The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) organised a Khatam Al-Quran ceremony and Israk Mikraj celebration on Thursday.
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 was the guest of honour at the virtual event. The ceremony began with a recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah followed by Surah Adh-Dhuha to Surah Al-Masad, Takhtim Al-Quran and Doa Khatam.
The event was enlivened with a tazkirah titled ‘SembahyangKu Kerana Allah’ delivered by Assistant Head of Dakwah Dessimination (Religious Talk) at the Islamic Da’wah Centre (PDI) Pengiran Haji Reduan bin Pengiran Haji Badaruddin.
The ceremony continued with a Doa to seek Allah the Almighty’s blessings and concluded with Doa Allah Peliharakan Sultan dan Negara Brunei Darussalam. The event was organised to enliven Israk Mikraj and strengthen ties among officers and staff in the ministry.
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 virtual event. PHOTO: MCYS
ROME (AP) – Poorer countries in northern Africa, Asia and the Middle East that depend heavily on wheat imports risk suffering significant food security because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the conflict is poised to drive up already soaring food prices in much of the globe, the United Nations (UN) food agency warned yesterday.
Ukraine and Russia, which is under heavy economic sanctions for invading its neighbour two weeks ago, account for one-third of global grain exports.
With the conflict’s intensity and duration uncertain, “the likely disruptions to agricultural activities of these two major exporters of staple commodities could seriously escalate food insecurity globally, when international food and input prices are already high and vulnerable”, said Director-General of the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Qu Dongyu.
Also worrisome, Qu said in a statement, is the uncertainty over whether Ukraine’s farmers will be able to harvest wheat ready in June. In Ukraine, “massive population displacement has reduced the number of agricultural labourers and workers. Accessing agricultural fields would be difficult”, Qu noted.
Even if they could, Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea are shuttered and its government this week banned the export of wheat, oats, millet, buckwheat and some other food products to prevent a crisis in its own country and stabilise the market.
Ukraine’s export ban doesn’t apply to its major global supplies corn and sunflower oil. It and Russia together account for 52 per cent of the world’s sunflower oil export market. They also account for 19 per cent of the world’s barley supply, 14 per cent of wheat and four per cent of corn.
“It is still unclear whether (other) exporters would be able to fill this gap,” Qu said, warning that wheat inventories are already running low in Canada. The United States, Argentina and other wheat-producing nations are likely to limit exports as governments seek to ensure domestic supply, he said.
Adding to the pressure, countries that rely on wheat from Russia and Ukraine are likely to increase import levels. Egypt, Turkey, Bangladesh and Iran buy 60 per cent of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine. Also heavily reliant on those two countries’ wheat exports are Lebanon, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Pakistan.
Farmers harvest wheat with their combines near the village Tbilisskaya, Russia. PHOTO: AP
KHARTOUM (AFP) – At least 17 civilians have been killed in Sudan’s Darfur region, officials said yesterday, in the latest violence between rival ethnic groups that has left dozens dead this week alone.
Recent fighting has seen heavily armed forces battle in the rugged Jebel Moon mountains in West Darfur state, close to the border with Chad.
On Thursday, fighting killed 17 people and also left “dozens of injured and missing” as well as “four villages completely burned”, said spokesman for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur Adam Regal, an independent aid organisation.
In fighting from last Sunday to Monday, 16 people were killed in clashes between the Masalit – a non-Arab people of largely settled farmers – and Arab groups of herders in Jebel Moon, according to a independent union of medics.
Darfur was ravaged by a civil war that erupted in 2003, pitting ethnic minority rebels who complained of discrimination against the government of then-president Omar al-Bashir.
Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed militia, who were blamed for atrocities including murder, rape, looting and burning villages. The scorched-earth campaign left 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million, according to the United Nations (UN).
The region remains awash with weapons and deadly clashes erupt, often over access to pasture or water.
Regal accused the Janjaweed – many of whom have since joined the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, now integrated into government security forces – of taking part in recent fighting.
The latest peace deal was signed in 2020, but since a military coup in October, Darfur has seen violence spike, with hundreds killed since the takeover in fighting between herders and farmers. Regal warned that “new attacks could occur”.
Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide in Darfur, was ousted in April 2019 and jailed after mass protests against his three-decade rule.
But the latest clashes reflect a broader security breakdown in Darfur following last year’s military coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Khartoum, which derailed a transition to full civilian rule negotiated between military and civilian leaders.
In Darfur, the surge in violence has also seen rapes, the burning of villages, as well as UN bases being looted.
Charred remains of a home after an attack on a village in Sudan’s Darfur. PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON (AP) – United States (US) President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order on government oversight of cryptocurrency that urges the Federal Reserve to explore whether the central bank should jump in and create its own digital currency.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the effort would “promote a fairer, more inclusive, and more efficient financial system” while countering illicit finance and preventing risks to financial stability and national security.
The Biden administration views the explosive popularity of cryptocurrency as an opportunity to examine the risks and benefits of digital assets, said a senior administration official who previewed the order on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity, terms set by the White House.
Under the executive order, Biden also directed the Treasury Department and other federal agencies to study the impact of cryptocurrency on financial stability and national security.
Brian Deese and Jake Sullivan, Biden’s top economic and national security advisers, respectively, said the order establishes the first comprehensive federal digital assets strategy for the US.
“That will help position the US to keep playing a leading role in the innovation and governance of the digital assets ecosystem at home and abroad, in a way that protects consumers, is consistent with our democratic values and advances US global competitiveness,” Deese and Sullivan said on Wednesday in a joint statement.
United States President Joe Biden at an event. PHOTO: AP
Last week, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Mark Warner, and Jack Reed asked the Treasury Department to provide information on how it intends to inhibit cryptocurrency use for sanctions evasion.
The Biden administration has argued that Russia won’t be able to make up for the loss of US and European business by turning to cryptocurrency. Officials said the Democratic president’s order had been in the works before Russia’s Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last month. A deputy national security and economic adviser to Biden Daleep Singh told CNN on Wednesday that “crypto’s really not a workaround for our sanctions”.
The executive order had been widely anticipated by the finance industry, crypto traders, speculators and lawmakers who have compared the cryptocurrency market to the Wild West. Despite the risks, the government said, surveys show that roughly 16 per cent of adult Americans – or 40 million people – have invested in cryptocurrencies.
As for the Federal Reserve getting involved with digital assets, the central bank issued a paper in January that said a digital currency “would best serve the needs” of the country through a model in which banks or payment firms create accounts or digital wallets.
Some participants in digital currency welcome the idea of more government involvement with crypto. CEO of Inca Digital, a crypto data company that does work for several federal agencies, Adam Zarazinski said the order presents the opportunity to provide “new approaches to finance”.
General Counsel for Bitwise Asset Management, a cryptocurrency asset management firm Katherine Dowling said an executive order that provides more legal clarity on government oversight would be “a long term positive for crypto”.
But a financial regulation professor at American University Hilary Allen cautioned against moving too fast to embrace cryptocurrencies. “I think crypto is a place where we should be putting the brakes on this innovation until it’s better understood,” she said. “As crypto becomes more integrated into our financial system it creates vulnerabilities not just to those who are investing in crypto but for everybody who participates in our economy.”
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency related stocks got a boost following Biden’s executive order. The price of Bitcoin was up 9.8 per cent at USD42,211, according to Coindesk. Shares in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global surged 9.3 per cent in midday trading, while online brokerage Robinhood Markets rose 4.5 per cent.
TOBRUK, LIBYA (AP) – A rival Libyan prime minister said he plans to be in the country’s capital and seat his government there in a matter of days – even though a parallel administration opposing his is currently located in Tripoli.
Fathi Bashagha expressed his belief that the war-torn country could be unified without more fighting and that his government will focus on holding elections soon, the only way out of Libya’s decade-old conflict.
However, his statement is likely to add to fears that Libya’s two rival administrations are heading into a deeper confrontation and that the divisions signal a return to civil strife after more than a year of relative calm. On Thursday, the United Nations (UN) and the United States (US) urged restraint and expressed concern over reports of armed groups deploying in and around Tripoli.
“The sole political solution in Libya is to hold presidential and Parliamentary elections,” Bashagha said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday in the eastern city of Tobruk.
A former air force pilot and businessman, Bashagha was named prime minister last month by the House of Representatives, which has been based in Tobruk. The lawmakers selected Bashagha to replace embattled Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who is based in Tripoli, claiming Dbeibah’s mandate had expired after Libya failed to hold its first presidential elections in December.
Libyan Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha. PHOTO: AP
The failure to hold the vote, which was scheduled for December 2021 under a UN-led reconciliation effort, was a major below to concerted international efforts to bring peace to the oil-rich North African nation. Bashagha’s appointment increased tensions and raised the possibility of renewed fighting in a country largely ruled by lawless militias and armed groups with conflicting interests.
Libya has been wrecked by chaos since a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-backed uprising toppled then killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. For years, it has been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each supported by an array of militias and foreign governments.
Dbeibah has refused to step down and insists he will hand over power only to an elected government. He has sought to rally the international community by proposing a roadmap for Parliamentary elections in June.
Appointed himself by a UN-led process in March of 2021, Dbeibah has called the push to replace his government “reckless” and a “farce” orchestrated by the political class hanging on to power, saying it could lead to more war. He mobilised allied militias in the capital and has closed its airspace to domestic flights in an apparent move to prevent Bashagha and his government from landing there.
The Centre for Promotion of Knowledge and Language of Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) organised a virtual visit to Brunei History Centre using Zoom recently. The visitors comprised 415 students undertaking Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) module.
The visit began with welcoming remarks from Brunei History Centre Acting Deputy Principal Muhammad Faisal bin Haji Mat Salleh. It was followed by a briefing on the roles and functions of the centre by Nurusyakirah binti Abdul Wahab.
After a questions-and-answers session, the event continued with a tour of an e-exhibition through Brunei History Centre website www.pusat-sejarah.gov.bn. The website features six galleries that could be visited virtually. The galleries are: Salasilah; Borneo Manuscript; Old Brunei History; Brunei Golden Era; Brunei Early Relation with Foreign Countries; and Brunei Constitution 1959. The exhibition features 360-degree views, flipbooks, PDF files and video documentaries.
Brunei History Centre Acting Deputy Principal Muhammad Faisal bin Haji Mat Salleh. PHOTOS: BRUNEI HISTORY CENTREPhotos above and below show visitors to the online gallery
The Japanese Embassy in Brunei Darussalam will be accepting applications for the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) 2022 from March 14 to April 1.
The test will be held on July 3 at the Language Centre, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).
The JLPT has five levels – N1, N2, N3, N4 and N5. The beginner level is N5 and the most difficult level is N1.
The test has been offered by the Japan Foundation since 1984 as a reliable means of evaluating and certifying Japanese proficiency of non-native speakers. In Brunei, the JLPT was launched in 2008 and it has been held every December since.
Those interested are required to submit the application form no later than April 1. The test guide, including the application form, is available at the embassy’s Culture and Education Section counter. It costs BND5 and the test fee is BND30 for each level.
For more information, visit https://jlpt.jp/e/index.html.
WARSAW, POLAND (AP) – United States (US) Vice President Kamala Harris and Romania’s president met yesterday to discuss growing concerns about the influx of displaced people fleeing Ukraine for Romania and elsewhere in eastern Europe due to Russia’s invasion.
It’s a problem that Biden administration officials and European leaders warn will likely get more complicated in the days and weeks ahead.
Harris’ talks in Bucharest with President Klaus Iohannis come after she spent Thursday in Poland, which has already welcomed some 1.5 million Ukrainians since the invasion began.
She met in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Ukrainian refugees, and others in hopes of getting a fuller picture of the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
The southeastern European country of Romania – a nation of about 19 million – had taken in more than 84,000 displaced people as of Tuesday, according to United Nations (UN) data.
Other countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia, have also welcomed tens of thousands of refugees.
Harris said the US was “absolutely prepared” to support those “who understand the moral obligation we should feel to help people who are fleeing harm and seeking refuge; the burden we should all be prepared to take on to support those people who are fleeing their homes when they don’t want to leave”.
Duda, in a press conference with Harris, said Polish leaders are “aware that the problem is growing and that this problem is increasing”.
“We have to somehow handle it, and we do not have the experience,” he said.
Overall, more than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the war. And the number of displaced people continues to grow daily. The UN warns that up to five million people could flee Ukraine. That would make it the biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II.
Duda said he had asked Harris to relay to President Joe Biden that Poland would like to see expedited visa procedures for Ukrainians who have family living the US so that they could resettle in the US at least temporarily.
Harris said most refugees who have fled Ukraine prefer to remain in Europe. Earlier this month, the administration offered humanitarian relief to Ukrainians in the US, which could protect thousands from being deported to their war-torn homeland. Ukrainians already in the US would be able to stay in the US for up to 18 months under the federal programme known as Temporary Protected Status.
The Pentagon announced last month it was deploying a Stryker squadron of about 1,000 additional soldiers to Romania, a NATO member, as the Biden administration looks to bolster the military alliance’s presence on NATO’s eastern flank.
US Vice President Kamala Harris (C) meets with US and Polish troops at Warsaw Chopin International Airport, in Warsaw, Poland, yesterday. PHOTO: AP
BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Union (EU) threatened to crack down on an agreement between Google and Facebook parent Meta for online display advertising services, saying yesterday that the deal may breach the bloc’s rules on fair competition.
The EU’s competition watchdog opened a probe into a 2018 pact involving the participation of Meta’s ‘Audience Network’ in Google’s ‘Open Bidding’ programme.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said the deal may be part of an effort to exclude ad tech services that compete with Google’s Open Bidding programme – which would harm publishers and consumers. “If confirmed by our investigation, this would restrict and distort competition in the already concentrated ad tech market, to the detriment of rival ad serving technologies, publishers and ultimately consumers,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The United Kingdom (UK) has launched its own inquiry into the agreement between Google and Meta.
The European Commission said it has been in contact with the UK competition authority and “intends to closely cooperate on this investigation following the applicable rules and procedures”.
The logo of Google is seen on a carpet at the entrance hall of Google France in Paris. PHOTO: AP
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Brunei Darussalam in partnership with Taiwan Business Association and Taiwan Graduates Association of Brunei donated three wheelchairs to Lotus Light Charity Society (LLCS) recently.
TECO Representative to Brunei Darussalam Andrew HC Lee presented the contribution to LLCS Chairman Yeo Tiong Lok.
Lee said TECO and the associations are thrilled to be involved in charity works and facilitated activities to raise funds for the wheelchairs. They managed to amass 174 wheelchairs.
Previously, TECO and the associations donated 163 wheelchairs to Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital and other hospitals, Centre for Children with Special Needs (KACA) and Chinese schools in the past two years.
Lee said this charity programme demonstrated the goodwill of the people from Taiwan as well as corporate social responsibility (CSR) from businesses affiliated with the associations.
He said the island has a long history of humanitarianism and it is well positioned to contribute to the international community by sharing experiences and resources.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Representative to Brunei Darussalam Andrew HC Lee donates wheelchairs to Lotus Light Charity Society Chairman Yeo Tiong Lok. PHOTO: TECO
