A photo arts exhibition was launched Sunday by His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, the Patron of Brunei Photographic Society. In conjunction with the ceremony, His Royal Highness was awarded with the Fellowship Brunei Photographic Society by the Brunei Photographic Society for His Royal Highness contribution and involvement in photography. The photo arts exhibition was held at the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation Complex in the capital.

In his speech, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Awang Haji Hamid bin Haji Jaafar said that through an exhibition such as this, not only will visiting tourists be able to see dimensions of Brunei that they might not have expected nor have the time to savour for themselves, but also Brunei citizens themselves who often overlook the beauty that lies within their own land.

Later, His Royal Highness Prince Sufri Bolkiah launched a photographic book entitled 'Brunei Darussalam Abode of Peace in Pictures' and also a photo compact disk on the Photo Contest 2004. The book is for the use of the Tourism Development Division. It portrayed a collection of photos by the Brunei Photographic Society and also photos from Federation of Asian Photo Arts, FAPA Photo Competition in 2004.

His Royal Highness then handed over prizes to the winners of the Photo Arts Contest. The ‘Happy Children of Brunei’ category was won by Abdul Hafiz Abdul Hamid. The winner for ‘Cultural Heritage’ category was Hassan Haji Zunaidi. Dayang Mazmewati binti Mazali won the ‘Digital Happy Children of Brunei’ category. The ‘Digital Cultural Heritage’ category went to Sha'ari bin Haji Zunaidi. Meanwhile, the winner for the FAPA Photography Congress 2004 was Hendro Dharmawan of Indonesia.

His Royal Highness later viewed the Photo Art Exhibition. The five day exhibition is jointly organised by the Tourism Development Division, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and the Brunei Photographic Society. The contest received more than 400 entries carrying two themes, Happy Children of Brunei Darussalam and Cultural Heritage.

Brunei pilgrims are now safe in Mecca, Saudi Arabia following an unexpected downpour of rain in Mina recently. The general consul of Brunei Darussalam to Saudi Arabia, Pengiran Haji Jabaruddin bin Pengiran Haji Mohammad Salleh in an interview with RTB Sunday afternoon said the heavy rain reported in Mina, which lasted about an hour, triggered flash flooding.

According to Pengiran Haji Jabaruddin, strong wind occurred since early Saturday morning, the second day of stoning ritual, followed by heavy rain. Earlier there was also lightning and thunderstorm. Reports said the water level reached up to one foot and several of the Brunei camps were affected. All Brunei pilgrims except some one hundred pilgrims of Umairrah package have returned to Mecca. They returned to Mina yesterday to perform the last stoning.

Thundershowers were also reported at Medina and Thaif. The Saudi Arabia Meterological said the phenomenawas very much different from the previous years. Most of the streets in Jeddah and Medina were under water and it was forecasted that strong wind will occur again at several places including Mecca and Riyadh.

The Ministry of Defence Sunday held a Qurban, or the religious ritual of slaughtering of sacrificial animals. The ceremony that was held in the presence of the Acting Minister of Defence, Pengiran Sanggamara Diraja Retired Major General Pengiran Haji Ibnu Basaith who also distributed the meat, was jointly conducted by the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and its Civilian Service. Prior to the slaughtering, a tadbir Hari Raya Aidil Adha, doa selamat and the recitation of Surah Al-fatihah was held. Five cattle and six goats were slaughtered, the meat of which were distributed to 40 recipients. The Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yasmin and the Commander of Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Pehin Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi were present at the function.

The Prime Minister's Office and the departments under it also held a similar ceremony. The Acting Minister of Home Affairs who is also the Director of the Internal Security Department, Pehin Dato Awang Haji Adnan were present to hand over the sacrificial meats to heads of selected villages for distributing it to those less fortunate. This year, fifty seven officers and staffs of the Prime Minister Office joined the feast and sacrificed nine heads of cattle. A religious talk was also delivered by an officer from the State Mufti Office at the function. The function took place at the Darulifta'. It was organised by the State Mufti Office and the Internal Security Department.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources also held the Qurban ceremony. A total of eight buffaloes were slaughtered. The meat were distributed by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, Awang Haji Mohd Hamid bin Haji Mohd Jaafar, on behalf of the Minister, Pehin Dato Awang Haji Abdul Rahman. It was held at the BINA Headquarters in Gadong.

The two-day Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund Charity Golf Tournament 2005, has attracted more than forty players in support of the National Relief efforts. The tournament came to an end Sunday afternoon with a prize presentation at the Pantai Menteri Golf Club.

The Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund Charity Golf Tournament 2005 was organised by the Foreign Welfare Bodies Association, namely Singapore and Philippines Nationalities and with the cooperation with ASEAN plus two India and Sri Lanka association and Pantai Mentiri.

The tournament was divided into several categories. The senior golfer category was won by Abdul Majid Ahmad. 'C' division's winner was Zeke Eleazer Asmadi, Haji Bahar Asut won the 'B' division category and Haji Shaminan Haji Damit took the 'A' division title. Prizes were present by The Chairman Pantai Mentiri Golf Club Executive Committee Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Putera Negara Pengiran Haji Omar

The two-day charity golf tournament has collected five thousand and one hundred dollars. The was presented by The Chairman Pantai Mentiri Golf Club Executive Committee to a representative of the Philippines association Rudolfo Marcelo to be donated to the National Tsunami disaster relief fund at a later date.