Early this year, Indonesian power plants built by Chinese companies came under heavy scrutiny. One reason was that a number of Chinese-made power plants, some built since 2006 are not operating at their maximum, with reliability predicted at only 60-65 percent. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said has requested that the Chinese authorities take responsibility.
Despite two plenary sessions, the Indonesia Ombudsman failed to issue a recommendation concerning Novel Baswedan's complaint. Novel Baswedan, a Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator, filed a complaint with the Indonesian Ombudsman concerning the alleged administrative violation by police who arrested and detained him.
A few days back, the hash-tag #melawanasap (battling the haze) was a hot topic on Twitter, posted by tens of thousands of Tweeps who vented their anger over the destructive haze caused by forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Residents in provinces there had become seriously alarmed, as the haze penetrated into everything, homes and even hospitals.
Like a drunken god, Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Rizal Ramli walks into things, makes harsh comments that are often misdirected. He is free to criticize government policies or his colleagues at cabinet meetings, but if he does so in public, it confuses the people, creating the impression that the cabinet is not united.
On Thursday, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) finally made its much-awaited decision. The choice was whether to raise US interest rates now, to manage US inflationary concerns, or to postpone it, and to avoid sizable capital outflows from emerging and other non-US markets. At the end of the meeting they decided to postpone the rise of US interest rates, which has been kept at an unprecedented low, 0-0.25 percent level, for nearly a decade. This low interest policy was kept to help the US economy recover, followingthe Lehman financial crisis. Today, the US economy is showing signs of recovery and a drop in its unemployment rate. However, the Fed is concerned that its rate hike policy will weaken other currencies, especially those from emerging markets, especially when the world economy remains fragile.
The delivery schedule displayed at the Tiki Jalur Nugraha Ekakurir (JNE) announcement board listed the various obstacles over the past week. This logistics company has been unable to ship goods to and from areas affected by the haze from forest fires, such as Jambi, Palangkaraya, Pekanbaru and Pontianak.
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.
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