230 refugees stranded: At least 230 asylum-seekers from Middle

230 refugees stranded: At least 230 asylum-seekers from Middle
Eastern countries were stranded on Rote island in East Nusa
Tenggara province after strong waves and high winds prevented
them from sailing through to their destination, Australia, an
East Nusa Tenggara police spokesman said on Friday.
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Bulog scam: Jakarta Police awaited permission from President
Megawati Soekarnoputri to question a member of the People's
Consultative Assembly, Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya, who was suspected
of involvement in a Rp 10 billion land scam at the State
Logistics Agency (Bulog), an officer said on Friday.
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Mamuju clash: Seven people were killed and several others
seriously injured in a series of violent clashes among villagers
in Batuampa village, Mamuju regency, some 470 kilometers north of
the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar.
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S'pore election campaign: Singapore politicians Friday wrapped up
a heated election campaign with a last ditch effort to move away
from intense personal attacks and defamation suits to bread and
butter issues amid a severe recession.
Page 9

PBSI apologizes: The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI)
apologized on Friday for a bad-tempered scuffle involving the
country's top player Taufik Hidayat, but the world number three
looks set to escape any disciplinary action.
Page 11

Japan-U.S. discord: Japan dismissed Friday a scathing attack by
the United States over Tokyo's role in World Trade Organization
(WTO) talks, saying it was Washington that should be criticized
for insisting on its own economic agenda.
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Illegal mining: Publicly-listed state tin mining firm PT Timah
and local governments on Bangka and Belitung islands are studying
measures to end the illegal mining activities on the islands that
have been troubling the firm for years and brought it to the
brink of bankruptcy.
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