VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

BMKG graphic depicts the epicenter of the 5.5-magnitude earthquake that struck Bengkulu on Saturday night. (ANTARA/Carminanda) - 

A 5.5-magnitude earthquake hit Seluma district of Bengkulu province on Saturday night, according to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

The quake, which struck at 8.09 p.m. local time, was centered 41 kilometers southwest of Seluma at a depth of 26 kilometers, the agency reported.

The tremor was felt at magnitude II on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale in Liwa, Enggano, Mukomuko; at MMI III in Central Bengkulu, Bengkulu City, Argamakmur, and Kepahiang; and, at MMI IV in Manna.

Bengkulu is among the Indonesian provinces prone to earthquakes.

On June 27, 2021, a 5.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Mukomuko district of Bengkulu province, though no damages or casualties were reported in the quake.

The epicenter of the quake was located 50 kilometers southwest of Mukomuko at a depth of 22 kilometers, according to the BMKG//ANT

File photo of Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at a news conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Mar 11, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Lim Huey Teng) - 

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is in stable condition and is expected to be discharged from hospital soon after receiving treatment for a digestive system infection, his office said on Sunday (Jul 4).

Following advice from a team of doctors, Muhyiddin, who was hospitalised for diarrhoea on Wednesday, will remain in hospital for intravenous antibiotic treatment and is expected to be discharged "in a few more days", his office said in a statement.

"His condition is stable and improving and he is allowed to work while receiving treatment," it said. A thorough health screening found no evidence that Muhyiddin was experiencing a recurrence of cancer, his office said. In 2018, Muhyiddin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was declared cancer-free last June//CNA

Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng (centre), Liu Boming (right) and Tang Hongbo (left) blasted off in June 2021. (Photo: AFP/GREG BAKER) - 

Astronauts at China's new space station conducted their first spacewalk on Sunday (Jul 4), state media reported, as Beijing presses on with its extraterrestrial ambitions.

It was only the second time the country's astronauts have stepped out of their craft while in space.

Three Chinese spacemen blasted off in June, docking at the Tiangong station where they are to remain for three months in China's longest crewed mission to date.

On Sunday morning, two of them exited the core cabin, said state broadcaster CCTV.

The first, Liu Boming, was transported via mechanical arm to a work site and the other, Tang Hongbo, moved by climbing on the outside of the cabin.

Their mission involves elevating the panoramic camera outside the Tianhe core module, as well as verifying the robotic arm's transfer capability, state media said.

Television footage showed the astronauts preparing for the spacewalk by donning gear and conducting health checks while exercising in the cabin.

The astronauts were later shown opening the cabin door and exiting the module, in the first of two spacewalks planned for the mission - both expected to last six or seven hours.

The launch of China's first crewed mission in nearly five years is a matter of huge prestige for the country, as Beijing marks the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party this month with a massive propaganda campaign.

To prepare, the crew underwent more than 6,000 hours of training.

The Chinese space agency is planning a total of 11 launches through to the end of next year, including three more manned missions that will deliver two lab modules to expand the 70-tonne station, along with supplies and crew members.

In addition to Liu and Tang, the mission's commander is Nie Haisheng, a decorated air force pilot in the People's Liberation Army who has already participated in two space missions//CNA

A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask walks past light rail platforms devoid of waiting passengers in the city centre at morning commute hour during a lockdown to curb the spread of a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney, Australia on Jun 30, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Loren Elliott) - 

Australia's New South Wales state reported a fall in new daily COVID-19 cases on Sunday (Jul 4), following two days of record 2021 infections, as officials implored Sydney residents to follow rules so they could end a lockdown next week.

Australia's most populous state recorded 16 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, data showed on Sunday, of which 13 were already in isolation.

"Whilst the numbers overnight are very encouraging, we know they have potential to bounce around. The next few days are absolutely critical," NSW state premier Gladys Berejiklian told a press conference.

Australia has managed the coronavirus pandemic better than many other nations due to strict lockdowns, swift contact tracing and tough social distancing rules.

But an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant over the past few weeks has alarmed authorities amid a sluggish nationwide vaccination drive, and sent three state capitals into lockdown last week.

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales state and home to a fifth of Australia's 25 million population, has been particularly hard hit by the latest outbreaks of the Delta variant. Residents are halfway through a two-week lockdown.

"If people do the right thing, we have a greater chance of getting out of this in a timely manner," she said.

Three of the New South Wales cases were detected in SummitCare nursing home in Sydney's Baulkham Hills, but residents were fully vaccinated and showing only mild symptoms, the home said in a statement released to local press.

Elsewhere in Australia, residents of Queensland state capital Brisbane emerged from nearly a week of lockdown, as the state recorded only one new locally acquired case.

"This is excellent news," state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told a media briefing.

"It appears that everything is under control at this time so we are very, very relieved about that."

Perth, capital of Western Australia state, ended its lockdown on Friday night but restrictions remain in place until Tuesday. Melbourne, Victoria state capital, has recorded zero cases for nearly a week following a three-week lockdown in June//CNA