A tourist train departed from northwest China’s Shaanxi Province on Thursday for Almaty, Kazakhstan, marking a new step in cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Carrying 234 passengers, the train left Xi’an around noon and is set to arrive in Almaty on Saturday. The return journey is scheduled to depart on 5 June and arrive back in Xi’an on 7 June, with each one-way trip taking about 57 hours.
This year marks the China tourism year in Kazakhstan. Upon arrival in Almaty, passengers will be welcomed with fun performances and local cuisine.
A four-day cultural and people-to-people exchange event will be held in Almaty, showcasing a diverse array of activities. Attendees can look forward to demonstrations of intangible cultural heritage skills, exhibitions of cultural relics and promotions of traditional Chinese medicine. Special events will include a youth football friendly match, a symposium on sports exchanges and a gathering of women entrepreneurs.
The special train service is one of the key outcomes of the first China-Central Asia Summit held in Xi’an in 2023. The second summit is scheduled to take place later this year in Kazakhstan. — Xinhua

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

Heavy machinery like excavators and other earth-moving equipment is slowly but surely going electric. That’s great for cutting emissions from jobsites, which are usually dirty, smelly, and noisy places. Going electric is also good for business owners because, over time, running costs go down compared to diesel-powered machinery. 

But how do you go about recharging a 30-ton behemoth that has a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour? In a regular, road-going EV, a quick stop at a DC fast charger is the answer, but in a mine, not so much. But now, a Silicon Valley-based startup claims to have a solution. 

It’s called a Megawatt Mobile Charger, and it’s exactly what it says on the box. Developed by Dimaag-AI, a startup founded by one of Tesla’s co-founders, it’s basically a huge battery on wheels that can go almost anywhere without having someone behind the steering wheel. It doesn’t even have a steering wheel–it’s remotely operated from the warmth of a heated control center.

That’s cool and all, but it’s the charging capabilities that stand out. With a 295 kilowatt-hour battery pack on board, the four-wheel-drive machine can output up to 6 megawatts of power to multiple connected EVs, making recharging slow and heavy machinery a breeze. That’s thanks to a modular DC to DC con verter that can send a minimum of 1 MW of power through a Megawatt Charging System (MCS) connector. In this configuration, the driverless buggy can send a maximum of 1,000 Volts and 1,500 Amps.

 The vehicle itself is powered by four electric motors, one for each wheel, making it all-wheel drive. It also has four wheel steering for increased maneuverability, and can tackle inclines of up to 40 percent. The top speed is 22 miles per hour (35 kilometers per hour), and if the buyer is into high-tech vehicles, there’s the option of fitting an autonomous driving suite. 

The best thing about the Megawatt Mobile Charger is that it’s not just a concept. Heavy equipment giant Komatsu just partnered with Dimaag, meaning the driverless battery on wheels will make its way to jobsites across the world soon. 

“Despite the challenges in developing the market for electric construction equipment, primarily due to installation costs and the need for adequate power supply infrastructure, we remain committed to accelerating our efforts toward market development through collaboration with companies such as Dimaag, in pursuit of our challenge goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” said Tai suke Kusaba, Senior Executive Officer (Jomu), CTO, Supervising Research & Development at Komatsu.

IEV

Source: Myawady Daily Newspaper

Three more women’s bodies were found on the morning of 27 May, under the rubble of the Sky Villa condominium in Mandalay that collapsed due to the Mandalay earthquake, according to the Myanmar Fire Service Department.
MFSD is continuing to search and clear the rubble of buildings, and while they were working to clear the rubble of the Sky Villa with machinery, the three bodies were recovered from Complex B, Room J4, between 9:20 am and 9:45 am.
Similarly, MFSD handed over K15,900,000 and two smart cards found in Complex B, Room I3, to their owners through the Property Transfer Team on 26 May.
Due to the strong earthquake on 28 March, 3,732 deaths, 5,104 injuries and 75 missing were reported in the six regions and states as of 24 May. MFSD, together with both local and foreign search and rescue teams, have been conducting timely and coordinated operations and as of 24 May, 653 survivors have been rescued and 809 dead bodies recovered, according to the statement. — Htun Htun/ZN/Ed

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

Nine species of tigers live in 13 countries around the world, including the critically endangered Bengal tiger in Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Myanmar and the Indonesian tiger in Taninthayi Reserved Forest in southern Myanmar.
“It is a source of pride for the country that two tiger species, which are endangered worldwide, are alive and well in the southern and northern parts of Myanmar. These rare species are invaluable wildlife for the country. While other countries have bred these species in captivity, the fact that they are naturally found in Myanmar’s protected forests and mountains demonstrates the richness of our biodiversity and ecosystems. Therefore, we must continue to work together to conserve and educate about these tiger species to prevent their extinction. We estimate that there are about 22 Bengal tigers roaming in the Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary,” said sanctuary warden U Win Hlaing.

Read more: https://www.gnlm.com.mm/two-endangered-tiger-species-survive-in-northern-and-southern-myanmar/

Malaysia's labor productivity per hour worked grew 1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, registering 42.5 ringgit (9.98 U.S. dollars) per hour, official data showed Thursday.

Malaysia's economy expanded 4.4 percent in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, while the total hours worked increased 3.3 percent to register 9.8 billion hours, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.

According to the DOSM, the total number of employed persons was 16.9 million, indicating a year-on-year growth of 3 percent in the first quarter of 2025, while labor productivity per employment increased 1.3 percent to record value added per employment at 24,580 ringgit per person.

Meanwhile, the labor productivity measured as value added per hour worked for this quarter was driven by the growth in the construction sector at 11.3 percent, followed by the manufacturing sector at 2.8 percent.

"Propelled by sustainable labor market growth, thriving business activity and strengthening human capital, Malaysia's labor productivity is well positioned for a resilient positive outlook despite challenges in labor market reforms and economic uncertainties," the DOSM said.

Thus, the existence of strategic implementation and workforce development is crucial in ensuring the enhancement of labor efficiency, it added. (1 ringgit equals 0.23 U.S. dollar)

ကိုးကား- ဆင်ဟွာ

Photo: KL Property

The Hlaing Township Writers’ Association will hold a memorial event to honour and commemorate the late Tekkatho Phone Naing, one of Myanmar’s most famous writers.
It will be held on 1 June at noon at the Aung Chan Tha Monastery, Munsalindar Dhamma Hall in Hlaing Township.
The ceremony will feature reciting of an article published in the Yokeshin Amhutae magazine and saying words of remembrance by author Min Set Paing, and reciting by Sayama Tin Tin (Yangon), Sayama Myat Thazin, Sayama Nan Hin Pyin and the team of poems written in honour of Tekkatho Phone Naing.
Moreover, singer Min Min Oo (Gita Nat Than) will sing the song “Thangegyin Lo Bae Set Ywei Khaw Myi Khaing (Will Continue to Address You as My Friend, Khaing)”, and Mandolin U Hla Tun will honour by playing and singing “Kabar Kone Kyal Tha Ywei (As far as the world goes)”, which was composed by Tekkatho Phone Naing. The attending authors will also recite the famous quotations of Tekkatho Phone Naing.
Sayagyi Tekkatho Phone Naing, who died in 2002, is a national literary award winner, scriptwriter, and composer, and served as a rector in the Ministry of Education. — Htet Oo Maung/ZN

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

It might sound like something from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - but flying cars could soon be jetting passengers around Europe by next year. 

Slovakia-based company Klein Vision claims its 'AirCar' – the world's first mass-produced flying car – will go on sale in early 2026. 

Styled like a sports coupe, the bizarre hybrid – which has four wheels and two wings – builds speed along a runway before lifting into the air. 

The two-seater can release its retractable wings in less than two minutes as it prepares for take-off, before stowing them away again at its destination. 

Stefan Klein, founder of Klein Vision, said AirCar 'fulfills a lifelong dream' to bring passenger flight 'into the hands of everyday people'. 

'With the launch of our production prototype, we are one step closer to transforming how the world moves – merging the road and the sky into a new dimension of personal mobility,' he said. 

Klein Vision estimates the vehicle will go on sale in the first three months of 2026 – but it won't come cheap. 

A company spokesperson told Mail Online that the vehicle will start at $800,000 (£600,000) but could go up to $1 million (£750,000) depending on specs.

For example, buyers would be able to choose between a 280, 320 and 340 horsepower engine. 

Following successful test flights, Klein Vision said the latest version of is AirCar prototype is now being worked on and tested.

But new promo images give an idea of what 'AirCar 2' will look like when it performs its first flight, due to happen in September. 

AirCar traverses about 980 feet (300 metres) of runway space reaching speeds up to 124mph but has a cruising speed of 155mph once in the air. 

It runs on regular petrol-pump fuel and can carry two people to a maximum altitude of 18,000 feet thanks to a propeller between the fuselage and tail. 

Although powered by petrol, AirCar will go electric 'as soon as the energy density of the batteries is good enough', co-founder Anton Zajac told The Next Web. 

When it does go on sale, AirCar will be suited for leisure trips or as a commercial Uber-style taxi service, its developers say. 

At the touch of the button, the pilot can unfold and release two wings in preparation for take-off in the space of two minutes, which are safely refolded and stored in the body of the vehicle upon landing. 

The original AirCar has already successfully completed over 170 flight hours and more than 500 takeoffs and landings. 

Last year, Klein Vision completed the first passenger flight of Air Car with none other than French musician Jean-Michel Jarre on board. 

While seated in the quirky hybrid vehicle, Jarre and a pilot travelled around two miles in the space of 10 minutes over Piešťany Airport in Slovakia.  

Jean-Michel Jarre, a pioneer in the electronic and ambient music genres, described the experience as like being in a 'Jules Verne book' – a reference to the 19th century novelist known for scifi works including 'Around the World in Eighty Days'.  

'One second you speak to the driver, and next, you are up there in the air – an amazing experience,' Jarre said. 

Also last year, James May, former host of Top Gear, visited Klein Vision and witnessed the AirCar in action at an international airport in Slovakia.

The broadcaster said: 'The AirCar has landed. Very rarely am I lost for words, but I am lost for words!' 

In its home country of Slovakia, AirCar received the Certificate of Airworthiness in January 2022, permitting commercial passengers and opening the door for mass production of the vehicle.

And in the UK, £20 million of government funding has been allocated for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to make flying taxis a reality. 

Last week, Mike Kane, the UK government's Transport Minister, said there will be flying taxis over British skies in just three years' time – with the first piloted flying taxi flight by 2026. 

So if you purchase the AirCar, it might not be authorised to fly in the UK by next year. 

According to Morgan Stanley, the global market for flying cars is expected to hit $1 trillion in 2040, before jumping to a whopping $9 trillion in 2050. 

Widespread adoption of flying vehicles will make use of the vast empty space in the air while greatly reducing congestion on roads.

Mail Online

The Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association is working with local communities to identify and conserve critical migratory bird species in wetlands, the BANCA said.

The BANCA has been working to identify, document and conserve endangered species and their habitats in Myanmar since 2002, and wetland conservation is a very important sector.

Out of the seven internationally recognized Ramsar sites in Myanmar, the Gulf of Mottama is the fourth and the largest wetland, and migratory birds in hundreds of thousands visit it every year to spend the winter. Educational talks and commemorative events are held from time to time to raise conservation awareness among locals.

The theme of World Migratory Bird Day on 10 May 2025 is “Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities” and the BANCA organized an event on that day in Zotekali Village, Bilin Township, Mon State with about 90 attendees including village elders, villagers and students.

It lectured on migratory day, the benefits of mangrove forests, systematic waste management, the installation of awareness signs on waste disposal, the distribution of garbage bins in schools and villages, and collective garbage cleaning in the village, the BANCA said. -MT/ZN

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar

Shwe Thanlwin business group, comprising SkyNet, Shwe Bank and Mo Money, donated cooked rice and meals to more than two million people affected by recent earthquakes in Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and Sagaing.
According to the group, the food donation campaign began on 31 March and continued until 14 May. Meals were provided in the form of nutritious rice and curry dishes. The donations were made to monasteries, nunneries, government departments, wards, villages, temporary relief camps and to those involved in rescue and relief efforts in the earthquake-hit regions.
In Nay Pyi Taw, a total of 1,488,151 people received meals from 31 March to 14 May. In Mandalay, 374,335 people were served between 4 April and 4 May. In Sagaing, meals were distributed to 163,720 people between 18 April and 14 May. — ASH/KZL

Source: The Global New Light of Myanmar