VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A Hong Kong lawmaker who met President Xi Jinping during a rare visit by the Chinese leader to the territory last week said he tested positive for COVID-19 two days after the meeting.

Steven Ho, who is part of the city's largest pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), tested positive for coronavirus on July 2 and has self isolated, according to an announcement on his Facebook page on Sunday.

Ho said he tested negative for the virus on June 30, the day he was shown in a photo with Xi, displayed by local broadcaster RTHK.

Xi was in Hong Kong to mark the 25th handover celebration of the territory to the mainland from Britain and swear in the city's new leader John Lee. It was his first public trip outside the Chinese mainland since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Ahead of Xi's visit to Hong Kong, officials ramped up coronavirus testing and quarantine protocols along with a massive security force, blocking roads and the airspace around the picturesque Victoria Harbour.

China adheres to a "zero COVID" policy which aims to eradicate all outbreaks, at just about any cost, running counter to a global trend of trying to co-exist with the virus.

Xi's visit to Hong Kong was his first since 2017, when he swore in outgoing leader Carrie Lam and stayed in the city for the duration of his trip.

During last week's visit he came into Hong Kong on Thursday and Friday but stayed overnight in neighbouring Shenzhen. The whereabouts this time, and the reasons why he may have chosen Shenzhen, have not been officially confirmed. (Reuters)

North Korea criticised the United States, South Korea and Japan's recent agreement on strengthening military cooperation to be a means to materialise a U.S. plan for a military alliance like NATO in the region.

North Korea's foreign ministry spokesperson said as much to a question put by KCNA, the state news agency reported on Sunday.

"The reality clearly shows that the real purpose of the U.S. spreading the rumour about 'threat from North Korea' is to provide an excuse for attaining military supremacy over the Asia-Pacific region," said the spokesperson.

"The prevailing situation more urgently calls for building up the country's defences to actively cope with the rapid aggravation of the security environment," the spokesperson added.

The leaders of the United States, South Korea and Japan met on the sidelines of a NATO summit last week and agreed to explore further means to reinforce "extended deterrence" against North Korea. (Reuters)

 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited three war-ravaged towns in Ukraine's Kyiv region, the local governor said on Sunday.

Governor Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram that Albanese visited the towns of Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel, where Ukraine says Russia committed atrocities against civilians. Russia denies the allegations.

"Australia supports Ukraine and wants to see justice meted out for the crimes committed here," Kuleba quoted Albanese as saying. (Reuters)

Russia needs to wait and see how proposals on capping the price of Russian oil exports are finalised, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Commenting on reports that Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had proposed a cap at around half the current price, Peskov said that other countries may disagree with that.

"This statement... does not mean that such parameters will be agreed by other countries," Peskov told his daily conference call with reporters.

"So far, this is a single statement only, without any decisions taken."

G7 leaders agreed last week to explore feasibility of introducing temporary import price caps on Russian fossil fuels, including oil.

They have asked ministers to evaluate the proposal urgently, in another attempt to limit Russian resources to finance its military campaign in Ukraine.

Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a special military operation and warns that any steps to limit energy supplies would backfire on end-users as global oil prices will rise. (Reuters)