Sumbangsih terbesar Gus Dur terhadap bangsa adalah perjuangannya yang pantang mundur dalam mengusung pluralisme. Sebelum meninggal, Gus Dur berpesan, “Saya ingin di kuburan saya ada tulisan: disinilah dikubur seorang pluralis” (Kompas, 3/1). Gus Dur seorang pluralis. Gebrakannya yang terkenal ketika ia menjadikan Konghucu agama resmi negara. Gus Dur juga mencabut Peraturan Pemerintah Nomor 14 Tahun [...]
On January 26, three refugee advocates — Sydney-based Tamil community activist Sara Nathan, Pamela Curr from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne, and Jessica Chandrashekar from the Canadian Humanitarian Appeal for Relief of Tamils — were arrested in Merak, Indonesia. They had planned to take humanitarian aid to the 240 Tamil refugees stranded since [...]
Thousands of Indonesian demonstrators have taken to the streets in anti-government protests. Protesters say President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has not delivered on his promise to eradicate corruption during the first 100 days of his second term. Correspondents say Mr Yudhoyono still has strong support, but his popularity has fallen slightly in recent polls. The protesters’ [...]
Washington — China said Saturday it had suspended military exchanges with the United States over Washington’s $6.4-billion arms deal with Taiwan, the territory that Beijing claims as its own. China’s Defense Ministry said the decision to halt visits between the Chinese and U.S. armed forces was made “in consideration of the serious harm and impacts [...]
Tamil community activist Saradha Nathan was detained on Tuesday, along with fellow Australian advocate Pamela Curr and Canadian Jessica Chandrashekar, in Merak, in Java’s west. The women were there to see the boat that more than 240 Sri Lankan asylum seekers have refused to leave for the past three months. They strongly deny Indonesian claims [...]
JAKARTA, Jan 29 – An Islamic extremist accused of killing 22 people in the bombing of a Christian market in Indonesia in 2005 has been arrested, the police said Friday. Police said Eko Budi Wardoyo, also known as Ada Munsih or Amin, was caught a week ago in Sidoarjo, East Java province. “The police have [...]
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A test rocket fired by Indonesia’s state-run weapons manufacturer crashed into a farm and seriously wounded the owners. Research and Technology Ministry spokesman Wawan Bayu said Friday 10 rockets were fired earlier this week in East Java by developer PT Pindad. He says one 9-foot (3-meter) long RKN 200 rocket missed its [...]
In a move sure to aggravate China, the Obama administration on Friday announced plans for more than $6 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the self-governing island the Chinese claim as their own. The sale would include Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot missiles, mine-hunting ships and information technology. Lawmakers have 30 days to comment before the [...]
The PC era ended yesterday morning at ten o’clock Pacific time, when Steve Jobs stepped onto a San Francisco stage to unveil the iPad, Apple’s version of a tablet computer. Tablets have been kicking around for a decade, but consumers have always shunned them. And for good reason: They’ve been nerdy-looking smudge-magnets, limited by their [...]
In a face-to-face encounter, President Barack Obama chastised Republican lawmakers Friday for opposing him on health care, economic stimulus and other major issues. Republicans pushed back on taxes and spending, and accused Obama of not taking their ideas seriously. Obama, attending the House Republicans’ retreat in Baltimore, began with conciliatory remarks but soon became more [...]
President Obama was in Baltimore today, speaking to a group of House Republicans at their annual retreat. The topic: bipartisanship. It’s a familiar topic in Washington. But it’s preached more than it’s practiced. The gulf between the two parties is enormous. We see it not only on the House and Senate floors, we see it [...]
MEDAN – Dibangunnya ruang kelas 3 di RSUD Dr Pirngadi Medan (RSPM), yang akan rampung pada Januari ini, semakin membuka peluang masyarakat untuk berobat, dan mendapatkan pelayanan kesehatan dari rumah sakit milik pemerintah itu. Termasuk juga warga Tionghoa di kota Medan. “Ini juga untuk menjawab keraguan, bahwa rumah sakit di milik Pemko Medan hanya untuk [...]
The federal government will cut its greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent by 2020, President Obama announced Friday. “As the largest energy consumer in the United States, we have a responsibility to American citizens to reduce our energy use and become more efficient,” the president said in a statement. “Our goal is to lower costs, reduce [...]
A new survey finds the Lone Star State is leading in terms of growth rate and household income. Atascocita, Tex., is No. 1 in the state Tired of reading about how rotten the real estate market is? Here’s some good news that shows that even during the worst of the recession plenty of American cities, [...]
Jakarta: Intelektual muda Nahdlatul Ulama sekaligus calon Ketua Umum Pengurus Besar NU (PBNU) Ulil Abshar-Abdalla menjanjikan untuk membawa NU ke arah yang lebih seimbang. Ia tidak akan menggiring NU ke arah liberal. Demikian kata Ulil yang ditemui setelah diskusi tentang “Prospek Demokrasi dan Keberagaman 2010″, di Jakarta, Kamis (21/1). Menurut Ulil, generasi tua di NU [...]
Traveling to India and China? Pack your patience. Airports in those countries top our third annual list of The World’s Most Delayed Airports. Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport takes the prize for the airport with the least timely arrivals with just 45 percent of its scheduled passenger flights arriving on time. Beijing Capital International Airport [...]
