VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, Faishal Abdullah el-Amudi accompanied by Chairman of Baznas, Noor Ahmad releasing humanitarian aid to West Java (Photo : Daniel-VOI) - 

VOInews, Jakarta - Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, Faishal Abdullah el-Amudi, released food package assistance for Indonesia on Tuesday (5/3). The program was initiated by the King Salman Center for Social and Humanitarian Assistance - KSrelief in collaboration with the National Zakat Agency - Baznas.

The assistance consisted of 7,965 packages of food necessities worth Rp1 million for each package and was distributed in Jakarta, Banten, West Java, and Central Java.

"The assistance distributed by KSrelief for this humanitarian action is part of the direction of King Salman's government, Servant of the Two Holy Mosques, especially to help people in need ahead of the blessed month of Ramadan", Ambassador el-Amudi said. 

On the same occasion, Chairman of Baznas, Noor Ahmad stated that the program was the third aid done in collaboration with Baznas and the KSrelief. Apart from food aid packages, KSrelief also donated 200 kg of dates and 400 copies of the Islamic holy book Al-Quran with Braille alphabet//(VOI/Daniel)

Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese receive Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the ASEAN-AUSTRALIA Summit 2024 in Melbourne, Australia (Photo : Setpres) -

VOInews, Australia - Indonesian President, Joko Widodo met Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center (MCEC) in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday (5/3). At the meeting, he emphasized the commitment of Indonesia and Australia to strengthen strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

President Joko Widodo also invited Prime Minister Albanese to strengthen cooperation to improve diplomatic relations, which have lasted for 75 years.

“Prime Minister Albanese, I am pleased to be able to visit Australia again. Australia is a strategic partner of Indonesia and ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region, a region where we share the future and joint responsibility for maintaining stability. And in our 75th year of diplomatic relations/let us strengthen cooperation and collaboration.”

President Joko Widodo conveyed four main points to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Australia, including the importance of cooperation in the financial services sector and announcing plans to open a State Bank of Indonesia - BNI representative office in Sydney.

President Joko Widodo also highlighted the importance of expanding market access to create a more balanced trade//VOI

VOInews, Jakarta: A Tunisian court overturned on Wednesday a journalist's prison sentence for revealing information about the security services, his lawyer said, paving the way for a retrial.

Khalifa Guesmi, a correspondent for Tunisia's most popular radio station, Mosaique FM, was convicted in November and handed a one-year prison sentence that was later increased to five years on appeal.

The Court of Cassation "invalidated the five-year judgement and ordered it to be reviewed", Guesmi's lawyer, Rahal Jallali, told AFP.

Guesmi left prison Wednesday evening, an AFP correspondent reported.

The journalist remains under prosecution, according to his lawyer, under Article 34 of the anti-terrorism, law which "punishes with 10 to 20 years' imprisonment" anyone who publishes information "for the benefit of a terrorist organisation".

Journalists and civil society representatives gathered in Tunis on Wednesday to show support for Guesmi and to call for his immediate release.

Local and international NGOs have launched several calls for his release and condemned the five-year prison sentence as "a sham verdict" and "a major setback for the judicial system".

They have criticised what they say is a marked decline in press freedom in Tunisia since President Kais Saied seized full control of the country in July 2021.

On Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in a post on social media platform X, welcomed what it called "a first step towards justice" for Guesmi and said it "should be followed by his immediate release and acquittal".

Jailed since September 3, Guesmi was found guilty of "participating in the intentional disclosing of information related to interception, infiltration, and audiovisual surveillance or the data collected therein".

He was held for a week in March 2022, after Mosaique FM published on its website information about the dismantling of a "terrorist cell" and the arrest of its members.

Source : AFP

VOInews, Jakarta: The Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, Faishal Abdullah el Amudi released food aids for Indonesia ahead of Ramadan on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at the Head Office of the National Amil Zakat Agency.

“The assistance distributed by KSrelief for this humanitarian action is part of the direction of King Salman (custodian of the two Holy Mosques), to help people in need, especially in welcoming blessed holy month of Ramadan," Ambassador Faishal Abdullah el 'Amudi said in a statement received on Wednesday (6/3) in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Saiful Rahmat Dasuki appreciated and hoped that the assistance could provide relief and reduce the burden of economic difficulties faced by its recipients.

"The Ministry of Religion appreciates the efforts of Baznas and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre in designing the implementation of this program with noble goals," Saiful Rahmat Dasuki said.

The food aid program was initiated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aids and Relief Centre in collaboration with the National Amil Zakat Agency. The aid consisted of 7,965 food packages, each worth one million rupiah and distributed in 4 provinces, namely DKI Jakarta, Banten, West Java and Central Java.

On the same occasion, Chairman of the National Amil Zakat Agency, Noor Ahmad stated that this food aid program has entered its third year, with the cooperation of Baznas and the KSrelief Centre. Besides 7965 food aid packages, KSrelief also donated 200 kg of dates and 400 Quran copies with Braille letters.(VOI/DANIEL)