A VANE with diamond buds for the Global Vipassana Pagoda in Mumbai, India, is going to be dedicated at Shwedagon Pagoda from September 25 to December 31.

BEWARE of the clones, rubber farmers are being advised. Myanma Perennial Crops Enterprise is urging farmers to stick to recommended seeds, and to avoid untested clone varieties.

MYANMAR is inviting other ASEAN members to come together to protect the region’s cultural heritage – by cracking down on the illegal trade and smuggling of antiques.

THE tripartite working group overseeing post-Nargis relief operations in the Ayeyarwady delta warned last week that more assistance was needed to help the victims of the disaster, five months after the storm wreaked havoc on lower Myanmar.

TOURISTS and lovers of ancient architecture and culture: Mrauk Oo awaits. This Rakhine State city in the west of the country, across the Rakhine Yoma mountain ranges, sees itself as a rival to Bagan – as well as to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, Thailand’s Ayutthaya and Indonesia’s Borobudur.

THE creation of a documentary movie about S N Goenka, a leading teacher of Vipassana (insight) meditation, is well underway, with about 60 percent of the taping complete, said an official from the Dhamma Joti Vipassana Meditation Centre.

One of the most revered sacred sites in the country is Alaungdaw Kathapa – literally, that which sustains and purifies the sasana (message of the Buddha) and where the dispensation, doctrine and legacy of the Buddha are expounded.

“It was 1975 and my mum was 65 years old. I first realised something was wrong when she would come back from the bazaar with the same food she’d already bought.”

“We haven’t finalised the start date for the festival but it will definitely be in December and last a month like previous years,” he said. “To make it more interesting than ever, we will double the area of the festival and offer other wonderful things for guests.”

The city of Inwa, which was formerly known as Ava in the colonial era, is 17 kilometres (11 miles) south of Mandalay. The name itself means “mouth of the lake” and Inwa lies at the confluence of the Myitnge and Ayeyarwady Rivers – Kipling’s “Road to Mandalay”.

THE Press Scrutiny and Registration Board under the Ministry of Information released a statement on September 30 saying that two weekly journals, The Action Times and True News, had been temporarily suspended from publishing.

Facing the entry is a picture of the monastery donor, U Pho Kyi, in traditional Myanmar costume. The visitor is drawn to the Buddha images and ancient lacquerware from the Yadanapon era. The museum contains 45 images.

BEACH-LOVING tourists are once again welcome to visit the Ayeyarwady Division coastal resorts Ngwe Saung and Chaungtha, after the government decided to relax travel restrictions imposed following Cyclone Nargis.

“Of all the beaches in Myanmar, only Ngapali Beach can now be reached directly by flight. Ngwe Saung will be the second and will be able to draw more international travellers as a result,”

“This competition is the second DOTA competition this year; both were organised by Myanmar Gamers Club. The previous event held in February was the DOTA e-sports championship 2008,”

Lone Chaw was similarly unresponsive, although he suggested that he was the underdog going into the fight: “My decision to fight against Saw Nga Man, who has more experience and a better technique than mine, is for my beloved audience,”

A MYANMAR cycling team last week began preparations for the ACC Track Asia Cup 2008, entering an eight-day tra-ining camp at Bangkok’s Velodrome Huamark ahead of the October 10-12 event at the same venue.