Landslide cuts off vital Riau road<\/p>\n
PEKANBARU, Riau: A landslide has cut off a major road connecting
\nthe Riau provincial capital of Pekanbaru with the town of Teluk
\nKuantan on Wednesday, disrupting vital traffic between Pekanbaru
\nand neighboring provinces, locals said.<\/p>\n
\"The landslide followed heavy rainfall, which caused a section
\nof the hillside and the road to collapse,\" said M. Sukar, a
\nresident of Teluk Kuantan.<\/p>\n
Because of the landslide, he said, vehicles on both sides of
\nthe road were unable to continue their journey.<\/p>\n
A Pekanbaru resident, Urdianto Paboun, estimated that a 15-
\nmeter-long section of the road had collapsed. He said he had to
\nmake a U-turn and head back to Pekanbaru.<\/p>\n
\"The line of cars trapped by the collapsing road was quite
\nlong, because it was difficult to turn around and find an
\nalternative route,\" Urdianto said.<\/p>\n
Teluk Kuantan is located around 100 kilometers south of
\nPekanbaru. The affected road connects the city with the southern
\nprovinces of West Sumatra and Jambi, and serves as a shortcut to
\nthe island of Java. -- Antara<\/p>\n
;JP;bkm;
\nANPAa..r..
\nAcross-Kendari-protest-Tomy
\nKendari crowd rallies for Tomy
\nJP\/5\/Across<\/p>\n
Kendari crowd rallies for Tomy<\/p>\n
KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: A crowd of about 100 people rallied
\noutside the Southeast Sulawesi Council on Wednesday, demanding it
\nsupport local investment plans from Tomy Winata, in an apparent
\nresponse to anti-Tomy protests by local reporters.<\/p>\n
The crowd from the Indonesian Students and Youth Union and the
\nIndonesian Students Axis rallied in support of Tomy's investment
\nplans. Tomy is the owner of the Artha Graha Group.<\/p>\n
Citing Tomy's promise to invest Rp 1 trillion (US$112 million)
\nhere, they urged councillors to welcome him.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, local reporters held a series of rallies
\nto protest Tomy's investment plans following the thuggery against
\nTempo offices in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In the incident, a crowd of Tomy supporters assaulted
\nexecutives of Tempo magazine to protest an article they deemed
\ndefamatory.<\/p>\n
Kendari reporters said they rejected Tomy's coming for fear
\nthat his business would open the province to thuggery. -- Antara<\/p>\n
;JP;bkm;
\nANPAa..r..
\nAcross-Bangka-mining-Timah
\nIllegal miners destroy reclamation area
\nJP\/5\/Across<\/p>\n
Illegal miners destroy reclamation area<\/p>\n
PANGKAL PINANG, Bangka Belitung: State-owned nickel mining
\ncompany PT Timah said on Wednesday that about 65 percent of its
\nreclamation area in Bangka Belitung province had been destroyed
\nby illegal miners, forcing a halt to the environmental program.<\/p>\n
As of 2000, the company had rehabilitated 4,662 hectares of
\nclosed mining sites under its reclamation program in the
\nprovince's two islands of Bangka and Belitung, said Timah
\nspokesman Abrun Abubakar in the Bangka regency capital of Pangkal
\nPinang on Wednesday. He said total reclamation costs up to 2002
\namounted to Rp 13.8 billion (US$155,000).<\/p>\n
He added that because thousands of illegal miners had
\ndescended upon Timah's reclamation area in hopes of extracting
\nleftover nickel deposits, Timah had to stop the program in 2001.<\/p>\n
\"If people there don't realize (the problem), the damages (to
\nthe reclamation area) will only increase. After all, the
\nreclamation is meant for the future generation of Bangka-
\nBelitung,\" Abrun said.<\/p>\n
Illegal mining activities are a persistent problem in the
\nmining industry amid weak law enforcement following the 1998
\npolitical reforms.<\/p>\n
Most miners use simple tools, but many investors from Jakarta
\nequip them with excavators and chemicals to tap deposits. They
\noperate without licenses, often threatening existing mining
\noperations, and have little regard for environmental protection.
\n-- Antara<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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