INTERNAL LINKS DEAD... Mekong connection bolsters trade flows at border crossing: STEP into any shop in Tachilek and Mae Sai and it quickly becomes apparent that consumer goods shipped from China down the mighty Mekong River have taken an increasingly important role in the economies of the two towns. Most residents of the two towns depend directly or indirectly on commercial activity generated by goods shipped from China?s Yunnan Province, which together with Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam... Four-nation talks focus on economic development: THE Thai Foreign Minister, Mr Surakiart Sathirathai, says Bangkok will take ?constructive steps” to implement a joint economic development plan with Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia... Contract for power plant: A CHINESE firm has reached agreement with the government to build a multi-million-dollar hydro-electric dam on the Shweli River in northern Shan State... ICT Park due to open in Mandalay: MYANMAR?s second Information and Communication Technology Park opens in Mandalay late this week. The K5.5 facility, on the third floor of the four-storey Yadanabon Market, opens on August 16, said Major Than Aung, the chairman of the Mandalay ICT Development Corporation... First rice shipped under new policy: THE first shipment of rice to be exported since the government liberalised trade in the cereal in April will be sent to Singapore later this month, the national business federation said... Cartoonist joins Myanmar Times team: THIS week Myanmar Times welcomes Bay Rigby to its staff as a contributing cartoonist, illustrator and writer... International honour for student: A MYANMAR student has won first prize in an international childrens? art competition held by a Japanese non-profit organisation, the Ie-No-Hikari Association... • $3m fisheries project • New manager for hotel • Traffic rules committee names accident hot spots • Bomb attacks in Monywa • Fundraising group to honour elderly doctors • Myanmar?s water resources in spotlight • Training for counsellors • Strong foreign demand for neem seed oil • Myanmar firms urged to take part in Kunming trade fair • Myanmar hosts meeting of ASEAN officials • K3m PA system donated to Shwedagon Pagoda. HEALTH ‘Breastfeeding is best?: specialist Belgian team performs 100 operations for free HEALTH TOPICS University to teach traditional medicine Demand for checks is increasing, say clinics BUSINESS ‘Asean Economic Community? to group 530m consumers BUSINESS TOPICS • Land reclamation projects to continue • Celebrity endorsements slammed as simplistic marketing tool • Seminar promotes strategic marketing