Women’s achievements in Brunei Darussalam were recognised during an event organised by the Embassy of Timor-Leste in Brunei Darussalam on Friday.

The event, held in conjunction with International Women’s Day, was hosted by the spouse of the Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Brunei Darussalam Ana Guterres.

Permanent Secretary (Community and Culture) at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Hajah Nor Ashikin binti Haji Johari was the guest of honour.

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin

Nine COVID-19 cases have passed away in the past 72 hours, with two cases categorised as death due to the virus, said Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah at a press conference yesterday.

The minister said the Ministry of Health (MoH) is currently investigating the causes of death, and once determined, an announcement will be made.

Meanwhile, the two deaths were unvaccinated cases, the minister added.

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin

PHNOM PENH (PHNOM PENH POST/ANN) – The Cambodian Ministry of Health has reported only 97 new COVID-19 cases, nine of which were imported and all were confirmed to be the Omicron variant.

The ministry also reported 152 recoveries and one new death.

As of March 20, Cambodia had recorded a total of 134,986 Covid-19 cases with 130,956 recoveries and 3,051 fatalities.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping has committed another 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Cambodia, five million of which are expected to arrive late this month.

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin

KOTA BARU (THE STAR) – Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (K-KOMM) has issued a stern warning to all operators of television stations not to display any scenes that touch on religious and other sensitivities in the country.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the ministry would not hesitate to take action if there were television stations that violated the guidelines set.

“Under the current regulation, the government gives the authority to censor drama content to the television station itself.

“If we find that the television station does not follow certain guidelines, especially touching on issues related to religion, culture, customs and so on, then I will review the facility (censorship authority), and we may revoke it,” he told reporters after presenting donations to Form Six students in the Ketereh parliamentary constituency in conjunction with the “Back To School” programme yesterday.

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin

TAIPEI (AP) – Hong Kong’s leader said yesterday that the government would consider lifting strict social distancing measures as new COVID-19 infections in the city continued trending downward.

“I wouldn’t promise now that there’s room for adjustment,” Chief Executive Carrie Lam said. “But following a review, we have a duty to account for the findings in this review and the direction we will take.”

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin

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.

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin

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.

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) – Once a lavish mansion, the sprawling home of an Iraqi Kurdish oil tycoon was laid to waste in a barrage of missiles that struck near a United States (US) consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil earlier this week.

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said it launched the attack last Sunday, firing off 12 cruise missiles at what it described as a “strategic centre” of the Israeli spy agency Mossad – in retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two of the Iranian paramilitary force’s members the previous week.

CEO of the Iraqi Kurdish oil company KAR group Baz Karim Barzinji denies any links to Mossad. The missiles gutted his home but he said he is grateful his family was unharmed.

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin

UPI – An inflatable water park that emcompasses 138,451 square feet in the United Arab Emirates was declared the largest of its kind by Guinness World Records.

The Aqua Fun water park in Dubai was officially dubbed the world’s largest water park by Guinness World Records during celebrations surrounding Expo 2020, which runs until March 30 in Dubai.

More details on Monday’s Borneo Bulletin