VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin encouraged regional governments to innovate in developing tourism in their regions. He wants the region to have a tourism center in a bid to encourage community economic improvement. This was conveyed by Vice President Ma'ruf Amin after a working visit to the Old Banten Archaeological Museum in order to open an archipelago exploring artifact exhibition of the Prophet Muhammad in Serang, Banten, on Sunday (16/2). On the occasion, Vice President Ma'ruf appreciated the efforts of the Banten Provincial Government to revitalize a number of tourism objects in the Old Banten region which has historical value. He considered the sites with historical values have potential for tourist visits. Therefore, he also hopes that the innovation will be followed by other regions. According to VP Ma'ruf Amin, the government will provide support to the regions that want to develop their regions. (ROL-MAR)

Jakarta - Indonesia's humanitarian non-governmental organization MER-C has dispatched a team of volunteers to the Gaza Strip, Palestine, for supervising the second-phase construction of the Indonesian Hospital.

The 11-member team comprises doctors, engineers, electrical mechanical experts, and medical instrumentation experts, MER-C Indonesia noted in a press release in Jakarta on Sunday.

The volunteers departed for Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday morning and were scheduled to arrive there on Sunday night. Next, they will travel by land to the Rafah border and then enter Gaza.

Faried Thalib, a member of the Presidium of MER-C Indonesia, that leads the Indonesian Hospital Development Team, remarked that the supervisory team will check the second-phase construction work of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza that has been ongoing for a year.

"Last year, we had dispatched 32 volunteers to the Gaza Strip to begin the second phase of construction to build two additional floors, to add 100 more beds, and equip additional medical devices, as the existing building, with 100 beds, is not adequate to accommodate patients coming for treatment," Thalib stated.

Indonesia's MER-C supervision team will only be able to enter Gaza after obtaining permissions from the local authorities to enter Egypt and Gaza.

"After waiting for some 3.5 months, we finally obtained the two permits, and we decided to go to Gaza immediately," he noted, adding that the supervision team would be on duty in the Gaza Strip for a two-week period.

Currently, 29 volunteers are supporting the second-phase development of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza. The construction activity is estimated to take 1.5 to two years, depending on the situation on the ground.

The second-phase construction and additional medical equipment cost some Rp70 billion to Rp75 billion.

"Bismillah (In the name of Allah), hopefully, we would be able to realize the development of the Indonesian Hospital to demonstrate the Indonesian people's love and support for the Palestinian people, who have been struggling (for their country's independence)," Thalib added. (ANTARA)

The City Government of Surakarta, Central Java has officially added a new steam train that will complement the Jaladara Steam Train. That was said by Deputy Mayor of Surakarta, Achmad Purnomo after receiving the handover of the Djoko Kendil KA train grant from PT KAI in Loji Gandrung Solo, Sunday (16/2). He said that the existence of the train would complement cultural tourism and optimize the presence of railroad that runs in the center of Solo. He also said, this route is the only one in Indonesia. He added that the design of the train depends on tourists’ demand both domestically and internationally. On the same occasion, Mayor of Surakarta, FX Hari Rudyatmo hoped that the existence of the steam train could invite the public to recall the history of the Indonesian Nation. (Ant-Sg)

President Joko Widodo released a pair of Javanese eagles and planted pulai in the Jurang Jero area of ​​the Mount Merapi-TNGM National Park in Magelang District, Central Java, Friday (14/2). In this activity, the President was accompanied by, among others, Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar and Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Doni Monardo. The male eagle released by the president named Abu and the female one is Rossy, each 3 years old. In addition to Javanese eagle, they also released two cages containing finches, trucuk and turtledove. In addition to releasing Javanese eagles, the president also planted Pulai and vetiver trees as a form of Vetiver System formation to strengthen the soil structure which was also followed by the surrounding community. The purpose of the planting is to reforest the land that is still minimal in plants so it will provide good oxygen and prevent disasters such as floods and erosion.//Antara