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Indonesian Defense Minister and President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Serbian President Aleksandar Vui stated their commitment to strengthening cooperation in defense and other sectors.

Prabowo paid a visit to Belgrade, Serbia, on Monday local time after visiting France last week.

“We are committed to improving relations and cooperation between Indonesia and Serbia in the defense, economy, and other sectors of mutual interest,” Prabowo noted in a statement from his office confirmed on Tuesday.

The ministry’s Head of the Public Relations Bureau, Brigadier General Edwin Adrian Sumantha, stated that the two leaders also discussed strategies to expand the scope of cooperation and improve friendly relations.

At the meeting, President Vui said his side is keen to strengthen political dialogue and cooperation in the defense, economy, and other mutually beneficial sectors for the two countries.

“I expressed my gratitude to Indonesia for its consistency in supporting Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Indonesia’s support is also reflected in the ASEAN forum regarding Serbia’s request to strengthen political relations and comprehensive cooperation with ASEAN members,” the president remarked.

At the Serbian Presidential Palace, Prabowo’s arrival was also welcomed by Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gaši.

During the meeting, Prabowo was accompanied by Indonesian Ambassador to Serbia, M. Chandra Widya Yudha; Serbia’s Chargé d’Affaires ad Interim to Indonesia in Jakarta Marija Boskovic; and Indonesian Defense Attaché in Belgrade, Colonel Prayogha Erawan.

Meanwhile, the Serbian president, in addition to being accompanied by his defense minister, was also accompanied by Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric.

After visiting Belgrade, Prabowo continued his journey to Ankara, Turkey, on Monday local time. He arrived at the Esenboga International Airport, Ankara, at around 17:20 local time and was greeted by Turkish Defense Minister Sn. Yasar Guler, Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey Ahmad Rizal Purnama, and Indonesian Defense Attaché to Turkey in Ankara Colonel Mohammad Amir Ali Akbar.

In Ankara, Prabowo is scheduled to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish defense minister, and the Turkish foreign minister.

 The government announced that Nusantara City will be open to the public keen on visiting the new capital to observe Indonesia’s 79th Independence Day ceremony on August 17, 2024, at Nusantara’s Ceremonial Plaza.

“Residents can come and see the Independence Day Ceremony from the National Axis in Nusantara City,” East Kalimantan acting governor Akmal Malik stated here on Tuesday.

The National Axis, flanked by Nusantara’s main roads on its side, would overlook the new capital’s Ceremonial Plaza and the Garuda Palace complex above it.

At the preparation meeting for the ceremony, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) instructed the organizer to open the National Axis to accommodate residents who visit the new capital to observe the Independence Day ceremony, he noted.

The acting governor also revealed that large screens will be installed at the National Axis on Independence Day for the residents’ convenience.

Moreover, the president instructed the provincial authority to mobilize residents to participate and invite local figures to attend the Independence Day ceremony in Nusantara.

“Some 800 East Kalimantan residents will participate in the ceremony,” Malik remarked.

He explained that the attendees would be divided into two groups—each comprising 400 people—to partake in the flag-raising ceremony on August 17 morning and the flag-lowering ceremony in the afternoon.

“The East Kalimantan provincial authority will provide food, toilets, and transport facilities, while access to Nusantara will be from the toll road and the Balang Island Bridge,” the acting governor remarked.

In a break from tradition, this year’s Independence Day ceremony will take place both in Nusantara and the current national capital, Jakarta.

President Joko Widodo, accompanied by President-elect Prabowo Subianto, will preside over the ceremony in Nusantara. Meanwhile, Vice President Ma’ruf Amin will chair the ceremony in Jakarta with Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

 The Indonesian Government has issued Government Regulation (PP) Number 28 of 2024 that serves as an implementing regulation to Law Number 17 of 2023 about Health to create a greater and inclusive national health architecture.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that with the issuance of the regulation, some 26 government regulations and five presidential regulations, such as PP Number 46 of 2014 about the Health Information System and PP Number 88 of 2019 about Occupational Health, are no longer in effect.

“We respond positively to the issuance of the regulation, which serves as our basis to collectively reform and build the health system in the whole country,” Sadikin noted in a statement received here on Tuesday.

The minister remarked that the technical aspect, elaborated in some 1,072 articles, covers public health initiatives, health services, medical human resources management, health facilities, and pharmaceutical and medical tools supply, among other things.

Sadikin elaborated that the public health initiatives cover 22 items, comprising the health of mothers, babies, children, adults, teenagers, the elderly, and people with disability. They also address reproduction system health, mental health, and non-infectious disease handling.

Moreover, hearing and sight health, family wellness, occupational health, organ transplants, stem cell therapy, plastic surgery for reconstruction and aesthetics, and traditional medications are covered.

Speaking in connection with the health services, Sadikin explained that it lists health services standards, primary and secondary health services, and telemedicine.

He noted that health personnel management covers planning, quality improvement, license for practice, and administrative sanctions. Moreover, he remarked that the regulation addresses supporting health personnel.

Sadikin stated that the medical facilities part covers types of facilities, services’ quality improvement and development, hospitals, public health centers, and hospitals as educational institutions.

He remarked that in terms of the supply of pharmaceutical and medical devices, the regulation covers the health information system, technology, epidemics, funding, and public participation, among things.

He stated that the regulation was begun with public participation from August to October 2023, followed by harmonization, before being set and then issued by the president near the end of July.

“Then it is our job to ensure the program is supported by technical regulations in the form of Presidential Regulation, Health Minister Regulation, or any other ministerial-level regulations,” he stated.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), on Tuesday, conducted a first-hand review of Nusantara Hotel in New Capital Nusantara (IKN), East Kalimantan Province, which is due for inauguration on August 17, 2024.

On the occasion, Jokowi personally inspected several facilities, including the lobby, a dining room, and bedrooms.

As cited from the Presidential Secretariat’s statement in Jakarta, Nusantara Hotel’s assistant director of sales, Hazel Yehezkiel Pauranan, noted that the inauguration of the 191-room hotel would coincide with the celebration of Indonesia’s 79th Independence Day.

“We began operating on July 28, 2024, despite not being fully operational since some rooms are not yet ready for use,” he remarked.

Pauranan further stated that the work to construct the Nusantara Hotel, launched by President Jokowi on September 21 last year, was already complete.

“We are currently furnishing the lobby while the Nusantara Restaurant has become operational,” he revealed.

During his earlier review of the hotel’s development on December 20 last year, Jokowi expressed optimism about the Nusantara Hotel being ready before August 2024.

On the occasion, the head of state stated that the development of the hotel, which covers an area of 20,164 square meters, had progressed to around 34 percent.

“Judging by the progress reached, I estimate that the development process will be completed before August (2024),” he told the media after inspecting the hotel.

Nusantara Hotel is a five-star hotel located near the zero-kilometer point of IKN. The nine-floor hotel, measuring about 43 meters in height, was built with Rp20 trillion (US$1.2 billion) of capital invested by nine domestic business entities.

The One Data Indonesia (SDI) program is part of the government’s consolidation efforts to realize digital services for the people, according to Minister of Communication and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi.

“Digital transformation must continue, and this digitalization is for the people,” he said on Tuesday.

He emphasized that all people must have access to digital services. The program is part of the government’s efforts to be consistently present and serve the community.

“The SDI is a program that can be experienced directly from Sabang to Merauke, from Miangas to Rote Island,” he said.

Setiadi also anticipated differences in data quality between Jakarta and other provinces in Indonesia. Therefore, the unity of the program and its measures is crucial.

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics is tasked with preparing qualified digital talent in all regions of Indonesia, he added.

Meanwhile, Minister of State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Reform Abdullah Azwar Anas stated that several sensitive and strategic data will be stored in the National Data Center (PDN).

He assured that there are no problems related to the SDI budget and that the program will be completed in August.

which serves as feeder transportation to bus stops, can be an icon of transportation in Indonesia’s capital city Nusantara, according to Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi.

“ART can be an icon of transportation in Nusantara city,” he stated in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday.

“With the advantage of being trackless, it can also be used in cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, and other cities,” he added.

Investment in autonomous rail transit is not too large, he said,and the train can be run even in crowded areas, providing a massive boost to mobility.

“ART functions as a transportation tasked with collecting passengers to be distributed specifically to certain route transportation in Nusantara,” the minister explained.

President Joko Widodo has instructed that the trackless autonomous train be used to support mobility during state events until the 79th Independence Day ceremony on August 17, 2024, in Nusantara.

“ART has functions as a feeder at state events in August 2024 and after,” he said.

The trackless autonomous train provides transportation services on Jalan Sumbu Kebangsaan Sisi Barat (West National Axis) and Sumbu Kebangsaan Sisi Timur (East National Axis), as well as other roads in KIPP located in the capital city.

The operational system of the trackless autonomous train runs clockwise, and its stopping time at each terminal is five minutes, during which it also charges so that it can be used for a fairly long time.

The trackless autonomous train runs by automatically reading road signs (markings), and it has the technology to detect road signs as a replacement for rails.

The trackless autonomous train (ART) is an environmentally friendly transportation mode, which uses electricity as a power source, Sumadi said.

The Domestic Workers’ Protection Bill (PPRT Bill) represents a commitment by the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to protecting domestic workers.

This was conveyed by deputy head of the DPR’s Legislative Body, Willy Aditya, during the “PPRT Bill as an Effort to Protect Domestic Workers” forum in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“The political will is to provide protection to vulnerable groups,” he said. “The first thing that we regulate is the issue of protection.”

Aditya noted that domestic workers have so far not received protection because they do not have legal worker status.

He said that the bill is one of the priorities in the national legislation program. Therefore, the DPR is obliged to prioritize deliberations on the bill and its ratification.

“After it is ratified, there will be no job agencies that are not legal entities,” he pointed out.

The PPRT Bill was initiated by the DPR in March 2023.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has also submitted the problem areas list (DIM) for the PPRT Bill to the DPR leadership and appointed a ministry that will represent the government during deliberations on the bill with the DPR.

Earlier, several parties, including the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), highlighted that the PPRT Bill is yet to be ratified into law.

On July 19, Komnas HAM commissioner Anis Hidayah said that the PPRT Bill concerns national interests, therefore it needs to be ratified promptly.

She noted that the bill will affect many parties because it will provide legal certainty to not only workers but also employers.

Furthermore, she said that if the bill is not passed into law, domestic workers will remain at risk and vulnerable to various threats, including human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

 The Health Ministry has said that collaboration between researchers and industry players is vital to ensure the availability of vaccines for the public, including halal vaccinations for Muslims worldwide.

The ministry’s director general for pharmaceutical and medical devices, Rizka Andalusia, said in a statement received here on Tuesday that her administration is supporting collaborative efforts such as the third batch of the fellowship program for virology and vaccine research and training.

“Indonesia is a country which is currently improving the vaccine ecosystem’s research and manufacturing, and has successfully created eight of 14 immunization antigens, four of which have gotten the WHO’s (World Health Organization’s) pre-qualifications,” she elaborated.

The fellowship program was a result of collaboration between the ministry and some entities, such as the Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), Bio Farma, and Padjadjaran University, as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC’s) center for vaccine research.

Twelve researchers from nine OIC countries, including Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Somalia, participated in the program.

According to Andalusia, the program, which has been conducted for three years, is proof of the ministry’s commitment to producing halal vaccines for the Muslim community and countries.

In the same statement, the deputy CEO of Bio Farma, Soleh Ayubi, highlighted the importance of collaboration for creating an ecosystem that can resolve grave and concerning health issues, like pandemics.

There are three things that must be considered by vaccine researchers when creating products, he said. First, the ability to understand and synchronize laboratory matters with the company, he expounded.

Second, understanding local regulations on drugs and medicine evaluation, he said.

“I also expect participants to study the GMP, or good manufacturing practices, aspect,” he added.

A participant from the Islamic University in Uganda, Mwambi Bashir, said that now that he has finished the program, he is determined to promote the importance of vaccines among the public.

“If we are to encourage the public to accept vaccines, we must highlight the importance of including values such as religious, cultural, as well as public beliefs,” he added.

He said that the program is an interesting one for OIC countries. He said that through the program, he saw how committed Indonesian pharmaceutical industries are to providing halal vaccines to Muslims worldwide.

Bentrokan antara mahasiswa, polisi, dan pendukung pemerintah meningkat menjadi kerusuhan. Perdana Menteri Bangladesh Hasina mengundurkan diri di tengah kekacauan tersebutvt. Sebelumnya pada Kamis, 8 Agustus 2024, ekonom Bangladesh yang juga peraih Nobel Perdamaian Muhammad Yunus dilantik sebagai perdana menteri ad interim.

“Cina mencatat Bangladesh telah membentuk pemerintahan ad interim dan kami menyambutnya. Cina secara ketat mengikuti prinsip non-intervensi pada urusan dalam negeri negara lain. Kami menghormati kemerdekaan, kedaulatan, dan integritas wilayah Bangladesh serta jalur pembangunan yang dipilih secara mandiri oleh rakyat Bangladesh,” kata Juru bicara Kementerian Luar Negeri Cina pada Jumat, 9 Agustus 2024, menanggapi kondisi di Bangladesh. 

Cina terus berpegang pada kebijakan “tetangga yang baik dan bersahabat” dengan seluruh rakyat Bangladesh, kata juru bicara tersebut. Persahabatan kedua negara “sudah lama terjalin dan mendalam.”

“Cina menghargai hubungan dengan Bangladesh dan siap bekerja sama dengan Bangladesh untuk mempromosikan pertukaran dan kerja sama bilateral di berbagai bidang serta lebih lanjut meningkatkan kemitraan strategis komprehensif kedua negara,” tambah juru bicara tersebut.

Aksi protes mulai terjadi di Dhaka dan di seluruh Bangladesh setelah Gerakan Mahasiswa Anti-Diskriminasi mengumumkan “aksi non-kooperatif” berhari-hari dengan pihak berwenang pada Minggu, 4 Agustus 2024.

Bentrokan antara mahasiswa, polisi, dan pendukung pemerintah meningkat menjadi kerusuhan. Perdana Menteri Bangladesh Hasina mengundurkan diri di tengah kekacauan tersebut.

Pada Senin, 5 Agustus 2024, media melaporkan Hasina dan saudara perempuannya telah meninggalkan kediaman resmi di Dhaka dan melarikan diri ke India. Menteri Luar Negeri India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar membenarkan hal ini.

Pangkalan TNI Angkatan Udara (Lanud) Silas Papare Jayapura membangun monumen bakti guna menampilkan peran strategis TNI AU di Papua

Danlanud Silas Papare Jayapura Marsma TNI Indan Gilang Buldansyah meletakkan batu pertama atau groundbreaking pembangunan monumen TNI AU di Papua pada Rabu (7/8).

Komandan Pangkalan TNI Angkatan Udara Silas Papare Jayapura Marsma TNI Indan Gilang Buldansyah di Sentani, Rabu mengatakan pembangunan monumen ini untuk memberikan bentuk fisik nyata kehadiran TNI AU sejak 1960-an hingga saat ini di Papua.

“Kehadiran TNI Angkatan Udara hadir di tanah Papua dari ujung barat hingga timur hanya satu, memberikan kontribusi nyata bagi pembangunan dan kemajuan Papua melalui monumen tersebut.

Menurut Danlanud, monumen ini di atasnya akan terpajang helikopter asli jenis SA-330 Puma setelah 45 tahun beroperasi di Indonesia khususnya wilayah Papua.

“Sejak pertama kali datang ke Indonesia helikopter SA-330 Puma dan beroperasi sejak 1980-an hingga 2021 sehingga ini yang akan dijadikan monumen sebagai pengingat betapa besarnya jasanya dalam pelayanan bagi warga Papua,” ujarnya.

Dia menjelaskan melalui monumen ini diharapkan masyarakat Kabupaten Jayapura khususnya orang asli Papua (OAP) di tanah Papua lebih mencintai TNI Angkatan Udara.

“Monumen ini sebagai pemberi semangat bagi kami untuk meneruskan tradisi memberikan darma baktinya bagi tanah Papua melalui pengawasan dan kegiatan sosial menggunakan transportasi udara,” katanya.

Dia menambahkan selain monumen dengan di atasnya terdapat helikopter SA-330 Puma juga akan ada relief bagaimana peran TNI AU dalam menjaga kedaulatan Papua di dalam bingkat NKRI di pinggir monumen.

“Di lokasi monumen itu ada juga taman dirgantara yang di dalamnya terdapat sarana olahraga, taman bermain anak, tempat teater mini yang dapat dinikmati seluruh lapisan masyarakat di Papua,” ujarnya.

Danlanud Silas Papare Jayapura Marsma TNI Indan Gilang Buldansyah bersama unsur forum komunikasi pimpinan daerah (Forkopimda) Papua secara bersama-sama mengawali penimbunan pasir sebagai tanda pengerjaan monumen bakti TNI AU segera dimulai.

Selanjutnya Danlanud Silas Papare Jayapura Marsma TNI Indan Gilang Buldansyah bersama unsur Forkopimda Papua dan Kabupaten Jayapura melakukan panen raya jagung dan pemberian 50 bantuan bahan pokok (Bapok) kepada 50 masyarakat asli Papua dari wilayah pegunungan.