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COVID cases rise sharply in India for fifth day

NEW DELHI (CNA) – India reported more than 27,000 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, with infections sharply rising for a fifth consecutive day, but the chief minister of the capital New Delhi said there was no need to panic, citing low hospitalisation rates.

The country’s largest cities, including Delhi and the financial capital Mumbai, have seen a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, including those of the Omicron variant, which has triggered a fresh wave of infections in other parts of the world.

Although the number of active cases in Delhi has tripled in just the last three days, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that hospitalisations had not gone up.

“This means that most people who are coming down with (COVID-19) are not requiring hospital care. They are mild cases,” Kejriwal said in an online briefing.

“Cases are going up but there is no reason to worry. There is no need to panic,” he said.

Delhi was among hardest hit cities during the second wave of the pandemic in India last year, with hospitals running out of beds and life-saving oxygen, leaving patients gasping for breath.

India has recorded a total of 34.88 million COVID-19 infections, with 27,553 new cases in the last 24 hours, health ministry data showed yesterday. The country’s total death toll stands at 481,770.

Local government authorities in Mumbai city said thousands of people were conducting COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at home.

“We are noticing that people are self-quarantining if they test positive and at the same time many are also seeking support from the government-run isolation centres if they are finding less space at home to quarantine,” said Srikant Deshmukh, a senior health official with Mumbai’s municipal commissioner’s office.

A health worker collects a swab sample of a passenger to test for COVID-19 as others wait for their turn at a train station in New Delhi, India. PHOTO: AP

British family earns Guinness World Record for most albino siblings

UPI – A British family of six brothers and sisters with albinism was awarded a Guinness World Record in the category of most albino siblings.

Coventry, England, residents Naseem Akhtar, Ghulam Ali, Haider Ali, Muqadas Bibi, Musarat Begum and Mohammed Rafi received the title after Guinness World Records confirmed all six siblings were born with albinism, a genetic condition that causes a person to lack pigment in their skin, hair and irises.

Naseem Akhtar, whose parents also have albinism, said she decided to apply for the record to celebrate the family being reunited after several months apart during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Over time, I have now come to like my condition because it makes me very unique. Being Asian but being white, it gives me a unique outlook on life, it gives me a very unbiased opinion of society and humanity,” she told Guinness. “I like who I am, and the human being I became.”

Naseem Akhtar and her five brothers and sisters were awarded a Guinness World Record for most albino siblings. PHOTO: GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS

Student balances football on knee for six-plus minutes to break record

UPI – A young man in India broke a Guinness World Record when he balanced a football on his knee for six minutes, 16.98 seconds.

Hasan Askari, who attended Integral University in Lucknow, said long period of time existed between deciding to take on the record and his successful attempt.

“I dedicated two years of my life to achieve this feat. I was browsing the Internet one day and found a world record, which I wanted to break. After days and months of consistent practice, I filled the application, got approval and registered in the Guinness Book of World Records,” Askari told the Hindustan Times.

He said his teachers at Lucknow’s CMS Rajajipuram campus I, from which he graduated in 2020, encouraged his effort.

“Seeing my interest in sports, my teachers always encouraged me. It is because of their support and guidance that I have been able to set a world record,” he said.

Askari said he received a certificate in the mail naming him as the official Guinness World Record holder for longest time to balance a football on the knee.

Fire breaks out at South African Parliament

CAPE TOWN (AFP) – A major fire broke out at South Africa’s seat of Parliament in Cape Town early yesterday, sending a thick column of smoke into the sky and threatening the National Assembly building.

The fire was believed to have started in one of the older buildings in the Parliament precinct, leading to a security cordon nearby the cathedral where anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu was buried just hours before.

“The roof has caught fire and the National Assembly building is also on fire,” a spokesman for the city’s emergency services told AFP, requesting reinforcements at the scene.

“The fire is not under control and cracks in the walls of the building have been reported,” he added.

No one was believed to have been harmed and the cause of the blaze was not yet known.
Emergency services said that the “fire is currently on the third floor – initial reports indicate it started in the office space and is spreading toward the gymnasium”.

Firemen spraying water on flames erupting from a building at South Africa’s Parliament in Cape Town. PHOTO: AP

The fire broke out in a former Parliament building at around 0300 GMT yesterday.

Flames and smoke were visible above the building in the early morning, according to AFP journalists at the scene.

Concerned Cape Town residents quickly shared pictures of the fire on Twitter.

Former Cape Town mayor and current minister Patricia de Lille told reporters at the scene that the “actual National assembly is still safe”.

“Fire Service have the situation under control,” she added.

Firefighter reinforcements arrived at the scene, using a crane to spray water on the flames.

Emergency services feared the fire could spread swiftly through the old rooms, decorated with thick carpets and curtains.

The area around the fire in the upmarket neighbourhood was quickly cordoned off. The cordon stretched to where flowers were still displayed in front the nearby Saint George’s Cathedral, where Tutu’s funeral took place on Saturday.

Libyan security arrests foreigner possessing 32 hand grenades

TRIPOLI (XINHUA) – The Libyan Ministry of Interior on Saturday announced arresting a foreign national with 32 hand grenades in his possession in Garabulli city, some 50 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli.

The arrested individual faces charges of armed robbery, the ministry said, adding that machine gun ammunition was also found in his possession upon searching.

The arrested individual is part of a criminal group that is still at large, which is responsible for a number of armed robberies in the area, the ministry said.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.

A Libyan soldier patrolling in Tripoli, Libya. PHOTO: XINHUA

RCEP deal boosts confidence of enterprises

BEIJING (XINHUA) – Soon after midnight on New Year’s Day, a freight train departed from south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for Vietnam, a member country of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The RCEP – the world’s largest free trade deal – came into force on Saturday.

The X9101 train carried electronics, daily necessities and chemical products worth more than USD10 million. It is expected to reach Hanoi in 28 hours after leaving Nanning, the regional capital of Guangxi.

Also on early Saturday, 5.6 tonnes of imported reflective films from Japan arrived at a port in south China’s Shenzhen City, which will be used for the production of mobiles, digital cameras and other electronic products.

The implementation of the RCEP agreement has helped lower the cost of customs duties by CY6,000 (about USD940) for the films worth CY1.33 million, said Chen Guogang, a director from a Shenzhen-based supply chain service provider called Jiuli.

The RCEP was signed on November 15, 2020, by 15 Asia-Pacific countries – 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand – after eight years of negotiations that started in 2012.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, (L), and Minister of Trade Tran Tuan Anh applaud next to a screen showing Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan holding up signed RCEP agreement in Hanoi, Vietnam on November 15, 2020. FILE PHOTO: AP

With optimised trade rules among signatories, streamlined procedures and wider opening-up in the sectors of services trade and investment, it will bring tangible benefits to companies of member countries.

“The company and overseas partners both benefit a lot from following the trend of regional economic integration in East Asia, and I believe the RCEP will further promote this process,” said Li Dongchun, a manager of Guangxi Liugong Machinery Co, Ltd, a machinery manufacturer based in the city of Liuzhou in Guangxi.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the first 11 months of 2021 saw the company’s exports up by 70 per cent year on year to reach 15,000 units, of which 3,000 units were sold to ASEAN countries, said Li.

In central China’s Hunan Province, customs authorities issued RCEP certificates of origin to companies including Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Works Imp & Expo Co on Saturday.

“With the RCEP in effect, tariffs will be gradually reduced to zero. We will further expand our overseas market,” said Li Yuhong, a manager of the company that exports products to ASEAN countries, Japan and the South Korea.

Experts said that under the RCEP, a higher level of opening up, a larger market and better policies will bring more new development opportunities and potential, which will inject sustained momentum into the post-pandemic recovery of the global economy.

Towards sustainable transport

Danial Norjidi

During the fourth Ministerial Conference on Transport recently hosted by the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), a new regional action programme for 2022 to 2026 and a ministerial declaration were adopted.

The ESCAP is an inter-governmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region with 53 members, including Brunei Darussalam, as well as nine associate members.

The fourth Ministerial Conference on Transport was convened in Bangkok, Thailand via video conference from December 14-17, 2021 and featured a rethinking of transport priorities in the region towards more affordable, accessible, reliable, safe and sustainable mobility.

According to an ESCAP statement pertaining to the conference, Asian and Pacific countries adopted “a potentially transformative agenda for transport that would enable greener, smarter and more resilient ways to move people and goods around the region and across the world”.

It was shared that transport ministers agreed to the new Regional Action Programme for Sustainable Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific (2022-2026) (RAP), which provides concerted action to address rising freight and passenger volumes and rapid urbanisation with high motorisation rates, as well as encourages accelerated use of digital technologies, deployment of smart transport systems, and transitioning towards more inclusive and low-carbon transport systems.

In addition, the Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific “also calls upon all stakeholders to further intensify efforts to address the region’s lagging sustainability performance and enhance resilience to future crises after nearly two years of disruption to supply chains and transport connectivity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The statement added that the declaration and RAP are both fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The RAP is described as being “enshrined in the vision of competitive, environmentally sustainable and inclusive transport in Asia and the Pacific”, and “seeks cross-cutting impacts and mainstreams common elements across three overarching objectives, which are directly linked to the sustainable development goals (SDGs)”.

Specifically, the programme is geared towards advancing: efficient and resilient transport and logistics networks and mobility for economic growth; environmentally sustainable transport systems and services; safe and inclusive transport and mobility.

It states that, under these three overarching objectives, the programme clusters seven thematic areas of work, namely: rational land transport connectivity and logistics; maritime and interregional transport connectivity; digitalisation of transport; low carbon mobility and logistics; urban transport; road safety; and inclusive transport and mobility.

The ministerial conference featured a rethinking of transport priorities in the region towards more affordable, accessible, reliable, safe and sustainable mobility. Ministers also welcomed national and regional efforts to preserve and enhance transport connectivity during the pandemic; endorsed the Transport Research and Education Network; agreed to work towards a harmonised legal framework for multimodal transport; and encouraged a regional approach on sustainable multimodal freight transport.

Meanwhile, in the Ministerial Declaration, ministers of transport and representatives of the members and associate members of the ESCAP attending the conference adopted the RAP and endorsed the Transport Research and Education Network.

According to the ESCAP website, the establishment of a Transport Research and Education Network in Asia and the Pacific is a project implemented in 2020-2021 as part of ESCAP’s programme of work and in collaboration with the Russian University on Transport (MIIT), “to support collaborative development and exchange of training materials; to facilitate the dissemination of information and data and to strengthen evidence-based policy development”.

The declaration also mentions that ministers decided to work towards a harmonised legal framework for multimodal transport in Asia and the Pacific, including in the context of the implementation of the Integovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports, as defined by the agreement.

The declaration encouraged a regional approach on sustainable multimodal freight transport which provides coherence to the existing initiatives, creates synergies through partnerships and ensures high-level political affirmation with regard to sustainable multimodal freight transport.

In addition, ministers welcomed the national and regional efforts to preserve and enhance transport connectivity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic by using seamless and contactless solutions, such as electronic data exchange and pursuing regional and sectoral cooperation on the transport response and recovery strategies.

Also among the points shared in the declaration was that it had been decided to convene a ministerial conference on transport in 2026 to evaluate the implementation of the RAP and to consider a future programme of work.

UN ESCAP Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said, “By anchoring regional transport and connectivity in sustainability, there is a real opportunity to transform transport systems and services to follow a low-carbon development path, increase the use of clean energy, and adopt innovations and emerging smart transport technologies to improve environmental sustainability.”

Additionally, on the sidelines of the conference, ESCAP launched its flagship Review of Transport Developments in Asia and the Pacific 2021, which assesses the effects of COVID-19 on urban transport systems.

As the statement explained, the review provides recommendations on how urban transport system policies and plans can integrate the three key elements of environmental sustainability, social inclusiveness and resilience. It also presents the results of a modeling exercise on future scenarios, which found that energy efficiency and electric vehicle scenarios had the most significant impact on reducing emissions.

January 16 marks start of royal wedding celebration

Hakim Hayat

With the consent 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, the Yang Di-Pertua of Adat Istiadat Negara announced the royal wedding ceremony for Her Royal Highness Princess Fadzilah Lubabul Bolkiah and Yang Mulia Awang Abdullah Nabil Mahmoud Al-Hashimi.

The announcement was carried across Radio Television Brunei (RTB) last Friday evening.

The royal wedding events will commence with the Majlis Istiadat Bersuruh Diraja on January 16, followed by the Majlis Istiadat Membuka Gendang Jaga-Jaga and Majlis Istiadat Menjunjung Kurnia Gendang Jaga-Jaga on January 17; Majlis Istiadat Menghantar Tanda Diraja dan Pertunangan Diraja, and Majlis Istiadat Menerima Tanda Diraja dan Pertunangan Diraja on January 18; Majlis Istiadat Berbedak Pengantin Diraja on January 19; Majlis Istiadat Akad Nikah on January 20, Majlis Istiadat Bersanding Pengantin Diraja on January 23; Majlis Persantapan Diraja on January 24, and the Majlis Istiadat Membaca Doa Selamat dan Menutup Gendang Jaga-Jaga on January 25.

To commemorate the special occasion, all citizens and residents of Brunei Darussalam are required to hoist the national flag from January 17-25.

Nigerian police rescue 21 kidnapped children

LAGOS (XINHUA) – Nigerian police said on Saturday they have rescued 21 children kidnapped by bandits on a highway in the northwestern state of Zamfara after a gun duel.

At a press briefing in Gusau, the state capital, Mohammed Shehu, the police spokesperson in Zamfara, said the police received a distress call on Friday night, informing that bandits in their large number blocked a highway near the Kucheri village in the Tsafe local government area of the state, abducting an unspecified number of commuters from five vehicles.

Shehu said police operatives were immediately sent to the area and engaged the bandits in a fierce gun battle, and rescued 21 children who were heading to their school in the neighbouring Katsina state when the attack happened.

Unknown number of victims, including the children’s teacher and the driver of the bus they used, are currently held by the bandits, said Shehu.

He said the police have sent reinforcements to complement the efforts of the joint security operation currently working to rescue the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers.

The police spokesperson called on local residents to support the police and other security agencies with credible information about the hideouts, movements and other activities of the bandits.

There have been a series of gunmen attacks in northern Nigeria in recent months, leading to deaths and kidnappings.

Security forces guarding a school in Jangebe town, Zamfara state, northern Nigeria. PHOTO: AP

Three killed, 13 injured in Egypt due to unstable weather

CAIRO (XINHUA) – Three people were killed and 13 others injured in Egypt since Thursday due to windy and rainy weather, Egyptian Health Ministry announced on Saturday.

The ministry said a man was killed after being electrocuted by a lamp post in Kafr al-Sheikh governorate, north of the capital Cairo.

Another man was killed when a microbus overturned on the eastern desert road in Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate. The incident also left 11 others injured. A house collapse in the coastal city of Alexandria killed another person.

Egypt’s meteorological authority said the unstable weather conditions will continue in the North African country until tomorrow.

Egyptian men driving in the rain in Cairo. PHOTO: AFP
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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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