Sunday, November 10, 2024
30 C
Brunei Town

Temporary suspension of cross-border activities extended

With the consent 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, and in reference to a media release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on the extension of temporary suspension on cross-border activities dated January 30, the PMO announced that the temporary suspension on cross-border activities is extended by 14 days from February 15-28.

The temporary suspension applies to the entry of foreign nationals via land and sea ports, including transits through the Sultanate, except for entry and transit travels that have been granted approval by the Government of Brunei Darussalam. Entry and transits through the country may only be considered for transit vehicles with transit permits issued by the Government of Brunei Darussalam, provided that the travellers have attained endorsement from their local authorities for their travels, and will be subject to existing entry conditions and procedures for official government travel; students required to attend school; emergency services such as ambulances, police and military; and vaccinated foreign-registered transport operators with cross-country permits issued by the Government of Brunei Darussalam for import deliveries of essential goods.

It also applies to the entry and exit-country travels of commuters via land and sea ports for the purpose of work.

The conditions for the consideration of entry and exit travel mentioned above are subject to review by the COVID-19 Steering Committee.

For information, visit www.pmo.gov.bn/travelportal or contact the travel hotline at 120 or e-mail travelapplication@jpm.gov.bn.

Sungai Tujoh Post. PHOTO: IMMIGRATION AND NATIONAL REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT

Green Day front man’s beloved car recovered after theft

COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA (AP) – Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong (AP pic below) won’t have to walk that Boulevard of Broken Dreams anymore. His beloved vintage car has been found.

Thieves made off last weekend with Armstrong’s pearl white-finish 1962 Chevy II Nova in Costa Mesa, south of Los Angeles. Acting on tips, authorities found it abandoned in El Modena, an unincorporated Orange County area about 10 miles away, police said.

No arrests have been made.

Armstrong was overjoyed at the recovery of the car, which he’d owned for nearly three decades.

“Joy ride? Maybe… Who knows. We live in desperate times,” Armstrong wrote in an Instagram post. “Thankfully it’s all in one piece. No damage. Thank you, thank you to everyone that searched for my Chevy.”

The car was taken in front of a business, authorities said.

Armstrong released a YouTube video thanking everyone for sharing his tweet asking for help in finding the car. He also had a message for the thieves.

“To the people that stole it, the one thing is, like, I don’t want anyone to go to jail,” Armstrong said. “Just drop it off. Or, you know, and if you do get caught, I’ll bail you out. I just want my car back.”

However, two electric guitars and an amplifier in the car are still missing. They are a burnt-orange Aria Pro II V, a Roland GR-707 guitar/synth controller and a Fender Super Bassman amp head, the Orange County Register reported.

Toyota expands electric car parts production at two US plants

BUFFALO, WEST VIRGINIA (AP) – Toyota Motor Corp announced on Friday that it will further expand production of electric vehicle parts at plants in West Virginia and Tennessee in a USD90 million investment.

The announcement came three months after the Japanese automaker said it would invest USD240 million to add a production line dedicated to hybrid powertrains at its facility in Buffalo, West Virginia.

The latest upgrade involves spending USD73 million at the plant to annually assemble an estimated 120,000 rear motor stators, a key component in electric motors. “Toyota is moving quickly toward an electrified future, and West Virginia will play a critical role in that journey,” President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia David Rosier, said in a statement. “Our team embraces this challenge, and it’s clear Toyota has faith in our ability and trusts us to take the company to new heights.”

A year ago Toyota invested USD210 million at the Buffalo plant and added 100 new jobs to expand capacity of its four- and six-cylinder engine lines. The plant employs about 2,000 workers. Toyota also said on Friday that it will spend USD17 million to increase the production capacity for hybrid transaxle cases and housings at its nearly 400-worker facility in Jackson, Tennessee.

The automaker said it is committed to offering electric vehicles across its lineup of Toyota and Lexus vehicles by 2025.

In October, Toyota said it planned to build a new USD1.29 billion factory in the US to manufacture batteries for hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

A man at a Toyota showroom in Tokyo. PHOTO: AP

JAPEM still contactable

Rokiah Mahmud

Following the announcement on the closure of the Community Development Department (JAPEM) service counters from February 12-26, the department can still be contacted, according to a press statement.

For monthly welfare assistance and old age pension, blind, mental disabilities, leprosy and disabilities allowance, contact the Welfare Helpline at 141 or e-mail info@japem.gov.bn and bahagian.pencen@japem.gov.bn.

For Childcare Centre Registration and Orphan Registration counters, contact 2380704 or e-mail childcarecentre@japem.gov.bn or infor@japem.gov.bn. For Counselling Service, the public can contact 2333141 or e-mail kaunseling@japem.gov.bn.

For Administration and Finance Service, call 2331874. For the Kuala Belait Branch, the public can contact 3331590, Tutong at 4221040 and Temburong at 5221563 or e-mail info@japem.gov.bn.
Pusat Bahagia Brunei-Muara District can be reached at 8352345 and e-mail pb.bm@japem.gov.bn, Pusat Bahagia Tutong District at 4220264 or pb.tutong@japme.gov.bn, Pusat Bahagia Temburong District at 5221643 or pb.temburong@japem.gov.bn and Pusat Bahagia Eric Goh Kuala Belait at 3331827 or e-mail to pb.ericgoh@japem.gov.bn.

Documents can be submitted to a specified box at the lobby, on the first floor of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and designated boxes at JAPEM branches nationwide.

Taleban free detained UNHCR staff, journalists

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AP) – The Taleban released two foreign journalists working with the United Nations (UN) refugee agency and several of the aid organisation’s Afghan staff on Friday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said, hours after news broke about their detentions in the capital, Kabul.

The announcement followed a tweet by Taleban-appointed Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Zabihullah Mujahid, who said they were detained because they didn’t have documents that properly identified them as UNHCR. Mujahid said they were freed after their identities were confirmed.

“We are relieved to confirm the release in Kabul of the two journalists on assignment with UNHCR, and the Afghan nationals working with them,” the Geneva-based organisation said in a brief two-sentence statement.

“We are grateful to all who expressed concern and offered help. We remain committed to the people of Afghanistan.”

The development in Kabul comes as United States (US) President Joe Biden signed an executive order that promised USD3.5 billion – out of USD7 billion of Afghanistan’s assets frozen in the US – would be given to families of America’s 9/11 victims. The other USD3.5 billion would be freed for Afghan aid.

Taleban fighters walking on the frozen Qargha Lake, near Kabul, Afghanistan. PHOTO: AP

The order would allow US financial institutions to facilitate access to the money by humanitarian groups, which would then give it directly to the Afghan people.

One of the detained foreign journalists was Andrew North, a former BBC journalist who has worked extensively in Afghanistan. His wife, Natalia Antelava, had earlier issued a plea on Twitter for his release.

“Andrew was in Kabul working for the UNHCR @Refugees trying to help the people of Afghanistan,” Antelava said. “We are extremely concerned for his safety and call on anyone with influence to help secure his release.”

The Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) had also condemned the detentions and called for the immediate release of the journalists.

“The Taleban must immediately release Andrew North and all other journalists held for their work, and cease harassing and detaining members of the press,” the CPJ statement said, noting they were detained on Tuesday.

Massive spike in COVID cases not a cause for concern

James Kon

Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar yesterday urged the public not to panic over the massive spike in COVID-19 cases, during a press conference yesterday.

Brunei Darussalam recorded 1,125 local COVID-19 cases, the minister shared, bringing the national tally of confirmed cases to 21,579. No COVID-19 related deaths were reported.

Among the active cases, 99.8 per cent are cases in Category 1 (asymptomatic) and Category 2 (mild symptoms). Three cases are in Category 4, requiring oxygen assistance and are under close monitoring. The cases are all aged over 60 and have multiple health issues. One case has had three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, another double-dosed while the other has not been vaccinated. No Category 5 cases have been reported.

“One case, aged 16, is in recovery and was downgraded from Category 4 to 3 two days ago,” said the minister. No children aged 12 and below are in Categories 3, 4 and 5.

“The new cases were detected through 6,127 laboratory tests performed in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, 281 cases have recovered, bringing the tally of recovered cases to 16,891 and the number of active cases at 4,586,” said the minister.

Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health Haji Maswadi bin Haji Mohsin at the conference. PHOTO: JAMES KON

Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham also shared, “As of February 11, over 94 per cent of the populace had received at least one of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 45.1 per cent had been boosted under the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.”

He said the high vaccination rate for two doses and the low number of Category 4 and 5 cases are in line with findings from studies conducted worldwide, that a third dose of the vaccine provides additional protection against the severe effects of COVID-19. The elderly and those with chronic illnesses are strongly encouraged to get booster shots.

The bed occupancy rate in isolation centres nationwide is 27.4 per cent, with 650 active cases. Meanwhile, 3,936 cases are undergoing isolation at home.

The minister also revealed that there are currently 80 active clusters. The new clusters involve businesses or public places, while the rest are residential clusters.

On the control measure from midnight to 4am, the minister said, “Alhamdulillah, no violations of the nationwide directive were detected.”

Permanent Secretary at the MoH Haji Maswadi bin Haji Mohsin was also present at the
press conference.

Protest convoy approaches Paris defying police deployment

PARIS (AFP) – Thousands of opponents of coronavirus rules encamped on the outskirts of Paris yesterday resumed their way to the French capital in convoys of vehicles, defying a ban by authorities who are determined to prevent any blockade of the city.

Inspired by Canadian truckers paralysing border traffic with the United States (US), the demonstrators include anti-Covid vaccination activists, but also people angry at fast-rising energy prices.

Some drivers parked on the fringes of Chartres, about 80 kilometres from Paris, left at around 5am, according to messages seen by AFP.

Messages said the aim was to “create a mass of vehicles that the forces of order would find impossible to contain”.

“Faced with several thousand vehicles capable of stopping or being on the move” the police would not be able to do much, one message said.

Nearly 7,200 police and gendarmes “are being deployed over the next three days to enforce the ban on vehicle convoys”, Paris police headquarters said.

Police officers speak with a bystander at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. PHOTO: AFP

Paris police prefect Didier Lallement said they created a temporary car pound which, together with dozens of tow trucks, “will… put an end to any blockage”.

Police showed off their anti-blockage arsenal on Twitter, publishing photographs of loader tractors for the removal of barricades as well as trucks equipped with cranes or
water cannon.

Gendarmerie armoured vehicles have also been deployed in the streets of the capital for the first time since the “yellow vest” protests at the end of 2018.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex vowed to remain steadfast.

“If they block traffic or if they try to block the capital, we must be very firm about this,” he said.

Hundreds of cars, motorhomes and vans from Lille, Strasbourg, Chateaubourg and elsewhere stopped on Friday at the gates of Paris, but a police source said no convoy entered the capital.

They are demanding a withdrawal of the government’s vaccine pass, which is required for access to many public spaces, and more help with their energy bills.

“People need to see us, and to listen to the people who just want to live a normal and free life,” said Lisa, a 62-year-old retired health worker who joined a convoy of over 1,000 vehicles leaving Chateaubourg in the western Brittany region on Friday. Like other protesters, Lisa has been active in the “yellow vest” movement that erupted over a fuel tax hike before becoming a platform for other complaints against French President Emmanuel Macron.

Just two months ahead of presidential elections and with the government desperate to avoid violent scenes in the capital, Macron said on Friday he understood the “fatigue” linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This fatigue also leads to anger. I understand it and I respect it. But I call for the utmost calm,” he told the Ouest-France newspaper.

Savings help Australians’ financial wellbeing during pandemic

SYDNEY (XINHUA) – Australians are financially better off now than two years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic fully hit, according to a report released on Friday.

The study, compiled by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (MIAESR), a research institute under the University of Melbourne and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), noted that the median savings balance of households in December 2021 was 42 per cent higher than December 2019.

“There are more people doing better and less people doing worse compared to before the pandemic started,” said MIAESR Professor John de New.

“These increased savings represent Australians hedging against uncertainties – uncertainties related to COVID-19, as well as rising inflation and returns on savings,” de New said.

The latest Australian Consumer Financial Wellbeing report from the CBA analysed the transactional data of more than five million CBA customers to better understand the current financial wellbeing of Australians.

People walk through a shopping district in central Sydney. PHOTO: AFP

“Based on that data there have been high levels of financial wellbeing during the pandemic, with the latest research showing people are continuing to fare well overall,” de New said. CBA Executive Manager Financial Wellbeing Ben Grauer attributed the prosperous outcome to “a range of macro and micro economic factors, such as government support, and the ability to access financial support, such as deferring loans and small businesses accessing reduced lending rates”.

Despite the overall rosey prognosis, the latest savings figures were actually down from their heights of March 2021.

“The data shows Australians started to spend more towards the second half of the year, likely due to pent up demand from earlier lockdowns,” de New said.

“While this contributed to the slight year-on-year decline in financial wellbeing, the increased spending speaks to the high consumer confidence reported at the end of last year,” he said.

He also noted that the data was not consistent throughout the nation with the state of New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) reversing that savings decline in the final months of 2021.

“This is likely due to forced savings and precautionary savings directly related to the COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak, predominantly in NSW (and by geographical proximity, ACT) at that time,” de New said.

Brunei start year at 188th in FIFA rankings

Fadhil Yunus

The national football team remained in 188th place in the men’s world rankings following the first instalment of the year released by football world’s governing body FIFA.

The Wasps sit one spot behind regional rivals Laos and are viewed superior in terms of ranking than Sao Tome and Principe, American Samoa and Liechtenstein in the 210-member table.

The national team, which is an affiliated member under the Asean Football Federation (AFF), have Bangladesh, Bhutan and Mongolia on their radar to climb up the rankings.

Meanwhile based on continental rankings allocated for member associations affiliated under the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) only, Brunei remain 42nd out of 46 entries ahead of Timor Leste, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Guam.

Brunei have been largely absent from the international scene since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and recently pulled out of the AFF Suzuki Cup amid the second wave of infections.

The national team are also in the search of a new head coach after Datuk K Rajagobal and Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (FABD) agreed to part ways by mutual consent at the end of last month.

The Malaysian’s untimely departure prompted the need to fill the vacancy of a permanent national head coach for the fourth time in three years.

Former Singapore Under-19 head coach Robbie Servais was at the helm the last time Brunei made an international appearance against Mongolia during the first round of World Cup qualifying in June 2019.

With Servais staying as head coach for a six-week term, Paul Smalley, who also served as the head of player and coach development, succeeded the Dutchman in November that year.

However, his spell in the Sultanate ended after just seven months in similar circumstances as his successor amid the apparent challenges posed by the virus.

Both Datuk K Rajagobal and Paul Smalley left without taking charge of the side in an official international match, though the former led the teams out in two unofficial friendly ties last year.

The national team had underlined their intent of qualifying to the group stage of the AFF Suzuki Cup since their sole appearance in 1996 following the appointment of Datuk K Rajagobal.

Nevertheless, the country’s interest in the international scene has been revived following the participation of the under-23 team in the AFF Under-23 Championship tomorrow.

Volkswagen’s global deliveries decline 15.2pc in January

BERLIN (XINHUA) – Global deliveries by the Volkswagen Group in January declined 15.2 per cent year-on-year to 699,500 vehicles, Germany’s largest carmaker said on Friday.

Deliveries in January to China, Volkswagen’s biggest market, decreased by 18.3 per cent to 342,500. In Western Europe, the carmaker said it had delivered 192,500 vehicles, a decline of 3.9 per cent.

All Volkswagen brands, except for commercial vehicle manufacturer Traton, recorded falling sales figures in January. Sales of the group’s core brand Volkswagen Passenger Cars declined 17.2 per cent to 402,300 vehicles.

Deliveries of cars by Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi fell by 13 per cent to 135,400.

However, Volkswagen’s sports car brand Porsche only recorded a slight decline of 0.5 per cent to 24,300 vehicles.

Due to the global chip crisis, the German automotive industry continues to face difficulties obtaining microchips and electronic components, forcing companies to reduce or even temporarily halt production at plants.

Although Volkswagen expects this situation to stabilise during the year, the first half of the year is likely to remain “highly volatile and challenging owing to persistent supply bottlenecks for semiconductors”, the carmaker said.

All Volkswagen brands, except for Traton, recorded falling sales figures in January. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
1...7,4917,4927,493...7,860Page 7,492 of 7,860

Social Media

Category

Site Links

About Us

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

ns5006141