VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Pakistan set a Nov. 1 deadline for all foreigners without legal documents, including more than a million Afghans, to leave the country or face forcible expulsion.

Here are key facts about Islamabad's plan to deport hundreds of thousands back to its western neighbour Afghanistan:

- Pakistan announced the Wednesday deadline on Oct. 3, giving more than a million people about four weeks to move.

- The sudden expulsion threat came after suicide bombings this year that the government said involved Afghans, though without providing evidence. Islamabad has also blamed them for smuggling and other militant attacks as well as petty crimes.

- Islamabad says Afghan nationals were found to be involved in attacks against government and the army, including 14 of this year's 24 suicide bombings.

- Pakistan is home to more than 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of them undocumented, according to Islamabad, although many have lived in Pakistan for their entire lives.

- About 600,000 Afghans have crossed into Pakistan since the Taliban took over in 2021, joining a large number present since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the ensuing civil wars.

- More than 60,000 Afghans returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan between Sept. 23 and Oct. 22, ahead of the deadline, with thousands more expected to have been on the move last week.

- Islamabad says deportation will be orderly, carried out in phases and start with those who have criminal records. Authorities have vowed raids in areas suspected of housing "undocumented foreigners" after Wednesday.

- Authorities have set up "holding centres" to process deportees before they return to Afghanistan. Reuters could not determine how long they might be detained in the centres. (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - Thailand will waive visa requirements for arrivals from India and Taiwan from next month to May 2024, a government official said on Tuesday, in a bid to draw in more tourists as high season approaches.

Thailand in September scrapped visa requirements for Chinese tourists, the country's top pre-pandemic tourism market with 11 million of the record 39 million arrivals in 2019.

From January to October 29, there were 22 million visitors to Thailand, generating 927.5 billion baht ($25.67 billion), according to the latest government data.

"Arrivals from India and Taiwan can enter Thailand for 30 days," spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said.

India has been Thailand's fourth largest source market for tourism so far this year with about 1.2 million arrivals after Malaysia, China and South Korea.

Inbound tourism from India showed signs of growth as more airlines and hospitality chains targeted that market.

Thailand is targeting about 28 million arrivals this year, with the new government hoping the travel sector can offset continued weak exports that have constrained economic growth.

($1 = 36.1300 baht) (Reuters)

VOINews, Jakarta - The industrial revolution has brought a new ray of hope for humans to progress further, though the modernization it brings has continued to trigger costly drastic changes.

The threat of environmental damage is one of the costs that needs to be borne by inhabitants of the planet as a result of the industrial revolution, which has been incessantly demanding propulsion energy.

Indubitably, the revolution has forced humans to exploit fossil-based energy. However, on the other hand, it has also prompted them to come up with solutions, including the potential of the use of new and renewable energy.

In the current era of high level of mobility, a new foundation has been established for suppressing the risks of environmental damage triggered by an increasing amount of carbon emissions generated by power plants.

This foundation refers to the so-called green hydrogen, a derivative product of geothermal energy.

It is believed that green hydrogen can play the role of a protagonist in the path toward the realization of transition from the use of conventional polluting energy into more environmental-friendly energy.

Unlike fossil-based fuels, hydrogen will only generate water, electricity, and heat through conversion processes. However, hydrogen prevails over fossil energy in terms of the exhaust generated since the former neither produces greenhouse gas nor fine dust.

Moreover, one can acquire hydrogen by simply applying a method commonly known as electrolysis that involves the decomposition of water compound (H20) into oxygen (O2) by utilizing electric current.

Bearing that in mind, it is safe to say that hydrogen energy serves as a tool offered by nature for bringing back balance to the environment. Concurrently, such energy also offers opportunities to humans to create new markets and values for the world of industry.

The international community has proposed three general recommendations for energy transition, with one of them pertaining to the need to expedite the switch to using sustainable energy by reducing the intensity of carbon emissions generated by the use of conventional energy.

Secondly, the world has realized the importance of ensuring that the energy transition process is going in a fair manner and is affordable by all parties.

Meanwhile, the last recommendation concerns the urgency to provide consumers with an easier access to clean and modern energy.

The three recommendations are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly with the ones related to the alleviation of poverty, enhancement of health and welfare, promotion of the development of sustainable urban and residential areas, quick response to climate change and its impacts, and preservation and strengthening of global partnerships for the sake of making sustainable development come true.

As a state-run company tasked with managing Indonesia’s energy, Pertamina is paying close attention to the efforts to carry out energy transition, including by promoting the optimization of green hydrogen energy.

The company has incorporated green energy into its program aimed at accelerating transition to the use of renewable energy.

President Director of Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, noted that Indonesia is blessed with abundant sources of hydrogen, such as geothermal, natural gas, oil, coal, and water.

“Indonesia wields enormous natural potential that can be used to generate hydrogen in an effort to succeed in energy transition. It would be a shame if we could not optimize the abundant natural wealth to support energy transition,” she elaborated.

Indonesia’s Opportunities

The Republic of Indonesia ranks second-largest in the world for geothermal-based electricity systems after the United States. Of its total geothermal-based electricity capacity of 23.9 gigawatts (GW), Indonesia has optimized 2.13 GW, with 88 percent of it being managed by Pertamina.

Despite having a high level of efficiency in helping Indonesia achieve its energy transition target, the optimization of green hydrogen requires special processing techniques.

To convert hydrogen into green hydrogen, Pertamina conducts water decomposition using electricity generated by solar power plants.

By developing reliable solar power plants, Indonesia can generate electricity instrumental for producing hydrogen in an eco-friendly way, which, in turn, will help the country suppress its carbon emissions and mitigate climate change effects.

Germany is among the countries to have been successful in developing hydrogen energy. In fact, hydrogen has become one of the foundations of the European country’s economy.

Pertamina has been putting serious efforts to conduct research on green energy, including by collaborating with international companies to explore projects of green hydrogen and ammonia development by utilizing new and renewable energy resources on Sumatra Island.

The research cooperation is aimed at exploring the feasibility of development of a facility that can produce at least 40 thousand tons of green hydrogen annually, supported by 250-400 megawatts of geothermal energy in the initial phase. In future, the amount of green hydrogen generated by the facility can be increased to 80-160 thousand tons per year depending on the availability of geothermal energy and market demands.

Pertamina’s resolve to optimize green hydrogen constitutes a huge step toward the achievement of the net-zero emissions target by 2060.

It should be noted that Indonesia lies in the so-called Ring of Fire, providing the country with yet another opportunity to produce and optimize hydrogen by tapping into the potential of geothermal energy.

Support from all relevant stakeholders is of the essence to make the ongoing energy transition process a success. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta  - The Indonesian Embassy in Suva and the Fiji Arts Council along with local designer Rosie Emberson Semisi held a Batik Week Workshop (25-26/10).

The two-day batik making workshop was attended by more than 70 participants from various backgrounds. Batik Week provided an opportunity for participants to learn about the art of batik and cultural exchange.

The event showcased the rich and diverse cultural traditions of Fiji and Indonesia.

The batik workshop was hosted by Venny Alamsyah from Batik House Indonesia, who shared her expertise in the art of batik. Participants were taught traditional batik-making techniques and given the opportunity to improvise on their own Batik motifs.

Batik Week closed with Batik Night at the Museum, an evening of cultural entertainment along with a batik exhibition.

In addition to the Batik exhibition, the Indonesian Embassy in Suva collaborated with the Fiji Arts Council, which displayed the work of local craftsmen making Masi (paintings on dried bark with typical Fijian motifs) and clay pots. The artisans were also given the opportunity to do a demonstration of Masi making.

The entertainment evening was attended by workshop participants, corps diplomats, art lovers, and others. There were dance and angklung performances by the Indonesian Ladies, and music by Dolce Sound.

Closing the event, Ambassador Dupito D. Simamora advised that Bula and Batik become a symbol of the Vuvale Partnership between Fiji and Indonesia.

This is one of the main reasons why batik week was organized in partnership with the Fiji Arts Council.

Cross-cultural collaboration based on mutual respect and trust as an example of cooperation between two friendly Pacific countries.

Ambassador Supito invited participants to share the beauty of Batik and Bula with the world.

On the same occasion Maciusela Raitaukala, Director of the Fiji Arts Council, expressed her gratitude and appreciation to everyone who made Batik Week a success.

Batik Week became a wonderful opportunity for participants to learn about the art of batik and engage in cross-cultural exchange and learning. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)