Ditch illusion of quick solution - Pinheiro: THE United Nations special human rights rapporteur on Myanmar, Mr Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, has urged the international community to abandon the "illusion of quick solution" and assist Myanmar in its transition...‘Win, win if work together on drugs?: In a joint move teams from Myanmar and the USA will complete today (March 3) a survey on opium poppy production in Shan State ? with a call from the Government urging the US to join more fully in the war against narcotics... Opium output halved: PRODUCTION of opium has halved in Myanmar since 1996, said the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in its 2002 annual report released last Wednesday... Nouveau riche jump at condo lifestyle: Living in style, owning a prestigious property in an exclusive township (suburb) and being seen as having all the right "toys" is the dream for all Myanmars who have fared well in the business sphere over the past decade... Anti-US sentiment grows: WITH A US-led war on Iraq seeming inevitable, the number of protesters across the world trying to stop, or at least stall, United States President George Bush, grows daily...Plan for new sewage treatment plant: PLANS to build a new sewage treatment plant in Yangon are well underway, according to sources close to the Yangon City Development Committee... FIFA funds work on Mandalay stadium: RENOVATION of a Mandalay football stadium using financial assistance from the Federation of International Football Associations was nearing completion last week... Computerised graphic design courses boom: ENROLMENTS in computer graphic design courses are booming because of the popularity of graphic production in the Myanmar media world... China presents rubber export market: MYANMAR Perennial Crops Enterprise believes that rubber production has very good potential in the local export market... Call for Wushu in Olympics: A Chinese delegation led by sport minister Mr Li Zhijian arrived in Yangon last week for a four-day visit to observe the high standard of Wushu in Myanmar, to increase cooperation between the two countries in the sport, and to help the Chinese push to make wushu an Olympic sport... Popular dictionary reprinted: A POPULAR English-Myanmar dictionary has been reprinted and distributed for the second time... Bangladeshi Prime Minister to visit: THE Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, is due to visit Myanmar this month, a diplomatic source said... Ministry offers course in rubber production: A TRAINING course conducted by the Ministry of Agricultural and Irrigation in early March will help create greater interest in rubber production, said a superintendent of the Development Centre for Rubber Technology... Motorcycles encroach on Mandalay bicycle market: BICYCLE sales decreased slightly in Mandalay this year due to an increase in the sales of motorcycles and used bicycles, according to market sources... Export market for health products?: A JAPANESE official has urged Myanmar producers of dietary supplements and natural health products to work with international organisations to seek international markets for their products...Buckwheat to Japan via China: MYANMAR exported 50 tons of buckwheat to Japan last week through China, according to an official from the Japan International Co-operation Agency which helped initiate the cultivation of the opium substitute crop in Shan State... Lead poisoning survey reveals that battery workers face higher risks: WITH the increasing numbers of cars on the road, the incidents of lead poisoning in battery workers could also increase, survey results have revealed... Anti-retroviral drug trials to begin: A HOLLAND-based non-government organisation, Artsen Zonder Grenzen (AZG), is preparing to launch a program that will benefit the AIDS patients, in the advanced stages of the disease... Media must fight HIV/AIDS bias: AN OFFICIAL from the National AIDS Program (NAP) of the Ministry of Health has urged the media to play a greater role in helping eliminate the irrational fears about HIV-AIDS...Japanese funding for Myanmar movie: A JAPANESE film producer and director Koji Shino will recommence production of a US$26 million World War II epic movie called Thway (Blood) after a five-year delay... Film screened to accolades: A MYANMAR film, titled Myself, Others, Men and Women, was screened two weeks ago at the World Film Festival held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia... Myanmar publishes first sign language dictionary: THE FIRST Myanmar sign language dictionary will be published before the end of the year according to Daw Khin San Yee, the principal of the School for the Deaf in Mandalay...Call for public cooperation to help prevent house fires: THE dry season is coming bringing with it a call for public co-operation to help reduce the incidence of house fires, a prominent officer from the Fire Services Department told Myanmar Times last week... Nurses take care of AIDS orphans: THE Myanmar Nurses Association has embarked on a program for adolescent health care and the care of AIDS affected children in a southern Shan State community...Seminar highlights security risks: MYANMAR businesses should be aware of the security problems faced when taking their entire computer networks online, a seminar was told last week... IT centres flourish in Mandalay: MORE computer training centres are opening for Mandalay schoolchildren during the summer holidays, according to U Thein Htut, President of the Mandalay Computer Scientists Association... Assistants need more training: SALES assistants in many Yangon stores need to be trained to offer better service and hospitality to customers, according to U Thein Shwe, the managing director of La Pyayt Wun Plaza...Women in the workplace - Interviews by Wai Phyo Myint and May Thin Tun...