FOSTERING cooperation between the ICT sectors in Myanmar and Japan could bring many advantages to both countries, the president of the Myanmar Computer Federation, U Thein Oo, said earlier this month.

A 21-member Chinese delegation headed by the vice-chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, Mr Wang Zhaoguo, began a three-day visit to Myanmar on November 14.

The report named Myanmar, as well as China, North Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran and Eritrea as being “countries of particular concern” in terms of violations of religious freedom.

INCREASED awareness was needed in Myanmar to ensure it was not affected by the sexual exploitation of children associated with the tourism industry, an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs said last week.

THE Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council, Lieutenant-General Thein Sein, has stressed the need for research and development in the ICT sector to narrow the digital divide among countries.

THE ministries of Livestock and Fisheries and Health have confirmed that the deaths of three children at Kyaing Tong in Shan State in mid-October were not caused by bird flu.

THE Road Transport Administration Department, under the Ministry of Rail Transportation, has begun using equipment to check the roadworthiness of buses and commercial vehicles, an official said last week.

YANGON City Development Committee has unveiled plans to launch an online program next year which will enable it to provide its services more efficiently, said the head of the YCDC’s Public Relations and Information Department, U Hla Myint Swe.

HIGHLY qualified human resources were essential for the nation’s development, the Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council, Lieutenant-General Thein Sein, told a ceremony to honour 59 high school students who achieved outstanding results in the matriculation exams held last March.

MORE than a thousand children who are unable to attend schools are receiving primary level education thanks to the Ministry of Education’s mobile school program.

THE burden of sadness showed in the face of Mr Kiyoshi Inada as he spoke of the tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers who died in Myanmar during World War Two.

CHIT Su Yee defeated Thailand’s Khunpak Issara to clinch the women’s singles title in the Second Myanmar World Junior Ranking Tennis Tournament held at Yangon’s Thein Phyu courts from November 7 to 11.

I WAS 18 when I started smoking. I took up the habit because my friends smoked. I was a heavy smoker, despite being a medical student and learning about the health and social burdens of the habit. ...

I graduated from Beijing University’s Department of Oriental Languages and Cultural Studies in 1974, with a bachelor’s degree, majoring in the Thai language.