VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian sprinter Alvin Tehupeiory (right) crosses the finish line during the first round of the women's 100-m athletics event at the Tokyo Olympics Stadium on Friday (July 30, 2021). (ANTARA PHOTO/Sigid Kurniawan/wsj) (ANTARA PHOTO/SIGID KURNIAWAN) - 

Indonesian sprinter Alvin Tehupeiory on Friday said she has gained valuable experience and motivation from her debut in the women's 100-m athletics event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The sprinter, who hails from Ambon, Maluku, said she has learned a lot from her Olympic rivals, such as the world-class Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, who finished first in the second heat of the first round in 10.82 seconds.

Tehupeiory said she also met Swiss sprinter Mujinga Kambunjdi, who finished in 10.95 seconds, and German sprinter Tatjana Pinto, who completed the run in 11.16 seconds.

Though Tehupeiory made a good start in the second heat and was able to keep pace with her rivals for the first 30 meters, she finished last with a recorded time of 11.92 seconds.

Despite finishing last, she said she felt no regrets.

"I am joyful to meet Elaine Thompson-Herah, and this opportunity will be a valuable experience for me to perform better in the future," Tehupeiory stated in an official release issued by the National Olympic Council (NOC) Indonesia on Friday.

"I can see how their warming up, how their starting position on the starting block, and how they composed herself on the run. (The fellow athletes) also are very kind and replied my greeting," she said.

Tehupeiory also apologized to her Indonesian supporters.

"For fellow Indonesians, who have prayed for and supporting me, I apologize for not presenting my best result. I hope I can perform better in the future," she said.

She admitted lack of competition experience affected her performance, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic when no competitions were held where she could test her abilities.

It was her win at the 2019 National Athletics Championships' women's 100m run that had propelled Tehupeiory's sprinting career. That's when she began to focus on 100m and 200m sprints, although her initial experience was in 400m hurdles.

"I've never imagined myself to compete in the Olympics despite a lot of athletes wants to compete there. My intention is indeed to make my country proud, but I have never expected I ended up competing for my country in the Olympics," Tehupeiory remarked//ANT

BSI digital transactions reach Rp95.13 trillion per first half I-2021 - 

PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk (BSI) reported the value of digital channel transactions reached Rp95.13 trillion from January to June 2021.

"The biggest contribution came from transactions through the BSI mobile service, which rose 83.56 percent on an annual basis," BSI President Director Hery Gunardi said during a virtual press conference in Jakarta on Friday.

In detail, he said, the transaction volume at BSI mobile reached Rp41.99 trillion in the first half of 2021, or grew 109.82 percent compared to the first half of 2020.

The growth was driven by the number of mobile banking users, which reached 2.5 million users by the end of June 2021.

Hery said that there are at least two BSI strategies to obtain improved digitization services.

The first strategy is to adopt the bionic banking strategy, which is the principle of maintaining physical services by increasing digital capabilities.

For this reason, he continued, an evaluation will be carried out at several BSI branch offices, in terms of productivity.

The second strategy, according to Hery, is to move simple transactions to mobile banking, ATMs, and other electronic services, so that BSI branch offices can serve more complex transactions.

Thus, all BSI branch offices can become more efficient, productive, and focused on the business aspect in the future.

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin sought greater competitiveness from Indonesian Sharia Bank (Bank Syariah Indonesia/BSI) to draw public interest to expand its customer base at the joint bank of the State-Owned Bank Association (Himbara).

Vice President Amin earlier conveyed the message to the BSI board of directors and commissioners during a meeting at the vice president's residence in Jakarta on Wednesday, June 2.

"This (initiative) has provided more competitive opportunities, but it is not sufficient. Other breakthroughs must be sought, so that sharia is more competitive," Vice President Amin noted in a statement received by Antara, Thursday.

The vice president noted that some people view sharia banking services to be more expensive than conventional banking, so to change this mindset the government has urged the General Provisions for Taxation (KUP) to reduce the burden of sharia financial income to five percent//ANT

Protesters march through the streets during a 'World Wide Rally For Freedom' anti-lockdown rally in Sydney, Saturday, July 24, 2021. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP) - 

Australia's New South Wales logged its second-highest daily increase in locally acquired COVID-19 cases of the year on Sunday (Jul 25) amid fears of a wave of new infections after thousands of people joined an anti-lockdown protest.

"In relation to yesterday's protests, can I say how absolutely disgusted I was. It broke my heart," Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of the country's most populous state, told reporters.

There were 141 COVID-19 cases reported, down from 163 a day earlier. The outbreak, which began in June, is being driven by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus, and has now infected 2,081 people in New South Wales. There are 43 people in intensive care, up from 37 a day earlier.

Under fire for a slow vaccine rollout, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said more vaccine supply was not going to ensure New South Wales gets out of lockdown, but what was needed was an effective, properly enforced lockdown.

"Let me be clear - there's not an alternative to the lockdown in New South Wales to get this under control. There is no other magic bullet that's going to do that," Morrison told reporters at a televised media conference.

He called the anti-lockdown protests in Sydney reckless and self-defeating. 

While Berejiklian and other state leaders have blamed Canberra for the slow vaccine rollout, critics have said NSW did not enforce its stay-at-home orders, which has led to Delta variant leaks to other states.

At least 38 of the new cases in NSW had spent time in the community while infectious, state health authorities said. Numbers of such cases have stayed stubbornly high even after four weeks of lockdown in Sydney, now expected to be extended beyond Jul 30.

The state reported two deaths overnight, including a woman in her 30s with no pre-existing conditions.

Despite its struggle with spikes of infections, Australia has managed to keep its epidemic largely under control with a total of about 32,600 cases and 918 deaths.

To help speed up vaccinations in Sydney, the government's official adviser, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), on Saturday changed its advice on the AstraZeneca vaccine, urging anyone in the city under the age of 60 to strongly consider getting vaccinated with it.

ATAGI had previously advised against the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 60 due to concerns about blood clots.

"In the context of the current risk of COVID-19 in NSW and with the ongoing constraints on Comirnaty (Pfizer) vaccine supplies, all adults in greater Sydney should strongly consider the benefits of earlier protection with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca rather than waiting for alternative vaccines," ATAGI said in a statement.

Morrison said on Sunday the government has secured an additional 85 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, but they will only be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

"To have those booster shots pre-ordered means we can go into 2022 with confidence," he said.

Australia's Victoria state reported 11 locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday, down from 12 a day earlier, raising hopes the state will end a hard lockdown imposed 10 days ago.

State Premier Daniel Andrews said it was too early to say whether restrictions will be eased on Tuesday, but: "At this stage, though, things are going well."

All of the cases were linked to the current outbreak clusters and all of them were in isolation throughout their infectious period, the state's health department said.

South Australia reported three new cases on Sunday//CNA

Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arsjad Rasjid explains the concept of Rumah Oksigen Gotong Royong to President Jokowi - 

The recently announced Gotong Royong Oxygen House health facility initiated by KADIN Indonesia, GoTo, and Samator Group received a visit from President Joko Widodo on Saturday (24/07). 

“The additional capacity can help to decrease the hospital's Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR). Once again, I truly appreciate this effort and hope this facility will not only be built and operated in Jakarta, but also in other places and provinces. We hope the facility will be running soon and can be beneficial to society,” said Jokowi in a press release.

During his visit, the President arrived at the location around 14:13 WIB and immediately saw the facilities the oxygen house had to offer. During the visit, the President was seen discussing with the Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN Indonesia), Arsjad Rasjid, and GoTo CEO Andre Soelistyo who accompanied him.

“This afternoon I saw the Rumah Oksigen Gotong Royong firsthand, which is still under construction. It will be completed next week, and fully operational possibly in early August where it can accommodate around 500 patients,” added President Jokowi during his visit.