His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddien Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang DiPertuan of Brunei Darussalam has left Doha, Qatar after attending the 2nd South Summit of the G77 and China.  Prior to leaving for the Doha International airport, a doa selamat was read by the State Mufti, Pehin Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Awang Abdul Aziz bin Juned.
 

During the Summit, His Majesty and leaders of South countries stressed on the need to intensify cooperation among developing  countries in all fields, and to continue strengthening the unity and solidarity among countries of the South.

Brunei Darussalam's Master Plan is being formulated to stimulate the nation's progress and future direction up to the year 2025. The blueprint and Physical Program Planning proposal is being done by Focus Group a partnership between the government and private sector.  It will take into consideration the overall progress stated in the sectoral reports.
 

The Commissioner of the Town and Country Planning Department, Awang Hong Kok Seng, in a briefing at the Ministry of Development, explained about the progress made so far based on the re-assessment of the Brunei Darussalam Master Plan during a meeting with the senior executives.  Focus Group is established to ensure the sectoral reports are of high quality as well as to oversee that the contents of the report does represent the government and the private sector.  Proposals from the government and non-government agencies are taken into account to ensure the Physical Program Planning achieves its target as a comprehensive, transparent and effective formula.
 

Among those present were the Minister of Development, Pehin Dato Paduka Haji Awang Abdullah; his Deputy, Dato Paduka Doctor Haji Mat Sunny bin Haji Mohd Hussein, and other senior government officials. There are 16 sectoral reports were discussed including the Economic Framework which looks into the prospect of the scale and structure of the country's economy in the future as the input of the land usage planning and other economic development initiatives.  Several scenarios were put forward and discussed, where each situation plays an important role in determining the direction of the physical progress and land usage in the country.  Results of the surveys and researches will also contain the resolutions, proposals and strategies for the Brunei Darussalam Master Plan.

The Taman Jubli Perak in Bandar Seri Begawan is being given a face-lift.  The banks of the Sungai Kedayan which border the park will be dotted with model houses to beautify and add character to the recreational park. The project was carried out to coincides with the 59th birthday anniversary celebration of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Dipertuan of Brunei Darussalam.  The park will be the venue for the ‘Get-together’ with the rakyat.
 

In preparation for the get-together, a ‘Memucang-mucang’ or voluntary campaign was launched Sunday by the Brunei Muara District Officer, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Adnan, Penghulus, Ketua Kampongs, members of the village consultative councils and members of the executive committee of the get-together session took part in the activity to build a number of model houses on the banks of the river.  These model houses will showcase homes that have been used in Kampong Ayer in the past and present, and will re-enact the daily lives of the Kampong Ayer residents.
 

The Taman Jubli Perak was built to commemorate the Silver Jubilee Anniversary in 1992 of His Majesty's accession to the throne.

A group of young people yesterday test their culinary skills in an attempt to out-do each other.  The youngsters were taking part in the 2005 Brunei Young Chefs competition at the Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College.
 

Nine young local chefs competed in the competition. They cooked and dished out a three course meal of four portions each within three hours.  The participation carries a great deal of prestige and is considered a significant benefit to a young cook for future career.  Based on the participant's own made recipes, the competition was not only to show their creativity and cooking skills but also to educate them to manage time as they were given time limit in the competition
 

The cookery comprised of appetizers, main courses and desserts.  They were judged based on menu presentation, cooking skills, creativity, hygiene and food waste.  The encouraging participations in the annual competition also show positive development in cookery or chef’s career in the country especially male chefs.

The champion was 26-year old Dayang Norhalizah binti Awang Omar of the Royal Brunei Catering, RBC.  Second and third place went to chefs from the Empire Hotel and Country Club.  The annual competition was organised for the sixth time for young chefs below 27 year old who represent hotel, catering and training establishments in the country.

A new modern longhouse in the interiors of the Belait District has now being inhabited. The 22-door longhouse at Kampung Bang Taong in Mukim Sukang was officially opened by the Belait District Officer, Dato Paduka Awang Hj Mohd Yusof. It replaces the old longhouse which was built at Kampung Apak-Apak on the bank of the Sungai Belait since 1960's.
 

The new longhouse was built jointly by the residents in 2003 on a three-acre piece of land.  The residents also bore the cost of the construction. But in doing so, each of the occupants was given a free hand to design the interiors of their own part of the long house.
 

One of the occupants, expressed hope that the authorities would provide them with basic facilities such as running water and electricity supplies.  At the moment they have to rely on a generator for electricity. Nevertheless, the resident expressed happiness over the move to the new longhouse as the old one was always affected by flooded and unsafe. The new settlement is also accessible by road while the old long house was only by river transport.

The Director of Environment, Park and Recreation, Awang Haji Mohamad Zakaria bin Haji Serudin in his address emphasised that every individual among the community has a role play in protecting the environment.  He reiterated although the roles and responsibilities might differ, the objective is same in maintaining the environment from pollution.
 

The campaign is a continuous effort conducted by the Department of Environment, Park and Recreation with the collaboration of residents of Mukim Serasa following a similar clean-up campaign that was held two weeks ago at the Serasa Beach. The encouraging respond by dwellers of the Mukim should be emulated by others.   The rubbish found at the beach were mostly washed ashore by the tide.
 

The Meragang beach is among the many recreational seaside spots where one can take the family to in an outing and enjoy the invigorating sea breeze.  With proper public facilities, the Merangang Beach could also be popular as other picnic spots in the country.

The 7th National Sports Festival was officially closed Sunday afternoon with a colourful field display at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Indoor Stadium in Berakas.  The Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dato Paduka Awang Haji Yaakub officially declared the event closed.
 

Prior to the official closure the final of the futsal tournament was held where the Brunei Muara District and Tutong District met and the game ended 8-6 in favour of the Brunei Muara District.

The closing ceremony also saw the presentation of awards and prizes to the outstanding female and male athletes.  Nursari Hafizah binte Matassan representing the Brunei Muara District was nominated the best athlete in this year's National Sports Festival.  The top sportsman was Mohamad Arbe Shahdatulfarrani bin Zainol Ariffin representing the Tutong District.
 

The Brunei Muara District led the medal tally in this year's National Sports Festival with 33 gold, 22 silver and 18 bronze medals.  The ABDB Sports Council was second.  Whilst the Royal Brunei Police Sports Council and the Temburong District were tied in third place.

The rafting expedition down the Sungai Belait came to an end last night at the Cendera Kenangan Tower.
 

The expedition was organised by the Brunei Darussalam Scouts Association and participated by five teams comprised of 35 scouts including female members.  Their arrival at finishing end was witnessed by the Electrical Engineer at Electricity Services Department, Awang Sivajothi.
 

The participants successfully completed the four-day river journey despite many hardships encountered and left them with high spirit for another similar trip.