VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Albania severed diplomatic relations with Iran on Wednesday and kicked out its diplomats after a cyberattack in July it blamed on the Islamic Republic, a move Washington supported as it vowed to take action in response to the attack on its NATO ally.

Albania ordered Iranian diplomats and embassy staff to leave within 24 hours.

"The government has decided with immediate effect to end diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a video statement.

"This extreme response ... is fully proportionate to the gravity and risk of the cyberattack that threatened to paralyse public services, erase digital systems and hack into state records, steal government intranet electronic communication and stir chaos and insecurity in the country," Rama said.

There was no immediate comment from the Iranian Embassy in Tirana. There were no police units around the Iranian embassy premises in Tirana.

The United States said it concluded after weeks of investigation that Iran was behind the "reckless and irresponsible" July 15 cyberattack.

"The United States will take further action to hold Iran accountable for actions that threaten the security of a U.S. ally and set a troubling precedent for cyberspace," the White House National Security Council said in a statement.

TENSE RELATIONS SINCE 2014

Albania and Iran have had tense relations since 2014, when Albania accepted some 3,000 members of the exiled opposition group People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran, also known by its Farsi name Mujahideen-e-Khalq, who have settled in a camp near Durres, the country's main port.

U.S. Cybersecurity firm Mandiant, which noted the hacking activity in a blog post earlier this month, said the group - which had ties to Iran - deployed a complex attack which used malicious data-wiping software against Iranian dissidents.

"This is possibly the strongest public response to a cyberattack we have ever seen,” John Hultquist, Vice President of Intelligence at Mandiant, said in an emailed statement. “While we have seen a host of other diplomatic consequences in the past, they have not been as severe or broad as this action”.

The move comes days after NATO member state Montenegro blamed a criminal group called Cuba Ransomware for a digital attack on its government infrastructure which officials there described as unprecedented.

"Even though the incidents are probably unrelated, regular disruptions to government infrastructure are an alarming trend,” Hultquist said.

Albania has previously said it had foiled several planned attacks by Iranian agents against the Iranian opposition group.

"The in-depth investigation provided us with indisputable evidence that the cyberattack against our country was orchestrated and sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran through the engagement of four groups that enacted the aggression," Rama said.

The U.S. government has been on the ground for weeks with private sector partners to investigate and help Albania recover from the attack that destroyed government data and disrupted public services, the White House said.

"We have concluded that the Government of Iran conducted this reckless and irresponsible cyberattack and that it is responsible for subsequent hack and leak operations," it said.

The United States called the attack unprecedented because it said it violated the peacetime norm of not damaging critical infrastructure that the public relied on. (Reuters)

The U.N. nuclear watchdog has "serious concern" about North Korea's atomic programme, it said in an annual report to members on Wednesday, urging the country to comply with Security Council resolutions.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi had sounded the alarm in June, noting that building work expanding key facilities at North Korea's main nuclear site at Yongbyon was advancing.

The reclusive state has staged a series of missile tests this year and some analysts believe it is preparing to resume testing nuclear weapons after a five-year hiatus.

In the annual report released on Wednesday, the IAEA said excavation work commenced in March near Adit 3 at a nuclear test site close to the settlement of Punggye-ri to reopen the test tunnel after its partial demolition in May 2018. Excavation work at Adit 3 was possibly completed by May, it said.

Several timber support buildings were also built at the site, and the IAEA observed work to shore up portions of a washed-out road nearby.

"The reopening of the nuclear test site is deeply troubling, as is the expansion of the reported centrifuge enrichment facility (at Yongbyon) and the continued operation of the 5MW(e) reactor and other facilities," the agency said in a summary of its findings.

"The continuation of the DPRK's nuclear programme is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable," it added, using the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Grossi called upon the country to comply with its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions, cooperate with the IAEA, and resolve outstanding issues, especially those that have arisen since IAEA inspectors left in 2009. (Reuters)

Russian Ambassador to Indonesia, Lyudmila Vorobieva said that she was preparing for the arrival of President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 Summit. The preparations answer the possibility of the presence of Russian President, Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Bali next November.

“Embassy as you know, we started preparations for the visit of the Russian President to Bali. Of course, in the context of the G20 Summit," said Lyudmila to reporters at a press briefing, Wednesday (07/09/2022) in Jakarta.

However, according to Lyudmila, the certainty of President Putin's physical presence will depend on a number of things. One of them is the development of cases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“President Putin's intention to visit Bali or attend the summit in person has been expressed. But, a lot of things will certainly depend on how the situation with special military operations will be, to develop what will happen with COVID and what the situation will be with security," he explained.

Lyudmila said that apart from fully supporting Indonesia's presidency at the G20, her country was also actively participating in most of the agenda series. He added that two well-known Russian musicians will even appear on the G20 cultural agenda.

“I tell you, for example, that we have two musicians from Russia who will take part in a cultural performance. Later our musicians will perform at the G20 Culture Ministers meeting which will take place on September 12 in Jogjakarta," said the Russian Ambassador.

“We are also preparing for the visit of the speaker of the parliament, Valentina Matvienko. He will also participate in the G20 parliamentary sector meeting in October in Jakarta,” he added.

On that occasion, Lyudmila emphasized that the G20 is a forum related to the global economy, not about politics. "As I have said several times, we strongly support the priorities of the Indonesian presidency and we support Indonesia's position," he concluded.

The G20 is a multilateral cooperation forum consisting of 19 major countries and the European Union (EU). This year, Indonesia was chosen to host the 17th G20 Summit and the Summit will be held on November 15-16, in Nusa Dua, Bali. (RRI)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) assesses that Abdullah Azwar Anas has a good track record and innovation. That factor is the reason President Jokowi chose Azwar as Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (MenPAN-RB).

"We all know that Mr. Azwar Anas has a clear track record when he was in charge of the bureaucracy in Banyuwangi. I saw a lot of things, I immediately looked there," said the President after the inauguration at the State Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (7/8/2022). ).

"Innovations in the field of public services, innovations in ID cards, licensing matters, and can be done in the market at the mall. I think he was among the first at that time, so that track record caused us to choose Pak Azwar Anas".

Therefore, the President asked Azwar to speed up bureaucratic reform. "So that our bureaucracy becomes a service bureaucracy, a bureaucracy with high discipline," he said.

On the same occasion, Azwar said that he would support the President's vision and mission. Especially to complete priority programs including bureaucratic targets.

"How the bureaucracy is seriously involved in dealing with poverty, stunting, and so on. We hope this can be completed, the point is that we will work according to the direction of the President, including the serving bureaucracy," said Azwar.

The inauguration was based on Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 91/P of 2022 concerning the Appointment of the Minister for Empowerment of State Apparatuses and Bureaucratic Reform of the Advanced Indonesian Cabinet. The Presidential Decree was read by the Deputy for Administrative Affairs of the Ministry of State Secretariat, Nanik Purwanti.

The position of Menpan-RB has been vacant since Tjahjo Kumolo left because he died on July 1, 2022. He died after undergoing intensive treatment at Abdi Waluyo Hospital, Menteng, Jakarta. (RRI)