Firefighters extinguished a house fire in 10 minutes after receiving a distress call about a fire at RPN Kampong Mentiri on Sunday.
SO Pengiran Haji Ali Abdul Rahman bin Pengiran Haji Halus led nine firefighters from Mentiri Fire Station of Operation ‘A’ branch in response to the call.
When the team arrived at the scene, the fire had already consumed a room on the upper section of the house made from concrete and spandex roof.
The firefighters doused the fire in 10 minutes.
No injuries or loss of life were reported.
The cause of fire and estimation of losses are under investigation.
The Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) reminded the public to equip their home with dry powder type fire extinguisher and fire blanket, ensure that electrical appliances are switched off before leaving the house and not to leave cooking unattended and check the gas regulator and pipes for leakage.
ABOVE & BELOW: Smoke billows from the house; and a firefighter extinguishes the fire. PHOTOS: FRD
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The Power of the Dog and West Side Story on Sunday won the top film prizes at an untelevised Golden Globes that was largely ignored by Hollywood, with awards unveiled via a live blog without any of the usual A-list glamour.
Jane Campion’s dark Western The Power of the Dog became only the second film directed by a woman to win the Best Drama prize.
The film also won for Best Director and Best Supporting actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake claimed top honours for Best Comedy or Musical, as well as lead and supporting actress prizes for stars Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose.
Will Smith and Nicole Kidman won the prizes for Best Actor and Actress in film dramas for their turns in King Richard and Being the Ricardos.
But none of the stars were present as usual at the Beverly Hilton, with the ceremony held behind closed doors.
The awards, which are usually closely followed for the immediate boost to box office tallies and Oscar hopes that a Globes win can provide, were hugely overshadowed by a long-brewing row over ethical lapses by the organisers.
A scene from the movie ‘Power of the Dog’. PHOTO: AP
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), a group of 100-odd entertainment writers with links to foreign publications, has been accused of a litany of failings from corruption to racism.
The Globes are traditionally billed as Tinseltown’s biggest party – in past years, the event was watched by TV audiences of millions, and spawned frenzied debate and memes on social media. This year, NBC scrapped its broadcast, the HFPA did not offer a livestream, and the event failed to take off on Twitter, where pop culture fans were more preoccupied with the death of United States (US) comedian Bob Saget.
The young stars of West Side Story took to Twitter to mark their wins, with Zegler noting that she had been awarded her Globe exactly three years after being cast as an unknown by Spielberg from among 30,000 hopefuls.
“Life is very strange,” she wrote.
DeBose thanked the HFPA while cautioning that further reform is needed. “There is still work to be done, but when you’ve worked so hard on a project – infused with blood, sweat, tears and love – having the work seen and acknowledged is always going to be special,”
she tweeted.
A Los Angeles Times expose last year found the HFPA had no Black members, opening the floodgates for criticism from across Hollywood including from A-list stars such as Tom Cruise.
Since the scandal broke, the HFPA has rushed through reforms, admitting its biggest ever annual intake, including several Black and other minority members.
It has banned members from accepting lavish gifts and hotel stays from studios courting their votes, and highlighted its philanthropic work.
During the behind-closed-doors ceremony on Sunday, the HFPA tweeted pre-recorded videos from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis praising the group’s community work.
“I’m proud to be associated with them in this venture,” said Curtis, referring to funding by the HFPA for community programmes.
But celebrities were otherwise conspicuously absent from the proceedings, leaving the Golden Globes website’s live blog to inform readers, “No other awards community shows as much love and generosity to others quite like the HFPA!”
Despite the subdued atmosphere surrounding the Globes, three wins apiece for The Power of the Dog and West Side Story confirm their credentials as contenders for an award season that culminates in March with the Oscars.
Campion’s Power of the Dog, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which tackles toxic masculinity in 1920s Montana and was released by Netflix with a limited theatrical run, has received rave reviews.
Spielberg’s West Side Story remake flopped at the box office but was also adored by critics.
Kenneth Branagh, whose black-and-white account of the outbreak of sectarian violence during the late 1960s in Belfast is considered a strong award season contender and had jointly topped the nominations, won only for Best Screenplay.
Andrew Garfield won Best Actor in a comedy of musical for tick, tick… Boom!, which is based on the semi-autobiographical musical of the same name written by Rent composer Jonathan Larson. Succession, HBO’s tale of about a media tycoon’s warring family, topped the television side with three prizes including Best Drama.
ANN/THE DAILY STAR – Biting into the perfect fries, you should first hear a crunch and then be greeted with soft potatoes inside. Unfortunately, homemade fries fail to live up to the expectation and often, we are left with limp and soggy fries, which nobody wants!
To avoid this kitchen failure, here are some important tips to nail the classic French fries at home, followed by a delicious seasoning mix and dips that complement them really well.
SELECTING THE RIGHT POTATO
To make the perfect fries, you have to start by selecting the right potatoes for the job, and old harvest will yield the best results in this case. Choose large potatoes with skins peeling off, as this is a symbol of low moisture and starch content – two things that you want to avoid.
PREPPING THE POTATOES
Once you select the right kind of potatoes, peel and square them off for an even cut and cooking. Cut them into thin batons, keeping them as uniform as possible. Then, soak them in cold water for 10-15 minutes to draw out excess starch.
THE TRIPLE-COOK METHOD
The triple-cook method is the ultimate fool-proof manner to make perfectly crispy fries. It takes a little bit more time and patience, but the results are unlike any other method. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and drop in the potato batons and let them boil for a couple
of minutes.
After that, strain them out and pat them completely dry with a kitchen towel.
FRY, AND FRY AGAIN
Even if you skip the previous step, do not skip this one, as it is crucial to fry the potatoes twice. To deep fry the potatoes, bring sufficient amount of oil up to temperature on medium-high heat. Drop them into the pan and par-cook them for only a minute or so.
Take them off the heat and drain them on a kitchen towel. Lay the half-cooked potatoes into one single sheet and freeze them for 30 minutes. You can freeze the potatoes for up to six months in this state.
MODERATE THE TEMPERATURE
After that, before frying the potatoes again, lightly coat them with corn flour for an extra crisp exterior. Heat oil on high this time and fry the potatoes in batches to avoid overcrowding, as this will drop the temperature.
To ensure the oil is hot enough, drop one strip of potato and you should hear a sizzle instantly. Move them around in the pan for even cooking, and fry them until they are golden brown, which should take about two-three minutes.
Drain the potatoes on a sieve, which will enable them to retain crispiness and season them while they are still hot. For well-seasoned French fries, you can make a quick chilli salt using salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Sprinkle this seasoning mix over the fried potatoes and toss them to coat well.
DIBS ON DIPS
What are fries without delicious dips to accompany them? Level up your game with these two game-changing dips.
HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE
Ingredients
– Quarter cup mayonnaise
– One tbsp mustard
– One tbsp honey
– One tsp apple cider vinegar
– Half tsp hot sauce
– Pinch of salt
– Drizzle of oil (optional)
Method
Mix mayonnaise, mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar and hot sauce together with a sprinkle of salt to balance all the flavours.
Finally, finish it off with a drizzle of oil for a glossy texture.
GARLIC MAYO
Ingredients
– Half cup oil
– Quarter cup milk
– One tsp salt
– One tsp pepper
– One tbsp garlic powder
– One tbsp chopped garlic
– Two tsp lemon juice
– One tsp white vinegar
Method
Mix all the ingredients together using a whisk or blender on high speed, until it becomes a thick and creamy homogenous mixture. For thicker consistency, you may squeeze in more lemon juice.
LONDON (AFP) – Edinson Cavani has told Ralf Rangnick that he wants to stay at Manchester United and help improve the misfiring team’s fortunes after speculation that he would leave during the January transfer window.
The 34-year-old moved to Old Trafford in October 2020 and was strongly tipped to depart after just one season, only to agree to stay for a further campaign.
Rangnick said last week he would not let Cavani go and he has now confirmed that the veteran striker is keen to stay.
“I told him that if it was up to me I would want him to stay and I had a conversation with him,” said Rangnick.
“He came to my office and we spoke for almost half an hour and he told me that he will definitely stay, he will want to stay until the end of the season.
Manchester United’s striker Edinson Cavani celebrates. PHOTO: AP
“Not only because I told him that he should stay or has to stay, but he did it on his own behalf.”
Rangnick said Cavani was happy to play matches from the start but would also be the “best possible role model” for other players even if not playing.
“This is, for me, good news because Edi is one of those players with his vast amount of experience, his mentality, his work ethic, who could really be a perfect role model for all the other players,” he said.
United are seeking to end a trophy drought that now stretches to nearly five years.
The team have failed to produce consistently the pressing football that Rangnick is renowned for but he believes the players have the capacity to embrace it.
“This is the only way we can compete in this league on that level,” said the German.
QUETTA, PAKISTAN (AFP) – A band of suspected Islamic State (IS) militants is on the run in Pakistan after escaping a police raid that killed six other members of the group, officials said yesterday.
Counterterrorism police said in a statement they had stormed a hideout in the southwestern city of Quetta on Saturday and killed six militants, but “around four to five managed to escape”.
A senior police official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that “teams are now raiding different areas to arrest those who escaped”.
Among the dead was junior commander in the regional chapter of Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) Asghar Sumalani. He had a INR2 million (USD11,400) bounty on his head.
Pakistani officials have long played down the presence of IS-K in their country.
But the group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks, including the slaying of 11 miners from the minority Hazara community last year.
SEOUL (XINHUA) – Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Korea hit a record high last year due to rapid growth of investment in the services industry, a government report showed yesterday.
The reported FDI jumped 42.3 per cent over the year to USD29.51 billion in 2021, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was the highest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1962, marking the first rebound in three years.
The reported FDI in the services sector advanced 64.2 to USD23.57 billion last year, but the investment in the local manufacturing industry declined 16.2 per cent to USD5 billion.
The direct investment from China, the European Union (EU) and Japan increased to USD7.54 billion, USD12.8 billion and USD1.21 billion each, but investment from the United States fell to USD5.26 billion.
The greenfield investment, which includes the construction of factories and employment, soared 83.2 per cent over the year to USD11.42 billion last year, while the merger and acquisition (M&A) investment gained 24.7 per cent to USD18.09 billion.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (AP) – Indonesian authorities yesterday granted emergency authorisation for the use of five different COVID-19 vaccines as booster shots that will prioritise vulnerable groups.
Head of Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency Penny Lukito said Sinovac, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Zifivax vaccines would be distributed as a third vaccine shot in the country. Lukito added there are several additional vaccines that are currently in the process of clinical trials to obtain emergency use permits.
“We need to give the booster vaccine to maintain vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 infection,” Lukito said at a news conference yesterday.
The Health Ministry-run booster programme will begin tomorrow and put at the front of the line high-risk populations aged 18 and above, namely the elderly and groups of immunocompromised individuals, according to a ministry statement. The government distributed booster shots to medical workers since July of last year.
The government is also distributing free booster vaccines for the elderly and other
vulnerable groups.
Indonesia, as of Sunday, had recorded over 4.2 million COVID-19 cases and more than 144,000 deaths. During the peak of the last surge in July, it hit 56,757 cases per day as hospitals became overwhelmed by sick patients and ran out of beds and oxygen supplies.
A total of 116 millions people in the country have received the complete two doses of vaccines out of a government-set target of 208 million people.
OLD FANGAK, SOUTH SUDAN (AP) – Nyayiar Kuol cradled her severely malnourished one-year-old daughter as they travelled for 16 hours on a crowded barge to the nearest hospital to their home in rural South Sudan.
For months she had been feeding her four children just once a day, unable to cultivate because of disastrous flooding and without enough food assistance from the government or aid groups. She worries her daughter might die.
“I don’t want to think about what could happen,” she said.
Seated on her hospital bed in Old Fangak town in hard-hit Jonglei state, the 36-year-old Kuol tried to calm her daughter while blaming the government for not doing more.
Nearly two years have passed since South Sudan formed a coalition government as part of a fragile peace deal to end a five-year civil war that plunged pockets of the country into famine, and yet Kuol said nothing has changed.
“If this country was really at peace, there wouldn’t be hunger like there is now,” she said.
More people will face hunger this year in South Sudan than ever, said aid groups. That’s because of the worst floods in 60 years, as well as conflict and the sluggish implementation of the peace agreement that has denied much of the country basic services.
ABOVE & BELOW: Nyayiar Kuol holds her severely malnourished daughter Chuoder Wal in a hospital run by Medicines Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) at Old Fangak in Jonglei state, South Sudan; and residents park their dugout canoes next to a mud dyke built to prevent flooding. PHOTOS: AP
ABOVE 7 BELOW: A woman holds ground water lilies used to make soup; and displaced people outside an abandoned government building where they now take shelter in Malakal town in Upper Nile state, South Sudan
“2021 was the worst year since independence in the 10 years of the life of this country and 2022 will be worse. Food insecurity is at horrific levels,” said country representative for the World Food Program in South Sudan Matthew Hollingworth.
While the latest food security report by aid groups and the government has yet to be released, several aid officials familiar with the situation said preliminary data show that nearly 8.5 million people – out of the country’s 12 million – will face severe hunger, an eight per cent increase from last year.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to speak to the media.
Aid officials said worst affected Fangak county is now as bad as Pibor county was this time last year, when global food security experts said some 30,000 Pibor residents were likely in famine.
During trips to three South Sudan states in December, some civilians and government officials expressed concern to The Associated Press that people were beginning to starve to death.
In October, a mother and her child died in Pulpham village because they didn’t have food, said the humanitarian representative for the government in Old Fangak Jeremiah Gatmai.
Nearly one million people across South Sudan have been affected by the floods, according to the United Nations (UN), which last year had to reduce food aid by half in most places because of funding constraints, affecting some three million people.
Two years of floods have prevented people from farming and killed more than 250,000 livestock in Jonglei state alone, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Some displaced families in Old Fangak said ground-up water lilies were their only daily meal.
“We eat once a day in the morning and then sleep without food,” said Nyaluak Chuol. The 20-year-old like some others lost her fishing net in the floods. When she has enough money, she pays a boy to fish for her.
Many residents from Jonglei have fled to neighbouring states for food and shelter but have found little respite. In Malakal town, some 3,000 displaced people were crammed into abandoned buildings or sheltered under trees with nothing to eat.
“We’re eating leaves and look like skeletons,” Tut Jaknyang told the AP. The 60-year-old has received food assistance just once since fleeing floods in Jonglei in July, he said. He and others said a sack of donated rice had to be shared among 20 people.
North of Malakal in the town of Wau Shilluk, health workers said the number of malnourished children coming into the medical centre rose from 10 between January and July to 26 between August and December, according to health worker with the International Medical Corps Christina Dak.
While flooding is the main driver of hunger, it’s compounded by government deadlock as the country’s two main political parties try to share power.
Local officials in Malakal aligned with the opposition accused members of longtime President Salva Kiir’s party of undermining them by blocking political appointees and not letting them fire corrupt staff, making it hard to govern and provide services.
“We’re not working as one team. No one’s looking out for the people,” said Health Minister in Upper Nile state Byinj Erngst.
Adding to the political tensions is ongoing fighting between government and opposition-aligned militias in the country’s breadbasket in the southwest.
Government spokesman Michael Makuei said some relief such as medical services continues but there is only so much help that national authorities can give. “The floods have destroyed crops, what can the government do in that case?” he said.
Observers’ frustration is growing. In a speech to the UN Security Council in December, the head of the UN mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, warned of a collapse in the country’s peace deal if all parties didn’t renew their political will.
Jill Seaman, who works in Old Fangak with the South Sudan Medical Relief and has more than 30 years of local experience, concluded: “There are no resources, no harvest, and no cows, there’s no place to look for food.”
AP – The glamourous spies of The 355 were no competition for the movie theatre’s reigning webslinger.
Spider-Man’s box office dominance continued in its fourth weekend in theatres, adding another USD33 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. With USD668.8 million in North American ticket sales to date, Spider-Man: No Way Home is now the sixth highest grossing release of all time domestically. Globally, with USD1.5 billion and counting, it ranks in eighth place.
The only major new film this weekend was Universal’s The 355, an original spy thriller starring Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger and Penelope Cruz, which debuted in third place with USD4.8 million from 3,145 North American theatres.
Directed by Simon Kingberg, reviews for the film about a global coalition of female spies have been less than stellar: It holds a 27 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
But the audience scores have been more enthusiastic, especially from women, and about a third of the attendees this weekend were over 45 – a demographic that has not gone out to movie theatres much during the pandemic.
A scene from the movie ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. PHOTO: SONY
With a holiday weekend coming up, Universal’s Head of Domestic Distribution Jim Orr said, “We think we’ll have a nice runway.”
The 355 came in behind the animated Sing 2, also distributed by Universal, which grossed an estimated USD12 million in its third weekend in theatres, bringing its global total to USD190.8 million.
With Omicron cases surging, Hollywood has entered 2022 cautiously. January’s biggest new release, the Spider-Man spin-off Morbius, was recently pushed to April.
“There’s a bit of uncertainty in the marketplace because of the Omicron variant,” said Comscore’s senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “Studios want to protect their crown jewels and give them the greatest shot at success in movie theatres. A delay like that shows they’re not giving up on the theatres. But studios are very aware of this marketplace and what the challenges might be.”
And while January is now destined to be quiet at the box office, Dergarabedian said that Spider-Man has been a “beacon of hope” for the industry.
“It shows that audiences want to go back to the movie theatre,” he said. “We could end up having a really strong box office year, but only time will tell.”
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Klay Thompson couldn’t wait to get his first shot up after more than two years away.
Thompson’s running layup 40 seconds into Golden State’s 96-82 victory over Cleveland yesterday was a sign that the five-time All-Star is feeling just fine – even if coach Steve Kerr drew up the play for someone else.
“He wasn’t shy, was he?” Kerr said. “Not that we would ever expect Klay to be shy. I drew up the first play not for him but for him to catch it and move it on. I should have known better.”
Thompson finished with 17 points in his return from two devastating injuries on a night when he was the toast of San Francisco. Thompson was seven of 18 from the field and three of eight from three-point range. He added three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 20 minutes, walking off the court to a thunderous ovation followed by chants of “Klay! Klay!” from the Chase Center crowd.
As for the first play? Thompson said he couldn’t help himself.
“I was so excited I saw a lane to the basket that I just took the opportunity,” Thompson said. “After that I thought it was going to be one of those nights where I might be unconscious. I did not shoot as well as I wanted to but I’m so happy I can even look at the stat sheet and see my name there. It’s been a long run. I’m not going to say it equivalent to winning a championship but it was pretty close.”
Stephen Curry had 29 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Jordan Poole added 14 points for Golden State. The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak to tie Phoenix for the NBA lead at 30-9.
Lamar Stevens had 17 points and four rebounds for Cleveland.
Thompson missed 941 days and hadn’t played since tearing the ACL in his left knee in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against Toronto. While rehabbing from surgery for that injury, he tore his right Achilles tendon scrimmaging on his own in November 2020.
The five-time All-Star finally made his much-anticipated return, and reached two career milestones – 12,000 points and 1,800 three-pointers.
