VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

North Korea criticised a new U.S. strategy on countering weapons of mass destruction for describing the reclusive state as among those it considers a "persistent threat," KCNA media reported on Wednesday.

In a statement, a spokesperson for North Korea's defence ministry accused the United States of increasing nuclear threats, citing joint military drills with South Korea and sending a strategic nuclear submarine, the state-run KCNA report said.

The North Korean military will counter the U.S. military strategy with the "most overwhelming and sustained response strategy," the spokesperson said, citing an addition to the country's constitution.

North Korea last week adopted a constitutional amendment to enshrine its policy on nuclear force, as leader Kim Jong Un pledged to accelerate production of nuclear weapons to deter what he called U.S. provocations, according to state media.

South Korea's defence ministry criticised the move in a statement on Wednesday, saying Pyongyang will be "further isolated" internationally, which would "worsen" the suffering of North Koreans.

Any use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang will bring the regime to an end, the ministry added, echoing President Yoon Suk Yeol's remark last month.

The U.S. Department of Defense's unclassified version of its "2023 Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction" said "North Korea, Iran and violent extremist organizations remain persistent threats as they continue to further pursue and develop WMD capabilities".

The spokesperson for North Korea's defence ministry also criticised the U.S. military's Sept. 28 strategy statement for its descriptions of China as the "pacing challenge" and Russia as an "acute threat", calling it a "political provocation" against independent sovereign states.

Unification minister Kim Yung-ho told reporters in Germany on Tuesday that the situation for inter-Korean exchange was "being monitored," according to news agency Yonhap.

(Reuters)

India's drug regulator has found that a cough syrup and an anti-allergy syrup made by Norris Medicines (NORI.BO) are toxic, according to a government report, months after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to 141 children's deaths worldwide.

The medicines were contaminated either with diethylene glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol (EG), the same contaminants found in the cough syrups that caused the deaths in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since the middle of last year.

This is the first time in at least two years that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has flagged any DEG and EG contamination in its monthly reports as the country tries to crack down on its $42 billion drug industry dominated by small players.

H.G. Koshia, commissioner of Gujarat state's Food and Drug Control Administration, told Reuters on Wednesday that it had inspected Norris's factory last month and ordered it to suspend production and recall the drugs.

"The company failed miserably on compliance parameters of good manufacturing practices," Koshia said. "Adequate water system was not there. The air-handling unit was also not up to the mark. In the larger interest of public health, we ordered the unit to stop production."

Norris Managing Director Vimal Shah declined to comment outside business hours.

The company's Trimax Expectorant contained 0.118% of EG, while allergy drug Sylpro Plus Syrup had 0.171% of EG and 0.243% of DEG, according to tests at a CDSCO laboratory, according to its list of "not of standard quality/spurious/adulterated/misbranded" drugs for August uploaded on its website. Koshia said Norris used to export the cough syrup, but did not say where.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the safe limit, based on internationally accepted standards, is no more than 0.10%.

It was not immediately clear if the Norris drugs had been recalled or if they caused any harm. Both medicines were listed on online pharmacies when Reuters checked.

The CDSCO also found three batches of COLD OUT syrup made by Fourrts (India) Laboratories contaminated with DEG and EG. The World Health Organisation said in August that a batch of COLD OUT sold in Iraq had unacceptable levels of DEG and EG.

Fourrts Chairman S.V. Veeramani did not respond to a request for comment.

Veeramani, who is the chairman of the government-backed Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (pharmexcil), told Reuters in August that a recent "analysis of retention samples" of COLD OUT showed there was "no contamination or toxins".

"There is no report of any adverse effect or death due to the product," he said in a WhatsApp message. "As a matter of abundant caution, we have voluntarily recalled the product in Iraq market."

The alerts on the toxic medicines come at a time when the government, through pharmexcil, is organising workshops for drugmakers across the country to stress the importance of drug quality and patient safety.

The CDSCO list also named a glycerine batch made by Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS), despite it containing 0.025% EG, within the WHO safety limit. Adani Wilmar did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

Indian pharmaceutical executives and regulators have told Reuters that it is common practice among some manufacturers in the country to substitute cheaper, commercial-grade ingredients when making cough syrups.

(Reuters)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has instructed relevant ministers to establish a tourism fund to support world-class tourism in Indonesia, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno stated on Wednesday.

"We received direction in a meeting with President Jokowi regarding the Tourism Fund to support quality and sustainable tourism in Indonesia," Uno stated at the Presidential Palace Complex.

He said that several other countries that prioritize the tourism sector, such as Singapore and Saudi Arabia, have also established tourism funds.

The Tourism Fund in Indonesia will be started with good governance and prioritizing sustainable and quality tourism by highlighting domestic cultural excellence, he noted.

"Tourists visiting Indonesia will not only be measured by their quantity but also by the quality of their stay," Uno remarked.

He stated that quality tourists will bring economic effects to the country, such as an impact on job creation.

He noted that the government will form a special team to determine the Tourism Fund mechanism.

One of the options is through an endowment fund supported by foreign exchange from tourism that could generate US$20-25 billion annually before the pandemic, he added.

"We will form a special team to study this matter. We want to provide sustainable funding for the Tourism Fund," Uno stated.

He highlighted that the government had looked at the progress of other countries that can hold international-quality events with their tourism funds.

"We will find ways to cover the Tourism Fund without a burden to our state budget. It has to be sustainable," he affirmed.

He also revealed that the government will propose a revision of Law Number 10 of 2009 on Tourism. The funding aspect of the Tourism Fund will be part of the revised Tourism Law.

The determination of the institution that will manage the Tourism Fund is still being studied, he stated.

"We already have some options, such as a fund management institution from the Finance Ministry or state-run tourism holding, InJourney," Uno explained.

He stated that the formation of the Tourism Fund is targeted to start in 2024, so the new cabinet resulting from the 2024 election can run the fund.

(Antara News)

Thailand will close legal loopholes relating to firearm classification and online sales in its gun control efforts, its police chief said on Wednesday, a day after a teenager was arrested following a deadly shooting at a mall that left two people dead.

The gun used by the alleged 14-year-old shooter was modified and originally designed to fire blank rounds, meaning it wasn't classified as a lethal weapon, and it was likely purchased online, Torsak Sukvimol said in a television interview.

Authorities were preparing to charge the teenage boy with premeditated murder on Wednesday.

There are more than 10,000 such legally imported guns in circulation in Thailand, and police will work with other government agencies to reclassify them as deadly firearms to block their import, Torsak said

"We want to make sure these guns are a controlled firearm because their modification makes them a deadly weapon," he told Thailand's Channel 3 television channel.

Krisanaphong Poothakool, a criminologist at Rangsit University, said modifying a blank gun is illegal but perpetrators could easily learn how to make modifications and there were criminal services offering this.

A Reuters search of e-commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee, among the most popular in Southeast Asia, on Wednesday showed several types of blank guns for sale at prices starting at around 5,000 baht ($135). Shopee, owned by Singapore's Sea Ltd (SE.N) and Alibaba-owned Lazada did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.

'LESSONS FROM PAST SHOOTINGS'

Authorities can boost gun control by improving enforcement, including creating a faster mechanism to block websites and online services that offer to sell or modify firearms, said Krisanaphong.

The political will to push for long-term gun control is also essential, he added.

Torsak, who took over as the country's top police official earlier this week, said police will form a team to tackle the illegal sale of firearms on the internet.

Existing Thai laws on the possession of illegal firearms carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 20,000 Thai baht($539.67).

Laws have tightened after mass shootings in recent years in Thailand, including a requirement for a medical evaluation for those who want to buy a gun or renew their gun license.

Last October, a former policeman killed 35 people, including 22 children, at a nursery in northeastern Thailand. And in 2020, a soldier shot and killed at least 29 people in another northeastern Thai city.

Following the October shooting, Thailand's previous administration drafted a gun amnesty bill allowing those with unregistered weapons to register them or hand them over to authorities during a grace period. The bill, however, did not make it through parliament ahead of a May general election.

"The government should learn the lessons from past mass shooting incidents, review the proposed solutions and quickly implement them," Krisanaphong said.

($1 = 37.0600 baht)

(Reuters)