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    Thailand tightens entry requirements due to Omicron spread

    BANGKOK (AP) – Thailand announced yesterday it is tightening some entry restrictions while expanding its “sandbox” quarantine programme, and urged people to follow social distancing and mask rules to control the spread of COVID-19 fuelled by the Omicron variant.

    The government did not announce any lockdown, but issued restrictions on people to avoid public gatherings, public transportation and travel around the country. Most schools will stay open.

    The decision came after reported daily coronavirus cases doubled to 7,526 in a matter of days following the new year’s holiday, mostly because of the Omicron variant. Nineteen new deaths were recorded, the government said.

    The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, or CCSA, said it has indefinitely suspended the country’s “test-and-go” programme, under which foreign tourists could quarantine for only one night while awaiting test results, and that people already approved under the scheme can only enter the kingdom until January 15.

    CCSA spokesperson Taweesin Witsanuyothin said all other people arriving in Thailand must either go into hotel quarantine or use the “sandbox” programme. He said the programme will be extended next Tuesday from the island of Phuket to the provinces of Pang-nga and Krabi and three islands in Surat Thai province – Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan.

    A health worker conducts a nasal swab on an individual undergoing a coronavirus test in Khaosan road in Bangkok. PHOTO: AP

    He said travel restrictions imposed on eight African countries will also be lifted that day.

    Under the “sandbox” programme, fully vaccinated people are allowed to enter specific locations such as Phuket. They must spend a week in an approved hotel, have one test on arrival and another a week later. Although their movements are tracked, they can move around freely.

    The “test-and-go” scheme allowed fully vaccinated people to enter Thailand, but they were subject to a coronavirus test on arrival and a second test seven days later.

    If the first test was negative, they could travel freely. They had to spend their first night in a government-approved hotel awaiting their test results.

    Thailand had by far the most ambitious programme in the region to allow travellers to enter and move around the country. It eased restrictions after a successful vaccination programme in which 100 million doses have been administered to its population of about 60 million people. Booster programmes are underway around the country.

    Man uses billboards to find a wife

    NDTV – A United Kingdom (UK)-based bachelor has taken to advertising himself on huge billboards in his quest to find a wife. Muhammad Malik has set up a website called ‘Findmalikawife.com’ and bought several advertising hoardings across Birmingham to look for a prospective life partner, reported the Birmingham Live.

    The 29-year-old entrepreneur can be seen smiling as he jokingly asks to be “saved” from an arranged marriage in billboards that have popped up across the city and in Manchester.

    “Save me from an arranged marriage”, read the billboards, along with the link to his website.

    Malik, who is from London but considers Birmingham his second home, said that he is not opposed to the idea of arranged marriage but wants to “try and find someone on my own first”.

    “I just haven’t found the right girl yet. It’s tough out there. I had to get a billboard to get seen!” he clarified on his website.

    And what does Malik look for in an ideal partner? “My ideal partner would be a Muslim woman in her 20s, who’s striving to better her deen,” he wrote. “I’m open to any ethnicity but I’ve got a loud Punjabi family – so you’d need to keep with the bants.”

    Since he put up the billboards last Saturday, Malik said he has received hundreds of messages. “I haven’t had the time to look through yet,” he told BBC. “I need to set some time aside – I hadn’t thought this part through.” Malik said he tried a few other methods to find a future wife before plastering his face on billboards.

    “I’m Pakistani desi,” he said to BBC, “so the first thing we’re told about is the power of the aunties” – but that did not spell any success for the London-based entrepreneur. He also tried dating apps and a few dating events, before a friend suggested that he should literally advertise himself.

    What day is it? UAE works on Friday for first time

    DUBAI (AFP) – Employees and schoolchildren juggled work and studies with weekly Muslim prayers on the first ever working Friday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the Gulf country formally switched to a Saturday-Sunday weekend.

    Some grumbled at the change and businesses were split, with many moving to the Western-style weekend but other private firms sticking with Fridays and Saturdays, as in other Gulf states.

    The weekly day of prayer has always been a free day in the UAE, which had previously observed a Thursday-Friday weekend until 2006.

    However, mosques appeared busy as worshippers carrying prayer mats arrived as usual, before many of them later headed back to the office.

    “I’d rather take (Friday) off,” said 22-year-old Briton Rachel King, who works in the hospitality industry and has been living in Dubai for six months.

    “That is what we all know and love, having a Friday off and going to certain places that are open and we could do things. But now it is going to be Saturday.”

    ABOVE & BELOW: Muslim men performing Friday noon prayer in an area close to their workplace on the first working Friday in the Gulf emirate of Dubai; and employees walking to work. PHOTOS: AFP

    The UAE made the surprise announcement of the weekend switch for the public sector in December as it grapples with rising competition in international business from other Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.

    Government bodies and schools will operate four-and-a-half-days per week, closing at noon on Fridays for a fixed prayer time of 1.15pm, whereas the Muslim prayer schedule usually depends on the position of the sun.

    Out of 195 businesses polled by human resources consultancy Mercer, only 23 per cent were preparing to follow the four-and-a-half-day week, but more than half would switch to
    Saturday-Sunday weekends.

    “Luckily I have the same days off as my kids, but that’s not the case for my husband,” said Fati, who works in an international distribution company, asking not to give her full name.

    “He works for a multinational that hasn’t changed its schedule for the moment. I hope they will do it quickly, otherwise our family life will be ruined.”

    Nearly a third of companies are worried about the impact of being out of sync with other countries in the region, the Mercer poll found.

    “We work a lot with Egypt and Saudi Arabia,” said Rana, an employee of an events company who said some of her teams would have to work on Sundays.

    Dubai’s financial district was unusually quiet yesterday with large numbers working remotely, especially at a time of rising COVID levels when many children are also doing online schooling.

    “Today is the first working Friday, it feels a bit weird,” said Ahmad Bilbisi, 34, a banking employee.

    “It makes sense to me, at least for the banking industry. We are now working on the same day as everyone else in the world.”

    The new arrangement was a major talking point on social media, with one Twitter user complaining “it just feels so wrong”.

    “My body and mind have fully acclimatised to having Fridays off. I think today is going to a long hard struggle,” the tweet read.

    Sharjah, an emirate neighbouring Dubai, has found a simple solution: mandating Friday, Saturday and Sunday as a three-day weekend.

    Bairstow’s century lifts England on Day three of fourth Ashes test

    SYDNEY (AP) – A timely century by Jonny Bairstow and a half-century for Ben Stokes helped England claw its way back to 258-7 after a terrible start to the third day of the fourth Ashes test.

    Bairstow scored England’s ‘ first century in its seventh innings this series against Australia.

    It was the headline performance yesterday, when England had slumped to 36-4 by lunch before its middle order counterattacked to get back into the match on another rain-affected day at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

    In clear pain after being struck on the thumb by a Pat Cummins delivery and with batting partners running out, Bairstow began attacking at nearly every ball and brought up a deserved century moments before stumps by slashing a Cummins delivery for four.

    His 138-ball hundred contained 12 boundaries and three sixes.

    “I’m absolutely over the moon,” Bairstow said. “To be honest, it’s the hardest (century) so far given the circumstances.

    “They’ve got a very good bowling attack and it’s one of those where I’m just delighted to reach three figures for England again.”

    England’s Jonny Bairstow plays a reverse sweep in front of Australia’s Alex Carey. PHOTO: AP

    Bairstow celebrated his seventh test century by running with arms aloft halfway toward the England team’s dressing room, where his teammates had gathered to acknowledge a vital innings in the context of the match which had earlier looked to be slipping away.

    England has already lost the five-match series with three straight losses, allowing Australia to retain the Ashes, but are determined to get something positive out of the tour.

    At stumps, Bairstow was 103 not out and Jack Leach was on four, with England trailing Australia by 158 runs.

    Earlier, Stokes made a typically swashbuckling 66 of 91 balls, including nine fours and a towering six over cover, as part of a 128-run partnership with Bairstow which steadied England’s innings after its early collapse.

    “The partnership with Ben was a big one and it was tough there and I’m delighted with it,” Bairstow said.

    Nathan Lyon eventually ended the 128-run partnership by trapping Stokes lbw with a ball that kept low.

    He was perhaps fortunate to get that far having before tea survived a missed caught-and-bowled chance off Cummins and then successfully reviewing an on-field lbw ‘out’ decision where the ball had in fact missed the pad and flicked the off stump but not dislodged the bail.

    Shortly after raising his half-century off 80 balls, Bairstow was struck by a ball from Cummins that reared up off the pitch and struck the batsman on the thumb.

    Bairstow received treatment on the ground before resuming his innings, but was visibly in discomfort holding the bat.

    “It takes quite a bit to get me off the park,” Bairstow said. “Yes it was sore but in the circumstances of the game it was a decision I made to stay out there.

    “You’re out there playing in a New Year’s Ashes test match in Sydney in front of a big crowd and it’s going to take a lot to take you away from that.”

    Jos Buttler became the second duck of the innings, chipping to Khawaja at cover off Cummins (2-68) to reduce England to 173-6 and in danger of not avoiding the follow-on target of 218. But Bairstow and Mark Wood combined for a 72-run partnership to reduce the visitors nerves.

    Cummins eventually had Wood caught by Lyon for 39 off 41 balls going for one big shot
    too many.

    Before lunch, England’s batting frailties again were exposed by Australia’s pace attack after it resumed at 13 without loss in a rain delayed session.

    Haseeb Hameed was dropped on two by wicketkeeper Alex Carey in Mitchell Starc’s second over, but the reprieve only cost four runs as Starc (1-49) bowled the opener for six in his next over.

    Scott Boland (2-25) bowled Zak Crawley (18) and then had Root caught at slip for a duck in his next over with the England skipper again playing away from his body and edging behind to Steve Smith at second slip.

    Green dismissed Dawid Malan (3) in the over before lunch, leaving England in tatters at the break.

    “The first session was absolutely brilliant bowling,” Australia coach Justin Langer said.
    “England had the better of us for the second two sessions.

    “I thought Ben Stokes was courageous with his side (injury) and Jonny’s Bairstow’s effort after he copped one on the thumb was really courageous.”

    Boland was taken for a precautionary scan on his ribs after tumbling in his follow through with the final ball before tea.

    Australia team management later said the 32-year-old, who made a sensational debut in Melbourne to help Australia retain the Ashes, had “been cleared of any damage” and later returned to the match.

    Try a banquette

    Michele Lerner

    THE WASHINGTON POST – Extra storage and extra seating are two elements that often top the wish lists for home buyers and homeowners. A banquette (or built-in bench) offers a solution to both issues, but not every home has the right space or location for one.

    For advice about how and where to install banquettes, we turned to Melissa Sanabria, an interior designer and founder of Washington design firm Sanabria & Co; Kelley Proxmire, owner of Kelley Proxmire Inc, an interior design firm in Bethesda, Md; and Alison Giese, owner of Alison Giese Interiors in San Antonio. All three designers responded by email, and their responses were edited for clarity and length.

    Q: Where do you recommend adding banquettes?
    Sanabria: We like to add them in rooms that are tight on space and where you might benefit from some extra storage or where you just want to increase the cozy factor. They could also be added below some windows that are begging for a window seat.

    Proxmire: While many people think banquettes are only for the kitchen or breakfast room, they can be great additions to other spaces, too. A banquette bench can be used to create a cozy reading or napping nook when surrounded by built-ins in a library or dining room.

    They’re even great for bedrooms. We’ve even been seeing an increase in banquettes in formal living rooms, essentially creating a separate, more intimate conversation area off in a corner of the room.

    Giese: The most common place to add banquettes is in kitchens. Corners lend themselves to creating a cozy nook for quiet cups of tea or corralling small children, but banquettes can be used in unexpected places as well. We designed a custom banquette in the corner of a client’s sunroom that worked well to offer an alternative to kitchen dining.

    A banquette bench can be used to create a cozy reading or napping nook. PHOTOS: HGTV
    FROM LEFT: Banquettes work well in a sunroom to offer an alternative to kitchen dining; and a banquette installed on an unused wall

    Q: What are the pros and cons of installing banquettes?
    Proxmire: (Pros): Banquettes are amazing, hard-working space-savers, because they’re designed to fit into a corner or a small nook. And, when combined with a bench, you can really minimise the footprint of a dining area. For instance, you can place a banquette seat along a wall with a table in front of it, then tuck a bench under the opposite side of the table.

    (Cons): Because they tend to be built in, there’s less flexibility and less mobility. You can grab a chair and reposition it easily, whereas a banquette seat, less so. Plus, getting in and out of bench-style seating involves a bit more effort – especially if you’re in the middle seat.

    Sanabria: They are not inexpensive (con), but if you so opt for a custom solution, then you can really maximise the space and get the added storage you seek (pro). We also love that they provide an opportunity for a fun custom cushion. Note: Remember to deduct the cushion height when determining the overall height of your banquette seat.

    Q: How much do banquettes cost to install?
    Giese: The cost depends on the level of customisation. I’ve seen people DIY Ikea “hacks” for less than USD1,000, while full custom options would run significantly more than that depending on the size, materials, details and customisation.

    Sanabria: This will range depending on the size, level of customisation and the storage solution. Keep in mind that drawers can really add to the cost, so opting for a seat that lifts via a piano hinge can deliver savings while offering storage.

    Q: Who should you hire to install banquettes?
    Sanabria: You can hire a general contractor or handyperson. We like to use a carpenter unless it’s part of a larger project where a general contractor is involved. Then we may have the banquette made by a cabinetmaker or even by the lead carpenter on the general contractor’s team; it’s usually not built by a handyperson.

    Proxmire: The benefit of going the custom route is that you can get the size perfect, so the result looks like it was always part of your home. But off-the-shelf varieties have really expanded their options in terms of offering more modular pieces that can fit together in many different configurations. Some companies will even work with a customer’s own fabric, which is another way to get a custom look.

    Q: What fabrics do you recommend for banquettes?
    Proxmire: If you’re using one in a kitchen or dining room where you’ll be eating, you’ll want a performance fabric that can handle crumbs and spills. Crypton, indoor/outdoor fabrics like Perennials or Sunbrella, or any stain-resistant upholstery weight fabric will be ideal. Another great trick is to vinyl-ise your fabric. The technology has come a long way, and it really does provide a wipeable, protective barrier to your fabric.

    Giese: The best fabrics for cushions are performance textiles that repel stains and clean up easily. If the banquette is in a sunny spot, I’d also look for fabric that’s fade-resistant.

    Nine dead, hundreds ill with diarrhoea in typhoon-hit Philippines

    MANILA (AFP) – Nine people have died and hundreds have fallen ill with diarrhoea in areas of the Philippines wrecked by a typhoon last month, with aid officials warning of a health crisis as millions struggle to secure clean water and food.

    Three weeks after Typhoon Rai struck southern and central islands, destroying thousands of homes and killing more than 400 people, relief work continues to deliver supplies to stranded residents left homeless by the storm.

    Nine people have died from dehydration caused by diarrhoea in the impoverished Dinagat Islands and the neighbouring resort island of Siargao, known for its surf spots, the Philippine health department’s regional office said.

    A total of 895 cases were recorded there since the typhoon struck, mostly among those left homeless, as the government and aid agencies rush to build emergency water treatment facilities, department spokesman Ernesto Pareja told AFP.

    “It’s hard to say it’s under control. The water supply remains irregular. Their food needs have not been addressed,”

    Pareja said. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned of a “mounting health crisis” in typhoon-hit areas as it scaled up its disaster response.

    “It is extremely concerning that people have been getting very sick and even dying in areas smashed by this typhoon,” IFRC Head of Philippine Delegation Alberto Bocanegra said in a statement on Thursday.

    The typhoon left “millions without access to clean drinking water, hospitals and health facilities”, Bocanegra added.

    A total of 402 people died from the typhoon, according to the Philippine civil defence office’s latest tally, with more than 1,200 injured and 78 still missing and at least 370,000 still in evacuation centres.

    The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said the government’s preparations for the storm and early response had been “laudable” but warned that more support was needed.

    “Unless we act now and provide badly needed food assistance to affected families, we risk seeing a rapid rise in preventable malnutrition,” said WFP Country Director and Representative Brenda Barton.

    Pareja urged donors and aid agencies to continue their work.

    No legal pathways

    KANCHANABURI, THAILAND (AFP) – Trekking through dense jungle and mountainous terrain at night to avoid arrest, one couple from Myanmar endured a gruelling journey to Thailand – grasping for an economic lifeline as jobs dry up in their coup-hit home.

    Myo Chit and his wife are among thousands of migrants who have made the crossing in recent months, spurred by the twin crises of a pandemic-hit economy and turmoil triggered by the junta’s ousting of Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government.

    Their two-day journey from Myanmar’s coastal Tanintharyi Region took them through corn farms, rubber plantations and dense jungle before they reached the porous border, where they crossed into Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province with the help of a smuggler.

    There they risked arrest and immediate processing for deportation by Thai police.

    The couple then travelled to Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok, where Myanmar migrants have historically found work.

    But for undocumented migrants in Thailand, life under the radar is grim.

    Many spend their nights in overcrowded housing, or in the homes of friends and relatives, and their days evading authorities.

    Myanmar migrants apprehended by Thai military personnel in Kanchanaburi province, bordering Myanmar. PHOTO: AFP

    “But we could not stay (in our town)… we had to think about the future of our children,” 45-year-old Myo Chit told AFP, using a pseudonym for fear of being tracked down by the Thai authorities.

    He eventually secured the job he was desperate for at a clothing dye factory, earning USD10 a day.

    With a six-year-old child and an infant left in his in-laws’ care in Myanmar, Myo Chit said leaving was difficult but had to be done.

    “We could not stay there because of high prices – we had to leave our village,” he said. “We came here just to earn money.”

    Myanmar workers have long sought jobs in neighbouring Thailand. Pre-pandemic, an estimated two million were living and working in the kingdom.

    With borders closed since March 2020, migrants have no choice but to make the journey illegally.

    There is no official data on the size of the influx, but experts say one indicator is the number of migrants who have been caught by authorities.

    In the months after Myanmar’s February 1, 2021 coup, the number of arrests tripled, according to Thai government figures.

    It peaked in November with more than 6,000 migrants intercepted – more than a 10-fold increase from the 560 people arrested in January.

    According to Geraldine Ansart, the International Organization for Migration’s Thailand mission chief, for each person arrested, “it is realistic to assume that… at least one other Myanmar national could cross the border without being apprehended”.

    Thai-based migrant rights activist Roisai Wongsuban said the spike in arrivals is due to Myanmar’s post-coup economic crisis, which has seen inflation soar and work opportunities evaporate.

    With food prices doubling and fuel costs spiking as the value of the kyat, Myanmar’s currency, plummeted against the US dollar, many people became destitute, she said.

    “It is hard for ordinary people.”

    Seasonal workers, who for years had travelled in and out of Thailand, were left in the lurch after Covid-spurred border closures.

    “The border has been closed for so long that there is no legal pathways for workers who want to come back to Thailand,” Roisai added.

    Thai army spokesman General Santipong Thammapiya said it was mainly Thailand’s re-opening to tourists in November that was drawing Myanmar workers back – many of whom staff the kingdom’s vital industries, including the service and restaurant sector.

    “Workers… wanted to come back,” he told AFP. “They also trust the Thai healthcare system, which can provide treatment for COVID.”

    Demand for Myanmar workers is high in Thailand, where – given their status – they have no choice but to accept lower wages.

    According to the Labour Ministry, there is a shortage of up to 200,000 workers in Thailand.

    But according to Santipong, there is no tolerance in Bangkok for illegal migration, and those arrested making the attempt are sent “for legal processing followed by… repatriation”, he said.

    Despite the obstacles, two people smugglers operating near Kanchanaburi province’s Three Pagodas Pass border crossing told AFP business has been good.

    Prices to make the crossing range from THB13,000 to 25,000 (USD380-750), and desperation drives thousands to pay.

    “Some are arrested, but there are even more people who are not,” one smuggler told AFP on condition of anonymity.

    Sri Lanka vaccinates children as doctors warn of COVID surge

    COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (AP) – Sri Lankan health authorities yesterday began vaccinating children aged 12 to 15, as the island nation’s top medical specialists warned of a wave of COVID-19 infections in the coming weeks driven by the Omicron variant.

    Under the new vaccination programme, children will be given a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine, said the Health Ministry. Earlier, children above 15 could be vaccinated.

    The latest effort begins as schools are set to fully re-open from Monday.

    Children were previously allowed to attend schools in two groups.

    The move also comes as authorities take steps to make vaccination certificates compulsory to enter public places.

    According to health officials, 47 Omicron cases have been detected so far in Sri Lanka.

    The Association of Medical Specialists, which comprises the country’s top doctors, pointed to a surge in COVID-19 cases last April as a warning “that history is repeating itself”.

    Korean proficiency test registration opens

    Azlan Othman

    The test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) II will be held on April 10 at the Chancery of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

    TOPIK is designed to assess and certify the language proficiency in Korean for foreign language learners. Test results can be used as a guideline for placing foreign students into Korean universities or non-native workers into enterprises in Korea or overseas.

    TOPIK is eligible for overseas Koreans and foreigners who do not speak the language as their mother tongue; those learning Korean language with intentions to apply to Korean universities; those with intention to join/work for domestic/overseas Korean companies and public organisations; and Koreans who study or graduated overseas.

    Applicants should register and submit the completed form obtainable at the Korean Embassy, test fee of BND40, two coloured passport-sized photos and a copy of identity card.

    The test will be cancelled if there are less than five applicants.

    Anti-virus lockdowns add to concerns over economy

    BEIJING (AP) – China’s lockdowns of big cities to fight coronavirus outbreaks are prompting concern about more disruptions to global industries after two makers of processor chips said their factories were affected.

    That has added to unease about the Omicron variant’s global economic impact. Analysts warn Vietnam, Thailand and other countries important to manufacturing chains might impose anti-disease measures that would delay deliveries.

    “Lockdowns in China are already causing disruptions,” economists at Nomura said in a report yesterday.

    The Chinese economy already was cooling under pressure from unrelated official efforts to force real estate developers and other companies to reduce surging debt that fuelled China’s boom over the past two decades.

    The biggest city in China’s latest lockdowns is Xi’an, a metropolis of 13 million people in the west. It is less significant as a manufacturer than Wuhan, the central city that shut down in 2020 after the first coronavirus cases were spotted there. But Xi’an has factories that make processor chips for smartphones, auto parts and other goods for global and Chinese brands.

    Samsung Electronics and Micron Technologies Ltd say their factories in Xi’an are affected but they are trying to minimise disruptions by drawing on global production networks.

    Micron said some deliveries might be delayed.

    Those factories make DRAM and NAND memory chips used in smartphones, personal computers and services.

    A security guard wearing a face mask to protect against COVID-19 stands at the entrance to a closed tourist site in Xi’an in northwestern China’s Shaanxi Province. PHOTO: AP

    Xi’an accounts for 42 per cent of Samsung’s NAND production and 15 per cent of global supply, according to Shelly Jang of Fitch Ratings. Samsung makes about one-third of such chips.

    The lockdown “will negatively affect NAND flash supply, if it is prolonged further”, Jang said in an email. The situation “adds more uncertainty” to supplies.

    Authorities also have cut off access to parts of Ningbo, south of Shanghai, one of the world’s busiest ports. That is slowing freight handling and has the potential to raise already high shipping costs.

    Yuzhou, a city of 1.2 million in the central province of Henan, was locked down on Thursday.

    Access to Yongji in neighbouring Shanxi province was suspended and mass testing ordered after traces of the virus were found at a train station. The ruling Communist Party’s intensive controls on travel and business under a “zero-COVID strategy” that aims to keep the virus out of China have held numbers of new infections relatively low.

    Yesterday, the government reported 174 new cases nationwide, 57 of them in Xi’an and 56 in Henan province.

    In contrast to the United States and other governments that have tried to minimise the economic impact of anti-virus controls, the zero-COVID strategy is imposing high costs.

    Beijing took the then-unprecedented step of shutting down most the world’s second-largest economy last year to fight the virus.

    Economic growth rebounded after factories, shops and offices were allowed to re-open when the ruling party declared victory over the virus in March.

    But scattered cities, towns and some individual neighbourhoods have faced more temporary lockdowns since then to stop outbreaks.

    Economic growth already was slowing after Beijing tightened controls on use of borrowed money by real estate developers.

    That caused a slump in construction, one of the biggest contributors to economic growth.

    Forecasters have cut their outlook for China’s economic growth in the final quarter of 2021 to as low as 3 per cent over a year earlier.

    That is down from the previous quarter’s 4.9 per cent.

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    Borneo Bulletin is the leading English daily in the country. It was first published by Brunei Press. Today, Borneo Bulletin has become the foremost source of information on local and foreign affairs, and the region’s business news.

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