KUALA LUMPUR (BERNAMA) – Malaysia has announced a new investment of MYR32 billion from DRB-Hicom Bhd to develop the Automotive High-Technology Valley in Proton City, Tanjung Malim, Perak.
Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob said the investment from DRB-Hicom would create 370,000 jobs during the development phase and 161,000 during the
operational phase.
He also shared that the performance of government-linked companies and government-linked investment companies was improving for 2021.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) held a tree planting and cleaning campaign around its premises to support the national efforts in implementing Brunei Darussalam National Climate Change Policy (BNCCP) yesterday.
Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman was the guest of honour.
The event began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah followed by a speech from Acting Director of Administration at the MoRA Mohammad Sofian bin Haji Basri.
The event continued with the tree planting by the minister, Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pengiran Dato Seri Paduka Haji Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar, Permanent Secretary at the MoRA Haji Mohammad Rosli bin Haji Ibrahim and Religious Teachers University College of Seri Begawan (KUPU SB) Ra’es Dr Haji Adanan bin Haji Basar, officers and staff at the ministry.
The tree planting activity is part of green protocol to reduce the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions at civil service premises. It also aims to raise awareness of climate change and to ensure environmental sustainability.
Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman joined a Ministry of Religious Affairs’ (MoRA) tree planting and cleaning campaign to support Brunei Darussalam National Climate Change Policy (BNCCP) yesterday.Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Pengiran Dato Seri Paduka Haji Bahrom bin Pengiran Haji Bahar plants a sapling. PHOTOS: ROKIAH MAHMUD
LVIV, UKRAINE (AP) – Ukrainian authorities said yesterday that Russia’s military bombed an art school sheltering some 400 people in the embattled port city of Mariupol, where Ukraine’s president said an unrelenting Russian siege would be remembered for centuries to come.
It was the second time in less than a week that city officials reported a public building where residents had taken shelter coming under attack. A bomb hit a Mariupol theatre with more than 1,300 believed to be inside on Wednesday, local officials said.
There was no immediate word on casualties from the reported strike on the art school, which The Associated Press could not independently verify. Ukrainian officials have not given an update on the search of the theatre since Friday, when they said at least 130 had been rescued.
Mariupol, a strategic port on the Azov Sea, has been under bombardment for at least three weeks and has seen some of the worst horrors of the war in Ukraine. At least 2,300 people have died, some of whom had to be buried in mass graves, and food, water and electricity have run low.
“To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation. “The more Russia uses terror against Ukraine, the worse the consequences for it.”
In recent days, Russian forces have battled their way into the city, cutting it off from the Azov Sea and devastating a massive steel plant. The fall of Mariupol would be an important but costly victory for the Russians, whose advance is largely stalled outside other major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.
People march during a rally against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. PHOTO: AP
In major cities across Ukraine, hundreds of men, women and children have been killed in Russian bombardments, while millions of civilians have raced to underground shelters or fled the country.
In the capital, Kyiv, at least 20 babies carried by Ukrainian surrogate mothers are stuck in a makeshift bomb shelter, waiting for parents to travel into the war zone to pick them up. The infants – some just days old – are being cared for by nurses who cannot leave the shelter because of constant shelling by Russian troops who are trying to encircle the city.
In the hard-hit northeastern city of Sumy, authorities evacuated 71 orphaned babies through a humanitarian corridor, regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy said yesterday. He said the orphans, most of whom need constant medical attention, would be taken to an unspecified foreign country.
Russian shelling killed at least five civilians, including a nine-year-old boy, in Kharkiv, an eastern city that is Ukraine’s second-largest.
The British Defence Ministry said Russia’s failure to gain control of the skies over Ukraine “has significantly blunted their operational progress”, forcing them to rely on stand-off weapons launched from the relative safety of Russian airspace.
A rocket attack on the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv last Friday killed as many as 40 marines, a Ukrainian military official told The New York Times, making it one of the deadliest single attacks on Ukrainian forces.
NEW YORK (AP) – Baker Hughes, a major United States (US) oil services company, added its name on Saturday to the growing list of US companies that are pulling back from Russia in response to Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Baker Hughes made its announcement one day after similar moves by oil rivals Halliburton Co and Schlumberger. The steps from the Houston-based businesses come as they respond to US sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In its statement, Baker Hughes, which also has headquarters in London, said the company is suspending new investments for its Russia operation and is complying with applicable laws and sanctions as it fulfils current contractual obligations.
It said the announcement follows an internal decision made with its board and shared with its top leadership team. “The crisis in Ukraine is of grave concern, and we strongly support a diplomatic solution,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Baker Hughes Lorenzo Simonelli.
Halliburton announced on Friday that it suspended future business in Russia. Halliburton said it halted all shipments of specific sanctioned parts and products to Russia several weeks ago and that it will prioritise safety and reliability as it winds down its remaining operations in the country.
The Halliburton logo displayed above a trading post on the New York Stock Exchange floor. PHOTO: AP
Schlumberger said that it had suspended investment and technology deployment to its Russia operations.
“Safety and security are at the core of who we are as a company, and we urge a cessation of the conflict and a restoration of safety and security in the region,” Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Peuch said in a statement.
As the war continues, and the deadly violence and humanitarian crisis worsens, companies that remain are under increasing pressure to leave.
More than 400 US and other multinational firms have pulled out of Russia, either permanently or temporarily, according to Senior Associate Dean for Executive Programs at Yale University’s School of Management Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who has publicised a list of corporate actions in Russia.
Oil companies ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP, along with some major tech companies like Dell and Facebook, were among the first to announce their withdrawal or suspension of operations.
Many others, including McDonald’s, Starbucks and Estee Lauder, followed. Roughly 30 companies remain.
“Lust drives us to commit sin and take part in vice with some thinking that they only need to repent for major sins and ignore the minor ones. One should practise good deeds to be blessed by Allah the Almighty and to replace sinful acts with pious activities. Allah the Almighty is forgiving and His forgiveness is vast. We will be lost without Allah the Almighty’s forgiveness.”
This was said by Grade 1 Imam at Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque in Tutong District Mohammad Waiz bin Tajuddin in a religious talk titled ‘Repent and Hope’ at the 27th edition Munajat night on Saturday.
Mohammad Waiz said to repent, “one has to stop sinful acts, have remorse and be determined not to commit such acts again. If we repent and better ourselves, we must live in accordance with the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)”.
The speaker added, “we should emulate the lifestyles of the faithful. Muslims are encouraged to attend talks to gain guidance in life and be acquainted with the pious. When we invite people to become pious, we also strive to do the same. We have the chance to be better and seek blessings from Allah the Almighty through repentance.”
The weekly Munajat night is organised by the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA). The latest edition saw participation from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and 62 mosques nationwide. The event invited citizens and residents to seek forgiveness from Allah the Almighty via Munajat, Istighfar, recitation of Surah Yaasiin, Zikir, Selawat and supplication against calamity and diseases.
Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud and 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 at the event. PHOTO: AZLAN OTHMAN
Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud and 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 took part in the event.
Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan officiated the event with the recitation of Sayyidul Istighfar and Surah Al-Fatihah.Surah Yaasiin was recited by a member of Firqah Al-Anwar group under the Youth Religious Programme at the MCYS Abdul Qawiyyel Azeez bin Haji Abdul Rajid virtually from Suri Seri Begawan Raja Pengiran Anak Damit Mosque in Kampong Manggis Madang.
The Doa Munajat was recited by Syariah High Court Judge Haji Muhammad Bahrin bin Haji Alias.
There was also recitation of Asmaa Ul-Husna and Selawat led by Religious Youth Bureau of Youth Transformation Community Club of the Youth Centre at the MCYS Haji Mohammad Ali Wafiuddin bin Haji Osman with officers and staff at the MCYS surau.
The virtual gathering ended with the reading of Doa Peliharakan Sultan dan Negara Brunei Darussalam by Mosque Affairs Officer Haji Kamarulzaman bin Kamis from Utama Mohammad Salleh Mosque in Bangar, Temburong District.
BRUSSELS (AP) – A car slammed at high speed into carnival revellers in a small town in southern Belgium early yesterday, killing six people and leaving 10 more with life-threatening injuries. Several dozen were more lightly injured.
“What should have been a great party turned into a tragedy,” said Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden.
The prosecutor’s office said that in the early stages of the investigation there were no elements to suspect a terror motive, and two locals in their thirties were arrested at the scene in Strépy-Bracquegnies, some 50 kilometres south of Brussels.
In an age-old tradition, carnival revellers had gathered at dawn, intending to pick up others at their homes along the way, to finally hold their famous festivity again after it was banned for the past two years to counter the spread of COVID-19. Some dressed in colourful garb with bells attached, walking behind the beat of drums. It was supposed to be a day of deliverance.
Instead, said mayor Jacques Gobert, “what happened turned it into a national catastrophe”.
More than 150 people of all ages had gathered around 5am and were standing in a thick crowd along a long, straight road.
People leaving the street after an incident at a carnival in Strepy-Bracquenies, Belgium. PHOTO: AP
Suddenly, “a car drove from the back at high speed. And we have a few dozen injured and unfortunately several people who are killed”, Gobert said.
The driver and a second person were arrested when their car came to a halt a few hundred metres further on.
Since Belgium was hit with twin terror attacks in Brussels and Zaventem that killed 32 civilians six years ago, thoughts of a terror motive are never far away.
But prosecutor Damien Verheyen said “there is no element in the investigation at this time that allows me to consider that the motivations of the two could have been terror related”.
The prosecutor’s office also denied media reports that the crash may have been caused by a car that was being chased by police.
King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo were in Strépy-Bracquegnies late yesterday to express support for the families and victims.
Since the early years of ASEAN’s establishment, leaders of its member nations have placed much importance of young people in the regional association’s agenda.
There are 213 million youth (persons aged 15-34) in ASEAN countries, constituting the largest ever cohort of a new generation of young people. It is expected to peak population at over 220 million in 2038, according to the ASEAN Secretariat.
The focus for a people-oriented ASEAN Community has provided opportunities for more participation and role of the youth in promoting and deepening ASEAN integration.
Over the years, youth have become more aware and involved in the ASEAN Community, thanks to the efforts of member states in developing them through various programmes at the regional and national levels.
These include student and youth exchanges, youth leadership programmes, and youth volunteerism opportunities. These initiatives have paved the way for a more coordinated development of youth in the implementation of ASEAN programmes and projects such as those under the ASEAN Work Plan on Youth 2016-2020 under the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Youth (SOMY).
ASEAN established SOMY in 2002 as a sectoral body consisting of national agencies responsible for youth development.
As Cambodia takes the helm of the ASEAN chairmanship this year, ASEAN is declaring 2022 as the Year of ASEAN Youth, in line with Cambodia’s 2022 chairmanship theme, “ASEAN ACT: Addressing Challenges Together”.
Under the online campaign platform #ASEANyouth2022, ASEAN invites young people and partners across the region to amplify messages on their leadership in community development throughout the year.
At the handover ceremony of the ASEAN Chairmanship to Cambodia last year, Prime Minister Hun Sen said, “Cambodia will strengthen the development of human resources to respond to the needs on the ground for community building, promote the participation of women and youth in building and maintaining peace, and develop an inclusive social protection system.”
The Year of ASEAN Youth will remain consistent with the post-2020 vision of the region’s youth development, focussing on fostering 21st Century skills and digital skills, and the institutionalisation of youth engagement mechanisms.
It will be guided by the soon-to-be-published ASEAN Work Plan on Youth 2021-2025.
The work plan encompasses five priority areas, which align with the domains of ASEAN Youth Development Index: education, health and well-being, employment and opportunity for all, and promotes and protects human rights of all including the youth.
In the spirit of One ASEAN Identity, youth as the current and future leaders of the region will come together and participate in the initiative.
At least four flagship activities under the ASEAN SOMY will contribute to the Year of ASEAN Youth 2022, namely the first ASEAN Youth Dialogue funded by the Republic of Korea; the 6th ASEAN Youth Video Contest in collaboration with ASEAN Foundation and US PROSPECT; ASEAN Youth Photo Competition; and ASEAN Youth Debate 2022.
Through these events and other youth and partner-led initiatives, ASEAN seeks to provide more platforms for young people with various backgrounds and interests to unleash their potentials and play an active role in addressing current challenges.
Towards the end of the year and through a series of consultations with various stakeholders, ASEAN expects to adopt a leaders’ statement on the Year of ASEAN Youth at participation and engagement, and ASEAN awareness, values and identity.
The 41st annual meeting of the Council of the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) was held via video conferencing recently. Enterprise Singapore Global Markets Director Eugene Toh chaired the meeting.
Council Directors from the ASEAN member states (AMS) and Japan as well as AJC Secretary General Dr Kunihiko Hirabayashi also attended the meeting.
Permanent Secretary (Economy) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE) Dr Hajah May Fa’ezah binti Haji Ahmad Ariffin attended on behalf of Brunei Darussalam with officers from MoFE’s Trade Division. The meeting discussed the proposed reform of the AJC, Work Programme and Budget for financial year 2022.
The meeting noted that the proposal for the reform is timely taking into consideration the development in ASEAN and Japan over the last 40 years including current development in ASEAN such as the launch of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025, the Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap as well as the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF).
Permanent Secretary (Economy) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy Dr Hajah May Fa’ezah binti Haji Ahmad Ariffin at the meeting. PHOTO: MOFE
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (AP) – A Virginia newspaper reporter was one of two people killed during a shooting early on Saturday outside a restaurant, authorities said.
Sierra Jenkins, 25, who covered education for The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after the shooting outside Chicho’s Pizza Backstage, according to officials.
Norfolk police detectives were investigating the shooting, which also resulted in injuries to three others. Jenkins was caught in the crossfire as she was leaving the restaurant, manager Rory Schindel told the newspaper.
No arrests had been announced as of Saturday afternoon.
A person walks by Chicho’s Pizza Backstage, in Norfolk, Virginia. PHOTO: AP
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND (AP) – Newport, Rhode Island, is in a bind: Should the city continue propping up its landmark Cliff Walk, even though chunks of the path keep crumbling into the sea?
Last week, coastal erosion knocked out nine metres of the paved trail, which winds its way beside Gilded Age mansions high above the rocky shoreline for around 5.6 kilometres.
The breathtaking views have made it one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions, and a central part of Newport’s identity.
Peering down at the collapsed section of trail, where a chain-link fence still dangles in space, City Manager Joe Nicholson and Public Services Director Bill Riccio pondered whether to rebuild or retreat. It’s a question they’ve reckoned with before in Newport. Superstorm Sandy washed out sections of the Cliff Walk in 2012, and they were repaired.
Nicholson said he wants to rebuild, and is asking Rhode Island’s governor and congressional delegation for help. Like many locals, he has walked the path countless times.
“It’s something that’s in Newport’s DNA,” Nicholson said.
Public Services Director Bill Riccio peers down at debris along the historic Cliff Walk in Newport. PHOTO: AP
He and Riccio don’t know how long repairs could take, or how much it might cost. It won’t be done in time for the summer tourism season. Engineers were on the scene last Tuesday taking the first steps to evaluate the site.
Riccio said freeze-thaw cycles and mud layers within the cliff’s shale layers possibly contributed to the collapse.
But scientists said climate change may have created the underlying conditions for last week’s dramatic coastal erosion event.
That’s because more frequent, intense storms can combine with sea level rise to increase the threat of erosion, setting the stage for a weather event to trigger a collapse, said Director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University Michael Mann.
The first step is restoring and building coastal defences, but ultimately we’ll be forced into managed retreat, he added.
“We are now seeing the devastating consequences of climate change playing out in real time,” Mann said via email.
America’s coastline will see sea levels rise in the next 30 years by as much as they did in the entire 20th Century, a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and six other federal agencies warned in February.
The relative sea level in Newport has risen about 15 centimetres over the past 50 years and is expected to rise another 25-30 centimetres in the next 30 years, NOAA said.
A major appeal of the Cliff Walk is – as the name suggests – that it’s along cliffs. It isn’t a sidewalk next to a calm pond. There’s surf and a churning ocean below.
“We humans like to put fixed infrastructure at the coast, particularly nice cliff walks around mansions to look at the views,” said an expert in coastal geology at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Jeffrey Donnelly.
“There’s always this tension between where we want to put things and the dynamic coast,” Donnelly said. That means the city of Newport should count on constant repairs to keep the walk where it’s at.
Director for The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island John Torgan anticipates cliff erosion will pose a growing challenge for the state’s coastline.
“I think The Nature Conservancy would generally favor retreat, meaning not trying to stop it but looking for ways to go inland and to do it greener,” Torgan said. “It’s super challenging and in some places, it’s impractical – but in due time, you know you can’t stop the ocean.”
Nicholson, the city manager, said he can’t predict the weather, hurricanes or disruptions caused by Mother Nature. And the fact that the walkway may get damaged again is not enough of a deterrent. A study estimated in 2018 that more than 1.3 million people visit annually. Nicholson thinks that number is higher now, with people seeking outdoor activities during the pandemic.
