VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 3 - Rio Tinto, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, said on Wednesday its chairman would step down next year to take responsibility for the destruction of ancient rock shelters, the latest in a string of high-profile departures over the blasts.

Simon Thompson will step down after next year’s annual general meetings, while non-executive director Michael L’Estrange, who led the review into the company’s handling of the incident, will retire in May.

“I am ultimately accountable for the failings that led to this tragic event,” Thompson said in a statement.

Last year’s destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in Western Australia for an iron ore mine sparked a massive public and investor uproar.

It remains to be seen, however, whether the latest departures will allow the company to draw a line in the sand over the saga, with some investors suggesting that more heads may have to roll.

“Other Rio Tinto directors who enabled the unhappy regime of the past few years, or who have made excuses for it, are encouraged to reflect on whether their continuing presence on the board is truly in the interest of the company and its shareholders,” said James Fitzgerald, a lawyer with activist investor the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.

In addition to Thompson and L’Estrange, former CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques is due to leave the company at the end of this month. He has been replaced by Jakob Stausholm who was chief financial officer.

Two senior executives, who were in charge of the iron ore division and corporate relations, the unit responsible for dealing with Indigenous communities, also left last year.

Rio invited further outrage last month when it revealed that Jacques and the two senior executives had all finished 2020 with substantial payouts. Jacques received total remuneration of 13.3 million pounds ($18.6 million) under Australian accounting rules, up from 7.1 million pounds a year earlier.

Thompson and L’Estrange had faced pressure to leave after what was seen as the board’s mishandling of an investigation into the destruction that found no single person accountable.

Thompson came under more pressure last month after elders of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people accused him of breaking a personal promise that Ian Vella, who had been leading reconciliation efforts, would not change jobs until ties had been repaired.

Independent directors Sam Laidlaw and Simon McKeon will lead the search for the new chairperson, Rio said.

National Native Title Council Chief Executive Jamie Lowe welcomed the latest departures at Rio and said there was a dire need for a senior leadership position within the company to be held by an Indigenous person.

He also said it was paramount that there also be significant law reform in Western Australia, which had approved the blasts.

“Without this, it doesn’t matter how many leadership changes we see within the mining sector. To adequately manage and protect our cultural heritage, the buck stops with government,” he said.

Rio Tinto, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, said on Wednesday its chairman would step down next year to take responsibility for the destruction of ancient rock shelters, the latest in a string of high-profile departures over the blasts. (Reuters)

Mar. 3 - South Korean authorities said on Wednesday they are investigating the deaths of two people, both with pre-existing conditions, who died within days of receiving AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.

A 63-year-old nursing home patient with cerebrovascular disease, developed symptoms including high fever, after being given the vaccine four days ago, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.

The man was moved to a larger hospital on Tuesday, but died after showing symptoms of blood poisoning and pneumonia, Yonhap news agency reported.

Another nursing home patient in his 50s with a cardiac disorder and diabetes died on Wednesday after suffering multiple heart attacks, having received the vaccine a day earlier, the agency said.

KDCA said it is investigating the cause of the deaths, but did not confirm any causal relationship to the vaccine. The agency earlier said it will provide compensation of over 430 million won ($383,466) for deaths from the COVID-19 vaccine.

“KDCA is conducting epidemiological surveys with relevant local authorities... to confirm any link with inoculation,” said Jeong.

An AstraZeneca spokeswoman in Seoul said the company had no comment.

Jeong noted that there were no cases of fatalities from receiving COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech. However, did urge people to take the shot when they are feeling in good health.

The KDCA said that out of the people who had received the coronavirus vaccines, 207 had adverse reactions, including three cases of severe allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis.

South Korea began vaccinating its population last week. By Tuesday midnight, 85,904 people had received the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 1,524 had been given Pfizer shots, KDCA said in a statement.

South Korea reported 444 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up from 344 on Monday, raising the country’s tally to 90,816 infections, with 1,612 deaths. (Reuters)

Mar. 3 - Government ministers and officials were following Prime Minister Narendra Modi lead by opting on Tuesday for an Indian-made COVID-19 vaccine approved without late-stage efficacy data, instead of the AstraZeneca one.

India’s health, foreign and law ministers, and state governors, all flocked to Twitter to express support for the much-criticised Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN vaccine, after it was administered to Modi on Monday.

“Made-in-India vaccines are 100% safe,” Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said after being inoculated with COVAXIN.

Many state officials and doctors have refused to take COVAXIN before its effectiveness could be proved. Bharat Biotech says it has completed the late-stage trial and results will be out this month.

The company said the endorsement by Modi and other ministers would set an example for other Indians and reduce “vaccine hesitancy”. It is seeking to sell COVAXIN to countries including Brazil and the Philippines.

COVAXIN and the AstraZeneca vaccines were approved by India's regulator in January. The government has distributed to states a total of 50 million doses of the vaccines but only 12% of the 12 million people immunised so far have taken COVAXIN, according to government data dashboard.cowin.gov.in. (Reuters)

Mar. 3 - Southeast Asian e-commerce and entertainment group Sea said on Tuesday it would launch an unit to manage its investments, as well as its own artificial intelligence labs.