VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A teacher wearing a face shield works at Holne Chase Primary School, amid the outbreak of COVID-19, in Milton Keynes, Britain, Sep 3, 2020. (File photo: REUTERS/Andrew Boyers) - 

Britain will this week begin offering vaccinations to children aged between five and 11 who are most at risk from coronavirus, the state-run National Health Service (NHS) said on Sunday (Jan 30).

Britain has been slower than some other countries in offering the shots to five- to 11-year-olds, and is not planning to vaccinate the age group more broadly unlike countries such as the United States and Israel.

NHS England said children in the cohort who were in a clinical risk group or who live with someone who is immunosuppressed would be able to get a first COVID-19 shot, in line with advice issued last month by the Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation.

"I would like parents and guardians to be reassured that no new vaccine for children would have been approved unless the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness had been met," UK vaccines minister Maggie Throup said.

"I encourage as many as possible to make sure they get their child the jab when contacted."

Children will be offered two 10 microgramme doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, which is a third of an adult dose.

Infections are currently high among school children in England, with the Office for National Statistics estimating that nearly 12 per cent of younger school pupils had coronavirus in the week ending Jan 22//CNA

Flags are seen outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat building, ahead of the ASEAN leaders' meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Apr 23, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Willy Kurniawan) - 

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet next month to discuss humanitarian aid for Myanmar, the current chair of the grouping, Cambodia, said on Saturday (Jan 29).

Cambodia's foreign minister, and ASEAN special envoy, Prak Sokhonn, is preparing for his first visit to Myanmar, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"His priorities are to implement the five-point consensus which was agreed unanimously and will be discussed during the upcoming ASEAN foreign ministers' retreat," it said, adding that the event was scheduled for Feb 16 and Feb 17.

Last year's military overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in Myanmar has been a setback for ASEAN and its efforts to present itself as a credible and integrated bloc.

The grouping made a surprise move in barring the military junta from key meetings over its failure to honour a five-point ASEAN "consensus" that included ceasing hostilities and allowing dialogue.

This month, Cambodia said the foreign ministers' meeting, the first during its chairmanship of the 10-nation bloc, had been postponed because some ministers had expressed difficulties in attending//CNA

With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border, both sides are pursuing diplomatic efforts to avoid conflict. (File photo: AFP/Anatolii STEPANOV) - 

Britain is preparing to offer NATO a "major" deployment of troops, weapons, warships and jets in Europe, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday (Jan 29), to respond to rising "Russian hostility" towards Ukraine.

The offer, set to be made to NATO military chiefs next week, could see London double the approximately 1,150 UK troops currently in eastern European countries and "defensive weapons" sent to Estonia, his office said.

"This package would send a clear message to the Kremlin - we will not tolerate their destabilising activity, and we will always stand with our NATO allies in the face Russian hostility," Johnson said in a statement late on Saturday.

"I have ordered our Armed Forces to prepare to deploy across Europe next week, ensuring we are able to support our NATO allies on land, at sea and in the air," he added.

The British leader said if Russian President Putin chose "bloodshed and destruction" in Ukraine, it would be "a tragedy for Europe".

"Ukraine must be free to choose its own future," he argued.

Johnson, who has been under intense political pressure for weeks following a series of scandals, said on Friday he will speak to Putin in the coming days to urge de-escalation over Ukraine.

Meanwhile, he is to visit the region next week.

Relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest point since the Cold War after Moscow deployed tens of thousands of troops on the border of Ukraine.

Britain's foreign ministry is expected to announce the toughening of its sanctions regime on Russia in parliament on Monday, to target strategic and financial interests.

Meanwhile UK officials will be dispatched to Brussels, home to NATO headquarters, to finalise details of the military offer after ministers discuss the differing options also on Monday.

Britain's chief of defence staff Tony Radakin, the head of the armed forces, will brief the Cabinet on the situation in Ukraine the following day.

The possible deployment of aircraft, warships and military specialists as well as troops and weaponry will reinforce NATO's defences and "underpin the UK's support for Nordic and Baltic partners", according to Johnson's office.

Britain already has more than 900 military personnel based in Estonia, and more than 100 are currently in Ukraine as part of a training mission started in 2015.

Meanwhile a light cavalry squadron of around 150 personnel is deployed in Poland.

The warship HMS Prince of Wales - currently in the so-called "High North" European Arctic region, leading the NATO's Maritime High Readiness Force - is on standby "to move within hours should tensions rise further", Downing Street said.

On the diplomatic front, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace are preparing to visit Moscow for talks with their counterparts in the coming days, it added.

"They will be asked to improve relationships with President Putin's government and encourage de-escalation," Johnson's office said.

Wallace is also set to travel to meet with allies in Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia next week//CNA

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with government members via a video link in Moscow, Russia Jan 12, 2022. (Photo: Alexei Nikolsky/Reuters) - 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his administration to consider an apparent new system to ban "toxic" Internet content, although details were not released.

The new system, contained in a list of presidential orders on the Kremlin website, was described as a "self-regulated register of toxic content" which would be used "to protect minors". The Kremlin would review it by Jun 1.

The order, with Thursday's date, was first reported by Russian media on Saturday.

Putin has hinted at plans for a more sweeping crackdown on online content, blaming the Internet for corrupting youth and for fuelling street protests by political opponents branded extremists by the authorities.

Russia stepped up pressure last year on foreign tech companies, imposing punishments including a nearly US$100 million fine against Google for failing to delete banned content.

In December, Putin signalled support for a proposal from a member of his human rights council for a new voluntary mechanism to ban toxic content, which Russian online platforms would agree to in return for being treated preferably to foreign platforms//CNA