The police named Sadikin Aksa, former Bosowa Corporindo CEO, as a suspect in a banking fraud case. It is regarded as a backlash against Bosowa's victory in court.

The National Police' Criminal Investigation Department investigated three officers with the rank of brigadier in the case of extrajudicial killings of members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI). The reconstruction did not explain the fact that all of the victims died with gunshot wounds straight to the heart.

The fatwa (edict) commission of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) declared the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine haram (forbidden by Islamic law) because it used trypsin enzyme from pigs in its viral multiplication process. The fatwa runs counter to the drug monitoring agency (BPOM)’s ruling that the enzyme is already broken up thus no longer present in the vaccine making process. Penny Kusumastuti Lukito, Chair of BPOM, considers the end product to be free of porcine material. Given the limited supply of halal (permissible by Islamic law)-certified vaccine Sinovac, the government has no choice but to turn to other vaccines including AstraZeneca.

Switzerland approved free trade agreement with Indonesia. With the condition, however, that Indonesia produce palm oil in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.

Inflation in the US, which might trigger an interest rate hike by the Fed and reduced liquidity injection, is becoming the biggest fear of emerging markets, including Indonesia. Investor’s money which has been anchored here might just return home, in great numbers and fast.

The ministry of health clarifies a sentence on the article Vaccine Opportunist in Tempo English, 22-28 March, 2021 issue.

The government takes fly ash resulting from coal combustion off the list of hazardous and toxic waste. There is concern that this will endanger the environment and ignore any impact on those living around coal power plants.

Cartoon: Yuyun Nurrachman

The ruling, or fatwa, from the Indonesian Ulemas Council  (MUI) that concludes the AstraZeneca vaccine haram—forbidden—should not be a consideration in the Covid-19 vaccination program. Matters of health need medical and scientific considerations, not fatwas.

Revenge, retaliation, and dark characters make us feel something more than just addiction to stories of violence; we feel that we are discovering stories about ‘justice’, and turn them into moral discourse.

The destruction of Malaysian-flag vessels in the Samudera Lampulo Harbor waters, Banda Aceh, Aceh, Thursday, March 18. The Banda Aceh District Prosecutor’s Office destroyed two foreign fishing vessels and their fishing gear after the Banda Aceh District Court found them guilty of conducting illegal fishing. ANTARA/Irwansyah Putra

SWEDISH Ambassador to Indonesia, Marina Berg, arrived in Indonesia five years ago with a clear mission: to deepen and broaden bilateral cooperation between Sweden and Indonesia, particularly in the critical areas of sustainable development and the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, her commitment remained unwavering. The Sweden-Indonesia Sustainability Partnership, focusing on the sectors of energy, transport, digital technology, and health, has been actively progressing.

As her term came to an end in August, Marina Berg took the opportunity to share her valuable five years of work in Indonesia during a TEMPO TALKS session.