VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a news conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not pictured) in Moscow, Russia, December 30, 2019. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

Iran's foreign minister urged Washington to act fast to return to the nuclear accord, pointing out that legislation passed by parliament forces the government to harden its nuclear stance if US sanctions are not eased by Feb 21.

Mohammad Javad Zarif also referred to elections in Iran in June. If a hardline president is elected, this could further jeopardize the deal.

President Joe Biden’s administration is exploring ways to restore the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with major world powers but that was abandoned in 2018 by former President Donald Trump, who restored sanctions.

Iran retaliated by breaching the terms of the accord in a step-by-step response. Last month, it resumed enriching uranium to 20 per cent at its underground Fordow nuclear plant - a level it achieved before the accord.   Biden has said that if Tehran returned to strict compliance with the pact, Washington would follow suit and use that as a springboard to a broader agreement that might restrict Iran's missile development and regional activities.

Tehran has insisted that Washington ease sanctions before it resumes compliance, and ruled out negotiations on wider security issues.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Iran on Friday in a virtual meeting with his British, French and German counterparts as the group weighed how to revive the deal//CNA

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres with CNA's Lin Xueling on "In Conversation" Feb 6, 2021. (Photo: Oliver Julian May)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres backed the right of the Myanmar people to peacefully express their rejection of this week's military takeover that displaced the country's elected civilian government.

"Coups are not acceptable in the modern world and I reject and condemn the coup," said the UN Secretary-General on Saturday (Feb 6) in an exclusive interview with CNA.

"I would strongly recommend the people of Myanmar to express their grievances but to do so in a peaceful way." 

Mr Guterres' comments come in the wake of Monday's move during which Myanmar’s military declared a state of emergency and seized power. In an early morning raid, the army detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and a raft of parliamentarians and activists.

Social media posts from Myanmar show a growing civil disobedience movement from people banging pots and pans every night, to reports of medical staff going on strike.

Guterres said the freedom of expression is a basic human right and urged the military "not to have any violence in relation to the people of Myanmar".

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting after news of the military takeover broke and has called for the release of auung San Suu Kyi as well as others detained by the military. But unlike the UN chief, it stopped short of actually condemning the coup. The UN chief told CNA they would do "everything possible to make sure that (Aung San Suu Kyi) is released", but admitted the UN is powerless to guarantee that the de-facto leader of Myanmar would not face long-term house arrest again//CNA

Workers loaded discarded face masks onto a truck of PT Wastec International in Ancol, Jakarta, that will destroy the waste to cut the COVID-19 transmission chain. ANTARA PHOTO/Aditya Pradana Putra/foc/sh

The Environment and Forestry Ministry has built more medical waste treatment facilities in regions, the ministry's Director General of Waste and Hazardous Waste Management (PSLB3), Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, stated.

The ministry has worked jointly with the provincial administrations to develop incinerators close to the waste sources, Ratnawati remarked here in a text message sent to ANTARA on Friday.

"To apply the proximity principle, the ministry, in cooperation with provincial administrations, built a medical waste treatment facility in Makassar in 2017 and included the program of healthcare-sources hazardous waste treatment facility during the period from 2020 to 2024 as a major project in the national medium-term development plan for the 2020-2024 period," she noted.

Within the next five years, the ministry will build 32 medical waste treatment facilities equipped with incinerator technology at several locations.Development in the five locations -- Aceh, West Sumatra, South Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara -- had begun in 2020, with a total capacity of 1,200 kilograms per hour, followed by development at six other locations in 2021 and seven locations for the 2022-2024 period.

"The government's program is aimed at eliminating general and medical waste in handling the COVID-19 pandemic to cut the transmission chain of the virus from medical waste," she emphasized.

Ratnawati pointed to a notable rise in the number of companies that offer hazardous waste treatment services, from only six companies in 2018 concentrated in Java Island, to 20 companies, as of February 2021, with a total capacity of 384,120 kilograms of waste per day.

She applauded a report of the Indonesian Ombudsman on medical waste management in some regions that had yet to meet the standard, adding that the ministry will strive to improve the implementation of the policy on medical waste management//ANT

Indonesian President Jokowi and Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin take a group photo at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Friday (5-2-2021). ANTARA / HO-Press Bureau Presidential Secretariat / Laily Rachev

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyuddin Yassin expressed hope for stability to be maintained in the South China Sea.

"We also exchange ideas on regional stability and security. I emphasize that stability will be created, including in the South China Sea, if all countries respect international law, especially the UNCLOS 1982," President Jokowi stated at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Friday.

President Jokowi conveyed the remark at a joint press statement with Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin during his state visit to Indonesia.

"With regard to the situation in the South China Sea, Malaysia has a view that the issue of maritime claims in these waters, and the solution must be based on internationally recognized legal principles, including the 1982 UNCLOS," PM Yassin noted.

On January 23, 2021, several US aircraft carriers, including USS Theodore Roosevelt, had reportedly entered the South China Sea to conduct military exercises.

Responding to the drills, spokesman of China's Foreign Ministry called the US routine exercises a "show of strength and not conducive to regional peace and stability"."All parties need to refrain from actions that cause tension and provocation and avoid using military force," PM Yassin emphasized.

Yassin echoed Malaysia’s commitment to resolving issues related to the South China Sea through forums and diplomacy channels.

The South China Sea is a strategic area directly adjacent to the waters of Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. However, these waters are prone to open conflict since China makes unilateral claims over large parts of the area.

China's unilateral claim to the South China Sea intersects with the territorial waters of several countries: Brunei, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

In fact, the South China Sea is one of the main routes of international trade in the Indo-Pacific region. In addition, the South China Sea has abundant marine resources and reserves of crude oil and natural gas.

Despite having no territorial claims, the US often opposes and condemns any unilateral Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and has expressed its intent that these waters serve as international waters, free for anyone to pass//ANT