VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian member of Commission I House of Representatives DPR RI, Sukamta - 

The Indonesian member of Commission I House of Representatives DPR RI, Sukamta urged the Indonesian government to strongly push the United Nations (UN) to deploy peacekeeping forces to Palestine.

"The deployment of peacekeepers in several countries facing conflicts has proven successful in reducing the escalation of conflicts," Sukamta noted in a statement here on Saturday.However, the PKS Faction deputy chairperson admitted that materializing such a peace mission would be challenging owing to the veto of the United States as a permanent member of the UNSC.

However, Sukamta is optimistic that all-out efforts would be made to contain the spread of violence and conflict.

"The Indonesian government can propose a deployment of peacekeepers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict area through an emergency session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations," the legislator emphasized.

The member of Commission I DPR RI also urged the Indonesian government to ready peacekeeping troops for deployment in the Palestinian territories, if the UN were to take a decision to deploy peacekeepers in the Israeli-Palestinian buffer zone.

Sukamta praised Indonesia's commitment to realizing world peace by sending officers to join the UN peacekeeping missions in several countries, if conflict tensions between Israel and Palestine aggravated, it would cause the situation to spiral out of control and likely lead to an open war.In the event of this occurring, more civilian casualties would occur, such as during the Israeli military aggressions on Gaza in 2014 that resulted in 2,251 Palestinians being killed.

Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly Hidayat Nur Wahid (HNW), had urged President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to take concrete steps to support the Palestinian independence in keeping with the promises he made while campaigning for the earlier presidential elections.

Wahid also drew attention to the Israeli forces' attacks on Palestinian worshippers in the Al Aqsa Mosque complex that inflicted injuries to over 300 Muslims.

He lauded President Jokowi's open statement on the forced eviction of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem by Israel//ANT

Leak develops in Indonesia's 26 crew-carrying vessel in Indian Ocean - 

A leakage reportedly developed in Indonesia's fishing boat Bandar Nelayan 188 in the Indian Ocean, some 650 nautical miles west of Perth, Australia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received information of the leak on the vessel, with 26 Indonesian crew members aboard, from the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) on Saturday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately coordinated with the Indonesian Consulate General in Perth, which later communicated intensively with the Australian authorities to rescue the crew.

The Australian authorities have deployed aircraft to locate the boat that was monitored to being submerged partly.

The aircraft had fielded life rafts and made radio communications, but no response was received. The fate of the 26 crew members is yet unknown.

Rescue efforts continue as Australian naval ship HMAS ANZAC and two P8 Poseidon aircraft have also been deployed to help the rescue efforts. Assistance has also been sought from other fishing boats around the location.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indonesian representatives in Australia will continue to coordinate and communicate intensively with the Australian authorities in order to continue efforts to rescue the 26 Indonesian crew members aboard MV Bandar Nelayan 188," the ministry noted in the statement//ANT

A man wearing a protective mask is seen inside the Shanghai Stock Exchange building, as the country is hit by a new coronavirus outbreak, at the Pudong financial district in Shanghai, China February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song - 

The number of China's new investors grew in April at its slowest pace in 13 months, hit by a lack of upside momentum for the stock market and persistent worries over policy tightening.

The number of new investors for the A-share market increased by 1.7 million in April, or 3.1per cent year-on-year, its slowest since March 2020, data from the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited (CSDC) showed.

The benchmark CSI300 index closed up 2.4per cent on Friday, but was 14per cent off an all-time high hit on Feb. 18, as worries over lofty valuations, policy tightening and Sino-U.S. tension weighed on sentiment.

The index has been trading in narrow ranges since early March, when it tumbled as much as 17per cent from its record high, dampening investor appetite for equities.

Analysts and traders said the stock market would probably remain rangebound, given inflation worries and the central bank's tightening bias, thanks to a solid economic recovery from the coronavirus outbreak.

The central bank tightening will not be very strong in the short term, although inflation expectations will still dampen market sentiment to some extent, Vanho Securities analysts said in a note.

Chinese money and lending data on Wednesday showed bank lending and broader credit slowed more than expected in April as the central bank gradually scales back pandemic-drive stimulus//CNA

The entrance gate of Changi Prison. (File photo: Singapore Prison Service) - 

About 5,000 inmates, staff and partners at Changi Prison will be tested for COVID-19 over the next few days after a cook working there was confirmed to have the infection.

All inmates' face-to-face visits and tele-visits will also be replaced by phone calls with effect from May 17 until further notice, the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) said on Saturday (May 15).

The man, known as Case 63160, was reported as an unlinked community case by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday. He is fully vaccinated.

The 39-year-old last reported to work on Wednesday. He felt unwell after work, developing a fever and runny nose, and sought medical treatment at a general practitioner clinic where he received a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19. His test result came back positive the next day.

SPS said it immediately ceased kitchen operations at Institution A5 and started contact tracing among staff and inmates upon confirmation of his infection.

All close contacts of the man have been isolated or placed in quarantine pending issuance of a quarantine order, said the service.

Affected inmates will serve their quarantine orders in prison, isolated from the rest of the inmate population. Staff, vendors and volunteers will serve theirs at MOH's designated quarantine facility//CNA