STOCKHOLM (AP) – Two teachers were killed by a student at a high school in southern Sweden, police said yesterday.
The 18-year-old student was arrested at the scene on Monday in Malmo. The victims were two women in their 50s, police said.
The suspect wasn’t previously known to the police and had no criminal record, and police didn’t disclose how the teachers were killed. A motive hasn’t been established.
Malmo Police Chief Petra Stenkula said officers arrived and found the suspect and two victims on the third floor of the downtown Malmo Latin School 10 minutes after they were alerted, adding that the situation was then “under control”.
The Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications (MTIC) through the Brunei Darussalam Meteorological Department (BDMD) is actively undertaking several projects under the 11th National Development Plan (RKN-11) in ensuring the strengthening of infrastructure that supports more accurate weather monitoring, forecasts, advisories and warnings in the country.
The projects are the replacement and upgrading of weather radar network, Automatic Weather Observation System (AWOS) at Brunei International Airport and replacement of National Automatic Weather Stations (NAWS) nationwide.
This was said by Minister of Transport and Infocommunications Dato Seri Setia Awang Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yusof in his message to mark World Meteorological Day 2022, themed ‘Early Warning and Early Action’.
Dato Seri Setia Awang Abdul Mutalib said Brunei Darussalam with fellow members of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), every year on March 23, celebrates World Meteorological Day to commemorate the emergence of the WMO convention on this date in 1950. This celebration is also to acknowledge the important contribution provided by the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the global community.
This year, he said “the theme chosen by WMO ‘Early Warning and Early Action’ emphasises the importance of hydrometeorological and climatological information for disaster risk reduction”.
According to WMO, over the past 50 years, there were more than 11,000 disasters attributed to weather, climate and water-related hazards recorded, which resulted in more than two million casualties and economic losses of USD3.64 trillion. In terms of global daily average, there are 115 casualties with economic losses amounting to USD202 million.
Meanwhile, data from Atlas of Mortality and Economic Loses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes 1970-2019 published by WMO showed the number of disasters between 1970 and 2019 increased five-fold, while economic losses increased even higher, up to seven-fold. However, the number of casualties has decreased nearly triple since 1970, resulting from the increasingly improved early warning and disaster risk reduction strategies.
Minister of Transport and Infocommunications Dato Seri Setia Awang Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yusof. PHOTO: MTIC
The minister also cited the capability of issuing early warnings is the result of various technological advances as well as the result of research done over decades.
“Development in terms of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) such as the use of supercomputers and satellite technology have greatly helped in the preparation of faster and more accurate forecasts. The research also helped provide services according to the users’ needs, while the advancement of communication technology such as mobile phones, enabled the delivery of early warnings more quickly and can even reach remote areas.
“Brunei Darussalam through BDMD also emphasises the use of Early Warning System in providing weather warnings to the public. Colour-coded weather warning is a method that has been used since 2010. The same method is also used by most WMO member states and it is a method that is easy to understand and very effective,” the minister added.
The issuance of these colour coded warnings, he said, “ is also intended to support the efforts of National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) in making any coordination with relevant agencies in addressing issues related to national disasters. This includes increasing public preparedness and awareness to disaster risks and to take action when facing disasters.”
“The National Weather Briefing (NWB) is also conducted by BDMD four times a year in which it is a programme for user groups which include the safety and first responders, industry and economy and mass media group. This programme, among many others, enables users to make early preparation and take action in the face of any weather impacts such as heavy rain or drought,” the minister added.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of WMO Petteri Taalas stressed on this year’s celebration noting great achievements of national meteorological and hydrological services in improved early warning systems. It also highlights the vital work of the disaster risk reduction community in making sure that these early warnings lead to early action.
However, he also iterated “We cannot be complacent. We face many challenges, especially in making sure that early warnings reach the last mile to the most vulnerable who need them most.”
Climate change, he described, “is already very visible through more extreme weather in all parts of the world. We are seeing more intense heatwaves and drought and forest fires. We have more water vapour in the atmosphere, leading to extreme rainfall and deadly flooding.
The warming of the ocean fuels more powerful tropical storms and rising sea levels increase the impacts”.
“We expect this negative trend to continue. Greenhouse gas concentrations are at record levels, locking in climate change to continue for decades to come, melting of glaciers and sea level rise up to centuries. In addition to climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation is a top priority. Early warning systems are a powerful way to adapt,” Taalas added.
“Last year, WMO published a report on disaster statistics for the past 50 years. It showed that there were more than 11,000 disasters linked to weather, climate and water-related hazards, almost equal to one disaster per day. There were two million deaths recorded – or 115 per day.”
He added, “The number of disasters has increased five-fold in the past 50 years. And the economic cost has soared. But the good news is that the number of casualties has fallen dramatically. We are better than ever before at saving lives.” Supercomputers, satellites and advances in science, he added, “have greatly increased the accuracy of our forecasts. Mobile phone alerts and weather apps can reach even remote areas”.
WMO, he said, “is promoting impact-based forecasting, of what the weather will be and what it will do. That is needed to enhance the preparedness and early action of various user and customer groups, who are dependent on weather. But much more remains to be done. Only half of the 193 members of WMO have multi-hazard early warning systems in place. There is also a major need to enhance the impact based forecasting skills of a large fraction of members.”
He explained that there are severe gaps in weather and hydrological observing networks in Africa, some parts of Latin America and in Pacific and Caribbean island. This undermines forecasts local and globally. WMO has therefore created a financing mechanism known as SOFF (Systematic Observation Financing Facility) to drive investment in the basic observing system and fill data gaps.
WMO is an implementing partner in the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Initiative, which builds resilience among vulnerable countries and communities.
“WMO is spearheading a new water and climate coalition to focus more attention on water-related hazards and shortages. We have highly successful programmes and projects on tropical cyclones, coastal inundation, floods and drought. In Geneva we have joined forces with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction to form a centre of excellence on climate change and disasters.
“WMO has been developing a support mechanism to provide reliable and authoritative information to the UN humanitarian agencies to be able to optimise the humanitarian aid before and after a weather-related disaster. We are working together with financing institutions like the World Bank, European Union, UNDP, Green Climate Fund, to allocate more funding to early warning services and to ensure sustainability of the investments.
“WMO is committed to the 2030 international agenda on climate action, sustainable development and disaster risk reduction. WMO’s vision is that by 2030, we see a world where all nations, especially the most vulnerable, are more resilient to the socioeconomic consequences of extreme weather, climate, water and other environmental events.
“Early warnings work. They must work for everyone. They must lead to early action,” he said.
Forty-four pints of blood were collected at a donation drive held at the Water Services Department of the Public Works Department, Jalan Tasek Lama yesterday.
The initiative was held as part of the activities in ushering the World Water Day 2022, engineer at the Water Services Department Amal Aqilah binti Noorilham said. She added that it was also to answer calls to organise blood donation drives to help replenish supplies.
An encouraging response was received from the department’s personnel and the building’s security members, she said, adding that it was also open to the public.
Amal Aqilah urged the public to support blood donation initiatives organised by the public and private sector to help save lives.
“Wherever there is a blood donation drive, please support. Althought we are facing an outbreak of COVID-19, we can still do our part by being responsible citizens. We are trying to save lives, so adhere to the health guidelines and standard operating procedures, and Insya Allah everything will be fine,” she said.
Standard operating procedures were in place during the drive including providing and performing the antigen rapid test (ART) for all donors before they were allowed to donate.
ABOVE & BELOW: Donors at the drive; and a donor registers prior to donating blood. PHOTOS: LYNA MOHAMAD
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (AP) – Sedate half-centuries by Cameron Green and Alex Carey lifted Australia to 391 all out against relentless reverse swing from Pakistan on the second day of the third test yesterday.
Allrounder Green made a career-best 79 in his 12th test match and Carey scored 67 in nearly three hours before Pakistan claimed five wickets for 50 runs in the middle session and bowled out Australia just before tea.
Recalled 19-year-old fast bowler Naseem Shah grabbed 4-58 and Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4-79 as their pace and reverse swing on a slow and low-bouncy pitch netted four wickets in the session in hot conditions.
Green and Carey denied the home team in the first session by adding 88 runs, but Pakistan broke them up in the fourth over after lunch.
Left-arm spinner Nauman Ali ended the 135-run, sixth-wicket stand when Carey was plumb leg before wicket as the batter tried to play across the line and was hit on the front pad.
Australia’s Camron Green and Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. PHOTO: APPakistan’s Naseem Shah celebrates with teammates. PHOTO: AP
Carey faced 105 balls and dominated the spinners with his reverse sweep shots.
Naseem, who replaced allrounder Faheem Ashraf in the only change Pakistan made from the epic drawn second test, denied Green his maiden test hundred when he clean bowled the tall right-hander off a delivery which shaped into the batter and hit the stumps through a big gap between bat and pad.
Green showed lots of patience and used his feet well against the spinners during his 163-ball knock that spanned well over three and a half hours.
Earlier, Green’s and Carey’s partnership defied Pakistan’s ambitions of restricting Australia after the visitors resumed the day on 232-5.
Left-handed Carey successfully overturned a controversial caught behind decision while Green also completed his half-century in the first session.
Umpire Aleem Dar adjudged Carey out on 27 off Hasan Ali’s full-pitched delivery, but video suggested the ball missed Carey’s bat and might have clipped the off stump as wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan caught the bumped ball.
Carey raised his second half-century on the tour off 73 balls when he smashed two successive boundaries in offspinner Sajid Khan’s one over before pushing the ball to wide mid-on for a single.
Green, resuming on 20, reached his half-century off 117 balls when he drove past a diving Sajid for two runs.
DALLAS (AP) – Severe thunderstorms with reports of possible tornadoes spread damage across parts of North Texas on Monday, injuring at least four people, officials said.
Officials reported damage throughout Jacksboro, about 100 kilometres northwest of Fort Worth. There, photographs posted on social media showed a storm ripped the wall and roof from parts of Jacksboro High School.
The storm also struck the city’s animal shelter, but the amount of damage wasn’t immediately clear.
Fifty kilometres northeast of Jacksboro, near Bowie, damage was also reportedly widespread with reports of some people trapped in collapsed structures.
City manager Bert Cunningham said the worst damage was east of the town, with as many as four entrapments reported. Four people suffered minor injuries, said Emergency Manager Kelly McNabb.
A storm system had been predicted to bring strong tornadoes and large hail to parts of Texas on Monday, then move toward the Deep South, where forecasters warned a severe weather outbreak was possible.
Parts of central and east Texas, especially the Austin and College Station areas, also saw severe storms reported as tornadoes, the National Weather Service said.
Photographs posted on social media showed damage to buildings in the Austin suburbs Round Rock and Elgin. No injuries were immediately reported.
Several homes on Oxford Drive and Stratford Drive in Round Rock, North Texas were heavily damaged by a tornado. PHOTO: AP
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (AP) – A drive to vaccinate more than nine million children against polio was launched this week in four countries in southern and eastern Africa after an outbreak was confirmed in Malawi.
The urgent vaccination campaign has started in Malawi where drops of the inoculation are being placed in the mouths of children across the country, including in the capital, Lilongwe, and the country’s largest city, Blantyre.
The vaccination campaign will be expanded tomorrow to include the neighbouring countries of Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, according to UNICEF which is working with the governments and other partners.
Three more rounds of vaccinations will follow in the coming months with a goal of reaching more than 20 million children.
“This is the first case of wild polio detected in Africa for more than five years and UNICEF is working closely with governments and partners to do everything possible to stop the virus in its tracks,” said UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Mohamed M Fall.
“Polio spreads fast and can kill or cause permanent paralysis,” he said.
A child receives a polio vaccine, during the Malawi Polio Vaccination Campaign Launch in Lilongwe Malawi. PHOTO: AP
UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are supporting governments with the vaccination drive after it was confirmed in February that a three-year-old girl was paralysed by wild poliovirus in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe.
People most commonly contract polio when they drink water contaminated by the faeces of someone who carries the virus. Children under the age of five and those living in areas with poor sanitation are most at risk.
“A regional response is vital as polio is extremely contagious and can spread easily as people move across borders,” said Mohamed M Fall.
“There is no cure for polio, but the vaccine protects children for life. We are working with the WHO and other partners to make sure parents, as well as community and religious leaders, know how important it is that every child receives their vaccine.”
TOKYO (AFP) – Kevin Muscat was branded “the most hated man in football” by an opponent during his playing days but the Australian hopes perceptions are changing after making his mark as a coach.
England-born Muscat had a successful playing career as a tough-tackling defender with the likes of Wolves, Millwall and Crystal Palace, and won 46 caps for Australia.
But he was also involved in a series of controversial on-field incidents and was sent off 12 times.
In 2001, France coach Roger Lemerre described a crunching Muscat tackle that injured forward Christophe Dugarry as an “act of brutality”.
Now 48 and manager of a Yokohama F Marinos side playing attacking football in Japan’s J-League, Muscat told AFP he is keen to “be judged separately” and said “the perception is maybe starting to change in people”.
“I want to be involved in teams that play a certain brand of football and that maybe contradicts what most people perceive to my playing days,” said Muscat.
“I’m trying to forge my own way in terms of the way I coach, the way I manage and the way my teams play.
“That’s really all I can do.”
Yokohama F Marinos Manager Kevin Muscat during a J-League match against Sagan Tosu. PHOTO: AFP
AUSSIES CAN DO IT IN EUROPE
Muscat began his managerial career at Melbourne Victory and following a stint in Belgium took over at 2019 J-League champions Yokohama last summer after fellow Australian Ange Postecoglou left to join Scottish giants Celtic.
Muscat took Yokohama to a runner-up finish last season ahead of Andres Iniesta’s Vissel Kobe and after seven games this term they are second again, having stuck four goals past champions Kawasaki Frontale and winning plaudits for their fluid attacking football.
But more than changing impressions about himself, Muscat also hopes the same can be said about Australian coaches and he wants to see more of his countrymen given the chance to manage overseas.
After a slow start in Scotland, Postecoglou has propelled Celtic above fierce Glasgow rivals Rangers – where Muscat had a spell as a player – and taken the Bhoys to a League Cup title.
“It’s not doing any harm that Ange is at the forefront of people’s minds now and hopefully that transcends,” said Muscat.
“It’s been highlighted because of the nature and the size of Celtic, but hopefully, over a period of time, more Australians get opportunities not only in Europe but also in Asia.”
TORN EMOTIONS
Tomorrow, Muscat’s two worlds collide when Australia play Japan in a crucial World Cup qualifier in Sydney. He admits that he is “a little bit torn”.
The Socceroos badly need a win if they are to secure one of the group’s two automatic qualification spots for Qatar and avoid a potentially hazardous playoff against a South
American side.
In his days as a player Muscat was part of an Australia team that lost to Uruguay with a place at the 2002 World Cup up for grabs.
He believes the playoffs will not “faze” the Socceroos if it comes to that.
“Without doubt it’s not going to be easy, but qualifying for the World Cup shouldn’t be easy,” he said.
“I’m pretty sure that the belief in the squad will still be really positive, but it seems that performances have drained a little bit of confidence from the team.”
Muscat has been mentioned as a potential future Australia manager, having led Melbourne to two A-League championship titles.
But he is enjoying the “good challenges” of managing in the J-League and believes the change in environment “adds more to your armoury in the way you coach”.
“I haven’t found it difficult because I look upon these things as a challenge,” he said of working “90 per cent through translators”.
“What gets removed is the one-on-one emotion side of things with the players, but I’m working with a very good translator and I’m able to transfer as much of the emotion in the conversation as possible.”
The Ministry of Health (MoH) called for the public to donate blood to help the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital Blood Donation Centre and other blood banks nationwide to replenish their stock supplies.
The public can visit any nearest blood donation centre, and is advised to book slots through the BloodKad app.
For RIPAS Hospital Blood Donation Centre, the operation hours are Monday to Thursday and Saturday from 8-11.30am and 1.30-4pm; 8-11.30am and 1.45-3.30pm for the Suri Seri Begawan Hospital in Kuala Belait; and 9-11.30am and 1.30-3.30pm for the Pengiran Isteri Hajjah Mariam Hospital in Temburong District.
Blood donation drives will be held today at the first floor of Annajat Complex (9-11am); tomorrow and Saturday at the first floor of Mabohai Shopping Complex (10am to 3pm).
For information, call the centre at 2242424 ext 5745/6001/6002 or WhatsApp to 8775745 / 7375745 / 7175745 or email to bloodbank@moh.gov.bn, or follow their social media platforms.
Sonax Brunei is partnering with Moly-Care Motorrad Service Station, the subsidiary of the country’s distributor of Liqui Moly, as it ventures into the Motorrad (motorbike) industry.
Moly-Care Motorrad Service Station Director Rachot Smuthkochorn and Essof Enterprise Managing Director Mike Chua signed the agreement at the Moly-Care Motorrad Service Station office.
The collaboration looks to provide Moly-Care Motorrad’s consumers with a full range of SONAX in-house detailing services such as washing, polishing and coating with quality products and services, ensuring customers’ bikes are protected and aesthetically pleasing.
The tentative scheduled opening is in May, but the official announcement will be made in due time.
Moly-Care Motorrad Service Station was established in mid-2021, under the parent company Autotools Marketing Company (Brunei). Over the course of 17 years, Autotools has become one of the most progressive and respected tool and equipment retailer, distributor and after sales service provider nationwide.
Moly-Care Motorrad Service Station Director Rachot Smuthkochorn and Sonax Director Mike Chau. PHOTO: AZLAN OTHMAN
HOUSTON (AP) – Midfielder Brenden Aaronson (AP pic below) will miss the United States’ (US) final three World Cup qualifiers after injuring a knee during pregame warmups with Red Bull Salzburg in Austria.
After Aaronson got hurt on Sunday, the US Soccer Federation said he would report to the national team in Houston.
“After reviewing the updated medical information and in consultation with Red Bull Salzburg, we have determined that Brenden Aaronson would not be available to play in the upcoming World Cup qualifying matches,” the team said in a statement on Monday. “We were hopeful he would be able to recover in time; unfortunately, that will not be the case.”
Aaronson did not travel to the US. The American team said it was not sure whether he will be replaced on the roster, which has 26 players remaining.
The 21-year-old from Medford, New Jersey, had been the only US player to appear in all of the first 11 qualifiers, starting seven. He scored against Canada and Honduras in September.
Aaronson has three goals in 21 league matches this season.
The US also is missing midfielder Weston McKennie, defenders Sergiño Dest and Chris Richards, and goalkeeper Matt Turner.
