Myanmar's government threw a big ceremony in Sittway for Rakhine State's 51st anniversary, and the executive chief from the National Defense and Security Council Office showed up with union ministers and the state's top guy. They handed out civil service medals and awards for people who did well in admin work, business stuff, and community projects, while a traditional dance crew did their thing on stage.
The executive chief read a message from Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and everyone watched a video about development programs happening around the region. Later on, the chief met with local business owners and town elders to talk through growth plans, hit up some monasteries to pay respects to senior monks, and wrapped the whole day...
Myanmar's air force boss, General Tun Aung, ran a military parade at Nay Pyi Taw Airbase to celebrate the branch turning 78, and troops lined up while officers and families watched the whole thing go down. Everyone saluted the flag and dead soldiers before taking some oaths, and Tun Aung walked through the formations to give a speech before bouncing out.
The same airbase hosted a morning food donation ceremony for monks after the parade wrapped. Presiding Sayadaw Bhaddanta Vimala Buddhi led the religious crew, and air force personnel showed up with their families to handle the donations.
Vice-Senior General Soe Win hit up two military hospitals in Mingaladon Township to check on injured soldiers and hand out food and cash. He stopped by the 500-bed orthopaedic spot and the 1,000-bed general hospital, and his wife visited the obstetrics and kids hospital down the road to talk with pregnant women and drop donations for their medical fund.
The general later rolled through Myanmar Thakaung Advanced War Veterans' Housing in Dagon Myothit South Township to see how construction was going. Staff briefed him on apartment buildings, roads, drainage work, and plans for markets and playgrounds, and he told them to make sure water flows right and residents can get jobs and services without hassle. Soe Win also checked out a...
Myanmar's military number two, Vice-Senior General Soe Win, showed up at a nursing school graduation in Yangon to hand out awards and talk about the 2025 election. He gave medals to top performers from the female nursing and paramedical batch, and the school apparently pumped out nearly 6,000 medical grads over the years. Soe Win told the nurses they need to stick with compassion and dedication while treating patients, and he warned them to ignore fake news that could mess up the country or military.
The general mentioned that election observers will be allowed in to watch the voting process go down, and he said the military government plans to hand power over to whoever wins once ballots get counted. After the ceremony wrapped, Soe...
The Thai-Myanmar Business Council dropped off dialysis machines and medical gear at Myanmar's Health Ministry after earthquakes hit the region. Health Minister Thet Khaing Win thanked Thailand for sending five dialysis units plus drugs and supplies worth about 3.6 million baht, and he said the kidney treatment equipment would help a ton. Council chairman Kich Aungvitulsatit showed up for the handover ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw with reps from Thai industry groups.
The shipment is getting rushed out to Mandalay General Hospital and health centers across Mandalay and Sagaing areas. Thailand already sent the first load of supplies earlier in December, and another batch was supposed to arrive a few days later. The whole thing apparently shows...
Myanmar's top military brass threw a big ceremony at Nay Pyi Taw Airbase for the 78th birthday of their air force. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing gave a speech talking up how the branch got started back in 1947 and has been running counterinsurgency ops and drug busts ever since. He said building a strong defense setup across the army, navy, and air units matters for keeping the country intact, and the state keeps pumping helicopters and gear into the force.
The general made a point about teamwork being the real deal because skilled pilots mean nothing if the engineers and support crew can't handle their end. They ran through some serious flight demos with MiG-29s, Su-30s, and a bunch of helicopters doing different formations, plus...
Arriva Hrvatska and Briona Pula merged their operations into something called Busly, which basically just means more buses running between Croatian cities. The Zagreb to Rijeka line runs 28 times daily, and routes heading out to Istrian spots like Poreč, Rovinj, and Pula get 18 departures. Tickets start dirt cheap at 2.50 euros for the Rijeka run, four euros to Zadar, and five euros down to Split.
The whole setup hits Dalmatia, Istria, and the mainland with frequent connections, and luggage comes free on the popular routes. Tourist traffic keeps climbing across Europe, so having decent intercity bus service actually matters for getting people around without them having to drop serious cash on transport.
The Financial Times put Croatian construction firm Spegra at number 76 on their European growth rankings, and the company landed at seventh spot in the construction and engineering bracket specifically. Based out of Split, Spegra posted nearly 40 percent long-term growth, which marks their second appearance on this list after placing 144th last year. Company founder Berislav Borovina collected the plaque, and he pointed out that being the only Croatian business on there means something pretty big.
Spegra has been doing renovation work for 36 years, and they handle everything from road infrastructure to cultural heritage sites. Right now, they're working on the Zagreb Cathedral and the Meštrović Pavilion. Borovina said the recognition...
Ethan Hawke jumped on the Joe Rogan podcast to defend Paul Dano after Quentin Tarantino went off calling him weak sauce and the worst actor in SAG. Hawke said the whole mess turned into a positive thing because it showed Dano how much support he actually has in the industry. Tarantino had trashed Dano while discussing There Will Be Blood, saying the film would rank higher on his favorite movies list if someone like Austin Butler had played the role instead.
After Tarantino's comments blew up online, a bunch of A-listers came out swinging for Dano. Matt Reeves, who directed him in The Batman, posted that Dano is both an incredible actor and person. Ben Stiller backed that up with his own post calling Dano brilliant, and Simu Liu also...
