INDIA said last week it has decided to abandon plans to build a proposed pipeline to import natural gas from the A1 offshore gas field in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state through Bangladesh.

THE Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement will launch a new diploma course in social work at the University of Yangon on August 7.

ACADEMICS from the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries gathered in Yangon from July 25 to 27 for a seminar to share ideas, experiences and information on agricultural training and extension, and to strengthen cooperation within the region.

The contest, which was held July 25, was organised by local chicken distributor MayKha Industries Limited with the aim of reviving the reputation of poultry as a cooking ingredient following a bird flu scare in central Myanmar earlier in the year.

THE Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Department of Medical Research (Lower Myanmar) held a ceremony July 26 to mark the successful installation of a data network system at the department.

“The Collembola is a group often ignored and mostly misunderstood,” said Ken Christiansen, professor emeritus of biology at Grinnell College and a leading researcher of Collembola.

THE Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries plans to establish a dairy cow breeding and farming zone near the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw to meet growing demand for milk and to reduce reliance on imports of dairy products.

AGRICULTRAL experts say that farmers in Myanmar would benefit from an improved distribution system aimed at helping them get their produce into bigger supermarkets, where a wider variety of fruits and vegetables can fetch higher prices.

THE headquarters of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and its affiliated sub-associations moved to a new 12-storey building on Min Ye Kyaw Swar Road in Yangon’s Dagon township on July 31.

ONE of Myanmar’s leading travel agencies, Interconnec-tion Travels, announced plans last week to launch river cruise service on the Ayeyarwady River between Mandalay and Bagan in October, the start of the high tourist season.

ALTHOUGH the water in some smaller rivers in Myanmar reached dangerously high levels due to heavy rainfall last month, the Ayeyarwady and Chindwin rivers remain at safe levels, said sources from the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

TWO Yangon-based environ-mental organisations signed a memorandum of under-standing (MOU) in mid July to help accelerate efforts to protect Myanmar’s environ-ment.

THE government will extend ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) connections for improved internet access to every township in Myanmar this year, the Minister of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs pledged in Nay Pyi Taw last month.

“It won’t be difficult for someone who needs information to figure out the benefit of having access to real-time information, which could be virtually anything, while he or she is on the move,” U Tun Thura Thet said.

WHENEVER the world chess ratings are released, criticism tends to rain down on Myanmar players from abroad. The world chess community seems to find it hard to believe that Myanmar players whose names they don’t know could be rated higher than some more familiar faces in chess.

MYANMAR archer Tin Zin Ei had victory squarely in her sights at the second Asian Roundup Archery Champion-ships 2006, held in Kuala Lumpur from July 21 to 28, and emerged with a gold medal in the 50-metre individual compound event and a silver in the women’s knockout compound.