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Central African Republic alleged rebel appears at ICC

NETHERLANDS/AFRICA (AP) – An alleged coordinator of a predominantly Christian rebel group in the Central African Republic appeared at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the first time since he was arrested in Chad and turned over to the court to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka, a former government minister, is accused by prosecutors at the global court of coordinating operations of the anti-Balaka, which fought against the Seleka rebel group that left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands in 2013 and 2014 in Central African Republic.

He is the fourth suspect from the long-running conflict in the mineral-rich but impoverished nation to appear before judges at the global court.

The International Criminal Court headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. PHOTO: AP

688 IBTE graduates feted at three sessions

Izah Azahari

The final day of the 29th Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) Convocation Ceremony celebrated 688 graduates in three sessions yesterday.

The first session in the morning saw 99 graduates receiving their Higher National Technical Education Certificate (HNTec) and 143 receiving their National Technical Education Certificate (NTEC) from the IBTE School of Hospitality.

The second morning session saw 160 graduates receiving their HNTec and 87 receiving their NTec from the IBTE School of Information and Communication Technology. The final afternoon session saw 36 graduates receiving their NTec from the IBTE School of Energy and Engineering Satellite, while 163 received their HNTec from the IBTE School of Business.

The certificate presentation was carried out by members of the IBTE governing board as guests of honour with Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC) Haji Mohammad Nazri bin Haji Mohammad Yusof in the first morning session, Head of the Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC) Secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Hajah Siti Haziah binti Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin in the second morning session and Institution of Surveyors, Engineers and Architects (PUJA) Brunei Vice President, Chairman of the Architecture Division Ar Haji Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad.

The Best Student Awards were also presented by the guests of honour to Nur Afiqah binti Haji Suhaimi (HNTec in Hospitality Operations), Muhammad Abdul Qaiyum bin Haji Rabaee (NTec Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery and Services) and Md Farhan Azwar bin Md Sharol Shaheezam (NTec in Information Technology).

Meanwhile, the Student Special Awards were awarded to Henny Rena binti Abdullah Garisu @ Henny Rena bin Garisu (School of Hospitality and Tourism) and Mohmad Hafiz bin Mohmad Bekeri (HNTec in Informational Technology).

ABOVE & BELOW: Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC) Haji Mohammad Nazri bin Haji Mohammad Yusof; and Head of the Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC) Secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Hajah Siti Haziah binti Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin present certificates. PHOTOS: IBTE

Institution of Surveyors, Engineers and Architects (PUJA) Brunei Vice President, Chairman of the Architecture Division Ar Haji Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad at the ceremony

Suez Canal transit fees for ships will increase in May

CAIRO (AP) – Egypt said on Tuesday it will increase transit fees for vessels, including oil-laden tankers, passing through Suez Canal, one of the world’s most crucial waterways.

The Suez Canal Authority said on its website it will add 15 per cent to the normal transit fees for oil-laden and petroleum products-laden tankers, up from current five per cent.

It said the increases will take effect starting May 1, and could later be revised or called off, according to changes in global shipping.

The new increase are amendments to surcharge hikes imposed in March on vessels passing through the waterway, the canal said.

The canal said surcharge fees for chemical tankers, and other liquid bulk tankers will be hiked to 20 per cent up from 10 per cent, while laden and ballast dry bulk vessels will have their surcharges increase to 10 per cent.

Vessels carrying vehicles, general cargo, and heavy lift vessels, as well as multi-purpose vessels, will see a 14 per cent increase up from seven per cent, according to the canal.

Ballast crude oil and oil products tankers transiting the Canal are still required to pay a surcharge of five per cent of normal transit fees, it said.

On its website, the canal said the increases come “in line with the significant growth in global trade… and the waterway development and the enhancement of the transit service”.

Canal authorities have been working to widen and deepen the waterway’s southern part, where a hulking vessel ran aground and closed off the canal in March 2021. The six-day blockage disrupted global shipment.

About 10 per cent of global trade, including seven per cent of the world’s oil, flows through the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean and Red seas.

For Egypt, the canal – which first opened in 1869 – is a source of both national pride and foreign currency.

Authorities said 20,649 vessels passed through the canal last year, a 10 per cent increase compared to 18,830 vessels in 2020. The annual revenues of the canal reached USD6.3 billion in 2021, the highest in its history.

The shipping industry is still under pressure from the pandemic, and Russia’s war on Ukraine also added to global economic concerns.

Deltacron being monitored, says minister

Izah Azahari

“There is still not much data about Deltacron, a hybrid variant of Delta and Omicron,” Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar said at the daily press conference yesterday.

“What we do know is it is not more dangerous than Omicron at the moment,” said the minister. Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham added that the Sultanate is carrying its own monitoring.

“We have not detected the variant in the country, but, Insya Allah, the ministry will continue to monitor through gene sequencing,” the minister said.

The Ministry of Health will continuously analyse external developments in the COVID-19 pandemic, especially if there is a variant of interest or concern.

TotalEnergies to halt all Russian oil purchases by year-end

PARIS (AP) – French energy giant TotalEnergies said on Tuesday it has decided to halt all its purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products by the end of the year at the latest.

The French company said in a statement that it will “gradually suspend its activities in Russia” amid the worsening situation in Ukraine.

It stressed “the existence of alternative sources for supplying Europe” with oil.

TotalEnergies’ announcement comes almost a month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 – in contrast with other oil giants like ExxonMobil, BP and Shell whose exits were more rapid and dramatic.

TotalEnergies committed to ensure “strict compliance with current and future European sanctions, no matter what the consequences on the management of its assets in Russia”.

Russia represented 17 per cent of the company’s oil and gas production in 2020.

TotalEnergies holds a 19.4 per cent stake in Russia’s natural gas producer Novatek.

It also has a 20 per cent stake in the Yamal LNG project in northern Russia. The group said it continues to supply Europe with liquefied natural gas from the Yamal LNG plant “as long as Europe’s governments consider that Russian gas is necessary”.

TotalEnergies has also decided to put on hold its business developments for batteries and lubricants in Russia. It will provide no further capital for the development of projects in Russia, the statement said.

The group said it will terminate its Russian oil supplies to the Leuna refinery in eastern Germany by the end of the year, and import oil via Poland instead.

Australia say ‘courage’ will propel them towards World Cup

SYDNEY (AFP) – Under-strength Australia need courage and fight to beat Japan and keep their hopes of automatically qualifying for the Qatar World Cup alive, assistant coach Rene Meulensteen said yesterday.

The Socceroos face a must-win clash in Sydney today (5.10pm Brunei time) but the odds are stacked against them after a disastrous build-up.

Coach Graham Arnold tested positive for COVID-19 and was then slapped with a heavy fine for breaching his self-isolation. He will be back on the sidelines as long as he returns a negative test before kick-off, but his squad is missing a string of players due to coronavirus impacts or injury, including influential duo Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic.

Former Manchester United assistant Meulensteen admitted he had never experienced such disrupted preparation, but said Australia would handle it.

“Obviously unfortunate that Aaron and Tommy are not part of the squad but we have enough depth and I know the players will step up to the plate,” he said.

“Two good qualities of the Socceroos is the ability to fight but also play a really good game.
“We need to make sure we get the plan tactically right, have good focus and great concentration.

“But more than anything I think courage will win us the game – the courage of the players to do the right thing, to show their talents, which will cause a lot of problems for the Japan team.”

There is plenty at stake. Saudi Arabia sit top on 19 points in Asian qualifying group B, one clear of Japan and four ahead of Australia with two games each remaining.

A win today for four-time Asian champions Japan would book their place at a seventh straight World Cup, while victory for Australia would move them level on points heading into a final group match on March 29.

Australia’s head coach Graham Arnold. PHOTO: AP

Ukrainian theatre’s new drama? Making dumplings for soldiers

DROHOBYCH, UKRAINE (AP) – The theatre was empty. The seats were covered against dust. But it was a moment of drama that Alla Shkondina had prepared for all her life.

“There is a saying that when the guns sound, the muses are silent,” the Ukrainian actress said, standing on the bare stage with a shawl wrapped around her to protect against the chill.

“But we are not silent.”

She has retreated from the spotlight and now makes dumplings to send to soldiers, working alongside fellow artists in the Drohobych repertory theatre’s cafe. It’s one small part of a massive war effort by defiant volunteers across the country who often find themselves playing unexpected roles.

In the theatre’s warmly lit cafe, where snack bar popcorn has gone stale in the nearly month since Russia’s invasion, artists in this community near the foot of the Carpathian Mountains in southwestern Ukraine were rolling and filling dough to add to the thousands of dumplings they’ve sent to the front, or to displaced people in need.

“We did more than 3,000 pounds of meatballs,” said theatre director Mykola Hnatenko. “One hundred fifty kilogrammes of stewed cabbage with meat. More than 10,000 verenyky (dumplings) with potato. Seventy kilogrammes of filling for borscht. Eighty kilogrammes of fried fish. Two thousand pancakes with meat, and 500 sweet pancakes. Now we’ve decided to do more food with proteins like meat.”

Photos show volunteers preparing varenyky, stuffed dumplings, inside a theatre in the city of Drohobych, western Ukraine. PHOTOS: AP

In the courtyard, men, their hands blackened with soot, chopped wood for the cooking fires, overseen by the theatre’s deputy director, Sergei Havdjak, dressed in military-style drab.

Hnatenko seemed especially proud of the borscht the volunteers were sending to soldiers in places like the capital, Kyiv, where some areas have collapsed into brutal street-to-street fighting in near-freezing weather. He showed a cellphone video of a distribution of food in Kyiv, with a smiling soldier flashing a “V” for victory sign.

The food-making effort began on the second day of Russia’s invasion. It takes about 150 volunteers, including artists who have been displaced from other parts of Ukraine and now live at the theater, Hnatenko said.

“It inspires us that we also contribute somehow to the victory of the country,” he said.

The theatre workers have been shaken by the war and the accounts of people joining them after fleeing from other parts of Ukraine. Shkondina, the actress, described the children arriving with “adult eyes” full of terror, needing time to feel normal again.

“This is like the war I read about in books, or heard about from my grandparents,” she said.

While Shkondina was not used to making dumplings – “Because we are actors, we do not have time to do such things,” she said – she and others gladly put on performances for the displaced children whose families have fled to Drohobych, to help distract them from the war.

The performances drew from the nostalgia for life before Russia invaded.

On a gold-coloured sofa by a piano, in a pool of quiet near the bustle of food preparation, Vasil Nevolov sat alone and contemplated the past. After 50 years of living in Kyiv as an arts critic and professor, he abruptly had to flee.

“Everything around my house is destroyed,” he said. “There is no more supermarket. There is no more school.” So much of his life’s work now seemed to make little sense.

He worried about his grandchildren, who remained in Kyiv. They cannot leave. Their mother is a medical worker, their father a new member of the territorial defense. He is proud of their work, and proud of the work of the volunteers around him.

“Despite my age, which is already quite respectable, 74 years, I want to be useful to the theatre,” Nevolov said of his new community.

Consider all angles before deciding to invest in a friend’s business

Kelsey Sheehy

AP – Ben & Jerry’s was started by childhood best friends. Four grad school buddies founded Warby Parker. A long friendship-turned-partnership brought Clear to TSA security lines across the United States shopping trip between two pals launched size-inclusive clothing brand Universal Standard.

Yes, stories of successful business partnerships between friends exist. But for every Ben and Jerry, there are countless Janes and Joes ticked off at their college roommate for stiffing them on a business loan.

Mixing business and friendship can tank a relationship. So, if a classmate, colleague or childhood friend asks you to invest in their business, you need to look at it from all angles.

THINK LIKE A PROFESSIONAL INVESTOR

Don’t let your personal relationship cloud your business judgement. Evaluate the request as if it was coming from a stranger.

Does the business offer something unique? Does it fill a need in the market? Does the founder have business acumen? Do they have experience in the industry?

“A professional investor always wants to see where the ‘Aha’ is,” said clinical professor of entrepreneurship Dileep Rao at Florida International University. “Is this likely to become a major company? If the potential is huge, it makes sense from a financial perspective.”

You also need to know the terms of your investment and what you’re getting in return. If your friend is asking for a business loan, discuss the repayment timeline and interest.

If your investment is in exchange for equity, review the terms. Is it solely a financial transaction, or will you have access to and input on business operations? A handshake deal doesn’t cut it, even with – or especially with – lifelong friends. Make sure everything is in writing if you opt to invest so there’s no confusion down the line.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS STUDY THE BUSINESS PLAN

Examine the business plan to see if your friend has thought through all aspects of the business.

A thorough plan should include financial projections, current revenue, five-year projections and a detailed market analysis that outlines competitors and potential obstacles.

“You have to do your due diligence even if you have known the person your whole life,” entrepreneur Dimitrios Mano said through email. Mano co-founded Bloom Express, an online CBD marketplace, in 2019 with a close college friend while the two were still in school.

Outside of his co-founder, Mano did not approach friends or family for a startup business loan. The duo relied on personal savings and income from their day jobs.

“I have seen friends ruin 20-plus years of friendships over irrelevant business arguments and family members completely cut ties with one another because of a slight disagreement,” Mano said.

COMMUNICATE, BUT SET BOUNDARIES

The lines between business and personal affairs can quickly blur when you invest in a loved one’s business. While clear, frequent communication is essential, it’s important to draw boundaries.

When Mark Aselstine co-founded Uncorked Ventures, a now-defunct online club, with his brother-in-law, the duo set strict rules at the onset. “We decided at the beginning that we wouldn’t say anything to each other that we wouldn’t say to our nieces or nephews,” Aselstine said through email. The two relegated business talk to morning meetings, rather than casual outings.

“(We) had a rule to not talk about it at family events (and) dinners. Having those dividing lines, but open communication was key.”

DON’T INVEST MONEY YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE

“Don’t think you’re going to make a fortune if you help a friend out,” Rao said. In fact, don’t expect to make any money at all.

Roughly 20 per cent of businesses close within the first year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And most startups never deliver a positive return.

“Ask yourself if you are okay if you lose all the money you invested in your friend’s startup,” founder of Authentic CEO Amanda Sanders, said through email.

“If the honest answer is yes with no ill will toward your friend, then the relationship is likely to remain solid regardless of the business outcome,” she said.

OFFER SUPPORT, EXPERTISE OVER CASH

Money isn’t the only way to support a friend’s business. You can offer time, expertise and connections.

Pitch in at pop-ups and events. Manage their social media accounts. Hand out flyers to get the word out. Be a sounding board for ideas and issues.

Or just show up with takeout from time to time, Sanders said.

“Having a friend interrupt your endless work schedule and bring in the food and the fun is very important for maintaining sanity.”

Vietnam jails activist for online clips

HANOI (AFP) – A Vietnamese activist has been sentenced to five years in prison on charges of propaganda against the state, his lawyer said yesterday.

The communist state has strict curbs on press freedom and moves swiftly to stamp out dissent and arrest critics, especially those who find an audience on social media platforms.

Le Van Dung, who had discussed Vietnam’s socio-economics and politics in live Facebook and YouTube videos, was arrested in June last year on anti-state charges.

“Dung consistently rejected the allegations that his speeches on his clips were illegal,” said his lawyer Ha Huy Son.

The activist, who also discussed Vietnam’s sometimes fractious relationship with neighbouring China, was sentenced to five years imprisonment and five years probation. His lawyer confirmed that he would appeal.

The 51-year-old’s arrest last year – which came after he spent a month on the run – was condemned by international rights organisations. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said he was among around 60 people imprisoned for criticising the government.

“The Vietnamese penal code provision on propaganda seeks to intimidate people with the threat to shut up or be locked up,” said Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director, in a statement before the sentencing.

Zelenskyy appeals to Japan for more sanctions against Russia

TOKYO (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a virtual address to Japan’s parliament on yesterday, called on the lawmakers to keep up sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine to pressure Moscow into seeking peace.

Zelenskyy praised Japan for becoming the first Asian country to sanction Russia and asked Tokyo to go even further. He said trade with Russia should be banned and that foreign companies should withdraw from the Ukrainian market in order to prevent their investments from flowing into Russia.

Japan has acted tough against Russia since the invasion, in line with other Group of Seven countries, although Tokyo’s moves have triggered retaliation from Moscow. Russia this week announced it would discontinue peace treaty talks with Japan over the disputed Kuril Islands and withdraw from joint economic projects there, citing Tokyo’s sanctions.

Zelenskyy’s speech was broadcast live in a parliamentary hall packed with hundreds of lawmakers, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

During his approximately 10-minute speech, Zelenskyy, appearing in his now trademark olive-colored top, also criticized Russian attacks on Chernobyl, currently entombed after the 1986 explosion, saying Russia turned a nearby nuclear waste storage site into a battlefield.

Imagine, he said, how long it will take to clean up the situation there when the war is over.

Zelenskyy, speaking through an interpreter who translated his Ukrainian into Japanese, also raised an alarm about the possibility of Russia’s use of nuclear and chemical weapons.

Zelenskyy criticised the United Nations Security Council, in which Russia and China are among five permanent members, as dysfunctional and in need of reform.

Zelenskyy’s address came hours before Kishida was to leave for Brussels to join other leaders of the Group of Seven countries on the sidelines of an emergency NATO leaders’ meeting.

Japan has expressed solidarity with Ukraine and provided it with humanitarian assistance and non-lethal military equipment such as bulletproof jackets, binoculars and medical equipment.

Japan, though notorious for its strict refugee and immigration policy, has also pledged to accept Ukrainians fleeing from their country.

Zelenskyy has made online speeches to lawmakers in several other countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada and the European Union, often striking a chord with audiences by putting Ukraine’s ordeal into the historical contexts of other nations.

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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.

© 2013 Borneo Bulletin Online - The Independent Newspaper in Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Sarawak

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