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Myanmar calls halt to dam construction
The Myanmar government has suspended the construction of dams and now is mainly focused on the maintenance and effective use of the existing ones, state-owned newspapers quoted Dr Tun Win, deputy minister for livestock, agriculture and irrigation, as saying.
There are 235 dams managed by the Irrigation Department. Only 190 of them can prevent floods and provide water for irrigation and hydropower generation, while 35 cannot distribute water and 10 cannot store it.
There are 581 dams, diversion dams, lakes and sluice gates across the country, said Kyaw Myint Hlaing, director-general of the Irrigation Department.
Mandalay Region leads the list with 99, followed by Ayeyawady Region with 88. The dams that cannot distribute water number 24 in Magway Region, nine in Mandalay Region and two in Sagaing Region. – Myanmar Eleven
Vietnamese entrepreneur wins US competition
Dao Xuan Hoang, a Vietnamese entrepreneur, won first prize for an education application at the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Tech-I competition held in Silicon Valley last week.
Hoang’s Monkey Junior app, which teaches different languages to children, was chosen among 28 other finalists from around the world.
The international contest attracted 1,000 proposals from about 100 countries.
Hoang will receive US$15,000 (Bt529,000) in seed capital to develop the education app.
Launched in 2011, the GIST Tech-I is an annual competition organised by the US Department of State to empower young innovators and entrepreneurs and help them build successful start-ups. |– Viet Nam News
Vietnam Airlines launches |Da Nang-Bangkok route
National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines officially opened a route linking the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang with Bangkok on Sunday.
The new route will schedule four flights per week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays using the Airbus A321, bringing total flights departing from Vietnam to Thailand to 46 per week.
This is Vietnam Airlines’ fourth international route departing from Da Nang, along with routes to Siem Reap, Seoul and Tokyo.
Vietnam Airlines CEO Duong Tri Thanh said the new route would help the company diversify its products, develop airline networking and strengthen its competitive capacity, as well as realise its target to become one of the leading airlines in the region.
The route is also expected to boost cooperation in trade, investment and tourism between Bangkok and Da Nang.
Vietnam Airlines announced a preferential ticket-price programme for passengers on the Da Nang-Bangkok route. The return ticket price will be 669,000 dong (Bt1,050) for economy-class tickets and 5.5 million dong for business-class tickets.
The tickets will be sold until July 10 for trips departing between now and December 31. – Viet Nam News
