VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The death toll from an Indian foot bridge collapse rose to 135 on Tuesday with search operations entering a third day, although authorities said nearly all those believed to have been missing are now accounted for.

The colonial-era suspension bridge over the Machchhu river in Morbi was packed with sightseers - many in town to celebrate the Diwali and Chhath Puja festivals - when it broke on Sunday evening, sending people plunging about 10 metres (33 feet) into the water.

Authorities said they believe that around 200 people were on the bridge when it collapsed.

"One person who was injured in the incident and admitted to the hospital succumbed to his injuries, taking the toll to 135," GT Pandya, a senior administrative official in Morbi, told Reuters.

"Search operations have begun again today. We believe one person is missing at present."

Local residents at the scene of the wrecked bridge on Tuesday told Reuters, however, that they believed more than 200 people were on the bridge and fear the death toll could rise further.

Indian army, navy and national disaster response teams continued search operations as locals gathered on the banks of the river. The bridge - 233 metres in length and 1.25 metres wide - was originally built in 1877 and had been closed for six months for repairs until last week.

CCTV footage of the incident showed a group of young men trying to rock the bridge from side to side while others took the photos before they tumbled into the river below as the cables gave way.

Indian police arrested nine people on Monday on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Those arrested included ticketing clerks accused of letting too many people onto the bridge and contractors that had been in charge of repair work.

The western state of Gujarat, where Morbi is located, declared Wednesday would be a day of mourning.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails from Gujarat and was the state's chief minister for close to 13 years, will visit the industrial town later in the day.

Modi, who had been touring the state which has elections due by early next year, is expected to visit the disaster site and Morbi hospital, officials said.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party was attacked by opposition parties for what they called an unseemingly fresh paint job for the hospital ahead of the prime minister's visit.

U.S. President Joe Biden was the latest to mourn the loss of lives, many of whom were children.

"In this difficult hour, we will continue to stand with and support the Indian people," Biden said in a statement.(Reuters)

South Korea's exports in October fell the most in 26 months while a trade deficit persisted for a seventh month, underscoring that Asia's fourth-largest economy is slowing and its currency is hovering near 13-year lows.

The government held a meeting of senior officials from more than 10 ministries and agencies hours after the data was released on Tuesday and pledged to "make every effort" to boost exports, while saying any near-term turnaround would be difficult.

Exports fell 5.7% from a year earlier to $52.48 billion in October, preliminary government data showed, the fastest drop since August 2020, and worse than a median 3.0% loss predicted in a Reuters survey.

Exports to China, its largest market, fell 15.7% in October from a year earlier as the world's second-largest economy is slowing from a mix of factors, including strict restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Local markets, however, showed a muted reaction to the sluggish data as investors focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week.

"There is little hope for a sharp turnaround soon as China's demand will remain weak and the (global) semiconductor industry is experiencing still growing inventory levels," said Chun Kyu-yeon, economist at Hana Securities.

A survey by S&P Global of purchasing managers at South Korean manufacturing companies also showed new export orders in October fell for an eighth consecutive month as the global economy is slowing.

Imports jumped 9.9% to $59.18 billion in October. As a result, the country posted a trade deficit of $6.70 billion, bigger than a shortfall of $3.78 billion in September and the seventh consecutive month of imports outweighing exports.

The deficit will further pressure the country's won currency , already among Asia's poorest performers this year, down 17% of its value from end-2021 against the dollar and hovering near its weakest in over 13 years set in late October.(Reuters)

Russian-installed officials in Ukraine's southern Kherson region said on Monday they were extending an evacuation zone from the Dnipro river, repeating claims rejected by Kyiv that Ukraine could be preparing to attack the Kakhovka dam and flood the region.

In a post on Telegram, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed head of the region, which is partially occupied by Russian forces, said he was extending the area covered by an order for civilians to evacuate by an additional 15 km (9 miles) to include another seven settlements.

"Due to the possibility of the use of prohibited methods of war by the Ukrainian regime, as well as information that Kyiv is preparing a massive missile strike on the Kakhovka hydroelectric station, there is an immediate danger of the Kherson region being flooded, (resulting in) the mass destruction of civilian infrastructure and humanitarian catastrophe," Saldo said in a video message posted on Monday evening.

"Given the situation, I have decided to expand the evacuation zone by 15 kilometres from the Dnipro ... the decision will make it possible to create a layered defence in order to repel Ukrainian attacks and protect civilians."

Kyiv has denied it plans to attack the Kakhovka dam, a 30-metre (100 ft) high, 3.2-kilometre long facility and unleash a reservoir the size of the Great Salt Lake across southern Ukraine, flooding towns and villages, several of which Russian forces seized at the start of the war.

Ukraine said repeated Russian claims that Ukraine is preparing an attack on the dam, which regulates water supplies to the annexed Crimean peninsula and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, were a sign that Russia itself was considering staging an attack and blaming it on Kyiv and its Western supporters.

Russia has been evacuating tens of thousands of civilians from the western bank of the Dnipro river in recent weeks, under an advancing Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian-installed officials are offering civilians one-time payments of 100,000 roubles ($1,628) to leave, and Moscow is providing housing in other regions of Russia, Saldo said.

President Vladimir Putin moved to annex the Kherson region last month after staging referendums in four Ukrainian regions that were slammed as sham and illegal by Kyiv and the West.

($1 = 61.43 roubles)(Reuters)

The Communication and Information Ministry has determined five important reasons why Indonesia should switch to digital terrestrial television broadcasting, special staff to the Communication and Information Minister, Rosarita Niken Widiastuti, has said.

"November 2 (2022) is the start of the implementation of the analogue switch-off (ASO), as mandated by the Job Creation Act," she noted during a webinar entitled “ASO Dissemination and Set-Top Box (STB) Assistance Handover Ceremony with the Communication and Information Ministry as well as Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI)” on Monday.

The first reason for Indonesia to switch to digital broadcasting is to provide quality broadcasts to the public.

Digital broadcasting offers a cleaner and clearer picture and sound compared to analogue broadcasting.

However, in digital broadcasting, there is no broadcast at all if the receiver devices do not get any signal from the transmitting tower in contrast to analogue broadcasting, in which there may be picture or sound noise when the signal is not optimal.

The second reason is efficiency in the use of the frequency spectrum. While an analogue channel utilizes the entire band at a radio frequency of 700 Megahertz (MHz), one frequency band can be used by 6 to 12 channels in digital broadcasting.

Furthermore, this efficiency provides digital dividends on the radio frequency spectrum. When the switch to digital broadcasting is complete, Indonesia will get a digital dividend of 112MHz on each spectrum.

The government plans to use the digital dividend to improve the distribution of uniform Internet access in various regions in Indonesia.

"Through the arrangement, high-speed Internet will be able to be provided (by the government)," Widiastuti noted.

The fourth reason is that broadcasting digitization will also encourage the development of the digital economy.

A study by the ministry and the Boston Consulting Group has estimated that 200 thousand jobs will be created due to the digitization.

The broadcasting industry is also projected to grow swiftly thanks to ASO.

Using digital broadcasting, the cost of establishing a television station will be cheaper compared to analogue broadcasting, which involves huge costs as it requires the construction of a transmitting tower.

Meanwhile, the fifth reason is to prevent disputes with neighboring countries due to frequency spectrum interference in border areas.(Antara)