17 nov 15 gnlm

Vol. II, No. 210, 6th Waxing Day of Tazaungmon 1377 ME

Tuesday, 17 November, 2015

President offers Kathina robes to senior monks

Page 3

Central Bank of Myanmar members discuss coordination with relevant ministries P

age

3

parliament resumes Priority to be given to passing important bills

PYIDAUNGSU Hluttaw will work towards having the additional budget bill for the fiscal year 2015-16 approved during its final regular session. Priority will be given to approving important bills out of the remaining bills being discussed in parliament, said Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann.

He made the comments during the 13th regular session of the parliament, which resumed Monday following a recess period that included the general election of 8 November.

The Speaker also expressed his delight about Myanmar’s smooth and peaceful general election, saying that he believed that the first general election in the country’s transition period brings pride to Myanmar. He praised the Union Election Commission and the Union Government as well.

He also pledged on behalf of parliament, for Pyidaungsu Hluttaw to cooperate with the government and the Tatmadaw [army] to carry out the remaining tasks during the post-election period.

During the same session of parliament, Union Minister for Finance U Win Shein, on behalf of the government, clarified the additional budget bill for the fiscal year 2015-16.

Parliamentary bill committees held a coordination meeting over finalising the remaining bills.—Myanmar News Agency

Inside ANALYSIS

Does Myanmar suffer from party politics?

Page 8

MPs urged to complete bill discussions Page 2

Representaties attend 13th regular session of Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. Photo: MNA

Deputy Ministers sign agreements with Korean bank for Dala bridge, new rail coaches THE signing ceremony for agreements between the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Rail Transportation and the Korea Exim Bank took place at the Kempinski Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday, attended by Union Ministers U Kyaw Lwin and U Nyan Tun Aung.

The agreements cover the construction of the Myanmar-Korea Friendship Dala Bridge and the purchase of 100 new rail coaches using a loan from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF)

of the Republic of Korea.

The bridge will be built across the Yangon River to link local roads in downtown Yangon with No 1 Highway in Yangon Region.

According to the agreement, the EDCF will provide US$45 million for the purchase of 20 new rail coaches, equipped with air-conditioning, 20 coaches without air-conditioning and 60 new ordinary coaches for the Ministry of Rail Transportation of Myanmar.

Deputy Minister for Construction Dr Win Myint and

Scale model of Yangon-Dala bridge. Photo: myanmarcs.focuscoregroup.com Deputy Minister for Rail Transportation U Myint Thein signed the agreements along with the chairman of Korea Exim Bank, Dr Lee Duk-Hoon. Yangon-Dala bridge will take five years to build and will be 6,144 ft in length.

Dala is on the Southern bank

of the Yangon River across from downtown Yangon. The area has not seen much development. Access has only been via a ferry.

The new bridge will link Phone Gyi Road, Landmadaw to Bo Min Yaung Road, Dala.—Myanmar News Agency

2 Parliament

17 November 2015

Amyotha Hluttaw

Pyithu Hluttaw

MPs urged to complete bill discussions Parliamentary roundup The Pyithu Hluttaw opened the 13th regular session of parliament yesterday.

Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw Thura U Shwe Mann praised the people of Myanmar, including organisations and officials, for their efforts during the 2015 general election.

He added that during the remaining two-month period of the first Hluttaw, MPs should focus on completing their tasks and should lay foundations for the upcoming Hluttaw, which will better serve the interests New Defence Services personnel representatives take affirmation in the presence of Amyotha Hluttaw Speaker.

Photo: MNA MPs should strive to complete discussion on bills that will benefit the country and its citizens in a timely manner, said Upper House Speaker U Khin Aung Myint told the 13th regular session of the Amyotha Hluttaw yesterday.

The speaker urged MPs to discuss 33 bills for approval during the 13th session. The representatives must submit proposals

related to any by laws to the parliament as quickly as possible, he added.

The speaker announced that the Pyithu Hluttaw had sent a proposal for an amendment to the National Blood and Blood Products Law and the Body Organ Donation Law back to the Amyotha Hluttaw without any additional amendments.

The Amyotha Hluttaw Bill Committee submitted reports on the Legal Support Bill, the Pension Law Revocation Bill, the Savings Bank Law Amendment Bill and the amendment of the Insurance Law. The Criminal Procedure Law and Penal Code Bills were sent back with amendments by the Pyithu Hluttaw.—Myanmar News Agency

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing urges personnel to protect three national causes

of the people.

The Hluttaw took a record of the parliamentarian delegation to Malaysia and Japan led

by Deputy Speaker U Nanda Kyaw Swa and of another delegation led by MP U Hla Myint Oo to Switzerland.

Officials of the Bill Committee read the Road Transport Bill and the Rail Transportation Bill, submitted by the Ministry of Rail Transportation.

Later, the Hluttaw approved an amendment to the Myanmar Anti-Drug Act.— Myanmar News Agency

Chinese consul general donates to city development, Wushu subcommittee A CEREMONY to celebrate donations to the fund of the Mandalay Region Wushu Subcommittee was held at the hall of the Mandalay City Development Committee on Friday. Mandalay Mayor U Aung Maung made a speech at the event.

Consul General Mr Wang Yu of the Chinese Consulate

General in Mandalay donated K15 million (US$11,592) to supply electricity along roads in Pyithidagun and Chanyathazi townships. consul general The also presented K3 million (US$2,320) to the chairman of the Wushu subcommittee U Khin Maung Tin.—Maung Pyi Thu

Correction Please read No. 306, Mandalay Region, Thabeikkyin, Dr. Aung Naing, National League for Democracy, 45349 votes for victorious Pyithu Hluttaw candidates on page 6 of this daily issued on 14-11-2015 and please read total number 626 for victorious candidates of Region/State Hluttaw on page 2 on 16-112015.—GNLM

Students, faculty members complete study tour in Australia

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing comforts a patient at military hospital. Photo: Myawady

After a completing a two week course in Australia, more than 70 students and faculty members from the International Language and Business Centres returned to Myanmar on Saturday.

Sixty students and 11 faculty members of ILBCs from Yangon, Mandalay, Myitkyina and Taunggyi travelled to Aus-

DEFENCE services personnel must protect Myanmar’s three main national causes and the state constitution, said Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to military staff and their families at Thandaung Station yesterday.

The senior general added that the successful holding of the 2015 multiparty democratic general election was a historical milestone in the history of the country and that the Tatmadaw, as the defence services are known in Myanmar, must learn from learn from their defeats.

ILBC students pose for documentary photo at the lounge of Yangon International Airport. Photo: MNA

He continued to say that it is necessary for defence services personnel to abide by the law, as no one is above the law, and that action will be taken against those who neglect the law. The senior general concluded by urging military personnel to protect the state constitution and the three main national causes in accordance with the Section 20 of the constitution. The three causes are: non-disintegration of the union; non-disintegration of national solidarity; and the perpetuation of sovereignty.

The senior general and his wife Daw Kyu Kyu Hla and

other senior officers presented books, gifts, cash, sports gear and foodstuffs to defence services personnel and their families.

The commander-in-chief and his party visited the military hospital in the station and comforted patients there while Daw Kyu Kyu Hla conversed with family members of patients.

In the afternoon, the senior general met with members of the defence services at the Ayechanphyo Hall of the Southern Command, where he made a speech and distributed more gifts to military staff, along with his wife.—Myawady

tralia on 31 October through the Australia Study Program, jointly arranged by Education Queensland International and ILBCs. They attended a twoweek course at Cleveland State High School in Brisbane and Miami State High School and Palm Beach Curriumbin State High School in Gold Coast, Australia. —MNA

national 3

17 November 2015

President offers Kathina robes to senior monks as well as Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the Union Election Commission U Tin Aye, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services and Commander-in-Chief (Army) Vice-Senior General Soe Win, union ministers, deputy ministers and other guests, offered Kathina robes and provisions to members of the Sangha.

At the ceremony, the government donated provisions worth K40.5 million (US$31,300) to Buddhist monks.

After the ceremony, President U Thein Sein, Daw Khin Khin Win and other guests offered meals to members of the Sangha.—Myanmar News Agency

Photos: MNA

President U Thein Sein and wife Daw Khin Khin Win offer Kathina robes to a senior monk. Photo: MNA

President U Thein Sein and his wife, Daw Khin Khin Win, attended the government’s Kathina robe-offering ceremony at Sasana Beikman Hall on the platform of the Uppatasanti Pagoda in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.

The president and his wife, along with vice presidents Dr Sai Mauk Kham and U Nyan Tun and their wives, donated meals, flowers, water and lights to the Buddha image at the hall.

The president offered Kathina robes to Nan U Monastery Sayadaw Bhaddanta Ujjota and other donations to the chairman of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, Bhamo Sayadaw Bhaddanta Kumara.

The vice presidents,

Vice President Dr Sai Mauk Kham and wife donate Kathina robes to a Buddhist monk.

Vice President U Nyan Tun and wife offer Kathina robes to a member of the Sangha.

Central Bank of Myanmar members discuss coordination with relevant ministries A WORK coordination meeting attended by the Central Bank of Myanmar, ministries and private banks was held at the CBM on Monday.

Present were Union Ministers U Soe Thane and U Zeyar Aung, Governor U Kyaw Kyaw Maung of the Central Bank of Myanmar, Deputy Ministers Brig-Gen Kyaw KyawTun, Dr Maung Maung Thein, vice governor of the CBM Dr Pwint Hsan and officials from private banks.

The purpose of the meeting was to increase the efficiency of the Central Bank of Myanmar by coordinating with ministries that lay down financial, trade and economic policies, according to Union

Union Ministers U Soe Thane delivers speech at coordination of Central Bank of Myanmar. Photo: CBM Minister U Soe Thane. He also pointed out the need to improve banking services for the public.

He added that Myanmar has been gaining progress in Ease of doing

Business Index, Corruption Perception Index and Per Capita Income year by year issued by international community.

The union ministers, deputy minister and central

bank officials discussed foreign investment, reducing budget deficits and spending, the need to increase revenue, export and import strategies, the revocation of foreign exchange licences

and the reserve requirement for private banks.

Officials of private banks reported on difficulties in providing services at the meeting.—Myanmar News Agency

Residents of Namkham receive free medical treatment A medical team from No 88 Light Infantry Division was joined by health staff from the Namkham People’s Hospital in providing medical treatment to 262 residents of Phalin village, Namkham Township, in northern Shan State yesterday.

The light infantry division opened a free clinic at the entrance of Namkham.

The commander of the division and departmental officials supervised healthcare services for the residents and gave them nutritious food items.

—L Soe (Muse)

4 regional

17 November 2015

Protests feared as wanted Cambodia opposition leader set to return PHNOM PENH — Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy is expected to fly home to his own arrest yesterday and the United States warned of the danger of political protests as tension comes to a head between Sam Rainsy’s supporters and those of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The Southeast Asian nation is still three years away from a general election, but acrimony between the two as they jockey for position is threatening to plunge the country back into political conflict.

A Cambodian court on Friday issued an arrest warrant related to an old defamation case for which Sam Rainsy had already received a royal pardon. The opposition party denounced the warrant as politically motivated.

Parliament stripped Sam Rainsy of the immunity that comes with his position in parliament on Monday.

Sam Rainsy is due to arrive in Phnom Penh from South Korea

late in the day. He would be arrested on arrival, said government spokesman Phay Siphan.

“There won’t be any political compromise because he has lost all political status,” Phay Siphan said.

The US Embassy warned in a statement of the “heightened possibility of political demonstrations” near the airport on Monday and Tuesday.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Sam Rainsy was defiant.

“Cambodia is my birthplace and homeland,” he said. “I must go back, absolutely. I go back to rescue the nation.”

The warrant for his arrest was issued a day after self-styled strongman Hun Sen, in power for more than 30 years, threatened a lawsuit against Sam Rainsy for comments he made abroad about the election.

Sam Rainsy called on the international community to ensure that Hun Sen sticks to the election timetable and not use the deterio-

rating political situation to delay the vote.

Hun Sen has warned that an election victory for the opposition in 2018 would see a return to civil war.

Robust economic growth, jobs creation and sustained peace for an impoverished country roiled by decades of civil war, including under Pol Pot’s 1975-79 “killing fields” regime, have ensured Hun Sen’s continued re-election, although experts say he now faces a strong challenge from a rejuvenated opposition popular among urban youth.

Sam Rainsy’s Cambodia National Rescue Party ended a yearlong parliamentary boycott after a deal in July 2014 with Hun Sen’s long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party that granted a series of concessions to the opposition party.

The deal fell apart after a year, when opposition party lawmakers were jailed for insurrection for their role in a protest.—Reuters

Malaysia opposition says govt wants to scrap foreign ownership cap for 1MDB power sale KUALA LUMPUR — A Malaysian opposition leader said yesterday the government wanted to sell the entire power assets of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) to a consortium of Chinese and Qatari firms, a move that would go against current ownership laws.

The law caps foreign ownership at 49 percent. Rafizi Ramli, the secretary-general of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), said the Energy Commission, the state body that oversees power assets, has proposed to the treasury department to scrap the foreign ownership limit.

“The wish and the suggestion by the federal government go against the existing rule that allows foreign investor to hold up to a maximum of 49 percent equity stake in the energy sec-

tor to protect the national interests,” Rafizi said in a statement.

Officials at the Energy Commission and 1MDB could not be immediately reached for comment.

1MDB, the subject of multiple investigations amid allegations of financial mismanagement and graft, is seeking to pare back $11 billion in debt by selling assets, including Edra Global Energy Bhd. 1MDB said in October that it had received “final, binding and fully funded offers” from three investors, comprising both domestic and international parties.

State power firm Tenega Nasional said it was one of the bidders.

Sources have said a Chinese and Qatari firm has also bid for the assets.—Reuters

Tokyo, Manila to agree framework for Japanese military aid Director - Maung Maung Than mnmnthn2@gmail.com Deputy Chief Editor Than Tun Aung thantunaungnlm@gmail.com Chief Reporter - Aye Min Soe koayeminsoe2006@gmail.com Senior Consultant Editor Jessica Mudditt jess.mudditt@gmail.com Consultant Editor Jacob Goldberg jgold.news@gmail.com Alec Wilmot alec.wilmot.gnlm@gmail.com Editors Ye Myint, uyemyint76@gmail.com, Kyaw Thura, kthura.spk@gmail.com, Myint Win Thein journalist.sss@gmail.com International news Ye Htut Tin mryehtuttin@gmail.com Tun Tun Naing tunyunaing@gmail.com Reporters Khaing Thanda Lwin juniorlwin25@gmail.com Tun Aung Kyaw tunaungkyaw.31@gmail.com Translators Ma Than Htay, Hay Mar Tin Win haymarfat@gmail.com Proof reader Nwe Nwe Tun Layout designers Tun Zaw, Thein Ngwe, Zaw Zaw Aung, Ye Naing Soe, Nyi Zaw Moe, Hnin Pwint, Kay Khaing Win, Sanda Hnin, Zu Zin Hnin Circulation & Advertising San Lwin (+95) (01) 8604532 Ads and subscription enquiries: thantunaungnlm@gmail.com Printed and published at the Global New Light of Myanmar Printing Factory at No.150, Nga Htat Kyee Pagoda Road, Bahan Township, Yangon, by the Global New Light of Myanmar Daily under Printing Permit No. 00510 and Publishing Permit No. 00629.

Philippine marines man their anti-aircraft gun emplacement near the venues of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, during the first day of the APEC CEO summit, in Manila on 16 November.

Photo: Reuters TOKYO — The Japanese and Philippine leaders will agree this week on a deal paving the way for Tokyo to supply Manila with used military equipment, possibly including aircraft that could be deployed to patrol the disputed South China Sea, sources said.

The deal will mark the first time Japan has agreed to directly donate military equipment to another country, and is the latest example of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s more muscular security agenda.

The agreement in principle on military technology will be announced after Abe and President Benigno Aquino meet on the side-

lines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila, said three sources in Tokyo who are familiar with the issue.

It will commit Tokyo and Manila to discuss the type and scale of Japanese military aid, added the sources, who declined to be identified because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

The Philippines is the Southeast Asian country most at odds with Beijing over the South China Sea. Tokyo has no claims in the waterway, but is worried about China’s growing military reach into sea lanes through which

much of Japan’s ship-borne trade passes.

“APEC is an opportunity for us to show how far our cooperation has come,” one of the sources said.

Abe and Aquino are due to meet on Wednesday.

A Tokyo-based spokesman for the Japanese Foreign Ministry, which the sources said has been handling the agreement, said he had no information on the matter.

The Philippine Foreign Ministry declined to comment while Philippine military officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

While the agreement won’t

include specific aid for now, Japan may begin by supplying three Beechcraft TC-90 King Air planes currently used to train Japanese Self Defence Force pilots that can be fitted with basic surface and air surveillance radar, sources with knowledge of the plan have previously said.

That might then be followed by used Lockheed Martin submarine-hunting P3-C patrol planes, they said.

Rather than challenge Beijing directly by sending warships or planes to patrol the South China Sea, Japan is building the military capacity of friendly nations in the region that have claims to parts of the waterway such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the APEC leaders’ summit on Wednesday and Thursday. While the South China Sea is not on the formal agenda of the trade-dominated discussions, it is likely to feature in talks on the sidelines.

To allow Japan’s first direct donation of military equipment, Japanese lawmakers will either have to tweak financial regulations that require officials to sell second-hand government-owned equipment at fair market value, or establish a financing mechanism outside overseas development aid, which can’t be used for military purposes.

In June, Abe and Aquino agreed to begin talks on a visiting forces agreement that would open the way for Japan to use bases in the Philippines to refuel aircraft and resupply naval vessels. Japan is also building 10 vessels for the Philippine coastguard.—Reuters

regional 5

17 November 2015

Japan, Thailand agree to fight terrorism after Paris attacks

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (front on L row) and his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai (front on R row) meet in Manila on 16 November, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Photo: Kyodo News MANILA — Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai agreed yesterday to cooperate with the international community to combat terrorism in the wake of deadly attacks in Paris on Friday as well as a bombing in Bangkok in August.

“The international community should be united to resolutely condemn the terrorist acts,” Kishida was quoted by Japan’s Foreign Ministry as telling Don when they met on the sidelines of ministerial talks for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum starting in Manila.

The two ministers vowed to “closely cooperate” in fighting terrorism, according to the ministry said.

With Thailand home to many Japanese residents and companies, Kishida called for Thailand to help ensure the safe-

ty of Japanese nationals there and protect and promote further the good investment environment for Japanese companies in the Southeast Asian country, the ministry said.

More than 60,000 Japanese people live in Thailand and about 4,500 Japanese firms operate there, according to Japanese government data.

The ministry said Kishida also reiterated Japan’s support for railway and other infrastructure development projects in Thailand.

Touching on tensions in the South China Sea, where territorial claims by some Southeast Asian countries and China have overlapped, Kishida said ensuring stability in the sea is vital to regional peace, and Japan has called for the rule of law to be upheld at sea, the ministry said.

“ASEAN as a whole should

send a strong message when their leaders gather for an upcoming summit,” Kishida also told Don, who assumed his post in August and held his first talks with Kishida.

Kishida was referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ summit scheduled for later this week in Kuala Lumpur.

Thailand is not a claimant in territorial rows in the South China Sea, while Japan is not directly involved in the dispute but regards the sea as a shipping lane crucial for its oil and other imports.

Kishida also expressed his hope for Thailand’s early restoration of democracy following a coup in 2014. Don said Thailand wants to learn from Japan’s experience in implementing democracy, according to the ministry.—Kyodo News

Sri Lanka likely to re-start China funded mega port city project COLOMBO — The Sri Lankan government is likely to give its nod to re-start a stalled multi billion dollars China funded port city project in the island nation by early next year, one top official of Sri Lankan government told Xinhua yesterday.

The official said that currently the Sri Lankan government was conducting high level discussions with the Chinese government over the status of the Chinese projects in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan government is likely to give its approval for the Port City project by February.

The 1.4 billion US dollars Colombo port city project funded by the China Communications

Construction Company Limited was suspended by Sri Lanka government in March after concerns were raised over some aspects of the project.

The construction of the project began in September last year and is set to attract billions of dollars as investments once completed.

The official said that the necessary documents including the Environmental Management Plan have already been submitted to the Sri Lankan government and the documents are currently under review.

“All the necessary documents have been submitted and the government is likely to start the project by February,” the of-

ficial said.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne last month said that following a recommendation by Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga, the cabinet had agreed to appoint a new committee to address the issues of the Port City project so that the project could continue.

“We want to overcome these issues so that we can continue with the project. We hope to sort all these issues within the coming six months,” Senaratne said.

The new unity government has already stated that it hoped to include the Colombo Port City under its megalopolis development plan in order to develop capital Colombo.—Xinhua

APEC ministers discuss free trade zone, antiterrorism MANILA — Ministers of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum discussed at a meeting Monday antiterrorism in the wake of Friday’s attacks in Paris and a region-wide free trade initiative following the deal for a Pacific free trade pact.

The ministers started the two-day gathering in Manila with a moment of silence for the victims of the Paris attacks.

The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the massacre which left 132 people dead with 349 wounded.

During the meeting, most participants said that there is never a justification for terrorism no matter what the reason

countries, officials said.

The TPP nations concluded years of negotiations on 5 October, establishing a free trade zone covering 40 percent of the world’s economy. The US-led framework has been considered as a basis of a more ambitious Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, or FTAAP, that the APEC members aim to establish “as early as possible.”

“We are expanding APEC’s trade and investment goals to include a development dimension,” said Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, co-chair of the ministerial meeting along with fellow Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, at the outset of the meeting, which

“We look at the role of services as an engine of growth for the 21st century.”

Albert del Rosario Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary is, Japanese trade minister Motoo Hayashi told reporters afterward.

Aiming to demonstrate that negative world events will not be an impediment to growth, the 21 member economies are considering expressing their joint response to the assault in a leaders’ declaration to be issued later this week, an APEC source said. Talks at the meeting also centered on how the APEC economies can work together to move forward on their goal of creating a region-wide free trade zone in light of the recent Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement struck by 12 of its member

was open to the media.

“We look at the role of services as an engine of growth for the 21st century,” he added.

Lowering lifetime costs of infrastructure by building quality facilities was also discussed among other agenda items, the officials said. Aside from the Philippines — the host this year’s forum —, APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.—Kyodo News

Senior Beijing, Shanghai officials sacked after graft probe BEIJING — A deputy Communist Party boss in Beijing and the vice mayor of Shanghai in charge of its experimental free trade zone have been sacked following corruption probes, state news agency Xinhua said yesterday.

Xinhua released the news, without giving further details, in two separate, brief reports on one of its official microblogs.

Officials are always removed from office following the beginning of graft probes.

Both the Beijing official, Lu Xiwen, and the Shanghai of-

ficial, Ai Baojun, were accused by the ruling Communist Party last week of suspected “serious breaches of discipline”, the usual euphemism for corruption.

The government has given no other details and it has not been possible to reach either for comment. President Xi Jinping has embarked on a massive campaign to root out deeply ingrained corruption since assuming office three years ago, warning, like others before, that the problem is so bad it could affect the party’s grip on power.—Reuters

6 world

17 November 2015

French police make arrests in overnight raids PARIS — French police made 23 arrests and seized assault rifles and drugs in a nationwide overnight sweep on suspected Islamist militants following Friday’s attacks, the government said.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 168 homes were raided in France’s major cities and elsewhere, and 104 people had been put under house arrest in the last 48 hours.

Police seized 31 firearms as well as computer hard drives and telephones, and illegal drugs were

found in 18 of the raids, Cazeneuve told journalists.

One Islamist militant suspected of arms and drugs dealing was found to have Kalashnikov assault rifles, automatic handguns and bullet proof vests.

In one raid on the house of the parents of a suspect, police found military fatigues and a rocket launcher in addition to more bullet proof vests and automatic handguns.

“We know that more attacks are being prepared, not just against

France but also against other European countries,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on RTL radio.

Cazeneuve said police were making rapid progress in their investigation into a wave of shootings and suicide bombings in Paris which left 129 people dead.

“We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadist movement ... and all those who advocate hate of the republic,” Valls said.—Reuters

News In Brief

UN chief ready to help Korean peace, no comment on Pyongyang visit New York — UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon has always said he is ready to play a role to help dialogue and peace on the Korean peninsula, the UN spokesman’s office said in a statement yester-

day. The spokesman’s office said it had no comment on a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency earlier on Monday that Ban planned to visit North Korea this week, citing a senior UN source.—Reuters

Putin says Russia, UK should combine efforts in fighting terrorism BELEK — Russia and Britain should combine efforts in fighting terrorism, Russian President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister David Cameron on the sidelines of the G20 sum-

mit in Turkey, in comments related to attacks in Paris.

“We should work together.

I am sure we can discuss that and Syria this morning,” Cameron told Putin.—Reuters

Pentagon says five Guantanamo detainees transferred to United Arab Emirates WASHINGTON — Five detainees at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were transferred to the government of the United Arab Emirates, the US Defence Department said on Sunday.

The transferred detainees were identified by the Pentagon as Ali Ahmad Muhammad al-Razihi, Khalid Abd-al-Jab-

bar Muhammad Uthman al-Qadasi, Adil Said al-Hajj Ubayd al-Busays, Sulayman Awad Bin Uqayl al-Nahdi and Fahmi Salem Said al-Asani.

The Pentagon said 107 detainees remained at Guantanamo.

All five of the transferred detainees are Yemeni, according to media reports.—Reuters

US delivers ammunition to Syrian Arab fighters battling Islamic State Belgian police stage a raid, in search of suspected muslim fundamentalists linked to the deadly attacks in Paris, in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, on 16 November. Photo: Reuters

UK to boost funding for intelligence agencies, aviation security BELEK — Britain will boost its intelligence agency staff by 15 percent and more than double spending on aviation security to counter the increasing threat from Islamist militants, Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.

The government said it had decided to increase resources in the wake of the growing number of plots against Britain and recent militant attacks, including those in Paris and Tunisia. “I am determined to prioritise the resources we need to combat the terrorist threat because protecting the Brit-

“This is a generational struggle that demands we provide more manpower to combat those who would destroy us and our values.”

David Cameron UK Prime Minister

ish people is my number one duty,” Cameron said in a statement.

“This is a generational struggle that demands we provide more manpower to combat those who would destroy us and our values.”

The government said that as part of a broader five-year defence and security review, due to be published on 23 November, it would fund an extra 1,900 officers at its MI5 and MI6 spy agencies and GCHQ intelligence agency.

It also plans a “step change” in aviation security following the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt last month, which Britain has said it believes was brought down by a bomb. Cameron is due to discuss aviation security with other world leaders at the G20 summit in Turkey on Monday, including during a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The British leader has also ordered a rapid review of security at several airports around the world, in particular in the Middle East and North Africa and airports through which

high numbers of British citizens travel. The assessments, due to be conducted over the next two months, will focus on measures such as passenger screening, physical security at the airport, hold baggage and freight screening.

Additional security measures put in place at potentially vulnerable airports over the past year will also be reviewed, and the National Security Council will on Tuesday discuss British aviation security policy, the government said. Cameron said he planned to more than double government spending on aviation security, currently around 9 million pounds ($13.70 million) a year, over the next 5 years. This new funding will provide extra aviation security experts to regularly assess security at airports around the world as well as advice, training and equipment for other countries to help them increase security at airports. It will also fund research into screening technology and to detect new threats, the government said.—Reuters

WASHINGTON — The United States has carried out a fresh delivery of ammunition to fighters from the Syrian Arab Coalition battling Islamic State in northern Syria, pushing ahead with a strategy that initially unnerved ally Turkey, a US official told Reuters on Sunday.

The delivery of ammunition represented only the second time the United States has moved to arm the Syrian Arab Coalition, a collection of about 10-12 groups numbering about 5,000 fighters.

They are working with Kurds

and others to claw back land from Islamic State.

In a shift in approach, the latest US resupply operation was completed on Saturday by delivering the weaponry by land, the US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear who transported the ammunition into Syria, but the official said American troops did not drive them into the country.

Further details on the operation were not immediately available.—Reuters

El Al Israel flight makes emergency landing in Montana Billings — An El Al Israel Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles made an emergency landing in Montana on Sunday after the pilot received an automated alert that the aircraft’s engine was on fire, transportation officials said.

The Boeing 777 aircraft, carrying 279 passengers and 20 crew members, landed on the runway of Billings Logan International Airport about 6 am local time, Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting supervisor Mike Glancy said.

The pilot grounded the plane after a cockpit warning light switched on, indicating a

fire in the right engine, Glancy said. After the plane landed, fire and transportation officials examined it but found no sign of smoke or fire.

No one was injured in the incident, Glancy said. Passengers were taken to the airport terminal building. An alternative plane was being flown in from Newark, New Jersey, to fly passengers to Los Angeles.

The original El Al aircraft will remain in Billings for additional examination and repairs, Glancy said.

El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, was not immediately available for comment.—Reuters

world 7

17 November 2015

French jets target Islamic State camps

A French fighter jet taxis along the runway in an undisclosed location, in this handout picture released by the ECPAD late 15 November. Photo: Reuters BEIRUT — Heavy air strikes believed to have been carried out by French jets hit two Islamic State training camps and a suspected arms depot in and around the jihadist-held city of Raqqa in Syria overnight, a group monitoring the war said yesterday.

There were more than 30 explosions heard in the Raqqa city area, said Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict using a network of sources on the ground.

It was not immediate-

ly clear if all the blasts were caused by air strikes or other weaponry.

Islamic State, which uses Raqqa as the defacto capital of its self-declared caliphate, is restricting movement inside the city, making it difficult to collect information on any casualties, Abdulrahman said.

France’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday 10 French fighter jets dropped 20 bombs on Syria targeting Islamic State, the ultra hardline group which has claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people.

An anti-Islamic State activist group, Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, said the French strikes hit “Division 17” and “Avant-garde camp” in Raqqa and provided maps of their locations on its Twitter feed. It said there were no reports of casualties so far.

The group said one strike hit an area where Kayla Mueller, a US hostage, had been held in Raqqa before being killed earlier this year. It posted a video with audio of the rumble of jets overhead which it said was from inside Raqqa city.—Reuters

Islamic State threatens attack on Washington CAIRO — Islamic State warned in a new video yesterday that countries taking part in air strikes against Syria would suffer the same fate as France, and threatened to attack in Washington.

The video, which appeared on a site used by Islamic State to post its messages, begins with news footage of the aftermath of Friday's Paris shootings in which at least 129 people were killed.

The message to countries involved in what it called the "crusader campaign" was delivered by a man dressed in fatigues and a turban, and identified in subtitles as Al Ghareeb the Algerian.

"We say to the states that take part in the crusader campaign that, by God, you will

have a day, God willing, like France's and by God, as we struck France in the centre of its abode in Paris, then we swear that we will strike America at its centre in Washington," the man said.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the video, which purports to be the work of Islamic State fighters in the Iraqi province of Salahuddine, north of Baghdad.

The French government has called the Paris attacks an act of war and said it would not end its air strikes against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. French fighter jets launched their biggest raids in Syria to date on Sunday targeting the Islamic State's stronghold in the city of Raqqa.

The operation was carried out in coordination with US forces.

Police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across France overnight following the Paris attacks.

"Al Ghareeb the Algerian" also warned Europe in the video that more attacks were coming.

"I say to the European countries that we are coming, coming with booby traps and explosives, coming with explosive belts and (gun) silencers and you will be unable to stop us because today we are much stronger than before," he said.

Apparently referring to international talks to end the Syrian war, another man identified in the video as Al Karrar the Iraqi tells French President Francois Hollande "we have decided to negotiate with you in the trenches and not in the hotels."—Reuters

Bahrain jails 12 convicted bombers for life DUBAI — A Bahraini criminal court sentenced 12 people for life and revoked their citizenship after finding them guilty of carrying out bomb attacks on police, a senior judicial official said in a statement late on Sunday.

Evidence showed that the defendants, tried at the High Criminal Court, were “directly linked” to six bombings carried out between 2013 and 2014, advocate general Ahmed Al-Hammadi said in a statement carried by Bahrain News Agency.

The official said formal charges were made against the defendants after evidence gathered including fingerprints, “which directly matched five of the suspects

to explosives and bomb-making materials found in a house in Saar,” the statement said.

The defendants had full and legal rights to appeal, the statement added.

The Sunni Muslim-led island kingdom, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet in the Gulf, has experienced sporadic unrest since mass protests in 2011 led by majority Shi’ites demanding reforms and a bigger role in government. The government denies opposition charges it discriminates against Shi’ites.

Bahrain says the opposition has a sectarian agenda and is backed by Shi’ite power Iran, a charge Shi’ite groups deny.—Reuters

Shootings in Burundi capital kill 4 NAIROBI — At least four people died in shootings and explosions in various neighbourhoods in Burundi’s capital on Sunday, while the government-supporting mayor’s house was attacked during a night of violence, witnesses and local administration said.

Burundi has been shaken by months of violence, sparked when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided in April to run for a third term. He won a disputed election in July.

Last week, the United Nations Security Council asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report within 15 days on options for boosting the UN presence in Burundi amid growing concern that the violence could spiral into an ethnic conflict. Memories are still raw in the region of the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

Attackers targeted a police post in the south of the capital, killing one police officer and injuring another, said a police officer who witnessed the incident and did not wish to be named.

Shootings started at around 9.00 p.m. local time in areas like

Mutakura, where three people were wounded. The gunfire intensified at midnight and was heard across Bujumbura for several hours, another police officer who did not wish to be named said.

Dieudonné Nduwayo, administrative secretary of Bujumbura’s Bwiza zone, said three other people had been killed in different places within the capital’s Mukaza district.

Bujumbura Mayor Freddy Mbonimpa, a member of Nkurunziza’s CNDD-FDD party said his home and vehicles parked there were seriously damaged when about 10 people attacked the house in Rohero, a part of the city that has seen little violence.

“Around 10 assailants ... shot and threw grenades at my house.

We fortunately registered no death because my guard responded,” Mbonimpa told Reuters.

Scores have died in protests and killings and hundreds of thousands have fled Burundi since Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term, a move the opposition said violated the constitution and a peace treaty that ended fighting in 2005.—Reuters

Iraq replaces nine grain board officials in reform push BAGHDAD — Iraq’s acting trade minister replaced nine officials at the country’s powerful grain board, a statement said on Monday, in an apparent bid to push through reforms.

The statement did not accuse the unnamed department and silo managers of graft, but said the changes were made “to appoint

competent professionals... and exclude elements that were not able to succeed in their past responsibilities.”

The grain board is responsible for procuring grain internationally and from Iraqi farmers, making it one of the world’s biggest importers of wheat and rice.—Reuters

8 ANALYSIS

17 November 2015

Opinion Does Myanmar suffer from party politics?

Myint Win Thein Recently, an influential politician said it is completely wrong to classify national politics in terms of party politics. The greater national interest must be the focus of Myanmar politics. Everyone seems to be in favour of the idea of the federal union, after all. But can it be that perfect?

Politics has been looked at cynically in Myanmar for decades. However, this does not seem so true lately.

Some political parties may enjoy a grand honeymoon

of public love and support at some time, but this will fade somewhat over time. There are periods of trouble –the occasional scandal, bureaucratic mismanagement, economic stagnation and other typical political obstacles that can prove insurmountable to even the best-run and most popular governments.

Whether or not this politician’s thoughts on the nature of democracy are to be given any weight, his words do merit consideration. Can political parties truly be independent of wealthy business interests? Can voters trust an entire political party, right down to the last member? All parties in the world would respond yes, but it is only politic to do so. That is how the game is played.

We know as human beings that nothing perfect exists – and so do they – but wouldn’t it be nice to think so? We would like to hold that warm thought and take a political party into our hearts.

Politics is actually a complicated network in which someplayers (individual politicians as well as parties) display honesty and some do not. Some have the concerns of

the people at heart,while some prioritise personal or factional gain. Many players change over the course of a career. Eventually, all must change with the times.

Can we call what happens in Myanmar ‘party politics’? Should we make such sweeping statements about the nature of politics? Our friend the politician’s comments are a wonderful basis for discussion, but one should be careful to apply blanket statements to such an intricate and ever-evolving system.

Write for us We appreciate your feedback and contributions.

If you have any comments or would like to submit editorials, analyses or reports please email thantunaungnlm@gmail.com with your name and title.

Due to limitation of space we are only able to publish “Letter to the Editor” that do not exceed 500 words. Should you submit a text longer than 500 words please be aware that your letter will be edited.

The Future of Myanmar Economy in Postelection Period Thi Ha Zaw

2015

Myanmar election is hailed at home and abroad as a significant milestone towards Myanmar model of democratization. Riots and unrests which are the usual landscape in the election period in countries under democratic transition are almost unheard of in Myanmar. There are no gun shots and bomb blasts except in very tiny part of the country dominated by some armed groups who are still craving for armed struggle.

How delightful to see the peaceful and quiet long queue in the poll stations throughout the country! Normally we don’t often see such a neat and tidy queue in Myanmar. When Myanmar woke up on 8th November, 2015, the world suddenly noticed that we have crossed the democratic maturity threshold. It is for all of us to keep it up. The media worldwide is full of blessing for the Myanmar people and the winning opposition party. In fact it is also the victory of the government, Tamadaw and Election Commission.

All of them put tremendous effort for the tasks inside and outside the poll station for safe, smooth, secure, free and fair election. The government and Tamadaw have expressed their congratulatory words for the winning party and expressed their strong commitment for the peaceful transfer of power. After all there is a saying “Most of the people know when to start but only a few wise men know when to stop”.

After the election, most of the people hope that democratization process will gain stronger momentum. We must not forget that strong democracy cannot prevail unless we could improve the livelihood of the Myanmar people. The backbone of the economy of a truly democratic country is Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The just and equitable income distribution for all of our people can be guaranteed only when there is flourishing SMEs. There are universal rules adopted by the World Bank for establishing,

running and liquidating for SMEs irrespective of the differences in the geographic factors, natural and human resources. World Bank compares the criteria for ease of doing business in all countries over the world and publishes the report yearly since 2006. Doing Business Myanmar Report was started in 2014 and 3rd report came out only a few weeks ago.

World Bank’s criteria for ease of doing business includes 10 areas; starting business, dealing with construction permit, getting electricity, registering properties when someone want to set up a business and getting credit, paying taxes, trading across borders, protecting minority investors, enforcing business contracts when a business started operation and finally solving bankruptcy if a certain business can no longer survive. The grading marks are defined and categorized according to number of steps involved, the time taken and the cost of the procedures.

Not surprisingly Singapore ranked as the easiest country for SMEs to do a business for 11 straight years. Myanmar ranked 178th out of 189 economies in 2014, 177th in 2015 and come up to 167th position in 2016 report.

Myanmar democratization has taken roots in 2011. After publishing the Framework for Economic & Social Reform (FESR) on 14th January in 2013, series of reforms were implemented. Tax reforms including on line tax declaration was started. Liberalization of import and export process was implemented by removing quota and permit system. But improvement in 2015 report was only one spot because other transforming economies are liberalizing their bureaucratic machine faster than us as we have just woken up from the sanctioned economy.

In the next year, One Stop Services (OSSs) were set up for speedy and less expensive company registration procedures as well as for electricity connection. Together with reform measures in other areas, we jumped 10 spots to 167th position in 2016 report.

Considering the slow bureaucratic machine which is the legacy of so many years of command economic system and old mindset of government employees, this outcome of

jumping 11 spots in the World Bank ranking in just two years is not a small achievement. The government can only use half of its brain because the other half is busy with establishing nationwide peace process knowing that peace is essential for business.

The popular opinion on the street in post-election period is that Myanmar economy can turn around quickly and poverty will decline dramatically once the sanctions were lifted after the new government office take office. It is true that sanctions were the barriers for the economic progress but many of our people cannot notice that our economy is held back not because of sanctions but because of our own internal hurdles. One example is that our SMEs are still unable to exploit the GSP benefit of European Union adopted since 18th July in 2013. According to that benefit, EU imposed zero tax for our products. Businesses from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam and various countries are preparing to reap this benefit through their factories in Myanmar.

Everybody knows that power is essential for the business. Although the process of getting electricity is easier in Myanmar than before, what is more important is how to get reliable electricity around the clock. There is an obvious mismatch between supply and demand in Myanmar. We have potential for producing 100 Gigawatt of hydropower. 40 Gigawatt is feasible currently. Hydropower is clean energy with zero carbon emission and less costly because of our comparative advantages. But we can produce only 5 Gigawatt at present because of insufficient capital, environmental concerns and armed conflicts in the project areas. What a waste to see large amount of water from Ayeyawady, Chindwin, Thanlwin and others are flowing fruitlessly into the sea for several years since independence without being able to produce enough energy for our economy. Some argue that we have a lot of gas but it is not a clean energy and not reliable for long term because it is not renewable.

Although the coal energy is easy to set up and cheap, it is still difficult to draw public trust.

There are many challenges that the present government cannot touch yet. Credit available for Myanmar SMEs is still negligible compared to our neighbours. In Thailand the credit available for their SMEs is 600 billion US$ in 2013 (150 % of their GDP in that year). Vietnamese SMEs received credit of 200 billion US$ in 2013 (120 % of their GDP in that year). Only 3 billion US$ is available for Myanmar SMEs during the same period. Enough credit is not available because there is no credit information system for the lending banks. Offshore loans from oversea banks are also not available yet because of some delay in central bank procedures.

Protecting minority investors, enforcing business contracts and solving bankruptcy are at present insurmountable hurdles for SMEs since we don’t have dedicated commercial court and legal framework for the commercial disputes among businesses. In modern and business-friendly countries like Korea, commercial disputes can be filed on line and public can review the proceeding of the case on line. Myanmar has a long way to reach there.

In coming months the new government will take office and people’s expectation from the new government is exceptionally high. To improve the livelihood of people, it will have to face and solve a mountain of challenges like nationwide ceasefire, delivering basic utilities like electricity, handling natural disasters and turning round the economy by invigorating Myanmar SMEs. ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will be in effect in 2016 and the clock is now already ticking.

There will be free flow of goods and services across ASEAN after AEC. That will threaten the survival of Myanmar SMEs which are already in feeble stage. The term of the each democratic government is only five years which is too short for nation building works.

Everybody notice that the reform process in Myanmar is easier said than done. Public expectation cannot be met if the new government could not turn the bureaucratic wheel swiftly and smoothly enough and transform the economy in time to catch up with

our neighbors. They will have to find the innovative ways to improve the efficiency of the bureaucratic mechanisms like decentralization the power structure or searching for the regional genius like Modi of Gujarat who transform the Gujarat state into an oasis of India complete with Chinese style modern and efficient infrastructure.

The only other option is like Jokowi of Indonesia who bypasses the slow bureaucratic mechanism and uses the army to fulfill his nation building agenda.

The people of Myanmar have missed the opportunity to enjoy the respectable position in international stage for three times in modern history.

The first time is post colonial period when Myanmar possessed flourishing democracy, strong economic prospect and is active in international diplomatic arena thanks to its educated technocrats like U Thant. Unfortunately the country was divided along the different ethnic and ideological groups soon after independence. The resultant armed conflicts brought down the country into chaos and we missed the opportunity. Because of the successive armed conflicts in the various parts of the country as well as the power game between the world super power and our giant neighbor, the military space was widened naturally.

At the same time political landscape was divided and unable to form united front because of the irreconcilable personal grudges among the politicians. That leads to the second missed opportunity in 1960s. Near the end of cold war in 1980s, some communist states like China and Vietnam put the ideological differences in the shadow and started to follow the open market economic system. Politicians of the time in Myanmar were reluctant to change and the people missed the opportunity again for third time. This is our fourth invaluable opportunity in modern history. If every stake holders set aside the personal preferences and work together for the common goal of improving the livelihood of our people, there is no reason why we cannot catch up with our neighbors and people can enjoy the status of middle income country in a decade.

local news 9

17 November 2015

Mawlaik Township provides paddy seeds to farmers A ceremony to provide quality paddy seeds to local farmers who faced damages of farmlands in the recent severe flood in Mawlaik Township was held at the hall of Township General Administration Department, Sagaing Region, on 12 November.

Township Administrator U Thein Zaw who chairs the township management committee, spoke on the occasion while Head of Township Agriculture Department

Daw Khin Win Sein spoke about providing quality paddy seeds by Sagaing Region government to the local farmers.

Region Hluttaw MP U Soe Myint and officials presented packets of paddy seeds to the farmers.

It was also attended by departmental officials, ward administrators and staff of the Township Agriculture Department.—Mawlaik Thargalay

Kyunhla to get new asphalt road

Departmental personnel and volunteers led by Myawady District Deputy Commissioner U Lwin Ko Oo and Township Administrator U Khin Maung Zaw carrying out sanitation at Maha Kanaka Pagoda on Thihathana Hill in Myawady, Kayin State, on 14 November. Photo: Htein Lin Aung (IPRD)

Puppeteers begin classes in art form THE Myanmar Puppeteers Association and the Myanmar Upper Land Culture Foundation kicked off the Myanmar puppet course with the assistance of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at the Mya Mandalar Hotel in Chanayethazan Township, Mandalay, on Sunday.

Asphalt road construction in progress in Kyunhla.

Photo: Myo Win Nyo Sagaing Region Government allotted K18.686 million to construction of a two-furlong-long and 12-footwide road in Kyunhla Township in 2015-16 fiscal year.

Township Development Affairs Committee placed asphalt on No 5 road in Pyinmamyaing Ward, Kyunhla,

Patron of the Myanmar Puppeteers Association U Shwe Nann Tin gave talks on the preservation of the art of puppets, while U Sein Myint spoke about pagoda festivals and the presentation of traditional puppet shows. Chairperson of the association Daw Ma Ma Naing spoke about plans for the development

of Myanmar puppetry this fiscal year with the assistance of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Project Coordinator U Kyaw Myo Ko explained the programme of the course. A total of 24 trainees are attending the course from 16 to 28 November.—Thiha Ko Ko (Mandalay)

Mobile team in Kawthoung checks trawlers, cargo vessels

said engineer Daw May Zaw Ko. “The road links Thityamyaing ward and development market,” said a local resident, “thanks to the road, local people and students will have better access to school and market in the raining season.”—Myo Win Nyo (Kyunhla)

One person dies of suffocation in restaurant fire A FIRE broke at the Ayeyawady Restaurant on 16th Street in Aungmyitta (A) Ward, Magway Region, on Saturday.

The fire was caused by an electrical problem in an air-conditioner installed inside the restaurant’s DJ booth.

Musician Ka Ka (aka Aung Myint), 40, died of suffocation during the fire. The fire en-

gulfed sound boards, a TV, four air-conditioners and other sound equipment, causing K3 million (US$2,320) worth of damage in total. The Magway Township Police Station filed a lawsuit against restaurant manager U Than Zaw, 45, under articles 285/304-A of the criminal code.—Maung Nyi Nyar (Myaylatt)

Officials of Mobile Team check commodities on board cargo vessel in Kawthaung.

Photo: Kyaw Soe (IPRD) A mobile team that discharges duty on consumer protection and prevention of illegal trading on 12 November inspected trawlers and cargo ships at the Parchan

sea mouth before their departure from Kawthoung to other countries.

Officials of the mobile team checked custom duty for export

goods and fish and imported commodities, prevention of trading prohibited goods on board trawlers and cargo vessels.— Kyaw Soe (IPRD)

10 business & technology

17 November 2015

Asian shares, currencies slide after Paris attacks

Fifty-euro notes are seen at the Belgian Central Bank in Brussels.

Photo: Reuters HONG KONG — Asian stocks fell to six-week lows on Monday and emerging market currencies wilted as investors sought the safety of the greenback in the wake of Friday’s attacks in Paris and downbeat economic data.

Financial spreadbetters expect Britain’s FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 0.70 percent lower, Germany’s DAX .GDAXI to open around 1.3 percent, and France’s

CAC 40 .FCHI to open 2.2-2.3 percent down.

French financial markets will be open as usual on Monday, with extra security measures taken for staff, stock and derivatives exchange Euronext said.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell nearly 1.5 percent — its biggest daily fall since 29 September. It racked up a

3 percent loss last week.

Leading the losers were the Nikkei stock index .N225 which tumbled nearly 1.1 percent, nearly wiping out last week’s 1.7 percent gain as latest economic data undershot expectations.

Data released before the Tokyo market opened showed that Japan’s economy slipped back into recession in the July to September quarter, contracting at a 0.8 percent annualised rate, compared with the median estimate for a 0.2 percent contraction.

The widely tracked CBOE volatility index or “fear gauge” .VIX was at its highest level since 2 October.

“Risk aversion is on the rise and we are seeing broad-based US dollar strength across the board and this may continue until the year end as recent economic data has also disappointed,” said Mitul Kotecha, head of Asian FX and rates strategy at Barclays in Singapore.

Recent economic data from China, where stock markets have recovered some of their poise after a summer collapse, has disappointed global investors.

Credit activity in China’s financial system dropped to its lowest level in 15 months in October, while data last week showed steel consumption, a key measure of economic activity, slowed further.

Stock futures were pointing to another weak start on Wall Street after main indexes shed about 1 percent in light volume in late trade on Friday. News of the attacks by gunmen and bombers that killed 132 people in the French capital came after US markets closed.

Losses for equity punters translated into gains for bond investors.

Yields on 2-year US Treasury debt, the part of the yield curve most sensitive to rapid changes in investor positioning, edged lower to 0.83 percent from 0.86 percent on Thursday, retracing part of its impressive rise from late October.

In currency markets, the euro EUR= dropped about 0.5 percent to $1.07205, after logging a flat performance last week. It was down 0.5 percent against the yen at 131.24 yen EURJPY=.

Losses were particularly acute for Asian currencies with the

Automakers battle for high-tech dominance on the road to self-driving car TOKYO — At the recent Frankfurt Auto Show, Ford Motor Co unveiled a new feature that lets drivers pre-set their car to go at or just above the speed limit. In-car cameras and software read and react to road signs, speeding the car up or slowing it down.

Active Speed Limiter is available on select models in Europe, but not, ironically, in the United States, Ford’s home country, where road signs come in different shapes and sizes, and are often obscured by shrubbery.

So it goes on the road to the self-driving, or autonomous, car - a journey of, well, stops and starts that most experts say will take a couple decades to complete.

Meantime, advances in “semi-autonomy” — features that help handle tricky or tiresome driving situations but still require a driver’s oversight — have sparked a high-tech automotive arms race, with car companies vying to launch the most advanced features.

Automakers hope semi-autonomous features will, over time, help drivers and regulators get over fears of riding in vehicles that accelerate, steer and stop themselves, making potentially life-or-death judgments.

Shorter term, car companies want these features to make driv-

ing more convenient — and cars more profitable.

“People like features that make driving easier, safer and more fun,” says Joseph Vitale Jr., who heads global automotive consulting for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. “The question is what customers will pay for them.”

Ford’s Active Speed Limiter comes at 560 euros ($602.78), and it’s too soon to tell how popular it will be.

Among the biggest winners for now are the companies that produce electronic sensors, cameras and software that make self-driving features possible.

The growing list includes the high-tech units of traditional automotive suppliers such as Germany’s Continental AG, Israel’s Mobileye Vision Technologies, and consumer-technology giants Google, Apple, Samsung Electronics Co, Sony Corp and more.

At Silicon Valley’s Nvidia Corp, for example, video games remain the biggest market, but automotive revenue is the fastest-growing segment.

“We’re in well over 8 million cars on the road today and will be in more than 30 million in the next three to four years,” says Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia’s president and CEO. “Future cars will sense and understand the world moving around them.”

A big step in that direction

Korean won KRW= and the Indonesian rupiah IDR=ID among the leaders.

“The spate of terrorist attacks added to USD strength,” said Andy Ji, Asian currency strategist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Singapore, expecting emerging Asian currencies to stay weaker though the US Federal Reserve may not consider the attacks in Paris at its policy meeting in December as material.

The dollar slipped about 0.1 percent against the safe-haven yen JPY= to 122.43, while the dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was broadly flat at 99.082.

In sign of some stability for the euro zone, Greece and its euro zone creditors reached an agreement on many issues in the reform program that Athens is implementing in return for loans, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Sunday. Markets in the Middle East, which trade on Sunday, were hit hard, though part of that decline was due to last week’s drop in oil prices.—Reuters

China’s Tsinghua Unigroup to invest $47 billion to build chip empire

Honda Motor Co’s personal mobility concept self-driving car ‘Wander Stand’ is seen at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show in Tokyo, Japan.

Photo: Reuters was the traffic-jam assistance feature on the 2014 MercedesBenz S-Class. Now available on more Mercedes models, the Intelligent Drive system allows the car to drive itself at low speeds in

“Future cars will sense and understand the world moving around them.”

Jen-Hsun Huang Nvidia’s president and CEO

traffic jams, freeing the driver from constant braking.

BMW, Honda Motor Co, Hyundai Motor Co and others have or will soon introduce similar features. Silicon Valley’s Tesla Motors recently broke new ground by downloading “autopilot” features to its newer models, just as software updates are

downloaded to smartphones and tablets. Autopilot basically drives the car itself, but Tesla warns drivers not to relinquish control entirely.

On a recent investor call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he had seen some “fairly crazy videos on YouTube” of Tesla owners driving hands-free with autopilot, and added: “This is not good. We will be putting some additional constraints on when autopilot can be activated, to minimize the possibility of people doing crazy things with it.”

For consumers, getting their first car with semi-automated features can be both exciting and daunting, especially those who haven’t bought a new car in years. “I had no idea this sort of thing was out there,” says Mark Goldsmith, a Tokyo-area TV news writer. “I’d been driving a 15-year-old Jeep, which only had cruise control that you constantly had to adjust, so all these new features are a novelty.”—Reuters

BEIJING — China’s Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd plans to invest 300 billion yuan ($47 billion) over the next five years to build the world’s third-biggest chipmaker, the chairman of the state-backed technology conglomerate said on Monday.

Chairman Zhao Weiguo also told Reuters in an interview that Tsinghua Unigroup, controlled by Beijing’s elite Tsinghua University which counts President Xi Jinping among its alumni, was in talks with a US-based company involved in the chip industry.

Zhao said a deal could be finalised as early as the end of this month.

He declined to give more details but said buying a majority stake was unlikely as it was too “sensitive” for the US government. The Chinese company was also suspending plans to invest in Taiwanese tech firms due to regulatory hurdles, after agreeing to take a stake in Powertech Technology Inc and expressing interest in more crossstrait deals.—Reuters

health & science 11

17 November 2015

On World Toilet Day, one billion people have nowhere to go LONDON — Some 2.4 billion people around the world don’t have access to decent sanitation and more than a billion are forced to defecate in the open, risking disease and other dangers, according to the United Nations.

Launching its World Toilet Day campaign for 19 November, the UN said poor sanitation increases the risk of illness and malnutrition, especially for children, and called for women and girls in particular to be offered safe, clean facilities.

“One out of three women around the world lack access to safe toilets,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement. “As a result they face disease, shame and potential violence when they seek a place to defecate.” Even where there are toilets around the world, some hardly warrant the name, as illustrated by Reuters in a photo essay from around the world.

In a Syrian refugee settlement camp in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, for example, toilets surrounded by graffiti-covered corrugated sheet sit right up against flimsy tents. In the Marcory district of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a “private” stall is simply built of

A toilet with a view of the Pacific Ocean at Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, California, United States.

Photo: Reuters spare bits of lumber and metal.

The UN says that while there is sufficient fresh water on the planet for everyone, “bad economics and poor infrastructure” mean that every year millions of

people — most of them children - die from diseases linked to poor sanitation, unhygienic living conditions and lack of clean water supplies.

“We have a moral impera-

tive to end open defecation and a duty to ensure women and girls are not at risk of assault and rape simply because they lack a sanitation facility,” Ban said.

—Reuters

US drug benefit managers clamp down on specialty pharmacies NEW YORK — In recent days, the largest US managers of private prescription drug benefits have cut off at least eight pharmacies that work closely with drugmakers, intensifying scrutiny of a system that helps inflate drug prices, officials at the benefit managers told Reuters.

The terminations come from payers who together manage drug benefits for more than 100 million Americans, and they follow disclosures by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc in late October that one pharmacy accounted for about 7 percent of its sales.

“What we had not been aware of, until really the last year, was

these type of pharmacies that have a really high proportion of sales from a drugmaker and it was not out in the open,” Everett Neville, senior vice president of supply chain at Express Scripts Holding Co said in an interview.

The actions are being felt by drugmakers that have come to rely on hefty price hikes to boost profits. Valeant’s closely-linked pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services, pressed insurers to pay for expensive Valeant treatments even though much cheaper generic alternatives were available.

Shares of Valeant have lost more than half their value since its pharmacy ties were made public.

Neville said Express Scripts, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits manager, has changed the algorithms it uses in its audits to find pharmacies focused heavily on one drug manufacturer and has cut ties with half a dozen such pharmacies in the past week. Express Scripts and OptumRx, part of UnitedHealth Group, have also found pharmacies engaged in extensive mail-order operations without proper accreditation.

CVS Health, the No. 2 pharmacy benefits manager, said in an email that it had reviewed pharmacies with ties to drug manufacturers and was removing those that fell short of its contract. It did

not give further details. All three of the big benefits managers have quit doing business with Philidor.

Neville at Express Scripts was careful to note that the pharmacies being eliminated are not true “specialty” pharmacies that help manage drugs for rare diseases.

“The Valeant-Philidor relationship woke payers up to potential problems in their pharmacy networks,” said Adam Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting, which follows the drug distribution industry. “We are now seeing much greater scrutiny of the independent pharmacies that may not be complying with payer requirements.” —Reuters

Prehistoric ‘sludge’ could help transplant surgery CANBERRA — Australian scientists have found that a ‘primordial goo’, formed billions of years ago and thought to have formed the basis of life on earth, could assist the human body in accepting surgical implants.

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) outlined its findings in ‘Nature’ journal, Asia Materials, on Monday.

CSIRO said the ancient molecules from this sludge, known as prebiotic compounds, can be used as a protective coating for surgical implants, such as bone replacements, catheters and pacemakers.

The goo, discovered decades ago, has been traced back billions of years and scientists believe it has undeniable links to the evolution of life on earth. The paper’s lead researcher, Dr Richard Evans,

said the process of implanting artificial body parts was “complex” and this new bio-friendly, non-toxic ‘coating’ allowed the body to more readily accept the implant.

“Reducing the likelihood of infection and ensuring the body doesn’t reject implants are ongoing medical challenges,” Evans said in a press release yesterday.

“That’s why coatings on these implants are needed to help them

to do their job,” Evans said.

“We wanted to use these prehistoric molecules, which are believed to have been the source of all life evolving on Earth, to see if we could apply the chemistry in a practical way,” he added. Evans’ team discovered that the coating was bio-friendly and it could be applied to medical devices to improve their performance and acceptance by the body.—Xinhua

Apple-shape body women prone to binge eating Washington — Women with apple-shaped bodies-those who store more of their fat in their trunk and abdominal regions - may be less satisfied with their bodies which can contribute to binge eating, according to a new study.

The study marks the first investigation of the connections between fat distribution, body image disturbance and the development of disordered eating.

“Eating disorders that are detected early are much more likely to be successfully treated,” said lead author Laura Berner, who completed the research while pursuing a doctoral degree at Drexel University in US. “Our preliminary findings reveal that centralised fat distribution may be an important risk factor for the development of eating disturbance, specifically for loss-of-control eating,” said Berner.

“This suggests that targeting individuals who store more of their fat in the midsection and adapting psychological interventions to focus specifically on body fat distribution could be beneficial for preventing eating disorders,” she said.

Mounting evidence suggests that experiencing a sense of loss-of-control during eating — feeling driven or compelled to keep eating or that stopping once one has started is difficult — is the most significant element of binge-eating episodes regardless of how much food is consumed, researchers said.

“This sense of loss of control is experienced across a range of eating disorder diagnoses: bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and the binge-eating/purging subtype of anorexia nervosa,” said Berner.

Using a large dataset that followed female college freshman for two years, the researchers preliminarily investigated whether body fat distribution is linked to body dissatisfaction over time and increases risk for the development or worsening of loss-ofcontrol eating. The nearly 300 young adult women completed assessments at baseline, six months and 24 months, that looked at height, weight and total body fat percentage and where it’s distributed.

—PTI

12 world

17 November 2015

Nicaragua closes border to Cuban migrants PENAS BLANCAS — Nicaragua on Sunday closed its border with Costa Rica to hundreds of Cubans headed for the United States, stoking diplomatic tensions over a growing wave of migrants making the journey north from the Communist-ruled island.

Nicaragua’s government accused Costa Rica of sparking a “humanitarian crisis” after its southern neighbour issued transit visas over the weekend to more than 1,000 Cubans who had been detained at its border with Panama demanding the right to proceed.

Central America and Mexico have registered a surge in migrants from the island as the process of detente between Washington and Havana announced in December stirs fears that long-standing US asylum rights for Cubans may soon end.

Led by former Marxist guerrilla Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua is a close ally of Cuba, and his administration complained that Costa Rica’s actions had violated its national sovereignty.

“The Nicaraguan government calls on the international organisations responsible to deal urgently with this complaint,” Rosario Murillo, government spokeswoman and first lady of Nicaragua, said in a statement. The Costa Rican government had no immediate comment. Under arrangements stemming from the Cold War era, Cuban migrants receive special treatment on reaching the United States. According to the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy, Cubans who set foot on US soil can stay, while those captured at sea are sent back. Earlier on Sunday, Nicaraguan security forces turned back hundreds of Cubans who they

say had crossed into the country illegally. The security forces later stood guard as migrants looked on in the hope they could soon progress. “We don’t want to stay in any of these countries, our aim is to reach the United States, that’s our objective,” said 33-year-old Alexei Cabezas, adding he left Cuba nearly a month ago and was also held up at the Costa Rica-Panama border.

Another migrant calling himself Damian estimated there were about 2,000 Cubans on the Costa Rican side of the border with Nicaragua. “Here we are waiting to be granted the safe-conduct that Nicaragua always gives to Cubans. But, well, today’s Sunday, and we don’t know if they’re going to work today or not,” said 30-year-old Maria del Carmen Garcia, another migrant.—Reuters

CLAIMS DAY NOTICE

Canada sticks to refugee plan but security pressures mount after Paris attacks MONTREAL — Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the country will still take in 25,000 Syrian refugees before 1 January but he is facing increasing pressure to tighten screening procedures and slow down the process to make sure that Islamic State infiltrators aren’t among them.

In the wake of the series of attacks in Paris on Friday, a number of politicians in Europe and North America have been warning that countries are taking a big risk by allowing in many thousands of refugees without rigorously determining whether any could be dangerous radicals.

News that at least one of the Paris assailants may have been among refugees who passed through Greece has heightened those concerns.

Trudeau, who last month won an election fought

partly on security and the refugee issue, on Sunday said “Canada is pleased to be stepping up” to take in the refugees and will integrate them into the country. “We will be accepting 25,000 Syrian refugees between now and January 1st,” Trudeau said in the written text of a speech at the G20 major powers summit in Turkey.

The debate has been particularly heated in the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec, which — like France — has a large North African immigrant community and is grappling with concerns about radicalization of Muslim youth.

Last year, two Quebec-born Muslim converts staged separate attacks on Canadian soldiers, near Montreal and on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, killing two.

An online petition ask-

ing the government to suspend the plan to bring in the refugees was launched on Saturday by a Quebec City resident worried about “jihadists infiltrating” the country, according to Le Soleil newspaper.

It had garnered more than 33,000 signatures by late on Sunday afternoon on the www.petitions24.net website.

“If we want to help these people well, help them at home, building a camp over there and help there,” wrote one person on the French-language petition.

“Short and long term it is unreasonable and dangerous to let them in here.”

Quebec City’s plan to accept about 200 Syrian families was controversial even before the Paris attacks.

Last week, a banner reading “Refugees: No thanks” was hung over an overpass near the city before being removed.—Reuters

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MV draco ocean VOY NO (001)

Consignees of cargo carried on MV draco ocean VOY NO (001) are hereby notified that the vessel will be arriving on 16.11.2015 and cargo will be discharged into the premises of m.i.t.t-2 where it will lie at the consignee’s risk and expenses and subject to the byelaws and conditions of the Port of Yangon.

Damaged cargo will be surveyed daily from 8 am to 11:20 am and 12 noon to 4 pm to Claim’s Day now declared as the third day after final discharge of cargo from the Vessel.

No claims against this vessel will be admitted after the Claims Day. SHIPPING AGENCY DEPARTMENT MYANMA PORT AUTHORITY AGENT FOR: M/S COSCOL (HK) INVESTMENT & development co ltd.

Phone No: 2301186

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Consignees of cargo carried on MV MAERSK ABERDEEN VOY NO (1579) are hereby notified that the vessel will be arriving on 17.11.2015 and cargo will be discharged into the premises of m.i.p where it will lie at the consignee’s risk and expenses and subject to the byelaws and conditions of the Port of Yangon.

Damaged cargo will be surveyed daily from 8 am to 11:20 am and 12 noon to 4 pm to Claim’s Day now declared as the third day after final discharge of cargo from the Vessel.

No claims against this vessel will be admitted after the Claims Day. SHIPPING AGENCY DEPARTMENT MYANMA PORT AUTHORITY AGENT FOR: M/S MCC TRANSPORT (S’PORE) PTE LTD Phone No: 2301185

French bullfighter Sebastian Castella performs a pass on a bull during a bullfight at Peru’s historic Plaza de Acho bullring in Lima, on 15 November. Photo: Reuters

Fingerprints from Paris bomber match man registered in Greece: prosecutor PARIS — Fingerprints from one of the suicide bombers behind the attacks at the Stade de France in Paris matched the prints of a man registered in Greece in October, a French prosecutor said yesterday.

“At this stage, while the authenticity of a passport in the name of Ahmad al Mohammad, born 10 September 1990 in Idlib, Syria needs to be verified, there are similarities between the fingerprints of the suicide bomber and

those taken during a control in Greece in October,” the Paris prosecutor said in a statement.

The prosecutor also said a second bomber at the Bataclan concert hall had now been identified.

The prosecutor named

him as 28-year old Samy Ammour from Drancy, north of Paris and said he was known to counter-terrorism units after being placed under investigation and judicial control for attempting to go to Yemen.—Reuters

world 13

17 November 2015

Sent back from Europe, some Afghans prepare to try again

French PM warns of more attacks

KABUL — Last year, Hamid Rostami, a 28-yearold from Wardak in western Afghanistan, was expelled from Denmark after years trying to stay in Europe.

Jobless and cut off from his family, he now sits in wintry Kabul wondering how to go back.

Jobless and unwilling to go home to a district where he says a dozen people from the Hazara ethnic minority to which he belongs have been killed by Taliban militants in recent weeks, his choices are bleak.

“If I can get enough money I’ll go again. It is hard to survive here,” he said. “The situation is bad in Kabul. There is no security, no job. If you go out of your house it’s unclear what may happen to you. You can’t go anywhere.” Rostami’s predicament underlines the problem for European countries that promised to send back failed asylum seekers in the face of growing public alarm at the numbers arriving.

PARIS — French police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across the country overnight in the aftermath of the Paris shootings, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday as he warned of potential further attacks.

Valls said that since this summer, French intelligence services had prevented five attacks.

“We know that more attacks are being prepared, not just against France but also against other European countries,” Valls said on RTL radio.

Police sources told Reuters that authorities conducted at least 110 house searches in cities around France overnight.

One of these searches, in the Paris suburb of Bobigny, was part of the judicial investigation into the at-

“The truth is that most Afghans who are forced to return will try to leave again, whatever policy makers intend,” said Ceri Oeppen, from the University of Sussex in Britain, who has worked extensively on the problems of Afghan migrants. Accurate statistics on the number of Afghan

ghanistan over the past 14 years, in the first six months of 2015, around 40,000 Afghans applied for asylum in the European Union, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. “Aside from the very wealthy, the only ones who are not thinking of leaving are the destitute,” said Liza Schuster, a

“The truth is that most Afghans who are forced to return will try to leave again, whatever policy makers intend.”

Ceri Oeppen University of Sussex migrants and asylum seekers to Europe are hard to come by.

But since the start of the year, almost 150,000 have arrived in Greece, the usual entry point to Europe, the second largest number of any country after Syria, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

Despite billions of dollars in aid to support Af-

migration specialist at City University in London, who has just completed three years’ fieldwork at Kabul University. “Part of it is driven by an unrealistic idea of life in Europe, but a huge part is driven by how difficult it is in Afghanistan,” she said.

Even before Friday’s attacks in Paris increased sensitivity around the issue,

pressure was rising on European governments to limit numbers allowed to stay.

Germany and Sweden, among the most liberal countries towards refugees, have signaled a tougher stance in the face of growing public disquiet. The Afghan government has been torn between the need to satisfy aid donors that it is trying to keep citizens from emigrating en masse, and alarm at the prospect of having to resettle thousands of returnees sent back from Europe.

This week, Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi, Minister for Refugees, met EU ambassadors to plead for generous treatment of refugee applicants given unstable security and the approaching winter.

Behind the requests lies a stark reality, said Abdul Ghafoor, a former migrant who runs an information service in Kabul for Afghans thinking of leaving or returnees trying to adjust.—Reuters

tacks at a football stadium, bars and a concert hall and where at least 129 people died. The death toll was put 132 on Sunday, but reports on Monday said that increase may have been a counting error.

French media said police also raided houses in Toulouse, Grenoble and Bobigny.

“We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadist movement...and all those who advocate hate of the republic,” Valls said.

On Friday, three coordinated teams of gunmen and suicide bombers carried out the wave of attacks across Paris in what President Francois Hollande called an “act of war” by Islamic State. —Reuters

CLAIMS DAY NOTICE

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Damaged cargo will be surveyed daily from 8 am to 11:20 am and 12 noon to 4 pm to Claim’s Day now declared as the third day after final discharge of cargo from the Vessel.

No claims against this vessel will be admitted after the Claims Day. SHIPPING AGENCY DEPARTMENT MYANMA PORT AUTHORITY AGENT FOR: M/S ADVANCE CONTAINER LINES Phone No: 2301185

Consignees of cargo carried on MV kota tampan VOY NO (669) are hereby notified that the vessel will be arriving on 16.11.2015 and cargo will be discharged into the premises of h.p.t where it will lie at the consignee’s risk and expenses and subject to the byelaws and conditions of the Port of Yangon.

Damaged cargo will be surveyed daily from 8 am to 11:20 am and 12 noon to 4 pm to Claim’s Day now declared as the third day after final discharge of cargo from the Vessel.

No claims against this vessel will be admitted after the Claims Day. SHIPPING AGENCY DEPARTMENT MYANMA PORT AUTHORITY AGENT FOR: M/S ADVANCE CONTAINER LINES Phone No: 2301185

Consignees of cargo carried on MV frisia alster VOY NO ( ) are hereby notified that the vessel will be arriving on 17.11.2015 and cargo will be discharged into the premises of m.i.p where it will lie at the consignee’s risk and expenses and subject to the byelaws and conditions of the Port of Yangon.

Damaged cargo will be surveyed daily from 8 am to 11:20 am and 12 noon to 4 pm to Claim’s Day now declared as the third day after final discharge of cargo from the Vessel.

No claims against this vessel will be admitted after the Claims Day. SHIPPING AGENCY DEPARTMENT MYANMA PORT AUTHORITY AGENT FOR: M/S MCC TRANSPORT (S’PORE) PTE LTD Phone No: 2301185

MV kota tenaga VOY NO (313)

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Consignees of cargo carried on MV e.r. turku VOY NO (085w) are hereby notified that the vessel will be arriving on 17.11.2015 and cargo will be discharged into the premises of a.w.p.t where it will lie at the consignee’s risk and expenses and subject to the byelaws and conditions of the Port of Yangon.

Damaged cargo will be surveyed daily from 8 am to 11:20 am and 12 noon to 4 pm to Claim’s Day now declared as the third day after final discharge of cargo from the Vessel.

No claims against this vessel will be admitted after the Claims Day. SHIPPING AGENCY DEPARTMENT MYANMA PORT AUTHORITY AGENT FOR: M/S HANJIN SHIPPING LINES Phone No: 2301185

MV kota tampan VOY NO (669)

MV frisia alster VOY NO ( )

storm warning (Issued at (18:00) hours M.S.T on 16-11-2015) According to the observations at (17:30) hrs M.S.T today, the well marked low pressure area over Southwest Bay of Bengal lies over Southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining North Tamilandu coast (India), still persists. It is forecast to move Northwest wards and likely to intensify into a depression.

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14 entertainment

17 November 2015

My baby motivated my return to music: Adele

Los Angeles — Pop diva Madonna broke down in tears when she stopped her Stockholm, Sweden, concert to honour the victims of recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

“It’s been very hard for me to get through this show up to this point and not forget about what happened last night, so I need to take this moment to acknowledge the tragedy, the tragic killings,

assassinations and the senseless endings of precious life that occurred last night in Paris,” the pop star, 57, said in a video posted to YouTube by her manager Guy Oseary.

“Why am I up here dancing and having fun when people are crying over the loss of their loved ones?”

She continued, “However, that is exactly what these people

After Katniss, Jennifer Lawrence finds her voice LOS ANGELES — While heroine Katniss Everdeen leads a rebellion in the final “Hunger Games” movie, the actress who brought the character to life, Jennifer Lawrence, is coming into her own in a business dominated by men.

With an Oscar and a number of hit films to her credit, Lawrence, 25, was ranked by Forbes as the highest-paid actress last year with an estimated $52 million in earnings.

Hollywood’s top actors earned much more. When Lawrence spoke out against the wage gap last month, her comments went viral.

Lawrence reprised her role as Katniss in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2,” due in theaters on Friday. She said the franchise had shown that “a female lead in an action movie can still be a critical and commercial success.”

“The huge misconception that women can relate to male leads but men can’t relate to female leads, I think that’s something studios are saying and it’s just getting repeated. Hopefully that kind of mentality is on its way out,” Lawrence said in an interview.

Lawrence’s brash sense of humor helps audiences relate to her. And she said that as she gets older, she is becoming more passionate about issues.

“You can actually really start to appreciate that you do have a platform and a voice that people will listen to and the option to use

it hopefully for betterment,” she said.

Last month Lawrence wrote an essay for actress Lena Dunham’s newsletter in which she discussed being angry with herself for not asking for more money, as her male co-stars do, for fear of coming across as a “spoiled brat.”

“I was really shocked,” Lawrence said of the mostly positive response. “When (Dunham) asked me to write something, I just typed something up and pressed send.

I didn’t really have any expectations.”

Lawrence has mainly played strong women. She won her first Oscar nomination for playing survivor Ree in 2010’s independent drama “Winter’s Bone.” She played the outspoken Tiffany in “Silver Linings” and Katniss, the “Hunger Games” heroine.

Next up is “Joy,” in which she plays the matriarch of a family business through four generations. It is expected to earn the Kentucky native her fourth lead actress Oscar nomination in five years. Lawrence does not see herself sticking with a particular type of character.

“I don’t think it’s incredibly important as a part of my job or craft to play strong women,” she said. “I think it’s ok to play something more vulnerable, more passive or a little weaker.”—Reuters

want to do. They want to shut us up. They want to silence us.

And we won’t let them. We will never let them! “Because there is power in unity and I do believe that as much chaos and pain and senseless violence and terrorism that occurs around this world not just in Paris as much as that does occur, there is more goodness in this world. We are here to prove it.” —PTI

London — Oscar-winning singer Adele says it was the birth of her three-year-old son Angelo that encouraged her come back with a new album “25” after her 2011 work, “21”.

Adele, 27, acknowledged it was “weird” taking a break from music but feels it was the right thing to do, reported Female First.

The singer will release “25” on 20 November.

“I know some people thought I was mad for taking a break.

Even I can see it was a bit weird. But I’m glad it happened.

I think it was the right thing. It slowed everything down.”

Asked about her motivation to return, she said, “My son. I felt so mega having given birth; the confidence from that, I felt unstoppable. I’m sure most women

feel that. Towards the end of the ‘21’ stuff, I couldn’t remember why I was doing it any more.

“I couldn’t answer the question: ‘Why am I halfway around the world? On my own?’

But then, after I had my son, I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s why I did it all.’ I felt proud of what I’d achieved with ‘21’ for the first time. And now everything I do, in every channel of my life, is part of a legacy that I’m making for my child. For my children, if I have more.”

Adele said she is not motivated by money.

“I’m not motivated by much, certainly not by money - but I’m motivated by that. I want my child to see his mum running a proper business again. Being a boss again. Hopefully smashing it again.—PTI Photo: Reuters

Photo: PTI

Madonna cries onstage as she pays tribute to Paris victims

‘Spectre’ Back on Top, Angelina Jolie’s ‘By the Sea’ Sinks LOS ANGELES — James Bond is back on top, after “Spectre” led the US box office for the second weekend in a row.

Of course, the dashing super spy wasn’t exactly facing off against Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Its main competition was the second weekend of “The Peanuts Movie” and a lackluster crop of new releases such as the Chilean mining drama “The 33” and the faith-based football film “My All American.”

“Spectre” added $35.4 million to bring its domestic total to $130.7 million. The weekend represents a 49% drop from its opening. Sony is distributing the Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer and Eon Productions’ film which carries an enormous $250 million price tag.

“The Peanuts Movie” also showed some impressive endurance, sliding only

45% to make $24.2 million. The Fox backed adaptation of Charles Schulz’s iconic comic strip about Snoopy and Charlie Brown has earned $82.5 million stateside.

Not even two of the biggest stars in the world could keep “By the Sea” afloat. The European art house influenced look at marital dysfunction featured real life couple Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt as a bickering twosome. But the pleasures of voyeurism extend only so far. “By the Sea” grossed a measly $95,440 at 10 sites for a doleful per-screen average of $9,544. Universal, the studio behind the picture, pegs the budget at $10 million, but industry figures believe the cost of the picture is higher, citing its extended shoot in Malta. Of the new wide releases, CBS Films’ holiday-flavored “Love the Coopers” fared best.

The ensemble comedy about a family gathering nabbed $8.4 million from 2,603 locations. Distributed in conjunction with Lionsgate, “Love the Coopers” stars Diane Keaton, John Goodman, and Alan Arkin and cost $17 million to produce.

“The 33,” a look at a group of trapped Chilean miners, was less fortunate. The drama eked out $5.8 million from 2,452 theaters — a poor showing and less than the $8 million to $10 million it was expected to generate.—Reuters Photo: Reuters

lifestyle & travel 15

17 November 2015

Auction houses, wealthy Kenyans boost East African art scene NAIROBI — With growing interest from international auction houses and a flourishing gallery scene at home, East African art is catching on with global collectors and a new generation of local buyers.

Artists such as Kenyan painter Michael Soi are now fixtures at auction house Bonhams’s Africa Now annual contemporary art sale in London. The Circle Art Agency’s auction of East African art in Nairobi fetched more than $190,000 in sales earlier this month.

East Africa may lag the continent’s art powerhouses South Africa or Nigeria — where pieces can fetch five to 10 times as much — but experts say East African art has attracted increasing interest in the past few years.

Kenyan artists like sculptor Cyrus Kabiru, known for his whimsical eyeglasses, and Miriam Syowia Kyambi, who creates multimedia installations, feature regularly in European shows.

“The development of modern and contemporary African art certainly is one of the most exciting parts of the art market at the moment,” said Giles Peppiatt, director of Modern and Contemporary African Art at Bonhams.

After taking a few years to catch the eye of European and North American collectors, he said interest was “phenomenal”.

Art buyers cite affordability — a painting by a well known local artist can sell for a few thousand dollars — and intimacy; buyers can easily meet artists in their studios.

At the leafy Kuona Trust in Nairobi, several dozen artists work in old shipping containers converted into studios, while their work is displayed in more than a dozen professional galleries scattered around the Kenyan capital.

“There’s huge interest that wasn’t here even five years ago,” said Wambui Kamiru, a conceptual artist who opened The Art Space gallery last month. “Now

People are seen at a stall at the Kenya Art Fair 2015 exhibition at the Sarit Centre in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on 14 November. Photo: Reuters you can go to a whole week’s worth of art events in Nairobi.”

At Circle’s auction this month at a five-star Nairobi hotel, the top-selling work, a painting by Ugandan artist Geoffrey Mukasa, went for $15,656. The sale also featured Ethiopia’s Dawit Abebe, Uganda’s Eli Kyeyune and Sudan’s Rashid Diab.

Senegal’s legendary ‘car rapides’ reaching the end of the line

A man runs to catch a ride on a “car rapide’’ in Dakar, Senegal.

Photo: Reuters DAKAR — The colourful mini-buses that roam the streets of the Senegalese capital of Dakar have gained such fame over their forty years that, more than 4,000 km (2,485 miles) away, an exhibit devoted to them is on display at the Museum of Mankind in Paris.

The battered blue and yellow minibuses are Dakar institutions.

Covered in Muslim slogans, portraits of Sufi holy men and images of animals and trees, they weave in and out of Dakar’s traffic, muscular young men hanging off the back to call out the routes.

Dakar has a small suburban commuter rail system, thousands of yellow taxis and a network of buses, but it is the “car rapide” (literally “fast bus” in French)

that connects the capital’s farflung neighbourhoods.

French carmaker Renault shipped the first cars rapides to Senegal in the 1970s, the decade after Senegal’s independence.

Today, maintenance is an expensive, never-ending chore.

Their age and their dangerous reputation — it is not an uncommon sight to see a car rapide in an accident or sitting for repairs on the side of a road — are why they are being switched for white buses from India and China.

In a project financed by the World Bank, Chinese and Senegalese partners, the government is helping the minibus’s assorted private owners to buy larger buses to improve Dakar’s public

transport options. It hopes to completely eliminate the “car rapide” from roads by 2018.

The initiative is the latest effort to improve transit in a rapidly growing city choked by congestion, where pedestrians contend for space with parked cars, many streets are unpaved and navigating crossroads can be all but impossible.

Such a transport problem is all too familiar in a continent under-served by mass transit, which also has the highest proportion of people living in poverty. In Dakar, where most residents scrape by on less than $3 a day, transportation is largely on foot.

Although capitals across the continent, from Addis Ababa to Abidjan, have begun transit projects, Africa has the globe’s highest rate of deadly road accidents, according to the World Health Organisation.

Tony Dufays, director at the think-tank International Association of Public Transport, said inefficiencies and high transit costs for working-class families were important checks on economic growth in the region.

“If you want to raise economic development, you would need tenfold the amount of transportation that you have today and that can’t be provided by private (means),” he said.—Reuters

“What is being produced here is just as good as anywhere else in Africa,” said auctioneeer Dendy Easton, formerly of Sotheby’s. “It’s really very good value.”

Mary Anne Fitzgerald, who bought paintings for an unnamed buyer in Hong Kong, described the East African art on offer as

“under-appreciated and undervalued”.

Riding the growing popularity, there are proposals to convert the elegant National Archives building in downtown Nairobi into a National Gallery. The newly refurbished National Theatre will eventually include an arts complex.—Reuters

Myanmar International (17-11-2015 07:00 am~ 18-11-2015 07:00 am) MST Today Fresh 07:03 Am News 07:26 Am Today Myanmar & ICT “Education & ICT” 08:03 Am News 08:27 Am Tigers, Lions and The Guardians 08:36 Am Civic Duty 08:49 Am Today Myanmar: Fish Feed Production 09:03 Am News 09:26 Am Choral Dance (Duel) 09:34 Am Myanmar Prehistory 10:03 Am News 10:26 Am Entrepreneur: Chaw Khin Khin 10:36 Am Reflected Glory (11:00 Am ~ 03:00 Pm) - Monday Repeat (07:00 Am ~ 11:00 Am) (03:00 Pm ~ 06:24 Pm) - Today Repeat (07:00 Am ~ 10:24 Am) 06:24 Pm Let’s Cook (EP-10) Succulent Grilled Pork Ribs, Spicy Grilled

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Entertainment Channel (17-11-2015, Tuesday) 6:00 am • Mono Classical Songs 6:25 am • Kyae Pwint Myaye Yin Khone Than 6:50 am • Musical Programme 7:00 am • TV Drama Series

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6th Waxing Day of Tazaungmon 1377 ME

Tuesday, 17 November, 2015

Euro 2016 joy for Hungary as they end 30-year wait

Hungary’s players celebrate after winning the UEFA EURO 2016 play-off match against Norway at Grupama Arena, Hungary on 15 November. Photo: Reuters utes made the tie safe.

Henriksen atoned with a late goal but it was scant consolation for the Norwegians as the home side celebrated qualifying for the European Championship finals for

the first time since 1972.

The toast of Budapest was Hungary’s 39-year-old Gabor Kiraly, who made a series of superb saves over the two legs.

Ferencvaros’s home ground

Yangon United to compete against Laos in Mekong Championship YANGON United FC will go head-to-head with Lao Toyota Club in the Toyota Mekong Club Championship 2015 at the Youth Training Centre in Yangon in Yangon’s Thuwanna Township on 22 November.

The tournament will include lucky draws and entertainment by vocalists Ni Ni Khin Zaw, R Zar Ni and Eint Chit.

Tickets for the match will cost K2,000 for grand stand seats and K1,000 for regular passes. Tickets will be available from 20 November at the Youth Training Centre

in Thuwunna, the Myanmar Football Federation, Aung San Stadium and Padonma Ground.

Lucky draw winners will get the chance to watch the grand final in Bangkok, with free flights provided.

Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand will participate in the championship.

The winners of the first round will play against Vietnam’s Becamex Binh Duong Club in the second round. A Thai Club will play against the winners of the second match.

The winning team will receive a cash prize of US$75,000, while the second-placed team will be awarded $50,000; the third $30,000, the fourth $10,000 and the fifth US$ 5,000. A prize of $3,000 will be given to the top performing player following the grand final. The match between Yangon United FC and Lao Toyota Club will be broadcast live by Myawady TV. In 2014, host Vietnam’s Becamex Binh Duong beat Myanmar’s Ayeyawady United FC 4-1.— Myanmar Football Federation

Djokovic and Federer stroll to easy wins LONDON — Novak Djokovic looked unstoppable when trouncing Kei Nishikori but for sheer swagger Roger Federer remains unrivalled as he demonstrated again when dismantling Tomas Berdych as the ATP World Tour Finals began on Sunday.

World number one Djokovic extended his latest winning sequence to 23 with a 6-1, 6-1 hammering of world number eight Nishikori who was powerless to stop the rampant Serb.

Far from easing up with the finish of his best ever year a week away, Djokovic clearly wants to lay down a marker for next year’s assault on the top silverware and showed Nishikori no mercy.

“No question, it felt like the best tennis I played this year,” the 28-year-old, aiming for a fourth consecutive title at the O2 Arena, told reporters.

“I was at my best and it was an incredible performance.”

Djokovic and Nishikori had stood heads bowed before their match to respect a minute’s silence in a darkened arena for the victims of Friday’s Paris attacks.

Following his immaculate performance he was presented with a trophy for the year-end number one ranking he has achieved for the fourth time in five seasons.

Home fans were given some early excitement when Jamie Murray, older brother of Andy, marked his

debut at the tournament when he and Australian partner John Peers beat Italian duo Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli in a thriller.

But the atmosphere was subdued later as Djokovic snuffed out any chance of a shock when he thrashed a helpless Nishikori.

“He played unbelievable tennis. I’m very ashamed with this score,” second-time qualifier Nishikori, who will hope for a better showing in his next two round robin matches, said. Federer will provide Djokovic with a far sterner test when they meet in the “Stan Smith” Group on Tuesday, if his level for most of a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Berdych was anything to go by.—Reuters

erupted almost like never before when Priskin curled in a fabulous strike from 16 metres after a quick counter-attack to put Hungary ahead. Kiraly had to make a fine save from Haitam Aleesami’s

low shot in the 27th minute after a flowing passing move from the visitors and Norway came even closer when Even Hovland’s header from a corner hit the post in the 45th minute.

Balazs Dzsudzsak’s deflected shot struck the crossbar in the 58th minute after a rare counter-attack by the hosts, who dropped deeper to defend their overall two-goal advantage.

Kiraly made another excellent save in the 76th minute when he parried Marcus Pedersen’s close-range shot before the tie was effectively sealed seven minutes from time as Dzsudzsak’s corner was bundled under pressure into his own net by Henriksen.

The AZ Alkmaar man then pulled one back for Norway in the 87th minute but it was too little, too late. “Congratulations to Hungary, they were better than us over the two legs,” said Norway coach Per-Mathias Hogmo. “I am deeply disappointed with our performance, we could not score in Oslo, that was a big setback. All in all, we came up short.”—Reuters

The car has changed since Singapore, says Hamilton

Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain reacts after taking second place in the Brazilian F1 Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 15 November, 2015. Photo: Reuters SAO PAULO — Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton hinted on Sunday that a change of tyre pressures may have contributed to the end of his qualifying dominance and team mate Nico Rosberg’s late-season resurgence.

“From Singapore onwards there’s been a change to the car — but whether or not that’s made a difference, I don’t know really,” Hamilton told reporters after finishing second to Rosberg in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

“We’ll have to see. But it has changed since Singapore.”

Hamilton has not been on pole position since the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in Sep-

tember, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel taking the top slot in Singapore and Rosberg the following five. At that same Italian race won by Hamilton, Mercedes faced a stewards’ enquiry after their cars were found to have tyre pressures below the minimum specified by Pirelli after high-speed blowouts at the previous race in Belgium.

With some rivals calling for the champion to be disqualified, Rosberg having failed to finish, the stewards ruled Mercedes had followed the specified procedures and decided to take no further action.

They did however call for clear guidance for future measurements.—Reuters

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BUDAPEST — Hungary’s 30year wait to play on the major championship stage will end in France next year after their 2-1 victory over Norway ensured that one of football’s most storied nations qualified for the Euro 2016 finals.

The triumph, which sealed their 3-1 victory on aggregate in front of an ecstatic crowd in the Groupama Arena, guaranteed Hungary’s first appearance in any championship finals since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

“I have to congratulate my team, the association president Sandor Csanyi, and also Pal Dardai, who I took over from and he left this team for me,” said Hungary’s German coach Bernd Storck who took charge in July.

“The players’ approach was fantastic during those two games, they fought well and deserved to qualify to France.”

The Hungarians built on their first-leg win in Oslo when Tamas Priskin curled in a delightful 14th-minute opener and Markus Henriksen’s own goal on 83 min-

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