Oknum warga yang menghadang atau setop logistik bantuan korban gempa Cianjur, Jawa Barat saat di Polres Cianjur, Rabu (22/11/2022) (HO/Kariadil Harefa/Serang.Suara.com)
Polisi telah mengamankan beberapa orang yang dalam sebuah video yang diunggah di media sosial sedang mencegat ambulans yang hendak mengantarkan bantuan untuk korban gempa di Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat.
Dari tayangan video tampak beberapa warga yang berdiri di sisi jalan dan menghentikan ambulans yang melintas.
Dalam video tersebut, tampak beberapa warga yang berdiri di sisi jalan dan menghentikan ambulans yang melintas.
Kita dijegat ya..orang orang ini minta bantuan diturunin disini Sementara kita Mau ke ujung ..orang orang ini brentiin semua mobil yang ada tanpa terkecuali ambulan Lokasi tidak jauh dari SMP Terbuka Cigunang Rancagoong. Hati hati buat semua relawan.. pic.twitter.com/YRBvXLblUw
Akun Twitter @kangjail yang mengunggah Video di Twitter menyebutkan bahwa, kejadian tersebut terjadi di Jalan Cugenang, Kabupaten Cianjur.
Polisi mengamankan mereka setelah relawan bernama Wahyu dengan tim melaporkan kejadian yang mereka alami.
Terimakasih atas gerak cepatnya aparat Kepolisian dari Polres Cianjur ya g langsung mengamankan para pembegal logistik. Ini nanti kasian ke warga yg menjadi korban yg benar benar membutuhkan. Gara gara ini kita jadi mundur dan berputar hingga 5 jam Baru sampe lokasi pic.twitter.com/LhOmGy3DHp
Menurut informasi dari relawan itu, peristiwa terjadi di dekat SMP Terbuka Cugenang, Rancagoong, tepatnya dekat dengan kantor Desa Padaluyu, Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Tengah.
Bantuan gempa buat warga Cianjur, Jawa Barat merupakan donasi Yayasan Rokers Pantura Care, kata Wahyu, Rabu, 23/11/2022.
"Mereka minta bantuan dalam mobil, dan mengaku belum dapat bantuan sama sekali," ucap Wahyu kepada Serang.suara.com.
Wahyu menerangkan lagi, saat mereka tiba di SMP 3 Terbuka Cigunang, semua desak agar menurukan logistik.
"Kami pun lihat tidak ada posko dan tidak ada kerusakan di daerah sekitar," sambungnya.
Kepala Bidang Hubungan Masyarakat (Kabid Humas) Kepolisian Daerah (Polda) Jawa Barat, Komisaris Besar Polisi (Kombes Pol) Ibrahim Tompo, telah mengonfirmasi peristiwa penghadangan ambulans tersebut.
Ibrahim pun mengatakan, saat ini pelaku telah diamankan oleh pihak kepolisian.
"Pelaku sudah diamankan, sekarang lagi diperiksa. Kita tunggu hasilnya," ujar Ibrahim.
Ketiga oknum warga yang menghadang mobil bantuan sosial untuk korban gempa Cianjur akhirnya mengakui bersalah di depan publik.
Masing-masing mereka adalah Fery Permana (tengah), Rosadi (kanan) dan Juhendi (kiri). Mereka kemudian di bawa ke Polres Cianjur untuk mempertanggungjawabkan perbuatan mereka.
Fery Permana mengaku bahwa perbuatan mereka tersebut salah. Ia juga mengurai, kejadian setop mobil bantuan tersebut terjadi di Kabandungan, Desa Padaluyu, Kecamatan Cugenang, Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat.
Kemudian dari aksi mereka telah meresahkan warga Cianjur yang saat ini di landa musibah.
"Maka dari itu kami meminta maaf sebesar-besarnya kepada masyaraat Cianjur yang resah atas perbuatan kami tersebut," kata Fery Permana, hari Rabu, 23/11/2022.
Ia memakili dari kedua temannya termasuk dirinya, tidak akan mengulangi perbuatan itu lagi.
"Dan kami mengakui perbuatan kami tersebut salah. Serta tidak akan mengulang perbuatan tersebut," katanya.
Oknum warga yang menghadang mobil bantuan berisi logistik bagi korban terdampak gempa bumi, untuk tidak mencontoh dan meniru perbuatan mereka.
"Kami mohon kepada warga Cianjur untuk tidak mencontoh perilaku kami," imbuhnya.
Europe is bracing for tough winter as US-led push to “punish” Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine backfired on the EU, which has faced months of skyrocketing energy prices and rising inflation after Brussels joined Washington in attempting to “phase out” Russian oil, coal and gas.
Nightmare Before Christmas: Analysts Forecast Little Holiday Cheer For UK Retail
UK consumers are reportedly limiting their holiday spending amidst high inflation and a looming recession. The FTSE 350 Retailers Index dropped 32% this year – the biggest fall since 2008.
Deutsche bank and JP Morgan analysts have predicted tough times ahead for British retail as consumers cut their spending this winter. The news comes on top of an already hard year for companies due to higher costs and supply-chain problems.
Christmas Eve is considered by analysts to be a time of “recovery trade”. However, this year the prospects of recovery are questionable at best. Research stresses that consumers are “overwhelmingly” planning to cut their costs: they will spend less not only on Christmas presents but also on social events and even food.
However, even in this situation, there will be winners: discounters like Tesco and B&M European Value Retail.
Similarly, not every forecast is that dismal. A NielsenIQ survey showed that 63% of households plan to keep their Christmas budget unchanged.
The British economy is facing inflation that runs at a four-decade high. The energy crisis in European countries, UK included, was exacerbated by western sanctions imposed against Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine, and the energy crisis pushed millions of European households to the brink of fuel poverty.
Dutch Police Arrest Over 200 Climate Activists Over Stunt at Schiphol Airport, Reports Say
Dutch law enforcers arrested more than 200 climate activists, including those who had stopped several private jets from departing from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport on Saturday, Dutch media reported, citing military police.
According to the Dutch law enforcers, the arrests were made in connection with the climate actions at the country's main airport that took place on Saturday.
"They have all committed a criminal offense," a spokesperson for the military police was quoted as saying by press.
"They have all committed a criminal offense," a spokesperson for the military police was quoted as saying by press.
The detainees are currently being processed, the spokesperson said, adding that their future will be determined by the Public Prosecution Service, according to the report.
On Saturday, around one hundred climate activists of Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion movements broke into Amsterdam's Schiphol airport and sat on the runway in front of the wheels of private jets to stop them from leaving. Another climate action took place at Schiphol Plaza, the shopping area of the airport, with demonstrators reportedly carrying signs that read "Restrict Aviation" and "More Trains."
Protesters Hold Rally Against Energy Policies in Kishinev, Moldova
Protests have been hitting the East European country over the past weeks, since Moldova is suffering from soaring gas prices and inflation. Some are demanding resignation of President Maia Sandu and early elections.
Sputnik is live from the Moldovan capital Kishinev, where demonstrators are staging a rally against President Maia Sandu’s government and criticizing her energy policies, as Europe's fuel crisis hasn't spared the nation of fewer than 2.6 million people.
Moldovans have been organizing rallies in Kishinev in recent months, with thousands hitting the streets and clashing with police, as the opposition demands the resolution of the energy issue through the negotiation of deliveries with Russia.
Why is There an Energy Crisis in Europe and is Russia to Blame?
European officials continue to debate Brussels’ push to introduce a price cap on natural gas, with Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark uniting in opposition to the idea amid Moscow’s warnings that Russia simply won’t sell energy to Europe if it’s not profitable.
Is Russia responsible for Europe’s energy crisis? The short answer is, “yes…and no.”
The European Commission begrudgingly conceded this week that it would be “impossible” to put a cap on gas prices for electricity generation purposes, or to create a regional "transaction price corridor" to try to bring down sky-high costs.
Europex, the bloc’s association of energy exchanges, has expressed “concern” over the price cap idea, warning that it could “lead to a deterioration of security of supply” and cause “risks to financial stability.”
As winter draws near, many of Europe’s politicians and officials continue to blame Russia for the crunch.
“We need to keep the social peace. We need to keep the economies up and running. We need to ensure that (Vladimir) Putin will not be able to basically create social unrest or insolvencies or the recession of the European economy because whatever we have invested so far (in Ukraine) will be gone,” Czech Energy Minister Jozef Sikela told UK media on Wednesday.
Is Putin to Blame for Europe’s Energy Crisis?
Using the Russian president as a scapegoat responsible for all of Europe’s energy woes has become a favorite pastime for European officials and media over the past eight months, with Putin accused of attempting to “choke Europe off” from Russia’s cheap and plentiful energy to put pressure on Brussels over its support for Ukraine.
Both in words and actions, Russian officials have on the contrary demonstrated annoyance with Brussels’ attempts to cut Europe off from Russian energy, reiterating Moscow’s willingness to turn on the taps of existing routes, and to create new ones.
In late September, for example, Putin accused the “Anglo-Saxons” of blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines and thus “embarking on the destruction of Europe’s entire energy infrastructure,” depriving the region of as much as 110 billion cubic meters of gas per year (about a quarter of the EU’s gas consumption in 2021). Before that, the Russian president repeatedly expressed Moscow’s willingness to turn on the taps in short order if the EU and the UK dropped sanctions preventing the pipelines’ maintenance and operations.
Along with Nord Stream, Gazprom operates the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline with its 33 billion cu3/year capacity, and Soyuz (26.1 billion cu3/year). The flow of Russian gas through Yamal-Europe was stopped this summer after Poland cut off flows and turned the pipeline on in reverse flow. Soyuz, which runs through Ukraine, has also seen flows drop, but not stop, thanks to the Russia-NATO proxy conflict in that country.
Consequently, the only Russian gas pipeline network through which flows have remained steady throughout the past eight months is TurkStream, a 31.5 billion cu3/year pipeline which runs along the bottom of the Black Sea to Turkey, and from there, on to Greece, the Balkans, and Southern and Central Europe.
Strawman Putin is so dastardly that Moscow and Ankara recently even announced talks on turning Turkey into a gas hub for additional deliveries to Europe. Politicians in Brussels and European media have yet to spin that story into another example of Russian efforts to "choke" the Europeans.
How is Russia Responsible for Europe’s Energy Crisis?
If Russia is somehow responsible for Europe’s energy crisis, it’s only by spending decades building pipeline, port, and other transmission infrastructure, and opening up the riches of Siberia to the Europeans and providing them with cheap and reliable gas, oil, coal, and electricity supplies for so long.
This past spring, as politicians rushed to “punish” Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine, European multinationals, recognizing that their prosperity and profits hinge on Russian energy, sounded the alarm about the prospects of being cut off from this cornucopia of prosperity which has allowed them to line their pockets for so long. In April, the CEO of German chemicals giant BASF warned that by cutting itself off from Russian gas, Berlin raised the specter of destroying “our entire economy with our eyes wide open” and sparking “the worst crisis for the German economy” since World War II.
Later in the year, leading German economic researchers and unions emphasized that Germany couldn’t simultaneously fill its gas reserves and continue to operate energy-intensive industries, and that the gas crisis threatened to bankrupt “entire branches of German industry.”
Putin warned Germany and other European countries about the folly of their ways back in May, characterizing EU sanctions on Russian energy as “suicidal” and emphasizing that the move would rob the bloc of its global economic competiveness and cause businesses to flee.
Later, the Russian president pointed out that Europe’s allies across the ocean were putting pressure on Brussels to sanction Nord Stream. “And why are the Americans pressuring the Europeans? Because they themselves want to sell them gas for three times the price,” Putin said.
Russia's ’s warnings came to pass, with hundreds of European manufacturers, including steel and chemical makers, car manufacturers, pharmaceutical and food companies shifting operations to the US, where energy is cheaper, thereby threatening the EU with deindustrialization, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
At least some of Europe’s leaders appear to have caught on to America’s strategy. Last month, in a rare break with Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron blasted the US for selling gas to European countries at prices several times above domestic US rates. “Their costs of energy are so much lower as they are producers. They sell their gas for 3-4 times less than we have to pay, and they have also great subsidies from the state in some areas, up to 90 percent. That is unfair. These are double standards,” Macron complained.
Late last month, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol nevertheless expressed certainty that Russia would “lose the energy battle” with the West, and wouldn’t be able to replace lost European oil and gas markets, which have been “lost...forever,” with alternative buyers.
Just who's going to “lose” what remains to be seen. Russia produces roughly 10 percent of the world’s oil, about 14 percent of the world’s gas, accounts for about 18 percent of global coal exports, and about 2.2 percent of electricity exports. In a tight energy market in which prices are high and availability is limited (thanks in part to OPEC+’s recent decision to cut crude production), Russia will remain the elephant in the room that Europe won’t be able to ignore – if the Europeans want to preserve at least a shred of their erstwhile global economic competitiveness, that is.
When Did the European Energy Crisis Begin?
Contrary to what politicians and pundits with the memory of gold fish might tell you, Europe’s energy crisis didn’t actually start this year. Global energy prices really began to creep up in the fall and winter of 2021. The price hike has been attributed to a broad range of factors, including growing energy demand, rising competition for a shrinking pool of supply between Europe and Asia, unusually cool weather, countries’ failure to stock up on natural gas in the summer months, over-dependence on spot market prices, and poorer-than-expected returns on investment in alternative energy sources such as wind as solar power, which have been pushed heavily by the World Economic Forum’s “green transition” initiatives.
Earlier this year, Putin pointed out that in the West, capital investments in the traditional energy sector have stagnated for many years in favor of alternative sources. “They are big specialists in non-traditional relations. So they decided to put a premium on non-traditional energy in the field of energy – solar and wind energy. It turned out to be a long winter. There was no wind. That’s it,” the Russian president quipped.
The conflict in Ukraine is unlikely to exacerbate in the coming days or weeks, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin said in an interview to BBC.
"I do not envisage that in the coming weeks or days we will have serious events on the ground," the ambassador said, adding that the situation in Ukraine currently appears to be "more stabilized," allowing Russian forces to regroup.
The ambassador stressed the "need to end the fight that started not now, not in February, but a few years ago, in 2014."
When asked about the possibility of using Russian tactical weapons in Ukraine, the ambassador ruled out this scenario.
"There is no intention. It is not a situation when nuclear weapons can be used at all," he said. "I do believe there is no possibility that we can come to implement tactical nuclear weapons.".
Moscow, Kiev not engaged in informal talks
Russia is not engaging in any kind of informal talks with Ukraine due to the ‘stubborn’ attitude of the Kiev government, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin said in an interview to BBC.
"Informal negotiations are not going on, because Kiev is very stubborn, Kiev has an illusion that it can win this war. It is pure illusion, it is not possible, but Kiev can not reject having weapons and money from the West. This is a problem," Kelin said.
"Every conflict, every war end at the table of negotiations," the diplomat added.
The ambassador went on to say that Moscow and Kiev were close to signing a peace agreement in April, but the Ukrainian government "decided differently" after receiving weapons from the United States.
He called upon Western countries to stop supplying the Kiev government with weapons, because Ukraine has already lost "quite a lot of territory, of its economic potential, of its agriculture and so on."
"Right now, its human potential is exhausting, and the West do not think about the human potential of Ukraine. We will have a black hole in the place of Ukraine that has no economy, no its own money and even no its own people," Kelin said.
Pemerintah Kabupaten Cianjur mengeluarkan Surat Keputusan Status Tanggap Darurat Bencana Gempa Bumi di selama 30 hari (Antara)
Keputusan pemberlakuan tanggap darurat bencana alam gempa bumi dikeluarkan oleh Bupati Cianjur, Herman Suherman. Selama 30 hari, wilayah Kabupaten Cianjur akan berstatus darurat tanggap bencana gempa bumi.
Surat pernyataan tanggap darurat bernomor 360/8717/BPBD/2022 dan berlaku sejak gempa terjadi Senin 21 November 2022 hingga jangka waktu 30 hari ke depan.
Penetapan status tanggap darurat bencana didasarkan informasi BMKG tanggal 21 November 2022 pukul 13.21 WIB.
Gempa bumi berkekuatan 5,6 SR dengan pusat gempa berada di 10 km Barat Daya Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat, Lintang : 6.84 LS Bujur : 107.05 BT Kedalaman 10 km, Lokasi : 10 km Barat Daya Kabupaten Cianjur, 15 km Timur Laut Kota Sukabumi, 39 km Tenggara Kota Bogor, 63 km Barat Laut Bandung, 78 km Tenggara Jakarta dan tidak berpotensi Tsunami.
"Melihat kepada hal-hal tersebut di atas dengan ini menyatakan jika status tanggap darurat ini berlaku di Kabupaten Cianjur. Berlaku selama tiga puluh hari, sejak tanggal 21 November sampai dengan 20 Desember 2022," ujar Herman Suherman,.
Namun jika diperlukan, status tanggap darurat dapat diperpanjang sesuai situasi dan kondisi di lapangan.
Sementara itu, Gubernur Jawa Barat, Ridwan Kamil mengikuti rapat koordinasi penanganan gempa bumi Cianjur yang dipimpin Menteri Koordinator Bidang Pembangunan Manusia dan Kebudayaan Muhadjir Effendy di Pendopo Cianjur, Selasa 22 November 2022.
Rakor juga dihadiri Kepala BNPB, Kepala Basarnas, Kepala BMKG, Bupati Cianjur, dan pihak terkait lainnya.
Menko PMK dalam keterangan persnya mengatakan, di masa tanggap darurat pencarian terhadap korban yang diduga masih tertimbun bangunan akan dipercepat.
"Mengenai masa darurat itu akan ditangani secepat mungkin karena semakin cepat, semakin baik, sehingga memperpendek penderitaan para korban," ujarnya.
"Yaitu penanganan tanggap bencana yang mengutamakan pada korban, baik korban hidup, korban meninggal, maupun korban luka-luka, baik ringan maupun berat," kata dia.
Pada saat yang bersamaan, kata Muhadjir, akan dilakukan pendataan untuk menyiapkan tahap rehabilitasi dan rekonstruksi baik yang mengalami kerusakan ringan, berat, maupun fatal.
Setelah itu pemerintah akan membangun kembali rumah warga yang rusak. "Nanti begitu selesai tahap tanggap darurat kita langsung bisa masuk ke tahap rehabilitasi dan rekonstruksi," ucapnya.
Sementara terkait jalan yang tak bisa dilewati karena terimbun material longsor, pemerintah menargetkan hari ini juga akan diselesaikan agar lalu lintas kembali normal.
"Dari Pak Kapolda sudah janji untuk jalan nasional itu tiga setengah jam mulai dari jam sekarang termasuk jalur kabupaten nanti kita usahakan juga ditangani secara simultan," ujarnya.
Kemudian untuk jembatan yang putus, untuk sementara akan dibangun jembatan darurat oleh Kementerian PUPR. Adapun yang menjadi prioritas penanganan adalah membongkar atau menggali timbunan-timbunan yang kemungkinan ada korban.
"Tadi dari Pak Basarnas sudah menyanggupi hari ini nanti timbunan-timbunan yang diduga kuat ada korban, terutama korban hidup, itu akan diselesaikan hari ini," kata Muhadjir.
Usai Rakor, Menko PMK, Gubernur Jabar dan pihak terkait lainnya langsung meninjau proses evakuasi korban di Kecamatan Cugenang yang merupakan wilayah terparah terdampak gempa bumi.
The outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro filed a complaint Tuesday with the electoral court claiming that the result of the recent presidential election was invalid on account of "malfunctioning" ballot boxes
President Jair Bolsonaro’s party is questioning the result of Brazil’s runoff election, seeking to annul votes that gave leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a tight victory on Oct. 30.
The outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro filed a complaint Tuesday with the electoral court claiming the result of the recent presidential election was invalid on account of "malfunctioning" ballot boxes.
The filing claimed that ballot box models UE2009, UE2010, UE2011, UE2013 and UE2015 were reported to have been "malfunctioning" during Election Day. In total, the claim alleges that over 350,000 votes registered by the specified ballot boxes were invalid.
It's worth noting that the amount of ballots being refuted by the Bolsonaro camp would effectively give him the winning ticket for the October runoff election.
Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party claimed on Tuesday that older models of Brazil’s electronic ballots had problems that make it impossible to properly identify the machines, and requested that votes cast through them be annulled. If only new models of the machines are deemed reliable, the conservative president would be reelected with 51.05% of the votes, the party said.
Alexandre de Moraes, the lead justice of the electoral court, has ordered Bolsonaro and company to submit its full account for both election rounds within the next 24 hours, noting that the complaint would be vacated if the deadline was not met.
Bolsonaro, 67, was first elected as president of Brazil in 2019 after leaving the Social Liberal Party of Brazil but not before he converted it into a nationalist, economically liberal, and socially conservative party. His second presidential bid came to an end after being bested by President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 76, who was president of Brazil from 2003 until 2010, and is a member of, as well as the former president of the Worker's Party (PT).
Lula's win against Bolsonaro was slim, with Bolsonaro winning 49% of the votes (58.2 million) compared to Lula's 50.9% (60.3 million).
The electoral court replied by saying that the same machines were used in both rounds of election. Therefore, the allegations will only be considered if the first round of the vote is also reviewed, the court’s president, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, wrote in his decision.
He gave 24 hours for the Liberal Party to decide how to proceed. His ruling puts the Liberal Party in a tough spot because a move to question first-round results would likely affect the election of many of its members in congress.
Brazilian assets extended losses after the announcement, hitting daily lows. The real fell as much as 1.6%, while stocks dropped 1.4% as of 4:37 p.m. in Sao Paulo.
“The biggest post-election risk was that results would be contested,” Tiago Cunha, a money manager at Ace Capital, said. “That had faded, but it’s now back.”
Pembangunan Jembatan Otista Bogor di Jalan Otto Iskandardinata, Kecamatan Bogor Tengah, Kota Bogor akan dilakukan awal 2023.
Pembangunan Jembatan Otista Bogor di Jalan Otto Iskandardinata, Kecamatan Bogor Tengah, Kota Bogor akan dilakukan awal 2023.
Selama sembilan ke depan pembangunan Jembatan Otista Bogor, jalan sekitanya terpaksa ditutup.
Rencananya penutupan sendiri akan dilakukan selama 9 bulan, dimulai April sampai akhir Desember 2023.
“Jadi Insya Allah Desember ini kita akan mulai proses pembangunan Jembatan Otista Bogor. Desember akan dibuka lelang untuk MK, konsultan manajemen konstruksi selama dua bulan sampai Januari,” kata Wali Kota Bogor, Bima Arya usai meninjau Jembatan Otista Bogor, pada hari Selasa, 22/11/2022.
“Setelah itu akan dilakukan review untuk desain selama satu bulan, sampai Februari. Baru kemudian Februari akhir kita akan mulai lelang untuk konstruksinya. Selama satu bulan targetnya. Jadi ditargetkan April idealnya, awal, untuk groundbreaking Jembatan Otista ini,” sambungnya.
Menurut Bima Arya, dalam waktu dekat ini pihaknya juga akan berkoordinasi dengan pihak kepolisian hingga Dishub Kota Bogor, untuk melakukan mengkondisikan lalu lintas yang biasa melintas jalur itu.
Mengingat, imbas pembangunan Jembatan Otista Bogor yang menelan anggaran Rp52 miliar dari bantuan Pemprov Jabar ini, Jalan Otista kemungkinan besar akan ditutup total selama pengerjaan, dengan tujuan mengejar waktu pembangunan selesai sesuai dengan target yang sudah ditentukan.
“Karena ini bukan multi years atau tahun jamak, ini tahun anggaran di 2023 harus selesai. Artinya kita perhitungkan, kalau April sudah bisa groundbreaking, maka dalam waktu 9 bulan ini akan targetnya selesai di Desember 2023,” ucap Bima Arya.
“Prosesnya semua sudah siap, lahan sudah dibebaskan, sudah juga tercatat di aset kita, dan proses pemberkasan untuk lelang manajemen konstruksinya juga sudah siap oleh PUPR. Saya akan betul-betul awasi, pelototi semua tahapannya, supaya tepat waktu dan tidak gagal lelang,” lanjutnya.
Pada kesempatan ini, Bima Arya juga mengimbau untuk warga Bogor termasuk warga Jakarta dan sekitarnya yang hendak mengunjungi dan berkegiatan di Bogor, bahwa akan ada rekayasa lalulintas selama sekitar 9-10 bulan imbas pembangunan Jembatan Otista Bogor.
“Jadi jalur ini tidak akan bisa dilewati total. Dan ini imbauan untuk warga Bogor, sudah pasti akan ada dampaknya bagi aktivitas warga,” imbuh Bima Arya.
“Saya minta camat lurah untuk melakukan sosialisasi kepada warga dari sekarang. Karena akan ada penyesuaian aktivitas selama 9-10 bulan. Termasuk tentunya akan ada aktivitas ekonomi yang terdampak di Jalan Otista dan Suryakencana ini,” lanjutnya.
Disinggung apakah rencana penutupan Jalan Otista ini sudah dikoordinasikan dengan pihak Istana Kepresidenan Bogor, Bima Arya mengaku akan berkoordinasi dengan pihak Istana Kepresidenan Bogor untuk jalur keluar masuk bagi Presiden.
“Segera dalam beberapa hari ke depan kita akan koordinasi intens dengan kepolisian dan pihak Istana Kepresidenan Bogor terkait rekayasa lalu lintas rencana pembangunan Jembatan Otista Bogor,” tandasnya.
The British government is failing Ukrainian refugees with the Homes for Ukraine scheme now risking collapse, according to the UK press. However, the UK is not the only western country that has failed to deliver on its generous promises to Ukrainian asylum seekers while flooding Kiev with weapons.
The UK's 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme was drawn up with a six-month time limit, meaning that many Ukrainians who flee their country amid the Russian special military operation will be left without any support soon.
British media has revealed that by mid-October, roughly a third of the displaced Ukrainian families in the country saw their hosting arrangements collapsing. Even though some British local authorities recognized the problem and provided deposits and the first month’s rent for displaced Ukrainians, others offered no assistance of any kind.
The program – which housed over 100,000 Ukrainian nationals in the UK so far – has hit several bumps since it was inaugurated on March 14. UK-based refugee charity Positive Action in Housing raised the alarm as early as March 27, arguing that the government's guidelines were confusing and provided Ukrainians with "false hope."
The newcomers had problems getting visas, while hundreds of families were left homeless in England after arriving despite being promised a place to live. With Ukrainian children being promised school places in the UK, many Ukrainian families waited for months for this to come through, being time and again denied entry to local educational institutions.
The Ukraine Family scheme, kicked off by the British government for Ukrainian refugees and their families who have a family connection in the UK, could not boast much success either: a total of 1,915 Ukrainian households from both programs have become homeless between February and September 2022.
The British media blames the hurdles on inadequate government funding, an inconsistent approach to accommodate Ukrainians at local levels, bureaucratic red tape, and the unfolding cost-of-living crisis in the UK.
In August 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 21% of sponsors of the Homes for Ukraine program had complained that soaring inflation and the rising cost of living affected their ability to provide support for the scheme "quite a lot."
Meanwhile, the UK press reported in mid-November that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is considering reducing funding for the Homes for Ukraine scheme as inflation increases. The Consumer Prices Index - including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) - jumped by 9.6% in the 12 months to October 2022, up from 8.8% in September 2022.
European Union
Not everything is rosy in the garden of the EU's Ukraine refugee programs either.
As of November 15, roughly 7.8 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe with 4.7 million registering for EU Temporary Protection or similar national schemes, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The EU’s Temporary Protection program for Ukrainian refugees ensures the right to work, health, education, shelter, and financial support for up to three years. However, the western mainstream press acknowledges that the scheme has been far from a "golden ticket": many Ukrainian refugees had to move from place to place to secure employment, often to no avail.
While Germany accommodated nearly one million Ukrainians between February and September, less than 10% of them have found jobs, according to the Federal Employment Agency. Likewise, Spain has taken in 142,000 Ukrainians under temporary protection, according to official figures, but only 13% of 90,000 Ukrainian refugees of working age have got jobs so far. The latest UNHCR survey conducted in 43 host nations, most of which are in Europe, indicated that just 28% of refugees were employed or self-employed. It has turned out that the fit between skill levels and jobs is highly problematic, while language requirements often become the major barrier.
Schooling, child care and jobs for caretakers, as well as missing documents, housing, and human trafficking, are among other challenges faced by newcomers, according to observers.
To cap it off, refugee fatigue has slowly started to engulf European populations amid galloping inflation and looming recession: volunteer help and donations have been on decline in Poland, Germany, the UK and elsewhere in Europe over the past months, western mainstream press admits.
Canada
Meanwhile, across the pond in Canada, Ukrainians have also found themselves on the horns of a dilemma. In March, the Canadian federal government unveiled a special program called Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET), which fast-tracks immigration for Ukrainians.
However, Ottawa made it clear that the newcomers are not "refugees." Ukrainians coming in through the Canadian scheme are considered "temporary residents" who may work and study in the country for three years. However, unlike people with refugee status, they are neither offered permanent residency when they land nor social assistance (in some provinces). Moreover, Ukrainian "temporary residents" would have to pay international students fees if they want to get a higher education in Canada.
Initially, Ukrainian newcomers did not even have any settlement support, which is typically provided to refugees by Ottawa. However, the program was later adjusted to provide a one-time package of $3,000 for adults and $1,500 per child under 18.
According to the Canadian media, the scheme has prompted confusion. However, Aidan Strickland, press secretary for the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, told press that it was the Ukrainian community who wanted "a temporary solution." Meanwhile, Ukrainians are complaining to the Canadian local press that they cannot make ends meet in the country: the cost of housing is proving to be one of the top issues for the newcomers, and it's very hard to get a job.
The Canadian government website says that 689,854 CUAET applications were received between March 17 and November 15 with 420,196 applications being approved.
United States
The US has taken fewer Ukrainian refugees (100,000) than any of the aforementioned blocs and – like its western peers – Washington is inclined to provide shelter to the newcomers from the Eastern European state on a temporary basis with no path for future citizenship.
Earlier this year, the US federal government opened the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program to Ukrainian nationals, which is valid for 18 months. According to the US government website, TPS is "a temporary benefit" that "does not lead to lawful permanent resident status or give any other immigration status."
In addition, the Biden administration kicked off the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program on April 21, allowing Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the US via "private sponsorship" for an initial but renewable period of two years.
The program requires a US-based sponsor to provide them with financial support during their stay in the country. Moreover, unlike the US Department of State’s Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), the U4U does not provide Ukrainians with a pathway to citizenship, work authorization, or any possibility to reunite family members who remain abroad, let alone access to healthcare or other access to safety net programs.
Judging from the small number of Ukrainian refugees who have been accommodated in the US so far, it's not an easy task for them to settle in the country. Indeed, some US immigration attorneys complain that the programs announced by the Biden administration have not provided any efficient solutions for Ukrainian refugees and keep them under stress that they will have nowhere to go once their temporary status expires.
Nevertheless, the US and allies appear to be more than eager to provide Ukrainians with billions worth of lethal weapons rather than shelter, jobs and social benefits.
The US, EU, UK and several other countries have generously committed a total of €41.5 billion in weapons to Kiev – which includes artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank arms, armored vehicles, reconnaissance and attack drones, helicopters, etc. – between January and October 2022, according to the Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Given this, one might wonder whether the collective West is more interested in turning Ukrainians into cannon fodder than potential citizens.
