VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has given instructions to conduct improvements in the tourist attraction in Kampong Ulos Hutaraja located in Lumban Suhi-suhi Toruan, Pangururan Sub-district, Samosir District, North Sumatra Province.

"This year, the improvement process is to be started, and buildings deemed unfit to be in Ulos will be moved from the traditional village to make it a very attractive tourist destination," Jokowi noted on Tuesday as quoted in a statement issued by the Presidential Secretariat in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The president and First Lady Iriana were welcomed by a traditional dance performed by the local children, and later, they also danced with them.

They entered one of the traditional houses in the kampong and conversed with local villagers, constituting mostly traditional Batak cloth weavers. (Antara)

Olivia Christina, an Indonesian singer and a singer from Myanmar won the 3rd place at the 2019 ASEAN+3 Song Contest 2019 in Quan Ninh Province, Vietnam, Sunday night (29/7). The competition held by the Voice of Vietnam for the second time was attended by 22 participants from 10 ASEAN member countries and 4 guest participants from Japan, the People's Republic of China and South Korea. Meanwhile, host country Vietnam won the second place, while the 1st place was won by Rosario Ninih Bianis, a participant from Malaysia. In the ASEAN+3 Song Contest 2019 Indonesia sent 2 singers namely Asty Pujisari and Olivia Christina and 1 jury, namely Bemby Gusti, an Indonesian musician and composer who was active in arranging film music and had been a judge at the Indonesian Film Festival. (ANI / Vietnam)

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has paid a working visit to North Sumatra to review the development plan of transportation infrastructure in Lake Toba which has been one of the priority areas in the development of leading tourist destinations in Indonesia.

"This afternoon the Minister of Transportation is scheduled to depart for Lake Toba to directly review the development plan of the transportation infrastructure. The Ministry of Transportation is very supportive of the program to realize Lake Toba as a leading tourist destination," the ministry's spokesman Hengki Angkasawan said here on Sunday.

Of the 10 tourist destination areas that will be developed into the so-called "New Bali", four areas are put in super priority namely Borobudur in Central Java, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara and Lake Toba in North Sumatra.

In his visit to Lake Toba, Sumadi will check several ports including Port of Muara, Ajibata Port and Ambarita Harbor and the implementation of safety procedures for passengers of ferries.

President Joko Widodo is scheduled to have a working visit to North Sumatra Province on Monday (29/7) in the company of the Minister of Transportation.

The Ministry continues to make improvements in both the safety and service aspects of transportation in Lake Toba.

At present, the Government has constructed ferry ports in eight locations in Lake Toba, namely the ports of Ajibata, Ambarita, Simanindo, Tigaras, Muara, Balige, Tongging and Marbun Toruan.

It also operates three units of roll-on roll-off ferries and one Water Bus (ANTARA)

New Zealand Ambassador-designate to Indonesia Dr Jonathan Austin expressed his nation's gratitude for the support lent by the Indonesian government and people after terrorist attacks at a mosque and an Islamic Center in Christchurch last March.

"Indonesia's support is akin to telling New Zealand that we are stronger than the tragedy itself, and we really laud it," Austin stated at an interview at the "International Corner" of Antara News Agency here on Thursday.

The ambassador-designate also praised the Indonesian government for its support to the "Christchurch Call," an initiative from New Zealand to encourage social media platforms to take greater accountability in combating violent extremist content by curbing its distribution online.

Austin noted that Indonesia was standing alongside New Zealand to highlight the crucial role of social media in preventing terrorism and is a matter of serious concern for its devastating effects akin to the incidents at Al Noor Mosque and an Islamic Center in Christchurch.

"When a terrorist, not from New Zealand, chose to come to New Zealand and kill people, hurt our people... We are very-very shocked about that. Hence, what we are really concerned is how to curb this content to be distributed online, so that nobody will get influenced by it," he stated.

"The Indonesian government's support also showed that the G-to-G (government-to-government) relations between New Zealand and Indonesia are close and that we work together on the global stage," Austin affirmed.

New Zealand's diplomat, who had been staying in Jakarta for about 20 years, also offered his condolences to the family of an Indonesian national, who died in the attack in which two others were injured.

"We have around six thousand Indonesians in New Zealand, and sadly, some of them have become victims. All this time, we live in harmony, and such action has tried to divide us, but at the end of the day, we are all human, and humanity should rank higher than religiosity, political choices, race, etc," he emphasized.

During his visit to the Antara newsroom, Austin also discussed his role as the new ambassador to Indonesia during his meeting with Antara Editor in Chief Akhmad Munir and Head of International Desk Gusti Cahya Aryani.

Austin admitted to being eager to hand over his credential letter to President Joko Widodo in early August since he arrived in Jakarta three months ago.

"After that, the first thing I would do is to celebrate. Hence, I will be going out to have a really good satay or rendang to celebrate that 'Oh, now I am officially the ambassador to Indonesia,'" he stated humorously, while adding that he might gain weight quickly during his service in Indonesia for his love for Indonesian food, including spicy dishes (ANTARA)