JAKARTA (Bernama) – Indonesia’s Presidential Staff Office (KSP) has acknowledged a decline in the country’s middle class but assures that this trend has not led to an increase in poverty levels.
During a national seminar entitled “Evaluating One Decade of Jokowi’s Administration” KSP Deputy III for Economic Affairs, Edy Priyono, acknowledged the contraction of the middle class but emphasised that they have not fallen into poverty.
“If they had, we would have seen a rise in the poverty rate, but that hasn’t happened,” he stated, as quoted by Kompas (an Indonesian daily newspaper), while discussing a recent Central Statistics Agency (BPS) report.
People take photos in Jakarta, Indonesia. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
According to the report, about 9.48 million people have moved out of the middle class in the last five years, leaving 47.85 million people in the middle class, or 17.13 per cent of the population.
Edy highlighted BPS data showing that both poverty and inequality have decreased since President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, took office in 2014.
The poverty rate has fallen from 11.25 per cent in 2014 to 9.03 per cent currently, while extreme poverty has dropped from 6.18 per cent to just 0.83 per cent.
He also pointed out that economic growth during Jokowi’s administration has been stable, averaging 5.07 per cent annually over the past decade, excluding the pandemic years of 2020-2021.
Edy acknowledged critiques regarding the government’s failure to meet Jokowi’s target of eight per cent economic growth, stating, “That’s just part of his leadership style. He consistently sets ambitious goals.”
Looking ahead, President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who will succeed Jokowi on October 20, has set an even higher target of eight per cent growth.
At the Qatar Economic Forum in May, Prabowo expressed optimism about achieving this goal within the first two to three years of his administration, with a particular focus on food security.
Edy commented, “Mr Prabowo has set an even higher target of eight per cent. Perhaps he is thinking along those lines too; I’m not sure.”
FILE - Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
LONDON (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) – Google has announced several artificial intelligence-powered updates to its search engine, calling them “some of our most significant Search updates to date”, the German news agency (dpa) reported.
From Thursday, users of the Google app on Android and iOS will be able to use their voice to ask a question as they point their phone camera at an object or subject.
The technology giant has confirmed that it will begin rolling out a similar tool for early testers in its Search Labs programme, allowing users to ask questions while recording a video. The company stated that its AI tools would be able to “make sense of the video and your question put together” before producing an AI Overview, which includes AI-generated query responses and helpful resources from the web.
The updates reflect the ongoing arms race between the world’s biggest tech firms to introduce new and compelling generative AI-powered tools to keep existing users engaged and to draw in new ones.
FILE – Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, California, USA, May 14, 2024. PHOTO: AP
On Wednesday, OpenAI, the firm behind generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, confirmed its latest funding round had raised USD6.6 billion – the largest ever – and valuing the company at more than USD150 billion, a sign that the frenzy around AI remains. In its update, Google also said that it would begin rolling out new, AI-organised search results pages, starting in the US, and beginning with recipes and meal inspiration-related searches on mobile.
Google said: “You’ll now see a full-page experience, with relevant results organised just for you. You can easily explore content and perspectives from across the web including articles, videos, forums and more — all in one place.”
Elsewhere, the company said it would start, from Thursday, adding prominent links to supporting webpages directly within the text of AI Overviews, which have started to appear at the top of Google search results in recent weeks.
Google said that in testing, this “improved experience drives an increase in traffic to supporting websites compared to the previous design”.
Some critics have previously suggested that placing AI Overviews above listed search results could have an impact on publishers and advertisers, who could see clicks through to their webpages drop if they are moved further down the page.
Google said it has found that the addition of links within Overviews means “people are finding it easier to visit sites that interest them”.
In a further move to help businesses that use Google Search, the tech giant also confirmed that it is introducing ads within AI Overviews, starting in the US on mobile.
Italy's Jannik Sinner speaks during a press conference at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 4, 2024. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
SHANGHAI (AFP) – World number one Jannik Sinner said on Friday he was not in a “comfortable” situation as his doping case dragged on, but insisted he felt ready for his first match at the Shanghai Masters.
Last week the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it would appeal a decision by tennis authorities to clear the Italian of wrongdoing after he twice tested positive for a steroid in March.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner speaks during a press conference at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai. PHOTO: AFP
The 23-year-old fought through the controversy to reach the finals of the China Open in Beijing on Wednesday, where he lost to arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz.
“It’s not in a situation where I feel comfortable in it, that’s for sure, because I thought it was over… so it’s not easy,” said Sinner when asked at a press conference if the pressure of the appeal was affecting him.
In August, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Sinner’s explanation that the drug entered his system unintentionally when his physiotherapist used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.
But WADA said last Saturday it had appealed and was seeking a ban of up to two years. “I had three hearings, which went my way, which was good, but now let’s see. But I’m very confident that it comes out very positively,” Sinner said Friday.
He now has to turn his attention to the Shanghai Masters, where he could end up facing Alcaraz again. “We are quite similar as human beings off the court,” said Sinner.
“Obviously on the court we try to meet, we try to put on a big fight… he pushes me to do better, which is something good.”
Sinner will face Japan’s 93rd-ranked Taro Daniel in his first match of the tournament this weekend. “I had my first practice session just now, I just finished, so I feel good. I feel recovered,” Sinner said.
Brunei Darussalam ranked 88th among the 133 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024, released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) this week.
The sultanate was down by one place compared to last year (2023) at 87th.
The Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks world economies according to their innovation capabilities. Consisting of roughly 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs, the GII aims to capture the multi-dimensional facets of innovation.
Among high-income group economies, Brunei Darussalam ranked 50th while among 17 economies in Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania, the sultanate ranked 14th among the 17 economies.
More needs to be done in innovation outputs than in innovation inputs in 2024.
For illustration purposes only. PHOTO: FREEPIK
The report said, that this year Brunei Darussalam ranked 55th in innovation inputs. This position is lower than last year.
Brunei Darussalam ranked 123rd in innovation outputs. This position is higher than last year.
For Brunei Darussalam, one indicator has improved in the short term and three indicators have worsened.
Brunei Darussalam ranked highest in Institutions (25th), Human capital and research (56th), Infrastructure (65th) and Business sophistication (82nd).
Brunei Darussalam ranked lowest in Creative outputs (124th), Knowledge and technology outputs (115th) and Market sophistication (105th).
Meanwhile according to the ASEAN Secretariat on Wednesday (2nd Oct), in this GII’s 2024 edition, three ASEAN member states (AMS) ranked among the top eight fastest movers of the past decade: Viet Nam (from 76th to 44th), Philippines (from 90th to 53rd) and Indonesia (from 85th to 54th). Six ASEAN member states have moved up in the top 55 of the rankings, showcasing the region’s rising influence: Singapore (4th), Malaysia (33rd), Thailand (41st), Viet Nam (44th), Philippines (53rd) and Indonesia (54th).
Cambodia and Lao PDR also demonstrated encouraging progress in Market Sophistication, Knowledge & Technology outputs, and Institutions, while Myanmar has seen improvements in innovation outputs, and Brunei Darussalam continues to build a dynamic and forward-thinking innovation environment.
The GII 2024 revealed that ASEAN’s concerted efforts in improving innovation linkages, institutional and regulatory environments, human capital, and digital infrastructure have led to substantial growth in key innovation metrics over the past decade. Thanks to decades of regional integration and cooperation in intellectual property (IP), science, technology and innovation, ASEAN’s combined R&D investments have grown more than fivefold, from USD10.6 billion in 2002 to USD54.9 billion in 2023.
Furthermore, ASEAN has emerged as a global leader in high-tech exports, rising from USD 303 billion in 2013 to USD598 billion in 2022. Five ASEAN member states: Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – ranked among the top 10 high-tech exports as a percentage of total trade, underscoring the region’s capability to drive advanced technologies.
Acknowledging the positive backdrop of the ASEAN’s steady progress in fostering innovation, nurturing talent, and embracing digital transformation, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, emphasised that “Innovation lies at the core of ASEAN’s Vision 2045, which aspire to create a knowledge-based, innovation-led community that champions sustainable development, regional integration, and global competitiveness.
The GII 2024 results motivate us to push the boundaries even further. By leveraging our collective strengths, we can transform ASEAN into a leading force in the global innovation landscape, ensuring that innovation drives prosperity for all.” – AZLAN OTHMAN
File photo of the seal for the International Monetary in Washington, United States. PHOTO: AP
COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s painful austerity measures were “bearing fruit” and must be sustained, the International Monetary Fund said Friday as the country’s new president sought changes to its USD2.9 billion bailout.
Leftist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake won last month’s presidential election promising to reverse steep tax hikes, raise public servant salaries and renegotiate an unpopular IMF bailout secured by Colombo last year.
The avowed Marxist held his first meeting with Fund representatives in Colombo this week, saying he wanted to reduce the tax burden on lower income households.
In response, the Washington-based lender of last resort stressed that it was important not to jeopardise Sri Lanka’s hard-won economic recovery.
“Reform efforts are bearing fruit in terms of reviving economic growth, lowering inflation, boosting reserves and improving revenue mobilisation,” spokesperson Julie Kozack said in Washington.
“Important vulnerabilities and uncertainties do remain, and this means that sustaining reform momentum is critical.”
Sri Lanka can draw down a fourth tranche of USD336 million in IMF funds only if it is satisfied that leaders are sticking to the revenue and spending targets of the rescue plan.
Dissanayake’s office said Thursday he reaffirmed “broad agreement” with the objectives of the IMF programme but “emphasised the importance of achieving these objectives through alternative means that relieves the burden off the people”.
The new president has said he also wants to conclude a deal to restructure USD12.5 billion in international sovereign bonds and secure more concessions for the cash-strapped nation.
Analysts say Dissanayake has little room to reshape the terms of the IMF deal.
“There are certain red lines that the IMF will not agree to negotiate,” Murtaza Jafferjee of the Colombo-based economic think tank Advocata told AFP soon after Dissanayake’s election.
The IMF was unlikely to budge on core components of the bailout, including a ban on printing money as well as revenue and spending targets agreed by the last administration, he said.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its USD46 billion foreign debt in 2022 after running out of foreign exchange during its worst-ever financial crisis.
The 2023 IMF bailout helped end crippling shortages of food, fuel and medicine and returned Sri Lanka’s economy to growth, but its austerity measures left millions struggling to make ends meet.
Dissanayake, a member of a once-marginal leftist party, was elected on the back of public resentment over perceived corruption and mismanagement that precipitated the economic bust.
Days after he was sworn into office, he called snap parliamentary elections for next month.
Any fresh deal with bondholders or the IMF will require approval by the next parliament, which is due to hold its first session on November 21.
During the Friday sermon, Imams emphasised the importance of patience and understanding when caring for elderly parents. They urged children to entertain their parents’ whims and fancies with love, advising against scolding, admonishing, or intimidating them, as such actions can deeply hurt their feelings.
As individuals age, they naturally seek attention and affection from their children. The Imams highlighted that senior citizens have the right to be loved and respected, and each person should embrace their role as a guardian to the elderly, particularly those suffering from illnesses that may affect their physical health or mental capacity.
For illustration purposes only. PHOTO: FREEPIK
The sermon pointed out that the responsibility of caring for the elderly should not rest solely on the government. Children are encouraged to take on greater responsibility for their aging parents, viewing them not as burdens but as valued family members whose welfare should never be neglected.
The Imams also reflected on the natural progression of life, which encompasses various phases, including the stages in a mother’s womb, childhood, adulthood, and eventually aging. They reminded the congregation that as we grow older, we inevitably experience a decline in physical strength and emotional resilience compared to our youth.
Ultimately, the message was clear: compassion and care for the elderly are not just duties but moral imperatives that reflect our respect and love for our parents. – AZLAN OTHMAN
FILE - Nearly 500 balloons begin to take off during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Oct. 7, 2023, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales, File)
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (AP) – One of the most photographed events in the world is set to kick off Saturday with a mass ascension of color for the 52nd annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
The nine-day gathering draws hundreds of thousands of spectators and pilots to New Mexico each fall for the rare opportunity to be within arm’s reach as the giant balloons are unpacked and inflated. Propane burners roar and hundreds of the uniquely shaped balloons speckle the sky with vibrant colours.
Everyone usually bundles up in layers to protect against a morning chill that helps pilots stay in the air longer, but this year’s fiesta could be the warmest on record, organisers say.
Morning lows and afternoon highs are expected to be above average for days in a city that on Monday recorded its hottest temperature this late in the year, at 33.8 Celsius, according to the National Weather Service.
Nearly 500 balloons begin to take off during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. PHOTO: AP
Globally, things have been trending hotter too. It’s likely this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, the European climate service Copernicus reported in early September.
While past fiestas have had a warm day here or there, spokesman Tom Garrity said the prediction for prolonged heat is rare.
For pilots, it could mean less time aloft or carrying less weight in their baskets.
Typically, when the mornings are cool, less fuel is needed to get the balloons to rise. Fiesta veterans explain it’s all about generating lift by heating the air inside the envelope to temperatures greater than what’s on the outside.
“With cooler weather, pilots are able to fly for longer duration,” Garrity said. “But when you have warmer temperatures, it just means that you pop up, you go up a little bit and you come back down. So just some shorter flights.”
Still, ballooning happens year-round in many places, including in the Phoenix area, which has seen its share of record-breaking temperatures over recent months.
“These are really non-issues from a spectator’s standpoint,” said Troy Bradley, an accomplished balloon pilot who has been flying for decades. “I don’t see any difference other than they won’t be freezing in the pre-dawn hours.”
Even the fiesta’s official meteorologist has joked about the possibility of wearing shorts this year. This year’s fiesta also features 106 balloons in special shapes, 16 of which will be making their fiesta debut.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits a special operation forces unit at a western district in North Korea. PHOTO: AP
SEOUL (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would use nuclear weapons “without hesitation” if attacked by the South and ally the United States, state media reported on Friday.
Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in decades, with Seoul this week staging a military parade where it showcased its bunker-busting “monster” missile and President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Kim that using nukes would mean the end of his regime.
Pyongyang has also been bombarding the South with balloons carrying bags of trash, and a fresh flurry was seen floating over Seoul early Friday by AFP reporters. Seoul’s military confirmed it had detected the balloon launches overnight.
If an enemy’s forces were “encroaching upon the sovereignty” of the North, Pyongyang would “use without hesitation all the offensive forces it has possessed, including nuclear weapons,” Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Images in state media showed Kim, clad in his customary leather jacket, speaking at a training event for special operations forces.
There, he slammed Yoon for his “end of regime” comments and “clamoring” about his country’s alliance with the United States.
Seoul, which does not have nuclear weapons of its own, is covered by the US nuclear umbrella, and Washington has stationed tens of thousands of troops in the country since the Korean war ended in 1953 without a peace treaty.
Kim said it was Seoul and Washington who were “destroying regional security and peace”, KCNA reported, while branding South Korea’s leader “an abnormal man”.
– Military parade –
On Tuesday, fighter jets flew over downtown Seoul and tanks rolled through the streets, as South Korea displayed for the first time its largest ballistic missile, the Hyunmoo-5, which is capable of destroying underground bunkers.
An American B-1B heavy bomber also staged a flyover of the ceremony early Tuesday, flanked by F-15K jets.
Washington periodically deploys nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula, underscoring its protection of the South from Pyongyang’s growing threats.
At the event marking South Korea’s Armed Forces Day, Yoon said that if the North “attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face the resolute and overwhelming response of our military and the US and Republic of Korea alliance.”
“That day will be the end of the North Korean regime,” he added.
North Korea is expected to to scrap a landmark inter-Korean agreement signed in 1991 at a parliamentary meeting next week, Seoul’s unification ministry said Wednesday, as part of Kim’s drive to officially define the South as an enemy state.
Earlier this year, Kim called to remove unification-related clauses from the constitution, while abolishing agencies dedicated to improving ties with the South.
Last month, the North also disclosed images of a uranium enrichment facility for the first time, showing leader Kim touring the site as he called for more centrifuges to boost the country’s nuclear arsenal.
South Korea’s spy agency later said the unprecedented disclosure was “directed at the US” and that North Korea was believed capable of producing a double-digit number of nuclear weapons.
Last week, a lawmaker told reporters that the National Intelligence Service had warned the North might carry out another nuclear test — its seventh — after the US elections in November.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike targeting an area in Beirut’s southern suburb late on October 3, 2024. (Photo by ETIENNE TORBEY / AFP)
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike targeting an area in Beirut’s southern suburb. PHOTO: AFP
BERNAMA-ANADOLU – The UN official for peace operations confirmed on Thursday that the peacekeeping force in Lebanon continues to carry out its mission.
“UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) peacekeepers feel duty bound to continue,” Anadolu Agency reported Jean-Pierre Lacroix, under-secretary-general for peace operations, told reporters during a news conference at UN headquarters in New York.
Sharing that there are 10,058 peacekeepers in Lebanon, Lacroix said UNIFIL forces “feel duty born to the mandate given to them by the Security Council. But they obviously also feel duty born to the population of southern Lebanon.”
Despite the challenges, he said the peacekeeping mission is continuing its tasks, confirming that “contingency plans all-ready, and they’re constantly updated.”
“Obviously, we’ve been preparing several second scenario in case of deterioration, all the way to the worst possible scenario, which would lead, hopefully not to partial total evacuation,” he added.
Lacroix stressed that due to the ongoing hostilities “it is very difficult to assess exactly how things will evolve.”
Asked about how UNIFIL intends to protect the civilian population in Lebanon, Lacroix said “the peacekeepers would do everything in their power to protect the population,” without giving further details.
While cross-border warfare between Hezbollah and Israel began after the Gaza conflict last October, Israel launched heavy airstrikes on September 23 on what it called Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.
(FILES) Demonstrators from the Chagos Islands protest at a British defiance of a United Nations deadline to end their "illegal occupation" of the Indian Ocean archipelago in Port Louis on November 22, 2019. Mauritius will assume sovereignty over the Chagos islands after it reached a "historic agreement" with the UK to settle a decades-long dispute, the British government announced on October 3, 2024.
The foreign office said the UK would maintain its "strategically important" joint military base with the United States on Diego Garcia in the archipelago under the terms of the deal. (Photo by Jean Marc POCHE / AFP)
LONDON (AFP) – Britain on Thursday said it would give up sovereignty of a remote Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius but will maintain there a strategic military base that it shares with the United States, in what US President Joe Biden described as a “historic agreement”.
The British government has been under pressure for decades to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former colony, but has resisted because of the military base on Diego Garcia island that plays a key role for US operations in the Indian Ocean and Gulf.
“For the first time in more than 50 years, the status of the base will be undisputed and legally secure,” the UK foreign ministry said. A joint British-Mauritian statement said the base would remain open on an “initial” 99-year lease.
Biden hailed the continuation of the base on Diego Garcia — the largest island in the chain — which was notably used during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The base is used by US long range bombers and ships.
(FILES) Demonstrators from the Chagos Islands protest at a British defiance of a United Nations deadline to end their “illegal occupation” of the Indian Ocean archipelago in Port Louis on November 22, 2019. PHOTO: AFP
“I applaud the historic agreement and conclusion of the negotiations,” Biden said, adding that the site “plays a vital role in national, regional, and global security”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he spoke to his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth, who later said that the deal showed how a small country can “win justice against major powers”.
“Today, 56 years after our independence, our decolonisation is complete. Now our national anthem can sound out even louder across our territory,” he added.
African Union chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat also welcomed the “historic” agreement, saying in a statement on X it “marks a major victory for the cause of Decolonialization, International Law, and the rightful self-determination of the people of Mauritius”.
Turnaround
The deal comes after nearly two years of negotiations and marks a significant turnaround after decades of British dismissals of Mauritian sovereignty claims.
At the start of talks in 2023, the two sides agreed that the Diego Garcia military base would continue to operate whatever the outcome.
In 2016, the UK extended the US lease of the military base until 2036.
The joint statement said that Britain and Mauritius would work on a treaty finalising the accord that would ensure Diego Garcia’s operation “well into the next century”.
The treaty could also pave the way for the return of Chagos islanders, who were expelled by the UK in the 1970s as the military base was developed.
But with no permanent population — and with Diego Garcia possibly the only habitable island but remaining off-limits as part of the deal — resettlement looks unlikely.
Britain decided in 1965 to separate the Chagos islands from Mauritius and set up a military base there, which it leased to the United States.
In doing so, it evicted thousands of Chagos islanders who have since mounted a series of legal claims for compensation in the British courts.
The joint statement claims the agreement will “address wrongs of the past” and “support the welfare of the Chagossians”, who were forced to live in exile, including in the UK.
In Mauritius, chair of the Chagos Refugees Group Olivier Bancoult called it a “historic day” but Chagossian Voices, another group representing exiled islanders, said it was excluded from the talks.
“The views of Chagossians, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, have been consistently and deliberately ignored and we demand full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty,” Chagossian Voices added.
In Britain, politician James Cleverly, who is bidding to become the new leader of the opposition Conservatives party, called the deal “weak, weak, weak”, even though he initiated the sovereignty talks when he was foreign secretary.
His Tory party leadership rival Robert Jenrick called it a “surrender”.
Mounting pressure
Mauritius has claimed the archipelago — renamed the British Indian Ocean Territory — since its independence in 1968 and has garnered increased international support.
In 2019 the International Court of Justice advised Britain to hand over the remote islands. During the hearings, the UK apologised for the “shameful” eviction of islanders, but ignored the ICJ ruling at the time.
The same year, the UN General Assembly also passed a resolution calling on Britain to “withdraw its colonial administration”.
Without the agreement, “the long-term, secure operation” of the military base would be under threat, including through legal challenges posed by international courts, Britain’s foreign ministry said.
“Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, adding that the deal would also shut down the potential for the islands to be used as a “dangerous illegal migration route to the UK”.
In addition, the UK announced a “package of financial support” to Mauritius including an annual payment and an infrastructure partnership.
The statement claimed that the agreement resolves “all outstanding issues between the United Kingdom and Mauritius”.
It said the two countries would also cooperate on environmental and irregular migration.
