VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view from a plane shows a New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant during a tour to the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine April 3, 2021. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo - 

Ukraine said on Friday (Feb 25) it had recorded increased radiation levels from the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant, a day after the site was captured by Russian forces, due to military activity causing radioactive dust to rise into the air.

The former power plant was captured by Russian forces on Thursday after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office said.

The still-radioactive site of the 1986 nuclear disaster lies some 100 km (62 miles) from Kyiv.

Experts at Ukraine's state nuclear agency said the change was due to the movement of heavy military equipment in the area lifting radioactive dust into the air.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the radiation at the site did not pose any danger to the public.

"The readings reported by the regulator – of up to 9.46 microSieverts per hour – are low and remain within the operational range measured in the Exclusion Zone since it was established," the IAEA said.

Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi added it was of vital importance that the safe and secure operations of the zone's nuclear facilities should not be affected or disrupted in any way.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Friday that the critical infrastructure of the plant has not been damaged and essential maintenance work was ongoing.

Ukraine's neighbour Poland said it had not recorded any increase in radiation levels on its territory.

France-based independent nuclear watchdog CRIIRAD said in a statement Friday it was trying to verify and cross-check the information at their laboratory.

"If the dose rates recorded correspond to real values, the situation is extremely worrying," CRIIRAD said, adding that further research is needed to interpret the data.

The resuspension of soil from military activities, or damage to nuclear facilities, being either storage of waste or the containment structure, could be one of the reasons for the rise in radioactivity levels, CRIIRAD spokesperson Bruno Chareyron said.

Another possibility was that the readings were inaccurate as a result of interference from cyberattacks, he said.

The area has many high-risk installations, including radioactive waste processing and storage facilities, most of them unsecured, CRIIRAD said.

Other reactors in Ukraine also pose a safety risk in case of an accident, the watchdog said. While it was possible to reduce the potential risk by shutting down the reactors, Ukraine depends on nuclear power for more than 50 per cent of their electricity supply, it said//CNA

Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. (Photo: CNA/Saksith Saiyasombut) - 

Thailand and Malaysia agreed to expedite quarantine-free travels across the borders for travellers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday (Feb 25) after meeting his Malaysian counterpart Ismail Sabri Yaakob in Bangkok.

“We share the hope that fully vaccinated people will soon be able to travel between Thailand and Malaysia without quarantine, while following public health measures of both sides,” stated Gen Prayut during a joint press conference at the Government House in Bangkok.

“Malaysia has called such channel ‘Vaccinated Travel Lane’ (VTL),” he added.

According to the Thai prime minister, a joint working group will be set up to discuss guidelines for cross-border travels in order to expedite the reopening of borders.

At present, fully vaccinated travellers from Malaysia can enter Thailand by air without quarantine under Thailand’s tourism initiative called Test & Go. However, Gen Prayut said Thailand is also preparing for the reopening of its land borders.

“I hope the Malaysian side will allow travellers from Thailand who meet the conditions set by Malaysia to enter the country by air and land when the situation begins to improve,” he added.

According to Mr Ismail Sabri, quarantine-free air travels (VTL-Air) between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok will first become available for fully vaccinated travellers before other destinations are added later.

“The VTL scheme would also include the opening up of our land and sea border checkpoints such as Bukit Kayu Hitam-Sadao and Langkawi-Satun. By doing this, it would help to revive our economic and business linkages, particularly our tourism sector,” Mr Ismail Sabri said.

During their bilateral meeting, the two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to expedite pending connectivity projects along the borders that would promote trade, investment and tourism. 

These projects include the construction of two new bridges across the Golok River and the construction of the road alignment linking the checkpoint in Sadao, Thailand and the Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint in Malaysia’s Kedah state.

The Malaysian prime minister is the first foreign leader to pay an official visit to Thailand since the outbreak of COVID-19. His visit will conclude on Feb 26.

Besides reopening the borders, the two leaders also agreed to explore new investment opportunities from both sides.

“Thai investors can explore new investment sectors in Malaysia such as digital economy, circular and green economy and in Thailand, Malaysian investors can participate in the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model, and other emerging sectors such as vaccine research and development, electric and smart vehicles, automation and robotics,” said Mr Ismail Sabri.

On regional issues, the two prime ministers discussed the situation in Myanmar during their meeting on Friday.

“We agreed that it is crucial for ASEAN to continue playing a positive and constructive role in facilitating a durable and peaceful solution in the interest of Myanmar and in the larger interest of the ASEAN Community,” said Mr Ismail Sabri.

“We share the same view that it is crucial for Myanmar to cooperate in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, and the necessity to preserve the credibility and integrity of ASEAN. We look forward to the return to democracy in Myanmar,” he added//CNA

A boy walks in front of Russian armored vehicles parked at a railway station in the southern Russian Rostov region on Feb 25, 2022. (AFP/Stringer) - 

China's President Xi Jinping said he supported solving the Ukraine crisis through talks in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, state media said on Friday (Feb 25), after Moscow launched an invasion of its neighbour.

In a readout of the call on state broadcaster CCTV, Xi pointed out that the "situation in eastern Ukraine has undergone rapid changes... (and) China supports Russia and Ukraine to resolve the issue through negotiation".

Russian forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing air strikes and sending troops deep into the country, after weeks of diplomatic efforts failed to deter Putin from launching the military operation.

Beijing has trod a cautious diplomatic line on the crisis and refused to call it an "invasion" or condemn the actions of Russia, its close ally.

Xi said on the call with Putin it was important to "abandon the Cold War mentality, attach importance to and respect the reasonable security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiations".

According to the Chinese media readout, Putin outlined the reasons for Russia launching the "special military operation", and told Xi that NATO and the United States had "long ignored Russia's reasonable security concerns".

He also told Xi on the call that Russia was ready to hold "high-level" talks with Ukraine.

As the crisis has escalated, China has been forced to balance its close Russia ties with major economic interests in Europe.

And Moscow's approach is in stark contrast to China's long-standing stated foreign policy position of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.

Xi said China was "willing to work with all parties in the international community to advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, and firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at the core", according to the CCTV readout//CNA

Screenshot of President Joko Widodo (middle) inaugurates the Manado-Bitung Toll Road in Bitung City, North Sulawesi, on Friday, February 25, 2022. (ANTARA/Gilang Galiartha/rst) - 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the Manado-Bitung Toll Road in Bitung City, North Sulawesi, on Friday, after construction of the 13.5-kilometer Danowudu-Bitung section was completed.

"Thus, the entire 39.8-kilometer Manado-Bitung Toll Road is complete and ready to be used to support all community activities in North Sulawesi Province," Jokowi stated at the inauguration broadcast online from the Presidential Secretariat's official YouTube channel.

Jokowi and his entourage also had the opportunity to use the Manado-Bitung Toll Road after continuing a series of working visits from Palu City, Central Sulawesi.

The president traveled on the Manado-Bitung Toll Road in the company of Governor of North Sulawesi Olly Dondokambey, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir, and State Secretary Minister Pratikno.

"The governor said that this toll road cuts the travel time from Manado to Bitung, from earlier 1.5 hours to two hours. Recently, I have used the toll road, and it took only 35 minutes. If I was speeding, I thought it would only take 30 minutes," Jokowi remarked.

With this reduction in travel time, Jokowi believes that the Manado-Bitung Toll Road will not only facilitate the people's mobility from Manado to Bitung but will also be useful for logistics delivery and goods mobility from Manado to the Bitung International Port.

Meanwhile, the North Sulawesi governor noted that the completion of construction of the Manado-Bitung Toll Road would support economic growth in the region.

"This is proof that the president and the central government are really serious in building the country from east to the west," he affirmed.

He also highlighted that amid the COVID-19 pandemic, North Sulawesi's economy had managed to grow by 4.17 percent in 2021.

North Sulawesi's economic growth rate exceeded Indonesia's 2021 national economic growth that is at 3.69 percent//ANT