VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Badung (Bali) - The 2020 New Year's Eve celebrations at Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Park, Bali, will feature 20,000 shots of fireworks being burst, Marketing Communication and GWK Event Head Andre Prawiradisastra told the press IN Badung, Bali,, Tuesday.

The fireworks party themed "Bali Countdown 2020 - The Biggest Fireworks Show in Bali" will be divided into two sessions.

"The first launch is at 8:20 p. m. local time, but the shots will not be too much. During the peak session, just before the clock strikes midnight, the spectacular shots will be launched for a total duration of 10 minutes," Prawiradisastra revealed.

To create a more festive ambiance, some musicians, including Diskopantera, Feel Koplo, Joni Agung & Double T, as well as Balinese disk jockeys, will also perform on stage.

Some 40 food trucks are prepared in the area that is expected to accommodate around 10 thousand visitors.

"We are highly optimistic about the target of visitors since, in the last several days, some six thousand tickets were sold," he remarked, added that each ticket cost Rp125 thousand. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - The rupiah was quoted at Rp13,948 per US dollar, up 0.3 percent, or strengthening by four points, from Rp13,952 earlier in the Jakarta Interbank market on Monday morning, a day before the year-end holidays.

"During trading activities today, the rupiah may continue to strengthen until the end of the year," Director of PT Garuda Berjangka Securities Ibrahim Assuaibi projected in Jakarta, Monday.

He forecast the rupiah to hover between Rp13,920 per US Dollar and Rp13,970 per US Dollar.

Ahead of the year-end holidays, investors may choose to adopt a wait-and-watch policy amid the market slowdown. In the meantime, on the external front, market optimism has risen following the first phase of trade deal between China and the United States announced this month. However, both nations have yet to formally ink the deal. (ANTARA)

Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) boarded a bike to visit the revitalization project of Semarang, Central Java's Old Town, implemented to promote tourism in the area.

After cycling from the Semarang Square on Monday, the president, in the company of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, headed for the city's old town area.

He kicked off the activity by visiting the Semarang Small, Medium Enterprises Gallery followed by observing the condition of the building on Roda II Street.

He then walked around and greeted people on Letjen Suprapto Street down to the park near Blenduk Church and entered the Oudetrap Building and SMEs product gallery.

The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing is conducting the construction of the Phase I Semarang Old Town Area project. The restructuring program was conducted from 2017 until 2019.

An area spanning 22 hectares was built to increase tourist visits to the location.

For further improvements, utility networks, including electric cables, fiber optics, telephones, and drinking water pipes, are buried underground along with drainage networks.

Two retention ponds were also built, including the Berok Pond and Bubakan, to reduce the likelihood of puddles forming in the area. (ANTARA)

Chief of the BPS Office in North Sulawesi Ateng Hartono (ANTARA)

Manado - North Sulawesi Province recorded a US$52.80 million surplus in its foreign trade in November 2019, increasing from $49.81 million a month earlier.

The trade surplus in November 2019 also rose, from $50.67 million during the same month last year, Chief of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Office in North Sulawesi Ateng Hartono stated on Saturday.

He noted that North Sulawesi had exported non-oil/non-gas commodities worth $69.70 million in November 2019, while its imports were valued at $16.90 million

Non-oil/non-gas exports mainly comprised animal and vegetable fats and oils worth $32.67 million, constituting 46.67 percent of the total exports. In the meantime, the province's imports were dominated by mineral fuels, worth $7.86 million, or 46.52 percent of the total imports.

China remained the biggest market for North Sulawesi's exports in November, with a value of $15.55 million, or 21.60 percent of the total exports. (ANTARA)