VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Mount Sinabung in Karo District, North Sumatra Province erupted on Sunday, spewing a column of ash in to the sky up to 2,000 meters from the mountain’s peak.

The volcanic ash column was grey and billowed toward the east and southeast of the mountain, Head of the Sinabung Observation Post Armen Putra noted here on Sunday.

“The eruption was recorded in seismogram to have a maximum amplitude of 73 mm and duration of 5 minutes and 31 seconds,” he said.

The authorities have declared an emergency status of 2,460-meter-high Mount Sinabung at Level III (alert).

Putra called on residents, including farmers, not to conduct activities in villages that have been relocated and at locations within a three-km radius from the mountain’s peak, five-km radius for the south-east sector, and four-km radius for the east-north sector.

When the eruption produces ash rain, the residents are advised to wear masks while venturing outside, to reduce the risks that may have impact on their health.

He also urged the local residents to secure clean water facilities, and clear volcanic ash from the roofs of houses.

“People living near the rivers that disgorge in Mount Sinabung are also urged to remain vigilant to the potential dangers of lava,” he pointed out. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Officials from Tehran and Washington will travel to Vienna next week as part of efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers, though they will not hold direct talks, diplomats said on Friday.

Even without face-to-face talks, which Tehran has ruled out, the presence of both of Iran and the United States in the Austrian capital would mark a step forward in efforts to bring both sides back into compliance with the accord.

“Iran and the U.S. will be in the same town, but not the same room,” a European diplomatic source said. A Western diplomat said a shuttle diplomacy approach would be adopted.

Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain - all parties to the 2015 deal - discussed on Friday the possible return to it of the United States, and how to ensure full and effective implementation by all sides.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed U.S. sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate some of the pact’s nuclear restrictions in retaliation.

The EU, which is coordinating efforts to revive the deal, said next week’s participants in Vienna would seek to “clearly identify sanctions-lifting and nuclear implementation measures,” including through convening meetings of relevant expert groups.

“In this context, the coordinator will also intensify separate contacts in Vienna with all JCPOA participants and the United States,” it added in a statement, referring to the acronym for the deal.

After Friday’s meeting, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a senior negotiator in the talks, said the United States would not be present at any session attended by Iran in Vienna and affirmed Iran’s stance on what needed to be done.

“Iran will suspend its steps (scaling back compliance with the deal’s terms) as soon as (U.S.) sanctions are lifted and this is verified,” Araqchi said, according to Fars.

The Biden administration has been seeking to engage Iran in talks about both sides resuming compliance. Under the accord, U.S. and other economic sanctions on Tehran were removed in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme to make it harder to develop a nuclear weapon - an ambition Tehran denies.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said it was good that talks were resuming, but time was of the essence.

“An agreement that is once again fully respected would be a plus for security for the entire region and the best basis for talks on other important issues of regional stability,” he said in a statement.

Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. atomic watchdog said Friday’s talks had given him the impression they were on the right track but the way ahead would not be easy. (Reuters)

Jakarta. Vietnam has appealed to diplomats from the United States, European Union and Japan to help it secure supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, as part of efforts to acquire the 150 million doses needed to cover its adult population.

Vietnam has received about 930,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine so far but wants to procure doses from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, China’s Sinovac, and Russia’s Sputnik V shot.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long on Thursday asked Japan’s embassy for help with technology transfer for vaccine production and testing in Vietnam, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Long also asked the U.S. ambassador for help with accelerating Vietnam’s inoculation programme and securing access to vaccines from U.S. drugmakers, and told EU representatives he hoped European pharmaceutical firms would consider more investment in Vietnam, the statement said

The meetings came a day after Long on Wednesday met with Chinese, Indian and Russian diplomats to discuss vaccines.

Vietnam has been praised for its record in containing coronavirus outbreaks through mass testing, tracing and strict quarantine, with the country recording just 2,620 cases and 35 deaths.

It aims to immunise 70% of its population and has so far inoculated 51,200 people. The request for help come as some countries express concern about vaccine shortages.

The Ministry of Health said separately that Vietnam aims to vaccinate a fifth of its 98 million people against COVID-19 by the end of the year.

It said the country would receive 4.1 million vaccine doses via the COVAX global vaccine sharing facility by the end of May.

Four Vietnamese companies are engaged in vaccine research and production and two are at the human trial stage. Its first domestic shot called Nanocovax is expected to be put into use in 2022. (Reuters)

Jakarta. The European Union on Friday called on China to ensure freedom of speech and the press after a British Broadcasting Corporation journalist in China relocated to Taiwan saying he had suffered threats and obstruction.

The journalist, John Sudworth, told BBC radio he moved with his family because it had become increasingly difficult to remain in the country.

Beijing denied making any threats.

The EU said it was the latest case of foreign journalists being driven out of China as a result of harassment and obstruction to their work, with at least 18 expelled last year. It said it had repeatedly expressed its concerns to Chinese authorities.

“Professionalism and objectivity of foreign correspondents is increasingly put into question. Foreign correspondents play an important role in imparting information across frontiers and contributing to strengthening mutual understanding between the EU and China,” a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

“The EU calls upon China to abide by its obligations under national and international law and ensure the freedom of speech and press, as enshrined in the PRC’s Constitution and the Universal declaration of human rights.” (Reuters)