ARB INdonesia, CHINA – One of the students from Tembilahan, Indragiri Hilir Regency, Riau Province made an achievement, Fauzan Aziz Maulana made Indonesia proud in the world of education.

The student who is currently pursuing a master’s degree at a campus in China, in Anhui Province, Hefei City, born in 1992, won an essay in Chinese.

This essay writing competition was participated by more than 100 international students from various countries, with the theme “可爱的中国”/the “Beautiful China” environment.

“I was very surprised to receive the news that I was chosen as one of the winners in writing this essay,” said Fauzan, Friday (12/1/2022).

Fauzan, who is also the Deputy Chair of the World Indonesian Student Association (PPI Dunia) Asia Oceania, said that the writings he sent to the committee were assessed and evaluated through a rigorous screening by expert judges and academics.

“At first I wasn’t sure I could get into the winning rankings, but Alhamdulillah, because of hard work, nothing is impossible,” said Fauzan who is also Deputy Chairman of the Batch 2 Lemhanas Alumni.

Fauzan admitted that he received encouragement and support from a lecturer (Laoshi) who teaches at his campus, which motivated and convinced him to take part in the writing competition.

“I am serious about writing until I win,” he said happily.

Finally, Fauzan revealed that there were two students from Indonesia who became champions. He felt proud to represent Indonesia where other students from other countries.

“I am very proud of the results I got because if I see there are only 2 Indonesians who have won the competition,” he explained.

Fauzan who is also the General Chair of Inhil’s Overseas Students, hopes that more Inhil’s sons and daughters can continue their studies abroad and can contribute in the future to Indonesia and their hometown. ***

ARBindonesia.com, AS – A parked camper van exploded in the US city of Nashville, Tennessee, early on Christmas morning, injuring three people and knocking out communications systems across the state.

Possible human remains were later found near the blast site, US media report.

Police believe the powerful blast was caused deliberately.

Officers responding to reports of gunshots just before 06:00 (12:00 GMT) found a camper van broadcasting a warning message to leave the area.

The van exploded a few minutes later.

A police officer was knocked off the feet by the force of the blast, officials said.

Police have now released this image of the van – described by Nashville police as a recreational vehicle (RV) – arriving at the scene early on Friday.

The van blew up outside a building belonging to the telecoms giant AT&T, which also occupies an office tower nearby.

Buildings suffered structural damage, windows were blown out, and trees were felled. Videos posted on social media showed water from damaged pipes running down walls as alarms howled in the background.

Police emergency systems were knocked out across much of Tennessee. Flights out of Nashville International Airport were briefly halted as a result of damage done by the blast but have now resumed.

‘It felt like a bomb’
No motive has yet been established, nor do police know who was behind the incident.

A number of people have been taken to the central police precinct for questioning, a spokesman told the Associated Press.

It was not clear whether anyone was inside the vehicle at the time of the explosion, police said.

The FBI is leading the investigation. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also involved.

Resident Buck McCoy said he had been woken up by the blast. He posted a video on Facebook, showing some of the damage done, with alarms howling in the background.

“All my windows, every single one of them got blown into the next room. If I had been standing there, it would have been horrible,” Mr McCoy told AP. “It felt like a bomb. It was that big.”

The explosion hit an area of Nashville known for its restaurants and nightlife.

“To this point, we do believe that the explosion was an intentional act,” police spokesman Don Aaron told reporters.

CCTV footage posted on YouTube appeared to show the moments before the explosion, when a warning was broadcast, saying, “If you can hear this message, evacuate now”. A loud bang follows and flames and smoke fill the screen.

“It looks like a bomb went off,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said, urging people to stay away from the area.

“This morning’s attack on our community was intended to create chaos and fear in this season of peace and hope, but the spirit of our city cannot be broken,” he said.

In a tweet Tennessee Governor Bill Lee pledged to supply “all of the resources needed” to investigate what happened and who was behind it.

President Donald Trump has been briefed on the matter.

source bbc.com

United States President-elect Joe Biden. (File photo: AFP/Chandan Khanna)

ARBindonesia.com, WILMINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden fractured his right foot while playing with one of his dogs, an injury discovered in a scan on Sunday (Nov 29) that will likely require him to wear a boot for several weeks, his doctor said.

Biden suffered the injury on Saturday and visited an orthopaedist in Newark, Delaware, on Sunday afternoon, his office said.

“Initial X-rays did not show any obvious fracture,” but medical staff ordered a more detailed CT scan, his doctor, Kevin O’Connor, said in a statement. The subsequent scan found tiny fractures of two small bones in the middle of his right foot, O’Connor said.

“It is anticipated that he will likely require a walking boot for several weeks,” O’Conner said.

Fractures are a concern generally as people age, but Biden’s appears to be a relatively mild one based on his doctor’s statement and the planned treatment. At 78, he will be the oldest serving United States president ever when he’s inaugurated in January; he often dismissed questions about his age during the campaign.

Reporters covering the president-elect were not afforded the opportunity to see Biden enter the doctor’s office on Sunday, despite multiple requests. Leaving the doctor’s office to head to an imaging centre for his CT scan, Biden was visibly limping, though he walked without a crutch or other aid.

Biden sustained the injury playing with Major, one of the Bidens’ two dogs. They adopted Major in 2018, and acquired their first dog, Champ, after the 2008 election. The Bidens have said they’ll be bringing their dogs to the White House and also plan to get a cat.

Last December, Biden released a doctor’s report that disclosed he takes a statin to keep his cholesterol at healthy levels, but his doctor described him as “healthy, vigorous” and “fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency”.

Sumber channelnewsasia.com

Vehicles are seen along Interstate 80 as flames from the LNU Lighting Complex Fire are seen on both sides on the outskirts of Vacaville, California, US Aug 19, 2020. (REUTERS/Stephen Lam)

ARBindonesia.com, California – Dozens of lightning-sparked California wildfires grew rapidly on Thursday (Aug 20), forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate homes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

California has been hit by its worst lightning storms in nearly two decades. Around 11,000 strikes ignited over 370 fires this week, fouling air quality for hundreds of kilometres and stretching firefighting resources to the limit, authorities said.

South of San Francisco, a cluster of lightning-strike fires doubled in size to 16,187ha in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, injuring three first responders, forcing 22,000 to evacuate and destroying 20 structures, wildfire authority CalFire reported.

Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California’s oldest state park with redwood trees up to 2,000 years old, suffered extensive damage to historic buildings, the state parks department said.

As the fire moved south, the University of California Santa Cruz called for voluntary evacuations from its campus on the northern flank of the coastal city.
To the north, at least nine fires raced through hills in California’s wine country about 56km southwest of Sacramento, destroying over 105 homes and other structures.

Collectively known as the LNU Complex Fire, they have doubled in size to 53,000ha since Wednesday, forming a “megafire” 10 times larger than New York’s Manhattan island.

“It sucks, everything is gone,” Nick Pike told CapRadio in Sacramento after he and three neighbours lost their homes near Vacaville.

A PG&E utility worker died on Wednesday helping first responders, the second fatality from fires after the death of a firefighting helicopter pilot in a crash. At least four civilians were injured in the LNU fire, according to Cal Fire.

Another group of 20 fires, called the SCU Lightning Complex, expanded by nearly a third to around 56,656ha on Thursday some 32km east of Palo Alto.
Record-breaking heat baking the West Coast is caused by a dome of high pressure over the desert east of California that is siphoning off moisture and causing precipitation to evaporate before it reaches the ground, sparking dry lightning.

California has warmed steadily since the beginning of the 20th century, and higher temperatures are blamed for longer and more intense fire seasons that have caused eight of its 10 largest wildfires in the last 15 years.

The American Lung Association warned that the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated health hazards posed by smoky air and extreme heat.

Inhaling smoke and ash will likely worsen the weakened lungs of people infected with coronavirus and undermine the natural defences of those who do not have it, said Dr Afif El-Hassan, a physician spokesman for the lung association.

Governor Gavin Newsom requested 375 fire crews from out of state as California prisoners who normally fight fires were locked down for COVID-19 or released from prison to slow the spread of the virus.
To the east in drought-stricken Colorado, the state’s second-largest wildfire in history grew slightly in remote mountains near Grand Junction, about 306km west of Denver. (*)

Sumber cna.com

ARBindonesia.fom, SEOUL – South Korea on Thursday proposed expanding its capital gains taxes to include a larger number of affluent stock investors, in its push to reduce inequality by levying more from the wealthy and less from general share trading.

Starting 2023, taxes of up to 25% will be imposed on annual capital gains exceeding 20 million won ($16,627) for retail investors, finance minister Hong Nam-ki said in a policy meeting.

That would affect about 300,000 people, or the top 5% of all stock investors, in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said in a statement.

It would also mark a significant expansion of current rules as capital gains taxes are only applied to large shareholders with stakes exceeding 1% or 1 billion won ($831,373) of listed stocks.

Currently, no retail investors of listed shares are subject to capital gains taxes unless they are classified as “large shareholders”.

About 95% of equity investors derive less than 20 million won in annual capital gains from financial investments. For the majority of these investors, taxes will now be lowered with transaction taxes cut to 0.15% for KOSPI-listed shares by 2023 from current 0.25%.

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI <.KS11> fell 1.04% in early trade on Thursday, tracking broader global declines.

“This is bad news for retail investors but good news for foreign investors who hold roughly about one third of KOSPI and KOSDAQ shares combined, as they only pay transaction taxes,” said Lee Won, an analyst at Bookook Securities.

“The downside impact from the new capital gains taxes will be limited for now, as it doesn’t kick in immediately.”

The left-leaning government of President Moon Jae-in has been hiking taxes for wealthy property owners and larger conglomerates to address growing income inequality and rising welfare costs due to its rapidly ageing society.

The new taxes are subject to parliamentary approval.

President Moon’s ruling party secured 180 seats in the 300-member, single-chamber parliament following an election in April, which should help the government pass the laws in the National Assembly.

Institutional investors won’t be affected by the proposed revision in capital gains taxes as they are subject to corporate income tax. (*)

Sumber : thestartmagazine.com

ARBindonesia.com, SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday he has confidence the country could move ahead with easing restrictions as it can respond and deal with new coronavirus outbreaks.

“There will be outbreaks…we can’t go stop-go-stop-go and we can’t flick the light on-and-off-on-and-off-and-on-and-off,” Morrison said, referring to restrictions to curb the spread of the virulent disease.

“So what I’m saying is we are going ahead, we built the protections to deal with outbreaks.”

Australia reported its first COVID-19 death in more than a month on Wednesday, as concerns about a second wave of infections saw thousands of people queue, sometimes for hours, to be tested for the virus.

Sumber : thestartmagazine.com