VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo delivers his remarks while officiating Panua Airport, the newest domestic airport in Pohuwato District, Gorontalo Province, Monday (April 22, 2024). ANTARA/HO-Diskominfotik Provinsi Gorontalo/nbl - 

VOInews, Gorontalo : President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) expected Panua Airport, the newest domestic airport in Gorontalo Province's Pohuwato District to bolster the regional economy as well as the mobility of passengers and logistics.

"I am glad, praise be to God that Panua Airport in Pohuwato District has been completed. Transportation Minister (Budi Karya Sumadi) told me that Rp473 billion (US$29.14 million) has been spent for the development," the president stated while officiating the airport here on Monday.

He said the airport development proved Indonesia is keen to make faster progress in its national economy and development.

"(It is) because in the future, the case is not larger countries that overpower smaller countries, but countries (whose development) progress is faster will beat countries who lag behind," Jokowi stated.

The president also instructed Panua Airport's runway of 1,200 x 30 meters to be extended to allow larger aircraft to land.

"I instructed (officials) to take measures to extend the runway length this year, if possible, or next year by the latest," he remarked.

Meanwhile, Minister Sumadi stated that the airport is one of the president's commitments to ensuring equitable development across the country.

"The airport is one of the legacies of the president who always instructs us to develop airports in all corners of the nation," the minister said.

He highlighted that the high budget of Rp473 billion disbursed for Panua Airport's development aims to improve the soil condition in the airport area before the construction commences.

The president arrived at Panua Airport for the inauguration on Monday at 7:51 a.m. local time. He departed from Djalaluddin Airport in the province's capital aboard an ATR 72-600 aircraft, the largest aircraft currently being served at the new airport.

Before being officially opened by the president, the inaugural flight from and to Panua Airport had taken place on February 18, 2024//Antara - VOI

Mount Ruang of Sitaro District, North Sulawesi, erupts. (17/4/2024). (ANTARA/HO-PVMBG) - 

VOInews, Jakarta : The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) on Sunday has lifted a tsunami advisory previously issued following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro District of North Sulawesi Province.

"The potential for large eruptions is decreasing, so the chance for tsunamis to occur is less likely," said Head of PVMBG Hendra Gunawan in a statement received here on Sunday.

On April 1-21, 2024, until 12:00 local time (GMT+8), PVMBG recorded as many as 10 eruptions on Mount Ruang starting on April 16, at 1:37 p.m. local time.

A major eruption occurred on April 17, at 8:15 p.m. local time. The continuous eruption was accompanied by rumbling sounds and vibrations felt up to the Mount Ruang Observation Post in Tulusan Village, Tagulandang Sub-District.

Explosive eruptions occurred on Ruang Island, followed by the release of incandescent material and hot clouds. Meanwhile, Tagulandang Island was raining stones and sand, spewed from the volcano which is 10 kilometer away. 

The results of visual monitoring carried out by PVMBG on April 21, until 12:00 local time recorded thick white smoke as high as 200 meters from the main crater and no eruption was observed.

"This showed a decrease in eruptive activity on Mount Ruang," said Gunawan. 

On April 21, from 00:00-12:00 local time the PVMBG recorded 25 shallow volcanic earthquakes and 19 deep volcanic earthquakes.

The PVMBG team has installed a seismic monitoring station at the Mount Ruang Observation Post which is about five kilometers from the peak to monitor the activity of the volcano//Antara - VOI

Indonesian Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani during the G20 Summit in Bali 2022 (archive) - 

VOInews, Jakarta : The government is currently devising strategies for protecting the exchange rate of rupiah from adversary impacts of the Iran-Israel conflict, Finance Minister SriMulyaniIndrawati has said.

The minister observed that the current global situation would surely affect Indonesia's economy, including by disrupting the exchange rate of its national currency.

"We will continue to maintain the stability of the macro economy, both from the monetary and fiscal sides. To adapt to the mounting pressure, we have been in coordination with Bank Indonesia," she noted in her Instagram account @smindrawati, as cited in Jakarta on Sunday.

She added that the government had been striving to ensure that the APBN (state budget) can play the role as an effective and credible shock absorber.

The minister said she acknowledges that the strengthening of the US dollar exchange rate against rupiah might lead to an increase in the value of Indonesian exports.

She, however, noted that such a trend would also adversely affect the country's inflation rate.

On that note, Indrawati emphasized that the government would continue to take anticipatory measures while paying close attention to global dynamics.

"I believe that Indonesia will stand resilient in the midst of this situation," she said.

The state treasurer also expressed optimism about the national economy surviving global uncertainties, like it did during the COVID-19 pandemic era.

"With the support from our strong exports as well as surpluses in the trade balance, I believe that Indonesia's economy will remain stable as expected," she stated.

Earlier, Bank Indonesia affirmed that it would strive to ensure that the exchange rate of rupiah remains stable in the midst of declining US Fed Fund Rate (FFR) and geopolitical tensions escalating in the Middle East.

"We have been striving to maintain the stability of rupiah by resorting to foreign exchange intervention and taking other necessary measures," Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo remarked here on Friday (April 19).

In order to sustain Indonesia's economic resilience, he added, Bank Indonesia has been managing the flow of market-friendly foreign portfolios, including by implementing pro-market monetary operations that are integrated with money markets//Antara-VOI

French President Emmanuel Macron waits for the arrival of Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama (not seen) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 12, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz - 

VOInews, Paris : French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he was confident the Olympics' opening ceremony in July on the river Seine would be a success, but added authorities prepared 'Plan B' options should security assessment closer to the games require it.

"We can do it and we will do it," Macron told RMC Radio and BFM TV of the plan to hold the July 26 opening ceremony with huge crowds around the Seine, where some 160 boats would set off for a 6-kilometre journey.

But France, he added, is not naive.

"If we think there are security risks we'll have plan Bs, and even plan Cs," he said.

One option, he added, would be to restrict the ceremony to the central Paris Trocadero square facing the Eiffel Tower. Another would be to move the event indoors to the Stade de France stadium//CNA-VOI