VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

An American woman and self-described digital nomad will be deported from Indonesia after posting tweets that sparked a social media backlash over perceived western privilege and lack of cultural awareness, after she said Bali was “LGBT friendly”.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation and its LGBT community has for years faced discrimination and sometimes violent attacks. Only 9% of Indonesians agreed that homosexuality is acceptable, according to a survey by the Pew research centre last June.

In a series of tweets at the weekend, Kristen Gray wrote about the perks of her decision to move to the tropical island of Bali with her girlfriend, describing it as the “perfect medicine”, a place that was LGBT friendly, and where the low cost of living afforded her a luxurious lifestyle.

 The European Union called on incoming U.S. President Joe Biden to form a “new founding pact” with Europe working on issues such as peace, security, prosperity, freedom and human rights.

“Today is more than a transition. Today is an opportunity to rejuvenate our transatlantic relationship, which has greatly suffered in the last four years. In these years, the world has grown more complex, less stable and less predictable”

“On the first day of his mandate, I address a solemn proposal to the new president. Let’s build a new founding pact for a stronger Europe, for a stronger America and for a better world.”

Michel said the two should work on five priorities - boosting multilateral cooperation, combating COVID-19, tackling climate change, economic recovery with a digital transformation and joining forces on security and peace. (Reuters)

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has put forward a suggestion to build green fuel refinery for processing palm oil into green fuel.

LIPI has offered four recommendations for the government to adopt a strategic policy on biodiesel energy for the 2020-2045 period.

"The four recommendations are stipulated in the Policy Brief as scientific-based considerations and communication media between researchers and stakeholders," LIPI's Coordinator of Research Program of Innovation and Science and Technology, Anugerah Yuka Asmara, noted in a statement here on Wednesday.

The institute has also encouraged research on edible oil, tamanu oil, and Reutialis Trisperma oil to curb the expansion of palm oil plantations.

LIPI has recommended to evaluate the implementation of the mandatory B10, B20, and B30 biodiesel program.

"With the successful roll out of the B30 biodiesel in January 2020, Indonesia has become the first country to produce biodiesel from crude palm oil," he pointed out.

The evaluation can serve as a reference for the implementation of B40 and B50.

With profuse supply of crude palm oil (CPO), Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, Asmara noted. (antaranews)

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati highlighted the importance of continuing to implement various infrastructure development programs, including those related to education and health, despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

"Amid the COVID-19 pandemic situation, we do not forget development activities. We still hope that despite the COVID-19, we continue to implement development programs,” the minister noted at the 2021 Infrastructure Project Financing Policy Forum through SBSN (State Sharia Bond) here on Wednesday.

Indrawati stressed on the criticality of infrastructure development in the health sector in the wake of the pandemic, especially to address the health crises.

"In the health sector, we must not only handle COVID-19 but there are also many other steps to take, including upgrading hospitals," she emphasized.

To this end, the minister affirmed that in order to support development, the government should continue to create and develop creative financing instruments.

Indrawati cited the example of SBSN, being implemented since 2013, as one of the creative financing instruments.

The number of ministries and institutions (K/L) that began using SBSN, has risen, from one K/L in 2013 to eight K/L in 2020 and 11 K/L in 2021.

"The cumulative value of financing reaches Rp145.84 trillion," she stated.

In addition to financing infrastructure projects, SBSN can be channeled to boost economic development and sharia instruments in Indonesia.

"Regarding SBSN linked to projects, it is very crucial to establish close collaboration among ministries and institutions," she noted.

The minister emphasized that the performance and quality of projects financed by SBSN must be of high quality on account of the fact that those projects are financed by loans, while the government must also continue to protect Indonesia's debts. (antaranews)