VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOI, Jakarta - EU leaders called on Thursday for pauses in Israeli bombing and Hamas rocket attacks to get humanitarian aid into Gaza after days of wrangling that highlighted divisions within the bloc over the broader Israel-Palestinian conflict.

In a declaration agreed at a summit in Brussels, the leaders of the Union's 27 nations expressed the "gravest concern for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza".

They called for "continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses for humanitarian needs".

The summit was the leaders' first in-person meeting since the deadly Oct. 7 assault on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which prompted Israel to bombard and blockade Hamas-run Gaza.

While EU leaders have strongly condemned Hamas' attack, they have struggled to stick to the same message beyond that, with some stressing Israel's right to self-defence and others emphasising concern about Palestinian civilians.

The leaders' differences were still clear as they arrived for the summit.

"Israel is a democratic state guided by very humanitarian principles and so we can be certain that the Israeli army will respect the rules that arise from international law in everything it does," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "I have no doubt about that."

Scholz's remarks contrasted sharply with comments in recent days by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Charles Michel, the chairman of EU leaders' summits, who have said that a total blockade of Gaza and attacks on civilian infrastructure already contravene international law.

Rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have also accused Israel of violating international humanitarian law.

Israel insists it is acting within international law and that its attacks are intended to destroy Hamas, which operates among the civilian population.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo warned Israel against starving Gaza.

"Israel has a right to take action and to prevent future attacks. But that is never an excuse for blocking a whole region, for blocking humanitarian aid. It cannot be an excuse to starve a population," he said.

PAUSE VERSUS PAUSES

Ahead of the summit, diplomats spent days debating whether to call for a "humanitarian pause" or "pauses".

Countries such as France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Ireland had endorsed calls from the United Nations for a break in the conflict for humanitarian reasons.

But others such as Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria resisted, arguing such a measure could curb Israel's ability to defend itself and let Hamas regroup, according to diplomats.

The compromise on "pauses" in the plural was meant to signal short breaks in fighting for missions such as hostage releases or aid convoys, rather than a formal ceasefire, diplomats said.

While the EU's influence on the conflict is modest, the bloc fears that an escalation could have grave consequences for Europe, including a rise in tensions between communities, possible Islamist militant attacks and a flow of refugees.

The crisis erupted with the EU already grappling with the fallout from another war in its immediate neigbourhood - the conflict triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the summit by video link as the EU leaders pledged they will continue to support Ukraine even amidst another major crisis.

"We must clearly see this scenario of a larger fire in the Middle East and counter it together," Zelenskiy said.

"The sooner security prevails in the Middle East, the sooner we will restore security here in Europe."

Some officials and diplomats have voiced fears that Ukraine may now struggle to get the same political attention and resources from the West, particularly the United States, due to the new crisis in the Middle East. (Reuters)

VOI, Jakarta -  The Nusantara Capital Authority (OIKN) has agreed to collaborate with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) on strengthening biodiversity data and information databases to support the development of the new national capital Nusantara.

OIKN head Bambang Susantono and BRIN head Laksana Tri Handoko signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the cooperation at the OIKN Office here on Thursday.

"Nusantara will be a city development model that prioritizes collaborative principles," Susantono said.

The results of research and expeditions carried out by BRIN will strengthen the database and information needed for developing Indonesia's new capital, he added.

BRIN's collaboration with OIKN will include research on biodiversity, environmental governance, culture, archeology, and technology.

In 2024, BRIN will carry out an interdisciplinary expedition on the island of Kalimantan, including the area where Nusantara is being built.

Like BRIN's previous expedition in Papua near the border with Papua New Guinea, the expedition to Kalimantan Island will involve researchers from several fields, including biology, archeology, and geology.

"We are focusing on Kalimantan and Nusantara because it is part of the Wallace Line, there is an area where we have never carried out an expedition," Handoko informed.

He added that the expedition aims to make new findings on animals and plants that can enrich BRIN's knowledge.

Earlier, BRIN informed that 20 percent of power generation in Nusantara city will come from green hydrogen by 2038.

The use of green hydrogen in Nusantara is one of the efforts to achieve net-zero emissions (NZE) by 2060, based on President Joko Widodo's directive.

In addition, other potential non-carbon-producing energy sources will also be used for generating power in Nusantara.

In order to enhance the local economy around the Nusantara development area, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry recently restored a former mining site in Wonosari village, Penajam Paser Utara, so that it can be developed as an ecotourism area.(Antaranews)

VOI, Jakarta - Director general of disease prevention and control at the Ministry of Health, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, has said that 14 confirmed cases of monkeypox (mpox) have been recorded in Indonesia so far.

"In Indonesia, as of today, October 26, 2023, there are 14 (mpox) cases that have been confirmed," he said at a press conference, which was followed online from here on Thursday.

In addition, there are 17 negative or discarded cases, 2 cases have been included in the probable category, and 9 recorded as suspected cases, he informed.

Rondonuwu explained that patients included in the probable category are people who have had contact with mpox patients, but their samples have not been taken for laboratory testing.

Meanwhile, suspected patients are those who are experiencing the same symptoms as mpox sufferers and their samples have been taken, but their laboratory results are not out yet, he added.

According to him, 9 out of the 14 people who are confirmed to have contracted mpox are in the 25–29 age bracket, while the rest are aged 30–39 years. All of them are men and they contracted the infectious disease through sexual contact.

He further said that 12 of them are homosexual, while 1 is bisexual and 1 is heterosexual.

"All of them are symptomatic. Most have lesions, fever, swollen lymph nodes, experience pain when swallowing, muscle aches, and chills," he informed.

He said that the sufferers also have comorbidities: 12 people are living with HIV, 5 people have syphilis, and 1 person has hypertension; some mpox sufferers have more than one comorbid condition.

Rondonuwu then appealed to people to remain vigilant against the disease because, so far, 4 cases have been detected outside Jakarta. Earlier, mpox cases were only recorded in Jakarta.

"Outside Jakarta, (mpox) already exists in Tangerang. Can it happen in other regions? Of course, it can," he said.

The ministry has made several efforts to handle mpox, including strengthening surveillance through epidemiological investigation, conducting whole genome sequencing (WGS) of confirmed cases, and notifying the World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition, he said, it is also providing therapeutics to patients. It has been carrying out vaccinations targeting 477 recipients since October 23, 2023, and has been cooperating with various parties for carrying out risk communication to check the spread of mpox, he added.

He also highlighted the importance of implementing a clean and healthy lifestyle as well as practicing safe sex to prevent infection.

He further said that the openness of men who have sex with men (MSM) with health officers is important to trace cases so that mpox handling can be made optimal.    (Antaranews)