THE Department of Hydropower is conducting preliminary surveys for 16 new hydropower plants in addition to the 15 already under construction, said a senior official from the Ministry of Electric Power (1) on August 30.

MYANMAR and its partners in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Cooperation (BIMSTEC) economic grouping agreed last week on a plan to promote the tourism sector, which will include the establishment of a fund to meet the plan’s goals.

“In the past we have only fined cars with tinted window stickers that are added after cars are purchased, but we haven’t fined vehicles with tinted glass that is imported and installed by car manufacturers at industrial zone factories,” said Police Captain Myint Aung.

A 12-MEMBER medical team from Australia visited the 1000-bed Defence Services General Hospital (1) in Yangon’s Mingalardon township from August 23 to 25 to perform cardiac treatments and operations in collaboration with cardiologists from the hospital.

The first book fair in Yangon was held in 1998 to commemorate Myanmar Writers’ Day, an event that has been repeated every year since. Bookshops that participate typically sell out their stock, which they offer at discounts of 10 to 20 percent during the fair.

According to the program, a selection of locally produced children’s books will be placed inside boxes, which will be handed out to school-based preschools and lower primary classrooms through-out the country.

THE United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisa-tion (FAO) agreed last month to provide A$440,000 (US$335,760) to the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries for implementation of a new bird flu control project.

UNDER an agreement with the Yangon Division Buses Control Committee (Highway), Myanma Insurance under the Ministry of Finance and Revenue on September 1 began offering travel insurance to bus passengers.

SINGAPORE – Multi-coloured lights swirl behind the head of a Buddha image, while a handful of worshippers sit in meditation on the floor below. The silence is broken only by a woman’s voice as she chants a prayer.

Thousands of Myanmar students have studied in Singapore in the past decade. Afterward, many choose to settle here instead of returning home to help their own country develop.

“We put up 11 notice boards at the instruction of the Department of Higher Education (Lower Myanmar) with the aim of making the campus a smoking free ,”

“The five-day visit also included excursions to two schools in Yangon, as well as primary schools in Taikkyi township in Yangon Division and Bago, to learn about school health activities there,”

“Films must be subtitled to enter the global market, and it’s the best way to develop an international fan base for movies from Myanmar,” said U Aung Soe Oo, vice chairman of international relations at the organisation.

THE Myanmar Red Cross Society has produced three television spots to teach viewers how to provide first aid to accident victims, which will be shown on government-run television channels to coincide with World First Aid Day on September 9.

HISTORIANS have long disputed the old saying, “Dagaung is the very origin of Myanmar”, but recent archaeological discoveries might be proving that centuries-old folk wisdom is closer to the truth than many scholars have believed.

VENERABLE Pa Auk Sayadaw from the Pa Auk Forest Monastery near Mawlamyine in Mon State will lead a six-week meditation retreat at the Four Springs Meditation Centre in the United States in 2007.

“We have offered pilgrimage travel insurance in Yangon for a long time, and now we’re extending the program to Mandalay,” said U Kyi Sein Win, Mandalay divisional manager of Myanma Insurance. “Many pilgrimage tour companies here are interested in the program, and we’ve already sent out information to them so they understand the service.”

THE Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is offering travel grants to residents of Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar citizens.