VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

photo : pintarnesia

Over 90,000 mosques will reopen on Sunday after being sanitised, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced on Thursday. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance is all set to reopen more than 90,000 major and minor mosques across the Kingdom, except mosques in Makkah. The ministry and its staff have already embarked on maintenance, cleaning and sanitisation process of the mosques, which will reopen on the dawn of Sunday, except the mosques in Makkah, after over a two-month closure in the wake of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Under 15-year old children are banned from praying at mosques. Wearing facemasks and avoidance of handshaking and scrambling at mosques gates, are also recommendable//GulfNews

photo : siakapkeli

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has denied rumours that he was in Singapore for medical treatment. Muhyiddin said in a Facebook post on Thursday, May 28, that he wished to state that rumour is altogether untrue. For everyone's information, he is under quarantine at his home in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. Rumours of Muhyiddin being in Singapore for treatment, following a previous surgery for pancreatic cancer two years ago, came amid other rumours that the Perikatan Nasional coalition, which took power in March, had lost its majority and that the deposed Pakatan Harapan coalition now had 130 members of parliament. Muhyiddin was placed under quarantine after attending a meeting where one official tested positive for COVID-19 just before Hari Raya. Although Mr Muhyiddin tested negative, he was advised to remain in home quarantine for two weeks//CNA

photo : ddtcnews

Some 104,000 Indonesians have returned from abroad in the wake of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, according to Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. The number rose by 4,676 as compared to a week earlier, Marsudi noted during a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday as quoted by Antara. Meanwhile, 8,256 Indonesian crew members of foreign-registered ships returned from 23 nations via Jakarta and Bali, increasing by 1,302 from the previous week, she pointed out. Marsudi stated that the number of Indonesians returning from 33 countries apart from crew members of foreign-registered ships and those from Malaysia rose by 864 to reach 6,472 as compared to the week ago. The government will continue to extend humanitarian assistance to Indonesian citizens impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic abroad//ANT

photo : the jakarta post

Indonesia has started cloud seeding to induce rain, as the archipelago moves to head off annual forest fires blamed for blanketing swathes of Southeast Asia in toxic haze. Authorities deployed tens of thousands of personnel and water-bombing aircraft to tackle the fires, which are intentionally set to clear land for agriculture -- including on palm oil and pulp plantations. Over the past two weeks, Indonesia has started cloud seeding -- a technique that uses chemicals to induce rain -- in hotspot Riau province on Sumatra, with plans to roll it out in other parts of the island and in Borneo. The operations were to last throughout the dry season, which is expected to end around September. Tri Handoko Seto at the government-backed Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) said that they are taking this step before the forest fires start. The initial focus would be on swampy, carbon-rich peatlands which become highly flammable when they are drained of water to grow crops//JP/AFP