VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest mass of freshwater ice on the planet, second only to Antarctica AFP/SAUL LOEB - 

Greenland's ice sheet has experienced a "massive melting event" during a heatwave that has seen temperatures more than 10 degrees above seasonal norms, according to Danish researchers.

Since Wednesday (Jul 29) the ice sheet covering the vast Arctic territory, has melted by around eight billion tonnes a day, twice its normal average rate during summer, reported the Polar Portal website, which is run by Danish researchers.

And Nerlerit Inaat airport in the northeast of the territory recorded 23.4 degrees on Thursday, the highest recorded there since records began.

With the heatwave affecting most of Greenland that day, the Polar Portal website reported a "massive melting event" involving enough water "to cover Florida with two inches (5cm) of water".

The largest melt of the Greenland ice sheet still dates back to the summer of 2019.

But the area where the melting took place this time is larger than two years ago, the website added.

The Greenland ice sheet is the second largest mass of freshwater ice on the planet with nearly 1.8 million square kilometres, second only to Antarctica.

The melting of the ice sheets started in 1990 and has accelerated since 2000. The mass loss in recent years is approximately four times greater than it was before 2000, say the researchers at Polar Portal.

The Greenland ice sheet, if completely melted, would raise the ocean levels by six to seven metres.

But with a relatively cool start to the Greenland summer, with snowfalls and rains, the retreat of the ice sheet so far for 2021 remains within the historical norm, according to Polar Portal. The melting period extends from June to early September//CNA

Indonesia receives 3.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine donated by the US Government on August 1,2021. (ANTARA/Fauzan) - 

The Indonesian government is upbeat of securing COVID-19 vaccine supplies for August, following the arrival of Moderna vaccine donated by the US on Sunday and the planned arrival of AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday from Britain.

“The arrival of 3.5 million doses of ready-to-use Moderna vaccine and 620 thousand doses of ready-to-use AstraZeneca vaccine, has ensured that the stock is  secured. Totally, there are some 178 million doses,” Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Muhadjir Effendy said here on Sunday.

He assured that the COVID-19 vaccine supply has achieved the target for inoculating two million people daily throughout August 2021.

“A secured vaccine stock is needed to expedite and expand the vaccination program of two million doses daily in  August, in accordance with the President’s directives,” Muhadjir Effendy said a statement regarding the arrivals of COVID-19 vaccine batch 32 and 33 at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, in Tangerang, Banten, on Sunday.

He confirmed that the Indonesian government has secured the supplies of 440 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines procured in several stages.

The Indonesian Government on Sunday received 3.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine donated by the US Governent and is expected to receive 620 thousand doses of AstraZeneca donated by the Britain on Monday, through COVAX Facility, he said. 

The Indonesian government has established cooperation with various countries in an attempt tp meet the needs for COVID-19 vaccine in country, he remarked.

Furthermore, the government is striving to increase the COVID-19 vaccination coverage aimed at achieving a herd immunity against the diseases, he noted.

Hence, the government urged the private sector, professional organizations, community organizations, and other institutions to work hand-in-hand to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination implementation.

“The vaccines sent to Indonesia are confirmed to be safe and halal. The people should not hesitate to be vaccinated,” he urged.

He also reminded the public to implement the health protocols by regularly washing their hands, maintaining safe distancing and wearing face masks//ANT

Cargo of Moderna vaccine donated by the US Government to Indonesia through COVAX Facility. July 11, 2021, (ANTARA/Fauzan) - 

As many as 3.5 million doses of Moderna vaccine donated by the US Government through the COVAX Facility, arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, outskirt of Jakarta, on Sunday.

"The United States has given additional support of US vaccine dose-sharing through the COVAX Facility amounting to 3.5 million doses that arrive here now," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said on a video statement uploaded on the Youtube channel of the Presidential Secretariat here on Sunday.

The latest arrival is the third shipment of Moderna vaccine donated by the US to Indonesia so far. The US had earlier shipped 3,000,060 doses and 1,500,100 doses respectively. to Jakarta.

"With today's arrival, the total number of Moderna vaccine doses, which is cooperation support from the US Government through COVAX Facility, that Indonesia has received is 8,000,160 ready-to-use vaccine doses," Marsudi said. 

Indonesia received the Moderna vaccine donated by the US Government through the COVAX Facility following intensive discussions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US National Security Adviser jack Sullivan, she added.

She expressed gratitude to the US for the assistance which is very much needed for the COVID-19 handling in Indonesia.

"I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the US Government for the additional Moderna vaccine support. Cooperation through the dose-sharing mechanism is one of the important means to help the world out of this pandemic," Retno Marsudi said.

To date, Indonesia has received a total of 178,357,880 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, consisting of 144,700,280 doses of vaccine bulk, and 33,657,600 doses of ready-to-use vaccine.

"If we sort them out from the sources, from the COVAX Facility, Indonesia has received shipments of 19,704,960 doses of vaccines for free so far. All of them are ready-to-use vaccines," she noted.

The government would continue to make efforts to secure the procurement of vaccines for the benefit of the Indonesian people, she remarked//ANT

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani. ANTARA/HO-UI's public relations -  

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, concurrently member of the University of Indonesia’s (UI's) Board of Trustees, has stated that human resource development is a key to the nation’s advancement.

“The state finance mirrors all Indonesian nation’s potentials to gain revenue from natural resources, culture, and the added values of community’s economy,” Mulyani said during the 2021 UI’s new student initial activities (Kamaba) as quoted in a press release here on Sunday.

She delivered her speech virtually during the UI Kamaba event joined by approximately 8,000 UI’s new students of the Diploma 3 (vocational), Diploma 4 (vocational), and bachelor degree (S1) levels from regular, parallel, and international classes.

She presented the potentials that the Indonesian nation possesses and the ways to optimize those potentials to achieve prosperity and welfare for all citizens.

All Indonesia’s wealth is collected into state finance through various forms, such as taxes, mining products, and royalties, she informed.

Tax is the public’s money collected by the state and will be utilized to finance its development programs in several sectors to promote public welfare, akin to human resource development.

“Human resource development is a key to the nation’s advancement,” Mulyani stated.

The advancement is reflected from several aspects, such as education, health, poverty, and manners, she pointed out.

The advancement is also reflected from the health sectors wherein the young generations are not malnourished, she added.

“However, the most important thing of all is the advancement of its citizen’s civilization in the form of attitude, character, and behavior,” Mulyani, who also teaches at UI’s Economy and Business Faculty.

She said that the development in education, health, and basic infrastructure sectors starts from clean water, electricity, to road construction connecting the goods production centers.

Such connectivity must be balanced with the competence improvement of its state institutions, such as good governance, efficiency, productivity, and anti-corruption.

Hence, the state is present to realize such a advancement by bolstering the development on aspects as aforementioned, building inter-region connectivity across Indonesia and achieving the good governance.

“Those are the requirements for a nation to become a developed one, and Indonesia has shown its side to bolster its advancement by allocating the state budget to such aspects,” she remarked//ANT