VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Enea Bastianini won GP series in Le Mans, French on Sunday (15/05/22) - 

Gresini Racing's Enea Bastianini claimed his third win of the season at the French Grand Prix on Sunday as world champion and home favourite Fabio Quartararo came fourth.

Italian Bastianini finished ahead of Ducati's Jack Miller at Le Mans, celebrating another win after victories in Austin and Qatar.

Pole sitter Francesco Bagnaia lost his top spot to team mate Miller on the opening but soon regained the position and held on for 20 laps.

Bastianini, who started fifth, took the lead on the 21st lap after Bagnaia ran off-track at turn eight before crashing out.

Quartararo, who started fourth on his Yamaha, slipped four places on the opening lap but the Frenchman moved up and Bagnaia's crash put him in reach of a podium spot.

But Frenchman Quartararo could not close the gap on Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro who finished third//CNA

French President Emmanuel Macron, at the centre, meets the newly-elected president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the left, at Al Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi on May 15, 2022 (Photo: POOL/AFP/CHRISTIAN HARTMANN) - 

The UAE's new president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, held talks Sunday (May 15) with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron as world leaders streamed in to the oil-rich Gulf state to pay tribute to his late predecessor.

Macron, on his first foreign trip since his second term started last week, expressed his condolences to the leader dubbed "MBZ" following the death of his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa on Friday after a long illness.

Macron, the first Western leader to pay his respects, will be followed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israel's president and the king of Spain, among a long list of dignitaries.

The United Arab Emirates has begun wielding increased influence in the Middle East and further afield due to its wealth, oil resources and strategic location.

MBZ has been quietly running the country since 2014 when Sheikh Khalifa, his 73-year-old half-brother, was sidelined by a stroke. The cause of his death was not announced.

Presidents and monarchs from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Oman and Tunisia and Sudan's de facto ruler were among the leaders to offer their condolences on Saturday.

On Sunday, Qatar's emir, Bahrain's king and the Palestinian, German and Indonesian presidents were among more than 20 senior officials expected.

Macron, in his talks with Sheikh Mohamed, 61, expressed his "sincere condolences to his family and the people" over Sheikh Khalifa's death, according to the French presidential office.

"The United Arab Emirates are a strategic partner for France, a fact that is borne out by the degree of our cooperation in areas as varied as defence, culture and education," it added.

Flags are at half-mast around the country, which is observing 40 days of mourning for Sheikh Khalifa who took over after the death of his father, founding president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, in 2004.

Sheikh Mohamed was chosen to head the government of the desert state in a unanimous vote Saturday by leaders of the country's seven emirates, as had been widely expected.

MBZ's close ally, Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, called to congratulate the new president and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted to commend his "dynamic and visionary leadership".

Blinken and Harris were due Monday for a visit that could help repair ties strained since President Joe Biden replaced Donald Trump in the White House.

The two sides have been at odds over Abu Dhabi's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Washington's reopening of nuclear talks with Iran, long accused by Gulf states of creating regional chaos.

Both Macron and Johnson were making their second visits to Abu Dhabi in recent months. Johnson's visit in March failed to convince the UAE and Saudi Arabia to pump more oil after Russia's war in Ukraine sent markets into turmoil.

The wealthy UAE has emerged as a leader of a reshaped Middle East, forging ties with Israel and joining a Saudi-led war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

The UAE signed a 14 billion euro contract for 80 Rafale warplanes during Macron's previous visit in December//CNA

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto attend a joint news conference on Finland's security policy decisions at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, May 15, 2022. Heikki Saukkomaa/ Lehtikuva/via REUTERS - 

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto confirmed on Sunday (May 15) that his country would apply for membership of the NATO military alliance, in a historic policy shift prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow, which shares a 1,300km border with Finland, has said it would be a mistake for Helsinki to join the transatlantic alliance and that it would harm bilateral ties.

Sweden is also expected to follow suit as public support for membership has grown amid security concerns.

Sunday's announcement comes after Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Thursday they both favoured NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) membership, giving a green light for the country to apply.

"Today, we, the president and the government's foreign policy committee, have together decided that Finland ... will apply for NATO membership," Niinisto told reporters in the presidential palace in Helsinki.

Niinisto called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to tell him of Finland's plans to join the alliance. Putin said such a move would hurt Russian-Finnish relations.

"I, or Finland, are not known to sneak around and quietly disappear behind a corner. It is better to say it straight what already has been said, also to the concerned party and that is what I wanted to do," he said about his call on Sunday.

The Finnish president expressed readiness to hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan after Ankara raised objections to the Nordic countries joining NATO.

As a NATO member, Turkey could veto their applications.

Niinisto said he was "a bit confused" about what he said was a shift in Turkey's stance. "What we need now is a very clear answer, I am prepared to have a new discussion with President Erdogan about the problems he has raised."//CNA

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) discusses with Space X Founder, Elon Musk, in Boca Chica, the United States, on May 14. 2022. (ANTARA/HO-Press Bureau of Presidential Secretariat/Laily Rachev/uyu) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) met with Elon Musk, the founder of American space transportation company Space X, and visited the company’s rocket factory in Boca Chica, the United States (US), on Saturday.

The President arrived at the Stargate Space X Building at around 10:30 a.m. local time and was greeted personally by Musk.

They had a discussion before having a tour to see the Space X’s rocket production facility.

Jokowi said in a statement on Sunday that the visit was a follow-up to his directives to Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

"It is a follow-up to my directives, so we can talk with Musk regarding investment, technology, and innovation (development). Thus, I am now here to meet Must in person to discuss (our possible) future cooperation," he said.

Hence, he invited the corporation’s founder to visit Indonesia.

"I think he is really interested in coming to Indonesia soon," the President added. 

After having a tour for about an hour in the production facility, he left the area.

Meanwhile, on the same occasion, Musk said that hopefully he could visit Indonesia in November 2022.

"Thank you for the invitation," he said.

He also stated that he was really interested in the future of Indonesia which has various great potentials.

"Hence, Tesla and Space X will explore some collaborations with Indonesia," the businessman said.

The large population of the country which continues to grow is one of the most important potentials of Indonesia, according to him.

“It is good because we will need a lot of people (human resources) in future," he added.

During the visit, President Jokowi was accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, State Secretary Minister Pratikno, as well as Indonesian Ambassador to the US Rosan Roeslani.The president was in the US from May 10, 2022, to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit//ANT