INVEST IN EDUCATION TO ENJOY FRUITS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS PAGE-8 (OPINION)

NATIONAL NATIONAL Union Minister Dr Pwint San inspects Phan Electricity and Energy Ministry Khar Myay trade centre, Magway Region focuses on better supply of electricity

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Vol. VIII, No. 28, 7th Waxing of Kason 1383 ME www.gnlm.com.mm Monday, 17 May 2021 General film needs finalized work processes

LL should carry on final- could start the work process by izing tasks on the biogra- September 2019. But the process Aphy film of General Aung was suspended for the first and San, urged Union Minister for second waves of the Covid-19. Religious Affairs and Culture U Consequently, it could not be im- Ko Ko at the meeting to screen plemented under the target date. the film at the hall of the Nation- Deputy Minister U Tun Ohn al Museum in yesterday and Alinkakyawswa academy afternoon. Bagyi Soe Moe reported on fu- The Union minister said it ture tasks. could be seen that the fund might Officials of Red Radiance be insufficient in order to contin- Co Ltd and Yangon Post Co Ltd, ue work processes such as com- scholars and historians discussed puter animation, editing, sound the successful completion of the effects, final editing, colourization film production. — MNA and music/dubbing. The Union minister pledged to arrange the Union Minister U Ko Ko chairs availability of the fund for the film. the coordination meeting The government formed the on General Aung San film General Aung San biography film yesterday. production committee, which 26 mln fingerlings to be added into lakes, reservoir in Yangon Region this rainy season

TOTAL of 26 million fin- 15 May. velopment Committee’s En- gerlings are projected The chairman, accompa- gineering Department (water Ato be added into ponds, nied by the council members and sanitation), elaborated Nga lakes and reservoirs in Yangon and officials concerned from Moe Yeik Water Supply Project Region during the rainy season, the respective departments, for Yangon city. U Kyaw Naing according to the chairman of the put 100,000 rohus (two-inches Oo, director of the Irrigation Yangon Region Administration sized), 100,000 Barbus fish and and Water Utilization Manage- Council. 50,000 common carp into the ment Department, explained “This effort aims to effec- Nga Moe Yeik reservoir at the the coordination between the tuate sustainable development ceremony. departments. Moreover, Dr Zaw in aquaculture in order to en- Chairman U Hla Soe of the Win, a member of YCDC, added hance the socio-economy of the Yangon Region Administration further water resilience projects people living in rural sites of Council, the council members for water security in the region the region. It would boost the and officials concerned also at- to meet the needs of the growing country’s economic growth. It tended the event of Yangon city population. can also manage fish and prawn water supply projects through The chairman and Yangon population amid overfishing,” Nga Moe Yeik reservoir in Hlegu Command Commander also ob- he pointed out when addressing Township on 15 May. served the Nga Moe Yeik reser- The 250,000 young fish are added into the Nga Moe Yeik reservoir on 15 at the ceremony of adding fish At the event, U Myint Zaw voir and left instructions. – San May 2021. into Nga Moe Yeik reservoir on Than, head of Yangon City De- Kyaw Oo (IPRD)/GNLM

INSIDE TODAY

NATIONAL NATIONAL NATIONAL LOCAL BUSINESS Union Minister U Construction still continues Health staff to enjoy Maymyo flower sold Maung Maung Ohn for public rental housings, allowances for scholar degrees, well in Minbu (Sagu) inspects islands in retired service personnel risk for communicable disease Kawthoung rental housings and radiation PAGE-3 PAGE-4 PAGE-5 PAGE-7 17 MAY 2021 2 NATIONAL THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF

Republic of the Union of Myanmar State Administration Council Nine Objectives

1. Political affairs (b) To develop a stable market economy and promote international investment (a) To build a Union based on democracy and federalism, through a disciplined in order to enhance the economic development of the entire National people. and genuine multiparty democratic system that is fair and just. (c) To promote and support local businesses to create employment opportu- (b) To emphasize the achievement of enduring peace for the entire nation in nities and increase domestic production. line with the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). (c) To continue implementing the principle of peaceful co-existence among 3. Social affairs countries through an independent, active and non-aligned foreign policy. (a) To ensure a strong and dynamic Union spirit, the genuine spirit of patriot- ism. 2. Economic affairs (b) To respect and promote the customs and traditions of all National peoples (a) To enhance production based on agriculture and livestock through modern and preserve and safeguard their cultural heritage and national charac- techniques and strengthen all-round development in other sectors of the teristics. economy. (c) To enhance the health, fitness and education quality of the entire nation.

Five-Point Road Map of the State Administration Council

1. The Union Election Commission will be reconstituted and its mandated tasks, including the scrutiny of voter lists, shall be implemented in accordance with the law. 2. Effective measures will be taken with added momentum to prevent and manage the COVID-19 pandemic. 3. Actions will be taken to ensure the speedy recovery of businesses from the impact of COVID-19. 4. Emphasis will be placed on achieving enduring peace for the entire nation in line with the agreements set out in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. 5. Upon accomplishing the provisions of the state of emergency, free and fair multiparty democratic elections will be held in line with the 2008 Constitution, and further work will be undertaken to hand over State duties to the winning party in accordance with democratic standards.

Republic of the Union of Myanmar Anti-Terrorism Central Committee Declaration of Terrorist Groups Notification No 2/2021 12th Waning of Tagu 1383 ME 8 May 2021

The Anti-Terrorism Central Committee has issued this order with the approval of the State Administration Council in exercising sub-section (e) of Section 6 and sub-section (b) of Section 72 of the Anti-Terrorism Law. 1. Unlawful Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw-CRPH and National Unity Government NUG formed by CRPH constantly incited Civil Disobedience Movement-CDM participants to commit violent acts. Many riots occurred in many places of the country due to their incitements. They perpetrated bombing, arson, manslaughter, and intimidation to disrupt the state administrative machinery due to the influence of the leaders of CRPH and NUG. Moreover, NUG established People Defence Force-PDF. Violent acts occurred in the name of regional defence forces instigated by NUG and PDF. It is found that their acts to join CDM, threatening non-CDMs, inciting students and teachers not to go to schools, supporting terrorist acts and perpetrating such terrorist acts violate Section 3 (b) and Sub-section 13 of the Counter-Terrorism Law – acts with the intent to cause fear in public, to force Government or any internal and external organization to do an illegitimate act or to refrain from doing a lawful act, and other acts, stipulated by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No 23 on 4 June 2014. 2. Therefore, unlawful associations – Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw-CRPH, National Unity Government-NUG, People Defence Force-PDF and all their subordinates have been declared as terrorist groups.

Chairman Anti-Terrorism Central Committee

6 new cases of COVID-19 reported on 16 May, total figure rises to 143,065

MYANMAR’S COVID-19 positive cases rose to 143,065 after 6 new cases were reported on 16 May 2021 according to the Ministry of Health and Sports. Among these confirmed cases, 132,115 have been discharged from hospitals. —MNA 17 MAY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR NATIONAL 3

MNMM MNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNNM N NN

It is necessary to control too much consumption of edible oils, N N N monosodium glutamate, narcotic drugs, liquor and cigarette N M N M SYSTEMATIC supervision must be performed to check the edible oil, whether it is refined oil or not with the aim of ensuring the people consume the healthy edible oils with quality guarantee. As Myanmar’s expectant lifespan is 67.42 years, it is the lowest among the neighbouring countries. As such, it is necessary N M to control too much consumption of edible oils, monosodium glutamate, narcotic drugs, liquor and cigarette, harming the health conditions with a conscience.

Efforts must be made for the standardization of Myanmar people’s lifespan in the world with the arrangements to supply nutritious foodstuffs at fair prices, N M and health awareness should be raised for the people to have a healthy lifestyle. N M (Excerpt from the speech to the Management Committee meeting made by N M the Republic of the Union of Myanmar State Administration Council Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on 11 May 2021) MNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNN Union Minister Dr Pwint San inspects Phan Khar Myay trade centre, Magway Region

UNION Minister for Com- employment opportunities merce Dr Pwint San in- and to connect with more spected the Phan Khar foreign markets based on Myay Trade Centre yes- the trade centre. terday morning in Magway Afterwards, the Union Region. Minister and party inspect- During the inspection ed the preparation of the tour, officials explained lo- Office of the Regional Di- cal products of Magway Re- rector for the Consumer Af- gion displayed in the trade fairs Department, and gave centre, and the Union Min- instructions for the office ister instructed them to de- work and future implemen- velop the local trading busi- tations, and met with staff. nesses, to increase more —MNA

Union Minister U Maung Maung Ohn inspects islands in Kawthoung

UNION Minister for Hotels and motorboats and a hiking area Tourism U Maung Maung Ohn for tourists to enjoy bird watch- made an inspection tour to the ing and explore the scuba div- islands in Kawthoung District, ing sites around the island and Taninthayi Region on 15 May. underwater beauty. The Union Minister in- The Union Minister also spected the Nyaung Oo Phe toured the snorkelling sites island seen with coral reefs near Lal Lwe Lay Lone is- located about 50 feet from the land, Thahtay Kyun hotel, shore. Many local and inter- Cape Bayint Naung, 555 Hill, national tourists come and do Pulone Tone Tone bridge, hotel snorkelling at its six snorkel- operation of the Victoria Cliff ling sites, trekking and hiking, Hotel and organic farm in the and enjoying the sunset. The hotel compound. island is in the Zardetgyi vil- Apart from marine tour- lage-tract, and TZK Company ism activities such as scuba Limited runs a hotel business diving, snorkelling, exploring there. mangroves and relaxing on During his visit to the fork the island’s beaches, plans are island, responsible persons ex- underway in order to develop plained the hotel business to new destinations for tourists be run on the island. The fork in Myeik Archipelago, Kaw- island is a popular tourist des- thoung District, Taninthayi tination for cruise ships and Region. —MNA 17 MAY 2021 4 NATIONAL THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Electricity and Energy Ministry focuses on better supply of electricity

electricity to the people, said fication plan-NEP. Union Minister for Electricity The Union minister and Energy U Aung Than Oo at stressed that the people had the videoconferencing coordi- recognized the best services nation meeting in Nay Pyi Taw of the ministry without an out- on 15 and 16 May. age of electricity. So, he urged The Union Minister noted all to maintain the excellent that arrangements are being tradition with further effort to made for generating electric- improve their tasks. ity yearly through hydropower Officials reported on work projects, solar power projects progress in the second quar- and renewable energy projects ter of the 2020-2021 financial with the least environmental year and plans for the third impacts and social impacts and and fourth quarters. Deputy THE Ministry of Electricity from hydropower stations, so- plants and LNG-fired power meet the year-wise electricity Minister U Thant Sin gave and Energy is making efforts lar power stations, natural gas plants with various sources demand of the country in line a supplementary report. — in order to generate electricity power plants, recycling power for ensuring safe and stable with the 2030 national electri- MNA Construction still continues for public rental housings, retired service personnel rental housings THE Ministry of Construction In this regard, he contin- places emphasis on the devel- ued that 28 buildings with 448 opment of the urban sector apartments are under con- with arrangements to imple- struction in Nay Pyi Taw. The ment the housing projects for Union minister urged officials the convenience of the local from Project Management Unit people, said Union Minister and private entrepreneurs to for Construction U Shwe Lay ensure timely completion of in meeting with entrepreneurs the project. in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday. Chairman of Nay Pyi Taw On arrival at the public Council Dr Maung Maung rental housing project and Naing pledged to provide as- retired State service person- sistance for local people and nel rental housing project in retired service personnel from Dekkhinathiri Township, the housing projects to have con- Union minister explained that venient housing arrangements the government aims to fulfil so as to develop Nay Pyi Taw the housing requirements of Council Area. struction of five-storey four- tired service personnel hous- implemented by the Depart- the people and service person- The Union Minister and unit public housings with 614 ings with 650 square feet area ment of Urban and Housing nel in populous Nay Pyi Taw, the Nay Pyi Taw Council square feet of each apartment, of each apartment. Development and the private Yangon and Mandalay. Chairman inspected the con- and five-storey four-unit re- The projects are jointly entrepreneurs’ group. —MNA

State Administration Council Press Release Re-invitation to Myanmar citizens who arrive in various regions for many reasons

1. Some student youths, State service personnel and citizens, evaded to areas of EAOs and foreign countries with worries because of incitement and intimidation of NLD members, the extremists who support that party, CRPH unlawful association, incitement of CDM and persons and organizations at home and abroad not wishing to restore peace and stability of the State since after 1 February 2021 when the Tatmadaw assumed the State responsibility. 2. They are further worried about the dictatorship statement and speeches of CRPH unlawful association and some relevant persons. As they face no security guarantee and difficulties in socio-economic life in their areas, they wish to return to their native lands. 3. As those who evaded from their native areas are also citizens, the State Administration Council will arrange their returns from evaded areas to various regions of Myanmar. 4. Information was released that if those who evaded to various areas except the persons who committed any kinds of crime wish to return to their native lands in Myanmar of their own accord, the citizens abroad are to contact nearby ward, village, township and district administration bodies and relevant embassies, military attaché offices and consulates without facing action taken in accord with the law. Information Team State Administration Council 17 MAY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR NATIONAL 5 Health staff to enjoy allowances for scholar degrees, risk for communicable disease and radiation

UNION Minister for Health doses of vaccine as quickly as and Sports Dr Thet Khaing Win possible. pledged to provide allowances On his inspection tour, the for the scholar degrees and the Union minister viewed round the expenditure for the dinner to the inpatient wards and the emer- staff serving at the whole night gency unit at Aunglan Hospital. duty at the hospital, in meeting In meeting with health staff and with staff of Pyay General Hos- town elders, the Union minis- pital on 15 May. ter said the ministry provides He made field trips to Aung- necessary medicines, including lan Hospital in Magway Region snake venom, to the hospital. He and Pyay General Hospital in stressed the need to specially Bago Region. take care of preventive meas- The Union Minister also ures for variant Covid-19 virus promised, saying that arrange- not to enter the country. ments will be made for present- He also looked into the ing the risk allowance for the emergency patient unit, oper- staff serving at the sections ation theatre, orthopaedic ward of communicable disease and and maternity ward of Pyay Gen- radiation. He also noted that eral Hospital. He inspected the vaccination of Covid-19 would progress of building the inten- be given to the persons who did sive care unit with the fund of not receive the first and second the government. — MNA

Over 200,000 outpatients provided Explosives seized while healthcare at military hospitals to date investigating homemade mine explosion case in Mandalay A total of 206,252 outpatients and 63,235 inpatients reached these hospitals from 5 February to date. Senior medical experts, medics and nurses have con- ducted 9,647 major operations and 4,899 minor operations. The senior doctors treat the severe EXPLOSIVE materials were injured person fled, and the cases. These hospitals managed seized while conducting a fur- motorbike driver was arrested. for the birth of 12,334 babies, ther investigation on the home- After searching the ar- while 12,334 pregnant women made mine explosion case, restee’s house, four batteries, were taken to the respective mil- which caused a man wounded two motorbike batteries, eight itary hospitals. on 15 May in Chanmyathazi homemade mines made with It is reported that Tatmadaw Township, . juice cans, four old keypad MILITARY hospitals and tempo- keep giving medical treatments will continue to accelerate coop- The homemade mine blast phones, six old tablets, pieces rary emergency hospitals in the to the people to solve their diffi- eration in developing the public happened when two men on a of wire, one clock, one laptop townships of regions and states culties in healthcare services. health care sector. —MNA motorbike secretly carrying the and one anti-State slogan were mine arrived near Chanmyat- found and confiscated. hazi southern ward adminis- It is reported that efforts 7 injured in homemade mine blast in tration office in Chanmyathazi are underway to arrest the township at 4:30 pm on 15 May. fugitives and take legal ac- Denko filling station The blast made one of them tion against the arrested one. injured on his left knee. The —MNA

One detained for drawing anti- Government image, text in Latputta A man was detained in Latput- It is reported that action will ta town, Ayeyawady Region, for be taken against him under the drawing anti-government image law. FIVE men and two women were by the fire brigade members and tooth Speaker Box, which was and text with black spray paint Security forces keep arrest- injured during the homemade security forces. Two staff and believed to be a homemade on the roadside fence on 15 May. ing, under the law, those who mine explosion in Denko filling five customers were reported- mine, at the base of filling sta- Soe Wunna Htut, 21, son of U hang and write anti-Government station on Khaymarthi road, ly injured, and two motorbikes tion No (4) and exploded about Myat Toe, who lives in No 1 ward slogans, posters, papers on the (Gagyi) ward, North Okkalapa were destroyed by fire. five minutes later. of Latputta town, Ayeyawady Re- state-owned and public buildings Township, Yangon Region, on According to the CCTV Security forces are report- gion, was arrested with anti-Gov- and spread them on the streets 15 May. footage, two men arrived on a edly searching for the perpe- ernment posters and images and intending to destabilize the coun- The fire was extinguished motorbike. They set off a Blue- trators of the incident. —MNA one black spray paint. try. – MNA 17 MAY 2021 6 NATIONAL THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Pagodas, other religious buildings Security forces confiscate weapons to be used in terrorist peaceful with prayers attacks in Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Ayeyawady regions

SECURITY forces confiscated slingshots, 30 arrows, 10 iron weapons and equipment to be pipes, 10 iron pipes, 100 iron used in terrorist attacks in Kh- balls, five lead balls, one sword, inU Township, Sagaing Region; and related items used in ter- Yenangyoung Township, Mag- rorist attacks. way Region; Mogok Township It is reported that securi- in Mandalay Region and Hin- ty forces continue to search thada Township in Ayeyawady and identify the owners of the Region on 15 May. weapons and equipment. Those Fifty-seven homemade who are arrested together with bombs were seized, and they them will be taken action under include nine diesel bottles, five the law. — MNA Tatmadaw medical team performs RDT on returnees in Mon, Kayin Kyaik Htee Yoe Pagoda seen with devotees. states PAGODAS, temples and other buildings and prayer halls were and playgrounds in cities includ- religious buildings across the temporarily closed to contain ing Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and country are alive and peaceful the spread of the COVID-19 out- Mandalay have reopened. And with prayers since the reopening break in Myanmar. They have markets, hospitals, flights, rail- on 8 February. reopened since 8 February. ways, waterways and bus lines The country’s religious It is also reported that parks are in regular operation. — MNA

Arson attack happens at middle school in Kalay

TERRORISTS set fire to the The fire brigade members, It is reported that securi- No (1) Basic Education Middle police force and security forc- ty forces are investigating to School in Taungphelar ward in es extinguished the fire. Two identify the arsonists to take Returnees are seen receiving RDT for COVID. Kalay Town, Sagaing Region, school building and school fur- effective action under the law. yesterday morning. niture were destroyed by fire. — MNA DUE to difficulties to conduct aw Hospital in South-East necessary COVID-19 medical Command, in collaboration check-up, residents from Mon with the township adminis- State and Kayin State who tration body members and repatriated from abroad were CSOs, performed Rapid Diag- under quarantine in Maw- nostic Test (RDT) on a total lamyine University. of 101 returnees in the quar- Military doctors, nurses antine centre. — MNA and medics from the Tatmad-

Terrorists attack members of security forces in Chin, Kachin states TERRORISTS attacked the near Naungmoe village security forces in Kanpetlet while it was on the way from township, Chin State and Shwegu port to Bhamo town, Bhamo, Kachin State, and Kachin State. A member one member of the security of the security forces was forces was injured. wounded when a terrorists’ On 15 May, terrorists at- shell exploded on the ship. tacked the Kanpetlet police It is reported that plans station two times in Kanpet- are underway to comb those let town, Chin State. terrorists who attacked the On 16 May, terrorists security forces. — MNA Ravages are seen after arson attack on a middle school in Kalay. attacked the “Pinlone” ship 17 MAY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR LOCAL BUSINESS 7 Maymyo flower sold well in Minbu (Sagu)

THE local growers from seeds. The flowery plants does Kyaukton village, Minbu (Sagu) not need to be watered, but it township, Magway region are is required in order to put the growing Maymyo flowers. Ac- irrigation water. The irrigation cording to the local growers, water is needed once every five the flowers are being sold well or seven days, depending upon in the market, and they yield the ground’s soil moisture. abundantly. The pesticides should Flowers are not food items. be sprayed when there are However, they are essential to insects. The fertilizer is also the Myanmar people. Every used only when it is necessary. household offers flowers to The flowers yield abundantly Lord Buddha either at pagodas at the same time, and they at or to Buddha images seated on K80 per flower and K200 per altars at their homes. Flowers handful of flowers. Maymyo are also used at wedding recep- flowers are sold well in harvest tions, donation ceremonies, ho- times. Growers are happy as it The flowers yield abundantly at the same time, and they are sold for K80 per flower and K200 per handful of tels, motels and other festivals makes handsome profits, said flowers. Maymyo flowers sell well in harvest times. as decorations. Daw Mya Kyi, a Maymyo flower There are many Maymyo are colourful. The cultivation about five months. The culti- costs K300,000 per acre, includ- grower from Kyaukton village. flower species, and the flowers of the Maymyo flower takes vation of the Maymyo flower ing ploughing and sowing the — Zeyar Htet (Minbu)/GNLM

Domestic black bean price soars by K54,000 per Domestic corn tonne in two weeks because of dollar appreciation

consumption WITH the rising dollar exchange cording to the bean market data. pigeon peas. Myanmar has to ex- rate, the price of black beans has Presently, the local dollar ex- port black beans and pigeon peas soared by K54,000 per tonne in the change rate was at K 1,595 per under a quota system and limit likely to drop this domestic market in two weeks, dollar on 1 May, but it upturned period. Consequently, according according to Yangon Region to K1,675 per dollar on 14 May. to market observers, there is Chambers of Commerce and Myanmar yields around no guarantee that we could get year Industry (Bayint Naung Broker- 400,000 tonnes of black bean an- the prevailing market price this age). nually, and the bean is primarily year. Following no assurance of DOMESTIC corn consump- According to MCIA, the coun- Although the black bean exported to India. Similarly, about black beans and pigeon peas in tion is expected to drop this try intends to reach an export price on 1 May was K888,500 per 50,000 tonnes of pigeon peas are the market, the association sug- year compared to last year, target of 1.6 million tonnes of tonne, the price grew to about produced yearly and exported to gested at the end-October 2020 said Chairperson U Min corn this year. K942,500 per tonne on 14 May, India as well. Since 2017, India has that the local farmers grow the Khaing of the Myanmar Currently, Myanmar has which is an increase of K54,000 been setting the import quota on black-eyed beans more. — NN/ Corn Industrial Association been delivering corn to neigh- per tonne in only two weeks, ac- beans, including black beans and GNLM (MCIA). bouring countries like Thai- Although the country land and China via the land consumed about 1.2 million border, with a ton of corn External trade drastically drops by $5.34 tonnes of corn last year, the fetching up about 8,000 Bahts. corn consumption is expect- Thailand gives the bln as of 7 May ed to decline this year for lack greenlight to corn imports of a substantial market for through Mae Sot under MYANMAR’S external trade bouring countries tightened ning Law for the Financial Year livestock. Corn is one of the zero tariff (with Form-D) between 1 October and 7 May in the border security and limited 2020-2021, Myanmar intends to primary feeds for livestock. between 1 February and 31 the current financial year 2020- the trading time to contain the reach an export target of US$16 “Last year, about 1.2 August. But, the shipment to 2021 plummeted to US$18.08 bil- spread of the virus. billion and import of $18 billion. million tonnes of corn were Singapore, Malaysia and Viet lion, a sharp drop of 5.34 billion Furthermore, the current The Ministry of Commerce expected to produce. But this Nam shortly stopped because compared with the correspond- political conditions drag down is focusing on reducing the year, we have expected only 1 of zero demand. ing period of the FY2019-2020, the trade. At present, the trad- trade deficit, export promo- million tonne because there In the 2019-2020 financial according to the Ministry of ers have transaction problem tion and market diversifica- is no strong market for the year, the country exported 2.2 Commerce. triggered by the restriction of tion. Since 2011, the Ministry livestock breeders. Now, we million tonnes of corn to the According to data released the private banks, a market ob- of Commerce has adhered to have to see the production of international market, with a by the ministry during the same server shared his opinion. its reform policy. A series of the livestock products such generated value of over US$ period in the previous FY, the Myanmar exports agricul- moves to liberalize and open as chicken and eggs. The 360 million, according to the trade stood at $23.4 billion. tural products, animal prod- the economy have been intro- operation of the supermar- official data of the Ministry of Over the past seven ucts, minerals, forest products, duced through policy devel- kets is not running as usual, Commerce. months, Myanmar’s export was and finished industrial goods. opment to improve the trade and the livestock breeders Corn is cultivated in worth over $8.97 billion, which At the same time, it imports environment. are also reducing their live- Shan, Kachin, Kayah and plunged from $11.23 billion capital goods, raw industrial The external trade stood stock feeds. By reducing the Kayin states and Mandalay, registered a year-ago period. materials, and consumer goods. at $36.73 billion in the 2019- livestock feeds, the domestic Sagaing and Magway re- Meanwhile, the country’s im- The country’s export sec- 2020FY, $35.147 billion in the consumption of corn has also gions. Myanmar has three port was valued at $9.1 billion, tor relies more on the agricul- 2018-2019FY, $18.728 billion in dropped,” said U Min Khaing. corn seasons — cold sea- showing a significant decrease tural and manufacturing sec- the 2018 six-month interim pe- Myanmar’s domestic son, summer and monsoon. of $3.07 billion compared with tors. The government is trying riod, $33.578 billion in the 2017- corn consumption has also The country yearly produces the last FY. to reduce the trade deficit by 2018FY and $29.209 billion in the declined this year compared 2.5-3 million tonnes of corn. — Both sea trade and border screening luxury import items 2016-2017FY, respectively, as to that of the previous year. NN/GNLM trade dropped amid the coro- and boosting exports. per the Commerce Ministry’s navirus impacts. The neigh- Under the National Plan- statistics. — KK/GNLM 17 MAY 2021 17 MAY 2021 8 OPINION THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR ARTICLE / NATIONAL 9

Invest in Learning of English and Capacity Building Public information Yangon Region Administration Council is working with rele- education to enjoy By Maung Hlaing vant departments to help the businesses in the region. People are informed to contact the following phone numbers to get HE Global New Light order that all Burman people, learned English from Dr Jud- assistance for their small and medium-scaled businesses and investments which are facing some delays and working fruits for future of Myanmar of 28 April who have a desire for “great son, and at the same time, he to do new businesses. 2021 issue carried a news knowledge,” may have the ben- encouraged the talented youths T Phone numbers: 01 830 1975, 01 830 2175 story on the English proficiency efit of understanding the Eng- of his time to learn English. generations course jointly conducted by the lish language by means of the (The Prince of Mekhara had Yangon Region Administration Council Ministry of Information (MOI) Burman language, the Prince received Dr Judson, who ar- and the Ministry of Education. of Mekhara desired Mr Lane to rived in Amarapura in 1822.) DUCATION is a powerful tool to shape the society. According to the news, it was translate the English Diction- History revealed that be- Depending on the levels of educated persons, relevant the second English language ary into the Burman language. cause of the far-sightedness of Ecountries shape their future because those educated would course to improve the quality By using this Dictionary, King Mindon, the Royal princes, steer their future. of MOI staff. The first course the translation of which com- including courtiers, could learn Debasish Mridha, an American physician, philosopher, poet-se- was opened at the MRTV in Tat- menced in the Burman year English from Dr J.E. Marks, er, and author, said the best investment for poverty elimination is kon. Doubtlessly, such training 1195, and the English year 1833, who was well known as Saya education. It is a universal truth. As a nature of the acquisition, the courses contribute much to the as a guide, having first merely Hmark among the Myanmar investors cannot enjoy the benefits from their investments in a short capacity building of the staff. learnt sufficient of the English learners of those days. In his period. After taking adequate The news reminded me of characters as to be able to read, “KING MINDON’S Strategy for time, they can enjoy the fruits the days of the early 1980s when and by noting the context, the Defending Independence (1853- of their assets. I joined the Sarpay Beikman. As 45 Volumes of the Arts and 1878), Dr Myo Myint wrote that Particular- Likewise, the investment we were raw hands who needed Sciences, and other English King Mindon sent nine of his from the education sector experiences in writing, editing Books may be understood by sons to the missionary school ly, there are cannot emerge the fruitful and translating, we had to at- means of the Burman Lan- to learn English. results immediately. But the tend the on-the-job training con- guage. (According to the origi- History has taught us that benefit from the investment ducted under the supervision of nal style of writing and spell- colonialists used to resort to more than 1 will come out in real-time. the then Printing and Publish- assess the past, present and learning English were exempt may be reprinted.) ing.)” three Ms — Merchant, Military, The governments in succes- ing Corporation (now Printing future, having the opportunity from military service. Moreover, May I introduce you to the The preface to the diction- and Missionary — to invade a million basic sive eras of Myanmar have and Publishing Department). to exchange knowledge and ex- the parents of those who were original Burmese (Myanmar) ary revealed the genuine​ country. Myanmar monarchs put investments in the edu- The visiting lecturers were periences while attending the learning English were also ex- preface to the dictionary writ- စေတနာ or goodwill of the Prince took advantage of the courtiers cation sector as part of efforts Sayagyi U Ohn Pe (Tet Toe) and courses. empt from taxes and revenues ten in Myanmar by Prince of of Mekhara. According to the to learn English from the Chris- education to improve society. U Htin Fatt (Maung Htin), who Unlike the days when we levied by the government (king) Mekhara to enable you to fully historical records, we know that tian missionaries while the lat- The Ministry of Educa- were well-versed both in Myan- were in service, young service in order to offer an incentive appreciate it:- the Prince himself was always ter was operating missions in students to tion is currently implement- mar and English literature. And personnel of today are lucky with a view to increasing the အထူးထူးသော ဘာသာများစွာ occupied with the study of Upper Myanmar. ing the educational work they were also scholars with an enough to enjoy the privileges number of English learners. သော လူမျိုးတို့တွင် အင်္ဂလိတ်လူမျိုးသည် (modern) science, including Myanmar monarchs did so procedures in line with the excellent reputation for writing that we failed to do so in our Until that time, even a useful ဟု တ် မှ န် သော ထ င် ရှား မျ က် မှောံ astronomy and geography. to pave the way for human re- attend over national education strategic fiction and nonfiction literature. days. As English becomes a English-Myanmar or Myan- တွေ့မြင်သော အတပ်ပညာကိုသာ ရှာဖွ ေ While I was reading history source development through plan (2016-2021). The minis- They taught us English and My- bridge in the sectors of commu- mar-English dictionary had not နှိုင်းရှည်ပြီးလင် ရုံးစုမှတ်သားလေ့ at the Workers’ College in the the learning of English. 2,700 basic try has decided not to change anmar literature, including the nications, technologies, educa- come out yet. ရှိသည်ဖြစ်၍ အင်္ဂလိတ်ဘာသာကို late 1960s, my mentors told me Reference : the school curriculums of the art of writing and translating. tion, research, and so on, many Another one who paved နားလည် သိမြင်ခြင်းသည် ဗဟုသုတ that the Prince had translated မြန်မာ့စွယ်စုံကျမ်း အတွဲ (၁၀)၊ basic education sector used in Because of their benevo- departments come to conduct the way for learning English အရာနှိုက် များစွာ အကျိုးရှိသည်။ the articles on science subjects, စာပေဗိမာန် education previous governments in the lence in teaching, we were able English proficiency courses was the Prince of Mekhara, ထို့ကြောင့် ဗဟုသုတကို အလိုရှိကုံသော including natural sciences, from ‘ဆရာ ယုဒသန်’ (တင်နိုင်တိုး)၊ coming academic year. to stand on our own feet in the where trainees can learn Four one of the sons of King Bodaw မြန်မာလူမျိုးတို့အား အင်္ဂလိတ်ဘာသာ the Rees’ Encyclopaedia. He စေတနာစာပေ၊ ၂၀၁၁ The Ministry of Educa- literary arena. Skills — reading, writing, speak- Paya. Because of the endeav- ကို မြန်မာဘာသာအားဖြင့် နားလည် schools at dif- tion has clearly announced Such training courses are ing and listening. ours made by the Prince, an သိမြင်စေခြင်းအကျိုးငှါ မကရာမင်းသား to open the basic education mostly set apart for capacity Regarding English learning English-Burmese Dictionary က သငဘာေ သူကြီး ကပီတံလျင်ကို ferent levels schools on 1 June 2021. More- building which is the essen- in Myanmar, we cannot ignore came out in 1841. The name of အင်္ဂလိတ်အဘိဓာန်စာရှိသည်အတိုင်း မြ over, the period from 24 to 31 tial requirement for national the far-sightedness and good- the dictionary was “Dictionary, န်မာဘာသာမှန်ကန်အောင်ပြန်ဆိုပါဆို May is set as a school enroll- development and the task of will of Myanmar monarchs. As ENGLISH and BURMESE by ၍ မြန်မာသကရာဇ် ၁၁၉၅ ခုနှစ်။ depending ment week for the 2021-2022 nurturing young service per- I am neither authority on the Charles Lane, E s Q, F.A.S” (For အင်္ဂလိတ်သကရာဇ် ၁၈၃၃ ခုနှစ်မှစ၍ academic year. sonnel to become those who will English language — learning many years a resident of AVA). ပြန်ဆိုရေးသားသည်။ ပြန်ဆိုအပ်သော on locations Moreover, the minis- contribute a great deal towards and teaching — nor a research- It was published in Calcutta by အဘိဓာန်စာသည်ကား အင်္ဂလိတ် try has announced that any political, economic and social er, I cannot definitely tell the Ostell and Lepage, British Li- အကရာကို ဖတ်နိုင်ကာမ သင်ပြီး၍ charges will not be collected development. Naturally, expe- time when learning and teach- brary, Tank Square, 1841. On ရှေ့နောံစကား ကြည့်ရမှတ်သားပြီးလင် and situa- from students for their enroll- rienced hands who are in their ing English began in Myanmar. the cover of the dictionary, we ထိုအဘိဓာန်စာကို အမှီပြု၍ အင်္ဂလိတ် ment. And, the basic educa- golden years want to provide According to the historical re- can read the message — “The ပညာ စာ ၄၅ မှစ၍ အင်္ဂလိတ်စတို့ကို tions. tion schools have arranged to more opportunities to the raw cords, we found that English whole of the Burmese Portion မြန်မာဘာသာအားဖြင့် သိမြင်နားလည် provide two reusable masks, hands who were talented and learning had taken root in My- carefully revised by His High- နှိုင်ရာရှိသည် (မူရင်းရေးဟန်နှင့် သတ်ပုံ one face shield, school text- eager to learn. anmar before the arrival of Dr ness the Prince of Mekhara, အတိုင်း) books, notebooks, pencils, Prior to the Covid-19 pe- Adoniram Judson, who came to Uncle to the then reigning King The following is its original and ball pens distributed to the students free of charge. Relevant riod, it was very encouraging Rangoon (Yangon) in 1813. of Burmah (According to the translation: - schools have arranged for students to wash their hands many times to see that many government It was during the reign of original spelling). “The English people search in line with the Covid-19 health guidelines. departments were conducting king Bodaw Paya, also known According to the message amongst different nations, hav- Particularly, there are more than 1 million basic education training courses on capacity as Badon Min. The king himself “… carefully revised by His ing a great variety of customs, students to attend over 2,700 basic education schools at different building. Mostly, they conducted gave encouragement to those Highness the Prince of Me- for only such branches of knowl- levels depending on locations and situations. English language proficiency who were eager to learn Eng- khara,” we can make a guess of edge as are clearly apparent to Actually, basic education teachers need to enhance their capac- courses, technical expertise lish. In those days, Myanmar the efforts made by the Prince. the senses which after collating, ity for having the readiness to teach their pupils. Basic education courses and multiplier courses youths who came of age were (The author of this article is they collect and commit to writ- students need to prepare their learning plans under the control in succession as part of plans to called up for military service very proud of having such a ing; consequently, “great knowl- of parents. School structures must be ready to admit the learning enhance human resource devel- as everyone was responsible copy of this first and foremost edge” will be much advanced society. Hence, the authorities need to take responsibilities to create opment. The courses will help for the nation’s defence. How- dictionary distributed in My- by an acquaintance with the a safe and sound academic environment for all. the young service personnel ever, the young men who were anmar. Even this copy, I think, English language; therefore, in 17 MAY 2021 10 NATIONAL THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Files opened against health staff who participated in CDM activity with attempts to deteriorate peace and stability of the State

THE following nurses have been charged under Section 505-A of the Penal Code for inciting State service personnel and health staff to participate in CDM activ- ities, themselves participating in it, supporting CDM activities and CRPH unlawful association with the aim of deteriorating the State administrative machinery.

Sr Name Occupation Addresst Section Photo 6 Daw Kyi Htay Hopin Station Indawgyi, 505-a of Penal (Nurse) Hospital Kachin State Code 1 Daw Khine Zin Kawthoung Hos- Kawthoung, 505-a Thant (Sister) pital Taninthayi Region 7 Daw Thwe Myeik Hospital Myeik, 505-a Thwe Tun Taninthayi (Nurse) Region 2 U Saw Htoo Hos- Dimawhso, 505-a Tha pital Kayah State (Senior Nurse) 8 Daw Su Myat Shwedaung Hos- Shwedaung, 505-a Maw pital Bago Region (Nurse) 3 Daw Aye Aye Hospital Kyaukhtu, 505-a Mar Magway Region (Senior Nurse) 9 Daw Sanda Mawlaik Hospital KhinU, 505-a Lwin Sagaing Region (Nurse) 4 Daw Aye Yaksawk, Shan 505-a Kaung Hospital, State (South) (Senior Nurse) 10 Daw Moe Mawlaik Hospital YeU, 505-a Sanda Aye Sagaing Region (Nurse) 5 Daw Bae Mei Pasawng Hospital Prusho, 505-a (Senior Nurse) Kayah State As tasks are being carried out to arrest those nurses charged, action will be taken against the the persons who admitted them under the law for the supporting those nurse who participated in CDM and CRPH activities. —MNA

Files opened against education staff who participated in CDM activity with attempts to deteriorate peace and stability of the State

THE following teachers have been charged under Section 505-A of the Penal Code for inciting State service personnel and education staff to participate in CDM activities, themselves participating in it, supporting CDM activities and CRPH unlawful association with the aim of deteriorating the State administrative ma- chinery.

Sr Name Occupation Addresst Section Photo 6 U Thanmani Associate Profes- Thanatpin, 505-a of Penal Soe Aung sor, Technological Bago Region Code University (Maub- 1 Dr Ei Ei Rector, Mandalay Kawlin, Sagaing 505-a in), Maubin Town- Htway Technological Uni- Region ship versity, Patheingyi 7 U Mya Aung Lecturer, Maubin, 505-a Township Government Ayeyawady Technical High Region 2 Dr Myo Pro-Rector, Man- Tamu, Sagaing 505-a School (Maubin), Myint dalay Technological Region Maubin Township University, Pathe- ingyi Township 8 U Sithu Lwin Assistant Lecturer, Maubin, 505-a Technological Uni- Ayeyawady versity (Maubin), Region 3 Daw Saw Head of Depart- Patheingyi 505-a Maubin Township Win Mar ment (Finance), Township, Mandalay Univer- Mandalay sity of Computer Region 9 U Aung Than Assistant Lecturer, Maubin, 505-a Studies, Patheingyi Government Ayeyawady Township Technical High Region 4 U Aye Nyein Head of Branch Kyaukse, Manda- 505-a School (Maubin), Aung (Admin), Mandalay lay Region Maubin Township Technological University, 10 Dr Aung Ko Assistant Lecturer, Myitkyina, 505-a Patheingyi Town- Ko Lin Myitkyina Uni- Kachin State ship versity, Myitkyina 5 Dr Sein Mi Associate Pro- South Okkalapa 505-a Township Mi Oo fessor, Maubin Township, University, Maubin Yangon Region As tasks are being carried out to arrest those education staff charged, people Township are urged to inform nearby police stations about those education staff, action will be taken against the persons under the law for admitting those education staff. — MNA 17 MAY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR SCI/ENVIRON: WORLD 11

NEWS Flared natural gas latest prize in bitcoin IN BRIEF miners’ energy quest UK still plans in- person ‘last hope’ AS the value of bitcoin soars and would be burned in the open. COP26 climate concerns rise about the ener- Interest in their work has gy-intensive process needed to grown over the past year. Bitcoin summit obtain it, cryptocurrency entre- and other cryptocurrencies like BRITAIN still plans to hold preneurs in the United States be- ethereum and dogecoin have an in-person global climate lieve they have found a solution seen meteoric price spikes since summit in Glasgow later this in flared natural gas. the Covid-19 pandemic turned year despite the pandemic, Profitably creating, or min- the global economy on its head the event’s president said Fri- ing, bitcoin and other crypto- and mainstream companies be- day, calling it the planet’s “last currencies requires masses of gan to embrace the technology. hope” of averting catastrophe. computers dedicated to solving But a backlash has formed COP26 will gather deliberately complicated equa- against the digital assets’ ener- climate negotiators from 196 tions -- an endeavour that glob- gy usage, fueled by concerns it countries and the European ally consumes more electricity relies on carbon-emitting power Union, along with businesses, than entire nations, but for which sources that contribute to cli- experts and world leaders these start-ups say the jets of A handout photo from Giga Energy Solutions shows a natural gas mate change. in the Scottish city between flaming gas placed next to oil generator powering a bitcoin mining center in north Texas in May This week, Tesla boss Elon November 1-12. wells are perfect power sources. 2021. PHOTO:AFP Musk criticized bitcoin’s pow- There has been growing “I think the market is ral gas in the US states of Utah setting up shipping containers er consumption, particularly of speculation the landmark enormous,” said Sergii Gera- and New Mexico, as well as in where racks containing hun- energy produced from coal, and summit -- the biggest climate symovych, CEO of EZ Block- Canada. dreds of computers mine cryp- said he would no longer accept talks since the 2015 Paris chain, which has six different Across the country, com- tocurrency, fuelled by natural the cryptocurrency as payment negotiation -- could be held data centers powered off natu- panies like EZ Blockchain are gas from oil wells that otherwise for his electric cars. — AFP virtually as coronavirus continues to ravage countries around the world. Short gratitude intervention Some fear swathes of China’s Zhurong rover delegates may be unable to can increase academic attend in person due to out- touches down on Red breaks. — AFP motivation: Study Planet Kazakhstan CHINA’S probe to Mars programme dedicated to the says 350 rare touched down on the Red mission called “Nihao Mars” Planet early Saturday to de- (“Hello Mars”). antelopes killed ploy its Zhurong rover, state The official Xinhua news by lightning media reported, a triumph for agency cited the China Na- Beijing’s increasingly bold tional Space Administration KAZAKHSTAN said Friday space ambitions and a histo- (CNSA) in confirming the that around 350 critically ry-making feat for a nation on touchdown. It makes China endangered Saiga antelopes its first-ever Martian mission. the first country to carry out had been killed, probably The lander carrying Zhu- an orbiting, landing and rov- by lightning, after villagers A team of researchers explored a simple strategy to increase motivation rong completed the treach- ing operation during its first found their bodies in steppe in college students by nurturing a positive emotion: gratitude. PHOTO: erous descent through the mission to Mars -- a feat un- ANI land in the west of the Martian atmosphere using matched by the only other two country. a parachute to navigate the nations to reach the Red Plan- A team of researchers ex- motivation is somewhat in- The discovery came “seven minutes of terror” as et so far, the US and Russia. plored a simple strategy to conclusive. during calving season for the it is known, aiming for a vast President Xi Jinping sent increase motivation in college This prompted the re- Saiga, which is known for its northern lava plain known as his “warm congratulations students by nurturing a posi- searchers to test the effects distinctive bulbous nose. the Utopia Planitia. and sincere greetings to all tive emotion: gratitude. of a different type of gratitude The Kazakh ecological It “successfully landed members who have partici- The study led by research- intervention: daily gratitude ministry said in a statement in the pre-selected area”, pated in the Mars exploration ers from Ritsumeikan Univer- journaling. that lightning was the prob- state broadcaster CCTV mission”, Xinhua reported. sity and the National Institute “Our main hypothesis was able cause of their deaths “as said, launching a special TV — AFP of Information and Commu- that engaging in an online there are traces of lightning nications Technology (NICT), gratitude journal by writing strikes on the carcasses.” Japan, was published in the down up to five things one felt The International Union journal BMC Psychology. grateful for each day could for Conservation of Nature Many studies have shown make students be more aware (IUCN), whose “Red List” is that even short “gratitude in- of their academic opportuni- the scientific reference for terventions,” which are activ- ties--their ‘blessings’--and help threatened wildlife, lists the ities that increase an individ- them re-evaluate their motives Saiga as among five criti- ual’s awareness of feelings of and goals, ultimately improv- cally endangered antelope gratitude, can have a lasting ing their motivation,” explains species, with a population of positive effect on that per- Dr Norberto Eiji Nawa from around 124,000 adults. son’s mood, satisfaction, and NICT, first author of the study. Kazakhstan is home to well-being. They recruited 84 partic- the vast majority of the ani- However, based on previ- ipants, all Japanese college mals, with Russia’s Kalmykia ous studies, the available ev- students, and divided them region and Mongolia hosting idence on the effect of such into a control group and an much smaller populations. A model of the Tianwen-1 Mars rover. PHOTO: AFP interventions on academic intervention group. — ANI — AFP 17 MAY 2021 12 SOCIETY THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Indian state orders lockdown after Portugal to open ‘super-spreader’ election rallies to most European AN Indian state stricken by coronavirus after mass rallies were held for a key election tourists from Monday ordered a two-week lockdown on Saturday in a bid to halt the spread. All offices, stores and PORTUGAL will open to for “passengers from the Eu- public transport in West Bengal tourists from nearly all Euro- ropean Union, the Schengen were told to close for 15 days pean countries from Monday, Area and the United King- after the region reported its the interior ministry said, dom,” provided their rate is biggest spike yet in deaths and following months of restric- below 500 cases per 100,000 infections. tions to prevent the spread residents, the spokeswoman West Bengal along with of COVID-19. said. a host of southern states are Travellers from EU The Schengen Area cov- bearing the brunt of a COVID-19 countries with coronavirus ers 26 European countries, surge in India that has taken rates below 500 cases per most of them in the Europe- the nation’s infection total to Narendra Modi held large rallies in the region last month. PHOTO: AFP 100,000 residents during the an Union. nearly 25 million with more than last 14 days can make “all Under the rules, all pas- 265,000 deaths. The strain of pitals in the state say they are chief minister Mamata Baner- types of visits to Portugal, sengers above two years old the virus responsible has been swamped with patients. jee. Banerjee also staged major including even non-essential heading to the country will declared a variant of “global Prime Minister Narendra rallies ahead of the polls and on visits,” the ministry said in a still have to present a neg- concern” by the World Health Modi drew tens of thousands Friday her brother died from statement on Saturday. ative PCR COVID-19 test Organization. of people to rallies in the re- coronavirus in hospital. It said restrictions, lim- taken within 72 hours before West Bengal accounted for gion last month ahead of state Many experts have said the ited to essential trips, would embarking. 21,000 of India’s 326,000 new cas- elections in which his ruling na- election campaign was a “su- be maintained for five EU Airlines that allow pas- es reported Saturday and hos- tionalist party failed to unseat per-spreader”. — AFP countries -- Cyprus, Croatia, sengers to embark without Lithuania, the Netherlands the test will face a fine be- and Sweden. tween 500 euros and 2,000 It stressed restrictions euros per passenger. Facing probe, Austria’s Kurz sees also remained on non-Eu- The announcement ropean countries including came a day after Lisbon lift- his image dented Brazil, India and South Af- ed restrictions from visitors rica. from Britain, which account- ONCE hailed as a “wunderkind”, whether he lied to a parliamen- world’s youngest democratically “We’re not opening ed for some two million annu- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian tary committee on corruption. elected leader when he first took tourism to the whole world. al visitors to the country be- Kurz has seen his carefully built It should have been a good office in 2017 — with the lengthy Restrictions remain for fore COVID-19 hit. Portugal image dented amid coronavirus month for the 34-year-old con- virus lockdown easing. But prose- third countries,” a ministry and Britain currently have fatigue and an investigation into servative — who became the cutors announced on Wednesday spokeswoman said. two of the lowest virus rates that they are investigating Kurz Restrictions are lifted in Europe. — AFP for giving false testimony to a committee of lawmakers probing the “Ibizagate” scandal and other graft allegations. If charged, Kurz would be the first chancellor to have to face court while in office in the small Alpine EU member of some nine million people. Kurz himself has dismissed the allegations, saying he expects to be charged but not to be found guilty and that he is refusing to step down, slamming what he Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, once haoled as a ‘wunderkind’ says are efforts to unseat him. has seen his image dented. PHOTO: AFP — AFP TAP aircraft line up at Lisbon airport. PHOTO: AFP

Fighting resumes in southern Afghanistan as ceasefire ends FIGHTING between the Taliban troop withdrawal from Afghan- An Afghan army spokesman Friday by a blast at a mosque long conflict. and Afghan government forces istan earlier this month, an Af- in the south confirmed fighting on the outskirts of the Afghan Violence had previously resumed Sunday in the restive ghan military spokesman and a had resumed. “They (Afghan capital, which killed 12 people surged in several provinces of southern province of Helmand, local official said. forces) started the operation... do including the imam leading Fri- Afghanistan — including former officials said, ending a three-day “The fighting started ear- not put the blame on us,” Taliban day prayers. insurgent bastions Helmand and ceasefire agreed by the warring ly today and is still ongoing,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid The Taliban denied it was Kandahar. sides to mark the Eid al-Fitr hol- Attaullah Afghan, head of the told AFP. behind the attack which has been It comes after negotiators iday. Helmand provincial council, told The three-day truce initiated claimed by the Islamic State from the Afghan government There were clashes on the AFP. by the Taliban and swiftly agreed group, according to the SITE and Taliban said they had met outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the He said Taliban fighters at- to by the Afghan government Intelligence Group, which mon- in Doha on Friday to discuss capital of Helmand, which has tacked security checkpoints on had largely held during the Eid itors jihadist groups. The truce speeding up peace talks, which seen intense fighting since the the outskirts of Lashkar Gah and holidays that ended on Saturday. was only the fourth agreed pause opened in September but have United States began its final other districts. The calm was broken on in fighting in the two-decades- made little headway. — AFP 17 MAY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR BIZ: WORLD/AD 13

NEWS Multi-billion-USD investments inked IN BRIEF Luxembourg firm aims to spur at Silk Road int’l expo music royalties investment in Japan

A host of cooperation deals A Luxembourg startup that runs a platform for invest- involving investments of ing in music royalties is looking to expand into Japan 158.3 billion yuan (24.6 through a tie-up with the country’s first royalties billion U.S. dollars) were transaction brokerage. signed at the Fifth Silk ANote Music Sarl said it hopes its partnership Road International Expo- with Tokyo-based Royalty Bank, announced in April, sition, which closed Sat- will spur royalty investments for Japanese music cat- urday in Xi’an, capital of alogues and other assets, including a rapidly growing northwest China’s Shaanxi comics and animation market that alone generates Province. around 3.7 billion euros ($4.5 billion) a year. The deals cover 72 “This is a huge milestone for ANote Music as we key projects in fields in- take the next step in our continued global expansion,” cluding education, modern Marzio F. Schena, CEO and co-founder of ANote Mu- agriculture and high-tech sic, said in a statement. industry. “We’re delighted that our market leading technol- The five-day expo has ogy assist both established and new artists looking to attracted more than 1,900 An exhibitor (1st R) introduces his products at the Fifth Silk Road International Exposition develop and grow, while providing investors with long envoys and guests from 98 in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, May 11, 2021. PHOTO:XINHUA term, stable income through the royalties this growth countries and regions such will generate,” he said. as Slovakia, Belgium, the raging across the globe, resounding vote of confi- networks connecting Asia Music royalty investment is growing with the Republic of Korea, Tajik- the enthusiasm of the dence in the programme. with Europe and beyond emergence of streaming services that generate more istan and Zambia. international commu- The Belt and Road In- along the ancient Silk Road predictable revenue streams and attract wider audi- Participants at the nity in jointly promoting itiative, proposed by Chi- trade routes for common ences. Such investment is seen as relatively low risk, expo said that with the high-quality B&R cooper- na in 2013, aims to build development and prosper- little affected by financial market movements. COVID-19 pandemic still ation is tantamount to a trade and infrastructure ity. — Xinhua Under the system, publishers, record labels, and artists seeking to raise funds sell music rights, while investors earn the chance to own shares in promising Seven & i buys U.S. British chef Clare artists. — AFP Speedway chain despite Smyth reopens doors warning of “illegal” deal New China-Russia air cargo after third Michelin star route launched DURING lockdown, “brilliant that it hap- AN international air freight route linking Xi’an, capital of British chef Clare Smyth pened in such a difficult northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and Russia’s Novosi- won the ultimate acco- year”. birsk has been launched. lade of three Michelin Britain’s hospital- A Boeing 767-300F aircraft loaded with 18 tonnes of stars for her London ity sector has been hit goods took off from Xi’an on Friday, kicking off operations restaurant and she is hard by the pandemic on this new air cargo route. optimistic for the sector with restaurants barred Round trip cargo flights, operated by SF Airlines, despite the current chal- from indoor service over China’s leading air-cargo carrier, will ply once a week on lenges. the winter months. Dur- the route. The cargo flights will mainly deal with outbound The 42-year-old ing lockdown the staff at e-commerce logistics ordered by buyers via Russian e-com- from Northern Ireland Core, which opened in merce websites, and China’s imports of general trade goods Photo taken in February 2020 shows a convenience became the first British London’s fashionable from Russia. store (R) attached to a Speedway gas station in New woman to be awarded Notting Hill neighbour- To date, the Xi’an Xianyang International Airport has York. PHOTO: KYODO three Michelin stars in hood in 2017, spent time opened 37 full cargo routes, including 18 international JAPANESE retailer Sev- oline and diesel fuel mar- January -- one of only preparing hundreds of routes. — AFP en & i Holdings Co. said kets across the country.” four British chefs to have meals for charity. Saturday it has completed 7-Eleven Inc., a U.S. subsid- achieved the honour. The restaurant also its $21 billion acquisition iary of Seven and i, said in She says getting the began offering takeaway of Speedway LLC, a U.S. its press release the same third star for her Core and delivery menus, Myanma Port Authority convenience store chain day, that completion of the by Clare Smyth restau- “which worked really “Notice of High Tide” and gas station network, purchase was “legally al- rant was a “dream come well”, Smyth says. — despite U.S. antitrust offi- lowed.” Tokyo-based Seven true” adding that it was AFP Exceptionally high spring from 20.21 feet to 20.67 feet cials saying the deal may & i said it has acquired the high above the chart datum are expected to occur in Yangon th th be “illegal.” convenience store and fuel River during the period of May 25 to May 28 , 2021. Please be noted that it is not serious level of tide because the The future of Seven & retail businesses of Mara- highest tide level have reached up to 22 feet above the chart i’s purchase of Speedway thon Petroleum Corp., the datum in year 2014 and 2015, and this notice is normally could be under scrutiny af- U.S. oil refiner that owns issued whenever high tide of Yangon River is expected to ter the acting chairwoman Speedway. reach over 20 feet high above the chart datum in order to and a commissioner of the The U.S. subsidiary take precautionary measures to the public living near river U.S. Federal Trade Com- added that to address such foreshore area of Yangon City. mission said in a statement competitive concerns, it Friday, “We have reason to divested 293 fuel outlets, believe that this transac- and was informed that the tion is illegal.” They said FTC staff has recommend- the deal raises “significant ed that the commissioners Clare Smyth says getting the third Michelin star for her competitive concerns in approve the deal. — Kyodo Core restaurant was a “dream come true”. PHOTO: hundreds of local retail gas- News AFP 17 MAY 2021 14 ECON: WORLD THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR ‘Yamas!’ Greek islanders drink to a better tourism season

“YAMAS! Cheers to a good sea- close our full bar at 11pm right son,” says Nikiforos Karifilakis at the peak of the night,” Kar- as he pours shots of ‘tsikoudia’, ifilakis says. the strong traditional Cretan “We hope we will avoid it spirit, a day after Greece reo- this time, and all restrictions pened to tourists. will be gradually eased.” His beach bar is at the very Tourists still a rare sight end of the famous long wide The pandemic has badly hit sandy beach of Falasarna on deeply affected the Greek econ- the northwestern tip of Crete. omy, heavily reliant on the tour- “I’m very optimistic that ism sector which accounts for everything will be fine in the more than 20 percent of GDP. end and we will survive finan- Tourism revenue plunged cially,” says Karifilakis. to 4.28 billion euros ($5.0 billion) “I get positive messages in 2020 from 18 billion euros in from the hoteliers. People have 2019, while tourist arrivals fell the need to finally go out, have 76.5 per cent to just 7.4 million, fun.” according to the Greek Tourism Greece on Friday official- Confederation Institute. Falasarna beach was famous for its big summer parties, which will once again not be possible this year, but ly joined the race to woo back “We hope the season will some tourists have already returned. PHOTO: AFP tourists, hoping the sun, sand manage to cover part of last and sea will lure holidaymakers last year’s miserable holiday among others for its crowd- “The most difficult part last season losses, when reve- after months of lockdown and season. ed big summer parties, which year was when curfew was re- nues were minimal,” the may- bring the country a desperate- Before the pandemic, will not be possible again this imposed in the middle of the or of Chania Panayiotis Si- ly needed revenue boost after Falasarna beach was famous summer. tourist season and we had to mandirakis told AFP.” —AFP Stocks rebound on US retail sales flat in April after bargain-buying after March surge inflation-fueled rout AFTER a rush of shopping in March, US consumers took a BARGAIN-BUYING Friday a rally for more than a year. break in April and total retail helped major markets bounce But in the United States, sales were flat, according to gov- back from some of this week’s the economy appears to be ernment data released Friday. steep losses as investors bet “opening at a faster clip” and Sales held steady at just on the US economy’s recov- the price gains that come under $620 billion, as declines ery, despite lingering infla- with it may not be a problem, in clothing, sporting goods, fur- tion fears. Quincy Krosby of Prudential niture, gasoline and even the Oil prices recovered after Financial said. “It seems as if roaring ecommerce market heavy losses a day earlier to the market is accepting that were offset by gains in cars, elec- end the week in the black as as long as it also is in concert tronics, food and health care, equities rose, but the dollar lost with the economy doing bet- the Commerce Department’s ground following recent gains. ter and corporate earnings advance report said. Bitcoin finished below $50,000 doing better, it can withstand The cooling off came after after oscillating throughout a little bit more inflation,” a 10.7 per cent jump in March Auto sales increased modesly in April, but total US retail sales were flat. PHOTO: AFP the day. Krosby told AFP. compared to February, and was Global stocks have been Wall Street gained de- far worse than the consensus Covid-19 pandemic first forced seemed to take a pause. convulsed for months by ex- finitively after three back- among economists, which pro- the near-shutdown of the world’s Ian Shepherdson of Pan- pectations that a blockbust- to-back losses earlier in the jected a modest increase. largest economy. theon Macroeconomics called er global recovery will send week, with the Dow finish- Sales in April were more Even with the influx of the result “a modest post-stim- prices rocketing, forcing cen- ing up 1.1 per cent and the than 51 per cent higher than the another round of government ulus hangover after the March tral banks -- particularly the Nasdaq adding 2.3 per cent, same month last year, when the stimulus payments, consumers binge.” —AFP Federal Reserve -- to taper though the indices were the ultra-loose monetary pol- about the same amount lower icies that have helped drive for the week overall.—AFP Boeing must inspect older 737 jets after Indonesia crash: FAA US aviation regulator is ordering Boeing to in- An interim report from Indonesian investiga- spect older generation 737 jets, after the January tors in February said the doomed jet’s throttles crash of an aircraft off Indonesia that killed 62 showed an “anomaly”, though it said the cause people. of the crash was unclear. All Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 planes will “The preliminary data of the ongoing accident need to be examined, a total of 143 aircraft, ac- investigation shows that it is highly unlikely that cording to a document from the Federal Aviation the accident resulted from the latent failure of Administration seen by AFP yesterday. the flap synchro wire,” the FAA said. A failure of the “flap synchro wire” missed by But it said the inspection is “necessary to the autothrottle computer – which manages the address the identified unsafe condition” that The US economy is recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, but plane’s thrust – “could result in loss of control of could be found in the planes, which were built in shoppers took a breather in April. PHOTO: AFP the airplane”, the document said. the 1980s and 1990s. —AFP 17 MAY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR GLOBAL AFFAIRS 15

NEWS On horseback and in helicopter, Bolsonaro rallies base IN BRIEF FAR-RIGHT Brazilian President low of 24 per cent, according to Jair Bolsonaro rallied his base a survey published this week by Biden expresses ‘grave Saturday, appearing on horse- the respected firm Datafolha. concern’ to Netanyahu, back and even in a helicopter The survey additionally re- tells Abbas rocket fire flyover, as his popularity dips and vealed that 49 per cent of Bra- must ‘cease’ he faces harsh criticism for his zilians favor his impeachment, handling of the pandemic which with 46 against. US President Joe Biden has ravaged his country. ‘Support of our president’ expressed his “grave concern” Hundreds of trucks arrived “We are here giving support over violence in Israel and in Brasilia early in the morning to our president,” said Carine Gaza in a phone call with Is- after Bolsonaro put out a call for de Souza, a rural producer from raeli Prime Minister Benjamin rallies in several cities, which Mato Grosso state who was at Netanyahu Saturday while were meant to gather the coun- the rally in Brasilia. “We need separately telling Palestinian try’s conservative “soldiers”, support, because agriculture did president Mahmud Abbas including farmers and the reli- not come to a halt in the pan- that Hamas must “cease firing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (C) arrives on horseback at a gious right. demic.” rockets.” demonstration by farmers in Brasilia, on May 15, 2021. PHOTO: AFP Brazil, which has record- Bolsonaro flew over the ral- Speaking on the sixth day ed more than 430,000 Covid-19 States. Bolsonaro, who has called ly in a helicopter and appeared of a paroxysm of Israeli-Pal- deaths and is notching more Unlike America, however, it the deadly virus nothing more on horseback to greet tens of estinian violence that has than 2,000 more each day, is is facing difficulties in acquiring than a “little flu” and questioned thousands of followers who as- left scores dead or wounded, the second hardest-hit country enough vaccines for its 212 mil- the efficacy of vaccines, has seen sembled on the Esplanade of Biden expressed his “strong in the world after the United lion people. his approval rating hit an all-time Ministries. — AFP support” for Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks by “Hamas and other Chileans vote for body to rewrite terrorist groups,” in his call Rising crime takes with Netanyahu, while also dictatorship-era constitution emphasizing his clear concern centre stage in New York over the deadly flare-up and casualties on both sides. mayoral race “He condemned these indiscriminate attacks against NEW YORK, which has long subway to a surge in shootings, towns and cities across Israel,” prided itself on being one of the including in Times Square last the White House statement world’s safest cities, is experi- weekend, violence is “definite- said. — AFP encing a surge in crime, with ly up”, says John Pfaff, a crim- the topic becoming a central inal law professor at Fordham Thousands of theme of a mayoral race set University. to be decided in June. “The spike of 2020 does Colombians in anti- Crime was endemic in the run the risk of continuing into govt march in Madrid Big Apple in the 1970s and 2021,” he told AFP. THOUSANDS of Colombians 1980s when America’s largest “I see a huge economic marched through central Ma- metropolis was gripped by a uncertainty, a huge emotional drid on Saturday in support Mapuche indigenous women wait to vote during Chile’s elections in budgetary crisis, but it has stress, you have institutions of anti-governments protests Temuco on March 15, 2021. PHOTO: AFP been on a continuous down- that are shut down across the back home which over 40 CHILEANS head to the polls constitution that captures the ward trend since the mid- board. people have been killed in Sunday in a second day of vot- soul of our nation,” President 1990s. All these things are go- clashes with police. ing to elect 155 people who will Sebastian Pinera said after However, the picture has ing to contribute to violence The protesters in Madrid, rewrite the country’s dictator- casting his ballot in the capital deteriorated drastically since and then that violence can be many wearing the national ship-era constitution in a bid to Santiago. last summer. What initially somewhat self-perpetuating colours or draped in the address deep-seated social ine- Silvia Navarrete, a 35-year- looked like a byproduct of the going forward,” Pfaff added. Colombian flag, marched up quality that gave rise to deadly old economist, was at a Santia- movement against police vio- New York is gradually be- a main road in festive but protests in 2019. go polling place with her young lence following George Floyd’s ginning to emerge from the determined mood, chanting Some 14 million people are daughter in her arms. She said murder and social dislocation coronavirus crisis and unem- “Democracy”, “Peace and eligible to vote this weekend she had voted for a system that caused by the pandemic ap- ployment is falling, but crime Justice” while waving “SOS” in what many consider to be “works for everyone, allowing pears no longer to be the case. statistics are far from improv- banners. Chile’s most important election all voices to be heard” and en- From knife attacks on the ing. — AFP At the head of the proces- since its return to democracy suring “that rights and duties sion, one protester had sewn 31 years ago. are really fair for all human his lips together. More than three million beings.” Colombia’s foreign min- people, or approximately 20.4 And 40-year-old university ister Claudia Blum resigned per cent of the electorate, cast professor Carlos Huertas said Thursday following inter- their ballot Saturday, accord- his ballot went to candidates national condemnation of ing to the country’s Electoral who had been active in “this excessive force used by law Service. social revolution” — referring enforcers against civilians “I hope that we have a to the 2019 protests. — AFP engaged in anti-government protests since April 28. Clashes between Colom- bian police and protesters have resulted in at least 42 deaths -- including one police officer — and more than 1,500 Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang speaks to media on May 9, 2021, a day injuries to date, according to after a shooting in Times Square. PHOTO: AFP official figures.— AFP 17 MAY 2021 16 SPORT THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR MPFL 2021 to be launched with 32 teams

A total of 32 teams will compete 12 teams will be in the women’s for both categories,” said FAM er structure of Futsal and also ly CUCKOO, Yoodo, Firefly, Astro, in the upcoming 2021 Malaysia category, said officials. Vice-President and Chairman educate teams on the manage- Kaki Jersi, 100PLUS and Joma, Premier Futsal League (MPFL), “Presence of old and new Datuk Seri Rosmadi Ismail of ment and administration of Futsal which clearly reflects MPFL’s according to the ASEAN Football teams will enhance MPFL 2021 the FAM Futsal & Beach Football teams at the national level.” credibility to add value to our Federation. competition that is expected to be Committee. “Through a screen- “We at FAM are very grateful products and brands,” the FAM Twenty teams will be includ- more intense. Registration of a ing process, FAM has had the for the support and commitment Futsal Committee Chairman add- ed in the men’s category, while foreign player has been allowed opportunity to introduce the prop- shown by MPFL sponsors, name- ed. —GNLM North Korea pull out of World Spotify boss says bid for Arsenal rejected, remains Cup qualifiers ‘interested’ SPOTIFY co-founder Daniel Ek est in mounting a bid for the said Saturday a formal offer to club last month in the wake of buy Arsenal had been rejected the aborted European Super by the Premier League club’s League plan. American owners. In a state- Arsenal were one of six ment on Twitter, the Swedish Premier League teams that tycoon said the club’s owners, signed up for the breakaway Kroenke Sports and Entertain- league, which collapsed barely ment (KSE), had rebuffed his 48 hours later after a massive bid. backlash across the football “This week an offer was world. made to (KSE co-owner) Josh Arsenal fans staged an an- Kroenke and their bankers that gry protest outside the Emir- included fan ownership, rep- ates Stadium demanding a resentation at the board and a change of ownership of the club. golden share for the support- US billionaire Stan Kroen- ers,” Ek said. ke, through KSE, has been the North Korea have pulled out of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. PHOTO:AFP “They replied that they Gunners’ majority shareholder don’t need the money. I remain for a decade and took full con- NORTH Korea have pulled said it would skip the qualifiers Lanka. interested should that situation trol of the club by buying out out of next month’s qualifying over coronavirus fears. The North Korea were fourth ever change.” Lifelong Arsenal Russian oligarch Alisher Us- matches for the 2022 World Covid-19 pandemic has forced in Asian qualifying Group H, fan Ek first expressed an inter- manov’s stake in 2018. — AFP Cup in Qatar, the Asian Foot- most of the second round of but only a point behind Group ball Confederation said Sun- Asia’s preliminary tournament H leaders Turkmenistan with day. for the Qatar World Cup to be three games still to be played “The Asian Football Con- postponed until June. before their withdrawal. federation has confirmed the The AFC said last month The AFC said a decision withdrawal of the DPR Korea it would change the format of would be made later on the Football Association from the the tournaments so that each standings in Group H after re- Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA group of five nations would ferring the matter to FIFA’s World Cup Qatar 2022,” the play in one host country. South organizing committee for com- AFC said in a statement. Korea was selected as the cen- petitions. No reasons were given tralised venue host for Group The tournament doubles for the withdrawal but South H, which is led by Turkmen- up as qualifiers for the 2023 Korean media reported earlier istan and also included the Asian Cup, to be held in China. Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek says he had a bid for Arsenal rejected by this month that Pyongyang had two Koreas, Lebanon and Sri — AFP the club’s US owners. PHOTO:AFP Zidane casts doubt over future as Real Madrid coach ZINEDINE Zidane hinted on Saturday he could and it’s like you think I leave because I’m shirk- leave as coach of Real Madrid at the end of the ing responsibility or that I quit when things get season, saying he believes “there comes a time tough,” said Zidane in a press conference. “It’s when it’s the moment to change”. Zidane’s con- not, the only thing about me is that what I do, I tract expires in 2022 but he has repeatedly refused do to the end, and then there comes a time when to confirm he will still be at the club next season. it’s the moment to change. For everyone, not just The Frenchman has a history of surprises for me. For the club, for the good of the club, for after resigning as coach unexpectedly in 2018 the people. before making a shock return a year later. “I don’t leave because it’s easy. It’s not like As a player, he initially announced his retire- I turn away and don’t look back. No, there are ment from international football in 2004 before moments when you have to be there and there coming back for the 2006 World Cup, after which are moments when that’s it, it’s finished, it’s time Zinedine Zidane hinted on Saturday he could leave as coach of Real he retired for good. to change. But for the good of everyone, not just Madrid at the end of the season. PHOTO: AFP “You talk about me leaving in 2006 and 2018 for me.” — AFP