VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

FILE PHOTO: A metal figure of a football player with a ball is seen in front of the words "European Super League" and the UEFA logo in this illustration taken April 20, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo - 

BRUSSELS: Soccer bodies UEFA and FIFA contravened EU law when they prevented the formation of the European Super League (ESL), the European Court of Justice said on Thursday (Dec 21).

The EU's top court ruled that FIFA and UEFA abused their dominant position by forbidding clubs outright to compete in a ESL, but added that the competition may still not be approved.

Sports development company A22, formed to assist in the creation of the ESL, had claimed UEFA and global soccer governing body FIFA held a monopoly position which was in breach of the EU's Competition and Free Movement Law.

"We have won the right to compete. The UEFA-monopoly is over. Football is free," said A22 CEO Bernd Reichart.

"Clubs are now free from the threat of sanction and free to determine their own futures," Reichard added in a statement//CNA-VOI

File - The Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, Palestine. (ANTARA/HO-MER-C/pri.) - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The Indonesian Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) will ask the World Health Organization (WHO) to investigate the occupation of Indonesia Hospital in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which uses it as their headquarters.

"MER-C will send a letter to the WHO requesting it to send an investigation team," MER-C Presidium Chair Sarbini Abdul Murad stated on Thursday.

Apart from urging the WHO to investigate Indonesia Hospital being used as a military base, Murad also called on the organization to appeal to Israeli soldiers to leave the facility.

"The WHO has the authority to do that," he stated.

On November 6, 2023, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari accused the hospital of having a tunnel and being used as headquarters for the Palestinian militant group, Hamas. However, this allegation has been denied with no proof, Murad remarked.

After the one-week ceasefire, Israel gave an ultimatum for Indonesia Hospital in Gaza to be vacated. Apart from asking the health workers and patients to leave, the Israeli troops also used the hospital as a military base.

Murad noted that the action had clearly violated international humanitarian law by using hospitals as shields. Moreover, hospitals are neutral institutions that cannot be occupied by soldiers.

"There should be no military presence in hospitals, and we strongly condemn that," he emphasized.

Responding to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Murad criticized the approach of the United Nations (UN), which appeared to be passive.

To stop Israel's crime against Palestinians, instead of merely condemning the aggression, the global community should take concrete steps to end it, he stated//ANT-VOI

FILE PHOTO : Traffic flow in Cikampek Toll Road - 

Voinews Jakarta - The Joint Decree (SKB) by the Ministry of Transportation, Korlantas Polri and the Ministry of PUPR concerning Road Traffic Regulations and Crossings During the Homecoming and Returning Transport Periods for Christmas 2023 and New Year 2024 was officially published on Wednesday, December 5 2023. 

Director General Hendro said that with this SKB, travel during the Christmas holiday will experience regulations and restrictions for the sake of safety, security, comfort and order.

"There are times when there will be regulations on highways and crossings," explained Director General Hendro in Jakarta, Thursday (21/12/2023).

The stipulations include, among other things, operational restrictions on goods transportation on toll roads and non-toll roads, the system of tidal/non-flowing lanes and lanes (contra flow).

Next are the arrangements for crossings on the Merak-Bakauheni, Ketapang-Gilimanuk and Anchor-Lembar routes.

Arrangement of travel delays (delaying system) and as a buffer zone for the operation of goods transport vehicles on the Merak, Bakauheni, Ketapang, Gilimanuk, Anchor and Selamat routes.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday, regarding restrictions, goods transport vehicles subject to restrictions include goods cars weighing more than 14,000 kg, goods cars with 3 axles or more. Then goods cars with attached trains, trailers, and goods cars transporting excavation products, mining products and building materials.

"This restriction is carried out to increase the smoothness of traffic during the Christmas holiday considering that the number of vehicle volumes is predicted to increase, both on toll and non-toll roads," said Director General Hendro.

Goods transportation vehicles that are exempt from restrictions or can still operate are those that transport fuel or BBG, money, animal and animal feed, fertilizer and basic goods.

However, the vehicle must be equipped with a bill of lading with several provisions, namely issued by the owner of the goods being transported, a bill of lading containing information on the type of goods, destination, and the name and address of the goods owner. Finally, it is attached to the front windshield on the left side of the goods vehicle.

Director General Hendro stated that apart from limiting goods transport vehicles and regulating traffic lanes during the Christmas holiday, the SKB also regulates the operations of crossing transport.

From 22 December to 2 January 2024, from both the Merak and Bakauheni Ferry Ports, two-wheeled, four-wheeled and bus vehicles will be a priority, while goods transportation will not be prioritized.

"All or part of goods transport vehicles to Sumatra can go through Ciwandan Port, according to the density conditions at the port," concluded Director General Hendro//VOI

The launch of the One International Migration Data Collaboration or SDMI, on Wednesday, December 20 2023 at the BPS Headquarters - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency (BPS), is holding the launch of the One International Migration Data Collaboration or SDMI, on Wednesday, December 20 2023 at the BPS Headquarters.

The activity was also attended by the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture and Plt. The Head of BPS aims to officially launch collaborative efforts to implement SDMI and introduce the proposed draft Blueprint and Roadmap for SDMI 2023-2028 prepared by BPS and IOM through dialogue with various ministries/institutions; policy summary prepared by BPS and BRIN; guide to SDMI concepts and definitions which is a collaborative product of BPS and ILO; as well as a prototype SDMI portal that can be developed to contain various standardized international migration data from various ministries/institutions.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Thursday, International migration has become one of the most challenging issues faced by policy makers around the world because of the complexity of mobility and the interconnectedness of migration issues with other socio-economic issues. Reliable and timely data is needed to inform migration policymakers and for the provision of humanitarian assistance, as well as to maximize the positive impact of migration on development.

In this case, it requires integration of data that has been spread across various institutions and organizations from the village level to the national level. Data integration related to international migration needs to be supported by strengthening cross-sector coordination and an integrated system to strengthen better data governance and management.

"To create safe, orderly and orderly international migration, the commitment of the relevant ministries/institutions is needed to continue collaborating and working together through SDMI, thereby producing accurate and integrated data. "In this way, it provides a strong foundation for policy makers to formulate effective, evidence-based policies," said Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, Plt. Head of BPS.

SDMI is a significant initiative and is a step that shows the active role of the Indonesian government in realizing better management of data related to international migration. SDMI was developed and introduced since 2019 through a series of consultation and coordination meetings.

Throughout 2023, various series of activities have been carried out, such as initial coordination meetings, consultation meetings with key ministries and institutions, meetings with regional governments, development of a draft blueprint and roadmap for SDMI, preparation of policy summaries, preparation of guidelines for the concept and definition of SDMI, development portal, as well as organizing training related to migration and fostering the preparation of metadata and data standards.

In his remarks, 

"One of the obstacles in making policies related to international migration so far is the difficulty in obtaining accurate information and data.", the Coordinating Minister for PMK, Muhadjir Effendy, said.

Therefore, integrated and quality data is needed which is expected to be produced through SDMI. While touching on the celebration of International Migrant Day which fell on December 18, Muhajir stated that SDMI is a form of respect for the basic rights and freedoms of millions of migrants throughout the world who have contributed to their countries of origin and destination, including those from Indonesia.

As a UN organization dedicated to migration affairs, IOM, represented by Jeffrey Labovitz as Head of Mission IOM Indonesia, also emphasized the importance of the SDMI initiative to realize well-managed and evidence-based migration.

"Good migration management can be created through the implementation of migration policies that are comprehensive, coherent and refer to long-term results. This is difficult to implement without adequate evidence and data. "In this case, IOM has collaborated with BPS and the One Data Indonesia Secretariat (SDI) in preparing a proposed draft Blueprint and Roadmap for SDMI 2023-2028 in order to prepare a clear strategy for developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating SDMI."

This activity is the first step in implementing SDMI and is expected to encourage further dialogue and discussion for the realization of SDMI by considering the scope of collection and use of international migration data in Indonesia, the division of roles and responsibilities between relevant ministries and institutions, coordination mechanisms through the SDMI forum, to technical aspects, such as protecting personal data, as well as data interoperability support systems that can be mutually agreed upon.

This activity is supported by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM, United States Department of State) through the Asia Regional Migration Program which is implemented by IOM in 12 countries, including Indonesia.

The launch of the SDMI collaboration is expected to support Indonesia's position as one of the leading countries in the world for the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) as well as for achieving Golden Indonesia 2045 and the Goals Sustainable Development (SDGs)//VOI