Menteri Koordinator Bidang Pembangunan Manusia dan Kebudayaan Muhadjir Effendy. ANTARA/Asep Firmansyah/pri.
Benar, meninggalnya akibat diare, kan, enggak ada visum dokter meninggal kelaparan, enggak ada. Ya, diare itu karena kelaparan
Menteri Koordinasi (Menko) Bidang Pembangunan Manusia dan Kebudayaan (PMK) Muhadjir Effendy menegaskan enam warga di Kabupaten Puncak, Papua Tengah, meninggal akibat diare yang dipicu kelaparan.
Menko Muhadjir mengaku kesal dengan pernyataan bahwa enam warga di Papua Tengah meninggal akibat diare. Namun kenyataan di lapangan, diare tersebut disebabkan karena masyarakat terpaksa memakan umbi-umbian yang telah busuk dan tak ada lagi pilihan.
"Benar, meninggalnya akibat diare. Enggak ada visum dokter menyebut meninggal karena kelaparan, enggak ada. Ya, diare itu karena kelaparan," ujar Menko Muhadjir di Jakarta, Rabu.
Masyarakat di distrik Agandugume, Lambewi, dan Oneri, Kabupaten Puncak, Papua Tengah, mengalami kelaparan akibat gagal panen. Kondisi tersebut disebabkan umbi-umbian yang menjadi makanan pokok mereka busuk akibat embun beku dan kabut es.
"Ya diare itu karena kelaparan. Saya agak marah kemarin di sana. Diplintir, masa ada ini bukan karena kelaparan, tapi diare. Iya diarenya karena lapar," katanya.
Ia menambahkan pemerintah sedang mencari solusi agar bisa mencari jenis umbi-umbian yang dapat bertahan di cuaca ekstrem agar ketersediaan pangan di Kabupaten Puncak bisa tetap tersedia pada segala kondisi.
Di sisi lain, akibat bencana kekeringan tersebut sekitar 4.000-an kepala keluarga terdampak. Pemerintah mendistribusikan bantuan pokok secara bertahap untuk tiga distrik.
Pemerintah juga berencana membangun gudang logistik di Distrik Agandugume, Kabupaten Puncak, Provinsi Papua Tengah, untuk mengantisipasi terjadinya krisis pangan akibat kekeringan di wilayah tersebut.
Russian assault groups continued their advance in the Kupyansk area over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.
"In the Kupyansk direction, assault teams of the western battlegroup capitalizing on the results of air and artillery strikes continued their offensive on a wide front in their areas of responsibility and improved their tactical position," the spokesman said.
During the last 24-hour period, Russian forces repelled six attacks and counter-attacks by units of the Ukrainian army’s 14th, 32nd, 41st and 67th mechanized brigades in areas near the settlement of Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic and the Mankovka territory in the Kharkov Region, the general reported.
Russian forces destroy 75 Ukrainian troops in Kupyansk area over past day
Russian forces destroyed about 75 Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"The enemy’s losses amounted to 75 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles, three motor vehicles, a Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system and a US-manufactured AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar station," the spokesman said.
Russian forces also struck amassed manpower and military hardware of the Ukrainian army’s 67th mechanized brigade and 103rd territorial defense brigade near Sinkovka and Kislovka in the Kharkov Region, the general reported.
Russian forces repel two Ukrainian attacks in Krasny Liman area over past day
Russian forces repelled two Ukrainian army attacks in the Krasny Liman area, eliminating roughly 80 enemy troops over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Krasny Liman direction, units of the battlegroup Center supported by aircraft and artillery successfully repelled two attacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 21st and 42nd mechanized brigades in areas near the settlements of Terny and Grigorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
"As many as 80 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles, three pickup trucks and a D-20 howitzer were destroyed in that direction in the past 24 hours," the general reported.
Russian forces destroy 370 Ukrainian troops in Donetsk area over past day
Russian forces repelled five Ukrainian army attacks in the Donetsk area, eliminating roughly 370 enemy troops over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Donetsk direction, five attacks by Ukrainian army units were repelled by active operations of forces from the southern battlegroup, operational/tactical and army aviation strikes, artillery and heavy flamethrower fires in areas near the settlements of Minkovka, Krasnoye, Avdeyevka and north of Kleshcheyevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
"As many as 370 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, six armored combat vehicles, four motor vehicles, two US-made M777 artillery systems, a Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery gun and a D-20 howitzer were destroyed in the past 24 hours," the general reported.
Russian forces thwart Ukrainian army’s recon by fire attempt in south Donetsk area
Russian forces thwarted a Ukrainian army’s attempt to conduct reconnaissance by fire in the south Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the south Donetsk direction, units of the battlegroup East, aircraft and artillery thwarted an enemy attempt to conduct reconnaissance by fire near the settlement of Priyutnoye in the Zaporozhye Region," the spokesman said.
Near the settlement of Urozhainoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian forces neutralized a Ukrainian subversive and reconnaissance group, the general reported.
Russian forces eliminate 180 Ukrainian troops in south Donetsk area over past day
Russian forces eliminated roughly 180 Ukrainian troops, a howitzer and a Polish-made artillery gun in the south Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"The enemy’s losses amounted to 180 Ukrainian personnel, a tank, three armored combat vehicles, two pickup trucks, a Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system, two Giatsint-B guns and an Akatsiya motorized howitzer," the spokesman said.
Russian forces repel three Ukrainian attacks in Zaporozhye area over past day
Russian forces repelled three Ukrainian army attacks in the Zaporozhye area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Zaporozhye direction, three attacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 46th air mobile brigade were repelled by the skilled operations of units from the Russian battlegroup in areas near the settlements of Rabotino and Uspenovka in the Zaporozhye Region," the spokesman said.
The enemy’s losses in that direction in the past 24 hours amounted to 40 Ukrainian personnel, three armored combat vehicles, four motor vehicles, a Gvozdika motorized artillery system and a D-30 howitzer, the general reported.
Russian forces destroy 50 Ukrainian troops, US-made howitzer in Kherson area
Russian forces destroyed roughly 50 Ukrainian troops and a US-made howitzer in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kherson direction, as many as 50 Ukrainian personnel, two motor vehicles, a US-made M777 artillery system, a Giatsint-B gun, a Gvozdika motorized artillery gun and a D-30 howitzer were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of damage inflicted by firepower," the spokesman said.
Russian air defenses destroy 35 Ukrainian combat drones over past day
Russian air defense forces destroyed 35 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles and intercepted nine rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"Air defense capabilities intercepted nine rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system. In addition, they destroyed 35 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Olshana in the Kharkov Region, Lisichansk and Kremennaya in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Rovnopol, Nikolskoye and Orlinskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Chumatskoye in the Zaporozhye Region and Aleshki in the Kherson Region," the spokesman said.
Russian forces strike Ukrainian troops in 132 areas over past day
Russian forces inflicted damage on Ukrainian manpower and military equipment in 132 areas over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"Operational/tactical and army aircraft, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces inflicted damage on Ukrainian manpower and military hardware in 132 areas," the spokesman said.
Russian forces destroy 5,600 military drones in Ukraine operation
Russian forces have destroyed 5,600 Ukrainian army’s unmanned aerial vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.
"In all, the following targets have been destroyed since the start of the special military operation: 458 aircraft, 245 helicopters, 5,600 unmanned aerial vehicles, 428 surface-to-air missile systems, 11,204 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,144 multiple rocket launchers, 5,819 field artillery guns and mortars and 12,155 special military motor vehicles," the spokesman said.
Ukraine Loses 370 Military in Donetsk Direction in Past 24 Hours - MoD
Ukraine has lost up to 370 military in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The Russian armed forces have repelled five attacks in the Donetsk direction over the given period, the ministry said, adding that another six attacks were repulsed in the Kupyansk direction, three in the Zaporozhye direction and two in the Krasny Liman direction.
"Up to 370 Ukrainian military, two tanks, six armored combat vehicles, four vehicles, two US-made M777 artillery systems, a Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery mount, and a D-20 howitzer were destroyed [in the Donetsk direction] over the past day," the ministry said in a statement.
Additionally, Ukraine has lost up to 180 military in the South Donetsk direction over the past day, the ministry added.
Video - Russian D-30 Howitzer Destroy Ukrainian Camouflaged Stronghold
The D-30 howitzer has a maximum range of 15.3 kilometers as well as a firing rate of up to six rounds per minute, and can fire a variety of ammunition types, including high-explosive, smoke, and illumination rounds.
The Russian Defense Ministry has released a video of an artillery crew of a D-30 howitzer of the Russian Central Military District destroying a Ukrainian camouflaged stronghold and fortifications in the Krasny Liman direction.
Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in early June after repeatedly delaying the campaign over a lack of military supplies from its Western donors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that progress has been "slower than desired."
Hawaiian authorities would have been breathing a sigh of relief on Wednesday as a tropical cyclone missed the archipelago, but raging wildfires have annihilated a historic city, whipped into a conflagration by the nearby storm’s winds.
Fires are nothing new to the Aloha State, which sits atop a series of active volcanoes in the Pacific. However, these flames weren’t sparked by glowing hot magma near the towering volcanic peaks, but among the dry upland brush.
Wildfires on Hawaii tend to be rare, confined to the dry side of an island, which are often covered in grassy prairies. Such is the case in western Maui, where the fires have been the most destructive.
Richard Bissen, who serves as the mayor of Maui, told media Wednesday that officials have confirmed at least six deaths as a result of the wildfires. He noted the death toll may increase as search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
Hawaii Governor Sylvia Luke has declared a state of emergency in response to the outbreak of flames, which spread rapidly due to high winds and dry conditions. Bizarrely, US President Joe Biden erroneously told US media he had already made a similar declaration when he had not.
In the Kula upland area near the island’s center, fires have consumed about 1.5 square miles of land and forced 80 people from their homes, two of which were destroyed.
Devastating scenes from Lahaina Harbor as wildfires rip through Maui. Wind gusts of more than 70 mph helped fan the flames. pic.twitter.com/hf8dt8fAom
The devastation was much worse on the island’s far western rim, where much of the historic town of Lahaina had been consumed by flames on Wednesday.
“Do NOT go to Lahaina Town,” the County of Maui government posted on social media, adding that all roads into and out of the town had been closed. The town of 13,000 dates to the 18th century and once served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii after Kamehameha the Great conquered the other islands and united the archipelago under his rule.
The flames were being fanned by outer winds from Hurricane Dora, which passed some 500 miles south of the islands. Winds of 70 miles per hour spread the flames rapidly and poured smoke across the island, obscuring both the actively burning places and the escape routes from the advancing flames.
This was trying to leave #lahaina#kaanapali at 930 this morning. I can’t imagine how it was leaving later. It happened so fast. No detours. No direction. Just rerouted over and over until we reached the bypass to Wailea. 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/Qre2pnQgrJ
Ironically, Hawaii has long been considered to have “good luck” when it comes to hurricanes, as the island chain has a reputation of cyclones veering away before landing a direct hit.
The winds also prevented authorities from using much of their firefighting repertoire, including the dropping of water on the fires.
The first footage from the aftermath in Lahaina on Wednesday morning showed the town basically wiped off the face of the Earth.
According to the US Coast Guard, 12 people were rescued from the waters off Lahaina, having fled to the sea to escape the flames
Local authorities indicated that at least two people were being treated in a Honolulu hospital some 90 miles away, including an elderly woman and a firefighter.
Fires were also reported on other islands, too. On the Big Island, also known as Hawaii, Mayor Mitch Roth told the media there was “minimal damage” to any homes. On Oahu, where the capital and largest city of Honolulu is located, the high winds had downed power lines, leaving at least 14,500 people without power on Wednesday, and caused other traffic problems as well.
Wildfires have grown worse around the globe in recent years, with the summer of 2023 being especially bad. Fires raging in Italy, Greece, Canada, and the United States have devastated huge swaths of land and encroached upon urban areas. The fires in northern Canada are so intense, they have already exceeded the country’s entire annual carbon dioxide output last year, and amount to 25% of global carbon emissions by themselves.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell is simply twisting the facts, putting forward unfounded, untenable arguments in his statements concerning the Black Sea grain deal and Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
The diplomat commented on a recent article by the EU foreign policy chief in which he insisted that EU sanctions were not having any negative impact on global food security and that Ukraine was playing a critical role in ensuring it, and in which Borrell prioritized fighting alleged Russian disinformation on the food security issue.
"Borrell does not even bother to put forward any serious grounding for his position. He simply twists the facts, putting forward unfounded, obviously untenable arguments. [He] proposes simply taking on faith his assertions that Russia allegedly derived significant benefits from the second part of the package deal [reached in Istanbul in July 2022], i.e. the Memorandum of Understanding with the UN, which in fact was never actually functional, as well as the purported absence of any negative impact of sanctions on Russian exports. The world community should hold Borrell accountable for the lies [he has] spread; he did not cite a single fact, but he did remain silent about many things," Zakharova noted.
The diplomat stressed that Borrell's words constitute disinformation and fakes.
"The cessation of the functioning of the Black Sea Initiative limits the ability of the European Union, under a specious excuse, to replenish its own stocks and quietly and with impunity profit from the most vulnerable countries in this regard, enriching themselves at their expense by reselling cheap Ukrainian grain and other goods," she went on.
"Moreover, there was additional pressure on the alternative routes created by Brussels for the export of Ukrainian grain, the 'corridors of solidarity,' through which, according to the European Commission, more than 60% of grain was exported from Ukraine since the beginning of the special military operation."
According to Zakharova, all of this is fraught with tangible tension for the EU's own food security, "especially in the context of the well-known negative consequences of anti-Russian sanctions on the domestic EU market, and unfavorable climatic and public health conditions in a number of EU regions."
"There are risks of political instability in the countries bordering Ukraine, where local farmers - [who make up] a significant part of the electorate - are on the verge of bankruptcy due to the dumping prices charged for Ukrainian agricultural products in local [Eastern European] markets," she added.
Deliberate hushing up
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman pointed out that Borrell never says anything about the Russian and Belarusian fertilizers that needy countries did not receive due to EU sanctions and about the devastating long-term consequences of this fact for global food security.
"Moreover, Belarus, whose share in the world trade in potash fertilizers until 2022 was 20%, is not mentioned in the article at all. Meanwhile, on August 3 of this year, Brussels imposed sanctions against the Belneftekhim concern, which owns key Belarusian enterprises, manufacturers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers," she said.
"Does this mean that the European officials, who put their rubber stamp on anti-Russian and anti-Belarusian restrictions, simply do not understand anything about agriculture? Or are the efforts to undermine the export potential of the Russian and Belarusian agricultural sectors deliberately done on purpose? I think the answer is obvious. And concern for global food security is nothing more than another attempt to justify the disastrous consequences of the EU sanctions policy," Zakharova stated.
She also noted that Borrell did not say a word about the share of Russian goods in global agricultural markets and the number of countries that meet their needs through deliveries sourced from Russia.
"We are convinced that the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America to which this article is addressed are well aware of what may result from the irresponsible behavior of Brussels, which, in its desire to ‘inflict a strategic defeat on Russia,’ is ready without hesitation to subvert reliable supply chains for bringing domestic [Russian] agricultural products to countries in need," Zakharova said.
"In this situation the EU, which is still desperately claiming to be a responsible international player, must choose: either to stop purposefully destabilizing global food markets by imposing more and more restrictions on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products, or to stop pretending to be a champion of world food security," the diplomat concluded.
Pengamat ekonomi Palacheta Subies Subianto mengapresiasi kinerja pemerintah di bidang ekonomi setelah Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) mengumumkan pertumbuhan ekonomi Indonesia yang kian positif. Palacheta mengatakan pertumbuhan ekonomi Indonesia pada kuartal II 2023 mencapai 5,17 persen secara tahunan atau year on year (yoy) menunjukkan pertumbuhan ekonomi yang semakin stabil.
"Saya selaku ekonom dan juga pelaku ekonomi riil tentu menanggapi positif data yang dirilis oleh BPS ini, karena pertumbuhan yang mencapai 5,17 persen telah melebihi ekspektasi dan perkiraan banyak kalangan. Dan besaran pertumbuhan ini menunjukkan ekonomi Indonesia cukup solid," kata Palacheta yang juga Ketua HIPMI Kota Medan ini kepada awak media, hari Senin, 07/08/2023.
Ekonom alumni London School of Economics and Political Science ini menjelaskan bahwa capaian Indonesia ini tentu tidak lepas dari kebijakan dalam negeri dan peran kepemimpinan yang tepat. Selain sosok Presiden Joko Widodo, Palacheta juga menilai positif kepemimpinan menteri yang melakukan koordinasi bidang ekonomi yakni sosok Airlangga Hartarto. Menurutnya, sebagai Menko Perekonomian, Airlangga memahami dan menjalankan visi ekonomi Presiden Jokowi dengan baik.
"Saya merasakan ini duet yang ideal di periode kedua pemerintahan Jokowi. Di bawah kepemimpinan Presiden Jokowi dan Menko Perekonomiannya, Airlangga Hartarto, roda perekonomian memulih relatif cepat dan membaik pasca pandemi Covid-19 dibanding banyak negara," tutur Palacheta.
"Hal ini menunjukkan leadership, kinerja dan program pemerintah mulai berjalan tepat sasaran, mulai dari insentif KPR rumah diberlakukan, automotive dan KUR sudah berhasil dijalankan, tinggal yang diperkuat agar terjadi sustainable growth adalah iklim berinvestasi yang stabil dan aman. Dan Indonesia melihat dari data BPS sudah mulai mendapatkan trust dari investor dan pelaku dunia usaha," tambah dia.
Sementara, pengajar ekonomi dari Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) Syafrizal Helmi Situmorang juga mengungkapkan bahwa pertumbuhan ekonomi yang terjadi hari ini menjadi sinyal positif bagi perekonomian Indonesia ke depan.
"Dimana berdasarkan data BPS kita bisa melihat bahwa sektor transportasi dan pergudangan tumbuh menjadi yang paling tinggi, artinya masyarakat sudah lebih optimis terhadap persoalan pandemi. Sedangkan di sisi lain faktor lainnya yang membuat ekonomi tumbuh adalah momen lebaran yang menstimulus pertumbuhan dan juga komponen pengeluaran pemerintah yang membuat uang ini beredar dan usaha ini menjadi jalan kembali," kata Syafrizal.
Syafrizal menjelaskan secara umum meningkatnya pertumbuhan ekonomi juga menjadi keberhasilan tersendiri bagi pemerintah. Doktor ekonomi ini secara khusus memberikan apresiasi pada kinerja Menko Perekonomian Airlangga Hartarto.
"Terkait pertumbuhan ekonomi Indonesia yang baik ini di tengah situasi ekonomi politik global yang masih rentan, sesungguhnya kredit dan apresiasi secara fair bisa kita tujukan ini kepada Menko Airlangga. Dia bekerja baik dalam menjalankan tugasnya," ujar Syafrizal.
Meski demikian, dia mengingatkan kondisi sosial ekonomi bukan kondisi yang dapat berdiri sendiri. Indonesia tetak harus terus waspada.
"Kebijakan ekonomi harus pula mempertimbangkan variabel lain, seperti stabilitas politik atau situasi geopolitik dan sebagainya. Terdapat keterkaitan dengan faktor eksternal dan internal. Saya menilai sosok Airlangga ini lumayan lengkap, dan tentunya memahami situasi ini, Indonesia beruntung karena selain paham ekonomi makro mikro, beliau juga paham politik dan pentingnya stabilitas politik, dia adalah ketua umum partai besar," tutupnya.
