Volume XVI, Number 250 12th Waning of Nadaw 1370 ME Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

* Development of agriculture as the base and all-round development of other sectors of theeconomy as well

* Proper evolution of the market-oriented eco-nomic system

* Development of the economy inviting partici-pation in terms of technical know-how andinvestments from sources inside the countryand abroad

* The initiative to shape the national economymust be kept in the hands of the State and thenational peoples

* Uplift of the morale and morality of theentire nation

* Uplift of national prestige and integrity andpreservation and safeguarding of culturalheritage and national character

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

ards of the entire nation

* Stability of the State, community peace andtranquillity, prevalence of law and order

* National reconsolidation* Emergence of a new enduring State Consti-

tution* Building of a new modern developed nation in

accord with the new State Constitution

Four economic objectives

Four social objectives

Four political objectives

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Dec—Lt-Gen Tha Aye of theMinistry of Defence inspected the axis for construc-tion of approach road of Thamok Bridge from Myeikstation and worksite for Seaweed Co by the ThamokRiver on 20 December. Lt-Gen Tha Aye inspected the320 acres of rubber plantation of U Aung Lin ofMayanbinchaung village in Myeik Township, ten acresof model oil palm plantation of Coastal Region Com-mand in Bokchan Village, the axis of Dawei-Myeikrailroad, site for construction of Meelaung Creek Bridgeand Station in Myeik Township and the site chosen forconstruction of Tabo Station in Tabo Village.

Lt-Gen Tha Aye also inspected supply of power from

Rubber, oil palm thrivingin Myeik, Palaw townships

Aungsetkya bio-gas power station and repair of Myeik-Dawei road near Toe Village, the site for construction ofPalaw Station in Palaw Township and vegetable planta-tion of regional battalions in Palauk Township.

Lt-Gen Tha Aye inspected Palauk Township Hos-pital and presented hospital equipment and medicineswith officials and cash assistance to the patients.

Lt-Gen Tha Aye inspected the1,500-acre rubberplantation of Coastal Region Command and housingcomplex for war veterans, rubber and oil palm planta-tions on both sides of Myeik-Dawei Road and the6,000 acres of oil palm plantation of U Kin Sein inPalauk Township.—MNA

Caffeine has greater effecton men, and starts only tenminutes after consumption

Caffeine has a much greater effect on men thanwomen.—INTERNET

BARCELONA, 23 Dec — A study headed by re-searchers from the University of Barcelona (UB) showsthat caffeine has a greater effect on men than women,and that these effects start just 10 minutes after it isdrunk. In addition, contrary to what was previouslythought, it has also been shown that decaffeinatedcoffee also produces an increased state of alertness.

“Numerous studies have demonstrated the stimu-lant effects of caffeine, but none of these have lookedat their effects in terms of the consumer’s gender,” AnaAdan, lead author of the study and a researcher in thePsychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology Department ofthe UB, tells SINC. Research into the effects of caf-feine tends to be carried out using preparations inwhich the caffeine level is much higher than normalintake. According to Adan, the novelty of this studylies in “the difference seen in the effects on men andwomen, based on the quantities of caffeine people takein 99% of cases (espresso coffee and decaffeinatedespresso coffee, containing 100mg and 5mg of caf-feine, respectively)”.—Internet Diarra

Diarra chose Real Madridhonour over Man City riches

MADRID, 23 Dec—Lassana Diarra has dis-closed that he has rejecteda more lucrative move toManchester City in orderto accept the honour ofbeing a Real Madridplayer.

The France interna-tional midfielder has con-firmed his transfer to theSantiago Bernabeu thatwill be completed whenthe transfer window opensin the New Year.

Portsmouth, who are

facing financial problems,had recently accepted an‘exceptional’ offer fromthe Spanish giants with thefee reported to be £20mil-lion after the 23-year-oldformer Chelsea and Arse-nal player attracted atten-tion from the Europeanpowerhouse with impres-sive performances atFratton Park and for hiscountry.

Diarra told L'Equipe:"Were Manchester Citykeen to sign me? Yes, in-deed.

"On a financial level,I would have earned a lotmore. I love the PremierLeague, but Real are veryattractive. I believe I haveearned respect."

He said: "I was in Eng-land for five years, and Ihave learnt a lot of thingsthere. I became very at-tached to the PremierLeague.—Internet

Lt-Gen Tha Aye of the Ministry of Defence inspects 320-acre rubber plantation offarmer U Aung Lin in Mayanbinchaung village in Myeik.—MNA

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM1

2 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

Myanmar is blessed with plenty of watersources, temperate climate, favourablegeographical features and fertile soil. So, it growsgrain crops such as paddy, wheat and corn,edible oil crops such as sesame, groundnut andsunflower, and industrial crops such as cotton,jute, and sugarcane, and beans and pulses on alarge scale.

Beans and pulses are rich in protein. So,beans and pulses, like rice and wheat, are ingrowing demand in local and foreign markets.Consuming peas every day contributes tointellectual development and physical growth.

Black gram, a marketable crop at home andabroad, is grown on a commercial scale inAyeyawady, Bago, Sagaing, Mandalay andMagway Divisions. Chick pea is grown mostlyin Sagaing, Magway and Mandalay Divisions.Mandalay Division grows soya bean as a coldseason crop. Madaya, Myingyan and NgazunTownships cultivate soya bean more than anyother region.

Myanmar’s beans and pulses have a footholdin the international market, so it is required totake measures to get high prices. High-yieldquality strains of beans and pulses are to becultivated extensively to boost export, andpriority is to be given to the strains that do notneed much chemical fertilizer and pesticide.

Since November, Myanmar has boostedexport of beans and pulses across China-Myanmar border, through which it exportsbeans and pulses most. It also increasedexporting beans and pulses by sea in earlyDecember. Myanmar's beans and pulses gomostly to India, Pakistan, China, Japan, theRepublic of Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.Plans are now under way to seek more foreignmarkets for the crops.

Therefore, entrepreneurs and farmers willbe able to gain higher income by cultivatingbeans and pulses of suitable quality strains on awider scale and exploring new markets.

Cultivate and export beansand pulses on a wider scale

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

People’s DesirePERSPECTIVES

YANGON, 23 Dec—Minister for Transport Maj-Gen Thein Swe and officials concerned inspectedMandalay International Airport and gave necessaryinstructions on 20 December.

Upon arrival at Hkamti Airport, the minister

Runways extended at Mandalay InternationalAirport and Hkamti Airport

and party looked into progress in extending the runway.Hkamti original runway is 4200 feet long and 100 feetwide. The already-extended runway is 6000 feet long,100 feet wide and 24.5 inches high.

MNA

YANGON, 23Dec—Under the aegis ofMyanmar FishEntrepreneur Associationand Myanmar PrawnEntrepreneur As-sociation, the concludingceremony of No.6 basiccourse of fresh waterprawn breeding was heldat the Thiriannawa hallof Myanmar FisheriesDepartment here this

Fresh water prawn breeding basiccourse concludes

morning. First, Director-

General of FisheriesDepartment U KhinMaung Aye delivered aspeech. Next, President ofMyanmar FisheriesEntrepreneur AssociationU Htay Myint andMyanmar PrawnEntrepreneur AssociationU Hla Shwe Maung madespeeches.

Then, Director-General of FisheriesDepartment U KhinMaung Aye gave thecompletion certificates tothe trainees, and on behalfof the trainees, therepresentative spokewords of thanks.Afterwards, officialsconcerned presentedinstructors gifts.

MNA

Minister Maj-Gen Thein Swe inspects progress in extending the runway of Hkamti Airport.MNA

Mayor Brig-Gen AungThein Lin, UMFCCIVice-President U ZawMin Win and MalaysianAmbassador Mr.Mazlan Mohamad openthe seminar on palm oiland oil products jointlyorganized by FeldaDelima Oil Products SdnBhd and Malaysia PalmOil Council (MPOC) incollaboration withYCDC and UMFCCI at Traders Hotel on 19 December, 2008.

YCDC

Press meet on opening of Myanmar BookCenter (Branch) of Myanmar Book Center Co

Ltd in progress at Mr Brown Cafe inKyauktada Township on 21 December. —MNA

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM2

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008 3

UN recognizes end of mandateof multinational force in Iraq

US military deathsin Iraq war at 4,212

WASHINGTON, 23 Dec—As of Monday, 22 Dec,2008, at least 4,212 members of the US military haddied in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003.

The figure includes eight military civilians killedin action. At least 3,397 military personnel died as aresult of hostile action, according to the military’snumbers. The British military has reported 176deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria,13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five;Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Es-tonia, Netherlands, Thailand and Romania, two each;and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan and South Ko-rea, one death each.—Internet

WASHINGTON, 23 Dec—A press release by the USmilitary out of Karmah, Iraq, said a Marine died Sun-day as a result of wounds received when he was at-tacked by enemy forces.

The release today by Multinational Corps-Iraq saidthe name of the deceased Marine was being withheldpending notification of next-of-kin.

About 1,000 Marines with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Ma-rines out of Kane’ohe Bay are based in and aroundKarmah, which is near the western city of Fallujah.

Marine Corps Base Hawai’i officials could not bereached to determine whether the fallen Marine isbased out of Hawai’i.—Internet

Four recruiter suicideslead to Army probe

Afghan Niurkhan, 11,stands next to his tent

in Afshar refugeecamp in Kabul, Af-

ghanistan. Niurkhanwho lost his parentsduring fighting be-

tween coalition forcesand Taleban militants

fled his village inHelmand Province to

seek shelter inthe refugee camp in

southern Kabul.INTERNET

Obama’s electionvoted top news story

of 2008NEW YORK, 23 Dec—The epic election that made

Barack Obama the first African-American presidentwas the top news story of 2008—followed closely bythe economic meltdown that will test his leadership,according to US editors and news directors voting inThe Associated Press’ annual poll.

The campaign, with subplots emerging throughoutthe year, received 100 first-place votes out of 155 bal-lots cast for the top 10 stories. Two other political sa-gas—the history-making candidacies of HillaryRodham Clinton and Sarah Palin—also made the list.

The vast economic crisis, plunging the US into re-cession and ravaging many business sectors world-wide, was the No 2 story, receiving 49 first-place votes.The precipitous rise and fall of oil prices was No 3.The top story of 2007 was the massacre of 32 peopleat Virginia Tech University by a mentally disturbedstudent gunman.—Internet

UNITED NATIONS, 23Dec—The UN SecurityCouncil unanimouslyvoted on Monday to recog-nize the expiration of themandate of the US-ledmultinational force in Iraq(MNF-I) by the end of theyear. The 15-member bodyadopted a US-British reso-lution “recognizing the ex-piration of the mandate ofthe multinational force atthe end of 31 December2008,” as requested by theIraqi government.

“This terminationmarks a turning point for

Iraq and the end of an im-portant era for the UNand, above all, the con-tributing countries to theMNF-I,” Iraqi ForeignMinister Hoshyar Zebaritold the council.

Zebari said that Iraqand the United States havenegotiated “new securityarrangements to direct thefuture bilateral partner-ship” between the twocountries, including anagreement on the with-drawal of US forces fromIraq and a strategic frame-work agreement for US-

Iraq friendship and coop-eration, which have beenapproved by the Iraqi gov-ernment and parliament.

Past Security Councilresolutions which author-ized and extended theMNF mandate, have beenbased on the “premise thatthe MNF-I’s continuedpresence would be untilsuch time that Iraq can as-sume full responsibilityand self-sufficiency inmaintaining security forthe country and the peopleof Iraq,” he said.

Internet

A man looks at burntmilitary vehicles in a

compound on the out-skirts of Peshawar on 15Dec, 2008. Many Paki-

stani truckers havehalted taking supplies to

Western forces in Af-ghanistan because of an

upsurge in militantattacks on goods andequipment truckedthrough Pakistan,transport company

officials said on Mon-day.—INTERNET

Three killed in suicide blastin southern Afghan

Marinereportedkilled inKarmah,

Iraq

HENDERSON, 23 Dec—Sgt 1st Class PatrickHenderson, a strappingIraq combat veteran,spent the last, miserablemonths of his life as anArmy recruiter, cold-call-ing dozens of people a dayfrom his strip-mall officeand sitting in strangers’living rooms, trying tosign up their sons anddaughters for an unpopu-lar war.

He put in 13-hour days,six days a week, often en-

countering abuse fromyoung people or their par-ents. When he and otherrecruiters would gripeabout the pressure to meettheir quotas, their superi-ors would snarl that theyought to be grateful theywere not in Iraq, accord-ing to his widow.

Less than a year intothe job, Henderson —af-flicted by flashbacks andsleeplessness after histour of battle in Iraq—went into his backyard

shed, slid the chain lockin place, and hanged him-self with a dog chain.

He became, at age 35,the fourth member of theArmy’s Houston Recruit-ing Battalion to commitsuicide in the past threeyears—something Hen-derson’s widow and oth-ers blame on the psycho-logical scars of combat,combined with the pres-sure-cooker job of tryingto sell the war.

Internet

GHAZNI, 23 Dec—Asuicide blast killed threepeople and injured fiveothers in the centre of thesouthern Afghan city ofGhazni on Monday, po-lice said.

A car filled with explo-sives detonated while an

alleged suicide bomberwas driving along a busyroad in Ghazni, about 120kilometres southwest ofthe capital, Kabul, Ghazniprovincial deputy policechief Mohammad Zamansaid.

“Three civilians, the

suicide attacker and hisdriver were killed and fivecivilians were wounded,”Zaman told Pakistan’sGeo News.

Zaman said the bomb-er’s target was not clearand the bomb may haveexploded prematurely.The road on which theblast occurred leads to theprovincial governor’s of-fice as well as severalgovernment buildings.

No one has claimed re-sponsibility for the at-tack.—Internet

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4 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

WARSAW, 23 Dec—Fifty-four percent of polesbelieved that the US anti-missile base in Polandwould increase the risk ofa terrorist attack againstPoland, a CBOS pollshowed.

The US plans to placeelements of missile de-fence system in Polandare opposed by 47 percentof Poles and supported by39 percent, Polish news Afghan driver Stanekazai, shows the bullet mark, which was shot by Taleban

militants into his truck while he was driving on a highway, at the US militarybase in Bagram north of Kabul, Afghanistan, on 16 Dec, 2008. Escorted by

private security guards, Stanekazai had driven food and bottled water throughAfghanistan’s dangerous south.—INTERNET

PESHAWAR, 23 Dec—At least 15 militants andtwo soldiers have beenkilled in gun battles in arestive area of northwestPakistan rocked by a vio-lent campaign to imposeIslamic law, the militarysaid.

Troops backed byhelicopter gunships tar-geted militant hideouts inthe Shakardara district ofthe Swat valley Monday,a stronghold for fighters

File photo show Pakistani soldiers in the Swat valley in February 2008. Atleast 15 militants and two soldiers were killed Monday in gun battles in a

restive area of northwest Pakistan rocked by a violent campaign to imposeIslamic law.—INTERNET

Two soldiers, 15 militantskilled in Pakistan’s Swat valley

linked to the Taleban, itsaid in a statement.

“During a successfuloperation 15 militantswere killed and severalothers were injured, andtheir dens and centreswere destroyed,” themilitary said.

“Two of our men alsoembraced martyrdomand two others were in-jured,” the statementadded.

The mountainous

Swat valley was until lastyear a popular touristdestination featuring Pa-kistan’s only ski resort.

But the region hasbeen turned into a battle-ground since radicalcleric Maulana Fazl-ullah, who has links toPakistan’s Taleban mo-vement, launched a vio-lent campaign for the in-troduction of IslamicSharia law in the valley.

Internet

Most Poles object to USmissile defence base

agency PAP on Mondayquoted the poll as saying.

Fifty-eight percent hadno doubts that the basewill be installed in Poland,with 23 percent expectingthat the plans will beabandoned, according tothe poll, carried outamong 1,011 adult Poleson 4-10 Dec.

The United States andPoland formally signed inAugust an agreement to

deploy parts of the USglobal missile shield inthe East European coun-try.

Russia objects to theanti-missile shield plan,warning it will deploy ashort-range missile sys-tem in its Baltic enclaveof Kaliningrad borderingPoland, in response to USplans to set up a missileshield in Poland.

Internet

BEIJING, 23 Dec—Chi-na’s Ministry of NationalDefence spokesman saidTuesday that aircraft car-riers are “a reflection of anation’s comprehensivepower” and are needed tomeet the demands of acountry’s navy.

The Chinese govern-ment would seriouslyconsider “relevant issues”with “factors in every as-

BAGHDAD, 23 Dec—Iraq’s parliament speaker hasdelayed a session to approve a resolution allowingBritish and other non-American troops to remain inIraq until July 2009.

Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani called for thedelay on Monday after a group of lawmakers de-manded his resignation on an unrelated issue. The law-makers said they were boycotting Monday’s sessionuntil their demands were met.

Al-Mashhadani threatened to resign last week af-ter he failed to bring under control a shouting matchamong legislators over an Iraqi journalist who threwhis shoes at President George W Bush.—Internet

WELLINGTON, 23 Dec— Fiji’s military regimeis expelling New Zea-land’s ambassador, and inretaliation its envoy inWellington will be told toreturn home, New Zea-land Foreign MinisterMurray McCully saidTuesday.

New Zealand’s actinghigh commissionerCaroline McDonald wassummoned to Fiji’s For-eign Affairs MinistryTuesday and told she hadone week to leave thecountry, McCully said.

China to “seriously consider”building aircraft carrier

pects” on building its firstever aircraft carrier, saidthe spokesman HuangXueping when respond-ing to a question onwhether it was a good op-portunity at present tobuild China's aircraft car-rier, at a press conference.

“China has a longcoastline and the sacredduty of China’s armedforces is to safeguard the

country’s marine safetyand sovereignty overcoastal areas and territo-rial seas,” he said.

The ministry was ex-plaining to reporters thedeployment of the Chi-nese Navy as a convoytask force against piratesoff Somalia. Three Chi-nese ships would head forthe Somali region on Fri-day.—Internet

Iraqi

Parliament

delays vote

on foreign

troops

Fiji expels New Zealand ambassadorNew Zealand has been

at the forefront of criti-cism of the regime aftermilitary leader VoreqeBainimarama toppled Fi-ji’s elected government ina 2006 coup, the fourth inthe South Pacific nationin two decades.

McCully said the NewZealand government wasdisappointed but not sur-prised by the expulsion.

“From the time of as-suming office, we have at-tempted to work construc-tively to resolve issues incontention between this

country and Fiji,” he saidin a statement.

“That has been madedifficult by the fact thatCommodore Bainimara-ma has employed ultima-tums and threats to ad-vance his case. “This gov-ernment has no intentionof making concessionswith a gun pointed at ourheads.” McCully saidNew Zealand would re-spond by ordering actingFijian high commissionerPonsami Chetty to returnhome within a week.

Internet

DALLAS, 23 Dec—Au-thorities searched Mondayevening for a motorist andthe reason why he shot at acar and three semitrailertrucks on Dallas-area roadsduring the afternoon rushhour, killing two people andinjuring two.

The first shooting oc-curred around 5:45 pm inGarland, a Dallas suburb.A pickup truck headingsouth on a major roadpulled up alongside a

Two killed, two hurt in Dallas-arearoad shootings, suspect sought

small Nissan stopped at ared light and began shoot-ing, police spokesman JoeHarn said. The Nissandriver was killed. Thepickup then drove off to-ward Interstate 635 inDallas, where the driverof an 18-wheeler was shotand injured, police said.

The suspect continuedwest on the highway, thenshot and killed the driverof a United Van Lines 18-wheeler rig. He died at the

scene, Cerda said.The suspect then drove

less than a kilometre onthe interstate and fired atanother 18-wheeler. Thedriver was injured by de-bris but not struck by thebullet.

The Nissan driver wasidentified as 20-year-oldJorge Lopez of Rowlett.The identity of the rigdriver who was killed wasnot immediately avail-able.—Internet

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM4

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008 5

Schwarzenegger warns of deepeningcrisis facing California

Abdul’ahatAbdulrixit (R), vice

chairman of theNational Committee

of the ChinesePeople’s PoliticalConsultative Con-

ference, and Ambas-sador of Algeria to

China DjamelEddine Grine, cut

the cake during thereception marking

the 50th anniversaryof the establishmentof diplomatic rela-

tions between Chinaand Algeria, in

Beijing, China, on22 Dec, 2008.

XINHUA

LOS ANGELES, 23Dec—California Gover-nor Arnold Schwar-zenegger on Mondaywarned of a deepeningcrisis in the state due tolegislature’s failure topass a real and compre-hensive budget solution.

“Due to the legisla-ture’s continued failure toprovide a real and com-prehensive budget solu-tion, 2,000 infrastructureprojects in California val-ued at more than 16 bil-lion dollars are in jeop-

ardy and tens of thousandsof California jobs are im-mediately at risk,” thegovernor said in a state-ment. California, the mostpopulous state in the na-tion, is 14.8 billion dollarsin the red, and the budgetdeficit is projected togrow to nearly 42 billiondollars in 18 months.

Schwarzenegger hasdeclared a fiscal emer-gency, called the Legisla-ture into a special sessionto find ways to cut spend-ing and raise revenue, and

issued an executive orderthat could result in unpaidfurloughs for state work-ers. Last week Schwar-zenegger rejected tax in-creases and cuts in stateservices that Democratsgot through the Assembly.

“Last week the legisla-ture asked Californians topay higher taxes and feeswithout making a real at-tempt to put Californiansback to work and helpthem keep their homes,”the governor said.

Xinhua

Russian political situation remainsstable under Medvedev-Putin ruleMOSCOW, 23 Dec—Russia underwent a smooth

transfer of power in 2008, with former PresidentVladimir Putin stepping down and his handpickedsuccessor Dmitry Medvedev taking over.

The new system of power seemed to function wellduring the past several months in spite of the Cauca-sus crisis, NATO’s eastward expansion and the globalfinancial crisis. The new head of state has continuedthe policies of his predecessor, whose eight-year presi-dency was characterized by a booming economy andpolitical stability at home.

Medvedev, the former first deputy prime minister,was sworn in as Russia’s new president in May, suc-ceeding his long-time mentor two months after an over-whelming victory in the country’s presidential elec-tion.

At Medvedev’s inauguration ceremony, Putin calledon the entire nation to support the new president andfirmly advance along the path of national development.

Meanwhile, Medvedev repeatedly pledged adher-ence to Putin’s policies, which have “set up strongfoundations for long-term development, for decadesof free and stable development.”

Xinhua

China launches newgeostationary weather

satelliteBEIJING, 23 Dec—China launched its third geo-sta-

tionary meteorological satellite, the Fengyun-2-06,Tuesday morning. The satellite was launched on a LongMarch-3A carrier rocket from the Xichang SatelliteLaunch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province at 8:54 am (Beijing Time).

It entered the preset orbit 24 minutes later.The 1,390-kilogram satellite, developed by the

Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology affili-ated to the China Aerospace Science and TechnologyCorporation, was able to acquire data from the ground,the ocean and space for the China Meteorological Ad-ministration (CMA). Its predecessors, Fengyun-2-04and -05, was launched in 2004 and 2006 respectively.The Fengyun-2-06 was to become a successor to boostthe stability of the satellite series and would play animportant role in weather forecast for China andneighboring countries and in disaster reduction, saidthe CMA.—Xinhua

Mexico to hold national contest forpavilion design in Shanghai Expo

MEXICO CITY, 23 Dec—The Mexican state-ownedinstitution ProMexico on Monday announced arrange-ment for a national contest to select designs for thepavilion of Mexico at Shanghai World Expo sched-uled for 1 May to 31 Oct, 2010.

Shanghai World Expo, with the theme of “BetterCity, Better Life,” will host at least 79 million peoplefrom 210 countries to analyze problems in the citiesand their possible solutions.

ProMexico, the federal organization promotingMexican exports, is special for coordinating Mexico'sparticipation in the Expo.—Xinhua

German warship to leave foranti-piracy mission off Somali BERLIN, 23 Dec—German Navy frigate, theKarlsruhe, is set to leave the German base in Djiboution Tuesday to join European Union’s anti-piracy mis-sion off Somali, German news agency DPA reportedon Monday. On Monday, Vice-Admiral Hans-JoachimStricker and German Defence Minister Franz JosefJung visited the crew of the Karlsruhe before theirdeparture for Somalia. “When I look at the EU operational plan to deployships and aircraft, I am confident we can fulfill therequirements,” Stricker said. Stricker said Germany had a fundamental interestin “safe sea-lanes to secure free trade on internationalmarkets.”—Xinhua

All items from Xinhua News Agency

Heavy security presence tosecure Philippine airport

during holiday season MANILA, 23 Dec—A 6,000-strong security team,composed of the air forces and police, has been de-ployed to secure the safety of the Philippines' airportin Metro Manila as tens of thousands of travelers areexpected to visit the archipelago during the Christmasseason, local media reported Tuesday. The assistant general manager for security of theNinoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) AngelAtutubo said they have stepped up their security meas-ures especially since the number of travelers at theNAIA had gone up to between 22,000 and 25,000 fromthe usual peak season flow of 18,000 to 20,000 peo-ple, the on-line news network GMA News said.

Xinhua

Travelers stand in an hours-long line to re-bookcanceled flights at the Seattle-Tacoma Interna-

tional Airport on 22 Dec, 2008 in Seattle. A seriesof storms has stranded thousands of people at the

airport and many people have been unable to bookreplacement flights for several days.—INTERNET

China’s third geostationary meteorological satel-lite, the Fengyun-2-06, is launched on a Long

March-3A carrier rocket at the Xichang SatelliteLaunch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan

Province, on 23 Dec, 2008.—XINHUA

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM5

6 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

NEWS ALBUM

The new university will offer researchin biosciences and bioengineering,material sciences and engineering,applied mathematics and computa- tional sciences.

Saudi university to house one of world’slargest supercomputers

Alia Sabur, 19, was announced the

youngest full-time college professor

in history by the Guinness Book of

World Records, media reported.

Iranian 19-year-old girl world’s youngest professor

This is an artist’s reconstruction ofthe extinct amphibian Gerrothoraxpulcherrimus lifting its head to openits gaping mouth. The peculiaramphibian, clad in bony body armor,prowled warm lakes 210 million yearsago in what it now Greenland,catching fish with one of the mostunusual bites in the history of life onEarth. While other vertebrateanimals open their mouths bydropping their lower jaw, this onedid so by lifting back the top of itshead in a way that looked a lot like lifting the lid of a toilet seat.

A new scienceand technologyuniversity in SaudiArabia will houseone of the world'slargest supercom-puters and it ishelping lure topresearchers toIslamic state.

The KingAbdullah Univer-sity of Scienceand Technology(KAUST) is due toopen next year onthe Red Sea coast

near Jeddah.“The super-

computer is thecornerstone of thisknowledge-basedeconomy that weare seeking,” saidMajid Al-Ghaslan,in charge of theacquisition, designand development ofthe “Shaheen”supercomputer.

Named after theperegrine fal-con,which reachesspeeds of up to 340

kilometres per hour,Shaheen is expectedto reach 222teraflops, a measureequalling a trillionfloating pointoperations persecond, Ghaslansaid. This will makeit sixth mostpowerful computerin the world.

Alia Sabur, an American citizen ofIranian origin, is accustomed to raisingpeople’s eyebrows.

The child prodigy from Northportenrolled at Stony Brook University atage 10 and played clarinet with theRockland Symphony Orchestra at 11.

That happened last month, when thevenerable publication named Sabur theworld’s youngest college professor.

It’s no surprise if you take a look ather life: The child prodigy fromNorthport enrolled at Stony BrookUniversity in America at age 10 andplayed clarinet with the RocklandSymphony Orchestra at 11.

When the New York child geniuswas 14 she earned her bachelor's degree.

Sabur was 18 when she was hired 19 Febas a professor in the Department ofAdvanced Technology Fusion at KonkukUniversity, in Seoul of ROK.

“It’s really a great honor to be in thecompany of such great scientists,” thenow 19-year-old said.

NYC cable TV guy shows up on timein 2009 calendar

There’s no need to wait around for the cable guy in NewYork. He’s right there all year in a new playful calendar.

Time Warner Cable Inc is putting out the tongue-in-cheekitem featuring its technicians and call centre representativesposing while having fun.

Mr January grins while connecting cables for three admiringwomen. Mr February forgot to button his shirt before deliveringa bunch of cables formed into flowers.

And Ms September plucks remote controls from a tree asif they were fruit. Technician Kevin Mayers says he loves theattention he’s getting after posing as Mr August. Some of thecompany’s female workers also got into the act.

Firemen in protectivegear work at the sceneafter a suspect package

was sent to the USembassy in Cyprus in

Nicosia on 22 Dec,2008.—INTERNET

MOSCOW, 23 Dec—Russia raised the spectre of gascuts to Europe over the winter, warning on Mondaythat it did not rule out supply disruptions as a result ofa dispute with Ukraine over non-payment of debts.

“It is not ruled out that the current position of theUkrainian side and some of its actions could lead todisruptions in the stability of gas supplies to Europe,”First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said in astatement.

Russian energy giant Gazprom maintains thatUkraine’s state gas company Naftogaz owes it up to2.4 billion dollars (1.8 billion euros) in debts and haswarned of delivery cuts if the outstanding debt is notcleared.

Ukraine is a major transit country for Russian gasexports to the European Union and a dispute over gasprices led to a brief interruption of gas supplies in sev-eral EU countries in January 2006.—Internet

ATHENS, 23Dec— Abomb hoax forced anAeroflot plane to returnMonday to Athens Inter-national Airport, Greekauthorities said.

The Russian airline’sFlight 296 to Moscow re-turned to Athens andlanded at 2:18 pm(1218GMT), a little overan hour after takeoff, fol-lowing a threat by ananonymous telephonecaller. But police saidnothing was found on theaircraft or in the passen-gers’ luggage.

Officials say 49 pas-sengers were on board theplane, which was sched-uled to depart again forMoscow shortly aftermidnight (2200GMT).

Internet

CAIRO, 23 Dec—At least six Russian tourists werekilled and 17 others injured in a bus crash in the Egyp-tian Sinai peninsula on Monday, the state MENA newsagency reported.

The bus carrying the Russian tourists overturnedabout 10 km away from the South Sinai resort town ofDahab, said the report.

The wounded were rushed to hospitals in Dahaband Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort in Sinai, saidthe report, adding that an investigation was underwayfor the cause of the accident. Traffic accidents are com-mon in Egypt with an estimated annual death toll ofsome 6,000 people.

Internet

ANKARA, 23 Dec—Is-raeli Prime Minister EhudOlmert arrived in the Turk-ish capital of Ankara onMonday for a working visitto advance the peace talksbetween Israel and Syria.

Olmert is expected tomeet his Turkish counter-part Recep TayyipErdogan and the two lead-ers will discuss variousissues, including the Is-raeli-Syrian peace talksand the Israeli-Palestinianpeace talks.

Turkey has been medi-ating peace talks betweenIsrael and Syria, but Israelilawmakers have repeat-

Russia warns of gas supplydisruptions to Europe

Six Russian tourists killed, 17 injuredin Egypt road accident

Olmert arrives in Turkey to advanceIsraeli-Syrian peace talks

edly stated that the talksshould be put on hold un-til a new government isformed after the Februaryparliamentary election.

Before the election,Olmert, who is eager toshow progress in the dip-lomatic process withSyria before his term inoffice comes to an end,will remain in power ascaretaker premier.

Four rounds of Tur-key-brokered negotia-tions between Israel andSyria have been carriedout since the three sidesconfirmed in mid-May therenewal of the peace proc-

ess. Yet a fifth round,originally planned in Sep-tember, has been on holddue to Israel’s politicalturmoil.

On Thursday, local dailyHa’aretz reported on itswebsite that Defense Minis-ter Ehud Barak has said thathe is working to advancepeace talks with Syria.

“I am taking action toadvance peace in the realworld, not in an imagi-nary one. I am activemore than anyone else intrying to reach peace withSyria,” said Barak in aspecial interview withHa'aretz.—Internet

Bomb hoaxforces Aeroflotplane to land

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM6

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008 7

Article: Reporter Singu Soe Win; Photos: Tin Soe (Myanma Alin)

MraukU with booming agricultural farming and hotel service

MraukU Princess Hotel is attractive in a traditional way to local andforeign tourists.

A luxuriously-furnished room of MraukU Princess Hotel.

MraukU Township Development Affairs Committee upgrades a road to a tarred one.

(from page 16)to the technical assist-ance provided by theMyanma AgricultureService and the use ofnatural fertilizer, paddyper acre yield increasedto over 91.26 baskets;that the majority of localfarmers persisted in theuse of conventionalmethods with cattle dungas fertilizer, and so peracre yield of their paddywas only about 74.77baskets; the region grewcold season crops on15,183 acres of lands;and edible oil sufficiencyof the township was70.07 per cent last year.

The regions alongthe Laymyo River inMraukU Township havelaunched triple-croppingpattern of vegetableswith the use of small

water-pumping machinesand advanced agriculturalmethods. So, local farm-ers of these regions are

doing very well in theiragricultural farming, andhave luxurious goodssuch as TV sets, motorcy-

cles, and CDMA mobilephones.

U Than Naing, in-charge of the auto-ex-change phone station ofTownship Myanmar Postsand Telecommunications,said the station had 260semi-auto telephones of E-PABX system and 15

phone lines; and that over500 mobile phones wouldbe distributed to local peo-ple who would use themreally.

Kyetzay BridgeProject is being imple-mented in MraukU Town-ship and GanantaungBridge Project by SpecialProject Group-10 (Bridge)with a fund of 277 millionkyats contributed by thegovernment. On comple-tion, Kyetzay Bridge of

reinforced type will be 70feet long and 32 feet widewith two four-foot-widewalkways on it. It will beable to withstand 60 tonsof loads and its clearancearea will be 60 feet wideand five feet high. It isdesigned for convenienceof people travelling be-

tween MraukU andSittway and betweenMraukU and Taungup all-year round. Now, theproject has been com-pleted by 80 per cent. Andthe group will carry onbuilding the 90-footMyaung Bridge in MinbyaTownship, ShantaungBridge in MraukU Town-ship, and 60-footPazintaung Bridge inKyauktaw Township.

Since 1988, the Min-

istry of Construction hasconstructed 26 bridges ofabove 100 feet, eight bai-ley bridges, two woodenbridges, 12 concretebridges, three steel girderbridges, and one baileysuspension bridge on An-Sittway road section forgenerating regional de-

velopment and enhanc-ing amicable relationsbetween local nationalbrethren.

Officials of theTownship DevelopmentAffairs Committeebriefed us on a pro-gramme to issue licencesfor 35 decorated coachesfor foreign tourists and660 trishaws for localpeople. It also has manyongoing road and bridgeprojects.

Manager U AungMyo Thein of theMraukU Hotel said thatMraukU Township hasseveral luxurious hotelsand two private-ownedlodging houses.

The MraukU Prin-cess Hotel of traditionalstyle is located on a 38-acre land near theTheingar Nadi River andits staff members are ofvarious national races.

Therefore, thesepoints make it clear thatthe government is takingmeasures in various sec-tors for development ofRakhine State.

Translation: MSMyanma Alin:

23-12-2008

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM7

8 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

The wise one dispels intoxication throughnon-intoxication

When the wise one dispels intoxication through non-intoxication, he havingascended the tower of wisdom —being himself free from sorrow and being himselfwise—�looks at the sorrowing people and the unwise as one, standing on a mountain,views those on the plains.

Dhammapada-28

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Dec– Chairman of SagaingDivision Peace andDevelopment CouncilCommander of North-West Command Maj-GenMyint Soe inspectedprogress of constructionof 4400-foot long gravelroad at the corner of Kannaand Bogyoke roads inMonywa yesterday.

Commander inspects roadwork in Monywa

The commanderlooked into extension ofKanna road and gavenecessary instructions.

Next, the commanderdelivered an address atcoordination meeting ofSagaing Division PDCand departmental officialsat Myathala hall inMonywa.

MNA

YANGON, 23 Dec —Minister for Agricultureand Irrigation Maj-GenHtay Oo inspected thrivingNgwechi-6 late monsoonlong staple cottonplantation of Farmers UMyint Thein and U SoeMaung with the use ofunderground tapping waterat Tawma village inMeiktila Township,Mandalay Divisionyesterday.

Myanmar Cotton and

A&I Minister inspects agricultureworks in Meiktila District

Sericulture Enterprise isproviding new highyielding Ngewchi-6 cottonstrains and methods inorder to maximize per acreyield in all regions wherecotton is grown. In MeiktilaDistrict, the enterprise isimplementing the plan toproduce 1100 viss andabove per acre incooperation with the cottongrowers in the region.

Next, the ministerlooked into Paukyoe dam

being repaired by IrrigationDepartment at NatgyiYwathit village in Myarvillage-tract in thetownship.

The dam is one of thesmall dams and lakes beingrepaired under specialproject for Yamethin andMeiktila Districts. Uponcompletion, it will resumeirrigation of farmland,supply of water, andgreening nearbyregions.—MNA

YANGON, 23 Dec—Under the ASEAN SchoolsTour 2008, an ASECdelegation led by DrTermsak Chalerm-palamupap visited No. (2)Basic Education HighSchool in Chanaye ThazanTownship, Mandalay,yesterday morning.

At the opening ofASEAN Schools Tour2008, Principal of theschool Dr Aung Thet Swe

ASEC delegation visits Mandalayextended greetings.Director-General of No. (2)Basic EducationDepartment U Aye Lwindelivered a speech.

A video film onASEAN Community wasshown to the attenders.Pop Quizzes programmewas held for students. DrTermsak Chalermpa-lamupap gave an address,followed by ASEANQuiz.

The students who wonprizes in ASEAN paintingand poster contestsrecounted their experiences.ASEAN Countriesprogramme took place.

The director-generalpresented gifts to thedelegation leader andmembers. The delegationleader presented a basketof flowers to theentertainers.

MNA

NAY PYI TAW, 23 Dec– Minister for Industry-1U Aung Thaung lookedinto production process ofTextile Factory(Pwintbyu) of MyanmaTextile Industry inPwintbyu, MagwayDivision on 21 December.

After hearing reportspresented by the managingdirector and the factorymanager, the minister leftinstructions on growing of

Industry-1 Minister inspects factoriesand Winthuza shops in Magway

wind break for greeningthe factory area andextended cultivation ofcotton at the vacant landsowned by the factory.

Next, the ministervisited Winthuza Shop(Pwintbyu), WinthuzaShop in Magway and SoftDrink Factory (Magway)and gave necessaryinstructions. The ministeralso visited Soap Factory(Magway) and inspected

storage of Ngwechi-6cotton at TaungdwingyiCotton Mill.

Yesterday, theMinister visited horsebreeding project (Yanpe)and corn product plant(Yanpe) near Payatkyaivillage in TaungdwingyiTownship.

In AunglanTownship, the ministerinspected picking ofcotton at a field. — MNA

Minister Maj-Gen Htay Oo inspects thriving Ngwechi-6 long staplecotton plantation at Tawma village in Meiktila Township.—MNA

Minister U Aung Thaung visits Corn Product Plant (Yanpe) ofMyanma Foodstuff Industries.—INDUSTRY-1

The ceremony to mark opening of ASEAN Schools Tour 2008 in

progress at BEHS No. 2 in Chanaye Thazan Township. —MNA

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM8

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008 9

Minister Vice-Admiral Soe Thein inspects worksite of Radial TyreFactory construction project in Belin Township. —MNA

UMFCCI President U Win Myint delivers an address at Workshop on Development of RiceProduction and Sales. —MNA

YANGON, 23 Dec —Minister for Industry-2Vice-Admiral Soe Theinmet with officials atMayangon Rubber Farmin Belin Township on 21December and leftinstructions on growingand production of rubber.

At the briefing hallof Radial Tyre Factoryconstruction project, theminister heard reports on

Industry-2 Minister visits constructionproject and factories in Mon State

progress of constructionworks and works beingcarried out for ensuringsupply of water andelectricity presented by thein-charge of the projectand gave instructions ontimely completion ofconstruction worksmeeting set standards, andinspected project area.

Next, the ministerwent to No 1 Tyre and

Rubber Factory (Thaton).After hearing reports onsales of products of thefactory, purchase of rawmaterials and financial andmanagement matterspresented by generalmanager of the factory, theminister stressed the needto produce tyres of goodquality and to use effectiveways and means for costmanagement. — MNA

Workshop on development of riceproduction and sales organized

YANGON, 23 Dec—The Myanmar RiceExporters Association, theMyanmar Rice MerchantsAssociation and the RiceMillers Associationjointly organized thesecond workshop ondevelopment of riceproduction and sales underthe aegis of the Union ofMyanmar Federation ofChambers of Commerceand Industry at theUMFCCI on Min YeKyaw Swa Street inLanmadaw Township

here this morning.Present on the

occasion were Ministerfor Commerce Brig-GenTin Naing Thein,UMFCCI President UWin Myint and CECmembers, departmentalofficials, representativesof related associations,rice entrepreneurs fromstates and divisions, riceexporting companies, andrice experts.

In his speech, theminister called forcooperation of farmers,

merchants and exportersfor boosting productionand export of rice, sayingthat all those engaged inthe rice industry are towork in harmony forimprovement ofMyanmar's rice sector.

Next, 10 rice expertsfrom the ministry andUMFCCI read papers onmeasures for developmentof rice production andsales, and replied to thequeries raised by theattendees.

MNA

NAY PYI TAW, 23Dec—The Ministry ofHealth reviewed health

Review of health care services in aftermathof Nargis Storm held

care services in theaftermath of Nargis Stormat the ministry here at 9am yesterday.

Deputy Mini-sterfor Health Dr Mya Oomade an opening

speech.Officials briefed

on health care services forthose affected by thestorm to the DeputyMinister.

MNA

YANGON, 23Dec—Jointly organizedby Banks SupervisoryCommittee and MyanmarBanks Association, the106th Executive BoardMeeting was held at theassociation hereyesterday, attended byPatron of the associationMinister for Finance and

106th Executive Board Meeting ofBSC and MBA held

Revenue Maj-Gen HlaTun.

The minister gavean opening speech.

Next, Governor ofCentral Bank of MyanmarSecretary of thecommittee Chairman ofthe association U ThanNyein and Secretary ofthe association U Khin

Maung Aye reported onbanking services to theminister.

Members of thecommittee and membersof executive board of theassociation reported onbanking services and theplan to establish bankingnetwork to the minister.

MNA

YANGON, 23 Dec —Thesecond round matches ofthe 47th Defence ServicesCommander-in-Chief’sTrophy (Army, Navy andAir) Football Tournamentcontinued in Mandalay

Second round matches of Defence ServicesC-in-C’s Trophy (Army, Navy and Air)

Football Tournament continuetoday. In AA group, Camp-Commandant Office ofthe Ministry of Defenceteam and South-EastCommand team played 1-1 draw in Bahtoo

playground. In anothermatch, Northern Com-mand team beat YangonCommand team 6-2 atAungmyay Mandalarplayground in Mandalay.

MNA

Fire in HlinethayaYANGON, 23 Dec — A fire broke out at the rice

warehouse of proprietor of flour mill of Diamond StarCo in Industrial Zone-2 in Hlinethaya Township at10.50 p.m. on 21 December.

The wire connecting a generator and the warehousehad short-circuited. The fire was brought under controlat 00.10 a.m. on 22 December. Bags of rice, buildingsand ten motor cycles were burnt out.

MNA

Notice to mariners issuedNAY PYI TAW, 23

Dec—MPRL E&P PteLimited that isundertaking joint venturetasks in oil explorationwork together withMyanmar Oil and GasEnterprise will conduct2D Marine SeismicAcquisition Survey at NoA-6 Block of Rakhineoffshore by MV PacificSword from 19 January to6 February, 2009.

The survey task willbe conducted at Point-Abetween north latitude 16degrees 45 minutes 00second and east longitude93 degrees 21 minutes 00second, Point-B betweennorth latitude 17 degrees30 minutes 00 second andeast longitude 93 degrees21 minutes 00 second,Point-C north latitude 17degrees 30 minutes00second and east

longitude 94 degrees 31minutes 00 second, Point-D north latitudes 16degrees 45 minutes 00second and east longitude94 degrees 21 minutes 00second. While conductingthe survey, the mariner’snotice was issued forvarious sizes ofwatercrafts not to passthrough the 4 squarekilometres area of the A-6Block.—MNA

Minister looks into sub-power stationsNAY PYI TAW, 23

Dec—Minister forElectric Power No. 2 Maj-Gen Khin Maung Myintlooked into control room,battery room and switchyard at Shwesaryan sub-power station in MandalayDivision on 20 December.

After he hadinspected Sagaing District

Electrical Engineer’sOffice, he met withservice personnel there.

The minister andparty went on an inspectiontour of Sintat bank andLetpanphyu bank wherepylons will be builtcrossing Ayeyawady riverthrough Ohntaw subpowerstation.

Next, the ministerand party visited MyinmuTownship ElectricalEngineer’s Office andwent on an inspection tourof Monywa bank andNyaungbingyi bank whereOhntaw-Nyaungbingyi230 KV pylon will be builtcrossing Chindwinriver.—MNA

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10 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

Kankalay Water Pumping Station in HmawbyTownship to irrigate 4500 acres of farmlands

Article: Tin Htwe (MNA); Photos: Thaung Myint (MNA)

The Water Re-sources UtilizationDepartment under theMinistry of Agricultureand Irrigation, in its bidto put into reality one ofthe five ruraldevelopment pro-grammes “water supplyto rural areas”, isimplementing waterpumping projects andriver water pumpingprojects in Hmawby,Hlegu and Mingaladontownships in YangonDivision. Myaungdagar WaterPumping Project waslaunched with the useof water from theMyaunagdagar Creeknear MyaungdagarVillage in HmawbyTownship in 2005-2006fiscal year and finishedin 2006-2007 fiscalyear.

The waterworks ofthe project pumps wateras high as 10 feet. Theproject has a stage topump water with thewater pumping systemof fixed type. Its maincanal is 7400 feet longand its distributorycanals, 13,100 feet. Ithas 50 canal structuresand five sets of 30 KWpumping motors. Now,it is benefiting 800 acresof arable lands.

The WaterResources UtilizationDepartment began fourwater pumping projects

The main canal under construction at Kankalay Water Pumping Project near MyochaungVillage, Hmawby Township.

The waterworks of Myaungdagar Water Pumping Project nearMyaungdagar Village, Hmawby Township, that benefits 800 acres of

farmlands.

The main canal of Myaungdagar Water Pumping Project.Water pipelines are installed at ongoing Kankalay Water Pumping

Project near Myochaung Village, Hmawby Township.

in Yangon Division in2005-2006 financialyear—Hsinphon WaterPumping Project nearHsinphon Village inHlegu Township thatbenefits 3700 acres offarmlands with the use ofwater from the HsinphonCreek; Ngwe NanthaWater Pumping Projectnear Ngwe NanthaVillage in HleguTownship that benefits1400 acres of farmlandswith the use of water fromthe Balar Canal;Sangyiwa WaterPumping Project nearSangyiwa Village inMingaladon Townshipthat benefits 655 acres offarmlands with the use of

water from the DaninyoeCreek; and MyaungdagarWater Pumping Project.

Now, KankalayWater Pumping Projectis being implementedwith the use of water fromthe Hline River nearMyochaung Village inHmawby Township.

Kankalay WaterPumping Project pumpswater as high as 20 feet.It has a stage to pumpwater. Its water pumpingsystem is floating type. Ithas a 10,800 feet longmain canal and a 20,000feet long and a 29,500feet long distributorycanals, a lake, three canalstructures, 10 bridge

structures, 11 conduitsto let bad water flow out,30 conduits for watersupply, and six 185 KWwater pumping motors.On completion, it willbenefit 4500 acres offarmlands.

When KankalayWater Pumping Projectis completed, farmers ofKankalay, Kalagon,Hnawgon, Hle-ngok,Bantbwegon , Bahochanand Myochaung village-tracts in HmawbyTownship will be ableto grow crops all-yearround.

Translation: MSMyanma Alin:

22-12-2008

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM10

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008 11

BRUSSELS, 23 Dec—The European Union's firstlarge-scale digital library, Europeana(www.europeana.eu), was online again Tuesday, a monthafter it crashed after being overwhelmed by readers’interest. “Europeana works again—after we havequadrupled server capacity,” European Commissionspokesman Martin Selmayr told a daily news briefing.Europeana gives multilingual access to two milliondigitized books and other items of cultural and historicalsignificance held in more than 1,000 institutions in the27 EU states. Soon after its launch on November 20 thewebsite froze, with servers overwhelmed by a volume of10 million hits an hour.—Internet

SAN DIEGO, 23 Dec—Healthy adults have potentialautoimmune disease-causing cells, but these cells stayin an “off” state, a US study shows. Immune cells thatattack the body cause autoimmune diseases such aslupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Whether theswitched-off cells in healthy adults are true precursorsof the self-attacking immune cells and, if so, whatprevents them from causing disease in certain people,isn’t known, the researchers said. J Andrew Duty, ofthe Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, andcolleagues found that anergic (dormant) autoimmunedisease-causing cells account for 2.5 percent of immuneB-cells circulating in the blood of healthy adults.These anergic cells don’t appear to cause problems inhealthy adults, but did produce self-reactive antibodieswhen exposed to a strong stimulus in lab experiments.This means these anergic cells may contain theprecursors for the self-attacking B-cells in patientswith autoimmune disease, the researchers said. Inpreviously healthy people, anergy may somehow breakdown and allow self-attacking B-cells to causeautoimmune disease.—Internet

Putin says no more cheap gas

Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass steps out of one of the two recentlydiscovered tombs in Saqqara on 22 Dec, 2008. Egyptian archaeologists havefound the tombs of two court officials, in charge of music and pyramid building,in a 4,000 year old cemetery from the reign of Pharaoh Unas. The tombs werefound buried in the sands south of Cairo and could shed light on the fifth and the

sixth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, said Hawass.—INTERNET

LONDON, 23 Dec—Oil prices eased below $40 abarrel on Tuesday, weakened by evidence of falling oildemand as the world economy slows.Final third-quarterUS gross domestic product data due later on Tuesdayis likely to underscore the ailing economy as a seriesof stimulus measures and policy moves— includingChina’s fifth interest rate cut—fail to halt a slidetowards the worst recession in decades.

The UK economy shrank for the first time sincethe early 1990s in the third quarter and by more thanexpected, data showed on Tuesday, with gross domesticproduct contracting 0.6 percent. US crude for Februarydelivery slipped 3 cents to $39.88 a barrel by 1055GMT after falling 6 percent on Monday.

Volume was thin as traders sought to close out theworst-ever year for oil futures, which are now downalmost 60 percent since January. ICE Brent rose 5cents to $41.40 a barrel.The tone was set by US stocks,which fell on Monday, reinforcing negative sentimentacross other financial markets.—Internet

An oil rig silhouetted against the sunset in St.Lawrence, Texas in this on 9 May, 2008 file

photo.—INTERNET

Chinese man draws the street of Nanluoguxiang, awell-preserved stretch of backstreets in downtownBeijing, China. If you tire of Olympic fever and can’tstomach sites jammed with flag waving throngs oftourists, don't despair. Beijing has rich offeringswhen it comes to art, music, groovy boutiques andquiet temples. Nanluoguxiang, a well-preservedstretch of backstreets in downtown Beijing alongwhich bars, hostels and boutiques have mushroomed

in the past few years but that still retains aneighborhood feel.—INTERNET

4,300-year-old tombs discoverednear Cairo

SAQQARA (Egypt), 23Dec—A pair of 4,300-year-old pharaonic tombsdiscovered at Saqqaraindicate that the sprawlingnecropolis south of Cairois even larger thanpreviously thought,Egypt's top archaeologistsaid Monday. The rock-cut tombs were built forhigh officials-one res-ponsible for the quarriesused to build the nearbypyramids and another fora woman in charge ofprocuring entertainers forthe pharaohs. “We

announce today a major,important discovery atSaqqara, the discovery oftwo new tombs datingback to 4,300 years ago,”said Zahi Hawass, as heshowed reporters aroundthe site Monday. “Thediscovery of the twotombs are the beginningof a big, large cemetery.”

The discoveryindicates that there is evenmore to the vast necropolisof Saqqara, located 12miles south of the capital,Cairo, he added.

In the past, exca-

vations have focused onjust one side of the twonearby pyramids-the StepPyramid of King Djoserand that of Unas, the lastking of the 5th Dynasty.The area where the twotombs were found, to thesouthwest, has beenlargely untouched.

“This means the royalcemetery is bigger thanwe thought,” said SalehSuleiman, the arch-aeologist responsible forthe excavation of the twotombs.

Internet

Oil slips below $40 as recessioncuts demand

EU’s new digital library operational again

MOSCOW, 23 Dec—Russia’s Prime MinisterVladimir Putin saidTuesday that the worldfinancial crisis and risingcosts mean the price ofnatural gas is going torise.“Costs of exploration,gas production andtransportation are going up—it means the industry’sdevelopment costs willskyrocket,” he said. “Thetime of cheap energyresources, cheap gas issurely coming to an end.

Russia's economy isalready suffering as crudeoil prices—the backbone ofthe country’s economy óhave spiraled down in thepast months.

Putin spoke at ameeting of a dozen leadingnatural gas exporters who

convened in Moscow tostrengthen cooperationamid consuming countries'concerns that they mightturn into an OPEC-stylecartel. Members of theloose grouping of about adozen gas producers fromaround the world known asthe Gas ExportingCountries Forum areplanning to sign a jointcharter at the meeting.

The body has beenmeeting since 2001, but hasno formal membership ormanagement.Earlier thisyear, Russia, Iran andQatar, which togetheraccount for nearly a thirdof world natural gasexports, agreed to form a“gas troika” for jointexploration andproduction. Putin said the

organization will work“perfectly in line withinternational norms.”

Earlier in the day,Deputy Prime Minister IgorSechin brushed offsuggestions that Russiawould dominate the gasexporters’ body. “Allmember countries haveequal powers,” Sechin saidquoted by the Itas-TASSnews agency. “It would bewrong to say who would be

the leader.” The meetingwas held a week away froma deadline for Ukraine torepay its gas debts toRussia. Russia's state-controlled gas companyGazprom has warned thatit would cut gas supplies toits neighbor on Jan. 1 if itfails to pay off a $2 billiongas debt, raising the stakesin a dispute which couldsend shock waves acrossEurope.—Internet

Scientists discover trigger forautoimmune diseases

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM11

12 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

A car assembly line atthe Warren truckassembly plant in

Warren, Michigan.President-elect BarackObama has signaled a

major shift in UStrade policy with anew emphasis on

enforceable environ-mental and labor

standards to prevent a“race to the bot-tom”.—INTERNET

Toyota to replace president amid business slump

JERUSALEM, 23 Dec—Excavations have unearthed a hoard of more than 1,300-year-old gold coins under a car park by the ancient walls of Jerusalem, the IsraeliAntiquities Authority said on Monday. Archaeologists said the discovery of the264 coins, in the ruins of a building dating to about the 7th Century, the end of theByzantine period, was one of the largest coin hoards uncovered in Jerusalem.

“We’ve had pottery, we’ve had glass, but we’ve had nothing like this,” saidBritish archaeologist Nadine Ross, who found the hoard under a large rock onSunday, in the fourth and final week of a trip to Israel. “It’s very, very exciting,”she said, cupping hands full of bright yellow coins that looked in mint condition.

The coins date back to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius whoruled from AD 610 to 641. On the obverse side they bear a likeness of the emperorwearing military garb and holding a cross in his right hand. On the reverse is thecross. Archeologists said they were minted at the beginning of Heraclius’ reign,before the Persians conquered Byzantine Jerusalem in AD 614.—MNA/Reuters

Petrobras’ projects to bere-evaluated

RIO DE JANEIRO, 23 Dec—All the projects ofPetrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas giant, arebeing re-examined due to the international financialcrisis, announced the company’s CEO Jose SergioGabrielli Monday.

There will be no change in Petrobras’ scheduledpublic bidding processes in the short term, saidGabrielli.

However, he did not say for sure that the newprojects’ operations will be maintained.

“We will not accept high costs... (and as) we donot know when or how much (prices will fall), wewill not contract equipment at its higher prices.”

Gabrielli confirmed the possibility of suspendingcertain orders, if he considers them to be too high incosts.—Internet

This combo picture shows Toyota Motor executiveAkio Toyoda (left) and the firm’s president Katsuaki

Watanabe in Nagoya, Japan. The Japanese autogiant plans to replace Watanabe after the carmaker

forecast its first-ever operating loss.—INTERNET

Drive withcare

TOKYO, 23 Dec—Toyota Motor Corp plansto replace its president af-ter the Japanese carmakerforecast its first-ever op-erating loss, a report saidTuesday.

The auto giant is con-sidering moving vicepresident Akio Toyoda tothe post, which is held byKatsuaki Watanabe, inApril at the start of thenext business year, theAsahi Shimbun newspa-per reported.

Arrangements havebeen made to giveWatanabe a more advi-sory role of vice chair-man, the daily said with-out citing sources.

No official was imme-diately available at

Toyota’s head office tocomment on the report.

Toyoda, 52, a grandsonof Toyota’s founderKiichiro Toyoda, wouldbe the first member of thefamily in 14 years to be-come the company’s

president. Tatsuro Toyodawas the last presidentfrom the founder’s clan.

On Monday, Toyotasaid it expected an oper-ating loss of 150 billionyen (1.69 billion dollars)for the financial year to

March 2009, the first losssince it started reportingannual earnings in March1941.

Last year it posted 2.27trillion yen in operatingprofit.

Toyota said it still ex-pected to make a profit ona net level but cut its fore-cast sharply to 50 billionyen, down from a previ-ous estimate of 550 billionyen. Toyota’s sharp cuts inforecasts marked a deep-ening of the woes plagu-ing the auto industry,which has seen GeneralMotors and Chrysler, twoof the US Big Threeautomakers, on the vergeof collapse due to the glo-bal financial turmoil.

Internet

Jerusalemdig findsbig goldhoard

from 7thcentury

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM12

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008 13

China ready to use force on Somali pirates

US, Russian spacestation crew conduct

spacewalkMOSCOW, 23 Dec — American and Russian crewmen

installed a probe on Tuesday aimed at tracking downproblems with a Russian module attached to theinternational space station and conducted an array ofother maintenance and scientific work during a six-hour spacewalk.

But in a setback toward the end of the Russian-controlled mission, American Michael Fincke, thestation’s commander, and Russian Yury Lonchakovhad to remove a device they had just installed becauseof data transmission problems.

A NASA video feed showed Fincke and Lonchakovin their Russian-built space suits leaving the stationfrom a hatch on its docking compartment 200 milesabove the Earth.

“OK, going out into space again,” Fincke said inRussian. “It’s good to be here again.” The commentswere audible on the NASA feed carried on the Internet.

Russian scientists hope data from the probe installedby Fincke will help explain malfunctions that haverepeatedly occurred as the Russian module hasattempted to separate from the space station.

Russia’s Soyuz module entered the Earth’satmosphere too steeply in separate descents afterdetaching from the station in October 2007 and Aprilthis year, leading to faster- and bumpier-than-usualfalls for the crews.

Internet

BEIJING, 23 Dec —China warned Somalipirates on Tuesday it wasprepared to use force whenits navy ships arrive in theGulf of Aden to combat awave of piracy that hasdisrupted internationalshipping.

It is the first time inrecent history that Chinais deploying ships outsidethe Pacific, sending twodestroyers and a supplyship which set sail onFriday, and the navy’sdeputy chief of staff saidthey would use force ifneeded.

“When our naval

vessels are ambushed bypirate ships, we willresolutely fight back toprotect our own safety,”Rear Admiral XiaoXinnian said in a briefingto reporters.

“If the act of piracy isalready under way and thepirates are already robbingother civilian vessels, wewill suppress their acts,provided we have thecapability and conditionsto do so.”

Xiao said the Chineseships would mainly becharged with protectingthe nation’s commercialvessels as well as the ships

of international organi-zations such as the UnitedNations World FoodProgramme.

About 100 ships havebeen attacked by Somalipirates since the beginningof the year, and at leastone Chinese vessel isbelived to be still in thehands of the attackers.

The admiral saidChinese war ships wouldinvestigate any suspectpirate vessels and ap-proach them and demandthat they show theirrelevant documents andcertificates.

Internet

In this image from NASA TV the astronaut MikeFincke is seen at lower left via the helmet cameraof cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov near the end of a

scheduled six hour space walk outside theInternational Space Station, on 22 Dec, 2008.

INTERNET

Sudan asks UN for aid forEritrean, Somali refugees

A cholera victim lays in a hospital ward at the Budiriro Polyclinic in Harareearlier this month. A first consignment of UNICEF aid has arrived in

Zimbabwe to help fight the cholera epidemic which has killed more than 1,120people, the UN agency has said.—INTERNET

Medical supplies reach cholera-hit ZimbabweHARARE, 23 Dec — A first consignment of UNICEF aid has arrived in

Zimbabwe to help fight the cholera epidemic which has killed more than 1,120people, the UN agency said Monday.

Intravenous fluids, drip equipment, essential drugs, midwifery and obstetric kitswere delivered by air on Sunday, said a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) statement.More relief supplies are expected on Monday.

The medicines were to be used to boost government health services, particularlyfor pregnant women, it said.

“This is a strategic measure to address a desperate situation,” said UNICEFacting representative in Zimbabwe, Roeland Monasch. “We are already supplying70 percent of the country’s essential drugs and these airlifted supplies will furtherboost UNICEF’s life-saving support.”

UNICEF supplies more than half a million litres of portable water daily, togetherwith 3,800 tonnes of water treatment chemicals for urban areas in Zimbabwe, thestatement said.The World Health Organization said on Friday that 1,123 peoplehad died in the epidemic with about 21,000 reported cases.—Internet

Uruguay foils gold, silversmuggling gangs

MONTEVIDEO, 23 Dec — Uruguayan authorities have uncovered criminalorganizations that smuggle gold and silver between Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil,local daily “El Pais” said on Monday.

Ricardo Gil, director of the Anti Assets Laundry Secretariat, said that thesmugglers sent about 125 tons of silver from Uruguay to jewelry factories inArgentina and Brazil for about 50 million US dollars.

“This operation is set by Brazilians who bring gold to Uruguay to trade silver,”Gil said. In an operation, police stopped a vehicle from Brazil with about 200kg ofprecious metals inside the vehicle.

The silver was illegally transported from 1 Jan, 2007 to October 2008, Gilsaid.—Internet

CAIRO, 23 Dec — Atleast 18,000 Eritrean andSomali refugees havearrived in Sudan since thestart of the year, and thegovernment is strugglingto provide them with aid,a Sudanese governmentofficial was quoted assaying on Monday.

The official, quoted bythe Egyptian state newsagency MENA, said theUnited Nations had notdone enough to help

Sudan cope with theinflux. “What aid hasarrived is modest com-pared to the number ofrefugees,” the Com-missioner for Refugeesin Sudan, MohammedAhmed al-Aghbash, toldMENA, putting thenumber of Somali re-fugees at around 5,000.

Somalia is mired inanarchy and Eritrea is stillrecovering from decadesof war.

A human rights groupcriticized Egypt thisweek for giving Eritreanauthorities access torefugees who may fearpersecution by theirgovernment, whiledenying the UN refugeeagency access to thosesame refugees.

The Sudanese govern-ment has called on theUnited Nations toprovide urgent aid for the refugees.

Internet

A trader watches the French CAC market curve at an independant private

banking company in Paris, January 2008. In European morning deals

Tuesday, Paris added 0.87 percent.—INTERNET

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM13

14 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

S P O R T S

Terry sees red as Chelsea fail to go top

Owen delays contract decision

England striker MichaelOwen, seen here on 14

Dec, 2008, will not makea decision about his

future with NewcastleUnited until the end ofthe season, a statement

released by his agent saidMonday.—INTERNET

Injured Totti out for a month

AS Roma forwardFrancesco Totti

Davis sells NASCAR team,engine company

CHARLOTTE, 23 Dec—Just a month removed from hisfirst NASCAR championship, but hampered by thecurrent economic crisis, owner Bill Davis has sold hisrace team and engine company.

Mike Held, a California businessman, and MartyGaunt, vice president at Bill Davis Racing, bought outthe veteran owner. The duo said Monday they've alsotaken control of profitable Triad Racing Development,which supplies engines, chassis and bodies to custom-ers from all three of NASCAR's top series.

Davis, who has been in NASCAR for more than 20years, won his first championship this season withJohnny Benson in the Truck Series. He also won theDaytona 500 with Ward Burton in 2002.

But Davis lost his Sprint Cup Series sponsor and hasbeen unable to secure funding for 2009. Benson alsoannounced before last month's title-clinching finale thathe would not return to BDR next season.

"When you've been involved for this long in this sport,and won in all three series, there's definitely a lot ofemotion involved," Gaunt said. "But I believe Bill gotto a time in his life where he said `There's other oppor-tunities for me.' I think he realized this is the right timefor him to move on.

"When we told him this is what we'd like to do,presented it to him at the round-table and went backand forth, he got to a point where he wanted to moveon this deal."—Internet

Hughes looks forward totransfer window

M a n c h e s t e rCity's Englishmanager MarkHughes at TheH a w t h o r n s ,West Bromwich,central Englandon 21 Decem-ber.—INTERNET

Everton’s captain Phil Nevilleclears the danger from Chelsea’s

Michael Ballack during theirEnglish Premiership footballmatch at Goodison Park in

Liverpool. The match ended ona goalless draw.—INTERNET

Milos Krasic(top) of CSKAMoscow vieswith IvanDjurdjevic of Po-land's LechPoznan duringtheir UEFA Cupgroup H footballmatch in Mos-cow, November2008. Krasic isclose to signingwith Real Ma-drid, the Spanishsports newspa-per Marca said

Monday.INTERNET

LIVERPOOL, 23 Dec—Chelsea cap-tain John Terry was sent-off as theten-man Blues failed to go top of theEnglish Premier League after beingheld to a goalless draw away toEverton here Monday.

This result at Goodison Park sawChelsea move to within a point ofleaders Liverpool - Everton's city ri-vals topping the table at Christmas -and ended a run of 11 straight awayleague wins for the London club.

Chelsea played nearly an hour ofthe match a man down after Englandskipper Terry received a straight redcard from referee Phil Dowd for alate and dangerous tackle on Evertonmidfielder Leon Osman.

But, despite the centre-half's ex-

pulsion 10 minutes before half-time,Everton - without a recognised strikerbecause of injury - couldn't score andthe draw saw them stay seventh in thetable.

Everton did almost snatch victorylate on when Steven Pienaar had a'goal' disallowed by Dowd.

The South African midfielder bun-dled the ball over the line six minutesfrom time after Chelsea keeper PetrCech had saved Osman's initial shot.

But having seemingly strayed intoan offside position, Pienaar's goal wasthen chalked off after Dowd ruled thatthe ball had been kicked out of Cech'sgrasp, with the goalkeeper clearlyhaving two hands on the ball.

Internet

ROME, 23 Dec—ASRoma skipper FrancescoTotti will be sidelined foraround a month afterpicking up a right thighinjury Sunday in theSerie A match againstCatania.

Striker Totti wasforced off in the 30thminute and after a scanon Monday morning wastold he had a thigh strain.Roma lost the match 3-2.

Internet

LONDON, 23 Dec—England striker MichaelOwen will not make a de-cision about his futurewith Newcastle Uniteduntil the end of the season,a statement released byhis agent said Monday.

While that meansOwen, 29, will stay withNewcastle through theJanuary transfer window,his long-term future re-mains uncertain when hiscurrent 103,000 pounds-a-week (153,969 dollars)deal expires at the sea-son's end.

But the statement didsay the former Liverpooland Real Madrid forward,who is now free to talk toother clubs from 1 Janu-ary, would consider a pay-cut if he decided to stayat St James' Park.

"Following specula-tion about my future atNewcastle United, I havedecided today (Monday)

to make it clear that I amcommitted to the club un-til at least the end of thisseason, and I have in-formed them I do notwant to make a decisionabout my future until thattime," club captain Owensaid.

Internet

WEST BROMWICH, 23 Dec—Un-der-pressure Manchester City man-ager Mark Hughes insists he willstill be at the helm come the Janu-ary transfer window to take advan-tage of the club's financial might.

City's takeover by the Abu DhabiUnited consortium earlier this sea-son left them as one of the world'swealthiest clubs - a point theyproved with the British record 32million pounds (40 million euros)capture of Brazil star Robinho onthe September 1 transfer deadlineday.

But Sunday's 2-1 defeat away tobasement club West BromwichAlbion dropped City into the Eng-lish Premier League relegation zone after a run whichhad seen them take just five points from their last ninematches.

However former Wales and Blackburn Rovers man-ager Hughes stressed he'd be given assurances by chair-man Khaldoon Al Mubarak and owner SheikhMansour that he would still be in charge at Eastlandsnext month.

And Hughes said that while he wanted to build forthe long-term, City's immediate plight would see himtry to sign new players in January.

"I think everyone understands there are certain ar-eas of the squad which need strengthening and we willlook to address those in the window," he said.—Internet

Real close to signing Krasicfrom CSKA Moscow

MADRID, 23 Dec—CSKA Moscow midfielder MilosKrasic is close to signing with Real Madrid, the Span-ish sports newspaper Marca said Monday.

The paper did not indicate its source for the reporton the 24-year-old Serbian international, who has beenwith CSKA since 2004.

Spanish champions Real, who have been plaguedby injuries and poor form this season, signed Port-smouth's French international midfielder LassanaDiarra at the weekend.

They sacked German coach Bernd Schuster earlierthis month and replaced him with former Tottenhamcoach Juande Ramos but are still a huge 12 points be-hind league leaders and arch rivals Barcelona goinginto the winter break.—Internet

World champion Rooney eyesEngland glory

YOKOHAMA, 23 Dec—Already an English, Euro-pean and now world champion with ManchesterUnited, Wayne Rooney is hungry for internationalglory. Rooney smashed United’s winner in Sunday’sClub World Cup final against Ecuador’s LDU in Ja-pan to complete an unprecedented treble for AlexFerguson’s side.

Next on the striker’s wish-list is a major interna-tional medal and he insisted Fabio Capello was theman to lead England to success. “It’s been a child-hood dream to be a world champion,” said Rooney,named player of the tournament in Japan after scoringtwo goals in United’s 5-3 semifinal win over GambaOsaka.

“I knew we were capable of winning all those tro-phies in one year but credit to the team for doing it.“I love England and it would be fantastic to win some-thing with the national team. We’re playing really wellas a team and Capello is the right man to help us winthings.” Capello has guided England to the top oftheir World Cup qualifying group and rebuilt the con-fidence of a side that had hit rock bottom after failingto reach Euro 2008. — MNA/Reuters

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM14

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Wednesday, 24 December, 2008 15

WEATHER

Summary of observations recorded at 09:30 hrMST: During the past 24 hours, weather has been partlycloudy in Kachin, Shan, Chin States, Sagaing, Mandalayand Taninthayi Divisions and generally fair in the re-maining States and Divisions . Night temperatures were(3˚C) below December average temperatures in YangonDivision, (3˚C) to (4˚C) above December average tem-peratures in Rakhine State and Mandalay Division, (5˚C)to (6˚C) above December average temperatures in ShanState and upper Sagaing Division, (7˚C) above Decem-ber average temperature in Kachin State and about De-cember average temperatures in the remaining areas.Thesignificant night temperature was Hakha (5˚C).

Maximum temperature on 22-12-2008 was 89˚F.Minimum temperature on 23-12-2008 was 60˚F. Rela-tive humidity at (09:30) hours MST on 23-12-2008 was60%. Total sunshine hours on 22-12-2008 was (8.9) hrsapprox.

Rainfall on 23-12-2008 was (Nil) at Mingaladon,Kaba-Aye and Central Yangon. Total rainfall since 1-1-2008 was (110.31) inches at Mingaladon,(120.95) inchesat Kaba-Aye and (140.94) inches at Central Yangon.Maximum wind speed at Yangon (Kaba-Aye) was (6)mph from North at (9:30) hours MST on 23-12-2008.

Bay inference: Weather is generally fair in the NorthBay and partly cloudy in the Andaman Sea and elsewherein the Bay of Bengal.

Forecast valid until evening of 24th December2008: Possibility of isolated light rain or thundershowersin Kachin, Northern Shan States and Sagaing Divisionand weather will be partly cloudy in Chin, Eastern ShanStates, Mandalay, Bago, Yangon and Taninthayi Divi-sions and generally fair in the remaining States and Divi-sions. Degree certainty is (40%).

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

Outlook for subsequent two days: Likelihood ofslight increase of night termperatures in the upperMyanmar area.

Forecast for Nay Pyi Taw and neighbouring areafor 24-12-2008: Partly cloudy.

Forecast for Yangon and neighbouring areafor 24-12-2008: Partly cloudy.

Forecast for Mandalay and neighbouring areafor 24-12-2008: Partly cloudy.

Tuesday, 23 December, 2008

Wednesday, 24 DecemberView on today

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

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KUALA LUMPUR, 23 Dec—An estimated 30,000 Malaysians had overstayed inBritain and the Malaysian High Commission in London was making efforts tofacilitate them to return home, local media reported on Tuesday.

The Malaysian High Commission in London was providing information andguidance to these Malaysians as part of its ongoing efforts to facilitate them toreturn to Malaysia, local newspapers reported. Britain gave Malaysia a six-monthgrace period in July this year before deciding whether to impose a visa onMalaysians. Currently, Malaysians visiting Britain enjoy six months of visa- freetravel. The British Government reportedly has introduced a voluntary repatriationprogramme to offer one-way tickets for overstayers, including Malaysians, to sendthem back home. Yet, these overstayers, or illegal immigrants, would be blacklistedand barred from entering Britain for five years.—MNA/Xinhua

JAKARTA, 23 Dec‚—Indonesia and Malaysiahave signed a deal oncooperation and super-vision over borders, anewspaper said hereMonday. The agreementis expected to relievetension between the twocountries over illegallogging, human traf-ficking and terrorism, theJakarta Post said.

The signing wascarried out by Indonesia'sWest Kalimantan militarycommand and theMalaysian military. “TheMoU is a follow up on arecent agreement signedbetween the twocountries,” said MajorGeneral Tono Suratman,chief of the militarycommand. The general saidthe agreement related to thecoordination of militarypersonnel in the borderareas. Both countries willstation two battalions oftroops in Simanggaris (EastKalimantan), Etikong (WestKalimantan) and Biawak(Sarawak, Malaysia).

Malaysian armyrepresentative MajorGeneral Dato’ Mazelan saidthe agreement left openopportunities for the twocountries to cooperate onjoint land operations.

MNA/Xinxua

Gunmen fire on UN aid truck in Philippines, one deadMANILA, 23 Dec—

Gunmen opened fire on adelivery truck com-missioned by the UNWorld Food Programme(WFP) in the southernPhilippines, killing a truckhelper in what was thefirst attack on any UN unitin the country, an officialfrom the agency said onMonday.

The truck had justfinished delivering bagsof rice to temporaryshelters in Muslim-

dominated Lanao del SurProvince and wasreturning to neighbouringCotabato City on southernMindanao Island late onSunday night whengunmen fired at thevehicle.

Two other men on thetruck were not hurt, theWFP said. “WFP stronglydeplores the senseless lossof life of an individualwho was assisting in thedelivery of humanitarianassistance,” Stephen

Anderson, WFP countrydirector, said in astatement. In September,almost half of the total 60bags of 50-kilogrammerice donated by WFP toresidents displaced byfighting between gov-ernment troops andMuslim rebels was stolenby gunmen who blockeda WFP delivery truck inanother part of Mindanao.

The WFP hasdistributed more than 4,000tons of rice, biscuits anddates to more than 700,000displaced people since mid-August 2008 after violenceescalated in six provinceson southern MindanaoIsland. Most of the villagershave returned home asfighting subsided in thelast three weeks, disasteragency officials said,adding that about 60,000 to70,000 people remained intemporary shelter areas.

MNA/Reuters

Indonesia, Malaysiasigns security deal

Report says some 30,000 Malaysians overstay in Britain

Song Evans of University Place, Wash., walks with ared umbrella under a dusky gray sky along the PugetSound near Titlow Beach in Tacoma, Wash, on 18Dec, 2008 as snow blanketed the area.—INTERNET

24-12-08 NL 7/29/18, 6:59 PM15

12th Waning of Nadaw 1370 ME Wednesday, 24 December, 2008

Article: Reporter Singu Soe Win; Photos: Tin Soe (Myanma Alin)

Just as we left Kyauktaw, we were greeted bythe Kissapanadi Bridge, which is clearly visible in thedistance and is a real blessing for local people of thetown.

From the birth of Kyauktaw to the time of theTatmadaw government, shipping, main source oftransport for local people, consumed much cost andtime, thus it was reduced to a less developed region.

Now, local people can travel by car from

MraukU with booming agricultural farming and hotel service

Talks on Recession ProofBusiness on 27 December

YANGON, 23 Dec—Jointly organized by MyanmarFisheries Federation and Myanmar Prawn Entrepre-neur Association, Author Khin Maung Nyo (Eco-nomics) will give talks on “Recession Proof Busi-ness”, sponsored by Han Sein Thant Engineeringand Trading, at the Thiriannawa hall of MyanmarFisheries Federation on Bayintnaung Road in InseinTownship at 2 p.m. on Saturday 27 December, 2008.

Those interested may attend the talks.—MNA

INSIDEEntrepreneurs and farmers will

be able to gain higher incomes by

cultivating beans and pulses of suit-

able quality strains on a wider scale

and spreading their wings in export-

ing the crops.

Beware ofFire

PAGE 2 PERSPECTIVES

Kyauktaw to various parts of the nation thanks to theKissapanadi Bridge. Lists of bus schedules and depar-ture times at bus terminals in the township reflectedsignificant economic growth of local people.

Speaking to the Myanma Alin Daily, Chairmanof MraukU Township Peace and Development Coun-cil U Tint Naing Tun said, "Our township has a goodyield of rice. In 2007-2008, we put 137,220 acres underpaddy and got 10,259,848 baskets of paddy, and that

accounted for 74.77 baskets an acre. Last year's ricesecurity was 264.15 per cent. Our township is consti-tuted with six wards and 94 village-tracts with apopulation of 222,040."

Managers of the Township Myanma Agricul-tural Service U Naing Min Hlaing and U Soe Naingsaid the township had 400 acres of model agriculturalfarms belonging to 80 farmers; that due

(See page 7)

Picturesque MraukU Princess Hotel in MraukU, Rakhine State.

Earth not center of Universe,surrounded by ‘Dark Energy’

OTTAWA, 23 Dec— Earth’s location in the Uni-verse is utterly unremarkable, despite recent theoriesthat propose toppling a foundation of modern cosmol-ogy, according to a team of University of BritishColumbia researchers.

Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus’s 1543book, On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres,moved Earth from being the centre of the Universe tojust another planet orbiting the Sun. Since then, as-tronomers have extended the idea and formed theCopernican Principle, which says that our place in theUniverse as a whole is completely ordinary. Althoughthe Copernican Principle has become a pillar of mod-ern cosmology, finding conclusive evidence that ourneighbourhood of the Universe really isn’t special hasproven difficult. In 1998, studies of distant explosionscalled “type Ia supernovae” indicated that the expan-sion of the Universe is accelerating, an observationattributed to the repulsive force of a mysterious “darkenergy.”—Internet

Canadian cosmologists have concluded that

Earth's location in the Universe is utterly unre-

markable, despite recent theories that propose

toppling a foundation of modern cosmology.

Kaka - win a statementof intent.

Kaka inspired by winMILAN, 23 Dec — AC

Milan playmaker Kaka be-lieves his side sent a strongsignal of intent to Serie Aleaders Inter Milan withtheir emphatic 5-1 victoryover Udinese.

The Rossoneri demol-ished Udinese to erasememories of the 4-2 lossto Juventus the previousweek.

The result left Milanthird in the standings, ninepoints behind Inter head-ing into the winter break,and Kaka believes the ti-tle race is still very muchalive.

“Although Inter havea big gap, I believe we canstill win the scudetto,” saidKaka, who scored twice.

“This game againstUdinese should serve asan example in the new

year.”Kaka also revealed his

team were lifted by DavidBeckham’s appearance atthe San Siro. The Englandmidfielder, who will jointhe Rossoneri next monthfrom the Los Angeles Gal-axy, watched the encoun-ter from the stands.

“We really wanted toshow Beckham how weplay football,” Kakaadded.—Internet

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