July 14, 2015 edition
ON June 30, Hercules C-130B plane crashed into the Jamin Ginting area of Medan. The airplane hit a Joy FM radio antenna located 3,200 meters away from the Soewondo Airport runway. The passengers consisted of 12 crew members (three were pilots), one navigator, 8 technicians, and 110 passengers. All died.
Just before the crash, pilot Captain Shandy Permana requested permission to return to base. The request is assumed to be an indication that a problem occurred two minutes after the plane took off. The definite cause of the accident is still under investigation. But something was clearly amiss: why were there so many civilians aboard the military aircraft?
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More Indicator articles in other editions
July 10, 2015 edition
THE assumption that shopping online is unsafe was reinforced when the public recently heard of a person who ordered an iPhone 6 and was sent a bar of soap. In the middle of such news, last week's Tempo poll showed that of 466 readers, 54.1 percent felt that online shopping is susceptible to crimes.
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July 7, 2015 edition
THE tradition of returning to one's native village at Lebaran or the Eid holiday essentially involves moving heavy traffic from big cities to different areas of the country. Last year, more than 30 million people went home almost all at once to their home villages. In Java, the exodus caused roads on the north and south coasts to be very congested. Eleven to 19 hours of traffic jam could not be avoided.
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June 30, 2015 edition
Gambling is nothing new in the world of soccer. Gamblers, players and referees have worked together ever since the Galatama era to manipulate matches and earn a buck.
There is also what is called 'elephant soccer', which was on full display in October 2014, when two soccer teams, PSS Sleman and PSIS Semarang, each scored five 'suicide' goals during the Indonesian Super League Main Division Big Eight competition. The two soccer clubs were competing to lose and face off against a weaker club in the next match.
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June 23, 2015 edition
DECIDING the start date for the fasting month of Ramadan went smoothly this year, unlike in previous years, when differences of opinion sowed division in the Muslim community. This time all Indonesian Muslims agreed on Thursday, June 18, as the start of the fasting month. The date was decreed by the Religious Affairs Ministry last Tuesday in a ratification session.
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June 16, 2015 edition
When Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai security forces drove away boats filled with hundreds of ethnic Rohingya fleeing their home country of Myanmar, citizens of Simpang Tiga village in East Aceh accepted them with open arms.
These exiles, who sailed across the ocean for six months on wooden boats, were received by the Acehnese. They were given food, clothing, medicine and put in schools alongside local children. These Acehnese villagers have performed a humanitarian gesture that government and the highest international bodies are still harping about.
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June 9, 2015 edition