ON December 9, 308 regions and cities will conduct regional head elections. It will be the first time direct local elections are held simultaneously.

THE defamation article was axed. The Constitutional Court removed it from the Criminal Code (KUHP) in 2006. According to the Court, the article constituted a legacy of the Netherlands East Indies law to protect the king and the queen. After being adopted, the term king and queen were changed to president and vice president.

Traffic jams are so common in the capital city that citizens seem to take them in stride. But when such congestion comes from street demonstrations, such resignation can quickly transform into anger.

JAKARTA Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has opened the doors of the city to new residents.

MINISTER of Bureaucratic Reform Yuddy Chrisnandi was noticeably perturbed after a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Yuddy had just issued an instruction allowing officials to use government cars to go home for Lebaran, provided such officials lacked car of their own and paid for their own fuel. Kalla was not happy. "I used my own discretion on the matter, but later, since it was forbidden by the Vice President, I submitted," Yuddy said.

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.