Where do police come from?

THERE is no question that Triawan Munaf's background qualifies him to be chairman of the Creative Economy Board (Bekraf). He certainly is no stranger to the world of creative industry. During the 1970s he was a vocalist with the Bandung-based rock band Giant Step and a decade later, set up the Euro RSCG Adwork company. The company was the agency that came up with the logo of a red bull, which is now the icon of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). "I have worked with creative people for decades," said Triawan.

In a bid to promote a more sustainable mode of transportation, Norwegian Ambassador Stig Traavik and Danish Ambassador Casper Klynge, started the #VikingBikingIndonesia movement. They collaborated with the Bike2Work community and held their first event around Jakarta's National Monument on February 13. #VikingBikingIndonesia is planned to be a bimonthly event.

Dewi Anggraeni*

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot is pulling out all the stops to convince the Indonesian government to spare the lives of death-row inmates Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, reminding the government of the US$1 billion in aid his country donated after the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. "We in Australia are always there to help you and we hope that you might reciprocate in this way at this time," he said at the Gold Coast, Australia, last week.

Thirty-three pitch-black stones the size of matches formed a long figure resembling the femur of a ruminating animal. A team of researchers from the Yogyakarta Archeological Center concluded: it came from an ancient buffalo that lived a million years ago.

Icy wind blows across Leather Lane in London on a cold January day. Despite the freezing temperatures, foods like falafel, burritos and potato jackets have already been set up for hungry passersby, who will soon arrive in droves.

Some 108 families in Lembu village, Bancak subdistrict, Semarang regency, Central Java, today own a home biogas reactor, providing electricity and gas for cooking at reduced cost. "We save (families) about Rp80,000 because they don't have to buy a three-kiloliter gas canister each month," Robert de Groot, manager of the Blue Project, told Tempo two weeks ago. The Blue Project is managed by Hivos, a Holland-based NGO, and Lembu is one of the villages participating in the the Blue Program pilot project, which promotes the biogas reactors.

THE verdict of Judge Sarpin Rizaldi in granting the pretrial motion of Police Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan is not only questionable, it makes no sense. The judge determined that Budi was not a law enforcer at the time of his alleged crime, hence his indictment for corruption by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is legally flawed.

EVERYBODY knows that flooding in Jakarta cannot be solved by the provincial government alone. It can only be solved if the central and provincial government work together. President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has set deadlines for the completion of a number of flood-control programs, and has moved up the finishing date for the Rp492.8 billion-Ciliwung canal project, which will connect the Ciliwung river with the East Flood Canal. "It was planned to be completed in December, but I have requested it to be finished by October this year," Jokowi said on an unannounced visit to the canal in Kebon Nanas, East Jakarta.

Disappointed with Citibank

A skinny tree just two meters tall stands proudly in a nursery at the Forestry Faculty of Papua University (Unipa) in West Papua's capital, Manokwari. Its broad leaves are spread out sideways along the length of the trunk. In the gaps between them green, elongated fruit peeks out.

In early February, while presiding over a marathon session of witness testimony at Lampung's Kalianda District Court, Judge Muhammad Iqbal desperately needed a bathroom break. After questioning five witnesses, he had one more to go, after which he could finally steal away to the restroom. "It's tiresome, but I have to hold on," Iqbal told Tempo.

MINING
Freeport Smelter: A Piecemeal Solution for Papua

THE Police Crime Investigation Division is still taking aim at officials of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), after Judge Sarpin Rizaldi at the South Jakarta District Court found in favor of Budi Gunawan at his pretrial hearing. The Crime Investigation Division is now targeting KPK investigators who handled the Budi Gunawan case.

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.