In an effort to stimulate economic growth, Brunei’s monarch and leader Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah launched “Wawasan Brunei 2035” also known as “Vision 2035”. Wawasan Brunei 2035 was first formulated in 2004, when Sultan Hassanal oversaw the formation of a Council for Long Term Development Planning who were tasked to articulate a future vision of Brunei and the strategies getting there.

As Southeast Asia becomes one of the fastest developing regions in the world, concerns over its energy security is fast growing. Southeast Asia has a combined population of over 600 million people and an economy worth nearly US$3 trillion. Furthermore, the World Economic Forum forecasts that the region will have the fifth largest economy by 2020. With the region developing rapidly, demand for energy is now higher than ever.

Norway, Germany, France and the United Kingdom (UK) have already announced an end date for the sale of gasoline and diesel cars. Norway has set its deadline as 2025 earliest, Germany and India in 2030 while France and the UK are planning to end the sale of gasoline and diesel cars in 2040. Meanwhile, other countries are also mulling doing the same thing.

Last week, tragedy struck the waters of Balikpapan Bay as an underwater pipeline transporting crude oil cracked and leaked oil into the ocean. The oil spill first occurred over the weekend at the beginning of the month and is now beginning to spread into the open ocean.

Timor-Leste and Australia have finally reached an agreement over the maritime border between the two countries. The two countries signed a historic treaty on a permanent border in the Timor Sea at the UN headquarters on Wednesday. The agreement comes after a 15-year dispute between Timor-Leste and Australia.

Officially, Brunei is known as Negara Brunei Darussalam - negara meaning country and Darussalam translating from Arabic to mean “abode of peace.” This sultanate with a rich cultural background and history, celebrates its National Day today, the 23rd of February. Brunei lies within the island of Borneo, sandwiched between the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak to its east and west, respectively.

Southeast Asia has been touted as one of the world’s fastest growing regions. Bloomberg reported last year that Southeast Asia has a population of 620 million people and an economy worth US$2.6 trillion. This regional economy is expected to keep growing and the World Economic Forum predicted in 2017 that it will have the world’s fifth largest economy by 2020.

Singaporean authorities have arrested 17 men for allegedly stealing fuel from a major Shell refinery, and have also seized an oil tanker and millions of dollars in cash, police said.The suspects, aged between 30 and 63, were detained in raids across Singapore on Sunday after the Anglo-Dutch energy giant lodged a police report in August.

A former Vietnamese official allegedly kidnapped from Germany will go on trial in Hanoi in January on corruption charges, officials said Wednesday, a high-profile case that could see the ex-oil executive put to death.Vietnam's communist government has jailed or arrested scores of former officials, bankers and state executives this year as part of a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown that some observers say is driven by political infighting.

How the world uses energy is a hot topic for a warming planet, and fears of pollution and resource strain have produced a virtual arms race of energy-efficiency strategies. From the European Union to China, economies are vowing to reduce their energy intensity with the help of technological innovations and legislative changes.Yet, despite these promises, consumer demand for energy is forecast by the International Energy Agency to rise until at least 2040.