Workers carry bags of rice at a jetty in Yangon, Myanmar. PHOTO: XINHUA
YANGON (XINHUA) – Myanmar exported 111,862 tonnes of rice and broken rice in April, the first month of the fiscal year 2024-25, according to data released recently by the Myanmar Rice Federation.
The exports in April included 42,770 tonnes of rice and 69,092 tonnes of broken rice.
According to the Myanmar Rice Federation’s data, the volume of exports was up from 87,648 tonnes in the same period last year.
The Southeast Asian country exported rice and broken rice to more than 20 countries and regions including Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Poland, Malaysia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Vietnam.
In the 2023-24 fiscal year, Myanmar exported over 1.6 million tonnes of rice and broken rice, earning over USD845 million, according to the federation.
Workers carry bags of rice at a jetty in Yangon, Myanmar. PHOTO: XINHUA
ABOVE & BELOW: Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic defended by Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kyle Anderson and Karl-Anthony Towns; and Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray drives to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker. PHOTO: AP & AFP
DENVER (AP) – The Minnesota Timberwolves, led by Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, overpowered the Denver Nuggets yesterday night in a stunningly efficient 106-80 thrashing of the reigning but reeling NBA champions.
“We’ve had some really good defensive efforts this year,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said after his team took a surprising 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. “That has to be right up there with the best of them.”
The Wolves held Denver to an ugly 29-of-83 shooting night, and the most impressive thing about that was the absence of their best defender, Rudy Gobert, who was back in Minneapolis for the birth of his son.
Gobert’s fingerprints were all over this masterpiece, Finch suggested.
“Rudy’s driven the defensive culture here. I think it’s a testament to his impact, his presence and what he’s infused into the team of how important defence is and how great it can be when we play it,” Finch said. “That aside, we expect to win no matter who’s with us and who’s not.”
Towns and Edwards both scored 27 points as the Wolves improved to 6-0 in the playoffs and gave themselves a chance to close out the fuming Nuggets with wins on Saturday and next Monday in Minneapolis.
ABOVE & BELOW: Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic defended by Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kyle Anderson and Karl-Anthony Towns; and Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray drives to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker. PHOTO: AP & AFPPHOTO: AP & AFP
So flustered were the Nuggets by the second quarter that coach Michael Malone threw a fit at an official and scuffling point guard Jamal Murray threw a heat pack onto the court in frustration as Towns was about to score on a layup.
Malone said he had no idea it was Murray who tossed the heat pack, saying, “I knew a heating pack was on the floor, but it was not in my field of vision.”
Nor did the officials see him throw it, added crew chief Marc Davis.
“We weren’t aware it had come from the bench. If we would have been aware it came from the bench, we could have reviewed it under the hostile act trigger. The penalty would have been a technical foul,” Davis told a pool reporter.
Finch said he knew only that the heat pack had come from the Nuggets’ bench.
“We tried to impress upon (the officials) that there’s probably not many fans in the building that have a heat pack. So, it probably had to come from the bench, which they found logical,” Finch said. “But yeah, it’s inexcusable and dangerous.”
Murray, who has shot nine for 32 in this series, left Ball Arena without comment for the second straight game. He is likely to be fined by the NBA for his actions.
Aaron Gordon led Denver with 20 points, Nikola Jokic had 16 points and 16 rebounds but their third-leading scorer was sub Justin Holliday with 13 points. Murray scored eight points on three-of-18 shooting.
Kyle Anderson replaced Gobert in the starting lineup and had eight assists and nine rebounds and reserves Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker both scored 14.
“The message we want to send is that we’re extremely honoured and blessed that we have this opportunity to go home up 2-0,” Towns said. “But we’re humble in this approach.”
Edwards, for one, expects to see a different Nuggets team at Target Center this weekend.
New York Knicks‘ Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Brunson celebrate after Hartenstein’s three-point basket. PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK (AP) – Jalen Brunson doesn’t go into a game aiming to score 40 points more consistently than anyone in the postseason since Michael Jordan.
He only cares about winning games, so a late defensive stop is just as important to him as any of his shots.
“The little things can go a long way,” Brunson said.
“So yeah, the 40 points are cool and all, but it’s the little things that help us win games like that. So I’m just happy to have the group of guys that I do.”
And the New York Knicks are sure thrilled to have him.
Brunson scored 43 points, becoming the fourth player in NBA history with four straight 40-point games in the postseason, and the Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 121-117 yesterday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Josh Hart added a playoff career-high 24 points and added 13 rebounds and eight assists.
New York Knicks‘ Isaiah Hartenstein and Jalen Brunson celebrate after Hartenstein’s three-point basket. PHOTO: AFP
File photo shows a logo of the Super Nintendo World during an event in Tokyo, Japan. PHOTO: AP
TOKYO (AFP) – Nintendo said yesterday it will make an announcement about a highly anticipated new console by the end of March 2025 as sales decline of the hugely popular Switch, which is now in its eighth year.
Despite logging a record net profit in the year to March, helped by the weak yen, the game giant expects net profit to drop nearly 40 per cent in the current financial year.
Players and investors have been hungry for news about a successor to the Switch, and the Japanese company said a statement was finally forthcoming.
“We will make an announcement about the successor to Nintendo Switch within this fiscal year,” said a post on social media platform X that was attributed to company president Shuntaro Furukawa.
Nintendo said net profit in 2023-24 totalled JPY490 billion (USD3.2 billion) – beating its previous record of 480 billion set three years ago, when the Switch became a must-have gadget to pass time during pandemic lockdowns.
“Good sales were posted for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” it said, adding that new titles in the Super Mario Bros and Pikmin series had also performed well.
File photo shows a logo of the Super Nintendo World during an event in Tokyo, Japan. PHOTO: AP
The Super Mario movie helped sell games from the Mario franchise and there was a “substantial increase in foreign exchange gains and interest income”.
The yen has been on a downwards slide, boosting profits for companies such as Nintendo that sell goods overseas.
But the firm expects net profit to drop nearly 40 per cent to JPY300 billion in the current financial year.
Hardware sales for 2023-24 totalled 15.7 million units, down nearly 13 per cent.
“While this represents a decrease from the previous fiscal year, sales are steady for a platform in its eighth year after launch,” Nintendo said, referring to the Switch.
The company said hardware sales were expected to continue to fall in the current financial year to 13.5 million units. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Nathan Naidu said before the earnings release that Nintendo consoles typically have a “six-to-seven year lifecycle”.
“Given hardware drives about 40 per cent of total sales, its drag on (the) overall top line might extend into fiscal 2025 absent a new gaming gadget,” he said.
Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda said investors have been focused on when a new console would be announced.
“It would be a major disappointment if Nintendo couldn’t release it by March 2025,” he said.
Real Madrid’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti. PHOTO: AP
MADRID (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is searching for the formula to take his team’s performance up several notches to get past Bayern Munich tonight and reach the Champions League final.
The Italian admitted after the 2-2 semi-final first leg draw last week in Bavaria that Real failed to find their consistent best despite earning a decent result, with the German giants largely on top.
“Bayern are very dangerous, they were at their best and we weren’t – we have time to improve for Wednesday,” Ancelotti told reporters at the Allianz Arena, after Vinicius Junior’s brace secured Madrid a draw.
Madrid come into the match on the back of sealing the La Liga title after a 3-0 win over Cadiz on Saturday, but with the Champions League second leg in the forefront of their minds, celebrations were put on ice.
Los Blancos players reported for training on Sunday morning and the players did not join fans at Plaza Cibeles, where they would usually celebrate together after earning major titles.
Record 14-time Champions League winners Real Madrid instead had their sights firmly set on extending their European domination.
“We would like to celebrate with all the fans, but they understand because tonight we have a very important challenge,” said Ancelotti.
“It’s contained joy – we have the most important game of the season coming up.”
Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez agreed with his coach.
“We’re on the verge of reaching another final, we’re going to give our all to get there – that’s why we can’t celebrate too much,” he said.
Real Madrid’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti. PHOTO: APReal Madrid players during a training session in Madrid, Spain. PHOTO: AP
TOKYO (XINHUA) – Japanese automaker Daihatsu Motor yesterday resumed production at its plant in the western Japanese prefecture of Osaka after a safety test fraud scandal led to operations suspension since last December.
For the first time in about four months, the carmaker, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp, also brought back online its finished vehicle assembly plants in Shiga, Kyoto and Oita prefectures.
Daihatsu will speed up the delayed delivery of vehicles for which it has received orders, as well as the improvement of existing models and the development of new models.
The suspension of the plants, which came after Daihatsu admitted in December to rigging safety data for most of its models, led to a plunge in the country’s industrial output in January and cast doubt over the safety of the Toyota group’s vehicles, national news agency Kyodo reported yesterday.
In December last year, the safety test falsification scandal unfolded as Daihatsu announced that an investigation found 174 new cases of misconduct regarding the safety testing of new vehicles involving 64 models.
Back in last April, the carmaker acknowledged data-rigging in collision tests for six of its models, including those sold in Thailand and Malaysia. It was discovered a month later that the company had improperly obtained government certification for hybrid vehicles for the Japanese market as well.
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented to the appointment of senior pharmaceutical chemist at the Department of Pharmaceutical Services (DPS) at the Ministry of Health Hajah Zanatul ‘Aini binti Haji Zainin/Haji Jinin as the director of the DPS effective from April 8, 2024.
The public has been called to donate blood to help replenish supplies at blood banks in the country.
Tomorrow, a blood donation drive will be held at the multipurpose hall of the Fire and Rescue Department from 9am to 11am and 1pm to 3pm.
The public can also make a contribution at the Blood Donation Centre of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital during working hours from 8am to 11.30am and 1.30pm to 3.30pm.
Booking a slot through the Bloodkad application prior to donating blood is encouraged. – James Kon
Judge Hajah Hazarena binti Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Jaya Dato Paduka Haji Abu Hurairah handed jail sentences and whipping to two individuals yesterday.
Permanent resident Rosleni bin Mahrop, 44, and local Aizuddin bin Haji Mat Salleh, 35, earlier pleaded guilty to housebreaking for theft.
Rosleni received two years and four months’ jail with two whippings, while Aizuddin, was handed a two year and two month jail term with two whippings.
Prosecutors Abdul Musawwir bin Haji Mahli and Ahmad Firdaus bin Mohammad revealed that the incident occurred when Rosleni visited Aizuddin’s residence at Jalan Kota Batu on April 21. During the visit, Rosleni, Aizuddin and an unidentified individual (person ‘A’) planned to commit theft at a property in Kampong Dato Gandi.
At 9pm, they reached the targeted property and entered through a concealed hole under the store room floor.
Once inside, they searched for valuables. Rosleni grabbed a pair of sports shoes and a safe box handed to him by person ‘A’, while Aizuddin found a silver metal belt. However, their plans failed when Rosleni accidentally triggered a house alarm. They fled through the concealed hole but were chased by a neighbour. Rosleni dropped the safe box during the escape.
The incident was reported to the police around 9.30pm.
Following the report, the police investigated and arrested Rosleni and Aizuddin on April 22. Police inquiries and subsequent admissions by the defendants confirmed their involvement, with recovered items including the silver metal belt, the shoes and the red light siren alarm.
Several items, including seven mobile phones and a CCTV system remain unrecovered.
The court noted that Rosleni has convictions related to property offences in 2008 and 2017, while Aizuddin has convictions related to property offences in 2014. – Fadley Faisal
An Indonesian man who denied attacking a policeman on duty will go on trial in July. Puji Kurniawan, 26, was alleged to have caused harm to a policeman by biting his left forearm on April 1 at Berakas Police Station. Nurul Husna binti Abidin prosecuted the case.
Magistrate Syaffina binti Shahif fixed trial to run from July 16 to 18, and July 20 and 22. – Fadley Faisal
