VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

South Korea on Sunday reported three more Omicron coronavirus variant cases, bringing its total confirmed so far to 12, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

It reported 5,128 new COVID-19 cases for Saturday, a slight decline after reporting a record daily tally of 5,352 a day earlier.

The country has reported a total of 473,034 cases, with 3,852 deaths.

From Monday, people visiting 14 designated public spaces, including hospitality and entertainment venues, will have to show their vaccine passes, as the government sets out a plan to reduce the risk of community spread. The public will have a grace period of a week to get used to the new rules. (reuters)

 Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have concluded their first joint naval exercise, Indonesia's navy said on Saturday, as the region faces rising tensions with China.

The three-day exercise off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island aimed at increasing interoperability between the ASEAN member states and the Russian navy in the strategic maritime area. It comes amid rising tensions between major powers in the South China Sea, a resource-rich waterway of geopolitical significance.

"The exercise has a strategic impact because it was designed to cultivate friendships between the Indonesian government, ASEAN countries and Russia," the navy said.

The two-stage drills involved eight warships and four aircraft from Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei.

Aleksei Bolotnikov, commander of the Russian warship Admiral Panteleyev, was quoted as saying he hoped the next ASEAN-Russia exercise could take place in Vladivostok.

Russia and the Southeast Asian bloc held their fourth summit online in October, a meeting timed with the anniversary of relations between Russia and the 10-member regional grouping.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin urged China last month to "back off" after three Chinese coast guard vessels blocked and used a water cannon on resupply boats headed toward a Philippine-occupied atoll in the South China Sea.

China says the territory falls within its "nine-dash line", a boundary including almost all the South China Sea that a tribunal at the Hague in 2016 found lacked legal basis. (reuters)

Five people were killed and at least 15 arrested after Myanmar security forces in a car rammed into an anti-coup protest on Sunday morning in Yangon, local news portal Myanmar Now reported.

Witnesses on the scene told Reuters dozens had been injured. Photos and videos on social media show a vehicle that crashed through the protesters and bodies lying on the road.

Another protest was held in Yangon in the afternoon despite the morning violence.

Anti-military protests are continuing despite the killing of more than 1,300 people since the Feb. 1 coup. The scattered protests are often small groups voicing opposition to the overthrow of an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the return of military rule.

On Sunday, a "flash mob" protest in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, was rammed minutes after it started, and witnesses told Reuters police arrested several people.

"I got hit and fell down in front of a truck. A soldier beat me with his rifle but I defended and pushed him back. Then he immediately shot at me as I ran away in a zig-zag pattern. Fortunately, I escaped," a protester who asked not to be identified for security reasons told Reuters by phone.

A car occupied by soldiers hit the mob from the back, two witnesses said, and followed the scattered protesters arresting and beating them. Some were seriously injured with head wounds and unconscious, according to the witnesses.

A spokesman for the ruling junta did not answer calls seeking comment on Sunday.

The military has said that protesters who have been killed instigated the violence. It says it staged the coup because a November election won by Suu Kyi's party was rigged. The election commission has dismissed the assertion.

Wars with ethnic minority insurgents in remote frontier regions in the north and east have intensified significantly since the coup, displacing tens of thousands of civilians, according to United Nations estimates.

Suu Kyi, 76, faces a dozen cases against her including incitement and violations of COVID-19 protocols.

She has rejected all the charges to date. (reuters)

Australia's medicine regulator on Sunday provisionally approved the Pfizer Inc coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11, with the health minister saying the rollout could begin from Jan. 10.

The Therapeutics Goods Administration "have made a careful, thorough assessment, determined that it is safe and effective and that it is in the interests of children and Australians for children 5 to 11 to be vaccinated," said Health Minister Greg Hunt.

After initial delays with its general COVID-19 inoculation programme, Australia has swiftly become one of the world's most-vaccinated countries, with nearly 88% of Australians over the age of 16 having received two doses.

The high vaccination has helped slow the spread of the virus and promote a speedy economic recovery, with the government planning to raise its 2022 growth forecast within weeks.

The efficacy of vaccines against the new Omicron variant, which is spreading in Australia, remains unknown.

The most populous state, New South Wales, reported two more Omicron cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 15 cases, and the Australian Capital Territory confirmed its second.

Parliament House was closed over the weekend to the public until further notice after a staffer to a member of parliament tested positive to COVID-19 after the legislature's final sitting week of the year on Friday.

The variant of that infection case has not been disclosed, but health authorities said the staff was fully vaccinated.

While nationwide vaccinations are voluntary, states and territories have mandated shots for many occupations, and some require full vaccination to access most hospitality services and non-essential retail.

Australia's overall childhood immunisation coverage is also one of the highest in the world, with 95% of 5-year-olds inoculated with vaccines recommended for their age, health data showed.

The Pfizer vaccine for those children still needs the approval of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. Once approved, it will be available to about 2.3 million children in the 5-to-11 age group.

Despite battling many outbreaks this year, leading to months of lockdown in Sydney and Melbourne - Australia's largest cities - the country has had only about 834 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7.9 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the World Health Organisation, a fraction of the toll in many other developed nations.

Australia has had just under 217,000 cases in total and 2,042 deaths. (reuters)