VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday (12 February 2020), Ambassador of the Republic of Russia to the Republic of Indonesia Mrs Lyudmila Vorobeiva reiterated Russia’s stance on US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century”. She said Russia has always believed that the only way to stop this war between Iraq and Palestine and bring peace to the two countries is through a ‘two state solution'.

“Our position is very clear, there needs to be a settlement, which is overdue for a conflict that has been lasting for decades. But of course, the problem is that the sides of the conflict should be happy with it. How can you settle a conflict if one of the sides denies, is not willing to accept? It is not a matter of US, they say that it should be this way, but you know if the Palestinians do not accept it, it will not work. It will not stop; it will not stop the war; it will not stop people from being killed,” Ambassador Vorobeiva said.

She said this “Deal of the Century” will not work if the Palestinians were negative about it. When asked about the role Russia plays in the Middle East, Ambassador Vorobeiva said Russia already plays a big role in trying to achieve peace in the Middle East, but she believes the solutions to this issue lies in the agreement between the two countries. She also briefly touched upon Russia’s role in the ongoing war in Syria saying Russia is the only country that has been asked by the legitimate government of Syria to help them fight terrorism. (VOI/ SAYEE SHREE L.R/VOI)

The West Australian Government says there is no reason for Australian tourists to avoid travelling to Bali, despite reports of the first case of coronavirus being linked to the popular holiday island. WA Health Minister Roger Cook said Indonesian authorities were aware of a Chinese national who travelled through Bali who may have tested positive for coronavirus. He said health officials were closely monitoring the situation.

"Now obviously we need to monitor carefully the spread of this disease outside China," Mr Cook said.

"This is a new situation because obviously Bali represents the playground for a lot of West Australians."

It was unclear whether the person potentially contracted the virus in China and then travelled to Indonesia, or whether they may have been exposed to the virus in Indonesia. The Chinese national is understood to have returned to Shanghai, where the positive diagnosis was made. Mr Cook said people should not cancel travel to Bali as a result of the development. "We are not saying that people have to curtail their trips to Bali," he said. "At the moment DFAT [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] has the same travel advisory for Bali, so people shouldn't be alarmed.

"We are simply providing this information in the interests of transparency to make sure that we continue to provide people with the most up-to-date information as possible." Prime Minister Scott Morrison today confirmed a travel ban from China to Australia would be extended for another week. Mr Cook said Border Force officers would continue to meet all flights arriving into Perth Airport and nurses would continue to be stationed at the Airport around the clock to manage people who may require testing. WA health officials had tested about 10 people per day for the virus over the past week. In total, 81 people have so far been tested in WA and all had returned a negative result. Communicable Disease Control director Paul Armstrong said there were no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bali.

"Officially, Indonesia doesn't have any cases at all," Dr Armstrong said.

"Neighbouring countries of Indonesia of course have got several cases each but nothing alarming, nothing that would really elevate the risk of people travelling there." Dr Armstrong said Australia had offered support to Indonesia for increased testing if required. (ABC)

The loss of wild animals' natural habitat and forest clearance underway, the likelihood of viral transmission from wild animals to humans increases since they trespass into human settlements in search of food, a researcher stated.

"Forests being cleared for development, including farming and mining, has the potential to wipe out wild animals' habitat, so they will intrude into human settlements and transmit virus," senior researcher at the Primate Study Center of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) Joko Pamungkas stated during a seminar on anticipating coronavirus COVID-19: from Eijkman Institute for Indonesia in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Undoubtedly, the growing population will result in virus-carrying animals and human beings living in greater proximity to one another, he stated.

Bat and civet can potentially transmit the coronavirus to humans, he pointed out.

"Greater the biodiversity of wild animals, higher the potential or risk they may have as reservoir or virus-carrying animals," he noted.

Pamungkas cautioned that if the habitat of wild animals gets wiped out owing to conversion of forests into farm land, it could result in them venturing closer to humans by trespassing into human settlements in pursuit of food.

"This raises the likelihood of wild animals coming into contact with humans," he stated.

To prevent the coronavirus outbreak from recurring in future, he suggested that human beings should not destroy the habitat of wild animals. (ANTARA)

A relatively thin volcanic ash fall descended on a partial slope area in Sleman District, Yogyakarta Province, after Mount Merapi erupted earlier on Thursday at around 5:16 a.m. local time.

"Two hours after the eruption, we had monitored areas affected by the ash rain in the sub-districts of Pakem and Cangkringan," Head Division of Emergency and Logistic of Local Disaster Management Body Makwan confirmed.

Makwan remarked that areas in Cangkringan Sub-district where volcanic ash rain fell are Kaliadem Lama, Kepuharjo, Kalitengah Lor, and Kalitengah Kidul in Glagaharjo, while in Pakem Sub-district, ash rain descended on Bukit Turgo and the surrounding areas.

However, the situation remains under control as "the people living in those areas are still going about their regular activities, while tourists are also having such a new type of experience here."

The agency is not providing masks since the affected areas are not considered to be that extensive even though the people probably continue to stock up on masks.

According to the Centre of Study and Technology Development for Geological Disaster (BPPTKG) of Yogyakarta, today's latest eruption of Mount Merapi was recorded at a maximum amplitude of 75 millimeters and a duration of 105 seconds.

It spewed volcanic ash reaching some two thousand meters high from the peak that is 4,968 meters above sea level. The ash was observed to be white to grey in color with medium intensity and leaning toward the northwest direction.

The status remains at Level II, thereby indicating to be on alert to potential hazard of "its hot cloud and volcanic materials falling, which result in any kind of activities being banned within a three-kilometer radius of Mount Merapi's peak." (ANTARA)