Indonesia seeks to boost clean energy sector with Saudi collaboration

Special Indonesia seeks to boost clean energy sector with Saudi collaboration
Indonesia Power, a subsidiary of state power firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara, signed a power purchase agreement with ACWA Power on Aug. 13, 2024 in Jakarta. (PLN)
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Updated 15 August 2024
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Indonesia seeks to boost clean energy sector with Saudi collaboration

Indonesia seeks to boost clean energy sector with Saudi collaboration
  • Latest deal is the ‘start of many more renewable energy investments’ in Indonesia, Saudi envoy says
  • ACWA Power also plans to develop another floating solar photovoltaic project in West Sumatra

JAKARTA: Indonesia is seeking to boost its clean energy sector through closer cooperation with Saudi Arabia, its state power firm said on Thursday after signing a deal with the Kingdom’s energy giant, ACWA Power.

Indonesia’s Perusahaan Listrik Negara signed a power purchase agreement with ACWA Power on Tuesday to develop the Saguling Floating Solar Photovoltaic Project in West Java province.

This project will have with a 92 megawatt peak capacity, marking the Saudi Arabia company’s first such venture in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

PLN’s subsidiary Indonesia Power will hold a 51 percent equity stake in the project, while the remainder will be owned by ACWA Power, PLN said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the collaboration will help expand Indonesia’s clean energy reach.

“Global warming is a huge challenge, but it also offers us extraordinary opportunities for development and collaboration, whether through strategies, technology innovation, or investments.

“We want to make sure that the future generation will have a better future than our own, and everything begins with this extraordinary collaboration,” PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo said.

“We truly appreciate ACWA Power for the signing of this PPA agreement. This is just the beginning and it is symbolic of even bigger opportunities for cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.”

Renewables accounted for around 13 percent of Indonesia’s energy mix last year, with the majority of its power needs met by coal and oil.

One of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, the country of 270 million people has pledged to achieve a 23 percent share of renewable power in its energy mix by 2025.

That target will get a boost through another planned cooperation with ACWA Power to develop a 77 megawatt peak floating solar photovoltaic project in Singkarak, West Sumatra province. Combined, both projects are worth around $105 million.

“This is the start of many more renewable energy investments from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Indonesia,” Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal Abdullah Amodi told Arab News.

“ACWA Power is committed to do mega-sized projects in Indonesia, especially a big green hydrogen project with the expertise that ACWA Power already has from the NEOM Project.”

Last year, ACWA Power announced it was collaborating with PLN and Indonesian chemicals company Pupuk Indonesia to develop a green hydrogen project that would produce 150,000 tonnes of green ammonia annually, with plans for commercial operations to start in 2026.

ACWA’s projects in Indonesia would not only bring investments into the country, but also create jobs and reduce carbon emissions, Amodi said.

“This will strengthen the relationship between KSA and Indonesia because energy is a very important sector for any nation.”


Saudi tourism launches travel roadshow in Malaysia

Saudi tourism launches travel roadshow in Malaysia
Updated 8 sec ago
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Saudi tourism launches travel roadshow in Malaysia

Saudi tourism launches travel roadshow in Malaysia
  • 5-day event spotlights Kingdom’s main heritage and cultural sites
  • Tens of thousands of Malaysians visit Saudi Arabia every year for Hajj and Umrah

Putrajaya: The Saudi Tourism Authority launched a travel roadshow in Malaysia on Wednesday, inviting visitors to explore the Kingdom’s top heritage destinations and thriving sports and entertainment scene.

The Saudi tourism sector has been thriving under Vision 2030, as the Kingdom positions itself as a dynamic, diverse, year-round tourism destination and market that will contribute 10 percent to gross domestic product by 2030.

The STA’s event, which will run through Sunday, is being held at the IOI Mall in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital, where more than a dozen cubicles and booths present different tourist and cultural attractions.

“We are here to send a message to all the Malaysian people ... to welcome them to come to Saudi (Arabia),” Alhasan Al-Dabbagh, STA president for Asia-Pacific markets, said during the exhibition’s launch.

Touting the Kingdom as one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations, he said that Malaysia was one of the countries whose citizens could easily apply for an electronic visa to enter Saudi Arabia.

“Malaysians can go online by themselves and get the e-visa within minutes,” he said.

Alhasan Aldabbagh, STA president for Asia-Pacific markets, speaks to Malaysian reporters in Putrajaya on Aug. 28, 2024. (AN Photo)

Tourists from Southeast Asia have made a beeline for the Kingdom, with more than 1.5 million people from across the region visiting Saudi Arabia every year.

Tens of thousands of visitors from Malaysia travel to the Kingdom every year to perform the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage.

Many curious Malaysians who stopped by the exhibition were greeted with dates and gahwa, the traditional Arabic coffee. They were invited to also explore the Kingdom’s heritage sites and numerous sports and entertainment events.

“There is a lot that Saudi is offering today. Saudi is very rich in culture and heritage,” Al-Dabbagh said, adding that there were a lot of attractions to go with Riyadh Season — a series of entertainment, cultural and sporting events that run in the Saudi capital throughout the winter months, starting in October.

“In March 2025, we will also host Formula One.”

The Malaysia roadshow follows similar events held by the STA in other Asian countries over the past few years.

In May, it launched its first show exhibition in Indonesia, and in June signed an agreement with a leading Saudi investment company to develop an integrated residential ecosystem with accommodation offerings tailored to visitors from China.

Since early 2023, the STA has also intensified promotional activity in India, which is expected to become the Kingdom’s top tourism source market by 2030.


Thailand has suffered ‘judicial coup’: opposition leader

Thailand has suffered ‘judicial coup’: opposition leader
Updated 46 sec ago
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Thailand has suffered ‘judicial coup’: opposition leader

Thailand has suffered ‘judicial coup’: opposition leader
  • The Constitutional Court disbanded the progressive Move Forward Party and banned its leaders from politics
  • It also threw then-premier Srettha Thavisin out of office for ethics violations
BANGKOK: Thailand’s main opposition leader on Wednesday accused judges of mounting a “judicial coup,” after court rulings that ousted the kingdom’s prime minister and dissolved its most popular party.
The Constitutional Court earlier this month disbanded the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) and banned its leaders from politics, before throwing then-premier Srettha Thavisin out of office for ethics violations.
MFP, which won most seats in last year’s election, swiftly relaunched as the People’s Party (PP), and its new leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said that reform was needed for the kingdom to progress.
“The Constitutional Court has ousted the PM, and also ousted the ex-executives of MFP — we call it a judicial coup,” he said in an interview at the Thai parliament.
“A power that is not accountable to the people overruled the executive branch and legislative branch which are elected by the people. This is a sign that Thailand is not a full democracy,” he added.
Natthaphong, a 37-year-old tech entrepreneur, said his party will push for reforms to limit the Constitutional Court’s powers to vet legislation — removing its ability to dissolve political parties or sack prime ministers.
Thailand’s politics over the past two decades has been scarred by a bitter struggle between populist progressive parties and the kingdom’s pro-military, pro-royalist elite.
MFP’s popular leader Pita Limjaroenrat led the party to a surprise first place in last year’s election promising to reform Thailand’s tough lese-majeste laws, reduce military influence and tackle powerful business monopolies.
But he was blocked from forming a government by senators appointed by the last military junta, ostensibly because of concerns about the party’s plans for the royal insult laws.
A court later ruled that the proposals amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, and on August 7, MFP became the latest in a series of Thai political parties to be dissolved by judges.
The European Union, United States, United Nations and human rights groups blasted the court’s dissolution of MFP, with the EU saying it harmed democratic openness in Thailand.
Natthaphong urged the international community not to stint in its criticism when Thailand breached democratic norms, saying the kingdom “deserves to know when it’s doing wrong.”
Natthaphong said the new party would talk to conservative groups and courts to try to convince them about its plans for reform.
But he insisted PP would not back down on the substance, even on the sensitive subject of royal defamation laws — known in Thailand as 112 from the relevant section of the criminal code.
“The only thing we are going to change is the methodology or the approach,” he said.
“We are not going to change the principle. The principle is... to accept that the 112 law has a problem.”
Thailand has some of the world’s strictest lese-majeste laws shielding King Maha Vajiralongkorn from criticism, and human rights groups say they have been abused in recent years to stifle legitimate debate.
PP is targeting a clear majority in the next general election, due in mid-2027, but there are inevitably fears that the party will suffer more judicial intervention or be blocked from taking office again.
In either event, Natthaphong said the party would not encourage its supporters to take to the streets for the kind of mass protests seen repeatedly in Thailand in the last 20 years.
“I think that the only reason our MPs or the PP would engage with street protests would be if Thailand has its next coup d’etat,” he said.
“We are going to move on from street protests because we are not going to give a reason to the army to do a coup d’etat.”

China’s Wang warns US official over support to Philippines in sea dispute: state media

China’s Wang warns US official over support to Philippines in sea dispute: state media
Updated 28 August 2024
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China’s Wang warns US official over support to Philippines in sea dispute: state media

China’s Wang warns US official over support to Philippines in sea dispute: state media
  • ‘The US must not use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity’

BEIJING: China’s top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday warned visiting US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan over supporting the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea, state media reported.

“The United States must not use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor should it support or condone the Philippines’s actions of infringement,” Wang told Sullivan, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Sullivan landed in the Chinese capital on Tuesday for a three-day trip, saying on arrival he looked forward to “a very productive round of conversations” with foreign minister Wang.

Washington’s allies Japan and the Philippines have blamed China in the past week for raising regional tensions, with Tokyo accusing Beijing of violating its airspace and Manila calling it the “biggest disrupter” of peace in Southeast Asia.

According to CCTV, Wang emphasized to Sullivan that “China is firmly committed to safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights over the South China Sea islands.”

Sullivan and Wang have met five times over the past year-and-a-half — in Washington, Vienna, Malta and Bangkok, as well as alongside US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a November 2023 summit in California.


Sweden charges Qur’an burners with hate crime

Sweden charges Qur’an burners with hate crime
Updated 28 August 2024
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Sweden charges Qur’an burners with hate crime

Sweden charges Qur’an burners with hate crime
  • Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by the pair’s protests

STOCKHOLM: Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday charged two men with inciting ethnic hatred over several protests involving the burning of Qur’ans in 2023, which sparked widespread outrage in Muslim countries.
Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qur’ans at a slew of protests, and co-protester Salwan Najem were charged with “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions in the summer of 2023.
“Both men are prosecuted for having on these four occasions made statements and treated the Qur’an in a manner intended to express contempt for Muslims because of their faith,” senior prosecutor Anna Hankkio said in a statement.
According to the charge sheet, the duo desecrated the Qur’an, including burning it, while making derogatory remarks about Muslims — in one case outside a Stockholm mosque.
“In my opinion, the men’s statements and actions fall under the provisions on agitation against an ethnic or national group and it is important that this matter is tried in court,” the prosecutor added.
Relations between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries were strained by the pair’s protests.
Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.
In August last year, Sweden’s intelligence service Sapo raised its threat level to four on a scale of five after the Qur’an burnings had made the country a “prioritized target.”
The Swedish government condemned the desecrations while noting the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.
Earlier this month, prosecutors charged Swedish-Danish right-wing activist Rasmus Paludan with the same crime over a 2022 protest in the southern city of Malmo, which also included burning the Qur’an.
In October 2023, a Swedish court convicted a man of inciting ethnic hatred with a 2020 Qur’an burning, the first time the country’s court system had tried the charge for desecrating Islam’s holy book.
Prosecutors have previously said that under Swedish law, the burning of a Qur’an can be seen as a critique of the book and the religion, and thus be protected under free speech.
However, depending on the context and statements made at the time, it can also be considered “agitation against an ethnic group.”


Two more crew members from Lynch’s yacht under investigation, source says

Two more crew members from Lynch’s yacht under investigation, source says
Updated 28 August 2024
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Two more crew members from Lynch’s yacht under investigation, source says

Two more crew members from Lynch’s yacht under investigation, source says
  • Ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith are being investigated over the same crimes
  • The Bayesian is lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50 meters

PALERMO: Italian prosecutors are investigating two more crew members from British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s yacht, along with its captain, in connection with the vessel’s sinking over a week ago, a judicial source said on Wednesday.
Lynch and six other people were killed when the British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-meter-long (184-foot) yacht, capsized and went down on Aug. 19 within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm while anchored off northern Sicily.
On Monday, the boat’s 51-year-old captain James Cutfield, a New Zealander, was put under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck. Cutfield declined to respond to prosecutors during questioning on Tuesday.
Ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith are being investigated over the same crimes, the source said, adding that Parker Eaton is suspected of having failed to protect the yacht’s engine room and operating systems.
Griffith was on watch duty on the night of the incident, the source said.
Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.
The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm and, in any case, should not have sunk as quickly as it did.
Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, have said their investigation would take time, and would require the wreck to be salvaged from the sea. The Bayesian is lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50 meters (164 feet).