VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

5.6 magnitude earthquake jolts Talaud Islands - 

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 struck northeast of Melonguane, Talaud Islands District, North Sulawesi Province, on Sunday at 9:02 a.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB), according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

The quake's epicenter was located at 4.81 degree latitude, 127.39 longitude, 119 km northeast of Melonguane, and at a dept of 113 km below sea level.

The tremor did not have potential to trigger a tsunami, the agency said//ANT

Number of Indonesians administered first COVID jab crosses 14.8 mln - 

A total of 14,815,666 Indonesians have been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far, according to data recorded by the coronavirus task force as of 12 p.m. local time on Saturday.

With 114,253 people receiving their second vaccine dose on Saturday, the number of fully vaccinated recipients (who have received both the doses) has now reached 9,825,499.

The task force is aiming to inoculate 40,349,049 Indonesian citizens in the first and second phases of the national vaccination program.

Overall, the government plans to vaccinate 181.5 million citizens, or 70 percent of the population, to create herd immunity against the virus.

To speed up the nationwide program, the government has made efforts to increase the vaccination capacity.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has also urged world leaders to take concrete steps to address gaps in access to vaccines to ensure fair and equitable access for all countries.

"I must remind all of us again that we will only truly recover and be safe from COVID-19 if all countries have also recovered. No one is safe until everyone is," the President said while delivering an online speech at the Global Health Summit on Friday night, accessed by ANTARA via the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel here on Saturday.

When some countries started vaccinating low-risk groups, such as children and young people, only 0.3 percent of the global vaccine supply was available to low-income countries, the head of state noted.

The gap was even more noticeable in vaccine distribution, with 83 percent of the global vaccine supplies absorbed by rich countries and the remaining 17 percent going to developing countries, which constitute 47 percent of the world's population, Widodo said.

"Hence, we must take concrete steps. In the short term, we must encourage dose-sharing through the COVAX Facility even more. This is a form of solidarity that must be encouraged and multiplied, especially in overcoming supply constraints," the President affirmed//ANT

A banner asks returning Eid holidaymakers to undergo swab tests in Mangga Dua Selatan, Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta. (ANTARA/Mentari Dwi Gayati) - 

Indonesia added 5,296 coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the total tally since the start of the pandemic in March, 2020 to 1,769,940, according to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force.

The number of people recovering from the virus increased by 3,353, bringing the total recoveries to 1,629,495.

With 132 people succumbing to COVID-19 on Saturday, the death toll reached 49,205.

Meanwhile, the number of active cases, or patients receiving treatment and conducting self-isolation, increased by 1,811 compared to the day before to reach 91,240. The number of suspected COVID-19 cases touched 77,996, while the number of specimens examined stood at 81,816.

The highest number of daily cases were recorded in West Java (997), followed by Jakarta (932), Riau (639), and Central Java (486).

West Java also recorded the highest number of recoveries at 639. Riau (432) was next, followed by Jakarta (397).

Central Java recorded the most deaths at 31, followed by East Java (16) and West Java (15).

Cumulatively, Jakarta has recorded the highest number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, with total infections pegged at 423,142, followed by West Java (304,417) and Central Java (193,277)//ANT

Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad and Pakistani e-commerce company, E-commerce Pvt Ltd, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further explore collaboration to facilitate efforts to increase trade between Indonesia and Pakistan. (Handout-Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad) - 

The Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad and Pakistani e-commerce company, E-commerce Pvt Ltd, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further explore collaboration to facilitate efforts to boost trade between Indonesia and Pakistan.

Based on the MoU signed on Wednesday (May 19), the Indonesian embassy and the Pakistani e-commerce company will facilitate increased bilateral trade by offering a platform for business communities of both nations to obtain further information that might aid in increasing commercial transactions.

The platform -- called Ecombri.com -- will connect exporters and importers from Indonesia and Pakistan and enable them to explore untapped trade potential in various fields, such as textiles, food processing, agricultural products, infrastructural development, chemical and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, iron and steel.

On the occasion, Indonesian Ambassador to Pakistan Adam Tugio stated that the Embassy will convene a series of events to promote trade, tourism, and investment, according to a release issued by the Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad and received here on Saturday.

Apart from the series of promotional events and activities, the embassy also conducted some cultural diplomacy activities in collaboration with some local universities.

Ambassador Tugio is optimistic that such initiatives would deepen people-to-people contacts and boost Indonesia-Pakistan bilateral trade volume that amounted to US$2.5 billion last year.

Tugio stressed on the importance of business communities looking at Indonesia and Pakistan beyond bilateral relations, as they serve as a trade gateway to each respective region that collectively has a populace of nearly 850 million.

Muhammad Uzair Nizam, the co-founder of Ecombri.com, stated that it is Pakistan’s first and largest online as well as offline business-to-business platform that can potentially simplify the procurement process for buyers and sellers through more interaction and information access//ANT