CNA – Spotify said on Friday it will suspend its streaming service in Russia in response to the country’s new media law.
The audio streaming platform closed its office in Russia indefinitely earlier this month, citing what it described as Moscow’s “unprovoked attack on Ukraine”.
Russia’s new legislation makes it illegal to report any event that could discredit the Russian military.
“Spotify has continued to believe that it’s critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to provide trusted, independent news and information from the region,” Spotify said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, recently enacted legislation further restricting access to information, eliminating free expression, and criminalising certain types of news puts the safety of Spotify’s employees and the possibility of even our listeners at risk.”
The service is expected to end in early April, according to one person with knowledge of the situation.
Another streaming service, Netflix, suspended service in Russia earlier this month after saying it had no plans to add state-run channels to its Russian service, despite a regulation that would require it to do so.
CNA – It is “foolish” to believe that Western sanctions against Russian businesses could have any effect on the Moscow government, Russian ex-president and Deputy Head of Security Council Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying on Friday.
The sanctions will only consolidate the Russian society and not cause popular discontent with the authorities, Medvedev told Russia’s RIA news agency in an interview.
The West has imposed an array of sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but one month into the war, the Kremlin said it will continue the assault until it accomplishes its goals of Ukraine’s “demilitarisation”.
Some of the sanctions have specifically targetted billionaire businessmen believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Let us ask ourselves: Can any of these major businessmen have even the tiniest quantum of influence of the position of the country’s leadership?” Medvedev said.
“I openly tell you: No, no way.”
Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev at the Gorki state residence outside Moscow. PHOTO: CNA
Medvedev said there are several grounds under which Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons, including an attack on the country or encroachment on infrastructure as a result of which Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces would be paralysed.
That demonstrated Russia’s “determination to defend the independence, sovereignty of our country, not to give anyone a reason to doubt even the slightest that we are ready to give a worthy response to any infringement on our country, on its independence”, he said.
However, negotiations – even in the most difficult situations such as those around Ukraine – are Moscow’s preferred path to proceed, he added.
Medvedev said opinion polls showed three-quarters of Russians supported the Kremlin’s decision to carry out a military operation in Ukraine and even more supported Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While downplaying the economic impact of sanctions, Medvedev said the Russian government will have to find “adequate solutions” on its own to spur the development of the aircraft, automotive and IT industries, among others.
“Now, it will be more difficult to tackle those issues, but on the other hand, we cannot rely on anyone,” Medvedev said. “In this case, we will have to solve those problems ourselves.”
He lashed out at those Russians who spoke against the invasion while staying outside Russia.
“You can be dissatisfied with some of the authorities’ decisions, criticise the authorities – this is normal,” he said.
“But you cannot take a stand against the state in such a difficult situation, because this is treason.”
Thousands of people were earlier this month detained at Russia-wide protests against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent protest monitoring group.
Three heads of families affected by floods in Temburong District and one fire victim family in the Tutong District received financial assistance from the Government 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’s provision for the Community Development Department (JAPEM) of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) yesterday.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin presented the donation in two separate ceremonies.
The minister first presented the financial assistance to three heads of families affected by floods in Kampong Puni in the Temburong District during a ceremony at the ministry’s Citra Budaya Hall.
Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan also presented the donation to the head of the fire victims family in Kampong Kandang, Sengkarai at a ceremony at Pusat Bahagia in the Tutong District. The event also saw the recitation of Tahlil and Doa Arwah for the victim who died in the fire.
According to JAPEM, a heavy downpour on March 5 affected low lying areas around Jalan Ujong Jalan, Kampong Puni in the Temburong District causing floods. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, a fire on March 16 destroyed the house owned by Rohaya binti Haji Abdullah, claiming the life of a 23-year-old differently abled individual. A 36-year-old individual sustained light injury injuries while attempting to save the 23-year-old individual.
ABOVE & BELOW: Photos show Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin presents the donation to recipients. PHOTOS: MCYS
The Student Council of Kemuda Institute yesterday presented donations to the Society for the Management of Autism Related issues in Training, Education and Resources (SMARTER) Brunei to help prepare for garage sales during Hari Raya to raise funds for the organisation.
Kemuda Institute’s Student Council representative, Sari Nurtas’a Sahira binti Haji Naweh led the delegation to distribute donations comprising clothing items.
The donation is aimed to support individuals with autism and encourage charity and working towards a good cause, while fostering ties among the students and the community.
SMARTER Brunei will hold a Hari Raya garage sale from tomorrow to April 1.
The public is welcome to join while baju cara melayu, baju kurung, songkok and hijab among the items on sale.
Students load the donated itemsKemuda Institute’s Student Council representative, Sari Nurtas’a Sahira binti Haji Naweh presents the donation to SMARTER Brunei
LONDON (AP) – The 25-foot tall sculpture of a shark crashing through the roof of Magnus Hanson-Heine’s house in rural Oxford, England, is now a protected landmark – and he’s not happy about it.
Hanson-Heine loves the installation, erected by his father and a local sculptor in 1986 as an anti-war, anti-nuke protest that still remains relevant now as bombs fall on Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin rattles his nuclear weapons.
But he said the Oxford City Council ignored his father’s other message this week when it designated the structure a heritage site that makes a “special contribution” to the community. Bill Heine installed the shark without the approval of local officials because he didn’t think they should have the right to decide what art people see, and the council spent years trying to remove the sculpture.
“Using the planning apparatus to preserve a historical symbol of planning law defiance is absurd on the face of it,” Hanson-Heine, a quantum chemist, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Bill Heine, an American expat who studied law at the University of Oxford, got the idea for the sculpture after he heard United States (US) warplanes fly over his house one night in April 1986. When he woke up the next morning, he learnt that the planes had been on their way to bomb Tripoli in retaliation for Libyan sponsorship of terrorist attacks on US troops.
A fibreglass sculpture known as the Headington Shark and originally called ‘Untitled 1986’, by British sculptor John Buckley stands appearing to crash through the roof of a house in the Headington area of Oxford, England. PHOTO: AP
The image of a shark crashing through the roof captured the shock civilians must feel when bombs smash into their homes, Magnus Hanson-Heine said. His father died in 2019.
Heine and his friend sculptor John Buckley built the great white out of fibreglass, then installed it on August 9, the 41st anniversary of the day the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. The shark’s anti-war message is just as important today as Russian bombs fall on Ukraine, Henson-Heine said.
“That’s obviously something that the people in Ukraine are experiencing right now in very real time,” he said. “But certainly when there’s nuclear weapons on the stage, which has been through my entire life, that’s always a very real threat.”
But the sight of three-quarters of a great white shark sticking out of the roof of a row of brick houses on a quiet suburban street isn’t always a serious subject.
The shark house has its own website, which features photos of Bill Heine and Buckley sharing a glass of drinks alongside the sculpture and a young passer-by in a pose that makes it look as if she’s eating the shark.
Hanson-Heine recently had it repainted to restore the blue-green shimmer to the shark’s hide – keeping it in tip-top shape.
He laughed when asked whether the shark’s head can be found inside the house.
“I believe it was an urban myth for a while that it was poking above the toilet,″ he said. “But no.”
SINGAPORE (CNA) – Bookings for flights out of Singapore, as well as overseas accommodation, more than doubled as of Friday, just a day after the country announced that it would re-open its borders to all fully vaccinated travellers.
Among the slew of border measures announced – which will take effect from 11.59pm on March 31 – all fully vaccinated travellers, as well as children aged 12 and below, will be able to enter Singapore with just a pre-departure COVID-19 test.
In addition, fully vaccinated travellers from Malaysia entering Singapore via private vehicles through the land borders are not required to do pre-departure or on-arrival tests.
The new simplified framework will replace the existing vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) and unilateral opening arrangements and instead, classify countries and regions into either the general travel or the restricted category.
Data provided by regional online travel platform Traveloka showed a surge in demand for flights and hotels following the announcement, with a 152-per-cent increase in average search volume and a 227-per-cent in average booking volume.
A Singapore Airlines passenger jet taxis along the tarmac at Changi International Airport terminal. PHOTO: AFP
Similarly, online travel giant Expedia said it had also seen a doubling of flight searches when compared to a day before the announcement was made.
It added that New York, Tokyo, Bangkok and London, were among the top most-searched destinations on its website.
With the relaxation of Singapore’s border measures, travel agencies told CNA that they are expecting a further surge in bookings, particularly for outbound travel, due to pent-up demand.
Luxury travel specialist Intriq Journey, which focusses on exotic destinations, said it received two confirmed bookings immediately after the announcement on Thursday.
However, prior to this, it had already observed a high demand for bespoke vacations to countries under Singapore’s VTL scheme.
The company had started a recruitment drive for local talents earlier this year to cope with the increasing demand and volume of enquiries.
“We anticipate even greater demand and inquiries in the coming days,” said the company’s co-founder Jess Yap, adding that she expects that enquiries will “easily” double very soon.
Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) held a Doa Kesyukuran ceremony at the Ash-Shaliheen Mosque to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Champion yesterday.
The ceremony marked the start of celebration for the golden jubilee of Champion oilfield’s (Champion) first production.
Deputy Minister of Energy Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Matsatejo bin Sokiaw was the guest of honour.
The ceremony began with a mass Maghrib prayer, followed by Sunnat Hajat prayer, the recitation of Surah Yaasiin, Tahlil and Doa Arwah.
A Doa Kesyukuran was led by Imam of Ash-Shaliheen Mosque Haji Mohammad Izzat Izzuddin bin Begawan Pehin Khatib Dato Paduka Haji Emran, prior to the mass Isyak prayer.
ABOVE & BELOW: Deputy Minister of Energy Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Matsatejo bin Sokiaw presents the waqaf to Imam of Ash-Shaliheen Mosque Haji Mohammad Izzat Izzuddin bin Begawan Pehin Khatib Dato Paduka Haji Emran; and the deputy minister at the event. PHOTOS: ADIB NOOR
The ceremony also saw the presentation of waqaf in the form of Surah Yaasiin books to the mosque by BSP Deputy Managing Director and Commercial Director Haji Md Azmi bin Haji Md Hanifah to the guest of honour who later presented it to Haji Mohammad Izzat Izzuddin.
The event was held to express gratitude for the blessings and achievements that Champion has made over the past 50 years and to seek Allah the Almighty’s continued blessings and protection for the well-being of Brunei Darussalam, and for BSP and Champion to continue contributing towards the country’s social and economic development.
Discovered in 1970, Champion started producing in 1972 and has since been one of the main contributors of oil and gas for BSP. As one of the largest oilfields and one of the oldest producing assets, Champion plays a critical role in ensuring that BSP continues to deliver an uninterrupted supply of energy to the nation.
Fifty years on, Champion still produces safely and responsibly, supporting BSP as the energy provider for Brunei and will continue to do so in the decades to come.
Deputy Minister of Development and Chairman of Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA) Dato Seri Paduka Ar Haji Marzuke bin Haji Mohsin, Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Acting Interim Managing Director of Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam Pengiran Haji Jamra Weira bin Pengiran Haji Petra, members of BSP Board of Directors, Brunei Shell Joint Venture (BSJV) companies’ Managing Directors, BSP leadership team and staff were also present.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Scientists have figured out why vampire bats are the only mammals that can survive on a diet of just blood.
They compared the genome of common vampire bats to 26 other bat species and identified 13 genes that are missing or no longer work in vampire bats.
Over the years, those gene tweaks helped them adapt to a blood diet rich in iron and protein but with minimal fats or carbohydrates, the researchers reported on Friday in the journal Science Advances.
The bats live in South and Central America and are basically “living Draculas”, said co-author Michael Hiller of Germany’s Max Planck Institute. About three inches long with a wingspan of seven inches, the bats bite and then lap up blood from livestock or other animals at night.
Most mammals couldn’t survive on a low-calorie liquid diet of blood. Only three vampire species of the 1,400 kinds of bats can do that – the others eat mostly insects, fruit, nectar, pollen or meat, such as small frogs and fish.
A vampire bat in flight. PHOTO: AP
“Blood is a terrible food source,” said, a bat researcher at Tulane University Hannah Kim Frank, who was not involved in the study. “It’s totally bizarre and amazing that vampire bats can survive on blood – they are really weird, even among bats.”
Some other creatures also have a taste for blood, including mosquitoes, bedbugs, leeches and fleas.
The latest work expands upon research by another team that pinpointed three of the 13 gene losses.
“The new paper shows how different vampire bats are from even other closely related bats, which eat nectar and fruit,” said a bat researcher at Virginia Tech Kate Langwig, who had no role in the study.
With such a low-calorie diet, vampire bats can’t go long without a meal. In a pinch, well-fed ones will regurgitate their food to share with a starving neighbour. They seem to keep track of who has helped them in the past, said Hiller, noting that vampire bats have complex social relationships.
“It’s not a kin thing,” said Tulane’s Frank. “They just notice and remember: You’re a good sharer, I will reward you.”
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russian budget airline Pobeda – a subsidiary of flag carrier Aeroflot – will significantly reduce its Boeing fleet following sanctions, Russian media reported on Friday.
Pobeda will downsize its fleet of Boeing 737-800s from 41 to 25 aircraft due to a lack of parts, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing a letter to employees from Acting Head Andrei Yurikov.
“We made a strategic decision… to maintain flight safety and for the sake of our common future we will reduce the fleet to 25 aircraft,” Yurikov said in the letter cited by RIA Novosti.
The same letter was quoted by business publications RBC and Kommersant.
The remaining aircraft would not fly until the end of the year so there would be enough spare parts for the company “until lost supply chains are restored”, Yurikov added.
Yurikov said that measures will also be taken to retain employees, including through “a shortened work week or furlough scheme”.
Western capitals have slapped Russia with a slew of sanctions over its military operation in Ukraine since February 24.
As part of the response, Russian carriers were banned from the airspace of the entire European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.
Russian airlines Aeroflot and S7 have announced a suspension of all international flights, while Russia’s largest airport, Sheremetyevo in Moscow, said it was cutting back its services as passenger traffic dropped.
Aeroflot’s passengers planes are parked at Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow, Russia. PHOTO: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal officials are extending pandemic relief that helps big airlines keep coveted takeoff and landing rights for international flights this summer at busy airports in New York City (NYC) and Washington, DC.
The move by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will let leading airlines keep their dominant positions at major airports into late October, even if they drop some international flights.
Normally, airlines that fail to use their assigned rights, or “slots”, at John F Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York, and Reagan National Airport outside Washington, risk losing them. However, regulators waived that rule in March 2020 when airlines cut flights due to the pandemic.
The FAA has extended the slot-use waiver four times, with the last grace period set to expire today. Instead, the FAA will extend the waiver for international flights only through October 29, it said in a decision scheduled to be published in the Federal Register next week.
The agency cited “the evolving and highly unpredictable situation globally” around COVID-19.
The FAA will also extend relaxed rules regarding flight schedules at Newark (New Jersey) Liberty Airport, Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles International and San Francisco International.
The waivers were supported by the trade group for large US airlines plus Lufthansa, British Airways and other big international carriers. Smaller airlines often oppose such measures, which they said make it harder for them to grow at the busiest airports.
A Delta Air Lines plane taxis down a runway at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York. PHOTO: AP
