VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mount Ruang of Sitaro District, North Sulawesi, erupts. (17/4/2024). (ANTARA/HO-PVMBG) - 

VOInews, Jakarta : The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) on Sunday has lifted a tsunami advisory previously issued following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro District of North Sulawesi Province.

"The potential for large eruptions is decreasing, so the chance for tsunamis to occur is less likely," said Head of PVMBG Hendra Gunawan in a statement received here on Sunday.

On April 1-21, 2024, until 12:00 local time (GMT+8), PVMBG recorded as many as 10 eruptions on Mount Ruang starting on April 16, at 1:37 p.m. local time.

A major eruption occurred on April 17, at 8:15 p.m. local time. The continuous eruption was accompanied by rumbling sounds and vibrations felt up to the Mount Ruang Observation Post in Tulusan Village, Tagulandang Sub-District.

Explosive eruptions occurred on Ruang Island, followed by the release of incandescent material and hot clouds. Meanwhile, Tagulandang Island was raining stones and sand, spewed from the volcano which is 10 kilometer away. 

The results of visual monitoring carried out by PVMBG on April 21, until 12:00 local time recorded thick white smoke as high as 200 meters from the main crater and no eruption was observed.

"This showed a decrease in eruptive activity on Mount Ruang," said Gunawan. 

On April 21, from 00:00-12:00 local time the PVMBG recorded 25 shallow volcanic earthquakes and 19 deep volcanic earthquakes.

The PVMBG team has installed a seismic monitoring station at the Mount Ruang Observation Post which is about five kilometers from the peak to monitor the activity of the volcano//Antara - VOI

Indonesian Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani during the G20 Summit in Bali 2022 (archive) - 

VOInews, Jakarta : The government is currently devising strategies for protecting the exchange rate of rupiah from adversary impacts of the Iran-Israel conflict, Finance Minister SriMulyaniIndrawati has said.

The minister observed that the current global situation would surely affect Indonesia's economy, including by disrupting the exchange rate of its national currency.

"We will continue to maintain the stability of the macro economy, both from the monetary and fiscal sides. To adapt to the mounting pressure, we have been in coordination with Bank Indonesia," she noted in her Instagram account @smindrawati, as cited in Jakarta on Sunday.

She added that the government had been striving to ensure that the APBN (state budget) can play the role as an effective and credible shock absorber.

The minister said she acknowledges that the strengthening of the US dollar exchange rate against rupiah might lead to an increase in the value of Indonesian exports.

She, however, noted that such a trend would also adversely affect the country's inflation rate.

On that note, Indrawati emphasized that the government would continue to take anticipatory measures while paying close attention to global dynamics.

"I believe that Indonesia will stand resilient in the midst of this situation," she said.

The state treasurer also expressed optimism about the national economy surviving global uncertainties, like it did during the COVID-19 pandemic era.

"With the support from our strong exports as well as surpluses in the trade balance, I believe that Indonesia's economy will remain stable as expected," she stated.

Earlier, Bank Indonesia affirmed that it would strive to ensure that the exchange rate of rupiah remains stable in the midst of declining US Fed Fund Rate (FFR) and geopolitical tensions escalating in the Middle East.

"We have been striving to maintain the stability of rupiah by resorting to foreign exchange intervention and taking other necessary measures," Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo remarked here on Friday (April 19).

In order to sustain Indonesia's economic resilience, he added, Bank Indonesia has been managing the flow of market-friendly foreign portfolios, including by implementing pro-market monetary operations that are integrated with money markets//Antara-VOI

French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama (not seen) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 12, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz - 

VOInews, Paris : French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he was confident the Olympics' opening ceremony in July on the river Seine would be a success, but added authorities prepared 'Plan B' options should security assessment closer to the games require it.

"We can do it and we will do it," Macron told RMC Radio and BFM TV of the plan to hold the July 26 opening ceremony with huge crowds around the Seine, where some 160 boats would set off for a 6-kilometre journey.

But France, he added, is not naive.

"If we think there are security risks we'll have plan Bs, and even plan Cs," he said.

One option, he added, would be to restrict the ceremony to the central Paris Trocadero square facing the Eiffel Tower. Another would be to move the event indoors to the Stade de France stadium//CNA-VOI

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference inside a UNRWA school, at Al-Wehdat camp for Palestinian refugees, in Amman, Jordan Mar 25, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Alaa Al-Sukhni) - 

VOInews, Jordan : United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sunday (Apr 14) issued a reminder that acts of reprisal involving the use of force are barred under international law after Iran's attack on Israel, while the US warned the Security Council it would work to hold Tehran accountable at the UN.

Guterres, speaking to a meeting of the UN Security Council, told member states that the UN charter bars the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state as he condemned Iran's attack on Israel and warned against further escalation.

Iran launched a swarm of explosive drones and fired missiles on Saturday in its first ever direct attack on Israeli territory, risking a major escalation.

The attack was in response to a suspected Israeli strike on Iran's embassy compound in Syria on Apr 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders and followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran's regional allies, triggered by the war in Gaza.

"The Middle East is on the brink. The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate," Guterres told the meeting, which was called after Iran's attack.

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood called on the 15 member body to unequivocally condemn Iran's attack, as he said the Security Council has an obligation to not let Iran's actions go unanswered.

"In the coming days, and in consultation with other member states, the United States will explore additional measures to hold Iran accountable here at the United Nations," he said, without specifying what action the US would take.

"Let me be clear: if Iran or its proxies take actions against the United States or further action against Israel, Iran will be held responsible," he said, adding that the US took note of Guterres' remarks and that Washington's actions have been defensive.

Tehran, which had vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on Apr 1 that killed seven of its officers, said its strike was punishment for "Israeli crimes". Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, requested the council hold the meeting in a letter on Saturday to the council's president.

"The Iranian attack is a serious threat to global peace and security and I expect the Council to use every means to take concrete action against Iran," Erdan wrote in a post on X.

Guterres on Sunday also called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza after more than six months of fighting, the unconditional release of all hostages and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza as it faces famine.

"Regional, and indeed global, peace and security are being undermined by the hour. Neither the region nor the world can afford more war," he said//CNA-VOI