VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 Japan will tighten border controls for people arriving from six African nations from midnight (1500 GMT on Friday) after a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant was detected in South Africa.

Those arriving from South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho will be required to undergo a 10-day quarantine period in government-determined accommodation, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. (Reuters)

The leader of a U.S. Congressional delegation to Taiwan praised the island as a "force for good" in the world during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday, and said under Tsai ties with the United States were more productive than in decades.

The five members of the U.S. House of Representatives arrived in Taiwan on Thursday night for a two-day trip, the second time in a month U.S. lawmakers have visited.

Speaking during a meeting with Tsai at her office, Mark Takano, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and leader of the bipartisan delegation, said they were in the region to remind partners and allies that the shared responsibility to a free and secure Indo Pacific remained stronger than ever.

"Madame President, I want to commend and praise your leadership. Under your administration, the bonds between us are more positive and productive than they have been for decades," said Takano, whose group was previously in Japan and South Korea.

"Our commitment to Taiwan is rock solid and has remained steadfast as the ties between us have deepened. Taiwan is a democratic success story, a reliable partner and a force for good in the world," he added.

The United States, like most countries, has no official ties with Taiwan but is the democratically-ruled island's most important international backer and arms supplier, to Beijing's anger.

China has stepped up military and political pressure on Taiwan to accept its sovereignty claims. Tsai has vowed to maintain peace with China, but that she will defend Taiwan if attacked.

"In terms of the regional situation you are paying attention to, Taiwan will continue to step up cooperation with the United States in order to uphold our shared values of freedom and democracy and to ensure peace and stability in the region," she told the group.

China's military conducted a combat readiness patrol in the direction of the Taiwan Strait earlier this month, after its defence ministry condemned a visit to Taiwan by a U.S. congressional delegation it said had arrived on a military aircraft. (Reuters)

Thailand has received more than 100,000 visitors after launching a scheme earlier this month that allowed vaccinated tourists to skip quarantine, an official said on Friday, nearly as high as the number of arrivals in the first ten months combined.

From next month, Thailand plans to deploy rapid antigen tests rather than PCR tests to shorten wait times for tourists, said coronavirus taskforce spokesman Taweesin Wisanuyothin, in a move hoped to further boost the vital sector.

But numbers still remain far below the norm - Thailand received 40 million arrivals in 2019 - and some businesses and returning tourists have complained about virus restrictions that remain in place.

For example, in tourist destinations like Bangkok, pubs, bars and nightclubs are closed and restaurants cannot sell alcoholic drinks after 9 p.m.

These venues have poor circulation and have been sites of previous clusters, Taweesin said.

Health officials are working with these business to implement measures including testing staff every three days that could allow them to reopen in the future, he said.

Thailand has reported a total of nearly 2.1 million infections and 20,645 COVID-related fatalities, the majority of them since April. (Reuters)

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Friday 43 financial institutions qualified to receive loans under a new scheme aimed at promoting activities to combat climate change.

Japan's three megabanks were among those that qualified for the programme, the BOJ said in a statement.

The BOJ said it would conduct the first auction for the loans on Dec. 23.

In July, the BOJ laid out an outline of the climate scheme under which it will offer zero-interest loans that can be rolled over until 2030 to banks that boost green and sustainable loans. read more

Financial institutions are required to disclose targets and actual results on green investment and loans, as well as what steps they are taking to meet disclosure rules. read more

The BOJ's green plans come as other major central banks seek to use their institutional heft to tackle climate change. (Reuters)