VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Madiun Regency is a potential tourist area to be proud of, with its area consisting of forests and several other attractions such as interest tourism and cultural tourism. One of the tourist attractions that must be visited when visiting Madiun is the Seweru waterfall which has beautiful views.

Seweru Waterfall is located on the slopes of Mount Wilis at a height of 400 meters above sea level. The source of this waterfall comes from under the mountain and among shady trees. The Seweru waterfall tourist attraction is located about 25 kilometers from the city of Madiun to the east, right in Kare village, Kare sub-district. The air and environment around this waterfall is pleasantly cool. The beauty of the Seweru waterfall or which has other names such as Serondo, Selampir and Kedung Malem is accompanied by views of forest tourism which enhances the beauty of the natural panorama. Apart from that, there are also agro-tourism attractions, such as apple and orange plantations, flower gardens and also clove gardens. The shady trees and plants that grow around the waterfall also make this location feel cool, typical of mountain air, far from pollution like in big cities.

For more adventure, you can also walk closer to this waterfall, because underneath there are many large rocks that can be used as places to sit while dipping your feet. The water in the pool under the waterfall is crystal clear, inviting anyone who sees it to immediately plunge into it. Because the terrain is narrow and winding, you can only use two-wheeled vehicles to get to Seweru waterfall.

Seweru waterfall is equipped with facilities such as parking area, accommodation at varying prices, modest restaurants and stalls, also public toilets. For those of you who don't want to spend the night in an inn or hotel, you can set up camp in the area provided.

After being known as the cleanest village in the world, Penglipuran village in Bali has once again achieved prestigious recognition. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released its annual list of the best tourist villages in the world for 2024. Reporting from Time Out, there are 54 villages on this list. This number is much higher than last year, which was 32 villages. These include five villages in Peru, four villages in China, a remote village in India, as well as one Indonesian tourist village, Penglipuran.

The only Indonesian tourist village included in the list of best villages in the world in 2024 is Penglipuran. It is located in Bangli District, Bangli Regency, Bali Province.

Penglipuran Village has existed since 700 years ago during the Bangli Kingdom era. According to legend, this village was a gift from the King of Bangli to the people who fought against the Gianyar Kingdom. Customary law, known as awig-awig, is still applied in Penglipuran Village, apart from following government regulations.

Penglipuran is a traditional village that still upholds the noble values of its ancestors. These values are also included in the village layout, namely carrying out the Tri Mandala concept. According to the Tri Mandala concept, village spatial planning is divided into three areas, namely Utama Mandala, Madya Mandala, and Nista Mandala, which are ordered from the northernmost area to the southernmost area.

The distance of Penglipuran Village is around 60 kilometers from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and can be reached in 1 hour 30 minutes by car.

This tourist village with strong cultural values has also won a number of awards several years ago. Such as the third cleanest villages in the world according to the Green Destinations Foundation and the Green Destinations Foundation's Sustainable Destinations Top 100. In 2022, this village became a visiting destination for the G20 delegation.

The Indonesian National Zakat Amil Agency (BAZNAS) is coordinating with the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo to prepare the needs for a public kitchen at the Rafah border, in its efforts to help the Palestinian people in Gaza. Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian National Zakat Amil Agency, Mokhamad Mahdum in his statement in Jakarta, Thursday, said that one of the initiatives being prepared was to meet the needs of a public kitchen managed by the Egyptian Red Crescent at the Rafah border. He explained that providing a public kitchen there was an urgent need. Many Palestinian refugees suffer from starvation due to Israeli aggression. According to him, the public kitchen will provide food for thousands of Palestinians affected by the conflict, especially those who are displaced and homeless. However, according to him, the Indonesian National Zakat Amil Agency cannot carry out this humanitarian mission without the support and participation of all parties. Therefore, it coordinates with the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo for public kitchen needs. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Representative of the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo, M Zaim A Nasution, said that The Indonesian National Zakat Amil Agency is one of the institutions that distributes a lot of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people through Egypt.

The Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong, Yul Edison held a meeting with the Vice President of the University of Hong Kong,  Prof. Ian Holliday  at the University of Hong Kong campus on Monday (19/2).  The meeting aimed at discussing the potential for educational cooperation, because Hong Kong is considered to have high potential as one of the study destinations for Indonesian students. One of the ways raised is to increase student exchange programs between Indonesian and Hong Kong university students.  Hong Kong University has approximately 400 student exchange partner universities. Prof. Holliday expressed his interest in working with 3-4 universities in Indonesia for this program.

Moreover, Prof. Holliday also raised the possibility of increasing the quota for foreign students from outside the People's Republic of China at the University of Hong Kong from 300 people to 600 people in the near future.  In addition,  the University of Hong Kong also has very profitable doctoral scholarships. They hope that this will become a selling point for the University of Hong Kong for Indonesian students. At the event,  the Indonesian Consul General,  Yul Edison also invited Hong Kong University students to take part in the scholarship program offered by the Indonesian government. These scholarships include the Dharmasiswa-Arts Scholarship and Indonesian Culture as well as the Developing Countries Partnership Scholarship. Yul Edison hopes that there will be an increase in interest among Indonesian students to continue their studies in Hong Kong, which is still relatively small.

Besides, several universities in Hong Kong are listed as the best universities in the world,  including the University of Hong Kong which is ranked the best in Hong Kong and 26th best in the world,  based on an assessment from the QS World University Rankings 2024.  The University of Hong Kong is also part of the University21 network which consists of the top 29 best universities in the world, including Gajah Mada University.