Lt-Gen Kyaw Win on inspection tour of Eastern Shan State · Spencer Low of Sony Sin-gapore...

14th Waxing of Tazaungmon 1369 ME Friday, 23 November, 2007Volume XV, Number 221

Established 1914

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

* National reconsolidation* Emergence of a new enduring State

Constitution* Building of a new modern developed

nation in accord with the new StateConstitution

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

* Proper evolution of the market-oriented economicsystem

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

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

* Uplift of the morale and morality ofthe entire nation

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

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

standards of the entire nation

Four social objectivesFour political objectives Four economic objectives

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

NAY PYI TAW, 22 Nov — Member of the StatePeace and Development Council Lt-Gen Kyaw Win ofthe Ministry of Defence together with Chairman ofShan State (East) PDC Commander of Triangle Re-gion Command Maj-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and offi-cials inspected thriving 20 acres of groundnut onsandbank in Mekong River and the plot for undertak-ing cultivation in Kenglat Township yesterday.

Tachilek Township PDC Chairman U TheinMyint explained progress in cultivation of seasonalcrops on the sandbank.

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win, the commander and partyviewed development of the region along both sides ofMongphyat-Kenglat Road and measures to be taken toconstruct a bridge on Mekong River at Wankyin Vil-lage in Kenglat Township.

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win met with departmental

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win on inspectiontour of Eastern Shan State

officials, members of social organizations and localpeople at Mekong Hall in Kenglat.

At the meeting, officials reported to him onprogress of economic, social, education, health andregional development in the township.

In his instructions, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win stressedthe need to extend the cultivation of crops suitable forthe region, systematically use fertilizers, and growphysic nut for extraction of bio-diesel and rubber toearn foreign exchange.

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win presented consumer goodsfor Kenglat region through Dr Aung Aung Myo, Medi-cal Superintendent of Kenglat People’s Hospital, andTV set for Kenglat region through the chairman ofKenglat Township PDC.

Afterwards, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win and party in-spected Kenglat Basic Education High School.

At Kenglat People’s Hospital, they inspected pa-tient wards, the laboratory and medical store.

Next, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win inspected WammiphaingBridge near Wammiphaing Village in the township.Shan State (East) Superintending Engineer of PublicWorks U Thaung Htay reported on repaving of Tarlay-Palyo-Kenglat Road and progress in construction ofthe bridge.

The 80-foot Wammiphaing Bridge is located onthe road between Myanmar and Laos.

At Kyaukse Yeiktha in Tachilek, they met withmerchants and departmental personnel and heard re-ports on matters related to seven export items pre-sented by officials.

Later, Lt-Gen Kyaw Win instructed them to growindustrial crops.

MNA

Weather Forecast for 23-11-2007Nay Pyi Taw and neighbouring areas

Partly cloudy.

Yangon and neighbouring areasPossibility of isolated rain or thundershowers. Degree of certainty is (40%).

Mandalay and neighbouring areasPartly cloudy.

I N S I D E

PERSPECTIVESPAGE 2

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win of Ministry of Defence visits a hospital in Kenglat Township.—MNA

The government is building transport facilities throughoutthe nation with the aim of improving the living conditions ofnational people and helping national brethren equip themselvesstrongly with Union Spirit.

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:46 AM1

2 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 23 November, 2007

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

People’s DesireFriday, 23 November, 2007

Transport facilities improvenational people’s living conditions

With the concept that the transport sec-tor lies at the heart of national development,the government has been building roads,railroads and bridges in states and divisionstill they have formed themselves into a net-work of transport facilities for ensuringsmooth transport between one region andanother and forging amity among nationalraces.

As a result, the total length of tarredroads, concrete roads, gravel roads, lateriteroads and earth roads in the nation has risenfrom over 20,000 miles in 1988 to over 70,000miles.

From 1988 to 12 November 2007, it con-structed more than 1172 miles of railroads.Owing to the construction of the railroad thatgoes through Ponnya mountain range be-tween Kyaw and Yemyetni in Magway Divi-sion, there has emerged ChaungU-Pakokku-Gangaw-Kalay Railroad.

The 227-mile Pakokku-Gangaw-KalayRailroad, which rises from ChaungU inSagaing Division, passes through the townson the western bank of the Ayeyawady Riverin Magway Division and links Kabaw Valleyregion, the entrance to northern Chin State,and Kalay, thereby cementing friendshipamong national races.

The railroads under construction acrossthe nation include the 95-mile Katha-BhamoRailroad and the 322-mile Kyangin-PakokkuRailroad.

The government is building transportfacilities throughout the nation with the aimof improving the living conditions of nationalpeople and helping national brethren equipthemselves strongly with Union Spirit.

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Outstanding members of USDA visit Paunglaung Hydel Power Plant.MNA

Cash and kind donated to nunnery in Sangyong TownshipYANGON, 22 Nov —

Under the supervision ofthe Culture Group ofYangon Division Wom-en's Affairs Organiza-tion, rice, edible oil, salt,medicine, robes, andcash were donated to

Thameindaw DayaThukhita Rama DawNyanasrari MyanaungNunnery in SangyongTownship and healthcare provided to the nunsthis morning.

YDWAO Patron

Daw Mar Mar Wai sup-plicated on the purposeof the donations and of-fered the alms and cashdonations to PresidingNun Agga MahaGanthavacaka PanditaDaw Jayavadi. Next, Daw

Mar Mar Wai and partyviewed the health careactivities and donatedmedicine and nutritiousfood.

Today's donationsamounted to over K 2.4million. — MNA

Sony and Inax open salesrooms in TaunggyiYANGON, 22 Nov —

An opening ceremony ofSony and Inax salesroomsand Myoma Cinema or-ganized by TMW Enter-prise Ltd was held at thecinema on Bogyoke AungSan Road in Taunggyi,

Shan State (South), at 9am today.

Director Daw KhaingThit Lwin of TMW Enter-prise Ltd, Manager MrSpencer Low of Sony Sin-gapore Marketing Co andDirector U Myo Swe of

Excellent Creation Co Ltdcut the ribbon to open thesalesrooms.

High definitionBravia LCD TV, digitalcamera, modern TV ac-cessories and projectorsare displayed at Sony

salesroom and bath roommaterials and marble slabsat Inax salesroom.

To mark the openingceremony, products ofSony and Inax are beingsold at special prices.

MNA

Outstanding youths of States, Divisions on study tour of Nay Pyi TawNAY PYI TAW, 22 Nov

— Outstanding youthsfrom the states and divi-sions who were awardedat the Union Solidarity andDevelopment AssociationAnnual General Meetingmet with the students,members of the Red CrossSociety and members ofAuxilary Fire Bridge fromNay Pyi Taw Pyinmana,Nay Pyi Taw Tatkon andNay Pyi Taw Lewe atMingalarkandaw Hallhere and went on studytour of Nay Pyi Taw on13-14 November.

Joint-Secretary U TintZaw of Pyinmana DistrictUSDA explained factsabout Nay Pyi Taw Dis-trict and public welfaretasks being carried out bythe association.

Next, the outstandingyouths from States and Di-visions recounted their ex-

periences and cordiallygreeted the local youths.Afterwards, they visitedthe ministries, staff quar-ters, Nay Pyi Taw MyomaMarket, Nay Pyi TawThirimingalar Market,Hotel Zone and Nay PyiTaw Thabyegon Market on

14 November morning.They also visited

Paunglaung Hydel PowerPlant where factory man-ager U Win Doe Lyan ex-plained the constructionof the factory and genera-tion of electric power.

Later, they observed

the Paunglaung under-ground power station andembankment and sluicegate. They, accompaniedby officials, visitedMyanma Radio and Tel-evision in Nay Pyi Taw inthe afternoon.

MNA

Opening ceremony of Sony and Inax salesrooms and Myoma Cinema in progress in Taunggyi.MNA

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM2

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 23 November, 2007 3

I N T E R N A T I O N A L N E W S

Egypt says Russia agrees toprovide nuclear know-how

CAIRO, 22 Nov—Russiahas agreed to providenuclear know-how andtechnical expertise toEgypt to help Cairo withplans to build civiliannuclear power stations tomeet growing energyneeds, Egyptian statemedia said on Tuesday.

State news agencyMENA said RussianDeputy Foreign MinisterSergei Kislyak had toldEgypt that Moscowwelcomed the plannedresumption of Egypt’snuclear programme.

“Moscow is ready togive nuclear knowledgeand its technical expertiseto the Egyptian side inlight of Russia’s largeexperience in buildingnuclear power stations,”MENA said, quotinga Foreign Ministry spok-

esman. Egyptian President

Hosni Mubarak said lastmonth Egypt would buildseveral nuclear powerstations, a year after hispolitician son Gamalfloated the idea of acivilian nuclear pro-gramme, but did notindicate when the projectwould get under way.

Cairo suspended apeaceful nuclear pro-gramme after theChernobyl disaster in1986.

The London-basedInternational Institute ofStrategic Studies said thefirst 1,000-megawattreactor could be built atDabaa on the Mediter-ranean in eight to 10 yearsif foreign investment wassecured.

Washington has said it

supports Egypt’s plans todevelop peaceful nuclearenergy. In addition toRussia, China andKazakhstan have offeredcooperation.

Officials put Egypt’s oiland gas reserves at 15.5billion barrels of oilequivalent, enough for 34years at current productionrates.

MNA/Reuters

Turkish President approvesnuclear power plant law

Hailstorm causes clusterbomb blasts in S Lebanon

BEIRUT, 22 Nov—A hailstorm has causedhundreds of cluster bombs to explode in southLebanon, the National News Agency said onTuesday.

The cluster bombs were dropped by Israel duringits war with Hizbollah guerillas last year. Thehailstones, as big as walnuts, fell in a number ofvalleys in south Lebanon, the agency said.

When cluster bombs burst, they spread bombletsover the ground and vegetation. Air-or ground-launched, the bombs often fail to explode on impact.

Cluster bombs have killed 30 people since thewar. Dozens more have been wounded.

MNA/Reuters

ANKARA,21 Nov—Turkish President Abd-ullah Gul has approveda law allowingconstruction of thecountry’s first nuclearpower plants, his officesaid on Tuesday.

The law, vetoed byGul’s predecessor AhmetNecdet Sezer, is intended

PNG floods kill 163,thousands displaced

and tracks in the remotemountainous regionhindering relief efforts.

Aid only startedreaching some remotevillages on Wednesdaywhen helicopters arrivedfrom the capital PortMoresby.

“We have 163 peopledead, 10 have died ofstarvation,” local policespokesman David Terry

told Reuters.“We are having inter-

mittent rains in parts ofthe province. In someareas the water issubsiding and in otherareas there is stillflooding,” he said.

MNA/Reuters

Miss World beauty contestants sing an Olympic song “Light the Passion,Share the Dream” during a media event in Beijing on 19 Nov, 2007. Beijing isseeking women presenters for medals ceremonies at the 2008 Olympics — but

only those who are tall and thin need apply. — INTERNET

BEIJING, 21 Nov — TheRed Cross Society ofChina (RCSC) announcedon Monday it wouldprovide 50,000 US dollarsfor the victims of cycloneSidr in Bangladesh.

In her letter of condo-lences to the president ofthe Bangladesh RedCrescent Society (BRCS),Peng Peiyun, President ofRCSC, expressed hersincere concern andsympathy to all the

China’s RCSC donates$ 50,000 to cyclone-hit

Bangladeshbereaved families andvictims in Bangladeshaffected by the devas-tating storm.

She said the RCSCstrongly believed theBRCS would help theaffected people overcomethe hardship and restoretheir lives to normal verysoon.

According to Peng,the donation would behanded over to the BRCSby the Chinese Embassy

in Bangladesh.The Bangladesh Red

Crescent Society madean appeal to theInternational Red Crossfor four million Swissfrancs (3.6 million USdollars) in relief funds.

The death toll from thedeadly cyclone that hitBangladesh’s coastaldistrict last Thursday nighthas risen to 2,407 peopleand will continue to rise.

MNA/Xinhua

to help avert a seriousenergy shortfall in thefast-growing emergingeconomy.

Oil importer Turkeyaims to build three nuclearplants with a totalcapacity of 5,000megawatts. It had initiallyintended the first plant tocome on line by 2012 but

legislative delays are seenpushing that target back.

According to thenew law, approved byParliament on 9November, qualificationsfor companies bidding tobuild and run the powerplants will be publishedwithin a month.

MNA/Reuters

PORT MORESBY, 22Nov—Floods in PapuaNew Guinea have killed163 people, with 1,000homes destroyed andthousands of peopledisplaced, police said onWednesday.

The floods in theSouth Pacific nation’seast, caused by a tropicalcyclone in the past week,have washed away roads

Trains Collidein corsica,24 injured AJACCIO (France), 22

Nov — Two trainscollided on the Frenchisland of Corsica onWednesday, injuring 24people, a localgovernment official said.

The trains hit eachother on a stretch of singletrack that links the island’stwo main towns —Ajaccio and Bastia. Somepassengers suffered cutsand broken bones but theinjuries were not lifethreatening, the officialsaid. — MNA/Reuters

Women clean a streetcovered with mud afterheavy rain flooded the

streets in Utrera,southern Spain on 21

Nov, 2007. Flashfloods hit the town ofUtrera, near Seville,flooding homes and

garages overnight, andvillages around the

olive oil mecca of Jaenwere similarly

affected. — INTERNET

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BAGHDAD, 21 Nov— Aroadside bomb went offnear a US patrol in easternBaghdad on Tuesday,wounding three people, awell-informed policesource said.

The blast took place inthe afternoon when a USpatrol was passing throughthe neighbourhood ofBaladiyat, damaging a USHumvee and woundingthree bystanders, thesource told Xinhua oncondition of anonymity.

It was unclear whetherthe US soldiers sustainedany casualty as the troopsimmediately cordoned off

WASHINGTON, 21 Nov— Former White presssecretary Scott McClellansays in an upcoming bookthat he was misled byPresident George W. Bushand other high officialsinto misinforming thePress about a CIA leakcase that fuelled debateabout the Iraq war.

McClellan says hepublicly exoneratedformer top White Houseaides Karl Rove and Lewis“Scooter” Libby because

Former Press aide blames Bushin CIA leak case

Bush had called on himto help restore hiscredibility after the failureto find weapons of massdestruction in Iraq.

“There was oneproblem. It was not true.I had unknowingly passedalong false information.And five of the highestranking officials in theAdministration wereinvolved in my doing so:Rove, Libby, the Vice-President, the President’schief of staff, and the

President himself,”McClellan said in anexcerpt released onTuesday.

McClellan, a long-time Bush aide, whose jobas White House Presssecretary from 2003 to2006 was to field questionsfrom the Press, was notavailable for comment.

His book Inside theBush White House andWhat’s Wrong withWashington is due out onlyin April, but the publisher,Public Affairs, posted theexcerpt on its website as ateaser. — MNA/Reuters

Roadside bomb hitsUS patrol in Baghdad

the scene, the source said.The US military had

no immediate commenton the incident.

Earlier in the day, aroadside bomb detonatedin the same neighbour-hood, wounding threecivilians, the police said.

Violence persists inBaghdad although the USand Iraqi officialsannounced a steep dropof violence in the capitalas a result of a majorsecurity plan aimed atchecking the insurgencyand sectarian strife inBaghdad.

MNA/Xinhua

Tourists ride camels on the edge of the desert that threatens to engulf the

ancient Chinese city of Dunhuang in China’s northwest Gansu Province.

The sands of the Kumtag desert are moving at a rate of up to four metres (13

feet) a year.—INTERNET

A factory is seen in Xuanhua, Hebei Province, on21 Nov, 2007. Pollution in China’s vast countryside

is threatening health, water and arable land, thegovernment said on Wednesday, vowing to stoptoxic industries shifting pollution to rural areas.

INTERNET

PARACHINAR (Paki-stan), 21 Nov— At least adozen people were killedin fighting between Sunniand Shiite Muslim tribes-men in a Pakistani regionnear the Afghan border onMonday, taking the deathtoll to more than 100 infour days of clashes.

Eight people werekilled and 18 were

Twelve more killed in sectarian

violence in Pakistanwounded when a mortarbomb exploded in a bazaarin the Kurram tribalregion, residents said.

Army helicopter gun-ships pounded militantpositions on the outskirtsof the main town ofParachinar, killing fourpeople. Residents saidsoldiers were deployed inParachinar and nearby

areas while the govern-ment prepared to send adelegation of tribal eldersand clerics to bring peaceto the area.

Military officials wereunavailable for comment.

Sectarian violence hasbedevilled Pakistan sincethe 1980s and Kurram hasa long history of suchclashes. — MNA/Reuters

Over 100 journalistsarrested in S Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, 22 Nov— Police in the southernPakistani port city ofKarachi Tuesday arrestedmore than 100 journalistswho were protestingagainst curbs on the media,according to local Pressreports.

The journalistsgathered outside theKarachi Press Club andchanted slogans againstban on two independentnews television channels.

The governmentbanned TV channelnetworks Geo and ARYafter President GeneralPervez Musharraf pro-claimed emergency in thecountry on 3 November.

The police arrestedmore than 100 journalistswhen they refused todisperse.

Journalists continuedprotest on Tuesday againstrestrictions on the mediaand set up camps outsidePress clubs in major citiesof Pakistan including thecapital Islamabad.

MNA/Xinhua

Britain’s longest-servingprisoner dies

LONDON, 22 Nov — A child killer, who becameBritain’s longest-serving prisoner, has died in custody after55 years behind bars, the government said on Tuesday.

John Straffen, 77, gained notoriety in 1952 afterescaping Broadmoor high-security hospital and withinhours murdering a five-year-old girl, Linda Bowyer.

At his trial in 1952 he was sentenced to death, butthe sentence was reduced to life imprisonment by thethen home secretary, David Maxwell Fyfe, on thegrounds Straffen was a “feeble-minded person”.

He was in Broadmoor because he had been deemedunfit to stand trial in 1951 for the murder of CicelyBatstone, nine, and six-year-old Brenda Goddard.

MNA/Reuters

Japan detains 5 with newfingerprint entry checks

TOKYO, 22 Nov —Fingerprint checks onforeigners arriving inJapan matched five peopleto an immigration blackliston the first day, the JusticeMinistry said onWednesday.

Biometric scanningof almost all foreignersentering Japan wasintroduced on Tuesday,sparking anger amonglong-term residents,businesspeople andhuman rights cam-paigners.

The five individuals’fingerprints came up on alist containing around800,000 names includingInterpol suspects andpeople deported fromJapan in the past, theministry said.

It refused to give anydetails of the five peopleor say which countriesthey came from.

One of the five is setto be deported and theothers are still underinvestigation, a ministryofficial said.

The new procedure,which involves electronicscanning of both indexfingers as well as taking adigital photo of the face,ran into minor problemsdue to computer glitchesand people with dryfingertips.

Domestic mediareported as animmigration official inFukuoka, southern Japan,as saying it was hard tocheck some older peoplebecause their fingerprintshave worn smooth.

More than 6.7 millionforeign visitors enteredJapan last year, whilearound 171,000 foreignersoverstayed their visas,government statisticsshow. — MNA/Reuters

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

Vietnamese rice export pricesforecast to rise in 2008

Russia may sell Iran$1b of civilian aircraft

WB says air pollution alonecosts 3.8% of China’s GDP

Sinopec plans to boost output,imports to stabilize oil supplies

HANOI, 21 Nov—Export prices of Viet-namese rice are expectedto increase next year,standing at 320 US dollarsupwards for a ton of the25-per-cent broken rice,and 340 dollars upwardsfor the 5-per-cent one.

Average export priceof the local commoditynow stands at 295 dollarsper ton, up from 254dollars in 2006,local newspaper VietnamAgriculture reported

Tuesday.Vietnam’s paddy rice

output is estimated at 35.9million tons this year,equaling to last year,the paper quoted theVietnamese Ministry ofAgriculture and RuralDevelopment as reporting.

Vietnam, the world’ssecond largest rice ex-porter, earned nearly 1.4billion US dollars fromshipping abroad nearly 4.3million tons of rice in thefirst 10 months of this year,

up 12.7 per cent in value,but down 4 per cent involume over the sameperiod last year, accordingto the General StatisticsOffice.

The country exportedover 4.7 million tons ofrice worth 1.3 billion USdollars last year to nearly100 markets, with theexports to the Philippines,Malaysia and Cubaaccounting for some 60per cent of the total.

MNA/Xinhua

MOSCOW, 21 Nov—Iranhas started talks to buy 30Russian Tupolev pass-engeraircraft worth more than onebillion US dollars a sourcewith knowledge of the dealtold Reuters on Monday.

The source, who askednot to be identified, saidthe deal for 30 Tupolev-204 aircraft was likely tobe reached by the end ofthe year. The deal wouldgreatly embarrass We-stern powers which aretrying to persuade Russiaand China to join them intightening sanctions onIran to make it halt itsuranium enrichment pro-gramme. They suspect itof trying to build nuclearweapons, but Iran says it

wants only to produceelectricity. A spokesmanfor Ilyushin Finance,which is selling the planes,confirmed that negoti-ations had begun.

“We have started talksto deliver a new order ofaircraft,” spokesman An-drei Lipovetsky said, butdeclined further com-ment.Russia has already soldIran military air defencesystems and is building anuclear plant in Bushehr,to the annoyance of theUnited States and Israel.

Russia and China, bothwith strong trade ties withTeheran and veto poweron the UN SecurityCouncil, have argued infavour of more negotia-

tions to encourage Iran tocomply with the inter-national demand for a haltin uranium enrichment.

President VladimirPutin, trying to reviveRussia’s once mightyaviation industry, hasgrouped companies likeTupolev and Sukhoi intoone giant, state-controlledholding called the UnitedAviation Corporation.

The corporation hasambitious plans to sell 250billion US dollars worthof aircraft by 2025 andovertake even Soviet-eraproduction records tocompete on the worldmarket with giants suchas Boeing and Airbus.

MNA/Reuters

BEIJING, 21 Nov—ChinaPetrochemical Cor-poration, better known asSinopec Group, is planningto boost output and importsamid efforts to stabilize thedomestic oil supplies.

The oil giant has orderedsubsidiaries to work ontheir full capacities to refine42 million tons of crude oilin the fourth quarter andalso to refine 200,000 tonsmore as scheduled inDecember . To achievethis, Sinopec Group hasordered five refiningsubsidiaries to haltfacilities maintenance onthe precondition of safety,a source with the company

said. The group’s oil outputfor October was 198,000tons more than the targetand it planned to raisediesel production forNovember by cuttingaviation fuel output by80,000 tons.

Despite losses making,Sinopec will continue toimport 200,000 tons ofdiesel in December after itimports 277,000 tons ofrefined oil this month.

The oil firm haltedimports of refined oil thisSeptember and October asthe domestic oil priceswere lower than the importprices.

Quite a number of oil

filling stations across thecountry are suffering fromsupply shortages. Expertsbelieved the governmentshould reform the oilpricing mechanism toreflect the international oilprice hikes in a bid to givea boost to the oil giants.

MNA/Xinhua

CHENGDU, 21 Nov—Airpollution is costing China3.8 per cent of its grossdomestic product, causingmore diseases andclaiming more lives, theWorld Bank has warned.

While it has put thecombined health and non-health cost of outdoor airand water pollution forChina’s economy ataround 100 billion USdollars a year, or about 5.8per cent of the country’sGDP, David Dollar, theWorld Bank countrydirector for China andMongolia, said air pol-lution poses higher coststhan water pollution.

Air pollution, especiallyin large cities, is leadingto higher incidence of lungdiseases, including cancer,respiratory system pro-

blems and therefore higherlevels of work and schoolabsenteeism, Dollar said,quoting a World Bankreport issued following ajoint assessment withChina’s State Environ-mental Protection Adm-inistration (SEPA).

He pointed to particulatematter, which measuresless than 10 microns indiametre, as a major threatto health.The density ofparticulate matter in north

China averages 112microgrammes and that inthe south, 88 micro-grammes, he said at aforum on China’s invest-ment environment inChengdu, capital ofsouthwest China’s Sic-huan Province.

Particulate matter hasalso been a headache inBeijing, with densityaveraging 141 micro-grammes.

MNA/Xinhua

Indonesia not to importrice next year

JAKARTA, 22 Nov—Indonesia would stopimporting rice next year,the staple food in theagricultural country, as ahigh production of rice is

expected this year and thenext, the country’s Vice-President Jusuf Kalla saidhere on Tuesday.

“Indonesia’s rice pro-duction has now risen tosome 1.8 million tons, andour stock will hopefully besecured for this year,” Kallasaid at a seminar on statecredits here.

The Vice-President saidthe production of rice isincreasing this year and heexpected it would continuein 2008.

He said Indonesiaimports one million to 1.5million tons of rice annuallyin recent years to curb thehigh rice price in thecountry.

MNA/Xinhua

White Tree Nymph butterflies at a tropical garden.A winning bid of almost 40,800 dollars bought theright to name a newly discovered rare owl butterly

species after a grandmother of five who died 35years ago.—INTERNET

Two women pick clothes after street vendors re-started their business inBakhara market in Mogadishu on 21 Nov, 2007.—INTERNET

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM5


Brown apologizes over lost data LONDON, 22 Nov —

Prime Minister GordonBrown apologized onWednesday for Britain’stax authority losing thepersonal details of nearlyhalf the population in anerror which has dealt anew blow to his LabourGovernment.

The loss in the mailof two computer discscontaining data on 25million people exposedvictims to the risk offraud and is potentiallyBritain’s biggest datasecurity lapse.

It also increasedpressure on FinanceMinister Alistair Darling,who was accused by theopposition conservativesof making an appallingblunder and is alreadyunder fire over a bankingdebacle involvingmortgage lender NorthernRock.

“I profoundly regretand apologize for theinconvenience andworries that have beencaused to millions offamilies...,” Brown told

Parliament whenquestioned about the dataloss.

“When mistakeshappen in imposingprocedures we have aduty to do everything thatwe can to protect thepublic,” he said,promising a review ofpersonal data security.

The government saysthere is no evidence thediscs, which disappearedafter being sent via Dutchmail and parcel companyTNT, have fallen intocriminal hands.

But Conservativeleader David Cameron

said: “Millions of peopletoday will be worryingabout the safety of theirbank accounts and thesecurity of their familydetails ... they will beangry that thegovernment has failed inits first duty to protect thepublic.”

In noisy clashes inParliament, Cameron saidthe breach pointed to asystemic failure in adepartment overseen byBrown during his decadeas Finance Ministerbefore he replaced TonyBlair as prime minister inJune. — MNA/Reuters

Scientists identify proteinskey to brain function

WASHINGTON, 21 Nov—US researchers haveidentified a family of pro-teins key to the formationof the communicationnetworks critical fornormal brain function.Their research could leadto new treatments for braininjury and disease.

The team, led by MITbiology professor FrankGertler, found that acertain family of proteins,known as the Ena/VASPproteins, is necessary todirect the formation ofaxons and dendrites, thecellular extensions thatfacilitate communicationbetween neurons.

Their findings werereported in the November18 online edition of NatureCell Biology.

The work focuses oncellular outgrowths called

neurites, which are theprecursors to axons anddendrites. Understandinghow neurites form couldeventually lead to therapiesinvolving stimulation ofneurite growth, saidGertler.

“You could use theseinsights to help repairinjuries to the top of thespinal column, or treatbrain injuries or neuro-degenerative disorders,” hesaid.

The majority of neuronsin the cerebral cortex havea single axon—a long,thin extension that relaysinformation to other cells—and many shorterdendrites, which receivemessages from other cells.The interconnectionof these axons anddendrites is essential tocreate a functional neural

Video threatens Germany,Austria over Afghanistan

Britain to study carboncuts as deep as 80%

LONDON, 21 Nov—Britain will study whetherit can commit to cuttingits carbon emissions byas much as 80 per cent by2050, Prime MinisterGordon Brown said onMonday in his first majorspeech on the en-vironment since taking

office this year. Brown has been

challenged to take a strongstance on global warmingby an opposition Con-servative Party thatincreasingly stressesenvironmentalism. Hispopularity has sunk inrecent weeks to the lowestsince he took over fromTony Blair in June.

Brown’s governmentpublished a draft ClimateChange Bill a week agocommitting to a 60-per-cent cut in carbon dioxideemissions by 2050, butenvironmentalist groupshave said it should look ateven deeper cuts.

The government willset up an independentcommittee to studywhether it should committo even deeper cuts of 80per cent.— MNA/Reuters

A poisoned and oil covered bird lies dying in front of local volunteers removing oilpollution from the Black Sea shore in the port Kavkaz, recently.—INTERNET

Miss Vietnam Thu Thi Minh Dang, left, and Miss Thailand Kanokkorn Jaichuenpose for photos during a visit by Miss World contestants to the Great Wall ofChina, at Badaling, north of Beijing on 21 Nov, 2007. The Miss World final will

be held in the southern resort city of Sanya on 1 Dec. —INTERNET

circuit. In their study, the

researchers found thatmice without the threeEna/VASP proteinsdid produce brain cells,but those neurons wereunable to extend any axonsor dendrites.

MNA/Xinhua

VIENNA, 21 Nov — AnIslamist group callingitself “Global IslamicMedia Front” has sent avideo demanding Ger-many and Austria with-draw their troops fromAfghanistan, Austria’sInterior Ministry said onTuesday. The video,published on the websiteof Austrian daily news-paper Oesterreich, alsodemands the release of twoAustrians arrested in

Vienna in September onallegations they helpedproduce a similar videomessage published inMarch.

“The German soldiersstill occupy Afghanistanand we repeat our callfrom the last video thatGermany withdrawtheir troops fromAfghanistan,” the video’sGerman subtitles say.“This only serves yourown security in your

country.“The sameapplies to Austria too. TheMujahedin have sparedyou so far, thereforethe number of deadsoldiers is not particularlyhigh. But this will nowchange...”

Germany has some3,000 troops inAfghanistan as part of theISAF mission. ThreeAustrian soldiers serve aspart of ISAF in Kabul.

MNA/Reuters

Israeli PM implies peace deal withPalestinans in 2008

CAIRO, 22 Nov —Visiting Israeli PrimeMinister Ehud OlmertTuesday said he hoped apeace deal between Israeland the Palestinians couldbe reached in 2008.

Olmert made theremarks after his talks withEgyptian President HosniMubarak in Egypt’s RedSea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Doha-based al-Jazeera satellite TVreported.

At a joint Pressconference after themeeting, Olmert said, “I

hope we can reach adefinitive deal with thePalestinians in 2008.”

Earlier, he said thathe hoped to make seriousstrides toward such a dealbefore the term of USPresident George W. Bushends in January 2009.

However, the IsraeliPrime Minister pointed outthat any future peace dealwould not be implementeduntil the PalestinianAuthority retakes control ofthe Gaza Strip and theroadmap commitments areall implemented, which

requires the Palestinians tofight terrorism to ensuresecurity in the areasincluding the Gaza Strip,which must be part of thePalestinian state.

Hamas took controlof the Gaza Strip withforce in June this year,while the Fatah movementled by PalestinianPresident MahmoudAbbas controlled the WestBank, which weakensPalestinian negotiationswith Israel, according toanalysts.

MNA/Reuters

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Announcement of Northern Thandaung Special Region Peace GroupLetter No. 001/Oak Chok-Si Man/1

Date: 20 November 2007Northern Thandaung Special Region Peace Group in Kayin State returned to the legal fold after realizing the government’s benevolent attitude, and came to

support the constructive efforts of the Tatamdaw government. The return to the legal fold helped raise political awareness and equip Union Spirit among the peopleof our national race.

We view the meetings between Minister for Relations U Aung Kyi and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as a positive move to national reconsolidation.Now, the government is implementing the State’s seven-step Road Map. However, Mr Gambari released Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s statement in English on her

behalf in a foreign country. The points in the statement do not reflect the customs and traditions of the national races of Myanmar. And it implies that she places relianceon external elements, and she shows total disregard for the fundamental principles more than 1000 delegates of national races have adopted with a unanimous consentat the National Convention.

We unconditionally support the fundamental principles and detailed basic principles that have been adopted through thorough and frank discussions at theNational Convention in accordance with the opinions of national races. We hereby announce that we do not accept any attempts designed to harm the fundamentalprinciples and detailed basic principles the National Convention has adopted, and we will continue to work for emergence of a new enduring State constitution.

Northern Thandaung Special Region Peace Group

Announcement of national race delegates from Ayeyawady Divisionto National Convention

Date: 22 November 2007As the Union of Myanmar is home to over 100 national races, we firmly believe that all the national races and people are always to uphold Our Three Main

National Causes — non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity and perpetuation of sovereignty —for ensuring perpetual existence ofthe State.

Our delegate group attended the National Convention from start to finish, upholding the six objectives: Non-disintegration of the Union; Non-disintegrationof national solidarity; Perpetuation of sovereignty; Flourishing of a genuine multi-party democracy system; Further burgeoning of the noblest and worthiest of worldlyvalues such as justice, liberty and equality; and The Tatmadaw to be able to participate in the national political leadership role of the future State.

We believe that the fundamental principles and detailed basic principles formulated by the National Convention represent the wishes of all the national races.Furthermore, it was learnt that Mr Gambari authorized by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi issued a statement in Singapore on 8 November.In the statement in English language issued abroad, she said: “I welcome the appointment on 8 October of Minister Aung Kyi as Minister for Relations.”

We believe it does not reflect Myanmar customs. Nevertheless, we recognized that point is to be her constructive attitude. However, we would like to point out thatthe English version statement issued in a foreign country neglects the strength within the nation, and it commits an act to obtain political gain.

As such, we hereby announce that we only support and welcome the formation of the Commission for Drafting State Constitution by the government on 18-10-2007 after successfully concluding the National Convention and on-going efforts for realization of the third step of the seven-step Road Map.

Delegates from Ayeyawady DivisionDelegate Group of National Races

Thandaung Township Special Region Peaceful AssociationAnnouncement

Letter No-027/ Peace-Management/07Date: 20 November 2007

Thandaung Township Special Region Peaceful Association in Kayin State with the belief in the genuine goodwill of the Tatmadaw has returned to the legalfold and is energetically carrying out regional development work in accordance with the guidance of the Tatmadaw Government.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi released her statement in English through Mr Gambari, the special adviser to the UN Secretary-General, on 8 November 2007 ina foreign nation.

The usage of words in the statement are not in conformity with Myanma customs and character, and she used the words in an arrogant tone. It is not the propertime for her to release such a statement.

Members of the Commission for Drafting the State Constitution are well versed in Myanmar’s history, customs and character. Therefore, we support onlythe Commission for Drafting the State Constitution.

Thandaung Township Special Region Peaceful AssociationKayin State

Wunthanu NLD (Union of Myanmar)Announcement

Letter No. 02/Wathana/2007Date: 15 November 2007

1. Always opposing outside interference in the affairs of Myanmar and sanctions, the Wunthanu NLD (Union of Myanmar) is moving forward on the nationalpolitical path for the emergence of a modern developed country.

2. Ours is a group that is actively participating in the tasks for the emergence of the constitution and for the realization of the seven-step Road Map and also supportingthese two points.

3. At a time when preparations are being made to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the drive for national reconsolidation, our group warmly welcomes and supportsit as a positive move.

4. The world nations, ASEAN members and the special adviser to the United Nations said that they agreed to the seven-step Road Map and said cooperative effortsshould be made. However, without consulting the organizations, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi released the statement by herself and that was an attempt to disrupt theseven-step Road Map.

5. Our group broke away from NLD because of its individualistic policy.6. Our group hereby declares that we will not accept and categorically oppose any person or organization that is attempting to undermine the fundamental principles

and detailed basic principles already laid down by the National Convention by misusing preparations and efforts of the State with far-sightedness.Central Working Committee

(from page 16)

(See page 9)

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YANGON, 22 Nov — Chairman of YangonDivision Peace and Development Council Commanderof Yangon Command Maj-Gen Hla Htay Win metdepartmental personnel, local authorities and membersof social organizations who participated in the regionaldevelopment at the hall of Kayan Township PDC thismorning.

Chairman of Kayan Township PDC U HlaThaung and Chairman of Yangon South District PDCU Zaw Win reported on arrangements for undertakingregional development task.

Speaking on the occasion, the commandersaid that authorities of Yangon Division are takingmeasures for ensuring peace and tranquillity and

prevalence of law and order and uplift of living standardof the people. In addition, the people are to be imbuedwith a wide range of knowledge on high thinkingpower and consideration. He stressed the need toorganize the local people to employ technologies andfollow directives in undertaking agriculture andlivestock breeding tasks.

The commander handed rice, edible oil, salt,gram and cash K 1.25 million for the departmentalpersonnel through Chairman of District PDC U ZawWin and 450 commodes, 450 footballs and 13,000publications to officials. Later, the commander andparty inspected progress of Takaw Sluice Gate inThongwa Township. — MNA

Necessary assistance provided to personnel whoparticipated in regional development

NAY PYI TAW, 22 Nov — Minister for Energy Brig-Gen Lun Thi on 19 November met with employees ofthe ministry at Htauksharpin oil field in MinbuTownship and called for seeking ways for moreproduction of oil and natural gas in the field to meet thetarget of the ministry as the fuel price is hiking up in theinternational market.

He said at the meeting with employees of theMyanma Oil and Gas Enterprise that the ministry ismaking efforts for exploration of oil and gas in the oldoil fields while tapping the new oil deposits to satisfydomestic consumption sufficiently.

He also urged the employees to abstain frommalpractice and to abide by rules and regulations of theenterprise and fulfilled the requirements of the employees.After the meeting, the minister inspected the drilling at theMyatkyi-1 Oil Well, a joint venture project of the MOGEand Focus Energy Limited, in Htauksharpin/Kanni oilfield in Minbu, Magway Division.

During his inspection tour of Magway Division,the minister also visited the petrol chemical plant inMinhla Township and assisted in running the factory atfull capacity. He also inspected the control room of theplant and left necessary instructions. — MNA

Minister calls for seeking ways to explore more oil

Buddhist devotees doing Vipassana meditationat Bodh Gaya Monastery in Sangyoung Townshipon 8 November, 2007. Devotees went on a retreatat the monastery from 8 to 14 November, 2007.

(News reported). — H

The Principal of the training school for thewomen of Social Welfare Department

presents a certificate of honour to Gang Hwieof Indonesia at the school on 18 November,2007. Gang Hwie donated K 1.4 million and

60 bags of rice to the school. — H

Officials of UMFCCI offer Kathina robes to aSayadaw at a ceremony to donate Kathina robesto monks at UMFCCI Office Tower in Lanmadaw

Township on 22 Nov, 2007. UMFCCI

Minister Dr Kyaw Myint inspects herbal plants at Herbal Garden inPyinOoLwin. — HEALTH

Purchase of spare parts for Thakayta Gas Turbine inkedNAY PYI TAW, 22 Nov — A signing ceremony

to purchase spare parts for F-5 Gas Turbine to beinstalled at Thakayta Gas Turbine between MyanmaElectric Power Enterprise and United National Oil &Gas Pte Ltd was held at Shwe Myanmar Hotel, here, on20 November evening.

It was attended by Minister for Electric PowerNo 2 Maj-Gen Khin Maung Myint, Deputy Minister

Brig-Gen Win Myint, departmental heads and officials.First, Minister Maj-Gen Khin Maung Myint

delivered an opening speech. After that, GeneralManager Mr Lee Bang Ho of United National Oil &Gas Pte Ltd spoke words of thanks. Next, ManagingDirector of MEPE Dr San Oo and GM Mr Lee Bang Hoof United National Oil & Gas Pte Ltd signed thecontract and exchanged notes.—MNA

YANGON, 22 Nov—Minister for Health DrKyaw Myint accompaniedby Deputy Minister DrPaing Soe and officialsinspected Yan Aung ruralhealth care centre inPyawbwe Township,Mandalay Division on 17November.

The minister and party

proceeded to TaungNyaunggon StationHospital and met with thehealth staff.

At NatmaukTownship People’sHospital, the minister mettownship level officials,townselders and the healthstaff of the hospital andinspected operation room,

delivery room, X-rayroom, medical store andwards.

They went to MinbuPeople’s Hospital andinspected construction ofthe two-storey ward andcalled for early completionof the building.

On 18 November, theminister and the deputy

minister attended theopening ceremony of newTeaching Hospital (bed-200) (Magway).

At Medical ResearchDepartment (UpperMyanmar) in Pyin-OO-Lwin Township, theminister looked into herbalplant garden on 19November.

On arrival at Pyin-Oo-Lwin People’s Hospital,the minister and partyinspected laboratory, X-ray room, operationtheater and intensive careunit and provided medicalequipment for the hospital.The minister also met thespecialists, doctors andnurses of the hospital.They then visitedUniversity of Pharmacy(Mandalay).

On 20 November, theminister met with theofficials of the teachinghospitals at MandalayHospital.

MNA

Health Minister visits hospitals in Mandalay, Magway Divs

UMFCCI offers Kathina robesYANGON, 22 Nov — The 8th Kathina robe offering

ceremony of Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambersof Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) was held atMingalar hall on the first floor in UMFCCI OfficeTower, No 29, Minye Kyawswar Street, LanmadawTownship, here, today.

Firstly, those present received five precepts fromSayadaw Agga Maha Pandita Bhaddanta Ratthasara(Pahtana Nayaka), Sasanadhaja SiripavaraDhammaçariya, Agga Maha Ganthavacaka Pandita ofthe monastery of Mingalarama Pali Tekkatho Kyaungtaikin Botahtaung.

Next, President U Win Myint of the UMFCCI, thevice-presidents and executives offered Kathina robesand provisions to members of the Sangha and sharedmerits gained. – MNA

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Announcement of the Union of Myanmar League for National Politics1. The Union of Myanmar League for National Politics held the first meeting to clarify matters related to opposing the economic sanction imposed on Myanmar

and the emergence of the constitution at YMBA Hall in Yangon on 5 December, 2006, and similar meetings were held in Yangon, Mandalay, Sagaing, Magway,Ayeyawady, Bago (East) and Bago (West) divisions. The league has carried out the activities as a national movement.

2. The Union of Myanmar League for National Politics has constantly worked for the emergence of a national political role in which the people, political organsand the Tatmadaw Government can join hands. We believe that when the national political role has taken shape, national reconsolidation and transition todemocracy will materialize.

3. We must acknowledge that the recent visit, the fourth, to Myanmar by Mr Gambari, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, by ProfPinheiro of the UN Human Rights Council, appointment of U Aung Kyi as Minister for Relations, the fundamental principles and detailed basic principles laiddown at the National Convention, the first step of the seven-step Road Map, and the formation of Commission for Drafting the State Constitution are the tangibleresults of historic efforts being made by the Tatmadaw Government for democratization and national reconsolidation.

4. But, we were very disappointed to learn that Mr Gambari released the statement of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on her behalf in Singapore on 8 September aftercompletion of his trip to Myanmar. We were very disappointed that as it seemed Mr Gambari and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have irresponsibly responded to theconstructive attitude of the Tatmadaw Government towards the UN. We also strongly oppose the expression in the statement that “ I wish to thank all those whohave stood by my side all this time, both inside and outside my country.” Because, it is seen as a reference to the extension of the economic sanctions and otherblockages placed on Myanmar by some big countries including the United States.

5. Besides, she released the statement in her personal interests and in the interests of the National League for Democracy and she pretends that she takes the desireand interests of all political parties, political forces and national races into considerations and she has a duty to give considerations to these issues. In the statement,she also invites political forces including the Tatmadaw Government to join her. According to her statement, it is a trickery that she represents all political forcesand national races. We understand that in the statement she tries to cover up the objective conditions that she is not a legal person to represent the people and politicalforces and is not a representative of the national reconsolidation and democratization process. We are very disappointed with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and theNational League for Democracy as she has no wish to drop her demands for imposing economic sanction on the country but takes the stance to defy all ordersand makes confrontation to cause utter devastation.

6. We strongly oppose the statement because attempts to tarnish the image of the Tatmadaw Government and to review the steps of the Road Map do not serve theinterests of the country and the people and can harm the democratization process and human rights.

7. We believe that only implementing the seven-step Road Map can lead to the national reconsolidation and realizing the democratization process speedily. Hence,we are resolved to joining hands with the people, political forces, and the Tatmadaw Government in implementing the seven-step Road Map.

The Union of Myanmar League for National Politics

(from page 7)

YANGON, 22 Nov —At Mid-year MyanmarGems Emporium 2007organized by the CentralCommittee of Mid-yearMyanmar Gems Em-porium, a total of 3,604gems merchants — 2,274from abroad and 1,330from home — are being

YANGON, 22 Nov— The Working Groupfor Legal Affairs and

Consultation of MyanmarWomen’s AffairsFederation organized thepaper-reading session onlegal affairs at the meetinghall of the federation onThanlwin Road in BahanTownship this morning.

It was attended byVice-President of MWAFDaw Khin Thet Htay,CEC members, the patronof Yangon DivisionWomen’s AffairsOrganization andmembers.

Leader of theworking group Daw Ni NiWin gave a speech.

Tutor Daw KhinNilar Myint Naing of LawDepartment of YangonUniversity, Head of LawDepartment Dr Daw TinMay Tun of Yangon UDEand Professor Dr DawThan Nwe submittedpapers to the session.

Later, theresource persons repliedto the queries raised bythose present. —MNA

Representatives to USDA AGMvisit Nay Pyi Taw

NAY PYI TAW, 22Nov — Representativesfrom State and DivisionUnion Solidarity andDevelopment Associationand other different level

Leader of Working Group for Legal Affairs and Consultation Daw Ni Ni Win extends greetingsat the paper reading session on legal affairs. — MNA

Local and foreign merchants examine jade stones at Mid-yearMyanmar Gems Emporium-2007. — MNA

Legal affairs paper readingsession organized

2,728 jade lots sold atMid-year MGE

allowed to examine andbuy jade lots.

Jade lots are beingsold through tendersystem at MyanmaConvention Centre onMindhamma Road inMayangon Township thismorning. Altogether 515jade lots were sold today.

A total of 2,728 jadelots have been sold sofar through tender.

The remaining jadelots will be sold throughtender and competitivebidding systems until26 November at thevenue.

MNA

USDA to the USDAAnnual General Meeting2007 visited ministries,staff quarters, Nay PyiTaw Hotel Zone, Nay PyiTaw Thapyaygon

Market, Nay Pyi TawCity Hall anddevelopment in Nay PyiTaw by car on 15November afternoon.

MNA

Don’t smoke

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM9


ABUJA, 22 Nov —Nigeria has proposedwriting off 13 million USdollars out of 48 millionUS dollars it is owed byLiberia as a contributionto consolidating peacethere, President UmaruYar’Adua said in a letterread out to the Senate onTuesday.

He said Liberia’s debtburden was an obstacle toeconomic recovery in thesmall West Africancountry, which emergedfrom 14 years of civil warin 2003 desperately poor

Nigeria offers $13m debt relief to Liberiaand saddled with 4.5billion US dollars inforeign debts.

“The LiberianGovernment has madeseveral passionate pleas toNigeria to write off thedebts,” Yar’Adua said inhis letter, seeking approvalfrom the Senate for thewrite-off.

“There is a potentialrisk of Liberia sliding backinto anarchy if progress isnot made in achievingsustainable economicdevelopment, which willundermine our previous

More people die ofdengue fever in Vietnam

HANOI, 22 Nov — Vietnam has detected 78fatalities due to dengue fever since the beginning ofthis year, increasing over 55 per cent compare withthe same period of last year, local newspaper VietnamAgriculture reported on Wednesday.

In the period, the number of dengue fever casesstood at 90,749, a year-on-year rise of 50 per cent.Most of the cases have been found in the southernMekong Delta Region, whose weather conditionsand local people’s habit of storing water in containersat their houses favour the breeding of mosquitoes,the disease’s transmitter.

The disease may break out in the flood-hitcentral region in the coming time, the PreventiveMedicine Department under the Vietnamese HealthMinistry said, noting that local agencies and peopleshould take preventive measures, isolate outbreaks,and keep environmental hygiene.

In 2006, Vietnam reported over 77,800 cases ofdengue fever infections, including 68 fatalities. Upto 84 per cent of the infections and 91 per cent of thedeaths were found in the southern region.

MNA/Xinhua

Four killed in Thailand’srestive south as violence grows

BANGKOK, 22 Nov — Suspected militants shotdead four people Wednesday in Thailand’s restivefar south, according to local media.

A 42-year-old Muslim man was shot dead infront of his house in Yala Province, while a bombplanted at a food stall in the province injured sixpeople, three of whom seriously, the province’sDeputy Governor Gissada Boonraj was quoted bylocal newspaper The Nation’s website as saying.

In nearby province of Pattani, four gunmen ontwo motorbike drove up to a sedan and commencedfire at close range, killing three men.

The attacker also left a bomb inside the vehicle.It went off as forensic officials were carrying outtheir investigation. One officer was injured.

Thailand’s three southernmost provinces —Pattani , Yala and Narathiwat have been troubledwith insurgency-related violence which has claimedmore than 2,600 people’s lives since 2004.

MNA/Xinhua

DAMASCUS, 22 Nov —Syria resisted inter-national pressure andinsisted on Tuesday itwould only attend a US-hosted Middle East peaceconference next week ifthe Israeli-occupied GolanHeights are on the agenda.

“The Golan must beon the schedule for Syria

Syria sticks to Golan quest before Mideast talkto participate. We are veryinterested in peace but theprocess should becomprehensive,” SyrianDeputy Foreign MinisterFayssal Mekdad said aftermeeting his Russiancounterpart AlexanderSultanov.

Syria has come underpressure by Russia and pro-US Arab governments toattend the conference inAnnapolis, Maryland, evenif the Golan is not explicitlyon the agenda. Arab foreignministers are due to meetin Cairo on Thursday todiscuss a common strategyat the conference.

In Teheran, Syrian

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told his Iraniancounterpart that the Golanwas Syria’s condition togo to Annapolis, the sameposition announced byPresident Bashar al-Assadlast month, Iran’s officialsnews agency IRNAreported.

Sultanov saidAnnapolis, which willfocus on reviving talks onPalestinian statehood, wasan “important step”,adding that Russia wasworking on conveninganother Middle Eastconference in Moscow todiscuss the Golan morefully.—MNA/Reuters

efforts,” he said. Nigeria was the maincontributor to ECOMOG,a West African peace-keeping force that wasactive in Liberia duringthe war. It also helped endthe conflict by grantingasylum to Liberianwarlord Charles Taylor in2003.—MNA/Reuters

ABU DHABI, 22 Nov —The Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) willestablish a unified bloodtransfusion centre withinfive years to meet a possiblesurge in demand in case ofa crisis, local newspaperGulf News reported onWednesday.

Health officials ofGCC countries will meetnext February in Riyadh todevelop a strategic plan forthe proposed unified bloodtransfusion centre,including the protocol forblood safety, the equipmentto be used in bloodtransfusions and the

GCC to establishunified blood transfusion centre

necessary laboratory testsin screening blood, said thereport.

“All Gulf countrieshave enough stock in theirblood banks, but it isimportant to have anagreement between themso that we can be preparedto meet any unexpected risein demand for blood in caseof a crisis,” Nasser KhalifaAl Budoor, member of theExecutive Board of HealthMinister’s Council forGCC, was quoted assaying.

GCC will introduce aunified cooperative strategyto support the safety of

blood transfusion in thebloc’s six membercountries, said Ameen AlAmiri, assistant under-secretary of the Ministry ofHealth of the United ArabEmirates (UAE).

Introducing efficientequipment for screeningblood is vital for theproposed unified bloodtransfusion centre, Al Amirisaid, adding “there are afew countries that focus onthe quantity of blood insteadof its quality.

This type of negligencecreates a danger and shouldbe stopped”.

MNA/Xinhua

OTTAWA, 22 Nov—Massive retirement,competition from the AirForce and foreign airlines,and low salaries arecontributing to a seriousshortage of pilots in Canada,

Canada faces serious pilot shortage

WASHINGTON, 22 Nov— Orbiting about 350kilometres above theEarth, the crew of theInternational SpaceStation has sent home aspecial Thanksgivingmessage, broadcast onNASA TV on Wednesday.

“We wanted to sayhappy Thanksgiving. Wefeel particularly privilegedand thankful to beup here on boardthe station thisThanksgiving,” saidExpedition 16 CommanderPeggy Whitson.

“We’re lookingforward to our activitiesthis week. We have a busyweek with spacewalks,and we hope that you alsoare having a greatThanksgiving,” she said.

Flight Engineer

“Space Station” astronautssend Thanksgiving message

Daniel Tani said “I’mthankful that I’m safelyon the space station,conducting our missionsuccessfully and having agreat time doing it.”

The astronautsshowed some of the foodfor their holiday dinner,including shrimp cocktail,an astronaut favourite.Smoked turkey, cornbreaddressing and “lots of hotsauce” are also on themenu.

MNA/Xinhua

Canadian BroadcastingCorporation (CBC)reported Wednesdayquoting experts.

The shortage ofcommercial pilots aroundthe world is looming large

in Canada, where flightclasses have T h eInter-national CivilAviation Organizationpredicts at least 15,000new pilots will be neededevery year in the next twodecades around the world.Canada and the UnitedStates will need at least60,000 new pilots by 2020,according to the CBC.

An airline in theUnited States last monthhad to cancel 4 per cent ofits flights because no flightcrews were available.Those problems maycome to Canada soon, thereport cited a flight schoolowner as saying.

The flight businesshas lost its appeal to theyounger generationdiscouraged by lowstarting salaries and sky-high training costs, StefanCorriveau of AlgonquinFlight Centre in NorthBay, Ontario said.

MNA/Xinhua

Harun Bin Jalil from Malaysia carves an icesculpture during Russia’s first open cup for snowand ice sculpturing in the city of Salekhard, some2000 km (1242 miles) north east of Moscow, on 22

Nov, 2007. —INTERNET

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM10


UNITED NATIONS, 22 Nov — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warnedon Wednesday there was “a real possibility of a confrontation” if Lebanon failsto elect a president by the end of this week.

German policeinvestigate

death in Venice BERLIN, 22 Nov —

German police said onMonday they wereinvestigating the death ofa 44-year-old womanfound in the boot of herboyfriend’s rental car inVenice.

The woman’slifelong dream was to visitVenice, Germany’s top-selling newspaper Bildsaid on Tuesday.

German police saidthey suspect the womanwas killed in her flat in thesouthwestern Germantown of Heilbronn. Apolice spokesman saidthey may seek to extraditeher 29-year-old boyfriend,who was detained bypolice in Italy.

MNA/Reuters

Six wounded in restaurantbombing in Thai south BANGKOK, 22 Nov — Six people were wounded in

a bomb attack at a restaurant in Yala’s provincial seatin far southern Thailand on Tuesday night, media herereported Wednesday.

Among the injured, two has been released fromhospital, while the other four stayed for treatment,according to a report by Thai News Agency.

Witnesses said the suspected bomber posed as acustomer and placed the bomb under a table. He isbelieved to have detonated the bomb by mobile phoneafter leaving the restaurant.

Yala, along with neighbouring provincesNarathiwat and Pattani in Thailand’s southernmostregion, has been plagued with a renewed round ofinsurgent violence since nearly four years ago, whichkilled over 2,500 people in the region.

MNA/Xinhua

Car bomb in Iraq’s Ramadi kills 6

ElBaradei set to defendIran progress at IAEA meet

Putin appoints newDeputy Interior

Minister MOSCOW, 22 Nov —

Russian PresidentVladimir Putin appo-inted Yevgeny ShkolovDeputy InteriorMinister, the KremlinPress service reported onWednesday.

Earlier in the day,Putin signed a decree tothis effect. Under thedecree, Shkolov has beenrelieved of his duties aschief of the InteriorMinistry economicsecurity department andappointed Deputy InteriorMinister, the Press servicesaid.

Shkolov was born inDresden, GermanDemocratic Republic, on31 August, 1955. Hegraduated from theIvanovo Energy Institute.

MNA/Reuters

UNSG warns against“confrontation” in Lebanon

Deeply dividedLebanese leaders havepostponed the presidentialelection until Friday toallow more time to agree asuccessor to the pro-Syrian incumbent, whoseterm expires that day.

The delay prolongeda political crisis that manyfear could lead to rivaladministrations andviolence in a country stillrebuilding from its 1975-

1990 civil war. The Armystrengthened security onTuesday and urged peopleto avoid internal strife.

Parliament had beendue to convene onWednesday to elect asuccessor to PresidentEmile Lahoud, butParliament Speaker NabihBerri said in a statementthe vote would be delayeduntil Friday, the fourthpostponement since

September. Ban visited Lebanon

last week to urge politicalleaders to come to anagreement on a candidate.

“Should the partiesfail to reach agreement by24 November, there is areal possibility of aconfrontation,” Ban toldan informal meeting of theUN General Assembly onWednesday.

MNA/Reuters

US defends “AP”photographer’s

detention in Iraq

British father, son drownoff Spanish beach

An Iraqi Army soldier searches a house during a raid operation on theoutskirts of the shrine city of Karbala. At least 34 people have been killed in

fierce gun battles as suspected Al-Qaeda fighters, some dressed as Iraqisoldiers, attacked three villages, officials said recently.—INTERNET

BAGHDAD, 22 Nov —The US military onWednesday defended its19-month detention of anaward-winning Asso-ciated Press photo-grapher it has accused ofworking with insurgentsin Iraq, saying he remaineda “security threat”.

Bilal Hussein, whobegan working with thenews agency in 2004, hasbeen in US military

custody in Iraq since hewas detained in April2006 in the city ofRamadi, 110 kilometres(68 miles) west ofBaghdad, according to theAP website.

The AP has called forthe immediate release ofthe photographer, whowas part of an AP phototeam that won a Pulitzerprize in 2005.

MNA/Reuters

MADRID, 22 Nov —A British father drownedtrying in vain to save hisfive-year-old son fromrough seas near Barcelonaon Wednesday, havingalready rescued his olderboy, aged 7.

The boys hadprobably jumped into thesea or been swept away bylarge waves on a beach atTossa del Mar, north ofBarcelona, in the morning,a Spanish emergencyservices spokeswomansaid.

The bodies of the boyand the 32-year-old man,who were not named, werefound by a coastguard boat

about 20 metres (66 feet)from the coast. The olderboy, suffering fromhypothermia, was taken toa local hospital with hismother, who was sufferingfrom shock.

MNA/Reuters

VIENNA, 22 Nov —The UN nuclear watchdogchief is set to urge fullbacking for an Irantransparency plan at anagency governors meetingon Thursday after Westernpowers said Teheran mustdo more to allay fearsabout its atomic agenda.

Whether a newInternational AtomicEnergy Agency report onIran’s compliance with apledge to clarify pastsecret nuclear work to theIAEA is cause for newhope or further scepticismwill be debated by theagency’s 35-nationBoard of Governors.

It will be a matter ofinterpretation. Westernboard members will dwell

on Iran’s defiant campaignto enrich uranium despitethe transparency plan,diplomats said, whiledeveloping nations willhighlight Iranian stepstowards openness andwarn against risingWestern pressure they feelcould undo the process.

The West fears Iranis covertly trying to buildatom bombs. Iran says itwants only to produceelectricity from uraniumenrichment.

IAEA chiefMohamed ElBaradei,concerned by US-ledcriticism of the plan’slimitations and resolve toisolate Iran with harshersanctions, is likely to stressthe plan is on track and

warrants full support, aUN official said.

MNA/Reuters

BAGHDAD, 22 Nov — A car bombkilled at least six people, includingwomen and children, in the Iraqi city ofRamadi on Wednesday in a rare attackon a region that has become one of thesafest in the country.

Major Mohammed Arak said aparked car exploded outside a courthousebeing guarded by police in the middle ofRamadi, capital of western AnbarProvince. A separate police source saida suicide car bomber was responsible.

“Most of the people who werekilled or wounded were civilians. I sawat least six bodies, mostly women andchildren,” Arak told Reuters, addingthe death toll could rise.

A third police source put the deathtoll at four, with 15 wounded.

The number of car bombs and otherattacks in Anbar has plunged since SunniArab tribal sheikhs joined forces withthe US military to drive al-Qaedamilitants out of a region that had oncebeen the heart of the Sunni Arabinsurgency in Iraq.

US military commanders have saidthat some days have passed in Anbarrecently without a single attack.

The Anbar model of enlisting mento join local police units organized bytribal sheikhs has been expanded to otherparts of Iraq, notably around Baghdad,and has been credited with helpingreduce violence in those areas.

Ramadi lies 110 kilometres (70miles) west of Baghdad.

MNA/Reuters

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM11


A D V E R T I S E M E N T

New York subway constructiongets $1.3b federal funding

NEW YORK, 21 Nov—The long-stalled constructionof a subway along the Second Avenue in Manhattan,New York, finally got 1.3 billion US dollars in federalaid on Monday, NY1 news channel reported.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor EliotSpitzer joined US Federal Transit Administrator JamesSimpson at Grand Central Terminal on Mondaymorning to celebrate the federal funding for the firstphase of the project.

This phase would include stops at 92nd, 86th, 72ndand 63rd Streets.Preliminary work on the project beganin April. Construction on the first phase is expected tocost more than four billion dollars. The first section ofthe subway line is scheduled to open in 2014.TheSecond Avenue subway has been a goal oftransportation advocates for more than 70 years.

Originally proposed in 1929 as part of a massiveexpansion of the subway system, work on the linenever commenced as the Great Depression crushed theeconomy of the state and country.—MNA/Xinhua

Jordan inaugurates $125mwater treatment project

Striking screenwriters rally inHollywood

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF MYANMARMINISTRY OF RAIL TRANSPORTATION

MYANMA RAILWAYS

INVITATION TO SEALED TENDER

1. Sealed Tender is invited by Myanma Railways, for supply of the following Stores which will be purchased in Euro.Sr.No Tender No Description Quantity i. 15(T)11/MR(E) (i) Rail Gang Car with 20 Nos

07-08(Euro) Tools and Accessories (ii) Ballast Dumper Wagon with 40 Nos Standard Tools and Accessories

Closing Date/Time-27-12-2007 (Thursday) (12:00) Hours2. Tender documents are available at the office of the Deputy General Manager (Supply), Myanma Railways, Corner of 51st Street and Merchant Street, Bota- htaung, Yangon starting from 23.11.2007 during the office hours.3. For further details please call: 291982, 291985, 291994 (201555 Ext 601,605,613)

Deputy General Manager Supply Department, Myanma Railways, Botahtaung, Yangon

AMMAN, 21 Nov—A125-million-US-dollarwater treatment projecthas been officiallyinaugurated in Jordan in abid to meet increasingwater demand resultingfrom population growth,The Jordan Timesreported on Monday.

The Zara-Maeen WaterTreatment and Con-veyance Project isdesigned to increasepotable water supplies tothe capital and the DeadSea area by 40 per cent,directly benefiting half a

million people. According to the report,

the project is nowoperating at full capacityand providing Jordan’scapital of Amman with 45million cubic metres ofwater annually.

“The Kingdom’s rapidsocial and economicdevelopment led to anincrease in water demand,necessitating decision-makers to arrive atworkable and availablesolutions for the country’swater problems and for-mulating strategies toproperly respond to watersector needs,” Minister ofWater and IrrigationMohammad Shatnawiwas quoted as saying.

The project, 74 per centfunded by the UnitedStates Agency for Inter-national Development(USAID), includes apretreatment system, adesalination plant, sixpumping stations, and anadvanced monitoring andcontrol system.

The Zara-Maeen plantis one of the country’swater megaprojects in-tended to address waterdeficit, which is expectedto rise to 350 millioncubic metres by the year2020.

Jordan is consideredone of the 10 countries inthe world with the scarcestof water resources.

MNA/Xinhua

LOS ANGELES, 22 Nov— Striking screenwritersmarched downHollywood Boulevardbehind a phalanx ofTeamsters trucks onTuesday in a show of forcebefore labour leadersresume contract talks with

major studios next week. The rally on the 16th

day of the strike, whichfirst hit televisionproductions hardest, cameas movie studios reportedpostponing two morefilms due to the walkout,one starring Johnny Depp

and another with PenelopeCruz and Sophia Loren.

Warner Bros. saidDepp’s adventure drama“Shantaram”, which wasscheduled to beginshooting in India inFebruary, has been put onhold due to “strike-relatedscript issues” thatthreatened to pushproduction into India’smonsoon season.

Another high-profilefeature taking a hit wasthe Weinstein Co’s“Nine”, a musicaladaptation of the FedericoFellini classic “8-1/2” tobe directed by RobMarshall and starringCruz, Loren and JavierBardem. — MNA/Reuters

Indonesian sailors

paint their boat, a

traditional wooden

trading ship known as

a Bugis Boat on 19

Nov, 2007 in Jakarta,

Indonesia. The boats

are used mainly for

trading in lumber.

INTERNET

Swiss firm Vitol pleadsguilty in UN oil/food case NEW YORK, 22 Nov—

Swiss commoditiestrading company Vitolpleaded guilty to in-volvement in a scheme topay kickbacks to Iraq inconnection with the UNoil-for-food programme,the Manhattan DistrictAttorney said on Tuesday.

In pleading guilty togrand larceny, Vitol willpay restitution of 13million US dollars to Iraqand pay 4.5 million USdollars to cover the cost ofprosecution, prosecutorRobert Morgenthau saidin a statement.

Vitol, one of the

world’s largest in-dependent physical oiltrading companies, paid13 million US dollars inkickbacks to Iraqi officialsunder Saddam Hussein inconnection with oilpurchases and allowedfalse representations to bemade to the UnitedNations that no kickbackswere paid, Morgenthausaid. The UN oil-for-foodprogramme was estab-lished to help Saddam’sIraq sell oil to buyhumanitarian supplieswhile it was otherwiseunder UN sanctions dueto its 1990 invasion ofKuwait. It ran from 1996to 2003. A UN-com-missioned inquiry headedby former US FederalReserve Chairman PaulVolcker found theprogramme was corruptedby 2,200 companies in 66countries that paid 1.8billion US dollars inkickbacks to Iraqi officialsto win supply deals.

MNA/Reuters

1,800-year-old tombsfound in Guangzhou

GUANGZHOU, 22 Nov—Ten tombs, some of whichdate back 1,800 years, have been discovered during theconstruction of new apartment blocks just outside thedowntown area of Guangzhou, south China.

Archaeologists excavated the site and found half ofthe tombs were built in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220AD) or Tang Dynasty (618-907). Others are believedto belong to the Jin (317-581), Yuan (1271-1368),Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

All the tombs, covering an area of 1,000 squaremetres, had underground chambers either built frombrick or wood and mud. The excavation was conductedby the Guangzhou Archaeological Research Institutefrom October to early November.

The archaeologists also unearthed 125 historicalartifacts, including pottery utensils, China,lacquerwork, bronze and jade ornaments, said MaJianguo, an expert with the institute.— MNA/Xinhua

Three dead as Colombiangovernor escapes bomb attack

BOGOTA, 22 Nov — A provincial Colombiangovernor escaped unharmed but a soldier was killedwhen guerillas detonated a bomb outside the politician’sresidence in Cauca late on Monday in a rare urbanattack, authorities said.

Four soldiers were wounded and two rebels killedin combat when troops discovered the bombers outsidethe residential complex in Cauca, a strategic region fordrug and arms smuggling to the Pacific coast and closeto Ecuador’s border. — MNA/Reuters

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM12


LONDON, 22 Nov —A Ghanaian man wassentenced to 33 years injail on Tuesday forhelping plot botched al-Qaeda-inspired suicideattacks in London in July2005.

Manfo KwakuAsiedu was sentenced bya court in the Britishcapital after earlieradmitting a charge ofconspiracy to causeexplosions over the failedbombings.

The attacks wereattempted two weeksafter British Islamistsuicide bombers killed 52people on three

BRUSSELS, 21 Nov — The European Commissionurged Japan on Tuesday to stop a hunt it said could killup to 1,000 mink, fin and humpback whales.

“There is no need to use lethal means to obtainscientific information about whales,” the EuropeanUnion executive said in a statement, noting that fin andhumpback whales were classified as endangered bythe World Conservation Union.

“The European Commission urges Japan toreconsider its decision and stop the hunt,” it said.

A Japanese whaling fleet left on Sunday for anexpedition that activists say will for the first timetarget humpbacks.

The United States has also urged Japan to “refrain”from the trip. Japan says whaling is a cherished culturaltradition and says the hunt is for research purposes.

Whale meat ends up in Japanese supermarkets andrestaurants.— MNA/Reuters

London suicide bomb plotter given33 years in jail

EU urges Japanto stop whale hunt

Bird flu found inmarket near Saudi

capital RIYADH, 22 Nov — Bird flu has been found in

birds at a poultry market on the outskirts of the Saudicapital Riyadh, newspapers reported on Tuesday.

Al-Watan newspaper carried photographs of anAgriculture Ministry team in masks and white coats inthe Aziziya market south of Riyadh, saying bird flucases had been found there. It was not clear what strainof bird flu had been detected.

The discovery comes just a few weeks beforenearly two million faithful arrive for the annual hajpilgrimage season in Mecca.

Arab News said birds had been culled in the areaafter four cases of bird flu were found during a randominspection.

Agriculture and Health Ministry officials werenot available for comment.

Saudi authorities last week culled 50,000 birds ata poultry farm in al-Kharj, 150 kilometres (94 miles)south of Riyadh, after 1,500 birds died of unspecifiedcauses.

Officials said this week 220,000 birds have beenculled so far, as teams combed other areas near thecapital which has a population of around four million.

MNA/Reuters

underground trains and abus in London in earlyJuly.

Four men linked toAsiedu — Muktah SaidIbrahim, Yassin HassanOmar, RamziMohammed and HusseinOsman — tried todetonate hydrogenperoxide-based bombs onJuly 21, but theirhomemade devices failedto explode and no onewas killed.

They were jailed fora minimum of 40 yearseach but a jury failed toreach a verdict againstAsiedu and another man,Adel Yahya. Yahya was

jailed for nearly sevenyears earlier this monthafter pleading guilty to alesser offence.

Asiedu had beendue to face a re-trial butpleaded guilty at the OldBailey, London’s maincriminal court, onNovember 9.

He was supposed tobe carrying a fifth bombon the day but ended updumping the rucksackwith the device in a parkin north London. Hedenied losing his nerveand said he just wanted

URUMQI, 22 Nov— Anunderground fire that hasconsumed more than12.43 million tons of coalin northwest China hasbeen extinguished aftermore than 50 years.

The Coalfield FireFighting Project Office ofXinjiang Uygur Autono-mous Region announcedthe fire in the Terak fieldwas finally out, saving an

Underground coal seam fire put outafter 50 years in N-W China

estimated 651 million tonsof coal from burning.

Officials would closelymonitor the coal seam forseveral years and submita final report in 2009 toregional and nationalauthorities, said Cai Zhon-gyong, deputy head of theoffice.

The fire, covering

923,500 square metres,was fuelled by coal morethan 100 metres under-ground.

It released more than70,000 tons of toxic gas,including sulfur dioxideand carbon monoxide eachyear since it started in theearly 1950s, Cai said.

The project office took

more than three years tofight the fire at a cost ofmore than 89 millionyuan.

“First, we drilled intothe burning coal bed andthen poured water andslurry into it to lower thetemperature,” said MiaoPu, head of the fire fight-ing team.—MNA/Xinhua

South Korea eyes moon orbiter in 2020, landing 2025

The Soyuz-FG space rocket in October 2007

file photo. South Korea on Tuesday announced

an ambitious plan to join Asia’s space race by

launching a lunar orbiter by 2020 and sending

a probe to the moon five years after that.

INTERNET

Residents andgovernment biologistsinspect the corpse of a12-tonne minke whalethat was found dead

on a beach of theArapiuns River at Sao

Jose do Arapixuna,near Santarem in the

heart of Brazil’sAmazon region , on 20

Nov, 2007.INTERNET

to get rid of the bomb. A few days after the

failed attacks he handedhimself in to police. Hesaid in court he had thenlied to detectives on an“epic scale”.

During the trial heturned on his co-conspirators, con-tradicting their defencethat the plot was a hoaxdesigned as a publicitystunt, meaning he had tobe seated separately fromthe other accused in thedock.

MNA/Reuters

SEOUL, 22Nov —South Korea plans tolaunch a lunar probe in2020 and make a moonlanding by 2025 under anew space project thatwill develop indigenousrockets to put satellitesinto orbit, the Science

Ministry said onTuesday.

The lunar probeprogramme will be basedon a rocket South Korea isdeveloping at a cost of 3.6trillion won (3.9 billionUS dollars) in the nextdecade.

South Korea isbehind regional powersJapan and China in thespace race.

China became onlythe third country to launcha man into space on itsown rocket in 2003 andput its first lunar probeinto orbit in earlyNovember.

Japan’s first lunarprobe began orbiting themoon in October, fouryears behind schedule dueto technical glitches.

MNA/Reuters

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM13


S P O R T S

Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Saeed Al Dawsari (C)fights for the ball with Japan's Koki Mizuno (L)and Toshihiro Aoyama during the 2008 Beijing

Olympic Games qualifying soccer match in Tokyoon 21 Nov, 2007.—INTERNET

Paraguay’s Enrique Vera (R) fights for the ball withChile’s Hugo Droguett during their 2010 World Cupqualifying soccer match at Nacional stadium in Santiago on 21 Nov, 2007.—INTERNET

Donadoni says Italy door still open for Del Piero

Liverpool striker latestplayer to be burgled

LONDON, 21 Nov —Dutch striker Dirk Kuythas become the latest Liv-erpool player to be bur-gled, police said on Tues-day.

Thieves broke into the27-year-old's home in theLiverpool suburb ofWoolton last Thursdaywhile he was on interna-tional duty.

Merseyside Policeconfirmed they were in-vestigating a burglary inWoolton, but would notcomment on what hadbeen taken.

Earlier this year, thehome of Liverpool’s goal-keeper Pepe Reina wasburgled as he helped theclub reach the Champi-

ons League final. The Spanish interna-

tional, who saved two spotkicks in the semifinalshootout against Chelsea,had a number of items sto-len from his home inWoolton.

The player's PorscheCayenne was taken andlater found burnt out. Alsotaken was a Bang &Olufsen entertainmentsystem, paperwork andjewellery.

Team mates JerzyDudek, Daniel Agger, Pe-ter Crouch and FlorentSinama-Pongolle, as wellas Everton's Andy van derMeyde, were all burgledlast year.

MNA/Reuters

ROME (Italy), 21 Nov—Italy coach RobertoDonadoni said on Tues-day that he has not perma-nently closed the door onJuventus strikerAlessandro Del Piero.

Donadoni dropped DelPiero in the latter stages ofthe Euro 2008 qualifica-tion campaign and put hisfaith in Udinese’s AntonioDi Natale, who made adifference with his trickyruns and ability to play onthe left.

The coach said he willnot make any big changesto the squad that qualifiedfor Euro 2008 with a gameto spare after a 2-1 winover Scotland in Glasgowon Saturday.

But he also stressedthere is still hope for Del

Piero and for 25-year-oldforward Antonio Cassano,who is trying to revive hiscareer during a loan stintat Sampdoria after failingto make an impression atReal Madrid.

“It depends on Cassanoand Del Piero, on theirheads first of all and thenon their legs,” Donadonitold Rai radio.

“My bad luck, if youlike, is that I have so manygood players at my dis-posal.”

With Euro 2008 quali-fication in the bag,Donadoni is expected torotate his squad forWednesday’s Group Bgame at home to the FaroeIslands.

The Azzurri coach be-trayed some nerves about

the group Italy will behanded in the draw forJune’s finals in Austria andSwitzerland.

“We could be very un-lucky and get a really hardgroup,” he said. “WithFrance (probably) inseedings pot four, you cansee that luck will play abig role.”

MNA/Reuters

England’s Peter Crouch (L) stretches to score hissides second goal during their Euro 2008 Group

E qualifying soccer match against Croatia atWembley stadium in Londonon 21Nov, 2007. — INTERNET

Survey shows S Africansready for 2010 World Cup

JOHANNESBURG,21 Nov— The majority of SouthAfricans believe theircountry will be ready forthe 2010 FIFA World Cup,according to a survey re-sult released on Tuesday.

TNS Research Surveysconducted a study in Mayand June this year on 2,000adults to determine what theirviews on the 2010 WorldCup were. TNS spokesmanNeil Higgs said on Tuesdaythat 63 per cent of SouthAfricans showed optimismabout “our readiness for theWorld Cup”, the SAPA newsagency reported.

This was an increasefrom August last yearwhen only 59 per cent of

people thought that SouthAfrica would be ready.

“There has been an in-creasingly positive trendover the past 21 months.In September 2005, only40 per cent felt we wouldbe ready,” said Higgs.Theresults were released on theeve of the FIFA’s 2010World Cup PreliminaryDraw in Durban on Sun-day, which will determinethe pairings and groups forthe football showpiece forthe first time in Africa. TNSurged the 2010 World CupLocal Organizing Commit-tee (LOC) to dispel nega-tivity around South Africahosting the soccer event.

MNA/Xinhua

England Euro hopes ended in 3-2 loss to CroatiaLONDON, 22 Nov —

England's hopes of a placein the Euro 2008 finalsdisappeared at Wembleyon Wednesday when theylost 3-2 to Croatia afterfighting back from con-ceding two early goals topull level at 2-2.

Instead of hanging onto the point that wouldhave secured their placein Austria and Switzer-land, they conceded athird goal 13 minutesfrom time, allowing Rus-sia to steal into secondplace in Group E andqualify with Croatia.

It will be the first timesince 1984 that Englandmiss out on the EuropeanChampionship finals andthe first time since the1994 World Cup that theyhave failed to qualify fora major tournament —putting the future of coach

Steve McClaren in doubt. Former England cap-

tain David Beckham, asecond-half substitute,said: “This is a big set-back, not just for the play-ers but the nation...Wehave to show the Englishway which is to fightback.”

Croatia coach SlavenBilic said: “We are sim-ply a much better team,tonight we were the betterteam.”

The home crowd wasstunned after eight min-utes when Scott Carson,controversially chosen ingoal after making his de-but in a friendly only lastweek, allowed a specula-tive shot by Niko Kranjcarto skid off him and intothe net, and it looked allover when Ivica Olic dou-bled the lead six minuteslater.

England pulled levelwith a 56th-minute FrankLampard penalty followedby a great goal by strikerPeter Crouch, who ex-pertly controlled a crossfrom halftime substituteBeckham before volley-ing the equalizer.

Croatia, though, con-tinued to look dangerous

and won it in the 77th-minute when substituteMladen Petric lashed in ashot from the edge of thebox.

The Croatians will beamong the second seedswhen the draw for the fi-nals is made in Lucerne,Switzerland on Decem-ber 2.—MNA/Reuters

Portugal qualifyfor Euro 2008

after draw PORTO (Portugal), 22

Nov — Portugal clincheda place at the Euro 2008finals with a 0-0 drawagainst Finland onWednesday.

Portugal, runners-up onhome soil in 2004, neededa point to go through be-hind Poland in Group A.

“We did not expect manydifficulties (in qualifying)but we had many injuriesduring the campaign,” saidPortugal coach Luiz FelipeScolari, who returned to thebench after completing histhree-match ban for an as-sault on Serbian player IvicaDragutinovic in September.

“As for the future, wehave to improve with thereturn of our injured play-ers and prepare a goodteam for the finals.” In arainy match, neither sidehad many scoring oppor-tunities in the first half.

Brazilian-born de-fender Pepe, making hisdebut after being grantedPortuguese citizenship,headed the ball into Fin-land's net from a cross byRicardo Quaresma after19 minutes but the goalwas disallowed for a foulon keeper Jussi Jaaske-lainen.— MNA/Reuters

Germany close outcampaign with 0-0draw against Wales

FRANKFURT, 22 Nov —Germany and Walesplayed out a tame goallessdraw in their final Euro2008 qualifier on Wednes-day. Germany, long sinceassured of qualifying forthe finals along withGroup D winners CzechRepublic, created a hand-ful of good chances in thefirst half but the matchpetered out after the break.

Wales, with nothingriding on the game, com-peted well enough butrarely threatened JensLehmann's goal. The clos-est they came was in the35th minute when CarlFletcher flashed a shotwide from outside the area.Germany had alreadywasted the game’s bestopportunities by that stage.

MNA/Reuters

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM14


WEATHER

*R 489 Published by the News and Periodicals Enterprise, Ministry of Information, Union of Myanmar. Edited and printed at The New Light of Myanmar Press,No 22/30 Strand Road at 43rd Street, Yangon. Cable Newlight, PO Box No. 43, Telephones: Editors 392308, Manager 392226, Circulation 392304, Advertisement 392223,Accounts 392224, Administration 392225, Production/Press 392369

Thursday, 22 November, 2007Summary of observations recorded at 09:30

hours MST: During the past 24 hours, rain or thun-dershowers have been scattered in Rakhine State andBago Division, isolated in Shan State, upper Sagaingand Ayeyawady Divisions and weather has been partlycloudy in the remaining areas. Night temperatures were(4ºC) below November average temperatures in upperSagaing Division, (3ºC) to (4ºC) above Novemberaverage temperatures in Shan, Rakhine and KayahStates, Mandalay, Magway, Bago and AyeyawadyDivisions and about November average temperaturesin the remaining areas. The noteworth amounts of rain-fall recorded were Sittwe (1.06) inches, Thayawady(0.95) inch and Heho (0.24) inch. The significant nighttemperatures was Hakha (6ºC).

Maximum temperature on 21-11-2007 was 93ºF.Minimum temperature on 22-11-2007 was 70ºF. Rela-tive humidity at 09:30 hours MST on 22-11-2007 was80%. Total sunshine hours on 21-11-2007 was (7.1)hours approx.

Rainfall on 22-11-2007 was (Nil) at Mingaladon,Kaba-Aye and Central Yangon. Total rainfall since 1-1-2007 was (136.46) inches at Mingaladon, (140.94)inches at Kaba-Aye and (144.29) inches at CentralYangon. Maximum wind speed at Yangon (Kaba-Aye)was (8) mph from South at (13:00) hours MST on 21-11-2007.

Bay inference: Weather is partly cloudy to cloudyin the Andaman Sea, South and East Central Bay andgenerally fair elsewhere in the Bay of Bengal.

Forecast valid until evening of 23-11-2007: Rainor thundershowers are likely to be scattered inTaninthayi Division, isolated in Shan, Chin and RakhineStates, upper Sagaing, Bago, Ayeyawady and YangonDivisions and weather will be partly cloudy in theremaining areas. Degree of certainty is (60)%.

State of the sea: Seas will be moderate in Myanmarwaters.

Outlook for subsequent two days: Likelihood ofcontinuation of rain or thundershowers in the Southernand Eastern Myanmar areas.

Forecast for Nay Pyi Taw and neighbouringarea for 23-11-2007: Partly cloudy.

Forecast for Yangon and neighbouring areafor 23-11-2007: Possibility of isolated rain or thunder-showers. Degree of certainty is (40%).

Forecast for Mandalay and neighbouring areafor 23-11-2007: Partly cloudy.

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qdÎmμezatik' tipi!kDr'qdÎmμezatik' tipi!kDr'qdÎmμezatik' tipi!kDr'qdÎmμezatik' tipi!kDr'qdÎmμezatik' tipi!kDr'

DmμB‹agårik'DmμB‹agårik'DmμB‹agårik'DmμB‹agårik'DmμB‹agårik'

Sraeta\Sraeta\Sraeta\Sraeta\Sraeta\

Bd∂N †wisit†qaraBiwMfBd∂N †wisit†qaraBiwMfBd∂N †wisit†qaraBiwMfBd∂N †wisit†qaraBiwMfBd∂N †wisit†qaraBiwMf

prit\tra;eta\prit\tra;eta\prit\tra;eta\prit\tra;eta\prit\tra;eta\

7:25 am2. To be healthy exercise

7:30 am3. Morning news

7:40 am4. Nice and sweet song

8:00 am5. lOp\r˙a;pMu�pc\sit\ep¥a\rWc\lOp\r˙a;pMu�pc\sit\ep¥a\rWc\lOp\r˙a;pMu�pc\sit\ep¥a\rWc\lOp\r˙a;pMu�pc\sit\ep¥a\rWc\lOp\r˙a;pMu�pc\sit\ep¥a\rWc\

8:15 am6. At^;�pioc\p∑Át^;�pioc\p∑Át^;�pioc\p∑Át^;�pioc\p∑Át^;�pioc\p∑´

8:20 am

7. The mirror images of

musical oldies

8:30 am

8. International news

8:45 am

9. English for everyday

use

4:00 pm

1. Martial song

4:15 pm

2. Song to uphold

National Spirit

4:30 pm

3. Demonstration

exercise for correct

pronuncation

4:40 pm

4. Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\

pvaer; Rup\�mc\qMÂka;pvaer; Rup\�mc\qMÂka;pvaer; Rup\�mc\qMÂka;pvaer; Rup\�mc\qMÂka;pvaer; Rup\�mc\qMÂka;

qc\Kn\;sa-dutiyN˙s\qc\Kn\;sa-dutiyN˙s\qc\Kn\;sa-dutiyN˙s\qc\Kn\;sa-dutiyN˙s\qc\Kn\;sa-dutiyN˙s\

(�mn\masaAT;�po)(�mn\masaAT;�po)(�mn\masaAT;�po)(�mn\masaAT;�po)(�mn\masaAT;�po)

(�mn\masa)(�mn\masa)(�mn\masa)(�mn\masa)(�mn\masa)

4:55 pm

5. Song of national races

5:10 pm

6. �mn\masa �mn\maska;�mn\masa �mn\maska;�mn\masa �mn\maska;�mn\masa �mn\maska;�mn\masa �mn\maska;

5:25 pm

7. tn\eSac\tiuc\et;m¥a;tn\eSac\tiuc\et;m¥a;tn\eSac\tiuc\et;m¥a;tn\eSac\tiuc\et;m¥a;tn\eSac\tiuc\et;m¥a;

5:35 pm

8. Song of yesteryear

5:45 pm

9. {lk\et∑>�pK¥c\liu>}{lk\et∑>�pK¥c\liu>}{lk\et∑>�pK¥c\liu>}{lk\et∑>�pK¥c\liu>}{lk\et∑>�pK¥c\liu>}

(�Pio>ec∑siu;' �mt\ekqeAac\)(�Pio>ec∑siu;' �mt\ekqeAac\)(�Pio>ec∑siu;' �mt\ekqeAac\)(�Pio>ec∑siu;' �mt\ekqeAac\)(�Pio>ec∑siu;' �mt\ekqeAac\)

(dåRiuk\ta-Âkv\siu:)(dåRiuk\ta-Âkv\siu:)(dåRiuk\ta-Âkv\siu:)(dåRiuk\ta-Âkv\siu:)(dåRiuk\ta-Âkv\siu:)

6:00 pm

10. Evening news

6:30 pm

11. Weather report

6:35 pm

12. qutsMulc\erW a%\rc\qutsMulc\erW a%\rc\qutsMulc\erW a%\rc\qutsMulc\erW a%\rc\qutsMulc\erW a%\rc\

7:00 pm

13. Niuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑´

{erqmel;{erqmel;{erqmel;{erqmel;{erqmel;

ttiyK¥s\pMu�pc\}ttiyK¥s\pMu�pc\}ttiyK¥s\pMu�pc\}ttiyK¥s\pMu�pc\}ttiyK¥s\pMu�pc\}

(Apiuc\;-22)(Apiuc\;-22)(Apiuc\;-22)(Apiuc\;-22)(Apiuc\;-22)

8:00 pm

14. News

15. International news

16. Weather report

17. Niuic\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuic\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuic\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuic\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuic\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑´

{K¥s\q¨m¥a;} (Apiuc\;-4){K¥s\q¨m¥a;} (Apiuc\;-4){K¥s\q¨m¥a;} (Apiuc\;-4){K¥s\q¨m¥a;} (Apiuc\;-4){K¥s\q¨m¥a;} (Apiuc\;-4)

18. The next day’s

programme

Alarm triggered at Los Angeles Int’l Airport LOS ANGELES, 22 Nov — Cosmetics in a passenger’s luggage triggered an alarm, delaying check-in service

at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for about 45 minutes, authorities said Wednesday.

S Africa sees 2010 World Cup costsrise up to 20%

Airport policereceived a call from theTransportation SecurityAdministration around10:30 pm last night abouta suspicious item found in afemale passenger’ssuitcase, said LAXspokeswoman NancyCastles.

Just before 11 p.m.police located the passengerthrough her luggage i.d. tag.The woman was waiting ata boarding gate for a flightleaving at midnight forCentral America, Castlessaid.

The passenger wasbrought to the TSA office

and explained what was inher luggage. The suspiciousitem turned out to becosmetics, Castles said.

During theinvestigation, passengers inthe terminal remainedwhere they were andarriving travellers wereasked to stay outside, she

said. One side of the

terminal 2 continued toallow check-in, but ticketcounters and machines onthe other side experienceddelays of about 45 minutes,Castles said, adding that atno time was the terminalshut down.

Service throughout theentire terminal was back tonormal by 11:15 pm Castlessaid.

Terminal 2 servicesinternational flights from14 airlines, including AirCanada, Air Canada Jazz,Air China, Air France, AirNew Zealand, AviacsaAirline, Avianca Airlines,Hawaiian Airlines, KLMRoyal Dutch Airlines,LACSA Airlines,Northwest Airlines, TACAInternational Airlines,Virgin Atlantic and WestJet.

MNA/Xinhua

PRETORIA, 22 Nov —Projected costs for SouthAfrica’s preparations to hostthe 2010 soccer World Cupcould be up to 20 per centhigher due to factors such asrising steel and cementprices, the Deputy FinanceMinister said on Tuesday.

In a briefing in thecapital Pretoria, DeputyMinister of Finance JabuMoleketi said officials inthe nine host cities haddelivered cost escalationsbetween 2.8 billion rand(418 million US dollars)

and 3.4 billion rand abovewhat had been budgeted.

“These are some of theprojections that are comingin,” he said.

Moleketi added thatthe government planned toquestion and verify the costescalations and it wouldhave a clearer idea of theWorld Cup cost by the timeFinance Minister TrevorManuel presents thecountry’s budget inFebruary 2008.

The South AfricanGovernment has bud-

geted about 17.5 billionrand for the constructionand refurbishment ofsoccer stadiums and otherinfrastructure for thetournament.

Moleketi added thatthe government wasconfident that organizedlabour and workers whohave been demandinghigher wages andconcessions at stadiumwork sites would not“sabotage” thepreparations.

MNA/Reuters

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM15

14th Waxing of Tazaungmon 1369 ME Friday, 23 November, 2007

Myanmar delegation, Myanmar Tatmadaw shootingteam arrive back

YANGON, 22 Nov— Myanmar delegationled by member of the StatePeace and DevelopmentCouncil Lt-Gen MaungBo of the Ministry of De-fence that had attendedthe 8th Meeting of Headsof ASEAN Armed Forcesarrived back at YangonInternational Airport thisafternoon and so didMyanmar shooting teamled by Col Myo Myintthat had participated inthe 17th ASEAN ArmedForces Shooting Cham-pionship held in Thailandfrom 9 to 22 November.

Lt-Gen Myint

Swe of the Ministry ofDefence, Chairman ofYangon Division Peaceand Development Coun-cil Commander ofYangon Command Maj-Gen Hla Htay Win andsenior Military Officerswelcomed backMyanmar delegation andvictorious MyanmaTatmadaw shooting teamat the airport. Families ofDefence Services fromYangon and MingaladonStations accorded a rous-ing welcome to the victo-rious Myanma shootingteam.

MNA

NAY PYI TAW, 22 NOV — Mr Gambari, the special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General, released the statement of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on

her behalf in Singapore on 8 November.

Political parties, national race armed groups, which have returned to the legal fold, and State/Division delegates of the national race delegate group to the

National Convention are releasing announcements to express their disagreement and objection to the points in the statement.

Among the announcements sent to the dailies, those of Kayah State delegates and Ayeyawady Division delegates of the Delegate Group of National Races

to the National Convention, Thandaung Township Special Region Peaceful Association, Northern Thandaung Special Region Peace Group, Wunthanu NLD

(Union of Myanmar) and Union of Myanmar League for National Politics are as follows:-

Announcement of national race delegates from Kayah State to National ConventionDate: 22 November 2007

Kayah State delegates of the Delegate Group of National Races to the National Convention believe that the National Convention is the only forum where

political parties, national race organizations and all strata of the people can hold extensive discussions. We also believe that the fundamental principles and detailed

basic principles the National Convention has adopted reflect the wishes of all the national races. Our delegate group welcomes the formation of the Commission

for Drafting State Constitution and efforts to draft a constitution based on the fundamental principles and detailed basic principles.

It was learnt that Mr Gambari authorized by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi issued a statement in Singapore on 8 November.

As it is against our wishes, we cannot accept Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s statement designed to seek political gains, and we hereby announce that we support

the process of realizing the seven-step Road Map in line with the fundamental principles and detailed basic principles that the National Convention has already

adopted through discussions.

Delegates from Kayah State

Delegate Group of National Races

Kayah State and Ayeyawady Division national race delegatesto NC, Thandaung Township Special Region Peaceful Assoc,

Northern Thandaung Special Region Peace Group,Wunthanu NLD (Union of Myanmar), Union of Myanmar

League for National Politics issue announcements

Lt-Gen Myint Swe and CommanderMaj-Gen Hla Htay Win welcome theshooting team of Defence Services atYangon International Airport. — MNA

(See page 7)

23-11-07 NL 8/3/18, 12:47 AM16

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