Shwe Mann, the No.3 in the junta that ran Myanmar for half a century before giving way to a semi-civilian government in 2011,grew closer to Suu Kyi in the legislature’s last term, becoming a key adviser since her massive election win in November.

The elections, in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won 80 percent of the elected seats, kicked off a lengthy transition that will end on April 1, when the new government officially begins its term.

The NLD-dominated parliament started its term this week. The appointment of Shwe Mann, a former speaker of parliament, will allow Suu Kyi to draw on his deep understanding of the army and the outgoing government to boost her firepower in the assembly.

Shwe Mann, who lost to an NLD candidate in last year’s elections and is not a member of parliament, will lead a panel on legal affairs consisting MPs, technocrats and members of the military, who advise on legislation.

“Its duty is giving advice to the parliament, through the speaker, on legal and special matters,” said prominent writer and political analyst Pe Myint.

Parliament television broadcast live images of the vote on the appointment.

The panel, formally known as the Legal Affairs and Examination of Special Matters Commission, is one Shwe Mann himself set up in 2011, to tackle parliament’s lack of resources.

It contributed to getting 149 laws approved, state media have said, before its term ran out in January.

Shwe Mann’s continued presence in parliament could be vital for Suu Kyi in the next two months as the chamber decides who will run the country.

The parliament is divided between the NLD majority and the military, which is guaranteed a quarter of the seats under the junta-drafted constitution.

The constitution is the bone of contention between the army and the NLD, as it bars Suu Kyi from becoming president because her children are foreign citizens.

The NLD leader has vowed to defy the constitution and lead the government from “above the president”.

Suu Kyi’s party has held transition talks with the military, but has not revealed its presidential candidate.

It is unclear whether a constitutional amendment that would allow Suu Kyi to become the president, but which is vehemently opposed by the military, is also on the negotiating table.

The 2008 charter forces the NLD and the army to essentially share power, by giving the army control over three security ministries that dominate much of the administration.

The Prime Minister also directed the NCSR to modernise the vehicles and equipment used by rescue forces as well as promote rescue rehearsal drills and international co-operation in humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), meanwhile, was urged to finalise the draft plan on constructing a monitoring system for hydro-meteorology forecasting, especially for rain and floods.

MoNRE is also working on the first-ever disaster alert map on a national scale that will predict natural disaster risks like storms, flash floods, landslides or salinisation across the whole country, serving as the decision-making basis for relevant agencies to carry out preventive measures.

A map specifically on flooding caused by higher seawater levels, and another one on flood risks posed by hydroelectric reservoirs, are being developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

MARD and MONRE are expected to co-operate in guiding farmers on which crops and livestock to farm in accordance with the water level each locality will be able to provide.

The Prime Minister also asked MARD to quickly finish anti-drought and water supply projects while promoting the application of advanced farm sprinkling techniques that efficiently cut down on water usage.

The Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) is tasked with reviewing the safety of coal waste dump sites, which could be seen creating piles resembling small mountains in Quang Ninh Province – the leading province of Vietnam’s coal industry.

Non-stop rains in the province last July triggered a landslide from such coal sludge mountains, burying a 94-household community in Mong Duong Ward in Cam Pha City.

Mobile phone footage showing a line of uniformed soldiers being repeatedly punched and kicked inside what appears to be a Myanmar army barracks was watched by over half a million people and shared more than 50,000 times since it was posted Wednesday.

The outpouring of online outrage spurred the country’s military to issue a rare comment.

“You or I would not accept such treatment, but it happened during a training class. We don’t know the details. They had their reasons. It is still under investigation,” said Colonel Khin Maung Cho, from the military’s normally publicity-shy information team.

“I am very sure that action will be taken in this case, and not just a soft charge,” he said, adding however, that this would depend on how army training officials decide to handle the case.

During the clip, which was one of three similar videos published on Facebook by an activist with the name “Friends of Moemaka”, several young soldiers stand in a row as senior officers hit them in a dormitory.

The systematic beating, accompanied by a soundtrack of blasting pop and hip hop music, was apparently egged on by the person filming the video, who can be heard ordering one young recruit to keep his arms in the air as he was pummelled in the stomach.

“If they train like this, how will soldiers deal with people in the outside world? So it is hardly amazing for me when they behave badly,” posted Jimmy Phang, in one of many disapproving comments under the video.

Myanmar’s army has sought to rework its image since a quasi-civilian government replaced junta rule in 2011.

It has freed child soldiers and taken part in ceasefire negotiations with ethnic minority armed groups — although heavy fighting continues in some areas.

Army chief Min Aung Hlaing even has his own regularly updated Facebook page, seen by observers as a sign of the military’s growing sophistication as it sets its sights on continued political sway — and greater ties with the West.

Unelected soldiers retain a quarter of all parliamentary seats and control over key ministries, despite a landslide win for Aung San Suu Kyi’s pro-democracy party in November elections.

The army’s image revamp is unlikely to quickly win over a nation still traumatised by junta repression.

Rights groups say the military still acts with impunity in conflict areas, including in the shooting of a journalist by troops in a southeastern border region in October 2014. His wife is now an NLD MP.

The deaths of two ethnic Kachin teachers last year also triggered a wave of public outrage, with activists accusing soldiers of raping and murdering the pair in the village where they worked in northeastern Shan state.

A year later no one has been charged with the killings.

– AFP

Leading a joint research team, Li Weiqi, a research fellow with the KIB/CAS, collected walnut leaf samples of the wild ancestral species in the Wuliangshan national nature reserve. Using advanced sequencing technology, the Li-led team completed a fine sequencing of the walnut whole genome.

Combining data in genomics, proteomics and lipids, the research team also explored the walnut material-basis in nutrition and health care in the genetic deciphering process. It is discovered that the walnut produces 86 bioactive peptides with known functions, including 43 antifungal peptides, 31 antibacterial peptides, 5 antiviral peptides, and 4 anti-cancer peptides.

The whole genome sequencing will make it possible to breed target crops designed on molecular basis. At the same time, by comparing genetic information of walnut varieties, the genetic codes that control biological traits of the species can be gained. This will provided technical support in selection, protection and promotion of fine breeds.

Ministry inspectors will be checking 500 worksites for errant supervisory practices, poor workers’ training and inadequate risk management, said an MOM spokesman on Thursday.

“We are stepping up our enforcement efforts,” he added, noting that the Ministry is “concerned about the recent spate of fatal workplace accidents”.

After seeing her begging in the city, an authorised agency sent her to a social welfare centre. She finished a short training course and found work at a garment company.

Statistics from the city’s department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, showed that social welfare centres received about 2,000-3,000 beggars and homeless people each year.

Centres gave those living in the city a short training course and then they could look for a job. People coming from other provinces would be sent to their hometown. Le Chu Giang, head of the department’s Social Welfare Office said more than 90 per cent of beggars living in the city came from other provinces

They often returned to the city after being sent to their hometown because their hometown’s administration failed to support them, he said.

Giang claimed that the city was closely working with other provinces to fix the situation.

Despite attempts made by the department, a lot of beggars, mainly children, elderly, and people with disabilities were still seen at several places such as Cat Lai T-junction in District 2; Hang Xanh area in Binh Thanh District; and Park 23/9 in District 1, said Giang.

Giang called upon people not to give money to beggars. He encouraged the public to call the hotline 38.292491 – run during working hours, and 35.533258 – running 24 hours per day to inform authorised agencies if they saw any beggars in the city.

In addition, according to scientists from the Vietnam Federation of Geology, a moderate earthquake registering 5.7 on the Richter scale may occur in Thua Thien-Hue Province in the future.

Many Vietnamese scientists who specialise in seismic forecasts said a major quake measuring more than 7 on the Richter scale may hit the northwestern region in the future.

They said several faults, particularly the Dien Bien and Song Da faults along the Ca River, have a tendency to gradually shift towards the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) and south central region. These are obvious indications that Vietnam is likely to be hit by strong quakes, which are often accompanied by a tsunami warning.

In 1935, a quake measuring 6.75 on the Richter scale hit Dien Bien Province, caused by the Song Ma fault. In 1983, another quake measuring 6.8 was reported in the Tuan Giao area of Dien Bien Province. Those two quakes caused extensive damage to personal property.

Although the consequences of earthquakes that hit Vietnam have not been serious in terms of human lives or property, adverse weather in recent years has raised alarms for Vietnam. Scientists warned that reliable and precise predictions of earthquakes and tsunamis are needed in order to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Anna Teoh Poi Ling, who admitted to the offence committed at her home in Kampung Boyan here on March 6 last year, was fined 4,000 ringgit by magistrate Mohamed Ruhaizat Abdullah.

The court was told that the dog, which is now 16 years old, was bought by Teoh’s mother for RM1,200 when it was a puppy.

Teoh said she had not intended to abandon the dog after her ­mother’s death but since taking custody of the dog, she could not care for it because it was too big for her.

“I am alone. I had no time to take care of her. It was my first time rearing a dog,” said Teoh, who is single.

Prosecuting officer Mohd Nizam Abdullah said the dog was not fed.

“It was not given food or water and was neglected by her owner. We got to know about the case through public complaints,” he said.

The Department of Veterinary Services acted together with the assistance of the police to rescue the dog.

He said the owner was not at home when the operation was carried out.

The dog, he said, would be placed under the care of the Department of Veterinary Services and put up for adoption later.

Teoh, who was charged under Section 44 (1)(d) of the Animal Act, is the first person in Perak to be charged under the amended Act which carries a maximum RM50,000 fine or one year’s jail, or both.