VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Thousands of people stuck on a cruise ship in Hong Kong for four days have been allowed to disembark after tests for coronavirus came back negative. Some 3,600 passengers and crew on the World Dream ship were quarantined amid fears some staff could have contracted the virus on a previous voyage.

Another cruise ship where dozens of cases have been confirmed remains in quarantine off Japan. The outbreak has killed 910 people, all but two in mainland China. The coronavirus has now killed more people than Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome). In 2003, that epidemic killed 774 people in more than two dozen countries.

In the Chinese province of Hubei alone, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, more than 800 people have died, according to regional health officials. More than 40,000 have been infected worldwide, the vast majority in China.

The World Dream was put in quarantine on Wednesday after it emerged that three passengers who had sailed on a previous voyage were later found to have contracted the virus. Chief port health officer Leng Yiu-Hong said all crew members - some 1,800 people - had tested negative for coronavirus, and that everyone would be allowed to disembark without the need to self-quarantine after leaving.

On Sunday, Hong Kong's health minister said 468 people had been ordered to stay at home, in hotel rooms or government-run centres, one day after officials implemented a mandatory two-week quarantine period for anyone arriving from mainland China. Several more cases were confirmed on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been in quarantine in the Japanese city of Yokohama for nearly a week, the Kyodo news agency reports. Authorities said on Saturday 64 people had been infected on the ship, which is carrying some 3,700 passengers and crew.

On Saturday, the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the virus was still concentrated in Hubei, and that it appeared that the number of cases had stabilised slightly over the previous four days. Dr Tedros, who previously praised the Chinese government for its measures at the epicentre of the outbreak, reiterated that the slowdown was "an opportunity" to contain the virus.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, China's ambassador to the UK said it was still "very difficult to predict when we're going to have an inflection point", but that the "isolation and quarantine measures have been very effective".

Liu Xiaoming called the disease "the enemy of mankind", but said it was "controllable, preventable, curable" and told people not to panic.

Several more cases were confirmed on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has been in quarantine in the Japanese city of Yokohama for nearly a week, the Kyodo news agency reports. Authorities said on Saturday 64 people had been infected on the ship, which is carrying some 3,700 passengers and crew.

On Saturday, the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the virus was still concentrated in Hubei, and that it appeared that the number of cases had stabilised slightly over the previous four days.

Dr Tedros, who previously praised the Chinese government for its measures at the epicentre of the outbreak, reiterated that the slowdown was "an opportunity" to contain the virus.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, China's ambassador to the UK said it was still "very difficult to predict when we're going to have an inflection point", but that the "isolation and quarantine measures have been very effective".

Liu Xiaoming called the disease "the enemy of mankind", but said it was "controllable, preventable, curable" and told people not to panic.

Meanwhile, concerns were growing about the whereabouts of Chinese lawyer and blogger Chen Qiushi, who had posted online videos including of conditions inside hospitals and people queuing up for masks in Wuhan, in Hubei province. Mr Chen, whose content was being widely shared, has been missing since Thursday.

There are unconfirmed reports that he may have been forced into quarantine. In an interview with the BBC last week, he said he was not sure how long he would be allowed to continue to report on the outbreak, saying: "The censorship is so strict, people's accounts are being closed down if they share my content".

His disappearance comes amid widespread anger and grief across China over the death of Li Wenliang, a doctor who tried to warn fellow medics about the virus in December but was told by police to "stop making false comments" and investigated for "spreading rumours".

China has been criticised for its initial handling of the outbreak and accused of trying, in some cases, to keep news of it secret. But Ambassador Liu put the blame of Dr Li's case on local authorities, saying: "[Dr Li] will be remembered as a hero... and for his brave contribution".

Last month, the WHO declared a global health emergency over the new outbreak. Of the two deaths reported outside China, one was in Hong Kong and the other in the Philippines.(BBC)

Thirteen suspects had been arrested in connection with the drug case of Gorilla tobacco, Spokesman of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Sen.Coms Yusri Yunus said here on Sunday.

The suspects, only identified by their initials as RS, MT, FB, PRY, MA, IL, RD, AR, MN, WA, RT, ARN, NH, and RTF, were apprehended in different places around Jakarta and Subaraya, the capital of East Java, during a series of recent drug raid operations, he said.

The police investigators also unveiled a factory producing this synthetic drug, and confiscated more than 28 kilograms of Gorilla tobacco, a type of drug that could make its users act aggressively and suffer lose of consciousness, Yunus said.

The factory was located in an apartment in Surabaya, he said, adding that the police charge the suspects with articles 114, 112, and 132 of the Indonesian Drug Law which could lead them to death penalty, life imprisonment, or 20 years in jail.

As part of the war on drug, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police have been attempting to fight against those using online shopping facilities and social media platforms for drug trafficking.

Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population have been embroiled in a vicious circle.

Both domestic and transnational drug dealers perceive Indonesia as one of their potential markets due to its large population and millions of drug users. The drug trade in the country is estimated to reach nearly Rp66 trillion.

According to the National Narcotics Agency's (BNN's) report, some 50 drug use-related deaths occur in a day in Indonesia. However, their deaths have failed to deter other drug users in the country from consuming these banned substances.

Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs transcend communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

In selling this illicit drug, many drug dealers reportedly recruit teenagers. Denpasar Police Chief Sen. Coms. Ruddi Setiawan, for instance, recently revealed that a drug dealer in the Indonesian resort island recruited four teenagers to work as his couriers.

The suspects were identified by their initials as AB (16), DB (13), GN (14), and SJ (16) while the drug dealer was Dogler. The latter asked them to place the drug packets at certain places, including flowerpots and poles, he said. (ANT)

The police in Jayapura Port, Papua Province, seized 157 bottles of alcoholic drinks from Motor Vessel "Labobar" which arrived at the port from Bitung, North Sulawesi Province, on Saturday evening but the policemen did not arrest anyone in this bootleg liquor case.

The policemen found the bottles of home-made alcoholic drinks under the beds of several passengers on the vessel's deck 4, 5, 6, and 7 during a raid against bootleg liquor, Papua Police Spokesman Sen.Coms.Ahmad Kamal said here on Sunday.

The police investigators questioned several passengers who stayed near the confiscated liquor bottles but none knew the owners, Kamal said.

On early Sunday, MV Labobar  departed to Biak - Serui - Nabire - Manokwari - Sorong - Ternate - Bitung - Pantoloan - Balikpapan – Surabaya by carrying 1,104 passengers, he said.

The sales of alcoholic drinks are banned in Papua. In early December 2019, the Papuan provincial government had ordered all district and city administrations to ban sales of alcoholic drinks ahead of the 2019 Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations, and the convening of the 2020 National Games (PON).

First Assistant of the Papua Provincial Government's Secretary Doren Wakerwa said the Papuan government had effectively banned the production, distribution and sales of alcoholic beverages since 2016 based on the Regional Government's Regulation Number 15/2013. (ANT)

The Central Maluku Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has revealed that the 5.6-magnitude earthquake that rocked East Seram District's area in Maluku Province on Saturday had damaged several buildings but there were no fatalities owing to this quake.

Following the earthquake which was followed by 13 aftershocks, no residents took refuge because the quake did not potentially trigger tsunami, the agency's head, Bob Rahmat, told ANTARA who contacted him from Ambon, the capital of Maluku Province, on Sunday.

Rahmat urged locals to stay calm and did not let themselves get provoked by rumors and misleading information. So far, the agency noted that five houses got damaged. The earthquake also damaged a water storage and a local company's building.

The district's electricity supply remained normal in the aftermath of this earthquake whose epicenter was located around 68 kilometers away northwest of Bula city in East Seram District at a depth of 12 kilometers.

Earthquakes regularly rock various parts of Indonesia due to the fact that the country lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

On Feb 6, 2020, for instance, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted the Indonesian Island of Miangas in North Sulawesi Province at 08.40 p.m. local time, prompting many residents to rush out of their homes in search of safety.

One of the deadliest earthquakes in Indonesia that occurred over these past two years was the one that struck several areas of Centra Sulawesi Province.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake which was followed by tsunami that hit the areas of Palu city and the districts of Donggala, Paringi Moutong, and Sigi on Sept 28, 2018 claimed 2,102 lives, injured 4,612, and rendered 680 others missing.

A total of 68,451 homes were seriously damaged, and 78,994 people were displaced.

Due to a large number of rotting corpses, the authorities and humanitarian workers decided to bury them in mass graves.

Meanwhile, material losses inflicted by the twin deadly disasters were estimated to reach Rp15.29 trillion.

The provincial capital of Palu took the brunt of the disaster, with material damage and losses recorded at Rp7.6 trillion, or 50 percent of the total estimate, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

The material damage and losses in Sigi district were recorded at Rp4.9 trillion, or 32.1 percent, Donggala district at Rp2.1 trillion, or 13.8 percent, and Parigi Moutong district at Rp631 billion, or 4.1 percent.

The material damage in the four affected areas reached an estimated Rp13.27 trillion, while the material losses reached approximately Rp2.02 trillion, the agency revealed in October 2018. (ANTARA)