Former Premier of Burma released
U Nu, former Premier of Burma and U Ba, Swe, former President of the AFPFL who were in protective custody, were released to-day [October 27] by the Revolutionary Government. General Ne Win, Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, met them in Dagon House and told them they could go home now. If they wished to go on pilgrimage either here [Rangoon] or abroad they could do so and the Government would meet the cost he added. U Ba Swe is stated to be suffering from leg trouble. U Nu was seen quite healthy and he informed the people, who met him that while he was in custody he wrote six books, three of them on religion and the rest novels. U Nu had been arrested, along with his Cabinet colleagues on the morning of March 2, 1962. During his detention he was well treated, he said. The Burmese Buddhist Lent ends on Saturday for them to observe the Thadinyut festival. U Ba Swe was arrested in August, 1963 along with some prominent members of the AFPFL party.
Photos with swallowed film
Some 12,000 Japanese doctors have been successfully taking colour photographs of the inside of patients’ stomachs. The camera is constructed so that the light sources and a cartridge of film are swallowed by the patients. The film is wound up after each exposure by means of a cable encased in plastic tube. Giving this information at a meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, Dr. Maxwell Berry of the Emory University School of Medicine, said the device had a great value in the diagnosis of gastric ulcers or other ailments already exposed by X-rays. He said only about 10 American doctors have used the Japanese device and only three out of 124 patients were unable to swallow it.
Mining by small entrepreneurs
Three Union Ministers who spoke at the inaugural session of the conference of State Ministers of Mining and Geology here [New Delhi] to-day [October 27] struck different notes on the question of allowing small private entrepreneurs to develop scattered mineral deposits. Mr. S.K. Dey, Minister for Mines and Metals, who presided over the session expressed the view that monopoly, even if it be State monopoly, would be fatal. He favoured dispersal and urged the State Governments to encourage smaller entrepreneurs to come into the field of mining by offering them common facilities. The Planning Minister, Mr. Asoka Mehta on the other hand, expressed doubts about bringing in smaller entrepreneurs as, in his view, development of mineral resources called for large scale operation. He felt that the Central Government, State Governments and various public sector corporations could engage themselves in this task. Mr. Jagjivan Ram, Minister for Labour and Employment, felt that smaller entrepreneurs would be in a position to work mining leases effectively only if the prospecting and processing were undertaken by a Central agency. In regard to non-ferrous metals, however, Mr. Jagjivan Ram expressed himself strongly against bringing in private entrepreneurs for mining. He said that would be harmful.
