Hari Jumat, 28/04/2023, 385 WNI dari Sudan telah tiba di Asrama Haji, Pondok Gede. Mereka akan diinapkan sementara di Asrama Haji.
Mereka diantar menggunakan bus TransJakarta setelah mendarat di Bandara Soekarno Hatta, Cengkareng, Tangerang sejak pukul 05.46 WIB.
Asisten Deputi Kedaruratan Manajemen Pasca Bencana, Nelwan Harahap mengatakan dari ratusan WNI delapan di antaranya sakit di perjalanan.
"Delapan orang dalam kondisi sakit dan sekarang masih dilakukan asesmen. Insya Allah nanti kalau perlu ditindaklanjuti sakitnya bisa kita rujukkan segera ke Rumah Sakit Haji Jakarta," kata Nelwan di Asrama Haji, hari Jumat, 28/04/2023.
Menurutnya, sakit yang diderita WNI tersebut terjadi bukan karena dampak dari perang militer di Sudan.
Hal itu akibat perjalanan panjang yang ditempuh dari Khartoum ke Port Sudan dengan jarak tempuh 16 jam lebih.
"Jadi bisa dibayangkan ke Port Sudan itu sudah 16 jam lalu ke Jeddah perjalanan 18 jam kemudian menunggu lagi untuk diterbangkan ke Jakarta," tuturnya.
Namun, Nelwan memastikan pemerintah Indonesia sudah siap dalam mengevakuasi seluruh WNI dari Sudan.
Pantauan Tribunnews, sejumlah WNI dari Sudan dinaikkan ke ranjang IGD untuk mendapatkan penanganan medis.
WNI yang sakit sebagian lagi dinaikkan ke kursi roda.
Menteri Luar Negeri (Menlu) Retno Marsudi mengatakan para WNI akan diinapkan sementara di Asrama Haji Pondok Gede sebelum dipulangkan ke daerah masing-masing.
Hal ini mengingat perjalanan evakuasi sangat panjang dan melelahkan.
"Ini adalah ketibaan tahap pertama di tanah air WNI yang dievakuasi dari Sudan melalui Jeddah," kata Retno pada konferensi pers terkait ketibaan WNI evakuasi dari Sudan, hari Jumat, 28/04/2023.
Para WNI yang tiba terdiri dari 248 perempuan dan 137 laki-laki, dan diantara mereka terdapat 43 anak-anak.
Menlu RI berujar Kemenko PMK dan K/L terkait telah menyiapkan layanan mulai pemeriksaan kesehatan hingga layanan konseling.
Sedangkan Kementerian Sosial, Kementerian Dalam Negeri dan Pemda terkait akan memfasilitasi kepulangan ke daerah masing-masing.
"Evakuasi kita kali ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan pola evakuasi secara estafet, dimulai evakuasi jalan darat dari Khartoum ke Port Sudan. Kemudian dari Port Sudan ke Jeddah baik via laut maupun via udara, dan selanjutnya dipulangkan secara bertahap ke Indonesia," kata Retno.
The Indian capital of New Delhi hosts a regular defense ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states on Friday to discuss regional and global security threats.
The conflict in Ukraine confirms the focus of Washington and its allies on provoking other countries to a military confrontation with Moscow and Beijing, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday at a regular defense ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states.
"Today, Washington and its accomplices are implementing their strategic plan, which consists in provoking other countries into a military confrontation with ... primarily with Russia and China. A clear confirmation of such a criminal policy is the conflict in Ukraine. Its true goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, threaten China and maintain its monopoly position in the world," Shoigu said.
The United States seeks to reformat the system of interstate relations by creating controlled regional alliances, using blackmail and threats, the minister added.
On Ukraine Conflict
The west's real aim in the Ukraine conflict is to strategically defeat Russia, threaten China and maintain a monopoly position in the world, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
The combat capabilities of almost all North Atlantic Alliance countries have been deployed against Russia with the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, Sergei Shoigu said.
"The West demonstrated its advance preparation for a confrontation with the Russian Federation. Large-scale sanctions were immediately imposed against Russia, arms supplies to Ukraine, intelligence supplies, military advisers and mercenaries were organized," Shoigu said.
On US Biolabs
The Pentagon's bioweapons programs in Ukraine are aimed at developing biological weapons components, Shoigu said, noting that US activities to transfer the most dangerous research to third countries continue.
"In the example of Ukraine, we see the dual purpose of these programs and their actual focus on developing biological weapons components, which is in direct violation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention," Shoigu added.
On Growing Militarization of Asia-Pacific Region
According to Sergei Shoigu, Washington and its allies are most actively opposing the formation of a multipolar world in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The West's opposition to strengthening multipolarity is most active in the Asia-Pacific region, where the US has initiated the breakdown of the existing ASEAN-based system of regional cooperation," Shoigu stressed.
He said this started with the creation of politico-military blocs such as QUAD and AUKUS.
Russia is increasing the combat readiness of its bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan amid attempts by the United States and its allies to restore its military presence in Central Asia, Shoigu said.
"For our part, we are increasing the combat readiness of Russian military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as other response forces to possible challenges," Shoigu said.
Under the pretext of assistance in the fight against terrorism, the United States and its allies are trying to restore their military presence in Central Asia, the minister said, adding that Moscow sees their requests to the countries of the region to deploy military infrastructure as "a direct threat to stability in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) space."
Drone piloting should be taught in schools – Putin
President Vladimir Putin has called unmanned aviation a field of “critical importance” for Russia’s economic development and technological sovereignty, adding that young people who are interested in designing and operating drones should be encouraged and given opportunities as part of their early education.
The expansion of Russia’s civilian drone industry could open up “fundamentally new possibilities” across a variety of other sectors, but will require a large number of highly qualified and motivated specialists, Putin said at a meeting with top officials and industry experts on Thursday.
It is “necessary to include training courses and modules on the operation of unmanned systems in educational programs” in fields from agriculture and construction to energy and transport.
“I fully support the proposals… for children to be able to learn to control, assemble, and design drones in school,” he said, noting that this “interesting and useful” pastime will also serve as an “early career guidance that will ultimately benefit the country.”
Earlier on Thursday, the president toured the Rudnevo industrial park in Moscow, commending it as an exemplary drone hub and manufacturing cluster. He later spent over an hour in a separate meeting, discussing key goals and obstacles for the industry.
“The country is interested in your success. And we will try to do anything we can to make this success a reality,” Putin told a group of over two dozen representatives of drone manufacturers and operators. He said that with proper government support, Russia’s civilian UAV industry could easily exceed the conservative estimates and reach 1 trillion rubles ($12.2 billion).
Russian state and private companies are increasingly using various types of drones to monitor critical infrastructure, facilities, pipeline systems, and power lines, but the industry “has not yet been functioning as a system,” First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov said. The Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviation, was tasked with “drastically” revamping its outdated regulations and lifting unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.
Russia’s current drone market is estimated at around 32,000 units annually, excluding micro-UAVs which weigh less than 1 kilogram, according to Belousov. Around 20,000 of them are imported, while the rest are manufactured locally, but mostly with foreign-made components. By 2030, domestic production should cover around 70% of Russia’s needs, according to a national UAV development strategy set to be finalized by July 1.
Thai police have widened their investigation into a woman accused of a spate of cyanide poisoning murders, with officers on Thursday raising the number of victims to 13 and charging her with premeditated murder.
Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, who is married to a senior police officer, was arrested on Tuesday over nine alleged murders which took place over several years.
Thai police have arrested a woman suspected of murdering over a dozen people with cyanide.
Thirty-six-year-old Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn was taken into custody on Wednesday and refused bail.
Police say the victims were either known as friends or were closer to her and that evidence so far suggests there may be 13 victims.
She has denied all allegations.
"We have evidence to link her to the evidence (cyanide). Therefore, it doesn't matter if we found the evidence on her or not. The evidence that we got was quite clear on whether the cyanides were linked to the suspect."
Sararat became a suspect following the suspicious death on April 14 of one of her friends after they had been traveling together, local media reported.
A full autopsy report indicated the victim’s body had traces of cyanide, police say.
Since then, families of earlier victims have come forward, suggesting the deaths of their loved ones were also suspicious.
Officers have also expanded the geographic area they are investigating to five provinces, most to the west of Bangkok.
Officers found a substance at the woman's home that authorities believe to be cyanide, and suspect she poisoned the victims' food and drink.
Following routine health checks in prison, the Department of Corrections confirmed Thursday that Sararat is four months pregnant and experiencing stress, blurry eyes and headaches.
Investigators have interviewed her police officer husband and other witnesses.
Police described how a fourteenth person narrowly escaped death after vomiting up poisoned food.
The suspect lured her latest victim into eating a herb, and around 20 minutes later she collapsed, Surachate said.
He urged the public to contact police with any information about other potential cases.
Police initially suspected the woman of murdering a friend in Ratchaburi province, west of Bangkok, about two weeks ago.
Local media said the victim collapsed on the bank of the Mae Klong River after releasing fish as part of a Buddhist ritual.
After questioning the suspect, investigators linked her to other cyanide poisoning cases.
People shop daily necessities at a market in Tokyo, Japan March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Androniki Christodoulou/File Photo
Core consumer inflation in Japan's capital beat expectations in April and an index stripping away fuel costs rose at the fastest pace in four decades, highlighting the challenge the new central bank chief faces in keeping ultra-low interest rates.
The data comes hours before the Bank of Japan's policy meeting that concludes on Friday, where the board is likely to produce new inflation forecasts that could offer clues on how soon the central bank could phase out its massive stimulus.
The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, for Tokyo rose 3.5% in April from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, faster than a median market for a 3.2% rise and well above the BOJ's 2% target. It accelerated from a 3.2% increase in March.
The core-core CPI, which strips away both fresh food and fuel costs, rose 3.8% in April from a year earlier, pacing up from a 3.4% gain in March, the data showed.
The core-core index, which is closely watched by the BOJ in gauging trend inflation, rose at the fastest annual pace since April 1982, when it rose 4.2%.
The rise in the Tokyo's inflation, which is seen as a leading indicator of nationwide trends, may cast doubt on the BOJ's view that the recent cost-driven price rises are temporary, some analysts say.
Separate data released on Friday showed Japan's factory output rose 0.8% in March from the previous month, exceeding market forecasts for a 0.5% gain.
Manufacturers surveyed by the government expect industrial production to rise 4.1% in April and by 2.0% in May, a sign auto output is recovering from disruptions caused by supply constraints.
Japan's economy is finally recovering from the scars of the COVID-19 pandemic, though risks of a global slowdown and rising food prices hang over the outlook for exports and consumption.
With inflation already exceeding its target, markets are rife with speculation the BOJ could soon phase out ultra-loose monetary policy under new governor Kazuo Ueda.
Markets, however, widely expect the BOJ to keep monetary settings unchanged at Friday's policy meeting as it awaits more clarity on whether recent wage increases will become durable enough to keep inflation sustainably around its target.
Koalisi Indonesia Bersatu (KIB) diduga terpecah setelah Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) ikut mengusung Gubernur Jawa Tengah Ganjar Pranowo sebagai calon presiden (capres).
Saat ini PPP menjadi partai politik (parpol) ketiga yang mendukung Ganjar untuk maju dalam Pemilihan Presiden (Pilpres) 2024 selain PDI-P dan Partai Hati Nurani Rakyat (Hanura).
Sikap itu dianggap berbeda dengan keinginan Partai Golkar yang terus menunjukan kedekatan dengan Partai Gerindra, serta Ketua Umum Prabowo Subianto.
Hal itu diakui oleh Juru Bicara Partai Golkar Tantowi Yahya mengakui KIB mengalami ujian setelah Ganjar mendapatkan dukungan sebagai kandidat RI-1 dalam kontestasi elektoral mendatang.
Ia menduga PPP dan PAN sangat mungkin angkat kaki dari KIB.
“Sikap PAN dan PPP yang bisa saja bermuara pada lepasnya mereka dari koalisi adalah tantangan yang sudah diantisipasi," sebut Tantowi, pada hari Rabu, 26/04/2023.
Dugaan tersebut sangat terjadi mengingat PAN juga pernah menyiratkan keinginan untuk memasangkan Ganjar dengan Menteri Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) Erick Thohir.
Kemudian, dugaan gangguan soliditas di tubuh KIB kembali dihembuskan oleh salah satu Ketua DPP Partai Golkar Lamhot Sinaga.
Beberapa jam jelang pertemuan antara Ketua Umum Partai Golkar Airlangga Hartarto, Ketua Umum PAN Zulkifli Hasan, serta Pelaksana Tugas (Plt) Ketua Umum PPP Muhamad Mardiono, Lamhot menuding PPP sudah angkat kaki dari KIB.
Ia bahkan mengatakan bahwa Airlangga dan Zulhas malah akan melakukan pertemuan dengan Prabowo untuk membahas pembentukan koalisi besar. Pertemuan itu, lanjut Lamhot, tak akan diikuti oleh Mardiono.
“Ya enggak mungkin ada. PPP kan sudah meninggalkan KIB,” ujar Lamhot dihubungi wartawan, hari Kamis, 27/04/2023.
Airlangga ibaratkan KIB sebagai keluarga
Pertemuan antara ketiga ketua umum parpol anggota KIB dihelat di rumah dinas Airlangga di Kompleks Kementerian, Widya Chandra, Jakarta Selatan, Kamis pukul 20.30 WIB.
Meski tiba paling akhir, Mardiono pun menghadiri pertemuan itu dan sempat menyapa para awak media. Ia meminta para wartawan bersabar menunggu hasil konsolidasi malam itu.
Meski tiba paling akhir, Mardiono pun menghadiri pertemuan itu dan sempat menyapa para awak media. Ia meminta para wartawan bersabar menunggu hasil konsolidasi malam itu.
Setelah 1 jam berlangsung, Airlangga, Zulhas, dan Mardiono akhirnya menggelar konferensi pers terkait sejumlah hal, termasuk kondisi KIB saat ini.
Airlangga menekankan, KIB tak akan mengganggu mekanisme internal parpol anggotanya. Ia pun mengapresiasi pengusungan Ganjar capres yang dilakukan oleh PPP.
Ia lantas menyebutkan bahwa keputusan PPP itu tidak berdampak pada keutuhan KIB. ,
“KIB ini adalah seperti keluarga. Jadi masing-masing kita berbicara atas nama KIB dan atas nama partai. Kemudian kita rundingkan kembali secara internal,” tutur Airlangga.
Airlangga mengatakan, proses penjajakan koalisi besar masih terus berlangsung saat ini. Sehingga KIB masih memerlukan waktu untuk melakukan proses politik sebelum mencapai kesepakatan bersama soal figur capres.
“Dengan demikian situasi masih terbuka. Opsi masih terbuka,” ucap dia.
Zulhas nilai perjalanan KIB masih panjang
Dalam kesempatan yang sama, Zulhas menilai perbedaan pandangan dalam koalisi adalah hal yang biasa. Apalagi, PAN belum mengumumkan siapa capres yang bakal diusungnya.
“Masing-masing partai itu mungkin bisa sama, bisa tidak. Baru berembuk apakah bisa ada kesepakatan, apakah tidak pada akhirnya nanti. Masih panjang perjalanannya ini KIB,” papar dia.
Ia juga menyampaikan pertemuan dengan Airlangga dan Mardiono turut membahas soal progres penjajakan koalisi besar bersama Partai Gerindra dan Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB).
Hasilnya, KIB berharap Presiden Joko Widodo segera mengajak para ketua umum parpol bakal koalisi besar untuk bertemu.
“Ya bicara mengenai bagaimana melanjutkan pembangunan yang sudah bagus. tentu kalau yang belum bagaimana nanti memperbaikinya,” paparnya.
“Jadi KIB solid, harmonis, kuat dan tentu akan melanjutkan perbincangan-perbincangan,” sambung dia.
Mardiono sebut beda pandangan bisa dinegosiasikan
Terakhir, giliran Mardiono yang angkat bicara. Ia menyatakan pertemuan malam tersebut dilakukan untuk menyampaikan hasil dari Rapat Pimpinan Nasional (Rapimnas) V PPP yang dihelat di Yogyakarta, Selasa (25/4/2023).
Ia ingin keputusan PPP mengusung Ganjar bisa menjadi kesepakatan bersama di PPP. Jika tidak, pihaknya pun terbuka untuk melakukan proses negosiasi.
“Manakala dari apa yang dibawa dari masing-masing partai ini sama, ya itulah yang menjadi keinginan kita dalam koalisi. Tapi kalau beda ya kita perlu debatkan, kita perlu negosiasi gitu ya agar kita memiliki pandangan, gagasan, kemudian tujuan yang sama,” ungkapnya.
Dalam pandangan Mardiono, PPP masih memiliki visi dan misi yang sama dengan KIB. Tak ada perbedaan meski partai berlambang Ka’bah sudah mengusung Ganjar sebagai capres.
Maka ia menampik jika ada pihak yang memunculkan isu bahwa KIB akan bubar karena perbedaan pandangan satu sama lain.
“Enggak bubar, manakala nanti pilihannya sama, itu nanti jadi koalisi plus, yang disampaikan Pak Ketum Golkar,” imbuh dia.
US partners in the Middle East are beginning to distance themselves from American influence amid efforts to stabilize the region, which may be a concern to Washington, former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chas Freeman told.
Saudi Arabia recently took diplomatic action to thaw relations with Iran, Syria, and Hamas, while Bahrain and Qatar agreed to resume diplomatic ties. In mid-April, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad traveled to Saudi Arabia, marking his first visit to the country since 2011, to discuss efforts to reach a possible political solution to the crisis.
At the UN on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the world must boost efforts to reach political settlements and stabilize conflict zones in the Middle East now more than ever as the region undergoes deep transformation.
Lavrov also said a multilateral approach is required to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, instead of what he called the "destructive" one-sided actions of the US and EU that have harmed the Mideast peace process.
"The countries of West Asia are coming to see themselves as members of what [Russian political scientist] Sergei Karaganov has called 'the world majority' and distancing themselves from the United States," Freeman said. "All this represents a diminution of American influence that is naturally of concern to Washington."
The Eastern part of the Arab world, Freeman added, has long been subjected by external powers, but it is now in the midst of a self-driven rearrangement of regional relationships.
"Its major actors have seized control of their own destiny for the first time since Napoleon's 1798 invasion of Egypt and are seeking their own answers to their region's problems," Freeman said.
According to Freeman, the Middle East is now led by assertively independent leaders with their own determination about how their national interests will be best served, and they do not respond well to outside efforts to dictate policy in the region.
"These leaders have learned the hard way that the use of force and covert action not only solves few problems but is often costly and counterproductive," Freeman said. "The result is a search for peace and stability between the countries of the region without regard to the views of the United States and the former colonial powers."
Mideast nations, Freeman said, are expanding their outreach to rising and resurgent powers like China, India, Brazil, and Russia and by identification with post-Cold War institutions like the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, entailing the adoption of a nonaligned stance on matters between external great powers like the contention between the United States, Russia, and China.
Freeman is an American retired diplomat and writer who served in the US Foreign Service, and in the departments of State and Defense, in many different capacities over 30 years.
China's Special Envoy to Visit Damascus on Saturday - Syrian FM Source
China's Special Envoy for the Middle East Zhai Jun is expected to visit the Syrian capital, Damascus, on April 29, a source at the Syrian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Thursday.
"The Chinese government's special envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, will arrive in Damascus the day after tomorrow on Saturday [April 29]. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad will meet with the Chinese envoy," the source said.
Syrian President Bashar Assad is also expected to hold a meeting with the Chinese special envoy, the source added.
The visit comes following the recent talks in Moscow between the defense ministers of Turkiye, Russia, Syria and Iran to promote a political solution to the Syrian conflict. The participants reaffirmed their desire to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria and intensify efforts for the speedy return of Syrian refugees.
At the same time, Beijing has recently intensified its peacekeeping efforts in the region. In early March, China hosted landmark talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in which the two states agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies in short order.
On Tuesday, senior Chinese diplomats met with their Russian counterparts in South Africa and reiterated the two countries' commitment in coordinating efforts to resolve conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa.
