VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta: The friendship between Indonesia and Sudan was laid on the spirit of the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955. The Asian-African Conference inspired Sudan to gain its independence in 1956. Along the way, Sudan experienced dynamics, one of which resulted in the separation of South Sudan from the Republic of Sudan in 2011.

Currently, Sudan has been hit by civil war due to the struggle for power since April 2023. The Indonesian Ambassador to Sudan, Sunarko, in an interview on the Diplomatic Corner program broadcast on the Voice of Indonesia YouTube channel, on Tuesday (06/02) said that the armed conflict in Sudan has been ongoing since its first strike 9 months ago, in mid-April 2023.

According to Ambassador Sunarko, now is a good momentum to increase the number of Sudanese students in Indonesia as a form of moral support for brotherly countries that are being hit by conflict. As a friendly country, Indonesia will not remain silent regarding the situation in Sudan. "So this is a good momentum, the right momentum for the Indonesian Government to increase the number of Sudanese students who will be accepted for Indonesian scholarships, both in the Dharmasiswa program and the Developing Country Cooperation (KNB) program," said Ambassador Sunarko to Voice of Indonesia on the YouTube channel. (06/02).

In 2023, nine Sudanese students received Dharmasiswa scholarships and the number of recipients will continue to increase. Sunarko further conveyed several programs that have the potential to be developed, including collaboration between universities such as lecturers and experts exchanges, especially in the fields of Arabic, Islamic studies, sharia finance, and the halal industry which is currently growing in Sudan. According to Ambassador Sunarko, scientific fields in Indonesia that are of interest to Sudanese students include management, information technology, and architectural studies. Ambassador Sunarko saw the need to provide scholarships as a form of Indonesian solidarity with Sudan.

Educational cooperation between Indonesia and Sudan is quite prominent and grows continuously. Ambassador Sunarko said that before the conflict occurred, there were around 1,100 Indonesian citizens, 900 of whom were students. Previously, Sudan provided 60 scholarship quotas for Indonesian students annually, and it has been increased to 100 scholarships since 2015 for undergraduate to doctoral levels. A total of 95 percent of Indonesian students in Sudan are scholarship winners (Data Media Indonesia, April 2023). (DANIEL/DEVY)

(LtoR) German and a Chinese flag are seen flying in the wind from the Chancellery, as the dome of the Reichstag building, which houses the German lower house of Parliament, can be seen in the background, in Berlin on June 19, 2023, during a visit of China's Premier to Germany. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

VOInews, Jakarta: China's top diplomat Wang Yi will visit Germany for the Munich Security Conference then travel to Spain and France in the coming days, Beijing's foreign ministry said Thursday.

"From February 16 to 21... Minister of Foreign Afairs Wang Yi will attend the 60th Munich Security Conference where he will deliver a speech," a spokesperson said in a statement. 

He will then visit Spain and France, where he will "hold the China-France Strategic Dialogue", they added.

The annual security gathering in Munich brings together military elite from around the world and is seen as a barometer of transatlantic relations. It starts on Friday.

Wang will use his speech there to "elaborate on China's propositions on building a community with a shared future for mankind and advocating an equal and orderly multipolar world", the foreign ministry said.

His visit to Spain will be the Chinese foreign minister's first there in six years, Beijing said.

China said the visit will "consolidate mutual trust, enhance friendship, promote cooperation and enrich the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership".

Beijing also hopes to "deepen strategic communication, consolidate political mutual trust, advance practical cooperation and people-to-people and cultural exchanges" with France, it said.

Source: AFP

International observers monitoring the election conduct at a polling station in Jimbaran, Badung District, Bali, Wednesday (February 14, 2024). ANTARA/Ni Putu Putri Muliantari/nbl.

VOInews, Jakarta: International observers monitored the election conduct at Polling Station No. 13, operated by an all-woman team, in Jimbaran Village, Badung District, Bali, under the General Elections Commission's (KPU's) Election Visit Programme.

Zahir Hassan, a Malaysian Parliament member who participated in the monitoring group, commended the election conduct observed in Bali. He also highlighted the high participation of women at the polling station.

“I am also convinced that the election conduct proceeded well, smoothly, and transparently because of the presence of the candidates' representatives (as witnesses),” Hassan stated here on Wednesday.

He also admitted to being amazed that Indonesian voters received five different ballot papers to vote for the president-vice president pair and members of the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representative Council (DPD), and regional legislatures at the province and city and district levels.

“In comparison, Malaysian voters will receive at most two ballot papers at one election. I think it is huge, and it will be a huge success if (the election is) organized properly,” the observer from Malaysia stated.

House of Representatives (DPR) Secretariat General’s deputy for parliamentary proceedings, Suprihatini, remarked that the observer group comprising 11 representatives from international organizations visited Polling Station No. 13 in Badung.

Meanwhile, the other group of observers in Bali monitored the election conduct at Polling Station No. 29 in Ungasan Village, also in Badung District, and at Polling Station No. 9 in Penglipuran Village, Bangli District.

“In total, 33 observers from 17 countries and international parliamentary organizations (observed the election in Bali),” Suprihatini revealed.

Moreover, Jimbaran village-level election organizing chief I Wayan Muliwan spoken of sensing pride that foreign observers monitored the election conduct in the village.

“The monitoring (allows) them to understand our election system, especially at the polling station operated by an all-women team that emphasized gender equality where men and women are not discriminated by their capability,” Muliwan stated.

Apart from the election conduct, the official also expressed hope that international observers would also spotlight Bali’s natural beauty when they return to their home country.

Source: ANTARA

A man stands in the ruins of a building that was destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 14, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

VOInews, Jakarta: The leaders of Australia, Canada and New Zealand on Thursday warned Israel against a potentially "catastrophic" ground ofensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, amplifying a growing chorus of international concern.

Urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "not to go down this path", the trio of Commonwealth nations issued a rare joint statement expressing deep and growing worry about Israel's prosecution of the months-long war.

"About 1.5 million Palestinians are taking refuge in the area, including many of our citizens and their families," the group of US allies said. 

"An expanded military operation would be devastating. We urge the Israeli government not to go down this path. There is simply nowhere else for civilians to go."

In the face of mounting international pressure and a death toll that Gaza authorities say has now topped 28,000, Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead.

He has promised Israeli forces will soon conduct a "powerful" operation in Rafah -- a city filled with countless Gazans displaced by fighting elsewhere in the territory.

Israel believes that Hamas operatives responsible for the October 7 attacks that killed around 1,160 people in Israel are holed up in the area, along with some of an estimated 130 hostages seized by the Palestinian Islamist group.

Source : AFP