BERLIN (AP) – Exploding fireworks killed two men on New Year’s Eve, one in Germany and the other in Austria, local media reported on Saturday. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
Waste not, says His Majesty
Azlan Othman
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 expressed concern that many government-owned buildings are abandoned and no longer in use.
In a New Year 2022 titah last night, His Majesty asked why this has happened.
“This should be tackled in a holistic manner by stakeholders for the assets to be utilised and to avoid wastage. In addition, all ministries are encouraged to implement a shared facilities method for expenses to be focussed towards attaining Brunei Vision 2035.”
The monarch also said under the 11th National Development Plan, the development agenda is going well.
Under the programme, many projects have been and are being implemented.
His Majesty also said there is nothing more meaningful than being grateful to Allah the Almighty in that we are able to usher in the new year.
“It is a priceless blessing, just like the blessings showered upon us such as good health, longevity and peace from Allah the Almighty.”
On the COVID-19 Pandemic His Majesty said the world is struck by the emergence of a new variant Omicron which according to the latest update, has spread all over the world, adding to global concern.
The monarch said as a faithful Ummah, we ought to see it as provisions from Allah the Almighty.
“In an effort to tackle the pandemic, Brunei has implemented a national vaccination programme, which has been running successfully, to the point where we are able to enter the Endemic Phase. In the Endemic Phase, activities previously restricted can now be carried out. However, we still need to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs).”
His Majesty also reminded the people not to be complacent, especially when the nation is loosening restrictions, as minor mistakes invite repercussions.
“Although we are also grappling with the pandemic of 2021, the nation is also blessed to be able to chair ASEAN successfully.
The ASEAN workforce is delighted to be able to step up efforts to develop the ASEAN community. ASEAN also strives for youth to inherit this region with sustainable development and in this context, the seting up of the ASEAN Junior Fellowship programme.”
Speaking on the nation’s achievement, His Majesty said the nation ranked 21st out of 214 nations in the Government Effectiveness Index based on Worldwide Governance Indicators 2021 by the World Bank.
“Such an achievement requires tremendous work from all parties involved,” His Majesty said, adding that “In an effort to provide job opportunities to locals, the provision of human resource that is marketable and employable is paramount.”
“Thus, a lifelong learning programme is relevant. The Ministry of Education and other relevant ministries have outlined a comprehensive plan for education to run smoothly in the Endemic Phase.”
On welfare, the monarch said, “We are implementing the National Welfare System (SKN) through which the application for assistance can be sped up and specified to those in need.”
His Majesty extended appreciation to all levels of the public service, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Royal Brunei Police Force, uniformed personnel including those in the private sector as well as volunteers and frontliners for their commitment and efforts to their tasks throughout 2021.
The monarch also expressed gratitude to all levels of the community for their cooperation in supporting the government in containing the pandemic and in supporting the national agenda.
The ruler also conveyed appreciation to friendly nations and international organisations for their cooperation and assistance, especially when the nation was grappling with the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I wish the citizens and residents a Happy New Year 2022 including those residing abroad and pray that Allah the Almighty will bless us with strong faith, good health, peace and prosperity for all,” His Majesty said.
World rings in 2022 under COVID cloud
SYDNEY (AFP) – The world ushered in 2022 after another tumultuous and pandemic-ridden year capped by new restrictions, soaring case numbers, and a slight glimmer of hope for better times ahead.
The past 12 months saw a new United States (US) president and a new Adele album, the first spectator-free Olympics, and dreams of democracy from Afghanistan to Myanmar crushed by authoritarian regimes.
But it was the pandemic – now entering its third year – that again dominated life for most
of humankind. More than 5.4 million people have died since the coronavirus was first reported in central China in December 2019.
Countless more have been sickened – subjected to outbreaks, lockdowns and an alphabet spaghetti of PCR, LFT and RAT tests.
The year 2021 started with hope, as life-saving vaccines were rolled out to around 60 per cent of the world’s population, although many of its poor still have limited access, and some of its rich believe the jabs are part of some ill-defined plot.
As the year drew to a close, the emergence of the Omicron variant pushed the number of daily new Covid cases past one million for the first time, according to an AFP tally. Britain, the United States, and even Australia – long a refuge from the pandemic – are breaking records for new cases.
In Rio, celebrations that usually bring three million people to Copacabana Beach, went ahead.
As in New York’s Times Square, official events in the “Cidade Maravilhosa” were scaled back – with expected crowds of revellers.
In contrast, Australia’s largest city Sydney pressed ahead with a firework display that lighted up the city’s harbour.
Evergrande revises payment plan for wealth unit investors
CNA – China Evergrande Group yesterday dialled back plans to repay investors in its wealth management products, in a move that highlights the deepening liquidity squeeze at the property developer that has failed to meet its offshore debt obligations.
Evergrande, whose USD19 billion in international bonds are deemed to be in cross-default by rating agencies after the developer missed a deadline to pay coupons earlier this month, did not pay offshore coupons due earlier this week.
The developer has been scrambling to raise cash by selling assets and shares to repay suppliers and creditors.
Evergrande said yesterday that each investor in its wealth management product could expect to receive CNY8,000 (USD1,257) per month as principal payment for three months starting this month irrespective of when the investment matures.
Once China’s top selling developer and now reeling under more than USD300 billion in liabilities, Evergrande had earlier not mentioned any amount and had agreed to repay 10 per cent of the investment by the end of the month when the product matures.
It had also agreed to make follow up payments to the wealth management product investors every three months afterwards, until the debt Evergrande owed to an investor is cleared, according to state media reports earlier this year.
Evergrande said in a statement posted on the wealth unit’s website yesterday that the company would “actively raise funds”, and update the repayment plan in late-March. The company did not elaborate.
The situation is not “ideal”, the statement said, as the development’s wealth unit tries to recover capital from the projects it invested in previously and, therefore, the original repayment plan was hard to implement.
Evergrande, in common with other heavily-indebted conglomerates, had issued high-yielding wealth management products to investors – a popular way of borrowing from mom-and-pop investors that sidesteps government lending restrictions.
As the liquidity crisis deepened at Evergrande, the firm’s wealth unit in late September missed a payment on one of its products, leading to protests by investors who fear they will never get their money back.
Some of its wealth investors had refused to accept the embattled company’s plan to provide payment with discounted apartments, offices, stores and parking units.
Adventurer, scientist become the first to ascend earth’s tallest mountain
UPI – A United States (US) adventurer and a marine scientist have become the first men to ascend Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world, Guinness World Records said.
Victor Vescovo, who previously made headlines when he became the first person to visit the oceans’ greatest depths in 2018-19, told Guinness he “thought it was time for someone to finally ascend the full extent of this massive mountain”.
Mount Everest is considered the world’s highest mountain, reaching a height of 29,031 feet above sea level, and Mauna Kea reaches only 13,802 feet above sea level, but is actually much taller – a total 33,500 feet – with more than half of the mountain submerged in the Pacific Ocean.
Vescovo said he was inspired to take on the challenge “because it allowed me to combine two of the strongest passions in my life: mountain climbing and ocean exploration”.
Cable thefts behind Internet disruptions
The recent telecommunications service outage in Kampong Rimba, Kampong Ayer and the Edinburgh Bridge area which impacted services for over 2,000 fixed and mobile network subscribers were caused by damaged fibre cables and cable cuts due to theft.
According to the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei Darussalam (AITI), the nation has recorded an estimated total of 85 cable theft cases from January to December 2021 causing disruption to telecommunication services.
Stolen cables have no value, said the agency. However, it said the damage caused by it can severely disrupt the livelihoods of the communities who depend on stable Internet connectivity.
This includes educational institutions, organisations implementing Work from Home (WFH), as well as entrepreneurs relying on online platforms to run their businesses.
Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd (UNN) said it has put in a lot of effort and cost in restoring the cables and services to minimise interruption of telecommunications services but, recurrent damages may put a strain on their resources.
Under Section 49(1) of the Telecommunications Order 2001, any person who willfully removes, destroys or damages any installation or plant used for telecommunications shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding BND50,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.
Under Section 49(2), any person who, in the course of carrying out any earthworks, damages or suffers to be damaged any cable of a telecommunication system belonging to or under the management or control of a telecommunication system licensee shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding BND1 million, imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both.
Additionally, Section 50 of the Telecommunications Order 2001, states that any person who removes, destroys or damages, whether wilfully, negligently, accidentally or otherwise, the installation or plant used for telecommunications shall be liable to pay compensation for the damage he has done.
Recent amendments under the Penal Code (Amendment) Order, 2021 were made to further protect such infrastructure from theft, mischief and other illegal activities causing damage and disruption to key services.
These offences are outlined under Sections 380B and 427B of the Penal Code (Amendment) Order, 2021, and carry a minimum punishment of three years’ imprisonment and four strokes of whipping, and a maximum punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of whipping.
Amendments to Sections 411 and 414 have also been made to criminalise receiving or retaining stolen property related to the provision of a key service or any component part of a key service as well as assisting in concealing, disposing or making away with stolen property related to the provision of a key service or any component part of a key service.
The punishment for these offences is imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, a fine or both.
Cathay Pacific suspends cargo flights due to virus controls
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airlines is suspending cargo flights for a week due to stricter quarantine requirements for air crews, potentially adding to strain on global supply chains.
Long-haul flights to Europe, across the Pacific and to Riyadh and Dubai are suspended through January 6, the airline said on Thursday. It promised to try to help customers “mitigate the disruption.”
The airline’s workforce is stretched thin after the quarantine for Cathay Pacific flight crews who return from abroad was extended to one week in a hotel room from three days.
Thursday’s announcement gave no details, but The South China Morning Post newspaper said the longer quarantine would leave Cathay without enough pilots for all its flights.
The airline earlier asked staff to volunteer for a “closed-loop system” under which they would work for three-week stints with brief stopovers in Hong Kong, but too few agreed, according to news reports.
Cathay said earlier it would reduce its schedule of passenger flights in the first three months of 2022 due to staff shortages.
Yesterday, the airline said five air crew members tested positive for the coronavirus’s omicron variant after returning from abroad. It blamed “a serious breach of protocols” by those employees and said it would lead to unspecified discipline.
Four new cases, one out-of- home violator caught
Adib Noor
The Sultanate recorded four new COVID-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 15,474, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in a statement.
The three local and one imported cases were detected through 2,475 laboratory tests conducted in the past 24 hours, with the rate of positive cases at 0.2 per cent.
Six cases have recovered, bringing the number of active cases to 96.
Meanwhile, a local man was issued compound fine during Operasi Peralihan on Thursday for breaching the stay-at-home order.
According to the Royal Brunei Police Force, Awang Bin Haji Abdullah Mahrof (pic below) was caught in Brunei-Muara District.
Burglar caught sleeping in house he entered to rob
GULF NEWS – A burglar fell asleep while inside the would-be victim’s house in the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor and was handed over to police, local media reported.
The city’s police received a report from the house owner that he had caught the thief sleeping in a bedroom.
Police investigations showed the suspect, aged 30, had sneaked into the house in central Luxor with the intention of burglarising it while its inhabitants were away, but he was overwhelmed by sleep.
On returning home, the family were surprised to find the stranger sleeping like a log in the bed past midnight.
The suspect is being kept in custody as police are checking his criminal record. He faces charges of attempted larceny.
Premier League stars set for ‘exceptional’ AFCON
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Premier League trio Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez will be star attractions in Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations, which promises to be “exceptional” according to the top football official in the continent.
The 36-match group phase kicks off on January 9 at the newly built Olembe Stadium in Yaounde and the tournament concludes at the same 60,000-seat venue on February 6 with the final.
Champions Algeria top a 24-team cast that includes former title-holders Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia.
While record seven-time winners Egypt will be making an unrivalled 25th appearance at the African football showpiece, Comoros and Gambia are debutants.
It is a wide-open competition with Algeria, unbeaten in 33 matches since late 2018, the logical favourites, but there are at least seven other nations capable of conquering Africa.
Cameroon, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia will believe they can go all the way while Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali should not be underestimated.
Guinea, who rank among the outsiders, have been told by junta leader Mamady Doumbouya that they must repay state-funded preparation costs if they do not return to Conakry as champions.
The build-up to the biennial tournament has been marred by rumours that it would be postponed or cancelled owing to a worldwide coronavirus surge.
There have also been reports of Cameroon racing against the clock to complete preparations for the biggest African sporting event.
This is the fourth attempt by the central African state to play hosts after failing to meet 2019 deadlines and being replaced by Egypt, then losing out to unfavourable weather conditions and COVID-19.
But as Liverpool forwards Salah and Mane, Manchester City winger Mahrez and other Premier League stars prepare for action, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe is upbeat.
“We are going to host with the people of Cameroon an exceptional tournament. It will be the most successful AFCON (Cup of Nations),” he said during a visit to Yaounde.
“The world will witness the best of African football and hospitality. We can host a football tournament as good as any in Europe.”
Motsepe and Cameroon football legend Samuel Eto’o, now head of the national football federation, have been stung by suggestions that the Cup of Nations should be delayed or scrapped over the pandemic.
“If the Euros took place this year in the middle of a pandemic, with full stadiums in many cities, why would the Cup of Nations not be played in Cameroon?,” asked Eto’o in a Canal+ interview.
“Or are people trying to say that, as always, Africans are not worth anything so we have to put up with it?”
As Cup of Nations organisers applied finishing touches to the six venues, from Douala on the Atlantic coast to Garoua in the north west, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stirred a verbal storm.
Klopp referred to the Cup of Nations as a “little tournament” during a press conference only to later say “I did not mean it like that”.
Senegal coach and former star Aliou Cisse was furious, asking reporters in Dakar “Who does Klopp think he is?
“I respect Liverpool but not Klopp, who undermines African football. He is where he is today because of African footballers like Salah, Mane, (Naby) Keita and (Joel) Matip.”
Having to free Africans during the European season is a sore point with managers and Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti labelled the Cup of Nations an “invisible monster”.
The Serie A title challengers could lose Algerian Adam Ounas, Cameroonian Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Nigerian Victor Osimhen and Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly for close to six weeks.
Senegal-born Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira said the Cup of Nations “needs to be more respected because this tournament is as important as the Euros”.
Another coach facing potential unhappiness is South Africa-born Pitso Mosimane from African and Egyptian club giants Al Ahly, nine of whose stars are in various Cameroon-bound squads.
Ahly are scheduled to compete at the Club World Cup in the UAE between February 3 and 12, creating a headache if any nation with Ahly stars reaches the early February semi-finals in Cameroon.