VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Thailand's inflation rate fell for the first time in 25 months, thanks to falling energy prices due to government support measures and lower food prices, the commerce ministry said on Monday.

Thailand's consumer price index (CPI) (THCPI=ECI) fell 0.31% in October from a year earlier, versus a 0.3% year-on-year rise in the previous month, according to data.

The figure compared with a forecast for 0.0% for October in a Reuters poll. The core CPI (THCPIX=ECI) was up 0.66% year-on-year in October.

Headline inflation has been below the central bank's target of 1% to 3% for the sixth consecutive month.

In the January-October period, the headline CPI rose an average 1.60% from the same period a year earlier, with the core CPI up 1.41%.

The ministry still sees headline inflation at 1.0% to 1.7% this year.

In September, the Bank of Thailand's monetary policy committee unexpectedly raised the key interest rate (THCBIR=ECI) by a quarter point to 2.50%, the highest in a decade, saying growth and inflation should pick up next year. It will next review policy on Nov. 29. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Sunday strongly condemned the killing of a Filipino journalist and ordered the police to conduct an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The journalist, Juan Jumalon, also known as "DJ Johnny Walker", was shot by unidentified assailants while broadcasting from his home in a southern Philippine town on Sunday morning, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said in a statement, citing initial reports.

"Attacks on journalists will not be tolerated in our democracy, and those who threaten the freedom of the press will face the full consequences of their actions," Marcos said in a post on X platform.

Media watchdog NUJP also condemned the "brazen killing" which it said was caught on a livestream of Jumalon's show. Jumalon's home in Calamba, Misamis Occidental served as his radio station.

Jumalon's killing brings to four the number of journalists killed since Marcos took office in June 2022, and to 199 since democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986. That figure included 32 killed in a single incident in 2009.

The Philippines has one of Asia's most liberal media environments, but it remains one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists, particularly in its provinces.

It ranked as the eighth worst country when it comes to prosecuting killers of journalists, according to 2023 Global Impunity Index released by the Committee to Protect Journalists released this week. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, starting the first visit to China by a leader of his country in seven years, said on Sunday it was "in all our interests" to have a bilateral relationship with dialogue and cooperation.

Australia will continue to work constructively with China, he said in a short speech to the annual China International Import Expo in Shanghai, which was opened by Premier Li Qiang.

Albanese is the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016, part of an effort to patch up relations that had deteriorated over several years due to disputes over Chinese telecoms firm Huawei, espionage and COVID-19.

After the speech, addressing media alongside Trade Minister Don Farrell, Albanese said he welcomed Li's comments at the Expo and described them as "very positive". Li said China will further expand market access and imports.

Farrell said after meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Saturday he expected impediments on Australian seafood and red meat products to be removed "in a very short space of time".

Albanese, in his speech, described the relationship between the two countries as "mature" and said it was "energised by the complementary nature of our economies".

"Along with the other economies in our region, Australia and China have prospered thanks to the certainty and stability that is made possible by rules-based trade," Albanese said, according to an official transcript.

Albanese's government has worked to stabilise ties with China since coming to office last year, and China has lifted most trade blocks imposed in a 2020 diplomatic dispute that cost A$20 billion in commodity and food exports.

"We continue to highly value the World Trade Organisation, whose role as an independent and respected umpire benefits us all," Albanese said, without directly mentioning any disputes.

Albanese, on Monday, will meet President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the prime minister has said he will raise concerns over rising tensions in the South China Sea.

On arriving in Shanghai late on Saturday, Albanese said it was in Australia's interests to have a positive and constructive dialogue with its major trading partner.

Albanese said on Saturday, before leaving for China, that the much-anticipated visit to meet with Xi and Li marked a "very positive step" in stabilising strained bilateral ties. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Puan Maharani, said that one of the goals of Indonesian independence in accordance with the 1945 Constitution was to create world order and peace.

"Realizing world order and peace is one of our goals in accordance with the 1945 Constitution," she conveyed during her speech at the Solidarity Act for Palestine in Jakarta on Sunday.

Therefore, she noted that what happened to the people in Palestine could not be accepted by the entire community.

"Since the beginning of our independence, until our current president, we have consistently supported Palestinian independence," she continued.

Maharani then expressed her deep condolences to victims of the Israel-Palestine war, ranging from adults to children, men, and women.

"I express my deep condolences for the victims who died and the misfortune of the innocent Palestinian people while praying for their peace," she disclosed.

She also prayed that the injured victims in Palestine would recover quickly and get the medical assistance they needed.

The House Speaker asked the Indonesian government to continue fighting and advocating for Palestinian independence from Israel.

She emphasized that independence is the right of all nations, which must be realized through hard work and mutual cooperation.

"Never stop, and always urge Israel to stop their military aggression against the Palestinian people," she urged.

Moreover, she asked the community to share in the pain of the Palestinian people by continuing to send aid.

Maharani also hopes that the cruelty of Israeli military aggression can be stopped.

"All Indonesians must continue to support Palestine, including with humanitarian assistance for them," she added.

On the same occasion, the initiator of the Solidarity Act for Palestine, Din Syamsudin, reminded the participants not to convey their political aspirations toward presidential and vice presidential candidates who attended the event.

"Please hold your political aspirations for this event," he stated. (Antaranews)