February 9, 2016 edition
For much of the latter half of the 20th century, Indonesia's family planning program was the toast of the developing world.
The nation's list of achievements, which included halving the number of births per woman (TFR) and doubling the number of contraceptive users between 1972 and 2002, meant by the close of the century, some 75 million births had been averted, helping to create the fiscal room needed to lift millions out of poverty.
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More National articles in other editions
February 2, 2016 edition
THE video recording showed a group of men gathered in the main room of a house. They were paying close attention to an instructor expounding on a subject. Armchairs, sofas and tables had been shifted against the room's walls, billowing with white and green curtains. There were at least 30 men in the room. As the lecture went on, the instructor as well as the trainees could be seen holding folio-sized sheets of white paper.
One of the trainees said the recording showed people engaging in tadrib. In hardline Islamic circles, the Arabic term means warfare training. The trainee pointed out that the instructor had referred to his urban warfare training as a method in amaliyah, or charity. For them, terror attacks are holy war tactics against unbelievers.
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January 26, 2016 edition
FOR a week now, Budi Supriyanto has disappeared from his office on the 13th floor of Gedung Nusantara I in the parliament complex at Senayan, Jakarta. As Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators searched his office on Friday two weeks ago, the Golkar Party politician was nowhere to be found. "After the raid, he never came to the office," said Zaki, a member of his staff, last Wednesday.
Rambe Kamarul Zaman, a colleague in the Golkar faction of the House of Representatives (DPR), also claimed to not having seen Budi since in the office. "He's probably feeling troubled. We should give him time to calm down," said the member of the DPR governance commission.
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January 19, 2016 edition
Hendra Irawan Rahim, Golkar's West Sumatra regional chairman, remembered very clearly how the party's convention in Bali on Monday two weeks ago did not even discuss the possibility of a national consultative meeting. He said those present were never asked to set down the points they had agreed upon. At the end, Deputy Chair Nurdin Halid only read out decisions made during the proceedings and asked all attendees to concur without further discussion.
Hendra was later surprised to hear Nurdin telling the media that another national convention was unlikely before 2019. He said that the idea of holding such a meeting had never been presented to attendees, including Golkar's provincial-level chairs. Although taken aback by the news, he said he had not yet decided on a firm position. "I will probably state this at the upcoming meeting of the party's national leadership," he said recently. In contrast, Nurdin told the press that all the decisions had the agreement of those present.
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January 12, 2016 edition
Head of the precinct, Sr. Comr. Roycke Harry Langie, revealed that a group of baggage handlers conspired with Lion Air's security personnel to perpetrate their crimes. "Baggage from each flight is handled by two porters and one security officer," Roycke said last Wednesday.
The crime was exposed after a security camera in Terminal 1 caught a porter opening checked luggage in early November 2015. The gang targeted, among other things, cell phones, laptops and jewellery in expensive-looking luggage that were not plastic-wrapped.
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January 5, 2016 edition
Dawn was breaking when four men gathered in front of the security post of the Taman Harapan Baru housing complex in Bekasi on Wednesday two weeks ago. The four mostly remained silent, absorbed in their cell phones. Their eyes were alert, scrutinizing passing cars. Now and again, they glanced east toward the complex's exit gate that led to the main road. There, too, several men were observing incoming and outgoing cars.
A security officer, Dalman, had the chance to ask, "Anything I can do for you, Mas?"
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December 29, 2015 edition