VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Health Minister Nila DF Moeloek said recently that all athletes participating in the upcoming 2018 Asian Games will get vaccinated in order to prevent any contagious diseases. Recently, the minister was attending a symposium of Indonesian hospitals in Palembang city, South Sumatra. The vaccines, Moeloek remarked, will support the physical condition of the athletes prior to the Asian Games competitions. The minister further said that not only Indonesian nationals have to get vaccinated before overseas visits, but all foreign visitors also need to get vaccines ahead of their arrival in Indonesia. He called upon Sports and Youths Minister Imam Nahrawi to discuss the issue of implementation. For the first time ever, the 18th Asian Games will be hosted in the two cities of Jakarta and Palembang. The Indonesian Asian Games Organising Committee (INASGOC hosted a try-out for some categories this month, including Taekwondo, Basketball, and Pencak Silat. Following the "invitation tournament", the committee admitted that it needed to improve several sectors, including transportation, data connection, and internal and external coordination. (Tempo)

Indonesian Air Force fleet is currently getting stronger after strengthened by 24 units of F-16 aircraft as grant project from the Government of the United States through Bima Sena II program. The gradual assistances were officially accepted on February 28 at Iswahjudi Air Base of Madiun. Air Force Chief of Staff, Marshal Yuyu Sutisna, told Radio Republic Indonesia in Yogyakarta on Sunday (4/3) that he believes the existence of 24 F-16 aircrafts could increase air defense capability of the Air Force. From the data of the Air Forces, the aircraft made by American weapons company Lockheed Martin has several advantages, including the ability of the radar to detect targets from 10-200 miles distance. In addition the aircraft is also equipped with a missile with hundreds of miles mileage and equipped with nine hard points for the missile. (KBRN.trs.Rezha)

Two rafflesia flowers each type of Rafflesia Arnoldii and Rafflesia Gadutensis bloom in two different locations in the Bengkulu province. Coordinator Community Care Puspa Rare (KPPL) Bengkulu, Sofian Ramadhan, in Bengkulu, Sunday(4/3) said, there are two flowers that are in perfect bloom and the type is also different. He said one flower of Rafflesia Gadutensis blooms perfectly in the Boven Lais protected forest area of North Bengkulu Regency. While one flower Rafflesia Arnoldii blooms perfectly in the forest area around Manau IX Village Kaur District. “Each of these habitats is monitored by a team from the Rare Puspa Community,” said Sofian. The Boven Lais protected forest area is a home to Rafflesia Gadutensis, Rafflesia Arnoldii, and Rafflesia Kemumu that are regularly monitored by the members of the North Bengkulu KPPL. North Bengkulu KPPL Coordinator Riki Septian said the rare flower habitat of Rafflesia makes the Boven Lais protected forest a reliable ecotourism destination in the region. While the habitat of Rafflesia Arnoldii and Rafflesia Bengkuluensis in Kaur Regency is routinely monitored by the Youth Community Care of Padang Guci Rare Puspa, Kaur. (Antara)

The Indonesian government held a "roadshow" of tourism exhibitions in several Central European countries to attract the attention of foreign tourists from the region. Press release from the Embassy of Indonesia in Budapest said on Saturday the Indonesian Government has begun to increase tourism promotion in Central European countries such as Hungary, Czech and Slovak although these countries have a relatively small number of population. This is done because people in those countries are fond of travelling to foreign countries, both in Europe and exotic countries of the world, such as Indonesia. Seeing the potentials, the Indonesian Government, in this case the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with local governments and travel operators in Indonesia are to carry out an integrated road show of Indonesian tourism exhibition in the three countries. Official of the European Directorate II of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taufiq Lamsuhur said the road show of tourism began with the Utazas tourism exhibition 2018 in Budapest on March 1-4, 2018, business meetings in Bratislava and Prague on March 5, 2018 are regarded as an appropriate first step to encourage increased visits from foreign tourists from the Central European region to Indonesia. (Release /trans Alika)