VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta.  The Japanese government has hinted that it is ready to help native Papuans take their graduate diploma in agricultural studies in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Japan is committed to making the Papua provincial government's vocational program successful, said Education Attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta, Takahashi Yusuke.

As of this year, there are six native Papuans opting for higher education in Fukuoka, he informed in a press statement that ANTARA received in Jayapura on Monday.

The Japanese government's support would cover the administrative processes for immigration and cooperation, and Japanese language and cultural training, Yusuke said.

On behalf of the Japanese government, he praised the Papua provincial administration's scholarship scheme for native Papuans studying in Fukuoka.

The provincial government has made the right decision to send native Papuan students to Fukuoka to pursue vocational programs at universities, he remarked.

Fukuoka is one of the Japanese cities whose agricultural sector is well-developed, and its universities are listed in the world class groups, he said.

In Japan, the number of international university students from Indonesia is large enough, he said. But, the figure is expected to go up, including students from Papua, he added.

Meanwhile, assistant director of the Japan Foundation, Hiruta Mari, said she would help make the vocational program for native Papuan students a success.

The Japan Foundation would provide Papua’s scholarship recipients with Japanese language teaching materials and language training with trainers, she informed.

Secretary of the Papua Human Resources Development Agency's (BPSDM's) team for educational cooperation, Karsudi, had visited the Japanese embassy in Jakarta recently.

The visit was aimed at following up on the cooperation in human resources development with the government of Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture, Karsudi said.

During the visit, BPSDM team members also met with representatives from the Japan Foundation to get information on the Japanese language and the cultural education program, he added.

Under the Papua provincial government's scholarship scheme, 60 native Papuans would be sent to Fukuoka to pursue graduate diplomas in agricultural studies, he said.

The native Papuan students would be trained at Japanese universities in the prefecture so they can gain expertise in agriculture, he added. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Evergreen Line said on Monday that the Ever Given container ship would be inspected for seaworthiness after being dislodged from a southern section of the Suez Canal where it had been blocking traffic for nearly a week.

Taiwan listed Evergreen, which is leasing the ship, said decisions regarding the vessel’s cargo would be made after the inspection and that it would coordinate with the ship’s owner after investigation reports were completed. (Reuters)

Jakarta. Indonesia's Communication and Informatics Ministry has stepped up cyber patrolling over violent content related to a bomb explosion in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

"We again appeal to the public to not disseminate such content and together to counteract radicalism and terrorism both in the physical and digital spaces," the ministry's spokesman, Dedy Permadi, noted in a press statement here on Monday.

Since the bombing in Makassar on Sunday (Mar 28), the ministry has been tracing violent content related to the explosion, such as posting on body parts and injuries suffered by victims of the bomb that exploded in front of a church in Makassar.

The suicide bombers, a married couple riding a motorcycle, died on the spot, while 20 people comprising security officers and civilians, were injured in the incident.

The ministry discovered 134 pieces of inappropriate content on the bombing on social media, comprising 34 on Facebook, 59 on Twitter, 21 on Instagram, and 20 on YouTube.

"All related content has been reported by the ministry to the respective platforms for termination of access or blocking," he remarked.

The National Police identified the suicide bombers as L and his wife, YSF, who worked as private employees.

The perpetrators were members of the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), which had once operated in Jolo, the Philippines.

The Police's Densus 88 counter-terrorism squad conducted a search of their rented house in Makassar and their parent's house located only some 50 meters away.  (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Police on Monday destroyed explosives that were found at a house rented by a suspected terrorist arrested by the National Police's anti-terror squad Densus 88 in Sukasari village, Serang Baru subdistrict, Bekasi district, West Java. "(The explosives) were destroyed as they contained hazardous substances," chief of the public relations section at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Senior Commissioner Yusri Yunus, informed.

Before the explosives were safely detonated at the suspect’s house, chief of the Metro Bekasi District Police, Senior Commissioner Hendra Gunawan, asked police personnel and journalists to vacate the premises.

Nearly five minutes later, at 1.30 p.m. local time, Gunawan gave the order for detonating the explosives. The resulting explosion was extremely loud and produced thick billows of smoke, causing panic among passers-by, with many stopping their vehicles or changing their route.

The panic eased after Gunawan appealed to local residents to remain calm. Police later regulated the traffic, which had stopped due to the explosion.

The explosion sound was believed to come from a home-made bomb belonging to the suspected terrorist. The bomb was detonated in the house because it would be very difficult to take it away from the house.

Before the explosion, chief of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Inspector General Fadli Imran, and chief of the public relations section of the National Police, Inspector General Agro Yuwono, who were at the scene, only confirmed there was activity in their jurisdiction in Bekasi district. (Antaranews)