Brunei Darussalam will be participating in the kite and traditional food fair which will be held in Thailand on the 1st of January next year. The festival is part of the 25th Asia-Pacific Regional Jamboree 2005, which starts today and ends on January 3rd 2006.

Some ten thousand scout members from 43 countries, mostly from Asia Pacific will be participating in the jamboree. Brunei Darussalam is sending twenty of its scout members from all the four districts.

At the Jamboree, participants will take part in a number of module activities, including Global Development Village, City of Science and Technology, Peace and Culture Circle and Water Activities. Meanwhile the handing over of the national flag to the head of delegation was held Tuesday afternoon at the Brunei International Airport in Berakas.

The Brunei Darussalam National Scouts Association’s Chief of Scouts, Pehin Dato Seri Paduka Doctor Haji Hussain handed over the flag Awang Metassim bin Haji Duraman.

The fourth flight of Brunei’s pilgrims has arrived safely at Medina Al-Munawarah in Saudi Arabia. They join more than seven hundred other Brunei pilgrims who have arrived earlier in the holy city.

All Brunei pilgrims have gathered at Medina and are staying at their respective hotels which are located the An-Nabawi Mosque. Upon their arrival at their hotels, the Brunei pilgrims were served with dates and zam-zam water, as to welcome them at the holy city, where Prophet Muhammad is buried. Besides Brunei’s pilgrims,

hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world also arrived at Medina. The first group of foreign pilgrims who boarded ships arrived last Sunday at the Port of Jeddah.

Meanwhile, the foreign pilgrims have also left Medina on their way to the Holy City of Mecca Al-Mukaramah. The first group of Brunei pilgrims, comprised of those travelling under Humairah package, were already in Mecca and completed their Umrah. They were staying at the Rehab A-Firdaus Hotel, which is located a few meters from Masjidil-Haram.

A medical clinic for Brunei pilgrims which is located at Taibah Hotel in Medina continues to receive pilgrims for outpatient treatment. So far, no serious cases of illness have been reported. Bi’thah Medical also will open its clinic at Mecca, as well as in Arafah and Mina. Consultation on the matter has been made with authorities in Jeddah and Mecca. Saudi Arabia during this pilgrimage season will itself open 24 hospitals and 24 emergency centres, involving more than nine thousand medical staff and paramedic as well as more than two thousand emergency experts.

Eventhough the weather in Medina is cold from early nights to dawn, it does not prevent the Brunei pilgrims and others to commute to Nabawi Mosque for mass prayer, berzikir, quran reading as well as call on the Prophet’s Mousoleum and those of his followers.

The huge number of pilgrims shown on Saudi television, clearly demonstrate the unity of Muslim who come from all over the world to perform Islam’s fifth tenet.

Apart from television coverage, the Information Ministry of Saudi Arabia has launched broadcast Haj Channel through Jeddah Radio with 14 languages including Malay. Besides giving information on weather, transportation and security, the channel also broadcasts live mass prayer from An-Nabawi Mosque.

Brunei Premier League 0ne will begin next year on the 6th. Of January. Three matches will be played on that day. DPMM FC will meet ABDB, QAF FC will play against NBT FC, while Jerudong FC take on Kasuka FC. DPMM FC are at the top of the table of the premier league one with 33 points. While Majra FC lead of the premier league two with 32 points. The following are teams’ position in league one and two.