Not a ‘fine’ issue

Opinion

January 25, 2023

With the re-opening of the land borders we notice foreign registered vehicles with dark tinted glass commuting on our roads frequently.

Perhaps some form of clarification should be shared among members of the public whether our road traffic rules have been amended or are there any specific clauses allowing foreign vehicles with dark tinted glass be driven on our roads without being penalised.

In the event of a road block, local registered vehicles with even the slightest dark tinted film on its windows without the Land Transport Department’s (JPD) approval would be issued a compound fine.

This makes one wonder why the double standard comes into place when it comes to foreign registered vehicles.

Some might argue that these visitors are transiting in our country and not considered residents.

But that should not be an excuse to not adhere to our road traffic rules and regulations. I can remember clearly some years ago traffic enforcers from our neighbouring states issuing heavy fines to drivers for a missing third-brake light.

Their actions would be justified by stating that all vehicles entering their country are subjected to the state laws and regulations.

Just Curious

Amazon launches subscription prescription drug service

January 25, 2023

AP – Amazon is adding a prescription drug discount programme to its growing healthcare business.

The retail giant said yesterday that it will launch RxPass, a subscription service for customers who have Prime memberships. Amazon said people will pay USD5 a month to fill as many prescriptions as they need from a list of about 50 generic medications, which are generally cheaper versions of brand-name drugs.

The company said the flat fee could cover a list of medications like the antibiotic amoxicillin and the anti-inflammatory drug naproxen.

Sildenafil also made the list. It’s used to treat erectile dysfunction under the brand name Viagra and also treats a form of high blood pressure.

Amazon sells a range of generic drugs through its pharmacy service. Some already cost as low as USD1 for a 30-day supply, so the benefit of this new programme will vary by customer.

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Lauwin-Planque, northern France. PHOTO: CNA

The new programme doesn’t use insurance, and people with government-funded Medicaid or Medicare coverage are not eligible. It will be available in 42 states and Washington DC at launch.

Any programme that gets low-cost generic drugs to more patients “is a good thing”, said an economist who studies drug pricing at the University of Southern California Karen Van Nuys. But she added that she wasn’t sure how much of an impact RxPass will have.

She noted that the programme is limited to Amazon Prime customers. Other options like the Mark Cuban CostPlus Drug Co sell more generic drugs, many for under USD5.

“I just don’t know that it’s expanding access to a new set of patients,” Van Nuys said. Still, the move could help the company take up some more space in the healthcare market, even though it has not always been successful in its aim.

Last year, the company shuttered its hybrid virtual, in-home care service called Amazon Care after it failed to get traction from employers. And Haven, a company Amazon created in collaboration with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway to improve health costs, dissolved a year earlier than that.

Amazon has said its online drug store Amazon Pharmacy is a key part of its health care plan, along with primary care organisation One Medical, which the online giant is seeking to acquire for USD3.9 billion.

Inter’s Super Cup celebration ruined with loss to Empoli

Sports

January 25, 2023

MILAN (AP) – Inter Milan’s Italian Super Cup celebration was ruined with a 1-0 home loss to Empoli in Serie A yesterday.

Milan Skriniar was sent off with two yellow cards in the first half to leave Inter with 10 men, and 19-year-old Tommaso Baldanzi scored for Empoli midway through the second half following a poor effort from Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Before kickoff, Inter presented the Super Cup trophy to its fans following its 3-0 win over city rival AC Milan in Saudi Arabia last week.

Inter remained third, one point behind Milan.

Empoli, which extended its unbeaten run to five matches, moved ahead of Juventus into ninth.

Inter Milan’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan challenges Empoli’s Nicolas Haas and Empoli’s Liam Henderson. PHOTO: AFP

Cambodia plans over USD4 billion high-speed rail linking capital with Thai border

Southeast Asia

January 25, 2023

PHNOM PENH (XINHUA) – Cambodia has planned to upgrade its existing northern Phnom Penh-Poipet railway to become the kingdom’s first high-speed rail, which is expected to cost more than USD4 billion, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport said in a news release yesterday.

The China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) presented its feasibility study’s preliminary results on the upgrading of the Phnom Penh-Poipet railway to the ministry on Monday, the news release said.

Poipet is a bustling city that shares its border with Thailand.

“The preliminary results showed that the 382km rail line requires an investment capital of more than USD4 billion, including electric locomotives and carriages, and the construction will take about four years to complete,” the news release said.

This high-speed rail will have a width of 1.43 metres, with the speed of 160km per hour, it said, adding that there will be a total of 33 stations and more than 300 overpasses along the route.

Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol said construction work on the project is expected to commence in the near future.

“The northern Phnom Penh-Poipet high-speed rail will importantly serve transportation and promote socioeconomic growth, especially in the provinces and cities along the rail,” he said.

The high-speed rail will be mainly focussed on passenger and freight services between Cambodia and Thailand as well as other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the news release said.

Mind-building activities at youth camp

National

January 25, 2023

Lyna Mohamad

A four-day-three-night camp began yesterday at the Youth Centre in the capital participated by 27 students representing government and private secondary schools.

The group of 20 male and seven females comprise students from Awang Semaun Secondary School, Sayyidina Umar Al-Khattab Secondary School, Sultan Sharif Ali Secondary School, Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam Secondary School, Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Secondary School, Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam Secondary School, Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Masna Secondary School, Menglait Secondary School, Berakas Secondary School, Sayyidina Husain Secondary School, Masin Secondary School, and Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Secondary School.

Also invited were students from Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien College, Raja Isteri Girls High School, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Arabic School, Chung Hwa Middle School, St Andrew’s School and St George’s School.

Among the activities are mass daily prayers and recitation of Surah Yaasiin, Subuh and Maghrib talk, ice-breaking session and group work, discussions, presentation and briefing by the Youth and Sports Department and National Youth Policy and Strategy Department.

The camping activities conclude on January 27. Participants would be awarded with a closing and certificate presentation ceremony.

Students participating in a group work. PHOTOS: LYNA MOHAMAD

The camp will also see participants engaged in community and charity work such as cleaning of a Muslim cemetery for male participants and making porridge and weaving Kelupis for alms by the female campers.

There will also be a segment on ‘Bah Lakastah Bercakap’ every morning where the participants are required to deliver a brief speech on activities they have conducted, night adventure covering exploration of the capital in the evening while carrying out leadership activities as well as programmes such as ‘Kenali Bandar Kitani’, ‘Bedudun Ke Kampong’, sports and recreational activities.

Participants will also have a get together session with former leaders who have led and contributed in youth activities to act as an inspirational source to the participants during the sharing session.

It also serves as a teaching medium beyond the school border as one of the informal learning methods, to know and learn the Bruneian lifestyle through communication and language and to instil the attitude of lending a helping hand in conducting an activity or challenges faced. The camp’s objectives include filling in the participants free time while waiting for their GCE O-Level results and provide an opportunity for them to interact through self-identity, environment, spiritual and leadership activities.

It is hoped that through these activities, participants can be proactive, initiative and creative as well as bold in voicing out their views, form a friendly network informally and act as change agent to their schools, able to mould a responsible and independent youth and to attract interests to joining the Youth Centre Club.

Message in ‘recycled bottles’

Features

January 25, 2023

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN (AFP) – The dancers’ futuristic headgear glints under the lights at a top ballet show, but just two months ago their plastic costumes were sticky bottles tossed into a Tokyo recycling bin.

Plastic, a new production by renowned Japanese company K-BALLET, aims to draw attention to a global pollution crisis through some unusual set and wardrobe design.

Tutus made from used bubble wrap, four huge recycled bottle walls and 100 transparent umbrellas left behind in the Japanese capital all featured in the performance, which drew a full house to its first short run in Yokohama.

Resembling space-age creatures with hand-cleaned PET bottles strapped to their bodies, a troupe including United States (US) guest star Julian MacKay leaped and spun their way through a shifting labyrinth on stage. Plastic waste has doubled globally in 20 years and only nine per cent is successfully recycled, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of developed countries.

The United Nations said the volume of plastic entering the oceans will nearly triple by 2040.

MacKay, 25, told AFP that the “huge problem” of plastic waste “really hasn’t gotten that spotlight” in the dance world and he believes performing arts can help inspire people to act.

ABOVE & BELOW: Workers sorting plastic bottles at the Shirai Eco Center in Adachi, northern Tokyo; and United States ballet dancer and guest star Julian MacKay taking part in the dress rehearsal for the performance by the K-BALLET dance company entitled ‘Plastic’. PHOTOS: AFP

Performers in the dress rehearsal for ‘Vinyl Umbrella Komachi’, highlighting the issue of plastic pollution

Performers taking part in the dress rehearsal for the ‘PET Bottle Labyrinth’, and another half of an innovative two-part performance by the K-BALLET dance company

“When you take a medium like ballet or dance, and you add it together with recycling or upcycling, you kind of force people to think, ‘well, what else can I do, what else works?'”

Back in November, past midnight in Tokyo’s Harajuku fashion district, K-BALLET’s chief producer Taiju Takano and scenographer Naoya Sakata went rooting through recycling bins to find their plastic props. Joining staff from waste management company Shirai Eco Center, they shook out tubs and sorted plastic bottles from piles of used coffee cups, aluminium cans and cigarette butts.

Sakata also used machine-recycled PET bottles provided by Shirai to construct the pixel-like bottle walls and huge letters that descended to spell “party people” in the upbeat finale of the show’s first half. Overall, more than 10,000 recycled and reused bottles were used in Plastic, and 28-year-old Sakata said it made him realise the amount thrown away each day is “shocking”. Single-use plastic remains a huge problem in Japan, where even individual pieces of fruit frequently come packaged.

But Japan’s residents generate only a third of the plastic waste their American counterparts do, according to the OECD, and less than the average for the organisation’s European members. Japan also collects and recycles more plastic than many countries, although often for “thermal recycling” where waste is burned for energy. Takano, 27, said some elements of Plastic are intended to evoke old Japanese ideas of sustainability.

“A key word in our culture is mottainai,” which describes what a shame it is to waste things, he told AFP. In the past, it was believed the spirit of an object “would appear as a ghost if you mistreated things and threw them away”, he said.

MacKay said the stage design helped him see the plastic items in a different way.

“There’s a certain kind of beauty… when light goes through these bottles and creates something that looks almost heavenly,” he said.

K-BALLET plans to keep its costumes and props for at least a year, with the hope of re-staging the show, after which Shirai will recycle the bottles. As audience members filed out of the auditorium, Ayumi Kisaki, a 30-year-old actor, said the performance made her reflect on the problem. “It’s an issue I don’t usually think about. But these dancers highlighting the issue of plastic helped me think of it as my own issue to tackle,” she told AFP.

The best warm-up is a dynamic warm-up

Lifestyle

January 25, 2023

Cindy Kuzma

CNA/THE NEW YORK TIMES – Twenty-plus years ago, a pre-workout warm-up usually meant a series of long, slow, sedentary stretches. Many a ’90s kid – wearing a cotton T-shirt in school colours – sat with one knee awkwardly bent behind them in a hurdler pose before heading out to jog their coach-mandated mile.

But in recent years, exercise science has coalesced around a better way to prepare your body for exertion: The dynamic warm-up.

A dynamic warm-up is a set of controlled, up-tempo movements that can help make your workout safer and more effective, said Assistant Professor and International Coordinator of Physiotherapy at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria Alvaro Lopez Samanes, in Madrid, who’s studied them in tennis players.

Research suggests dynamic warm-ups improve agility, speed and overall performance for a wide range of sports, including tennis, baseball and running.

They also appear to reduce injury risk. In a fast-moving, direction-changing sport like soccer, a tailored dynamic warm-up lowered the odds of getting hurt by about 30 per cent in one 2017 research review.

While Olympic sprinters and World Cup players do them before competing, they’re not just for elite athletes. In fact, “people who don’t move athletically very often need dynamic warm-ups the most”, said personal trainer and owner of On Your Mark Coaching and Training in Chicago Emily Hutchins. If you go straight from your office chair or your bed to a workout, you might arrive with a hunched posture, not to mention cold, tight muscles that don’t move fluidly. Dynamic warm-ups bridge the gap.

Chances are, you’ve updated your workout gear since middle-school gym class – here’s how to modernise your warm-up, too.

HOW DOES A DYNAMIC WARM-UP WORK?

Dynamic warm-ups involve a series of drills – at least some of which are dynamic stretches that take joints through their full range of motion. Picture a sprinter skipping down the track, a goalkeeper side shuffling along the pitch or a point guard moving through the motions of a free-throw.

Dynamic movements increase your body temperature and begin gently stressing your soft tissues. Together, this heat and stress produce what’s called a thixotropic effect, said Professor and Exercise Scientist at Memorial University of Newfoundland’s School of Human Kinetics and Recreation David Behm. Muscles and tendons become less viscous and move more fluidly, much the way shaking a bottle dislodges stuck ketchup, or honey thins as you stir it into a cup of hot tea.

Because of its fast pace, dynamic stretching also activates intracellular sensors called muscle spindles, which then amplify the electric currents that help your mind and muscle to communicate and make your muscles more responsive, Dr Behm said. An opposite effect occurs when you hold long, slow stretches: Those same spindles are suppressed, slowing down the messages between your brain and body to help reduce tension and tightness.

That’s why static stretching by itself – though important for range of motion and injury reduction – doesn’t prepare you for a workout, he said.

In addition to the immediate benefits of dynamic warm-ups, Dr Lopez Samanes said that over time, enhanced agility and coordination may also reduce your risk of injury. Research suggests doing these pre-workout routines at least twice per week for 10 to 12 weeks could protect muscles, joints and bones from harm.

HOW LONG DOES A WARM-UP NEED TO BE?

Good news for the time-crunched: As little as eight minutes will suffice for a dynamic warm-up, Dr Lopez Samanes said. In fact, if you extend it as long as 25 minutes, you’re likely to feel fatigued heading into your workout.

Based on the research, he suggested six to eight exercises, each done for about 15 to 30 seconds, two to three times through. Start off relatively easy and increase your effort and intensity.

WHAT EXERCISES SHOULD YOU INCLUDE?

Begin with lower-body movements. The large muscles of your legs and core generate more heat, which raises your body temperature all over, Dr Lopez Samanes said. From there, match your warm-up to the specifics of your workout. “You need to practice the movements you’re going to do,” Dr Behm said.

If your sport or activity involves fast changes of direction – think squash or soccer – include agility-based and side-to-side movements. And if you’re about to take on something with an overhead component – such as basketball, softball or climbing – include quick movements that activate your shoulder complex, the network of muscles and tendons around that often-injured joint.

To get started, here’s a basic routine that works for a range of workouts:

Straight leg marches

From a standing position, kick your right foot straight up in front of you to about waist height, stretching your hamstring. Bring it back down, then repeat with the left leg, moving forward.

Forward lunges

Begin standing with your feet together. Lift your right foot off the floor and take a large step forward. Bend your right knee and lower your hips until your right thigh is parallel to the floor – or until the position becomes uncomfortable, whichever comes first. Aim to keep your back straight, your upper body still and your back foot planted. Return to the starting position and repeat with the left leg.

Hip cradles

Sitting all day can tighten hip flexor muscles; this exercise helps activate and lengthen them. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, then take a step forward with your left leg. Lift your right knee and rotate your leg so your shin is parallel to the floor, grabbing your right ankle with your left hand near your hip. Keep your right hand on your right knee, gently “cradling” and pulling the leg up toward your chest. Release, step forward with the right leg and repeat on the other side.

Lateral lunges

From standing, take one big step to the right, keeping your toes facing forward and your heels pressing into the floor. Bend your hips and your right knee as you shift your weight onto your right foot. Continue until your left leg is nearly fully extended and your right knee hovers over the second toe of your right foot. Return to standing, and repeat on the left side.

Side shuffle with overhead reach

Keeping your toes pointed forward, your torso tall and your weight in the balls of your feet, shuffle to one side, then the other. As you do, raise your arms overhead and lower them, as if you were doing a jumping jack.

Thoracic spine rotations

This move opens up your mid-back and lengthens your chest, counteracting the effects of slouching over screens. Lie on your left side with your knees and hips both bent 90 degrees and your arms straight in front of you, palms touching. Reach your right arm straight up and over to the floor to your right side, rotating your trunk rather than your hips. Return to starting position, then repeat on the other side.

EXTRA CREDIT: ADD A FOAM ROLLER

If you have a little more time and want to take your warm-up to the next level, spend a few minutes with a self-massage tool such as a foam roller.

Some studies suggest combining foam rolling with a dynamic warm-up can further enhance agility and coordination.

Hutchins has her clients roll out first, to boost blood flow before beginning their dynamic movements; Dr Lopez Samanes reserves it for afterward, when warmer muscles may improve your range of motion.

A non-smoker’s plea

Opinion

January 25, 2023

As a concerned member of the public, I plead for all smokers not to light up openly and deliberately stand among the crowds while having to puff. It is clearly a violation of the law and a habit that one should not be proud of.

I know it is not my place to lecture someone on what is good or bad for their health but please smoke at your own time. Take your much-needed puff in solitary where there’s no one in the vicinity. You should seriously ask yourself if you can’t beat the majority of the non-smoker population then the only way is to join them. It’s never too late to stop smoking.

Not A Fan

Thai December exports fall worse than forecast

January 25, 2023

CNA – Thailand’s customs-based exports contracted for a third successive month in December, by a more than expected 14.6 per cent from a year earlier as global growth slowed, Commerce Ministry data showed yesterday.

The reading compares with a forecast fall of 11.5 per cent year on year for December in a Reuters poll and came after November’s 6.0 per cent decline.

For the whole of 2022, Thailand’s export value hit a record high of USD287 billion from 5.5 per cent growth, however, the ministry said in a statement. Among major markets in December, exports to the United States (US) dropped 3.9 per cent from a year earlier while those to Southeast Asia fell 19.0 per cent. Exports to China contracted 20.8 per cent from a year earlier, the ministry said.

In December, imports fell 12 per cent from the same period in 2021, compared with a forecast 8.0 per cent drop. Many imports will be used for producing goods to be shipped out again.

Thailand recorded a trade deficit of USD1.03 billion in December, versus a forecast deficit of USD1.06 billion. In 2022, imports rose 13.6 per cent, with a trade deficit of USD16.1 billion.

File photo shows a view of the port of Bangkok, Thailand. PHOTO: CNA

Korda says could barely hold racquet in painful Australian Open exit

January 25, 2023

MELBOURNE (AFP) – Sebastian Korda said he could barely hold the racquet before retiring in the Australian Open quarter-finals yesterday, but despite the disappointment is confident of “really big things” ahead.

The 22-year-old American hurt himself in the second set against Russia’s Karen Khachanov and called it quits when trailing 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 3-0.

He said he first felt the injury while playing the Adelaide International this month, where he made the final and forced a championship point before being beaten by Novak Djokovic.

But it had not bothered him in the opening four rounds at Melbourne Park until he hit a return in the second set.

“I had it in Adelaide and then it went away completely.

“Now it just came back out of nowhere,” he said. “I have never had any wrist issues before.

“I knew kind of what it was right away, right when I hit the return. I kind of felt that spot that I was feeling before.

Karen Khachanov and Sebastian Korda. PHOTO: AP

“Some forehands I couldn’t even hold the racquet. Volleying was almost impossible for me, so it was a little tough.”

Despite the pain of defeat, it was a hugely successful Australian Open for Korda, who made a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time.

Along the way he stunned two-time losing finalist and seventh seed Daniil Medvedev and world number 10 Hubert Hurkacz.

“There is a lot of positives. I mean, way more positives than even negatives,” he said.

“Today was tough, but hopefully it’s nothing serious and I can take care of it so I don’t have it in the future. Still a great tournament. My first quarter-final in a Grand Slam. You know, I’m going to go forward with my head high and keep working.”

Korda, whose father Petr won the title in 1998, said he took particular confidence from pushing Djokovic hard in Adelaide and beating top 10 players at Melbourne.

“A lot of confidence now. I mean, I have always been very close to winning the big matches, but now I’m getting through them,” said the American, whose sisters Nelly and Jessica are both champion golfers.

Borneo Bulletin OnlineThe Independent Newspaper in Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Sarawak

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