VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Cultural Goodwill Spice Route (MBJR) ship on Thursday (July 11, 2024). (ANTARA/BKHM Kemendikbudristek) -

VOInews, Jakarta :The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry has said that the Cultural Goodwill Spice Route (MBJR) program has strengthened Indonesia's maritime history and position as the world's maritime axis.

Director of cultural development and utilization at the ministry, Irini Dewi Wanti, said that state warship (KRI) Dewaruci has been deployed for the program.

Under the program, the ship traverses and stops at seven points along the spice route, starting from Jakarta to East Belitung, Dumai, Sabang, Malacca in Malaysia, Tanjung Uban, Lampung, and back to Jakarta.

"This spice route ignites the memory and pride in identity as a maritime nation, which has been built for thousands of years through the warmth of spices, assimilation of knowledge, culture and civilization, and diplomacy," she informed here on Thursday.

During Cultural Diplomacy Through the Nusantara Spice Route, an online talk show, she confirmed that the MBJR program is part of Indonesia's diplomacy and aims to share knowledge of the spice route in the archipelago.

The local governments of areas where KRI Dewaruci halts also prepare discussion forums, workshops, and festivals.

The involvement of experts, such as archaeologists, cultural experts, academicians, media, and activists could strengthen spice route diplomacy as a shared heritage.

This shared heritage concept, Wanti said, supports efforts to get UNESCO world heritage-recognition for the spice route.

"We need support from the international community. We will carry out goodwill visits to neighboring countries first, which is to Malacca, because it is one of the important points for spice shipping in the archipelago," she informed.

In Malacca, she will gather support to propose the spice route as a UNESCO world heritage.

She said she expects the annual MBJR program to strengthen and enrich the narrative and literacy about the spice route that begins in Indonesia//Antara-VOI

Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds and Peggy the dog attend a 'Deadpool & Wolverine' UK sneak peek event in London, Britain, July 11, 2024. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska - 

VOInews, London;Britain : The global promotional tour for Deadpool & Wolverine touched down in London on Thursday (Jul 11), with stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman bringing their bromance to the movie's UK sneak peek event.

The two have entertained fans with their humorous, high-energy appearances at previous stops in Shanghai, Seoul and Berlin.

The third installment in the Deadpool movie franchise sees Jackman's Wolverine return from retirement to help wise-cracking Deadpool (Reynolds) save his world.

"It's about friendship, and friendship is another version of a love story," said Reynolds, who also co-wrote and produced the film.

"There's so many moments in the movie where it's hard to tell if Deadpool's talking to Wolverine, Wolverine talking to Deadpool, or it's Hugh and Ryan talking to each other. And I'm really proud of those moments."

Jackman had not planned to reprise the role of the gruff, clawed X-Man Wolverine. But the Australian actor said his mind started changing after he watched the first Deadpool film.

"It was something in here," he said, pointing at his heart. "I really thought I was done. And then, five or six years later, I was driving and I just knew in my bones I wanted to do that."

Secrecy surrounds the film's plot details. Respecting the characters and their legacy was at the heart of the writing process, said director and co-writer Shawn Levy.

"But then we pushed them into areas that other movies haven't," he said. "I think you're going to see some aspects to both their performances that are quite different than what we've seen in their prior films."

The only Marvel-Disney movie released this year, Deadpool & Wolverine is expected to be a box office hit when it begins its global cinematic rollout on Jul 24. It opens in Singapore on Jul 25. 

"I focus on the opportunity, not the expectation. The creative opportunity to connect with a huge global audience in a new way, in a surprising and fresh way, that was delicious," he said.

For Reynolds, 47, releasing the film to the world comes with other concerns//Reuters-VOI

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows oil tanks of Transneft oil pipeline operator at the crude oil terminal Kozmino on the shore of Nakhodka Bay near the port city of Nakhodka, Russia June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Tatiana Meel/File Photo - 

VOInews, United States : Oil prices rose in early Asian trading hours on Friday as signs of strong summer demand and easing inflationary pressures in the world's biggest oil market, the United States, bolstered investor confidence.

Brent crude futures rose 37 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $85.77 a barrel by 0031 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 50 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $83.12 a barrel.

Both contracts gained in the prior two sessions, but Brent futures were set to decline about 1 per cent week-over-week after four consecutive weeks of gains. WTI futures were virtually unchanged on a weekly basis.

U.S. gasoline demand was at 9.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in the week ended July 5, the highest for the week that includes the Independence Day holiday since 2019, government data showed on Wednesday. Jet fuel demand on a four-week average basis was at its strongest since January 2020, according to the data.

Strong fuel demand encouraged U.S. refiners to ramp up activity and draw from crude oil stockpiles, supporting prices. U.S. Gulf Coast refiners' net input of crude rose last week to more than 9.4 million bpd for the first time since January 2019, government data showed.

WTI front-month futures recorded their steepest premium to the next-month contract since April, a signal of near-term supply tightness.

U.S. government data on Thursday showed an unexpected decline in consumer prices in June, stoking hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon.

The prospect of easing monetary policy has helped boost sentiment across the commodities sector, ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes wrote in a note. A weaker U.S. dollar has also increased investor appetite, he added.

The U.S. dollar index slipped lower for a third consecutive session on Friday, as market participants raised their bets for a September U.S. interest rate cut//Reuters-VOI

Ilustration; the incidence of sand and dust storms (Photo : WMO) - 

VOInews, Geneva : The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has issued its annual report on the incidence of sand and dust storms, as well as their impacts on society. Dust concentrations in the worst hit areas in 2023 were above the long-term average, but slightly lower than 2022, it says.

The most severe storm of the year swept across Mongolia in March 2023, affecting more than 4 million square kilometres, including 20 provinces in China, according to the Airborne Dust Bulletin.

It was released for the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms on 12 July.

Every year, around 2,000 million tons of dust enters the atmosphere, darkening skies and harming air quality in regions that can be thousands of kilometers away, and affecting economies, ecosystems, weather and climate. Much of this is a natural process, but a large part of it is the result of poor water and land management.

“We need to be vigilant in the face of continuing environmental degradation and current and future climate change. Scientific evidence shows that human activities are having an impact on sand and dust storms. For example higher temperatures, drought and higher evaporation lead to lower soil moisture. Combined with poor land management, this is conducive to more sand and dust storms,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Friday (12/07/24), monitoring and forecasting accuracy has improved in recent years due to the progress of numerical models and observation systems. The WMO Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS), set up in 2007, strives to improve warnings through dedicated regional centres and combines research and operational work.

The global average of annual mean surface dust concentrations in 2023 was slightly lower than that in 2022, mainly due to reduced dust emissions from several dust-active regions around the world, such as North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Iranian Plateau, northern India, central Australia and north-western China//VOI