Public health milestone reached as leprosy declared eliminated: MYANMAR has reached a significant milestone in its public health programs with the announcement last week that the country had reached its goal of eliminating leprosy... Pyay Road glitters for condo developer: PYAY Road is emerging as a preferred location for residential housing projects, with another property developer starting work on a condominium along the thoroughfare... Philanthropist?s quiet millions get recognition: SOME would say it?s the ultimate job. After all giving away tens of millions of dollars a year must surely rank as a most satisfying endeavour...Hotel operators say this is best season in years: HOTELS are celebrating their best tourist season in years, with occupancy rates up by an about 10 per cent during the period from October to January, a survey by Myanmar Times has found... Lt-Gen Soe Win gets nod as SPDC?s Secretary-2: THE State Peace and Development Council has appointed one of its senior members, Lieutenant-General Soe Win, as Secretary 2 of the 13-member SPDC... JICA gears up to spend $20m: THE Japanese government?s overseas aid agency plans to spend about US$20 million in Myanmar during the fiscal year beginning next April, its Yangon representative said last week... K15 billion Chaungtha resort opens: THE government says it plans to improve transport links between Yangon and the neighbouring beach resorts of Chaungtha and Ngwe Saung in Ayeyar-waddy Division which are becoming increasingly popular with domestic and international tourists... Container service launched: A SHIPPING line which has begun a direct container service between Myanmar and Bangladesh is also sailing to ports in India and Sri Lanka, its Yangon representative said last week... Health officials say more waste incinerators needed at hospitals: THE cost of high-temperature waste incinerators for use by the medical sector is within affordable limits, according to the preliminary results of a pilot project... Anti-smoking cyclist: A 76-year-old man from Rakhine State is cycling through Myanmar as part of a personal campaign to publicise International Non-Smoking Day on May 31, reported Pann Thadin (Flower News) journal... Myanmar gets $7m for TB campaign: AN international fund has allocated US$7 million to Myanmar for activities to control tuberculosis for the next two financial years... Strategic plan for Red Cross Society: THE Myanmar Red Cross Society has begun preparatory work for the development of a five-year strategic plan, its president, Dr Kyaw Win, said last week... English language courses aid work of officials involved in administering law: PROFICIENCY in English is essential for personnel involved in the administration of the law, officials from the Supreme Court and the Office of the Attorney General have told Myanmar Times... Incoming WHO chief?s pledge on decentralization wins praise: THE resident representative of the World Health Organisation has welcomed a pledge by its director general designate to decentralise more of the Geneva-based agency?s activities... International food competition to be a first for Myanmar chefs: THE first international food competition for Myanmar chefs will be held in Yangon in April, organisers said last week...Catch from inland waterways shows five-fold increase: AN expansion of the inland fishing industry and the release of millions of fingerlings has contributed to a sharp increase in the supply of fresh water fish in recent years, a senior government official said last week... Scores apply to MFE to lease 50-acre coffee growing plots: MYANMA Farms Enterprise says it has received about 115 applications to lease 20,000 acres at Pyin Oo Lwin and Naung Cho for establishing coffee plantations... Yangon companies team up to launch boat charters for tourists: THREE fibreglass cabin cruisers will begin operating tourist charter services in Yangon, Ayeyarwaddy and Tanintharyi divisions early next month... New classroom for Mandalay school: THE headmaster of a primary school in Mandalay says a new building funded by a K3.1 million donation from a non-government organisation will improve the standard of accommodation available for students. U Win Myint said the new building will be used by 180 of the 1300 pupils at State Primary School No. 14 in Chan Mya Tha Zi township. The building, funded by World Vision, an NGO based in the United States, was handed over to the Ministry of Education late last month... Courses in Japanese: ANOTHER Japanese language school has opened in Yangon, bringing the number in the capital to about 35. Classes at the Nakano Japanese Language Centre are aimed at Myanmar who want to study in Japan... Hailstones, heavy rain fall in upper Myanmar: UNSEASONAL record heavy rain and hail storms lashed parts of Upper Myanmar in early January, the Meteorological Department office in Mandalay has revealed... Centre for shuttlers: WORK has begun on a K1.2 billion international-standard badminton stadium in Lanmadaw township, an official of the Ministry of Sport said last week... ENTRIES are being sought for an Asean art competition aimed at creating greater awareness of the importance of environmental protection. The competition follows a decision to declare 2003 as Asean Environment Year... A project to map the nation: INFORMATION technology company, Suntac Technologies, is upgrading maps of Myanmar as part of a high tech project using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) software. "The mapping project started in 2000 in collaboration with the Directorate of Surveys under the Ministry of Forestry," Suntac Technologies general manager U Tin Myint told Myanmar Times... Thai PM on working visit: THE Thai Prime Minister, Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, is making a two-day working visit to Myanmar this week. Mr Thaksin will be accompanied by his Foreign Minister, Mr Surakiart Sathirathai, and other senior Thai officials. Mr Thaksin is due to meet the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, Senior General Than Shwe, a diplomatic source said... Grand Plaza Parkroyal gets facelift; PLAZA Pacific Hotel and Resorts International, which took control of the Sofitel Yangon last month, has renamed the hotel and plans to refocus it as a deluxe facility catering for a 60-40 mix of business and leisure guests, said its general manager, Mr Teddy Chia. He said all staff had been retained at the hotel, renamed the Grand Plaza Parkroyal...