Vice-President Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo …2012/01/24 · The opening ceremony was also...

Volume XIX, Number 278 1st Waxing of Tabodwe 1373 ME Tuesday, 24 January, 2012

Established 1914

Our Three MainNational Causes

* Non-disintegration ofthe Union

* Non-disintegration ofNational Solidarity

* Perpetuation ofSovereignty

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Jan—Vice-Presidentof the Republic of the Union of MyanmarThiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo left herefor Dawei yesterday to inspect progress ofDawei Special Economic Zone Project andregional development of Taninthayi Region.

Union Minister for Cooperatives andfor Livestock and Fisheries U Ohn Myint,Union Minister for Finance and Revenue UHla Tun, Union Minister for National Plan-ning and Economic Development U TinNaing Thein, Union Minister for Scienceand Technology U Aye Myint, Union Min-ister for Environmental Conservation andForestry U Win Tun, Union Minister forElectric Power No. 2 U Khin Maung Soe,Union Minister for Hotels and Tourism andfor Sports U Tint Hsan, Lt-Gen Thet NaingWin of Commander-in-Chief’s Office(Army), Commander of Coastal RegionCommand Maj-Gen Khin Maung Htay,Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Brig-GenKyaw Zan Myint, Deputy Minister for In-formation U Soe Win, Deputy Minister forAgriculture and Irrigation U Ohn Than,Deputy Minister for Rail TransportationThura U Thaung Lwin , Deputy Minister forConstruction U Soe Tint, Deputy Ministerfor Electric Power No. 1 U Myint Zaw,Deputy Minister for Transport U Win Shein,Deputy Minister for Communications, Postsand Telegraphs U Tint Lwin, Deputy Min-ister for Education U Aye Kyu, DeputyMinister for Health Dr Win Myint, PyithuHluttaw Representative from Dawei Con-stituency U Kyi Min, Advisor to the Presi-dent U Hset Aung, departmental heads andpersonnel accompanied the Vice-President on

Vice-President Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint OoVice-President Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Ooinspects progress of Dawei Special Economic Zoneinspects progress of Dawei Special Economic Zone

Project and regional development of Taninthayi RegionProject and regional development of Taninthayi Region

his tour.On arrival at Dawei Airport, the Vice-

President and his entourages were welcomedby Acting Region Chief Minister ofTaninthayi Region U Myat Ko, personnel andlocals.

Deputy Transport Minister U Win Shein,at the airport lounge, briefed the Vice-Presi-dent on current condition of Dawei Airport,annual flow of visitors, plans for extensionof runway, apron and buildings and availabil-ity of land plot so as to upgrade Dawei Air-port as international one and the acting re-gion chief minister made supplementary re-port.

The Vice-President coordinated essen-

tials, noting that Dawei region is bound tosee increased contacts with the internationalcommunity. He added that the airport had todeal with the doubled passengers in 2011 incomparison with 2010.He stressed the needfor implementation of airport extension worksto be in harmony with DaweiSpecial Economic Zone Project, pointing thatnot only domestic but alsoforeign visitors will be increasing uponcompletion of the special economic zoneproject. He then called personnel concernedfor systematic measures for comprehensive-ness of the airport in its extension by esti-mating the potential development of the re-gion.

The Vice-President and party proceededto Dawei Special Economic Zone where theywere welcomed by Chairman of Dawei Spe-cial Economic Zone Management Commit-tee Deputy Rail Transportation MinisterThura U Thaung Lwin and officials.

The Vice-President and party viewedprototypical miniatures of small, medium andlarge industries, administrative buildings, andhousings of the project at the briefing hall.

The Vice-President then inspectedsamples of middle-class housing, one of thethree kinds of housings to be built for the re-located villages and gave necessary instruc-tions.

(See page 8)

Vice-President Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo speaking with local residents at Laeshaung village monastery in Yebyu.—MNA

Vice-President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo inspects scale modelof Dawei Special Economic Zone Project.—MNA

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2 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Tuesday, 24 January, 2012

LOCAL SPORTS

PERSPECTIVESTuesday, 24 January, 2012

When breeze comes…Winter is coming to an end at last. Here and

there are songs of summer’s koels. Leaf budsappears to replace old and withered leaves. Therecomes the summer soon.

Fragrance of winter is still fresh. Old leaves arefalling in each breath of wind. Green mountains ata distance away have turned blue and then brown,drier and drier. Some forest fires can be seen atnight. Fire warnings come each night as summerapproaches. Fire is a good servant but a badmaster. “Thief hardly takes all but fire does,” aMyanmar saying goes. Fire could break out atany time, but it is most common in summer.

I recall hearing fire alert of U Ba Kyaw, thecrier of our village at my tender age.

“Esteemed villagers! Esteemed villagers! Now,Breeze comes as winter ends and summer comes.It is warned in advance to prepare water, sand,fire fighting tools, not to smoke and throw litcigars on road and to carefully extinguish cookingfire.”

Dry season raises the possibility of fireoutbreak. The fire outbreaks started from tossed-out cigars and dying fire are very common invillages.

Candles, lamps and oil on pans cause fireoutbreaks. Electric shocks, candles and mosquitocoils are sources of fire hazard in urban areas asdwellers use them while sleeping.

Urbanites should prevent against fire by caringelectric wires, restraining themselves from sleepingwhile lighting up candles and mosquito coils, usinggas containers systematically, and keeping fireextinguishers in every house.

Each and every individual should take firepreventive measures as summer breeze has come.

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Jan—Union Minister for Agricultureand Irrigation U Myint Hlaing visited 10th-mile hill nurseryof Myanma Agriculture Service at the entrance to Bagoyesterday morning.

He then visited the construction site of training schoolbeing built jointly by Myanma Industrial Crops DevelopmentEnterprise and Yunnan Agricultural Organization of Chinaand called for completion of the school ahead of the openseason.

The Union minister then inspected the condition of

Union A & I Minister inspects flood preventivemeasures in Bago Region

Minywa sluice gate at mile post No. 14/2 on Bago-SittoungTunnel in Minywa Village of Thanatpin Township andheard reports on preventive measures against annual floodsin Bago Region presented by personnel.

The Union Minister explained cultivation of Palethwehybrid rice plants nationwide and GAP system cultivationmethods. He inspected digging of Minywa-Paingkyonetunnel and met farmers at Kadote Phayagyi Village in DaikUTownship.

MNA

Traditional cane-ballcontest concludes

TATKON, 23 Jan—Tatkon Township Cane-ballEnthusiasts Group and Township Cane-ballSubcommittee jointly organized the traditionalcane-ball contest in Bayintnaung Ward on 8January.

Four teams participated in the contest.Ward administrator U Win Lwin and officials

awarded the winning team. Township Cane-ballSubcommittee Dr Win Latt presented best playeraward to U Thein Win of Shweyay-aye team.

Myanma Alin

Lashio University organizestrack and field contests

Invitational football tourney winds upPYINSALU, 23 Jan—The final of 25th inter-village invitational

football tournament of Kongyi Village in Pyinsalu Sub-Township,Labutta District, was held at the village football ground on 25December morning.

The second prize went to Nathagon Village-B and the first prize,to Thabyechaing Village. The football tournament organizingcommittee awarded the winners. Altogether 16 village teams participatedin the tournament.—Township IPRD

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Jan—Union Election Commission issued Announcement No. 7/2012 today.The translation of the announcement is as follows:-

Republic of the Union of MyanmarUnion Election Commission

Nay Pyi TawAnnouncement No. 7/2012

15th Waning of Pyatho, 1373 ME(23rd January, 2012)

Myanmar National Congress Party granted to register as political partyIt is hereby announced that Myanmar National Congress Party, headquartered at No. 84/A, Daw Thein Tin Street,

North Kandawlay Ward, Mingala Taungnyunt Township, Yangon Region, is granted to register in accord with Section9 of the Political Parties Registration Law, as of 23rd January, 2012. Its registration number is 50.

Sd/ Win Ko

Secretary Union Election Commission

Application for registration as political party granted

YANGON, 23 Jan—Myanmar Media Development Center(MMDC) of Forever Group Co Ltd opened Taste of TV courseat Myanma Radio and Television today, with addresses byDirector-General U Ye Htut of Information and PublicRelations Department, Head of Culture and Education Affairsof German Embassy Ms Katrin Fruhin Sfeld.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Director UMyint Aung of MRTV-4, Forever Group Co Ltd CEO U WinMaw, Executive Director Daw Khin Khin Lay, Director UKhin Maung Htay, Project Manager Patrick Benning of Dw-AKADEMIE, course instructors Ulrich Koehler and EllenRoethinger and officials.

The course covers journalism, script writing, makingpresentation, communication skills, camera shooting andvideo editing subjects.

Taste of TV course No. 1 jointly contributed by DeutscheWelle-Akademie of Germany and Asia Pacific Institute forBroadcasting Development based in Malaysia has admitted50 trainees to the course.

Similarly, course No. 2 will be opened in February withthe assistance of local experts.

MNA

Forever starts Taste of TV course

Labour Ministry closely cooperating with ILO onforced labour issues

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Jan—Union Minister for Labourand for Social Welfare, Reliefand Resettlement U AungKyi received a delegation ledby Executive Director MrGuy Ryder of the ILO at hisoffice here this morning.

They discussedmeasures for soonestenactment of Labour UnionLaw passed by PyidaungsuHluttaw and Myanmar’simplementation ofsuggestions of ILOConventions and meetingsof ILO executive bodies.

They exchanged viewson Myanmar’s democrati-zation process, efforts formaking peace with ethnicarmed groups, effectivenessof poverty alleviationscheme, gradually relaxingof grip over media, amnestyto prisoners and eradication

of forced labour nationwide.Deputy Labour Minister

U Myint Thein and the ILO

executive director signed theagreement to extendsupplementary under-

Deputy Labour Minister U Myint Thein and ILO Executive DirectorMr Guy Ryder sign agreement to extend supplementary understanding on

eradication of forced labour for further one year.—MNA

LASHIO, 21 Jan—The prize presentation for the Track andField Competition of Lashio University for 2011-2012academic year was held at the university’s football groundon 29 December.

Rector in-charge Dr Maung Maung, Pro-Rector Dr TunKhin and officials awarded the winners.

The 100-m and 800-m race began on 27 December, andshot-put event, on 28 December. Students participated in the1500-m javelin and discus event.—Kyemon

standing on eradication offorced labour for further oneyear.—MNA

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THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Tuesday, 24 January, 2012 3

Brits warned as Nigeria death toll hits 165afternoon PresidentGoodluck Jonathan visitedKano to see the destructionwreaked by Boko Haram forhimself. Witnesses havedescribed seeing dozens ofbodies piled up outside themain morgue after attacksat police stations, statebuildings and on streets,beginning on Fridayafternoon.

Authorities enforced a24-hour curfew in the city,with many people remaininghome as soldiers and policepatrolled the streets and setup roadblocks. The ForeignOffice updated its traveladvice for the Africancountry, advising againsttravel to Kano. The FCOwebsite said: “We adviseagainst all travel to Kano

LONDON, 23 Jan —Britons are being warnedagainst travelling to parts ofNigeria as the death toll froma series of terror attacksreached 165. The warningcame as another wave ofattacks swept Nigeria today,killing at least eleven people.Radical group Boko Haramhas claimed responsibility for

bombings in the northern cityof Kano that killed at least165 people on Friday.

At least 11 further peopledied in an attack in Nigeria’snorthern Bauchi Stateyesterday, less than 48 hoursafter Friday’s attacks in Kano,while several other attacksthroughout the countryclaimed no casualties. This

People run for safety after the bomb blasts in Kano,Nigeria, on 20 Jan, 2012.— INTERNET

The destroyed police headquarters in Kano, on 21 Jan,2012.— INTERNET

whilst the curfew remains inforce and for those in Kano toremain vigilant and toexercise caution.

“DFID (Department forInternational Development)and British Council havelimited their operations inKano whilst the curfew is inplace.”An official at the city’smain morgue said dead

bodies had been arriving sinceFriday night. Soldiers andpolice officers swarmedthroughout the city as thedeath toll rose. Boko Haramis campaigning to implementstrict Sharia law acrossNigeria, a multi-ethnic nationof more than 160 millionpeople.

Internet

WELLINGTON, 23 Jan— Asmall plane has crashed in aNew Zealand park, killingboth people aboard.Authorities say the two-seaterYak aircraft fell into a playingfield on Monday in the townof Feilding on the country’sNorth Island.

Police spokeswomanKim Perks says the plane leftfrom an airfield a few miles(kilometres) from the crashsite and was flying for about25 minutes before it wentdown. Perks says witnessessaw the private planeperforming acrobatics beforethe crash. Perks says the twomen believed to have beenaboard are widely known inthe region. Authorities arenot releasing their namespending notification of theirnext of kin. Investigators weretravelling to the scene of thecrash.— Internet

Plane crashes inNew Zealand,

killing twoaboard

Taleban releases horrific video of executionsof 15 Pakistani soldiers

ISLAMABAD, 23 Jan —Blindfolded and handcuffedto each other on a barrenhilltop, Pakistani soldierswait for death at the hands ofa merciless Taleban fighter.Fifteen men were lined up forexecution, the chilling scenecaptured on film by theTaleban for a video releasedas a warning to the Pakistaniarmy operating near theAfghan border. The FrontierCorps soldiers were seizedlast month in what the Talebansaid was an operation toavenge the deaths of militants

in Pakistan.The video shows one of

the killers from the PakistanTaleban, or TTP, holding anAK-47 rifle and speaking withfury about revenge. ‘Twelveof our comrades were besiegedand mercilessly martyred inthe Khyber Agency [area],’said the militant. ‘Our piouswomen were also targeted. ‘Toavenge those comrades, wewill kill these men. We warnthe government of Pakistanthat if the killing of our friendsis not halted, this will be thefate of you all.’

One of the abductedsoldiers, sitting alongside hiscomrades with their armsfolded and legs crossed in frontof Taleban banners, describeson the video how dozens ofmilitants stormed their fort inthe north-western TankDistrict of Pakistan. ‘Theyattacked us with rockets, killeda sentry,’ he said. ‘One ranaway. ‘The Taleban enteredthe fort and captured us withour weapons. They tied ourhands, put us in a Datsun andtook us away.’

Internet

Disturbing footage: Theparamilitary troops wereabducted by Pakistan’s

Taleban on 23 Decemberand in the video, they areshown to be handcuffed,blindfolded and lined up,before being shot at point-

blank range.—INTERNET

The USSAbraham

Lincoln and theUSS John Stennis

are in the Gulf.The Lincoln

moved throughthe Strait ofHormuz on

Sunday.INTERNET

After Iran threat, US aircraft carrier goesthrough Strait of Hormuz without incident

Ahmad Vahidi said in earlyJanuary, according to thesemi-official Fars NewsAgency. “Their presence doesnothing but create mayhem,and we never wanted them tobe present in the Persian Gulf.”

Teheran has threatenedto close the Strait of Hormuz,the only outlet to-and-fromthe Persian Gulf between Iranand the United Arab Emiratesand Oman, as it facesincreased scrutiny over itsnuclear programme andpossible sanctions on its oilexports.

The critical shippinglane had 17 million barrels ofoil per day passing through in2011, according to the USEnergy Information Agency.

Internet

WASHINGTON, 13 Jan —Flanked by British andFrench ships, the USSAbraham Lincoln aircraftcarrier moved through theStrait of Hormuz withoutincident on Sunday despiterecent threats from Iran. TheUS Naval Forces CentralCommand said in a statementthat the Lincoln “completeda regular and routine transitof the strait ... to conductmaritime security opera-tions.” The Lincoln is in theregion with the USS CarlVinson, giving the US Navyits standard two-carrierpresence there.

A British defenceministry spokesman, whowas not named per policy,said on Sunday that the “HMS

Argyll and a French vesseljoined a US carrier group”going through the strait “tounderline the unwaveringinternational commitment tomaintaining rights of passageunder international law.”“Britain maintains a constantpresence in the region as partof our enduring contributionto Gulf security,” the spokes-man said. Several weeks ago,as the USS John Stennis leftthe Persian Gulf and headedback to the western Pacific,Iranian officials warned theUnited States not to send inanother carrier. “We havealways stated that there is noneed for the forces belongingto the countries beyond thisregion to have a presence inthe Persian Gulf,” Brig Gen

Afghan government hints at Taleban talksKABUL, 23 Jan—The

Afghan government of HamidKarzai signaled willingnessto join in with an American-led drive towards peace talks,according to a top official onSunday, removing a potentialhurdle blocking US efforts topush a peace process forwardin the unstable country.“Peace is our highest toppriority and we support every

effort that would lead topeace,” Deputy ForeignMinister Jawed Ludin said,indicating that Kabul backsa plan for the Talebanestablish an office in Qatar tofacilitate talks.

His public statement,alongside the Americanarchitect of the peaceinitiative, the US specialrepresentative to Afghanistanand Pakistan Marc Grossman,also removed most doubtsthat the Afghan governmentmight not fully support thepeace US initiative as it hadnot been involved in it fromthe very beginning. Karzai’sgovernment also signaled itwould not stand in the way ofthe release of prisoners fromthe American detentioncentre at Guantanamo Bay,Cuba, as the Taleban aredemanding.

“If the United Statesdecides to transfer thesedetainees to Qatar to theextent that these people willbe reunited with theirfamilies, the Afghangovernment will supportthat,” Ludin said. MarcGrossman, the US specialenvoy to Afghanistan andPakistan, said Sunday that“no decisions have beenmade” about releasingdetainees. And he said theTaleban needed to make “aclear statement ... againstinternational terrorism andin support of a peace processto end the armed conflict inAfghanistan” before it couldopen an office in Qatar, theGulf state playing anincreasing role ininternational diplomacy.Grossman is due to travel toQatar on Monday.— Internet

Marc Grossman, US specialenvoy for Afghanistan andPakistan, is in Kabul to talkwith Afghan presidentHamid Karzai.—INTERNET

LONDON, 23 Jan — A man was arrestedSunday after a dog mauled a 6-year-old girlin front of her parents, biting off part of oneear during the attack in northeast London.The seriously-injured girl also sufferedwounds to her neck and shoulder, and policeofficers said she probably would be scarredfor life. She was taken to the hospital forsurgery after the incident, which happened atabout midday local time on Saturday.

Police arrived at the scene in WalthamForest shortly afterward, but the dog —

London police arrest man after dog reportedlyattacks 6-year-old girl

described as a black and white Bull Terrier-type — and its owner had gone. A 56-year-oldman has since handed himself in and is beingquestioned by police. Scotland Yard said hewalked into a police station and was arrestedon suspicion of allowing a dog to bedangerously out of control in a public place.Detective Sergeant Stuart Cheek of London’sMetropolitan Police said, “This was anappalling incident that left a young childwith serious injuries, which are likely to scarher for life.”—Internet

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A new way to beat blood cancer?

This microscopy imageshows immune system

T-cells (centre) binding tobeads which cause the

cells to divide. The beads,depicted in yellow, arelater removed, leavingpure T-cells which are

then ready for infusion tothe cancer patients.

INTERNET

WASHINGTON, 23 Jan—Scientists claim to have founda new way to beat severeblood cancer by removing apro-survival protein fromacute myeloid leukaemia cells.A team at the Walter and ElizaHall Institute of MedicalResearch says it hasdiscovered that acute myeloidleukaemia (AML), anaggressive form of bloodcancer with poor prognosis,is susceptible to medicationsthat target Mcl-1 protein, the‘Genes & Development’journal reported. AML is themost common type of acuteleukaemia. Some forms ofAML occur in children, whileother forms are more prevalentin adults over the age of 60. Ofpatients with the most severeforms of AML, fewer than

AIDS killed 28,000 in Chinain 2011, study says

BEIJING, 23 Jan—AIDSkilled 28,000 people in Chinalast year, and another 48,000new infections from the HIVvirus were discovered in thecountry, according to anofficial report on Saturday.

In China 780,000 peoplelive with the HIV virus, ofwhich 154,000 developedAIDS, a report jointlyproduced by China’sMinistry of Health, the JointUnited Nations Programmeon HIV/AIDS and the WorldHealth Organization said.

In September 2011 therewere 136,000 peoplereceiving anti-viral treatmentfor the disease, it said,making the treatmentcoverage rate 73.5 percent,an increase of 11.5

Chinese citizens take part in an AIDS awarenessprogramme to mark World AIDS Day in Chongqinglast December. AIDS killed 28,000 people in China

last year, and another 48,000 new infections from theHIV virus were discovered in the country, according to

an official report.—INTERNET

Genes determine 40% of lifetimeintelligence: Australian scientists

CANBERRA, 23 Jan—Australian scientists onSaturday said they discoveredgenes are responsible for 40percent of our lifetimeintelligence with the other 60percent being determined byour environment.

The research was carriedout by scientists of Universityof Queensland of Australiaand was led by geneticistProfessor Peter Visscher. Theenvironment a child grows up

in (nutrition, schooling,parent’s education) impactson intelligence, butobservational tests on twinssuggested that we inheritaround half of our intelligence.

But until now, there hasbeen little understanding ofthe genetic contribution tocognitive aging, or how smartwe stay as we get older.According to Visscher, themore intelligent you are thelonger you live, the more

healthy you are, and the higheryour income is later in life. Soit is no wonder there is somuch interest in understand-ing what determinesintelligence.

Visscher and colleaguesstudied a unique group ofnearly 2000 unrelated peoplein Scotland who were testedfor their intelligence, using thesame test, at age 11 and againat age 65, 70 or 79 years. Mostpeople who began life with

above average intelligencewere above average whenthey were older, whileothers who had belowaverage intelligence tendedto stay below average.

However, theresearchers did note thatthere were some whoseintelligence improved andsome whose got worse,relative to others.

They also took geneticsamples and quantified therole genes play indetermining how muchchange there is inintelligence as we age.

Xinhua

percentage points comparedto 2009.

The report, quoted byChina’s official state mediaXinhua, said some new trendshad appeared, notably “a risein the number of importedcases and those transmittedsexually”.

Sexual relations are thefirst source of contaminationof the HIV virus in China, wherea huge blood contaminationscandal erupted in the centralHenan Province in the 1990s.

HIV/AIDS sufferers havelong been stigmatised in thecountry, and rights groupsestimate the number ofsufferers to be higher, butincreased governmenteducation has helped raiseawareness.—Internet

one in six survives for fiveyears after diagnosis.

In the research, thescientists found thattreatments that remove theprotein Mcl-1 — also called‘pro-survival’ protein,because it can make cells long-lived — from AML cells canrapidly kill these aggressivecancer cells.

“The gene for Mcl-1 wasfirst discovered in AML cells,but until now it had not beenrealised that the Mcl-1 proteinwas critical for AML cells tolive. What we have shown isthat without Mcl-1, AML cellsrapidly die,” Dr Stefan Glaser,who led the team, said. Thescientists say that in thefuture, new treatments forAML will be developed thatwork by specifically blocking

Mcl-1. Glaser said: “Wefound that many types ofAML cells were verydependent on Mcl-1 tosurvive.

When Mcl-1 wasdepleted from the AMLcells, they rapidly died.

“Importantly, non-cancerous blood cells weremuch less susceptible todying when Mcl-1 wasdepleted.

Internet

Euro zone finance ministers to ruleon glacial Greek debt talks

BRUSSELS/ATHENS, 23Jan—Euro zone financeministers will decide onMonday what terms of aGreek debt restructuringthey are ready to accept aspart of a second bailoutpackage for Athens afternegotiators for privatecreditors said they couldnot improve their offer.

Resolving the issue ofa Greek debt swap is key toputting Athens’ debt on asustainable path andavoiding a chaotic defaultthat could threaten thewhole currency bloc.

After several roundsof talks, Greece and itsprivate creditors areconverging on a deal inwhich private bondholderswould take a real loss of 65to 70 percent on their Greekbonds, officials close to thenegotiations said.

But some details of thedebt restructuring, whichwill involve swappingexisting Greek bonds fornew, longer-term bonds tobring Greek debt down to amore sustainable 120

percent of GDP in 2020 from160 percent now, areunresolved.

“What I am confident ofis that our offer, that wasdelivered to the primeminister, is the maximum offerconsistent with a voluntaryPSI deal,” Institute ofInternational Finance chiefCharles Dallara, who isnegotiating on behalf of banks

Greece’s Prime Minister Lucas Papademos (L) escortsFinance Minister Evangelos Venizelos after a meeting

in Athens on 12 January, 2012.—INTERNET

and insurers holding Greekdebt, told Antenna TV onSunday.

“We are at a crossroads

and I remain quite hopeful,”said Dallara, who left Athenson Saturday without a deal inplace. “We will listen to thereport on the negotiations,see how far they have gottenand have the ministers saywhat is acceptable and whatis not in terms of outcome ofthe negotiations,” oneEurogroup official said.

Reuters

Apple 2012: Smooth sailing, for the most partSAN FRANCISCO, 23

Jan—Apple Inc coasts into2012 with a strong wind in itssails, a clutch of envelope-pushing products in its hold,a record share price, and asteady hand at the tiller.

But its very success -with the market-leading iPadand the voice-enabled iPhone4S - is luring cheaper rivals tothe surface.

Google Inc’s Android,launched a few years ago andtaking aim squarely at thehigh-end iOS, continues toattract cellphone makers.Amazon.com Inc’s KindleFire, half the cost of the iPad,is expected to have chipped

The company’s logo isseen on the Apple store in

Washington on 6 Oct,2011.—INTERNET

away at the lower end of thetablet market.

Finally, though many onWall Street, betting that aniTV and 4G iPhones and iPadswill again pack its stores,continue to bank on a share-

price climb to as high as$700, some begin toquestion the sustainabilityof Apple’s torrid growthpace.

Apple tacked on $43billion to its top line in fiscal2011, lifting it to $108.25billion—a 65 percentincrease from the previousyear.

Barry Jaruzelski, aconsumer hardwarebusiness expert and partnerat consulting firm Booz &Co, said to sustain that iseffectively to conjure aFortune 500 company outof thin air —year after year.

Reuters

Asian stocks muted as Greece debt talks drag onBANGKOK, 23 Jan—Asian stocks

hovered between gains and losses Mondayin trade thinned by Chinese New Yearholidays as talks on a debt agreement forGreece dragged on.

Only a handful of markets were openfor business. Trading is closed in mainlandChina, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taipei,Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and thePhilippines.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average wasdown less than 0.1 percent at 8,763.22 andAustralia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3percent to 4,225.10. New Zealand’s

benchmark added 0.6 percent to 3,295.02and India’s Sensex inched up 0.1 percent to16,763.22. Thailand’s SET index rose 0.6percent to 1,065.07.

On Friday, stocks in Europe mostlyheld their gains for the week, waiting for theoutcome of Greece’s negotiations with itscreditors on a deal to cut the face value of upto euro200 billion ($258 billion) in debt by 50percent.

Over the weekend, the representativeof Greece’s private creditors said the talksare continuing even after his unexpecteddeparture from the country.—Internet

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China rolls out low-cost maglev trainsChina rolls out low-cost maglev trains


NASA capturescomet’s crash

into SunHOUSTON, 23 Jan— For

the first time, technology hasallowed NASA to observe acomet being vaporized as itapproached the sun, thespace agency reported.

In an article published inthis month’s Science, theagency said its SolarDynamics Observatoryrecorded Comet C/2011 N3nearing the sun and burningto nothing over a 20-minutespan in July.

On its Web site, NASAdescribes the event as“Comet corpses in the solarwind.” Almost daily, cometsare vaporized by the sun, butthis was the first timetechnology allowed for it tobe recorded, Space.comreported.—Internet

A “sun grazing” comet ascaught by SOHO’s LASCO

C2 camera as it divedtoward the sun on 5 and 6

July , 2011.—INTERNET

Humans still threatenCalifornia condors

SAN DIEGO, 23 Jan— Deaths of endangered Californiacondors in the wild are still largely caused by human activity,with lead poisoning being the primary factor, a report says.

The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Researchstudy of the deaths of wild California condors at all releasesites in California, Arizona and Baja, California, Mexico,found 70 percent (53 out of 76) of condor mortalities couldbe attributed to human influences.

Lead toxicosis from the ingestion of spent ammunitionwas the most important factor in mortality in juvenile condors,birds between the age of 6 months and 5 years, and was theonly significant cause of death in adults, a release from theZoological Society of San Diego said on Friday.

The exposures to lead coincide with deer huntingseason and the condor’s foraging activity in popular huntingareas, the report said.

“Although lead toxicosis from spent ammunition stillthreatens the survival of the California condor, one of ourmost iconic species, the good news is that solutions areavailable in the form of non-toxic ammunition,” said BruceRideout, the institute’s director of wildlife diseaselaboratories.“We can make this a win-win situation if wechoose to.”—Internet

The San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park celebrates thehatching of the first California condor of the season.

INTERNET

Global warming could be similar across ecosystemsLONDON, 23 Jan— The impact of global

warming could be similar across ecosystems,regardless of local environmental conditionsand species.

A team from Queen Mary’s School ofBiological and Chemical Sciences, whichwent to Iceland to study a set of geothermally-heated streams, came up with these findings.

The streams provided them with a

unique environment to isolate the effects oftemperature from other confounding variablesfound in nature, the journal Global ChangeBiology reports.

Explained Queen Mary’s Daniel Perkinswho led the study: “The streams in Iceland areall very similar, in terms of their physical andchemical environment, but maintain verydifferent temperatures to each other all yearround.

“This enabled us to explore howtemperature, both past and present, affectsthe rate at which respiration responds totemperature in ecosystems,” he said in astatement.

Perkins said when the team exposed theorganizms found in streams to a range oftemperatures, “the rate at which carbon wasrespired increased with temperature asexpected, but surprisingly the rate of increasewas consistent across streams”.—Internet

Tulip-shaped creature ‘discovered in Canada’WASHINGTON, 23 Jan—Scientists claim

to have discovered in the Canadian Rockiesa bizarre tulip-shaped creature — about thelength of a dinner knife — that lived in theocean over 500 million years ago.

A team from the University of Torontoand Royal Ontario Museum in Canada saysthat fossils, which emerged in MiddleCambrian Burgess Shale, reveal that thecreature, Siphusauctum gregarium, has aunique filter feeding system, the ‘PLoS ONE’journal reported. Siphusauctum has a longstem, with a calyx — a bulbous cup-likestructure — near the top that encloses anunusual filter feeding system and a gut.

The animal is thought to have fed byfiltering particles from water actively pumpedinto its calyx through small holes.

The stem ends with a small disc which

Photo shows a bizarre tulip-shapedcreature — about the length of a dinnerknife — that lived in the ocean over 500

million years ago.—INTERNET

anchored the animal to seafloor. It lived inlarge clusters, as indicated by slabs containingover 65 individual specimens, say thescientists.—Internet

BEIJING, 23 Jan—Alocomotive producer incentral China’s HunanProvince on Friday rolled outa low-cost magneticallylevitated (maglev) train thatis more environmental-friendly than conventionalones.

The three-carriage trainis designed to run at amaximum speed of 100 km perhour and carry 600passengers, said XuZongxiang, general managerof Zhuzhou ElectricLocomotive Co Ltd of ChinaSouth Locomotive andRolling Stock Corporation

A low-cost maglev trainrolls off the assemblyline on 20 January ,

2012 in Zhuzhou, centralChina’s Hunan

Province.—XINHUA

Now, hi-tech baby strollerthat charges iPhone

LOS ANGELES, 23 Jan —A US firm has come up witha hi-tech baby stroller with abuilt-in generator that allowsparents to charge theircellphones while strollingwith their baby.

A company called4moms has just released theOrigami, a baby stroller

New gesture and voice-controlled TVs may outdoremote controls

LOS ANGELES, 23 Jan —Remote controls could soonbecome outdated with the advent of new generation gestureand voice-controlled televisions, tech observers say.

The new technology allows viewers to control a new lineof TV sets simply by speaking or gesturing at them, eliminatingthe need for clunky pointing devices and opening up a rangeof new ways people can use and interact with their televisions,the Los Angeles Times reported.

At a giant booth constructed by Samsung Electronicsfor the Consumer Electronics Show last week in Las Vegas,a young lady gave a demonstration of the company’s newline of Smart TV sets, which come with a built-in Web browseras well as online applications such as Netflix, Skype andFacebook.

“Hi TV,” she said, issuing the verbal command for the

TV to turn on.“Channel 1034.” The TV switched to a news channel.“Web browser,” she continued, and the Yahoo home

page popped up.Tech observers have asserted that gesture and voice

recognition systems will grow more refined as the computersembedded in smartphones, TVs, tablets and home appliancesbecome more powerful.

That will bring to end an era of mice and remote controls,which started in 1950 with Zenith’s “Lazy Bones,” a remoteconnected to the TV through a long wire.

According to Charles Golvin, an analyst at ForresterResearch, with the newer controls, “you can simply use whatGod or nature gave you: your hands or your body or yourvoice — and that’s all you need”.—Internet

studded with features likepower folding with thepush of a button, daytimerunning lights and specialpathway lights to helppeople see at night.

It is also equipped witha digital dashboard thatdisplays temperature,speed, miles coveredduring the current trip, totalmiles covered, and whetheror not a baby is actually inthe stroller.

The stroller is pricedat 849 dollars, which maysound costly to normalpeople, but is in factcomfortably within therange of higher-endstrollers.

The power for thepower-folding feature, thelights and even thecellphone charging isproduced by an onboardgenerator that charges thestroller as you push it, theLos Angeles Timesreported.

Internet

(CSR).Xu said the new train was

much quieter than con-ventional ones. While aconventional train movesforward by using frictionbetween its wheels and therailway tracks, the maglev trainreplaces wheels byelectromagnets and levitateson the guideway. Accordingto Xu, his company’s hasminimized the risk of the newmaglev train derailing oroverturning. “It’s ideal formass transportation, as it isquiet and environmental-friendly. Its manufacturingcost is about 75 percent of a

conventional light-rail train,”said Xu. The maglev train hasa minimum turning radius of 50

metres and can easily run inresidential communities or onhilly slopes.—Xinhua

P5(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM5


China reports a second bird flu deathin less than a month

BEIJING, 23 Jan—A mandied in southern China onSunday from the H5N1 birdflu virus, the Health Ministryreported. It was China’ssecond such death in lessthan a month. The latest victim,an unidentified 39-year-old,fell ill on 6 January and wasadmitted to a hospital inGuizhou Province the sameday, the Health Ministry saidin a statement reported byXinhua, the official news

British links of Al Qaeda chiefs killed bydrones on Pakistan border

LONDON , 23 Jan — Twowanted Al-Qaeda leaderskilled by US drone attacks arebelieved to have travelled fromBritain to launch terroristattacks against the West. One,Aslam Awan, studied inManchester but joined anIslamic terror cell then went toAfghanistan to fight coalitionforces. By contrast, hisbrothers remain in Britainpursuing respectable careers– they are a surgeon, a GP, a On guard: Plainclothes Pakistani security men stand

outside the family house of al-Qaeda militant AslamAwan.— INTERNET

banker and a softwareengineer. Awan rose tobecome a senior figure in AlQaeda’s leadership, planningattacks on the West, but waskilled in Pakistan’sinaccessible border area by amissile launched from anunmanned US drone. Hisdeath was announced as itwas claimed that an Al-Qaedacommander killed in a droneattack in Somalia was a Britishcitizen. Militant group Al-Shabab said Bilal al-Berjawigrew up in West Londonbefore he too went to fight inAfghanistan, but the ForeignOffice denied he had heldBritish citizenship.

Awan, who is thought tohave been 29, came to Britainon a student visa in 2002 but

became part of a committedterrorist cell based inManchester. They filmedeach other training in the LakeDistrict, with police laterfinding clips of them crawlingacross a snow-coveredmountain while firingimaginary guns. Awan hadtold his family he was studyingat Manchester University,hoping to better himself justas his four elder brothers haddone before him. But whilehis brothers remain herepursuing successfulprofessional careers, Awanreturned in about 2007 to hishometown of Abbottabad,Pakistan – ironically, laterrevealed as the hiding placeof Osama bin Laden.

Internet

LAPD tries new policies to cut costly, dangerous traffic crashesLOS ANGELES , 23 Jan —

At any given moment in LosAngeles, scores of policecars are out on the streets —either rushing to calls for helpor prowling around in searchof trouble.

Despite the trainingcops receive in how to speedsafely through traffic, theyare an accident-prone bunch.Police were involved in trafficaccidents more than 1,250times in the last three years— an average of about one aday. Most of the crashes wereminor, but some resulted inlife-threatening injuries ortotaled police cars, or werethe result of the officerviolating traffic laws,according to LAPD records.In at least two incidents, thedriver of another car waskilled.

And at a time when theLos Angeles Police Depart-ment is trying to stem thesteady stream of lawsuits

filed against officers that costtaxpayers millions of dollarseach year, traffic accidentsremain a significant andcostly obstacle. Theyrepresent nearly one out ofevery four lawsuits filed

against the department. Thecity has paid nearly $24million in settlements orverdicts in about 400 LAPDtraffic-related lawsuits overthe last nine years and mustcontend with dozens more

cases that remainunresolved, city recordsshow. In all but a few of theclosed cases, city officialsopted to pay a negotiatedsettlement instead of takingtheir chances at a trial — astrong indication that theofficers were in the wrong.

“It is a top priority forus to get a comprehensiverisk management plan inplace, and addressing trafficaccidents has to be a bigpart of that,” said RichardDrooyan, president of theLos Angeles Police Commi-ssion, the civilian board thatsets policy for the LAPD.

“We need to look atwhat kind of training,supervision and policiescould be implemented toprevent these accidents.”

Internet26 babies die in hospital

KOLKATA , 23 Jan — Atleast 26 infants have died inthe past five days in a state-run hospital in India’s WestBengal state, authorities saidon Sunday. The hospital inMalda, about 340km northof Kolkata, has come underattack for negligence whilestate health officials claimthe babies were underweightand several of them were“terminally ill”.

“Two more babies diedon Sunday taking the deathtoll to 26.

Most of them wereunderweight and had beensuffering from birthasphyxia,” West Bengalhealth services directorBiswa Ranjan Satpathi toldAFP by telephone. Many of

Gunmen abduct ‘American’in central Somalia

MOGADISHU , 23 Jan —An American has beenabducted by armed men incentral Somalia, according tolocal officials.

The man’s car wassurrounded shortly after heleft the airport in the town ofGalkayo and he was forcedinto another vehicle, policeofficer Abdi Hassan Nur,who witnessed the incident,told AP.

Another witness, AliAbdul Kadir, told Reuters:“He was in a car when twopick-up trucks full of gunmenstopped the vehicle and tookhim away. “He was a whiteman.”

Kidnapping for ransomhas become common inSomalia in recent years.

INTERNET

the terminally ill babies werereferred to the Malda hospitalfrom adjacent districts andthe neighbouring states ofBihar and Jharkhand,Satpathi added.

Satpathi said thehospital has 60 beds forinfants—barely enough tocope with the surge inpatients. “More than 14 000babies were admitted to thehospital over the past threemonths. The hospital doesnot have the infrastructureto offer treatment to so manyinfants,” he said. In June, atleast 17 babies died in aperiod of 36 hours at anothergovernment hospital inKolkata, highlighting thepoor state of health servicesin West Bengal.— Internet

New-born babies born in 2000 are lined up at a Kolkatahospital. At least 26 infants have died in the past fivedays in a state-run hospital in India’s West Bengal

State, authorities said.—INTERNET

Two fishermenfound dead in

Nova ScotiaPARRSBORO, 23 Jan—

Two fishermen have beenfound dead in Nova Scotia,Royal Canadian MountedPolice said on Sunday.Authorities discovered thebody of one man Saturdaymorning, on the shore nearParrsboro, Nova Scotia, theCanadian Broadcasting Corpreported.Two all-terrainvehicles were found mid-afternoon Saturday. Thesecond body was foundnearby, police said.

“We regret to informpeople that the second malewas also found deceased,”said RCMP Constable DalHutchinson. The two men,who were pulling trailers withthe ATVs, were checking onlobster traps in the MinasBasin during low tide Friday.They were reported missingaround 1 am Saturday.Hutchinson said about 40people helped search for thetwo men in cold and windyweather.

“We want to thankground search and rescuefrom Springhill and Pugwash,and the Parrsboro firedepartment for assistance,”Hutchinson said.—Internet

A minister from thes e m i - a u t o n o m o u sGalmudug regionaladministration said thevictim was an American whohad come to Somalia to carryout an assessment for acompany building a deepwater port in the town ofHobyo.

A Somali travelling withhim was severely beatenwhen he urged the attackersnot to take the man,according to the minister,who spoke to AP oncondition of anonymity. Alocal security official,however, said the victim wasa journalist living in Galkayo.

In October, an Americanwoman, a Danish man and aSomali working for theDanish Demining Group wereabducted from the same town.Only the Somali has beenreleased so far.

It has been reported thatthey are being held in Hobyo,a port used by Somali piratesoperating in the Gulf of Aden.

Kidnapping for ransomis common in Somalia and atleast four aid workers, aFrench military official, aBritish tourist taken fromKenya and hundreds ofsailors are being held captive.

Galmudug’s adminis-tration is allied to the UN-backed transitional govern-ment in Mogadishu, which isbattling the powerful alShabab militia, whichcontrols large parts of southand central Somalia.

Internet

An LAPD cruiser was one of hundreds of police-involved crashes last year. In fact, the LAPD’s numbers

average out to about one crash a day. They’re costlyfor city — and in a few cases have cost innocent people

their lives. —INTERNET

agency. A 39-year-old busdriver in Shenzhen, a city inGuangdong Province nearHong Kong, died of thedisease on 31 December. Bothdeaths were notable becauseneither victim reported anycontact with birds in themonth preceding his illness.The virus is known to spreadthrough contact with infectedbirds, eggs or bird feces, butexperts said a pandemic couldoccur were it to mutate into a

form that was more easilyspread.

In the latest case, thevictim “did not report obviousexposure history to poultrybefore the onset ofsymptoms,” according to theHong Kong bulletin. ButChinese authorities, who aremonitoring 71 people knownto have been in contact withthe victim, have found noother evidence of flu, theministry reported.— Internet

P6(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM6


MOGADISHU, 23 Jan—ABritish fighter with the Shebabmilitia in Somalia was killedSaturday during a droneattack in the capitalMogadishu, said themovement’s spokesmanSheik Ali Mohamud Rage.

ISLAMABAD, 23 Jan— Pakistani authorities have arrested31 Indian fishermen and seized 14 boats for allegedly violatingthe country’s territorial waters, the Maritime Security Agency(MSA) said on Sunday.

A spokesman for MSA said that the fishermen werefound within Pakistan’s exclusive economic zone.

The fishermen were handed over to Docks Police inKarachi for registration of case.

They would appear before a local court later. Bothcountries routinely arrest each other’s fishermen as there isno water boundary demarcation and the issue is part ofbilateral dialogue.

The latest arrest came two weeks after Pakistan freed 179Indian fishermen as a “goodwill gesture and a New Year gift”.

The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) says it is concernedabout the arrest of fishermen on both sides. —Xinhua

In this 18 Jan, 2012 photo, Missy Marsh, left, and her parents Debra and RobertMarsh, discuss the pressures of paying for heating during winter while having

breakfast at Central United Methodist Church in Traverse City, Mich. Few Americanshave welcomed this year’s mild winter as much as low-income families, who are

enjoying an unexpected break from high heating costs.—INTERNET

Fighters loyal to Somalia’s Al-Qaeda inspired al-Shebab group perform military drills at a village in

Lower Shabelle region in 2011. A British fighter with theShebab militia in Somalia was killed on Saturday during

a drone attack in the capital Mogadishu, said themovement’s spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage.

INTERNET

British Shebab fighter killedin Somalia

“This afternoonunmanned aircraft bombedand killed our brother Hilal AlBarzawi from Lebanon withBritish citizenship who foughtin Somalia for a long time,” hetold reporters. He added thatthey were not yet sure to whom

the aircraft belonged, “but itis America that is known forutilizing such aircraft.”

Targeting people likeBarzawi would not put off theShebab, he said, adding: “Godwilling we are all waiting to bemartyrs like him.”

Witnesses reported atleast three explosions nearGarasbaley, about 13kilometres (eight miles) southof Mogadishu.

“We heard threeexplosions a few minutes afterrecognizing the sound ofaircraft,” said one witness,Bashir Ali.

“One of the missilesapparently hit a car belongingto Al-Shebab fighters but wedon’t know who wastargeted,” he added.

News of the death cameas Somalia’s transitionalgovernment forces vowedSaturday to rid Mogadishu ofall “violent elements”.

On Friday they launcheda major offensive aimed atdislodging the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militia from thecapital.—Internet

Pakistan arrests 31 Indianfishermen, seizes 14 boats

MADRID, 23 Jan—A flaming-horned bull trampled andfatally gored a man early Saturday during a festival in easternSpain, an official said. Large balls of flaming wax are traditionallyaffixed to the beasts’ heads before they are let loose torampage through squares and narrow streets in such festivals.

The mayor of Navajas, population 730, said emergencyservices in his town were unable to save the life of the 45-year-old man whose name was withheld. Jose Vicente Torres saidthe accident happened when the man, who had traveled fromAlboraia, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) to the south, trippedjust as the bull was released.

Torres said the bull charged the man, gored him and thenstamped on his head, causing him “irreversible injuries.” Hesaid he had offered his condolences to the man’s family, butwould not cancel similar events scheduled for early Sunday.

“Although ours is a small town, many people fromoutside come to visit our feast dedicated to Saint Anton,”Torres said, adding that black bows had been tied to town hallflags as a mark of respect and mourning.

Many towns in east and northeastern Spain celebratefeasts with “toros embolados,” or “flaming bulls,” whichfeature the animals racing around and shaking their heads asa reaction to flames or fireworks attached to or close to theirhorns.—Internet

Passengers walk down the stairs to board the trainreturning home at the railway station in Fuzhou, capitalof southeast China’s Fujian Province, on 22 Jan, 2012,

the last day of China’s Lunar Year of Rabbit.XINHUA

A reveler releases a bull with flaming horns during afestival in honour of Saint Anthony, the patron saint ofanimals, in the streets of Gilet, a town near Valencia,

Spain, in the early hours of 15 Jan, 2012.INTERNET

DENVER, 23 Jan—A missing 9-year-old girl escaped from an apparent kidnapper and called911 herself from a convenience store in Colorado Springs on Friday.

The Pueblo girl was reported missing Thursday night after she didn’t return home fromschool. The suspect, Jose Garcia, 29, is also a suspect in an alleged molestation involving adifferent girl, Pueblo police Capt Eric Bravo said.

The car of the man accused of kidnapping the girl broke down on Friday morning inColorado Springs, and a passerby gave them a ride to a Circle K, police said.

The girl ran into the convenience store and asked to use the phone to call her uncle butinstead called 911, which prompted the man to take off, authorities said.

“Once she realized she had that window of opportunity, she became a hero and rescuedherself by calling 911,” Colorado Springs police spokeswoman Barbara Miller said in astatement.—Internet

Flaming-horned bull fatallygores man in Spain

Colo girlescapes

apparentkidnapper,calls 911

Carnival reviewing cruise ship safety

Origin seals LNG deal with Chinese oil giant

MIAMI, 23 Jan—Carnival Corp, the US-based parent of the operator of the CostaConcordia, says it’ll review all its cruiseships’ safety and emergency-responseprocedures. The review, which comes inresponse to the Costa Concordia disaster thathas left at least 12 people dead, will examinethe procedures at all 10 Carnival lines, thecompany said in a news release. The companysaid it has had an “excellent safety recordover the years.”

“However, this tragedy has called intoquestion our company’s safety andemergency-response procedures andpractices,” Micky Arison, Carnival’schairman and chief executive officer, said ina statement. “While I have every confidencein the safety of our vessels and the

professionalism of our crews, this review willevaluate all practices and procedures to makesure that this kind of accident doesn’t happenagain.”

The review is being led by Capt JamesHunn, a retired US Navy captain andCarnival’s senior vice president of MaritimePolicy & Compliance. Hunn has held seniorpositions at Carnival nearly a decade focusingon maritime policy and overseeing health,environmental, safety and security practices.Miami-based Carnival also said its Health,Environment, Safety & Security Committeeis enlisting outside industry experts to reviewall emergency-response and safety proceduresand to conduct a “thorough review” of theCosta Concordia accident.

Internet

CANBERRA, 23 Jan —Chinese oil companySinopec has finalized a dealwith local energy producerOrigin Energy and US firmConocoPhillips to boost itsstake in a major liquefiednatural gas project inQueensland.

Sinopec will pay$US1.1 billion ($1.05billion) to increase its stakein the Australia Pacific LNGProject on Curtis Island from15 percent to 25 percent.

The deal also meansSinopec will buy an extra 3.3million metric tonnes of LNGper year for 20 years, makingit the largest gas supplyagreement in Australianhistory. Federal TradeMinister Craig Emerson saysthe project will havewidespread benefits for

Queensland and represents avote of confidence in theAustralian economy. “Thisis a really good breakthroughand a step up in the intensityof investment in LNG,” MrEmerson said.

“Securing these salescontracts is so important.When you’re putting inbillions and billions of dollars

- I think it’s $45 billion ormore going into Gladstone -you need these long-termcontracts.”

Origin managing dire-ctor Grant King says theproject remains on track andwithin its $20 billion budget,with the first shipmentsexpected in 2015.

Internet

p7(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM7


(from page 1)At the briefing hall of the

project, DSEZMC ChairmanThura U Thaung Lwin re-ported on salient points aboutthe project. He said that the

Vice-President ThihaThura U Tin Aung MyintOo inspects progress…

technologies all over thecountry thereby contribut-ing to domestic industriesand to build the region ascommercial and transporta-tion heart of South East Asia.

He went on that 23120persons from 4075households of 3984 housesfrom 18 villages wererelocated. He explainedmeasures for provision ofbetter social and economicenvironment to them indetail.

Chairman of ItalianThai Development PublicCo Ltd Mr Premchai

and responsible personsmade supplementary re-ports. In response, the Vice-President made coordinationand delivered an address.

In his speech, he saidthat under the aegis of thePresident, the government isspecially focusing on estab-lishing friendly ties with glo-bal countries and as a result,Myanmar’s relations with the

international community isimproving and prospects ofeconomic cooperation arenow foreseeable.

Nowadays, MyanmarSpecial Economic Zone Lawand Dawei Special EconomicZone Law have beenintroduced to achievesound foundations foreconomic development of thenation. Measures are underway to formulate lawsrequired for Thilawa SpecialEconomic Zone andKyaukpyu Special EconomicZone.

He added that DaweiSpecial Economic Zoneproject is intended to attractlocal and foreign investmentsinto Dawei so as to spur re-gional development andstimulate national economicdevelopment as well. It is alsoaimed to absorb advancedtechnologies and knowl-edge; to create jobs for locals,which will contribute tocapacity of workers andspread of the technologiesand knowledge throughoutthe country resulting in de-velopment of domestic in-dustries. All are to give ahand to meet these objec-tives, urged the Vice-President.

He then called forsympathetic attitude towards

the relocated persons in re-settling them and measuresto award compensation tothem in term of better status.He added that they are to beresettled only after the newplace has houses, school,hospital, market, sportsground, water and electric-ity. In addition, it needs toreclaim farmland andcropland for their livelihoodand to provide financial as-sistance to them until thesefarmland and cropland makeprofits.

Moreover, it is requiredto take cooperativemeasures in setting up vil-lages in order of continuouslearning education andhealthcare services to chil-dren systematically. Onlythen can rural developmenttasks be carried out effec-tively, and will organizedvillages emerge.

He stressed environ-mental conservation points.The main purposes of settingup special industrial zonesare dedicated not only to eco-nomic boom but also toproduction of job opportuni-ties for locals. It is required tostick to environmentalconservation laws and relatedministries need to drawrequired laws.

(See page 9)Vice-President Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo at Dawei University.—MNA

Vice-President Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo hears reports presented by Deputy Transport Minister U Win Shein at Dawei Airport.—MNA

project is intended to createjobs and socio-economic de-velopment of the regionthrough establishment of newproduction and service in-dustries, and transportationand communication net-works. Moreover, theproject is aimed to facilitatethe regional development bybringing about new indus-tries and businesses in re-gions linked with DaweiSpecial Economic Zone., toaid the economic develop-ment of Dawei region as wellas national economic growthby attracting local and for-eign investments into the re-gion, to import modern tech-nologies and spread these

He said that the wholeproject includes special eco-nomic zone that covers anarea of 204.51 squarekilometers, about 160kilometers long highwayfrom Dawei to FunanrunVillage at Myanmar-Thaiborder, electric powergeneration facilities, oil andgas pipelines fromDawei Port to Thailand,and 170 kilometers longrailways from Dawei Port toMyanmar-Thai border . Asfor the first phase,Dawei deep sea port is beingbuilt to serve 200,000-tonships and it would be built tobe able to cope with 300,000-ton ships.

Karnasuta elaborated onstep-by-step plans forestablishment of DaweiSpecial Economic ZoneProject. Next, ActingRegion Chief Minister UMyat Ko reported on meas-ures for land reclamation forthe project and administra-tive assistance.

Chairman of MyanmarSpecial Economic ZoneCentral Work CommitteeUnion Minister U TinNaing Thein discussed sys-tematic implementation ofthe project in conformitywith special economic zonelaw.

Afterwards, Unionministers, deputy ministers A sample of house to be built for relocated villagers in compensation.—MNA

P8(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM8


(from page 8)In taking approach to environmental conservation meas-

ures, government organizations, and related companies andorganizations are not only to engage in greening projectsbut also to take advices and necessary measures invitingthird parties.

But, there are still advices given and incorrect assess-ments due to lack of thorough understanding of somemeasures.

So, forming public liaison groups, the State and privatecompanies need to focus on giving clarification in the fullglare of publicity in line with international set standards, hesaid.

In conclusion, the Vice-President called the regiongovernment, Dawei economic zone management commit-tee and supporting group (temporary) to give close supervi-sion in order that related companies can fulfill needs forvillages deemed to evacuate.

The Vice-President and party inspected the chosenplace to construct Dawei Deep Sea Port. Chairman MrPremchai Karnasuta of Italian Thai Development Public CoLtd briefed on the project.

Next, the Vice-President and party also viewed placechosen to construct office buildings of Dawei Special Eco-nomic Zone Management Committee.

The Vice-President and party then went to the monas-tery in Laeshaung, Yebyu Township where they paid respectsto the monks.

The Vice-President supplicated that the State will givebetter position to the relocated villages of project thanbefore.

On behalf of monks, Laeshaung monastery NayakaSayadaw Bhaddanta Piññabhivumsa gave Ovada.

The Vice-President and party offered alms to the monks,received the five precepts, and shared merits gained.

The Vice-President said in meeting with locals fromNabule region in the compound of the monastery that he andhis entourages were there to coordinate the needs for Daweiregion development, facilitation of tasks for Dawei SpecialEconomic Zone and setting up new villages. The Presidenthas been engaging himself in rural development and povertyalleviation scheme for stability of the State and economicdevelopment, ending armed opposition, ensuring eternalpeace and national economic development which are basicfactors to see a developed nation. To have rapid develop-

Vice-President ThihaThura U Tin Aung MyintOo inspects progress…

ment in the nation, the State promulgates Myanmar SpecialEconomic Zone Law and Dawei Special Economic ZoneLaw. Dawei Special Economic Zone is a pilot project forremaining special economic projects to be implementedlater. So, all are in need to cooperate to gain successful result.

The Vice-President went on that special emphasis isbeing placed on housing, livelihood, education, health andsocial requirements of those planned to evacuate fromproject site.

The relocation process will be started only wheninfrastructures such as house, road, school, hospital, marketand playground, and water and electricity are in completestep. Furthermore, necessary arrangements will be made forthose wishing to work agriculture, garden land and livestockbreeding firms.

The Vice-President said that required provisions havebeen prescribed in the Special Economic Zone Law and dutywill be assigned to the chairman of special economic zonemanagement committee. The region government, the specialeconomic zone management committee and supportinggroup (temporary) will closely supervise all requiredmeasures.

Next, senior locals presented needs of villagers.

After that, the Vice-President cordially greeted locals.The Vice-President and party later proceeded to Dawei

University where they were welcomed by Rector Dr ThaungLwin and faculty members.

The Vice-President and party enquired about teachingand management requirements of the university and greetedthe faculty members. Next, they stopped over in Dawei.

MNA

Plums from Singaing going to Ygn market

Singaing Township is amajor mango and plum grower inMyanmar. With various types ofsoil, the region has a favourableweather for mango and plum trees.Now, Taiwan plum trees in thetownship are bearing a largenumber of fruits. I visited K.O.Wadvanced farm near Monbinvillage in the township.

The owner of the farm UKo Ko Oo said, “We pick plumfruits as snow stops to swirl in themorning till lunch break. Afterthat, the man who categorizes thepalm fruits packaged each groupof the fruits. The packages arethen carried by Trawlergies to WinThitsar bus stop andKoemyaychantha (Family) busstop in Singaing Township andloaded onto 10-wheeled and 12-wheeled trucks. The packages aretransported to ThirimingalaMarket in Yangon. A package of

Article and Photo:Aung Min (Singaing)

Taiwan plum trees in Singaing Township.

Taiwan plums goes for K 5000 to K8000-1000 and that of special fruitsfetches K 14000. In Yangonmarket, the special fruits packageis sold at the price of K 17000 or K18000.”

“The plum fruits now weare transporting come fromMonbin and Mogaung villages.Palm trees in Kunye and Shankanvillages still have to bear fruits.The former villages will have topick the fruits till the end ofFebruary. By the time Monbin andMogaung left no fruits, fruits fromKunye, Shankan and other villageswill be transported,” U Win Zaw,in-charge at KoemyaychanthaFamily bus stop, said.

Now, Taiwan plums fromSingaing are flowing into Yangonand other markets in great abundance.

Translation: HKA(Myanma Alin: 21-1-2012)

Vice-President Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo hears reports on Dawei Special Economic Zonepresented by Chairman of Italian Thai Development Public Co Ltd.

MNA

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Jan—The tribunal of the Su-preme court of the Union comprising Chief Justice of theUnion U Tun Tun Oo, and judges of the Supreme Court ofthe Union U Soe Nyunt and U Mya Thein deliveredverdict to 13 special appeal civil cases at Room No. 1 ofthe Supreme Court of the Union this morning. They alsoheard four cases of writ application.—MNA

Verdict delivered to 13special appeal cases

P9(24)-.pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM9

10 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Tuesday, 24 January, 2012Florida is marking the

centennial of HenryFlagler’s Over-Sea

Railroad. This photo,from the Florida KeysNews Bureau shows anaerial view of PigeonKey, a tiny island just

west of Marathon, Fla,used as a base camp

more than 100 years agofor workers building

Henry Flagler’s FloridaKeys Over-Sea

Railroad.—INTERNET

Study finds tired new dads a safety riskCANBERRA, 23 Jan —

Fathers of new babies are oftenso tired they pose a safety riskat work and on the road, a newstudy has found. The researchfound fathers of newbornswere 36 per cent more likelyto have a near miss at work,and 26 per cent more likely tohave a near miss on the road.

Southern CrossUniversity’s Dr Gary Mellorled the study of 241 fathers,

mostly from the Gold Coast,and says the study isgroundbreaking because newdads are a “notoriously hardgroup of people” to get holdof. He says many of thosesurveyed battled to find awork-family balance. “Theywere displaying a lot ofconflict in that they weretrying to put family first,” hesaid. “They don’t want to bethat distant sole provider thattheir father was.”

Despite this, Dr Mellorsays the fathers in the study

worked an average of 49hours a week. The majority ofmen involved in the researchwere employed as officeworkers or in constructionand trade, and Dr Mellor sayseach workplace has its ownset of risks. “In an office itmight be that you fall downsome stairs, or you trip overcords, but it’s also about thedecisions you make,” he said.“On a construction site it’sworking with heavyequipment, cranes, nailguns.”— Internet

The study found new dads were more likely to pose asafety risk at work.—INTERNET

Six hurt in “sweet sixteen” birthday party shootingremain in serious but stablecondition, police said, whilean 18-year-old male is listedin stable condition. Thebirthday girl was not injured,police said.

Detectives are stillinvestigating what causedthe violence to break out inthe quiet suburban cul-de-sac, which saw police fromfour separate law enforcementagencies respond. Police saythey have four male teenageand young adult suspects inthe case, but have made noarrests.— Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO, 23 Jan—Five teenagers and one youngadult were hospitalized forgunshot wounds after bulletsstarted flying at a “sweetsixteen” birthday party inAntioch, a bay area suburb ofSan Francisco, police said onSunday. The incidentoccurred late Saturday night,when an argument broke outbetween two groups of peoplein a garage crowded withroughly 40 partygoers,according to the Antiochpolice department.

A shoot-out between the

two groups then erupted.Witnesses described a“chaotic scene” as roughly80 party attendees fled thehouse once the shootingbegan, according to Antiochpolice department Lt RobinKelley. Six people weretreated in hospital for injuriesranging from a superficialgraze to a possible fracturedleg and abdomen wound,police said.

Three of the victimswere treated and released fromthe hospital. A 13-year-oldmale and 21-year-old female

The Hotel Riu Emerald Bay in the Mexican resort townof Mazatlan has several five-star ratings on travel

websites.— INTERNET

Canadian woman beaten at Mexico resort hotelthat the woman was found atthe Hotel Riu in PuntaCerritos and is said to be inserious condition. Policestatements say another touristwas trying to enter theelevator and discovered thewoman lying on the floor ina pool of blood, according toa noroeste.com report. Thereport said investigatorssuspect she may have beenassaulted in a hotel room,dragged down the hall to theelevator and then abandoned.

Internet

MAZATLAN, 23 Jan —Consular officials are incontact with the family of ayoung Canadian woman whowas reportedly beaten uncon-scious in a hotel in Mexico’sMazatlan resort region andare pressing for an investiga-tion into the incident,according to a statementreleased on Sunday. “Ourthoughts are with the badlyinjured Canadian and herfamily during this difficulttime. Our officials in Mexicohave provided, and will

continue to provide, consularassistance to her and herfamily,” said John Babcock,spokesman for Minister ofState of Foreign Affairs DianeAblonczy.

Mexican federal policetold CBC News on Sundaythat the woman, reportedlyin her 20s, was found lying inan elevator on early Saturday.The police officer would notprovide his own name, norreveal details about thevictim’s age or identity.

Mexican media reports

LOS ANGELES, 23 Jan—Severe storms were expectedto spread across severalsoutheastern US states onSunday into Monday withtornadoes, highwinds andlarge hail possible, weatherforecasters said. A secondstormfront expected to hitCalifornia late Sunday nightwill bring significant snowfallto the mountain regions,according to the NationalWeather Service, beforerolling into the southernUnited States later in the week.

The potential for severestorms stretched from the Gulfof Mexico in Mississippi tosouthern Indiana and Ohio,according to AccuWeather.com meteorologist BillDeger. “Some of thethunderstorms are evenexpected to spawn tornadoes,making for an especiallydangerous situation giventhe veil of night,” Deger said.

In Alabama, residentswere bracing for storms thatcould hit after dark onSunday or overnight with astrong cold front from thewest combining with warmmoist air flowing up from theGulf of Mexico, said MaryKeiser, meteorologist withthe National Weather Servicein Birmingham, Alabama.

Reuters

Tornadoespossible in

southern USas snow

threatens

101-year-old

womanevicted

from herhome

DETROIT, 23 Jan—A 101-year-old woman who authoritiespromised could move back into her Detroit home after beingevicted four months ago has not yet been allow to return.Texana Hollis’ home was foreclosed on by the US Departmentof Housing and Urban Development after her son, WarrenHollis, 65, failed to pay $7,000 in property taxes to keep areverse mortgage, The Detroit News reported on Sunday.

Soon after the eviction, HUD spokesman Brian Sullivansaid Hollis could live in her house “for as long as she wants”— but that was before HUD evaluated the property. “We sawa house that was completely unsuitable for a person to livein,” Sullivan said. “We can’t allow someone to live in that[atmosphere] now that we are essentially the owners of the

property. The home isn’t safe; it’s not sanitary. It’s certainlynot suitable for anyone to live in, especially not a 101-year-old mother.”

It is unclear as to when, or if, Hollis will be able to moveback into her home. “We’re not giving up,” Sullivan said.“We’re talking with anybody and everybody about solutionsto this situation, but the condition of the property is achallenge.” Since being evicted, Hollis has been living withher longtime friend and neighbor, Pollian Cheeks, 68, whohas a spare room in her home with an adjustable bed. “Polly’sjust as nice to me as anybody could be. She goes out of herway to help me,” Hollis said, holding back tears. “It’s just likeliving at home, but it’s not my home.”— Internet

Dead woman may have been unregisteredan evacuation staging point.Mr Gabrielli, however, saidthe identity of the woman andthree male bodies found a fewdays earlier have yet to beestablished.

Officials have so faridentified eight of the 13bodies recovered from thecapsized ship. Twenty-threepeople are still listed asmissing from the vesselwhich struck rocks near theport of Giglio Island, off theTuscan coast, on the night of13 January. The 13th bodywas found today as itemerged that the ship’scaptain Francesco Schettino

CaptainFrancesco

Schettino andthe wrecked

CostaConcordia.

INTERNET

discovered. The discovery ofa woman’s body today bringsthe death toll to 13. Civilprotection chief FrancoGabrielli said relatives of aHungarian woman have toldauthorities that she hadtelephoned them from aboardthe ship and that they havenot heard from her since thedisaster.

He said it was possiblethat the body of a womanrecovered on Saturday mightbe that of the unregisteredpassenger. The woman, whowas dressed in a life jacket,was found by divers in acorridor near what had been

ROME, 23 Jan — Awoman’s body pulled fromthe Costa Concordiawreckage might be that of anunregistered passenger, anItalian official has said asanother body was

Relatives of Frenchpassengers on board

the ship arrive at masson Giglio.—INTERNET

claimed that his bosses knewabout the tradition of ‘“sailby salutes” — and that hewas asked to do them forpublicity stunts.—Internet

p10(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM10


Germany has the economic strengths America onceboasted

FRANKFURT, 23 Jan — Every summer, Volkmar and VeraKruger spend three weeks vacationing in the south of Franceor at a cool getaway in Denmark. For the other three weeks oftheir annual vacation, they garden or travel a few hours awayto root for their favourite team in Germany’s biggest soccerstadium. The couple, in their early 50s, aren’t retired or well off.They live in a small Tudor-style house in this middle-classtown about 30 miles northwest of Frankfurt. He’s a foreman ata glass factory; she works part time for a company that tracksinventories for retailers. Their combined income is a modest$40,000.

Yet the Krugers have a higher standard of living thanmany Americans who have twice that income. Their secret:little debt, frugal habits and a government that is intenselyfocused on high production, low inflation and extensivesocial services. That has given them job security and goodmedical care as well as well-maintained roads, trains and bikepaths. Both of their adult children are out on their own, thanksin part to Germany’s job-training system and heavy subsidiesfor university education. For instance, Volkmar’s out-of-pocket costs for stomach surgery and 10 days in a hospitaltotaled just $13 a day. College tuition for their son runs about$260 a semester.

Germany, with its manufacturing base and export prowess,is the America of yesteryear, an economic power unlike any ofits European neighbours. As the world’s fourth-largest

Vera and Volkmar Kruger, seen here in the town ofLimburg, Germany, not far from their home in Elz, earnabout $40,000 a year but live as well as an American

couple making twice as much.— INTERNET

economy, it has thrived on principles that the United Statesseems to have gradually lost.It has tightly managed its budgetand adopted reforms — such as raising the retirement age —that some other Eurozone nations are just now being forced toundertake. And few countries can match Germany’s capabilitiesfor producing and exporting machinery and other equipment,or its infrastructure for research, apprenticeships and financingthat support manufacturing.—Internet

Epic clash: Silicon Valley blindsidesHollywood on piracy

LOS ANGELES , 23 Jan —The massive online protestlast Wednesday, in whichWikipedia and thousands ofother websites closed downor otherwise protested andhelped to kill controversialonline piracy legislation, waswidely heralded as anunprecedented case of agrassroots uprising

A reporter’s laptopshows the Wikipediablacked out opening

page in Brussels on 18Jan, 2012.— INTERNET

South Korea firm turnshuman ashes into beads

INCHEON, 23 Jan — WhenJeon Gyeong-suk lost herhusband to cancer threemonths ago, she agonizedover how to keep his remains.Because land is at a premium,burial was out, and she foundthe idea of a heap of ashesstored in an urn sort of creepy.So the 51-year-old widowpaid $900 to transform herhusband’s ashes into a fewhandfuls of tiny bluish beadsthat have the look of belugacaviar.

Even though the beadslook like pebble-sized gems,they aren’t meant to be strunginto a necklace. Instead, somemourners keep them in dishesand glass containers, thepoint being to keep a lostloved one close by.”I missmy husband so much,” saidJeon, who buried his beads in

A sample of beads made from human ashes by Bae Jae-yul, founder and CEO of Bonhyang. — INTERNET

her front yard. For Jeon andothers here, the image ofashes-to-ashes, dust-to-dustjust seems like unfinishedburial business. Death beads,they say, are a thing of beauty.But the beads are not withouttheir critics, who insist thatthey dishonor the dead byneedlessly manipulatinghuman remains.

Bae Jae-yul, founder andCEO of the “death bead” firmBonhyang, says he’s servedmore than 1,000 customersin 10 years. He remembersone client who didn’t want toburden his children withoverseeing the tomb wheretheir grandparents were kept.So he razed the grave andcreated a group of beads withthe mixed remains of bothparents.

Internet

overcoming backroomlobbying.

Yet a close look at howthe debate unfolded suggeststhat traditional means ofinfluencing policy inWashington had its place too.The technology industry hasramped up its politicalactivities dramatically inrecent years, and in fact, has

spent more than theentertainment industry —$1.2 billion between 1998and 2011, compared with$906.4 million spent byentertainment companies.

The latest chapter inwhat has become an epic,decades-long battle betweenthe two industries overcopyrighted digital contentbegan innocuously enough.Hollywood movie studios,frustrated by online theft thatthey claim already costs thembillions of dollars a year andwill only get worse, in 2010started pushing for a law thatwould make it possible toblock access and cut offpayments to foreign websitesoffering pirated material.

In 2010, longtimeindustry friend Sen PatrickLeahy, a Democrat fromVermont, introduced a bill,

the Combating OnlineInfringement and Counter-feits Act, that passed theSenate Judiciary Committeeunanimously but never wentfurther.

In May last year, Leahytried again, introducing hisProtect IP (IntellectualProperty) Act.

Internet

Luxury stores ready to reap Peking pound asChina eases travel restrictions for New YearLONDON , 23 Jan — Luxury

stores are preparing forthousands of wealthy FarEastern shoppers to coincidewith the start of the ChineseYear of the Dragon. Theeasing of travel restrictionsin China means the turn ofthe year has become a timefor international travel andshopping for the country’s

Special measures: Harrods has installed 75 tillsspecifically for Chinese shoppers and made measures toaccept the Union Pay card ahead of the rush.— INTERNET

elite. They will be lookingfor British brands such asBurberry and Mulberry, andinternational brands such asPrada and Gucci.

Spending by Chinesetourists in UK stores rose by64 percent last year, say retailanalysts Global Blue, andtotalled £165million. BondStreet shops have hiredMandarin-speaking staffwhile Harrods has installed75 tills for Chinese shoppersand the UnionPay card,which is China’s onlydomestic debit and credit card.And yesterday, the storeunveiled commemorativeinvestment gold bars, eachincorporating an Oriental

Dragon, in a bid to appeal tothe tourists.

Richard Brown ofGlobal Blue said: ‘ChineseNew Year reflects animportant cultural shift inChina with families nowtravelling abroad as analternative to celebrations athome.’‘Retailers are bracingthemselves for a significantuplift in Chinese shoppersand hope to repeat staggeringgrowth.‘Luxury brands areset to benefit the most fromthis uplift, with Chineseshoppers spending onaverage £729 per tax freetransaction favouringhandbags, jewellery andwatches.’—Internet

Venezuela to buy Embraer,Airbus jets

CARACAS, 23 Jan — Venezuelan President HugoChavez said on Sunday that his government plans tobuy new Embraer jets from Brazil as well as used Airbusjets to expand his country’s state airline Conviasa.Chavez said Venezuela will negotiate credit with theBrazilian Development Bank to buy up to 20 Embraerjets from Brazil.

Chavez thanked Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff“for the credit they’re going to give us.” He said theestimated cost of 20 jets would be $814 million. TheVenezuelan government had said earlier this monththat Chavez approved plans to buy six Embraer jets. Butduring Chavez’s Sunday television and radio programme,Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez laid out the options ofbuying either 10 or 20 Embraer jets.

“It’s enough to see Venezuela’s location on themap to conclude on the pressing need for us to have avery powerful airline,” Chavez said. Chavez’sgovernment has subsidized Conviasa since its launchin 2004. The president on Sunday did not provideinformation about how much the government has spenton the airline in recent years.— Internet

LOS ANGELES, 23 Jan — Kia Motors USA said it would forgosome of the surprise factor in its Super Bowl ads this year, allowingUS. audiences an initial viewing in movie theaters.

The Super Bowl is more than a football game. It is also atelevision event that has become the parade of parades, when itcomes to advertising. Many company’s debut major ad campaignson Super Bowl on Sunday.

The surprise factor is part of the fun.But Kia said it would beginrunning trailers of its Super Bowl ads in 18,000 movie theaters on27 Jan, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday. Then, on 1 Feb,four days before the game, Kia said it would show the entire 60-second commercial, which is titled, “Drive the Dream,” at the same18,000 theaters.

“We are trying to continue to push the envelope. Consumersat the movies will start tweeting about the ad, and that should helpus build momentum and awareness,” said the company’s vicepresident for marketing Michael Sprague. “Every year, the SuperBowl audience grows.

And if we can tap 5 to 10 million people who see it early, therewill still be 100 million people who haven’t seen it when it breaksduring the Super Bowl. We are simply trying to create the buzz andget people talking,” he said.

Internet

Kia to air big game ads early

P11(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM11


Nigeria’s President visits city wherebombings killed at least 165

LAGOS, 23 Jan — Nigeria’s President toured his nation’s second largest city on Sundayafter blasts there killed at least 165 people, and left the police headquarters and othergovernment buildings in charred ruins. “The message I had for the people of Kano is the samemessage I have for all Nigerians: A terrorist attack on one person is an attack on all of us,”President Goodluck Jonathan said in a post on his official Facebook page after the visit.

Jonathan stopped by several attack sites in the northern city, met with the wounded ata hospital and spoke with victims’ families. Authorities have lifted a daytime curfew imposedin Kano after the bombings, which hit eight government sites Friday. But an overnight curfewremained between 7 pm to 6 am, according to residents. Shell-shocked residents wandered thestreets, looking for loved ones. Others hid behind barricaded doors, too scared to leave forfear of more attacks.

“That’s the scary part, not knowing,” said Faruk Mohammed, 27, who lives near one ofthe bombed police stations. “We don’t know what’s going to happen next, no one thoughtthis would ever happen here. There’s a general sense of despair.”The attacks paired bombblasts with shootings on various sites including police stations, the passport office, statesecurity headquarters and the immigration office. During the attack, assailants entered a policestation, freed detainees and bombed it, authorities said. They later canvassed the area in acar led by motorcycles, spraying targets with gunfire.— Internet Atmosphere tense after Kano attacks.— INTERNET

Arnie visits Austrian townrun on green energy

GUESSING , 23 Jan — It was another chance to tuck into aschnitzel. But Arnold Schwarzenegger’s visit to a small easternAustrian town had a more compelling purpose. Austria’smost famous living son is proud of his record of greeningCalifornia while governor. So his visit to Guessing, whichmeets its energy needs through renewables, was fitting.

In both Guessing and California, “the world has alreadybecome a better one,” he told fans and dignitaries gathered inhis honor Sunday. After a lunch of Wiener schnitzel andKaiserscharrn — chopped up pancakes with jam — Arnietoured the village’s energy plants, describing his push forgreen energy as “my crusade.” And yes, the “Terminator” stardid say, “I’ll be back.”

Internet

Austrianborn actorand formerGovernor ofCalifornia

ArnoldSchwar-zeneggerholds theEnergyGlobe

Aaward hereceivedduring a

Pressconferencein Guessing

in theprovince ofBurgenland,Austria, on

Sunday.INTERNET

Three workers hospitalised in paper mill blazeTUMUT, 23 Jan — Three workers have been taken to

hospital with injuries from a fire at a paper mill near Tumut insouthern New South Wales. Firefighters say it could takedays to fully extinguish the blaze at the Visy site, where morethan 1,200 tonnes of waste paper is alight. Professional andvolunteer brigades were called to the mill about 8:00pm(AEDT) yesterday, with fresh crews brought in this morning.

Mike Liston from the Rural Fire Service says it will bedifficult to put the fire out. “Once we get into the bails we’dbe bringing in excavators and pulling it apart and wetting itdown and extinguishing it as we go,” he said. Of the men

injured, one suffered smoke inhalation, another minor burnsand the third a broken leg. “One of the stacks collapsed andhe got hit by some falling debris,” Mr Liston said of the manwith the fracture.

All three are in Tumut Hospital is a stable condition.Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU)spokesman Ken Fraser says the injured men were all unionmembers. “It could mean we may try and go on the site andinvestigate it and we’ll talk to our members to see where itwent, what happened,” he said. The mill continues to operate,despite the presence of fire crews on site.— Internet

Purported Bonnie and Clyde guns sells for$210K

KANSAS CITY, 23 Jan — Two guns thought to have been used by bank-robbing fugitivesBonnie and Clyde have snatched $210,000 at an auction. The Joplin Globe reported an onlinebidder from the East Coast on Saturday bought the weapons believed to have been seized fromthe outlaw couple’s Joplin hideout in 1933.

Sold were a .45-caliber, fully automatic Thompson submachine gun — better known asa Tommy gun — and a 1897 Winchester 12-gauge shotgun. Mayo Auction, of Kansas City,was not given permission to release the name of the buyer. Two law enforcement officers diedduring a shootout at the Joplin apartment where the couple and members of their gang wereholed up, but all the members of the Clyde Barrow gang escaped.— Internet

This undated file photo provided by Mayo Auction and Realty shows a .45-caliber,fully automatic Thompson submachine gun believed to have been seized from outlaw

couple Bonnie and Clyde.— INTERNET

Companies seegrowth but

few new jobsWASHINGTON, 23 Jan—

Few US companies plan tostep up hiring in the next sixmonths although they doexpect the economy to be a bitstronger this year, accordingto a poll released on Monday.The National Association forBusiness Economics’ in-dustry survey found that two-thirds of respondentsexpected no change inemployment at theircompanies over the first halfof the year. That was thehighest share in recentquarters.

Although the US joblessrate fell to a near three-yearlow of 8.5 percent in December,fewer businesses said theywould hire more workers,compared with the previousindustry poll.

The survey, which wasconducted between 15December 2011, and 5 January2012, found that 65 percent ofrespondents expect grossdomestic product growth toexceed 2 percent between thefourth quarter of last year andthe last quarter of 2012. Thatwas higher than the 1.6 percentgrowth rate economists polledby Reuters found. About two-thirds of the companiessurveyed said the Europeandebt crisis would have littleimpact on their sales over thefirst half the year, while 27percent of respondents saidthey expected to see a declinein sales of 10 percent or less.

Internet

Toyota expected toannounce job cuts

MELBOURNE , 23 Jan — The union representing Toyotaworkers expects the company to announce today that it willcut more than 100 jobs. The Australian Manufacturing WorkersUnion says a drop in demand for locally-made cars and thehigh Australian dollar are hurting the company, despiteending 2011 as Australia’s top car seller.

The company is expected to address workers thisafternoon in Melbourne. Union spokesman Ian Jones saysany job cuts at Toyota will lead to further job losseselsewhere.”For every single job in automotive manufacturingdirectly, you have a three to four to one flow-on effect,” hesaid.

“So if for example they were talking 100 jobs - and I thinkthey’re probably talking about more than that - if they’retalking about 100 jobs then there would be 300 - 400 jobs (lost)elsewhere in the community.”

Internet

Explosioninjures fourin Jabaliya

refugee campGAZA CITY, 23 Jan—An

explosion on Sunday inJabaliya refugee camp injuredfour Palestinians, medics said.Among the injured were acouple and their son, medicalofficials said. The three andanother man were evacuatedto Kamal Udwan Hospital innorthern Gaza. The cause ofthe blast was not immediatelyclear.— Internet

Displaced Palestinian families are seen at the KamalUdwan hospital in the northern Gaza refugee

camp of Jabaliya. INTERNET

p12(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM12


UK boy calls genderdifferences ‘silly’

A British couple postedan Internet video in whichtheir gender-neutral youngson says the culturaldifferences between boys andgirls is “silly.”

“Pink and yellow aregirls’ colours and blue andgreen are boys’ colours,” said5-year-old Sasha Laxton. “Ithink that is really silly.”

Big NYC guy sues over lack of jail uniform

WWF “Life Grows On” photo competition: YellowstoneNational Park, Montana - This photo captures the

boundless sky of the west, the warm richness of sage andthe independent spirit of the cowboy. The adventure of

riding into the backcountry and experience of wildernessare inspirational.

A New York City man says wearing thesame set of clothes in jail for eight months isjust wrong even though he was too big for thelargest institutional duds.

Elias Diaz, 55, filed a $1 million federallawsuit alleging jailers made no effort to finda jumbo jail uniform he could wear rather thanthe single pair of sweats and T-shirt he woreevery day of his incarceration.

Diaz, who weighs 400 pounds, had towash his clothes in the shower. Adding insultto alleged injury was the fact the Vernon C.

Man uses camera to deflectshark bite

News Album

A 42-year-old British diver photographing sharks in theBahamas got an unplanned close-up of inside a shark’s mouthwhen the shark tried to bite him.

Russell Easton, of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, wastaking pictures of a tiger shark off the coast of Cat Island inthe Bahamas when it suddenly snapped at him, the SundayMirror reported.

“I was looking through the viewfinder of the camera whenI suddenly saw this huge mouth and teeth,” Easton said.

“Sharks bite because that is how they find out whatsomething is,” he said. “It had its mouth wide open and wasabout to bite me, but bit the camera instead. That gave me afew vital seconds to swim away.”

Despite his fortunate escape, Easton said he plans tophotograph sharks in the future.

In this photo taken 16 Jan,2012, Kellie Burke of

Bethel, Vt, looks out overwhat was her drivewaybefore Gilhead Brookchanged course duringTropical Storm Irene,

washing away much of herland and creating an island

out of her property. Sincethe storm, Burke, a 48-year-old high school librarian,and June Tierney, a 47-

year-old lawyer who worksfor the state board that

regulates utilities, have tocross a ford — a new,

narrow road that dips intothe old stream and has noguardrails — to get home,

and face an uncertainfuture.

Also silly, according toSasha, is the idea thatdressing up in a tutu andfairy wings at Christmas issomething restricted to littlegirls.

The Sunday Mirrorsaid the video was the latestappearance by Sasha,whose gender was kept asecret by his parents untilhe enrolled in school.

Feminist blogger BeckLaxton and her partner,Kieran Cooper, insist theyare not trying to morph theirson into a daughter but areinstead allowing him todevelop his own personalityfree from the constraints ofsexual stereotypes.

“We wanted tochallenge genderstereotypes,” Laxton said.“So if Sasha wants to dressup in girls’ clothes then sobe it. He has cars and Legoand he also has dolls.”

Bain Centre has a tailor on staff, the New YorkDaily News said. “No one has issued meinstitutional clothing or made any attempt tomeasure me, to attempt to make the clothing,or borrow, purchase or anything else besidestalk about getting me institutionally issuedclothing,” Diaz said in court documents.

Diaz was a size 7X when he was sentencedon a gun charge. His suit alleged the jail neverseemed to be able to find a jumpsuit larger than6X. He also claimed friends tried to send himclothing, but the packages were also rejected.

‘Underworld’ sinks teeth into box office with$25m

LOS ANGELES, 23 Jan— Kate Beckinsaleis back with a vengeance, with her latest“Underworld” movie opening at No 1 thisweekend. “Underworld Awakening” made anestimated $25.4, distributor Sony Screen Gemsreported on Sunday.

This is the fourth film in the vampireaction saga. Beckinsale starred in the first twomovies as the warrior Selene, then bowed outof part three but returned for this latestinstallment. “Underworld Awakening” wasshown for the first time in 3-D as well as onIMAX screens, where it made $3.8 million.That’s 15 percent of the film’s weekend gross,which is a record for an IMAX digital-onlyrun. Sony had hoped the film would end up inthe low-$20 million range. But Rory Bruer, thestudio’s president of worldwide distribution,says the fact that it did even better — despitea snow storm that hit much of the Midwestand East Coast — primarily has to do withBeckinsale’s return.

“She is such a force. Her character — youjust can’t take your eyes off of her. I know thecharacter is very dear to her, as well, and shejust kills it,” Bruer said. “The 3-D aspect of thefilm also brings something, makes it a fun,visceral ride.” Opening in second place was“Red Tails” from executive producer George

Cast member Kate Beckinsale arrives atthe premiere of “Underworld

Awakening” in Los Angeles, on 19 Jan,2012.—INTERNET

American actressElizabeth

McGovern, star ofthe television

series “DowntonAbbey,” attends

the “BritishIndependent FilmAwards” at Old

BillingsgateMarket in London

on 4 Dec, 2011.INTERNET

Historian slams‘Downton Abbey’

NEW YORK, 23 Jan— A noted British historian says thewildly popular “Downton Abbey” television drama isinaccurate and full of stereotyped characters.

Historian Simon Schama, who teaches at ColumbiaUniversity, says the costume drama, playing in Britain and onUS Public Broadcasting Service affiliates, is full of improbablestorylines and historical inaccuracies.

The drama indulges in “cultural necrophilia” and offersnothing but “cliches” about an upper class British family andtheir servants in a stately country home, he wrote in Newsweek.

“Downton serves up a steaming, silvered tureen ofsnobbery,” he wrote this week.

Schama also criticized the show’s stock characters.“The series is fabulously frocked, and acted, and

overacted, and hyper-overacted by all the Usual Suspects inkeeping with their allotted roles,” he wrote.—Internet

Actress Sharon Stonemakes comments during a

tribute to honour thememory of actress and

AIDS activist DameElizabeth Taylor at Macy’sPassport Glamorama at the

Orpheum Theatre in LosAngeles on 23 September,

2011.—INTERNET

Happy momSharon Stone

on the reboundLOS ANGELES, 23 Jan—

Sharon Stone says she ishaving a blast as a mom andgetting back into the swing ofHollywood after recoveringfrom a brain hemorrhage. Thescreen siren gave an interviewpublished recently in AARPThe Magazine detailing herrecovery from the hemorrhagethat struck 10 years ago andhad her questioning whethershe would ever return toacting.

“The side of my face wasfalling down,” Stone told herAARP. “I thought, ‘I’ll neverbe pretty again. Who’s goingto want to be around me?’”

People said this weekthat there are indeed folkswho want her around. Shehas film projects in the works,including a part in theupcoming biopic about 1970sporn starlet Linda Lovelace.

Internet

Lucas, about the Tuskegee Airmen who werethe first black fighter pilots to serve in WorldWar II. It made an estimated $19.1 million,according to 20th Century Fox, which waswell above expectations; the studio had hopedto reach double digits, said Chris Aronson,executive vice president of domesticdistribution.—Internet

Razzies worst-movieawards shift to

April Fool’s Day

Jim Reeves’ music royalties at issue in trialNASHVILLE, 23 Jan— A trial over how music royalties of

the late country singer “Gentleman” Jim Reeves should besplit is set to begin this week.

Reeves was a country music sensation when he diednearly 50 years ago in a plane crash at the age of 39.

The two-day trial that begins Monday will focus on howmuch Terry Davis, who married Reeves’ widow, shouldreceive from royalties of up to $400,000 a year, The Tennesseanreported.

Reeves is best known for the lyric “Put your sweet lipsa little closer to the phone” but he stayed on the charts from1970 through 1984 because of how his widow, Mary ReevesDavis, managed his posthumous career. His most popularsongs included “He’ll Have To Go” and “Welcome To MyWorld.”—Internet

LOS ANGELES, 23 Jan— Hollywood’s awardseason is going to linger on through AprilFool’s Day this year.

Organizers of the Razzies have changedthe schedule for their nominations and prizeceremony. The spoof on the Academy Awardspicks the year’s worst films. The Razzies usedto announce contenders the night before theOscar nominations, which are coming Tuesday.

Razzies founder John Wilson announcedSunday that nominations this season will bereleased 25 Feb, the eve of the Oscar ceremony.Winners of the Razzies will be announced on1 April. Wilson says Razzies organizers havelong wanted to have their awards coincide withApril Fool’s Day. A news release announcingthe change also notes that it will give the 600Razzies voters “additional time to see the dreckthey will eventually nominate.”—Internet

In this in1958 file

photoCountry

singer JimReeves

poses withhis

Gibson J-200

guitar onthe

“CountryMusic

Jubilee.”INTERNET

P13 (24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM13


Redknapp says MarioBalotelli should have been

sent offLONDON , 23 Jan —

Tottenham boss HarryRedknapp says MarioBalotelli should not have beenon the pitch to win and convertManchester City’s injury-timewinner from the penalty spotafter the Italian appeared tostamp on Scott Parker. Despitethe 3-2 defeat, Redknapp sayshe is proud of the way histeam played at the EtihadStadium and is disappointedJermain Defoe was “inchesshort” of putting Spurs aheadin the dying minutes.

Internet

Harry Redknapp saysMario Balotelli shouldhave been sent off for

“blatantly” kicking ScottParker in the head during

the 3-2 defeat byManchester City.

INTERNET

Platt says mixedemotions for

Man City bossRobertoMancini

LONDON, 23 Jan —Manchester City coach DavidPlatt says Roberto Manciniis both delighted with City’s3-2 victory over Tottenhamand disappointed his sidemanaged to let a two-goallead slip before MarioBalotelli’s match-winningpenalty in injury time. Plattsays Mancini could only“whisper” profound wordsin the changing room to hisplayers after a dramatic finalfew minutes at the EtihadStadium.

Internet

Sir Alex Ferguson pleased with Man Utddefensive display

LONDON, 23 Jan —Manchester United boss SirAlex Ferguson says he ishappy to just “keep on the

coattails” of local rivalsManchester City after hisside’s 2-1 win over Arsenal atthe Emirates keeps them three

points behind the PremierLeague leaders.

Ferguson is full of praisefor the performance of his

defenders, and reservesspecial mention for in-formwinger Antonio Valencia,who scored United’s openerand set up DannyWelbeck’s winner.

Internet

Petra Kvitova beats AnaIvanovic at Australian Open

2012

Kvitova is intothe last eightfor the secondyear running.

INTERNET

MELBOURNE , 23 Jan —Petra Kvitova remains incontention for the AustralianOpen title and world numberone ranking after beating AnaIvanovic to reach the quarter-finals.

The Czech second seed,who has a chance ofreplacing Caroline Wozniacki

Holly Bleasdalesmashes ownBritish polevault recordLYON , 23 Jan — Pole

vaulter Holly Bleasdalesmashed her own Britishindoor record and moved tosecond on the all-time worldlist with a clearance of 4.87min Lyon. The 20-year-oldimproved her record by onecentimetre in going over at4.72m, and managed 4.80m atthe first attempt. She thencleared 4.87m at the thirdattempt to win the event andassume the lead in the worldrankings. Only world recordholder Yelena Isinbayeva ofRussia has gone higher, witha clearance of 5m. Inattempting to beat that record,Bleasdale failed to clear 5.01m,but was nonetheless satisfiedwith what she achieved inFrance.— Internet

Bleasdale has broken theBritish record three times

in the last 12 months.INTERNET

Serena Williams loses toEkaterina Makarova atAustralian Open 2012

MELBOURNE , 23 Jan —Serena Williams became themost high-profile casualty atthe Australian Open so farafter suffering a shock last-16 defeat by unseededEkaterina Makarova.

The 13-time majorchampion - a five-time winnerat Melbourne Park - made 37unforced errors as 56th-ranked Makarova won 6-2 6-3 in 82 minutes. “I don’t know

Williams had won her last17 matches at Melbourne

Park.—INTERNET

what to say. It’s an amazingfeeling,” said Makarova. Inher first Grand Slam quarter-final, the Russian will playcompatriot Maria Sharapovaor Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.The result ended Williams’s17-match Australian Openwinning streak.

The American, seeded12th after an injury-hit 18months, and absent from lastyear’s tournament, had notlost in Melbourne since adefeat by Jelena Jankovic in2008.

It was was her first loss toa player ranked outside theworld’s top 50 in three yearsand only the third time since2006 she had lost before thequarter-finals of a GrandSlam.— Internet

at the top of the rankings, won6-2 7-6 (7-2) on a scorchingday at Melbourne Park. “Itwas a really tough match atthe end of the second set,”said the reigning Wimbledonchampion.Kvitova will playSara Errani of Italy who beatChina’s Zheng Jie 6-2 6-1.

Internet

Mourinho faces Real Madrid revoltMADRID, 23 Jan — Jose

Mourinho was facing a RealMadrid revolt on Sundayafter he claimed his playerswere stabbing him in the back,sports daily Marca reported.Marca claimed thecombustible Portuguesecoach had accused some ofhis stars of trying to betrayhim by conducting awhispering campaign in thePress.

“You killed me in themixed zone,” Mourinho wasreported to have said to hisplayers, referring to thebustling area where media getthe opportunity to talk to

players after matches.“Obviously, as you

Spanish are the the worldchampions, your friends inthe press will protect you.”The fall-out between thecoach and his team came inthe aftermath of Madrid’s 2-1defeat by Barcelona in theKing’s Cup quarter-final firstleg on Wednesday.

Marca said thatMourinho had rowed withdefender Sergio Ramos, whohe claimed had not markedCarles Puyol closely enough,allowing the veteran Barcaplayer to score the equaliserin Wednesday’s tie.

The newspaper evenreported the pair’s heatedexchange. “Ramos: ‘Wedecided to change the markingpositions (with Pepe).’“Mourinho: ‘So you are tryingto be the coach?’ “Ramos:‘No, but sometimes you haveto change the marking in amatch. As you have neverworn the shirt as a high-levelplayer, you wouldn’t knowthat this situation sometimespresents itself.’” Madrid weredue to host Athletic Bilbaoon Sunday evening, whenthey will bid to re-establishtheir five-point lead at the LaLiga summit.— Internet

International Sports

Andy Murray beats Mikhail Kukushkin atAustralian Open 2012

MELBOURNE , 23 Jan —Andy Murray reached theAustralian Open quarter-finals for a third year runningafter Mikhail Kukushkinretired through injury whiletrailing 6-1 , 6-1 ,1-0. Theeffects of two five-setmatches in rounds two andthree took their toll onKukushkin, who pulled outwith a left hip flexor problemafter 49 minutes.

“It was hot on the courtand it is good for me that Ihave conserved energy,”

Murray extended hiswinning run to nine

matches with an easyvictory.—INTERNET

said British number oneMurray.

The fourth seed willplay Kei Nishikori after hestunned Jo-Wilfried

Tsonga. Murray has awinning record against the24th seed, the first Japaneseman to reach the Australianquarter-finals for 80 years,and the Scot approachesthat match on Wednesdayfeeling fresh.

He described the winover the 24-year-old Kazakhplayer as “boring” andstated his intention to returnto Rod Laver Arena later onMonday for an extra practicesession.

Internet

LONDON, 23 Jan—Nedum Onuoha’s £3million transfer from Manchester City to QPR isin doubt after Everton expressed an interest in the defender.

Hoops boss Mark Hughes said at the weekend he expected to make at least one newsigning on Monday and it was thought the Onuoha deal was the closest to completion.

However, the 25-year-old, who is not part of Roberto Mancini’s plans at the EtihadStadium, has now been given another option.

Everton boss David Moyes has registered his interest and a move to Goodison Park islikely to prove attractive to the player, reports the People.

Onuoha, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, is said to be keen to stay in the north-west, even though he could expect a larger salary at Loftus Road.

QPR are working on a host of other deals, as Hughes looks to build a squad capable ofavoiding relegation.

Chelsea centre-back Alex, Spurs midfielder Steven Pienaar, Fulham striker BobbyZamora and Birmingham goalkeeper Ben Foster, who is currently on loan at West Brom, areamong the Welshman’s targets.—Internet

Manchester City’s Nedum Onuoha hasattracted interest from QPR and Everton

Nedum Onuoha’sQPR transfer in

doubt as Evertonalso make a move

MANCHESTER, 23 Jan—Manchester United areinterested in Brazil strikerLeandro Damiao.

The 22-year-old was

Leandro Damiao(right) has several

admirers in thePremier League.

United set to rival Spurs in chasefor £24m Brazil hotshot Damiao

continuing toshow interestin CrystalPalace full-b a c kN a t h a n i a lClyne andS o u t h a m p-ton’s LukeShaw, 16.

Internet

subject of a £15million bidfrom Tottenham in thesummer but his clubInternacional want £24m.

United are also

p14(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:57 AM14


Weather Map of Myanmar and Neighbouring Areas

Weather for 24th January, 2012Overseas Transmission* News* A worth studying site for

ancient Myanmar Heritages* News* Secret Places for Yummy

Food "Myanmar RiceMeal"

* News* Paying Obeisance the

Teachers Ceremony By1982-90 Batch of theUniversity of Medicine (I)

* Music Gallery* Commemoration of 64th

Anniversary of theIndependence Day

* Youth and Language"YUFL (Part-1)"

* Amazing InteriorDecoration

* Song for You* News* Kanyin Dam, A Pride of

Ayeyarwaddy Region* Culture Stage* Serenely Pleasant Pindaya* Myanmar Movies

‘‘Never Lie To YourHeart’’

(24-1-12 09:30 am ~25-1-12 09:30 am) MST

MYANMARINTERNATIONAL

MYANMAR TV(24-1-2012) (Tuesday)

Focus Myanmar TV Programme

R/489 Printed and published by the New Light of Myanmar press in Nay Pyi Taw, the News and Periodicals Enterprise, Ministry of Information.

7:00 am 1. Paritta By Venerable

Mingun Sayadaw7:40 am 2. Nice & Sweet Song8:10 am 3. Song Of National Races8:25 am 4. Teleplay (Traffic)8:40 am 5. International News8:45 am 6. Local Talent4:00 pm 1. Martial Song4:35 pm 2. One Village & One

Product5:00 pm 3. Songs For Upholding

National Spirit5:20 pm 4. Teleplay (Health)5:25 pm 5. Documentary7:00 pm 6. TV Drama Series8:00 pm7. News8. Bakery World9. TV Drama Series10. India Drama Series

DISTRICT NEWS

Revenue matters discussedHPA-AN, 22 Jan—Internal Revenue Department of Hpa-

an Township held a coordination meeting for 2011-2012fiscal year at its office in Hpa-an on 14 January. Head ofState IRD U Khin Maung Win discussed levying varioustaxes and reviewing the tasks. Heads of Township IRDssubmitted collection of taxes till December 2011 and futuretasks.—District IPRD

Uniformsprovided

tomidwiferytrainees

NAMKHAM, 22 Jan—Muse District Maternal and ChildWelfare Supervisory Committee clarified its tasks andprovided uniforms to midwives at the People’s Hospital inNamkham Township on 5 January.

Chairperson of Muse District MCWSC Daw Nwe OoMon and officials explained conducting of midwifery course.Later, they presented uniforms to 24 midwifery coursetrainees.

Township IPRD

Temperature (°C/°F) For Tomorrow Sr.

No. Regions/States

Maximum Minimum Forecast Percent

1 Kachin 25/77 09/48 Partly cloudy

2 Kayah 28/82 07/45 Partly cloudy

3 Kayin 36/97 15/59 Likelihood of isolated light rain or

thundershowers (60%)

4 Chin 20/68 -02/30 Partly cloudy

5 Upper Sagaing 27/81 10/50 Partly cloudy

6 Lower Sagaing 30/86 12/54 Generally fair weather

7 Taninthayi 35/95 21/70 Likelihood of isolated light rain or


8 Bago 32/90 14/57 Generally fair weather

9 Magway 31/88 14/57 Generally fair weather

10 Mandalay 31/88 13/55 Generally fair weather

11 Mon 36/97 18/64 Likelihood of isolated light rain or


12 Yangon 33/91 15/59 Partly cloudy

13 Rakhine 27/81 12/54 Partly cloudy

14 Southern Shan 25/77 07/45 Partly cloudy

15 Northern Shan 26/79 05/41 Partly cloudy

16 Eastern Shan 28/82 08/46 Likelihood of isolated light rain or


17 Ayeyawady 32/90 16/61 Partly cloudy

18 Neighbouring Nay Pyi Taw 33/91 12/54 Generally fair weather

19 Neighbouring Yangon 33/91 15/59 Partly cloudy

20 Neighbouring Mandalay 31/88 13/55 Generally fair weather

Summary of

observations at

09:30 hr MST on

today

During the past (24) hours, weather has been partly cloudy in Upper Sagaing, Yangon and

Taninthayi Regions, Kachin, Shan and Kayah States and generally fair in the remaining Regions

and States. Night temperatures were (3°C) to (4°C) below January average temperatures in

Upper Sagaing, Magway, Bago and Yangon Regions, Kayah and Kayin States, (5°C) below

January average temperatures in Chin State and about January average temperatures in the

remaining Regions and States. The significant night temperature were Hakha (-1°C), Pinlaung

(0°C), Namsam, Heho and Loilin (1°C) each.

Bay Inference Weather is partly cloudy to cloudy in the Andaman Sea and South Bay and partly cloudy

elsewhere in the Bay of Bengal.

State of the Sea Seas will be slight to moderate in Myanmar waters.

Outlook for sub-

sequent two days Likelihood of isolated light rain in the extreme Southern Myanmar Areas.

LONDON, 23 Jan—Arsene Wenger does not intend torush into the transfer market to beef up his Arsenal squaddespite the club’s defensive frailties being made glaringlyapparent in yesterday’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.

Thomas Vermaelen and Johan Djourou had a torridtime playing out of position at full-back and it was nocoincidence that United’s two goals from Antonio Valenciaand Danny Welbeck came from wide positions.

Wenger has had no fit recognised full-backs sincebefore Christmas, but the Frenchman refuses to enter themarket and wants to focus instead on helping the likes ofBacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs and Andre Santos return to fullfitness.

Asked whether he agreed with the view that Arsenalmust spend to improve, Wenger replied “I don’t. Spendingmoney is not the target. It never has been in life.

“We need our players back. We missed 10 players.When you see what we created in the second half, it’simportant for us to get the players back.” Arsenal, who arewithout long-term injury victim Jack Wilshere, have also

Wenger not tempted torush into transfer market

Barclays Premier League start yesterday. The 18-year-oldwinger took full advantage, causing havoc down bothflanks with his speed and trickery. He set up Robin van Persiefor the equaliser in the second half after Valencia had putUnited ahead, but found himself off the pitch two minuteslater when Wenger surprisingly substituted the youngsterfor unpopular forward Andrey Arshavin. Many Arsenal fansbooed loudly and even captain Van Persie seemed at oddswith the move, appearing to mouth “no” as the fourth officialheld the board aloft indicating Oxlade-Chamberlain’sdeparture.

To make matters worse, Arshavin’s slack markingallowed Welbeck to turn home the winner nine minutes fromtime.

Nevertheless, Wenger insists the substitution wasjustified and lashed out at the fans who criticised him.

He said: “I can understand that the fans are upset aboutthe substitution, especially when it doesn’t work, but he(Oxlade-Chamberlain) had started to fatigue. “He was sickin the week. You have an 18-year-old kid making his firstPremier League start and a player who’s captain of hiscountry and they are querying the substitution? Let’s beserious. “I’ve been a manager for 30 years and have made50,000 subs. I do not have to justify every decision I make.I stand up for it.”—Internet

been hit by the absence of Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh,who are at the African Nations Cup.

One positive aspect of the duo’s absence has been thatWenger was able to give Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain his first

Ronaldo double as Real hit by‘player revolt’ row

MADRID, 23 Jan — Cristiano Ronaldo scored twopenalties as Real Madrid restored their five-point LaLiga advantage with a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao asthe club reeled from allegations of a player revolt.Ronaldo took his season’s league tally to 23, just hoursafter Lionel Messi had hit a fifth hat-trick of the seasonin Barcelona’s 4-1 triumph at Malaga. That put theArgentine star on 22 goals for the campaign as thechampions temporarily cut the gap on their bitter rivalsto two points.

On the day that Marca sports daily claimed coachJose Mourinho had accused some Real stars of betrayinghim in the aftermath of the midweek King’s Cup defeatto Barca, things got worse for his side. Fernando Llorentegave Athletic a shock lead after 12 minutes following aninch perfect pass from Javi Martinez and in an evenly-contested first half Oscar De Marcos was denied a secondgoal when keeper Iker Casillas blocked well.— Internet

Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo

P15(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM15

Tuesday, 24 January, 20121st Waxing of Tabodwe 1373 ME

Drug-resistant malaria found inGreater Mekong Sub-region

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Jan—“Malaria is one of the diseasesMyanmar needs to fight as top priority for it remains aspublic health issue in Myanmar like such South Asian andSouth East Asian nations as India, Indonesia, Bangladeshand Timor Leste”, said Union Minister for Health Dr Pe Thet

Khin at the opening of Myanmar Artemisinin ResistanceContainment (MARC) Symposium at Amara Hotel herethis morning.

The Union Minister continued that malaria is rooted in284 out of 330 townships in Myanmar. Especially, malaria is

frequently seen in rural and border regions. A total of 68 percent of the whole population resides in areas vulnerable tomalaria. According to statistics of the Health Department,650,000 persons suffered from malaria, of which 788 died in2010.

He added that migrant workers, workers engaged indevelopment projects, emigrants to malaria-infectedregions, and those engaged in farming, wood-cutting, andforest-related works are mostly suffered from malaria and ofthose, migrant workers are the most vulnerable. As nationalanti-malaria movement, currently, campaigns againstmalaria are being conducted according to national anti-malaria strategies and global anti-malaria strategies.

He went on that malaria viruses have now graduallybecome resistant to artemininin, which was first found inborder areas of Thailand and Cambodia and later in someregions of Greater Mekong Sub-region basin, especially inborder regions linked with eastern areas of Myanmar, warnedthe Union Minister.

If the situation gets worsen, it would heavily deter theprogress of anti-malaria campaigns worldwide. Theultimate goal of Artemisinin Resistance ContainmentPlan is to prevent the spread of artemisinin resistance notonly in Myanmar but also to countries sharing borderswith it, at least to hinder the spread of artemisinin resistancesignificantly.

Afterwards, the discussion was held, chaired by DeputyDirector-General Dr Saw Lwin and participants held talkson anti-malaria campaigns and measures to controlartemisinin resistance.

MNA

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Jan—The semi-finals for the fifth NayPyi Taw Inter-ministry volleyball (2012) continued at NayPyi Taw Volleyball Stadium this morning and evening.

In the morning event, the Ministry of Industry team beatthe Ministry of Construction team 3-1. In the evening event,the Ministry of Border Affairs team rooted the Ministry ofInformation team 3-0. On 26 January, the Ministry ofInformation team meets the Ministry of Construction teamfor the third place. And on 27 January, the Ministry ofIndustry team plays against the Ministry of Border Affairsteam for the final match.—MNA

Semi-finals of Nay Pyi TawInter-ministry volleyball (2012)

PATHEIN, 23 Jan—In accord with the rural developmentand poverty alleviation programme of Ayeyawady Region,a workshop on Livestock Products Market took place at theoffice of Ayeyawady Region Livestock Breeding andVeterinary Department in Pathein on 31 December.

Deputy Director of Region LBVD Dr Tin Maung Ayemade a speech. Members of the Region Livestock BreedingCommittee, layer breeders and egg traders participated indiscussions on market situation of livestock breeding andthe ways to improve it.—District IPRD

Workshop on Livestock ProductsMarket held in Pathein

Significantnight

temperatures

(23-1-2012)

Union Minister for Health Dr Pe Thet Khin addresses opening of Myanmar Artemisinin ResistanceContainment (MARC) Symposium.—MNA

Haka (-1°C)Pinlaung (0°C)Namhsan (1°C)Loilin (1°C)Heho (2°C)

Chelsea have revealed that Frank Lampard has asmall calf tear and is unlikely to face Queens Park

Rangers in the FA Cup.

Lampard learns injury fateMidfielder set to miss QPR clash

with minor calf tearLONDON, 23 Jan—The midfielder was substituted before

half-time on Saturday as Chelsea played out a goallessdraw with Norwich in the Premier League.

Lampard was later seen on the bench with the legheavily strapped but Andre Villas-Boas stated after thegame that he was hopeful the injury was not too serious.

Scans have now shown that the England internationalonly suffered a minor problem and should be available forselection again in the near future.

Revealing the extent of the damage in a statement ontheir official website, Chelsea indicated that Lampardwould probably sit out this weekend’s clash with QPR.

Sky Bet OddsCould an injury lay off open the door for interested

clubs to make offers for the Chelsea midfielder? He’s 11/2 to sign for LA Galaxy! Bet now.

The Blues then face Swansea in the league on Tuesday31st January and will hope to have Lampard back in

contention.“A scan on the injury Frank Lampard suffered during

the game at Norwich on Saturday shows he has a small tearin a calf muscle,” read the club statement.

“The midfielder is unlikely to feature in the FA Cupfourth-round match against Queens Park Rangers onSaturday but is expected to join up with the rest of thesquad in Mallorca where they are training this week.”

Internet

Scientists test sick Alaskaseals for radiation

SEATTLE, 23 Jan—Scientists in Alaska are investigatingwhether local seals are being sickened by radiation fromJapan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Scores of ring sealshave washed up on Alaska’s Arctic coastline since July,suffering or killed by a mysterious disease marked by bleedinglesions on the hind flippers, irritated skin around the nose andeyes and patchy hair loss on the animals’ fur coats.

Biologists at first thought the seals were suffering from

a virus, but they have so far been unable to identify one, andtests are now underway to find out if radiation is a factor.

“We recently received samples of seal tissue fromdiseased animals captured near St Lawrence Island with arequest to examine the material for radioactivity,” said JohnKelley, Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Marine Scienceat the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “There is concernexpressed by some members of the local communities thatthere may be some relationship to the Fukushima nuclearreactor’s damage,” he said. The results of the tests would notbe available for “several weeks,” Kelley said.—Reuters

Labour Ministry closely cooperatingwith ILO for forced labour issues

PAGE 2

A new

way to

beat

blood

cancer?PAGE 4

Redknapp saysMario Balotelli

should havebeen sent off

PAGE 14

Andy Murraybeats MikhailKukushkin at

AustralianOpen 2012

PAGE 14

P16(24).pmd 1/24/2012, 8:42 AM16

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