VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

PLN has deployed officers and readied equipment to maintain electricity supply ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays. (ANTARA/HO-PLN/uyu) - 

State-owned electricity provider PT PLN (Persero) has made preparations to maintain the reliability of electricity in Papua and West Papua provinces ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.

"Extreme weather, which has occurred recently, has made us take better preventive actions,” General Manager of PLN’s Papua and West Papua Regional Main Unit, Abdul Farid, said here on Friday

He informed that officers at each Customer Service Implementing Unit (UP3) have been deployed to inspect electricity feeders, sub-stations, and grids, as well as trim branches that are too close to power lines.

“We hope that the community will allow their trees to be cut down if they have the potential to disrupt the power supply,” he said.

Currently, the peak electricity load in the two provinces has reached 327 megawatts (MW), while the generating capacity is pegged at 457 MW, Farid noted.

Hence, the generating capacity provides a power reserve of around 130 MW, which is sufficient to meet public power needs during the holidays, he said.

Still, the company has prepared several supporting equipment at a number of pre-determined locations as an anticipatory measure to ensure electricity supply, he informed.

The equipment comprises 45 uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices, 67 mobile sub-stations (UGB), and 172 mobile generators, he added.

"Overall, the electricity supply in Papua and West Papua provinces is sufficient. Still, we need to prepare a number of supporting equipment at several strategic locations," Farid emphasized.

The equipment has been deployed at churches and other public places to ensure electricity supply can be safely maintained and people can worship solemnly and smoothly, he remarked.

According to data from the Religious Affairs Ministry, most people in Papua and West Papua provinces are Christians.

Papua, which has a population of 4.3 million, has around 3 million Protestants and 669 thousand Catholics. Meanwhile, West Papua, which has a population of 1.1 million, has around 621 thousand Protestants and 87 thousand Catholics, as per the data//ANT

FILE PHOTO: A logo of Deutsche Bank AG is seen in Tokyo July 16, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai - 

Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Societe Generale SA are changing to a Saturday-Sunday weekend from the New Year in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which is aligning its working week with most global markets.

The German bank will from Jan. 3 operate Monday-Friday in the Sunni Muslim-ruled country, instead of the current Sunday-Thursday as is common around the Middle East, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Wall Street-based JPMorgan is also adapting the same week in UAE https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-announces-move-saturday-sunday-weekend-state-news-agency-2021-12-07, along with flexible practices such as a break for Muslim prayers on Fridays, the bank said in a statement.

France-based Societe Generale's spokesperson said it is implementing Saturday-Sunday weekend from Jan. 2 in its Dubai and Abu Dhabi entities, according to an emailed statement.

Bloomberg News was the first to report https://bloom.bg/3GXvwrq on Sunday that JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Corp and Societe Generale will switch to a Saturday-Sunday weekend in the UAE.

Representatives of Bank of America did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The banks' move comes after the UAE said on Dec. 7 that it would shift to a four-and-a-half day week with a Saturday-Sunday weekend from the start of next year.

Private companies are, however, free to choose their own working week in the oil-producing Gulf state which is the region's commercial, trade and tourism hub.

Over the past year, the UAE has taken measures to make its economy more attractive to foreign investment and talent at a time of growing economic rivalry with Saudi Arabia//CNA

Despite rainy weather and COVID-19 rules for retailers, Dusseldorf's city centre is well frequented shortly before Christmas on Dec 18, 2021. (File photo: AP/Malte Krudewig, dpa) - 

Germany is tightening travel restrictions for people coming from Britain in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant there.

The country’s national disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, added Britain to its list of “virus variant areas” late on Saturday (Dec 18). This means that anyone travelling from the United Kingdom to Germany must enter a mandatory quarantine for 14 days, regardless of vaccination status.

The new restrictions, which will go into effect at midnight on Sunday, come as the UK reports a record high number of new coronavirus infections. On Saturday, the country saw 90,418 new cases.

The UK joins eight African countries, including South Africa, on Germany’s list of “virus variant areas”.

The Robert Koch Institute’s announcement comes in the wake of tightened restrictions for other countries across Europe as the continent faces a fourth wave of infections.

Starting on Sunday, France and Denmark are considered “high-risk areas,” meaning that those who are not vaccinated or recovered from the virus must quarantine for 10 days. Dozens of countries, including nearly all of Germany’s direct neighbours, have now been added to this category//CNA

The aid ceremony for artists in Bali - 

The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy/Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, handed over assistance to 47 art studios in Bali as an effort to encourage the recovery of the tourism sector and the creative economy.

In the handover which was held at Wedja Restaurant, Ubud, Gianyar Regency, Saturday, (12/18/2021), Sandiaga said this activity was the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and Entrepreneurs who Care for Artists. Where, the provision of this assistance is expected to be a form of program that is right on target, has the right benefits, and is timely in an effort to restore the economy and create job opportunities.

"This is one of the GEBER (Joint Movement) programs by providing assistance to care for entrepreneurs for affected artists in Bali," said Sandiaga.

Sandiaga said the 47 studios are spread over six regions. These include Puri Ubud, Puri Sanur, Puri Peliatan, Puri Gede, Carangsari, and Mengwi.

The 47 studios received assistance with a total of around Rp. 400 million. "Hopefully this assistance can be useful for artists in these six areas," he said.

In addition, Sandiaga also gave a certificate of appreciation for Beda'kan (Nusantara Culinary Packaging Design Surgery) which was attended by 25 brands from Carangsari Tourism Village and Tenganan Tourism Village. "This program is an effort made by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to accelerate the recovery of the tourism sector and the creative economy," said Sandiaga.

According to release received by Voice of Indonesia on Sunday (19/12/21), Sandiaga also briefly discussed efforts to restore the Island of the Gods' economy with a number of media crews who were present at the event. In the discussion, he hoped that the media would become a mouthpiece of information for the various efforts to restore Bali's economy carried out by the Government.

Moreover, the media crew in Bali have high enthusiasm in reporting the efforts to restore the nation's economy.

"I myself several times
visiting and working in Bali for a working visit and Work From Bali, feeling the enthusiasm of fellow journalists to continue working, covering, and looking for news in the midst of a pandemic situation. The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy expects collaboration from media partners and journalists to continue to play an active role as a mouthpiece for information on the recovery effort," said Sandiaga//VOI-NK