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WORLD NEWS Saturday 15 June 2019

Security bolstered as challenge to Indonesia vote begins

Associated Press Widjojanto, told the nine
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — judges hearing the case.
Authorities bolstered securi- National police chief Tito
ty in the Indonesian capital Karnavian said 17,000 offi-
Friday as hearings began cers have been deployed.
in a court challenge to the The military said they were
results of April’s presidential backed by 16,000 soldiers.
election. Nine people died in what
The losing candidate for- police said were orches-
mer Gen. Prabowo Subian- trated riots in Jakarta last
to claims there was massive month after official results
electoral fraud and is ask- confirmed Widodo was
ing the Constitutional Court reelected with 55.5% of
to invalidate the election. the vote. The divisive elec-
The court is expected to tion campaign highlighted
rule by June 28. Muslim-majority Indonesia’s
In a bizarre twist, Subianto’s hardening religious divide.
claims about the share Subianto, who allied him-
of the vote he won have self with groups that want
continued to change. On Islamic law to replace
Friday, his legal team said secular government, won
he’d won 52% of the vote, heavily in conservative
down from an earlier claim provinces but was defeat-
of 54% and prior to that Indonesian police officers are deployed outside the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, ed nationally by Widodo’s
62%. Friday, June 14, 2019. coalition of moderate and
The court challenge alleges Associated Press minority voters.
there were 17.5 million du- and other state institutions heavily on printouts of news of justice resulted in the It was Subianto’s second
plicated names on the were biased in favor of the articles. absence of the law itself,” loss to Widodo and his
voter roll and that police, incumbent, Joko Widodo, “We must uphold honesty one of the Subianto cam- fourth unsuccessful bid for
the intelligence agency but its evidence has relied and justice. The absence paign’s lawyers, Bambang the presidency.q

UN says Ebola outbreak in Congo still not a global emergency

By JAMEY KEATEN close to the borders of Dr. Oly Ilunga, told The As-
MARIA CHENG Uganda, Rwanda and sociated Press that WHO’s
Associated Press South Sudan, has been decision to not declare the
GENEVA (AP) — The World like no other. Mistrust has outbreak a global emer-
Health Organization on been high in a region that gency was a testament to
Friday said the Ebola out- had never faced Ebola be- the country’s response ef-
break in Congo — which fore and attacks by rebel forts, which he called “ef-
spilled into Uganda this groups have undermined fective.”
week — is an “extraordi- aid efforts. Several health In Uganda, authorities said
nary event” of deep con- workers have been killed. the country now had just
cern but does not yet merit On Thursday, WHO’s emer- one suspected Ebola case,
being declared a global gencies chief acknowl- who had no contact with
emergency. edged the agency has the infected family and
The U.N. health agency been unable to track the remained in isolation. They
convened its expert com- origins of nearly half of new did not give more details.
mittee for the third time to In this photo provided by the International Rescue Committee, Ebola cases in Congo amid Ninety-eight contacts with
assess the outbreak, which a Congolese refugee is screened for Ebola symptoms at the IRC the challenges, suggesting infected people have
some experts say met the triage facility in the Kyaka II refugee settlement in Kyegegwa it doesn’t know where the been identified. The health
criteria to be designated District in western Uganda, Thursday, June 13, 2019. virus is spreading. minister on Friday asked
an international emergen- Associated Press Friday’s announcement Ugandans not to shake
cy long ago. the Democratic Republic outbreak and delivered a quickly drew criticism from hands or otherwise touch
This outbreak, the second- of the Congo” but that the blunt message to donors: some experts. each other “until we are
deadliest in history, has situation should not be de- “Step up.” “I respect the advice of Ebola-free.”
killed more than 1,400 peo- clared a global one. WHO said $54 million is the emergency commit- Alexandra Phelan, a global
ple since it was declared For such a declaration, an needed. tee but do believe a public health expert at George-
in August. Three members outbreak must constitute Aavitsland added that health emergency of in- town University, said the
of the family who brought a risk to other countries declaring an emergency ternational concern would legal criteria for declaring
the virus into Uganda have and require a coordinat- could have “unintended have been justified,” said Ebola a global emergency
died after attending the ed response. The declara- consequences” such as air- Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director have long been met, even
burial of an infected rela- tion typically triggers more lines stopping flights or gov- of Wellcome, one of Brit- before the virus reached
tive, a popular pastor, in funding, resources and po- ernments closing borders. ain’s biggest donors and Uganda.
Congo. litical attention. “It was the view of the com- a funder of Ebola vaccine “Given that we are still see-
Speaking to journalists af- Aavitsland said the com- mittee that there is really research. “The epidemic is ing daily numbers of cases
ter the meeting, Dr. Pre- mittee was “deeply disap- nothing to gain by declar- in a frightening phase and in the double digits and we
ben Aavitsland, the acting pointed” that WHO and ing a (global emergency) shows no sign of stopping do not have adequate sur-
chair of the committee, an- the affected countries but there is potentially a lot anytime soon,” he said in a veillance, this indicates the
nounced that the outbreak have not received the to lose,” he said. statement. outbreak is a persistent re-
is “a health emergency in funding needed to stop the The outbreak, occurring Congo’s health minister, gional risk,” she said.q