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.

Suu Kyi and hundreds of fellow lawmakers from her National League for Democracy (NLD) strode into the legislature on Monday with a huge mandate from November elections, carrying the hopes of a nation desperate to rebound after decades under the military yoke.

But the democracy champion, who is herself barred from the presidency under a constitution scripted by the former junta, said it was “not yet time to form a government”.

She was speaking at her first press conference since the new parliament.

“Don’t be anxious. You will know when the time comes,”Suu Kyi told reporters, adding that the party must “think carefully” about its choice of a candidate and suggesting the decision would not come until next month.

The NLD’s massive majority — with almost 80 per cent of parliament’s seats — gives it a clear run at the presidential selection.

Suu Kyi, the centrepiece of Myanmar’s long democracy struggle, is excluded from the presidency by a charter clause that bars anyone with close relatives who are foreign.

She has sought to sidestep that problem by vowing to rule “above” a proxy leader.

But the secrecy surrounding a potential candidate has sent ripples of disquiet through the nation.

There are few obvious choices since the pro-democracy movement has been dominated by Suu Kyi’s charismatic leadership since the 1980s.

The NLD also faces a still-powerful military, which under the constitution is granted 25 per cent of parliamentary seats — giving it an effective veto on charter change.

The army has so far resisted any move to amend the clause that blocks Suu Kyi, and a commentary in the state military newspaper on Monday restated this stance.

Elected members of both houses of parliament and the military will nominate three candidates to replace outgoing President Thein Sein, who retains his post until the end of March.

The new president will then be chosen by a vote of the combined houses.

Suu Kyi said she was “really satisfied” with the parliamentary process so far, particularly the selection of several ethnic minority representatives for the roles of parliament speakers and their deputies, which she said was intended to promote “national reconciliation”.

She also chided reporters over their over-eager approach to news collection in recent months, following chaotic scenes during the election and huge media scrums in parliament this week.

“People should be able to move around freely,” she said, but pledged to work for greater transparency in a party that decreed recently that she alone could act as a spokesperson.

The next government faces a daunting rebuilding task in one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries, where civil wars continue to rage in ethnic borderlands and public services bear the scars of junta neglect.

– AFP

Its minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the guidelines would be issued by tomorrow.

He said fighting the virus was a challenge because it spreads easily.

“But we have to fight it, by stopping it from breeding,” he told reporters after launching the Watch Your Weight, Watch Your Calories healthy eating campaign here.

Also present was Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Zika has been linked to brain birth-defects.

Cases have been reported in Brazil and those infected hardly show any symptoms, unlike dengue.

Both Zika and dengue are transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Dr Subramaniam said one measure to fight Zika was to eradicate the Aedes mosquito.

He said there was no known treatment or vaccine for the virus.

Dr Subramaniam advised Malaysians planning to visit South America to defer their travels while those returning from there should exercise caution if they felt lethargic or weakness in their limbs.

“Since carriers are asymptomatic, they need to see a doctor if they experience general weakness,” he said.

On Monday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent microcephaly cases and other neurological disorders reported in Brazil and French Polynesia in 2014 as a “public health emergency of international concern” but did not call for restrictions on travel and trade.

The condition has been linked to but not proven to be caused by the Zika virus.

Dr Subramaniam said the strain in Brazil was probably different and more dangerous than the one found in Malaysia in 2014.

The virus was first isolated from mosquitoes in 1969 in Bentong, Pahang, and the last case was in 2014 when a German traveller was diagnosed with a mild infection after her return to Germany from Sabah.

In Petaling Jaya, Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said the WHO declaration has no advisory other than the measures Malaysia has taken to combat mosquito breeding.

“The focus is on standardising case definition and diagnostics for clarity of reporting and surveillance, and the need for more studies,” he said.

WHO director-general Margaret Chan, who made the declaration after the first International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Zika virus, said the committee agreed that a causal relationship between Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly was strongly suspected, although not yet scientifically proven.

“All agreed on the urgent need to coordinate international efforts to investigate and understand this relationship better,” she said.

According to WHO, the virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys.

It was subsequently identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania.

Outbreaks of the virus have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.

The Qinzhou Nixing pottery with more than 1,300 years of history is renowned both at home and abroad for the clay that is only available locally and the “kiln transformation” art that cannot be copied. It is the only one of its kind in China and one of the four famous pottery in China – the other three being the Violet Sand Earthenware of Yixing in Jiangsu Province, Jianshui pottery in Yunnan Province and Rongchang pottery Sichuan Province and has been included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

In recent years, the local government has been promoting Nixing pottery as an important industry, putting the development of Nixing pottery in the fast lane.

Last year, the local government spent 1.5 billion yuan to build a Nixing pottery cultural and creative industries park covering an area of 445.5 acres (Millennium Ancient Pottery Town). So far 28 Nixing pottery businesses and 15 masters have signed a lease and entry agreement. Reporters from mainstream media outlets in Thailand said they would introduce the excellent traditional culture of Guangxi to more people through what they saw and heard after they returned to Thailand.

The extremist group also recently released a threatening video to the Malaysian government, which is currently stepping up operations to detect and detain suspected IS-affiliated individuals.

As previously reported by The Straits Times, in a video in the Malay language, the Malaysia-Indonesia IS unit -the Katibah Nusantara – said it would take revenge for the capture of its members.

Entitled “Mesej Awam Kepada Malaysia” (A Public Message for Malaysia), the video warns: “If you catch us, we will only increase in number, but if you let us be, we will draw closer to our goal of bringing back the rule of the caliphs.”

He continued: “I urge you all to create a genuine democratic, federal Union, cooperating with each other together with unity and love. Our dignity will be promoted if we are dutiful to the national interest instead of personal interests. We should all perform our best since we are the ones who will participate in writing new pages of the country’s history.”

He also said the MPs are legislators and should not violate the country’s laws.

He continued that the second parliament must focus on legislation, including amending, cancelling and drafting laws to protect the people’s lives and security. Also, the parliament has to examine whether existing laws, including orders and notifications, are in line with human rights and democratic standards.

He said: “I’m pleased to be the speaker of the parliament. I will try my best to fulfil this responsibility fairly.”

The parliament will reconvene on February 4.

Win Myint is a member of the NLD’s central executive committee. He represented NLD in Tamwe constituency, Yangon Region. He also won seats in the 1990 and 2012 elections, representing the party.

More than 600 local and foreign reporters covered the parliament session opening on February 1. Former Lower House Speaker Thura Shwe Mann, former deputy speaker Nanda Kyaw Swa, and several ex-MPs attended the event. Tin Oo, NLD patron, was also present as an observer. Only four representatives, including vice presidents Dr Sai Mauk Kham and Nyan Htun from the USDP were absent yesterday.

The Lower House is comprised of 433 MPs: 255 from NLD, 30 from USDP, 12 each from the Rakhine National Party (RNP) and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), three each from the Pa-o National Organisation and the Ta’ang National Party, two each from the Zomi Democracy Party and the Lisu National Development Party (LNDP), one each from Kachin Democracy Party, Wa Democratic Party and Kokant Democracy Party as well as 110 military representatives.

The new MPs were aspired to move the nation forward.

“There are great expectations for the building of a federal Union, equal rights for ethnic minorities and the country’s development. We don’t know how far we can go. The Lower House speaker is now responsible for bringing about equal rights for the people. We’re now going to see how much the parliament can do for national unity. I’m rather optimistic,” said Ba Shein from the Rakhine National Party (RNP).

“We want equal rights for ethnic people. The NLD and ethnic representatives should have equal rights. I hope they will,” said La Marlay from the LNDP.

Sai Zin Thant from the SNLD noted that his party discussed issues such as whether the opposition should be shaped, something absent during the previous session.

“The previous five years will not be the same as the coming five years,” he said, adding that if there would be no opposition if SNLD did not take the matter in its hands.

Prior to the November election, SNLD planned to team up with NLD to form the opposition, he noted.

The upper house is to be comprised of 135 MPs from the NLD, 11 from the USDP, 10 from the RNP, three from the SNLD, two each from the Zomi Democracy Party and the Taang National Party, one each from the Mon National Party, National Unity Party and the Pa-O National Organisation, two independents as well as 56 military representatives.

The foreign community rushed to congratulated Myanmar on the opening of the new parliament session. Good wishes came from many countries including France and the United States.

The US embassy in Yangon released a statement on February 1 saying: “On November 8, 2015, the people of Myanmar made their voices heard in a historic election. Today, we congratulate the newly elected parliamentarians on their first day in office and wish them well as they take on the difficult but urgent task of advancing peace, prosperity, justice and reform in this country. The US Embassy salutes the process of democracy that led to this historic day and looks forward to providing support for these new parliamentarians as well as others throughout the country seeking to promote democratic practice in coming years.”