VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumasi and South Korea’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Park Tae-sung, discussed more opportunities for further cooperation in the transportation sector at a meeting held here on Thursday.

The two discussed plans for entering into a partnership for building an integrated transportation system in Indonesia’s planned new capital in East Kalimantan province, as well as some ongoing investment projects in West Java, Riau Islands, and Bali.

At the meeting, the South Korean Ambassador expressed interest in some projects, including building a railway system in Bali; developing the Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, Riau Islands; and, investing in the Bekasi proving ground facility in West Java.

The Indonesian minister welcomed South Korea’s interest and said he expected the two countries to use more public private partnership (PPP) schemes for funding the projects.

Sumadi also welcomed South Korea’s ideas on building a more sustainable and low-emission transportation system in the country’s new capital city, although its construction has been suspended for now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister offered his South Korean counterpart an investment project on building a railway system in Indonesia’s new capital city.

“I invite and welcome ideas and investments from South Korea to support our smart and sustainable transportation system in the new capital city,” Sumadi said in a statement.

At the meeting, Sumadi also lauded scholarships offered by South Korea’s government to civil servants working in the Transportation Ministry of Indonesia.

He urged the two countries to expand the cooperation, one of which includes an exchange program for officials and experts in the transportation offices.

“I also personally invite Your Excellency, Mr. Ambassador, to give a public lecture at our Ambassadorial Lectures program organized by our academies,” Sumadi told the South Korean ambassador. 

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Authorities in the capital of China’s Hebei province strengthened travel restriction on Thursday to curb the spread of the coronavirus as the country reported the biggest rise in daily COVID-19 cases in more than five months.

Hebei, which entered a “wartime mode” on Tuesday, accounted for 51 of the 52 local cases reported by the National Health Commission on Thursday. This compared with 20 cases reported in the province, which surrounds Beijing, a day earlier.

Authorities in Shijiazhuang, Hebei’s capital, have launched mass testing drives and banned gatherings to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Chinese state television reported that the city has now banned passengers from entering its main railway station. The city previously required travellers to present a negative nucleic acid COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours before boarding a train or an airplane in the province.

Total new COVID-19 cases for all of mainland China stood at 63, compared with 32 reported a day earlier, marking the biggest rise in daily cases since 127 cases were reported on July 30.

The number of asymptomatic patients, who have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease but have yet to develop any symptoms, also rose to 79 from 64 a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China since the outbreak first started in the city of Wuhan in late 2019 now stands at 87,278 cases, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

In the city of Dalian in Liaoning province, which has reported local infections in recent days, residents in medium or high-risk areas have been barred from leaving the city. Residents in other areas were told to refrain from unnecessary trips out of Dalian.

Authorities in Guangdong province late on Wednesday reported a patient infected with a more transmissible variant of the coronavirus discovered in South Africa.

Some scientists worry that COVID-19 vaccines currently being rolled out may not be able to protect against this variant because of certain mutations that have been observed. (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would expand military capabilities to better defend the country, state media reported on Thursday, during a rare party congress as the country faces international sanctions and pressure.

The Eighth Party Congress, which began on Tuesday, comes as North Korea faces increasing economic crises caused by a self-imposed border lockdown to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, a series of natural disasters, and international sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme.

The gathering also comes just days before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is due to take office, after unprecedented personal meetings between Kim and outgoing President Donald Trump failed to lead to a breakthrough in denuclearisation talks or a loosening of sanctions. 

In sessions on Wednesday, Kim discussed policies to make a “tangible turn in improving the people’s living standard,” a day after he admitted that previous economic goals had fallen short, state media reported.

To secure a “peaceful environment” for the people and country, Kim called for “placing state defence capabilities on a much higher level, and put forth goals for realizing it.”

The party congress being held in Pyongyang is the first since 2016, which was in turn the first since 1980.

Since announcing a self-declared moratorium on nuclear testing and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches from 2018, Kim has called for continued production of nuclear weapons for his arsenal, launched a series of smaller missiles, and unveiled what would be North Korea’s largest ICBM yet at a parade in October.

North Korea has not officially confirmed any coronavirus infections, although it has reported thousands of “suspected cases” to the World Health Organization and imposed strident measures to prevent an outbreak.

Photos of the congress released by state media show delegates sitting close together without wearing protective face masks. (Reuters)

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