Volume XIV, Number 26 1st Waning of Kason 1368 ME Friday, 12 May, 2006

Established 1914

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

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

* Proper evolution of the market-oriented economicsystem

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

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

* Uplift of the morale and morality ofthe entire nation

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

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

standards of the entire nation

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

* National reconsolidation* Emergence of a new enduring State

Constitution* Building of a new modern developed

nation in accord with the new StateConstitution

Four economic objectives Four social objectivesFour political objectives

YANGON, 11 May —A ceremony to put reli-gious objects in the up-per reliquary and hoistShwe Htidaw (umbrella)atop Thakya MarazeinPagoda was held at thepagoda on HanthadipaHill in Thanlyin Stationthis morning.

Present on the occa-sion were Joint-Secretaryof State Sangha MahaNayaka CommitteeZeyalinkara PariyattiMonastery SayadawAgga Maha Pandita AggaMaha Saddhamma Joti-kadhaja Bhaddanta Kittiof Myingyan andOvadaçariya Sayadaws,members of the State

Vice-Admiral Soe Thein attends Htidawhoisting, consecration ceremonies at Thakya

Marazein Pagoda in Thanlyin Station

Mya Mya San and fam-ily to a Sayadaw; Lt-GenMyint Swe of the Minis-try of Defence, ShwekyarThingan (robes) to aSayadaw; and Ministerfor Religious AffairsBrig-Gen Thura MyintMaung, a Sasana Flag toa Sayadaw. SayadawBhaddanta Kitti deliv-ered a sermon, and Com-mander-in-Chief (Navy)Vice-Admiral Soe Theinand the congregationshared merits gained.

Chairman of the Pa-goda Construction Com-mittee Commodore SoeMyint presented a certifi-cate of honour and cashrewards to U Zaw MinZin of Thakka Moe NayMin Co Ltd, Mya Layyin

(See page 8)

Sangha Maha NayakaCommittee and membersof the Sangha, Com-mander-in-Chief (Navy)Vice-Admiral Soe Theinand wife Daw Aye Aye,Lt-Gen Myint Swe of theMinistry of Defence andwife, Minister for Reli-gious Affairs Brig-GenThura Myint Maung, de-partmental officials,Tatmadawmen and fam-ily members of DefenceServices (Navy) andwellwishers.

The ceremony wasopened with three-timerecitation of NamoTassa. The congregationreceived the Nine Pre-cepts from Sayadaw

Bhaddanta Kitti.U Kyaing San Shwe

and wife and family of-fered Seinbudaw (dia-mond bud) donated byChairman of the StatePeace and DevelopmentCouncil Commander-in-Chief of Defence Serv-ices Senior General ThanShwe, wife Daw KyaingKyaing and family to aSayadaw; Commander-in-Chief (Navy) Vice-Admiral Soe Thein andU Kyaw Nyunt, Hnget-myatnadaw donated byVice-Chairman of theState Peace and Develop-ment Council DeputyCommander-in-Chief ofDefence Services Com-mander-in-Chief (Army)Vice-Senior GeneralMaung Aye, wife Daw

U Kyaing San Shwe offers Seinbudaw donated by Senior General Than Shwe, wifeDaw Kyaing Kyaing and family to a Sayadaw. — MNA

Vice-Admiral Soe Thein and U Kyaw Nyuntoffer Hngetmyatnadaw donated by Vice-SeniorGeneral Maung Aye, wife Daw Mya Mya San and family to a Sayadaw. — MNA

2 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006

Friday, 12 May, 2006

PERSPECTIVES

It was on 10 May, 1906 that senior stu-dents of Yangon College founded the YoungMen’s Buddhist Association, YMBA, with anobject of promoting Myanmar nationality,Myanmar language and literature, BuddhaSasana and education. The centenary of theAssociation was observed at the National Thea-tre in Yangon on 9 May.

The motto of the Association “Love yourown race, promote your religion and encour-age education” fired the entire national peo-ple with anti-colonialist sentiment and enthu-siasm of national freedom. In 1910, YMBAmeetings were held in Yangon and majortowns and then branch associations wereformed. No longer wishing to live in servitude,the young men of the branch associations con-tacted each other and decided to strive forindependence.

On 1 October, 1917, a conference be-tween the headquarters of YMBA and itsbranch associations was held in Pyinmana. Theconference presented the wishes of the peopleto the colonialist government. On 28 Novem-ber, 1917, leading members of YMBA went toIndia, met with Lord Montagu and put for-ward the nine demands of national interests.One of the demands was that a university beopened in Myanmar. It was at the eighthYMBA conference held in Pyay that over 2,000YMBA branch associations were amalgamatedinto GCBA (General Council of Burmese As-sociation). The second conference of GCBAheld in October, 1921, demanded for homerule. And according to the resolutions of theYMBA conference held on 17 June, 1922,national schools were established to promotethe national educational standard.

Since the nation became independent,the YMBA has been constantly engaged inactivities that promote the interests ofMyanmar nationals, Buddha Sasana and na-tional education. It regularly holds examina-tions on Buddhism to imbue young genera-tions with the knowledge about religion andculture and to promote Buddha Sasana. Nowa-days, the YMBA is also carrying out the workof national interests by holding courses on ma-ternal and child health and by taking part inanti-drug campaigns and in the fight againstAIDS.

During the past 100 years, the YMBAhas been engaged in all the work of nationalinterests. We believe that it will continue pro-moting Myanmar nationality, Myanmar lan-guage and literature, Buddha Sasana and edu-cation in the next 1,000 years or so.

Continue to enhance thevalues of YMBA

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

People’s Desire

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Commander lays cornerstones forreligious building in Kyaikto

YANGON, 11 May — A ceremony to lay cor-nerstones of Sasana Beikman (Religious Building)in Kyaikto, Mon State, was held on 5 May andChairman of Mon State Peace and DevelopmentCouncil Commander of the South-East CommandMaj-Gen Soe Naing attended the ceremony.

At the ceremony, the commander and officialslaid cornerstones and sprinkled scented water overthem.

Afterwards, the commander also attended the1st cash donation ceremony for the building held atthe Dhammayon of Kyaikpawlaw Buddha Image. Atthe ceremony, wellwishers contributed K 42.8 mil-lion to the construction funds.

After the ceremony, Commander Maj-Gen SoeNaing went to No 1 Basic Education High School inKyaikto and met with teachers. At the meeting, heprovided cash assistance to teachers. Next, he in-spected the progress of a two-storey school buildingand fulfilled the requirements.

Afterwards, he proceeded to Khamait Villagein Kyaikto Township and participated in the physicnut cultivation ceremony. In the village, there are6,000 physic nut saplings on five acres. — MNA

Title recipientSayadaws honouredYANGON, 11 May—Sayadaws in Taunggyi

Township who received religious titles were hon-oured at a ceremony held at the Dhammayon of theAtula Marazein Buddha Image in the township on29 April.

Chairman of Shan Sate Peace and DevelopmentCouncil Commander of Eastern Command Maj-GenYe Myint supplicated on religious affairs to theSayadaws. The commander, general staff officers anddepartmental heads offered alms to the six titlerecipient Sayadaws and members of the Sangha.

Chairman of Shan State Sangha Nayaka Com-mittee TatU Ottayayon Monastery Sayadaw BhadantaPanñasiri delivered a sermon. — MNA

YANGON, 10 May ‚A total of K 6,739,570was presented for stormvictims in Gwa andKyeintali townships inRakhine State on 6 May.

K 6,739,570 for stormvictims

Held in Taungup,the relief aid presentationceremony was openedwith an address by Chair-man of Rakhine StatePeace and DevelopmentCouncil Commander ofWestern Command Maj-Gen Khin Maung Myint.

A townselderspoke words of thanks.The relief was collec-tively contributed by lo-cal people and entrepre-neurs.

In the afternoon,the commander visitedWanfaik bridge construc-tion project at Maei-Kyaukpyu section ofYangon-Kyaukpyu high-way. He observedprogress in building thebridge and laying of theapproach road.

At the briefing hallof the project, he heard areport on salient points ofthe project. He made ar-rangements for speedycompletion of the facil-ity. — MNA

YANGON, 11 May— In a bid to supply com-pressed natural gas (CNG) to vehicles around theclock, six filling stations in Yangon have beenequipped with generators.

General Manager U Thein Htay, an officialof MOGE which operates under the Ministry ofEnergy said the move aimed to reduce time-con-suming and to avoid delays at filling stations.

The six special filling stations are No 006in Dagon Myothit, No 002 in Bayintnaung, No009 in Hlinethaya, No 012 in Danyingon, No 014in Shwepyitha and No 015 in Dagon East.

NLM

YANGON, 11 May— A delegation led by Min-ister for Commerce Brig-Gen Tin Naing Thein lefthere by air this morning to participate in the 2ndjoint committee meeting for trade of Myanmar andIndia to be held in New Delhi, India, and 12thASEAN economic ministerial meeting in Manila, thePhilippines.

The delegation also includes Deputy Director-General of Directorate of Trade U Myo Oo, DirectorU Tint Thwin, Chairman of the Union of MyanmarFederation of Chambers of Commerce and IndustryU Win Myint and Executive U Tun Aung.

They were seen off at Yangon InternationalAirport by Chairman of Yangon City DevelopmentCommittee Mayor Brig-Gen Aung Thein Lin, IndianAmbassador to Myanmar Mr Bhaskar K Mitra, offi-cials of UMFCCI and departmental officials.

MNA

Commerce Minister to participate inIndia-Myanmar trade meeting, ASEAN

Economic Ministerial meeting

Six filling stations openaround the clock

Commerce Minister Brig-Gen Tin Naing Thein (L) and partyseen at the airport. — MNA

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006 3

Indonesia seeks to enhancecoop with China

A 300,000-ton floating dock, the largest of its kind in the world, went intoproduction on 10 May, 2006 in northeast China’s coastal city of Dalian.

Developed and built by the COSCO Shipyard Group Co, Ltd, the dock, whichis 340 metres long, 76 metres wide and 27 metres deep, is capable of repairing

300,000-ton crude oil carriers, bulk freighters, and container ships, andrebuilding or converting other large watercraft.—INTERNET

JAKARTA, 10 May—Theenergy sector constitutesone of the key areas whereIndonesia and China canbest explore mutuallybeneficial relations andsubstantiate the strategicpartnership signed last

year, an Indonesian seniorofficial said Tuesday.

Indonesia is a richsource of oil, gas and othermineral resources but thelack of investment hasprevented the countryfrom benefiting from

the natural resources,Minister of Energy andMineral ResourcesPurnomo Yusgiantorosaid. The country hasproven oil reserves of 8.6billion barrels but thepotential reserves couldreach as high as 87 billionbarrels, which remainunknown due to the lackof investment, he said.

Indonesia also hashuge deposits of gas, iron,gold, copper, nickel andcoal but they cannot bringa maximum benefit to thecountry with so littleexploration and extrac-tion.

“We need investmentcoming to this country inorder to explore and extractthese resources. In return,investors can providesecurity of supply to theircountries... our neighboursand our friends,” he said.

Indonesia and Chinahave been cooperatingclosely in power plantprojects, involving initia-tives from both the twogovernments and theprivate sectors.

MNA/Xinhua

A man stands in front of the Picasso paintingentitled ‘The Three Dancers’ at the Hayward

Gallery in London, on 10 May, 2006.—INTERNET

In this 6 May, 2006 photo, a local man rows his dugout canoe through aflooded neighbourhood in Asidonopo, 300 km (186 miles) from Paramaribo,

the capital of Surinam. —INTERNET

US, Afghanistan forces see more Iraq-like attacksWASHINGTON,10 May—

US forces are trackinga worrisome rise inAfghanistan of tactics usedby guerillas in Iraq,but have no conclusiveevidence that those methodshave been brought by rebelscoming from Iraq, a seniorUS commander said onWednesday.

With about 23,000troops, the United Statescurrently has its largestforce in Afghanistan sinceits military involvementthere began in October2001, Pentagon figuresshowed.“We are winning,but the war is not yet won,”

Army Lt Gen KarlEikenberry, the top US

commander in Afgha-nistan, told a Pentagon

briefing. American troopsare still fighting Taliban andal Qaeda forces 4-1/2 yearsinto the war.

Eikenberry said there hasbeen an increase in violencein southern Afghanistancompared to a year ago,Taliban influence in someareas is growing, and narco-trafficking and corruptionthreaten the long-termviability of the US-backedgovernment.

US forces are watchingvery carefully for linkagesbetween the wars inAfghanistan and Iraq, amidthe increase in the types ofattacks more commonly

Afghans gather at bomb attack site in Kandahar,on 15 January, 2006. US forces are tracking a

worrisome rise in Afghanistan of tactics used byguerillas in Iraq, but have no conclusive evidencethat those methods have been brought by rebels

coming from Iraq, a senior US commander said onWednesday.—INTERNET

seen in Iraq, he said.“Theenemy has changed itstactics over the past year,”Eikenberry said. “We’veseen that the enemy hasshifted to increasing use ofimprovised explosivedevices. There’s been anincrease in suicidebombings.”“With regardto the tactics, techniquesand procedures, we havenot seen conclusiveevidence that there hasbeen any migration fromIraq to Afghanistan offoreign fighters that arebringing with them skillsor capabilities,” Eikeberryadded.—Internet

Poisoned dinner killsthree people in

Turkey ANKARA, 10 May—

Three people died and 111others were hospitalizedafter having a poisoneddinner in a town in Turkey'scentral province of Nigde,semi-official Anatolia newsagency reported on Tues-day.

Gevher Nesibe HospitalHead Doctor ProfessorMehmet Doganay wasquoted as saying that manywomen and children werebrought to hospitals inprovinces of Nigde andKayseri after they had dinnerserved during a funeral in ahouse in Karanlikderehamlet of Bor town in centralAnatolian city of Nigde.

MNA/Xinhua

One quarter of Dutch employedlabour force over age of 50

BRUSSELS, 10 May —Nearly one quarter of the employedlabour force in the Netherlands were in the age category over50, partly owing to ageing of the population and partlybecause more older people were working, said StatisticsNetherlands (CBS) on Tuesday. The amount of people overthe age of 50 belonging to the employed labour force hasincreased by 60 per cent over the past decade, said the CBS.

The increase of over-50s working at least 12 hoursa week is partly the result of ageing of the population.Between 1996 and 2005, the amount of people in theage group 50-74 increased by one fifth to 4.3 million.

Older people also more often had jobs. Labourparticipation of over-50s rose from 28 per cent to 37 percent. —MNA/Xinhua

Poll finds Blair most unpopular LabourPM since 1960s

LONDON, 10 May—Merely 26 per cent ofBritons were satisfied withPrime Minister TonyBlair, making him themost unpopular Labourprime minister since the1960s, according to thelatest opinion poll,

The opinion poll to bepublished in Wednes-day's Daily Telegraphnewspaper said thatBlair’s satisfaction ratingwas one percentage pointless than Harold Wilson'ssupport rating in May1968 after a devaluation

of pound sterling.The YouGov survey, in

which 1,910 people werequestioned online onMonday and Tuesday,also showed that supportfor Blair's Labor Partystood at 31 per cent,compared with 37 per centfor the Conservatives, themain opposition.

The survey reinforcedan opinion poll releasedon Tuesday which putLabour at its lowest levelsince 1992.The Populussurvey conducted by TheTimes newspaper showedPrime Minister Tony Blairand Chancellor GordonBrown had a respective30 per cent and 31 percent support.

MNA/Xinhua

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4 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006

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NEW YORK, 10 May— Gold prices surged Tuesday above $700 an ounce — a level not reached since1980 — as funds bought into the market, driven by weakness in the dollar, political tension in the MiddleEast and overall upward momentum in the commodities markets.

BEIJING, 10 May —China said on Tuesdaydiplomatic means remainthe best option for thesolution of the Iraniannuclear issue.

“The Iranian nuclearissue now stands at acritical moment. We urgeall parties concerned toremain sober-minded,patient and restrained,show flexibility andrefrain from worseningthe situation,” ChineseForeign Ministry

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) andIndonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

(R) speak during a news conference after theirmeeting at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, on 10

May, 2006.—INTERNET

China says diplomacy is best optionfor solution to Iranian N-issue

spokesman Liu Jianchaosaid.

Diplomatic talks arealso in the interests of allparties concerned, Liuacknowledged.

Liu also reiterated thatthe Chinese Governmenthas always disapprovedof the use of sanctionsor force in internationalaffairs.

The Chinese side hopesthat the relevant partieswould go on taking aconstructive attitude and

resolve the Iranian nuclearissue peacefully throughdiplomatic means.

Last Wednesday,France and Britain,backed by the UnitedStates, proposed a newdraft resolution to theUN Security Councildemanding Iran suspendall enrichment activitiesimmediately or facepossible sanctions.

The draft invokesChapter Seven of the UNCharter, under which the

Council can resort toeconomic or diplomaticsanctions, or even mili-tary action, to ensure itsdecisions are imple-mented.

After in tensivediscussions on Monday,the foreign ministers ofChina, the Uni tedStates, Russia, Britain,France and Germanyfailed to reach agree-ment on the draft UNresolution.

MNA/Xinhua

Oxen are guided byThai officials during

an annual RoyalPlowing ceremony inBangkok, Thailand,on 11 May, 2006.

'The oxen ate grassand drank water,

which means that thisyear the water will besufficient, and food,vegetable and crops

will be plentiful,'Sithiporn Chiraphan,

an AgricultureMinistry official,

quoted the astrologeras saying.—INTERNET

Gold prices hit highest level since 1980

Gold reserve bars in a bank. Gold prices breached700 dollars for the first time in 25 and a half years

in both London and New York as investorsploughed cash into the precious metal amid rising

concerns over the Iranian nuclear crisis.—INTERNET

These persistent factorshave been pushing goldprices to multi-decade

records for months now.Gold has risen 40 percentsince late November,

when for the first time intwo decades the most-active contract brokethrough $500 an ounce.

Surpassing $700 anounce “is important,insofar as it reinforces theoverall uptrend of themarket. There are peoplelooking for much, muchhigher,” said BernardHunter, director ofprecious metals at ScotiaMocatta, a division of theBank of Nova Scotia.

Hunter said prices willlikely consolidate at thislevel, then once again startheading higher. Somemarket watchers areexpecting gold to breachthe $1,000-an-ouncemark.

June gold futures on theNew York Mercantile

Exchange rose to a peakof $702.20 an ounceTuesday, before settlingat $701.50 an ounce, up$21.60 on the day.

If gold does continuerising into the comingweeks, it will mark thefirst time the yellow metalhas spent significant timetrading above $700.

The all-time record, setin January 1980, was $875an ounce, but it wasreached in a huge day-and-a-half surge, and thengold futures fell “backunder $700 before youcould blink an eye,” saidPeter Grandich, whowrites the mining andmetals markets com-mentary The GrandichLetter.

Internet

Million in US have poor vision, go without helpCHICAGO, 10 May — About one in 15 Americans has eyesight so poor they could not pass a driver’s

license vision test but most of them go without correcting the problem, a study released on Tuesday said. The situation is most

severe among Blacks,Hispanics, the poor andthose without insurance,said the governmentreport published in thisweek's Journal of theAmerican Medical Asso-ciation.

"Our findings sug-gest that lack of accessto health care andinsufficient financialresources may preventsome people from gettingthe corrective lenses theyneed so they can seewell," said Mary Cotch

of the National EyeInstitute, one of theauthors of the report.

El ias Zerhouni ,director of the NationalInstitutes of Health, ofwhich the eye instituteis part, said it was thefirst national surveyon vis ion s ince themid-1970s “and it con-firms that uncorrectedvisual impairment is amajor public heal thproblem.”

“The good news is thatwe now have informationon the extent of visual

impairment in the UnitedStates that will beavailable to policymakersas they seek to addresshealth care issues at thelocal, state, and nationallevels,” he added. The

impaired vision estimatewas based on more than13,000 people whosevision was checked aspart of a national healthsurvey done from 1999 to2002.—MNA/Reuters

Oil price rebounds to$71.08

LONDON, 10 May— Oil climbed nearly one USdollar a barrel on Tuesday as a solution to Iran's nuclearstandoff with the West remained elusive.

London Brent crude settled up 87 cents to 71.08 USdollars a barrel while US light crude gained 92 cents to70.69 US dollars, off a session high of 71.45 USdollars.US oil ended off 42 cents on Monday followinglosses of more than one US dollar earlier in the sessionafter Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wroteto US President George W Bush.

It was the first letter from an Iranian head of state toa US President since Washington broke off relationsafter the 1979 Islamic revolution. But the United Stateswas dismissive of the letter, which made no proposalsfor resolving the West's concerns over Teheran's nuclearambitions.— MNA/Reuters

First Belgian smoker convictedfor puffing in public place

BRUSSELS, 10 May — For the first time in Belgium,a smoker has been convicted on charges of puffingin a public building.

The defendant lit up in the Youth Courthouse inthe northwestern city of Ghent, local media reportedon Tuesday.When questioned about what he wasdoing the guy turned aggressive and refused to putout his cigarette.Because he refused an out-of-courtsettlement, the smoker was taken to court.

The judge imposed a 143-euro (182 US dollars)fine and recommended that the defendant stopsmoking.In Belgium smoking in public buildingscan result in a fine of up to 1,650 euros (2,096dollars) and a two-year prison sentence.

MNA/Xinhua

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THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006 5

Iranian President says awaitsreaction to US letter

TEHERAN, 10 May —President MahmoudAhmadinejad of Iransaid on Tuesday he wasawaiting a reaction to aletter he sent US PresidentGeorge W Bush, althoughUS officials have called ita diversion in a disputeover Teheran's nuclearplans.

In the letter, the firstfrom an Iranian headof state to a US Presidentsince Washingtonbroke off relations afterthe 1979 Islamic Revolu-tion, Ahmadinejad said hewas proposing “newways” to resolve manyproblems facing hu-manity.

But a copy of the 18-page letter, sent onMonday, showed itfocused mainly on allegedAmerican wrongdoingsand contained no ideas forending the standoff overIran's nuclear ambitions.

Asked by repor-ters about the letter,

Ahmadinejad said: “Wewill wait to see the reactionof the recipient and wewill act based on thereaction.”

Ahmadinejad wasspeaking before leavingfor Indonesia to attend aDeveloping Eight (D-8)summit. US officials weresceptical about the pur-pose of the letter.

“Certainly one of thehypotheses you'd have toexamine is whether and inwhat way the timing ofthe dispatch of that letteris connected with tryingin some manner toinfluence the debatebefore the SecurityCouncil,” US director ofnational intelligence JohnNegroponte said on

Monday. Iran has beenreported to the UNSecurity Council forfailing to convince theworld that its nuclearprogramme is purely forcivilian purposes, as itsays, and not for makingweapons as the UnitedStates and other Westernnations suspect.

MNA/Reuters

Beiqi draws for the viewers at the Beijing OlympicPark, on 9 May, 2006.—INTERNET

Eleven bodies found inTigris near Baghdad

SUWAYRA (Iraq), 10May —The bodies of 11Iraqis, including theheadless corpse of a 10-year-old boy, were founddumped in the Tigris Riversouth of Baghdad onTuesday, police sourcessaid.

The bodies, nine ofwhom were beheaded,were discovered near theSunni town of Suwayra,40 kilometres (25 miles)southeast of Baghdad.Seven of them werewearing Iraqi securityforces uniforms.

Police said the victimshad been killed four orfive days ago. All had theirhands tied.

Police could notconfirm the motive for thekilling but sectarianviolence has increasedsharply since the February22 bombing of a Shiiteshrine sparked a wave ofreprisals.

The dumping of bodies— many of them bearingsigns of torture — is acommon occurrence inIraq.

MNA/Reuters

The new Opel Antara is presented during the opening of the GM EuropeDesign Centre in Ruesselsheim, central Germany, on 10 May, 2006.—INTERNET

NEW DELHI, 10 May— The ongoing heat

MIAMI, 10 May —Florida Governor JebBush declared a state ofemergency and put theNational Guard on alertto fight wildfires thathave scorched thousandsof acres and causeddeadly traffic accidents,officials said on Tues-day.

Firefighters battledthree major fires andnearly 20 smaller onesthat are burning brush,grass and trees through-out the state. Whilerainstorms were moving

Italian actress Monica Bellucci, the new muse

for the Dior’s lipstick ‘Rouge Dior,’ appears

during a presentation to launch the beauty

product by the French fashion house in Paris,

on 10 May, 2006. —INTERNET

across the parched stateon Tuesday, Florida istypically very dry in May,raising the risk ofwildfires until the summerafternoon downpoursbegin in June.

“This is our ‘normal’fire season,” said JohnSaddler, a fire managerfor the Florida Divisionof Forestry.Saddler saidconditions were so drythat it would take asignificant amount ofrain to make a diffe-rence.

At least four people

have been killed insmoke- and fog-relatedhighway crashes — twoin a five-car pile-up onInterstate 95 in BrevardCounty on Sunday andtwo in accidents in PalmBeach County on Mon-day, the Florida High-way Patrol said.

Bush declared a stateof emergency Mondaynight and put theNational Guard onstand-by alert. NationalGuard crews preparedthree helicopters withgiant water buckets tojoin the fight against thefires. —MNA/Reuters

Gunmen kidnap two Iraqi Armycontractors near Tikrit

TIKRIT (Iraq), 10 May—Unknown gunmenambushed a civilian carand kidnapped twocontractors working for theIraqi Army on Tuesday,said a source from the USand Iraqi liaison office inTikrit. “Unidentified armedmen in their car openedfire at the contractor’s carand forced them to stop onthe main road betweenTikrit and Uwja (Saddam

Hussein's home town),” thesource from the Tikrit JointCoordination Centre toldXinhua. The gunmendragged the two Iraqicontractors from their carand kidnapped them, hesaid. The contractors wereproviding food for the Iraqimilitary troops, accordingto the source. Meanwhile, gunmenopened fire at a taxitravelling north of Tikrit,

some 170 kilometresnorth of Baghdad, killinga person and woundingtwo others, said thesource. The police lateridentified the victims asIraqi Army soldierswearing civilian clothes,added the source. Guerillas frequentlytarget contractors workingin Iraq, accusing them ofbeing collaborators withthe US occupation forces.

MNA/Xinhua

Wildfires trigger state ofemergency in Florida

Sunstroke kills at leasteleven in west India state

wave in west India'sOrissa has killed at least11 people as mercurysoared to a maximum of44 degrees Celsius, Indo-Asian News Servicereported on Tuesday.

The local governmentconfirmed 11 deathssince last month thoughlocal media reportedmore have died.

The state had been hitby a severe heat wave inMay 1998 with about2,000 people dead. NorthIndia's Uttar Pradesh alsoreported on Monday thatthe heat wave claimed 16since last week.

MNA/Xinhua

6 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006

An Egyptian farmer works on a field with his cows at the village of MhaletIngag in the Nile delta, some 150 km (93 miles) north of Cairo, on 10 May,

2006.—INTERNET

Iraqi soldiers stand on guard outside a damaged market after a suicide bombattack the previous night in Tal Afar town near Mosul, about 390 km (240

miles) north of Baghdad, on 10 May, 2006. —INTERNET

Ivory Coast nurse vaccinates a child against polio in Koumassi in 2005. IvoryCoast is planning to vaccinate more than five million children against polio

on both sides of the line dividing the government-held south from therebel-held north, the Health Ministry said on 10 May, 2006. —INTERNET

China’s version of WHO report toprevent chronic diseases launched

BEIJING, 10 May — The Chinese version of a World Health Organization(WHO) global report on the prevention of chronic diseases was jointlylaunched by China's Ministry of Health (MOH) and the WHO on Tuesday.

"Without action, anestimated 388 millionpeople will die globallyfrom chronic diseases inthe next 10 years. Over 80million of those deathswill be in China," saidCatherine Le Gales-Camus, assistant director-general of the WHO's non-communicable diseasesand mental health de-partment.

The report, preventingchronic diseases: a vitalinvestment, focuses onprevention of majorchronic conditions,primarily heart disease,strokes, cancer, asthmaand diabetes.

Robert Beaglehole,director of the WHO'sdepartment of chronicdiseases and healthpromotion, said 80 percent of chronic diseasedeaths occurred in low andmiddle income countries,adding that 35 million diedglobally in 2005 due tochronic diseases.

Chronic non-com-

municable diseases arenow the top killer ofChinese people, as theyaccount for around 80 percent of total deaths inChina, which is one of thenine selected countriesfeatured in the report, saidKong Lingzhi, the MOH'ssenior official in chargeof disease control.

China currently hasnearly 350 million peoplesmoking cigarettes, 160million with abnormallyhigh blood pressure and300 million tipping thescales as either overweightor obese, according to theMOH.— MNA/Xinhua

Seven killed in E China traffic accidentHANGZHOU, 10 May—

Seven people were killedand three injured in atraffic pile-up in Lin'anCity, East China's Zhe-jiang Province, on Mon-day.

The accident occurredat 6:50 am on the city

outskirts when a truckcollided with two motoredtricycles and a tricycle thatcame in the opposite di-rection.

All four vehiclesplunged off the road intoa field about 4.5 metresbelow the road.

Five of the 10 peopleon the tricycle andmotored tricycles died atthe scene and another diedon the way to hospital. Theother four were taken tohospital where one diedafter emergency treat-ment.

The cause of theaccident is under inves-tigation, police say.

MNA/Xinhua

Egypt, World Banksign loan deal tofight pollutionCAIRO, 10 May —

Egypt signed on Mondaya soft-loan agreementtotalling 20 million USdollars with the WorldBank to help the countryfight industrial pollution,the official MENA newsagency reported.

The loan to bepaid back in 20 yearswith an eight-year graceperiod will be earmarkedfor the Second PollutionAbatement Project(SPAP) aimed atdiminishing the numberof air pollutants emittedby Egyptian factories,said the report.

Egyptian Minister ofInternational CooperationFayza Abu el-Naga andEmanuel Emby, WorldBank office director inCairo, inked the deal.

In statements afterthe signing ceremony,Abu el-Naga said that themoney would be used forcontrolling the levels ofpollution at industrialfacilities and startingenvironment-friendlyservices.

Rapid industria-lization in the past fewyears has resulted insome environmentalproblems in Egypt,especially in the country'scapital of Cairo, theMediterranean city ofAlexandria and Suez.

MNA/Xinhua

Four arrested for stampinvestment fraud in Spain MADRID, 10 May — Spanish police have

arrested at least four people for an alleged stampinvestment fraud, Spanish news media reportedon Tuesday.

In the operation,police raided two ma-jor stamp collectioncompanies al legedlyinvolved in the in-vestment fraud, whichcould affl ict anestimated 200,000investors, reports said,quoting police and courtsources.

Afinsa Bienes Tan-gibles, the world’s thirdbiggest collectibles firm,and Forum Filatelico aresuspected of defraudingmoney from investors,by a "no-lose" stamp-sales programme based

on overpriced stampsand other collectibles.

The exact amount ofmoney involved was notdisclosed by the police,but it is believed thatmany of the victims areretired people with anaverage investment of150 to 300 euros (180 to360 US dollars).

The investigation ofthe alleged fraud wasa coordinated actionlaunched by the NationalCourt, financial crimeprosecutors and taxauthorities.

MNA/Xinhua

Saudi sees oil prices holding strongthis decade

RIYADH, 10 May—Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Tuesday heexpected oil prices, justoff record highs, to holdsteady "this decade" and

reiterated that the world'stop exporter was willingto raise its crude output ifneeded.

Naimi also said globalrefining capacity willremain a concern for thenext four years, and calledon consuming andproducing nations to liftobstacles facing theindustry.

"I believe oil pricesduring this decade willhold steady," Naimi told aEuromoney conference,but did not give a pricerange and said pricemovements are hard topredict.

"As for the kingdom'sproduction, we are willingto increase it if there is aneed and the new additionsto production will be oflight crude."

Oil held near 70 USdollars on Tuesday withUS light crude up 15 cents

at 69.92 US dollars a barreland London Brent up 29cents at 70.50 US dollars.

Naimi said earlier thismonth that oil prices above70 US dollars per barrelare not in the interest ofproducers or consumers.US oil prices hit recordlevels above 75 US dollarsa barrel last month,partially due to worriesthat Iran's standoff withWestern nations over itsnuclear programme couldhit Teheran's exports.

OPEC supplies abouta third of the world's oil,but has been unable to reinin oil prices. Saudi Arabia,OPEC's top producer,holds the lion's share ofthe cartel's spare capacity,but has repeatedly saidthere were no demand forextra barrels of its heavycrude which is moredifficult to refine.

MNA/Reuters

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006 7

Safe Staffing Saves Lives

The 12th of May is the International Day of

Nurses. Myanmar joined the International Council of

Nurses in 1961.

The theme for this year’s International Day of

Nurses is “Safe Staffing Saves Lives”.

It is known to all that in the past, a nurse named

Nightingale holding a lamp in her hand in the dark

cared for wounded soldiers and she was then called

Nightingale with a lamp.

The Crimean War broke out between England

and France in March 1854. Day in, day out Nurse

Nightingale gave medical treatments to wounded

soldiers stationed inside and outside the barracks in

the battlefield. On her return to London after the

battle, she was accorded a rousing welcome by Queen

Edward VII and citizens, and presented gifts and

awarded medals.

She established the first-ever Nightingale

Nurses Training School in the compound of St. Tho-

mas Hospital in London in 1860 with £ 50,000

awarded to her by the people. Then, she opened a

midwifery training school. Later, there emerged nurses

Tekkatho Tin Aung

training schools in many world countries.

Nightingale, the mother of nurses, who pio-

neered nursing services, passed away at the age of 90

on 13 August 1900.

At the 8th International Red Cross Conference

held in London in 1907, Hungary Red Cross Society

made a suggestion that persons who showed brilliant

performances in nursing services be awarded.

The 9th International Red Cross Conference

held in 1908 passed a resolution to set up Florence

Nightingale Award and Florence Nightingale Fund in

honour of Florence Nightingale, the model in the

world of nurses. Nightingale Award came into being

on 12 May 1920, the birthday of Nurse Nightingale,

and the date was designated as “The International Day

of Nurses”.

Veteran nurses Daw Khin Ohn Mya, Daw Thein

Kyi and Daw M Yaw Nam of Myanmar won Nightin-

gale Award for their brilliant performances in which

the nation and the people can take pride. And their

brilliant performances are exemplary behaviours for

today’s youth nurses.

World nations hold commemorative ceremo-

nies to observe the International Day of Nurses on 12

May.

Myanmar also observes the International Day

of Nurses by holding talks and essay competitions

under the topic of this year’s motto “Safe Staffing

Saves Lives” in the run-up to the Day and presenting

prizes to the winners on 12 May (today), providing

educational funds for the children of nurses, honour-

ing nurses who won Medal for Outstanding Perform-

ance in Social Field, and paying respects to retired

elderly nurses. These ceremonies will be held on a

grand scale at respective nurses associations

(branches) in hilly regions and plains across the

nation.

Only with the development in the public health

care sector, can public health care be stepped up, and

the public health care sector will be safe.

With this context, the Myanmar Nurses Asso-

ciation is implementing the Community Home Base

Care (CHBC) Project in 42 townships in states and

divisions. Now, the project is picking up speed

thanks to the contribution of local administrative

bodies, local residents, social organizations and

wellwishers.

I write this article with the conviction that the

motto for the International Day of Nurses (2006) will

come to fruition by implementing the points deliv-

ered by President of the Myanmar Nurses Associa-

tion Day E Barbaro to urge her fellow nurses:

(a) to disseminate the art of first aid to the

people on a wide scale,

(b) to enhance knowledge of the people to

choose a balanced diet, and

(c) to contribute towards health care for preg-

nant women and children.

Translation: MS

Myanmar also observes the International Day of Nursesby holding talks and essay competitions under the topic of thisyear’s motto “Safe Staffing Saves Lives” in the run-up to theDay and presenting prizes to the winners on 12 May (today),providing educational funds for the children of nurses, hon-ouring nurses who won Medal for Outstanding Performancein Social Field, and paying respects to retired elderly nurses.These ceremonies will be held on a grand scale at respectivenurses associations (branches) in hilly regions and plainsacross the nation.

LONDON, 11 May — Britain has the worst problem with anti-socialbehaviour in Europe, fuelled by alcohol and a lack of discipline in homes andschools, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Survey shows Britain topsEuropean yobs’ league

The survey of 7,000people across six of thebiggest European Unionmember states found 76per cent thought the prob-lem was worst in Britain,followed by France (75 percent) and Germany (61 percent).

Almost 70 per centthought that “booze cul-ture” caused anti-socialbehaviour.

“This research is awake-up call,” said GloriaLaycock, a crime re-searcher at the Jill DandoInstitute at UniversityCollege London, whichdevised the survey.

Britons have been

frequently condemned asthe worst binge drinkersin Europe and the relaxa-tion of laws to allow pubsand bars to apply forround-the-clock openinghas not helped that repu-tation.

“Increasing our ac-cess to alcohol cannot bethe answer, and it is timethat the government ad-dressed perceptions of thisproblem,” Laycock said.

The survey alsofound that half of respond-ents thought tougher sen-tences and punishmentwould help improve be-haviour.

Yobbish behaviour

by Britons abroad, oftenfuelled by excessive drink-ing, led the Foreign Of-fice to announce in Aprilthat it would start charg-ing fees to help citizenswho get in trouble over-seas. As thousands of Eng-lish soccer enthusiasts pre-pare to travel to Germanythis summer for the foot-ball World Cup, Britishpolice are appealing forgood behaviour from fans.

Prime Minister TonyBlair’s governmentpledged ahead of lastyear’s election to curbcrime, vandalism anddrunkenness.

MNA/Reuters

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A woman walks intothe Pfizer Inc world

headquarters buildingin New York City inthis on 15 July, 2002

file photo. The USFood and Drug Ad-ministration said onThursday it approved

Pfizer’s Chantixtablet to help cigarette

smokers stop smok-ing. — INTERNET

8 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006

Vice-Admiral Soe Thein attends…(from page 1)

Htidaw Hoisting Team ofDefence Services (Air),and those participated inbuilding the pagoda.

After the Htidawhoisting ceremony, theSayadaws consecratedthe pagoda.

Next, Commander-in-Chief (Navy) Vice-Ad-miral Soe Thein andwife, Lt-Gen Myint Sweof the Ministry of De-fence and wife, Ministerfor Religious AffairsBrig-Gen Thura MyintMaung, U Kyaing San

Shwe and wife, U KyawNyunt and officialspoured scented water atBo tree in the precinct ofthe pagoda. The cer-emony ended with three-time recitation of BuddhaSasanam Çiram Titthatu.

MNA

Mu River Bridge (Thaphanseik)inaugurated in Kyunhla Township

YANGON, 11 May— Chairman of SagaingDivision Peace and De-

velopment Council Com-mander of North-WestCommand Maj-Gen ThaAye together with Min-ister for Sports Brig-GenThura Aye Myint at-tended the ceremony toinaugurate Mu RiverBridge (Thaphanseik) inKyunhla Township on 7May.

Wellwisher of thebridge Managing Direc-tor U Tin Maung ofHonda Myanmar Co Ltdexplained about his con-tribution to the construc-tion of the bridge. A lo-cal thanked for buildingthe bridge.

Chairman ofShwebo District PDCLt-Col Than Tun, Direc-tor of Sagaing DivisionDevelopment AffairsCommittee U KhinMaung Swe andwellwisher U Tin Maungformally opened thebridge.

The commanderunveiled the signboard ofthe bridge. Next, thecommander and the min-ister planted trees to markthe opening of the bridge.

The bridge wasbuilt at a cost of K 11

million by an entrepre-neur and K 9.5 million bylocals. It is a woodenbridge measuring 235feet by 18 feet. AtThaphanseik Dam, thecommander and the min-ister heard reports on ir-rigation of the dam305,955 acres of farm-lands reported by offi-cials.

They also attendedthe ceremony to putKyunhla-Thaphanseikgravel road (Thaphan-seik) into service nearThaphanseik Village.The commander pre-sented gifts to depart-ments concerned. After-wards, the commanderand the minister viewedparticipation of locals inthe physic nut plantgrowing ceremony inKyigon Village ofKyunhla Township.Next, they attended theceremony to openKyunhla-Thaphanseikgravel road (Kyunhla).

Kyunhla-Thaphan-seik Gravel Road meas-uring 7.5 miles by 12 feetwas built at a cost of K13.7 million.

MNA

YANGON, 11 May— A ceremony to donatecash, TV sets and radio,and publications toalready-opened 1,555 self-reliant libraries in KachinState undertaken byInformation and PublicRelations Departmentunder the Ministry ofInformation took place atthe city hall of Myitkyina,Kachin State this morning.

Chairman ofKachin State Peace andDevelopment CouncilCommander of NorthernCommand Maj-Gen OhnMyint made a speech,saying that village self-reliant libraries have beenset up for the rural peopleto gain wide knowledgeand for the developmentof human resources inrural areas. Priority isgiven to education in orderto keep abreast ofinternational communityin knowledge age. All thepeople throughout thenation need to be equippedwith correct conviction.Rural people now willhave easy access toreading in the libraries. Allover the world, our countryis the one, which facilitatesself-reliant libraries inevery village. All are tomaintain the libraries forperpetual existence.

Later, DeputyMinister for InformationBrig-Gen Aung Theindelivered an address

Cash and kind donated to self-reliantlibraries in Kachin State

saying that in accordancewith the guidance of Headof State, self-reliantlibraries have been openedin rural areas. Out of 61,949villages in the country, sofar a total of 53,554 villageshave been equipped withself-reliant librariesthrough strength of theState, strength of localpeople and strength ofwellwishers. Donation ofthe wellwishers willproduce benefits for thelibraries, he added.

Next, CommanderMaj-Gen Ohn Myintdonated K 1.3 million tothe deputy minister forinformation. The deputyminister also accepted K100,000 donated bychairperson of Kachin StateMaternal and Child WelfareSupervisory Committee

Daw Nu Nu Swe, K100,000 by chairperson ofKachin State WAO DawTin Tin Htay, K 2 millionby video entrepreneurs anda building and furniture, onegenerator and 193 variouskinds of books worthK 3,114,110 and a set ofcomputer worth K 800,000by the wellwishers inMyitkyina.

The commanderaccepted K 2 milliondonated by the wellwishersand deputy commander K1.5 million by thewellwishers, and Brig-GenZaw Htun of MyitkyinaStation K 1.2 million bythe wellwishers.

Director U MaungPe of IPRD also acceptedK 100,000 each bythe entrepreneurs ofMyitkyina Township, a

total of 225 books worthK 178,250, CD-ROM andMyanmar Encyclopediaworth K 150,000 by U GeeNat of KMD and KMD(Bhamo), a set of TV andsatellite worth K 310,000,a set of TV and VCD worthK 306,000 and sets of TV,radio and publications.

After that, thecommander and the deputyminister greeted thosepresent and the ceremonyended.

Today’s donationamounted to K 31,438,329in cash.

Also present at theceremony were seniormilitary officers, localauthorities, membersof USDA, socialorganizations and well-wishers

MNA

Lt-Gen Myint Swe, U Kyaing San Shwe and U Kyaw Nyunt hoistSeinbudaw (diamond bud) atop Thakya Marazein Pagoda. — MNA

YANGON,11 May — President of MyanmarCustoms Brokers Association U Myo Thant andExecutive Daw Mya Mya left here by air today toparticipate in the conference of International Federa-tion of Customs Brokers Association to be held from13 to 16 May in Beijing, People’s Republic of China.The Federation was based in Ottawa, Canada.

They were seen off at Yangon InternationalAirport by officials.

MNA

Deputy Minister for Information Brig-Gen Aung Thein accepts cash

for self-reliant village libraries from wellwishers. — MNA

Lt-Gen Myint Swe presents Shwekyar Thingan to a Sayadaw.

MNA

Myanmar to attend Int’lFederation of Customs Brokers

Association Conference

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006 9

(from page 16)dredging of diversion canals at thedam, and upgrading of Thittatkon di-version weir for ensuring more stor-age of water. While in Myittha Town-ship, they inspected quality paddy, pre-monsoon long staple cotton and physicnut plantations.

At the junction of Wundwin,Thazi and Meiktila townships nearmile post 351/2 on Yangon-MandalayHighway, Lt-Gen Ye Myint and Com-mander Maj-Gen Khin Zaw attendedthe physic nut plants cultivation cer-emony of Meiktila District.

They also viewed 170 acres ofphysic nut plantations of Taw Win Conear Tamagon Village in WundwinTownship and similar plantations of

(from page 16)township levels andmembers of social or-ganizations. First, Secre-tary of Toungoo DistrictPDC Maj Thein Htay andChairman of Bago Dis-trict PDC Lt-Col AungMin reported on cultiva-tion of summer paddy,beans and crops, physicnut plants and arrange-ments for monsoonpaddy and regional facts.

Next, CommanderMaj-Gen Ko Ko reportedon measures in the fieldsof economic, education,health, social welfare,agriculture and breedingas well as arrangementsto be made for cultiva-tion of 3 million

Lt-Gen Khin Maung Than meets…

Thriving physic nut plantations, nurseries…

monsoon paddy in BagoDivision during 2006-2007.

Afterwards, Lt-Gen Khin Maung Thanmade a speech on theoccasion, saying that de-partmental personnelwere to take cooperativemeasures with the localpeople in the drive forraising of living standardof State’s service person-nel and the local people.The officials at division,district and township lev-els were to carry out thedevelopment tasks of theState with concerted ef-forts to be more success-ful. Bago Division is oneof the six leading divi-sions of the State. The

service personnel were tostep up the sustained eco-nomic development. Ac-cording to the reports bythe officials concerned,achievements had beenfound in the agriculturalsector exceeding the tar-get. Not only cultivationof paddy but also tenmain crops and perennialcrops would be extendedto earn foreign ex-changes for the State.The departmental offi-cials were to render as-sistance to the local peas-ants. The departmentalpersonnel, the local peo-ple and members of so-cial organizations wereto carry out extended cul-tivation of physic nut

plants which could pro-duce bio-fuel. The basicrequirements of the de-velopment of the Statewere peace and stability,economic developmentand development of in-tellectual property. TheHead of State laid down24 - region developmentand five rural develop-ment tasks and borderareas developmentprojects to be imple-mented. The Governmentwas taking measures forthe equitable develop-ment in the State and theservice personnel were toparticipate in the devel-opment tasks with har-monious efforts. The of-ficials and the local peas-ants were to try their bestto cultivate 400,000 sum-mer paddy and 3 millionmonsoon paddy, urgedLt-Gen Khin MaungThan.

Upon arrival atThaukyekhat hydelpower project in Htonebovillage, 12 miles fromTaungoo, Director ofHydel Power DepartmentConstruction-3 U TintLwin briefed Lt-GenKhin Maung Than on thelocation of the projectand progress of work.

Regarding the re-ports, Lt-Gen KhinMaung Than gave in-structions on timely com-pletion of the project and

inspected places chosenfor building dam andhydel power plant. Construction group-3 of the Hydel Power De-partment of the Ministryof Electric Power wouldconstruct Thaukyekhathydel power station.When completed, it is toproduce 670 million kilo-watt hours per year.

Lt-Gen KhinMaung Than and partywent to Ketumadi all-round crops plantation inSouthern Commandwhere the plantation In-charge Lt-Col Pyone Choreported on cultivation ofsugarcane and perennialcrops, reclamation offarmlands and measuresfor extended growing ofcrops and assistance of thedepartment. CommanderMaj-Gen Ko Ko gave sup-plementary reports.

In connection with

the reports, Lt-Gen KhinMaung Than gave instruc-tions on reclamation offarmlands and growing ofmarketable crops to ex-ceed the target. Next, Lt-Gen Khin Maung Thanand party looked into rec-lamation of farmlands andcultivation of crops.Ketumadi all-round cropsplantation is located be-tween Kyunkon villageand Doinn village nearYangon-Mandalay High-way. 2000 acres of fallowand vacant land were re-claimed and sugarcanewas cultivated on 900acres and paddy on 400acres. Arrangements weremade for extended grow-ing of paddy and sugar-cane on the remainingacres during 2006-2007.

Lt-Gen KhinMaung Than returned toNay Pyi Taw City in theevening. —MNA

YANGON, 11 May—The conclusion of the third Blicence football coaches course jointly organized bythe Asian Football Federation and the Myanmar Foot-ball Federation took place at the National FootballTraining Centre this afternoon.

General Secretary of the Myanmar Olympic Com-mittee Director-General of the Sports and PhysicalEducation Department U Thaung Htaik and courseinstructor Mr Rovert Lim Lee Huat of the AFF deliv-ered speeches. The director-general presented com-pletion certificates to the newly-graduated coaches.

Twenty-two persons completed the course thatwas launched on 20 April. — MNA

YANGON, 11 May—Myaing Hay Wun FoodCentre at 8th-mile junction here held its 10thanniversary celebration today at the centre inconjunction with the special sales to mark the10th anniversary.

The shops of Dumex, Preety-T, Yay NanThu Zar, Wai Di, Golden Bell, S II M, Li Fashion,Paramount, Ninesix, Ever Top, Walco, GreenElephant were staged at the sales which will last13 May.

At the celebration, lucky draw programmewas also held. Operation Manager Daw May ThuMyint acted as till master of ceremonies andManaging Director Daw Own Mar Myint ex-tended greetings. —MNA

Myaing Hay Wun Food Centre celebrates its 10th anniversary

Lt-Gen Ye Myint of Ministry of Defence inspects thriving Myaseinyaungstrain paddy plantation of Ground Training Base. — MNA

Lt-Gen Khin Maung Than of Ministry of Defence presents physicnut saplings to an officer. — MNA

A staff presents prize to a winner at 10thanniversary of Myaing Hay Wun Food Centre.—MNA

MFF President U Zaw Zaw presents gift toinstructor Mr Rovert Lim Lee Huat at conclu-

sion of course for B licence football coach.NLM

Meiktila District Police Force and de-partments concerned.

They also inspected thrivingphysic nut plantations of private entre-preneurs. In Meiktila, they attended thephysic nut plant cultivation ceremonyin Meiktila Station and viewed harvest-ing of Myaseinyaung strain summerpaddy at Ground Training Base.

Next, they also attended the cer-emony to grow physic nut saplings atthe air base.

In the afternoon, they inspected3.5 acres of physic nut plantation inPyawbwe Township General Adminis-tration Department and 12 acres of theplantation in Yamethin Township. Atnight, Lt-Gen Ye Myint and party ar-rived back Nay Pyi Taw City. — MNA

Football coaches course concludes

10 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006

YANGON, 11 May—The 11th Patthan recit-ing ceremony of theLoka Marajin BuddhaImage took place alongwith the pouring of wa-ter at the Bo tree in thecompound of No 1

Fullmoon Day of Kason observed atLoka Marajin Buddha Image

Waing Monastery onParami Road, SouthOkkalapa Township herethis afternoon.

Members of theSangha recited parittas.Sayadaw BhaddantaÑaninda delivered a ser-

mon, followed by sharingof merits.

Members of theSangha and lay personspoured water at the Botree in the pagoda pre-cinct.

MNA

YANGON, 11 May —Today is Fullmoon Dayof Kason when Buddhistdevotees pour scentedwater at Bo trees yearly incommemoration of pay-ing homage to ParibhogaZedi dedicated to the LordBuddha.

On Fullmoon Day ofKason, famous pagodasand religious buildingswere thronged with devo-tees and pilgrims, and peo-ple offered water, lights,flowers and joss sticks tothe pagodas and Buddhaimages.

Organized by the Pa-goda Board of Trustees,the 23rd ceremony to pourwater at Bo tree was heldat Maha Bo Tree at thenorth-east corner ofShwedagon Pagoda thismorning. On the occasion,Ovadaçariya Sayadaws,members of the pagodaboard of trustees and devo-tees poured water at Botrees.

A similar ceremonytook place at Sule Pagodaat 9 am. Members of theSangha, members of thepagoda board of trusteesand religious associationtook part in the water pour-ing ceremony. The Bo treeat Sule Pagoda was packed

Bo trees poured with scented water at pagodason Fullmoon Day of Kason

with devotees from themorning to the evening.

At Botahtaung Pa-goda, a ceremony to hoistHtidaw (umbrella),Seinbudaw (diamondbud), and Hngetmyat-nadaw atop Maggin

Dhamma Zedi was heldthis morning. It was at-tended by Deputy Com-mander of Yangon Com-mand Brig-Gen Wai Lwinand wife, Joint-Secretaryof Yangon City Develop-ment Committee U Aung

Than Win and officials.In the afternoon, the cer-emony to pour water atBo tree was held atBotahtaung Pagoda. Tillevening, Buddhist devo-tees poured water at theBo tree.

The eighth waterpouring ceremony tookplace at Bo tree of SacredTooth Relic Pagoda(Yangon) at 9 am today.Secretary of the PagodaBoard of Trustees U MyatHla explained the purposeof pouring water at MahaBo tree.

Later, the pagodaboard of trustees, pilgrimsand devotees pouredwater to the Bo tree.

Similar ceremo-nies were held at ThiriMingala Kaba Aye Pa-goda, Maha Wizaya Pa-goda, Lawka ChanthaAbhaya Labha MuniBuddha Image, Shwe-phonepwint, Kyaik-waing, Kyaikkasan,Moegaung, Ngadatgyi,Chaukhtetkyee, Koe-htetkyee, Meilamu andother pagodas in Yangonfrom the morning to theevening.

In addition, cer-emonies to pour water atBo trees were held at theMinistry of Religious Af-fairs on Kaba Aye Hill inMayangon Township thismorning. On the occa-

sion, Chairman of Korea-Myanmar Friendship As-sociation Ven Mok Tak,Pro-Rector (Admin) DrMyint Kyi of Interna-tional Theravada Bud-dhist Missionary Univer-sity and departmental of-ficials poured water at theBo tree.

Likewise, Myan-mar Budh Gaya Mission-ary Organization andHninzigon Home for theAged observed the cer-emony to mark the Bud-dhist Day which falls onFullmoon Day of Kasonby pouring water at Botrees at the respectivevenues.

MNA

Buddhist devotees pour water at Bo Tree in the compound of Buddha Tooth Relic Pagoda (Yangon) on 11 May (Fullmoon Day of Kason). — NLM

Girls pouring water at Bo Tree in the compound of Thiri MingalaKaba Aye Pagoda on 11 May (Fullmoon Day of Kason). — NLM

World famous Shwedagon Pagoda being crowded with Buddhist pilgrims on 11 May (Fullmoon Day of Kason). —NLM

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006 11

Traders work on the floor of the New YorkStock Exchange in New York, on 10 May,2006. Stocks edged lower on Wednesday

before a Federal Reserve meeting expected toresult in an interest rate increase.—INTERNET

From left to right, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri,Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Egypt’s Minister of

State for Foreign Affairs Fayza Aboulnaga, Indonesian Foreign Minis-ter Hassan Wirajuda and Turkish Minister of State Kursad Tuzmen

examine Indonesian spices during a tour of a trade exhibition after theopening ceremony of the ministerial meeting of the D-8 Summit in

Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, on 11 May, 2006. Ministers from the D-8group of developing countries began meeting on Thursday to lay the

groundwork for a summit this weekend. —INTERNET

Thunderstorms kill3 in Texas

WASHINGTON, 11 May— At least three peoplewere killed in the south-ern US state of Texas whenthunderstorms hit the stateovernight, media reportssaid on Wednesday. Anelderly couple died in adestroyed mobile home inCollin County and a teen-ager was found dead in ahome in neighbouringGrayson County, the As-sociated Press reported.

The storms destroyedat least 26 homes, and 10people were hospitalizedand dozens of others weretreated at the scene forminor injuries.

Neighbouring Arkan-sas was also hit by stormsearly Wednesday.

Meanwhile, US ex-perts on Wednesday urgedresidents living in storm-prone Florida to brace forthe worst and hope for thebest during the Atlantichurricane season between1 June and 30 November,saying that they could notrule out another disasterlike last year's HurricaneKatrina, which killed over13,00 people.

Experts at the Univer-sity of Colorado predictednine hurricanes, five ofthem particularly intense,to form in the Atlanticbasin during the hurricaneseason this year.

MNA/Xinhua

"It is too early to speakabout an end to the armsrace. In fact, it is unfold-ing, and has reached a newtechnological level, thusposing a threat of the ap-pearance of an arsenal ofso-called destabilizingweapons," Putin said inhis annual state of the na-tion address at Kremlin.

"Since guarantees thatweapons, including nu-clear ones, will not betaken to outer space arestill lacking, there is athreat of creating andspreading nuclear low-yield explosives," Putinsaid.

Putin sees arms race boomingat new technological level Moscow, 11 May — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday

urged the international community to pay attention to the fact that the armsrace has reached a new technological level.

"Moreover, the massmedia and experts discussthe possibility of using in-tercontinental ballisticmissiles without nuclearwarheads," the Presidentsaid. "The launch of sucha missile may result ininadequate response froma nuclear state, includingfull-scale retaliation us-ing strategic nuclearforces."

"At the same time, notall have managed to es-cape from the stereo-types of bloc thinking andthe prejudices we inher-ited from the era of globalconfrontation, despite

radical changes in theworld.

And this seriouslyhampers the search foradequate and joint re-sponses to common prob-lems," the President said.

Therefore, Putin saidRussia's military and for-eign policy doctrinesshould provide answers tothe most urgent problems,including how to fight notonly terror, but also "theproliferation of nuclear,chemical and bacteriologi-cal weapons in present-day conditions and alongwith our partners."

MNA/Xinhua

The problem, re-searchers found, is that thetelephone surveys used toestimate states' obesityrates are prone to error —namely, that female re-spondents underestimatetheir weight, on average,while men often addinches to their actualheight.

National estimates ofthe obesity epidemic,however, are more on tar-get, because the metho-dology used is different.

It is estimated thatone third of US adults areobese, and that nationalstatistic is probably a closereflection of reality, ac-cording to Dr MajidEzzati, an associate pro-fessor of internationalhealth at the HarvardSchool of Public Healthin Boston.

But, Ezzati toldReuters Health, his team’sfindings indicate that in-dividual states' obesitylevels are "grossly under-estimated".

The disparity be-tween national-and state-level obesity estimatesstems from differences inhow the data are collectedby the Centres for DiseaseControl and Prevention.Nationwide data aregathered through theNational Health andNutrition ExaminationSurvey (NHANES),where respondents are in-terviewed in person abouttheir height and weight,and then asked to have aphysical exam.

State statistics are

US states underestimateobesity problem

NEW YORK, 11 May — The obesity problem in individual US statesappears much greater than official health surveys have indicated, accordingto a new study.

collected via the Behav-ioural Risk Factor Surveil-lance System (BFRSS),which asks respondents togive their height andweight over the phone.

By comparing infor-

mation from this surveywith data from theNHANES project, Ezzatiand his colleagues foundthat every US state's obes-ity burden was underesti-mated.— MNA/Reuters

LONDON, 11 May — Women can pick up cuesabout how men feel about children from their facesand use the subtle signs to rate them as potentialpartners, scientists said on Wednesday.

The team of researchers from the United Statesshowed that an affinity for children and male hormonelevels play a role in determining how attractive menare to women.

“Our data suggest that men's interest in childrenpredicts their long-term mate attractiveness even afterwe account for how physically attractive the womenrated the men,” said James Roney of the University ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara.

In the study of nearly 70 men and women, aninterest in children was linked to long-term partnershippotential while women were attracted to men withhigher testosterone levels as short-term romanticmates.

"The study provides the first direct evidence thatwomen's attractiveness judgments specifically trackboth men's affinity for children and men's hormoneconcentrations," said Dario Maestripieri of the Uni-versity of Chicago, and a co-author of the study.

MNA/Reuters

Study says womenattracted to men who

like children

HK Customs seizes 3.9 tons ofelephant tusks

HONG KONG, 11 May — Hong Kong Customsofficers have seized 3.9 tons of unmanifested elephanttusks, worth about eight million Hong Kong dollars(103,305 US dollars), from a 40-foot container inKwai Chung.

Hong Kong Customs examined the containerwith the mobile X-ray vehicle scanning system atKwai Chung Customhouse on Tuesday and found theelephant tusks inside a concealed compartment.

The container originated from Douala, Cameroon,and was shipped to Hong Kong on 3 May. It wasdeclared to be carrying timber.

Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries & Conserva-tion Department confirmed the elephant tusks werescheduled endangered species listed under the Ani-mals & Plants (Protection of Endangered Species)Ordinance. — MNA/Xinhua

Indian police seize explosives in west cityNEW DELHI, 11 May

— Indian police seizeda huge cache of explo-sives and weapons inAurangabad City of westIndia Maharashtra, NDTVreported Wednesday.

The police foundmore than 30 kilogrammes

of RDX, which are usedfor making high impactbombs, 47 rifles, 40 maga-zines and 2,000 rounds oflive ammunition whenraiding an undisclosedlocation in Aurangabad,according to the Anti-Ter-rorist Squad of the

Mumbai police. One person was ar-

rested and two otherswere detained, the policesource said, adding thatthey are believed to beoperatives of Lashkar-e-Toiba.

MNA/Xinhua

12 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006

Ministry of Industry (1)Myanma Ceramic Industries192, Kaba Aye Pagoda Road

Yangon, MyanmarInvitation to Tender NoticeSealed Tenders are invited by Myanma Ceramic

Industries for a 500 tpd Cement Manufacturing Plantwhich is to be established at Tatkone Township,Mandalay Divisiion. Tender forms and detailinformations are available on payment of Kyats 20000/- (Twenty thousand only) at Myanma CeramicIndustries, Planning Department within Office hour,starting from 10th May, 2006. Closing Date of Tenderis 8th June, 2006 (Thursday) (15:00) hour, MyanmarStandad Time. Please contact Phone No. 562036,578226 for detail information.

Managing DirectorMyanma Ceramic Industries

Vietnam toprosecute 33

for heroinproduction

HANOI, 10 May—Vietnam will prosecute 33local people for producingheroin from opium at largescale in the country, localnewspaper People’s Armyreported on Tuesday.

A 48-year-old mannamed Trinh Nguyen Thuyand 32 underlings made 48kilos of heroin out of 500kilos of opium in the capitalcity of Hanoi and itsneighbouring province ofBac Ninh. They had alsotraded and transported 576.5cakes of heroin (nearly201.8 kilos) and 700 kilosof opium until Thuy’s arrestlast August.—MNA/Xinhua

Indonesia supports Iran nuclearprogramme for peaceful means

JAKARTA, 10 May— Indonesia supported Iran’snuclear proliferation programme for peaceful means,but rejected its use for military purpose, ForeignMinister Hassan Wirajuda said here on Tuesday.

He made these remarks just before IranianPresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad starts his six-dayvisit to Indonesia on Tuesday. He said that PresidentAhmadinejad will discuss nuclear issue with hisIndonesian counterpart President Susilo BambangYudhoyono on Wednesday.“Therefore it is the firstchance for us to hear directly from PresidentAhmadinejab about what is the response of Iran on thematter being discussed in New York now,” Wirajudasaid, adding “We support the nuclear proliferation forpeace purpose, for energy, because it is the principalright of each country.” —MNA/Xinhua

Local villagers of Baiquanzi village water the land, which was left unused for 2years because of the consecutive drought, in Zhongning County, NorthwestChina’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on 9 May, 2006. Most areas in themiddle part of this region have had no effective rain for more than 600 days.Effective actions have been carried out by local government and farmers toenhance the irrigation work in the struggles against the severe drought.—INTERNET

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

Workshop on bird flu opens forCambodian journalists

MINISTRY OF FINANCE & REVENUEINTERNAL REVENUE DEPARTMENT

INCOME TAX DIRECTORATE

NOTICE FOR FILING OF RETURN OFINCOME

1. All Co-operative societies which have beenassessed to tax under the Income Tax Law and those Co-operative societies having income amounting to Kyats30001 and above during the income year 2005-2006 arealso required to file the return of income, duly filled-inand signed by the chairman or the secretary of the societyconcerned, in the respective Township Revenue Officesnot later than 30 June 2006. Moreover, Companies, Jointventure enterprises and other taxpayers who are coveredby the Income Tax Law are also required to file the returnof income duly filled-in and properly signed in therespective Township Revenue Office not later thanaforesaid date.2. Persons having income amounting to Kyats 30001and above solely under the head “Salaries” during theincome year 2005-2006 are not required to file the returnof income in respect of their salary income as the tax hadbeen paid thereon by way of deduction at source. However,the employer is responsible for furnishing the AnnualSalary Statement in the respective Township RevenueOffice not later than 30 June 2006.3. Prescribed forms of return of income and AnnualSalary Statement are available free of charge at theTownship Revenue Offices. The Return can be filed inthe person or sent by registered post. A receipt will beissue by the Township Revenue Office concerned in casethe return is filed in person.4. Further information can be obtained fromTwonship Revenue Offices and Companies Circle TaxOffice.

(Thein Naing) Director

Income Tax Directorate Internal Revenue Department

PHNOM PENH, 10May— A two-day work-shop on bird flu opened hereMonday by CambodianInformation Minister KhieuKanharith for print, radioand television journalists.

The back-to-backworkshop was part of theoverall support of the UnitedNations to the government’s

efforts to combat the spreadof bird flu.

The workshop aimsto improve journalists’awareness of basic infor-mation on bird flu, high risk,behaviours, practicalprevention measures andrecognition and response tobird flu in animals andhumans.

“Through the work-shop, UNICEF wants to helpCambodian journalists dotheir job better and be able tocontribute to the nationalefforts to prevent and controlthe spread of Avianinfluenza,” said MareVergard, chief of Com-munication under UNICEF(United Nations Inter-national Children’sEmergency Fund).

According to theWorld Health Organizationfigures, bird flu has killedmore than 100 peopleworldwide since late 2003.Cambodia has 6 peoplekilled by the virus and twoof them were killed this year.

MNA/Xinhua

Three teenagers arrested overbank robberies in Canada

OTTAWA, 10 May — Police in Vancouver area inwestern Canada have arrested three teens under age 15in connection with a string of bank robberies in thesurrounding Lower Mainland area.

The teen were arrested on Saturday. They aresuspected of involvement in the robbery of twoVancouver banks, as well as a string of other bankrobberies, local media cited police as saying Tuesday.

MNA/Xinhua

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THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006 13

pvaer;®Pc\. eKt\m^P∑M>‘Pi;tui;tk\eqa Nuic\cMeta\”k; tv\eSak\AM.Golden jubilee celebrations of ascent of 2

peaks marked in Nepal KATHMANDU, 11 May — Nepal organized the Mt Manaslu and Mt Lhotse

Golden Jubilee Symbolic Celebration in order to mark the 50th anniversaryof the first ascent of Mt. Manaslu and Mt Lhotse, state-run Radio Nepalreported here Wednesday.

Japanese mountain-eer Toshio Imanishiand Nepalese nationalGyalzen Sherpa were thefirst who conquered the8,163-metre-high MtManaslu, the eighthhighest peak in the world,on 9 May, 1956.

A Swiss expeditioncomprising Ernst Reissand Fritz Luchinger hadfirst reached the summitof the 8,516-metre-highMt Lhotse, the fourthhighest peak in the world,on 18 May, 1956.

Secretary at theMinistry of Culture,Tourism and Civil

Aviation of NepalGovinda Prasad Pandeyaffixed the firstcancellation mark ofthe first day issue ofpostage stamp of MtManaslu and Mt Lhotse atthe function.

“Nepali Governmenthas given high priority onthe development ofmountain tourism, and hasbegun a tradition ofcelebrating golden jubileeof the first ascent of themountains higher than8,000 metres of thecountry,” Pandey said atthe function.

Japanese Ambassador

to Nepal Tsutomu Hiraokasaid it was a matter of pridethat the first mountaineerto scale Mt Manaslu andthe first woman to ascentMt Qomulangma fromNepali side were Japanesenationals, and it justifiesthe keen interest ofJapanese people onNepalese mountains andthe Himalayan range.

MNA/Xinhua

BSkyB signs English soccerTV deal with Setanta

LONDON,10 May — Subscriptions paid by pubsand clubs to UK pay TV company BSkyB willinclude the English Premier League soccer gamesfor which Irish pay-TV company Setanta has wonthe rights from 2007, BSkyB said.

“In addition, Sky andSetanta have reached anagreement in principleunder which Setanta’sPremiership coverage willalso be available toresidential customerson the digital satelliteplatform,” British SkyBroadcasting Group saidin a statement on Tuesday.

BSkyB’s commercialcustomers will now beable to receive all 138 livePremiership matches eachseason without the needfor separate subscriptionsor a new delivery plat-form.

On May 5, BSkyBwon the rights to broadcasttwo thirds of 138 live top-flight English soccermatches per season forthree years starting in2007, with Setantawinning the other 46games.

BSkyB is payingnearly twice as much pergame as it did for itsexisting deal and is losingexclusivity, while lesswell-known Setanta ispositioning itself to attractmore British TV watchersby landing the games.

MNA/Reuters

Vietnam trialsbird fluvaccine

production HANOI, 10 May —

Vietnam is producingpoultry vaccines againstbird flu virus strain H5N1on a trial basis, VietnamNews Agency reportedTuesday.

The Veterinary Instituteunder the Ministry ofAgriculture and RuralDevelopment hasinstructed the Cen-tral Veterinary Medi-cine Company to make200,000 doses of H5N1vaccines, the agencyquoted the institute’sdirector Truong Van Dungas saying.

He said the institute hasalso researched into howto vaccinate ducks atyounger age.

If ducks are vaccinatedagainst H5N1 as early asthey are just one day old, itwould facilitate bird fluprevention.

Vietnam has so far thisyear vaccinated over 70million fowls in 57 citiesand provinces nationwide,the ministry’s Departmentof Animal Health said,noting that the countryplans to complete the firstbatch of vaccinationamong 120 million poultryby early June, and conductthe second batch on thesame fowls betweenAugust and October.

MNA/Xinhua

Mauritius tourism arrivals up 8.3% in April PORT LOUIS, 10 May — Tourist arrivals in Mauritius rose 8.3 per cent in

April over the same month a year ago, mainly due to peak season Easterholidays for the island’s leisure industry, officials said on Tuesday.

The number of touristsvisiting Mauritius was57,361 in April against52,971 in the same monthof 2005, a Tourism Mini-stry report said.

Tourism is a vitaleconomic pillar forMauritius, along withtextiles, sugar andfinancial services, with

the tiny island paradiseattracting more than700,000 visitors andgenerating around 800million US dollars everyyear.

“It’s mainly because ofthe Easter holiday whichis always a good time forus and while we didn’t seethat much growth in

our traditional market,Europe, we did see growthin arrivals from Asia,Africa and America,” atourism official said.

Arrivals from Europe,which accounts for morethan 60 per cent of thetotal, rose by only 0.5 percent in April.

MNA/Reuters

China agriculture fair toattract record exhibitors

BEIJING,10 May — The Fourth ChinaAgricultural Trade Fair (CATF) is due to attract arecord number of exhibitors when it opens in Beijingon 16 October for a five-day run.

Vice-Minister of Agriculture Niu Dun said at apreparatory conference on Tuesday that the fourth CATFwould attract more exhibitors and buyers from Russia, theUnited States, the ASEAN and other countries and regions.The fourth CATF would continue to maintain a specialarea for enterprises and products from Taiwan, said Niu.

To mark the start of the Chinese Government’scampaign to create a new socialist countryside, the latestChina-made agricultural products and technologieswould debut at the CATF.The annual CATF is hosted bythe Ministry of Agriculture, and supported by the NationalDevelopment and Reform Commission and the Ministryof Finance.

MNA/Xinhua

Visiting pilgrims play Swiss horns during the weekly general audience byPope Benedict XVI in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on 10 May,

2006.— INTERNET

This is an effect photo of the new China Science and Technology Museum.The foundation-laying ceremony for the museum was held on 9 May, 2006.

Located in the National Olympic Park, the new site for the museum possessesan area of 48 thousand square metres and will be partially opened to public

during the 2008 Olympic Games.—INTERNET

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Irish low-fare airline Ryanair, simulatesa take-off in a Ryanair aircraft before a news conference at Marignane

airport in Marseilles, France, on 10 May, 2006. European low-cost carrierRyanair named Marseille in France as its latest base on Wednesday as it

continues to expand in continental Europe. —INTERNET

DONATEDONATEDONATEDONATEDONATE

BLOODBLOODBLOODBLOODBLOOD

14 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006

S P O R T S

Vera Zvonareva from Russia returns a ball duringher second round match against her compatriotNadia Petrova during the German Open tennistournament in Berlin, on 10 May, 2006. Petrovadefeated Zvonareva 6-1, 7-6 (7-3). —INTERNET

Sevilla's Frederic Kanoute scores his side’s 4th goal during the UEFA Cup finalsoccer match between FC Sevilla and Middlesbrough FC in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, on 10 May, 2006. Sevilla won the match 4-0.—INTERNET

Trinidad and Tobago's Collins Samuel (12) attacksClayton Ince of Peru during a friendly match held inPort-of -Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on 10 May,2006. The match ended in a draw. Trinidad's teamhad already qualified for this summers World Cup in Germany.—INTERNET

Sevilla beats Middlesbrough 4-0 to lift UEFA Cup BRUSSELS, 11 May — Sevilla trounced Middlesbrough 4-0 Wednesday in the UEFA Cup final in

Eindhoven, the Netherlands to clinch its first European trophy.

Osasuna coach Aguirre to leave at end of season

Liverpool’s Reina wins PremierLeague Golden Gloves Award

LONDON, 11 May — Liverpool's Spanish goal-keeper Pepe Reina has won the Premier League'sGolden Gloves Award after keeping 20 clean sheetsthis season.

Reina's performances put him ahead of ManchesterUnited's Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar (18) and lastyear's winner Czech Petr Cech of champions Chelsea(17).

American Brad Friedel of Blackburn Rovers andGerman Jens Lehman of Arsenal (both 16) completedthe top five.

The 23-year-old Reina, who joined Liverpool lastJuly from Villarreal for six million pounds (11.19million US dollars), made 33 league appearances afterreplacing Jerzy Dudek as first choice.

Reina helped Liverpool reach the ChampionsLeague first knockout round, where they were elimi-nated by Benfica, and the FA Cup final, which theyplay against West Ham United on Saturday.

They also finished third in the Premier League with82 points to secure a Champions League qualifyingplace.

"He (Reina) has used this season as a springboardon to the international scene and has seen off thechallenge of some world class players to keep the mostclean sheets," said Matt Appleby of Barclays, whosecompany makes the award.

Reina began his career with Barcelona and madehis debut for the Catalan side at aged 18. He was on thelosing side against Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Cupsemifinal. — MNA/Reuters

The harsh final scorespoiled the farewell gamefor Middlesbrough coachSteve McClaren, who willtake over England forSven-Goran Eriksson af-ter the World Cup.

Enzo Maresca scoredtwo goals, and Mali'sFrederic Kanoute andBrazil's Luis Fabiano eachadded one for Sevilla.

Middlesbrough gotclose around the hour-mark with a few goodchances and a disputedpenalty incident, but theEnglish team was left torue an easy opportunitymissed by striker MarkViduka, who could not getpast goalkeeper AndresPalop from close range inthe 52nd minute.

Middlesbrough,which twice faced elimi-nation and a three-goaldeficit in the quarterfinalsand semifinals, could notpull off such a feat in thefinal against a more so-phisticated side.

Sevilla's first goal inthe 27th was the productof teamwork and high-lighted a Latin touch.

While Argentina for-ward Javier Saviola luredone defender away fromthe centre, Luis Fabianomoved into the open spacewhere he was served aperfect cross from rightback Daniel Alves. Luis

German soccer officialcriticizes FIFA referee choice

Tower sphere turned intogiant ball for World Cup

MADRID, 11 May —Osasuna coach JavierAguirre has told his play-ers he will leave thePrimera Liga club at theend of the season.

"It's his decision and hehas taken it for a reason,"Osasuna midfielder DavidLopez told a news confer-ence on Wednesday.

"He has been here fouryears, has done very well,and now he has a chance togo to a bigger team. Weunderstand the decisionand wish him all the best."

The former Mexicocoach, whose contract endsin June, has been linked

with a move to replace PepeMurcia at Atletico Madrid.

The 47-year-old ledOsasuna to their first King'sCup final last June, wherethey lost 2-1 to Real Betis,and has taken them intoEurope the last two sea-sons.

The Navarrans, who arefourth in the Primera Ligawith one game left to play,are on course to make itinto the ChampionsLeague for the first timenext season.

Unsettled DeportivoCoruna coach JoaquinCaparros is a target forOsasuna to replace

Aguirre. Depor president

Augusto Cesar Lendoirotold a news conferenceon Tuesday: "Last FridayOsasuna president PatxiIxco called me to enquireabout Caparros.

"I told him that he stillhad two years to run on hiscontract and a project infull flow. Caparros has thefull support of the boardhere."

Caparros, who quitSevilla last June to join theGalician outfit, extendedhis contract with Deporuntil 2008 in December.

MNA/Reuters

BERLIN, 11 May — AGerman soccer official hascriticized FIFA's choice ofWorld Cup referees andsaid UEFA Cup final re-feree Herbert Fandelshould have been picked.

"One referee who usu-ally only works in the stu-dent city league in Singa-pore is going to the WorldCup and Fandel is sentoff into the cold — andno one knows why,"Manfred Amerell, referee

spokesman for the Ger-man Football Association(DFB), said on Wednes-day.

He said Norway's TerjeHauge should also havebeen among the 23 ref-erees chosen by FIFA forthe finals starting on 9June.

"You can't treat thepublic as if they're dumb,"said Amerell. "If he (FIFApresident Sepp Blatter)talks about the best ref-erees, then a couple of thebest, at least from Europe,are missing."

FIFA's referees com-mittee made its decisionafter fitness tests at aworkshop in Germany inApril.

Fandel, 42, will takecharge of Wednesday'sUEFA Cup final betweenMiddlesbrough of Eng-land and Sevilla of Spainin Eindhoven.

MNA/Reuters

BERLIN, 11 May —The sphere of DeutscheTelekom's television towerin Berlin has been trans-formed into a giant soccerball, a month before thestart of the World Cup.

More than 8,000 pinkand silver strips — the col-

ours of World Cup spon-sor Deutsche Telekom —were attached to the "visi-tor's globe" by climbershanging on cables.

The decoration will stayon the 368-metre tower,which was built in Com-munist East Berlin in 1969,for 60 days.

The World Cup beginson 9 June and the final willbe played in Berlin on9 July.

MNA/Reuters

Fabiano produced aheader as powerful as itwas delicate, flicking it offthe right post for theopener.

Australia goalkeeperMark Schwarzer, playingwith a protective maskafter his cheekbone wasbroken two weeks ago,still lunged at the ball butcould not keep it out.

The 33-year-old Aus-tralian, who is to play forhis country at the WorldCup, was making his firststart since he was hurt ina collision with WestHam striker DeanAshton on April 23 in a1-0 loss in the English

FA Cup semifinals. Middlesbrough for-

wards fared badly. JimmyFloyd Hasselbaink wasnoteworthy for his com-plaints to the referee andViduka's most dangerousaction came in front of hisown goal late in the firsthalf when he miscued aclearance that whistledpast his own goalmouth.

Middlesbroughthough, had recoveredfrom worse. Twice it wasthree goals down and re-covered to reach the final,and each time MassimoMaccarone scored the de-cider.

So it was no surprise

that McClaren brought onthe Italian in the secondhalf, but it at first exposedmore holes in defence.Kanoute barely missed anopen header in the 48thminute, and two minuteslater Adriano curled a shotwide.

Then came the momentwhich might have turnedthe match. Chris Riggottheaded to Viduka, whowas wide open 6 metresfrom the line, but he couldnot finish it off.

Despite a terrifyingblast, Palop threw himselfat the ball and pulled offthe save of the match inthe 52nd.— MNA/Xinhua

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Friday, 12 May, 2006 15

*R 489 Published by the News and Periodicals Enterprise, Ministry of Information, Union of Myanmar. Edited and printed at The New Light of Myanmar Press,No 22/30 Strand Road at 43rd Street, Yangon. Cable Newlight, PO Box No. 43, Telephones: Editors 296115, Manager 296864, Circulation 297093, Advertisement 296843,Accounts 296545, Administration 296161, Production 297032 (Office) /297028 (Press).

WEATHER

Thursday, 11 May, 2006

Summary of observations recorded at 09:30hours MST: During the past 24 hours, weather hasbeen cloudy in Kayah, Kayin and Mon States, rainor thundershowers have been isolated in lowerSagaing Division, widespread in Kachin, Chin andRakhine States and scattered in the remaining areas.Day temperatures were (3°C) to (4°C) above normalin Kachin, Kayin States and Taninthayi Division,(3°C) to (4°C) below normal in Rakhine State,Mandalay, Magway, Bago Divisions and about nor-mal in the remaining areas. The significant day tem-peratures was Hpa-an (38°C). The noteworthyamounts of rainfalls recorded were Katha andKyaukpyu (2.25) inches each, Mogok (1.77) inches,Ann (1.34) inches, Sittway (1.26) inches, Mandalay(0.87) inch, Magway (0.67) inch and Kengtung(0.63) inch.

Maximum temperature on 10-5-2006 was94°F. Minimum temperature on 11-5-2006 was 71°F.Relative humidity at 09:30 hrs MST on 11-5-2006was (76%). Total sunshine hours on 10-5-2006 was(7.8) hours approx.

Rainfalls on 11-5-2006 were (0.23) inch atMingaladon, (0.16) inch at Kaba-Aye and nil at Cen-tral Yangon. Total rainfalls since 1-1-2006 were (6.10)inches at Mingaladon, (8.03) inches at Kaba-Aye and(5.59) inches at Central Yangon. Maximum windspeed at Yangon (Kaba-Aye) was (15) mph fromSouthwest at (15:45) hours MST on 10-5-2006.

Bay inference: Weather is cloudy in the AndamanSea, North Bay and East Central Bay and partly cloudyelsewhere in the Bay of Bengal.

Forecast valid until evening of 12-5-2006: Wide-spread rain or thundershowers are likely in Kachin,Rakhine, Mon and Kayin States, Yangon and TaninthayiDivisions, scattered in Chin and Shan States, Bago andAyeyawady Divisions and isolated in the remainingStates and Divisions. Degree of certainty is (60%).

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

Outlook for subsequent two days: Rain or thun-dershowers are likely in the Southern Myanmar areas.

Forecast for Nay Pyi Taw City and neighbour-ing areas for 12-5-2006: Likelihood of isolated rain orthundershowers. Degree of certainty is (60%).

Forecast for Yangon and neighbouringareas for 12-5-2006: One or two rain or thundershow-ers. Degree of certainty is (80%).

Forecast for Mandalay and neighbouringareas for 12-5-2006: Likelihood of isolated rain orthundershowers. Degree of certainty is (60%).

Friday, 12 MayTune in today

Friday, 12 MayView on today

8.30 am Brief news8.35 am Music:

-Under the sun8.40 am Perspectives8.45 am Music:

-Beg8.50 am National news /

Slogan9:00 am Music:

-Sure9:05 am International

news9:10 am Music:

-Love & affection1:30 pm News / Slogan1:40pm Lunch time music

-Say it again-Yesterday-You are

9.00 pm WOM-Thailand, Cam-bodia, Korea,Brunei, China,India

9.15 pm Article9.25 pm Music at your

request-It’s your love-From the heart-She’s the one

9.45 pm News /Slogan10.00 pm PEL

8:05 am 8. The mirror images of

the musical oldies8:15 am 9. At;‘pic\p∑At;‘pic\p∑At;‘pic\p∑At;‘pic\p∑At;‘pic\p∑8:25 am10. ek¥ak\”k^;epåk\tMta;ek¥ak\”k^;epåk\tMta;ek¥ak\”k^;epåk\tMta;ek¥ak\”k^;epåk\tMta;ek¥ak\”k^;epåk\tMta;

8:30 am11. International news

8:45 am12.Happy and Educational

English Summer

Course MRTV4:00 pm 1. Martial song4:15 pm 2. Song to uphold

National Spirit4:30 pm 3. Practice in Reading4:45 pm 4. Musical programme5:00 pm 5. Aew;qc\tkquil\pvaer;Aew;qc\tkquil\pvaer;Aew;qc\tkquil\pvaer;Aew;qc\tkquil\pvaer;Aew;qc\tkquil\pvaer;

Rup\�mc\qMÂka; qc\Kn\;saRup\�mc\qMÂka; qc\Kn\;saRup\�mc\qMÂka; qc\Kn\;saRup\�mc\qMÂka; qc\Kn\;saRup\�mc\qMÂka; qc\Kn\;sa

-ttiy-ttiy-ttiy-ttiy-ttiyN˙s\   (N˙s\   (N˙s\   (N˙s\   (N˙s\   (qKç¥aqKç¥aqKç¥aqKç¥aqKç¥aAT¨;AT¨;AT¨;AT¨;AT¨;‘p)‘p)‘p)‘p)‘p)

(((((qKç¥aqKç¥aqKç¥aqKç¥aqKç¥a)))))

5:10 pm 6. Song of national races

7:00 am1. Recitation of Parittas

by Missionary Saya-daw U Ottamathara

7:15 am 2. tipi!kDr' DmμB‹agårik'tipi!kDr' DmμB‹agårik'tipi!kDr' DmμB‹agårik'tipi!kDr' DmμB‹agårik'tipi!kDr' DmμB‹agårik'

Ag©mhap‹it' Bd∂N †qiriN∂aAg©mhap‹it' Bd∂N †qiriN∂aAg©mhap‹it' Bd∂N †qiriN∂aAg©mhap‹it' Bd∂N †qiriN∂aAg©mhap‹it' Bd∂N †qiriN∂aBiwMq (eyaBiwMq (eyaBiwMq (eyaBiwMq (eyaBiwMq (eyaSraeta\)Sraeta\)Sraeta\)Sraeta\)Sraeta\)ehaÂka;eta\m ¨Ap\eqaehaÂka;eta\m ¨Ap\eqaehaÂka;eta\m ¨Ap\eqaehaÂka;eta\m ¨Ap\eqaehaÂka;eta\m ¨Ap\eqaUpπåtqN †ipåLieta\UpπåtqN †ipåLieta\UpπåtqN †ipåLieta\UpπåtqN †ipåLieta\UpπåtqN †ipåLieta\

7:25 am 3. To be healthy

exercise7:30 am 4. Morning news7:40 am 5. Nice and sweet song7:50 am 6. Rui;raek¥;lk\ksa;nv\;Rui;raek¥;lk\ksa;nv\;Rui;raek¥;lk\ksa;nv\;Rui;raek¥;lk\ksa;nv\;Rui;raek¥;lk\ksa;nv\;8:00 am 7. Ak‘pic\p´∑Ak‘pic\p´∑Ak‘pic\p´∑Ak‘pic\p´∑Ak‘pic\p´∑

5:25 pm

7. �mn\masa' �mn\maska;�mn\masa' �mn\maska;�mn\masa' �mn\maska;�mn\masa' �mn\maska;�mn\masa' �mn\maska;

5:40 pm

8. {AN †ray\Suita lk\ts\{AN †ray\Suita lk\ts\{AN †ray\Suita lk\ts\{AN †ray\Suita lk\ts\{AN †ray\Suita lk\ts\

km\;m˙a}km\;m˙a}km\;m˙a}km\;m˙a}km\;m˙a}

(sui;q¨' nn\;kl¥alOic\)(sui;q¨' nn\;kl¥alOic\)(sui;q¨' nn\;kl¥alOic\)(sui;q¨' nn\;kl¥alOic\)(sui;q¨' nn\;kl¥alOic\)

(dåRuik\ta-esasN∂aliOc\)(dåRuik\ta-esasN∂aliOc\)(dåRuik\ta-esasN∂aliOc\)(dåRuik\ta-esasN∂aliOc\)(dåRuik\ta-esasN∂aliOc\)

5:45 pm

9. Song of yesteryears

6:00 pm

10.Evening news

6:30 pm

11.Weather report

6:35 pm

12.qutsuMlc\ erW a%\rc\qutsuMlc\ erW a%\rc\qutsuMlc\ erW a%\rc\qutsuMlc\ erW a%\rc\qutsuMlc\ erW a%\rc\

7:05 pm

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

{Pn\pn\;l˙l˙} (Apuic\;-8){Pn\pn\;l˙l˙} (Apuic\;-8){Pn\pn\;l˙l˙} (Apuic\;-8){Pn\pn\;l˙l˙} (Apuic\;-8){Pn\pn\;l˙l˙} (Apuic\;-8)

8:00 pm

14.News

15.International news

16.Weather report

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

{er˙>en} (Apuic\;-5){er˙>en} (Apuic\;-5){er˙>en} (Apuic\;-5){er˙>en} (Apuic\;-5){er˙>en} (Apuic\;-5)

18.The next day’s

programme

Switzerland’s

Roger Federer

returns the ball

to Italy’s Potito

Starace during

the second round

of the Rome

Masters tennis

tournament, in

Rome, on

Wednesday, 10

May, 2006.

Federer won

6-3, 7-6 (2).

INTERNET

WASHINGTON, 11 May — Americans currently have a bleaker view of the country’s direction than atany time in more than two decades, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll published onWednesday.

Poll shows Americans have bleaker view of country’s direction

Seventy per cent ofrespondents to the poll saidthe country was headingin the wrong direction,compared with 23 per centwho said they approvedof the direction in whichthe country was heading.

The findings sug-gested that Americanswere more pessimisticabout the country’s direc-tion than at any time in the23 years that the Timesand CBS News have askedthe question.

US President GeorgeW. Bush’s approval rat-

ings for his handling offoreign policy, Iraq andthe economy have fallento the lowest levels of hispresidency in the poll.Only 39 per cent of re-spondents said going towar in Iraq was the correctdecision, down from 47per cent in January, andtwo thirds said they hadlittle or no confidence thatBush could successfullyend the war.

Sixty-three per centdisapproved of the Presi-dent’s handling of foreignpolicy in general. On the

issues that have been atthe top of the nationalagenda in recent months,in particular immigrationand gasoline prices, just13 per cent approved ofBush’s handling of risinggasoline prices, and abouta quarter said they ap-proved of his handling of

immigration. Bush’s overall job ap-

proval rating has hit a newlow of 31 per cent in thepoll, the lowest approvalrating of any president in50 years; only RichardNixon and Jimmy Carterwere viewed less favour-ably.—MNA/Xinhua

Syria tells Western countries not tomeddle in its internal affairs

UNITED NATIONS, 11May — The United Statesand other Western coun-tries should stop meddling

in the internal affairs ofSyria and Lebanon,Syrian Deputy ForeignMinister Fayssal Mekdadsaid on Tuesday.

The remarks came asFrance has worked out adraft resolution in the UNSecurity Council urgingSyria to respond to Leba-non’s call to establish for-mal diplomatic ties anddemarcate their commonborder.

“I think what they haveto do is to have Syria andLebanon solve their ownproblems. They have noth-ing to do with Lebanon,”Mekdad told reporters.

US Secretary ofState Condoleezza Rice andher French counterpartPhilippe Douste-Blazywere to meet at the UN lateTuesday to discuss theSyria-Lebanon issue.

MNA/Xinhua

1st Waning of Kason 1368 ME Friday, 12 May, 2006

INSIDE

PAGE 7 TEKKATHO TIN AUNG

At the 8th InternationalRed Cross Conference heldin London in 1907, HungaryRed Cross Society made a sug-gestion that persons whoshowed brilliant perform-ances in nursing services beawarded.

YANGON, 11 May — Member of the StatePeace and Development Council Lt-Gen Ye Myintof the Ministry of Defence, accompanied by Chair-man of Mandalay Division Peace and DevelopmentCouncil Commander of Central Command Maj-GenKhin Zaw and Mayor Brig-Gen Phone Zaw Han,gave instructions on participation in carrying out fiverural development tasks, and agriculture and live-stock breeding tasks to officers, other ranks and

Thriving physic nut plantations, nurseries inspectedin Kyaukse, Meiktila Districts

family members of regiments and units at the hall ofMandalay Station on 7 May morning.

They viewed 287,000 physic nut saplings nearMandalay Station Hall and the physic nut nursery atCentral Command Headquarters.

They inspected fish breeding at the commandheadquarters. At the local battalion in Tagundaing,they inspected over 20,000 physic nut plants.

In Kyaukse, Lt-Gen Ye Myint heard reports

on nurturing of physic nut saplings at the nurserynear Tasoe-Myittha Road presented by District PDCChairman Lt-Col Tin Ohn. At the nursery, 34,400physic nut saplings are put on 29 acres of land. Theyinspected 3,060 physic nut plants of Kyaukse Dis-trict Police Force.

They viewed physic nut plantations nearThittatkon Diversion Dam in Myittha Township,

(See page 9)

NAY PYI TAW, 11 May — Member of the StatePeace and Development Council Lt-Gen Khin MaungThan of the Ministry of Defence left Nay Pyi TawCity for Yeni, Bago Division on 9 May. Lt-Gen KhinMaung Than together with Chairman of Bago Divi-sion Peace and Development Council Commanderof Southern Command Maj-Gen Ko Ko arrived atToungoo.

During the meeting with officers, other ranksand their families in Toungoo Station, Lt-Gen KhinMaung Than gave instructions on extensive cultiva-tion of physic nut plants which can help to gainmore family income, and measures to be taken forcultivation and livestock breeding on a manageablescale and cordially greeted officers, other ranks andtheir families.

Lt-Gen Khin Maung Than and party attended

Lt-Gen Khin Maung Than meets families ofTatmadawmen, attends collective growing of physic

nut plants, inspects Thaukyekhat hydel power project

the ceremony to present and grow physic nut plantsin Toungoo Station. Next, Lt-Col Thaw Tar of South-ern Command reported to Lt-Gen Khin Maung Thanon stockpiling physic nut saplings and arrangementsfor growing physic nut plants.

Next, Lt-Gen Khin Maung Than and party pre-sented physic nut cuttings and saplings to officialsand inspected collective growing of physic nut plantson 100 acres of land. Arrangements have been madefor growing of physic nut plants on 30,000 acres upto 2008 in Southern Command. Moreover, regimentsand units, departments and local people will culti-vate 500,000 acres of physic nut plants within threeyears in Bago Division.

Afterwards, Lt-Gen Khin Maung Than metwith departmental personnel at division, district and

(See page 9)

Lt-Gen Khin Maung Than views the site for construction of Thaukyekhat Hydel Power Station and the dam near Htonbo Village ofToungoo Township. — MNA

Lt-Gen Ye Myint of Ministry of Defence inspects the canal of Thittatkon Diversion Dam in Myittha Township. — MNA