Harry Potter coming back, this time on stage in new play

There may not be any new Harry Potter novels in the works, but the famed boy wizard will be on the London stage in a new play set to open next summer.

Author J.K. Rowling tweeted Friday that she is "very excited" to confirm that a new play to be called "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" will be produced.

It is based on a new original story by Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. The play is expected to premiere at London's Palace Theatre.

Thorne has written the play, which will be directed by Tiffany. It is the first play about Harry Potter.

Rowling has written seven Harry Potter novels, which have achieved global success and been turned into successful films.

Tickets will go on sale this fall. (ika)(+++)

The participants of the action Indosiar 2015

The participants of the action Indosiar 2015

the participants of the action was tense Indosiar that ultimately gets the highest sms mumuy his nyangka ga cute little longer, while the wise person that comes out rich fathers, a game like that will continue until the final get caught who comes out as the winner and will be dai Indonesia if I am the hope really that will come out of the mumuy if ga si robi people bogor and sijamilah yes it depends on the decision of a jury of his nentuin kaga mao pass what is important for the best

Raditya Dika bares his soul, sharing his personal take on Ramadhan

Raditya Dika bares his soul, sharing his personal take on Ramadhan

Writer and filmmaker Raditya Dika has launched a new video series on Youtube titled "Surat untuk Ramadhan" (Letters for Ramadhan) as a personal project during the fasting month.

But be warned, it's not necessarily in the comedy genre like Raditya's most famous work, Malam Minggu Miko (Miko's Saturday Night), which is both a movie and a Youtube video series.

"The videos are my personal letters. I made them without any attempt to be humorous. Just me being truthful," Raditya told the Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said that the videos talked about his thoughts, feelings and experiences relating to Ramadhan, including how the month led him to reunite with old friends and reminded him of a road where he used to play with firecrackers during his childhood.

The first video, which takes an essay-like form, was uploaded on Wednesday and is titled Apa Kabar? (How are you?). In it, he welcomes and discusses the arrival Ramadhan. On Thursday, it already had 36,138 views.

Raditya said that he planned to upload three videos a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and that he had finished filming the next two videos of the series.

He also hoped to inspire more people to follow his move.

"With these videos, I would like to inspire people to create their own version of “Letters for Ramadhan”; their own personal takes on it," he said.

Even though Raditya said that he had not yet planned all of the videos that he would create, he was sure about the theme for one of the final videos, at the end of the fasting month.

"I want to make one about the loneliness of Jakarta when all of the people leave the city for their hometowns, as I myself don't go to my hometown," he explained. (fsu/dmr)

The amusing, record-breaking ‘Britain’s Got Talent’

The amusing, record-breaking ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ 

The sheer variety of talent on show could well be the formula behind the success of Simon Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) television show.

The show’s charms have captivated millions of people across the UK and other countries.

Fan of the show Emma Spencer came all the way from Ireland, queuing for three hours to get free tickets to watch the show’s semi-final live with her two brothers.

“I always watch it every year and this is my first time at the show. I’m very excited to be here,” she told The Jakarta Post on semi-final night.

The mixture of different performers with lots of good talent made BGT a fun TV show to watch, she said.

“I think Britain’s Got Talent is probably the biggest TV show today, and it’s pretty big too in Ireland,” said Spencer, who admires the dance troupe Diversity, which was a finalist in 2009’s BGT.

In addition to amusing performances, the panel of judges —
Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams — add entertainment value to the show.

Eight-year-old Liam Barden said he liked the show because he was a fan of the multi-talented author and comedian Walliams.

“I like the show because I’m a fan of David’s books and he’s so funny,” he said.

Many children who attended the live shows brought along copies of Walliams’ books, asking him to sign them, and hoping to get a chance to take pictures with him during commercial breaks.

Pertamina ‘ready for Mahakam’

Pertamina ‘ready for Mahakam’



State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, the new operator of Mahakam, the country’s largest oil and gas block, is technically and financially ready to operate the oil and gas block after the existing contract ends in 2017, the company’s top executive has said.

“We have no problem in getting financing to support the operation. In the initial stage, for instance, we can access funds from banks and repay the loans in the same year using the revenues we obtain from the block,” Pertamina president director Dwi Soetjipto said on Friday.

He dismissed doubts that have been raised about Pertamina’s ability to operate the country’s largest oil and gas block given the high production targets and sizable operational costs.

The block, located offshore East Kalimantan, is the major supplier for one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, the nearby Bontang plant. 

At present it generates around 1.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfpd) of gas, or nearly 25 percent of the total national gas output, in addition to 62,000 barrels of oil per day. To keep annual production of the gas block at the current level, Pertamina will have to spend up to US$2.5 billion each year, according to Dwi.

He also welcomed the government’s decision to give existing operators French oil giant Total SA and its partner Japanese oil company Inpex Corp. a 30 percent stake after the block is formally handed over to Pertamina in 2018.

Dwi said that the involvement of Total and Inpex in the future operation of the Mahakam block would ensure the continuity of the production activities. 

Total, along with Inpex, has been operating Mahakam since 1967 and both oil giants now control a 50 percent participating interest each in the current contract.

In addition, existing workers in Mahakam Block would also be transferred to Pertamina, therefore human resources would not be an issue, Dwi added.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said officially announced on Friday that Pertamina and local governments would have a 70 percent interest in the Mahakam block under the new contract, which would take effect in early 2018, while existing operators Total and Inpex would have the remaining 30 percent. The exact proportion of the stakes to be given to the provincial and regency administrations in East Kalimantan have not yet been fully disclosed. 

After years of uncertainty, the government named Pertamina in March this year as the operator of the Mahakam gas block when the current contract ends. Due to the huge size of the block, Pertamina asked Total and Inpex to stay on in Mahakam as partners.

According to Sudirman, the government had asked the three companies to discuss openly the transition process that needed to take place before Pertamina took over the operation of the Mahakam block in January 2018. 

The minister had earlier said that the decision on the percentage of ownership that must be given to Total and Inpex had to be decided by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo because Pertamina and the other two companies could not decide among themselves. 

The appointment of Pertamina as the operator of the Mahakam block illustrates Indonesia’s aspiration to take a firmer grip on the country’s abundant natural resources amid mounting calls by elements across the nation for greater state control of national resources.

Total declined to make any comment on the decision. “We still have no response on the issue. We’re still discussing it,” Total E&P Indonesie spokesman Kristanto Hartadi told The Jakarta Post.

Energy think tank ReforMiner Institute deputy chairman Komaidi Notonegoro said that while the decision would be unlikely to affect the block’s production target, it would almost certainly make a substantial contribution to state revenues.

“As a state-owned firm, Pertamina will have to pay higher dividends to the state thanks to its income from the block,” he said 

Police in manhunt for killer on nine in South Caroline church

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CHArLESTON -- Police in Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday were searching for a white gunman who killed nine people in a historic African-American church in an attack that police and the city's mayor described as a hate crime.

The shooter, a 21-year-old white man with sandy blond hair, sat with hurchgoers inside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church for about an hour on Wednesday before opening fire, Police Chief Gregory Mullen said.

The gunman, who is considered extremely dangerous, had yet to be caught, Mullen said, and police did not have a sense of where he might be.

"This is an unfathomable and unspeakable act by somebody filled with hate and with a deranged mind," Charleston Mayor Joe Riley told reporters.

Six females and three males died in the attack, Mullen said.

The shooting recalled the 1963 bombing of an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four girls and galvanized the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

The Charleston church is one of the largest and oldest black congregations in the South, according to its website. It has its roots in the early 19th century, and was founded in part by a freed slave who was later executed for organizing a revolt, according to the U.S. National Park Service.

"This tragedy that we are addressing right now is indescribable," Mullen said. "We are committed to do whatever is necessary to bring this individual to justice."

The attack follows the April shooting of an unarmed black man in neighboring North Charleston by a white police officer. The officer has been charged with murder in that case, one of a number of deaths of unarmed black men in encounters with police that have raised racial tensions in the United States.

 

Official: China ready to collaborate on maritime infrastructure

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM -- China is the most willing among countries interested to cooperate with Indonesia in its maritime infrastructure development programs, Chief Executive of Economic Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs I. G. Ngurah Swajaya said.

"We must recognize that China is ready to build partnership with Indonesia. If we are ready, China can commence development activities next month," Swajaya stated here on Tuesday.

He added that China seemed quicker and more concrete in its support for the government's maritime axis vision. This is evident when its investment in the development of maritime infrastructure is compared to those of other countries such as Japan and the United States.

"There are differences in characteristics among China, Japan and the United States in terms of investment. They vary as the Chinese are quick to make an approach," Swajaya pointed out.

Although the United States is not as expeditious as China, it does not mean that the country in not committed to invest in Indonesia.

He further noted that investment from the United States in Indonesia is quite rapid.

In addition, Indonesia was the United States' second partner in its investment in ASEAN after Singapore.

Swajaya also observed that foreign investments for the development of maritime infrastructure in Indonesia must be balanced, with the country prepared to accept and manage them.

"The vision to become the world's maritime axis requires support from all stakeholders," he remarked.