LONGS: Rain, rain stay away in Indonesia

The plan he will take to the Indonesian parliament could look a lot like Canberra. Widodo pointed to the city's spatial planning from Mount Ainslie, noting that buildings within the administrative sections of Canberra are typically no more than seven or so storeys tall, while within the social centres they grow much larger.

The President has a clear concept for his new capital. He wants it to be a "smart city", one which is interconnected and understands the needs of its occupants. He wants it to be green, with access to public transport that works for both users and the environment. Canberra is not just a Y-plan, we're also this city.

“Masala” is a word found in the dictionary that comes with my laptop, but not “nasi goreng” (“fried rice” in Indonesian). Thanks to colonization, there is a large South Asian population that speaks English, there are many South Asian migrants in English-speaking countries, and curry is a pub staple, hence “masala” being unitalicized. Yet, what is the actual measure for whether a word belongs to a language—shouldn’t its usage in a sentence be measure enough?

Parts of what is now Indonesia were colonized by the United Kingdom at some point, though of course the Dutch oppressed far more territories much longer. Yet, honestly, what is the colonization duration cut-off point, for a plundered region’s reparations—including linguistic? The right to, as problematic as using English always potentially is, make it one’s own, twist it into the slanted truth of the world that “othered” words represent?

I think I also got a lot of influences from the things I grew up with when I was little. I had a lot of atlases when I was a kid, so I always like illustrating maps. I also grew up in a Catholic family, so I’m very fascinated with the pageantry of processions and Holy Week. I enjoyed looking at fairy tale illustrations too, so I think that’s where I got my inclination towards graceful forms. These are things which, I think, helped me mold the style that I have now. 

It is easy to dismiss the followers of these pretender kingdoms as a bunch of self-deluded crackpots who like to dress up in costumes – but they represent an aspect of society that has deep roots in the nation’s psyche and history.

To start with, all of them preach messianic visions for the Indonesian people by promising prosperity and peace, echoing an old Javanese prophecy concerning Ratu Adil, or the Just King, a future leader who is to bring about a new “golden age”. This prophecy is still very much alive in Indonesia’s collective imagination – especially in Java, where supporters of presidential candidates have even attempted to present their champions as the promised Just King in the past.

The government of the Philippines doesn’t impose taxes on the packages, and the shippers don’t have weight limits, so people tend to stuff their boxes. It takes Balantin three months to gather the items to fill her box: bedding, bags, and pillows for her 20-year-old daughter; chocolates and toy cars for her 8-year-old son; her children’s favorite spicy Korean instant noodles; and clothes, some of which her employer handed down. Balantin goes home every two years, at the end of each contract.

The boy’s problem had started at school, where he’d heard rumors that tainted pork—inoculated against swine fever—could cause koro. Earlier that morning, he’d eaten a steamed bun with pork in it. When he went to urinate, he looked down and felt his penis start to shrink. “Frightened, he quickly grasped the organ and rushed to his parents shouting for help.”

More people followed. Before long the hospitals were flooded with patients. Pork sales plummeted. The Ministry of Primary Production announced that both swine fever and the vaccine were harmless to humans, but the epidemic seemed to accelerate. For seven days it continued, until finally the Singapore Medical Association and the Ministry of Health started appearing on television and radio to announce that suo yang was a purely psychological condition, and that no one had died from it. There was an immediate drop in the number of cases. By November, there were no reports at all.

While first considering using an individual model to publicize the fruit, Ichikawa noted the absence in Laos of any idol girl group that could be used as an advertising tool.

Despite having no prior experience in the entertainment world, Ichikawa said, "I decided to establish an idol group" as a symbol of the Japanese produce handled by Masa Food.

Ichikawa announced his search for members on Facebook and received more responses than expected. But he was unfamiliar with the idol business.

"I didn't know what types of idols were popular, and so I just began to watch videos of (Japanese idol group) Momoiro Clover Z," he said.

“Performing the ritual is very tiring for me,” says 72-year-old Lo. He focuses his inner energy while reciting the incantation to direct rain clouds to another part of the sky, he explains. “So it’s not entirely stopping the rain,” he adds.

Lo says he is a devout Buddhist and uses mantras from Buddhist holy books to ensure clear skies. His incantations are from the tai bei zhou (or “great compassion mantra”) and are recited in Pali, the ancient language of Theravada Buddhism that today is only used as a liturgical language.

Lo will sometimes bring fruit or other foods as offerings to the spirits to help make the ritual a success. But he admits that the practise of rain mastery is not in line with Buddhist teachings. Its origins lie in Kejawen, a Javanese religious tradition. “I use traditions not only from Buddhism, but also Hinduism and Javanese,” he explains.

Hiding is new for Mr. Matzneff. For decades, he was celebrated for writing and talking openly about stalking teenage girls outside schools in Paris and having sexual contact with 8-year-old boys in the Philippines.

He was invited to the Élysée Palace by President François Mitterrand and socialized with the far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. He benefited from the largess of the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, the business tycoon Pierre Bergé.

Growing up on a farm in what is now the Yew Tee area, her parents had more children than they could feed, and she had to work for her keep. “My father didn’t love me – I wanted to go to school and study, but he wouldn’t let me, even though he let my younger sister go,” she shared.

At the age of 14, she joined the Sin Sai Hong Chinese opera troupe and began earning her own keep. She started out doing odd jobs like washing socks and running errands. Then, she was allowed to play non-speaking roles such as those of soldiers, maids and eunuchs. Later, she progressed to learning fighting moves and how to wield a prop gun. In the mornings, she’d get up and practise “yun bu”, the art of walking without a sound.

Isye Liuw, head of the Tomohon Health Department, said the sale of bats is no longer allowed.

“We met with the sellers to inform them about the dangers of the virus and ordered them to stop the sale of bats and snakes,” Liuw told local media.

As an extra layer of protection, the Tomohon local government began inspecting trucks entering the market, in case sellers planned to violate the ban. Tomohon Deputy Mayor Syerly Sompotan visited the meat market on January 30 to call for its temporary shutdown, but the market continues to operate.

Even before today’s announcement, pangolins were a good candidate for being an intermediate species for the virus, so it’s very interesting that the researchers have found such a close sequence, says David Robertson, a computational virologist at the University of Glasgow, UK.

Pangolins are protected animals, but illegal trafficking is widespread, and some species are critically endangered. They are sold, controversially, for their meat and scales, and for use in traditional Chinese medicine, in which parts of the animal are used to treat ailments such as skin diseases, menstrual disorders and arthritis. Chinese law states that people selling pangolins can be punished by 10 years or more in prison.

AirAsia denied the allegations, saying its executives “negotiated rigorously in the interests of the company and had at all times acted in good faith”, and formed a committee to review the accusations.

Chief executive Tony Fernandes and executive chairman Kamarudin Meranun announced they would stand down “for a period of two months or such other period that the company may deem fit”.

Meanwhile, an AirAsia minority shareholder has initiated proceedings on behalf of the company to recover the money paid to the racing team by Airbus. But while the airline seems to be in a tailspin, analysts say AirAsia is just too big and important to Malaysia to fail.