Webtel.mobi’s Global Payment Systems Fuse Cash and Digital Capacities – Creating a Functioning “Cashless Society” Model

WM’s ICLM and TUV Unitary Global Payments Systems provide a fully operational and benign model for a functioning Cashless Society worldwide

NEW YORK and ST PETER PORT, Guernsey, Sept. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — To create its Global Clearing System – a digital version of John Maynard Keynes’s proposed “International Clearing Union” – Global Telephony Provider Webtel.mobi (“WM”) also created a Global Unitary Payment System – with two Global Payment Facilities – the ICLM Payments and the TUV Digital Currency Payments (also known as “TUV Payments”).

Both Payment Systems have all the characteristics of Cash Payments and Digital Payments combined, are globally applicable, globally available, require no specialized equipment to function, have multicurrency wallets, enable multicurrency payments with FX Conversions in-wallet, and are equally available to Banked and Unbanked persons.

One of these Payment Systems – the ICLM Payments – is ultra-low cost to use, and the other – TUV Payments – is completely free to use.

These Payment Systems not only facilitate a “Cashless Society”, but have also already introduced a fully operational global Cashless Society system in a benign way. It is benign because this version of a Cashless Society preserves individuals’ privacy, freedom, and choice.

WM’s Payment Systems do not require a Central Bank issued Digital Currency or CBDC to function because WM’s TUV Digital Currency itself is already the equivalent of a Global CBDC.

WM’s Payment Systems – like all its other facilities – are not new. They were functional and operational in 2009, but WM spent nine years testing and perfecting them – and subjecting its system to multiple third-party Due Diligences worldwide – to ensure compliance and robustness before rebuilding its Platform 2 to provide these Facilities in an unrestricted manner internationally.

Access to WM’s services is only available to WM Members because it is a Closed-Loop Members-Only service. However, it is free and instant to join WM as a Member.

WM has one of the safest systems internationally in Security and Anti Money Laundering. WM’s Payment Systems synchronize, into one product, the characteristics of Cash and Digital Money with the ease of use of Cash and the safety of Digital Money. They also have the security of a closed, monitored system and transactions – ensuring robust security and Anti-Money Laundering capacities.

To load WM accounts, Members can transfer funds (”Stored Credit”) into their accounts using any means, and also purchase TUV Digital Currency from WM Agents (“VSMPs”) for cash. The system provides a Unitary and level playing field – and entry into a 21st Century Digital Economy for all people – whether Banked or Unbanked. It renders even the concepts of “Banked” or “Unbanked” redundant – because the only differentiator is the method used to load funds (“Stored Credit”) onto WM Accounts.

All funds (“Stored Credit”) of WM Members is held in regulated Bank Accounts, so the WM System has permanent 100% liquidity, and all Payment and Settlement Transactions are carried out simultaneously in 1/100th of a second.

WM’s ICLM Payments and TUV Payments are fully operational, and available to all WM Members on its platform. Examples of some of WM’s ICLM and TUV Payments Systems’ characteristics in comparison to other Payment Systems in the Offline Payments role are as follow:

OFFLINE PAYMENTS CHARACTERISTIC CARD
PAYMENTS
MOBILE
PAYMENTS
CASH
PAYMENTS
ICLM
PAYMENTS
TUV
PAYMENTS
Payments made Instantly Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Functions 24/7/365 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Funds Secure in Digital Wallets Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Functions without a Physical or Digital Card No No Yes Yes Yes
Has Combined Usability of Cash and Digital No No No Yes Yes
Has Identical Usability to Cash No No Yes Yes Yes
Pure Peer 2 Peer Transactions (PP2P) No No Yes Yes Yes
Impossible to Carry Out Fraudulent Transactions No No Yes Yes Yes
Impossible for Merchants to Incur Chargebacks No No Yes Yes Yes
Instant No-Retention Settlement to Merchants No No Yes Yes Yes
Payment Process without Intermediaries No No Yes Yes Yes
Payment Process without Intermediary Fees No No Yes Yes Yes
Receive Payments without Terminals/Equipment No No Yes Yes Yes
Functions Alone Without Any Other Entities No No Yes Yes Yes
Functions in all Countries and Territories No No Yes Yes Yes
Merchant and Payer can Split Payment Fees No No Yes Yes Yes
Self-Contained Unitary Global System No No No Yes Yes
Uniform Global Security and Standards No No No Yes Yes
Total Access from Any Smart Phone No No No Yes Yes
Total Access from Any Pre-Smart Mobile Phone No No No Yes Yes
Impossible for a 3rd Party to use if Stolen No No No Yes Yes
Impossible for a 3rd Party to use if Lost No No No Yes Yes
Impossible to Clone or Counterfeit No No No Yes Yes
Clients can Pay in Multiple Currencies Globally No No No Yes Yes
Clients Control FX Conversions No No No Yes Yes
Merchants can Accept Multicurrency Payments No No No Yes Yes
Merchants Control FX Conversions No No No Yes Yes
Totally Free to Make and Receive Payments No No Yes 0.25% to 1% Yes

Once people have joined WM as Members and loaded Stored Credit onto their accounts, they can start using the ICLM Payments of TUV Payments Systems immediately – to make or receive payments. The only requirement is a Smart Phone – or a Pre-Smart Phone (which still comprise 50% of Mobile Phones in use) – and the ITAN Number and Registered Mobile Number of the WM Member they want to pay. That is all.

ITAN Numbers (“Inter-TEL.mobi Account Numbers”) are the unique Account Numbers issued to all WM Members when they join, and the Registered Mobile Number is the member’s Mobile Phone Number.

For Merchants to notify clients they accept ICLM and TUV Payments of WM’s unique Global Account Numbering system, they simply need to display this sign, and indicate they accept payment in only one currency, only some currencies or in all currencies.

As all WM Members can execute in-wallet Currency Conversions or Currency Swaps within WM, it makes no difference whether only one currency or all currencies are accepted. This is because all Members can convert before paying or after receiving payments. Examples of the Merchant notifications for accepting ICLM and TUV Payments are as follow:

We Accept ICLM and TUV Payments We Accept ICLM and TUV Payments
Our ITAN: WM1234567891234567891234 Our ITAN: WM9876543219876543219876
Our Mobile: +XX 1234 567 890 Our Mobile: +XX 9876 543 210
Payment Currencies Accepted: All Currencies Payment Currencies Accepted: USD only
Instant Confirmation by Text: Yes Instant Confirmation by Text: Yes

Resources:

Media Contact:
Nick Lambert: wm@thoburns.com

Video on WM’s Regulatory Compliance:
https://youtu.be/u522lVsGIJI

Video on The Capacities of the WM System:
https://youtu.be/XYBrCikUhn8

Research Reports on the Capacities of the WM System:
https://tinyurl.com/TUVresearch

WM’s urls:
https://webtel.mobi/pc (Tablets / Laptops / Desktops)
https://webtel.mobi (Smart Phones)
https://webtel.mobi/wap (Pre-Smart Mobile Phones)

Adagio Therapeutics Announces New Data Highlighting the Potential of ADG20 for Treatment and Prevention of COVID-19

ADG20 Continues to be Well Tolerated in Healthy Volunteers with Prolonged Half-Life and Serum Virus Neutralization Activity Observed out to Six Months in Ongoing Phase 1 Study

Data from Quantitative Systems Pharmacology/Whole-Body Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling Support Evaluation of 300 mg Intramuscular Dose of ADG20 Given as a Single Intramuscular Injection in Ongoing Phase 2/3 Studies

Data to be Presented During IDWeek 2021 and 19th Annual Discovery on Target Conference

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Adagio Therapeutics, Inc., (Nasdaq: ADGI) a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of antibody-based solutions for infectious diseases with pandemic potential, today announced new data from the company’s COVID-19 antibody program. Updated, six-month data from its ongoing Phase 1 study of ADG20 in healthy participants and data validating the selection of the 300 mg intramuscular (IM) dose given as a single injection that is being evaluated in the company’s ongoing global Phase 2/3 treatment (STAMP) and prevention (EVADE) clinical trials will be presented during four poster sessions at the Infectious Disease Society of America’s IDWeek 2021, being held from Sept. 29 – Oct. 3, 2021. In addition, Adagio’s chief scientific officer, Laura Walker, Ph.D., will present a subset of the ADG20 Phase 1 data as well as background on the identification and optimization of this differentiated antibody clinical candidate in an oral presentation at the 19th Annual Discovery on Target Conference on Sept. 30, 2021.

“The continued strength of the safety and pharmacokinetic data from our Phase 1 study is encouraging and further underscores the potential impact an antibody like ADG20 – which was designed to be potent, broadly neutralizing and delivered as a single IM injection – could have on people with or at risk of COVID-19,” said Lynn Connolly, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer of Adagio. “These Phase 1 data combined with our dose selection strategy, which relied on our innovative modeling approach, have allowed us to initiate and advance our pivotal trials of ADG20 in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. We anticipate these data will support an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) application in the first quarter of 2022, which could enable us to bring an important treatment option to patients.”

Phase 1 Trial Update
Adagio is evaluating ADG20 in a Phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled single ascending-dose study to assess safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), immunogenicity, and serum virus neutralizing activity of ADG20 ex vivo against SARS-CoV-2. Data from a six-month evaluation timepoint confirmed the extended half-life of ADG20, which approached 100 days based on data from the 300 mg IM dose that was given as a single injection. In addition, 50% serum virus neutralization titers at six months after a 300 mg IM dose of ADG20 were similar to observed peak titers with the mRNA-1273 vaccine and exceeded those achieved with the AZD1222 vaccine series. Importantly, ADG20 was well tolerated with no study drug-related adverse events (AEs), serious AEs, or injection-site or hypersensitivity reactions reported through a minimum of three months follow-up across all cohorts. Participants will continue to be followed through 12 months to assess safety and tolerability, PK, immunogenicity and serum virus neutralizing activity.

Phase 1 Poster Information: (633) Preliminary Results from a Phase 1 Single Ascending-Dose Study Assessing Safety, Serum Viral Neutralizing Antibody Titers (sVNA), and Pharmacokinetic (PK) Profile of ADG20: an Extended Half-Life Monoclonal Antibody Being Developed for the Treatment and Prevention of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Dose Selection Strategy
To support dose selection for Adagio’s global Phase 2/3 STAMP and EVADE clinical trials, the company modified an existing quantitative systems pharmacology whole-body physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (QSP/PBPK) model to better characterize the PK of extended half-life monoclonal antibodies in serum and key sites of viral replication in the respiratory tract. Adagio’s model adequately a priori predicted the observed ADG20 serum PK in non-human primates (NHPs) and humans. The model was further optimized based on data from Adagio’s Phase 1 clinical trial and then applied for dose selection for STAMP and EVADE.

For the STAMP treatment trial, data compiled to date suggest that the 300 mg IM regimen has a projected ability to rapidly achieve and maintain target concentrations at key tissue sites of viral replication, including the ability to attain near complete (> 90%) and durable (> 28-day) SARS-CoV-2 receptor occupancy across a range of baseline viral loads. Further, for the EVADE prevention trial, data compiled to date suggest the 300 mg IM regimen has a projected ability to rapidly exceed target serum concentrations in the majority of simulated patients and to maintain potentially effective concentrations for up to 12 months.

Dose Selection Poster Information

  • (1086) A Whole-Body Quantitative System Pharmacology Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic (QSP/PBPK) Model that a priori Predicts Intramuscular (IM) Pharmacokinetics of ADG20: an Extended Half-life Monoclonal Antibody Being Developed for the Treatment and Prevention of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
  • (1089) Use of a Whole-Body Quantitative System Pharmacology Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic (QSP/PBPK) Model to Support Dose Selection of ADG20: an Extended Half-Life Monoclonal Antibody Being Developed for the Prevention of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
  • (1088) A Whole-Body Quantitative System Pharmacology Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic (QSP/PBPK) Model to Support Dose Selection of ADG20: an Extended Half-Life Monoclonal Antibody Being Developed for the Treatment of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

The STAMP and EVADE clinical trials are currently ongoing and enrolling patients globally. For more information, please visit clincialtrials.gov.

About ADG20
ADG20, a monoclonal antibody targeting the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses, is being developed for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. ADG20 was designed and engineered to possess high potency and broad neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 and additional clade 1 sarbecoviruses, by targeting a highly conserved epitope in the receptor binding domain. ADG20 displays potent neutralizing activity against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain as well as all known variants of concern. ADG20 has the potential to impact viral replication and subsequent disease through multiple mechanisms of action, including direct blocking of viral entry into the host cell (neutralization) and elimination of infected host cells through Fc-mediated innate immune effector activity. ADG20 is administered by a single intramuscular injection, and was engineered to have a long half-life, with a goal of providing both rapid and durable protection. Adagio is advancing ADG20 through multiple clinical trials on a global basis.

About Adagio Therapeutics
Adagio (Nasdaq: ADGI) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of antibody-based solutions for infectious diseases with pandemic potential. The company’s portfolio of antibodies has been optimized using Adimab’s industry-leading antibody engineering capabilities and is designed to provide patients and clinicians with a powerful combination of potency, breadth, durable protection (via half-life extension), manufacturability and affordability. Adagio’s portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies includes multiple, non-competing broadly neutralizing antibodies with distinct binding epitopes, led by ADG20. Adagio has secured manufacturing capacity for the production of ADG20 with third-party contract manufacturers to support the completion of clinical trials and initial commercial launch. For more information, please visit www.adagiotx.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “projects,” and “future” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning, among other things, the timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies and clinical trials of ADG20, including the timing of our planned EUA application, initiation and completion of studies or trials and related preparatory work, the period during which the results of the trials will become available and our research and development programs; our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for, our product candidates; our ability to identify patients with the diseases treated by our product candidates and to enroll these patients in our clinical trials; our manufacturing capabilities and strategy; and our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those risks described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Adagio’s prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on August 6, 2021 and in Adagio’s future reports to be filed with the SEC, including Adagio’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. Such risks may be amplified by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and Adagio undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Contacts:
Media Contact:
Dan Budwick, 1AB
Dan@1abmedia.com

Investor Contact:
Monique Allaire, THRUST Strategic Communications
monique@thrustsc.com

31st Meeting of Senior Officials for SOCA

As Pillar of the Community, the task of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, ASCC is to enhance the life quality of the ASEAN community through activities and programmes including through the establishment of several platforms. The matter was clarified by Dayang Hajah Nor Ashikin binti Haji Johari, Permanent Secretary for Community and Culture at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports while chairing the 31st Senior Officials Meeting for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council, SOCA via video conference.

 

Dayang Hajah Nor Ashikin binti Haji Johari added that the ASEAN 2021 theme of “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper” reflects ASEAN’s dedication and commitment and at the same build up strong cooperation between the sector and pillar, towards an ASEAN region that is more prepared and sustainable. The meeting also held an interactive session with the participants of the 1st Innovation Platform Dialogue ‘Youth Employment and Digitalisation in the ASCC Perspectives’ held on the 27th of September 2021. The meeting was attended by the ASEAN member nations SOCA leaders, and His Excellency Kung Phoak, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for the ASCC.

 

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

 

Uphold the Excellence of Civil Servants

The Civil Service Day which is celebrated every 29th of September aims to uphold the excellence and perseverance of every level of the civil service, apart from increasing the determination and spirit in carrying out trust and responsibilities.

 

This year’s celebration once again upheld the theme of Integrity and Innovation of Civil Servants, Catalyst of National Development’ which emphasized the importance of civil servants being dynamic and long-term minded, as well as resilient in implementing government governance especially in addressing global challenges. In line with the theme and current globalization, the Civil Service is the main pillar and pulse in mobilizing human resources and the catalyst for national development in achieving Wawasan Brunei 2035. Hopefully, civil servants are able to master today’s technology apart from equipping themselves with the values of the Civil Service Work Ethics to remain relevant with the passage of time and also increase the resilience of the government to meet the needs of the country and people.

 

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

 

Changes on Services at the Indoors Stadium Vaccination Centre

The Ministry of Health is planning to provide additional vaccination hours for employees in local companies, whether for their local or foreign employees, every Sunday. According to the Minister of Health, it was planned in collaboration with the National Coordination Centre for COVID-19, the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Department of Labour. The vaccination schedule for the employees will be made through the management of the respective companies. Touching on the extension of vaccination hours at the Indoor Stadium Vaccination Centre for the public who have not received the first dose announced recently, the Ministry of Health has reviewed the service and will implement the changes.

 

Commencing Friday, 1st of October 2021, the operating hours for the Indoor Stadium Vaccination Centre will be extended from 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening on every Friday. The service is only for the citizens and residents in Brunei Darussalam holding a yellow or purple smart card and have experienced difficulties to book a first dose vaccination slot via the BruHealth App. The service will be provided via booking only where the booking can be made either by phone call, SMS or WhatsApp. Therefore, vaccination via walk-in on Fridays will no longer apply. The information required while booking a slot are the individual’s full name, Smart Card number, BruHIMS number (if available); and telephone number that can be contacted. For the vaccination slots on Friday, 1st of October 2021, bookings are open today, 29th September 2021 from 6 in the evening until 11 at night and will continue tomorrow, from 8 in the morning until the slots are filled. For the public’s information, a total of two thousand slots are available for Friday.

 

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

 

International Syariah Judiciary Conference 2021

 

The 2-day International Syariah Judiciary Conference, PKA 2021, which began on the 29th of September until 30th September held via online aimed to bring closer cooperation ties between the archipelago and international countries, improve the Syariaj judiciary services delivery system based on the latest experiences of countries at the international level, which can be collectively benefited specifically after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The conference was organised by the Malaysia Syariah Judiciary Department in collaboration with the Melaka State Government, Yayasan Taqwa Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan, Melaka Islamic Religious Council and the Melaka Syariah Court.

 

Joining the conference which took place at the Supreme Court and Syariah Courts Building was Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Paduka Seri Utama Dato Paduka Seri Setia Awang Haji Salim bin Haji Besar. One of the conference’s objective was also to act as a platform for developments in the fields of Syariah judiciary and law which are flexible according to current developments and requirements.

 

Speaking while officiating the conference, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, Prime Minister of Malaysia explained, that through the international conference, academic discussions on syariah judiciary issues can be held.

 

The conference themed ‘Towards Uniformity and Coordination: A Binding Approach to Preceding Principles in Judgment Grounds’ involved presentations from representatives of countries at the international level such as Australia, the Republic of Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Palestine, Republic of Yemen and Qatar. Also joining the virtual conference were syariah officers from Malaysia and guests from the archipelago countries.

 

 

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

15th AMMTC

Brunei Darussalam will continue to support regional and international efforts towards combating cross-border crimes, focusing on the opportunities and challenges potentially faced by ASEAN countries post COVID-19 era. The Second Minister of Defence in his capacity as the Chairman of the National Security Committee stated the matter at the Plenary Session of the 15th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime, AMMTC held via video conferencing TODAY at the International Convention Centre, Berakas. According to Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Retired Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, the AMMTC needs to further strengthen the level of cooperation with ASEAN sectoral bodies and ASEAN dialogue partner countries in order to assist regional recovery efforts during the current COVID-19 crisis.

 

The 15th AMMTC had agreed to endorse the ‘Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration to Combat Transnational Crime Post COVID-19 Pandemic’ that serves as a foundation for the AMMTC’s planning to combat the latest crime trends especially in the post-COVID 19 era in the future. The Meeting has also agreed to adopt the ‘ASEAN Border Cooperation Roadmap’ which outlined efforts to further strengthen the security level in the border areas of the ASEAN region. The Brunei Darussalam Delegation at the 15th AMMTC was led by Dato Paduka Haji Sufian bin Haji Sabtu, Permanent Secretary for Security, Enforcement and Law at the Prime Minister’s Office. Also in attendance was His Excellency Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, ASEAN Secretary- General.

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

 

ASEAN Business and Investment Roundtable on Skills for a Digital Age

The 21st Century skills is now becoming as important as literacy and numeracy. Development of these soft skills should start from the primary and secondary school where agility in learning, personalisation, interpersonal and the use of education technology are crucial for students to become better innovators, creators, adaptors and independent lifelong learners. The matter was stated by Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman, Minister of Education in his keynote address at the ASEAN Business and Investment Roundtable on Skills for a Digital Age, held virtually yesterday afternoon at the International Convention Centre, Berakas.

 

Earlier, Dayang Hajah Farida binti Dato Seri Paduka Haji Talib, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Brunei LNG said innovation and digitalisation have always been a core part of BLNG operations. The Roundtable saw the launch of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Brunei’s legacy project called HIRED which stands for ‘Harnessing Impact with Resilient Employability Digitally’. Yang Berhormat Dayang Siti Rozaimeriyanty binti Dato Seri Laila Jasa Awang Haji Abdul Rahman, member of the Legislative Council who is also Chair of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council said HIRED is designed to address the issue of unemployment and also respond to the need for ASEAN to reskill and upskill its workforce.

 

 

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

Dynamic, Far-Sighted and Coordinated

 

As a catalyst for national development, civil servants need to be dynamic, far-sighted and able to coordinate government policies and strategies in addressing various challenges. The values of Civil Service Work Ethics should also be constantly strengthened and preserved to ensure the effectiveness of governance at every level of the organization. Such views are among those shared by some civil servants.

 

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

 

26th ASCC Council Meeting

 

With the spirit of togetherness, ASEAN continued to rise to challenges towards achieving sustainability and resilience among the peoples and at the same time, preparing the region for the future. Thus, this supports the fundamental objectives behind Brunei Darussalam’s ASEAN Chairmanship theme of “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper”, emphasizing ASEAN’s relevancy to its peoples, where no one is left behind. The matter was stated by Yang Berhormat Retired Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports at the 26th ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, ASCC Council Meeting held today via video conference.

 

Yang Berhormat as Chair of the ASCC Council 2021, together with the ASCC Council Ministers, commended the inclusive and holistic actions by the ASCC Sectoral Bodies to address the gaps and challenges affecting the region, in areas such as public health, social protection, fake news and misinformation, environmental degradation and the climate crisis. The Ministers also stated that the recommendations in the Mid-Term Review of the ASCC Blueprint 2025 and had helped advance ASEAN community building efforts through incorporating and aligning the Blueprint’s implementation into the respective post-2020 ASCC Sectoral Work Plans. Yang Berhormat also highlighted that with the spirit of togetherness, ASEAN continued to rise to challenges towards achieving sustainability and resilience among the peoples and at the same time, preparing the region for the future.

 

Yang Berhormat added that the Whole-of-ASEAN Approach in realising ASEAN commitments to strengthen ASEAN coordinated responses, can be seen through ASCC’s multi-dimensional approach in addressing gaps and challenges, thus ensuring the well-being and livelihood of the peoples of ASEAN are being taken care of.  Recognizing the importance of preparing for the future, the Meeting reaffirmed support and commitment on the elevation of the role of youth in realising sustainable development, ensuring that they are prepared and future-ready in responding to the complex global challenges, through initiatives amongst others, the ASEAN Youth Academy Programme, ASEAN Youth on Climate Change and ASEAN Walk 2022. The Meeting also endorsed the Joint Statement of The Twenty-Sixth ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council and welcomed Cambodia as the incoming Chair of ASCC for the year 2022.

 

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

Drug Abuse Offence Cases

Three women were sentenced to imprisonment by the Bandar Seri Begawan Magistrate’s Court for the offence of taking drugs while at the Community Isolation Centre, National Service Programme Training Camp in Batu Apoi Temburong on the 12th of September.

 

Noorhadahyati binti Aji and Siti Kamilah binti Haji Mohammad, were each sentenced to six months imprisonment. Noorhadahyati was also found guilty for two charges of drug abuse in November 2019 and August 2020. The accused was fined $3,000 or 6 months imprisonment in default. The accused was given a month to settle the fine. Meanwhile, Fatin @ Masyitah binti Haji Amzah was found guilty on an offence of drug abuse in January 2020 and a previous drug offence. The accused was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei

 

137 New Cases, 4 New Clusters

137 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Brunei Darussalam, bringing the total cases to 6,950.

 

There are 18 additional new cases to 7 of the existing active clusters who were previously close contacts with several positive cases. FOUR new clusters have been detected namely the 6090 Cluster that contains 8 cases; 6679 Cluster with 6 cases; 4406 Cluster that contains 5 cases; and 6874 Cluster with 5 cases. 1 cluster is closed after no new cases were detected in the cluster for 28 days which is the Champion 7 – Posh Endurance Cluster. Therefore, the current total active clusters are 116. 95 new cases are still being investigated to determine the source of the infection.

 

140 cases have recovered, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 4,722, whereas the total number of active cases are 2,181 cases. Among the cases being treated at the National Isolation Centre, six are in Category 5 and currently treated at the Intensive Care Unit. All of them require assistance of artificial ventilation with one case requiring the help of an additional heart/lung machine, ECMO. 36 Category 4 cases require oxygen assistance and are under close monitoring.

 

In the past 24 hours, 5,791 samples have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, bringing the total number of laboratory tests conducted since January 2020 to 350,236.

 

 

 

Source: Radio Television Brunei