SOES
Establishment of Six SOE Holding companies Accelerated

When Edwin Hidayat Abdullah arrived at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Jakarta for the state-owned gas company PGN general shareholders' meeting three weeks ago, he carried with him a very important message-Hendi Prio Santoso would be reappointed CEO.

THE doors at a sundries shop painted orange on Jalan Asir-Asir, Lut Tawar District, Central Aceh Regency were tightly closed. The owner of the shop-Mak Cak-has not appeared for two months. "Mak has returned to Medan," said Ati, 53, the shop's assistant.

Discussions on a final statement following the first national symposium on the 1965 tragedy needed an extra day to be completed. "The hardest part involved formulating a resolution on the incident," said National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Nur Kholis, who was a member of the drafting team.

WWF Indonesia has launched a new app to help consumers confront the overexploitation of Indonesia's maritime resources.

Twenty-one couples took their vows inside a Boeing 737 airplane at the High School for Airspace Technology (STTKD) in Bantul, Yogyakarta, this month, proving there is no wrong way to tie the knot.

The national symposium 'Dissecting the 1965 Tragedy' was an important step in this nation's journey. It was an initiative to heal wounds. But this must not be half-hearted.

After being exposed by the Panama Papers, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugson chose to step down. A similar fate befell Spain's Industry, Energy and Tourism Minister Jos Manuel Soria, while British Prime Minister David Cameron has been forced to release his tax returns in the face of public protest.

Clarification from Buddha Tzu Chi Indonesia Foundation

LILY Yulianti Farid never thought the Makassar International Writers Festival (MIWF) that she initiated in 2011 would ever get off the ground. She noted, furthermore, that few members of the literary circles in her hometown had joined the event.

MYANMAR's new president Htin Kyaw has signed an order to pardon 83 political prisoners on Saturday, April 16, which coincided with the country's traditional New Year's Day. "In order to give satisfaction to the majority of the people, we will continue to release political prisoners, political activists and students facing trials related to politics," he said.

There was no doubt that President Jokowi's trip to Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany was mainly to sell Indonesia to potential European investors. "Indonesia will prioritize trade cooperation and investment in the areas of maritime and water management," said Presidential Spokesman Ari Dwipayana in an official statement. The European Union is one of Indonesia's main trading and investment partners.

Do you know which word in the English language has the longest entry in the Oxford English Dictionary? Well, if you don't already know, it might surprise you, as it did me. It is 'set'. Yes, humble 'set'.

The ride was full of jolts as we passed through huge swaths of picturesque hills and paddy fields tapering down to the Savu Sea on the southern shore of Flores. The road then took a right, skirting the sea to the fishing village of Dintor next to a craggy Mules Island.

The two-day 'National Symposium on Dissecting the 1965 Tragedy: A Historical Approach' last week got nationwide and international attention.

AGUS believes that luck has been on his side. One April morning in 1997, right before he left for his interview at Spandershoeve Restaurant in Hilversum, his Dutch permanent resident card came in the mail. "The first thing they asked me when I sat down at the interview was: Do you have a resident permit?"

The poor sometimes resemble luckless gods: Their voices should be heeded but the world often listens to them via go-betweens.

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.