VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Members of the Indonesian Navy, part of the TNI MTF Task Force Garuda Contingent XXVIII-P UNIFIL, participate in a farewell ceremony at Madura Pier, Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday (December 12, 2024). ANTARA/Indonesian Navy/rst

VOI News, Jakarta: The Indonesian warship KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda-367  departed from its base at the Indonesian Navy Fleet Command (Koarmada) II in Surabaya, East Java, and is heading to Jakarta in preparation for its voyage to Beirut, Lebanon.

As reported by Antara News Agency on Saturday (14/12/2024), the Indonesian naval vessel is currently part of the Maritime Task Force (MTF) of the TNI Garuda Contingent (Konga) XXVIII-P UNIFIL, scheduled to sail to Beirut in the third week of December 2024 for a peacekeeping mission with the United Nations.

The warship is projected to continue the duties of the TNI Konga XXVIII-O UNIFIL MTF Task Force currently serving in Lebanon.

Head of Information Service of the Koarmada II Indonesian Navy, Colonel Widyo Sasongko, stated on Friday (Dec 13) that the TNI Konga XXVIII-P UNIFIL MTF Task Force was released from the Madura Pier, East Java, on Thursday (December 12), by Chief of Staff of Koarmada II, Commodore Isswarto, representing the Commander of Koarmada II, Rear Admiral Ariantyo Condrowibowo.

"This ship will carry out a peace mission for 365 days as part of UNIFIL - a multinational mission responsible for maintaining security stability in the region," Sasongko remarked.

KRI SIM-367 will chart a strategic course from Jakarta, first stopping in Batam before navigating international waters. Its planned route includes port calls at Colombo in Sri Lanka, Salalah in Oman, and a critical passage through Egypt's Suez Canal at Port Said, ultimately concluding its journey in Beirut, Lebanon.

"You will interact with other countries' officers, UNIFIL elements, and local communities. Therefore, uphold the values of professionalism, tolerance, and international cooperation," Isswarto, representing Condrobirowo, told 120 soldiers of the Task Force members.

They are also reminded to be alert to all forms of threats, considering the escalation of armed conflict in Lebanon between the Israeli military and the armed militia Hezbollah.

The TNI Konga XXVIII-P UNIFIL MTF Task Force is scheduled to depart to Beirut, Lebanon, carrying 120 Navy personnel and an anti-submarine helicopter from the AS 565 MBe HS-1306 Panther Naval Air Station.

In Beirut, the TNI Konga XXVIII-P UNIFIL MTF Task Force will continue the peacekeeping mission of the TNI Konga XXVIII-O UNIFIL MTF Task Force, whose term of duty will end in early January 2025.

The Maritime Task Force is one of the units under the control of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Apart from MTF, the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) also deployed other troops to join other UNIFIL units, including the Mechanized Battalion Task Force (INDOBATT), Force Headquarter Support Unit (FHQSU), Indo Force Protection Company (FPC) Task Force, Civil-Military Coordination (CIMIC) Task Force, Military Community Outreach Unit (MCOU) Task Force, and Level 2 Hospital Task Force.

Most TNI soldiers, who are members of UNIFIL, operate on land, while the MTF Task Force carries out its duties at sea.

Indonesia still sends the most soldiers to carry out peacekeeping missions with UNIFIL in Lebanon, with 1,230 soldiers.

Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Arief Prasetyo Adi, delivering a statement to the press in Kebayoran, Jakarta, on Friday (December 6, 2024). (ANTARA/Harianto)

VOI News, Jakarta: Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Arief Prasetyo Adi, has said that the rice assistance program will be continued in 2025 as it has been approved by President Prabowo Subianto.

"At a limited meeting with the President, he approved it to be given again in January and February," he confirmed during the distribution of rice assistance to beneficiaries in Kebayoran, Jakarta, on Friday as reported by Antara News Agency (6/12).

According to him, in 2024, the rice assistance program targeted 22 million beneficiary families.

However, in 2025, the number of beneficiary families will be reduced to 16 million, though the amount of rice will remain the same, namely 10 kilograms for each beneficiary family.

The number of beneficiaries for 2025 has been revised due to several factors, including the decline in the percentage of the poor population.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the number of poor in March 2024 stood at 25.22 million, reflecting a 0.68 million decrease compared to March 2023 and a decline of 1.14 million compared to September 2022.

In addition, to make the assistance program more accurate, decile 1 and decile 2 families that need the assistance the most will be the focus of the program.

Furthermore, there will be other programs that will have wide coverage in 2025, such as the Free Nutritious Meals program.

At the aid distribution event on Friday, he also conveyed his appreciation to Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati for providing budget support despite the tight fiscal situation.

The Bapanas head expressed the hope that the rice assistance will ease the burden on the community, especially in meeting their basic needs.

Currently, the third phase distribution of rice assistance, namely for December 2024, is still on in several regions and is targeted to be completed before the end of the year.

                                    Employees present merchandise through live broadcast or Live Shopping at a mall in Kudus, Central Java, on Thursday (October 12, 2023). ANTARA FOTO/Yusuf Nugroho/Spt/am. 

VOI News, Jakarta: Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated that the government is optimizing National Online Shopping Day, dubbed Harbolnas, on December 12 to boost consumer purchasing power.

"We are launching National Online Shopping Day alongside offline shopping days from December 26, 2024, to January 11, 2025. Last year's Harbolnas generated Rp35 trillion (US$2.2 billion), and we aim to achieve the same figure this year," he noted on Friday (6/12).

As reported by Antara News Agency (7/12) he emphasized that the world continues to face several economic challenges.

According to Hartarto, global growth is projected to be 3.2 percent in both 2024 and 2025, below pre-pandemic growth levels.

Despite the uncertainty, the Indonesian economy is still considered solid, as reflected in the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2024 of 4.95 percent (year on year/yoy) or 5.03 percent (cumulative-to-cumulative/ctc).

Meanwhile, inflation remains under control within the target range. In November 2024, inflation was recorded at 1.55 percent (yoy), maintained in the range of 2.5 percent, give or take one percent.

He made assurance that the government would continue to maintain price stability and affordability, especially ahead of the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Regarding Harbolnas, Hartarto lauded the ministries and institutions, associations, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and the community for enthusiastically supporting the program, which focuses on MSMEs and domestic industries.

"Data from NielsenIQ showed that our people are increasingly fond of shopping. The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products until the third quarter (Q3) still grew 1.1 percent year-on-year. Hence, domestic consumption is still growing," he remarked.

Meanwhile, Trade Minister Budi Santoso affirmed that the government is keen to encourage the momentum of sales of MSMEs products during the 2024 Harbolnas.

Hence, the government also dedicates December 10,11, 13, and 16 to the sale and promotion of domestic products.

He expressed hope that this year's Harbolnas would increase the transaction value by 13-16 percent compared to total transactions in 2023, with a notable rise in the contribution of local product transactions during the 2024 event.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Ni Luh Puspa at the GATF 2024 opening in Jakarta on Friday (November 29, 2024). (ANTARA/Fitra Ashari) 

VOI News, Jakarta: Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry launched the Turtle House at the Pulau Rambut Wildlife Sanctuary in the Seribu Islands, Jakarta, to support the conservation of the endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) species.

"The Turtle House will be a symbol in preserving one of the protected marine reptiles which is also very vulnerable to extinction," the ministry's Director of Conservation Area Planning, Ahmad Munawir, remarked on Friday.

As reported by Antara News Agency (29/11) he noted that hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

The success rate of hatching hawksbill turtle eggs in the area is low, as about 76 percent of turtle nests are preyed upon by monitor lizards.

To handle this, intervention is deemed necessary by moving the nests to a semi-natural hatchery to protect the eggs from predators and tides.

In addition to natural predators, garbage from the mainland of Java Island is one of the issues causal to the decline of the hawksbill turtle population, including those in protected waters around Jakarta.

In a bid to increase the turtle population, the Ministry of Forestry and the Jakarta Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) collaborated with oil and natural gas company Pertamina Hulu Energi Offshore North West Java (PHE ONWJ) to build the Turtle House.

On this occasion, the statue of the milky stork (Mycteria cinera), which is an endangered bird, was also launched as Pulau Rambut Island's icon.

The bird has been listed as a protected species in Indonesia since 1935. The Pulau Rambut area is also the breeding center of the milky stork population spread in the island of Java and the eastern coast of Sumatra.