VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has emphasized the importance of neutrality for all acting regional heads in the lead-up to the 2024 general elections.

He stated that he evaluates their work daily and removes any who are found to be biased.

"I evaluate (their work) every day. Once they have gone rogue, I will change their position. That is my prerogative," he stated while addressing all Indonesian acting regional heads at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday.

Jokowi also urged all acting regional heads to provide full support to the General Election Commission (KPU) and General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).

"However, do not intervene in their work," he emphasized.

He said that the support and assistance can be provided in the form of the operational budget that should be disbursed immediately.

He also reminded acting regional heads to desist from taking sides with any election candidate.

"I also ask you not to take sides. Your work is being monitored. It is very easy to spot which acting regional head is taking sides," Jokowi stated.

Moreover, he called on acting regional heads to ensure that all ASN will be neutral in facing the 2024 general election.

"Lastly, please maintain harmony in your ranks. Resolve it immediately if there is a spark related to politics," he said.

Jokowi said he will evaluate all these directions on a daily basis. Various obstacles related to the implementation of elections can be reported to the Ministry of Home Affairs and to the president.

"I will continue to monitor your work and duties. If there is a problem, please immediately report it to the Ministry of Home Affairs. If it is serious, immediately come to me, so I can help," he remarked.

The president's meeting with acting regional heads was attended by 37 acting mayors, 133 acting district heads, and 23 acting governors throughout Indonesia.

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian and Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani also accompanied President Jokowi at the meeting. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Australia has rejected European Union proposals for a free trade agreement, and a deal is now unlikely to be reached for several years, Australian government ministers said on Monday.

The largest farm industry group thanked the government for refusing to "throw Aussie farmers under a bus" by signing a deal it said would not have let enough of their products into the EU.

The two sides have been negotiating since 2018, with Australia eager to boost agricultural exports by removing EU tariffs and expanding quotas, and Europe likely to gain greater access to Australia's critical minerals industry.

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said after a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) trade ministers in the Japanese city of Osaka over the weekend that no progress had been made.

"I came to Osaka with the intention to finalise a free trade agreement," Farrell said in a statement.

"Unfortunately we have not been able to make progress," he said. "Negotiations will continue, and I am hopeful that one day we will sign a deal that benefits both Australia and our European friends."

Australia's agriculture minister, Murray Watt, said the EU - one of the world's largest markets - had only slightly tweaked the proposal it put on the table three months ago.

"We just weren't able to see the EU increase its offer for things like beef, sheep, dairy, sugar, enough for us to think that this deal was in Australia's national interest," he told ABC Radio.

EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said the bloc had "presented a commercially meaningful agricultural market access offer to Australia, while being mindful of the interests of the European agricultural sector".

"Unfortunately, our Australian partners were not able to engage on the basis of previously identified landing zones. We were therefore unable to make progress," he said.

'DUD DEAL'

Australia's Watt said it would be some time before the Australian government and EU leadership would be able to negotiate a deal because of upcoming elections in the EU.

Australian farm groups had pressured the government not to sign a "dud deal" that would put their members at a disadvantage to competitors in New Zealand, Canada and South America, who have greater access to EU markets.

The EU signed a trade deal with New Zealand last year that lowered tariffs for EU exports including clothing, chemicals and cars, and allowed more New Zealand beef, lamb, butter and cheese into the EU.

"It's disappointing the Europeans weren't willing to put something commercially meaningful on the table," National Farmers' Federation President David Jochinke said in a statement. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - The death toll from a fire at a coal mine in Kazakhstan owned by ArcelorMittal (MT.LU) rose to 45 on Sunday, with emergency teams engaged in an operation to find one remaining miner believed to have been underground, emergency service officials were quoted as saying.

On Saturday, operator ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the local unit of Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal, said 206 of 252 people at the Kostenko mine had been evacuated after what appeared to be a methane blast.

Gennady Silinsky, a senior emergency services official, on Sunday confirmed the death toll and continuing operation in Karaganda, a major coal mining centre, to Kazakhstan's Khabar-24 television.

"Work is going on round the clock in shifts in two areas of operations," Murat Katpanov, another emergency official, told Khabar-24.

"Gas levels are normal. There are no visible signs of fire."

Earlier statements said rescue operations in the two areas - 4 km (2.5 miles) apart - were hampered by power cuts and wrecked equipment. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - The United States and South Korea began major air exercises on Monday, involving 130 warplanes from both countries to simulate 24-hour wartime operations.

The annual drills, called Vigilant Defense, will run until Friday, featuring variants of the F-35 stealth fighter from both the United States and South Korea, among other aircraft, South Korea's Air Force said.

The drills are aimed at improving interoperability between the two militaries by performing major air missions such as air-to-surface live fire drills, defensive counter air operation and other emergency training.

"We will maintain the best combat readiness to immediately respond to and strongly punish any provocation by the enemy through an intense training simulating an actual situation," South Korea's military said in a statement.

The drills come as North Korea has been stepping up military cooperation with Russia in what the United States and its Asian allies have condemned as Pyongyang's efforts to advance its military capabilities in return for arms support to Moscow.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said on Saturday it was the "steadfast will" of Pyongyang to expand ties with Russia, adding that their relations will act as a "powerful strategic" element if security in the region is endangered.

North Korea has long condemned joint drills between the United States and South Korea as a rehearsal for invasion and proof of hostile policies by Washington and Seoul. (Reuters)