Senior General Min Aung Hlaing Delivers Speech at Coordination Meeting of State Administration Council

STRATEGIC PLAN BASED ON RESEARCH A MUST FOR AGRICULTURAL SECTOR RECOVERY PAGE-8 (OPINION)

NATIONAL NATIONAL Education, Health and Human Resources MoI minister opens Recreation Development Committee holds coordination meeting Centre for MRTV Staff PAGE-4 PAGE-4

Vol. VII, No. 306, 5th Waxing of Tabodwe 1382 ME www.gnlm.com.mm Tuesday, 16 February 2021 Senior General Min Aung Hlaing delivers speech at coordination meeting of State Administration Council

Chairman of the State Administration Council Senior General Min Aung Hlaing presides over the coordination meeting of the State Administration Council in Nay Pyi Taw on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: MNA

ommander-in-Chief of tation of train, car, waterway dropower, legal actions against Defence Services Senior ... legal actions against voter list errors, the and flight, and providing secu- the formation of ‘a parallel gov- CGeneral Min Aung Hlaing rity assistance to the banks for ernment’, security measures at presided over the coordination systematic holding of elections after the ensuring regular currency flow. the checkpoints of townships, meeting of the State Administra- State of Emergency, priority on the liveli- The Senior General said se- wards and villages, the reset- tion Council yesterday morning. curity forces are hardly working tlement of internally displaced Those present at the meet- hood, peace, stability, the rule of law and in their duties in line with inter- persons from armed conflicts, ing were Deputy Command- peace processes and interest of individuals national rules; other countries, peacemaking processes, incite- er-in-Chief of Defence Servic- except the western states, have ment for the lack of stability and es and Commander-in-Chief through peace and stability of the country. advised solving the internal security measures and resump- (Army) Vice-Senior General Soe problems in line with democratic tion of the public transport sector Win, and the council members. practices; fraud voter lists are and the extended plan. At the meeting, Senior Gen- sulted from voter list fraud in the continuing its vaccination pro- being scrutinized at present and In his concluding remark, eral Min Aung Hlaing said that previous elections; the Council is gramme, being patient with will be announced worldwide; full the Chairman of the State Ad- officials who are responsible for working together with prominent CDM of civil service personnel, cooperation of the council mem- ministration Council coordinated the stability of the State, the rule persons from civil societies as it breaching the vows of medical bers is needed for democratic the discussion of Council mem- of law, lives and property of the focused on the civilian adminis- professionals with failure to per- practices in the countries. bers on the issues such as the public are handling the ongoing trative sector. form their duties of healthcare The attendees at the meet- order of State pardon and re- problems with care; the State He continued to say about services at the public health ing discussed legal actions mitting prison sentences of the Administration Council have legal actions against voter list centres, difficulties of people as against the attempts on dis- inmates for their peaceful living never deviated from the multi- errors, the systematic holding of they have to get medical services turbing the establishment of not to lose their rights in line with party democracy path since it elections after the State of Emer- from private clinics and taking multiparty democracy in the democratic practices, false news took the administrative power gency, priority on the livelihood, legal actions on these cases, is- country, the role of foreign ad- on this issue, the role of media and measures are being taken in peace, stability, the rule of law suing permits to the private sec- visors, ensuring true informa- as the fourth pillar of the coun- line with the 2008 State Constitu- and peace processes and inter- tor to import COVID-19 vaccine tion of media through the Press try, the need of accurate news tion; the Council does not change est of individuals through peace for the public with the approval of Council, awards to dutiful civil and information, and the joint politic, administrative, economic, and stability of the country. Food and Drug Administration. service personnel, taking legal security measures of Tatmadaw social, peace and international The Senior General also He also discussed measures action against the civil service personnel, police forces and fire relation policies of the country; talked on the recovery of econ- related to smooth commodity personnel who breached the brigade members.—MNA the emerging situations have re- omy impacted by COVID-19, flows through public transpor- rules, generating low-cost hy- 16 FEBRUARY 2021 2 NATIONAL THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR

Republic of the Union of Myanmar State Administration Council Order No. (65/2021) 4th Waxing of Tabodwe 1382 ME 15 February 2021 Substitution of Magway Region Administration Council Member

The State Administration Council has substituted Dr San Hlaing, the member of Magway Region Administration Council, with U Aung Chein, as per Section 419 of the State Constitution.

By Order Sd/ Aung Lin Dway Lieutenant-General Secretary State Administration Council

Request to health workers Request to Public

1. It is appreciated for the strenuous efforts of the medical doctors, nurses, med- 1. Democracy practices have granted the public freedom of speech, practices ical experts and other health works at the respective departments under the and living. Such freedoms should not harm others. Diverse views of others Ministry of Health and Sports at the front-line in the fight against prevention, should be understood, but should not be disturbed or harassed. However, containment and treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). with the reason for human rights, some persons are now under pressure, harassed and threatened in breaching the laws. Undisciplined acts could 2. As the vaccination programme of COVID-19 is being conducted for the public and the real-time healthcare services are required for the people, all the staff lead to tarnishing the image of democracy. members at the respective departments under the Ministry of Health and 2. For preventing destructive actions against the stability of the State, the safety Sports are strongly urged to return to their duties with taking the well-being of the public and the rule of law, it is also required to take proper actions in of patients into consideration. line with the law. 3. All the people who favour justice, freedom, equality and safety are requested Ministry of Health and Sports to oppose breaching the laws and prevent such actions for the benefit of 8 February 2021 country and people.

Mandalay Region Administration Council’s Announcement to Public

Some unscrupulous persons are putting various forms of pressures and posing threats to civil service personnel in performing their duties at present. The civil service personnel who have encountered such pressures and threats shall contact the following phone numbers. Strong legal actions will also be taken against those who make such pressures and threats.

Contact phone numbers -02 403 9635 -02 403 6869 -09 797 144 144 -02 403 7199 -02 403 6978 -09 694 740 311

36 new cases of COVID-19 reported on 15 February, total figure rises to 141,637

MYANMAR’S COVID-19 positive cases rose to 141,637 after 36 new cases were reported on 15 February 2021 according to the Ministry of Health and Sports. Among these confirmed cases, 3,190 died, 130,465 have been discharged from hospitals.—MNA

Updated at 8 pm, 15 February 2021 Daily death toll until 8 pm 15-2-2021

Total Cases 141,637 New Cases 36 1

Total Death Tally 3,190 Discharged from Hospital 130,465 Ministry of Health and Sports 16 FEBRUARY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR NATIONAL 3 MRTV holds celebrations of 75th Anniversary

State Administration Council Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing spoke on the occasion of the MRTV 75th Anniversary, and the dignitaries, officials and staff are seen present at the event yesterday. PHOTO: MNA

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of Defence Service and Chair- man of the State Administra- tion Council Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Myanmar Radio and Television yesterday. The ceremony was held at the headquarters of MRTV in Nay Pyi Taw-Tatkon, and attended by General Mya Tun Oo, Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun, Un- ion Minister for Home Affairs Lt-Gen Soe Htut, Union Min- The Senior General looks around the MRTV Museum. The Union Minister and Deputy Ministers are launching the new channel. PHOTO: MNA ister for Information U Chit Naing, Commander of Nay Pyi Taw Command Maj-Gen Zaw November 1958, colour televi- awards to the MRTV staff Myo Tin, Deputy Ministers U sion broadcasting system on 3 members and foodstuffs pro- Ye Tint and Brig-Gen Zaw Min June 1980 and Myanmar Radio duced by the Tatmadaw fac- Tun and MRTV officials, while and Television on 22 November tories. its staff members in Yangon 1997. The Senior General and joined the event online. He also congratulated for party also looked around the Senior General Min Aung broadcasting an FM Channel souvenir shops and traditional Hlaing cut the ceremonial rib- in the English language under food items of national races. bon to open the 75th-anniver- the name of Myanmar Radio The second session of sary museum of MRTV and to mark 75th anniversary of the event was held with the sprinkled scented water on the MRTV and gave advice on launching of the Myanmar plaque of museum. quality programmes. Radio (English programme) The museum displays The Senior General also and the MRTV English pro- The MRTV staff members are presenting the performance to mark the radios from successive eras, MRTV 75th Anniversary in Nay Pyi Taw on 15 February 2021. said his appreciations on the gramme. broadcasting machines, pro- PHOTO: MNA programmes of MRTV in suc- Union Minister U Chit Na- gramme arrangement, news ing made a speech at the cer- and information, different with the song to honour the emony, and Deputy Ministers brands of television sets used 75th anniversary of MRTV, U Ye Tint and Brig-Gen Zaw in different periods, green followed by the documentary ... the history of Myanmar media started Min Tun launched the channel. screen virtual, transmission about the anniversary. with Yadanabon Newspapers published The Union Minister, the and receivers, repairing ma- Senior General Min Aung Deputy Ministers and the de- chines, cameras of succes- Hlaing delivered a speech, say- on 9 March 1874, the first establishment of partmental heads presented sive generations, talk-show ing the great occasions of anni- broadcast media in 1937 and turning it into awards to the outstanding staff settings, newsroom settings, versary for the staff members, members of departments. microphones, telephones, in- the history of Myanmar media an independent and national broadcast The ceremony was con- struments, seats from the time started with Yadanabon News- media in March 1945. cluded with the performance of BBS and boards. papers published on 9 March of staff members with a song The Chairman of the State 1874, the first establishment of to honour the MRTV. Administration Council made broadcast media in 1937 and The MRTV is also broad- instructions on conserving the turning it into an independent names of Rangoon Radio in cessive eras and the crucial casting 11 channels of national historic and antique materials and national broadcast media May 1945, the Burma Broad- role of media as the fourth pil- races (NRC), Hluttaw channel, at the museum. in March 1945. casting Services—BBS on lar for the country. farmers channel, MRTV sports The MRTV staff members He also talked about the 15 February 1946, Myanmar After the speech, the Sen- channel. —MNA/GNLM presented the performance history of MRTV with the Broadcasting Service on 28 ior General presented cash ဖေဖော်ဝါရီ ၁၁၊ ၂၀၂၁ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီ ၁၁၊ ၂၀၂၁ 16 FEBRUARY 2021 4 NATIONAL THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR

NNMNMNNNMNMNNNNNNNMNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNMNNNN

NNMNMNNNMNMNNNNNNNMNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNMNNNN We have adopted new plans for the vaccination programme to cover all the people

NN NN NN NN WE have adopted new plans for the vaccination programme to cover all the people. In doing so, the import of new and effective vaccine approved N N

N by the FDA will be permitted first. The private sector will be allowed to import these vaccines — implications of Sputnik V vaccine from Russia, N

N N

N SARS-COVI from China and COVAXIN from India. These brands of vaccine are being used in other countries. N

N N N N N N N N N N

N N (Excerpt from the speech to the Situation Report on the Country made by the Republic of N N N the Union of Myanmar State Administration Council Chairman N N N N N Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on 12 February 2021) N N N N N N NNMNMNNNMNMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNMNMNNNMNMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN ဗဟိုဘဏ် အဖွဲ့ဝင်များအဖဖစ် ခန့်အပ်တာဝန်ပပး ေန်ေုန်မမို့ပတာ်စည်ပင်သာယာပေးပော်မတီ ဖွဲ့စည်း ဗဟိုဘဏ်Education, အဖွဲ့ဝင်များအဖဖစ် Health ခန့်အပ်တာဝန်ပပး and Human Resourcesေန်ေုန်မမို့ပတာ်စည်ပင်သာယာပေးပော်မတီ Development ဖွဲ့စည်း ပြည်ဖောင်စုသမတပမန်မာနိုင်ငံဖတာ် ပြည်ဖောင်စုသမတပမန်မာနိုင်ငံဖတာ် ပြည်ဖောင်စုသမတပမန်မာနိုင်ငံဖတာ် ပြည်ဖောင်စုသမတပမန်မာနိုင်ငံဖတာ် နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီCommittee holds coordination နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီmeeting နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီ နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီ အမိန့်အမှတ် (၄၆/ ၂၀၂၁) အမိန့်အမှတ် (၄၇ / ၂၀၂၁) အမိန့်အမှတ် (၄၆/ ၂၀၂၁) အမိန့်အမှတ် (၄၇ / ၂၀၂၁) THE Education, Health ၁၃၈၂and ခုနှစ်၊Human ပြာသိုလပြည့်ဖေျာ် Resources Development ၁၄ ရေ် ၁၃၈၂ ခုနှစ်၊ ပြာသိုလပြည့်ဖေျာ် ၁၄ ရေ် Committee, led by Vice-Chairman၁၃၈၂ ခုနှစ်၊ ပြာသိုလပြည့်ဖေျာ် of the State Administration ၁၄ ရေ် ၁၃၈၂ ခုနှစ်၊ ပြာသိုလပြည့်ဖေျာ် ၁၄ ရေ် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁၀ ရေ် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁၀ ရေ် Council and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁၀ ရေ် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁၀ ရေ် Vice-Senior General Soeဗဟိုဘဏ်အဖွဲ Win, held့ဝင်များအဖဖစ် a coordination ခန့်အပ်တာဝန်ပပးဖခင်း meeting yes- ေန်ေုန်မမို့ပတာ်စည်ပင်သာယာပေးပော်မတီ ဖွဲ့စည်းဖခင်း terday. ့ ့ နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်တေးတောင်စီသည်ဗဟိုဘဏ်အဖွဲဝင်များအဖဖစ် ဖွဲ့စည်းပုံအတြခခံဥပတေ ခန့်အပ်တာဝန်ပပးဖခင်း ပုေ်မ ၄၁၉ အေ တအာေ်ပါပုဂိုလ်များေို နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်ေန်ေုန်မမို့ပတာ်စည်ပင်သာယာပေးပော်မတီတေးတောင်စီသည် ေန်ေုန်မမို့တော်စည်ပင်သာယာတေးတ ဖွဲစည်းဖခင်းော်မေီေ ို တအာေ်ပါအေိုင်း The meeting was attended by Admiral Tin Aung San, Daw Aye နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်တေးတောင်စီသည် ဖွဲ့စည်းပုံအတြခခံဥပတေ ပုေ်မ ၄၁၉ အေ တအာေ်ပါပုဂိုလ်များေို နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်တေးတောင်စီသည် ေန်ေုန်မမို့တော်စည်ပင်သာယာတေးတော်မေီေ ို တအာေ်ပါအေိုင်း Nuဗဟိုဘဏ် Sein, U အဖွဲ့ဝင်များအြဖစ် Moung Har, ခန့်အပ်ောဝန်တပးလိုေ်သည်Union Minister for Health - and Sports Dr ဖွဲ့စည်းလိုေ်သည် - ဗဟိုဘဏ် အဖွဲ့ဝင်များအြဖစ် ခန့်အပ်ောဝန်တပးလိုေ်သည် - ဖွဲ့စည်းလိုေ်သည် - Thet Khaing(၁) Win,တေါေ်ော Chairman ခင်နိုင်ဦး of Union Civil Service Organization U (၁) ဥေဋ္ဌ၊ မမို့တော်ဝန် Than Swe,(၂)(၁) deputy ဦးတအာင်တေျာ်သန်းတေါေ်ော ministers, ခင်နိုင်ဦး permanent secretaries and officials. (၂)(၁) ဥေဋ္ဌ၊ေုေိယဥေဋ္ဌ မမို့တော်ဝန် ၊ ေုေိယမမို့တော်ဝန် In his(၂) keynote ဦးတအာင်တေျာ်သန်း speech, the Vice-Senior General talked about (၃)(၂) အဖွဲ့ဝင်(၄)ဦးေုေိယဥေဋ္ဌ ၊ ေုေိယမမို့တော်ဝန် the five committees of the Council, including his committeeအမိန့်အရ and (၄)(၃) အေွင်းတေးမှူးအဖွဲ့ဝင်(၄)ဦး implementation of policies and plans in collective efforts. အမိန့်အရ (ြုံ)ဖအာင်လင်းဖွေး (၄) အေွင်းတေးမှူး Union Minister Dr Thet Khaing Win, the joint secretary of ွုတိယဗိုလ်ချုြ်ကေီး(ြုံ)ဖအာင်လင်းဖွေး အမိန့်အရ committee, explained foreign scholarship programmes, participa- ွုတိယဗိုလ်ချုြ်ကေီး အမိန့်အရ tion in local and international meetings, sending migrant workersအတေင်းဖရးမှူး (ြုံ)ဖအာင်လင်းဖွေး and foreign currency budgets for the international events.—MNAနိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီအတေင်းဖရးမှူး ွုတိယဗိုလ်ချုြ်ကေီး(ြုံ)ဖအာင်လင်းဖွေး နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီ ွုတိယဗိုလ်ချုြ်ကေီးအတေင်းဖရးမှူး Vice-Chairman of the State Administration Council Vice-Senior General နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီအတေင်းဖရးမှူး Soe Win chairs the coordination meeting on education, health and humanမနပေးမမို့ပတာ်စည်ပင်သာယာပေးပော်မတီ resources development on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: MNA ဖွဲ့စည်း နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီ မနပေးမမို့ပတာ်စည်ပင်သာယာပေးပော်မတီ ဖွဲ့စည်း ပြည်ဖောင်စုသမတပမန်မာနိုင်ငံဖတာ် ပြည်ဖောင်စုသမတပမန်မာနိုင်ငံဖတာ် ဖမန်မာနိုင်ငံဖပန်တမ်း နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီ MoI ministerဖမန်မာနိုင်ငံဖပန်တမ်း opens နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီ အမိန့်အမှတ် ( ၄၈ / ၂၀၂၁) အမိန့်အမှတ် ( ၄၈ / ၂၀၂၁) ဝန်ထမ်းအဖွဲRecreation့အစည်းအကေီးအမှူးများ Centre အတည်ဖပုခန့်ထားဖခင်း for ၁၃၈၂ ခုနှစ်၊ ပြာသိုလပြည့်ဖေျာ် ၁၄ ရေ် ဝန်ထမ်းအဖွဲ့အစည်းအကေီးအမှူးများ အတည်ဖပုခန့်ထားဖခင်း ၁၃၈၂ ခုနှစ်၊ ပြာသိုလပြည့်ဖေျာ် ၁၄ ရေ် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁၀ ရေ် တအာေ်တဖာ်ြပပMRTVါ ဝန်ထမ်းအဖွဲ့အစည်းအက Staffေီးအမှူးများေ ို အစမ်းခန့်ောလ ( ၁ ) နှစ် ြပည့်တြမာေ်သည့်တန့မှစ၍ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ ၁၀ ရေ် အေည်ြပုခန့်ထားလိုေ်သည်တအာေ်တဖာ်ြပပါ ဝန်ထမ်းအဖွဲ့အစည်းအက - ေီးအမှူးများေ ို အစမ်းခန့်ောလ ( ၁ ) နှစ် ြပည့်တြမာေ်သည့်တန့မှစ၍ မနပေးမမို့ပတာ်စည်ပင်သာယာပေးပော်မတီ ဖွဲ့စည်းဖခင်း အေည်ြပုခန့်ထားလိုေ်သည်AN OPENING - ceremony of Recreation Centre for the staff to mark ့ အမည် ဝန်ေမ်းအေေဲ့အစည်းအကေီးအမှူး နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်မနပေးမမို့ပတာ်စည်ပင်သာယာပေးပော်မတီတေးတောင်စီသည် မနတလးမမို့တော်စည်ပင်သာယာ ဖွဲစည်းဖခင်းတေးတော်မေီေ ို တအာေ်ပါအေိုင်း the 75th Anniversary of the Myanma Radio and Television was held အမည် ဝန်ေမ်းအေေဲ့အစည်းအကေီးအမှူးရာေူး၊ ဌာန နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်တေးတောင်စီသည် မနတလးမမို့တော်စည်ပင်သာယာတေးတော်မေီေ ို တအာေ်ပါအေိုင်း at its headquarters in Nay Pyi Taw Tatkon yesterday. ဖွဲ့စည်းလိုေ်သည် - ရာေူး၊ ဌာန (၁) ဦးေဲေိုးသွင်At the ceremony, Unionဦးတောင်ညန်ကေားတေးမှူး Minister U Chit Naing, deputy ministers ဖွဲ့စည်းလိုေ်သည်(၁) ဥေဋ္ဌ၊ - မမို့တော်ဝန် (၁) ဦးေဲေိုးသွင်U Ye Tint and Brig-Gen လပ်စစ်ဓာေ်အားြဖဦးတောင်ညန်ကေားတေးမှူး Zaw Min Tun န့် cutြဖူးတေးလုပ်ငန်း the ceremonial ribbon (၂)(၁) ဥေဋ္ဌ၊ေုေိယဥေဋ္ဌ မမို့တော်ဝန် ၊ ေုေိယမမို့တော်ဝန် to open the Recreation Centre.လပ်စစ်နှင့်စွမ်းအင်ဝန်ကေီးဌာနလပ်စစ်ဓာေ်အားြဖန့် ြဖူးတေးလုပ်ငန်း (၃)(၂) အဖွဲ့ဝင်(၂)ဦးေုေိယဥေဋ္ဌ ၊ ေုေိယမမို့တော်ဝန် The Union Ministerလပ်စစ်နှင့်စွမ်းအင်ဝန်ကေီးဌာန and deputy ministers looked around the (၃) အဖွဲ့ဝင်(၂)ဦး (၂) ဦးဟိန်းထေ် ညန်ကေားတေးမှူးချုပ် (၄) အေွင်းတေးမှူး Recreation Centre, and Director-General of MRTV U Ye Naing (၂) ဦးဟိန်းထေ် တေအားလပ်စစ်အတောင်အထည်တဖာ်တေးဦးစီးဌာနညန်ကေားတေးမှူးချုပ် (၄) အေွင်းတေးမှူး explained the Indoor Game hall, Mind Game hall, Songster room , လပ်စစ်နှင့်စွမ်းအင်ဝန်ကေီးဌာနတေအားလပ်စစ်အတောင်အထည်တဖာ်တေးဦးစီးဌာန အမိန့်အရ Fitness Room and Lobby room.—MNA (၃) ဦးဝင်းတော်တအာင် ညန်ကေားတေးမှူးချုပ်လပ်စစ်နှင့်စွမ်းအင်ဝန်ကေီးဌာန အမိန့်အရ (ြုံ)ဖအာင်လင်းဖွေး (၃) ဦးဝင်းတော်တအာင်Union Minister U Chit Naing,ညန်ကေားတေးမှူးချုပ် Deputy Ministers U Ye Tint and Brig-Gen ွုတိယဗိုလ်ချုြ်ကေီး(ြုံ)ဖအာင်လင်းဖွေး Zaw Min Tun cut the ribbonြပည်သူ့အင်အားဦးစီးဌာန to open the Recreation Centre for MRTV ြပည်သူ့အင်အားဦးစီးဌာန ွုတိယဗိုလ်ချုြ်ကေီးအတေင်းဖရးမှူး personnel on 15 February 2021.အလုပ်သမား၊ PHOTO: လူဝင်မကေီးကေပ်တေးနှင့် MNA အလုပ်သမား၊ လူဝင်မကေီးကေပ်တေးနှင့် နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီအတေင်းဖရးမှူး ြပည်သူ့အင်အားဝန်ကေီးဌာန နိုင်ငံဖတာ်စီမံအုြ်ချုြ်ဖရးဖောင်စီ ြပည်သူ့အင်အားဝန်ကေီးဌာန 16 FEBRUARY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR NATIONAL 5 Vice-Senior General meets UN SG Special Envoy for Myanmar via video conferencing VICE-CHAIRMAN of the State Administration Council and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Vice-Senior General Soe Win held a video conference with the UN SG Special Envoy for Myanmar, Ms Christine Schraner Burgener yesterday. At the meeting, they discussed developments in the works of State Administration Council after the first meeting between them on 5 February, security measures for people, information about internal situations to the world, COVID-19 vaccination programme and works for recovery of the national econo- Vice-Chairman of the State Administration Council Vice-Senior General Soe Win holds the online talks with UN SG Special Envoy Ms Christine my.—MNA Schraner Burgener on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: MNA MoALI minister discusses future plans with departmental officials

UNION MINISTER for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation U Tin Htut Oo held a meeting with the senior officials of departments under his ministry on the future plans yesterday. At the meeting, the Union Minister discussed effective collaboration among the respective departments, systematic management on human resources based on their capacities, transparency on pro- motion, free of anti-corruption and adherence to the rules, finance and projects and participation of experts in the respective sectors. He also talked on the recovery plan for livestock and agricultural sector impacted by COVID-19 pandemic, research on the production of fruits and vegetables with high demand in the market, findings alternative methods to overcome challenges and obstacles, the use of ICT in agricultural, livestock, rural development and cooperative sectors The Union Minister instructed systematic expenditure of funds in the projects, systematic land leasing for these sectors, ensuring implementation of works mentioned in rental agreements and the Union Minister U Tin Htut Oo meets the MoALI senior departmental officials on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: MNA future plans for delayed projects.—MNA State Administration Council’s Announcement

Tatmadaw True News Information Team: Healthcare services offered at military hospitals

THE Tatmadaw True News Information Team released a statement on 4 February 2021 that healthcare services are offered to all the national people at the military hospitals. The statement said that some persons who are creating disturbances, aiming to destabilize the administrative mechanism and stability of the State, have incited Civil Disobedience Campaign through social networks, causing failure to perform duties among the health workers. Doctors have vowed during their convocation that “ Health and well-being of the patients will be our own issues as the first priority ; I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity and in accordance with a good medical practice; I will serve my medical profession regardless of nationality, race and social status; and I will maintain the utmost respect for human life”. It is also advised all the health workers not to follow the incitement that can jeopardize the interest of country and people, and keep their professional vows to the public. The Tatmadaw has received the permission of the State Administration Council to solve the current healthcare problems of people across the nation by the military medics. Therefore, people can get proper medical treatments at the nearest military hospitals.—MNA 16 FEBRUARY 2021 6 NATIONAL THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Myanmar Gems Enterprise, No.2 Mining Enterprise discuss coordination plans

THE Myanmar Gems Enterprise and the No. 2 Mining Enterprise held a coordination meeting in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday. Union Minister for Natural Resources and Environ- mental Conservation U Khin Maung Yi chaired the meeting where Managing Director U Min Thu from the MGE explained the objectives, background history and works of the enterprise, followed by the reports of Permanent Sec- retary U Min Min Oo and the legal advisor of the ministry. The Union Minister made instructions on the implementation of works, and conducting the Initial Environ- mental Examination, the Environmental Management Plan and the Environmental Impact Assessment. Managing Director U Aye Zaw from No. 2 Mining Enterprise reported the works of his enterprise, production capacity for the minerals and the revenue from this Union Minister U Khin Maung Yi chairs the coordination meeting of the Myanmar Gems Enterprise and No 2 Mining sector.—MNA Enterprise on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: MNA Trade Policy Review Body hold virtual meeting on preparing for second review report to WTO

THE virtual meeting of Trade 2014. Based on the findings and Policy Review Body kicked recommendations from this off on 15 February online to review, more steps were taken prepare for the second review with the technical assistance of report, with the assistance of WTO to ensure better policies GIZ and ARISE Plus project. on the trades. Permanent Secretary U The report by the WTO Min Min from the Ministry Secretariat included trade of Commerce led the meet- policies of Myanmar and im- ing participated by the direc- plementations of these poli- tors-general of Trade Depart- cies, while the report of My- ment, representatives of TPR anmar government under the Technical Team and experts WTO-TPR mechanism will also from the relevant subjects. explain trade policy reforms The meeting discussed and implementations of WTO progress in implementing agreements from 2014 to 202. provisions, rules and pledges After submitting the re- made in the trade agreements The virtual meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body is in progress on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: MNA port to the WTO, it will issue to inform other member coun- cies and practices. came a member of World Trade try could only review the first the final report.—MNA tries about foreign trade poli- Although Myanmar be- Organization in 1995, the coun- trade policies and practices in

137 courses for diploma, postgraduate in medical education to be conducted A total of 2,082 trainees will be allowed for 137 courses of diploma and postgraduate at medical universities and related universities under the Ministry of Health and Sports in 2021 academic year.

The applications for these courses shall be submitted commencing 2nd week of February. Sr University Diploma M.Sc Doctorate Total 1 Universities of Medicine 7 31 47 85 2 Universities of Dental Medicine 2 10 9 21 3 Universities of Nursing 1 9 1 11 4 Universities of Medical Technology 1 3 3 7 5 Universities of Pharmacy - 4 4 8 6 University of Public Health 1 2 1 4 7 University of Community Health - 1 - 1 Total 12 60 65 137 Ministry of Health and Sports

Call Thin Thin May, 09251022355 16 FEBRUARY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR LOCAL BUSINESS 7 Global strong demand sparks agricultural exports as of 22 January

THE agricultural exports have coronavirus’s impact on for- dia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. working to help farmers deal lief Loan Scheme between June touched a high of US$1.6 billion eign demand for other export Sometimes, the export market with challenges such as high and September 2020. Moreover, as of 22 January 2021 in the cur- groups. remains uncertain due to un- input costs, procurement of it cut the loan interest rate from rent financial year since 1 Octo- In the exports sector, the steady global demand. pedigree seeds, high cultiva- eight to five per cent during the ber 2020 on the back of strong agriculture industry performed The country requires spe- tion costs, and unpredictable COVID-19 crisis. global demand for agricultural the best, accounting for over 22 cific export plans for each agro weather conditions. The MADB yearly grants products amid the coronavirus per cent of overall exports. The product, as they are currently Myanma Agricultural De- agricultural loans to the small- impacts. agricultural industry’s chief ex- exported to external markets velopment Bank (MADB) un- scale farmers. The paddy The figures reflect a sig- port items are rice and broken based upon supply and demand. der the Ministry of Planning, farmers can take out loans of nificant rise of $514.587 million rice, pulses and beans, and Contract farming systems, the Finance and Industry last year K150,000 per acre, while the this FY. The ago exports soared maize. Fruits and vegetables, involvement of regional and notified the farmers of agricul- growers of other crops includ- from $1.13 billion in the corre- sesame, dried tea leaves, sugar, state agriculture departments, tural loans for the current fi- ing sugarcane, can get K100,000 sponding period of the 2019-2020 and other agro products are exporters, traders, and some nancial year. per acre. They have to put the FY, according to the trade fig- also shipped to other countries. grower groups, are required to In a bid to mitigate the im- original Farmland Permit Form ures released by the Ministry Myanmar agro products meet production targets, said pacts stricken by the COVID-19, (7) up for collateral to secure of Commerce. are primarily exported to Chi- an official from the Agriculture the bank also provided an addi- the loan under the person- Myanmar’s agricultural na, Singapore, Malaysia, the Department. tional loan of K50,000 per acre al guarantee system. — KH/ exports rose regardless of the Philippines, Bangladesh, In- The Commerce Ministry is under the COVID-19 Special Re- GNLM Farmers to grow more tapioca for prospective foreign income

MYANMAR, located among the ioca starch stood at US$475 large buyer countries of tap- per metric ton on 2 February. ioca, should widely cultivate It rose to $480 per tonne on 9 tapioca to raise foreign income February. for the country. Consequently, Myanmar About 100 countries grow has market potential for tapio- tapioca at present, commonly ca starch as well as dried tapio- found in Africa, Asia and Amer- ca. Tapioca must process with- ica. China and India account in 24 hours of extraction from for 90 per cent of global de- the cassava plant to produce mand for tapioca starch. high-quality starch. Tapioca Additionally, Asia consti- powder can be stored at room tutes 30 per cent of tapioca temperature for two years. production. Thailand is the pri- Myanmar’s agriculture mary producer among them, department issued Agro Digit covering 48 of 76 provinces. News stated that Myanmar has It is exported to Japan, China the favourable land resource to (Taiwan), Indonesia, Central grow tapioca. It should be cul- America and South America. tivated in the least developed The tapioca fetched 13.5 regions to create job opportu- baht per kilo on 2 February, nities for local residents. and 13.6 baht on 9 February, Tapioca can be used in Thai Tapioca Starch Associ- food products, medicines, feed- Myanmar’s agriculture department issued Agro Digit News stated that Myanmar has the favourable land resource to grow tapioca. PHOTO: MNA ation official website stated. stuff and biofuel. It can receive Moreover, the export foreign income from exports. do not need an export licence. tries that grant Customs duty declaration (Form D to Thai- price (FOB Bangkok) of tap- The exports of tapioca starch It can be shipped to the coun- exemption only with the export land). — NN/GNLM

COVID-19 Call Centre opens daily

In efforts to speed up the prevention, containment and treatment of the COVID-19 disease, the call centre (phone number 2019) is established by four communications operators and the Blue Ocean Company with the coordination of the Medical Research Department of the Health and Sports Ministry and Post and Telecommunications Department from 9 am to 5 pm daily at the Medical Research Department in Yangon. Over 43 staff from the Medical Research Department and 17 volunteers from the My- anmar Medical Association totally 60 workers have been working at the centre since 8th April.—MNA

Call Thin Thin May, 09251022355,09974424848 16 FEBRUARY 2021 16 FEBRUARY 2021 8 OPINION THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR NATIONAL/ARTICLE 9 Strategic plan based Myanmar Gazette Rich countries snap up 70% of global vaccines, Appointment of Permanent Secretary on research a must The State Administration Council has appointed U Aung Myint Oo, Director-General of the Road Department of the Ministry challenging vaccine equity: report of Construction, concurrently as Permanent Secretary of the for agricultural same ministry.

ome high-income countries supply so far - to cover 396 per them. Vaccines naturally go to Myanmar Gazette sector recovery have snapped up about 70 cent of its population. rich countries that could afford S per cent of coronavirus Tao Lina, a Shanghai based the bill as poor countries strive Heads of Service Organizations confirmed vaccines that would be availa- vaccine expert, previously told for vaccines through COVAX. s our country is seeing the beginning of the end of COVID-19 ble in 2021, which, together with the Global Times that it is nat- COVAX is an ideal scheme The following persons are confirmed as Heads of Service Organ- pandemic thanks to the vaccination programme, we need other issues such as production ural that rich countries bypass that will balance worldwide vac- izations shown against each of their names after the one-year A to prepare for putting the agricultural sector, on which our capacity, would largely threaten COVAX and purchase vaccines cine distribution, but, multiple probational period. economy is relying, on the road to recovery. equal and timely global vaccine in advance directly with the man- factors such as poor countries’ Name Appointment To gain quick wins in the agricultural sector, the development provisions, said a recent report ufacturers. lack of funding to purchase vac- 1. U Tun Zaw Director-General of research on agriculture is an urgent need. on The Lancet. “But it is not necessary to cines means the scheme can- Central Statistical Organization The research must focus on major crops consumed by the peo- The report, published online strike up vaccines. It will take a not function in a timely manner, Ministry of Planning, Finance and In- ple and marketable crops now and in future. Meanwhile, a strategic on Friday, said that governments country weeks even months to Zhuang said. dustry plan which can directly benefit the rural people, including farmers, in high-income countries, repre- administrate millions of doses. If The fundamental question 2. Dr Thi Thi Myint Director-General must be implemented systematically. senting 16 per cent of the global rich countries are willing to share is the shortage of vaccine sup- Legal Advice Department To make these projects a success, we must take a balanced population, have struck pre-or- extra doses that they would not ply, the expert said, adding that Union Attorney-General Office approach between budgets and prospects for agricultural market ders covering at least 4.2 billion use in one month with developing imbalanced vaccine distribution 3. U Kyaw Win Han Rector and productivity. Reviewing about over the works and reforms are doses of COVID-19 vaccines, countries, the situation will be may not be addressed in 2021. Central Institute of Civil Service also required to achieve quick wins. which is at least 70 per cent of much better for the latter,” Tao A successful solution to the (Lower Myanmar) The strategic plan to develop agriculture in post-COVID-19 doses available in 2021 from five suggested. production bottleneck would Union Civil Service Board period must also be both safe candidates. However, a problem is that probably require widespread and nutritional. While COVAX attempts to COVAX is supported by inter- technology transfer to enable Some high-income countries have snapped up about 70 per cent of coronavirus vaccines that would be available It is also worth noting ensure that no country should national organizations like the the expansion of manufacturing in 2021, which, together with other issues such as production capacity, would largely threaten equal and timely To gain quick that most Myanmar farmers vaccinate more than 20 per cent WHO, but these international or- capacity, according to the Friday global vaccine provisions, said a recent report on The Lancet. PHOTO: VCG have poor knowledge of the of its population until all coun- ganizations lack executive power Lancet report. wins in the systematic use of agricultural tries have vaccinated 20 per cent over any country, so it is hard to Currently, few countries port costs and greatly improves parts: a virus cultivation work- lines would also prevent some Myanmar Daily Weather Report inputs. And, environmentally of their populations, in accord- make rich countries follow CO- have the domestic capacity to the affordability of vaccines. shop and a solid preparation countries from producing vac- (Issued at 7:00 pm Monday 15 February 2021) agricultural unsustainable farm practic- ance with principles of global VAX’s guidelines, Tao said. rapidly produce COVID-19 vac- Zhang warned that the workshop. cines on their own, but rather es and weather variations equality, many high-income coun- For COVAX to succeed, cines on their own and instead worst result of the situation is Throughout the procedure, preferring to wait for COVAX al- BAY INFERENCE: Weather is a few cloud to partly cloudy over sector, the are to blame. Therefore, an tries have bypassed COVAX and The Lancet report said it needs will need companies to actively that some countries may conduct there are hundreds of items that location or purchase jabs from the Andaman Sea and South Bay and generally fair elsewhere innovative system based on instead sought to gain priority substantial funding to purchase share knowledge, technology, mandatory approval to make up should be tested to ensure safety other countries, experts said. over the Bay of Bengal. indigenous and traditional access to abundant quantities vaccines. As of February 2021, and data with domestic manu- vaccine demand like generic and efficacy of the vaccine. Transferring technology to development knowledge that improves the of COVID-19 vaccines that are governments and other partners facturers, the report noted. drugs in India. “This could hap- Every step of vaccine pro- manufacture vaccines could be FORECAST VALID UNTIL MORNING OF THE 16 February natural resource base while enough to vaccinate their popu- have committed around $4 billion Some leading vaccine devel- pen if some countries have diffi- duction has to be conducted in a solution to balance worldwide 2021: Light rain or thundershowers are likely to be isolated in of research increasing productivity is lations several times over. in funding for COVAX, but Gavi opers have reached such collab- culty obtaining vaccines.” workshops that have obtained vaccine distribution, and it may Kachin State. Degree of certainty is (60%). Weather will be partly what our agriculture sector According to vaccine con- and WHO estimate that a further oration with manufacturers in Chinese experts said that Good Manufacturing Practice be better to transfer technology cloudy in Upper Sagaing, Yangon, Ayeyawady, Taninthayi regions on agriculture needs. tracts tracked by Duke Univer- $6.8 billion will be needed for CO- mid- and low-income countries. China is open to share and trans- certificates. Countries without to countries with capability to and Shan, Kayin, Mon states and generally fair in the remaining When it comes to the in- sity, as of February 8, the EU has VAX to procure and deliver at Chinese producer Sinovac fer technology, but a problem is such workshops would not be launch large-scale production to regions and states. is an urgent novation system, the devel- ordered enough doses to vacci- least 2 billion doses by the end previously told the Global Times that maybe not all countries are able to ensure the quality of vac- make up for vaccine shortages, opment of information and nate its people more than two of 2021. that it now exports semi-finished capable of establishing a produc- cines they produce, Feng Duojia, a Beijing-based immunologist STATE OF THE SEA: Seas will be moderate in Myanmar waters. need. communication technology times, and Canada has about five Zhuang Shilihe, a Guang- vaccines to countries capable of tion line. president of the China Vaccine who requested anonymity told Wave height will be about (4-7) feet off and along Myanmar Coasts. among farmers is the sine times more than it needs if each zhou-based vaccine expert, filling and packaging doses. It The Global Times learned Industry Association, told the the Global Times on Sunday. qua non. person needs two doses. The US told the Global Times that vac- not only eases the pressure on from Chinese vaccine produc- Global Times previously. OUTLOOK FOR SUBSEQUENT TWO DAYS: Likelihood of Why? With the develop- has snapped up 2.6 billion doses, cine distribution is more down Chinese production facilities, but ers that the production line of The high cost of building SOURCE: Global Times/ isolated light rain or thundershowers in Upper Sagaing, Tanin- ment of mobile phone density nearly a quarter of the world's to countries’ ability to procure also saves international trans- inactivated vaccines contains two coronavirus vaccine production Xinhua thayi regions and Kachin, Shan, Kayah, Kayin, Mon states. reaching over 100 per cent and smartphone user density over 80 per cent in our country, our country is considered to have the highest FORECAST FOR NAY PYI TAW AND NEIGHBOURING mobile phone density in the ASEAN region, as per international AREA FOR 16 February 2021: Fair weather. research reports. Europe's virus death toll passes Hence, we must take this advantage best to overcome challenges FORECAST FOR YANGON AND NEIGHBOURING AREA in the agricultural sector in the post-COVID-19 period. FOR 16 February 2021: Generally fair weather. Our country is mainly an agricultural nation, with over 60 vari- 800,000: AFP tally eties of crops grown in the country according to season throughout FORECAST FOR MANDALAY AND NEIGHBOURING the year. About seventy per cent of Myanmar’s population live in AREA FOR 16 February 2021: Fair weather. rural areas, and their main business is agriculture. MORE than 800,00 people have died from the coro- deaths a day from the virus last week, 14 per cent No sector has escaped from the impact of COVID-19. Its impact navirus across Europe since the pandemic began in lower than the previous week. on agriculture is complex and varied across diverse segments that December 2019, according to an AFP tally Sunday But since November 11, the region has recorded form the agricultural value chain. Even among the different seg- based on official sources. at least 4,000 deaths a day on average -- peaking at a ments, its impact varies widely among different regions and among As of Saturday, 1630 GMT, there were 800,361 record 5,700 daily deaths at the end of January. producers and agricultural wage labourers. deaths recorded in the 52 countries and territories For a month though, the figures for infections The agricultural sector contributes 22.5 per cent to the nation’s that make up the continent -- including Russia and have been falling in Europe. 09251022355, GDP. The agricultural sector developed at a rate of 2.1 per cent in Turkey -- for 35,395,270 declared cases. But if the curve of average daily deaths has Call Thin Thin May, 2018-2019 financial year, and the agricultural ministry is working to That puts the continent's death toll ahead of Latin dropped, the tendency remains constant over the long 09974424848 increase the development rate to 2.5 per cent in 2019-2020 financial America and the Caribbean, which has 635,834 dead term -- for since the beginning of November, 100,000 with us/ year. for 20,021,361 cases; of the United States and Canada's deaths have been recorded about every 20 days. We are confident that we can overcome the post-COVID-19 502,064 deaths for 28,312,719 cases; and Asia's 247,730 Thus Europe passed 500,000 deaths on December A d v e r t i s e Hot Line : challenge through the united efforts of regional governments, private In this file photo taken on 27 June 2020 a sclentist works at the Neurobiology laboratory of the deaths for 15,641,940 cases. 17; 600,000 on January 7; and 700,000 on January 25. sectors, experts and farmers associations. Cayetano Heredta University in Lima. PHOTO: AFP Europe as a whole recorded an average 4,478 SOURCE: AFP 09974424848 16 FEBRUARY 2021 10 WORLD THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR NATO will not leave Afghanistan before ‘time is right’

fate of the alliance’s 9,600-strong ment’s future at their meeting. support mission in Afghanistan NATO allies want the US to after Trump struck a deal with consult more closely with them the Taliban to withdraw troops. after feeling sidelined when The deployment’s future Trump cut US troop numbers hinges on whether Biden to 2,5000 in January, their low- agrees to stick to a May dead- est figure since the start of the line to pull out foreign forces or war in 2001. risks a bloody backlash from the Taliban violence has Islamist insurgents by staying surged in recent months amid put. stuttering peace talks with the “While no ally wants to stay Kabul government. The group in Afghanistan longer than nec- has warned NATO ministers essary, we will not leave before not to seek a “continuation of the time is right,” Stoltenberg occupation and war”. told a media conference. “The Taliban must reduce “Ministers will continue violence, negotiate in good faith to assess the situation on the and live up to their commitment ground and monitor develop- to stop cooperating with nation- ments very closely.” al terrorist groups,” Stolten- Biden’s administration berg said. Journalists’ appear on a screen during a press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of a Nato defence minister council at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, on 15 February, 2021. NATO says it is reviewing the deal, and “Our common goal is clear. defence minister will gather on a videoconference on February 17 and February 18 2021. PHOTO: AFP the Pentagon has accused the Afghanistan should never again Taliban of not fulfilling promis- serve as a haven for terrorists BRUSSELS — NATO Secre- by defence ministers on the de- US President Joe Biden took es that include reducing attacks to attack our homelands.” tary General Jens Stoltenberg ployment. office vowing to work closer and cutting ties to insurgent A study mandated by the said Monday the alliance will The ministers of the 30 with allies after four years of groups like Al-Qaeda. US Congress has called for a not withdraw its troops from NATO member states will on tensions under Donald Trump. Defence ministers are not delay in the pullout, warning Afghanistan “before the time Wednesday and Thursday hold Top of the agenda for the expected to make a concrete it would effectively hand the is right”, ahead of a discussion their highest-level talks since virtual conference will be the announcement on the deploy- Taliban a victory. —AFP Israeli strikes on Syria kill 9 Vaccine shortage forces Rio to militia fighters: monitor suspend Covid jabs BEIRUT — Israeli missile Since the outbreak of Syr- strikes against several targets ia’s civil war in 2011, Israel has near Syria’s capital Damascus routinely carried out raids in killed at least nine pro-regime the country, mostly targeting militia fighters early Monday, a Iranian forces and Lebanese Britain-based war monitor said. Hezbollah fighters as well as “Nine Iran-backed militia government troops. fighters were killed” in Israe- Iran and Hezbollah have li strikes targeting arms de- backed Syrian President pots, including missile stores, Bashar al-Assad’s regime in around Damascus, said the the near-decade-long war. Syrian Observatory for Human Israel rarely confirms Rights. strikes in Syria, but the Jewish The Observatory said all state’s army said it hit about 50 the fighters killed were non-Ar- targets in the war-torn country ab “pro-government” forces but in 2020, without providing de- it said it could not determine if tails. It has consistently vowed they were Afghan, Pakistani or to prevent its arch-enemy Iran Iranian. from gaining a foothold in Syr- Employees using personal protective equipment (PPI) work during the production of vaccines against “Syrian air defences inter- ia. Covid-19 at the Osvaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 12 February, 2021. In cepted a sizable number of the On Sunday, the Israeli this phase of the production, the first doses of the vaccine are being bottled and sent to the quality control missiles but many hit their tar- army started a four-day drill department before being released for vaccination. PHOTO: AFP gets and caused material dam- along its northern border with age,” added the monitor, which Lebanon, a country with which RIO DE JANEIRO — Rio de would resume next week with million people has canceled its relies on a network of sources it is still technically at war. Janeiro will suspend its Cov- a new delivery of Chinese-de- famed carnival celebrations, inside Syria for its reports. The “surprise exercise” id-19 vaccination campaign veloped vaccine CoronaVac. originally scheduled for this The attack began shortly was “designed to improve Air until next week because the One month into hard-hit week, in a bid to contain in- after midnight and lasted for Force readiness for combat” Brazilian city has run out of Brazil’s immunization drive, fections. nearly half an hour, it said. in the border region, the army doses, Mayor Eduardo Paes several critical areas have run The city has recorded Syrian state media also re- said in a statement. said Monday. into vaccine shortages, fue- nearly 18,000 deaths from ported the strikes but said that During the exercise, which “I have been informed ling frustration with President Covid-19, making it among air defences had intercepted will end on Wednesday, Israeli that the new doses did not Jair Bolsonaro’s government. the hardest hit in Brazil. “most” of the missiles. “aircrafts, jets and helicopter arrive. We will have to inter- Rio, Brazil’s second-big- Nearly 240,000 people Contacted by AFP, an Is- traffic will be felt across the rupt our campaign tomorrow gest city, had warned last have died of Covid-19 in Brazil, raeli army spokeswoman said country, and a number of explo- (Tuesday),” Paes wrote on week it only had enough vac- the second-highest death toll “we cannot comment on these sions may be heard in northern Twitter. cine to last until Saturday. worldwide, after the United reports”. Israel”, it added. —AFP He said the campaign The iconic beach city of 6.7 States. —AFP 16 FEBRUARY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR WORLD 11 Coronavirus: Latest global developments Iraq detects new UK-based strain, Paris—These are the latest de- New Zealand’s biggest city spokesman Steffen Seibert says from China as the country, al- reimposes partial velopments in the coronavirus begins a snap three-day lock- Germany will not rule out ex- ready struggling with a deep- crisis: down, forcing two million people panding new travel controls to ening economic crisis and scant lockdown UK quarantine hotels to stay at home, as authorities its French border amid a surge health resources, gears up to The UK government intro- scramble to contain the nation’s in virus mutations in the Mo- begin administering jabs. Baghdad — Iraq will re-impose duces mandatory hotel quaran- first outbreak of the highly con- selle region, after Paris urges 2.4 million deaths partial lockdown measures until tine rules for arrivals from doz- tagious UK variant. against border closures. The virus has caused at early March after detecting a ens of countries deemed “high Vietnam troubling cluster Peru vaccine scandal least 2,400,543 deaths since the new strain of the coronavirus, risk” for coronavirus variants. Two million people have Peru’s foreign minister re- outbreak emerged in China in including among children, its The new policy requires been ordered to stay at home signs amid a growing scandal December 2019, according to a health minister announced on all UK citizens and permanent for 15 days starting Tuesday, over politicians receiving vacci- tally from official sources com- Monday. residents entering England state media reports, as the na- nations well before the general piled by AFP on Monday. “Unfortunately, government from 33 countries on a wider tion struggles to extinguish a public -- the second top official The United States is the labs showed genetic mutations travel ban list to self-isolate at troubling new outbreak in Hai to step down after the health worst-affected country with in the Covid-19 strain, detecting their own expense in approved Duong province. minister did so last week. 485,337 deaths followed by the new fast-spreading strain hotels for 10 days and take sev- Germany-France border Zimbabwe gets jabs Brazil with 239,245, Mexico with in Iraq,” Hassan al-Tamimi told eral tests. checks? Zimbabwe receives its first 174,207, India with 155,732 and reporters. Auckland snap lockdown Chancellor Angela Merkel’s batch of Sinopharm vaccines Britain with 117,166. — AFP He referred to the strain as the one “which spread in the UK,” and said it had been detected in some Iraqi children, but did not give a total number of people DR Congo starts Ebola vaccination who had been diagnosed with the new variant. It emerged in southern England after new outbreak in December and is thought to be more contagious than earlier forms. Iraq has been among the countries hardest-hit by coronavirus in the Middle East, with more than 640,000 reported cases and over 13,000 deaths. After peaking in September at around 5,000 new cases per day, Iraq saw a remarkable drop with around 800 new cases a day in December but the numbers have been on the rise since then. On Monday, Iraq announced more than 2,700 cases confirmed cases, a record since the start of the year. The daily deaths have remained relatively low, with only six confirmed deaths on Monday— compared to a peak in Septem- ber of around 70 deaths per day. The rise in cases prompted authorities to re-impose a series of measures to tackle the virus until March 8. Masks will be obligatory in public places, with a fine of 25,000 Iraqi dinar ($17) for any (From L) World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme head Michael Ryan, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom violators. Ghebreyesus, a WHO staff member and WHO Chair of Emergency Committee on Ebola Robert Steffen attend a combined news conference From Thursday an overnight following as two-day international conference on COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine research and a meeting to decide whether Ebola in DR Congo curfew will be in place from still constitutes health emergency of international concern on January 12, 2020 in Geneva. The UN health agency on February 12 said it was “way 8:00 pm until 5:00 am while too early” to say whether COVID-19 might have peaked or when it might end. It also said that it was extending for another three months its global Iraqis will be subjected to full emergency designation for the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo. PHOTO: AFP lockdowns on Fridays, Satur- BUTEMBO, (DR CONGO) — emerged,” the World Health had fallen ill with the notorious Ebola was over. days and Sundays. Health workers in eastern DR Organization (WHO) said in haemorrhagic fever. Two have The outbreak, in the north- The measures will still be in Congo have begun an Ebola a tweet. since died. western province of Equateur, place during Pope Francis’ his- vaccination drive after four “Workers at Matanda hos- The WHO’s office in the claimed 55 lives. toric visit from March 5-8, which cases, two of them fatal, sur- pital, where the first positive Democratic Republic of Congo On Sunday, the West Af- will include trips to Baghdad, faced just three months after case of Ebola was treated, said four people in Biene had rican state of Guinea said it the city of Mosul in the north the country’s last outbreak of were the first to be vaccinat- been vaccinated and 334 other had confirmed seven cases of and a meeting with the coun- the disease, the UN said. ed,” it said. contacts would also receive Ebola — the first resurgence try’s top Shiite cleric, Grand “The authorities today... The health ministry an- the jab. of the disease in the region Ayatollah Ali Sistani. launched an anti-Ebola vacci- nounced on February 7 that On November 18, DR Con- since a 2013-2016 epidemic Iraqi officials told AFP on Mon- nation campaign in Butembo four women in Biene, in the go declared that the country’s that killed more than 11,300 day they were still proceeding just a week after the virus re- troubled region of North Kivu, 11th documented epidemic of people. — AFP with the visit as planned. —AFP 16 FEBRUARY 2021 12 WORLD THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Himalaya flood disaster hits Jaguar car brand Delhi water supply to go fully electric

NEW DELHI -- Fallout from a devastating flash flood in a re- from 2025 mote north Indian valley hit the capital New Delhi more than LONDON -- Jaguar, the Indi- clear, unique personalities,” 500 kilometres downstream on an-owned luxury car brand, will the statement said. Monday, when water supplies produce only electric vehicles Jaguar Land Rover’s were cut to tens of thousands of from 2025 and restructure its said it aims to achieve net residents. UK non-manufacturing opera- zero carbon emissions across Authorities blamed the tions, the company announced its supply chain, products and high quantities of mud and de- Monday. operations by 2039. bris from the February 7 deluge, “By the middle of the “As part of this ambition, which left more than 50 dead and decade, Jaguar will have the company is also prepar- 150 missing, for the shortages. undergone a renaissance to ing for the expected adoption The Rishiganga valley in emerge as a pure electric of clean fuel-cell power in line Uttarakhand state is 530 kilo- Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers rebuild the destroyed Raini luxury brand,” said a state- with a maturing of the hydro- metres (330 miles) upstream bridge in Chamoli district on 13 February, 2021 after Raini bridge was ment from Jaguar Land Rov- gen economy. to the northeast of Delhi but its washed away by a flash flood thought to have been caused when a er, which intends to become “Development is already water is a key supplier for the glacier burst on 7 February. PHOTO: AFP a net zero carbon company underway with prototypes capital. by 2039. arriving on UK roads within Authorities would not say cier sliding down a mountainside He said teams were “de- JLR said it “will substan- the next 12 months as part how long taps would be shut or a glacial lake breaching its ployed round the clock” cleaning tially reduce and rationalise of the long-term investment down. The flood swept through banks. filters and “flushing high ammo- its non-manufacturing infra- programme,” the statement the valley devastating a power Water from the valley flows nia raw water”. structure in the UK”. It did added. complex and destroying roads into the Ganges and from there Delhi, which has a popu- not say whether this meant JLR is owned by Tata and bridges. to Delhi. lation of over 20 million, faces job cuts were on the horizon. Motors, itself part of Indian Rescuers are just starting to Raghav Chadha, vice-chair- water shortages every summer. JLR will meanwhile in- conglomerate Tata Group. pull out bodies from a tunnel en- person of Delhi’s water board, Sixty percent of the water vest £2.5 billion ($3.5 billion, Jaguar Land Rover will gulfed by mud and debris where urged residents to use water supplied in Delhi comes from the 2.9 billion euros) annually ensure “closer collaboration more than 30 workers were be- “judiciously” as two of the city’s Yamuna river and about 34 per under its ‘Reimagine’ plan, and knowledge-sharing with lieved to be trapped. main water treatment plants cent from the Ganges. Both have which sees the first all-elec- Tata Group companies to The flood is believed to have were unable to operate at full ca- faced severe pollution problems tric Land Rover model in enhance sustainability and been triggered by a chunk of gla- pacity due to the dirty raw water. in recent years.—AFP 2024. reduce emissions as well “At the heart of its Reim- as sharing best practice in agine plan will be the electri- next-generation technol- fication of both Land Rover ogy, data and software de- Red Sea coral reefs ‘under and Jaguar brands on sepa- velopment leadership”, it rate architectures with two added.—AFP threat’ from Israel-UAE oil deal

EILAT, (Israel) -- Israeli envi- founding member of the Society between Abu Dhabi’s National Yokohama Rubber ronmentalists are warning that for Conservation of the Red Sea Holding company and several a UAE-Israeli oil pipeline deal Environment. Israeli firms. threatens unique Red Sea coral “They say the tankers are In October, EAPC an- to boost mold reefs and could lead to “the next modern and there won’t be any nounced a “binding MoU” with ecological disaster”. problem,” he said, warning how- MED-RED to bring crude from The agreement to bring ever that “there’s no way there UAE to Eilat and then transport output in Thailand Emirati crude oil by tanker to won’t be a malfunction”. it by pipeline to Israel’s Medi- a pipeline in the Red Sea port of He predicted that with the terranean city of Ashkelon for BANGKOK -- Major Japanese mold for use in passenger car Eilat was signed after Israel nor- projected arrival of two to three onward export to Europe. tire maker Yokohama Rub- and light truck tires to Yoko- malised ties with the Gulf Arab tankers a week, traffic will be Taggar argued that deals ber Co. will expand its tire hama Rubber plants in Japan, nation late last year and should “back-to-back”. benefitting the fossil fuel indus- mold production capacity in Thailand, the Philippines, In- come into force within months. This, he said, would also try at the expense of the envi- Thailand as part of efforts dia and other countries. With experts warning of impact the aesthetic of a city ronment are “not in the spirit of to ensure stable supply in The capacity expansion possible leaks and spills at the promoting ecological tourism. our times”. Southeast Asia. in Thailand is one of the pro- ageing Eilat port, and the Israeli “You can’t sell green tour- “It might have been appro- Yokohama Rubber said jects selected by the Japan environmental protection min- ism when you have oil tankers priate in the 1960s and 1970s, be- in a press release Friday that External Trade Organization istry demanding “urgent” talks by the dock,” he said. fore we were a developed state,” the company’s mold produc- (JETRO) for financial sup- on the deal, activists mobilised Unique reefs he said. Activists argue the deal tion subsidiary, Yokohama port in its program aimed at last week. The Jewish state and the evaded tough regulatory scruti- Mold Co., has started con- strengthening overseas sup- They held a protest in a UAE established ties last year as ny because of EAPC’s status as a struction of new manufactur- ply chains. parking lot overlooking Eilat’s part of the US-brokered “Abra- state-owned firm working in the ing facilities at its Thai unit The Yokohama Rubber oil jetty against what they see ham Accords”. sensitive energy sector. in January, with completion group hopes to add the Thai as a disaster waiting to happen, One of the deals that fol- While coral populations set for late this year. Neither facility to the lineup of its chanting that profits will be lowed was a Memorandum of around the world are under the scale of expansion nor in- major supply bases in Asia, made “at the expense of corals”. Understanding between Israel’s threat from bleaching caused vestment has been disclosed. including ones in Japan and “The coral reefs are 200 me- state-owned Europe-Asia Pipe- by climate change, the reefs The Thai unit, Yokoha- China, while promoting coop- tres (yards) from where the oil line Company (EAPC) and a new in Eilat have remained stable ma Mold (Thailand) Co., was eration with the Association will be unloaded,” said Shmulik entity called MED-RED Land due to their unique heat resist- founded in 2018 in Rayong of Southeast Asian Nations Taggar, an Eilat resident and Bridge Ltd -- a joint venture ance.—AFP Province. It supplies tire region. — Kyodo News 16 FEBRUARY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR WORLD 13 Nikkei ends above 30,000 mark for 1st time in over 30 years

TOKYO -- Upbeat corporate March, a recovery analysts have term interest rates late last week earnings, hopes for a U.S. re- attributed to massive monetary to their highest level since last covery and robust growth data easing by central banks and hefty March. for Japan’s pandemic-hit econ- fiscal spending by governments On the First Section, advanc- omy injected fresh vigor into around the world. ing issues outnumbered declin- the Tokyo stock market Monday, Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist ers 1,339 to 773, while 81 ended pushing the Nikkei index to close in the Investment Content De- unchanged. Gainers were led by above the 30,000 mark for the partment of Nomura Securities mining, precision instrument, first time in more than 30 years. Co., said the impeachment ac- and oil and coal product issues. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock quittal of former U.S. President Olympus jumped 252.00 yen, Average ended up 564.08 points, Donald Trump on Saturday also or 12.2 per cent, to 2,314.00 yen or 1.91 per cent, from Friday at supported the market as hopes after the major Japanese optical 30,084.15, its highest close since grew for a sooner-than-expected equipment maker upgraded its Aug. 2, 1990, when the Japanese rollout of stimulus measures. earnings forecast for fiscal 2020 economy was experiencing an But with the earnings re- on a recovery in endoscope sales. asset bubble. porting season nearing an end, Asahi Group Holdings The broader Topix index of the Nikkei’s advance may slow, climbed 156 yen, or 3.5 per cent, all First Section issues on the A financial data screen in Osaka shows the Nikkei Stock Average closing Kamitani said. The index is ex- to 4,584 yen, after the beverage Tokyo Stock Exchange finished above the 30,000 mark for the first time in over 30 years on 15 February pected to move within a range maker forecast on Friday a bet- 20.06 points, or 1.04 per cent, high- 2021. PHOTO: KYODO NEWS of 1,000 points around the 30,000 ter-than-expected net group prof- er at 1,953.94. threshold for about a month amid it for 2021. Shares gained ground an annualized 12.7 per cent, from businesses outside the dining out caution about chasing the upside, Renesas Electronics rose 8 throughout the day following the previous quarter, led by a leap sector were solid,” said Koichi Fu- he said. yen, or 0.6 per cent, to 1,290 yen the release of Japanese gross in exports and robust private con- jishiro, a senior economist at the The market showed little re- a day after the semiconductor domestic product data showing sumption. Capital spending also Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. action to a major earthquake that maker said its factories in eastern a better-than-expected recovery rose. Private consumption ac- rocked the northeastern region of Japan had experienced limited from the coronavirus pandem- “Strong exports were fore- counts for more than half of Ja- Japan on Saturday, causing more impact from the quake. ic-induced slump in the Octo- seen from recent earnings pan’s GDP. The Nikkei has near- than 150 injuries, brokers said. Trading volume on the main ber-December period. reports, but the expansion in ly doubled since the pandemic The U.S. dollar rose to the section fell to 1,275.91 million GDP in the last quarter of private consumption was big- pushed the benchmark index lower 105 yen range as the yen shares from Friday’s 1,343.98 2020 grew a real 3.0 per cent, or ger-than-expected, showing that down to as low as 16,552.83 last was sold on advances in U.S. long- million shares. — Kyodo News Thailand economy shrinks most China overtakes US as since 1997 on tourism collapse EU’s biggest trading

ground to a trickle, their absence partner hammered the country’s services sector, bruising entertainment, BRUSSELS -- China last year volume with China reached retail, hotels and restaurants. overtook the United States as 586 billion euros ($711 billion) The kingdom’s freefalling the EU’s biggest trading part- in 2020, compared to 555 billion economy has been a factor in ner, the EU statistics agency euros ($673 billion) for the US. the youth-led protest movement Eurostat said on Monday. The agency said EU ex- that is calling for premier Prayut Britain meanwhile, which ports rose by 2.2 per cent to Chan-O-Cha’s resignation, con- is no longer part of the Europe- 202.5 billion euros while at the stitutional reform and changes to an Union, was the third-largest same time, imports from the the once-untouchable monarchy. trading partner for the bloc, People’s Republic of China in- A woman withdraws money from an ATM on Khao San Road, Asked about the political behind China and the United creased by 5.6 per cent to 383.5 a once popular tourist strip in Bangkok on 15 February, 2021, as climate, Danucha implied it was States, the agency said. billion euros. Thailand records it worst economic performance in more than two delivering a further blow. The supremacy of China EU exports to the United decades. PHOTO: AFP “The Thai economy relies came after it suffered from the States fell by 13.2 per cent in BANGKOK -- Thailand’s pandem- the previous quarter due to the on investment and exports. The coronavirus pandemic during the same period and imports ic-shattered economy suffered government’s stimulus package political situation will affect inves- the first quarter but recovered by 8.2 per cent. its worst full-year performance that boosted spending,” Danucha tors’ confidence,” he said. vigorously with consumption In addition to the Covid-19 in more than two decades, data Pichayanan, the secretary gen- The country’s economy was even exceeding its level of a crisis, transatlantic trade has showed Monday, with officials eral of the Office of the National struggling even before the pan- year ago at the end of 2020. been impaired by a series of tit- citing the toll of both a gutted Economic and Social Develop- demic, which laid bare the deep This helped drive sales of for-tat feuds that have result- tourism industry and ongoing ment Council (NESDC), said at inequality between the haves and European products, particular- ed with tariffs being on steel political upheaval. a news conference. Although have-nots of Thai society. ly in the automobile and luxury and products such as French Last year’s 6.1 per cent con- the kingdom was largely spared In response to the pandemic goods sectors, while China’s champagne or Harley-David- traction was the worst since a 7.6 the worst of the virus, pandem- slump, the government imple- exports to Europe benefited son motorcycles. per cent decline during the Asian ic-spurred partial lockdowns have mented a record, 1.9 trillion baht from strong demand for med- Eurostat said trade with financial crisis in 1997 and officials hit the economy hard. Thailand ($59.7 billion) stimulus package, ical equipment and electr- the UK plummeted in 2020, the said they expect the economy to has registered more than 24,500 cash handouts and tax incentives. onics. year Britain officially left the expand at a much slower pace coronavirus cases, with a jump Further economic improve- The dethroning of the US bloc, though it was in a transi- than initially predicted in 2021. of about 20,000 infections since ments will depend on managing comes as the EU and China tion period to blunt the effects The downgrade -- to 2.5-3.5 late last year, after a second wave the pandemic and boosting vis- are seeking to ratify a long-ne- of Brexit until December 31. per cent growth from an previ- that stemmed from the country’s itors, Danucha said. “The out- gotiated investment deal that EU exports to the UK fell ous estimate of 3.5-4.5 per cent largest seafood market. break and vaccine rollout, togeth- would give European compa- by 13.2 per cent, while im- -- came despite a slight improve- Some 40 million tourists er with tourism recovery, are the nies better access to the Chi- ports from across the chan- ment in the final three months of had been expected to arrive in main economic factors this year.” nese market. nel dropped by 13.9 per cent, the year. “It has rebounded from 2020, but as international travel —AFP Eurostat said the trade Eurostat said. —AFP

16 FEBRUARY 2021 14 WORLD THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR UK’s PM cautious on lockdown easing as new hotel regime starts

LONDON — Britain intends to ues since early January. seek a “cautious but irreversi- “What we wanted to see is ble” ending of strict coronavirus progress that is cautious but restrictions, Prime Minister Bo- irreversible, and I think that’s ris Johnson said Monday as his what the public and people up government introduced hotel and down the country will want quarantine stays for arrivals to see,” Johnson said. from “high risk” nations. The government is due Britain, with more than to set out a roadmap to relax 117,000 deaths from Covid-19, the measures in England on is one of the worst-hit countries February 22, and has indicated in the world by the pandemic. schools could reopen on March Johnson has come under crit- 8. icism for acting too quickly to However, Health Secre- relax measures and too slowly tary Matt Hancock said there to re-impose them in recent is “some way to go” before lock- months. down can be eased, stressing But lockdown-sceptical the government was awaiting MPs are pressing for an accel- key data on how successfully erated exit after Britain over the vaccines reduce transmis- the weekend surpassed its tar- sion. Healthcare professionals work at a Covid-19 vaccination centre set up at Chester Racecourse, in Chester, northwest England, on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: AFP get to vaccinate 15 million of the But over the weekend, most vulnerable people with a more than 60 MPs from the manity”, lawmaker Steve Baker The new quarantine poli- American nations, South Afri- first vaccine jab. ruling Conservatives signed told Talkradio on Monday. cy requires all UK citizens and ca and Portugal, are currently Speaking at a health clinic a letter calling for Johnson to Red list permanent residents entering barred from visiting the UK. in southeast London, Johnson commit to a firm timetable end- While eyeing a possible England from 33 “red list” coun- Arrivals found to have giv- said the government needed ing with the lifting of all legal route out of lockdown, the tries to self-isolate at their own en false information about be- to be “very prudent” as it re- controls by the end of April. government is also tightening expense in approved hotels for ing in one of the countries 10 viewed a third stay-at-home Once enough people are in- the borders to guard against 10 days and take several Cov- days before travel could receive order in England that has shut oculated, “it’s time for us to take emerging variants of the coro- id-19 tests. up to 10 years in prison -- which down schools, non-essential a bold stride into life and start to navirus that could undermine Other visitors from the has drawn criticism for being businesses and hospitality ven- recover our society and our hu- the vaccination programme. countries, including all South excessive.— AFP Catalan separatists boost majority Erdogan accuses US of in Spain regional election backing ‘terrorists’ in Iraq ANKARA — President Recep northern Iraq that Erdogan BARCELONA — Catalan sep- ing stations were set up in spa- would help win votes. Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said on Monday was designed aratist parties boosted their cious venues like food markets, While separatist parties accused the United States of in part to free the 13 hostages. parliamentary majority in a re- the area around FC Barcelona’s have been deeply divided over siding with “terrorists” after “The statement made by gional election Sunday that was football stadium and the bullring strategy since the failed seces- blaming outlawed Kurdish mil- the United States is a farce,” overshadowed by the pandemic in Tarragona. sion bid, they were not punished itants of executing 13 Turks in Erdogan said in his first public and marked by low turnout, more Voters had to wear face by voters and for the first time northern Iraq. comments on the incident. than three years after a failed bid masks, use disinfectant gel won over 50 per cent of the vote, Erdogan’s comments came “You said you did not sup- to break away from Spain. provided at polling stations and against 47.5 per cent four years a day after Ankara said Kurdis- port terrorists, when in fact you With Spain still grappling stand apart while lining up in ago. tan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels are on their side and behind with a third wave of coronavirus rainy weather to cast their bal- The more moderate ERC got had killed 13 captives -- most of them,” Erdogan said in tele- infections, the vote in the wealthy lots. 33 seats, the hardline JxC got 32 them Turkish soldiers and po- vised remarks. northeastern region was held un- During the last hour of vot- and the radical CUP nine seats. lice officers -- they had allegedly The US State Department der tight restrictions to reduce ing, which was reserved for peo- ‘Amnesia’ jibe abducted in southeast Turkey on Sunday it “deplores the the risk of contagion. ple infected with Covid-19, polling The result leaves the ERC’s and kept in an Iraqi cave. death of Turkish citizens” but With 99 per cent of the votes station workers wore gloves, fa- main candidate, 38-year-old jurist The PKK has been wag- was waiting for further confir- counted, Prime Minister Pedro cial screens and white protective Pere Aragones, best placed to ing an insurgency against the mation that Ankara’s account Sanchez’s Socialists won the gowns. become Catalonia’s next leader. Turkish state since 1984 that of the 13 men’s death was true. most votes but the three sepa- The Socialists had 33 seats, “We have stopped an oper- is believed to have left tens of The PKK said the 13 died ratist parties together were set up from 17 in the last vote when ation by the (Spanish) state to thousands dead. when Turkish forces bombed to get 74 seats in the 135-seat they finished fourth. expel separatists from institu- The United States and the cave where the men were assembly. Sanchez had hoped the elections,” he said after the results Turkey’s other Western allies being kept. That is up from 70 seats won tion -- Catalonia’s fifth in a dec- were announced. recognise the PKK as a terror “If reports of the death of in the last election in December ade -- would end separatist rule Illa had argued it was “time group. But Washington has sup- Turkish civilians at the hands 2017, just months after Catalo- in the region which accounts for to turn the page” after over a ported another Kurdish militia of the PKK, a designated terror- nia’s failed secession bid which a fifth of Spain’s economy. decade of Catalan nationalists in Syria that Turkey sees as an ist organization, are confirmed, led to the jailing of several sepa- He fielded his health minis- governments focusing on separa- offshoot of the PKK. we condemn this action in the ratist leaders. ter Salvador Illa as his candidate tism but Aragones dismissed his Turkey this month strongest possible terms,” the To reduce the risk of virus in the hope that his high profile approach during the campaign as launched a military operation State Department said in a transmission in the region, poll- in the fight against the pandemic “amnesia”.—AFP against rear PKK bases in statement.—AFP 16 FEBRUARY 2021 THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR WORLD 15 Japan to survey side effects of 3 Indonesian landslide kills million doses of COVID-19 vaccine nine with 10 missing JAKARTA — At least nine peo- make our way,” the East Java ple have died and 10 are miss- Search and Rescue Agency ing after a landslide caused by told AFP in a written state- torrential rains swept away ment. several homes in Indonesia, The landslide also seri- officials said Monday, with ously damaged eight houses, hundreds forced to flee their said the agency. flooded homes. Pasuruan, a town in the Twenty-one people were province, was also flooded af- initially reported missing after a river overflowed due to ter the disaster struck Sunday the heavy rains, forcing more evening in a rural part of East than 350 people to flee their Java. homes, the agency added. Indonesia’s Search and Fatal landslides and flash Rescue Agency said it had floods are common across found nine bodies, but was the Indonesian archipelago, still searching for 10 others. where seasonal downpours The other two people had are frequent and relentless. been rescued. In January at least 21 peo- “We cannot bring heavy ple died and more than 60,000 An experts’ meeting is held at the health ministry in Tokyo on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: KYODO NEWS equipment to the site of the fled the area after a series of landslides currently. Howev- major floods hit South Kalim- TOKYO — Japan will survey the fects such as fever and fatigue It will also provide informa- er, we are currently trying to antan. – AFP potential side effects caused by among three different vaccines, tion on the safety of the vaccines various coronavirus vaccines including one by Pfizer Inc. that garnered from the survey after after a total of 3 million doses was formally approved Sunday. inoculations begin for the general Iran renews pledge against are administered to the general Around 10,000 to 20,000 public. The survey is expected public, the health ministry said health care workers are set to to cover around 500,000 people nukes after controversy Monday. begin receiving their first dose per single dose of each version The Ministry of Health, La- of the Pfizer vaccine on Feb. 17. of the vaccine. A total of 3 mil- TEHRAN — Iran reiterated isters can only be appointed or bour and Welfare will invite par- The government will collect and lion doses will be necessary if Monday that its opposition to dismissed with the approval of ticipants to respond to its survey periodically release details about the government includes doses nuclear weapons was official the supreme leader. after inoculation for people aged all side effects experienced, re- by pharmaceuticals AstraZeneca policy as laid down by its su- Iran had claimed the ex- 65 and older starts on April 1. It gardless of whether the vaccine Plc and Moderna Inc., alongside preme leader Ayatollah Ali istence of the fatwa for years plans to track common side ef- is the cause. Pfizer.—Kyodo News Khamenei, in the wake of con- before making the text public troversial remarks by a min- for the first time in 2010, at a ister. time of crisis over Iran’s nuclear “Iran’s position remains programme. Stay-at-home orders in Vietnam unchanged. Iran’s nuclear ac- Tehran was at the time tivities have always been peace- accused by the international Covid-19 hotspot ful and will remain peaceful,” community, especially the West foreign ministry spokesman and Israel, of seeking to secretly HANOI—Two million people in Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news acquire the atomic bomb. Vietnam will be put under a raft conference. The fatwa declares the use of restrictions starting Tuesday, “The supreme leader’s fat- of the atomic bomb and other after their northern province be- wa banning weapons of mass weapons of mass destruction to came the epicentre of a growing destruction and nuclear weap- be “haram”, or forbidden by Is- Covid-19 outbreak. ons is still valid,” he added, re- lam, and it is regularly cited by Residents of Hai Duong ferring to Khamenei’s religious Iranian authorities as a guaran- province have been ordered to edict. tee of Tehran’s good intentions. stay at home for 15 days, state The renewed pledge came But the US State Depart- media reported, as a nation wide- a week after Intelligence Minis- ment described Alavi’s remarks ly praised for its handling of the ter Mahmoud Alavi said it would as “very concerning” and said pandemic struggles to extinguish not be Tehran’s fault if the coun- Iran was obliged under the Nu- a troubling new outbreak. try was ever “pushed” towards clear Non-Proliferation Treaty Since late January, Vietnam developing a nuclear bomb. to never “acquire nuclear weap- has recorded 637 locally trans- Women wearing protective face masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 “Our nuclear industry is a ons”. mitted coronavirus cases, includ- walk along a street in Hanoi on 29 January 2021. PHOTO: AFP peaceful industry. The supreme This comes as a 2015 ing 461 in Hai Duong province karaoke parlours that were shut thorities have asked that people leader explicitly stated (that) in landmark deal between Iran alone. early ahead of the Lunar New quarantining at three centres in his fatwa,” Alavi said in a state and world powers limiting “People (in Hai Duong) are Year holiday will remain closed. the province be relocated after television interview broadcast Tehran’s nuclear programme asked to stay at home and only When they must go outside infections recently began spread- on February 8. in exchange for international go out when necessary, such as their homes, residents are in- ing at those sites, according to “But if a cat is caught in sanctions relief is hanging by to buy food or medicine, or to structed to stay two metres from the government. a corner, it may behave dif- a thread. work at factories or production others. Vietnam’s latest coronavi- ferently... If they are pushing Former US president Don- establishments that are not being Traffic through the province rus outbreak -- which began in Iran in that direction, then it is ald Trump withdrew from the asked to close,” said the official of two million will also be limited, the north and has since spread not Iran’s fault, but those who accord in 2018 and reimposed mouthpiece of Vietnam’s health state media reported, with only to central and southern areas pushed it.” sanctions on Tehran, with Iran ministry, Suc Khoe Doi Song. vehicles travelling on essential -- has been linked to new, more He stressed that “under a year later gradually suspend- Gatherings of more than business allowed to enter. contagious variants of the dead- normal circumstances, Iran has ing its compliance with most two people will be banned, while In addition to the social dis- ly virus, including the UK and no such intention or plan”. key nuclear commitments in schools, bars, restaurants and tancing directive, Hai Duong au- South Africa strains.— AFP Iranian intelligence min- response.—AFP 16 FEBRUARY 2021 16 SPORT THE GLOBAL NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Nadal closes on Slams record, Barty raises home hopes at Australian Open

MELBOURNE—Rafael Nadal with eight-time winner Novak outclassed Fabio Fognini to close Djokovic who battled through an in on the all-time Grand Slam abdominal injury to reach the last titles record on Monday as Ash- eight on Sunday. leigh Barty ramped up hopes of “I’m happy to be in the quar- becoming the Australian Open’s ter-finals today -- that means a first home winner in 43 years. lot to me, it’s positive stuff,” said Nadal said his lower-back Nadal, who is level with Roger stiffness was continuing to im- Federer on 20 Grand Slam men’s prove after his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 against singles titles. Next up for Nadal is the flamboyant Italian, which world number six Tsitsipas, who set up a quarter-final against went through on a walkover after Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. Italy’s Matteo Berrettini pulled Fognini had registered a five- out with an abdominal strain. set win over Nadal at the 2015 US The Melbourne tournament Open, but the Spaniard cantered remained fan-free for a third day Spain’s Rafael Nadal (L) shakes hands with Italy’s Fabio Fognini after their men’s singles match on day eight of to victory after recovering from on Monday during a five-day lock- the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on 15 February 2021. PHOTO: AFP 2-4 down in the second set. down in Victoria state to curb a Barty beat big-hitting American the quarter-finals without drop- “I love playing at home and Nadal is now into his 43rd coronavirus outbreak. Shelby Rogers in impressive ping a set as she bids to become sharing this with my friends and Grand Slam quarter-final, stay- As the action continued in fashion to reach the last eight. the first Australian champion family,” said Barty, who hit 21 win- ing on course for a title match front of empty stands, top-ranked Barty won 6-3, 6-4 to go into since Chris O’Neil in 1978. ners. —AFP Olympic venues reported safe after Messi ‘happy’ leading Barca northeastern Japan earthquake revival but PSG a reminder of what could await TOKYO—Three Tokyo Olympic Azuma Stadium, in the city governments as preparations venues north and east of the of Fukushima, will host baseball continue for the Olympics, open- capital were reported undam- and softball games, while Miya- ing on July 23. aged Sunday following a magni- gi Stadium, northeast of Sen- The starting point of the tude-7.3 earthquake that struck dai, will host Olympic soccer. Olympic torch relay, Fukushi- northeastern Japan the night Another soccer venue, Ibaraki ma’s J-Village national soccer before, the Olympic organizing Prefecture’s Kashima Stadium, training center, also appeared committee said. was also declared undamaged undamaged by the quake. Fukushima Prefecture and as were all of their respective The torch relay is to com- neighbouring Miyagi Prefec- temporary facilities. mence on March 25 and the ture, both hard hit by the mas- The organizing committee committee said it would check sive earthquake and tsunami on said thorough surveys of the on the status of the relay route March 11, 2011, will host Olympic sites would be undertaken as “as preparations go forward in events to promote regional re- early as Monday and it would cooperation with local executive Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (C) challenges construction. continue to cooperate with local committees.”—Kyodo News Alaves’ French defender Florian Lejeune (R) and Alaves’ Spanish goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Deportivo Alaves at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on 13 February 2021. PHOTO: AFP MADRID—Lionel Messi put Europe’s richest, most ambi- his arm around Ilaix Mori- tious clubs, the fork in the road ba, the 18-year-old born in for Messi’s future is becoming the same year Messi made clear. his Barcelona debut and who PSG may not be Messi’s was now being given his own preferred choice this summer, chance to play for the club’s especially if Manchester City first team. decide the Argentinian is the Ilaix had just set up the final piece of the jigsaw for a opening goal against Alaves team already ahead of the rest on Saturday when he was con- in the Premier League. gratulated by his 33-year-old But the two clubs remain captain, whose task it is on his most realistic destinations, Tuesday to lead this youthful both united in representing Barca to an unfancied victory almost everything that staying against Paris Saint-Germain put at Barcelona would not. in the Champions League Clubs ready, in theory, to win last 16. From nurturing the the biggest trophies immedi- Photo taken 20 January 2020, shows an aerial view of Azuma Stadium in Fukushima, which will host baseball next generation of Barcelona ately and able to spend what- and softball during the Tokyo Olympics. PHOTO: KYODO NEWS talents to confronting one of ever it takes to do it. —AFP