Myanmar’s Shwedagon Pagoda attracts over 40,000 foreign visitors
Nay Pyi Taw, May 7 (IANS): Over 40,000 foreign tourists visited Myanmar’s famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon in April, the first month of the 2017-18 fiscal year, said the Pagoda’s Board of Trustee on Sunday. Thailand topped the list with 7,749 visitors, followed by China with 2,295, Germany with 1,788, France with 1,626 and Japan with 1,453, Xinhua news agency reported. In April of the FY 2016-17, the ancient pagoda attracted over 31,000 foreign visitors. The board’s figures show that more than 500,000 tourists from over 40 countries and regions visited the Shwedagon Pagoda annually. Shwedagon Pagoda, usually crowded with visitors from home and abroad during the open season, is featured by its best repository in Myanmar heritage, architecture, sculpture and arts. It accommodates hundreds of colourful temples, stupas and statues that reflect the architectural era spanning almost 2,500 years.In accordance with the statistics of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, foreign arrivals in Myanmar reached over 2.9 million in 2016. The country expects to receive over seven million visitors by 2020.
One killed in shootout between army, fuel thieves in Mexico
Mexico City, May 7 (IANS): A suspected member of a criminal gang dedicated to fuel theft died after a firefight with federal police in the state of Veracruz, police said.A report of the federal police’s regional security division on Saturday said that the fight broke out when armed gang members sought to rescue two of their members, who had been arrested while transporting stolen fuel in a truck.The police had arrested both men and secured the vehicle on Saturday morning, between the towns of Sayula de Aleman and Acayucan, in the south of Veracruz, Xinhua news agency reported. As the officers were taking the detainees, a group of their accomplices opened fire. The police returned fire and killed one of the gang members who was inside a vehicle. Police reinforcements soon arrived, forcing the criminals to flee. Fuel theft in the states of Veracruz and Puebla has become a hot topic in Mexico, especially since four soldiers and six suspected gang members were killed in shootouts on May 3. Mexican authorities have stated that the gangs used women and children as human shields to attack the soldiers. This violence led Mexico to deploy around 2,000 soldiers to the area this week.
Bus collision kills 26 in Nigeria
Lagos, May 7 (IANS): A head-on collision between two buses along Nigeria’s Lagos-Ibadan expressway left at least 26 people dead, a road safety official said. The two 18-seater buses caught fire immediately after a head-on collision on the expressway, , Xinhua news agency quoted Oyo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps Yusuf Salami as saying on Saturday. On his part, the state police spokesperson Adekunle Ajisebutu said 26 people were burnt to death before any intervention arrived.He said 11 people including children were injured in the crash and were being treated in the hospitals. Eyewitness said the passengers in the two buses were burnt beyond recognition. Nigeria has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in the world mainly due to shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles, violation of traffic rules by inept drivers and lack of monitoring.
White House curator William G. Allman has decided to retire after a career that spanned more than 40 years, the media reported. Allman’s departure will leave another key position open on the residence staff following the disposal Chief Usher Angella Reid’s on Friday, officials familiar with his decision told CNN on Saturday. White House residence staff positions are non-political. The office of the curator was created under former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. The curator works closely with the White House interior decorator and the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.Allman was one of the first members of residence staff to meet First Lady Melania Trump; he gave her a tour when she came to visit with Michelle Obama days after the election. “He had a full career and contributed a great deal,” CNN quoted one of the officials as saying. “I hope that they (the Trumps) will give it a lot of thought and consider the history of the house,” the official said, adding that there are several curators who worked for Allman who will be able to fill the position if necessary.
