Brunei Darussalam’s economy should recover moderately by 2.1 per cent in 2021, according to the 2020 Annual Consultation Report on Brunei Darussalam published by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) on Friday. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
TOKYO (AFP) – Three people were stabbed outside the prestigious University of Tokyo ahead of nationwide college entrance exams on Saturday, with police saying they had arrested a high-schooler for allegedly carrying out the attack. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (AP) – A fire erupted in Kuwait during maintenance work at a major oil refinery on Friday, killing two workers and critically injuring five others, the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY (AP) – A fire near a New Jersey chemical plant with flames and smoke visible for miles in the night sky spread to multiple buildings in the complex on Friday, threatening to reach the plant’s chemical storage area, authorities said. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
YANGON (AFP) – A Myanmar junta court hit ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi with five new corruption charges related to the alleged hiring and purchase of a helicopter, sources close to the case told AFP. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – An undersea volcano erupted in spectacular fashion near the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday, sending large waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
SYDNEY (CNA) – Australia has likely neared the peak of its Omicron wave, authorities said on Saturday, but warned daily infections will linger near record levels for “the next few weeks” after over 100,000 cases were reported for a fourth straight day. More details in Sunday’s Borneo Bulletin.
MELBOURNE (AFP) – Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open hopes are not quite dead yet but the renewed uncertainty and disruption engulfing the defending champion opens the door for rivals including Rafael Nadal.
The world number one from Serbia, who would be chasing a record 21st Grand Slam when the showpiece begins next week, had his visa cancelled for a second time yesterday in the latest twist to the saga.
The Australian government will now attempt to deport him, but Djokovic looks set to fight it and he remains top seed and in the draw at Melbourne Park, for now.
The 34-year-old flew in last week claiming a vaccine exemption because of a positive Covid test in mid-December, but border officials rejected it, his visa was revoked and he was moved to a detention centre.
Djokovic’s legal team overturned that in court, freeing the top seed to begin his preparations for a tournament in which he has not lost a match since 2018. The Australian government however hit back anew yesterday.
“Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete,” he tweeted before the latest setback, adding that he “remained focussed” on winning his favourite Slam despite his unprecedented build-up.
If Djokovic, who is drawn against fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round, does play and goes on to win the Australian Open he would become the most successful men’s tennis player in history with 21 majors.
Given his preparations, it would be the most remarkable of the lot.
His ninth victory in 17 visits at last year’s COVID-delayed Australian Open reinforced his dominance in Melbourne, where he claimed his first Grand Slam title in 2008.
With Roger Federer injured and absent, Nadal and world number two Daniil Medvedev look to be two of the main beneficiaries if Djokovic does not play, or does play and is woefully ill-prepared.
Ageing Spanish great Nadal – one of the ‘Big Three’ alongside Djokovic and Federer – is also chasing a record 21st major.
THE STRAITS TIMES – South Korea are still holding out hope for the return of injured Premier League duo Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon and Syria, head coach Paulo Bento said yesterday.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Son picked up a muscle strain in their semi-final first-leg League Cup defeat at Chelsea on January 5, while Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Hwang suffered a hamstring injury in December 2021.
“We should wait as much as we can for the recovery of those players,” Bento said.
“Then we will take the final decision. They’re two important players, players that have features to create many situations in the attacking phase. Let’s wait and we’ll take the final decision. If they aren’t able to come, we need to find another solution.”
The Koreans will play warmup games against Iceland today and Moldova six days later, before taking on Lebanon on January 27 and Syria on February 1 in the third round of Asian qualifying for Qatar 2022.
South Korea, who have appeared at every World Cup since 1986, are second in Group A of Asia’s preliminaries, two points behind Iran. The top two in each group qualify automatically for the finals in Qatar.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AP) – South Korean rescuers yesterday pulled a body from a heap of rubble at the construction site of a 39-floor building that partially collapsed four days earlier in the southern city of Gwangju.
City officials said the man, one of six construction workers who were missing after Tuesday’s collapse, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Dozens of rescue workers assisted by dogs, drones and heavy equipment have been deployed in the search, but their efforts have been slowed by concerns about the stability of the apartment building in the city’s Hwajeongdong district.
About 10 vehicles were destroyed and the occupants of nearly 200 nearby houses and shops were forced to evacuate following the collapse, which sent debris spilling across nearby streets and left a huge pile of broken concrete at the bottom of the structure, exposing mangled steel beams.
The incident has triggered public anger in a country that has long grappled with deadly accidents attributed to lax safety standards and regulations, which experts said were often overlooked during South Korea’s rapid economic growth.
