“Christmas in December, Thingyan in April and around Mayday in early May are the times when get the most visitors,” said U Maung Maung Aye, the manager of Silver View Hotel.

The 1700km Stilwell Road was built during World War II by Allied and Chinese troops under the command of US General Joseph Stilwell to link up with the 1257km Myanmar Road into China.

THE number of applicants to sit for the annual exam on the life and teachings of the Buddha offered by the Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA) dropped by about 10 percent this year, said an official from the association.

THE head of the Yangon office of the United Nations Population Fund, Mr Daniel Baker, will serve as the interim UN resident coordinator in Myanmar until a new appointment is made to replace Mr Charles Petrie, who departed from the country on December 4, a UN source in Yangon said last week.

“We have found that some drivers still use their horns in restricted areas even though they are not allowed to use them for any reason,”

THE Myanmar Artists Association will hold its fourth painting contest for new artists in collaboration with Oasis Art Gallery in Park Royal Hotel early next year, said U Kyi Win, the secretary of the association.

JIVITADANA Sangha Hospital in Bahan township will host its 18th annual charity fair on December 22 from noon until late evening, said U Maung Maung, the secretary of the hospital’s administrative department.

“Mutual understanding, trust and friendship will definitely be encouraged. We can say that the life of deaf people in Myanmar has entered a new era,”

AS the media industry grows in Myanmar so too have the number of women who have taken positions as reporters and editors at newspapers and journals in Yangon.

THE Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department started a program on December 1 to research the socioeconomic effects of bird flu control activities on poultry farmers in rural regions of Myanmar, said Dr Wah Wah Han, the head of the department’s veterinary assay laboratory.

The company made payments to four people who lost consumer products when the cargo vessel Aung Thein Myint sank in rough weather conditions in August near the town of Ye in Mon State.

RARE books, including works by a writer famous for his efforts to introduce a new writing style to Myanmar literature, are currently being exhibited by Zaw publishing house at Lokanat Art Gallery on Pansodan Street in downtown Yangon.

A MEETING between Myanmar and Thailand on the establishment of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation to combat human trafficking was held Bangkok from November 27 to 29.

THE Department of Traditional Medicine plans to conduct tests on medicinal herbs and plants found throughout the country to determine their properties towards establishing an herbal pharmacopoeia, said Dr Tin Nyunt, the director general of the department.

A FORUM was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Transport in Nay Pyi Taw on November 23 to help increase the accuracy of monsoon forecasts in upcoming years.

THE Department of Fisheries plans to hold a workshop aimed at finding a balance between realising the economic potential of Myanmar’s crab resources while protecting the country’s crustacean population from overexploitation.

THE Singapore embassy in Yangon is now accepting applications for the 2008 Dr Goh Keng Swee Scholarship Program for study at Singapore’s universities with the aim of increasing the talent pool in the Asia-Pacific region.

THE Myanmar Overseas Seafarers Association (MOSA) plans to hold its fifth annual general meeting on December 16 from 9am to noon at Hotel Nikko in Yangon.

TRUCKS weighing up to 75 tonnes can now use the recently opened Dagon Bridge to cross the Bago River between Yangon and Thanlyin, said a senior official from the Yangon Division Supervisory Committee Ensuring Smooth and Secure Transport.

THUWANNA National Stadium in Yangon hosted the 2007 Korean Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Championship Tournament for junior competitors on November 24 and 25.

EFFORTS to use recorded birdsongs to attract swiftlets to build nests in Tanintharyi Division are bearing fruit and can boost the incomes of locals who export the nests for culinary and medicinal use, said researcher U Myint Thein from Myeik in southernmost Myanmar.

THE General Practitioners’ Society under the Myanmar Medical Association will hold its Ninth Annual Conference in Bago on January 5 and 6, said the society’s president, Dr Tin Aye.

TWO locals have been awarded Lee Kuan Yew Scholarships to study in the Masters in Public Management program at the National University of Singapore (NUS) next year.

MMU students to study in S Korea

YMCA hosts Christmas program

Meteorology scholarships offered

Food hygiene courses restart

Embassies hold speech contests