The sun can be bright, but distant and indifferent to human suffering. Les Misrables, which was first published on April 1, 1862, wanted to be closer to the earth, and sensitive to French weeping. As its famous phrase says: "Those who do not weep, do not see."

A burly man with a crew cut sat alone at the Dunkin' Donuts counter in the Pasar Senen Train Station, Central Jakarta. It was a week before Lebaran, the holiday at the end of the Ramadan fasting month. The man kept glancing at the watch on his wrist. Soon a well-dressed man approached and passed him an envelope.

Small advertising booths display packs of A Mild Limited Edition cigarettes at 7-Eleven outlets around Jakarta. These days, Sampoerna, the A Mild manufacturer, offers them in a little tin rather than the usual cardboard box. The tin is plain, free of pictures of oral cancer, blackened lungs or that ubiquitous shirtless man puffing smoke before a pair of floating skulls. "Many customers are looking for the cigarettes in the tin, but we are out of stock," Herdiansyah, an employee at a 7-Eleven outlet in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, said last week.

There has been discordant voices following the launch of the UNAIDS Gap Report on July 16, which details the prevalence of this deadly disease, and how governments attempt to prevent its spread. It was not particularly well received by Indonesian Health Minister, Nafsiah Mboi. "In the press release (about the report), they (UNAIDS) said that we are left behind. I ask, just how have we been left behind?" she told Tempo, at a press conference about Indonesia's HIV/AIDS program, 20 days after the report was launched

It is difficult to hope that the inclusion of pictures and warnings on the dangers of tobacco can rein in the growth of smokers in Indonesia. The law enacted on June 24 has been variously violated by cigarette manufacturers. The hope that the picture and threatening words will have an impact on start-up smokers is not working.

An Indonesian recruitment call for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) went up on YouTube on July 22. The video was titled Join the Ranks and was conducted by a man calling himself Abu Muhammad al-Indonesi. This man, whose real name has been revealed to be Bachrumsyah, made a public speech about jihad and ISIS's struggle to become a world state. In June, the group, which has since changed its name to the Islamic State (IS), also released a video exhorting Australians, Germans and Canadians to join up.

Belitung Needs A Recreation Park

Muhammad Afif Ridwan, 21, always feels upset when he sees people his own age acting apathetically and refusing to contribute in development activities. As project leader of the annual conference Future Leaders Summit (FLS), Afif plans to persuade youths to find useful activity. "We want to create a youth leader," said Afif, a technical engineering graduate of Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java.

This is the first of three verses of Muhammad Yamin's legendary poem, Tanah Air (Homeland). The poem, written when Yamin was 17, expresses his idea of a homeland for which he would spill his blood. But it wasn't everyone's homeland. "The homeland in this poem still refers to Sumatra, not Indonesia," said Rachmat Djoko Pradopo, a professor of cultural studies at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University.

The briefing paper was received by Indonesia's National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) in November last year. Sent by a high-ranking military official from a Middle Eastern country, it warned that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)now called the Islamic State (IS)would soon reach Indonesia. "They reminded us that we have to be cautious," BNPT chief Ansyaad Mbai said on Monday last week.

This year, Indonesia and India mark 75 years of diplomatic relations. However, the ties between the two nations have existed much longer, predating the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of India. These connections span social, cultural, religious, economic, and trade aspects. But do those close ties of the past have any bearing on the present relationship? Why is there no direct flight between the capitals of the two countries?

Indian Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Sandeep Chakravorty, shares his views on this matter at TEMPO TALKS.