The Oiltown Safety Committee (OSCo) organised a Tahlil, Doa Selamat and Sungkai ceremony, joined by 44 orphans at the multipurpose hall of the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) Jefri Bolkiah Campus (JBC) in Belait District on Wednesday.
Penghulu of Mukim Kuala Belait Haji Abdul Afiq bin Zainuddin attended the event that marked OSCo’s third anniversary and the holy month of Ramadhan.
Donations, comprising basic necessities and money contributed by various groups and organisations, were handed to the orphans by the penghulu.
Among the organisations that contributed to the cause were: OSCo, Mad Riders MG, Naughty Skull MG, Wings Motor Gang Society, Hell’s Cowboy Brunei, Koleksi Azra Brunei, and Armstrong Gym.
OSCo Chairman Syarqawi Sunarto said the group had conducted similar charitable activities in the past few months, including a cleaning campaign at the Pandan 8 Terrace’s Futsal Turf.
He also said having formed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group had difficulties helping those in need during the period, adding that they recently resumed their activities.
He hoped the group will be able to continue to conduct similar events in the future while collaborating with organisations to better help the less fortunate.
AP – With just five weeks before King Charles III’s coronation, a British manufacturer of fine bone china is busy making “God Save The King” commemorative plates and mugs for the historic occasion.
Craftspeople at the Duchess China factory in the central England city of Stoke-on-Trent painted delicate gold edges on more teacups and saucers to make sure there are enough to meet the expected demand for royal souvenirs.
When Charles is crowned at London’s Westminster Abbey on May 6, the ceremony will be the United Kingdom’s first coronation since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the subject of the same ritual just shy of 70 years earlier. He inherited the throne when Elizabeth died in September.
Duchess China started producing china tableware in 1888. Its range of commemorative china features the Union Jack colours of red, white and blue, and come emblazoned with the words “God Save the King”.
The manufacturer said the design was inspired by china produced in the 1930s for the coronation of King George VI, Charles’ grandfather.
“We’ve had (orders) as far afield as New Zealand and over the other side, America. It’s really reassuring that the royal family are so well liked in all these different countries,” said the company’s managing director Jason Simms.
Kiln placer Nathan Davies prepares mugs for firing. PHOTO: AP
MONTREAL, CANADA (AFP) – More than a million Canadians were without electricity yesterday as an ice storm lashed the east of the country, knocking over trees and damaging power lines, a utilities provider said.
The environment ministry issued a freezing rain warning for Quebec province, with authorities warning that the buildup of ice “was heavy enough in some places to uproot entire trees”.
As of 12.30am, more than a million Hydro-Quebec customers were without electricity, the company said on its website.
“The outages were primarily caused by the weight of the ice which leads branches and trees to break and come into contact with power lines,” Hydro-Quebec tweeted.
About half a million of those without power were in Montreal, where city crews worked to clear roads of broken branches and downed wires.
Montreal police received a “high volume of calls related to the ice storm” while city mayor Valerie Plante called for vigilance.
In neighbouring Ontario province, more than 100,000 customers lost power, with “high winds, lightning strikes and the accretion of freezing rain” damaging equipment and felling trees, said electricity provider Hydro One.
Fallen branches and power lines seen in downtown in Montreal, Canada. PHOTO: AFP
LONDON (AFP) – Frank Lampard made a surprise return to Chelsea as caretaker manager until the end of the season yesterday, just over two years after he was sacked by the Premier League club.
Lampard, Chelsea’s record goalscorer, previously managed the Blues from July 2019 until January 2021, when he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
The 44-year-old’s unexpected move back to Stamford Bridge came after Tuchel’s successor Graham Potter was dismissed on Sunday with the club in the bottom half of the Premier League.
“We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge,” Chelsea co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement.
“Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club.
“As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.”
FROM LEFT: Frank Lampard; and Graham Potter. PHOTOS: AP
The statement said Lampard “has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line”.
The former England midfielder had been out of a job since January when he was sacked by relegation-threatened Everton after less than a year in charge.
Chelsea have nine league games remaining this season, starting with Saturday’s trip to Wolves, which is followed by the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against holders Real Madrid.
Lampard watched from the stands on Tuesday as a Blues side managed by caretaker boss Bruno Saltor started the post-Potter era with a goal-less draw against Liverpool.
The west London club are 11th in the table, 14 points adrift of the top four, despite having spent more than GBP500 million (USD623 million) on new players this season.
Ex-Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique reportedly flew into London on Wednesday to meet with Chelsea officials for talks about the full-time job.
In-demand German Julian Nagelsmann, sacked recently by Bayern Munich, is also thought to be a contender.
Lampard guided Chelsea to the 2020 FA Cup final, which ended in a 2-1 loss to Arsenal, during his previous managerial spell at the club, having joined the Blues after one season in charge of second-tier Derby.
CNA – Vietnam’s government said it will probe TikTok’s operations in the country from May, in a bid to ensure the video platform complies with regulations on content management, tax payments and commercial policies.
The popular Chinese-owned application, that carries bite-sized videos, has recently allowed “toxic, offensive, false and superstitious” content on its platform, ministry representative Le Quang Tu Do said in a statement this week.
“TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are all cross-border social media with international standards.
But when operating in Vietnam, the platform needs to abide by local regulations on both content and tax obligations,” Do said.
The company said in February it was told by the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information that a government delegation would visit its Vietnam offices in the second quarter.
The TikTok logo on a smart device. PHOTO: CNA
“This is an interdisciplinary inspection activity planned by the government and in line with Vietnam law for companies operating in Vietnam, not only TikTok,” TikTok Vietnam said in an e-mail.
The platform removed 1.7 million videos on the Vietnamese government’s request in the fourth quarter of last year, as they were deemed to be in violation of government policies, according to company data.
In a statement to media, TikTok Vietnam also said it had upgraded its guidelines expected to take effect from April 24 to be more transparent about its rules and how it would enforce them.
The app has nearly 50 million users in Vietnam aged 18 and above, the government said in a separate statement, citing data from a research company DataReportal.
AUGUSTA, UNITED STATES (AFP) – Scottie Scheffler will launch his bid to become just the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters when the 87th edition of the tournament gets under way at Augusta National.
The American world number one is the bookmaker’s favourite to slip into the famous green jacket when the four rounds are complete on Sunday evening.
The build-up has been dominated by the presence, for the first time at the Masters, of players from the breakaway, Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour and that focus is unlikely to fade.
Players who took lucrative multi-million dollar deals to sign with LIV are expected to learn the outcome of a London arbitration panel ruling yesterday on whether the DP World Tour was within its right to fine and suspend European players for taking part in LIV events, as the US PGA Tour has done.
The rancor, however, has been put aside on the practice range and players from both camps have avoided some of the barbed comments that have accompanied the disputes.
Scottie Scheffler plays his shot from the fifth tee during the Par 3 contest prior to the 2023 Masters Tournament. PHOTO: AFP
But with so much attention on the divisions, the sport is in desperate need of a feel-good story or a moment of golfing drama or brilliance on Sunday.
It is unlikely to come from five-time Masters winner Tiger Woods, who continues to battle with the aches and pains of his multiple injuries.
Woods has speculated this may be one of his final appearances at Augusta National but will be hoping to produce at least some nostalgic glimmers of his former greatness. Scheffler may not have the charisma and star quality of Woods, but his consistency over the past 14 months, which has seen him win six PGA Tour titles, makes him the man to beat.
The 26-year-old won the Players Championship in March and he warmed-up for the Masters with a hole-in-one during the traditional par-three contest on Wednesday.
Only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods have achieved successive victories in the Masters and Scheffler is trying not to think too much about a rare repeat.
Some 193 orphans from Mukim Sengkurong and 120 people with different abilities from the Society for the Management of Autism Related issues in Training, Education and Resources (SMARTER) Brunei received donations in a ceremony at Sengkurong Community Hall yesterday.
The ceremony was organised by the Kampong Jerudong ‘A’ Village Consultative Council (MPKJA), Kampong Jerudong ‘B’ Village Consultative Council (MPKJB), the Jerudong Kedayan Heritage Association (WARISAN) along with the YMRM Group of Companies.
Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih bin Abdullah was present to hand over the donations.
Chairman of YMRM Group of Companies Ramesh Jiwatram Bhawnani and spouse; and YMRM Managing Director Hitesh Ramesh Bhawnani were also present.
The ceremony also saw the recitation of Tahlil and Doa Arwah for Al-Marhum His Royal Highness Prince Haji ‘Abdul ‘Azim, the late son of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.
Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih bin Abdullah hand over a donation. PHOTO: MUIZ MATDANI
MEXICO CITY (AP) – The body of a American man who had been missing since February 11 has been found in a clandestine burial pit on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, prosecutors in the state of Baja California Sur said on Wednesday.
State prosecutor Daniel de la Rosa said a local man and his sister had been arrested in connection with the killing, which he said apparently stemmed from a dispute over a traffic accident.
The body of Wilmer Trivett was found by a specially trained dog near the quiet Pacific coast town of Todos Santos.
Trivett had been camping in the area in his camper truck, which was found burned on February 23.
Prosecutors said Trivett apparently was involved in a traffic accident with the two suspects some time ago.
De la Rosa said Trivett paid the two about USD2,500 for damages or injuries, but he alleged the pair decided it wasn’t enough and later abducted and killed him.
CNA – Top start-ups in India have called on the country’s competition watchdog to launch an inquiry into Alphabet’s Google for allegedly bypassing an antitrust directive by charging a high service fee for in-app payments, a filing shows.
The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) filing marks the latest tussle between Google and Indian startups, which have repeatedly criticised the United States (US) company for imposing unfair business restrictions that hurt smaller players.
“Google’s policy change of charging service fee even on transactions processed by third-party payment processors… has detrimental consequences for users and app developers,” the 15-page confidential March complaint by ADIF said.
Google, which declined to comment, has previously said the service fee supports investments in Google Play app store and the Android mobile operating system, ensuring it distributes it for free, and covers developer tools and analytic services.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in October imposed a USD113-million fine on Google and said it must allow the use of third-party billing and stop forcing developers to use its in-app payment system that charges commission of 15 per cent to 30 per cent.
Google later decided to start offering User Choice Billing (UCB) for allowing alternative payments alongside Google’s when purchasing in-app digital content, but the ADIF said in its filing that this new system imposes a “service fee”.
A woman walks past the logo of Google during an event in New Delhi, India. PHOTO: CNA
“The app developers will have to pay one to three per cent for alternate payment service providers and 11 per cent/26 per cent to Google, which makes the entire ecosystem unsustainable,” it said.
Details of the ADIF filing have not previously been reported. ADIF and the CCI did not respond to requests for comment.
Google, which counts India as a key growth market, faces other regulatory challenges, including a recent setback that forced it to change how it markets its Android system.
In its October order, the CCI said Google abused its market position and its mandatory imposition of the proprietary payment system hurts the ability of payment processors and app developers to undertake technical development and innovate.
Google has challenged this in an Indian tribunal.
ADIF, which represents Indian startups including digital payments firm Paytm and social media app ShareChat, in its March complaint alleged that Google was using the new service fee system to bypass the antitrust directive that ordered it not impose any “unfair and disproportionate” conditions.
“The policy of UCB is unfair and the same would lead to unjust enrichment to Google,” the filing said.
