Indonesia is inviting foreign investors to participate in the development of the green industry, including carbon capture storage (CCS), in North Kalimantan, said Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

“We want the CCS industry to grow into a major business in the future. Therefore, I invite foreign investors to engage in Kalimantan,” Luhut said during the opening of the 2nd International and Indonesia Carbon Capture and Storage Forum in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The green industrial zone in North Kalimantan is projected to produce 3 million tonnes of electronic alumina and 5 million tonnes of steel, Xinhua news agency reported.

Additionally, 265 GWh of new energy batteries will be produced, as will 1.4 million tonnes of polysilicon.

Luhut predicts that green products from this zone will be visible within seven to eight years. Currently, the government is aiming to improve efficiency and simplify laws to help investors build Indonesia’s green industry, including CCS. AGENCIES

Iran would seek revenge for the alleged Israeli assassination of Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh in a “well-managed” way without escalating the regional crisis, an Iranian expert said.

“We would witness an escalation of tension in the region, but in a managed way,” Hassan Beheshtipour, a Tehran-based international affairs analyst, told Xinhua.

Beheshtipour emphasised that intensifying the crisis is not in Iran’s interest nor in that of the resistance groups. He noted Iran’s past actions, such as its measured response to the deadly Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria in early April, as examples of Iran’s strategic approach, Xinhua news agency reported.

Haniyeh, who was invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, was killed along with his bodyguard early Wednesday when their residence in Tehran was hit, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which accused Israel of carrying out the “terrorist attack” and vowed “a harsh and painful response.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel had prepared the ground for a “harsh punishment” for itself.

The alleged Israeli assassination of Haniyeh occurred a day after Israel claimed that a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut had killed Fouad Shokor, Hezbollah’s top military commander.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would respond with overwhelming force to any counter-attacks, following the deaths of Haniyeh and Shokor.

He said the country is prepared “for any scenario,” adding it “will exact a very heavy price against any aggression — from any front.” AGENCIES

 Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued an order for Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a media report said, citing three unnamed Iranian officials.

Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, shortly after Iran announced that Haniyeh had been killed, The New York Times quoted the three Iranian officials as saying.

Of the three officials, two are members of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the report said.

Earlier, Khamenei in a message published on his website stressed that Israel prepared the ground for a “harsh punishment” for itself.

In two statements on Wednesday, the IRGC accused Israel of assassinating Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards at their residence in Tehran in a “terrorist attack”.

It extended condolences over the “martyrdom” of Haniyeh and his bodyguard, adding Haniyeh was among the dignitaries invited to Tehran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday and had, over the past years, paid numerous visits to Iran.

The IRGC condemned the “criminal act” as in defiance of international regulations and laws, saying Israel “will receive a harsh and painful response” from Iran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also, in a post on social media platform X, expressed condolences over Haniyeh’s “martyrdom”, saying Iran would defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honour, and pride and make the Israelis, which he described as “terrorist occupiers”, regret their “cowardly move”. AGENCIES

 Former US President Donald Trump has triggered a controversy by raising questions on the racial identity of his Democratic rival Kamala Harris during a convention of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago.

“She (Harris) was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black,” media reports quoted Trump as saying.

“So, I don’t know, is she Indian or Black?… I respect either one but she obviously doesn’t,” the Republican former President added while addressing NABJ’s annual convention on Wednesday.

Harris, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants to the US.

As a senator, Harris was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Michael Tyler, the communications director for Harris’ campaign, in a statement on Wednesday, said that “the hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power”.

“Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency — while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in,” Tyler said.

Reacting to the former President’s remarks, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “It’s insulting and no one has any right to tell someone who they are how they identify.” AGENCIES

 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have geared up for any Iranian assault on Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday morning.

Sources in Israel’s Defense Minister’s office told IANS that after the statement of Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei about a retaliatory attack on Israel, the IDF has prepared itself for any eventuality.

Iran, according to sources in Israel’s defence ministry, is likely to accelerate attack on it using its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, and Houtis in the sea.

The killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the public face of Hamas in Tehran where he had rubbed shoulders with other state heads during the swearing-in ceremony of the new Iranian president on Tuesday, had shocked Iran.

Haniyeh, it may be recalled, had a one-to-one meeting with Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday, hours before he was assassinated.

Israel’s defence ministry sources told IANS that according to its intelligence reports, there could be a few strikes by Iran either directly or through its proxies, and added that Israel was prepared for it.

The Israel Security Council, in its urgent meeting on Wednesday, has ordered the strengthening of its military base in Tel Aviv and Haifa following the open threat by Khamenei. AGENCIES

 The Myanmar Rice Producers and Planters Association (MRPPA) recently announced that it will provide agricultural inputs to help monsoon paddy farmers impacted by heavy rain, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Thursday.

Heavy rainfall has caused flooding in farm areas, Xinhua news agency reported.

Some farm areas have managed to reduce flooding, while some cannot prevent flooding and damage, the report said.

In response, MRPPA will supply inputs, including pedigree crops and fertilisers, to affected farmers, it added.

MRPPA also urged affiliated associations and members to support agricultural inputs in those farmlands affected by rain to manage crop recovery and minimise yield loss, the report said.

Myanmar Rice Federation also declared support for agricultural inputs to flood-hit farmlands on July 26 to mitigate yield loss, it added. AGENCIES

 The Russian Navy has completed extensive military exercises involving the Baltic, Northern, and Pacific Fleets, as well as the Caspian Flotilla, the Russian Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Thursday.

“Units and formations of the Russian Navy, which participated in scheduled exercises within the operational zones of the Northern, Pacific, and Baltic Fleets, as well as the area of responsibility of the Caspian Flotilla, have begun to withdraw forces. Crews of the ships, which carried out training and combat tasks as assigned, will soon return to their permanent bases,” the statement said.

Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Alexander Moiseyev said that the exercises achieved their goal of assessing the actions of naval command authorities at all levels and verifying the readiness of ship crews, naval aviation units, and coastal troops to perform their designated tasks, Xinhua news agency reported.

Moiseyev added that the Navy’s General Staff will conduct a detailed analysis of the actions of surface forces, naval aviation, and coastal units as part of the comprehensive combat training activities.

Approximately 300 surface ships, boats, submarines, and support vessels, around 50 aircraft, more than 200 pieces of military and special equipment, and over 20,000 military personnel and civilian staff from various units and formations participated in the exercises.

Over several days, ship crews, naval aviation units, and coastal troops executed more than 300 combat exercises with practical weapon use, including anti-aircraft missile firing and artillery shooting at sea and air training targets.

During the exercises, fleet and Caspian Flotilla command authorities also practised coordination with other security agencies and federal executive bodies in organizing the defence of bases, preventing illegal activities at sea, and conducting water rescue operations. AGENCIES

 South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on Thursday vowed to beef up monitoring of the global financial market and devise contingency plans to better respond to uncertainties regarding interest rates in the US and other nations.

Choi made the remarks during a macroeconomic meeting meant to assess the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting, where it kept the benchmark interest rate intact at between 5.25-5.5 per cent for an eighth straight time, Yonhap news agency reported.

But Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that “a reduction of policy rate could be on the table at the September meeting,” noting some progress on the path toward the inflation target of 2 per cent.

“Uncertainties linger over when and how much the US will cut interest rates. The government will remain vigilant and maintain close coordination among institutions concerned for proper responses,” Choi said.

The Fed’s latest freeze also kept the gap between the key rates of South Korea and the US at up to 2 percentage points.

The domestic financial market remains relatively stable, but there are chances of greater volatility over the Middle East crisis and the US elections, Choi said, pledging responses in accordance with contingency plans, if needed.

Policy focus will also be on such risk factors as household debts and real estate project financing, the minister said. AGENCIES

South Korean army operations troops on Thursday wrapped up an exercise around an island off the west coast designed to strengthen their maritime infiltration capabilities, officials said.

The exercise, which began July 22, took place around Anmyeon Island, 123 kilometers southwest of Seoul, involving some 150 personnel under the Army Special Warfare Command and about 20 pieces of equipment, such as special operations boats, Yonhap news agency reported.

During the drills, the troops trained on infiltrating coastlines aboard the inflatable boats and eliminating threats in target areas, according to the army.

The exercise also mobilized coastal defense personnel from the 32nd Infantry Division to serve as troops defending against the infiltrating special forces, it said.

The army said the exercise served to strengthen the operational capabilities of special forces and coastal defense personnel, adding that it plans to improve training methods to enhance troop readiness. AGENCIES

The Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy has described a new government report on the welfare of First Nations people as deeply troubling.

The Productivity Commission, the government’s primary review and advisory body, on Wednesday published its latest report on Closing the Gap, the national strategy to reduce the structural disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Xinhua news agency reported.

The report found that five of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track to be met and that progress on four targets has gone backwards.

According to the new data, the number of Indigenous Australians imprisoned, taking their own lives and losing their children to out-of-home care has increased from baseline levels.

In 2021, 34.3 per cent of Indigenous children commencing school were considered developmentally on track, down from 35.2 per cent in 2018.

McCarthy, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, said in a statement on Thursday that a bipartisan approach was needed to close the gap.

“These figures are deeply troubling, but I am determined to work in partnership with First Nations Australians, the Coalition of Peaks and State and Territory governments to bring about positive change,” she said.

“I will be reaching out to my colleagues across the parliament to seek a bipartisan approach to Indigenous affairs.”

The life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has narrowed, the report said, but a target of zero gap by 2031 is not on track.

Indigenous people born in 2020-2022 had a life expectancy of 71.9 years for males and 75.6 years for females compared to 81.2 years and 85.3 years for non-Indigenous males and females respectively.

Suicide was the leading cause of death for Indigenous Australians aged 15-39 in 2022.

Targets concerning healthy birth weights of Indigenous children, the proportion of Indigenous children enrolled in preschool, Indigenous employment and the proportion of Australia’s land mass and sea area covered under Indigenous legal rights are on track to be met. AGENCIES