... English, ...French, F... National lauguage, ...A... Karen (detailed in competencies list), F-Fluent, B-Basic, R-Required, A - An asset. Pls submit application (motivation letter, updated CV and copy of professional dipomas) to HR/ Admin Officer. Medecins Sans Frontieres- Switzerland (MSF-CH) 101, Dhamazedi Rd, Kamaryut, Yangon, E-mail: msfchrangoon-web@ geneva. msf.org, Ph: 502509, 503548. before 11th of May 2012. CARE MYANMAR organization is seeking (1) Finance Assistant (Cashier) - Yangon - 1 post. Closing date: 9th May 2012 (2) Field Office Coordinator (Mawlamyine) - 1 post Closing date: 8th May 2012 (Tuesday) Qualify women are strongly encourage to apply Pls request the detailed Terms of Reference at the CARE Myanmar office during office hours (8:30 ~ 5:00) between Monday to Friday or can obtain by email:recruitment @ care.org.mm 17A, Pyi Htaung Su St, Sayarsan Rd, Sayarsan North-west ward, Bahan, Yangon. Tel: 401419, 401420, 401421 CARE Myanmar organization is seeking (1) M & E DataAdministrator - Yangon - 1 post Closing date: 11th May 2012 (2)Monitoring & Evaluation Data Administrator - Yangon - 1 post Closing date: 11th May 2012 Qualify women are strongly encourage to apply Please request the detailed Terms of Reference at the CARE Myanmar office during office hours (8:30 to 5:00) between Monday to Friday or can obtain by email: recruitment@ care.org.mm Care Int'l in Myanmar : 17A, Pyi Htaung Su St, Sayarsan Rd, Sayarsan North-west ward, Bahan, Yangon. Tel: 401419, 401420, 401421 (1)DRR Education training Officer - (DM Division_DRR Unit)- 1 post : Selected townships for the DRR MRCS/FRC Program (2) Admin & Finance Officer(Health Division) - 1 post : Tauggyi with frequent visit to HQ Nay Pyi Taw and project townships.(3)Consultant (Health Division) - 1 post, Naypyitaw. Pls submit CV , passport phto with other docu-ments to Myanmar Red Cross Society (Naypyi-taw) mrcshrrecruitment @ gmail. com young dynamic marketing sales manager. Also a executive secretary both fluent English speaking with good knowledge and skills in computers lady or gents,who is willing to work hard and grow with the company. The benefits will be satisfactory Forward your C.V Attention Chris Karageorges with a photo and contact telephone number: email : asiadairies@ yahoo.com, SKYPE doncristo6 cPw, Chiyoda & Public Works Co., Ltd is seeking for qualified (1) Administration Manager - 1 post: Fluent in 4 skills of English, Bachelor Degree Holder with 5 years experience in Administration, Computer literate, Work experience in Foreign Firms is highly preferred. (2) Accounting Manager - 1 post: Fluent in 4 skills of English, with 5 years experience with Foreign Firm is preferable, B.Com, Accounting - CPA, ACCA, Familiar with accounting software (especially Peachtree). Pls submit applications with all relevant documents & a recent photo to Chiyoda & Public Works Co., Ltd. Rm 03-08 to 03-09, Business Suites, Sedona Hotel, No.1 Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd, Yankin Tsp, Yangon, Tel: 545605 (or) E-mail to yinmon-cpw@ wimaxmail.net.mm, Reference website: www. chiyoda-corp.com closing date: May 11, 2012. THE KMA Hotels Group is looking the following positions with people who can work efficiently and aggressively and comply with the asked requirements; Yangon (1)Assistant sales Manager 1 post. (2) sales Executive 1 post. (3) Financial Controller 1 post. (4) Deputy Finance Manager 1 post. (5) General cashier 1 post. Naypyitaw (1) F&B Manager 1 post. Bagan (1) Housekeeping Manager 1 post. (2) Assistant security Manager 1 post. (3) Assistant Chief Engineer. 115 Miles. Phyu (1) Accountant 1 post. (2) Housekeeping supervisor 1 post. Taungoo (1) Jr.Waiter 2 post. (2) Bartender 1 post. (3) Gym instructor 1 post. (4) security staff 3 post. Inle (1) Accountant 2 post. Pls submit application with a resume to the Human Resources Department of KMA Hotels Group Office at Sayar San Plaza at the corner of Sayar San Rd and New University Avenue Rd, Tel: 951401480~1. MYANMAR WOMEN Enterpreneurs Association (MWEA) is looking for one post of Project Manager (Gender) in Yangon. Skills & Requirements: Master degree in Social Science or related field. Experience in INGO field with project management & implementation. Experienced in Gender project. Able to travel frequently. Fluent in English with report writing skills. Pls send complete CV with a photo to MWEA office, 288/289 Shwedagon Pagoda Rd, Dagon Tsp, Yangon, or via e-mail mwea2008@gmail.com (or) khinohmmarmoe@ gmail.com (or) mikyihan @gmail.com Closing date: 13 May 2012. OUR CLIENTs are looking for the following positions; sales & Marketing director with experienced in Tourism and Consumer market sales & Marketing staff in chemical & consumer market Secretaries with English fluency and experiences Accountant at least with LCCI III. Pls send your CV to resumefree.bank @gmail.com in word or pdf format. A MULTINATIONAL Advertising Agency is Hiring! Young, Dynamic & Dedicated Professionals Who have the Right Appetite to Grow with us in Myanmar apply with detailed CV & recent photograph to: headhunting41@gmail. com Creative Writer: With a flair for creative writing in Burmese and a good command on English, our creative writer will be responsible for churning out award winning original copy with the ability to give English Copy his own brand of originality in the native language. Media Planner: A dynamic professional with good connections with the local media and the requisite experience for plann-ing effective media plans. Client service Executive: Smart, ambitious, dynamic young men and women with experience in marketing and brand management will be responsible for day to day liaison with client and work as an extension of the clients Brand management team. Receptionist: Not just a pretty face (though the pretty face is a requisite). Efficient, punctual with a pleasant personality and a good enough command over English as well as Burmese. DAPPER is seeking (1) Marketing Executive -1 post : Myanmar National, Any Graduate or MBA is higher Degree (MBA is preferable), Age between 25 to 30 years old, 2 years experience in related field with Int'l, Must be able to travel (Domestic / Abroad) and excellent public relation skills. (2) Management Trainee -3 posts : Myanmar National, Age 20 ~ 27 years, Graduate with (B.Com/ B.Econ/ B.B.A/ B.B.M), Must have good practice on Mathematic & Knowledge of Microsoft office sorfware package. All candidates above must have: Good communication skill, Strong negotiation skill, Analytical skill, Initiative skill, Good in health & pleasant personality, Willingness to travel and work in difficult setting, Able to work as gracefully under pressure, Be proficient in both English & Myanmar languages, Computer literate. Pls send CV together with copies of academic certificates, Original & Update police clearan-ce form, a copy of Family registration. form (10), 1 passport sized photo and a copy of NRC to : HR Manager. Business Development Team. Creation (Myanmar) Co.,Ltd : 15~18, Thamain Bayan Rd, Myittar Yeik Mon Housing, Tarmwe Ph: 09-202-7604. Email: bdthrmanager@ goldenland.com.mm WE WELCOME applications from motivated people for the following vacancies at our international education group? Registrar. Admin Managers/ HR Manager. Education Counsellors. Course Co-ordinators. secre-taries. Marketing Manager/ Executives. Accounts Officers. Admin Assistants. Receptionist. Require ments: High level of motivation. Pleasant personality. Good command of English for senior posts. Excellent social & communications skills. Good MS Office & Internet skills. Pls post CV with a colour photo, expected salary, educational documents, & testimonials to: Regent Education Group. B-13+18, Shwe Keinayee Estate, Narnattaw St, Kamar-yut, Ph: 514101. AYER sHWE WAH Co., is seeking (1) Health & safety Officer - M/F 1 post : Possess technical or engineering diploma / degree, have received approved safety course and training with an institution, Knowledge in HR Management, 7 ~ 8 years experience in manufacturing & construction industry with a large company, Age 25 ~ 40, Good English writing & speaking skills essential, Good communication skills & strict in enforcing discipline. (2) Corporate sales & Marketing Manager M/F 1 Post : Possess a good University degree in any discipline, have Marketing Diploma preferred. 5 years selling experience in consumer goods with a large Company & experience in leading a team. Age 25 ~ 35 years. Excellent English written and oral communication skills & interpersonal skills. (3) IT Manager - M/F 1 post: Possess B.C.Sc, MCSE, CCNA, Microsoft SQL Server, have CCNP, Micorsoft VB, Microsoft ASP.Net, Linux preferr-ed. 5 years experience in IT Field & 3 years experience in IT Management. Excellent English written and oral communication skills & interpersonal skills. Age 25 ~ 35. Typically experience in MS windows servers environment & infrastructure. Pls submit the resume CV with 3 recent photos, labor registration card, copy of NRC, copy of educational certifi-cates, copy of house-hold registration and recommendation letter from police station to : HR Department, Bldg A-10, Min Dhamma Rd, Shwe Kabar Housing, Mayangone, Ph: 656832, 656835. IHOsT Myanmar is seeking (1) Marketing & sales Executive 2 posts : Must have skills for Web: Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. Enthusiasm, both written and verbal. Enthusiasm, drive and determination, with a strong desire to meet targets. (2) Web Designer 1 post: Must have skills for web designer: Minimum of 2 years commercial design experience, ideally at least 8 months web design experiences. Very skilled in Photoshop. (3) Front -end Web Developer 1 post: Must have skills for web developer: Minimum of 1 year commercial web development experiences. Solid experience in developing with HTML, CSS, Javascript and jQuery. Team player who can work under pressure; flexible and can deliver on schedule. (4) PHP developer 2- Must have skills for PHP developer: Minimum of 2 years commercial development experiences with PHP. Solid experience in developing in a Unix/ Linux or LAMP environment. Strong database experience. Know-ledge of object oriented design and development. A very competitive salary will be paid for all positions based on skills and experience. Rm 010-A, Bldg B, Hnin Si Lane, Narnattaw Rd, Highway Complex, Kamayut. Ph: +959 5152331, +959 421084306. (1)REsERVATION for hotel & flight - Female 1 post : 2 years experience in travel agency (2) Admin & Guest relation staff Male/Female 1 post : who can speak English very well 2 years experience in travel agency. Pls contact AZURE SKY Travel: Rm (02-01), Asia Plaza Complex Seikkan Thar St, Kyauktada. Ph: 379304, 703526. QUALITY Control Surveyor Civil Engineer ( or ) Diploma in Civil Engineering 1 person Contact Ph: 09 -73094957 MyanMaR BluE Ocean Travels & Tours Co., Ltd (1) sales and Marketing Manager (Outbound) M/F 2 Post : Must have 4 years above experience in related field. Able to handle group & individual Tour Pack-age, highly motivated & resourceful. All applicants must be University Graduate, fluent in spoken & written English, must have excellent interper-sonal skill and good computer knowledge. Pls apply CV with one recent photo, other certificates , NRC copy, Labour registration card, police recommendation letter to Email : snow whitemay 56 @ gmail.com Closing date : within two weeks. Add : Rm (611), La Pyayt Wun Plaza, 37, Alan Pya Pagoda Rd, Dagon Tsp. Yangon. WE ARE looking for sale girl - 2 posts : speak English & Chinese languages, must have any graduate, age is 19 year, 23 years, prefer location is 8 mile,9 mile 10 mile and downtown area in Yangon. Ph: 09-516-7734. (1) GEnERal Manager M 1 post :Any Graduate or higher Degree (MBA is more preferable). Age 40 ~ 50. 4 years experience at senior management level. Ability to manage business development and operation. Must be able to responsible for Planning, Implementation and short staying at work place. Excellent knowledge in English 4 skills. (2) Admin & HR Assistant - F 1 post : Any graduate, Age 25 ~ 30. 2 years experience in administrative field. Can use Microsoft Software (word, excel, pagemaker) to type Myanmar/ English. To provide administrative support to the Manager. Interest in job, self development, motivated & hardworking. Good personality, communication & reporting skill. Pls submit CV with other documents to 53/54, Pyay Rd, Mayangone, near A-1 bus stop, Ph: 651696, 652730. DREAM Paradise Travels & Tours: (1) Language Guides - M/F : Hold the Guide Licence. (2) Operation staff - M 1 post : Must able to use ticketing software e.g Galileo, Amadeus, Abacus. Good communication skill. Must have any graduated. Add: 84, R.13, Anawratha Rd, Corner of 39 St, Kyauktada, Yangon. Ph: 374370, 09-730-43408, Email: dream paradise. sale@ gmail. com BEauty Paradise Manufacturing & Industrial Co., Ltd. (1) Asst; Accountant - F 3 Posts : Minimum LCCI Level II. Age 18 ~ 28 . 1 year experience in any field. Able to use Microsoft Office. Able to work overtime when needed. Good interpersonal skill, good analytical skill and mathematical skill preferable. (2)Cashier - F 2 Posts : Minimum LCCI Level II. Age 20 ~ 28. Able to collect cash to collection points. 1 year experience in any field. Preferred outgo-ing personality and good interpersonal skill. (3) sales Leader - M 5 Posts : Age 18 ~ 30 years. Must be Dynamic, challenging & hard-working. Driving skill would be an advan-tage. (4) sales Promoter - F 10 Posts : Age 18 ~ 25 years. Pleasant personality & good interpersonal skill. (5) Graphic designer - M/F 2 Posts: For 3 & 4 : 10th Standard pass/ Preferable graduate. 2 years experience. Closing date: 30.4. 2012. No.1-A, May Aye Myaing Park, Near Ta Tar Phyu Bus-stop, 5.5 mile, Pyay Rd, Hlaing. Ph: 512307, 09-732-45777. QUARTO Products is one of the leading Fine Food & Wine Distribut-ion Company in Myanmar. We are looking forward to the applicants for our QP Inya Shop ; Retail sales Assistant - Male 1 Post: Responsibilities:Perform excellent customer service, Build rapport and customer service, Proactively follow-up customer quires and needs, Responds positively to customer complaints, Perform cashiering duties, Perform daily closing balancing of cash collections, Ensure that visual merchandising standards are adhered to all times Require- ments: Any graduate, Able to work retail hour,Age under 25, Well groomed, Retail sales experience will be preferred, Driver - Male 1 Post : Responsibilities - Drive vehicle safely for the transport of collection & deliveries, Develop & implement vehicle management & maintenance system, Take care of day-to-day maintenance of vehicles, check oil, water, battery , brakes, tires, etc. and perform minor repairs and arrange for the repairs and ensure that the vehicle is kept clean, Log official trips, daily mileage, gas consumption, oil changes, greasing, etc. Ensure that the steps required by rules and regulations are taken in case of involvement in anacci-dent Requirements: 10th Standard passed or Any graduate, Valid driving license, At least 2 years work experience as a driver with safe driving record, Skills in motor vehicle repairs You can apply with cover letter, CV with 2 recent photos, copies of NRC card, labor registration card, Police recommendation letter, others educational references & experien-ce to : 5 (B/ D), Bayint Naung Lane (1), Thurein Yeik Mon Housing , Ywar Ma Curve, Hlaing, Yangon. Ph: 530 768, 530 237, 706 113, 09- 861-7759.

Overseas
THE PERsON who want to work in Malaysia as a Management Executive. Requirement : Bachelor Degree from any field (preferably from Business Manage-ment) : Bilingual in English and Mandarin is a must Industry : Private school Job Function: Management Executive salary: : Range from RM 1,800 to RM 2,000. Employment Type: Full Time : Accommodationprovided. a two-year contract Interested applicants pls email resume in confidence to: boatboat25 @ gmail.com or enquiry to 09-492-11304, 09-73902015.

Local Position
uRGEnt Vacancy: (1) Reservation for hotel flight 1 post Female- twoyear experience in travel agency. (2)Admin & Guest relation staff 1 post Male/ Female- Who can speak English very well, twoyear experience in travel agency. Please contact AZURE SKY Travel. Rm No (02-01) Asia Plaza Complex. Seikkan Thar St, Kyauktada, Ph: 379304, 703526. EXOTIssIMO Travel Myanmar is currently looking for a highly energetic, motivated enthusiastic and experienced candidate for the following position. Tour Operator: to correspond with overseas tour operator, travel agents and individial clients and prepare and submit tailor make itineraries and take care of all travel arrangements as necessary. Requirements : 2 years experience in tourism related field is preferred. Should have strong sales & customer service focus. Must possess computer proficiency and good communication in English. Pls send a detailed C.V with recent photo, expected salary & other relevant documents to: HR Manager, Exotissimo Travel Myanmar, Rm 0303, Sakura Tower, Email: memecho@ exotissimo. com FOREiGn company will establish a milk dairy production in Myanmar and is looking for a

The Essentials
EMBASSIES Australia 88, Strand Road, Yangon. tel : 251810, 251797, 251798, 251809, 246462, 246463, fax: 246159 Bangladesh 11-B, Than Lwin Road, Yangon. tel: 515275, 526144, fax: 515273, email: bdootygn@mptmail.net. mm Brazil 56, Pyay Road, 6th mile, Hlaing Tsp, Yangon. tel: 507225, 507251, 507482. fax: 507483. email: Administ.yangon@ itamaraty.gov.br. Brunei 317/319, U Wizara Road, Sanchaung Tsp, Yangon. tel: 526985, 524285, fax: 512854 email: bruneiemb@ bruneiemb.com.mm Cambodia 25 (3B/4B), New University Avenue Road, Bahan Tsp, Yangon. tel: 549609, 540964, fax: 541462, email: RECYANGON @mptmail. net.mm China 1, Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Road, Yangon. tel: 221280, 221281, 224025, 224097, 221926, fax: 227019, 228319 Egypt 81, Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Road, Yangon. tel: 222886, 222887, fax: 222865, email: egye mbyangon@mptmail. net.mm France 102, Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Road, Yangon. tel: 212178, 212520, 212523, 212528, 212532, fax: 212527, email: ambaf rance. rangoun@ diplomatie.fr Germany 9, Bogyoke Aung San Museum Road, Bahan Tsp, Yangon. tel: 548951, 548952, fax: 548899 email: info@rangun. diplo.de India 545-547, Merchant Street, Yangon. tel: 391219, 388412, 243972, fax: 254086, 250164, 388414, email: indiaembassy @mptmail. net.mm Indonesia 100, Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Road, Yangon. tel: 254465, 254469, 229750, fax: 254468, email: kukygn @indonesia.com.mm Israel 15, Khabaung Street, Hlaing Tsp, Yangon. tel: 515115, fax: 515116, email: info@ yangon.mfa.gov.il Italy 3, Inya Myaing Road, Golden Valley, Yangon. tel: 527100, 527101, fax: 514565, email: ambyang.mail@ esteri.it Japan 100, Natmauk Road, Yangon. tel: 549644-8, 540399, 540400, 540411, 545988, fax: 549643 Embassy of the State of Kuwait Chatrium Hotel, Rm: No.416, 418, 420, 422, 40 Natmauk Rd, Tarmwe Tsp, Tel: 544500. North Korea 77C, Shin Saw Pu Road, Sanchaung Tsp, Yangon. tel: 512642, 510205, fax: 510206 South Korea 97 University Avenue, Bahan Tsp, Yangon. tel: 527142-4, 515190, fax: 513286, email: hankuk@ kore mby.net.mm Lao A-1, Diplomatic Quarters, Tawwin Road, Dagon Tsp, Yangon. tel: 222482, fax: 227446, email: Laoembcab@ mptmail. net.mm Malaysia 82, Pyidaungsu Yeiktha Road, Yangon. tel: 220248, 220249, 220251, 220230, fax: 221840, email: mwkyangon@mptmail. net.mm Nepal 16, Natmauk Yeiktha, Yangon. tel: 545880, 557168, fax: 549803, email: nepemb @mptmail.net.mm Pakistan A-4, diplomatic Quarters, Pyay Road, Yangon. tel: 222881 (Chancery Exchange) fax: 221147, email: pakistan@ myanmar. com.mm Philippines 50, Sayasan Road, Bahan Tsp, Yangon. tel: 558149-151, fax: 558154, email: p.e. yangon@gmail.com Russian 38, Sagawa Road, Yangon. tel: 241955, 254161, fax: 241953, email: rusinmyan@mptmail .net.mm Serbia No. 114-A, Inya Road, P.O.Box No. 943Yangon. tel: 515282, 515283, fax: 504274, email: serbemb@ yangon.net.mm Singapore 238, Dhamazedi Road, Bahan Tsp, Yangon. tel: 559001, fax: 559002, 559922, email: singemb_ ygn@_ sgmfa. gov.sg Sri Lanka 34 Taw Win Road, Yangon. tel: 222812, fax: 221509, email: slembassy. yangon@gmail.com, info@slembyangon.org, www.slembyangon.org Thailand 94 Pyay Road, Dagon Township, Yangon. tel: 226721, 226728, 226824, fax: 221713 United Kingdom 80 Kanna Road, Yangon. tel: 370867, 380322, 371852, 371853, 256438, 370863, 370864, 370865, fax: 370866 United States of America 110, University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Yangon. tel: 536509, 535756, 538038, fax: 650306 Vietnam Building No. 72, Thanlwin Road, Bahan Township, Yangon. tel: 511305, fax: 514897, email: vnemb myr@ cybertech.net.mm Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia No.287/289, U Wisara Rd, Sanchaung Tsp. tel : 01-536153, 516952, fax : 01-516951 UNITED NATIONS ILO Liaison Officer Rm (M1212~1220), 12 Fl-A, Traders Hotel. 223, tel: 242 393, 242811. fax: 242594. IOM 12th Flr, Traders Hotel, 223, tel: 252560 ext. 5002 UNAIDS Rm: (1223~1231), 12 Fl, Traders Hotel. tel: 252361, 252362, 252498. fax: 252364. UNDCP 11-A, Malikha St, Mayangone tsp. tel: 666903, 664539. fax: 651334. UNDP 6, Natmauk Rd, Bahan tel: 542910-19. fax: 292739. UNFPA 6, Natmauk Rd, Bahan tsp. tel: 546029. UNHCR 287, Pyay Rd, Sanchaung tsp. tel: 524022, 524024. fax 524031. UNIAP Rm: 1202, 12 Fl, Traders Hotel.tel: 254852, 254853. UNIC 6, Natmauk St., BHN tel: 52910~19 UNICEF 14~15 Flr, Traders Hotel. P.O. Box 1435, KTDA. tel: 375527~32, fax: 375552 email: unicef.yangon@unicef. org, www.unicef.org/myanmar. UNODC 11-A, Malikha Rd., Ward 7, MYGN. tel: 666903, 660556, 660538, 660398, 664539, fax: 651334. email: fo.myanmar@unodc.org www. unodc.org./myanmar/ UNOPS Inya Lake Hotel, 3rd floor, 37, Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd, Mayangone Tsp. tel: 951657281~7. Fax: 657279. UNRC 6, Natmauk Rd, P.O. Box 650, TMWE tel: 542911~19, 292637 (Resident Coordinator), fax: 292739, 544531. WFP 3rd-flr, Inya Lake Hotel, 37, Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd. tel: 657011~6 (6-lines) Ext: 2000. WHO 12A Fl, Traders Hotel. tel:250583. ASEAN Coordinating Of. for the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force, 79, Taw Win st, Dagon Township. Ph: 225258. FAO Myanma Agriculture Service Insein Rd, Insein. tel: 641672, 641673. fax: 641561.

General Listing
ACCOMMODATIONHOTELS
Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon 40 Natmauk Rd, Tarmwe. tel: 544500. fax: 544400. Summit Parkview Hotel 350, Ahlone Rd, Dagon Tsp. tel: 211888, 211966. fax: 227995. Thamada Hotel 5, Alan Pya Phaya Rd, Dagon. tel: 243639, 243640, 243641. Traders Hotel 223 Sule Pagoda Rd. tel: 242828. fax: 242838. Winner Inn 42, Than Lwin Rd, Bahan Tsp. tel: 535205, 524387. email: winnerinnmyanmar @gmail.com Yangon YMCA 263, Mahabandoola Rd, Botataung Tsp. tel: 294128, Yuzana Hotel 130, Shwegondaing Rd, Bahan Tsp, tel : 01-549600, 543367 Yuzana Garden Hotel 44, Alanpya Pagoda Rd, Mingalar Taung Nyunt Tsp, tel : 01-248944

ACCOUNTANTS AND CONSULTANTS

Charted Certified, Certified Public Accountants. tel: 09-5010563. drtinlatt@matglobal.com

AIR CONDITION
Chigo No. 216, 38 Street (Upper), Kyauktada Tsp, tel : 373472

No.7A, Wingabar Road, Bahan Tsp, Yangon. Tel : (951) 546313, 430245. 09-731-77781~4. Fax : (01) 546313. www.cloverhotel.asia. info@cloverhotel.asia Confort Inn 4, Shweli Rd, Bet: Inya Rd & U Wisara Rd, Kamaryut, tel: 525781, 526872 Golden Aye Yeik Mon Hotel 4, Padauk Lane, 4th Word, Aye Yeik Mon Housing, Hlaing. tel: 681706. Hotel Yangon No. 91/93, 8th Mile Junction, Mayangone. tel : 01-667708, 667688. Inya Lake Resort Hotel 37 Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd. tel: 662866. fax: 665537. Orchid Hotel 91, Anawrahta street, Pazundaung Township, Yangon, . Tel: 399930, 704740, 293261. E-mail: orchidhotel@myanmar. com. mm.

ACCOMMODATIONHOTELS (NAy PyI TAw)

The First Air conditioning systems designed to keep you fresh all day GUNKUL Engineer supply Co., Ltd. No.437 (A), Pyay Road, Kamayut. P., O 11041 Yangon, Tel: +(95-1) 502016-8, Mandalay- Tel: 02-60933. Nay Pyi TawTel: 067-420778, E-mail freshaircon@gkmyanmar. com.mm. URL: http:// www.freshaircon.com General 83-91, G-F, Bo Aung Kyaw St, Kyauktada Tsp, tel : 706223, 371906

Reservation Office (Yangon) 262-264, Pyay Road, Dagon Centre, A# 03-01, Sanchaung Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 95-1-501937, 536255, 09-520-0926.
The Oasis Hotel (Nay Pyi Taw)

ASTROLOGER
Saya Min Thoun Dara Astrologer No(2), Maha Wizaya Pagoda North Stairway, Dagon Tsp. tel: 296184

Tel: 95-67-422088, 422099

ACCOMMODATION LONG TERM

No. 205, Corner of Wadan Street & Min Ye Kyaw Swa Road, Lanmadaw Tsp, Yangon. Myanmar. Tel: (95-1) 212850 ~ 3, 229358 ~ 61, Fax: (95-1) 212854. info@myanmarpandahotel .com http://www. myanmarpandahotel.com Panorama Hotel 294-300, Pansodan Street, Kyauktada Tsp. tel: 253077. PARKROYAL Yangon, Myanmar 33, Alan Pya Pagoda Rd, Dagon tsp. tel: 250388. fax: 252478. email: enquiry.prygn@ parkroyalhotels.com Website: parkroyalhotels. com. Savoy Hotel 129, Damazedi Rd, Kamayut tsp. tel: 526289, 526298, Seasons of Yangon Yangon Intl Airport Compound. tel: 666699. Sweet Hotel 73, Damazedi Road, San Chaung Tsp, Ph: 539152 Sedona Hotel Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd, Yankin. tel: 666900. Strand Hotel 92 Strand Rd. tel: 243377. fax: 289880. Easy Expat Accommodation Specialist in Yangon. Tel: 09-730-33776. Eco-Apartment Fully Furnished Ga 21, Pearl Centre (Pearl Condo), Bahan Tsp. Tel: 557488. Espace Avenir No 523, Pyay Rd, Kamaryut Tsp. tel: 505213-222. Golden Hill Towers 24-26, Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd, Bahan Tsp. tel: 558556. ghtower@ mptmail.net.mm. Marina Residence 8, Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd, Mayangone Tsp. tel: 6506 51~4. fax: 650630. MiCasa Hotel Apartments 17, Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd, Yankin Tsp. tel: 650933. fax: 650960. Sakura Residence 9, Inya Rd, Kamaryut Tsp. tel: 525001. fax: 525002. The Grand Mee Ya Hta Executive Residence 372, Bogyoke Aung San Rd, Pabedan Tsp. tel 951-256355 (25 lines). fax: 951-256360. email: gmer@ mptmail.net.mm, www. grandmeeyahta.com Yangon City Villa (Residence) Pyay Rd, 8 Mile Junction, MYGN, tel: 513101

BARS
50th Street 9/13, 50th street-lower, Botataung Tsp. Tel-397160.

Green Garden Beer Gallery Mini Zoo, Karaweik Oo-Yin Kabar.

Emergency Numbers
Ambulance tel: 295133. Fire tel: 191, 252011, 252022. Police emergency tel: 199. Police headquarters tel: 282541, 284764. Red Cross tel:682600, 682368 Traffic Control Branch tel:298651 Department of Post & Telecommunication tel: 591384, 591387. Immigration tel: 286434. Ministry of Education tel:545500m 562390 Ministry of Sports tel: 370604, 370605 Ministry of Communications tel: 067-407037. Myanma Post & Telecommunication (MPT) tel: 067407007. Myanma Post & Tele-communication (Accountant Dept) tel: 254563, 370768. Ministry of Foreign Affairs tel: 067-412009, 067-412344. Ministry of Health tel: 067-411358-9. Yangon City Development Committee tel: 248112. HOSPITALS Central Womens Hospital tel: 221013, 222811. Children Hospital tel: 221421, 222807 Ear, Nose & Throat Hospital tel: 543888. Naypyitaw Hospital (emergency) tel: 420096. Workers Hospital tel: 554444, 554455, 554811. Yangon Children Hospital tel: 222807, 222808, 222809. Yangon General Hospital (East) tel: 292835, 292836, 292837. Yangon General Hospital (New) tel: 384493, 384494, 384495, 379109. Yangon General Hospital (West) tel: 222860, 222861, 220416. Yangon General Hospital (YGH) tel: 256112, 256123, 281443, 256131. ELECTRICITY Power Station tel:414235 POST OFFICE General Post Office 39, Bo Aung Kyaw St. (near British Council Library). tel: 285499. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Yangon International Airport tel: 662811. YANGON PORT Shipping (Coastal vessels) tel: 382722 RAILWAYS Railways information tel: 274027, 202175-8.

INYA1 Resturant & Bar No.(1), Inya Road, Kamayut Tsp. Tel: 01-527506 email: inyaone@gmail.com www.inya1.com

Strand Bar 92, Strand Rd, Yangon, Myanmar. tel: 243377.fax: 243393, sales@thestrand.com.mm www.ghmhotels.com

Lobby Bar PARKROYAL Yangon, Myanmar. 33, Alan Pya Phaya Road, Dagon Tsp. tel: 250388.

mt QuiCk guide
May 7 - 13, 2012
ADvERTISING
wE staRtEd tHE adVERtisinG INDUsTRY IN MYANMAR sINCE 1991

40
the

MyanMar tiMes

Inya Day Spa 16/2, Inya Rd, Kamayut Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: 537907, 503375.

SAIL Marketing & Communications Suite 403, Danathiha Center 790, Corner of Bogyoke Rd & Wadan Rd, Lanmadaw Township, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: (951) 211870, 224820, 2301195. Email: admin@ advertising-myanmar.com www.advertising-myanmar. com

Room - 4021, 3 Floor, Taw Win Centre. Ph: 8600111 (Ext:4021), 09-803-2581.
rd

MYANMAR BOOK CENTRE Nandawun Compound, No. 55, Baho Road, Corner of Baho Road and Ahlone Road, (near Eugenia Restaurant), Ahlone Township. tel: 212 409, 221 271. 214708 fax: 524580. email: info@ myanmarbook.com

CONSTRUCTION

ENTERTAINMENT

GAS COOKER & COOKER HOODS

24 hours Laboratory & X-ray No. 330, Ground Flr, Yangon Intl Hotel, Ahlone Road, Dagon Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: (951) 218388, (951) 218292 Fax: (951) 218389

CAFS

BEAUTY & MASSAGE

Qi Foot Spa At Inya Lake Hotel, Yangon. Tel: +951-662866, 662857 Ext: 1725 Zen Wellness Care No.62 (A), Rm-3, Yaw Min Gyi St, Dagon Tsp, Yangon. Tel: +951-252939.

Zamil Steel No-5, Pyay Road, 7 miles, Mayangone Tsp, Yangon. Tel: (95-1) 652502~04. Fax: (95-1) 650306. Email: zamilsteel@ zamilsteel.com.mm

Dance Lessons Mon-Fri 12:00 to 23:00. Sat-Sun 10 am to 8 pm Fun dancing Friday nights with Filipino musicians 4, U Tun Myat St, Tamwe. Tel: 01-541 550 The Uranium Dance Studio Pearl condo Bldg (C), 2nd flr, Bahan Tsp. Tel: 09731-42624, 09-514-0404.

Yangon : A-3, Aung San Stadium (North East Wing), Mingalartaungnyunt Tsp. Tel : 245543, 09-730-37772. Mandalay : Room No.(B,C) (National Gas), 35th St, Btw 80th & 81st, Chanayetharzan Tsp. Tel : 09-6803505, 02 34455, 36748, 71878.

DOMAIN
La Brasserie (International) PARKROYAL Yangon. 33, Alan Pya Phaya Road, Dagon Tsp. tel : 250388. Cafe de Angel Always Pure & Fresh No.24, Baho Rd, Ahlone Tsp. tel : 703449 Opening Hour: 9 am to 11 pm

GENERATORS
Heavy Equipments & Genset

.biz.mm .per.mm .com.mm .org.mm

FITNESS CENTRE
Espace Avenir 523, Pyay Rd, Kamayut Tsp, Tel : 505214, 505222 FIT Club - Rm 101~3, Marina Residence, 8, Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd, Mayangone Tsp, Tel : 650634, 650651 Ext:102 Parkroyal Fitness & Spa Parkroyal Yangon. 33, Alan Pya Phaya Road, Dagon Tsp. Tel: 250388.

Architecture 3 Construction Co, Ltd. No. 154, 39th Street, Between Maha Bandoola & Anawratha Road, Kyauktada Tsp, Yangon. Contact: Ma Khaing Tun Business Development 09-502-5782

La Source Beauty Spa 80(A), Inya Rd, Kamayut. tel: 512 380, 511 252. Sedona Hotel, Kabar Aye Pagoda Rd. tel: 666 900 My Way Diamond Condo, Bldg(A), Rm (G-02), Pyay Rd, Kamayut Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 52717, 09 51 70528

No. (8), Panchan Tower, Sanchaung Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 951-516891~3 sm@mtg.biz.mm, www.mtg. biz.mm, www.mmnic.biz.mm.

DUTY FREE
INYA1 Resturant & Bar No.(1), Inya Road, Kamayut Tsp. Tel: 01-527506 email: inyaone@gmail.com www.inya1.com Traders Caf Traders Hotel, Yangon. #223, Sule Pagoda Rd. Tel: 242828 ext: 6519

Winning Way No. 589-592, Bo Aung Kyaw St, Yangon-Pathein highway Road. Hlaing Thayar Tsp. Tel: 951645178-182, 685199, Fax: 951-645211, 545278. e-mail: mkt-mti@ winstrategic.com.mm

24 hours Cancer centre No. 330, Yangon International Hotel, Ahlone Road, Dagon Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: (951) 218388, 218292 Fax: (951) 218389

HOME FURNISHING

BEAUTY & MASSAGE

BATTERY

CHOCOLATE
A Little Dayspa No. 475 C, Pyi Road, Kamayut, Yangon. Tel: 09-431-28831.
ISO 9001:2008 (QMS)

Duty Free Airport Shopping Yangon International Airport Arrival/Departure Tel: 662676 (Airport) Office: 17, 2nd street, Hlaing Yadanarmon Housing, Hlaing Township, Yangon. Tel: 500143, 500144, 500145.

Mr. Betchang No.(272), Pyay Rd, DNH Tower, Rm No.(503), 5th flr, Sanchaung Tsp, Tel: 095041216 The Yangon GYM Summit Parkview Hotel 350, Ahlone Rd, Dagon Tsp. tel: 211888, 211966. Traders Health Club. Level 5, Traders Hotel Yangon#223 Sule Pagoda Rd, Tel: 951 242828 Ext: 6561

22, Pyay Rd, 9 mile, Mayangone Tsp. tel: 660769, 664363. Home Plus Trading Co., Ltd. No. 457, Aung San Stadium, Mingalartungnyunt Tsp. tel: 394888. Fax: 393008.

24 hours Medical centre No. 330, Ground Flr, Yangon Intl Hotel, Ahlone Road, Dagon Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar. 24 hour Call Centre : (951) 218 445 Clinic : (959) 4921 8159 Office : (951) 218 446 Fax : (951) 218 389 www.leomedicare.com
Shimmering Gold Services Co., Ltd.
VICTORY FOR LIFE

BANGKOK, THAILAND

Traders Hotel, 5th Floor Tel: 242828,Ext: Coreana. Sedona Hotel, Mandalay Ground Fl. Tel: 02-36488, Ext: Coreana

Proven Technology Industry Co., Ltd. No. FS 14, Bayintnaung Rd, Shwe Sabai Yeik Mon, Kamayut Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 951-951-701719~20, 527667, 531030, 531041, 530694. Fax: 527667, 531030. http//www. toyobatterymyanmar.com.

EDUCATION CENTRE
MHR Business & Management Institute 905, 9th floor, Modern Iron Market(Thanzay Condo) Lanmadaw St. Tel: 707822. NLEC 82 Anawrahta Rd, Corner of 39 St, Kyauktada Tsp. Tel: 250225.

HEALTH SERvICES

G-A, Ground Floor, Pearl Center, Kabaraye Pagoda Road, Yangon. Tel: 09 500 6880 Email: chocolateheaven. sale@gmail.com

FLORAL SERvICES

81, Kaba Aye Pagoda Road, Bahan Township, Yangon. Tel: 548022, 542979, 553783, 09-8030847, 09-730-56079. Email: asiapacific. myanmar@gmail.com.

VEJTHANI MYANMAR REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE No.125(C), West Shwe Gon Dine Road, Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar. 01-3449977. Hot Line: 09-507-1111, 01-555448, 555998. vejthani@myanmar.com.mm www.vejthani.com

LEGAL SERvICE
U Min Sein, BSc, RA, CPA.,RL Advocate of the Supreme Court 83/14 Pansodan St, Yangon. tel: 253 273. uminsein@mptmail.net.mm

BOOK STORES

COLD STORAGE

ELECTRICAL

Lemon Day Spa No. 96 F, Inya Road, Kamaryut Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 514848, 09-732-08476. E.mail: lemondayspa.2011 @gmail.com

Innwa Book Store No. 246, Rm.201/301, GF, Pansodan Street (Upper Block), Kyauktada Tsp. Tel. 389838, 243216, 374324, 514387

Est. 1992 in Myanmar Cold Storage Specialist, Solar Hot Water Storage Solutions. Tel: 09-504-2196, 09-73194828. E-mail: gei.ygn2@ gmail.com, glover2812@ gmail.com

Est. 1992 in Myanmar Electrical & Mechanical Contractors, Designers, Consultants. Tel: 09-504-2196, 09-73194828. E-mail: gei.ygn2@ gmail.com, glover2812@ gmail.com

Floral Service & Gift Shop No. 449, New University Avenue, Bahan Tsp. YGN. Tel: 541217, 559011, 09-860-2292. Market Place By City Mart Tel: 523840~43, 523845~46, Ext: 205. Junction Nay Pyi Taw Tel: 067-421617~18 422012~15, Ext: 235. Res: 067-414813, 09-49209039. Email : eternal@ mptmail.net.mm

Agent Office, 5th Floor, Junction Centre (Maw Tin), Lanmadaw Township, Yangon. Myanmar. Ph: 09-731-56770, 09-5117584, Fax: 01-516313, myanmarmeditour@gmail. com Bumrungrad Intl Rm 238, Summit Parkview Hotel, Dagon Tsp. tel: 723999, 211888. Ext: 8238.

MARINE COMMUNICATION & NAvIGATION

Floral Service & Gift Centre 102(A), Dhamazaydi Rd, Yangon.tel: 500142 Summit Parkview Hotel, tel: 211888, 211966 ext. 173 fax: 535376.email: sandy@ sandymyanmar.com.mm.

Top Marine Show Room No-385, Ground Floor, Lower Pazundaung Road, Pazundaung Tsp, Yangon. Ph: 01-202782, 09-851-5597

Foral Service & Gifts shop No.2, Corner of Khay Mar St & Baho Rd (Near Asia Royal Hospital), Sanchaung Tsp, Yangon. email: yangonflorist@ myanmar.com.mm. Tel: 01-510406, 09-73184714.

No. 365/367, Bo Aung Kyaw st (Upper), IHBC, Kyauktada Tsp. Tel: 392484 , 389824, 09803-0166. Fax: 392590. Email: radiant.aesthetics @gmail.com. Web: www. kembanganradiant.com

MARKET RESEARCH

MMRD Research BLDG C, New Mingalar Market, 10-story BLDG, 8 & 9 flr, Coner of Mill St & Banyardala Rd, Mingalar Taungnyunt Tsp. Tel: 200326, 200846, 201350. Fax: 202425.

FOAM SPRAY INSULATION

Acupuncture, Medicine Massage, Foot Spa Add:No,27(A),Ywa Ma Kyaung Street, Hlaing Township, Yangon. Tel: 01-511122, 526765. Piyavate Hospital (Bangkok) Myanmar Represent ative (Head office) Miba Gon Yee Business Group, No.506, 5th-fl, Yuzana Twin Tower, (No.8, Pangyan Tower) Cor of Dhama Zedi & Bargayar Rd, SCHG Tsp. Tel: 500600, 500800, 500900. Fax: 539799. hotline: +9595018777. piyavate@ myanmar.com.mm www.piyavate.com PHIH-Specialist Clinic FMI Centre (4th Floor) #380, Bogyoke Aung San Road, Pabedan Tsp. tel: 243 010, 243 012, 243 013

Media & Advertising

Foam Spray Insulation No-410, Ground Floor, Lower Pazuntaung Road, Pazuntaung Tsp, Yangon. Telefax : 01-203743, 09730-26245, 09-500-7681. Hot Line-09-730-30825.

FURNITURE
NatRay Co., Ltd. Rm 807, La Pyayt Wun Plaza. tel : 01-370833, 370836

Intuitive Design, Advertising, Interior Decoration Corporate logo/Identity/ Branding, Brochure/ Profile Booklet/ Catalogue/ Billboard, Corporate diary/ email newsletter/ annual reports, Magazine, journal advertisement and 3D presentation and detailed planning for any interior decoration works. Talk to us: (951) 430-897, 553-918 www.medialane.com.au 58B Myanma Gon Yaung Housing, Than Thu Mar Road, Tamwe, Yangon.

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mt QuiCk guide
May 7 - 13, 2012
SCHOOLS
ASIA Language & Business Academy (All classes are taught by native English-speaking teachers), No-66, Shwedagon Pagoda Road, Dagon Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel:+95-1376236, 376314, 384055. Streamline Education 24, Myasabai Rd, Parami, Myangone Tsp. tel: 662304, 09-500-6916. No.35(b), Tatkatho Yeik Mon Housing, New University Avenue, Bahan Township, Yangon. Tel: 951-549451, 557219, 540730. www.yangon-academy.org Myanmar. Tel: 95-1-535783, 527705, 501429. Fax: 95-1-527705. Email: salesikon@myanmar.com.mm Junction Mawtin Bogyoke Aung San Rd, Cor of Wadan St. Lanmadaw Tsp. Tel: Junction Square Pyay Rd, Kamayut Tsp. Tel: Ocean Supercentre (North Point ), 9th Mile, Mayangone Tsp. Tel: 651 200, 652963. Pick n Pay Hyper Market Bldg (A,B,C), (14~16), Shwe Mya Yar Housing, Mya Yar Gone St, Mingalartaungnyunt Tsp. Tel: 206001~3, Fax: 9000199 Sein Gay Har 44, Pyay Rd, Dagon Tsp. Tel: 383812, 379823. Super 1 (Kyaikkasan) 65, Lay Daunt Kan St, Tel: 545871~73 Super 1 (Shwe Bonthar) 397, Bogyoke Aung San St, Pabedan. Tel: 250268~29 Victoria Shwe Pone Nyet Yeik Mon, Bayint Naung Rd, Kamaryut Tsp. Tel : 515136. Bo Sun Pat Tower, Bldg 608, Rm 6(B), Cor of Merchant Rd & Bo Sun Pat St, PBDN Tsp. Tel: 377263, 250582, 250032, 09-511-7876, 09-862-4563. INYA1 Resturant & Bar No.(1), Inya Road, Kamayut Tsp. Tel: 01-527506 email: inyaone@gmail.com www.inya1.com No. 105/107, Kha-Yae-Bin Road. between Pyi Daung Su Yeik Tha (Halpin) and Manawhari Road/Ahlone Road, Dagon Tsp. Tel/Fax: 538895, Tel: 09730-29973, 09-540-9469.
padonmar.restaurant@ gmail.com. www.myanmarrestaurantpadonmar.com

MyanMar tiMes

OFFICE FURNITURE

Monday to Saturday (9am to 6pm) No. 797, MAC Tower II, Room -4, Ground Floor, Bogyoke Aung San Road, Lamadaw Township, Yangon, Myanmar. Tel: (951) 212944 Ext: 303 sales.centuremyanmar@ gmail.com www.centure.in.th

RELOCATION SERvICE

PLEASURE CRUISES

Relocation Specialist Rm 504, M.M.G Tower, #44/56, Kannar Rd, Botahtaung Tsp. Tel: 250290, 252313. Mail : info@asiantigersmyanmar.com

Kan Yeik Tha Road Mingalar Taung Nyunt Tsp. Yangon, Myamar.

Horizon Intl School 25, Po Sein Road, Bahan Tsp, tel : 541085, 551795, 551796, 450396~7. fax : 543926, email : contact@horizonmyanmar. com, www.horizon.com Bldg No. 12, Yangon Intl Compound, Ahlone Road. Tel: 09-431-85008, 09-731-60662. sales@corrianderleaf.com ILBC 180, Thunandar 9th Lane, Thumingalar Housing, Thingungyung.tel: 562401.

SOLAR SYSTEM
The Brightest AC CFL Bulb 21, 9th St, Lanmadaw Tsp. Ph: 212243, 216861, 216864. spsolarstation@ gmail.com. www. spsolarstation.com

Moby Dick Tours Co., Ltd. Islands Safari in the Mergui Archipelago 4 Days, 6 Days, 8 Days Trips Tel: 95 1 202063, 202064 E-mail: mobydicktours@ gmail.com. Website: www. moby-dick-adventures.com

RESTAURANTS

Tel: 299255~9, Ext: 7801, 7802 Fax: 382917 reception@ kandawgyipalace-hotel. com www.kandawgyipalacehotel.com

STEEL CONSTRUCTION

24 hours open. 5, Alan Pya Phaya Rd, Dagon Tsp, inside Thamada Hotel. tel 243640, 243047, Ext: 32.

Kan Yeik Tha Road Mingalar Taung Nyunt Tsp. Yangon, Myamar. Taste Paradise Chinese Restaurant

Road to Mandalay Myanmar Hotels & Cruises Ltd. Governors Residence 39C, Taw Win Road, Dagon Tsp, Yangon, Myanmar. tel: (951) 229860 fax: (951) 217361. email: RTMYGN@mptmail.net.mm www.orient-express.com

Lunch/Dinner/Catering 555539, 536174 Black Canyon Coffee & International Thai Cuisine 330, Ahlone Rd, Dagon Tsp. Tel: 0980 21691, 395052. email: blackcanyon@ yangon. net.mm.

The Ritz Exclusive Lounge Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon 40, Natmauk Road, Tamwe Tsp, Ground Floor, Tel: 544500 Ext 6243, 6244

ILBC IGCSE SCHOOL No.(34), Laydauntkan Road, Tamwe Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 542982, 545720, 549106,545736,400156 Fax: 541040 Email: info@ilbc.net.mm www.ilbcedu.com ISM Intl School W 22/24, Mya Kan Thar Housing, Hlaing Tsp. tel:530082, 530083. International School Yangon 20, Shwe Taung Kyar St, Bahan Tsp. Tel: 512793.

PEB Steel Buildings 60 (A), Halpin Road, Yangon. Tel: 01-218223, 218224. Fax: 218224. marketing@pebsteel.com. mm www.pebsteel.com.mm

SUPERMARKETS
Asia Light 106, Set Yone Rd.tel: 294074, 294083. Capital Hyper Mart 14(E), Min Nandar Road, Dawbon Tsp. Ph: 553136. City Mart (Aung San Branch) tel: 253022, 294765. (9:00 am to 9:00 pm) City Mart (47th St Branch) tel: 200026, 298746. (9:00 am to 9:00 pm) City Mart (Junction 8 Branch) tel: 650778. (9:00 am to 9:00 pm) City Mart (FMI City Branch) tel: 682323. City Mart (Yankin Center Branch) tel: 400284. (9:00 am to 9:00 pm) City Mart (Myaynigone Branch) tel: 510697. (9:00 am to 10:00 pm) City Mart (Zawana Branch) tel:564532. (9:00 am to 9:00 pm) City Mart (Shwe Mya Yar Branch) tel: 294063. (9:00 am to 9:00 pm) City Mart (Chinatown Point Branch) tel: 215560~63. (9:00 am to 10:00 pm) City Mart (Junction Maw Tin Branch) tel: 218159. (9:00 am to 9:00 pm) City Mart (Marketplace) tel: 523840~43. (9:00 am to 10:00 pm) City Mart (78th Brahch-Mandalay) tel: 02-71467~9. (9:00 am to 10:00 pm) IKON Mart IKON Trading Co., Ltd. No.332, Pyay Rd, San Chaung P.O (11111), Yangon,

TRAvEL AGENTS

PAINT

Tel: 299255~9, Ext: 7778 Fax: 382917 reception@ kandawgyipalace-hotel. com www.kandawgyipalacehotel.com

TOP MARINE PAINT No-410, Ground Floor, Lower Pazundaung Road, Pazundaung Tsp, Yangon. Ph: 09-851-5202

No.430(A), Corner of Dhamazedi Rd & Golden Valley Rd, Building(2) Market Place (City Mart), Bahan Tsp, Yangon. Tel : 01-523840(Ext-309), 09-73208079. Kohaku Japanese Restaurant Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon 40, Natmauk Road, Tamwe Tsp, Lobby Level, Tel: 544500 Ext 6231

Tiger Hill Chinese Restaurant Chatrium Hotel Royal Lake Yangon 40, Natmauk Road, Tamwe Tsp, Lobby Level, Tel: 544500 Ext 6253 Traders Gourmet Corner Level 1, Traders Hotel, #223 Sule Pagoda Road, Kyauktada Tsp. Tel : 242828 ext : 6503 Traders Gallery Bar Level 2, Traders Hotel, #223 Sule Pagoda Road. tel: 242 828. ext: 6433 Traders Lobby Lounge Level 1, Traders Hotel, #223 Sule Pagoda Road. tel: 242 828. ext: 6456

Asian Trails Tour Ltd 73 Pyay Rd, Dagon tsp. tel: 211212, 223262. fax: 211670. email: res@ asiantrails.com.mm Htoo Travels 209/c, first flr, Shwe Gonedaing Rd, Bahan. Tel: 548554, 548039. Sun Far Travels & Tours 27, Ground flr, 38th st, Kyauktada Tsp. Tel: 380888.

Admissions Office: No. 44, Than Lwin Road, Bahan Township, Yangon. Tel: 535433, 09-850-3073. Email: rviacademygn@ rvcentre.com.sg

WATER HEATERS

REMOvALISTS
Italian delicatesse & Ice-cream No.150, Dhamazadi Rd, Bahan Tsp. (Monunent Book Shop) Open Daily 9:00am to 7:00pm. Italian Ice-cream, Pasta, Pizza & Bar (2) G/F, City Mart, Myaynigone Centre. tel : 508469, 508470 ext. 113 Open Daily 9:00am to 10:00pm.

95, Anawrahta Rd. Tel:296552, 293754. 336, Pyay Rd, Sanchaung Tsp. Tel: 526456. New University Avenue, 551521, 551951, 553896. U Wisara Rd, Tel: 524599, 501976.

The Global leader in Water Heaters A/1, Aung San Stadium East Wing, Upper Pansodan Road. Tel: 251033, 09-730-25281.

Crown Worldwide Movers Ltd 790, Rm 702, 7th Floor Danathiha Centre, Bogyoke Aung San Road, Lanmadaw Township. tel: 223288, 210 670, 227650. ext: 702. fax: 229212. email: crown worldwide@mptmail.net.mm

Enchanting and Romantic, a Bliss on the Lake 62 D, U Tun Nyein Road, Mayangon Tsp, Yangon Tel. 01 665 516, 660976 Mob. 09-512-7795 operayangon@gmail.com www.operayangon.com 1. WASABI : No.20-B, Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd, Yankin Tsp,(Near MiCasa), Tel; 666781,09-503-9139 2. WASABI SUSHI : Market Place by City Mart (1st Floor). Tel; 09-430-67440 Myaynigone (City Mart) Yankin Center (City Mart) Junction Mawtin (City Mart) Yangon International School Fully Accredited K-12 International Curriculum with ESL support No.117,Thumingalar Housing, Thingangyun Township, Yangon. Tel: 578171, 573149 www.yismyanmar.net Yangon International School New Early Childhood Center Pan Hlaing Golf Estate Housing & U Tun Nyo Street, Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon. Tel: 687701, 687702 Kangaroo Child Care 55, Aung Min Gaung 1st Rd, Kamayut Tsp. Tel: 501 568, 09 504 7732.

Same as Rinnai Gas cooker and cooker Hood Showroom Address

Water Heater

WEB SERvICES

Kan Yeik Tha Road Mingalar Taung Nyunt Tsp. Yangon, Myamar. Legendary Myanmar Intl Shipping & Logistics Co., Ltd. No-9, Rm (A-4), 3rd Flr, Kyaung St, Myaynigone, Sanchaung Tsp, Yangon. Tel: 516827, 523653, 516795. Mobile. 09-512-3049. Email: legandarymyr@ mptmail.net .mm www.LMSL-shipping.com

22, Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd, Bahan Tsp. tel 541997. email: leplanteur@ mptmail.net.mm. http://leplanteur.net

French Restaurant Tel: 299255~9, Ext: 7776 Fax: 382917 reception@ kandawgyipalace-hotel. com www.kandawgyipalacehotel.com

Phoenix Court (Chinese) PARKROYAL Yangon. 33, Alan Pya Phaya Road, Dagon Tsp. tel: 250388.

House of Memories Piano Bar & Restaurant Myanmar Cuisine & International Food 290, U Wizara Rd, Kamaryut Tsp, Yangon. tel: 525 195, 534 242. e-mail: houseofmemories 9@gmail.com

World-class Web Services Tailor-made design, Professional research & writing for Brochure/ Catalogue/e-Commerce website, Customised business web apps, online advertisement and anything online. Talk to us: (951) 430-897, 553-918 www.medialane.com.au 58B Myanma Gon Yaung Housing. Than Thu Mar Road, Tamwe, Yangon.

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May 7 - 13, 2012
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MyanMar tiMes

Myanmar traditional chess set to break international stage

By Aung Si Hein COMPETITORS pore over their assortment of elephants, generals and castles, looking to knock an opposing piece from the board as the Myanmar Chess Federations traditional chess competition got underway at Aung San Stadium on May 2. The 11-day tournament is being staged in preparation for the SEA Games held in Nay Pyi Taw in December 2013, where it will be included as an official sport. And the Myanmar Chess Federation president, U Maung Maung Lwin, is looking to drum up interest in the overlooked sport, both at home and abroad. Everyone from trishaw drivers to government officials enjoys playing chess, he said, but they rarely know about traditional chess. He has recently written a guidebook in English titled How to Play Myanmar Traditional Chess to help standardise and promote the game to a wider audience. Since 1972, traditional chess was included in the yearly chess tournament for both individual and group games. Even contestants from remote Kachin and Rakhine states entered the tournament. With many players sparsely located over the country the rules of the game, together with the chess pieces, vary slightly. In response, traditional chess champions and experts set up a workshop supervised by the federation to establish a uniform set of rules for the game as well as standard shapes for the pieces and board.

Ukraine scores own goal as Euro debacle looms

By Anya Tsukanova KIEV Ukraine has failed to anticipate the angry Western reaction to its treatment of jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and the dispute risks ruining its hosting of the Euro 2012 football, say observers. The Euro 2012 tournament co-hosted with Poland was set to be a glorious showcase for the ex-Soviet country, but President Viktor Yanukovych appears to have scored a massive own goal by allowing it to be overshadowed by the Tymoshenko case. Austria has announced it will boycott all matches hosted by Ukraine, a move that reportedly could be matched by Germany. All European Union commissioners will also be absent, while at least seven EU heads of state are shunning a summit to be hosted by Yanukovych in Yalta this month. Ukraine has ended up in an impasse which is going to be difficult to get out of, said Olga Shumylo-Tapiola of the Carnegie Europe Centre in Brussels. The logic of those in power in Ukraine is hard to understand from the point of view of common sense, she added. Tymoshenko, who was jailed for seven years on charges of abuse of power in October, upped the stakes in her standoff with the authorities last month by going on hunger strike and claiming she had been beaten by prison guards. The release of photographs of Tymoshenko showing bruises on her abdomen seemed to galvanise European opinion, even though Europes football body UEFA has steadfastly refused to enter the dispute. With an efficient PR machine fronted by the opposition leaders telegenic, London School of Economics-educated daughter, Yevgeniya, the Western reaction led by Germany has been tough. And it clearly caught the Yanukovych government off guard. The most obvious solution for Ukraine to prevent its Euro turning into a fiasco is to take up an offer from Germany or Russia to allow her to travel abroad for the medical treatment that her supporters say she urgently needs. But Yanukovych has so far shown no sign of wanting to make concessions, saying he cannot interfere in the legal process. He would also hardly appear willing to allow a rival to claim the role of a persecuted opponent in exile abroad. Ukraine had a unique chance to promote itself, with games to be played in the capital Kiev, the attractive western city of Lviv, Yanukovychs home city of Donetsk, and in Kharkiv. No one expected that Germany would kick up such a fuss, a Ukrainian source close to the presidency said, admitting that the administration had not drawn up any response to the crisis. The worst option would be to let Tymoshenko get treatment in Germany as she would immediately give a thousand interviews, the source said, asking not to be named. Olexei Garan, director of the School of Political Analysis in Kiev, added: The authorities are not reacting but on the contrary are pushing the situation into an impasse. Ironically, the successful bid for the Euro was made during the presidency of the Orange Revolution leader Viktor Yushchenko, a sometime Tymoshenko ally who dreamed of greater EU integration. While Tymoshenkos family and allies bombard the media with news releases and hold press conferences across Europe, Yanukovychs team has been intransigent through the crisis. Ukraine seems if anything to be hardening its public rhetoric, with the foreign ministry on May 3 lambasting the attendance boycott as a destructive attempt to politicise sport. AFP

A Myanmar traditional chess player contemplates his next move at the opening day of the Myanmar Traditional Chess Tournament at Aung San Stadium on May 3. Pic: Ko Taik U Maung Maung Lwin said other Southeast Asian countries should not find it difficult to play as Myanmar chess is not so different from the Thai, Laos and Cambodian variations. Thailand is translating the English version of the guidebook into Thai. It is almost done. They are teaching children how to play Myanmar chess. In Vietnam, authorities are printing the soft copy given out at the seminar. He said those who play international chess can easily adapt to the rules of traditional chess because it is still the same premise, with many similar features. Young people in other Southeast Asian countries are appreciating Myanmar chess more because players can arrange the pieces as they like at the start of the game. Also, as they already know international chess, Myanmar chess is new and exciting to them, he said. For the 11-day tournament in Yangon 12 selected players from major cities across Myanmar have gathered to compete in knockout rounds each day until the final. U Ko Ko Gyi, who came from Mandalay to participate in competition, expressed a passion for traditional chess, as well as the difficulties to play these days. I started playing traditional chess in 1997. Before that, I played international chess. Personally I like it because the rules are closer to reality and nature. For example, in international chess any piece that reaches the far end of the board can become a superior piece, while in Myanmar chess the piece can become at most a general like in the army, but not an elephant or castle, he said. But it is difficult to be able to play traditional chess. There are no shops selling the traditional chess pieces. We have to play using international chess pieces. There are some rich players who order sculptors to custom make their pieces, spending K20,000 or more, he said. The Myanmar Chess Federation said it has started making sets for K10,000 to further encourage the sport.

CAS rules British Olympic doping code invalid

LAUSANNE The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on April 30 ruled the British Olympic Associations (BOA) lifetime ban on drugs cheats contravened the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA) code. CASs decision gave the green light to the likes of British sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar, previously guilty of doping offences, to take part in the upcoming London Olympics should they achieve the qualifying standard and/ or be selected by their national governing body. The CAS Panel has ruled that the BOA by-law related to the selection of British athletes for the Olympic Games was not in compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code, CAS said in a statement. Such decision confirms the jurisprudence established last year in the case between the US Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). BOA chairman Colin Moynihan reacted to the CAS verdict by saying WADA had won a hollow victory. The CAS ruling had been widely expected since the IOC lost a similar case in November after their Osaka rule banning drugs cheats from the next Olympics even if their suspension was completed was challenged. The case was brought by USOC on behalf of their 400m runner LaShawn Merritt. WADA had fought the BOAs policy of imposing life bans for the Olympics, arguing it contravened their own code. John Fahey, the president of WADA, welcomed the CAS ruling but slammed the BOA for the many hysterical and inaccurate public statements it had made during the case. The decision totally rejects the BOA appeal and upholds the WADA foundation boards declaration of non-compliance, Fahey said. WADA has spent the last decade harmonising the fight against doping in sport across the world by creating one set of rules in consultation and in accordance with the wishes of all its stakeholders, both sport and government. They are not based on emotive arguments or the wishes of any one signatory or individual. Former European 100m champion Chambers, who won 60m bronze in this years world indoor event in Istanbul last month, was banned for two years after testing positive for the anabolic steroid THG in 2004. Chamberss lawyer, Siza Agha accused the BOA of colonial arrogance and said his client would take take time to consider CASs decision. In my view as hosts for the 2012 Olympics, this delicate and emotive issue required international diplomacy, foresight and responsibility. What we have received has been a crude and defiant display fuelled by misguided statements such as We have standards and the rest of the world doesnt. It has in my view been an exposure of colonial arrogance that even the most extreme and blinkered should have realised could only serve to marginalise British opinion on the international stage. In complete contrast WADA have in my view been the model of professionalism and dignity in the face of the most extreme provocation. Lessons should be learned by their example. Agha added: Having not been party to the CAS case, Dwain and I will now need to take time to privately digest and consider the reasoning behind the decision. AFP

Scotlands cyclist David Millar (left) and Britains sprinter Dwain Chambers will get the green light to take part in the London Olympics 2012 despite their doping-blighted pasts. Pic: AFP

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May 7 - 13, 2012

MyanMar tiMes

Redknapp eyes CL after England snub

BOLTON Tottenham Hotspur strengthened their bid for Champions League football next term with a 4-1 win away to Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium here on May 2. Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice as Spurs, a day after manager Harry Redknapp was overlooked for the England job in favour of Roy Hodgson. But if Redknapp was bitterly disappointed with the events of the last few days, he was hiding it well after his side enjoyed their first away win of 2012 to keep alive their hopes of a top-three finish in the Premier League. Redknapp said he was fully focused on qualifying for next seasons Champions League after insisting he is history as far as the England managers job is concerned. I didnt wake up on Monday [April 30] morning and think, whats happened to my life, Im not the England manager, said Redknapp after his side moved to within a point of third-placed Arsenal with two games remaining. Its saved me making a decision in all honesty because Im very happy at Tottenham, he added. Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan needlessly spilled a 12 th minute effort from distance by Gareth Bale before recovering to superbly deny Rafael van der Vaart from close range. Six minutes later Aaron Lennon was left frustrated when his goal-bound effort, after exchanging passes with Adebayor, deflected off Mark Davies and fizzed narrowly wide. It looked like being one of those nights for Spurs when van der Vaarts curling 22metre free-kick fell wide in the 31 st minute before Tottenham keeper Brad Friedel was forced into his first save, denying David Ngog with his chest. The game was opening up and moments after the industrious van der Vaart had again forced a save from Bogdan, Tottenham took the lead in controversial circumstances in the 37th minute. Sandro appeared to handle the ball to win the corner from which Bale teed-up Luka Modric to arrow in an unstoppable 22-metre finish. Bolton leveled the game when Nigel Reo-Coker, who had only managed to score two goals since joining from Aston Villa last summer, showed wonderful composure to beat Friedel with a low 51 st minute volley after a clever flick by Ngog. Van der Vaart restored Tottenhams lead on the hour mark with a terrific first time finish after more good work by Bale before Modric provided the pass of the night which allowed Lennon to square for Adebayor to make it 4-1 from 3 metres. AFP

Real Madrid end Barca title run

By Dermot Ledwith MADRID Real Madrid claimed their first Spanish title in four years, ending the reign of bitter rivals Barcelona, as they beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 on May 2 for what is their 32nd league crown. Gonzalo Higuain, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the goals to give Jose Mourinho a record-breaking four titles in four different countries and the victory required with two games remaining. Madrid needed to win after Barcelona had earlier beaten Malaga 4-1 with goals from Carles Puyol and a hat-trick from Lionel Messi that saw him break the record for goals in a single European season. Messis hat-trick included two penalties and took his total for the season to 68, one better than that mustered by Gerd Muller while playing for Bayern Munich in the 1972-73 season. After their game the Madrid players jubilantly celebrated on the San Mames pitch as the first visiting team to ever win a the perfect start when they were awarded a penalty on 11 minutes for a clear handball by Javi Martinez. However, Ronaldo shot tamely down the centre and it was easily saved by Gorka Iraizoz it was his second penalty miss in a week after also missing in the Champions League shoot-out against Bayern Munich. Nevertheless, five minutes later los blancos were ahead when Higuain hit an unstoppable shot from 18 metres. At the other end Athletic did not have much luck when the referee turned down claims for what looked to be a clear handball by Sami Khedira. The title became a virtual certainty on 20 minutes when Ronaldo found Ozil with a sweeping cross from the right-wing for the German midfielder to double the lead. The home side kept up an aerial bombardment of Madrids defence throughout. But five minutes after the interval Ronaldo headed home a corner to seal the third and his 44 th league goal of the season. AFP

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho (centre) celebrates with his players after winning the Spanish league at Athletic Bilbaos San Mames stadium on May 2. Pic: AFP title in Athletics stadium. Were very happy, said Sergio Ramos, who on April 25 had experienced vastly different emotions when he missed a penalty in the Champions League semifinal shootout defeat by Bayern Munich. Its been a tough league and Barca were an extraordinary rival, well enjoy it now and celebrate it with our fans. Mourinho again refused to face the Spanish press after the game but spoke to Real Madrid TV. Ive won titles before in Portugal, Italy and England but this has been the most difficult of all. I think even Barca, after theyve won three titles in a row, know that we deserve this one, he said. Madrid looked to have got

Newcastles Cisse dents Chelsea CL return hopes

By Julian Guyer

tImESsPORt
By Julian Guyer LONDON Hodgson was appointed England manager on a four-year contract, the Football Association announced May 1. The West Bromwich Albion boss emerged as the surprise front-runner for the England job on April 29 as the FA confirmed it had ignored the popular clamour for Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp to be appointed. It is a very proud day for me, Im a very happy man to be offered the chance to manage my country, Hodgson told reporters at a Wembley press conference. Im looking forward to the task ahead. Everyone knows it is not an easy one but Im hoping that everyone, fans and supporters will get behind the team. Its the team that counts, they go out and win football matches. What Ill do is try to make sure the team is well prepared for the challenge ahead. Im really looking forward to it. Hodgson had held around four hours of discussions with senior FA officials at Wembley on April 30, paving the way for the 64-year-olds appointment to the most demanding role in English football. Since Italian coach Fabio Capello resigned as England manager in February, in protest at the FAs decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy, Stuart Pearce has been in caretaker charge of the national side. That is despite the former England defender also being the manager of Englands Under-21s and the British Olympic team. Concerns have been raised about the FAs delay in getting a permanent manager on board so close to the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, where England begin the tournament against France in Donetsk on June 11. Hodgsons first game as England manager will be the warm-up match away to Norway in Oslo on May 26. That is followed by another friendly, with Belgium at Wembley on June 2, before their Euro 2012 opener. Hodgson admitted he had little time to acclimatise to his new job before Euro 2012. Its going to be difficult of course but hopefully Ive got time. Obviously Ive been working here for the last five years so the players are pretty well known to me even though I havent worked with them all, he said. Ive done as much research and spoken

May 7 - 13, 2012

Shock choice Hodgson gets four-year England deal

LONDON Chelsea were left contemplating the prospect of having to win this seasons Champions League in order to qualify for next terms edition after a 2-0 defeat by Newcastle on May 2. Roberto Di Matteos side looked drained by their recent gruelling schedule as they delivered a flat performance that was punished by two astonishing goals from Newcastle striker Papiss Demba Cisse. Cisse, one of the signings of the January transfer window, made it 13 goals in 12 games as he struck twice for the visitors at Stamford Bridge, with his second a contender for goal of the season. Defeat left Chelsea four points adrift of both fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who won 4-1 away to Bolton Wanderers on April 2, and Newcastle, who trail Spurs on goal difference alone, with just two Premier League games of the season left. Usually, the top three clubs in England qualify for the Champions League proper, with the fourth-placed side entering the preliminary round. Unless Tottenham and Newcastle fall apart in their final fixtures, Chelsea will need to win the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on May 19 to avoid failing to qualify for Europes elite club competition for the first time in owner Roman Abramovichs nine-year reign. Senegal forward Cisse unleashed a powerful shot past Petr Cech to give the Magpies a 19th minute lead. But in stoppage time at the end of the game Cisse topped that effort with a stunning, swerving shot from wide out on the left with the outside of his boot that sailed over a stunned Cech. With the second goal, when I saw it coming back from Shola Ameobi I just wanted to kick it, Cisse told the BBC. I had no energy so I just wanted to hit it and it ended up going in. We are going to keep pushing to the end until it is impossible [to qualify], said interim Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo. We only have two days [until the FA Cup final] so recovery is important and everyone involved will be motivated for the game. AFP

West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson leaves a meeting with English Football Association officials at Wembley Stadium in London on April 30. Pic: AFP to as many people as I can. Hodgson meanwhile would not be drawn on some of the thorny selection issues he is likely to face, such as whether his Euro 2012 squad would include John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. Terry has denied criminal charges of racially abusing Ferdinands younger brother Anton. Hodgson also declined to speculate on whether he was likely to reappoint Liverpools Steven Gerrard to the England captaincy. But Hodgson refused to write off Englands prospects at the Euros. England always have to go in tournaments to win them because we are a major football nation, Hodgson said. I certainly think the players would be very disappointed if we expected anything less of them than to win the tournament. The FA statement said Hodgson would see out the current Premier League campaign with West Brom, who have two games left to play. Roys appointment as England manager is obviously disappointing news for the club as we would have liked him to sign a new contract, which was in the process of negotiation, and remain as our head coach, Baggies chairman Jeremy Peace said. But we understand Roys desire to take the England job and he will leave us after the Arsenal game on May 13 with our best wishes. AFP

Myanmar is last in the world for telecoms: What can be done?

By Rohan Samarajiva

n 2010, I worked on a section of an International Telecom Union (ITU) report about information and communication technologies in the least developed countries (ITU, 2011). Analyzing the countries that were at the bottom of the league tables in telecom, I found to my unhappiness that Myanmar was one before the last in mobile telephony. Hearing that north Korea was reaching one million active connections by end 2011, I checked the data again. now Myanmar is last, other than for St Helena, a UK colony with a population of 5,000, which does not seem to have any mobiles. It is not that north Korea has more mobiles than Myanmar, but that as a proportion of the population it is performing better, as a result of the rapid increase in connections driven by a foreignowned private operator issued a license in 2008. Myanmar has had mobiles for longer, but according to data reported to the International Telecom Union by the government, the government-owned operators progress has been slow, compared to other low-performing countries that have not reformed their sectors. There is no doubt that some of the data may not be accurate (whenever one sees numbers nicely rounded to thousands, one questions their veracity). It is the duty of the relevant country authorities to report the most current and accurate data to the ITU. In the case of Myanmar the 2009 number has been supplied by the Ministry of Posts and Telecom, while the 2010 number is an ITU estimate, which explains the round figure for 2010 and not for previous years. It would not be fair to use data from the Ministry only for Myanmar, but even if one tries, there are problems. The Ministry reports data by project not by aggregate connections; and the problems of rounded numbers persists. But let us assume that there may be more mobiles in Myanmar than the ITU reports. Even then, it can, at most, overtake n. Korea and

Farmers walk past a satellite tower near Toungoo last week. Pic: Kaung Htet

regain its old place at second (or third, counting St Helena) from the bottom. Is this something worth debating? The real challenge is to vault out of the bottom 10 altogether, and give the people of Myanmar electronic connectivity on par with neighboring countries. To achieve this goal, Myanmar has an advantage.

fibre backbone as a Public Private Partnership. Conduct an assessment of spectrum use and availability, especially for 3G and 4G technologies. Initiate action to refarm or reassign frequencies if valuable frequencies have been assigned to low-value uses (it is most likely that the military are using frequenLate-starter advantage cies across the spectrum). Starting late means that most Design a technology-neutral of the mistakes have been made, access network license system. by others. In the world of policy Design and implement a clear design, we spend the most effort market entry/exit policy modeled working around previous mistakes. on Pakistans 2003 policies. For example, Thailands recent In all these cases, the governeffort to develop its ICT sector has ment should insist on solutions been bedeviled by the existence of that are appropriate for developing concession contracts from a previcountry contexts and avoid the ous time. A green-field is much wholesale importation of polieasier to work with. cies developed and implemented So, if the government wants to in advanced market economies take Myanmar out of the bottom 10, (Samarajiva & Zainudeen, 2008). what should it do? This is not the International consultants will be place for detail, but here are five required, but they should be carekey actions that must be taken at fully managed and coordinated so the outset: that the overall scheme is coherent Build a national open-access and suits the local circumstances.

Bank as it emerged from decades of closed-economy policies (Bottelier, 2006). Engaging with an entity such as the World Bank, rather than a specific country or company, opens up access to a range of lessons on telecom reforms: many successes, but some failures as well. The lessons are more important than the money. I will illustrate with one failure and one success. Since the late 1990s, the World Bank and its associated experts (e.g., Wellenius, 2000) promoted universal service funds as effective tools to bring the benefits of connectivity to the poor. At the time, this was an attractive solution and one that was superior to the previous practice of imposing universal service obligations on telecom operators. While significant benefits were gained, the instrument did not perform as well as expected, with more than US$8 billion lying unspent in universal service accounts worldwide (Somasekhar, 2010). The World Bank Independent Evaluation Group (2011, para 4.28), upon reviewing experience in multiple countries over five Managing the policy actions years, conceded that it failed to live will require the establishment of a up to the original promise: Equity policy cell within a strong Ministry, and integration of marginalized preferably Finance and Planning. groups have been more effectively Most, if not all, of the present supported by World Bank support employees of Ministry of Posts and for ICT policy and sector reform Telecom (14,770) should be moved than by operations specifically into the national backhaul network designed to achieve these goals. PPP. ICT operations that supported A sector specific regulatory reforms to introduce competition authority will be needed. The first into the sector, when successful in policy actions can be taken in par- supporting those reforms, have had allel with the design and planning significant impact, especially in acof the regulatory body. cess to cellular telephony services. This increase in overall access has Getting architecture right had a spill-over effect of providThe green-field advantage will be ing access to the underserved. lost if the overall architecture is not Lower tariffs (especially in cellular right, if the different policy actions telephony), falling handset prices, do not cohere. For example, Timor and the expansion of prepaid celLeste had green-field advantage, lular services are all channels that but wasted it by giving a long-term facilitate access by the poor. One monopoly concession to Portugal indicator of the poor becoming part Telecom. Today, Timor Leste is a of the customer base of cellular telecom backwater, even if it is not telephony providers is the monthly in the bottom 10. average revenue per user (ARPU), One way to get the basic elewhich declined from about $20 in ments of the architecture right is 2002 to about $5 in 2010 in develto learn from the experience of oping countries. to Page (3) Chinas engagement with the World

Countries with lowest mobile SIMs/100 people

Total mobile connections and growth rates among ten countries with lowest penetration
2006 St.Helena Myanmar n Korea Eritrea Solomon Islands Somalia Marshall Islands Ethiopia Cuba Kiribati 214,214 61,996 7,000 550,000 1,000 866,700 152,715 700 2007 247,641 84,348 10,900 600,000 1,500 1,208,498 198,252 750 2008 367,388 108,631 30,000 627,000 2,000 1,954,527 331,736 1,000 2009 502,005 69,261 141,130 30,000 641,000 3,000 4,051,703 621,156 1,000 2010 594,000 431,919 185,275 30,000 648,200 3,800 6,854,000 1,003,015 10,000 2006-10 CAGR* n/A 23% n/A 24% 34% 3% 31% 51% 46% 70% 2009-10 growth n/A 18% 524% 31% 0% 1% 27% 69% 61% 900%

Source: ITU/ICT Indicators Database, 2011.

* Note: CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate, the best indicator of growth over time. The right-most column shows the percentage increase from 2009 to 2010.

Source: ITU/ICT Indicators Database, 2011.

Queuing up for a connection

By Juliet Shwe Gaung

From Page (2)

What can be done?

LOnG queue could be seen snaking out of the Yadanarpon Teleport compound in Hlaing campus on April 23. One old man said to The Myanmar Times it reminded him of lining up for cooking oil before 1988, when daily products were rationed. Times have changed, but people are still having to line up in the hope of getting their hands on a SIM card, despite the fact that it costs more than two months of an average salary. We are only going to sell 50, announced a sales person from Yadanarpon Teleport to the crowd of about 100 people eagerly waiting to buy a SIM card. Thats not fair. We are not leaving until we get one, shouted one person in the line. At a cost of K200,000 the latest batch of SIM cards released from April 6 is the cheapest yet for a mobile connection that has witnessed black market price of up to K4.8 million for the tiny plastic chips during the early 2000s. The Minister for Communications, Post and Telegraph, U Thein Tun, announced plans last week to match prices seen in neighbouring countries where a card only costs a few dollars, even in smaller countries such as Cambodia,and Laos. But even at K200,000 demand is high and phone retailers say they are struggling to deal with the current system as some are benefiting

A sales assistant holds an FEC 20 Pre-pay card issued by Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication. Pic: Lwin Maung Maung

from favouritism while others look to abuse the situation. Yadanarpon Teleport is one of only two companies authorised by the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), together with E-lite Tech, to sell the K200,000 worth SIM cards. Retail shops are meant to buy the cards from the main distributors for K198,000 and sell them back to the public for K200,000, said U Si Thu, general manager of Mr Fone. But prices are often about K30,000 higher. And, depending on the choice, a more preferable phone number can be far higher. Although the K200,000 SIM cards went on sale from April 6 some retail shops were able to get hold of the cards on April 5, said U Si Thu. On April 6, one retail shop could get about 1000 SIM cards but after Thingyan [new Year] holidays, we arent able to get that many

anymore. If we go and ask the companies that we want about 500 SIM cards, they only offer about 100 said U Si Thu. He said retailers are then forced to buy from the black market. People who have already purchased the SIM cards contact us by phone and ask us whether we would like to buy them, he said. By paying K220,000 on the black market retailers then sell them back to the public for K230,000. Another phone retailer who asked not to be named said that there are individuals close to the authorities that have been able to get as many as 10,000 SIM cards. If our shop asks for more SIM cards they say they are out of stock. It is because they have sold so many to certain individuals, he said. He also said there are some shops that sell the SIM cards on a copied version of an original contract.

It is important to get an original contract because if your SIM card is either lost or damaged, you need to show that it is yours with the original contract, he said. U Zaw Myo, 35, said he felt it was fair if the retail shops sold the cards for about K210,000 because of the administration charges and the time they take to line up. Although the retail shops officially get K2000 in commission for each SIM card, the money is not enough for staff and other administration costs. This is the case

everywhere. Even in the car market, if you want a preferable car number, you have to pay K500,000 under the table, he said. But some are willing to line up outside Yadanarpon Teleport to get the actual sale price of a SIM card. Ma Aye Mar, 28, who last week bought a SIM card for K200,000, said she decided to line up because it was her right to get the correct price. I could pay the K10,000 extra but its crazy to pay more to get a SIM card that should be far cheaper than it already is, she said.

The success was in reforms to introduce competition to the telecom sector, as referred to above. not only did these reforms bring the benefits of electronic connectivity to the poor, they paid back the costs of reforms many fold. I was personally involved in managing aspects of telecom reforms for the government of Sri Lanka, funded by credits from the World Bank (Samarajiva, 2000, 2001; Samarajiva & Zainudeen, 2008). The total expenditures could not have exceeded $1520m. In 2010 alone, the government of Sri Lanka took in $122m as revenues from the partially privatized telecom industry (Rajapaksa, 2011). Today, Sri Lanka is at the forefront of ICT developments in South Asia (behind only the Maldives in mobile connectivity), with almost universal access to voice telephony at some of the lowest prices in the world, and making good progress on broadband connectivity as well. The author is Chair and CEO of LIRNEasia, a regional policy and regulation think tank, and former Director General of Telecommunications of Sri Lanka. http://lirneasia. net/about/bod/rohansamarajiva/

Communication spurs growth

plan was agreed on last year during talks with the government and South wireless broadband Korea. Field research was future for Myanmar subsequently conducted by may seem fanciful ITU experts, and a proposal when the countrys master plan finalised in Deteledensity (telephones per cember, which the govern100 population) was a mere ment is currently reviewing 5.4 percent in 2011. before looking to implenevertheless, advanced ment as part of its broader telecommunications is inICT master plan. creasingly being seen as an We have already reintegral part of achieving ceived the proposal from economic growth, which is ITU. The ministry has the why Myanmar has received proposal and we are waitassistance from the Internaing for permission. I hope tional Telecommunication the WBB project will be Union (ITU), the United able to start in two or three nations specialised agency months time, U Than Tun for information and comAung, deputy director of munication technologies the Department of Com(ICTs), along with South munications, said to The Korean funding, to estabMyanmar Times. lish a wireless broadband The governments broader Two men speak on their mobile phones in Yangon last week. Pic: Ko Taik master plan (WBB). ICT Development Master There is now almost a plan 2011-2015 aims to global consensus on the fast becoming a necessary in GDP, while every 0.5pc secondary objective given and the provision of affordachieve 45pc teledensity importance of broadband to component of interaction increase in teledensity the countrys teledensity, able telecommunications (30 million subscribers) via a markets economic growth between members of the increases GDP by 0.7pc. Mr Sanjay Acharya said. services across the country. mobile connections by 2015 and the social interaction public as well as governWhile access to advanced But this is also an opAs one of the last on top of a stated 15pc of citizens, Mr Sanjay ment, he said. telecommunications is seen portunity, according to Mr greenfield countries without teledensity in fixed line and Acharya, the ITUs chief of There have been a numas a precondition for estab- Sanjay Acharya, as the extensive cellular service, broadband internet connecmedia relations & public ber of studies highlighting lishing a modern intercon- country looks to establish a Myanmar presents an tions. The plan also lays out information, said in an the positive relationship nected economy, Myanmar wholesale policy regime in opportunity to promulstrengthening ICT infraemail interview with The between ICT access and still faces a situation where telecommunications. gate high-quality policies structure, establishing an Myanmar Times. national prosperity. basic telecommunications One of the key chaland regulation which are efficient migration strategy The ability to access A 2010 World Bank access is severely lacking. lenges is to have an updated informed by telecommunifor network operators, public and provide data-rich study identified that for The provision of voice legislative framework which cations reform and regional safety preparations for poapplications and content every 10 percent increase services needs to be a priwould facilitate the rapid and global experience over tential disasters and setting has become a prerequisite in broadband penetration ority in Myanmar with wire- growth of the Myanmar the past two decades. up network management and for global trade and is there is a 1.38pc increase less broadband services a telecommunications sector The ITU WBB master maintenance systems.

By Ben White and Myat May Zin

Mobile market looks to FDI boost

By Aye Thidar Kyaw
BUYInG a mobile phone can be a hazardous task here, even after the eye-watering price of a SIM card. The country has the lowest rate of mobile phone users in the region, with at least 75 percent of the population expressing a desire Foreign Investment in Myanmar by sector ( 28 / 2 / 2010) for one, according to the Minister Permitted Enterprises for Industry and chairman of the No. Particular Myanmar Investment Commission No. Approved Amount (US$) (MIC), U Soe Thein. 1 Power 2 6311.222 Speaking to the media in late 2 Oil and Gas 92 3636.087 February, U Soe Thein said the 3 Manufacturing 155 1662.126 government is working to set up a telecommunications law that 4 Mining 61 1398.386 would encourage foreign investors 5 Real Estate 19 1056.453 to come in. After that, we will see 6 Hotel and Tourism 45 1064.811 a boom [in telecommunications]. 7 Livestock and Fisheries 25 324.358 he said. 8 Transport and Communication 16 313.272 At the moment, everybody is 9 Industrial Estate 3 193.113 asking the same question about our communications system. The con10 Construction 2 37.767 cerning ministries are doing a lot of 11 Agriculture 4 34.351 things for the future, we have even 12 Other Services 6 23.686 consulted with norway about rules Total 430 16055.623 and regulations in all telecommuniSource : Myanmar Investment Commission cation sectors, he said. But retailers say it isnt just the cost of buying a SIM card that consumers face. Provision of services is also considered a big concern. Weve heard that big foreign companies such as Samsung will come. If so, will prices go down? And will customers get after-sale services? At present, customers face so many difficulties, they cannot get decent accessories and services from authorised dealers, said U Si Thu, general manager of Mr Phone. At the moment many phone users avoid buying a phone from local mobile shops due to the high costs. Instead many ask friends to buy a branded phone from abroad when they return. Foreign direct investment (FDI) would encourage well known companies that can provide complete services, which is a reason why people have more trust in branded products, U Si Thu said He said that currently the price of branded products are about 10 times higher than Chinese products, as they are illegally imported over the border. More FDI is welcome, but can they compete with the Chinese brands [already here]? Although more FDI can offer higher quality products, they cant do anything if the market only demands lowpriced products, he said. Another problem is the fact that Myanmar has four types of mobile networks; GSM, WCDMA and CDMA 800 and 450. Branded phones such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson and nokia only work on GSM, while Huawei and Tata can use CDMA 800 and 450, said KKA electronics spokesperson, U Soe Win Aung. We hope increased FDI will open the market to offer products that support all types of mobiles, he said. Some customers get bored after using a handset and accessories after about six months, so more FDI will offer them greater options and better prices. It tends to be positive, he said. He said that when the telecommunications law is enacted, there will be more opportunities and security for dealers and consumers. However, things may not change that quickly, once the government opens its doors for foreign investors. In early April, the MIC hosted a delegation of major South Korean telecom companies, including Samsung and SK telecom, in nay Pyi Taw for the South Korea-Myanmar Economic Cooperation Forum. Discussions during the event focused on the potential for joint ventures, with several companies expressing interest. However, several Korean investors spoke to The Myanmar Times at the April 6 event, saying they want to see established infrastructure in place before investing. Electricity supply, water, transport, communications and a stable exchange rate are all considered basic requirements, while unnecessary procedures hampering land rentals and money transferrals are major obstacles.

% 39.31 22.65 10.35 8.71 6.63 6.58 2.02 1.95 1.20 0.24 0.21 0.15 100.00

The latest trends in telecoms

And a win-win-win opportunity for Myanmar
By Stuart Deed with contributors

HE benefits of widespread mobile phone use and the recent technological advancements that have led to high-speed internet availability, anywhere and everywhere, have been proven to be the single best driver for economic growth in developing countries. nevertheless, mistakes have been made in many countries, and there are lessons to be learnt. Moreover Myanmar is perfectly placed to learn from those experiences and deliver a telecoms revolution that is a win-win-win situation, not only for the government, and the citizens at large, but also as a driver for massive entrepreneurial activity within the private sector. The mobile phone story is already a remarkable one, adding 1.2 percent to a nations annual GDP growth with every 10pc increase in mobile penetration, yet the story is not yet complete. The trend of mobile voice and internet convergence, promises an even greater boost to incomes and livelihoods, especially of those most in need, including those in rural areas who are isolated from access to relevant market information. Yet despite these enormous benefits, in retrospect, its clear that many developing nations effectively sold the family silver, for a short term infusion of cash from selling mobile licences, largely to foreign companies, who effectively extract rent from the countries in which they were invited to invest. Myanmar is in the fortuitous position of being able to redefine this already outdated development model, based on telecom trends in more developed markets. Whereas in the earlier days of the mobile story, the key issue was infrastructure development, recent trends point to the takeover of mobile services delivery as the future driver of mobile development. This key trend is essentially a reflection of how voice services, while still important, are being increasingly challenged by the need for internet and data services, for example, mobile banking and the mobile wallet. It is these innovative services that are proving to be the next major catalyst for widespread income increases and lifestyle improvements.

A Mr Fone sales assistant shows different model phones to a customer last month. Pic: Kaung Htet

The development of the services trend has resulted in the rapid global growth of a new kind of telecom operator. The key characteristic of this new type of operator is that they do not own or operate the mobile infrastructure, preferring to lease capacity on the network, while focusing all their efforts on the services that they provide. This new breed of operator is referred to as a Mobile Virtual network Operator or MVnO. This trend clearly removes the requirement for multiple infrastructure operators, and the duplicated investment inherent in the old model, that can now be replaced with a single network initially under the public sector, leaving the private sector to focus on service innovations. So what other lessons can be learnt from mobile phones and their contribution to nation building in other developing countries? The first lesson is absolutely clear; access to telecommunications is a fundamental right, and should be regarded by policy makers as a public utility. Secondly, whilst the private sector has done a reasonably good job of providing access, the profit motive is not completely conducive to the public utility aspect. Furthermore, despite constant innovation in services, developing countries that issued licences to foreign operators are waking up to the fact that they are

essentially victims of rent extraction as the profits are repatriated to the overseas shareholders. Thirdly, deregulation and the issuance of multiple infrastructure licences has resulted in significant mal-investment, specifically duplicated investment where multiple operators build expensive telecom towers and related utilities, often next to each other. This is not only a huge waste of money, but a blight on the landscape. Fourthly, the selling the family silver option effectively kills the domestic and incumbent operator, that is, the only telecom entity that regards its duties as a public utility and therefore a social responsibility. Fifthly, high connection costs and the lack of a truly nationwide mobile infrastructure hold back the economic development of a country regardless, and in despite of, the promising signs that infer increased foreign direct investment in the country. At the end of the day, mobile development, will speed up the rate of other investments throughout the country. With the lessons learnt from the mistakes of others, and the very real trend of services versus infrastructure, is there a model that leads to optimum income and GDP growth whilst ensuring that the economic rent remains in Myanmar for the benefit of the nation?

Through existing Official Development Assistance (ODA) offers, Myanmar can build a telecom development model, that will be superior to those adopted in other countries. The ODA can be

used to build a fully nationwide telecom network, faster than would be achieved by the private sector. This would also build MPT as an asset that could be floated within a few years with a

valuation likely approaching US$30 billion. This would be a huge windfall gain for the government and the country, and far in excess of the cash raised from selling off infrastructure licenses to private operators. Furthermore, by thoroughly deregulating services, the international trends of service-based innovation and the growth of multiple MVnOs, would then be allowed to flourish, unleashing a wave of entrepreneurial activity, and wealth creation, available to the many and not just the few. All major technical advances such as the mobile phone or the internet have had a tendency to develop along a particular path for a given period of time, until new innovations or ways of thinking, shift the path in a new direction. In terms of telecom development trends Myanmar has a choice. It can either follow the old path and make the same mistakes as those before us. Or, it can learn from those mistakes and adopt the new path in which infrastructure is comparable to a road, useful in its own right, but dull in comparison to the shops and services that line it.

Apple-mania spreads to Myanmar

By Nuam Bawi

S the tech-giant Apple recorded profits of US$11.6 billion in the financial quarter ending March 31, the companys reach has even spread to Myanmar. Years of isolation have meant that software for Apple devices was hard to come by, limiting compatibility with existing telecommunications networks and putting off customers to one of the worlds most popular brands. At first people were reluctant to use Apple products because it was difficult to get hold of software in our country. Only now when the software can be bought easily have people started using Apple gadgets, said Ma Thiri, a sales executive from iHub, an exclusive retailer of Apple products. Another reason for the lack of demand, she said, was due to difficulties in getting repairs. It was even difficult to change a broken screen. But if you look at it another way, as Apple products are so expensive, customers

An office employee enjoys using an Apple iPad during a lunch break in Yangon last week. Pic: Boothee

rarely bought one without deciding to take care of it. Therefore we had less examples of broken screens. But now, as the cost is coming down many more people are buying Apple products and we need to provide a repair service such as changing the screen as many of them break, she said. There has been a significant rise in people wanting Apple products since 2011, with most buying them as a fashion statement, and only

a quarter actually using them for professional purposes, such as designers, Ma Thiri said. We would normally sell around 10 laptops a month, but that increased to 30 or 35 laptops a month in 2011, she said. The iPad is currently the top seller in Myanmar with the iPhone coming in second. And Apple is proving just as divisive in its converts and skeptics here as it is renowned for interna-

tionally. The applications are very entertaining, which I think is their target to attract the user, said iPhone 4 user Ma Kit Kit. And also the difference with the product is the touch interface. I feel special and different when I compare it with the other brands, she said. When the iPhone launched I really wanted it but I didnt like the iPhone 3 shape, it just wasnt elegant looking to me. When the

iPhone 4 came out I really liked it, I felt that one was elegant. Ma Kit Kit said she bought the iPhone to use for her job and not just for fashion. "As Im a photographer that is very attractive when I look back at the pictures which I have taken. Its very convenient for my job as well, she said, adding that she no longer considers using another brand. Its because Im satisfied with this phone as I can see my pictures with good quality with full screen. But Im not interested to use up-to-date model gadgets because I dont think there will be so much difference when iPhone 5 launches, she said. While many go crazy for Apple, others, like May May, 24, hold a different view. I agree that the iPhone and Apple products are high quality. But we still need to buy most of the software aside from buying the phone. I feel like the iPhone is associated with a particular class of society, said May May, who uses Android version 2.3.3. And while we can send Bluetooth between other brands of phones to each other, we cant with the iPhone. That makes it inconvenient for contacting friends. For me, an iPhone is not worth it with what we have to pay for it. Thats why even if I had enough money to buy an iPhone I wont be buying it, she said.

Internet growth sees rise in online activities

By Aye Sapay Phyu
THE spread of internet cafes opening up across Yangon and other major cities has witnessed online habits proliferate among the connected. Whether using Google talk for chatting with friends and family, writing comments and sharing information on social network sites such as facebook, emailing with Gmail, and gaming online, the internet is becoming a popular pastime for converts. Ma naw Hser Gay Doh, 30, who works for a nongovernment organisation in Yangon, said she spends most of her time online checking her emails and using facebook. I normally use email to send messages to my friends, and colleagues, to read what they have to say. I used to take more time on facebook. Looking up friends, photos, sharing information, making comments and posts, and reading peoples different ideas grabs my attention, she said. Online users of all ages say they find it easier to stay connected with each other with the internet. Daw Khin Swe, a 60year-old housewife, said she makes internet calls to conversation as the connection is often interrupted. Sometimes we are lucky to talk face to face with video. Thanks to the advances of technology, even though we live a thousand miles away, we can see and hear each other, she said. Ma Min Min Aye, a 31year-old housewife, said she normally uses Pfingo to communicate with her husband when he works overseas. My husband is a sailor. We have conversations on Pfingo when he travels to foreign countries. I am not really used to using email or other social networks. But it is convenient for me to use Pfingo as the net caf staff help me, she said. Online gaming has become a global pastime, but still attracts more male users than female. Ko Tun Lin Aung, 25, who works at a private company, said that he and his friends regularly make appointments to meet up at a public access center (PAC) for gaming. I was addicted to online games when I was a teenager. I used to spend almost the whole day in PACs gaming. Most of the games are about competing between groups, and are more popular with young guys. There are also game competitions in the city. We used to practice and take part in the tournaments. now I cant spend much time gaming because of work, but my friends and I still make time to play games in our free time for fun, he said.

An online gamer at an internet cafe in Yangon. Pic: MMT Archive

her children in Singapore. It costs less than using a landline phone. My daughter

here sometimes helps me so that I can chat on G-talk. But we cant have a nice

Lost in connection
to account chatting service. Pfingo does not work well when there are a lot of Pfingo users online. If you open two or three Pfingo accounts at the same time, its crazy. Skype connection is better and is clearer than By Noe Noe Aung Pfingo. Also calls cost less with Skype, he said. But getting online at the right ESPITE numerous time when the connection is obstacles, the preference likely to be good is tough, espefor internet call services, cially when you have to coordisuch as Pfingo and Skype, over nate across time zones. landlines when calling abroad I used to talk with Pfingo or keeps growing, say internet caf Skype but the connection for owners and users. internet phone calls is too slow The cost for internet calls are most of the time. Money runs out cheaper than the cost of interjust trying to say hello so I just national telephone calls from use Gmail voice call now, said here. I prefer using the internet Ma Thandar, another resident in whenever I contact my husband, Yangon who usually contacts her said Ma Kay Khine, a 28-year-old sister in Dubai once a week. housewife in Yangon. The most popular destinations to An owner of an internet caf in call are Singapore, Malaysia, ThaiTharketa township said that evland, China and the United States. eryday people come to his shop to The cost for calling is K50 for contact family members, spouses a minute to Singapore, K100 per and boyfriends, with most people minute each to Malaysia, Thailand, coming at the weekends. China and the United States. People generally prefer Skype But the regularity of a slow to Pfingo, he said, adding that connection rate impacts on the Pfingo is only good for internation- businesses themselves, with caf al phone calls whereas Skype can owners struggling to meet the be used for video chatting as well needs of their customers. as calls, while Gtalk is an account For the international calls,

Internet users make calls in an internet cafe in Yangon last week. Pic: MMT Archive

some people can connect and talk but some cant. The problem is so regular here, an owner of an internet caf in Kyauktada township told The Myanmar Times. Although my shop is still fine, a shop of a friend of mine has closed because of the power supply and bad internet connection, he said. Another concern is the legality of using internet calling services since the government banned their use last year. However, many cafs still offer the service with demand continuing from customers. Of course we know. But for the needs of our customers, we have to keep the service for them, said the owner. Actually, there is a legal international call service Ytalk. But it is not well known at the moment. We dont know if it is

better or faster. If government service is better than Skype and Pfingo, we would change and use it, he said. Perceptions of Myanmars internet connection can be summed up in a recent satirical comic strip portraying a cable failure caused by a snail crawling over it. nevertheless, the government has stated its commitment to providing a better service. The Deputy Minister for Communication, Post and Telegraph, U Tint Lwin was quoted saying the government is working to bring down the price of internet charges and improving connections in the state run newspaper, The Mirror, on April 24. Experts from the national Computer System (nCS) and Loxley from Thailand were invited to Myanmar on two separate occa-

sions in november and December 2011 to find defects in the core network of the two ISPs, he said. In response to their suggestions, the Minister sought to liaise with foreign companies to extend existing connection links and install further ISP connections overseas in data centres in Singapore and Hong Kong. In addition, the volume of internet bandwidth will be extended to 14Gb, he said. He also said the Ministry was preparing to hold a national ICT Forum in June to discuss ways of increasing information and communication technologies (ICT) by inviting local and foreign experts to contribute to its second ICT Master Plan (2010-2015). Suggestions and discussions from the forum would hopefully bring down charges, and improve connection, he said.

MPT to offer new batch of mobile phone internet connections

What makes the internet so slow?

By Aung Si Hein
A YEAR ago the common response to a slow internet connection was to blame political interference. But that was before the government lifted its restrictions on numerous websites in August 2011. now the government has to answer its internet struggles purely on delivery terms. As internet use keeps growing, the bandwidth the solitary internet service provider, Yadanapon Teleport, currently provides is too small to keep up with demand. We have Seamewe 3 fibre optics and are installing Seamewe 5. We have to buy bandwidth for which we also need to install equipment. It costs millions of US dollars, said Ko Zaw naing a computer technician from Garlandarts. In many developed countries, there is not a problem of internet users mushrooming because there are many teleport companies rivaling one another. But in Myanmar we have only one, Yadanapon Teleport. As the country is opening up, there should be several teleport companies to provide good internet services for all users, he said. This forces internet users to limit what they can do to account for the low capability of connection. We cannot send heavily loaded

By Htoo Aung
MOBILE phone users will be able to lodge applications for internet connectivity from May 7 said U Thein Win, chief engineer for Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications mobile department. U Thein Win said during a press conference in Yangon on May 3 that all mobiles will be eligible for internet access. Access will be split into two categories 2.75G network users will be charged at K2 a minute, while 3G users will pay K4, he said. Were planning the network to be at international standards with the capability to support hundreds of thousands of mobiles. We are expanding data services and plan to provide internet access countrywide, he said. The connection speed will be faster on the 3G network but will remain a bit slow on 2.75G. There is no limit to the number of mobiles in Yangon that will

A man checks his phone in Yangon last week. Pic: Ko Taik

be able to connect and Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications will sell connections at five locations, Yatanarpon Teleport will have three outlets and E-lite Tech will have 13 shops, he said. The application fee will be K10,000, he added. Mobile phone owner Ko nay Lin Tun said: This is good news for people who want to have internet at home easily. I think the public is more willing to pay for services like this when they know that MPT is involved but there shouldnt be any limitations on the number of phones.

Previous internet offerings were limited to 10,000 phones, which isnt enough, he said. U Kyaw Myint, a civil servant, said he was worried that the network would not be able to cope with the extra load. Most people are yearning to add internet access to their phones, he said. But its already hard to make phone calls sometimes and now a huge amount of GSM and CDMA/ WCDMA phones have been sold. We want internet on our phones but we also want a decent connection. Translated by Zar Zar Soe

emails during work hours when there are a lot of users online. This is because there is an automatic cut-off with big uploads during periods of heavy traffic. Usually your email will be sent without the attachment, an experienced computer technician said. Some, however, see political restraints continuing to play a role in internet provision, even if it is not as direct as banning websites. I think it is slow for both technical and political reasons," Ko Pyae Sone, an internet user said. "The telephone system, which carries the internet service, is old and defective. But politically the bandwidth is limited by the government as well as not upgrading the outdated system. As the country develops, this will act as a catalyst for improvement of the current situation, he said. A slow internet connection delays development from the individual to societal level because they cannot access websites at an optimal performance, Ko Pyae Sone said. But the necessity for information and communication for both private and public sectors in Myanmar is pushing the internet system to develop. Businesses require faster internet access to complete transactions, while general users crave information, he said.

Facts and figures about Facebook

2012 Telecoms Special Feature

Editors: Myo Lwin, Ben White

An FRAnCISCO Facts and figures about Facebook, which priced its initial public offering on May 2: - Facebook has more than 900 million active users. If the company were a country, it would be the third largest in the world after China (population: 1.34 billion) and India (population: 1.17 billion). - With 157 million members, the United States has the most Facebook users, followed by India with 45.9 million, Brazil with 45.3 million, Indonesia with 42.4 million and Mexico with 32.9 million. (source: socialbakers.com) - Facebook is the most popular social network in every country of the world, with the exceptions of China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam. (source: comScore) - In April, Facebook announced a billion-dollar deal to buy the startup

- Facebook says it had an average of 526 million daily active users in March 2012, an increase of 41 percent from a year ago. It had registered 125 billion "friend connections" as of March 31 and 3.2 billion "likes" and comments. - More than 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day and more than 488 million active users access Facebook using mobile devices. - "The Social network," the 2010 film about the origins of Facebook, won four Golden Globes including for best picture and best director but flopped at the Oscars, walking away with only awards for best adapted screenplay, original score and film editing. - Facebook, which currently employs some 3,500 people, has announced plans to hire "thousands" more over the next year.
AFP

Contributors:

Rohan Samarajiva

Writers:

Noe Noe Aung, Aye Sapay Phyu, Nuam Bawi, Stuart Deed, Myat May Zin, Aye Thidar Kyaw, Juliet Shwe Gaung, Htoo Aung

A screen shot of the facebook logo. Pic: AFP

Design and DTP:

Tin Zaw Htway, Khin Zaw, Ye Htay, Tha Hlyan,

behind wildly popular smartphone photo sharing application Instagram, its biggest acquisition to date. - Facebook has minted four billionaires: Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin and Sean Parker. The 27-year-old Zuckerberg's net worth was estimated at $17.5

- Chris Hughes, one of Facebook's four co-founders, served - The Brazilian-born as director of online Saverin, who left Facebook organizing for Barack early on after a falling-out Obama's successful 2008 with Zuckerberg, had a net presidential campaign.

billion on the 2011 Forbes list of the wealthiest Americans. Moskovitz had a net worth of $3.5 billion but pipped Zuckerberg for the title of world's youngest billionaire, being eight days younger.

worth of $2 billion. Parker, the napster co-founder who briefly served as Facebook's president, had a net worth of $2.1 billion.

Photographers:

Kaung Htet, Ko Taik

For enquires and feedbacks Contact: myolwin@myanmartimes.com.mm

Nokia slumps to 1.3bn loss under competition from Apple and Samsung
nOKIA has announced the departure of its head of sales as the struggling mobile phone maker, beset by competition from Apple and Samsung and an under-par new product launch, slumped to a loss of 1.3bn (US$1.7bn). The Finnish telecoms group said Colin Giles was leaving to be closer to his family, as sales fell to 7.4bn in the first three months of 2012 compared with 10.4bn in the same period last year. The operating loss of 1.3bn compared with a profit of 439m in 2011. nokias chief executive, Stephen Elop, said the business was working its way through a significant company transition in an industry environment that continued to evolve and shift quickly. nokias smartphone sales have faltered after Elop moved its devices off its home-grown Symbian operating system last year to the untried Windows Phone software owned by Microsoft. As a consequence, sales of Symbian-based phones are declining rapidly while uptake of nokias new Windows-based phone, the Lumia, has disappointed. Elop admitted on May 3 that the Lumia launch had not proceeded as planned in some markets, including the UK. We have launched four Lumia devices ahead of schedule to encouraging awards and popular acclaim, he said. The actual sales results have been mixed. We exceeded expectations in markets including the United States, but establishing momentum in certain markets including the UK has been more challenging. According to nokia, sales of handsets fell 32 percent in Europe in the first quarter, to 15.8m units, while China recorded a slump of 62pc to 9.2m. Worldwide, handset sales fell 24pc to 82.7m compared with the corresponding period in 2011. The company said Giles would not be replaced in a move that it saw as reducing a layer of sales management. nokia said the operating loss was comprised of 1.1bn of restructuring charges relating to a joint venture with Germanys Siemens to make telecoms equipment, with a further 260m loss caused by competition and the fact that the first quarter is traditionally a quiet sales period. Squeezed at both ends of a fiercely competitive sector, nokia is struggling to compete at the lower end of the market with Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei launching products based on Googles Android system. Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, and Motorola are among the manufacturers who have also been caught out by the emergence of Chinese competitors. At the upper end, Apples iPhone and Samsungs Galaxy, which uses the Android operating system, have pulled far ahead of nokia in a market that the Finnish firm once dominated. nokias share of the smartphone market has fallen from 40pc a few years ago to 10pc. This week nokias debt was downgraded to one notch above junk status by the Moodys credit rating agency, which cited a severe decline in mobile phone sales. Adding that it was putting the firm on a negative outlook, Moodys also expressed doubts over nokias ability to recover ground lost to faster-moving rivals. The agency said: Moodys believes that the structural challenges facing nokias mobile phones segment many not be easy to address. The Moodys downgrade followed a profit warning last week, in which nokia forecast that it would lose money in the first half of its financial year, blaming fierce competition for smartphone sales in developing markets such as India, China and the Middle East.
The Guardian

A handout photo of the latest smartphone, the Galaxy S3, released by Samsung Electronics on May 4. Pic: AFP