2 weeks ago, the Indonesian government was considering shutting down the aging Suralaya coal-fired power plant (PLTU) in Cilegon, Banten, and replacing it with a solar farm, as the country chases its long-delayed commitments to cut carbon-dioxide emissions.
This Week's News Spotlight:
Thailand loosens restrictions for tourists from 56 countries | Singapore’s hawker culture inscribed on Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage list | Indonesia’s president to receive country’s first Covid-19 vaccine shot | WHO praises Thailand for tackling Covid-19 | Indoneisan to build country’s largest solar power plant
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Thailand loosens restrictions for tourists from 56 countries - Straits Times
Among the 56 countries with travel curbs eased are Singapore, Japan, and the United States.
Thailand will ease travel restrictions on visitors from 56 countries to alleviate the country’s tourism sector.
Tourists will be allowed to enter Thailand without visas but will need to show a health certificate that proves they do not have Covid-19, and must also undergo a 14-day quarantine after arrival. While under quarantine, visitors must undergo three virus tests.
Singapore’s hawker culture inscribed on Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage list - TODAY Online
The inscription comes five years after Singapore’s Botanic Gardens were listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Singapore’s hawker culture has been inscribed onto the Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, alongside Indonesia’s angklung musical tradition and South Korea’s kimchi-making. More than 463 items are already inscribed on this list.
Singapore began its bid to place hawker culture on this list in March 2019, its first submission to Unesco. The country highlighted various aspects of hawker culture, such as its role as a community dining space, culinary skills, and how they represent a reflection of Singapore’s multicultural society.
Indonesia’s president to receive country’s first Covid-19 vaccine shot - Yahoo News
President Joko Widodo did not give information about when he would take the vaccine nor when the national vaccination programme will begin.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo said that he will be the first person in the country to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, adding that the vaccine will be free for all citizens. Indonesia has signed deals for more than 350 million vaccine doses from multiple pharmaceutical companies.
His announcement follows from misinformation over the virus, in a country with 630,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 19,000 deaths as of Wednesday.
WHO praises Thailand for tackling Covid-19 - Bangkok Post
Though more than 73 million people worldwide have been infected with Covid-19, only 4,200 infections were recorded in Thailand, said public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
On Thursday, the World Health Organisation highlighted Thailand’s unity in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. In an online address to a national health assembly meeting by the National Health Commission Office, WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the unity of public and social sectors in Thailand as well as intensive and extensive measures helped the country tackle the pandemic.
Indoneisan to build country’s largest solar power plant - Jakarta Post
The power plant was inaugurated by PT PJB Masdar Solar Energi.
On Thursday, Indonesia officially started the development of the USD 127 million Cirata floating solar power plant in West Java. The power plant would have a capacity of 50 megawatts in its first stage of development, which will be gradually increased to 145 megawatts by 2022.
Once fully operational, the plant will be Indonesia’s largest solar power plant and Southeast Asia’s largest floating power plant. It is estimated to power 50,000 houses and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 200,000 tons annually.