A National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) official holds a part of the retrieved black box of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182, which crashed into the sea at the weekend off the Jakarta coast, in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 12, 2021. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/File Photo

Indonesian authorities have retrieved one of two black boxes, the Flight Data Recorder, from a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 that crashed into the Java Sea on Saturday.

This is how the black box readout process works. Read the full story here.

Indonesian divers believe they are close to finding the cockpit voice recorder of a Sriwijaya Air jet that plunged into the sea shortly after takeoff with 62 people onboard.

Divers retrieved the plane’s flight data recorder (FDR) from the seabed on Tuesday, January 12, and officials said they had also found the beacon that was attached to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR).

“God willing, we will find it today,” said Navy official Wahyudin Arif, refering to the cockpit voice recorder.

He told KompasTV on Wednesday divers would comb a very narrow area of the seabed for the voice recorder, adding that divers found the first black box by shifting debris on the seabed piece by piece and he suspected the same process would be needed to find the other recorder.

Military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said on Tuesday he had “high confidence” of finding the recorder soon. – Rappler.com

The violent mob that laid siege to the US Capitol on January 6 carried symbols expressing the purpose of their insurrectionist campaign to derail Joe Biden’s electoral certification.

Alongside American flags, anti-Semitic banners, and Confederate battle flags flew the yellow-and-red striped flag of the former South Vietnam. This confounded many onlookers. One reddit user wondered why the mostly white “anarchist mob” had “coopted” South Vietnamese iconography.

Read more.

Thailand has received applications from AstraZeneca and Sinovac Biotech to register their COVID-19 vaccines for use in the country, the food and drug agency said on Tuesday, January 12.

Thailand previously ordered 63 million vaccine doses from the two companies, which would be enough to inoculate nearly half of its 70 million population.

Two million doses will be from Sinovac, which is expected to deliver its first 200,000 doses next month. The rest will be the AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine, which would be produced by Thai firm Siam Bioscience for local use and export.

The vaccine will need to undergo various safety assessments to be registered in Thailand, and once approved, they can be bought by private hospitals, said Food and Drug Administration secretary-general, Paisal Dunkhum.

“We’re processing AstraZeneca’s request, which is expected to be approved soon,” Paisal said in a statement on Tuesday, without specifying a target date.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said after a weekly cabinet meeting that everyone in the country would get the chance to be inoculated.

“I confirm that every Thai will be vaccinated,” Prayuth said.

Thailand reported 287 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections to 10,834 since it detected its first case almost a year ago. It has recorded 67 coronavirus-related fatalities so far.

Indonesian divers on Tuesday, January 12, retrieved from the sea bed the flight data recorder (FDR) of a Sriwijaya Air plane that crashed into the Java Sea with 62 people on board at the weekend, officials said.

Divers had also found a separate radio beacon, raising hopes that the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) it was connected to could soon be found and reveal what caused the plane to lose control moments after takeoff.

“We are sure that, because the beacon that was attached to the cockpit voice recorder was also found around the area, so with high confidence, the cockpit voice recorder will soon be found,” military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said at a news conference.

With few immediate clues on what happened after takeoff, investigators will rely heavily on the flight recorders to determine what went wrong.

Read more here.

Malaysia on Tuesday, January 12, reported 3,309 new coronavirus cases, the biggest daily rise since the start of the pandemic, as the country imposed a nationwide state of emergency.

Malaysia’s palace said the king had declared the emergency as COVID-19 infections had reached “a critical stage.”

China will give Myanmar a batch of coronavirus vaccines for free, the Chinese foreign ministry announced on Tuesday, January 12, as the government’s top diplomat wrapped up a two-day visit to Myanmar.

“China will continue to provide anti-epidemic materials according to Myanmar’s needs. We shall give a batch of coronavirus for free and will continue discussions on vaccine cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also said that when top diplomat, Wang Yi, met the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, he sought the support of the military for a China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

The corridor is a network – some of it existing and some planned – of transport and other infrastructure projects passing through areas where ethnic minority factions battle each other and government forces.

Fighting in northeastern Myanmar sometimes sends refugees fleeing over the border into China.

After leaving Myanmar, Wang Yi, China’s state councillor and foreign minister, will visit Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines before returning to China on January 16.