The United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) moved Brunei to Level 3 on December 28, 2021 from Level 4 three months prior.
In its COVID-19 travel advisories weekly update, the Sultanate, along with Argentina (previously at Level 2) were added to Level 3, meaning one must be fully vaccinated before travelling to the Sultanate.
The four-level system categorises international destinations into the following levels: Level 4 (Very high level of COVID-19) – one should avoid travel to this destination; Level 3 (High level of COVID-19) – one must be fully vaccinated before travel.
Unvaccinated travellers should avoid non-essential travel to this destination.
Level 2 is moderate level of COVID-19 and one must be fully vaccinated before travel. Unvaccinated travellers at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should avoid non-essential travel to the destination. Level 1 is low level of COVID-19 and individuals must be fully vaccinated before travelling to the destination.
In its Key Information for Travellers to Brunei, the CDC said travellers should follow the country’s requirements, including wearing a mask and staying six feet apart from others.
THE WASHINGTON POST – “Soup is a warm way of getting to know a culture and its people,” writes cookbook author Pati Jinich. She calls this vivid soup made with oysters and chipotles in adobo one of her all-time favourites.
Count us in as well as enthusiastic fans of the spicy-smoky base, plump oysters and soft-crisp texture, achieved with vegetables that are both pureed and left diced.
A little work is rewarded with lots of punch.
The recipe, which comes from Jinich’s latest cookbook, Treasures of the Mexican Table, is both a primer and a guide to more adventurous cooking.
The preface to her throat-tickling oyster soup teaches readers to cook the oysters gently and quickly, “so they taste and feel like a seafood version of foie gras.”
Si, Pati!
Chipotle Oyster Soup. PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST
SOPA DE OSTION AL CHIPOTLE (CHIPOTLE OYSTER SOUP)
Vegetables can be diced up to one day ahead. Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to three days without the oysters. Gently reheat over low heat. If planning to refrigerate the soup, consume all of the oysters and, if desired, start another batch of oysters the following day.
INGREDIENTS
– One and a half pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled
– Three tablespoons vegetable oil
– One large white onion, finely chopped
– Five ribs finely chopped celery, divided
– Five medium carrots, finely chopped, divided
– Two large leeks, white and light green parts, well-rinsed and finely chopped, divided
– Five garlic cloves, finely chopped
– Three chipotles in adobo, finely chopped, plus one tablespoon of the sauce
– One dried chile de árbol, stemmed and chopped
– One pound shucked oysters with their juices
– Half teaspoon fine salt, or more to taste
– One teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
– Five cups shrimp, chicken or vegetable broth
– Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for serving
– Lime wedges, for serving
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the broiler, with the rack five to six inches from the heat source. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the tomatoes on top. Broil for 10 to 12 minutes, turning the tomatoes halfway through, or until charred and mushy. Remove from the oven. (Alternately, you can roast the tomatoes on a comal or in a large skillet over medium heat, turning them every four to five minutes, until soft and singed, for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.)
When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, finely chop them and transfer to a one-and-a-half-quart bowl. Make sure to tip any juices from the baking sheet into the bowl.
In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, five to six minutes. Stir in two-thirds of each: celery, carrots and leeks, and cook until wilted, three to four minutes.
Clear a space in the middle of the pot and add the garlic, chipotles with the adobo sauce and chile de arbol. Cook, stirring, for one minute, then mix with the vegetables and cook for one more minute.
Add the tomatoes, the oyster juices, salt and oregano, bring to a simmer and cook until the mixture thickens a bit, six to seven minutes. Add the broth, bring to a simmer and cook until the color darkens and the soup thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Wash and dry the pot.
If you want a silky texture, place a sieve over the pot and strain the soup through it; otherwise, just return the soup to the pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and add the remaining half cup of each celery, carrots and leeks. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked to al dente and the soup is a little thicker, four to five minutes. Stir in the shucked oysters and any remaining juices and cook until barely cooked through, about one minute. Turn off the heat.
Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with the cilantro and offer your guests lime wedges for squeezing in the soup.
THE WASHINGTON POST – As Alexandria Country Day School’s sixth-graders created miniature 3D printed villages to address homelessness, they learned lessons far beyond technology.
“It Takes a Village” began as a project for a science class – inspired by life-size 3-D printed homes built by Austin, Texas-based technology company Icon, whose mission is to make dignified, affordable housing available to everyone.
No strangers to classroom 3D projects, the students were fascinated by Icon’s use of a similar process to create homes made of inexpensive concrete-like material. Unlike standard construction methods, the process of building interior and exterior walls of these durable homes takes just a few days.
While creating their mini 3-D buildings, the students explored how such technology allows design freedom and quick changes. Mathematical conversions helped get the proportions right. For example, a real 25-foot-by-20-foot one-bedroom house would be printed as 40-millimetre-by-32-millimetre for their mini village.
Salwa Seman, 11, said that getting the dimensions and settings correct before construction began was challenging as she created a curved-wall amphitheatre.
ABOVE & BELOW: Alexandria Country Day School sixth-graders Luke Wazorko, 11, and Sean Campbell, 12, working on a miniature village; and Salwa Seman, 11, uses an app to design an amphitheatre for one of the mini villages. PHOTOS: THE WASHINGTON POST
“If the temperature of the printer is too hot or cold, or if the printed walls are too thin, the structures might fail,” she said.
“You learn from your mistakes and make adjustments,” said classmate Zoe Mandel, 11.
The tech-focused project quickly evolved into “an exercise in empathy, innovation and collaboration designed to bring about lasting change,” said science teacher Alison McDonald.
“When most people think of helping the homeless, they think of food and clothing drives,” said Juliet Galicia, 11. While necessary, those are temporary fixes. Even housing by itself is not a complete solution.
In designing their leave-homelessness-behind neighbourhoods, priorities were shelter, food stores, schools, and health and religious centres.
But to build a sense of belonging and purpose, the miniature communities also emphasised areas for frequent interaction among residents.
“We wanted to include extras that would make it feel more like a real community,” said Luke Wazorko, 11.
A community garden, a place to raise chickens, an amphitheatre for shared events, bus stops for access to jobs, and infrastructure for WiFi and cellphones to help in job searches were important features to offer formerly homeless residents.
“They get it!” said Amber Fogarty, president of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a non-profit organisation tackling homelessness in Austin, after learning about the sixth-graders’ project.
“The biggest cause of long-term homelessness is a catastrophic loss in family relationships,” she said. “Housing alone will never solve homelessness, but community will. People need a place where they are known, nurtured and loved.”
Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ creation, Community First Village, offers tiny homes, stationary recreational vehicles and a few 3D printed homes as affordable, permanent housing options to end chronic homelessness.
That community’s design and those created by the Alexandria sixth-graders emphasise walkability and interaction with others. Each incorporates ponds and green space on the edge of the community, for fishing and quiet moments, and “makerspaces” for creating products to sell.
Delighted with the students’ practical priorities, Fogarty noted that Community First also includes front porches on each of its housing styles to encourage daily connections between people.
Referring to such student projects, she said, “Imagine the possibilities. How can you use your brains and hearts to solve problems?”
FUTURE OF 3-D PRINTED HOUSES
Many companies around the world are experimenting with this technology.
So far, only interior and exterior walls are 3D printed. A team of three to four people complete that task using a computer app operated by a tablet or smartphone and monitoring the process. A nozzle squeezes out the concrete mix in a pre-programmed pattern, building up layers until a basic house structure is formed. Roofing, doors, windows and finishing still need carpenters, plumbers, electricians and painters.
Designs are adaptable to individual preferences.
Mobile Loaves and Fishes’ Amber Fogarty said, “It’s a journey of discovery. We don’t know what the future holds for this new technology, but we’re excited about the innovative possibilities.”
NEW YORK (AP) – The Westminster Kennel Club’s annual dog show has become the latest event to be postponed or cancelled in New York as the number of coronavirus cases surges.
The club’s board of governors announced on Wednesday it was postponing its 2022 event, scheduled for late January, to later in the year. A new date wasn’t given.
“The health and safety of all participants in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show are paramount,” the group said in a statement. “We appreciate the community’s continued interest and support as we delay the show to a time when we can safely convene.”
First held in 1877, the dog show attracts thousands of competitors from around the United States (US) and is normally held in February, with semi-final and final rounds at Madison Square Garden. Last year, it was moved to June and held outdoors at the Lyndhurst estate in suburban Tarrytown, north of New York City.
Spectators weren’t allowed, and human participants had to be vaccinated or newly tested.
A Pekingese named Wasabi won best in show, beating out a whippet, a French bulldog, an old English sheepdog, a German shorthaired pointer, a Samoyed and a West Highland white terrier.
With COVID-19 cases now exploding around the US, the postponement comes less than two weeks after more than 8,500 canines, owners and handlers converged for another top US dog show, the American Kennel Club National Championship in Orlando, Florida.
ABOVE & BELOW: A handler running with her dog before the judges at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in Tarrytown; and Wasabi, a Pekingese, resting on the winner’s podium with its trophy and ribbons. PHOTOS: AP
LHOKSEUMAWE, INDONESIA (AP) – A group of 120 Rohingya Muslims disembarked from a boat that had drifted for days off Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh and was towed by a navy ship into port, officials said on Friday.
The refugees’ wooden boat was reportedly leaking and had a damaged engine.
Efforts to rescue its passengers, who are overwhelmingly women and children, began after Indonesia’s government on Wednesday said it would allow them to dock because conditions on the boat were so severe.
The broken-down boat was towed by a navy ship early Thursday from its location about 85 kilometres off the coast of Bireuen, a district in Aceh, toward Krueng Geukueh seaport in neighbouring Lhokseumawe, a coastal town in the North Aceh district, said navy western fleet command spokesman Colonel La Ode M Holib.
High waves and bad weather hampered the rescue operation, and the navy ship was moving five knots per hour to keep the towed boat from capsizing, Holib said. The boat docked safely just after midnight on Friday.
Authorities used buses to move the Rohingya refugees from the port to a nearby warehouse, providing temporary shelter amid heavy monsoon rains. The refugees will all be tested for the coronavirus, Holib added.
Rohingya refugees in a wooden boat at Krueng Geukueh Port in North Aceh, Indonesia. PHOTO: AP
The boat was first sighted by local fishermen last Sunday about 96 kilometres off the coast of Bireuen, said leader of the local tribal fishing community Badruddin Yunus.
He said fishermen provided food, water and clothes to the passengers, including 60 women, 51 children and nine men, who said they wanted to go to Malaysia and had been at sea for 28 days before the boat’s engine broke down.
Videos obtained by The Associated Press from the Indonesian navy showed the refugees’ wooden boat packed with dozens of members of the Rohingya ethnic community floating at sea.
Women and children onboard cried out for help as the navy ship approached their boat, and officers in an inflatable boat were delivering food and other supplies to them.
The United Nations (UN) refugee agency said it was ready to assist Indonesia’s government and local community in preparing for the Rohingya, including establishing a quarantine process in line with international public health protocols amid the pandemic.
More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a clearance operation in response to attacks by a rebel group.
Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of homes.
Groups of Rohingya have attempted to leave the crowded camps in Bangladesh and travel by sea in hazardous voyages to other Muslim-majority countries in the region.
MONACO (AFP) – Club Brugge boss Philippe Clement is set to take over from Niko Kovac as coach of Ligue 1 side Monaco, a source close to the club told AFP on Friday.
Former Bayern Munich coach Kovac was sacked on Thursday, but his dismissal has not yet been made official.
According to sources, Clement has accepted a two-and-a-half year contract with the Principality side.
Clement, 47, has coached Club Brugge since May 2019 leading them to the last two Belgian league titles, with the club currently second in the table.
The former Belgian international midfielder previously led Genk to the Belgian league title in 2019.
Kovac, 50, was told of the decision to terminate his contract which ran until 2023 by the club’s board late on Thursday.
The former Croatia international took over the under-performing French side from Robert Moreno in July 2020 on a three-year deal with the option of a further season.
Monaco finished third last season but were eliminated in the Champions League’s qualifiers and are sixth in the French table, 17 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
There were reported tensions between Kovac and squad members including captain Wissam Ben Yedder.
Kovac took Monaco to May’s French Cup final, where they lost to PSG and they started this season with three defeats in their opening six league games.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement entered into force on Saturday for Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Lao PDR, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the Ministry of Finance and Economy announced. The agreement will enter into force in Korea on February 1. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
The United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) moved Brunei to Level 3 on December 28, 2021 from Level 4 three months prior. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
As the country ushers in 2022, the desire to return to stability and prosperity burns brighter than ever after a gloomy end to 2021. Businesses and the public are looking forward to the new year with hope and eagerly looking for change and betterment. The previous year was wrought with COVID-19 causing considerable damage in terms of lives lost and a dwindling economy. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
