Safe travels: Departing passengers walking to a Terminal 3 checkpoint at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Indonesia, before boarding their planes last December. The Jakarta Post/ANN
IT has been a year since Covid-19 restrictions across the globe made international travel “a thing of the past”.
The impacts of the pandemic did not only cause the collapse of public health systems, but it has also obliterated economic sectors.
In an attempt to restore essential travel, countries have set up travel corridor arrangements to revive ailing domestic economies while maintaining low infection rates at the same time.
I am one of the few people who were fortunate to be able to travel amid the pandemic, flying from Jakarta to Yangon, Myanmar.
In a knot: Questions were raised about why Jokowi (in black) attended Atta and Aurel’s wedding amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Jakarta Post/ANN
INDONESIAN weddings have always been grand displays of power and prestige but perhaps none have made quite a splash like this one.
Wildly popular Indonesian YouTube star Atta Halilintar held a lavish, nationally-televised wedding party in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic with his bride, singer and model Aurel Hermansyah, on April 3. Their guest of honour? President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, his former rival-turned-Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, and a slew of House of Representatives members.
Dressed in a black suit, black peci and black mask, Jokowi sat with six other distinguished guests – including his wife, Iriana – while the newlyweds sat by their side. Meanwhile, Prabowo sat at the other end of the table.
Indonesia 04 Apr 2021
Map shows access routes to one of Indonesia s five priority tourist destinations: Likupang in North Sulawesi. - JP
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): The government plans to spend Rp 4.01 trillion (US$275.15 million) this year on 108 basic infrastructure projects in five prioritised tourist destinations to spur visits.
The Public Works and Housing (PUPR) Ministry reported Wednesday (April 7) the projects were related to roads, raw and clean water supply, waste management, sanitation, residential improvements and more.
The destinations, referred to as the “five new Balis”, are Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara and Likupang in North Sulawesi.
Shoes being displayed with flowers in Mandalay, as part of the Marching Shoes Strike called on social media to protest against the demonstration against the military coup in Myanmar on April 8, 2021. - AFP
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): Htoo Myat Win, 13, was playing around his house in Myanmar s northern Mandalay region when a stray bullet hit him. He died almost immediately.
On social media, heart-breaking footage showed Htoo Myat Win s father hugging his dead child, crying: My son! My son was shot!
He was one of 11 children killed in the military s brutal crackdown on protesters just in a single day, March 28.
Lavish US$7mil wedding in Indonesia draws controversy amid Covid-19 curbs thestar.com.my - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thestar.com.my Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.