Serious Debt Crisis Unfolding Across Buckle Up For Climactic Finale, Says Author Of Manga

Developing Countries: UNDP 'One Piece'

The United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP)

joined on Tuesday the chorus of institutions and Secrets will be revealed as the mega-hit Japanese manga series
charities warning that a serious debt crisis is now taking One Piece enters its final chapter, its author said on Monday,
hold in the poorest parts of the world. In a new report, telling fans to get ready for a wild ride. Eiichiro Oda posted an
the UNDP estimated that 54 countries, accounting for enigmatic online message promising a climactic crescendo to the
more than half of the world’s poorest people, now 25-year saga, which has sold 490 million copies worldwide. He
needed immediate debt relief to avoid even more also assured those who hadn't been following along for the better
extreme poverty and give them a chance of dealing with part of three decades that they could jump in at the final chapter
climate change. "A serious debt crisis is unfolding and still keep up. The manga, which follows the adventures of
across developing economies, and the likelihood of a
the swashbuckling pirate Monkey D. Luffy, has captivated
worsening outlook is high," the report published on
millions of fans worldwide as its characters hunt for One Piece,
Tuesday said. The warning comes as the International
the treasure coveted by all pirates. "I will start presenting all the
Monetary Fund and World Bank hold meetings in
secrets of this world that I have kept hidden," Oda said in a hand-
Washington this week amid rising global recession
worries and a crop of debt crises from Sri Lanka and written message posted to Twitter. "It will be fun. Please fasten
Pakistan to Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia.Achim Steiner, your seat belt." One Piece first appeared in manga form in Japan
UNDP administrator, urged a string of measures, in 1997, with an animated TV series following two years later.
including writing off debt, offering wider relief to Since then, the franchise has become a global cultural
greater numbers of countries and even adding special phenomenon, and Oda holds the Guinness World Record for
clauses to bond contracts to provide breathing space "most copies published for the same comic book series by a
during crises. "It is urgent for us to step up and find single author". Last year, the 1,000th episode of the TV series
ways in which we can deal with these issues before they was released, with special screenings in the United States and
become at least less manageable and perhaps France -- the world's biggest manga and anime market after
unmanageable," he told reporters. Without effective Japan. A live-action adaptation by Netflix is also in the works,
debt restructuring, poverty will rise and desperately with fans speculating it could catapult the franchise to global
needed investments in climate adaptation and mitigation household name status, on par with Star Wars or Harry Potter. In
will not happen.  The UNDP's report also called for a the online message, Oda said he was getting ready to resume the
recalibration of the G20-led Common Framework - the weekly publication of his work after taking a month-long break
plan designed to help countries pushed into financial to prepare for the final chapter. "Well, I am coming close to
trouble by COVID-19 pandemic restructure debt. Only ending my prep work... It has taken me 25 years," he wrote.
Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia have used it so far. Its
"But it's OK to start reading from here. Because... ONE PIECE
proposal was to expand the Common Framework's
starts from here (LOL!!)."
eligibility so that all heavily indebted countries could
utilise it rather just the 70 or so poorest countries, and News Desk (AFP) Tokyo, Japan   ●   Mon, July 18, 2022
for any debt payments to be automatically suspended
during the process. "Both will act as an incentive for
creditors to participate and to maintain a reasonable
timeline, and it could also remove some of the hesitancy
caused by rating fears for debtor countries," the report
said. It also recommended creditors should have a legal
duty to cooperate "in good faith" in a Common
Framework restructurings and that countries could offer
to take eco-friendly measures to encourage creditors to
write their down debt. "It makes a lot of sense," the
report said. "Not only have these countries contributed
the least to, but bear the highest cost of, climate
change".

Reuters London, United Kingdom   ●   Tue, October 11,

2022
 Jokowi, Prabowo share stage, group hug at NCT Dream members join humanitarian cause at Bantar
Asian Games Gebang landfill

In a rare moment in the lead up to the 2019

presidential election, President Joko “Jokowi”
Widodo and his political nemesis, Prabowo Subianto,
ended up having a group hug while celebrating the
victory of a pencak silat athlete during the Asian
Games in Jakarta on Wednesday. Hanifan Yudani
Kusuma, who won a gold medal in pencak silat in the
final of the men's Class C (55 kilograms to 60 kg) on
Wednesday, united the two presidential rivals
through a group hug when he came to their VVIP
seats to greet them after his victory. Wearing a red
sports jacket, Jokowi sat side by side with Gerindra
Party chairman Prabowo, who attended the sporting
event in his capacity as the Indonesian Pencak Silat
Association (IPSI) chairman. Hanifan came to
Jokowi and hugged him briefly before hugging
Prabowo. Afterward, the athlete extended his hand to
Jokowi and pulled him in for a group hug with
Prabowo. The moment immediately garnered
applause from the audience as well as officials in the
VVIP seats, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla and
Coordinating Human Development and Culture
Minister Puan Maharani. Jokowi later posted a
picture of the group hug on his Instagram account
and congratulated Hanifan and the 14 pencak silat
athletes who won gold medals for Indonesia. "The
three of us – Hanifan, myself and Pak Prabowo –
hugged each other under the cover of the Red and
White," Jokowi said in the caption of the post,
referring to the Indonesian flag that Hanifan draped
around his back. Jokowi and Prabowo, who competed
against each other in the 2014 presidential race, are
set to have a rematch next year. Jokowi is paired with
non-active Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) leader
Ma'ruf Amin, while Prabowo will run with former
Jakarta deputy governor Sandiaga Uno.
Two members of South Korean boy group NCT Dream have
made headlines as they visited Bantar Gebang landfill in Bekasi,
West Java.  NCT Dream members Jaemin and Jeno collaborated
with nongovernmental organizations Good Neighbors
International and Gugah Nurani Indonesia (GNI) Foundation to
volunteer for humanitarian and environmental causes at the
landfill.  GNI fundraising manager Stephanie Dass said footage
of the activities would be featured on the Global Dreams Come
True Project ‘The Best Day’ show which was slated to air on
South Korea’s MBC TV on Monday. “NCT Dream has
especially been sympathetic toward issues concerning
Indonesian children who dropped out of school to immediately
make a living,” Stephanie said on Friday as quoted by
kompas.com.  Jaemin and Jeno gave a surprise to a couple of
children from Bantar Gebang, who had to drop out of school due
to their unfortunate circumstances, she added. In addition to
Bantar Gebang, Jaemin and Jeno would also visit several other
locations in Bekasi, she said. “We also aim to provide aid to
underage workers in other locations,” Stephanie said.
News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ●   Sun, May 12, 2019
(rfa/kes)

Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ●

Wed, August 29, 2018
(ahw)
 Indonesia rejects UN motion to scrutinize Indonesian K-pop fandoms raise funds for Palu quake
China’s human rights record victims

More than 20 K-pop fandoms in Indonesia are raising funds via

Indonesia was among 19 nations that rejected a
online platform kitabisa.com to help earthquake and tsunami
motion against China at the United Nations to hold a
victims in Palu and Donggala, Central Sulawesi. The initiative,
debate on alleged rights abuses against Muslim
called “K-Pop Fandom Peduli Gempa Donggala & Palu
Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, in a
Sulteng (K-Pop Fandom Cares for Earthquake in Donggala and
blow to largely Western attempts to antagonize
Palu, Central Sulawesi)” was posted by Kartikawati Halim as
Beijing internationally. The United States, having
part of a fund-raiser organized by humanitarian charity Aksi
labeled China as its strategic rival, has attempted to
Cepat Tanggap (ACT Indonesia). Among the fandoms
contain Beijing’s influence on a number of fronts,
participating in the fund-raiser are Melody Indonesia, Mamamoo
most recently seeking to start a debate based on a
Indonesia, NCTunnel, Dreamcatcher7 Indonesia, YGstan INA,
report issued late August and led by then-UN human
Hello SHINee, VICTON Neworld, AstroID, HILIGHT, GG INA,
rights chief Michelle Bachelet accusing China of
Infinite Inspirit, This is Golden Child, BY1GOT7, EXO-L
committing “crimes against humanity”. But the UN
Yehet~, Seventeen World, Forwannable ID, Kardnesia, Day6, IU
Human Rights Council shot down the draft resolution
Indonesia, The Boyz Indonesia and Global Army. Targeting Rp 5
tabled by the US and a gaggle of allied countries and
million (US$329), the fund-raiser is open for seven days and at
cosponsors such as Turkey, despite extensive
the time this article was written had gathered Rp 1.8 million. All
documentation of China’s crackdown on those
donations will be given to ACT Indonesia, which will distribute
minorities, carried out under the guise of combating
aid to areas hit by the earthquake and tsunami. Indonesia’s K-pop
terrorism. The Council rejected the draft decision
fandom previously initiated a fund-raiser to help earthquake
entitled “debate on the situation of human rights in
victims in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. The funds collected at
the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China” by
the time reached Rp 16.64 million -- exceeding the target of Rp
a vote of 17 in favor, 19 against and 11 abstentions.
10 million.
China itself voted “no”. Indonesia, in a statement
explaining its decision to reject the draft resolution, News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ●   Thu, October 4, 2018
cited its belief that the approach would “not yield (wir/kes)
meaningful progress” because the motion “does not
enjoy the consent and support of the concerned
country”. “The Council should focus on creating a
conducive [sic] environment that encourages
countries to fulfill their human rights obligations,”
said Indonesia’s permanent representative to the UN,
Febrian Ruddyard, at the conclusion of the vote at the
UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. “The role
of the international community, therefore, is to
support national-led efforts to make concrete human
rights improvement on the ground,” he said in video
footage taken from the UN Web TV. However,
Indonesia also pledged to be “resolute in its
commitment to promote and protect human rights,
including in Xinjiang”, the envoy added. During a
press briefing in Jakarta on Friday, the Foreign
Ministry’s director for human rights, Achsanul
Habib, explained that there was an understanding
among Human Rights Council members representing
the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the
Muslim world’s governing body for cooperation, not
to let the Council be used as a vehicle to promote
“political rivalries”. “[When it came down to a vote]
yesterday, supporting the initiative was not in line
with our views. There was doubt in the sincerity of
the discussion process,” he said. Besides Indonesia, a
number of OIC member states such as Pakistan,
Somalia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also
voted “no”. Among the 11 countries that abstained
were India, Malaysia and Ukraine. Rights groups
have accused Beijing of abuses against the Uighurs,
including the mass use of forced labor in internment
camps. Beijing has denied these accusations.
Amnesty International said the Xinjiang vote betrays
the core mission of the Human Rights Council, with
Amnesty Secretary-General Agnes Callamard saying
that it “puts the UN’s main human rights body in the
farcical position of ignoring findings of the UN’s
own human rights office”. The motion is the first
time that the rights record of China, a powerful
permanent UN Security Council member, has been
on the Council's agenda. The event raised political
dilemmas for many poor countries in the 47-member
council who are loath to publicly defy China for fear
of jeopardizing investment, Reuters reports.
Indonesia itself has been closely engaging with China
in the relative absence of the US in Southeast Asia,
and has blocked Western-led attempts to isolate
Beijing in favor of a more inclusive regional order set
out in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. As
the most populous Muslim-majority nation,
Indonesia’s most influential religious groups have
also been coy about the alleged human rights abuse
suffered by the Uighurs, especially after China
organized several tightly-controlled visits for
grassroots groups to Xinjiang province in an effort to
dispel any doubt about its spotty human rights record.
A senior advisor of the government has also said
Indonesia will not meddle in the alleged persecution
of Uighurs by China.

News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ●   Fri,

October 7, 2022
 Indonesian fans donate 8,735 mangroves for “Sometimes the number of people who spread [news about] a
BTS star’s birthday project can be higher than those who actually donate. So I
encouraged fans [to donate] by giving away free [fan-made]
Jimin wallpapers as mementos,” said Asa. Because of the
number of seeds collected, the team started planting on Oct. 3.
Although Asa was unable to participate as she lives in Makassar,
South Sulawesi, three ARMY members volunteered in the
process. “They said that they were happy and they felt moved by
the activity,” Asa said. Asa plans to hold more environmentally
conscious charity initiatives for other BTS members, particularly
Jin and V, who will celebrate their birthdays in December.
Through the fundraising, Asa said she sought to show the force
The power of ARMY (fans of South Korean K-pop of ARMY and to break any negative stigma. She said she
group BTS) should not be underestimated, realized that the fandom was often considered "toxic" because of
particularly when it comes to charity. Several their unrelenting bearing on social media and wanted to show
philanthropic activities related to the South Korean another side of the fans. “We're not new to good causes. We
boyband have been conducted, including raising just never get the recognition,” Asa said. Asa said that to be
more than $1 million for a campaign by UNICEF and recognized by the group’s management Big Hit Entertainment
BTS to end violence against children and young was never the idea. “I did it for fellow fans and the community.
people. The group, which debuted in 2013, consists If it gets recognition [by the management], Alhamdulillah
of seven members, namely RM, Jungkook, V, Jimin, [Thank God]. If not, that’s ok. It’s from our hearts, after all,” she
Suga, Jin and J-Hope.  To contribute to a birthday said. Asa, a proud ARMY member since January 2018, is no
project for Jimin, who will turn 26 on Oct. 13, 1,873 stranger to organizing projects for BTS. In April, for instance,
members of the Indonesian branch of she collaborated with the Generaksi Aksi community to build
ARMY collected mangrove trees to be planted in public hand-washing facilities decorated with BTS quotes in
Bedono village in Demak, Central Java. The project several locations in Indonesia. She said it was her way of
ended two days early as the group received 8,735 expressing gratitude for the pop group and ARMY, which had
mangroves in the span of nine days, exceeding its inspired her writing.
target of 1,000 mangroves. “I never expected that the
Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ●   Mon, October
project would be this big,” Asabell “Asa” Audida, the
12, 2020
project’s initiator and an author, told The Jakarta Post
(wng)
on Oct. 5. She said she collaborated with online
crowdfunding platform Lindungihutan, which
specializes in forest conservation and the
environment. At first, the 24-year old fan had
planned to celebrate Jimin’s birthday by featuring
him on a billboard in South Korea, but that plan was
cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She
later discovered Lindungihutan when she was
searching for activities she could do to mark the
star’s birthday in Indonesia. She chose the platform
for its commitment and the accessibility of
its payment system, especially for younger fans. As
for the planting location, the Lindungihutan team
recommended Bedono village, which had been
plagued by severe erosion for the last 20 years. The
erosion resulted in the submergence of two villages,
forcing more than 250 families to move from the
area. In addition to the the environmental perspective,
the village was chosen because of its proximity to
Lindungihutan’s base for easy monitoring and
conservation.
 Police confiscate more assets of alleged Medan
gambling ring boss
North Sumatra Police have confiscated more property
in Medan worth around Rp 21.6 billion (US$1.4
million) owned by illegal online gambling suspect
Jhoni, who is still at large.  He is believed to have
fled to Singapore. Police spokesperson Adj. Sr.
Comr. Herwansyah Putra said on Thursday evening
that the houses and plots of lands were confiscated in
relation to money-laundering charges against Jhoni,
who is also known by his alias Apin BK. Previously,
the police had confiscated seven buildings in Medan
also owned by Jhoni. The buildings, police said, had
been used as underground gambling venues, which
they believed saw between Rp 500 million and Rp 1
billion in cash flow each day. Police continue to
scrutinize Jhoni’s assets for evidence that they were
purchased with gambling profits. Herwansyah said
the police have named two more suspects in the case,
without revealing their identities. Jhoni has been on
the police wanted list since Aug. 24. He is registered
as a resident of Deli Serdang on the outskirts of
Medan.  North Sumatra Police are working with the
National Police, Interpol and immigration officials to
pursue the case.  The police had raided the suspect’s
home in Deli Serdang on Aug. 19, only to find that
neither he nor his family were at the address.
Investigators later received a tip from the Medan
Immigration Office that Jhoni and his family had fled
to Singapore.
Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan   ●   Fri,
October 7, 2022
(dre)
BPOM approves first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine
Indonesia has approved its first locally developed COVID-19
vaccine for emergency use, the head of the country's public
health agency said Friday, hailing it as a step toward "the nation's
independence in access to medicine". The government has
stressed the importance of developing national vaccines since the
beginning of the pandemic but it currently relies on China's
Sinovac and the Western-made Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech
mRNA jabs.   The IndoVac jab, developed by state-owned
pharmaceutical company Bio Farma and Texas-based Baylor
College of Medicine, can now be used as a primary dose for an
unvaccinated or partially vaccinated adult in the world's fourth
most-populous country. "The development... of a domestic
vaccine is a pride for us Indonesians as a foundation and as the
first step to achieve the nation's independence in access to
medicine," head of the Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency
(BPOM) Penny Lukito said at a press conference Friday. The
medical chief said IndoVac had shown an efficacy rate of 92
percent, while there were no reports of death linked to it in trials
and reported side effects were "generally mild".  A clinical study
to use it as a booster jab is underway, Lukito said. The agency
also announced it had granted emergency use approval for an
mRNA vaccine developed in China, becoming the first country
to do so. The inoculation developed by Walvax Biotechnology
will be locally produced in Indonesia, the BPOM chief said. The
homegrown IndoVac jab has been granted a halal certificate,
meaning it can be administered in line with the Islamic faith in
Muslim-majority Indonesia. Indonesia became the epicentre of
Asia's COVID-19 pandemic in July last year as the Delta variant
swept through the country.  Daily cases declined significantly by
the end of the year but the spread of Omicron brought confirmed
cases back to 30,000 a day.  It has since seen another sharp fall
in case numbers and eliminated quarantine requirements for
vaccinated travellers. In total, Indonesia has reported over 6.4
million confirmed cases with nearly 160,000 deaths. 
Vaccination rollout has also been relatively slow compared to
developed nations, with less than two-thirds of the population of
270 million receiving two jabs.