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    Protesters in Kazakhstan storm city mayor’s office

    MOSCOW (AP) – Demonstrators angered by rising fuel prices stormed the mayor’s office in Kazakhstan’s largest city yesterday and attempted to break into the presidential residence, according to local news reports, as intensifying protests led the Central Asian country’s government to resign.

    Many of the demonstrators who converged on the mayoral office in Almaty carried clubs and shields, and flames were seen coming from the building, according to the reports, but it was unclear how extensive the fire was. Meanwhile, thousands massed outside the presidential residence in the city. A fire at the city prosecutor’s office also was reported.

    Yesterday afternoon, many Kazakh news sites became inaccessible and the global Internet monitor Netblocks said the country was experiencing a widespread Internet blackout.

    Despite the government’s reisgnation, ministers will remain in their posts until a new Cabinet is formed – and it remained unclear if the move would result in policy changes or have any effect of the growing protests.

    The demonstrations against a sharp increase in prices for liquefied gas – used by many to fuel their cars – began this week in the country’s west and have spread across the country.

    Smoke rises from the city hall building during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan. PHOTO: AP

    President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in Almaty, imposing an overnight curfew and limiting access to the city. He later imposed a state of emergency for two weeks in the capital Nur-Sultan.

    At the start of the year, prices for liquefied gas roughly doubled as the government moved away from price controls. Although Kazakhstan has extensive gas and oil reserves and mineral wealth, discontent over poor living conditions is strong in some parts of the country.

    Many Kazakhs also chafe at the dominance of the ruling party that holds over 80 per cent of the seats in Parliament.

    Dozens of police vehicles were set on fire or vandalised in the city, reports said.

    Twins born in different years

    LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A set of twins born 15 minutes apart in California have very different birthdays – one in 2021 and the other in 2022.

    Alfredo Antonio Trujillo came into the world at 11.45pm on New Year’s Eve in the city of Salinas.

    A quarter of an hour later, on New Year’s Day, his sister Aylin Yolanda Trujillo was born.

    The Natividad Medical Center, where the babies were delivered, said in a statement last week that some estimates suggest there is a one-in-two-million chance of twins being born in different years.

    “It’s crazy to me that they are twins and have different birthdays,” the babies’ mother, Fatima Madrigal, was quoted as saying in the statement.

    Dr Ana Abril Arias described the births as “one of the most memorable deliveries of my career”.

    “It was an absolute pleasure to help these little ones arrive here safely in 2021 and 2022.”

    Big brother Alfredo tipped the scales at six pounds and one ounce while the baby of the family, Aylin, was a healthy five pounds and 14 ounces.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said around 120,000 twins are born every year in the United States, representing roughly three per cent of births.

    Lost croc captured near shop

    James Kon

    Firefighters captured a 4.5-metre long crocodile found in a drain near a shop along Jalan Muara, Kampong Salar, Mentiri yesterday.

    The firefighters found the crocodile inside a drain near a shop and captured the reptile with a rope and a snake catcher. It was passed to the Wildlife Division. No one was injured.

    SO Murni bin Haji Misir led seven firefighters from the Muara Fire station responded following a call about a wild animal disturbance, according to the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD).

    The FRD said unclean premises with rodent infestation are more prone to attracting wild animals such as crocodiles, snakes and monitor lizards. Abandoned and unkempt lawns may become the animals’ nesting and breeding area.

    The public is urged to report to the FRD if they encounter wild animals roaming around residential or commercial areas. The public is advised not to attempt to approach or threaten wild animals, observe cleanliness and keep windows and doors closed when not at home.

    Firefighters capture a 4.5-metre long crocodile after it was found in a drain near a shop along Jalan Muara, Kampong Salar Mentiri yesterday. PHOTO: FRD
    Photos show personnel capturing the crocodile. PHOTOS: FRD

     

    ‘Follow me’: Dog finds help, leads cops to owner’s car crash

    LEBANON, New Hampshire (AP) – A German shepherd named Tinsley, first thought to be a lost dog, successfully led New Hampshire state police to the site of its owner’s rollover crash.

    Both the vehicle’s occupants were seriously hurt, but thanks to Tinsley’s dogged efforts they quickly received medical assistance once officers discovered the truck, which went off the road near a Vermont interstate junction, WMUR-TV reported on Tuesday.

    “The dog was trying to show them something,” said Lieutenant Daniel Baldassarre of the New Hampshire State Police. “He kept trying to get away from them but didn’t run away totally.

    “It was kind of, ‘Follow me. Follow me’. And they did that and you know, to their surprise to see the guardrail damaged and to look down to where the dog is looking at, it’s just, they were almost in disbelief,” he said.

    A New Hampshire state trooper and police from the nearby city of Lebanon responded to the crash site late Monday, just across the state line in Vermont.

    There were no further details on the condition of those injured in the single-vehicle crash.

    Maktab Duli renames learning centre

    Azlan Othman

    Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College (Maktab Duli) on Tuesday announced the renaming of its Student Learning Centre (SLC) to Student Learning Service Centre (SLSC). Head of Cluster 1 Hamidah binti Haji Daud officiated.

    The event saw 130 Upper Six students completing two programmes at the SLSC – Youth empowerment and ‘BIJAK’ programmes. The programmes are conducted annually. The counselling unit facilitated the youth empowerment programme, while the student affairs section facilitated the ‘BIJAK’ programme.

    The SLSC venue comprises the student affairs, registrar and safety, health and environment sections as well as the counselling unit. It also provides prayer rooms for students.

    Meanwhile, digital and blended learning classrooms will be available.

    Maktab Duli’s new Principal Dayangku Hajah Nooramaliatifah binti Pengiran Haji Ahmad, deputy principals, staff and Ministry of Education (MoE) officers also attended.

    Prior to the event, a Doa was recited by Student Representative Council member Muhammad Rahimin Danish bin Abdullah.

    ABOVE & BELOW: A programme in session; and Head of Cluster 1 Hamidah binti Haji Daud attending the event with Maktab Duli’s new Principal Dayangku Hajah Nooramaliatifah binti Pengiran Haji Ahmad, deputy principals, staff and Ministry of Education officers. PHOTOS: AZLAN OTHMAN

    CES tech fair opens under pandemic shadow

    LAS VEGAS (AFP) – The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) threw open its doors to thousands yesterday in Las Vegas despite surging COVID-19 cases in the United States (US), as one of the world’s largest trade fairs tries to get back to business.

    After a series of high-profile companies like Amazon and Google cancelled over climbing virus risk, the return of the in-person convention was cast in doubt.

    But organisers cited their vaccine and mask requirements while insisting the show – with its mix of journalists, entrepreneurs and tech lovers from around the world – had to go on.

    “Despite a few well-publicised cancellations amongst our exhibitors, we have over 2,200 exhibitors here at CES 2022 in Las Vegas, and all of them are counting on us to move forward,” a vice president from the group that runs the convention Steve Koenig said.

    “Why? Well, because these businesses are looking for investors, they’re looking for partners, they’re looking to conduct business,” he added.

    Some health experts have voiced caution that people may not universally respect the mask mandate, and noted that daily testing would be a useful tool to keep the spread in check.

    Samsung Electronics Inc Vice Chairman & CEO Jong-Hee Han delivers a keynote address at CES 2022 at The Venetian Las Vegas. PHOTO: AP

    The event has been cut back by a day to end tomorrow, and the scale of the show will be sharply reduced with fewer than half the roughly 4,500 exhibitors that turned up for the last in-person edition in 2020 – just before pandemic lockdowns hit the US.

    Badge-wearing attendees pulling suitcases have begun trickling in, some with a bit of trepidation.

    “We are concerned and worried given the situation and the spike in the cases,” said exhibitor Bhavya Gohil, who added he was vaccinated and that the organisers’ precautions were reassuring.

    “But definitely yes, we are still worried of what could be the outcome,” he noted.

    The show is held in a hybrid format, in person but also online, using software developed by Web Summit, a European technology conference.

    “There’s no walking, there’s no noise, there’s no distractions,” Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, said of the upsides of joining online.

    “But I don’t personally believe that you can mimic online the quality of an actual in-person, humans-to-human interaction,” he added.

    Despite a thinner crowd, the show floor will still hold firms hawking everything from quirky gadgets to technology aimed at humanity’s deepest concerns.

    One of the top items on the menu for the 2022 edition is transportation, increasingly electric and autonomous. Space-related technologies are making a strong entrance, after a year that saw peaking interest in space tourism and the development of satellite Internet.

    And of course, the metaverse is on everyone’s mind, although its definition remains fluid at this stage.

    The concept refers to the emergence of a world where digital and real worlds are combined, which humans will access via augmented and virtual reality equipment.

    Born out of science fiction, it has become one of tech’s hottest topics since Facebook announced colossal investments in this field and renamed itself Meta.

    But for now, the industry is focussed on more immediate challenges, such as global chip shortages and supply delays, which are delaying new product launches.

    Local university joins international Islamic conference

    Azlan Othman

    Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) in collaboration with Sultan Zainal Abidin University (UniSZA), Malaysia, Muhammadiyah University Ponorogo Indonesia, Muhammadiyah University Jakarta Indonesia and STISIPOL Raja Haji Indonesia held the virtual World Islamic Social Science Congress 2021 (WISSC 2021) on December 29-30, 2021.

    The conference saw five key papers presented, including a presentation by professor at Faculty of Islamic Finance at UNISSA Dr Razali bin Mat on ‘Managing University-Life Stress Using Islamic Spiritual Mechanism Involvement: A Case of selected Muslim Students’ well-Being at UNISSA ‘.

    The event also saw 60 papers discussed, with topics covering various disciplines including social sciences, education, information technology and language development. Out of the 60, 43 were presentations from UNISSA, with five named best papers and best presentations.

    Assistant Rector of Academic at UNISSA Professor Madya Dr Siti Sara binti Haji Ahmad as UNISSA representative at the WISSC 2021 closing ceremony, expressed gratitude to UniSZA for inviting UNISSA to collaborate in organising the seminar.

    She said the involvement of UNISSA academics and students in the seminar reflects UNISSA’s support for knowledge activities, while taking advantage of the memorandum of understanding signed on August 20, 2019.

    Assistant Rector of Academic at UNISSA Professor Madya Dr Siti Sara binti Haji Ahmad. PHOTO: AZLAN OTHMAN

    China reports major drop in virus cases in Xi’an

    BEIJING (AP) – China yesterday reported a major drop in local COVID-19 infections in the northern city of Xi’an, which has been under a tight lockdown for the past two weeks that tested the city’s ability to provide supplies for those confined to their homes.

    With the Beijing Olympics beginning on February 4, China is doubling down on measures to prevent any new outbreak that could affect proceedings.

    People are being told to travel in and out of Beijing only if they absolutely need to and hotels have largely stopped taking new reservations.

    Athletes, officials and journalists are entering an “anti-pandemic” bubble as soon as they arrive and will remain within it until the February 4-20 Winter Games are over.

    No fans from outside China are permitted and most of the spectators are expected to be drawn from schools, government offices and the military rather than the general public.

    A medical worker collects swab sample from a citizen at a mobile testing site in Xincheng District of Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. PHOTO: XINHUA

    Underscoring the importance of the event, Chinese President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping visited Olympic sites around the capital on Tuesday, including the main media centre.

    “Staging major international sporting events such as the Winter Olympics will be an opportunity to enhance the influence of Chinese culture, the reach of news reporting and the nation’s soft power,” Xi was cited as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

    The National Health Commission yesterday announced just 35 new cases in Xi’an, down from 95 the day before.

    That marks a steady decline since daily new cases topped 100, prompting officials to retain and in some cases tighten restrictions on people leaving their homes.

    Xi’an has seen over 1,600 cases but no deaths in its latest surge, a sign that China’s “zero tolerance” strategy of quarantining every case, mass testing and trying to block new infections from abroad has helped it to contain major outbreaks.

    China has also vaccinated nearly 85 per cent of its population, according to Our World in Data. The shots have helped reduce the severity of disease.

    The lockdowns, however, are far more stringent than anything seen in the West, and they have exacted a tremendous toll on the economy and the lives of millions of people.

    China has reported a total of 102,932 cases nationwide, with the death toll remaining steady at 4,636.

    Adopting digitalisation to overcome challenges

    Danial Norjidi

    A new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has indicated that there is an increase in the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking digital technology to overcome challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The report, titled ‘COVID-19 and Technology Adoption in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: The Impact and the Way Forward’, also finds, however, that SMEs face numerous barriers to adopting technology at a critical time of need.

    According to a WEF press statement, while 97 per cent of global companies have accelerated adoption of technology to get through the pandemic, according to Forbes, the WEF’s survey indicates that only 23 per cent of SMEs were able to dedicate resources to new digital tools.

    “SMEs are still scrambling to meet mandated health and safety measures, threatening their ability to stay operational,” said the statement.

    It also noted that SMEs represent more than 90 per cent of all companies globally and are the primary drivers of social mobility, creating seven out of 10 jobs.

    “Unfortunately, these companies are struggling to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, endangering their own comparativeness in a global economy.”

    The pandemic further emphasised the importance of business to be flexible and agile, and yet these digital resiliency tools are out of reach.

    The survey of 141 SMEs from six countries that are part of the WEF’s Fourth Industrial Revolution Network – Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Turkey – shows heightened demand among SMEs to integrate digital technology in business operations, particularly related to the industrial Internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence (AI), the statement shared.

    “When asked about the different use cases most SMEs expressed interest in deploying technology to optimise processes, ensure safety and security, facilitate quality management, and manage workforce training and collaboration. Given the low level of automation and digitalisation among SMEs, the report suggests an outsized opportunity for SMEs and digital solution providers to collaborate.” The report “found that the most prominent impact of COVID-19 on SME supply chains has been on the procurement side, such as issues with costs and the availability of materials, as well as delivery and logistics problems”.

    “In terms of business activities, unsurprisingly, many of the SMEs surveyed were forced to move to remote working, which resulted in increased demands being placed on their IT infrastructure. Many also faced temporary suspension of their business activities.”

    The study revealed that around 40 per cent of the SMEs surveyed ceased their activities during the pandemic, which has caused a reduction in employee working hours or has led to redundancies in the past year.

    It also describes the health restrictions put in place to stop the virus’ spread as having underscored the importance of integrating digital technologies in business operations.

    “The analysis demonstrates that companies’ interest in digital technologies has grown between 2019 (pre-COVID-19 period) and 2021 (a year into the pandemic). SMEs are more interested in IoT, big data, cloud computing, AI and virtual and augmented reality.”

    “Various use cases such as health and safety, security, process optimisation, quality management, employee training and data accessibility also saw an increase in interest among SMEs.”

    The study added, however, that despite the increase in awareness of the importance of digital technology, many companies have admitted to either suspending their digitlisation plans or having no plans at all.

    “This is partly due to the financial stress caused by the pandemic’s impact on sales and operations. More importantly, this points to the continued existence of significant barriers that hamper the adoption of digital technology among SMEs.”

    Among the main barriers identified in the study were: financial constraints, lack of skilled labour, infrastructure barriers to the availability of digital technology and inadequate support from executives.

    The main barriers identified in the study largely mirrored those outlined in the Policy Protocol co-designed and developed by the WEF in partnership with the Ministry of Economy of Brazil and the Brazilian State of Sao Paolo. It adds that this underscores the importance and continued relevance of the Policy Protocol in promoting the use of digital technology among SMEs.

    The Policy Protocol aims to lower barriers and promote the adoption of digital technology by SMEs.

    According to WEF’s Head of Urban Transformation Jeff Merritt, “The protocol identified five main challenges: people and capabilities; funding; process and infrastructure; technology and readiness; and strategy and ecosystem. In addition, it named four key policy interventions to overcome them: raising awareness; expert support and upskilling; financial support; and encouraging collaborative environments.”

    The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the need for a deeper integration of digital technology among SMEs.

    “Addressing the barriers will likely benefit all stakeholders – the public and private sectors, as well as larger segments of society – by unlocking the economic and social potential and value of more productive and competitive SMEs.”

    Meanwhile, the WEF press statement underlines that policy-makers have an important role to play in reducing barriers, aligning incentives for different stakeholders and creating an environment conducive to wider adoption and deeper integration of digital technology among SMEs. “This will not only save jobs but also create new ones by raising awareness, supporting upskilling, providing financial assistance and building a collaborative environment to encourage wider adoption of technology.”

    ‘End-of-life’: Old BlackBerries no longer work

    NEW YORK (AFP) – As of Tuesday, many models of the once-indispensable BlackBerry devices will no longer work.

    The Canadian company has decided to pull the plug on new updates of its operating system, meaning most BlackBerries that became synonymous with the emerging mobile digital culture of recent decades – and were embraced by politicians and business executives – will not operate correctly after January 4.

    “As of this date, devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS and 9-1-1 (emergency) functionality,” the company said on its website last month.

    The “end-of-life” (EOL) move, as Blackberry called it, impacts BlackBerry 7.1 OS and earlier, BlackBerry 10 software, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1 and earlier versions.

    The company did say, however, that devices using Google’s Android operating system, including the BlackBerry KEY2 released in 2018 and designed by China’s TCL Group, would not be affected by the changes.

    File photo shows a BlackBerry phone in Washington, DC. PHOTO: AFP

    The EOL decision marks the end of an era in mobile telephony, which reached its peak in the late 2000s when BlackBerry met with widespread commercial success, especially among professionals.

    The large QWERTY keyboard for easier emailing and the simple, uncluttered design were favoured by business leaders, celebrities, politicians and journalists.

    Former US president Barack Obama was famously addicted to his BlackBerry and insisted on keeping his phone in the White House after his election in 2008, forcing his security detail to build him a custom model reduced to basic features to keep his data safe.

    BlackBerries were ultimately supplanted by smartphones, notably beginning with Apple’s iPhone, which launched in 2009.

    Attempts to relaunch BlackBerry fizzled, and its partnership with TCL for the KEY2, the latest model, was not renewed.

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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.

    © 2013 Borneo Bulletin Online - The Independent Newspaper in Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Sarawak