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Local filmmaker’s works showcase Brunei to international students

James Kon

Local filmmaker Abdul Zainidi (pic below) will have his films screened for Inter Asia Studies Programme students from National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

Anggur in Pockland, Dr Palermo and Vanishing Children Triangle will be shown for students to gain a more comprehensive understanding of Southeast Asia.

According to Abdul Zainidi, “My feelings are pride firstly to be chosen because my genre is unusual. I am also thrilled that through my films, more people will also know about Brunei Darussalam.”

Pakistan records highest number of daily COVID-19 cases

ISLAMABAD (XINHUA) – Pakistan reported 7,678 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the highest number of fresh cases in a day since the pandemic started in the country in 2020, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said yesterday.

The overall tally of the infected people climbed to 1,353,479 across the country, said the NCOC, the department leading Pakistan’s campaign against the pandemic.

Pakistan’s southern Sindh province has been the worst hit, with a total of 516,874 cases, followed by the eastern Punjab province where the virus was detected in 458,879 people.

A total of 29,065 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, including 23 patients who lost their lives to the pandemic over the last 24 hours, the NCOC said.

The country currently has 57,935 active cases, while 1,266,479 others have recovered.

UK retail sales sink in December on Omicron fears

LONDON (AFP) – British retail sales slid in December as consumers shunned the high street due to concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant, official data showed yesterday.

Total sales volumes dropped 3.7 percent last month compared to November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Sales had risen by one per cent in November as some consumers snapped up early gifts for the festive season amid fears over supply-chain problems.

“After strong pre-Christmas trading in November, retail sales fell across the board in December with feedback from retailers suggesting Omicron impacted on footfall,” noted Heather Bovill, ONS deputy director for surveys and economic indicators.

“As (COVID) restrictions in England meant more people working from home, there was a notable fall for fuel sales,” she said, adding that one quarter of sales were now online.

Lewa is best Bundesliga striker of modern era: Klinsmann

BERLIN (AFP) – Jurgen Klinsmann rates Robert Lewandowski as the best Bundesliga striker of the modern era with the Bayern Munich star poised to inflict more misery on struggling Hertha Berlin tomorrow.

League leaders Bayern start the weekend with a six-point cushion ahead of tomorrow’s game at Hertha, against whom Lewandowski has scored 10 goals in his last five games.

Lewandowski retained his FIFA’s ‘The Best’ male player title on Monday, two days after chalking up his 300th Bundesliga goal in Bayern’s 4-0 thumping away to Cologne.

“There is no doubt Robert is the best striker the Bundesliga has seen in the modern era,” Klinsmann, who won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany, told AFP in a video conference.

Klinsmann, 57, capped a glittering playing career, including spells at Tottenham, Inter Milan and Bayern, by captaining Germany to the Euro ‘96 title before coaching the German and USA national men’s teams.

He admitted being stunned when Lewandowski broke Gerd Mueller’s record of most goals in a single German league campaign by netting 41 times last season. “In Germany, we never thought it would be possible to get close to that record.”

With 23 league goals so far this season, Lewandowski remains on course to finish as the Bundesliga’s top-scorer for the fifth year running.

“The way he continuously keeps that hunger, that drive to score and win titles is at a completely different level,” added Klinsmann.

Call for price control on antigen rapid test kits

I would like to first applaud the authorities for doing everything they can to stem the tide of COVID-19, especially in the midst of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant. With nearly the whole population doubled dosed and a growing number of people boosted, I am optimistic that the pandemic will be a thing of the past, soon.

We are currently in the Endemic Phase, which allows for some breathing room due to the de-escalation of measures. However, the authorities have repeatedly warned us against complacency; and I have to agree. What we have seen in global news is testament that one misstep is all it takes for strict restrictions to return.

However, I would like to call on the authorities to extend its assistance to the public by controlling the price of antigen rapid test (ART) kits. On the market, it is not uncommon to see the same make of the kit being sold at vastly different prices, ranging from BND3 in certain shops to BND6 in others. If there is one thing that is essential in this phase, it is the ART kit. While public school students and government employees receive testing for free, not all sectors are afforded such benefit.

As a result, we are subjected to wild price fluctuations if the pricing is not kept in check.

Perhaps the better solution is for the authorities to take over the sale of ART kits, thus ensuring that they are affordable to those of us who need to prove our health status on a regular basis.

Boosted Citizen

Children below 12 starting to form majority of COVID-19 cases admitted to hospitals: Singapore

SINGAPORE (CNA) – Children below the age of 12 are starting to form the majority of COVID-19 cases admitted to hospitals, said Singapore Ministry of Health’s (MOH) director of medical services Kenneth Mak yesterday.

“The overall number of children below 12 years of age infected with COVID-19 is higher than the overall number of active COVID-19 cases above the age of 16 who have not yet fully recovered,” Associate Professor Mak said at a press conference by the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force.

“So to put things into perspective, our children in this age group in fact are starting to form the majority of cases that are admitted into hospitals for care.”

Both KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the National University Hospital are seeing more children with COVID-19 and non-coronavirus-related respiratory symptoms who need to be admitted, he added.

“Although Omicron is said to affect the upper airways more than the low airways in infected people, with the lower rates of pneumonia setting in, children are very sensitive to inflammation in the upper airways and this can cause wheezing and restlessness,” said Mak.

“So more children with Omicron infections are being admitted for treatment. But thankfully, they do not require long hospital stays or ICU care.”

The increase in admissions have filled up beds in paediatric wards dedicated to children infected with COVID-19, Mak said.

“The situation is compounded by the increase in numbers of children with non-COVID-19-related community respiratory infections who may also require hospital care,” he said.

Hot start in desert lifts Cantlay to share of PGA Tour lead

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – World number four Patrick Cantlay roared out of the gate on the way to a 10-under-par 62 yesterday and a share of the first-round lead in the US PGA American Express alongside rookie Lee Hodges.

Cantlay, the reigning FedEx Cup champion, played the first seven holes at La Quinta in seven under par thanks to five birdies and an eagle at the par-five sixth.

The American cooled off coming home, making just three birdies the rest of the way to join Hodges atop the leaderboard.

The 26-year-old Hodges, making just his 14th appearance on the PGA Tour, had eight birdies and a brilliant eagle at the par-five fifth at La Quinta, the easiest of three courses in use – along with the Nicklaus Tournament Course and the Stadium Course – for the tournament in the California desert near Palm Springs.

After birdies at 11, 12 and 13 Cantlay was tied with Hodges, and he had a golden chance to overtake him when he spun his approach shot to within five feet at the 17th. But Cantlay couldn’t get the putt to drop, and he missed a longer birdie chance at 18.

“I got off to a roll at the start and kind of made a bunch of putts and then I kind of lagged on the way coming in,” said Cantlay, who was runner-up last year to South Korean Kim Si-woo.

Elemental & celebratory

MILAN (AP) – Jeff Goldblum infused Milan Fashion Week with some levity as he shimmied down the Prada runway in a dark overcoat that cast a dramatic silhouette. The latest menswear collection in the two-year-old collaboration between Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons as co-creative directors was at once elemental and celebratory, presenting elevated versions of everyday pieces.

“We were thinking about meaningful fashion, pieces that make sense,” Prada said in show notes. “Clothes that make people feel important, and that are therefore, in themselves, important, not something to discard.”

Kyle MacLachlan and Goldblum respectively opened and closed the runway show that featured eight other actors, chosen by the designers to represent “real men, recognised figures”, enhancing reality.

Outerwear and work clothes formed the backbone of the collection, sturdy, durable pieces. Statement pieces like long overcoats were trimmed in technical mohair, thick along the hem, and ringing the upper arms. At times, shoulders were accentuated, and a belt pulled tight at the waist for maximum form.

The designers continued their exploration of the uniform, as the world makes on-again, off-again moves back into the office amid the coronavirus pandemic, proposing elegant, lightweight and nearly formless coveralls in silk tech, leather and cotton.

 

Festive rewards await Baiduri cardholders

Baiduri credit and debit cardholders can benefit from a joint promotion between the bank and Hua Ho Department Store in conjunction with the Chinese New Year (CNY)celebration.

Baiduri cardholders will be rewarded with one BND10 shopping voucher for every BND100 spent in a single receipt, up to a maximum value of BND30 per cardholder per day, while stocks last.

The offer is valid every Saturday and Sunday from January 22 to February 6 at Hua Ho Department Stores at Kiulap, Gadong 2, One City and Tutong District.

MPEC: i-Ready aims to enhance marketability, employability

The Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC) Secretariat would like to thank the writer, Road To Recovery, for the suggestion in the letter ‘Call for extension of i-Ready apprenticeship’ to extend the i-Ready apprenticeship tenure by a year to cushion the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the nation, as published in the Bulletin on January 15.

In this regard, we acknowledge the concern of the impact of the pandemic on the economy, which has led to a shortage of skilled manpower in the private sector. We also recognise that the i-Ready apprenticeship programme benefits both graduates and companies, especially during these trying times.

Since 2017, the objective of the programme has been to provide a platform for graduates holding qualifications from HND and TVET to undergraduate degree and above, to gain work experience and on-the-job skills to make them more “industry ready”. This is to help increase graduates’ marketability and competitiveness in the job market, hence enhancing their likelihood of securing employment. As such, the apprentices are highly encouraged to make full use of the programme as a stepping stone to seeking and securing permanent employment.

We would also like to encourage jobseekers as well as apprentices to access the various career services where JobCentre Brunei can support and provide help.

We would also like to assure the public that the MPEC, through JobCentre Brunei, is consistently stepping up efforts and enhancing career services to support jobseekers as well as employees and companies in the growing needs for manpower and job opportunities in the Sultanate.

Manpower Planning and
Employment Council Secretariat,
Prime Minister’s Office

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Borneo Bulletin is the leading English daily in the country. It was first published by Brunei Press. Today, Borneo Bulletin has become the foremost source of information on local and foreign affairs, and the region’s business news.

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