VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian President, Joko Widodo said that until now, the repatriation of Indonesian citizens who were former members of Islamic countries in Iraq and Syria or ISIS from the Middle East, is still in the process of being discussed. As reported by Antara, President Joko Widodo at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (5/2) emphasized the need to hold a limited meeting to specifically discuss the plan. According to the President, everything related to this matter must go through detailed considerations. He added that in the meeting a decision would be taken, so that it could then be followed up immediately. Previously, Minister of Religious Affairs, Fachrul Razi said, the National Counterterrorism Agency would repatriate 600 Indonesian citizens who were members of ISIS from the Middle East. (Ant.06 02 2020/Nrl)

President Joko Widodo when reviewing the post-landslide management on Monday, at Sukajaya sub-district, Bogor, West Java, said that the government is preparing plant seedlings for landslide-affected areas in the region. President Joko Widodo also said that the utilization of these plants will increase public awareness of the environment and reduce the impact of landslides. To date, the government has planted as many as 13 thousand vetiver seedlings in Sukajaya. The planting has been carried out on an area of 1.8 hectares. Besides vetiver plants, the government also planted a number of other plant seeds such as durian and sengon which can be used economically by the communities. Therefore, president Joko Widodo hoped this efforts can reduce the potential of landslide disasters and provides economic benefits.

"We do not only do a physical approach in places where floods and landslides occur, but also related to vegetative. So it does not interfere and damage the existing system. For example in this Sukajaya prone region. The first stage we prepare approximately for 92 thousand plants, including plants that benefit the economic side. There are also plants that have function for ecological improvement and ecosystem improvement, namely vetiver, lemongrass which has 3-5 meters long roots. So we hope, with these two approaches we can solve the flood and landslides" President said. 

In addition to aiding the Sukajaya people of Bogor, West Java, President Joko Widodo said that the government is also paying attention to other regions which are prone to natural disasters, by emphasizing planting tree seedlings asanticipatory steps.  According to the president, in 2020, the government has budgeted 1.9 trillion rupiah for disaster prevention efforts throughout Indonesia. In addition to observing development efforts in landslide affected locations, President Joko Widodo also planted vetiver plant seeds together with the local people//Ndy/trs-yati

Six patients in Singapore, including four who have no history of recent trips to China, have tested positive for a new corona virus, the Ministry of Health announced at a press conference Tuesday (4 February) in Singapore. In the press conference, Singapore Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said four cases of local transmission interacted with tourists from China. While the other two cases were Singaporeans who were evacuated from Wuhan on January 30. This brings the number of confirmed cases in Singapore to 24. But the Singapore government ensures that this virus will not be widespread in Singapore.

"Singapore has confirmed a total of six additional cases of the corona virus infection novel on which a cluster of four has no reason travel history to China and therefore that is a result of local transmission. There is however no evidence of widespread sustained community transmission currently. Three of the local transmission cases can be traced to contact with reason travelers from mainland China. The fourth case is a close contact of one of the local transmission cases. The ministry of health has commenced contact tracing to identify individuals who have close contacts with these cases so I assure to strengthen the cluster and limit for the spread. As I mentioned yesterday the cases of limited community transmission are not unexpected This is a scenario that we have prepared for and we are ready to manage it" Minister said.

Last Friday, it was announced that all new visitors with recent travel history to mainland China would not be allowed to enter Singapore. This visitor will also not be allowed to transit in Singapore. Those who have Chinese passports, with the exception of Singapore permanent residents (PR) and long-term passport holders, will also not be allowed into Singapore. The corona virus has killed more than 400 people and infected more than 20,000 worldwide. The World Health Organization has declared the virus outbreak as a global emergency. (VOI / NK / AHM)