Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ● Tue, July 5, 2022 2022-07-05 02:05 0 76b99ae81be4b2e052851b8c96bfc0d4 1 Editorial electricity,coal,funding,Indramayu,energy-transition,Japan,COP26,Singapore,solar-power,renewable-energy Free A decision announced last month by Japanese financiers to pull the plug on a coal-fired power plant to be built in West Java turned out, quite surprisingly, to have been initiated on the Indonesian side. Coming amid growing international criticism of coal power, canceling the 1-gigawatt (GW) project seems like a bold step for a country that still banks on fossil fuel for most of its power production until well into the future. The move was billed as part of the energy transition, with state-owned power provider PLN telling The Jakarta Post that “PLN took the initiative to stop borrowing [funds for the project] as part of PLN's efforts to reach [our] carbon-neutral goal by 2060”. However, it is fair to assume that … [Read more...] about Energy transition or energy confusion?

Endy Bayuni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ● Tue, July 5, 2022 2022-07-05 01:36 0 e16ff64e7ecc29b41741491223382e3e 1 Academia NATO,summit,China,Indo-Pacific,Cold-War,US,tension,Russia,Ukraine,India,Joko-Widodo,peace Free NATO may have agitated Beijing by inviting for the first time the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand to its summit in Madrid last week, but the response from most other Asian capital cities, which are caught up in the increasing United States-China rivalry, has been nonchalant, if not muted. There is certainly a concern that NATO’s foray into the Indian and Pacific oceans would heighten tensions between the two big powers, but to suggest that this would trigger a war may be a little far-fetched — at least for now. Instead, NATO’s latest move is seen more as part of the ongoing intensifying cold war. It’s not all that different from when Beijing signed a partnership pact with Moscow in February — which was clearly … [Read more...] about Is NATO setting a dangerous course foraying into Indo-Pacific? It depends

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Christopher Ford was a baby when his father was sentenced to 28 years in prison for participating in a murder-for-hire scheme that led to the killings of two people at a car dealership. After serving 25 years, prison officials told Robert Glenn Ford he would be released in July under a 2020 Virginia law that allowed inmates to shave more time off their sentences for good behavior, his son said. But just before he was expecting to go home, Virginia lawmakers approved a budget amendment from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin that excluded Ford and thousands of other inmates with violent offenses from receiving the expanded earned sentence credits, meaning they would have to serve more time. “Using this back-door method days before they were supposed to get out was, to me, hugely wrong,” Christopher Ford said in an interview. As lawmakers debated the amendment, … [Read more...] about Virginia law stops early inmate releases, angering families

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. But its ruling didn't touch the power of the states. That's putting a renewed focus on efforts across the country to limit the reliance on power plants that spew planet-warming emissions into the air. While Democratic states have taken the lead on the most aggressive climate policy in recent years, some Republican-led states are also helping shift the U.S. power grid toward cleaner sources of energy. “This ruling makes clear that the actions of governors and state legislatures are more important than ever before. Thankfully, state authority to curb greenhouse gas emissions has not changed,” Democratic Govs. Jay Inslee of Washington, Kathy Hochul of New York and Gavin Newsom of California said in a statement … [Read more...] about In light of EPA court ruling, new focus on states’ power

LONDON (AP) — Breakfast food giant Kellogg Co. lost a legal bid Monday to block new anti-obesity measures in England banning the promotion of sugary cereals. The U.S. company that makes Coco Pops, Frosted Flakes, Frosties and Rice Krispies had challenged the U.K. government over regulations taking effect in October restricting the promotion of foods high in fat, sugar or salt. A High Court judge rejected the company’s argument that the regulations don't take into account the nutritional value of milk added to cereal. Judge Thomas Linden said that mixing a breakfast cereal that's high in sugar with milk does not change the fact that it's high in sugar. Kellogg's argument that its cereals like Crunchy Nut Clusters and Milk Chocolate Curls “somehow become healthy products if they are consumed with milk is wholly unconvincing, as the addition of milk does not alter the nutritional profile of the products themselves," the judge wrote. Under the regulations, unhealthy foods … [Read more...] about Kellogg loses UK fight to block ban on sugary cereal promos

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 15 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — More than halfway through a tumultuous primary season, voters have rendered verdicts in a number of contests, many of which featured candidates arguing they best represented a continuation of policies favored by former President Donald Trump. While not on the ballot himself, Trump has played a role in several races, with candidates bearing his endorsement meeting a variety of electoral outcomes. There have also been tumbles by several incumbents, some taken out by Trump-backed challengers and others bested by fellow representatives in faceoffs forced by redistricting. Here's what's happened so far in primary races across the country: FALLEN INCUMBENTS Eight incumbents — three Democrats and five Republicans — lost their U.S. House seats already this year after being defeated in their … [Read more...] about Ousters, upsets halfway through 2022 primary election season

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Monday accused Congo of supporting rebels opposed to his government, escalating tensions with a neighbor who in turn accuses Rwanda of supporting violent rebels who recently captured a town in eastern Congo. Kagame said in a televised address that his country is concerned by alleged Congolese support for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, a Congo-based rebel group that includes fighters accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide. Relations between Rwanda and Congo have frayed in recent weeks after the M23 rebel group last month took the Congolese town of Bunagana at the Uganda border and Congolese authorities charged that Rwandan troops had invaded Congo. Rwanda has long denied supporting M23, disputing the accounts of conflict observers, U.N. experts and others. M23 … [Read more...] about Tensions persist as Rwanda denies Congo rebel charges

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — In the central Oregon city of Bend, the sole Planned Parenthood clinic serving the eastern half of the state is bracing for an influx of patients, particularly from neighboring Idaho, where a trigger law banning most abortions is expected to take effect this summer. “We've already started hiring,” said Joanna Dennis-Cook, the Bend Health Center Manager. Across the U.S. West, many abortion providers serving rural areas were already struggling to meet demand in a vast region where staffing shortages and long travel distances are barriers to reproductive services for women. Oregon alone is larger geographically than the entire United Kingdom. Some facilities serving rural communities in states where abortion remains legal worry those pre-existing challenges could be further compounded by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as more patients travel from states … [Read more...] about In rural West, more worries about access to abortion clinics

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Amber Heard's lawyers have asked a judge to throw out the $10.35 million verdict against her in the defamation case filed by ex-husband Johnny Depp, arguing that the verdict was not supported by the evidence and that one of the jurors may not have been properly vetted by the court. In post-trial motions filed Friday, Heard's attorneys call the jury's June 1 award of $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages to Depp “excessive” and “indefensible.” They ask the judge to set aside the verdict and dismiss Depp's lawsuit or order a new trial. Immediately after the verdict, the judge reduced the compensatory damages to $350,000 under a state cap. Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Depp's lawyers alleged he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned him by name. The … [Read more...] about Heard seeks to throw out verdict in Depp defamation trial

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 NEW YORK (AP) — In a decisive chowdown comeback, record-holder Miki Sudo won the women's title at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest Monday after skipping last year's frank fest because she was pregnant. “I knew I was excited to come back, but the feeling that you get once you’re actually here is not like anything else,” Sudo said on ESPN after downing 40 wieners and buns in 10 minutes. That was short of her 2020 record, but still well ahead of runner-up Michelle Lesco, the 2021 winner. The men's competition, featuring record-holder Joey Chestnut, was due later Monday. Monday marked a return not just for Sudo but for the contest itself, which was back at its traditional location outside Nathan’s flagship shop in Brooklyn’s Coney Island neighborhood. The event was relocated in 2020 and last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sudo, of … [Read more...] about In comeback, Sudo wins women’s title at July 4 hot dog race