Just In: Indonesia Announces Important New Visa Policy for Nigerians

The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Harry Purwanto, on Tuesday announced his government’s new policy for issuing visas to Nigerians and other foreigners wanting to visit Indonesian for any purpose.

Purwanto told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that under the new policy, his Embassy would no longer be involved in visa processing, but only in the collection of visa applications.

The Ambassador, who did not give any reason for his government’s new visa policy, said that the processing of visas to Indonesia would henceforth take a much longer time.

“Nigerians seeking visas to Indonesia should know that the Indonesian government has introduced a new visa application and issuance policy.

“Under the new policy, we as an Embassy in Nigeria, have been withdrawn from processing visas.

“All we are now required to do is to collect visa applications and send them to Indonesia for processing. We now have to be taking authority from Jakarta.

“We, therefore, want to tell Nigerians seeking visas to Indonesia to now begin their applications at least two weeks in advance, to enable us send their applications on time to Jakarta,’’ he said.

Purwanto enjoined Nigerians to always ensure that authentic information and documents were provided in their visa application forms, to avoid visa refusal from Jakarta.

The Ambassador, who restated his government’s commitment to issuing more visas to Nigerians, said that about 1,000 Nigerians were issued visas to Indonesia, this year.

He also said that his government would continue to create the right environment for mutual trade relations and people-to-people interactions between genuine Nigerians and Indonesians. 

Read More

Commotion as Indonesian Plane with 13 People on Board Suddenly Disappears from the Radar...Shocking Details

A plane carrying several people in it has suddenly gone missing causing serious commotion and panic among family and authorities.

File photo

 

Not less than thirteen (13) people are currently feared dead after an Indonesian police plane lost contact while in flight.

 

The aircraft reportedly lost contact on Saturday during a flight to the island of Batam near Singapore.

 

According to The Associated Press (AP), the light cargo and passenger M28 Skytruck plane, carrying five crew members and eight passengers, dropped out of contact midmorning about 50 minutes after taking off from Pangkal Pinang in Bangka Belitung province off the southeast coast of Sumatra island, police said in a statement.

 

It was scheduled to land in Batam in nearby Riau Kepulauan province at 10:58 a.m.

 

All of those aboard the plane were policemen, according to the statement.

 

National Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said rescuers were searching waters between Mensanak and Sebangka islands for the plane.

 

He said villagers found a seat and a bag containing a cellphone and police documents.

 

TV footage showed that police uniforms and other articles of clothing also had been retrieved from the sea.

 

Local media, citing the Tanjung Pinang naval base commander, reported that bodies had been recovered by villagers.

 

Soelistyo, however, could not yet confirm the reports on the bodies.

Read More

Crazy Culture: See What Indonesians Do To Their Dead Love Once

These fascinating pictures show an annual ritual where villagers dig up the bodies of their dead relatives before washing, grooming and dressing them up in fancy new clothes.

Families in the Indonesian province of Toraja in South Sulawesi perform the act to keep their relatives alive in their hearts and minds. As part of the zombie ceremony, even the skeletons of children are exhumed.

Damaged coffins are fixed or replaced before the mummies are walked around the area by following a path of straight lines during the ritual, called Ma'nene, or The Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses.

For Torajans, the death of the body isn’t seen as an abrupt event and attempts are made to keep them part of the family.

In Toraja society, the funeral ritual is also most elaborate and expensive event.

According to their ancient belief system, the spirit of a dead person must return to his village of origin.

So if a person died on a journey, the dead person would be walked back home from the scene to the village.

Read More