VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

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

Navy Base in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, organized a vaccination program on Saturday (July 3, 2021). ANTARA/HO- Kendari Navy Base - 

As many as 152,625 Indonesians received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, thereby bringing the count of fully vaccinated people to 13,922,732.

Meanwhile, the number of people having received their first COVID-19 dose rose by 681,419 to reach 31,573,240 as of Saturday.

The government is endeavoring to expedite the national vaccination program to attain herd immunity and handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

To this end, the government is planning to vaccinate 40,349,049 people in the first and second phases of the national vaccination program. The targeted vaccine recipients comprise healthcare workers, public service officers, and senior citizens.

Earlier, the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) had issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Moderna Inc. in Indonesia.

An EUA was issued for the Moderna vaccine based on the outcome of a study conducted by the Expert Team of the COVID-19 Vaccine Appraisal National Committee and the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI).

"BPOM’s task is to support the government in ensuring and evaluating that the vaccines used in Indonesia meet the aspects of quality, security, and efficacy," BPOM Chief Penny K. Lukito stated.

Overall, the government is seeking to vaccinate 181.5 million citizens, or 70 percent of the country's population, to create herd immunity against the virus.

To expedite vaccinations, the government has been making all-out efforts to increase the capacity of inoculation services//ANT

Professor Emil Salim of University of Indonesia (UI). ANTARA/Astrid Faidlatul Habibah - 

The use of fossil energy to usher in the fourth industrial revolution, known as industry 4.0, in Indonesia increases the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gas emissions, according to an economist cum environmentalist.

"The key to the industrial revolution is energy. Fossil fuel is the energy that boosts (the production of) carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. Coal as well as natural oil and gas that are the key to energy sources used in industrialization become dominant in Indonesia's development," Emil Salim, a professor of University of Indonesia (UI), stated on Friday.

The use of fossil energy in several national development projects makes Indonesia the world's fifth-largest carbon dioxide producer, he remarked.

Salim called to swap the fossil energy-based development strategy with a renewable energy-oriented development strategy.

The UI professor noted that climate change due to the use of fossil energy leads to global warming, thereby increasing the sea levels. Consequently, several small islands will disappear in future.

"We must replace fossil fuel-based energy, such as natural oil, coal, and natural gas, (with renewable energy)," he affirmed.

The sun serves as a main source of energy to generate electricity in Indonesia, he noted.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s data indicated that non-tax state revenues from the mineral and coal sector had reached Rp22.34 trillion in the year ending May 31, 2021. The figure represents 54.5 percent of the targeted Rp39.1 trillion for 2021.

The government will continue to use coal as priority energy until 2040 through the National Energy Grand Strategy that is currently being formulated to ascertain adequate energy supplies in future.

The planned strategy accords priority to the fulfilment of domestic energy requirements and the added value of coal through gasification.

Although the green energy mix is projected to curb the percentage share of coal by up to 25 percent in 2050, the equivalent volume will increase as compared to 2025//ANT