VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

New Zealand will keep its borders closed to most international travellers for a further five months, the government said on Wednesday, outlining a cautious easing of coronavirus border curbs that have been in place for nearly two years.

Along with its geographic isolation, the South Pacific country enforced some of the tightest pandemic restrictions among OECD nations, limiting the spread of COVID-19 and helping its economy bounce back faster than many of its peers.

But an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant earlier this year has forced a shift in strategy, with the main city of Auckland now only gradually opening up as vaccination rates climb.

Fully vaccinated international travellers will be allowed to enter the country from April 30, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told a news conference. The travellers will have to self-isolate for seven days on arrival.

Vaccinated New Zealanders and residence visa holders in neighbouring Australia can travel to New Zealand from Jan. 16, while vaccinated New Zealanders and residence visa holders most from other countries will be allowed in from Feb. 13.

"A phased approach to reconnecting with the world is the safest approach to ensure risk is carefully managed," Hipkins said.

"This reduces any potential impacts on vulnerable communities and the New Zealand health system."

Travellers will no longer be required to stay at state quarantine facilities, he said, but other measures will be put in place including self-isolation, a negative pre-departure test, proof of being fully vaccinated, and a COVID-19 test on arrival.

Pressure has been mounting on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to reopen international borders ahead of the Christmas holidays so that expatriate New Zealanders could return home.

Air New Zealand (AIR.NZ) said last week it had cancelled about 1,000 flights to Australia due to border uncertainty.

Many industries have also campaigned to reopen borders more quickly as they struggle to fill job vacancies.

New Zealand has recorded just over 10,000 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, and 40 deaths - far fewer than most comparable countries. (Reuters)

 The euro fell on Wednesday after a survey showed German business morale deteriorated in November, while the Turkish lira remained under pressure as President Tayyip Erdogan defended rate cuts despite surging inflation.

German business sentiment worsened for the fifth month as supply challenges in manufacturing and a spike in coronavirus infections clouded the growth outlook for Europe's largest economy. The Ifo institute said its business climate index fell to 96.5 from 97.7 in October. read more

The euro fell 0.3% to its lowest level since early July 2020 at $1.1205.

"Sliding business expectations as COVID cases risk increasing levels of German restrictions favours ongoing EUR downside, look for a test of 1.1200/1.1190," said Jeremy Stretch, head of G10 FX strategy at CIBC

The Turkish lira held near an all-time low of 13.45, touched on Tuesday when it fell around 15% on the day after Erdogan defended recent rate cuts.

In earlier trading, the lira weakened as far as 13.15 against the dollar before edging back to 12.55.

The currency has hit record lows in 11 consecutive sessions. Despite Erdogan defending the central bank's monetary policy, there is widespread criticism from those calling for action to reverse the slide in the currency. read more

"After several changes of personnel in the central bank, Recep Erdogan has now found a central bank chief who obeys and lowers interest rates as desired. Given the high inflation of over 20%, this approach is somewhat unorthodox," said Moritz Paysen, FX trader at Berenberg.

The U.S. dollar index touched a fresh 16-month high on Wednesday at 96.666 ahead of minutes of the November Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and after a surge that followed the renomination of Fed chair Jerome Powell. read more

"It will be interesting to gauge how much divergence of views there was between hawks and doves," ING told clients, even if the FOMC minutes will be outdated as it took place before data showed U.S. inflation surge, providing a strong argument in favour of faster tapering and earlier tightening, ING said.

A slew of U.S. data, including jobless claims, growth and the Fed's preferred inflation measure, are due later on Wednesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

Overnight, the New Zealand dollar eased after a smaller than expected rate hike.

The kiwi was the biggest mover in an otherwise quiet Asian session and was down 0.4% to $0.6918 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted rates 25 basis points (bps) and raised its long-term cash rate projection by 50 bps. (Reuters)

 Japan will release a few hundred thousand kilolitres of oil from its national reserve, but the timing of the sale has not been made, the country's industry minister, Koichi Hagiuda, told reporters on Wednesday.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier that his government would release some oil reserves, after a U.S. request, in a way that does not breach a Japanese law, which only allows stock sales if there is a risk of supply disruption. read more

One kilolitre is equal to 6.29 barrels of oil. Earlier the Nikkei newspaper reported that Japan will release about 4.2 million barrels of oil. (Reuters)

Myanmar's military has arrested 18 medics for providing treatment to patients who were members of "terrorist organisations", a state-run newspaper said Wednesday, referring to outlawed anti-junta groups.

Troops made the arrests during a raid on Monday on a church in Loikaw in eastern Kayah state, where they discovered 48 patients who were receiving treatment, seven suffering from COVID-19.

"It was learned that unofficial medical treatment was being provided to the injured persons and patients from the terrorist organisations," said the Global New Light of Myanmar, the junta's mouthpiece.

The report did not name the organisations. It said the 18 medics arrested would be dealt with according to the law.

Myanmar's healthcare system has been close to collapse since the army overthrew an elected government in a Feb. 1 coup.

Many medical workers joined a civil disobedience movement and have refused to work in military-run hospitals in protest at the junta's rule.

Many healthcare facilities and workers have been targeted by security forces, according to human rights groups.

The military has appealed to doctors to return to work.

Some of the four doctors, four nurses and 10 nursing aides arrested at the church had previously been charged with incitement over their refusal to work, the report said.

Close to 1,300 civilians have been killed and more than 10,000 arrested since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which has been tracking post-coup events in Myanmar.

The military has dismissed the AAPP's data, which has been cited by the United Nations, and accuses it of bias. A junta spokesman last week said 200 soldiers have been killed during the conflict. (Reuters)