VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

United Nations Security Council (UNSC), under Presidency of Indonesia, adopted Res. 2469 on the extension of the mandate of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), New York (14/5).

As the President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Indonesia read out the agreed Press Elements on Lebanon, which reaffirmed the Council’s strong support for sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence and security of Lebanon. (kemlu)

Indonesian women's badminton player Ghaida Nurul Ghaniyu finish as women's singles runner-up position in the 2019 Badminton Future Series championship in Lima after competing against Cuban player Taymara Oropesa Pupo with a score of 21-19, 14-21 and 27-29 in the final. The match went exciting and thrilling especially in the decisive third set. The two players follow each other in the acquisition of numbers to occur three times deuce.

Ghaida who threw down the resistance of the Peruvian women's singles who became the number 1 seeded player, Daniela Marcias with a score of 21-15 and 21-11 in the semifinal party the day before, conceded to her opponent in the final on Sunday, 12 May 2019. is the number 2 seeded player in the championship held by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Whereas in the previous three matches Ghaida appeared stunning with a pretty convincing number of points against Maria Delia Zambrano (21-15, 21-17), Fernanda Munar Solimano (21-10, 21-8) and Daniela Macias (21-15, 21 -11). Fernanda and Daniela are both Peruvian badminton while Maria is from Ecuador.

Ghaida, an Indonesian badminton player from Djarum Kudus club who was undergoing training in Montreal, Canada for a period of 2 years was the only Indonesian athlete who competed in this championship and was not ranked as the leading player. But Ghaida managed to look stunning despite failing to win the first place.

Ghaida who at night before the match attended the break fasting and tarawih together at Wisma Indonesia, has shown her determination and effort to win the badminton championship despite having to lose in the final. Besides Ghaida, there was also an Indonesian badminton coach named Yandi Muharam who became the coach of Ecuador's national badminton athletes in the city of Guayaquil who also competed in the badminton championship in Lima. (Source: Indonesian Embassy in Lima)

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has projected that the tourism sector will contribute US$17.6-18 billion to the national economy, well above foreign exchange earnings from crude palm oil (CPO), which is now the country's largest foreign exchange earner. The number of tourist arrivals in the country is projected to reach 18 million by the end of 2019, he said after swearing in administrative officials, supervisory officials, functional officials and officials of the authority boards at the ministry in Jakarta on Tuesday.

"I informed President Joko Widodo of this figure when he asked me about the tourism projections for this year," he said.

The projection of 18 million tourist arrivals represents a two-fold increase over the past five years, although it falls short of the target of 20 million for this year, he said.

"When I assumed the post of tourism minister in 2015, the number of tourist arrivals was 9 million. The figure increased two-fold to 18 million in the past five years," he said.

The government has projected that foreign exchange earnings from the tourism sector will reach US$17.6 billion-US$18 billion this year. The figure surpassed foreign exchange earnings from crude palm oil (CPO), which were listed as the country's largest exchange earner last year. Foreign exchange earnings from the tourism sector were equal to those of CPO, when the number of tourist arrivals reached 16.4 million last year, with foreign exchange earnings recorded at US$16.1 billion.

The minister said the ministry will cooperate with tourism stakeholders to carry out four programs to achieve the target of 18 million tourist arrivals. The four programs include border tourism, hot deals, tourism hubs, and LCC Terminal.

"Through the border tourism program, we target (the number of tourist arrivals) to reach 3.4 million. Last year it stood at 18 percent, and is projected to increase to 20 percent of the target ot tourist arrivals this year," he said.

The hot deal program offers huge discounts during low season and is expected to contribute 2 million-2.5 million tourist arrivals.

"Through the hot deal program last year, we managed to sell 700,000 pax, with the largest share of 20 percent coming from Riau Islands," he said.

To implement the tourism hub program, the ministry is cooperating with Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "This program is a solution for direct flights, which are difficult to find and take a relatively long time," he said. (ant)

Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Soemarno wants the construction of all fast train stations to be completed on schedule, along with the completion of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project.

"Walini, including a large (fast train) station. After Lebaran the construction of the station here has begun," Minister Rini told reporters at Walini, West Bandung Regency, West Java, Tuesday.

Rini explained that the construction of the stations must begin so when the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train project is completed in 2020, all the stations will be completed.

"When the high-speed train is finished at the end of 2020, and in January 2021 the plan has been tested by running the train, we hope the station will be finished," he said, after formalizing the first tunnel connection of 13 Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train tunnels at Walini.

Minister Rini also said he hopes the construction of the transit-oriented developments (TOD) to begin soon.

"With the rapid development of the high-speed railway line, we also have to begin concentrating on the development of the TODs," he said.

At present, the progress of the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung fast train has reached 17.5 percent. The SOE minister is targeting the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train to reach 59 percent before the end of this year.

The Walini station will be connected to other public transportation modes, in order to improve the accessibility and mobility of people in the region.

With a land area of 1,278 hectares, Walini is is expected to become a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) area.

The system of integration and the development of improved public transport infrastructure in the region is expected to increase the productivity in the community.

Previously, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk or Wika revealed that the project would also including building new properties. There are three large areas, the first in Karawang, the second is in Tegalluar, the Bandung border, and the third area is located in Walini.

Walini is to become a new city. With the three points of the area, projected revenues are expected to reach Rp266.1 trillion. (ant)