President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's administration has boasted that nearly all households in Indonesia have electricity, saying that the country had reached an electrification ratio of 98.05 percent as of September. However, does this mean that 98.05 percent of the nation’s households enjoy 24-hour electricity for all their electronics like residents in Java’s big cities enjoy? In early January, the ministry’s Twitter account got flooded with angry comments after it told a PLN customer, Lucky, who complained about a 10-hour blackout in Manado, North Sulawesi, that he should be “grateful”. “You should be grateful Pak Lucky that the blackout only lasted 10 hours. [Some of] our brothers and sisters in remote areas can’t even enjoy electricity. Minergi [the ministry account’s administrator] is sure that our friends over at @pln_123 have tried their best. If there are shortcomings, please understand. Thanks,” @KementerianESDM … [Read more...] about Govt says 98.05 percent of households have electricity. What does it mean?
What does this mean
What does Alberta pulling out of the federal climate plan mean for the environment?
By Hamdi Issawi StarMetro Edmonton David P. Ball StarMetro Vancouver Ainslie Cruickshank StarMetro Vancouver Fri., Aug. 31, 2018 EDMONTON AND VANCOUVER—After the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision to put the Trans Mountain expansion on hold, the Alberta government’s decision to opt out of the federal government’s climate plan wasn’t far behind. And the province’s move has left environmentalists and political observers perplexed. On Thursday morning, the court quashed the project approval based on insufficient consultation with Indigenous peoples and a failure to include tanker traffic related to the project in the National Energy Board’s review. By that evening Premier Rachel Notley announced that Alberta would no longer support the federal plan What does this mean for the environment? No one’s quite sure. Notley maintained that Alberta’s own climate leadership plan will … [Read more...] about What does Alberta pulling out of the federal climate plan mean for the environment?
What does the apparent Trump-EU trade truce mean for China?
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - US President Donald Trump's surprise trade truce with the European Union has analysts asking, "What does this mean for the trade war with China?" So far there are two very different answers. One camp sees the deal between Mr Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to suspend new tariffs while negotiating over trade as a deliberate attempt to mend fences with allies as the United States girds for a protracted dispute with China. "De-escalating the US-EU trade track, and possibly the Nafta trade track in the period ahead, does not mean the US-China trade track is also ripe for an off-ramp," Mr Krishna Guha, vice-chairman at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note. "This is possible, but it is at least as likely that the US is reducing trade tension with its allies in order to improve its leverage and staying power in what we continue to fear will be a prolonged trial of strength with Beijing." Mr Guha said Evercore ISI's base case is there will be no … [Read more...] about What does the apparent Trump-EU trade truce mean for China?
Grab buys over Uber: What does this mean for passengers?
[Update: March 26, 2.37pm]: This article has been updated with a quote from Grab. Ride-hailing firm Uber has sold its Southeast Asian business to rival Grab, which will integrate Uber's ridesharing and food delivery business in the region into Grab's platform. As part of the transaction, Uber would get a 27.5 per cent stake in the combined business. But what does this mean for existing Uber passengers? Here's what we know so far: Uber's ride-hailing service to be consolidated into the Grab app Grab said that nothing will change in the immediate term and operations will continue as usual, as they work to combine the Uber and Grab platforms. It mentioned that passengers "can expect better service with more drivers and transport options available in one app". What this means is that Uber passengers will soon have to use the Grab app to hail a ride within Southeast Asia countries, which includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, … [Read more...] about Grab buys over Uber: What does this mean for passengers?
Philippines moves to quit ICC: What does it mean?
Here are five questions and answers on what it means: - Why did Duterte do it? - The ICC announced on February 9 a preliminary examination into allegations Philippine police have killed thousands of alleged users or dealers as part of Duterte's anti-drug war that he launched after taking office in mid-2016. Duterte had previously threatened to withdraw from the international body as a result of what he has called a politically slanted inquiry. - Can ICC still investigate? - Philippine lawyers say Duterte's withdrawal will not stop any ICC inquiry. "The withdrawal from the ICC only takes effect after a year from notification," said Celeste Mallari, a professor at the University of the Philippines Law College's Institute of International Legal Studies. This means that the ICC can continue looking into any acts that took place since Duterte took office … [Read more...] about Philippines moves to quit ICC: What does it mean?