10% of national park deforested
10% of national park deforested
BENGKULU: Some 10 percent of the 1.3-million-hectare Kerinci
Seblat National Park (TNKS) has been cleared of trees, an
official said.
Soewartono, the chairman of the TNKS board of directors,
blamed illegal logging for the rapid pace of deforestation in the
park.
"The deforested areas are located in Kerinci area, Jambi
province and South Pesisir area, West Sumatra province," he said
on Wednesday.
He said that local residents and private companies were
responsible for the illegal logging. In order to prevent further
deforestation, he said, the TNKS management would intensify its
drive against illegal logging.
The management would also demand that the local government
impose stiff sanctions on private companies involved in illegal
logging, he said.
The national park comprises of areas in at least three
provinces, namely Jambi, Bengkulu and West Sumatra. -- Antara
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Kendari-election-guard
Hansip trained to safeguard poll
JP/5/ACROSS
Hansip trained to safeguard polls
KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: The Kendari municipality government
is training a total of 1,897 civilian guards (hansip) to help
safeguard the upcoming elections.
Kicking off the training on Wednesday, Andi Muzakkir Mustafa,
the mayor of Kendari, said that the training was aimed at
enhancing the skills of the civilian guards to help security
personnel in safeguarding the upcoming elections.
In the five days of training, the civilian guards are also
educated on how to vote in the general election.
The civilian guards are currently being trained by police
personnel, military officers and officials at the Kendari General
Elections Commission (KPUD), in the Cultural Park Hall in the
heart of the municipality. -- JP
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Maluku-governor-visit
Six governors visit Maluku
JP/5/ACROSS
Six governors visit Maluku
KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Six governors visited Maluku on
Wednesday to observe the situation in the province, which was
recently rocked by sectarian violence.
The governors were Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, Yogyakarta
Governor Sultan Hamengkubowono X, Gorontalo Governor Fadel
Muhammad, Banten Governor Joko Munandar, Lampung Governor
Tursandi Alwi, and Southeast Sulawesi Governor Ali Mazi.
Five governors boarded a chartered airplane from Jakarta
toward Denpasar. From Denpasar, the airplane landed in the
Southeast Sulawesi capital of Kendari to pick up Ali Mazi. The
governors disembarked in Ambon, the capital of Maluku.
Several civilian and military officials welcomed the six
governors to Ambon.
"The visit is aimed at observing the current situation in
Ambon. We may set up business cooperation with the Maluku
provincial government after the visit. At least, the visit
symbolizes that we express concern over sectarian conflict in
Maluku and we are ready to help rehabilitate the province," said
Ali Mazi.
Maluku was rocked by sectarian conflict in 1999. Tens of
thousands of residents were killed in the bloody conflict, and
hundreds of thousands of others were forced to flee the island.
-- Antara
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Across-Donggala-clash
Three injured after clash in Donggala
JP/5/DONGGALA
Three injured after clash in Donggala
DONGGALA, Central Sulawesi: Three people were seriously injured
on Tuesday night in Donggala regency, Central Sulawesi province,
after clashes between two rival subdistricts.
Two of the people injured were local residents. One was
identified as Vito, 15. The third victim was police personnel
First. Brig. Bowo Nugroho.
The incident began on Tuesday afternoon when local Watujonju
residents were about to bury Naim, who died on Monday afternoon
after a clash with neighboring Bora residents.
Watujonju residents became emotional after the burial, and
started to attack the neighboring residents of Bora using, among
other weapons, homemade rifles. The Bora residents fought back.
Police personnel Bowo Nugroho was attempting to restore order
when he was shot in the chest. He is being treated in a local
hospital.
Vito, a Watujonju resident, was shot in his head and is being
treated in the same hospital. The third victim has not yet been
identified. -- JP
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Across-Poison
Elementary pupils hospitalized
JP/5/ACROSS
Elementary pupils hospitalized
SEMARANG: A total of 15 students from the Lebdosari elementary
school in West Semarang district here were hospitalized for
poisoning.
Miyatun, the school principal, said that the students were
allegedly poisoned by a mosquito-repellent lotion.
"The incident began when they spread the mosquito repellent on
their hands, to prevent them from being bitten by Aedes aegypti
mosquito. Unfortunately, they apparently forgot to wash their
hands before they ate at the school canteen," said Miyatun.
The students were from the third and fourth grades.
A student said that he felt nauseous and vomited after he ate
food at the canteen.
All the 15 students were immediately taken to a community
health center in the area. After quick medical examinations,
three students were allowed to go home, while the other 12
students were admitted to Telogorejo Hospital.
Retno Wurian, a doctor at the hospital, said that the Semarang
Health Office was investigating whether the mosquito-repellent
lotion had caused the incident. -- Antara