Vol. II, No. 189, 14th Waxing Day of Thadingyut 1377 ME
Vice President attends opening of YTU research centre P 3
Tuesday, 27 October, 2015
‘Dynamic Plus’ marks 40 years of friendship between Korea, Myanmar
age
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ANALYSIS
A vote to vent feelings
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follow the law UEC urges political parties to prevent conflict THE Union Election Commission requested on Monday that political parties and candidates oversee their political campaigns and to follow the law in order to prevent conflicts. The UEC announcement stated that as the 8 November election is drawing near, the increasing tempo of political campaigns might cause conflicts due to confrontations. Political campaigns need to be kept under special supervision by political parties and candidates in order to prevent unnecessary events impacting members of the parties and their supporters, said the statement. Sub-election commissions nationwide will ban campaigns that are not in conformity with the law and will take legal action against the personnel concerned if necessary. The UEC and its sub-election commissions, which are obliged to hold the election freely and fairly, will effectively supervise the political campaigns in coordination with local authorities as a precaution to prevent conflicts. Meanwhile, the UEC issued another statement on Monday denying the request of candidates and political parties to
A Myanmar national casts his ballot for advance voting at Myanmar embassy in Egypt. Photo: mna include people who have been living outside their constituencies for more than 180 days in the voter lists of their current constituencies, as the deadline
for such an arrangement had already passed. The announcement of the UEC on Monday stated that its announcement dated 10 July
2015 urged voters to apply to sub-election commissions in order to vote in the constituencies where they are currently living if they do not want to cast their
votes for the election in their original constituencies. The deadline to apply expired on 10 October 2015, according to the UEC.—GNLM
Traditional hand-made lanterns facing extinction
Myanmar’s handmade lanterns are facing extinction due to flooding the lanterns market with cheap foreign goods. Photo: Tin Win Lay (Kyimyindine)
AS lanterns market are flooded with cheap foreign goods, Myanmar traditional hand-made lanterns are fading from markets during the light festival this season. Decreasing orders from customers for Myanmar traditional lanterns made of bamboo sheets and colourful papers with candles have showed that the country’s handmade culture of lanterns may be facing extinction. About 50 years ago, Bawga Ward in Kyimyindine Township was once famous for its production of hand-made lanterns with different designs. “Many lantern makers live in Bawga Ward, and lantern dolls
were very popular among children,” said U Phyu Lay, a lantern maker from the ward. The booming market of lanterns created job opportunities for nearly all residents in the ward about 50 years ago. Lantern makers got jobs and were busy for four months ahead of the light festivals, which started at the end of the fourmonth long Buddhist Lent. U Phyu Lay still remembers the high orders placed by customers across the country at the time when the lantern makers also made doll-shaped lanterns with wheels to be pushed as carts, attracting children. All lantern makers in the ward
have noticed that the demand for Myanmar lanterns was spiralling downward when cheap electronic lanterns and decorative lights have increasingly flowed into the country. “Now, what I am making are orders placed by companies connected with foreigners,” said U Phyu Lay while making lanterns at his home. “The seasonal lantern market along Lower Kyimyindine Road is already extinct. Just one or two shops are still there to bring back our memories of the booming time,” the 55-year old lantern maker said.—Tin Win Lay (Kyimyindine)
2 National
27 October 2015
Myanmar’s first data centre receives Uptime Institute Tier III Certification VANTAGE TOWER, a property being developed by Myint & Associates Construction Company Ltd., will be completed in Q4 2015 and is set to be Myanmar’s most technologically advanced building. The building boasts the highest levels of security, safety, fire prevention and evacuation systems available in the market as well as the country’s first United States based Uptime Institute Tier III Certified Data Centre (M&A Data Centre), offering 90 racks of server co-location storage space and world-class support services. M&A Data Centre is located on the 6th floor of Tower B of the property. “M&A Data Centre intends to host external clients as well as Vantage Tower tenants and is attracting a significant number of inquiries from telecommunication companies, financial insti-
tutions, government and co-location tenants,” says Hugo Slade, Managing Director of Slade Property Services, official property agent of Vantage Tower. M&A Data Centre has been designed to ensure 99.98% operational time on an annual basis with maximum downtime of no more than 1.6 hours per year. “In a market such as Myanmar, it is very challenging to develop and execute a data centre design which ensures constant reliable power and facilities which include multi-homing internet connectivity,” said U Thein Soe Htaik, who is the Infra Team Leader and Head of the Data Centre team. “At Vantage Tower, we have installed 3 gen-sets, each of which is capable of providing 100% redundant back-up power. Three sources of UPS units utilizing Distributed Paral-
lel Architecture, or DPA, eliminate downtime associated with the 30 second gen-set initialization period whereby back-up gen-sets also exist to ensure that M&A Data Centre and base building systems are continuously running,”he added. M&A Data Centre is carrier neutral and also offers 3 backbone fibre optic lines within the building and guarantees download speed capabilities depending on the subscribed package. Vantage Tower, a 236,144 sq ft (21,938 sqm) GFA mixeduse building, is located on the intersection of Inya Road and Pyay Road over-looking the western edge of Inya Lake, Yangon’s most scenic area. The building will consist of two joined components; Tower A, an 18 storey mixed-use tower with two basement levels that will provide ap-
Japan grants US$135,802 for two fire engines at airports
Fire sighters demonstrate use of new fire fighting vehicle. Photo: GGP Scheme The Japanese Government, under its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) Scheme, has granted US$135,802 for a humanitarian assistance program “The Project for Strengthening of Fire Services on Local Airports in Myanmar”. The handover ceremony of the project took place at the Yangon International Airport on 26th October 2015. U Han Sein, Deputy Minister for Transport, Acting Director General U Tike Aung, Ministry of Transport, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), Mr. Tateshi HIGUCHI,
Ambassador of Japan to Myanmar, and Mr. Ken HARUTA, Vice President, New Kansai International Airport Company, Ltd (NKIAC) attended the ceremony. In cooperation with NKIAC, the project is aimed to improve the airport fire-fighting facilities of the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), Myanmar, which is one of the natural disaster-prone countries in South-East Asia, of which fire breakouts are the most frequent. Through the project, 2 fire engines and spare tires were donated by NKIAC. The fire engines’ transportation, mainte-
nance and maintenance training fees were covered by the GGP scheme. It was urgently necessary to upgrade the standard of fire rescue capacity and safety in case of airport emergency at the Mawlamyine Airport in Mon State and the An Airport in Rakhine State, which have no fire engines at all. Under such conditions, the GGP scheme in cooperation with NKIAC, supported one fire engine with a 12,500-liter foam extinguishing tank to Mawlamyine Airport, and one fire engine with a 3,000-liter foam extinguishing tank to An Airport.—GNLM
Myanmar’s first data centre on intersection of Inya Road and Pyay Road. Photo: M&A Data Centre proximately 100,000 sq ft (9,290 sqm) of prime office accommodation, ground floor and 1st floor café and high-end restaurant facilities, and a spectacular penthouse on the 16th floor, and; Tower B, offering 90 racks of
server co-location storage space and world-class support services, and a 6 level multi-storey car park that (along with 52 visitor car parking spaces in the 1st Basement Level) will hold 144 vehicles.—GNLM
Mobile teams seize illegal satellite receiver materials Mobile teams under the central committee for the control of illegal trade have seized thousands of dollars’ worth of illegal satellite receiver materials this year. Mobile teams seized satellite receivers, antenna cables, satellite receiver heads and DVD players worthan estimated K225,000 (US$175) from a Toyota vehicle near the Asia World Toll Gate in the Muse Trade Zone on 6 February. The mobile team handed over these items to the Muse Township Customs Department, and the perpetrators were charged under the customs law. Another mobile team sized illegal satellite receiv-
ers and related materials worth K3.18 million ($2,476) on 23 June on the Mandalar Tun express bus. The bus was apprehended along the Myawady-Yangon route near the Nyaungkhashay gate in Bago Region. The team handed over the seized items to the customs department. At the same gate, on 4 September, satellite materials worth K2million ($1,557) were seized on the Yadanar Soe Express Bus. More materials valued at K3.7 million ($2,881) were seized on the Arkatha Express Bus and were handed over to the customs department.—Myanmar News Agency
Satellite receivers and related materials seized by mobile teams. Photo: mna
Anti-human trafficking measurers discussed at law enforcement cooperation meeting A meeting on law enforcement cooperation for action against the trafficking and detention of people in Indonesia was held on 21 and 22 October in Bali, Indonesia. Led by Police Brig-Gen Win Naing Tun, the Myanmar dele-
gation included officials from the Myanmar Police Force, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division, the Department of Transnational Crime, the Myanmar Financial Intelligence Unit and the Union Attorney-General’s Office.
The latest anti-human trafficking measurers implemented by authorities in Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia and further cooperation among the participating countries were discussed at the meeting. The attendees also discussed action
against human trafficking-related cases, including murder, narcotics smuggling, sharing information about suspects in Thailand and the names and numbers of enslaved Myanmar fishermen who died in Indonesia. The Myanmar delegates
discussed the progress of paying compensation for the remaining trafficking victims. Only 205 Myanmar victims out of 783 who returned to Myanmar were given compensation.—Myanmar News Agency
national 3
27 October 2015
Vice President attends opening of YTU research centre VICE President Dr Sai Mauk Kham made a speech at the opening ceremony of the technological research centre at the Yangon Technological University in Insein Township, Yangon, on Monday. Also present were union ministers, the chief minister of the Yangon Region government, the chairman and members of leading committees of technological universities and students. Six outstanding students formally opened the centre at the ceremony, and the vice president unveiled the signboard and stone plaque of the building before inspecting the facility. Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Ko Ko Oo reported on facts about the centre to the vice president in the briefing hall of the building. In the vice president’s speech, he said the technological university, a friendship gift from the former Soviet Union, was founded in 1961 as the Burma Institute of Technology, and it was renamed the Rangoon Institute of Technology in 1963 before it was transferred to the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1997. It has educated over 30,000 engineers, and some of them have performed nation-building tasks, the vice president said. As research is important for any university, the research capacity of YTU will contribute to future technological education, the vice president added. With the development of technology, the university needs new buildings, streets and water
Vice President Dr Sai Mauk Kham views equipment at technological research centre at YTU. Photo: MNA and electricity supplies, as well as competent faculty members, modern teaching aids, lab equipment, modern information technology and lab technicians, the vice president pointed out. Although the government is providing assistance as much as it can, the university must partner with universities in ASEAN and other countries and technological
organisations, the vice president said. The university was also provided with lab equipment worth US$1 million from the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund, and it is conducting research in cooperation with universities in Japan, Finland, South Korea and Thailand, according to the vice president.
Union Minister attends ASEAN+3 Science Technology and Innovation Ministerial Forum Union Minster for Science and Technology Dr Ko Ko Oo attended the ASEAN+3 Science Technology and Innovation Ministerial Forum in Daejeon, South Korea, on 20 October. The forum aimed to arrange cooperation in science and technology among ASEAN countries and Japan, Korea and China. Attendees as the forum
discussed boosting innovation in science and technology and addressing global and regional challenges among ASEAN countries. Ministers and deputy ministers from South Korea, China, Japan and ASEAN countries attended the forum, as well as secretary generals of ASEAN and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
The vice president said he was proud of the 42 faculty members from the university who obtained their doctorate degrees in Japan and international recognition of all undergraduate courses at the university. In conclusion, the vice president pointed out that the research centre is a contribution of the government for the development
of research, and he urged all present to preserve the centre. Then, an undergraduate student expressed his thanks for the centre. The government built the six-storey building at a cost of K2.754 billion ($2,160,000).The construction was completed on 25 September 2015.—Myanmar News Agency
UEC chairman inspects election preparations in Nay Pyi Taw
Development (OECD). On 19 October, Union Minister Dr Ko Ko Oo met with Mr Choi Yanghee, minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning of the Republic of Korea, and discussed setting up an ICT research centre and bilateral cooperation for science and technology.—Myanmar News Agency
Notice for foreign correspondents to cover 2015 general election The Ministry of Information is arranging one-month visa for foreign correspondents who are to cover multiparty democracy general election to be held on 8 November 2015. The foreign correspondents are to draw media accreditation cards issued by the Union Election Commission after their arrival. In that regard, they must contact Secretary of Myanmar Foreign Correspondents’
Club U Thitsa Hla Htway (Ph: 095012953; Gmail: kothit69@ gmail.com). The foreign correspondents with media accreditation cards will be able to cover the election processes throughout the country. And if they want to cover news in the compound of polling stations during the elections, they need to contact the respective district and township election commis-
sion offices to be able to enter the compound. The foreign correspondents need to bring along with them visa recommendation undertaken by the Ministry of Information for scrutiny. For further information on visa process, contact is to be made to Director U Myint Kyaw (Ph:067412002 or 095034508; Gmail: myintkyaw103@gmail. com).—Myanmar News Agency
UEC Chairman U Tin Aye inspects preparations for voting in upcoming election. Photo: MNA UNION Election Commission chairman U Tin Aye inspected preparations for the upcoming election in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday. He inspected the safeguarding and distribution of ballots in Lewe and Tatkon townships. During his inspection tour, U Tin Aye discussed the is-
suance of voter registration certificates, voter education programmes, the copying of voter list, works of the electoral affairs negotiation committee, advance voting processes and arrangements for voters in areas with poor transportation infrastructure.—Myanmar News Agency
4 lOCAL nEWS
27 October 2015
Community clinic provides healthcare to Zabuthiri The Alyinlo rural community clinic, led by health assistant Daw Cherry Hlaing, provided health services to residents of Aungchantha village in Zabuthiri Township, Nay Pyi Taw, on 26 October. The health team, consisting of six members, including nurses, provided healthcare to children, pregnant women, mothers and elderly persons, according to the health assistant.—Township IPRD
A medical team providing health care services to locals. Photo: Township IPRD
Uniforms and application forms given for new members of Ottarathiri WAO
Traffic rules explained in Myingyan
The Nay Pyi Taw Women’s Affairs Organisation accepted application forms and provided uniforms to 50 new members of the Ottarathiri Township WAO at the township’s General Administra-
Educational talks on automobile and road rules were explained at the bus terminal in Myingyan, Mandalay Region, on 25 October. Police Captain Hlaing Oo of the No. 95 Traffic Police Force explained automobile rules, drivers’ rules and road signals. He warned express bus lines not to accept extra passengers, truck drivers not to overload, and car drivers
tion Department in Ottara District, Nay Pyi Taw, on 26 October. Nay Pyi Taw WAO chairperson Daw Myat Myat Moe said at the occasion that the organisation is the country’s reserve force
and that the members are to protect national identity and religion. A member of the organization spoke words of thanks for providing uniforms.—Shwe Ye Yint
Concrete school road opens in Ingapu A vital concrete circular road for Ingapu Township’s Mezaligon Basic Education High School was formally opened on 23 October. The opening
ceremony was attended by Ayeyawady Region chief minister U Thein Aung. The 1,800-foot road was funded by the Township Rural
Development Department under the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development.—Win Bo (Myanaung IPRD)
Tourism to increase in Bagan this year Last year, about 250,000 tourists visited Bagan – one of Myanmar’s most significant ancient cultural sites. About 200,000 tourists visited Bagan from January to Sep-
tember 2015. The authorities expect to receive about 300,000 tourists in Bagan by 2015. Tourists and pilgrims can visit Bagan through seven domestic airlines, by train or by car.
Shwezigon, Ananda, Gadawpalin, Htilo-Minlo, Lawkananda, Alodawpyae and other ancient pagodas attract visitors from all over the world.—Ministry of Hotels and Tourism
to have a clear conscience at wheel. Drivers, their assistants and car gate officials from 35 express bus lines and 25 freight car lines attended the event, where they were given pamphlets on automobile and road rules. The Automobile Law, which was passed on 7 September, includes new road rules. —Zaw Min Naing (Myingyan)
Middle school teacher course concludes in Ottara District An efficiency course for middle school teachers in Ottara District ended on 25 October. Certificates were presented at Pobbathiri Township’s Kyitaungkan Basic Education High School. Ottara District Education officer U Ba Tun urged the teachers to apply the teaching
methods that they learned from the course. He encouraged them to develop the education sector. The 164 teachers attended the course on a weekly basis in Ottarathiri, Pobbathiri and Tatkon townships. The course began on 4 October.—Ottara District (IPRD)
Pobbathiri offers lessons on environmental conservation
Tourists visit ancient pagodas in Bagan region. Photo: Ministry of Hotels andTourism
The Ottara District Women’s Affairs Organisation (WAO) in Nay Pyi Taw conducted educational talks on environmental conservation at Pobbathiri Township’s Buddhanuggaha religious hall on 25 October. District WAO chairperson Daw Kyi Kyi Yin made a speech, and township development administrator U Tun Tun Oo explained the status of ongoing en-
vironmental conservation efforts and urged locals to dispose of rubbish systematically. He added that drainage must not be blocked by trash. WAO member Daw Thet Thet spoke about sustainable cooking in order to minimise waste. She urged all households to use plastic bags as infrequently as possible.—Ottara District (IPRD)
regional 5
27 October 2015
Cambodian opposition MPs said beaten as political truce falters PHNOM PENH — Two opposition lawmakers were beaten outside Cambodia’s parliament on Monday during a demonstration in support of the ruling party, witnesses and the opposition said, in the first case of violence since a political truce broke down in July. The witnesses said the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) lawmakers were attacked in their vehicles as they tried to leave the national assembly, where hundreds of protesters loyal to the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) were demanding the resignation of the legislature’s deputy president. The chaos is the latest flareup since a truce between the two big parties started to wane in July, when 11 CNRP members were jailed for insurrection, a ruling the opposition said was politically motivated. “They jumped into one of
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the cars and beat (the lawmaker) up until he fell to the ground and then they began to kick him,” said 34-year-old witness Em Sopheak. He said the attack involved about 50 men who wore scarves to cover their faces and fled in two pickup trucks. A journalist told Reuters he saw lawmakers Ngoy Chamroeun and Kong Sophea covered in blood as they were taken for medical treatment inside the parliament. Amateur video posted on YouTube that purported to show the incident matched the accounts of the witness. It showed one of the CNRP lawmakers pulled from his car and kicked on the ground. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video. “This is brutal and the perpetrators must be brought to justice,” said CNRP parliamentari-
Protesters gather in front of the house of Kem Sokha, vice president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and deputy house president, during a demonstration to demand his resignation in Phnom Penh on 26 October 2015. Photo: Reuters an Yim Sovann. “The protest this morning represented only a group of people, not the whole country.” The government spokesman, Phay Siphan, said, “We don’t support violence and we appeal to all sides to be calm.” The pro-CPP rally was held
to demand the resignation of CNRP leader Kem Sokha, whom the rally participatns accused of telling lies about the ruling party to stoke unrest. Kem Sokha was granted the role of deputy house president as part of a 2014 political truce with Prime Minister Hun Sen, in
exchange for the CNRP ending its year-long parliamentary boycott over a disputed 2013 election. Both parties have engaged in saber-rattling of late, with Hun Sen last week warning of civil war should CNRP win the next election in 2018.—Reuters
Deputy Thai premier warns red shirt-clad protesters BANGKOK — Deputy Thai Premier Prawit Wongsuwan advised on Monday against members of the public intending to wear red shirts on the upcoming Sunday to express sympathy for deposed premier Yingluck Shinawatra. His comments followed speculation that a large number of people will put on red shirts, especially those loyal to Red Shirt movement since the last several years, to signify their support for the former lady leader who has been legally embattled with corruption charges involving the previous
government’s rice subsidy programme. Gen Prawit said legal action will be strictly taken against any possible gathering of red shirt-wearing demonstrators at public places on Sunday. “The authorities are not afraid of people wearing red shirts. But such action will only
be useless,” commented the deputy premier, who is concurrently defence minister. The military-led government will not tolerate the planned gathering en masse of red shirt-clad protesters on Sunday or any other day and will take action against any leaders of those protesters, according
“The authorities are not afraid of people wearing red shirts.”
Prawit Wongsuwan Deputy Thai Premier
to Gen Prawit. Yingluck, sister of former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, invariably dismissed all corruption charges filed against her by the National Anti-Corruption Commmission pertaining to the rice subsidy programme under which farmers had been given an average of 500 US dollars for a ton of their rice. The anti-graft agency had charged that as much as 17 billion US dollars in loss of the taxpayer’s money had incurred uder the populist programme.—Xinhua
Indian girl who wandered into Pakistan arrives home after 13 years KARACHI — A deaf-mute Indian girl stranded in Pakistan for 13 years after wandering over one of the world’s most militarised borders arrived home on Monday to be reunited with the family she has identified from photographs. The story of Geeta, a Hindu woman in her early 20s, has captivated people on both sides of the border at a time of heightened tension between the nuclear-armed rivals. “A daughter returns home. Geeta arrives in New Delhi accompanied by members of Edhi Foundation,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said on Twitter, referring to the Pakistani charity group that has
looked after her. Geeta was about 11 when she crossed from India into Pakistan. Exactly how is not clear but Geeta mimes an explosion and shows how she ducked and ran before being caught by armed men. At first, she was kept at a children’s home in the city of Lahore, where she was given the Muslim name Fatima. She would point at maps of India, especially to an area in the south of Jharkhand State until she was able to finally communicate she was from India, not Pakistan. Early on Monday, Geeta left the charity bound for the airport in the city of Karachi for a flight to New Delhi. Wearing
a traditional red outfit with her head covered by a loose scarf, she smiled, waved to television cameras, and joined her hands in a traditional Indian greeting before climbing into a van to the airport. “Geeta stayed with us for 13 years. Now it’s time for her to go home,” said Faisal Edhi, son of the founder of the Edhi Foundation that looked after the girl. She was headed to meet a family from India’s Bihar state whom she says she recognised from photos sent by the Indian High Commission in Pakistan. Edhi said investigations will be done to be certain the family is actually hers. “If the DNA doesn’t match, the Indian author-
ities will continue the search for her family.” Edhi thanked India and Pakistan for their role in Geeta’s repatriation. Hostilities have kept apart many families since majority-Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan became separate countries in 1947. Geeta’s story attracted much attention following a film with a similar plot that was released this year. In the movie “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, actor Salman Khan plays an Indian man who finds a mute Pakistani girl and tries to reunite her with her family. The scriptwriters were unaware of Geeta’s story but the movie led to a surge in interest in her.—Reuters
6 regional
27 October 2015
Local govt approves 3rd reactor restart under tougher rules MATSUYAMA — The governor of Ehime Prefecture in western Japan gave approval Monday for the restart of a nuclear reactor that will be the third in the country to resume operations under tougher safety rules introduced after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Ehime Gov. Tokihiro Nakamura conveyed his approval to restart the No. 3 unit at Shikoku Electric Power Co.’s Ikata plant in a meeting with the utility’s President Hayato Saeki at the prefectural office building. “It would be better not to have (a nuclear plant). Still, we have no choice but to implement the most advanced safety measures and live with it until we find alternative energy to nuclear power,” Nakamura said at a press conference after the meeting. The No. 3 unit at Ikata is one of five reactors acknowledged
by regulators as safe enough to restart in line with a set of tougher safety requirements introduced in the wake of the disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Japan ended a nearly two-year period without nuclear power in August when one of the Sendai reactors run by Kyushu Electric Power Co in southwestern Japan was brought back online amid continuing public concerns about nuclear energy. The Japanese government welcomed the decision by the Ehime governor, as it looks to generate about a fifth of the nation’s overall electricity with nuclear power plants in 2030, compared with roughly 30 percent before the Fukushima disaster, in an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions and lower fuel costs.
“There is no change in the government’s policy of proceeding with the restart of reactors that meet the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s stringent regulations by gaining local understanding” of restarts, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular press conference. About 30 protesters gathered in front of the prefectural office building, demanding the utility stop the resumption. “This is an important issue that affects the lives of (local) residents but the governor is not considering it seriously,” said Tsukasa Wada, 63, a member of a local group aiming to prevent the restart of the reactor. The reactor had cleared the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s safety screening process in July. But the timing of the restart is expected to be January or later be-
People line up to protest the restart of Shikoku Electric Power Co.’s nuclear reactor in front of the Ehime prefectural government building, on 26 October 2015. Photo: Kyodo News cause some necessary procedures remain, including obtaining the authority’s approval for detailed designs of equipment at the facility. The governor’s nod came as the final step in the process of securing local approval. The mayor of Ikata town as well as the prefectural and Ikata assemblies have already given their consent.
Kyushu Electric’s Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at the Sendai complex in Kagoshima Prefecture resumed operations on 11 August and 15 October, respectively, becoming the first two reactors to return to operation among 26 reactors for which Japanese utilities have applied for regulatory safety reviews to restart.—Kyodo News
Vietnamese railway officials stand trial for receiving bribery HANOI — Six officials of Vietnamese railway sector are standing trial for allegations of receiving some 11 billion Vietnamese dong (nearly 504,600 US dollars) in Hanoi’s urban railway construction project Line 1, involving a Japanese company.
The trial opened Monday in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi. The officials have been prosecuted for “abusing power while on duty” at Railway Project Management Unit (RPMU) under Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR), reported Vietnam’s state-run ra-
dio Voice of Vietnam (VOV). The six defendants include Tran Quoc Dong (former deputy general director of VNR, former RPMU director), Tran Van Luc (former RPMU director), Nguyen Van Hieu (former RPMU director), Pham Hai Bang
(former RPMU deputy director), Pham Quang Duy (former RPMU deputy director), and Nguyen Nam Thai (former RPMU project manager). According to the indictment, in 2009, VNR signed a consultation contract with Japan Trans-
portation Consultants, Inc. (JTC) over a project on construction of number 1 urban railway route in Vietnam. The Vietnamese officials received money from JTC during September 2009 to February 2014, reported VOV.—Xinhua
picture of the day
Pregnant women attend a yoga lesson in Beijing during a Guinness record-breaking attempt that was co-hosted in eight Chinese cities, on 25 October 2015. The event, with a total of 1,443 pregnant women attending across eight cities, created the record for the largest yoga lesson for expectant mothers, local media reported. Photo: Reuters
world 7
27 October 2015
UK nuclear deterrent to cost 167 billion pounds, far more than expected
Canadian whale-watching boat sinks, killing five with one missing TOFINO — A Canadian whale-watching tour boat with 27 passengers on board sank off the coast of British Columbia on Sunday, killing five people with one missing, rescue officials said. Twenty-one people had been rescued when the search was called off late at night, Melissa Kai, a spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), said. A military rescue helicop-
ter and plane had been sent to the waters off the coast of Tofino after the vessel sent a distress signal around 5 pm local time, according to the JRCC. Several other coast guard vessels were involved in the search off the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island. The case had now been turned over to Canadian police as a missing persons case, Kai said. —Reuters
Kremlin rejects rights group report its planes killed Syrian civilians
A nuclear submarine is seen at the Royal Navy’s submarine base at Faslane, Scotland. Photo: Reuters LONDON — The overall cost of replacing and maintaining Britain’s nuclear deterrent will reach 167 billion pounds ($256 billion), much more than expected, according to a lawmaker’s and Reuters’ calculations based on official figures. The Scottish Nationalist Party, which wants Britain’s Scotland-based nuclear-armed Trident submarines scrapped, called the sum “unthinkable and indefensible” at a time when deep cuts under the government’s “austerity” policies mean “thousands of people across the UK are struggling to afford basics like food”. Some military officials also oppose investment in Trident, saying the money would be better spent on maintaining the army and on more conventional technology, which have also faced cuts. Until now, Prime Minister David Cameron’s government has said replacing the ageing fleet of four submarines which carry nuclear warheads to provide a continuous at-sea deterrent would cost an estimated 15-20 billion pounds. It has as yet given no official estimate of the cost of its replacement and maintenance. Critics have previously said Britain will need to spend 100 billion pounds, a figure based on a 2014 report by the independent Trident Commission.
In a written parliamentary response to Crispin Blunt, a lawmaker in Cameron’s Conservative party, Minister of State for Defence Procurement Philip Dunne said on Friday the acquisition of four new submarines would cost 25 billion pounds. He added that the in-service costs would be about 6 percent of the annual defence budget over their lifetime. The total defence budget for 2014/15 reached 33.8 billion pounds and rises to 34.1 billion pounds in 2015/16, according to the ministry. “My office’s calculation based on an in-service date of 2028 and a missile extension until 2060 ... the total cost is 167 billion pounds,” Blunt told Reuters. “The successor Trident programme is going to consume more than double the proportion of the defence budget of its predecessor ... The price required, both from the UK taxpayer and our conventional forces, is now too high to be rational or sensible.” His figure was based on a presumption that Britain will spend 2 percent of its annual gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, as Cameron’s government has promised. It also uses existing official government and International Monetary Fund figures, and an assumption of GDP growth of an an-
nual average of 2.48 percent between 2020 and 2060. Using the same figures, a Reuters calculation came to the same sum of 167 billion pounds. Asked about the rising cost, a spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence said the government had published an unclassified version of a review on alternatives to Trident which “demonstrated that no alternative system is as capable, or as cost-effective, as a Trident-based deterrent”. “At around 6 percent of the annual defence budget, the in-service costs of the UK’s national deterrent ... are affordable and represent an investment in a capability which plays an important role in ensuring the UK’s national security,” the spokesperson said. The deputy leader of the SNP, Stewart Hosie, took aim at the Conservatives, or ‘Tories’, saying the new figure showed “just how dangerous the Tories’ obsession with nuclear really is”. “This is truly an unthinkable and indefensible sum of money to spend on the renewal of an unwanted and unusable nuclear weapons system,” he said in a statement. The SNP’s popularity has surged since Scots rejected independence in a vote last year, with millions of supporters won over by its anti-austerity message and criticism of Trident.—Reuters
Office for KiM: Loud warning about Serb safety BELGRADE — The Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija (KiM) warned that the stoning of the bus transporting Serb pilgrims in Pec constitutes a loud warning about the state of security of Serbs and Serb holy sites in the southern Serbian Province. The bus with Serbian licence
plates was stoned in Pec on Sunday as it was exiting the churchyard of the Church of Saint John in Pec. Nobody was injured in the incident, but the event caused considerable damage. The attack, which comes at the moment when the decision is to be made about the UNESCO membership of the
self-proclaimed Kosovo, constitutes another warning as to what fate can befall Serb holy sites, priests and believers in case the plan is indeed realised, states the Office for KiM release. The attack occurred less than 24 hours after the assault on a group of Serb boys in Gornje Kusce village.—Tanjug
MOSCOW — The Kremlin on Monday rejected a report from New York-based Human Rights Watch which suggested its warplanes in Syria may have killed 59 civilians, including 33 children, as a probable media hoax. The rights group cited local residents in northern Homs on Sunday as making the allegations, saying the Russian government should investigate the
reports. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, dismissed the report. “In the last few days we have seen a huge number of media hoaxes and deliberate data releases concerning the consequences of the Russian military air campaign in Syria,” Peskov told reporters. “I think that this report is probably one of those.” —Reuters
Polish election winner could consider alliance with rock star Kukiz
The leader of Poland’s main opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Photo: Reuters WARSAW — Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS) would consider a partnership with rock star Pawel Kukiz and his anti-establishment grouping if they fall short of a clear majority in the final results of Sunday’s election, the party’s likely candidate for defence minister said on Monday. According to the latest, but still unofficial exit poll by IPSOS, PiS secured 37.7 percent of the vote, which gives the current main opposition party 232 seats in the 460-member lower house of parliament. That was down on initial indications that the party had won more than 240 seats and the final number could fall further if a handful of smaller parties exceed vote thresholds for getting into parliament. Pawel Kukiz’ grouping, Kukiz’15, looked set to secure 8.7 percent of votes, which translates into 42 seats. Official results are due on Tuesday. “If it turned out that we are a
few seats short (of a majority) I would prefer a stable cooperation and the first natural partner is Mr Kukiz,” said Jaroslaw Gowin, who leads one of the smaller allied groupings with which PiS fought the election. “If Kukiz decides otherwise, then we’d have to bet on a scenario of a minority government,” Gowin, who PiS officials have said will likely be the country’s new defence minister, told Polsat News TV. While Kukiz has claimed a protest vote from younger Poles dissatisfied with politics, his views on social issues chime with the socially conservative and traditional Catholicism of PiS. Earlier on Monday, Kukiz told Radio Zet he did not plan to enter a coalition but Polish political commentators assume that Law and Justice will be able to count on at least some of the group’s MPs in parliament.—Reuters
8 Features & ANALYSIS
27 October 2015
All politicians agree that the country needs change, but there is disagreement over the appropriate pace of the change. The official results of the general election will decide the direction and pace of change in the country. The general election is a great opportunity to vent feelings and to elect a new government. In Myint Win Thein the past, people could not enjoy such an opportuhe much-awaited general election in My- nity and had to resort to mass protests against anmar is only a few days away, and most governments that ended in bloodshed. Now, peopeople are excited to cast their votes for ple are able to cast their votes for the government change. Politicians are also excited about the elec- they like, thanks to the recent transition in Myantion and campaigning for it. It is natural for all of mar. them to be excited about the election as they think It is clear that elections are meant to effect it could bring about change for the country. peaceful change. Therefore, it is necessary for all
Opinion A vote to vent feelings
T
members of the public to prevent violent incidents from happening during the election and to enjoy the right to suffrage peacefully. It is time for people to vent their feelings through voting.
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 wallace.tun@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.
‘Dynamic Plus’ marks 40 years of friendship between Korea, Myanmar
Selfie contest promotes tolerance among youths The campaign encourages people to post selfies with friends from different religious backgrounds. Khaing Thanda Lwin
Youths participate in performance of Dynamic Plus to mark 40th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Myanmar. Photo: ROK Embassy To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Myanmar, the Korean Embassy would like to invite all members of the community to the Myanmar Convention Center (MCC) in Yangon for the eclectic Korean arts performance ‘Dynamic Plus’. The two-hour event is set to begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 2, and will offer some-
thing for everyone. The highlights will include fusion music, b-boying and taekwondo. Bigabi, a performance team that is gaining popularity in Korea thanks to its original blend of drumming and taekwondo, will show spectators in Myanmar that Korea’s national sport is truly an art form. Next, the fusion rock band wHOOL will deliver a breathtak-
ing performance that harmonizes Korean traditional music with Western pop. The band has performed in many countries including Germany, Italy, India and Egypt. Lee Bo-kyung, a rising star best known for her heavenly voice, will sing the folk song “Arirang”— a beloved classic that is often said to be Korea’s unofficial national anthem. Last but not least, a world-
class Korean b-boying team will take over the dance floor and demonstrate its brilliance by defying gravity as its members fly through the air and glide across the floor. The team has performed alongside K-pop superstars Psy and Big Bang. Admission is free of charge and no ticket is required to enjoy this festive event.—ROK Embassy
Letter to the editor Sir,
Tin Aung
It is a common practice in any office when one is about to use a rubber stamp, the person invariably tries it at least once on a separate piece of paper to see the print and gauge the result of his stamp. At the general elections we will be required to use a rubber stamp to cast our votes. And a very large portion of the voters would never have used a rubber stamp before. To have them get the feel of a rubber stamp and thereby gain confidence, providing spare blank sheets of paper in the voting booth, to enable them to try out the stamp, will help alleviate a large number of invalid votes. May this be suggested to the Union Election Commission. Sincerely A Wellwisher
To mark the International Day of Tolerance on 16 November, the My Friend Campaign launched a selfie photo contest with a focus on promoting friendship between diverse people, according to its organiser. Campaign coordinator Thinza Shoon Lae Yi said the main goal of the My Friend Campaign is to encourage people to post selfies with their friends from different religious backgrounds on social media. The contest aims to educate people on the importance of diversity by honouring and symbolising affections and friendships between people from different faiths. It also aims to reduce all forms of discrimination, hatred, hate speech and extreme racism based on religion, ethnicity, nationality, colour or gender. The photos must depict amity and friendship between people, along with captions conveying the feelings of the friends, she said. Contestants can enter the contest by posting selfies to the My Friend Campaign Facebook page no later than November 10. The winner will be announced on 15 November and will receive a prize of K30,000 (US$23) and a My Friend t-shirt at the celebration event for the International Day for Tolerance. The My Friend Campaign was founded in May this year by a group of peace-loving youths. They plan to extend their activities to rural villages.
analysis 9
27 October 2015
PATTHANA Hla Maung, Senior Geologist (Retired), Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise
P
atthana, or “Book of Origination” deals with the conditionality and dependent nature of all corporeal (body) and mental phenomena of existence, which in their combinations are known by conventional names of ‘I’, ‘person’, ‘world’, etc., but which in the ultimate sense are only passing phenomena, and nothing more. The Patthana has been described as the most important work of the Abhidhamma, which is one of the main divisions of the Buddhist Canon (or Holy Books). All phenomena are arranged or explained with respect to 24 ‘paccaya’ or conditions or modes of conditionality. PACCAYA : CONDITION is something on which something else depends, something without which something else cannot arise or happen. Buddhist monks, on special occasions, may chant non-stop the whole Book of Origination and Conditionality, a process which may take several days. Most devotees in Myanmar however commonly recite, perhaps daily, just the 24 “paccayas” or modes of conditionality or relationship, which are enumerated below. The recitation is as follows : “Hetu paccayaw Arammana, Arammana paccayaw Adhipati, Adhipati paccayaw Anantara, … (and so on until) … Athi paccayaw Nathi, Nathi paccayaw Vigata, Vigata paccayaw Avigata paccayaw ti.” This short recitation may be translated as :- “ Roots are conditioned by (or interdependent with) Objects, Objects are conditioned by Predominance, Predominance is conditioned by Contiguity, and so on. It is however not just a simple case of “1 dependent on 2, 2 dependent on 3, 3 dependent on 4, …” and so on, but all 24 conditions are intricately inter-related and inter-dependent. The 24 conditions or groups are listed below, and a brief description of each group is given later. 1. HETU 2. ARAMMANA 3. ADHIPATI 4. ANANTARA 5. SAMANANTARA 6. SAHAJATA 7. ANNAMANNA 8. NISSAYA 9. UPANISSAYA 10. PUREJATA 11. PACCHEJATA 12. ASEVANA 13. KAMMA 14. VIPAKA 15. AHARA 16. INDRIYA 17. JHANA 18. MAGGA 19. SAMPAYUTTA 20. VIPPAYUTTA 21. ATHI 22. NATHI 23. VIGATA 24. AVIGATA
: ROOT condition : OBJECT : PREDOMINANCE : CONTIGUITY : IMMEDIACY : CO-NASCENCE : MUTUALITY : FOUNDATION : INDUCEMENT : PRE-NASCENCE : POST-NASCENCE : REPETITION : KAMMA : KAMMA-RESULT : NUTRIMENT : FACULTY : JHANA : PATH : ASSOCIATION : DISASSOCIATION : PRESENCE : ABSENCE : DISAPPEARANCE : NON-DISAPPEARANCE
1. HETU paccaya : ROOT condition The six roots of all wholesome and unwholesome acts, speech, thoughts: lobha, dosa, moha, alobha, adosa, amoha. 2. ARAMMANA paccaya : OBJECT condition Any object or thing, including mind-object, which causes consciousness and mental phenomena. 3. ADHIPATI paccaya : PREDOMINANCE condition Intention : chanda Energy : viriya Consciousness : vinnana Reflection : vimamsa In any state of consciousness or mental phenomenon, only one of the above is predominant.
1. ANANTARA paccaya : CONTIGUITY condition 2. SAMANANTARA paccaya : IMMEDIACY condition, i.e., very closely related Any state of consciousness or mental phenomenon which is the cause or necessary condition for the immediately following consciousness or mental phenomenon. For example, eye consciousness ( seeing an apple ) is the cause or condition for the immediately following desire for the apple. 1. SAHAJATA paccaya : CO-NASCENCE condition ( being born or arising at he same time ) For example, the 4 mental groups, feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness, all arise or happen together.If feeling arises, the other 3 must also arise. Only at the moment of conception in the mother’s womb, corporeality ( rupa ) forms a necessary co-nascent condition for the 4 mental groups. 2. ANNAMANNA paccaya : MUTUALITY condition The above closely associated or co-nascent phenomena are also conditioned by way of mutuality, “just as three sticks propped up one by one another.” 3. NISSAYA paccaya : FOUNDATION condition Foundation condition : refers to a pre-nascent or co-nascent phenomenon which acts for other phenomena as a foundation, just as trees have the earth for their foundation, or the oil painting has the canvas as its foundation. In this way, the five sense organs and the physical base of the mind are, for the corresponding 6 kinds of consciousness, a pre-nascent condition by way of foundation. All co-nascent ( SAHAJATA ) phenomena are mutually ( ANNAMANNA ) conditioned by way of foundation ( NISSAYA ). 4. UPANISSAYA paccaya : INDUCEMENT condition Three kinds : 1. Direct inducement: pakati upanissaya Greed, as a direct inducement to theft Hate, - “ - murder Faith, - “ - charity Bad food, - “- bad health Bad friends, - “ - bad habits,etc. 2. Object inducement: arammanupanissaya Any object, past, present, future, real, imagined, can become an inducement to good, bad or neutral states of mind. 3. Immediacy inducement: anantarupanissaya Eye-consciousness leading to the immediately following mental state, etc.. 1. PUREJATA paccaya : PRENASCENCE condition Something previously arisen, which forms a base for something arising later, e.g., the sense organs and the mind, already arisen at birth, form the condition for the consciousness arising later. 2. PACCHAJATA paccaya : POST-NASCENCE condition The consciousness and the phenomena associated with it, when they are a condition necessary for the preservation of this already arisen body. 3. ASEVANA paccaya : REPETITION condition The kammical consciousness, in which all the preceding impulsive mind-moments ( javana citta ), through repetition and exercise, are a condition for succeeding ones, making them easier to arise. 4. KAMMA paccaya : KAMMA condition The pre-natal kamma, or kamma-volitions or cetana, which is the generatingcause of kamma-produced mind-body phenomena in a later rebirth. 5. VIPAKA paccaya : KAMMA RESULT condition The kamma-resultant sense-consciousness is a condition for co-nascent mind-body phenomena. 6. AHARA paccaya : NUTRIMENT condition Four kinds of ahara or nutriment are recognized. 1. Material food ( feeds the body ) 2. Sensorial or mental impressions are a condition for agreeable, neutral and disagreeable feelings 3. Mental volition feeds rebirth 4. Consciousness feeds mind and corporeality in the moment of conception. 1. INDRIYA paccaya : FACULTY condition Refers to 20 faculties as follows: 1-5 Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, for eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, etc. Mind vitality or life force
1. bodily pleasant feelings 2. bodily pain 3. gladness 4. sadness 5. indifference 6. faith 7. energy 8. mindfulness 9. concentration 10. wisdom 11. assurance of future knowledge on entering sotapan-path 12. higher knowledge on reaching sotapan-fruition 13. highest knowledge of arahat-fruition 1. JHANA paccaya : JHANA condition The 7 jhana conditions, required for the co-nascent mental and bodily phenomena: 1. thought conception – vitakka 2. discursive thinking – vicara 3. interest – piti 4. joy – sukha 5. sadness – domanassa 6. equanimity – epekkha 7. concentration – samedhi 1,2,3,4,7 are in greedy consciousness 1,2,5,7 are in hateful consciousness 1,2,6,7 are in deluded consciousness 1. MAGGA paccaya : PATH condition In essence the 8-fold Right Path, and conversely, the “8-fold Wrong Path”, altogether 16 conditions, although here, the classification is given in 12 divisions: 1. Knowledge or Right Understanding – panna or Samma Ditthi 2. Thought conception – vitakka, either right or wrong 3. Right Speech – Samma Vaca 4. Right Bodily Action – Samma Kammanta 5. Right Livelihood – Samma Ajiva 6. Energy – either right (Samma Viriya) or wrong 7. Attentiveness – either right ( Samma Sati) or wrong 8. Concentration – wither right (Samma Samedhi) or wrong 9. Wrong views – micchaditthi 10. Miccha vaca – wrong speech 11. Wrong bodily action – miccha kammanta 12. Wrong livelihood – miccha ajiva 1. SAMPAYUTTA paccaya : ASSOCIATION condition Refers to co-nascent (no. 6) and mutuality (no. 7) conditioned 4 mental groups (feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness) as they aid each other by being associated, or having a common base, or having a common object, and they arise and disappear simultaneously. 1. VIPPAYUTTA paccaya : DISASSOCIATION condition Refers to such phenomena as aid phenomena by not having the same physical base (eye, etc.) and objects. Thus corporeal phenomena are for mental phenomena a condition by way of disassociation, whether co-nascent or not, and vice versa. 1. ATTHI paccaya : PRESENCE condition Refers to a phenomenon which, through its presence, is a condition for other phenomena. This condition applies to nos. 6,7,8,10. 2. NATHI paccaya : ABSENCE condition Refers to consciousness etc. has just passed and which forms the necessary condition for the immediately following consciousness by giving it opportunity to arise. 3. VITAGA paccaya : DISAPPEARANCE condition Identical with 22 4. AVITAGA paccaya : NON-DISAPPEARANCE condition Identical with 21. I cannot pretend to understand the Patthana or Book of Conditioned Relationships. I understand it as a high school student might understand the human body, that it is made up of a bones and flesh, with a heart and brain, and liver and kidneys, and so on, but I do not understand it as a doctor might, or a neurosurgeon or medical specialist, Nevertheless, I hope the above summary, which I have summarised from Venerable Nyanatiloka Mahathera’s “Guide through the Abhidhamma-Pitaka, published 1957 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, might help Myanmar devotees understand a little more as they recite the 24 groups of related Paccaya conditions.
10 world
27 October 2015
Balkan, EU leaders agree to coordinate on migrants BRUSSELS — European leaders agreed to cooperate to manage migrants crossing the Balkans but offered no quick fix to a crisis that threatens to take more lives as winter sets in and to set Europe’s nations against one another. Meeting in Brussels as another woman and two children died at sea off Turkey, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met leaders of nine countries on the route from the Aegean to Germany taken this year by half a million people, defying EU borders and unfurling razor wire. After talks throughout Sunday evening that began with what officials described as a round of leaders “venting” at each other’s conduct, the 11 governments issued a pledge to work together, along with a 17-point action plan that includes United Nations-aided accommodation for 100,000 people, half of them in Greece. “Unilateral action may trigger a chain reaction,” the joint statement read — reflecting what is already fact, as states have variously sealed off borders or moved and deposited busloads of undocumented migrants at their neighbours’ frontiers. “Countries affected should therefore talk to each other. Neighbours should work together along the route,” the statement said. Meeting host Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Union executive, said: “We have made very clear that the policy of simply waving people through must be stopped.” Merkel, whose poll ratings
A group of migrants waits to enter a makeshift camp at the Austrian Slovenian border near the village of Sentilj, Slovenia. Photo: Reuters are sinking as she has opened Germany’s borders to hundreds of thousands of Syrians, called for the meeting just 10 days after the last of several full EU summits devoted to the migration crisis. She said it was urgent to find a humane solution for tens of
German police use water cannon to stop clashes at far-right rally BERLIN — German police in the western city of Cologne used water cannon on Sunday on left-wing radicals protesting against a rally held by about 600 supporters of the xenophobic “Hooligans Against Salafists” (HOGESA) group. The roughly 10,000 counter-demonstrators vastly outnumbered those at the HOGESA rally itself where speakers called for Germany’s borders to be closed and a ban on building mosques. Germany is struggling to cope with the arrival of an expected 800,000 to 1 million refugees and migrants this year, many from war zones in the Middle East, and politicians have expressed concern about a potential rise in right-wing radicalism. At the event in Cologne, scuffles broke out between police and left-wingers before water cannon were turned on to separate the two sides, said police. After outbreaks of violence at a similar event last year which left several people injured, police stepped up their presence and sent
some 3,500 officers to the western city. HOGESA is a group of self-styled football hooligans and includes right-wing militants and neo-Nazis. Security forces have warned about increased street violence between rival groups. Last week, the anti-Islam grassroots PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) group held its biggest rally in months in the eastern city of Dresden, spurred on by the refugee crisis. Police have warned about an increased risk of racist attacks on politicians helping refugees and say some 285 offences against asylum seekers’ shelters had been reported in the third quarter alone, compared with 198 for the whole of last year. The concerns about growing radicalism coincide with a drop in popular support for conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel for her handling of the crisis and with a rise in the popularity of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD).—Reuters
thousands of people stuck behind closing Balkan borders as autumn turns cold and wet. “The pictures of the last few days are not in line with our values,” she told reporters after extracting agreement from her peers to provide shelter, food and care
for people on the move, helped where needed by EU aid and cheap international loans. “Europe must show it is a continent of values, a continent of solidarity,” she said. “This is a building block ... but we need to take many further steps.”
She also stressed the need to continue negotiations with Turkey, the main transit country to Europe for not only Syrian and Iraqi refugees but also large numbers of Afghans and Pakistanis viewed in the EU as unwanted economic migrants.—Reuters
Britain’s Blair says 2003 Iraq invasion played role in Islamic State rise LONDON — Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged the 2003 invasion of Iraq played a part in the rise of the Islamic State militant group, and apologised for some mistakes in planning the war, in an interview broadcast on Sunday. Blair’s decision to send troops to back the US-led invasion is still a live political issue in Britain, where a six-year public inquiry into the conflict is yet to
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Photo: Reuters
publish its findings. Asked whether the offensive was the principal cause of the rise of Islamic State, which now controls large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria, Blair said there were “elements of truth” in that. “Of course, you can’t say that those of us who removed (former Iraqi dictator) Saddam (Hussein) in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015,” Blair told US network CNN. Critics say the US decision to disband Saddam Hussein’s army after the invasion created a huge security vacuum exploited by al Qaeda, which was eventually replaced by Islamic State. Some former Iraqi army officers, members of the Sunni Muslim minority which says it has been marginalised by the Shi’ite-led government backed by Western powers, are senior strategists in Islamic State. The
Iraqi government says it has not marginalised Sunnis. Blair said the “Arab Spring” uprisings across the region also affected Iraq, and pointed out that Islamic State had risen out of a base in Syria, not Iraq. Blair apologised for what he described as mistakes in planning and intelligence before the war and in preparations for would happen once Saddam was removed, but said it had been the right decision. “We have tried intervention and putting down troops in Iraq; we’ve tried intervention without putting in troops in Libya; and we’ve tried no intervention at all but demanding regime change in Syria. It’s not clear to me that, even if our policy did not work, subsequent policies have worked better,” he said. “I find it hard to apologise for removing Saddam. I think, even from today in 2015, it is better that he’s not there than that he is there.”—Reuters
health & science 11
27 October 2015
MERS, Ebola, bird flu: Science’s big missed opportunities LONDON — Anyone who goes down with flu in Europe this winter could be asked to enroll in a randomized clinical trial in which they will either be given a drug, which may or may not work, or standard advice to take bed rest and paracetamol. Those who agree could be helping the world prepare for the next potentially deadly disease pandemic as well as helping scientists who are now desperate to plug gaps in knowledge left by previous missed opportunities. Scientists are largely in the dark about how to stop or treat the slew of never-seen-before global health problems of recent years, from the emergence of the deadly MERS virus in Saudi Arabia, to a new killer strain of bird flu in China and an unprecedented Ebola outbreak in West Africa. They have been unable even to pin down where they came A couple wearing masks to prevent contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) looks at each other as they ride on an escalator in Seoul, South Korea on 11 June, 2015. Photo: Reuters from. That is because vital studies to analyze transmission routes said Jeremy Farrar, director of the trials of vaccines for Ebola and in versity who has been working on and test experimental drugs or Wellcome Trust global health the meantime almost 12,000 peo- ways to lower such barriers. vaccines have simply not been foundation and an expert on in- ple lost their lives; and during the During the Ebola outbreak done during epidemics, disease fectious diseases. “The world is at H1N1 pandemic, the number of that swept through Guinea, Libeexperts say. risk because there are huge gaps people randomized into clinical ria and Sierra Leone, Lang’s It is a failure of science, they in our knowledge base. studies was very close to zero.” team, which specializes in plan“We don’t now have a vacsay, that should not be allowed to Bureaucracy, logistics and ning and operating trials in vulhappen again. cine for SARS if it came back to- lack of forethought are the heart nerable populations in difficult “Research in all of the epi- morrow; we don’t know how to of the problem, according to settings, was tasked with setting demics we have faced over the treat MERS; it took us six to nine Trudie Lang, professor of Global up a clinical study of a potential past decade has been woeful,” months before we started clinical Health Research at Oxford Uni- Ebola treatment called brincido-
fovir. “It normally takes 18 months to set up a trial, and we did it in 16 weeks,” she told Reuters. “But the problem was we were still behind the curve.” In the 2009 H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic, when many governments had stockpiled antiviral drugs such as Roche’s Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline’s Relenza and doctors prescribed them, often as a preventative measure without a confirmed diagnosis, no proper randomized clinical trials were conducted to find out for sure whether they helped. This has left health officials with little or no concrete evidence on which to base treatment decisions when the next pandemic flu strain threatens the world. “It is a huge pity we haven’t made the most of our opportunity to generate evidence,” said Chris Butler, a clinical professor at Cardiff University’s Institute of Primary Care & Public Health, who is now working on the European-wide winter flu trial he hopes will help plug the evidence gap. There is little doubt that launching clinical trials in an outbreak is fraught with difficulty, partly because a new or rare strain of disease can infect so many and overwhelm health services and partly because there are many bureaucratic hurdles.—Reuters
Chinese scientists probe mystery of solar storms BEIJING — An aurora dancing in the sky reminds scientist Liu Ying of the skirt of a ballerina. But this poetic image belies a potential source of disaster. How does a super solar storm, which can cause the most magnificent auroras, begin? Scientists are still mystified by it. Liu Ying, a researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Space Weather of the National Space Science Centre under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has made an outstanding contribution to research on solar storms, and was recently awarded the Zhao Jiu-
zhang Science Prize, named after China’s space science pioneer. Delivering a report at the award presentation, Liu said a super solar storm could cause trillions of dollars in damage, from which it could take four to 10 years to recover. A super solar storm on 1 September, 1859 — the Carrington Event — first triggered research on solar storms. The Carrington Event caused colorful auroras that could be seen even in low latitude regions like Hawaii. It also caused the telegraph systems in northern America and Europe to break down. The most recent solar storm
happened on 15 March, 2015. Although not a super storm, it caused the biggest geomagnetic storm on earth in a decade. “Our research shows that the geomagnetic storm was caused by the interaction of two coronal mass ejections,” Liu said. Understanding solar storms is important to China’s space development. The high-energy particle radiation of a solar storm could be carcinogenic for astronauts and damage electronic devices on a spacecraft, Liu said. If the solar storm hit earth’s magnetosphere, it could trigger a
geomagnetic storm and damage power grids, and navigation and telecommunication systems, said Liu. In 2012, Japanese, European and Chinese scientists respectively found a remarkable increase of radioactive carbon-14 in tree rings and corals, which dated back to around 774 and 775 AD. Scientists believe the phenomenon was caused by a super solar storm, after finding a record of splendid auroras on the night of 17 January in 775 in historical documents from China’s Tang Dynasty (618-907). According to the documents, the auroras covered most of
China makes world’s 1st 3D blood vessel bio-printer CHENGDU — A Chinese biotechnological company announced on Sunday it has developed the world’s first 3D blood vessel bio-printer, which makes it possible to produce personalized functional organs. Sichuan Revotek Co., Ltd. based in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, said the significant breakthrough has been achieved through its self-developed stem cell bio-ink technology, 3D bio-printer and cloud computing platform.
“The creative breakthrough in the 3D blood vessel bio-printing means we have mastered the stem cell-based 3D bio-printing technology,” said Yang Keng, chairman of Sichuan Languang Development Co., Ltd. Revotek is a subsidiary of Sichuan Languang. Blood vessels that transport nutrients to organs are indispensable elements when creating any organs, according to James Kang, an expert who led the program. Kang’s team has created a novel type of bio-ink — “Biosyn-
sphere”, whose primary goal is the personalized stem cell bio-printing to pave the way for organ regeneration. “We have successfully realized the blood vessel regeneration by relying on the 3D bio-printer, the biosynsphere technology and the data model based on cloud computing,” he said. The company said it is willing to absorb more talent and seek international cooperation for the application of the achievements.—Xinhua
Photo: Xinhua
the sky above the northern hemisphere, and lasted for about eight hours. Another super solar storm, on 23 July, 2012, was regarded as “perfect” by scientists. “We call it a ‘perfect storm’, because all the conditions aligned to create such a big storm,” said Liu. He cooperated with scientists in the United States and Europe to observe the whole process of a super solar storm for the first time in history, and to identify the formation mechanism. Their research was published on the scientific journal, Nature Communications.—Xinhua
12 WORLD
27 October 2015
Cote d’Ivoire president says Sunday’s polls to help people forget 2010 crisis ABIDJAN — Cote d’Ivoire’s incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, who is the favourite to win Sunday’s elections, said he hoped the polls will enable the people to “forget” the 2010 post-election crisis that left over 3,000 people dead. “I hope these elections will help us forget the 2010 electoral process that ended disastrously,” Ouattara said after casting his vote in the commercial capital, Abidjan. “It is a big day, and we hope we shall complete this electoral process peacefully,” he added. Ouattara who is contesting for his second and final five-year term, is facing six other candidates including the chairman of the main opposition party,
Cote d’Ivoire Popular Front (FPI of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo), Pascal Affi N’guessan. “The electoral campaigns were peaceful and I hope peace will equally prevail after the announcement of the results,” Ouattara concluded. A total of 6.3 million Cote d’Ivoire voters were expected to cast their votes in 19,841 polling stations across the national territory as well as in the diaspora. The elections were considered crucial for restoration of peace and reconciliation in Cote d’Ivoire after the 2010 post-election violence that broke out after Gbagbo refused to acknowledge Ouattara’s victory.—Reuters
TRADEMARK CAUTIONARY NOTICE Notice is hereby given that our client, KG International FZCO, a company incorporated in the UAE of the address P.O. Box 17122, Jebel Ali, Dubai, U.A.E, is the proprietor in several countries around the world of the following Trademarks:
Reg. No. 4/2711/2001(21 June 2001) Reg. No. 4/6175/2012 (9 July 2012)
Reg. No. 4/2712/2001(22 June 2001) Reg. No. 4/6174/2012 (2 July 2012) The above Trademarks are to be used in relation to the following goods: “Automotive parts and fittings included in class 12 for use in motor land vehicles” in Class 12. By virtue of the registration and extensive use in respect of the aforesaid goods around the world, our client’s aforementioned Trademarks have acquired international fame, reputation and goodwill and have become exclusively associated with the goods of our client and our client alone. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT OUR CLIENT CLAIMS ALL RIGHTS IN RESPECT OF THE AFORESAID TRADEMARKS IN MYANMAR AND WILL INITIATE APPROPRIATE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ANY PERSON OR PERSONS FOUND TO BE USING THE AFORESAID TRADEMARKS OR ANY OTHER TRADEMARKS DECEPTIVELY OR CONFUSINGLY SIMILAR THERETO WHICH IS IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF OUR CLIENT. Daw La Min May, H.G.P Kelvin Chia Yangon Ltd., Level 8A, Union Financial Centre (UFC), Corner of Mahabandoola Road and Thein Phyu Road, Botahtaung Township, Yangon, The Republic of the Union of Myanmar. lmm@kcyangon.com For KG International FZCO. By their Attorneys Singh & Singh Lall & Sethi, Dated 27 October 2015 New Delhi – 110 049, India
At least 100 dead after strong quake hits Afghanistan, Pakistan
A rescue worker carries a child who was injured during an earthquake, at a hospital in Jalalabad, Afghanistan on 26 October 2015. Photo: Reuters KABUL — A powerful earthquake struck a remote area of Afghanistan on Monday, shaking the capital Kabul and killing at least 24 people while 76 were killed in neighboring Pakistan, officials said. The death toll could climb in coming days because communications were down in much of the rugged Hindu Kush mountain range area where the quake was centered. Reports of deaths had poured in from different areas of both countries by nightfall. In one of the worst incidents, at least 12 girls were killed in a stampede to get out of their school in the northeastern Afghan province of Takhar. “They fell under the feet of other students,”
said Abdul Razaq Zinda, provincial head of the Afghan National Disaster Management Agency, who reported heavy damage in Takhar. Shockwaves were felt in northern India and in Pakistan, where hundreds of people ran out of buildings as the ground rolled beneath them. “We were very scared ... We saw people leaving buildings, and we were remembering our God,” Pakistani journalist Zubair Khan said by telephone from the Swat Valley northwest of the capital, Islamabad. “I was in my car, and when I stopped my car, the car itself was shaking as if someone was pushing it back and forth.” The quake was 213
km (132 miles) deep and centered 254 km (158 miles) northeast of Kabul in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province. The US Geological Survey initially measured the quake’s intensity at 7.7 then revised it down to 7.5. Just over a decade ago, a 7.6 magnitude quake in another part of northern Pakistan killed about 75,000 people. In Afghanistan, a total of 24 were reported dead on Monday including the 12 schoolgirls, seven people in the eastern province of Nangarhar, two in Nuristan province in the northeast and three in eastern Kunar province, officials said. In Pakistan, 38 deaths were reported by early evening, most in northern and northwestern regions bordering
Afghanistan, officials told Reuters. Particularly hard-hit in Pakistan was the northern province of Chitral, where 11 people were killed, police official Shah Jehan said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise because so many areas were cut off from communications. Journalist Gul Hammad Farooqi, 47, said his house had collapsed. “I was thrown from one side of the road to the other by the strength of the earthquake. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Farooqi said. “There is a great deal of destruction here, and my house has collapsed, but thankfully my children and I escaped.” Further south, the city of Peshawar had one death but at least 150 injured people were being treated at the city’s main hospital, the provincial health chief said. In Afghanistan, international aid agencies working in northern areas reported that cell phone coverage in the affected areas remained down in the hours after the initial quake. “The problem is we just don’t know. A lot of the phone lines are still down,” said Scott Anderson, deputy head of office for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Kabul. Badakhshan provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adib said about 400 houses were destroyed but he had no figures on casualties.—Reuters
Netanyahu mulls revoking benefits for some Palestinians in East Jerusalem JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has raised the possibility of revoking benefits and travel rights of some Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, a government official said on Monday, in response to a wave of Palestinian violence. Such a move did not appear to be imminent or even politically feasible but its mere mention ran counter to a decades-old Israeli assertion that Jerusalem is a united city where Arab and Jewish residents enjoy equal rights.
Israel regards all the city, including East Jerusalem, which was captured along with the West Bank in 1967, as its indivisible capital. Unlike their brethren in the occupied West Bank, Palestinians in East Jerusalem receive Israeli social benefits and can move freely in Israel. Many of the Arab assailants in one of the worst waves of Palestinian-Israeli street violence in decades have come from East Jerusalem. Many of the Palestinian attacks on Israelis are
now occurring in the West Bank, rather than in Jerusalem where they started. Israeli forces on Monday shot dead a Palestinian assailant who the army said had stabbed and wounded a soldier at an intersection near the town of Hebron. Since 1 October, at least 54 Palestinians, half of whom Israel says were assailants, have been shot and killed by Israelis at the scene of attacks or during protests in the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli police say 10 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian stabbings or
shootings. Citing comments at a security cabinet meeting held two weeks ago, the government official said Netanyahu mentioned the possibility of revoking some rights for Palestinians who live within Jerusalem’s municipal borders but outside the barrier Israel built during a Palestinian suicide bombing campaign a decade ago. Rights groups estimate that around 100,000, or almost a third of Jerusalem’s Palestinians, live beyond the barrier.—Reuters
world 13
27 October 2015
About 100 people injured in Hong Kong ferry collision HONG KONG — About 100 people were injured on Sunday when a ferry returning from Macau to Hong Kong collided with an unknown object, a police department official said. The injured were treat-
ed in five different hospitals in Hong Kong, though the nature and extent of injuries were not immediately known, the official said. Local media group RTHK said six people had suffered serious injuries in the accident.
The incident occurred around 1850 Hong Kong time (1050 GMT) on Sunday, near the island of Lantau, the official told Reuters, adding that the cause of the incident was being investigated. Hong Kong is one of the world’s busiest
shipping channels. While serious accidents are rare, the waters have become increasingly crowded with leisure boats and vessels that ferry passengers to the nearby gambling hub of Macau. Macau is the only place in China where casi-
no gambling is legal, making it popular with gamers and tourists to the city. In 2012, 39 people were killed in a ferry collision in Hong Kong’s worst maritime disaster in decades. In Sunday’s accident, the vessel was said to
have taken in water and lost power after the collision, RTHK said. It said passengers described chaotic scenes as people stumbled around in the dark, some bleeding and others with injuries to their arms and legs.—Reuters
Oklahoma parade crash suspect charged with four counts of murder STILLWATER — An Oklahoma woman was charged on Sunday with four counts of second-degree murder a day after she allegedly crashed the car she was driving into a crowd at an Oklahoma State University homecoming parade, killing four people and injuring dozens, police said. Adacia Avery Chambers, 25, allegedly drove a gray Hyundai Elantra into a crowd watching Saturday’s parade in Stillwater, about 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. Police said they suspected Chambers was intoxicated. Three adults and a toddler were killed and about four dozen people were injured, five of them critically. Stillwater police said in a statement on Sunday
the murder charges were filed in consultation with the Payne County District Attorney’s office. Police were still awaiting results of a blood test administered to Chambers after the crash. Her lawyer, Tony Coleman, told The Oklahoman newspaper he believes his client is mentally ill and doubted she was drunk at the time of the crash. “I don’t believe right now that she was intoxicated,” Coleman told the newspaper. “I have deep concerns about her competency at this point. I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but I can tell you she’s suffering from mental illness,” Coleman said. Reuters could not reach Coleman immediately. Chambers was expected to make an initial appearance in Payne County District
Court on Monday afternoon, police said. A man who was watching the parade with his family said the crash sounded like a bomb had gone off, transforming a festive mood into one of horror. “All I remember was a gush of wind and then the sound,” Mark McNitt said at a news conference, recalling when the vehicle jumped the curb, mowing down dozens of men, women and children. “The only thing I can relate it to is some type of bombing,” said McNitt, whose father-in-law Leo Schmitz, 54, was critically injured. “The screaming ... and a lot of screaming.” Police said Chambers lives in Stillwater but did not appear to be an OSU student. She worked at Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Stillwater, her employer said. Her
Adacia Avery Chambers. Photo: Reuters father, Floyd Chambers, 47, earlier told The Oklahoman his daughter lived with her boyfriend in Stillwater. He described her as timid and not an alcoholic. “They’re going to paint her into a hor-
rible person but this is not (her),” he told the paper. In a statement on Sunday, police identified the three adults who were killed as Nakita Prabhakar, 23, of Edmond, Oklahoma; Bonnie Jean
Stone, 65; and Marvin Lyle Stone, 65, both of Stillwater. They were all pronounced dead at the scene. A toddler died later Saturday, police said. Family members identified him as Nash Lucas, according to Oklahoma television station KOTV. Prabhakar, originally from Mumbai, India, was a graduate business student at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, the school said, identifying her as Nikita Nakal. The school could not be reached immediately to clarify the discrepancy. Stone was a professor of agricultural engineering at OSU, according to the school’s website. He retired in 2006 and founded the Marvin and Bonnie Stone Endowed Scholarship Fund with his wife the following year.—Reuters
CLAIMS DAY NOTICE
CLAIMS DAY NOTICE
CLAIMS DAY NOTICE
Consignees of cargo carried on MV kota tampan VOY NO (665) are hereby notified that the vessel will be arriving on 26.10.2015 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 Claims 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 kulsamut VOY NO (11/15) are hereby notified that the vessel will be arriving on 27.10.2015 and cargo will be discharged into the premises of s.p.w (5) 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 Claims 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 kulnatee co Phone No: 2301186
Consignees of cargo carried on MV thai binh 039 VOY NO (03) are hereby notified that the vessel will be arriving on 26.10.2015 and cargo will be discharged into the premises of a.i.p.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 Claims 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 g-link express pte ltd. Phone No: 2301186
MV kota tampan VOY NO (665)
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Weather report BAY INFERENCE: According to the observations at (15:30)hrs M.S.T today, the low pressure area over Southwest Bay of Bengal still persists. Weather is partly cloudy to cloudy in the South Bay and partly cloudy in the Andaman Sea and elsewhere in the Bay of Bengal. FORECAST VALID UNTIL EVENING OF THE 27th October, 2015: Weather will be partly cloudy in Sagaing and Mandalay Regions, Kachin and Chin States and rain or thundershowers will be isolated in the remaining Regions and States. Degree of certainty is (80%). STATE OF THE SEA: Seas will be moderate in Myanmar waters. OUTLOOK FOR SUBSEQUENT TWO DAYS: Continuation of isolated rain or thundershowers in Bago, Yangon and Taninthayi Regions, Shan, Kayah and Mon States. FORECAST FOR NAY PYI TAW AND NEIGHBOURING AREA FOR 27th October, 2015: Likelihood of isolated rain or thundershowers. Degree of certainty is (60%). FORECAST FOR YANGON AND NEIGHBOURING AREA FOR 27th October, 2015: Isolated rain or thundershowers. Degree of certainty is (80%). FORECAST FOR MANDALAY AND NEIGHBOURING AREA FOR 27th October, 2015: Partly cloudy.
14 Entertainment
27 October 2015
Justin Bieber returns, triumphs at MTV Europe Music awards MILAN — Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber made a triumphant return to the European stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan on Sunday, scooping five prizes at the major music event. Bieber, who performed his “What Do You Mean?” hit to roaring cheers, was the biggest winner of the night, taking Best Male, Best Look, Worldwide Act: North America, Biggest Fans and Best collaboration for “Where Are U Now?” with Skrillex and Diplo. The singer, who found fame at 13 and went on to become a global pop phenomenon, will next month release his first album in three years, during which bad behavior offstage risked damaging his family-friendly teen heartthrob image. “I don’t take any of these moments for granted,” Bieber said at the show. “That’s where I belong, right there on that stage.” However several big names, also winners on the night, were
absent from the event, held at Milan’s Mediolanum Forum. No-shows included Taylor Swift, who won Best Song for “Bad Blood”, Rihanna who took Best Female, boy band One Direction who won Best Pop and Best Hip Hop winner Nicki Minaj. But there were plenty of fireworks, light displays and visual effects from performers such as Ellie Goulding, who emerged from a cluster of mirrors to sing “Love Me Like You Do” and Jason Derulo whose dancers paraded on Segways. The show, also broadcast in a virtual reality stream through an app, was hosted by “Orange is the New Black” actress Ruby Rose and British singer Ed Sheeran, who added Best Live Act and Best World Stage to his honors and performed with drum and bass band Rudimental. Hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won Best Video for their hit “Downtown” which opened the ceremony in a “West
Photo: Reuters Side Story” -inspired performance. They danced and jumped on stage as “Downtown” singer Eric Nally flew above belting out the chorus. Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli gave pop fans a taste of the classical performing his well-known “Time To Say Goodbye” song. Under a dimmed lighting, Bocelli received rapturous ap-
plause from the audience who sang along with him, before he launched into a duet with American singer Tori Kelly. “Stitches” singer Shawn Mendes beat out British singers Jess Glynne and James Bay, who also performed on stage, for the Best New Act. Mendes was also an absentee at the show. The sounds of the 1980s
Box Office Massacre: ‘Last Witch Hunter,’ ‘Paranormal Activity 6’ and ‘Steve Jobs’ Flop LOS ANGELES — It was a pre-Halloween massacre at the multiplexes. Four new films, including “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” and Vin Diesel’s “The Last Witch Hunter,” crowded into theaters this weekend and were swiftly pulverized and left for dead. Another, “Steve Jobs,” expanded after a brisk limited run in a few key cities, only to be given the cold shoulder by the general public. Their failures allowed a trio of holdovers — “The Martian,” “Goosebumps,” and “Bridge of Spies” — to retain the top three spots on the box office chart. The quality of many of these films was so atrocious that it didn’t matter where you opened them,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “They were never going to do well.” The dust settled it was Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” in first place, adding $15.9 million to the Fox release’s impressive $166.4 million domestic haul. Sony’s “Goosebumps” showed some endurance in its second weekend, slipping a mere 35% to end the period with $15.5 million. The family film’s total stands at $43.7 million. And “Bridge of Spies,” the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks Cold War drama, got a lift
as older crowds caught up with the awards-contender. It earned $11.4 million, a mere 26% drop from its opening weekend, bringing its stateside gross to $32.6 million. But the results for the rest of the bunch were bleak. The glut of new releases was partially attributable to the timing of Halloween. The holiday falls on a Saturday, the busiest day for moviegoing, so studios were hoping to steer clear of what is shaping up to be a dead period by pushing lots of new content into this weekend. The plan backfired spectacularly. Lionsgate’s “The Last Witch Hunter” cost $70 million to make and only brought in $10.8 million across 3,082 theaters for a fourth place finish. This paltry result came despite Diesel’s recent success with “Furious 7” and his robust social media presence. Any ambitions of launching a new franchise have been extinguished. The top five was rounded out by “Hotel Transylvania 2,” which made $9 million to push its domestic results to $148.3 million after five weeks. Paramount’s “Paranormal Activity” sequel whiffed, producing the lowest grossing opening in franchise history with $8.2 million. That said, it’s a hard film to assess. The studio partnered with exhibitors like AMC and Cineplex on a move
Director of the movie Danny Boyle (L) poses with writer Aaron Sorkin at an industry screening of “Steve Jobs’’ at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: Reuters that allows the film to make its home entertainment debut early. The exhibitors will receive a cut of digital revenues in return for allowing the studio to release the latest “Paranormal Activity” electronically 17 days after the movie leaves most theaters. However, many chains balked, worrying that the plan threatened theatrical exclusivity and thus their business models. They refused to show the picture, leaving it to open on 1,656 screens, roughly 1,000 less than the previous film in the horror series. Paramount is pointing to “Paranormal’s” strong results
in circuits like AMC, where it was the top grossing film for the weekend, as evidence that audiences didn’t stay away because they could see the film digitally early. “There’s no question it cost us a lot of box office that major circuits wouldn’t play the film,” said Rob Moore, vice-chairman of Paramount Pictures. “It wasn’t about consumer rejection.” Perhaps the most frustrating stumble was “Steve Jobs,” After scoring the best per-screen average two weeks ago and slowly expanding with positive results, “Steve Jobs” failed to stick the landing when it was finally ready to go nationwide. It made a disappointing $7.3 million from 2,443 locations. That barely beat the $6.7 million that Ashton Kutcher’s critically excoriated “Jobs” made in its initial weekend. The talky drama always faced commercial headwinds — something that caused one studio, Sony, to pass on the project, before producer Scott Rudin found a backer in Universal. But the strong reviews and eye-catching posters seemed to be working. Ultimately the buzz didn’t translate into box office, and making it unlikely that “Steve Jobs” will earn back its $30 million budget and millions more in marketing costs. So far it has made just under $10 million.—Reuters
were remembered with Duran Duran receiving the first MTV Video Visionary award, which honors “the greatest pioneers in the history of the music video art form”. Wrapping things up was Grammy Award-winning singer Pharrell Williams, who got the crowd on their feet performing his track “Freedom”.—Reuters
Charity dance festival held in Japan for children in quake-hit Nepal TOKYO — A charity dance festival for children in quake-hit Nepal was held in Tokyo on Sunday at the initiative of dance lovers from Fukushima with similar experiences of earthquake devastation. The “Dance Expo Futatabi (again) Nepal” was suggested by “Expression DS,” a students’ dance group based in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, which has been engaged in aid activities for victims of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan in March 2011, under the motto “Do not forget the earthquake.” Deadly quakes that hit Nepal on 25 April and 12 May killed 8,891 people, injured 22,302 others and damaged or destroyed nearly 900,000 houses, according to the Nepalese Home Ministry. Among destroyed or damaged houses were 8,000 schools with 25,000 classrooms, all of which will have to be rebuilt. The dance event held at a junior high school in Shinjuku Ward on the six-month anniversary of the April quake was also joined by Nepalese children living in Japan, who demonstrated traditional dances from their country. Yui Konno, a 16-year-old high school student from Iwaki, said the event was “great fun as the participants could share the pleasures of dancing.”—Kyodo News
lifestyle & travel 15
27 October 2015
Trick or Trump: The Donald, Pizza Rat among top Halloween costumes NEW YORK — When a Donald Trump look-alike and a faux Caitlyn Jenner ring the doorbell on Halloween night, they may solicit a piece of candy but the treat they really seek is recognition. Pop culture experts say these “ripped from the headlines” costumes to celebrate the 31 October holiday — such as “El Chapo” the fugitive Mexican cartel kingpin or “Left Shark” from pop star Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime show — are a way for adults to connect in a world splintered by a myriad of choices for information and entertainment. While children typically dress up as witches and ghosts, the most popular costume this year among adults shopping on Yandy. com is The Optical Illusion
Dress, the subject of an online debate that went viral over its colour. The hot seller is a compromise: half blue and black, half white and gold, said CEO Chad Horstman. Also in high demand is Pizza Rat — a gray mini dress with a tail, hood, ears and two pepperoni pizza slice pockets — that is arguably sexier than the video of a New York City rat dragging a pizza slice down subway steps, shared more than 100,000 times on Twitter in the last month, according to Topsy.com. The lion-slaying dentist Walter Palmer of Minnesota who gained notoriety for his trophy kill of Cecil the Lion, considered a national treasure in Zimbabwe, inspired a $139.99 getup from Costumeish. com, complete with a blood
spattered dental smock and mock lion head. “It used to be we all watched the same TV shows, we all knew the same cultural references. Now the culture is really fragmented,” said Robert Thompson, who teaches pop culture at Syracuse University in upstate New York. “These news stories, the ones that hit the big time, that cross that point of penetration, those are the things that everybody shares.” Jim Von Schilling, the Pennsylvania-based area chairman of the Popular Culture Association, said when it comes to envisioning a Halloween costume, imaginations are sparked by current events. “The world around us is our pop culture,” said Von Schilling.—Reuters
Pompeii restorers dig and scrub against clock as EU funding deadline looms POMPEII — Years of neglect at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii are being dug and scrubbed away in a last-minute bid to keep money flowing from a huge European Union-backed renovation programme. Workers in hard hats beaver away as tourists visiting the Italian World Heritage site peer through screens and wire fences at ruins of ancient houses where restorations are going into overdrive. Submerged under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, Pompeii is one of the most visited archaeological sites in the world, giving a unique glimpse into daily life under the Roman empire. But years of mismanagement and corruption have exacerbated decay at
the sprawling, 66 hectare (163 acres) site, prompting the European Union to intervene. In 2012, it pledged 78 million euros ($87 million) to finance urgently needed repairs. Italy threw some 27 million euros behind the Great Pompeii Project, which aims to rebuild collapsed arches, right sagging walls, clean frescoes and protect the area from water-logging. Fast forward three years and only around 21 million euros out of the total 105 million euros on offer have been spent. Unless the site managers do the rest of the work by the original 31 December deadline, they risk losing access to this money to pay for it. “We are really working against the clock,” said
superintendent Massimo Osanna, an ex-university professor chosen by the government to take over in early 2014 to make a break with the site’s scandal-ridden past. “If the timing had been respected more at the beginning we wouldn’t have this concentration of work that is causing problems now,” Osanna said in a makeshift workshop where technicians are restoring plaster casts of Vesuvius’s victims. The project got bogged down in squabbles over who should lead the work and extra checks and balances put in place to keep contracts from falling into the hands of the local mafia. Osanna said the pace of work has almost doubled since late 2014, with around 30 technical interventions underway.—Reuters
Inventor aims to revolutionize waste removal with bio-toilet ASAHIKAWA — A dry bio-toilet invented in Japan’s Hokkaido has created a solution to odor and sanitation problems in remote or disaster-hit areas where
no suitable sewage system is available, and its creator hopes that the device might one day revolutionize human waste disposal worldwide.
Toshihiro Kitsui shows a bio-toilet workable in the absence of a sewage system as pictured in Asahikawa on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido. Photo: Kyodo News
Myanmar International
(27-10-2015 07:00 am~ 28-10-2015 07:00 am) MST Today Fresh 07:03 Am News 07:24 Am Insight Myanmar “Manuscription (Episode-1) 07:51 Am Philatelic Pleasure 08:03 Am News 08:26 Am Moe Ne’ Keeps Its Tradition Alive 08:50 Am Today Myanmar “Food Safety” 09:03 Am News 09:26 Am Archery Session (from Ramayana Play) 09:47 Am Grow Back for Posterity “The dawn of development” 10:03 Am News 10:26 Am MURAL PAINTING BAGAN
Developer of the “BioLux” toilet, Toshihiro Kitsui, 68, president of Seiwa Denko Co., says that with only sawdust and a screw mixing mechanism, the system can be almost a permanent personal waste solution, with little odor or upkeep. “The sawdust will remain dry even after use and the mixture can be used as fertilizer,” the Asahikawa-based Kitsui said. “Our toilet is as capable as a flush toilet.” The bio-toilet can easily be set up almost anywhere, even amid inhospitable or emergency situations. Despite employing only 10 people, Seiwa Denko has already won international acclaim for the BioLux toilet.
It has taken part in overseas projects, specifically contributing to cleanup efforts in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site battling severe water pollution amid an increase in tourists. Seiwa Denko was founded as a wholesaler of lighting equipment in 1974, but switched its focus to the toilet business after Kitsui was diagnosed with stomach cancer at 45. Kitsui had most of his stomach removed as a result of the cancer treatment and this drove him to become interested in ways to decompose leftovers and human waste. Since most existing dry toilets fail to deal with the odor problem, Kitsui went through trial designs
of various types of screws — a key mechanism in the decomposition and odor reduction process — before rolling out the first bio-toilet in 1995. But Seiwa Denko struggled for sales in the five years after launching the product, putting the company in a difficult financial state. “I guess most people were skeptical about our product,” Kitsui said. But he added, “I was confident that the day would come when our toilet will be needed around the world.” As Kitsui predicted, the Bio-Lux system gradually started receiving recognition from the industry and users, and now about 2,500 Bio-Lux toilets are
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being used in and outside of Japan. Kitsui has also developed portable bio-toilets that can be used for up to two weeks, based on what he learned from people’s needs at evacuation centers in northeastern Japan following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. In April, his two-decade efforts were officially acknowledged when he won the Medal with Yellow Ribbon, an award given by the Japanese government in recognition of dedication to one’s profession. “Here in Asahikawa, I want to revolutionize the world’s toilet industry, just like when the flush toilet was invented,” Kitsui said.—Kyodo News
(27-10-2015, Tuesday) 6:30 am • Kyae Pwint Myaye Yin Khone Than 7:00 am
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14th Waxing Day of Thadingyut 1377 ME
Tuesday, 27 October, 2015
Hamilton takes third F1 title after US thriller
Man City top after bore draw, Klopp still awaits win LONDON — Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League after a 0-0 draw with Manchester United on Sunday but the much-hyped meeting proved far less eventful than the day’s other derby. Sunderland beat bitter rivals Newcastle United 3-0 to escape from the bottom of the table, condemning Aston Villa to 20th place just hours after they sacked manager Tim Sherwood.
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Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain leaps off of his car after winning the US F1 Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on 25 October 2015. Photo: Reuters
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ewis Hamilton joined the elite group of triple Formula One world champions on Sunday after winning a thrilling US Grand Prix that kept the crowd on tenterhooks right to the very end. “That’s the greatest moment of my life,” he gasped over the team radio, choking back the tears, after crossing the line 2.8 seconds ahead of German team mate Nico Rosberg who had led before a late mistake. The first British driver to win
back-to-back titles, Hamilton realised a lifelong ambition to equal the tally of his boyhood idol Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian triple champion who died in 1994. Ferrari’s four-times champion Sebastian Vettel finished third, after starting 13th and fighting back to chase Rosberg nose-to-tail over the final lap with the crowd on the edge of their seats on a cold and blustery afternoon after morning rain. Had Vettel passed Rosberg, the celebrations for the ‘double double’ — with Mercedes retain-
ing their constructors’ title two weeks ago in Russia — would have remained on hold. “I’m just overwhelmed,” said Hamilton, who had needed to beat Vettel by nine points and Rosberg by two to take the crown with three races to spare. “There were so many times when I thought I had lost the race.” Interviewed on the podium by pop’s very own ‘rocket man’, British pop singer Elton John, Hamilton sprayed the champagne with abandon while Rosberg looked
shellshocked and barely reacted. Before the podium ceremony, Hamilton tossed his team mate a cap to wear. The German threw it back in disgust. No words were necessary. “I don’t know what happened,” he said later when asked about his slip. “It was my race to win, but with some strange mistake that has never happened to me that was really disappointing. “It’s unbelievable. That was really, really tough at the time, to lose the win.”—Reuters
Suarez treble gives Barca comeback win over Eibar MADRID — Barcelona needed Luis Suarez to be at his clinical best with a hat-trick in a 3-1 comeback win at home to modest Eibar on Sunday which put the champions level on 21 points with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Atletico Madrid, the only other team apart from Spain’s Big Two to win the league in more than a decade, stayed firmly in the hunt when Yannick Carrasco scored the pick of the goals in a 2-1 victory at home to Valencia. Real, who host Barca in the first of the season’s two La Liga ‘Clasicos’ on 21 November, lead on goal difference with nine matches played after they secured
a nervy 3-1 win at 10-man Celta Vigo on Saturday. Atletico, the 2014 champions, are third on 19 points, one ahead of fourth-placed Celta, who are a point clear of Villarreal in fifth after they drew 0-0 at promoted Las Palmas on Sunday. Barca’s defence has been ragged this season and more poor play at the back allowed Borja Gonzalez in to give Eibar a surprise 10th-minute lead at the Nou Camp. A well-worked move resulted in a simple header for Suarez to level in the 21st minute and Neymar drove into the area and fed the Uruguayan to make it 2-1 with a low strike into the corner three minutes into the second half.
Chances were scarce after the break until Neymar lifted a pass over the top for Suarez in the 85th minute and he chested the ball down and arrowed a shot past Asier Riesgo in the Eibar goal for his second La Liga hat-trick. Suarez’s third goal, his seventh in the Spanish top flight this season, came moments after Barca’s Javier Mascherano was shown a straight red card for verbally abusing one of the assistant referees. “We started off going behind, it was a difficult game because of that and that’s what we need to start looking at,” Suarez told Spanish television. “Last season we conced-
ed very few goals,” added the 28-year-old, who made his Barca debut exactly one year ago on Sunday. “These are phases in which every time the opponents get forward they score and we have to correct that.” Valencia centre backs Shkodran Mustafi and Aderllan Santos failed to clear the ball and Jackson Martinez pounced to put Atletico ahead in the 32nd minute at the Calderon. Belgium midfielder Carrasco weighed in with a goal Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of to make it 2-0 five minutes later when he dashed down the left, cut into the middle and cracked the ball into the bottom corner.—Reuters
Juergen Klopp was denied a first victory in charge of Liverpool when Sadio Mane scored a late equaliser for Southampton before being sent off in a 1-1 draw at Anfield. Christian Benteke had put Liverpool in front. Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane returned to goal-scoring form after a lean spell for his club with a hat-trick in the London club’s 5-1 romp at Bournemouth. Man City have 22 points from 10 games, the same as Arsenal, while United are in fourth place with 20 points. Tottenham enjoyed the south coast air at Bournemouth, moving into the top six with their biggest win of the season. United manager Louis van Gaal claimed his team had “controlled the game” at Old Trafford but it was only in the last few minutes of a dismal game that they looked like scoring. Jesse Lingard hit the bar from a clever chip by Anthony Martial and Chris Smalling forced Joe Hart into his one significant save. That was one more than David de Gea needed to make in the home team’s goal. “I am satisfied with a point but I don’t like to play this way,” City’s manager Manuel Pellegrini said. “It was a very tactical game. Unfortunately for the fans it was not a very attractive game.” Newcastle had dominated the north-east derby until their captain Fabricio Coloccini was sent off just before halftime for barging Steven Fletcher off the ball, Adam Johnson converting the resulting penalty.— Reuters
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Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp. Photo: Reuters