VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Pakistan's inflation rate stayed above target at 27.4% in August, data showed on Friday, as reforms set out as conditions for an IMF loan complicate the task of keeping price pressures and declines in its rupee currency in check.

The South Asian nation is embarking on a tricky path to economic recovery under a caretaker government after a $3 billion loan programme, approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July, averted a sovereign debt default.

Reforms linked to the bailout, including an easing of import restrictions and a demand that subsidies be removed, have already fuelled annual inflation, which rose to a record 38.0% in May. Interest rates have also risen, and the rupee hit all-time lows. Last month the currency fell 6.2%.

The August data from Pakistan's statistics bureau showed a slight easing from July's 28.3% inflation rate, but food inflation remained elevated at 38.5%.

Authorities also raised petrol and diesel prices to record highs on Friday.

The worsening economic conditions, along with rising political tensions in the run-up to a national election scheduled for November, have triggered sporadic protests.

Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist opposition party, has called for a countrywide strike on Saturday in response to higher power tariffs.

Ordinary Pakistanis say they are struggling to make ends meet.

Bank employee Waseem Ahmed, speaking at a petrol station in Islamabad, said the middle classes were being crushed.

"More than 60 to 70 percent of my salary is spent on bills and petrol. Where will we get basic staples from? This is why people are contemplating suicide," he told Reuters.

Mohammed Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities, a Karachi-based brokerage firm, said August's inflation reading was in line with expectations.

But the falling rupee and rising energy prices meant that "we may not see a big decline in inflation year on year as was expected earlier," he added.

He was referring to government projections that inflation will fall to 22% by the end of the fiscal year that runs to June 31.

Pakistan's central bank said in its last monetary policy statement in July - when it held benchmark interest rates likewise at 22% - that it expected inflation to remain on a downward path over the following 12 months. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Ngurah Rai Immigration Office in Bali arrested an Interpol fugitive from Russia for being involved in fraud cases and criminal organizations in that country.

"We will hand over the case to the Bali Police General Criminal Investigation Directorate for further mechanisms," Sugito, head of Ngurah Rai Immigration, noted in Denpasar, Bali, on Friday.

The arrest of the Russian fugitive, with the initials PM, was based on a request from Interpol through the National Central Bureau (NCB) International Relations Division at the National Police Headquarters.

According to Sugito, the 32-year-old fugitive was listed on the Interpol Red Diffusion (IRD) and was suspected of being involved in a criminal case since January 13.

The National Police Headquarters sent a letter requesting assistance to help find and arrest PM on August 15, he remarked.

PM was arrested by the Ngurah Rai Immigration Intelligence and Enforcement Team (Inteldakim) on August 31, and immediately interrogated on the same day, Sugito revealed.

He stated that based on the initial inspection, PM has a residence permit that is valid until September 5, 2023.

However, the Immigration did not divulge details regarding PM's period of stay in Indonesia and the type of visa that he used.

Based on the Ngurah Rai Immigration investigation, PM received remittances amounting to US$3,000-4,000 per month from his family in Russia to meet his daily needs.

"This arrest is a form of good synergy between the NCB Interpol National Police Headquarters and the Directorate General of Immigration under the Ministry of Law and Human Rights," Sugito stated.

According to the Interpol website, IRD is a request by state authorities to all member states or several other Interpol member states via Interpol channels to arrest, detain, or restrict the movement of a person convicted or accused.

The follow-up of this case will be determined by the National Police Headquarters' International Relations Division through the Bali Police, he noted.

As a world tourist destination, Bali Immigration often deals with foreign nationals, who violate residence permits, bypass residence permits, conduct criminal acts, and violate norms and legal regulations in Indonesia that leads to deportation.

The Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, as of August 30, recorded that 213 foreigners from 45 countries had been deported, with the largest number coming from Russia, with 59 people; the United States, 14 people; the United Kingdom, 13 people; Australia, 12 people; and Nigeria, nine people. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Preparations at the media center that will accommodate journalists covering the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta have reached 95 percent completion, according to the Communication and Informatics Ministry.

"We would like to announce that the preparations (for the media center) are 95 percent complete ," Usman Kansong, Director General of Information and Public Communication at the ministry, said in a statement received here on Friday.

Kansong made the statement after inspecting the media center at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) along with Communication and Informatics Minister Budi Arie Setiadi on Thursday (August 31).

The ministry is providing essential facilities and managing the media center to support the ASEAN Summit, which will be the second summit to take place under Indonesia's chairmanship of the bloc this year.

According to Kansong, the media center will operate from September 2–8 and have a total capacity of up to 2.5 thousand people to ensure adequate accommodation for as many as 1.3 thousand people who have registered to cover the summit.

He further noted that the number of journalists covering the summit is expected to increase to 1.5 thousand to 2 thousand and will include 80 official journalists from South Korea and 100 from China.

Furthermore, Kansong affirmed that at the media center, journalists will be provided with high-speed internet connection with a bandwidth capacity of 10 gigabits per second to support their work during the summit.

If internet traffic increases during the summit, the ministry will coordinate with state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom to boost the bandwidth capacity, he informed.

"We have prepared mitigation measures to ensure that all colleagues (journalists) can comfortably work, write, as well as send pictures and scripts to their respective media," he emphasized.

Kansong said that the ministry is working with the National Cyber and Crypto Agency (BSSN) to ensure cybersecurity and emulating the collaboration established when Indonesia hosted the G20 Summit last year.

"The Ministry and BSSN are collaborating to carry out penetration tests in order to identify which sector needs cybersecurity fortification," he added. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The 43rd ASEAN Summit will underline the importance of strengthening economic cooperation through two supporting events — the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) and the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum (AIPF).

"Indeed, we want Southeast Asia to remain the center of economic growth," Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said while accompanying President Joko Widodo for a review of the ASEAN Summit venue at Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) here on Friday.

The ABIS is being held from September 1–6, 2023, by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, with the support of Indonesia as this year's ASEAN chair, through the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

Meanwhile, the AIPF will be held for the first time on September 5 and 6 to concretize the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), which focuses on cooperation between countries for creating a peaceful, safe, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

"We already have the outlook concept since 2019. Now, we want to translate it to concrete cooperation," Marsudi said.

Through the AIPF, Indonesia is seeking to advance cooperation in the development of concrete projects, especially in three sectors: green infrastructure and supply chain resilience, digitalization and creative industry, and financing.

Based on the curation conducted with other ASEAN members, Indonesia recorded a project deliverables value of around US$120 billion that could be promoted through AIPF.

Besides at least 93 projects can be categorized as mature projects with a total current value of US$38 billion, Indonesia has also identified a number of other potential projects.

Marsudi said that, apart from the economy, Indonesia will also lay a strong foundation for ASEAN's future steps, including how ASEAN can respond to various challenges.

"The foundation is designed by Indonesia to respond to the interests of the ASEAN people. We have already done this at the 42nd Summit in Labuan Bajo," she added.

She outlined several concrete forms of cooperation that have been agreed upon by ASEAN in the previous summit in Labuan Bajo, namely protection for migrant workers, protection for ship crew, the development of ASEAN village networks, and cross-border crime eradication, especially online scams. (Antaranews)