VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The head of the National Library of Indonesia, Muhammad Syarif Bando open the speaking competition 2021; Perpusnas - 

A total of 34 elementary/MI students took part in a national level speaking competition organized by the National Library of Indonesia (NLI). They were the first winners from each province that passed after going through a selection at the district/city level.

The speaking competition is expected to foster a culture of reading fondness from an early age for elementary and MI students. In a press release received by Voice of Indonesia on Monday (06/09/21), The head of the National Library of Indonesia, Muhammad Syarif Bando, stated that the speaking competition is the foundation to build the nation's awareness that children are the future of the country. Children as the nation's next generation are future leaders. Through this competition, they gain knowledge about Indonesia's wealth and potential.

“I want to hand over this relay of national leadership to you in the next 25 years. How to? So that you can lead Indonesia, read Indonesia from now on. So that 20-30 years from now, you know Indonesia is like that, its natural resources are the richest in the world. The location is very strategic," he said at the opening of the Grand Final of the 2021 National Speaking Contest which was held virtually, on Monday (6/9/2021).

Syarif Bando added, even though it was held virtually, the actual contestants were already present at the National Library. Therefore, libraries and literacy should be a part of their lives. By reading, they get education. This can be a provision to be a leader in various professional fields in the future.

In the future, the participants are expected to be able to become the pride of Indonesia by increasing their literacy level. Where at the highest level of literacy is the ability to create goods and services that are used in global competition.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Center for Library Analysis and Reading Culture Development of the National Library of Indonesia, Adin Bondar, said that the speaking competition is a supporting activity for the National Priority Activities of the Government's 2021 Work Plan, namely the love of reading culture and literacy. According to him, referring to the opinion of experts, elementary school age is an intellectual period. Knowledge of children will develop very rapidly with increasing age.

"This speaking competition is very strategic in building our children's cognitive and building reading habits which later when they are adults, will become knowledgeable, creative, and innovative individuals," he said.

According to the schedule, the winner announcement will be made on Thursday, September 9th. The participants appear virtually in front of the jury. The competition selects three champions, three hopeful winners, and the favorite winner who will receive coaching money. Not only that, the finalists will also receive coaching money as an appreciation//VOI-NK

Kemenparekraf prepares 298 billion Rupiah for health workers accommodation until the end of November 2021; Birkom kemenparekraf - 

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy participated in the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia by preparing funds of 298 billion rupiah in the form of providing room and hotel services for health workers tasked with treating COVID-19 patients in seven main locations from 71 hospitals in Indonesia. This was revealed by the minister of tourism and creative economy, Sandiaga Uno in a virtual weekly press briefing Monday (06/09/21). 

"This is good news that the health worker accommodation program has entered the final stages of preparation for distribution. So the total that has been approved by the directorate general of the budget is 298 billion rupiah and this is done through coordination with hospitals, the hotel industry, relevant ministries/institutions and local governments in seven main locations in handling COVID-19 cases. And we have received applications from 71 hospitals for accommodation of 10 thousand health workers with a total of almost half a million rooms. And the provision of food and drink facilitation, laundry or laundry and transportation which God willing will run until the end of November 2021".

Minister Sandiaga Uno added that this was one of the efforts of the ministry of tourism and creative economy to support health workers in carrying out their duties to treat COVID-19 patients in Indonesia. In addition, the distribution program and government incentive assistance for all tourism sectors and the creative economy are running well and on target. Kemenparekraf also launched a health tourism program that will highlight the wealth of spices owned by Indonesia//VOI-NK

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Encourages Health Tourism Development to Revive the Tourism and Creative Economy Sector; Birkom kemenparekraf - 

The Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy / Head of the Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, encourages the development of health tourism (wellness tourism) in Indonesia to revive the tourism sector and creative economy in the country.

In the "Weekly Press Briefing" which was held online, Monday (6/9/2021), Sandiaga said that his party made health tourism a flagship program targeting the empowerment of domestic tourists. Health tourism is a tourism activity that prioritizes improving health and physical fitness as well as restoring the spiritual and mental health of tourists.

"So far, domestic tourists spend almost US$11 billion more on health tours abroad. We will develop health tourism as well as fitness and herbal tourism because we have a very large market share," said Sandiaga.

In the early stages of developing this health tourism, continued Sandiaga, it is planned to be implemented in a number of regions in Indonesia. Such as Jakarta, Medan, and Bali.

"It will be expanded to other destinations. We are collaborating with various ministries and institutions as well as private parties such as hospitals, clinics, and professional organizations such as the Indonesian Tourism Medical Association (Perkedwi) to support health tourism in Indonesia," he said.

To test the readiness to develop health tourism in Indonesia, some time ago Sandiaga had a general medical check-up at Siloam Lippo Village Hospital, Tangerang, Banten. According to him, Indonesia has health facilities that are quite complete and adequate to support the development of health tourism potential.

"This is tourism based on quality and sustainability and we are not inferior to hospitals abroad. For example, at Eka Hospital, for spine/spine treatment, medical equipment made in Germany is used, which is the only one in Southeast Asia," said Sandiaga. .

In addition, said Sandiaga, Bali is also one of the targets for tourists to enjoy wellness tourism and herbal tourism. In fact, many foreign tourists visit Bali to experience wellness-based tourism and herbal tourism.

"People's enthusiasm for herbal and wellness tourism is very high, especially in Bali. For this reason, we must improve our human resources through reskilling and upskilling programs to provide services of even higher standards," said Sandiaga.

The Deputy for Tourism Products and Event Organizers of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Rizki Handayani, added that the reason for choosing Jakarta, Medan and Bali as health tourism development areas for the initial stage was motivated by the number of available hospitals in the three areas.

"In addition, Medan has great potential because so far there are a lot of Medanese who have gone abroad. So we hope that by promoting or setting up hospitals in Medan, it is possible that tourists from North Sumatra and surrounding areas for treatment abroad will be smaller, "explained Rizky.

On the occasion, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga, also conveyed the implementation of the PeduliLindung application in all tourism and creative business sectors.

"The PeduliLindung application will be expanded from what was previously only in malls, to hotels, restaurants and cafes. Piloting will be carried out in four cities, namely Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang and Surabaya," said Sandiaga.

According to the plan, the use of the PeduliLindung application will use filtering of 4 user conditions, namely green, yellow, red, and black. The visitors who are allowed to enter these places are visitors with green and yellow conditions.

"In addition, together with the Directorate General of Domestic Trade of the Ministry of Trade, we will issue a joint circular regarding the appeal for the use of the PeduliLindung application in stages in accordance with the coordination between the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and the Ministry of Health. The use of applications, including for MICE in hotels, will also be considered," said Sandiaga//VOI

A general view of an oil installation in Saudi Arabia's northeastern Gulf port of Jubail. (AFP PHOTO/Bilal QABALAN) - 

A ballistic missile attack aimed at Saudi Arabia's oil-rich eastern region was intercepted on Saturday (Sep 4), the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi group in Yemen said in a statement carried by Saudi state media.

The missile was intercepted over the city of Dammam, according to a source familiar with the matter who declined to be named and social media reports.

The shrapnel of the missile scattered over the Dammam Suburb neigbourhood, injuring two Saudi children, while 14 residential houses suffered light damages, Saudi state news agency SPA said, citing a statement by the defence ministry.

The coalition blamed the attack on the Iran-aligned Houthi forces. There was no immediate claim of responsibility in Houthi-run media.

The coalition also said it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles heading towards Jazan and Najran, both in the southern part of the country.

The coalition earlier also reported the interception of three explosive-laden drones headed towards the Kingdom.

Eastern Saudi is home to significant oil infrastructure which has previously been targeted and hit by aerial attacks. An attack in September 2019 on two Aramco plants in the east temporarily knocked out half the country's oil production.

Yemen's Houthis, who regularly launch drones and missiles into the kingdom, have claimed responsibility for several attacks on Saudi oil installations in the past.

A source familiar with the matter said there was no impact on facilities belonging to state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco and that the attack happened outside of Aramco facilities.

"The Ministry of Defense will take the necessary and deterrent measures to protect its lands and capabilities, and stop such hostile and cross-border attacks to protect civilians, in accordance with international humanitarian law," the ministry said in a statement according to SPA.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing forces of the ousted government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fighting the Houthis//CNA