VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - A French delegation had visited a social rehabilitation and protection facility in Jakarta on September 29 to learn about the social rehabilitation program run by the Ministry of Social Affairs for children and women exposed to radicalism, a government official said.

The delegation from the French Directorate General of Internal Security (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure/DGSI) witnessed the implementation of the social rehabilitation program and had conversations with social workers and program beneficiaries at the Handayani Center, Yulianti Mukhtar said.

According to a press release received from the ministry in Jakarta on Tuesday, Mukhtar, general working group coordinator of the Jakarta Handayani Center, said the DGSI delegation also shared experiences regarding the implementation of social service programs for dealing with the impact of radicalism and terrorism in France and other countries.

Member of the French DGSI delegation, Thierry Toutin, said the French delegation gathered information about the application of psychosocial therapy in the social rehabilitation program run at the Handayani Center in Jakarta.

The French delegation also visited the Bambu Apus Attention Creation Center and observed the activities and works of the beneficiaries of the social service program.

Sub-Coordinator for European cooperation at the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), Djaty Utoyo Utomo, conveyed the importance of international cooperation in de-radicalization efforts.

"Collaboration like this helps us learn from each other and strengthens our efforts in fighting radicalism," he said. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Constitutional Court (MK) and the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs have agreed to collaborate to increase constitutional awareness.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam), Mahfud MD, said that the cooperation is built on the foundation of their respective functions and authorities so they do not interfere with each other, and it is not related to the constitutional case being examined and is under trial at MK.

"So this cooperation is in the field of handling issues, knowledge, digital legal information, but not in cases," Mahfud said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He said the handling of cases at the Constitutional Court is independent so it cannot be interfered with or collaborated with.

The cooperation only applies to technical information, such as journals published by the Constitutional Court, publications on legal and Constitutional issues, as well as training on Pancasila ideology and the Constitution, he added.

The agreement was forged through the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) concerning strengthening the implementation of coordination, synchronization and control of ministerial and institutional policies through studies in the political, legal, and security sectors based on constitutionalism.

The MoU also includes cooperation in terms of coordination, exchanging data and/or information resulting from studies and publications, increasing understanding about the basic national and state consensus, developing e-government and e-courts, as well as other activities agreed upon by the parties.

"There is no cooperation regarding cases, we never talk about cases, because cases have their own room that can be discussed between the judges," said Mahfud. (Antaranews)

Taiwan issued a land warning on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Koinu which is expected to bring heavy rain and winds to large parts of the island's south and east.

Koinu, now a category three typhoon, is likely to weaken to a category two by the time it makes landfall on Taiwan's far southeast coast late on Wednesday, according to Tropical Storm Risk.

The heaviest rain will fall along mountainous and sparsely populated parts of Pingtung county in the south and the east coast counties of Taitung and Hualien.

Some flights and ferries to outlying Taiwanese islands have been cancelled as winds build.

After passing through Taiwan, the typhoon will head towards southern China's Guangdong province where it is likely to weaken further to become a tropical storm.

(Reuters)

New Zealand is launching a new tourism campaign with Kiwi director and actor Taika Waititi to attract visitors after the sector was hammered by COVID-19 and border closures.

Tourism New Zealand on Wednesday will premiere a 3-1/2 minute promotional film featuring the Oscar winner and Jade Daniels, his stunt double in the HBO romantic comedy series "Our Flag Means Death" which is filmed in New Zealand.

Visitors from United States are a major target audience, said Rene de Monchy, chief executive for Tourism New Zealand. The film, shot in December 2022, will also play on social media platforms in Australia, Germany, the UK and parts of Asia.

"Competition is heating up and economic times are a bit tough in many parts of the world so we've got to keep being innovative and top of mind for people."

Prior to COVID and the closure of New Zealand's borders, international tourism was New Zealand's largest source of foreign exchange and accounted for about 5.5% of gross domestic product.

Tourists are returning but overseas visitors in July were still 16% lower than in July 2019.

The film, which cost NZ$689,000($409,890) to make, highlights activities like dolphin watching in Kaikoura on the South Island's east coast and wine tasting in the country's largest city Auckland.

($1 = 1.6810 New Zealand dollars)

(Reuters)