VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

When several countries in the world have issued budgets against the new variant of Delta that has caused the spread of the Covid pandemic, the war in Syria has led to the use of funds for the conflict that it is unclear when it will end. Instead of getting a solution, the war in Syria shows a tendency to get worse. The US onslaught to counter attacks by Iran-backed militias on the Iraq-Syria border has come under fire from Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Khademi.

On the instructions of President Joe Biden, the US on Sunday, June 27, has carried out air strikes in response to militia drone attacks targeting US troops in Iraq. The attack by US troops last weekend was the second time on direct orders from the President. Joe Biden issued his first directive in February 2021 shortly after he was sworn in as President of the United States replacing Donald Trump.

The civil war in Syria that has lasted for 10 years has killed at least 388,000 people, both from the government and the resistance sides. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have left to various countries, especially in Europe. The costs spent on the war that never ends is certainly very big. Instead of thinking about overcoming the new variant of Covid and its impact on the Syrian people, the large funds were issued by the government of President As Saad to finance the war.

The intervention of foreign countries including the United States, Russia and Iran is not a solution to ending the tragedy in Syria. The country that used to be referred to as one of the beautiful and prosperous regions. Ignited by the Arab Spring democratization movement some time ago, now the war in Syria has destroyed parts of the country and made its people suffer terribly at home or stranded in some foreign countries.

Iraqi protests over US air strikes aimed at Iranian-backed militia forces on the border with Iraq and Syria are likely to make the conflict in Syria more complicated towards a resolution. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Khademi in a statement condemned the US airstrikes and declared it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

The island of the gods, Bali has a lot of charming views that are hard to forget. There are not only its traditions that attract tourists, but also its beautiful  natural panoramas. Bali has a series of beautiful beaches that are already famous abroad. One of them is Kelingking Beach which was recently crowned the most popular on Instagram. Kelingking Beach is located in the Nusa Penida area.  Its popularity is recognized by Money.co.uk. The site analyzed more than 26 million Instagram hashtags with the keywords Most Popular Beach in The World. They also count posts about certain beaches. As a result, Kelingking Beach ranks at the top of the list. A total of 338 thousand photos accompanied by the hashtag #PantaiKelingking prove the popularity of this natural tourism attraction among domestic and foreign tourists. Kelingking also won the title of the Most Instagrammable Beach 2021.

This beach is named Kelingking because on the beach there is a rock that looks like a little finger. The Paluang Cliff on Kelingking Beach resembles the neck of a Tyrannosaurus or T-Rex. That's the Paluang Cliff which is the hallmark of Kelingking Beach. The name, Paluang was given according to the name of the temple there. To take pictures and witness the natural beauty of this cliff, you need to walk down wooden stairs which are quite energy-consuming. Kelingking Beach offers not only photogenic beach views, but also an attraction that you must try when visiting this beach, namely diving at Manta Point. Not a few tourists visit Kelingking Beach, who take the time to dive with dozens of manta stingrays surrounded by exotic coral reefs. Kelingking Beach is included in the marine conservation area of The Global Coral Triangle belonging to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). You can also visit other attractive beaches in the vicinity, such as Atuh Beach, Crystal Bay Beach, Broken Beach, and Angel's Billabong.

If you plan to visit this hidden paradise on the island of Nusa Penida,  you should come in the morning around 7 am local time, because at that time. it is still quiet from visitors and you can enjoy the beauty of this beach without too much disturbance. The price of admission to Kelingking beach is officially only charged Rp 5,000 for local tourists. If you have an adventurous spirit and usually like hiking a mountain, you can go down to the white beach at Kelingking beach. Kelingking Beach has a very stunning sea gradation which also complements the beauty of this beach. Even though you can't swim in the amazing water, you are guaranteed to be never disappointed, because there are many photo spots that can be explored in this place.

The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo expressed its commitment to continuously promote Indonesian products in many activities in a bid to boost the domestic creative industry for national economic recovery. Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Heri Akhmadi in a written statement in Jakarta on Saturday (26/6) believes that the creative economy is a firm sector and it will continuously grow amid the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis. One form of promotion of Indonesian products is that the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo held a Creative Economy Night as well as the opening of an integrated Indonesian promotion room namely "Japan - Indonesia Partnership Lounge (JAIPONG)," at the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo on Friday (25/6).

This promotional space exhibited Indonesia's leading export products namely various projects of Indonesia-Japan cooperation, such as the Integrated Moda Raya (MRT), Patimban Seaport, as well as information of investment, tourism, and finance. The Creative Economy Night was an initiative of the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo and Bank Indonesia (BI) Tokyo to celebrate 2021 as the Year of the International Creative Economy and Sustainable Development initiated by Indonesia and ratified through a UN Resolution.

The event, which was opened by Ambassador Heri Akhmadi, was also attended by Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno virtually. The minister emphasized that strengthening collaboration in the creative economy sector is very important to support the economic acceleration globally. He also affirmed that the Indonesian government has prepared various incentives in the creative economy sector that can be utilized by Japanese investors. He appreciated JAIPONG from the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo as a form of promotion of Indonesia in Japan. The products exhibited in the Indonesia integrated promotion room are Indonesian wastra and jewelry products, curated from Micro Small Medium Enterprises works of under-controlled by Bank Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Dodi Budy Waluyo in his video message confirmed that the trade cooperation between Indonesia and Japan has given benefits for the two countries. He further said there will be opportunities to increase cooperation intensity, especially for sustainable and affordable creative economic products of Indonesia in the future through a stern curation process.

Voice of Indonesia presents Let’s Speak Indonesian, a program that introduces the Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to speak in the language. Mari Berbahasa Indonesia or Let’s Speak Indonesian is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is about Kesehatan which means Health.

Here is the conversation entitled Bermasker which means Wearing a Mask. This dialog is between Kevin and Mela at the canteen. Mela asks Kevin to move when someone without wearing a mask sitting near their table. In this pandemic, Mela is afraid of being close to people without masks. Let’s read to the conversation.

After listening to the conversation, now I am going to introduce some vocabulary and expressions related to the topic of the day.

In the dialog, you listen to a statement Dia tidak bermasker (2x)which means He doesn’t wear a mask. In the statement, there is the word bermasker (2x) which means wearing a mask. The word bermasker is formed from theprefix ber- and the word masker. The prefix ber- has several meanings such as memakai, mempunyai and melakukan aktivitas, which means wear, have and do an activity. The prefix ber- in the word bermasker means memakai (2x) which means wear. So, the word bermasker means memakai masker, which means wearing a mask. The word ber- means memakai (2x), which means wear, if it is combined  with something worn such as clothes, trousers, mask and hat.

Let’s read to the other examples of the verbal prefix ber- which means memakai:

Mela    : Bagaimana ciri-ciri orang itu? (2x) which means How is he like?

Kevin   : Dia bercelana panjang dan bertopi (2x) which means He is wearing trousers and hat

Mela    : Bagaimana ciri-ciri orang itu? (2x) which means How is she like?

Ayu     : Dia berkacamata dan berjilbab (2x) which means She is wearing glasses and hijab

That was “Let’s Speak Indonesian” for today. Hopefully, this edition can be useful for those of you who want to know more about Indonesian language.