A hearing for a pretrial motion held on Thursday last week regarding the investigation into the purchase of land owned by the Sumber Waras Health Foundation at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) did not last long. It took less than 15 minutes for the sole presiding judge at the South Jakarta Administrative Court, Tursina Aftianti, to strike the gavel, ending the proceedings.

ENERGY
Masela Block's Onshore Plant

Conventional wisdom regards oil as a boon to countries who have it, not as a curse. However, Juan Pablo Perez Alonso, one of OPEC's founders, would beg to differ. He called oil 'the devil's excrement', the harbinger of disasters. There are many countries that are rich in oil, yet mired in debt and economic mismanagement, all because their leaders seem enthralled by the oil's bounty.

A Solution for Forest Protection

RELIGIOUS issues typically color the public's discussion of politics prior to an election. When Basuki Tjahaja 'Ahok' Purnama ran as Joko Widodo's running mate for the Jakarta governorship in 2013, for example, his Christian identity in Muslim-majority Jakarta was invoked in attempts to discredit his candidacy. The strategy is common nationwide.

Clarification from the Village Ministry

President Joko Widodo's stance on the development of the Masela block in the Arafura Sea, Maluku, could trigger negative sentiment from those wishing to invest in this nation. The government's selection of the onshore refinery option for the gas field shows its inconsistency in building business links with oil and gas contractors.

ATTORNEY Made Rahman Marasabessy gave his client Jailani Paranddy an unusual bit of advice. Instead of fighting the corruption charges against him, Made suggested Jailani turn himself in to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). He also advised the KPK to take the 40-year-old man into custody if necessary.

At a busy intersection in the Etterbeek area, several police officers suddenly burst into a cafe where people usually just gathered to smoke. Pistols in hand, last Tuesday afternoon they moved quickly to search every corner. Then they left just as quickly as they had come. There was no fuss.

Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has threatened to file charges against China in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

The 6th Ministerial Conference on the Bali Process, held in Nusa Dua, Bali, on March 22-23 and co-chaired by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop, resulted in a regional mechanism on irregular migration. The agreement, called the Bali Declaration of People Smuggling, Trafficking in Person and Related Transnational Crimes, reflects the commitment to take swift and concrete action when these issues arise.

If you watch TV news pretty much anywhere in the world, the announcer opens with a 'Good morning', or 'Good evening'. Unless it is a global 24-hour repeat news channel, that is. Actually, there will probably be two studio announcers reading in turn from the teleprompter and occasionally turning to look at each other. And it will probably be one male and one female. The point is, there is a format that emerges in the US, which is copied the world over.

Rosen Plevneliev, 52, was Bulgaria's fourth democratically elected president in 2011, continuing a new political tradition that began after the fall of communism in 1990. A graduate of Sofia Technical University, he has a business background in the field of construction and real estate, with eight years working in Germany before starting his political career. In 2009, he was appointed as minister of regional development and public works, following general elections for seats in the National Assembly.

To Shanti Poesposoetjipto, the current chairperson of the board of Samudera Lines, awards come easily. Under her belt are at least 20 acknowledgements of her busy and productive life in business and in civil society. Before she was conferred the 'Order of the Crown' from the Belgian government and witnessed by visiting HRH Princess Astridwho was in Indonesia to lead a business delegation of about 300 peopleshe has, under her belt, the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (2009), the Asia-Pacific Entrepreneurship Award in that same year, and most impressively, she was listed as the 14th most powerful out of 100 women in Indonesia (2007, 2008) by Globe Asia magazine, which named her the 10th most powerful woman in Indonesia the following year.

They include bankruptcy and crossborder insolvency, constitutional law, cultural property rights, economics, fundraising, management and governance for foundations, human rights and civil liberties, indigenous rights, customary law and adat communitiesthe list goes on and on. His particular specialties include arbitration, legal and judicial reform, documentation and information, legal research and analysis and planning for institutional change.

AIDUL Fitriciada Azhari, 48, turned out to be the dark horse in the search for a chairman of the Judicial Commission. He was a last-minute entry after the House of Representatives' (DPR) law commission rejected two of the candidates, and he got the job. "I wasn't even under consideration so it was just pure chance," said Aidul at his Jakarta office last week.

Einstein was completing his curriculum vitae one day in 1932. The prestigious Kaiser Leopold German Academy of Scientists, where Goethe had once been a member, had asked him to join.

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.