PRIME Minister General Thein Sein left on November 30 for Phnom Penh on a three-day visit aimed at promoting bilateral relations between Myanmar and Cambodia.

ASEAN’s vice secretary general, Mr Nicholas T Dammen, said that developing countries like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos would likely get increased technical assistance and training from China as a result of the agreement.

“If we can make more money selling products we can provide vocational trainings for more vulnerable people, which will also give us more products to sell at our office showroom,” ....

“The idea to offer a regular bridge course leading to a bachelor of Myanmar traditional medicine (BMTM) degree was suggested at a seminar on the development of Myanmar traditional medicine in July,”

THE Department of Forestry plans to conduct a survey this month of bird and mammal species in the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve in southernmost Myanmar, an official from the department said.

THE government last week approved the appointment of Mr Mazlan Bin Muhammad as Malaysia’s new ambassador to Myanmar. The 51-year-old career diplomat will replace Mr Shaharuddin Bin Mohamad Som, who left Myanmar in October after serving two years in Yangon.

“Fisheries authorities gathered to discuss the contribution of aquaculture to sustainable development. In the future, aquaculture will not only be important for the development of the fish farming but will also contribute to the growth of the nation,”

The meeting was organised by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, and Thailand-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre.

MYANMA Agriculture Service (MAS) held a food production course from November 12 to 16 at the Central Agricultural Research and Training Centre in Hlegu in Yangon Division with the aim of helping farmers increase their incomes.

THE Myanmar Medical Association (MMA) will hold HIV/AIDS education fairs in Bago and Yangon next month to teach young people about the disease in interesting ways, said Dr Ne Win, the secretary of the association’s General Practitioners’ Society.

National Kandawgyi Garden will celebrate its 76th anniversary with a flower festival from December 12 to January 12 – which will be highlighted by the opening of an international-standard orchid garden – and with a music festival from December 14 to 16.

A TRAINING course and workshop on preventing the recruitment of child soldiers, organised by the Department of Social Welfare in cooperation with inter-national non-government organisations, was held at the School for Adult and Disabled Children on Kyaik Waing Pagoda Road in Yangon’s Mayangone township from November 19 to 23.

EXAMS have begun for students at the University of Distance Education after being postponed for several weeks from late September, state-run newspapers have reported.

“I SEE everything as if it is a painting. Every view is beautiful to me.” Although these words sound like they might have been spoken by a world-famous artist, in actuality they have a more humble origin: 62-year-old Pathein resident U Than Myint Nyein.

EEL catchers will be required to register with the Department of Fisheries and use department-approved eel traps starting in the 2008-2009 fiscal year as part of a campaign to conserve Myanmar’s exportable fisheries resources.

ALTHOUGH nonprofit libraries in the number of Myanmar have enjoyed a gradual increase in patrons in recent years, many such institutions are suffering from a lack of funding that makes it difficult to cover operational costs, library spokespersons said earlier this month.

SIX volunteer artists from Myanmar who have been working at the Global Pagoda in Mumbai, India, since June 2006 say they are proud to have the opportunity to create paintings illustrating episodes from the Buddha’s life to display at the pagoda’s museum.

Traditionally, people in Myanmar do not have surnames. Each child is given an individual name – varying in length from one word to three, four or even more words – whose elements are completely independent from his or her parents’ names.

Air Mandalay cuts direct Thandwe flights