The Dutch ambassador has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday over provocations against Russian diplomats by foreign intelligence services, the ministry said.
"The Dutch Ambassador to Moscow, Beschoor Plug, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. A strong protest was expressed to him in connection with the recruitment approach by UK intelligence services to the military attache of the Russian embassy in The Hague on October 20.
During the conversation, it was stressed that such provocative actions are unacceptable, contradict the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and hinder the normal functioning of Russian foreign missions," the ministry's statement read.
In recent years, foreign intelligence services have committed several provocations against Russian diplomatic employees in the Netherlands, the ministry added.
"In recent years, several such provocations have been committed against Russian employees in the Netherlands by foreign special services, which, as we see, feel themselves at home on Dutch territory. In December 2018, representatives of the CIA (the US Central Intelligence Agency) approached a diplomat of the Russian permanent mission to the OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) in a park, in December 2019, they persuaded an attache of the Russian embassy to cooperate in the closed zone of Schiphol airport in Amsterdam," the statement said.
According to the Russian foreign ministry, Dutch authorities and law enforcement agencies do not stop such illegal actions, but also take part themselves.
"In April, employees of the Dutch special services tried to recruit three Russian diplomats who had previously been declared 'persona non grata.' In July 2020, tracking equipment was found in the car of a diplomat of the embassy in The Hague during regular maintenance check," the ministry said.
The Russian foreign ministry calls on Dutch authorities to refrain from unfriendly actions that lead to further degradation of bilateral relations.
Kepala Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan (BPOM), Penny Lukito mengatakan bahwa obat sirop produksi PT Yarindo Farmatama dan obat sirop produksi Universal Pharmaceutical Industries terbukti mengandung cemaran etilen glikol (EG) dan dietilen glikol (DEG) melewati ambang batas. Ini membuat kedua perusahaan mendapat sanksi administrasi maupun pidana atas pelanggaran yang dilakukan.
"Berdasar hasil pemeriksaan, terkait sirop obat mengandung EG dan DEG melewati ambang batas adalah pertama PT Yarindo Farmatama dan kedua adalah Universal Pharmaceutical Industries," ujarnya dalam konferensi pers yang digelar secara hybrid, Senin (31/10).
Penny menjelaskan bahwa PT Yarindo Farmatama memproduksi obat Flurin DMP Sirop (obat batuk dan flu). Berdasarkan hasil penyelidikan, beberapa barang bukti disegel, diambil, dan disita, berupa bahan baku, produk jadi, bahan pengemas, serta dokumen untuk penelusuran lebih lanjut terkait dengan penyaluran distributor bahan baku.
Penny menuturkan bahwa Flurin DMP Sirop terbukti menggunakan bahan baku propilen glikol yang mengandung cemaran EG sebesar 48 mg/ml. Padahal menurut aturan, jumlah kandungan cemaran EG yang diperbolehkan hanya sebesar 0,1 mg/ml.
Menurut Penny, penemuan cemaran EG dalam produk PT Yarindo sesuai dengan rekam jejaknya selama ini yang kerap kali berperilaku tidak patuh atas aturan yang ada.
"PT Yarindo memiliki rekam jejak recall yang paling banyak dalam dua tahun terakhir. Akhirnya kita temukan, PT Yarindo ini memang terpenuhi menghasilkan produk yang tidak memenuhi ketentuan," ucapnya.
Sementara, produk PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries yang terbukti memgandung bahan cemaran adalah Unibebi Cough Sirup (obat batuk dan flu), Unibebi Demam Sirup (obat demam) serta Unibebi Demam Drops (obat demam). Penyitaan bahan baku juga dilakukan, serta penelusuran dokumen yang berkaitan dengan produsen pemasok bahan baku.
Temuan lebih lanjut BPOM menunjukkan produk PT Afifarma turut melanggar aturan. Paracetamol Drops dan Paracetamol Syrup rasa peppermint memiliki cemaran EG dan DEG melebihi batas aman.
Cemaran etilen glikol (EG) dalam produk Flurin DMP Sirup mencapai 48 miligram per mililiter, sedangkan ambang batas amannya adalah 0,1 miligram per mililiter. Perusahaan ini pun tidak melapor ke BPOM saat melakukan perubahan formulasi obat.
"Apabila ada kondisi di mana mereka mengganti supplier atau formulasinya mau diganti, itu harus melapor ke BPOM agar mendapat izin. Karena itu termasuk dalam perubahan variasi minor dari satu variasi obat," ujar Penny.
Lebih lanjut Penny menyatakan, industri farmasi pun harus memastikan bahwa bahan baku yang dibeli dari distributor sesuai dengan tingkat/standar farmasi (pharmaceutical grade), bukan standar industri (industrial grade).
Penny mengakui, ada perbedaan harga yang sangat mencolok antara bahan baku standar farmasi dan bahan baku standar industri.
"Ada perbedaan harga yang mencolok sekali antara yang pharmaceutical grade dengan industrial grade yang bisa digunakan untuk pelarut cat. Lebih murah karena tidak harus melalui sistem purifikasi yang levelnya tinggi, sehingga (pharmaceutical grade) relatively mahal. Itu kalau ada kejahatan bisa dilihat di sana," tutur Penny.
Data terakhir Kementerian Kesehatan menyebutkan bahwa terdapat 269 kasus anak menderita gagal ginjal akut misterius yang tersebar sejumlah provinsi Indonesia. Sebanyak 157 di antaranya meninggal dunia. Diduga, penyakit ini muncul akibat adanya cemaran EG dan DEG dalam akibat meminum obat sirop yang dikonsumsi anak.
Ruang kelas SMA 34 Jakarta terbakar. (Foto dok. Gulkarmat Jakarta Selatan)
Kebakaran terjadi di salah satu ruang kelas SMA 34 Jakarta, di Jalan Margasatwa Nomor 1 RT 1/RW 1 pada Senin pagi tadi, 31/10/2022. Kebakran diduga karena korsleting listrik.
Kepala Seksi Operasional (Kasie Ops) Sudin Penanggulangan Kebakaran dan Penyelamatan (Gulkarmat) Jakarta Selatan, Sugeng ketika dikonfirmasi wartawan membenarkan adanya peristiwa tersebut.
"Kami terima berita (laporan) pukul 06.05 WIB," kata Sugeng kepada wartawan.
Api pertama kali dilihat seorang warga bernama Dina dari salah satu ruang kelas di SMA 34 yang berukuran 4x4 meter. Dugaan sementara karena korsleting listrik.
"Ibu Diana melihat api dari lantai tiga ruang kelas dua, lalu menelpon ke Damkar Jagakarsa," ujarnya
Guna memadamkan api, sebanyak 6 mobil pemadam dikerahkan. Proses pemadaman berlangsung dari pukul 06.20 WIB hingga 06.30 WIB atau dalam waktu 10 menit.
Akibat kejadian ini kerugian ditaksir mencapai Rp 20 juta. Dilaporkan tak ada korban luka atau meninggal dalam kejadian itu.
"Korban nihil. Taksiran kerugian Rp 20 juta," ujar dia.
"Situasi aman," kata Sugeng
"Lalu menghubungi Damkar Jagakarsa. Diketahui objek yang terbakar ruang kelas," kata Sugeng dalam keterangannya.
Sugeng menerangkan, penyebab kebakaran diduga akibat adanya hubungan pendek arus listrik (korsleting) di ruang kelas XI IPS 2.
"Dugaan penyebab korselting listrik," ujar dia.
Sebanyak 6 unit mobil dikerahkan untuk memadamkan api di lokasi. Sugeng memastikan, tidak ada korban jiwa dalam insiden tersebut.
Terpisah, Kapolsek Cilandak Kompol Multazam Lisendra mengatakan, penyidik Unit Reskrim Polsek Cilandak telah turun melakukan olah TKP. Puslabfor Mabes Polri akan dilibatkan untuk mengusut penyebab kebakaran.
"Kami sedang menyelidiki penyebab pasti kebakaran dengan mengundang Puslabfor," ujar dia.
Multazam menerangkan, pihaknya telah memeriksa sejumlah orang saksi. Salah satunya ialah Slamet yang saat itu melihat adanya kepulan asap tebal di lantai 3.
"Saksi melakukan pengecekan ke lantai 3, ruangan kelas 11 IPS 2 dalam keadaan terkunci kemudian pintu didobrak paksa dan dilakukan pemadaman dengan alat APAR tabung," ujar dia.
Brazilians flooded the polls on Sunday to elect a new president in what turned out to be an extremely close runoff competition between two of the biggest names in Brazilian politics eyeing drastically different versions of Brazil’s future.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clinched Brazil's top job Sunday after besting incumbent Jair Bolsonaro with 50.90% of the vote, figures released by the country's election authority confirmed.
With 99.96% of the ballots counted, Bolsonaro gained 49.10%. The ouster marks the end of a politically heightened period for Brazil as Bolsonaro gained widespread attention for his accelerated destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the government's failure to effectively implement preventative COVID-19 measures such as masking practices. Brazil documented nearly 700,000 covid-related deaths.
Earlier, a congressional inquiry recommended Bolsonaro be charged with nine offenses, including charlatanism and crimes against humanity, for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear if those charges will be handed down once Bolsonaro passes the presidency to da Silva
The elected president had more than 60.2 million votes, a record in the history of Brazilian democracy. He will begin his third presidential term on January 1st, 2023. Da Silva previously served as president from 2003 to 2010.
Da Silva responded to the winning results by sharing an image of his hand over the Brazilian flag, captioned "democracy."
In a victory speech, da Silva acknowledged that the challenges ahead would be "immense" but that efforts to rebuild the country would be "necessary... in all its dimensions."
"The majority of the Brazilian people made it very clear that they want more - not less - democracy," he told supporters. "This is the victory of an immense democratic movement that was formed, above political parties, personal interests and ideologies, so that democracy would win."
The Sunday results mark the latest South American country to oust a conservative leader in favor of electing a leftist president on the continent. Earlier, similar moves were made by Colombia, Chile and Honduras.
Mainstream polling firms all had Lula pegged for a 4-7 point win over Bolsonaro, but the race remained painfully close over the course of the evening, with Brazilian media unofficially calling the election in favor of da Silva just before 7 p.m. EST, with less than 99% of the votes accounted for.
Reports indicate that US President Joe Biden plans to send US national security adviser Jake Sullivan to Brazil in the coming days to reinforce US support for a peaceful transition. It is yet unclear if da Silva plans to accept support from the US government.
Shortly after the election was called, Biden issued his congratulations for da Silva, noting in a White House-released statement that he "looks forward to working together to continue the cooperation between our two countries in the months and years ahead." The American leader added that he believed the election process to have been "free, fair and credible."
After the polls closed at 4 p.m. EST, results poured in relatively quickly – mostly due to the fact that Brazil is the only country in the world that uses a fully electronic voting system.
As Bolsonaro’s support has been stronger in wealthier areas of Brazil, where the more-developed infrastructure allows for faster internet connections than poorer regions - where leftists are favored, early results skewed in Bolsonaro’s favor. However, as the night wore on, da Silva’s edge creeped forward, eventually overtaking Bolsonaro just before 6 p.m. EST.
During the first round of voting on Oct. 2, da Silva took nearly 6 million more votes than Bolsonaro, who performed better than predicted but it wasn’t enough to secure the 50% of the vote required to avoid the runoff election.
Ahead of the Sunday vote, a Datafolha institute poll showed that 49% of Brazilians were in favor of da Silva, whereas 44% of respondents supported the reelection of Bolsonaro.
Da Silva had an 80% approval rating when he previously left office in 2010; however, during the recession that succeeded his presidency, he was arrested after being charged with accepting a condo and home improvements from companies vying for government contracts.
Da Silva spent almost 18 months in jail before his convictions were nullified by the Supreme Court. The high court ultimately determined that the judge ruling his case was biased – allowing da Silva to run again for the presidency.
Troubles Ahead of Final Tally
According to several reports circulating on social media, federal highway agents were stopping vehicles and questioning occupants in several states across Brazil in an effort to suppress voter turnout for Sunday’s election. These stops violated orders made by election officials on Saturday to halt any traffic stops that could prevent people from making it to the polls.
The federal highway police has been asked by Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice who heads Brazil’s election agency, to provide proof that his officers were not violating election rules to benefit Bolsonaro. According to a federal highway officer with access to internal data, the highway police had stopped over 550 buses across the country by Sunday afternoon – a considerable amount more than those stopped during the first round of voting on Oct. 2, when they stopped nearly 300 buses.
A PRF está fazendo Blitz na entrada de Cuité, Paraíba. Um absurdo enorme!! Já está afugentando a população da zona rural!! Alguém precisa fazer alguma coisa!! O povo não vem votar! @TSEjusbrpic.twitter.com/JwgrPGaynq
Highway Police Chief Silvinei Vasques was seen in a since-deleted Instagram “story” on Saturday urging people to vote for Bolsonaro, and has previously posted photographs of himself on the app standing next to Bolsonaro. Vasques responded to Morae’s order by refusing to cease Election Day traffic stops, citing the fact that Morae’s order didn’t apply to “all federal highway operations.”
Brasil 🇧🇷
Reportan que en distintos puntos retenes militares impidieron que ciudadanos acudieran a las urnas a emitir su sufragio.
As reported earlier by the New York Times, the traffic stops prevented people like Thomas Thaler, a 45-year-old computer programmer whose wife gave up on voting after the bus she was on was stopped by highway police on its way to Recife. Others were still able to make it to the polls, but had to take alternate routes after being questioned by officers.
In a statement to reporters, Moraes said that the investigation by election officials found that though the stops delayed the buses, they ultimately didn’t didn’t stop them from reaching their intended destinations – the polling stations. “We didn’t have any voters who didn’t vote because of the operations.”
The collapsed portion of an old suspension bridge over the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi district on October 30, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI
According to NDTV in India, the death toll has risen to 91 after a bridge collapsed in the Gujarat region. The news outlet also reported an official informing them that the suspension bridge allegedly opened four days ago after seven months of repairs, but lacked the official ‘fitness certificate’ from the municipal authorities.
Sandeepsinh Zala, the Chief Officer of Morbi Municipality told them: “The bridge was given to Oreva company for operation and maintenance for 15 years. In March this year, it was closed to the public for renovation. It reopened after renovation on the Gujarati New Year day celebrated on October 26”.
He added: “It was opened to the public after the completion of the renovation work. But the local municipality had not yet issued any fitness certificate after the renovation work”.
Sunday, October 30 at 5:05pm
At least 28 people are feared to have died by drowning this evening, Sunday, October 30, in the Gujarat region of western India when a pedestrian cable bridge suddenly snapped and collapsed. Around 400 people are thought to have been crossing the bridge at the moment it broke, plunging them into the waters below.
Initial reports online suggest that another 43 people have been injured, with at least 80 other people missing in the river. Video footage uploaded onto social media shows the horrific aftermath of the collapse in the Morbi district.
One video, taken some hours before the incident occurred, shows the bridge totally packed full of people trying to cross. According to one news source, the cable bridge had only recently reopened five days ago following renovation work.
#Breaking: Update - At least 28 people dead and over 43 people injured, at least 80 other people are missing after a pedestrian Cable bridge that broke up and had collapsed in a river in #Morbi, #Gujarat region in #India. pic.twitter.com/IT1jSwd9Dg
#Breaking: Update - Local news in #Morbi, #Gujarat region in #India, is now reporting of at least 50 people dead, 43 injured many other people missing possible drowned. after a pedestrian Cable bridge that broke up and had collapsed in the river. pic.twitter.com/OhBvRJ8AwG
The area has no electricity connection - a factor that is making the rescue operations further difficult. Mohan Kundariya, Member of Parliament from Rajkot, said more than 60 bodies have been fished out of the water so far. Reports from the local hospital state that the death toll has risen to 91, with many patients in critical condition.
The incident took place at 6.40 pm when dozens of people were on the bridge, known as Julto Pool (shaking bridge); the 230-metre-long (754 feet) colonial-era crossing was built during British rule of India in the 19th Century.
The bridge was owned by the Morbi municipality. However, the civic body had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Oreva Group, a private firm a few months ago, handing over its operations and maintenance for 15 years
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has announced compensation, has spoken to Gujarat Chief Minister and other officials regarding the accident
For Ahmedabad resident Vijay Goswami and his family members, it was a close shave as they had visited the suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi on Sunday afternoon, but returned halfway through the bridge out of fear after some youths from the crowd started shaking it.
A few hours later, their fears proved right when that bridge on the Machchhu river, a tourist attraction, collapsed around 6.30 pm, killing at least 90 people.
Mr Goswami said when he and his family were on the bridge, some youths started shaking the bridge intentionally, making it difficult for people to walk. He said since he felt this act could prove dangerous, he and family returned without proceeding further on the bridge. He said he even alerted the bridge staff about it, but they were indifferent.
The British-era bridge had reopened for the public just four days back after remaining shut for renovation work for seven months.
Goswami said he had gone to Morbi with family to enjoy the Diwali vacation.
"There was a huge crowd on the bridge. My family and I were on the bridge when some youths started shaking it intentionally. It was impossible for people to stand without holding any support. Since I had a feeling that it may prove dangerous, my family and I came back after covering some distance on the bridge," Mr Goswami told reporters after reaching Ahmedabad.
"There was a huge crowd on the bridge. My family and I were on the bridge when some youths started shaking it intentionally. It was impossible for people to stand without holding any support. Since I had a feeling that it may prove dangerous, my family and I came back after covering some distance on the bridge," Mr Goswami told reporters after reaching Ahmedabad.
"Before leaving the spot, I alerted the on-duty staff to stop people from shaking the bridge. However, they were only interested in selling tickets and told us that there is no system to control the crowd. Hours after we left, our fears turned true as the bridge eventually collapsed," he said.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has built a devoted base by defending conservative values and presenting himself as protecting the nation from leftist policies. [File: Adriano Machado/Reuters]
A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 19, 2022. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Weeks of protest in Iran entered a more violent phase as students defied an ultimatum by the Revolutionary Guards and were met with tear gas, beatings and gunfire from riot police and militia, social media videos showed.
The confrontations at dozens of universities prompted a threat of a tougher crackdown in the seventh week of demonstrations since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after she was arrested by the morality police for attire deemed inappropriate.
Iranians from all walks of life have been protesting since Amini's death.
What began as outrage over Amini's death on September 16 has evolved into one of the toughest challenges to clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution, with some protesters calling for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The top commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards told protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, the harshest warning yet by Iranian authorities.
Nevertheless, videos on social media, unverifiable by Reuters, showed confrontations between students and riot police and Basij forces on Sunday at universities all over Iran.
One video showed a member of Basij forces firing a gun at close range at students protesting at a branch of Azad University in Tehran. Gunshots were also heard in a video shared by rights group HENGAW from protests at the University of Kurdistan in Sanandaj.
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Videos from universities in some other cities also showed Basij forces opening fire at students.
Across the country, security forces tried to block students inside university buildings, firing tear gas and beating protesters with sticks. The students, who appeared to be unarmed, pushed back, with some chanting "dishonoured Basij get lost" and "Death to Khamenei".
Social media reported arrests of at least a dozen doctors, journalists and artists since Saturday.
The activist HRANA news agency said 283 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of Saturday including 44 minors. Some 34 members of the security forces were also killed.
More than 14,000 people have been arrested, including 253 students, in protests in 132 cities and towns, and 122 universities, it said.
The Guards and its affiliated Basij force have crushed dissent in the past. They said on Sunday, "seditionists" were insulting them at universities and in the streets, and warned they may use more force if the anti-government unrest continued.
"So far, Basijis have shown restraint and they have been patient," the head of the Revolutionary Guards in the Khorasan Junubi province, Brigadier General Mohammadreza Mahdavi, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
"But it will get out of our control if the situation continues."
Meanwhile, more than 300 Iranian journalists demanded the release of two colleagues jailed for their coverage of Amini in a statement published by the Iranian Etemad and other newspapers on Sunday.
Niloofar Hamedi took a photo of Amini's parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma.
The image, which Hamedi posted on Twitter, was the first signal to the world that all was not well with Amini, who had been detained three days earlier by Iran's morality police for what they deemed inappropriate dress.
Elaheh Mohammadi covered Amini's funeral in her Kurdish hometown Saqez, where the protests began. A joint statement released by Iran's intelligence ministry and the intelligence organisation of the Revolutionary Guards on Friday had accused Hamedi and Mohammadi of being CIA foreign agents.
The arrests match an official narrative that Iran's arch-enemy the United States, Israel and other Western powers and their local agents are behind the unrest and are determined to destabilise the country.
At least 40 journalists have been detained in the past six weeks, according to rights groups, and the number is growing.
Students and women have played a prominent role in the unrest, burning their veils as crowds call for the fall of the Islamic Republic, which came to power in 1979.
An official said on Sunday the establishment had no plan to retreat from compulsory veiling but should be "wise" about enforcement.
"Removing the veil is against our law and this headquarters will not retreat from its position," Ali Khanmohammadi, the spokesman of Iran's headquarters for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice told the Khabaronline website.
"However, our actions should be wise to avoid giving enemies a pretext to use it against us."
The apparent hint at compromise is unlikely to appease the protesters, most of whose demands have moved beyond dress code changes to calls for an end to clerical rule.
The Russian government has added 11 British Overseas Territories to its unfriendly countries list, the Russian Cabinet's website said on Sunday.
"Eleven more British Overseas Territories have been added to the list [of territories] that supported the sanctions imposed by the UK on Russia.
These are: Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Turks and Caicos Islands," the message says.
It is noted that originally the list included only three British-controlled territories: the island of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar. "Thus, all 14 British Overseas Territories are now included in the unfriendly countries list," the message reads.
Kremlin spokesman refrains from commenting on reports about talks on grain deal
Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has refrained from commenting reports that Russia and Turkey are negotiating the grain deal status, saying this matter is the competence of the foreign ministry.
"You’d better ask the foreign ministry," he said, when asked by TASS to comment on these reports.
Bloomberg said earlier in the day citing Turkish sources that Russia and Turkey were in talks on the grain deal status. According to the sources, the negotiations will last into Monday, October 31. They claim there are grounds for optimism, despite Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the deal.
The Russian defense ministry said on Saturday that following a terror attack committed by the Kiev regime "with participation of specialists from the United Kingdom against Russian Black Sea Fleet and civilian ships engaged to ensure security of the grain corridor, the Russian side is suspending its participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of food from Ukrainian ports."
Russian Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev said that Russia, including with Turkey’s participation, is ready to supply up to 500,000 tons of grain to the poorest countries in the next four months free of charge.
