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Almost 100,000 jump in tourists to Sabah
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah recorded a 11.7 per cent increase in tourist arrivals between January and May this year.
Sabah Tourism Board Chairman Tengku Datuk Dr Zainal Adlin said a total of 768,736 tourists came in the first five months, compared to the 687,930 during the same period last year.
Speaking at a joint press conference by Malaysia Airlines and STB, Wednesday, he said Sabah being a preferred destination certainly has huge potential in grabbing a slice of the 1.6 billion tourism traffic worldwide by 2020.
"Of the figure released by World Trade Organisation (WTO), 25 per cent is in the East Asia Pacific region which will generate US$500 billion worth from tourism alone," he said.
He said there has also been a phenomenal growth in Japanese tourist arrivals in 2003 and last year with Sabah recording an 80 per cent increase from 24,000 to 44,000 arrivals.
The first five months saw 12,160 Japanese, specifically coming for Sabah's eco-tourism.
He said Brunei tourists made up the highest number during the period, accounting for 22,000.
Meanwhile, MAS will be increasing its KK-Tokyo (Narita)-KK direct flights from twice weekly to three a week. Its new Sabah Area Manager, Mohd Nazeri Abd Karim, said the third would commence from July 1 to complement the growing number of Japanese visitors to Sabah.
The sector is serviced by the B777-200 aircraft which offers 35 Business Class seats and 231 Economy Class seats.
He said the airline believes the additional flight would further enhance Sabah as a preferred holiday destination in the Japanese market.
"Likewise, Malaysia Airlines is positive that tourism players in Sabah will respond to this opportunity and work together with the authorities particularly the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Tourism Malaysia and Sabah Tourism Board," he said.
The trend for inbound tourism, he said, has recorded a steady 36 per cent annual growth from 1999 to last year.
Last year, Sabah recorded 1.77 million arrivals and that this is expected to grow to four million in five years. "With the additional flight, we can expect between 60 and 70 Japanese boarding each flight to Sabah."
Meanwhile, STB would be bringing local Mt Kinabalu Climbathon runners, Danny @ Kuilin Gongot and Mius Belinting for the Mt Fuji Race sometime in July. Its Deputy General Manager, Gordon C. Yapp, said the STB would also take part in tourism promotions at the Takashimaya Store.
Courtesy of: Daily Express
Posted by e-borneo.com at 5:22 PM No comments:
Tourist arrivals in Sabah not affected by travel advisories
By Joniston Bangkuai
KOTA KINABALU: TOURIST arrivals in Sabah have not declined despite travel advisories by Australia and United States warning their citizens against visiting the State.
Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Tengku Zainal Adlin said this year's tourist arrivals have exceeded last year's figures.
May recorded 768,736 tourists arrivals, compared with last year's figure of 687,939.
The US and Australia had warned their citizens against traveling to the east coast of Sabah, claiming that terrorists were planning to kidnap foreigners there.
Adlin said a group of some 40 divers who visited Mabul island, near Sipadan for two weeks, had given good reports on the area and the safety precautions taken by the Malaysian Government.
He was speaking at a Press conference announcing Malaysia Airlines increased direct flights between Kota Kinabalu and Tokyo.
Courtesy of: New Straits Times
Talk of terrorist plots by embassies baseless: CID boss
Kota Kinabalu: Bukit Aman Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Director, Datuk Mohd Fauzi Shaari. said claims about terrorists plotting to kidnap foreigners in Sabah have been found to be baseless.
Giving the assurance that Sabah is safe, he said visitors should come here to see the actual situation first hand for themselves.
"Don't listen to talk by outsiders. We are always monitoring the situation," he said referring to the various travel advisories issued by several countries cautioning their citizens against visiting the country for fear of potential kidnappings by terrorists, especially in Sabah.
Speaking after opening the CID legal and prosecuting officers (D5) two-day meeting at the Pacific Sutera Harbour, Wednesday, he also called on Sabah police to maintain the present declining trend of crime in the State.
"So far, we are quite satisfied with the performance of the Sabah police and we hope they keep it up," he said.
Fauzi made the comments based on the briefing given to him by the Commissioner of Police, Datuk Mangsor Ismail and other senior police officers.
Keeping criminals at bay would have a positive impact on the State's economy, as more investment would come and the tourism industry can flourish, he said.
Fauzi described his visit to Sabah, the first after taking over as Bukit Aman CID chief five months ago, as "hands on" to see the situation at the various state police contingents in the country.
Why a truly Best of Borneo Tour not feasible?
In recent years, we have received quite a number of inquiries with regards to tour packages that include a visit to all Four Corners of Borneo. Sad to say, such tour is very rare since it is complicated to arrange and at most times not feasible economically and politically.
To begin with, the island is made up of three different countries - the states of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia, the Sultanate Kingdom of Brunei Darussalam, and Kalimantan in Indonesia.
Although quite developed within the Malaysia and Brunei part of Borneo, its landscape consists for the most part of steep hills, mountains, and dense rain forests.
Additionally, the sheer size of Borneo - it covers an area five times as large as England and Wales - means that connectivity is complex and travel linkage services (i.e., air, land, etc.) are scarce, especially in the Kalimantan part. Immigration and the wide currency exchange differences are also a hindrance.
As it is, tourism in Borneo, usually confined to Sabah and Sarawak, and Brunei to a lesser extent. Most of the 'Best of Borneo' tours offered include largely the twin states of Malaysia.
But, visiting both Sabah and Sarawak can still be widely regarded as the best of what Borneo can offer at present - nature, adventure, diving, wildlife and culture. After all, the eco-treasures in both Sabah and Sarawak are on par if not better than Kalimantan's, and of course, the tourism facilities in Malaysia are more developed and sophisticated.
Kalimantan is realistically a unique destination that caters for a very different niche group - the real adventurers. For them, Kalimantan IS Borneo. After all, it occupied more than half of the island.
In hindsight, it will be a boon for tourism in Borneo if one day soon, a truly 'Best of Borneo' tour package can be organised to cover all four parts of Borneo.
The latest news is that the governments of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei Darussalam are looking into the feasibility of a Borneo tourism circuit linking the three regions of Borneo.
Click Here for some of the best of Borneo Combo Pre-Designed Tour Packages
Copyright © 2005 e-borneo.com
Gawai Fest to be included in Sarawak tourism calendar
By Magdalene Rogers
KUCHING - Sarawak's ethnic harvest festival, or the Gawai Dayak, would be included in the state's tourism calendar which would be implemented in series.
The 'Gawai Series Project' started with the Bidayuh community and if the pilot project is a success, the project would be promoted as a tourism event to attract foreign tourists, especially those from Europe to Sarawak, said Assistant Minister of Urban Development Datuk Alfred Yap.
"In the past, foreign tourists who visited Sarawak seldom had the opportunity to witness an actual traditional ritual of the various races, especially the rituals of the ethnic groups," he added.
The ministry had embarked on the Gawai Series 2005 pilot project for the Bidayuh, Iban and Melanau communities, which was also a part of this year's World Harvest Festival held in May.
Yap said the Bidayuh Gawai was chosen as the pilot project and is coordinated at designated locations in Bau district, based on the criteria that the particular village is still practising traditional Bidayuh rituals and customs.
Under the project, the ministry planned to have a Gawai celebration each month throughout the year, with the Iban Gawai to be held in Sibu later this year.
Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
General Tip: Babysitters on Vacation
So you and your spouse would like a quite dinner together and the hotel provides a babysitter, easy right? Double-check the hours of babysitting services. Make sure that they are available during the time you need. If not, see if they can recommend anybody. Ask the same questions as you would at home. If there is an organized program ask questions.
Do they have planned activities?
Are they trained in CPR or emergency procedures?
What is the ratio between babysitter and children?
Remember that this is a family vacation. Try to do as much as you can with the family and your children, the memories can never be replaced.
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Tourists still heading to Sabah
Foreigners visiting Sabah and its islands for diving continue to increase, prompting authorities to step up measures to ensure that visitors enjoy an incident-free holiday.
"The number of visitors continue to rise despite the numerous travel advisories issued," said Sabah Assistant Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Karim Bujang.
"Despite such advisories, the number of Australians and other foreigners visiting Sabah has been increasing, especially after connecting flights were introduced last year between Melbourne and Kota Kinabalu."
His response comes in the wake of a travel advisory issued by the Australian Government yesterday, warning its citizens against travelling to Sabah following what it claimed were "credible reports" that terrorists were planning to kidnap foreigners.
The advisory was also carried over CCN and ABC's online news portals today.
"Australians are advised to avoid all travel to coastal resorts, islands and dive sites off the east coast of Sabah on Borneo island," the advisory read.
Karim said the Australian Government was merely exercising its duty by issuing the advisory.
Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Musa Hassan also stressed that the safety of tourists at popular spots off Sabah was always emphasised.
Aerial surveillance by the Air Wing and sea patrols along the Philippines and Indonesian maritime borders continue to be carried out.
In addition to this, General Operations Force personnel are stationed on numerous islands to keep a lookout for suspicious movements.
Musa said numerous crime prevention operations were also conducted to put citizens and foreigners here at ease.
He added the Malaysian police had good ties and shared information with intelligence agencies in the region, including Australia, in its efforts to win the war against terrorism.
Courtesy of The New Straits Times
Posted by e-borneo.com at 8:12 AM No comments:
Malaysia Aims To Get US$10 Billion From Tourism In 5 Years
By Salmy Hashim
LOS ANGELES -- Malaysia aims to reach US$10 billion a year in receipts from the tourism and services industry within 5 years, Tourism Minister Datuk Dr Leo Michael Toyad said Wednesday.
"Tourism is our second biggest earner after manufacturing, garnering close to US$8 billion last year with tourists averaging a five-day stay," he told Bernama.
"Last year we laid out the welcome mat to 15.7 million visitors. We hope to welcome 25 million tourists every year within the next five years."
Malaysia is second to China in Asia as a tourist destination. Last year that country drew about 22 million tourists to its attractions compared with Malaysia's almost 16 million visitors.
Dr Toyad Wednesday ended his North American marketing blitz selling Malaysia in Vancouver, New York and Los Angeles for 10 days from June 14. The delegation included Tourism Malaysia officials, dancers, musicians, fashion designer Nazleen Noor and eight models.
In all the three cities, the Canadian and American audiences and journalists packed hotel ballrooms to feast their eyes on the promotional videos of Malaysia, the leggy models breezing on the runway with their silky, soft batik outfit, and awakened their tastebuds with the curry puffs, satay and spicy peanut sauce.
Dr Toyad said that about 145,000 American tourists visited Malaysia last year, while this year 48,000 of them had already arrived in the first three months of this year.
Americans are attracted to eco-tourism -- exploring the rainforest, watching the Orang Utan in the wilderness, and scuba diving.
While in the New York and LA, the minister met several movie and television executives to put Malaysia on the "film production map."
Mark Burnett, producer of reality-TV series "Survivor". spoke at one of the tourism sessions of his experience shooting the first Survivor show in Pulau Tiga, off Sabah.
Hollywood blockbuster movies, "Anna and the King", as well as "Entrapment", were shot in Malaysia. European movie makers too are finding Malaysia an increasingly attractive location for their movies.
Bringing moviemakers to Malaysia not only put Malaysia in the limelight, but also create a spin-off effect to its local service industries including hotels, restaurants, transportation companies, local production and post-production companies.
While there are no firm figures, vice-president of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC) Kamil Othman said, "Anna and the King" was estimated to have brought to Malaysia US$52 million in three months and "Entrapment", US$25 million within four to five weeks.
"The market is still untapped," he said.
Courtesy of BERNAMA
AirAsia To Introduce Flights Within Sarawak
KUCHING -- To boost its presence in Sarawak, Budget carrier AirAsia is expected to introduce flights within the state, Urban Development and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said.
Speaking during the winding-up session for his ministry at the State's Legislative Assembly sitting here Tuesday, Wong said that presently AirAsia has increased its flights frequency to 13 flights daily from two flights per day from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu.
"I have been informed that it will soon introduce internal flights within Sarawak," he said.
He added that the carrier has contributed significantly towards improving domestic flights frequency particularly for the state.
On the tourism front, Wong said that tourist arrivals had increased in the last two years.
"Our visitor arrivals for last year is 2.65 million, an increase of 11.97 percent over 2.37 million in 2003," he said.
He said that Sarawak's main markets were Brunei (1.3 million), West Malaysia and Sabah (409,783) Indonesia (401,552), UK and Ireland (44,498), Singapore (41,566) and Australia and New Zealand (29,509)
However, the number of long haul visitors to Sarawak was still low due to inadequate promotion of the state as among the nation's tourism destinations, limited airlinks and small marketing budget, Wong said.
Apart from that, he said that airfare was also a factor, which resulted in the lesser long haul visitors as it was expensive for travellers to extend their journeys from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to Sarawak.
To increase visitor arrivals, Wong said that marketing efforts would be intensified in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Kalimantan through strategic marketing programmes.
Such programmes would be cheaper and allow the local tourism industry to be well prepared for the more demanding long haul visitors, he said.
Tenom Train Expedition, Sabah
Drive 1.5 hours past scenic countryside and padifields south to Beaufort (88 km from Kota Kinabalu), a rural town situated at the confluence of the Padas and Pegalan rivers. Board a local "Railcar" train 2 hours nd 40 minutes ride to Tenom through the rainforest and Padas River/Gorge. On arrival drive about 25 minutes to the Tenom Agriculture Park, which showcase Sabah's rich agricultural heritage. In the beautifully landscaped gardens are some of the most unique plants from the fragrant to the rare and exotic Borneo orchids - some 600 species of lowland orchids. Here you can discover the magic of the tropics from the evolution of plants to today's incredible diversity of native and introduced species.
Click here for tour information.
Sarawak Urges Neighbours To Focus On Adventure Tourism
By Rosh Abidin Yahya
Bandar Seri Begawan - Tourism players should capitalise on the "unexpected" element the region possesses as such a strategy could attract many Western tourists who are looking for adventure, said Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan.
He told participants of BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC) Tourism Cluster Meeting in Miri last Tuesday that the Sarawak government was always supportive of the role played by the private sector, particularly in promoting the sub-region of Brunei Darussalam, Sarawak, Labuan, Sabah, Mindanao and the provinces of Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
Dr Chan was speaking on behalf of Sarawak Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud at the opening ceremony of the BEBC Tourism Cluster Inaugural Meeting at Parkcity Everly Hotel in Miri.
More than 60 participants took part in the meeting including BEBC country directors for Brunei Darussalam - Dr Hj Kamaruddin Dato Talib, Hj Ismail Hj Damit and Hj Osman Hj Omar-and council member, Sulaiman Samad.
Dr Chan said Sarawak would provide the necessary infrastructure and flexible policies in putting the East Asean Growth Area on the tourism roadmap for the sub-regional cooperation between Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
He said the Sarawak government has put a lot of energy into transforming Miri into a "resort city" as the main gateway to the northern region. Miri is situated in the middle of the BIMP-EAGA region.
He added that the importance of tourism in the region is undeniable as the industry provides direct employment opportunities and has the multiplier effect on other sectors.
"Tourism will act as a catalyst for growth and generate employment as well as revenue in this sub-region," he said.
Putting BIMP-EAGA countries on the tourism map
By George Francis
MIRI - Sarawak will provide the necessary infrastructure and flexible policies in putting BIMP-EAGA on the tourism map to achieve the sub-regional grouping of increasing trade, tourism and investment.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said with the potentials in sub-region, it should be emphasised that Eco-tourism Bio-tourism packages be enhanced for tourist destination.
"Eco-tourism and adventure travel will be important growth areas with the world's growing concern for the rainforest and the green environment." Sarawak, he said, with her tourism products centring on nature and the natural environment can benefit from this travel trend.
He said Sarawak is always supportive of the role played by the private sector, particularly the BIMP-EAGA Business Council Tourism Cluster in promoting the region.
"I believe that the respective governments under the BIMP-EAGA countries are also supportive of their private sector involvement," said Dr Chan when officiating at the BEBC Tourism Cluster inaugural meeting here.
He pointed out that cluster should come up with a multi-lateral or bilateral regional programme.
"It is now left to the private sector, especially the tourism industry players and the stakeholders to move and initiate the programme. I believe that a concerted and integrated plan and effort to promote tourism within BIMP-EAGA could be initiated."
Dr Chan, representing the Chief Minister of Sarawak, hoped the meeting would come up with a strategic plan on the 'Tourism Road Map' as a basis for multi-lateral co-operation in tourism under the sub-region group.
About 100 participants attended the meeting, mainly from the private and public sector tourism stakeholders organisations locally and in the EAGA member countries.
Datuk Abang Karim Tun Openg, as chairman of BEBC Tourism Cluster, currently held by Malaysia led his delegation, while Dato Ahmad Lope Abdul Aziz led the BEBC Sabah, Awang Hj Osman Hj Omar led the Brunei delegation and Sohura T, Dimaampo heading the delegation from the Philippines.
Among the agenda, include a proposal for a joint venture regional airline to improve EAGA connectivity, and a cruise ferrying-around the island of Borneo, Sulawesi and Mindanao.
The idea was to establish air service on priority EAGA routes for easy access to travel and destination connections by encouraging small airline companies to service the viable routes and to strengthen partnership with tourism industry players in coming-up with tour packages, as well as other marketing and promotions activities.
The meeting reviewed status, issues and programmes on tourism brought out in last strategic planning workshop held in Kota Kinabalu for implementation by the respective member countries at least in the next three years.
Sandakan Fest launching on 26 June
Sandakan: A 10-minute fireworks display will highlight the official launching of Sandakan Fest 2005 on June 26.
Disclosing this here Tuesday, Sandakan Municipal Council Deputy President II, Thomas Lau Chi Keong, said the event is expected to be launched at the municipal padang by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman at 7am.
Other than the fireworks, there would also be drums beating and cultural dances by the Etika Tari Sandakan group, he said.
Other attractions include a lantern procession involving six secondary schools and a kompang presentation by 60 youths.
On June 27, the Sandakan Airport will be spruced up with exhibition stalls, with special mementos to be given to disembarking passengers coming in three flights from Kota Kinabalu, to be launched by Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Karim Bujang.
Variety shows and cultural presentations would be staged in six main locations in the town area, beginning at Dataran MPS on June 29, followed by Bandar Ramai-Ramai (July 2), Block 43 (July 2), Bandar Kim Fung (July 9), Bandar Nam Tung (July 15) and Bandar Sibuga Jaya.
A Futsal competition will be held at the municipal padang on July 2, to be followed by 3-on-3 street basketball at Jalan Leboh 2 Bandar on July 3.
There will also be a kite-flying demonstration at the SMK II padang, open to adults and students alike.
On July 24, music lovers will have an opportunity to witness a presentation by the Dama Orchestra from Kota Kinabalu, at Sabah Hotel, using traditional Chinese instruments.
Lau disclosed that the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment had allocated RM120,000 to SMC for the festivity this year through the Sabah Tourism Promotion Board.
Courtesy of Daily Express
TIPS: Niah Caves, Miri, Sarawak
For the standard ex-Miri Niah Caves tour (either full-day, 2-day or longer), the tour ideally departs around 8.30am as it takes roughly 1.5 hour drive (sometimes up to 3 hrs depending on the weather and traffic conditions) to reach Niah from Miri, and tour should end around 6.00pm (i.e., reaching Miri town).
Similarly for a 2D/1N tour, it departs around 8.30am on the 1st day (with overnight at park chalet) and ends about 6.00pm on the next day. It is advisable that you stay overnight in Miri prior to the start of the tour early in the morning on the next day. If you can't, it is better to opt for a 2D/1N or 3D/2N tour.
In any case, it is advisable to spend a night in Miri after the tour and take the next day flight out. This is definitely less hectic. And you don't have to worry about missing the next flight home if on transit at another airport. Flight delays can really cost you a lot compared to staying an extra night in Miri.
Some Niah Caves Sample Packages:
* Full-Day: http://www.e-borneo.com/travel/tours/eb-myy03.html
* 2D/1N: http://www.e-borneo.com/travel/tours/eb-myy04.html
Steps need to be taken now to save pygmy elephants
BY RUBEN SARIO
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will continue losing its Borneo pygmy elephants unless it takes concrete measures to protect the animals.
These steps, Sabah honorary wildlife ranger Datuk Wilfred Lingham said, included the establishment of a wildlife corridor by rehabilitating riverine forests along Sungai Kinabatangan, where the elephants' habitats were shrinking as oil palm plantations continued to expand.
"There is an urgent need for the state to reclassify Borneo pygmy elephants under the state Wildlife Conservation Ordinance from an endangered species to one that is totally protected.
"The state Wildlife Department should also look into the setting up of an intelligence unit to gather information on those involved in the killing of any wildlife," he added.
The department director, he observed, was empowered to reward informers who tipped off officials on poaching activities.
"The killings won't stop if nothing is done," added the former state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry permanent secretary.
Lingham noted that most of the elephants in the Kinabatangan region were hunted down after they had intruded into oil palm estates, many of which were smallholdings of between 6ha and 12ha.
It was difficult, he said, for estate owners not to react to such intrusions as many had invested their life savings in these ventures.
"The state should act on the World Wide Fund for Nature's suggestion that a wildlife corridor be set up along the Kinabatangan river, where electric fences could be put up at certain stretches of the border between riverine forests and plantations," he said.
According to Lingham, there are about 2,000 to 2,500 Borneo pygmy elephants left in Sabah, of which an estimated 1,000 are squeezed into the remaining pockets of forests along the Kinabatangan river.
Some 500 elephants are in the 120,000ha Tabin Wildlife Reserve near Lahad Datu and another 500 to 1,000 in Kalabakan.
There have been at least three killings of Borneo pygmy elephants in Sabah over the past eight months.
The owners of oil palm plantations and also villagers whose farms have been destroyed by elephants are among the prime suspects of the killings.
Budget Flights Trigger Surge In Filipino Visitors To Brunei
By Rosli Abidin Yahya
Bandar Seri Begawan - Budget flights introduced late last year between Kota Kinabalu and Manila as well as southern Philippine cities are bringing in more Filipino tourists to Brunei.
The Borneo Bulletin was told that there has been a surge in bookings at travel agents here for the Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan sector made by relatives of Filipino overseas workers here.
Some budget travellers made the journey from Kota Kinabalu to Brunei Darussalam on ferries which arrive in Serasa. Others were picked up by their relatives working in Brunei Darussalam by cars in KK.
The availability of cheaper airfares between Kota Kinabalu and the Philippine cities means that more relatives of Filipino overseas workers are able to visit them here.
Apart from the relatives, there were also tourists who came to visit the Sultanate's attractions.
Industry observers advised related service industries to improve their facilities to cater for a new kind of travellers - the budget tourists.
"Budget hotels should be made available to cater for them as well as the restaurant and transportation sectors," they said.
However, they advised tourists not to misuse their visit passes by working here, adding that they would eventually be caught by enforcement officers.
In addition, the illegal foreign workers could be mistreated such as not being paid by employers and there would be no one to fight for their rights.
Posted by e-borneo.com at 11:40 AM No comments:
Breathtaking Brunei Rainforest Site Top Selling Point
By James Kon
Bandar Seri Begawan - The peace and harmony and breathtaking sights of pristine rainforest in Brunei Darussalam will be the top selling point for the nine London travel agents who are currently on a three-day familiarisation tour here hosted by Royal Brunei Airlines.
During a luncheon hosted by RBA at Portview yesterday afternoon, Donna Scanlan, Training Manager of Quest Travel, UK, said that the Temburong rainforest with the peaceful scenery is a fabulous tourist attraction. She added that the canopy walk was exhausting but the view from the top was so amazing that it just took her breath away.
This is the first time Donna Scanlan is visiting Brunei and she was delighted with the great hospitality of the people here and the warm welcome she received.
Speaking about Brunei as one of the main tourist destinations in UK, she said that there is still not a lot of people in UK who know much about Brunei.
She hoped that after the trip to Brunei she will be able to share her experience with her customers and other agents in UK and promote Brunei as a stop-over destination for two or three days for travellers from London to Australia or New Zealand.
Brigid Church, Sales Consultant of STA Travel, shared the same excitement on the friendliness of the people and the beautiful scenery of the rainforest in the Sultanate.
"It was fantastic, the friendly welcome, the canopy walk at the rainforest and the jetboat ride was simply amazing," she said.
Brunei is a very easy place to travel to, especially when most of the population speak good English, she added.
The other London-based travel agents in the familiarisation tour were Jonathan Millerick from Lotus Travel; Samuel Rowsell from Kuoni Travel; Jason Buffey of Travelpack Travel; Camilla Rigby of Jetset Travel; Karma Kawecki from Lees Travel; Tracey Kent of Wexas Travel; and Deborah Whitehair, Sales Executive of RBA London.
Also present at the luncheon yesterday were Dayang Nurul Suzzaine Abdullah, RBA's Product Development Manager; Michelle Lim Pei Sze, RBA's Assistant to Regional Manager Europe/MEA/ISC/North America; Dk Rodzi Pengiran Haji Abd Rahman, RBA's Regional Controller for M.E., Africa and India; and Hajah Mardianah, RBA's Assistant Public Relations Officer.
Besides the fascinating experience of the Ulu Temburong rainforest, the group of London travel agents also visited the Jerudong Park playground, Brunei Museum, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque, Royal Regalia and Kampong Ayer. They also went on a tour to watch Brunei's proboscis monkeys.
Posted by e-borneo.com at 11:58 PM No comments:
Concern over Sipadan marine life
KOTA KINABALU: There is concern again over whether Sabah's renowned diving destination of Pulau Sipadan is losing its lustre with reports of a decline in the sightings of marine life there.
What is even more worrying is the sight of plastic bags in the seas around the island and fishing lines getting caught in damaged corals near Pulau Sipadan jetty.
This discovery by French diving writer Martine Carret has prompted State Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Karim Bujang to direct Sabah Parks officials to investigate any deterioration on the island.
"A complaint like this warrants a deeper probe," he said yesterday.
Carret, who was on her third visit to Sipadan last week, told a local newspaper that she noticed the absence of schools of barracudas, and fewer turtles and humphead parrot fish.
She said the situation was far different from that in 1999 when she first dived off Sipadan, and again in 2003, when schools of such fish were a common sight.
"Something has happened to Sipadan. When I came in 1999, the resorts were there and their people cleaned up the beaches every morning, so there was no rubbish and no trouble with plastic bags," she said.
Borneo Divers Sdn Bhd director Clement Lee, however, disagreed that marine life in Sipadan is on the wane.
Lee said the ban on night diving had actually contributed to an increase in marine creatures.
"I have seen turtles the size of a dinner plate and their presence is one of the best indicators of the health of marine life there," said Lee.
Courtesy: The Star
Posted by e-borneo.com at 6:03 PM 1 comment:
Mulu to have longest Canopy Walkway
MIRI: The Mulu National Park world heritage site in northern Sarawak will offer another big tourist attraction – a canopy walkway that is the longest in the world.
Assistant State Minister for Infrastructure Development and Communications Lee Kim Shin, who is also Sarawak Tourism Board director for the northern region, said this latest addition to the already numerous tourist spots in Mulu would take tourism arrivals to new heights.
He declined to reveal further details on the exact length and height or the location of the canopy walkway for now as the Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud is scheduled to unveil the new landmark next month.
He was speaking to reporters yesterday after briefing Malaysia Airlines representatives from Shanghai and a group of tour agency managers based in Shanghai who are here for a familiarisation tour of Sarawak.
It is learnt that the canopy walkway would be built in a long, winding pattern some 30m above the ground over one of the show caves opened to the public.
From there, a stunning aerial view of the treetops and the caves below can be seen.
"I hope our friends from China will publicise the attractions in Mulu and Miri when they go back to their home country," Lee said.
Mulu already has the world's largest cave chamber, the highest cave chamber, the third longest underground river network, and the cave with the world's largest bat population.
On a related matter, Lee said he hoped MAS would consider starting direct Shanghai to Miri flights soon.
Shanghai has some 13 million people, one million of whom go for overseas vacations annually, he said.
Tourist arrivals in Sabah not affected by travel a...
Talk of terrorist plots by embassies baseless: CID...
Gawai Fest to be included in Sarawak tourism calen...
Malaysia Aims To Get US$10 Billion From Tourism In...
Sarawak Urges Neighbours To Focus On Adventure Tou...
Steps need to be taken now to save pygmy elephants...
Budget Flights Trigger Surge In Filipino Visitors ...
Breathtaking Brunei Rainforest Site Top Selling Po...


All API requests should be made over HTTPS, rather than over HTTP.
To prevent individual applications from degrading the overall user experience, we limit the number of requests that can be made in any 60 minute window to 1200 per user.
This limit is not intended to restrict your creativity in any way, so if you need more please email support@sipcentric.com detailing your requirements. However, you are encouraged to cache information locally, wherever possible, and to design your application in a way which avoids unnecessary or repeat requests.
Retrieving a representation of a resource is as easy as GETting its URI. A simple way to test this is to type the URI of the desired resource into the address bar of your web browser.
200 Ok Your request was successful and the response body contains the representation.
304 Not Modified The client's cached representation is still valid (conditional GET).
401 Unauthorized The credentials supplied are invalid, or insufficient to access the requested resource.
404 Not Found No resource was found at the requested location.
429 Too Many Requests You have reached your request limit for the current time window.
500 Server Error Something went wrong our end. If the problem persists please contact support@sipcentric.com.
The POST method is used for creating resources. The representation of the object to be created should be contained within the request body, and the Content-Type header should be set according to the format you are sending, e.g. application/xml or application/json. See Response Formats for the formats we can accept.
201 Created The request was successful and the response body contains a representation of the newly-created resource. The Location header will also be populated with the resource URI.
400 Bad Request There is a problem with your request and/or your data has failed validation. See the response body for more details.
401 Unauthorized The credentials supplied are invalid, or insufficient to create the resource.
404 Not Found The location to which you are POSTing does not exist.
405 Method Not Allowed The specified resource cannot be POSTed to.
500 Server Error The server has responded with an error. If the problem persists please contact support@sipcentric.com.
You should use the PUT method to update or modify resources. A representation of the object and its updated properties should be included in the body, and the Content-Type header set according to the format of the representation you are sending. See Response Formats for the formats we can accept.
200 Ok The resource was successfully updated and the response body contains its new representation.
401 Unauthorized The credentials supplied are invalid, or insufficient to update the resource.
404 Not Found The resource you are trying to update does not exist.
405 Method Not Allowed The specified resource is read-only and does not allow updates.
Finally, where supported, resources may be removed using the DELETE method. Please be careful though, as deleted resources cannot be restored afterwards!
204 Deleted The resource was successfully deleted. The response body will be empty as there is no representation to return.
401 Unauthorized The credentials supplied are invalid, or insufficient to delete the resource.
404 Not Found The resource you are trying to remove does not exist.
405 Method Not Allowed The specified resource is read-only or not removable.
Authentication to the Sipcentric API occurs via HTTP Basic Authentication, with the same credentials as you would use to login to the web portal. Your credentials should be provided with every request.
As all Sipcentric accounts can have unlimited users, you may want to create a user specifically for the API, or for an application that uses the API.
We generally send (and receive) representations of objects in JSON format. There may be exceptions (in the case of sound files, for example), but these will be highlighted in the documentation specific to those resources.
Although including the Accept header in your request is the preferred method of specifying your desired representation format, it may not always be possible to include this header.
If an Accept header cannot be specified, you can append the desired type to the request URL instead, as in the example below.
This will override any Accept headers that have been added by your client and, in the above example, return a JSON representation.
Some resources are in fact collections of other resources. For example, a list of all telephone numbers assigned to a particular customer account can be found by querying (GETting) the "phonenumbers" sub-resource. Similarly, new numbers can be added to the collection by POSTing to it.
totalItems The total number of items in the collection.
pageSize The number of items per page.
page The current page number.
items The items included in the current page.
prevPage A link to the previous page (if it exists).
nextPage A link to the next page (again, if it exists).
pageSize The number of items per page (default 20 / maximum 200).
page The page number to return (default 1).
The customers resource is the starting point for most account-level operations. Each customer instance represents an account on the Sipcentric platform - it encapsulates a single company/PBX and all of its sub-resources.
required The resource type ("customer").
read-only URI of this instance.
read-only UTC time when the resource was created (ISO8601 format).
required Name of the company on the account.
required Primary contact first name.
required Primary contact last name.
required Primary contact telephone number.
required Primary contact email address.
required Primary location address line 1.
optional Primary location address line 2.
read-only A collection of links to related sub-resources.
Lists all customer accounts to which the authenticating user has access. When authenticated as an extension user or a company admin, this will only return their own account. However, when authenticated as a reseller, all customer accounts owned by that reseller will be returned.
Returns a single customer instance, providing the user is allowed access to that customer. In the case of company admin/extension users, the special ID of me can also be used to return the account to which the current user belongs.
The phonebook sub-resource allows users to read and organize an account's shared phone book entries. Each entry is represented by a phonebookentry.
required The resource type ("phonebookentry").
required Full name of the contact.
required Phone number of the contact.
optional Assigned speed-dial for this contact (1-9999).
Return a list of every phonebookentry on the customer account.
Returns the instance of an individual phonebookentry.
To create a new phone book entry, a representation of a phonebookentry must be POSTed to the phonebook resource. The newly created phonebookentry representation will then be included in the body of the response.
To update a phonebookentry, a representation of the updated phonebookentry must be PUT to that instance resource. The updated phonebookentry representation will then be returned in the body of the response.
To delete a phonebookentry, a DELETE request must be made to the instance resource.
The SMS sub-resource contains a record of every SMS message sent or received on the account, each item represented by a single smsmessage.
required The resource type ("smsmessage").
read-only Direction of the message.
required Name or phone number of the sender.
required Phone number of the recipient.
read-only The send status of an outgoing message.
read-only Message cost in GBP.
Returns a list of every smsmessage on the account.
Returns the instance of a specific smsmessage.
To send a new SMS, simply POST a representation of a new smsmessage to the list resource. If successful, a representation of the newly created smsmessage will be returned in the body of the response.
"body": "Hey, this API is awesome!"
The calls sub-resource can be used to fetch the call history of an account, as well as to originate new calls. Each item is represented by a call.
Local - between two endpoints on the same account.
Domain - between two accounts on the Sipcentric network.
External - to/from an external number on the PSTN.
required The resource type ("call").
read-only The scope of the call (see above for details).
read-only Direction of the call.
required The name and/or phone number of the caller.
required The name and/or phone number of recipient.
read-only UTC time when the call started (ISO8601 format).
read-only The final outcome of the call.
read-only The duration of the call in seconds.
read-only The cost of the call in GBP.
read-only A unique ID for this call or call leg.
read-only This ID is the same across all legs of an end-to-end call and can be used to group those multiple parts together. In an end-to-end call with multiple hops, the value of "linkedId" will always be equal to the "callId" of the first call in the chain.
from String Include only calls from a specific number. Currently supports exact match only (no wildcards).
to String Include only calls to a specific number. Currently supports exact match only (no wildcards).
direction String Include only calls in a specific direction (in/out).
includeLocal Boolean Whether or not to include local (internal) calls. Default is 'false'. Note: only the outbound record is included for calls between endpoints, as the inbound record would be an exact replica.
To originate a new call, you should POST a new call representation containing the properties shown below, to the calls list resource.
In the above example, a connection will first be established with the specified local endpoint ("endpoint"). We will then attempt to place a call to the remote destination ("to") and finally bridge the two together.
The sounds sub-resource is a container for all sound files that have been added to an account. A sound file is in itself an abstract type and as such, each instance is represented by one of the concrete sub-types detailed below.
Important: once a sound of a particular type has been created, its type cannot be changed - instead, it must be removed and re-added.
Represents a voice greeting or announcement and can be played, for example, on entry to a call queue or to give instructions about which keys to press in an IVR.
Represents music which can be played when a caller is placed on hold or is waiting in a queue.
The properties of each sound type are listed below.
required The resource type ("prompt").
read-only Name of the prompt.
read-only Size of the underlying file in bytes.
required The resource type ("music").
read-only Name assigned to the music.
read-only Size of the file in bytes.
required Whether or not the music is enabled and will play.
Returns the instance of a specific sound file.
See Response Formats for more information.
The recordings sub-resource provides a way to retrieve and manage the call recordings which are currently stored on an account. Each recording representation contains a set of properties which allow for easy indexing/searching based on the local endpoint, remote party ID, time of recording etc.
required The resource type ("recording").
read-only Username or phone number of the recorded party.
read-only The time that the recorded call began (ISO8601 format).
read-only A unique ID for each leg of the call.
read-only The unique ID of the call itself. This ID is the same across all legs of a single call and can be used to link multiple legs of a call together.
createdAfter String Include only recordings created after the specified date/time.
createdBefore String Include only recordings created before the specified date/time.
startedAfter String Include only recordings which started after the specified date/time.
startedBefore String Include only recordings which started before the specified date/time.
callId String Include only recordings relating to a specific call leg.
linkedId String Include only recordings relating to calls with the same linked ID.
Fetches the instance of a specific recording.
A time interval (timeinterval) defines the single or set of time periods which together, constitute a recurring weekly/yearly event or work pattern - for example, "Out of Hours", "Public Holidays" or "My Cat's Birthday". Time intervals are used for matching against when defining time-based routing or access rules elsewhere on the system.
required The resource type ("timeinterval").
required Name assigned to the time interval.
required The times included in this event or work pattern. Each item defines an inclusive block of time on a single day of the week or year, depending on the repeat frequency. Include as many items as required to define the entire pattern or set of events.
conditionally required Day of the week on which this block applies. Only valid when repeat = WEEKLY.
conditionally required Used in conjunction with "dayOfMonth", defines the day of the year on which this block applies. Only valid when repeat = YEARLY.
conditionally required Used in conjunction with "month", defines the day of the year on which this block applies. Only valid when repeat = YEARLY.
required Inclusive start time (hh:mm format).
required Inclusive end time (hh:mm format).
Returns a list of previously defined time intervals on an account.
Returns the instance of a specific time interval.
Endpoints represent the internal destinations to which calls can be routed. Some endpoints are also able to initiate calls. An endpoint is itself an abstract type - each concrete sub-type, listed below, inherits a set of properties common to all endpoints (such as "name" and "shortNumber"), whilst adding its own properties according to its functionality.
Important: once an endpoint of a particular type has been created, its type cannot be changed.
For connecting a SIP handset, softphone or mobile app and to enable direct inbound/outbound calls over the Internet. Typically, each member of the team will have their own extension, but multiple devices may be connected to a single extension. Each phone extension includes an associated voicemail user and SIP identity and supports features such as call recording, call forwarding and call waiting. It can also be a member of one or more ring groups and/or call queues. Note: call charges apply to forwarded calls.
Used for linking an existing mobile or landline number to the system as if it were a regular extension, with its own 3-digit number for receiving incoming calls. A virtual extension can be a member of a group/queue in exactly the same way as a regular phone extension, but does not include any of the additional features (voicemail, recording etc). Note: call charges apply to forwarded calls.
Calls directed to a ring group will be forked to multiple phone/virtual extensions either in parallel, or cascaded from one to another in series. If one or more phones are busy the others will still ring.
On entry, callers may be greeted with a welcome message, then played music (or a custom marketing message) until their call is answered. Options include setting the ring strategy, maximum wait time and failover destination for calls exceeding this limit.
Direct callers to the most appropriate person or department by giving them a number of options - e.g. "Press 1 for support, 2 for accounts" - or allow callers to reach individual extensions directly if they know the number.
Although every phone extension has its own mailbox, sometimes additional mailboxes are required for things like out-of-hours messages or recorded information lines. Messages may be delivered via email or retrieved from any connected handset on the system, in the same way as any other mailbox.
The properties of each endpoint type are listed below.
required The resource type ("phone").
required The 3-digit internal number of this endpoint.
required Name assigned to the endpoint.
optional Email address for notifications (e.g. voicemail).
required The time in seconds after which incoming calls should be considered unanswered (default 30).
required Whether or not call waiting is enabled (default true).
required Whether calls should be recorded for this extension and when (default OFF).
required Whether or not voicemail is enabled for this extension (default false).
required The resource type ("virtual").
required External number to which calls should be forwarded.
required The time in seconds after which calls should be considered unanswered (default 30).
required Whether or not call screening is enabled (default false).
required The resource type ("group").
required How long in seconds to try each member of the group (default 30).
required Delay in seconds before trying the next member of the group (default 0). A zero delay denotes a ring-all strategy (ring all members simultaneously). An overlap between members can be achieved by setting the delay greater than zero but less than "memberTimeout".
optional URI of another endpoint to which calls should be forwarded on eventual timeout or failure.
required The resource type ("queue").
required The maximum amount of time in seconds a caller can wait in the queue (default 600).
required The resource type ("ivr").
required The number of seconds to wait for a keypress after the initial message has been played (default 5).
required The resource type ("mailbox").
required Email address to which we should send new messages.
Phone numbers provide a route into the system from outside - they can support calls and optionally SMS messages, where available. Each inbound number is represented by a did.
required The resource type ("did").
read-only The phone number in E.164 format.
optional An optional label which is prefixed to the caller ID name on incoming calls to identify which number was called. Useful when multiple numbers each route to the same internal endpoint.
optional The URI of the internal endpoint to which calls to this number will be routed by default. Valid only if faxEnabled = false.
read-only Determines whether SMS functionality is supported on this number. Only certain numbers will have SMS capabilities. It is not possible to receive SMS messages on ported numbers.
conditionally required A user may choose whether to allow or disallow incoming messages. Valid only if smsEnabled = true.
optional The email address to which we should send incoming SMS notifications. Valid only if smsEnabled = true.
optional When an SMS is received to this number, we will send a POST to the specified URL and include the following form encoded parameters: "to", "from", "body", "udh" (user data header - used for linking concatenated messages together). Valid only if smsEnabled = true.
required Whether this number should be designated for fax-to-email. It is not currently possible to receive both voice calls and faxes to a single number - therefore, "faxEnabled" and "destination" are mutually exclusive.
optional The email address to which we should send incoming faxes (converted to PDF). Valid only if faxEnabled = true.
optional Time-based routing rules (exceptions) that apply to this number.
required URI of the time interval during which this rule applies.
required URI of endpoint to which calls during the matched time interval should routed.
Returns a list of all phone numbers on a customer account.
Retrieves the instance of a specific phone number.
Usually, when making calls or sending SMS messages from an account, the outgoing ID should be set to one of the phone numbers on that account. It is possible, however, to use a name (in the case of SMS) or a number which is hosted elsewhere, as long as ownership can be verified. Once a custom caller ID has been requested and approved by us it will appear here, represented by an outgoingcallerid.
required The resource type ("outgoingcallerid").
read-only Name or number to be displayed for outgoing calls and/or messages.
read-only Whether the name/number has been approved for use with outgoing calls.
read-only Whether the name/number has been approved for use with outgoing SMS.
Lists the IDs which have been approved for use on the account.
Get the instance of a specific caller ID.
The credit status sub-resource returns the current call credit status of an account, represented by a creditstatus instance.
read-only The type of account.
The call bundles sub-resource contains all bundles which have been added to an account - each is represented by a customerbundle and includes the current status, as well as used and remaining minutes.
required The resource type ("customerbundle").
read-only The number of minutes to predefined destinations included in the bundle.
read-only The monthly renewal cost in GBP.
read-only UTC time from which the bundle is valid (ISO8601 format).
read-only UTC time when the bundle expires (ISO8601 format).
read-only The number of minutes used up.
read-only The number of minutes remaining.
required Whether the bundle is set to automatically renew.
read-only The current status of the bundle.
List all bundles added to an account.
Fetches the instance of a specific customer bundle.
In some situations it's not possible to use basic authentication in a GET request, such as downloading a call recording in a client's browser.
To solve this issue we have added a token generator for pre-authenticating these requests. This will return a single-use token for accessing any readonly resources you would normally have to authenticate for.
Anyone that tried to use the request again will get a 401 Unauthorized. This prevents replay attacks from getting any data.
You can create a standing HTTP connection to our API for live streaming events. This means you can process events in near real time, without having to poll other resources and potentially avoid hitting request limits. Data is returned as JSON objects.
To work with the streaming API you will need to create an indefinite HTTP GET request and process the data as it is received. Our API will hold the connection open as long as possible. But if the connection does disconnect due to network / client issues you should handle this by reconnecting as soon as possible. We also send a heartbeat object every 60 seconds which helps keep the connection open and you can also check for this object and reconnect if it isn't received within a suitable time period.
The streaming API requires you to authenticate with Basic Authentication. The stream data you receive depends on the user you authenticate with.
Most HTTP client libraries let you handle the connection as a stream. Which allows you to process the data as it is received.
endpoint URI of the endpoint.
to The public number the SMS was delivered to.
None No values are returned for this object.


text:
Offshore Africa News - page 150
ExxonMobil will operate Tugela off South Africa
ExxonMobil Exploration and Production South Africa Ltd. will soon begin exploration activities offshore South Africa. The ExxonMobil affiliate signed an agreement with Impact Africa Ltd. (Impact), a subsidiary of Impact Oil & Gas Ltd…
Mozambique Channel Discovery holds sole Comoros license
In October 2012, the government of the Comoros Islands issued a statement that only one company, Mozambique Channel Discovery Ltd. (MCD), a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based Boulle Mining Group, has oil and gas exploration and production rights throughout the territorial waters of the Comoros…
Zaedyus-2 disappoints
Stena DrillMaxNo commercial find at Tullow's Zaedyus-2 well Drilling at Tullow's Zaedyus-2 appraisal well has been completed offshore French Guiana, the company announced on 4 December 2012.The well, drilled 5km up-dip from the Zaedyus-1 discovery by the Stena DrillMax…
GAC supports search for oil in Burundi
BurundiGAC UK & GAC-Seaforth have overcome challenges to complete the successful delivery of a complex collection of cargo to Lake Tanganyika, Burundi, to support Surestream Petroleum (UK)'s explorations in Africa.Independent oil exploration company Surestream Petroleum Ltd…
Tullow confirms Twiga oil find
Kenya mapTullow's Twiga South-1 exploration well in Block 13T, onshore Kenya, has encountered oil, the company confirmed 26 November 2012.Twiga South-1 has encountered 30m of net oil pay with further potential to be assessed on test and…
Smit Lamnalco orders three new vessels
Smit Lamnalco has renewed its marine support services contract with oil major Shell in Gabon, in a deal that has triggered investment in three auxiliary vessel newbuildings.The five year contract renewal extends an uninterrupted relationship…
Tullow picks up Guinea stake
Tullow has reached an agreement for 40% operating interest in Houston-based Hyperdynamics' offshore Guinea concession, the two companies announced on 20 November 2012.In late October, Tullow expressed interest in joining the concession. Hyperdynamics…
Total sells OML 138 stake to Sinopec
Total has finalized an agreement to sell its 20% contractor interest in OML 138 block to a wholly owned subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), for approximately US$2.5 billion in cash, the company announced on 19 November 2012…
Chevron signs up Pacific Khamsin
The ultra-deepwater drillship Pacific Khamsin has been awarded a contract by a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Chevron Corporation for operations in West Africa, the ship's owner Pacific Drilling announced on 16 November 2012.The minimum…
Seadrill to acquire Songa Eclipse
A subsidiary of Seadrill has entered into an agreement with Songa Offshore to acquire the ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig Songa Eclipse for a consideration of US$590 million.The rig was delivered from the Jurong Shipyard in Singapore in 2011…
Technip wins GirRI EPIC
Girassol FPSOTechnip has won an EPIC contract for the second phase of Total E&P Angola's Girassol Resoucres Iniatives (GirRI) project, the company announced on 13 November 2012.Technip will provide project management, engineering, fabrication…
Shell shuts Imo River trunkline
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) has shut down the Imo River Trunkline in its Eastern operations after it found several crude theft points on the facility. Production of some 25,000 barrels of oil per day is deferred…
Shell finalizes Nigerian lease sale
SPDC, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, has completed a sale of its 30% interest in Oil Mining Lease 30 (OML 30) in the Niger Delta to Shoreline Natural Resources Limited for $567 million.The company said the divestment is part of a plan to reshape SPDC's onshore portfolio…
EMAS AMC wins S. Korean contract duo
EMAS has secured two contracts with South Korean clients worth a combined total of approximately US$200 million.EMAS' subsea division (EMAS AMC) was awarded an EPCIC contract in Asia by STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd for the engineering…
Drillers on road to recovery
Rising day rates and demand for drilling in deepwater environments are helping the offshore drilling sector recover from not just the global economic gloom of recent years but also the post-Macondo drilling moratorium in the US. According to…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Gigaset C620A Quint is an innovative blend of style and functionality, designed to impress with a wealth of useful features and terrific sound quality. Offering innovative call blocking features to put an end to unwanted disturbances and bring peace back into your home, the C620A also facilitates calls you do want in crystal clear clarity thanks to HSP technology. The perfect choice for any home looking for a top-quality set of 5 cordless phones.
The Gigaset C620A offers easy and simple protection against unwanted and unwelcome disturbances, with features such as time-controlled call silencing. Simply programme the handset with a start time and end time, and the ringer will be silenced for the duration; calls will still be displayed on screen and can be answered. There is also the facility to blacklist up to 15 numbers, which will block them completely from coming through.
Gigaset are pioneers in sound technology, and developed HSP protocols, which enhance the clarity of calls above that of a standard landline. Therefore, with the C620A you can expect to enjoy all your conversations free from distortions and in the highest quality available, even when using the integrated loudspeaker for comfortable hands-free. And with a dependable indoor and outdoor range, you have the flexibility to roam further from the base without any deterioration in sound.
An answering machine doesn't need to be used solely for recording messages (though with space for up to 55 minutes and playback controls on the base, the C620A performs this purpose impeccably); it can also enable you to screen your calls so you can decide whether or not to answer. The intuitive answer machine on the C620A can also be set up to notify you by text whenever you have a missed call or new message waiting, and can even forward your calls to another number.
The Gigaset C620A Quint is a stylish and practical set of digital cordless phones ideal for larger homes or offices.
Excellent phones - well built and fully featured. But there\'s one flaw: the cradle socket. Almost unbelievably poor design from a manufacturer with as high a reputation as Siemens makes it very difficult to locate the phone into its charging cradle. (This is not helped by the angle of the phone in the base unit being quite different from that of the additional units.) Put a Panasonic phone into its cradle and slightly mis-align it and it will usually fall in - these will fall out.
I chose this phone as it is a 'Which?' Best Buy and I am very happy with the handset's appearance and performance. Very happy with my purchase.
Purchased the Gigaset C620A from liGo last week to replace a defunct set of BT phones. I did a lot of research online prior to ordering, and settled on this as it came with a 2-year warranty and received a lot of praise for it's sound quality.
Delivery was very prompt and upon opening the package I was extremely impressed with the look and feel of the handset. The screen is a decent size, and the buttons are very responsive. Set-up was straightforward - you have to allow the batteries to fully run down after their first charge but can use them during this period. Glanced through the instruction manual as it is pretty long, and most of the features are easy enough to work out.
I noticed a huge difference in sound quality; these phones are far superior to our last set (granted they were pretty ancient). Loudspeaker function works very well as you can stand the handset straight up.
Brilliant set of phones that are well worth the money! Would definitely recommend!
Great phone with plenty of features.
We needed to but a new set of cordless phones after our old BT model, which we've had for over 10 years, finally gave up the ghost and stopped working. After a lot of research and making comparisons with other makes and models we finally decided on the Gigaset C620A, and have been very happy with our choice. Delivery from liGo was fast and the phones were very easy to set-up on arrival. The screen is large and bright, which makes it easy to see what you're doing, and there are a lot of features that you can use. The look and feel of the handset is a vast improvement on our previous model, and would definitely recommend.


text:
Official Cuban Fury T-shirt
A few weeks ago we were approached by latino lover Bruce Garrett (aka Nick Frost), to see if we'd be interested in creating a T-shirt based upon the El Corazon salsa dance club, featured in his latest film Cuban Fury. We jumped (and danced) at the chance to be involved, and were supplied with a number of key reference points to work from.
For the chance to win this new T-shirt before it gets released view our Facebook page today.
OFFICIAL KILL LIST T-SHIRT
Exclusive to Last Exit to Nowhere, the official T-shirt for Ben Wheatley's critically acclaimed crime thriller horror, Kill List. A single colour design, hand screen printed on a regular fit, 100% ultra cotton black t-shirt.
A FIELD IN ENGLAND OFFICIAL T-SHIRT
The official T-shirt for Ben Wheatley's A Field in England. Hand screen printed on a regular fit, 100% ultra unbleached cotton cream/natural t-shirt. Original illustrations by Luke Insect & Kenn Goodall. Available for a limited time only.
A Field in England
We were honoured to be asked by Kill List/Sightseers director Ben Wheatley to produce T-shirts for his highly anticipated next film, A Field in England. The T-shirts will be available to buy from us on the 5th of July (2013) to coincide with the release of the film in cinemas, on Film4, DVD, Blu-ray and VoD. More information about how to experience this film can be found here.
Stamp of Approval
It was a proud day for us here at Last Exit the day we received this image of actor Terence Stamp holding up our 'KNEEL' T-shirt. Thanks to Dallas King @ChampCelluloid for his involvement. Photo © ManeSánchez
LETN's Mike with Ben Wheatley, Steve Oram
Last night a couple of us were lucky enough to get to see a screening of the pitch black comedy Sightseers at the Mayhem Film Festival in Nottingham. It pretty much ticked all the boxes for me, and is now officially my favourite film of the year. Afterwards, I had the pleasure of meeting up with the director Ben Wheatley and writer/actor Steve Oram, both top blokes. The film is released at the end of the month in the UK. Make sure you go and see this one, it's definitely not to be missed. 10/10


text:
\section{Introduction}

In the Standard Model of electroweak interactions (SM) the neutrino masses
are set to zero ``by hand''. While all terrestrial experiments are
consistent with this assumption, it is now clear that the solution of
the solar neutrino problem requires nonzero neutrino masses and neutrino
mixing \cite{be96d}. Another motivation for neutrino masses comes from
cosmology with the need of a hot dark matter particle in the few eV mass
range or of a heavy ($\sim\:$MeV) unstable particle
\cite{taup}. In both cases, the $\tau$-neutrino is an ideal candidate.
However, astrophysics and cosmology provide also stringent limits for
neutrino masses and lifetimes \cite{books}. In particular, the requirement
that the neutrino energy density does not overclose the Universe
restricts the sum of the masses of all stable neutrino species to be less than
$92\, \Omega_\nu h^2 \:$eV, where $\Omega_\nu h^2 \lsim 1$.

In extended SMs with neutrino mixing, neutrinos
can decay by the process $\nu_H \to \nu_L + \gamma$ and, if the mass
$m_H$ of the heavy neutrino is higher than $2m_e$, additionally
by $\nu_H \to \nu_L + e^- + e^+$. The resulting lifetimes
$\tau=\Gamma^{-1}$  are,
although strongly model-dependent, extremely long. In the simplest
case where right-handed singlet fields $N_{lR}$ are added to the SM
the decay rate of the resulting Dirac neutrinos is \cite{books}
\begin{equation}  \label{tau_SM}
 \Gamma_{\rm SM} =
                   \frac{\alpha}{2}\: \left( \frac{3G_F}{32\pi^2} \right)^2
                   \left( \frac{m_H^2 - m_L^2}{m_H} \right)^3
                   \left( m_H^2 + m_L^2 \right)
                   \left| \sum_{l=e,\mu,\tau} U_{l H} U_{l L}^\ast
                                   \:\frac{m_l^2}{m_W^2}
                   \right|^2 \:,
\end{equation}
where $m_H,m_L$ are the masses of the heavy and of the light neutrino,
respectively.
If we assume that the $\tau$-lepton dominates the sum over the internal
leptons $l$ and that the elements of the mixing matrix $U$ are of order
unity, eq. (\ref{tau_SM}) yields a lifetime
$\mathcal {O}(\tau_{\rm SM}) = 10^{29}$
years for $m_H=30\:$eV and $m_L \ll m_H$.

Since $\tau_{\rm SM} \gg T_{\rm Universe}$, neutrinos in the
SM with lepton mixing
can be treated as stable and the limit $m_\nu \lsim 92\:$eV applies.
The principal reason for the extremely small decay widths of
neutrinos is their small mass. Obviously, the decay rate $\Gamma$
for the radiative decay has to be proportional to $\alpha G_F^2$, and
since for $m_H \gg m_L$ the only energy scale available is the mass of
the heavy neutrino, it follows
$\Gamma\propto \alpha G_F^2 m_H^5$ on purely dimensional grounds.

This changes drastically if an external field is present. Then,
in the low-field limit $B\ll B_{{\rm cr},i}= m_i^2 /e$
the decay rates in magnetic fields $B$ depend
only on the dynamical field parameters
\begin{equation}
 \chi_i = m_i^{-3} \sqrt{ \left( p_\mu eF^{\mu\nu} \right)^2 } =
          \frac{p_\bot}{m_i}\:\frac{B}{B_{{\rm cr},i}} ,
\end{equation}
where $p_\bot$ is the momentum perpendicular to $B$ of the initial
particle and $B_{{\rm cr},i}$ are the critical fields of the charged
particles, while in the strong field limit
$B \gg B_{{\rm cr},i}= m_i^2 /e$ the decay
rates can depend separately on $p_\perp$ and $B$ \cite{ni64/te94}.
In both cases, the essential point
is that  the energy scale is set by the charged particles
and not by the mass of the decaying particle.

The best example for this mechanism is photon splitting $\gamma
\to 2 \gamma$. This process is forbidden in vacuum not only due
to the Furry theorem but also due to the zero mass of the photon.
In an external field photon splitting is allowed and the energy scale
is set by the charged particles running in the loop.
For, e.g., $B\ll m^2_e /e$ and $\omega\ll 2m_e$ the dominating
contribution to the loop is that of the electron, and
the decay rate is given by \cite{ad71}
\begin{equation}
 \Gamma \propto \alpha^3 \:\frac{m_e^2}{\omega} \,
                             \left( \frac{k_\bot}{m_e} \right)^6
                             \left( \frac{eB}{m_e} \right)^6
        = \alpha^3 \:\frac{m_e^2}{\omega} \: \chi_e^6 \:.
\end{equation}

Consequently, the decay of all light particles should be enhanced in
strong external fields. For the example of the radiative decay of
neutrinos this was shown for various external fields
configurations by  Gvozdev {\it et al.\/} \cite{gv92,gv94/va95}.
In the case of a
weak magnetic field $B\ll B_{\rm cr}$, they derived approximate decay
rates valid for arbitrary momentum $p_\perp$ of the initial neutrino.
However, in the strong field limit $B\gg B_{\rm cr}$, they gave
an asymptotic expression for the decay width valid only for
$p_\perp \ll 2m_e$ \cite{gv92}.

Recently several authors proposed scenarios in which a strong
magnetic field with $B\gg m_e^2 /e$ in the early Universe was
created. Among the ideas considered are the production of a magnetic field
of $\mathcal{O}(B)= 10^{-8}M_{\rm GUT}^2 /e \approx 10^{43}\:$G
by the ferromagnetic Yang-Mills vacuum \cite{en94},
of $\mathcal{O}(B)= m_W^2 / e \approx 10^{24}\:$G during the electroweak phase
transition \cite{va91},
of $\mathcal{O}(B)= (\lambda' M_{\rm Pl} m \phi_0)^{2/3}  \approx 10^{48}\:$G
during hybrid inflation, where $\phi$ is the inflaton
field with mass $m$ and Higgs-coupling $\lambda'$ \cite{da95},
 %
inflation in string cosmology \cite{ga95}, etc.
Subsequently, several authors used
nucleosynthesis to derive bounds on primordial magnetic fields
\cite{ns,ch96,gr96}.
In these works, the effect of the magnetic field
on the weak
interaction rates $n \rightleftarrows p + e^- + \bar\nu_e$
and on the expansion rate of the Universe was taken into account
but the neutrinos were treated as stable.
The limits obtained vary between $B \approx 2 \times 10^{13}\:$G in
ref. \cite{ch96} and $B \gsim 1 \times 10^{15}\:$G in
ref. \cite{gr96} at the beginning of nucleosynthesis ($T\approx 1\:$MeV).

Obviously, if the neutrino lifetime becomes of the order of the age
of the Universe at the time of nucleosynthesis or before,
they can no  longer be treated as stable.
Since the effect of a magnetic field is equivalent to an increase of
the effective number of neutrino species $N_\nu$, while the decay of
a heavy neutrino before nucleosynthesis decreases $N_\nu$ from three
to two, the limits obtained in ref. \cite{ch96,gr96} could be even
weakened by taking into account neutrino decays.

\section{Decay rate of $\nu_H \to \nu_L + \gamma$}

We consider the radiative decay of a heavy neutrino $\nu_H$ into a
lighter  neutrino $\nu_L$ and a photon $\gamma$ in a strong
magnetic field $B \gg B_{\rm cr}=m_l^2 /e$. Without loss of
generality, we can
choose the magnetic field as $\vec B = B \vec e_z$ and the
three-momentum  $\vec p$ of the heavy neutrino perpendicular to $\vec B$,
e.g. $p^\mu = (E,p_{x},0,0)$. The momenta of the light neutrino
and of the photon are denoted by
$p^{\prime\mu} = ( E^\prime, \vec p^\prime)$ and
$k^\mu = (\omega, \vec k)$; the components perpendicular to $B$ have
the index $\bot$. If the energy of the heavy neutrino is
small compared to the mass of the $W$-boson, $E \ll m_W$, the
four-fermion interaction can be used and the decay is described by the
Feynman diagram shown in Fig.~1. In this limit,
Gvozdev {\it et al.\/} \cite{gv92} found for the  matrix element
$\mathcal{M}$ of the process $\nu_H \to \nu_L + \gamma$
\begin{equation}
 \mathcal{M} ( B \gg B_{\rm cr}) =
  - \frac{e}{24\pi^2} \: \frac{G_F}{\sqrt{2}} \: C \:
    \sum_{l=e,\mu,\tau} U_{Hl}U_{Ll}^\ast \: \frac{eB}{m_l^2} \: f(x) \,,
\end{equation}
where an effective matrix element
\begin{equation}
 C  =  k_\bot^2
         \left( \varepsilon^\ast_\mu \tilde\Phi^{\mu\nu} j_\nu
         \right)
         -
         \left( k_\mu \tilde\Phi^{\mu\nu} j_\nu \right)
         \left( k_\mu \tilde\Phi^{\mu\nu} \varepsilon^\ast_\nu
         \right)
\end{equation}
and a function $f(x)$ depending only on the ratio $x= 4m_l^2 / k_\bot^2$
were introduced.
The other abbreviations have the following meaning:
The neutrino current $j$ is given by
$j_\mu = \bar\nu_L (p_2)\gamma_\mu (1+\gamma^5)\nu_H (p_1)$,
$\tilde\Phi_{\mu\nu}= \tilde F_{\mu\rho}\tilde F^\rho_{\;\nu} / B^2
- \tilde F_{\mu\nu} / B$ and
$\tilde F$ is the dual field tensor.
For $x>1$ the function $f$ is given by
\begin{equation}   \label{f>1}
 f(x) = \frac{3}{2} x \left( x \Omega \arctan\Omega -  1 \right)
\end{equation}
with
\begin{equation}
 \Omega  = \frac{k_\bot}{\sqrt{4m^2 - k_\bot^2}} ,
\end{equation}
where we corrected a typographical error (in the argument
of $\arctan$) of ref. \cite{gv92}; a check of the relative signs in
eq. (\ref{f>1}) is given by the requirement $\mathcal{M}\to 0$ for
$\omega\to 0$.
The function $f$ can be analytically continued in the
complex $k_\bot^2$ plane. Then, for $x<1$, the real part
of $f$ follows simply as
\begin{equation}
 \Re (f) =  \frac{3}{2} x \left( - x \Phi {\,\rm arctanh}\,\Phi -  1 \right)
\end{equation}
with
\begin{equation}
 \Phi = \frac{k_\bot}{\sqrt{k_\bot^2 - 4m^2}}    \,,
\end{equation}
while the imaginary part of $f$ is given by the dicontinuity across
the branching cut starting at $k_\bot^2 = 4m_e^2$, viz.
$2i \Im (f)= f(k_\bot^2 +i\varepsilon )-f(k_\bot^2 -i\varepsilon )$,
\begin{equation}
 \Im (f) = \frac{3}{4}\: i\pi x^2 \Phi   \,.
\end{equation}
Using
${\,\rm arccoth}\, z = \half \ln \frac{1+z}{1-z} + \half\pi i$ for $\Im (z) <0$,
one sees that $f(x)$ for $x<1$ given in ref. \cite{gv92}
coincides---except for the sign of the term $3/2 x$---with the real
part given by us\footnote{This sign error has also been corrected by
  Gvozdev {\it et al.\/} in ref. \cite{va96}.},
but that the authors of ref. \cite{gv92} missed to
evaluate the imaginary part of $f$.

In the following, we restrict ourselves to the case that the internal
loop is dominated by the electron, i.e. that $m_e^2 /e \ll B \ll
m_\mu^2 /e$. In this case, the contribution of  additional
charged particles, e.g. from an enlarged Higgs sector, to the SM can be
neglected. Therefore the decay rates will hold in the limit $m_H \gg
m_L$ not only for the SM with lepton mixing but also for more general
models of massive neutrinos\footnote{If neutrinos are Majorana
  particles, the decay rates should be divided by two.}. Moreover, we
set $U_{Hl}U_{Ll}^\ast =1$ for simplicity.

The neutrino decay rate $\Gamma$ is given by
\begin{equation}  \label{rate}
 \Gamma = \frac{1}{16\pi E^2}\int_0^{E} {\rm d}\omega \,
          |\overline{\mathcal{M}}|^2.
\end{equation}
Averaging $|C|^2$ over spins, we obtain
\begin{eqnarray}
 |\overline{C}|^2 & = & 16 \big[ \: k_\bot^2
       \big( 2 E \omega^2 E^\prime - 2 E \omega k_z E^\prime
             +  E k_z^2 p_{z}^\prime +  E p_{z}^\prime \omega^2 \big)
\nonumber\\ & &
       + 2 \big( E^\prime \omega - E^\prime k_z + p_{z}^\prime \omega
                 + p_{z}^\prime k_z \big)
           \big( k_z - \omega \big) E \omega k_z
       + E p_{z}^\prime k_\bot^2
\nonumber\\ & &
       +  \big( E E^\prime - p_{x} p_{x}^\prime \big)
\nonumber\\  & &
    \big( -  k_x^{2} \omega^{2} - k_x^{2} k_z^{2} -  k_y^{2} \omega^{2}
         -  k_y^{2} k_z^{2} + E \omega^{3} k_z E^\prime
\nonumber\\  & &
         - 2 E \omega^{2} k_z^{2} E^\prime  +  E \omega k_z^{3} E^\prime
         +  E \omega^{3} k_z p_{2}^\prime - E \omega k_z^{3} p_{z}^\prime
    \big) \big]  \: .
\end{eqnarray}
In the limit $E \gg m_H, m_L$, we can set $E \approx p$ and
$E^\prime \approx p^\prime$.
Therefore the three particles propagate collinearly
and the above expression reduces to
\begin{equation}  \label{C-app}
 |\overline{C}|^2 =  32 \omega^4 E E^\prime \:.
\end{equation}

The differential decay rate $\d\Gamma / \d\omega$
can be computed only for $k_\bot^2 \neq 2m_e$.
Moreover, as the singularities of $|f(x)|^2$ at $k_\bot =2m_e$
are not integrable, the total decay rate $\Gamma$ above the pair
creation threshold is ill-defined. Physically speaking, we have not
taken into account the finite lifetime of neutrinos and photons in
magnetic fields. Usually, the finite lifetime is incorporated
by the replacement of the energies $E$ by complexified energies
$E -\frac{1}{2}i\Gamma(E)$ in the denominators, where $\Gamma(E)$ is
the decay width of the state with energy $E$.
We note that, although this replacement seems natural, it is not unambiguous.
To proceed, we assume that the decay widths of the neutrinos are
neglectable compared to those of photons
and insert the total decay width
\begin{equation}
 \Gamma^{\rm tot}= \Gamma_{\rm pair} (\omega)+ \Gamma_{\rm splitt} (\omega)
\end{equation}
in the energy denominators of $\Omega$ and $\Phi$.
Here, $\Gamma_{\rm pair}$ denotes the decay width of the process
$\gamma \to 2e$ \cite{da83} and $\Gamma_{\rm splitt}$
the decay width of the process
$\gamma \to 2\gamma$ \cite{ba96/ka96b}.

Let us now consider the two analytically tractable limits
$p_{\bot} \ll 2m_e$ and $p_{\bot} \gg 2m_e$.
The function $f(x)$ behaves as
$f(x) \sim \frac{3}{2}\:x$ for $x\to 0$ and goes to
$1$ for $x\to\infty$. Inserting this and eq. (\ref{C-app}) into
eq. (\ref{rate}), we obtain
\begin{eqnarray}      \label{E<<m}
 \Gamma & =  & \frac{\alpha G_F^2}{15\cdot 288 \pi^4 \, E}
               \left( E \sin\theta \right)^6
               \left( \frac{B}{B_{\rm cr}} \right)^2
\quad {\rm for} \quad m_H \ll p_{\bot} \ll 2m_e
\\                     \label{E>>m}
 \Gamma & = & \frac{\alpha G_F^2 m_e^5 }{8 \pi^4 \, E} \: \chi_e^2
\quad {\rm for} \quad 2m_e \ll p_{\bot} \ll m_W  \,,
\end{eqnarray}
where $\theta$ denotes the angle between the magnetic field $\vec B$
and $\vec p$.
The first approximation was already derived in Ref. \cite{gv92}.
Note that the energy dependence of the total decay
rate is the same as that for photon splitting.

We now discuss our numerical results, which were all computed using
the approximation eq. (\ref{C-app}) and with $B=10\,B_{\rm cr}$,
$\theta =90^\circ$.
In Fig. 2 the differential decay rate $\d\Gamma/\d\omega$
(normalized to unity when integrated over the abscissa)
is shown for energies of the initial neutrino below (left) and above
(right) the pair-creation threshold as a
function of the energy $\omega / E_1$ of the emitted photon.
The energy distribution between the photon and the light neutrino
becomes more and more asymmetric for $E \to 2m_e$, and finally, for
$E > 2m_e$, the resonance for $\omega =2m_e$ appears. For $\omega =
100 m_e$, the differential decay rate has a plateau similar to the
case of photon splitting.

A comparison between the total decay rate eq. (\ref{rate}),
its low-energy approximation eq. (\ref{E<<m})  and its high-energy
approximation eq. (\ref{E>>m}) is made in Fig. 3.
It can be seen that the exact rate is well reproduced
by the approximations except for small region around $2m_e$.

Finally, we have computed the lifetime $\tau$ of the heavy neutrino as
a function of the age $t$ of the Universe. Hereby we have assumed that
the magnetic field
scales like $B(t)= B(t_0) (t_0 /t)^2$, and used as the starting value
$B_0$ the limits obtained in ref. \cite{ch96} and \cite{gr96}
for the onset of nucleosynthesis at $t_0 \approx 1$s. If the lifetime
is below
$t=\tau$ and the temperature $T$ of the
Universe lower than $m_H$, the heavy neutrino
decouples. Decoupling occurs for $m_H > 11\:$MeV using  $B_0 =2 \times
10^{13}\:$G and for $4\:$MeV using $B_0 = 1 \times 10^{15}\:$G.
Therefore, the frequently discussed
$\tau$-neutrino with $m_H \sim\:$MeV \cite{MeV}
is possible in this scenario
without introduction of new interactions.

\section{Summary}

We have presented the first analysis of the rate
of radiative neutrino decay {\em not\/} restricted to momentum of the initial
neutrino $p_\bot \ll 2m_e$ in the limit of strong magnetic fields
$B\gg B_{\rm cr}$. We have derived two simple approximations
for the total decay rate valid for $p_{\bot} \ll 2m_e$ and
$p_{\bot} \gg 2m_e$
in this limit. The  decay rates obtained are extremely enhanced by the
strong magnetic field. In particular, if a strong primordial magnetic
field existed in the early Universe, it is possible that a heavy
neutrino with only standard model interactions may have decayed before
the onset of nucleosynthesis.

\begin{ack}
We wish to thank Prof. V. Berezinsky for stimulating discussions
which initiated this work and  Dr. Vassilevskaya for sending us
ref. \cite{va96} prior to publication.
\end{ack}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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